1、27. American Pets 美国宠物Americans love pets. And its not just puppy love, either. Many pet owners treat their furry friends as part of the family. Sometimes they spice up their pets lives with entertaining videos and amusing toys. If they have an eye for fashion, pet owners can dress their pets in sty
2、lish clothes. For special occasions, they can use canine perfume to make their dogs smell, well, less beastly. You might say Americans treat their pets like they treat their childrensometimes even better. In America, there are more households with pets than those with children. At least 43 percent o
3、f U.S. homes have pets of some sort. Exotic creatures, such as monkeys, snakes and even wolves, find a home with some Americans. More common pets include tropical fish, mice and birds. But the all-time favorites are cats and dogs, even at the White House. Americans sometimes have strong feelings abo
4、ut whether dogs or cats make better pets. Dog people and cat people often enjoy friendly rivalries. Leading a dogs life in America isnt such a bad thing. Many grocery stores sell gourmet pet foods to owners eager to please their pets. In Houston, Texas, dogs can have their dinner delivered to their
5、homes, just like pizza. Well-to-do canines can attend doggy daycare centers while their owners work. Pets can even accompany their owners on vacation. Fancy hotels are beginning to accommodate both man and beast. Furry guests at Four Seasons Hotels can enjoy gourmet meals served on fine china and sl
6、eep in soft beds. Beneath the fluffy luxuries, there lies a basic American belief: Pets have a right to be treated well. At least 75 animal welfare organizations exist in America. These provide care and adoption services for homeless and abused animals. Veterinarians can give animals an incredible l
7、evel of medical care for an incredible price. To pay for the high-tech health care, people can buy health insurance for their pets. And when its time to say good-bye, owners can bury their pets in a respectable pet cemetery. The average American enjoys having pets around, and for good reason. Resear
8、chers have discovered that interacting with animals lowers a persons blood pressure. Dogs can offer protection from burglars and unwelcome visitors. Cats can help rid the home of unwanted pests. Little creatures of all shapes and sizes can provide companionship and love. In many cases, having a pet
9、prepares a young couple for the responsibilities of parenthood. Pets even encourage social relationships: They give their owners an appearance of friendliness, and they provide a good topic of conversation. Pets are as basic to American culture as hot dogs or apple pie. To Americans, pets are not ju
10、st property, but a part of the family. After all, pets are people, too. （470 words）Helper:puppy ppi 没有经验的年轻人 furry盖着毛皮的 spice加香料于，添趣味stylish漂亮的，流行的 canine perfume狗儿专用的香水 exotic egztik 外国的tropical trpikl 热带的 rivalryraivlri竞争,对抗 gourmetgumei美食家caninekeinain犬齿 accommodate提供住宿 luxury lkri 奢侈、豪华exist存在 a
11、doption收养 Veterinarian vetrinrin 兽医 burglar b:gl夜贼 incredible不可思议的; 惊人的 companionship伴侣关系；友谊and for good reason而且这合乎情理，而且这很自然， Exercises:从所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳答案。1. According to the passage, many American pet owners do the followings EXCEPT _.A. treat their pets like their children B. buy toys for the
12、ir pets C. feed their pets with the best food D. dress their pets in stylish clothes2. Among all kinds of pets in America, _.A. more people like dogs than cats B. more people like cats than dogs C. more people raise monkeys than birds D. snakes and wolves can be some peoples favorites3. From the pas
13、sage we can know _.A. all the animals in America are treated well B. pets live a better life than their ownersC. even people living a dogs life can live well in AmericaD. pets have been an important part of American culture4. The fifth paragraph mainly tells us _.A. pets can benefit their owners B.
