The CACAO A Sweet History
The CACAO A Sweet History
The CACAO A Sweet History
The latest research tips Australia's Adam and Eve are not as old as we thought - and lived
much richer lives than we suspected. Deborah Smith reports.
Gifty thousand years ago, a lush landscape greeted the first Australians making their way
towards the south-east of the continent. Temperatures were cooler than now. Megafauna -
giant prehistoric animals such as marsupial lions, goannas and the rhinoceros-sized
diprotodon - are abundant And the freshwater lakes of the Willandra district in western NSW
were brimming with fish. But change was coming. By the time the people living at Lake
Mungo ceremoniously buried two of their dead, 40,000 years ago, water levels had begun to
drop.
A study of the sediments and graves at Lake Mungo, published this week in Nature,
uncovers the muddy layers deposited as the lake began to dry up. Twenty thousand years
ago Lake Mungo had become the dry dusty hole we know today, but 20,000 years before
That it had been a refuge from the encroaching desert, the study shows. Families clustered
around the lake left artefacts, 775 of which descriptor used to determine that the number of
44.000 years ago, with the first wanderers arriving between 46,000 and 50,000 years ago.
This treasure-trove of history was found by the University of Melbourne geologist Professor
Jim Bowler in 1969. He was searching for ancient lakes and came across the charred remains
of Mungo Lady, who had been cremated. In 1974, he found a second complete skeleton. ,
between four universities, the CSIRO, and NSW National Parks and Wildlife and led by
This is much younger than the 62,000 years Mungo Man was attributed with in 1999 by a
team led by Professor Alan Thorne, of the Australian National University. Because Thorne is
the country's leading opponent of the Out of Africa theory - that modern humans evolved in
Africa About 100,000 years ago and then spread around the globe - the revision of Mungo
Man's age has refocused attention on academic disputes about mankind's origins.
Dr Tim Flannery, a proponent of the controversial theory that Australia's megafauna was
wiped out 46.000 years ago in a"blitzkrieg" of hunting by the arriving people, also claims the
For Bowler, however, these debates are irritating speculative distractions from the study's
main findings. At 40,000 years old, Mungo Man and Mungo Sheeps Australia’s oldest
human burials and the earliest evidence on Earth of cultural sophistication, he says. Modern
North America by this time. In Europe, they were just starting to live alongside the
Neanderthals.
"At Lake Mungo we have a cameo of people reacting to environmental change. It is one of
THE modern day story of the science of Mungo also has its fair share of rivalry. In its 1999
study, Thorne's team used three techniques to date Mungo Man at 62,000 years old, and it
stands by its figure. It dated bone, teeth enamel and Some sand.
Bowler has strongly challenged the results ever since. Dating human bones is "notoriously
unreliable", he says. As well, the sand sample Thorne's group dated was taken hundreds of
meters from the burial site."You don't have to be a gravedigger ... to realise the age of the
sand is not the same as the age of the grave," says Bowler. He says his team's results are
based on careful geological field work that was crosschecked between four laboratories,
while Thorne's team was "locked In a laboratory in Canberra and virtually misinterpreted the
field evidence".
Thorne counters that Bowler's team used one dating technique, while his used three. Best
practice is to have at least two methods produce the same result. A Thorne team member,
Professor Rainer Grun, says the fact that the latest results were consistent between
laboratories doesn 't mean they are absolutely correct. "We now have two data sets that are
Two years ago Thorne made world headlines with a study of Mungo Man's DNA that he
claimed supported his idea that modern humans evolved from archaic humans in several
places around the world, rather than striding out Africa a relatively short time ago.
Homo sapiens would have had to move pretty fast to get from Africa to NSW by 62,000
years ago.
Now, however, Thorne says the age of Mungo Man is irrelevant to this origins debate.
Recent fossils finds show modern humans were in China 110,000 years ago. "So he has got a
long time to turn up in Australia. It doesn't matter If he is 40,000 or 60,000 years old."
with Flannery, director of the South Australian Museum, published research on their
blitzkreig theory. They dated 28 sites across the continent, arguing their analysis showing the
The conclusion has been challenged by other scientists, including Dr Judith Field of the
University of Sydney and Dr Richard Fullager of the Australian Museum, who point to the
Flannery praises the Bowler team's research on Mungo Man as"the most thorough and
rigorous dating"of ancient human remains. He says the finding that humans arrived at Lake
Mungo between.
46,000 and 50,000 years ago supports the idea that 47,000 years ago was a critical time in
Australia's history. There is no evidence of a dramatic climatic change then, he says. "It's my
view that humans arrived and extinction took place in almost the same geological Instant."
