Most people agree that honesty is a good thing. But does Mother Nature agree? Animals can't talk, but can they lie in other ways? Can they lie with their bodies and behavior? Animal experts may not call it lying, but they do agree that many animals, from birds to chimpanzees, behave dishonestly to fool other animals. Why? Dishonesty often helps them survive.
Many kinds of birds are very successful at fooling other animals. For example, a bird called the plover sometimes pretends to be hurt in order to protect its young. When a predator（猎食动物）gets close to its nest, the plover leads the predator away from the nest. How? It pretends to have a broken wing. The predator follows the "hurt" adult, leaving the baby birds safe in the nest.
Another kind of bird, the scrub jay, buries its food so it always has something to eat. Scrub jays are also thieves. They watch where others bury their food and steal it. But clever scrub jays seem to know when a thief is watching them. So they go back later, unbury the food, and bury it again somewhere else.
Birds called cuckoos have found a way to have babies without doing much work. How? They don't make nests. Instead, they get into other birds' nests secretly. Then they lay their eggs and fly away. When the baby birds come out, their adoptive parents feed them.
Chimpanzees, or chimps, can also be sneaky. After a fight, the losing chimp will give its hand to the other. When the winning chimp puts out its hand, too, the chimps are friendly again. But an animal expert once saw a losing chimp take the winner's hand and start fighting again.
Chimps are sneaky in other ways, too. When chimps find food that they love, such as bananas, it is natural for them to cry out. Then other chimps come running. But some clever chimps learn to cry very softly when they find food. That way, other chimps don't hear them, and they don't need to share their food.
As is mentioned above, animals behave dishonestly for survival. Is it OK to lie for us human?The writer uses the three questions at the beginning of the passage to _________.
| A．ask the readers to answer the questions |
| B．draw the readers’ attention to the topic |
| C．seek answers to the questions |
| D．show he is at a loss about the question. |
Which of the following is not an example of animal’s dishonest behaviors?
| A．A plover pretended to have a broken wing to protect its baby birds. |
| B．A scrub jay dug out its buried food and reburied it somewhere else. |
| C．The adoptive parents feed their baby birds of cuckoos. |
| D．A losing chimp starts fighting again after taking the winner’s hand. |
The underlined word “sneaky” in paragraph 5 most probably means______.
| A．selfish | B．friendly |
| C．entertaining | D．dishonest |
What is the common reaction of most chimps when they find their favorite food?
| A．They let out a loud cry |
| B．They cry in a very low voice |
| C．They hide their food immediately |
| D．They share their food with other chimps. |
It’s good to make mistakes, and here is why．
First of all, mistakes are a clear sign that you are trying new things． It’s always good to try new things because when you are trying new things you are growing． If you never try anything new, how can you improve? How can you expand? The simple answer is “You can’t”． Look around you． With very few exceptions, either everything you see in your physical world or every single detail of every single thing is the result of someone trying something new．
Another good thing about mistakes is this: When you are making mistakes, you are learning． Consider this: Edison failed 10,000 times before he perfected the light bulb． When asked how it felt to fail that many times, he said that he hadn’t failed 10,000 times, but rather had learned 10,000 things that didn’t work．
Finally, when you make a mistake you are much closer to success． Why?
Because when all is said and done, you will have tried some number of things before you succeeded． Every time you make a mistake you eliminate one of those things and are one step closer．
But this all doesn’t mean that you should go ahead without considering the consequences of a mistake． Quite the contrary, when you try something new you have to be willing to set some reasonable limits so that in the event that it doesn’t work out the way you want it to, you will be in a position to try again．
We all have limited resources in the form of time and money so don’t blow them all on one approach to a problem． Realize that it probably won’t be perfect the first time and allocate （分配） these resources appropriately so you can learn, make corrections, and try it again． Only by accepting and using your mistakes in this way can you make significant advances in your business and your career．
There is an old saying that goes, “If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not trying hard enough．”
So go forth and make mistakes． And learn． And grow． And prosper（成功）．From the second paragraph, we can conclude that _______．
| A．mistakes are unnecessary for development |
| B．we are afraid of trying new thing |
| C．it’s common for people to make mistakes |
| D．mistakes are better than not trying |
The underlined word “eliminate” means _______．
| A．avoid | B．remove | C．accept | D．solve |
According to the article, one thing you should pay attention to about making mistakes is．
| A．avoiding making the same mistakes |
| B．accepting the punishment willingly |
| C．taking consequences into account |
| D．trying things out one by one |
What would the writer probably suggest we say to ourselves when we make a mistake?
| A．Never mind, I can always try again． |
| B．I’d better stay out of trouble． |
| C．Ok! Now I can learn something． |
| D．Look at this mess． Anyone would be upset． |
It is quite reasonable to blame traffic jams, the cost of gas and the great speed of modern life, but manners on the road are becoming horrible．Everybody knows that the nicest men would become fierce tigers behind the wheel．It is all right to have a tiger in a cage, but to have one in the driver’s seat is another matter altogether.
