(14)They say that elephants never forget: it turns out they can also tell the difference between human languages! (14)Scientists already know they are very smart—elephants never forget a face, but they didn’t know just how smart until this recent study. Researchers played recordings of human voices for 47 herds of elephant families in Kenya over a two-year period. The recordings were from Maasai adults and children, and Kamba men. The Maasai are an aboriginal tribe who sometimes come into conflict with elephants over water and land that sometimes leads to the death of elephants or Maasai men. They speak Maa. The Kamba people usually work as farmers or employees for the park and rarely cause harm or danger to elephants. They speak Kikamba. (15)When the elephants heard Maasai men saying “Look, look over there, a group of elephants is coming,“ they gathered together, started smelling curiously with their trunks, and cautiously moved away to avoid confrontation. But when they heard Maasai women or boys, or adult male Kamba speakers they didn’t show any concern. The ability to distinguish between Maasai and Kamba men delivering the same phrase in their own language suggests that elephants can discriminate between different languages. (16) They can’t understand what the words mean, but they can associate a certain way of speaking, like vowels or inflections with a possible threat. 14. What can we know about elephants? 15. How will elephants respond after hearing Maasai men saying “Look, look over there, a group of elephants is coming“? 16. How do elephants judge the threat posed by the human? They are the most intelligent animals. They can understand human languages. They have the best eyesight. They have a good memory.

M: Come on! You have only one circle to run. W: Sorry, I can’t. I’m out of breath and my legs hurt badly. Q: Where does this conversation probably take place? In a shop. In a hospital. In a playground. In a street.

W: Sorry, I don’t like this green sweater. Can I change for a blue one? M: Yes. The blue one is 15 dollars 20 cents, and the green one is only 10 dollars. Q: What does the man mean? The woman cannot change the sweater. The woman has to add another $ 5.2. The green sweater is better than the blue one. He advises the woman not to change the sweater.

I was excited as I had been invited to go to Tori’s birthday party. I asked my mom and she said I could go, so I told Tori that I’d be there. And then, two days later, my best friend called and invited me to go to Disneyland with her. Disneyland! I really wanted to go more than anything. I ran to ask my mom if it was OK. My mom reminded me that Tori’s party was on the same day. She said I couldn’t change my mind just because something better came along. (11)I begged my mom. She said no. I cried. My mom still said no. I couldn’t get her to change her mind. I tried every excuse I could think of. My mom explained to me again—once you accept an invitation to something, you can’t change your mind and go to something else just because you want to do the other thing more. (12)She asked me to think about if someone had said they’d come to my party and then, because something better came along, they changed their minds and didn’t come, how would I feel? So my mom dropped me off at Tori’s party. We did stuff that was fun and different. When my mom came to pick me up, I told my mom all about the fun things we had done. (13)She told me that she was proud of me for understanding why I can’t just dump someone because something better comes along. 11. Why did the speaker cry according to the passage? 12. What advice did the speaker’s mom give to her? 13. What lesson did the speaker learn from her mom? Her family didn’t go to Disneyland with her. Her best friend didn’t do stuff with her. Her mom didn’t allow her to go to Disneyland. Her friend didn’t invite her to the birthday party.

Beginning in the 1950s and 1960s, Japan began developing a reputation for its longevity. By the 1970s, the Japanese were the longest lived of any population in the world. Although genetic predispositions and cultural factors like diet certainly contributed to the long life span of the Japanese, it was the country’s kaihoken, or universal health care, that was largely responsible for boosting quality of life and increasing the country’s life expectancy. In recognition of 50 years of kaihoken, the medical journal Lancet recently published a special issue exploring Japanese longevity. Unfortunately, it’s not all good news. Even though Japan continues to have the highest life expectancy in the world, it is on track to be outpaced by other long-lived countries, like Sweden, Italy and Australia. Researchers believe that relatively high rates of tobacco use, changes in diet that have raised body-mass index, and the rising rate of suicide are contributing to Japan’s slowing declines in rates of adult mortality (死亡率). “If recent trends continue, other nations are likely to achieve lower rates of adult mortality than Japan,“ said Professor Christopher Murray of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, Seattle. He added that Japan’s universal health care system may not be sufficiently nimble enough to address mounting 21st-century health problems. “In an era of economic stagnation, political turmoil (混乱), aging populations and inadequate tobacco control, Japan does not seem to be effective in addressing its new set of health challenges. It will take more than universal access to a low-spending, high-volume health system to tackle these challenges.“ Physical illness is not the only drag on the country’s life expectancy: more than 30 000 Japanese people take their own lives each year, perhaps the continuing aftereffect of the 1997 financial crisis. Still, the biggest health challenge facing the Japanese is related to lifestyle factors like cigarette smoking, obesity and uncontrolled blood pressure—all of which contribute to chronic health problems that tax the public health care system. That system is already strained by the demands of an aging populace (人口) and by injuries associated with recent natural disasters.

