Early one morning, more than a hundred years ago, an American inventor called Elias Howe finally fell asleep. He had been working all night on the design of a sewing machine but he had run into a very difficult problem: It seemed impossible to get the thread to run smoothly around the needle.      

Though he was tired, Howe slept badly. He turned and turned. Then he had a dream. He dreamt that he had been caught by terrible savages whose king wanted to kill him and eat him unless he could build a perfect sewing machine. When he tried to do so, Howe ran into the same problem as before. The thread kept getting caught around the needle. The king flew into the cage and ordered his soldiers to kill Howe. They came up towards him with their spears raised. But suddenly the inventor noticed something. There was a hole in the tip of each spear. The inventor awoke from the dream, realizing that he had just found the answer to the problem. Instead of trying to get the thread to run around the needle, he should make it run through a small hole in the center of the needle. This was the simple idea that finally made Howe design and build the first really practiced sewing machine.

Elias Howe was not the only one in finding the answer to his problem in this way.

Thomas Edison, the inventor of the electric light, said his best ideas came into him in dreams. So did the great physicist Albert Einstein. Charlotte Bronte also drew in her dreams in writing Jane Eyre.

To know the value of dreams, you have to understand what happens when you are asleep. Even then, a part of your mind is still working. This unconscious(无意识的), but still active part understands your experiences and goes to work on the problems you have had during the day. It stores all sorts of information that you may have forgotten or never have really noticed. It is only when you fall asleep that this part of the brain can send messages to the part you use when you are awake. However, the unconscious part acts in a special way. It uses strange images which the conscious part may not understand at first. This is why dreams are sometimes called “secret messages to ourselves”.

1.According to the passage, Elias Howe was________.

A. the first person we know of who solved problems in his sleep

B. much more hard-working than other inventors

C. the first person to design a sewing machine that really worked

D. the only person at the time who knew the value of dreams

2.The problem Howe was trying to solve was________.

A. what kind of thread to use

B. how to design a needle which would not break

C. where to put the needle

D. how to prevent the thread from getting caught around the needle

3.Thomas Edison is spoken of because________.

A. he also tried to invent a sewing machine

B. he got some of his ideas from dreams

C. he was one of Howe’s best friends

D. he also had difficulty in falling asleep

4.Dreams are sometimes called “secret messages to ourselves” because ________.

A. strange images are used to communicate ideas

B. images which have no meaning are used

C. we can never understand the real meaning

D. only specially trained people can understand them

Washoe, a female chimpanzee (黑猩猩) believed to be the first non-human to acquire human language, has died of natural causes at the research institute where she was kept.The chimp died on Tuesday night, according to Roger and Deborah Fouts, co-founders of The Chimpanzee and Human Communications Institute in Washington, where she lived.

Washoe was born in 1965 in Africa, where she was captured by the Air Force and taken to the US for research use in the space program. In 1966, she left the program and began living with two scientists, Allen and Beatrix Gardner, who led a project to teach the chimp American Sign Language (ASL) in Washoe, Nevada, for which it was named. Washoe had been living on Central Washington University’s Ellensburg Campus since 1980. She had a vocabulary of about 250 words. Also, Washoe taught sign language to three younger chimps: Tatu, 31, Loulis, 29, and Dar, 31

Primate (灵长类) researcher Jane Goodall, in Fouts’ book Next of Kin, noted the importance of the work with Washoe. “Roger, through his ongoing conversations with Washoe and her extended family, has opened a window into a chimpanzee’s mind,” Goodall said.

Though previous efforts to teach chimps spoken languages had failed, the researchers believed there was a better chance using signs. But Washoe’s language skills were disputed by scientists who believed that language is unique to humans. Among those who doubted that chimps could use language were linguist (语言学家) Noam Chomsky and Harvard scientist Steven Pinker. They believed primates simply learn to perform certain acts in order to receive rewards, and do not acquire true language. 

As for its first task, Washoe was involved with _______.

A. some space research   

B. a study on African animals

C. an ASL project     

D. the program of training the Air Force

In Goodall’s opinion, teaching Washoe ASL ______.

A. was not successful   

B. led to the book Next of Kin

C. won honor for Fouts   

D. made a difference

In the last paragraph, the underlined word “disputed” probably means “______”.

A. supported 

B. studied 

C. questioned 

D. discussed

What can be inferred from the passage?

A. The ASL project was first set up in Africa for the study on Washoe.

B. Washoe may communicate with other chimps by signing.

C. Washoe must have been able to speak 250 words or so.

D. The researchers will prove that most chimps could use language.

Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Washoe was the first animal to be taught human language.

