Baby girls make their way to dolls as son as they can crawl(爬), and boys will head for the toy cars, a study has shown. The findings-the first t o show consistent differences in very young babies-suggest there is a biological basis for their preferences.
Psychologists Dr Brenda Todd carried out an experiment involving 90 babies aged 9 months to 36 months. They were allowed to choose from 7 toys. Some were boys’ toys-a car, a digger, a ball and a blue teddy. The rest were girls’ toys; a pink teddy, a doll and a cooking set. They were placed a meter away from the toys, and could pick whichever toy they liked. Their choice and amount of time they spent playing with each toy were recorded.
Of the youngest children (9 to 14 months), girls spent much longer time playing with the doll than boys, and boys spent much more time with the car and the ball than the girls did. Among the two and three-year-olds, girls spent 50 percent of the time playing with the doll while only two boys briefly touched it. The boys spent almost 90 percent of their time playing with cars, which the girls barely touched. There was no link between the parents’ views on which toys were more appropriate for boys or girls, and the children’s choices.
Dr Brenda Todd said, “Children of this age are already exposed to much socialization. Boys may be given ‘toys that go’ while girls get toys they can care for, which may help shape their preferences. But these findings are consistent with the former idea that children show intrinsic(内在的) interest in particular kinds of toys. There could be a biological basis for their choices. Males through evolution have been adapted to moving objects, probably through hunting instincts (本能), while girls prefer warmer colors such as pink, the color of a newborn baby.”Baby boys and girls have different toy preferences probably because .
| A．baby boys are much more active |
| B．baby girls like bright colors better |
| C．their parents treat them differently |
| D．there is a biological difference between them |
What can we infer from Paragraph 3?
| A．Nine-month-old baby boys don’t play with dolls at all. |
| B．Two-year-old baby girls sometimes play with cars and balls |
| C．The older the babies are, the more obvious their preference is. |
| D．Parents should teach baby boys and girls to share each other’s toys. |
What conclusion did Dr Brenda Todd draw from the results of the study?
| A．Adults purposely influence the preference of babies. |
| B．Babies’ preference isn’t affected by social surroundings.(环境) |
| C．Baby boys preferring moving toys will be good at hunting. |
| D．Baby girls preferring warmer colors will be warmhearted. |
Which column of a newspaper does the passage probably appear in?
| A．Science. | B．Health. |
| C．Education. | D．Entertainment. |
Recently, an almost literal case of lifeboat ethics(伦理) occurred. On Aug. 4, Graham and Sheryl Anley, while boating off the coast of South Africa, hit a rock. As the boat threatened to sink the husband got off, but his wife was trapped in the boat. Instead of freeing his wife and getting her to shore, Graham grabbed Rosie, their pet dog. With Rosie safe and sound, Graham returned for Sheryl. All are doing fine.
It's a great story, but it doesn't strike me as especially newsworthy. News is supposed to be about something fairly unique, and recent research suggests that, in the right circumstances, lots of people also would have grabbed their Rosie first.
We have strange relationships with our pets. We lavish our pets with adoration and better health care than billions of people receive. We speak to pets with the same high-pitched voices that we use for babies. As an extreme example of our feelings about pets, the Nazis had strict laws that guaranteed the humane treatment of the pets of Jews being shipped to death camps.
A recent paper by George Regents University demonstrates this human involvement with pets to an astonishing extent. Participants in the study were told a situation in which a bus is out of control, bearing down on a dog and a human. Which do you save? With responses from more than 500 people, the answer was that it depended: What kind of human and what kind of dog?
Everyone would save a brother, grandparent or close friend rather than a strange dog. But when people considered their own dog versus people less connected with them—a distant cousin or a hometown stranger—votes in favor of saving the dog came rolling in. And an astonishing 40% of respondents, including 46% of women, voted to save their dog over a foreign tourist.
What does a finding like this mean? First, that your odds aren't so good if you find yourself in another country with a bus bearing down on you and a cute dog. But it also points to something deeper: our unprecedented(史无前例的) attitude toward animals, which got its start with the birth of humane societies in the 19th century.
