The idea for a science experiment can come from an unusual place. After watching a YouTube video of a dancing bird named Snowball, a scientist in Californina decided to study the ability of animals to keep the beat.
Bird lovers have long claimed that their pets have rhyhm, and there are many videos of dancing birds online. Until now, scientists have suspected that humans are the only animals that can accurately keep rhythm with music.
Thanks to Snowball, that scientific opinion is changing. Snowball is a cockatoo, a kind of parrot, and his favorite song is “Everybody” by the Backstreet Boys. When he hears the song, he moves his feet and rocks his body with the tempo, or pace of the music, as though he is the only bird member of the boy band.
Aniruddh Patel is a neuroscientist, or a scientist who studies how the brain and the nervous system contribute to learning, seeing and other mental abilities. He works at the Neurosciences Instiute in San Diego. After seeing Snowbaill’s dance online, Patel visited the cockatoo at the bird rescue facility he’s called home for two years. The scientist played “Everybody” for Snowball and also played versions of the song that were sped up or slowed down. Sometimes, Snowball danced too fast or too slowly. Often, when there was a change in tempo, Snowball adjusted his dancing to match the rhythm. In other experiments, scientists have observed the same abilities in preschool children.
Patel isn’t the only scientist who has studied Snowball’s moves. Adena Schachner, who studies psychology at Harvard University, also wanted to know more about the dancing bird. Schachner’s team played different musical pieces for Snowball and a parrot named Alex, as well as eight human volunteers. The scientists observed that the birds and the humans kept time to the music with about the same accuracy.
Schachner and her team watched thousands of YouTube videos of different animals moving to music. Not all the animals could dance, however. From watching the videos, the scientists observed that only animals that imitate sounds, including 14 parrot species and Asian elephants, accurately moved in time to music.The underlined words “that scientific opinion” in the third paragraph refers to the theory that .
| A．birds like Snowball have the ability to keep the beat |
| B．humans are the only animals that can accurately keep rhythm with music |
| C．the brain and the nervous system contribute to some mental abilities |
| D．bird pets can have their special rhythm under human’s instruction |
From the fourth paragraph we may know that .
| A．Patel is the only scientist who has studied Snowball’s moves. |
| B．Snowball is able to adjust his dandcing to match the rhythm. |
| C．Snowball cannot dance to the versions of the song Everybody. |
| D．it is the brain and the nervous system that control the mental abilities. |
The idea of studying animals’ ability to keep the beat comes from .
| A．bird lovers’ discovery | B．humans musical sense |
| C．the same abilities in children | D．videos of dancing birds |
According to the scientists, Snowball’s ability to dance to music is probably related to the fact that .
| A．it is the only bird member of thd Backstreet Boys band |
| B．it has the ability to imitate sounds |
| C．it is a kind of dancing parrot |
| D．it has the same abilities as preschool children |
D
Everyone has his or her own idol（偶像）. My idol is a Hollywood movie star — Sandra Bullock. I’ve liked her for two and a half years. I think she has an unbelievably magical power. She’s the best actress in my heart. Actually I a
m deeply influenced by her. About two years ago, I borrowed a video called “Speed,” in which Sandra played a role. At that time, I still didn’t know who she was. But after seeing that great movie, I was totally struck! Her performance and smile really attracted me. At that time, I started collecting everything about Sandra from magazines, TV and newspapers. But unfortunately, I couldn’t find much information in my hometown. That really disappointed me. All I could do was to get on the internet. Luckily, there were many foreign web sites. I was really happy then. But there was a big problem for me: the Web sites are all in English. So, English became an important part in my life. I decided to learn English well and to be able to read and understand everything. The craziest thing I’ve ever done was to record all her movies, film previews（预告）and interviews. I listened to them over and over every day. When I heard any word that I didn’t understand, I would look them up in the dictionary. That was a good for me because I could learn them in a very short time. It does work, and I never get tired of doing this. It’s been two years since then, and my listening and reading abilities are better than before. I can even chat with my foreign friends on the internet. I should say from the bottom of my heart, “Thank you so much, Sandra.”
If you have an idol like me, I hope you all can get something helpful from that person.
