There are several ways of measuring the intelligence of animals. In one test a scientist sets three same cans on a table. While the animal watches, he puts food under one of the cans. Then he leads the animal away. Some time later, he brings it back to see if it remembers which can has the food. No smelling is allowed; the animal must go directly to the correct can or it fails.
This is called a delayed- response text. The idea is to find out how long an animal’s memory can keep information. The scientists would try showing the cans to the animal one hour later, or two hours later, or even a full day later. They discovered that chimpanzees and elephants had the best memory, and were able to remember the correct can for at least twenty hours. No other animal is close. Dogs came next, but they only remembered for nine hours.
To settle the matter, the scientists designed a huge maze (迷宫) and ran the chimps and elephants through it. The maze was very difficult, with many blind paths and dead ends. It took the chimps (chimpanzees) ten minutes to find their way out. The elephants needed half an hour. Even allowing for the elephants’ slower rate of speed, the test shows that chimpanzees are the cleverest animals.
From this and other tests, the scientists drew the following conclusion: an animal’s intelligence depends on the size of its brain in proportion (比例) to the size of its body. The elephant’s brain weighs ten pounds. But this is only 1/600th of its 6,000 pounds body. A chimp’s brain weighs about one pound, or 1/120th of its total body weight. So in proportion to its body size, the chimp has four times as much brain as the elephant----more brain for less body. The chimp is the champ!
1. Which is the best title ?
A.The Elephant’s Memory | B.The Cleverest Animal |
C.Judging Intelligence | D.The Chimp’s Brain |
A.there are several ways of measuring the intelligence of animals |
B.chimps and elephants have the best memory |
C.intelligence tests show that the chimp is the cleverest animal |
D.the scientists designed a huge maze and ran the chimps and elephants through it |
A.eyesight | B.intelligence | C.learning ability | D.memory |
A.never forget things | B.are more clever than chimps |
C.are slower-moving than chimps | D.have better memories than chimps |
________.
A.as clever as a chimp | B.more clever than an elephant |
C.less clever than an elephant | D.as clever as an elephant |
London
London’s flood defences are getting older. Since 1982, the Thames Barrier(水闸)has protected the city from the threat of flooding, but it was only designed to last until 2030 and close once every two or three years. About 26 years later the barrier now closes five or six times a year and according to Environment Agency predictions, by 2050 the barrier will be closed on almost every tide if the problem is not addressed.
There are 26 underground stations, 400 schools, 16 hospitals, an airport and 80 billion worth of property in London’s flood risk area, so large scale flooding would be disastrous.
Paris
Over a six week period in July and August 2003, more than 1 1,400—mainly elderly people—died in France from dehydration(脱水)and extremely high body temperature in a deadly heat wave. Heat waves of similar intensity(强度)are expected every seven years by 2050, so what can be done to make sure such a disaster does not happen again?
One solution is to have air-conditioners installed in elderly care homes. But this is considered a short-term solution, as the increase in demand for electricity also increases carbon emissions(排放).
In Paris the local authorities are encouraging architects to design new types of buildings such as the building “Flower Tower,” which uses a covering of bamboo to act as a natural air-conditioner.
Shanghai
Shanghai is the fastest growing city on Earth. It has a population of 18 million and is only 4 meters above sea level. Sea levels are predicted to rise by 20 cm within the next century.
An estimated 250,000 people move to Shanghai every year in search of work, placing extra demands on energy consumption. China relies heavily on coal—fired power stations, but these emissions increase temperatures and, in turn, warmer seas increase the risk of typhoons.
1. What problem should be settled now in London?
A.How to protect the city’s property |
B.Where to build its flood defences |
C.How to use the Thames Barrier to protect the city |
D.How to improve the function of the old flood defences |
A.Putting up new types of buildings with a covering of bamboo |
B.Having air-conditioners installed in elderly care homes |
C.Forbidding the city to build“Flower Tower” |
D.Encouraging architects to design new types of buildings |
A.increasing population and coal-fired power stations |
B.rising sea levels and typhoons |
C.extremely high temperature and rising sea levels |
D.extra demands on energy consumption and typhoons |
A.to tell us how to protect the big cities |
B.to give advice on how to defend natural disasters |
C.to explain what causes flood and heat waves |
D.to warn us of the increasing natural disasters in big cities |
A.Big Cities Facing Big Disasters |
B.Big Disasters in the Future |
C.The Increase of Natural Disasters |
D.Solutions to Natural Disasters |
However, it wasn’t all sweetness and light. There was a reported coldness between the cat and dog in 25% of the homes, while aggression and fighting were observed in 10% of the homes. One reason for this is probably that some of their body signals were just opposite. For example, when a cat turns its head away it signals aggression, while a dog doing the same signals submission.
