What’s on Your Pet’s Mind?In 1977, Irene Pepperberg of Harvard University began studying what was on another creature’s mind by talking to it.Her first experiments began with Alex.Alex was a one-year-old African grey parrot and Irene taught him to produce the sounds of the English language.“I thought if he learned to communicate, I could ask him questions about how he sees the world.”

At the time, most scientists didn’t believe animals had any thoughts.They thought animals were more like robots but didn’t have the ability to think or feel.Of course, if you own a pet you probably disagree.But it is the job of a scientist to prove this and nowadays more scientists accept that animals can think for themselves.

“That’s why I started my studies with Alex,” Irene said, “Some people actually called me crazy for trying this.”

Nowadays, we have more and more evidence that animals have all sorts of mental abilities.Sheep can recognize faces.Chimpanzees (黑猩猩) use a variety of tools and even use weapons to hunt.And Alex the parrot became a very good talker.

Thirty years after the Alex studies began.Irene was still giving him English lessons up until his recent death.For example, if Alex was hungry he could say “want grape”.Alex could count to six and was learning the sounds for seven and eight.“He has to hear the words over and over before he can correctly say them.” Irene said, after pronouncing “seven” for Alex a few times in a row.Alex could also tell the difference between colors, shapes, sizes, and materials (e.g.wood and metal).Before he finally died, Alex managed to say “seven”.

Another famous pet that proved some animals have greater mental skills was a dog called Rico.He appeared on a German TV game show in 2011.Rico knew the names of 200 different toys and easily learned the names of new ones.When Rico became famous, many other dog owners wanted to show how clever their pets were.Another dog called Betsy could understand 300 words.

One theory for dogs’ ability to learn a language is that they have ben close companions to humans for many centuries and so their ability to understand us is constantly evolving (进化).While animals can’t do what humans do yet, some scientists believe that examples like Alex and Rico prove that evolution develops intelligence, as well as physical appearance.

1.Irene wanted to find out __________.

A. what a parrot thinks

B. why a parrot can speak

C. how parrots make sounds

D. if parrots speak English

2.Alex learnt new words by __________.

A. singing them

B. reading them

C. writing them

D. rehearing them

3.The two dogs mentioned in the article could _______.

A. understand some words

B. recognize strange voices

C. copy human gestures

D. tell different colors

4.The article concludes that ___________.

A. our pets understand what we say

B. dogs may speak to humans one day

C. humans are related to chimpanzees

D. mental ability can evolve in animals

It’s well-known that meditation (冥想) has many benefits, but do you know how to practice it for a beginner?

Set a proper scene

Find a space for meditation.It should be private and quiet.Make sure the temperature is comfortable.Sit on a cushion (垫子) if the floor is uncomfortable.You may play soft music if you like.

Take a moment to loosen up.Remember that the goal of meditation is to relax.Loosen your clothing, remove your shoes and have a good stretch.Do your best to ease any muscle tension that might keep you from achieving relaxation.Make an effort to relax your facial muscles.

Focus on your breath

Sit down in the space you’ve prepared.Close your eyes and breathe.Each time you breathe in, count “one”.Each time you breathe out, count “one”.The idea is to strengthen being in the moment — the last breath doesn’t matter, and the next one doesn’t matter; only this one matters.

Feel your breath inflate (胀大) your lungs and push on your diaphragm (隔膜).Feel how sweet it is to inhale the fresh air.As you do this, your body will gradually begin to relax and all of your attention will be centered within your mind.

Return to real life

Once you feel fully centered in your mind, allow yourself to gradually drift back to real life.Move your fingers and toes and slowly wake your body up.Open your eyes and remain there for a few minutes until your senses come back, and then slowly stand up.

Even if you can’t make it fully into your mind, you still get some benefits from it.If you want to feel better, you just need to practice.Set about 10 minutes around the same time every day and repeat this exercise.

1.The text is about _________.

A.steps in practicing meditation for beginners

B.tips on how to breathe slowly

C.the benefits of practicing meditation

D.the best way to stay relaxed

2.Which of the following can best fill in the blank?

A.Forget yourself.

B.Prepare yourself for it.

C.Avoid being disturbed.

D.Pay attention to your inner self.

3.The underlined word “inhale” in the text can be replaced by “__________”.

A.look for

B.take in

C.keep away

D.think of

4.To gain greater benefits of meditation, beginners are advised to __________.

A.do some exercise in advance

B.listen to some popular music

C.practice it every day

D.spend a long time in practicing it

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