Have you ever wondered why birds sing? Maybe you thought that they were just happy. After all, you probably sing or whistle when you are happy.
Some scientists believe that birds do sing some of the time just because they are happy. However they sing most of the time for a very different reason. Their singing is actually a warning to other birds to stay out of their territory.
Do you know what a ‘territory’ is? A territory is an area that an animal, usually the male, claims (声称) as its own. Only he and his family are welcome there. No other families of the same species are welcome. Your yard and house are your territory where only your family and friends are welcome. If a stranger should enter your territory and threaten you, you might shout. Probably this would be enough to frighten him away.
If so, you have actually scared the stranger away without having to fight him. A bird does the same thing. But he expects an outsider almost any time, especially at nesting（筑巢）season. So he is screaming all the time, whether he can see an outsider or not. This screaming is what we call a bird’s song, and it is usually enough to keep an outsider away.
Birds sing loudest in the spring when they are trying to attract a mate and warn others not to enter the territory of theirs.
You can see that birds have a language all their own. Most of it has to do with attracting mates and setting up territories.
43. Some scientists believe that most of the time bird’s singing is actually________.
A. an expression of happiness B. a way of warning
C. an expression of anger D. a way of greeting
44. What is a bird’s ‘territory’?
A. A place where families of other species are not accepted.
B. A place where a bird may shout at the top of its voice.
C. An area for which birds fight against each other.
D. An area which a bird considers to be its own.
45. Why do birds keep on singing at nesting season?
A. Because they want to invite more friends.
B. Because their singing helps frighten outsiders away.
C. Because they want to find outsiders around.
D. Because their singing helps get rid of their fears.
46. How does the writer explain bird’s singing?
A. By comparing birds with human beings. B. By reporting experiment results.
C. By describing birds’ daily life. D. By telling a bird’s story.
La Gomera is the only place in the world which has a whistle （口哨）language. We do not know how and why it began because we do not know the complete history of the island. But we can certainly imagine the reasons for the beginning of the whistle language. There are many deep valleys on the island. A person on one side of a valley can not easily shout to a person on the other side. But he can whistle and be heard. Some of the best whistlers can be heard from four miles away and the record is seven miles.
The people who live on the island usually have good teeth, and this helps them to whistle well. They must also have good ears so that they can hear other whistlers.
We can understand why the whistle language continues. It is very useful on the island, and quite easy to learn. When somebody is hurt or ill, the whistle language takes the place of telephone. If the sick person is quite far away from the town, people pass the message from one to another. A boy guarding cattle on a hillside whistles to a man fishing from his boat. The last one is able to describe the trouble fully and exactly to the doctor in town. People help one another in the same way when a car breaks down or a cow is lost.
The whistle language is hundreds of years old, and probably it will continue to live on for hundreds of years more. Radio and TV often kill the special ways of speaking in different parts of a country. But on La Gomera you are nobody if you cannot whistle. Perhaps soon after TV arrives on the island, people there will be whistling the news and other facts and opinions. If a person on La Gomera is ill,______.
| A．others will phone the doctor in town |
| B．people will take him to town by carriage |
| C．his family will take him to the hospital |
| D．the whistle language will help pass the message to the doctor |
La Gomera is special because ______.
| A．many visitors go there every year |
| B．no visitors have ever been there |
| C．people there have special ears to hear whistles |
| D．people there use the whistle language to communicate with each other |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．It is not easy for a person to live on La Gomera if he cannot whistle. |
| B．The whistle language can only be found on La Gomera. |
| C．The whistle language has been used for hundreds of years on the island, but will not be used any longer. |
| D．The record shows that one best whistler can be heard others seven miles away. |
Which of the following will be the best title of this passage?
| A．The Secret Language | B．Do You Know the Whistle Language? |
| C．The Life of Islanders | D．La Gomera一a Mystery |
“Today we had a discussion in class about heroes,” said Ayesha to her father. “The teacher asked us to name our favorite heroes.”
“What did you say?” asked her father curiously.
“I said Kareena Kapoor,” said Ayesha proudly.
“Why do you like Kareena?” asked her father.
