Is language, like food, a basic human need without which a child at a critical period of life can be starved and damaged? Judging from the drastic (极端的) experiment of Fredrick in the thirteenth century, it may be. Hoping to discover what language a child would speak if he heard no mother tongue, he told the nurses to keep silent. All the infants (婴儿) died before the first year. But clearly there was more than a lack of language here. What was also missing was good mothering, in the first year of life especially, the capacity to survive is seriously influenced.
Today no such serious lack exists as that ordered by Frederick. However, some children are still backward in speaking. Most often the reason for this is that the mother is insensitive to the signals of the infant, whose brain is programmed to learn language rapidly. If these sensitive periods are neglected, the ideal time for acquiring skills passes and they might never be learned so easily again.
Experts suggest that speech stages are reached in a fixed sequence (顺序) and at a constant age, but there are cases where speech has started late in a child who eventually turns out to be of high IQ. At twelve weeks a baby smiles and utters vowel-like sounds; at twelve months he can speak simple words and understand simple conmmands; at eighteen months he has a vocabulary of three to fifty words. At three he knows about 1,000 words which he can put into sentences, and at four his language differs from his parents’in style rather than grammar.
Recent evidence suggests that an infant is born with the capacity to speak. What is special about man’s brain, compared with the brain of the monkey, is the complex system which enables a child to connect the sight and feel of, say, a teddy-bear with the sound pattern “teddy-bear”, and even more incredible is the young brain’s ability to pick out an order in language for the mixture of sound around him, to analyze, to combine and recombine the parts of a language in new ways.
But speech has to be induced and this depends on interaction between the mother and the child, where the mother recognizes the signals in the child’s babbling (含糊不清地说) and smiling, and is sensitive to them. Insensitivity of the mother to these signals dulls the interaction because the child gets discouraged and sends out only the obvious signals. Sensitivity to the child’s non-verbal signals is essential to the growth and development of language.
1. As for Frederick’s experiment, we may know that _____.A.the infants in it lived only over a year |
B.there was absolutely no difference between food and language for the infants |
C.the infants in it died because there was not any sound |
D.the death of the infants was not merely due to an absence of language |
A.they are not able to learn language rapidly |
B.they are exposed to too much language at once |
C.their mothers respond inadequately to their attempts to speak |
D.their mothers are not intelligent enough to help them |
A.be encouraged | B.be forced | C.be banned | D.be monitored |
A.The ability of speech is inborn in man. |
B.A child starting to speak later than others may not necessarily be backward. |
C.Most children learn their language in definite stages. |
D.Children may dull their mother through interaction. |
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【推荐1】For people, many other animals, family matters. Consider how many jobs go to relatives. Or how an ant will cruelly attack intruder(入侵的) ants but rescue injured, closely related nest-mates. There are good evolutionary reasons to aid relatives, after all. Now, it seems, family feelings may stir in plants as well.
A Canadian biologist planted the seed of the idea more than a decade ago, but many plant biologists regarded it as heretical—plants lack the nervous systems that enable animals to recognize kin(家族), so how can they know their relatives? But with a series of recent findings, the belief that plants really do care for their most genetically close peers—in a quiet, planty way—is taking root. Some species control how far their roots spread, others change how many flowers they produce, and a few tilt(倾斜) or shift their leaves to minimize shading of neighboring plants, favoring related individuals.
“We need to recognize that plants not only sense whether it’s light or dark or if they’ve been touched, but also whom they are interacting with,” says Susan Dudley, a plant evolutionary ecologist, whose early plant kin recognition studies sparked the interest of many scientists.
Beyond broadening views of plant behavior, the new work may have a practical side. In September 2018, a team in China reported that rice planted with kin grows better, a finding that suggested family ties can be used to improve crop yields. “It seems anytime anyone looks for it, they find a kin effect,” says Andre Kessler, a chemical ecologist at Cornell University.
