Wolves are important animals in the traditions and stories of most Native American tribes. To Native Americans, wolves often represent bravery. The animals also are signs of strength, loyalty, and success at hunting. Other cultures--such as the ancient Celtic and Nordic peoples-also placed high value on wolves.
However, from the wolves in horror films to the wolves in children’s stories, wolves get a bum rap(不公正的惩罚) in both literature and English expressions.
To begin with, there is the term lone wolf. The lone wolf isn’t a bad person. But they like to do things on their own. However, the term can mean something less than desirable. Lone wolf makes you think the person doesn’t want to be around people because he or she dislikes them.
Now, let’s move on to the home.
Parents might criticize their children for wolfing down their food. In other words, the child eats very quickly and without care. And if someone says a child was raised by wolves, that child has bad manners and is behaving like a wild animal. A wolf at the door means someone to whom you owe money is waiting just outside your door.
By the way, there are two popular wolf-related expressions that come from Aesop, the ancient Greek storyteller.
The first is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. A wolf in sheep’s clothing describes someone who acts and looks nice on the outside but is bad on the inside.
Aesop’s other wolf fable also involves a shepherd, but not a hardworking one. He is known as the boy who cried wolf. People who cry wolf are not trusted. People are so familiar with this story, you simply have to say cry wolf for them to know what you mean.
1. According to the passage, which group of people may think wolves are bad animals?| A．The ancient Nordic people. | B．The ancient Celtic people. |
| C．Native Americans. | D．The English people. |
| A．A wild wolf. | B．A lone wolf. |
| C．A wolf at the door. | D．A wolf in sheep’s clothing. |
| A．The person is selfish. | B．The person is a liar. |
| C．The person is stubborn. | D．The person is a troublemaker. |
| A．Stories about wolves. |
| B．The research on wolves. |
| C．Expressions about wolves. |
| D．The cultural differences about wolves. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Travel Manners
Every culture has its own unwritten list of behavior that is acceptable. Every society also has its taboos, or types of behavior that are considered a violation (违反) of good manners.
The word taboo comes from the Tongan language and is used in modern English to describe verbal and nonverbal behavior that is forbidden or to be avoided.
Verbal taboos usually involve topics that people believe are too private to talk about publicly, or relate to one’s manner of speaking. In many cultures, for example, it is considered bad manners to discuss subjects such as sex or religion in public. In some countries, the volume of one’s voice may annoy people.
Certain gestures made with the hands can have very different meanings depending on the country you are in. Crossing your middle finger over your forefinger is the sign for good luck in many western countries.
Behavior that is acceptable and non-offensive in one culture can be highly offensive in another. When visiting a foreign country, be aware of some of the basic differences, as this will help to ensure a more enjoyable trip.
| A．Nonverbal taboos usually relate to body language. |
| B．In Vietnam and Argentina, however, it is a rude gesture. |
| C．In spite of what some people may think, taboos are not universal. |
| D．Cancer is a taboo subject and people are frightened to talk openly about it. |
| E．Learn a country’s customs so that you don’t hurt the local people unconsciously. |
| F．They might think that someone who is speaking or laughing loudly is rude or aggressive. |
【推荐2】We all know what a brain is. A doctor will tell you that the brain is the organ of the body in the head. It controls our body's functions, movements, emotions and thoughts. But a brain can mean so much more.
A brain can also simply be a smart person. If a person is called brainy, she is smart and intelligent. If a family has many children but one of them is super smart, you could say “She's the brains in the family. ” And if you are the brains behind an organization, you are responsible for developing or organizing it.
Brain trust is a group of experts who give advice. Word experts say the phrase “brain trust” became popular when Franklin D. Roosevelt first ran for president in 1932. Several professors gave him advice on social and political issues facing the US. These professors were called his “brain trust”.
These ways we use the word “brain” all make sense. But other ways we use the word are not so easy to understand. For example, to understand the next brain expression, you first need to know the word “drain”. As a verb, to drain means to remove something by letting it flow away. So a brain drain may sound like a disease where the brain flows out the ears. But, a brain drain is when a country's most educated people leave their countries to live in another. The brains are, sort of, draining out of the country.
