It is often said that you cannot “teach an old dog new tricks”, but three New Zealand dogs have decided to prove otherwise by learning a skill --- driving a car!
What's even more impressive is that the three who have become skilled in just eight weeks are not special dogs that belong to some rich owners, but abandoned ones at New Zealand's SPCA.
To get their training started, 10-month old Porter, 18-month-old Monty and one-year-old Ginny were selected from a pool of seven potential candidates and moved to Animal Q, a talent agency that teaches animals tricks for movies and television shows.
The driving classes began with teaching the dogs some basic driving techniques like turning the steering wheels（方向盘）and applying the brakes. After that the dogs practiced everything they had learnt behind the wheels of a motorized（装上发动机的）car. Then finally, it was time for the big test--- driving a real car!
Human cars are not really built for four-legged animals, so the car they drove was adjusted so that the dogs could sit comfortably and easily reach the steering wheel with their paws.
Though they all seemed to do very well, the real test came on Monday night when Monty, the best driver of the three, showed his great driving skill on live television.
Why would the SPCA go through so much trouble to highlight the skills of homeless dogs? The reason is to show that adopting a dog from a shelter does not mean owners are getting a pet that is worse than one purchased from a keeper. The CEO of the SPCA is hoping that this unusual event will be enough to convince the residents of New Zealand to consider them, when searching for a pet.
We surely hope so, meanwhile we are almost certain that these three pioneers have at least landed their names in the Guinness World Records, creating a category that probably does not even exist today!
小题1:Who do the three dogs belong to?
A．Some rich owners.
B．Animal Q.
C．A shelter.
D．A zoo.小题2:The car the dogs drove was adjusted ______.
A．because is was too big for the dogs to drive
B．because it had no steering wheels and brakes
C．to ensure the dogs could sit comfortably and drive easily
D．to motorize the car and turn it to be a real one小题3:Which is the right order of the following events?
a. Teaching the dogs some basic driving techniques.
b. Selecting three dogs and moving them to Animal Q.
c. The dogs practiced everything they had learnt in a motorized car.
d. Choosing the best driver to show his great driving skill on live television.
e. Driving a real car.
A．a-b-c- d-e
B．b-a-c-e-d
C． b- d- a-c-e
D．a- e- c-b-d小题4:Why does the SPCA decide to teach the three dogs to learn to drive a car?
A．To prove old dogs can learn new tricks.
B．To teach them performing tricks for movies and television shows.
C．To provide amusing performances for homeless children
D．To encourage people to adopt the abandoned dogs.小题5:What can we learn from the passage?
A．A new Guinness category for driving dogs will probably be created.
B．Abandoned dogs are much cleverer than house-kept ones.
C．All the dogs at New Zealand’s SPCA will soon be adopted.
D．New Zealand has the most homeless dogs among all countries
