Reading to dogs is an unusual way to help children improve their literacy skills （读写能力）With their shining brown eyes, wagging tails, and unconditional love, dogs can provide the nonjudgmental listeners needed for a beginning reader to gain confidence （自信心） , according to Intermountain Therapy Animals (ITA) in Salt Lake City. The group says it is the first program in the country to use dogs to help develop literacy in children, with the introduction of Reading Education Assistance Dogs (READ).
The Salt Lake City Public Library is sold on the idea. “Literacy specialists admit that children who read below the level of their fellow pupils are often afraid of reading aloud in a group, often have lower self-respect, and regard reading as a headache,” said Lisa Myron, manager of the children’s department.
Last November the two groups started “Dog Day Afternoon” in the children’s department of the main library. About 25 children attended each of the four Saturday-afternoon classes, reading for half an hour. Those who attended three of the four classes received a “pawgraphed” book at the last class.
The program was so successful that the library plans to repeat it in April, according to Dana Thumpowsky, public relations manager.
小题1:What is mainly discussed in the text?
A．Children’s reading difficulties.
B．Advantages of raising dogs.
C．Service in a public library.
D．A special reading program.小题2:Specialists use dogs to listen to children reading because they think _______.
A．dogs are young children’s best friends
B．children can play with dogs while reading
C．dogs can provide encouragement for shy children
D．children and dogs understand each other小题3:By saying “The Salt Lake City Public Library is sold on the idea”, the writer means the library_______.
A．uses dogs to attract children
B．accepts the idea put forward by ITA
C．has opened a children's department
D．has decided to train some dogs小题4:A “pawgraphed” book is most probably _______.
A．a book used in Saturday classes
B．a book written by the children
C．a prize for the children
D．a gift from parent
小题1:D
小题2:C
小题3:B
小题4:C
题目分析：文中叙述了美国盐湖城的ITA组织认为，由于狗具有闪亮的棕色眼睛、摇摆的尾巴及无条件的爱，它为儿童获取自信心提供了“必要的听众”。利用对狗阅读来帮助儿童提高读写能力是一种独特的教育方法，
小题1:主旨题：短文首句“Reading to dogs is an unusual way to help children improve their literacy skills”是文章的主题句。故最佳选项为D。
小题2:细节题：从第二段的句子：“Literacy specialists admit that children who read below the level of their fellow pupils are often afraid of reading aloud in a group, often have lower self-respect, and regard reading as a headache,”可知专家认为狗可以给害羞的孩子鼓励。选C
小题3:这题是考猜词技巧的，根据上下文的意思，可以知道是这个图书馆接受了这种理念。选B
小题4:猜词题：文段叙述的是孩子们参加“周六下午阅读训练班”的事情。根据常识我们知道，在一个学习活动结束时，通常会对一些先进分子进行表彰或奖励。因此，我们可以作出判断，“Those who attended three of the four classes received a “pawgraphed” book at the last class”这句话的意思应该是：那些参加了四个学习班中三个班的学习的孩子们在参加最后一个班的时候可以得到某种奖励。C选项是正确答案。
点评：全篇形成了“主题句+支撑句+结论句”的模式，读者对文章大意一目了然。这篇文章第一句“Reading to dogs is an unusual way to help children improve their literacy skills.” 就点名主题。接下来是对这一中心思想的解释。第二段是说明The Salt Lake City Public Library 接受这个想法的原因，第三段描述试验过程，最后陈述试验结果。在阅读中，读者只要掌握了这些内容，也就获得了文字的表层理解。