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It’s clear from the English language that rats don’t have the best reputation in our culture. Rats are seen as dirty, evil and the spreaders of disease including the plague, which in the 14th century caused the deaths of more than a third of Europe’s population.

However, a recent study has found that it was humans rather than rats that were responsible for the spread of the Black Death.

Instead, today in parts of Africa rats are helping to save lives and fight disease. Rats could be trained to react to the smell of explosives, making them be able to find landmines(地雷). The finding of landmines is usually an expensive business, and countries often lack the resources to carry out the time-consuming and hard work. A human using a metal detector would spend 25 hours searching a 200-square-meter area, while a rat can do the same work in 20 minutes. Not only are rats cheaper than dogs, they are also light enough that they don’t set off the landmines.

And it’s not just landmines. Rats can also smell out specific tuberculosis(肺结核). Every year, three million people infected by TB go undiagnosed and therefore do not receive the care they need. The trained rats can screen 100 samples in 20 minutes, a task that would take a lab technician four days.

Apart from the above, their owners will tell you, they also are your good pets. Pets4Homes points out that contrary to their reputation, rats are clean animals and spend more time cleaning themselves than cats.

1.How do people usually feel about rats?

A Brave and kind.

B Dirty and evil.

C Cute and lively.

D Humorous and funny.

解析：选B。细节理解题。根据第一段第二句Rats are seen as dirty, evil and the spreaders of disease including the plague, which in the 14th century caused the deaths of more than a third of Europe’s population.可知人们通常认为老鼠是脏的、邪恶的，故选B。

2.What does the underlined word “time-consuming” mean in Chinese?

A 长时的.

B 短时的.

C 耗时的.

D 省时的.

解析：选C。词义猜测题。根据前面的lack the resources和后面的A human using a metal detector would spend 25 hours searching a 200-square-meter area可知政府缺乏资源来处理这项工作，且，检查200平方米就需要花费一个人25个小时，因此是耗时的，故选C。

3.Why are rats a better choice to clear the landmine?

A Because they are light and cheap.

B Because they work fast and well.

C Because they smell better and work fast.

D Because they are clean and nice.

解析：选A。细节理解题。根据第三段最后一句Not only are rats cheaper than dogs, they are also light enough that they don’t set off the landmines.可知老鼠比狗便宜而且重量轻不会触发引爆地雷，因此是更好的选择，故选A。

4.How many TB samples can a lab technician work out each day?

A 25.

B 50.

C 75.

D 100.

解析：选A。数字计算题。根据第四段最后一句The trained rats can screen 100 samples in 20 minutes, a task that would take a lab technician four days.可知老鼠工作20分钟可以检测100个肺结核样本，这个量实验室技术人员需要花费4天的时间才能完成，因此实验室工作人员每天可以检测25个样本，故选A。

5.What is the main idea of this passage?

A Rats can work faster than people.

B Rats are as bad as we usually think.

C Rats can help people to cure disease.

D A better reputation the rats should have.

解析：选D。主旨大意题。根据文章内容老鼠声名狼藉，但是实际上老鼠不仅不脏，还爱干净并且可以从很多方面帮助人们，前后形成对比，因此本文主旨为老鼠应该获得更好的名声，故选D。