1. Why are ants mentioned in the first paragraph?A.To show how cruel ants are to their enemies. |
B.To lay foundation for the idea of plants’ family feelings. |
C.To introduce the topic of how family matters to animals. |
D.To explain why people usually give more jobs to their relatives. |
A.Indescribable. | B.Understandable. | C.Impossible. | D.Traditional. |
A.They stop producing flowers to avoid competition. |
B.They spread their roots far so as to protect their peers. |
C.They care for their injured peers by silently taking roots. |
D.They move their leaves to share sunlight with their close peers. |
A.Different plants mustn’t be planted together. |
B.Corn planted with corn can produce more than that with rice. |
C.China has put the idea into wide practice and achieved great success. |
D.The closer rice is planted with their relatives the more they will produce. |
【推荐2】You have probably eaten a hot dog, but have you ever spotted a sundog? This isn’t your pet dog napping in the sun!
A sundog is a weather event that causes two bright bursts of rainbow colored light to appear on either side of the sun. You would see them around 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock. Sundogs can be very beautiful, with a red glow closest to the sun and a white in the center. The scientific name for sundogs is parhelia, which comes from a Greek word meaning “beside the sun”.
Conditions need to be just right for sundogs to appear. Sunlight passes through high clouds that spread out like feathers in front of the sun. These clouds contain flat, six-sided ice crystals (晶体). If the crystal drifts toward the ground, with the larger face facing the Earth, light is refracted (折射). These crystals then separate the light, forming a sundog.
Sundogs can be seen during any season but are most often seen during the winter months when the sun is lower in the sky. You are also more likely to see them early or late in the day, when the sun is near the horizon. Sundogs have been spotted around the world, across North America, Europe, and Asia, at the South Pole and in the far north. Scientists have even predicted what sundogs might look like on other planets.
Throughout history, sundogs have been used to predict weather because they indicate snow or rain on its way. Some people believed that sundogs were a sign of good luck, while others saw them as a warning from God. Shakespeare described sundogs in poems as frightening.
Ready to try out your weather detective skills? First, use your hand to block the center of the sun to protect your eyes. Search for clouds in a winter sky and a circle or burst of light around the sun. Be sure to show off your sundog smarts to your friends and family — you’ll be their top dog!
1. What can be inferred about a sundog from the passage?A.It leads the sun to produce crystals. | B.It forms under strict circumstances. |
C.It causes the appearance of rainbow. | D.It separates the sun from high clouds. |
A.One summer midday in China. | B.One late winter night in America. |
C.One winter morning in Europe. | D.One summer morning in the Arctic. |
A.To convince readers of the beauty of sundogs. |
B.To illustrate the wide range of topics of his poems. |
C.To help readers understand the function of sundogs. |
D.To show impressions of sundogs vary among viewers. |
A.Confident. | B.Encouraging. | C.Worried. | D.Fearful. |
【推荐3】Whether you’re the life of the party, a bookworm or a night owl, your personality plays a surprisingly large role in your ability to slim down. Ten examples are listed as follows.
1. If you’re reliable…
Always on time? Follow rules by the book? It means you’re a careful person who can stick with an eating or fitness plan. However, maybe just that merit forces you to think about food all the time, which can work against you.
2. If you’re often hard on yourself...
People who are hard on themselves have a huge negative reaction every time they make a mistake. Those who can forgive themselves simply move on and vow not to make the same mistake again. If you’re hard on yourself, you’re more likely to continue overeating after you do something wrong, since realizing you’ve overeaten leads to feelings of hopelessness.
3. If you’re a night owl…
Staying up late also has a negative effect on your figure. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found that people who were kept up until 4 a.m. ate 550 additional calories during their late night hours. What’s more, a higher percentage of the late-night calories came from high-fat foods than they did during daytime hours.
