1 . Ricochet, San Diego’s favourite surfing therapy (治疗) dog, has caught her final wave. The 15-year-old golden retriever — a pioneer of canine-assisted (犬只辅助的) surf therapy who helped countless veterans (老兵) and kids — died on Friday, owner Judy Fridono said Saturday.
Ricochet was raised to be a service dog, but the energetic pup was more fond of chasing birds than assisting with household chores. In 2009, the dog found her career. That was the year Ricochet got on a surfboard with local quadriplegic (四肢瘫痪的) surfer Patrick Ivison. A viral video of the encounter got more than 6 million views on YouTube. “That day she hopped on the board with Patrick, she was reborn,” Fridono said in a 2012 interview.
Throughout her life, the beloved dog touched the lives of kids with special needs, wounded service members and families of fallen veterans. Ricochet was known as an affectionate companion and a shameless belly-rub beggar and had a feeling for people who needed a hug.
Notably, the furry do-gooder helped raise $ 1 million for charity and the donation of more than 1 million bowls of food for homeless animals.
Her work brought numerous awards, media attention and a loyal fan base on social media. The dog had more than 141,000 followers on Instagram and more than 270,000 on Facebook.
Ricochet’s legacy (遗产) will live on through the sponsorship of Jose Martinez, an Army veteran and parasurfer, and through donations to adaptive surfing organizations. “People believe in Ricochet’s mission… she didn’t do it alone,” Fridon o said. “Her supporters are an extension of her legacy and her roots in helping others heal through dog intervention and therapy. Now that she’s gone, I don’t want people to be sad. I want them to celebrate and continue supporting what she started.”
1. What was Ricochet’s career?| A．Canine-assisted surf therapy. | B．Assisting with household chores. |
| C．Bird catching. | D．Working as a service dog. |
| A．Brave but lazy. | B．Naughty but caring. |
| C．Cute and handsome. | D．Fierce and strong. |
| A．The contribution of Ricochet. | B．Social media’s influence on Ricochet. |
| C．Recochet’s popularity. | D．Donations to the homeless animals. |
| A．In a diary. | B．In a textbook. |
| C．In a newspaper. | D．In a guidebook. |
2 . Rhubarb was very friendly. Whenever someone came to the house, she was always happy. We had an older dog named Willie, and it was important that Rhubarb get along well with him. She wanted to play, but was very respectful to Willie and left him alone when he was tired. Willie was not well and died about a year later, but I believe Rhubarb helped him keep going for longer.
But the interesting thing about Rhubarb was that she never barked. She would sometimes get excited when she saw a chipmunk(花栗鼠) and make a little crying sound, One hot night when she was about 4 years old, we went to bed with the windows open and the doors unlocked. At about 3 a.m. ,1 woke up to the sound of Rhubarb barking. I woke Donald and we got out of the bed.
Rhubarb was coming toward us quickly. We turned on the lights and noticed the door to the kitchen was open. Then we saw the door leading into the house from the garage was also open. We locked all the doors immediately, and we did not get any sleep that night.
The next day we noticed there were cigarette ashes(烟灰) on the floor. I called the police to report a break-in. I told them nothing had been taken, but they sent a police officer over to talk with us anyway. While he was here, we found out some local homes had been burglarized over the weekend. Most people lost their wallets and purses.
My purse was right next to the door, but Rhubarb had scared the robber(盗贼) away before he could steal it. Rhubarb lived to be almost 12, but that night was the only time she barked. Fortunately, she never saw the need to warn us of any other danger. We loved her like a member of the family.
1. We can learn from the first paragraph that________| A．Willie was good at communicating | B．Rhubarb and Willie fought at times |
| C．Rhubarb treated Willie well | D．Willie was lonely before his death |
| A．There was a break-in. | B．She saw a chipmunk. |
| C．She got excited. | D．The doors were closed. |
| A．Found. | B．Refused. | C．Helped. | D．Stolen. |
| A．Rhubarb scared the robbers away. |
| B．Rhubarb saw no other danger needed to warn us. |
| C．Rhubarb became a member of her family. |
| D．Rhubarb barked once in her entire life. |
| A．Kind. | B．Brave. | C．Strong. | D．Friendly. |
3 . They waited patiently for what seemed a very long time, stamping in the snow to keep their feet warm. At last they heard the sound of slow shuffling footsteps approaching the door from the inside. It seemed, as the Mole said to the Rat, like someone walking in slippers that were too large for him and down at heel, which was intelligent of Mole, because that was exactly what it was.
