In America, when people say “man’s best friend”, they don’t mean another person. Instead, they are talking about a lovely animal：A dog! These words show the friendship between people and animals. Dogs and other pets can give happiness to people’s lives. Some people think of their pets as their children. A few even leave all their money to their pets when they die!

   Animals can help people, too. Dogs can be taught to become the “eyes” for a blind person or “ears” for a deaf people. Scientists have found that pets help people live longer! They make people happier, too. Because of that, animals are brought into hospitals for “visit”.

   Americans hold “Be-Kind-to-Animals Week” in the first week of May.

   Pets shows are held during the week. Even if you don’t live in America, you, too, can do this. How? First, think about how animals make your life richer. If you have a pet, take more time this week to play with it. Remember to give it delicious food. Also, be sure to keep your pet from those unwanted babies.

   If you don’t have a pet, be kind to animals around you. For example, if you see a street dog, don’t kick it or throw things at it. Instead, just leave it alone, or better yet, make friends with it. If others around you do bad things to an animal, try to stop them. As people, we must protect animals who can’t speak for themselves.

1.“A few even leave all their money to their pets when they die!” means that__________

       A. pets have the right to inherit (继承) money.

       B. money can give pets happiness.

       C. it’s the best way to spend money.

       D. some pets are taken as children.

2.Why are dogs brought to hospitals?

        A. Because they are ill and need to see doctors.

       B. Because they can make the patients happier.

C. Because they can find out the problems of the patients.

D. Because doctors can do experiments on them.

3. What’s the most popular activity in the “Be-Kind-to-Animals Week”?

       A. Holding a pet show in the week.               

B. Playing with pets the whole week.

       C. Cooking delicious food for pets.                  

D. Making friends with other people’s pets.      

4.What’s the passage mainly about?

       A. A lot of people are interested in dogs.         

B. Dogs can help people do many things. [来源:学+科+网Z+X+X+K]

       C. Pets are lovely and need care and protection. 

D. We have done a lot of things for pets.

5.The words “man’s best friends” shows____________.

       A. the friendship between people.          

B. the friendship between people and animals.

       C. the friendship between animals.        

D. the friendship between men and women                 

 

The slogan “a dog is for life, not just for Christmas” has been going strong for 27 years now. Dogs and cats have been popular Christmas gifts in the gifts in the UK and Europe for many years. But some people still haven’t quite got the message.

The slogan still holds good. Some 105,000 dogs were rounded up by local government last year because they had been abandoned, many of them shortly after the festival season.

The main reason given by owners for handing their dogs over to the Dogs Trust is that the dogs need more attention than they can give; behavioral problems and moving home are also reasons given.

But Eleanor Silk, the Trust’s communications director, says, “It’s often four or five months after Christmas, in early summer, when owners find that the dog has got too big and too active, or it hasn’t been trained properly and has caused damage around the home.”

In any case, some organizations that help pets are quick to point out that if you are serious about getting a puppy(小狗) as a pet, Christmas is not the time to do it. Puppies need to get used to their new surroundings, to be introduced to a routine, and to be looked after like small children. It’s hard to meet any of these needs at Christmas. What’s more, pulling a puppy out of a Christmas stocking in itself sends the wrong message to children. It encourages children to think of the puppy as a toy, rather than a responsibility.

Appreciating what you’re taking on with a dog can be a sobering (清醒的) realization. “For life” means thinking about the effect they’ll have on your life. It also infers you will need to care for the dog for its whole life.

1.What would be the best title for the passage?

A．Dogs and Cats—the Most Popular Christmas Gifts.

B．A pet is for Life, Not just for Christmas.

C．How to Take Care of Your Pets over Christmas.

D．Let’s Help Those Abandoned Pets

2.According to the passage, which of the following is NOT a reason for pets to be abandoned?

A．Pets spread some diseases.

B．Pets damage some things in the house.

C．The owners can’t take good care of the pets.

D．The owners have to move to other places.

3.The underlined words “rounded up” in Paragraph 2 mean “________”.

A．given out as gifts

B．thrown away

C．gathered into one place

D．raised to make money

4.The fifth paragraph mainly tells us________.

A．how to take best care of Christmas pets

B．the right time to have a puppy as a pet

C．the reasons why Christmas is not the time to get a pet

D．the worries about Christmas pets from organizations that help pets

5.Why is the author against the idea of putting a dog in the Christmas stocking as a Christmas gift?

A．Because these dogs can still cause damage.

B．Because children will not take dogs seriously.

C．Because children don’t like to have dogs as Christmas gifts.

D．Because a Christmas stocking is not big enough to put a dog in.

 

Global financial big dogs are no match for China's "Da Ma", or housewives, who have crowded into gold stores across China, buying up 300 tons of gold over the past two weeks. No wonder gold prices have steadied after taking a dive.

During the May Day holiday, gold stores were crowded with mostly female customers. Most of them are middle-aged "Chinese housewives". This group of buyers has risen to fame recently. They are big spenders and are desperate to get their hands on a bargain. "I bought some gold jewellery and kept them as a gift for my son when he gets married," said a buyer from Shanghai.

The gold business is skyrocketing. "Our sales are growing by the day. Yesterday we sold more than ten million yuan of gold products," a gold store salesperson said. The gold rush in China started about two weeks ago thanks to a decline in global gold prices. Media reports suggest that Chinese housewives have spent about 100 billion yuan, or about 16 billion US dollars, purchasing 300 tons of gold since mid-April. That has helped support gold prices.

