Everybody hates rats. But in the earthquake places of the world – Japan, Los Angeles, Turkey – rats will soon be man’s new best friends.
What happens after an earthquake? We send in rescue(救援) dogs. Why? Because they can smell people. Dogs save lives. They help rescuers to find living people. But dogs are big and they can’t get into small spaces. So now a new research project is using a smaller animal to save lives: the rat.
How does it work? First, the rat is trained to smell people. When this happens, the rat’s brain gives a signal. This is sent to a small radio on its back, and then the rescuers follow the radio signals. When the rat’s brain activity jumps, the rescuers know that someone is alive. The rat has smelled that person.
Although there are already robots which can do this job, rats are better. Christian Linster at Cornell University, New York, says, “ ‘Robot’ noses don’t work well when there are other smells around. Rats are good at that.” Rats can also see in the dark. They are cheaper and quicker to train than dogs, and unlike robots, they don’t need electricity.
The “ rat project” is not finished, but Julie Ryan of International Rescue Corps in Scotland says, “ It would be fantastic. A rat would get into spaces we couldn’t get to and a rat would get out if it wasn’t safe.” Perhaps for the first time in history, people will be happy to see a rat in a building ( but only after an earthquake, of course.)
【小题1】In the earthquake places, rats will become man’s best friends because they can __________.

Last Friday, a Tibetan(藏族的) postman became the first woman postal worker to give a speech at the World Postal Meeting in Bern, the capital of Switzerland. She was Nima Lamu, a postwoman of Yunling Post office, Yunnan Province.
She said, “I had to cross the Lancang River along a steel wire. My younger brother nearly died in the river before. I felt so afraid when I was asked for the first time to cross the river. But when I reached the other side, I found that I was flying.”
Her area is locked in (封闭) two snowy mountains and three big rivers. She said, “:What worries me most is the snakes on the way. Sometimes, I throw little stones toward them and I often tell my self ‘Keep going’. ”
Ten years ago, it took Nima five days to finish each week’s mail. She had to face snowstorms, floods, snakes and loneliness on her 350-kilometer journey. Nima said, “The situation has developed a lot these years. Now we have a bridge that was built across the Lancang River in 2006.”
Nima never dreamed she would become famous one day when she first look up her job, 12 years ago. Changes have been seen in recent years as more tourists visit Nima’s hometown. But one thing remains unchanged: she is still the carrier of the villagers’ hopes and dreams.
【小题1】Nima was invited to the meeting in Bern because she was _________.

A．he once fell into the river.	B．He was killed by a snake.
C．He died when swimming in the river.	D．He got hurt when building the bridge.