Animal’s “Sixth Sense”

A tsunami was triggered by an earthquake in the Indian Ocean in December, 2004. It killed tens of thousands of people in Asia and East Africa. Wild animals,    1   , seem to have escaped that terrible tsunami. This phenomenon adds weight to notions that¹ they possess a “sixth sense” for

   2   , experts said.

Sri Lankan wildlife officials have said the giant waves that killed over 24,000 people along the Indian Ocean island’s coast clearly    3   wild beasts, with no dead animals found.

“No elephants arc dead, not    4   a dead rabbit. I think animals can    5   disaster. They have a sixth sense. They know when things are happening,” H. D. Ratnayake, deputy director of Sri Lanka’s Wildlife Department, said about one month after the tsunami attack. The    6   washed floodwaters up to 2 miles inland at Yala National Park in the ravaged southeast, Sri Lanka’s biggest wildlife    7   and home to hundreds of wild elephants and several leopards.

“There has been a lot of    8   evidence about dogs barking or birds migrating before volcanic eruptions or earthquakes. But it has not been proven,” said Matthew van Lierop, an animal behavior

   9    at Johannesburg Zoo.

“There have been no＿ 10＿ studies because you can’t really test it in a lab or field setting²,” he told Reuters. Other authorities concurred with this    11   .

“Wildlife seem to be able to pick up certain    12   , especially birds … there are many reports of birds

detecting impending disasters,” said Clive Walker, who has written several books on African wildlife.

Animals   13   rely on the known senses such as smell or hearing to avoid danger slid as predators.

The notion of an animal “sixth sense” — or   14   other mythical power is an enduring one³ which the evidence on Sri Lanka’s ravaged coast is likely to add to.

The Romans saw owls    15   omens of impending disaster and many ancient cultures viewed elephants as sacred animals endowed with special power or attributes.

词汇：

tsunami / tsʊˈnɑmi / n．海啸
trigger / "trɪɡə(r) / v．引发，触发
ravaged / "rævidʒid / adj．被毁坏的
leopard / "lepəd / n．豹
eruption / ɪˈrʌpʃən / n．喷发
migrate / maɪ"ɡreɪt / v．迁移
volcanic / vɒlˈkænɪk / adj．火山的
concur / kən"kɜ:(r) / v．（with）同意，赞成
impending / ɪmˈpendɪŋ / adj．迫近的
predator / "predətə(r) / n．食肉动物
mythical / ˈmɪθɪkl / adj．神话般的
owl / aʊl / n．猫头鹰
omen / "əʊmən / n．预兆，征兆
endow / ɪn"daʊ / v．赋予

注释:

1. adds weight to notions that：更加相信……

2. field setting：field意为“实地，野外”， setting意为“环境”。 field setting可译为“野外环境”。

空15

A:on  B:as C:for  D:in

Migrant Workers

　　In the past twenty years, there has been an increasing tendency for workers to move from one country to another.    1   some newly independent countries have understandably restricted most jobs to local people, others have attracted and welcomed migrant workers. This is particularly the case in the Middle East¹,    2     increased oil incomes have enabled many countries to    3    outsiders to improve local facilities.    4     the Middle East has attracted oil-workers from the USAandEurope. It has brought in construction workers and technicians from many countries,     5     SouthKoreaandJapan.
　　In view of the difficult living and working conditions in theMiddle East,²it is not   6     that the pay is high to attract suitable workers. Many engineers and technicians can earn at least     7    money in theMiddle Eastas they can in their own country, and this is a major attraction. An allied benefit is the low taxation or complete lack of it.³ This increases the net amount of pay received by visiting workers and is very popular with them.
　　Sometimes a disadvantage has a compensating advantage.     8    the difficult living conditions often lead to increased friendship when workers have to depend on each other     9    safety and comfort.     10    , many migrant workers can save large sums of money partly     11    the lack of entertainment facilities. The work is often complex and full of problems but this merely presents greater challenge engineers who prefer to find solutions     12    problems rather than do routine work in their home country.
　　One major problem which     13    migrant workers in theMiddle Eastis that their jobs are temporary ones. They are nearly always on contract, so it is not easy for them to plan ahead with great confidence. This is to be expected since no country welcomes a large number of foreign workers as permanent residents.     14    , migrant workers accept this disadvantage, along with others, because of the     15     financial benefits which they receive.

