Recordings of angry bees are enough to send big, tough African elephants running away, a new study says. Beehives (蜂窝)—either recorded or real—may even prevent elephants from damaging farmer’s crops.
In 2002, scientist Lucy King and her team found that elephants avoid certain trees with bees living in them. Today, Lucy wants to see if African honeybees might discourage elephants from eating crops. But before she asked farmer to go to the trouble of setting up beehives on their farms, she needed to find out if the bees would scare elephants away.
Lucy found a wild beehive inside a tree in northern Kenya and set up a recorder. Then she threw a stone into the beehive, which burst into life. Lucy and her assistant hid in their car until the angry bees had calmed down. Next,Lucy searched out elephant families in Samburu National Reserve in northern Kenya and put a speaker in a tree close to each family.
From a distance, Lucy switched on the pre-recorded sound of angry bees while at the same time recording the elephants with a video camera. Half the elephant groups left the area within ten seconds. Out of a total of 17 groups, only one group ignored the sound of the angry bees. Lucy reported that all the young elephants immediately ran to their mothers to hide under them. When Lucy played the sound of a waterfall (瀑布) instead of the angry bees to many of the same elephant families, the animals were undisturbed. Even after four minutes, most of the groups stayed in one place.
Lucy is now studying whether the elephants will continue to avoid the sound of angry bees after hearing it several times. She hasn’t tested enough groups yet to know, but her initial (最初的) results were promising enough to begin trials with farmers. She has now begun placing speakers in the fields to see if elephants are frightened away.We know from the passage that elephants may be frightened of .
| A.loud noises | B.some crops |
| C.video cameras | D.angry bees |
As mentioned in the passage, Lucy .
| A.works by herself in Africa |
| B.needs to test more elephant groups |
| C.has stopped elephants eating crops |
| D.has got farmers to set up beehives on their farms |
Why did Lucy throw a stone into a wild beehive?
| A.To record the sound of bees. |
| B.To make a video of elephants. |
| C.To see if elephants would run away. |
| D.To find out more about the behavior of bees. |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A.Young elephants ignore African honeybees. |
| B.Waterfalls can make elephants stay in one place. |
| C.Elephants do not go near trees with bees living in them. |
| D.Farmers do not allow Lucy to conduct tests in their fields. |
To communicate well with other people,you must learn to speak well,right?
Yes,but speaking isn’t everything.Some experts say that only thirty percent of communication comes from talking.Your gestures and other non-verbal(非语言的)actions matter,too.But in different cultures,the same action can have different meanings.
When you have to meet someone from a different culture,be prepared.Do you know what kind of gestures and customs are appropriate(合适的)?If you understand culture differences,you’ll be a better communicator—even before you open your mouth!
In many Western cultures,men stand up before they are introduced to someone important.Standing up shows politeness and respect.After that,somepne usually offers to shake hands.
But in the east,typical(典型的)introductions often begin and end with bowing(鞠躬)rather than shaking hands.Sometimes even a small nod(点头) of the head is enough.Some Westerners visiting Asia misunderstand shaking hands as a sign of unfriendliness.Such a mistake could be harmful to the start of a new frienship.According to the passage,which of the following is true?
| A.All experts agree that only 30% of communication comes from talking. |
| B.Typical introductions often begin and end with shaking hands in Western culture. |
| C.In different countries,the same gesture may mean different meaning. |
| D.If you don’t know the culture of a country , you will not misunderstand the gesture. |
What is the main idea of the last paragraph?
| A.Misunderstanding will stop the frienship from developing. |
| B.Nodding is just OK. |
| C.Introduction can build friendship. |
| D.Shaking hands is most important. |
Which is NOT mentioned in the passage?
| A.You must stand up when you are introduced. |
| B.You should show your politeness when you are introduced. |
| C.You will do the same when you are introduced. |
| D.Our gestures and other nonverbal actions are very important. |
How do you understand the underlined sentence?