“She is so pretty, Daddy!” shouted Ayesha. “So I want to look like her!”
“But how do you plan to do that?”
“I don’t know, but I want to look like her.”
“When I see you, I see a very pretty girl. You may not be Kareena, but you are just as fine as Ayesha,” said her father seriously. “Adopting（挑选）film actors as our heroes and heroines（女偶像）is part of being young, but in the process don’t put yourself down,” he added. “But if you are trying so hard to be Kareena, you will stop being Ayesha.” Ayesha began to look interested. Her father added, “Each of us is unique, We have come down to the earth to develop our own beautiful gifts. You are such a fine singer, for example. Can you see how this might be your own wonderful gift to the world? Focus on being yourself, child, and you will achieve great things in life.
“OK, Dad,” she said. “I love the way Kareena looks but I am now going to focus on being the best Ayesha I can be.”
“That’s my girl,” said her father, giving her a big hug.Kareena Kapoor is most probably a ______.
| A．popular writer | B．famous actress |
| C．school teacher | D．pretty singer |
Which of the following words can best describe Ayesha’s father?”
| A．Reasonable | B．Humorous | C．Impatient | D．Generous |
We know from the passage that _______.
| A．Ayesha’s teacher liked watching films very much |
| B．Kareena Kapoor became famous for her courage |
| C．Ayesha changed her wrong attitude to Kareena in the end |
| D．Ayesha followed her father’s advice and determined to be herself |
There are many fun, free activities that you can do as a family. All that is required is a bit of imagination and some time. And the best part is that these are the kind of fun, family memories a child will remember for a lifetime.
Family Game Night
Kids often get games for Christmas or birthdays, and would love to have a chance to play with their family. Or, make up some games of their own. Charades（字谜游戏）is a fun game that will challenge children to use their imagination. Divide the family into teams and let each team come up with words and the other has to act out.
Family Art Time
Pick some time for the family to sit down and come up with their own art. It doesn’t need to be just a drawing－take some old magazines, let the kids cut out pictures and paste them into their own shape. Or let them use leaves, branches and whatever else they can find to make something from their imagination.
Family Picnic
Taking the family for a picnic is a great way for some fun that doesn’t cost any money. If the weather is nice, take them to a park or playground and let them have a day of playing.
Family Field Trip
A family field trip doesn’t have to cost a cent. Ask a nearby farm if you can bring your kids out for a tour and to see some of the animals. Or take them to a park to find certain items from nature. Ask a local business if you could bring the family for a tour to see how things work－you might be surprised at the number of people who would be excited to share what they do with others, and it could be an interesting lesson for kids.When playing the game charades, kids are supposed to ______.
| A．prepare some cakes for each other |
| B．sing a song for each other in turn |
| C．connect actions with certain words |
| D．be quick to follow others’ actions |
Which activities in the passage depend much on the kids imagination?
| A．Family Game Night ＆ Family Art Time |
| B．Family Game Night ＆ Family Picnic |
| C．Family Picnic ＆ Family Field Trip |
| D．Family Field Trip ＆ Family Game Night |
It can be inferred from the last paragraph that ______.
| A．you may share your own experience with workers |
| B．It costs a lot to visit a park for a family |
| C．all the people will be excited to share what they have with you |
| D．you should ask for permission from the farm owner |
The passage is mainly intended for ______.
| A．teachers | B．teenagers | C．tourists | D．parents |
A ship was damaged during a storm at sea and only two of the men aboard were able to swim to a small island. Not knowing what else to do, the two survivors decided that they should pray to God.
However, to find out whose prayers were more powerful, they agreed to divide（分割开）the land between them and stay on opposite sides of the island.
The first thing they prayed for was food. The next morning, the first man saw a tree on his side of the island, and he was able to eat its fruit. But the other man’s side of land remained barren.
After a week, the first man became lonely and decided to pray for a wife. The next day, another ship was damaged and the only survivor was a woman who swam to his side of the island. But on the other side of the island, there was nothing.
Soon the first man prayed for a house, clothes and more food. The next day, like magic, all of these things were given to him. However, the second man still had nothing.
