Recordings of angry bees are enough to send big, tough African elephants running away, a new study says. Beehives (蜂窝)—either recorded or real—may even prevent elephants from damaging farmer’s crops.
In 2002, scientist Lucy King and her team found that elephants avoid certain trees with bees living in them. Today, Lucy wants to see if African honeybees might discourage elephants from eating crops. But before she asked farmer to go to the trouble of setting up beehives on their farms, she needed to find out if the bees would scare elephants away.
Lucy found a wild beehive inside a tree in northern Kenya and set up a recorder. Then she threw a stone into the beehive, which burst into life. Lucy and her assistant hid in their car until the angry bees had calmed down. Next，Lucy searched out elephant families in Samburu National Reserve in northern Kenya and put a speaker in a tree close to each family.
From a distance, Lucy switched on the pre-recorded sound of angry bees while at the same time recording the elephants with a video camera. Half the elephant groups left the area within ten seconds. Out of a total of 17 groups, only one group ignored the sound of the angry bees. Lucy reported that all the young elephants immediately ran to their mothers to hide under them. When Lucy played the sound of a waterfall (瀑布) instead of the angry bees to many of the same elephant families, the animals were undisturbed. Even after four minutes, most of the groups stayed in one place.
Lucy is now studying whether the elephants will continue to avoid the sound of angry bees after hearing it several times. She hasn’t tested enough groups yet to know, but her initial (最初的) results were promising enough to begin trials with farmers. She has now begun placing speakers in the fields to see if elephants are frightened away.We know from the passage that elephants may be frightened of .
| A．loud noises | B．some crops |
| C．video cameras | D．angry bees |
As mentioned in the passage, Lucy .
| A．works by herself in Africa |
| B．needs to test more elephant groups |
| C．has stopped elephants eating crops |
| D．has got farmers to set up beehives on their farms |
Why did Lucy throw a stone into a wild beehive?
| A．To record the sound of bees. |
| B．To make a video of elephants. |
| C．To see if elephants would run away. |
| D．To find out more about the behavior of bees. |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．Young elephants ignore African honeybees. |
| B．Waterfalls can make elephants stay in one place. |
| C．Elephants do not go near trees with bees living in them. |
| D．Farmers do not allow Lucy to conduct tests in their fields. |
Five years ago, David Smith wore an expensive suit to work every day. “I was a clothes addict,” he jokes. “I used to carry a fresh suit to work with me so I could change if my clothes got wrinkled.” Today David wears casual clothes—khaki pants and sports shirt—to the office. He hardly ever wears a necktie. “I’m working harder than ever,” David says, “and I need to feel comfortable.”
More and more companies are allowing their office workers to wear casual clothes to work. In the United States, the change from formal to casual office wear has been gradual. In the early 1990s, many companies allowed their employees to wear casual clothes on Friday, but only on Friday. This became known as “dress-down Friday” or “casual Friday”. “What started out as an extra one-day-a-week benefit for employees has really become an everyday thing.” said business consultant Maisly Jones.
Why have so many companies started allowing their employees to wear casual clothes? One reason is that it’s easier for a company to attract new employees if it has a casual dress code. “A lot of young people don’t want to dress up for work,” says the owner of a software company, “so it’s hard to hire people if you have a conservative dress code.” Another reason is that people seem happier and more productive when they are wearing comfortable clothes. In a study conducted by Levi Strauss Company, 85 percent of employers said that they believe that casual dress improves employee morale（士气）. Only 4 percent of employers said that casual dress has a negative effect on productivity. Supporters of casual office wear also argue that a casual dress code helps them save money. “Suits are expensive, if you have to wear one every day,” one person said. “For the same amount of money, you can buy a lot more casual clothes.”David Smith refers to himself as having been “a clothes addict,” because __________.
| A．he often wore khaki pants and a sports shirt |
| B．he couldn’t stand a clean appearance |
| C．he wanted his clothes to look neat all the time |
| D．he didn’t want to spend much money on clothes |
David Smith wears casual clothes now, because __________.
| A．they make him feel at ease when working |
| B．he cannot afford to buy expensive clothes |
| C．he looks handsome in casual clothes |
| D．he no longer works for any company |
According to this passage, which of the following statements is FALSE?
| A．Many employees don’t like a conservative dress code. |
| B．Comfortable clothes make employees more productive. |
| C．A casual clothes code is welcomed by young employees. |
| D．All the employers in the U.S. are for casual office wear. |
According to this passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．Company workers started to dress down about twenty years ago. |
| B．Dress-down has become an everyday phenomenon since the early 1990s. |
| C．“Dress-down Friday” was first given as a favor from employers. |
| D．Many workers want to wear casual clothes to impress people. |
In this passage, the following advantages of casual office wear are mentioned except __________.
| A．saving employees’ money |
| B．making employees more attractive |
| C．improving employees’ motivation |
| D．making employees happier |
“In only six days I lost seven pounds of weight.”
