In 1977, Irene Pepperberg of Harvard University began studying what was on another creature’s mind by talking to it. Her first experiments began with Alex. Alex was a one-year-old African grey parrot and Irene taught him to produce the sounds of the English language. “I thought if he learned to communicate, I could ask him questions about how he sees the world.”
At the time, most scientists didn’t believe animals had any thoughts. They thought animals were more like robots but didn’t have the ability to think or feel. Of course, if you own a pet you probably disagree. But it is the job of a scientist to prove this and nowadays more scientists accept that animals can think for themselves.
“That’s why I started my studies with Alex,” Irene said, “Some people actually called me crazy for trying this.”
Nowadays, we have more and more evidence that animals have all sorts of mental abilities. Sheep can recognize faces. Chimpanzees (黑猩猩) use a variety of tools and even use weapons to hunt. And Alex the parrot became a very good talker.
Thirty years after the Alex studies began. Irene was still giving him English lessons up until his recent death. For example, if Alex was hungry he could say “want grape”. Alex could count to six and was learning the sounds for seven and eight. “He has to hear the words over and over before he can correctly say them.” Irene said, after pronouncing “seven” for Alex a few times in a row. Alex could also tell the difference between colors, shapes, sizes, and materials (e.g. wood and metal). Before he finally died, Alex managed to say “seven”.
Another famous pet that proved some animals have greater mental skills was a dog called Rico. He appeared on a German TV game show in 2011. Rico knew the names of 200 different toys and easily learned the names of new ones. When Rico became famous, many other dog owners wanted to show how clever their pets were. Another dog called Betsy could understand 300 words.
One theory for dogs’ ability to learn a language is that they have ben close companions to humans for many centuries and so their ability to understand us is constantly evolving (进化). While animals can’t do what humans do yet, some scientists believe that examples like Alex and Rico prove that evolution develops intelligence, as well as physical appearance. Irene wanted to find out __________.
| A．what a parrot thinks | B．why a parrot can speak |
| C．how parrots make sounds | D．if parrots speak English |
Alex learnt new words by __________.
| A．singing them | B．reading them |
| C．writing them | D．rehearing them |
The two dogs mentioned in the article could _______.
| A．understand some words | B．recognize strange voices |
| C．copy human gestures | D．tell different colors |
The article concludes that ___________.
| A．our pets understand what we say |
| B．dogs may speak to humans one day |
| C．humans are related to chimpanzees |
| D．mental ability can evolve in animals |
A private group of scientists has announced plans to make an exact copy of a human being. An American member of the team says he and the others will soon begin a serious effort to clone humans. Panos Zavos says the team hopes to manufacture the world’s first cloned baby within the next two years.
In recent years, scientists have produced exact genetic copies of sheep and a few other animals. They created these clones from a single cell of an adult animal.
Three years ago, another American doctor, Richard Seed, announced plans to clone a human being. However, there is no evidence that he has been successful.
Doctor Zavos says the new international group plans to offer human cloning only to women who are currently not able to become pregnant or produce children. He says the aim is to assist people who want to have their own biological child.
The technology would be similar to that used to clone animals. It would involve cleaning genetic material from a woman’s egg. Doctors then would place genetic material from the woman’s husband into the egg before putting it into the woman’s uterus(子宫).
Doctor Zavos says his group plans to do the work in a country near the Mediterranean Sea. He did not name the country. He says an Italian reproductive expert, Sevorino Antinori, is leading the team. Doctor Antinori has led the efforts to help many older women become pregnant. He is known for establishing pregnancies in women as old as sixty.
Many medical experts and other groups are opposed to the idea of cloning humans. Several countries ban or restrict work on human cloning. Several doctors criticize the announcement by Doctor Zavos. They say doctors do not know if cloning humans is possible or safe. They say it would be irresponsible to attempt to clone a human being. That is because the chances of success are too small and the risks are too great.The underlined word “manufacture” in the first paragraph means “_________”.
| A．produce | B．oppose | C．attempt | D．experiment |
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．In theory, scientists are unlikely to clone humans. |
| B．Richard Seed has fallen behind other scientists in cloning humans. |
| C．Cloning human beings is good for men. |
| D．People have different ideas about cloning humans. |
How do many medical experts and other groups like the idea of cloning humans？
| A．They are in favour of the idea. |
| B．They are against the idea. |
| C．They have an optimistic attitude to the idea. |
| D．They think it is none of their business. |
①Isaac Stern was more than a great violin player. He was one of the most honored musicians in the world. He was an international cultural ambassador. He was a major supporter of the arts in America and in other countries. He was a teacher and activist.
