price to themselves.

　　One of the earliest recorded instances of cats being used in war occurred during the Battle of Pelusium.The King of Persia knew how greatly his Egyptian enemies worshiped cats.In some accounts，he and his soldiers caught several cats and used them as shields (盾) in their attack on the city of Pelusium.In other accounts，the Persians simply set cats free on the battlefield.

　　Either way，because it was against Egyptian law to hurt or kill a cat，the Egyptian soldiers couldn't fight back freely.They did the only thing they could：they gave up to the Persian force.

　　In 16th­century Germany，an officer presented a plan to the council to use cats to spread poisonous gas among enemy soldiers.To turn cats into gas bombs，he suggested attaching jars (罐子) filled with poison gas to the cats' back.As the cats ran，the jars would release their poisonous gas，killing the enemy.

　　Luckily，the plan was never put into use.Other cats weren't so lucky.In World War Ⅰ，the British army employed 500,000 cats to catch rats and also used them as mobile gas detectors to warn them of gas leaks.Because the cats were so much smaller than soldiers，they would feel the effects of the gas faster，giving the soldiers time to react.As for the cats，there are no records regarding how many survived.

　　Although today's military uses dogs to find out bombs，cats have their own built­in ability to know when a bomb is about to hit.Most military cats are treated as pets today，but they still play an important part in keeping morale (士气) high.

　　语篇解读　 有很多动物都被用于军事用途，猫也是其中一种。

　　1．What would be the best title for the passage?

　　A．How cats affect our life

　　B．History of pet cats

　　C．The use of cats in the war

　　D．Tips for training cats

　　解析：　主旨大意题。本文主要描述的是猫用于军事的历史及现状。

　　答案：　C

　　2．The King of Persia could use cats to defeat the Egyptians because________.

A．the Persian soldiers believed in the power of cats