An App for Cats|爱不释『爪』

by Leigh Goldberg

Cat lovers are doting on their feline friends with the latest technology.

Forget the feather teaser or the fake mouse that squeaks. Now, there's something 10 times more entertaining for feline lovers and their furry _(1)_. Designed and developed for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) in Queensland, Australia, the Affection Collection is a free iPad app that will keep cats happy for hours.

The Affection Collection is an interactive app that features three games in one. Kitty Raid _(2)_ four-legged friends to defend pieces of cheese from hungry mice on the prowl. With Roller Kitty, they can have endless fun _(3)_ with a ball of yarn. The third, Kitty Chef, allows cats to try their paws at cooking vegetables for dinner. However, the feature that sets this cat app _(4)_ all the others out there is its built-in automatic boredom shuffling system. Simply put, this means that the games reset and change by themselves, with no game being played twice _(5)_. All the owners have to do is press the start button, sit back, and watch their cats operate the app on their own.

The RSPCA created the app for cat owners who may not always have time to play with their cats and for those who feel _(6)_ about abandoning their pets as they go off to work. Moreover, it's part of their mission to encourage cat owners to keep their felines indoors so as to _(7)_ their safety. The Affection Collection might just be what it takes to enrich cats' lives, not to mention appeasing their natural instinct.

1.  (A) companions  (B) populations (C) immigrants  (D) opponents

2.  (A) brings about    (B) serves as   (C) picks up    (D) calls on

3.  (A) to play (B) playing (C) for playing (D) plays

4.  (A) prior to    (B) out of  (C) other than  (D) apart from

5.  (A) by chance   (B) over and over   (C) in a row    (D) on occasion

6.  (A) guilty  (B) harmful (C) relieved    (D) pleasant

7.  (A) admire  (B) ensure  (C) recognize   (D) provide

爱不释『爪』

爱猫人士正在运用最新科技宠爱他们的猫咪朋友。

忘了逗猫棒和会吱吱叫的假老鼠吧。现在，有比它们好玩 10 倍的东西要提供给爱猫人士和他们毛茸茸的伙伴。这款由英国防止虐待动物协会的澳洲昆士兰分会所设计开发的『随手丸』游戏，是 1 款可以让猫咪开心好几个小时的免费 iPad应用程序。

『随手丸』是 1款标榜内含 3 种游戏的交互式应用程序。『捍卫起司』要求这些 4 只脚的朋友保护几片起司，免于被四处觅食的饥饿老鼠吃掉。在『玩毛线』中，牠们可以不停地玩毛线球玩得很开心。第 3 种游戏叫『猫咪大厨』，它让猫咪可以尝试手艺，烹调蔬菜当晚餐。然而，让这款猫咪应用程序有别于市面上其他所有程序的特色，在于它内建的防枯燥随机切换系统。简单说，就是指这些游戏会自己重新启动及变换，每个游戏都不会连续玩 2 次。主人们所要做的就是按下开始键、舒舒服服地坐好，然后看他们的猫咪自己操作这个应用程序。

英国防止虐待动物协会的澳洲昆士兰分会开发这款应用程序是针对那些不是经常有时间陪伴他们的猫咪、以及要丢下他们的宠物去上班而感到内疚的饲主。此外，鼓励猫咪的饲主让牠们待在室内以确保牠们的安全也是该协会任务的一部分。『随手丸』或许正是可以用来丰富猫咪生活的 1 款应用程序，更不用说可以满足牠们自然的天性了。

答案：1. (A)2. (D)3. (B)4. (D)5. (C)

6. (A)7. (B)

英国防止虐待动物协会（RSPCA）已有将近 180 年的历史，是全球历史最悠久、最知名的动物福利组织。RSPCA是 1824 年于伦敦成立的慈善机构，仰赖各界捐赠的善款来推动各项活动。RSPCA的宗旨是藉由推动执法、安排弃养动物的认养工作、拯救野生动物、推动公共倡导活动与教育、以及游说政府，来促进慈善之心，防止残酷虐待动物的行为。（数据源：英国防止虐待动物协会）