The idea of sailing west to reach the riches of the East Indies and the Asian mainland was much in fashion with cultured Europeans during the late fifteenth century. Learned people agreed that the earth was round: their only questions were how long and how dangerous would be a trip to reach the Orient. Christopher Columbus, the son of an unknown weaver, and himself a weaver of ambitious dreams, made his historic voyage to the New World in 1492. He didn't go to school very much, but be learned to read and write Spanish during his travels. He also taught himself Latin because all the geography books were written in Latin. Sailing with a tiny fleet of three ships, the Santa Maria and two smaller ships, the Pinta and the Nina and a crew of ninety sailors, be found the thirty-three-day crossing easier than his nearly-decade-long effort to find royal sponsors willing to support it. The trip drew not only on his own skills as an expert ship's captain, but also on his ability to plan such an expedition, obtain governmental approval and financing, and finally, demonstrate its success so that such explorations could continue. He tried for years to get King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to supply him with ships and money. Finally they agreed, but he made more demands. He wanted to be made a knight, admiral of the Ocean Sea. He wanted to be the viceroy(总督)and governor general of all lands he would discover. Also he wanted one-tenth of everything he found of value in the new lands. The explorations that followed Columbus-those of Cabot, Verrazano, Cartier, and many others-benefited from a new maritime technology borrowed from Arab sailors and from a variety of new vessels (船，舰) such as the light-weight caravels employed by Columbus. Sailors also perfected sails and various types of riggings that gave ships added stability and greater maneuverability(可操作性)on the open seas. And when leaving sight of the coast, new navigational aids-charts, compasses, and astrolabes-permitted them to determine their position with some, though not perfect, accuracy. Columbus himself made a total of four voyages to the New World but he did not become rich as he had hoped. At the end of his life he only had a pension the king and queen had given him because he was the first to reach the New World. He spent the last few months of his life in bed because of the pain of arthritis(关)． Columbus not only discovered a New World, but led the way for other explorers.
【小题1】What was the dream destination of Europeans in the late fifteenth century?

A．The oriental countries.	B．The East Indonesia.
C．The Old World.	D．The African mainland. ．

【小题2】What preparations did Columbus make for his first voyage to the New World?
①He planned the expedition thoroughly.
②He spent almost ten years in looking for sponsors.
③He gathered a great many ships.
④He hired 90 sailors.
⑤He demonstrated his success of former far-reaching explorations.

A．①②③④⑤

B．①②④

C．①④⑤

D．②④⑤

【小题3】We can learn from the passage that ________.

A．Christopher Columbus was an ambitious explorer

B．he was a geologist with ambitious dreams

C．Columbus became extremely wealthy after making a total of four voyages

D．he was an unsuccessful canvasser(游说者)

【小题4】What equipment aided the sailors in locating relatively more accurately?

A．A variety of new vessels.	B．The light-weighted caravels.
C．Various types of riggings.	D．Charts, compasses and astrolabes.

【小题5】In the passage, the author mainly tells us ________.

A．the tragedy of Columbus's life as a whole

B．Columbus's life story and his achievements

C．Columbus's exploration to the East Indies and Asia

D．how Columbus arrived in the New World ．

 Birds don’t need lessons in building nests. Fish don’t need coaching to learn how to swim. All animals have instincts. They’re born with natural abilities to do certain things. Wild animals also learn by copying their parents and practicing. And pets learn through training.[来源:学#科#网]

But instincts and training aren’t the only keys to animals’ behavior. Scientists say animals’ thoughts and feelings also influence their actions. Animals often make choices, plans, and sensible changes. They can help others and solve problems. Some even make and use tools!

If animals could talk, what would they say about their thoughts and feelings? A gorilla (大猩猩) born in captivity (关在笼子里) has helped answer that question. Koko, a gorilla, was taught to use sign language. She has learned hundreds of words!

Koko once had a pet cat she named All Ball. “Koko love Ball,” she signed. “Soft good cat.” One time, she blamed the cat for biting her by signing “You bad dirty toilet!” When her pet died, Koko cried. “Sad for sleeping cat,” she signed.

Koko calls herself “fine animal gorilla”. She uses sign language to argue, joke, and ask and answer questions.

“Most animals can’t use words to tell us their thoughts,” says Dr. Jonathan Balcombe. “But Koko shows us that animals have their own ideas and feelings.” Dr. Balcombe is a scientist at the Humane Society of the United States. He says there’s even more to discover about animals through field studies. In field studies, people watch animals in their natural environment.

“Scientists who study animals’ natural behaviors learn how animals live and think,” Balcombe says. “That knowledge can help others respect every animal who shares the planet with us.”

1.The underlined word “instincts” in Paragraph 1 probably refers to the ability that ________.

A. animals copy their parents                      B. animals learn by practicing

C. animals are born with                            D. animals learn through training

2.The example of Koko shows that ________.

A. an animal likes to have its own pet    B. an animal can learn to speak through training

C. an animal has the natural ability to speak   D. an animal can speak its mind

3.According to Balcombe, learning how animals live and think can ________.

A. help people care for animals                   B. teach animals to use words

C. train animals to use tools                        D. train animals to be cleverer

4.What might be the best title for the passage?

A. Raising animals as pets                          B. Understanding animals

C. Training animals to speak                       D. Protecting animals from danger

 

How would you like to learn more without having to study more？Here’s how：

1．Get to bed and go to sleep.Your performance，attention，and the ability to concentrate are damaged by lack of sleep.Teenagers need nine to ten hours of sleep a night for best performance.

2．Feed your head.The brain runs badly if it doesn’t get enough fuel.That means protein(蛋白质)and complex carbs (复合碳水化合物)－eggs and wheat bread for breakfast，say，rather than sugary cereal(含糖的麦片粥)and orange juice.The biggest mistake teens make is not to have breakfast or to go for sugar，which raises blood sugar levels.

