Question

What is your zodiac（生肖） animal? According to the Chinese lunar calendar（农历）, 12 animals mark 12 different years. It is the basis of the Chinese zodiac. Nowadays, Chinese zodiac animals have worldwide fame and are increasingly popular among western people.

The zodiac is an important part of Chinese culture. People believe that the characteristics of a zodiac animal influence the personality of every person born in that year. For example, people born in the Year of the Tiger are considered powerful and brave.

Zodiac animals also have some social functions. When people think it is not proper to ask: “How old are you”, they may change their question to “What is your zodiac animal?” With this question, you can figure out roughly which year someone was born and the person’s age.

Zodiac animals are not special to China. Many countries share a similar zodiac culture with China. For example, in the Japanese Zodiac, a wild boar（野猪）takes the place of a pig and the Vietnamese（越南的）zodiac has a cat instead of a rabbit.

But have you ever wondered how these 12 animals were chosen to represent each year? According to legend, the Jade Emperor（玉皇大帝）invited all the animals to join him for Chinese New Year. Only 12 animals went to see him. As a reward he named a year after each one in the order they arrived. The ox would have been the first to arrive, but the rat sat on his back and jumped off just before they arrived to come in first place.

1.The characteristics of a zodiac animal may influence the _____ of every person born in that year.

A．appearance        B．personality        C．hobby            D．education

2.“What is your zodiac animal?” is a question used to find out a person’s______.

A．age              B．name             C．job              D．weight

3.In the Japanese zodiac, we don’t see the zodiac animal：_______

A．wild boar          B．rabbit            C．dragon           D．pig

4.According to the last paragraph, we know that ____ was the first animal to arrive.

A．ox               B．rat               C．pig               D．cat

Answer

1.B

2.A

3.D

4.B

【解析】

试题分析：这篇短文主要介绍了十二生肖在中国以及一些其它国家的影响及社会作用，并介绍了十二生肖的来历。

1.根据第二段People believe that the characteristics of a zodiac animal influence the personality of every person born in that year. 描述，可知选B。

2.根据第三段“What is your zodiac animal?” With this question, you can figure out roughly which year someone was born and the person’s age.描述，可知选A。

3.根据For example, in the Japanese Zodiac, a wild boar（野猪）takes the place of a pig 描述，可知选D。

4.根据The ox would have been the first to arrive, but the rat sat on his back and jumped off just before they arrived to come in first place.描述，可知老鼠是第一个到达的动物，故选B。

考点：关于十二生肖的议论文阅读