High-Q | חטיף 2

18

חטיף מס '2

אנגלית

Reading Comprehension This part consists of two passages, each followed by several related question. For each question, choose the most appropriate answer based on the text .

Text I (Questions 13-17)

To the Indians of the American plains, the horse meant more than an increase in the mobility of warriors and buffalo hunters, or relief for women from some of the back breaking labor of moving the camp. Horses came to represent wealth. For both the individual owner and the tribe as a whole they became a major medium of exchange. Moreover, the horse enabled the Indian to travel much longer distances to trade horses and 5 other prized goods like buffalo robes and beaver pelts at the posts established by white merchants. By 1840 there were an estimated 150 trading posts on the plains. Since the mounted Indians could pick and choose among traders, competition between the posts became intense, and the trade goods they offered became increasingly varied and exotic. Besides 10 such essentials as cloth, tools and firearms, there were bells, mirrors and clay pipes from Germany, beads from Italy, and shell ornaments from the Caribbean islands. While the Indians wanted such items, they bargained carefully for the goods they truly needed to sustain or improve their way of life. They were, of course, expert judges of horses, and would exchange six or more ordinary mounts for a well-trained, long-winded horse that 15 could run down a buffalo. As with any other commodity, the value of horses as a medium of exchange varied with supply and demand. In the early 1800s, on the upper Missouri where horses were scarce and buffalo abundant, a fine horse might be worth ten buffalo robes. Later, as the buffalo were gradually killed off, the price dropped to as low as three robes. The exchange rate also 20 varied according to the wealth of the Indian trader. Indian cultures of the time required a rich man to pay more for goods than did his poorer neighbors. A rich warrior might pay nine horses for a ritual costume, while a poorer one paid only two.

13. We can infer from the first paragraph that the posts established by white merchants -

(1) were meant for white merchants only (2) increased the mobility of the plainsman Indians (3) were usually not set up next to the Indian camps (4) were sold to an Indian tribe

14. The word “they” in line 10 refers to -

(1) Indians (2) trade goods (3) trading posts (4) essentials

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