Uestion 1

RI. 1.2 Which statement best expresses the central idea of the text?

Ancient cats would not have survived if it weren't for the intervention of the humans

who domesticated them.

Ancient domesticated cats' travel and relationship with humans resulted in their

widespread presence around the world.

Ancient cats gained more from being domesticated than humans did, as humans

provided them with food and shelter.

Humans domesticated cats to hunt mice and protect grain, similarly to how they

domesticated dogs and cattle.

uestion 2

Answer: Ancient domesticated cats' travel and relationship with humans resulted in their widespread presence around the world.

Explanation:

The article in question is called "DNA Tells Tale of How Cats Conquered the World" by Tina Hesman Saey and it focuses on telling how cats spread across the world.

The article concludes from DNA evidence that cats spread to Europe from the Middle East after first being domesticated there. It concludes this by comparing the DNA of cats in those areas now vs the DNA of cats from other parts of the world. The study suggests that this spread was probably as a result of merchants travelling with their cats with some of them leaving to find new homes as cats are a territorial species and so could not have spread across the world were it not for travelling with humans.