A study into character, intelligence and usefulness shows dogs are better pets than cats—but only by a whisker.

Staff at New Scientist magazine first listed the areas where cats fared better. These included having bigger brains—compared to their body size. Cats’brains also contain 1.4 million more cells, devoted to complex functions such as memory and attention, than dogs. Cats’second point was given for being more popular, with 204 million living in the top ten cat-owning nations compared to 173 million dogs in the ten countries where dogs are favored. Cats also get more attention from humans, with purrs （呼噜声）and miaows easily to be noticed. Although dogs can vary their barks, they cannot match the attention-seeking of cats. It is a similar story when it comes to senses. Cats can see in lower light than dogs and have a far wider hearing range and a sharper sense of smell. They are also said to be’greener’pets because their smaller appetites mean less area of land required to farm their food.

But in the other six categories examined—many of which related to getting on with humans dogs had the edge.

Dogs have a longer shared history with humans, maybe as long as 135,000 years. Cats are relative newcomers to our homes. Similarly, dogs have a greater ability to bond with their masters. Even four-month-old puppies choose a human companion over another dog. Dogs scored a third point for their better powers of understanding and following human gestures. One study found that a dog called Rico had mastered the meaning of more than 200 words. The ability to perform roles such as being a guide dog for the blind meant dogs were rated better than cats when it came to their problem-solving abilities. And they are easier to train.

With the scores tied at five-all, the deciding point fell on usefulness—with dogs coming out on top.

Dogs, studies show, help cut human stress, while taking them for walks keeps their owners fit and helps them meet new people. New Scientist says: “Dogs can hunt and guard. They can sniff out drugs and bombs; they guide blind and deaf people, find someone buried in ruins, and possibly even predict earthquakes.”

And in a conclusion certain to set off argument, it adds: “Cats are good if you have rodents （啮齿类动物）.”

1.Which of the following is not cats’ advantage?

    A．Better at grasping their owners’ instructions.

    B．Having relatively larger brains.

    C．Affecting the environment less.

    D．More likely to drawing attention.

2.The underlined phrase “by a whisker”（paragraph 1）probably means “        ”.

     A．quite considerably             B．just a little bit

     C．most significantly                 D．in some aspects

3.We can learn the fact from the passage that          .

    A．Dogs are far from satisfactory in terms of their ability to catch rodents

    B．Dogs can better help people who have problems with their sight and hearing

    C．Comparatively speaking, cats have a better interaction with humans

    D．Dogs beat cats when it comes to their senses of sight, heating and smell

4.Which would be the best title for the passage?

     A．Cats beat Dogs                      B．Fight like Cat and Dog

     C．Cats versus Dogs                D．Cats away, Dogs Play

A study into character, intelligence and usefulness shows dogs are better pets than cats—but only by a whisker.

Staff at New Scientist magazine first listed the areas where cats fared better. These included having bigger brains—compared to their body size. Cats’brains also contain 1.4 million more cells, devoted to complex functions such as memory and attention, than dogs. Cats’second point was given for being more popular, with 204 million living in the top ten cat-owning nations compared to 173 million dogs in the ten countries where dogs are favored. Cats also get more attention from humans, with purrs （呼噜声）and miaows easily to be noticed. Although dogs can vary their barks, they cannot match the attention-seeking of cats. It is a similar story when it comes to senses. Cats can see in lower light than dogs and have a far wider hearing range and a sharper sense of smell. They are also said to be’greener’pets because their smaller appetites mean less area of land required to farm their food.

But in the other six categories examined—many of which related to getting on with humans dogs had the edge.

Dogs have a longer shared history with humans, maybe as long as 135,000 years. Cats are relative newcomers to our homes. Similarly, dogs have a greater ability to bond with their masters. Even four-month-old puppies choose a human companion over another dog. Dogs scored a third point for their better powers of understanding and following human gestures. One study found that a dog called Rico had mastered the meaning of more than 200 words. The ability to perform roles such as being a guide dog for the blind meant dogs were rated better than cats when it came to their problem-solving abilities. And they are easier to train.

With the scores tied at five-all, the deciding point fell on usefulness—with dogs coming out on top.

Dogs, studies show, help cut human stress, while taking them for walks keeps their owners fit and helps them meet new people. New Scientist says: “Dogs can hunt and guard. They can sniff out drugs and bombs; they guide blind and deaf people, find someone buried in ruins, and possibly even predict earthquakes.”

And in a conclusion certain to set off argument, it adds: “Cats are good if you have rodents （啮齿类动物）.”

48．Which of the following is not cats’ advantage?

       A．Better at grasping their owners’ instructions.

       B．Having relatively larger brains.

       C．Affecting the environment less.

       D．More likely to drawing attention.

49．The underlined phrase “by a whisker”（paragraph 1）probably means “_________”.

     A．quite considerably                    B．just a little bit

     C．most significantly                   D．in some aspects

50．We can learn the fact from the passage that________ .

       A．Dogs are far from satisfactory in terms of their ability to catch rodents

       B．Dogs can better help people who have problems with their sight and hearing

       C．Comparatively speaking, cats have a better interaction with humans

       D．Dogs beat cats when it comes to their senses of sight, heating and smell

51．Which would be the best title for the passage?

     A．Cats beat Dogs                      B．Fight like Cat and Dog

     C．Cats versus Dogs                     D．Cats away, Dogs Play

      A mother wanted to encourage her son’s progress at the piano. She bought tickets to a performance by a great pianist. When the evening arrived，they found their seats near the front of the concert hall and looked at the big piano waiting on the stage. Soon the mother found a friend to talk to，and the boy slipped away.

