1. (2023八下·乐清期中) 阅读理解

The Chinese new year begins on 22 January 2023 and ends on 9 February 2024. While most of Asia celebrates the year of the rabbit, Vietnam celebrates the year of the cat. In the Chinese zodiac*, there are 12 animals, and the 4th animal is the rabbit; while in the Vietnamese zodiac, the 4th animal is the cat. Why did the cat substitute for the rabbit in Vietnam?

Ancient storytellers said the Jade Emperor organized a race across a river for all the animals in the world. The first 12 to reach the other side would appear in the zodiac. In the Chinese story, the cat and the rat were riding across a river on an ox when the rat pushed the cat into the water. The rat won the race and that is why cats have been hunting rats ever since. But in the Vietnamese zodiac story, there isn't a rabbit. The cat could swim and ended up arriving. The two countries have different origins* of zodiac.

Quyen Di, a lecturer at UCLA, said the custom has to do with the landscape of Vietnam."In the past, the Chinese lived in the savanna* area, while the Vietnamese lived in the lowland area. The people of the savanna like to live near the wilderness, and they chose the rabbit as an animal that lived in the wild fields. But the lowland people of Vietnam consider rabbits as animals that are used for food and chose the cat because they believe cats are friends living in their house.

1. （1） The underlined words"substituted for"in paragraph 1 can be replaced by

   A . take off B . take care of C . take the place of D . take up
3. （2） W hat can we learn from the Vietnamese zodiac story?

   A . The Jade Emperor liked the cat. B . The rabbit fell into the river in the zodiac race. C . The rat and the rabbit were friends in ancient times. D . The cat finished fourth by swimming across the river.
5. （3） Why did the Vietnamese choose the cat according to Quyen Di?

   A . Their living environment. B . Their language pronunciation. C . Their way of life. D . Their favorite animal.
7. （4） What is the main idea of the passage?

   A . To explain the history of the Chinese zodiac. B . To show ways of celebrating the year of the rabbit. C . To tell the traditions of Chinese culture. D . To introduce the origin of the year of the cat in Vietnam.