Dog owners swear that their furry best mend i...

Dog owners swear that their furry best mend is in tune with their emotions, Now it seems this sense of interspecies connection is real: dogs can smell your emotions, and adopt them as their own

We already know dogs can see and hear the signs of human emotions says Biagio D'Aniello at the University of Naples Federico II, Italy. But nobody had studied whether dogs could pick up on olfactory(嗅觉的) signals from humans.

“The role of the olfactory system has been largely undervalued, maybe because our own species is more focused on the visual system.” says D'Aniello. However, dogs 'sense of smelling is far superior to ours, D'Aniello and his colleagues tested whether dogs could really sniff out our emotions. First, human volunteers watched videos designed to induce fear, happiness or a neutral response and the team collected samples of their sweat. Next, the researchers presented these sweat samples to dogs ,and monitored their behavior and heart rates. Dogs exposed to fear smells showed more signs of stress than those sniffing happy or neutral smells. They also had higher heart rates, and made less social contact with strangers.

D'Aniello's study suggests humans can unconsciously, hijack their dogs' emotion by releasing smells .A second study suggests dogs can return the favour, using their expressive faces.

Juliane Kaminski at the University of Portsmouth, UK, and her colleagues have found that dogs' faces fare most expressive when they know people are looking at them.

The researchers introduced dogs to a human who was either looking at them or facing away and either offering food or nothing. The team analyzed how much the dogs' facial movements varied in the four situations. They found that the dogs' facial expressions varied most when the person was looking at them. Kaminski says there was no sign of a “dinner table effect”, which “would predict that dogs try and look super-cute when they want something from the humans”.

It's not clear precisely how dogs visually signal us and how we respond, says Monique Udell of Oregon State University in Corvallis. “This kind of research is needed to fully understand the nature of the human-dog relationship.”

1.How did D'Aniello's research team carry out their study on dog's ability of sniffing out humans' emotions?

A.By analyzing the sweat samples from the dogs.

B.By monitoring dogs' response Co the same videos

C.By letting the dogs watch the volunteers 'expressive faces.

D.By watching the dogs' reactions to the given sweat samples.

2.The underlined word "hijack" probably means?

A.Study. B.Control.

C.Find. D.Display,

3.What can we infer from the second study?

A.Dinner-table effect really exists.

B.Dogs are very sensitive to human attention.

C.Dogs showed no facial expression when offered nothing

D.Dogs' facial expressions vary most when they want attention.

4.What is still puzzling scientists according to the passage?

A.How dogs react to human smells.

B.How dogs respond to humans 'attention.

C.How dogs hear and see the signs of humans' emotions.

D.How dogs communicate with humans by the sense of slightly.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Dog owners now have a little help understanding their furry friends . A new device called Bow-Lingual “translates” dog barks into English , Korea or Japanese.

Bow-Lingual’s Japanese inventors spent much time and money analyzing dog barks . They found that dog noises can be broken down into six different emotions : happiness , sadness , frustration , anger , assertion and desire .

Part of the Bow-Lingual device hangs on the dog’s collar . The other part is a handle-held unit for the owner . When the dogs barks , the unit displays translated phrases .

Some people have scoffed at Bow-Lingual. “Who would pay US$ 120 to read a dog’s mind?” they ask .

But those who have purchased Bow-Lingual praise the device . Pet owner Keiko Egawa , of Japan , says it helps her empathize with her dog , Harry . “Before we go to the park , he always says he wants to play,” says Egawa , “and after a walk , he always says he is hungry.”

Bow –Lingual is not yet available in Chinese . So you’d better keep studying Studio Classroom , or soon your dog may know more English than you do !

1.This passage is mainly talking about ________ .

2.Which of the following sentences is TRUE according to the passage ?

3.What does “scoffed at” mean in the 3rd paragraph ?

4.How do you understand the sentence “Bow-Lingual is not yet available in Chinese” in the last paragraph ?

5.The writer of this passage is most likely to be ________ .

