Every day we experience one of the wonders of the world around us without even realizing it. It is not the amazing complexity of television, nor the impressive technology of transport. The universal wonder we share and experience is our ability to make noise without mouths, and so transmit ideas and thoughts to each other's minds. This ability comes so naturally that we tend to forget what a miracle (奇迹) it is.
Obviously, the ability to talk is something that marks humans off from animal. Of course, some animals have powers just as amazing, Birds can fly thousands miles by \observing positions of the stars in the sky in relation to the time of day and year. In Nature's talent show, humans are a species of animal that have developed their own special act. If we reduce it to basic terms, it's an ability for communicating information to others, by varying sounds we make as we breathe out.
Not that we don't have other powers of communication. Our facial expressions convey our emotions, such as anger, or joy, or disappointment. The way we hold our heads can indicate to others whether we are happy or sad. This is so-called “body language”. Bristling (直立的) fur is an unmistakable warning of attack among many animals. Similarly, the bowed head or drooping tail shows a readiness to take second place in any animal gathering.
Such a means of communication is a basic mechanism that animals, including human beings, instinctively acquire and display. Is the ability to speak just another sort of instinct? If so, how did human beings acquire this amazing skills ? Biologist can readily indicate that particular area of our brain where speech mechanisms function, but this doesn't tell us how that part of our bodies originated in our biological history. According to the passage, the wonder we take for granted is .
| A．our ability to use language |
| B．the miracle of technology |
| C．the amazing power of nature |
| D．our ability to make noises with mouth |
What feature of “body language” mentioned in the passage is common to both human an animals?
| A．Lifting heads when sad. |
| B．Keeping long faces when angry. |
| C．Bristling hair when ready to attack. |
| D．Bowing heads when willing to obey. |
What can be inferred from Paragraph 3?
| A．Body language is unique to humans. |
| B．Animals express emotions just as humans do. |
| C．Humans have other powers of communication. |
| D．Humans are no different from animals to some degree. |
This passage is mainly about .
| A．the development of body language. |
| B．the special role humans play in nature |
| C．the power to convey information to others |
| D．the difference between humans and animals in language use |
He slept in my arms last night, with his little head on my shoulder. I stayed awake listening to his breathing. He smiled in his sleep, and I wondered what could be funny to a one-year-old baby. I could sense the safety he felt.
However, my home life is completely different from the scene that greets me each morning at work. As a lawyer at Eastlake Juvenile Court (少年法庭), I always see kids that society has labeled the worst of the worst, the “thief”, the “robber”, the list goes on. But they are still children. As I sit across from them, I have a chance to talk to them about their lives, homes, and dreams. I sit through tears, anger, but mostly hurt. I see their parents, most of whom sit in the hallways day after day wanting to take their kids home. I also see parents that come to the court ready to walk away from their children forever. Each day I see hope destroyed.
I have come to realize that these children are our future, even if we don’t want to admit it. They also want to sleep on a mother’s shoulder at night, they also had dreams
and smiled in their sleep when they were babies. But then something terrible happened, which robbed (剥夺) them of that youth, that hope, and that joy. I hope one day we can find how to put back the destroyed childhoods and ruined lives.
Every day when I go home, I hold my children tightly in my arms and say “I love you” over and over again. And as I am filled with hope, I cannot forget those children I leave behind. I live in two worlds, one of promise, one of tragedy(悲剧). No matter what they are accused (指控) of, what crimes (罪行) they have carried out and what society thinks of them, they are children, they are our children and our future.The author mentions her son in Paragraph 1 mainly to tell readers _____.
| A．her son is lovely |
| B．it’s hard to raise a child |
| C．what leads children to break laws |
| D．children should be taken good care of |
The underlined word “labeled” in Paragraph 2 can best be replaced by _____.
| A．praised | B．chosen | C．designed | D．described |
What’s the author’s attitude towards the children who break laws?
| A．Doubtful. | B．Hopeful. | C．Angry. | D．Relaxed. |
What’s the author’s purpose in writing the text?
| A．To accuse those parents who ruin their children’s life. |
| B．To show the difficulty of her work as a lawyer. |
| C．To win support for problem children. |
| D．To show her deep love for her child. |
Check out our tsunami facts and learn some interesting information related to these great walls of water that can cause so much destruction. Find out what causes tsunamis and read about some recent examples of tsunamis that have occurred around the globe.
