Do dogs understand us?

  Be careful what you say around your dog. It might understand more than you think.

  A border collie named Rico recognizes the names of about 200 objects, say researchers in Germany. The dog also appears to be able to learn new words as easily as a 3-year-old child. Its word-learning skills are as good as those of a parrot or chimpanzee.

  In one experiment, the researchers took all 200 items that Rico is supposed to know and divided them into 20 groups of 10 objects. Then the owner told the dog to go and fetch one of the items and bring it back. In four tests, Rico got 37 out of 40 commands right. As the dog couldn't see anyone to get clues, the scientists believe Rico must understand the meanings of certain words.

  In another experiment, the scientists took one toy that Rico had never seen before and put it in a room with seven toys whose names the dog already knew. The owner then told Rico to fetch the object, using a word the dog had never heard before.

  The correct object was chosen in seven out of l0 tests, suggesting that the dog had worked

out the answer by process of elimination. A month later, Rico remembered half of the new names, which is even more impressive.          

  Rico is thought to be smarter than the average dog. For one thing, Rico is a border collie, a breed known for its mental abilities. In addition, the 9-year-old dog has been trained to fetch toys by their names since the age of nine months.

  It's hard to know if all dogs understand at least some of the words we say. Even if they do, they can't talk back. Still, it wouldn't hurt to sweet-talk your dog every now and then. You might just get a big, wet kiss in return!

Reading Comprehension:

1. From paragraph 2 we know that __        .

A. animals are as clever as human beings

B. dogs are smarter than parrots and chimpanzees

C. chimpanzees have very good word-learning skills

D. dogs have similar 'learning abilities as 3-year-old children

2. Both experiments show that             .

A. Rico is smart enough to get all commands right

B. Rico can recognize different things including toys

C. Rico has developed the ability of learning mathematics

D. Rico won't forget the names of objects once recognizing them

3. Which of the following statements is true?

A. The purpose of the experiments is to show the border collie's mental abilities.

B. Rico has a better memory partly because of its proper early training.

C. The border collie is world-famous for recognizing objects.

D. Rico is born to understand its owner's commands.

4. What does the writer want to tell us?

A. To train your dog.                        B. To talk to your dog.

C. To be friendly to your dog.                 D. To be careful with your dog.

Information Background:

狗是一种很常见的犬科哺乳动物，也是饲养率最高的宠物。据联合国统计，全球总犬数约有六亿只，我国大约有两亿只。狗是肉食动物，以肉食为主，在喂养时，需要在饲料中配制较多的动物蛋白和脂肪，辅以素食成分.狗的消化道比食草动物要短，狗胃盐酸含量在家畜中居于首位，加之肠壁厚吸收能力强，所以容易和适宜消化肉食食品。狗喜欢啃咬骨头。这也是原生态时撕咬猎物所留下的习惯。我们在喂养时要经常给它一些骨头。狗有独特的自我防御能力，吃进有毒食物后，能引起呕吐反应而把有毒食物吐出来。

New Words:

Chimpanzee 黑猩猩

Elimination  排除法

breed  品种

Key:

1.C.答案由The dog also appears to be able to learn new words as easily as a 3-year-old child. Its word-learning skills are as good as those of a parrot or chimpanzee.可知，狗和黑猩猩学习单词的能力是一样好的，因此推断出答案。

2.B.答案出自The correct object was chosen in seven out of l0 tests, suggesting that the dog had worked out the answer by process of elimination.说明大部分情况下狗狗还是选出了正确答案。

3.A.由For one thing, Rico is a border collie, a breed (品种)known for its mental abilities. In addition, the 9-year-old dog has been trained to fetch toys by their names since the age of nine months.可知.

4.C.文章的最后有提到It wouldn't hurt to sweet-talk your dog every now and then. You might just get a big, wet kiss in return!