Question

    There are not many people around who say they like rats(老鼠). When you see one of them, you may want to run in the opposite direction.

There is one man though who has always enjoyed staying with rats, even when he was a young boy. His name is Bart Weetjens and he comes from Belgium in Europe. As he grew up, he learned everything about rats. He knew that they have a very strong sense of smell. He realized that it might be possible to train rats to help solve a problem that troubled some Southeast Asian countries.

Clearing away unexploded bombs and landmines(未爆炸的炸弹和地雷) is a difficult job. Bart began to train rats to look for explosives. Because a rat’s sense of smell is so strong, they are able to smell a thing known as TNT that is used in bombs. And because rats are not heavy, if they place their weight on an unexploded bomb, they will not cause it to explode(爆炸).

Bart chose African Giant Pouched Rats for the job. They are well known for being calm and smart. Training begins when they are about six weeks old, and it lasts for nine months. Once trained, one rat can search up to 200m in 20 minutes. The same area would take a human up to four days. Trained rats are known as Mine Detection Rats, or MDRs, and they have worked successfully in Cambodia since 2015.

1.When Bart Weetjens was a young boy, he enjoyed ____________.

2.As Bart Weetjens grew up, he learned that rats have a very ____________.

3.Rats will not cause an unexploded bomb to explode because they are ____________.

4.It takes ____________ to train African Giant Pouched Rats.

5.MDRs have ____________ since 2015.

Answer

1.staying with rats

2.strong sense of smell

3.not heavy

4.9 months

5.worked successfully in Cambobia

【解析】

本文为记叙文，讲述了巴特•维特詹斯将老鼠训练成地雷探测鼠的故事。

1.

根据原文“There is one man though who has always enjoyed staying with rats, even when he was a young boy. His name is Bart Weetjens and he comes from Belgium in Europe”可知，巴特·维特詹斯从小时候就一直喜欢与老鼠呆在一起，故空格处应填入意为“和老鼠呆在一起”的短语。故答案为staying with rats。

2.

根据原文“He knew that they have a very strong sense of smell”可知，老鼠有着很强的嗅觉。故答案为strong sense of smell。

3.

根据原文“And because rats are not heavy, if they place their weight on an unexploded bomb, they will not cause it to explode”可知，因为老鼠的重量不大，所以即使踩上了地雷，也不会爆炸。故答案为not heavy。

4.

根据原文“Training begins when they are about six weeks old, and it lasts for nine months”可知，对老鼠的训练从它们6周大的时候开始，大约持续9个月时间。故答案为9 months。

5.

根据原文“Trained rats are known as Mine Detection Rats, or MDRs, and they have worked successfully in Cambodia since 2015”可知，训练有素的老鼠被称为地雷探测老鼠，自2015年以来，它们已经在柬埔寨成功地展开了工作。故答案为worked successfully in Cambobia。