Question

    We’ve all heard the stories of an actor’s struggles before a career breakthrough: living a hard life, working part time, being a couch potato before getting that major role. Shelby, the star of “A Dog’s Way Home,” has a hard-luck tale that could top them all. Before her big break, she was living in a landfill, rooting through garbage for her next meal.

Shelby’s big break came in April 2017, when animal-control officer Megan Buhler was driving in Cheatham County. Tennessee. Out on an unrelated call, Buhler spotted and approached what she recalled was a noticeably scared puppy emerging from the dump. “I knelt down and just said, ‘Oh, come here, baby,’” said Buhler. “She was so scared, but she came right up to me, and I was able to put her in my truck.” The pair headed to the county animal shelter, where the staff began calling the new resident Baby Girl.

Buhler and others didn’t know that 3,200 kilometers away, Hollywood was looking for a dog to play Bella in a film written by Cathryn Michon. The find-a-Bella job went to freelance trainer Teresa Ann Miler. Her mission was to search shelters nationwide for a dog that could play Bella. One day, Miller spotted Baby Girl’s adoption photo. “Honestly, it was a really good picture, and she was flat-out smiling,” Miller said. Then she met Baby Girl, and assessed her on personality and the ability to respond to simple commands. After assessment, she adopted Baby Girl from the shelter, renamed her Shelby and took her to California for training. Miller and Shelby trained for just over three months before filming began. Then they were together each day on the set.

Most of the film’s reviews have praised Shelby’s performance. Variety made the comments “an amazing dog, perfect performance!”

Shelby has come a long way from the dump. But Buhler said she saw Shelby recently had needed only a second to compare the movie star with the dog she found from piles of trash. “She’s exactly the same,” Buhler said.

1.Why does the author mention an actor’s struggle before a career breakthrough at the very beginning?

A.To make a sharp contrast between an actor’s struggle and a dog’s struggle.

B.To introduce a dog’s similar but even more striking experiences.

C.To attract reader’s attention by giving dramatic examples.

D.To clearly point out the main idea of the passage.

2.What finally helped Baby Girl get the big role in the film?

A.Her adoption picture. B.Her flat-out smiling.

C.her personality and ability. D.Her miserable experiences.

3.By saying “She is exactly the same” in the last paragraph, Buhler probably means _______.

A.the dog returned to the piles of trash where she found it

B.it took quite a lot of trouble for the dog to change her own fate.

C.she’s really excited to see the dog she helped live such a happy life

D.the dramatic change of the dog’s life hasn’t changed her inner quality

4.What do you think may serve as the best title of the passage?

A.The Success of “A Dog’s Way Home”

B.From a Landfill Puppy to a Movie Star

C.The Trainer and Her Star Dog

D.Shelby’s Hard-luck Story

Answer

1.B

2.C

3.D

4.B

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章介绍了一只垃圾小狗到成为一名电影明星的引人注目的经历。

1.推理判断题。根据第一段We’ve all heard the stories of an actor’s struggles before a career breakthrough: living a hard life, working part time, being a couch potato before getting that major role. Shelby, the star of “A Dog’s Way Home,” has a hard-luck tale that could top them all. Before her big break, she was living in a landfill, rooting through garbage for her next meal. 我们都听过演员在事业上取得突破之前的挣扎故事：过着艰苦的生活，兼职工作，在得到那个主要角色之前成为一个电视迷。《一条狗的回家之路》中的明星谢尔比有一个倒霉的故事，可能会超过所有人。在她的重大突破之前，她住在垃圾堆里，翻着垃圾寻找下一顿饭。由此可知，作者在一开始就提到了一个演员在事业取得突破之前的挣扎，并介绍了一只狗的类似但更引人注目的经历。故选B。

2.细节理解题。根据第三段中One day, Miller spotted Baby Girl’s adoption photo. “Honestly, it was a really good picture, and she was flat-out smiling,” Miller said. Then she met Baby Girl, and assessed her on personality and the ability to respond to simple commands.一天，米勒发现了Baby Girl的收养照片。米勒说：“说实话，这张照片拍得很好，她笑得很灿烂。”然后她遇到了Baby Girl，并对她的性格和对简单命令的反应能力进行了评估。由此可知，她的性格和能力最终帮助Baby Girl在电影中获得了重要角色。故选C。

3.词义猜测题。根据倒数第二段中Most of the film’s reviews have praised Shelby’s performance. Variety made the comments “an amazing dog, perfect performance!”大多数影评都赞扬了谢尔比的表演。Variety评论道：“一只神奇的狗，完美的表演！”和最后一段Shelby has come a long way from the dump. But Buhler said she saw Shelby recently had needed only a second to compare the movie star with the dog she found from piles of trash. “She’s exactly the same,”谢尔比从垃圾场一路走来。但布勒说，她最近看到谢尔比只用了一秒钟就把这位电影明星和她在垃圾堆里找到的那条狗做了比较。“她完全一样”。由此可知，通过在最后一段中说“她完全一样”，布勒可能是指狗狗生活的巨大变化并没有改变她的内在品质。故选D。

4.主旨大意题。文章介绍了一只垃圾小狗到成为一名电影明星的引人注目的经历。所以B项From a Landfill Puppy to a Movie Star.(从垃圾小狗到电影明星)为最佳标题。故选B。