Question

What do you think of black cats? Are they unluckier than cats of other colors? Many people in Western countries think so. Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley), did a study on cat colours and people’s understandings of cat personalities.

The study found that people do judge(判断) cat personalities by color. Scientists did a survey on the Internet. There were 49 statements (描述) matching five cat colorings with 10 personalities. People think orange and bi-coloured (双色的) cats are friendly, tri-coloured (三色的) cats are not generous, and white cats are calm, lazy and shy. As for black cats, people think they don’t have special personalities.

But why do so many people dislike keeping black cats as pets? People think black cats have less special personalities, which might be because of their bad reputation (口碑). They think black cats may bring bad luck, especially at Halloween. Movies and television shows also make people believe that.

Although people have these ideas, UC Berkeley scientists give another reason: people don’t think black cats are pretty enough. After all, nothing can show black cats are unluckier than other cats. “You can’t judge a cat by its colour, because it’s the personality of the cat, not the colour, that will let you know if the cat is right for you,” Cathy Marden, a scientist said.

1.Many people in Western countries may think black cats are    .

A. lovely animals      B. a sign of bad luck

C. a sign of good luck D. unfriendly animals

2.The main idea of paragraph 2 is that    .

A. people often complain about black cats on the Internet

B. people think cats of different colours have different personalities

C. black cats are less popular than other cats

D. the study is a great success

3.According to the study, people think that    .

A. black cats have special personalities

B. orange and bi-coloured cats are generous

C. cats with three colours are friendly

D. white cats are calm, lazy and shy

4.People don’t like black cats for the following reasons EXCEPT    .

A. black cats often appear in TV shows

B. black cats bring bad luck to people

C. black cats have bad reputations

D. they don’t think black cats are beautiful

5.The passage mainly talks about    .

A. why black cats are popular in movies

B. why people are not willing to keep black cats as pets

C. different colour cats have different personalities

D. different people have different ideas on black cats

Answer

1.B

2.B

3.D

4.A

5.B

【解析】

试题分析：本文叙述了西方国家的很多人不喜欢黑色猫的原因。人们可以根据猫的颜色判断它的性格。因为黑色猫没有特别的个性，有不好的口碑，以及可能会带来厄运，所有人们不喜欢黑色的猫。但是科学家认为猫的性格不是根据颜色来判断的。

1.B推理判断题。根据Are they unluckier than cats of other colors? Many people in Western countries think so.可知在西方国家很多人认为黑色的猫是有厄运的。故选B。

2.B主旨大意题。根据The study found that people do judge (判断)cat personalities by color.可知人们根据猫的颜色来判断猫的性格，因此第二段主要讲述的是不同颜色的猫有不同的性格。故选B。

3.D细节理解题。根据and white cats are calm, lazy and shy.可知白色的猫冷静，懒惰而且害羞。故选D。

4.A推理判断题。People think black cats have less special personalities, which might be because of their bad reputation (口碑). They think black cats may bring bad luck, Movies and television shows also make people believe that.可知人们不喜欢黑色猫的原因是：黑色猫没有特别的个性，有不好的口碑，以及可能会带来厄运，而且电视节目和电影上也经常让人们相信这些。文中并没有提黑色猫经常上电视，故选A。

5.B主旨大意题。根据 But why do so many people dislike keeping black cats as pets?可知本文主要介绍人们不喜欢黑色猫的原因，故选B。

考点：社会政治经济文化类短文阅读。