1 . Research has shown that two-thirds of human conversation is taken up not with discussion of the cultural or political problems of the day, not heated debates about films we’ve just watched or books we’ve just finished reading, but plain and simple _________.

Language is our greatest treasure as a species, and what do we _________ do with it? We gossip. About others’ behaviour and private lives, such as who’s doing what with whom, who’s in and who’s out—and why; how to deal with difficult _________ situations involving children, lovers, and colleagues.

So why are we keen on gossiping? Are we just natural _________, of both time and words? Or do we talk a lot about nothing in particular simply to avoid facing up to the really important issues of life? It’s not the case according to Professor Robin Dunbar. In fact, in his latest book, Grooming, Gossip and the Evolution of Language, the psychologist says gossip is one of these really _________ issues.

Dunbar _________ the traditional view that language was developed by the men at the early stage of social development in order to organize their manly hunting activities more effectively, or even to promote the exchange of poetic stories about their origins and the supernatural. Instead he suggests that language evolved among women. We don’t spend two-thirds of our time gossiping just because we can talk, argues Dunbar—_________, he goes on to say, language evolved specifically to allow us to gossip.

Dunbar arrived at his cheery theory by studying the _________ of the higher primates(灵长类动物) like monkeys. By means of grooming—cleaning the fur by brushing it, monkeys form groups with other individuals on whom they can rely for support in the event of some kind of conflict within the group or _________ from outside it.

As we human beings evolve from a particular branch of the primate family, Dunbar __________ that at one time in our history we did much the same. Grouping together made sense because the bigger the group, the greater the __________ it provided; on the other hand, the bigger the group, the greater the stresses of living close to others. Grooming helped to __________ the pressure and calm everybody down.

But as the groups got bigger and bigger, the amount of time spent in grooming activities also had to be __________ to maintain its effectiveness. Clearly, a more __________ kind of grooming was needed, and thus language evolved as a kind of vocal grooming which allowed humans to develop relationship with ever-larger groups by exchanging information over a wider network of individuals than would be possible by one-to-one __________ contact.

1.

A．gesture

B．gossip

C．description

D．recognition

2.

A．occasionally

B．habitually

C．discreetly

D．originally

3.

A．historical

B．natural

C．social

D．cultural

4.

A．wasters

B．users

C．masters

D．owners

5.

A．witty

B．vivid

C．vital

D．worthless

6.

A．supposes

B．rejects

C．highlights

D．outlines

7.

A．on the contrary

B．for instance

C．in addition

D．as a result

8.

A．comprehension

B．appearance

C．motivation

D．behaviour

9.

A．contact

B．attack

C．assistance

D．trick

10.

A．concludes

B．recalls

C．requires

D．confesses

11.

A．protection

B．prospect

C．responsibility

D．promise

12.

A．echo

B．blame

C．ease

D．preserve

13.

A．established

B．extended

C．earned

D．consumed

14.

A．efficient

B．scientific

C．considerate

D．common

15.

A．regular

B．independent

C．widespread

D．physical

2 . Shipping containers are gaining popularity as an alternative to traditional houses. These 20-or 40-foot containers can be obtained for as little as several hundred US dollars a piece, and it’s not surprising that some industry professionals and even city planners consider them the future of home building. Below are details of some amazing homes made out of shipping containers.

London Container City (I and II)

London’s Container City first sprang up in the heart of the docklands in 2001. It took just five months to complete the original 12 work studios. Shortly after that, a fourth floor of studios and living apartments was built on top of these. The first container city was so successful that another—Container City II—was added to it.

Los Angeles Redondo Beach house

With its modern lines and appealing spaces, the award-winning Redondo Beach House is a luxury beachside showpiece built from eight recycled steel shipping containers, along with some traditional building materials. According to the architects, the modified containers are “nearly indestructible”.

Amsterdam Keetwonen

Amsterdam’s massive Keetwonen complex houses 1,000 students and it is the largest container city in the world. The housing project is a roaring success and features units that are quiet and comfortable. Each resident enjoys a bathroom, a kitchen and separate sleeping and studying quarters. The complex even has central heating and high-speed internet as well as areas for parking bikes.

