The idea for a science experiment can come from an unusual place. After watching a YouTube video of a dancing bird named Snowball, a scientist in California decided to study the ability of animals to keep the beat.
Bird lovers have long claimed that their pets have rhythm, and there are many videos of dancing birds online. Until now, scientists have suspected that humans are the only animals that can accurately keep rhythm with music.
Thanks to Snowball, that scientific opinion is changing. Snowball is a cockatoo, a kind of parrot, and his favorite song is "Everybody" by the Backstreet Boys. When he hears the song, he moves his feet and rocks his body with the tempo, or pace of the music, as though he is the only bird member of the boy band.
Aniruddh Patel is a neuroscientist, or a scientist who studies how the brain and the nervous system contribute to learning, seeing and other mental abilities. He works at the Neurosciences Institute in San Diego. After seeing Snowball's dance online, Patel visited the cockatoo at the bird rescue facility he's called home for two years. The scientist played "Everybody" for Snowball and also played versions of the song that were sped up or slowed down. Sometimes, Snowball danced too fast or too slowly. Often, when there was a change in tempo, Snowball adjusted his dancing to match the rhythm. In other experiments, scientists have observed the same abilities in preschool children.
Patel isn't the only scientist who has studied Snowball's moves. Adena Schachner, who studies psychology at Harvard University, also wanted to know more about the dancing bird. Schachner's team played different musical pieces for Snowball and a parrot named Alex, as well as eight human volunteers. The scientists observed that the birds and thehumans kept time to the music with about the same accuracy.
Schachner and her team watched thousands of YouTube videos of different animals moving to music. Not all the animals could dance, however. From watching the videos, the scientists observed that only animals that imitate sounds, including 14 parrot species and Asian elephants, accurately moved in time to music.The underlined words "that scientific opinion" in the third paragraph refer to the theory that __________.
| A．birds like Snowball have the ability to keep the beat |
| B．humans are the only animals that can accurately keep rhythm with music |
| C．the brain and the nervous system contribute to some mental abilities |
| D．bird pets can have their special rhythm under human's instruction |
From the fourth paragraph we may know that __________.
| A．Patel is the only scientist who has studied Snowball's moves |
| B．Snowball is able to adjust his dancing to match the rhythm |
| C．Snowball cannot dance to the versions of the song "Everybody" |
| D．it is the brain and the nervous system that control the mental abilities |
The idea of studying animals' ability to keep the beat comes from __________.
| A．bird lovers' discovery |
| B．humans' musical sense |
| C．the same abilities in children |
| D．videos of dancing birds |
Amy Chua may well be very nuts. What kind of a mother will drag her then 7-year-old daughter’s dollhouse out to the car and tell her that it is going to be donated if the poor kid doesn’t master a difficult piano composition by the next day? What kind of a mother will inform her daughter that she is nothing but “garbage”? And what kind of mother will believe, as Chua tells readers, that “an A- is not always a good grade”? The only activities her children should be permitted to do are those in which they can finally win a medal, which must be gold.
What kind of a mother is she? Why, a mother who is raising her kids in the typical Chinese way, rather than the Western way. In her new book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, Chua tells her adventures in Chinese parenting.
There is another attractive aspect of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. There are methods to Chua’s madness, enough method to arouse self-doubt in those readers who support the more educating parenting styles. It is trusted that Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother is going to be a book club and parenting blog phenomenon; there will be heated debate over Chua’s tough love strategies, which include unchangeable bans on such Western indulgences (纵容) as sleepovers(夜不归宿的人们), play dates, and any after class activities except practicing musical instruments, which must be limited between the violin or the piano.
The back story to Chua’s book is this — she is the daughter of a couple of Chinese immigrants and is now a professor at Yale Law School and the author of two best-selling “big-think” books on “free-market democracy” and “the fall of empires”. When Chua married her husband, her fellow Yale law professor and a novelist Jed Rubenfeld, they agreed that their children would be brought up in “the Chinese way,” in which punishingly hard work, enforced by parents produces excellence; excellence, in turn, produces satisfaction. The success of this strategy is hard to debate. Their older daughter is a piano talent who played at Carnegie Hall when she was 14 or so. The second, a more rebellious (叛逆的) daughter, Lulu, is a gifted violinist. Chua rode the girls hard, making sure they practiced at least three hours a day even on vacations, when she would call ahead to arrange access to practice in hotel lobby bars and basement storage rooms.
