Zoo elephants don’t live as long as those in the wild, according to a study sure to cause debate about keeping the giant animals on display. Researchers compared the life spans of elephants in European zoos with those living in Amboseli National Park in Kenya and others working on a timber enterprise in Buma. Animals in the wild or in natural working conditions had life expectancies twice than or more of their relatives in zoos.
Animal care activists have urged in recent years to discourage keeping elephants in zoos, largely because of the lack of space and small numbers of animals that can be kept in a group.
The researchers found that the median life span for African elephants in European zoos was 16.9 years, compared with 56 years for elephants who died of natural causes in Kenya’s Amboseli Park. Adding in those elephants killed by people in Africa lowered the median life expectancy there to 35.9 years. For the more endangered Asian elephants, the median life span in European zoos was 18.9 years, compared with 41.7 years for those working in the Burma Timber Enterprise. Median means half died younger than that age and half lived longer.
There is some good news, though. The life expectancies of zoo elephants have improved in recent years, suggesting an improvement in their care and raising, but “Protecting elephants in Africa and Asia is far more successful than protecting them in Western zoos.”
There are about 1,200 elephants in zoos, half in Europe, researchers concentrated on female elephants, which make up 80 percent of the zoo population. One amazing thing was that Asian elephants born in zoos had shorter life spans that those brought to the zoos from the wild.
Zoos usually lack large areas that elephants are used to in the wild, and that zoo animals often are alone or with one or two other unrelated animals, while in the wild they tend to live in related groups of 8 to 12 animals. In Asian elephants, baby death rates are two to three times higher in zoos than in the Burmese logging camps, and then, in adulthood, zoo-born animals die young. People are not sure why.What is argued about in this passage?
| A．Zoo elephants don’t live as long as those in the wild. |
| B．Elephants should not be on display. |
| C．Asian elephants are in danger. |
| D．Asia is far more successful in protecting elephants in zoos. |
What does the underlined word “median” mean according to the passage?
| A．Average | B．Longest. | C．Shortest. | D．Ordinary. |
Which of the following is Not the disadvantage of keeping elephants in zoos?
| A．Limited number of relatives. | B．Lack of space. |
| C．Shorter life expectancy. | D．Less attention. |
Who are expected to pay more attention to the issue addressed?
| A．Zoologists. | B．Animal care activists. |
| C．Zoo visitors. | D．The public. |
Imagine you’re at a party full of strangers. You’re nervous. Who are these people? How do you start a conversation? Fortunately, you’ve got a thing that sends out energy at tiny chips in everyone’s name tag (标签). The chips send back name, job, hobbies, and the time available for meeting-whatever. Making new friends becomes simple.
This hasn’t quite happened in real life. But the world is already experiencing a revolution using RFID technology.
An RFID tag with a tiny chip can be fixed in a product, under your pet’s skin, even under your own skin. Passive RFID tags have no energy source-batteries because they do not need it. The energy comes from the reader, a scanning device, that sends out energy (for example, radio waves) that starts up the tag immediately.
Such a tag carries information specific to that object, and the data can be updated. Already, RFID technology is used for recognizing each car or truck on the road and it might appear in your passport. Doctors can put a tiny chip under the skin that will help locate and obtain a patient’s medical records. At a nightclub in Paris or in New York the same chip gets you into the VIP section and pays for the bill with the wave of an arm.
Take a step back: 10 or 12 years ago, you would have heard about the coming age of computing. One example always seemed to surface: Your refrigerator would know when you needed to buy more milk. The concept was that computer chips could be put everywhere and send information in a smart network that would make ordinary life simpler.
RFID tags are a small part of this phenomenon. “The world is going to be a loosely coupled set of individual small devices, connected wirelessly,” predicts Dr. J. Reich. Human right supporters are nervous about the possibilities of such technology. It goes too far tracking school kids through RFID tags, they say. We imagine a world in which a beer company could find out not only when you bought a beer but also when you drank it. And how many beers. Accompanied by how many biscuits.
