Why do 33% of the households in the USA have cats? And how do you explain why there are 16 million more pet cats than dogs? Yes, kittens are adorable （讨人喜欢的）．Yes, they can grow up to be good mousers and are very entertaining to watch．And yes, cats are independent and don't require as much care as dogs．But research shows cats can also be caretakers for us and our families, improve our health and teach us and our children to be kinder, gentler souls．
Theodora Wesselman is 94 and has lived the past two years with her elderly cat, Cleo, at TigerPlace, a retirement community in Columbia, Mo．Their enduring friendship is a classic example of how humans and animals can become family and look out for each other．
Wesselman visits other residents, and her children stop by, but Cleo is her best friend, she says．They've been together nearly 21 years．
"She sleeps on her own pillow right beside mine," Wesselman says．"In the morning, she pecks on my cheek to wake me up．It's really sweet．I pet her, tell her I love her and take her to the kitchen to prepare her food．"
Research shows that being able to care for a pet improves our morale （士气;精神状态）, helps validate us and encourages us to take care of ourselves, says Rebecca Johnson, director of the University of Missouri's Research Center for Human-Animal Interaction．The body of research is leading more retirement communities and universities to roll out the welcome mat for pets．
小题1:According to the context, where do you think the sentence “They start and end the day together” should appear in the passage?
A．Between para．1 and para．2
B．Between para．2 and para．3
C．Between para．3 and para．4
D．Between para．4 and para．5小题2:Which of the following words best describe the author’s attitude towards keeping pet cats?
A．Favorable
B．Critical
C．Reserved
D．Doubtful小题3:Why does the author take 94-year-old Theodora Wesselman as an example in the passage?
A．To show that the elderly like Theodora Wesselman in the USA have pet cats．
B．To suggest to what degree humans and pet cats can be caretakers for each other．
C．Because Theodora Wesselman has been living with a pet cat for the past two years．
D．Because Theodora Wesselman pets her cat Cleo and tells her she loves her．小题4:What does “to roll out the welcome mat for pets” in the last paragraph imply?
A．To give a special welcome to pets．
B．To make the welcome mat flat on the ground for pets．
C．To open out the welcome mat for pets to sleep．
D．To wrap the welcome mat to make room for pets．
