London—Sheep, like turkeys and ostriches, are not considered the most clever animals. British scientists said last Wednesday humans may have underestimated the woolly creature. They could be much smarter than we think.
Researchers at the Babraham Institute in Cambridge, southern England, have shown that the animals have a good memory system and are extremely good at recognizing faces—which they think is a sure sign of intelligence.
Behavioral scientist Keith Kendrick and his friends trained 20 sheep to recognize and distinguish 25 pairs of sheep faces and used electrodes (电极) to measure their brain activity , which showed they could remember 50 faces for up to two years .
“If they can do that with faces, they have to have reasonable intelligence; otherwise, what is the point of having a system for remembering faces and not remembering anything else?” Kendrick said in an interview.
So hours of seemingly mindless eating grass may not be so mindless after all.
Kendrick believes sheep got their reputation as dumb (unable to speak, unintelligent) animals because they live in large groups and do not appear to have much individuality and are frightened of just about everything.
“All animals, including humans, once they are frightened, don’t tend to show signs of intelligent action,” he explained.
In research reported in the science journal Nature, Kendrick and his team showed that sheep, like humans, have a specialized system in the brain which allows them to distinguish between many different faces which look extremely similar.
“The most important finding (of the study) is that they are able , both from a behavioral point of view and from looking at the way the brain is organized , to remember a large number of individuals for a very long time,” said Kendrick. “It is a very strange system. They are showing similar abilities in many ways to humans.”From the first paragraph we can find that______. .
| A.people used to think sheep are smarter than the other animals |
| B.people used to raise sheep in a wrong way |
| C.people don’t consider sheep as clever animals |
| D.people have done a lot of research on sheep |
From what Kendrick said in the interview we learn that_____. .
| A.scientists have learned everything about sheep’s intelligence |
| B.scientists have learned a little about sheep’s intelligence |
| C.scientists can’t do anything more about sheep’s memory |
| D.scientists do not have to research animals’ memory |
As is known in the passage,__________.
| A.sheep are among the week animals |
| B.it is not right for people to raise sheep in groups |
| C.when sheep eat grass in the field their minds may be active |
| D.if people feel frightened, they may become braver |
St James’s Palace has announced that while Miss Middleton will wear a wedding ring.Prince William has chosen not to.
Rings are typically exchanged by couples during their wedding to represent commitment (承诺)to each other.Does it matter if husbands don’t wear a wedding ring?
Prince William’s father wears one, his grandfather doesn’t and their decisions weren’t seen as strange.But reactions to Prince William’s decision show that wedding rings for husbands are now the norm.One young man, who spoke to the BBC, thinks William is setting a bad example, saying: "I think it’s disgraceful (不光彩的).It’s a tradition.You have to wear a ring really.And for someone of the royal family to do that, it’s not right."
Broadly speaking, modem husbands tend to wear their wedding rings as a symbol of loyalty and faithfulness.So not wearing one can seem unusual or even dishonest to some, although men haven’t always worn them.
The wearing of wedding rings has been the done thing for centuries among wives but only became common practice among husbands during World War II.Men fighting overseas usually wore them as a reminder of wives and families back home.
Wearing rings is a safety issue(问题) for men in certain manual jobs.But how does William explain his decision? A royal officer has said he "isn’t one for jewelry".According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A.There is going to be a royal exhibition of jewelry. |
| B.Wearing rings among husbands and wives is tradition at all times. |
| C.All the male members of British royalty don’t wear wedding rings. |
| D.Wearing rings is a safety guarantee for some manual jobs. |
What is the author’s attitude towards Prince William’s decision?
| A.Subjective. | B.Objective. | C.Approving. | D.Disappointed. |
By saying "he isn’t one for jewelry", the royal officers meant that _____.
| A.Prince William is a person who doesn’t like wearing jewelry. |
| B.Prince William isn’t a person who is crazy about collecting jewelry. |
| C.Prince William considers jewelry penniless. |
| D.Prince William doesn’t wear a wedding ring for safety. |
What would be the best title for this passage?
| A.To Wear Wedding Rings or Not |
| B.Complaint about British Royal Disgraceful Behavior] |
| C.The History of Wearing Wedding Rings |
| D.No Ring for Wills |
Do you always understand the directions on a bottle of medicine? Do you know what is meant by “Take only as directed”? Read the following directions and see if you understand them.
“To reduce pain, take two tablets (药片) with water, followed by one tablet every eight hours, as required. For night- time and early morning relief (缓解疼痛) take two tablets at bedtime. Do not take more than six tablets in twenty-four hours.
For children six to twelve years old, give half the amount (量). For children under s
ix year
s old, ask your doctor’s advice.
