Do dogs understand us?
Be careful what you say around your dog. It might understand more than you think.
A border collie named Rico recognizes the names of about 200 objects, say researchers in Germany. The dog also appears to be able to learn new words as easily as a 3-year-old child. Its word-learning skills are as good as those of a parrot or chimp.
In one experiment, the researchers took all 200 items that Rico is supposed to know and divided them into 20 groups of 10 objects. Then the owner told the dog to go and fetch one of the items and bring it back. In four tests, Rico got 37 out of 40 commands right. As the dog couldn't see anyone to get clues, the scientists believe Rico 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 the dog already knew. The owner then told Rico to fetch the object, using a word the dog had never heard before.
The correct object was chosen in seven out of l0 tests, suggesting that the dog had worked out the answer by process of elimination (排除法). A month later, Rico remembered half of the new names, which is even more impressive.
Rico is thought to be smarter than the average dog. For one thing, Rico is a border collie, a breed (品种) known for its mental abilities. In addition, the 9-year-old dog has been trained to fetch toys by their names since the age of nine months.
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 sweet-talk your dog every now and then. You might just get a big, wet kiss in return!
1.From paragraph 2 we know that __ .
A. animals are as clever as human beings
B. dogs are smarter than parrots and chimps
C. chimps have very good word-learning skills
D. dogs have similar 'learning abilities as 3-year-old children
2.Both experiments show that .
A. Rico is smart enough to get all commands right
B. Rico can recognize different things including toys
C. Rico has developed the ability of learning mathematics
D. Rico won't forget the names of objects once recognizing them
3.Which of the following statements is true?
A. The purpose of the experiments is to show the border collie's mental abilities.
B. Rico has a better memory partly because of its proper early training.
C. The border collie is world-famous for recognizing objects.
D. Rico is born to understand its owner's commands.
4.What’s the meaning of the underlined word in the fourth paragraph?
A. convey sth. to . B. take sth. away .
C. deliver sth. from . D. bring sth. back.
Theodor Seuss Geisel was born in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1904. He was famous because of the books he wrote for children. They combine funny words, pictures, and social opinion.
Dr Seuss wrote his first book for children in 1937. It is called And to Think I Saw It on Mulberry Street. A number of publishers refused to publish it. They said it was too different. A friend finally published it. Soon other successful books followed. Over the years, he wrote more than forty children’s books. They were fun to read. Yet his books sometimes dealt with serious subjects.
By the middle 1940s, Dr Seuss had become one of the best-loved and most successful writers of children’s books. He had a strong desire to help children. In 1954, Life magazine published a report about school children who could not read. The report said many children’s books weren’t interesting. Dr Seuss decided to write books that were interesting and easy to read.
In 1957, Dr Seuss wrote The Cat in the Hat. He used less than 225 words to write the book. This was about the number of words a six-year-old should be able to read.
The story is about a cat who tries to entertain two children on a rainy day while their mother is away from home. The cat is not like normal cats. It talks. The book was an immediate success. It was an interesting story and was easy to read. Children loved it. Their parents loved it, too. Today many adults say it is still one of the stories they like best.
1.What’s the best title for this passage?
A. Some of Dr Seuss’ books for children.
B. What are Dr Seuss’s books mainly about?
C. Dr Seuss — a famous writer of children’s books.
D. Why are Dr Seuss’ books different?
2.How did Dr Seuss help children according to Paragraph 3?
A. By asking others to help them in magazines.
B. By writing interesting and simple books.
C. By changing his old books into simpler ones.
D. By giving them books for free.
3.Adults most probably think that Dr Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat is _________
A. interesting B. serious
C. difficult D. boring
Homestay provides English language students with the opportunity to speak English outside the classroom and the experience of being part of a British home.
What to Expect
The host will provide accommodation and meals. Rooms will be cleaned and bedcovers changed at least once a week.You will be given the house key and the host is there to offer help and advice as well as to take an interest in your physical and mental health.
Accommodation Zones
Homestays are located in London mainly in Zones 2, 3 and 4 of the transport system.Most hosts do not live in the town centre as much of central London is commercial and not residential(居住的). Zones 3 and 4 often offer larger accommodation in a less crowded area. It is very convenient to travel in London by Underground.
Meal Plans Available
◇ Continental Breakfast
◇ Breakfast and Dinner
◇ Breakfast, Packed Lunch and Dinner
It's important to note that few English families still provide a traditional cooked breakfast.Your accommodation includes Continental Breakfast which normally consists of fruit juice, cereal (谷物类食品), bread and tea or coffee. Cheese, fruit and cold meat are not normally part of a Continental Breakfast in England. Dinners usually consist of meat or fish with vegetables followed by dessert, fruit and coffee.
Friends
If you wish to invite a friend over to visit, you must first ask your host's permission.You have no right to entertain friends in a family home as some families feel it is an invasion of their privacy.
SelfCatering Accommodation in Private Homes
Accommodation on a roomonly basis includes shared kitchen and bathroom facilities and often a main living room. This kind of accommodation offers an independent lifestyle and is more suitable for the longstay student. However, it does not provide the same family atmosphere as an ordinary homestay and may not benefit those who need to practise English at home quite as much.
1.The passage is probably written for ________.
A. hosts willing to receive foreign students
B. foreigners hoping to build British culture
C. travelers planning to visit families in London
D. English learners applying to live in English homes
2.Which of the following will the host provide?
A. Room cleaning. B. Medical care.
C. Free transport. D. Physical training.
3.According to the passage, what does Continental Breakfast include?
A. Dessert and coffee. B. Fruit and vegetables.
C. Bread and fruit juice. D. Cereal and cold meat.
假设你是高三学生李华，你的母校校刊编辑邀请你给初三的同学写一封公开信，内容包括：
1．你在高三的学习和生活情况；
2．你对英语学习意义的认识；
3．你对初三同学英语学习的建议．
注意：1．内容包括以上要点，但不要逐句翻译；
2．字数100左右，文章开头结尾已提供，不计入总词数．
Dear fellow students：
I'd like to share with you some of my thoughts．________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
Yours，
Li hua
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。
I went to a supermarket yesterday. While walk around，I noticed a credit card on the floor by chances. I picked it up and waited for an owner. No one comes. Suddenly, a lady with an anxiously look rushed in. So I approached her and asked why she had lost something. She did, her credit card. I asked her name but confirmed that it matched the card. Then I returned to her. She said she had prayed to her mother, who had passed away recently, to help her find the card. We talked and I introduced for myself, “My name is Claire.” She responded, “My mother’s name is Claire, either!”
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容(1个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。
Do you know the UK government has 1.(successful) passed a law banning branding on packs of cigarettes? That means tobacco manufacturers will be forced 2.(pack) their cigarettes in plain packets. The motivation behind this 3.(decide) is to make smoking less appealing to people, especially children. A similar law 4.was passed in Australia in 2012 has resulted 5.a fall in smoking rates from 15.1% to 12.8% for people aged 14. As for January 2015, 22% of adult men and 17% of adult women smoke in Great Britain. The possibility of smoking in the UK increases with age so that at the age of 15, 8% of school children 6.(be) regular smokers. It is thought that children will be less attracted to cigarettes 7.(sell) in unbranded boxes. Smoking is one of 8.biggest causes of preventable deaths in England. Every year about 80,000 die and over 450,000 9.(send) to hospital due to smoking. This places a large strain(压力) on the health service and is also a factor in why the government would like to prevent people from 10.(take) up smoking or help them quit.
