Kittens are universally adorable, but what about when they grow up? Senior cats historically get adopted much less than young cats and kittens whose nonstop funny behaviour is hard to pass up. As a result, many older cats who have no health problems end up being euthanized (安乐死) at overcrowded shelters. In one English town, though, they’re living their best lives in a retirement village built just for them.

    After the staff at Shropshire Cat Rescue grew saddened by watching older cats live out their last years stuck in small pens, they decided to build the retirement village featuring six luxury wooden houses as well as the “Moggie Mansion” in 2009. Each wooden house can hold four cats with room to spare. The mansion acts as a sort of community room for when the cats want to mix with their old buddies.

    While having space to roam around outside during their waking hours, the cats also have no shortage of doting (溺爱的) humans prepared to give lots of pets or offer a lap for the senior cats to sit in. In fact, the rescue runs a program bringing both adults and children in to read books to the cats.

    Along with their comfortable accommodations and all the social time they could desire, the senior cats are weighed each week and get a vet visit if there is ever a concern about their health. This great care has led to some pet surrenders (弃养) by elder cat owners who can’t tend to their pet’s needs and want to ensure their beloved animal companions live well for the rest of their days.

    Along with the 20 or so senior cats, Shropshire Cat Rescue also has free-roaming cats and a kitten nursery as part of their active adoption program. As pleasant as their current retirement village is, the rescue is hoping to raise enough money to move to a 10-acre plot and expand their facilities including their beloved senior village.

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1.What does the underlined word “them” in the first paragraph refer to?

A Kittens.

B Young cats.

C Senior cats.

D Sick cats.

解析：选C。C词意指代题。根据前文第二、三句提到，老年猫被收养的次数比小猫少得多，许多没有健康问题的老猫最终在拥挤的收容所被安乐死。再结合划线单词所在句前面的though表转折，可知本句谈到的a retirement village就是为前文提到的老年猫修建的。故选C。

2.Which question can the second paragraph answer?

A Who came up with the idea of helping senior cats?

B Why was the retirement village built?

C How was the retirement village known to people?

D How many cats are there in the mansion?

解析：选B。B细节理解题。根据第二段第一句的“After the staff at Shropshire Cat Rescue grew saddened by watching older cats live out their last years stuck in small pens, they decided to build the retirement village”可知，什罗普郡猫救援组织的工作人员看到年长的猫被困在小围栏里度过生命的最后时光，他们感到非常难过，于是他们决定在2009年建造一个猫咪养老院。故选B。

3.Why do some kids come to the retirement village?

A To adopt the cats.

B To care for the cats.

C To accompany and pet the cats.

D To improve the cats’ accommodations.

解析：选C。C细节理解题。根据第三段的“the cats also have no shortage of doting (溺爱的) humans prepared to give lots of pets or offer a lap for the senior cats to sit in. In fact, the rescue runs a program bringing both adults and children in to read books to the cats.”这里的猫也不缺少来自人类的宠爱，人们会爱抚这些老年猫，并且也会让这些猫坐在膝盖；该救援组织开展了一个项目，让成年人和孩子都来给猫读书。由此可知，孩子们来这里是为了陪伴和爱抚这些猫咪。故选C。

4.What is the purpose of the passage?

A To warn.

B To introduce.

C To predict.

D To educate.

解析：选B。B推理判断题。本文主要介绍了一个英国一救援组织救助无家可归和被遗弃的猫，并建立猫咪养老院为老年猫提供晚年照顾。故选B。