The chimp didn’t feel well. She fell over, ignoring the other wild chimps. Finally, the sick chimp crawled over to a bush, picked some leaves and swallowed them. By the next afternoon, the chimp was as good as new!
Biologists watching the chimp were surprised. Somehow, the plant had cured the chimp! Did the chimp know the plant would make her feel better? Or was it just a lucky accident?
Many scientists don’t think it has anything to do with luck. They’re discovering that some animals seem to use plants to cure themselves. And these animals are leading scientists to new plants that could cure humans!
Dr. Richard Wrangham, an anthropologist at Harvard University, agrees that animals may know something we don’t know about forest plants.
Wrangham got to know chimps and their diets while studying them for three years in Tanzania. “You must know a lot about an animal’s feeding habits to know what it doesn’t consider food,” Wrangham explains. Every morning, he saw that most chimps ate fruit near their nests. Later on, they ate on leaves.
When he noticed chimps eating the leaves of a plant they usually ignored, Wrangham thought something interesting was going on---especially when he saw that they’d sometimes walk for 20 minutes to find the plant. Another strange thing that caught his eye was how they ate the bitter leaves.
“They swallowed the leaves whole,” explains Wrangham, noting that chimps usually chew their food well. “They seemed to rub(摩擦)the leaves around the roofs of their mouths. They closed their eyes, wrinkled their noses and swallowed slowly. ”
Wrangham wondered what could be so good about something tasting so bad. He had a chemist analyze the leaves. He discovered that the leaves contain a red oil that kills different viruses(病毒). Later tests showed that the oil might even fight cancer and the AIDS virus!
Why don’t the chimps chew the leaves? “Rubbing the leaves between the tongue and the inside of the mouth might allow the chemicals to enter the bloodstream directly,” he suggests, “instead of going to the stomach, where they might get destroyed by acids. The chimps seem to know what they’re doing.”We can learn from the passage that _________.
A.chemicals in plants help cure animals |
B.chimps cure themselves by chewing plants |
C.scientists live with chimps to study their diets |
D.Dr. Wrangham knows a lot about forest plants |
How can Dr. Wrangham tell which plants are medicine for chimps?
A.By talking with the biologists. |
B.By analyzing the chimps’ favorite food. |
C.By studying the chimps’ feeding habits. |
D.By comparing other scientists’ discoveries. |
The author wrote the passage to ___________.
A.present a finding | B.test a theory |
C.provide a solution | D.describe an experiment |
What does the passage mainly talk about?
A.Forest plants. | B.Animal doctors. |
C.Chimp’s diets. | D.A cure for cancer. |
My mind seems always to return to the day when I met Carl. The city bus stopped at a corner to pick up the daily commuters (someone who travels regularly to and from work), a group in which I was included. Boarding the bus, I looked for a place to sit. At last, I found a place near the back.
The man in the seat next to the one I was going for was an older man in a grey suit, well-worn dress shoes, and a black hat like I always pictured reporters wearing, but without the little press card. Seated, I began to read the book I had been carrying, which was Jack Kerouac’s On the Road. The man in the seat next to me introduced himself by asking if I had read any other book like the one I was holding. When I told him I had, he seemed to become interested, and so did I. He introduced himself as Carl and asked if I liked jazz, and I told him that I didn’t really listen to it, and that I liked rock and roll. Waiting for Carl to tell me that I should listen to real music, I was shocked when he just smiled and nodded. He said, "You remind me of myself when I was your age. I remember how my parents hated jazz and how they couldn’t see how I could listen to that awful noise. I bet your parents say the same thing, don’t they?" Now it was my turn to smile, amused with how right he was.
As the bus carried us from one side of the city to the other, Carl and I talked about a lot of different things. The more we talked, the more amazed I became at how much the two of us really had in common, despite the age difference. I haven’t seen him since we parted, but the thought of our connection that day rarely leaves my mind.
Carl really made me think about how much we can learn from each other if we just break through the blocks between us we’ve got. I mean, I would have never thought before that day that I could have anything in common with someone so much older than I. But Carl taught me that no matter what we are, we are all just people, and that we should make an extra effort to try and get to know our neighbors and people we see every day, regardless of age, race, religion, sex, or anything else. If we all take the time to attempt to understand each other, I think that the world would be a much better place that we could share together, as humans.From the first paragraph we know that the author _____________.