词汇：

migrant /"maɪgrənt/ adj.移民的

allied /"ælaɪd; ə"laɪd/ adj.与此相关的

taxation /tæk"seɪʃən/ n.税，税款

compensate /"kɒmpenseɪt/ v.补偿

routine /ruː"tiːn/ adj.日常的

注释：

1.This is particularly the case in the Middle East...：中东地区目的情况尤为如此……
2.In view of the difficult living and working conditions in the Middle East...：由于中东地区艰苦的生活和工作条件……in view of 是个短语，表示原因或理由。
3.An allied benefit is the low taxation or complete lack of it. 一个相关的好处是这里的税收低，或者根本就不收税。

空15

A:considerable  B:considerate C:considered  D:considering

Look on The Bright Side

    Do you ever wish you were more optimistic, someone who always (1) ______to be successful? Having someone around who always (2) ______the worst isn"t really a lot of (3) ______.We all know someone who sees a single cloud on a sunny day and says, "It looks (4) ______rain."But if you catch yourself thinking such things¹, it"s important to do something (5) ______ it.

    You can change your view of life, (6) ______to psychologists. It only takes a little effort, and you"ll find life more rewarding as a (7) ______. Optimism, they say, is partly about self-respect and confidence, but it"s also a more positive way of looking at life and all it has to (8) ______. Optimists are more (9) ______to start new projects and are generally more prepared to take risks².

    Upbringing is obviously very important in forming your (10) ______ to the world. Some people are brought up to (11) ______too much on others and grow up forever blaming other people when anything (12) ______wrong. Most optimists, on the (13) ______hand, have been brought up not to (14) ______failure as the end of the world一they just (15) ______with their lives.

词汇：

optimistic /ˌɒptɪˈmɪstɪk / adj．乐观的，乐观主义的

psychologist /saɪˈkɒlədʒɪst / n．心理学家

rewarding /rɪˈwɔ:dɪŋ / adj．有益的，值得的，有报酬的

upbringing /ˈʌpˌbrɪŋɪŋ /n．教养，养育，抚育

obviously / ˈɒbviəsli / adv．明显地，显然地

blame / bleɪm /v．责备，归咎于

注释：

1.    …catch yourself thinking such things………发现自己在想这样的事情……

空15

A:get up B:get on C:get out  D:get over

School Lunch

    Research has shown that over half the children in Britainwho take their own lunches to school do not eat (1) ______ in the middle of the day. InBritainschools have to (2) ______ meals at lunchtime. Children can (3) ______ to bring their own food or have lunch at the school canteen.

    One shocking (4) ______ of this research is that school meals are much healthier than lunches prepared by parents. There are strict (5) ______ for the preparation of school meals, which have to include one (6) ______ of fruit and one of vegetables, as well as meat, a dairy item and starchy food like bread or pasta. Lunchboxes (7) ______ by researchers contained sweet drinks, crisps and chocolate bars. Children (8) ______ twice as much sugar as¹ they should at lunchtime.

    The research will provide a better (9) ______ of why the percentage of overweight students inBritainhas (10) ______ in the last decade. Unfortunately, the government cannot (11) ______ parents, but it can remind them of the² (12) ______ value of milk, fruit and vegetables. Small changes in their children’s diet can (13) ______ their future health. Children can easily develop bad eating (14) ______ at this age, and parents are the only ones who can (15) ______ it.

词汇：

canteen /kænˈti:n / n．食堂，小卖部

starchy /"stɑ:tʃɪ / adj．（食物）含有大量淀粉的

注释：

1.    …twice as much sugar as…：……2倍的糖分……

空15

A:prevent  B:define C:decide D:delay

The Difference between Man and Computer

    What makes people different from computer programs? What is the missing element that our theories don"t yet (1) ______ for? The answer is simple: People read newspaper stories for a reason: to learn more about (2) ______ they are interested in. Computers, on the other hand, don"t. In fact, computers don"t (3) ______ have interests; there is nothing in particular that they are trying to find out when they read. If a computer (4) ______ is to be a model of story understanding, it should also read for a "purpose".

