Humans have uniquely expressive faces. We laugh, we cry, we turn red with feeling. Now, scientists report that blue-and-yellow macaws(金刚鹦鹉) may join us in this club of emotions – at least,when it comes to blushing.
Parrots are known for being clever and chatty. They ' re even skilled enough to make their own tools and occasionally nose their way into human machines like cars. Their curiosity and courage are what make them excellent pets. So it ' s no surprise that they have their own range of communication tools. On the whole, birds are no strangers to blushing. Many different kinds of birds have been known to exhibit this hehavior. Parrot owners often notice it in their pets. The motivations behind it are still a mystery to scientists , though.
To zero in on why macaw faces blush,some scientists led by Aline Bertin of the University of Tours studied five captive blue-and-yellow macaws as they interacted with each other and their human caretakers. They were amazed to see that human attention seemed to make the macaws blush. The blushing died down when the caretakers ignored the parrots.
Facial expressions can be signs of a human ' s emotional state. Likewise, bird blushing could convey well-being. It' s not quite as obvious as smiling. Still, it ' s fairly impressive. After all, these macaws don' t have the same facial muscles that we do. The birds are much smarter and kinder than they look. They are believed to be as intelligent as monkeys.
Bertin and the other scientists believe their work opens the door to further research. One limitation of the study is that no macaws in natural environment have been observed. That makes it hard to draw conclusions about the birds as a species. They are also not quite sure what the blushing means. There is still more to learn about these possible expressions of emotion.
1.Which of the following best explains" captive" in paragraph 3 ?
A. Unique. B. Talkative.
C. Curious. D. Caged.
2.Birds might blush_____________.
A. when people ignore them . B. to show they are happy.
C. to show they are hungry . D. when something upsets them.
3.What is TRUE about scientists ' reaction to macaws blushing?
A. They are puzzled by how birds can communicate with one another.
B. They are motivated to continue studying how macaws express emotion.
C. They are curious about why other birds are unable to convey emotion.
D. They are interested to study monkeys to see if they blush as strongly.
4.What is the main idea of the text?
A. Parrots make excellent pets.
B. Parrots are skilled to make tools.
C. The macaws can communicate with each other.
D. The macaws can go red in the face with feeling.
We humans are sweet on sugar. That makes sense. All animals need sugar to live. It ' s the fuel that powers our cells. So it' s not surprising that we ' re born to want the sweet stuff.
Sugar stores the sun' s energy like a battery. After a meal,your body breaks down foods into their building blocks. It uses some sugars for energy right away. The rest get stored for the body to break down later. It ' s a myth that sugar makes you extremely excited, but having a sugary snack can give you a quick burst of energy. That ' s because the sugars in sweet foods are easy for your body to turn into fuel. When you eat other kinds of foods,like vegetables, it takes longer for your body to break the sugars down.
These days it' s easy to find sweet snacks. Sodas, candy, cakes and even foods that seem healthy , such as yogurt,can be packed with sugar. Food makers add sugar,because they know that to humans, sweet makes everything taste better. Americans eat about 20 teaspoons of extra sugar everyday. That' s way more than what is good for us.
Eating too much sugar can cause more than a stomach-ache. It can make people overweight, decay the teeth and even cause diabetes. However, experts aren ' t worried about naturally sweet foods- the problem is added sugar. So go ahead and enjoy a sweet apple or even a sugar-rich carrot that are also full of vitamins and other good stuff.
Even cake is great once in a while , as long as you don ' t overdo it. After all, no one wants life to be dull. And your body needs its fuel!
1.The first two paragraphs are mainly developed by _'
A. cause and effect. B. problem and solution.
C. giving examples . D. making comparisons.
2.People may be tncked into eating too much sugar because .
A. no one wants life to be boring.
B. we ' re born to want the sweet stuff.
C. so-called healthy food can be packed with sugar.
D. sugar is the fuel for the plants and animals on the Earth.
3.What does the author want to stress in Para. 4?
