Humans might be the most highly-evolved species on the planet, but most animals possess skills we can only dream of having. Imagine how much electricity we could save if we could see in the dark the way cats do. Imagine leaping from tree to tree like a monkey. Giraffes, which are otherwise calm and good-natured, sleep only 4.6 hours a day.
We realized a long, long time ago that nature provides the best blueprint for invention. We’ve borrowed canals from beavers and reflectors from cat’s eyes. Although the words “bionics”(仿生学) became popular only after the 1960s, history shows that nature has always provided ideas on solving everyday problems. Our archives(档案) don’t go back to the time of Leonardo da Vinci and his bird-like flying machines, but we can take you to the late 19th century, where we applied those same principles for building our first practical airplanes.
To prepare for their flight at Kitty Hawk, the Wright brothers studied the movements of pigeons to figure out how they stayed high up when they were heavier than air. Their success inspired scores of successors to improve on the airplane by studying various aspects of nature. One of Orville Wright’s pupils caught and stuffed seagulls to examine their wingspan. Meanwhile, two French inventors examined spinning sycamore(梧桐) seeds in an effort to apply those same motions, reversed, to a helicopter .
Some examples are more obvious than others. The outside of the airplane designed by the Wright brothers looks like a minimalistic(简单抽象艺术) structure. On the other hand, Barney Connett’s fish submarine actually looks like a fish.
Some bio-inspired concepts have yet to be invented. In the 1960s, the US Army commissioned several university professors to conduct research on the motor skills animals in hope of applying those same abilities to tanks. Tanks that run like horses or jump like grasshoppers(蚂蚱)-sounds shocking, doesn’t it? But imagine how life would change if we could achieve that.“Cats”, “monkeys” and “giraffes” mentioned in paragraph 1 are examples to show______.
| A．they are highly-evolved species as humans |
| B．animals have skills that humans do not possess |
| C．humans can learn animals’ skills |
| D．they are skillful in different ways |
What happened after the Wright brothers’ success?
| A．People carried out a systematic study on pigeons. |
| B．People studied more animals and plants to develop the airplane. |
| C．People could fly their airplane for fun. |
| D．People kept their airplane at a French gallery. |
Which of the following is true about the research carried out by the US Army?
| A．It has cost a large sum of money. |
| B．It has changed our life. |
| C．It has improved the abilities of tanks |
| D．It has not succeeded yet. |
What does the writer want to tell in the passage?
| A．many inventions get ideas from nature. |
| B．Some animals possess unique skills. |
| C．People should protect nature. |
| D．Bionics is far from perfect |
Bad news sells. If it bleeds, it leads. No news is good news, and good news is no news. Those are the classic rules for the evening broadcasts and the morning papers.But now that information is being spread and monitored(监控) in different ways, researchers are discovering new rules. By tracking people's e-mails and online posts, scientists have found that good news can spread faster and farther than disasters and sob stories.
"The 'if it bleeds' rule works for mass media," says Jonah Berger, a scholar at the University of Pennsylvania. "They want your eyeballs and don't care how you're feeling. But when you share a story with your friends, you care a lot more how they react. You don't want them to think of you as a Debbie Downer."
Researchers analyzing word-of-mouth communication-e-mails, Web posts and reviews, face-to-face conversations-found that it tended to be more positive than negative(消极的), but that didn't necessarily mean people preferred positive news. Was positive news shared more often simply because people experienced more good things than bad things? To test for that possibility, Dr. Berger looked at how people spread a particular set of news stories: thousands of articles on The New York Times' website. He and a Penn colleague analyzed the "most e-mailed" list for six months. One of his first findings was that articles in the science section were much more likely to make the list than non-science articles. He found that science amazed Times' readers and made them want to share this positive feeling with others.
Readers also tended to share articles that were exciting or funny, or that inspired negative feelings like anger or anxiety, but not articles that left them merely sad. They needed to be aroused(激发) one way or the other, and they preferred good news to bad. The more positive an article, the more likely it was to be shared, as Dr. Berger explains in his new book, "Contagious: Why Things Catch On."
