For as long as humans have lived on the earth, they have made use of various forms of communication. Generally, this expression of thoughts and feelings has been in the form of oral speech. When there is a spoken language problem, communication can be carried out through sign language, in which gestures stand for letters, words, and ideas. Tourists and people unable to hear or speak have often had to turn to this form of expression. When gestures describe words or ideas, they can often be used internationally. When used for spelling words however, where each gesture stands for a single letter, people must share the same written language. Body language sends ideas or thoughts by certain actions, either meaningfully or not. A wink can be a way of showing that the person is only joking. A nod means agreement, while shaking the head indicates disagreement. Other forms of language can be found in Braille (a reading system of raised dots read with the fingertips used by the blind), signal flags, Morse code, and smoke signals. Road maps and picture signs also guide and warn people. While language is the most common form of communication, other systems and techniques also express human thoughts and feelings. What does the author mainly want to say? A) People can communicate in many different ways. B) Everybody uses only one form of communication. C) Language is invaluable to foreigners. D) Non-spoken communication is of little value.
A
(Question)
If the eyes are the romantic's window into the soul, _ In a study published last month in the journal Science, Peter Ungar of the University of Arkansas and his partner, Matt Sponheimer of the University of Colorado, US, examined the teeth of our early human ancestors to find out what they were really eating. They already knew that different foods cause different marks on teeth. Some cause scratches, while others cause pits .The carbon left on teeth by different foods is also different. Tropical grasses, for example, leave one kind of carbon, but trees leave another kind because they photosynthesized ( ) differently. Traditionally, scientists had looked at the size and shape of teeth and skulls ( ) to figure out what early humans ate. Big flat teeth were taken to be signs that they ate nuts and seeds, while hard and sharp teeth seemed good for cutting meat and leaves. But this was proven wrong. The best example was the Paranthropus , one of our close cousins, some of which lived in eastern Africa. Scientists used to believe Paranthropus ate nuts and seeds because they had big crests on their skulls, suggesting they had large chewing muscles and big teeth. If this had been true, their teeth should have been covered with pits like the surface of the moon. They would also have had a particular type of carbon on their teeth that typically comes from tree products, such as nuts and seeds. However, when the two scientists studied the Paranthroupus, it turned out to have none of these characteristics. The teeth had a different kind of carbon, and were covered with scratches, not pits. This suggests they probably ate grass, not nuts and fruit stones. It was the exact opposite of what people had expected to find. Carbon "foodprints" give us a completely new and different insight into what different species ate and the different environments they lived in. If a certain species had the kind of carbon on its teeth that came from grasses, it probably lived in a tropical grassland, for example. The example of the Paranthropus was mentioned in the article in order to _ . A) tell readers that they are one of our close cousins living in eastern Africa B) tell readers they had different eating habits from modern humans C) prove that size and shape of skulls does not show accurately what early humans ate D) tell readers that living environment makes a difference to skull structure
(Answer)
C
Ques: Thousands of taxi drivers in Shenyang, Liaoning province, reportedly blocked streets with their vehicles on Sunday in protest against unlicensed vehicles using taxi-hiring apps and apps-based car rental companies providing passenger services, including high-end cars. Although the drivers also complained about the withdrawal of the fuel subsidy by the government, their main complaint was the loss of business because of the rising number of Internet-based car services companies. On Wednesday, news reports came that Beijing transport authorities will take measures to stop the illegal "taxi business" of private cars through the newly rising Internet apps, following the footsteps of Shenyang and Nanjing.[:Z#xx#k.Com] It is not yet clear how the Shenyang city government will handle the issue and whether it will declare the services offered by market leaders such as Didi Dache, a taxi-hiring app provider backed by Tencent Holdings, and Kuaidi Dache illegal. But Shanghai transport regulators have set a rule, by banning Didi Zhuanche, or car services offered by Didi Dache in December. Such regulations will cause a setback to the car-hiring companies and investors that are waiting to cash in on the potentially booming business. Just last month, Didi Dache got $700 million in funding from global investors, including Singapore state investment company Temasek Holdings, Russian investment company DST Global and Tencent. Besides, the market is uncertain that Kuaidi Dache is about to finalize its latest round of funding after getting $800 million from global investors. Regulatory uncertainties, however, could cast a shadow on the future of the Internet-based car-hiring services, which have become popular in most of China's big cities. To be fair, these companies' business model is anything but bad. For example, Didi Zhuanche works side by side with established car rental companies to provide high-end car service mainly for businesspeople through the Internet and mobile phone apps. Every link in this business model chain... From the passage we learn _ . A) Shenyang banned apps-based car rental companies B) Shanghai is the second city banning Didi Zhuanche C) some international investment companies have faith in the future of apps-based car rental companies D) it is easy to describe the apps-based car rental companies illegal
Ans: C
The speaker, a teacher from a community college, addressed a sympathetic audience. Heads nodded in agreement when he said, "High school English teachers are not doing their jobs." He described the inadequacies of his students, all high school graduates who can use language only at a grade 9 level. I was unable to determine from his answers to my questions how this grade 9 level had been established. My topic is not standards nor its decline . What the speaker was really saying is that he is no longer young; he has been teaching for sixteen years, and is able to think and speak like a mature adult. My point is that the frequent complaint of one generation about the one immediately following it is inevitable. It is also human nature to look for the reasons for our dissatisfaction. Before English became a school subject in the late nineteenth century, it was difficult to find the target of the blame for language deficiencies . But since then, English teachers have been under constant attack. The complainers think they have hit upon an original idea. As their own command of the language improves, they notice that young people do not have this same ability. Unaware that their own ability has developed through the years, they assume the new generation of young people must be hopeless in this respect. To the eyes and ears of sensitive adults the language of the young always seems inadequate. Since this concern about the decline and fall of the English language is not perceived as a generational phenomenon but rather as something new and peculiar to today's young people, it naturally follows that today's English teachers cannot be doing their jobs. Otherwise, young people would not commit offenses against the language. The speaker the author mentioned in the passage believed that _ . A) the language of the younger generation is usually inferior to that of the older generation B) the students had a poor command of English because they didn't work hard enough C) he was an excellent language teacher because he had been teaching English for sixteen years D) English teachers should be held responsible for the students' poor command of English
D