1 . Dogs can’t speak, but their brains respond to spoken words. Every dog owner knows that saying “Good dog!” in a happy, high voice will make their pet joyfully wag its tail. That made scientists curious: What exactly happens in your dog’s brain when it hears praise, and is it similar to the way our own brain processes such information?
When a person gets others’ compliments, the more primitive, subcortical auditory regions (皮层下听觉区) first react to the intonation — the emotional force of spoken words. Next, the brain taps the more recently evolved auditory cortex (听觉皮层) to figure out the meaning of the words, which is learned.
In 2016, a team of scientists discovered that dogs’ brains, like those of humans, compute the intonation and meaning of a word separately — although dogs use their right brain to do so, whereas we use our left one. Still, a puzzle remained: Do their brains go through the same steps to process approval?
It’s an important question, because dogs are a speechless species, yet they respond correctly to our words. For instance, some dogs are capable of recognizing thousands of names of individual objects, and can link each name to a specific object.
When the scientists studied scans of the brains of pet dogs, they found that theirs, like ours, process the sounds of spoken words in this manner — analyzing first the emotional component with the older region of the brain, the subcortical regions, and then the words’ meaning with the newer part, the cortex.
See why dogs are so successful in partnering us? Dogs and humans last shared a common ancestor some 100 million years ago, so it’s likely that our brains respond to sounds in a similar way. As domesticated animals that have evolved alongside humans in our homes for the past 10,000 years, dogs make special use of it to process human emotions. You know, what we say really matters to dogs!
1. Which of the following can replace the underlined word “domesticated”?| A．Abroad. | B．Home. | C．Gentle. | D．Intelligent. |
| A．Linking it to an object. | B．Analyzing the emotion. |
| C．Working out its meaning. | D．Tapping the auditory cortex. |
| A．By comparing opinions. | B．By raising examples. |
| C．By providing answers to questions. | D．By analyzing causes and effects. |
| A．Dogs — Good Listeners |
| B．Dogs — Perfect Partners |
| C．Dogs and Humans Share a Common Ancestor Actually |
| D．Dogs Understand Spoken Words the Same Way We Do |
2 . A case highlights a little-known fact about a poor diet. In addition to being tied to obesity, heart disease and cancer, they can also permanently damage the nervous system, particularly vision according to a report published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.
A teen who ate nothing but fries, chips and other junk food for years slowly went blind. The teen’s problems began at the age of 14, when he went to the doctor’s office complaining of tiredness. The teen was reportedly a picky eater, and blood tests showed he had anemia and low levels of vitamin B12. He was treated with injections of vitamin B12 along with advice on how to improve his diet.
However, by age 15, he developed hearing loss and vision problems, but doctors couldn’t seem to find the cause— results from an MRI and eye exam were normal. Over the next two years, the teen’s vision got progressively worse. When the boy was 17, an eye test showed that his vision was 20/200 in both eyes, the threshold (起始点) for being “legally blind” in the United States.
Further tests showed the teen a developed damage to the optic nerve (视神经). In addition, the ten still had low levels of vitamin B1, along with low levels of selenium (硒) and vitamin D. These deficiencies caused doctors to ask the teen about the foods he ate. “The patient admitted that since elementary school, the only things he ate had been fries, chips, white bread, processed ham slices and sausage,” the authors from the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom wrote in the report.
“This kind of vision loss is potentially reversible (可逆的) if caught early. However, by the time the teen was diagnosed, his vision loss was permanent. What’s more, wearing glasses would not help the teen’s vision, because damage to the optic nerve cannot be corrected with lenses,” said the study lead author Dr. Denize Atan.
1. Why did the teen’s condition get worse?| A．Because his illness couldn’t be treated. | B．Because he kept having a poor diet. |
| C．Because vitamin B12 didn’t work on him. | D．Because he developed damage to his nerves. |
| A．Barriers. | B．Materials. | C．Reasons. | D．Shortages. |
| A．His optic nerve will not be recovered. | B．His problems will be solved well. |
| C．He is advised to take in more vitamins. | D．Wearing glasses can improve his vision. |
| A．A Poor Diet Can Cause Poor Vision | B．Vitamin B12 Is Important to Vision |
| C．Unhealthy Food Causes Cancer | D．Doctors’ Advice Is Helpful to People |
3 . As a boy, I was a little ashamed of my hometown. Visitors almost always made unfriendly: remarks about the distinct smell as they approached the town. However, since I am now working in the tourism industry, I have realized the significance of that smell to the town and even to the world. This is where the Canadian oil industry originated, growing from oil springs to a local miracle in Petrolia.
