Dolphins are interesting animals and researchers find them interesting to watch. They don’t have hands, but can use tools to solve problems, just like us. Scientists have observed a dolphin trying to get a shy eel(鳝鱼) to come out of its hole by poking(捅)it with a dead fish. Many species of dolphin live in large societies. They have many different relationships and need a good communication system; they use a variety of sounds to communicate with each other.
There is currently no evidence that dolphins have a language of their own. But scientists still have a lot to find out about these animals and so there are certain to be a few surprises in the future.
At Kewalo Basin Marine Laboratory in Hawaii, the dolphin team have developed a sign langue to communicate with the dolphins, and the results are amazing. Not only do the dolphins understand the meaning of individual words, they also understand the significance of word order in a sentence. For example, when they were asked to ‘touch the ball with your tail and then jump over it’ they generally responded correctly and straight away, which showed that they understood the langue.
Most mammals seem to enjoy play—but dolphins seems to like making their games as challenging as possible. On a beautiful day in 1997, researchers working at a beach, off the southern coast of Brazil, observed a little dog going into the sea and swimming towards the dolphins. To their surprise, the dolphins approached the dog and then started throwing it into the air. The dog seemed to enjoy the ‘game’ and continued playing with the dolphins for more than an hour. From then on, different dogs were seem trying to interact with the dolphins.
Dolphins live in a very different world to ourselves, but they are very good at our ‘intelligence tests’. For example, they will jump out of the water when they hear a whistle noise. They do this because they will get a fish as a reward. There is still much to learn about these flexible(灵活的)problem-solvers, but from the evidence so far, it would seem as though dolphins are very intelligent.To get a shy eel to come out of its hole , a dolphin would poke it with____.
| A．a tool | B．its tail | C．a dead fish | D．its mouth |
At a laboratory in Hawaii, the dolphin team have developed a ____ to communicate with the dolphins.
| A．variety of sounds | B．sign language |
| C．special word order | D．dolphin’s language |
Dolphins not only understand the meaning of individual words, they also understand the importance of ______ in a sentence.
| A．the subject | B．the verbs | C．the main structure | D．word order |
When they play, dolphins seems to like making their games as ______ as possible.
| A．difficult | B．easy | C．interesting | D．relaxing |
Dolphins will jump out of the water when they hear a whistle noise in order to _______.
| A．watch people | B．breathe fresh air |
| C．enjoy themselves | D．get some food |
A young father was visiting an old neighbor. They were standing in the old man's garden，and talking about children. The young man said，“How strict should parents be with their children？”
The old man pointed to a string（绳子）between a big strong tree and a thin young one．“Please untie（解开）that string，” he said．The young man untied it，and the young tree bent（弯）over to one side． “Now tie it again，please，” said the old man，“but first pull the string tight so that the young tree is straight again．”
The young man did so．Then the old man said，“There，it is the same with children．You must be strict with them，but sometimes you must untie the string to know how they are getting on． If they are not yet able to stand alone，you must tie the string tight again．But when you find that they are ready to stand alone，you can take the string away．”The story is about ______.
| A．how to take care of young trees |
| B． how strict parents should be with their children |
| C．how the young father should get on with his old neighbor |
| D． how to tie and untie the string |
The young man untied the string ______.
| A．in order to throw it away |
| B． so that both of the trees would grow straight |
| C．only to find that the thinner one bent over to one side |
| D． in order to let the old man teach him |
When can the string be taken away？______.
| A．When the old man has left |
| B．After you have untied it |
| C．When the young man has untied it next time |
| D．When the young tree grows strong enough |
In the story the relation（关系）of the big strong tree to the thin one is like that of ______.
| A．the young father to the old neighbor |
| B．parents to their children |
| C．the old neighbor to the children of the young father |
| D．grown ups to their parents |
Last year, two days after Christmas, we kicked China out of the house. Not the country obviously, but bits of plastic, metal, and wood with the words “Made in China”. We kept what we already had, but stopped bringing any more in. because it had coated our lives with toys, and useless stuff. Sometimes I worried about jobs sent overseas, but price triumphed over virtue at our house. We couldn’t resist what China was selling.
But on that dark Monday last year, an unease feeling washed over me as I sat on the sofa. It wasn’t until then that I noticed a fact: China was taking over the place.
