Dogs can be worried and pessimistic just like people, researchers report in a new study in Current Biology. And they aren’t talking about basset hounds (短脚猎狗): those dogs just look as if they expect the worst.
What the scientists say is that dogs that exhibit anxiety when left home alone by their owners may have bigger problems — they may be in a permanent bad mood.
This pessimistic outlook may not otherwise be easily apparent in a dog’s other characteristics, like running speed or learning ability, the study reports.
Dogs are similar to humans in the role that emotional state plays in decision making, said Michael Mendel, a veterinary scientist at the University of Bristol and the study’s lead author. The study’s researchers looked at 24 dogs in shelters in Britain.
They placed the dogs in isolated settings and observed their reactions — many barked, jumped on furniture and scratched at the door.
Then they placed bowls in two rooms. One bowl contained food, while another was empty. After training the dogs to understand that bowls can sometimes be empty, and sometimes full, they began to place bowls in ambiguous locations.
Dogs that quickly raced to the locations were more optimistic, and in search of food. Those that did not were deemed pessimistic.
The more separation anxiety a dog expressed while in isolation, the more likely the dog was to have a pessimistic reaction, the researchers found.
The study carries an important message for dog owners, Dr. Mendel said.
Dogs that express serious anxiety when alone may need treatment, as it could be a sign of unhappiness and instability.This passage can be classified as _________.
| A．an advertisement | B．a feature story |
| C．a news report | D．a book review |
In the study, many dogs barked, jumped and scratched because __________.
| A．they couldn’t find the bowl with food in it |
| B．they were left alone |
| C．they needed to be treated |
| D．they wanted to be active and optimistic |
According to Dr. Mendel, which statement is true?
| A．Like humans, dogs are good at decision making. |
| B．Dog owners should train dogs to find food. |
| C．Emotional state works sometimes when humans make decision. |
| D．Dogs can always find the bowl with food quickly. |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．Dogs will be optimistic as long as they are left alone. |
| B．Dogs must be in a permanent bad mood when their owners left. |
| C．Dogs that express anxiety don’t need treatment. |
| D．Dogs may easily show their pessimistic outlook in learning ability. |
During the summer holidays there will be a revised(修改过的)schedule of services for the students. Changes for dinning-room and library service hours and for bus schedules will be posted on the wall outside of the dining-hall．Weekly film and concert schedules,which are being arranged(安排), will be posted each Wednesday outside of the student club.
In the summer holidays, buses going to the town center will leave the main hall every hour on the half hour during the day．The dining-room will serve three meals a day from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm during the week and two meals from noon to 7:00 pm on weekends．The library will continue its usual hours during the week, but have shorter hours on Saturdays and Sundays．The weekend hours are from noon to5:00 pm.
All students who want to use the library borrowing services must have a new summer card．This announcement will also appear in the next week’s student newspaper.The main purpose of this announcement is to .
| A．tell students of important schedule changes |
| B．tell students of new bus and library services |
| C．show the excellent services for students |
| D．ask students to renew their library cards |
Times for films and concerts are not listed in this announcement because .
| A．they are not to be announced |
| B．they are hard to arrange |
| C．the full list is not ready |
| D．the full list is too long |
At which of the following times will the bus leave the main hall?
| A．8:00, 9:00, 10:00, 11:00 |
| B．8:30, 9:30, 10:30, 11:30 |
| C．8:30,9:00, 9:30,10:00 |
| D．8:00, 9:30, 11:00, 12:30 |
In the summer holidays,the library will have .
| A．no special hours |
| B．special hours on weekdays |
| C．special hours on weekends |
| D．special hours both on weekdays and weekends |
The Great Fire of London started in the very early hours of September 2, 1666. In four days it destroyed more than three-quarters of the old city, where most of the houses were wooden and close together. Over one hundred people became homeless, but only a few lost their lives .
The fire started on Sunday morning in the house of the King’s baker（面包师）in Pudding Lane. The baker, with his wife and family, was able to get out through a window into the roof. A strong wind blew the fire from the bakery（面包房）into a small hotel next door. Then it spread quickly into Thames Street. That was the beginning.
By eight o’clock three hundred houses were on fire. On Monday nearly a kilometer of the city was burning along the River Thames. Tuesday was the worst day. The fire destroyed many well-known buildings, old St Paul’s and the Guildhall among them .
Samuel Pepys , the famous writer, writer about the fire, “People threw their things into the river. Many poor people stayed in their houses until the last moment. Birds fell out of the air because of the heat .”
The fire stopped only when the King finally ordered people to destroy hundreds of buildings in the path（路径） of the fire.With nothing left to burn, the fire became weak and finally died out.
After the fire, Christopher Wren, the architect(建筑师), wanted a city with wider streets and fine new houses of stone．In fact, the streets are still narrow, but he did build more than fifty churches, among which was the new St Paul’s
The fire caused great pain and loss, but after it London was a better place: a city for the future and not just of the past.The underlined word‘family’in the second paragraph probably means____.
| A．house | B．children | C．wife and husband | D．wife and children |
It seems that the writer of the text was most sorry for the fact that .
| A．many people lost their lives |
| B．the birds in the sky were killed by the fire |
| C．many famous buildings were destroyed |
| D．the King’s bakery was burned down |
Why did the writer cite(引用)Samuel Pepys?
| A．Because Pepys was among those putting out the fire. |
| B．Because Pepys also wrote about the fire. |
| C．To show that poor people suffered most. |
| D．To give the reader a clearer picture of the fire. |
How was the fire put out according to the text?
| A．The King and his soldiers came to help. |
| B．All the wooden houses in the city were destroyed. |
| C．People managed to get enough water from the river. |
| D．Houses standing in the path of the fire were destroyed. |
A young woman carrying a three-year-old child got on a bus. The conductor(售票员) hurried to give her a warm welcome and then kindly asked the other passengers to make more room for the woman and her child. On seeing this, people began to talk. "You know this conductor used to be very rude. Now suddenly he has changed his bad behavior , "said a middle-aged man.
