According to new research from the University of Cambridge in England, sheep are able to recognize human faces from photographs.
The farm animals, who are social and have large brains, were previously known to be able to recognize one another, as well as familiar humans. However, their ability to recognize human faces from photos alone is novel.
The recent study, the results of which were published in the journal Royal Society; Open Science, show the woolly creatures could be trained to recognize still images of human faces, including those of former President Barack Obama and actress Emma Watson.
Initially, the sheep were trained to approach certain images by being given food rewards. Later, they were able to recognize the images for which they had been rewarded. The sheep could even recognize images of faces shown at an angle, though their ability to do so declined by about 15 percent—the same rate at which a human’s ability to perform the same task declines,
“Anyone who has spent time working with sheep will know that they are intelligent and individual animals who are able to recognize their handlers.” said Professor Jenny Morton, who led the Cambridge study. “We’ve shown with our study that sheep have advanced face-recognition abilities, close to those of humans and monkeys.”
Recognizing faces is one of he most important social skills for human beings, and some disorders of the brain, including Huntington’s disease, affect this ability.
“Sheep are long-lived and have brains that are similar in size and complexity to those of some monkeys. That means they can be useful models to help us understand disorders of the brain, such as Huntington’s disease that develop over a long time and affect cognitive (认识的) abilities. Our study gives us another way to monitor how these abilities change.” Morton said.
1.According to the new research, what’s unusual about sheep?
A. They have large brains.
B. They can recognize their owners.
C. They can tell animals from humans.
D. They can recognize human faces from photographs.
2.How did the researchers train the sheep?
A. By giving food rewards.
B. By showing photos of famous people.
C. By guiding them to follow their handlers.
D. By showing photos of humans and monkeys by tums.
3.What can be inferred from the passage?
A. Sheep have a higher face-recognition ability than monkeys.
B. The new discovery is of great benefit to the study of cognitive ability changes.
C. The sheep’s face-recognition ability may prevent some disorders of the brain.
D. The sheep’s face-recognition ability stays the same when shown photos at any angle.
4.What’s the best title of the passage?
A. A Wonderful Scientist.
B. The Life of Sheep.
C. A New Discovery about Sheep.
D. How Sheep Recognize Each Other.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
假设你是李华，你的美国朋友Tom 发来邮件想了解中国的茶文化。请你给他回封邮件，内容包括:
1. 茶文化的悠久历史:
2. 茶与文学(唐代“茶圣”陆羽写了第一本关于茶的书《茶经》);
3. 茶与健康。
注意:1. 词数100左右;
2. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
3. 参考词汇: 《茶经》Cha Jing 茶圣Tea Saint
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难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Do you usually feel you’re working hard but still can’t reach your study goals? Here are some quick tips to help you study better.
Study with a partner or in groups
Rather than living in a cave with your nose in the books all day, grab a friend from your class and study with him. 1.
Step into your teacher’s shoes
Ask yourself “If I were the teacher, what would I put on the test?”You have probably experienced a lot of your teacher’s tests and quizzes by now. 2.Teachers have specific types of information that they want you to learn. The structure is usually the same.
Paint pictures on the paper
You can build your knowledge structure in the form of pictures. It’s harder to remember each piece of a puzzle individually than it is to recall the completed picture. 3.
4.
A hungry brain is an ineffective one. Your brain needs the proper nutrients to keep it going. Because of this, what you eat and drink also play a huge role in how sharp your brain is. Healthy food provide nutrients to your brain cells to keep them energized,.
Take breaks to relax your brain
Your brain is like a muscle. It can be also tired if you overwork it, 5.If you divide studying into 15 to 30 minutes blocks with quick breaks in between, your brain will feel refreshed, grateful and ready for the next challenge you throw at.
A. Feed your brain from time to time.
B. It needs exercise to make it stronger.
C. Relax your brain by eating and drinking.
D. You’d better learn from them for the next test.
E. It’s necessary to have a long holiday and have nice food,
F. Find ways to connect what you are learning to real life or to other concepts.
G. Group studying helps you to engage and process the information more deeply
难度: 简单查看答案及解析
Two summers ago I was about to tum fifty and wanted to do something I’d never done before. My daughter Bailey thought skydiving (跳伞) would be perfect for me. I can promise you that of all the things I was thinking of doing, jumping out of an airplane never came close to making the list. As I age, I seem to have developed a growing fear of heights.
