It’s not just adults who have a thing or two to discuss with other people, babies too have their own social lives and enjoy group interaction, according to a world-first study.
The breakthrough study conducted by psychologist Professor Ben Bradley, at Charles Sturt University, could completely transform the way child-care centers are set up．In their study, the researchers examined groups of nine-month-old babies in new South Wales and Britain.
And they came across astonishing results – it was found that infants had “social brains” and focused not just on their mothers but on social life in groups as well.
“They communicate with more than one baby at once, and show jealousy and generousness,” said Professor Bradley.
He added, “They develop their own meanings through group interaction, they notice if a group member is behaving differently and they take on roles, such as leaders and followers.”
“A baby who has a depressed mother tends to be withdrawn（内向的）, but put that same baby in a group of its peers（同龄人）and they behave and interact like any other baby.”
It was the first all-baby group study ever to be conducted．“Most studies of babies concentrate on the infant-mother relationship, assuming that is the single foundation for mental health, but babies are constantly involved with groups of people other than their mothers: fathers, siblings, grandparents and those taking care．Therefore, the ‘mother-baby approach’ needs to be combined with a ‘group approach’,” said Bradley.
Phoebe Christison, a child-care worker at Camperdown Sunshine Bubs in Sydney’s inner west, said she often noticed what appeared to be emotional attachments developed between toddlers.
She said, “Joel（10 months）and Isabella（11 months）always like to hold hands when they sit in their high chairs and eat．And babies definitely show jealousy．They push and touch each other, and copy what the other is doing.”
66．Which of the following statements about the study is TRUE?
A．It’s the first study to look at all-baby groups.
B．It divides babies according to their personalities.
C．Its aim is to change the way of child care.
D．Its results are unbelievable.
67．A baby who has a depressed mother _________.
A．tends to be a follower B．also enjoys group interaction
C．has poor social ability D．pays more attention to its mother
68．What can be inferred from the result of this study?
A．Babies are affected by groups more than by their mothers.
B．There’s no need of child-care centers at all.
C．Adults should include babies when having social activities.
D．The normal infant-mother bond alone isn’t enough for the good mental health for babies.
69．The underlined word “toddlers” in Para．8 can be replaced by “_________”.
A．adults B．infants C．peers D．groups
70．The example given in the last paragraph proves that a baby ________.
A．is born to be friendly to other babies
B．has interest in peers as well as in its mother
C．may have emotional attachments to another baby
D．shows jealousy and generousness as an adult
You’ve just come home, after living abroad for a few years. Since you’ve been away, has this country changed for the better or for the worse?
If you’ve just arrived back in the UK after a fortnight’s holiday, small changes have probably surprised you—anything from a local greengrocer suddenly being replaced by a mobile-phone shop to someone in your street moving house.
So how have things changed to people coming back to Britain after seven, ten or even 15 years living abroad? What changes in society can they see that the rest of us have hardly noticed—or now take for granted? To find out, we asked some people who recently returned.
Debi: When we left, Cheltenham, my home town, was a town of white, middle-class families—all very conservative (保守的).The town is now home to many eastern Europeans and lots of Australians, who come here mainly to work in hotels and tourism. There are even several shops only for foreigners.
Having been an immigrant (移民) myself, I admire people who go overseas to find a job. Maybe if I lived in an inner city where unemployment was high, I’d think differently, but I believe foreign settlers have improved this country because they’re more open-minded and often work harder than the natives.
Christine: As we flew home over Britain, both of us remarked how green everything looked. But the differences between the place we’d left behind and the one we returned to were brought sharply into focus as soon as we landed.
To see policemen with guns in the airport for the first time was frightening — in Cyprus, they’re very relaxed — and I got pulled over by customs officers just for taking a woolen sweater with some metal-made buttons out of my case in the arrivals hall. Everyone seemed to be on guard. Even the airport car-hire firm wanted a credit card rather than cash because they said their vehicles had been used by bank robbers. But anyway, this is still a green, beautiful country. I just wish more people would appreciate what they’ve got.After a short overseas holiday, people tend to ______ .
| A．expect small changes |
| B．notice small changes |
| C．welcome small changes |
| D．exaggerate (夸大) small changes |
How does Debi look at the foreign settlers?
| A．Cautiously. | B．Skeptically. |
| C．Positively. | D．Critically. |
When arriving at the airport in Britain, Christine was shocked by ______ .
| A．the tight security | B．the messy arrivals hall |
| C．the relaxed policemen | D．the bank robbers |
Which might be the best title for the passage?
