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Smarter than We Thought
It's a popular belief that fish can't remember anything for longer than seven seconds.
It may seem sad to think that they don't remember what they've eaten or where they've been, and they don't recognize you or any of their friends—every moment in their lives would be like seeing the world for the first time.
But don't be so quick to feel sorry for them. A recent study has found that fish have much better memories than we used to think. In fact, certain kinds of fish can even remember events from as long as 12 days ago, BBC reported.
In the study, researchers from MacEwan University in Canada trained a kind of fish called African cichlids to go to a certain area of their tank to get food. They then waited for 12 days before putting them back in the tank again.
Researchers used computer software (软件) to monitor the fish's movements. They found that after such a long break the fish still went to the same place where they first got food. This suggested that they could remember their past experiences.
In fact, scientists had been thinking for a long time that African cichlids might have a good memory.
An earlier study showed that they behaved aggressively (攻击性地) in front of certain fish, perhaps because they remembered their past fights. But until the latest findings, there was no clear evidence (证据).
Just as a good memory can make our lives easier, it also plays an important part when a fish is trying to live in the wild.
"If fish are able to remember that a certain area has safe food, they will be able to go back to that area without putting their lives in danger," lead researcher Trevor Hamilton told Live Science.
For a long time, fish were placed far below chimpanzees (黑猩猩), dolphins and mice on the list of smart animals. But this study has given scientists a new understanding of their intelligence（智力).
So next time you are watching your pet fish from outside the tank, perhaps you should feel closer to them—they may remember who you are.
1.What is a popular belief about fish?
A.Fish can remember things for a very short time.
B.Fish can only remember part of their experiences.
C.Fish can remember things that happened 12 days ago.
D.Fish can remember things for longer than three minutes.
2.According to the passage, fish can ________with a good memory.
A.know where to escape and keep safe
B.find their enemies and fight with them
C.remember where to get food and stay alive
D.recognize their friends and help each other
3.What can we learn from the passage?
A.Our pet fish can surely remember who we are.
B.Fish are as clever as chimpanzees, dolphins and mice.
C.Clear evidence has shown certain fish can remember their past fights.
D.African cichlids can even remember events from as long as 12 days ago.
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There is a popular belief among parents that schools are no longer interested in spelling. No school I have taught in has ever ignored( 忽视) spelling or considered it unimportant as a basic skill. There are, however, different ideas about how to teach it, or how much priority(优先) it must be given over in general language development and writing ability. The problem is how to encourage a child to express himself freely and confidently in writing without holding him back with the complexities(复杂性) of spelling?
If spelling becomes the only focus of his teacher’s interest, clearly a clever child will be likely to “play safe”. He will tend to write only words that he can spell, choosing to avoid adventurous language. That’s why teachers often encourage the early use of dictionaries and pay attention to content rather than technical(技术上的) ability.
I was once shocked to read on the bottom of a sensitive piece of writing about a personalexperience: “This work is terrible! There are too many spelling mistakes and your writing is terrible”. It may have been a sharp criticism of the pupil’s technical abilities in writing, but it was also a sad reflection on the teacher who had omitted( 省略 ) to read the composition, which contained some beautiful expressions of the child’s deep feelings. The teacher was not wrong to pay attention to the mistakes, but if his priorities had centered on the child’s ideas, an expression of his disappointment with the presentation would have given the pupil more motivation to explore improvement.
1.Teachers are different in their opinions about .
A.the difficulties in teaching spelling
B.the necessity of teaching spelling
C.the complexities of the basic writing skills
D.the role of spelling in general language development
2.The underlined expression “play safe” probably means “ ”.
A.to write carefully
B.to avoid using words he/she is not sure of
C.to do as teachers say
D.to use dictionaries frequently
3.Teachers encourage the use of dictionaries so that .
A.teachers will have less trouble in correcting mistakes
B.students will have more confidence in writing
C.students will be able to express their ideas more freely
D.students will learn to be independent of teachers
4.The main idea discussed in the passage is .
A.the relationship between spelling and the content of a composition
B.the importance of developing writing skills
C.the correct way of marking compositions
D.the complexities of spelling
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There is a popular belief that goldfish only have a three-second memory. But a 15-year-old schoolboy from Adelaide has just finished an experiment to tell us that it is not true. He shows everybody that the goldfish is smarter than we think.
