Any foreigner who has tried to learn Chinese can tell how hard it is to master the tones required to speak and understand. And anyone who has tried to learn to play the violin or other instruments can report similar challenges.
Now researchers have found that people with musical training have an easier time learning Chinese. Writing in the online edition of Nature Neuroscience，researchers from Northwestern University say that both skills draw on the same parts of the brain that help people discover changes in pitch(音调)．
One of the study’s authors，Nina Kraus，said the findings suggested that studying music “actually tunes our sensory system”．This means that schools that want children to do well in languages should hesitate before cutting music programs，Dr.Kraus said. She said music training might also help children with language problems.
Mandarin(普通话)speakers have been shown to have a more complex encoding(编码) of pitch patterns in their brains than English speakers do. This is because in Mandarin and other Asian languages，pitch plays a central role. A singlesyllable word can have several meanings depending on how it is intoned.
For this study，the res
earchers looked at 20 nonChinese speaking volunteers，half with no musical background and half who have studied an instrument for at least six years.
As they were shown a movie，the volunteers also heard an audio tape of the Mandarin word “mi” in three of its meanings：squint，bewilder and rice. The rese
archers recorded activities in their brain stems to see how well they were processing the sounds. Those with a music background showed much more brain activities in response to the Chinese sounds.
The lead author of the study，Patrick C．M.W
ong，said it might work both ways. It appears that
native speakers of tonal languages may do better at learning instruments.When learning Chinese，a foreigner will find ________.
| A．he has a difficult time learning music at the same time |
| B．he has an easier time learning music at the same time |
| C．it is hard to master the tones required to speak and understand |
| D．it is easy to use the brain to help him discover changes in pitch |
Why does Chinese learning have something to do with music training?
| A．Because there is the same difficulty in learning Chinese and music. |
| B．Because skills to learn the two make use of the same parts of the brain. |
| C．Because music training might help people with language study. |
| D．Because people who do well in Chinese study do well in music. |
The underlined word “intoned” in the fourth paragraph can be replaced by the word “____”．
| A．created | B．spelled |
| C．seemed | D．pronounced |
What would be the best title for this passage?
| A．Mandarin Speakers Are Smarter than English Speakers |
| B．Skilled Ear for Music May Help Language Study |
| C．Pitch Plays a Central Role in Chinese Learning |
| D．Schools Need to Develop Music Programs |
Swaying palm trees，turquoiseblue(青绿色的)water and sugarwhite sand make beach lovers sigh with delight.But not all beaches have those ingredients.The most interesting beaches come in different shapes，sizes and colors.
Those who want beauty and something unique can go to the Seychells' La Digue Island.Large granite(花岗岩)rock formations overlook beautiful，whitesand beaches.The pinkishgrey rocks look like sculptures that have been forgotten on the beach.Tourists traveling to La Digue Island to see the unique rocks will also discover one of the world's most beautiful islands.
Hawaii's Big Island has one of the rarest beaches of all—a beach made up entirely of green sand.The sand，which is formed by dark green crystals called olivine(橄榄石)，is deposited(堆积)by volcanic activity.Green Sand Beach lies on the slopes of the world's largest active volcano，Mauna Loa.
One of the world's most unusual beaches lies on the island of Santorini，Greece.The sand on Red Beach gets its reddish color from the red volcanic rocks that make up the cliffs(悬崖)around the beach.Tourists flock(蜂拥)to see the red sand，making Red Beach one of Santorini's most popular beach destinations.
Black sand makes up the huge beach of Karakare.Through the years，volcanic sand mixed with iron ash to form this black beach on New Zealand's wild，west coast.Many have seen Karekare in the movie The Piano and the TV show Xena：Warrior Princess.
