Do dogs understand us?
Be careful what you say around your dog．It might understand more than you think.
A border collie named Rico recognizes the names of about 200 objects, say researchers in Germany．The dog also appears to be able to learn new words as easily as a 3-year-old child．Its word-learning skills are as good as those of a parrot or chimpanzee.
In one experiment, the researchers took all 200 items that Rico is supposed to know and divided them into 20 groups of 10 objects．Then the owner told the dog to go and fetch one of the items and bring it back．In four tests, Rico got 37 out of 40 commands right．As the dog couldn't see anyone to get clues, the scientists believe Rico must understand the meanings of certain words.
In another experiment, the scientists took one toy that Rico had never seen before and put it in a room with seven toys whose names the dog already knew．The owner then told Rico to fetch the object, using a word the dog had never heard before.
The correct object was chosen in seven out of ten tests, suggesting that the dog had worked
out the answer by process of elimination（排除法）．A month later, Rico remembered half of the new names, which is even more impressive．
Rico is thought to be smarter than the average dog．For one thing, Rico is a border collie, a breed （品种）known for its mental abilities．In addition, the 9-year-old dog has been trained to fetch toys by their names since the age of nine months.
It's hard to know if all dogs understand at least some of the words we say．Even if they do, they can't talk back．Still, it wouldn't hurt to sweet-talk your dog every now and then．You might just get a big, wet kiss in return!
1.From paragraph 2 we know that __ .
A．animals are as clever as human beings
B．chimpanzees have very good word-learning skills
C．dogs are smarter than parrots and chimpanzees
D．dogs have similar learning abilities as 3-year-old children
2.Both experiments show that .
A．Rico is smart enough to get all commands right
B．Rico can recognize different things including toys
C．Rico has developed the ability of learning mathematics
D．Rico won't forget the names of objects once recognizing them
3.Which of the following statements is true?
A．Rico has a better memory partly because of its proper early training.
B．The purpose of the experiments is to show the border collie's mental abilities.
C．The border collie is world-famous for recognizing objects.
D．Rico is born to understand its owner's commands.
4.What does the writer want to tell us?
A．To train your dog． B．To talk to your dog.
C．To be careful with your dog． D．To be friendly to your dog.
The first time I saw Carlos I would never have believed he was going to change my life．I had my arms full of books and I was tearing into the classroom when 1 ran into something solid．It was Carlos.
“My God, you’re tall,” he said.
Of course, the class began to laugh．Angry, I walked to my seat without a word.
I glanced back to see if Reed Harrington was laughing with the rest．That would be the last straw．But Reed was studying chemistry and did not seem to be aware of anything else．I didn’t know why I considered Reed my friend．Maybe just because he was a good two inches taller than I．Anyway, every time I blew out my birthday candles and made a wish, it was for a date with Reed Harrington.
“Take that seat，” Mr．McCarthy told the cocky newcomer Carlos，pointing to the only empty one，in the back of the room.
Carlos grinned, “But I need a couple of dictionaries.” Again the class laughed, but now they were laughing with Carlos，not at him．He had been here only 10 minutes and already he had them on his side.
It was the school elections that made me think of Carlos again．Reed Harrington was voted president and Carlos vice-president．“How come ?” I kept asking myself, “How come this shrimp who’s only been in town for a little over a month gets to be so popular?”
So that morning，I stopped Carlos and said，“It doesn’t seem to bother you — being short.” He looked up at me, “Of course I mind being short．But there isn’t anything I can do about it．When I realized I was going to have to spend my life in this undersized skin，I just decided to make the best of it and concentrate on being myself.” “You seem to get along great,” I admitted, “But what about me? Nobody wants to date a girl taller than he is.” “The trouble with you is you’re afraid to be yourself．You’re smart．And you could be pretty．In fact, you might be more than pretty.” I felt myself turning red…
1.The author was angry because ________.
A．the class made fun of her B．Carlos was too rude to her
C．she had to carry many books D．Reed Harrington didn’t date her
2.Which of the following about Carlos is NOT TRUE?
A．He was popular.
B．He was new in the school.
C．He was shorter than the author.
D．He was chosen president in the school elections.
3.We can infer from the passage that ________．
A．Carlos and the author have become good friends
B．the author will be more confident
C．Carlos always encouraged the author
D．the author was tall
4.What’s the best title of the passage?
A．How to be popular B．A tall girl
C．Be yourself D．Something about Carlos
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
My son was badly hurt in a fire．After he 1from a series of treatments, the doctors told him they would not do any operation for six months 2it took long for the skin to stop shrinking（收缩）．So, he had to return to college with a visible 10-inch 3on his face.
I said to my son, “Keaton, 4will pay any more attention to your scar 5you do．If it does not bother you, it will not bother 6.” He took my advice to heart and returned to school with his head 7high — glad he was alive.
8, everyone has scars and shortcomings．Some of you may spend much time thinking that people would like you better, 9you looked different, or dressed differently, or could have a different and newer 10.
But you see, like Keaton’s scar, people will only judge you by your looks, or your 11, or your car, if you are judging yourself by these same false 12.
One of my friends in college was very 13．At first, when people met him, they noticed his 14for about 10 seconds．This man felt 15about himself and spent most of his time 16about other people’s comfort and welfare． 17, people ignored his looks．What people 18was his kindness and his concern for them．He didn’t act in an ugly way so people didn’t treat him as an ugly man.
Therefore, concentrate on what you value 19yourself, because if you can see that beautiful person, everyone you are in contact with will see the same 20．
1.A．cured B．recovered C．improved D．returned
2.A．because B．though C．until D．before
3.A．cut B．wound C．injure D．scar
4.A．no one B．anyone C．everyone D．someone
5.A．as B．like C．than D．when
6.A．another B．others C．all D．us
7.A．put B．held C．taken D．hung
8.A．After all B．In conclusion C．In fact D．Above all
9.A．as long as B．if C．even if D．as if
10.A．house B．telephone C．job D．car
11.A．clothes B．hairstyle C．figure D．salary
12.A．means B．standards C．comments D．rules
13.A．smart B．optimistic C．rude D．ugly
14.A．manners B．expressions C．looks D．actions
15.A．lucky B．worried C．good D．sad
16.A．inquiring B．asking C．knowing D．caring
17.A．Completely B．Gradually C．Obviously D．Suddenly
18.A．wanted B．understood C．brought D．saw
19.A．within B．beyond C．except D．above
20.A．kindness B．concern C．beauty D．perfection
---Don’t you feel cold, Tim? You wear such a jacket in a day at -5℃.
---___________．I’m boiling.
A．No worry B．Take it easy
C．Not in the least D．That’s OK
We may be going skiing at Christmas, but it’s still all up __________．We’ll probably make the decision the day after tomorrow.
A．in the wild B．in the distance
C．in the air D．in the long run
I would appreciate ________ if you could teach me how to use the computer.
A．that B．this C．it D．you
