猫和狗，谁更聪明？

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

The debate whether dogs or cats are the smartest pet has begun decades ago, if not centuries. But a new idea is sure to ruffle the cat lovers, new research shows that dogs are more intelligent than their cats after all.
Experts showed that dogs have more than twice as many brain cells in a region linked with thinking, planning and other advanced behaviours. The researchers, from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, say how many neurons an animal's brain has is a character of intelligence. Researchers found that dogs possess around 530 million neurons, while cats only have around 250 million. By comparison, a human brain has around 16 billion neurons. “I believe the absolute number of neurons an animal has determines their internal mental state and their ability to predict what is about to happen in their environment based on past experience,” study lead author Dr Herculano-Houzel said. 
The researchers found that bigger brains do not necessarily mean more neurons. The brain of a kind of dog which can help people hunt was found to have more neurons than a brown bear, for example, despite being three times smaller. In terms of brain size, one of the most intelligent animals was found to be a raccoon. “They have a fairly small brain, but they have as many neurons as you would expect to find… and that's a lot of neurons.”
The team warns that intelligence is a subjective measurement, meaning their study doesn't conclusively show that dogs are smarter than cats. Dr Herculano-Houzel added, “At least, we now have some biology that people can factor into their discussions about who’s smarter, cats or dogs.”

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1.What does the underlined word “ruffle” mean?

A Annoy.

B Excite.

C Help.

D Encourage.

解析：选A。词义推测题。 根据第一段最后一句的new research shows that dogs are more intelligent than their cats after all可以得知新的研究表明“狗更加聪明”,这肯定会让爱猫人士感到很生气，因此ruffle的意思为“恼怒（annoy）”。 故选A。

2.How did Dr Herculano-Houzel determine the intelligence of dogs?

A The difficulty of their behaviours.

B The difference of their characters.

C The place where they often live.

D The number of neurons they have.

解析：选D。细节理解题。根据第二段第二句的The researchers, from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, say how many neurons(神经元) an animal's brain has is a character of intelligence可以得知动物大脑中神经元的数量决定了动物的聪明程度，这也是Dr Herculano-Houzel判断小狗更加聪明的依据。故选D。

3.Why are raccoons considered as one of the most intelligent animals?

A They have fairly small brains.

B They have a lot of neurons.

C They can think by themselves.

D They really have large weight.

解析：选B。细节理解题。根据第三段最后一句的They have a fairly small brain， but they have as many neurons as you would expect to find…可以得知浣熊有很多的神经元，这是他们被认为成聪明动物的原因。故选B。

4.Who would be interested in the article?

A The teachers.

B The drivers.

C The pet-lovers.

D The students.

解析：选C。推理判断题。文章讲述的是哪种动物更加聪明，并且人们争论了很久，因此肯定动物爱好者对这篇文章感兴趣。故选C。