Some pigs tend to be optimistic while others are pessimistic, according to a new research that is meaningful to animal welfare. The study, published in the journal Biology Letters, is the first to show that mood and personality interact in an animal, influencing judgment.
Asher, a researcher at the University of Newcastle's Institute of Neuroscience, and her team housed groups of pigs in two types of environment. One reflected standard commercial conditions and the other was cushier with more space and plenty of soft, deep straw. After the pigs got accustomed to these new homes over a few weeks, the researchers picked 18 pigs from each type to train and test their judgment.
“To do this, we trained each pig. In one corner of a training room there would be a bowl with chocolate sweets — pigs love them — and at the opposite side of the room there would be a bowl containing coffee beans, which pigs find bittertasting,” a researcher said.
Over a number of training trials, pigs learned to go to the bowl reliably when it was in the corner where they had figured out to expect chocolate sweets. On the contrary, they quickly learned to avoid the bowl when it was in the corner where they would expect to find the coffee beans.
The researchers next placed an unfamiliar bowl in different locations, to see how the pigs would react. Some gaily dashed to the bowl no matter what was inside, showing optimism that it would contain their favorite sweets. Others, however, behaved as though they expected it to contain coffee beans, displaying pessimism.
The findings suggest that a onesizefitsall answer to animal welfare issues does not exist. Even if pigs are just equal to bacon or other meat for some people, there is still cause for concern. Studies have suggested that how an animal is treated during its lifetime can directly affect meat quality and taste.
1.What was the study trying to figure out?
A.How to make pigs happier.
B.The similarities between humans and pigs.
C.How living environment affected pigs' mood.
D.How pigs' mood and personality affected their judgment.
2.What does the underlined word “cushier” in Paragraph 2 mean?
A.Simple. B.More comfortable.
C.Unpractical. D.Less free.
3.What do the findings of the new research imply?
A.People should treat pigs equally.
B.People's health relies on meat quality.
C.People should meet pigs' various needs.
D.People's attitude toward pigs is totally wrong.
The old Chinese saying “as happy as spending the New Year” might be outdated now in the busy modern world. The Spring Festival is regarded as the most important festival for Chinese people and an occasion for all family members to get together, like Christmas in the West. But many traditional customs accompanying the Spring Festival, however, have weakened in practice.
Setting off fireworks was once the most typical custom of the Spring Festival. People thought the sputtering (爆裂) sound could help drive away evil spirits. However, the activity has been completely or partially forbidden in big cities for years as the government has taken security, noise and pollution factors into consideration.
“In recent years, some cities have begun to allow people to light fireworks during limited hours at the Spring Festival, surrendering to (屈从于) public demand. Respecting folk traditions is a gesture of respect toward public opinion,” said Zhou Xing, a folklore researcher.
“As people gain more income and it becomes easier to buy daily goods, the New Year holiday is just like any other. After long workdays, many people use the New Year holiday to take a rest, rather than visiting friends and neighbors. The process of making and enjoying the family dinner on Spring Festival Eve is the most important thing. However, many families would like to eat out to save time and energy,” said Li Shunzhi, a resident of Harbin, Heilongjiang.
“I enjoy the holidays very much in the countryside. My family has been preparing for the Spring Festival more than two weeks before the holiday, cleaning the house, buying holiday goods and decorating the house with papercuttings. On New Year's Eve, the whole family stays up to see the New Year in, and in the days to follow, a series of activities such as lion dancing, dragon lantern dancing, lantern festivals and temple fairs will be held. Without the ancient traditions, the holiday is nothing to us,” said Zhang Hui, from Hebei.
1.What Li Shunzhi said implies ________.
A.what people do during the festival now is different from the past
B.people would like to have the family dinner on Spring Festival Eve
C.people prefer to visit friends and neighbors rather than take a rest
D.the New Year holiday is just like any other day
2.What can we learn from the last paragraph?
A.Zhang Hui often spends two weeks preparing for the Spring Festival.