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Dog owners now have a little help understanding their furry friends．A new device（装置） called Bow-Lingual “translates” dog barks into English, Korean or Japanese．Bow-Lingual Japanese inventors spent much time and money analyzing dog barks．They found that dog noises can be broken down into six different emotions: happiness, sadness, frustration, anger, assertion and desire．

Part of the Bow-Lingual device hangs on the dog’s collar．The other part is a handle-held unit for the owner．When the dog barks, the unit displays translated phrases．

Some people have scoffed at Bow-Lingual．“Who would pay $120 to read a dog’s mind?” they ask．

But those who have purchased（购买） Bow-Lingual praise the device．Pet owner Keiko Egawa, of Japan, says it helps her sympathize（同情） with her dog Harry．“Before we go to the park, he always says he wants to play,” says Egawa, “and after a walk, he always says he is hungry．”

Bow-Lingual is not yet available（可用的） in Chinese．So you’d better keep studying Studio Classroom, or soon your dog may know more English than you do!

1.This passage is mainly talking about _____．

A．Bow-Lingual’s inventors           B．dog barks and their different emotions

C．talking dogs                      D．a little help for dog owners

2.Which of the following sentences is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Dog owners now can understand their dogs better．

B．Bow-Lingual enables dogs to talk in English, Korean or Japanese．

C．People who have used Bow-Lingual say it helps them better understand their dogs．

D．More and more Chinese dog owners would keep studying Studio Classroom in order to know more English than their dogs．

3.What does “scoffed at” mean in the fourth paragraph?

A．Shouted at．                    B．Questioned about．

C．Laughed at．                   D．Doubted about．

4.The writer of this passage is most likely to be _____．

A．a reporter             B．a dog owner

C．an advertiser                D．an expert on dog barks

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Ready or not, here they come: Scientists who played hide-and-seek with rats found that their furry subjects seemed to love the game- and they were remarkably good at it.

The researchers taught six adolescent male rats how to play a one-on-one version of hide-and-seek. They equipped a large room with cardboard barriers and small containers to serve as hiding places for humans and rats, respectively. The game started when the rat was placed in a small box in the middle of the room. If the rat was the “seeker,” the scientist would hide and then remotely open the box. If the rat was the “hider the scientist would crouch (蹲伏) by the box when the rat came out. This prompted the little rodent to running quickly for cover. All six rats learned how to be the seeker. Five of them were able to handle hiding as well.

Compared with something like playful wrestling, hide-and-seek is more complex for several reasons. It requires an understanding of the rules, a clear grasp of players’ distinct roles and the ability to assume different roles on different rounds. This unconventional experiment sheds light on the sophisticated sense of play in these tiny rodents, and also hints at the evolutionary usefulness of this type of play.

Peggy Mason, a neurobiologist (神经生物学家) at the University of Chicago, said that she was most impressed by the discovery that the rats didn’t just learn hide and seek—they wanted to play it. Play probably helps young animals learn how to socially interact, Mason said. She pointed to evidence that when rodents are prevented from playing during early development, they don’t grow into normal adults. Instead, they become anxious, they don’t play well with others and they aren’t great parents.

1.What can we know about the experiment?

A.Rats do better than other creatures in hide-and-seek.

B.Rats may enjoy themselves in hide-and-seek.

C.Rats prefer hide-and-seek to other games.

D.Rats may be subject to humans in hide-and-seek.

2.What may drive the rat to hurriedly hide in the experiment?

A.The scientist’s getting close.

B.Potential danger out of the box.

C.Its sense of safety under the cover.

D.Other rats’ call for help.

3.Which of the following best describes hide-and-seek?

A.Unique B.Outdated

C.Easy D.Demanding

4.What may be a possible cause of a poor rat parent?

A.Deep anxiety over their kids’ growth.

B.Unwillingness to get on well with their kids.

C.A lack of confidence in their kids.

D.Absence of play in their early life.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Most dog owners are convinced that their four-legged friends know exactly what they mean when they use certain words like sit，stay or treat.However，researchers have always wondered whether dogs really understand human speech or if they rely on other information to get the meaning.For example，does the word“fetch”form a picture of a stick or ball in the dog’s mind，or does the dog bring back the object based on the owner’s voice or gesture? A new study by scientists at Atlanta’s Emory University seems to indicate that“man’s best friend”does indeed know what the owner is saying.

