Do dogs understand us?
Be careful what you say around your dog. It might understand more than you think.
A border collie named Rico recognizes the names of about 200 objects, say researchers in Germany. The dog also appears to be able to learn new words as easily as a 3-year-old child. Its word-learning skills are as good as those of a parrot or chimpanzee(黑猩猩).
In one experiment, the researchers took all 200 items that Rico is supposed to know and divided them into 20 groups of 10 objects. Then the owner told the dog to g
o and fetch one of the items and bring it back. In four tests, Rico got 37 out of 40 commands right. As the dog couldn't see anyone to get clues, the scientists believe Rico must understand the meanings of certain words.
In another experiment, the scientists took one toy that Rico had never seen before and put it in a room with seven toys whose names the dog already knew. The owner then told Rico to fetch the object, using a word the dog had never heard before.
The correct object was chosen in seven out of l0 tests, suggesting that the dog had worked out the answer by process of elimination(排除法). A month later, Rico remembered half of the new names, which is even more impressive.
Rico is thought to be smarter than the average dog. For one thing, Rico is a border collie, a breed (品种)known for its mental abilities. In addition, the 9-year-old dog has been trained to fetch toys by their names since the age of nine months.
It's hard to know if all dogs understand at least some of the words we say. Even if they do, they can't talk back. Still, it wouldn't hurt to sweet-talk your dog every now and then. You might just get a big, wet kiss in return!From paragraph 3 we know that _________.
| A．animals are as clever as human beings |
| B．dogs are smarter than parrots and chimpanzees |
| C．chimpanzees have very good word-learning skills |
| D．dogs have the same speaking abilities as 3-year-old children |
Both experiments show that____________
| A．Rico is smart enough to get all commands right |
| B．Rico can recognize different things including toys |
| C．Rico has developed the ability of learning mathematics |
| D．Rico won't forget the names of objects once recognizing them |
Which of the following statements is true?
| A．The purpose of the experiments is to show the border collie's physical abilities. |
| B．Rico has a better memory partly because of its proper early training. |
| C．The Border collie is world-famous for fetching objects. |
| D．Rico is born to understand all its owner's commands. |
What does the writer want to tell us?
| A．To train your dog. | B．To talk to your dog. |
| C．To be friendly to your dog. | D．To be careful with your dog. |
Fluency(流利) in another language is one of the most important aims of a newcomer to another country. In addition, understanding the culture and learning to communicate comfortably with people of that culture are as important as learning the rules of the language. Language learning and culture learning go together and may take a long time.
Sometimes people feel that they understand a culture after a few weeks or months. People do learn a lot when they first begin living in another culture, but this is only the first stage of learning. It usually involves(含包) things like learning everyday activities and some basic customs.
To really understand another culture, people have to go beyond the first stage, this is challenge(挑战) because it is often difficult to know what to learn. Much of what we call “culture” is hard to see.
Culture is like an iceberg(冰川). Picture in your mind a huge iceberg in the ocean. The only part of the iceberg that you see is the tip. You don’t see the rest of the iceberg because it is hidden from sight in the water. It is easy to forget that it is there. Most of the iceberg is deep within the ocean, just as much of a culture is deep within its people.
When you meet someone from another culture, certain culture differences are obvious: You hear another language or you hear your own language spoken with an accent. You see different foods, clothes and sometimes physical characteristics of people. You observe new customs or habits, such as the use of chopsticks, and, bowing or kissing on both cheeks as a greeting. These differences are interesting and important, but they are usually not too difficult to understand. They are visible so they are seen easily and quickly.