In homes with cats and dogs living peacefully, researchers observed a surprising behaviour. They are learning how to talk each other’s language. It is a surprise that cats can learn how to talk ‘Dog’, and dogs can learn how to talk ‘Cat’.
What’s interesting is that both cats and dogs have appeared to develop their intelligence. They can learn how to read each other’s body signals, suggesting that the two may have more in common than we previously suspected. Once familiar with each other’s presence and body language, cats and dogs can play together, greet each other nose to nose, and enjoy sleeping together on the sofa. They can easily share the same water bowl and in some cases groom (梳理) each other.
The significance of the research on cats and dogs may go beyond pets ─ to people who don’t get along, including neighbors, colleagues at work, and even world superpowers. If cats and dogs can learn to get along, surely people have a good chance.
1. The underlined word “swimmingly” in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ________.
A.early | B.sweetly | C.quickly | D.smoothly |
A.they are cold to each other | B.they look away from each other |
C.they misunderstood each other’s signals | D.they are introduced at an early age |
A.They eat and sleep each other. |
B.They observe each other’s behaviors. |
C.They learn to speak each other’s language. |
D.They know something from each other’s voices. |
A.have common interests | B.are less different than was thought |
C.have a common body language | D.are less intelligent than was expected |
A.We should learn to live in harmony. |
B.We should know more about animals. |
C.We should live in peace with animals. |
D.We should learn more body languages. |
The national flag as we know it today is in no way a primitive artifact. It is, rather, the product of thousands of years’ development. Historians believe that it had two major ancestors, of which the earlier served to show wind direction.
Early human beings used very fragile houses and boats. Often strong winds would tear roofs from houses or cause high waves that endangered travelers. People’s food supplies were similarly vulnerable. Even after they had learned how to plant grains, they still needed help from nature to ensure good harvests. Therefore they feared and depended on the power of the wind, which could bring warmth from one direction and cold from another.
Using a simple piece of cloth tied to the top of a post to tell the direction of the wind was more dependable than earlier methods, such as watching the rising of smoke from a fire. The connection of the flag with heavenly power was therefore reasonable. Early human societies began to fix long pieces of cloth to the tops of totems (图腾) before carrying them into battle. They believed that the power of the wind would be added to the good wishes of the gods and ancestors represented by the totems themselves.
These flags developed very slowly into modern flags. The first known flag of a nation or a ruler was unmarked. The king of China around 1000 B.C. was known to have a white flag carried ahead of him. This practice might have been learned from Egyptians even further in the past, but it was from China that it spread over trade routes through India, then across Arab lands, and finally to Europe, where it met up with the other ancestor of the national flag.
