Last year, my oldest son Matthew went off to college. Things at home were not as “busy” as they used to be. We still had our 15-year-old Gabriel with us, but we missed having Matthew around. My wife soon had a crazy idea.“Let's get a dog,”she told me. I wasn’t exactly thrilled with the idea, but agreed. I mean, what’s a better way to replace a kid that has gone off to college than to get a dog?
When we got to the animal shelter, it seemed like every dog was a pit bull (比特犬). I’d had many bad experiences with pit bulls as a child, so I didn’t want to take one of them home with me. While I walked along the rows and rows of cold metal cages, a dog caught my eye. He was scared, and looked like he'd given up on life. There was only one problem: he was a pit bull.
As he looked at me with his big, beautiful eyes, I could see into his soul. I could see how scared he was and that he just wanted a happy life. I couldn’t just walk away—I had to at least go over and look at him. I approached his cage, and he just sat there, looking at me. I stuck my finger through the hole in the cage and petted him on the head. I expected him to get mad, but he didn’t. I knew that this dog had never felt love before, and he was enjoying every bit of the love I could give him in that moment. Tears began to stream down my face because I felt everything that this poor creature was feeling right then. He just wanted to be loved; he just wanted a home and a family.
It’s been a year since we took the dog home, and our lives have been changed forever. Now, his favorite thing to do is give us kisses with his giant tongue every morning. He is always there to greet us when we come home with a huge smile. He’s shown us more love than any other living creature on Earth ever had before. And every time I look into his eyes, I see love, compassion and gratitude—things I never thought that a pit bull was capable of feeling.
1. How did the author react to his wife’s idea of getting a dog?| A．He became excited. | B．He thought it was a bad idea. |
| C．He found it acceptable. | D．It made him feel angry. |
| A．His wife liked the dog a lot. |
| B．He found the dog was more active than the other dogs. |
| C．He found the dog was similar to one he used to own. |
| D．He found he could understand the dog’s feelings. |
| A．They lived a life full of love. |
| B．They found it hard to get along with him. |
| C．They missed having Matthew around even more. |
| D．They regretted adopting him. |
| A．To give advice on how to keep a pet. |
| B．To stress the benefits of keeping a pet. |
| C．To suggest people keep a pet of their own. |
| D．To share a warm story about adopting a pet. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】For the creatively minded, snow represents a large blank canvas (空白画布) for art. But often, it’s limited to snowmen or other snow statues. Simon Beck had a different idea, and over the course of a decade he has carved a path for himself in the snow art world. He creates large land art by walking across soccer-field-sized areas covered in untouched snow. Combined with light and shadow, his artistic designs can only be fully appreciated when viewed from above.
Beck, 59, a former map maker turned into a snow artist, thanks to his decision late in life to pursue his hobby.
“It started just as a joke one day really,” Beck explained. “After skiing one day, I decided to make a drawing on snow to seek pleasure…”
“I really had no idea how good it would look when I made that first drawing, but it really went beyond my expectation, he said of his first ever creation that he looked down on from a ski lift.
To create this work, Beck stepped his way through the snow using only snowshoes and a ski pole for measurement with nothing else but the image of a design idea in his head. It was not challenging at all due to his previous work experience. But as his designs developed and became more complex, Beck said he began to start drawing them on paper first.
Beck’s paintings have become a huge hit since his work was first shared.
“Most of the time I had been doing failed careers, and people around me are asking what’s the quickest way of getting rid of this person,” Beck said. “And for the first time, I felt people actually wanted me. I felt like a more valued member of society.”
1. Where does Simon Beck create art?| A．On maps. | B．On mountains. | C．On snowfields. | D．On soccer fields. |
| A．To prove his talent. | B．To have fun. |
| C．To entertain the skiers. | D．To develop a new hobby. |
| A．His experience of making maps. | B．His passion for skiing. |
| C．His competitive nature. | D．His dream to be an artist. |
| A．Travel. | B．Sports. | C．Geography. | D．Art. |
【推荐2】The J in “juice” was the first letter-sound, according to my mother, which I repeated in staccato(不连贯地). This was when I was three, before my stutter(口吃)was considered as shameful. In those earliest years my relationship to language was uncomplicated: I assumed my voice was more like a bird’s or a squirrel’s than my playmates’. I imagined, unlike fluent children, I might be able to converse with wild creatures, learn their secrets, tell them mine and establish friendships with them.
School put an end to this fantasy. Throughout elementary school I stuttered every time a teacher called on me and whenever I was asked to read out loud. Flash forward 25 years. After a lot of speech therapy, my stutter was less noticeable. One night I found myself at a party in Brooklyn surrounded by people freely and proudly stuttering. I realized as I listened to one after another tell their stories that they were not impressed with my fluency. No. They felt sorry for me.
