According to new research from the University of Cambridge in England, sheep are able to recognize human faces from photographs.
The farm animals, who are social and have large brains, were previously known to be able to recognize one another, as well as familiar humans. However, their ability to recognize human faces from photos alone is novel.
The recent study, the results of which were published in the journal Royal Society showed that the woolly creatures could be trained to recognize still images of human faces, including those of former President Barack Obama and actress Emma Watson.
Initially, the sheep were trained to approach certain images by being given food rewards. Later, they were able to recognize the image for which they had been rewarded. The sheep could even recognize images of faces shown at an angle, though their ability to do so declined by about 15 percent - the same rate at which a human’s ability to perform the same task declines.
“Anyone who has spent time working with sheep will know that they are intelligent, individual animals who are able to recognize their handlers,” said Professor Jenny Morton, who led the Cambridge study. “We’ve shown with our study that sheep have advanced face-recognition abilities, comparable with those of humans and monkeys.”
Recognizing faces is one of the most important social skills for human being, and some disorders of the brain, including Huntington’s disease, affect this ability.
“Sheep are long-lived and have brains that are similar in size and complexity to those of some monkeys. That means they can be useful models to help us understand disorders of the brain, such as Huntington’s disease, which develops over a long time and affects cognitive abilities. Our study gives us another way to monitor how these abilities change.” Morton said.
1.According to the new research, what’s unusual about sheep?
A. They have large brains.
B. They can recognize their owners.
C. They can recognize human faces from photograph.
D. They can tell animals from humans.
2.How did the researchers train the sheep?
A. By giving food rewards.
B. By showing photos of humans and monkeys by turns.
C. By guiding them to follow their handlers.
D. By showing photos of famous people.
3.What can be inferred from the passage?
A. Sheep have a higher face-recognition ability than monkeys.
B. The sheep’s face-recognition ability may prevent some disorders of the brain.
C. The sheep’s face-recognition ability says the same when shown photos at any angle.
D. The new discovery is beneficial to the study of cognitive ability changes.
4.What’s the best title of the passage?
A. A Wonderful Scientist B. How Sheep Recognize Each Other
C. A New discovery about Sheep D. The Life of Sheep
When Johnnie Martin was in the second grade in high school, one day a psychologist of the school called him into his office.
“Johnnie, I’ve made a very careful study of you. And I feel sorry to have to tell you… Though you have worked very hard, it has not helped. You’re just not fit for it.”
The boy buried his face in his hands, “This will be hard on my parents,” he said. “Their one idea is for me to be a college man.”
The psychologist laid his hand on the boy’s shoulder and said, “People have different kinds of talents. Some day you will find what your special gift is and when you do, you will make your parents very proud of you.”
Johnnie never went back to school. Jobs were scarce in town, but he managed to keep busy mowing the lawns of the householders and puttering in their flowerbeds. Before long he discovered he had an eye for color.
One day while he was downtown, he happened to notice a stretch of unused land behind the city hall. Chance or fate or whatever you may like to call it brought one of the town’s aldermen（市政委员会委员）round the corner just at that moment. The boy said, “I can make a garden out of this dump, if you’ll let me do it.”
“The town’s got no money for it,” said the alderman.
“I don’t want any money for it,” said the boy. “I just want to do it.”
The alderman was shocked to find someone who did not want money. He took Johnnie into an office, and when the young man came out he had the authority to clean up the public eyesore. Before long the old dump became a little beautiful park.
It was also a kind of show window for Johnnie. People saw the result of his skill and knew him as a natural landscape gardener.
That was twenty-five years ago. Today Johnnie is the head of a successful business in landscape gardening. His aging parents are proud of Johnnie, for he is not only a success, but he has also made his part of the world a lovelier place to live in.
1.The psychologist called Johnnie into his office to ________.
A. persuade him to give up schooling B. help him find out his gift
C. give him some suggestions on study D. encourage him to work hard
2.What did Johnnie Martin have a gift for?
A. Drawing. B. Gardening. C. Repairing. D. Engineering.
3.The underlined part “the public eyesore” refers to ________.
A. the city hall B. the town C. the park D. the dump
4.What can we infer from the passage?
A. Where there is a will, there is a way.
B. Gardeners are born and not made.
C. Everyone has something special.
D. Interest is the key to success.
It’s all about personal peace, which means not only an imaginary space around the body, but also the space around all the senses. People feel that their space is being violated(侵犯) when they meet with an unwelcome sound, smell or look. This is probably why a man on a crowded bus shouting into his mobile phone or a woman next to you putting on strong perfume(香水) makes you feel angry.
