Once a baby cries, the parents will go to see what happened as soon as possible. According to a new study, a baby's cry can make adults react(反应) very quickly, even if they are not related.
Oxford University researchers used the classic game whack-a-mole for the study. Whack-a-mole(打鼹鼠游戏) requires people to hit one of nine buttons (按钮). The players must react as quickly as they can to whichever of the buttons lights up at random(随机). It is a game that requires speed and accuracy (准确度 ).
The study included 40 men and women volunteers aged 19 to 59. Some of them had sons or daughters but none had a baby at the time. They played whack-a-mole after listening to different sounds, including babies crying, the crying of adults in trouble and birdsong played at a similar pitch to the babies' cries.
The volunteers' scores were higher after listening to the sound of crying babies. Men and women had similar scores overall. The results showed that a crying baby gets special attention.
"Few sounds make people react quite like the cry of a baby," said Morten Kringelbach of Oxford's psychiatry（精神病学） department, who led the study. "For example, it's almost impossible to ignore(忽视，不理) crying babies on planes. This is true even though there are so many other noises around."
He added that a baby's cry can increase adults' heart rate and blood pressure. This is understandable, because in the course of human evolution (进化), taking care of babies has always been an important job for adults. When a baby is hungry or feeling bored or unwell, it will cry. As a result, human brains and bodies develop a special reaction to a baby's cry. According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．There were 80 volunteers who took part in the study. |
| B．The youngest volunteer was 19 and the oldest was 59. |
| C．Some volunteers had babies at that time in the study. |
| D．The volunteers were affected by the sound of a baby’s cry. |
The game “whack-a-mole” shows ______.
| A．a baby’s cry can get special attention from adults |
| B．men and women have different reaction speed and accuracy |
| C．adults without babies react less quickly to a baby’s cry |
| D．women react to a baby’s cry more quickly than men |
“Whack-a-mole” requires people to hit _____ at a time.
| A．one button | B．one of nine buttons |
| C．nine buttons | D．ten buttons |
According to the passage, a baby’s cry ______.
| A．has the same pitch as birdsong |
| B．is the noisiest sound there is |
| C．can increase adults’ heart rate and blood pressure |
| D．is good for its health |
From the last paragraph, we learn that ______.
| A．taking care of the younger babies was the most important thing in the past |
| B．human brains and bodies have developed to take care of babies |
| C．baby cries are a good way make adults react quickly |
| D．baby cries have developed a lot during the course of human evolution |
Everything has a name．All people，places，and things have names．For example，Jenny is the name of a student from England．England is the name of a country．Cities and towns have names，too．Schools and office buildings also have names．For example，tomato，potato and bean are names of vegetables．Apple，orange，and banana are names of fruit．Names are important．We use names every day．When we meet a new person，we usually ask，“What’s your name?”It’s important to learn a person’s name．Most people have two names．Some people have more names．Names are different all over the world．In Jenny’s class．Jenny must learn the names of the students from all over the world．This is very difficult because the names are very different．
In the United States，most people have a first name，a middle name and a last name．Parents choose the first and middle names for their babies．There are names for boys and names for girls．The last name is the family name．Usually it is the father’s family name．In a family，the mother, the father, and the children usually have the same last name．
Sometimes a person has a nickname，too．A nickname is a special（特有的）name．It’s not a person’s real name．Abraham Lincoln’s nickname was“Honest Abe”．An honest person（一个诚实的人）always tells the truth，and Abe is short for Abraham．Because he was an honest person．his nickname was Honest Abe．Pele（贝利）is a nickname，too．The football player’s real name is Edison Aeraesde Nascimento，but everyone calls him Pele．Do you have a nickname?