With all the beautiful beaches in the world，beach lovers have lots of choices.But for those ready for something different，a unique beach vacation might be just the ticket!What would be the best title of the passage?
| A．One of the world's most unusual beaches. |
| B．Beach lovers having more choices. |
| C．A unique beach vacation. |
| D．Unique beaches around the world. |
According to the text，______ would be regarded as the general characteristics of beautiful beaches?
| A．swaying palm trees，turquoiseblue water，sugarwhite sand |
| B．rocks，white sand，pinkishgrey，sculptures |
| C．green sand，slopes of an active volcano |
| D．black sand，iron ash，wild coast |
Beaches on the island of Santorini is red because of ______.
| A．the cliffs around the beach |
| B．the large granite rocks |
| C．the red volcanic rocks |
| D．crystals called olivine |
If you want to see pinkishgrey rocks，then go to ______.
| A．Santorini，Greece | B．Seychells' La Digue Island |
| C．Hawaii's Big Island | D．New Zealand |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．Different beaches have different colors. |
| B．Different places have different beaches. |
| C．White sand and the blue water is the main characteristics of beaches. |
| D．People have many choices for beach vacations. |
Dozens of scientists and tourists who spent over a week aboard a vessel trapped in Antarctic ice were rescued Thursday in an international effort that followed multiple attempts thwarted by the region's harsh climate.
The 52 were safely rescued by a transport helicopter from a Chinese icebreaker that landed on a makeshift helipad of ice near their stricken Russian research vessel. In multiple flights, it transferred about 12 at a time to an Australian vessel, where they will begin their journeys home, said authorities involved in the operation.
'Great relief!' scientific expedition leader Chris Turney said in a Twitter TWTR +6.05% message.
The airlift operation was confirmed by China's official Xinhua news agency, which has a reporter aboard the Chinese icebreaker, the Xue Long, or Snow Dragon. A statement from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, in charge of coordinating the operation, indicated passengers were safely transferred by early evening to the Australian icebreaker Aurora Australis.
Trapped in a particularly thick ice floe just before Christmas on its way toward Antarctica, the Russian research vessel Akademik Shokalskiy remains immobile. Its 22-member crew is staying aboard. While the passengers weren't in imminent danger, they expressed frustration as holidays passed but also maintained their spirits, including by stamping out the makeshift helipad with their feet on New Year's Day.
Thursday's rescue marked only the latest attempt to get close to the blue-hulled Russian vessel since it first called for help on Christmas Day. Over the past few days, ice-breaking vessels from China, Australia and France have made separate unsuccessful bids to cut through thick layers of ice to reach it.
After the rescue got under way Thursday afternoon under bright blue skies, video footage showed the twin-blade helicopter touching down gingerly on the makeshift helipad. Passengers wearing identical red life jackets walked in single file on the ice toward the helicopter.
Just hours before Thursday's rescue, Australian maritime authorities had announced natural conditions would cause them to abandon the mission yet again. Illustrating the caution, China's State Oceanic Administration, which runs the Xue Long, posted a statement on its website quoting its captain, Wang Jianzhong, as saying he was working continuously to ensure the icebreaker itself wouldn't get trapped in the thick ice.
In outlining the plan ahead of the flights, authorities said Chinese rescuers would fly 12 passengers at a time initially to the Xue Long, which was waiting 12 nautical miles away from the Russian craft in more open water, and then the Aurora Australis, waiting a further two nautical miles away.
Mr. Turney, a professor of climate change at the University of New South Wales, offered in his Twitter messages a 'huge thanks' to the Chinese and Australian authorities for ensuring all are 'safe and sound.'
The incident has highlighted the dangers of Antarctic travel even during the southern-summer months. Usually at this time of year, international attention on the frozen continent is typically limited to clashes between Japan's research whaling fleet and antiwhaling activists.
'All the world is making a fuss,' some passengers sang in an impromptu New Year's message recorded at a party in a common room on board the Russian ship by a journalist from Britain's Guardian newspaper. The group cheered and clapped to count down the last moments of 2013. Both passengers and crew have spent their time tweeting messages and videos of their experience.What does the underlined word thwarted mean in the first paragraph？
| A．prevent someone from doing sth | B．try one’s best to do sth |
| C．frighten by something | D．destroy |
According to the passage， the vessel trapped trapped in a thick ice is__________.
| A．an Australian vessel | B．a Russian vessel |
| C．a China vessel | D．a Franch vessel |
How many crew memembers were trapped in the vessel?
| A．22 | B．12 | C．52 | D．24 |
According to the passage，which of the following statements is true?
| A．Because of the thick ice, the vessel rescue attempts failed several times. |
| B．the Chinese icebreaker, Snow Dragon, transported the people trapped in the vessel home. |
| C．The 52 were safely rescued by a transport helicopter from a Chinese icebreaker at a time. |
| D．The Antarctic travel is dangerous even during the southern-summer months. |
Where does this text probably come from ?
| A．Children’s literature | B．Science fiction |
| C．An advertisement | D．A news report |
The sound of a mosquito can mean trouble in many parts of the world. The bite of the mosquito can be deadly. The insects carry serious diseases like malaria. The World Health Organization estimates that almost 630,000 people died from malaria and malaria-related causes in 2012, most of these cases were in African countries south of the Saharan desert.