4. If you’re an early bird…
In an Australian study participants who woke up early were less likely to be overweight than night owls—even though both groups slept the same number of hours. Although this study involved young children, the results are likely applicable to adults as well, says Allen Towfigh, M D, a sleep specialist. He recommends adults strive for seven to nine hours of sleep per night.
5. If you’re self-centered…
Being a little stuck on yourself may not be such a bad thing when trying to lose weight. Self-centered people tend to consider their own interests, which could lead them to better conserve their energy and have more willpower to make healthy choices.
1. What’s the passage mainly about?A.The most effective ways to lose weight. |
B.Life styles influence people’s personality a lot. |
C.The earlier you get up, the slimmer you may become. |
D.The relationship between people’s personality and weight. |
A.Reliable people always follow rules. |
B.People tend to eat more when staying up late. |
C.Night owls tend to be less overweight than early birds. |
D.People are easy to overeat if they are hard on themselves. |
A.If you are reliable |
B.If you are a night owl |
C.If you are hard on yourself |
D.If you are self-centered |
A.Analysis of other personalities. |
B.Ways to improve your personality. |
C.Suggestions for you to lose weight. |
D.Choices self-centered people may make. |
【推荐1】Set 40 kilometers northeast of the city of Ambatondrazaka, the Zahamena National Park's landscape consists of (……组成) valleys surrounded by a flowing mountain range.
It has an overall land coverage of 64, 300 hectares, but only 42, 000 hectares is open to the public due to strict conservation (环境保护) reasons. It receives an average yearly rainfall level of about 6 feet and experiences frequent rain showers even during the dry season between April and October.
One really interesting thing about the Zahamena National Park is that the unique territory of its highland has paved the way for the development of several ecosystems that exist at the same time in this park. This is the reason why the types of wildlife living in one area are different in another, which makes it quite exciting to explore.
This protected area is divided into two parts, with a separate piece of land in the middle where many small villages are situated. These villages are inhabited (居住) by the members of the Sihanaka and Betsimisaraka ethnic groups.
The Zahamena National Park gets its name from the local Zahana Mena tree, an uncommon type of hardwood that grows in the lower regions of this protected area. It is characterized by its resilient (坚韧的) wood that can be rather challenging to cut, join, shape and carve even with modern tools.
Established as a strict natural highland reserve in 1927 (and one of the first of its kind in all of Madagascar), the Zahamena National Park was officially given its national park status (地位) in 1997 and was eventually opened to the public. Due to its remarkable territory and unique biodiversity, this national park was later listed as a key part of the collective UNESCO World Heritage Site called the Rainforests of the Atsinanana in 2007.
1. What can we learn about the Zahamena National Park?A.It is surrounded by the city of Ambatondrazaka. |
B.It receives little rainfall during the dry season. |
C.It is partially open to the public. |
D.It is divided into three parts. |
A.The strict conservation rules. | B.The unique weather conditions. |
C.The special territory of its highland. | D.The influence of several local villages. |
A.An ethnic group. | B.A type of local tree. |
C.A traditional tool. | D.A nearby city. |
A.A brief introduction to the Zahamena National Park. |
B.A complete guide to visiting the Zahamena National Park. |
C.Details of Zahamena National Park's great efforts in conservation. |
D.Reasons for Zahamena National Park becoming a UNESCO World Heritage Site. |
【推荐2】A new outdoor fabric (织物) stores energy by day and then lights up at night. Being tested in a city park, this totally “cool” fabric has attracted interest for its many urban uses.
This is the invention of Anai Green, an industrial and product designer based in Tel Aviv, Israel. She designed a fabric that includes organic and solar photovoltaic cells (光伏电池). The cells capture sunlight and store the energy in strips with LEDs. This allows the fabric to shade public space by day. When night falls, these strips light up. Green said, “We use LumiWeave to light public space without carbon emissions, making the lighting all-natural. And we spread light in the area we want to light only.”
