Go ahead, talk to your dog. As many a dog owner will prove, our furry f
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As many a dog owner will prove, our furry friends are listening. Now, for the doubters, there is
scientific proof that they understand much of what they hear.A border collie called Rico can fetch at least
200 objects by name, researchers in Germany say. The dog also appears to learn words for new objects
as easily as a 3yearold child would.Its wordlearning skill is as good as that of a parrot or chimpanzee.
In one experiment, the researchers took all 200 items that Rico is supposed to know and divided them randomly into 20 sets of 10 objects each. The dog waited with one of his owners in one room, while an
experimenter put a set of 10 objects into another room.Then, the owner told the dog to fetch one of the
items. The dog had to go to the other room and bring the object back
In four trials, Rico got 37 out of 40 commands right. Because the dog couldn"t see anyone to get
visual clues about what to bring back, the scientists concluded that he 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 he already knew. The dog"s owner then told him to fetch the object,
using a word Rico had never heard.
In 7 out of 10 trials, Rico picked the right object, suggesting that he figured out the answer by process of elimination. A month later,he remembered half of the new names, which further impressed the
researchers.
Rico is probably smarter than the average dog, the scientists say. For one thing, he"s a border collie,
a breed known for its mental abilities.In addition, the 9yearold dog has been trained to retrieve toys by
their names since he was 9 months old.
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 sweettalk your pup every now and then. You might just get a big, wet
kiss in return!
B. Only a few dogs can talk back to its owner
C. if a chimpanzee is trained, it can a
lso recognize the names of objectsD. All dogs can understand words
B. 3 years.
C. over nine years.
D. more than eight years.
B. picking the right object by process of elimination
C. remembering all of the new names he learned
D. retrieving toys by their names
答案
举一反三
| A. Develop lasting personal relationships B. Always stay positive C. Educate yourself D. Stay in shape E. Live below your means F. Work towards a dream |
| 阅读理解。 |
| American society is not nap (午睡)-friendly. In fact, says David Dinges, a sleep specialist at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine,"There"s even a prohibition against admitting we need sleep". Nobody wants to be caught napping or found asleep at work. To quote a prov  erb:"Some sleep five hours, nature requires seven, laziness nine and wickedness eleven."Wrong. The way not to fall asleep at work is to take naps when you need them."We have to totally changeour attitude toward napping,"says Dr. William Dement of Stanford University, the godfather of sleep research. Last year a national commission led by Dement identified an"American sleep debt" which one member said was as important as the national debt. The commission was concerned about the dangers of sleepiness: people causing industrial accidents or falling asleep while driving. This may be why we have a new sleep policy in the White House. According to recent reports, President Clinton is trying to take a ha1f-hour snooze (瞌睡) every afternoon. About 60 percent of American adults nap when given the opportunity. We seem to have"a mid afternoon quiet phase," also called "a secondary sleep gate." Sleeping 15 minutes to two hours in the  early afternoon can reduce stress and make us refreshed. Clearly, we were bornto nap. We Superstars of Snooze don"t nap to replace lost shut-eye or to prepare for a night shift. Rather, we "snack" on sleep, whenever, wherever and at whatever time we feel like it. I myself have napped in buses, cars, planes and on boats; on floors and beds; and in libraries, offices and museums. |
| l. It is commonly accepted in American society that too much sleep is ._____ |
A. unreasonable B. criminal C. harmful D. costly |
| 2. The research done by the Dement Commission shows that Americans ________. |
| A. don"t like to take naps B. are terribly worried about their national debt C. sleep less than is good for them D. have caused many industrial and traffic accidents |
| 3. The purpose of this article is to.______ |
| A. warn us of the wickedness of napping B. explain the danger of sleepiness C. discuss the side effects of napping D. convince the reader of the necessity of napping |
| 4. The underlined phrase "American sleep debt" in Para. 3 is the result of ._____ |
| A. the traditional misconception the Americans have about sleep B. the new sleep policy of the Clinton Administration C. the rapid development of American industry  D. the Americans" worry about the danger of sleepiness |
| 5. The second sentence of the last paragraph tells us that it is .______ |
| A. preferable to have a sound sleep before a night shift B. good pr  actice to eat something light before we go to bedC. essential to make up for cost sleep D. natural to take a nap whenever we feel the need for it |
| 阅读理解。 |
