Short people, studies have shown , are more likely to have a stroke , suffer from high blood pressures and heart disease and be bullied in school .
Now, researchers report that short people—at least in the past—were also more likely to die at a younger age than their taller peers.
Their study, published in the Journal of Epidemiology (流行病学) and Community Health , found that short bones have something to do with short life for more than 1,000 years. The conclusion was based on 490 sets of adult skeletal(骨架) remains from an archaeological(考古学的) site in northeastern England , YC dating from the 9th century to about 1850 .
About 55% of men and 73% of women died before the age of 45, and 39% of men and 56% of women died before age 30. The risk of death before age 30 declined as bone length increased.
“This study provides evidence from an archaeological sample that long bone length is connected with age at death—those with smaller bones tend to die younger,” according to Dr. D.J. Gunnell of the university of Bristol in the UK and colleagues .
While it is not clear why short stature(身材) might be linked to earlier death , the researchers point out that height is an indicator of childhood nutrition, which may have long-lasting effect on health .
“Mechanism (身体结构) for height-mortality(死亡) associations in the past may differ from those today , for example , short stature may have increased the risk of death in childbirth and this may explain the higher risk of premature(未成熟的) mortality in women,” Gunnell and colleagues write .
“However, short bones, it would appear, have always been a marker of a short life,” the authors conclude.The title of the passage should be .
| A．Short people and their taller peers |
| B．Men and women |
| C．Short stature and short life |
| D．Long life and short life |
“An indicator” in Paragraph 6 means .
| A．a study | B．a marker | C．a risk | D．an age |
Which of the following statements is Not true according to the passage?
| A．People with smaller bones were more likely to die younger. |
| B．Women were more likely to die at a young age. |
| C．Short-stature women bear higher risk of death in giving birth to babies. |
| D．Most people were more likely to die at the age of 30 in the past. |
Short stature may be caused by .
| A．less childhood nutrition | B．heart disease |
| C．some illnesses | D．high blood pressure |
The topic in this passage is probably connected with
| A．space medicine | B．sports medicine |
| C．social medicine | D．industrial medicine |
Dolphins call out the specific names of loved ones when they become separated, a study finds．Other than humans, they are the only animals known to do this, according to the study．The big difference with dolphins is that these communications consist of whistles（鸣叫）, not words．
Earlier research found that dolphins have a “signature whistle” that would be somewhat like human shouting, “Hey everybody! I’m an adult healthy male named George, and I mean you no harm．”
The new finding is that dolphins also say the names of certain other dolphins．“Animals produced copies of the same sound when they were separated from a close partner．This supports our belief that dolphins copy another animal’s signature whistle when they want to reunite with that animal,” Stephanie King, who led the study, says．
King and her colleagues collected acoustic（声音的）data from wild dolphins around Sarasota Bay, Florida, from 1984 to 2009．The researchers also studied four adult male dolphins housed at the Seas Aquarium, also in Florida．
Those males are adults that keepers named Calvin, Khyber, Malabar and Ranier, all of whom, as well as all of the wild ones, developed their own signature whistles that served as names in communication with other dolphins．
“A dolphin uses its signature whistle to broadcast its identity and announce its presence．The signature whistles allow animals to identify one another over long distances and allow animals to recognize one another and to join up with each other,” King explains．“Dolphin whistles can be heard up to 20km away, depending on water depth and whistle frequency（频率）．”
The researchers said dolphins copy the signature whistles of loved ones, such as a mother, when the two are separated．These “names” are always used in positive situations, and are only directed toward loved ones．
While researchers are often unwilling to apply the word language to non-human communications, dolphins clearly have a very complex communication system．The underlined word “housed” in Paragraph 4 probably means “_________”．
| A．raised | B．saved | C．discovered | D．hunted |
Which of the following plays a part in whether dolphin whistles can be heard over a distance?
| A．The dolphin’s identity． |
| B．The water temperature |
| C．The whistle frequency． |
| D．The dolphin’s age． |
When do dolphins copy the signature whistles of loved ones?
| A．When there is a fight． |
| B．When their keeper comes． |
| C．When they are apart． |
| D．When they are hungry． |
Where is the passage probably taken from?
