题目内容
When it comes to intelligence, human beings are the top dogs of the animal kingdom. But in recent years, scientists have been documenting surprising intelligence and emotional depth in animals ranging from honeybees to elephants. Here are some amazing examples.
Artistic Monkey Business
Jannet Schmid, director of the Little River Zoo in Norman, Oklahoma, learned a lot about the intelligence of capuchin monkeys. She and her busband adopted a young male, named Bailey. The capuchin particularly liked taking car rides, insisting that he insert the key and ride in the front passenger’s seat.
Now Bailey has become a devoted painter. He uses brushes to create colorful, abstract paintings, and prefers not to be disturbed.
Prairie Dog Sound
Through a variety of birdlike sounds, prairie dogs warn each other of approaching creatures. They demonstrated a surprisingly complex communication system. In his 25 years of study, Slobodchikoff, a professor of biology, has recorded them pronouncing ten nouns including hawk, deer and coyote, a number of adjectives to identify color, size and shape, and even some verbs to indicate speed.
In an ongoing study, Slobodchikoff learns that their brain contains a very extensive vocabulary. He once used his best prairie dog sound to say coyote, and they just looked at him in anger as if he had said a bad word.
Ivy League Parrot
One African grey parrot Alex is said to have the cognitive abilities of a five-year-old child. Alex can identify 50 different objects, seven colors, five shapes, quantities up to six, and the concepts of bigger, smaller, same and different.
Also Alex is considered to make reasoned decisions. During an experiment, researchers gave Alex different-colored blocks in sets of two, three and six. When asked which color group had five blocks, Alex replied, “None.” And he answered the same in repeated tests. Obviously, he interpreted the concept of “none” as an absence of quantity all on his own. That’s a lot like a high school student answering questions on a quiz show.
1.Which of the following is true?
A. Bailey is as clever as a child of five.
B. The prairie dog loves taking car rides.
C. The capuchin monkey is fond of painting.
D. Alex develops a communication system.
2.The underlined word “coyote” in Paragraph 4 refers to ________.
A. a verb B. an animal C. a warning D. an adjective
3.The African grey parrot Alex can ________.
A. answer questions on a quiz show
B. understand the figure “7”
C. identify five colors and seven shapes
D. apply the concept of “none” correctly
4.What is the passage mainly about?
A. Animal communication B. Animal research
C. Animal intelligence D. Animal information
1.C
2.B
3.D
4.C
it is 55 that one day it will be a useful companion.
7a robot that moves around a home should be.
C. difficulty D. foot
D. designGallows humor(黑色幽默) may seem like a mistake, or at least in poor taste. But psychologists say that gallows humor can be an important way to relieve stress.“Humor makes you feel in control and it can give you that feeling that everything is okay even when it’s not,”says James M.Jones, a psychology professor at the University of Delaware.
Psychologists say that just because you’re laughing doesn’t mean you’re wasting time. Occasional tease among colleagues, particularly if it is associated with the job, can inspire creativity, departmental cohesiveness(凝聚力) and performance.
“There are a lot of stresses out there,”says Ed Dunkelblau, a psychologist in Chicago.“Gallows humor is a way of making difficult things a little less difficult.”
This is as long as the humor is used for the right purpose. The main point of it should be inspiring people—not laughing at them. “Anything that would lift morale(士气) in terms of the company would be good humor,”says Thierry Guedj, a professor.
You want to give your employees and co-workers a sense of belonging, so don’t make observations that are aggressive. Most obviously, Dr. Guedj says, don’t make comments about people’s physical appearance or faith. If you have any doubt about its appropriateness, don’t go through with it.
Or you can take aim at the person that you know won’t be offended(冒犯): yourself. “If there’s going to be a joke or story, it should be you,”Mr Dunkelblau says.
“People with the ability to laugh at themselves can give other people permission to laugh at themselves, too,”Mr Jones says.“And if you can laugh at yourself, you feel better about yourself.”
1.According to the passage, gallows humor has the following functions EXCEPT .
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A．leading to a big mistake |
B．reducing pressure |
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C．making people more creative |
D．improving performance |
2.What is Ed Dunkelblau’s attitude towards gallows humor?
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A．Negative. |
B．Positive. |
C．Neutral.(中立的) |
D．Uncertain. |
3.When people use gallows humor, they should .
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A．observe who is aggressive |
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B．show a sense of belonging |
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C．doubt about the result of humor |
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D．try to avoid involving private things |
4.What can we infer from the passage?
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A．People tend to laugh at others rather than themselves. |
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B．Laughing at yourself can make others free from stress. |
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C．People can’t avoid offending others with gallows humor. |
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D．People who laugh at themselves are easy to gain others’ permission. |
Most people feel lonely sometimes，but it usually only lasts between a few minutes and a few hours，This kind of loneliness is not serious．In fact，it is quite normal．For some people，though，loneliness can last for years．Now researchers say loneliness comes in three different types．
The first kind of loneliness is temporary．This is the most common type．It usually disappears quickly and does not require any special attention．The second kind is situation，for example，family problem，the death of a loved one，or moving to a new place．Although this kind of loneliness can cause physical problems，such as headaches and sleeplessness，it usually does not last for more than a year．The third kind of loneliness is the most serious．Unlike the second type, chronic (the opposite of‘temporary’) usually lasts more than two years and has no specific cause．People who experience habitual loneliness have problems socializing and becoming close to others．Unfortunately，many chronically lonely people think there is little or nothing they can do to improve their condition．
Psychologists(心理学家) agree that one important factor in loneliness is a person’s social contacts，for example，friends，family members，co-workers，etc．We depend on various people for different reasons．For instance．our family give us emotional support，our parents and teachers give us guidance, and our fiends share similar interests and activities．
However，psychologists have found that, though lonely people may have many social contacts，they sometimes feel they should have more．They question their popularity．
Psychologists are trying to find ways to help habitually lonely people for two reasons：they are unhappy and unable to socialize arid there is a connection between chronic loneliness and serious illness such as heart disease，while temporary and situational loneliness can be a sad，and sometimes dangerous condition．
1.How would you treat temporary loneliness according to the passage?
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A．Talk to friends． |
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B．Go to see a doctor． |
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C．Just ignore it． |
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D．Ask your teacher for guidance． |
2.Why do psychologists want to help chronically lonely people?
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A．Chronic loneliness can cause family problems． |
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B．Chronic loneliness is incurable． |
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C．Chronic loneliness can not be overcome． |
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D．Chronic loneliness call cause serious illness． |
3.Loneliness is divided according to ________．
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A．the time it lasts |
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B．the places where it appears |
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C．different people it happen to |
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D．different seasons when it appears |