Bowler, however, is sceptical of Flannery's theory and says the Mungo study provides no
definitive new evidence to support it. He argues that climate change at 40,000 years ago was
more intense than had been previously realised and could have played a role in the
megafauna's demise. "To blame the earliest Australians for their complete extinction is
1-8
B Alan
E Richard 8l Tim
C Tim
D Rain
B Alan
F Judith Si Richard
A Jim
A Jim
9-13True/Not Given/False/True/True
Passage Two
It mainly talks about the development and application of commercial ice in the nineteenth
century.
14 iv eye-catching display
15 vii
17 ii doubt
18 vi
19 ix W' s insignificance
21-22 Selection: C, E
23 : unstable
24 : India
25 : Norway
26: To be added
Passage Three
Topic: Termites
Question type: short answer question 4, sentence information question 4, flow chart 5
28 magnetic termites
29 to be added
30
31 insulate
32 hollow buttresses
33 gaseous exchange
34 chimneys flues
35 to be added
Flow chart:
sustains the elementary activities of animal survival such as respiration, adequate rest
and a beating heart. We are not required to consciously “think” about these activities.
The reptilian cortex also houses the “startle centre”, a mechanism that facilitates swift
experience when a door slams shut somewhere in the house, or the heightened
awareness you feel when a twig cracks in a nearby bush while out on an evening stroll
are both examples of the reptilian cortex at work. When it comes to our interaction with
others, the reptilian brain offers up only the most basic impulses: aggression, mating,
and territorial defence. There is no great difference, in this sense, between a crocodile
defending its spot along the river and a turf war between two urban gangs.
Although the lizard may stake a claim to its habitat, it exerts total indifference toward the
well-being of its young. Listen to the anguished squeal of a dolphin separated from its
pod or witness the sight of elephants mourning their dead, however, and it is clear that a
new development is at play. Scientists have identified this as the limbic cortex. Unique to
mammals, the limbic cortex impels creatures to nurture their offspring by delivering
feelings of tenderness and warmth to the parent when children are nearby. These same
sensations also cause mammals to develop various types of social relations and kinship
networks. When we are with others of “our kind” – be it at soccer practice, church,
Only human capabilities extend far beyond the scope of these two cortexes. Humans
eat, sleep and play, but we also speak, plot, rationalise and debate finer points of
morality. Our unique abilities are the result of an expansive third brain – the neocortex –
1 Triune = three-in-one
which engages with logic, reason and ideas. The power of the neocortex comes from its
ability to think beyond the present, concrete moment. While other mammals are mainly
restricted to impulsive actions (although some, such as apes, can learn and remember
simple lessons), humans can think about the “big picture”. We can string together simple
lessons (for example, an apple drops downwards from a tree; hurting others causes
The neocortex is also responsible for the process by which we decide on and commit to
particular courses of action. Strung together over time, these choices can accumulate
into feats of progress unknown to other animals. Anticipating a better grade on the
following morning’s exam, a student can ignore the limbic urge to socialise and go to
sleep early instead. Over three years, this ongoing sacrifice translates into a first class
degree and a scholarship to graduate school; over a lifetime, it can mean groundbreaking
drive for immediate satisfaction in order to benefit later is a product of the neocortex.
Understanding the triune brain can help us appreciate the different natures of brain
damage and psychological disorders. The most devastating form of brain damage, for
person appears merely unconscious – sleeping, perhaps – but this is illusory. Here, the
reptilian brain is functioning on autopilot despite the permanent loss of other cortexes.
Disturbances to the limbic cortex are registered in a different manner. Pups with limbic
damage can move around and feed themselves well enough but do not register the
presence of their littermates. Scientists have observed how, after a limbic lobotomy2,
“one impaired monkey stepped on his outraged peers as if treading on a log or a rock”.
emotionally intelligent people but lack any ability to relate to, empathize with or express
One of the neurological wonders of history occurred when a railway worker named
Phineas Gage survived an incident during which a metal rod skewered his skull, taking a
considerable amount of his neocortex with it. Though Gage continued to live and work
as before, his fellow employees observed a shift in the equilibrium of his personality.
Gage’s animal propensities were now sharply pronounced while his intellectual abilities
suffered; garrulous or obscene jokes replaced his once quick wit. New findings suggest,
however, that Gage managed to soften these abrupt changes over time and rediscover
an appropriate social manner. This would indicate that reparative therapy has the
potential to help patients with advanced brain trauma to gain an improved quality of life.
