“Birds are not as loyal to their partners as you might think, with divorce, child abandonment and remarriage a common part of birds’ life,” a new book has shown. Author and biology professor Bridge Stutchbury, dispels the love-bird belief that birds pair up for life. “In terms of the top 10 beliefs about birds, the lasting pair bonds that we think about, do occur in some birds, but in most of the little songbirds that we studied, no,” the professor from York University in Toronto said. The divorce rate among greater flamingos is 99 percent.
Stutchbury’s book, The Private Lives of Birds, based on 20 years of research from radio filming and DNA testing shows male Acadian flycatchers fertilize(使受孕) females far away from their home nests, “ The main discovery is that so many birds do divorce for what humans would describe as selfish reasons,” Professor Stutchbury said. She noted that females may seek out males that are more colorful and better singers, or look to “step up in the world” and move to areas that are safer and have more food. “Females are looking for the highest quality male so that their children will be of high quality,” she added.
Professor Stutchbury said shorter summers may drive females to leave their nests before their young are fully grown up so they can quickly find new mates（配偶） and lay more eggs, leaving the males to feed the hungry chicks on their own.
Males can double their success in producing children by fertilizing neighboring females, but only “mates” care for the young, and some are none the wiser. “ They can’t tell when the egg comes out and whether it’s theirs or not,” She said. “They have no way to know.”
Divorce is surprisingly common among birds, and most live with one partner for only a few months or years. Divorce rates range from 99 percent in the greater flamingo to zero in the wandering albatross(信天翁).What does the underline word “dispels” mean?
| A．States | B．Doubts | C．Confirms | D．Removes |
The book The Private Lives of Birds_____.
| A．shows the kind of male birds females seek out. |
| B．indicates the wandering albatross is the most faithful. |
| C．is based on Professor Stutchbury’s 20 years’ research. |
| D．suggests that female birds select males near their home. |
According to the passage, we can infer that________.
| A．young birds’ quality depends on their feather. |
| B．some male birds care for others’ young as their own. |
| C．female birds go to find males as soon as autumn comes. |
| D．female birds are responsible for feeding the hungry babies. |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．A book about love-birds. |
| B．Birds’ living habits and love life |
| C．The fact that birds don’t love their mates forever. |
| D．The factors that influence birds to look for another mate. |
Australia has passed regulations that will enable more international students to further their education in the country.
The new measures were released by the Australian Department of Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations in September and will take effect in mid-2012.
As a result, the student visa(签证) application process for overseas students has been simplified, and the deposit(押金) required to study in Australia has been reduced. Language requirements for overseas students have also been eased.
Also, overseas students receiving a higher education in Australia will be given a working visa lasting from two to four years after graduation, as long as they meet the basic IELTS requirement.
“This change will definitely make Australia a more attractive destination for Chinese students planning to study overseas,” says Wang Lan, an expert from Education International Cooperation Group(EIC), a Beijing-based company that provides services to students wishing to study overseas.
However, in the past few years, many of Wang's student clients(客户) could not start studies in Australia because they did not meet the language requirements, visa processing took a long time and deposit regulations were difficult. The change in policy is good news for the parents of students wishing to study in Australia, Wang says.
A 22-year-old female student surnamed Li, in Beijing, who is planning to do her postgraduate studies in Australia, learned about the policy change several weeks ago.
“According to the previous deposit requirement for my student visa, my family was required to put down 550,000 yuan($86,850). Now we only need to prepare 410,000 yuan. This is a relief for my parents,” Li says.
She also says that the two to four years working visa makes her feel much clearer about her study plans.
“I believe several years of working experience abroad will strengthen my competitiveness when I return to China,” she says.
Gaining a competitive advantage is the major reason for Chinese students to study abroad, according to the report by EIC.What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．Language requirement for overseas students have been eased in Australia. |
| B．Australia is a most attractive place for students in China. |
| C．Australia widens window of opportunity for international students. |
| D．More students will work in Australia after their graduation. |
After the new regulations are passed, .
| A．more students will come to Australia to work |
| B．more Chinese students will choose to live in Australia |
| C．the opportunities to work in Australia decrease for overseas students |
| D．more Chinese students will choose to further their education in Australia |
How much can Li’s parents save according to the new regulations?
| A．550,000 yuan. | B．140,000 yuan. | C．410,000 yuan. | D．86,850 yuan. |
Why do many students want to work in Australia after their graduation?
| A．The working experience abroad will strengthen their competitiveness. |
| B．They can earn more money in Australia. |
| C．Their working experience can make them stay in Australia forever. |
| D．They have to do so according to the new regulations. |
Lynn was a young French Canadian girl who grew up in the farming community. At the age of l6, her father thought that she had enough schooling and forced her to drop out of school to contribute to the family income. In l922, with limited education and skills, the future didn’t look bright for Lynn. Her father demanded that Lynn find a job as soon as possible, but she didn’t have the confidence to ask for a job.
