2006/02（追試）
Fred and I once had a friendly argument over which makes a better pet, a dog or a cat. ft all began when we were walking in my neighborhood and suddenly a dog started barking loudly at us. The dog was in a neighbor’s yard with a fence around it, but it came as quite a surprise and scared me a little bit. I made some kind of rude remark like. “Shut up, you noisy little beast!”
Fred seemed amused by my angry words. “It’s a watchdog, Ken. It’s only doing what is natural. It may well be a loving pet to its owners. Let me tell you about one of the best dogs I’ve ever met,” Fred said, and he began to tell his story.
The dog had belonged to Bill, one of his close friends in primary school. It was a poodle, but not a small “miniature” or “toy” poodle. This dog was what is called a “standard” poodle, which is a medium-sized dog, and it stood about as tall as Fred’s chest at the time. One day Fred was at his friend’s house, and he and Bill were having a wrestling match for fun. There was no anger; they were only playing.
Fred had gotten the better of his friend and had pinned his shoulders to the floor. He was on top of Bill and saying, “Give up?” when he felt a slight pressure on his left shoulder like that of the hand of an adult.. He thought it might be his friend’s father telling him that their game should end. But when Fred looked over his left shoulder, it wasn’t his friend’s father. No, it was his friend’s poodle with its mouth around his shoulder! The dog wasn’t biting him. It was just holding Fred’s entire shoulder gently in its mouth and looking at Fred in such a way as to say, “Get off my master.”
Fred, in amazement, let go of his friend’s shoulders and the dog let go of Fred’s shoulder. At no time after that, throughout the years that Fred, Bill, and Bill’s dog played together, did the dog ever act strangely toward Fred. It was as if the dog knew that Fred was its master’s friend.
“Now that was a real dog!” Fred concluded.
I had to agree. It made me think of the old saying: “A dog is a man’s best friend.” Still, I wasn’t going to give up without telling Fred about the greatest cat I had ever known.
On her seventh birthday my parents bought my little sister a male kitten, which we named George, for her to play with. But soon she lost interest in it as it grew out of its “kitten” stage. The cat apparently decided that I, the big brother, would be a more dependable master than my sister. It began communicating this to me in the evenings by jumping up on my desk and sitting on top of whatever homework I happened to be doing. In the mornings it would jump up on my bed and chew on my fingertips until I got up to feed it. Over time, George made an impression on everyone. You could actually call out George’s name, and our intelligent little friend would come running. George never killed small animals and brought them to us. But in the mornings, there was often some food from the supermarket trash waiting for us when we opened the front door. George was apparently a pretty good thief, if not a particularly strong hunter.
Soon George grew quite large and could enter every room in the house by twisting the doorknob and leaning against the door to open it. Our wonderful pet was really like a member of the family, but that may have led to a tragedy. When my baby brother was born, my parents wouldn’t let George go into the room where the baby slept. Two days Later, George disappeared. To this day, we think a broken heart may have made our cat run away in despair. I guess George really loved us.
“Hmm, I’m impressed,” said my friend Fred. “A cat that comes to its master when called, and acts like a member of the family … Sounds just like a dog to me.” It seems neither of us could change the other’s mind about which animal made a better pet. All we could agree upon was that pets can create a lasting impression on people.
- What did Ken and Fred have an argument about?
① About what a watchdog has to do.
② About whether or not dogs are easier to train than cats.
③ About whether pets should be faithful to their masters.
④ About their preferences in pets. - How did Bill’s dog protect its master?
① It scared Fred by pulling him off its master.
② It barked until Bill’s father came to stop the wrestling match.
③ It bit Fred until he had to quit fighting with Bill.
④ It warned Fred to stop fighting by putting pressure on his shoulder. - According to Fred, what was so admirable about Bill’s dog?
① It protected its master without being aggressive.
② It barked at any strangers that came near its master.
③ It performed many tricks for its master’s friends.
④ It stood as tall as its master when having a wrestling match. - Why did Ken’s parents buy a kitten?
① Ken did not want to play with his sister.
② Ken’s sister was tired of doing her homework.
③ They thought it would be a good companion for their daughter.
④ They were happy that a new daughter was born. - Why did George begin to try to attract Ken’s attention?
① The cat was being ignored by Ken’s sister.
② Ken was jealous of his sister’s pet.
③ The cat was curious about Ken’s homework.
④ Ken loved baby animals such as kittens and puppies.