The part of culture that is like the underwater part of the iceberg consists of assumptions(设想), communication styles, values, and beliefs about what is right and wrong. The hidden part of culture affects much of a person’s way of thinking and communicating. It is the meaning behind his or her verbal (言语的) and nonverbal language. Learning to communicate well with people from another culture involves becoming aware of the hidden part of culture.What’s the subject of this passage?
| A．Learning about culture. | B．Language learning. |
| C．The hidden part of the iceberg. | D．Fluency in another language. |
What is learning about culture?
| A．Learning the hidden part of the iceberg, which is underwater. |
| B．Learning everyday activities and some basic customs. |
| C．Learning the culture of an iceberg. |
| D．Learning the visible as well as the hidden differences of culture. |
The underlined phrase “consists of” can be replaced by “______”.
| A．lies in | B．is made up of | C．agrees with | D．is different from |
What conclusion can we draw after reading this passage?
| A．Values and beliefs are like the tip of the iceberg. |
| B．People often become aware of the hidden part of culture. |
| C．The tip of the iceberg is larger than the hidden part. |
| D．The hidden part of culture has a great effect on people’s communication styles. |
SPECIAL EVENTS(事件)
THIS WEEKEND
Captain Goodfellow
Do your children enjoy interesting stories, funny games, and exciting dances? Captain Goodfellow will be ready to teach all these things to children of all ages at the City Theatre on Saturday morning at 10:00, free.
Walking Tour of the Town
Forget your worries on Saturday morning. Take a beautiful walk and learn about local history. Meet at the front entrance of City Hall at 9:30. Wear comfortable shoes!
Films at the Museum
Two European films will be shown on Saturday afternoon at the Museum Theatre. See Broken Window at 1:30. The Workers will be at 3:45. For further information, call 4987898.
International Picnic
Are you tired of eating the same food every day? Come to Central Park on Saturday and enjoy food from all over the world. Delicious and not expensive. Noon to 5:00 p.m.
Take Me out to the Ballgame
It’s October, and tonight is your last chance to see the Redbirds this year. Get your tickets at the gate. It might be cold… Don’t forget sweaters and jackets.
Do you want to hear “The Zoo”?
“The Zoo, a popular group from Australia, will give their first U.S. concert tomorrow night at 8 at Rose Hall, City College.You can probably eat Chinese, Italian, and Arab food ________.
| A．at the front entrance of City Hall | B．at the Ballgame |
| C．at 5:00 p.m. | D．at Central Park on Saturday |
If you are going on the Walking Tour, don’t forget ________.
| A．your worries | B．your beautiful walk |
| C．your learning about local history | D．your comfortable shoes |
You may see this passage in ________.
| A．a British newspaper | B．an American newspaper |
| C．a British magazine | D．an American magazine |
A good way to pass an examination is to work hard every day in the year. You may fail in the examination if you are lazy for most of the year and then work hard only a few days before the examination. A few days before the examination you should start going to bed early. Do not stay up late at night learning things. Before you start the examination, read carefully over the question paper. Try to understand the exact meaning of each question before you pick up your pen to write. When you have at last finished your examinations, read over your answers. Correct any mistake that you see and make sure that you have not missed anything out. “Stay up late at night” here means .
| A．sleeping in bed | B．just sitting up without doing anything |
| C．walking about in the room | D．working far into the night |
The first thing to do after you get the question paper is to .
| A．start to answer questions | B．work the difficult problems |
| C．have a look at the titles | D．read it very carefully |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage？
| A．You must not hand in the examination paper before you check your answers. |
| B．You must wait till others point out mistakes in your paper. |
| C．You must first hand in your paper then correct the mistakes. |
| D．You must be the last to hand in your paper. |
Ireland has had a very difficult history. The problems started in the 16th century when English rulers fried to conquer(征服) Ireland. For hundreds of years, the Irish people fought against the English. Finally, in 1921. The British government was forced to give independence to the south of Ireland. The result is that today there are two “Irelands”. Northern Ireland. In the north, is part of the united kingdom. The republic of Ireland. In the south. Is an independent country.
In the 1840s the main crop, potatoes ,was affected by disease and about 750,000 people died of bunger. This, and a shortage (短缺) of work , forced many people to leave Ireland and live in the USA, the UK, Australia and Canada. As a result of these problems, the population fell from 8.2 million in 1841 to 6.6 million in 1851.