The system was designed to adapt to all weather conditions and can continue to provide lighting even after three days without sunlight. In addition, you simply put LumiWeave up and the sun will do the work. This in itself saves 50 percent of the cost of building standard lighting, and it saves 100 percent on the electricity bills. This is great news for cities. Tel Aviv, Green’s hometown, is trying out LumiWeave in AtidimPark.
The mayor of Tel Aviv, Ron Huldai, is making efforts to address climate change. “LumiWeave will turn out to be a groundbreaking project,” Huldai said. The mayor added that LumiWeave is especially important as it solves the issue of shading urban areas and uses clean energy.
The new fabric can be fixed atop bike paths, in children’s parks and in walking areas. Many big cities in Israel are planning on adopting LumiWeave. As there is also use for the fabric in outdoor sitting areas of restaurants and hotels, Green has developed a LumiWeave parasol (大遮阳伞). “We are now developing the possibility of controlling it from the phone — we’re creating an application,” Green said. LumiWeave provides an ideal solution for urban parks and gardens. We hope that it will soon be lighting up night skies around the world.
1. How does the new outdoor fabric work?A.By turning household waste into clean energy. |
B.By using photovoltaic cells to promote plant growth. |
C.By providing shade and energy in an eco-friendly way. |
D.By changing its temperatures according to the weather. |
A.It’s functional and cost-effective. |
B.It takes up a lot of public space. |
C.It’s equipped with self-repair materials. |
D.It can broadcast weather conditions more quickly. |
A.Worried. | B.Doubtful. | C.Unclear. | D.Supportive. |
A.It may cause safety concerns. |
B.It will be further developed for wider use. |
C.It will be replaced by more intelligent devices. |
D.It can reduce the waiting time in some places. |
【推荐3】Nowadays, body language has played a more and more important part in daily communication among people. To avoid confusion and embarrassment in cross-cultural communication, it’s necessary to have fluency in some common body language worldwide.
In Australia, it is very rude to wink (眨眼) at women.
In Brazil, pulling down the lower lid (眼睑) of the right eye means that the listener doesn’t believe what you’re saying. In India, holding your ear means either “honesty” or “I’m sorry”.
In Indonesia, hands on hips while talking means that you’re angry and it is also impolite.
In Japan, It’s unacceptable for two adults of the same sex to hold hands while walking together A smile can mean happiness, anger, or sadness. When someone praises you, respond by waving your hand back and forth in front of your face. Because it is considered impolite to show their teeth. women usually cover their mouths when they laugh. To make a promise, two people generally book their little fingers together.
In South Korea, when talking to someone, keep your hands in full view. It is rude to keep your hands behind your back or in your pockets.
In Spain, snapping the thumb and first finger together a few times is a form of applause. If you think the person you are talking about is mean, ta p your left elbow with your right hand. If you’ve heard the story that someone is telling before, put your right hand behind your head and pull your left ear.
In Sri Lanka, moving your head from side to side means “yes” and nodding your head up and down means “no”!
In Thailand, people point to an object with their chins, not their hands.
Have you learned the meanings of the above body languages in different countries? Keep these in mind and you’ll realize that they’re very helpful one day.
1. In which country do women cover their mouth while laughing?A.In China. | B.In America. | C.In Africa. | D. In Japan. |
A.Wave their hands back and forth in front of their face. |
B.Put their hands on haps all the time. |
C.Snap the thumb and first finger together several minutes. |
D.Clap their hands together for a few minutes. |
A.Moving your head from side to side to means “yes” in Thailand. |
B.When talking to someone, make sure others can see your both hands in South Korea. |
C.Adult women in Japan of ten hold their hands when walking together. |
D.In Indonesia, pulling down the lower lid of the left eye means the listener doesn’t believe what you’re saying. |
A.Body language is of great importance in daily communication. |
B.Understanding the meaning of some gestures in foreign countries is helpful. |
C.The same movement may deliver different meanings in different cultures. |
D.We should use body language in daily communication with others. |