12 .What do the classic rules mentioned in the text apply to?
| A． |
News reports. |
B． |
Research papers. |
| C． |
Private e-mails. |
D． |
Daily conversations． |
13.What can we infer about people like Debbie Downer?
| A． |
They're socially inactive. |
| B． |
They're good at telling stories. |
| C． |
They're inconsiderate of others. |
| D． |
They're careful with their words. |
14.Which tended to be the most e-mailed according to Dr. Berger's research?
| A． |
A . Sports new. |
B． |
Science articles. |
| C． |
Personal accounts. |
D． |
Financial reviews. |
15 .What can be a suitable title for the text?
| A． |
Sad Stories Travel Far and Wide |
| B． |
B .Online News Attracts More People |
| C． |
Reading Habits Change with the Times |
| D． |
Good News Beats Bad on Social Networks |
If you are a fruit grower-or would like to become one-take advantage of Apple Day to see what's around.
It's called Apple Day but in practice it's more like Apple Month. The day itself is on October 21, but sinceit has
caught on, events now spread out over most of October around Britain.
Visiting an apple event is a good chance to see, and often taste, a wide variety of apples. To people who are used to the limited choice of apples such as Golden Delicious and Royal Gala in supermarkets, it can be quite an eye opener to see the range of classical apples still in existence, such as Decio which was grown by the Romans. Although it doesn't taste of anything special, it's still worth a try, as is the knobbly(多疙瘩的) Cat's Head which is more of a curiosity than anything else.
There are also varieties developed to suit specific local conditions. One of the very best varieties for eating quality is Orleans Reinette, but you'll need a warm, sheltered place with perfect soil to grow it, so it's a pipe dreamfor most apple lovers who fall for it.
At the events, you can meet expert growers and discuss which ones will best suit your conditions, and because these are family affairs, children are well catered for with apple-themed fun and games.
Apple Days are being held at all sorts of places with an interest in fruit, including stately gardens and commercial orchards(果园).If you want to have a real orchard experience, try visiting the National Fruit Collection at Brogdale, near Faversham in Kent.
8.What can people do at the apple events?
| A． |
Attend experts' lectures. |
B． |
Visit fruit-loving families. |
| C． |
Plant fruit trees in an orchard. |
D． |
Taste many kinds of apples. |
9.What can we learn about Decio?
| A． |
It is a new variety. |
B． |
It has a strange look. |
| C． |
It is rarely seen now. |
D． |
It has a special taste. |
10.What does the underlined phrase "a pipe dream" in Paragraph 3mean?
| A． |
A practical idea. |
B． |
A vain hope. |
| C． |
A brilliant plan. |
D． |
A selfish desire. |
11.What is the author's purpose in writing the text?
| A． |
To show how to grow apples. |
| B． |
B .To introduce an apple festival. |
| C． |
To help people select apples. |
| D． |
To promote apple research. |
On one of her trips to New York several years ago, Eudora Welty decided to take a couple of New York friends out to dinner. They settled in at a comfortable East Side cafe and within minutes, another customer was approaching their table.
"Hey, aren't you from Mississippi?" the elegant, white-haired writer remembered being asked by the stranger. "I'm from Mississippi too."
Without a second thought, the woman joined the Welty party. When her dinner partner showed up, she also pulled up a chair.
"They began telling me all the news of Mississippi," Welty said. "I didn't know what my New York friends were thinking."
Taxis on a rainy New York night are rarer than sunshine. By the time the group got up to leave, it was pouring outside. Welty's new friends immediately sent a waiter to find a cab. Heading back downtown toward her hotel, her big-city friends were amazed at the turn of events that had changed their Big Apple dinner into a Mississippi.
"My friends said: 'Now we believe your stories,'" Welty added. "And I said: 'Now you know. These are the people that make me write them.'"
Sitting on a sofa in her room, Welty, a slim figure in a simple gray dress, looked pleased with this explanation.
"I don't make them up," she said of the characters in her fiction these last 50 or so years. "I don't have to."
Beauticians, bartenders, piano players and people with purple hats, Welty's people come from afternoons spent visiting with old friends, from walks through the streets of her native Jackson, Miss., from conversations overheard on a bus. It annoys Welty that, at 78, her left ear has now given out. Sometimes, sitting on a bus or a train, she hears only a fragment(片段) of a particularly interesting story.