A. We' d better say no to sweet foods.
B. Experts are worried about added sugar.
C. Eating too much sugar is bad for our health.
D. We ' d better consume sugar from natural sources.
4.What can be a suitable title for the text?
A. Sugar Is Everywhere. B. Sugar Brings Happiness.
C. Why Does Sugar Taste So good? D. Why Does Sugar Make Us Fat?
EXPERIENCE COLUMBIA
HOT ATTRACTIONS
◆RIVERBANKS ZOO&GARDEN
It is home to more than 2.000 animals and one of the nation's most beautiful botanical gardens.With more than 350 species from around the world,Riverbanks is one of the largest mid— sized zoos in the country.
Hours:9:00a.m．一5:00p.m.daily.
Admission:Adults(13—61)一$19.95
Children(2—12)——$16.95
◆EDVENTURE
The Soutll's largest children's museum has 300 exhibits to mspire children to expenence the joy of learning. where else but EdVenture can children drive a real fire truck, anchor the news or visit another country?
Hours : Monday - Sunday :9 a. m. -5 p. m.
Admission : Members Free
Children and Adults - $ 11. 95
◆SOUTH CAROLINA STATE MUSEUM
The stories of South Carolina come alive through the exhibits and collections of the State Museum. Plus, a new 4-D theater provides popular movies that excite all ages. Museum members are invited to night-sky observing and more on Tuesday nights !
Hours : Mon. ,Wed. - Fri. :10 a. m. -5 p. m. ,Tues. :10 a. m. -10 p. m. ,
Sat. :10 a. m. -6 p. m. ,Sun. :Noon -5 p. m.
Admission:Adults (13 -61) : $ 8.95
Children (3 - 12) : $ 6. 95
◆SALUDA SHOALS PARK
Saluda Shoals Park is a sensitive riverfront park that invites visitors to experience the treasures of the Saluda River through exceptional educational and cultural opportunities.
Fun-filled Family Activities Nightly! ( except Thanksgiving, Chnstmas Eve and Christmas night)
Free for activities : apply with Holiday Lights admission ( $ 20/car; $ 40/15-passenger vehicle; $ 60/bus) .
1.Which attraction best suits a child interested in broadcasting news?
A. EdVenture. B. The State Museum.
C. Saluda Shoals Park. D. Riverbanks Zoo & garden.
2.How much should a young couple with a 4-year-old son pay to enjoy various plants and animals?
A. $ 24.85. B. $ 20.
C. $ 56.85. D. $ 35.85.
3.Which of the following is available to all tourists in the State Museum?
A. Having a fantastic visual feast at l : 00 p. m.
B. Visiting the exhibits on Sunday morning.
C. Enjoying free family activities every night.
D. Observing the amazing night sky on Tuesday nights.
阅读下面短文，然后按要求写一篇150词左右的英语短文。
Let’s face it. You are constantly exposed to common viruses. There is nothing you can do about them. However, you can greatly influence the effect of those viruses on your health. Don’t accept that the flu or common cold is something you have to suffer from time to time. Cast off this thought and keep yourself and your entire family healthy regardless of the weather or season. These easy tips will help you to reduce the number of times you are down with the flu or common cold:
1. Eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables daily. They are needed to increase your ability to win the fight against common viruses.
2. Drink plenty of water. The water runs through your body, removing everything your body wants to get rid of.
3. Sleep 8 hours per night. If you often fail to have enough sleep, not only will you feel tired, but also your immune system will work less efficiently. You will be more easily affected by viruses.
（写作内容）
请你用英语以“健康的生活习惯让我们远离病毒”为题写一篇短文，主要内容包括:
1.以约30个词概括以上短文的主要内容。
2.然后以约120个词谈谈你对养成健康生活习惯的看法，内容包括:
(1) 病毒的危害及形成健康生活习惯的必要性；
(2) 要保持健康，还有哪些可行措施；
(3) 倡导大家培养良好生活习惯，健康生活。
（写作要求）
1.写作过程中不能直接引用原文语句；
2.作文中不能出现真实姓名和学校名称；
3.不必写标题。
（评分标准）
内容完整，语言规范，语篇连贯，词数适当。
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
请阅读下列短文, 并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一个最恰当的单词。
Do you think you could learn a language in an hour?
