Scientists in Colombia have trained a team of rats to help remove land mines from the countryside. Land mines are small bombs hidden in the ground and designed to explode(爆炸) when someone steps on them.
When trained, the rats can smell special metals in the mines and then signal(发信号) to their human team. Then why use rats for such an important job?
In the past, dogs have been used to find bombs. Rats have a good sense of smell and can respond to orders, just like dogs do. But rats are much lighter than dogs. They stand less of a chance of setting off the mines, which explode under a certain amount of weight. What’s more, the best rats are cheaper to keep than dogs. It costs about the same amount of money to take care of one dog as it does 70 rats.
The rats have already been used in Tanzania, an African country with many land mines. Luisa Fernanda Méndez and her team in Colombia are training the even lighter Wistar rats. These are the white rats with red eyes that scientists often use in laboratory experiments. “They even train their babies to perform their jobs, which saves us a lot of time, ” Méndez said.
Colombia has the second-highest rate(比率) of deaths from land mine accidents in the world. Last year, land mines killed 695 people — 56 of whom were children. A criminal group called the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, as well as other organizations, have placed the mines. FARC are strongly against Colombia’s government. The group has placed mines all around its own bases and in many places in the countryside.
In the past, the Colombian government hired peasants and poor farmers to find mines. Many of them died trying to find the well-hidden bombs.
Colombian police official Erick Guzmán hopes the team of rats can come to the rescue(援救). “These rats will be a great help,” he said.How do rats help to find land mines?
| A．By their special sight. | B．By their light weight. |
| C．By their sense of smell. | D．By their excellent hearing. |
The advantage of rats over dogs in finding bombs is that _____.
| A．they are cleverer. |
| B．they run faster |
| C．they have a better sense of smell |
| D．they don’t make mines explode as easily |
The underlined word “They” may refer to ______.
| A．scientists | B．Wistar rats |
| C．dogs | D．Méndez and her team |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Specially-trained rats help clear land mines. |
| B．People in Tanzania are suffering from land mines. |
| C．Dogs are no longer used to find land mines. |
| D．Land mines have become a great danger to Colombians. |
George Gershwin, born in 1998, was one of America’s greatest composers. He published his first song when he was eighteen years old. During the next twenty years he wrote more than five hundred songs.
Many of Gershwin’s songs were first written for musical plays performed in theatres in New York City. These plays were a popular form of entertainment in the 1920s and 1930s. Many of his songs have remained popular as ever. Over the years they have been sung and played in every possible way — from jazz to country.
In the 1920s there was a debate in the United States about jazz music. Could jazz, some people asked, be considered serious music? In 1924 jazz musician and orchestra leader Paul Whiteman decided to organize a special concert to show that jazz was serious music. Gershwin agreed to compose something for the concert before he realized he had just a few weeks to do it. And in that short time, he composed a piece for piano and orchestra which he called Rhapsody in Blue. Gershwin himself played the piano at the concert. The audience were thrilled when they heard his music. It made him world-famous and showed that jazz music could be both serious and popular.
In 1928, Gershwin went to Paris. He applied to study composition (作曲)with the well-known musician Nadia Boulanger, but she rejected him. She was afraid that classical study would ruin his jazz-influenced style. While there, Gershwin wrote An American in Paris. When it was first performed, critics (评论家)were divided over the music. Some called it happy and full of life, to others it was silly and boring. But it quickly became popular in Europe and the United States. It still remains one of his most famous works.
George Gershwin died in 1937, just days after doctors learned he had brain cancer. He was only thirty-nine years old. Newspapers all over the world reported his death on their front pages. People mourned the loss of the man and all the music he might have still written. Many of Gershwin’s musical works were ________.
| A．written about New Yorkers |
| B．Composed for Paul Whiteman |
| C．played mainly in the countryside |
| D．performed in various ways |
What do we know about the concert organized by Whiteman?
| A．It attracted more people to theatres. |
| B．It proved jazz could be serious music. |
| C．It made Gershwin leader of the orchestra. |
| D．It caused a debate among jazz musicians. |
What did Gershwin do during his stay in Paris?
| A．He created one of his best works | B．He studied with Nadia Boulanger |
| C．He argued with French critics | D．He changed his music style |
What do we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．Many of Gershwin’s works were lost. |
| B．The death of Gershwin was widely reported. |
| C．A concert was held in memory of Gershwin. |
| D．Brain cancer research started after Gershwin’s death. |
Which of the following best describes Gershwin?
| A．Talented and productive | B．Serious and boring |
| C．popular and unhappy | D．Friendly and honest |
Dogs wag(摇摆) their tails in different directions depending on whether they are excited and wanting to move forward or threatened and thinking of moving back, a study has found.
