Monkeys That Lend a Hand
Have you ever dropped something while both your hands were full and wished you had another hand to pick it up? Some people cannot use their arms or hands to do simple jobs because they have been hurt or are sick. Usually they depend on other people to help them. This problem made two women think about how they could help people who cannot do everyday things for themselves.
In 1979 Dr. M. J. Willard and Judi Zazula began looking at some small, friendly monkeys called capuchin monkeys. These monkeys have hands like people’s hands, and they like to be around people. Could the monkeys be trained to do things that people could not do for themselves? The women wanted to find out if their idea would work. So they spent a long time training some capuchin monkeys, and they found that these animals made great helpers.
Today the first step in training a young capuchin monkey is to have it stay home with people and watch how they live. The monkeys learn how to behave around people. Then the monkeys go to a special school in Boston. There they learn how to do many easy chores. They are taught how to carry food and pick up dropped objects. They learn how to open doors and turn light switches on and off. They even learn how to use CD players and VCRs.
After a monkey finishes its training, it goes to live with a person who needs help. If the person wants a light turned on, the monkey does it. If the person needs a glass of water, the monkey brings it. If the person wants to watch TV, the monkey turns it on. The monkey becomes a very important part of that person’s life. In fact, the monkey often becomes the person’s good friend.Capuchin monkeys are people’s great helpers because ______________.
| A．they learn more quickly than other monkeys |
| B．they have hands like people’s hands |
| C．they like to watch how people live |
| D．they are small, cute and naughty |
The underlined word “behave” means to______________.
| A．learn skills | B．act well |
| C．avoid hurts | D．provide help |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．How capuchin monkeys can help people do things. |
| B．Why capuchin monkeys’ hands are like people’s hands. |
| C．Where scientists train capuchin monkeys to help people. |
| D．When people found capuchin monkeys were helpful. |
Animals do many different, amazing things to get through the winter. Some of them migrate(迁徙).Many birds migrate in autumn. Because the trip can be dangerous, some travel in large groups. For example, geese (鹅) fly in noisy, “V”-shaped groups. Other kinds of birds fly alone.
Some animals stay active in winter. They must change themselves as weather changes. For example, a kind of rabbits grow white fur (毛) to help them hide in the snow.
It’s hard to find food in winter for animals. Some animals, like mice, collect lots of food in autumn. Some animals eat different kinds of food as the seasons change. The red fox eats fruit and insects
in spring, summer and autumn. In winter, it cannot find these things, so it eats small animals instead. Some animals hibernate(冬眠) for part or all of the winter. This is a special, very deep sleep. The animal uses very little energy. In autumn, these animals get ready for winter by eating much more food than in summer and storing it as body fat. Squirrels store food like nuts to eat later in winter. Bears and some bats hibernate. Cold-blooded animals like fish, frogs and snakes have no way to keep warm during the winter. Snakes find protection in holes, and spend the winter without moving during the whole season.Many birds travel in large groups because _______.
| A．they can easily find food this way |
| B．there is danger everywhere |
| C．they can get warm at night |
| D．they will not feel lonely |
Rabbits spend the cold winter by _______.
| A．eating a lot | B．storing a lot of food |
| C．running often | D．growing white fur |
In winter, snakes _______.
| A．move slowly | B．eat a lot |
| C．hide in holes | D．eat frogs |
Some animals like squirrels _______.
| A．eat nothing in winter |
| B．collect nuts in autumn |
| C．get fat after winter |
| D．change their food in winter |
Which is the best title for the passage?
| A．How Do Animals Spend the Winter? |
| B．Why Do Animals Spend the Winter? |
| C．How Do Living Things Get Food in Winter? |
| D．Where Do Living Things Move in Winter? |
任务型阅读。阅读下列短文，根据短文中的信息完成文后表格。
Eating habits are different in different countries. The Chinese have a saying “Eat good things for breakfast, eat a big meal for lunch, but eat less at dinner.” Many people in the USA agree that one starts a day with a good breakfast, but their ideas about lunch and dinner are different.
Most people in America only give themselves a short time to have their lunch, so they eat a small lunch. After work, they can have more time to eat a big dinner. Also a quiet dinner at home with all the family talking about their day is a way to take a good rest after a long, hard day of work.
