s easy for him to say. I couldn't walk to the end of the road to pick up my mail. I tried to stand up, but soon got breathless and just stopped. My mailbox seemed to be so far away. It was hard for me, though I am only 39 years old!

　　A month ago, my wife Stephanie and I were in Colorado Springs with our friends when I woke up at 12 o'clock at night and didn't feel very well. Stephanie and I drove to the hospital, and my 10­day vacation turned into a 10­day hospital stay. I got a scar (伤疤) on my body. It was really tough to walk around then and I needed practice.

　　Stephanie had to go to work so she encouraged me to try to take a few walks. Minutes later, she came back with a puppy. "Where did you get that？" I asked. "In our mailbox，" she replied. What a wonder! The puppy was dirty, with big pleading (恳求的) eyes. Stephanie was late for work. I was not very happy. I couldn't take care of myself. How could I look after this puppy? "He's going to the pound (动物收容所)，" I thought. However, wherever I went, the puppy would closely follow me. I tried walking. The puppy ran ahead, looked back and repeated it again and again. He seemed to say "come on". I took a deep breath, and then tried stepping; the puppy was right at my side.I succeeded at last. I didn't take the puppy to the pound. Instead, we walked toward the mailbox.

　　 We named him Cheyenne. Before long, I was walking with Cheyenne every day. Pretty soon, I was strong enough to work on the farm again. Now I wonder who put a puppy in a mailbox. Nobody is so crazy after all, Cheyenne was maybe what the doctor ordered.

　　【语篇解读】　本文是一篇记叙文。作者在手术后身体非常虚弱，不能走路，内心苦恼，抱怨医生。后来他收养了一只小狗，在这只小狗的陪伴与感染下，他试着迈步，并很快恢复了健康。

　　5．What can we learn about the author in the first paragraph?

　　A．He didn't often take exercise.

　　B．He didn't think life was easy.

　　C．He gave up picking up his mail at last.

D．He thought the doctor was only joking.