Question

There are many expressions with the word “dog”.

1. They take their dogs for walks, give them good food and medical care. However, dogs without owners to care for them lead a different kind of life. The expression, lead a dog’s life, describes a person who has an unhappy existence.

When we say we live in a dog-eat-dog world, 2. A person has to work hard like a dog to be successful. Such hard work can make people dog-tired. And, the situation would be even worse if they became sick as a dog.

Still, people say every dog has its day. This means that every person enjoys a successful period during his or her life. 3. Yet, some people say that you can never teach an old dog new tricks. They believe that older people do not like to learn new skills and will not change the way they do things.

Some people are compared to dogs in bad ways. People who are unkind or uncaring can be described as junkyard dogs living in places where people throw away things they do not want. Junkyard dogs are often used to guard this property. They bark or attack people who try to enter the property. However, sometimes a person who appears to be mean and threatening is really not so bad. 4.

Dog expressions are also used to describe the weather. The dog days of summer are the hottest days of the year. 5. But we do not want it to rain cats and dogs.

A. We could say his bark is worse than his bite.

B. That means many people are competing for the same things, like good jobs.

C. But there are many difficulties on the road to success.

D. People love dogs and treat them well.

E. To be successful, people often have to learn new skills.

F. Dogs are loyal to people.

G. A rainstorm may cool the weather.

Answer

1.D

2.B

3.E

4.A

5.G

【解析】这篇短文主要介绍了英语中有关狗的表达方式。

1.D考查上下文和句意理解。根据下文They take their dogs for walks, give them good food and medical care.可知，他们带狗散步，给他们食物和好的医疗护理。所以人们爱狗，对待他们很好。答案是D

2.B考查上下文和句意理解。根据上文When we say we live in a dog-eat-dog world,可知，空格处是对a dog-eat-dog world的解释；再根据下文Such hard work can make people dog-tired. And, the situation would be even worse if they became sick as a dog.可知，这意味着工作会很累心很苦，故B项“很多人在为同样的事情竞争，比如好的工作”与下文描述的吻合。答案是B

3.E考查上下文和句意理解。根据上文This means that every person enjoys a successful period during his or her life.可知，每个人在生活中都享受成功的时刻；再根据下文Yet, some people say that you can never teach an old dog new tricks. They believe that older people do not like to learn new skills and will not change the way they do things.可知，要讲老年人不爱学习新技能，故E项“为了成功，每个人都要学习新的技能”串联上下文，答案是E。关键词是successful和learn new skills，分别对应上下文。

4.A考查上下文和句意理解。根据前句However, sometimes a person who appears to be mean and threatening is really not so bad可知，有时候，一个人看起来吝啬或具有威胁性，但实际上不是那样坏，可以用A选项We could say his bark is worse than his bite.（我们可以说他的吠声比咬的更厉害）来概括总结，答案是A。

5.G考查上下文和句意理解。根据上文Dog expressions are also used to describe the weather可知，狗还可以用来描述天气，G项A rainstorm may cool the weather符合本段内容，故选G。

【名师点睛】

七选五题型要求考生从整体上把握文章的逻辑结构和内容上的联系，理解句子之间、段落之间的关系，对诸如连贯性、一致性等语段特征有较强的意识和熟练的把握。所以懂得整篇文章的基本结构或段落的语篇结构对解题很有用。

分析本文的语篇结构，可以知道第一段是文章的主题句，然后接下来各段的语篇结构都是主题句（总）+支撑句（分）（分述主题的具体内容/说明原因/举例证明等）。所以第5小题本段的主题句是Dog expressions are also used to describe the weather.，而空格前文The dog days of summer are the hottest days of the year.和后文But we do not want it to rain cats and dogs.都是讲有关dog描述天气的，只有G项是有关天气的，故选G。