69. Why does the author like Sandra Bullock as the idol?
A. Because Sandra is a woman. B. Because Sandra is a Hollywood movie star.
C. Because Sandra acts very well. D. Because the author wants to learn English well.
70. Where did the author get more information about Sandra?
A. From magazinesB. From TV
C. From newspapers.D. From some of the foreign web sites.
71. In the author’s opinion, the idol should be _____.
A. an actor B. an actress C. a female D. worth learning from
C
Children start out as natural scientists, and eager to look into the world around them. Helping them enjoy science can be easy; there's no need for a lot of scientific terms or expensive lab equipment. You only have to share your children's curiosity. Firstly, listen to their questions. I once visited a classroom of seven-year-olds to talk about science as a job. The children asked me "textbook questions" about schooling, salary and whether I liked my job. When I finished answering, we sat facing one another in silence. Finally I said, "Now that we've finished with your lists, do you have questions of your own about science?"
After a long pause, a boy raised his hand, "Have you ever seen what a grasshopper (蚱蜢) eats? When I try eating leaves like that, I get a stomachache. Why?"
This began a set of questions that lasted nearly two hours.
Secondly, give them time to think. Studies over the past 30 years have shown that, after asking a question, adults typically wait only one second or less for an answer, no time for a child to think. When adults increase their "wait time" to three seconds or more, children give more logical, complete creative answers.
Thirdly, watch your language. Once you have a child involved in a science discussion, don't jump in with "That's right" or "I'd never thought of it that way before," or coming up with more questions or ideas.
Never push a child to "think". It doesn't make sense. Children are always thinking, without your telling them to. What's more, this can turn a conversation into a performance. The child will try to find the answer you want, in as few words as possible, so that he will be a smaller target for your disagreement.
Lastly, show; don't tell. Real-life impressions of nature are far more impressive than any lessons children can learn from a book or a television program. Let children look at their fingertips through a magnifying glass, and they'll understand why you want them to wash before dinner. Rather than saying that water evaporates, set a pot of water to boil and let them watch the water level drop.
64. According to the passage, children are natural scientists, and to raise their interest, the most important thing for adults to do is ___________.
A. to let them see the world around B. to share the children's curiosity
C. to explain difficult phrases about science D. to supply the children with lab equipment
65. In the last sentence of the first paragraph, the word "lists" could best be replaced by "_________".
A. any questions B. any problems
C. questions from textbooks D. any number of questions
66. According to the passage, children can answer questions in a more logical, complete and creative way if adults__________.
A. ask them to answer quickly B. wait for one or two seconds after a question
C. tell them to answer the next day D. wait at least for three seconds after a question
67. In which of the following paragraph (s) does the author tell us what to say to encourage children in a science discussion?
A. The second and third. B. The fourth. C. The fifth. D. The sixth and seventh.
68. The author mentions all of the following techniques for adults to share with their children's curiosity EXCEPT that adults should _________.
A. tell their children stories instead of reciting facts
B. offer their children chances to see things for themselves
C. be patient enough when their children answer questions
D. encourage their children to ask questions of their own
B
Do you have a sore throat, a running nose and a headache? Do you keep coughing and sneezing? If you do, the chances are that you have a cold or perhaps flu — but which one? Although both colds and flu are caused by viruses, they are very different illnesses.
Colds, which usually last about a week, affect the nose most. They commonly cause a running nose and sneezing. Sometimes, they cause a headache, a cough and slightly aching muscles.
Flu is a much more serious illness and is caused by different group of viruses. People with flu usually get all the symptoms described above. However, they also get a high fever, a dry cough and much worse aching. Fever is one of the characteristic symptoms of the flu for all ages. The symptoms also last much longer. Sometimes they don’t disappear for at least two weeks.
Flu can be a deadly disease. The elderly, who are weaker and less healthy than most younger people, can die from flu. This is one reason why old people are advised to have a flu injection (预防针) before the start of winter when flu is most common. This injection is inexpensive and definitely worth it.
If you have a cold or flu, you must always deal with used tissues (纸巾)carefully. Don’t leave dirty tissues on your desk or on the floor. Someone else has to pick these up and viruses could be passed on. And finally, remember to cover your nose and mouth when you sneeze! You don’t want to see the small drop of liquids blown out of your nose and mouth when you sneeze, do you? Disgusting, eh? Now you can understand why it’s a good idea to cover your nose and mouth when you sneeze!
60. According to the passage, people with colds hardly get _______.
A. a headache B. a high fever C. a running nose D. aching muscles
61. In paragraph 4, we learn that _______.
A. flu injection can cause death B. most old people die from flu
C. flu is most common in summer D. flu can kill old people easily
62. Dealing with used tissues properly is important because _______.
A. it helps keep your classroom tidy B. people hate picking up dirty tissues
C. it prevents the spread of colds and flu D. picking up lots of tissues is hard work
63. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A. Both colds and flu last the same time.
