1 . There are well-documented mental health benefits to pet ownership, as much research has shown. Indeed, we know there are some physical benefits as well, as dog owners tend to have more active lifestyles. Yet when it comes to conditions like allergies (过敏), we tend to think of pet ownership as exacerbating, not alleviating them.

Hence, a recent study published in the journal PLOS One might come as a surprise. The study, published Wednesday, found that children raised with cats and dogs early in life had a 13 to 16 % lower risk of developing all food allergies than those who did not own pets.

The researchers engaged in a detailed survey, studying 65,000 children. They found that children who were exposed to dogs either during fetal (胎儿) development, or up to the age of 3 years old were less likely to have nut, milk and egg allergies.

This wasn’t true for other pets that weren’t cats and dogs. Indeed, the same research found that children exposed to hamsters during this same period had an increased risk of nut allergies. Yet children who were exposed to cats during their early years were likewise less likely to develop specific allergies — namely, allergies to wheat, soybean and egg.

While the study is not the final word on the issue — the researchers note “further studies using oral food challenges are required to more accurately assess the incident of food allergies” — it reinforces preexisting research on the seemingly funny ways that cats influence human development.

In addition to adding to the growing body of scientific literature about pets and human health, the PLOS One also reinforces earlier research about the role of the environment in developing allergies. The research repeatedly found that exposure to farmyard dirt, dust and the various fine hairs that fly off animals helps children in their breathing system development.

1. What does the underlined word “exaccrbating” in paragraph 1 best mean?

A．Worsening.	B．Damaging.
C．Improving.	D．Benefiting.

2. What agrees with the result of the recent research?

A．Kids over 3 will have more food allergies.

B．Hamsters cause the most allergies to children.

C．All pet ownership will not reduce food allergies.

D．Cat owners are less likely to be allergic than dog owners.

3. What is the author’s attitude to the PLOS One study?

A．Satisfied.	B．Objective.
C．Doubtful.	D．Unconcerned.

4. What is a best title for the text?

A．Benefits brought by raising animals

B．Pet ownership making kids healthier

C．Researches on different food allergies

D．Dogs and cats reducing kids’ allergies

2 . In July 1915, severely tortured by his poor health, James Murray, one of the early editors of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), defined one final word. After his 36 years’ dedication to the dictionary, his hard labour had taken a toll, knowing he would not see the project complete.

The poetic quality of Murray’s final days is one of the many memorable tales in The Dictionary People. Beginning in 1857, the OED was a huge crowdsourcing project - “the Wikipedia of the 19th century” - comprising 3, 000 people. The idea was to create a “descriptive” dictionary that tracked words’ use and meaning over time, unlike its “prescriptive”18th-century predecessor by Samuel Johnson, which told readers how to say and use words. Volunteers read widely, mailing in examples of how “rare, old-fashioned, new, strange” words were used. What is surprising about this fairly random method is that it worked.

The origin story of Sarah Ogilvie’s book is almost as improbable as that of the dictionary itself. Ms Ogilvie, a former scholar who served as an editor for the OED, went into the documents of Oxford University Press and came across an old notebook. It had belonged to Murray and contained the names and details of the dictionary volunteers, most of whom had previously been unknown. The Dictionary People is her work of detective scholarship, bringing the lives behind the names to readers.

Ms Ogilvie’s book is full of intriguing stories. The presentation of the book is unconventional, too, taking its structure from the work it describes. There are 26 alphabetical chapters, each celebrating a group of contributors ( memorably, “K” is for “kleptomaniac” people who desire to steal). This is a clever arrangement, though it sometimes means that broader issues emerge only in pieces.

Essentially, this is a story about ordinary people. It is concrete proof of those who, to cite dictionary-helper George Eliot, “lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs”.

1. What does the underlined expression “taken a toll” in paragraph 1 mean?

A．Paid off.

B．Proved in vain.

C．Worn out the passion.

D．Had a harmful effect.

2. What can we learn about the Oxford English Dictionary?

A．It serves as an example of dictionary editing.

B．It provides precise directions for word usage.

C．It is a cooperative work of many volunteers.

D．It was edited with the help of Samuel Johnson.

3. What is paragraph 3 mainly about?

A．The story behind Sarah Ogilvie’s book.

B．The detective methods of Sarah Ogilvie.

C．Legends of the early OED editors.

D．Murray’s role in editing the OED.

4. Where is the text most probably taken from?

A．A review of a book.