B. Washoe, the chimp, was named in honor of a place.

C. There were four chimps in total at Ellensburg Campus.

D. Chomsky believed primates only perform silent signs.

Jane’s mother worked on the farm from dawn till dark, which just could make ends meet(量入为出，收支平衡). To make Jane live a  36  life, Mother was very careful about spending money.  37 , Jane didn’t understand her. Every day Mother was busy with her 38 while Jane was studying at school, so they had little time to enjoy themselves.
One day, Mother realized Jane was unhappy and even 39 to her, so she decided to go   40  with Jane to make Jane happy.
On Sunday morning they went happily to the snowfield. Since they were   41 in white clothes, the manager advised them to buy ski clothes. He said  42 there was an accident, they might be easily 43 in their ski clothes. Mother couldn’t  44 them, so she refused.
Then they went skiing in their white clothes. They were skiing happily on the  45 when suddenly the snowfield began to  46  .It was the snowslide (雪崩).They ran a long way and 47 the snowslide finally, but they couldn’t find their way. Later, a helicopter (直升机) was flying above,  48  people on it couldn’t see or hear them. Jane was  49 because she had hurt her head seriously and  50 dropped on the snow. Just then an idea struck Mother. She cut her wrist(手腕)  51 and then bright red blood dropped down on the snowfield. A red SOS was on the snow. At last Jane  52 , but Mother died.
Every time I  53 the blood dropping onto the snowfield, I feel  54 , I believe anyone who hears the tragedy will  55 Mother for her selfless love to her daughter.

In 1957, Jane Goodall first met the famous anthropologist (人类学者) Dr Louis Leakey, who later played an important role in her life. With the  32  of gaining insight into humans’ evolutionary (进化的) past, Dr Leakey  33  a pioneering long-term field study on  34  chimps. Even though Jane had no formal  35 , her patience and determination to understand animals  36 him to choose her for the study.  37  it was unusual for a woman to work in the forest of Africa, going there 38 the fulfillment (实现) of her childhood dream. In the summer of 1960 she  39  in Tanzania(坦桑尼亚) on Lake Tanganyika’s eastern shore. This marked the  40  of the longest continuous field study of animals in their  41  habitat(栖息地). Five years  42 , she earned a doctor’s degree at Cambridge University and then  43  to Tanzania to found the Gombe Stream Research Center. And in 1977, to provide on-going  44  for chimp research, Dr Goodall  45  The Jane Goodall Institute.
Today, she  46  most of her time traveling around the world, giving lectures on her  47  at Gombe and speaking to school groups about Roots &Shoots, her environmental education and humanitarian program for the  48 .
“Chimps have given me so  49 . The long hours spent with them in the  50  have enriched my life beyond measure. What I have learned from them has shaped my 51  of human behavior, of our place in nature.”

Many television programmes are very realistic. One who watches TV often feels that whatever happened in the film could well happen to him. With only a little imagination, every man in the street becomes a thief, a spy or a murderer. Jane had been watching a spy film at her friend’s house. In it, a young girl had been followed and murdered. She felt a little frightened, walking to the station. She took a train back to the centre of the city. There were a lot of people traveling with her, so she felt much safer.

A man sitting opposite her, reading a newspaper, glanced at her. She thought nothing of it until she saw him staring at her. Remember the film and feeling very uncomfortable, she got off the train and went to the bus stop. When he got on the same bus as she did, she found that he was following her. As long as she had been with other people she wasn’t frightened. But when she got off the bus, the streets were almost empty. She walked as quickly as she could. She could hear footsteps following her but she didn’t dare to look around. After what seemed to have been hours, she was unable to find them, because she was so frightened. The footsteps stopped behind her. She felt a hand on her shoulder. Instead of feeling hands round her neck, however, she heard a pleasant voice. “I apologize if I frightened you. I’m your new neighbour. I thought I recognized you in the train, but I wasn’t sure.”

1.Jane felt frightened, walking to the station, because ________.

A. she had seen a murder on television

B. she was being followed

C. she had been at her friend’s house

D. she was a girl of rich imagination

2.Jane’s friend lived ______ her.

A. very near                         B. a short distance away from

C. a long way from              D. next to

3.Jane was really frightened because _______.

A. the man who followed her was her new neighbour

B. the man apologized

C. the street was empty

D. she thought she met a murderer

4.The man put his hand on her shoulder. He meant to _______ Jane.

A. kill                            B. be friendly to                           C. frighten                            D. play a joke on

5.A girl will be frightened if ______.

A. she often watches TV

B. she is followed by a stranger for a long time.

C. she meets her neighbour suddenly

D. she feels a hand on her shoulder