Unlike well-trained dogs that are able to distinguish (辨别) between common orders like “sit” and “stay”, some “Gifted Word Learner” dogs can associate objects with words.
One year ago, Shany Dror and her colleagues at Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary discovered that some dogs have an obviously excellent natural ability to acquire object names. To study this further — how many words they can learn in a certain period of time and whether they can still remember the words after an extended period — they looked for more “Gifted Word Learner” dogs online and, in the end, they found six qualified dogs.
The researchers sent each dog’s owner six new toys. Owners then had six days to teach their dogs the names of the toys with their usual methods. These generally involved playing with the dog and each toy, often for just half an hour a day. At the end of the six-day learning period, the research team used online video conferencing to test the dogs’ abilities to pick out each toy by name from a number of old and new toys. Each owner sat with their dog in one room and told them to fetch a given toy from a second room. All the dogs successfully brought back at least five of the six new toys. The team then sent another 12 new toys and repeated the process. All the dogs successfully brought back at least 11 of the toys.
Afterwards, half the new toys were stored for one month, and the other half for two months, and the dogs were tested again after each storage period. Five of the dogs remembered all the toy names after one month, and four dogs remembered all or almost all of them after two months.
Dror says these dogs which are raised in the home like human children, provide an excellent animal model (模式) for studying the way humans acquire language. An animal model offers a basis of comparison for understanding which language-learning skills are specific to humans, and which aren’t. “We want to understand what makes humans different,” says Dror.
1. What is the research mainly about?| A．Dogs’ daily behaviors. |
| B．Dog training methods. |
| C．Dog-human relationship. |
| D．Dogs’ learning ability. |
| A．Their talent for learning object names. |
| B．Their ability to recognize human voice. |
| C．Their tendency to follow human orders. |
| D．Their intelligence to interact with human. |
| A．video games |
| B．continuous training |
| C．counting toys |
| D．playing outdoors |
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【推荐1】Honeybees are in trouble. While they’ re crucial for promoting biodiversity and producing food for healthy human diets, honeybees face many threats, including habitat loss, climate change, air pollution and disease-causing organisms.
But now, there’s hope for helping honeybees fight back against one of the many stressors they face, a deadly infectious disease known as American foulbrood. To fight the disease, the U.S. Department of Agriculture approved for use the world’s first honeybee vaccine (疫苗), developed by Dalan Animal Health.
Bacteria called Paenibacillus larvae cause American foulbrood, which kills honeybees while they are in the pupal (蛹的) or pre-pupal stage. Until now, there was no “safe and sustainable” way to prevent American foulbrood. The only treatment involved antibiotics (抗生素), which are expensive, have limited effectiveness and take lots of time and energy for beekeepers to apply. To stop the spread, beekeepers are often forced to burn infected bees. That makes the vaccine a game changer.
“Our vaccine is a breakthrough in protecting honeybees,” says Annette Kleiser, CEO of Dalan Animal Health. “We are ready to change how we care for insects, impacting food production on a global level.”
Beekeepers will mix the vaccine, which contains dead P. larvae bacteria cells, into the food that worker bees eat. Then, when the worker bees produce their milky royal jelly (蜂王浆), the queen will eat it and the vaccine. Then, the vaccine will protect her developing offspring from the disease.
Under a conditional license from the USDA, Dalan Animal Health now plans to distribute limited amounts of the vaccine to commercial beekeepers. From there, they hope to offer it for sale throughout the U.S. sometime this year.
The federal agriculture agency awards conditional licenses to products that meet an emergency, situation, limited market, local situation or special circumstance. The USDA requires products that receive these types of licenses to be pure and safe, and have a reasonable expectation of effectiveness. Generally, conditional licenses come with restrictions and cover a limited period of time. Once that period ends, the agency evaluates the product’s effectiveness to determine whether to renew the conditional license or award a regular product license.
1. What’s the function of the first paragraph?| A．To stress the importance of honeybees. |
| B．To lead to the topic of the passage. |
| C．To list the threats honeybees face. |
| D．To arouse readers’ interest. |
| A．Because it has changed the way we care for insects. |
| B．Because it’s the only treatment for American foulbrood. |
| C．Because it breaks through the limitations of the former treatment. |
| D．Because the previous treatment has no effectiveness. |
| A．Queen bees. | B．Worker bees. |
| C．Adult bees. | D．Young bees. |
| A．They promote the commercial success of honeybee vaccine. |
| B．They guarantee the full effectiveness of products. |
| C．They can be renewed with no strings attached. |
| D．They are in effect within a period of time. |
【推荐2】Scientists have been surprised and impressed with the long-distance travel of a bird recently, a common cuckoo (布谷鸟) which flew from southern Africa to Mongolia.