However, if people are responsible for a great idea, you could say they brainstormed it. Here, brainstorm is not an act of weather. It is a process of thinking creatively about a complex topic. For example, business leaders may use brainstorming to create new products, and government leaders may brainstorm to solve problems.
If people are brainwashed, it does not mean their brains are nice and clean. To brainwash means to make someone accept new beliefs by using repeated pressure in a forceful or tricky way. Keep in mind that brainwash is never used in a good way.
1. Why did Roosevelt successfully win the election according to the passage?| A．Because he was the brain trust of Americans. | B．Because he got his brain trust. |
| C．Because he was smart at giving advice. | D．Because word experts say he is the brain trust. |
| A．the organ of Bai Du | B．the brain drain of Bai Du |
| C．the brains behind Bai Du | D．Bai Du's brain trust |
| A．The origin of the word “brain”. | B．The word “brain” and its stories. |
| C．The brain is an important organ of the body. | D．How to use your brain more effectively. |
【推荐3】What is culture? It is difficult to define.
As you can see, there are different definitions of culture as there are different societies. One useful starting point is the idea of two types of culture. They are culture with a capital C and culture with a small c. Culture with a capital C refers to music, literature and art. It also includes facts and statistics about a national group or society.
Culture with a small c refers to beliefs, values, traditions and the everyday life of a particular community.
| A．How many definitions of culture exist? |
| B．The USA and Britain are multicultural. |
| C．Everybody’s definition of culture is identical. |
| D．These contain many questions about the country’s culture. |
| E．Everyone knows what it is but explains it in different ways. |
| F．People think this kind of information is valuable and important. |
| G．One thing we can all agree on is that culture is about being different. |
【推荐1】When baby turtles first come out of eggs, they head to the sea by nature. The beach surface goes down, which is one directional clue they follow. Another is light: The horizon (地平线) over the sea is brighter than the horizon over land.
But lights from towns and beach developments can confuse the baby turtles. The sky shining above a city can mislead them to wander. And particularly bright lights can draw them away from the sea.
You’d think the extra time crawling (爬行) might wear out baby turtles, which need energy once they get in the water to swim for about a day to get to their destination in the sea. In a normal trip from nests to waves, the babies build up chemicals that show they have been pushing themselves.
Some researchers took the baby turtles to a lab, where they ran on a treadmill and swam in a tank while their blood and breathing were monitored. The finding is surprising: even after hours of crawling, the turtles were fine by all measures and swam as well as turtles that didn't have an extra crawling period.
The reason is that they often stop while crawling if they are doing U for a long time, unlike the disturbed trip they make when heading straight to the water. So misled turtles are not worn out.
But the misleading lights are still a problem for the babies. The longer they spend on the beach wandering, the more they are exposed to natural enemies. They can also end up losing their lives in the heat of the sun.
1. What attracts the baby turtles away from the sea?| A．Bright lights. | B．Vast beaches. |
| C．Buildings in cities. | D．Noises from towns. |
| A．Chemicals. | B．Nests. |
| C．Waves. | D．Baby turtles. |
| A．They travel by night. | B．Their trip is undisturbed. |
| C．They take frequent breaks. | D．They are refreshed by city lights. |
| A．They are in great danger. |
| B．They avoid their natural enemies. |
| C．They will wander on the beach for a while. |
| D．They are more likely to find the destination. |
【推荐2】When robots and humans interact in the same environment, it is important for them to move in techniques that monitor an environment, predict the future actions of humans, identify secure track for a robot and control its movements accordingly.
Predicting human behavior and movements, however, can be incredibly challenging. Determining the future movements of a robot, on the other hand, could be far easier. If human users could anticipate the movements of robots and the effects these will have on the surrounding environment, they should then be able to easily adapt their actions in order to avoid accidents.
With this in mind, researchers at Kyushu University in Japan recently created a near-future perception system named Previewed Reality that allows human users to forecast future changes in their environment, which could then inform their decisions and guide their actions. This system compiles (编译) a data-set containing information about the position of objects, humans and robots within the same environment, to then produce simulations (模拟) of events that could take place in the near future. These simulations are presented to human users via Virtual Reality (VR) or Augmented Reality (AR) headsets.
