Pierre is a 25-year-old penguin at the California Academy of Sciences. Due to his old age, he was going bald, which made him feel too cold to swim in the pool. Therefore, biologists at the academy had a wetsuit created for this penguin to help him get back in the swimming pool.
Unlike marine mammals, which have a layer of fat to keep them warm, penguins depend on their waterproof feathers. Without them, Pierre was unwilling to jump into the swimming pool and ended up trembling on the side of the pool while his 19 peers played in the water.
"He was cold; he would shake," said Pam Schaller, a senior biologist. Schaller first tried a heat lamp to keep Pierre warm. Then she got another idea: if wetsuits keep humans warm in the cold Pacific, why not make one for Pierre?
Schaller designed the suit, which covered Pierre’s body and had small openings for his flippers.
“I would walk behind him and look at where there were any gaps, and cut and refit and cut and refit until it looked like it was extremely suitable,” she said.
One concern was that the other penguins would reject Pierre in his new suit, but in fact, they accepted his new look. He swam freely and got along with others well, although he was the only penguin with a black stomach.
Schaller couldn’t say for sure whether the wetsuit allowed Pierre to recover his fine feathers, but “certainly we were able to keep him comfortable during a period of time that would have been very difficult for him to stay comfortable”.
Pierre will take off his suit after his new feathers grow back. Pierre felt too cold to swim in the pool because of _____.
A．not ha ving a layer of blubber |
B．having few feathers due to old age |
| C．having no wetsuit | D．others penguins rejecting him |
The idea of making a wetsuit for Pierre came from _____.
| A．total invention | B．waterproof feathers |
| C．the use of wetsuit on humans | D．the use of heat lamp |
Schaller followed Pierre in order to see
_____.
| A．whether other penguins would reject him |
| B．if anywhere of wetsuit needed to be cut and refit |
| C．if the wetsuit kept warm |
| D．whether the wetsuit would keep the feathers from recovering |
The best title of the
passage is _____.
A．Wetsuit for An Old Penguin |
B．Old Penguin Getting Bald |
| C．Unwilling to Swim | D．Strange Look of Pierre |
Fumbling with the buttons to find a good song while driving has been linked to increased risk of crashes, but is listening to music risky? “It depends on the music,” says a report published in the October issue of Accident Analysis & Prevention.
The study found teenage drivers who played their own music had significantly more traffic violations（违规） compared with background music designed by the researchers to minimize driving distractions, or no music.
Researchers at Ben-Gurion University in Israel recruited(招募) 85 drivers about 18 years old; just over half were male. The subjects were each assigned to drive six challenging road trips that were about 40 minutes long, accompanied by an experienced driving instructor. Music was played on four trips, two with selections from the drivers' playlists, mostly fast-paced vocals, and two with background music, which was a mixture of easy listening, soft rock and light jazz designed to increase driver safety. No music was played on two trips. Subjects rated their mood after each trip and in-car data recorders analyzed driver behavior and errors.
All 85 subjects committed at least three errors in one or more of the six trips; 27 received a warning and 17 required steering or braking by an instructor to prevent an accident. When the music was their own, 98% made errors; without the music, 92% made errors; and while listening to the safe-driving music, 77% made errors. Speeding, following too close, inappropriate lane use, one-handed driving and were the common violations.
The male subjects were more aggressive drivers and made more serious errors than female subjects. The teens played their own music at a very loud volume but significantly decreased the sound level when listening to the safe-driving music, researchers said. Mood ratings were highest on trips with driver-preferred music.What is the key information the author wants to give in Paragraph 1?
| A．Many drivers played their favorite music while driving. |
| B．Drivers shouldn’t search for the buttons to find a good song. |
| C．Song selection has nothing to do with increased risk of crashes. |
| D．Listening to certain types of music can increase drivers’ errors. |
What does the underlined word “ subjects” refer to in this passage?
| A．Something being discussed. | B．People being written about. |
| C．People being tested. | D．Areas of knowledge or study. |
In the research, soft rock and light jazz are likely to _______.
| A．increase drivers’ safety |
| B．add to the pleasure of driving |
| C．change drivers’ idea of safe driving |
| D．lower drivers’ guard against danger |
It can be inferred from the passage that in the research ______.
| A．the teens committed the most errors |
| B．the male were more skillful in driving |
| C．traveling with no music made the least errors |
| D．driver-preferred music increased the mood ratings |
A HALF - EMPTY BASKET
Once there was a poor farmer and his farm belonged to(属于) a rich man. One day he brought a basket of apples to the rich man’s house. On the doorsteps, he met two monkeys dressed like children. They jumped onto the basket to eat the apples and threw some on the ground. The farmer politely took off his hat and asked the monkeys to get off. They obeyed(服从) and the farmer went into the house. He asked to see the rich man. A servant took him to the room where the rich man was sitting.
"I have brought you the basket of apples you asked for," he said.
"But why have you brought a half-empty basket?" the rich man asked.
"I met your children outside, and they stole(偷) some of the apples."Why did the farmer bring apples to the rich man? Because
| A．his farm belonged to the rich man | B．he liked the rich man |
| C．he was poor | D．the rich man’s children liked apples |
What did the monkeys do when the farmer was on the doorsteps?
| A．They jumped and jumped. | B．They played. |
| C．They ate some of the apples. | D．They ran away. |
The monkeys left the basket because
| A．they had thrown apples on the ground |
| B．the farmer had politely asked them to get off |
| C．they were afraid of the hat |
| D．the farmer was angry wit h them |
How did the rich man feel when he saw the basket? He felt .
| A．pleased | B．unhappy | C．excited | D．moved |
The clock struck eleven at night. The whole house was quiet. Everyone was in bed except me. Under the strong light, I looked sadly before a huge pile of troublesome stuff they call “books”.
