Question

It is often said that you cannot “teach an old dog new tricks”, but three New Zealand dogs have decided to prove otherwise by learning a skill --- driving a car!

What's even more impressive is that the three who have become skilled in just eight weeks are not special dogs that belong to some rich owners, but abandoned ones at New Zealand's SPCA.

To get their training started, 10-month old Porter, 18-month-old Monty and one-year-old Ginny were selected from a pool of seven potential candidates and moved to Animal Q, a talent agency that teaches animals tricks for movies and television shows.

The driving classes began with teaching the dogs some basic driving techniques like turning the steering wheels（方向盤）and applying the brakes. After that the dogs practiced everything they had learnt behind the wheels of a motorized（裝上發動機的）car. Then finally, it was time for the big test--- driving a real car!

Human cars are not really built for four-legged animals, so the car they drove was adjusted so that the dogs could sit comfortably and easily reach the steering wheel with their paws.

Though they all seemed to do very well, the real test came on Monday night when Monty, the best driver of the three, showed his great driving skill on live television.

Why would the SPCA go through so much trouble to highlight the skills of homeless dogs?  The reason is to show that adopting a dog from a shelter does not mean owners are getting a pet that is worse than one purchased from a keeper. The CEO of the SPCA is hoping that this unusual event will be enough to convince the residents of New Zealand to consider them, when searching for a pet.

We surely hope so, meanwhile we are almost certain that these three pioneers have at least landed their names in the Guinness World Records, creating a category that probably does not even exist today!

1.Who do the three dogs belong to?

A. Some rich owners.      B. Animal Q.       C. A shelter.      D. A zoo.

2.The car the dogs drove was adjusted ______.

A. because is was too big for the dogs to drive

B. because it had no steering wheels and brakes

C. to ensure the dogs could sit comfortably and drive easily

D. to motorize the car and turn it to be a real one

3.Which is the right order of the following events?

a. Teaching the dogs some basic driving techniques.

b. Selecting three dogs and moving them to Animal Q.

c. The dogs practiced everything they had learnt in a motorized car.

d. Choosing the best driver to show his great driving skill on live television.

e. Driving a real car.

A. a-b-c- d-e    B. b-a-c-e-d    C.  b- d- a-c-e     D. a- e- c-b-d

4.Why does the SPCA decide to teach the three dogs to learn to drive a car?

A. To prove old dogs can learn new tricks.

B. To teach them performing tricks for movies and television shows.

C. To provide amusing performances for homeless children

D. To encourage people to adopt the abandoned dogs.

5.What can we learn from the passage?

A. A new Guinness category for driving dogs will probably be created.

B. Abandoned dogs are much cleverer than house-kept ones.

C. All the dogs at New Zealand’s SPCA will soon be adopted.

D. New Zealand has the most homeless dogs among all countries

 

Answer 1

【答案】

 

1.C

2.C

3.B

4.D

5.A

【解析】

試題分析：人們都說“老狗學不會新把戲”，但是來自新西蘭的三只小狗卻要來證明這是錯誤的說法。這三只是經過收容所訓練的、會駕駛真正汽車的小狗。收容所之所以花大力氣去訓練這三只小狗，目的是向人們證明，收養的寵物不一定比花錢買的寵物差，鼓勵人們去收養被遺棄的動物。

1.C細節理解題。根據文章第二段but abandoned ones at New Zealand's SPCA. 和倒數第二段adopting a dog from a shelter does not mean...可知這三只小狗屬于一家叫New Zealand's SPCA的收容所，故答案選C。

2.C細節理解題。根據文章第四段the car they drove was adjusted so that the dogs could sit comfortably and easily reach the steering wheel with their paws.可知狗駕駛的汽車經過改裝為的是能夠讓小狗們坐著更舒適，也能夠更容易地駕駛汽車，因此答案選C。

3.B推理判斷題。根據文章第三、四、五段內容可知經過挑選后的小狗，先是接受基本的駕駛技能訓練，然后經過在電動車中的練習之后，再駕駛真正的汽車，最后才可以上電視表演，因此B選項正確。

4.D細節理解題。根據文章倒數第二段The CEO of the SPCA is hoping that this unusual event will be enough to convince the residents of New Zealand to consider them, when searching for a pet. 可知收容所做這一切的目的是為了證明收容所的動物不比花錢買來的差，鼓勵人們去收養被人們遺棄的動物，故D選項正確。

5.A推理判斷題。根據文章末段we are almost certain that these three pioneers have at least landed their names in the Guinness World Records, creating a category that probably does not even exist可以推斷小狗駕駛汽車的事情是前所未有的，因此很可能被錄入吉尼斯紀錄，所以判斷A選項正確。

考點：考查社會百態類短文閱讀。