The discovery of an ancient giant panda skull has confirmed its bamboo diet dates back more than 2 million years and may have played a key part in its survival.[来源:
A Chinese-US research team reports its results today following studies on a fossil skull found in south China’s Cuangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in 2001.
The six fossils unearthed in Jinyin Cave are dated between 2.4 and 2 million years ago, according to the report in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, an influential US journal.
Jin Changzhu, of the chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and lead author of the paper, said the smaller fossil skull indicates the giant pandas were about a third smaller than today’s pandas.
Researchers knew the panda reached its maximum size about 500,000 years ago, when it peaked ,and then gradually became smaller.
Jin, a paleontologist (古生物学者) at the Institute of Vertebrate paleontology and Paleoanthropology (古人类学) attached to the CAS, said the size variation was a basic rule of evolution.
“A species tends to grow bigger when it reaches the peak of its population , but becomes smaller when numbers decline,” he said.
The dental remains of the skull, which is the oldest giant panda skull ever found, are similar to today’s pandas, indicating the type of teeth that could munch (津津有味地嚼)mountains of bamboo. A panda can eat up to 40kg of bamboo per day.
Paleoanthropologist Russell Ciochon, the US co-author at the University of lowa, said the panda’s focus on bamboo could have helped it survive all these years.
“Once an animal begins to rely on a common and stable food source, such as bamboo, it tends to evolve a larger body size,” he said. “As individuals of the evolving species grow bigger, they have a better chance not to be eaten by predators (肉食动物) due to their larger body size.”
1.According to the research of the CAS , there were most pandas in the world .
A. 2 million years ago
B. between 2.4 and 2 million years ago
C. 500,000 years ago
D. Nowadays
2.The underlined word “variation” in para 6 means .
A. fall B. change C. increase D. decrease
3.From the passage, we can learn .
A. pandas began to eat bamboo 2 million years ago
B. a species tends to grow smaller when numbers decline
C. the giant pandas were about a third the size of today’s pandas
D. pandas’ bamboo has played an important role in its development
4.The passage mainly tells us that .
A. pandas are endangered
B. pandas had a long history
C. pandas had bamboo to beat predators
D. today’s Pandas are similar to the oldest ones
Every day we are exposed to images, videos, music and news. In this age of visual and aural hyper-stimulation, the medium of radio is making a great comeback.
“We’re at the beginning of a golden age of audio,” said US-based podcaster Alex Blumberg in an article in The Sydney Morning Herald. In the last month alone, 15 percent of US adults listened to a radio podcast (播客). These statistics, released by Edison Research, show the successful evolution of traditional radio broadcasts to the present day’s digital podcast format. The term “podcast” was invented in 2004, but the trend only started gaining mainstream popularity in recent years. With the sharp increase in consumer demand for smartphones and tablets, podcast sales have jumped.
The appeal of the podcast partly lies in its multiplatform delivery and on-demand capabilities (功能). You can listen during those extra minutes of the day when you’re walking to the shops, waiting in a queue or riding the subway. Similar to television shows, podcasts are generally free to download and most offer new content every week.
Donna Jackson, 22, Sydney University media graduate, listens to podcasts two or three times a week, via iTune. “I listen while I’m wandering around the house doing something else. It makes completing a boring task much more enjoyable… And it’s an easy way of keeping in touch with what’s going on in the rest of the world,” she said, “I mainly listen to BBC podcasts, but recently I’ve also been listening to This American Life and Serial. They have a special skill to really draw you in.”
Unlike television and music, the audio format has the potential to create a deep impression on readers. Blumberg says this owes to the podcast’s ability “to create close relationship and emotional connection.” Sydney University undergraduate Hazel Proust, majoring in social work and arts, agrees. “When you’re listening, it feels as if the voice of the podcast’s storyteller is talking directly to you. It’s comforting.” said Proust.
It seems the age-old tradition of verbal storytelling is very much alive and well.
1.From the first two paragraphs, we can learn that ________.
A. traditional broadcast has come back
B. Americans love listening to the radio
C. podcasts have become very popular today
D. smartphones sell well because of podcasts
2.The writer mentions Donna Jackson mainly to ________.
A. tell how young people relax themselves
B. explain why young people like podcasts
C. introduce what programs podcasts are presenting
D. show how popular podcasts are presenting
3.Paragraph 5 is mainly about ________.
