Cats can be a lot of ________ when they are kept at home.

[　　]

A．trouble　　B．troubles　　C．the troubles

We were doing the best to control the fire of the burning garage (车库). Outside, I heard the sounds of cats crying. I couldn’t stop—I would have to look for the cats after the fire was put out.

    It took a long time to finally bring the big fire under control. No one inside was hurt. At that point I was free to find out where the cat noises were from. There was still a lot of smoke and heat coming from the building. I followed the meowing to the sidewalk in front of the garage. There, crying and huddled (挤作一团) together, were five frightened kittens (小猫). They must have been inside the building, as their fur was badly hurt.

    I wanted to find the mother cat. It was clear that she had gone into the burning garage and carried out all her babies, one by one—unbelievable.

    We finally found her. Her paws and face were blackened, and her fur was burned all over. You could even see her reddened skin under the burned fur. She could hardly move. I picked her up, and she relaxed in my arms as much as her pain would allow. I decided to save this brave little cat and her family.

    The vet told me they would watch the kittens and their mother for the night, but they weren’t confident about the mother’s chances.

    About a week later, I found out she was going to live. We named her Scarlet because of her reddened skin.

    I was happy to see Scarlet get together with the kittens again. She touched each of them, nose to nose. She had been in danger for five times and it had paid off. All of her babies had survived.

    As a fireman, I see heroic acts every day. But what Scarlet showed me that day was the kind of bravery that can only come from a mother’s love.

1.Which of the following is TRUE according to the story?

A. The writer went to look for the cats as soon as he heard them crying.

B. The firefighters put out the fire quickly and no one was hurt.

C. The writer didn’t find the cats until the smoke and heat were gone.

D. The mother cat moved all her babies out of the fire to a safe place.

2.Why did the writer decide to save the cats?

A. Because he was amazed at the mother cat’s courage.

B. Because the cats attracted many people’s attention.

C. Because he didn’t want to see any living things die.

D. Because it had taken him much time and effort to save them.

3.The writer talks about the cat’s story to show that ________________.

A. animals should be taken good care of

B. mother’s love can be great and brave

C. it is meaningful to help others

D. a cat always has nine lives

 

As we know, there are differences between western culture and Chinese culture. We can see differences when we pay attention to the way words are used. Let’s look at the words about animals and plants. Most expressions in Chinese about the dog, for example, “a homeless dog”, “a mad dog”, “a running dog” and “a dog catching a mouse” have negative(消极的) meanings. But in western countries, dogs are thought to be honest and good friends of humans. In English, people use the dog to describe positive(积极的) actions. For example, “you are a lucky dog” means you are a lucky person. And “every dog has its day” means each person has good luck sometimes. To describe a person’s serious illness, they say “sick as a dog”. The word “dog-tired” means very tired. However, Chinese love cats very much. But in western culture, “cat” is often used to describe a woman who is cruel(残酷的)。

The rose is regarded as a symbol (象征) of love in both China and some western countries. People think the rose means love, peace, courage and friendship. And the rose is the national flower of England, America and many other countries.

The words about plants and animals are used in positive or negative ways in different cultures. We can learn about many differences in cultures by comparing how some words are used.

1.“Every dog has its day.” Means “__________”

A．Everybody in the world is lucky.

B．Each person lives his own way of life.

C．If one works hard, he’s sure to succeed.

D．Everybody has a time in life to be lucky.

2.Western people usually use “cat” to refer to “___________”.

A．a tired person

B．a brave man

C．a homeless person

D．an unkind woman

3.Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A．Words show differences in culture.

B．Chinese people prefer dogs to cats.

C．Western people think cats to be good friends.

D．Rose is the national flower of all western countries.

4.What’s the best title for the passage?

A．Negative or Positive

B．Different Countries Have Different Culture

C．Rose Means the Same in Chinese and English

D．What Dog and Cat Mean in English and Chinese

 

When it rains, do your shoes get wet? Of course they do! But you can buy these pretty red and white “Umbrella for Shoes”. They keep the rain off wet.
Who sweeps the floor at your home? Do you do it yourself? Perhaps your mother does it. Well, now you just need a cat. Get a cat and buy these four “Dusters (抹布)for Cats ”.
You talk too long on the phone, don’t you? Most teenagers do! Save time – buy the “Telephone Dumb–bell (哑铃)”! It weighs five kilos. Then your calls will be less than five minutes.
Do your friends sometimes come up behind you and make you jump? Do cars come around the corner when you try to cross the road? Well, you can solve that problem with these modern “Forward – backward Glasses.” Look forward with the right eye and back with the left.
【小题1】Which of the following pictures is the right order to match the text?

A．d; a; b; c

B．b; a; c; d

C．d; a; c; b

D．b; d; a; c

【小题2】From the text, we know that cats can help mother to _________.

A．do some housework	B．keep the rain off
C．speak on the phone	D．look for something

【小题3】The text seems to tell us that we can solve some problems with the four _______.

A．drawings

B．inventions

C．animals

D．shoes