A new law has recently been announced which forbids people to disturb, annoy, harm, kill or interfere with any bats which choose to live in their houses. Anyone who disturbs a bat on its nest ,or handles one without a license will be fined £1,000.
There are some people who like bats. The late Mrs. Ian Fleming was one. She would crawl for miles to see them in caves or hanging from trees. Similarly, there are many people who do not like bats much but are not particularly troubled by them. The chance of a bat resting in their attics(阁楼) or spare bedroom curtains may seem far away from them. But there are others who do not fall into either of these categories and Mr. Auberon Waugh is one. Underneath his house are eight large cellars(地下室) which for some reason bats have chosen to claim for themselves. He finds it extremely disagreeable to have to fight his way through a colony of them every time he wants a bottle of wine. And as a wine-lover he gets a particular pleasure from the ownership of wine. He has certain bottles in his cellar which he thinks are too good to serve to anyone he knows, but he likes to go down and enjoy looking at them occasionally. The bats entirely destroy this pleasure.
Until the recent law, he could keep the bat problem within manageable proportions by sending his children down on a bat hunt every three months armed with tennis rackets. They usually managed to kill one or two and discouraged the rest from settling. But now, Mr. Waugh fears that the bats will take over the house. To solve the problem he inquired what course of action he could take and was told by Dr Robert Stebbings of the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, “I am sure that no one will mind if you pick up a bat and take it outside and hang it on a tree or the outside of the house.” The trouble with this, as Mr. Waugh explains, is that he would be fined a £1,000 if he had not already applied to the Nature Conservancy Council for a license to handle bats. And there is no certainty that he would automatically be granted(agreed to give)one.
【小题1】 Mr. Waugh thinks that bats        .

A.should all be destroyedB.interfere with his wine
C.should be kept under controlD.prevent him owning wine
【小题2】 Because he is a wine-lover, M. Waugh        .
A.stores only good winesB.keeps certain good wine
C.refuses to drink good winesD.only wants to own the best wines
【小题3】 Success in removing bats from your home depends on        .
A.applying for a license from the Nature Conservancy Council
B.seeking help from the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology
C.taking the course of action recommended by Dr Stebbings
D.the granting of a Nature Conservancy Council license
【小题4】Some people who dislike bats        .
A.think they are unlikely to be bothered by them
B.run the risk of finding them in their attics
C.think it strange they should roost(栖息) in the curtains
D.do not mind them hanging in trees

Did you know that women’s brains are smaller than men’s? The average women’s brain weighs 10% less than men’s. Since research has shown that the bigger the brain, the cleverer the animal, men must be more intelligent than women. Right? Wrong. Men and women always score similarly on intelligence tests, despite the difference in brain size. Why? After years of study, researchers have concluded that it’s what’s inside that matters, not just the size of the brain. The brain consists of “grey matter” and  “white matter”. While men have more of the latter, the amount of “thinking” brain is almost exactly the same in both sexes.

It has been suggested that smaller brain appears to work faster, perhaps because the two sides of the brain are better connected in women. This means that little girls tend to learn to speak earlier, and that women can understand sorts of information from different sources(来源)at the same time. When it comes to talking to the boss on the phone, cooking dinner and keeping an eye on the baby all at the same time, it’s women who come out on top every time.

There are other important differences between two sexes. As white matter is the key to spatial (空间的) tasks, men know better where things are in relation to other things. “A great footballer always knows where he is in relation to the other players, and he knows where to go,” says one researcher. That may explain one of life’s great mysteries: Why men refuse to ask for directions … and women often need to!

The differences begin when fetuses (胎儿) are about nine weeks old, which can be seen in the action of children as young as one. A boy would try to climb a barrier before him or push it down while a girl would attract help from others. These brain differences also explain the fact that more men take up jobs that require good spatial skills, while more women speech skills. It may all go back to our ancestors, among whom women needed speech skills to take care of their babies and men needed spatial skills to hunt, according to one research.

If all this disappoints you, it shouldn’t. “The brain changes throughout our lives according to what we do with it,” says a biologist.