The door opened a few inches, enough to show a long snout and a pair of sleepy eyes.
“Now, the very next time this happens,” said an angry voice. “Who is it this time, disturbing people on such a night? Speak up!”
“Oh, Badger,” cried the Rat, “let us in, please. It's me, Rat, and my friend Mole, and we've lost our way in the snow.”
“What, Ratty, my dear little man! ”exclaimed the Badger, in quite a different voice. “Come along in, both of you, at once. Why, you must be very cold. Lost in the snow! And in the Wild Wood, too, and at this time of night!”
The two animals got inside, and heard the door shut behind them with great joy and relief.
The Badger, who wore a long dressing gown, and whose slippers were indeed very down at heel, carried a flat candlestick in his paw and had probably been on his way to bed when their voices sounded. “This is not the sort of night for small animals to be out,” he said kindly. “Come along; come along; come into the kitchen. There's a first-rate fire there, and supper and everything.”
He shuffled on in front of them, carrying the light, and they followed him down a long narrow passage into a large fire-lit kitchen.
The kindly Badger helped them remove their wet coats and boots, and brought them clothes and slippers. In the comfortable light and warmth, warm and dry at last, it seemed to the storm -driven animals, now in safety, that the cold and trackless Wild Wood just left outside was miles and miles away, and all that they had suffered in it was a half-forgotten dream.
1. What happened to Mole and Rat?| A．They visited Mr. Badger. | B．They got lost in the forest. |
| C．They walked to keep warm. | D．They looked for food to eat. |
| A．He thought his slippers was too large and down at heel. |
| B．He heard someone stamping in the snow to keep their feet warm. |
| C．He hated being bothered on his way to bed in a freezing cold night. |
| D．He knew Mole and Rat lost their way in the cold and trackless Wild Wood. |
| A．He has a heart of gold. | B．He is strict with himself. |
| C．He is as good as his word. | D．He has a mind of his own. |
| A．Mole and Rat are grateful to Mr Badger. |
| B．Mr Badger didn't pay attention to his appearance. |
| C．Rat had thought the slippers were too large to Mr Badger. |
| D．Mr Badger helped Mole and Rat to get their gratitude. |
4 . This spring Steve Stuttard reunited with an unusual friend: Mrs. Mallard, a duck that nested in the flowerpot on his ninth-story apartment balcony in Manchester, UK, last year. Upon her return, she laid 11 eggs in the same flowerpot filled with grass.
‘‘I know ducks have strange routines when it comes to nesting, and if they have a successful site, they will return to it,” says Stuttard, a bird lover since childhood.
Stottard used skills learned in the Navy to create a jackstay (稳定锁) with a red rope and a bucket. Those skills came in handy last year when he quickly and safely transported Mrs. Mallard’s seven ducklings (小鸭子) down once they hatched.
“Getting the ducklings down isn’t as simple as a ride in the elevator. It’s crucial not to hurt the bond between the ducklings and Mrs. Mallard,” Stuttard says.
However, Stuttard faced more of a challenge this year. He had four additional eggs and high winds. He also had a new global audience heavily invested in the fate of the ducklings.
Emma Newman, Stuttard’s daughter, updates about his preparation for this year’s nesting, which took off on Twitter. “I’ve been absolutely bombarded with messages,’’ Newman says. “I actually can’t keep up because thousands of people are following the story. Whenever I tweet about it, I get several hundred replies a second sometimes.”
On Tuesday morning when two ducklings poked (探出) their heads out of the flowerpot, the wind was awful. Stuttard waited and kept watching. Fortunately, late in the afternoon, Mrs. Mallard finally made her move. This was Stuttard’s clue to get to work.
Stuttard picked Mrs. Mallard up and threw her off the balcony, and she flew off. Immediately, he placed the ducklings in the bucket one by one. Then, he used his jackstay to carefully lower the bucket. “Within two, three minutes from when I walked out on the balcony, Mrs. Mallard was swimming away with her family,” Stuttard says.
