1 . We humans can express feelings by telling others how we feel, but what about arqimals? How can we tell whether they experience sadness or happiness? Over the past 20 years, researchers have made great progress in this field.

It’s very hard for us to understand the feelings of animals, because they cannot tell us how they feel. However, we can know how they feel by some of their representations (表现) . The easiest reaction(反应) that an animal can feel about something is to change its behavior(s). Humans often change looks and actions depending on whether they experience a happy thing or not. Animals show these special looks as well. For example, changes in the ear place or the amount (量) of the white part of the eyes can show different levels of pain or fear of animals. It is important to remember that the looks of animals are usually different from those of humans. Their joy might not be shown by a smile, and sadness may not be followed by tears.

Another example of animal actions that is connected to feelings is vocalizations (发声) , which can show stress of many different animals. We know this is true for humans, too. Imagine you are singing a song in front of many people, and your voice might shake if you are nervous. Researchers have found that the vocalizations of pigs, sheep and cows also change and get less smooth when these animals are nervous, for example, when they are separated from the group.

It seems that animals react to their environments as much as humans do. So, we can guess that animals have rich feelings. This might encourage us to rethink the environments where we raise the animals, such as farms, zoos or our houses. If we can better understand how animals react to their environments, we can improve these environments as well as human-animal relationshies.

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2 . As you read this passage, you probably have in front of you some paper, a pen and at least one pencil. Have you ever wondered how they were first made and where they come from?

The word “paper” comes from the name “papyrus”, a plant. The ancient Egyptians took the soft centre of this plant and added water to make a wet mixture which was then pressed together and hung up to dry. The resulting paper was strong yet flexible and was used as writing material in Greek and Roman times. However, it was the Chinese who invented what we now know as paper. The method, in use over 2,000 years ago, also included pressing and drying wet material to form paper. Many materials were used. It was not until the 19th century that paper became easy to make and cheap to buy.

The earliest pens were hollow reeds (空心芦苇) that were put into ink to produce a form of writing. By the 6th century BC, feathers had replaced the reeds and feathers continued to be used until the appearance of the metal nib (笔尖). The ballpoint pen was developed in the second half of the 20th century by theHungarian Biro brothers.

From the time of the Romans, a metal stick, made of lead (铅), was used to write on papyrus. The lead left only a light mark and was later replaced by another soft metal, called graphite (石墨). Unlike lead, graphite produced a much harder and heavier line. The graphite sticks, however, broke very easily. So anItalian couple invented something a little like our modern pencil.

6 .

This month, many Chinese cities are doing something special. It’s called “give way at the zebra crossing (斑马线)”.

These cities ask drivers to stop when people walk across zebra road crossings. If they don’t, they’ll have to pay a fine of 100 to 500 yuan and they’ll also lose three points (扣三分).

Why is this rule popular now? Because many cities are working hard to carry it out (执行). There are more cameras at zebra crossings now. Some workers can explain the rule to drivers.

Zebra crossings can help keep people safe. However, 3,898 people lost their lives in 14,000 zebra crossing accidents from 2015 to 2017. Most of the accidents happened because drivers wouldn’t give way to people on foot.

With this rule, people will be safer when crossing the street. But at the same time, it’s polite (有礼貌的) to cross the road quickly.

7 . There are many kinds of food in the world. In different countries, food has different meanings.

Garlic In Turkey (土耳其), many people often put garlic on their doors. They think it can bring good luck to people. In some countryside of Hungary (匈牙利), people put garlic on their bed. They think that it is good for babies’ and mothers’ health (健康).

Green onions In the countryside of Egypt (埃及), many farmers think green onions are a symbol of truth (真理的象征). They often take green onions in their hand and put them high when their ideas are different from others’. They show that the truth is in their hand.

Tomatoes They are the “stars ” in the food. They are a kind of vegetable and they are also a kind of fruit. If there are no tomatoes, hamburgers won’ t be delicious. In England, some young people give tomatoes as gifts to each other.

Salt In Hungary, when farmers move into a new house, they usually put salt inside and outside the new house. They want to keep away from scary things. In Russia, bread with salt is a kind of food to welcome visitors.

8 . Psychology (心理学) is important in explaining human nature—and it gives reasons for a few of the situations you notice in yourself and others.

In a group of experiments from the University of Pennsylvania, researchers found that when volunteers thought about another plan before starting a task, they did worse than those who hadn’t thought about a Plan B. Besides, when they realized they had choices, their motivation for succeeding at the first time dropped. The researchers point out that thinking ahead is a good idea, but you might be more successful if you keep those plans unclear.

Why does another problem appear, when one problem is solved? It’s not that the world is against you—but your brain might be. Researchers asked volunteers to pick out people who have a threatening (有威胁的) look from faces on a computer. “As we started to show people fewer and fewer threatening faces, they increase their meaning of ‘threatening’ to include more faces,” writes researcher David Levari, PhD. “In other words, when they didn’t have threatening faces to find, they started to think of faces that they used to call harmless as threatening ones.”

Why does that sandwich from the takeout place down the street taste better than the ones you make at home, even if you use the same ingredients (原料)? One study in the magazine Science found that when you make yourself a meal, you’re around it so long that it feels less exciting by the time you actually eat it—and that, as a result, decreases your enjoyment.