American researchers found females are the more talkative sex because of a special “language protein(蛋白质)” in the brain.

??? The study, conducted by neuroscientists (神经学家)and psychologist from the University of Maryland, concluded that women talked more because they had more of the Foxp2 protein. The research, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, found that higher levels were found among humans that were women but in rats that were males. Their findings came after it was previously claimed that ladies speak about 20,000 words a day – over 13,000 more than men. “This study is one of the first to report a sex difference in the expression of a language-associated protein in humans or animals,” said Prof Margaret McCarthy, who led the study. In their study, the researchers attempted to determine what might make male rats more vocal than their female friends.

They separated four-day-old rats from their mothers and then counted the number of times they cried out in the “ultrasonic range”, the frequencies higher than humans can hear, over five minutes. While both sexes called out hundreds of cries, the males called out twice as often, they found. But when the pups were returned to their mother’s cage, she fussed over her sons first. Tests conducted on the parts of the brain known to be associated with vocalcalls showed the male pups have up to twice as much Foxp2 protein as the females. The researchers then increased the production in the brains of female pups and reduced it in males. This led to the female rats crying out more often and their mothers showing more interest to them. In contrast, males became less “talkative”.

??? The researchers then tested samples from ten children, aged between three and five, which showed that females had up to 30 per cent more of the Foxp2 protein than males, in a brain area key to language in humans.

??? “Based on our observations, we assume higher levels of Foxp2 in girls and higher levels of Foxp2 in male rats is an indication that Foxp2 protein levels are associated with the more communicative sex,” said Prof McCarthy. “Our results imply Foxp2 as a component of the neurobiological basis of sex differences in vocal communication in mammals. “

1.From the second paragraph, we can learn that ________.

A. women always speak more words than men

B. men and male rats have low levels of language protein

C. women and male rats have similar levels of Foxp2

D. McCarthy isn’t the first to find females more talkative

2.The underlined phrase “fussed over” in the third paragraph probably means______.

A. paid attention to????????????? ????????????? B. related to????????????? ????????????? C. put pressure on????????????? ????????????? D. counted on

3.The researchers carried out the experiments on rats in order to _______.

A. test which part of the brain is key to language in rats and humans

B. prove the levels of Foxp2 protein in humans and rats are different

C. determine the reason why female rats are more talkative than male rats

D. discover the association between Foxp2 protein and vocal communication

4.Which of the following can be the best title for the passage ?

A. Tests on humans and rats ????????????? ??? ????????????? ?????????????

B. Why women are the talkative sex

C. Sex differences in Foxp2 protein????????????? ????????????? ?????????????

D. Foxp2 protein determines oral ability

Penguins live together，but each pair has a little piece of ground of their own.When a penguin wants to walk through its neighbor’s ground，it must ask permission.If it does not do that，it will have to fight.Most of the time，penguins live on the water.They eat shell fish and look after their children carefully.
All penguins are good parents—the male penguins are perhaps the best parents in the world. They walk in the sea in the middle of the dark Antarctic water. They choose their wives in the dark.They can only hear them—not see them.Then the female penguins lay their eggs and go away for about two months.The males take care of the eggs.If the eggs get cold，there will be no chicks.There is no food.The snow falls heavily and the wind blows strongly—sometimes at 150 kilometers an hour.The penguins do not move.When the females return from the sea，they will not remember their husbands.It does not matter.Only one thing matters—the eggs.Male penguins never fight—unless a penguin leaves a chick for a minute.They then fight because they all want it.They are strange and wonderful birds.
【小题1】It seems interesting and unusual that the male penguins choose their wives ______.

B
Lions are opportunists. They prefer to eat without having to do too much work. When resting in the shade, they are also watching the sky to see what is flying by, and even in the heat of the day they will suddenly start up and run a mile across the plains to find out what is going on. If another animal has made a kill, they will drive it off and take the dill for themselves. A grown lion can easily eat 60 pounds of meat at a single feeding. Often they eat until it seems painful for them to lie down.
The lioneases (母狮) , being thinner and faster, are better hunters (猎手) than the males (雄狮). But the males don’t mind. After the kill they move in and take the test share.
Most kills are made at night or just before daybreak. We have seen many, many daylight attempts but only ten kills. Roughly, It’s about twenty daytime attempts for one kill.
When lions are hiding for an attack by a water hole, they wait patiently and can charge at any second. The kill is the exciting moment in the day-to-day life of the lion, since these great animals spend most of their time, about 20 hours a day, sleeping and resting.
Lions are social cats, and when they are having a rest, they love to touch each other. After drinking at a water hole, a lioness rests her head on another’s back. When walking, young lions often touch faces with older ones, an act of close ties imong members of the group.
60. By describing lions as “opportunists” in the first paragraph, the author means to say that lions_____.
A. are cruel animals                                       B. are clever animals
C. like to take advantage of other animals    D. like to take every chance to eat
61. According to the text, which of the following is true?
A. Lions make most kills in the daytime.
B. Males care more about eating than active killing.
C. Lions are curious about things happening around them.
D. It doesn’t take lions too much time to make a kill.
62. How can we know that lions are social animals?
A. They depend on each other.                    B. They look after each other well.
C. They readily share what they have.          D. They enjoy each other’s company.
63. What would be the best tiltle for the text?
A. Powerful Lions                                     B. Lions at Work and Play
C. Lions, Social Cats                                 D. Lions, Skilled Hunters