14、pets are well treated in America C. pets almost have the same rights as human beings in America D. pets can provide companionship and love5. From the passage, we can infer _.A. that pets have a right to be treated is a basic American belief.B. in America people have different pets as their petsC. ha
15、lf of U.S. homes have pets of some sortD. pets always have their food delivered to their home Brief Introduction:美国人很爱宠物，而且这不只是一种不成熟、短暂的爱。很多宠物的主人把这些毛茸茸的朋友当作家庭的一部分，有时候还为宠物准备娱乐用的录像带和玩具来增添他们生活的乐趣。你也可以说，美国人待他们的宠物如同待他们的孩子一样- 有时甚至更好。 在美国，有宠物的家庭比有孩子的家庭还多。一直广受欢迎的是猫和狗，美国人有时候很在乎到底最好的宠物是猫还是狗，爱狗的人和爱猫的人喜欢开玩笑地彼此争
16、辩。在美国，狗所过的生活并不坏，很多杂货店都卖有宠物美食，让主人可以讨好他们的宠物。在舒适奢华的享受之下，其实存在着美国人的一种基本信念：宠物有受到妥善对待的权利。兽医能提供给动物极好的医疗照顾价格也极昂贵，若为了负担更先进的健康医疗保健，人们可以为他们的宠物买健康保险。如果和宠物道别的时机到了，主人们可以为宠物买一块体面的墓地。美国人一般都喜欢有宠物为伴，这是有原因的。研究人员发现，与动物为伍能够降低人的血压。任何种类及大小的小宠物都能带给人们相伴与爱的感觉。很多时候，拥有一只宠物能帮助年轻夫妻做担负为人父母责任的准备。宠物甚至有助于人际关系：它们使主人们看起来更友善，并且也带给人们一个交谈
17、的好话题。宠物是美国文化中很基本的一部分，就如热狗和苹果派一样。对美国人而言，宠物不仅仅是他们所拥有的一样东西而已，它是家庭的一部分。毕竟，宠物也是“人”啊！ Keys and Explanations: 1-5 CDDAB1. 选C。细节理解题。从第一段可以看出美国许多养宠物的人对宠物发自内心的喜爱。ABD分别与第一段的最后一句，第4句及第5句相吻合。没有提到C的情况。2. 选D。细节理解题。根据第二段可知猫和狗是美国人最喜爱的宠物，但最好的宠物是猫还是狗并无定论，因此可排除AB。由三四两句可以判断出热带鱼、老鼠和鸟是更常见的宠物，多于猴子、蛇和狼。因此可以判断出D为正确答案。3. 选D。综
18、合判断题。从第四段的These provide care and adoption services for homeless and abused animals.可排除A；虽然文中描述宠物受到了良好的待遇，但不能就因此说宠物就高高在上好过主人的生活，因此B项没有依据，可排除；live a dogs life的本意是过着悲惨的生活，而在文中是指受到和宠物狗一样的待遇，意义不同，C项的含义是说美国的所有人都过着很好的生活，显然不符美国也有穷人的事实；从文章最后一段第一句可以知道，宠物已经和热狗、苹果馅饼一样成为美国文化的一部分，故正确答案是D。4. 选A。主旨大意题。本段描述的是宠物给人带来的
19、各种好处，故选A。答案D只是众多好处之一，而CB虽是事实，但不是本段描述的内容故可排除。5选B。推理判断题。A是第四段第一句直接给出的信息；选项C根据At least 43 percent of U.S. homes have pets of some sort.可以排除；选项D 根据dogs can have their dinner delivered to their homes可知always说法不准确；从第二段的描述可知B正确。28. Crufts Dog Show 英国狗展 Fireworks, music and theatre have been some of the way
20、s in which the Chinese community in Britain has been celebrating the start of the Year of the Dog it has been quite a party. But every year the UK goes dog crazy with its annual celebration of all things canine at the annual Crufts dog show.More than 100,000 visitors went to watch mans best friend p
21、erform for the judges last week. It was a massive event with 20,000 dogs filling all five halls of the National Exhibition Centre in Britains second city, Birmingham. Terriers, hounds, toy dogs, and gundogs were just some of the 178 different breeds, that took part in demonstrations, competitions an
22、d displays.Every year there is the famous Best in Show Competition, but there is also the Agility, Flyball, Obedience, and Heelwork to Music events. There are usually plenty of trade stands every year, but this year there were four hundred of them packed with everything for dogs and their owners; th
23、ey were doing very brisk business, too.Dog fans travel from all over the UK and the world to visit Crufts. Jo and her mother Rosemary, from Southampton, summed it up:We came because weve got dogs and we love dogs. Theres nothing like Crufts. Weve really enjoyed it. Were going back home happy.So who