The “black gold” those first pioneer drillers pumped (用泵输送) out of the ground in the 1860s was the foundation on which our little town was built. In the 1880s, with a population of 5, 000, Petrolia was one of the richest towns in Canada, all because of the foul-smelling substance extracted (提取) from the ground.
Many amazing stories about these great people have been written. Those adventurous individuals brought their hard-earned industry skills to the far corners of the globe, and assisted in the development of major oil fields around the world. Past richness can be seen through out the town There is a story hidden behind each street.
A few historical industrial buildings also remain complete, as they’ve been preserved for a century. Fairbank Heavy Hardware and the Oil Well Supply Company continue to provide the tools and materials required to serve many oil wells in the area that are still pumping and producing the: precious goods. These are just a few of the amazing structures built in a time of wealth and glory.
The present atmosphere of the town is inviting and enthusiastic. Walking tours, a variety of restaurants, unique stores and professional summer theatres and special events throughout the year make it a popular destination for many people.
No longer ashamed, I now smile with pride when I think of my hometown. As our new slogan states, “You’ll Be Surprised!”
1. What does the author probably do?| A．A teacher. | B．A guide. | C．An engineer | D．A policeman. |
| A．There are oil fields in it. | B．There is a famous spring in it. |
| C．Its smell attracts visitors. | D．It is hated by many people. |
| A．To prove the two companies’ richness. |
| B．To show the contribution of the oilmen. |
| C．To tell us the adventurous stories of the drillers. |
| D．To introduce the historical evolution of the town. |
| A．His love for work. | B．Local people’s help. |
| C．The town’s development. | D．The world’s change. |
4 . The Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 closed on February 20. Let’s take a look at these Chinese elements through the designs and the ingenious ideas behind them.
Medals
The front side of the Winter Olympic medals was based on the ancient Chinese jade concentric circle pendants, with five rings representing “the unity of heaven and earth and the unity of people’s hearts”. The reverse side of the medals was inspired from a piece of Chinese jadeware called “Bi”, a double jade disc with a circular hole in the center. There are 24 dots and arcs engraved on the rings of the back side, which carries the wish that athletes achieve excellence and shine like stars at the Games.
Emblem
The Beijing 2022 emblem combines traditional and modern elements of Chinese culture, and embodies the passion and vitality of winter sports. Inspired by the Chinese character “Dong (冬)” for “winter”, the upper part of the emblem resembles a skater and its lower part a skier. It also indicates that the Games coincide with the celebrations of the Chinese New Year. The blue color in the emblem represents dreams, the future and the purity of ice and snow, while red and yellow— the colors of China’s national flag-present passion, youth and vitality.
Mascots
Bing Dwen Dwen (冰墩墩) the cute mascot of the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, captures attention with the panda’s full-body “shell” made out of ice. The inspiration came from traditional Chinese snack “ice-sugar gourd” (tanghulu) , while the shell also resembles a space suit— embracing new technologies for a future of infinite possibilities, “Bing” is the Chinese character for ice, which symbolizes purity and toughness, in line with the spirit of the Olympics. Dwen Dwen is a common nickname in China for children that suggests health and ingenuity.
Uniforms
The Chinese delegation wore a set of long cashmere coats with beige for the male team and the traditional red for the female team, with woolen hats that matched their coats. Some athletes also wore red caps with beige coats. They all wore white boots. Their scarves’ were in the color of China’s national flag, with the Chinese character for “China” woven in yellow on the red background. The color red highlights the warm and festive atmosphere and shows the hospitality of the Chinese people.
1. Where was the inspiration of the reverse side of the medals from?| A．From traditional Chinese snacks. | B．From a piece of Chinese jadeware. |
| C．From a bronze lamp. | D．From Chinese characters. |
| A．It represents health and ingenuity. |
| B．It represents passion, youth and vitality. |
| C．It represents dreams, the future and the purity of ice and snow. |
| D．It represents the unity of heaven and earth and the unity of people’s hearts |
| A．Medals. | B．Emblem. | C．Mascots. | D．Uniforms |
5 . Poaching (偷猎) and habitat loss have threatened Africa’s two species of elephants, taking them closer toward the edge of disappearance, according to a new report released by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) .