It stared back at me from the empty screen of the television. I spied it in the pile of tennis shoes by the door. It glowed in the lights on the Christmas tree and watched me in the eyes of a doll lying on the floor, I slipped off the couch and sorted gifts into two piles: China and non-China. The count came to China, 25, the world, 14. Christmas, I realized, had become a holiday made by the Chinese. Suddenly I wanted China out.
I persuaded my husband, and on Jan. 1 st, we started a-year-long household embargo on Chinese imports. The idea wasn’t to punish China. And we didn’t fool ourselves into thinking because we wanted to measure how far it had pushed in. We wanted to know what it would take in time, money, and worry to kick our China habit!
In the spring, our 4-year-old son started a campaign to support “China things”. “It’s too long without China,” he cried. He kept at me all day. I have discovered for myself that China doesn’t control every aspect of our daily lives, but if you take a close look at the underside of boxes in the toy department, I promise it will give you pause. “When we can buy China things again? Let’s never stop.” My son said.
After a year without China I can tell you this: You can still live without it, but it’s getting costlier by the day. And a decade from now I may not be brave enough to try it again. The best title for the text could be _______.
| A．China Free Living: A Trouble One |
| B．A Year without “Made in China” |
| C．Why I Choose “Made in China” |
| D．“Made in China”: Good or Bad |
According to the passage, why did the author stop bringing in things “Made in China”?
| A．Because she wanted to bring back job opportunities for her natives. |
| B．Because she has a strong sense of nationalism against “Made in China”. |
| C．Because she wanted to learn what life would be like without “Made in China”. |
| D．Because too much stuff made in China was take over her house. |
The Underlined word “embargo” in the forth paragraph means ________.
| A．reaction | B．ban |
| C．restriction | D．cancellation |
The writer’s purpose in writing this passage is ________.
| A．to tell the readers an interesting experience |
| B．to describe the trouble facing a housewife |
| C．to explain the importance of Chinese goods |
| D．to show the difficulty without Chinese goods |
Old age may not sound exciting. But recent findings offer good news for older people and for people worried about getting older.
Researchers found that people become happier and experience less worry after they reach the age of fifty. In fact, they say by the age of eighty-five, people are happier with their life than they were when they were eighteen years old.
The findings came from a survey of more than three hundred forty thousand adults in the United States. The Gallup Organization questioned them by telephone in two thousand eight. At that time, the people were between the ages of eighteen and eighty-five.
The researchers asked questions about emotions like happiness, sadness and worry. They also asked about mental or emotional stress.
Arthur Stone in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Stony Brook University in New York led the study. His team found that levels of stress were highest among adults between the ages of twenty-two and twenty-five.
The findings showed that stress levels dropped sharply after people reached their fifties.
Happiness was highest among the youngest adults and those in their early seventies. The people least likely to report feeling negative emotions were those in their seventies and eighties.
The study also showed that men and women have similar emotional patterns as they grow older. However, women at all ages reported more sadness, stress and worry than men.
The findings appeared in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Researchers say they do not know why happiness increases as people get older. One theory is that, as people grow older, they grow more thankful for what they have and have better control of their emotions. They also spend less time thinking about bad experiences.
Professor Stone says the emotional patterns could be linked to changes in how people see the world, or maybe even changes in brain chemistry.
The researchers also considered possible influences like having young children, being unemployed or being single. But they found that influences like these did not affect the levels of happiness and well-being related to age. What is the report about?
| A．The relationship between happiness and age. |
| B．The influence between happiness and unemployment. |
| C．The tendency between family and health. |
| D．The expectation between age and children. |
Suppose John is 90 years old and Mike is 24, which of the following is True about them according to the research?
| A．John is happier and more energetic than Mike. |
| B．Mike is happier but weaker than John. |
| C．John is more sad and worried than Mike. |
| D．Mike is more worried and depressed than John. |
One of the possible reasons why the older one gets, the happier one becomes is that _______.
| A．they have had enough bad experiences |
| B．they become more grateful about the things they own |
| C．they have found it easy to forget their pains and pressures |
| D．they have lost their ability to control themselves |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．Having young children affects the levels of happiness of the old. |
| B．Emotional patterns can change the physical structures of human’s brains. |
| C．It’s reported that women at all ages are happier than men. |
| D．Why happiness increases as people get older is still an unsolved mystery. |
“Soon, you’re going to have to move out!” cried my neighbor upon seeing the largest tomato plant known to mankind, or at least known in my neighborhood.
