The intelligence of the dog is among the highest of all the animals, maybe higher than we give him credit for. Although his brain is only half as large as ours, he is certainly the most intelligent of domestic animals.

A scientist in Brazil has proven dogs can count. He used a technique which also proved that 5 month old infants can count:

"He placed treats in a bowl, hid it with a screen and let the animals watch as he removed or added some. The dogs studied the contents longer when the screen was taken away if a trick had been played leaving more or less treats than expected .He tasted 11 mongrels（杂种狗）and found they paid little attention when one plus one resulted in two treats. But they looked more closely when one plus one left three."

Memory is an important component of intelligence. The dog's memory for scents is extraordinary. His visual memory is only fair, but his memory for sounds is very good, since he can remember and identify familiar voices even after an absence of many years .While he builds up a large store of identifiable sounds without the slightest effort, remembering different words requires more concentration.

The dog's capacity for learning is more a matter of memory than of true understanding. He will remember the sequence of cause and effect in his actions, but he is unable to draw broad conclusions from his experience. The greater the variety of experiences and contact with others they have, the quicker they learn, and the more they retain.

Dogs are bound by nature to remain intellectually inferior to（劣于）man, but we owe them a chance to develop their native intelligence by training, teaching, and working with them as much and as often as we can.

1．This text focuses on dog's________

       A．appearances and behaviors                  B．intelligence and memory

       C．breeds and reactions                           D．emotions and attitudes

2．What does the experiment by the Brazilian scientist show?

       A．Dogs remain intellectually inferior to man.

       B．Dogs' brain is only half as large as human beings'.

       C．Dogs know the numbers if their attention is drawn.

       D．Dogs have the same intelligence as 5-month-old infants.

3．How does the dog recognize the owner after he has been away for quite a long time?

       A．It has memory for scents and voice

       B．It has true understanding of its owner

       C．It has extraordinary visual memory

       D．It often misses its owner and remembers him

4．This text is most probably______.

       A．a book review        B．a travel journal       C．a research report     D．an animal test

I had been to several doctors as a child, but I have a special place in my heart for Dr. Vincent. He was a Pediatric Cardiologist at UCLA back in 1971 who saved my life. I was eight years old at the time with a severe heart problem and I needed heart surgery. My Mom did not have the money, and without the surgery there was a real good chance I would not live to be thirteen years old. After contacting several organizations Dr. Vincent was able to get financial help for me through United Way, a Crippled Children’s Organization.
Dr. Vincent was a handsome man; he was also very gentle and caring. I remember being in the hospital for an Angiogram test, and during the procedure I was crying terribly, so the medical staff called in Dr. Vincent to calm me down, and he was able to comfort me when no one else could. Then the time came for me to have heart surgery; there was a fifty- percent chance that I would not make it through the surgery because it was experimental. At the time I was only the second or third person to have this procedure done. I was absolutely terrified, and again Dr. Vincent reassured me he would see to it that everything would be all right.
I had a lot of confidence and trust in Dr. Vincent; He came to see me after the surgery, which was extremely painful but very successful, and brought me a stuffed animal. I was so surprised to get this gift from Dr. Vincent; I gave him a hug. I guess Dr. Vincent must have known I was feeling very lonely and scared. You see, I had no family or friends visit me while I was in the hospital except for my Mom, and I am not sure why. I do know one thing; I had a wonderful doctor who took the time to help a scared little girl who felt all alone.
This was twenty eight years ago, so wherever you are Dr. Vincent, I want to thank you for not only saving my life, but you helped me live a normal productive life, and for showing me that you truly cared, for that I will be eternally grateful to you.
【小题1】Why did Dr. Vincent have a special place in her heart? Because________.

A．Dr. Vincent was handsome

B．Dr. Vincent was caring and kind

C．Dr. Vincent carried out the operation.

D．Dr. Vincent offered the money the operation needed.

【小题2】Dr. Vincent was called in during my test to ________________.

A．feed her

B．comfort her

C．scare her

D．have the surgery.

【小题3】Which of the following is true except ___________.

A．the operation was experimental.	B．she didn’t trust in Dr. Vincent
C．the operation would be extremely painful	D．she felt scared and all alone

【小题4】How did Dr. Vincent get the money for the operation?

A．He collected it in the hospital.	B．He saved the money day by day
C．He got help from an organization.	D．He borrowed the money from his friends

San Francisco, a leader in urban recycling, is preparing to turn dog waste into energy.

Norcal Waste System Inc., the city’s largest garbage company, plans to test collection carts(回收车)and collection bags in a city-center park which is popular with dog walkers.

A city study found that almost 4 percent of all the garbage picked up at San Francisco homes was from animal waste, Norcal Waste spokesman Robert Reid said. San Francisco has about 120,000 dogs.

“The city asked us to start a program to recycle dog waste in order to cut back adding more waste in landfills(废渣埋填池) “,Reid said.

Dog waste will be poured into a methane digester(沼气池),and the methane it gives off will be collected and burned to make electricity or to heat homes.

