Everyone knows that if a dog’s ears are up and its tail is wagging vigorously, it is definitely pleased to see you. but now scientists using a robot have found that the way dogs use their tails is more complicated than we thought, and that dogs which wag them to the left may he more friendly. The animal psychologists discovered that when real dogs approached a life-sized robot dog, they were less cautious about it when it was wagging its tail to the left, while if it was wagging its tail to the right, far fewer dogs approached it in a confident manner.
In the first experiments, 56 percent of the animals approached the model without hesitation when the tail was wagged to the left, while only 21 percent did so in the other situation. When the researchers excluded (排除) owners from being present, the result were: 31 percent of the dogs approached continuously when the tail was wagging to the left, while only 18 percent did so when it was on the right.
Animal psychologist Roger Mugford said it added to the growing evidence that does were even more complicated communicators than the animals more closely related to man such as monkeys. He said, “We know that dogs, in a sense, have languages, but it is more complicated because it is not just them wagging their tails, but also giving out chemical displays.”
He adds, “The research confirms earlier studies suggesting that dogs, like humans, had a left-side preference. If you are going to present a signal to a dog, it is sensible to put it on your left-hand side because that is where dogs, unlike most other animals, tend to look. It is another example of the similarity between dogs and humans. They are a lot more human than we give them credit for.”
1.What does it tell us if a dog wags its tail to the right?
A. It was very energetic B. It was in a bad mood
C. It might be unfriendly D. It must be confident
2.What can be inferred from the second paragraph?
A. Some dogs approach the robot dog confidently
B. Most dogs were afraid to approach the robot dog
C. Some dogs lack confidence with their owners present
D. Dog owners may influence the behaviour of their pets
3.What can we learn from animal psychologist’s experiments?
A. Dogs can communicate more than human beings
B. Dogs have more complicated emotions than monkeys
C. Dogs’ tail-wagging conveys more information than previously believed
D. Dogs’ intelligence can be much higher than any other kind of animal
4.What can we infer from Roger Mugfords words?
A. The Left-side preference should be studied further
B. Dogs have more in common with humans than we think
C. No other animals show the left-side preference except dogs
D. Dogs have a more complicated language than we people do
Over the past century, an alarming number of animals have become endangered or even extinct. Below are some animals whose numbers have been rapidly dropping in recent years.
Panda Bear
One of the biggest reasons contributing to the decline in the panda species is the destruction of its natural habitat. Farmers in China have gradually been claiming more and more of the land. As a result, pandas are forced to move away to places where it is hard to find bamboo for food.
Green Turtle
The green sea turtle species has survived for several millions of years, so you might wonder why it’s only becoming endangered now. A major cause is the change in climate and temperature, which both affect the hatching rates of turtle eggs. Climate changes also cause violent weather and rising water levels to flood areas where turtles usually go to lay their eggs. Apart from this, oil spills and other poisonous pollution, as well as increased fishing activities can cause sickness, or even death to the green turtles.
Cheetah
Cheetahs are famous for being the fastest animal on land but even they can’t run from some of the larger threats that have harmed them. Like the panda bears, cheetahs have gradually been losing their natural homes due to humans claiming land and developing in those areas. To make matters even worse, smaller animals move away when these areas are occupied, which means that the cheetah has less food! Don’t forget that other large animals, such as lions, are also fighting for any food that they can find, so occasionally young cheetahs end up as prey too.
Indian Elephant
Elephants are extremely intelligent animals and also the largest mammals that live on land. Sadly, in Asia many elephants were killed so that people could remove their tusks to use as decorative objects. While this practice has been banned now, some people still illegally continue. Forests in India have also been steadily destroyed and elephants are sometimes killed when they end up on human territory.
1.Humans’ increasing demand for land doesn’t affect the number of ________.
A. Indian elephants B. cheetahs
C. panda bears D. green turtles
2.We can save the largest mammals living on land by ________.
A. planting more bamboos
B. helping them find mates
C. stopping hunting them
D. preventing poisonous pollution
3.The living conditions of the fastest animal on land become worse because ________.
A. forests have been destroyed
B. they are threatened by humans and larger animals
C. people are fond of hunting wild animals
D. no law bans people from removing their tusks
I’m learning to drive in Switzerland. I think it will be a good idea to learn now because I have plenty of free time and am earning a little money to pay for lessons. I never learnt when I lived in the UK, so luckily driving on the “wrong” side isn’t a problem.
However, there are a lot of rules to remember. When you see a road to your right and there are no white lines on the ground, the cars to your right have the right to go before your car and you have to stop for them. In practice, lots of people forget this and cars either wait for each other while both drivers try to remember what to do, or beep (鸣喇叭) at each other if both try to go at the same time!
When you drive round a roundabout, you should check all your mirrors. To remember how to do this, I often count them aloud—one, two, three—then a second glance at your blind spot when you’re in the roundabout. One friend came driving with me and after about an hour asked why on earth I was counting. He had passed his test so long ago, he couldn’t remember ever having to check three mirrors!
Driving still seems scary to me so I drive quite slowly. I also don’t know the countryside roads very well and don’t know what’s coming up round the comer or over the next hill. I drive slowly so I feel safe, but my driving instructor tells me to speed up or cars will bump into me from behind or try to overtake somewhere dangerous. So driving slowly is just as dangerous as driving fast!
I’m not a very practical person so learning to drive has been a challenge. I don’t have a lot of confidence and find it quite demotivating to do something that doesn’t come naturally to me. To make driving more fun and interesting, I learn in Swiss German, so my instructor gives me instructions in Swiss. This way I’ve tricked myself into enjoying driving and hopefully will pass the test!
1.What can be inferred from the first paragraph?
A. It isn’t a proper time for the author to take driving lessons now.
B. Driving on the “wrong side” doesn’t influence the author..
C. The author was too poor to pay for driving lessons in Switzerland.
D. It is easy for the author to get confused about the driving rules in Switzerland.
2.The author often counts “one, two, three” aloud when driving round a roundabout to ________.
A. remind himself to check the mirrors B. speed up
C. overtake somewhere dangerous D. make driving more interesting
3.What does the underlined word “demotivating” in Paragraph 5 mean?
A. Encouraging. B. Amazing.
C. Exciting. D. Discouraging.
4.What is the text mainly about?
A. Driving speed.
B. Strict driving instructors.
C. Anecdotes of my driving experience.
D. Complicated driving rules in Switzerland.
听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1.Where does Thomas Manning work?
A. In the Guinness Company.
B. At a radio station.
C. In a museum.
2.Where did the idea of a book of records come from?
A. A bird-shooting trip.
B. A visit to Europe.
C. A television talk show.
3.When did Sir Hugh’s first book of records appear?
A. In 1875. B. In 1950. C. In 1955.
4.What are the two speakers going to talk about next?
A. More records of unusual facts.
B. The founder of the company.
C. The oldest person in the world.
听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1.What would Joe probably do during the Thanksgiving holiday?
A. Go to a play. B. Stay at home. C. Visit Kingston.
2.What is Ariel going to do in Toronto?
A. Attend a party. B. Meet her aunt. C. See a car show.
3.Why is Ariel in a hurry to leave?
A. To call up Betty. B. To buy some DVDs. C. To pick up Daniel.
4.What might be the relationship between the speakers?
A. Classmate. B. Fellow workers. C. Guide and tourists.
听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1.Why is the man at the shop?
A. To order a camera for his wife.
B. To have a camera repaired.
C. To get a camera changed.
2.What color does the man want?
A. Pink. B. Black. C. Orange.
3.What will the man do afterwards?
A. Make a phone call.
B. Wait until further notice.
C. Come again the next day.