Road politeness is not only good manners, but good sense too．It takes the most cool-headed drivers great patience to give up the desire to beat back when forced to face rude driving．On the other hand, a little politeness goes a long way towards reducing the possibility of quarrelling and fighting．A friendly nod or a wave of thanks in answer to an act of politeness helps to create an atmosphere of good will and calm so necessary in modern traffic condition．But such behaviors of politeness are by no means enough．Many drivers nowadays don’t even seem able to recognize politeness when they see it.
However, misplaced politeness can also be dangerous．Typical examples are the driver who waves a child crossing the street at a wrong place into the path of oncoming cars that may be not able to stop in time．The same goes for encouraging old ladies to cross the road wherever and whenever they want to．It always amazes me that the highways are not covered with the dead bodies of these grannies (奶奶).
An experienced driver, whose manners are faultless, told me it would help if drivers learnt to correctly join in traffic stream without causing total blockages that give rise to unpleasant feelings．Unfortunately, modern drivers can’t even learn to drive．Years ago, experts warned us that the fast increase of the car ownership would demand more give-and-take from all road users．It is high time for all of us to take this message to heart.According to the passage, troubles on the road are often caused by .
| A．road conditions | B．the speed of modern life |
| C．the large number of cars | D．the behavior of the drivers |
In the writer’s opinion, .
| A．drivers should show road politeness properly. |
| B．strict traffic rules are badly needed |
| C．unskillful drivers should be punished |
| D． drivers should avoid traffic jams |
The underlined word “give-and-take” in the passage means .
| A．politeness and impoliteness |
| B．willingness to give in to each other’s wishes |
| C．offering help to others as much as possible |
| D．good manners and bad manners |
What is the best title of the passage?
A．Road Politeness B．Traffic Problems
C Bad Manners on the Road D．Good Drivers and Bad Driver
WASHINGTON — It is announced Friday that White House visitor records will be opened up on a regular basis for the first time in modern history, providing the public an unusually detailed look at who gets the opportunity to help shape American policy at the highest levels.
“Americans have a right to know whose voices are being heard in the policymaking process,” the president said in a written statement issued by the White House while he vacationed with his family at Camp David.
By the end of the year, the White House will begin posting online every month the names of the people who visited in the last 90 to 120 days. Each person’s full name will be listed, along with the date and time they entered and left and the name of the person they visited. About 70,000 to 100,000 people visit the White House each month, and the records will include tourists as well as people conducting business.
The White House pointed out several exceptions to the policy: “purely personal guests” of the Obama family; those cases in which the disclosure(透露) of visitors’ names “would threaten national safety interests”; and those who come for “particularly sensitive meetings,” like candidates for a Supreme Court nomination(提名). Officials said only a “small number” will fit in the latter category（类别）, and their names would eventually be disclosed after they are no longer secret, like after a nomination is publicly announced. Moreover, they said, the number of undisclosed visitors will be disclosed, to make clear how few they are.Why will the White House visitor records be open to the public?
| A．To attract more visitors to the White House. |
| B．To allow people to know more about the life of the Obama family. |
| C．To let the public know who are influencing the policies. |
| D．To ask the public help correct the policies made by the government. |
From the passage we can learn that ________.
| A．All the visitors’ names will be posted online soon after their visits |
| B．Not all visitors are allowed to visit the White House |
| C．Some visitors’ names can be found online until they’re not secret |
| D．The records of the visitors will be kept for at least 4 months |
According to the passage, whose name might be kept secret for some time?
| A．A tourist. | B．A businessman. | C．A foreign student. | D．A foreign minister. |
What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．The White House will open the records of the visitors to the public. |
| B．In America more and more people are becoming policy makers. |
| C．The Americans have a right to know who are making policies. |
| D．President Obama has announced a new policy while on holiday. |
One evening I went out and left my 17-year-old son and his girlfriend in charge of his 8-year-old brother and 4-year-old sister. I left with complete confidence that the older children would do a wonderful job of babysitting the younger children. Later, I discovered that I was completely wrong.
I had decided to return home earlier than planned so that my son and his girlfriend could go out. I called home with this happy news．But instead of hearing his cheerful, grateful voice on the other end of the line, all I heard was the sound of a telephone ringing.
