周末加油站（Ⅷ）

Task 1

Most dog owners are convinced that their four?legged friends know exactly what they mean when they use certain words. However， researchers have always wondered whether they really understand human speech or if they rely on other ways to know the meaning. A new study by scientists at Atlantas Emory University seems to indicate that “mans best friend” does know what the owner is saying.

To get data from the dogs themselves—not just owner reports， the researchers asked the owners of twelve dogs to train their pets to identify two toys with different materials by name. Once the dogs had mastered the task， they took turns inside a MRI（磁共振成像仪）. The owners then tested their dog by first calling out the names of the toys they had been trained to recognize and then saying meaningless words such as “bobbu” and “bodmick” while holding up random objects the dogs hadnt seen before.

The MRI scans showed that a certain area of the dogs brains showed different brain patterns when they heard words they were familiar

with， compared with the ones they had never heard before. While not enough to prove that the dogs were picturing their toys when they heard the word， it did indicate some sort of recognition. The researchers believe this is an important step forward in understanding how dogs process language.

Even more interesting was that the dogs brains showed a higher level of neural（神经的） activity at the sound of unknown words. This is the exact opposite of what happens in human brains， which get more active at the sound of familiar words. The researchers assume the dogs may perk up at the sound of new words to try to understand them in the hope of delighting their masters.

“When teaching their dog a trick， people often use words because thats what we humans prefer，” Prichard， the writer of the study， says. “From the dogs view， however， a visual command might be more effective， helping the dog learn the trick faster.”

1.What should dog owners do in the experiment？

A.Take turns to train dogs. B.Train dogs to recognize toys.

C.Teach dogs meaningless words. D.Get dogs excited using commands.

2.What does the underlined part “perk up” in paragraph 4 probably mean？

A.Become active. B.Get tired. C.Feel satisfied. D.Look surprised.

3.What might be the researchers advice to dog trainers？

A.You cant teach an old dog new tricks. B.Teaching dogs with toys is more effective.

C.Using words to train dogs is the best policy. D.Training dogs with visual orders is a good way.

4.Which can be the best title for the text？

A.Dogs do understand their owners

B.Dogs are proved to have speech ability

C.Dogs have special ways to recognize toys

D.Dogs have the ability to recognize owners

5.How do dogs react to unfamiliar words？

A.They look puzzled. B.They show no concern.

C.They are more satisfied. D.They become more excited.

Task 2

A number of factors contribute to making pre⁃bedtime media use far more damaging to kids than it is to adults. Its known that too much screen time can affect childrens quality of sleep. 1 A group of researchers led by Monique Le⁃ Bourgeois， found three main causes：

Theres the influence of light. 2 Light is our brain clocks primary timekeeper. Younger individuals have larger pupils， and their lenses（眼球的晶状体） are more transparent， so that their sensitivity to light is even greater than older individuals. Unluckily， many parents use digital media in the bedtime routine as a means of calming children down before sleep. Read a book instead？

3 Even adults can relate to this， but the feeling is even more intense for children. Whether its exposure to violent media， playing an exciting game or texting back and forth with friends， all these interactions can decrease sleepiness. This is where parents need to draw a line， limiting the online activity in the pre?bedtime hours and knowing exactly what the kids are watching or doing.

4 Kids with constant access to hand⁃held devices will be used to using them， which results in less time for play and exercise， interacting（互动） with family， conversation， schoolwork， and， obviously， sleeping. 5 These should be taken away before bed.

A.There's the excitement that comes with using digital media.

B.Using digital media means not spending time doing other things.

C.Lack of sleep may result in many physical and mental disorders.

D.But what's less understood is exactly why digital media affect sleep.

E.There's the conflict between sleeping and staying with the time⁃killer.

F.Children's bodies are far more sensitive to light than adults bodies are.

G.The problem is made worse when phones and tablets accompany kids into the bedroom.

Task 3

I worked as the reception manager at my hotel. A（n） 1 came in a few weeks ago with a 2

attached that the guest would be travelling with their 3 father.

Upon seeing this note and noting I would be the one to check them in as I was 4 for their arrival time， I 5 to learn some very basic sign language. I 6 the guest in my usual fashion，

7 for the surname on the booking. Once I heard the name I 8 immediately who was standing in front of me.

I had been learning for two weeks how to say “Welcome to Ireland. My sign language is 9 ， but please if you need anything during your 10 just let me know and we will help you.”

I smiled at the father and daughter in front of me， 11 the father I greeted in sign language. His daughter couldnt help 12 and called me sweet in tears. But the father just 13 and was so happy. Honestly seeing his 14 was enough for me. It was so 15 learning basic sign language.

On check⁃out they left a 16 for me， a small box with some chocolates and the letter “Thank you very much for what you did on check⁃in. You have no idea how much this 17 to my father. Youve made his trip home to his family after 50 years very 18 with one very simple 19 .”

They wrote a letter to the manager， giving an amazing review and asking to give me a raise， which I really 20 . I was glad to find this gift in my locker.

1.A.task B.booking C.announcement D.order

2.A.note B.paper C.letter D.bag

3.A.blind B.disabled C.deaf D.old

4.A.with pleasure B.in time C.for sure D.on duty

5.A.hesitated B.refused C.decided D.wanted

6.A.interviewed B.greeted C.pleased D.praised

7.A.asking B.applying C.hoping D.looking

8.A.urged B.thought C.guessed D.realized

9.A.reasonable B.suitable C.terrible D.understandable

10.A.stay B.travel C.work D.study

11.A.pointing at B.referring to C.calling for D.turning to

12.A.praising B.laughing C.crying D.shouting

13.A.smiled B.froze C.stared D.leaned

14.A.behavior B.reaction C.manner D.appearance

15.A.generous B.funny C.amusing D.worth

16.A.review B.gift C.card D.like

17.A.attached B.contributed C.meant D.offered

18.A.rewarding B.special C.popular D.ordinary

19.A.expression B.word C.smile D.gesture

20.A.appreciated B.previewed C.supposed D.imagined

Task 4

第一節 语法填空

The Chinese language has become increasingly popular in the world. More British students chose to take Chinese tests than German in this years A levels， showing a great 1. （curious） about the ancient Asian language.

This is the first time that Mandarin 2. （overtake） German at A levels， a British public exam taken by high school students， 3. （make） it the third most popular language in the UK.

A total of 3，334 candidates chose Mandarin 4. their foreign language， increasing by 86 percent from 2017， 5. around 3，058 took German A levels， decreasing by 165 percent year on year.

French and Spanish still remain the most popular foreign languages. The German language

6. （follow） by Russian and Polish.

According to the Office of Chinese Language Council International（Hanban）， as of 2017， some

100 million people， excluding native speakers， use Chinese 7. （global）， while the number of Chinese teaching centers has surpassed（超过） 70，000.

R. O. Korea has a larger population of Chinese language learners 8. any other country in the world with the number estimated at around 106 million. Last year alone， over 170，000 people

9. （sign） up for Chinese language tests， like the HSK， 10. full name is Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi in Chinese.

The United Nations in 2010 suggested a Chinese Language Day which falls on April 20th each year to celebrate cultural diversity as well as to promote the equal use of all official languages.

第二节 书面表达

假定你是李华，本周末学校组织学生到奥林匹克森林公园去远足。请你根据以下内容，给外教Lily写一封邮件，邀请她参加你们的活动。

1.活動安排（时间、地点等）;

2.推荐路线和理由;

3.邀请参加。

注意：

1.词数100左右;

2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

Dear Lily，

Yours，

Li Hua