One tiny 9-inch plant, bought for $1.25 in the spring, has already taken over much of my rose bed, covering much of other plants, and is well on its way to the front door.
Roses require a good deal of care, and if it weren’t for the pleasure they give, it wouldn’t be worth the work. As it is, I have a garden full of sweet-smelling roses for most of the year. Bushes must be pruned(剪枝) in early spring, leaving ugly woody branches until the new growth appears a few weeks later. It was the space available in the garden that led me into planting just one little tomato plant. A big mistake.
Soil conditions made just perfect for roses turn out be even more perfect for tomatoes. The daily watering coupled with full sun and regular fertilizing have turned the little plant into a tall bush. The cage I placed around it as the plant grew has long since disappeared under the thick leaves.
Now the task I face in harvesting the fruit is twofold; First, I have to find the red ones among the leaves, which means I almost have to stand on my head, and once found I have to reach down and under, pick the tomatoes and withdraw(缩回) my full fist without dropping the prize so dearly won. I found two full-blown white roses completely hidden as I picked tomatoes in June. But they were weak and the leaves already yellow for lack of light.
Here I am faced with a painful small decision: To tear up a wonderful and productive tomato plant that offers up between ten and twenty ripe sweet tomatoes each day or say goodbye to several expensive and treasured roses. Like Scarlett in Gone With the Wind, I’ll think about that tomorrow. What ate the requirements for the healthy growth of rose?
| A．A lot of care and the right soil. |
| B．Frequent pruning and fertilizing. |
| C．Tomato plants grown alongside. |
| D．Cages placed around the roots. |
The writer planted the tomato because ________.
| A．it cost only $1.25 |
| B．the soil was just right for it |
| C．there was room for it in the garden |
| D．the roses’ branches needed to be covered |
This year the writer’s roses were _______.
| A．removed from the rose bed |
| B．picked along with the tomatoes |
| C．mostly damaged by too much sunlight |
| D．largely hidden under the tomato plant |
By saying “the prize so dearly won” in paragraph 5, the writer wants to _______.
| A．show the difficulty in picking the tomatoes |
| B．show the hardship of growing the roses |
| C．express her liking for the roses |
| D．express her care for the tomatoes |
When I was growing up in America, I was ashamed of my mother’s Chinese English. Because of her English, she was often treated unfairly. People in department stores, at banks and at restaurants did not take her seriously, did not give her good service, pretended not to understand her, or even acted as if they did not hear her.
My mother has realized the limitations of her English as well. When I was fifteen, she used to have me call people on phone to pretend I was she. I was forced to ask for information or even to yell at people who had been rude to her. One time I had to call her stockbroker(股票经纪人). I said in an adolescent voice that was not very convincing, “This is Mrs. Tan.”
And my mother was standing beside me, whispering loudly, “Why he don’t send me cheek already two week long.”
And then, in prefect English I said, “I’m getting rather concerned. You agreed to send the check two weeks ago, but it hasn’t arrived.”
Then she talked more loudly. “What he want? I come to New York tell him front of his boss.” And so I turned to the stockbroker again, “I can’t tolerate any more excuse. If I don’t receive the check immediately, I am going to have to speak to your manager when I am in New York next week.”
The next week we ended up in New York. While I was sitting there red-faced, my mother, the real Mrs. Tan, was shouting to his boss in her broken English.
When I was a teenager, my mother’s broken English embarrassed me. But now, I see it differently. To me, my mother’s English is perfectly clear, perfectly natural. It is my mother tongue. Her language, as I hear it, is vivid, direct, and full of observation and wisdom. It was the language that helped shape the way I saw things, expressed ideas, and made sense of the world. Why was the author’s mother poorly served?
| A．She was unable to speak good English. |
| B．She was often misunderstood. |
| C．She was not clearly heard. |
| D．She was not very polite. |
After the author made the phone call, __________.
| A．they forgave the stockbroker |
| B．they failed to get the check |
| C．they went to New York immediately |
| D．they spoke to their boss at once |
What does the author think of her mother’s English now?
| A．It confuses her. |
| B．It embarrassed her. |
| C．It helps her understand the world. |
| D．It helps her tolerate rude people. |
We can infer from the passage that Chinese English _________.
| A．is clear and natural to non-native speakers |
| B．is vivid and direct to non-native speakers |
| C．has a very bad reputation in America |
| D．may bring inconvenience in America |