      At 8 o’clock，the lights in the hall became weak. The spotlights(聚光灯)came on. Only then did they notice the boy up on the piano bench，playing Twinkle，Twinkle Little Star. His mother was shocked，but before she could get her son back，the master himself was 0n the stage and quickly moving to the piano.

      He went up to the boy and said gently，”Don’t stop. Keep playing. ”Then he leaned(屈身)over and reached down with his left hand and began filling in the bass(低音部)part. Soon his fight arm reached around the other side and played a delightful piece of music. Together，the old master and the little boy carried the crowd away with their beautiful music.

      In all our lives，we receive helping hands―some we notice，some we don't. Equally we ourselves have a great many chances to give a helping hand to others―sometimes we like our help to be noticed，sometimes we don’t. Little of what we a11 achieve comes without learning or support from others. What we receive we should give back.

51. The little boy slipped onto the stage when        .

      A. the evening arrived                                      B. they got to the concert hall

      C. her mother talked to her friend                     D. the spotlight came on

52. Which of the following sentences is true?

      A. The pianist knew the boy’s mother very well.

      B. The pianist wanted to play Twinkle，Twinkle Little Star

      C. The pianist told the boy to stop playing the piano.

      D. The pianist helped the boy to play a beautiful music.

53. We learn from the text that           .

      A. we always do things successfully without help

      B. we should give helping hands to others when they notice

      C. we never receive helping hands when we need

      D. we could get help and we should help others

　　　
B　　
When I was small and my grandmother died I couldn’t understand why I had no tears. But that night when my dad tried to cheer me up, my laugh turned into crying.　　
So it came as no surprise to learn that researchers believe crying and laughing come from the same part of the brain. Just as laughing has many health advantages, scientists are discovering that crying does so, too.　　
Whatever it takes for us to reduce pressure is important to our emotional (情感的) health, and crying seems to be helpful. Study found that 85 percent of women and 73 percent of men report feeling better after crying.　　
Besides, tears attract help from other people. Researchers agree that when we cry, people around us become kinder and more friendly and they are more ready to provide support and comfort. Tears also enable us to understand our emotions better; sometimes we don’t even know we’re very sad until we cry. We learn about our emotions through crying, and then we can deal with them.　　
Just as crying can be healthy, not crying — holding back tears of anger, pain or suffering — can be bad for physical health. Studies have shown that too much control of emotions can lead to high blood pressure, heart problems and some other illnesses. If you have a health problem, doctors will certainly not ask you to cry. But when you feel like crying, don’t fight it. It’s a natural — and healthy — emotional response (反应).　　
59.   Why didn’t the author cry when her grandmother died?　　
A. Because her father did not want her to feel too sad.　　
B. Because she did not love her grandmother.　　
C. Because she was too shy to cry at that time.　　
D. The author doesn’t give the explanation.　　
60.   It can be inferred from the text that ______.　　
A. there are two ways to keep healthy　　
B. crying does more good to health than laughing　　
C. crying and laughing play the same roles　　
D. emotional health has a close relationship to physical health　　
61.   According to the author, which of the following statements is TRUE?　　
A. Crying is the best way to get help from others.　　
B. Fighting back tears may cause some health problems.　　
C. We will never know our deep feelings unless we cry.　　
D. We must cry if we want to reduce pressure.　　
62.   What might be the most suitable title for the text?　　
A. Power of Tears                               B. How to Keep Healthy　　
C. Why Do We Cry                         D. A New Scientific Discovery　　

 (05·安徽B篇)

When I was small and my grandmother died, I couldn’t understand why I had no tears. But that night when my dad tried to cheer me up, my laugh turned into crying.

.   So it came as no surprise to learn that researchers believe crying and laughing come from the same part of the brain. Just as laughing has many health advantages, scientists are discovering that so, too, does crying.

Whatever it takes for us to reduce pressure is important to our emotional (情感的) health, and crying seems to study found that 85 percent of women and 73 percent of men report feeling better after crying.

Besides, tears attract help from other people. Researchers agree that when we cry, people around us become kinder and friendly and they are more ready to provide support and comfort. Tears also enable us to understand our emotions better; sometimes we don't even know we' re very sad until we cry. We learn about our emotions through Crying, and then we can deal with them.

Just as crying can be healthy, not crying — holding back tears of anger, pain or suffering — can be bad for physical (身体的) health, Studies have shown that too much control of emotions can lead to high blood pressure, heart problems and some other illnesses. If you have a health problem, doctors will certainly not ask you to cry. But when you feel like crying, don't fight it. It's a natural  — and healthy — emotional response (反应).

60. Why didn't the author cry when her grandmother died?

A. Because her father did not --ant her to feel too sad.

B. Because she did not love her grandmother.

C. Because she was too shy to cry at that time.

D. Tie author doesn’t give the explanation.

61, It car. be inferred from the text that ______.

A. there are two ways to keep healthy

B. crying does more good to health than laughing

C. crying and laughing play the same roles

D. emotional health has a close relationship to physical health

62. According to the author, which of the following statements is true?

A. Crying is the best way to get help from others.

B. Fighting back tears may cause some health problems.

C. We will never know our deep feelings unless we cry.

D. We must cry if we want to reduce pressure.

63. What might be the most suitable title for the text?

A. Power of Tears                         B. How to Keep Healthy

C. Why We Cry                           D. A New Scientific Discovery