A new study has found some secrets of people’s understanding of large numbers.
Researchers studied a group of people who were born deaf and never learned any spoken language or a formal sign language, but they have developed a gesture system to communicate with people around them. The gestures let them express approximate amounts, but not exact numbers.
“Up to three, they’re fine,” says Elizabet Spaepen, a researcher at the University of Chicago and an author of the study. “But past three, they start to fall apart.” In one test, Spaepen would knock her fist against a study participant’s fist a certain number of times and then ask them to respond with the same number of knocks. “If I were to knock four times on their fist, they might knock on my fist five times,” she says.
The finding offers a clue to just how much language affects our understanding of numbers. That has been a big question since 2004, when other researchers published data on two tribes in the Amazon whose members also lack words for big numbers. “What they have are words that mean one and two,” Spaepen says, “and then they have a word to mean many.”
Members of the Amazonian tribes also had trouble matching numbers larger than three or four. But some scholars felt that these earlier studies failed to prove that language was the reason. They pointed out that the tribes lived in groups that didn’t use money and had no need for exact numbers.
The new research appears to answer that criticism. “It proves that the kinds of problems in understanding numbers that we found in the Amazonian tribes are not due to just the cultural or environmental circumstances,” says Peter Gordon of Columbia University, one of the researchers involved in the earlier studies.The participants of the new study ______.
| A．cannot communicate with one another |
| B．use a formal sign language to express numbers |
| C．have some physical disability |
| D．come from a distant tribe |
According to the passage, the new study _______.
| A．ignored the cultural influence on the participants |
| B．is doubted by many people |
| C．has found it is harder to learn numbers than learning a sign language |
| D．has shown that our understanding of numbers is influenced by our mastering of language. |
The tribes involved in earlier studies _________.
| A．often dealt with big numbers. |
| B．didn’t use money in their daily life |
| C．didn’t have their own language |
| D．often made trouble for the researchers |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．Peter Gordon is a researcher of the University of Chicago. |
| B．Peter Gordon thinks less of the new study than his earlier studies. |
| C．Peter Gordon believes people’s understanding of numbers has nothing to do with cultural circumstances. |
| D．Peter Gordon is in favor of the finding of the new study. |
In which part of a newspaper would you most probably find this passage?
| A．Science | B．Health |
| C．Politics | D．Lifestyle |
A sunflower is a sunflower. A mobile phone is a mobile phone. But can you combine the two to do something for your local environment? As early as next year it may well be possible. When you have finished with your mobile phone you will be able to bury it in a garden or a plant pot and wait for it to flower.
A biodegradable (生物所能分解的) mobile phone was, this month, introduced by scientists. It is hoped that the new type of phone will encourage consumers to recycle.
Scientists have come up with a new material over the last five years. It looks like any other plastic and can be hard or soft, and is able to change shape. Over time it can also break down into the soil without giving out any poisonous chemicals. British researchers used the new material to develop a phone cover that contains a sunflower seed. When this new type of cover turns into waste, it forms fertilizers. These feed the seed and help the flower grow.
Engineers have designed a small transparent (透明的) window to hold the seed. They have made sure it only grows when the phone is thrown away. “We’ve only put sunflower seeds into the covers so far. But we are working with plant experts to find out which flowers would perform best. Maybe we could put roses in next time,” said one scientist.
As phone technology is developing so quickly, people are constantly throwing their mobiles away. This means manufacturers are under pressure to find ways of recycling them. Some 650 million mobile phones have been sold this year. Most of them will be thrown away within two years, adding plastic, heavy metal and chemical waste to the environment. A biodegradable cover can offer some relief (缓解) for nature , according to the scientists.
“The seed comes out and the flower grows in the pot so you don’t have to concern yourself with the phone when you have finished using it,” said Kerry Kirwan. She leads the research team, which is based at the University of Warwick in Britain.
What is the purpose of this passage?
A. To tell the popularity of biodegradable cell phones.
B. To persuade the reader to buy the biodegradable cell phone.
C. To discuss the development of phone technology.
D. To introduce an environmentally-friendly cell phone to readers.
People throw away their cell phones most probably because _______.
A．there is something wrong with them
B．no sunflowers can grow out of them
C．they are out of fashion
D．they are becoming cheaper and cheaper
It could be learned from the passage that _________.
A．developing the new type of phone is mainly to protect the environment
B．phone-makers will benefit much more from the new type of phone
C．the new type of phone will certainly be popular with users all over the world
D．the phones that can be recycled are available only in Britain now
What might be the best title for this passage?
A．Sunflower and Phone. B．Plant Your Phone.