Onon is a common cuckoo. It’s one of 5 cuckoos who were tagged last summer in Mongolia, far to the north of China. Though cuckoos originally came from Africa, until recently scientists weren’t sure that cuckoos from Mongolia flew to Africa for the winter.
In June, 2019, scientists attached tiny trackers to five cuckoos. These satellite tags allowed the scientists to follow the movements of the birds on a map. Sure enough, Onon spent the winter in southern Africa — in Zambia.
This spring, Onon returned to Mongolia, amazing scientists once again with his long-distance flying. In just a couple of months, Onon flew more than 12,000 kilometers. It crossed 16 countries, flying at an average speed of 60 kilometers per hour.
Long migrations are common among sea birds, but cuckoos are land birds. “It was one of the longest animal migrations which has been recorded for a land bird,” said Chris Hewson, one of the project’s lead scientists.
At times, Onon stopped for a few hours or a few days. But some of the long stretches, like crossing the Indian Ocean, had to be done without stopping. The birds have to travel through strong winds and storms, make sure they find enough to eat, and avoid being eaten themselves.
Luckily, cuckoos seem to have a good sense of weather patterns, allowing them to fatten up as much as possible right before they leave. They also seem to be good at finding helpful winds that allow them to travel long distances without getting too tired. Still, flying such long distances isn’t easy. Onon is the only one of the five tagged cuckoos who made it all the way back to Mongolia.
1. Why were satellite tags attached to five cuckoos?| A．To make them safe. | B．To position the birds. |
| C．To draw a detailed map. | D．To observe them in winter. |
| A．Delighted. | B．Astonished. | C．Puzzled. | D．Annoyed. |
| A．Because it is very dangerous. | B．Because it is well-known. |
| C．Because it is a place to go. | D．Because it is rich in food. |
| A．Cuckoos’ advantages. | B．Cuckoos’ senses. |
| C．Cuckoos’ habits. | D．Cuckoos’ will. |
【推荐3】To have the once-in-a-lifetime chance to see rare Black Sea dolphins(海豚),people in the landlocked Russian town of Kaluga don't have to leave their city.In the parking lot of a large shopping mall is a white aquarium(水族馆):the Moscow Traveling Dolphinarium.
Russia's dozen or so traveling aquariums are seen as a way to bring native wild animals to people who might never see the ocean.Owners and operators of wildlife tourism attractions say their animals live longer than wild animals,and the animals under their care are with them for life.They’re family.
Alla Azovtseva,a longtime dolphin trainer in Russia,shakes her head.
“I don't see any sense in this work.My conscience bites me.I look at my animals and want to cry,”says Azovtseva.She has spent 20 years training dolphins to do tricks.But along the way she’s grown heartsick from the forcing highly intelligent, social creatures to live a lonely life in small tanks.“Dolphins have evolved to swim great distances and live in complex social groups-conditions that can't be reproduced in a pool,”she says.
“I would compare the dolphin situation with making a physicist sweep the street,”she says.“When they’re not engaged in performance or training,they just hang in the water facing down.It's the deepest depression.”
What people don't know about aquarium shows in Russia,Azovtseva says,is that the animals often die soon after being put in captivity(囚养),especially those in traveling shows.And Azovtseva,making clear she’s referring to the industry at large in Russia,says she knows many aquariums quietly and illegally replace their animals with new ones.
It's illegal to catch Black Sea dolphins in the wild for entertainment purposes,but aquarium owners who want to increase their dolphin numbers quickly and cheaply buy dolphins caught there.Because these dolphins are acquired illegally,they're missing the microchips that captive dolphins in Russia are usually tagged with as a form of required identification.
Some aquariums get around that,Azovtseva says,by cutting out dead dolphins’microchips and putting them into replacement dolphins.
1. What can be inferred about the town of Kaluga?| A．It is a seaside town. |
| B．It is a long way from the ocean. |
| C．It is full of traveling aquariums. |
| D．It is well known for dolphins. |
| A．Dolphins in aquariums are actually treated badly. |
| B．Her work as a dolphin trainer is really boring. |
| C．Dolphins are more intelligent than people think. |
| D．People know little about how dolphins live. |
| A．To show the dolphins are used legally. |
| B．To show the dolphins can be replaced. |
| C．To prove the dolphins are still alive. |
| D．To prove the dolphins are from the Black Sea. |
| A．To give an account of how an aquarium works. |
| B．To draw people's attention to dolphin society. |
| C．To uncover the dark truth behind aquarium shows. |
| D．To report the dolphin situation in the world. |
【推荐1】This year, the hole in the ozone layer (臭氧层）over Antarctica has expanded to one of its largest sizes and deepest levels in years.
