In the story of “The crow and the Pitcher” from Aesop’s Fables, a thisty crow (乌鸦)drops stones into a narrow jar to raise the low level of water inside so he can take a drink.
Now scientists have evidence to back up that story. Crows actually do understand how to make water displacement (移位) work to their advantage, experiments show. The results suggest that the birds are, at least in some aspects, as smart as first-graders.
Researchers, led by Sarah Jelbert at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, presented six crows with tubes filled with water. Inside the tubes, a worm or piece of meat on a piece of wood was floating, just out of reach of the crow. In front of the tubes, the researchers arranged several rubber erasers that would sink, and some plastic objects that would float. The crows found out that they could drop the erasers into the tubes in order to raise the water level and get their snack.
However, the birds handled awkwardly in experiments in which they could choose to drop objects in either a wide tube or a narrow one to get a snack, the researchers said. Dropping objects into narrow tube would lift the water level by a greater amount and put the treat within reach after just two drops; while it took around seven drops to raise the snack to the same level in the wide tube. The crows obviously didn’t realize this, and most of them went for the wide tube first.
Previous studies showed that chimps and human children can solve similar tasks. In a 2011 study, chimps and kids found out that they could put water into a tube to reach a peanut that was floating in a small amount of water at the bottom.
1.How did the crows get the snack in Sarah’s experiment?
A.By breaking the tube.
B.By dropping in erasers.
C.By standing on the wood.
D.By removing the wood.
2.What does the author mean by “the birds handled awkwardly” in paragraph 4?
A.They were unable to tell different shapes.
B.They dropped objects only into narrow tubes.
C.They were not aware of the snack at first sight.
D.They mostly avoided the easier way to get the snack.
3.What does the text mainly focus on?
A.Stories of Aesop’s Fables.
B.The development of crows.
C.Crows’ intelligence.
D.Human-animal communication.
4.What can we learn from the passage?
A.Crows are almost as clever as first-graders in some respects.
B.Crows understand water displacement completely.
C.Chimps and children are much smarter than crows.
D.The story of “The crow and the Pitcher” lacks evidence.
Candy comes in many flavors. Some taste like fruit. Some taste like flowers. Some are chewy, like taffy (太妃糖) and gum. Hard candies are, well. hard! So, they last a long time.
But, in spoken English, there are some types of candy that you cannot eat. For example, you can’t eat eye candy. Eye candy is a person-man or woman-who is very good-looking. So, looking at this person is a treat for the eye, just like candy is a treat for the taste buds.
Do you hear of candy coat? Of course it is not a coat made of candy. But you can say I don’t candy coat the truth. What does candy-coating something mean? Well, some pills are covered with a coat of thin, sweet candy. The coating makes swallowing the pill easier, and it may hide a bad taste. So, candy coating a difficult truth or situation means you don’t directly discuss its bad parts.
After talking about candy you may want to eat some candies. However, some people dislike things that are very sweet, especially adults. But even if you do not like candy, you can still be called a kid in a candy store. This expression means a person is very happy to do something or to simply be somewhere. Imagine a child going from one candy display to the next, not knowing which candy to choose!
Talking about children brings us to another expression: as easy as taking candy from a baby. Think about a small, helpless baby holding a piece of candy. Taking it would be very easy—mean, but easy. So, use this expression when you are talking about something that may be simple to do, but probably not right.
1.What kind of girl can be described as “eye candy”?
A.Beautiful B.Optimistic
C.Hardworking D.Warmhearted
2.What does the underlined word “swallowing” mean in English?
A.Making. B.Taking.
C.Selling. D.Testing.
3.Which of the following expressions means you are doing something with wrong intention?
A.Hard candies. B.Candy coat.
C.A kid in a candy store. D.As easy as taking candy from a baby.
4.What is the best title of the passage?
A.Candy. Enjoy It or Avoid It B.Various Candies in English
C.The Best Candy in the World D.Candies’ Different Flavors
Sonya took Rupert, a rescue dog, back home three years ago, and soon found it liked attacking strangers and other animals, which she believed was caused by pain.
