Have you ever heard anyone say “It’s raining cats and dogs”? It means “It’s raining hard!”
But sometimes cats and dogs do drop from the sky! Here’s how it happens.
Not so long ago, a country far away had many large rats. The people there said, “ We need cats!” So cats were sent to them by airplane. But the country had many mountains. It was hard for an airplane to land. So the cats came down by parachute(降落伞). Did the cats like the ride? They didn’t say they didn’t! And today they are still catching rats!
In another country far away, there is snow the year around. People sometimes got lost in it.
“We need big dogs!” the people said, “The dogs could find people lost in the snow. The dogs could help bring them home. Where can we get big dogs?”
A man across the sea had big dogs to sell. “I will send dogs to you,” he said. “ I have some very big ones. They can find people lost in the snow.”
He sent the dogs by airplane.
But the airplane did not land in the snow. The dogs came down by parachute ---- you guessed it !
Did the dogs like the ride? They didn’t say they didn’t! And today they are well and happy.
They find anyone who gets lost in the snow. Then they help him get home. Good dogs!
Remember it, so you can say, “ Yes, it does rain cats and dogs sometimes. They came down by parachute!”
40.The underlined word “ it” In Paragraph  2  refers to __________.
A．the weather 
B．the saying “It’s raining cats and dogs.”
C．the saying “It’s raining hard.”
D．the fact that real cats and dogs drop from the sky.
41. Cats and dogs drop from the sky because ______.
A．there are many mountains in the country.
B. it snows the year around in the country.
C. was hard for a plane to land in the two countries.
D. coming down by parachute could save money.
42．The main purpose of the passage is to _________________.
A．tell the readers cats and dogs do drop from the sky
B．tell the readers of a new meaning about an old saying.
C．show cats and dogs are our good friends.
D．show parachute is an important