| Psychologist George Spilich and colleagues at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland, decided to find out whether, as many smokers say, smoking helps them to"think and concentrate." Spilich put young non-smokers, active smokers and smokers deprived (被剥夺) of cigarettes through a series of tests. In the first test, each subject (试验对象) sat before a computer screen and pressed a key as soon as he or she recognized a target letter among a grouping of 96. In this simple test, smokers, deprived smokers and non-smokers performed equally well. The next test was more complex, requiring all to scan sequences of 20 identical letters and respond the instant one of the letters transformed into a different one. Non-smokers were faster, but under the stimulation of nicotine, active smokers were faster than deprived smokers. In the third test of short-term memory, non-smokers made the fewest errors, but deprived smokers committed fewer errors than active smokers. The fourth test required people to read a passage, then answer questions about it. Non-smokers remembered l9 percent more of the most important information than active smokers, and deprived smokers bested those who had smoked a cigarette just before testing- Active smokers tended not only to have poorer memories but also had trouble separating important information from insignificant details. "As our tests became more complex." sums up Spilich," non-smokers performed better than smokers by wider and wider margins". He predicts, "smokers might perform adequately at many jobs- until they got complicated. A smoking airline pilot could fly adequately if no problems arose, but if something went wrong, smoking might damage his mental capacity." |
| l. The purpose of George Spilich"s experiments is ._____ |
| A. to test whether smoking has a positive effect on the mental capacity of smokers B. to show how smoking damages people"s mental capacity C. to prove that smoking affects people"s regular performance D. to find out whether smoking helps people"s short-term memory |
| 2. George Spilich"s experiment was conducted in such a way as to ._____ |
| A. compel the subjects to separate major information from minor details B. put the subjects through increasingly complex tests C. check the effectiveness of nicotine on smokers D. register the prompt responses of the subjects |
| 3. The underlined word "bested" in Para. 5most probably means_____ |
| A. beat B. envied C. caught up with  D. made the best of |
| 4. Which of the following statements is true?_____ |
| A. Active smokers in general performed better than deprived smokers. B. Active smokers responded more quickly than the other subjects. C. Non-smokers were not better than other subjects in performing simple tasks. D. Deprived smokers gave the slowest responses to the various tasks. |
| 5. We can infer from the last paragraph that ._____ |
| A. smokers should not expect to become airline pilots B. smoking in emergency cases causes mental illness C. no airline pilots smoke during flights D. smokers may prove unequal to handing emergency cases |
| 阅读理解。 |
| Our spiritual intelligence quotient(精神智商),or SQ, helps us understand ourselves, and live fuller, happier lives. Though we"re all born with SQ, most of us don"t even realize that we have it. Fortunately, you don"t have to sign up for classes to learn how to improve your SQ. Here are some simple steps that can lead you to this new level of understanding. Sit Quietly. The process of developing spiritual intelligence begins with solitude(独处)and silence. To tune in to your spirit, you have to turn down the volume(强度)in your busy, noisy, complicated life and force yourself to do nothing at all. Start small by creating islands for silence in your day. In the car, instead of listening to the music, use the time to think. At work, shut the door to your office between meetings, take a few breaths and let them out very, very slowly. Enjoy the stillness in your home after the kids are finally in bed. Step Outside. For many people, nature sets their spirit free. Go outside to watch a beautiful sunset. If you are walking with the dog, take the time to admire flowers in bloom; follow the flight of a bird and watch clouds float overhead. Ask Questions of Yourself. Ask open-ended questions, such as "What am I Feeling? What are my choices? Where am I heading?" But don"t expect an answer to arrive through some supernatural forms of e-mail. "Rarely do I get an immediate answer to my question," says Reverend Joan Carter, a Presbyterian minister in Sausalito, California. "But later that day I suddenly find myself thinking about a problem in a perspective(角度) I never considered before." Trust Your Spirit. While most of us rely on gut(本能的)feeling to realize danger, spiritual intelligence pushes us, not away from, but towards some action that will lead to a greater good. |
| 1. The passage is mainly about______. |
| A. what your SQ is and in what way it can benefit our life B. what your SQ is and in what way it can be improved C. the relationship between your SQ and your life D. advantages and disadvantages of SQ |
| 2. The underlined phrase "to tune in to your spirit" in the third paragraph probably means to_________ |
| A. get your spirit relaxed B. keep up your spirit C. keep seated quietly D. change your spirit |
| 3. From the passage, we can know that the most important thing to improve your SQ is______ |
| A. a peaceful mind B. deep thought C. spare time and hobbies D. good spirits |
| 4. According to the passage, which of the following is True?_____ |
| A. Not everyone has SQ. B. You have to go to classes to learn how to improve your SQ. C. SQ leads us to take wrong actions. D. SQ can benefit our life. |
| 根据短文内容,从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项.选项中有两项为多余选项. |
Taking good notes is a time-saving skill that will help you to become a better student in |