Part Ⅲ  Reading Comprehension    (40 minutes)

Section A
    Directions: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before making your choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.

   A rat or pigeon might not be the obvious choice to tend to someone who is sick, but these creatures have some ___26___ skills that could help the treatment of human diseases.
   Pigeons are often seen as dirty birds and an urban ____27___, but they are just the latest in a long line of animals that have been found to have abilities to help humans. Despite having a brain no bigger than the ___28___ of your index finger, pigeons have a very impressive ____29____ memory. Recently it was shown that they could be trained to be as accurate as human at detecting breast cancer in images.
   Rats are often ___30____ with spreading disease rather than ___31___ it, but this long-tailed animal is highly ___32___. Inside a rat’s nose are up to 1,000 different types of olfactory receptors （嗅觉感受器）, whereas humans only have 100 to 200 types. This gives rats the ability to detect ___33___ smells. As a result, some rats are being put to work to detect TB（肺结核）. When the rats detect the smell, they stop and rub their legs to ___34___ a sample is infected.
    Traditionally, a hundred samples would take lab technicians more than two days to ___35___, but for a rat it takes less than 20 minutes. This rat detection method doesn’t rely on specialist equipment. It is also more accurate — the rats are able to find more TB infections and, therefore, save more lives.

A) associated  

B) examine  

C) indicate  

D) nuisance  
E) peak  

F) preventing  

G) prohibiting  

H) sensitive
I) slight

J) specify
K) superior
L) suspicious
M) tip
N) treated
O) visual