For many years, the majority of Irish people earned their living as farmers. Today, many people still work on the land but more and more people are moving to the cities to work in factories and offices. Life in the cities is very different from life in the countryside, where things move at a quieter and slower pace.
The Irish are famous for being warm-hearted and friendly, Oscar Wilde, a famous Irish writer, once said that the Irish were “the greatest talkers since the Greeks”, Since independence, Ireland has revived(复兴) its own culture of music, language, literature and singing. Different are as have different styles of old Irish song which are sung without instruments. Other kinds of Irish music use many different instruments such as the violin, whistles, etc.what does the author tell us in paragraph 1 ?
| A．how the Irish fought against the English. |
| B．how Ireland gained independence. |
| C．how English rulers tried to conquer Ireland. |
| D．how two ”Irelands” came into being. |
we learn from the text that in Ireland____________.
| A．food shortages in the 1840s led to a decline in population |
| B．people are moving to the cities for lack of work in the countryside |
| C．it is harder to make a living as a farmer than as a factory worker |
| D．different kinds of old Irish songs are all sung with instruments |
the last paragraph is mainly about____________.
| A．the Irish character |
| B．Irish culture |
| C．Irish musical instruments |
| D．a famous Irish writer |
what can be the best title for the text?
| A．Life in Ireland | B．A very difficult history |
| C．Ireland, past and present | D．the independence of Ireland |
How often one hears children wishing they were grown up, and the old wishing they were young again! Each age has its pleasure and its pains, and the happiest person is the one who enjoys what each age gives him without wasting any time in useless regrets.
Children is a time when there are few duties to make life hard. If a child has good parents, he is fed, looked after, and loved whatever he may do. It’s impossible for him to be given so much again in his life without having to do anything in return. Besides, life is always giving new things to the child. A child finds pleasure in playing in the rain, or in the snow. His first visit to the seaside makes him wild. But a child has his pains; he is not so free to do as he wishes. He is continually being told not to do this, not to do that, or being punished for what he has done wrong. His life is therefore not perfectly happy.
When the young man starts to make his own living, he becomes free from the rules of school and parents; but at the time he is forced to accept duties. He can no longer expect others to pay for his food, his clothes and his room, but has to work for them if he wants to live comfortably. If he spends most of his time playing about in the way that he used to as a child, he will go hungry and suffer. And if he breaks the law of society as he used to break the laws of his parents, he may go to prison, lf, however, he works hard, keeps out of trouble, and has good health, he can have the great happiness of seeing himself make steady progress in his job and of building up his own position in society and enjoy success and good reputation..
Old age has always been thought of as the worst age to be, but it is not necessary for the old to be unhappy. Old age has its own happiness. They can have the joy of seeing their children making progress in life; they can watch their grandchildren growing up around them and, perhaps, best of all, they can, if their life has been a useful one, feel the happiness of having come through the battle of life safely and of having reached a time when they can lie back and rest, leaving others to continue the fight.The main reason children wish they were grown up, and the old wish they were young again is that ______.
| A．both aren’t satisfied with the weak points at their ages |
| B．both enjoy the strong points at the other age by looking back or looking forward |
| C．the human beings should be like this |
| D．they don’t think both ages are acceptable |
“Enjoy what each age gives him without wasting time in useless regrets” means ______.
| A．Enjoy what is given to him by people at his age, feeling regrets |
| B．Enjoy himself at his own age, feeling regrets for a waste of time |
| C．Make full use of the time he is given at his age instead of regretting having no achievements |
| D．Enjoy his own age and look down on the people at other ages |
“Children is a time when there are few duties to make life hard” means “______”.
| A．Children shouldn’t be made to live a hard life |
| B．All the children won’t have to work for their own living |
| C．Children shouldn’t answer for the hard life they are leading |
| D．A child bas few duties to try hard to make a living for himself or for his seniors |
According to the passage, what is a child’s greatest dissatisfaction?
| A．He thinks he has not got the equal freedom as his seniors. |
| B．He thinks he knows less about things than the older do. |
| C．He thinks it easy for him to do something wrong. |
| D．He thinks the society doesn’t believe in him. |