Have you winterized your horse yet? Even though global warming may have made our climate more mild, many animals are still hibernating(冬眠) .It’s too bad that humans can’t hibernate. In fact, as a species, we almost did.

Apparently, at times in the past , peasants in France liked a semi-state of human hibernation . So writes Graham Robb, a British scholar who has studied the sleeping habits of the French peasants. As soon as the weather turned cold people all over France shut themselves away and practiced the forgotten art of doing nothing at all for months on end.

In line with this, Jeff Warren, a producer at CBC Radio’s The Current, tells us that the way we sleep has changed fundamentally since the invention of artificial(人造的) lighting and the electric bulb.

When historians began studying texts of the Middle Ages, they noticed something referred to as “first sleep”, which was not clarified, though.  Now scientists are telling us our ancestors most likely slept in separate periods. The business of eight hours’ uninterrupted sleep is a modern invention.

In the past , without the artificial light of the city to bathe in, humans went to sleep when it became dark and then woke themselves around midnight. The late night period was known as ”The Watch” It was when people actually kept watch against wild animals ,although many of them simply moved around or visited family and neighbours .

According to some sleep researchers, a short period of insomnia(失眠) at midnight is not a disorder .It is normal . Humans can experience another state of consciousness  around their sleeping, which occurs in the brief period before we fall asleep or wake ourselves in the morning .This period can be an extraordinarily creative time for some people .The impressive inventor, Thomas Edison , used this state to hit upon many of his new ideas.

Playing with your sleep rhythms can be adventurous  ,as anxiety may set in. Medical science doesn’t help much in this case. It offers us medicines for a full night’s continuous sleep, which sounds natural ; however, according to Warren’s theory,it is really the opposite of what we need.

67.The example of the French peasants shows the fact that________.

  A. people might become lazy as a result of too much sleep

  B. there were signs of hibernation in human sleeping habits

  C.people tended to sleep more peacefully in cold weather

  D. winter was a season for people to sleep for months on end

68. The late night was called “The Watch”because it was a time for people______.

  A. to set traps to catch animals

  B. to wake up their family and neighbours

  C. to remind others of the time

  D.to guard against possible dangers

69. What does the author advise people to do ?

  A. Sleep in the way animals do.

  B.Consult a doctor if they can’t sleep.

  C.Follow their natural sleep rhythm.

  D.Keep to the eight-hour sleep pattern.

70.What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage?

A.To give a prescription for insomnia.

B.To urge people to sleep less.

C.To analyze the sleep pattern of modern people.

D.To throw new light on human sleep.

We know that many animals do not stay in one place. Birds, fish and other animals move from one place to another at a certain time. They move for different reasons most of them move to find food more easily, but others move to get away from places that are too crowded. When cold weather comes, many birds move to warmer places to find food. Some fishes give birth in warm water and move to cold water to feed. The most famous migration(迁移)is probably the migration of the fish, which is called “salmon”. This fish is born in fresh water but it travels many miles to salt water. There it spends its life. When it is old, it returns to its birthplace in fresh water. Then it gives birth and dies there. In northern Europe, there is a kind of mice. They leave their mountain homes when they become too crowded. They move down to the low land. Sometimes they move all the way to the seaside, and many of them are killed when they fall into the sea.

    Recently, scientists have studied the migration of a kind of lobsters(龙虾). Every year, when the season of bad weather arrives, the lobsters get into a long line and start to walk across the floor of the ocean. Nobody knows why they do this, and nobody knows where they go. So, sometimes we know why humans and animals move from one place to another, but at other times we don’t. Maybe living things just like to travel.    

Most animals move from one place to another at a certain time to __________ .

A. give birth              B. enjoy warmer weather  

C. find food more easily     D. find beautiful places

The fish called “salmon” spends a long life in __________ .

A. salt water         B. rivers          C. fresh water       D. its birthplace

The mice in northern Europe move when __________ .

   A. they give birth                   B. the weather is bad

  C. the place gets too crowded         D. they haven’t enough food

The lobsters move __________ .

   A. to the fresh water              B. to the sea floor

   C. at a certain time               D. to find more food

What is the main idea of the passage?