To collect information about the position of different objects, robots, and humans in the same environment, the researchers used a number of strategically placed sensors, including optical trackers that monitored the movements of objects or robots, and a RGB-D camera which mainly tracked human actions. The data gathered by the sensors was then fed to a motion planner and a dynamics simulator. Combining these two system components allowed the researchers to forecast changes in a given environment and synthesize (合成) images of events that are likely to occur in the near future, from the viewpoint of a specific human. Human users could then view these synthesized images simply through a VR headset or an AR display.
“This system provides human-friendly communication between a human and a robotic system.” the researchers explained. In their next studies, they plan to expand and simplify the perception system, for instance by creating a lighter and more affordable version that can operate on smart phones or other portable devices.
1. Why did the researchers develop the system?| A．To predict future changes in human behavior. |
| B．To record developments in the field of robotics. |
| C．To enhance safety of human-robot interactions. |
| D．To make good use of virtual reality technology. |
| A．It simulates near-future events via VR headsets. |
| B．It enables human users to perceive future events. |
| C．It guides robots to track humans’ movements easily. |
| D．It helps determine the position information of objects. |
| A．The functions of the system components. | B．The dynamic way to synthesize images. |
| C．The inner structure of Previewed Reality. | D．The working procedure of Previewed Reality. |
| A．Promote the new version through advertising. |
| B．Trial this perception system with smart phones. |
| C．Make the system accessible on portable devices. |
| D．Apply some new techniques to robotic systems. |
【推荐3】Ten years after Starbucks arrived in Vietnam, the outcome is clear: Vietnamese people love coffee, but they don’t really seem to like Starbucks.
Starbucks accounted for just 2% of Vietnam’s $1.2bn coffee-drinking market in 2022. It has 92 stores, which works out to less than one for every million people.
Starbucks’ presence remains limited due to the consumer preference for local coffee flavors. Vietnam, after all, is no stranger to coffee: It’s the world’s second largest exporter of coffee. For one thing, the Starbucks menu is not diverse. French settlers introduced coffee to Vietnam in the 19th century. But the first coffee plant was of the Arabica species and did not adapt well to the country’s hot and humid climate and soil. Later, the French brought Robusta plants and that is the coffee popular in Vietnam today. 97% of the coffee Vietnam consumes every year is of the Robusta variety. Starbucks, however, uses 100% Arabica beans. It might explain why even coffee drinkers who do go to Starbucks don’t seem to love what’s available.
For another thing, the Starbuck’s menu has none of the local favorites. Some local Vietnamese brands mix traditional Robusta coffee with egg yolk, yogurt, concentrated milk, ice and even fruit to attract new customers. However, in Starbucks chain stores, the Java chip frappucinos (可可碎片星冰乐) and pumpkin spiced lattes (南瓜丝绒拿铁) that have won elsewhere just don’t seem to cut it here.
The menu is by no means inexpensive for a competitive market like Vietnam, which is another reason why Vietnamese people hesitate to go to Starbucks. A medium-sized drink at Starbucks with none of the add-ons costs about $3.6. That’s out of reach for most in a country where the average monthly wage is only around $345.
“I only went to Starbucks once, because I wanted to try the luxurious coffee. Starbucks coffee is nothing special tome. It’s too fancy and I don’t like the taste.” Tram Nguyen says. “I can enjoy a quality coffee at a Vietnamese coffee shop at half the price.”
1. Why does the author give some figures in paragraph 2?| A．To show the large population of Vietnam. |
| B．To illustrate the slight failure of Starbucks in Vietnam. |
| C．To introduce the rapid development of Starbucks in Vietnam. |
| D．To prove the fact that the Vietnamese dislike coffee. |
| A．One. | B．Two. | C．Three. | D．Four. |
| A．Java chip frappucinos with ice. | B．Arabica beans with egg yolk. |
| C．Robusta coffee with yogurt. | D．Arabica coffee with concentrated milk. |
| A．Starbucks Vietnam: failure to win over coffee-loving Vietnamese. |
| B．Starbucks Vietnam: less diversity than Vietnamese local coffee. |
| C．Vietnamese coffee: national pride for the Vietnamese. |
| D．Starbucks Vietnam: a model of global luxurious coffee. |
【推荐1】A new study has found that North American migratory(迁徏的) birds have been getting smaller over the past 40 years. Researchers say the finding suggests a warming climate(气候)could be affecting bird growth in North America -- and across the world.