This experience blew my mind. It had never occurred to me to tell myself the way I spoke was OK; it’s the fluent world that needed to practice acceptance. When I watched “The King’s Speech,” a film about King George VI’s stutter, I didn’t buy the happy ending, when, with the help of his speech therapist Lionel Logue, the king delivers with fluency his announcement that Britain will enter World War II. The actual meaning and glory in the film, I realized, occurs between the king and Logue inside their sessions. The king exposes his vulnerability(脆弱)and Logue reacts not with judgment or disgust but sympathy. For the first time the king is seen.
The central irony of my life remains that my stutter, which at times caused so much suffering, is also responsible for my obsession with language. Without it I would not have been driven to write, to create rhythmic sentences easier to speak and to read. As a little girl, I hoped my stutter would let me into the secret world of animals. As an adult, given a kind listener, I am privileged to find a direct pathway to the human heart.
1. How did the writer regard her stutter when she was three?| A．Cautiously. | B．Positively. | C．Skeptically. | D．Critically. |
| A．Stuttering is anything but shameful. |
| B．Stuttering makes a humorous speaker. |
| C．Socializing helps one overcome stuttering. |
| D．Fluent people should feel sorry for themselves. |
| A．Doubt. | B．Judge. | C．Experience. | D．Accept. |
| A．Her stutter made her a writer. |
| B．How she finally stopped stuttering. |
| C．A party shaped her into who she is today. |
| D．What she learned from “The King’s Speech” |
【推荐3】Olivia Ries was just seven years old when she and her eight-year-old brother Carter adopted a cheetah(猎豹) in South Africa.
''When my sister and I first learned back in 2009 that species like the cheetah may be extinct in the wild by the time we have kids, it scared us. We knew we had to do something to help them, '' says Carter. ''There are so many people (young and old alike) who just don’t know what is happening to so many species, just like we didn't. Olivia and I want to make sure we reach as many people around the world as possible and help them to understand how serious the situation really is. ''
To do that, the kids started One More Generation (OMG), an organization with the motto: ''Preserving endangered species for one more generation and beyond. ''
Now, ten years later, Olivia and Carter have traveled all over the world spreading their message. They've been interviewed on national television, participated in marches and fundraisers and won awards for their work. In 2015, they were invited to Vietnam by the United States Embassy to participate in a program to save rhinos. All that they've accomplished for animals and the environment is much too long to list!
''Our number one message to everyone we meet is 'Remember, anyone can make a difference... if we can, you can too, '' says Olivia. ''We want all people to understand that what Carter and I are doing is not necessarily something special; it is something that we all should be doing. You can start small by simply adopting an animal. Do some research on the species you are interested in, and find a good organization offering adoptions. My brother and I take our birthday money and allowance money and adopt animals all the time. ''
1. How did Olivia and Carter feel when learning cheetahs faced extinction?| A．Angry and guilty. | B．Shocked and concerned. |
| C．Anxious and helpless. | D．Hopeful and determined. |
| A．Helping endangered species survive. |
| B．Telling people the situation cheetahs face. |
| C．Making the situation of dying species known. |
| D．Calling on people to adopt endangered species. |
| A．They organized activities to raise money. | B．They took measures to save rhinos. |
| C．They made efforts to list extinct species. | D．They contributed a lot to dying species. |
| A．Anyone can help by starting small. |
| B．Anyone can do something special. |
| C．Anyone should do research on species. |
| D．Anyone should donate to adoption organizations. |
| A．''Adopting a panda in name of both her and me. '' |
| B．''Making her a furry dog with my own hands. '' |
| C．''Buying her a doll of the latest style. '' |
| D．''Mailing her a handmade postcard. '' |
【推荐1】I began to grow up that winter night when my parents and I were returning from my aunt’s house, and my mother said that we might soon be leaving for America. We were on the bus then. I was crying, and some people on the bus were turning around to look at me. I remember that I could not bear the thought of never hearing again the radio program for school children to which I listened every morning.
I do not remember myself crying for this reason again. In fact, I think I cried very little when I was saying goodbye to my friends and relatives. When we were leaving I thought about all the places I was going to see — the strange and magical places I had known only from books and pictures. The country I was leaving and never to come back was hardly in my head then.
The four years that followed taught me the importance of optimism, but the idea did not come to me at once. For the first two years in New York I was really lost — having to study in three schools as a result of family moves. I did not quite know what I was or what I should be. Mother remarried, and things became even more complex for me. Some time passed before my stepfather and I got used to each other. I was often sad, and saw no end to “the hard times.”
My responsibilities in the family increased a lot since I knew English better than everyone else at home. I wrote letters, filled out forms, translated at interviews with Immigration officers, took my grandparents to the doctor and translated there, and even discussed telephone bills with company representatives.
From my experiences I have learned one important rule: Almost all common troubles go away at last! Something good is certain to happen in the end when you do not give up, and just wait a little! I believe that my life will turn out all right, even though it will not be that easy.
