Although cats may be one of the most popular pets today, little is known about how and when humans and cats set up their close relationship.

The earliest evidence for human–cat interaction dates back to prehistoric Cyprus（史前塞浦路斯）, where the remains of a wild cat and a human — dated 9,500 years old — were found buried together.

A new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has confirmed the first direct evidence of a human–domestic cat relationship among Chinese farmers 5,300 years ago. Researchers studied the bones of cats, dogs, deer and other animals unearthed in an excavation (挖掘) near a village in Central China. By using some ways, scientists showed that the cats were living on a mostly millet(黍)–based diet, just like the domesticated dogs and pigs from the site.

"The most reasonable explanation for a high consumption of millet–based food is that the cats had formed a stable and mutual relationship with humans and could easily feed on rodents (啮齿动物) around human villages, find leftover food or even have been fed by people intentionally," said Hu Yaowu from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, whose research focuses on the relationship between humans and domesticated animals.

"It is very interesting for us to find the consumption of millet-based foods by the cats, since this kind of evidence had long been missing.” Hu explains. Since cats usually eat meat, such a diet would be unexpected, unless the cats were being fed by people, the study argues. The researchers also found that one of the cats survived to reach old age, implying that it had a safe place to live and enough to eat.

Why the farmers wanted to keep cats nearby or make them "pets" could be answered by other evidence. Chinese archaeologists found some storage containers were specifically designed to keep out rodents — a vermin (害兽) that cats could certainly have helped with.

The simplified theory is that rats were attracted to the food of farmers, and so were harmful to farmers. Cats were attracted to the rats, and so farmers formed a mutually beneficial relationship with cats, taking care of them in return for pest control.

1.The evidence found in the remains dating back to prehistoric Cyprus means ??????? .

A. human made cats pets as early as 9,500 years ago

B. human interacted with cats very early

C. cats didn’t appear until prehistoric Cyprus

D. when cats became domesticated

2.Apart from cats, Hu Yaowu and his teams may also study ??????? .

A. the preventions of pests from grains

B. the history of Chinese farming

C. the dogs and pigs

D. the ways to keep pets

3.Which of the following is NOT the evidence of Chinese farms’ keeping cats?

A. Cats didn’t feed on meat.

B. The cats consumed large amounts of millet–based foods.

C. One of the cats survived to reach old age.

D. Some storage containers were specifically designed to keep out rodents.

4.What are the reasons for farmers to keep cats?

A. Helping keep other domesticated animals.

B. Not letting cats eat food.

C. Supplying meat for human.

D. Helping reduce the amount of pests.

5.In which part of a newspaper would be the passage most probably appear? ??????? .

A. Entertainment?????????????????????????? ????????????? B. Environment

C. Human and Science????????????????????? ????????????? D. Life and fashion

Cats are very smart. They are one of the smartest animals. The brain of a cat is large.  It is highly developed. This may be why cats have good memories. Cats remember kindness and cruelty. It is a good idea to treat a cat well. Cats can “speak” too. They meow for attention. Often they stand by a door. Then they meow. Then they look over their shoulders. They want to see if their owners are coming. Cats make other noises also. They purr(猫发出的咕噜声)when they are happy. They hiss when they are angry.

Cats have a lot of pride. They don’t usually do silly tricks. Almost all cats want to have their own way. They are mostly true to only one person. They don’t switch loyalty easily. Cats were free in the wild. They want to stay that way. They like to be their own masters. When a cat is left alone, it can go back to caring for itself. It can live in the wild again. This is different from dogs. Dogs will switch their loyalty. At one time dogs were loyal to the leaders of their packs. Now, they will transfer allegiance(忠诚)to their owner. They do not like to be alone.

With kindness, a cat can be trained. Cats can learn to do many things. Some cats can learn to open doors. Some can ring doorbells. Some can even turn on water tap. Then they take a drink. Cats are very smart. Before drinking, they put a paw in the water. They test whether the water is hot or cold.

1.What is the best title for this passage?

A．The Difference Between Dogs and Cats.      B．The Characteristics of Cats.

C． Loyal Animals.                         D． How to Keep Cats?

2.It’s interesting to have cats around ourselves because ________.

A.they always switch their loyalty    B. they like to do silly tricks

C. they will hiss when they are happy  D they are smart and have good memories

3.The last paragraph mainly shows that ________.

A．cats can test whether the water is cold or not

B．cats know how to turn on the water tap

C．cats are smart

D．cats know how to open a door

Cats are very smart. They are one of the smartest animals. The brain of a cat is large.  It is highly developed. This may be why cats have good memories. Cats remember kindness and cruelty. It is a good idea to treat a cat well. Cats can “speak” too. They meow for attention. Often they stand by a door. Then they meow. Then they look over their shoulders. They want to see if their owners are coming. Cats make other noises also. They purr(猫发出的咕噜声)when they are happy. They hiss when they are angry.
Cats have a lot of pride. They don’t usually do silly tricks. Almost all cats want to have their own way. They are mostly true to only one person. They don’t switch loyalty easily. Cats were free in the wild. They want to stay that way. They like to be their own masters. When a cat is left alone, it can go back to caring for itself. It can live in the wild again. This is different from dogs. Dogs will switch their loyalty. At one time dogs were loyal to the leaders of their packs. Now, they will transfer allegiance(忠诚)to their owner. They do not like to be alone.
With kindness, a cat can be trained. Cats can learn to do many things. Some cats can learn to open doors. Some can ring doorbells. Some can even turn on water tap. Then they take a drink. Cats are very smart. Before drinking, they put a paw in the water. They test whether the water is hot or cold.
【小题1】What is the best title for this passage?

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　Tim was born after his elder brother and sister．He could learn many things from them．Soon，he developed his own way of doing things by developing his mind through his interest in creating stones．He would read more than most children and he gathered his inspiration from history books．In school，his athletic interests were basketball and track，especially high jump．When he found he could jump a little higher than most students，he decided that jumping over a high bar would be his specialty．

　　Tim continued his learning interest in history which included serious college study，and a Master's degree．He is now a university professor at a small university in Los Angeles．In he United States there are many schools that have history departments．There are large universities with as many as 60 thousand students and small universities with as few as 2000 students．His degree from a large university with a strong history department has helped him get a good job．

　　Tim and Kelli like cats．They have two of them and they are special members of the family．Their grey and white cat is Toby．The coal black colored cat is called Buddha because he sits so quietly．Cats are popular with many people In America．

1．which of the following statements is true？

[　　]

A．Tim is the second child in his family．

B．Tim has a younger sister．

C．Tim is the third child in his family．

D．Tim is the only child in his family．

2．What was he good at when he was at school？

[　　]

3．We can infer from the above passage that________．

[　　]

A．all the Americans like to keep cats

B．the cat is called Buddha because he is always quiet

C．the population of a small university is only one third of that of thelargest one

D．it is easier for a graduate from a large university with a famous department to do job hunting