9
Questions 14–22
C the neocortex
10
Questions 23–26
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Section 2
14. C
15. A
16. B
17. B
18. C
19. A
20. C
21. B
22. A
25. neocortex
Content Review
P1 The reality was that in the 18th century no one had ever made a clock that could suffer the great
rolling and pithing of a ship and the large changes in temperature whilst still keeping time accurately
enough to be of any use. Navigators had been unable to determine their position at sea with accuracy
and they faced the huge attendant risks of shipwreck or running out of supplies before reaching their
destination. Indeed, most of the scientific community thought such clock impossibility.
P2 Longitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east-west position of a point on the
Earth's surface. Until the mid-1750s, accurate navigation at sea out of sight of land was an unsolved
problem due to the difficulty in calculating longitude. Navigators could determine their latitude by
measuring the sun's angle at noon. To find their longitude, however, they needed a time standard that
P3 In order to determine longitude, sailors had to measure the angle between Moon centre and a
given star — lunar distance — together with height of both planets using the naval sextant. The sailors
also had to calculate the Moon’s position if seen form the centre of Earth. The key to knowing how far
around world you are from home is to know, at that very moment, what time it is back home. A
comparison with your local time (easily found by checking the position of the Sun) will then tell you the
time difference between you and home, and thus how far round the Earth you are from home.
P4 After 1714 when the British government offered the huge sum of £20,000 for a solution to the
problem, with the prize to be administered by the splendidly titled Board of Longitude. If the solution was
to be by timekeeper (and there were other methods since the prize was offered for any solution to the
problem), then the timekeeping required to achieve this goal would have to be within 2.8 seconds a day,
a performance considered impossible for any clock at sea and unthinkable for a watch, even under the
P5 John Harrison was born in Foulby, near Wakefield in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the first of
five children in his family. His father worked as a carpenter at the nearby Nostell Priory estate. Following
his father's trade as a carpenter, Harrison built and repaired clocks in his spare time. During the latter
part of this early career, he worked with his Younger brother James. Their first major project was a
revolutionary turret clock for the stables at Brocklesby Park, seat of the Pelham family. The clock was
P6 In 1730, Harrison designed a marine clock to compete for the Longitude Prize and travelled to
London, seeking financial assistance. He presented his ideas to Edmond Halley, the Astronomer Royal,
who in turn referred him to George Graham, the country's foremost clockmaker. Graham provided him
money to assist his earlier work on sea clocks. This support was important to Harrison, as he was
P7 After several attempts to design a betterment of H1, Harrison believed that the solution to the
longitude problem lay in an entirely different design. H4 is completely different from the other three
timekeepers. It looks like a very large pocket watch. Harrison’s son William set sail for the West Indies,
with H4, aboard the ship Deptford on 18 November 1761. It was a remarkable achievement but it would
be some time before the Board of Longitude was sufficiently satisfied to award Harrison the prize.
P8 John Hadley, an English mathematician, developed sextant, who was a competitor of Harrison at
that time for the luring prize. A sextant is an instrument used for measuring angles, for example between
the sun and the horizon, so that the position of a ship or aeroplane can be calculated, Making this
measurement is known as sighting the object, shooting the object, or taking a sight and it is an essential
part of celestial navigation. The angle, and the time when it was measured, can be used to calculate a
position line on a nautical or aeronautical chart. A sextant can also be used to measure the Lunar
distance between the moon and another celestial object (eg. stars, planet) in order to determine
Greenwich time which is important because it can then be used to determine the longitude.
P9 The majority within this next generation of chronometer pioneers were English, but the story is
by no means wholly that of English achievement. One French name, Pierre Le Roy of Paris, stands out
as a major presence in the early history of the chronometer. Another great name in the story is that of
the Lancastrian, Thomas Earnshaw, a slightly younger contemporary of John Amold’s. It was Earnshaw
who created the final form of chronometer escapement, the spring detent escapement, and finalized the
format and the production system for the marine chronometer, making it truly an article of commerce,
and a practical means of safer navigation at sea over the next century and half.
