Methods of training animals have changed greatly in recent years. Zoo keepers have always had problems getting the animals to leave their cages in order for the cages to be cleaned, and also training them to move indoors when appropriate. Another problem was that many of the large animals became listless and bored. In the last twenty years, scientists have done research on dolphins and whales, training them to obey commands. The scientists found they could get animals to obey by rewarding them with food and affection when they responded correctly.
Proper training allows the animals to receive the care they need. It was very difficult to get untrained animals, especially the larger ones, to stay still when they needed medical attention. Now they can be trained, on command, to remain still and even to allow blood samples to be taken and shots administered. All this is accomplished through positive reinforcement, without the use of any force. Affection training, as this process is called, has been used with great success on a wide variety of zoo animals. Animal behavior experts have taught zoo keepers to train bears, tigers, monkeys, and many other species to behave in a way that provides for better animal-keeper interaction. This training also keeps the animals from becoming bored and inactive.
Although some people proclaim(谴责) that this training is inhumance and cruel to animals, results have shown that captive(猎获的)animals who previously were not doing well flourish under the new training procedures.The word “listless” means _______.
| A．countless | B．obedient |
| C．inactive | D．mysterious |
Which of the following is valid conclusion based on this passage?
| A．It is safe to pet any animal. |
| B．Many animals respond favorably to rewards and affection. |
| C．Animals in the wild can be trained. |
| D．Animals should not be kept in zoos. |
The writer's purpose is to _______.
| A．persuade people not to feed animals in the zoo |
| B．show how easy it is to train animals |
| C．explain method of training animals through rewards |
| D．criticize zoo keepers |
Which of the following is an opinion?
| A．Zoo keepers had problems in getting animals to leave their cages. |
| B．Training is cruel to animals. |
| C．Animals obey commands if they are trained to do so. |
| D．Many animals can be trained, on commands, to remain still. |
Next time you hear a funny joke you’d better not laugh too hard. According to a paper published by the British Medical Journal, laughter isn’t always the best medicine. Sometimes it can even be harmful. Professor Robin Ferner from the University of Birmingham, one of the authors of the study, found that bad things could happen to people who laughed too much. He says: “We found people with heartbeat problems which had stopped their heart, we found people who had fainted(昏倒), and we found people who’d dislocated their jaws or burst their lungs.”
It seems that laughing can be no laughing matter. But it’s not all doom and gloom. Professor Ferner says there are benefits to laughing when you want to lose weight, for example. Yes, that’s right: laugh and be slimmer! Professor Ferner explains that: “You use energy when you laugh, you move your diaphragm(横膈膜), you expand your lungs, and both those things can be helpful.”
According to the research, laughing for a quarter of an hour can burn up to 40 calories, and if you laughed all day you’d use up about 2,000 calories, which is what most people consume in a day. But don’t do that or you might end up with a painful jaw. Ouch! Or you might find people looking at you in a funny way.
But I don’t want to finish this article leaving you feeling desperate. Laughter comes naturally for most of us. Babies begin to laugh at around 3-6 months. So give in to your sense of humor and keep smiling. Life is short anyway.Laughing too much may cause the following harmful results EXCEPT_________.
| A．diaphragm movement |
| B．heart stop |
| C．lung burst |
| D．jaw dislocation |
The underlined phrase “doom and gloom” in Paragraph 2 probably means_______.
| A．nervous | B．funny |
| C．painful | D．hopeless |
How many calories can you use if you laugh for half a day?
| A．About 40. | B．About 2,000. |
| C．About 1,000. | D．About 2,040. |
What is the author’s attitude towards laughing in the last paragraph?