24、won this years event? Called Chance, she is an Australian Shepherd dog who beat six other group winners at the shows final. Chance is five-years-old, and comes from California, in the United States. Her handler Larry Fenner said: I am overwhelmed. The greatest moment of my life was the birth of my d
25、aughter, this is second best. I did not expect it. The dog is awesome, the greatest I have ever shown in my life. I probably wont have another one like him. Crufts was established in 1891 and now runs for four days every March. (317 words) Helper:caninekeinain犬科的 terrierteri梗类犬 (狗的一种) hound haund猎犬
26、gundog枪猎犬 breed bri:d品种 demonstration示范 agility diliti灵活性 obedience bi:djns服从 trade stands商品展台 brisk business生意新旺 sum up总结 Australian Shepherd epd澳大利亚牧羊犬handler训狗师 overwhelmed不知所措，受宠若惊 awesome:sm令人惊叹的 Brief Introduction:烟花、音乐和戏剧是英国的华人社区庆祝狗年来到的一些方式。但每年英国都会为狗而疯狂，在一年一度的英国狗展上，人们庆祝一切和狗有关的东西。上星期，十万多人前往观看了
27、人类最忠诚的朋友在裁判面前进行的表演。在这盛大的赛事中，有20000只狗挤满了英国第二大城市伯明翰的国家展览中心的五座大厅。参加示范、竞赛和展示的共有178种不同种类的狗，其中包括梗类犬、猎犬、玩具狗和枪猎犬。每年都有著名的最佳表演大赛，但也有灵活性、飞球、听话以及听音乐用脚后跟跳舞的比赛。每年都有大量的商品展台，但今年它们当中有四百多个都摆满了给狗以及狗的主人们用的东西，当然生意也很兴旺。来自英国乃至世界各地的狗爱好者们前来观看狗展。来自南安普顿的Jo和她的妈妈Rosemary总结说：“我们来这里是因为我们养狗并且爱狗。没有什么比得上狗展。我们真得很喜欢它。我们打算快乐地回家。”那么今年是谁
28、赢得了比赛呢？那就是“运气”，一只澳大利亚牧羊犬，它在最后的决赛中击败了其它六组的优胜者。“运气”今年五岁，来自美国的加利福尼亚。它的训狗师Larry Fenner说：“我简直不敢相信。我人生当中做伟大的时刻是我女儿的出生，而此时此刻仅次于那个时候。我真没有想到。” “这只狗太棒了，是我一生中所展示过的最棒的狗。我可能再也无法拥有一只像它那样的狗了。”英国狗展始于1891年，现在每年的三月举办一次，为期四天。 Exercises:1. The word “massive” in the 2nd paragraph can be replaced by .A. important B. glor
29、ious C. extensive D. brilliant2. It can be inferred from the article that .A. visitors can enjoy fireworks, music and theatre in the Crufts dog showB. Crufts is held for four days every March since it was establishedC. Crufts is not only popular in the UK but is also loved by dog fans all over the w
30、orldD. visitors come to Crufts because they want to buy something for their dogs3. Which of the following statements about the Crufts last week is UNTRUE?A. It was held in the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham.B. There were 20,000 dogs of 178 different breeds taking part.C. There were four hu
31、ndred of trade stands packed with everything for dogs and their owners.D. The winner this year is an Australian Shepherd dog called “chance” trained by Jo and her mother Rosemary.4. Whats the meaning of “Heelwork to Music” in the 4th paragraph?A. play an musical instrument B. dance to musicC. enjoy
32、music D. bark to musicKeys and Explanations:1. 选C。猜测词义题。由第二段with 20,000 dogs filling all five halls of the National Exhibition Centre可知，此次英国狗展规模很大，故C项正确。2. 选C。推理判断题。由第一段首句可知，烟火、音乐和戏剧是英国的华人社区庆祝狗年来到的方式，而不是庆祝英国狗展的方式，故A项错误；由最后一段可知，英国狗展现在每年的三月举办一次，为期四天，但创立之初的情况文章并没有提到，故B项错误；由第六段首句Dog fans travel from all over the UK and the world to visit Crufts可知C项正确；由第五段和第七段可知，在英国狗展上人们确实可以买到和狗相关的产品，但人们来参加狗展的主要原因还是出于对狗的热爱，故D项错误。3. 选D。细节理解题。今年英国狗展的优胜者的确是一只叫做“运气”的澳大利亚牧羊犬，但它的主人不是Jo and her mother Rosemary，而是Larry Fenner，故选D项。选B。猜测词义题。Heel有脚后跟的意思，根据to Music加以联想，应该是“随着音乐用脚后跟跳舞”的意思，故B项正确。