B. Both colds and flu can be prevented by injection.
C. Both colds and flu are caused by the same viruses.
D. Both colds and flu have an aching symptom.
第三部分阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
My father and I were very close .I loved pleasing him ,and he was always proud of my success .If I won a spelling contest at school, he was on top of the world .Later in life whenever I got a promotion（提升）,I’d call my father right away and he’d rush out to tell all his friends .In 1970,when I was named President of the Ford Motor Company ,I don’t know which of us was more excited .Like many native Italians ,my parents were very open with their feelings and their love—not only at home ,but also in public .Most of my friends would never hug their fathers .But I hugged and kissed my dad at every opportunity—nothing could have felt more natural .He was a curious man who was always trying new things .He was the first person in Allentown to buy a motorcycle. Unfortunately, my father and his motorcycle didn’t get along too well .He fell off it so often that he got rid of it just a month after buying it. As a result, he never again trusted any vehicle with less than four wheels, Because of that motorcycle. I wasn’t allowed to have a bicycle when I was growing up .Whenever I wanted to ride a bike, I had to borrow one from a friend .On the other hand ,my father let me drive a car as soon as I turned sixteen.
56．When I won a contest at school, my father would___________.
A．tell all his friend about it B．feel most happy over it
C．get very surprised at it D．be much more excited than I
57．Which of the following statement shows that my father was a curious man?
A．I wasn’t allowed to have a car when I was growing up.
B．He was the first person in town to buy a motorcycle.
C．He was always proud of my success.
D．He was very open with his feelings and his love.
58．My father trusted no vehicle with less than four wheels because___________.
A．he did not like the way I always borrowed bicycles from friends
B．he thought that cars were faster than motorcycles
C．he liked every new model made by the Ford Motor company
D．he had trouble in riding his motorcycle
59．Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A．My father loved his motorcycle .He rode through the dirty streets of Allentown every day.
B．I wasn’t allowed to have a bicycle when I was young, but when I was just 16 I was allowed to drive a car .
C．My father was always proud of what I did .He was very pleased when I won a spelling contest at school.
D．My father bought a motorcycle, but got rid of it because he fell off it so often.
E
I came to live here where I am now between Wounded Knee Greek and Grass Greek. Others came too, and we made these little grey houses of logs that you see, and they are square. It is a bad way to live, for there can be no power in a square.
You have noticed that everything an Indian does is in a circle, and that is because the Power of the World always works in circles, and everything tries to be round. In the old days when we were a strong and happy people, all our power came to us from the respectful circle of the nation, and so long as the circle was unbroken, the people were getting rich. The flowering tree was the living center of the circle, and the circle of the four quarters nursed it. The east gave peace and light, the south gave warmth, the west gave rain, and the north with its cold and strong wind gave strength and continuous power. This knowledge came to us from the outer world with our brief. Everything the Power of the World does is done in a circle. They sky is round, and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball, and so are all the stars. Birds make their nests in circle, for theirs are the same as ours. The sun comes forth and goes down again in a circle. The moon does the same, and both are round. Even the seasons from a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were. The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves. Our places were like the nests of birds, and these were always set in a circle, the nation’s a nest of many nests, where the Great Spirit meant for us to nurse our children.
But the Wasichus (Indian word for “white people”) have put us in these square boxes. Our power is gone and we are dying, for the power is not in us any more. You can look at our boys and see how it is with us. Where we were living by the power of the circle in the way we should boys were men at twelve or thirteen years of age. But now it takes them very much longer to be bull-grown.
57. According to the passage, the Indians ____.
A. don’t have modern instruments in their homes
B. refused to move from round places
C. lived in round places, but were forced to live in square houses
D. lived in round places, but then decided to move into square houses
58. Two things being compared in the passage are ____.
A. the Indians’ past and present living conditions B. the Indians’ past and modern beliefs
C. the Indians’ old and new powerD. people and nature
59. In the second paragraph “ the four quarters” refers to ____.
A. the four rooms of the Indian’s house B. the four kinds of natural power
C. the four seasons D. the four directions
60. According to the author, once the Indians moved into square houses, ____.
A. they had to move to other houses B. boys took more time to grow into men
C. they forgot the old way of life D. everyone was not happy