（五）

Washoe, a female chimpanzee (黑猩猩) believed to be the first non-human to acquire human language, has died of natural causes at the research institute where she was kept.

The chimp died on Tuesday night, according to Roger and Deborah Fouts, co-founders of The Chimpanzee and Human Communications Institute in Washington, where she lived.

Washoe was born in 1965 in Africa, where she was captured by the Air Force and taken to the US for research use in the space program. In 1966, she left the program and began living with two scientists, Allen and Beatrix Gardner, who led a project to teach the chimp American Sign Language (ASL) in Washoe, Nevada, for which it was named. Washoe had been living on Central Washington University’s Ellensburg Campus since 1980. She had a vocabulary of about 250 words. Also, Washoe taught sign language to three younger chimps: Tatu, 31, Loulis, 29, and Dar, 31

Primate (灵长类) researcher Jane Goodall, in Fouts’ book Next of Kin, noted the importance of the work with Washoe. “Roger, through his ongoing conversations with Washoe and her extended family, has opened a window into a chimpanzee’s mind,” Goodall said.

Though previous efforts to teach chimps spoken languages had failed, the researchers believed there was a better chance using signs. But Washoe’s language skills were disputed by scientists who believed that language is unique to humans. Among those who doubted that chimps could use language were linguist (语言学家) Noam Chomsky and Harvard scientist Steven Pinker. They believed primates simply learn to perform certain acts in order to receive rewards, and do not acquire true language. w.w.w.k.s.5.u.c.o.m

5. As for its first task, Washoe was involved with _______.

A. some space research   

B. a study on African animals

C. an ASL project     

D. the program of training the Air Force

6. In Goodall’s opinion, teaching Washoe ASL ______.

A. was not successful   

B. led to the book Next of Kin

C. won honor for Fouts   

D. made a difference

7. In the last paragraph, the underlined word “disputed” probably means “______”.

A. supported 

B. studied 

C. questioned 

D. discussed

8. What can be inferred from the passage?

A. The ASL project was first set up in Africa for the study on Washoe.

B. Washoe may communicate with other chimps by signing.

C. Washoe must have been able to speak 250 words or so.

D. The researchers will prove that most chimps could use language.

9. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Washoe was the first animal to be taught human language.

B. Washoe, the chimp, was named in honor of a place.

C. There were four chimps in total at Ellensburg Campus.

D. Chomsky believed primates only perform silent signs.

A daughter’s duty? Adult daughters are often expected to caregiver for older parents. In 2007, Jorjan Sarich and her dad moved from California to Idaho. It was where he wanted to live his rest time.

“I left my occupation, I left my friends; he did the same thing,” said Sarich, who bought a house with her father, George Snyder, in the China Gardens neighborhood of Hailey after his health began to decline. Though a graduate student struggling to finish her dissertation（论文）, Sarich chose to be her dad’s full-time caregiver.

“It’s only now, several years later, that I’m realizing how much work it was. It’s the kind of exhaustion（疲惫）that sleep doesn’t cure,” she said.

About 6 million Americans provide care to elderly relatives or friends living outside of nursing homes. Laurel Kennedy, author of “The Daughter Trap” (Thomas Dunne Books, $25.95), says that women bear a disproportionate（不成比例的）share of the burden — about 70 percent of hands-on care giving such as bathing.

“I want to be clear: Women don’t hate this,” Kennedy said. “What they hate is that everyone just assumes they’ll do it.”

Kennedy is calling for a social revolution equal to the rise of affordable child care and day care: Employers should help working caregivers by offering accommodations. Men should step up more often. It’s unfair that women are always chosen to provide care for an elderly family member.

Despite the hard work it took on Sarich — interrupted sleep and the knowledge that his 2009 death was the end game, she would do it again. Since about half a century had gone by, she wasn’t the person he remembered, and he wasn’t the person she remembered either. Caring for her father changed how each saw the other.

Why did Jorjan Sarich caregiver for her father?

   A. It was a very easy job.                          B. She had no work to do.

   C. It was the social practice.                         D. She lived with her father.

What can we infer from the book “The Daughter Trap”?

   A. Daughters don’t like care giving.

   B. Daughters devote a lot to care giving.

   C. Care giving is daughters’ duty.

   D. Care giving should be sons’ duty.

What does the underlined phrase “a social revolution” refer to?

   A. The child care revolution.                            B. The reform in day care.

   C. The social development.                              D. The change in care giving.

How many years did Jorjan Sarich work as her father’s full-time caregiver?

   A. Five years.          B. Only one year.          C. Four years.        D. Two years.

In her care giving, Jorjan Sarich _____.