The study was recently published in Ecology Letters. Researchers measured(测量)the size of 80,000 birds killed from 1978 to 2016 during the spring and fall migrations in the city of Chicago, Illinois. Over the 40-year period, body size decreased in all 52 species. The average body weight fell by 2.6 percent. Leg bone length dropped by 2.4 percent. The one area of growth was the wingspan, which increased by 1.3 percent.
The researchers said the wing growth likely happened to allow the birds to continue making long migrations with smaller bodies. The study considered a principle known as Bergmann’s rule, in which individuals within a species grow smaller in warmer areas and grow larger in colder ones.
Brian Weeks, a biologist at the University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability, helped lead the research. He said that he believes the results show a clear connection between a warming climate and the growth of the birds. “In other words, climate change seems to be changing both the size and shape of these species,” he said.
The study found a direct connection between the average summer temperature and the body size of the birds. Dave Willard works with Chicago’s Field Museum, which was in charge of measuring all the birds. He said nearly “everyone agrees that the climate is warming, but examples of just how that is affecting the natural world are only now coming to light.”
“We had good reason to expect that increasing temperatures would lead to reductions in body size, based on earlier studies,” Weeks said. “I was incredibly surprised that all of these species are responding in such similar ways.”
The researchers plan to continue studying the Field Museum data in an effort to find additional evidence to support their findings. They will also further examine the idea that an individual’s physical development can change to fit changing environmental conditions.
1. Which of the following didn’t go down to a lower level?| A．The body size | B．The body weight |
| C．The leg bone length | D．The wingspan |
| A．Ecology Letters | B．Brian Weeks |
| C．The Field Museum | D．Dave Willard |
| A．Known | B．similar |
| C．intelligent | D．distant |
| A．fifty-two species of birds became smaller. |
| B．the warming climate could affect bird growth. |
| C．the warming climate makes the birds grow larger. |
| D．the researchers have proved their findings. |
【推荐2】A facial recognition app, recently developed by scientists, will make it easier to identify pandas.
Wan Yongqing, a Beijing photographer, visits Sichuan Province to take photos of pandas every other year. He has watched them for more than a decade. “My friends say I’m a big panda fan. It is a shame that I find all pandas look the same, with black eyes and white fur. It does not matter as all the pandas are cute to me,” he said.
Yet, identifying one panda from another does matter to researchers, according to Zhang Zhihe, chief of the Chengdu panda research base.
“Identifying individual pandas is important for conservation management and research. For captive pandas, it is important for their daily feeding schedules, family background and data management. For wild pandas, it helps researchers study their population structure and provides scientific support for their protection and management,” he said.
China has carried out four scientific surveys on wild pandas, and now has a big databank about them. The number of wild pandas in China is mostly known. However, it is still difficult to determine the age, sex, health and other specific information about the population.
“It’s difficult to track and watch the structure because wild pandas tend to live alone, deep in the mountains, and their living environment is vast,” Zhang added.
In 2017, the Chengdu base began researching individual panda identification technology by analyzing images. Over the past two years, they have built a databank of more than 120,000 images, over 1,000 video clips, and completed organizing nearly 10,000 images.
Using the databank, researchers have started a facial recognition app that can accurately recognize captive pandas by analyzing ana comparing the unique features of panda faces.
Panda researchers hope the data and AI technology will help them analyze data for both captive and wild pandas.
1. Why is it important to identify individual captive pandas?| A．It is useful for studying their population structure. |
| B．It helps researchers build up their living environment. |
| C．It provides proof that they need protection in the wild. |
| D．It is helpful for further research and data management. |
| A．They live alone. | B．They don’t leave enough tracks. |
| C．They live in deep mountains. | D．Their living environment is vast. |
| A．Their living environment. |
| B．Their age, sex, health and population information. |
| C．Their feeding schedules, family background and management. |
| D．The reason and research upon their black eyes and white fur. |
| A．The databank of pandas. | B．The structure of pandas. |
| C．The invention of Al technology. | D．The unique features of panda faces. |
【推荐3】We are often unable to pay close attention to what we hear. Just like when we try to grab a sponge(海绵) that is full of water, some water will run out of it. But sometimes we try to remember everything a speaker says and try to take in a speaker’s every word as if every word was equally important. We try to remember all the names, all the dates, and all the places. In the process we often miss the speaker’s main point.