| A.Before you speak. |
| B.Knowing the different cultures is clever. |
| C.As soon as you talk. |
| D.Understanding the different cultures can help you communicate well. |
In the past,when people had problems,they went to their families or friends to get advice.Today it is possible to get advice from radio shows.TV programs or telephone hot lines,too.A hot line is a telephone line that offers a direct way of getting in touch with advicers.Most hot lines are completely anonymous(匿名的)—callers do not have to say their names or telephone numbers.Most hot lines are usually free,too.Callers do not have to pay for their advice or the phone calls—even if the calls are long distance.At some hot lines,the advicers are volunteers.Other hot lines pay their advicers for their work.Usually the advicers are full-job people with years of education and experience,but sometimes the advicers have only taken a short class before starting to work on the hot line.All the advicers listen to the people and help them solve their problems.A hot line is a telephone line ______.
| A.that is hot |
| B.through which people get advice |
| C.whose number no one knows |
| D.through which callers take a short class |
When people call the hot line advicers,they______.
| A.often give their names and telephone numbers |
| B.generally have to pay for the long distance calls |
| C.usually pay nothing for most of the calls and advice |
| D.always try to get in touch with the volunteer advicers |
The advicers working at hot lines______.
| A.are not all paid |
| B.have all been trained for a short time |
| C.are all volunteers |
| D.all have years of education and experience |
The writer of the article seems to think that______.
| A.with hot lines people won’t get advice from their families and friends |
| B.hot lines help the callers a lot |
| C.people had better pay for the advice and phone calls |
| D.the hot line advicers will solve all of the callers’ problems |
Education cuts(削减) have become routine (惯常的) over the past few years, which has made it difficult for students to learn. The results of a survey of 1,850 Los Angeles County high school students show just how much the cuts are affecting students.
Because of teacher layoffs (解雇), class sizes at some high schools have risen to 50 students — even in math and English classes. Some 37 percent of students report that they sometimes don’t have a desk to sit at. Sixty-seven percent say crowded classrooms make them feel the teachers don’t have enough time to teach, and 30 percent say they’ve not been able to join in a program because it’s no longer offered at their school.
At a time when technology is an important skill, 52 percent of students say there aren’t enough computers. Or they’re often broken, and there’s no one to fix them. Fifty-one percent say they’ve had to share textbooks with a classmate because there aren’t enough copies to go around. Fifty-seven percent say they’ve had to copy information because their school doesn’t have enough paper to make copies.
“We have only one science teacher for the entire(整个的) high school,” writes Felix Ruano, a 16-year-old student. He goes on to describe how that teacher, who is only qualified to teach chemistry, is teaching physics — or, at least, is trying to do so. “He shows physics videos and we teach ourselves from our textbook,” says Ruano. And, as has been seen elsewhere, “all but one of the restrooms” at Ruano’s school “have been closed because we don’t have enough people to clean them.”
Ruano notes that though faced with the challenges, 97 percent of students say they plan to go to college. But without “properly trained teachers and the best resources,” says Ruano, it’s not likely that every student will achieve that goal. “Unless schools fix these problems,” he says, “students could lose hope.”According to the text, education cuts have led to the following results EXCEPT that _____.
| A.class sizes at some high schools have risen |
| B.some students don’t have a desk to sit at |
| C.some students have to share textbooks |
| D.some students have to leave school |
The underlined word “qualified” in the fourth paragraph can best be replaced by “_____”.
| A.fit | B.willing | C.bored | D.worried |
According to Ruano, _____.
| A.he is good at teaching himself |
| B.most students plan to go to college |
| C.his school is going to be closed |
| D.most students are hopeful about their school |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A.What caused education cuts? | B.Education cuts, right or wrong? |
| C.Education cuts have hurt students | D.How to deal with education cuts |
The other day I heard a few local musicians talking, "I hate all the pianos in this town and I hate that rubbish they play on the radio. They cannot even understand rhythm (韵律).""Nobody wants to pay musicians anything. I’m sick of all the people who want you to play without paying you.” One younger musician said, "There are a couple of clubs who want me to play for a few nights a month, and I’m trying to find other places to play. I’m also planning to join in several summer festivals this year." I really liked what the younger musician said so I made friends with him.
