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．

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．