I never wanted a dog, but now I'm so glad I have one. About two years ago, my wife, Cathy, got a little dog with a face only a mother could love. We named her Gertie.

Gertie is the kind of dog that has to grow on you. So I dicided that the dog would be trained. This didn't quite go as planned. At 15 weeks old, she was nearly made to leave the Petsmart Training School. She spent every night lying in our bed-snoring (打鼾)so loudly that I hardly got a good night's sleep.

Then, about six months after she arrived, I felt that something in my heart was taking place, and I was unable to stop it. My behaviour(行为方式)began to change. I began to smile at people when passing them in a street. I returned(招手)from neighbours. I started calling my kids, and to my surprise, they started calling me. I even tried to speak to my grandchildren over the phone once. I even was glad to listen to laughter from a 10-month-old granddaughter. The point is that I was changing.

My wife and I both agree that it is Gertie who has changed my behaviour. Gertie is now nearly two years old and almost fully grown.I have come to like the pet little by little, though she is my wife's dog.

1.What did the man think of the dog at the beginning?

A．It looked very beautiful.

B．It wasn't very lovely.

C．It wasn't necessary to be trained.

D．It could change his life.

2.When did the man's behaviour begin to change?

A．About two years ago.

B．When Gertie was nearly two years old.

C．When Gertie was 15 weeks old.

D．About six months after Gertie arrived.

3.Which of the following is NOT mentioned about the man's change?

A．He began to smile at people

B．He liked helping his neighbours.

C．He started calling his kids.

D．He spoke to his grandchildren over the phone.

4.What can we learn from this passage?

A．The dog has been trained very well.

B．The man has become more confident.

C．The man has become more friendly.

D．The man likes the dog better than his wife.

Try reading the following sentences as fast as you can. “She sells seashells by the seashore. The shells she sells are surely seashells. So if she sells shells on the seashore, I’m sure she sells seashore shells.”

Not very easy, was it? What you’ve just read is called a tongue twister (绕口令). It is an exercise made up of sounds that are hard to pronounce(发音，读) in order to help people pronounce words faster and more correctly. Try the next example.

“Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper. Did Peter Piper pick a peck of pickled peppers? If Pete Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?”

Tongue twisters usually do not have much meaning. They are just designed to improve people’s ability  to pronounce words. Although they may be very difficult, these exercises are very important to people who are trying to speak English correctly. This is because tongue twisters help people to tell the differences between similar sounds.

So if you wish to pronounce words more smoothly, you’d better try picking out some tongue twisters and practicing them.

1.Tongue twisters are helpful in improving ___________ skills.

A. listening        B. writing      C. pronunciation     D. communication

2.The first tongue twister is hard because ___________.

A. it is very boring to read            B. it teaches us a lot of knowledge

C. we don’t know who “she” is        D. the sounds of “s” and “sh” are similar

3.The passage is probably taken from _________ in a school newspaper.

A. Story Time          B. Study Garden

C. Latest News          D. Lost and Found