②Isaac Stern was born in 1920 in what is now Ukraine. His parents moved to San Francisco, California the following year. His mother began teaching Isaac the piano when he was six. He began taking violin lessons after hearing a friend play the instrument. Later, he began studying music at the San Francisco Conservatory (音乐学院).He progressed quickly. When he was 16, he played with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. The next year, he performed in New York City and was praised by music critics.
③During World War Ⅱ, Mr. Stern played for thousands of American soldiers. It was the first time many of them had heard classical music. After the war, he was the first American violinist to perform in a concert in the Soviet Union. He also supported young musicians and cultural organizations in Israel.
④In 1979, Isaac Stern visited China. He met with Chinese musicians and students. He taught them about classical Western music. His visit was made into a film, which is called From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China. It won an Academy Award for best documentary film.
⑤In 1984, Isaac Stern received the Kennedy Center Honors Award for his gifts to American culture through music. He expressed his thoughts about the part that music plays in life. He said he believed that music makes life better for everyone, especially children.
⑥Mr. Stern supported and guided younger classical musicians. They include violinists Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman, cellist Yo -Yo Ma, and pianist Yefim Bronfman.
⑦Isaac Stern died in 2001 at the age of 81.He was a major influence on music in the 20th century. He leaves the world richer with his many recordings.Which of the following is the RIGHT time order for these events in Stern’s life?
a. He began learning music in an institution.
b. He received the Kennedy Center Honors Award.
c. He visited the Soviet Union.
d. He met with Chinese musicians.
e. He performed for American soldiers.
| A．a, e, c, d, b | B．a, e, b, c, d | C．e, a, b, c, d | D．e, a, c, d, b |
Paragraph 2 is mainly about _________ .
| A．how Stern began to learn music |
| B．how Stern began his musical career |
| C．Stern’s early education |
| D．Stern’s achievement in music |
The underlined word “cellist” in Paragraph 6 may refer to _________ .
| A．someone who supports young musicians |
| B．someone who wants to be a musician |
| C．someone who has a gift for music |
| D．someone who plays a certain kind of instrument |
Which of the following shows the RIGHT structure of the text?
| A．①→②③④⑤→⑥⑦ | B．①→②③④⑤⑥→⑦ |
| C．①②③④⑤⑥→⑦ | D．①②③→④⑤⑥⑦ |
If Confucius(孔子)were still alive today and could celebrate his September 28 birthday with a big cake, there would be a lot of candles. He’d need a fan or a strong wind to help him put them out.
While many people in China will remember Confucius on his special day ,few people in the United States will give him a passing thought. It’s nothing personal. Most Americans don’t even remember the birthdays of their own national heroes.
But this doesn’t mean that Americans don’t care about Confucius. In many ways he has become a bridge that foreigners must cross if they want to reach a deeper understanding of China.
In the past two decades, the Chinese studies programs have gained huge popularity in Western universities. More recently, the Chinese government has set up Confucius Institutes in more than 80 countries. These schools teach both Chinese language and culture. The main courses of Chinese culture usually include Chinese art, history and philosophy(哲学).Some social scientists suggest that Westerners should take advantage of the ancient Chinese wisdom to make up for the drawbacks of Western philosophy. Students in the United States, at the same time, are racing to learn Chinese. So they will be ready for life in a world where China is an equal power with the United States. Businessmen who hope to make money in China are reading books about Confucius to understand their Chinese customers.
So the old thinker’s ideas are still alive and well.
Today China attracts the West more than ever, and it will need more teachers to introduce Confucius and Chinese culture to the West.