When Marconi invented radio, he thought it would be used for ship-to-shore communication. Not for pop music. Who knows how RFID and related technologies will be used in the future. Here’s a wild guess: Not for buying milk. The article is intended to .
| A．warn people of the possible risks in adopting RFID technology |
| B．explain the benefits brought about by RFID technology |
| C．convince people of the uses of RFID technology |
| D．predict the applications of RFID technology |
We know from the passage that with the help of RFID tags, people .
| A．will have no trouble getting data about others |
| B．will have more energy for conversation |
| C．will have more time to make friends |
| D．won’t feel shy at parties any longer |
Passive RFID tags chiefly consist of .
| A．scanning devices | B．radio waves | C．batteries | D．chips |
Why are some people worried about RFID technology?
| A．Because children will be tracked by strangers. |
| B．Because market competition will become more fierce. |
| C．Because their private lives will be greatly affected. |
| D．Because customers will be forced to buy more products. |
The last paragraph implies that RFID technology .
| A．will not be used for such matters as buying milk |
| B．will be widely used, including for buying milk |
| C．will be limited to communication uses |
| D．will probably be used for pop music |
When I met him, I had a lot of anger inside of me. I’ve lived my whole life in Spanish Harlem, but in my neighborhood, there are shoot-ups all the time. I know kids who have been shot or beaten up. I have friends who ended up in prison. I could have ended up that way, too, but Mr. Clark wouldn’t let that happen.
Mr. Clark worked long hours, making sure I did my work. My grades rose. In fact, the scores of our whole class rose. One day, he took our class to see The Phantom of the Opera, and it was the first time some kids had ever been out of Harlem. Before the show, he treated us to dinner at a restaurant and taught us not to talk with our mouths full. We did not want to let him down.
Mr. Clark was selected as Disney’s 2000 Teacher of the Year. He said he would draw three names out of a hat; those students would go with him to Los Angeles to get the award. But when the time came to draw names, Mr. Clark said, “You’re all going.”
On graduation day, there were a lot of tears. We didn’t want his class to end. In 2001, he moved to Atlanta, but he always kept in touch. He started giving lectures about education, and wrote a bestselling book based on his classroom rules, The Essential 55. In 2003,
Mr. Clark took some of us on a trip to South Africa to deliver school supplies and visit the orphanages (孤儿院). It was the most amazing experience of my life. It’s now my dream to one day start a group of women’s clubs, helping people from all backgrounds.Without Mr. Clark, the writer .
| A．might have been put into prison | B．might not have won the prize |
| C．might have joined a women’s club | D．might not have moved to Atlanta |
The Essential 55 is .
| A．a show | B．a speech | C．a classroom rule | D．a book |
How many students’ names were finally drawn out of a hat by Mr. Clark?
| A．None | B．Three | C．Fifty-five. | D．All. |
What can we learn in the short reading?
| A．It was in Harlem that we saw The Phantom of the Opera for the first time. |
| B．Mr. Clark taught us not to talk with our mouths full, and we did. |
| C．Mr. Clark was selected as Disney’s 2000 Teacher of the Year in Los Angeles. |
| D．In 2003, Mr. Clark moved to Atlanta, and he always kept in touch with us. |
In the passage, the writer intends to tell us that .
| A．Mr. Clark went to South Africa because he liked traveling |
| B．Mr. Clark helped to set up a group of women’s clubs |
| C．a good teacher can help raise his or her students’ scores |
| D．a good teacher has a good influence on his or her students |
Human needs seem endless. When a hungry man gets a meal, he begins to think about an overcoat, when a manager gets a new sports car, a big house and pleasure boats dance into view.
The many needs of mankind might be regarded as making up several levels. When there is money enough to satisfy one level of needs, another level appears.
The first and most basic level of needs involves food. Once this level is satisfied, the second level of needs, clothing and some sort of shelter, appears. By the end of World War Ⅱ, these needs were satisfied for a great majority of Americans. Then a third level appeared. It included such items as automobiles and new houses.
By 1957 or 1958 this third level of needs was fairly well satisfied. Then, in the late 1950s, a fourth level of needs appeared; the “life-enriching” level. While the other levels involve physical satisfaction, that is, the need in comfort, safety, and transportation, this level stresses mental needs for recognition, achievement, and happiness. It includes a variety of goods and services, many of which could be called “luxury” items. Among them are vacation trips, the best medical and dental care, and recreation. Also included here are fancy goods and the latest styles in clothing.
On the fourth level, a lot of money is spent on services, while on the first three levels more is spent on goods. Will consumers raise their sights to a fifth level of needs as their income increases, or will they continue to demand luxuries and personal services on the fourth level?