Finally, the first man prayed for a ship so that he and his wife could leave the island, and in the morning he found a ship stopped at his side of the island.
The first man boarded the ship with his wife and decided to leave the second man on the island. As the ship was about to leave, the first man heard a voice from Heaven, “Why are you leaving your partner on the island?”
“My blessings are mine alone since I was the one who prayed for them.” The first man answered. “ His prayers were all unanswered so he doesn’t deserve anything.”
“You are mistaken!” the voice said. “He had only one prayer, which I answered. He prayed that all your prayers would be answered.”Why didn’t the two men stay together on the island?
| A．Because they both wanted to live a quiet life |
| B．Because they couldn’t get along well with each other |
| C．Because they wanted to test the power of their prayers |
| D．Because they wanted to keep their own life secret from others |
The underlined word “barren” is closest in meaning to ______.
| A．noisy | B．empty | C．dangerous | D．calm |
Which of the following words can best describe the first man?
| A．Hard-working | B．Lucky | C．Selfish | D．Dishonest |
What does the author try to express through the story?
| A．God helps those who help themselves |
| B．A life without a friend is a life without a sun |
| C．A man of words and not of deeds is like a garden full of weeds |
| D．What we do for others is more important than what we do for ourselves |
The NSA(美国国家安全局) and GCHQ(英国政府通讯总部) are tapping popular smart phone apps such as Angry Birds to gather the enormous amounts of very personal data those bits of software collect—including age, gender, marital status, income, education level and more, according to new reports from the New York Times and The Guardian.
Citing secret documents provided by Edward Snowden, former NSA staff, the reports detail efforts to gain data collection from cell phone carriers and smart phones by tapping into “leaky”(有漏洞的) apps themselves.
Both spy agencies showed a particular interest in Google Maps, which is accurate to within a few yards or better in some locations and would clearly pass along data about the area where phone owner is.
“It effectively means that anyone using Google Maps on a smartphone is working in support of a GCHQ system,” reads a secret 2008 report by the NSA's sister spy agency, according to the New York Times.
More surprising is the wide range of apps that the agencies search for data, including innocent-seeming apps such as Angry Birds. One document in particular from GCHQ listed what information can be found from which apps, mentioning Android apps but suggesting the same data was available from the iPhone platform.
Angry Birds maker Rovio Entertainment of Finland said it had no knowledge of any NSA or GCHQ programs for tapping into its users’ data.
"Rovio doesn't have any previous knowledge of this matter, and have not been aware of such activity in 3rd party advertising networks," said Saara Bergstrom. "Nor do we have any involvement with the organizations you mentioned."
Mobile photos uploaded to social media sites like Facebook and Twitter appear to be a particularly rich source of information for the spy agencies as well. Metadata in the photos is briefly available. The NSA and GCHQ are able to tap into that metadata to collect a wealth of key data points about a person’s life.
“NSA does not profile everyday Americans as it carries out its foreign intelligence mission,” the agency told the Times in response to questions about the program.
During a Monday press conference, White House press secretary Jay Carney stressed that same position. "As the president said in his Jan. 17 speech, to the extent data is collected by the NSA, through whatever means, we are not interested in the communications of people who are not valid foreign intelligence targets（情报目标） and we are not after the information of ordinary Americans," he said.American and British spy agencies were both particularly interested in the information gathered from_________.
| A．Google Maps | B．Twitter | C．Angry Birds | D．Facebook |
According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The iPhone platform is more reliable than that of Android. |
| B．The New York Times interviewed Edward Snowden secretly. |
| C．It is difficult for common users to protect their personal information. |
| D．A document from NSA listed what information can be found from which apps. |
What did Jay Carney’s words imply?
| A．NSA didn’t gather any worthy information from Americans. |
| B．NSA would stop its foreign intelligence mission in the future. |
| C．NSA and White House shared different attitude towards the affair. |
| D．NSA collected information with the permission of White House |
Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?
| A．Angry Birds Give You Away |
| B．NSA Gather Information from Apps |
| C．Reports from the New York Times |
| D．Documents from Edward Snowden |