五、阅读理解
In the Chinese zodiac(生肖)，there are 12 animals，and the 4th animal is the rabbit；while in the Vietnamese(越南的)zodiac，the 4th position is the cat. How the cat
substituted for the rabbit in the Vietnamese zodiac is still the subject of debate(争论).
Ancient storytellers said the Jade Emperor organized a race across a river for all the animals in the world. The first 12 to reach the other side would appear in the zodiac. In the Chinese version(版本)of the story，the cat and the rat were riding across a river on an ox when the rat pushed the cat into the water. The rat won the race，turning the two animals into enemies. That is why cats have been hunting rats ever since. However，in the Vietnamese version—which did not have a rabbit—the cat could swim and ended up arriving.
One possible explanation for replacing rabbit with cat might have to do with language. In old Chinese，there is a word tied to the sign of the rabbit that is pronounced mao(卯). The pronunciation is similar to mèo，the Vietnamese word for cat.
Quyen Di，a lecturer at UCLA，said the custom has to do with the landscape of Vietnam. "Originally(起初)，the Chinese lived in the savanna(稀树草原)area，while the Vietnamese lived in the lowland area. The people of the savanna prefer a nomadic(游牧的)life，close to the wilderness，and they chose the rabbit as an animal that lived in the wild fields. However，the lowland people of Vietnam consider rabbits as animals that are used for food and chose the cat because they believe cats are friends living in their houses."
So in 2023，many Vietnamese bought new cat-themed cases for their mobile phones. And one of the top Google searches in Vietnam was "Why is there no cat in the Chinese zodiac?".
(
)1. The underlined words "substituted for" in Paragraph 1 can be replaced by
.
A. depended on
B. fought for
C. took the place of
D. played the role of
(
)2. What can we learn from the Vietnamese zodiac story?
A. The Jade Emperor liked the cat better.
B. The rabbit fell into the river in the zodiac race.
C. The rat and the rabbit were enemies in ancient times.
D. The cat finished fourth by swimming across the river.
(
)3. What made the Vietnamese choose the cat according to Quyen Di?
A. Their living environment.
B. Their language pronunciation.
C. Their lifestyle of raising cats as pets.
D. Their custom of hunting rabbits for food.
(
)4. What is the main purpose of the text?
A. To explain the history of the Chinese zodiac.
B. To show ways of celebrating the Year of the Rabbit.
C. To show how popular traditional Chinese culture is.
D. To introduce the origin(起源)of the cat in the Vietnamese zodiac.
9B Unit 1 全国各地中考试题选编
