Directions:Inthispart,youwillhave15minutestogooverthepassagequicklyandanswerthequestionsonAnswerSheet1.
Forquestions1-7,choosethebestanswerfromthefourchoicesmarkedA),B),C)andD).Forquestions8-10,completethesentenceswiththeinformationgiveninthepassage.
GuideDogs
Formostdogowners,theexpression"worklikeadog"doesn'tmakemuchsense.Butsomedogshappilyperformverydemandingjobsformuchoftheirlife,puttinginafullday'sworkjustliketherestofus.Guidedogs,oneofthemostfamiliarsortsofworkingdog,provideaninvaluableservicetohumans.Everyday,theyhelptheirmastersgetfromplacetoplacemoresafely.
WhatGuideDogsDo
Guidedogshelpblindorvisuallyimpairedpeoplegetaroundintheworld.Inmostcountries,theyareallowedtoanyplacewherethepublicisallowed,sotheycanhelptheirhandlersbeinanyplacetheymightwanttogoto.Todothis,aguidedogmustknowhowto:
Keeponadirectroute,ignoringdistractionssuchassmells,otheranimalsandpeopleMaintainasteadypace,totheleftandjustaheadofthehandlerStopatallcurbsuntiltoldtoproceedTurnleftandright,moveforwardandstoponcommandRecognizeandavoidobstaclesthatthehandlerwon'tbeabletofitthrough(narrowpassagesandlowoverheads)StopatthebottomandtopofstairsuntiltoldtoproceedBringthehandlertoelevatorbuttonsLiequietlywhenthehandlerissittingdownHelpthehandlertoboardandmovearoundbuses,subwaysandotherformsofpublicVehiclesObeyanumberofverbalcommandsAdditionally,aguidedogmustknowtodisobeyanycommandthatwouldputthehandlerindanger.Thisability,calledselectivedisobedience,isperhapsthemostamazingthingaboutguidedogsthattheycanbalanceobediencewiththeirownassessmentofthesituation.
Thiscapacityisextremelyimportantatcrosswalks,wherethehandleranddogmustworkverycloselytogethertonavigatethesituationsafely.Dogscannotdistinguishthecoloroftrafficlights,sothehandlermustmakethedecisionofwhenitissafetoproceedacrosstheroad.Thehandlerlistenstotheflowoftraffictofigureoutwhenthelighthaschangedandthengivesthecommand"forward".Ifthereisnodanger,thedogproceedsacrosstheroadinastraightline.Iftherearecarsapproaching,thedogwaitsuntilthedangerisgoneandthenfollowstheforwardcommand.
OntheJobandAfterHours
Guidedogsenjoytheirworkimmensely,andtheygetalotofsatisfactionfromajobwelldone,butthereisnoroomfortypicaldogfunduringtheworkday.Games,treatsandpraisecannotdistractthedogfromhelpingitshandlernavigatethecourse.Evenwhenthehandlerdoesn'tneedassistance,aguidedogonthejobistrainedtoignoredistractionsandkeepstill.Thisisbecauseaguidedogmustbeabletocometothehandler'sworkplaceorbeinpublicplaceswithoutcreatingadisturbance.
Whenyouseeaguidedogonthejob,itisextremelyimportantthatyourecognizethatitisatwork.Pettingortalkingtothedogbreaksitsconcentration,whichimpairsthehandler'sabilitytogetaroundinhisorhersurroundings.Peopleareveryimpressedwithguidedogsandsowehaveanaturalinclinationtopraisethem,butthebestthingyoucandotohelpaguidedogistoleaveitalonesothatitcanpayattentiontoitssurroundingsandmaintainitsfocusonitshandler.Guidingisverycomplicated,anditrequiresadog'sundividedattention.
Whenaguidedoggetshomeattheendoftheday,however,itwillplayandsoakuppraisejustlikeanordinarypet.Guidedogsmakethedistinctionbetweenworkandplaybasedontheirleadharness:Whentheharnessison,theymuststaycompletelyfocused;whenitcomesoff,it'splaytime.Guidedogsworkveryhardeveryday,buttheyleadextremelyhappylives,fulloflotsofattentionandstimulation.Dogsonlyendupworkingasguidedogsiftheyabsolutelylovethework.Infact,manyhandlersreportthattheirdogsleapenthusiasticallyintotheharnesseverymorning!
Training
PeopleoftenraiseGoldenRetrievers(猎犬),GermanshepherdsorLabradors(拉布拉多猎狗)ascandidatesofguidedogs.Onceadogisgrownup,socializedandwelltrained,itgoestotheguidedogschoolforevaluation.
Insomeschools,ifadogissuitedfortrainingbutnotquiteready,itmaygobacktothepuppy(幼犬)raiserforamonthorsotomature.Ifadogissimplynotsuitedfortraining,theschoolwillworktoplacethedoginanotherlineofwork,suchastracking,orfinditapermanenthome,usuallyofferingittothepuppyraiserfirst.AtGuidingEyesfortheBlind,onlythetop50percentofthepuppieswillstaywiththeschool.Sotheschoolplacesalittleover400puppieswithraiserseachyear,needingonly200dogsforthetrainingprogram.Ofthat200,asmallpercentagewillbecomebreedingstock,forGuidingEyesoranotherschool,andtherestwillbeconsideredforthetrainingprogram.