Before this update, Africa’s elephants were grouped together and were evaluated as vulnerable (易受伤害的) by the IUCN. This is the first time the two species have been sorted separately. In the past, elephants were mostly considered as either Asian elephants or African elephants. Forest and savanna elephants (稀树草原象) were typically classified as subspecies of African elephants.
The African forest elephant is now listed as critically endangered and the African savanna elephant as endangered. The number of African forest elephants fell by more than 86% over a 31-year assessment period. The population of African savanna elephants dropped by at least 60% over the last 50 years, according to the IUCN, which tracks the assessment risk of the world’s animals. Africa currently has an estimated 415, 000 elephants, counting the two species together.
Both elephant species experienced significant population decreases because of poaching. Although it peaked in 2011, illegal hunting still happens and continues to threaten elephant populations. African elephants also face continued habitat loss as their land is transformed for agriculture or other uses.
There is some good conservation news, the IUCN points out. Anti-poaching measures, combined with better land use planning to support better human-wildlife relationships, have helped conservation efforts. Some forest elephant population figures have stabilized in well-managed areas in Gabon and the Republic of Congo and savanna population figures have remained stable or have been growing, particularly in the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area in southern Africa.
But with constant demand for ivory and increasing human pressures on Africa’s wild lands concern for Africa’s elephants is high, and the need to creatively conserve and wisely manage these animals and their habitats is more severe than ever.
1. What can be inferred from the new report about African elephants?| A．They are dying out. | B．They are divided into three kinds. |
| C．Their threat is only from poaching. | D．Their population has grown in Africa. |
| A．The detailed number of African elephants. | B．The similarities of African elephants. |
| C．The different types of African elephants. | D．The present situation of African elephants. |
| A．Hopeless. | B．Optimistic. | C．Worried. | D．Uncertain. |
| A．a general nature text | B．a chemistry textbook |
| C．a travel journal | D．a book review |
6 . Some of my earliest memories involve sitting with my dad in his study every night when he came home from the office. I’d watch as he put his personal items away: his watch, wallet, comb and car keys. They would always occupy the same spot on the table every time.
Dad’s comb was jade green. I heard he bought it when he married Mum. Every night, he would smile, hand me the comb and say, “Be a good girl and help Daddy clean it, OK?”
I was more than happy to do it. At age five, this kind of task brought me such joy. I would excitedly turn the tap on, and then brush the comb with a used toothbrush as hard as I could. Satisfied that I’d done a good job, I would proudly return the comb to Dad. He would smile at me, and place the comb on top of his wallet.
About two years later, Dad left his sales job and started his own wholesale business. I started primary school. That was when things started to change. Dad’s business wasn’t doing so well, and our stable life started getting shaky. He didn’t come home as much as he used to. And when he did come home, it was always late and I’d already be in bed. I started to get mad. Why didn’t he listen to Mum and just stick to his old job? Why take the risk and place the whole family in trouble? Over the years, I stopped waiting for him to come home, and stopped going downstairs to check on him.
Now 28, I’ve graduated from college and got a job. Dad’s business has also started to get back on track. Yet the uncomfortable silence between Dad and me went on.
Two days before my birthday last year, Dad came home early. On that evening, I helped him carry his bags into his study as usual. When I turned to leave, he asked me to clean his comb. I looked at him for a while, then took the comb and headed to the sink.
It was a new comb. This one was brown. I hadn’t noticed that he’d changed it. After cleaning it, I passed it back to Dad. He looked at it and smiled. But this time, I noticed something different. My dad had aged. He had wrinkles next to his eyes when he smiled, yet his smile was still as heartwarming as before.
1. From the first three paragraphs, we can learn .| A．the earliest memories with Dad were full of joy |
| B．the precious green comb of Dad was made of jade |
| C．the author was unwilling to clean the comb for Dad |
| D．the author would study together with Dad every evening |
| A．That he was eager to get everything on track. | B．That he wanted to keep his family life stable. |
| C．That he was laid off and had to make a living. | D．That he hoped to earn a better life for the family. |
| A．cheerful→ mad→ warm. | B．mad → satisfied → warm. |
| C．satisfied → worried → angry. | D．warm → concerned → uncomfortable. |
| A．A Comb of Jade Green | B．Dad’s Wholesale Business |
| C．Evenings with My Dad | D．My Earliest Memories with Dad |
7 . Have you ever been really hungry, but there wasn’t much to eat in your kitchen? Did you throw together a bunch of stuff you had on hand and were pleasantly surprised when it tasted good? You aren’t alone. Some of our favorite foods were created by accident. Here’s a sample menu of some familiar foods that would never have happened if someone hadn’t created them by mistake.