We know, we know! We would expect you to be skeptical. It’s ridiculous to think you can learn a language in 60 minutes. You wouldn’t even get through the As in a bilingual dictionary in that amount of time! Best-case situation: in an hour, most of us could probably stuff a few words and ready-made phrases into our short-term memory (with a high likelihood of forgetting it all by the following day). Accomplishing anything more than that in one hour? Impossible. Unless…
We posed the one-hour language challenge to four polyglots (通晓数种语言的人) who are experts on how to study languages. To keep the challenge from becoming completely impossible, we gave them a bit of a break: to learn Romanian in one hour. Why Romanian? Because it’s a Romance language and shares many similarities with the languages that the polyglots already know: French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese. And to make sure their hour of learning was as effective as possible, all of them were assigned a personal Romanian tutor to help coach them on their way to success.
Although each polyglot has a different technique for picking up and remembering a new language, all four methods offer valuable insights to anyone, from casual learners to hard-core language enthusiasts.
Alex Rawlings — Learn the verbs first
With only an hour until he had to start demonstrating his grasp of Romanian, Alex knew he had to start talking quickly. He chose to focus first on commonly used verbs and how to conjugate(动词变形)them. Once he had some verbs down, he could start collecting nouns from his tutor and plugging them in to make more interesting and relevant sentences.
Luca Lampariello — Start speaking right away
Speaking doesn’t mean speaking perfectly. Speaking even a little bit is a huge confidence boost. When you can say something in a new language and people actually understand you, it’s very motivating. Yes, you’ll make mistakes, but you’ll also learn faster than if you try to get it all perfect in your head first.
Michael Youlden — Write everything down
Language learning is about recall; there’s no use learning something if you don’t remember it. Speaking new words aloud is very important, but so is writing them down — after all, words exist as sounds and in written form. Taking notes is a proven way to put new vocabulary and grammar into your memory. Writing supports memorizing which supports speaking… it’s a cycle. Plus, you have an easy reference when you want to review what you’ve learned.
Matthew Youlden — Look for cognates
Cognates are words in different languages that look and sound similar and have the same meaning, due to a common origin. Almost every language combination contains cognates (even if two languages aren’t seemingly related), but languages from the same language family have many more. Whichever language you are learning, identify the familiar words and then use them to anchor the new words that aren’t so familiar. To use English as an example, because it’s a sort of Germanic-Romance hybrid, English already has many words that cognate with German, Dutch and Swedish on one hand, and on the other hand it also has lots of words that cognate with French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and, of course, Romanian!
Learn a language with courses designed by the experts. Start here, today!
Pick a language to learn. German, Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese, and Swedish.
Four Learning Methods From Four Language 1.: How To Make Meaningful Progress In Your First Hour | |
The people who are 2. | Four polyglots who are good at learning languages |
The language they are to study | Romanian |
3. limits | 1 hour |
The reason for choosing the target language | Romanian has much in 4. with their familiar languages |
The 5. to learning the language | Alex: give 6. to commonly used verbs; add some 7. to make sentences |
Luca: attach great 8. to speaking; don’t be afraid to make mistakes | |
Michael: take notes to keep new words and grammar in 9. | |
Matthew: try to 10. similar words and patterns with familiar languages |
My mother believed you could be anything you wanted to be in America. America was where all my mother’s hopes lay. She had come here in 1949 after losing everything in China. But she never looked back with regret. There were so many ways for things to get better.
“Of course you can be a prodigy, too,” my mother told me when I was nine. “You can be best at anything.” We didn’t immediately pick the right kind of prodigy. At first my mother thought I could be a Chinese Shirley Temple. We’d watch Shirley’s old movies on TV as though they were training films. My mother would poke my arm and say, “Ni kan” — You watch. And I would see Shirley tapping her feet, or singing a sailor song, or pursing her lips into a very round O while saying, “Oh my goodness.”
