They are naturally equipped with 16 they need to groom themselves: a flexible tongue with which to lick, forepaws they moisten with saliva and use like washcloths, and teeth to dig out tougher pieces of food. 17, adult cats may spend as much as half of their waking hours grooming themselves, their relatives and friends.
答案：(C) everything
語意「牠們天生就配備了理毛所需的『一切』」，everything（一切）符合；anything（任何事，通常用於疑問/否定句）、nothing（沒有東西，語意相反）、the thing（特指的那個東西，不合這種泛指的語境）都不合。
本題大考中心未公布逐題答對率，以下不談數據，只談觀念。
四個選項都是「東西」的意思，而 the thing 看起來最具體，很容易先挑它。這一格往後讀就有硬證據——作者接著列了三樣東西。
四個選項都是代名詞，可見這一格考的是數量與語意。先把句子讀完：They are naturally equipped with ___ they need to groom themselves（牠們天生就配備了理毛所需的……）。空格後面 they need 是省略了關係代名詞的子句，修飾前面那個空格。再往後讀，證據就出現了：冒號後面一口氣列了三樣——a flexible tongue（靈活的舌頭）、forepaws they moisten with saliva（沾唾液當抹布的前掌）、teeth to dig out tougher pieces of food（挑出難咬食物殘渣的牙齒）。既然是三樣不是一樣，就不能用單指一樣的 the thing，要用涵蓋全部的 everything。整句是「牠們天生就備妥了理毛所需的一切」。
the thing：單數、特指某一樣，但後面列了三樣，數量對不上。anything（任何東西）：主要用在疑問句與否定句裡（Do you need anything?、I don’t need anything.），肯定句裡的 anything 意思會變成「隨便什麼都行」，與「所需的一切」不同。nothing（什麼都沒有）：語意相反，貓要是什麼都沒配備就理不了毛了。
be equipped with（配備有）、everything (that) sb needs（某人所需的一切）、groom oneself（理毛、打理儀容）、a flexible tongue（靈活的舌頭）、moisten sth with（用……沾濕某物）、dig out（挖出、挑出）。
When it comes to personal hygiene, cats are the best example of cleanliness. They are naturally equipped with 16 they need to groom themselves: a flexible tongue with which to lick, forepaws they moisten with saliva and use like washcloths, and teeth to dig out tougher pieces of food. 17, adult cats may spend as much as half of their waking hours grooming themselves, their relatives and friends.
Mothers begin licking their kittens 18 birth---to clean them, stimulate the release of body waste, wake them up to suck milk, and provide comfort. Kittens usually begin grooming themselves when they are about four weeks old. 19 five weeks of age, kittens also begin grooming other baby cats, as well as their mom.
20 grooming among cats, called allogrooming, often continues into adulthood. Allogrooming is a social activity that serves to strengthen the bond between cats.