阅读理解

　　Joanne had planned to leave work early this afternoon，at three o’clock．But when she finally came out of her office, all the other conductors had already left．Now she was caught in a heavy traffic in central Birmingham at 5：30, and at 6：30 she was expected to be at a meeting．

　　At last, she arrived at her home．As she opened the door, she noticed something unusual about Sheba, a large dog．She could see easily Sheba was feeling bad and could hardly breathe(呼唤)．Joanne knew she would have to take her dog to the vet immediately．

　　“It looks like there’s something in her throat(喉咙), ”said Dr．Stern, “It shouldn’t take me too long to get it out．”

　　Being in a hurry, Joanne left the doctor with the dog and rushed back home．As she once more entered the house, the phone rang．Dr．Stem’s loud and worried voice was heard, “I want you to get right out of that house immediately．The police will be there any time now．Wait outside for us．”Joanne was surprised and afraid．She quickly ran into the street．

　　At that moment, a police car stopped outside the house．Two policemen got out and ran into the house through the still open door．Then the doctor arrived．Just then the two policemen reappeared from the house, half-carrying a white-faced man．who, it seemed, could hardly walk．There was blood(血)all over him．

　　“I think he must be a thief, ”said the doctor．“I knew he was there because when I finally removed what was in Sheba’s throat，and found it was three human fingers．”