POTATO CHIPS
One of the world’s favorite snacks is the result of a complaint. In 1853, a man was eating dinner at Moon’s Lake House in Saratoga Springs, New York. He ordered fried potatoes, a popular side dish. But when they came out of the kitchen, he didn’t think they were crispy enough. He sent them back to the kitchen, where Chef George Crum was so angry at having his cooking criticized that he sliced the potatoes really thin, put lots of salt on them, and fried them. Not only did the diner love them, but everyone else did, too. They soon became a specialty of the restaurant.
TOFU
Tofu, or bean curd, is made by curdling (使凝结) fresh soya milk, pressing it into a solid block, and then cooling it. Tofu was accidentally invented in China 2,000 years ago, when a cook added seaweed to soya milk, which made it curdle. This is the same process that is used for making cheese. Like cheese, tofu is a great example of how really messing up a recipe can create something unexpectedly good.
CHEESE PUFFS
Did you ever wonder who thought up cheese puffs? The company that invented them wasn’t even trying to make food for people. It was trying to make animal feed. In the 1930s, the Flakall Company of Wisconsin made animal food from small, flaked pieces of grain. One day, an employee, Edward Wilson, watched workers pouring cornmeal (谷粉) into the flaking machine, wetting it to keep it from clogging (堵塞). Because the machine was very hot, the wet cornmeal came out of it in puffy ribbons that hardened when they hit the air. Wilson took some of the ribbons home, added oil and flavoring to them, and voila! Cheese puffs!
1. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?| A．Seaweed is also used for making cheese. |
| B．Chef George Crum didn’t like to criticize others’ cooking. |
| C．Cold wet cornmeal hardened when they hit the air. |
| D．Bean curd dates back 2000 years in China . |
| A．They are the results of complaints. |
| B．They were not created on purpose. |
| C．They weren’t originally made for people. |
| D．They are all popular throughout the world. |
| A．To compare the features of some foods. |
| B．To inform readers of some foods. |
| C．To recommend some foods . |
| D．To introduce the origins of some foods. |
8 . Maybe you’ve heard the saying. “A bird with a broken wing will never fly as high.” I’m sure that T. J. Ware was made to feel this way almost every day in school.
By high school, T. J. was the most celebrated troublemaker in his town. I met him for the first time at a weekend leadership retreat (活动). All the students at school had been invited to
At the start of the retreat, T. J. was
By the end of the retreat, he had
When T. J.
Two weeks later, T. J. and his friends led a group of 70 students in a drive to collect
T. J. reminds us that a bird with a
| A．manage | B．finish | C．provide | D．attend |
| A．involved | B．trapped | C．lost | D．fitted |
| A．still | B．already | C．just | D．also |
| A．formally | B．willingly | C．proudly | D．officially |
| A．forced | B．pushed | C．called | D．drew |
| A．welcomed | B．refused | C．added | D．ignored |
| A．director | B．trainer | C．leader | D．speaker |
| A．improved | B．joined | C．found | D．contacted |
| A．ordered | B．awarded | C．offered | D．made |
| A．showed up | B．set out | C．looked around | D．worked out |
| A．talking | B．reporting | C．protesting | D．replying |
| A．drive | B．journey | C．problem | D．process |
| A．strong | B．skilled | C．incapable | D．disabled |
| A．criticized | B．reminded | C．warned | D．demanded |
| A．change | B．reaction | C．communication | D．understanding |
| A．medicine | B．water | C．food | D．garbage |
| A．target | B．data | C．meal | D．record |
| A．accident | B．event | C．issue | D．topic |
| A．interview | B．story | C．headline | D．copy |
| A．short | B．narrow | C．beautiful | D．broken |
9 . Friday night lights are good for the game, but they may be bad for biodiversity.
According to a study published Friday in the journal Animal Conservation, bright stadium lighting could affect the feeding habits of bats. Insects swarm (涌往) to these lights in large numbers, creating a competitive advantage for bat species who aren’t afraid of humans and human structures. This could impact local ecosystems and reduce biodiversity.
For most humans, there simply isn’t enough daylight hours—we have been developing new ways to light the night since we first controlled and used fire. But researchers say our need for continuous visibility can have serious consequences for neighboring species.