Erik Waldman works at a design company. Knowing he had never been good at budgeting his money, he was determined to begin thinking about his economic future. When his employer circulated an e-mail announcing a financial planning workshop(研讨会), Erik signed up right away.
The first session was about retirement planning. Simone Fisher, the lecturer, explained that 7 of 10 Americans between the ages of 22 and 35 do not have a regular savings plan. Erik wrote down every number Simone mentioned.
"If you want to have a retirement income equal to 75 percent of your current salary," Simone continued, "you will need to save at least of 6 percent of your present earnings, taking into account future inflation rates(通货膨胀率). In the meantime, I want to stress that the most important thing is to start saving now."
Erik recorded all the statistics Simone used. When she opened the floor(自由发言) for question, Erik raised his hand and said, "I have two question. When is the best time to start saving for retirement? And how can I figure out my savings target if I don’t know what inflation rates will be in the future?"
This is a typical example of losing the speaker’s point by concentrating on details. Erik had fixed his mind on remembering all the statistics in Simone’s presentation, but he blocked out the man message. Rather than trying to remember everything, we should concentrate on main ideas and evidence.
1. What does the author mean by saying "Just like when we ... run out of it."?
| A．We tend to reject what others say. |
| B．We always try to remember all details. |
| C．It is difficult for us to remember all things. |
| D．We often fail to focus on what we are listening to. |
| A．got Simone Fisher 's main idea |
| B．focused on the lecture's details |
| C．showed little interest in the lecture |
| D．didn't agree with what Simone had said |
| A．they are very good questions |
| B．Erik was an excellent listener |
| C．it was hard to answer the questions |
| D．his questions were meaningless |
| A．a good listener | B．a financial planner |
| C．an excellent lecturer | D．a successful employee |
【推荐1】Nottingham Goose (鹅) Fair started on the first Thursday in October and lasted 3 days. However, nowadays you won’t find any geese there.
The fair opened at 12:00 on the Thursday by the Lord Mayor of Nottingham, but it has an interesting and shocking history.
For starters, it wasn’t always the largest fair in the area. And the main fair for the people of Nottingham in terms of trade and economy was the Lenton Fair held at Lenton Priory.
In the Middle Ages the Lenton Fair overshadowed (使显得逊色) the Goose Fair in size and importance. Harrisons Calendar of Fairs for 1587 mentions the Lenton Fair but not the Goose Fair. However, the Goose Fair competed with its local competitors and every year over 20,000 geese from the Fens in Lincolnshire arrived to be sold to provide the traditional Michaelmas dish.
It wasn’t just for geese either. All kinds of things were sold at the Goose Fair: sheep, horses and cattle were also sold.
The fair has been under threat of closure many times over the years. In 1764 they actually had cheese riots (暴乱) due to an increase of a third on the price of cheese compared with the previous year, which resulted in an attack on the stallholders (摊主) at the fair.
By 1880 the fair was reduced to a three-day event, which started on the first Thursday of October. In 1928 the fair was moved from the market square to its present site in the forest which is far away from the city centre. Despite attempts throughout its history to prevent the fair, the income from rents paid by the stallholders is financially beneficial to the local government. So regardless of the cheese riots and the various attempts to prohibit it, Nottingham Goose Fair has survived to celebrate over eight centuries of fun.
1. The cheese riots in 1764 were mentioned to show .| A．the Goose Fair met strong competition from its competitors |
| B．stallholders usually benefited most from the Goose Fair |
| C．the Goose Fair gradually lost popularity with time going by |
| D．violence and troubles used to put the Goose Fair in danger |
| A．it is full of fun and enjoyed by most people | B．it brings great benefits to the local economy |
| C．it has strong support from the mayor of Nottingham | D．it is representative of the traditions of Nottingham |
| A．the Goose Fair didn’t become famous until 1587 |
| B．the Goose Fair used to last longer than it does today |
| C．those against the Goose Fair were mostly from the countryside |
| D．the Lenton Fair was once held at the same time as the Goose Fair |
| A．Prevent. | B．Follow. | C．Ignore. | D．Describe. |
【推荐2】Wildlife tracking is nothing new, but it's certainly not without limitations. When pursuing animals, particularly birds, in some places like rough mountains and vast oceans, the traditional method, VHF tracking which uses GPS tags (跟踪器), often ends up with the signal of animals lost.
