When Lady Gaga releases a new, pleasing and easily remembered single, it quickly goes around the world. Now scientists have discovered the same thing happens with the songs of another creature----the humpback whale. The mammals become absorbed by new tunes just like people do, and the most popular original whale songs spread globally like hit singles.
Male humpback whales are famed for the loud, long and complicated songs they make during the mating season. Each song lasts for 10 to 20 minutes and the males can sing nonstop for 24 hours. At any one time, all the males in a population sing the same song.
But a study shows that this song changes over time and spreads around the oceans. Dr. Ellen Garland of Queensland University, said: “Songs move like cultural communication from one population to another, causing all males to change their song to a new version.”
Researchers recorded songs from six neighboring populations of whales in the Pacific over a decade. They found that new versions of the songs appear over time and always spread from west to east. It takes two years for songs that appear in the waters off Australia to be heard in French Polynesia.
Most of the new songs contain material from the previous year mixed with something new. “ It would be like getting an old Beatles song together with U2,” she said. “ Occasionally they completely throw the current song out of the window and start singing a completely new song”.
Dr. Garland believes that a small number of whales may migrate to other populations carrying the new songs with them, or that they are heard by passing whales.
The researchers suspect whales adopt new songs to make themselves distinct. Dr. Garland said: “ we think this male search for new songs is in the hope of being that little bit different and perhaps more attractive to the opposite sex.”What is the main idea of the text?
| A．The humpback whale likes to hear Lady Gaga’s songs. |
| B．The humpback whale’s tunes sound like Lady Gaga. |
| C．Lady Gaga’s new single gained worldwide popularity. |
| D．The songs of humpback whales can spread globally. |
According to the text, we can learn that_______
| A．humpback whales don’t like living in groups. |
| B．new songs contain nothing that is in the old songs. |
| C．humpback whales in the west change their tunes first. |
| D．female humpback whales can sing loud and long songs. |
According to the text, male humpback whales sing new songs to ______
| A．follow the fashion. |
| B．attract female whales. |
| C．communicate with each other. |
| D．get accepted by another population. |
In which part of the website may the text appear?
| A．News | B．Amusement. |
| C．Education. | D．Health |
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Antz is a movie that shows young kids how to work as a team. It shows however small a part they may have, what matters most is the team outcome of that small-small effort they all put to make things happen. It tells them never ever to give up the dream and never ever to accept failure. It tells about an ant that is never known by its size but by its team. |
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Forrest Gump tells a story of a boy who stands for friends and has a strong will power. He never throws his life for chance but makes the best out of it. This story will make your kids feel sure about themselves and their abilities, making them brave enough to stand up to any challenges. |
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Lion King is an American animated (动画的）musical adventure film produced by Wall Disney Feature Animation. The movie will show your kids the importance of having friends in one’s life. |
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Dumbo will give your child wings to imagine without any boundaries. He doesn’t have to be logical every time. He has to understand that it’s the mental strength rather than the physical strength that brings out the best out of everything. Free for parents who come to see the film with their child. |
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As a parent we are always caring about our kids but sometimes it’s not helpful for their growth. Finding Nemo, an animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation， shows us how to teach them to overcome their fear by trying things，failing and bouncing back again for the /ry. |
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The director brings out the best of the characters in the movie Toy Story. The movie portrays the emotions of the toys. How beautifully the emotions like friendship，togetherness ，leadership，love，care and so on have turned up in this movie! |
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According to the text, the film Forrest Gump is aimed at improving the viewers’ _____.
| A．teamwork | B．self-confidence | C．Imagination | D．friendship |
How much do they have to pay if eight-year-old Jason goes to see the film Dumbo with his parents?
| A． $ 10. | B．$ 20. | C．$ 30. | D．$ 45. |
Who are the main target audience of the movies mentioned in the text?
| A． Parents. | B．Teachers. | C．Children. | D．Clerks. |
What emotions have appeared in the film Toy Story EXCEPT__________?
| A．friendship | B．love | C． leadership | D． Generosity |
When I was a child, I often dreamed of the time when I could leave home and escape to the city. We lived on a farm and, in the winter especially, we were quite cut off from the outside world. As soon as I left school, I packed my bags and moved to the capital. However, I soon discovered that city life has its problems too.
