Allen goes everywhere with Brigitta Anderson, a 54 year-old secretary. He moves around her office at work and goes shopping with her. “Most people don’t mind Allen,” says Brigitta, who thinks he is wonderful. “He is my fourth child,” she says. She may think of him and treat him that way, buying him delicious food, paying his health bills and his taxes, but in fact Allen is only a dog.
Brigitta and Allen live in Sweden, a country where everyone is expected to lead an orderly life according to the rules laid down by the government, which also provides a high level of care for its people. Yet, this level of care costs a lot of money.
People in Sweden pay taxes (税) on everything, so they aren’t surprised to find that owning a dog means some more taxes. Some people are paying as much as 500 Sweden kronor in taxes a year for the right to keep their dogs. Money from dog taxes is spent by the government on dog hospitals and sometimes medical treatment for a dog that falls ill. However, such a treatment is expensive, so dog owners often decide to pay health insurance (保险) and some even buy life insurance for their dogs.
In Sweden, dog owners must pay for any damage their dogs do. A Swedish kennel (养狗场) club official explains what this means: if your dog runs out on the road and gets hit by a passing car, you, as the owner, have to pay for any damage done to the car, even if your dog has been killed in the accident.
1. What is the passage about?
A. Owning dogs is not allowed in Sweden. B. Owning dogs costs a lot more in Sweden.
C. You are required to pay life insurance for your dog by law if you own one in Sweden.
D. Allen is a good dog.
2. The money paid as dog taxes is used to .
A. keep a high level of care for people B. pay for any damage done by dogs
C. provide medical care for dogs D. buy insurance for dog owners
3. From the text it can be inferred that in Sweden .
A. people care much about dogs B. dogs are not allowed to go out without their owners
C. many car accidents are caused by dogs D. dogs are not welcome in public places
4. If a dog causes a car accident and gets killed, who should pay for the damage done to the car?
A. The owner of the car. B. The owner of the dog.
C. The insurance company. D. The government.
5. What does the underlined word “he” in the first paragraph refer to?
A. Brigitta. B. Secretary. C. Anderson. D. Allen.