The NBA lockout(停工)did not finish on Thursday night, but it was nearly an end, amid light-hearted jokes and aggressive word choices by the men who are negotiating a new labor deal. After a seven-and-a-half-hour bargaining session that followed a 15-hour【D1】______, officials for the league and the players union showed a cautious optimism. And for the【D2】______time, an agreement appears close on a major component: the structure of the luxury tax and related payroll constraints. “I【D3】______we’re within reach and within striking distance of getting a deal,“ said Billy Hunter, the executive director of the players union,【D4】______to these so-called “system“ issues. “It’s just a question of how receptive the NBA is and【D5】______or not they want to do a deal.“ 【D6】______the system issues are settled, the parties still must reach agreement on the【D7】______of league revenue. Either topic could still derail(破坏)an agreement, but the tone from both【D8】______on Thursday was positive, and at times almost confusing. The【D9】______are scheduled to begin on Friday at 10:30 a. m., with a goal of completing a deal sometime this weekend. If the parties can【D10】______that deadline, there is a chance at restoring a full 82-game schedule, despite starting the season a month late. A)first F)think K)postpone B)Although G)make L)talks C)last H)meeting M)divisions D)Once I)whether N)members E)referring J)sides O)consulting

Last night, it was still light out when I returned home from work. My new neighbor and his son were in their【C1】______place, outside in the yard, playing baseball. The boy【C2】______reports to me how many “home runs“ he hits and I always clap and【C3】______him. These guys are special. When you【C4】______one of them, the other is not【C5】______The dad is always engaging the child in【C6】______, focusing on him, not talking on a cellphone or walking ahead of the boy so that he has to【C7】______to keep up with him. This guy is really【C8】______. It warms my heart to see them【C9】______each other’s company like they do. As they were【C10】______to their upstairs apartment, I asked the dad if his son had a【C11】______He said no. I wasted no time driving to the【C12】______and with excitement I【C13】______a green bike with all the jazzy stuff【C14】______like. At home, I unloaded the bike and carried it upstairs to their apartment and【C15】______it outside the door. Not a【C16】______task for a 70-year-old woman! About five minutes later, they were at my door, with the boy dancing up and down with【C17】______, the dad appreciative. I told the dad that I needed to【C18】______an adult mountain bike that I was storing for a friend and he was【C19】______to take it from me. Now the two of them have another activity they can do【C20】______

For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a composition on the topic Why Is Attending College Abroad a Good Idea ? You should write at least 100 words, and base your composition on the outline given in Chinese below: 1．现在出国读大学的人越来越多。 2．出国读大学的好处有……

W: (14)How are the children in your class doing at sports? M: (14)I’m very satisfied with their performances. Timmy can cover the 100 meters in 12 seconds. That’s very fast for a kid of his age. W: He’s not very good at the long jump, is he? M: He’s not bad. He can jump a distance of over four meters. (15)I think he just prefers running to jumping. Jimmy is very good at the high jump. He can jump over two meters. Again, that’s fine for someone else of his age. W: Two meters? That means that the high jump bar is above his head! Are any of them good at long-distance running? M: The longest race we run is the 1 500 meters. A few of the boys and one girl can do it in less than five minutes. W: How about swimming? M: They’re OK. (16)I ask them to swim 500 meters each day. That’s 20 lengths of the swimming pool. They’re not very fast, but that’s OK. I just want them to build up their strength and keep in shape. By the way, (17)Kate is very good at diving from a height of 10 meters. W: Wow, (17)I can’t jump from that height! M: She started diving from a lower height, but she soon wanted to go higher. W: It seems that they really enjoy going faster, higher and further. 14. What is the man probably? 15. What can we learn about Timmy? 16. How long is the swimming pool? 17. What can we learn about Kate? A PE teacher. A headmaster. An athlete. A doctor.

