Palestinian football fans showed pride in their team by taking a LION CUB to watch the game in a crowded stadium. 

Alex was seen in the stands for a match between Shabab Rafah and rivals El-Sadaka in the Palestinian league, dressed in his team’s shirt. Fans, far from being scared, were reportedly delighted by the presence of the predator, while younger fans played with him after the match.

The lion was born in a zoo in Rafah but the owner was forced to sell the cubs in order to keep feeding other animals. Two other lovely two-month-old lion cubs from the same zoo, Mona and Alex, have been living with refugee Saad Aldeen Al-Jamal and his six children at their home in Rafah, in southern Gaza. The 54-year-old father says he bought the cubs from the impoverished Rafah zoo and the unusual pets have become an entire part of his family.

Al-Jamal said: “They’re living inside the house just like the children. They eat and drink inside the room and they have a bed that they both sleep on. They also play football.” The cubs were born in Rafah zoo and sold when they were just two-weeks-old. The majority of people of the conflict-hit city are homeless and poverty doesn’t just affect humans but also its animals.

Rafah zoo owner, Mohammad Juma, said: “Because of the amount of animals, the bad economical situation, lack of leisure activities and that you don’t have enough food or money... this (situation) would make you sell anything you have to save the rest of the animals.”

The Al-Jamal family might face a similarly tough situation in the near future as the cubs already eat half a kilo of meat every day. The family might be able to make the situation work for now, but once fully grown, lions can weigh more than 400 pounds, or nearly 200 kilograms.

Al-Jamal said that he knew the cubs would eventually become dangerous. “In one month, they will start being kept in a cage for our own safety,” he said.

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1.What was the reaction of the younger fans to the lion cub?

A They were friendly to the lion cub.

B They were scared by the young lion.

C They kept far away from the lion cub.

D They felt interested in the predator.

解析：选A。A 推理判断题。根据文章第2段younger fans played with him after the match可以判断，年轻的球迷们对这头幼狮是很友好的。

2.Why did the zoo sell the cubs?

A The cubs were very lovely and unusual animals.

B The cubs couldn’t be fed well in a conflict-hit city.

C The zoo sold the cubs in order to save other animals.

D The cubs would become dangerous very soon.

解析：选C。C 细节理解题。根据文章第3段the owner was forced to sell the cubs in order to keep feeding other animals可知，卖掉狮崽的目的是为了能喂养其它的动物。

3.What does the underlined word most probably mean?

A Frequently-visited.

B Poorly-managed.

C Poverty-stricken.

D Well-known.

解析：选C。C 猜测词义题。根据语境意义及下文的poverty…don’t have enough food or money可知，impoverished在此处意为“贫困的”。

4.What can we infer from the passage?

A The lion cubs lived a happy life with Al-Jamal’s children.

B Conflict has affected people’s life a great deal in this area.

C The city was unable to run the zoo at the unusual time.

D Lions can be safe when they kept in cages.

解析：选B。B 推理判断题。根据文章第4段The majority of people of the conflict-hit city are homeless and poverty doesn’t just affect humans…可以判断，加沙地带的冲突很大程度上影响了人们的生活。

5.What problem will the Al-Jamal family have in the future?

A There will be little room to keep the lions when they grow up.

B The cubs will be too heavy to be taken out to football matches.

C The cubs will do harm to Al-Jamal’s children if they are fully grown.

D They will be unable to afford the lions’ food when they grow up.

解析：选D。D 细节理解题。根据文章第6段The Al-Jamal family might face a similarly tough situation in the near future as the cubs already eat half a kilo of meat every day可知，由于狮子是食肉动物，随着它们一天天长大，每天的食肉量也在增加，对于一个难民家庭来说，两头狮子的伙食无疑是一笔很大的开销，他们将面临经济上的困境。