Can dogs and cats live in peace in the same home? People who are thinking about adopting a dog as a friend for their cat are worried that they will fight. A recent research has found a new way for success. According to the study, if the cat is adopted before the dog, and if they are introduced when still young (less than 6 months for cats, a year for dogs), it is highly probable that the two pets will get along swimmingly. Twothirds of the homes interviewed reported a positive relationship between their cat and dog.
However, it wasn't all sweetness and light. There was a reported coldness between the cat and dog in 25% of the homes, while attacking and fighting were observed in 10% of the homes. One reason for this is probably that some of their body signals are just opposite. For example, when a cat turns its head away it signals attack, while a dog doing the same signals admitting defeat.
In homes with cats and dogs living peacefully, researchers observed a surprising behaviour. They are learning how to talk each other's language. It is a surprise that cats can learn how to talk “dog”, and dogs can learn how to talk “cat”.
What's interesting is that both cats and dogs have appeared to develop their intelligence. They can learn to read each other's body signals, suggesting that the two may have more in mon than was previously thought. Once familiar with each other's presence and body language, cats and dogs can play together, greet each other nose to nose, and enjoy sleeping together on the sofa. They can easily share the same water bowl and in some cases groom (梳理) each other.
The advantage of this research on cats and dogs may not only about pets — to people who don't get along, including neighbors, colleagues at work, and even world superpowers. If cats and dogs can learn to get along, surely people have a good chance.
【小题1】The underlined word “swimmingly” in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to .A．earlyB．sweetlyC．quicklyD．suprisingly【小题2】Some cats and dogs may fight when .A．they are cold to each otherB．they look away from each otherC．they understand each other's signals in a wrong wayD．they are introduced at an early age【小题3】What is found surprising about cats and dogs?A．They eat and sleep together.B．They observe each other's behaviors.C．They learn to speak each other's language.D．They know something from each other's voices.【小题4】What can we human beings learn from cats and dogs?A．We should learn to live in peace.B．We should know more about animals.C．We should live in peace with animals.D．We should learn more body languages.B
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(答案→)B
解析：本文是一篇科普说明文，大意是说明科学家们研究发现：猫和狗能否和谐相处主要由它们最初在一起的年龄来决定。尽管如此，它们有和谐相处的可能，那么我们人类能否借鉴它们的关系呢！
【小题1】词义猜测题。Swimmingly所在句子的意思是：很有可能这两种宠物相处的很甜蜜。由此可知swimmingly与sweetly意思相同，选B。
【小题2】推理判断题。根据第二自然段中的One reason for this is probably that some of their body signals were just opposite.一句可知当猫和狗理解错了彼此的信号的时候会打架，本题选C。
【小题3】细节理解题。根据第四自然段的前两句可知奇怪的是：猫和狗开始学习对方的语言，选C。
【小题4】推理判断题。根据最后一自然段大意可知我们应该和谐相处，本题选A。