On 21st-century campuses, is there room still for traditional literature such as Shakespeare? A declining number of students think so in the US—a trend that worries leaders at many top universities, where engineers often outnumber humanity students. Seeking to reignite(重新燃起)interest in the liberal arts, Stanford University last month welcomed the class of 2015 with a rich opening volley of literature and philosophy. They are designed to elevate freshmen dreams beyond cool jobs, such as working at Google. The 1 718 incoming students—nearly half of whom arrive intending to major in the sciences or engineering—listened to a lecture organized by the College of Humanities and Arts, where Abraham Verghese praised the meaning, and opportunities, of a liberal arts education. “We’re trying to break the idea that college is just something to get through on your way to a career,“ said Debra Satz, associate dean for Humanities and Arts. “It is a gift. “ In the humanities’ heyday(鼎盛时期)of the mid-60s, more than one in three Stanford students majored in languages, literature, the arts, history, cultural studies and philosophy. By 1995, only about one in ten did—a figure that hasn’t changed much in a decade. Meanwhile, interest in engineering, math and computer science has climbed. This trend is echoed in five decades of data from other schools such as Harvard, Princeton, Brown and Yale. At a Stanford appearance last year, Geoffrey Harpham, director of the National Humanities Center, said the humanities must be reinvigorated and are critical to the future of US. “The genius of this country,“ he said, “is a program of education for all its citizens.“ But for students who came of age in the Great Recession, the tempt of science can be difficult to resist. And as tuition costs rise, fewer seem willing to explore the question: How do I live a life of true meaning?

A historic change is taking place in higher education. Professors are being held responsible as never before for how well they serve students. It has become as common in colleges and universities for students to grade professors as for professors to grade students. In fact, student ratings have become the most widely used—and, in many cases, the only—source of information on teaching effectiveness. In comparing three studies of the same 600 four-year colleges, it was found that the number of colleges using student ratings to evaluate teachers had climbed from 29 percent to 68 percent. No other method of evaluation approached that degree of usage, and other studies have found similar results. One reason that student evaluations of teachers have become so popular is that they are easy to administer and to score. But they also are easy to abuse. If they are to shed meaningful light on teachers’ performance, the ratings must be used in a way that reflects at least some of what we’ve learnt about them from research and from experience. Research and experience have shown us, for example, that student ratings should never be the only basis for evaluating teaching effectiveness. There is much more to teaching than what is evaluated on student rating forms. When ratings are used, we know that students should not be expected to judge whether the materials used in a course are up to date or how well the teacher knows the subject matter of the course. These judgments require professional background and are best left to the professor’s colleagues. On the other hand, students should be asked to estimate what they have learned in a course, and to report on such things as a professor’s ability to communicate at the students’ level, professional behaviour in the classroom, relationship with students, and ability to arouse interest in the subject.

Have you ever noticed that there is no shortage of people willing to give you advice, whether or not you ask for it? I’ve【T1】______some simple rules about from whom I will accept advice and 【T2】______. I do not ask for health advice from people who are sick, I do not ask for【T3】______advice from people who are broke and I do not ask for business advice from people who are not in their own business. Over the years I’ve【T4】______hundreds of people go into a business venture and 【T5】______tell their family and friends about their new enterprise. Big mistake! How many of your friends and【T6】______own their own business? Probably few or none. While they may be well【T7】______and have ydur best interests at heart,【T8】____________. If you want advice or input about a business, find someone who is successfully running their own business and ask them.【T9】______. When you choose mentors(导师)or role models, be sure“ to seek out those people who have been there.【T10】______.