One big disadvantage is money---it costs so much to go out, not to mention basics like food and housing. Another disadvantage is pollution. I suffer from asthma(哮喘), and at times the air is so bad that I am afraid to go outside. Then there is the problem of travelling round. Although I have a car, I seldom use it because of the traffic jams. One choice is to go by bicycle, but that can be quite dangerous.
Of course there are advantages. First, there is so much to do in the city, whatever your tastes in culture or entertainment. Besides, there are wonderful jobs and greater chances of moving to a more important job or position. Finally, if you like shopping, the variety of goods is very surprising---and, what is more, shops are often only a short walk away.
Is life better then, in the city? Perhaps it is, when you are in your teens(十几岁) or twenties. However, as you get older, and especially if you have small children, the peace of the countryside may seem preferable. I certainly hope to move back there soon.What was the writer always thinking about when he was a child?
| A．Staying on the farm | B．Moving to the countryside |
| C．Leaving home for the city | D．Running away from the school |
Which of the following is true about the writer?
| A．He is very old now. | B．He is in good health. |
| C．He prefers driving a car. | D．He lives in the city now. |
In the passage, the writer tries to _______.
| A．express his opinions about way of life |
| B．describe his life in the countryside |
| C．show an interest in the outside world |
| D．persuade the reader to live in the city |
How is the passage mainly developed?
| A．By inferring | B．By comparing |
| C．By listing examples | D．By giving explanations |
Janelle was running late for work, so she just had time for a quick look at herself in themirror as she was going out. What she saw there made her stop dead in her tracks.
Being a busy college student just one year removed from her teenage years, she wasn’t exactly obsessive-compulsive(有强迫观念和行为的) about the neatness of her clothes. But her boss at the restaurant where she works saw things a little differently. He had recently lectured the entire staff on the importance of appearance, and had specifically mentioned the need for servers to wear clean, unwrinkled blouses. As an assistant manager, Janelle felt it was important to set an example for the other employees. But if she stopped to iron the blouse normally, she would be late —and work without delay was an area of even greater concern to her boss.
So she grabbed her iron and plugged it in and set it for low heat. Carefully holding her blouse away from her body, she continued to iron it while she was wearing it. It seemed like a logical answer to an urgent problem.
And it seemed to be working until Janelle tried to iron the collar and accidentally ironed her neck by mistake. Then it suddenly seemed like a really stupid idea and a really painful one as well. It took more time to treat her burn than it would have taken to iron her shirt properly. And she spent a miserable shift dealing with the pain of the burn.
We’ve all been there, haven’t we? For me it was cutting my own hair. For a former roommate it was trying to pull his own wisdom teeth. For another college acquaintance, it was trying to change the oil in his car while the motor was still running.
“There’s a right way and a wrong way of doing things,” Dad used to tell me whenever I’d spoil the look of our yard by trying out a faster, easier and more creative way of pulling weeds or edging the lawn. “If a thing is worth doing,” he said, “it’s worth doing it right.” There’s a reason why certain things are done in certain ways. Those old, boring, predictable ways work.Jenelle found in the mirror that __________.
| A．there were stains on her blouse |
| B．her blouse was wrinkled |
| C．she wore heavy makeup |
| D．she put on a wrong blouse |
It’s learned from Paragraph 2 that______________.
| A．Jenelle had no sense of responsibility at work |
| B．Jenelle failed to set an example for employees in daily work |
| C．Jenelle didn’t care about the neatness of her clothes at all |
| D．Jenelle’s boss put doing something on time above appearance |
What can we infer from the fifth paragraph?
| A．We all have done loads of things like Janelle. |
| B．We are careful enough in daily life. |
| C．We all have done something creative. |
| D．We all have tried to iron clothes while we are wearing them. |
What does the author mainly want to tell readers in the last paragraph ?
| A．Be creative. | B．A bad beginning makes a bad ending. |
| C．Stick to old ways. | D．Do things right. |
In today’s congratulatory phone call to the team behind NASA's Mars Curiosity rover（火星车）, President Barack Obama made sure that if the mission discovers Martians, he'll be one of the first to know.
"If in fact you do make contact with Martians, please let me know right away," Obama said during the call, "I've got a lot of things on my plate, but I expect that that will go to the top of the list. Even if they're just microbes(微生物), it will be pretty exciting."
