Like many languages spoken by people, Ayapaneco is dying. Only two people in the world still speak it, and they won't talk to each other.
Spoken in Mexico for centuries, Ayapaneco is one of 68 surviving languages in the mainly Spanish-speaking nation. The two speakers are Manuel Segovia and Isidro Velazquez. Though they live only 500 meters from each other in the village, the two men seldom talk to each other. Daniel, an American expert, who is working to make a dictionary of Ayapaneco, says the two men “don’t have a lot in common,” and that Segovia can be “active” while Velasquez tends to mind his own business and stay at home.
While Segovia still speaks to his wife and son in Ayapaneco, neither of them can manage more than a few words. Velasquez hardly speaks his native tongue any more. Daniel is working to preserve the language in dictionary form before its last surviving speakers pass away. According to Daniel, Ayapaneco and the other languages began dying out with the introduction of public Spanish education in the mid-20th century. For decades, local children weren’t allowed to speak anything else. Many people to cities, starting in the 1970s, also helped the dying out of native languages.
Ayapaneco is the name given to the language; Segovia and Velazquez call it “Nuumte Oote”, which means “true voice”. Neither man, however, speaks the same language. The dictionary will contain two versions(版本) of the language when it comes out later this year. Those behind the dictionary aren’t the only ones trying to save Ayapaneco. The National Language Institute plans to hold classes so that Segovia and Velasquez can pass on what they know to children.
It is thought that there are about 6,000 languages spoken on earth and that about half will disappear over the next 100 years. Let’s hope the “true voice” isn’t one of them.Segovia and Velasquez seldom talk to each other in Ayapaneco because they___________________.
| A．both dislike the language |
| B．don’t get along well with each other |
| C．are too busy to talk to each other |
| D．don’t share the same interests |
Which are the main reasons why the language Ayapaneco started dying out?
a. No teacher liked to teach it. b. Local children had to speak Spanish.
c. many villagers went to live in cities. d. The surviving speakers didn’t like to use it.
| A．a, b | B．a, c | C．b, d | D．b, c |
How does the National Language Institute try to save Ayapaneco?
| A．Write a dictionary of Ayapaneco. |
| B．Let Ayapaneco be taught at school. |
| C．Introduce a public Ayapaneco education. |
| D．Ask villagers to speak Ayapaneco. |
From the text we learn that the author____________________.
| A．agrees that it is natural that Ayapaneco should die out |
| B．thinks Daniel’s effort to preserve Ayapaneco won’t work |
| C．thinks highly of Ayapaneco and wants people to learn it |
| D．hopes that Ayapaneco will not die out in the future |
BEIJING - A research team led by Chinese scientists have discovered dietary modulation of gut microbiota（膳食干预肠道菌群）can alleviate both genetic and simple obesity in children.
The findings of the team, led by Zhao Liping with Shanghai Jiaotong University, Yin Aihua with the Guangdong province children's hospital, and Tang Huiru with Chinese Academy of Sciences, have been published on EBioMedicine, a renowned medical journal co-sponsored by Cell and The Lancet in July.
The team identified bacterial genomes specifically for producing obesity-related metabolites（代谢物）, and said an improved gut microbiota can significantly help to treat genetic obesity such as Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS).
Beginning in childhood, PWS affected kids develop an insatiable appetite, leading to chronic overeating and obesity.
The scientists used a diet therapy with beneficial gut bacteria on trial patients and found considerable diminished appetite, weight loss and improved health conditions on the patients.
The paper concluded dysbiosis（失调）of gut microbiota is highly related with both genetic and simple obesity in children, implicating dietary modulation of gut microbiota a potentially effective treatment method.
Which of the following factors contributes to child obesity ?
| A．dietary modulation of gut microbiota |
| B．beneficial gut bacteria |
| C．an improved gut microbiota |
| D．dysbiosis of gut microbiota |
Which can replace the underlined word “diminished”？
| A．unsatisfied | B．increased |
| C．decreased | D．good |
Where is the passage extracted?
| A．Medicine book | B．Science book |
| C．Doctor’s instructions | D．News report |
Which might be the best title for the passage?
| A．Chinese scientists discover treatment to child obesity. |
| B．The reasons for genetic obesity in children has been found. |
| C．Obesity-related research has been done by Chinese scientists. |
| D．An effective treatment to obesity has been found. |
Visitors worry that London is an expensive city but there really are so many free things to do here. The following ideas should get you started.