It was, I should point out, after 10 p.m., when the two younger children should have been in bed, and when the two older children should have been answering the phone. “I’ll give him a lesson, ” I said．I decided they must be outside．Why they might be outside at 10:30 on a winter night I had no idea, but it was the only explanation I could come up with.
Finally, in desperation（绝望）, I called his girlfriend’s house. His girlfriend answered．“Yes,” she said brightly, “He’s right here.”
He came on the phone．I was not my usual calm, patient．After all, one of the rules of survival for modern parents is that you can’t trust modern teenagers. “Where are the children?” I said. He said they were with him．They had done nothing wrong．My son had taken the younger children over to his girlfriend’s house just for ice cream and cake． Well, it turns out that I shouldn’t have believed it．It was only part of the truth.
The following Saturday evening we were at my parents’ home, celebrating my birthday．My oldest son gave me the children’s gifts --- a series of lovely color photographs of my children, dressed in their best clothes, and wearing their most wonderful expressions. They are pictures to treasure a lifetime, all taken by the father of my son’s girlfriend.The author went out and left her eldest son in charge of the younger children because
_____.
| A．she knew that his girlfriend was a good baby-sitter |
| B．she believed he could take good care of the younger ones with the help of his girlfriend |
| C．the older children have always loved the younger ones |
| D．she could not find a baby-sitter on that winter night |
Shortly after the author left home one evening, she discovered that _____.
| A．her son had brought his girlfriend home |
| B．her son had left home with his girlfriend |
| C．she shouldn’t have completely trusted her son |
| D．she should have taken the children along with her |
“It was only part of the truth.” implies that the children not only enjoyed ice-cream but also _____.
| A．had their pictures taken | B．received some gifts |
| C．had a birthday party | D．showed off their best clothes |
The British aren’t having as many children as they used to. One reason is that people are having children much older than before, meaning they have fewer years in which they can have them. After years at university, they need a few years of work experience before they can get the job they want. They might then get married, but it’s incredibly expensive to buy a house in the UK.
The above explains why young British people now don’t move out of their parents’ home until they are around 30 years old on average. It is not until they are 30 that they can afford their own home. Increasingly, it is not until that age that they can afford to get married and start a new life in a new home. It’s only after this age that many young people start thinking about having a child.
So a British person manages to get a job, get a home and get married. Why isn’t he or she then having at least two children on average? The main reason is that it is quite expensive to bring up a child in the UK. Why is it expensive? Well, these days, both parents need to work just to pay for their home and living expenses. Because both parents are at work, that means they then need to pay someone to look after their child during the day. Paying for this childcare is nearly always expensive.
The recent financial crisis is making things even harder for families, since unemployment is rising and even fewer people can afford to have children. With so much pressure on families, is it any surprise that the divorce rate is so high?
So what is Britain doing to try and save the British family? The government is trying to make it cheaper to have children. For example, there have been increases in money families can claim from the state each month. Also, there are increasing government subsidies for nursery schools, so that parents do not need to pay so much for child care.
The government is also trying to reduce the number of hours British parents have to work to earn enough money to pay their bills. If parents didn’t have to work so many hours, they’d have more time to spend with their children and wouldn’t need to spend so much on childcare. On average, a Briton works 49 hours a week, which is the most in Europe. The state is now considering introducing laws to encourage companies to improve their employees’ work-life balance. Let’s hope they’re not too late to save the British family. Otherwise, the British will always be too tired, and won’t have enough time and money, to have children. Young British people live in their parents’ home until around 30 because .
| A．They are allowed to get married at 30 |
| B．they can’t find jobs to support themselves |
| C．they can’t afford a house of their own until then |
| D．they enjoy family life with their parents |
The British are now having fewer children than before for all the following reasons EXCEPT that .
| A．they have fewer years to have children |
| B．they live much shorter lives than before |
| C．it is more expensive to bring up a child |
| D．people are losing their jobs because of the recent financial crisis |
To make it cheaper to have children, the British government is .
| A．bringing down prices |
| B．raising the salaries of parents |
| C．reducing family income tax |
| D．increasing subsidies for families and nursery schools |
It can be inferred from the text that .
| A．with long work hours, it is hard for British parents to balance life and work |
| B．more and more families in Britain are breaking up because they are having fewer children |
| C．among Europeans, British people work hardest and earn the least |
| D．childcare takes up too much energy and time for the British |
The underlined word “subsidies” in Paragraph 5 means _________.
| A．food paid by the government |
| B．school buildings for poor students |
| C．free transportation |
| D．money from the government to benefit the public |