Here's another one I couldn't decide how to classify - the vocabulary is definitely intermediate. The length and structure are beginner. So don't beat yourself up if you're looking up more than a couple of words, here. 

<h3>Inescapable - 逃不过 [pinyin]tao4 bu2 guo4[/pinyin]</h3>
Try as you might, there are some things in this life you can't get away from. If you're human, death and taxes, right? If you're a mouse, cats. And when we're describing these unavoidable things in Chinese, we might use the phrase 逃不过. "A 逃不过 B" means "A can't escape from B", or "A couldn't escape B". 

<h3>Hard bits</h3>
In the fourth sentence, the author mentions that cat's whiskers are "像把尺" - huh? Seems awkward and confusing, but this is perhaps easier to understand if I add back in the character that the author dropped from this sentence: 

<blockquote>猫的胡须像一把尺</blockquote>

Ah, once the number 一 [pinyin]yi1[/pinyin] goes back in there, the meaning is a little clearer. See, 把 [pinyin]ba3[/pinyin] is most frequently used as a verb that means "to take" or "to pick up". But in this case, it's a measure word for long, straight, rigid things. Which long, straight, rigid things? In this case, rulers, 尺 [pinyin]chi3[/pinyin]. So the entire phrase means:

<blockquote>Cat whiskers are like rulers</blockquote>

Are they, though? This makes more sense when you read the rest, so I'll leave you to it:

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<div class="chinesetext">

猫是捉老鼠的能手。它的耳朵很灵敏，能转来转去，哪怕是极小的声音，它也能及时辨出。猫有一双明亮的眼睛，狡猾的老鼠逃不过它的眼睛。猫的胡须像把尺，能测出各个洞的大小。猫的脚爪上有锋利的爪子，能爬树、跳墙、追捕老鼠。　

See the <a href="http://www.360doc.com/content/12/0624/17/1764012_220163890.shtml" target="_blank">source</a>.

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Cats are mouse-catching experts. Their ears are sensitive, able to swivel this way and that, and able to distinguish even the smallest noises. Cats have a pair of bright eyes, crafty mice can't escape their sight. Cats' whiskers are like rulers, able to measure out the size of any hole. Cats' paws have sharp claws, they can climb trees and jump walls to pursue and capture mice. 

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