   A. Animals move in order to find food more easily.

 B. The migration of the fish called “salmon” is the most famous migration.

   C. Living things move from one place to another because they like to travel.

D. Sometimes we know why and how living things move from one place to another, but sometimes we don’t.

Can Apes Really Learn To “Talk”

Who are Sarah, Washoe, Koko, and Sherman? They are chimpanzees or gorillas who some scientists claim have learned how to “talk” to humans. In the past several years people have been astonished by reports that they communicate with humans. For example, Koko, a female gorilla, is said to understand and use hundreds of words. Koko, says her trainer, Francine Patterson, can carry on conversations in sign language about her feelings and plans.

Researcher Talks Back

Recently a Columbia University scientist caused an argument by challenging the conclusion that apes can in fact use language. The scientist, Dr. Herbert Terrace, thinks that the animals do not use language the way humans do. Dr. Terrace has caused such strong feelings among scientists studying ape language. Here let’s listen to an imaginary conversation between Washoe, the first chimp to learn sign language, and Koko, the gorilla.

Apes Are Talking

Koko: Did you hear what Dr. Terrace said about us? He claims we cannot create our own sentences. Instead, he says, we react to clues accidentally given by our trainer. He says we are like the famous horse Clever Hans. Hans was supposed to be able to solve arithmetic problems and then stamp out the answers with his hoof(蹄子).

If the horse was asked what two plus two was, he would stamp four times. Although the trainer did not realized it, says Dr. Terrace, the horse was picking up clues from the trainer as to when to stop stamping.

Washoe: I disagree with Dr. Terrace. My trainer, Dr. R. Allen Gardner and his wife, Beatrice, have seen me talking in sign language to other chimps.

Koko: I heard that Dr. Terrace became unimpressed with ape language after studying a chimp named Nim. Dr. Terrace found that Nim usually made signs only after being prompted (提示) by his trainer. Yet when children learn a language, they start using many words on their own. Nim usually did not do this. Even when Nim did use additional signs, he did not add any new information. The signs (words) were repeated over and over again.

Washoe: My trainer says that Nim wasn’t given much of a chance to act on his own. He had so many different trainers, he became confused. That is not the best way to get chimps to communicate.

Koko: I’ll never understand humans. But the big question is: Can we really use language?

Koko and Washoe (together): We’ll never tell.

How do scientists who study ape language respond to Dr.  Herbert  Terrace’ idea according to the 2nd part?

A. Enthusiastic.             B. Confused.                C. Angry.                      D. Sympathetic.  

Which of the following is a match according to the passage?

A. Dr. Herbert Terrace and Koko.                  B. Dr. R. Allen Garners and Washoe.

C. Clever Hans and Sherman.                           D. Francine Patterson and Nim.

Dr. Herbert Terrace suspects that _________.

A. Nim added new information while using additional signs

B. Clever Hans picked up clues accidentally given by its trainer

C. Washoe didn’t pick up any clues from its trainer when talking

D. when a child learns a language, he starts using many words on his own

Which of the following is a fact according to the passage?