A.did not mind whether there was a seat or not |
B.hoped to have a seat when getting on the bus |
C.thought the bus was overcrowded |
D.looked for a seat but failed |
The author usually imagined a reporter as one who _____________.
A.liked jazz music |
B.enjoyed talking with others |
C.liked reading Jack Kerouac’s works |
D.usually wore a black hat and press card |
After talking with Carl, the author realized that _____________.
A.older people were nice to talk to |
B.he should have known Carl earlier |
C.his parents were so different from Carl in listening to music |
D.age was not necessarily a problem in heart-to-heart communication |
It can be inferred from the passage that _________.
A.the author hasn’t seen the old man since then |
B.jazz music used to be more popular than rock and roll |
C.the author was not satisfied with human relationships in the world |
D.Carl made the author realize we humans live in peace and brotherhood |
Dick lived in England. One day in January he said to his wife, "I'm going to fly to New York next week because I've got some work there." "Where are you going to stay there?" his wife asked. "I don't know yet." Dick answered. "Please send me your address from there in a telegram (电报)," his wife said. "All right," Dick answered.
He flew to New York on January 31st and found a nice hotel in the center of the city. He put his things in his room and then he sent his wife a telegram. He put the address of his hotel in it.
In the evening he didn't have any work, so he went to a cinema. He came out at nine o'clock and said, "Now I'm going back to my hotel and have a nice dinner."
He found a taxi and the driver said, "Where do you want to go?" But Dick didn't remember the name and address of his hotel.
"Which hotel are my things in?" he said, "And what am I going to do tonight?" But the driver of the taxi did not know. So Dick got out and went into a post office. There he sent his wife another telegram, and in it he wrote, "Please send me my address at this post office.Dick flew to New York because ________.
A.he went there for a holiday | B.he had work there |
C.he went there for sightseeing (观光) | D.his home was there |
Why did his wife want a telegram from him?
A.Because she didn’t know his address yet. |
B.Because she wanted to go to New York, too. |
C.Because she might send him another telegram. |
D.Because she couldn't leave her husband by himself in New York. |
Where did Dick stay in New York?
A.In the center of the city. | B.In a hotel. |
C.In a restaurant. | D.At his friend's house. |
Who would send him the name and address of his hotel?
A.The manager (经理) of his hotel. | B.The police office. |
C.The taxi driver. | D.His wife. |
Which of the following is not true?
A.Dick stayed at a nice hotel in the center of the city. |
B.Dick didn't work on the first night of his arrival. |
C.Dick forgot to send his wife a telegram. |
D.Dick wanted to go back to his hotel in a taxi. |
It was a quiet village in which there was a military camp (军营). It was far from the towns and cities and there were some high mountains around. Of course it was a good place for training the new soldiers. But it was difficult for the young men to go outside. Mr. White, an officer of forty, was strict with them and he hardly let them leave the camp.
Once Mr. White was ill in bed. He couldn’t work and a young officer, Mr. Hunt began to train the new soldiers instead of him. He knew the young men well and let nine soldiers go to the nearest town to have a holiday. But night fell and none came back to the camp. He was worried about it and stood at the gate. It was five to twelve when Mr. Hunt decided to go to the town and see what was happening to the young men. He started the car quickly and set off. At that moment the nine soldiers came back. It seemed they drank wine. Of course they found the officer was angry.
“I’m sorry, sir,”said the first soldier.“I left the town on time. But something was wrong with my bus on my way here. I had to buy a horse and made it run fast. Bad luck! It died and I had to run back.”
And the other seven soldiers said they were late for the same reasons. It was the last soldier’s turn. He said, “I’m sorry, sir. I got on a bus on time, but…”
Having heard this, the officer became even angrier and stopped him at once. He called out, “If you say something was wrong with your bus, I’ll punish you at once!”
“No, no, sir,” said the young man. “My bus was all right, but the horse died!”The military camp was built in the village to________.
A.stop the soldiers from going to towns |
B.stop the soldiers from meeting their friends |
C.train the new soldiers |
D.make the young men live quietly |
Mr. Hunt let the nine soldiers have a holiday because__________.
A.he was kind to them | B.they felt lonely |
C.they had something important to do | D.they were the best of all |
The young officer was worried because_______.
