未分类题Hunting was originally a means of providing food, but it has now become a sport. Though in some parts of the world there are still people who hunt wild animals to provide themselves with food, in England, hunting is as much a social activity as anything else. A great many years ago, fishermen in Japan used birds to catch fish. This art of fishing is said to be at least a thousand years old and is mentioned in Japanese plays. Today, however, fishing in this way has simply become a sport, for the fishermen are not seriously interested in catching fish. On summer nights the fishing boats set out on rivers in various parts of the country. At the front of each boat there is an iron basket in which a wood fire kept burning. As the graceful curved boats float past carried along by the current, these fires, dotted here and there, make bright patterns on the water. Steering down the river, the fishermen beat the sides of the boat to encourage the birds, and people out for an evenings entertainment either sit or lie on the floor of the boats drinking beer and sometimes even cooking a meal for themselves over the flames of the fire. This method of fishing demands great skill, for the fisherman has to handle three or four birds in one hand. A long piece of string is tied round the neck of each bird and the fisherman must take care to keep the birds separate from each other. Every so often, the birds are set free and they fly close to the water in search of fish. The moment a bird catches a fish in its beak, it is pulled back on to the boat. The string is held tightly round the birds throat to prevent it from swallowing the fish it has caught. When there do not seem to be many fish in the river, the fishermen can sometimes be seen secretly throwing dead fish into the water for the birds to catch. No one really objects to this practice, as it is all part of this unusual sport. Questions:What was the original purpose of hunting?A．To catch the wild animals.B．To catch the birds.C．To catch the fish.D．To provide food.