1. The best title for the passage would be “________”.
A.Development of the National Flag | B.Power of the National Flag |
C.Types of Flags | D.Uses of Flags |
A.impossible to make sure of | B.likely to be protected |
C.easy to be damaged | D.difficult to find |
A.they could tell direction |
B.they could bring good luck to ancient fighters |
C.they were handed down by the ancestors |
D.they were believed to stand for natural forces |
A.He knows when it was sent to Europe. |
B.He believes it was made in Egypt. |
C.He thinks it came from China. |
D.He doubts where it started. |
A.The role of China in the spread of the national flag. |
B.The second ancestor of the national flag. |
C.The use of modern flags in Europe. |
D.The importance of modern flags |
1. “Cycle lanes in the sky” answer to traffic danger
2. More cyclists are seriously injured on Britain’s roads
3. Share a picture of you and your bike and help us promote the fun and freedom of cycling
4. “Weight of numbers” will bring safe cycling
5. Transport Secretary calls for better road design and training to help cyclists
A.“Better road design and training hold the key to cycle safety”, the new Transport Secretary said today as he pledged to restore Britain’s safety record. Patrick McLoughlin told Conservative Party Conference that while cycling was enjoying a post-Olympics boom, the number of casualties among cyclists was also rising. “But the number of accidents has gone up too. That means it needs better design and better education too.” Mr McLoughlin said in his first speech as Transport Secretary. |
B.Cycling in the UK will become safer through “sheer weight of numbers,” the founder of one of the world’s leading cycle brands has said as he backedThe Times’s Cyclesafe campaign. Simon Mottram, founder and chief executive of Rapha, has added his support to 40 cross-party MPs who have signed a letter urging David Cameron to use his speech at the Conservative Party Conference to promote measures to make the streets safer for cyclists. |
C.Commuters who cycle to work face an increased danger as the casualty toll during peak hours rose by 10 percent last year. The rate at which cyclists were killed or seriously injured rose sharply last year, official figures showed yesterday. |
D.In future decades, Londoners will look back on the way cyclists jostled with buses and lorries on major roads as an absurd anachronism. Some risks are unavoidable. But other risks survive only because we are too slow to embrace bold solutions. That is the message from designers who are proposing an ambitious plan to create cycle lanes suspended above London’s busiest streets. London is one of the most dangerous places in the world for cycling. “SkyCycle” would remedy that problem by attaching dedicated cycle paths to existing railway viaducts. |
E.Money should be apportioned from the funding for major transport projects, such as the new Forth Crossing, to create a pot of cash for cycling, campaigners have told MSPs. Cycle groups have given warning that not enough money is being put into routes and promotion. They want the Scottish government to take a percentage of the funding allocated to key national projects and create an “active transport” fund to be distributed gradually. |
F.We’d like you to tell us why you love cycling by sending a photo of yourself, a family member or friend with their bike and a note about why it is so brilliant. To take part, instagram your photo with the hashtag #ilovemybike or email it to us at 1 We’ll post the best pictures here ilovemybike.tumblr.com. |
“Parents and teachers who catch their children lying should not be alarmed. Their children are not going to turn out to be abnormal liars,” says Dr. Lee, a professor at the University of Toronto and director of the Institute of Child Study. He has spent the last 15 years studying how lying changes as kids get older, why some people lie more than others as well as which factors can reduce lying. The fact that children tell lies is a sign that they have reached a new developmental stage. Dr. Lee conducted a series of studies in which they bring children into a lab with hidden cameras. Children and young adults aged 2 to 17 are likely to lie while being told not to look at a toy, which is put behind the child’s back. Whether or not the child takes a secret look is caught on tape.
For young kids, the desire to cheat is big and 90% take a secret look in these experiments. When the test-giver returns to the room, the child is asked if he or she looked secretly. At age 2, about a quarter of children will lie and say they didn’t. By 3, half of kids will lie, and by 4, that figure is 90%, studies show.
Researchers have found that it’s kids with better understanding abilities who lie more. That’s because to lie you also have to keep the truth in mind, which includes many brain processes, such as combining several sources of information and faking that information. The ability to lie — and lie successfully — is thought to be related to development of brain regions that allow so called “executive functioning”, or higher order thinking and reasoning abilities. Kids who perform better on tests that involve executive functioning also lie more.
1. What’s the purpose of children telling lies?
A.To help their friends out. |
B.To get rid of trouble. |
C.To get attention from others. |
D.To create a popular image. |
A.tell lies | B.handle troubles |
C.raise questions | D.do research |
A.which factors can reduce lying |
B.why some lie more than others |
C.it is normal for kids to tell lies |
D.how lying changes as kids grow |
A.children’s lies are the same as adults’ |
B.the better kids are, the more they lie |
C.the older kids are, the more they lie |
D.kids always keep the truth in their mind |
A.The reasons why kids tell lies. |
B.Which kind of kids tells more lies. |
C.Experiments about lying of young kids. |
D.What to do with lying children. |
The gene comes in two versions, one of which is found in 99 percent of Europeans. The other is found in 93 to 100 percent of Africans, researchers at Pennsylvania State University report in the latest issue of Science.
Scientists have changed the color of a dark-striped zebra-fish(斑马鱼) to uniform gold by inserting a version of the pigment (色素) gene into a young fish. As with humans, zebra-fish skin color is determined by pigment cells, which contain melanin (黑色素). The number, size and darkness of melanin per pigment cell determine skin color.