A. Nim had more than one trainer.                   

B. Apes can’t create their own language.

C. The apes are supposed to form sentences.      

D. Clever Hans is supposed to solve math problems.


If you are afraid of the dark,it’s not a big deal.It’s perfectly normal to feel afraid After all,animals do too. “Fear matters,”says Karen Warkentin,an ecologist.“It’s a good thing,” she adds, “because fear makes you do things that keep you alive.”
Like kids,many animals experience fear and they respond to the feeling in variety of ways.A
frightened turtle pulls its head and legs inside its shell.A small fish will swim away when a big,hungry fish approaches.
Some animals respond to fear in ways you might not expect.The first example is that the fear of being eaten can scare some frogs right out of their eggs. Warkentin made the surprising discovery while studying red—eyed tree frogs in Costa Rica.
In this species,female frogs attach jellylike clumps(果冻一样的块状物)of their eggs to the undersides of leaves.The leaves hang on branches that dangle(悬挂)over ponds.After they hatch from the eggs,the tadpoles(蝌蚪)then fall into the water,where they eventually grow into
adult frogs.
Tree frog eggs usually grow for 6 days before hatching.If they sense that a hungry snake is about to attack,however,they can hatch up to 2 days ahead of schedule. As the snakes are unable to swim,by falling into the water early,the tadpoles can escape.
If hatching early helps protect red—eyed tree frogs from snakes,you might wonder why their eggs don’t always hatch sooner.It turns out that hatching early brings its own danger.Once tadpoles land in the water,hungry fish and other animals like to eat them too.Staying in their eggs for a full 6 days,then,allows frog embryos(胚胎)to grow big and strong.This extra growth improves their chances of surviving in the water.
68.It can be inferred from the passage that fears______
A.help animals grow bigger and stronger
B.are less common among young animals
C.help animals move a lot to fit the environment
D.are more or less important in order for animals to survive
69.We are told in the passage that tree frogs______
A.face danger both inside their eggs and in the water
B.will grow fast if they fall into the water later
C.are surprisingly clever when inside their eggs
D.stay in their eggs longer if they are frightened
70.What do you think would be discussed in the following paragraph?
A.Further explanations as to why tree frogs hatch ahead of schedule.
B.How the unborn frogs know when a snake is about to attack them.
C.Another example of animals that responds to fear in an unexpected way.
D.How tree frogs improve their chances of survival before falling into the water.

 

Plants can’t communicate by moving or making sounds, as most animals do. Instead, plants produce volatile compounds, chemicals that easily change from a liquid to a gas .A. flower’s sweet smell, for example, comes from volatile compounds that the plant produces to attract insects such as bugs and bees.

Plants can also detect volatile compounds produced by other plants. A. tree under attack by hungry insects, for instance, may give off volatile compounds that let other trees know about the attack, In response, the other trees may send off chemicals to keep the bugs away- or even chemicals that attract the bugs’ natural enemies.

Now scientists have created a quick way to understand what plants are saying: a chemical sensor(传感器) called an electronic nose. The “e-nose” can tell compounds that crop plants make when they’re attacked. Scientists say the e-nose could help quickly detest whether plants are being eaten by insects, But today the only way to detect such insects is to visually inspect individual plants. This is a challenging task for managers of greenhouses, enclosed gardens that can house thousands of plants.

The research team worked with an e-nose that recognizes volatile compounds. Inside the device, 13 sensors chemically react with volatile compounds. Based on these interactions, the e-nose gives off electronic signals that the scientists analyze using computer software.

To test the nose, the team presented it with healthy leaves from cucumber, pepper and tomato plants, all common greenhouse crops. Then the scientists collected samples of air around damaged leaves from each type of crop. These plants had been damaged by insects, or by scientists who made holes in the leaves with a hole punch (打孔器).

The e-nose, it turns out, could identify healthy cucumber, pepper and tomato plants based on the volatile compounds they produce. It could also identify tomato leaves that had been damaged. But even more impressive, the device could tell which type of damage – by insects or with a hole punch – had been done to the tomato leaves.

With some fine tuning, a device like the e-nose could one day be used in greenhouses to quickly spot harmful bugs, the researchers say. A. device like this could also be used to identify fruits that are perfectly ripe and ready to pick and eat, says Natalia Dudareve, a biochemist at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. who studies smells of flowers and plants. Hopefully, scientists believe, the device could bring large benefits to greenhouse managers in the near future.

1.We learn from the text that plants communicate with each other by______.

A. making some sounds    B. waving their leaves

C. producing some chemicals D. sending out electronic signals

2.What did the scientists do to find out if the e-nose worked?

A. They presented it with all common crops..

B. They fixed 13 sensors inside the device.

C. They collected different damaged leaves.

D. They made tests on damaged and healthy leaves.

3.According to the writer, the most amazing thing about the e –nose is that it can ______.

A. pick out ripe fruits

B. spot the insects quickly

C. distinguish different damages to the leaves

D. recognize unhealthy tomato leaves

4.We can infer from the last paragraph that the e-nose_____.

A. is unable to tell the smell of flowers

B. is not yet used in greenhouses

C. is designed by scientists at Purdue

D. is helpful in killing harmful insects

 

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