So how big is the ozone hole? On Sept 20, the hole over Antarctica peaked (达到高峰) at 24.8 million square kilometers, which is three times the size of the United States. It has increased by 8.4 million square kilometers since 2019.
That puts it in about the same ballpark (范围) as ozone holes in 2015 and 2018, which respectively recorded peaks of 25.6 and 22.9 million square kilometers.
"The 2020 ozone loss shows that we have to remain vigilant (警觉的) and maintain continuous observations (观察)," said World Meteorological organization Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.
The ozone layer is important because it acts like a sunscreen, blocking harmful ultraviolet light (紫外线) from reaching our planet's surface. Without it, humans and animals will be more likely to experience skin cancers, immune suppression (抑制), cataracts (白内障) and premature (提前的) aging.
Of course, humans play a large role in the depletion (消耗) of the ozone layer. The loss of ozone in the Antarctic, as well as the Arctic, is due to the large amounts of ozone-destroying gases caused by human activity. Once released into the atmosphere, these gases can remain for decades. In extremely cold weather conditions, they trigger (激发) chemical reactions that destroy the ozone layer.
"The Arctic stratosphere (平流居) continues to be vulnerable (脆弱的) to ozone-depleting substances linked to human activities," said Taalas.
Marcus Rex, a scientist at the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany, told Nature that the ozone hole doesn't threaten human health but that over next month, there is a possibility that it might move to more populated areas. In that case, he recommends more sunscreen.
Although it seems bad, scientists are hopeful that Earth can heal (治愈) itself. Researchers believe the ozone hole will eventually heal and around 2050, Earth's ozone layer will return to normal.
1. What does the underlined word "That" in Paragraph 3 mean?| A．The ozone layer. | B．The growing of ozone hole. |
| C．The ultraviolet light. | D．The size of ozone hole. |
| A．It contains resources on which mankind rely for living. |
| B．It can prevent human from experiencing skin cancers, immune suppression, cataracts and premature aging. |
| C．It can protect ultraviolet light from harming people. |
| D．It can help deplete ozone-destroying gases caused by human activity. |
| A．To show that Arctic stratosphere is too vulnerable to protect the Earth. |
| B．To introduce several ozone-depleting substances linked to human activities. |
| C．To prove that human activities have a great effect on the depletion of the ozone layer. |
| D．To discuss why Arctic stratosphere is vulnerable. |
| A．Human activities' great effect on nature |
| B．Researches on the ozone layer |
| C．The harm of the depletion of the ozone layer |
| D．Rapidly growing ozone hole |
【推荐2】Refugees are on the move in forests across the western U.S. As climate conditions change, the ranges of tree species are shifting, especially toward cooler or wetter sites. A new Stanford analysis, published on November 15th in Nature Communications, provides some of the first confirmable evidence that wildfire is accelerating this process, likely by reducing competition from established species.
“Complex, interdependent (互相依赖的) forces are shaping the future of our forests,” said study lead author Avery Hill, a graduate student in biology at Stanford’s School of Humanities & Sciences.
As the climate changes, animal and plant species are shifting their ranges toward conditions suitable for their growth and reproduction. Past research has shown that plant ranges are shifting to higher, cooler altitudes at an average rate of almost five feet per year. In many studies, these range shifts fall behind the rate of climate change, suggesting that some species may become stranded (困住) in unsuitable habitats. The factors that impact plant species’ ability to keep up with climate change are key to maintaining healthy populations of the dominant trees in western forests, yet have remained largely mysterious.
To better understand the distance, direction and rate at which tree ranges are shifting, Hill and study co-author Chris Field, the Perry L. McCarty Director of the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, looked at how the phenomenon is affected by wildfire, a powerful and widespread driver of ecosystem structure and composition in the western United States.
Using U.S. Forest Service data collected from over 74, 000 plots across nine Western states, the researchers identified tree species that are shifting their ranges toward cooler, wetter sites. Then, they compared the rate of these range shifts between places that were burned by wildfire and places that were not.
The findings demonstrate not only that fire can accelerate tree migration, but that some species may be slowing the range shifts of others through competition. This, in turn, raises questions about the impact of fire management on trees’ ability to keep up with climate change, and points to the importance of low-intensity natural fires.
