CatsarethemostpopularpetsamongAmericans.Soitisnotsurprisingthattherearealotofexpressionsaboutcats.Somecatsliketocatchsmallbirdslikecanaries(金丝雀).Ifsomeonelooksveryproudandsatisfiedwithhimselfwesay“helookslikethecatthatatethecanary.”

Sometimesacatlikestoplaywithasmallanimalitcatches.Soifyou“playcatandmouse”withsomeoneitmeansthatyouchangebetweendifferentkindsofbehaviorwhendealingwithanotherperson.Forexampleagirlmightoffersomethingsweettoherlittlebrotherandthentakeitawaywhenhereachesforit.

Americansmightsaythatsomethingis“thecat’smiaow”or“thecat’spajamas(睡衣)”todescribesomethingthatisthebestorfinest.“Acopycat”issomeonewhoactsjustlikesomeoneelseorcopiesanotherperson’swork.“Afatcat”isapersonwithalotofmoney.

Ifyoutellaboutsomethingthatissupposedtobeasecretwesayyou“letthecatoutofthebag”.Ifyouarenotabletospeakoransweraquestionsomeonemightaskyouif“thecathasgotyourtongue(舌头)”

Haveyoueverwatchedchildreninaclassroomwhentheirteacherleavesforafewminutes?“Whenthecat’sawaythemicewillplay”meanspeoplesometimesactbadlywhenthereisnosupervision(监管).

Youmayhaveheardtheexpression“curiositykilledthecat”.Thismeanscaringtoomuchaboutthingsthatarenotyourbusinessmightcauseproblems.

Ifyouhaveeverhadcatsaspetsyouknowitisdifficulttotrainthemortogetthemtodosomething.CatsarenotlikeSheeporcowsthatcanbemovedinagroup.Sowesayadifficultorimpossiblejobislike“herding(放牧)cats“

1.Whatcanwelearnfromthepassage?

A.Theexpression“afatcat”isusedtodescribesomeonewhoisveryfat

B.Theexpression“playcatandmouse”usuallymeans“playtricksonothers”

C.Itismoredifficulttokeepsheeporcowsthancats

D.Therearemoreexpressionsaboutcatsthanthoseaboutdogs

2.Inwhichofthefollowingsituationsdowemostprobablyusetheexpression“curiositykilledthecat”?

A.Someonealwaysaskedaladyherageorweightanditmadeherangry

B.Someonepromisedtokeepasecretbuthefailedtodoso

C.SomeonewonthefirstprizeinanEnglishsingingcompetitio