"Gold prices depressed since the middle of last month but have risen gradually. That is mainly due to the strong demand from Asian markets," said foreign trader Zhang Chen from Industrial & Commercial Bank of China. "Some people even joked that Chinese housewives have beaten Wall Street analysts." For Chinese people, with limited investment options, the only thing better than buying gold is buying gold at discount prices.

1.What does the author indicate in the first sentence of the 1st paragraph?

A. The global big dogs can’t match with Chinese housewives.

B. China's "Da Ma" help a lot to support the global economic crisis .

C. Chinese housewives spend a great deal of money on gold

D. Chinese housewives have a better consumption idea than global financial big dogs

2.The whole passage mainly developed_______ ?

A. by comparison      B. by contrast

C. by quotation         D. by time order

3.We can infer about the gold rush in China from the passage?

A. The Chinese housewives are most willing to spend money in buying gold ..

B. China's "Da Ma" crowded into stores to get gold as the best gifts for sons when they get married.

C. China's "Da Ma" are bigger spenders and cleverer than global financial big dogs.

D. China’s "Da Ma" become the largest gold buyers due to a decline in global gold prices.

4.In the writer’s view, Chinese housewives are desperate to get their hands on a bargain because_____.

A. it is worthy to buy gold.

B .they have a strong demand

C. they have unlimited investment options

D it is at discount prices.

5.The author’s description about the passage is ______.

A. objective   B. subjective    C. doubtful    D. negative

 

Dogs can be worried and pessimistic just like people, researchers report in a new study in Current Biology. And they aren’t talking about basset hounds (短脚猎狗): those dogs just look as if they expect the worst.

What the scientists say is that dogs that exhibit anxiety when left home alone by their owners may have bigger problems — they may be in a permanent bad mood.

This pessimistic outlook may not otherwise be easily apparent in a dog’s other characteristics, like running speed or learning ability, the study reports.

Dogs are similar to humans in the role that emotional state plays in decision making, said Michael Mendel, a veterinary scientist at the University of Bristol and the study’s lead author. The study’s researchers looked at 24 dogs in shelters in Britain.

They placed the dogs in isolated settings and observed their reactions — many barked, jumped on furniture and scratched at the door.

Then they placed bowls in two rooms. One bowl contained food, while another was empty. After training the dogs to understand that bowls can sometimes be empty, and sometimes full, they began to place bowls in ambiguous locations.

Dogs that quickly raced to the locations were more optimistic, and in search of food. Those that did not were deemed pessimistic.

The more separation anxiety a dog expressed while in isolation, the more likely the dog was to have a pessimistic reaction, the researchers found.

The study carries an important message for dog owners, Dr. Mendel said.

Dogs that express serious anxiety when alone may need treatment, as it could be a sign of unhappiness and instability.

1.This passage can be classified as _________.

A．an advertisement	B．a feature story
C．a news report	D．a book review

2. In the study, many dogs barked, jumped and scratched because __________.

A．they couldn’t find the bowl with food in it

B．they were left alone

C．they needed to be treated

D．they wanted to be active and optimistic

3.According to Dr. Mendel, which statement is true?

A．Like humans, dogs are good at decision making.

B．Dog owners should train dogs to find food.

C．Emotional state works sometimes when humans make decision.

D．Dogs can always find the bowl with food quickly.

4.What can we learn from the passage?

A．Dogs will be optimistic as long as they are left alone.

B．Dogs must be in a permanent bad mood when their owners left.

C．Dogs that express anxiety don’t need treatment.

D．Dogs may easily show their pessimistic outlook in learning ability.

 

Can dogs and cats live in perfect harmony in the same home? People who are thinking about adopting a dog as a friend for their cat are worried that they will fight. A recent research has found a new recipe for success. According to the study, if the cat is adopted before the dog, and if they are introduced when still young (less than 6 months for cats, a year for dogs), it is highly probable that the two pets will get along swimmingly. Two-thirds of the homes interviewed reported a positive relationship between their cat and dog.

However, it wasn’t all sweetness and light. There was a reported coldness between the cat and dog in 25% of the homes, while aggression and fighting were observed in 10% of the homes. One reason for this is probably that some of their body signals are just opposite. For example, when a cat turns its head away it signals aggression, while a dog doing the same signals submission.

In homes with cats and dogs living peacefully, researchers observed a surprising behavior. They are learning how to talk each other’s language. It is a surprise that cats can learn how to talk ‘Dog’, and dogs can learn how to talk ‘Cat’.

What’s interesting is that both cats and dogs have appeared to develop their intelligence. They can learn to read each other’s body signals, suggesting that the two may have more in common than was previously suspected. Once familiar with each other’s presence and body language, cats and dogs can play together, greet each other nose to nose, and enjoy sleeping together on the sofa. They can easily share the same water bowl and in some cases groom (梳理) each other.

The significance of this research on cats and dogs may go beyond pets ─ to people who don’t get along, including neighbors, colleagues at work, and even world superpowers. If cats and dogs can learn to get along, surely people have a good chance.

1.The underlined word swimmingly in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ______.

A．early             B．sweetly           C．quickly           D．smoothly

2.Some cats and dogs may fight when ______.

A．they are cold to each other

B．they look away from each other

C．they misunderstand each other’s signals

D．they are introduced at an early age

3.What is found surprising about cats and dogs?

A．They eat and sleep together.

B．They observe each other’s behaviors.

C．They learn to speak each other’s language.

D．They know something from each other’s voices.

4.It is suggested in Paragraph 4 that cats and dogs ______.

A．have common interests

B．are less different than was thought

C．have a common body language

D．are less intelligent than was expected

5.What can we human beings learn from cats and dogs?

A．We should learn to live in harmony.

B．We should know more about animals.

C．We should live in peace with animals.

D．We should learn more body languages.