Be careful what you say around your dog. It might understand more than you think.
A border collie named Rico recognizes the names of about 200 objects, say researchers in Germany. The dog also appears to be able to learn new words as easily as a 3-year-old child. Its word-learning skills are as good as those of a parrot or chimpanzee(黑猩猩).
In one experiment, the researchers took all 200 items that Rico is supposed to know and divided them into 20 groups of 10 objects. Then the owner told the dog to go and fetch one of the items and bring it back. In four tests, Rico got 37 out of 40 commands right. As the dog couldn’t see anyone to get clues, the scientists believe Rico must understand the meanings of certain words.
In another experiment, the scientists took one toy that Rico had never seen before and put it in a room with seven toys whose names the dog already knew. The owner then told Rico to fetch the object, using a word the dog had never heard before.
The correct object was chosen in seven out of l0 tests, suggesting that the dog had worked out the answer by process of elimination(排除法). A month later, Rico remembered half of the new names, which is even more impressive.
Rico is thought to be smarter than the average dog. For one thing, Rico is a border collie, a breed (品种)known for its mental abilities. In addition, the 9-year-old dog has been trained to fetch toys by their names since the age of nine months.
It’s hard to know if all dogs understand at least some of the words we say. Even if they do, they can’t talk back. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to sweet-talk your dog every now and then. You might just get a big, wet kiss in return!From paragraph 2 we know that __ .
| A．animals are as clever as human beings |
| B．all dogs are smarter than parrots and chimpanzees |
| C．chimpanzees have very good word-learning skills |
| D．all dogs have similar learning abilities as 3-year-old children |
Both experiments show that .
| A．Rico is smart enough to get all commands right |
| B．Rico can recognize different things including toys |
| C．Rico has developed the ability of learning mathematics |
| D．Rico won’t forget the names of objects once recognizing them |
Which of the following statements is true?
| A．The purpose of the experiments is to show the border collie’s mental abilities. |
| B．Rico has a better memory partly because of its proper early training. |
| C．The border collie is world-famous for recognizing objects. |
| D．Rico is born to understand its owner’s commands. |
What does the writer want to tell us?
| A．To train your dog. |
| B．To talk to your dog. |
| C．To be friendly to your dog. |
| D．To be careful with your dog. |
London Underground
The world’s first subway was built in London in 1863. At the time, the government was looking for a way to reduce traffic problems in the city of London. The poor areas of the city were so crowded with people that it was almost impossible for horse carriages to get through. The city officials were interested in trying to make it possible for workers to live outside of London and travel easily to work each day. If people had a cheap and convenient way that they could depend on to go to and from work, they would relocate their homes outside of the city. This would help ease(减轻) the pressure of too many people living in the poor parts of London. From these problems, the idea of the London Underground, the first subway system was born.
The plans for building the Underground met with several problems and delays, but the fast track was finally opened in January 1863. A steam train pulled the cars along the fast underground track which was 6 kilometers (3. 7 miles) long. About 30,000 people got on the subway the first day. Riders were treated to comfortable seats (standing up while the train was moving was not allowed), and pleasant decorations inside each of the cars. However, the smoke from the engine soon filled the air in the tunnels with ash and soot(煤灰), as well as chemical gases. Fans had to be put in the tunnels later to keep the air clean enough for people to breathe. Even with its problems, riding in the Underground did catch on. It carried 9 million riders in its first year.
40. What led the British government to build the London Underground？
A. Traffic jams and pollution.
B. Population and pollution.
C. Overcrowding and traffic jams.
D. The poverty and subway problems.
41. How did the London Underground solve the smoke problem？
A. It made the tunnels larger.
B. It put fans in the tunnels.
C. It cleaned the chemical gases in the tunnels.
D. It reduced the number of passengers riding in the train.
42. The underlined phrase “catch on” most probably means “______”.
A. be troublesome
B. become popular and fashionable
C. keep up with
D. seize
43. Which of the following is TRUE？
A. To relocate the workers’ homes outside London，the government built the subway.
B. There were so many problems and delays that in 18th century the first subway opened.
C. The subway greatly eased the pressure of traffic.
D. There were not enough seats for the passengers the first day the subway opened.
Einstein was born in 1879 in Germany. As a child, he was slow to learn to talk. As a pupil, he was backward. But when he was fourteen years old, he became clever. He taught himself maths from textbooks. He studied hard because he wanted to be a physicist.
In 1901, Einstein began teaching. In 1902 he continued his studies at the University of Zurich. Several years later, he formulated(系统地阐述)his famous Theory of Relativity(相对论).To most people the law of relativity is difficult to explain. But once Einstein explained it to a group of young students. He said,” When you sit with a good girl for two hours, you think it is only a minute. But when you sit on a hot stove for a minute, you think it's two hours. That is relativity."
After Hitler came into power in Germany, Einstein went to America. In 1940 Einstein became an American citizen. In 1955, Einstein's life ended at the age of seventy-six.
36. When Einstein was a pupil of twelve, he _______.
A. was not quick in learning to talk B. was poor in his studies
C. studied very hard D. hardly lagged behind
37. The law of relativity is_______ .
A. very hard for most people to understand
B. too hard for Einstein himself to explain
C. too hard to explain to anybody except Einstein
D. easy to understand only for the young students
38. Which of the following do you think is true?
A. The Germans owed their scientific progress to Einstein.
B. The Americans owed all their economic development to Einstein.
C. Einstein owed a great deal to the modern world.
D. Einstein made a very great contribution to modern science.
39. The title for this passage should be " _______ ".
A. Theory of Relativity B. An American Citizen
C. Albert Einstein D. Einstein's Contribution
There is an English saying:“ laughter is the best medicine.” Until recently, few people took the saying seriously. Now, however, doctors have begun to look into laughter and the effects it has on the human body. They have found that laughter really can improve people’s health.