The researchers began by asking the owners of twelve dogs of various kinds to train their pets to identify two toys of different materials，such as a toy animal and a ball.Once the dogs had mastered the task，they took turns inside a special scanner.The owners then tested their dog’s language skill by first calling out the names of the toys they had been trained to recognize and then saying meaningless words such as“bobbu”and“bodmick”while holding up random objects the dogs hadn’t seen before.

The scans suggested that the parts of the dogs’ brains responsible for processing of sounds showed different brain patterns when they heard words they were familiar with，compared with the ones they had never heard before.While that was not enough to prove that the dogs were picturing their toys when they heard the word，it did indicate some sort of recognition.The researchers believe this is an important step forward in understanding how dogs process language.

Even more interesting was that the dog’s brains showed a higher level of neural(神经)activity at the sound of unknown words.This is the exact opposite of what happens in human brains，which get more active at the sound of familiar words.The researchers say the dogs may become cheerful at the sound of new words to try to understand them in the hope of delighting their masters.“Dogs want to please their owners，and perhaps also receive praise or food，”says Empty neuroscientist Gregory Burns，senior author of the study.

However，though your pet may understand human speech，the scientists recommend using visual signals and smell for training.“When people want to teach their dog a trick，they often use spoken command because that’s what humans prefer，”Prichard says.“From the dog’s view，however，a visual command might be more effective，helping the dog learn the trick faster.”

1.What’s the purpose of the new study?

A.To convince dog owners to understand their dogs.

B.To advise dog owners to treat their dogs kindly.

C.To prove dogs follow owners’order by listening.

D.To test out how dogs get information from owners.

2.What does the author intend to do in paragraph 2?

A.Inform the result of the research. B.State the process of the research.

C.Stress the importance of the research. D.Introduce the subjects of the research.

3.How do human brains and dog brains react to words ?

A.Human brains become active at unfamiliar words.

B.Dog brains become delighted at unfamiliar words.

C.Human brains are not sensitive to familiar words.

D.Dog brains show no response to familiar words.

4.What do scientists advise the owners to do in dog training?

A.Give dogs oral command. B.Teach dog new tricks.

C.Involve sight and smell. D.Encourage faster learning.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Monitoring the mood of a pet dog could be used as an early warning sign that an elderly owner is struggling to cope, a new report has claimed.

Researchers placed movement sensors (探测器) on dogs to track their behaviour and identified 17 distinct activities, including chewing, barking, sitting and digging.

This allowed them to map the normal behaviour of a healthy, happy dog, which means any changes can be monitored and could indicate an issue with their owner.

Nils Hammerla, part of the team from Newcastle University, said, “Humans and dogs have lived together in close relationships for thousands of years, which has led to strong emotional and social mutual bonds.”

“A dog’s physical and emotional dependence on their owner means that their well-being is likely to reflect that of their owner. Any changes such as the dog being walked less often, perhaps not being fed regularly, or simply demonstrating “unhappy” behaviour could be an early indicator for families that an older relative needs help. This is the first system of its kind which allows us to remotely monitor a dog’s behaviour in its natural setting.”

The team of academics, who presented their findings at the 2013 UbiComp conference in Zurich, created a hi-tech, waterproof (防水的) dog collar for the study.

Dr Cas Ladha, who led the study, said: “A lot of our research is focused on developing intelligent systems that can help older people to live independently for longer. But developing a system that reassures family and carers that an older relative is well without intruding on (侵犯) the individual’s privacy is difficult. This is just the first step but the idea behind this research is that it would allow us to support people without the need for cameras.”

A range of dogs was used for the study, as the team needed to map distinct behaviours that correlated between different breeds.

1.From the text, we know that Nils Hammerla ____________.

A. led the study and identified 17 activities of dogs

B. thinks some activities of dogs can reflect senior owners’ health

C. studied the relationship between humans and animals

D. developed a hi-tech, waterproof dog collar

2.The underlined word “reassure” in Paragraph 7 probably means ____________.

A. protect　　　　　     B. comfort

C. warn　　　　　　     D. recognize

3.Which of the following is an advantage of the intelligent system mentioned in the text?

