阅读理解。
Trouve sat up on its back legs and growled (吼叫) the words, "How are you, Grandmama?" The audience
roared with laughter and clapped. Twenty-year-old Aleck gave the dog a morsel(一口) of food. His hard work
had paid off. His dog could talk!
Aleck was fascinated with the different sounds of people's speech. His father taught students who had a
speech problem to improve their speech. Aleck paid close attention. Could an animal form sounds into words,
too? He decided to experiment with Trouve, the family dog.
The easy part was teaching Trouve to growl whenever Aleck wanted. The little dog growled for a morsel
of food.
Next Aleck moved the dog's "lips" as it growled. It sounded like "ma ma ma". Trouve learned quickly to
stop the growling just as Aleck's hand moved away. They practiced and practiced until the dog said "mama"
perfectly.
Soon Aleck discovered more. If he pushed gently under the dog's jawbone (下颌骨), it made the "ga" sound.
If he pushed once and moved the dog's lips twice, he could make the dog say, "ga ma ma." With even more
practice, it sounded like "grandmama". Whenever Trouve said "grandmama", Aleck gave the dog two treats, so
Trouve loved the lessons.
Aleck tried to teach his dog to move its tongue so that Trouve could say more words. That didn't work,
but Aleck didn't give up.
After many hours of practice, Trouve could say, "Ow ah oo ga-ma-ma?" This sounded just like "How are
you, Grandmama?"
Friends and neighbors traveled to see young Aleck and his amazing talking dog. Rumors spread that the dog
could speak by itself, which wasn't true. No matter how much Aleck tried, the dog was never able to move its
lips without help.
Aleck's full name was Alexander Graham Bell. He wanted to know more about the world all his life. He had
many ideas. Some worked; others didn't. But he kept trying-always learning. One of his inventions was
something called the telephone.
1. Which of the following is TRUE of Aleck? [ ]
A. His father had an influence on him.
B. He had a talent for giving speeches.
C. He taught Trouve to talk in honor of his grandmother.
D. He carried out many experiments to improve people's speech.
2. Trouve grew fond of practicing talking because _____.[ ]
A. it liked being together with Aleck
B. it was given some food for that
C. it would like to develop its potential (潜能)
D. Aleck treated it like one of the family
3. Which of the following words can best describe Aleck? [ ]
A. Humorous.
B. Naughty.
C. Knowledgeable.
D. Curious.
4. What contributes most to Aleck's success in teaching the dog to talk? [ ]
A. His own hard work.
B. His neighbor's help.
C. His father's encouragement.
D. The dog's smartness.
5. According to the passage, how many statements are true?
a. The audience was very excited to hear the dog growling the sound "ma".
b. The dog could understand Aleck's sign.
c. The dog could move its tongue successfully by itself.
d. Aleck kept trying his ideas all the while.
e. The only intention of Aleck's is telephone.[ ]
A. 2
B. 3
C. 4
D. 5