Soon after my mother got this idea about Shirley Temple, she took me to a beauty training school and put me in the hands of a student who could barely hold the scissors without shaking. Instead of getting big fat curls, I emerged with an uneven mass of crinkly black fuzz. My mother dragged me off to the bathroom and tried to wet down my hair.
“You look like Negro Chinese,” she complained, as if I had done this on purpose.
In fact, in the beginning, I was just as excited as my mother, maybe even more so. I pictured this prodigy part of me as many different images, trying each one on for size. I was a dainty ballerina girl standing by the curtains, waiting to hear the right music that would send me floating on my tiptoes. I was Cinderella stepping from her pumpkin carriage with sparkly cartoon music filling the air.
In all of my imaginings, I was filled with a sense that I would soon become perfect. My mother and father would adore me. I would be beyond reproach. I would never feel the need to sulk for anything.
But sometimes the prodigy in me became impatient. “If you don’t hurry up and get me out of here, I’m disappearing for good,” it warned. “And then you’ll always be nothing.”
Every night after dinner, my mother and I would sit at the Formica kitchen table. She would present new tests, taking her examples from stories of amazing children she had read and a dozen other magazines she kept in a pile in our bathroom. My mother got these magazines from people whose houses she cleaned. She would look through them all, searching for stories about remarkable children.
The first night she brought out a story about a three-year-old boy who knew the capitals of all the states and even most of the European countries. A teacher was quoted as saying the little boy could also pronounce the names of the foreign cities correctly.
“What’s the capital of Finland?” my mother asked me, looking at the magazine story.
All I knew was the capital of California, because Sacramento was the name of the street we lived on in Chinatown. “Nairobi!” I guessed, saying the most foreign word I could think of. She checked to see if that was possibly one way to pronounce “Helsinki” before showing me the answer.
The tests got harder—multiplying numbers in my head, finding the queen of hearts in a deck of cards, trying to stand on my head without using my hands, predicting the daily temperatures in Los Angeles, New York, and London.
And after seeing my mother’s disappointed face once again, something inside of me began to die. I hated the tests, the raised hopes and failed expectations. Before going to bed that night, I looked in the mirror and when I saw only my face staring back—and that it would always be this ordinary face—I began to cry. Such a sad, ugly girl! I made high pitched noises like a crazed animal, trying to scratch out the face in the mirror.
And then I saw what seemed to be the prodigy side of me—because I had never seen that face before. I looked at my reflection, blinking so I could see more clearly. The girl staring back at me was angry, powerful. This girl and I were the same. I had new thoughts, willful thoughts, or rather thoughts filled with lots of won’ts. I won’t let her change me, I promised myself. I won’t be what I’m not.
1.The underlined word “prodigy” in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to ________.
A. talent B. professor C. leader D. superstar
2.Why did the mother and the girl watch Shirley’s old movies on TV?
A. Because the mother was a fan of Shirley Temple.
B. Because Shirley Temple’s hairstyle was popular among children.
C. Because the girl resembled Shirley Temple in appearance.
D. Because the mother wanted her daughter to be a Chinese Shirley Temple.
3.How did the girl feel about the tests she did every night?
A. She felt confident and finished it smoothly.
B. She got through the tests successfully, but painfully.
C. She failed the tests and began to lose confidence.
D. She eventually sadly found herself ordinary and ugly.
4.What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 13 mean?
A. The mother was not sure about the answer and wanted to confirm it.
B. The mother expected her daughter to know the right answer.
C. The answers were more than one and the mother checked them.
D. The mother was so disappointed as to give up her daughter.
5.What might happen after the last paragraph?
A. The girl might try her best to become famous and successful.
B. The girl might follow her heart and do what she really likes.
C. The girl might do whatever her mother asks and becomes a different image.
D. The mother might change her attitude and listen to her daughter’s words.
6.Which of the following can be the best title of the text?
A. Being Myself or Not B. Educational Failure
C. Difficult American Childhood D. Mother’s Experience
