阅读理解

　　One day an ordinary dog appeared in the ticket office at Campiglia, a busy railroad station on Italian main line．A ticket agent named Elvio greeted the strange dog in a friendly way, so the dog decided to stay．From that day on, the dog became Elvio's shadow and was named Lampo．

　　Lampo kept Elvio company(陪伴)inside the ticket office．When the weather was warm, he would enjoy himself in the sun on the train platform．When it came time for Elvio to return home on the train at night, Lampo ran after the train for a long way and then sadly gave up and went back to the station．

　　One night as Elvio was riding home on the train, he noticed that Lampo was lying at his feet．Afraid that the conductor would see the dog on the train and shout at him, Elvio pushed Lampo under a seat．Luckily, the conductor did not notice the dog．Lampo came home with Elvio and met his family．Then, after a short visit, Lampo boarded the last train and went back to the station．Lampo quickly learned all of the train schedules(时刻表)．He would ride home from work with Elvio every night and then ride back to the station alone．Every morning Lampo arrived at Elvio's house in time to walk his young daughter, Mivna, to school．The faithful dog would then take another train to Campiglia to spend time with his master, then travel again to accompany Mivna home from school at 11∶30．

　　Soon, Lampo began to take the trains all over Italy．Lampo became famous among the men who worked on the railroad, as his journeys became more frequent, complicated and mysterious．No one could explain why he traveled or how he always found the right train back to Campiglia．People decided that Lampo was a unique dog．

　　Some of the railroad officials were against Lampo's illegal travels．They were afraid he would bite a passenger or cause some other problems．Finally, the stationmaster threatened to call the dog catcher if Elvio didn't get rid of the dog．

　　Elvio decided to put Lampo on a train going as far away as possible．Months went by and Lampo did not come back．Mivna missed him very much and prayed for his return．Finally one day, a sad, very thin, tired Lampo returned to Elvio's office．Everyone, even the stationmaster, was sorry about what had happened．From then on, Lampo was allowed to ride the trains whenever he wanted．After seven years, Lampo grew old, and he began to need Elvio's help to board the train．

　　One day Lampo was seen lying dead on the tracks．A year later, a life sized statue of Lampo was set up at Campiglia station．

阅读理解

　　Can dogs and cats live in perfect harmony in the same home? People who are thinking about adopting a dog as a friend for their cats are worried that they will fight．A recent research has found a new recipe of success．According to the study, if the cat is adopted before the dog, and if they are introduced when still young(less than 6 months for cats, a year for dogs), it is highly probable that the two pets will get along swimmingly．Two-thirds of the homes interviewed reported a positive relationship between their cat and dog．

　　However, it wasn’t all sweetness and light．There was a reported coldness between the cat and dog in 25％ of the homes, while argression and fighting were observed in 10％ of the homes．One reason for this is probably that some of their body signals were just opposite．For example, when a cat turns its head away it signals aggression, while a dog doing the same signals submission．

　　In homes with cats and dogs living peacefully, researchers observed a surprising behaviour．They are learning how to talk each other’s language．It is a surprise that cats can learn how to talk ‘dog’, and dogs can learn how to talk ‘Cat’．

　　What’s interesting is that both cats and dogs have appeared to develop their intelligence．They can learn how to read each other’s body signals, suggesting that the two may have more in common than we previously suspected．Once familiar with each other’s presence and body language, cats and dogs can play together, greet each other nose to nose, and enjoy sleeping together on the sofa．They can easily share the same water bowl and in some cases groom(梳理)each other．

　　The significance of the research on cats and dogs may go beyond pets ─ to people who don’t get along, including neighbors, colleagues at work, and even world superpowers．If cats and dogs can learn to get along, surely people have a good chance．

阅读理解

　　The dog, called Prince, was an intelligent animal and a slave to William．From morning till night, when William was at home, Prince never left his sight, practically ignoring all other members of the family．The dog had a number of clearly defined duties, for which William had patiently trained him and, like the good pupil he was, Prince lived for the chance to demonstrate his abilities．

　　When William wanted to put on his boots, he would murmur “Boots” and within seconds the dog would drop them at his feet．At nine every morning, Prince ran off to the general store in the village, returning shortly not only with William’s daily paper but with a half ounce packet of William’s favorite tobacco．A gundog by breed, Prince possessed a large soft mouth specially evolved for the safe carrying of hunted creatures, so the paper and the tobacco came to no harm, never even showing a tooth mark．

　　William was a railway man, an engine driver, and he wore a blue uniform which smelled of oil and oil fuel．He had to work at odd times －“days”, “late days” or “nights”．Over the years Prince got to know these periods of work and rest, knew when his master would leave the house and return, and the dog did not waste this knowledge．If William overslept, as he often did, Prince barked at the bedroom door until he woke, much to the annoyance of the family．On his return, William’s slippers were brought to him, so were the paper and tobacco．

　　A curious thing happened to William during the snow and ice last winter．One evening he slipped and fell on the icy pavement somewhere between the village and his home．He was so badly shaken that he stayed in bed for three days, and not until he got up and dressed again did he discover that he had lost his wallet containing over fifty pounds．The house was turned upside down in the search, but the wallet was not found．However, two days later－that was five days after the fall－Prince dropped the wallet into William’s hand．Very muddy, stained and wet through, the little case still contained fifty-three pounds, William’s driving license and a few other papers．Where the dog had found them no one could tell, but he recognized it probably by the faint oily smell on the worn leather．