I was going to have my examination the next day. "When can I go to bed?" I asked myself. I didn’t answer, in fact I dared not.
The clock struck 12."Oh, dear!" I cried, "ten more books to read before I can go to bed!” We pupils are the most wretched creatures in the world. Dad does not agree with me on this. He did not have to work so hard when he was a boy ."
The clock struck one. I was quite hopeless now. I forgot all I had learnt. I was too tired to go on. I did the only thing I could. I prayed, “Oh, God, Please help me pass the exam tomorrow. I do promise to work hard afterwards, Amen.” My eyes were heavy, so heavy that I could hardly open them. A few minutes later, with my head on the desk, I fell asleep.When the author was going over his lessons, all the others in the house were_____ .
| A．outside | B．working in bed |
| C．asleep | D．quietly laughing at him |
Reviewing his lessons didn’t help him because ________. .
| A．it was too late at night |
| B．he was very tired |
| C．his eyes l ids were so heavy that he couldn’t keep them open |
| D．he hadn’t studied hard before the examination |
What do you suppose happened to the author？
| A．He went to a church to pray again | B．He passed the exam by luck |
| C．He was punished by his teacher | D．He failed in the exam |
The best title for the passage would be __________ .
| A．Working Far into the Night | B．The Night Before the Examination |
| C．A Slow Student | D．Going Over My Lessons |
Jean Driscoll can go faster in her wheelchair than the world’s best marathoners(马拉松运动员) can run!
In April, Jean finished the Boston Marathon in 1 hour 34 minutes 22 seconds. That’s about 33 minutes faster than the winning male runner! She competed on the track, too. She was second in the 800 meter wheelchair race at the 1992 Olympics.
Jean doesn’t like to be told she’s brave. “I’m in sports because I’m a competitive person!” Jean was born with spina befida(脊柱裂), a birth illness that damages the spine（脊椎）. She began to use a wheelchair to get around in high school. Then she tried wheelchair race and was amazed.” Players crashed into each other and fell out of their chairs,” she says, “It was fun.”
Jean tried other wheelchair sports. At the University of Illinois, her wheelchair basketball team won two national titles.
Now Jean coaches and teaches. She tries to get people to set goals. “When I sign my a utograph（亲笔签名）,says Jean, “I write, dream big and work hard.”What made Jean take part in sports?
| A．She was competitive. | B．She was brave. |
| C．She was strong. | D．She was disabled. |
What kind of education did she receive?
| A．High school. | B．Junior middle school. |
| C．Primary school. | D．High education. |
What is Jean’s advice on how to succeed?
| A．Work hard. | B．Hope for the best. |
| C．Have great wishes and work hard. | D．Dream a lot. |
When I was about 12, I had an enemy, a girl who liked to point out my shortcomings(缺点). Wee k by week her list grew: I was very thin, I wasn’t a good student, I talked too much, I was too proud, and so on. I tried to hear all this as long as I could. At last, I became very angry. I ran to my father with tears in my eyes.
He listened to me quietly, then he asked. “Are the things she says true or not? Janet, didn’t you ever wonder what you’re really like ? Well, you now have that girl’s opinion. Go and make a list of everything she said and mark the points that are true. Pay no attention to the other things she said.”
I did as he told me. To my great surprise, I discovered that about half the things were true. Some of them I couldn’t change (like being very thin), but a good number I could—and suddenly I wanted to change. For the first time I go to fairly clear picture of myself.
I brought the list back to Daddy. He refused to take it.“That’s just for you,” he said.“You know better than anyone else the truth about yourself. But you have to learn to listen, not just close your ears in anger and feeling hurt. When something said about you is true, you’ll find it will be of help to you. Our world is full of people who think they know your duty. Don’t shut your ears. Listen to them all, but hear the truth and do what you know is the right thing to do.”
Daddy’s advice has returned to me at many important moments. In my life, I’ve never had a better piece of advice.What did the father do after he had heard his daughter’s complaint?
| A．He told her not to pay any attention to what her“enemy” had said. |
| B．He criticized (批评) her and told her to overcome her shortcomings. |
| C．He refused to take the list and have a look at it. |
| D．He told her to write down all that her“enemy” had said about her and pay attention only to the things that were true |
What does “Week by week her list grew” mean?
| A．Week by week she discovered more shortcomings of mine and pointed them out to me. |
| B．She had made a list of my shortcomings and she kept on adding new ones to its that it was growing longer and longer. |
| C．I was having more and more shortcomings as time went on. |
| D．Week by week, my shortcomings grew more serious. |
Why did her father listen to her quietly?
| A．Because he believed that what her daughter’s “enemy” said was mostly true. |
| B．Because he had been so angry with his daughter’s shortcomings that he wanted to show this by keeping silent for a while. |
| C．Because he knew that his daughter would not listen to him at that moment. |
| D．Because he wasn’t quite sure which girl was telling the truth. |
Which do you think would be the best title for this passage?
| A．Not an Enemy, but the Best Friend | B．The Best Advice I’ve Ever Had |
| C．My Father | D．My Childhood |