Monarch Butterflies

 One of the last West Coast homes of the Monarch butterfly，a type of insect（昆虫），may soon disappear．Strangely，it is in a town that calls itself Butterfly U．S．A，Pacific Grove, California．

 The  town  of Pacific Grove loves the butterflies．Every year they have a parade（游行）and hundreds of children dress up as butterflies．Monarch butterflies are the town mascot．Tourism is very important，and many people come to see the butterflies．The butterflies are good for the development of the town．

 In 1981 there were so many butterflies it looked like it was raining butterflies．Tens of thousands of Monarchs stayed on tree branches near Pacific Grove．Now there are not so many．

The building goes on a little bit at a time，and you don’t notice it day by day．Over time，you can see that there has been a lot of development．As new buildings go up，many trees are cut down．

This reduces the natural homes for the butterflies．

Monarchs travel hundreds of miles each year，returning to the same woods，often to the same trees．The female Monarchs need milkweed to lay their eggs；the males will follow the females．

Millions of Monarchs have traveled regularly along the same path for thousands of years．They start their trip in the mountains of Mexico and travel to the middle part of America．If the woods where the butterflies live are destroyed，the whole species（物种）could be lost．There have been Monarch butterflies along the coast of California for as long as man can remember，but no one is sure how much longer they will last．

36．Why are Monarch butterflies important to Pacific Grove？

A.        They may disappear．            

B.        They come to stay every year．

C.        They help develop the town’s tourism．

D.       They give a name to Pacific Grove．

37．The underlined word  “mascot”in Paragraph 2 probably refers to_________.

A.        a new type of butterfly          

B.        an insect believed to bring good luck

C.        a parade organized by Pacific Grove 

D.       a special dress for children in Pacific Grove

38．What problem do Monarch butterflies face now？

A.        New buildings take up their living space．

B.        There has been too much rain m recent years．

C.        Their natural homes are destroyed by tourism．

D.       They have tot travel a long distance to get home．

39．Where do Monarch butterflies start their trip to Pacific Grove？

A.        From Central America．

B.        From the West Coast．

C.        From California．      

D.       From Mexico．

American researchers found females are the more talkative sex because of a special “language protein(蛋白质)” in the brain.
The study, conducted by neuroscientists （神经学家）and psychologist from the University of Maryland, concluded that women talked more because they had more of the Foxp2 protein. The research, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, found that higher levels were found among humans that were women but in rats that were males. Their findings came after it was previously claimed that ladies speak about 20,000 words a day – over 13,000 more than men. "This study is one of the first to report a sex difference in the expression of a language-associated protein in humans or animals,” said Prof Margaret McCarthy, who led the study. In their study, the researchers attempted to determine what might make male rats more vocal than their female friends.
They separated four-day-old rats from their mothers and then counted the number of times they cried out in the “ultrasonic range”, the frequencies higher than humans can hear, over five minutes. While both sexes called out hundreds of cries, the males called out twice as often, they found. But when the pups were returned to their mother’s cage, she fussed over her sons first. Tests conducted on the parts of the brain known to be associated with vocalcalls showed the male pups have up to twice as much Foxp2 protein as the females. The researchers then increased the production in the brains of female pups and reduced it in males. This led to the female rats crying out more often and their mothers showing more interest to them. In contrast, males became less “talkative”.
The researchers then tested samples from ten children, aged between three and five, which showed that females had up to 30 per cent more of the Foxp2 protein than males, in a brain area key to language in humans.
“Based on our observations, we assume higher levels of Foxp2 in girls and higher levels of Foxp2 in male rats is an indication that Foxp2 protein levels are associated with the more communicative sex,” said Prof McCarthy.
"Our results imply Foxp2 as a component of the neurobiological basis of sex differences in vocal communication in mammals."
【小题1】From the second paragraph, we can learn that ________.