B．A biography of an editor.

C．An essay on dictionary editing.

D．An introduction to a dictionary.

3 . There are close to 7, 000 languages spoken on Earth. However, it’s estimated that by the end of this century, up to 50% of them may be lost.

It’s commonly thought that majority languages tend to be valued for being useful and for promoting progress, while minority languages are seen as barriers to progress, and the value placed on them is seen mainly as sentimental (感情用事的). But is sentimentality really the only motivation for preserving language diversity?

Speakers of endangered languages often live in remote areas with unique landform. It is quite common for these languages to distinguish between hundreds more types of plants and animals than those known to modern science. For example, in Southeast Asia, some tribes have discovered the medicinal properties of over sixty-five hundred plant species. This has led to many of landmark achievements in medicine.

It was once believed that the limits of one’s language defined the limits of one’s thought. This theory, called the Sapir-Wharf hypothesis (假说), has been largely rejected in favor of the improved version, which assumes that the language we speak does not set the limits of our thoughts, but it does direct our focus in certain ways. For example, English is a tense-based language. It’s nearly impossible to talk about doing something without specifying the time — i. e. I went to the party(past), I’m going to the party(present), or I’ll go to the party (future). This differs from Chinese, where it’s perfectly reasonable to say, “I go to the party” without defining the “when”. Thus, part of the richness of language is that it allows us to organize the world in so many unique ways.

Some languages categorize the world in ways so different from our own that they are difficult to conceptualize (概念化). The United States employed native Navajo speakers to create a system of message coding during the Second World War. The Japanese were never able to break it, and the “code talkers” are often cited today as having helped decide the outcome of the war.

As we’ve already seen, minority languages are valuable for many practical reasons. In conclusion, I’d say the short answer is yes — dying languages are certainly worth saving!

1. What do people tend to think of minority languages?

A．Valueless.

B．Time-honored.

C．Informal.

D．Stable.

2. How can we benefit from endangered languages according to the author?

A．We can discover drugs in a much safer way.

B．We don’t have to rely on modern medicine.

C．We can acquire a broad knowledge of nature.

D．We can learn how to protect plants and animals.

3. Why does the author mention the Second World War?

A．To correct the Sapir-Wharf hypothesis.

B．To prove the value of minority languages.

C．To show wars’ role in preserving a language.

D．To explain ways to conserve some languages.

4. What would be a suitable title for the text?

A．Are majority languages worth valuing?

B．Are we willing to save dying languages?

C．Should endangered languages be saved?

D．Is the future of minority languages bright?

5 . Coming into the town of Santa Catarina Palopó, in the highlands of Lake Atitlán in Guatemala, the first thing you notice is the bright colors. Most of the buildings along the main street are eye-catching, in deep, varied hues of blues and greens; interspersed with red and yellow to form complex patterns and designs.

Santa Catarina Palopó was once a sleepy town of 5,000 people, most of them indigenous (土著的) and dependent on agricultural work. As agriculture began to dry up here, decline for the town and poverty for many of its families came. To deal with poverty and stimulate economic growth through tourism, a small but mighty group of laborers, artisans, domestic workers and stay-at-home moms created the Pintando Santa Catarina Palopó project.

The project was initially to paint all 850 homes and buildings in bright colors, in an effort to change the hillside town into a work of art.   “We wanted to paint the houses with colors and figures that represent the community,” says the project’s executive director Stephany Blanco.   “A range of designs were created so that families can choose designs for their house that are representative of the family.”

One of the most representative characteristics of the region is the blue huipil, a traditional blouse which has been worn prominently by local women since the 16th century. That deep sky blue was chosen as the primary color for the Pintando project, with secondary colors found in the sunsets and the nearby lake to make the design more attractive. As for the designs that would be used, they would also find inspiration in local culture, symbols such as volcanoes, flowers, Mayan-styled butterflies and the national bird of Guatemala.

Each week, local artists, community members and tourists pick up paintbrushes to make buildings colorful.   “At first, the idea of the project left many unsure about participating, but now you can see a considerable difference in the town,” Melissa Whitbeck said. “The color of the buildings is believed to improve the quality of life of the people. It uplifts the people’s mood and encourages them to be proud of where they come from.”

1. What problem did Santa Catarina Palopó face?

A．A labor shortage.	B．Poor economic conditions.
C．A rapid increase in population.	D．Outdated agricultural technology.

2. What is the project about?

A．Building art galleries in Guatemala.