| A．A magazine about scientific advances． |
| B．A website about various animals． |
| C．A report on animal acoustics． |
| D．An essay about the relationship between humans and animals． |
The Exterminating Angel
Director: Luis Bunuel
Country/Date : Mexico/1962 （black and white)
Introduction : A party is organized in a high class society house．Many people are drinking and eating．It’s getting late, but nobody is leaving．Even though the door is open, people seem to be locked in the house．They can’t leave either the day or on the following days．So a rescue began．
The Net
Director: Irwin Winkler
Country/Date: U．S．A．/1995
Introduction: Angela Bennettt is a computer programmer who has devoted her life to computers and the Internet．She spends hours and hours in front of the screen．She does everything over the Internet, and she has some close friends in a chat room, though she has never talked to her neighbors．
Kung Fu Panda
Director : Mark Osborne & John Stevenson
Country/Date : U．S．A．/2008
Introduction: The leading character is a panda whose name is Po．He is lazy first but he has a great dream—to be a kung fu master．To make his dream come true, he goes to a faraway temple to learn kung fu from a master．However, one of his brothers, Tai Long wants to become the kung fu master, killing many of his brothers even the master．So Po fights against Tai Long and defeats him, The film is good especially for kids．
Life is Beautiful
Director: Roberto Benigni
Country/Date : Italy/1998
Introduction: In 1939, during World WarⅡ in Italy, Guido, a hopeful man, the main character fell in love with Dora, and they got married．Five years later, their lives changed．Guido and Joshua were taken by the Nazis（纳粹）to a concentration camp and Dora also went there with her husband and son．At that place, Guido tried his best to save his son’s life in a special way．Who is the director of The Net?
| A．Luis Bunuel | B．Irwin Winkler |
| C．Mark Osborne | D．Roberto Benigni |
Which film is black and white?
| A．The Exterminating Angel． | B．The Net． |
| C．Kung Fu Panda． | D．Life is Beautiful． |
Which film is especially fit for kids?
| A．The Exterminating Angel． | B．The Net． |
| C．Kung Fu Panda． | D．Life is Beautiful． |
What can we learn about Life is Beautiful?
| A．It’s about a rescue of people who can’t leave a house． |
| B．The story is set in World WarⅡ． |
| C．It was made in America in 1995． |
| D．The main character is absorbed in computer． |
My 18-month-old son, Adam, called from the front door．“Look, Mama! Doggie!” I dropped what I was doing and stuck my head out the door．Brandy, our next-door neighbor’s 11-year-old dog, was over again．“Go away!” I shouted．
Brandy’s owner had died about a month earlier．The woman’s family had emptied the house and stuck a “For Sale” sign in the front yard, but the family had left old Brandy behind．For weeks, she’d been wandering around the neighborhood．
It wasn’t that I disliked dogs or anything like that．I just didn’t think about them very much．I never had a dog growing up and had never thought to get one．
Brandy went away and I stayed outside with Adam．Then the phone rang．I went inside to take the call．When I came back, Adam was gone．I searched the yard, front and back, then the basketball court and public pool．No trace of him．I was so nervous that I ran home and called the police, then my husband．
Police searched the neighborhood．Suddenly I heard another sound: a dog barking．“It’s coming from the woods,” one of my neighbors said．We followed the barking to a wooded cliff（悬崖）．There we found my son, and he was just inches away from the edges of the cliff, fast asleep．Brandy was beside him, leaning（倚靠）against him to keep him away from the edge．When I picked Adam up, Brandy sank down on her side, breathing quickly．She must have been holding Adam there for hours!
I thanked the police and brought Adam and Brandy back to our house．She hesitated a moment on our doorstep, no doubt remembering the time I’d driven her away．
“Come on, girl,” I said．“This is your home now．” Brandy stepped in, and once she saw she was really welcome, she relaxed and lay down on the floor just inside the door．She’d done a great thing, and I wondered if she knew it ．She’d certainly touched me in a way that no animal ever had．What a pity a dog like Brandy had been left behind!What is the correct order for the events in the story about Brandy?
a．She was left behind by her owner’s family．
b．She stepped into the woman’s house．
c．She appeared at the woman’s front door．
d．She stayed beside the woman’s son for hours．
| A．d, a, b, c | B．a, c, b, d |
| C．c, d, b, a | D．a, c, d, b |
What did the woman do when she first saw Brandy?
| A．She gave her some food． |
| B．She drove her away． |
| C．She took her home． |
| D．She said thank you to her． |
Why did the woman call the police?
| A．Her son was lost |
| B．Brandy was gone． |
| C．Brandy appeared in her yard． |
| D．She got a scary call． |
How were they able to know that the woman’s son was near the cliff?
| A．By searching the neighborhood． |
| B．By hearing a dog barking． |
| C．By following a dog’s footsteps． |
| D．By hearing her son’s crying． |
Do dogs understand us?