| A．Uninterested. | B．Favorable. |
| C．Worried. | D．Disapproving. |
The Cuban iguana(大蜥蜴) is a species of lizard（蜥蜴） of the iguana family． It is the largest of the West Indian rock iguanas, one of the most endangered groups of lizards． This species with red eyes and a thick tail is one of the largest lizards in the Caribbean．
The Cuban iguana is primarily herbivorous; 95% of its diet consists of the leaves, flowers and fruits from as many as 30 plant species, including the seaside rock bush and various grasses． However, Cuban iguanas occasionally consume animal matter, and individuals have been observed eating the dead flesh of birds, fish and crabs, The researchers wrote that quite a few people on Isla Magueyes could have caused this incident．
The Cuban iguana is distributed throughout the rocky southern coastal areas of mainland Cuba and its surrounding islands with a wild population booming on Isla Magueyes, Puerto Rico． It is also found on the Cayman Islands of Little Cayman and Cayman Brac, where a separate subspecies occurs． Females guard their nest sites and often nest in sites half destroyed by Cuban crocodiles． To avoid the attack from them, the Cuban iguana often makes its home within or near prickly-pear cacti （仙人掌）．
In general the species is in decline, more quickly on the mainland than on the outlying islands． One of the reasons for their decline is habitat destruction caused by the over consuming of farm animals, housing development, and the building of tourist resorts on the beaches where the animals prefer to build their nests． Although the wild population is in decline, the numbers of iguanas have been sharply increased as a result of captive-breeding（圈养） and other conservation programs．The underlined word "herbivorous" （Paragraph 2） probably means ．
| A．dangerous | B．gentle |
| C．flesh-eating | D．plant-eating |
Why does the Cuban iguana build its nest near prickly-pear cacti?
| A．To keep itself cool． |
| B．To avoid crocodiles' attack． |
| C．To stay away from people． |
| D．To get the food easily． |
How many reasons are mentioned for the habitat destruction?
| A．Two． | B．Five． | C．Four． | D．Three． |
What's the author's purpose of writing the text?
| A．To give us a brief introduction to the Cuban iguana． |
| B．To show he is concerned about the Cuban iguana． |
| C．To explain reasons for the Cuban iguana's decline． |
| D．To draw people's attention to the endangered Cuban iguana． |
When she moved the covering cloth to look upon his tiny face, she was shocked. The doctor turned quickly and looked out the tall hospital window. The baby had been born without ears.
Time proved that the baby’s hearing was perfect. When he rushed home from school one day and threw himself into his mother’s arms, she sighed, knowing that his life was to be full of heart- breaks for his imperfect appearance.
He grew up, handsome for his misfortune and popular with his fellow students. He might have been class monitor，but for that. He developed a gift, a talent for literature and music.
Two years went by. One day, his father said to the son, “You’re going to the hospital, son. Mother and I have someone who will donate the ears you need. But it’s a secret.” The operation was a brilliant success, and a new person turned up. His talents blossomed into genius, and his school and college became a series of success. Later he married and entered the diplomatic service.
One day ,he urged his father, “Who gave so much for me？I must know! I could never do enough for him.”
“I do not believe you could, ” said the father, “but the agreement was that you are not to know... not yet.”
The years kept their secret, but the day did come--- one of the darkest days that a son must endure. He stood with his father over his mother’s casket (棺材). Slowly, tenderly, the father reached out a hand and raised the thick, reddish-brown hair to show that the mother had no outer ears.
“Mother said she was glad she never let her hair be cut, ” he whispered gently, “and nobody ever thought Mother less beautiful, did they？”
Real beauty lies not in the physical appearance，but in the heart. Real treasure lies not in what can be seen，but in what cannot be seen. Real love lies not in what is done and known, but in what is done and not known.The mother was shocked at the first sight of her baby because .
| A．her baby was born without hair |
| B．her baby had a tiny face |
| C．her baby was born imperfect |
| D．the doctor turned to look out of the window |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．The son attempted to repay the donator’s kindness. |
| B．The son didn't know the truth until his mother died. |
| C．With donated ears, the son’s life developed smoothly. |
| D．The boy couldn't hear clearly without ears at first. |
Why did the boy's mother never have her hair cut?
| A．Because her hair helped to keep a secret. |
| B．Because her hair added to her beauty. |
| C．Because her long hair was her pride. |
| D．Because she liked her thick and brown hair. |
Which is the best title for the passage?
| A．A Misfortunate Boy | B．Mother’s Hair |
| C．Mother’s Secret Love | D．A Successful Ear Operation |
For Canadians, backpacking Europe is a special ceremony signifying a new life stage. Unlike package tours, backpacking is a struggle, full of discovery and chance connections. It is about focusing on something different from our own lives and losing ourselves in a new world, if only for a moment.