One day, Lynn gathered her courage and knocked on her very first door. She was met by Margaret Costello, the office manager. In her broken English, Lynn told her she was interested in the secretarial position. Margaret decided to give her a chance.
Margaret sat her down at a typewriter and said, “Lynn, let’s see how good you really are.” She directed Lynn to type a single letter, and then left. Lynn looked at the clock and saw that it was 11:40 a.m. Everyone would be leaving for lunch at noon. She thought she should at least attempt the letter.
On her first try, she got through one line but made four mistakes. She pulled the paper out and threw it away. The clock now read 11:45. “At noon,” she said to herself, “I’ll move out with the crowd, and they will never see me again.”
On her second attempt, things didn’t get any better. Again she started over and finally completed the letter, full of mistakes, though. She looked at the clock: 11:55—five minutes to freedom.
Just then, Margaret walked in. She came directly over to Lynn, and put one hand on the desk and the other on the girl’s shoulder. She read the letter and paused. Then she said, “Lynn, you’re doing good work!”
Lynn was surprised. She looked at the letter, then up at Margaret. With those simple words of encouragement, her desire to escape disappeared and her confidence began to grow. She thought, “Well, if she thinks it’s good, then it must be good. I think I’ll stay!”
Lynn did stay at Carhartt Overall Company…for 51 years, through two world wars and 11 presidents—all because someone had the insight to give a shy and uncertain young girl the gift of self-confidence when she knocked on the door.Why did Lynn leave school at an early age?
| A．To learn English well. |
| B．To earn money for her family. |
| C．To get self-confidence. |
| D．To become a typist. |
When Lynn applied for the job, she.
| A．could speak good English |
| B．didn’t know much about typing |
| C．knew Margaret very well |
| D．never wrote any letter |
How many attempts did Lynn make to type the letter?
| A．One. | B．Two. | C．Three. | D．Four. |
Who does the underlined word “someone” in the last paragraph refer to?
| A．Lynn’s father. | B．Lynn herself. | C．A president. | D．Margaret. |
What can we learn from Lynn's story?
| A．Encouragement makes a difference. |
| B．Honesty is the best policy. |
| C．Virtue(美德) leads to success. |
| D．Time waits for no man. |
Mayor Boris Johnson Monday outlined plans to make London “the cleanest” by the 2012 Olympics and called for commitments from other world cities at a climate change conference. Leaders of the world's 40 largest cities are meeting in Seoul this week for a summit on combating global warming ---- the third to be held since 2005.
"What we should do in Seoul is agree that we will stop the endless addiction of mankind to the internal combustion engine (内燃机)," said Johnson. He told a press conference the world's cities consume 75 percent of its energy and produce 80 percent of the emissions which cause climate change. "The problem of our planet is an urban problem," Johnson said.
He said the British capital wants to use the Olympics "to drive the greening and the improvement of our city" and noted that London is committed to reduce carbon emissions by 60 percent by 2025.
Johnson said the key measure was addressing the problems relating to domestic and commercial buildings, which accounted for 70 percent of carbon dioxide emissions in London. This involved retrofitting (翻新) ---- installing lagging (绝缘层材料) ---- in large numbers of public buildings.
Johnson proclaimed himself a "passionate cyclist" and said he would push ahead with cycle super-highways around London.
London's air quality problem, he said, was caused by vehicle emissions from 8,300 antiquated (陈旧的) diesel (柴油) buses, which could be replaced by low-carbon vehicles. There were also 32,000 taxis running on diesel fuel, which could be replaced by electric vehicles.
Johnson said there would be a substantial (实质上的) program in the next few years to produce a "cleaner, greener" bus for his city. "The age of the diesel-emitting bus has got to be over in London."Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE according to this passage?
| A．The used buses running on diesel will be replaced by electric vehicles. |
| B．London’s air quality will be improved in the near future. |
| C．London promises to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 60 percent by 2025. |
| D．Plans have been made to solve the problem of carbon dioxide emissions. |
What does the underlined word mean in the first paragraph?
| A．discussing | B．resisting | C．agreeing | D．supporting |
The topic of the meeting in Seoul might be __________.
| A．climate change | B．London Olympics in 2012 |
| C．global warming | D．green environment |
If the passage was continually written, the following might be __________.
| A．measures to replace the old and used vehicles |
| B．measures to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in London |
| C．measures to solve housing and commercial items |
| D．measures to end the age of the diesel bus |
Have you ever picked a job based on the fact that you were good at it but later found it made you feel very uncomfortable over time? When you select your career, there’s whole lot more to it than assessing your skills and matching them with a particular position. If you ignore your personality, it will hurt you long-term regardless of your skills or the job's pay. There are several areas of your personality that you need to consider to help you find a good job. Here are a few of those main areas:
1) Do you prefer working alone or with other people?
