44. What is the text mainly about?

A. Sometimes chimps can do better than humans.　 B. Chimps against human adults.

C. Two tests of short-term memory.　　　　 D. Reasons why chimps won over humans.

43. Jimit Shah hopes the future car _______.

A. will be equipped with a computer　　　　　 B. will not use energy

C. will run into space　　　　　　　　　　　 D. will run by a new energy

C

New York: Japanese researchers have competed with young chimps against human adults in two tests of short-term memory, and overall, the chimps won.

That challenges the belief that “humans are superior to chimps in all cognitive functions,” said researcher Tetsuro Matsuzawa of Kyoto University.

Professor Matsuzawa, a pioneer in studying the mental abilities of chimps, and his colleague Sana Inoue report the results in the latest issue of the journal Current Biology.

One memory test included three five-year-old chimps, who had been taught the order of Arabic numerals 1 through 9, and a dozen human volunteers.

They saw nine numbers displayed on a computer screen. When they touched the first number, the other eight turned into white squares. The test was to touch all these squares in the order of the numbers that used to be there. Results showed that the chimps, while no more accurate than people, could do this faster.

One chimp, Ayumu, did the best. Researchers included him and nine college students in a second test.

This time, five numbers flashed on the screen only briefly before they were replaced by white squares. When the numbers were displayed for just four-tenths or two-tenths of a second, Ayumu was the champ.

Professor Matsuzawa thinks two factors gave chimps the edge. One, he believes human ancestors gave up much of his skill over time to make room in the brain for language abilities. The other factor is the youth of the chimps. The memory for images required for the tests resembles a skill found in children, which becomes weaker with age.

42. _____ are the concerns of 10-year-old Riddhi Shah.

A. Traffic and pollution　　　　　　 B. Pollution and war

C. Population and pollution　　　　　 D. Environment and education

41. The underlined word “vandalize” most probably means _______.

A. to destroy willfully　　　　　　　 B. to ignore totally

C. to use excessively　　　　　　　　 D. to pollute mildly

40. Dorian Flores hopes _____ in the future.

A. the weather will be good.　　　　　　　 B. she can live in space

C. she can call her friend Rose　　　　　　 D. we can travel on a flying board

39. How can you make the others feel they’ve known you half of their lives?

A. By letting them know you enjoy meeting them.

B. By giving them a firm handshake when parting.

C. By asking proper questions and listening carefully and attentively.

D. By keeping talking to them in the conversation.

B

Maybe What Will Be…?

“I think the future will be cool. When the weather is not good, all you need to do is push a button and your house would be up above the clouds. All the schools would have computers. And whenever you want to go somewhere you’ll have a flying board to take you there. Also, when your house is messy, you just call your maid, Rose.”

-Dorian Flores, age 8

“If New York City keeps going the way it is, it will be more crowded, with more traffic, worse air, more litter and less open, green spaces. Bridges and subways will be even older and need repair or replacement. We need to learn to take care of the environment, reuse, recycle and compost(制成堆肥), so we have less garbage. Put more money into NYC budgets to maintain our parks, playgrounds and beaches. New Yorkers need to respect and love their city-not vandalize and litter it.”

-Linda Sarkadi, age 11

“I think that if we all rode on bikes right now, we could limit all the pollution that is in the world. Then our descendants(后代)could live in a safe environment. They wouldn’t have to suffer like their ancestors before them did. Another thing we could do to make the future better is to teach people that fighting doesn’t solve any problems. This lesson will be passed down from generation to generation and the children of the future won’t have to be scared of doing anything. They will know that peace has finally come.”

-Riddhi Shah, age 10

“In the year 2020, there will be many modern things. One thing is having a car run by the stars. We will have a computer disk called IQ 6000. We will have cars, phones and computers that are all run off batteries.”

-Jimit Shah, age 8

38. After asking somebody a question, you should _____.

A. make it clear what is fit to ask next　　　 B. wait quietly for his answers

C. go on to ask him more questions　　　　 D. change the subject to another one

37. What does the underlined expression “ put people at their ease” mean?

A. To make people feel it easy to talk to you.　　　 B. To make people feel comfortable.

C. To make people more easy-going.　　　　　　 D. To make people feel encouraged.

36. You will like to stay with some people _______.

A. who have something in common with you.　　 B. when you have met him before.

C. with whom you feel it easy to get along well.

D. from whom you can get necessary and timely help.