A. the influence of radios
B. the advantage of podcasts
C. readers’ impression on radios
D. people’s reaction to the medium
4.What is probably the best title of the passage?
A. Return of Radio B. Opinions of Podcast
C. Features of Radio D. Technology of Podcast
As we grow old, we realize that we have so little time to read and there are so many great books that we’ve yet to get around to. Yet re-readers are everywhere around us. For certain fans, re-reading The Lord of the Rings is a conventional practice annually. One friend told me that Jane Austen’s Emma can still surprise him, despite his having read it over 50 times.
New sudden clear understandings can be gained from the process of re-reading. Journalist Rebacca Mead, a long-time Englishwoman in New York, first came across George Eliot’s Middlemarch at 17. Since then, she has read it again every five years. With each re-reading, it has opened up further; in each chapter of her life, it has resonated (引起共鸣) differently. Mead evidenced the large number of ways in which really good books not only stand the test of repeat reads, but also offer fresh gifts each time we crack their spines. These kinds of books grow with us.
Scientists have also recognized the mental health benefits of re-reading. Research conducted with readers in the US found that on our first reading, we are concerned with the “what” and the “why”. Second time round, we’re able to better appreciate the emotions that the plot continues to express. As researcher Cristel Russell of the American University explained, returning to a book “brings new or renewed appreciation of both the great book and its readers.”
It’s true that we often find former selves on the pages of old books (if we’re fond of making notes on the pages). These texts can carry us back to a time and place, and remind us of the kind of person that we were then. We’re changed not only by lived experience but also by read experience – by the books that we’ve discovered since last reading the one in our hand.
More so than the movie director or the musician, the writer calls upon our imaginations, using words to lead us to picture this declaration of love or that unfaithfulness in life. A book is a joint project between writers and readers, and we must pour so much of ourselves into reading that our own life story can become connected with the story in the book.
Perhaps what’s really strange is that we don’t re-read more often. After all, we watch our favourite films again and we wouldn’t think of listening to an album only once. We treasure messy old paintings as objects, yet of all art forms, literature alone is a largely one-time delight. A book, of course, takes up more time, but as Mead confirms, the rewards make it adequately worthwhile.
1.The two books are mentioned in Paragraph 1 mainly to __________.
A. attract the attention of readers
B. introduce the topic of the passage
C. provide some background information
D. show the similarity between re-readers
2.The underlined expression “crack their spines” in Paragraph 2 refers to ________.
A. recite them B.re-read them
C. recall them D. retell them
3.It can be learned from the passage that __________.
A. reading benefits people both mentally and physically
B. readers mainly focus on feelings on their first reading
C. we know ourselves better through re-reading experience
D. writers inspire the same imaginations as film directors do
4.The purpose of the passage is to __________.
A. call on different understandings of old books
B. focus on the mental health benefits of reading
C. bring awareness to the significance of re-reading
D. introduce the effective ways of re-reading old books
Teachers of Physics Needed for (be Middle School in Kent)
Start date: Sept. 1st，2014
Hours:Full Time
Are you skilled in teaching physics? If yes, come and join us!
This school follows the idea that learning is joyful. It offers a friendly and supportive environment for its teachers and students. The primary concern is to train students' creative ability. Students enjoy benefit from positive relationships with the staff.
Requirements:
一 Patience with students.
—Ability to inspire students.
—Experience in teaching physics.
一 Excellent knowledge of physics.
Please Note: What is basic for this post is a teacher's certificate (资格证)!
To apply or find more information, please consult our secretary Helen Brown.
Office Tel. 0800-22-829.
1.This text is meant to .
A. leave a note B. present a document
C. send an invitation D. carry an advertisement
2.What is the basic requirement for this job?
A.The teaching qualification.
B.The patience with students' behavior.
C.The ability to develop students' interest in study.
D.The experience in offering the course of physics.
3.What can be inferred about this school?
A.The teachers' main task is to train students’ communicative abilities.
B.The teachers and students try their best to support the school.
C.The students are the center in the classroom teaching.
D.The students study in a harmonious environment.
4.If you are interested in this job，you may .
A.visit the school's website
B. send an email to the secretary
C.call the secretary’s office
D. consult the teachers in the school
Few of us haven’t read Cinderella, the story of a young woman living in poverty who meets the prince of her dreams. Some might not want to admit it, but there is a hidden Cinderella in everyone’s heart—we all wish we could achieve recognition or success after a period of obscurity（默默无闻）.