B．Creating job opportunities for local artisans.

C．Developing local tourism by selling artworks.

D．Transforming the town into a cultural destination.

3. What is the inspiration of the primary color for the project?

A．The nearby lake.	B．Mayan-styled butterflies.
C．A type of traditional clothing.	D．The national bird of Guatemala.

4. What is Melissa’s attitude towards the project?

A．Positive.

B．Uncaring.

C．Ambiguous.

D．Disapproving.

6 . In our human-centric view, the ability to shoot ink or change colors may seem odd, but you know what’s really odd? Menopause (更年期). You can count species other than humans known to experience and outlive menopause on one hand. Only Oracs (虎鲸) and some whale populations have females that live long past their reproductive years to become grandmothers. But a new, landmark study confirms that at least one population of chimpanzees can now be added to the list.

The discovery comes as the result of 21 years’ worth of observing the Ngogo community of wild chimpanzees in Kibale National Park, Uganda. Studying urine from 66 Ngogo females, aged 14 to 67, showed that their hormone levels changed after approaching 50, confirming they were in menopause. Interestingly, 50 is also the age when many people begin to experience menopause. “It’s really cool to finally have that piece of the puzzle come into place,” says Catherine Hobaiter, a primatologist who was not part of the new study.

But Catherine points out that the Ngogo community lives in a chimp paradise: the resource-rich, well-protected Kibale National Park that also lacks leopards, their main predator. And because the Noggo community is found in the heart of the park, its only neighbors are other chimps — not humans who can expose chimpanzees to viruses that have devastated other communities. “The Ngogo population may be an outlier (局外人) when it comes to the rest of the species,” she cautions.

And there is a question concerning “the grandmother effect”, according to which a grandmother has a decidedly beneficial effect on her children and grandchildren. Chimpanzees do not form long-term pair-bonds and females leave in search of new communities when they reach maturity, which means grandmother chimpanzees likely don’t know who their grandchildren are in the same way humans or even orcas do. What they do after the menopause remains a question of interest. “And that’s all future work to be done.” said Catherine.

1. What can be learned about menopause?

A．It is rare among animals.	B．It is unique to human beings.
C．It just occurs at the age of 50.	D．It is experienced only by females.

2. What does the underlined part in paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．Scientist have found the solution to menopause.

B．What happens to the 66 Ngogo females remains a puzzle.

C．There is a puzzle whether chimpanzee females experience menopause.

D．The latest discovery casts new light on the puzzle of animal menopause.

3. Why does Catherine mention the living situation of the Ngogo community?

A．To stress the importance of protecting chimpanzees from viruses.

B．To remind researchers of the potential limitation of the new study.

C．To prove that Ngogo chimpanzees are perfect subjects of the study.

D．To argue that the discovery of the new study is completely groundless.

4. How is the last paragraph developed?

A．By offering a definition.	B．By drawing a conclusion.
C．By presenting relevant facts.	D．By giving examples and opinions.

7 . The Mona Lisa is the famous Leonardo da Vinci painting of a woman with a mysterious smile. This week, the painting gave up a secret.

Scientists using X-rays to examine the chemical structure of a small part of the painting discovered a technique Leonardo used in the work. An oil paint used for it was a special, new chemical mixture, which suggests that the Italian artist was in an experimental mood when he worked on the painting in the 16th century.

“He loved to experiment, and each of his paintings is completely different technically,”said Victor Gonzalez, a chemist who has studied the chemical element (成分) of several works by Leonardo and other artists. The researchers found a rare lead compound (铅化合物) — plumbonacrite, in Leonardo’s first layer of paint. The discovery proved that da Vinci most likely used lead oxide to thicken and help dry his paint. The paint in the study is about the thickness of a human hair, lying in the top right area of the painting.

The scientists looked into its atomic structure using X-rays, moving particles at the speed of light, permitting researchers to look deeper into the paint structure. “ Plumbonacrite is really a fingerprint of his recipe, as it’s the first time we can chemically confirm it,” Gonzalez said.

Dutch artist Rembrandt may have used a similar mixture when he was painting in the 17th century. Gonzalez and other researchers have found plumbonacrite in his work, too. Leonardo is thought to have put lead oxide powder, which has an orange color, in the oil to make it thicker and dry faster. “What you will get is an oil that has a very nice golden color,” Gonzalez said. “It flows more like honey.”