Questions & Answers
9. Any clock to win the competition, the invention can lose no more than 2.8 seconds.
Passage 2
Topic Desertification
Content Review
A A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and consequently living
conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. Deserts have been defined and classified in a number of
ways, generally combining total precipitation, number of days on which this falls, temperature, and
humidity, and sometimes additional factors. (16 题) In some areas, the deserts are separated by rivers,
mountains or other landforms and in other areas, the borders of deserts cannot be determined. (21
题,T)
B The raising of livestock is a major economic activity in semiarid lands, where grasses are
generally the dominant type of natural vegetation. The consequences of an excessive number of
livestock grazing in an area are the reduction of the vegetation cover and the trampling and pulverization
of the soil. This is usually followed by the drying of the soil and accelerated erosion. (22 题,T)
C Sand and dust storms are natural events that occur in arid regions where the land is not protected
by a covering of vegetation. Dust storms usually start in desert margins rather than the deserts
themselves where the finer materials have already been blown away. As a steady wind begins to blow,
fine particles lying on the exposed ground begin to vibrate. At greater wind speeds, some particles are
lifted into the air stream. When they land, they strike other particles which may be jerked into the air in
their turn, starting a chain reaction. Once ejected, these particles move in one of three possible ways,
depending on their size, shape and density. (14 题)
D The cultivation of crops has expanded into progressively drier regions as population densities
have grown. These regions are especially likely to have periods of severe dryness, so that crop failures
are common. Since the raising of most crops necessitates the prior removal of the natural vegetation,
crop failures leave extensive tracts of land devoid of a plant cover and susceptible to wind and water
erosion. (20 题)
E In a state of America in 20th century, a large area of farmland had become desert. And measures
have been taken to prevent the reoccurring of desertification. (15 题)
F People have struggled to live in deserts and the surrounding semi-arid lands for millennia.
Nomads have moved their flocks and herds to wherever grazing is available and oases have provided
opportunities for a more settled way of life. The cultivation of semi-arid regions encourages erosion of
soil and is one of the causes of increased desertification. Some nomads take the desert wherever they
go. (18 题)
G It is a misconception that the lack of rainfall causes the desertification. (23 题,F) Even in some
arid areas, the land will recover as soon as rain comes. More desertification is caused by human
activities. In the West Africa, a serious desertification causes a large number of people to lose their lives.
(24 题,NG)
H Although there is tremendous publicity on the severity of desertification, (25 题 , F) the
researchers have never reached a consensus on the reasons and process of desertification. (19 题)
I Nowadays, new technologies are being applied to help solve desertification problems. (17 题 )
Satellites have been put into use to study the impact of people and livestock on earth. (26
题 , F)However, other types of technology about the problems and process of desertification are still
needed.
Questions & Answers
Questions 14-20 Matching
15. an account that a productive-land turned into a desert in 20th century E
19. the lack of agreement among the scientists about the causes of desertification H
Questions 21-26
21. It is difficult to ascertain where the deserts begin in some areas. T
(A 段说 in other areas, the borders of deserts cannot be determined.)
22. Farming animals will increase soil erosion. T
(Segment G mentions the issue of West Africa, but does not mention whether it has been resolved)
invented. F
(I 段提到 Satellites have been put into use to study the impact of people and livestock on earth.)
Passage 3
Content Review
---Emma Bailey takes you to the curious world of deep sleep (or REM) and light sleep (or NREM).
P1 Sleeping is vital to humans as it repairs our body, and a person’s life has about 25-year time
P2 (过渡段) Animals also sleep in different length of time or depth of sleep according to their needs
in life.
P3 Examples and details of sleeping behaviors of certain animals. They have similarities and
differences compared with the sleep of humans. For example, baby animals generally spend more time
on sleeping.
P4 Proposal of light sleep (REM) and deep sleep (NREM), and their different roles played on health
of humans and different animals. 4 stages of sleep, and the transfer from REM to NREM.
P5 Current researches on the REM and NREM relevant to physiological change, brain activities,
and body repair. People used to consider that the brain stops working when people are asleep.
P6 Doubt of the results obtained from the previous researches on REM and NREM, and some
scientists claim that, human’s brain is still working during sleep but it runs less active during NREM.
P7 What brain activities are related to REM and NREM, such as the process of memorization,
learning, and dreaming carried out in REM stage, in which the brain still works actively.
P8 The possible future research field on the sleep behaviors and the requirement of the
humans.
Questions & Answers
question)
28. Brain can benefits from one type of sleep in the early stage of life. F
29. The time humans spend on sleeping is more than that in anything else. A
30. Function of one type of sleep has altered as across the time. D
31. The brain activity of a type of sleep is similar to that when humans are awake. B
32. One type of sleep includes the learning from experience. E
Humans
Animals
Research
Future Study
38. Research of Sleep will be less mysterious as the development of scanning techniques is
further improved.