A. It can indicate that people aren’t well.

B. It can identify different activities of dogs.

C. It monitors an elderly owner without disturbing his privacy.

D. It lets people see the dog’s behavior clearly.

4.Which of the following could be the best title for the text?

A. Dogs’ mood can be an indicator of owners’ health

B. Strong bonds between dogs and their senior owners

C. Signs that your older relative needs help

D. A special way of taking care of the old

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

My mother spent her childhood with her father on their farm in the US. She learned how to mend fences, plow fields, and make cheese. And she learned farm life doesn't offer ______　　 rewards, but if you stick with it, the effort and the long days ______．

My grandpa spent his later years living on a comer of the ______, named Cherry Ridge, where they ______ riding horses together every Saturday before he died in 2012.

Since that time, the farm has ______ into Cherry Ridge Therapeutic Learning Programs, a center for learning, horseback riding and companionship.

"I am a 'road scholar', learning in an experiential way," Mom told me. "I feel I was ______　 with eyes to see the needs of a(n) ______ spirit," she added. She has partnered with a ______　　 called Working to Empower Students Together (WEST), which helps young people with learning disabilities, emotional and behavioral challenges, or unstable home environments.

Mom's latest project, the Farm Day Grief Camp, was ______ out of her grieving after the　　　 ______ of my grandpa.

"I'm an adult woman who lost my ______ only six years ago," Mom said. "There is nothing　　　 ______ than nature and animals to help with the ______ process." The camp's first visitors were five kids mourning the loss of a 7-year-old who died of cancer. ______ included painting and recalling the child's favorite things; and a balloon launch they called Sentiments to Heaven.

"Each camper wrote one thing they wished they could ______ with their departed（去世的）loved one on their ______," Mom-said. Children living with physical disabilities are also ______ at Cherry Ridge. Recently, a student in a wheelchair smiled ear-to-ear as he led the farm's mini horses around.

Mom's vision ______ children, ensuring the lessons she learned on the farm will be ______　　 for years to come. I know my grandpa would be ______.

1.A. good　　 B. real　　 C. different　　 D. instant

2.A. run out　　 B. come back　　 C. go by　　 D. pay off

3.A. farm　　 B. school　　 C. town　　 D. country

4.A. imagined　　 B. avoided　　 C. enjoyed　　 D. missed

5.A. developed　　 B. divided　　 C. looked　　 D. bumped

6.A. unable　　 B. confused　　 C. gifted　　 D. annoyed

7.A. happy　　 B. curious　　 C. determined　　 D. hurt

8.A. course　　 B. program　　 C. game　　 D. product

9.A. born　　 B. ready　　 C. found　　 D. grown

10.A. illness　　 B. trouble　　 C. loss　　 D. failure

11.A. mom　　 B. dad　　 C. husband　　 D. child

12.A. better　　 B. worse　　 C. easier　　 D. stranger

13.A. learning　　 B. thinking　　 C. relaxing　　 D. grieving

14.A. Trainings　　 B. Activities　　 C. Methods　　 D. Rules

15.A. share　　 B. agree　　 C. play　　 D. provide

16.A. painting　　 B. balloon　　 C. door　　 D. book

17.A. reliable　　 B. upset　　 C. cautious　　 D. welcome

18.A. protects　　 B. challenges　　 C. inspires　　 D. questions

19.A. abandoned　　 B. changed　　 C. preserved　　 D. recognized

20.A. worried　　 B. proud　　 C. thankful　　 D. surprised

高三英语完形填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

In my opinion, keeping dogs well ________ up is advisable for dog owners.

A．to tie　     B．being tied

C．tied　     D．to be tied

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

Sports shoes that work out whether their owner has done enough exercise to warrant time in front of the television have been devised in the UK.

The shoes — named Square Eyes — contain an electronic pressure sensor and a tiny computer chip to record how many steps the wearer has taken in a day. A wireless transmitter(传话器) passes the information to a receiver connected to a television, and this decides how much evening viewing time the wearer deserves, based on the day’s efforts.

The design was inspired by a desire to fight against the rapidly ballooning waistlines among British teenagers, says Gillian Swan, who developed Square Eyes as a final year design project at Brunel University to London, UK. “We looked at current issues and childhood overweight really stood out,” she says. “And I wanted to tackle that with my design.”