Trainingisarigorousprocessforboththeinstructorsandthedogs,butit'salsoalotoffun.Tomakesurethedogsareuptothechallenge,mostschoolstestthemextensivelybeforebeginningthetraining.Thetestsaredesignedtoassessthedogs'self-confidencelevel,sinceonlyextremelyconfidentdogswillbeabletodealwiththepressureofguidinginstruction.Ifadogpassesthetests,itbeginsthetrainingprogramrightaway.
Differentschoolshavedifferentprograms,buttypically,trainingwilllastfourtofivemonths.Tomakesurethedogsmasterallthecomplexguideskills,theinstructorshavetointroducethemtoeachideagradually.Oncetheyhaveintroducedwhatisexpectedofthedog,trainingisessentiallyamatterofrewardingcorrectperformanceandpunishingincorrectperformance.Thisworkswithdogsbecausetheyarepackanimalsandhaveanaturalneedtopleaseanauthorityfigure.Theinstructor,orlaterthehandler,issimplysteppingintotheplaceofthealphadog,theleaderofthepack.
Unlikeordinaryobediencetraining,guidedogtrainingdoesnotusefoodasarewardforgoodperformance.Thisisbecauseaguidedogmustbeabletoworkaroundfoodwithoutbeingdistractedbyit.Instead,instructorsusepraiseorotherrewardsystemstoencouragecorrectperformance.Thestandardmeansofcorrectionispullingonthedogsleash,sothatitpullsatrainingcollar,givingthedogaslightpinch(捏，掐).Usingthisbasicreward/punishmentsystem,instructorsworkthroughthenecessaryskillsforguiding.
FormingaTeam
Thefinalstageofaguidedog'strainingislearningtoworkwithitsnewmaster.Guidedogtrainingschoolsworkveryhardtomatchhandlerswithguidedogsaccordingtothecompatibilityoftheirpersonalities.Averyenergeticdogtypicallydoeswellwithayounghandler,whileanolderhandlermayneedanespeciallycarefulpartner.Schoolsoftenhaveaspecialgatheringtocommemoratethetimewhenanewclassofguidedogsfinallymeetstheirmasters.Often,thedogs'puppyraiserattendsandmeetswiththenewmasteraswell.Thisisperhapsthemostemotionaltimeintheentiretrainingprocess.
Afterthisintroduction,guidedoginstructorstypicallyspendamonthhelpingthenewteamlearntoworktogether.Manyschoolshavedormitoriesforthehandlerstostayinduringthisfinalstageoftraining.
Ifthehandlerhasneverusedaguidedogbefore,alotoftheinstructorsworkatthispointareactuallypeopletraining,notdogtraining.Thehandlerhastolearntoreadthedogsmovements,soheorsheknowswhenthedogisturningorwhenthedogisstoppingforacrosswalkorstairs.Additionally,thehandlerhastolearnallthecommandsthedogknows,andmustgetsomepracticewalkingwiththedog.Thedoghastomakethetransitionfromobeyingtheinstructortorecognizingthehandlerasitsnewmaster.Thehandlerandthedogspendalotofthistimejustgettingtoknoweachother,sothattheyarecomfortableenoughtoworkasateam.Bythetimetheygraduatefromtheguidedogschool,theycanreadeachotherseverymovement.
1.Whenahandlerandaguidedogwalkonthestreet________,-
A)thehandlermustwalkstraightB)thedogmusttrytowalkstraight
C)boththehandlerandthedogshouldwalkstraightD)neitherofthemhastowalkstraight
2.Likeotherdogs,guidedogsanycommandfromthehandler.
A)aresupposedtoignoreB)arenotsupposedtoignore
C)aresupposedtoobeyD)arenotsupposedtoobey
3.Whichofthefollowingstatementsisnottrue
A)Thehandlerandthedogmustworkverycloselytogether.
B)Dogscannotdistinguishthecoloroftrafficlights.
C)Ifthereisanydangeratcrosswalks,aguidedogshouldnotifythehandler.
D)Ifthereisnodanger,thedogproceedsacrosstheroadinastraightline.
4.Inthework,guidedogswillenjoy
A)thefuncommondogshaveB)theirworkalot
C)thefunandpraisecommondogshaveD)thesatisfaction
5.Whenyouseeaguidedogworkverywell,thebestthingyoucandoforitisto
A)praiseitB)rewarditC)leaveitaloneD)feedit
6.Aguidedogtellsthetimeofplayapartfromthatofworkby
A)thehandler'scommandB)itsleadharness
C)thehandler'swhistleD)itsinstinct
7.Whenapuppydoggrowsup,itisevaluatedattheguidedogschooltosee
A)ifitissuitedforguidingB)ifitisreadyforguiding
C)ifitissuitedforbreedingD)ifitissuitedfortraining
8.Differentfromordinaryobediencetraining,guidedogtrainingintroducespraiseorotherrewardsystemsinsteadof.
9.Attheendoftraining,theguidedogschoolwillmakesurethatthedogsworkwellwith
10.Beforegraduation,thehandlerandtheguidedogshouldspendtimelearningtoread