Every day we experience one of the wonders of the world around us without even realizing it. It is not the amazing complexity of television.Nor the impressive technology of transport. The universal wonder we share and experience is our ability to make noises with our mouths, and so transmit ideas and thoughts to each other’s minds.This ability comes so naturally that we tend to forget what a miracle(奇迹)it is.

       Obviously, the ability to talk is something that marks humans off from animals.Of course, some animals have powers just as amazing.Birds can fly thousands of miles by observing positions of the stars in the sky in relation to the time of day and year.In Nature’s talent show, humans are a species of animal that have developed their own special act.If we reduce it to basic terms, it’s an ability for communicating information to others by varying sounds we make as we breathe out.

       Not that we don’t have other powers of communication.Our facial expressions convey our emotions, such as anger, or joy or disappointment.The way we hold our heads can indicate to others whether we are happy or sad.This is so-called “body language”.Bristling(直立的)fur is an unmistakable warning of attack among many animals.Similarly, the bowed head or drooping tail shows a readiness to take second place in any animal gathering.

       Such a means of communication is a basic mechanism that animals, including human beings, instinctively acquire and display.Is the ability to speak just another sort of instinct? If so, how did human beings acquire this amazing skill? Biologists can readily indicate that particular area of our brain where speech mechanisms function, but this doesn’t tell us how that part of our bodies originated in our biological history.

1.According to the passage, the wonder we take for granted is          

       A.our ability to use language

       B.the miracle of technology

       C.the amazing power of nature

       D.our ability to make noises with mouth

2.What feature of “body language”mentioned in the passage is common to both humans and animals?

       A.Lifting heads when sad.

       B.Keeping long faces when angry.

       C.Bristling hair when willing to obey.

       D.Bowing heads when willing to obey.

3.What can be inferred from Paragraph 3?

       A.Body language is unique to humans.

       B.Animals express emotions just as humans do.

       C.Humans have other powers of communication.

       D.Humans are different from animals to some degree.

4.This passage is mainly about          

       A.the development of body language

       B.the special role humans play in nature

       C.the power to convey information to others

       D.the difference between humans and animals in language use

请认真阅读下面对话,并根据各题所给首字母的提示,写出一个英语单词的完整、正确形式、使对话通顺。

       M=Mum

       S=Sara

       P=Peter

       (When Sara came home from work, she found her mother in an anxious state.)

       S: What’s wrong, Mum? You seem upset.

       M: It’s your (1) y         sister Jill.She should have been here an hour ago.

       S: Don’(2) w     ,Mum! It’s not all that late and she has probably not(3)r    how late it is.I think she’ll be here soon.

       (Just then Sara’s brother Peter came into the kitchen.)

       P: What’s up? Mum’s on the phone and she seems as though she’s going to cry.

       S: It’s Jill.She should have (4)r    home by now and Mum’s getting anxious.

       P: You needn’t feel so anxious, Mum! You know what teenage girls are like.I’m (5)  __       she’s all right.

       M: I can’t help but be concerned.I’ve just rung Lucy and she said Jill her our the cinema ages ago to get the bus.

       P: Well, the bus service isn’t very frequent in the evenings.Perhaps she(6)m        one and is waiting for another.Have you tried (7)p     her on her mobile?

       M: Yes, but there’s no reply.That made me even more worried.I think(8)s      must have happened to Jill.

       Do you think we should call the (9)p    ?

       S: Calm down, Mum! You’ll make yourself ill.Perhaps she switched her mobile (10)o    in the cinema and forgot to switch it back on again.Or it may need to be charged.

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