My cat Toto is aging，and as she ages，her body is failing her．Mentally，she seems sharp，but after nearly sixteen years，Toto’s hips are causing her obvious trouble．In fact，they make it so that she can’t use a litter box effectively．She tries to squat（蹲坐），but mostly she just pisses（撒尿）out the back end of the box．
I spent the summer working with my vet to find things to help Toto，but nothing works．Since we can’t stand the smell of cat urine in the house，two weeks ago I took drastic measures．I banished Toto outside．（She gets to e in while I work，but I put her out for 80％of the day and night．）
Because Toto now lives outside，she eats and drinks outside．I’ ve set up a heating pad on the porch．and given her own food and water area nearby．She seems perfectly content with this arrangement except when she’s out of food，or she wants to be petted．
Strangely enough，she’s been out of food a lot lately．“I think another cat is eating Toto’s food．”I told Kris when I first noticed how quickly she was going through her bowl．
“Actually，”I said a couple of days later，“maybe it’s a dog．Whoever is eating Toto’s food keeps knocking the bowl over．”
But a few days after that，I realized that the food thief probably wasn’t even a dog．Whatever the critter（动物）was，it was messy． Every morning，Toto’s water dish was filled with mud．The food bowl was tipped over and the porch scattered with mud and debris（残渣）．“I’ ll bet it’s a coon（浣熊），”I told Kris．Though we live in a residential neighborhood not far from Portland，we’ ve seen plenty of raccoons in the six years since we moved in．
Today I got to see the cat－food thievery first－hand．Turns out it’s not one raccoon－it’s a family of four．I was lucky enough to have my camera handy as they performed their daring raid：My favorite part of this video is how Toto simply sits on her heating pad and watches the raccoons eat her food．She isn’t bothered at all．
【小题1】Which of the following about Toto is true?A．She is physically sharp．B．She is at least sixteen years old．C．She can’t use a litter box properly．D．She stays outside all the while recently．【小题2】The underlined part in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to ．A．drove away or forced somebody or something to leaveB．put away or stored somethingC．protected somebody or something from being harmedD．threw something away【小题3】What does the writer like most about what he filmed?A．How Toto fought against the raccoons．B．A family of raccoons stole the food together．C．Toto’s casual attitude toward the raccoons．D．How the raccoons made the writer’s porch dirty．【小题4】What would be the best title of the passage?A．My Aged CatB．A Banished CatC．An Unforgettable ExperienceD．The Raccoons on My PorchC
网友回答
(答案→)C
解析：
作者的猫因年老而发生行动障碍，总是弄脏供其小便用的盒子，弄得屋内满是尿味。于是作者多数时间将它关在室外的门廊里。后来发现它的食物经常不见，作者颇费周折，最终确定原来是被一群浣熊吃了。
【小题1】细节题。由第一段Mentally，she seems sharp，but after nearly sixteen years，Toto’s hips are causing her obvious trouble 一句可知，这猫接近16岁，脑子依然敏锐，排除A,B两项。根据she can’t use a litter box effectively 一句可知，猫不能正确使用litter box. 第二段but I put her out for 80％of the day and night．一句表明，猫并非整天被关在室外，排除D项。故C项正确。
【小题2】词义推断题。第二段I banished Toto outside．（She gets to e in while I work，but I put her out for 80％of the day and night．）一句中，outside 与out表明是将猫赶出房间。B项的put away意为“收藏起来”；C项protect意为“保护”；D项throw sth away意为“扔掉”；均与文章不符。故A项正确。
【小题3】细节题。由最后一段My favorite part of this video is how Toto simply sits on her heating pad and watches the raccoons eat her food 一句可知，视频中作者最喜爱的部分是那只猫对待浣熊一家抢食所表现出来的漫不经心的态度。故C项正确。
【小题4】主旨大意题。全文从发现猫食不见开始，花费主要篇幅描述查找偷食者的过程：起初以为是另一只猫，后来判断是一只狗，最后断定是浣熊，而结果却是一群浣熊。写猫只是为后面的偷食事件做铺垫。故选择D项。