A recent study of ancient and modern elephants has come up with the unexpected conclusion that the African elephant is divided into two distinct(不同的) species.
The discovery was made by researchers at York and Harvard Universities when they were examining the genetic relationship between the ancient woolly mammoth and mastodon to modern elephants — the Asian elephant, African forest elephant, and African savanna elephant.
Once they obtained DNA sequences(序列) from two fossils(化石), mammoths，and mastodons the team compared them with DNA from modern elephants. They found to their amazement that modern forest and savanna elephants are as distinct from each other as Asian elephants and mammoths.
The scientists used detailed genetic analysis to prove that the African savanna elephant and the African forest elephant have been distinct species for several million years. The divergence of the two species took place around the time of the divergence of Asian elephants and woolly mammoths. This result amazed all the scientists. There has long been debate in the scientific community that the two might be separate species, but this is the most convincing scientific evidence so far that they are indeed different species.
Previously, many naturalists believed that African savanna elephants and African forest elephants were two populations of the same species, despite the elephants’ significant size differences. The savanna elephant has an average shoulder height of 3.5 metres while the forest elephant has an average shoulder height of 2.5 metres. The savanna elephant weighs between six and seven tons, roughly double the weight of the forest elephant. But the fact that they look so different does not necessarily mean they are different species. However the proof lay in the analysis of the DNA.
Alfred Roca, assistant professor in the Department of Animal Sciences at the University of Illinois, said, “We now have to treat the forest and savanna elephants as two different units for conservation purposes. Since 1950，all African elephants have been conserved as one species. Now that we know the forest and savanna elephants are two very distinctive animals, the forest elephant should become a bigger priority(优先) for conservation purposes.”One of the fossils studied by the researchers is that of _____.
| A．the Asian elephant | B．the forest elephant |
| C．the savanna elephant | D．the mastodon elephant |
The researchers’ conclusion was based on a study of the African elephant’s _____.
| A．DNA | B．height |
| C．weight | D．population |
What are Alfred Roca’s words mainly about?
| A．The conservation of African elephants. |
| B．The purpose of studying African elephants. |
| C．The way to divide African elephants into two units. |
| D．The reason for the distinction of African elephants. |
Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
| A．Naturalists’ Beliefs about Elephants |
| B．Amazing Experiments about Elephants |
| C．An Unexpected Finding about Elephants |
| D．A Long Scientific Debate about Elephants |
It is difficult for doctors to help a person with a damaged brain. Without enough blood, the brain lives for only three to five minutes. More often the doctors can' t fix the damage. Sometimes they are afraid to try something to help because it is dangerous to work on the brain. The doctors might make the person worse if he operates on the brain.
Dr. Robert White, a famous professor and doctor, thinks he knows a way to help. He thinks doctors should make the brain very cold. If it is very cold, the brain can live without blood for 30 minutes. This gives the doctor a longer time to do something for the brain.
Dr. White tried his idea on 13 monkeys. First he taught them to do different jobs, then he operated on them. He made the monkeys' blood go through a machine. The machine cooled the blood. Then the machine sent the blood back to the monkeys' brains. When the brain' s temperature was 10°C, Dr. White stopped the blood to the brain. After 30 minutes he turned the blood back on. He warmed the blood again. After their operations the monkeys were like they had been before. They were healthy and busy. Each one could still do the jobs the doctor had taught them. The biggest difficulty in operating on the damaged brain is that _______.
| A．the time is too short for doctors |
| B．the patients are often too nervous |
| C．the damage is extremely hard to fix |
| D．the blood-cooling machine might break down |
The brain operation was made possible mainly by _______.
| A．taking the blood out of the brain |
| B．trying the operation on monkeys first |
| C．having the blood go through a machine |
| D．lowering the brain' s temperature |
With Dr. White' s new idea, the operation on the damaged brain _______.
| A．can last as long as 30 minutes | B．can keep the brain' s blood warm |
| C．can keep the patient' s brain healthy | D．can help monkeys do different jobs |
What is the right order of the steps in the operation?
a. send the cooled blood back to the brain
b. stop the blood to the brain
c. have the blood cooled down
d. operate on the brain
| A．a,b,c,d | B．c,a,b,d | C．c, b, d, a | D．b, c, d, a |
Our “Mommy and Me” time began two years ago. My next-door neighbor and fellow mother, Christie, and I were out in our front yards, watching seven children of age 6 and under ride their bikes up and down. “I wish I could take one of my children out alone,” said Christie.