In the United States, scientists are seeking new ways to fight malaria. A group of California scientists is working to develop a more effective and less costly substances to protect people from mosquito.
The researchers work at the University of California Riverside. They are investigating the sense of smell in mosquitoes. They found the insects use the same receptor for identifying carbon dioxide in human breath as they do for the smell of our skin.
Anandasankar Ray is leading the investigation. He says scientists tested more than a million chemical compounds until they found a substance called Ethyl pyruvate. He says Ethyl pyruvate makes the mosquitoes' receptor inactive.
"When we apply Ethyl pyruvate to a human arm and offer it to hungry mosquitoes in a cage, then very few of the mosquitoes are attracted to the human arm because only a few of them are able to smell it out," said Ray.
Genevieve Tauxe is a member of the UC Riverside research team. She says it was not easy to find the neurons of noble cells that recognise both the smell of human breath and skin. She describes a device the researchers are using to examine mosquitoes.
"With this apparatus, we are able to insert a very small electrode into the part of the mosquito's nose, effectively, where its olfactory neurons are and where the smell is happening," said Tauxe.
The scientists use these instruments to look for the signals that a mosquito's neurons send to its brain when it finds an interesting smell. Computer screen images show when the sense is strong or weak.
Anandasankar Ray says a product based on Ethyl pyruvate may cost less to manufacture than DEET, the most effective chemical treatment now in use. He says DEET is too costly for most people who live in areas affected by malaria.
"Perhaps by finding odors that can attack other target receptors, we will be able to improve upon DEET and finally have the next generation of insect behavior control products," said Ray.
The scientists believe they will soon be able to find a way to manufacture less costly and more effective products for the fight against mosquitoes.420According to the passage，scientists found a substance called_________.
| A．DEET |
| B．Ethyl pyruvate |
| C．carbon dioxide |
| D．target receptors |
From the passage, we know that__________.
| A．DEET is the most effective chemical treatment in use and it is not expensive. |
| B．scientists have not made products that are less costly and more effective to fight against mosquitoes. |
| C．new products will be more effective than DEET but will be costly. |
| D．DEET is not effective but expensive. |
What is the main idea of the passage？
| A．scientits help people to prevent from malaria. |
| B．scientits find how mosquitoes carry diseases. |
| C．scientits work hard to make new products to avoid the malaria. |
| D．scientits find new substances to fight mosquitoes. |
Where does this text probably come from ?
| A．Children’s literature | B．Science fiction |
| C．An advertisement | D．A health report |
According to the passage，which of the following statements is correct？
| A．Ethyl pyruvate does not make the mosquitoes' receptor inactive. |
| B．When we apply Ethyl pyruvate to a human arm，most of the mosquitoes are not attracted to the human arm. |
| C．Now we have not effective products to prevent from the mosquitoes. |
| D．Almost 630,000 people died from malaria and malaria-related causes in 2012, all the cases were in African countries. |
As we move upwards in an organization, our perspective begins to change, sometimes in ways that can feel uncomfortable. Most people begin working in some technical skill area where they can reliably produce desired outcomes based largely on their own performance.
In my career, I was a public relations practitioner, skilled at media relations, drafting news releases, organizing events and news conferences, etc. Of course that also required the skill of collaborating with others, but I wasn’t responsible for their performance. However, as my mastery of public relations increased into the areas of consulting and selling, I started moving up the ladder until eventually I was the general manager of the organization.
Suddenly, I realized I had been catapulted beyond my area of competence. I really had no idea how to “manage” others and how to “delegate” responsibility effectively to other players. So what did I do? I sucked most of the responsibility up to myself, continuing to work on things that demanded my technical expertise, while occasionally handing out a few “tasks” to others. Needless to say I suffered hugely as a manager until I learned the difficult lesson that (as my coach at the time said to me) “You need to find new ways of being important.”