We prison people who abuse animals, put ourselves in harm's way in boats between whales and whalers and show sympathy to Bambi and his mother. We can extend empathy to an animal and feel its pain like no other species. But let's not be too proud of ourselves. As this study and too much of our history show, we're pretty selective about how we extend our humaneness to other human beings.What is the function of the first paragraph?
| A．To create a relaxing mood for readers. |
| B．To present the theme of this essay straightly. |
| C．To lead in the main topic of this essay. |
| D．To raise problems that will be solved later. |
The author mentions Nazi laws in the third paragraph _______________.
| A．to show how cruel the Nazis were to the Jews |
| B．as an example to persuade people not to love pets |
| C．to illustrate the strange relationship between human and pets |
| D．as an example to display the humaneness of the Nazis |
Which of the following is true according to the article?
| A．The story of the Anleys and their dog was too unique to be newsworthy. |
| B．Most people surveyed choose to save their own dog rather than a human. |
| C．It was in the 19th century that human beings started to love their pets. |
| D．Human beings are more and more concerned with animals nowadays. |
What does the author mainly argue for?
| A．Pets are of great significance to us human beings. |
| B．We should rethink about our attitude towards animals and mankind. |
| C．It is kind of human beings to extend humaneness to animals. |
| D．We should be selective when showing attitude toward other human beings. |
How do you design a pay plan that motivates people to do their best work? A new study by three Harvard researchers suggests a novel answer: Shortly after you hire new workers, give them a raise.
"Previous research has shown that paying people more than they expect may elicit reciprocity(相互作用) in the form of greater productivity," notes Deepak Malhotra, a Harvard business-administration professor who worked on the study. What he and his colleagues found, however, was that the connection between more pay and extra effort depends on presenting the increase "as a gift—that is, as something you've chosen to do purely as a nice gesture, with no strings attached."
Malhotra and his team studied 267 people hired by oDesk, a global online network of freelancers, to do a one-time data-entry project for four hours. All of the new hires were people in developing countries, for whom hourly wages of $3 and $4 were higher than what they had been making in previous jobs.
The researchers split the group up into three equal parts. One group was told they would earn $3 an hour. A second group was initially hired at $3 an hour but, before they started working, they got a surprise: The budget for the project had expanded unexpectedly, they were told, and they would now be paid $4 an hour. The third group was offered $4 an hour from the start and given no increase.
Even though the second and third groups were eventually paid the same amount, the second group worked harder and produced more—about 20% more—than either of the other two. People in the second group also showed the most stamina, maintaining their focus all the way through the assigned task and performing especially well toward the end of the four hours. Interestingly, the more experienced employees in the high-performing group were the most productive of all, apparently because their previous work experience led them to appreciate the rarity of an unexpected raise.
Contrary to conventional wisdom, Malhotra points out that higher pay, in and of itself, didn't promote productivity: People who made $4 an hour from the beginning worked no harder than those who were hired at $3 and were then paid $3.
To get the most impact from their pay plans, he adds, companies might consider not only what to pay new hires, but when to pay it.
"The key thing is how you present [the reason for an increase]," he says. Doling out extra money could promote productivity most "if you make it clear that the pay raise is something you're choosing to do just because you can. Our theory is that people will reciprocate. If you do something nice, they'll do something nice back."Which of the following is true about the research?
| A．None of the participants earned more than $4 an hour in previous jobs. |
| B．89 of the participants got a $1 wage raise for their high productivity. |
| C．It was so important that the budget for it was increased in the process. |
| D．Stamina shown in it was positively related to the amount of money paid. |
What does the underlined word “stamina” most probably mean?
| A．The quality of being intelligent or clever. |
| B．The quality of doing something difficult or dangerous. |
| C．The physical or mental energy needed to do a tiring activity for a long time. |
| D．A particular method of doing an activity, usually involving practical skills. |
Why did the second group produce more than the other two groups?
| A．Because they thought they were better paid than the other groups. |
| B．Because they were experienced employees from developing countries. |
| C．Because an unexpected raise reminded them of their previous work. |
| D．Because they felt they were nicely treated and tried best to repay it. |
What can we infer from this passage?
| A．No pains, no gains. |
| B．It matters not what we give but how. |
| C．Honesty is the best policy. |
| D．Actions speak louder than words. |
England will play Italy, Uruguay and Costa Rica in a tough Group D at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Roy Hodgson's men open their campaign against Italy in the Amazonian city of Manaus on 15 June in the only World Cup game which kicks off at 02:00 BST. England take on Uruguay on 19 June and play Costa Rica five days later.
Hosts Brazil are in Group A with Cameroon, Mexico and Croatia while the World Cup holders Spain open with a repeat of the 2010 final against Netherlands.
England will have to travel 1,777 miles from their chosen base in Rio for their first match in the tropical heat of Manaus.
Earlier this week Hodgson described Manaus as "the place to avoid" because of the climate—temperatures reach 30C and humidity is about 80%—although after the draw the England boss took comfort from the fact his team face a fellow European side.
"The conditions in the north will be tough, so we will both be in same boat," he said. "If we'd had three games up in the north, it would have been difficult."
Following Hodgson's initial comments, the mayor of Manaus, Arthur Virgilio, said England would not be welcome in the city.