Names are different all over the world．They can be long or short．but they are always very importantWhat is Jenny?
| A．A student | B．A teacher | C．An American | D．A nickname |
What does the underlined(划线的) word “nickname” mean in Chinese?
| A．乳名 | B．真名 | C．绰号 | D．别名 |
What is Pele’s real name?
| A．Honest Abe． |
| B．Abraham Lincoln． |
| C．Edison Aeraesde Nascimento． |
| D．We don’t know． |
Usually the last name is________ family name．
| A．the father’s | B．the mother’s |
| C．the grandmother’s | D．The teacher’s |
Why is it difficult to learn names all over the world?
| A．Some people have nicknames． |
| B．There are many names all over the world． |
| C．Some names are very long，and some are very short． |
| D．The names in different countries are different． |
阅读短文，根据短文内容回答问题。（共10分，每小题2分）
One thing Britain is famous for its pubs(酒吧), and no trip to the UK would be complete without a visit to one of the thousands of pubs across the country.
Pubs play an important part in the social structure of the country. They are places where all ages and social classes mix to talk, do business, or just spend a couple of quiet hours before heading home in the evening.
There are many different types of beer available in pubs. Traditional British beer is called bitter（苦啤酒）, or ale, and is usually served at room temperature. As a result, the British are famous for their ‘warm beer’! If you prefer a cold beer, ask for lager. This beer is a light yellow in colour whereas bitter is usually a darker brown. All beers are served as pints (500 ml) or halves (250ml). To order, you need to ask for a pint or half, and then name the beer. So, you could say “A pint of bitter, please.”
Another drink is cider（苹果酒）. This is like beer, but it is made from apples so it can taste sweet. Wine, red or white, is normally available in all pubs, as are spirits(烈性酒) such as whisky, gin or vodka（伏特加）.
It is not, however, necessary to drink alcohol. Non-alcoholic drinks are called soft drinks. You can have juice, lemonade or cola, among others.
If you visit a pub in a group, it is important to pay for your ‘round’. This means that you buy a drink for everyone in your group. Not buying your round is a big social mistake! Remember that you need to order and pay for your drinks at the bar.
So, follow these tips if you want to get the most out of visiting a pub, and, “cheers!”Are pubs one famous thing in Britain?
What are pubs?
How many kind of drinks are there in the pubs?
What’s needed if you are in a group?
What are the main points about pubs in this passage?
Tired of bad handwriting, Richie decided to perfect his penmanship (书法) last January. Though the year progressed, his writing didn’t. “My penmanship just got worse,” he says. “I get tired of trying to write neatly.”
Like Richie, many teenagers make resolutions in the New Year. More than half of Americans say they make a New Year’s resolution – but only one-third of them keep to it, reports the University of North Carolina, US.
Demanding (追求) perfection stops people working on their resolutions, says Chicago life coach Alison Miller.
Resolutions sometimes can be unrealistic (不现实).. Going for a goal that’s too hard to achieve can leave a person feeling sad. “Saying ‘I’m going to look like a super-model’ is going to make you unhappy,” she says.
Sure, it’s a great idea to aim for improvement, but not all resolutions are helpful. The difference between good and bad resolutions is whether you expect too much from yourself, Miller says. For example, it’s OK to say, “I’m going to eat fewer French fries,” but striving (力争) for a perfect body isn’t reasonable.
Timing can also damage a resolution. Kevin M., 16, says he doesn't set resolutions because 12 months is unrealistic. “It’s too long and you start putting off keeping your resolution during summer,” he says.
He’s considering a career in music, but says school is his main focus. Knowing how hard he has to work, he says he’ll “be lucky to get 30 minutes a day” of practice. But a bit is better than nothing, and making reminders can help you make progress. Miller says teenagers should write down their goals and say to themselves, “What can I do today to make my goal a reality?”
“It’s just small steps along the way. It’s not about doing it all at once,” Miller says.What’s the writer’s purpose by talking Richie in the first paragraph?
| A．To advise people to keep their New Year’s resolutions. |
| B．To show that some people fail to keep their New Year’s resolutions. |
| C．To tell readers why Richie isn’t a good hand writer. |
| D．To show why New Year’s resolutions are important. |
Many Americans stop working on their New Year’s resolutions because ______.
| A．they think it is silly to make resolutions |
| B．they find keeping resolutions is boring |
| C．the time of keeping resolutions is too short |
| D．their choice of resolution turns out to be unrealistic |
Which of the following statements would Miller probably agree with?
| A．Teenagers should set themselves perfect goals. |
| B．To achieve your goals, you needn’t write them down. |
| C．People should try to realize their goals step by step. |
| D．A good resolution helps people realize their possibility. |
Feeding a crowd of hundreds doesn’t make Kenny Seals-Nutt nervous.
