Does your pet have a slim figure? According to the Association of Pet Obesity Prevention(APOP), about half of all dogs and nearly 60％ of all indoor cats are overweight．Larry Kornegay, president of the American Veterinary Medical Association, says he sees an overweight pet nearly every day, and unusually the owner is overweight．So talking about the topic can be touchy．“I talk about their pet’s health．Still, some clients take it personally．”
Here are some tips for pet weight loss：
See the vet(兽医)．Have your vet put together a plan and treat any existing medical problems．Pain relief and diet changes may be required for arthritic(患关节炎的)pets, which will allow for exercise to at least begin．
Skip the crash diet(an attempt to lose weight quickly by strictly limiting the diet)．A special weight-loss diet may be suggested．For example, look for the supplement which burns fat and builds muscle mass in foods．Never place any pet on a crash diet, especially cats, which can suffer a potentially fatal liver disease as a result．There’s a safe weight-loss drug for dogs you can ask your vet about．
Dine alone．“Cut out treats and resist temptation by keeping pets out of the room you’re dining in,” says Chicago vet Sheldon Rubin．You can buy low-calorie treats for dogs and cats．Rubin also recommends mini carrots, small apple slices or blueberries for dogs．What’s important is finding other ways, aside from food, to show your love．Play with your cat using an interactive toy, and take your dog for walks．Walks are great for bonding, and good for you．Studies show people are actually more willing to lose weight themselves if it also will help their pet．
Feed pets at special times．Pre-measure food carefully－don’t give them a larger meal than ever－and leave it in various places, so pets sniff it out and use the stairs．It’s fun, and it’s good exercise．
(1)
The underlined word “touchy” in Paragraph 1 probably means ________
[ ]
A．
sensitive
B．
exciting
C．
moving
D．
pleasant
(2)
What can be inferred from the passage?
[ ]
A．
Overweight people usually like overweight pets．
B．
Pets’ weight is easier to lose than humans’．
C．
Cats have a greater chance of serious liver disease．
D．
Overweight people often ignore their pets’ weight．
(3)
Which of the following methods is healthy for your pets?
We have met the enemy and he i s our s．We bought him at a pet shop．When monkey-pox, a di sea se u sually found in the African rain fore st suddenly turn s up in children in the American Midwe st, it' s hard not to wonder of the di sea se that come s from foreign animal s i s homing in on human being s．“Mo st of the infection s we think of a s human infection s started in other animal s, ” say s Stephen Mor se, director of the Center for Public Health Preparedne s s at Columbia Univer sity．
It' s not ju st that we're going to where the animal s are; we're al so bringing them clo ser to u s．Popular foreign pet s have brought a whole new di sea se to thi s country．A strange illne s s killed I sak sen' s pet s and she now think s that keeping foreign pet s i s a bad idea, “I don't think it' s fair to have them a s pet s when we have such alimited knowledge of them．” say s I sak sen．
“Law s allowing the se animal s to be brought in from deep fore st area s without stricter control need changing．” say s Peter Schantz．Monkey-pox may be the wake-up call．Re searcher s believe infected animal s may infect their owner s．We know very little about the se new di sea se s．A new bug(病毒)may be kind at fir st．But it may develop into something harmful．Monkey-pox doe sn't look a major infectiou s di sea se．But it i s not impo s sible to pa s s the di sea se from per son to per son．
(1)
We learn from Paragraph 1 that the pet sold at the shop may ________．
[ ]
A．
come from Columbia
B．
prevent u s from being infected
C．
enjoy being with children
D．
suffer from monkey-pox
(2)
Why did I sak sen advi se people not to have foreign pet s?
[ ]
A．
Becau se they attack human being s．
B．
Becau se we need to study native animal s．
C．
Becau se they can't live out of the rain fore st．
D．
Becau se we do not know much about them yet．
(3)
What doe s the phra se “the wake－up call” in Paragraph 3 mo st probably mean?