Light pollution has been linked to some ecosystem damage. Baby turtles, for example, naturally use the light of the moon to travel towards the open ocean. But constant and poorly designed artificial lighting can affect their sense of direction, obviously disturbing their life cycles.
“Increasing light pollution is a major feature of global change that’s caused by humans, and it is a potential threat to biodiversity,” co-author M. Corrie Schoeman said in a press release.
Dr Schoeman, a professor of biology at the University of Kwazulu-Natal, conducted field experiments to determine how stadium lighting affected bat behaviors. He found that “urban exploiter” bats were drawn to hunt near bright lights, while “urban avoider” bats were not. Exploiter species are able to take advantage of human resources, such as artificial light. Avoider species, by comparison, tend to avoid humans and human structures.
But it’s hardly survival of the fittest. This man-made, ecological scale-tipping could result in the decline or loss of avoider species. And that, in turn, could threaten the balance of local ecosystems.
Luckily, light pollution is considered an “easy fix” compared to other forms of pollution. Smart lighting design— hooded (带罩的) streetlamps，motion-sensitive residential lights (触控住宅用灯), and better controls to remove unnecessary brightness—can obviously reduce light pollution. As for stadium lights, earlier games could do a lot of good, both for bats and for our ecosystems as a whole.
1. What does the author want to demonstrate with the example of baby turtles?| A．Turtles are good at using human lights. |
| B．Light pollution has caused ecological damage. |
| C．Artificial lighting can train turtles’ sense of direction. |
| D．Human neighboring species have their own way of lighting. |
| A．They are the fittest of their species. |
| B．They are fond of artificial lighting. |
| C．They always defeat “urban avoider” bats. |
| D．They break the balance of their species. |
| A．How to reduce light pollution. | B．How to improve stadium lights. |
| C．How to balance the ecosystem. | D．How to recognize unnecessary brightness. |
| A．Evolution of Bats | B．Competition Among Bats |
| C．Stadium Lights Change Bat Behavior | D．The Number of Bats Are Decreasing |
10 . Common phrases like “no pains, no gains” give the impression that we ought to be suffering while we study. It’s almost as though the only way to know if we’re putting in enough work is the sense of hardship we bear.
When we haven’t taken the time to come up with another strategy, all we know how to do is shut ourselves in a room with a book. It’s no surprise that we find revision boring and difficult. Just as children learn from playing, we can learn from doing, or at least from study techniques that engage us, rather than make us switch off.
Shutting yourself away can make you learn to hate studying. This leads to a situation where instead of being able to concentrate on your work, you obsess about (唠叨)how unfair it is that you must study. When you feel bitter about your work it’s very difficult to make yourself start, or approach it with enthusiasm. This can be part of a vicious cycle (恶性循环) that traps you into ineffective revision, your poor progress fuelling further bitterness. Just being around other people really helps fight against feelings of loneliness and, thankfully, it’s perfectly possible to work in the company of other people. We just need to learn how to deal with distractions.
It’s not necessary to avoid all company, just idle (懒散的) company. Studying in the same room with someone who is ironing or working out is perfectly possible. People who are bored and looking to be distracted, however, are terrible to work around. They constantly try to keep others in conversation. It’s also a good idea to avoid the company of people engaged in activities that you would rather be doing than studying. Working while sitting next to someone playing video games is much more likely to end with a new high score than a productive few hours of revision. If being around others means working in a noisy environment, a pair of headphones and some background music can block out noises. They also act as a psychological barrier, so that people think twice before interrupting you.
When you’re studying for a big exam, it seems like your whole life is taken up with study. Being in the same room with friends and family can lessen feelings of isolation (孤立). Also connecting with other people makes us happy, so it’s important not to give that up and to make sure that we take the time to socialize.
1. What is the author’s attitude to the saying “no pains, no gains”?| A．Serious. | B．Positive | C．Negative | D．Uncaring. |
| A．Give indication of not wanting to be interrupted. |
| B．Give up others’ company at once. |
| C．Think twice before taking any action. |
| D．Force yourself to be accustomed to the environment. |
| A．Ways to deal with distractions. |
| B．How to choose a perfect place to study. |
| C．Learning problems students are faced with. |
| D．How to focus mind on study. |
| A．To encourage students to work hard. |
| B．To introduce effective learning strategies |
| C．To remind students to balance study and play. |
| D．To advise students study in the company of others. |
