Before birth, babies can tell the difference between loud sounds and voices. They can even distinguish their mother's voice from that of a female stranger. But when it comes to embryonic learning（胎教）, birds could rule the roost. As recently reported in The Auk: Ornithological Adrances, some mother birds may teach their young to sing even before they hatch(孵化). New-born chicks can then imitate their mom's call within a few days of entering the world.
This educational method was first z observed in 2012 by Sonia Kieindorfer,a biologist at Flinders University in South Australia,and her colleagues. Femake Australian superb fairy wrens were found to repeat one sound over and over again while hatching their errs, when the errs were hatched, the baby birds made the similar chirp to their mothers-around that served as their regular "feed me!" call.
To find out if the special quality was more widespread in birds, the researchers sought the red-backed fairy wren, another species of Australian songbird. First they collected sound data from 67 nests in four sites in Queensland before and after hatching. Then they identified begging calls by analyzing the order and number of notes. A computer analysis blindly compared calls produced by mothers and chicks, ranking them by similarity.
It turns out that baby red-backed fairy wrens also emerge chirping like their moms. And the more frequently mothers had called to their errs, the more similar were the babies' begging calls. In addition, the team set up a separate experiment that suggested that the baby birds that most closely imitated their mom's voice were rewarded with the most food.
This observation hints that effective embryonic learning could signal neurological(神经系统的) strengths of children to parents. An evolutionary inference can then be drawn." As a parent, do you invest in quality children, or do you invest in children that are in need?" Kleindorfer asks." Our results suggest that they might be going for quality."
58.The underlined phrase in Paragraph 1 means" ".
| A． |
be the worst |
B． |
be the best |
| C． |
be the as bad |
D． |
be just as good |
59.What are Kleindorfer's findings based on?
| A． |
Similarities between the calls moms and chicks. |
| B． |
The observation of fairy wrens across Australia. |
| C． |
The data collected from Queensland's locals. |
| D． |
Controlled experiments on wrens and other birds. |
60.Embryonic learning helps mother birds to identify the baby birds which .
| A． |
can receive quality signals |
B． |
are in need of training |
| C． |
fit the environment better |
D． |
make the loudest call |
III. Reading Comprehension 40%
Section A 30%
Directions：Read the following four passages. Each passage is followed by several questions. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.
Riding was the favourite activity of Thomas Jefferson, who was the third President of the United States. He usually rode good horses.
One day, he was riding outside Washington, when a jockey (赛马师) came near. He did not know the President, but his professional eye was attracted by Mr. Jefferson’s horse. He stopped and said that he wanted to buy the horse, but Mr. Jefferson politely refused his offer.
The jockey offered more money for the horse, because the closer he looked at the horse, the more he liked it. All of his offers were refused, which made him angry. He then became rude, but his rudeness left as little an impression as his money, for Jefferson had a very good temper. At last, he hit Mr. Jefferson’s horse with his whip, getting it to run suddenly. This would have thrown a less skillful rider to the ground, but Jefferson stayed on his seat, and controlled his horse well.
The jockey then gave up. He rode with Mr. Jefferson side by side and began to talk with him about politics. Jefferson joined in the conversation. When they got into the city and came close to the gate of the presidential mansion (总统府), Mr. Jefferson stopped, and politely invited the man to enter.
The jockey was surprised and asked, “Why? Do you live here?”
“Yes” was the simple reply.
“Why, stranger, what’s your name?”
“My name is Thomas Jefferson.”
Embarrassed, the man quickly left, while the President looked at him with a smile and then rode through the gate.
1. Which is the best title for the passage?
A. Jefferson and the Jockey B. Jefferson’s Interest
C. Be Polite to Everyone D. No Pain, No Gain
2. Which word can best describe the jockey?
A. Professional. B. Skillful. C. Impatient. D. Impolite.
3. The underlined word “embarrassed” can be replaced by “__________”.
A. worried B. pleased C. hurried D. ashamed
4. We can infer from the passage that __________.
A. the jockey had once bought a horse from another stranger
B. Mr. Jefferson was very good at riding a horse
C. Mr. Jefferson would invite the jockey to his own house later
D. the jockey would not talk about this experience to others
5. According to the passage, which of the following statement is true?
A. The President of the US is fond of riding.
B. The jockey managed to buy the horse from Mr. Jefferson.
C. Mr. Jefferson, the third President of the United States, was a man of good manners.
D. All the presidents of the US have expensive horses.
Every kid wishes to be an adult. But now as grown-ups, some adults find they cannot leave childhood behind. They become "kidults" (kid+adult). Being a kidult has become a lifestyle-choice among young people across Asia.