A fifth level would probably involve needs that can be achieved best by community action. Consumers may be spending more on taxes to pay for government action against disease, ignorance, crime, and prejudice. After filling our stomachs, our clothes closets, our garages, our teeth, and our minds, we now may seek to ensure the health, safety, and leisure to enjoy more fully the good things on the first four levels. According to the passage, man will begin to think about such needs as housing and clothing only when .
| A．he has saved up enough money |
| B．he has grown dissatisfied with his simple shelter |
| C．he has satisfied his hunger |
| D．he has learned to build houses |
It can be inferred from the passage that by the end of World War Ⅱ, most Americans .
| A．were very rich |
| B．lived in poverty |
| C．had the good things on the first three levels |
| D．did not own automobiles |
Which of the following is NOT related to “physical satisfaction” ?
| A．A successful career. | B．A comfortable home. |
| C．A good meal. | D．A family car. |
What is the main concern of man on the fourth level?
| A．The more goods the better. |
| B．The more mental satisfaction the better. |
| C．The more “luxury” items the better. |
| D．The more earnings the better. |
The story goes that some time ago, a man punished his 3-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and he became infuriated(愤怒的) when the child tried to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree. Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and said, "This is for you, Daddy."
The man was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction, but his anger flared again when he found out the box was empty. He yelled at her, stating, "Don't you know, when you give someone a present, there is supposed to be something inside? The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and cried, "Oh, Daddy, it's not empty at all. I blew kisses into the box. They're all for you, Daddy."
The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged for her forgiveness.
Only a short time later, an accident took the life of the child. It is also told that her father kept that gold box by his bed for many years and, whenever he was discouraged, he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there.
In a very real sense, each one of us, as humans beings, have been given a gold container filled with unconditional love and kisses from our children, family members, friends, and God. There is simply no other possession, anyone could hold, more precious than this. The 3-year-old girl was punished by her father for ________.
| A．wasting gold |
| B．wasting wrapping paper |
| C．putting the box under the Christmas tree |
| D．bringing the gift to her father |
What’s inside the box according to the little girl?
| A．nothing | B．air | C．kisses | D．gold wrapping paper |
Choose the best title for the passage.
| A．The kisses in the box. | B．A girl and his father |
| C．A love story | D．The box under the Christmas tree. |
Do you sometimes argue about what seems to you to be simple fact? Do you argue whether it’s cold outdoors or whether the car in front of you is going faster than the speed limit?
If you get into such arguments, try to think about the story about the six blind men and the elephant. The first blind man who felt the elephant’s trunk said it was like a snake. The second who felt the elephant’s side said it was like a wall, while the third said it was like a spear as he touched the animal’s tusk. The fourth, who got hold of the elephant’s tail insisted that it was like a rope. The fifth man said it looked like a tree as he put his arms around one of the elephant’s legs. The sixth, who was tall and got hold of the elephant’s ears, said it was like a huge fan.
Each man’s idea of the animal came from his own experience. So if someone disagrees with you about a “simple fact”, it’s often because his experience in the matter is different from yours.
To see how hard it is for even one person to make up his mind about a“simple fact”, try this simple experiment. Get three large bowls. Put ice water in one. Put hot water in the second. Put lukewarm water in the third. Now put your left hand in the ice water. Put your right hand in the hot water. After thirty seconds, put both hands in the lukewarm water. Your right hand will tell you the water is cold. Your left hand will tell you it’s hot! What makes people think about simple facts differently?
| A．The fact that simple facts differ from one another. |
| B．The fact that people have different experience in the same simple fact. |
| C．The fact that people often disagree with one another. |
| D．The fact that it’s hard to make up one’s mind about simple facts. |
Which of the following temperatures can the word “lukewarm” be applied to?
| A．Around 1℃ | B．Above 60℃ | C．Around 25℃ | D．Below 0℃ |
After reading the last paragraph, we may think of.
| A．Newton’s law | B．Gallileo’s theory of falling objects |
| C．Einstein’s theory of relativity | D．Marx’s On Capital |
The main idea of this passage is.
| A．people often judge something according to his own experience |
| B．people often agree about simple facts |
| C．it’s hard for a person to make up his mind about a simple fact |
| D．don’t care too much about simple facts |