Chua also rarely refrained (抑制) from criticizing her daughters. She explains: Chinese parents can do things that would seem unimaginable to Westerners. Chinese mothers can say to their daughters, “Hey so fatty, lose some weight.” By contrast, Western parents have to tiptoe around the issue, talking in terms of "health" and never ever mentioning the f-word, and their kids still end up in treatment for eating disorders and negative self-image. ... Western parents are concerned about their children’s minds. Chinese parents aren’t.The underlined word “nuts” in the first and second paragraphs most probably means _______.
| A．intelligent | B．crazy | C．difficult | D．eager |
Which of the following practices are tough love strategies EXCEPT _______.
| A．Children must get a medal if they attend a competition |
| B．Children should practice piano even on holidays. |
| C．Children are indulged to sleepover, play dates, etc. |
| D．Children are called “garbage” or “fatty” |
What’s the writer’s purpose of using the example of “weight problem”？
| A．To show Chinese parents can do unimaginable things. |
| B．To make a comparison between Western and Chinese mothers. |
| C．To make us believe the western way of parenting is much better. |
| D．To show that Chinese mothers care more about their children. |
From the passage we can learn that Chua’s way of parenting is _______.
| A．widely acceptable | B．very traditional |
| C．quite controversial | D．out of date |
Which is the main idea of the passage?
| A．The Chinese way of parenting has its advantages. |
| B．Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother is a best seller. |
| C．The westerners are not good at raising children. |
| D．Tiger mothers raise their children in the Chinese way. |
I am truly saddened about what is going on in my school district, especially in the school where I am currently working.
Why are so many students not doing well? Why is there such a huge achievement gap between urban and suburban students? Just this week, in my school the seventh grade team leader called a meeting to discuss academic detention (放学后留校). The purpose of the detention is to allow students who are doing poorly a second chance to redo the work. Now if a st udent did not understand an assignment, I have no trouble allowing that student to redo a test or give some extra credit work, but if a student did poorly because he/she opted(选择) not to do the work out of sheer laziness, that student should not be given a second chance.
And parents should be responsible for their children. That is another reason why there is such a huge achievement gap. All children should be monitored at home in order to achieve great success in school. Perhaps it might be a great idea for urban school districts to offer free classes to parents on how to help their students at home. Of course this idea is far-fetched(靠不住的,牵强的), after all we do not want to offend the parents. What we will do instead is to spend a large amount of money on teacher training because if the kids are not doing well it must be the fault of the teacher. That kind of mindset, if allowed to continue will be a perfect recipe for greater achievement gaps.
I started working at my current school in August and I have been in the teaching field for 25 years. What I believe is that you can lead a horse to water but you can't make that horse drink. You can't force kids to change bad habits overnight, nor can we afford to lower standards just so a kid can pass a class.The seventh grade team leader in the author's school called a meeting to ________.
| A．analyse the reason for the huge achievement gap between students |
| B．find out who is to blame for the huge achievement gap between students |
| C．talk about giving students who are doing poorly a second chance to redo the work |
| D．discuss how to narrow the huge achievement gap between students |
The author believes that a student can be given a second chance ________.
| A．if he did poorly the first time |
| B．for whatever reason he did poorly the first time |
| C．if he failed the first time in spite of his efforts |
| D．if he comes from a suburban area |
In the last paragraph, the author intends to tell us that ________.
| A．a student can make improvement only when he is willing to |
| B．teachers are to blame if his students are doing poorly |
| C．the school should force those students to work harder if they're doing poorly |
| D．the school should treat different students with different standards |
You can never be too sure these days in the United States of your neighbors or even your customers! Try to keep a low profile (姿态) in your neighborhood: Don’t announce to everyone that you are running a home business with thousands of dollars worth of equipment. As much as possible, do not invite clients (客户) or visitors to your home. In fact, I know of some homebased entrepreneurs (企业家) who would rather meet their clients in a neutral ground, e.g. the client’s office or even Starbucks.
There are other ways to keep burglars away from your house.
•Keep lights on around your house in the evenings. Light is a natural fright for burglars.
•Invest in a security alarm, particularly if your house is located at a remote spot. Security systems can often bring down the cost of your homeowner’s premium (保险费).
•Make sure that all windows and doors are locked and the security alarm turned on before you sleep at night or go out of the house. Avoid keeping house keys in obvious places, such as under the lamp or on top of the doorframe.
•Adding an additional lock will provide extra security when you are home. The deadlock, sometimes called an “exit only deadbolt”is a deadbolt that does not have an external (外部的) key. It is clearly visible on the door from the outside, but cannot be broken into without destroying the door, frame or lock itself. While this security won’t help directly when you aren’t home, the visibility may discourage an intruder from trying the door.
•Your door itself should be made of strong materials, such as oneinch thick solid hardwood or heavy metal.The advice given by the writer in the passage focuses on ________.
| A．how to make your house safe from burglars |
| B．what to do when your house is broken into |
| C．how to improve social security in the United States |
| D．how to run a home business |
Some homebased entrepreneurs do not invite clients to their home ________.
| A．to enjoy convenience outside their home |
| B．for the safety of their property |
| C．not to let others know about their business |
| D．in order to avoid being seen by burglars |
All the following are part of the writer’s advice except that the homeowner ________.
| A．buy a security alarm and turn it on in the evening |
| B．fix an extra lock on the door from inside |
| C．have the doors made of solid hardwood or heavy metal |
| D．keep lights on in all rooms to threaten burglars |
What does the underlined word “intruder” most probably mean in the passage?
| A．Someone who is invited for a visit. |
| B．Someone who illegally enters the home. |
| C．Someone who pays regular visits to the home. |
| D．Someone who tries to destroy the lock. |
China is going green. In order to reduce air pollution and oil-shortages, automobile manufacturers have announced their plans to develop hybrid vehicles (混合燃料汽车) for the Chinese market. Toyota’s hybrid car Prius will be ready to drive in China this week. Let’s have a look at the new car.