| A．Life in Britain. | B．Britain in Memory. |
| C．Britain in Future. | D．Back in Britain. |
Most children, even the youngest of children, are delighted to be around cats and dogs. But these pets carry plenty of germs and allergens（过敏原）, prompting researchers to ask: Are cats and dogs really safe for children？
A study finds that, contrary to many parents’ fears, owning cats or dogs does not increase a child’s risk of developing allergies, and in fact, may actually protect them. The study’s lead author, Dr. Dennic Ownby of the Medical College of Georgia, says that even he was “very surprised” by the results. Ownby and colleagues followed more than 470 children from birth to age 6 or 7, comparing those exposed to cats and dogs during their first year of life to those who were not.
By using skin-prick tests for detecting common allergies, the researchers found that, contrary to what many doctors had been taught for years, children who had lived with a pet were not at greater risk.
Even more remarkable, children who had two or more dogs or cats had an even greater reduction, up to 77 percent, in risk of allergies. Researchers suggest this protective effect may be the result of early exposure to lots of bacteria that are carried by dogs and cats. Exposing young children to these bacteria helps "exercise" their immune systems early in life so that they're better able to resist allergic diseases later.
There's something very important in that first year of life when the immune(免疫) system is developing that we can retrain it away from an allergic response, said Dr. William Davis.
And while researchers are not encouraging parents to buy dogs or cats just to reduce a child’s allergy risk, they say if a family already has one or more animals, there's no need to get rid of them.Why do the researchers feel “very surprised” by the results of the study?
| A．Because the results are contrary to their expectation． |
| B．Because so many children are playing with cats and dogs． |
| C．Because parents are so much worried about their children． |
| D．Because children with animals may develop allergies easily． |
Compared with children who have pets，those who haven’t ______.
| A．will lose the chance to develop immune system |
| B．will reduce the harm from bacteria |
| C．may suffer allergic diseases more often |
| D．can keep doctors away |
The underlined word “it” in the fifth paragraph refers to________.
| A．the early life | B．an allergic disease |
| C．something important | D．immune system |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．How to protect your kids from allergies |
| B．Bacteria do good to your kids |
| C．Your pets may be helping your kids |
| D．Advantages of owning pets |
I was very sympathetic with world leaders burdened with resolving conflicts between nations. When my three children were young, in most days it was hard to keep my house from becoming a war zone. It got worse as they grew older. Three years ago, Zack, then 16, couldn’t make it through a day without playing tricks on his sisters, Alex and Taryn, then 11 and 9.
My husband and I tried to understand his adolescent moodiness. We begged, reasoned, punished, and left heartfelt notes on his bed about how his behavior was hurting our family. His response was a shrug and “I say it because it’s true”.
I even tried telling the girls to fight back. But it was a bad idea. Now I had three kids at war. At wit’s end, I poured my heart out to my sister in an e-mail. She wrote back, “Don’t e-mail me. E-mail him.”
Our son was online every day, mailing and instantly messaging his friends. So what if I was within shouting distance? Maybe he would actually hear me this way. There’d be no yelling or door slamming（猛然关闭）. Zack wouldn’t feel under attack. And with a few simple keystrokes, he could respond. Or not. Zack didn’t reply for days. When he finally did, his entire message was four words. I expected the worst, but then smiled when I read them, ”You are right. I’m sorry.” The kids still fought, of course, but Zack scaled back the abuse (恶习). Best of all, I now have an effective way to communicate with not one but three easily annoyed teens. They don’t tune me out as much. They don’t like to listen to me nag (唠叨) .Or as Alex says, “You’re so much nicer online.”
All I know is that the house is quiet, and we’re talking. In fact, Taryn just instantly messaged me from upstairs. It’s time to take her to softball practice.The purpose of this passage is to tell us _________ .
| A．how to solve family problems |
| B．how a mother shows her love to her children |
| C．how to treat kids in a more sensible way |
| D．the value of understanding between parents and children |
By the first sentence of the passage, the author really means to be_______.
| A．humourous | B．sympathetic |
| C．serious | D．inspiring |
How did Zack react when the author first tried to stop his bad behavior？
| A．He was annoyed and got worse. |
| B．He talked back to the author. |
| C．He felt sorry and changed. |
| D．He was persuaded and acted politely. |
D
Why do we call the sounds of birds, whales and insects songs? Because something about what we hear seems to have beauty, and some mellifluous (动听的) structure that touches us more than any possible message. Though for many years science has cautioned against hearing too much of what we humans would like to hear when we are trying to understand animal sounds, the musicality in some sounds is now starting to have an effect on the science of animal communication itself.
