Researchers at Sweden’s KTH Royal Institute of Technology say they have found further proof that the wolf ancestors of today’s dogs can be from southern East Asia -- findings that are contrary to theories placing the birth place in the Middle East. Dr Peter Savolainen, KTH researcher in evolutionary genetics, says a new study released Nov. 23 confirms that an Asian region south of the Yangtze River was the principal and probably the only region where wolves were domesticated（驯化）by humans.
Research data show clearly that dogs are descended from wolves, but there’s never been scientific agreement on where in the world the domestication process began. “Our analysis of Y-chromosomal（染色体）DNA now confirms that wolves were first domesticated in Asia south of Yangtze River -- we call it the ASY region -- in southern China or Southeast Asia,” Savolainen says.
The Y data supports previous evidence from mitochondrial（线粒体）DNA. “Taken together, the two studies provide very strong evidence that dogs appeared first in the ASY region,” Savolainen says.
Archaeological data and a genetic study recently published in Nature suggest that dogs originate from the Middle East. But Savolainen rejects that view. “Because none of these studies included samples from the ASY region, evidence from ASY has been overlooked,” he says.
Peter Savolainen and PhD student Mattias Oskarsson worked with Chinese colleagues to analyse DNA from male dogs around the world. Their study was published in the scientific journal Heredity.
Approximately half of the gene pool was universally shared everywhere in the world, while only the ASY region had the entire range of genetic diversity. “This shows that gene pools in all other regions of the world most probably originate from the ASY region,” Savolainen says.
“Our results confirm that Asia south of the Yangtze River was the most important -- and probably the only -- region for wolf domestication, and that a large number of wolves were domesticated,” says Savolainen.
In separate research published recently in Ecology and Evolution, Savolainen, PhD student Arman Ardalan and Iranian and Turkish scientists conducted a comprehensive study of mitochondrial DNA, with a particular focus on the Middle East. Because mitochondrial DNA is inherited only from the mother in most species, it is especially useful in studying evolutionary relationships.
“Since other studies have indicated that wolves were domesticated in the Middle East, we wanted to be sure nothing had been missed. We find no signs whatsoever that dogs originated there,” says Savolainen.
In their studies, the researchers also found minor genetic contributions from crossbreeding between dogs and wolves in other geographic regions, including the Middle East.
“This subsequent dog/wolf hybridisation（混合淡化技术）contributed only modestly to the dog gene pool,” Savolainen explains.
【小题1】What does Dr. Peter Savolainen believe?
A. Dogs’ ancestors came from the Middle East.
B. Wolves were probably first trained to work for humans in the ASY region.
C. Analysis of Y-chromosomal DNA should be combined with mitochondrial DNA.
D. Samples of the previous studies are enough to support the conclusion.
【小题2】We can learn from the passage that _______.

