A Russian legend has a story about the origins of cats. The cat’s coat, it was said, was originally designed for the dog, but the dog became so impatient when coats were being handed out that he was told to wait at the back of the queue. The cat was given the fur instead of the dog. This, according to Russian folk storied, is the origin of why dogs dislike cats.

A nameless cat with a taste for travel flew for three weeks between New York and Tel Aviv in 1984. It escaped from its owner’s cat-box in the plane’s luggage compartment(行李仓)on the first trip and all efforts to get it out with bowls of milk and food failed. After nearly 80,000 miles of flying the airline called in a vet who got it out.

The Chinese attitude to the cat was not clear. Cats were welcome for their ability to kill mice and were considered suitable pets for women. On the other hand, they were suspected of bring bad luck into the home. In the days before the invention of the watch, it was said that they used their cats as clocks. The pupils(瞳孔)of the cat’s eyes were believed to gradually change shape with the position of the sun in the sky. At midday they were a narrow line and they gradually became rounder until sunset.

Britain’s cleanest cat is undoubtedly Harvey, a five-month-old Persian who climbed into his owner’s washing machine. He went through a ten-minute wash cycle before someone noticed him through the glass door, and pressed the “stop” button. Harvey was soon back to his usual self.

Cats seem to be able to sense earthquakes. Josie, who lives in California, warned her family of a quake in 1971.

She wore her owners. Mr. and Mrs. Miller, at 5:50am by jumping onto the bed and running around. When the Miller followed her out of the house, Josie ran off. The earthquake was only a small one, but the cat raised the alarm every time there was a quake after that.

1.From the Russian legend we know the dog_____.

A. sees the cat his friend. B. received the fur coat.

C. disliked the fur D. got punished by God

2.Which of the following shows it is sometime in the afternoon according to the Chinese belief?

3.Which of the following correctly matches the picture to the paragraph which describes the event?

A. Picture a)---Paragraph 1 B. Picture b)---Paragraph3

C. Picture c)---Paragraph 5 D. Picture d)---Paragraph 4

Some people are like homing pigeons: Drop them off anywhere, and they’ll find their way around. Other people, though, can’t tell when they’re holding a map upside down. Are the directionally challenged just bad learners?

Not all of your navigational (导航的)skills are learned. Research shows that your sense of direction is innate. An innate ability is something you are born with. Your brain has special navigational neurons—head-direction cells, place cells, and grid cells (网格细胞)—and they help program your inside compass when you’re just a baby.

In 2010, scientists carried out an experiment to study baby rats’ neural activity in their brains. Although the rats were newborns, the researchers discovered that their head-direction cells (which help them recognize the direction they’re facing) were fully grown and developed. The rats, it seemed, were born with a sense of direction. And they hadn’t even opened their eyes yet!

Humans, of course, are not rats. But the hippocampus—the brain area we use for navigation—is similar in most mammals. If the rat’s compass develops this way, then it’s likely that a human’s compass does, too.

If we’re born with a sense of direction, then why are some people so good at getting lost? The scientists found that the two other cells—place and grid cells—developed within the first month. Place cells are thought to help us form a map in our mind, while grid cells help us navigate new and unfamiliar places. The two cells work together, and that’s where the trouble might be.

People who took part in a 2013 study played a video game that required them to travel quickly between different places. Monitoring their brains, the scientists found that grid cells helped the gamers recognize where they were—even without landmarks. According to researcher Michael Kahana, differences in how grid cells work may help explain why some people have a better sense of direction than others.

1.What did the 2010 research find?

A. Rats have a natural ability to recognize directions.

B. Rats’ hippocampus is different from that of humans.

C. Rats usually find their way without opening their eyes.

D. Baby rats have as many head-direction cells as grown-ups.

2.What do we know about our navigational neurons?

A. Place cells let us know how to read a map.

B. Grid cells help us reach the place we are going to.

C. They help us use a compass when we lose our way.

D. Place and grid cells grow later than head-direction cells.

3.Why are some people so good at getting lost?

A. They can’t remember landmarks.

B. Their grid cells can’t work very well.

C. They are unfamiliar with new places.

D. Their ability to follow directions is poor.

4.What is the text mainly about?

A. Human navigational skills.

B. The compass in rats’ body.

C. Why grid cells are useful.

D. How homing pigeons work.

阅读下列短文,从每题所给的A、B、C、D 四个选项中,选出最佳选项.

Tea vs Coffee

Tea and coffee are two of the most widely consumed drinks in the United States. With popularity and interest in tea continuing to grow in recent years, many consumers have recently considered

making the switch from coffee to tea, if they have not done so already. All the buzz surrounding tea

and coffee may have you wondering, what are the differences? As it turns out, the differences are

many and varied.

In the US, interest in tea ranges from coast to coast with the highest in Hawaii and California

but stretching to the eastern states of Vermont and New York. On the other hand, the highest interest

in coffee tends to be concentrated more in the north and western regions(地区), with the highest

search volumes appearing in the states of Hawaii, Washington and Minnesota.

Differences between tea and coffee also vary in origin and production. All tea comes from the

harvested leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant, while there are about 60 different species of coffee

plants. Production of tea is quicker and more efficient: Camellia sinensis plants only need to grow

for three years before they are ready to process; coffee plants take up to five years.

Perhaps the most concerning issue consumers have when considering making the switch to tea

is the question of caffeine. The good news is, when it comes to tea and caffeine, there is something

for everyone. Unlike coffee, which typically only comes in decaffeinated and regular, there are

several varieties of tea available, based on caffeine preference.

From herbal teas that are naturally free of caffeine, to high quality green and black teas that

offer less than half the caffeine of coffee, to high caffeine teas such as our specially formulated

HiCAF? blends that contain slightly more caffeine than a cup of coffee, there is a variety sure to

suit your needs. As an added bonus, the lower acidity levels in tea tend to be gentler on the stomach

for a more comforting pick-me-up.

So what is the answer, coffee or tea? If you are looking for the most healthful benefit possible,

tea is probably the winner. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. If, like many Americans,

the rising popularity in tea has your interest piqued, the images below will help to clearly spell out

the differences between tea and coffee.

1.It can be learned from the passage that ______.

A. coffee is of much higher production than tea

B. tea and coffee are from harvested leaves of plants

C. the popularity of tea is growing constantly in the US

D. there is no regional difference in drinking tea and coffee

2. According to the passage, which of the following contains the least caffeine?

A. Green tea. B. Black tea.

C. Herbal tea. D. HiCAF? blends.

3.What is the author’s attitude towards tea?

A. Positive. B. Cautious.

C. Sceptical. D. Negative.

4.The underlined word “piqued” in the last paragraph probably means .

A. reduced B. lost

C. expressed D. excited

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