Attitudes are important. Whether they’re positive or negative (消极的), they’re all rubbing off on you. If you’re around people who are always complaining(抱怨) or blaming (责备) others, it is possible that you will start doing the same as well. If you spend lots of time with people who don’t support your dreams, it is time to take a look at the people you call "friends".
There is an easy exercise you can try. Make a list of the people who you often stay with, and simply stop spending time with the negative people on your list. Set a new standard for yourself and don’t become friends with people who fall below that standard. The choice is always yours to make. Of course, this exercise is entirely different from making friends only for the good of oneself. We really should try to help and spend time with those who are working towards a goal or dream.The musicians’ conversation at the beginning is to show that ______.
| A.musicians’ living conditions are not good |
| B.people in that town have poor taste in music |
| C.different people have different attitudes |
| D.young people are more likely to succeed |
The underlined part "they’re rubbing off on you" in Paragraph 2 means ______.
| A.they’ll push you ahead |
| B.they’ll have an influence on you |
| C.they’ll keep you from moving on |
| D.they’ll help you realize your dreams |
Why did the author want to make friends with the younger musician?
| A.He is more active than the others. |
| B.He can earn more than the others. |
| C.He has more things to do than the others. |
| D.His attitude is more positive than the others. |
By doing the exercise mentioned in Paragraph 3, you can ______.
| A.make the right kind of friends |
| B.improve your ability to make friends |
| C.develop a better relationship with your friends |
| D.make some new friends with the same interests as you |
Babysitter(保姆) Wanted
I am seeking a babysitter for my 6-month-old son. A few hours on Saturdays and Sundays to help me and then other times as needed. He or she should be over 18, responsible, loving, warm, and have some experience in caring for babies. This position also suits a college student with experience looking for a part-time job. The pay is $10 an hour.
If this sounds like a good job to you, please reply to rebecharv@aol.com or call 800-4964.
Office Manager Wanted
Our company is looking for a full-time experienced manager to run the business. Strong skills in organization and business management are required for this position. The office manager will be responsible for keeping financial (财务的) records, so he or she should be familiar with computers.
Please reply to jim@californiaaquatics.com or call 800-6978 to apply.
Waiter/ Waitress Wanted
A restaurant is looking for an experienced waiter / waitress. Knowledge of wines and experience in dining are necessary. Must work well under pressure and understand the basics (基本要素) of fine dining and customer service.
If you’re interested, please contact us at job-tkupe-1329358152@craigslist.org to apply.
This is a part-time job.
Office Cleaner Wanted
Looking for a Part-time job? A position in the Mississauga area needs an office cleaner! Part-time 4 hours a day from 10:00 am - 2:00 pm.
Duties include:
●Cleaning the washrooms
●Cleaning the furniture
●Sweeping the floors
●Other general cleaning experience is necessary. Pay: $15 per hour
Reply to:job-p3b7u-1365632206@craigslist.org or call 800-8197.Which of the following position is a full-time job?
| A.Babysitter. | B.Office manager. |
| C.Waiter / waitress. | D.Office cleaner. |
If a college girl with some experience caring for children wants to apply for a job, where should she send an email?
| A.job-p3b7u-1365632206@craigslist.org |
| B.job-tkupe-1329358152@craigslist.org |
| C.jim@californiaaquatics.com |
| D.rebecharv@aol.com |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A.The office cleaner has to work three hours each day. |
| B.One can apply for a waiter or waitress by telephone. |
| C.A babysitter earns $5 more than an office cleaner per hour. |
| D.Experience is necessary for all these four jobs. |
Which of the following is necessary for a waiter / waitress?
| A.Being familiar with computers. |
| B.Having knowledge of wines. |
| C.Knowing more about menus. |
| D.Working well with others. |