1 . As Frans de Waal, a primatologist (灵长动物学家), recognizes, a better way to think about other creatures would be to ask ourselves how different species have developed different kinds of minds to solve different adaptive problems. Surely the important question is not whether animals can do the same things humans can, but how those animals solve the cognitive (认知的) problems they face, like how to imitate the sea floor. Children and some animals are so interesting not because they are smart like us, but because they are smart in ways we haven’t even considered.

Sometimes studying children’s ways of knowing can cast light on adult-human cognition. Children’s pretend play may help us understand our adult taste for fiction. De Waal’s research provides another interesting example. We human beings tend to think that our social relationships are rooted in our perceptions, beliefs, and desires, and our understanding of the perceptions, beliefs, and desires of others — what psychologists call our “theory of mind.” In the 80s and 90s, developmental psychologists showed that pre-schoolers and even infants understand minds apart from their own. But it was hard to show that other animals did the same. “Theory of mind” became a candidate for the special, uniquely human trick.

Yet de Waal’s studies show that chimps (黑猩猩) possess a remarkably developed political intelligence — they are much interested in figuring out social relationships. It turns out, as de Waal describes, that chimps do infer something about what other chimps see. But experimental studies also suggest that this happens only in a competitive political context. The evolutionary anthropologist (人类学家) Brain Hare and his colleagues gave a junior chimp a choice between pieces of food that a dominant chimp had seen hidden and other pieces it had not seen hidden. The junior chimp, who watched all the hiding, stayed away from the food the dominant chimp had seen, but took the food it hadn’t seen.

Anyone who has gone to an academic conference will recognize that we may be in the same situation. We may say that we sign up because we’re eager to find out what other human beings think, but we’re just as interested in who’s on top. Many of the political judgments we make there don’t have much to do with our theory of mind. We may show our respect to a famous professor even if we have no respect for his ideas.

Until recently, however, there wasn’t much research into how humans develop and employ this kind of political knowledge. It may be that we understand the social world in terms of dominance, like chimps, but we’re just not usually as politically motivated as they are. Instead of asking whether we have a better everyday theory of mind, we might wonder whether they have a better everyday theory of politics.

1. According to the first paragraph, which of the following shows that an animal is smart?

A．It can behave like a human kid.

B．It can imitate what human beings do.

C．It can find a solution to its own problem.

D．It can figure out those adaptive problems.

2. Which of the following statements best illustrates our “theory of mind”?

A．We talk with infants in a way that they can fully understand.

B．We make guesses at what others think while interacting with them.

C．We hide our emotions when we try establishing contact with a stranger.

D．We try to understand how kids’ pretend play affects our taste for fiction.

3. What can be inferred from the passage?

A．Neither human nor animals display their preference for dominance.

B．Animals living in a competitive political context are smarter.

C．Both humans and some animals have political intelligence.

D．Humans are more interested in who’s on top than animals.

4. By the underlined sentence in the last paragraph, the writer means that ________.

A．we know little about how chimps are politically motivated

B．our political knowledge doesn’t always determine how we behave

C．our theory of mind might enable us to understand our theory of politics

D．more research should be conducted to understand animals’ social world

2 . The world’s forests may hold more secrets than previously thought: a new global estimate of tree biodiversity suggests that there are about 9,200 tree species remaining undocumented. Most are likely in the tropics, according to the new research.

The new research drew on the efforts of hundreds of contributors, who have categorized trees in two huge data sets: One, the Global Forest Biodiversity Initiative, records every species found in extensively documented forest plots worldwide. The other, TREECHANGE, puts together sightings of individual species. Together they suggest there are approximately 64,100 recorded tree species on the planet — up from previous estimates of around 60,000.

The researchers reached their estimate of an additional 9,200 yet undocumented species on the basis of the number of rare ones already in the databases. Most unknown species are likely to be defined as rare, found in limited numbers in small geographical areas, says the quantitative forest ecologist Jingjing Liang. The team’s result is “a rather conservative estimate,” Liang says, “because scientists know less about the preponderance of uncommon trees in places such as the Amazon, where out-of-the-way spots could host pockets of unusual species found nowhere else.” “If we can focus the resources on those rain forests in the Amazon,” Liang adds, “then we would be able to estimate it with higher confidence.”

