A recent survey in the United States showed that the average family spent more money on its pets than on its children. Although rather shocking, it should not surprise anyone who has seen the doggy parlors(客厅) where loved pets rest. Are Americans unique in treating their little friends in this way? No, the English, too, pay more attention to their pets.

This can clearly be seen when we look at pet foods, which often contain more vitamins than human food. They certainly cost much. Last year the British public spent two hundred million pounds on pet food alone, to say nothing of veterinary bills or animal furniture. It is difficult not to feel angry about this when considering what the same amount could do for victims of starvation and poverty, so it is not unusual for me to get hot under collar when I read an old man left all his money to his dog instead of his children.

There are a variety of reasons why I find pets-raising alarming. They cause physical problems. An example of this is New York where they have great difficulty getting rid of the mess that dogs leave on the streets. Many people find this funny, but in a number of large cities it is a major problem. Animals can cause disease, too. It is the threat of rabies — a disease with no known cure.

Another problem is the carelessness of pet owners. Most little children want a dog or a cat, and they continually push their mothers and fathers until they get one. It is only when the "sweet little thing" has been brought home that the parents realize how much time and money must be spent on "Rover" or "Bonzo". Then they just abandon it. As a result, they are allowed to run free. English farmers lose hundreds of sheep a year, killed by someone's pet and you must have read of children being hurt by some pets of their own.

Lastly, I would only suggest that we have got our priorities wrong and that something should be done about it. In my view, it's time we stopped being sentimental about pets. I can see no reason why we should get upset when animals are cut up for medical experiments. This will lead us to discovering cures for serious human diseases, then I say, “keep cutting!”

1.The doggy parlors are mentioned in the 1st paragraph to show ________.

A. where Americans keep their pets

B. what costly lives the pets are living

C. why children love their pets so much

D. how much pets depend on their masters

2.In the second paragraph "to get hot under the collar" probably means ________.

A. getting quite hot B. feeling overwhelmingly angry

C. becoming excited D. receiving a fashionable shirt

3.According to the author, in which field can animals be most useful?

A. Pet. B. Food. C. Medicine. D. Sports.

4.What is author’s attitude towards pets-raising?

A. Pitiful. B. Neutral. C. Opposed. D. Supportive.

Every time you go to the supermarket you come away with your purchases packed in plastic bags. But wouldn’t it be kinder to the environment if you asked for paper bags instead?

The answer is not as easy as it might seem. Environmentalists say there are drawbacks to using both plastic bags and paper bags.

80 percent of groceries in the US are packed in plastic bags and the numbers are becoming huge. Consumers use between 500 billion and 1 trillion plastic bags per year worldwide.

Some experts believe that all these bags harm the environment. Plastic takes hundreds of years to break down and, as it does so, poisonous materials are released into the water and soil.

Further damage is caused if plastic bags enter the sea. For example, endangered sea turtles cannot tell the bags from jellyfish, their main source of food, and often choke on them.

However, this kind of bag does have its advantages.

Paper bags use more energy and create more waste than plastic bags. Plastic bags require 40 percent less energy to produce and cause 70 percent less air pollution. They also release as much as 94 percent less waste into the water than paper ones do.

But paper bags do break down more quickly than plastic bags. They don’t endanger wildlife, either.

So what should we do? One possible solution would be to use biodegradable plastic bags. “Biodegradable” means that the bags break down naturally just like a piece of banana peel when it is left outside.

But until biodegradable technology improves, it might be easier to pack things you buy in reusable cloth bags.

1.Compared to paper bags, plastic bags ______.

A. produce 6 percent more waste

B. can be made biodegradable more easily

C. can be used as a source of food

D. save 40 percent of the energy

2.By saying “The answer is not as easy as it might seem,” (in paragraph 2) the writer means _____.

A. biodegradable plastic bags can compete with paper

B. paper bags seem to be kind to environment

C. it’s difficult to say whether plastic or paper bags are better for the environment

3.What does the author suggest people use at the present time?

A. Paper bags

B. Plastic bags

C. Biodegradable plastic bags.

D. Cloth bags.

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