"Yes, he should be praised and we must write a letter to the company," said a second passenger. "That's right," another lady said, "I wish a newspaper reporter were here so that more people could learn from this conductor. "
Just then a gentleman who looked like a teacher turned to the conductor and said , "Excuse me, but can I know your name, please? Your excellent service must be praised..."
Before he could open his mouth, the three-year-old child sitting on the young woman's lap interrupted (打断谈话), "I know his name. I call him Dad."The passengers were ________ to see the conductor's kindness to the woman and the child.
| A．excited | B．pleased | C．interested | D．surprised |
One passenger suggested writing a letter to the company to ______ .
| A．make a demand for more buses |
| B．thank the conductor for his good service |
| C．criticize（批评） the conductor for his rude behavior |
| D．invite a newspaper reporter to write about the conductor |
What was the gentleman?
| A．A teacher. |
| B．A newspaper reporter. |
| C．Not known from the story. |
| D．The conductor's friend from his company. |
The word "he" in the last paragraph refers to _______.
| A．the gentleman |
| B．the conductor |
| C．the middle-aged man |
| D．the three-year-old child |
Scientists are trying to make the deserts ,which get very little rain, into good land again. They want to bring water to the deserts，so people can live and grow food. They are learning a lot about the deserts. But more and more of the earth is becoming desert all the time. Scientists may not be able to change the desert in time．
Why is more and more land becoming desert？Scientists think that people make deserts．People are doing bad things to the earth against the scientists’ wish．
Some places on the earth don’t get much rain. But they still don’t become deserts．This is because some green plants are growing there．Small green plants and grass are very important to dry places．Plants don’t let the sun make the earth even drier． Plants do not let the wind blow the dirt away．When a bit of rain falls，the plants hold the water. Without plants, the land can become desert more easily． Deserts ____________ ．
| A．never have any plants or animals in them |
| B．can all be turned into good land before long |
| C．are becoming smaller and smaller |
| D．get very little rain |
More and more landisbecomingdesertbecause____________．
| A．plants can’t grow there |
| B．there is not enough rain |
| C．people haven’t done what scientists wish them to do |
| D．scientists know little about the deserts |
Smallgreenplantsareveryimportanttodryplaces because ________
| A．they don’t let the sun make the earth even drier |
| B．they don’t let the wind blow the soil away |
| C．they hold water |
| D．All of the above． |
After reading this passage, we learn that _____________ ．
| A．plants can keep dry land from becoming desert |
| B．it is good to get rid of the grass in the deserts |
| C．all places without much rain will become deserts |
| D．it is better to grow crops on dry land than to cut them |
Ban Fur? Then Why Not Leather?
Much to the displeasure of some local businesses, the City Council in West Hollywood, California, voted without opposition last week to ban the sale of fur products. Should laws be involved in this issue? Is it unfair to ban sales of fur, but not sales of leather and hides (兽皮)?
Animals Do Not Have Rights
By Tibor R. Machan
My view is that animals do not have basic rights. It is a matter of ethics (伦理学) and not of the laws of human societies. If animals had such rights as human beings do, they would have to be held responsible for killing fellow animals in the wild. That way of thinking about animals makes a category mistake. Using animals, including their fur or organs, to improve people's lives is acceptable.
A Small Step Against Cruelty
By Kate Carter
Both fur and leather are the skins of dead animals. Why should we think that the lovable furry ones deserve more of a life than the less pleasing ones? Some say leather is less cruel because it's a byproduct (副产品) of the meat industry. But this isn't really true. Some cheap leather may be a byproduct of the meat industry, but often it's the other way round. In South Africa, where there is a developing market for ostrich(鸵鸟)farms, the skins account for roughly 80 percent of the slaughtered (宰杀)birds' value, a mere 20 percent of which comes from the meat.
"Who" Are You Wearing?
By Marc Bekoff
West Hollywood's ban is a move in the right direction. However, we must work to ban the sales of leather and hides, too. Furs come from animals who are attacked to become clothing, while some leather and hides come from slaughterhouse(屠宰场) animals. We must remember that when people choose to wear fur, leather and hides, they are wearing formering conscious beings. So it's a matter of who they are wearing, not what they are wearing because these animals must be referred to as who and not what or that.What is the passage mainly about?
| A．West Hollywood's ban on fur products. |
| B．Differences between fur and leather sales. |
| C．The government's role in protecting animals. |
| D．The ecological imbalance in West Hollywood. |
What is Kate Carter's opinion about wearing fur and wearing leather?
| A．Both are decided by the meat industry. |
| B．There is little distinction (区别) between them. |
| C．Wearing fur is generally more acceptable. |
| D．Wearing leather is cheaper than wearing fur. |
What is Marc Bekoff’s attitude towards sales of fur?
| A．Sympathetic. | B．Careless. | C．Tolerant. | D．Opposed. |