Any vehicle is a hybrid when it combines two or more sources of power. Hybrid cars run off a rechargeable battery and gasoline. Hybrid cars have special engines, which are smaller than traditional gasoline engines. They run at 99 percent of their power when the car is cruising (匀速行驶). A specially designed battery motor provides extra power for running up hills or when extra acceleration（加速） is needed.
Step into a Prius, and turn on the engine. The first thing you notice is how much quieter it is than a traditional car. At this point, the car’s gasoline engine is dormant (休眠). The electric motor will provide power until the car reaches about 24 km/h. If you stay at a low speed, you are effectively driving an electric car, with no gasoline being used, and no waste gas gives off.
The onboard (车载的) computer makes the decision about when to use a gas engine, when to go electric, and when to use a combination of the two. If you go over 24 km/h, when you step on the gas pedal (油门), you are actually telling the computer how fast you want to go.
The electronic motor recharges automatically using a set of batteries. When driving at high speed, the gasoline engine not only powers the car, but also charges the batteries. Any time you use the brake, the electric motor in the wheels will work like a generator（发电机） and produce electricity to recharge the batteries. As a consequence, the car’s batteries will last for around 200,000 miles.The author writes this passage mainly to ________.
| A．teach people how to drive a hybrid car |
| B．introduce a new kind of “green” car |
| C．show how to save their gasoline when driving a car |
| D．announce plans to develop hybrid vehicles for China |
The first sentence probably refers to ________.
| A．there will be more and more green land in China |
| B．China is still young and lacking experience |
| C．China’s new cars are combinations of different green models |
| D．China has started producing environmentally friendly cars |
Which of the followings is NOT true?
| A．The hybrid cars reduce air pollution and oil-shortages. |
| B．The car’s gasoline engine doesn’t work until it reaches about 24 km/h. |
| C．This kind of car is completely controlled by an onboard computer. |
| D．A specially designed battery motor provides extra power when needed. |
What is the MOST important feature of hybrid cars?
| A．They are powered by both a rechargeable battery and gasoline. |
| B．They are much quieter than traditional cars. |
| C．They only use 99 percent of their power to run up hills. |
| D．They have smaller engines than traditional gasoline ones. |
Many of the world's famous cities are known by some special names. Paris is known as the "City of Light". Hong Kong is the "Wall Street of Asia". One small city in Pennsylvania may be the sweetest place on Earth. That is town of Hershey, which is known as the "Chocolate Town". It is named after Milton Hershey, the founder of the largest chocolate factory in the world.
Milton Hershey built his first candy factory in the early 1900s. At the time, Hershey was developing a technique for milk chocolate. Eventually he succeeded. Hershey was also the first to produce individually wrapped chocolate bars. His factory grew and produced more and more types of chocolate. To this day, Hershey's chocolate factory is the largest in the world. Hershey used his success to give back to the community. He built a town around the factory for his employees. He gave streets fun names like Chocolate Avenue. He built schools, parks and shops. This generous man gave millions of dollars to charity. He built an amusement park with rides, trains for children and a swimming pool. Over the years, the town grew. People from near and far came to visit this special town, whose beauty and fame continue to attract lots of tourists. Every year close to three million tourists visit the Chocolate Town.
Today visitors to the city can enjoy a variety of attractions and activities. The Hershey chocolate factory offers tours. Visitors can learn all about chocolate and how it is made. A gift shop sells all kinds of chocolate and toys made to look like chocolate. Even if you don't buy a souvenir, there is one thing that is impossible to forget: the wonderful aroma of fresh chocolate everywhere. In this special place even the streetlights are shaped like chocolate.
Another attraction is the Hershey Hotel. It has an unusual mineral spring where guests can enjoy a variety of special treatments. The treatments all have one thing in common: chocolate.What's the best title for the passage?
| A．Milton Hershey |
| B．World's Famous Cities |
| C．The Chocolate Town |
| D．Pennsylvania Chocolates |
What was Milton Hershey developing when he built his first factory?
| A．Public structure. |
| B．An amusement park. |
| C．Attractions for the community. |
| D．A technique for milk chocolate. |
The underlined word "aroma" in Paragraph 3 probably means "_________".
| A．smell | B．attraction |
| C．type | D．fame |
What can we know about Milton Hershey?
| A．He disliked to cook. |
| B．He cared about his employees. |
| C．He wanted to be famous. |
| D．He didn't pay his employees very well. |