Of all the animals in the animal kingdom, which one (aside from man) is the cleverest? There are several ways of measuring the intelligence of animals. In one test a scientist sets three same cans on a table. While the animal watches, he puts food under one of the cans. Then he leads the animal away. Some time later, he brings it back to see if it remembers which can has the food. No smelling is allowed; the animal must go directly to the correct can or it fails. This is called a delayed-response test. The idea is to find out how long an animal's memory can keep information. The scientists would try showing the cans to the animal one hour later, or two hours later, or even a full day later. They discovered that chimpanzees and elephants have the best memory, and were able to remember the correct can for at least twenty hours. No other animal is close. Dogs came next, but they only remember for nine hours. To settle the matter, the scientists designed a huge maze and ran the chimps and elephants through it. The maze was very difficult, with many blind paths and dead ends. It took the chimps ten minutes to find their way out. The elephants needed half an hour. Even allowing for the elephants' slower rate of speed, the test shows that chimpanzees are the cleverest animals. From this and other tests, the scientists drew the following conclusion: an animal's intelligence depends on the size of its brain in proportion to the size of its body. The elephant's brain weighs ten pounds. But this is only 1/600th of its 6,000 pounds body. A chimp's brain weighs about one pound, or 1/120th of its total body weight. So in proportion to its body size, the chimp has four times as much brain as the elephant----more brain for less body. The chimp is the champ! The main idea of this passage is that _ . A) there are several ways of measuring the intelligence of animals B) chimps and elephants have the best memory C) intelligence tests show that the chimp is the cleverest animal D) the scientists designed a huge maze and ran the chimps and elephants through it
C
(Question)
Dear Sir, I am writing to express my concern about the plans to build a motorway near our village. Haldersham is one of the loveliest villages in England. It is peaceful and quiet, and it is situated in a very attractive valley. There are also several beautiful countryside walks in the surroundings, with a view of many rare trees and plants. Most of the people who live in Haldersham have moved here from other places, often from London and other big cities. They have bought houses here to live in a place far away from the noise and the stress of the big city. They paid a lot of money for their houses, but they knew they would get a high quality of life for it. If the planned motorway is built, life in Haldersham will change greatly. There will be a lot of noise around us, and nobody will want to go on the walks. House prices will certainly go down, because nobody will want to buy houses in a place close to a motorway. Haldersham will become an ugly place. I don't think any of the people living in this beautiful village want that, and we all believe exposure to noise pollution can have a direct influence on our health. So, let's all tell the politicians who support the motorway plans what we think about them! Yours faithfully, Hilary Riley According to Hilary Riley, a motorway will_. A) cause high house prices B) bring people stress C) provide a convenient life D) affect the quality of life
(Answer)
D
Ques: America's No.1 health problem? A report published by the American Institute of Stress claims the biggest threat to health today is neither cancer nor AIDS. The report says: "It has been estimated that75-90 percent of all visits to primary care physicians are for stress related problems" It is no exaggeration to say that people today are being attacked by stress. According to the National Consumers League, " Work is the top source of stress for adults who have problems and stress in their lives (39%),followed by family (30%).Other sources include health (10%), concern about the economy (9%)and concern about international conflict and terrorism (4%)." However , stress is hardly unique to the United States .A British survey in 2013 estimated that "over half a million individuals in Britain believed in 2012 that they were experiencing work -related stress at a level that was making them ill ." As a result of "work -related stress, depression or anxiety ,"there are "an estimated thirteen and a half million reported lost working days per year in Britain ."\ The picture is no less bleak in mainland Europe .According to the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work , "work-related stress has been shown to affect millions of European Workers across all types of employment sectors ." One survey revealed that there are "about 41 million workers affected by work-related stress each year." What about Asia ? A report issued by a conference held in Tokyo concluded: " Job stress is a common concern among many countries in the world , both developing and industrialized countries ." The report observed that "several countries in East Asia , including China and Korea, have rapidly industrialized and economically grown .These countries now have a lot of concerns on job stress and its harmful effects on workers' health." What's the best title for this passage ? A) America's No.1 Health Problem B) How to Deal with Stress C) Attacked by Stress D) Working Stress around the World
Ans: C
London has a new magazine.However,it is not printed on paper any more.Everyone who has a television can receive it because it is already on TV! In order to read this magazine,you need to have a decoder.Each page of it is numbered,so you have to dial a number to choose which subject you want to read about.You have a wide choice of topics to choose from-everything from cooking to the latest news. If you want to read some news,the first thing you have to do is to check at the index page which has an easy-to-remember page number,1 00 for example.From page 100,you can then choose from the news articles on page 101 to 109.From here,you will have to key in the numbers again.Then,the news will appear written across your screen.If you want to go out in the afternoon,you can press 181,and a brightly color1ed weather map will appear on the screen.But if you want to buy some cheap things,you can press 162 for a list of the week's best bargains.And whether you should drive or just take the train,you can simply press 189 for the traffic report.This new magazine on TV is very simple to use.But probably,the best thing about the service is that is being updated all the time.Journalists type new materials directly onto screen and the page of the magazine is replaced in minutes. London already has three services.One,transmitted by ITV ,is called ORACLE while the other two,on BBC,are called CEEFAX because they let you see facts.Although CEEFAX and ORACLE have been operating for some time, they have not been well publicized.BBC engineers do not think that their idea will ever replace books and newspapers because this new invention can't be taken with you wherever you go.But many people would agree that this is a breakthrough as great as the invention of printing, which could change not only our reading habits but also our lifestyles. What topics in the magazine _ are mentioned? A) news, weather, cooking and driving B) traffic, shopping, reading and weather C) news, shopping, cooking and traffic D) weather, traffic, cooking and swimming
C