All of London's major museums are free, but most offer some special exhibitions for a fee. My favorite is the Museum of Londonwhere you can learn the history of London from Roman times to today. And I love theGeffrye Museumwhich shows English domestic interiors and helps bring to life what it was really like to live in London.
I regularly hear people tell me theQueen Mary's Rose Gardens in Regent's Parkis their favorite spot in London, and who am I to argue? I would also recommend St. James's Park as it offers one of the best views ofBuckingham Palace. Hyde Park is enormous and Kensington Gardens nearby includes the ever popular Diana Memorial Playgroundand thePeter Pan Statue.
No visit to London is complete without seeing this military tradition. The Queen's Guard in London changes in the Forecourt inside the gates ofBuckingham Palaceat 11.30am every day in the summer and every other day in the winter. Get there early and view the spectacle from outside the front gates.
Trafalgar Square is one of Britain's greatest visitor attractions and was designed by John Nash in the 1820s and constructed in the 1830s. This iconic square has many sights to see including Nelson's Columnand theNational Gallery. It is both a tourist attraction and the main focus for political demonstrations. Every December, Norway donates a marvelous Christmas tree, to thank Britain for liberation from the Nazis.Where can visitors find thePeter Pan Statue?
| A．in Regent's Park. | B．in St. James's Park. |
| C．in Hyde Park. | D．in Kensington Gardens. |
Which of the following desrciptions is True ?
| A．In theGeffrye Museumvisitors can learn the history of London from Roman times to today. |
| B．The Queen Mary's Rose Gardens is in Buckingham Palace. |
| C．There is the Queen's Guard change inside the gates ofBuckingham Palaceat 11.30 am every day all year around. |
| D．Trafalgar Square is both a tourist attraction and a place for political demonstrations. |
The writer wrote the passage to ________.
| A．compare some free places in London. |
| B．advertise some free places in London. |
| C．recommend some free places in London. |
| D．expose some free places in London. |
In 1977, Irene Pepperberg of Harvard University began studying what was on another creature’s mind by talking to it. Her first experiments began with Alex. Alex was a one-year-old African grey parrot and Irene taught him to produce the sounds of the English language. “I thought if he learned to communicate, I could ask him questions about how he sees the world.”
At the time, most scientists didn’t believe animals had any thoughts. They thought animals were more like robots but didn’t have the ability to think or feel. Of course, if you own a pet, you probably disagree. But it is the job of a scientist to prove this and nowadays more scientists accept that animals can think for themselves.
“That’s why I started my studies with Alex,” Irene said, “Some people actually called me crazy for trying this.”
Nowadays, we have more and more evidence that animals have all sorts of mental abilities. Sheep can recognize faces. Chimpanzees (黑猩猩) use a variety of tools and even use weapons to hunt. And Alex, the parrot became a very good talker.
Thirty years after, the Alex studies began. Irene was still giving him English lessons until his recent death. For example, if Alex was hungry, he could say “want grape”. Alex could count to six and was learning the sounds for seven and eight. “He has to hear the words over and over before he can correctly say them.” Irene said, after pronouncing “seven” for Alex a few times in a row. Alex could also tell the difference between colors, shapes, sizes, and materials (e.g.wood and metal). Before he finally died, Alex managed to say “seven”.
Another famous pet that proved some animals have greater mental skills was a dog called Rico. He appeared on a German TV game show in 2011. Rico knew the names of 200 different toys and easily learned the names of new ones. When Rico became famous, many other dog owners wanted to show how clever their pets were. Another dog called Betsy could understand 300 words.
One theory for dogs’ ability to learn a language is that they have been close companions to humans for many centuries and so their ability to understand us is constantly evolving (进化). While animals can’t do what humans do yet, some scientists believe that examples like Alex and Rico prove that evolution develops intelligence, as well as physical appearance. Irene wanted to find out __________.
| A．what a parrot thinks | B．why a parrot can speak |
| C．how parrots make sounds | D．if parrots speak English |
Alex learnt new words by __________.
| A．singing them | B．reading them |
| C．writing them | D．rehearing them |
The two dogs mentioned in the article could _______.
| A．understand some words |
| B．recognize strange voices |
| C．copy human gestures |
| D．tell different colors |
The article concludes that ___________.
| A．our pets understand what we say |
| B．dogs may speak to humans one day |
| C．humans are related to chimpanzees |
| D．mental ability can evolve in animals |
Elizabeth Mitchell’s new “Liberty’s Torch” is the fascinating story of how the Statue of Liberty came to be. The Statue of Liberty’s rough history is explored in “Liberty’s Torch”.