After several requests from my daughter, I finally said yes and she looked almost shocked. I told a friend what we were doing, then we set off. We had a 3-hour drive to the jump site. We drove through some beautiful countryside, but then we passed a small cemetery (基地) Then we passed another cemetery and another one. I asked if so many people died jumping out of airplanes in this area that they needed to keep building more cemeteries to bury all the bodies!
As we squeezed into the little plane, I tightly held the right hand of my partner Ronnie. The short ride to altitude was cruel for me. As Bailey stepped to the door, she looked back at me and said “Dad, I’m sure you can do it!” I said yes as she rolled out, I immediately looked behind me and said “RONNIEI AM NOT FEELING GOOD” He said, “It’s going to be great. Besides, it’s too late now anyway”, any we jumped out.
The next five minutes were some of the most exciting of my life. It was so beautiful and peaceful—except for the parts where I was screaming. I prayed to God for the parachute(降落伞)to open, but mostly I told Him how thankful I was for my life and being with me through good and bad.
1.What’s the author’s main purpose of mentioning cemeteries in Paragraph 2?
A. To tell how determined he was.
B. To show how rough the trip was.
C. To express how scared he was then.
D. To prove how lonely the jump site was.
2.What did Bailey do for her father before skydived?
A. She played a joke with him.
B. She gave him encouragement.
C. She comforted him constantly.
D. She offered him useful guidance.
3.How did the author behave after jumping out of the airplane?
A. He enjoyed himself.
B. He stayed quite calm.
C. He breathed out in relief.
D. He kept fearing for safety.
4.What can be inferred about the author from the text?
A. He skydived for the first time at the age of 48.
B. He jumped at his daughter’s recommendation.
C. The older he gets, the less fearful of heights he is.
D. Never had he considered attempting to do skydiving.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
The booking notes of the play “The Age of Innocence”:
Price: $10
DISCOUNTS;
Saver: $2 off any seat booked any time in advance for performances from Monday to Thursday. Savers are available for children under 16, over 60s and full-time students.
Supersaver: Half-price seats are available for people with disabilities and one companion. It is advisable to book in advance. There is a maximum of eight wheelchair spaces available and one wheelchair space will be held until an hour before the show.
Standby: Best available seats are on sale for $6 from one hour before the performance for people eligible (suitable) for Saver and Supersaver discounts and thirty minutes before for all other customers.
Group Bookings: There is a ten percent discount for parties of twelve or more.
School: School parties of ten or more can book $6 standby tickets in advance and will get every tenth ticket free.
Please note: We are unable to exchange tickets or refund (退款) money unless a performance is cancel led due to unforeseen circumstances.
BOOKING:
There are four easy ways to book seats for performance:
-In person: The Box Office is open Monday to Saturday, 10a. m.- 8p. m.
-By telephone: Ring 01324976 to reserve your tickets or to pay by credit card (Visa, MasterCard and Amex accepted).
-By post: Simply complete the booking form and return it to Global Theatre Box Office.
-On line: Complete the on-line booking form at www. Satan fiedtheatre. com.
1.According to the notes, who can get$2 off?
A. A 55-year-old woman.
B. An 18-year-old teenager.
C. A 20-year-old full-time college student.
D. The people who book the tickets on Fridays.
2.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. There are only 8 wheelchair spaces in the theatre.
B. A group of 12 persons can get 10 percent discount.
C. The audience can’t refund money if the performance is on show.
D. A school party of 15 students should pay $90 for the standby tickets.
3.What kind of tickets are the cheapest?
A. The standby tickets for school parties often or more.
B. The tickets for saver discount.
C. The tickets for group booking.
D. The standby tickets.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Phone batteries rarely last a full day anymore, so carrying compact chargers (小巧的充电器) is becoming normal. But many of these so-called portable devices are heavy, thick and inconvenient—until Solar Paper is developed.
Chicago engineers have designed a super-thin, lightweight panel (面板) called Solar Paper capable of charging an iPhone in two hours and many panels can be combined to boost its power. It was created by Chicago-based Yolk. After raising more than $1million online for the production, it is now available to purchase throughout the country. It comes in four versions—2.5W, 5W, 7.5W and 10w—depending on the output needed for various devices. And these different models are created by combining individual 2. 5W panels together.
