Using the tabs above (Texts A and B), read the two extracts on the theme of dogs and their relationship with humans. Then answer the questions opposite.
Text A
From The Call of the Wild by Jack London (1903)
Buck the dog enjoys his new freedom after being rescued by John Thornton – a kind new master – having pulled a sled for thousands of miles.
Lying by the river bank through the long spring days, watching the running water, listening to the songs of birds and the hum of nature, Buck slowly won back his strength. It must be confessed that Buck waxed lazy as his wounds healed, his muscles swelled out, and the flesh came back to cover his bones. For that matter, they were all loafing – Buck, John Thornton, and Skeet – waiting for the raft to come that was to carry them down to Dawson. Skeet was a little Irish setter who early made friends with Buck, who, in a dying condition, was unable to resent her first advances. She had the doctor trait which some dogs possess, washing and cleansing Buck’s wounds. Regularly, each morning, after he had finished his breakfast, she performed her self-appointed task, till he came to look for her ministrations as much as he did for Thornton’s. To Buck’s surprise, Skeet manifested no jealousy towards him. She seemed to share the kindliness and largeness of John Thornton. As Buck grew stronger she enticed him into all sorts of ridiculous games, in which Thornton himself could not forbear to join; and in this fashion Buck romped through his convalescence and into a new existence. Thornton was the ideal master. He never forgot a kindly greeting or a cheering word, and to sit down for a long talk with them was as much his delight as theirs. He had a way of taking Buck’s head roughly between his hands, and resting his own head upon Buck’s, the while calling him names that to Buck were love names. Buck knew no greater joy than that rough embrace and the sound of murmured oaths. With his mouth laughing, his eyes eloquent, his throat vibrant with unuttered sounds, John Thornton would reverently exclaim: ‘God, you can all but speak!’ Buck had a trick of love expression that was akin to hurt. He would often seize Thornton’s hand in his mouth and close so fiercely that the flesh bore impress of his teeth for some time afterwards. And as Buck understood the oaths to be love words, so the man understood this feigned bite for a caress. For the most part, however, Buck’s love was expressed in adoration. While he went wild with happiness when Thornton touched him or spoke to him, he did not seek these tokens. Unlike Skeet, who was wont to shove her nose under Thornton’s hand and nudge till petted, Buck was content to adore at a distance. He would lie by the hour, eager, alert, at Thornton’s feet, looking up into his face, studying it, following with keenest interest each fleeting expression, every movement or change of feature. For a long time after his rescue, Buck did not like Thornton to get out of his sight. From the moment he left the tent to when he entered it again, Buck would follow at his heels. His transient masters since he had come into the Northland had bred in him a fear that no master could be permanent. Even in the night, in his dreams, he was haunted by this fear.
Using the tabs above (Texts A and B), read the two extracts on the theme of dogs and their relationship with humans. Then answer the questions opposite.
Text A
From The Call of the Wild by Jack London (1903)
Buck the dog enjoys his new freedom after being rescued by John Thornton – a kind new master – having pulled a sled for thousands of miles.
Lying by the river bank through the long spring days, watching the running water, listening to the songs of birds and the hum of nature, Buck slowly won back his strength. It must be confessed that Buck waxed lazy as his wounds healed, his muscles swelled out, and the flesh came back to cover his bones. For that matter, they were all loafing – Buck, John Thornton, and Skeet – waiting for the raft to come that was to carry them down to Dawson. Skeet was a little Irish setter who early made friends with Buck, who, in a dying condition, was unable to resent her first advances. She had the doctor trait which some dogs possess, washing and cleansing Buck’s wounds. Regularly, each morning, after he had finished his breakfast, she performed her self-appointed task, till he came to look for her ministrations as much as he did for Thornton’s. To Buck’s surprise, Skeet manifested no jealousy towards him. She seemed to share the kindliness and largeness of John Thornton. As Buck grew stronger she enticed him into all sorts of ridiculous games, in which Thornton himself could not forbear to join; and in this fashion Buck romped through his convalescence and into a new existence. Thornton was the ideal master. He never forgot a kindly greeting or a cheering word, and to sit down for a long talk with them was as much his delight as theirs. He had a way of taking Buck’s head roughly between his hands, and resting his own head upon Buck’s, the while calling him names that to Buck were love names. Buck knew no greater joy than that rough embrace and the sound of murmured oaths. With his mouth laughing, his eyes eloquent, his throat vibrant with unuttered sounds, John Thornton would reverently exclaim: ‘God, you can all but speak!’ Buck had a trick of love expression that was akin to hurt. He would often seize Thornton’s hand in his mouth and close so fiercely that the flesh bore impress of his teeth for some time afterwards. And as Buck understood the oaths to be love words, so the man understood this feigned bite for a caress. For the most part, however, Buck’s love was expressed in adoration. While he went wild with happiness when Thornton touched him or spoke to him, he did not seek these tokens. Unlike Skeet, who was wont to shove her nose under Thornton’s hand and nudge till petted, Buck was content to adore at a distance. He would lie by the hour, eager, alert, at Thornton’s feet, looking up into his face, studying it, following with keenest interest each fleeting expression, every movement or change of feature. For a long time after his rescue, Buck did not like Thornton to get out of his sight. From the moment he left the tent to when he entered it again, Buck would follow at his heels. His transient masters since he had come into the Northland had bred in him a fear that no master could be permanent. Even in the night, in his dreams, he was haunted by this fear.