In the African country of Tanzania, a company from Belgium called APOPO trains African giant pouched rats(非洲巨袋鼠) to find dangerous land mines(地雷)left over from wars. The rats are trained to smell out some of the chemicals in the mines. After 8-12 months of training, the rat can find mines so they can be safely destroyed.

       Trained dogs often perform this important work, but APOPO director Bart Weetjens recently discovered that the African giant pouched rat costs far less money to train and care for. These rats may seem huge. Their bodies are 12 to16 inches long, not including their tails. But their size suits the job: At one and a half to 3 pounds, they are too light to set off the land mines.

       Rats and trainers search one small area at a time. When a rat smells mines, it lets the trainers know by pawing(用爪子抓)at the dirt in that spot. The trainers mark each spot on a map. Later, technicians explode the mines safely. In the African country of Mozambique, nearly half the population is younger than 15 years old. A lot of kids are in danger as they play or work.

       “In the town of Vilanculos, children had been playing on the football field, until there was an accident,” Bart Weetjens said. APOPO rats and trainers helped other organizations make the area safe. “The football field has been opened again, and there is no danger any more,” Weetjens said.

       About 80 million land mines are buried out of sight in more than 60 countries around the world. As APOPO’s program grows, the rat heroes might travel the globe!

1．The underlined word “they” (Para. 1) refers to_____.

       A．the trainers                     B．the mines                C．the wars                 D．the rats

2．Why are rats chosen to be trained to find the land mines?

       A．They are native to Africa                      B．They are smarter than dogs

       C．They are cheap to keep and train           D．They are quick to escape from danger

3．What is the task of the rats in the job?

       A．To mark a map                                    B．To find the mines

       C．To set off the mines                             D．To paw at the ground

4．What happened on the football field in Vilanculos?

       A．A land mine exploded                           B．A player was injured during the training

       C．The children were attracted by the rats  D．The villagers tried to get the field back

Scientists in Colombia have trained a team of rats to help remove land mines from the countryside. Land mines are small bombs hidden in the ground and designed to explode(爆炸) when someone steps on them.
When trained, the rats can smell special metals in the mines and then signal(发信号) to their human team. Then why use rats for such an important job?
In the past, dogs have been used to find bombs. Rats have a good sense of smell and can respond to orders, just like dogs do. But rats are much lighter than dogs. They stand less of a chance of setting off the mines, which explode under a certain amount of weight. What’s more, the best rats are cheaper to keep than dogs. It costs about the same amount of money to take care of one dog as it does 70 rats.
The rats have already been used in Tanzania, an African country with many land mines. Luisa Fernanda Méndez and her team in Colombia are training the even lighter Wistar rats. These are the white rats with red eyes that scientists often use in laboratory experiments. “They even train their babies to perform their jobs, which saves us a lot of time, ” Méndez said.
Colombia has the second-highest rate(比率) of deaths from land mine accidents in the world. Last year, land mines killed 695 people — 56 of whom were children. A criminal group called the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, as well as other organizations, have placed the mines. FARC are strongly against Colombia’s government. The group has placed mines all around its own bases and in many places in the countryside.
In the past, the Colombian government hired peasants and poor farmers to find mines. Many of them died trying to find the well-hidden bombs.
Colombian police official Erick Guzmán hopes the team of rats can come to the rescue(援救). “These rats will be a great help,” he said.
【小题1】How do rats help to find land mines?

A. Adults keep pets with their children
B. Pet keeping has a very long history
C. Pet-keeping may do hard to animals
D. People keeps pet for their aesthetic need
E. Caged pets become increasingly popular
F. Pet-keeping is helpful for children’s growths
【小题1】___________ 
Pet-keeping is a time-honored tradition. One of the reasons for people to raise to raise dogs or cows was usefulness. While people in the past hunted animals and kept them in their backyards, the civilized man today is less cruel towards them and is less exploitative(利用的).
【小题2】___________ 
We keep animals as pets because they are attractive. We all have the urge to possess something that has aesthetic value, and that is why we treasure paintings or fine furniture. Keeping pets is one form of this urge. A Siamese cat in the house can be a decorative objective. Pets are playful animals and they amuse us. A little rabbit amuses us by its playful and lively runs.
【小题3】___________ 
Many parents find it helpful to have pets in  their house and for their children. Having pets is an excellent way of developing in children the love of animals and responsibility. Children get the opportunity to take on full responsibility for another creature’s life. It will be an educational experience for a child to watch the natural life cycle of an animal. There are psychological benefits for children. Pets are welcome friends for children who are lonely. Pets are excellent companions. Keeping pets means giving love and being loved. We find comfort in giving care and receiving care in return. We get pleasure from their appreciation and their behavior.
【小题4】 ___________ 
As more people move into apartments, there are limitations on keeping of animals like dogs and monkeys. Therefore, caged animals have increased in popularity. Birds fall into this type. We keep them for their beautiful songs and feathers. Fishing keeping is a widespread hobby and the keeper can observe their behavior in the glass tank and study its entire life cycle. The cat is a fine house pet and it fits neatly into human habitation(居住地) without requiring its own cage. They are wonderful hunters, if there are rats around.
【小题5】___________ 
Pets satisfy man’s desire to care for a bit of nature. The pet owner has the responsibility for supplying those needs nature provides. Pets are amusing and entertaining, but we are in a way doing animals harm by making them live in a human environment. Are we not enslaving(奴役)them?

