四级文章记词汇.docVIP

Unit 1 the dog made us a family We inherited my daughter Liana when she was barely 5.She had been adopted from China by my closest friend of 30 years, Linda,a single 51-yaer-oid woman,slim and delicate-looking but tough and firm inside.Linda had a backgound of diverse illnesses.My husband later told me that when she walked merrily off the plane on Christmas Day in 1994,with her round worried-looking Chinese baby bundled in red and holding a toy bear, he had a weird impression that we would eventually raise this child.Three years later , my best friend died and Liana came home with us .I was 55,a fulltime textbook editor with two almost-grown daughters. My husband,an English professor ,was 48.I was looking forward to a few years of empty nesting and then some grandchildren. Starting over with a dynamic kindgartner was ,to be frank , not in my expectation. Shortly after she came to us ,Liana began asking for a dog .She had been passed from family to family during Linda’s six-month illness, spoiled by sympathetic people who wanted to make hr cheerful. She was not accustomed to hearing refusal “no.”I have affection for dogs. But I already had to be responsible for a new and unexpected member and I didn’t want another responsibility .Initially our little apartment was our excuse: not aboundant space.But four years later we moved to a house, and we could no longer resist Liana’s request.So off we went to an animal shelter. Molly wagged its tail all the time .She was mild but energetic. As long as Liana and my husband,John, promised to do the walking ,I decided I could handing having a dog . So we brought Molly home .Twenty-four hours later I opened the front door, liked a streak of lighting-Molly,bolting out the door. Liana and John chased after her ,but losing the trail. Liana came back into the house and cried .In her four years with us ,she had rarely ever cried. And she had hardly ever mentioned her adoptive mother , my best friend. I almost resented that she seemed