Reduce the amount if you suffer from restlessness or sleeplessness after taking the medicine.” How many tablets at most can a person over 12 have in 24 hours?
| A.Three. | B.Four. | C.Six. | D.Eight. |
What is the advice for one who cannot sleep well after taking the med
icine?
| A.Stop taking the medicine at bedtime. |
| B.Continue to take the normal amount. |
| C.Take more than the normal amount. |
| D.Take less than the normal amount. |
It can be inferred from the directions that this medicine .
| A.helps you to fall asleep quickly. |
| B.may be dangerous to small children. |
| C.cannot be taken if one feels sleepy. |
| D.should not be taken by children under six. |
This text is most probably taken from a .
| A.textbook | B.newsreel | C.doctor’s notebook | D.bottle of medicine |
Annealing is a way of making metal softer by heating it and then letting it cool very slowly. If metal is heated and then cooled very quickly, for example by dipping (浸) it in water, it will be very hard but also very brittle (脆) —that is , it will break easily. Metal that has been annealed is soft but does not break as easily. It is possible to make metal as hard or as soft as is wished, by annealing it. The metal is heated, and allowed to cool slowly for a certain length of time. The longer the heated metal takes to cool slowly, the softer it becomes. Annealing can also be used on other materials, such as glass. Annealing can make metal
| A.hard and tough (韧). | B.hard but brittle. |
| C.soft but tough. | D.soft and brittle. |
Why do people put hot metal in water?
| A.To make it hard. | B.To make it soft. |
C.To ma ke it cool. |
D.To make it brittle. |
As suggested by the text, how ca
n glass be made less brittle?
| A.It can be heated and then cooled quickly. |
| B.It can be cooled and then heated slowly. |
| C.It can be heated and then cooled slowly. |
| D.It can be cooled and then heated quickly. |
A well-known old man was being interviewed (采访) and asked if it was correct that he had just celebrated his ninety-nine birthday.
“That’s right.” said the old man. “Ninety-nine years old, and I haven’t an enemy in the world. They’re all dead.”
“Well, sir.” said the interviewer, “I hope very much to have the honour of interviewing you on your hundredth birthday.”
The old man looked at the young man closely, and said, “I can’t see why you shouldn’t. you look fit and healthy to me!” The old man said he had not an enemy in the world, which shows that he was a very .
| A.friendly man—he never made any enemies |
B.healthy man—he lived longer than all his enemies |
| C.lucky man—his enemies had all died |
| D.terrible man—he had got rid of all his enemies |
When the interviewer said that he hoped very much to have the honor of interviewing the old man again the following year, .
| A.he was trying to make the old man happy |
| B.he wished he himself would live another year |
| C.he did not believe the old man would live to be one hundred |
| D.he did not believe he would interview the old man again |
W
hen the old man said, “I can’t see why you shouldn’t”, what he meant was .
| A.“You must try to live another year to interview me again next year” |
| B.“Of course you can see me again since you’re so fit and healthy” |
| C.“If I live to a hundred years, you should interview me again” |
| D.“Unless you live another year, you wouldn’t be able to interview me again” |
What kind of man would you say the old man was?
| A.He was silly. |
| B.He was unpleasant |
| C.He was very proud and sure of his health. |
| D.He was very impolite to young people. |
Shu Pulong has helped at least 1000 people bitten (咬) by snakes, “ It was seeing people with snake bites (伤口) that led me to this career,” he said.
In 1963, after his army service, Shu entered a medical school and later became a doctor of Chinese medicine. As part of his studies he had to work in the mountains. There he often heard of people who had their arms and legs cut off after a snake bite in order to save their lives.
“I was greatly upset by the story of an old farmer I met. It was a very hot afternoon. The old man was pulling grass in his fields when he felt a pain in his left hand. He at once realized he had been bitten by a poisonous snake. In no time he wrapped a cloth tightly around his arm to stop the poison spreading to his heart. Rushing home he shouted ‘bring me the knife!’ Minutes later the man lost his arm forever.”
“The sad story touched me so much that I decided to devote myself to helping people bitten by snakes,” Shu said. The best headline (标题) for this newspaper article is .
| A.Astonishing Medicine | B.Farmer Loses Arm |
| C.Dangerous Bites | D.Snake Doctor |
. The farmer lost his arm because .
| A.the cloth was wrapped too tightly |
| B.he cut it to save his life |
| C.Shu wasn’t there to help him |
| D.he was alone in the fields |
Shu decided to devote himself to snake medicine because .
| A.he wanted to save people’s arms and legs |
| B.he had studied it at a medical school |
| C.he had seen snakes biting people |
| D.his army service had finished |
Why did Shu go into the mountains?
| A.He wanted to study snake bites. |
| B.He wanted to help the farmers. |
| C.He was being trained to be a doctor. |
| D.He was expected to serve in the army. |