“Two full inches in the first three days!”
These are the kinds of statements used in magazine，newspaper, radio and television ads, promising new shapes and new looks to those who buy the medicine or the device. The promoters of products say they can shape the legs, slim the face, smooth wrinkles, or in some other way to add to beauty or desirability.
Often such products are nothing more than money-making things for their promoters. The results they produce are questionable, and some are dangerous to health.
To understand how these products can be legally promoted to the public, it is necessary to understand something of the laws covering their regulation. If the product is a drug, FDA(Food and Drug Administration)can require proof under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act that is safe and effective before it is put on the market. But if the product is a device, FDA has no authority to require premarketing proof of safety or effectiveness. If a product already on the market is a danger to health, FDA can request the producer or distributor to remove it from the market voluntarily, or it can take legal action, including seizure(查封)of the product.
One notable case a few years ago involved an electrical device called the Relaxacisor, which had been sold for reducing the waistline. The Relaxacisor produced electrical shocks to the body through contact pads. FDA took legal action against the distributor to stop the sale of the device on the grounds that it was dangerous to health and life.
Obviously, most of the devices on the market have never been the subject of court proceedings(法律诉讼)，and new devices appear continually. Before buying, it is up to the consumer to judge the safety or effectiveness of such items.It can be inferred that the ads mentioned in the text are . .
| A．objective | B．costly | C．unreliable | D．illegal |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?
A. The court is in charge of removing dangerous products.
B. New products are more likely to be questionable.
C. The production of a device must be approved by FDA.
D. The promoters usually just care about profits.FDA can ask for the proof of safety and effectiveness of a product
| A．if it is a drug |
| B．if it is a device |
| C．if its consumers make complaints |
| D．if its distributors challenge FDA’s authority |
The Relaxacisor is mentioned as .
| A．a product which was designed to produce electricity |
| B．a product whose distributor was involved in a legal case |
| C．a successful advertisement of a beauty product |
| D．an example of a quality beauty product |
The author intends to
| A．make consumers aware of the promoters’ false promises |
| B．show the weakness of the law on product safety |
| C．give advice on how to keep young and beautiful |
| D．introduce the organization of FDA |
Each new school year brings fresh reminders of what educators call the summer learning gap. Some call it the summer learning setback. Simply speaking, it means the longer kids are out of school, the more they forget. The only thing they might gain is weight.
Most American schools follow a traditional nine-month calendar. Students get winter and spring breaks and about ten weeks of summer vacation. Some schools follow a year-round calendar. They hold classes for about eight weeks at a time, with a few weeks off in between. The National Association for Year-Round Education says there were fewer than three thousand such schools at last count. They were spread among forty-six of the fifty states.
But many experts point out that the number of class days in a year-round school is generally the same as in a traditional school. Lead researcher Paul von Hippel said, "Year-round schools don't really solve the problem of the summer learning setback. They simply spread it out across the year."
Across the country, research shows that students from poor families fall farther behind over the summer than other students. Experts say this can be prevented. They note that many schools and local governments offer programs that can help.
But calling them "summer school" could be a problem. The director of the summer learning center at Johns Hopkins, Ron Fairchild, said research with groups of different parents in Chicago and Baltimore found that almost all strongly disliked the term summer school”. In American culture, the idea of summer vacation is connected to beliefs about freedom and the joys of childhood. The parents welcomed other terms like "summer camp," "enrichment," "extra time" and "hands-on learning."According to the first paragraph the summer learning gap .
| A．helps children to gain weight |
| B．leads children to work harder |
| C．improves children’s memories |
| D．affects children’s regular studies |
Compared to traditional schools, students in the year-round ones .
| A．perform better and have more learning gains |
| B．have much less time for relaxation every year |
| C．have generally the same number of class days |
| D．hold more classes with more free weeks off |
Which of the following statements is true?
| A．Students from poor families often fall behind after the vacation. |
| B．Year-round schools can solve the problem of the learning gap. |
| C．There are schools in each state following a year-round calendar. |
| D．Nothing can help the students who fall behind after the vocation. |
Why did almost all parents dislike the term “summer school”?
| A．They cherish the children’s rights of freedom very much. |
| B．They are worried about the quality of the “summer school”. |
| C．They want their children to be forced to make up the gap. |
| D．They can’t afford to the further study during vacation. |
What would be the best title of this passage?
