Hunters used dogs to help track and kill pandas in China until the country declared
Researchers
There are dogs in panda reserves because there are villagers
In the study
“The Chinese government has vaccinated(给……接种疫苗) the dogs and helped the villagers either remove the dogs or control them all the time. So things are getting much
2 . It has long been known that dogs can learn commands like “sit,” “stay,” or “fetch” and can respond to these words with learned behaviors, often with the help of a treat or two, but uncovering their understanding of nouns has proven more difficult.
To look into the mystery, Boros from Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary and her colleagues, inspired by studies investigating the comprehension of babies before they can speak, decided to mimic (模仿) these experiments with dogs.
They invited 18 dog owners to bring their pets to the lab along with five objects the animals knew well. These included balls, slippers, Frisbees, rubber toys, leads and other items. At the lab, the owners were instructed to say words for objects their dogs already knew. Then, the owners held up either the matching object or a different one while small metal discs harmlessly attached to the dogs’ heads measured brain activity in a process known as electroencephalography (EEG).
Using EEG, the researchers aimed to observe any variances in brain activity when the dog’s owner mentioned a specific object, such as a “ball”, but displayed a different item, like a stick, as opposed to when both the spoken word and the presented object matched. This was indeed the case, with the results being strongest when the object was very familiar to the dog. That’s similar to what researchers have seen in humans and is widely accepted as evidence that they understand the words.
Writing in Current Biology, the scientists say the results “provide the first neural evidence for object word knowledge in a non-human animal”.
But the true extent of the dogs’ comprehension is still unknown, even by the study’s authors, since the dogs were responding to their own toys and objects that the owners brought to the lab.
The researchers are now curious to know if this ability to understand referential language is specific to dogs or might be present in other mammals as well. Either way, they want to learn more about how this ability emerged and whether it depends on dogs’ unique experience of living with people.
1. Which aspect of dogs did Boros’s research focus on?| A．Their speed of learning actions. | B．Their willingness to follow orders. |
| C．Their responses to training treats. | D．Their capacity of understanding nouns. |
| A．The result of human-dog interactions. | B．The process of Boros’s experiment. |
| C．The logic of pattern matching. | D．The theory of EEG analysis. |
| A．pet owners showed more objects than usual |
| B．dogs had a larger vocabulary of object words |
| C．the experiment was conducted in a new environment |
| D．the spoken word and the presented object mismatched |
| A．Conclusions from the experiment. | B．Insights into dogs’ experiences. |
| C．Expectations for future studies. | D．Applications of the discovery. |
1. What is the weather like in the northern state of Alaska in summer?
| A．Cold. | B．Mild. | C．Hot. |
| A．It is the hottest year. |
| B．The average temperature there is 35.5℃. |
| C．The temperature in some cities reached over 39℃. |
| A．17. 8 ℃. | B．35.5℃. | C．49. 6℃. |
| A．He agrees with the woman. |
| B．It will be cold and rainy this autumn. |
| C．Not every autumn is beautiful. |
| A．Animals. | B．Fears. | C．Childhood. |
Dogs are often called “man’s best friend” and make ideal pets.
Furthermore, dogs are strong animals
And
To sum up, dogs are really friendly, civilized (文明的) and loyal
Rain is pouring down today, and it brings back sweet memories of our dog, Bambi.
Like all dogs, she was full
Bambi also had all the fine physical characteristics of the German Shepherd. She was strong, yet gentle and shy. She wouldn’t stop
When Bambi was almost two years old, a full-grown dog, she became quite protective of us, never failing to watch my
Once, our washing machine was broken and a repairman
8 . In school we learned about the Earth. We learned that rivers flow from higher ground to lower ground. They usually end at a bigger river or go into a lake or ocean. I can see that every day in Chicago.
Our river goes into the lake. It’s a giant lake. We used to go fishing on the river every summer. Most days you would find me and my grandfather there, fishing. My father was busy working for the city. I did not know what his job was. He said it was in the Sanitary and Ship Canal.
My grandfather would take me to the river. “In the old days,” he said, “this was a clean stream. Now look at it. It is dirty.” Sometimes we even saw dead fish floating on it.
When we brought the fish home, my mother would throw them out. “We can’t eat this. This is dirty, bad fish.” She sounded angry. So my grandfather and I stopped bringing the fish home. Sometimes we would go to fish and throw them back. But mostly we just stayed at home. We were sad about it.
Then one day my father was so busy that he was not at home. That New Year’s Day he worked, too. My mother was worried, “It is too cold.” But he went anyway.
Then two days later the newspaper said, “It is a miracle!” That was the headline. I read the article. It told how the workers on the Sanitary and Ship Canal had done something impossible. They had changed the Chicago River completely. They dug such a great hole that the river rushed away from the lake. It now went to the west. I was excited. So was my grandfather. He said, “Now we can go fishing this summer.”
We both laughed. So did my mother. My father smiled a lot, all day long.
1. What is the purpose of the first paragraph?| A．To show the miracle of nature. |
| B．To explain the concept of the Earth. |
| C．To introduce the topic of the article. |
| D．To test readers’ knowledge about rivers. |
| A．The fish in the river were all dead. | B．His mother disliked eating fish. |
| C．He wanted to protect the river. | D．The fish were too dirty to eat. |
| A．They saved all the fish in the Chicago River. |
| B．They kept the Chicago River incredibly clean. |
| C．They changed the direction of the Chicago River. |
| D．They dug a huge hole to store the polluted water. |
| A．Serious. | B．Devoted. | C．Open-minded. | D．Out-going. |
9 . Animals grow up in different ways. Some newborn animals are helpless, but their mothers protect them. A newborn kangaroo is very small. It is only a few centimeters (cm) long. It closes its eyes and doesn’t have hair. It stays safe in its mother’s pouch (育儿袋) for a long time. A newborn monkey cannot walk. Its mother carries it everywhere.
Other baby animals can walk soon after they’re born. They learn to run with their mothers when danger is near. A baby zebra can run, an hour after it is born.
Some baby animals are born in a place that is safe. Baby wolves are usually born in big holes with little light. Other baby animals are born in the open. A baby elephant is often born on open land.
Animals that drink their mothers’ milk are called mammals. A mother bear’s milk is rich. Baby bears have milk for a few months. This is the same as baby zebras. As baby animals grow, they need solid (固体的) food. Baby lions eat what their mother can catch!
1. According to the passage, many newborn animals need their mothers’ help because the babies can’t _________.| A．look after themselves | B．eat any food |
| C．walk by themselves | D．drink water |
| A．it is very small | B．it can’t walk | C．it closes its eyes | D．it is very weak. |
| A．mothers’ milk | B．solid food | C．smaller animals | D．water |
| A．six | B．seven | C．eight | D．nine |
| A．In the summer. | B．In the winter. | C．In the spring. |