Mexico M2ATK Container House

M2ATK designed this unique container house for an artist. It’s fully equipped with heating and cooling, a kitchen and bathroom. On the bottom floor of the house are “public spaces” such as the kitchen and living room. The second floor are bedrooms, and the top floor is a studio space in which to work, read and “let fly the imagination”.

1. Compared to traditional houses, container houses are________.

A．easier to maintain	B．less expensive to build
C．more comfortable to live in	D．more fashionable in style

2. What can be learned about Amsterdam’s Keetwonen complex?

A．It is the first container city in the world.	B．It’s equipped with modern facilities.
C．It features a luxury and unique style.	D．It includes living space and car parks.

3. An architect is designing a container house for a family consisting of a married couple and their five school-age children in Canada. The family requires both public spaces and separate quarters. Which container home can the architect refer to?

A．London Container City (I and II)	B．Los Angeles Redondo Beach house
C．Amsterdam Keetwonen	D．Mexico M2ATK Container House

4 . In the idealized version of how science is done, facts about the world are waiting to be observed and collected by objective researchers who use the scientific method to carry out their work. But in the everyday practice of science, discovery frequently follows an unclear and complicated route. We aim to be objective, but we cannot escape the context of our unique life experience. Prior knowledge and interest influence what we experience. Opportunities for misinterpretation are everywhere.

Consequently, discovery claims should be thought of as early forms of science and are full of potential. But it takes collective inspection and acceptance to transform a discovery claim into a mature discovery. This is the credibility process, through which the individual researcher’s me, here, now becomes the community’s anyone, anywhere, anytime. Objective knowledge is the goal, not the starting point.

Once a discovery claim becomes public, the discoverer receives intellectual credit. But the community takes control of what happens next. Within the complex social structure of the scientific community, researchers make discoveries; editors and reviewers act as gatekeepers by controlling the publication process; other scientists use the new finding to suit their own purposes; and finally, the public (including other scientists) receives the new discovery and possibly accompanying technology. As a discovery claim works it through the community, the interaction and battle between shared and competing beliefs about the science and the technology involved transforms an individual’s discovery claim into the community’s credible discovery.

Two problems exist throughout this credibility process. First, scientific work tends to focus on some aspect of current knowledge that is viewed as incomplete or incorrect. Little reward accompanies repetition and confirmation of what is already known and believed. The goal is new-search, not re-search. Not surprisingly, newly published discovery claims and credible discoveries that appear to be important and convincing will always be open to challenge and potential modification or contradiction by future researchers. Second, novelty itself frequently provokes disbelief. Nobel Laureate and physiologist Albert Azent-Gyorgyi once described discovery as “seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.” But thinking what nobody else has thought and telling others what they have missed may not change their views. Sometimes years are required for truly novel discovery claims to be accepted and appreciated.

In the end, credibility “happens” to a discovery claim — a process that corresponds to what philosopher Annette Baier has described as the commons of the mind. “We reason together, challenge, revise, and complete each other’s reasoning and each other’s conceptions of reason.”

1. According to the first paragraph, the process of discovery is characterized by its ________.

A．uncertainty and complexity	B．misconception and falsehood
C．logicality and objectivity	D．systematicness and regularity

2. It can be inferred from Paragraph 2 that credibility process requires ________.

A．strict inspection

B．shared efforts

C．individual wisdom

D．persistent innovation

3. Albert Szent-Gyorgyi would most likely agree that ________.

A．scientific claims will survive challenges	B．discoveries today inspire future research
C．efforts to make discoveries are justified	D．scientific work calls for a critical mind

4. Which of the following would be the best title of the test?

A．Novelty as an Engine of Scientific Discovery	B．Collective Inspection in Scientific Discovery
C．Evolution of Credibility in Doing Science	D．Challenge to Credibility at the Gate to Science

5 . Is It Worth Buying Organic Food?