Then we worked out a plan: When Christie takes one of her children out, I’ll watch her other three. And when she watches two of mine, I’ll take someone out.
The children were extremely quick to accept the idea of “Mommy and Me” time. Christie’s daughter, McKenzie, went first. When she returned, the other children showered her with tons of questions. McKenzie was smiling broadly. Christie looked refreshed and happy. “She’s like a different child when there’s no one else around,” Christie shared with me quickly. With her mother all to herself, McKenzie didn’t have to make an effort to gain attention.
Just as Christie had noticed changes in McKenzie, I also discovered something different in each of my children during our alone times. For example, I am always surprised when my daughter, who is seldom close to me, holds my hand frequently. My stuttering（口吃的）son, Tom doesn’t stutter once during our activities since he doesn’t have to struggle for a chance to speak. And the other son, Sam, who’s always a follower when around other children shines as a leader during our times together.
The “Mommy and Me” time allows us to be simply alone and away with each child talking, sharing, and laughing, which has been the biggest gain. Every child deserves（应得到）to be an only child at least once in a while. What is the text mainly about?
| A．The basic needs of children. |
| B．The advantage of spending time with one child at a time. |
| C．The happy life of two families. |
| D．The experience of the only child being with mother. |
Right after McKenzie came back, the other children were _____________.
| A．happy | B．curious | C．regretful | D．friendly |
What is one of the changes the author finds in her children?
| A．Tom has less difficulty in speaking. | B．Sam holds her hand more often. |
| C．The boys become better followers. | D．The daughter acts like a leader. |
The author seems to believe that ___________.
| A．having brothers and sisters is fun |
| B．it’s tiring to look after three children |
| C．every child needs parents’ full attention |
| D．parents should watch others’ children. |
It was a winter morning, just a couple of weeks before Christmas 2005. While most people were warming up their cars, Trevor, my husband, had to get up early to ride his bike four kilometers away from home to work. On arrival, he parked his bike outside the back door as he usually does. After putting in 10 hours of labor, he returned to find his bike gone.
The bike, a black Kona 18 speed, was our only transport. Trevor used it to get to work, putting in 60-hour weeks to support his young family. And the bike was also used to get groceries（食品杂货），saving us from having to walk long distances from where we live.
I was so sad that someone would steal our bike that I wrote to the newspaper and told them our story. Shortly after that, several people in our area offered to help. One wonderful stranger even bought a bike, then called my husband to pick it up. Once again my husband had a way to get to and from his job. It really is an honor that a complete stranger would go out of their way for someone they have never met before.
People say that a smile can be passed from one person to another, but acts of kindness from strangers are even more so. This experience has had a spreading effect in our lives because it strengthened our faith in humanity（人性）as a whole. And it has influenced（影响）us to be more mindful of ways we, too, can share with others. No matter how big or how small, an act of kindness shows that someone cares. And the results can be everlasting. Why was the bike so important to the couple?
| A．They used it for work and daily life. |
| B．It was their only possession. |
| C．It was a nice Kona 18 speed. |
| D．The man’s job was bike racing. |
We can infer from the text that ____________.
| A．the couple worked 60 hours a week. | B．people were busy before Christmas |
| C．the stranger brought over the bike | D．life was hard for the young family. |
What do the couple learn from their experience?
| A．Strangers are usually of little help. | B．One should take care of their bike. |
| C．News reports make people famous. | D．An act of kindness can mean a lot. |
The evidence for harmony（和谐）may not be clear in some families. But it seems that four in five young people now get on with their parents, which is the opposite of the popularly- held image(印象)of unhappy teenagers locked in their room after endless family quarrels.
