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Every day, even the rainiest, coldest day in January, old Mrs. Tanaka is out there on the sidewalks walking her dog, a tiny Chihuahua. Cha-Cha doesn't seem to mind the weather, probably because Mrs. Tanaka has provided him with a stylish and useful collection of sweaters, raincoats, and sweatshirts, mostly in bright blues and reds unlike her own dull greys and blacks. They keep up a steady conversation, or at least the old lady does, and she is forever pretending to scold Cha-Cha severely for getting his feet wet or for rudely smelling something or other. Cha-cha pretends to follow orders for a minute or two, and then goes back to doing whatever he likes. The two of them make a perfect couple.
My older brother, who thinks he knows everything, says both of them are ridiculous, but especially Mrs. Tanaka. "At her age she should know dogs can't understand what people say. And think of all the money she spends on that stupid dog! It is so small it doesn't eat much, of course, but that old lady has probably spent a hundred thousand yen on that dog's clothes! With that much money you could feed people who are hungry or help kids who need medical treatment!" That is the kind of thing he says all the time, but I don't see him using his extra money to help poor people. And he would probably really like Cha-Cha if he were a big Labrador or a German Shepherd.
But maybe my brother's opinion has some merit, though I hate to admit it. We do spend a lot of money on dogs and cats and birds and ferrets and other pets. The store near our house has two long rows of goods for pets -- not just food, but clothes and beds and toys and houses and medicines, etc. And really that variety of expensive things is for the pet owner, not for the pets. Is a cat going to care whether its bed is blue instead of green? Does a dog really care about sports heroes? No, its owner just thinks it's cute for the animal to wear a sweatshirt with the team logo. So, we pay lots of money to entertain ourselves with these poor animals by putting them into unnatural situations.
These days, in my family, I am the one who has to walk our dog, Ichiro, every day, even though my brother was the one who wanted to buy him two years ago. My brother also says he is too busy studying for the entrance exam to waste time playing with Ichiro. But I don't mind. I like going to the park nearby where Ichiro can run free, and sometimes we see Mrs. Tanaka and Cha-Cha. Mom says life was really difficult for Mrs. Tanaka when her husband dies last year. Now every day Mrs. Tanaka and Cha-Cha are happily walking around the neighborhood and talking with everyone they meet, so I think Cha-Cha has really helped her a lot. He is just like a member of the family.
(1)上の英文の内容を300時以内の日本語で要約しなさい。
(2)Give your own opinion in English about the good points and bad points of keeping pets. （解答欄は223mm×10行）
――福岡女子大学 前期日程/文学部 （２月25日実施）――2005年
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- 06/7/1(土) -
