Double-nosed Dog not to Be Sniffed at

I. Read the authentic text.

Explorer Colonel John Blashford-Snell has had close encounters with vampire bats and angry bees, but his latest brush has been with a rather odd dog. He spotted a rare breed of Double-Nosed Andean tiger hound, which has two noses, on a recent trip to Bolivia.

The chairman of the Scientific Exploration Society said the dog, named Xingu, was “not terribly handsome”. He said: “This breed could be used for sniffing out mines or narcotics because they have an enhanced sense of smell.”

Colonel Blashford-Snell first encountered a Double-Nosed Andean tiger hound called Bella in 2005 when he was carrying out reconnaissance for this year’s expedition in the area near Ojaki. He told Radio 4’s programme: “While we were there, sitting by the fire one night, I saw an extraordinary-looking dog that appeared to have two noses. I was sober at the time, and then I remembered the story that the legendary explorer Colonel Percy Fawcett came back with in 1913 of seeing such strange dogs in the Amazon jungle. Nobody believed him.”

The dog seen in 2005 was Bella, and on a second trip to the area, the explorer discovered her son Xingu in the village of Ojaki. He had just produced a litter of puppies with a female that had a single nose. Two of their offspring had double noses, and two had the normal quantity, but the double-nosed pups died after three days.

“There is a chance that these dogs came from a breed with double noses that’s known in Spain as Pachon Navarro, which were hunting dogs,” said Colonel Blashford-Snell. “I think it’s highly likely some of these were taken to South America at the time of the Conquistadors and they continued to breed. They’re good hunting dogs.”

Xingu’s best friend is apparently a wild pig called Gregory, and the two animals “rule the roost” in their village. “Other dogs snarl at Xingu, because they can sense he’s different. He’s the smallest dog there but he sees the other dogs off,” Colonel Blashford-Snell said. “He’s very intelligent and with a wonderful sense of smell, as you might think. The Bolivian Army came and took DNA samples because they’re interested in the breed. He’s not the only dog like this, there are others in the area.”

II. Choose the correct item.

1. The title of the article means that a Double-Nosed Andean tiger hound

A. is very rare

B. isn’t very handsome

C. can be useful for police and army

D. can have two noses

2. The word “brush” in paragraph 1 means

A. a painting brush

B. a comb

C. an animal

D. encounter

. “A recent trip” in paragraph 1 means

A. a pleasant trip

B. a trip belonging to a period of time not long ago

C. a trip that brought lots of discoveries

D. a trip that was a failure

4. “An enhanced sense of smell” in paragraph 2 means

A. a terrible smell of the dogs

B. a better sense of smell than other dogs have

C. a proper sense of smell to find things

D. unusual smell

5. The word “encountered” in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to

A. caught

B. took photos

C. described

D. met

6. “Was carrying out reconnaissance” in paragraph 3 is closed in meaning to

A. was surveying the area

B. was talking about the trip

C. was looking for rare animals

D. was spreading information

7. According to paragraph 4, their offspring are

A. females

B. puppies

C. all double-nosed

D. dead

8. It can be inferred from paragraph 5 that probably double noses

A. come from Spain

B. come from South America

C. were bred by Colonel Blashford-Snell

D. were brought to Spain by Colonel Blashford-Snell

9. In paragraph 6, “rule the roost” means

A. have bad friends

B. have many rules

C. have complete control

D. have a pig as a friend

10. It is not mentioned in paragraph 6 that Xingu

A. is different from other dogs

B. is not afraid of other dogs

C. is friendly to a pig

D. is the only double-nosed dog in the area

Key: 1. c; 2. d; 3. b; 4. b; 5. d; 6. a; 7. b; 8. a; 9. c; 10. d