Well, that's what backpacking Europe is supposed to do. That’s what it used to do before modern communications, social media, and commercial hostelling (旅社). Older Canadians would not recognize the Europe that they backpacked in the 1960s, 1970s and even the 1980s. Far from a rough adventure into foreign cultures, the European experience has been shattered in part by today's technology.
A few years ago, I took my then 60-year-old father on a backpacking trip across part of Europe and Turkey. As he is an experienced traveler and someone who possesses a strong sense of adventure, I decided that we'd travel on a budget, staying in hostel dorms. For him, backpacking through Europe in 1969 was about independence and struggle. But two things surprised him at the end of our journey. First was how technology-based backpacking had become: Young people were so directly connected to home that they were hardly away in any meaningful sense. Second, the lack of connections we made with locals. Instead of making us feel closer to a place, he found commercial hostelling actually made us more alienated (疏远的).
But there was some room for hope. While technology takes our attention away from the beauty and history before us, there were also ways in which it helped us to connect with our surroundings. Websites like Airbnb have made it easier to stay with enthusiastic locals. Couch Surfing helps organize meet-ups between locals and travelers. The online marketplace Dopios offers a chance to meet locals through enjoyable experiences like a personalized city tour.
Backpacking can never be the way it was for our parents’ generation. But doing a little study of history and culture before leaving, and bravely getting rid of any electronic devices while traveling, will help give young travelers a taste of the glory days.The underlined word “shattered” in Paragraph 2 most probably means ________.
| A．broadened | B．relived |
| C．ruined | D．acquired |
Which of the following can be used to describe the author’s father?
| A．Sensitive. | B．Adventurous. |
| C．Strict. | D．Generous. |
After the recent backpacking trip in Europe, the author’s father finds ________.
| A．backpackers connect less with locals than before |
| B．young people dislike getting in touch with their family |
| C．a hostel is a nice place for travelers to meet each other |
| D．backpacking in Europe becomes more difficult than before |
What’s the author’s attitude towards technology?
| A．Negative. |
| B．Objective. |
| C．Uncertain. |
| D．Uninterested. |
The text mainly discusses the relationship between ________.
| A．technology and traveling |
| B．adventures and cultures |
| C．young people and their family |
| D．Canadian travelers and Europeans |
Two recent studies have found that punishment is not the best way to influence behavior.
One showed that adults are much more cooperative if they work in a system based on rewards. Researchers at Harvard University in the United States and the Stockholm School of Economics in Sweden did the study.
They had about two hundred college students play a version of the game known as the Prisoner’s Dilemma. The game is based on the tension (紧张气氛) between the interests (利益) of an individual and a group. The students played in groups of four. Each player could win points for the group, so they would all gain equally. But each player could also reward or punish each of the other three players, at a cost to the punisher.
Harvard researcher David Rand says the most successful behavior proved to be cooperation. The groups that rewarded it the most earned about twice as much in the game as the groups that rewarded it the least. And the more a group punished itself, the lower its earnings were. The group with the most punishment earned twenty-five percent less than the group with the least punishment. The study appeared last month in the journal Science.
The other study involved children. It was presented last month in California at a conference on violence and abuse. Researchers used intelligence tests given to two groups. More than eight hundred children aged two to four the first time they were tested. More than seven hundred children aged five to nine.
The two groups were retested four years later, and the study compared the results with the first test. Both groups contained children whose parents used physical punishment and children whose parents did not. The study says the IQs--or intelligence quotients--of the younger children who were not spanked were five points higher than those who were. In the older group, the difference was almost three points.
Murray Strauss from the University of New Hampshire worked with Mallie Paschall from the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation. Professor Strauss has written extensively about physical punishment of children. He says the more they are spanked, the slower their mental development. He also looked at average IQs in other nations and found them lower where spanking was more common.Which could be the best title of the passage?
| A．Punishment |
| B．The Best Way to Influence Behavior. |
| C．Punishment or Reward: Which Works Better on Behavior? |
| D．Two Recent Studies. |
The underlined word “spanked” probably means______.
| A．won | B．punished | C．tested | D．praised |
According to the passage, the researchers may agree the best way to influence behavior is______.
| A．rewarding good behavior |
| B．correcting bad behavior |
| C．punishing badly-behaved children |
| D．praising well-behaved children |
The author develops the passage______.
| A．in order of time |
| B．in order of importance |
| C．by describing his experiences |
| D．by using quotations and statistics |
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