1.Which of the following is TRUE according to the first paragraph?

A.Women’s brain is 10% less than men’s.

B.Grey matter controls thinking in the brain.

C.Grey matter plays the same role as white matter.

D.Both sexes have the same amount of white matter.

2.What can we infer from the second and third paragraphs?

A.Women don’t need to tell directions.

B.Women prefer doing many things at a time.

C.Men have weaker spatial abilities.

D.Men do better dealing with one job at a time.

3.Which of the following do you agree with according to the fourth paragraph?

A.Young boys may be stronger than young girls.

B.Women may have stronger feelings than men.

C.More women take up jobs requiring speech skills.

D.Our ancestors needed more spatial skills.

4.What is the writer’s attitude in writing this passage?

A.Defensive.

B.Persuasive.

C.Supportive.

D.Objective.

 

On any weekend throughout the year one can spend hours browsing through neighborhood flea (跳蚤) markets. These are very popular for those who are in search of bargains and who have a keen eye for picking through what others have discarded. They hunt and search for something they can reuse. Americans love secondhand merchandise (商品) which can be bought cheaply and restored to its original use. In many cases the condition and the quality are still good, though the style might be outdated.

For some people searching through flea markets is a hobby which reaps rewards. They look for possible antiques among the items for sale or for old furniture which can be restored with a little care and used again. Many wise collectors often find rare items worth much more than their bargained price. Since prices are usually not fixed, if one is persistent a bargain can easily be struck. The owner may be selling a rare collectable and may not even be aware of its value. One of the great pleasures of shopping at such markets is the chance to bargain with the shop owner and settle for a price which one can afford and is willing to pay.

Perhaps even more enjoyable than flea markets are the weekend outdoor garage sales which have now become very much a part of American culture. These are held usually in the spring and fall when the weather is still good. Usually a homeowner, having decided that he would like to clear his residence of accumulated items which are no longer useful to him, advertises in a local paper that he is holding a garage sale. More than likely the goods on display are in good condition and great buys can be found if one has the time and patience to search carefully. The home owner places items for sale on display along the driveway leading to his garage or on his front lawn and waits for people to look at what he has to sell. Old magazines, books, paintings, bicycles, ice-skates, items of clothing and electrical appliances of every sort appear on a regular basis. If the owner is in a position where he must sell his home or plans to move soon, then he may be forced to practically give things away at a price far below their true worth.

1. What do you usually do before holding a garage sale?

A. Put on an advertisement in a local newspaper.  

B. Display your goods in front of the garage.

C. Find rare items and fix their prices.         

D. Clear your garage and front lawn.

2. The underlined word “discarded” in Paragraph 1 probably means ____.

A. distributed                B. rejected               C. discovered          D. stored

3. When people shop at a flea market, how can they settle on a price?

A. They can bargain on a price acceptable to both. B. They can question their value.

C. They can expect a 50% discount.             D. They can compare with the other sellers.

4. What do we know about the garage sale?

A. It is only held in the spring of the year.

B. The goods on display are totally useless.

C. Garage sales are popular with Americans.  

D. All the goods are selling far below their real value.

 

A new law has recently been announced which forbids people to disturb, annoy, harm, kill or interfere with any bats which choose to live in their houses. Anyone who disturbs a bat on its nest ,or handles one without a license will be fined £1,000.

There are some people who like bats. The late Mrs. Ian Fleming was one. She would crawl for miles to see them in caves or hanging from trees. Similarly, there are many people who do not like bats much but are not particularly troubled by them. The chance of a bat resting in their attics(阁楼) or spare bedroom curtains may seem far away from them. But there are others who do not fall into either of these categories and Mr. Auberon Waugh is one. Underneath his house are eight large cellars(地下室) which for some reason bats have chosen to claim for themselves. He finds it extremely disagreeable to have to fight his way through a colony of them every time he wants a bottle of wine. And as a wine-lover he gets a particular pleasure from the ownership of wine. He has certain bottles in his cellar which he thinks are too good to serve to anyone he knows, but he likes to go down and enjoy looking at them occasionally. The bats entirely destroy this pleasure.

