1 . Say “Sit” to your dog, and he’ll likely sit on the floor. But would he respond correctly if the word were spoken by a stranger, or someone with a thick accent? A new study shows he will, suggesting dogs understand spoken words in a clever and complicated way long thought unique to humans.
Holly Root-Gutteridge, a biologist, and her colleagues ran a test. The researchers filmed 42 dogs of different breeds as they sat with their owners near an audio speaker that played noncommand words with similar sounds, such as “had”, “hid”, and “who’d”. The words were spoken-not by the dog’s owner-but by several strangers, men and women of different ages and with different accents.
In the video above, the dog Max turns quickly and listens seriously when he hears a woman say “had” for the first time. But as other women with different accents repeat the word, he loses interest, indicating he knows they are all saying the same word. When a speaker says a new word, like “who’d”, Max cheers up again, but his attention flags when a new voice returns to saying “had”. Together, these reactions suggest dogs recognize words regardless of the speaker-and that they don’t need any training to do it, the team reports today in Biology Letters.
“It’s wonderful—and novel—to see research looking at dogs’ reactions to words that are not commands or requests,” says Alexandra Horowitz, a researcher at Barnard College in New York City. Because of the nature of the test, however, the scientists cannot show that the dogs “understood” what the words meant, Horowitz points out. “But the work clearly demonstrates that dogs are listening to us,” she says, even when our speech is not about them.
1. What can we learn from this study?| A．Dogs can hear some simple words. | B．Dogs can hear words like humans. |
| C．Dogs cannot understand a stranger. | D．Dogs know their owners’ meaning. |
| A．Record their sounds. | B．Record their reactions. |
| C．Train their hearing ability. | D．Train their learning ability. |
| A．The result of the study. | B．A dog filmed in the study. |
| C．An example of the research. | D．Different reactions of the dogs. |
| A．Objective. | B．Favorable. |
| C．Opposed. | D．Unclear. |
A MOTHER’S DAY SURPRISE
The twins were filled with excitement as they thought of the surprise they were planning for Mother’s Day. How pleased and proud Mother would be when they brought her breakfast in bed. They planned to make French toast and chicken porridge. They had watched their mother in the kitchen. There was nothing to it. Jenna and Jeff knew exactly what to do.
The big day came at last. The alarm rang at 6 a.m. The pair went down the stairs quietly to the kitchen. They decided to boil the porridge first. They put some rice into a pot of water and left it to boil while they made the French toast. Jeff broke two eggs into a plate and added in some milk. Jenna found the bread and put two slices into the egg mixture. Next, Jeff turned on the second stove burner to heat up the frying pan. Everything was going smoothly until Jeff started frying the bread. The pan was too hot and the bread turned black within seconds. Jenna threw the burnt piece into the sink and put in the other slice of bread. This time, she turned down the fire so it cooked nicely.
Then Jeff noticed steam shooting out of the pot and the lid starting to shake. The next minute, the porridge boiled over and put out the fire. Jenna panicked. Thankfully, Jeff stayed calm and turned off the gas quickly. But the stove was a mess now. Jenna told Jeff to clean it up so they could continue to cook the rest of the porridge. But Jeff’s hand touched the hot burner and he gave a cry of pain. Jenna made him put his hand in cold water. Then she caught the smell of burning. Oh dear! The piece of bread in the pan had turned black as well.
注意：1.续写词数应为150左右。2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
As the twins looked around them in disappointment, their father appeared.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The twins carried the breakfast upstairs and woke their mother up.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________3 . The Biggest Stadiums in the World
People have been pouring into stadiums since the days of ancient Greece. In around 80 A.D., the Romans built the Colosseum, which remains the world’s best known stadium and continues to inform contemporary design. Rome’s Colosseum was 157 feet tall and had 80 entrances, seating 50,000 people. However, that was small fry compared with the city’s Circus Maximus, which accommodated around 250,000 people.
These days, safety regulations-not to mention the modern sports fan’s desire for a good view and comfortable seat — tend to keep stadium capacities (容量) slightly lower. Even soccer fans tend to have a seat each; gone are the days of thousands standing to watch the match.
For the biggest stadiums in the world, we have used data supplied by the World Atlas list so far, which ranks them by their stated permanent capacity, as well as updated information from official stadium websites.
All these stadiums are still functional, still open and still hosting the biggest events in world sport.
·Rungrado 1st of May Stadium, Pyongyang D.P.R. Korea. Capacity: 150,000. Opened: May 1,1989.
·Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Michigan, U. S. Capacity: 107,601. Opened: October 1, 1927.
·Beaver Stadium, State College, Pennsylvania, U. S. Capacity: 106,572. Opened: September 17, 1960.
·Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio, U. S. Capacity: 104,944. Opened: October 7,1922.
·Kyle Field, College Station, Texas, U. S. Capacity: 102,512. Opened: September 24, 1927.
1. How many people could the Circus Maximus hold?| A．104,944. | B．107,601. | C．About 150,000. | D．About 250,000. |
| A．Michigan Stadium. | B．Beaver Stadium. | C．Ohio Stadium. | D．Kyle Field. |
| A．They host big games. | B．They have become tourist attractions. |
| C．They were built by Americans. | D．They are favored by architects. |
4 . Keeping curious kids from disrupting wildlife
Interacting with the wild, naturally curious kids tend to collect seashells at the beach or keep small wildlife as pets.
Take an interest, not things. Kids show interest in picking flowers, rocks, or shells outdoors. They’re part of wildlife's habitat and play an important role.
Admire animal afar, not disrupt nearby. The urge to take a photo with a squirrel, bird, or slow-moving turtle can be strong for kids.
Take well-worn paths, not off-road romps (嬉戏). Kicking piles of leaves, stepping on bushes, and walking through forested areas can unintentionally scare wildlife. If surprised animals defend their homes, everyone could get hurt. Nobody likes having a guest come in and destroy their home and act rudely.
| A．Keep snacks away from animals. |
| B．Share food if animals are hungry. |
| C．Exposure to them develops kids’ love and curiosity. |
| D．The same rule applies to visiting wildlife in their homes. |
| E．Animals rely on plants for hiding; rocks and shells, for homes. |
| F．Approaching animals disrupts what they do for survival, such as eating. |
| G．Despite innocent purposes, kids’ curiosity accidentally damages the wild. |
