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

3 . Directions: Write an English composition in 120—150 words according to the instructions given below in Chinese.
假设你是学生李华，你们班上周组织了为期三天的社会实践活动，请根据以下四幅图的顺序，写一篇周记，内容需包括：
●简单记述整个过程；
●简要谈谈社会实践后你的感受。

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6 . 她太累了，今晚没心情去参加聚会。(too…to…) (汉译英)

7 . 小组讨论有助于更好地理解课文。(help)(汉译英)