世界首款不可咀嚼人字拖 养狗的你可能想试一试
Created by Brazilian flip-flop (人字拖) brand Brizza, the world’s first unchewable flip-flops are made with the most bitter substance known to man.
Dogs’ love for chewing footwear is well documented. Puppies do it to release pain as their teeth grow, other dogs do it out of boredom or some form of stress, and some just like chewing stuff. This habit puts them at risk of very serious gastrointestinal (肠胃的) problems. Data shows that in a third of gastrointestinal surgery procedures to foreign objects from the intestines (肠道) of dogs, the ingested substance is footwear rubber, mostly from flip-flops. Seeing as this can cause life-threatening problems for the poor animals, flip-flop brand Brizza decided to create the world’s first unchewable flip-flops.
How to go about making flip-flops that dogs wouldn’t chew? Ideally, the solution was that they could include something that dogs hated. That’s where the expertise of pet-food brand Pedigree came into play, as they were the ones who suggested using denatonium benzoate (苯甲地那铵), the most bitter chemical in the world.
“When we were looking at ideas to create this dog-friendly flip-flop, we wanted to find something which would create a repulsive taste for them, something uneatable,” Maria Toledo, brand director at Brizza, said. “That’s where the support and expertise of Pedigree came in. And it was by including this extremely bitter (yet very safe) compound at the beginning of our production that we delivered the perfect results.”
Apparently, denatonium benzoate is known as the most powerful bittering agent in the world for a reason. A single drop is enough to make an Olympic-size pool of water taste noticeably bitter, yet it is safe for consumption. It is actually widely used in the pet industry to discourage animals from biting and licking things they shouldn’t.
The non-toxic flip-flops were first announced on Brizza’s social channels and are expected to hit Brazilian stores in the near future. No news on an international release, though.
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1.Why did Brizza create the unchewable flip-flops?
A To protect dogs’ life.
B To remove dogs’ stress.
C To make dogs less bored.
D To help puppies release pain.
解析：选A。A细节理解题。根据第二段内容，狗狗们肠胃内被发现的异物占比较大的是来自拖鞋的橡胶，并结合最后一句“Seeing as this can cause life-threatening problems for the poor animals, flip-flop brand Brizza decided to create the world’s first unchewable flip-flops”可知，制造这款不可咀嚼拖鞋的目的是为了保护狗狗的生命安全。故选A。
2.What was Pedigree’s role in creating the flip-flops?
A They made denatonium benzoate.
B They found the most bitter chemical.
C They caused a feeling of strong dislike.
D They suggested using denatonium benzoate.
解析：选D。D细节理解题。根据第三段中的“as they were the ones who suggested using denatonium benzoate”可知，宠物食品品牌Pedigree在制作这款拖鞋的过程中建议使用苯甲地那铵(denatonium benzoate)这种物质。故选D。
3.What does the underlined word “repulsive” mean?
A Enjoyable.
B Awful.
C Special.
D Unusual.
解析：选B。B词义猜测题。根据第三段的“they could include something that dogs hated”以及划线词后面的“something uneatable”可知，用这种物质是为了制造一种让狗很反感的味道，即难吃的味道。故选B。
4.What does the author want to say by mentioning the pool of water?
A Denatonium benzoate is forbidden to be used in water.
B Denatonium benzoate is safe for animals to take in.
C Denatonium benzoate is the most bitter substance.
D Denatonium benzoate is merely fatal to humans.
解析：选C。C推理判断题。在倒数第二段中，作者提到“A single drop is enough to make an Olympic-size pool of water taste noticeably bitter, yet it is safe for consumption.”一滴苯甲地那铵就足以让一个标准泳池的水尝起来明显有苦味，但这种物质是安全的，即作者提到泳池的水是为了强调苯甲地那铵的苦味，它是人类目前已知最苦的物质。故选C。