D
As public playgrounds grow increasingly worn and shabby, the for-profit centers offer clean, safe, supervised activity as well as a variety of challenging exercises to develop youngsters’ physical fitness, usually for a fee of around $5 an hour. “Playgrounds are dirty, not supervised,” says Dick Guggenheimer, owner of the two-month-old Discovery Zone in Yonkers, N.Y., part of a Kansas City-based chain. “We’re indoors; we’re padded(铺上软垫); parents can feel their child is safe.”
Discovery Zone has sold 120 outlets in the past 14 months, boasting sandboxes full of brightly colored plastic balls, mazes(迷宫), obstacle courses, slides and mountains to climb. Now McDonalds is getting into the act. The burger giant is test-marketing a new playground, Leaps&Bounds, in Naperville, Ill. Phys Kids of Wichita has opened one center and has plans to expand.
American parents are rightly worried about their kids leisure life. There are 36 million children in the U.S. aged 2 to 11 who watch an average of 24 hours of TV a week and devote less and less energy to active recreation. Nationwide decrease in education budgets are making the problem worse, as gym classes and after-hours sports time get squeezed. Says Discovery Zone president Jack Gunion: “we have raised a couple of pure couch potatoes.”
In an attempt to attract more people , the new facilities cater to the concerns of two-earner families, staying open in the evenings, long after traditional public playground have grown dark and unusable. At Naperville’s Leaps&Bounds, families can play together for $4.95 per child, parents free. Fresh-faced assistants, dressed in colorful sport pants and shirts, guide youngsters to appropriate play areas for differing age group.
These new playground are not meant to be day-care facilities; parents are expected to stay and play with their kids rather than drop them off. But several also provide high-tech baby-sitting services. At some of the Discovery Zones, parents can register their children in special supervised programs, then leave them and slip away for a couple of hours to enjoy a movie or dinner.
The most fun of all, though, is getting to do what parents used to do in the days before two-career families and two-hour commutes: play with their kid. That, at least, is old-fashioned, even at per-hour rates.
68. What is this article mainly talking about?
A. Children can play in the public playground without parents’ care.
B. The fast development of Discovery Zone.
C. A new type of playground for kids.
D. The decay of outdoor playground.
69. According to the article, which of the following is true to the new playground?
A. The cost is high for a family.
B. It’s a place where kids can watch TV while eating potatoes.
C. It doesn’t allow parents to leave their kids.
D. It’s a place where parents can play together with their kids.
70. What does the writer mean by saying “old-fashioned”?
A. The so-called new playground is outdated.
B. the new playground offers a fashion which is popular in the past.
C. The new playground is also enjoyed by old people.
D. The new playground is actually enjoyed by parents
71. What is the writer’s attitude toward the new playground?
A. Agreeable.         B. Indifferent.        C. Objective.         D. Neutral.

THE WAY TO READ FAST

Perhaps you have been told about some habits（习惯） which stop a person reading fast、and have been strongly asked to break those habits which you might have.

Do you still have any of these bad habits7 Check yourself by answering "yes" or "no" to

these questions:

1. Do you move your lips(嘴唇) when reading silently？

2. Do you point to words with your finger as you read?

3. Do you move your head from side to side as you read?

4. Do you read one word at a time?

If you answer "yes" to any of these questions, start at once to break the habit.

If you move your lips, hold your fingers over them, or hold a piece of paper between your lips while you are reading. Then if your lips move, you will know it and can stop them.

If you point to words, hold the two sides of your book, one side with your left hand, the other side with your right hand. Then you will not have a free finger to use in pointing while reading.

If you move your head, place your chin（下巴）in one hand, and hold your head still(不动地，静止地).

If you read no more than one or two or three words at a time, you need to work very hard in learning to take in more words at each glance(看一眼) as your eyes travel across the lines of words.

1.You may hold your fingers over your lips while reading       

A．to hold a piece of paper between them

B．to stop yourself talking to others

C．to tell others to be silent

D．to feel whether y our lips move or not

2.When your eyes travel across the lines of words,        

A．you need to read the words out

B．you need to look at every word carefully

C．you need to read several words at a time

D．you need to remember every word

3.When you read,        

A．don’t use your finger to point to words

B．don’t hold your books with your hands

C．don’t hold your head still

D．don’t do any of the things mentioned(提到)above.

Years ago while lying in my hammock（吊床）and drinking JD from the bottle, I noticed my dog dragging something under the fence. Upon inspection, to my disappointment, I realized it was the next door neighbor’s 10 – year – old daughter’s rabbit. For years I had watched her come home from school and head straight out to its cage, free it and play with it in the yard. I knew that day would be no different and fearing for our dog, I had to think fast.

The rabbit was quite dirty, as if it had put up quite a struggle, so I washed it, combed it with the dog brush and blew it dry with the leaf blower. Upon finishing its grooming I jumped the fence and replaced it back in its cage hoping its death would be written off as “natural caused”.

Back to the hammock and JD. Within the hour the neighbor’s Volvo pulled in as usual and out popped the little girl, and as usual she headed straight for the cage. Only this time she stopped about six feet away and screamed: “D—A—D—D—Y!!!”.

Her father, panic stricken, stood looking at the cage. Being the good neighbor that I am, I rushed to fence and asked if there was anything I could do.

Her father less than calmly shouted, “What kind of sick individual would dig up a little girl’s rabbit and put it back in its cage?”

