There is an old saying, “________goes before a fall.”(骄傲)
Monkeys seem to have a way with numbers.
A team of researchers trained three Rhesus monkeys to associate 26 clearly different symbols made up of numbers and selective letters with 0-25 drops of water or juice as a reward. The researchers then tested how the monkeys combined—or added—the symbols to get the reward.
Here's how Harvard Medical School scientist Margaret Livingstone, who led the team, described the experiment: In their cages the monkeys were provided with touch screens. On one part of the screen, a symbol would appear, and on the other side two symbols inside a circle were shown. For example, the number 7 would flash on one side of the screen and the other end would have 9 and 8. If the monkeys touched the left side of the screen they would be rewarded with seven drops of water or juice; if they went for the circle, they would be rewarded with the sum of the numbers—17 in this example.
After running hundreds of tests, the researchers noted that the monkeys would go for the higher values more than half the time, showing that they were performing a calculation(计算), not just remembering the value of each combination.
When the team studied the results of the experiment more closely, they noticed that the monkeys tended to underestimate(低估)a sum compared with a single symbol when the two were close in value—sometimes choosing, for example, a 13 over the sum of 8 and 6. The underestimation was systematic: When adding two numbers, the monkeys always paid attention to the larger of the two, and then added only a fraction(小部分)of the smaller number to it.
"This shows that there is a certain way number is represented in their brains, "Dr. Livingstone says. “But in this experiment what they're doing is paying more attention to the big number than the little one.”
1.What did the researchers do to the monkeys before testing them?
A.They fed them. B.They named them.
C.They trained them. D.They washed them.
2.How did the monkeys get their reward in the experiment?
A.By drawing a circle. B.By touching a screen.
C.By watching videos. D.By mixing two drinks.
3.What did Livingstone's team find about the monkeys?
A.They could perform basic addition. B.They could understand simple words.
C.They could remember numbers easily. D.They could hold their attention for long.
4.In which part of a newspaper may this text appear?
A.Science. B.Health. C.Education. D.Entertainment.
You’ve probably never seen a movie quite like this one. Loving Vincent is the world’s first hand-painted animated movie. It is made fully with paintings. Every scene was created using oil paint on canvas(画布). Twelve frames(画面) were painted just to show one second of the movie. It took more than 100 artists seven years to complete it.
The movie has gotten good reviews since it came out on the Chinese mainland on Dec. 8. Its box office has reached over $20 million(132.43 million yuan) worldwide, according to Variety.
The film tells the story of the final months of famous Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890). The story is told through his paintings and the characters in them. It shows his death as being part of a murder mystery, as Hollywood Reporter said.
A young man named Armand Roulin serves as both detective and storyteller. A year after the death of Vincent van Gogh, Armand is instructed by his father, Postman Joseph Roulin, to personally send a letter to Vincent’s brother, Theo. Armand travelled across Europe to the town where Vincent spent his final months. When he finds that Theo has died of a disease shortly after his brother, he visits several important people in Van Gogh’s life to find out the truth behind his death. But each person tells a different story.
There are many examples of the artist’s work in the movie. It shows over 120 of his paintings, such as The Night Café, Wheat field With Crows, and The Starry Night. It’s no wonder Empire Magazine called it “ one of the most beautiful films ”.
The real-life letters that Van Gogh wrote to his brother are shown as well. The movie lets you see the real Vincent van Gogh in a different way.
1._______ paintings were needed for the 90-minute movie.
A.12 B.120 C.About 20,000 D.About 65,000
2.The story is told from _______ point of view.
A.Vincent’s B.Theo’s C.Armand’s D.Joseph’s
3.Which of the following shows the correct order of the events?
a. Armand was asked to send a letter to Theo
b. Vincent van Gogh died in a small town
c. Theo died of a disease
d. Armand interviewed several important people
e. Armand travelled across Europe
A.b-c-a-e-d B.e-c-b-d-a C.e-a-d-b-c D.b-e-a-c-d
4.Which of the following might be the review of the film?
A.The film explores what it is to follow your dreams, respect your family and that seeing is not always believing
B.Should I go out to a movie tonight, or visit the art museum? The film is the closest you can get to doing both .
C.I’m rather surprised at the number of people saying it’s too violent or scary. Even if some scenes are a bit scary, the humour of it gives it a balance.
D.It is funny , well acted and stays true to the original comic strip . This is such a great kids movie
It is dark. Holmes, Lestrade and I move towards the house. “Let’s wait here,”Holmes says.“We can hide behind these rocks. Watson, go to the house and see what they are doing. Make sure they don’t see you.” I hide behind a wall. I can see Mr. Stapleton and Sir Henry sitting at a table.
Then, Stapleton leaves the room and walks to a shed in the yard. He opens the door and there is a strange noise from inside. After a minute he locks the door and goes back into the house. I hurry back to report everything to Lestrade and Holmes.
There is now a thick white fog over the moor. “The fog is getting thicker,” says Holmes, “This is very serious--Sir Henry must go home soon.”
Suddenly, we hear footsteps. They get closer and we see Sir Henry walking towards us through the fog. Then, we hear something. A terrible animal appears. It is a huge black hound. There is fire coming from its mouth and its huge eyes are glowing.
The hound runs after Sir Henry. Holmes and I both fire our guns. We hit it but the hound doesn’t stop. It jumps on Sir Henry and pushes him to the ground. Holmes points his gun and shoots the hound five times. The giant hound is dead.
Sir Henry is lying on the path. We run to him and find he is alive.