Some kidults collect toys they once played with. Hello Kitty, Garfield, and Snoopy have many adult fans around the world. It is not unusual to see a 20-something woman with a big, Garfield-shaped cushion on her sofa or a Hello Kitty mobile phone accessory.
Other kidults still enjoy children's stories and fairy tales. For example, Bloomsbury even published the Harry Potter novels with an adult cover. That way, no one else on the subway will know that an adult is actually reading a children's book!
"Kidults can be like vitamins to society. Adults who value their childhood and hold on to pure, child-like emotion may be needed in such a rough and dry society," said Lee Sojung, professor of Foreign Studies at Hankuk University(韩国外国语大学). He added that kidult culture may fill the generation gap between adults and kids. It could give children and their parents books, movies, and cartoon shows to enjoy together. He may be right.
Tim Greenhalgh,a professor,explained that some kidults just refuse to grow up. They value childhood because life in a busy and stressful city frightens them. Kidults would like to forget their age and openly show their fear of society and adulthood.
1. We can infer from the article that _________.
A. Kidults miss their childhood so much that they can't give up their toys
B. Bloomsbury knows some kidults don't want people to know that they are kidults
C. Kidults like to have vitamins very much
D. Some toys are so interesting that even adults like them very much
2. According to the author, being a kidult is good in some way except that _______.
A. it can improve the relationship between parents and their kids
B. it can help kidults feel relaxed
C. it is helpful to solve some social problems
D. it can make people loyal to one's parents
3. According to the writer, _______.
A. being a kidult is nothing wrong B. kidults have mental problems
C. our society is very dull D. some people can never grow up
The U.S. Department of Labor statistics (统计) show that there is an oversupply of college-trained workers and that this oversupply is increasing. Already there have been more than enough teachers, engineers, physicists, aerospace experts, and other specialists. Yet colleges and graduate schools continue every year to turn out highly trained people to compete for jobs that aren't there. The result is that graduates cannot enter the professions for which they were trained and must take temporary jobs which do not require a college degree.
On the other hand, there is a great need for skilled workers of all sorts: carpenters, electricians, mechanics, plumbers, TV repairmen.
These people have more work than they can deal with, and their annual incomes are often higher than those of college graduates. The old gap that white-collar workers make a better living than blue-collar workers no longer holds true. The law of supply and demand now favors the skilled workmen.
The reason for this situation is the traditional myth that college degree is a passport to a prosperous future. A large part of American society matches success in life equally with a college degree. Parents begin indoctrinating (灌输) their children with this myth before they are out of grade school. High school teachers play their part by acting as if high school education were a preparation for college rather than for life. Under this pressure the kids fall in line. Whether they want to go to college or not doesn't matter. Everybody should go to college, so of course they must go. And every year college enrollments (入学) go up and up, and more and more graduates are overeducated for the kinds of jobs available to them.
One result of this emphasis on a college education is that many people go to college who do not belong there. Of the sixty percent of high school graduates who enter college, half of them do not graduate with their class. Many of them drop out within the first year. Some struggle on for two or three years and then give up.
1. It's implied but not stated in the passage that .
A. many other countries are facing the same problem
B. white-collar workers in the US used to make more money than blue-collar workers
C. fewer students will prefer to go to college in the future
D. the law of supply and demand has a strong effect on American higher education
2. Which of the following is NOT a reason why college enrollments go up every year?
A. Many people believe that the only way to success is a college education.
B. Many parents want their children to go to college.
C. High school teachers urge their students to go to college.
D. Every young man and woman wants to go to college.
3. By saying that“many people go to college who do not belong there,” the author means that .
A. many people who are not fit for college education go to college
B. many people who do not have enough money go to college
C. many people who go to college drop out within the first year
D. many people who go to college have their hopes destroyed
4. We can infer from the passage that the author believes that .
A. every young man and woman should go to college
B. college education is a bad thing
C. people with a college education should receive higher pay
D. fewer people should go to college while more should be trained for skilled jobs
Let's pretend we're sailing down the Rhine River on a pleasure boat. The Rhine is one of the main waterways of Germany, and the river traffic is heavy. It's interesting to watch the many boats going up and down the river. But the river traffic is not nearly so interesting as the beautiful scenery along the banks and hillsides. The boat is passing many old castles. We can see people working in the vineyards (葡萄园) on the hillsides. There are vineyards as far as the eye can see. Wine from the Rhine Valley is famous all over the world.
