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When it comes to intelligence, human beings are the top dogs of the animal kingdom. But in recent years, scientists have been documenting surprising intelligence and emotional depth in animals ranging from honeybees to elephants. Here are some amazing examples.
Artistic Monkey Business
Jannet Schmid, director of the Little River Zoo in Norman, Oklahoma, learned a lot about the intelligence of capuchin monkeys. She and her busband adopted a young male, named Bailey. The capuchin particularly liked taking car rides, insisting that he insert the key and ride in the front passenger’s seat.
Now Bailey has become a devoted painter. He uses brushes to create colorful, abstract paintings, and prefers not to be disturbed.
Prairie Dog Sound
Through a variety of birdlike sounds, prairie dogs warn each other of approaching creatures. They demonstrated a surprisingly complex communication system. In his 25 years of study, Slobodchikoff, a professor of biology, has recorded them pronouncing ten nouns including hawk, deer and coyote, a number of adjectives to identify color, size and shape, and even some verbs to indicate speed.
In an ongoing study, Slobodchikoff learns that their brain contains a very extensive vocabulary. He once used his best prairie dog sound to say coyote, and they just looked at him in anger as if he had said a bad word.
Ivy League Parrot
One African grey parrot Alex is said to have the cognitive abilities of a five-year-old child. Alex can identify 50 different objects, seven colors, five shapes, quantities up to six, and the concepts of bigger, smaller, same and different.
Also Alex is considered to make reasoned decisions. During an experiment, researchers gave Alex different-colored blocks in sets of two, three and six. When asked which color group had five blocks, Alex replied, “None.” And he answered the same in repeated tests. Obviously, he interpreted the concept of “none” as an absence of quantity all on his own. That’s a lot like a high school student answering questions on a quiz show.
1.Which of the following is true?
A. Bailey is as clever as a child of five.
B. The prairie dog loves taking car rides.
C. The capuchin monkey is fond of painting.
D. Alex develops a communication system.
2.The underlined word “coyote” in Paragraph 4 refers to ________.
A. a verb B. an animal C. a warning D. an adjective
3.The African grey parrot Alex can ________.
A. answer questions on a quiz show
B. understand the figure “7”
C. identify five colors and seven shapes
D. apply the concept of “none” correctly
4.What is the passage mainly about?
A. Animal communication B. Animal research
C. Animal intelligence D. Animal information
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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When someone gives you advice, listen without judgment, try to find value in what you’re hearing, and say: “Thank you”. This wise advice is easy to understand yet hard to practice. I’ll give you an example from my life when I totally blew it in term of practicing what I teach.
In my work I travel constantly. I always put off going to the airport until the last second. My wife, Lyda, was sitting next to me in the front seat. I was racing along and not paying much attention. Lyda cried out: “Look out! There is a red light up ahead.”
Being a trained behavioral science professional—who teaches others the value of encouraging advice—I naturally screamed at her: “I know there is a red light up ahead! Don’t you think I can see?” When we arrived at the airport, Lyda didn’t speak to me. I wondered why she seemed mad at me.
During the flight to New York, I did a cost-benefit analysis. I asked myself: “What was the cost of just listening when Lyda called out the warning? Zero.” I then reasoned: “What was the potential benefit? What could have been saved?” Several potential benefits came to mind, including her life, my life, and the lives of other people.
I landed in New York feeling ashamed of myself. I immediately called Lyda and told her my cost-benefit story. I convinced her: “The next time you help me with my driving, I am just going to say, ‘Thank you!’”
A few months passed, and I had long forgotten the incident. Again, I was racing off to the airport, when Lyda cried out: “Look out for the red right!” I was embarrassed, and then shouted: “Thank you!”
I’m a long way from perfect, but I’m getting better. My suggestion is that you get in the habit of asking the important people in your life how you can do things better. And be ready for an answer. Some people may tell you things like “Look out for the red light.” When this happens, remember that there is possibly some potential benefit. Then just say: “Thank you.”