Tests were carried out to study the effects of laughter on the body. People watched funny films while doctors checked their hearts, blood pressure, breathing and muscles. It was found that laughter had similar effects to physical exercise. It increases blood pressure, the heart beating and breathing; it also works several groups of muscles in the face, the stomach, and even the feet. If laughter exercises the body, it must be beneficial .
Other tests have shown that laughter appears to be able to reduce the effect of pain on the body. In one experiment doctors produced pain in groups of students who listened to different radio programs. The group that tolerated(忍耐)the pain for the longest time was the groups which listened to a funny program. The reason why laughter can reduce pain seems to be that it helps to produce a kind of chemicals in the brain which diminish both stress and pain .
As a result of these discoveries, some doctors in the United States now hold laughter clinics, in which they help to improve their patients’ condition by encouraging them to laugh. They have found that even if their patients do not really feel like laughing, making them smile is enough to produce beneficial effects similar to those caused by laughter.
46.Doctors have proved the following EXCEPT that.
A. smiling does good to health
B. laughter can be tolerated
C. there is a way to reduce pain
D. laughter can work the muscles in the feet
47.The main idea of the passage is.
A. laughter and physical exercise have similar effects on the human body
B. smile can produce the same effects as laughter
C. pain can be reduced by laughter
D. laughter is the best medicine
48.The students who tolerated the pain for the longest time .
A .listened to different radio programs
B .slept in the room
C. don’t have stress of pain
D .listened to a funny program
49.The underlined word “diminish” is similar to.
A. test B .stop C. reduce D. find
50. Doctors hold laughter clinics _________.
A .to give better condition to their patients
B .in order to improve patients’ health
C .to make patients smile
D. to prove smile and laughter have the same effect
Hamsters are lovely small animals which are similar to mice，and some people 1ike to keep them as pets．They need to eat a balanced diet，or they can become very sick．That’s why hamsters should be fed healthy foods．
Most pet stores sell hamster mix．This is a combination of foods that are just right for hamsters．Some hamsters are picky eaters．They don’t eat anything they don’t like，so you have to find a hamster mix that your hamster will like．Most hamsters only eat a few tablespoons a day．You should feed them at the same time every day，or you can just keep your hamster’s bowl full．Remember to clean the bowl at least once a week．Hamsters also drink a lot of water，so be sure to keep the water supply full and fresh．Just like people，hamsters like treats．Besides the hamster mix，you can sometimes feed your hamster seeds，nuts，and some other people food．You should never feed your hamster anything unless you are sure that it is safe for hamsters．Feed your hamster carefully，and always take good care of your pet !43．If hamsters don’t have a balanced diet，they will．A．become sick B．drink water C．store food D．feel fresh44．What does the underlined sentence “some hamsters are picky eaters” mean?A．They pick food with tools． B．They mix food once a week．C．They find their food in stores． D．They only eat the food they like．45．What’s the passage mainly about?A．Where to keep hamsters． B．When to buy hamsters．C．What to feed hamsters． D．Why to raise hamsters．
Jenny was almost five. Waiting with her mother at the checkout stand, she saw a circle of white pearls（珍珠） in a box. “Oh please, Mommy .Can I have them? Please, mommy, please!”
Quickly the mother checked the back of the little box and said ,” That’s almost $2.00. If you really like them, I’ll think of some extra chores for you and in no time you can save enough money to buy them for yourself.”
Then Jenny began doing more chores at home and did housework for neighbors. On her birthday, Grandma gave her another new dollar bill and she had enough money to buy the necklace.
Jenny loved her pearls. She wore them everywhere, even to bed.
Jenny had a very loving daddy and every night when she was ready for bed, he would stop whatever he was doing and come upstairs to read her a story. One night when he finished the story, he asked Jenny, “Do you love me?”
“Oh yes, Daddy. You know that I love you.”
“Then give me your pearls.”
“Oh, Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have my Princess.”
“That’s okay, Honey. Daddy loves you. Good night. ”And he brushed her cheek with a kiss.
About a week later, after the story time, Jenny’s daddy asked for the pearls again. And Jenny refused him again.
A few nights later when her daddy came in, Jenny was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed. As he came close, he noticed one silent tear rolling down her cheek.
“What is it, Jenny? What’s the matter?”
Jenny didn’t say anything but lifted her little hand up to her daddy. And when she opened it, there was her little necklace. She finally said, “Here, Daddy. It’s for you.”
With tears gathering in his own eyes, Jenny’s kind daddy reached out with one hand to take the dime-store necklace, and with the other hand to reach into his pocket and pull out a blue case with real pearls and gave them to Jenny. He had had them all the time. He was just waiting for her to give up the dime-store stuff so he could give her the real treasure.
40. What does the underlined word “Princess” mean?
A. It may be the daughter of the king .
B. It may be one of her toy girls.
C. It may mean Jenny`s teacher.
D. It may mean another necklace.
41. Why did tears come down when Jenny offered her necklace to her father?
A. Jenny felt sorry because she would lose her favorite.
B. Jenny felt excited because her father would give her a new necklace.
C. Jenny felt sad because the necklace she had bought was expensive.
D. Jenny `s father spent too much money on the necklace.
42. What’s the best title? W
A. The NecklaceB. FatherC. MotherD. Daughter