If you want to know how crazy people can be about their pets, you might remember that Helmsley left $12 million to her little Maltese dog when she died last year.

The dog's name is Trouble. And apparendy Trouble is still alive. Of course, I would hang on,too, if someone left me $12 million. Look! Top-shelf dog food, soft pillows everywhere, drivers walking me in nice leafy parks. I would live to be 110 in dog years.

The dog's story is still fresh in my mind the other night when I leave a steak house after a superb meal. Then I notice a woman carrying a small bag out of the door behind me.

Once outside, she walks over to where a man is holding a tiny dog hke it's a baby. The dog looks like a Maltese, too, barking and annoying, with a cute haircut,

And now I am treated to an absolute astonishing sight. Because now the woman reaches into the bag and begins pulling out little pieces of meat, which she puts on a plastic spoon and feeds to the dog.

This is no cheap steak house. It's actually, way out of my league --I'm there only because it's a special occasion. I can tell you this: if I walked out of the place with any leftover steak, it sure wouldn't go to a dog. Not at those prices.

So now the woman is Spoon-feeding the dog and the man is just standing there, holding this dog and looking as if this is the most normal thing in the world. And the dog is calmly chewing these pieces of steak as if he's a little king. And this dog is in no hurry. He's having a great time.

A few minutes go by, and now the dog finishes all of his steak. At this point, I hear the woman say to the man "Think he's still hungry?" And she glances behind her at the restaurant, as if she might go back in there to get more steak for the dog.

Watching all this, I'm afraid I'm going to shout, "Are you out of your mind? Feeding all that pricey steak to that little dog? Did you see what our American life is like today? We're all going to be eating dog food if this keeps up!"        

1.Why would the author live to be 110 in dog years?

A．Because he is always in poor health and falls ill.

B．Because a Maltese dog lives longer than a human being.

C．Because his grandparents left him a large sum of money.

D．Because he thinks the dog is treated extremely well.

2.What is the story mainly about?

A．An American family's happy life.

B．A Maltese dog getting $12 million from its owner.

C．A New Yorker spending $ 8 billion for a few banks.

D．A pet dog being fed with expensive food.

3.The underlined sentence "It's actually way out of my league. " (in Para. 6) means __

A．the restaurant is too expensive for the author

B．the author hates the dog being taken there

C．the superb restaurant is about to be out of service

D．the dog doesn't belong to the author's group

4.Seeing the dog.is being treated to expensive steak, the author becomes extremely ____

A．indifferent        B．annoyed          C．concerned        D．envious

One year ago, I traveled 15,000 kilometers from Australia to the US. I am from a beachside town in the   16  of Sydney, and thought there would be almost no   17  differences between my home country and my 18  . I was surprised at how wrong I was, and at  19  different the two countries could be.

The United States is   20  in almost every aspect. The buildings are gigantic (巨大的) and so are the people who   21  and work in them. At mealtimes, the portions (份额) often   22  to me to be big enough for three or four people. I once   23  a baked potato which turned out to be bigger than my head! This was a big   24  for me.

The longer I spent in the US, the more I started to   25  smaller differences like the culture of   26  in restaurants. In Australia we don’t tend to give a tip   27  the service has been really excellent. In the US you tip for   28  everything, even at the hairdresser. Waiters and shop assistants   29  to be given 15 percent of the bill, although in places   30 New York or Washington DC, a tip can be as much as 20 percent.

  31 , I also became more wary (谨慎的) of believing the stereotypes (成见) I had heard at home as I traveled. Not all Americans are ignorant of geography, for example.

Despite this, certain stereotypes about places did seem to   32  true for me. There is an immense (强烈的) sense of speed in New York. Everyone   33  to and fro, and very seldom takes time to   34  the moment. This is very different from the Australian lifestyle. Australians are laid back. Even in a major city like Sydney, we “Aussies” take time to “stop and smell the roses”---very different from our American counterparts.

Navigating (驾驭) the culture divide between Australia and the US was challenging at times. But I took up that   35  and learned a lot from it. It was an adventure.

1.                A．heart          B．city            C．center   D．suburbs

2.                A．cultural         B．commercial      C．economic D．scientific

3.                A．home town      B．departure       C．location  D．destination

4.                A．how           B．why            C．however  D．where

5.                A．big            B．modern         C．small D．fashionable

6.                A．travel          B．survive         C．live  D．serve

7.                A．happened       B．seemed         C．proved   D．managed

8.                A．brought        B．ordered        C．designed  D．fetched

9.                A．laughter        B．pleasure        C．shock    D．embarrassment

10.               A．prefer         B．notice          C．tell   D．appreciate

11.               A．serving         B．tipping         C．donating   D．toasting

12.               A．unless         B．if             C．when D．since

13.               A．rarely          B．mostly         C．almost D．hardly

14.               A．try            B．wait           C．think D．expect

15.               A．like            B．along          C．for   D．in

16.               A．So            B．Therefore       C．However  D．But

17.               A．come          B．become        C．turn  D．get

18.               A．walks          B．drives          C．wanders   D．rushes

19.               A．depend on      B．reflect on       C．spy on D．watch on

20.               A．experience     B．job            C．challenge  D．business

One year ago, I traveled 15,000 kilometers from Australia to the US. I am from a beachside town in the   16  of Sydney, and thought there would be almost no   17  differences between my home country and my 18  . I was surprised at how wrong I was, and at  19  different the two countries could be.