In fact, he thrives in the kitchen. He’s in his perfect place when dicing tomatoes, making salads and baking cakes.
By the time Kenny, 16, reached his third year of high school at Hickory Grove, North Carolina, US, he had become vice president of his school’s cooking club. He also opened his own food company, called Modern Fusion.
Kenny said he developed his love of cooking by watching his mother, and his grandmother, who owned a catering (饮食业) business herself. Kenny helped them both in order to remember their tips: how long to cook chicken so it stays wet, and the right amount of tomatoes to add to a spaghetti dish.
At the age of 5, he cooked his first dish of shrimp and broccoli. Taking it for his school lunch, he warmed it up in the school’s microwave, while the other kids ate their sandwiches.
“I love to eat, and it started to become more fun to cook than to use a microwave,” he said.
Cooking came easy to Kenny, and he enjoyed adding new ingredients into common dishes. “It started with a passion (热情) and I wanted to know more,” he said. He began to watch the Food Network and read chef blogs.
Last summer, Kenny put his skills to the test by working with his grandmother to cater his uncle’s wedding. While she cooked traditional dishes, Kenny wanted to add new to the expected flavors (风味).
Now Kenny spends his weekends catering his own events: weddings, birthday parties, baby showers. Kenny’s dishes are always a hit.
Chef Frederick Mookie Hicks, owner of a catering business, said Kenny’s success comes from his ability to multitask in the kitchen. Hicks said he has asked Kenny to cook with him on jobs three times now, and he presents Kenny as a positive example of a passionate chef to the students in his cooking classes.
“He’s so vigorous (精神饱满的) about cooking that he doesn’t let anything stop him,” Hicks said. “I knew in the first five minutes of working with the kid that he is something special.”How is Kenny different from other students?
| A．He opened a cooking club in his high school. |
| B．He is famous on the Food Network. |
| C．He owned a food company at 16. |
| D．He loves to multi-task. |
What does the underlined word “thrives” probably mean?
| A．works energetic | B．grows fast |
| C．learns quickly | D．makes progress |
Which of the following best describes Kenny’s cooking?
| A．Traditional. | B．Creative. |
| C．Simple. | D．Strange. |
We can conclude from the article that ______.
| A．Kenny proved himself by catering his uncle’s wedding alone |
| B．Kenny likes to follow his mother’s recipe when cooking |
| C．Kenny was able to cook his first dish in primary school |
| D．Kenny’s success in cooking has a lot to do with his family |
After graduating from school, I didn’t go directly to university. Instead, I spent a year travelling round the world.
I started my trip in London, the UK. I saw theBig Ben and visited the amazing churches.From there, I flew to Paris, and went down to the south of France, which is famous for its lovely beaches.
Next, I flew to India, and traveled round the country for about three months. Although the cities were crowded, the countryside was the beautiful. I stayed in a small fishing village by the sea and it was the happiest time of my life.
I then came to China, a country I had always wanted to visit. I saw Beijing, of course, and climbed up the Great Wall. I also took a trip to see some villages where I learned a lot about Chinese local customs.
Then, at last, I flew all the way home. It had been a great experience, but, yes, it was good to be home again!The writer travelled round the world ____________.
| A．after he graduated from school |
| B．when he was in university |
| C．before he graduated from school |
| D．After graduated from university |
The right order of the writer’s trip is _____________.
a. He went to Paris.
b.He saw the Big Ben.
c. He visited China.
d. He stayed in India for 3 months.
| A．c-d-a-b | B．a-b-c-d | C．b-a-d-c | D．d-c -b-a |
Which part of the trip did the writer enjoy most?
| A．Climbing up the Great Wall in China. |
| B．Staying in the fishing village in India. |
| C．Visiting the amazing churches in the UK. |
| D．Walking on the lovely beaches in the south of France. |
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