1. How did the author get to know America?| A．From her relatives |
| B．From her mother |
| C．From books and pictures |
| D．From radio programs |
| A．confused | B．excited | C．worried | D．amazed |
| A．often lost her way |
| B．did not think about her future |
| C．studied in three different schools |
| D．got on well with her stepfather |
| A．Pessimistic. | B．Indifferent. | C．Positive. | D．Ambiguous. |
【推荐2】Mrs. Jones was my first patient when I started medical school — and I owe her a lot.
She was under my care for the first two years of my medical training, yet I knew very little about her, except that she was thin, perhaps in her mid 70s. It might seem rather negligent not to know the basic facts of my patient, but I had a valid reason — Mrs. Jones was dead, and had been dead for about three years before I made a patient of her. Mrs. Jones was the dead body that I dissected (解剖) over the first two years of my medical training.
Of course, her name wasn’t really Mrs. Jones, but it seemed a little impolite to be conducting research into someone’s body without even knowing its name, so out of courtesy, I thought she should have one. “Me and Mrs. Jones, we’ve got a thing going on.” went the song coming out of the radio as I unzipped the bag of her on my first day — and so she was christened (命名).
As the months passed, I soon forgot that Mrs. Jones had, in fact, once been alive. One day, though, she suddenly became very human again. I’d been dissecting Mrs. Jones a good 18 months before I got around to the uterus (子宫). After I’d removed it, the professor came up to me, “If you look at the opening carefully, you’ll see that the angle indicates that this woman has had several children, probably three.” I stared at it, and I suddenly felt very strange. This woman, who had given me something incredibly precious that I’d begun to take for granted, wasn’t a dead body. She was a person, a mother, in fact.
At my graduation, the same professor came over to congratulate me. I explained the story about Mrs. Jones to him, and recalled what he’d told me about her having children and how that had affected me all those years ago.
“Well,” he said, “at the beginning of your training you had a dead body and managed to turn it into a person. Now you’re a doctor, the trick is to have a person and not turn them into a dead body,” and he laughed, shook my hand and walked away.
1. What does the underlined word “negligent” in Paragraph 2 refer to?| A．Irresponsible. | B．Pitiful. |
| C．Regretful. | D．Miserable. |
| A．She was named after the author’s favorite singer. |
| B．It came from a song being played during their first meet. |
| C．It was passed down from the seniors of the author’s school. |
| D．It just occurred to the author when he opened the bag of her. |
| A．Indifferent. | B．Ashamed. |
| C．Grateful. | D．Guilty. |
| A．Medical students are able to bring the dead back to life. |
| B．Good doctors never fail to save their patients from dying. |
| C．Medical staff ought to have respect for life and humanity. |
| D．Being a doctor has nothing to do with the medical training. |
【推荐3】As 17-year-old Torri’ell Norwood drove through Florida, last February, the laughter and chatter from the four teenage girls inside her car quickly gave way to screams. As they approached an intersection, another car T-boned them, sending their car sailing into the yard of a nearby home, coming to a stop only when it crashed into a tree.
As smoke rose from the car, a bystander shouted, “It’s about to blow up! Get out!” Shaken, but otherwise OK, Norwood crawled out through the window as the driver’s side door couldn’t be opened. Along with two of her friends, who’d also managed to free themselves, she ran for her life. But halfway down the street, she realized that her best friend, Simmons, wasn’t with them. Norwood ran back and found Simmons unconscious in the back seat. She threw open the back door and pulled her friend out. She dragged Simmons a few feet to safety and laid her on the ground. After checking Simmons’ pulse she found there was no sign of life, so she started CPR(心肺复苏).
Had the accident happened a few weeks earlier, she might not have known what to do. But just the day before, Norwood, who wanted to pursue a career in medicine, had earned her CPR certificate by learning on her own. Kneeling on the lawn and looking down at her dying friend, Norwood knew she had precious little time to practice what she’d learned.
She started pumping Simmons’ chest with her interlocked fingers and breathing into her friend’s mouth in the hope of filling her lungs with the kiss of life. After quite a while, Simmons began coughing and taking quick deep breaths for air. The CPR had worked! Soon,the ambulance arrived and rushed Simmons to the hospital. And then she heard how her best friend had saved her life. “I wasn’t shocked,” Simmons told others. “She will always help in any way she can.“
1. What caused the car crash?| A．The girls were too excited to notice another car. |
| B．Norwood drove the car too quickly that day. |
| C．Norwood’s car crashed into a tree in a yard. |
| D．Another car hit Norwood’s car near the intersection. |
| A．She crawled out through the window and ran without stopping. |
| B．She ran for her life but turned back to save her friend |
| C．She dragged her friends out and performed CPR at once. |
| D．She opened the driver’s side door and pulled her friend out. |
| A．She had learned CPR in school classes. | B．She pursued a career in medicine. |
| C．She just earned her CPR certificate. | D．The bystander told her how to do it. |
| A．The Breath of Life | B．A Frightening Night |
| C．The Power of Knowledge | D．A Brave Girl |