"I don't believe that they had a three-second memory because animals need their memory, so they build up over time a knowledge of where the food is," said Rory Stokes, a student at the Australian Science and Mathematics School.
He did the experiment in a small tank(鱼缸)of goldfish. "I decided to get a bit of red Logo and just feed them next to that. Every day I'd put it in and spread food around it." He said.
"At first they were a bit scared of it, but by the end of the three weeks, they were actually almost coming before I put the food in."
After leaving the fish alone for a week, Rory placed the red Logo block in the tank again.
"They remembered perfectly well," he said.
"They actually had a time faster than the average(平均)of the three feeds before I left."
The goldfish showed that they not only could store information, but also had the ability to get it back at a later date.
Culum Brown. a researcher at Sydney′s Macquarie University, has studied fish behavior for more than ten years.
He says his studies of Australian native fish show fish are smart animals that know how to avoid enemies and catch food like any other animal.
"The thing that I really liked about Rory′s experiment is that he not only got that classical conditioning going but the fact that he could get thorn next just to that specific coloured marker. I thought it was really good." He said.
1.Rory put a red Logo in the tank to .
A. connect food with the colour B. make the tank nicer to look at
C. feed the fish at the same place D. give the fish something to play with
2.What's the right order of Rory's experiment?
a. find a tank of goldfish b. feed the fish next to the Logo
c. leave the goldfish alone for a week d. take out the Logo
e. put a red Logo into the tank f. put the Logo back into the tank
A. adbecf B. aebdcf C. dabefc D. adebcf
3.What do the last three paragraphs tell us?
A. Fish are the cleverest animal in Australia.
B. Rory's experiment failed to meet the scientific standard.
C. Many scientists had already done the experiment before.
D. Rory's research was highly praised by experienced experts(专家).
4.What can we learn from the story?
A. Fish can become smarter with the help of red colour.
B. Scientists should learn from middle school students.
C. What everybody believes is not neceaarily true.
D. Young people are generally smarter than old ones.
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There is a popular belief that goldfish only have a three-second memory. But a 15-year-old schoolboy from Adelaide has just finished an experiment（实验）to tell us that it is not true. He shows everybody that the goldfish is smarter than we think.
“I don’t believe that they had a three-second memory because animals need their memory, so they build up over time a knowledge of where the food is,” said Roy Stokes, a student at the Australian Science and Mathematics School.
He did the experiment in small tank（鱼缸）of goldfish. “I decided to get a bit of red Logo and just feed them next to that. Every day I’d put it in and spread food around it.” He said.
“At first they were a bit scared of it, but by the end of the three weeks, they were actually almost coming before I put the food in.”
After leaving the fish alone for a week, Rory placed the red Logo block in the tank again.
“They remembered perfectly well,” he said.
“They actually had a time faster than the average of the three feeds before I left.”
The goldfish showed that not only could they store information, they also had the ability to get it back as a later date.
Culum Brown, a research fellow at Sydney’s Macquarie University, has studied fish behavior for more than ten years.
He says his studies of Australian native fish show fish were intelligent creatures that know how to avoid enemies and catch food like any other animal.
“The thing that I really liked about Rory’s experiment is he not only got that classical conditioning going but the fact that he could get them next just to that specific coloured market. I thought it was really good.” He said.
1.Rory began his research by ______.
A. discussing with his classmates B. making friends with goldfish
C. asking his teacher for advice D. questioning a popular belief
2.Rory put a red Logo in the tank to ______.
A. connect food with the color B. make the tank nicer to look at
C. feed the fish at the same place D. give the fish something to play with
3.What’s the right order of Rory’s experiment?
| a. find a tank of goldfish b. feed the fish next to the Logo c. leave the goldfish alone for a week | d. take out the Logo e. put a red Logo into the tank f. put the Logo back into the tank |
A. adbecf B aebdcf C. dabefc D. adebcf
4.What do the last three paragraphs tell us?
A. Rory’s research was highly praised by experienced experts.
B. Rory’s experiment failed to meet the scientific standard.
C. Many scientists had already done the experiment before.
D. Fish are the cleverest animal in Australia.
5.What can we learn from the story?