1.The girl was shocked because           .

    A．the rabbit was killed by someone

    B．the rabbit was too clean

    C．the dead rabbit was cleaned and put back into the cage

    D．the rabbit was asleep in the cage

2.That day the girl ran to the cage           .

    A．because her rabbit was there

    B．because she had a habit of going there to see her rabbit

    C．because she wanted to see her rabbit again

    D．because the rabbit was dead

3.We can infer that the rabbit            

    A．was alive before the writer saw his dog dragging it

    B．was already dead before the writer saw his dog dragging it

    C．was in the cage playing with the dog

    D．was at the fence seeking out for food before it was killed by the dog

4.According to the story, the writer           .

    A．was helpful to his neighbor     

B．did a smart thing

    C．was honest                      

D．made a mistake

Researchers at Sweden’s KTH Royal Institute of Technology say they have found further proof that the wolf ancestors of today’s dogs can be from southern East Asia -- findings that are contrary to theories placing the birth place in the Middle East. Dr Peter Savolainen, KTH researcher in evolutionary genetics, says a new study released Nov. 23 confirms that an Asian region south of the Yangtze River was the principal and probably the only region where wolves were domesticated（驯化）by humans.

Research data show clearly that dogs are descended from wolves, but there’s never been scientific agreement on where in the world the domestication process began. “Our analysis of Y-chromosomal（染色体）DNA now confirms that wolves were first domesticated in Asia south of Yangtze River -- we call it the ASY region -- in southern China or Southeast Asia,” Savolainen says.

The Y data supports previous evidence from mitochondrial（线粒体）DNA. “Taken together, the two studies provide very strong evidence that dogs appeared first in the ASY region,” Savolainen says.

Archaeological data and a genetic study recently published in Nature suggest that dogs originate from the Middle East. But Savolainen rejects that view. “Because none of these studies included samples from the ASY region, evidence from ASY has been overlooked,” he says.

Peter Savolainen and PhD student Mattias Oskarsson worked with Chinese colleagues to analyse DNA from male dogs around the world. Their study was published in the scientific journal Heredity.

Approximately half of the gene pool was universally shared everywhere in the world, while only the ASY region had the entire range of genetic diversity. “This shows that gene pools in all other regions of the world most probably originate from the ASY region,” Savolainen says.

“Our results confirm that Asia south of the Yangtze River was the most important -- and probably the only -- region for wolf domestication, and that a large number of wolves were domesticated,” says Savolainen.

In separate research published recently in Ecology and Evolution, Savolainen, PhD student Arman Ardalan and Iranian and Turkish scientists conducted a comprehensive study of mitochondrial DNA, with a particular focus on the Middle East. Because mitochondrial DNA is inherited only from the mother in most species, it is especially useful in studying evolutionary relationships.

“Since other studies have indicated that wolves were domesticated in the Middle East, we wanted to be sure nothing had been missed. We find no signs whatsoever that dogs originated there,” says Savolainen.

In their studies, the researchers also found minor genetic contributions from crossbreeding between dogs and wolves in other geographic regions, including the Middle East.

“This subsequent dog/wolf hybridisation（混合淡化技术）contributed only modestly to the dog gene pool,” Savolainen explains.

1.What does Dr. Peter Savolainen believe?

A. Dogs’ ancestors came from the Middle East.

B. Wolves were probably first trained to work for humans in the ASY region.

C. Analysis of Y-chromosomal DNA should be combined with mitochondrial DNA.

D. Samples of the previous studies are enough to support the conclusion.

2.We can learn from the passage that _______.

A．there is a universal agreement on the place of first domestication

B．data from ASY may highlight where dogs came from

C．Dr. Savolainen’s research mainly focuses on the Middle East

D．the dog/wolf hybridization makes up most of the dog gene pool

3.What is special about mitochondrial DNA?

A．It is only used in studying evolutionary relationships.

B．It alone can provide hard evidence for Savolainen’s research.

C．It is the most useful in finding out the birth place of dogs.

D．It comes from the mother of most animals and plants.