Be careful what you say around your dog. It might understand more than you think.
A border collie named Rico recognizes the names of about 200 objects, say researchers in Germany. The dog also appears to be able to learn new words as easily as a 3-year-old child. Its word-learning skills are as good as those of a parrot or chimpanzee(黑猩猩).
In one experiment, the researchers took all 200 items that Rico is supposed to know and divided them into 20 groups of 10 objects. Then the owner told the dog to go and fetch one of the items and bring it back. In four tests, Rico got 37 out of 40 commands right. As the dog couldn't see anyone to get clues, the scientists believe Rico must understand the meanings of certain words.
In another experiment, the scientists took one toy that Rico had never seen before and put it in a room with seven toys whose names the dog already knew. The owner then told Rico to fetch the object, using a word the dog had never heard before.
The correct object was chosen in seven out of l0 tests, suggesting that the dog had worked out the answer by process of elimination(排除法). A month later, Rico remembered half of the new names, which is even more impressive.
Rico is thought to be smarter than the average dog. For one thing, Rico is a border collie, a breed (品种)known for its mental abilities. In addition, the 9-year-old dog has been trained to fetch toys by their names since the age of nine months.
It's hard to know if all dogs understand at least some of the words we say. Even if they do, they can't talk back. Still, it wouldn't hurt to sweet-talk your dog every now and then. You might just get a big, wet kiss in return!From paragraph 2 we know that _______ .
| A．animals are as clever as human beings |
| B．dogs are smarter than parrots and chimpanzees |
| C．chimpanzees have very good word-learning skills |
| D．dogs have similar learning abilities as 3-year-old children |
Both experiments show that_______ .
| A．Rico is smart enough to get all commands right |
| B．Rico can recognize different things including toys |
| C．Rico has developed the ability of learning mathematics |
| D．Rico won't forget the names of objects once recognizing them |
Which of the following statements is true?
| A．The purpose of the experiments is to show the border collie's mental abilities. |
| B．Rico has a better memory partly because of its proper early training. |
| C．The border collie is world-famous for recognizing objects. |
| D．Rico is born to understand its owner's commands. |
What does the writer want to tell us?
| A．To train your dog. |
| B．To talk to your dog. |
| C．To be friendly to your dog. |
| D．To be careful with your dog. |
Shakespeare’s Birthplace and Exhibition of Shakespeare’s World
Welcome to the world-famous house where William Shakespeare was born in l564 and where he grew up. The property(房产)remained in the ownership of Shakespeare’s family until 1806 .The House has welcomed visitors traveling from all over the world ,for over 250 years.
◆Enter through the Visitors’ Centre and see the highly-praised exhibition Shakespeare's World，a lively and full introduction to the life and work of Shakespeare.
◆Stand in the rooms where Shakespeare grew up.
◆Discover examples of furniture and needlework from Shakespeare’s period.
◆Enjoy the traditional(传统的)English garden，planted with trees and flower mentioned in the poet’s works.
The Birthplace is within easy walking distance of all the car parks shown on the map；nearest is Windsor Street(3 minutes’ Walk).
The House may present difficulties but the Visitors’ Centre, its exhibition．and the garden are accessible (可进入的)to wheelchair users.
The Shakespeare Coffee House (opposite the Birthplace).How much is the admission for a family of two grown-ups and two children？
| A．￡9.80． | B．￡12.00． |
| C．￡14.20． | D．￡16.40． |
Where is the nearest parking place to Shakespeare’s Birthplace？
| A．Behind the exhibition hall． |
| B．Opposite the Visiturs’Centre． |
| C．At Windsor Street． |
| D．Near the Coffee House． |
A wheelchair user may need help to enter_________．
| A．the House | B．the garden |
| C．the Visitors’Centne | D．the exhibition hall |