第1部分:词汇选项下面每个句子中均有1个词或者短语划有横线,请为每处划线部分确定1个意义最为接近的选项。 第2部分:阅读判断下面的短文后列出了7个句子,请根据短文的内容对每个句子做出判断:如果该句提的是正确信息,请选择A;如果该句提的是错误信息,请选择B;如果该句的信息文中没有提及,请选择C。 Irish Dolphins May Have a Unique Dialect
Irish scientists monitoring dolphins living in a river estuary in the southwest of the country believe they may have developed a unique dialect to communicate with each other.
The Shannon Dolphin and Wildlife Foundation (SDWF) has been studying a group of up to 120 bottle-nose dolphins in the River Shannon using vocalizations collected on a computer in a cow shed near the River Shannon.
As part of a research project, student Ronan Hickey digitized and analyzed a total of 1,882 whistles from the Irish dolphins and those from the Welsh dolphins on a computer and separated them into six fundamental whistle types and 32 different categories. Of the categories, he found most were used by both sets of dolphins—but eight were only heard from the Irish dolphins.
"We are building up a catalogue of the different whistle types they use and trying to associate them with behaviour like foraging, resting, socializing and the communications of groups with calves," project leader Simon Berrow said. "Essentially we are building up what is like a dictionary of words they use or sounds they make."
Berrow, a marine biologist, said the dolphins, clicks are used to find their way around and locate prey. The whistles are communications. "They do a whole range of other sounds like barks, groans and a kind of gunshot," he said. "The gunshot is an intense pulse of sound. Sperm whales use it to stun their prey."
"When I first heard it I was surprised as I thought sperm whales were the only species who used it. We can speculate the dolphins are using it for the same reason as the sperm whales." Berrow said.
References in local legend indicate there have been dolphins in the Shannon estuary for generations and they may even have been resident there as far back as the 6th century.
They are regularly seen by passengers on the Shannon ferry and an estimated 25,000 tourists every year take special sightseeing tours on local boats to visit them. 第一篇 The Decline of Formal English
Americans no longer expect public figures, whether in speech or in writing, to command the English language with skill and gift. Nor do they aspire to such command themselves. In his latest book, Doing Our Own Thing: The Degradation of Language and Music and Why We Should, Like, Care, John McWhorter, a linguist and controversialist of mixed liberal and conservative views, sees the triumph of 1960s counter-culture as responsible for the decline of formal English.
Blaming the permissive 1960s is nothing new, but this is not yet another criticism against the decline in education. Mr. McWhorter's academic specialty is language history and change, and he sees the gradual disappearance of "whom," for example, to be natural and no more regrettable than the loss of the case-endings of Old English.
But the cult of the authentic and the personal, "doing our own thing," has spelt the death of formal speech, writing, poetry and music. While even the modestly educated sought an elevated tone when they put pen to paper before the 1960s, even the most well regarded writing since then has sought to capture spoken English on the page. Equally, in poetry, the highly personal, performative genre is the only form that could claim real liveliness. In both oral and written English, talking is triumphing over speaking, spontaneity over craft.
Illustrated with an entertaining array of examples from both high and low culture, the trend that Mr. McWhorter documents is unmistakable. But it is less clear, to take the question of his subtitle, why we should, like, care. As a linguist, he acknowledges that all varieties of human language, including non-standard ones like Black English, can be powerfully expressive there exists no language or dialect in the world that cannot convey complex ideas. He is not arguing, as many do, that we can no longer think straight because we do not talk proper.
Russians have a deep love for their own language and carry large chunks of memorized poetry in their heads, while Italian politicians tend to elaborate speech that would seem old-fashioned to most English-speakers. Mr. McWhorter acknowledges that formal language is not strictly necessary, and proposes no radical education reforms he is really grieving over the loss of something beautiful more than useful. We now take our English "on paper plates instead of china." A shame, perhaps, but probably an inevitable one. 第二篇 When Fear Takes Control of the Mind
A panic attack is a sudden feeling of terror. Usually it does not last long, but it may feel like forever. The cause can be something as normally uneventful as driving over a bridge or flying in an airplane. And it can happen even if the person has driven over many bridges or flown many times before. A fast heartbeat, sweaty hands, difficulty breathing, a lightheaded feeling. At first a person may have no idea what is wrong. But these can all be signs of what is known as panic disorder. The first appearance usually is between the ages of 18 and 25. In some cases it develops after a tragedy, like the death of a loved one, or some other difficult situation.
In the United States, the National Institute of Mental Health says more than two million people are affected in any one-year period. The American Psychological Association says panic disorder is two times more likely in women than men. And it can last anywhere from a few months to a lifetime.
Panic attacks can be dangerous—for example, if a person is driving at the time. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge in the state of Maryland is so long and so high over the water, it is famous for scaring motorists. There is even a driver assistance program to help people get across. Some people who suffer a panic attack develop a phobia, a deep fear of ever repeating the activity that brought on the attack.
But experts say panic disorder can be treated. Doctors might suggest anti-anxiety or an tidepressant medicines. Talking to a counselor could help a person learn to deal with or avoid a panic attack. There are breathing methods, for example, that might help a person calm down. Panic disorder is included among what mental health professionals call anxiety disorders. A study published last week reported a link between anxiety disorders and several physical diseases. It says these include thyroid disease, lung and stomach problems, arthritis, migraine headaches and allergic conditions. Researchers at the University of Manitoba in Canada say that in most cases the physical condition followed the anxiety disorder. But, they say, exactly how the two are connected remains unknown.
The report in the Archives of Internal Medicine came from a German health study of more than 4,000 adults. 第三篇 College Night Owls Have Lower Grades
College students who are morning people tend to get better grades than those who are night owls (晚睡的人), according to University of North Texas researchers.
They had 824 undergraduate students complete a health survey that included questions about sleep habits and daytime functioning, and found that students who are morning people had higher grade point averages(GPAs) than those who are night people.
"The finding that college students who are evening types have lower GPAs is a very important finding, sure to make its way into undergraduate psychology texts in the near future, along with the research showing that memory is improved by sleep," study co-author Daniel J. Taylor said in a prepared statement.
"Further, these results suggest that it might be possible to improve academic performance by using chronotherapy (时间疗法) to help students retrain their biological clock to become more morning types." Taylor said.
The research was expected to be presented Monday at sleep, the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, in Baltimore.
In other findings expected to be heard at the meeting, University of Colorado researchers found a significant association between insomnia(失眠) and a decline in college students' academic performance.
The study included 64 psychology, nursing and medical students, average age 27.4 years, who were divided into two groups—low GPAs and high GPAs.
Among those with low GPAs, 69.7 percent had trouble falling asleep, 53.1 percent experienced leg kicks or twitches (痉挛) at night, 65.6 percent reported waking at night and having trouble falling back to sleep, and 72.7 percent had difficulty concentrating during the day.
"In college students, the complaint of difficulty concentrating during the day Continues to have a considerable impact on their ability to succeed in the classroom," study author Dr James F. Pagel said in a prepared statement, "This study showed that disordered sleep has significant harmful effects on a student's academic performance, including GPAs."