The Japanese word for tsunami means harbor wave.
Tsunamis are sometimes referred to as tidal (受潮汐影响的) waves but this term has fallen out of favor because tsunamis are not related to tides.
Tsunamis are huge waves of water that are usually caused by earthquakes or volcanic eruptions.
As a tsunami approaches the shore (海岸), water may move back from the coast. If it is shallow (浅的) enough the water may be pulled back hundreds of meters. If you are in the area, you can know that a tsunami is on the way when you see this phenomenon.
Regions in tsunami danger zones often have warning systems in place to give people as much time as possible to move to a safe place.
When tsunamis hit shallow water (often near the coast) they slow down but increase in height.
An earthquake in the Indian Ocean off Indonesia in December 2004 caused a tsunami that killed over 200,000 people in 14 countries.
In March 2011, the Tohoku earthquake off the eastern coast of Japan caused a tsunami that was a major factor in the death of over 15,000 people.
The tsunami waves created by the Tohoku earthquake reached heights of over 40 meters in some areas, wiping out coastal towns and causing a number of nuclear accidents.How many causes of tsunamis are mentioned in the text?
| A．One. | B．Two. | C．Three. | D．Four. |
In the Tohoku earthquake over 15,000 people died mainly because of ______.
| A．the earthquake itself |
| B．the lack of warning systems |
| C．the tsunami caused by the earthquake |
| D．the nuclear accidents caused by the tsunami |
What do we learn from the text?
| A．The Japanese invented the term “tidal waves”. |
| B．The term “tidal waves” is used more often than tsunami. |
| C．When tsunamis slow down, their waves can reach 40 meters. |
| D．When hitting shallow water, tsunamis will rise higher. |
The text is developed mainly by ______.
| A．listing some facts | B．giving some examples |
| C．providing some numbers | D．making some comparisons |
Years ago, I lived in a building in a large city. The next building was only a few feet away from mine. There was a woman living there, and I had never met her, yet I could see she sat by her window each afternoon, sewing or reading.
After several months had gone by, I began to notice that her window was dirty. Everything was unclear through the dirty window. I would say to myself. “I wonder why that woman doesn’t wash her window. It really looks terrible.”
One bright morning I decided to clean my flat, including washing the window on the inside.
Late in the afternoon when I finished the cleaning, I sat down by the window with a cup of coffee for a rest. What a surprise! Across the way, the woman sitting by her window was clearly visible (看见). Her window was clean!
Then it dawned on me. I had been criticizing (批评) her dirty window, but all the time I was watching hers through my own dirty window.
That was quite an important lesson for me. How often had I looked at and criticized others through the dirty window of my heart, through my own shortcomings?
Since then, whenever I wanted to judge (评判) someone, I asked myself first, “Am I looking at him through my own dirty window?” I try to clean the window of my own world so that I may see the world about me more clearly.The writer couldn’t see everything clearly through the window because _______.
| A．the woman’s window was dirty |
| B．the writer’s window was dirty |
| C．the woman lived nearby |
| D．the writer was near-sighted |
“It dawned on me” probably means “_______”.
| A．I began to understand it | B．it cheered me up |
| C．I knew it grew light | D．it began to get dark |
It’s clear that ________.
| A．the writer had never met the woman before |
| B．the writer often washed the window |
| C．they both worked as cleaners |
| D．they lived in a small town |
From the passage, we can learn _______.
| A．one shouldn’t criticize others very often |
| B．one should often make his windows clean |
| C．one must judge himself before he judges others |
| D．one must look at others through his dirty windows[ |
Most people know that awkward feeling when you step into an elevator（电梯） with other people and try not to make eye contact.
