American researchers found females are the more talkative sex because of a speci

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American researchers found females are the more talkative sex because of a special “language protein(蛋白质)” in the brain.
The study, conducted by neuroscientists （神经学家）and psychologist from the University of Maryland, concluded that women talked more because they had more of the Foxp2 protein. The research, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, found that higher levels were found among humans that were women but in rats that were males. Their findings came after it was previously claimed that ladies speak about 20,000 words a day – over 13,000 more than men. "This study is one of the first to report a sex difference in the expression of a language-associated protein in humans or animals,” said Prof Margaret McCarthy, who led the study. In their study, the researchers attempted to determine what might make male rats more vocal than their female friends.
They separated four-day-old rats from their mothers and then counted the number of times they cried out in the “ultrasonic range”, the frequencies higher than humans can hear, over five minutes. While both sexes called out hundreds of cries, the males called out twice as often, they found. But when the pups were returned to their mother’s cage, she fussed over her sons first. Tests conducted on the parts of the brain known to be associated with vocalcalls showed the male pups have up to twice as much Foxp2 protein as the females. The researchers then increased the production in the brains of female pups and reduced it in males. This led to the female rats crying out more often and their mothers showing more interest to them. In contrast, males became less “talkative”.
The researchers then tested samples from ten children, aged between three and five, which showed that females had up to 30 per cent more of the Foxp2 protein than males, in a brain area key to language in humans.
“Based on our observations, we assume higher levels of Foxp2 in girls and higher levels of Foxp2 in male rats is an indication that Foxp2 protein levels are associated with the more communicative sex,” said Prof McCarthy.
"Our results imply Foxp2 as a component of the neurobiological basis of sex differences in vocal communication in mammals."
小题1:From the second paragraph, we can learn that ________.

A．women always speak more words than men

B．men and male rats have low levels of language protein

C．women and male rats have similar levels of Foxp2

D．McCarthy isn’t the first to find females more talkative

小题2:The underlined phrase “fussed over” in the third paragraph probably means______.

A．paid attention to

B．related to

C．put pressure on

D．counted on

小题3:The researchers carried out the experiments on rats in order to _______.

A．test which part of the brain is key to language in rats and humans

B．prove the levels of Foxp2 protein in humans and rats are different

C．determine the reason why female rats are more talkative than male rats

D．discover the association between Foxp2protein and vocal communication

小题4:Which of the following can be the best title for the passage ?

A．Tests on humans and rats	B．Why women are the talkative sex
C．Sex differences in Foxp2 protein	D．Foxp2 protein determines oral ability

答案

小题1:D
小题2:A
小题3:D
小题4:B

解析

试题分析：文章主要讲解了美国研究者发现女性比男性更为健谈，因为她们大脑中有一种特别的“语言蛋白质”比男性要多，而在老鼠中，雄性比雌性多。
小题1:细节推断题。从第二自然段Their findings came after it was previously claimed that ladies speak about 20,000 words a day – over 13,000 more than men.可知，McCarthy 所领导的研究并非第一个发现女性比男性是健谈的，故选D
小题2:推断题。从第三自然段But when the pups were returned to their mother’s cage, she fussed over her sons first. 及This led to the female rats crying out more often and their mothers showing more interest to them.可知，动物妈妈更倾向于注意那些Foxp2蛋白质含量更高的她的孩子，故选A.
小题3:推断题。第二自然段最后及最后两个自然段，可知在老鼠上做实验是为了发现Foxp2蛋白质与声音交流的联系。故选D
小题4:主旨题。文章主要美国研究者发现女性比男性更为健谈，其中最重要的原因是女性中Foxp2蛋白质要比男性中多的多，所以本文题目最好是为什么女性是更健谈的，故选B
点评：本文文脉清晰，对女性为何更为健谈进行了解释，把握好这条主线，文章推断题居多，答题中要注意理解作者所讲细节的目的，是来阐述一种什么现象，把握好这几点，再将题目和文章进行对比即可得出正确的答案。