The United States is   20  in almost every aspect. The buildings are gigantic (巨大的) and so are the people who   21  and work in them. At mealtimes, the portions (份额) often   22  to me to be big enough for three or four people. I once   23  a baked potato which turned out to be bigger than my head! This was a big   24  for me.

The longer I spent in the US, the more I started to   25  smaller differences like the culture of   26  in restaurants. In Australia we don’t tend to give a tip   27  the service has been really excellent. In the US you tip for   28  everything, even at the hairdresser. Waiters and shop assistants   29  to be given 15 percent of the bill, although in places   30 New York or Washington DC, a tip can be as much as 20 percent.

  31 , I also became more wary (谨慎的) of believing the stereotypes (成见) I had heard at home as I traveled. Not all Americans are ignorant of geography, for example.

Despite this, certain stereotypes about places did seem to   32  true for me. There is an immense (强烈的) sense of speed in New York. Everyone   33  to and fro, and very seldom takes time to   34  the moment. This is very different from the Australian lifestyle. Australians are laid back. Even in a major city like Sydney, we “Aussies” take time to “stop and smell the roses”---very different from our American counterparts.

Navigating (驾驭) the culture divide between Australia and the US was challenging at times. But I took up that   35  and learned a lot from it. It was an adventure.

1.                A．heart          B．city            C．center   D．suburbs

2.                A．cultural         B．commercial      C．economic D．scientific

3.                A．home town      B．departure       C．location  D．destination

4.                A．how           B．why            C．however  D．where

5.                A．big            B．modern         C．small D．fashionable

6.                A．travel          B．survive         C．live  D．serve

7.                A．happened       B．seemed         C．proved   D．managed

8.                A．brought        B．ordered        C．designed  D．fetched

9.                A．laughter        B．pleasure        C．shock    D．embarrassment

10.               A．prefer         B．notice          C．tell   D．appreciate

11.               A．serving         B．tipping         C．donating   D．toasting

12.               A．unless         B．if             C．when D．since

13.               A．rarely          B．mostly         C．almost D．hardly

14.               A．try            B．wait           C．think D．expect

15.               A．like            B．along          C．for   D．in

16.               A．So            B．Therefore       C．However  D．But

17.               A．come          B．become        C．turn  D．get

18.               A．walks          B．drives          C．wanders   D．rushes

19.               A．depend on      B．reflect on       C．spy on D．watch on

20.               A．experience     B．job            C．challenge  D．business

One year ago, I traveled 15,000 kilometers from Australia to the US. I am from a beachside town in the   16  of Sydney, and thought there would be almost no   17  differences between my home country and my 18  . I was surprised at how wrong I was, and at  19  different the two countries could be.
The United States is   20  in almost every aspect. The buildings are gigantic (巨大的) and so are the people who   21  and work in them. At mealtimes, the portions (份额) often   22  to me to be big enough for three or four people. I once   23  a baked potato which turned out to be bigger than my head! This was a big   24  for me.
The longer I spent in the US, the more I started to   25  smaller differences like the culture of   26  in restaurants. In Australia we don’t tend to give a tip   27  the service has been really excellent. In the US you tip for   28  everything, even at the hairdresser. Waiters and shop assistants   29  to be given 15 percent of the bill, although in places   30 New York or Washington DC, a tip can be as much as 20 percent.
  31 , I also became more wary (谨慎的) of believing the stereotypes (成见) I had heard at home as I traveled. Not all Americans are ignorant of geography, for example.
Despite this, certain stereotypes about places did seem to   32  true for me. There is an immense (强烈的) sense of speed in New York. Everyone   33  to and fro, and very seldom takes time to   34  the moment. This is very different from the Australian lifestyle. Australians are laid back. Even in a major city like Sydney, we “Aussies” take time to “stop and smell the roses”---very different from our American counterparts.
Navigating (驾驭) the culture divide between Australia and the US was challenging at times. But I took up that   35  and learned a lot from it. It was an adventure.

If you want to know how crazy people can be about their pets, you might remember that Helmsley left $12 million to her little Maltese dog when she died last year.
The dog's name is Trouble. And apparendy Trouble is still alive. Of course, I would hang on,too, if someone left me $12 million. Look! Top-shelf dog food, soft pillows everywhere, drivers walking me in nice leafy parks. I would live to be 110 in dog years.
The dog's story is still fresh in my mind the other night when I leave a steak house after a superb meal. Then I notice a woman carrying a small bag out of the door behind me.
Once outside, she walks over to where a man is holding a tiny dog hke it's a baby. The dog looks like a Maltese, too, barking and annoying, with a cute haircut,
And now I am treated to an absolute astonishing sight. Because now the woman reaches into the bag and begins pulling out little pieces of meat, which she puts on a plastic spoon and feeds to the dog.
This is no cheap steak house. It's actually, way out of my league --I'm there only because it's a special occasion. I can tell you this: if I walked out of the place with any leftover steak, it sure wouldn't go to a dog. Not at those prices.
So now the woman is Spoon-feeding the dog and the man is just standing there, holding this dog and looking as if this is the most normal thing in the world. And the dog is calmly chewing these pieces of steak as if he's a little king. And this dog is in no hurry. He's having a great time.
A few minutes go by, and now the dog finishes all of his steak. At this point, I hear the woman say to the man "Think he's still hungry?" And she glances behind her at the restaurant, as if she might go back in there to get more steak for the dog.
Watching all this, I'm afraid I'm going to shout, "Are you out of your mind? Feeding all that pricey steak to that little dog? Did you see what our American life is like today? We're all going to be eating dog food if this keeps up!"        
【小题1】Why would the author live to be 110 in dog years?