39. Sleeping is vital, and it cannot be replaced by the use of new drug so far.
Passage 1
Chicago clambered out of three battered Land Rovers, filled their water bottles, and scattered on foot
across the toffee-colored sands of the Tenere desert in northern Niger. The Tenere, on the southern
flank of the Sahara, easily ranks among the most desolate landscapes on Earth. The Tuareg, turbaned
nomads who for centuries have ruled this barren realm, refer to it as a “desert within a desert” a
California-size ocean of sand and rock, where a single massive dune might stretch a hundred miles, and
the combination of 120-degreeheat and inexorable winds can wick the water from a human body in less
than a day. The harsh conditions, combined with intermittent conflict between the Tuareg and the Niger
B Mike Hettwer, a photographer accompanying the team, headed off by himself toward a trio of
small dunes. He crested the first slope and stared in amazement. The dunes were spilling over with
bones. He took a few shots with his digital camera and hurried back to the Land Rovers. ‘I found some
bones' Hettwer said, when the team had regrouped. "But they're not dinosaurs. They're human."
C In the spring of 2005 Sereno contacted Elena Garcea, an archaeologist at the University of
Cassino, in Italy, inviting her to accompany him on a return to the site. Garcea had spent three decades
working digs along the Nile in Sudan and in the mountains of the Libyan Desert, and was well
acquainted with the ancient peoples of the Sahara. But she had never heard of Paul Sereno. His claim
to have found so many skeletons in one place seemed farfetched, given that no other Neolithic cemetery
contained more than a dozen or so. Some archaeologists would later be skeptical; one sniped that he
was just a “moonlighting paleontologist." But Garcea was too intrigued to dismiss him as an interloper.
D Garcea explained that the Kiffian were a fishing-based culture and lived during the earliest wet
period, between 8,000 and 10,000 years ago. She held a Kiffian sherd next to a Tenerian one. “What is
so amazing is that the people who made these two pots lived more than a thousand years apart.
E Over the next three weeks, Sereno and Garcea — along with five American excavators, five
Tuareg guides, and five soldiers from Niger's army, sent to protect the camp from bandits — made a
detailed map of the site, which they dubbed Gobero, after the Tuareg name for the area. They exhumed
eight burials and collected scores of artifacts from both cultures. In a dry lake bed adjacent to the dunes,
they found dozens of fishhooks and harpoons carved from animal bone. Apparently the Kiffian fishermen
weren't just going after small fry: Scattered near the dunes were the remains of Nile perch, a beast of a
fish that can weigh nearly 300 pounds, as well as crocodile and hippo bones.
F Sereno flew home with the most important skeletons and artifacts and immediately began
planning for the next field season. In the meantime, he carefully removed some teeth and sent them to a
lab for radiocarbon dating. The results pegged the age of the tightly bundled burial sat
roughly 9,000 years old, the heart of the Kiffian era. The smaller “sleeping” skeletons turned out to be
about 6,000 years old, well within the Tenerian period. At least now the scientists knew who was who.
G In the fall of 2006 they returned to Gobero, accompanied by a larger dig crew and six additional
scientists. Garcea hoped to excavate some 80 burials, and the team began digging. As the skeletons
began to emerge from the dunes, each presented a fresh riddle, especially the Tenerian. A male
H Even at the site, Arizona State University bio-archaeologist Chris Stojanowski could begin to
piece together some clues. Judging by the bones, the Kiffian appeared to be a peaceful, hardworking
people. “The lack of head and forearm injuries suggests they weren't doing much fighting,” he told me.
“And these guys were strong.” He pointed to a long, narrow ridge running along a femur. “That’s the
muscle attachment.” he said. “This individual had huge leg muscles, which means he had
a strenuous lifestyle and was eating a lot of protein — both consistent with a fishing way of life.” For
contrast, he showed me the femur of a Tenerian male. The ridge was barely perceptible. “This guy had a
much less strenuous lifestyle,” he said, “which you might expect of a herder."
I Stojanowski's assessment that the Tenerian were herders fits the prevailing view among scholars
of life in the Sahara 6,000 years ago, when drier conditions favored herding over hunting. But if the
Tenerian were herders, Sereno pointed out, where were the herds? Among the hundreds of animal
bones that had turned up at the site, none belonged to goats or sheep, and only three cows. “It’s not
unusual for a herding culture not to slaughter their cattle, particularly in a cemetery, M Garcea
responded, noting that even modem pastoralists, such as Niger’s Wodaabe, are loath to butcher even
one animal in their herd. Perhaps, Sereno reasoned, the Tenerian at Gobero were a transitional group
that had not fully adopted herding and still relied heavily on hunting and fishing.
J Back in Arizona, Stojanowski continues to analyze the Gobero bones for clues to the Green
Saharans’ health and diet. Other scientists are trying to derive DNA from the teeth, which could reveal
the genetic origins of the Kiffian and Tenerian — and possibly link them to descendants living today.
