While dog keepers realize their dogs can read their moods accurately, scientists have always been a little doubtful. Now thanks to some researchers at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, Austria, we finally have some convincing evidence.
For their study, biologist Corson Miller and his team exposed eleven selected dogs to digital images of women that were either angry or happy. Half the dogs were rewarded for touching the screen when shown a happy face, while the other half got their treat for selecting those that appeared angry.
Interestingly, the dogs were not provided with the entire face. Some dogs were shown only upper halves while the others observed lower halves. That’s because the scientists believe humans show their emotions on their entire face.
After some training like how to recognize small differences like the wrinkles between the eyes or the changes in their shape that accompany the happy or angry expressions, the dogs were mostly able to identify the correct expression not only on a familiar face but on a strange face. The researchers concluded the dogs were smart enough to read human emotions.
They also found those being trained to read angry expressions took a longer time to learn. They guess it may be because dogs find angry faces disgusting, causing them to withdraw quickly. However, once the smart dogs realized they were getting rewarded, the trepidation seemed to disappear. In fact, the dogs had such a good time playing the computer "game" that scientists had a hard time keeping them away from the touch screens after the study was completed.
The researchers also noticed only dogs with a male owner had a harder time understanding the expressions correctly. Since the touchscreen models were all females, this confirmed what has been observed in previous studies—dogs are more efficient at reading facial expressions of people that are the same gender as their owner.
1.How did the scientists conduct the experiment?
A. By mixing the selected dogs together.
B. By leaving dogs to women who are either happy or angry.
C. By showing digital pictures of women’s happy or angry faces.
D. By rewarding only half of the dogs touching the screen.
2.Which of the following statements is TRUE about the dogs in the study?
A. The dogs were not all provided with the entire face.
B. The dogs couldn’t read strangers facial emotions.
C. According to their size, the dogs were given either upper or lower halves.
D. The dogs could make out small changes accompanying facial expressions.
3.The underlined word "trepidation" in Paragraph 5 probably means ________.
A. curiosity B. horror C. excitement D. doubt
4.How might the results change if the dogs with female owners are shown pictures of male faces?
A. They would be scared away at the sight of the pictures.
B. They found it easy to tell the emotions on the entire face.
C. They could only tell emotions on partial faces rather than on entire faces.
D. They found it hard to tell the moods on the faces of a different gender.
When I was about 4 years old, I decided to go to Disney World. For most young kids, it’s a normal request, but I had cerebral palsy (脑瘫). Walking into anywhere, let alone a crowded place like Disney World was, to put it lightly, a tall order. Luckily, I had people in my corner to help me. Over the next three years, I worked with physical doctors, acquired a walker, and practiced walking, standing, and balance — all skills that I would need to turn my goal into a reality.
I remember the feeling when my legs would protest doing any more work. Despite this, everyone else told me I could do it, so I kept it up. It was all because of people like my parents, brothers, teachers, and doctors that I was able to grow so much, both physically and mentally. Constantly pushing me to “walk on,” yet encouraging me whenever I needed it.
On June 9, 2008, as I stood in the tunnel leading into Main Street, my dad asked me if I wanted any help. I instantly replied, “No!” and situated myself facing the end of the tunnel, feet planted firmly, heart most likely beating out of my chest. Then I went, walking ever so slowly at first, then gradually speeding up. Step, step, step, step, bump. Holding fast onto the handlebars, I gathered up all my strength, picked up my walker and straightened out, picking up my pace once again. It wasn’t too long before the cheering increased because I had made it to the end, where my mom was waiting with tears in her eyes and arms open wide ready to hug her son and tell him how proud she was.
Looking back on that experience, I realize something pretty thoughtful. Every once in a while, life will throw a few bumps in the road. Though it may set you back for a bit, don’t let it stop you. Pick yourself back up and finish. It’s worth it. Besides, there just might be someone there cheering you on along the way.
1.Which of the following best explains “a tall order” underlined in paragraph 1?
A.An easy decision. B.An available action.
C.A reasonable order. D.A challenging task.
2.Why does the author say he’s lucky?
A.He eventually has his brain disease well cured.
B.He constantly gets courage and support from others.
C.He is likely to do any kind of work in his later life.
D.He is naturally gifted in keeping balance on his own.
3.The author gives a vivid picture of himself in paragraph 3 to______.