But the Mona Lisa — said by the Louvre to be a portrait (肖像) of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a Florentine silk businessman — and additional works by Leonardo still have other secrets to tell. “What we are saying is just a little brick in the knowledge,” Gonzalez said.

1. What’s the new discovery about the Mona Lisa?

A．A new explanation of the secret smile.

B．A new chemical element used in the painting.

C．The secret of the woman in the painting.

D．The structure of the paint da Vinci used.

2. Which best explains the underlined word “fingerprint” in paragraph 4?

A．Open secret.

B．Widespread use.

C．Hidden element.

D．Long-term dream.

3. How does Gonzalez view the use of lead oxide powder in paintings?

A．It helps to make many things into paints.

B．It helps to make paints easy to deal with.

C．It helps to keep the paintings last long.

D．It helps to make paintings rich in color.

4. What can we learn about the Mona Lisa from the last paragraph?

A．It has more secrets to tell the world.

B．It’s the portrait of a silk businessman.

C．It’s well kept in bricks in the Louvre.

D．It has a mixture of different art styles.

8 . Astronomers have discovered an Earth-size exoplanet (外星行星), or world beyond our solar system, that may be filled with volcanoes. Called LP791-18d, the planet could experience volcanic explosion as often as Jupiter’s moon Io, the most volcanically active body in our solar system.

LP791-18d is tidally locked, which means the same side constantly faces its star. The clay side would probably be too hot for liquid water to exist on the surface. But the amount of volcanic activity all over the planet could sustain an atmosphere, which may enable the existence of liquid water on the night side. LP791-18d orbits a small red star about 90 light-years away, which is estimated to be only slightly larger and more heavier than Earth.

Astronomers already knew about two other worlds in the system before this discovery, called LP791-18b and c, both larger and heavier than Earth. During their orbits, planets d and c closely approach each other. Each close pass by the heavier planet c produces a gravity pull on planet d, which creates enough energy to heat the planet and produce volcanic activity at its surface.

Planet d sits in the traditional range of distances from a star where scientists assume liquid water could exist on a planet’s surface. If the planet is as geologically active as the research team imagine, it could maintain an atmosphere. Temperatures could drop enough on the planet’s night side for water to exist on the surface.

Astrobiologist Jessie Christiansen says, “A big question in astrobiology is if volcanic activity is necessary for life. In addition to potentially (潜在的) providing an atmosphere, these processes could mix up materials that would otherwise sink down and get trapped in the crust (地壳), including those we think are important for life, like carbon.”

1. What does the underlined word “sustain” in paragraph 2 mean?

A．Heat.

B．Maintain.

C．Dry.

D．Protect.

2. What fuels planet d’s volcanic activity?

A．The weight of planet c.	B．The size of planet c.
C．The pull caused by planet c.	D．The heat powered by planet c.

3. What can we infer about volcanic activity from Christiansen’s word?

A．It mixes up an atmosphere.	B．It makes it easy to trap carbon.
C．It processes sunk materials.	D．It is significant for promoting life.

4. Which can be a suitable title for the text?

A．The Most Volcanically Active Planet

B．Life on Other Volcanic Active Exoplanet

C．Potential for Volcanic Activity Beyond Earth

D．Discovery of a Volcanically Active Earth-Size Exoplanet

9 . I wanted the pleasure of being in Africa again. Feeling that the place was so large that it contained many untold tales and some hope and comedy and sweetness too, I aimed to reinsert myself in the bundy, as we used to call the bush, and to wander around. There I had lived and worked, happily, almost forty years ago, in the heart of the greenest continent.

In those old undramatic days of my school teaching in the bundu, folks lived their lives on bush paths at the end of unpaved roads of red clay, in villages of grass-roofed huts. They had a new national flag, they had just gotten the vote, some had bikes, many talked about buying their first pair of shoes. They were hopeful, and, so was I, a schoolteacher living near a settlement of mud-huts among trees and fields—children shouting at play; and women bent double—most with infants on their backs—hoeing(锄地) the corn beans; and the men sitting in the shade.

The Swahili word safari means “journey”, it has nothing to do with animals, someone “on safari” is just away and unobtainable and out of touch. Out of touch in Africa was where I wanted to be. The wish to disappear sends many travellers away. If you are thoroughly sick of being kept waiting at home or at work, travel is perfect: let other people wait for a change. Travel is a sort of revenge(报复) for having been put on hold, or having to leave messages on answering machines, not knowing your party’s extension, being kept waiting all your working life. But also being kept waiting is the human condition.