    Of course, people have several goals that do not make (5) ______ to attribute to computers¹. One might read a restaurant guide (6) ______ order to satisfy hunger or entertainment goals, or to (7) ______ a good place to go for a business lunch. Computers do not get hungry, and computers do not have business lunches.

    However, these physiological and social goals give (8) ______ to several intellectual or cognitive goals. A. goal to satisfy hunger gives rise to goals to find (9) ______ about the name of a restaurant which (10) ______ the desired type of food, how expensive the restaurant is, the location of the restaurant, etc. These are goals to (11) ______ information or knowledge, what we are calling(12) ______ goals. These goals can be held by computers too; a computer (13) ______ "want" to find out the location of a restaurant, and read a guide in order to do so (14) ______ the same way as a person might. While such a goal would not (15) ______ out of hunger in the case of the computer², it might well arise out of the "goal" to learn more about restaurants.

词汇：

element /"elimənt/ n．元素，成分，要素

entertainment /,entə"teinmənt/n．娱乐，消遣

physiological/,fiziə"lDdʒikəl/ adj．生理学的，生理的

intellectual /,intə"lektjuəl/ adj．智力的，聪明的

cognitive/"kDgnitiv/ adj．认知的，认识上的

注释：

1.    …attribute to computers…：……把……归于电脑，归属于电脑……

空15

A:arise B:rise C:consent  D:derive

Look on The Bright Side

    Do you ever wish you were more optimistic, someone who always (1) ______to be successful? Having someone around who always (2) ______the worst isn"t really a lot of (3) ______.We all know someone who sees a single cloud on a sunny day and says, "It looks (4) ______rain."But if you catch yourself thinking such things¹, it"s important to do something (5) ______ it.

    You can change your view of life, (6) ______to psychologists. It only takes a little effort, and you"ll find life more rewarding as a (7) ______. Optimism, they say, is partly about self-respect and confidence, but it"s also a more positive way of looking at life and all it has to (8) ______. Optimists are more (9) ______to start new projects and are generally more prepared to take risks².

    Upbringing is obviously very important in forming your (10) ______ to the world. Some people are brought up to (11) ______too much on others and grow up forever blaming other people when anything (12) ______wrong. Most optimists, on the (13) ______hand, have been brought up not to (14) ______failure as the end of the world一they just (15) ______with their lives.

词汇：

optimistic /ˌɒptɪˈmɪstɪk / adj．乐观的，乐观主义的

psychologist /saɪˈkɒlədʒɪst / n．心理学家

rewarding /rɪˈwɔ:dɪŋ / adj．有益的，值得的，有报酬的

upbringing /ˈʌpˌbrɪŋɪŋ /n．教养，养育，抚育

obviously / ˈɒbviəsli / adv．明显地，显然地

blame / bleɪm /v．责备，归咎于

注释：

1.    …catch yourself thinking such things………发现自己在想这样的事情……

空15

A:get up B:get on C:get out  D:get over

School Lunch

    Research has shown that over half the children in Britainwho take their own lunches to school do not eat (1) ______ in the middle of the day. InBritainschools have to (2) ______ meals at lunchtime. Children can (3) ______ to bring their own food or have lunch at the school canteen.

    One shocking (4) ______ of this research is that school meals are much healthier than lunches prepared by parents. There are strict (5) ______ for the preparation of school meals, which have to include one (6) ______ of fruit and one of vegetables, as well as meat, a dairy item and starchy food like bread or pasta. Lunchboxes (7) ______ by researchers contained sweet drinks, crisps and chocolate bars. Children (8) ______ twice as much sugar as¹ they should at lunchtime.

    The research will provide a better (9) ______ of why the percentage of overweight students inBritainhas (10) ______ in the last decade. Unfortunately, the government cannot (11) ______ parents, but it can remind them of the² (12) ______ value of milk, fruit and vegetables. Small changes in their children’s diet can (13) ______ their future health. Children can easily develop bad eating (14) ______ at this age, and parents are the only ones who can (15) ______ it.

词汇：

canteen /kænˈti:n / n．食堂，小卖部

starchy /"stɑ:tʃɪ / adj．（食物）含有大量淀粉的

注释：

1.    …twice as much sugar as…：……2倍的糖分……

空15

A:prevent  B:define C:decide D:delay