The new role, the “new way of being important” that I learned was the role of leader, orchestrator, delegator. The new role of developing others instead of simply being a technical expert.The new role of working through others, not doing all the work myself. Imagine a symphony orchestra conductor trying to play all the instruments. That is what many new managers find themselves trying to do and its not a highly effective approach, to say the least!
Many new managers fail to achieve their potential because they don’t delegate effectively and they don’t really understand what delegation is all about. Delegating is so critically important that for many aspiring managers it literally becomes their “Achilles Heel”—their fatal weak spot that can make or break their careers. So let’s examine six major reasons that managers fail to delegate effectively.（www.kekenet.com）What does the word “collaborating” in the second passage mean?
| A．operating | B．corresponding |
| C．struggling | D．cooperating |
Where can the sentence “That’s when I hit the wall”be put？
| A．paragragh 1 and 2. | B．paragragh 2 and 3. |
| C．paragragh 3 and 4. | D．paragragh 4and 5. |
Why did the writer suffer as a manager?
| A．He took on most of the responsibility on his own. |
| B．He thought of himself an important person. |
| C．He failed to earn respect from others. |
| D．He put much pressure on others. |
According to the passage， we know “the new way of being important”means that________.
| A．The new role of developing others and being a technical expert. |
| B．The new role of working through others instead of doing all the work myself. |
| C．The new role of simply being a technical expert and doing all the work myself. |
| D．The new role of simply being a technical expert instead of doing all the work myself. |
What will the writer talk about following the text?
| A．How managers can deal with the workers. |
| B．The reasons why mangers should delegate effectively. |
| C．How managers be respected by workers. |
| D．The reasons why mangers can’t allocate effectively. |
Ecotourism is one of the fastest growing sectors in tourism．More and more of us are becoming concerned about the effects we are having on the destinations we choose, as well as the world around us．Some of us are choosing more green modes of transport to get there instead of flying, and some of us are choosing to visit greener destinations．India is one of the best places for ecotourism, and with the destinations below you can be sure that you’ll not only be protecting the earth, but giving something back to the area too．
Kerala, more commonly known as “God’s Own Country”, is a beautiful state on the southern tip of India．It’s a biologically diverse area, with many unique animal species, and almost 2,500 plant species in its tropical forests—that’s nearly a quarter of all India’s plant groups．In the past, though the forests in this area were much cleared, today they are well protected．There are plenty of wildlife reserves where you can see some of these unique animals．
With tourism developing in the area and money brought in, more attention can be given to protecting its plants and animals, ensuring that the people in the area have a better quality of life．
Arunachal Pradesh, situated on the most northern tip of India, is a resort for the more adventurous． With dry, desert heat in the summer and a snowfall best avoided in the winter, this area is less about greenery, and more about stunning desert landscapes．When visiting this amazing area, you'll be promoting locals earning income from their surroundings, encouraging them to make the most of them and preserve them, as well as gradually increasing their quality of life．
As a north Indian province, Ladakh supports much rare and even endangered plants and animals, which can be seen at Hemis High Altitude National Park．There are also many Tibetan monasteries, including the Hemis Monastery, to visit in the area．Why do people regard Kerala as a biologically diverse area?
| A．Because Kerala is one of the best places for ecotourism. |
| B．Because Kerala is commonly known as “God’s Own Country”. |
| C．Because there live many unique animal species and almost 2,500 plant species． |
| D．Because Kerala is a beautiful state on the southern tip of India． |
What’s the author’s attitude towards the tourist industry in Kerala?
| A．supportive |
| B．objective |
| C． nentral |
| D．passive |
What can the tourists enjoy in Arunachal Pradesh despite much hardship?
| A．many unique animal species |
| B．plenty of wildlife |
| C．The beautiful desert landscapes． |
| D．snowfall |
According to the passage, where would you like to go if you intend to study some endangered animals and plants?
| A．Hemis High Altitude National Park in Arunachal Pradesh. |
| B．Hemis High Altitude National Park in Kerala. |
| C．Hemis High Altitude National Park in Tibet. |
| D．Hemis High Altitude National Park in Ladak. |
What is the passage mainly talking about?
| A．The best ecotourism destinations in India． |
| B．protecting the earth |
| C．greener destinations |
| D．Ecotourism is one of the fastest growing sectors in tourism． |