   A. got along well with her father                  B. was a little tired of her father

   C. changed her father in every way            D. felt it was unfair to do so

I’ve loved my mother’s desk since I was just tall enough to see above the top of it as Mother sat doing letters. Standing by her chair, looking at the ink bottle, pens, and white paper, I decided that the act of writing must be the most wonderful thing in the world.
Years later, during her final illness, Mother kept different things for my sister and brother. “But the desk”, she said, “is for Elizabeth”.
I never saw her angry, never saw her cry. I knew she loved me, she showed it in action. But as a young girl, I wanted heart-to-heart talks between mother and daughter.
They never happened. And a gulf opened between us. I was “too emotional”. But she lived “on the surface”
As years passed and I had my own family. I loved my mother and thanked her for our happy family. I wrote to her in careful words and asked her to let me know in any way she chose that she did forgive me.
I posted the letter and waited for her answer. None came.
My hope turned to disappointment，then little interest, finally, peace---it seemed that nothing happened. I couldn’t be sure that the letter had even got to Mother. I only knew that I had written it, and I could stop trying to make her into someone she was not.
Now the present of her desk told me, as she’d never been able to, that she was pleased that writing was my chosen work, I cleaned the desk carefully and found some papers inside---a photo of my father and a one-page letter, folded(被折叠) and refolded many times.
Give me an answer, my letter asks, in any way you choose, Mother, you always chose the act that speaks louder than words.
81. The writer began to love her mother’s desk________.
A. after Mother died        B. before she became a writer
C. when she was a child       D. when Mother gave it to her
82. The passage shows that__________.
A. Mother wrote her daughter in careful words
B. Mother cared much about her daughter in words
C. Mother was too serious about everything her daughter had done
D. Mother was cold on the surface but kind in her heart to her daughter
83. The word “gulf” in the passage means________.
A. part of the sea going far in land
B. free talks between mother and daughter
C. different ideas between the mother and the daughter
D. deep understanding between the old and the young
84. What did Mother do with her daughter’s letter asking for forgiveness?
A. She had never received the letter.     
B. She read the letter again and again till she died.
C. For years, she often talked about the letter.
D. She didn’t forgive her daughter at all in her life.
85. What’s the best title of the passage?
A. My letter to Mother       B. Mother and Children
C. My Mother’s Desk        D. Talks between Mother and Me

Parents are a child’s first teachers. But some parents never learned from good examples. In New York City, a nonprofit agency called Covenant House tries to help homeless young mothers become good parents.

The twelve or so teenagers who live at the shelter attend parenting classes four days a week. The class is called Mommy and Me. Teacher Delores Clemens is a mother of five and a grandmother. She teaches basic skills, like how to give a baby a bath and how to dress a baby depending on the season.

She remembers one student who learned from her mother not to pick up a crying baby. The mother said that would only make the child needy and overly demanding. Delores Clemens says, “that's not true. You have to hold your baby! He is crying for a reason. If you never pick him up, he's going to keep crying. Pick your baby up. Cuddle your baby. Hug him! And she started to do that. They just want a little cuddling and a little love. And it works!”

Delores Clemens says her students also learn how to be good mothers by letting themselves be mothered. Around three hundred fifty teenage mothers graduate from Covenant House's Mommy and Me class every year.

In class, with her baby son is Natasha. She lived on the streets. She is glad not only for the warmth and shelter of Covenant House. As she told reporter Adam Phillips, she is also glad for the help they offer in seeking a more secure life.

The World Health Organization says the United States has forty-one births for every one thousand girls age fifteen to nineteen. That is higher than other developed countries, as well as some developing ones. By comparison, northern neighbor Canada has fourteen births and southern neighbor Mexico has eighty-two.

What is the text mainly about?

A. Parents who are a child’s first teachers.

B. A class where teens learn mothering and are mothered.

C. A nonprofit agency that offers a more secure life.

D. A kind teacher who help homeless young mothers.

Covenant Houses’ Mommy and Me class is intended to _____.

A. help homeless young mothers become good parents

B. provide homeless young mothers with a warm shelter

C. help mothers in New York be good parents

D. teach some parents how to love their children

What can we know about Delores Clemens from the text?

A. She has a mother of five and a grandmother.

B. She thinks a crying baby should be picked up and hugged.

C. She teaches advanced skills on how to be good mothers.

D. She is very glad for the warmth and shelter of Covenant House.

According to the World Health Organization, which country has the highest births for girls age fifteen to nineteen?

  A. Canada     B. the United States of America    C. Mexico     D. Britain

I finished my last work of the week and could hardly wait to get home, take off my nursing shoes, and relax.
As I approached(走近) my   36 , I saw one of my   37  standing by the bus stop. I thought it would only take a couple of extra minutes to give her a ride home, and besides, it was   38  cold to be standing outside on the coldest   39  in January. I didn’t know where she lived, but I was   40  I would be able to find my way back.
We   41  about our work as I drove and before we knew it, we arrived at   42  house. I started driving back.   43  looked familiar, but at first that didn’t bother me. But soon I   44  something wrong. I   45  nothing. But I told myself to stay   46 .
I was beyond neighborhoods, streets and   47  streetlights. I no longer knew where I was now. How could I be so stupid! I looked down at my   48 . It was now 2:30 a.m. My gas was slowly running out. I   49  the car and turned off the engine. In total defeat, I put my head down on the wheel,   50 . Then I raised my head and   51  a shadow down the road in front of me. I turned my headlights on. A car! I drove a little   52 , got out of my car and knocked on the window of that car. An elderly man   53  rolled his window down.
I said that I didn’t know how to get back into town. In silence, he started driving. I ran back to my car and drove   54  him. Finally I recognized a(n)   55  street. As I turned to head home, the car disappeared. Then I pulled into my driveway (车道) when the warning light for my gas tank (汽油箱) turned on.
Though so many years have passed, I still thank the old man from my deepest heart.