Week12（含长难句分析及参考译文）-2023-2024学年人教版九年级上学期时文阅读周周练

2023-2024学年九年级时文阅读周周练—第十二周 Monday While most of Asia celebrates the Year of the Rabbit in 2023, Vietnam(越南)celebrates the Year of the Cat. The Vietnamese zodiac（生肖）was first introduced to Vietnam from China. In the Chinese zodiac, there are 12 animals. and the4th animal is the rabbit: while in the Vietnamese zodiac, there is no rabbit, and the 4th position is taken up by the cat. How the cat substituted for the rabbit in the Vietnamese zodiac remains unclear. In China, the story says that the Buddha invited the animals to a river race, and the first 12 to reach the other side of the river would appear in the Chinese zodiac. The cat and the rat decided to walk on the back of an ox because they couldn't swim. But as they were about to reach the finish line, the rat pushed the cat into the water and so the rat won, making the cat and the rat enemies ever since. In Vietnam, the story is different. Emperor Jade organized the race. During the race, the cat won a place. Another explanation would be that most Vietnamese people are farmers, and the rabbit has nothing to do with Vietnamese farmers. Instead, the cat has always been a good friend to farmers, trying to kill the rat that damages their crops. Besides, it's said that replacing the rabbit with the cat in the Vietnamese zodiac might have something to do with language. In old Chinese, there is a word tied to the sign of the rabbit that is pronounced mao. That is similar to mèo, the Vietnamese word for cat. 1.What does the underlined part “substituted for” in the first paragraph mean? A. Played tricks on B. paid attention to C. Took the place of. D. Competed against. 2.What happened in the Vietnamese zodiac story? A. The cat and the rat became relatives. B. The cat fell into the river in the race. C. The cat pushed the rabbit into the fire. D. The cat was the No. 4 to finish the race. 3.What can we know about the cat according to Paragraph 4? A. It is the rabbit's friend. B.