It appears that, like the golden zebra-fish, light-skinned Europeans also have a mutation (变异) in the gene for melanin production. This results in less pigmented skin.
However, Keith Cheng, leader of the research team, points out that the mutation is different in human and zebra-fish genes.
Humans acquired dark skin in Africa about 1.5 million years ago to protect bodies from ultra-violet rays of the sun (太阳光紫外线), which can cause skin cancer.
But when modern humans leave Africa to live in northern latitudes, they need more sunlight on their skin to produce vitamin D. So the related gene changes, according to Cheng.
Asians have the same version of the gene as Africans, so they probably acquired their light skin through the action of some other gene that affects skin color, said Cheng.
The new discovery could lead to medical treatments for skin cancer. It also could lead to research into ways to change skin color without damaging it like chemical treatment did on Michael Jackson.
1. The passage mainly tells us that ________.
A.people can not change their skin color without any pain |
B.the new discovery could lead to research into ways to change skin color safely |
C.pop king Michael Jackson often changed his skin color as he liked |
D.scientists have found out that people’s skin color is determined by the gene |
A.nowadays people who want to change their skin color have to suffer a lot from the damage causedby the chemical treatment |
B.Europeans and Africans have the same gene |
C.the new discovery could help to find medical treatments for skin cancer |
D.there are two kinds of genes |
A.find the different genes of humans’ |
B.prove the humans’ skin color is determined by the pigment gene |
C.find out the reason why the Africans’ skin color is dark |
D.find out the ways of changing people’s skin color |
A.they are born light-skinned people |
B.light-skinned Europeans have mutation in the gene for melanin production |
C.they have fewer activities outside |
D.they pay much attention to protecting their skin |
A.neutral | B.negative |
C.positive | D.unconcerned |
Al Herpin was 90 years old when the doctors came to his home in New Jersey. They thought for sure that he got some sleep of some kind. So they stayed with him and watched every movement he made. But they were surprised. Though they watched him hour after hour and day after day, they never saw Herpin sleeping. In fact, he did not even own a bed. He never needed one.
The only rest that Herpin sometimes got was sitting in a comfortable chair and reading newspapers. The doctors were puzzled by this strange continuous sleeplessness. They asked him many questions, hoping to find an answer. They found only one answer that might explain his condition. Herpin remembered some talk about his mother having been injured several days before he was born. But that was all. Was this the real reason? No one could be sure.
Al Herpin died at the age of 95.
1. The main idea of this passage is that _______.
A.everyone needs some sleep to stay alive |
B.people can live longer by trying not to sleep |
C.large numbers of people do not need sleep |
D.a person was found who actually didn’t need any sleep |
A.to find out whether his sleeplessness was really true |
B.to find out why some old people didn't need any sleep |
C.to find a way to free people from the need of sleeping |
D.to cure him of his sleeplessness |
A.needed no sleep at all | B.needed some kind of sleep |
C.was too old to need any sleep | D.often slept in a chair |
A.his mother's injury before he was born |
B.his magnificent physical condition |
C.that he had gradually got rid of the sleeping habit |
D.that he hadn’t got a bed |
A.a common one | B.very healthy |
C.one that could be cured | D.a rare one |
9 . A long time ago, in a small house in Scotland, two friends lived together. Their names were John and Bobby.
John and Bobby were not
John and Bobby
Then John developed a(n)
Bobby stayed at the grave site the next day, and the day after another. For the next 14 years, Bobby never left the
A.rich | B.lucky | C.beautiful | D.funny |
A.and | B.or | C.but | D.so |
A.lonely | B.alone | C.worried | D.separate |
A.failed | B.competed | C.imagined | D.liked |
A.work | B.rest | C.run | D.walk |
A.sang | B.talked | C.sat | D.studied |
A.hard | B.sad | C.easy | D.simple |
A.serious | B.unhealthy | C.big | D.sick |
A.put | B.escaped | C.stored | D.buried |
A.friends | B.children | C.parents | D.brothers |
A.got up | B.turned down | C.sat down | D.put up |
A.garage | B.grave | C.home | D.town |
A.cool | B.warm | C.wet | D.rainy |
A.Luckily | B.Quickly | C.Finally | D.Interestingly |
A.large | B.small | C.firm | D.weak |