Eating at restaurants is also different. In China, very often you can hear people talking and laughing loudly, and they are just having a good time. In America it is not like this. They usually eat a good meal far away from the noisy places. If they are making some noise, other people in the restaurants will look at them angrily, even the manager (经理) of the restaurants will ask them to be quiet.
| People |
Having three |
|
| Chinese |
◇ They have a good breakfast. ◇ They eat a big lunch. ◇ They don’t eat |
◇ They often talk and laugh ◇ They will show |
| ◇ They start the day with a good breakfast, too. ◇ They never have their lunch for a ◇ They like a big dinner at home, talking about their day after work. |
◇ They enjoy their dinner in a ◇ If someone |
Once there is a boy in London. His name is Jimmy. He starts painting when he is three years old, and when he is five years old, he is already very good at it. He paints many beautiful and interesting pictures, and a lot of people buy his pictures. They say, “This boy is going to be famous when he’s a little older, and then we’re going to sell these pictures for a lot of money.”
Jimmy’s pictures are different from others’ because he never paints on the whole of the paper. He only paints on half of it, and the other half is always empty.
“That’s very clever,” people say. “No other painters have ever done that!”
One day someone asks Jimmy, “Please tell me, Jimmy, why do you only paint on the bottom (底) half of the paper, but not on the top half?”
“Because I’m small,” Jimmy says, “and my brushes can’t reach very high.”How are Jimmy’s pictures?
| A．Beautiful. |
| B．Interesting. |
| C．Bad |
| D．Beautiful and interesting. |
Which part of paper did Jimmy paint?
| A．The whole of the paper |
| B．The top half. |
| C．The bottom half |
| D．The middle part. |
Jimmy only paints half of the paper because ____________.
| A．he was very clever. | B．he was very short. |
| C．he was very tall. | D．he was very big. |
People eat different things in different countries.
In some countries, people eat rice every day. Sometimes they eat it twice or three times a day for breakfast, lunch and supper. Some people do not eat some kinds of meat. Muslims, for example, do not eat pork.
Japanese eat lots of fish. They are near the sea. So it is easy for them to get fish
In the West, such as England and the USA, the most important food is potatoes. People there can cook potatoes in many different ways.
Some people eat only fruit and vegetables. They do not eat meat or fish or anything else from animals. They eat food only from plants(植物). They say the food from plants is better for us than meat. These people are called vegetarians.In some countries, people eat _______every day.
| A．fish | B．vegetables | C．fruit | D．rice |
Why do Japanese eat lots of fish?
| A．Because they like fish better than the other food. |
| B．Because it is easy for them to get fish |
| C．Because fish can give them lots of calories. |
| D．Because there is no other food. |
What is the most important food in some Western countries?
| A．Fish | B．Potatoes |
| C．Vegetables. | D．Fruit and vegetables. |
The underlined word "vegetarians" means "_______" in Chinese.
| A．只吃素食的人 | B．只吃荤食的人 |
| C．研究素食的人 | D．种植蔬菜的人 |
阅读理解
In the United States, every year, Thanksgiving Day is on the fourth Thursday of November. Because Canada is to the north of the United States and is colder, the harvest comes earlier in a year. In Canada, people have Thanksgiving Day on the second Monday in October.
The harvest brings a lot of food to people. On Thanksgiving Day, people in Canada and America like to have a big meal with their friends and family just like Chinese people do at the Mid-Autumn Festival. Many Canadians and Americans put flowers, vegetables and fruits around their houses to say "Thank you" for the harvest. At a Thanksgiving Day dinner, many Canadians and Americans eat turkey, potatoes and pumpkin pies. These food are like the food of many years ago. They say "Thank you" for the harvest that comes every year.In the United States, Thanksgiving Day is on the fourth Thursday of_______.
| A．January | B．May | C．November | D．December |
Canada has Thanksgiving Day earlier in a year because
| A．they like flowers | B．the harvest comes earlier |
| C．they have a big meal | D．they want to be different |
What do people usually say on Thanksgiving Day for the harvest?
| A．Good morning. | B．I'm hungry. |
| C．Hello. | D．Thank you. |