B.Zhang Hui is used to spending the Spring Festival with his family.
C.Zhang Hui always takes part in a series of activities after the Spring Festival.
D.Zhang Hui lives in the urban area.
3.What does the whole passage show?
A.The Spring Festival is as lively as before.
B.The Spring Festival is outdated now.
C.The Spring Festival is losing its qualities.
D.The Spring Festival in China is more important than Christmas in the West.
句子翻译
1.很多人被活埋了，城市也被掩埋。（so）
2.世界人口比1800年增长了六倍。（what）
3.虽然学生们觉得士兵的想法有趣，但这一方法太难不实用。（be of+名词）
4.谈及广告，我们都必须运用自己的智慧，不要做广告的奴隶！（come to）
5.Hannah一定是在承诺不告诉他人之后将我的成绩告诉了我的同学们。（must）
用情态动词或时态填空
1.I didn’t arrive on time, otherwise I _______ missed the first bus.
2.—Did you say that there were only ten tickets? There ________be twelve.
—I said it was twelve.
3.If I _______ plan to do anything I wanted to, I’d like to go to Tibet and travel through as much of it as possible.
4.—What does the sign over there read?
—“No person ____________ smoke or carry a lighted cigarette, cigar or pipe in this area.”
5.No one thought that he could fly over the Antarctic, but Byrd________ do it by making his plane light.
6.The ground is wet. It_________ have rained last night.
7.Tom ought not to _________（tell）me your secret, but he meant no harm.
8.He might _________（give）you more help,even though he was very busy.
9.The old man ________ have a smoke under a big tree every afternoon after he finished his farm work.
10.He daren’t speak English before such a crowd, ________ he?
请认真阅读下列各个小题，并根据所给首字母或中文提示，写出下列各句空格中的单词，注意保持语义和形式的—致。请把正确答案填写在答题卡相应题号的横线上。
1.This TV series is ________ (针对) specially at teenagers aged 13 to 18.
2.The manager got promoted as he completed the project well within ________ (预算).
3.Large audiences were ________ (吸引) to the film “The Wandering Earth”, which turned out to be a box-office hit.
4.It was a close game in which the Kangaroos ________ (打平) with the Eagles in the first half final.
5.What time would it be ________ (方便的) for me to come over to pick you up for the meeting?
6.Do some exercises as a preparation before you swim. O________ you might hurt yourself.
7.The sound of gunfire p________ the crowd, who fed in all directions with fear.
8.Parents should set good examples for children, as children always learn by o________ adults.
9.The judge concluded from the evidence that Jack was i ________ of the murder and should be set free.
10.Hackers gained complete a________ to Tom’s mobile phones, stealing all the money on WeChat.
阅读下面短文，在空白处填入适当的词，如有括号提示，请以提示词的正确形式填空。请将答案的完整形式写在答题卡上相应题号的横线上。
This was Buck in the fall of 1897,when the discovery of gold in the Klondike brought men from everywhere to the frozen north.But Buck did not read the newspapers,and he did not know that Manuel,one of the gardener's helpers,was 1.a good man.Manuel gambled(赌博）and wasted the little money he had.And one time when the Judge was 2.business,and his sons were busy with a sports club,Manuel did 3.terrible.No one saw him and Buck go off on what Buck imagined was a walk.No one saw them arrive at the railway station, 4.Manuel sold Buck to a man who was waiting for him.
Manuel put a rope around Buck's neck,under the collar.Buck accepted this 5.he knew Manuel,but when the rope was placed in the 6.(strange)hands,he barked dangerously. And when the rope 7.(fix)around his neck,he started to choke and jumped at the man in anger.The man fought him off and forced Buck 8.(lie)on his back,and fixed the rope even more.Buck had not been treated so 9.(bad)in his life,and never had been so angry.Then his strength gave out and he soon became senseless.He was 10.senseless when the train arrived and the two men threw him into the baggage car.