1. What is unknown in the past researches?| A．Why plant ranges shift more slowly than climate change. |
| B．How plant species’ ability influences the weather change. |
| C．What causes plant species to be stuck in unfit habitats. |
| D．How fast plant ranges shift on a regular basis. |
| A．Fire management and climate. | B．Low intensity and natural fires. |
| C．Wildfire and other tree species. | D．Ecosystem structure and ranges. |
| A．Different plant species are interdependent. |
| B．A natural fire may help forests remain healthy. |
| C．Range shifts won’t be affected by fire management. |
| D．Competition between species accelerates climate change. |
| A．A science report． | B．A travel website． |
| C．A history book． | D．A financial magazine． |
【推荐3】It’s midafternoon. You’re full from lunch. The day is warm. You’re starting to feel sleepy. Should you give in to the comfort of a nap (小睡)?
From the viewpoint of health, it may be worth it. Though there is a hassle when it comes to whether napping benefits everyone, we generally acknowledge that naps can improve at least some people’s cognitive (认知的) performance in the short term.
For example, scientists reviewed a past experiment that focused on healthy participants with regular sleep cycles. In that experiment, participants were given math problems that could be solved with a shortcut that they weren’t told about. Some participants were encouraged to take a nap before dealing with the problems. It was found that those who napped-and spent even just 30 seconds in the first, lightest stage of sleep-were 2.7 times more likely to figure out the math shortcut than those who stayed awake. But entering a deeper sleep stage had a negative effect.
The benefits of napping are strongest for people who have sleep debt, such as shift workers, new parents and elderly people whose nighttime sleep is always interrupted. They all seem to get a boost through napping: a 2013 study focusing on such people, for example, showed that taking a nap during one’s night shift work reduced sleepiness and improved overall performance, even if people were slightly inactive as they came out of their nap-a phenomenon called “sleep inertia (惰性)”.
There is something we can do to reduce sleep inertia. A 20-minute nap is good for recharging, and 60 to 90 minutes of sleep can be even more restorative. The nap to avoid is one lasting more than 20 minutes and less than 60 minutes, which is most likely to lead to sleep inertia.
1. What does the underlined word “hassle” mean in paragraph 2?| A．Debate. | B．Tendency. | C．Guidance. | D．Judgement. |
| A．It improves memory. | B．It helps clear one’s mind |
| C．It may promote one’s health. | D．It has a bad influence on people. |
| A．They tended to nap more. | B．They were inactive in daytime. |
| C．They came out of their naps slowly. | D．They didn’t get enough nighttime sleep |
| A．By taking fewer naps. | B．By napping within 1 hour. |
| C．By managing the nap length. | D．By avoiding long naps. |
【推荐1】Only a few people in Toronto have the luck to live within walking distance from their workplace. For the rest of us, commuting (长途上下班) is a rather unpleasant daily necessity.
So how do you avoid a traffic jam in Toronto? You can do it in the old way and listen to one of the radio stations that give regular updates about the traffic situation in Toronto's streets. Seeing the big picture of Toronto's traffic and knowing when and where heavy traffic occurs is a must. From my own experience, there are situations where a quick decision can help you make it in time for an event or a meeting. That's why we prepared three short videos showing the overall traffic situation in Toronto from dawn to night. You can click them and watch.
With the help of "Google Maps", where you can watch the live traffic density all over the world and average traffic data based on past conditions, we are able to provide you with traffic maps for a typical (平常的) Friday.
Friday traffic in Toronto is quite fast in the early morning, with only a few hot spots showing up at the major junctions (交叉点) at 7:00 am. The morning traffic jam starts light at 7:30 and the traffic gradually slows down to reach a breaking point at 8:30. The roads are quite free afterwards, only Allen Road is likely to be jammed around lunchtime from 11:30 am to 12:00. It comes as no surprise that Friday afternoon brings heavy traffic as early as 1:30 pm, mainly on the Don Valley Parkway. You won't have a good time getting away from the city from 4:00 pm to 6:30 pm, as there is a good chance to get caught in a traffic jam. The traffic in Toronto is quite heavy on a Friday night. I hope you will have a nice Friday night in the city and a safe journey home this Friday!