1.What do we know about the author?
A. He is expert at behavioral science.
B. He is gifted in cost-benefit analysis.
C. He seldom takes his wife’s advice.
D. He often runs the red traffic light.
2.The underlined part “blew it ” in Paragraph 1 probably means “_______”.
A. became annoyed with the adviser B. forgot the practical method
C. failed to say “Thank you” D. lost personal judgment
3.It can be inferred from the passage that people _________.
A. tend to be defensive when given advice
B. intend to follow others’ suggestions
C. had better study behavioral science
D. should give their opinions patiently
4.The purpose of the passage is to advise people to ________.
A. do a cost-benefit analysis in daily life
B. treasure others’ suggestions
C. learn from the author’s experiences
D. discover potential benefits
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Last week, we explained that the planet Mars had passed “opposition.” It passed a point opposite the Sun. This week, we tell about the planet’s surprising motion among the stars.
For thousands of years, people have recognized that planets travel among the stars. The planets generally follow the path taken by the Sun through the sky. The Sun’s path is called the ecliptic. The groups of stars along the ecliptic are called the Zodiac(黄道带).
The motion of the planets can be confusing at times. Everyone knows the Sun rises in the east and sets in the west. But this is caused by the turning motion of the Earth. Planets generally move from west to east.
However, Mars will appear to move backward for about two months this year. This happens because the Earth is overtaking Mars on its way around the Sun. Mars began its backward, or westward, motion on May 11th. It will start moving eastward again on July 19th.
Mars’ apparent motion has been a mystery to astronomers for hundreds of years. Most early theories of tilt solar system argued that the Sun and planets turned around the Earth. But the sudden westward motion of Mars presented problem. Why would Mars move west for two months when it nears “opposition”?
In 1543, a Polish church worker named Nicolas Copernicus published a different theory. His theory said the Earth and planets moved around the Sun in perfectly circular orbits. Copernicus’ theory was simpler. But his Sun-centered system still did not explain the observed motion of Mars very well.
Finally, a German mathematician named Johannes Kepler published a complete theory of the motion of the planets in 1619. He had carefully studied the motion of Mars for many years.
Johannes Kepler discovered that the planets do not move in circular orbits around the Sun. Instead, they travel in flattened orbits called ellipses(椭圆). Mars’ elliptical orbit is the cause of its unusual brightening this year and its apparent large size.
During the next several weeks, you can see for yourself why the mysterious motion of Mars has caused so many people to wonder.
1.From the passage we can learn that _________.
A. the sun and planets generally travel westward
B. Kepler studied the orbit of the planets in 1619
C. Copernicus’ theory well explained the motion of Mars
D. the Earth’s turning motion causes the sun to rise in the east
2.On July 19th Mars _______.
A. will pass the “opposition”
B. appears to change its direction again
C. will begin to move westward
D. appears to change its orbit again
3.Why does Mars appear to be bigger and brighter when it passes “opposition”?
A. It is overtaking the earth B. It follows the path of the sun
C. It moves in an elliptical orbit D. It travels in a circular orbit.
4.What is the best title for the passage?
A. The Recent Research into Mars B. The Surprising Motion of Mars
C. The Great Discovery on Mars D. The Wonderful Mystery of Mars
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Alone in the wilderness. Nothing but jungle. A world of shadow with the rays of light falling like blonde hair from the crowns of the giant trees. Jungle in the midday sun. Every- thing motionless. Not a sound from sky or earth. Complete silence. Only some coconuts falling, at long intervals, very far away. The world reduced to the soft touch of cool grass along my naked back, and a sweet smell of rich soil and vegetation. Stretched out with closed eyes beside my heavy burden of fruit and firewood, I enjoyed the feeling of fresh blood streaming through every part of my body and fresh jungle air filling every corner of my lungs.
Resting motionless, I could see the sun through my closed eyelids, alone in the sky, as lonely as I, and as motionless and silent as everything else. The earth had surely stopped turning and somewhere on this planet there was supposed to be roaring traffic in busy streets. What a crazy, unbelievable thought!