“Dogs and cats in the United States produce about 10 million tons of waste a year,” Will Brinton, an environmental scientist said.

“As much as we love them, our pets leave a lot of fertilizer behind them in yards and on the street but that can be a major source of contamination of groundwater,” Brinton said.

European cities such as Zurich, Frankfurt, Munich and Vienna are starting biology programs to turn waste into gas ,he said.

San Francisco runs a great program to recycle bottles, cars, paper and other rubbish and now two-thirds of its garbage needn’t be carried to landfills .The city’s goal is a 75 percent drop by 2010 and zero new waste in landfills by 2020.

1.San Francisco will plan to use dog waste for making __________.

A．fertilizer

B．gas

C．electricity

D．methane

2.What does the underlined word “ contamination” mean?

A．Increase

B．Reduction

C．Flow

D．Pollution

3.What can we infer from the passage?

A．San Francisco is short of electricity

B．San Francisco has done a lot of in rubbish recycling.

C．Fewer people will keep dogs as pets in San Francisco

D．There will be no rubbish by 2010 in San Francisco

4.The passage is mainly about_______.

A．San Francisco ‘s new policy for pet keepers

B．San Francisco ‘s new plan for recycling

C．how to keep a city clean

D．how to deal with rubbish

 

If you’re looking for a new pet, don’t even think about Komodo dragons, which are the world’s largest lizards and can grow to be 10 feet long and weigh more than 300 pounds. Komodo dragons run fast and eat almost any kind of meat, including dead or live animals, other Komodo dragons and people. “ These things are powerful killing machines,” says Bryan Fry, a biologist.

If those reasons aren’t good enough, consider the bite of a Komodo dragon. According to a new study, it may kill prey like snakes by injecting venom. This chemical, according to Fry and his team of scientists at the University of Melbourne in Australia, can cause shock in the unlucky victim. A person or animal goes into shock when the body cannot offer enough blood to the organs to keep functioning. As a result, the body starts to shut down.

Scientists have only recently begun to understand why a Komodo dragon is so deadly. Some people used to believe that a Komodo dragon’s bite contained bacteria from the mouth that would cause a severe infection in the victim’s blood. The infection would finally kill the animal. Fry says that after being bitten by a Komodo dragon, animals usually die quickly.

After more studies, Fry and his team found that the Komodo dragon venom contained some of the same ingredients as snake venom. These ingredients thin the bolld and cause blood vessels to become larger. To test the venom, the scientists injected rats with it and observed that the rats became still.

Fry’s work show that Komodo dragons kill their prey with venom, and not by bacteria—and gives us another reason why we should avoid coming across them. That is easy to do, since they live only on a few islands in the tropical country of Indonesia.

(no more than 10 words)

1.The underlined word “ venom” in Paragraph 2 probably means _________________.

2.Why does a victim get into shock after being injected?

3.According to Fry and his team, how do the ingredients in Komodo dragons’ venom affect their victims?

4.“If you’re looking for a new pet, don’t even think about Komodo dragons.” What does the author mean by saying that?

 

Goats are amazing animals. They can survive just about anywhere. Altogether there are nine species of goats in the world.

Goats have more uses than you could ever imagine. Goat’s meat can be eaten and goat’s milk is becoming popular as a healthy choice to drink milk. Goat’s milk is easier to take in than cow’s milk and it is called universal milk as it can be used to bottle-feed most animals. In nutrition, it is also good. Goat’s skins are still used today to make gloves and other items of clothing. The initial reasons for domesticating (驯化) goats were to get goat’s hair, meat and milk. Goat’s skins were used up until the Middle Ages for making bottles to hold water and wine for people who were traveling or camping.

Just like sheep, goats are considered to be the first domesticated animal. The domestication process began over 10,000 years ago in a North Iranian town. A lot of people keep goats as pets nowadays.

Goats are easily trained and you can teach them to pull carts and walk on ropes. Goats are also known for escaping their pens (圈). If you have unsecured fencing, your goats will be interested in it and test it out and soon you will know where the openings are. Goats are also widely known for their ability to climb trees, although the tree generally has to be at a slight angle (角度).

If goats are raised correctly and trained from an early age, they never develop any bad habits. Goats will attack each other. However, if they’re corrected from an early age they never attack humans or other animals.

1.The passage is written mainly 　    　.

A. to tell people how to raise goats        B. to let people know more about goats

C. to explain how goats are domesticated    D. to describe goats of different uses

2.Why is goat’s milk called universal milk?

A. It is rich in nutrition and easy to take in.   B. It is good for our health.

C. It is suitable to feed most animals.   D. It is easy to get.

3.If you want to keep a goat as a pet, it is important 　    　.

A. to get along well with it        B. to find a professional trainer

C. to develop its ability           D. to train it when young

4.Which of the following words can best describe goats?

A. Curious and clever.           B. Unfriendly and naughty.

C. Careful and lazy.                 D. Stubborn and quiet.