A study into character, intelligence and usefulness shows dogs are better pets than cats—but only by a whisker.
Staff at New Scientist magazine first listed the areas where cats fared better. These included having bigger brains—compared to their body size. Cats’brains also contain 1.4 million more cells, devoted to complex functions such as memory and attention, than dogs. Cats’second point was given for being more popular, with 204 million living in the top ten cat-owning nations compared to 173 million dogs in the ten countries where dogs are favored. Cats also get more attention from humans, with purrs （呼噜声）and miaows easily to be noticed. Although dogs can vary their barks, they cannot match the attention-seeking of cats. It is a similar story when it comes to senses. Cats can see in lower light than dogs and have a far wider hearing range and a sharper sense of smell. They are also said to be’greener’pets because their smaller appetites mean less area of land required to farm their food.
But in the other six categories examined—many of which related to getting on with humans dogs had the edge.
Dogs have a longer shared history with humans, maybe as long as 135,000 years. Cats are relative newcomers to our homes. Similarly, dogs have a greater ability to bond with their masters. Even four-month-old puppies choose a human companion over another dog. Dogs scored a third point for their better powers of understanding and following human gestures. One study found that a dog called Rico had mastered the meaning of more than 200 words. The ability to perform roles such as being a guide dog for the blind meant dogs were rated better than cats when it came to their problem-solving abilities. And they are easier to train.
With the scores tied at five-all, the deciding point fell on usefulness—with dogs coming out on top.
Dogs, studies show, help cut human stress, while taking them for walks keeps their owners fit and helps them meet new people. New Scientist says: “Dogs can hunt and guard. They can sniff out drugs and bombs; they guide blind and deaf people, find someone buried in ruins, and possibly even predict earthquakes.”
And in a conclusion certain to set off argument, it adds: “Cats are good if you have rodents （啮齿类动物）.”
48．Which of the following is not cats’ advantage?
A．Better at grasping their owners’ instructions.
B．Having relatively larger brains.
C．Affecting the environment less.
D．More likely to drawing attention.
49．The underlined phrase “by a whisker”（paragraph 1）probably means “_________”.
A．quite considerably                   B．just a little bit
C．most significantly                  D．in some aspects
50．We can learn the fact from the passage that________ .
A．Dogs are far from satisfactory in terms of their ability to catch rodents
B．Dogs can better help people who have problems with their sight and hearing
C．Comparatively speaking, cats have a better interaction with humans
D．Dogs beat cats when it comes to their senses of sight, heating and smell
51．Which would be the best title for the passage?
A．Cats beat Dogs                     B．Fight like Cat and Dog
C．Cats versus Dogs                    D．Cats away, Dogs Play