England takes on two-time champions Uruguay in Sao Paulo and they play Costa Rica in Belo Horizonte—both cities are within 225 miles of their base.
England have never previously beaten Italy or Uruguay at a major tournament(锦标赛), while they have never faced Costa Rica.
Uruguay, who reached the semi-finals in 2010, and Italy, who knocked Hodgson's men out of Euro 2012, are ranked sixth and seventh respectively in the Fifa rankings while Costa Rica are 31st in the world - 18 places below England.When and where will England play its third group stage match?
| A．On 24 June; in Manaus |
| B．On 24 June; in Belo Horizonte |
| C．On 19 June; in Manaus |
| D．On 19 June; in Sao Paulo |
Which of the following can England take comfort from?
| A．The place where its first match in the group stage is held. |
| B．The distance from its base to where its first match is held. |
| C．The fact that two of its group stage games are not in the north. |
| D．The fact that it is 7 places below Uruguay in the Fifa rankings. |
Which of the following is true according to the news report?
| A．Roy Hodgson is the coach of Brazil national football team. |
| B．Netherlands took the second place in the last World Cup. |
| C．The mayor of Manaus is a fan of the British soccer team. |
| D．England has never played against Uruguay in the history. |
Bad teeth may be painful and it’s getting worse without treatment. They can even ruin your life. Illness of the teeth can find its way into the blood system. This can increase the chances of a heart disease or other illnesses.
Experts say good care for teeth should start at birth. Mothers’ milk is the best food for the healthy development of teeth.
But dentists say a baby’s mouth and early teeth should be cleaned after each feeding. Use a cloth with a little warm water. Do the same if a baby is fed with a bottle. Experts say if you decide to put your baby to sleep with a bottle, give him only water.
When baby’s teeth begin to appear, you can clean them with a wet toothbrush. Dentists say it is important to find soft toothbrushes made especially for babies and to use them very gently. Young children often eat toothpaste (牙膏) when they brush, so they should be carefully watched when they brush their teeth.
Parents often ask what effect thumb sucking (咬手指) might have on their baby’s teeth. Experts generally agree that this is fine early in life. Most children stop sucking their thumbs by the age of four. If it continues, parents should talk to their children’s dentist or doctor.
Dentists say children should have their first dental visit by the time they are one year old. They say babies should be examined when their first teeth appear usually at around six months.Why should people pay attention to teeth problems?
| A．They can cause other illnesses. |
| B．They will bring bad luck. |
| C．They will bring the family much trouble. |
| D．They usually last a long time. |
According to the writer, baby’s teeth should be protected from the day ______.
| A．he begins to speak | B．he has his first tooth |
| C．he was born | D．he is fed with bottle milk |
The underlined word “it” in Paragraph 5 refers to “_____”.
| A．toothache | B．parents’ trouble | C．thumb sucking | D．experts’ advice |
Part-time jobs for 15 and 16 years olds
| Waiter / Waitress A job as a waiter or waitress is a good choice for 16-year-olds. Not only can one earn $9-$12 an hour, but they can also get the tips (小费). Most people that visit a restaurant don’t just have good food. They come here to relax and have a good time. Besides serving food quickly, a young waiter who talks to them politely with a smile on his face will make the diners enjoy their time at the restaurant. |
| Work in a library If one is fond of books, working in a library is another suitable choice. Besides the pay is good, it offers a lot of free time when students can actually sit down and finish their homework. So on returning home, they would have time to hang around with friends or just relax. So working in a library is an excellent part-time job for teens, especially for school students. |
| Internet jobs There are many ways of making money through online jobs like clicking on advertisements, visiting sites and signing up with them. However, such online jobs don’t pay well. A better Internet job for teens is to complete online surveys. These are quite simple surveys that usually ask one about his/ her opinions and ideas. Many companies use these ideas to make products designed for teenagers. |
What does the writer think of the job as a waiter/waitress?
| A．It needs a period of training. |
| B．It pays much more than other jobs. |
| C．It can improve one’s leadership skills. |
| D．Making diners comfortable is part of the job. |
A student who is busy with his research paper will probably choose to work ______.
| A．in a restaurant | B．in a library | C．on the Internet | D．in an IT company |
The writer wrote this text to ______.
| A．tell us the importance of doing part-time jobs |
| B．advise teenagers how to choose a part-time job |
| C．teach young people how to make lots of money |
| D．introduce his/her experience of doing part-time jobs |
Why do some companies ask the teens to do surveys?
| A．The teens have more free time. |
| B．They can pay less to the teens. |
| C．They need advice to make products for teens. |
| D．The teens usually express their true opinions. |