Organic food, grown without artificial chemicals, is increasingly popular nowadays. Consumers have been willing to pay up to twice as much for goods with organic labels (标签). However, if you think paying a little more for organic food gets you a more nutritious (有营养的) and safer product, you might want to save your money. A study led by researchers at Stanford University says that organic products aren’t necessarily more nutritious, and they’re no less likely to suffer from disease-causing bacteria, either.

The latest results, published in the Annuals of Internal Medicine, suggest that buyers may be wasting their money. “We did not find strong evidence that organic food is more nutritious or healthier,” says Dr. Crystal Smith-Spangler from Stanford. “So consumers shouldn’t assume that one type of food has a lower risk or is safer.”

For their new study, Smith-Spangler and her colleagues conducted a review of two categories of research, including 17 studies that compared health outcomes between consumers of organic against traditional food products, and 223 studies that analyzed the nutritional content of the foods, including key vitamins, minerals and fats.

While the researchers found little difference in nutritional content, they did find that organic fruit and vegetables were 20% less likely to have chemicals remaining on the surfaces. Neither organic nor traditional foods showed levels of chemicals high enough to go beyond food safety standards. And both organic and traditional meats, such as chicken and pork, were equally likely to be harmed by bacteria at very low rates. The researchers did find that organic milk and chicken contained higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids, a healthy fat also found in fish that can reduce the risk of heart disease. However, these nutritional differences were too small, and the researchers were unwilling to make much of them until further studies confirm the trends.

Organic food is produced with fewer chemicals and more natural-growing practices, but that doesn’t always translate into a more nutritious or healthier product. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) states that “Whether you buy organic or not, finding the freshest foods available may have the biggest effect on taste.” Fresh food is at least as good as anything marketed as organic.

1. The new research questions whether organic food ________.

A．should replace traditional food

B．has been overpriced by farmers

C．is grown with less harmful chemicals

D．is really more nutritious and healthier

2. Smith Spangler and her colleagues found that ________.

A．organic food could reduce the risk of heart disease

B．traditional food was grown with more natural methods

C．both organic and traditional food they examined were safe

D．there was not a presence of any forms of bacteria in organic food

3. Which of the following is relatively healthier according to the passage?

A．Organic chicken and pork.

B．Organic milk and chicken.

C．Traditional chicken and pork.

D．Traditional fruit and vegetables.

4. What is the author’s attitude toward organic food?

A．Doubtful.

B．Positive.

C．Unconcerned.

D．Approving.

7 . When we think about lives filled with meaning, we often focus on people whose grand contributions benefited humanity. Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Nelson Mandela surely felt they had a worthwhile life. But how about us ordinary people, burying ourselves in a(n) ________ existence?

Many scholars ________ a subjectively meaningful life to three factors: the feeling that one’s life makes sense (coherence), the possession of clear and satisfying long-term goals (purpose) and the belief that one’s life matters in the overall scheme of things (________ mattering).

But we believe there is another element to consider. Think about the first butterfly you stop to admire after a long winter. Sometimes existence delivers us small moments of beauty. When people are ________ to appreciating such experiences, these moments may enhance how they view their life. We call this element experiential appreciation, which represents the detection of and ________ for life’s inherent beauty.

To better understand this form of appreciation, we conducted a series of experiments in which we gave people specific tasks and asked them to report how strongly they ________ statements linked to the factors of meaningful life. In one case, we found that participants who watched an awesome video, such as the BBC documentary Planet Earth, reported having a greater sense of experiential appreciation and meaning in life, compared with participants watching more ________ videos, such as an instructional woodworking video. ________, participants who wrote about a recent experience for which they were ________ had a greater sense of meaning when compared with those who simply wrote about a common place they had ________ last week.

The results confirmed our original theory: people are born with the ability to appreciate beauty, and appreciating small things can make life feel more meaningful. But ________ that insight can be difficult. Our modern, fast-paced, ________ lifestyles fill the day with targets. We attempt to ________ output both at work and at leisure. This focus on future outcomes makes it all too easy to miss what is happening right now. Yet life happens in the present moment. We should slow down, let life surprise us and ________ the significance in the everyday. As former Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru wrote in 1950, “We live in a wonderful world… There are countless adventures that we can have if we ________ them with our eyes open.”

1.