A. Fish can become smarter with the help of red color.
B. What everybody believes is not necessarily true.
C. Scientists should learn from middle school students.
D. Young people are generally smarter than aged ones.
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There is a popular belief that goldfish only have a three-second memory. But a 15-year-old schoolboy from Adelaide has just finished an experiment（实验）to tell us that it is not true. He shows everybody that the goldfish is smarter than we think.
“I don’t believe that they had a three-second memory because animals need their memory, so they build up over time a knowledge of where the food is,” said Roy Stokes, a student at the Australian Science and Mathematics School.
He did the experiment in small tank（鱼缸）of goldfish. “I decided to get a bit of red Logo and just feed them next to that. Every day I’d put it in and spread food around it.” He said.
“At first they were a bit scared of it, but by the end of the three weeks, they were actually almost coming before I put the food in.”
After leaving the fish alone for a week, Rory placed the red Logo block in the tank again.
“They remembered perfectly well,” he said.
“They actually had a time faster than the average of the three feeds before I left.”
The goldfish showed that not only could they store information, they also had the ability to get it back as a later date.
Culum Brown, a research fellow at Sydney’s Macquarie University, has studied fish behavior for more than ten years.
He says his studies of Australian native fish show fish were intelligent creatures that know how to avoid enemies and catch food like any other animal.
“The thing that I really liked about Rory’s experiment is he not only got that classical conditioning going but the fact that he could get them next just to that specific coloured market. I thought it was really good.” He said.
1.Rory began his research by ______.
A. discussing with his classmates B. making friends with goldfish
C. asking his teacher for advice D. questioning a popular belief
2.Rory put a red Logo in the tank to ______.
A. connect food with the color B. make the tank nicer to look at
C. feed the fish at the same place D. give the fish something to play with
3.What’s the right order of Rory’s experiment?
| a. find a tank of goldfish
b. feed the fish next to the Logo
c. leave the goldfish alone for a week | d. take out the Logo
e. put a red Logo into the tank
f. put the Logo back into the tank |
A. adbecf B aebdcf C. dabefc D. adebcf
4.What do the last three paragraphs tell us?
A. Rory’s research was highly praised by experienced experts.
B. Rory’s experiment failed to meet the scientific standard.
C. Many scientists had already done the experiment before.
D. Fish are the cleverest animal in Australia.
5.What can we learn from the story?
A. Fish can become smarter with the help of red color.
B. What everybody believes is not necessarily true.
C. Scientists should learn from middle school students.
D. Young people are generally smarter than aged ones.
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What makes humans smarter than other animals? We’ve got a bigger brain, of course. But when it comes to brains, is bigger always better?
Traditionally, scientists have thought that humans’ better intelligence（智慧）came mostly from the fact that our brains are three times bigger than those of our nearest living relatives, chimpanzees. People even used to believe that men are smarter than women because men have a little larger brains.
This, however, is not the truth. Scientists at University College London in the UK have found that brain organization, and not brain size, is the key to the advantage of human intelligence, reported Live Science.
Through millions of years of gradual development, our ancestors（祖先）were pushed to get smarter all the time so that they could meet the needs of new environments. However, holding this growing intelligence in increasingly large brains was not the best choice because bigger brains require more energy to power. “This is when reorganization may come into play,” said Christophe Soligo, a member of the London research team.
In the study, scientists looked at the brains of 17 kinds of primates（灵长目动物）, including monkeys, apes and humans. They found that in the process of gradual development, brains didn’t keep growing as a whole. Certain parts of the brain grew more than others as needed, and in this way they could make the best use of their limited brain space.
For example, when early humans were trying hard to live, the brain region（区域） which is in charge of using tools and finding food grew in size more than other regions. But in modern times, the prefrontal cortex（前额皮质）— the region in charge of social cognition (认知), moral judgments and goal-directed planning — grew more than the rest of the brain.
Think of the brain as a room. If a big room is poorly organized, it doesn’t necessarily store more things than a smaller one.
Paul Manger, a professor, explains this using the example of whales. He told Scientific American: “Whales have big brains. But if you look at the actual structure（结构）of the brain, it’s very simple. Brain size only matters if the rest of the brain is organized properly. ”
1.According to the passage, in recent human development, ________.