Obama also said he was impressed by the attention that's been paid to flight director Bobak Ferdowsi, the "Mohawk Guy" whose star-spangled haircut and warmhearted behavior during Curiosity's Aug. 5 landing won him Internet fame.
"I, in the past, thought about getting a Mohawk myself," Obama joked. "But my team keeps on discouraging me. And now that he's received marriage proposals and thousands of new Twitter followers, I think I'm going to go back to my team and see if it makes sense."
The congratulatory phone call is a tradition for the White House. But it was clear that Obama particularly enjoyed congratulating the scientists and engineers behind the amazingly successful landing of NASA's newest Mars exploration.
He also said the achievement reflected the American spirit, and he gave his personal promise to protect these critical investments in science and technology.
"This is the kind of thing that inspires kids across the country," he said. "They’re telling their moms and dads they want to be part of a Mars mission, maybe even the first person to walk on Mars. And that kind of inspiration is the byproduct of work of the sort that you guys have done."
The Curiosity rover's $2.5 billion mission focuses on studying billions of years' worth of geology on Mars and determining whether the planet was ever potentially suitable for people to live in. The mission is not specifically designed to explore life, even on the range of microbes, but it could point the way for future life-exploration experiments.Obama phoned the team behind NASA's Mars Curiosity rover in order to _______.
| A．congratulate them on finding Martians |
| B．praise the flight director |
| C．congratulate on the rover’s landing |
| D．encourage them to contact with Martians |
What is the main idea of Paragraph 2 ?
| A．Obama is very busy now. |
| B．Obama longs for the finding of life on Mars. |
| C．Obama is interested in biology. |
| D．Obama wants to contact Martians. |
Which of the following about the Curiosity rover is TRUE ?
| A．It costs billions of dollars. |
| B．It mainly aims to find life on Mars. |
| C．It carries the first person to Mars. |
| D．It proves Mars fit to live on. |
What can we learn from the passage ?
| A．Bobak Ferdowsi got a Mohawk haircut to win great Internet fame. |
| B．Obama called on the government and companies to invest in science. |
| C．America’s president seldom congratulates on scientific achievements. |
| D．Children showed special interest in the landing of Curiosity. |
Are you a saver or a spender?
"A penny saved is a penny earned." This old saying calls attention to the wisdom of saving money. "_________________________" is another way to talk about saving for the future.
People who hate to spend money are known as "tightwads," while those who like to get the most value for their money are called "thrifty." A thrifty person is different from a "spendthrift." A spendthrift is someone who spends wastefully. People like that are often said to spend money "like a drunken sailor" or "like there's no tomorrow."
In the United States, people who want to start a savings account have different choices of where to put their money. These include banks and credit unions. Credit unions are cooperatives for people who have some kind of connection. For example, the members might work for a university or a government agency. Most credit unions are nonprofit organizations.
Credit unions, banks and other financial institutions pay interest on savings accounts. But the interest rates are low. Certificates of deposit（存款证） pay higher returns. With a certificate of deposit, or CD, a person agrees not to withdraw the money for a certain period of time. This term could be anywhere from a few months to several years. Longer terms, and larger amounts, pay higher interest. People can withdraw their money early but they have to pay a fine.
In a number of countries, people have been saving less over the years. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is a group of thirty-four countries. The OECD says in 1990, Americans had a household savings rate of seven percent. This year, that rate is expected to be a little more thanfour percent and many European countries have higher rates like the UK and France , but Americans save more than families in countries like Japan and South Korea.Which of the following proverbs can be filled in the blank in Paragraph 2?
| A．Health is wealth. |
| B．Money is a good servant but a bad master |
| C．Put money away for a rainy day. |
| D．Money doesn’t grow on trees. |
If you have $10,000, which of the following may help you get higher interest ?
| A．Choose certificates of deposit for one year. |
| B．Put the money in banks for one year. |
| C．Put the money in credit unions for one year. |
| D．Choose certificates of deposit for one year but withdraw the money ahead of time. |
What does the passage mainly talk about ?
| A．Different choices of putting money away in the US. |
| B．The importance of saving money. |
| C．How to put money into banks. |
| D．The household savings rate in the US. |