Another coconut fell, to make the world come to a complete standstill. I had to roll over onto my stomach to feel that at least I could move and make noises. Then I found company. A little brown ant was struggling to find its way with a bit of dry straw through the jungle of leaves and grass below my nose. I wondered if I could give the little fellow a lift with its burden, but it showed not the slightest sign of tiredness and struggled on with all six legs, head first or head last, waving its feelers energetically as if the trip had just started. Who ever saw a tired ant? Tiredness, disagreeable tiredness, is restricted to hunted animals, slaves and modern man. It is as great an effort for an office clerk to walk five blocks with a loaded briefcase as it is for a jungle-dweller to cross a valley with a goat on his back. It is as hard to get up and climb or run when you have been seated for years as it is to get up and walk when you have been in bed for months. The body is strange. Spare it, and you get really tired for almost nothing; use it, and almost nothing makes you really tired.
I rose to my feet. I had heard a horse neighing down in the valley. Above me, on the open highland plains, there were wild horses. But down in the valley there was never a horse unless there was a man on it. Somebody was making his way up the valley and my wife was alone.
1.The author mentions “coconuts falling” in the first paragraph to ________.
A. show his loneliness B. add beauty to the jungle
C. express his love of nature D. stress the absolute silence
2.How does the author feel about the ant?
A. He admired its attitude toward work.
B. He was shocked at its tireless efforts.
C. He showed sympathy for the little ant.
D. He was content to have it as a companion.
3.It can be inferred from the last paragraph that the author would probably _______.
A. work harder than before B. talk to the man on the horse
C. make his way home D. stay in the valley
4.We can learn from the passage that the author ________.
A. enjoyed being alone B. had an unforgettable adventure
C. missed his busy life in the city D. experienced a world of quietness
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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“Image is everything.” An entire industry has been built upon the precondition that image is everything, but when it comes down to it, an appealing image is not enough. If there is no substance(物质) behind the image, the product, service or person will fail at length.
First of all, one should consider how important image is in the selling of products and services. Advertising agencies have raised the art of creating an image to a state of near perfection. Public concept of that product or service is certainly managed by the images created by the advertising agencies. But if the product or service does not live up to the image that was created, the customer will be very dissatisfied and possibly ask for their money back. For example, the Arthur Andersen accounting firm had spent decades building up an image of trustworthiness. But the recent scandal (丑闻) showed that behind that image, it had dishonest business practices. Despite the previous positive image, the firm is being accused of criminal actions and it will probably not survive as a business unit. Although the image had been nearly perfect, the reality behind the image has led to the downfall of the world famous accounting firm.
Similarly, personal consultants can build up a public image for politicians and movie stars. Putting out positive news releases, making sure that only the best photographs are published, and ensuring that the person is seen in all the right places can build up a very positive image in the view of the general commons. But once again, history is filled with examples of both politicians and movie stars that fell from grace(体面) like the story of the Hollywood actor giving in to the pressures of fame and fortune. With people, just as with products and services, image is certainly important, but without positive substance behind the image, failure is close.
To summarize, it is clear that an appealing image is extremely important to success, whether that image is related to selling a product or service or to the “selling” of a person. But image is only half of the equation. What lies behind that image is every bit as important as the image itself —— the person or product must deliver on that image or there is little chance for long-term success.
1.The downfall of the Arthour Andersen accounting firm is due to ________.
A. its dishonesty in business B. its previous images
C. its bad management D. its poor service
2.Why did some famous people fall from grace?
A. Their images were not well built up
B. They failed to live up to their images.
C. They felt much pressure from the public
D. They paid little attention to fame and fortune.
3.The structure of the passage is ________.
A: Argument B: Point C: Conclusion
4.The author tries to argue that _________.
A. image creates everything
B. image is the key to success
C. truth is unlikely ever to be equalled
D. truth and image are equally important
难度: 困难查看答案及解析