3．Body exercise is brain exercise.Body exercise really improves brain performance，perhaps because it increases blood flow，or perhaps because it reduces stress and anxiety(焦虑).Twenty minutes of activity a day that raises your heart rate will do great good.

4．Learn now what you want to remember for the rest of your life.Teenage brains are much better at remembering things than the brains  of young children or adults.Scientists aren’t sure why.Whatever the reason，the teenage years are the time to learn new languages and master other lifelong skills.

5．Learn the power of risk taking.Adults are always worried about the downside of teenage risk?taking，and it’s true that teenagers are more likely than adults to get themselves in trouble by drinking and driving.But the fact that the parts of the brain that drive people to try new，risky，and exciting things appear to be more developed in teenagers can be a huge advantage.Pick certain challenges－difficult sports，a hard job，mastering a performance art，traveling overseas－and the teenage brain is able to deal with them.They have this power they’re given to go out and do it without fear.

6．Learn what you love.Because emotional(情感的)systems develop fast in teenager brains，teenagers learn things they’re interested in quickly and well.Their brains give them tools like attention on the project.

1.According to the passage，teenagers should have　　　　for breakfast.

A．wheat bread and eggs                    B．sugar and orange juice

C．sugar and bread                        D．wheat bread and orange juice

2.Body exercise plays a part in all the following EXCEPT　　　　.

A．making people less anxious                B．raising heart rate

C．reducing blood pressure                  D．reducing stress

3.The underlined word “downside” in the passage probably means　　　　.

A．excitement                            B．disadvantage

C．benefit                               D．power

4.It can be learned from the passage that　　　　.

A．teenagers learn quickly when they are fond of something

B．teenagers should be forbidden to drive

C．scientists know why teenagers have a good memory

D．teenagers need less sleep than adults

 

Birds don’t need lessons in building nests. Fish don’t need coaching to learn how to swim. All animals have instincts. They’re born with natural abilities to do certain things. Wild animals also learn by copying their parents and practicing. And pets learn through training.
But instincts and training aren’t the only keys to animals’ behavior. Scientists say animals’ thoughts and feelings also influence their actions. Animals often make choices, plans, and sensible changes. They can help others and solve problems. Some even make and use tools!
If animals could talk, what would they say about their thoughts and feelings? A gorilla (大猩猩) born in captivity (关在笼子里) has helped answer that question. Koko, a gorilla, was taught to use sign language . She has learned hundreds of words!
Koko once had a pet cat she named All Ball. “Koko love Ball,” she signed. “Soft good cat.” One time, she blamed the cat for biting her by signing “You bad dirty toilet!” When her pet died, Koko cried. “Sad for sleeping cat,” she signed.
Koko calls herself “fine animal gorilla”. She uses sign language to argue, joke, and ask and answer questions.
“Most animals can’t use words to tell us their thoughts,” says Dr. Jonathan Balcombe. “But Koko shows us that animals have their own ideas and feelings.” Dr. Balcombe is a scientist at the Humane Society of the United States. He says there’s even more to discover about animals through field studies. In field studies, people watch animals in their natural environment.
“Scientists who study animals’ natural behaviors learn how animals live and think,” Balcombe says. “That knowledge can help others respect every animal who shares the planet with us.”
【小题1】The underlined word “instincts” in the first paragraph probably refers to the ability that _____.

A．animals copy their parents	B．animals learn by practicing
C．animals are born with	D．animals learn through training

【小题2】
【小题3】

【小题4】

Birds don’t need lessons in building nests. Fish don’t need coaching to learn how to swim. All animals have instincts. They’re born with natural abilities to do certain things. Wild animals also learn by copying their parents and practicing. And pets learn through training.

But instincts and training aren’t the only keys to animals’ behavior. Scientists say animals’ thoughts and feelings also influence their actions. Animals often make choices, plans, and sensible changes. They can help others and solve problems. Some even make and use tools!

If animals could talk, what would they say about their thoughts and feelings? A gorilla (大猩猩) born in captivity (关在笼子里) has helped answer that question. Koko, a gorilla, was taught to use sign language. She has learned hundreds of words!

Koko once had a pet cat she named All Ball. “Koko love Ball,” she signed. “Soft good cat.” One time, she blamed the cat for biting her by signing “You bad dirty toilet!” When her pet died, Koko cried. “Sad for sleeping cat,” she signed.

Koko calls herself “fine animal gorilla”. She uses sign language to argue, joke, and ask and answer questions.

“Most animals can’t use words to tell us their thoughts,” says Dr. Jonathan Balcombe. “But Koko shows us that animals have their own ideas and feelings.” Dr. Balcombe is a scientist at the Humane Society of the United States. He says there’s even more to discover about animals through field studies. In field studies, people watch animals in their natural environment.

“Scientists who study animals’ natural behaviors learn how animals live and think,” Balcombe says. “That knowledge can help others respect every animal who shares the planet with us.”

The underlined word “instincts” in Paragraph 1 probably refers to the ability that ________.

A. animals copy their parents B. animals learn by practicing

C. animals are born with       D. animals learn through training

The example of Koko shows that ________.

A. an animal likes to have its own pet    B. an animal can learn to speak through training

C. an animal has the natural ability to speak   D. an animal can speak its mind

According to Balcombe, learning how animals live and think can ________.

A. help people care for animals                   B. teach animals to use words

C. train animals to use tools                        D. train animals to be cleverer

What might be the best title for the passage?

A. Raising animals as pets                          B. Understanding animals

C. Training animals to speak  D. Protecting animals from danger