1. By saying "commuting is a rather unpleasant daily necessity", the writer refers to the fact that ______ .| A．buses are usually very crowded. |
| B．people have to travel a long way to work |
| C．people are often stuck in traffic jams. |
| D．people usually cannot do anything on the way to work. |
| A．Do nothing but to wait patiently. |
| B．Report your situation to a radio station. |
| C．Make a quick decision and find another way to go. |
| D．Relax and enjoy some good radio programmes. |
| A．What the traffic in Toronto is like for a typical Friday. |
| B．How to avoid heavy traffic on Friday. |
| C．Why the traffic is terrible on Friday. |
| D．What "Google Maps" can do for us. |
| A．A TV programme. | B．A radio programme. |
| C．A travel booklet. | D．A website. |
【推荐2】Climate change demands a food revolution. Faced with heat, drought, pests and diseases, the crops we eat every day might disappear in a generation or less, at least where they are currently grown. From beef and fish to chocolate and wine, one beloved food after another is joining the at-risk list.
Take coffee. Right now, Arabica and Canephora, the most popular two species in the industry, are under urgent threat worldwide—as are the 125 million people who depend on coffee crops for their income. Coffee Arabica plants, which produce 70% of all commercial coffee, can be negatively affected by even a half-degree change in typical weather conditions. This sensitivity to temperature puts the plant at increased risk of the effects of climate change.
In Central America the average temperature has risen by a full degree Celsius since 1960. In Ethiopia the average temperature has increased by 1. 3 degrees. This increase is enough to have significant effects on the plants. In Tanzania the productivity per hectare of coffee has fallen by 45% since the 1960s due to changes in temperature.
Indeed, studies claim that by 2050 the area of the world suitable for growing coffee will be cut by 60%. Coffee production is likely to then be pushed to higher elevations(海拔) to take advantage of lower temperatures, but this will not be enough to make up for lost lowland areas.
Coffee is the second most traded goods by developing nations, and the inability of producer nations to export it could cause dramatic chain reactions in their economies. Millions of people make a living in the production, processing, transport, and sale of coffee; their livelihoods would stand to take a blow as growing areas decrease and prices rise.
As the temperature keeps rising, your cup of coffee will become much more expensive, and it may also carry an aftertaste bitterer than usual, for all those workers in the coffee belt left without the means to make a living as conditions worsen. Not only that, but the economic effects will cost the West millions in increased foreign aid.
1. Which is NOT one of the contributors to the disappearing food species?| A．Drought. | B．Poverty. | C．Climate change. | D．Pests. |
| A．By listing examples of foods. | B．By making a comparison. |
| C．By making a prediction. | D．By presenting figures. |
| A．To adapt to the change of temperature. | B．To increase the quality of the produce. |
| C．To reduce the cost of coffee production. | D．To get access to water supply more easily. |
| A．The rich will get richer and the poor poorer. |
| B．It will cost you less to have a cup of coffee. |
| C．Developed countries ought to aid poor countries. |
| D．Coffee trade will eventually disappear in the world. |
【推荐3】Body language is an essential part of communication and can be just as important as our spoken language exchanges. Body language can be both conscious or unconscious actions, so it is important to make sure your body is sending the same messages as your words to ensure good communication. These actions can strengthen the verbal (口头的) messages you’re sending or it can lead to mistrust or confusion — signs of poor communication and misunderstanding.
Body language can make interacting with others and expressing yourself much easier, but it can also introduce new challenges. Some nonverbal signs unintentionally communicate parts of ourselves that we don’t want others to know. For example, bad posture or fidgeting (坐立不安) may communicate lack of confidence, something we may not intend for others to know about us. But body language can strengthen our verbal messages and solidify what we are telling others. Facing someone with eye contact or taking notes while someone is speaking can communicate genuine interest. Without these signs, teachers may not be able to assess a student’s understanding.
When you’re speaking sincerely, it’s natural for your body language to respond to your words through gestures or facial expressions. We also use gestures in conversations to tell stories or describe objects, often using hand signals to show how big or small something is. These are largely unconscious, naturally occurring forms of body language.
It can be difficult to communicate confidence in your actions when you may not feel it internally. When you display confident body language, such as good posture or eye-contact, even if you’re making a conscious effort, studies have shown that it can lead to feeling more confident. When speaking to others, practice controlling impulses to fidget and planting your feet confidently to increase self-esteem.
1. Why does the author give some examples in paragraph 2?| A．To show body language can help us all the time. |
| B．To tell body language can show the true side of us. |
| C．To explain how challenging it is to read body language. |
| D．To tell teachers how to assess a student’s understanding. |
| A．Hand signals are essential ways to make ourselves understood. |
| B．Naturally occurring forms of body language makes us confident. |
| C．Proper body language can help us a lot in gaining confidence. |
| D．When speaking to others, try your best to hide your body language. |
| A．Knowing Your Friends with Body Language | B．Understanding Others by Body Language |
| C．Being Smart in Showing Your Body Language | D．Helping Communicate with Body Language |