Sereno and Garcea estimate a hundred burials remain to be excavated. But as the harsh Tenere winds
continue to erode the dunes, time is running out. “Every archaeological site has a life cycle,” Garcea
said. “It begins when people begin to use the place, followed by disuse, then nature takes over, and
finally it is gone. Gobero is at the end of its life.”
Questions & Answers
Questions 1-4
1. The pictures of rock engravings found in Green Sahara is similar to other places. Not Given
2. Archaeologist believe that the people who came to the Sahara settled in one place. FALSE (the
Questions 5-7
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each
answer.
5. What did Sereno and Garcea produce in the initial weeks before digging work?
a map (E segment)
Questions 8-13 Summary Complete
Kiffican
-Seemed to be a peaceful and hardworking people, because we did not find 8. ______ on head and
forearm. (injuries) (H 段)
-Through observation of the huge leg muscles, it can be inferred that their diet had plenty of 10.
_______ (protein) (H 段)
Tenerian
-Stojanowski presumed that Tenerian preferred to live on herding over 11. _______. (hunting) (I 段)
-but only some animal bones such as 12. _______ were found. (cows) (I 段)
Passage 2
Content Review
A. Research done in the UK in the 1970s and 1980s were modeled on a 1968 study in the US.
G. Measures were taken to ensure the reliability of the test results.
H. The results for mid-first-grade level students were the same as that in the kindergarten context.
I. In summary, recording the results were very important, because they showed that change in
context and consequences really can have an effect. However, the three strategies need to be used in
Questions & Answers
17. D. nature of the rules that the students were presented with
19-20. Choose TWO choices that correctly describe features of the classroom study:
21-22. Choose TWO choices that describes the procedure of the study:
E. the teachers were told to treat all the students in the same way
The study was conducted in three steps. In the first step, the teachers were to outline the rules to
the students in a 23. positive manner. In the second step, the teachers were to ignore any inappropriate
behaviour, unless these are really 24. harmful. In the third step, the teachers were asked to
25. praise the children for displaying good behaviours.
These steps are effective in bringing out good behaviours on the students' part, but they need to be
used in 26. combination. The results wouldn't be as impressive if the measures were used in isolation.
Passage 3
P1 The book mainly discusses the relationship between culture and communication. We may
neglect it when accompanied by close friends, but will realize its importance when facing strangers. How
P2 There are three types of non-verbal actions, including natural biological actions, technical
P3 Taking the action of tea-making for example. It is a technical action, but can also express my
emotion.
P4. There are both verbal communication and non-verbal communication like gestures, clothing and
body language.
P5 A lot of people don’t distinguish “symbol”, “signal” and “sign” precisely and if they do they may
Questions & Answers
Questions 27-30
29. What does the author say about the three words: signal, sign and symbol?
Questions 31-35 summary
31. gestures
32. language
33. information
34. listening
35. codes
37. YES
38. YES
39. NO
40. NOT GIVEN
Passage 1
P1: Because of human activities and natural causes, in America there was a drought leading to dust
storm and this caused one of the American economic recessions making fertile land into the desert.
P2: Desertification was created because human beings used up a lot of resources and in this way a
P3: So the people in those areas had to migrant to other places but most of them were still infertile
areas.
P4: In fact raindrops couldn't help to prevent from the formation of Desertification, the real reason
P5: In developing countries human beings activities such as cooking lead to serious problem of soil
degradation.
P6: Another serious negative influence of human activities was the lack of rainfall.
P7: 90% of the people living in the deserted area were from developing countries. 70% dry-lands
were in Africa and the people die every day because of the Desertification.
Questions & Answers
Questions 1-7 T / F / NG
3. Desertification has brought people to places that are not suitable for farming. TRUE
Questions 8-13
Passage 2
P1 Photography has been in debate since it was invented in nineteenth century. The question that
P2 A famous French poet supported this view, saying photography could only be regarded as a
form of naturalistic documentation. He was anxious about the advent of photography would have a
P3 Photography was criticized by a number of artists of painting since it was an alternative of
painting
P4 The responses of artists regarding the criticism can be divided into two types. Some artists were
trying their best to make photos which resembled paintings. They organized a variety of elements of the
composition carefully. They tried to make the photos blurred. They even scratched the photos in order
P5 While the others did not want their photos to look like monochrome pictures. They tried their best
to keep the appearance of the original photo. In the 1850s ,Some artists showed their interests to use
photography.
Moreover, light was used by a number of artists to highlight the underlying idea behind the painting.