Researchers in Italy examined the tail wagging behaviour of 30 dogs, catching their responses to a range of stimuli(刺激物) with video cameras. To conduct the study they chose 15 male dogs and 15 female ones aged between one and six years. The dogs were all family pets whose owners had allowed them to take part in the experiment at Ban University. The dogs were placed in a large wooden box with an opening at the front to allow for them to view various stimuli. They were tested one at a time.
The researchers led by Professor Giorgio Vallortigara of the University of Trieste found that when the dogs were shown their owners—a positive experience—their tails wagged energetically to the right side. When they were shown an unfamiliar human they wagged to the right, but with somewhat less enthusiasm. The appearance of a cat again caused a right-hand side wag, although with less intensity again. The appearance of a large unfamiliar dog, similar to a German shepherd, changed the direction of tail wagging to the left. Researchers supposed the dog was thinking of moving back. When the dogs were not shown any stimuli they tended to wag their tails to the left, suggesting they preferred company. While the changes in the tail wagging were not easily noticed without the aid of video, it was thought that the findings could help people judge the mood of dogs. Computer and video systems, for example, could be used by professional dog trainers to determine the mood of dogs that they were required to approach. .The video cameras were used to catch the dogs’ responses because ___________ .
| A．it was easier to catch the dogs’response changes in the tail wagging |
| B．the dogs were put in the wooden boxes and tested one at a time. |
| C．they enabled the dogs’owners to know about their dogs’habit |
| D．the dogs wagged their tails in different directions when they were in different moods |
The underlined word “intensity” in the passage means .
| A．surprise | B．worry | C．excitement | D．interest |
When there are no stimuli, a dog will ___________ .
| A．wag to the left | B．wag to the right |
| C．not wag at all | D．wag to the left and then to the right |
The underlined word “they” refers to _____.
| A．the dogs | B．the trainers | C．the systems | D．the rescarchers |
The purpose of doing the experiment is _____________ .
| A．to train dogs for their owners | B．to help people judge the mood of dogs |
| C．to help dogs find company | D．to help people choose their pet dogs |
Four years ago my sweet mom went to be with God. She did it her way.
I got the call at work, and I headed home quickly. Mom and Dad lived on a small farm that they had owned since I was seven. I hated going there every weekend. There was nothing for a young girl to do but watch the one station on the old TV set, if the weather allowed reception.
My mom, on the other hand, loved the peace and quiet of the land and loved to work in the garden among her flowers and vegetables. The place was simple, with no indoor pipes or heating. We had a big wood stove in the kitchen that did its best to heat the little farmhouse, but it always seemed cold and too quiet to me.
In the evenings, my mom and I would sit for hours singing in the little kitchen. I sang the rhythm and Mom harmonized. Her favorite song was "Moon River" and we sang it over and over. Mom told me stories about how when I was a little girl, I could sing before I could talk. She loved to tell there was one song I particularly loved called "Ivory Tower".
As time passed, I had my own children and went to visit every week or two. The kids loved the farm and the tractor rides with my dad. Me, well, I still hated the silence of the farm. While my mom loved to sit at her kitchen table and look out at her garden and flowers and retell all the old stories, I missed the hustle and bustle(喧闹) of my life at home. But I sat there listening quietly as she reminisced.
Now, I sat back in the silence and turned on an old radio. Music always comforted me.
My heart skipped a beat. "Moon River" was playing on the radio. I sat there shocked, with a tear running down my cheek, as I listened to every familiar note.
Then the radio announcer of this old station came on. "Here's one we haven't heard in a while," and an unfamiliar song began. I began to cry harder as I heard the words sung over the airwaves "Come down, come down from your Ivory Tower…".The writer didn’t like staying in the farm for the following reasons Except that ________.
| A．it was too cold and quiet |
| B．she could only sing one song in the small farm |
| C．there was nothing more that could make her excited |
| D．it had no indoor pipes or heating |
From the first paragraph, we know that the writer’s mother ________.
| A．passed away four years ago | B．left the small farm |
| C．left to live her own way | D．preferred to be with God |
The underlined word reminisced in the fifth paragraph probably means ________.
| A．remembered | B．comforted | C．shouted | D．sighed |
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．The writer was able to sing before she could speak. |
| B．The writer preferred to live a busy life in the city. |
| C．The writer was still quite familiar with the song "Ivory Tower". |
| D．The writer treasured all her childhood memories in the small farmhouse. |
Which would be the best title for this passage?
| A．Cherish life | B．My happy childhood |
| C．Our small farmhouse | D．Mom’s music |
In the winter of 1964, the Beatles, a British musical, packed up their electric guitars, drum kits, and rebellious ways and set off for America.