Suddenly our boat slows down and begins to turn a little. We are coming to a sharp bend in the river. On our right we can see a rocky cliff over 400 feet high. At first it looks quite ordinary, but there is nothing ordinary about it. There are many stories, poems, and songs about the cliff. We are looking at the Lorelei.
The someone on the boat begins to sing in German, the song of the Lorelei. It is a song about a beautiful siren (美女) who has lured many sailors to their deaths.
The siren is supposed to sit on the rock combing her long golden hair and singing. The sailors who hear her forget to steer, and the current of river hurls their boats on the rocks and dashes them to pieces.
Soon other people on the boat begin to sing. The beautiful song adds to special magic to the moment, and you begin to realize why so many people have made this trip down the Rhine to see the rock of the Lorelei.
1.The more interesting thing to those who are sailing down the Rhine River on a pleasure boat is .
A. to watch many boats going up and down the river
B. to see the beautiful scenery along the banks and hillsides
C. to hear a song about beautiful siren
D. to see a beautiful siren combing her golden hair
2. Which of the following is famous all over the world?
A. The Rhine River. B. The River Traffic.
C. Wine from the Rhine Valley. D. The Lorelei.
3. We can see a rocky cliff over 400 feet high .
A. on our right when coming to a sharp bend B. on the Rhine hillsides
C. from the Rhine Valley D. on the boat
4. The song of the Lorelei is about .
A. The Rhine wine
B. a rocky cliff
C. the beautiful scenery along the Rhine River
D. a beautiful and dangerous woman genie
Part three: Reading Comprehension (20 items; 40 pts.)
The common cold is the world's most widespread illness, which is plagues (瘟疫) that flesh receives.
The most widespread fallacy (谬误) of all is that colds are caused by cold. They are not. They are caused by viruses passing on from person to person. You catch a cold by coming into contact, directly or indirectly, with someone who already has one. If cold causes colds, it would be reasonable to expect the Eskimos to suffer from them forever. But they do not. And in isolated arctic regions explorers have reported being free from colds until coming into contact again with infected people from the outside world by way of packages and mail dropped from airplanes.
During the First World War soldiers who spent long periods in the trenches (战壕) cold and wet, showed no increased tendency to catch colds.
In the Second World War prisoners at the notorious Auschwitz concentration camp (奥斯维辛集中营), naked and starving, were astonished to find that they seldom had colds.
At the Common Cold Research Unit in England, volunteers took part in Experiments in which they gave themselves to the discomforts of being cold and wet for long stretches of time. After taking hot baths, they put on bathing suits, allowed themselves to be dipped with cold water, and then stood about dripping wet in drafty room. Some wore wet socks all day while others exercised in the rain until close to exhaustion. Not one of the volunteers came down with a cold unless a cold virus was actually dropped in his nose.
If, then, cold and wet have nothing to do with catching colds, why are they more frequent in the winter? Despite the most pains- research, no one has yet found the answer. One explanation offered by scientists is that people tend to stay together indoors more in cold weather than at other times, and this makes it easier for cold viruses to be passed on.
No one has yet found a cure for the cold. There are drugs and pain-killer pills such as aspirin, but all they do is relieve the symptoms.
1. The writer offered examples to support his argument.
A. 4 B. 5 C. 6 D. 3
2. Which of the following does not agree with the chosen passage?
A. The Eskimos do not suffer from colds all the time.
B. Colds are not caused by cold.
C. People suffer from colds just because they like to stay indoors.
D. A person may catch a cold by touching someone who already has one.
3. Arctic explorers may catch colds when .
A. they are working in the isolated arctic regions
B. they are writing reports in terribly cold weather
C. they are free from work in the isolated arctic regions
D. they are coming into touch again with the outside world
4. Volunteers taking part in the experiments in the Common Cold Research Unit .
A. suffered a lot B. never caught colds
C. often caught colds D. became very strong
5. The passage mainly discusses .
A. the experiments on the common colds B. the fallacy about the common cold
C. the reason and the way people catch colds D. the continued spread of common colds