12．The Beagle Brigade
Return to the United States from a trip abroad，and your luggage will get inspected by the U．S．Department of Agriculture's Beagle Brigade．Working with human canine officer partners，the beagles sniff out potential threats to American agriculture．
An orange or apple，for example，might harbor a Mediterranean fruit fly．Hams could carry a disease such as hog cholera．These and other pests could destroy farmer's crops and livestock．"Once we introduce something that is not part of the environment，there may riot be any controls for it in the environment，"notes USDA's Lisa Davis at the National Dog Detector Training Center in Orlando，Florida．"The best thing for us to do is to prevent it from coming across the border and becoming established．''
When a beagle sniffs specific food odors，it signals its partners by sitting．The human officer then investigates．When the dog is right-which happens 90percent of the time--it gets an edible treat．
"The dog is not out there working，"explains Davis．"It's out there playing．It's a game to the dog．"The handlers give the beagles plenty of food and loving．They make sure they get first-class medical attention，too．When the dogs finally retire after 9to 11years，the USDA finds caring homes for them．It's a dog's life indeed!
How well does the Beagle Brigade do its job？"On average，"notes Davis，"each year our 54teams prevent around 75，000 prohibited，restricted items．"Since even one infested （為患的） item could cause widespread destruction，that's a great result for America's agricultural environment．
24．According to the article，what is a problem with agricultural products brought into the United States by passengers traveling from abroad？D
A．They generate similar types of food odors．
B．They are difficult to identify，even with trained dogs．
C．They must be inspected before being allowed to enter the country．
D．They may carry something that could harm the agricultural environment．
25．According to the article，how does the beagle signal that it has found a suspicious food product？C
A．By barking at its partner．
B．By begging for a treat．
C．By sitting next to the item．
D．By playing a game．
26．How is the beagle congratulated for finding a specific food product？D
A．The handler praises it with a hug．
B．The beagle gets to play for a few hours．
C．The beagle gets to retire to a caring home．
D．The handler gives it an edible reward．
27．In the article，the author supports the use of the Beagle Brigade byA．
A．providing statistics about the number of items detected by the dogs
B．showing that the dogs enjoy discovering prohibited items
C．pointing out that good homes are found for the dogs when they retire
D．praising the fact that the dogs work for a government agency．
分析 本文主要講述了美國通過小獵犬嗅物品的方式來排除可能出現的外來物品對農業的威脅．
解答 24．D 細節題．根據文章內容，Working with human canine officer partners，the beagles sniff out potential threats to American agriculture．以及Once we introduce something that is not part of the environment，there may riot be any controls for it in the environment外出旅行回國，可能會攜帶某些對農業有威脅的東西，小獵犬可以嗅到其味道．一旦我們引入的物種與之前的環境沖突的，那么會對農業環境造成影響．結合選項，故選D
25．C 細節題．根據文章內容，When a beagle sniffs specific food odors，it signals its partners by sitting．一旦小獵犬嗅到特備的氣味，它就會通過坐下來發出信號．結合選項，故選C
26．D 細節題．根據文章內容，When the dog is right-which happens 90percent of the time--it gets an edible treat．當小獵犬的發現是正確的，那么它將受到喂食的獎勵．結合選項，故選D
27．A細節題．根據文章內容，"each year our 54teams prevent around 75，000 prohibited，restricted items．"Since even one infested （為患的） item could cause widespread destruction，that's a great result for America's agricultural environment．由此可知，作者覺得可以通過分析小獵犬發現的可能的有害物質的數據來使用 the Beagle Brigade，結合選項，故選A
點評 本文是一個人生感悟類閱讀，題目涉及多道細節理解題，做題時結合原文和題目有針對性的找出相關語句進行仔細分析，結合選項選出正確答案．推理判斷題也是要在抓住關鍵句子的基礎上合理的分析才能得出正確答案，切忌胡亂猜測，一定要做到有理有據．