But new research suggests it may be down to a subconscious（潜意识的）power struggle being played out as you make your way up or down.
A study found that people decide where they stand based on a micro social grading, established within seconds of entering the lift.
Rebekah Rousi, a Ph.D. student in Cognitive Science, conducted a study of elevator behavior in two of the tallest office buildings in Adelaide, Australia.
As part of her research, she took a total of 30 lift rides in the two buildings, and discovered there was an established order to where people tended stand.
In a blog, she writes that more senior men seemed to direct themselves towards the back of the elevator cabins.
She said: 'In front of them were younger men, and in front of them were women of all ages.'
She also noticed there was a difference in where people directed their stare half way through the ride.
Men watched the monitors(监控器), looked in the side mirrors (in one building) to see themselves, and in the door mirrors (of the other building) to also watch others.
'Women would watch the monitors and avoid eye contact with other users (unless in conversation) and the mirrors,' she writes.
The student concluded it could be that people who are shyer stand toward the front, where they can't see other passengers, whereas brave people stand in the back, where they have a view of everyone else.According to Rebekah Rousi, senior men intend to stand ______ of the elevator cabins.
| A．in the front | B．in the middle |
| C．near the side mirrors | D．at the back |
The underlined word “ them ” in paragraph 7 refers to ______.
| A．senior men | B．younger women |
| C．younger men | D．Women |
Why do women choose to stand in the front?
| A．Because they are too shy to make eye contact with others. |
| B．Because they can have a view of everyone else. |
| C．Because they want to show their power. |
| D．Because they want to watch the monitors. |
Carrot juice, because of its many healthy benefits, is commonly called the "magic juice". It has been found that adding carrot juice to people’s diets greatly improves their health. And its delicious taste makes it popular with all members of the family as a beverage(饮料).
Carrot juice is one of the richest sources of vitamin A that can be used in the daily diet. Lack of vitamin A can cause dryness and damage to the skin, nails and hair. Drinking carrot juice to increase the vitamin A in the diet is said to be good for many parts of the body, including the bones and teeth.
Drinking carrot juice is thought to be extremely helpful to the liver (肝脏), because vitamin A helps to clean the liver and reduce fat in it. And it is suggested that drinking carrot juice should be done regularly, rather than just from time to time.
Drinking carrot juice is also thought to improve the eyesight because of the vitamin A in the juice. Lack of vitamin A can lead to night blindness, which can be very dangerous, especially when the person is driving a car. An easy way to find out if you are lacking in vitamin A is to walk from a bright room into a dark room. Your eyes may have some trouble in getting used to the change of light if you are lacking in vitamin A.
How can you make carrot juice? Wash some carrots well in cold water. Scrape (刮) them lightly, but do not peel them, as this will take away valuable vitamins and minerals that lie close to the skin.Lack of vitamin A can lead to _____.
| A．broken bones | B．complete blindness |
| C．skin dryness | D．liver cancer |
According to the passage, carrot juice ______.
| A．does a lot of good to the teeth and other parts of the body |
| B．is popular because it is a magic cure for many diseases |
| C．can wash away the waste from the body |
| D．may be harmful to the body if it’s drunk too much |
We can learn from the fourth paragraph that _____.
| A．you will find it easy to get used to the change of light if you lack vitamin A |
| B．driving cars at night may lead to night blindness |
| C．walking from a bright room into a dark room may lead to night blindness |
| D．drinking carrot juice helps to protect your eyesight |
Which would be the best title for this passage?
| A．Tips on How to Make Carrot Juice |
| B．The Great Benefits of Carrot Juice |
| C．The Way to Keep Good Health |
| D．A Healthy Diet for Patients |
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