Once a child has used up their daily allowance gained through exercise, the television automatically switches off. And further time in front of the TV can only be earned through more steps.

Swan calculated how exercise should translate to television time using the recommended daily amounts of both. Health experts suggest that a child take 12,000 steps each day and watch no more than two hours of television. So, every 100 steps recorded by the Square Eyes shoes equals precisely one minute of TV time.

Existing pedometers （计步器） normally clip onto a belt or slip into a pocket and keep count of steps by measuring sudden movement. Swan says these can be easily tricked into recording steps through shaking. But her shoe has been built to be harder for lazy teenagers to cheat. “It is possible, but it would be a lot of effort,” she says. “That was one of my main design considerations.”

51.According to Swan, the purpose of her design project is to ________.

A.keep a record of the steps of the wearer

B.deal with overweight among teenagers

C.enable children to resist the temptation of TV

D.prevent children from being tricked by TV programs

52.Which of the following is true of Square Eyes shoes?

A.They regulate a child’s evening TV viewing time.

B.They determine a child’s daily pocket money.

C.They have raised the hot issue of overweight.

D.They contain information of the receiver.

53.What is stressed（强调）by health experts in their suggestion?

A.The exact number of steps to be taken.

B.The precise number of hours spent on TV.

C.The proper amount of daily exercise and TV time.

D.The way of changing steps into TV watching time.

54.Compared with other similar products, the new design ________.

A.makes it difficult for lazy teenagers to cheat

B.counts the wearer’s steps through shaking

C.records the sudden movement of the wearer

D.sends teenagers’ health data to the receiver

55.Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

A.Smart Shoes Decide on Television Time               B.Smart Shoes Guarantee More Exercise

C.Smart Shoes Measure Time of Exercise               D.Smart Shoes Stop Childhood Overweight

高三英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析

Sports shoes that work out whether their owner has done enough exercise to warrant(保证；授权) time in front of the television have been invented in the UK.

The shoes — named Square Eyes — contain an electronic pressure sensor and a tiny computer chip to record how many steps the wearer has taken in a day. A wireless transmitter(传话器) passes the information to a receiver connected to a television, and this decides how much evening viewing time the wearer deserves, based on the day’s efforts.

The design was inspired by a desire to fight against the rapidly ballooning waistlines among British teenagers, says Gillian Swan, who developed Square Eyes as a final year design project at Brunel University in London, UK. “We looked at current issues and childhood overweight really stood out,” she says. “And I wanted to deal with that with my design.”

Once a child has used up their daily allowance gained through exercise, the television automatically switches off. And further time in front of the TV can only be earned through more steps.

Swan calculated how exercise should translate to television time using the recommended daily amounts of both. Health experts suggest that a child take 12,000 steps each day and watch no more than two hours of television. So, every 100 steps recorded by the Square Eyes shoes equals exactly one minute of TV time.

Existing pedometers(计步器) normally clip(夹在) onto a belt or slip into a pocket and keep count of steps by measuring sudden movement. Swan says these can be easily tricked into recording steps through shaking. But her shoe has been built to be harder for lazy teenagers to cheat. “It is possible, but it would be a lot of effort,” she says. “That was one of my main design considerations.”

1.According to Swan, the purpose of her design project is to ________.

A. keep a record of the steps of the wearer

B. deal with overweight among teenagers

C. enable children to resist the temptation of TV

D. prevent children from being tricked by TV programs

2.Which of the following is true of Square Eyes shoes?

A. They regulate a child’s evening TV viewing time.

B. They determine a child’s daily pocket money.

C. They have raised the hot issue of overweight.

D. They contain information of the receiver.

3.What is stressed by health experts in their suggestion?

A. The exact number of steps to be taken.

B. The accurate number of hours spent on TV.

C. The proper amount of daily exercise and TV time.

D. The way of changing steps into TV watching time.

4.Compared with other similar products, the new design ________.

A. sends teenagers’ health data to the receiver

B. counts the wearer’s steps through shaking.

C. records the sudden movement of the wearer

D. makes it difficult for lazy teenagers to cheat

高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析