阅读理解

Cats have a long and interesting history．In fact, the cat was probably the first animal kept as a pet．The Egyptians worshiped cats．In Europe cats were praised for their ability to catch rats and mice．They were much in demand during the Black Plague illnesses of the 11^th century．In the Middle Ages cats lost much of their appeal because they became connected with devil worship．Many cats lost their lives and gave rise to superstition(迷信)still held by some people today．The American Indian did not appear to keep cats as pets, so it wasn’t until the white settlers came from Europe that cats were kept as pets in America．The colonists, like the Europeans, found cats helpful in controlling rats and mice．

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　　An ape has a larger brain than any animal except man, though it is much smaller than a man’s brain．Apes all belong to the hot countries of the world－tropical Africa and South－east Asia．

　　The gorilla is the largest of the apes．He is as tall as six feet when standing upright．Many people think that gorillas are very fierce．They are often described as standing upright like a man, beating their fists and roaring．In their home, in the forests of Cetral Africa, however, they are not at all like this, They are peaceful animals and never use their great strength unless attacked．Even then, they retreat if they can．

　　Gorillas have black faces and long, black, hairy coats．They feed during the day on plants and fruit．At night the old male often sleeps on the ground at the foot of a tree, while the others each make a sleeping platform in the tree bending the leafy branches．Besides this, gorillas climb trees very seldom．

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O．Henry was a pen name used by an American writer of short stories．His real name was william Sydney Porter．He was born in North Carolina in 1862．As a young boy he lived an exciting life．He did not go to school for very long, but he managed to teach himself everything he needed to know．When he was about 20 years old, Henry went to Texas, where he tried different jobs．He first worked on a newspaper, and then had a job in a bank When some money went missing from the bank, O．Henry was believed to have stolen it．Because of that, he was sent to prison．During the three years in prison, he learned to write short stories．After he got out of prison, he went to New York and continued writing．He wrote mostly about New York and the life of the poor there．People liked his stories, because simple as the tales were they would finish with a sudden change at the end to the reader’s surprise．

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　　The basenji is a central African hunting dog．It comes from a country called Chad, which is north of the Central African Republic．The basenji was well－known as the“silent dog”because for centuries no basenjis has ever been known to bark(吠)．Then at a dog show in London in 1953, a basenji actually barked．

　　As well as being clever, basenjis are known for their natural courage and are still popular hunting dogs in Africa．But in America people keep them mainly because they are gentle and full of fun．The basenji has an unusual habit, it washes itself all over like a cat．It is a middle－sized dog, 16 or 17 inches high from the shoulder．It weighs about 20 pounds．A basenji’s coat is short and silky．It may be brown, white, or gold, or a mixture of these three colours．

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　　A beautiful and very successful actress was the star of a new musical show．Her home was in the country, but she didn’t want to have to go back there every night, so she rented(租用)an expensive flat in the centre of the city, bought some beautiful furniture(家具)and hired a man to paint the rooms in new colours．

　　It was very difficult to get tickets for her show because everybody wanted to see it, so she decided to give the painter two of the best seats．She hoped that this would make him work better and more willingly for her．He took the tickets without saying anything, and she heard no more about them until the end of the month, when she got the painter’s bill．At the bottom of it were the words“Four hours watching Miss Hall sing and dance, ￡3,”with this note：“After 5 p．m．I get fifteen shillings an hour instead of ten shillings．”

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　　When I lived in Spain, some Spanish friends of mine decided to visit England by car．Before they left, they asked me for advice about how to find accommodation(住所)．I suggested that they should stay at ‘bed and breakfast’ houses, because this kind of accommodation gives a foreign visitor a good chance to speak English with the family．My friends listened to my advice, but they came back with some funny stories．

　　“We didn’t stay at bed and breakfast houses,”they said,“because we found that most families were away on holiday．”

　　I thought this was strange．Finally I understood what had happened．My friends spoke little English, and they thought ‘VACANCIES’ meant ‘holidays’, because the Spanish word for ‘holidays’ is ‘vacaciones’．So they did not go to house where the sign outside said

　　‘VACANCLES’, which in English means there are free rooms．Then my friends went to house where the sign said ‘NO VACANCLES’, because they thought this meant the people who owned the house were not away on holiday．But they found that these houses were all full．As a result, they stayed at hotels!