It took Sonya a year to develop a normal relationship with Rupert, during which she learned it was afraid of being left alone and also couldn’t walk properly. Finally, she decided to take it to see a vet (兽医). After examining Rupert, the vet said its leg was broken, and it needed an immediate operation.
But when it had to go in for an operation on its leg, there was a problem—the vet Mike couldn’t get near the dog. Mike and Sonya were left scratching their heads until one of them came up with an idea. Sonya said Rupert slept on a mouse suit so she suggested that Mike put it on.
At first, the dog barked wildly when Mike tried to operate on it in usual clothes. To make his patient feel at ease, Mike decided to dress up in the mouse clothes to see if it would be less worried. Amazingly, it worked. It stopped barking and immediately became good friends with Mike when he put on the suit. As a result, he was able to perform an operation on the leg safely and the result was quite satisfying.
After the successful operation, Mike hugged the dog around the neck, which isn’t usually well-received by pets. Mike tried to be as respectful of its needs as possible and made time to give some attention. What Mike had done created a special experience or event in the dog’s life.
1.What do we know about Rupert?
A.It was often left alone at home. B.It was hard to get on with at first.
C.Its leg broke after it was saved by Sonya. D.Its violence was caused by its rescue job.
2.Why did Mike and Sonya scratch their heads?
A.They couldn’t find a mouse suit. B.They had great pain in their head.
C.They didn’t know how to comfort the dog. D.They didn’t find the cause of Rupert’s pain.
3.Why did Rupert stop barking?
A.It saw Sonya. B.It didn’t feel pain.
C.It saw the mouse suit. D.It was hugged by Mike.
4.What played the most important part in calming down the dog?
A.Sonya’s kindness B.Sonya’s patience
C.Mike’s good temper D.Mike’s respect for Rupert.
Smartphones can be a force for good. Your phone is always with you, making it the perfect device to push you into a more beneficial way of living. Here are some of the best apps that can help.
Habitica
Habitica turns the goal of forming good habits into a game, with its own characters and scoring. It’s a lot of fun, and the app also lets you build habits with friends and family. In addition to regular repeating habits, you can add a more general to-do list, and the rewards you get can be customized too—you could treat yourself to a meal out or an extra hour of games.
Smoke free
If you’re determined to give up smoking, Smoke Free is one of the most comprehensive apps for giving you that extra push you need to make a permanent change. The app offers a host of useful features to people wanting to go smoke-free: the ability to see your progress over time, charts showing how your health is improving, day-by-day encouragement, and some advice on techniques for giving up smoking.
MyFitnessPal
You can find tons of health and fitness apps for your phone, but My FitnessPal stands out not just because it is easy to use, but because it makes practical suggestions for you. It can take in a host of data, from the calories you’re taking in to the number of swims you’re doing per week, and offer reports on calorie consumption and macronutrient (大量营养素) breakdown.
1.What can Habitica help you to do?
A.Win a tough game. B.Start a lasting friendship.
C.Develop a pleasant habit. D.Find a fancy restaurant.
2.Which of the following can Smoke Free provide?
A.The freedom to smoke. B.The ability to make progress.
C.Charts about your excellent health. D.Advice on how to quit smoking.
3.What can we learn about the three apps mentioned in the text?
A.They’re practical. B.They’re cheap.
C.They’re interesting. D.They’re free.
假定你是拉萨某中学高三学生李华，你的外国笔友Helen在最近发来的邮件中介绍了自己的课余生活并询问你最喜欢的体育运动。请你用英语给她回一封电子邮件，介绍你最喜欢的体育运动及你从中得到的益处。
注意：
1.词数100左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3.不要出现真实的学校名称。
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假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Growing up, I was fortunate have parents who taught me lessons by where they lived each day. I remember walk to a nursing home with my father one Saturday. When we arrive there, I asked him for money for the collection box. My father reached into his pocket and handed him a coin. I was embarrassing by the amount of money he gave me so I asked him for more. In a reply, he taught me a valuable lesson: What is important is the reason for giving, not how many money you give. Years late, I found out' my father didn't have any spare money to give on the time, but he always gave what he could.