举一反三

To master a language one must be able to speak and understand the spoken language as well as to read and write．Lenin and his wife translated a long English book into Russian but when they went to England in 1902, English people couldn"t understand a word Lenin and his wife said, and Lenin and his wife couldn"t understand what was said to them．This shows the importance of spoken language．
Speaking, of course can"t go without listening．If you want to pronounce a word correctly, first you must hear it correctly．The sounds of Chinese and English languages are not exactly the same．If you don"t listen carefully, you"ll find it difficult or even impossible to understand the native speakers．
Well, what about writing﹖ Like speaking, it"s to exchange ideas．People usually use shorter words and shorter sentences in their writing．
The important thing is to make your idea clear in your mind and then to write it in a clear lively language．
Chinese students read too slowly．If you read fast, you understand better．If you read too slowly by the time you have reached to the end of a page you have forgotten what the beginning is about．When you meet with new words don"t look them up in the dictionary．Guess the meaning to form the context. You may not guess quite correctly the first time but as new words appear again and again in different context their meaning will become clearer and clearer. If you look up every word you"ll never finish a book．
Students of a foreign language need a particular knowledge, the knowledge of the life, history and geography of the people whose language they"re studying. They should study those subjects in the foreign language not only in translation．In this way one can kill two birds with one stone: learn a foreign language and get some knowledge of the foreign country at the same time．
小题1:In England Lenin ．

A．could be understood by Englishmen

B．could understand Englishmen

C．and Englishmen couldn"t understand each other

D．and Englishmen could understand each other

小题2:In the first paragraph the writer told us ．

A．how to speak English

B．how to read and write

C．why English people couldn"t understand the Lenins

D．spoken English is important

小题3:In the fifth paragraph the writer advised us on ．

A．how to guess the meaning of the words

B．how to read fast

C．how to look up new words in the dictionary

D．how to read carefully

小题4:“Kill two birds with one stone” means ．

A．to get some particular knowledge

B．to get more than what one pays

C．the stone is very useful

D．the birds are blind enough

小题5:In the last paragraph the writer advised us ．

A．to kill two birds with one stone

B．to learn two languages at the same time

C．to study all the subjects in a foreign language

D．to get some knowledge of the foreign country whose language we are studying

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Looking for some inspiration or the “write” kind of ideas for your creative stories? To start with, some writers describe winter by using their five senses or their imagination. Others write on their favorite winter activity. Whatever you choose to write about, working on a winter story can always help to improve your writing skills. Now read the following story and see if it helps get rid of any icy writing block you’ ve been struggling with.
A Winter Adventure
Beep, beep. Beep-beep: the alarm clock rang. Slowly, I got out of warm bed down onto the wooden floor which the winter had thrown its cold upon. The bitter cold temperature penetrated （穿透）my socks and I hurried to put my feet in shoes.
Looking out of the window, I watched the white snow, soft and thick, drop onto rooftops and trees. Half an hour later, finishing the last of my hot chocolate, I prepared to enter the adventure that waited for me outside. I buttoned my jacket and fastened my boots. Hat on, I opened the door and was greeted by the winter coldness.
In the depths of winter, the early morning did not have the rush of the rest of the year. Most of my neighbours were put off by the cold, and stayed in bed until the sun had climbed higher into the sky.
Unseen by those who remained locked inside their homes, warm in their beds, I enjoyed being alone with the beauty of the wintertime. Those indoors were unable to appreciate the snow-scapes, ice crystals, frost and the crisp（清新的）breeze. For them, the coming of winter meant just the arrival of the cold.
Appreciation depends on contrasts. One cannot love the warmth of April if one has not known the freezing cold of winter. Later that year, the heat of the sun on my skin would be all the more wonderful for my memories of that cold morning and others like it.
小题1:The underlined word “adventure” refers to____________.