Whether people have had a stronger wish to protect their personal space in recent times is hard to say. Yet studies of airlines show that people have a strong desire to have space to themselves. In a survey by Trip Advisor, a travel website, people said that if they had to pay more for some extra service, they would rather have larger seats than extra food.
Although people may need their personal space, some hardly realize it. For example, people on a bus who hold newspapers in front of their faces to read in fact keep a distance from strangers.
Go and watch a library table. You will notice that one of the corner seats will usually be taken first, because they are the farthest way. What if someone sits opposite to you? Maybe you will pile up books as if to make a wall.
Preference for personal space is different from culture to culture. Scientists have found that Americans generally prefer more personal space than people from other cultures. In Latin cultures, however, people are more comfortable standing close to each other.
1.The writer mainly ________ in this article.
A. tells us how to achieve personal space
B. explains why people need personal space
C. introduces some knowledge about personal space
D. argues for the importance of keeping personal space
2.________ might feel his personal space is safe according to the passage.
A. A person who has to sit next to a lady putting on strong perfume.
B. A person who has been watched by a stranger for a long time.
C. A person who hears strange noises when reading at home.
D. A Latin boy who is chatting with a friend sitting close to him.
3.What can we know from the survey by Trip Advisor?
A. People need a smaller personal space in recent times than before.
B. People have a strong desire for personal space in recent times.
C. There are not enough seats on the plane to meet people’s needs.
D. Food service is better provided than seats on the plane.
4.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. The space around the body is more needed than that around all the senses.
B. If you hold newspapers on the bus, your personal space won’t be violated.
C. People usually choose the corner seats first in a library for personal space.
D. Different cultures share the same preferences for personal space.
China’s hot word, tuhao, may be in Oxford English Dictionary.
In Chinese, tu means rude and hao means rich. In recent years, people use this term to describe those who spend money in an unreasonable way. The word became more popular with Apple’s gold-colored iPhone, which is loved by China’s rich people. The color became known as “tuhao golden”. The word is now often used to refer to people who have money but lack taste.
There are two other Chinese hot words: dama and No Zuo No Die, which may also be taken in the dictionary. Dama, meaning middle-aged women, was first used in the Western media by the Wall Street Journal. Thousands of Chinese women were buying a large amount of gold when the gold price had gone down. Another phrase No Zuo No Die, meaning if you don’t do stupid things, they won’t come back to bite you, is also very popular. Other words, such as Maotai, Chinglish and dim sum have also been included in the dictionary.
BBC World News recently made a special program called “Tuhao, let’s be friends!” “The frequent use of Chinglish by foreign media suggests that foreign people are looking more to the lifestyle and popular culture of China,” says Zhang Yiwu, professor of Beijing University.
What does this trend suggest about the Chinese language’s influence?
Xing Hongbing, a professor from Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU) said “These show that Chinglish is now being accepted by the rest of the world and they play important roles in daily life of Chinese. Behind these Chinglish words and phrases are the Chinese culture. They are reflections of the changes and trends in the Chinese society and they help people from other countries to understand what’s happening in China.”
1.Which of the following words is NOT a hot Chinglish word?
A. Dama B. Karaoke C. Tuhao D. Dim sum
2.The word “dama” becomes so popular because ________.
A. they are wealthy middle-aged women
B. they bought gold crazily when the price was down
C. they made the gold price up
D. they worked on the Wall Street
3.What does the frequent use of Chinglish by foreign media suggest?
A. Foreigners want to know more about the lifestyle and culture of China.
B. Foreign people found it funny.
C. Chinese is one of the most important languages in the world.
D. Chinese people are very friendly.
听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1.What’s the weather like today in Oregon?
A. Clear. B. Cloudy. C. Windy.
2.Which city had the lowest temperature?
A. Portland. B. Ashland. C. Salem.
3.What will the temperature be tomorrow?
A. In the 90s. B. In the 70s. C. In the 60s.
4.When will a storm likely take place?
A. Sunday mid-afternoon. B. Sunday morning. C. Saturday evening
听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1.How many notebooks did the boy buy?
A. Five. B. Three. C. Two.
2.Why does the boy carry two smart phones?
A. He’s always losing cell phones.
B. One of them doesn’t work very well.
C. He stays in touch with different people.
3.When is the boy’s birthday?
A. In January. B. In March. C. In June.
4.How did the boy probably pay for everything?
A. In cash. B. By check. C. With a credit card.