A．adventurous

B．routine

C．active

D．carefree

2.

A．add up

B．back up

C．sum up

D．make up

3.

A．mental

B．physical

C．existential

D．everyday

4.

A．open

B．credited

C．connected

D．close

5.

A．patience

B．admiration

C．responsibility

D．support

6.

A．gave out

B．relied on

C．referred to

D．identified with

7.

A．funny

B．streaming

C．neutral

D．principal

8.

A．Undoubtedly

B．Similarly

C．However

D．Therefore

9.

A．anxious

B．sorry

C．pity

D．grateful

10.

A．visited

B．imagined

C．mentioned

D．researched

11.

A．applying

B．revealing

C．seeking

D．analyzing

12.

A．research-backed

B．tech-driven

C．family-based

D．goal-oriented

13.

A．correct

B．maximize

C．avoid

D．reduce

14.

A．modify

B．embrace

C．assess

D．state

15.

A．seek

B．transform

C．display

D．stretch

8 . At ten o’clock on the morning of May 25, 2009, Nasir Uddin was standing outside his mud house. He noticed that the river next to his house was higher than ________. He looked toward the sea. He suddenly saw a huge wall of brown water. It was rushing toward him. Within minutes, the water came into his house. It washed away the mud walls. Uddin and his three young daughters jumped onto the kitchen table. “I was sure we were all dead,” he later said. ________, an empty boat passed by. He managed to put his daughters in the boat. He held on to its side. This Bangladeshi family was ________. They were saved, but hundreds of their neighbors died.

Floods happen when a river or the sea rises and covers dry land. Unfortunately, Bangladesh often experiences floods. This is because the majority of its land is less than 15 feet (5 meters) above sea level. The sea level is rising because of global warming. As it rises, it ________ more land in Bangladesh. In the worst-case scenario, the country may ________ one quarter of its land by the end of the century to the water. This is very serious because millions of people live close to the sea.

Coastal flooding is also very destructive because it ________ the land with salty seawater. The salt ________ in the soil even after the flood is over. When there is too much salt, farmers cannot grow their crops, which is ________ threatening farming communities in Bangladesh. Frequent coastal flooding is destroying farms and crops. As a result, many farmers can no longer farm. Worse still, farmers often have nowhere to go. They cannot move to a new area because Bangladesh is so ________. In fact, it is one of the most packed countries in the world.

Bangladeshis are facing many challenges from flooding. Yet this is a nation of strong people. They are finding solutions. Bangladeshi farmers now grow special rice ________ for salt water. They raise sea food such as shrimp and crab in areas closest to the sea. ________, they have built huge walls of earth. They hope these walls will keep the sea away from their vegetable farms. They have also stored temporary tents to ________ victims and developed an early-warning system. “Let me tell you about Bangladeshis,” says Zakir Kibria, a farming expert. “We may look poor..., but we are not ________. We don’t sit there waiting for help and we always ________ ourselves.”

So, when Uddin lost his home that day, he did what most Bangladeshis do: He rebuilt. This time, however, he built his house out of wood, not mud. He wants his home to ________ the next flood.

1.

A．normal

B．past

C．visible

D．necessary

2.

A．Incredibly

B．Safely

C．Decisively

D．Quietly

3.

A．harmonious

B．fortunate

C．vulnerable

D．outstanding

4.

A．floods

B．transfers

C．employs

D．declines

5.

A．lose

B．contribute

C．involve

D．bring

6.

A．engages

B．addicts

C．combines

D．ruins

7.

A．lives

B．stays

C．extends

D．impresses

8.

A．surprisingly

B．conveniently

C．constantly

D．shortly

9.

A．near-sighted

B．underfed

C．short-handed

D．overcrowded

10.

A．interpreted

B．adapted

C．decoded

D．activated

11.

A．In addition

B．As a result

C．By contrast

D．For instance

12.

A．shelter

B．trap

C．raise

D．cultivate

13.

A．eyewitnesses

B．subjects

C．victims

D．targets

14.

A．count on

B．live up to

C．look into

D．decide on

15.

A．survive

B．guard

C．protest

D．defend