The relationship between humans and animals has always been complex. Some cultures have developed entire belief systems around favored animals. Even in cultures with less formal belief systems, connections between people and animals still lead to commonly accepted opinions about animals.
These belief systems usually develop around the animals that interact (互动) with humans most frequently. Therefore, it should not be surprising that so many stories surround the most common of animals: rats. Rats live side by side with humans all over the world and regularly interact with people. Human-rat coexistence may be common all around the world, but different cultures respond to that closeness in different ways.
In the United States and Europe, one typical attitude is that the rat is a pest. This could be due to the common belief that rats spread disease. Actually, they don’t, at least not directly, but many people don’t know that. The Pied Piper of Hamlin, a well-known children’s story, is one example of how rats have been described in Western literature: in that story, rats cause such a problem that a town has to hire a piper to call them all away.
In many Latin American countries, the rat is described in a very different way. The story of the tooth fairy (a fairy believed by children to leave money while they sleep in exchange for a tooth that has come out) is common all over the world, but in Latin America, the “fairy” is a rat! Rats do have very strong teeth, which could explain the association. Clearly, this shows another attitude toward rats that is much more positive.
Yet another attitude toward the rat can be seen in the Chinese Zodiac (生肖). The Rat is one of the animals of the Zodiac. Like the other zodiac animals, the Rat is neither entirely good nor entirely bad. It’s described as clever and friendly, but also tricky and not entirely honest. That may be the most accurate description of the rat so far. Whether you like rats or not, it’s hard to deny their reputation for cleverness.
As many people are discovering these days, rats can even make excellent pets, so long as you remember to close the cage carefully!
小题1:What does the passage mainly talk about?
A．A trend of keeping rats as pets.
B．How different cultures look at rats.
C．How humans get along with animals.
D．Favored animals in different cultures.小题2:The rats in The Pied Piper of Hamlin appear______.
A．unpleasant
B．honest
C．smart
D．unusual小题3:The tooth fairy in Latin America mentioned in Paragraph4 is to show______.
A．the tooth fairy is lovely
B．rats look very frightening
C．rats are welcome in Latin American countries
D．the story of the tooth fairy is common all over the world小题4:According to the author, rats______.
A．don’t spread disease
B．should be treated as pests
C．are fairly described in the Chinese Zodiac
D．are kept as pets by more and more people小题5:The passage is probably taken from a ______.
A．travel guide
B．news report
C．nature magazine
D．history textbook
小题1:B
小题2:A
小题3:C
小题4:C
小题5:C
题目分析：什么动物和人亲近？和人打得交道越多，这种动物也就越受重视。比如老鼠，在不同的文化中，老鼠的形象和代表的意义也不相同。有的认为它们是害虫，有的视为祥瑞，有的养做宠物......你怎么看？
小题1:推理判断题。文章主要讲述了不同的国家和地区的人们对待老鼠的不同态度。尤其根据Therefore后面的叙述可知选B。
小题2:细节理解题。由“in that story, rats cause such a problem that a town has to hire a piper to call them all away.”可知，老鼠引起了大麻烦以至于人们不得不请来吹笛人驱逐老鼠。所以是 unpleasant 讨厌的；honest诚实的；smart时髦的；unusual经常的。故选A。
小题3:细节理解题。由“ but in Latin America, the “fairy” is a rat! ”可知，老鼠是小精灵表明拉丁美洲的人们很欢迎老鼠。故选C。
小题4:细节理解题。根据“Like the other zodiac animals, the Rat is neither entirely good nor entirely bad. It’s described as clever and friendly, but also tricky and not entirely honest. ”可知，老鼠在十二生肖中还是得到了公平的描述：不好也不坏，聪明友好，还有点滑。故选C。
小题5:推理判断题。本文介绍了老鼠在不同国家地区和文化环境中的不同对待态度，因此应该摘自自然杂志。travel guide旅游手册； news report新闻报道； nature magazine自然杂志；history textbook历史教科书。故选C