As for the old thinker, he will not soon be forgotten by people in the West, even if his birthday is.The opening paragraph is mainly intended to .
| A．provide some key facts about Confucius |
| B．attract the readers’ interest in the subject |
| C．show great respect for the ancient thinker |
| D．prove the popularity of modern birthday celebrations |
We can learn from Paragraph 4 that American students .
| A．have a great interest in studying Chinese |
| B．take an active part in Chinese competitions |
| C．try to get high scores in Chinese exams |
| D．fight for a chance to learn Chinese |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．Forgotten Wisdom in America |
| B．Huge Fans of the Chinese Language |
| C．Chinese Culture for Westerners |
| D．Old Thinker with a Big Future |
The passage is likely to appear in .
| A．a biography | B．a history paper |
| C．a newspaper | D．a philosophy textbook |
By the mid-nineteenth century, the “icebox” had entered the American language, but ice was still only beginning to affect the diet of ordinary citizens in the United States. The ice trade grew with the growth of cities. Ice was used in hotels, taverns, and hospitals, and by some forward-looking city dealers in fresh meat, fresh fish, and butter. After the Civil War (1861-1865), as ice was used to refrigerate freight cars, it also came into household use. Even before 1880, half the ice sold in New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, and one-third of that sold in Boston and Chicago, went to families of their own use. This had become possible because a new household convenience, the icebox, a precursors of modern refrigerator, had been invented.
Making an efficient icebox was not as easy as we might now suppose. In the early nineteenth century, the knowledge of physics of heat, which was essential to a science of refrigeration, was rudimentary. The commonsense notion that the best icebox was one that prevented the ice from melting was of course mistaken, for it was melting of the ice that performed the cooling. Nevertheless, early efforts to economize ice included wrapping the ice in blankets, which kept the ice from doing its job. Not until near the end of the nineteenth century did inventors achieve the delicate balance of insulation and circulation needed for an efficient icebox.
But as early as 1803, an ingenious Maryland farmer, Thomas Moore, had been on the right track. He owned a farm about twenty miles outside the city of Washington, for which the village of Georgetown was the market center. When he used an icebox of his own design to transport his butter to market, he found that customers would pass up the rapidly melting stuff in the tubs of his competitors to pay a premium(奖金) price for his butter, still fresh and hard in neat, one-pound bricks. One advantage of his icebox, Moore explained, was that farmers would no longer have to travel to market at night in order to keep their produce cool.What does the passage mainly discuss?
| A．The influence of ice on the diet. |
| B．The development of refrigeration. |
| C．The transportation of goods to market. |
| D．Sources of ice in the nineteenth century. |
According to the passage, when did the word “icebox” become part of the language of the United States?
| A．in 1803 | B．sometime bore 1850 |
| C．during the civil war | D．near the end of the nineteenth century. |
The phrase “forward-looking” in line 3 is closest in meaning to______.
| A．progressive | B．popular | C．thrifty | D．well-established |
The author mentions “fish” in the passage because _____.
| A．many fish dealers also sold ice. |
| B．fish was shipped in refrigerated freight cars. |
| C．fish dealers were among the early commercial users of ice |
| D．fish was not part of the ordinary person’s diet before the invention of the icebox. |
Daniel Boone was born in the United States in 1734. He didn't go to school and couldn't read, although he learned all about the forests, streams and hunting. He could move silently like an Indian leaving no marks. He loved to live alone in the woods where nothing frightened him.
When he grew up, he married and tried to settle down on a farm. A year later, however, he wasn't satisfied and decided to go into the unknown western lands, crossing the Appalachian Mountains. When he returned after two years, he became famous for his long journey. He brought valuable animal skins and told stories about the Indians.
After this, he chose to keep travelling to unknown places. Once he lost to the Indians in battle and was taken away. The Indians liked him and became his friends.
Daniel Boone died at the age of 86. He is remembered as an explorer(探险者)and a pioneer who lived an exciting life in the early years of American nation.Daniel Boone's early life was mainly spent in ______ .
| A．learning about nature |
| B．hunting with his friends |
| C．learning useful skills from the Indians |
| D．studying at home because he couldn't go to school |
When he got married, Daniel Boone first planned to ______.
| A．set up a large farm |
| B．go on a journey with his wife |
| C．find food, new land for his farm |
| D．live a peaceful life with his family |
Daniel Boone became famous because ______ .
| A．he travelled a lot in the western lands |
| B．he was very good at telling stories |
| C．he found better animal skins than others |
| D．he was the first to climb the Appalachian Mountains |
Why did the Indians want to make friends with him?
| A．Because they wanted to learn from him. |
| B．Because he wanted to make peace with them. |
| C．Because they wanted to make friends with white people. |
| D．No reason is told in this article. |
In this article, Daniel Boone is best described as ______ .
| A．warm-hearted | B．strong |
| C．careful | D．brave |