Question

19．Oscar the cat seems to have an unnatural ability for predicting when nursing home patients are going to die，by curling up （蜷伏） next to them during their final hours．His accuracy，observed in 25 cases，has led the staff to call family members once he has chosen someone．It usually means the patient has less than four hours to live．"Many family members take some comfort from it．They appreciate the companionship that the cat provides for their dying loved one，"said Dosa，a doctor and assistant professor of medicine at Brown University．
The 2-year-old cat was adopted as a kitten and grew up in a third-floor dementia （癡呆） unit at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center，where the facility treats people with Alzheimer's，Parkinson's disease and other illnesses．After about six months，the staff noticed Oscar would make his own rounds，just like the doctors and nurses．He'd smell and observe patients，then sit beside people who would end up dying in a few hours．Dosa said Oscar seems to take his work seriously．"This is not a cat that's friendly to people，"he said．
"Oscar is better at predicting death than the people who work here，"said Dr．Joan Teno of Brown University，who treats patients at the nursing home and is an expert on care for the terminally ill．She was convinced of Oscar's talent when he made his 13th correct call．While observing one patient，Teno said she noticed the woman wasn't eating，was breathing with difficulty and that her legs had a bluish color，signs that often mean death is near．Oscar wouldn't stay inside the room，though，so Teno thought bis streak was broken． Instead，it turned out the doctor's prediction was roughly 10 hours too early．Sure enough，during the patient's final two hours，nurses told Teno that Oscar joined the woman at her bedside．
Doctors say most of the people who get a visit from the sweet-faced，gray-and-white cat are so ill that they probably don't know he's there，so patients aren't aware he's a predictor of death．Most families are grateful for the advance warning，although one wanted Oscar out of the room while a family member died．When Oscar is put outside，he paces and meows his displeasure．
No one's certain if Oscar's behavior is scientifically significant or points to a cause．Teno wonders if the cat senses mysterious scents or reads something into the behavior of the nurses who raised him．Nursing home staff aren't concerned with explaining Oscar，so long as he gives families a better chance at saying goodbye to the dying．The staff recently gave Oscar a wall sign publicly praising his"sympathetic care．"

41．What makes Oscar the cat so special？D
A．He observes the cases of dying patients． B．He curls up next to the patients．
C．He calls family members to the hospital． D．He senses when patients are to die．
42．The passage tells us OscarA．
A．would go round and observe patients         
B．may sometimes fail to predict death
C．is friendly and liked by every nurse         
D．was born and grew up in the hospital
43．The underlined words "his streak was broken" probably meanB．
A．his bones were severely injured             B．his magic power stopped working
C．his devotion to work got changed            D．his friendship with patients ended
44．From the passage，we learn thatC．
A．Oscar's behavior is scientifically significant      
B．Oscar can read something of the nurses'behavior
C．Oscar might like to stay with the dying patients   
D．Oscar is sympathetic to the dying patients
45．The best title for this passage is"C"．
A．Cats Can Be Used for Looking After Patients      
B．Oscar，the Sweet-Faced，Gray-and-White Cat
C．As Death Comes Calling，So Does Oscar the Cat    
D．Oscar the Cat，the Best Helper of Our Hospital．

Answer 1

分析 文章講述了一只有預(yù)測病人死亡能力的貓，它喜歡呆在臨死的病人身邊．當(dāng)奧斯卡還是一只小貓時被醫(yī)護(hù)人員收養(yǎng)，從那時起它就與癡呆病人同住在療養(yǎng)院的三樓．

解答 41．D 細(xì)節(jié)理解題，根據(jù)第一段的Oscar the cat seems to have an unnatural ability forpredicting when nursing home patients are going to die，bycurling up （蜷伏） next to them during their final hours可知，奧斯卡貓似乎有一種非自然的預(yù)測能力，當(dāng)療養(yǎng)院的病人將要死亡時，在他們最后的時間里它就蜷伏在他們旁邊．所以這只貓的特殊之處是當(dāng)病人要死時它能感覺得到，故選D．
42．A 細(xì)節(jié)理解題，根據(jù)第二段的the staff noticed Oscar would make his own rounds，justlike the doctors and nurses．He"d smell and observe patients，thensit beside people who would end up dying in a few hours可知，工作人員注意到奧斯卡會像醫(yī)生和護(hù)士一樣查房，他會嗅到和觀察病人，然后坐在幾個小時后會死去的人身邊．所以奧斯卡貓會查房和觀察病人，故選A．
43．B 推理判斷題，因?yàn)椴∪怂狼皧W斯卡都會在身邊陪伴，特諾注意到病人快要死了而奧斯卡不呆在房間里，所以特諾認(rèn)為奧斯卡沒有了預(yù)測病人死亡的能力，故選B．
44．C 推理判斷題，根據(jù)這個貓的特殊能力可知，病人死前奧斯卡都會在身邊陪伴，所以它喜歡和快要死去的病人呆在一起．故選C．45．C 主旨大意題，文章講述的是一只有預(yù)測病人死亡能力的貓，它喜歡呆在臨死的病人身邊，這讓它非常獨(dú)特．故選C．

點(diǎn)評 本文是科技類閱讀，考查學(xué)生對細(xì)節(jié)的理解把握和推理判斷能力，做題時一定要找到文章中的原句，和題干進(jìn)行比較，再做出正確選擇．在做推理判斷題時不要以個人的主觀想象代替文章的事實(shí)，要根據(jù)文章事實(shí)進(jìn)行合乎邏輯的推理判斷．