A.the prefrontal cortex grew most in the brain
B.human’s most regions of the brain didn’t change
C.brain became simple because the brain space is limited
D.brain kept growing in size to deal with new environments
2.The words “in charge of” in Paragraph 6 probably mean “________”.
A.similar to B.responsible for C.in need of D.with help of
3.The writer probably agrees that ________.
A.the difference between men and women has an effect on intelligence
B.the larger brains are usually organized better than the smaller ones
C.animals whose brains are organized properly can be smarter
D.the size of the brain has nothing to do with intelligence
4.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A.Is Human Brain the Biggest of All Animals’? B.Do Men have bigger Brains than Women?
C.Are Human Brains Growing as a Whole? D.Does a Bigger Brain Make you Smarter?
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Do you believe that you aren’t smarter than 3-year-old Alexis Martin, one of the youngest members of the high IQ club Mensa? Preschooler (学龄前的) Alexis’s IQ is 159, which is only one point lower than Stephen Hawking’s. Doctors say the average IQ of a person is about 100.
She learned to read at the age of 2. She reads at a fifth grade level and has taught herself Spanish on her parents’ iPad! Now, she is a member of the Mensa Club, which only accepts people with an IQ within the top two per cent of people in the world!
Alexis’ father, Ian Martin, said he first realized Alexis was special when she was 12 months old. She could recite (背诵) bedtime stories. “We’d be driving around in the car and she would recite her bedtime stories from the night before. She didn’t just recite them, and she recited them exactly.”Alexis’ father would try to trick her and say that her story went a different way, but she always corrected him. Most 12-month-old children take their first steps on their own and most 18-month-olds can only name a small number of objects and body parts, and follow simple two-step questions.
Even though Alexis is a genius (天才), her parents are faced with lots of challenges like how to teach her to make friends of her own age.
“Will she go into kindergarten early? We are kind of hesitant (迟疑的) because we do want her to get to that social world,” Ian said.
1. Alexis Martin is a girl who _____________.
A. has many hobbies B. has a high IQ
C. is good at telling stories D. likes reading
2. According to the report, Stephen Hawking’s IQ is as high as ___________.
A. 158 B. 159 C. 160 D. 101
3.Alexis Martin could recite bedtime stories at ____________.
A. the age of 2 B. the age of 1
C. one and a half years old D. the age of 3
4.What would Alexis do when her father said her bedtime stories went a different way?
A. She would refuse to listen.
B. She would try to recite it.
C. She would correct him.
D. She would laugh at it.
5.Which of the following statements about Alexis is NOT true?
A. She is accepted by the Mensa Club.
B. She has made a lot of friends.
C. She learned to read at the age of 2.
D. She learned a foreign language by herself.
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Do you believe that you aren’t smarter than 3-year-old Alexis Martin, one of the youngest members of the high IQ club Mensa?
Preschooler (学龄前的) Alexis’ IQ is 159, which is only one point lower than Stephen Hawking’s. Doctors say the average IQ of a person is about 100.
She learned to read at the age of 2. She reads at a fifth grade level and has taught herself Spanish on her parents’ iPad!
Now, she is a member of the Mensa Club, which only accepts people with an IQ within the top two per cent of people in the world!
Alexis’ father, Ian Martin, said he first realized Alexis was special when she was 12 months old. She could recite (背诵) bedtime stories. “We’d be driving around in the car and she would recite her bedtime stories from the night before. She didn’t just recite them, and she recited them exactly.”
Alexis’ father would try to trick her and say that her story went a different way, but she always corrected him.
Most 12-month-old children take their first steps on their own and most 18-month-olds can only name a small number of objects and body parts, and follow simple two-step questions.
Even though Alexis is a genius (天才), her parents are faced with lots of challenges like how to teach her to make friends of her own age.
“Will she go into kindergarten early? We are kind of hesitant (迟疑的) because we do want her to get to that social world,” Ian said.