Many specific animal sounds express aggression(进攻), warning, or food, but such practical explanations are tough to apply to the long songs. Some whale songs can go on for up to 24 hours. The usual explanation for birdsong is that the birds are singing to attract mates or to announce the limits of their area. But the audience is not always evident for these long love songs, which have many of the elements related to human music: rhythm, melody (旋律), themes, repeating patterns, organization, variety, interest — all adding up to something humans have found beautiful for thousands of years. “Birds taught man,” wrote Roman poet and philosopher (哲学家) Lucretius, “and taught them songs before their art began.”
What is the scientific value of such sounds? The advantage of hearing music in nature and trying to reach out to nature through music is that though we don’t fully understand it, it is so accessible.
Music refuses explanation, but it clearly expresses something deep and important, which humans can’t live without. Finding music in the sound of birds, whales and other animals makes the farther frontiers(边缘) of nature see much closer to us.The underlined phrase “cautioned against” in Paragraph 1 probably means “_______”.
| A．warned against |
| B．fought against |
| C．been filled with |
| D．been satisfied with |
According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
| A．We call the songs of birds’ sounds because there is beauty that sounds pleasant to the ears. |
| B．It is believed that birds are singing to attract mates or to warn the limits of their areas. |
| C．The songs of a bird really carry an emotional message such as “aggression and caring”. |
| D．It is not very long for people to know that birdsong does have something beautiful. |
By saying “Birds taught man”, what did Lucretius mean?
| A．People teach rhythm, melody, themes, repeating patterns to birds. |
| B．Birds can teach people how to go on singing a song up to 24 hours. |
| C．Human music has, in fact, come from the sounds of birds in nature. |
| D．Humans learned something beautiful from the sounds of many animals. |
From the passage we know that music in nature ________.
| A．can’t be explained at all |
| B．is very easy to pick up and listen to |
| C．can’t be understood at all |
| D．is of no scientific value |
C
Fido was now his master's constant companion in his walks, playing and skipping round him, and amusing him by a thousand sportive tricks . He took care, however, not to be troublesome by leaping on him with dirty paws, nor would he follow him into the parlor(客厅), unless invited. He also attempted to make himself useful by a number of little services. He would drive away the sparrows as they were stealing the chickens' meat; and would run and bark with the utmost fury at any strange pigs or other animals that offered to come into the yard. He kept the poultry, geese, and pigs from straying beyond their bounds and particularly from doing mischief in the garden. He was always ready to alarm Towzer if there was any suspicious noise about the house, day or night. If his master pulled off his coat in the field to help his workman, as he would sometimes do, Fido always sat by it, and would not suffer either man or beast to touch it. By this means he came to be considered as a very trusty protector of his master's property.
His master was once confined to his bed with a dangerous illness. Fido planted himself at the chamber-door, and could not be persuaded to leave it even to take food; and as soon as his master was so far recovered as to sit up, Fido, being admitted into the room, ran up to him with such marks of excessive joy and affection, as would have melted any heart to behold.
One hot day, after dinner, his master was sleeping in a summer-house , with Fido by his side. The building was old and crazy; the dog comprehended the danger, and began barking to awaken his master; and this not sufficing, he jumped up, and gently bit his finger. The master upon this started up, and had just time to get out of the door before the whole building fell down. Fido, who was behind, got hurt by some rubbish which fell upon him. Thus his love and fidelity had their full reward.According to the first paragraph,we can get the information that ________.
| A．Fido is too cautious to satisfy his master. |
| B．Fido did so many little things as not to please its master. |
| C．Fido is a very trusty protector of his master’s property |
| D．Fido often plays with sparrows,geese and pigs |
Which of the following description is NOT mentioned in the text?
| A．Fido didn’t leave its sick master’s chamber-door even refused to take food until its master recovery. |
| B．Fido saved its master when his master was sleeping in an old house |
| C．Fido drove away the wolf to protect its master’s sheep. |
| D．Fido drove away the sparrows as they were stealing the chickens’meat. |
The text is developed ______.
| A．by inference | B．by examples |
| C．by comparison | D．by figures |
Which one is the best title for the text?
| A．Saving the Master |
| B．The Loyal Dog |
| C．Protecting the Master’s Possession |
| D．The Duty of a Little Dog |