A.explain he was terrified to take the first step
B.describe he took pride in his mother and friends
C.show how he managed to walk by himself
D.prove how he understood to respect others
4.What can be the best title of the text?
A.Where Dreams Come True B.When Bad Fortune Falls
C.How I Value Friendship D.Why I Look Back My Life
Every week in China, millions of people will sit in front of their TVs watching teenagers compete for the title Character Hero, which is a Chinesestyle spelling bee (拼写大赛). In this challenge, young competitors must write Chinese characters by hand. To prepare for the competition, the competitors usually spend months studying dictionaries.
Perhaps the show’s popularity should not be a surprise. Along with gunpowder and paper, many Chinese people consider the creation of Chinese calligraphy(书法) to be one of their primary contributions. Unfortunately, all over the country, Chinese people are forgetting how to write their own language without computerized help. Software on smart phones and computers allows users to type in the basic sound of the word using the Latin alphabet (字母). The correct character is chosen from a list. The result? It’s possible to recognize characters without remembering how to write them.
But there’s still hope for the paint brush. China’s Education Ministry wants children to spend more time learning how to write.
In one Beijing primary school we visited, students practice calligraphy every day inside a specially decorated classroom with traditional Chinese paintings hanging on the walls. Soft music plays as a group of sixyearolds dip brush pens into black ink. They look up at the blackboard often to study their teacher’s examples before carefully trying to reproduce those characters on thin rice paper. “If adults can survive without using handwriting, why bother to teach it now?” we ask the calligraphy teacher, Shen Bin. “The ability to write characters is part of Chinese tradition and culture,” she reasons. “Students must learn now so they don’t forget when they grow up.” says the teacher.
1.What can we learn about the Character Hero?
A.It draws great public attention across the country.
B.It’s the mostviewed TV programs in the world.
C.It means to spread Chinese culture to the world.
D.It’s open to people of all ages and all walks.
2.Why are Chinese people forgetting how to write the characters?
A.Chinese people don’t refer to dictionaries very often.
B.Chinese people no longer use brush pens or practice calligraphy.
C.Chinese people are using the Latin alphabet instead of the characters.
D.Chinese people needn’t write by hand as often with the help of technology.
3.According to Shen Bin, being able to write characters by hand is ________.
A.necessary for adults to survive in China
B.a requirement made by the Education Ministry
C.helpful to keep Chinese tradition and culture alive
D.an ability to be developed only when you are students
假定你是李华， 正在你校做交换生的英国好友Bruce 发邮件说他打算参加你校“Chinese Art”兴趣小组，有两门课程可以选择:剪纸(paper-cutting) 和京剧 (Beijing Opera)，希望你能给些建议。请你给他回一封邮件，内容包括:
1. 你建议的课程；
2. 你的理由；
3. 你的祝福。
注意:1.短文词数不少于100。 2.内容充实，结构完整，语意连贯。
Dear Bruce,
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
文中共有10处语言错误，错误涉及一个单词的增加，删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出修改后的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（﹨）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1. 每处错误仅限1词；
2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分
During the winter vacation I went on a trip, that was wonderful because I tried something I have never experienced before. One morning when we were walking along the beach, enjoyed sunshine, someone strongly advised that we went water skiing. However, we didn’t dare to face the challenge because that seemed dangerous to do it. My friends all encouraged me, so I finally joined in them. At last, I couldn’t stop screaming in fright. Later I felt that it was an amazement filling with fun. From an experience I learned that we should be brave enough to try something new. Only in this way we find a better self to meet any challenge.
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容或括号内单词的正确形式。
Some years ago, SARS broke out in the mainland of China, 1. (cause) some people to be killed or nearly got to death. 2. severe was the situation that there was no time to debate who was 3. (blame). The most important thing for the government to do was find out the cause of this 4. (dead) disease. They invited all the top experts in this field to have a discussion and quite a few 5. (suggestion) were put forward. Some of the top experts picked out those suggestions and tested them to see whether they were available. Doctor Zhong Nanshan chose one patient 6. was seriously ill and had little hope of picking up and had the new medicine 7. (test) on him. To his great joy, this patient recovered! He made his way to his office and telephoned the top official, telling him the exciting news. For 8. (convenient), he moved to live in his office. His method did make sense. 9. wasn’t long before the other hospitals also controlled this terrible disease and kicked it out finally. If no efforts 10. (make), China couldn’t have defeated SARS.