1. Alexis Martin is a girl who .
A. has many hobbies B. has a high IQ
C. is good at telling stories D. likes reading
2. According to the report, Stephen Hawking’s IQ is as high as .
A. 158 B. 159 C. 160 D. 101
3. Alexis Martin could recite bedtime stories at .
A. the age of 2 B. the age of 1
C. one and a half years old D. the age of 3
4. What would Alexis do when her father said her bedtime stories went a different way?
A. She would refuse to listen.
B. She would try to recite it.
C. She would correct him.
D. She would laugh at it.
5. Which of the following statements about Alexis is NOT true?
A. She is accepted by the Mensa Club.
B. She has made a lot of friends.
C. She learned to read at the age of 2.
D. She learned a foreign language by herself.
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Do you believe that you aren’t smarter than 3-year-old Alexis Martin, one of the youngest members of the high IQ club Mensa? Preschooler (学龄前的) Alexis’s IQ is 159, which is only one point lower than Stephen Hawking’s. Doctors say the average IQ of a person is about 100.
She learned to read at the age of 2. She reads at a fifth grade level and has taught herself Spanish on her parents’ iPad! Now, she is a member of the Mensa Club, which only accepts people with an IQ within the top two per cent of people in the world!
Alexis’ father, Ian Martin, said he first realized Alexis was special when she was 12 months old. She could recite (背诵) bedtime stories. “We’d be driving around in the car and she would recite her bedtime stories from the night before. She didn’t just recite them, and she recited them exactly.”Alexis’ father would try to trick her and say that her story went a different way, but she always corrected him. Most 12-month-old children take their first steps on their own and most 18-month-olds can only name a small number of objects and body parts, and follow simple two-step questions.
Even though Alexis is a genius (天才), her parents are faced with lots of challenges like how to teach her to make friends of her own age.
“Will she go into kindergarten early? We are kind of hesitant (迟疑的) because we do want her to get to that social world,” Ian said.
1.Alexis Martin is a girl who _____________.
A. has many hobbies B. has a high IQ
C. is good at telling stories D. likes reading
2.According to the report, Stephen Hawking’s IQ is as high as ___________.
A. 158 B. 159 C. 160 D. 101
3.Alexis Martin could recite bedtime stories at ____________.
A. the age of 2 B. the age of 1
C. one and a half years old D. the age of 3
4.What would Alexis do when her father said her bedtime stories went a different way?
A. She would refuse to listen.
B. She would try to recite it.
C. She would correct him.
D. She would laugh at it.
5. Which of the following statements about Alexis is NOT true?
A. She is accepted by the Mensa Club.
B. She has made a lot of friends.
C. She learned to read at the age of 2.
D. She learned a foreign language by herself.
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Do you believe that you aren’t smarter than 3-year-old Alexis Martin, one of the youngest members of the high IQ club Mensa?
Preschooler (学龄前的) Alexis’ IQ is 159, which is only one point lower than Stephen Hawking’s. Doctors say the average IQ of a person is about 100.
She learned to read at the age of 2. She reads at a fifth grade level and has taught herself Spanish on her parents’ iPad!
Now, she is a member of the Mensa Club, which only accepts people with an IQ within the top two per cent of people in the world!
Alexis’ father, Ian Martin, said he first realized Alexis was special when she was 12 months old. She could recite (背诵) bedtime stories. “We’d be driving around in the car and she would recite her bedtime stories from the night before. She didn’t just recite them, and she recited them exactly.”
Alexis’ father would try to trick her and say that her story went a different way, but she always corrected him.
Most 12-month-old children take their first steps on their own and most 18-month-olds can only name a small number of objects and body parts, and follow simple two-step questions.
Even though Alexis is a genius (天才), her parents are faced with lots of challenges like how to teach her to make friends of her own age.
“Will she go into kindergarten early? We are kind of hesitant (迟疑的) because we do want her to get to that social world,” Ian said.
1.Alexis Martin is a girl who .
A. has many hobbies B. has a high IQ
C. is good at telling stories D. likes reading
2.According to the report, Stephen Hawking’s IQ is as high as .
A. 158 B. 159 C. 160 D. 101
3.Alexis Martin could recite bedtime stories at .
A. the age of 2 B. the age of 1
C. one and a half years old D. the age of 3
4.What would Alexis do when her father said her bedtime stories went a different way?
A. She would refuse to listen.
B. She would try to recite it.
C. She would correct him.
D. She would laugh at it.
5.Which of the following statements about Alexis is NOT true?
A. She is accepted by the Mensa Club.
B. She has made a lot of friends.
C. She learned to read at the age of 2.
D. She learned a foreign language by herself.