1. Why did Mrs. Mallard choose the same flowerpot?| A．She wanted to be protected by Stuttard. |
| B．She liked to lay her eggs in high places. |
| C．She nested there successfully last year. |
| D．She remembered Stuttard and his family. |
| A．Staying with them all along. |
| B．Creating a professional jackstay. |
| C．Transporting without using the elevator. |
| D．Keeping their connection with the mother. |
| A．Coated. | B．Rewarded. | C．Linked. | D．Flooded. |
| A．Ducklings Succeeding in Going Downstairs |
| B．Ducklings Overcoming Survival Challenges |
| C．Man Helping Ducklings Down His Apartment |
| D．Man Welcoming an Unusual Duck Back Home |
5 . In February 2019, my beautiful cat Xena suddenly lost the use of her back legs, and I took her straight to our vet, Chris. Xena was booked for surgery two days later. The operation was successful, and I went to see her later that day. She seemed tired, but pleased to see me and in much better shape.
A few days later, I took her home, armed with medications plus instructions for her care. I had to keep her in a large cage and teach her how to walk again. And no one could tell whether Xena could walk again or not—it was largely up to her. I wasn’t expecting much, but I carried on doing as Chris had instructed.
Just a week later, Xena amazed me. Not having managed to support herself on her back legs at all, she suddenly stood up all by herself. Soon she began to walk a little with her back supported. Encouraged, I booked her for some hydrotherapy, which was helpful for dogs in this situation. Most cats would panic if put in water, but my brave little cat astonished everyone, tolerating neck-deep water while walking on a machine.
When I took Xena to Chris, he was delighted with her progress. Over the next few weeks, Xena moved from the cage to a room of her own, with all furniture removed so that she wouldn't run into anything or get tripped. Soon, she could manage a few steps out into our garden, though she still needed some help to walk properly without dragging her legs. Despite still being in pain, she really wanted to walk again. After three months since her surgery, she was able to run, jump and climb stairs... anything she wanted.
Xena is now completely back to normal, I’d thought she might be defeated permanently by all that had happened to her. But this courageous little cat simply brushed it all off and got on with living. Many people could learn from Xena.
1. From paragraph 1, it can be learned that Xena ________.| A．was fall of energy shortly after the operation |
| B．was given the surgery in her owner’s absence |
| C．got injured owing to her owner’s carelessness |
| D．received an operation on reaching the hospital |
| A．Unsure. | B．Inspired. | C．Satisfied. | D．Hopeless. |
| A．To avoid making a mess. | B．To allow her to run faster. |
| C．To prevent her getting hurt. | D．To make room for her cage. |
| A．Socializing with others. | B．Making proper choices. |
| C．Being considerate to partners. | D．Dealing with life challenges. |
6 . On Friday morning when 53-year-old Thong Pham broke into the house through the unlocked back door, he took a steak knife from the kitchen.
It was dark, and the family didn't know what Marley was barking (吠) at. Taylor, Amber and their girls Finley, 6, and Sadie, 4, soon woke up and came downstairs, too. “Well, it was dark so we couldn't see anything, only could hear Marley,” Amber recalled, saying her husband then went for the lights. “And once he turned the hall light on, we realized that the guy was holed up in the corner trying to hide.”
“So I think he got to the front door and realized he couldn't get out, and by that point in time, Marley's got him cornered,” Taylor said. Pham slashed (砍) both Marley and Taylor, and blood went everywhere. Taylor shared a video summary to his Facebook page, where he said Marley was stabbed (刺) up to six times, mostly around the head and neck area. “And as I pulled back, blood shot out of my arm,” Taylor continued. “She got him pretty good and I got him pretty good in the face.”
“But it was really hard because I was trying to make sure that my husband wasn't going to die,” Amber explained, adding that she was trying to protect their two girls. “When he realized that the two girls were in the house, that's when he kind of backed up and started running. "
Taylor expressed gratitude to everyone for their thoughts and prayers. And the family is thankful for their dog Marley.
“She's our hero,” Amber said. “If it hadn't been for her, that guy could have gone in the...he could have gone to their rooms or something.” Taylor added, “Yeah, I mean, the story plays out very differently if Marley's not there.”
1. Why did the family come downstairs before daybreak?| A．To stop a break-in. | B．To lock the back door. |
| C．To check on Marley. | D．To turn the hall light on. |
| A．Pham dug a hole in the corner. |
| B．Marley was injured but bit back. |
| C．Taylor had a backup from neighbors. |
| D．Amber fought back to protect her girls. |
| A．Forgiveness. | B．Concern. | C．Anger. | D．Appreciation. |