Mary Santiago has that secret dream, too. Her story is featured in Another Cinderella Story, a film set in a US high school.
Mary is shy but loves to dance. Compared with other girls, she is invisible. However, her world changes completely when a famous teenager pop singer, Joey Parker, appears.
Joey is everything the rest of the boys in her class are not—kind, handsome and desirable. Mary and Joey’s paths cross at a ball. They meet and fall in love with each other. But when Mary has to rush back home, she leaves behind her MP3 player, which becomes the only clue Joey has to find the girl of his dreams. Of course, there is a wicked stepmother, who turns out to be Dominique Blatt and she takes in Mary after her dancer mother dies. Dominique treats Mary like a maid and does everything she can to make sure Mary doesn’t get into the top dance school. Her two daughters are equally determined to stop Joey falling for Mary, even if that means embarrassing her.
The story, though it mostly follows Cinderella, does add a few modern day twists to the classic fairy tale. Refreshingly, the film, unlike many high school films, does not focus on looks, although the actors are all beautiful. There is also a lot less materialism in Another Cinderella Story than in many similar movies.
“ The movie takes the Cinderella fairy tale as its jumping off point,” writes movie critic Amber Wilkinson. “Yet the focus is firmly on following your dream.”
1.The first paragraph is mainly to ____________.
A. inform us of the importance to marry a prince
B. remind us why Cinderella is popular all the years
C. build interest and lead us to Mary’s secret dream
D. tell us how interesting the fairy tale Cinderella is
2.In the movie, Mary Santiago is the main character who _____________.
A. is brave in expressing her love
B. is badly treated by the stepmother
C. has a dream of meeting a prince
D. is embarrassed by the pop singer
3.What can we infer from the passage?
A. Joey is just like other boys in Mary’s class.
B. The MP3 player helps Joey in finding Mary.
C. Not many people have a dream to be realized.
D. Mary’s mother influences her a lot in singing.
4.What does movie critic Amber Wilkinson mean by his words about Another Cinderella Story?
A. The movie is exactly another copy of the Cinderella fairy tale.
B. The movie is as good as the story Cinderella.
C. The movie and Cinderella both focus on following your dream.
D. The movie is based on the story Cinderella while a little different from it.
After the birth of my second child, I got a job at a restaurant. Having worked with an experienced for a few days, I was to wait tables on my own. All went that first week. When Saturday night came, I was luckily 14 the tables not far from the kitchen. , I still felt it a little hard to carry the heavy trays(托盘).
Before I knew it, the was full of people. I moved slowly 17 every step. I remember how I was when I saw the tray stand near the tables; it looked different from the one I was on. It had nice handles, which made it to move around. I was pleased with everything and began to I was a natural at this job.
Then, an old man came to me and said, “Excuse me, dear, my wife and I loved your work. It seems your tray stand has been very to you, but we are getting ready to now, and my wife needs her back.”
At first, his did not get across. “What was he talking about!” Then, I got it. I had set my trays on his wife’s orthopedic walker(助步器). I stood frozen as ice, but my face was I wanted to get into a hole and .
Since then, I have learned from many mistakes such as the one I just . I have learned to be more and not to be too sure of myself.
1.A. manager B. assistant C. cook D. waitress
2.A. promised B. invited C. allowed D. advised
3.A. well B. quickly C. safely D. wrong
4.A. left B. given C. brought D. shown
5.A. Therefore B. However C. Otherwise D. Finally
6.A. kitchen B. street C. restaurant D. table
7.A. minding B. changing C. taking D. saving
8.A. angry B. calm C. sad D. happy
9.A. fixed B. trained C. loaded D. waited
10.A. slower B. lighter C. quieter D. easier
11.A. believe B. agree C. regret D. pretend
12.A. letting B. making C. watching D. having
13.A. useful B. familiar C. unusual D. interesting
14.A. rest B. order C. eat D. leave
15.A. bag B. walker C. tray D. coat
16.A. idea B. praise C. message D. need
17.A. cold B. full of joy C. pale D. on fire
18.A. lie B. hide C. defend D. stay
19.A. repeated B. discovered C. corrected D. described
20.A. careful B. patient C. honest D. Practical
