Do you know why the 12 Chinese zodiac (生肖) animals are in their fixed order from Rat to Pig?

The order of the 12 signs is popularly explained by a myth about when the Jade Emperor (玉皇大帝) wanted to select 12 animals to be his guards. All creatures on Earth were called to participate in a race. The earlier one went through the Heavenly Gate, the better the rank one would have.

▲Rat and Ox got up very early. On the way to the Gate, Rat jumped onto the back of the Ox to cross the river. He won first place by suddenly jumping down from Ox’s back and running to the feet of the Emperor quickly when they were near to the Heavenly Gate. Ox was second.

▲Tiger and Rabbit came third and fourth because both were fast and competitive, but Tiger was faster.

▲Good-looking Dragon was fifth and was immediately noticed by the Jade Emperor, who said Dragon’s son could be sixth. Just then, Snake came forward and said Dragon was his adoptive father; so Snake ranked sixth.

▲Horse and Goat arrived. They were very kind and modest and each let the other go first. They were ranked seventh and eighth.

▲Monkey had fallen well behind. But he jumped between trees and stones, and caught up to be ninth. Last were Rooster, Dog, and Pig.

Why is the cat not one of the 12 zodiac animals? It is said that Cat and Rat got as far as crossing the river together on Ox’s back, but Rat pushed Cat into the water. Cat was washed away and didn’t get to the Heavenly Gate in time to get a ranking. After that a great enmity (仇恨) grew between Cat and Rat, so that rats scatter (四散) in all directions when a cat appears. 

The story is widespread (and widely varying) among Chinese. Though it is made up, it might be interesting for you to tell your children and friends. 

Actually, the 12 animals were chosen very deliberately by the ancients, after many revisions. The zodiac animals are either closely related to ancient Chinese people’s daily lives or have lucky meanings in ancient Chinese culture.

1.How does the author explain the 12 Chinese zodiac animals’ fixed order?

A By giving theories.

B By giving examples.

C By sharing mythology.

D By showing the importance.

解析：选C。C细节理解题。根据第二段的“The order of the 12 signs is popularly explained by a myth”及后文可知，作者通过神话故事来讲解了十二生肖的排序。故选C。

2.What made Dragon rank fifth?

A The appearance.

B The character.

C The temper.

D The talent.

解析：选A。A细节理解题。根据第五段的“Good-looking Dragon was fifth and was immediately noticed by the Jade Emperor”可知，龙因为外貌出众被玉皇大帝注意，因此排名第五。故选A。

3.Why couldn’t the cat be one of the 12 zodiac animals?

A The rat hated the cat.

B The rat stopped the cat.

C The rat was afraid of the cat.

D The cat overslept and was late.

解析：选B。B细节理解题。根据倒数第三段可知，据说猫和老鼠一起骑在牛背上过河，但老鼠把猫推进了水里，所以猫没能及时赶到。由此可知，是老鼠阻止了猫。故选B。

4.The 12 animals were actually chosen for _______ according to the author.

A their regular activities

B their eating habits

C their body weights

D their lucky meanings

解析：选D。D 细节理解题。根据最后一段可知，作者认为12生肖动物被选择的真实原因是他们和古代人们的生活息息相关，或者有吉祥的寓意。故选D。