Silman, a conservation biologist, who was not involved in the new study agrees that the study result is likely an underestimate. His and his colleagues’ local surveys suggest there are at least 3,000 and possibly more than 6,000 unknown tree species in the Amazon basin alone. Tree species often get grouped together based on appearance, he notes, so new genetic analysis techniques will likely lead to the discovery of even more biodiversity. Sliman wonders how many species will go extinct before scientists describe them. “How many are already known to native peoples in the Amazon — or were known to peoples or cultures who have themselves been made extinct through colonization, disease, or absorption? How many “species” already have dried samples sitting in a cabinet?” he says.

Searching for the new species will inform not only conservation but the basic evolutionary science of how and why species diversify and die out, Silman says. “Just the fact that there are thousands of species of something as common as trees out there that are still left to be discovered,” he adds, “I find pretty inspirational.”

1. What is the finding of the new research?

A．About nine thousand new tree species have been identified.

B．Thousands of tree species remain unknown to science.

C．Maintaining tree diversity has become a global challenge.

D．Human activities have led to the reduced number of trees.

2. What can be learned about the research method?

A．The researchers adopted quality method to analyze data.

B．The researchers did extensive field study in out-of-the-way spots.

C．Inferring from the existing dada is the main research method.

D．Doing surveys and interviews is the main research method.

3. What does the underlined word “preponderance” in paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．majority

B．evolution

C．cultivation

D．capability

4. According to Silman, one of the reasons for the underestimate of the tree species may be that ________.

A．genetic analysis technique failed to produce accurate information

B．trees of similar sizes in the Amazon basin are grouped together

C．too many rare trees were made into dried samples before being documented

D．the local peoples or the local cultures are not fully aware of the tree species.

3 . ①What does it say about the future of meat when the country’s largest processor of chicken, pork, and beef buys a stake (股份) in a start-up that aims to “perfectly replace animal protein with plant protein”?

②Tyson Foods announced this week that it purchased a 5 percent stake in Beyond Meat, the Southern California-based food-tech start-up that made headlines earlier this year with its veggie burger that reportedly cooks and tastes like real beef.

③To be sure, Beyond Meat’s meatless creations have yet to take the country by storm. Although the 100 percent plant-based burgers have achieved plenty of positive press since they appeared for the first time in May, so far they’re only available at Whole Foods stores in seven states. Even though the company’s “chicken” strips, “beef” pies, and meatless frozen dinners are available nationwide, Beyond Meat is hardly a household name.

④That may be what makes the news of Tyson’s investment all the more noteworthy. While the two companies declined to give details about the deal, it’s doubtful that Tyson’s 5 percent stake made much of dent (凹陷) in the meat giant’s coffers (金库). The company posted $41.4 billion in sales last year; prior to the deal with Tyson, Beyond Meat had reportedly raised $64 million in project capital funding — about what Tyson earns before lunch on any given day.

⑤Tyson is doing pretty great. The company reported record third-quarter earnings per share in August and says that it expects overall meat production to increase 2 to 3 percent during the next financial year. But like a big oil company shelling out cash to invest in wind power, Tyson’s toe-in-the-water move to team up with a start-up devoted to bringing more plant-based protein to American dinner tables seems to suggest the meat industry is starting to see which way the winds are blowing.

⑥Sales of plant-based protein, which totaled an estimated $5 billion last year, continue to pale compared with the market for meat in America — but vegetarian alternatives to meat are booming, with sales growing at more than double the rate for food products overall. The steady drumbeat of news about the negative health impacts, environmental problems, and animal welfare concerns associated with meat consumption appears to be sinking in. According to a survey released in April, more than half of Americans surveyed said they plan to eat more plant-based foods in the coming year.

1. Beyond Meat’s veggie burger made headlines probably because ________.

A．it makes perfect use of animal protein

B．it uses high tech in the making process

C．it tastes as good as a genuine beef burger

D．it represents the diet trend in South California

2. Which of the following statements is TRUE regarding the state of Beyond Meat?

A．It is the creator of the country’s first 100 percent plant-based burgers.