I put my hand on the hound’s glowing face and find my own fingers glow in the dark. “Phosphorous(含磷的),” I say.
We walk toward Merripit House to search for Stapleton. In the house we don’t find him, but we find Mrs. Stapleton tied up in a bedroom. We untie her. When she knows Sir Henry is alive and the hound is dead, she cries, “Thank God! ”
“Now we have proof, we need Stapleton.” says Holmes.
Taken from The Hound of the Baskervilles
1.What does Watson see Stapleton do in the yard?
A.He takes the hound for a walk in the yard. B.He looks around the moor with a telescope.
C.He drinks and talks with Sir Henry happily. D.He opens a shed door and locks it again soon.
2.What does they in Paragraph 4 refer to?
A.Sir Henry and the hound. B.Sir Henry ‘s footsteps .
C.Mr. Stapleton and the hound. D.Mr. Stapleton’s footsteps.
3.According to the story, which of the following is the correct order?
①Holmes kills the hound with his gun.
②Mr. Stapleton ties his wife in the bedroom.
③Sir Henry comes out of the house to the path.
④Mr. Stapleton opens the shed door and locks it again.
⑤Mrs. Stapleton is saved.
⑥The huge hound runs after Sir Henry.
⑦We search Merripit House for Mr. Stapleton.
A.④②③⑥①⑦⑤ B.④③⑥①②⑦⑤
C.②④③⑥①⑤⑦ D.②④③⑥①⑦⑤
4.What do you think will happen next in the novel?
A.Mr. Stapleton will tell Holmes what he has done.
B.Sir Henry will be in danger after returning home.
C.Mrs. Stapleton will take us to search for Stapleton.
D.Holmes will talk about the Baskerville case at once.
How to clean the keyboard
Turn off your laptop before you do any cleaning. Even though you won’t be putting water directly onto your laptop, you should turn off the power to make sure nothing gets damaged if a little moisture does get inside.
Turn the laptop upside down and gently tap or shake it. This will remove big pieces of dirt, crumps (碎屑) or other debris (碎片) that’s hiding in your keyboard.
Tip: It may help to spread a towel under the laptop before you shake it, to make cleanup easier.
Spay between the keys with compressed air to remove dust. The air of the force will blow the dust that’s trapped between and under the keys.
Remove dirt with a cotton ball and alcohol (酒精). Alcohol evaporates (蒸发)quickly, making it a safe alternative to using water on your laptop. Alcohol is especially good at removing the dirt left by your fingers. In addition, alcohol is good at removing germs (细菌).
1.To remove big pieces of dust in our keyboard, we can ________.
A.put the keyboard under the tap and wash it
B.shake the laptop hard until the dirt falls out
C.turn the laptop upside down and gently shake it
D.remove the dirt with a cotton ball and alcohol
2.Using alcohol is safer than using water on keyboard because ________.
A.alcohol can remove germs B.alcohol can disappear faster when it is used
C.alcohol can protect our fingers D.alcohol is good for cleaning oil
3.Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the steps?
A.What should we do before cleaning.
B.How to remove big pieces of dirt.
C.How to remove the dust between the keys.
D.How should we clean the screen.
My favourite class at school was dance class. It was a new experience for me. At first, I didn’t think I’d like it, but I decided to give it a _______.
To begin with, it was_______to have to hold with a boy and dance. The steps were OK, and the music was OK, but boys were not really OK. The teacher was nice and funny, and she got us used to working together as a _______. Then it wasn’t so strange working with a partner any more.
As the lessons _______ and I learned new dances like waltz, I really began to enjoy myself. Even being with partners wasn’t bad. In fact, I started enjoying dancing with partners who tried hard and know our steps. Some of the boys thought it was a _______ . And they didn’t take it seriously. I hated dancing with them, but I _______ took my turn with them anyway.
To be a proper lady was another thing I learned while I was dancing. I never thought much about it before, but the teacher expected me to _______ like a lady, which meant I had to accept dance partners politely _______ I didn’t like them. Just like life, you sometimes have to do things you don’t want to, the teacher _______ . Yet, that didn’t mean I didn’t enjoy dancing with a boy who had the proper height and good steps to be a great partner.
As the classes neared their end, I was happy to hear I’d been ________ as a finalist. That meant I and my partner, Todd, would ________ my school and go dancing at a competition.
The competition was like ________ out of a storybook. Everyone was smiling, wearing great clothes, and hair was done nicely. It was hard not to be ________ , but it was hard not to feel special, too. Todd and I, along with my teammates, danced our way ________the competition. It was hard, and all the other dancers were so good!
It was sad not to win the competition, but a third place finish was ________. Maybe next year our dancers would come in first place. I was proud I learned a lot. I just know I loved to dance, especially the waltz.
1.A.change B.chance C.reason D.result
2.A.different B.difficult C.common D.strange
3.A.class B.club C.team D.task
4.A.went on B.went by C.came over D.came back
5.A.joke B.step C.lesson D.story
6.A.angrily B.carefully C.happily D.politely
7.A.look B.learn C.behave D.play
8.A.if B.so C.since D.though
9.A.agreed B.smiled C.replied D.explained
10.A.tested B.chosen C.known D.regarded
11.A.represent B.require C.recommend D.remind
12.A.something B.everything C.anything D.nothing
13.A.surprised B.excited C.nervous D.serious
14.A.across B.through C.past D.to
15.A.comfortable B.acceptable C.changeable D.enjoyable