Nevertheless, photography did not bring portrait’s existence to an end since the aristocrats and
bourgeois still need portraits to manifest their social status. Impressionist started to pay more attention to
P7 one more benefit that photography gave us was that it enable the viewers to appreciate the
Questions & Answers
15. The skills the photography of artists used F (the use of light)
16. The attempts of photographers used to imitate paintings D (deliberately blurring photos, even
scratching photos)
17. influences of photography on art and painting G (making everyone enjoy a copy of the
artwork)
Questions 18-22 summary
The opinion of artists regarding the criticism can be divided into two types. Some artists were trying
their best to make photos which were similar to 18. paintings. They organized all the elements of the
19. composition meticulously. Besides they tried to make the photos 20. blurred. They even
21. scratched the photos in order to make them similar to canvas. While the others did not want their
photos to look like 22. monochrome pictures they tried their best to keep the appearance of the original
photo.
Q uestions 23-26
(Segment E has a lot of artists showing interest in photos and starting to use photos)
(Paragraph F says that rich people still need portraits to show their status)
26. Some artists did not pay attention to the appearance of their paintings any longer because of
(F. in the article fell to the impressionist painter began to pay attention to the "feel" of color, light and
Passage 3
It appears that the harder advertisers strive to get your attention, the more you ignore their
information.
A In a busy consumer society, attention is in short supply. When you are going shopping in the
supermarket or store, surfing on the Internet or watching television, up to 4,500, or one in 15 seconds
that you are exposed to adverts every day. World companies have allocated $400 billion to the
B Jamie Ramsay, director in ID magazine, whose research expertise in consumer behavior proves
that nine out of ten new products meet death. This tells us a lesson: traditional adverting ceases to work.
It is obvious that even we look at loads of advertisements and brands around us, few of them get our
attention.
C Jane Raymond, thinks she know the reason, who is a psychologist in the university of Wales,
Bangor, UK, had a well-known experiment in 1900s. In the procedure, participants monitored a screen
with a visual stream of rapidly presented letters and pictures and they were required to identify the white
letter and letter X. Researchers found that only half a second or so following the multiple stimuli can
participants fall into a time window. It seems that people are easily blind to certain information when they
shift focus from one thing to another, which is called as “attentional blink”.
D Consumers walking on the street with a bunch of pictures around, they hardly recognize what the
adverts show. But that’s the points advertisers hope us to see. Advertisers realise that people easily get
distraction, but the solution they take is to cram much more information in a short time. Raymond
E Advertisers now wonder if they can link emotions with the adverting. They acknowledge that
good emotions involved in the advertising can raise people’s awareness. Research shows that people
who are getting entangled in the intellectually demanding job would immediately turn to negative feeling
if advertising images keep popping out. Just imagine the banner flashes just below the web pages or
product placement while watching movies, which are progressively blatant and intrusive.
F Consumers wear too much information imposed from outside. If people get full stomach, they
would not want to eat more. The same is true for advertisers to decide how to scheme in the
advertisements.
Questions & Answers
Questions 27-32
List of headings
iv enough is enough
27. iii
28. v
29. viii
30. i
31. vii
32. iv
35. examples of types of advertisement connected to the negative desired feelings E
to discern the white letter and letter X, which turn out a tiny gap in attention lasting approximately
37. half a second after the presented 38. stimuli. Results suggest that people are always 39. blind to
targets if two subjects appear in close succession, they compete for 40. attentional blink.
Passage 1
P1 This year, the number of retired pensioners in the UK exceeded the number of under 18 for the
first time in history. That's remarkable in its own right, but the real "population explosion" has been
among the oldest of the old - the centenarians. In fact, this is the fastest-growing demographic in much
of the developed world. In the UK, their numbers have increased by a factor of 60 since the early 20th
century. And their ranks are set to swell even further, thanks to the aging baby-boomer generation: by
P2 These trends raise social, ethical and economic dilemmas. Are medical advances artificially
prolonging life with little regard for the quality of that life? Old age brings an increased risk of chronic
disease, disability and dementia, and if growing numbers of elderly people become dependent on state
or familial support, society faces skyrocketing costs and commitments. This is the dark cloud outside the
silver lining of increasing longevity. Yet researchers who study the oldest old have made a surprising
discovery that presents a less pessimistic vision of the future than many anticipate.
P3 It is becoming clear that people who break through the 90-plus barrier represent a physical elite,
markedly different from the elderly who typically die younger than them. Far from gaining a longer
burden of disability, their extra years are often healthy ones. They have a remarkable ability to live
through, delay or entirely escape a host of diseases that kill off most of their peers. Supercentenarians -
people aged 110 or over - are even better examples of aging gracefully. The average supercentenarian
had freely gone about their daily life until the age of 105 or so, some five to 10 years longer even than
centenarians, who are themselves the physical equivalent of people eight to 10 years their junior.