B．It has been well received as its products are available nationwide.

C．It is far from being a match to real food processing giants like Tyson.

D．It provides high-quality dining experience in selected Whole Foods stores.

3. What can we infer from paragraph 4?

A．The purchase of the stake barely costs a thing for Tyson.

B．The 5 percent stake in Beyond Meat means a lot to Tyson.

C．Tyson’s investment hasn’t caught the attention of the media as expected.

D．Tyson is relying on this investment to raise more project capital funding.

4. What does the passage mainly talk about?

A．Meat will still take over the market in spite of other alternatives.

B．A major American meat company is betting on plant-based protein.

C．Tyson and Beyond Meat work together to build a global meat giant.

D．Plants have been found to contain protein that does more good to human beings.

7 . Every April I am troubled by the same concern that spring might not occur this year. The landscape looks dull, with hills, sky and forest appearing grey. My spirits ebb, as they did during an April snowfall when I first came to Maine. “Just wait,” a neighbour advised. “You’ll wake up one morning and spring will just be here.”

And look, on 3 May that year I awoke to a green so amazing as to be almost electric, as if spring were simply a matter of flipping a switch. Hills, sky and forest revealed their purples, blues and greens. Leaves had unfolded and daffodils were fighting their way heavenward.

Then there was the old apple tree. It sits on an undeveloped lot in my neighbourhood. It belongs to no one and therefore to everyone. The tree’s dark twisted branches stretch out in unpruned (未经修剪的) abandon. Each spring it blossoms so freely that the air becomes filled with the scent of apple.

Until last year, I thought I was the only one aware of this tree. And then one day, in a bit of spring madness, I set out to remove a few disorderly branches. No sooner had I arrived under the tree than neighbours opened their windows and stepped onto their porches(门廊; 走廊). These were people I barely knew and seldom spoke to, but it was as if I had come uninvited into their personal gardens.

My mobile-home neighbour was the first to speak. “You’re not cutting it down, are you?” she asked anxiously. Another neighbour frowned as I cut off a branch. “Don’t kill it, now,” he warned. Soon half the neighbourhood had joined me under the apple tree. It struck me that I had lived there for five years and only now was learning these people’s names, what they did for a living and how they passed the winter. It was as if the old apple tree was gathering us under its branches for the purpose of both acquaintanceship and shared wonder. I couldn’t help recalling Robert Frost’s words:

The trees that have it in their pent-up buds

To darken nature and be summer woods

One thaw led to another. Just the other day I saw one of my neighbours at the local store. He remarked how this recent winter had been especially long and complained of not having seen or spoken at length to anyone in our neighbourhood. And then, he looked at me and said, “We need to prune that apple tree again.”

1. By saying that “my spirits ebb” in paragraph 1, the author means that _______ .

A．he feels relieved	B．he is tired
C．he is surprised	D．he feels blue

2. The apple tree mentioned in the passage is most likely to _______ .

A．be appealing only to the author

B．have been abandoned by its original owner

C．be regarded as a delight in the neighbourhood

D．have been neglected by everyone in the community

3. According to paragraph 4, why did the neighbours open their windows and step onto their porches?

A．They wanted to get to know the author.

B．They were concerned about the safety of the tree.

C．They wanted to prevent the author from pruning the tree.

D．They were surprised that someone unknown was pruning the tree.

4. It can be inferred that the author’s neighbour mentioned in the last paragraph most cared about _______ .

A．when spring would arrive	B．how to pass the long winter
C．the pruning of the apple tree	D．the neighbourhood gathering

8 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。1.

A．13.

B．31.

C．113.

D．131.

2.

A．More women will win awards than men in the future.

B．Bettozzi is the first woman to win the Nobel Chemistry Prize.

C．Inequality in the Nobel Prize selection process is decreasing.

D．Two Danish scientists have won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry.

3.

A．Nobel’s life story.	B．Three Nobel Chemistry Prize winners.
C．The Nobel Chemistry Prize.	D．The voting process for the Nobel Prize.