　　We laughed about this and about mistakes my friends made in reading other signs．In Spanish, the word ‘DIVERSION’ means fun．In English, it means that workmen are repairing the road, and that you must take a different road．When my friends saw the word ‘DIVERSION’ on a road sign, they thought they were going to have fun．Instead, the road ended in a large hold．

　　English people have problems too when they learn foreign languages．Once in Paris．when someone offered me some more．coffee, I said ‘Thank you’ in French．I meant that I would like some more, However, to my surprise the coffee pot was taken away!Later I found out that ‘Thank you’ in French means ‘Mo, thank you．’

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　　In a very real sense, people who have read good literature have lived more than people who cannot or will not read．To have read Gulliver’s Travels is to have had the experience of listening to Jonathan Swift, of learning about man’s inhumanity(残酷)to man．To read Huckleberry Finn is to feel what it is like to drift(漂流)down the Mississippi River on a raft(木排)．To have read Byron is to have suffered his rebellions with him and to have enjoyed his nose－thumbing at(对……的蔑视)society．To have read Native Son is to know how it feels to be frustrated(受挫折)in the particular way in which Blacks in Chicago are frustrated．This is effective Communication(交流)．It enables us to feel how others felt about life, even if they lived thousands of miles away and centuries age．It is not true that“We have only one life to live．”If we read, we can live as many more lives and as many kinds of lives as we wish．

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　　Can trees talk?Yes, but not in words．Scientists have reason to believe that trees do communicate(交际)with each other．Not long ago, researchers learned some surprising things．First a willow tree attacked in the woods by caterpillars(毛虫)changed the chemistry of its leaves and made them taste so terrible that they got tired of the leaves and stopped eating them．Then even more astonishing, the tree sent out a special smell－a signal(信号)causing its neighbors to change the chemistry of their own leaves and make them less tasty．

　　Communication, of course, doesn’t need to be in words．We can talk to each other by smiling, raising our shoulders and moving our hands．We know that birds and animals use a whole vocabulary of songs, sounds, and movements．Bees dance their signals, flying in certain patterns that tell other bees where to find nectar(花蜜)for honey．So why shouldn’t trees have ways of sending message?

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　　The blue eyes that looked at him from outside the door were like the light through a magnifying glass(放大镜)when it is at its brightest and smallest, when paper and leaves begin to smoke．

　　“Hey,”said the man in the door．“Remember me?”

　　“Yes,”the boy said, whispering．“Rick．”

　　He felt so surprised to see Rick．All of Rick seemed to be shown in the eyes, with a strong feeling that ought to have hurt him

　　“You knew me,”Rick said．“You hadn’t forgotten．”

　　“You’re——just the same,”the boy said, and felt much thankful．

　　He seemed even to be wearing the same clothes, the same blue shirt and grey trousers．He was thin, but he was built to be lean; and he was still, or again, sunburnt(晒黑了)．After everything, the slow white smile still showed the slight feeling of happiness．

　　“Let’s look at you,”Rick said, dropping into a chair．Then slowly he felt more at home, and he became once more just Rick, as if nothing had happened．There were lines about his eyes, and deeper lines on his cheeks(面颊)，but he looked like——just Rick, lined by sunlight and smiling．

　　“When I look at you,”he said,“You make me think about me, for we look like each other．”

　　“Yes,”said the boy, eagerly,“they all think we both look like my grandfather．”

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　　Maliyuwa, a nearby village．They lived with the man’s big family－his parents his brothers, their wives and children．They family kept an elephant, in which the young woman soon took a great interest．Every day she fed it with fruit and sugar．

　　Three months later the woman went back to her parents’ home, having quarrelled with her husband．Soon the elephant refused to eat and work．It appeared to be ill and heart－broken．One morning after several weeks the animal disappeared from the house．

　　It went to the woman’s home．On seeing her, the elephant waved its trunk and touched her with it．The young woman was so moved(感动)by the act of the animal that she returned to her husband’s home．

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