Question

      Bart Weetjens has always loved rats. As a kid in the Netherlands,he raised them as pets. He was amazed by their intelligence and their great sense of smell. Today,Weetjens is using rats for a good cause identifying (确认) a disease called tuberculosis (肺结核) , or T B. in Africa. Through his organization,called APOPO,Weetjens trains rats to find TB by using their noses. The rats that APOPO trains are called “HeroRats."

    Tuberculosis affects millions of people every year. Usually,if a patient is thought to have the disease,doctors run lab tests to identify it. A doctor takes a sample of mucus (枯液样本) from the patient's lungs. Then lab workers examine the sample to see whether the person has the disease.

   But Tanzania and Mozambique,two African countries with high rates of T   B. are short of medical workers and labs. As a result,it can take a long time to diagnose (诊断) the disease. In the meantime,more people can get sick as the disease spreads.

     In 2002,APOPO began training rats to smell TB in mucus samples. It trains African giant rats,which are friendly and hardworking. To detect T B. the rats smell mucus samples through holes in a glass cage. When a trained rat finds a sample with T B. it pauses over the hole.

     HeroRats train for months before they start working. To teach a rat to identify T B. a trainer presents the rat with several mucus samples. The trainer already knows which are samples with TB.

     If the rat spends a long time smelling a diseased sample,the trainer gives the .rat a treat. This teaches the rat that finding TB will earn it tasty food.

      “The rats learn quickly,since they love food/' says Beyene,an APOPO scientist. The rats are faster than lab workers. In 10 minutes,they can screen as many samples as a person could examine in two days. At centers in Tanzania and Mozambique,HeroRats have found thousands of TB cases that labs missed. Thanks to them,sick people can now be treated earlier than ever before. In the future,APOPO hopes to train its rats to identify other diseases too.

1. What can we learn about Bart Weetjens?

   A. He works as a rat trainer.

   B. He has studied TB all his life.

   C. He has a very sensitive nose.

   D. He has a deep interest in rats.

2. What' s the main problem with the diagnosis of TB in Tanzania and Mozambique?

   A. It is very slow.

   B. It is full of mistakes.

   C. It brings pain to people.

   D. It wastes a lot of money.

3. During the training,the rats.

   A. have better food than usual

   B. behave intelligently

   C. work long hours

   D. get bored easily

4. HeroRats’ jobs .

   A. seem dangerous

   B. need improving

   C. prevent TB in Africa

   D. are helping save lives

5. What would be the best title for the text?

   A. Noses at work

   B. Lovely HeroRats

   C. Man with a big heart

   D. TB — a deadly disease

Answer 1

1. D 2. A 3. B 5. A

1. D. 细节理解题。根据第一段的Bart Weetjens has always loved rats 及 he raised them as pets. He was amazed by their intelligence and their great sense of smell 可知，Bart Weetjens 非常喜欢老鼠，对这种小动物有浓厚的兴趣。

2. A. 细节理解题。根据第三段的it can take a long time to diagnose the disease可知，在坦桑尼亚和莫桑比克， 因为医疗人员及实验室缺乏,诊断肺 结核需要花费很长的时间。

3. B. 推理判断题。根据第四段的 When a trained rat finds a sample with T B. it pauses over the hole 和最后一段 的 The rats leam quickly 可知，老鼠们 在训练中表现得非常聪明。The rats are faster than lab workers R HeroRats have found thousands of TB cases that labs missed. Thanks to them,sick people can now be treated earlier than ever before可知，这些老鼠可以迅 速、准确地“诊断”肺结核，让病人得到 及时医治，它们的努力挽救了无数生命。

5. A.标题归纳题。本文介绍了老鼠用 它们的嗅觉帮助人类“诊断”肺结核， A项中的noses与文中的smell,noses 呼应，这一标题很好地概括了文章的主旨。