阅读填空

61.______________B

Pet keeping is a time honored tradition. One of the reasons for people to raise dogs or cow's was usefulness. While people in the past hunted animals and kept them in their backyards, the civilized man today is less cruel towards them and is less exploitative (利用的).

62.___________D

We keep animals as pets because they are attractive. We all have the urge to possess something that has aesthetic(美学的) value, and that is why we treasure paintings or fine furniture. Keeping pets is one form of this urge. A Sjamese cat in the house can be a decorative object. Pets are playful animals and they amuse us. A little rabbit amuses us by its playful and lively runs.

63._________F

Many parents find it helpful to have pets in the house for their children. Having pets is an excel lent way of developing in children the love of animals and responsibility. Children get the opportunity to take on full responsibility for another creature’s life. It will be an educational experience for a child to watch the natural life cycle of an animal, '['here arc psychological (心理的) benefits for children. Pets are welcome friends for children who are lonely. Pets are excellent companions. Keeping pets means giving love and being loved. We find comfort in giving care and receiving care in return. We get pleasure from their appearance and their behavior.

64.____________E

As more people move into apartments, there are limitations on keeping of animals like dogs and monkeys. Therefore, caged animals have increased in popularity. Birds fall into this group. We keep them for their beautiful songs and feathers. Fish keeping is a widespread hobby and the keeper can observe their behavior in the tank and study its entire life cycle. The cat is a fine house pet and it fits neatly into human habitation (居住地) without requiring its own cage. They are wonderful hunters, if there are rats around

65.____________C

Pets satisfy man’s desire to care for a bit of nature. The pet owner has the responsibility for supplying those needs that nature provides. Pets are amusing and entertaining, but we are in a way doing animals harm by making them live in a human environment. Are we not enslaving（奴役）them?

American researchers found females are the more talkative sex because of a special “language protein(蛋白质)” in the brain.

??? The study, conducted by neuroscientists (神经学家)and psychologist from the University of Maryland, concluded that women talked more because they had more of the Foxp2 protein. The research, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, found that higher levels were found among humans that were women but in rats that were males. Their findings came after it was previously claimed that ladies speak about 20,000 words a day – over 13,000 more than men. “This study is one of the first to report a sex difference in the expression of a language-associated protein in humans or animals,” said Prof Margaret McCarthy, who led the study. In their study, the researchers attempted to determine what might make male rats more vocal than their female friends.

They separated four-day-old rats from their mothers and then counted the number of times they cried out in the “ultrasonic range”, the frequencies higher than humans can hear, over five minutes. While both sexes called out hundreds of cries, the males called out twice as often, they found. But when the pups were returned to their mother’s cage, she fussed over her sons first. Tests conducted on the parts of the brain known to be associated with vocalcalls showed the male pups have up to twice as much Foxp2 protein as the females. The researchers then increased the production in the brains of female pups and reduced it in males. This led to the female rats crying out more often and their mothers showing more interest to them. In contrast, males became less “talkative”.

??? The researchers then tested samples from ten children, aged between three and five, which showed that females had up to 30 per cent more of the Foxp2 protein than males, in a brain area key to language in humans.

??? “Based on our observations, we assume higher levels of Foxp2 in girls and higher levels of Foxp2 in male rats is an indication that Foxp2 protein levels are associated with the more communicative sex,” said Prof McCarthy. “Our results imply Foxp2 as a component of the neurobiological basis of sex differences in vocal communication in mammals. “

1.From the second paragraph, we can learn that ________.

A. women always speak more words than men

B. men and male rats have low levels of language protein

C. women and male rats have similar levels of Foxp2

D. McCarthy isn’t the first to find females more talkative

2.The underlined phrase “fussed over” in the third paragraph probably means______.

A. paid attention to????????????? ????????????? B. related to????????????? ????????????? C. put pressure on????????????? ????????????? D. counted on

3.The researchers carried out the experiments on rats in order to _______.

A. test which part of the brain is key to language in rats and humans

B. prove the levels of Foxp2 protein in humans and rats are different

C. determine the reason why female rats are more talkative than male rats

D. discover the association between Foxp2 protein and vocal communication

4.Which of the following can be the best title for the passage ?

A. Tests on humans and rats ????????????? ??? ????????????? ?????????????

B. Why women are the talkative sex

C. Sex differences in Foxp2 protein????????????? ????????????? ?????????????

D. Foxp2 protein determines oral ability