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 (靈長類) 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 (語言學家) 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.

1. 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

2. 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

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

A. supported       B. studied       C. questioned        D. discussed

4. 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.

5. 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.

. Although ________ after the Civil War, the American blacks still took no important role in the white Americans except as servants and laborers.

   A. no longer being slaves             B. were no longer slaves

   C. no longer slaves                  D. no longer been slaves

第三部分  閱讀理解（共20 小題；每小題2分，滿分40分）

閱讀下列短文，從每題所給的四個選項(A、B、C和D)中，選出最佳選項，并在答題卡上將該項涂黑。

 “Can I see my baby?” asked the happy new mother. The bundle(嬰兒包) was placed in her arms and when she moved the fold of cloth to look upon his tiny face, she gasped—the baby had been born without ears. Time, however, proved that the baby’s hearing was perfect except his appearance.

One day when he rushed home from school and threw himself into his mother’s arms, he cried out bitterly, “A boy, a big boy called me—a f-…freak.” She sighed, knowing that his life was to be endless of heartbreaks.

He grew up, handsome for his misfortune. A favorite with his fellow students, he might have been class president, but for that. He developed a gift for literature and music.

The boy’s father had a talk with the family doctor. Could nothing be done? “I believe we could graft(移植) on a pair of outer ears, if they could be donated,” the doctor decided. So the search began for a person who would make such a sacrifice for a young man. Two years went by. “You’re going to the hospital, son. Mother and I have someone who will donate the ears you need. But it’s a secret,” said the father.

The operation was a brilliant success. His talents blossomed into genius. School and college became a series of successes. Later he married and entered the diplomatic(外交) service. “But I must know!” he urged his father. “Who gave so much for me? I could never do enough for him.”

“I do not believe you could,” said the father, “but the agreement was that you are not to know…, not yet.” The years kept the secret, but the day did come… one of the darkest days that ever pass through a son. He stood with his father over his mother’s casket(棺材). Slowly and tenderly, the father stretched forth a hand and raised the thick, reddish-brown hair to let out the secret.

1. The story is mainly about_______.

A. how a boy had new ears through an operation

B. what a devoted parent privately did for the child

C. how a disabled boy turned into a useful person

D. why a donator made a sacrifice to a bright boy

2 The underlined word “freak” in Paragraph 2 probably means “_______”.

A. slow-acting person                                    B. ugly-looking child

C. badly-behaved student                                  D. strangely-shaped creature

3. What can be inferred from the passage?

A. The agreement was between the donator and the family.

B. The boy was so popular that he was made class president.

C. Finally the boy came to know who the donator was.

D. The mother donated her ears to her son after she died.

4. We can learn from the passage that _______.

A. real love sometimes lies in what is done unknown 

B. it is up to parents to help their children heart and soul

C. true beauty lies only in the heart not in appearance

D. it’s a virtue for young generations to learn to be grateful

    A team from Krakow, in Poland, used functional magnetic resonance imaging (機能性核共振成像) (FMRI) to assess brain activity when 40 volunteers were shown various images. Men showed activity in areas which dealt with what action they should take in order to avoid or face up to danger. But the study found more activity in the emotional centers of women's brains. The researchers, from another university, carried out scans on 21 men and 19 women. Brain activity was monitored while the volunteers were shown images of objects and images from ordinary life designed to remind different emotional states.

The images were displayed in two runs. For the first run, only negative pictures were shown. For the second run, only positive pictures were shown.

While viewing the negative images, women showed stronger and broader activity in the left thalamus（神經(jīng)床）. This is an area which passes sense information to the pain and pleasure centres of the brain. Men showed more activity in an area of the brain called the left insula（腦島）, which plays a key role in controlling natural functions, including breath, heart rate and digestion. Generally, activity in this area tells the body to either run away from danger, or meet it head on - the so-called "fight or flight response".

While viewing positive images, women showed stronger activity in an area of the brain associated with memory. With men, the stronger activity was recorded in an area associated with visual processing. Dr Urbanik believes these differences suggest women may analyze positive stimuli（刺激）in a broader social context and associate positive images with a particular memory.

