Scientists at Harvard University and Bates College find female chimpanzees appear to treat sticks as dolls, carrying them around until they have children of their own. Young males engage in such behavior much less frequently. The new work by Sonya M. Kahlenberg and Richard W. Wrangham, described this week in the journal Current Biology, provides the first evidence of a wild nonhuman species playing with dolls, as well as the first known sex difference in a wild animal's choice of playthings. The two researchers say their work adds to a growing body of evidence that human children are probably born with their own ideas of how they want to behave, rather than simply mirroring other girls who play with dolls and boys who play with trucks. Doll play among humans could have its origins in object--carrying by earlier apes , they say, suggesting that toy selection is probably not due entirely to socialization. "In humans, there are obvious sex differences in children's toy play, and these are remarkably similar across cultures," says Kahlenberg. "While socialization by elders and peers has been the primary explanation, our work suggests that biology may also have an important role to play in activity preferences." In 14 years of data on chimpanzee behavior at the Kibale National Park in Uganda, Kahlenberg and Wrangham counted more than 100 examples of stickcarrying. Some young chimpanzees carried sticks into the nest to sleep with them and on one occasion built a separate nest for the stick. "We have seen juveniles occasionally carrying sticks for many years, and because they sometimes treated them rather like dolls, we wanted to know if in general this behavior tended to represent something like playing with dolls," says Wrangham, a Professor at Harvard. "If the doll hypothesis was right, we thought that females should carry sticks more than males do, and that the chimpanzees should stop carrying sticks when they had their first child. We have now watched enough young chimpanzees to prove both points." It can be concluded from the passage that _ . A) both humans and chimpanzees choose their playthings due to sex difference B) different factors cause humans and chimpanzees to choose different playthings C) only female chimpanzees have playthings D) chimpanzees usually choose playthings for their children
A
(Question)
Uganda is a country in East Africa and,as in many such countries,a high percentage of the population,about 80 percent,are village-dwellers living in huts,which are often no bigger than a garage. The walls of the huts are made of mud,which is held together by reeds and sticks,and the roofs of the older ones are thatched with grass,although an increasing number of newer village houses have roofs made from corrugated iron. Several generations of the same family live together in the huts,which are usually divided into two sections by a curtain. The inner section,the one furthest from the open door of the hut,is where everyone sleeps and food is prepared and served in the outer part. If the family owns chickens or goats,they are kept in a small room attached to the main house. Food is usually prepared on open fires although some people prefer to cook inside. However,this is quite dangerous and also means that the walls of the hut are stained by smoke and the atmosphere is acrid. The family sit in a circle on mats while they eat. Newer village houses are almost always made of corrugated iron and are bigger,with one or two separate bedrooms and the kitchen in a smaller building beside the main house. But,old or new,the houses are not powered by electricity,and all homes are lit by paraffin candles called "tadobba". Nor is there any running water in the houses. Some villages have their own well,but in many cases,collecting water involves a long and arduous walk to a river or spring,carrying plastic containers or pots made of clay. Children are the ones who have to fetch water,and they have to do this early in the morning before they go to school,or in the evening when they come home. They often have to climb high hills or walk through valleys with narrow paths through dense vegetation. It is no surprise that they grow up muscular and fit after such daily exercise,walking for several kilometres carrying such heavy weights. Where is food usually prepared? A) In the kitchen. B) On the floor in the middle of the house. C) On fires in front of the hut. D) In a small room attached to the main house.
(Answer)
C
Ques: In Vietnam, two members of a family of street vendors are finding a way to help the poorest students in Hanoi. Pham Minh Dap and his brother are providing the students with mostly free English and Japanese lessons at a learning center they created. The men want to help people who would not normally have a chance to learn a foreign language. Some education experts in Vietnam say such knowledge may help college graduates get jobs. The country's economy has improved. But many graduates continue to have a hard time finding employment. Local media reported ten percent of university graduates do not have a job. Earlier this year, 24-year-old Pham Minh Dap and his brother established a school they call "Stand By You". Volunteers teach poor students English and Japanese. Many classes are free. Students with some language knowledge pay 25 to 50 cents per class. Mr. Dap pays about $ 500 to rent the language center space and for other costs. He gives about $ 150 from his earnings as a street Vendor and private language teaching. His brother gives the same amount from the money he earns as a secretary. Friends provide the rest. Mr. Dap and many of his family members have sold things outside HoaBinh Park in the center of Vietnam's capital for five years. They come from a village of rice farmers in Thanh Hoa Province. Twenty-four-year-old Pham THi Trang is one of 600 students at the language school. She is finishing her university studies. Her parents work in a market in a village in Ha Nam Province. She says life is hard in the city. She earns about $50 a month from a part-time job, and her parents give her $ 75. But this is not enough to live on. She has said she has to be very careful with money so she can pay her bills. Demand for the school is growing. About 1,000 people are on a waiting list to enter. Ten people have offered to teach for free. And Mr. Dap says he is hoping to raise money to pay for a bigger place. He wants to open more classes. Mr. Dap wants to pay for a bigger place because _ . A) he wants to make more money. B) he wants to open more classes for poor students. C) he wants to change his job. D) he wants to provide a wider space for students to play.
Ans:
B