An important new study into teenage attitudes surprisingly shows that their family life is more harmonious than it has ever been in the past. ”We were surprised by just how positive today’s young people seem to be about their families, ”said one member of the research team. ”They’re expected to be rebellious(叛逆的) and selfish but actually they have other things on their minds; they want a car and material goods, and they worry about whether school is serving them well. There’s more negotiation(商议) and discussion between parents and children, and children expect to take part in the family decision-making process. They don’t want to rock the boat. ”
So it seems that this generation of parents is much more likely than parents of 30 years ago to treat the children as friends. ”My parents are happy to discuss things with me and willing to listen to me, ”says 17-years-old Daniel Lazall. ”I always tell them when I’m going out clubbing. As long as they know what I’m doing, they’re fine with it. ”Susan Crome, who is now 21, agrees. ”Looking back on the last 10 years, there was a lot of what you could call negotiation. For example, as long as I’d done all my homework, I could go out on a Saturday night. But I think my grandparents were a lot stricter with my parents than that. ”
Maybe this positive view of family life should not be unexpected. It is possible that the idea of teenagers’ rebellion is not rooted in real facts. A researcher comments, ”Our surprise that teenagers say they get along well with their parents comes because of a brief period in out social history when teenagers were regarded as different beings. But that idea of rebelling and breaking away from their parents really only happened during that one time in the 1960s when everyone rebelled. The normal situation throughout history has been a smooth change from helping out with the family business to taking it over. ”What is the popular images of teenagers today?
| A．They worry about school | B．They dislike living with their parents |
| C．They are locked in to avoid trouble | D．They quarrel a lot with other family members |
The study shows that teenagers don’t want to ___
| A． share family responsibility | B． cause trouble in their families |
| C． go boating with their family | D． make family decisions |
Compared with parents of 30 years age, today’s parents___.
| A． go to clubs more often with their children |
| B． are much stricter with their children |
| C． care less about their children’s life |
| D． give their children more freedom |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A． Negotiation in family | B． Education in family |
| C． Harmony in family | D． Teenage trouble in family |
Which of the following NOT TRUE?
A.Parents are stricter than their own parents.B Parents get along well with their kids C.Parents will discuss something with their kids D. Harmony in family is important.
Odland remembers like it was yesterday working in an expensive French restaurant in Denver. The ice cream he was serving fell onto the white dress of a rich and important woman.
Thirty years have passed, but Odland can not get the memory out of his mind, nor the woman’s kind reaction(反应). She was shocked, regained calmness and, in a kind voice, told the young Odland. “It is OK. It wasn’t your fault.” When she left the restaurant, she also left the future Fortune 500 CEO(总裁) with a life lesson: You can tell a lot about a person by the way he or she treats the waiter.
Odland isn’t the only CEO to have made this discovery. Instead, it seems to be one of those few laws of the land that every CEO learns on the way up. It’s hard to get a dozen CEO’s to agree about anything, but most agree with the Waiter Rule. They say how others treat the CEO says nothing. But how others treat the waiter is like a window into the soul.
Watch out for anyone who pulls out the power card to say something like, “I could buy this place and fire you,” or “I know the owner and I could have you fired.” Those who say such things have shown more about their character(人品) than about their wealth and power.
The CEO who came up with it, or at least first wrote it down, is Raytheon CEO Bill Swanson. He wrote a best-selling book called Swanson’s Unwritten Rules of Management. “A person who is nice to you but rude to the waiter, or to others, is not a nice person,” Swanson says. “I will never offer a job to the person who is sweet to the boss but turns rude to someone cleaning the tables.” What happened after Odland dropped the ice cream onto the woman’s dress?
| A．He was fired. |
| B．He was blamed. |
| C．The woman comforted him. |
| D．The woman left the restaurant at once. |
Odland learned one of his life lessons from ________.
| A．his experience as a waiter. |
| B．the advice given by the CEOs |
| C．an article in Fortune |
| D．an interesting best-selling book |
According to the text, most CEOs have the same opinion about ________.
| A．Fortune 500 companies | B．the Management Rules |
| C．Swanson’s book | D．the Waiter Rule |
From the text we can learn that ________.
| A．one should be nicer to important people |
| B．CEOs often show their power before others |
| C．one should respect others no matter who they are |
| D．CEOs often have meals in expensive restaurants |
The underlined word “rude”here means________
| A．bad | B．unfriendly | C．terrible | D．friendly |