C．Protect Our Environment. D．No Worry about Phone.
Where can we probably find the passage above?
A. In a novel. B. In a magazine. C. In a textbook. D. In a diary
III. 阅读(共两节，满分30分)
第一节阅读理解(共10小题；每小题2分，满分20分)
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Charles Dickens (1812-1870), the great nineteenth century English novelist, was born near Portsmouth. His father ran heavily into debt and when he was twelve, he had to go and work in a factory for making boot polish. The only formal education he received was a two-year schooling at a school for poor children. In fact, he had to teach himself all he knew. He worked for a time as a junior clerk in a lawyer’s office. After that, he worked as a reporter in the law courts, and later in Parliament, for London newspapers.
His career as a writer of fiction began in 1833 with short stories and essays in periodicals(期刊), and in 1837 his comic novel The Pickwick Papers made him the most popular author at his time in England.
He was a great observer of people and their places because he was attracted by life and conditions in mid-nineteenth century London. He wrote 19 novels all his life and in many of them, Dickens gave a realistic picture of all classes of England society, showing deep sympathy for the poor and unfortunate, exposing the injustice and inhumanity of the middle class. Many of his novels like Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Nicholas Nickleby, Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities and so on drew attention to the unsatisfactory social conditions that existed in England over a hundred years ago. Dickens criticized capitalist society from the point of view of bourgeois humanism. He wished to see improvement in the living conditions of the poor, but failed to find any effective means to achieve that end.
46. Dickens only received a little formal education because______.
A. he wanted to teach himself
B. he wanted to work and made a lot of money
C. he was too poor to afford any more formal education
D. he wanted some working experiences to be a novelist
47. According to Dickens, society at his time in England was________.
A. just B. poor C. comfortable D. unsatisfying
48. Which of the following novel made Dickens the most popular writer at his time in England?
A. Oliver Twist B. The Pickwick Papers
C. A Tale of Two Cities D. Great Expectations
49. According to the passage, which of the following about Dickens is true?
A. He didn’t go to school at all.
B. He only wrote about poor people and showed deep sympathy for them.
C. He began to write fictions when he was 21 years old.
D. He found some effective ways to improve the living conditions of the poor.
50. It can be inferred from the passage that________.
A. Dickens had a miserable（悲惨的;可怜的）childhood
B. His career as a writer of fiction began in 1833
C. Dickens wrote many novels but only some of them are popular
D. Dickens criticized capitalist society and helped to improve the living conditions of the poor
Time out, extra chores and taking away privileges are more useful forms of disciplining (惩戒)naughty children than spanking or hitting, according to a study on Wednesday.
About 94 percent of parents use some form of physical punishment to teach their two-year-olds right from wrong, according to research studies. But psychologists say it could lead to later emotional and behavioral problems.
Even children who were only spanked some of the time are more likely to show signs of sadness or have less confidence.
“The key is to be fair and do the same thing each time. Doing something like hitting a child that seems cruel at best doesn’t help and can put a child at risk for problems,” said Dr Paul Frick, of the University of New Orleans in Louisians.
“It is better to use other punishments,” he added.
The use of physical punishment to teach children has long been debated. In countries such as Austria, Finland, Germany and Sweden, it is illegal to use physical punishment at home or in schools.
Frick and his team, who studied the effects of physical punishment on 98 children, said they couldn’t find any positive effects. Some children learned more from the hitting than what the parent was trying to teach them.
“The key is to have a lot of different forms of punishment depending on the age of the child,” said Frick, who reported his findings in the Journal of Applied Child Psychology.
He recommended time out for younger children and taking away television and electronic toys for older children. Giving extra chores can also get the message across.
Other measures are at least as effective as physical punishment and have less harmful potential consequences.
The researchers kept children whom they thought were at risk of later conduct problems out of the test and an equal number of other children who acted as a control group, to study what measures would be most helpful.
They questioned the parents and the children about positive and negative parenting behavior including the use of physical punishment.
“We got it from both viewpoints,” said Frick.
He added that children on the receiving end of a hit can learn that when they are upset and angry they hit, rather than understanding their behavior was wrong and that they need to do better.
67. What’s the purpose of the writer to write this article?
A.To debate if physical punishment is illegal.
B.To introduce how to deal with young kids.
C.To talk about how to discipline young kids.
D.To order parents not to spank young kids.
68. Which of the following punishments is NOT recommended by Frick and his team?
A. Taking away toys B. Not allowing watching TV
C. Doing more housework. D. Switching TV channels
69. What should be kept in mind when disciplining a kid?
A. How he or she usually behaves.
B.Tell them why they are punished.