For instance, viewing a picture of a smiling child might remind memories of a woman's own child at this age. On the contrary, male responses tend to be less emotional.

1．The research shows that men response differently to         compared with women.

       A．different images             B．ordinary life

       C．different activities           D．medical scan

2．According to the passage, when faced with danger,            .

       A．women react more slowly than men       B．women usually try to avoid it 

       C．men usually have no reaction  D．men react to it more directly

3．What is discussed in the 4 th paragraph?          .

       A．Men and women’s different memories

       B．The different responses to the children

       C．Different reactions to positive stimuli

       D．Negative results of the visual processing

4．The passage mainly develops           .

       A．by inferring            B．by comparing

       C．by listing examples  D．by giving explanations

He expressed his gratitude to his head teacher, without _______-help he wouldn’t have made such great progress in his studies.

       A．whose      B．his    C．whom       D．which

. I was lucky enough to get on the train before it ________.

 What _______ weather! Getting into the _______ makes no difference!

A. wet …. shadow                             B. damp …. shadow 

C. wet …. shade                              D. damp …. shade

第三部分：閱讀理解（共20小題；每小題2分，滿分40分）

閱讀下列短文，從每題所給的四個選項（A、B、C和D）中，選出最佳選項,并在答題卡上將該項涂黑。

Helen Keller

For the first nineteen months of her life, Helen Keller was like other pretty happy babies. Then a sudden illness destroyed her sight and hearing. Because she could not hear what other people were saying, the child could not learn to speak. For the next seven years, she lived in a world of darkness, without sounds or words.

The person who changed Helen’s world was her teacher, Anne Sullivan, who entered her life on March 3, 1887. Miss Sullivan had accepted a job, which seemed impossible. She agreed to teach a blind child who had never leaned to act like a human being, because no one had over been able to guide her in any way. No one could control Helen. She acted like a young animal, rushing widely around, throwing things, and hitting anyone whom she could reach. Who could believe that such a child could be taught?

But Anne Sullivan was a very special kind of teacher. She had been blind during part of her own childhood and had learned to read Braille, a system of writing that uses raised dots which can be felt by the fingers of a blind person. She had learned to see again after seven operations, but she had never forgotten the experience of being blind.

Miss Sullivan understood Helen. She loved her and believed she could teach her.

1. Helen Keller was born            .

A. blind and deaf          B. natural              C. very weak         D. very pretty and happy

2. Before Miss Sullivan came, Helen was            .

A. very wild                 B. very sad     C. well mannered   D. like a school girl

3. Braille is            .

A. the language of Belgium                 B. the language used by deaf people

C. the language for the blind               D. a kind of sign language

4. Anne Sullivan was the person who            .

A. changed Helen’s life                       B. operated on Helen

C. made Helen feel happy                       D. accepted a job as Helen’s playmate

5. Anne became a good teacher because            .

A. she was very patient                       B. she was very kind

C. she knew how to read Braille           D. she knew and shared Helen’s suffering

三、單詞拼寫：請根據(jù)括號內(nèi)漢\英語提示或已給的首字母寫出單詞的正確形式。（1分×10=10分）

1. He e____________ us for hours with his stories and jokes

2. Tibet is a  ____________（多山的） province .

3. U______________, my computer system broke down again .

4. The learner of a second language has many difficulties to ___________(克服).

5. We were a____________ that she behave so rudely at the party.

6. The little boy a_________  himself by drawing pictures on the ground .

7. To our surprise , he made no ____________（解釋）of his absence.

8. Those who have not known _________ (hungry) can never imagine what it is.

9. The play was so  _______ (humour) that the audience laughed all through it.

10. The news that Tom, an excellent student, had ________ (failure) his exams sur??prised us all.

— How could you ________ my sister so easily in the crowd?

— Because she stood out in her red dress.

      A. pick up             B. pick out            C. take up              D. take out