Until the recent law, he could keep the bat problem within manageable proportions by sending his children down on a bat hunt every three months armed with tennis rackets. They usually managed to kill one or two and discouraged the rest from settling. But now, Mr. Waugh fears that the bats will take over the house. To solve the problem he inquired what course of action he could take and was told by Dr Robert Stebbings of the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, “I am sure that no one will mind if you pick up a bat and take it outside and hang it on a tree or the outside of the house.” The trouble with this, as Mr. Waugh explains, is that he would be fined a £1,000 if he had not already applied to the Nature Conservancy Council for a license to handle bats. And there is no certainty that he would automatically be granted(agreed to give)one.

1. Mr. Waugh thinks that bats        .

A. should all be destroyed          B. interfere with his wine 

C. should be kept under control     D. prevent him owning wine

2. Because he is a wine-lover, M. Waugh        .

A. stores only good wines           B. keeps certain good wine

C. refuses to drink good wines      D. only wants to own the best wines

3. Success in removing bats from your home depends on        .

A. applying for a license from the Nature Conservancy Council

B. seeking help from the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology

C. taking the course of action recommended by Dr Stebbings

D. the granting of a Nature Conservancy Council license

4.Some people who dislike bats        .

A. think they are unlikely to be bothered by them

B. run the risk of finding them in their attics

C. think it strange they should roost(栖息) in the curtains

D. do not mind them hanging in trees    

 

Did you know that women’s brains are smaller than men’s?  The average women’s brain weighs 10% less than men’s.Since research has shown that the bigger the brain, the cleverer the animal, men must be more intelligent than women.Right? Wrong.Men and women always score similarly on intelligence tests, despite the difference in brain size.Why? After years of study, researchers have concluded that it’s what’s inside that matters, not just the size of the brain.The brain consists of “grey matter” and “white matter”.While men have more of the latter, the amount of “thinking” brain is almost exactly the same in both sexes.

It has been suggested that smaller brain appears to work faster, perhaps because the two sides of the brain are better connected in women.This means that little girls tend to learn to speak earlier, and that women can understand sorts of information from different sources at the same time.When it comes to talking to the boss on the phone, cooking dinner and keeping an eye on the baby all at the same time, it’s women who come out on top every time.

There are other important differences between two sexes.As white matter is the key to spatial tasks, men know better where things are in relation to other things.“A great footballer always knows where he is in relation to the other players, and he knows where to go,” says one researcher.That may explain one of life’s great mysteries: why men refuse to ask for direction and women often need to!

The differences begin when fetuses(胎儿)are about nine weeks old, which can be seen in the action of children as young as one.A boy would try to climb a barrier before him or push it down while a girl would attract help from others.These brain differences also explain the fact that more men take up jobs that require good spatial skills, while more women speech skills.It may all go back to our ancestors, among whom women needed speech skills to take care of their babies and men needed spatial skills to hunt, according to one research.

If all this disappoints you, it shouldn’t.“The brain changes throughout our lives according to what we do with it.”says a biologist.

1.Which of the following is true according to the first paragraph? ________.

A.Women’s brain is 10% less than men’s

B.Grey matter controls thinking in the brain.

C.Grey matter plays the same role as white matter.

D.Both sexes have the same amount of white matter.

2.What can we infer from the second and third paragraphs? ________.

A.Men do better dealing with one job at a time.

B.Women prefer doing many things at a time. 

C.Women do not need to tell directions.

D.Men have weaker spatial abilities.

3.Which of the following do you agree with according to the fourth paragraph? _  A.More women take up jobs requiring speech skills

B.Young boys may be stronger than young girls.

C.Women may have stronger feelings than men.

D.Our ancestors needed more spatial skills.

4.What is the writer’s attitude in writing this passage? ________.

A.Defensive.  B.Objective.  C.Persuasive. D.Supportive.

 

 

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