A．getting out of bed on the cold winter morning.

B．enjoying the loveliness of the winter outdoors

C．going skiing on the cold winter morning

D．throwing snowballs with friends.

小题2:According to the story A Winter Adventure, most of the neighbours _________.

A．didn’t work in winter	B．stayed up late in winter
C．missed the beauty of winter	D．enjoyed the seasons except winter

小题3:Which of these statements is true according to the story A Winter Adventure?

A．Of all the seasons, the writer loves winter most.

B．The writer regrets that he went out on the freezing cold winter morning.

C．The writer believes contrast makes our experiences of the seasons lovelier.

D．The writer values the autumn and summer more than the winter

小题4:What function does the story A Winter Adventure serve?

A．To share some winter thoughts with readers.

B．To show readers how to work on a winter story.

C．To inspire readers to take more exercise in winter

D．To tell readers how to appreciate the beauty of winter.

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SEE a cell phone cover that you like on Taobao? Forget about placing an order, paying the bill online and waiting for days for it to be delivered to you. In the near future, you"ll be able to get it in minutes just by hitting "print" on your computer.
You might find it hard to believe that you could actually "print" an object like you would a picture. But it is not that hard to understand how it would work. Just as a traditional printer sprays (喷) ink onto paper line by line, modern 3-D printers spread material onto a surface layer by layer, from the bottom to the top, gradually building up a shape.
Instead of ink, the materials the 3-D printer uses are mainly plastic, resin (树脂)and certain metals. The thinner each layer is --- from a millimeter to less than the width of a hair --- the smoother and finer the object will be.
This may sound like a completely new technology, but the truth is that 3-D printing has been around since the late 1980s. Back then, it was barely affordable for most people, so few knew about it.
Last year, though, saw a big change in the 3-D printing industry--- printers became much cheaper. For example, 10 years ago a desktop 3-D printer might have cost £20,000 (200,000 yuan), while now they cost only about £ 1,000, according to the BBC.
Taken out of the factory and introduced to more diverse and common uses, 3-D printing can create just about anything you can think of ---flutes (笛子), bikinis, jewelry, aircraft parts and even human organs. In fact, scientists from Cornell University in New York have just made an artificial ear using a 3-D printer, according to Science Daily. The fake ear looks and acts exactly like a natural one.
However, as 3-D printing becomes more commonplace, it may bring about certain problems --- such as piracy. "Once you can download a coffee maker, or print out a new set of kitchen utensils (餐具) on your personal 3-D printer, who will visit a retail (零售的) store again?" an expert in 3-D printing told Forbes News. Even more frightening, what if anyone in the world could use a 3-D printer to print out a fully functioning gun?
小题1:According to the article, in the future, the 3-D printing technology will ___.

A．enable people to make better purchases online

B．be applied as widely in our daily lives as computers

C．change the way we make many products

D．shorten the time it takes for people to get what they buy online

小题2:What was the big event happening in the 3-D printing industry last year?

A．The 3-D printing technology was taken out ofthe factory.

B．The 3-D printer became more affordable forconsumers.

C．The 3-D printer was used for medical treatmentfor the first time.

D．3-D printing technology began to be used invarious fields.

小题3:How is the last paragraph developed?

A．By analyzing a cause and an effect.	B．By making comparisons.
C．By giving examples.	D．By presenting research findings.

小题4:What is the best title of the passage?

