题目内容
An ape has a larger brain than any animal except man, though it is much smaller than a man’s brain. Apes all belong to the hot countries of the world―tropical Africa and South―east Asia.
The gorilla is the largest of the apes. He is as tall as six feet when standing upright. Many people think that gorillas are very fierce. They are often described as standing upright like a man, beating their fists and roaring. In their home, in the forests of Central Africa, however, they are not at all like this, They are peaceful animals and never use their great strength unless attacked. Even then, they retreat if they can.
Gorillas have black faces and long, black, hairy coats. They feed during the day on plants and fruit. At night the old male often sleeps on the ground at the foot of a tree, while the others each make a sleeping platform in the tree bending the leafy branches. Besides this, gorillas climb trees very seldom.
56. Apes live in ___________ .
A. different parts of the world B. the cold countries
C. South America and Africa D. the countries of Africa and south―east Asia
57. An ape’s brain is __________ .
A. as large as a man’s brain B. a lot smaller than a man’s brain
C. larger than that of any other animal including man D. a lot larger than a man’s brain
58. A gorilla is about six feet tall when he __________ .
A. stands on his legs B. stand on his arms
C. roars D. uses his great strength
59. All gorillas live on ____________ .
A. vegetables B. leaves and grass C. plants and fruit D. rice
60. During the night gorilla usually sleep in trees except __________ .
A. the old female gorilla B. the old male gorilla
C. the young gorillas up to six years old D. the baby gorillas
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Man has a big brain. He can think, learn and speak. Scientists thought that men are different from animals because they can think and learn. They know now that dogs, cats and birds can learn too. They are beginning to understand that. They make noises when they are afraid, or angry or unhappy. Apes(猿) can understand some things more quickly than human, one or two of them have learnt a few words. But they can not join words to make sentences. They can not think like us because they have no language. Language is a wonderful thing. Man has been able to build a modern world because he has language. Every child can speak his own language very well when he is four or five, —but no animal learns to speak. How do children learn it ? Scientists do not really know. What happens inside our body when we speak? They do not know. They only know that man can speak because he has a brain.
【小题1】The best title for this passage is .
A.Animal’s Language | B.Man and Ape | C.Brain and language | D.Man’s Brain |
A.men can understand things quickly | B.men can learn |
C.men have learnt to use language | D.men have brains |
A.make noises | B.understand things | C.learn words | D.speak like man |
A.how children learn to speak | B.why apes can learn a few words |
C.man’s brain helps him to learn to speak | D.what happens when men speak |
A.Some animals can learn. | B.Apes can understand some things more quickly than men. |
C.Apes can put the words they know together. | |
D.Apes have no language though they can learn some words |
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – One of the world’s most famous fossils (化石) – the 3.2 million-year-old Lucy skeleton (骨骼) unearthed in Ethiopia in 1974 – will go on an exhibition tour abroad for the first time in the United States, officials said Tuesday.
Even the Ethiopian public has only seen Lucy twice. The Lucy on exhibition at the Ethiopian National Museum in the capital, Addis Ababa, is a replica while the real remains are usually locked in a secret storeroom. A team from the Museum of National Science in Houston, Texas, spent four years discussing with the Ethiopians for the U.S. tour, which will start in Houston next September.
“Ethiopia’s rich culture of both the past and today, is one of the best kept secrets in the world,” said Joel Bartsch, director of the Houston museum.
The six-year tour will also go to Washington, New York, Denver and Chicago. Officials said six other U.S. cities may be on the tour. But they said plans had not been worked out.
Travelling with Lucy will be 190 other fossils.
Lucy, her name taken from a Beatles song that played in a camp the night of her discovery, is part of the skeleton of what was once a 3-foot-tall ape-man (猿人).
【小题1】The author writes this text mainly to ___ .
A.introduce a few U.S. museums |
B.describe some research work |
C.discuss the value of an ape-man |
D.report a coming event |
A.A painting of the skeleton. |
B.A photograph of Lucy |
C.A copy of the skeleton. |
D.A written record of Lucy. |
A.Four. | B.Five. | C.Six. | D.Eleven. |
A.An ape-man. | B.A song. | C.A singer. | D.A camp. |
A new report said scientists may not be far from giving apes the ability to think and talk like humans. The report is about experiments which transplant human cells into animals for medical purposes.
It claimed that concerns about the creation of talking apes should be taken seriously. It should also draw people’s attention to the possibility that the medical research about creating “humanised” animals is going to generate monsters.
A regulatory(监管的)body is needed to closely monitor any experiments that many risk creating animals with human-like consciousness or giving them any appearance or behavioural traits that too closely resemble humans, the report said.
Scientists would, for example, be prevented from replacing a large number of an ape’s brain cells with human brain cells until more is known about the potential risks. This has already been done in simpler animals like mice, which is judged to be less risky.
Under the new UK guidelines, the power to regulate tests on animals containing human material would be transferred to a body with wider responsibility for animal testing in the Home Office.
While there is no risk from experiments currently being carried out in Britain, it is possible that ethical (道德的) boundaries could be crossed within the next few years if scientists are not careful, the experts said.
Professor Thomas Baldwin, a member of the Academy of Medical Sciences working group that produced the report, said the possibility of humanised apes should be taken seriously.
He said, “The fear is that if you start putting very large numbers of human brain cells into the brains of primates(灵长类动物)you might transform the primates into something that has some of the abilities that we regard as distinctly human, such as speech, or other ways of being able to manipulate or relate to us.”
Professor Martin Bobrow, chair of the academy working group that produced the report, said, “The very great majority of experiments present no issues beyond the general use of animals in research and these should continue to proceed under the current regulations.”
Lord Willis, chair of the Association of Medical Research Charities, said, “AMRC only supports research that is absolutely necessary and where no suitable alternative methods are available.”
【小题1】What is the passage mainly about?
A.Ethical rules to limit humanised animals. |
B.The potential results of humanised apes. |
C.The possibility of humanised animals. |
D.The danger of human-like animals. |
A.appeal | B.possess | C.control | D.associate |
A.It is necessary to do some experiments about humanised animals. |
B.Experiments about humanised animals should be done within the law. |
C.It would be dangerous to do experiments about humanised animals. |
D.It is urgent to ban experiment about humanised animals. |
A.people should be careful when creating talking apes |
B.Thomas Baldwin and Lord Willis are from the same organization |
C.creating humanised animals is difficult in Britain now |
D.scientists must be cautious not to cross ethical boundaries |