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阅读理解
For thousands of years, people have lived with dogs.Ancient paintings on the walls of caves show people living with dogs.Almost a third of the homes in the United States and England have dogs, and these dogs come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes.
The largest dog in the world was a dog named Zorba.When Zorba, a mastiff, was seven years old in 1989, he was 94 centimetres(37 inches)tall.In other words, Zorba was more than half as tall as an adult man.At his largest, Zorba weighed more than a heavy weight boxer at 156 kilograms(343 pounds).
In comparison, the smallest dog was a Yorkshire terrier from England.This dog was only the size of a matchbox, measuring 7.1 centimetres(2.8 inches)tall and 9.5 centimeters(3.75 inches)from nose to tail.The dog weighed about half as much as a book, and even a young child could easily pick it up with one hand.It passed away in 1945 when it was only two years old.
Some dogs are remarkable, not for their size, but for their brain.One incredible dog is Endal, the companion of a man named Allen Parton who has used a wheelchair since a car accident in 1991.
In 2001, Parton was hit by a car while crossing a road with Endal, and thrown out of his chair.Endal quickly moved Parton into the recovery position, covered him with a blanket, and pushed his mobile phone close enough for him to reach.Then, once he saw that Part0n was all right, Endal ran back and forth to a nearby hotel, barking until people came out to help.
Endal was rewarded for his bravery with a medal, and he has been the subject of a number of TV documentaries.
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