A newly developed set of UAVs (无人机) with radio tags aims to solve this problem. ''The swift parrot was the original inspiration for the development of the system. The swift parrots are migratory (季节迁徙的) birds. Before reaching their destination, they'll fly across vast areas of land. Besides, during their flying, they tend to choose a random place for temporary food and rest. And they use different areas as their destinations each year depending on where their food is available. So their destinations each year can also be random. The randomnness can make it hard for us to judge in advance where they'll exactly go and more difficult to track them,"explains Saunders.
"So it's necessary to use tags to track them. But GPS tags are not congruent with swift parrots since these creatures are too small, which makes it hard to attach the large GPS tags to them. Besides, GPS signals can be poor in remote and rough areas. Therefore we had to find a new way to search large pieces of land more effectively. We had an idea to attach smaller radio tags to them and use particular UAVs to track those radio tags to study their movements."
These UAVs only need to fly beside the parrots to track their whereabouts while other systems need to fly directly overhead for a visual sighting. Saunders says, "Our system listens for tag signals, and works most effectively at a distance so it can identify where the animals are and help us observe them without influencing their flying routes."
As for the improvement of UAVs, now the scientists want to develop a version that has stronger lifting ability and flies farther without being charged in the midway. And then it can track animals in more remote and rough surroundings that were previously inaccessible, and shed light on species that have been unable to be tracked until now.
1. What is the major problem of traditional wildlife tracking?| A．Failing to reach rural areas. | B．Failing to follow routine methods. |
| C．Losing track of GPS tags sometimes. | D．Losing track of the animals sometimes. |
| A．UAVs are modeled after their shape. | B．UAVs can be attached to their bodies. |
| C．Their migratory route can be hard to predict. | D．Their flying can get interrupted by humans. |
| A．They can fly quite high in the sky. | B．They help catch and attack their targets. |
| C．They help track birds without disturbing them. | D．They can record the sounds sent by various birds. |
| A．By getting rid of radio tags. | B．By reducing their production cost. |
| C．By increasing their weight and size. | D．By improving their energy storage and engines. |
【推荐3】Rocky was a 65-pound dog. Rita was his eleven-year old owner. When Rocky was given to her, Rita immediately liked him. Whenever she was not in school,the two were always together and within touching distance. The family would lovingly call the pair “R and R".
But Rocky had one shortcoming. He feared water very much because of a terrible experience. When he was at the age of seven weeks long before he met Rita,he was nearly drowned by a naughty boy who had been blamed by his father.
One late afternoon,Rita's mother took R and R to a shopping area near a lake. Rita was running along the wooden bridge over the water,enjoying the beautiful scenery around. Suddenly a boy on a bicycle hit Rita. She let out a cry of pain and fell into the lake.
Rita's mother was at the entrance of a store not far away. She rushed to the lake shouting for help. Rocky seemed to forget his fear and jumped into the water to save his owner. Rocky immediately swam to Rita and held her by the shoulder's clothes with his mouth. Rita's face was quickly out of the water and she could cough.Luckily,the water was calm,they were not far from the bank,and Rocky finally reached a depth where his feet were on solid ground. He pulled Rita hard until her head was completely out of the water, and then he stood beside her, licking(舔） her face.
Rita and her family firmly believed that it was only the big dog's love for the little girl that caused him to take action that might be life-dangerous.
1. From the text, we know .| A．Rita was once blamed |
| B．Rocky was eleven years old |
| C．Rita spent her spare time with Rocky |
| D．Rocky lived in Rita's home since his birth |
| A．Brave. | B．Honest. | C．Unkind. | D．Dangerous. |
| A．At noon. | B．At night. | C．In the morning. | D．In the afternoon. |
① Rocky came into Rita's life.② Rocky was nearly drowned.
③ They were playing near the lake. ④ Rocky saved Rita from the water.
| A．①②④③ | B．②①③④ | C．③①②④ | D．④③②① |
| A．It is love that can defeat fear when in danger. |
| B．It is life-dangerous for children to be left alone. |
| C．Anyone who treats animals badly should be blamed. |
| D．Children should be encouraged to keep a pet as a friend. |