Frederic Auguste Bartholdi is an all-but-forgotten figure in American history. He was, however, responsible for one of the most enduring symbols of the United States: the Statue of Liberty. A Frenchman from Alsace, he designed and built the Statue of Liberty which stood on Bedloe’s Island in New York Harbor. How this statue came to be is the fascinating subject of Elizabeth Michell’s new book “Liberty’s Torch”.
The power of Mitchell’s narrative is convincing(令人信服的). We recognize the Statue of Liberty now as a symbol of hope and opportunity for a nation of immigrants. At the time, though, people could not see that－nor did they even imagine that. Instead, the construction of the statue was born of one man’s desire to set up a great monument.
For this reason, perhaps, “Liberty’s Torch” relies on Bartholdi as the connecting thread. Bartholdi went to Egypt to make photographic copies of the main monuments. On the boat, Bartholdi met and began a lifelong relationship with Ferdinand de Lesseps, the man who would build the Suez Canal. Maybe it was this friendship, or maybe it was seeing Egypt’s huge monuments, but finally the trip inspired Bartholdi’s dream to create the largest statue ever built. Failure to bring this to completion in Egypt, followed by his exile (流放) from Paris, led Bartholdi to sail to America.
By explaining the Statue of Liberty’s hard history and showing Bartholdi’s brave spirit, Mitchell has done a great service.It can be inferred from the text that ________.
| A．American people have never forgotten Frederic August Bartholdi |
| B．the Statue of Liberty wasn’t originally regarded as a symbol of hope |
| C．Bartholdi finished the Suez Canal |
| D．Bartholdi was a famous architect from Egypt. |
What was the main reason for Bartholdi to build the Statue of Liberty?
| A．To finish his education in the arts. |
| B．To mark his friendship with Ferdinand. |
| C．To create something better than Egyptian monuments. |
| D．To achieve his dream to create the largest statue. |
What type of writing is the passage?
| A．A travel guide. | B．A book review |
| C．An announcement | D．An architecture report. |
Everywhere I look outside my home I see people busy on their high-tech devices, while driving, walking, shopping, even sitting in toilets. People have been influenced to become technology addicted. One study found that people had a harder time resisting the allure of social media than they did for sleep, cigarettes and alcohol.
The main goal of technology companies is to get people to spend more money and time on their products, not to actually improve our quality of life. They have successfully created a cultural disease. Consumers willingly give up their freedom, money and time to catch up on the latest information, to keep pace with their peers or to appear modern.
I see people trapped in a pathological（病态的）relationship with time-sucking technology, where they serve technology more than technology serves them. I call this technology servitude. I am referring to a loss of personal freedom and independence because of uncontrolled consumption of many kinds of devices that eat up time and money.
What is a healthy use of technology devices? That is the vital question. Who is really in charge of my life? That is what people need to ask themselves if we are to have any chance of breaking up false beliefs about their use of technology. When we can live happily without using so much technology for a day or a week, then we can regain control and personal freedom, become the master of technology and discover what there is to enjoy in life free of technology. Mae West is famous for proclaiming(声明) the wisdom that “too much of a good thing is wonderful.” But it’s time to discover that it does not work for technology.
Richard Fernandez, an executive coach at Google acknowledged that “we can be swept away by our technologies.” To break the grand digital connection, people must consider how life long ago could be fantastic without today’s overused technology.
The underlined word “allure” in Paragraph 2 probably means ______.
| A．advantage | B．attraction |
| C．adaption | D．attempt |
From the passage, technology companies aim to ______.
| A．attract people to buy their products |
| B．provide the latest information |
| C．improve people’s quality of life |
| D．deal with cultural diseases |
It can be inferred from this passage that people ______.
| A．consider too much technology wonderful |
| B．have realized the harm of high-tech devices |
| C．can regain freedom without high-tech devices |
| D．may enjoy life better without overused technology |
What’s the author’s attitude towards the overusing of high-tech devices?
| A．Neutral. | B．Sceptical. |
| C．Disapproving. | D．Sympathetic. |
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