C.Use different forms of punishment each time.
D.Be fair and stick to the same principle.
70. According to the passage, why did Dr Frick advise against physical punishment?
A. Because the children may hit people as a solution to problems.
B. Because the children will learn their behavior is wrong in time.
C. Because it is illegal to use physical punishment in certain countries.
D. Because parents think it’s the easiest way to teach kids right from wrong.
Part-time Front Desk Position
Fuse Fitness is looking for a part-time front desk receptionist at our new Carlsbad location.
Job duties include:
Welcoming and greeting members;
Answering phone calls;
Signing up new members;
Cleaning and performing other various duties.
You should have great communication skills and be dependable. More importantly, you should have a positive spirit in stressful situations. You are expected to work five days a week (including weekends).
Please, no phone calls about this job in the morning!
Tel: (760) 434-7704
E-mail: info@fusefitness.com
Apply in person at: 2502 El Camino Real, Carlsbad, CA 92008
The first impression you make on a potential employer is very important. The first judgement an interviewer makes is based on how you look and what you are wearing. That’s why it’s always important to dress professionally for a job interview, even if the work environment is casual.
Before you even think about going to an interview, make sure you have appropriate interview clothes and that everything fits correctly.
Get you clothes ready the night before, so you don’t have to spend time getting them ready on the day of the interview.
If your clothes can only be dry-cleaned, take them to the dry cleaner’s after an interview, so they are ready for next time.
Polish your shoes.
Bring a breath mint (薄荷糖) and use it before you enter the building.
For more information:
Visit: Jobsearch. monster. com
Or Tel: (800) 421-7250 or (760) 603-4000 Carlsbad, California
64. How should you contact Fuse Fitness about the front desk position in the morning if you can’t go in person?
A. Call (760) 603-4000
B. Call (760) 434-7704
C. Visit Jobsearch. monster. com
D. Send an e-mail to info@fusefitness.com.
65. What does Fuse Fitness think is the biggest challenge for a receptionist?
A. Working five days a week including weekend.
B. Having good communication skills.
C. Keeping cheerful even in difficult situations.
D. Welcoming guests and answering phone calls.
66. What would be the best title for the second piece of information?
A. What to Bring to a Job Interview
B. How to Find a Desired Job
C. The First Impression in a Job Interview.
D. Interview Dressing Tips
If you feel at present that you don’t have enough friends in your life, one reason may be that you have let yourself become too busy to make time for the relationships you already have. Starting and keeping friendship requires effort and commitment.
Many of us let our lives become so busy with work and other commitments that we don’t get around to scheduling time for pleasure and renewal（叙旧）with the friends, relatives and acquaintances we already have.
Making the effort to call your friends more regularly and to accept more of the invitations you receive from others can improve your social life in a hurry!
Are there any people you could call right now and be assured of a pleasant welcome? Are there people that you could count on to help you in time of difficulty? Can you have close talks with them? Do you have fun when you are together? Are you happy to have them in your life?
If you haven’t seen much of them lately， is it because you have become too busy? Have you grown apart? Was there an argument?
If the main reason you haven’t been getting together with the people you already know is that you have gotten too busy, take a good look at how you spend your time. Compare it with your real values and priorities（优先考虑的事）in life. Is your busy lifestyle really bringing you the quality of life that you want?
If you have become too busy for friends, why has this happened? Are you seeking material toys in your life at the expense of relationships with other human beings? Have you allowed your time to be over-committed because you never say “No” to anyone? Do you insist on doing things yourself that could be delegated to others? If so, why? Do you believe that everything depends on you?
Examine whether the way you are now spending your time accurately reflects your deepest values and priorities. Make sure that you schedule adequate time for the things that are truly most important to you.
If you really want to keep friends in your life, make a space in your schedule, and a space in your heart for them.
60．The author mainly discusses ______in this passage.
A．how to spend our spare time
B．how to balance friendship and work
C．whether we should keep friendship
D．whether we should invite friends to dinner
61．Which of the following doesn’t indicate a good relationship?
A．You have someone to count on when you are in trouble.
B．You have someone to have close talks with.
C．You have fun when you are with someone.
D．You feel depressed with others in life.
62．What does the underlined word “delegated”（para.7）probably mean?
A．replaced B．appointed C．defeated D．handled
63．The reason why you have become too busy for friends may be the following except that_____.
A．you feel it difficult to keep friendship
B．you spend too much time seeking material toys in your life
C．you stick to doing everything all by yourself
D．you never refuse whatever other people ask you to do