Travel in the African bush can also be a sort of revenge on mobile phones and email, on telephones and the daily paper, on the aspects of globalization that allow anyone who chooses to get their hands on you. I desired to be unobtainable. I was going to Africa for the best of reasons—in a spirit of discovery—simply to disappear, to light out, with a suggestion of I dare you to try to find me.

Home had become a routine, and routine made time pass quickly. I was a sitting duck in this predictable routine: people knew when to call me, they knew when I would be at my desk. I was in such regular touch that it was like having a job, a mode of life I hated. I was sick of being called up and asked for favors, hit up for money. You stick around too long and people begin to impose their own deadlines on you.

1. What did the writer expect from his journey?

A．To have a variety of enjoyable experiences.	B．To see how Africa had changed.
C．To see impressive scenery.	D．To meet some old friend.

2. Forty years ago, how did the writer feel about the future of the country where he was living?

A．Little was likely to change.	B．Things were likely to improve.
C．Women would do most of the work.	D．People’s expectations were too limited.

3. In Paragraph 3, what reason does the writer give for wanting to travel to Africa?

A．He wanted a change of activity.	B．He wanted people to be unable to contact him.
C．His health was suffering from staying at home.	D．He had been waiting to return to Africa for long.

4. The writer says “I was a sitting duck” in Paragraph 5 to show that _______.

A．he was boring	B．he was easy to find
C．he is fond of ducks	D．he was always lending money

10 . Finland was known as a rather quiet country. Since 2008, the Country Brand Delegation (国家品牌代表团) has been looking for a national brand that would make some noise to market the country as a world-famous tourist destination. In 2010, the Delegation issued a “Country Brand Report,” which highlighted a host of marketable themes, including Finland’s famous educational system. One key theme was brand new: silence. As the report explained, modern society often seems intolerably loud and busy. “Silence is a resource,” it said.

Silence first appeared in scientific research as a control or baseline, against which scientists compare the effects of noise or music. Researchers have mainly studied it by accident, as physician Luciano Bernardi did in his study of the physiological (生理学) effects of music. “We didn’t think about the effect of silence,” he said. Bernardi observed two dozen test subjects while they listened to six musical tracks. He found that the impacts of music could be read directly in the bloodstream, via changes in blood pressure, carbon dioxide, and circulation in the brain. “During almost all sorts of music, there was a physiological change with a condition of arousal (兴奋),” he explained.

This effect made sense, given that active listening requires attention. But the more striking finding appeared between musical tracks. Bernardi and his colleagues discovered that randomly added stretches of silence also had a great effect, but in the opposite direction. In fact, two-minute silent pauses proved far more relaxing than either “relaxing” music or a longer silence played before the experiment started. The blank pauses that Bernardi had considered irrelevant, in other words, became the most interesting object of study. Silence seemed to be heightened by contrasts, maybe because it gave test subjects a release from careful attention. “Perhaps the arousal is something that concentrates the mind in one direction, so that when there is nothing more arousing, then you have deeper relaxation,” he said.

This finding is reinforced by neurological (神经系统的) research. Relevant research shows when our brains rest quietly, they integrate external and internal information into “a conscious (意识的) workspace.” Freedom from noise and goal-directed tasks, it appears, unites the quiet without and within, allowing our conscious workspace to do its thing to discover where we fit in.

Noora Vikman, a consultant on silence for Finland’s marketers, knows silence well. Living in a remote and quiet place in Finland, she discovers thoughts and feelings that aren’t detectable in her busy daily life. “If you want to know yourself, you have to be with yourself, and discuss with yourself, and be able to talk with yourself.”

1. Why does the author mention the Country Brand Report in Paragraph 1?

A．To present how Finland viewed silence.

B．To highlight the need of noise in Finland.

C．To explain why Finland issued the brands.

D．To indicate the authority of the Delegation.

2. What can be inferred about Luciano Bernardi’s discovery?

A．It challenged the calming effect of music.

B．It emphasized the role of silence between sounds.

C．It illustrated the loss of attentiveness after silence.

D．It stated brains’ information processing in the quiet.

3. As for Noora Vikman’s attitude to silence, the author is ________.

A．doubtful

B．supportive

C．disapproving

D．unconcerned

4. Which would be the best title for the passage?

A．Silence: A Limited Resource	B．Silence: A Misunderstood Tool
C．Silence: The Unexpected Power	D．Silence: The Value by Contrasts