A 2.5W panel will charge an iPhone 6 or Galaxy S3 in five hours. The 5W version charges the same devices but cuts changing time to two hours or three hours if it’s cloudy. The 7.5W model Solar Paper changes the devices in the same time as the 5W version but produces more energy when it is cloudy. The 10W version is ideal(理想的) for the iPad Air 2, and will charge a device in 2.5 hours. Each individual panel measures 3.5 inches× 6.7 inches×0.6inches, weighs 60g and 1.5mm thick.
Other features include a unique automatic reset (重置) function which stops and starts the Paper charging when cast with a shadow or placed in sunlight. Other solar chargers require you to re-plug the wire at these conditions. It also has a low-energy LCD screen that displays the amount of power the Solar Paper produces in real time.
1.What does the underlined word “boost” in the second paragraph mean?
A. Balance.
B. Increase
C. Possess.
D. Reduce.
2.How is Solar Paper different from other solar chargers?
A. It can be carried wherever you go.
B. It can produce more electricity.
C. It can produce power even if it’s rainy.
D. It can get reconnected automatically after a shadow.
3.What is the author’s purpose in writing the text?s
A. To introduce the strengths of solar chargers.
B. To praise Chicago engineers for their efforts.
C. To introduce a new type of solar charger.
D. To advise producers to make phone batteries last long.
4.What can we know about the Solar Paper?
A. Yolk started an online activity to fund production of Solar Paper.
B. Customers are able to buy Solar Paper all over the world.
C. The 7. 5W version is the best choice if users charge an iPad.
D. The LCD screen shows how much current an iPhone uses.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
A woman professor was giving a lesson to her students on _______management. As she raised a glass of water, everyone in the class _______they would be asked the “half-empty or half-full” question. _______, that was not the case. With a smile on her face, she asked the students, “How much do you think this glass of water weighs?”
Answers called out _______from eight to twenty ounces(盎司).
She quieted the students down and then replied, “The absolute weight doesn’t _______. But it count how long you hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it is OK. If I hold it for an hour, I will have an ache in my _______. If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb. In each case, the _______of the glass of water doesn’t change, but the _______I hold it, the heavier it becomes. why?”
Lost in _______, all the students kept silent and listened to the professor carefully.
“Our stresses and _______in life are like that glass of water. If we _______our burdens all the time, sooner or later, we will feel exhausted, even unable to _______.”
_______you have to do in put all your burdens down , as _______in the evening as possible. Don’t carry them through the evening into the night; by doing this, we can get _______next morning and are _______to move forward.
More often than not, life gets terrible when we _______too much. And the moment you _______your burdens, you’ll find yourself feeling so much more relaxed.
So rather than being upset and feeling _______for yourself, start doing something about it. After all, life is too short to _______yourself to anything that is not making you happy.
1.A. class B. emotion C. time D. stress
2.A. wondered B. agreed C. expected D. argued
3.A. Meanwhile B. However C. Anyhow D. Therefore
4.A. ranged B. replied C. read D. exchanged
5.A. exist B. change C. increase D. matter
6.A. arm B. head C. leg D. stomach
7.A. shape B. position C. weight D. size
8.A. better B. longer C. deeper D. further
9.A. fantasy B. discussion C. dreams D. thought
10.A. doubts B. joys C. worries D. surprises
11.A. cover B. carry C. hide D. show
12.A. pick up B. work out C. carry on D. catch on
13.A. Something B. All C. Nothing D. anything
14.A. eagerly B. naturally C. quickly D. early
15.A. refreshed B. entertained C. depressed D. amazed
16.A. anxious B. able C. passive D. ambitious
17.A. fear B. rest C. think D. get
18.A. let go of B. look down on C. catch up with D. put up with
19.A. happy B. greedy C. disappointed D. sorry
20.A. abandon B. treat C. drive D. help
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
假如英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌的以下作文，文中共有10 处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加，删除或修改。
增加: 在缺词处加一个漏字符号(/\),并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除: 把多余的词用斜线(\) 划掉。
修改: 在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意: 1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词:
2.只允许修改10处，多者(从第11处起) 不计分。
Last month our school held a Reading Week, which aim was to encourage the students to read wide. During the week, book lovers recommended a plenty of good books suitable for high school students. In addition, two famous writers are invited to give lectures on how to understand and appreciate literary work. The poetry reading contest was another amazed activity for the students to bring his talent into full play. all the contestants took turns read their favorite poems to the audience. We all find the Reading Week very benefit. It has not only enriched our school life, and helped us form the habit of reading.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析