Two days later, more than seventy million people watched the group perform four of their hit songs on the Ed Sullivan Show. This was sixty percent of the American television audience. Here the Beatles sing one of those songs, "I Want to Hold Your Hand."
The Beatles soon had the top five hit songs on the Billboard singles chart. Millions of fans became infected with Beatlemania. They rushed to stores to buy Beatles albums, wigs, clothes, dolls and lunch boxes.
The Beatles recorded more than twenty number one hits in America. A Beatles song was almost always at the top of the charts until the group's next hit replaced it. They played to more than fifty thousand fans at large sports stadiums. And they filmed several movies that made millions of dollars.
The Beatles were influenced by American singers including Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly and Little Richard. Yet the group's music sounded completely new and different. The Beatles wrote more than two hundred songs that revolutionized American popular music.
In addition, young people saw the Beatles as spokesmen for their generation. They copied the band members' long hair and free-spirited ways. The band became so popular that in 1966 John Lennon said they were more popular than Jesus Christ.
Soon other musicians began writing their own music the way John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote the Beatles songs.
Many other British groups followed the Beatles to America. This was known as the "British Invasion." They included the Dave Clark Five, the Kinks and the Rolling Stones.
The Rolling Stones called themselves the "World's Greatest Rock and Roll Band." The Stones first performed across America in 1964. This song was the group's first Top 40 hit in the United States.
In the spring of 1970, the Beatles released "Let it Be." But their fans were not celebrating. This was the last studio album the Beatles recorded as a group. It tells the story of the band's break up.
| British |
|
| Time and Place |
Events |
| 1964 |
Get everything |
| After arriving in USA |
Over half of American TV audience watched their |
| In America |
1. They 2. They played a lot to many fans; 3. They filmed movies. |
1966 |
Although American singers had |
| 1970 |
The last group album “Let it be” was |
The National Park Service in the United States will mark its one hundredth anniversary in 2016. As it nears its second century, the Park Service plans to increase its educational programs for students and teachers.
The plans include transportation support for one hundred thousand students each year to visit national parks to learn about nature and history. Yellowstone is believed to have been the world's first national park when it was established in 1872. Other students will get a chance to see parks in faraway places through Skype and other online programs.
The National Park Service also works with partners to provide education. One of its partners is a nonprofit organization called NatureBridge. NatureBridge is celebrating its fortieth anniversary and says one million young people have taken part in its programs. The organization works with students from kindergarten through twelfth grade and uses national parks as its classrooms. It provides field science programs at Yosemite National Park and four other locations in California and the northwestern state of Washington.
Now, NatureBridge is launching an East Coast center with a four-million-dollar grant from Google. The program will begin in April at the Prince William Forest Park in Virginia. Students stay for three to five days in NatureBridge programs. The activities are aimed at developing their science skills. For example, they learn about different soils and study water quality under a microscope.
Jason Morris is executive vice president of NatureBridge. He says when they are not sleeping, eating or in a laboratory, the students spend their time outdoors. Julia Washburn is associate director of education and interpretation for the National Park Service. She says in a time of budget cuts, the agency has to find ways to still meet its goals. Ms. Washburn says one of the most important services that the Park Service provides every day is nature interpretation. Park rangers (公园管理员) try to make visiting the outdoors more meaningful. Interpretation is a form of informal education. Essentially, it is a word that we use for the people in parks that explain the park or help orient(确定方向)you. So park rangers are interpreters. They orient you to the place you are in and help you make connections, emotional and intellectual connections, with the place.Which of the following descriptions about NatureBridge is NOT correct?
| A．It’s an organization working together with National Park Service to provide education. |
| B．Some of the activities held by NatureBridge are financially supported by Google. |
| C．Students from kindergarten to college can sign up for the organization’s activities. |
| D．It’s going to cut down budget for the activities because of economic hard times. |
In which national park will the program by East Coast centre start?
| A．Yellowstone National Park. | B．Prince William Forest Park. |
| C．Yosemite National Park. | D．Not mentioned in the passage. |
What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．National parks are used as outdoor classrooms for students. |
| B．Students are called on to be members of NatureBridge. |
| C．Some famous national parks in US are attractive to students. |
| D．Park rangers make visiting parks much more interesting. |
Which of the following is the correct structure of the whole passage? (Para=paragraph)
A． |
B． |
C． |
| D． |
