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(黑猩猩).
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 l0 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 3 we know that _________.
A. animals are as clever as human beings
B. dogs are smarter than parrots and chimpanzees
C. chimpanzees have very good word-learning skills
D. dogs have the same speaking 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. The purpose of the experiments is to show the border collie's physical abilities.
B. Rico has a better memory partly because of its proper early training.
C. The Border collie is world-famous for fetching objects.
D. Rico is born to understand all 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 friendly to your dog. D. To be careful with your dog.
Summer Holiday Fun 2010 !
The summer holidays are upon us again Here is our guide to summer holiday fun in Peterborough!
Peterborough Museum
The Age of the Dinosaurs’is the museum’s main attraction this summer．Get up close to prehistoric creatures via some great hands—on exhibits! Watch out for monsters lurking around every ember! The museum is open from 10：00am to 5：00pm Monday to Saturday，and from 12：00pm to 4：00 pm on Sundays in August．
Call 01733 864663 for details
Saxon Youth Club
School holiday fun：Young people aged 13—19 will be able to produce their own music, compete in spots activities，or try their hand at cooking at Saxon Youth Club，Saxon Community Centre, Norman Road．Peterborough every Monday and Wednesday from 3：00pm．PLUS an aero ball tournament will take place on Thursday 12th August between 3：30pm and 6：30pm．
Call 01 353 720274 for details
Houghton Mill
Alice through the Looking Class—a new production of the family favorite on Monday 30th．August．Bring rugs or chairs to sit on and a picnic if you wish to eat during the play．Gates open 5：30pm. performance 6：30pm—8：30pm．Tea room will be open until end of the interval．
Adult ￡10．Child￡7．Family ￡20．
Booking advisable on 0845 4505157．
Farmland Museum and Denny Abbey
Farmland Gaines：From Wellie Wanging to Pretend Ploughing matches，come and join the Farmland Team．Collect your sporting stickers and create a colorful rosette that is fit for a winner！No need to book，just turn up between 12：00pm and 4：00pm on Thursday 19th August Suitable for children aged four and above，each child should be accompanied by an adult and all activities are included in the normal admission price Tickets Cost￡7 per child．
For further information，call 01223 810080．
1.If you are interested in cooking, you can go to__________.
A．Peterborough Museum B．Houghton Mill
C．Saxon Youth Club D．Farmland Museum
2.You want to watch the new play with your parents，so it will cost you_________
A．￡7 B．￡17 C．￡27 D．￡20
3.Which of the following activities needs parents’ company?
A．Playing farmland games B．Watching a new play．
C．Competing in spots activities． D．Visiting the dinosaur exhibition．
4.If Tom comes to Peterborough for amusement on August 19，he will have_______ activities to
choose from for himself．
A. one activity B. two activities
C. three activities D. four activities
Can you imagine a classroom missing the one thing that has long been considered a necessary part to reading and writing? No paper. No notebooks, no textbooks, no test papers. Nor are there any pencils or pens, which always seem to run out of ink at the critical moment.
A “paperless classroom” is what more and more schools are trying to achieve. Students don’t do any handwriting in this class. Instead, they use palm-sized, or specially-designed computers. The teacher downloads texts from Internet libraries and sends them to every student’s personal computer.
Having computers also means that students can use the Wed. They can look up information on any subject they’re studying, from Maths to social science.
High school teacher Judy Herrell in Florida., US, described how her class used the Wed to refugee camps,” she said. “Using a book that’s three or four years old is impossible.”
A paperless classroom is a big step towards reducing the waste of paper each week to each student.
“Think about the money and trees we could save with the computers,” she said.
But, with all this technology, there’s always the risk that the machines will break down. So, in case of a power failure or technical problems, paper textbooks are still widely available for these hi-tech students.
1.In a paperless classroom, what is a must?
A. Pens. B. Computers. C. Textbooks D. Pencils.
2.The high school teacher, Judy Harrell, used the example of her class to show that ________
A. the Web could take them everywhere
B. the Web taught them everything.
C. the Web is a good tool for information
D. the Web is where you can download information
3.Which of the following is NOT an advantage of a paperless classroom?
A. You won’t get angry with your pen.
B. Computers may break down sometimes.
C. Students can get information from Internet.
D. A lot of money or money or trees will be saved.
We all know that language can sometimes get lost in translation. But do you know that some facial 1. may also be2. in cross-cultural situations?
According to a study by Glasgow University, Europeans look3. a person's whole face 4. people from East Asia focus 5.on the eyes. Researchers recorded the eye movements of 13 Westerners and 13 Easterners as they observed pictures of expressive faces. They were asked to6.the pictures into the following categories: happy, sad, surprised, fearful, disgusted, angry, or neutral.
The team found East Asians focus much more attention on the eyes and also make a 7.number of mistakes. Different from Europeans, they8. to have a more difficult time 9. the difference between a face that looks fearful as opposed to surprised, and disgusted as opposed to angry.
"Westerners look at the eyes and the mouth10. , whereas Easterners11.the eyes and neglect the mouth," said researcher Rachael Jack. "This means that Easterners have12. in telling apart facial expressions that look similar around the eye region."
Jack said that the differences in eye movement reflected a cultural13.in the way people use their faces to express themselves. Easterners use the eyes more and the mouth 14. .
The difference in the use of text message "emoticons" (表情符号) 15. the idea. Easterners use the eyes to16. emotion, for example "^-^" for happy and "┬_┬" for sad. Westerners, 17., use the mouth, for example ":-)" for happy and ":-(" for sad.
The researchers said their results showed communication between people is much more18. than previously thought. When it 19. communicating emotions across cultures, Easterners and Westerners can find themselves20. in translation.
21. A. expressions B. appearances C. features D. differences
22. A. interesting B. confusing C. outstanding D. surprising
23. A. across B. for C. on D. into
24.A. when B. as C. while D. if
25.A. really B. mainly C. slightly D. nearly
26. A. make B. turn C. get D. put
27. A. small B. big C. fewer D. larger
28.A. need B. attempt C. tend D. intend
29. A. saying B. telling C. knowing D. judging
30.A. in a different way B. in equal measure C. in turns D. alternatively
31. A. favor B. approve C. find D. focus
32. A. difficulty B. ability C. possibility D. certainty
33. A. interest B. gap C. similarity D. concern
34. A. little B. least C. less D. more
35. A. supports B. opposes C. rejects D. counts
36. A. make B. create C. convey D. prove
37. A. therefore B. however C. although D. moreover
38. A. separated B. related C. expected D. complicated
39. A. comes to B. talks about C. turns to D. gets to
40. A. puzzling B. lost C. exciting D. upset
— May I ask you a favor?
— ___________
A It’s my pleasure. B I have no time C With pleasure D Sure, go ahead.
It is global warming, rather than other factors, _______ the extreme weather.
A that have led to B which has caused C which are causing D that has led to