A．Printing out everything	B．Technology in the future
C．Online shopping disappearing	D．Great demand for 3-D printers

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A 70-year study of personality suggests that pessimism is a risk factor for early death, especially among men.
　　The study results also indicate that pessimism can be linked to increased risk for sudden death from accidents or violence, according to the report published in the March issue of Psychological Science.
　　Christopher Peterson of the University of Michigan and his colleagues analyzed data from the Terman Life-Cycle Study, which began by studying California public-school children with high IQs in 1921 and followed them through their life. Most of the 1,528 children were teenagers when the study began. Those still living are now in their 80s. In 1936 and 1940, participants were asked to complete a questionnaire designed to obtain information about difficult life events and their effect on overall outlook. One such question was, “What do you regard as your most serious fault of personality or character?”
　　Pessimists were defined as fatalistic(宿命论的)people who tend to blame themselves when things go wrong and who believe that one bad event can ruin the rest of their life. They also tend to expect bad things to happen to them and feel that they have little or no ability to change their situation.
　　Males were more likely than females to be classified as pessimistic. Compared with individuals with a more cheerful and optimistic outlook, pessimists were more likely to die from accidents and violence (including suicide).
　　A pessimistic personality may lead to poor problem-solving ability, social difficulties and risky decision-making. Taken together, these variables put the pessimist at higher risk of untimely(不适时的) death, say the researchers. Such a person is less likely to avoid or escape potentially dangerous situations, the researchers concluded. “A pessimistic way of thinking in which people worry too much about bad events, predicts untimely death decades later,” according to Peterson.
小题1:According to the passage, you may be a pessimistic person, if one failure makes you feel________.

A．other people have been unfair to you.

B．other people will help you.

C．you cannot change a bad situation.

D．you can do better next time.

小题2:According to the passage, pessimists may feel all of the following EXCEPT________

A．helpless when faced with difficulties.

B．cheerful when faced with troubles.

C．hopeless when one bad event occurs.

D．guilty when things go wrong.

小题3:Which of the following statements is true, according to the passage?

A．Pessimists believe that everything in life depends on fate.

B．There are more pessimists among women than among men.

C．Most pessimists will end up committing suicide.

D．All pessimists will eventually die from accidents.

小题4:The Terman Life-Cycle Study is a research program that studies________.

A．people over 70 years old.

B．people since their childhood.

C．pessimistic people over 80 years old.

D．only younger people.

小题5:The analysis made by Christopher Peterson and his colleagues shows that pessimistic people________

A．will die from violence if they learn to be optimistic.

B．will more likely die from violence than optimistic people.

C．will die from violence because their IQs are low.

D．will die untimely if they are not able to learn to be cheerful and optimistic.

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[1] Many good reasons for parents to send their children to camps.
[2]When children go to camp, they are on their own, sometimes for the very first time in their lives. They have to decide what to wear, what to eat and which activities to participate in. As a result they develop confidence and independence.
[3]As self-respect develops from learning to be on their own, children continue to try new activities. Also it is possible that they will engage in what they are unfamiliar with. In school, children do not experience success in the same way. Camp can be a school without failure because just having fun makes them a success.
[4]One of the greatest benefits of a camp experience is that children develop social skills. In a camp setting, a good counselor will make sure that every camper is included in the activity and that each child interacts with the others in a positive way. They learn to give and take, and they learn how to work and cooperate. Something as simple as clean-up, is not only there to get the cabin clean, but to promote a team atmosphere of working together which in turn results in friendship.
[5]The obvious benefit of camp is that campers make long lasting friendships. These friendships can often be unique and special because campers are living with each other and see the true personalities. Children learn to see others from a different viewpoint. Children tend to be accepted for who they are and do not have to be concerned about what they wear, what they are good at and how they look. This is because in a camp setting, respect and caring finally win out over materialistic objectives.
[6]In a word, camp does give children fun, friends and fulfillment.
小题1:What do you think may be the best title for this passage? (No more than 10 words)
____________________________________________________________________________
小题2:The underlined phrase “on their own” in Paragraph 2 can be replaced by ________.
(No more than one word)
____________________________________________________________________________
小题3:According to Paragraph 3, what makes camping different from a school?
(No more than 10 words)
____________________________________________________________________________
小题4:What is the main idea of Paragraph 4? (No more than 10 words)
____________________________________________________________________________
小题5:According to Paragraph 5, why can camping improve friendship? (No more than 10 words)
____________________________________________________________________________

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