There are isolating (使孤立) jobs that will drive an outgoing person crazy and also interactive jobs that will make a shy person uneasy. Most people are not extremes in either direction but do have a tendency that they prefer. There are also positions that are sometimes a combination of the two, which may be best for someone in the middle who adapts easily to either situation.
2) How do you handle change?
Most jobs these days have some elements of change to them, but some are more than others. If you need stability in your life, you may need a job where the changes don't happen so often. Other people would be bored of the same daily routine.
3) Do you enjoy working with computers?
I do see this as a kind of personality characteristic. There are people who are happy to spend more than 40 hours a week on a computer, while there are others who need a lot of human interaction throughout the day. Again, these are extremes and you'll likely find a lot of positions somewhere in the middle as well.
4) What type of work environment do you enjoy?
This can range from being in a large building with a lot of people you won't know immediately to a smaller setting where you'll get to know almost all the people there fairly quickly.
5) How do you like to get paid?
Some people are motivated by the pay they get, while others feel too stressed to be like that. The variety of payment designs in the sales industry is a typical example for this.
Anyway, these are a great starting point for you. I've seen it over and over again with people that they make more money over time when they do something they love. It may take you a little longer, but making a move to do what you have a passion for can change the course of your life for the better.This passage mainly talks about the importance of __________.
| A．different jobs | B．personalities | C．personal skills | D．job’s pay |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Isolating jobs usually drive people mad. |
| B．Interactive jobs make people shy easily. |
| C．Extreme people tend to work with others. |
| D．Almost everyone has a tendency in jobs. |
What is the missing word about a job search in the following chart?
| A．Design | B．Skills | C．Cooperation | D．Hobbies |
What is the best title for this passage?
| A．Lifestyles and Job Pay |
| B．Jobs and Environment |
| C．Job Skills and Abilities |
| D．Personalities and Jobs |
The price of coffee beans hits a 12 – year high today. I thought there might
be some kind of coffee – market story, like we saw with cocoa earlier this summer.
But the main driver of coffee prices right now is simpler: Colombia has had
a few years of weak coffee harvests because of too much rain, which has reduced
the global supply. And coffee drinkers keep buying coffee, even as prices rise, in
other words, demand is unchanged.
The higher price of beans – up about 40 percent since March – means higher prices for the coffee you buy by the pound. But it probably won’t affect the coffee you buy by the cup.
Smuckers, which sells Folgers and Millstone coffees, recently said it was raising its prices because of the higher cost of beans. Starbucks, however, said it would absorb the higher cost of beans without raising prices.
“You see it much more in the grocery store because the raw materials are a big factor of cost,” Jose Sette of the International Coffee Organization told me. “In a coffee shop, your big expenses are rent and labor.”
While real – world supply and demand is the big driver of the price of beans, there may be some speculative action in coffee business in the future.
But futures (期货) of the high – grade Arabica beans are traded in the US, where regulations prevent speculators (投机商) from controlling the market, hoping such things won’t happen just as in London summer market. That suggests that prices should fall when supply improves – which may happen next year.
Some experts say that farmers in third world countries won’t actually benefit from higher prices in this case. When the price difference is due to supply and demand, the profit of the seller usually doesn’t go up.Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
| A．Why coffee is getting more expensive? |
| B．How farmer benefits from the high price? |
| C．Whether the US will control the coffee market? |
| D．What has caused the reduction of coffee? |
From the second paragraph we can infer that _______________________.
| A．Colombia is the coffee trading center of the world |
| B．Colombia coffee output contains a final share of the world |
| C．People need more and more coffee |
| D．Coffee sales will be getting less and less |
In this summer’s coffee bean market, ____________________________.
| A．the US made more rules about coffee prices |
| B．speculators once held the coffee bean market in London |
| C．coffee bean trading was seriously disorganized |
| D．coffee bean prices were very low in the US |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?
| A．The price difference determines the profit of the seller. |
| B．Smuckers is a famous coffee manufacturer. |
| C．Real – world supply and demand decides the prices. |
| D．Coffee prices will become much higher next year. |