A.a traffic accident had happened |
B.he was afraid something happened to the nine soldiers |
C.the nine soldiers would come back |
D.the nine soldiers drank too much in the town |
The nine soldiers returned to the camp late because________.
A.something was wrong with their buses |
B.their horses died on the return way |
C.it took them much time to run back |
D.they all drank much in the town |
Which answer do you think is true?
A.You’ll believe only the last soldier. |
B.The officer believed the nine soldiers. |
C.You’ll believe none of the nine soldiers. |
D.The officer won’t punish his soldiers. |
Jess really felt very happy. When he arrived at his seat in the classroom that morning, he found an invitation on his desk. It was from several of his classmates asking him to join them on a camping trip. This was the first time he was asked to join in an out-of-school activity. Why were they asking him now? Nobody seemed to like him. In fact,he had been so lonely that he drowned his feeling with food. As a result,he had put on a lot of weight,and this gave the kids something more to make fun of him.
Cindy, who was standing near Jess when he read the invitation, went out quickly to tell the others that the trick(恶作剧)had worked. Everyone was pleased that Jess thought that was true. But there was no camping trip. The whole thing was made up.
At first, Cindy thought it was fun. But later, when Jess told her that he was going to buy a sleeping bag with his savings(积蓄), Cindy had a second idea. She knew that Jess’s family had little money, and she hated to see him spend his savings on something he would never use. Cindy also hated to tell Jess the truth. Her close friends would be angry with her. What could she do now?The sentence “…he drowned his feeling with food” means “________”.
A.he ate a lot to make himself feel less lonely |
B.he asked for a lot of food from his classmates |
C.he brought his food to his classmates |
D.he had a lot of food to put on weight |
What would happen if Cindy told Jess the truth?
A.Jess would go on the camping trip himself. |
B.Jess's family would be angry with Cindy. |
C.Cindy might have trouble with her friends. |
D.Jess would be thankful to his classmates. |
If Jess really bought a sleeping bag, ________.
A.everyone else would also buy one |
B.it would be the best in the class |
C.Cindy would pay for it |
D.he would have it for no use |
From the story we can guess ________.
A.everybody would go camping in the class |
B.Jess had few friends in the class |
C.Cindy was Jess’s best friend in the class |
D.Jess joined in many out-of-school activities |
Choose the best title for this passage.
A.Jess and His School |
B.Jess and His Friends |
C.An Invitation for Jess |
D.Jess and His Camping Trip |
Father’s Day has a very short history. It was started because there was a Mother’s Day. And just because some Americans thought that if we had a Mother’s Day, we should also have a Father’s Day. Father’s Day has become important in North America. And shopkeepers found it was a good way to get people to buy presents for their fathers, presents from their shops.
By the way, very few countries have a Father’s Day, though some have Children’s Day, or a special day for boys and another for girls. More and more countries are having Mother’s Day, so maybe Father’s Day will also become popular before too long. Now, what do people in North America do on Father’s Day? The newspapers, radios, and TV tell children what they should do-buy a Father’s Day present for your father. They even tell a wife to buy a Father’s Day present-not for her father but for her husband, even if he is not yet a father. And they tell grandchildren to buy a Father’s Day present for their grandfathers.
The important thing to remember about Father’s Day is that American children can show their love to their fathers in a more open way.Father’s Day was started just because.
A.there was a Mother’s Day | B.there was a Children’s Day |
C.people liked their fathers a lot | D.fathers were more important |
Which of the following is NOT true?
A.Many countries have a Father’s Day. |
B.Father’s Day has a long history. |
C.Father’s Day has become important in North America. |
D.Maybe Father’s Day will become popular before too long. |
In America, people have a Father’s Day to.
A.go shopping with their fathers | B.help their fathers do something |
C.show their love to their fathers | D.get money from their fathers |
On Father’s Day, shopkeepers always want.
A.people to buy as many presents as possible |
B.children to buy presents only for their fathers |
C.women to buy presents only for their husbands |
D.grandchildren to buy a Father’s Day present only for their grandfathers |
It can be learned from the article that.
A.the writer is against Father’s Day |
B.many countries have a Father’s Day |
C.shopkeepers can get more money on Father’s Day than usual |
D.We don’t need to have a Father’s Day |