2006年英语专业四级:短文1

If you are in a western country, you often see people walking their dogs. It is still true that the dog is the most useful animal in the world. However, the reason why one keeps a dog has changed. Once upon a time, a man met a dog and wanted to help him in the fight against other animals, and the dog listened to him and did what he told him to do. Later people used dogs for hunting other animals, and dogs did not eat what they got until their masters agreed. Dogs were also used for driving sheep and guarding chickens. But now people in towns and cities do not need dogs to fight other animals any more. Of course they keep them to frighten thieves, but the most important reason for keeping dogs is that they feel lonely in the city. For a child, a dog is his best friend when he has no friends to play with. For a young wife, a dog is her child when she does not have her own. For old people, a dog is also a child when their real children have grown up and left. Now people do not have to use a dog, but they keep it as a friend, just like a member of the family.