| A．Opening Summer Camps |
| B．Forbidding Summer Schools |
| C．Spreading Year-Round Education |
| D．Minding the Summer Learning Cap |
Most American students go to traditional public schools．There are about 88, 000 public schools, all over the US．Some students attend about 3000 independent public schools called charter schools．
Charter schools are self-governing．Private companies operate some charter schools．They are similar in some ways to traditional public schools．They receive tax money just as other public schools do．Charter schools must prove to local or state governments that their students are learning．These governments provide the schools with the agreement called a charter that permits them to operate．
Charter schools are different because they do not have to obey most laws governing traditional public schools．Local, state, or federal governments cannot tell them what to teach．Each school can choose its own goals and decide the ways it wants to reach them．Class size is usually smaller than in traditional public schools．
The Bush Administration strongly supports charter schools as a way to re-organize public schools that are failing to educate students．But some education agencies and unions oppose charter schools．One teachers' union has just made public the results of the first national study comparing the progress of students in traditional schools and charter schools．
The American Federation of Teachers criticized the government's delay in releasing the results of the study, which is called the National Assessment of Educational Progress．Union education experts say the study shows that charter school students performed worse on math and reading tests than students in regular public schools．
Some experts say the study is not a fair look at charter schools because students in those schools have more problems than students in traditional schools．Other education experts say the study results should make charter school officials demand improved student progress．If a private company wants to operate a charter school, it must______．
| A．try new methods of teaching |
| B．prove its management ability |
| C．obey the local and state laws |
| D．get the government's permission |
Charter schools are independent because_____．
| A．they make greater progress |
| B．their class size is smaller |
| C．they enjoy more freedom |
| D．they oppose traditional ways |
What's the government's attitude toward charter schools?
| A．Doubtful | B．Supportive. | C．Subjective． | D．Optimistic． |
What can we learn from the text?
| A．More students choose to attend charter schools． |
| B．Charter schools are better than traditional schools． |
| C．Students in charter schools are well educated． |
| D．People have different opinions about charter schools． |
It can be interred from the text that ___.
| A．charter schools are part of the public education system |
| B．one-on-one attention should be paid to students |
| C．the number of charter schools will be limited |
| D．charter schools are all privately financed |
Baby girls make their way directly for dolls as soon as they can crawl, while boys will head for the toy cars, a study has shown. The findings, the first to show differences in very young babies, suggest there is a biological basis to their preferences.
Psychologists Dr Brenda Todd from City University London carried out an experiment involving 90 infants aged nine months to 36 months. The babies were allowed to choose from seven toys. Some were stereotypically boys' toys - a car, a digger, a ball and a blue teddy. The rest were girls’ toys: a pink teddy, a doll and a cooking set. They were placed a meter away from the toys, and could pick whichever toy they liked. Their choice and the amount of time they spent playing with each toy were recorded.
Of the youngest children (nine to 14 months), girls spent significantly longer playing with the doll than boys, and boys spent much more time with the car and ball than the girls did. Among the two-and three-year-olds, girls spent 50 percent of the time playing with the doll while only two boys briefly touched it. The boys spent almost 90 percent of their time playing with cars, which the girls barely touched. There was no link between the parents’ view on which toys were more appropriate for boys or girls, and the children’s choice.
Dr Brenda Todd said: “Children of this age are already exposed to much socialization. Boys may be given ‘toys that go’ while girls get toys they can care for, which may help shape their preference. But these findings agree with the former idea that children show natural interests in particular kinds of toys. There could be a biological basis for their choices. Males through evolution have been adapted to prefer moving objects, probably through hunting instincts（本能）, while girls prefer warmer colors such as pink, the color of a newborn baby.”Baby boys and girls have different toy preferences probably because .
| A．baby boys are much more active |
| B．baby girls like bright colors more |
| C．their parents treat them differently |
| D．there is a natural difference between them |
Both baby boys and baby girls like to play with according to the study.
| A．a ball | B．a teddy | C．a car | D．a doll |
What can we infer from Paragraph 3 ?
| A．Nine-month-old baby boys don’t play with dolls at all. |
| B．Two-year-old baby girls sometimes play with cars and balls. |
| C．The older the babies are, the more obvious their preference is. |
| D．Parents should teach their babies to share each other’s toys. |
What conclusion did Dr. Brenda Todd draw from the results of the study?
| A．Adults purposely influence their babies preference. |
| B．Babies’ preference isn’t affected by social surroundings. |
| C．Baby boys preferring to moving toys will be good at hunting. |
| D．Baby girls preferring warmer colors will be warm-hearted. |
We may read this article in a section of a newspaper.
| A．science | B．health | C．education | D．entertainment |
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