5.What happened when Welty was with her friends at the cafe?
| A． |
Two strangers joined her. |
| B． |
Her childhood friends came in. |
| C． |
A heavy rain ruined the dinner. |
| D． |
Some people held a party there. |
6.The underlined word "them" in Paragraph 6 refers to Welty's＿＿＿＿.
| A． |
readers |
B． |
parties |
C． |
friends |
D． |
stories |
7.What can we learn about the characters in Welty's fiction?
| A． |
They live in big cities. |
| B． |
They are mostly women. |
| C． |
They come from real life. |
| D． |
They are pleasure seekers. |
Music
Opera at Music Hall:1243 Elm Street. The season runs June through August, with additional performances in March and September. The Opera honors Enjoy the Artsmembership discounts. Phone: 241-2742. http://www.cityopera.com.
Chamber Orchestra:The Orchestra plays at Memorial Hall at 1406 Elm Street, which offers several concerts from March through June. Call 723-1182 for more information. http://www.chamberorch.com.
Symphony Orchestra:At Music Hall and Riverbend. For ticket sales, call 381-3300. Regular season runs September through May at Music Hall in summer at Riverbend. http://www.symphony.org/home.asp.
College Conservatory of Music (CCM):Performances are on the main campus(校园) of the university, usually at Patricia Cobbett Theater. CCM organizes a variety of events, including performances by the well-known LaSalle Quartet, CCM's Philharmonic Orchestra, and various groups of musicians presenting Baroque through modern music. Students with I.D. cards can attend the events for free. A free schedule of events for each term is available by calling the box office at 556-4183. http://www.ccm.uc.edu/events/calendar.
Riverbend Music Theater:6295 Kellogg Ave. Large outdoor theater with the closest seats under cover (price difference).Big name shows all summer long! Phone:232-6220. http://www.riverbendmusic.com.
1.Which number should you call if you want to see an opera?
| A． |
241-2742. |
B． |
723-1182. |
| C． |
381-3300. |
D． |
232-6220. |
2.When can you go to a concert by Chamber Orchestra?
| A． |
February. |
B． |
May. |
C． |
August. |
D． |
November. |
3.Where can students go for free performances with their I.D. cards?
| A． |
Music Hall. |
B． |
Memorial Hall. |
| C． |
Patricia Cobbett Theater. |
D． |
Riverbend Music Theater. |
4.How is Riverbend Music Theater different from the other places?
| A． |
It has seats in the open air. |
| B． |
It gives shows all year round. |
| C． |
It offers membership discounts. |
| D． |
It presents famous musical works. |
FLORENCE, Italy-Svetlana Cojochru feels hurt. The Moldovan has lived here seven years as a caregiver to Italian kids and elderly, but in order to stay she's had to prove her language skills by taking a test which requires her to write a postcard to an imaginary friend and answer a fictional job ad.
Italy is the latest Western European country trying to control a growing immigrant(移民) population by demanding language skills in exchange for work permits, or in some cases, citizenship.
Some immigrant advocates worry that as hard financial times make it more difficult for natives to keep jobs, such measures will become a more vehicle for intolerance than integration(融合). Others say it's only natural that newcomers learn the language of their host nation, seeing it as a condition to ensure they can contribute to society.
Other European countries laid down a similar requirement for immigrants, and some terms are even tougher. The governments argue that this will help foreigners better join the society and promote understanding across cultures.
Italy, which has a much weaker tradition of immigration, has witnessed a sharp increase in immigration in recent years. In 1990, immigrants numbered some 1.14 million out of Italy's then 56.7 million people, or about 2 percent. At the start of this year, foreigners living in Italy amounted to 4.56 million of a total population of 60.6 million, or 7.5 percent, with immigrants' children accounting for an even larger percentage of births in Italy.
Cojochru, the Moldovan caregiver, hoped obtaining permanent residence(居住权) would help her bring her two children to Italy; they live with her sister in Moldova, where salaries are among the lowest in Europe. She was skeptical that the language requirement would encourage integration.
Italians always "see me as a foreigner," an outsider, even though she's stayed in the country for years and can speak the local language fluently, she said.
28. Why does Cojochru have to take a language test?
| A． |
To continue to stay in Italy. |
B． |
To teach her children Italian. |
| C． |
To find a better job in Italy. |
D． |
To better mix with the Italians. |
29. Some people worry that the new language requirement may ________.
| A． |
reduce Italy's population quickly |
B． |
cause conflicts among people |
| C． |
lead to financial difficulties |
D． |
put pressure on schools |
30. What do we know about Cojochru?
| A． |
She lives with her sister now in Italy. |
| B． |
She enjoys learning the Italian language. |
| C． |
She speaks Italian well enough for her job. |
| D． |
She wishes to go back to her home country. |