P4 One of the most comprehensive studies comes from Denmark. In 1998, Kaare Christensen at
the University of Southern Denmark, in Odense, exploited the country's exemplary registries to contact
every single one of the 3600 people born in 1905 who was still alive. Assessing their health over the
subsequent decade, he found that the proportion of people who managed to remain independent
throughout was constantly around one-third of the total: each individual risked becoming more infirm, but
the unhealthiest ones passed away at earlier ages, leaving the strongest behind. In 2005, only 166 of
the people in Christensen's sample were alive, but one-third of those were still entirely self-sufficient.
P5 Christensen's optimistic findings are echoed in studies all over the world. In the US, almost all of
the 700-plus people recruited to the New England Centenarian Study (NECS) since it began in 1994 had
lived independently until the age of 90, and 40 per cent of supercentenarians in the study could still look
after themselves. In the UK, Carol Brayne at the University of Cambridge studied 958 people aged over
90 and found that only one-quarter of them were living in institutions or nursing homes. Likewise,
research in China reveals that before their deaths, centenarians and nonagenarians spend fewer days ill
and bedridden than younger elderly groups, though the end comes quickly when it finally comes. Of
course, people can live independently without being entirely healthy, and it is true that most
centenarians suffer from some sort of ailment. These range from osteoarthritis to simple loneliness.
P6 Not all of the oldest old survive by delaying illness or disability, though – many soldier through it.
Jessica Evert of Ohio State University in Columbus examined the medical histories of over 400
centenarians. She found that those who achieve extreme longevity tend to fall into three categories.
About 40 per cent were "delayers", who avoided chronic diseases until after the age of 80. Another 40
per cent were "survivors", who suffered from chronic diseases before the age of 80 but lived longer to
tell the tale. The final 20 per cent were "escapers", who hit their century with no sign of the most
common chronic diseases, including heart disease, cancer, diabetes, hypertension and stroke.
Intriguingly, one-third of male centenarians were in this category, compared with only 15 per cent of
women.
P7 Okinawa in Japan is the front runner. At 58 centenarians per 100,000 people (and rising), it has
the world's highest proportion in this age group - more than five times the level of some developed
countries. Like other hotspots, including Sardinia and Iceland, Okinawa is a relatively isolated island
environment too, but this alone cannot explain clusters of longevity. Gerontologists have found that the
influence of social factors such as wealth fades as we age, while that of genes increases. By comparing
10,000 pairs of Scandinavian twins, Christensen found that genes only start exerting a strong influence
on our lifespan after the age of 60. Before then, both identical and non-identical twins have largely
independent odds of reaching a given age. Beyond 60, however, the odds of one twin reaching a given
age are greatly increased if their co-twin has done so, especially if the twins are identical.
P8 This makes the "centenarian genome" a key resource for identifying "longevity genes", an
invaluable step in understanding the physiological processes underlying long lives. Such genes have
been found in abundance in other organisms – including over 70 in the worms. Unfortunately, it's a
different story in humans. While many candidate genes have been suggested to affect lifespan, very few
1. The largest growth of Centenarians all over the world is in the UK. NG
(原文说 greatest growth in developed countries. in UK, increased 60%)
5. None of the oldest old survivors in Christensen’s study could take care of themselves. False
(原文 1/3 could look after themselves.)
7. The Centenarians may suffer from stronger loneliness than the generation younger than
them. NG
(原文只说 they do suffer from some ailments, such as osteoarthritis and loneliness.)
8. What does Jessica Evert call the people who reached 100 years old without having chronic
diseases?
escapers
genetics
Okinawa
11. Which factor should not be neglected if people want to have a long life?
exercise
wealth
13. Which species, apart from human, have the longevity genes?
worms
Passage 2
A: For many centuries, England has been consisted of a variety of administrative unites, which
B: Villages are commonly in the west of England, where is drier and arable, while pastoral farms
C: The characteristics of different patterns are various. The explanation to this is the difference of
farming. The lackage of capital equipment makes cooperation a necessity in villages. Several villages
D: villages are rarer than west when moving east, pastoral farm are becoming popular due to the
E: Helmet is another pattern, which is harder to account for. Farmers and animals are generally
housed in the same houses, called ‘long houses’, scattering on the lands.
F: The layout of village depending on some factors. Farmers looked for first of all unfailing water.
G: The earliest picture of settlement maps can be dated form late 16 th century. Yet, it is very clear
that very hard to find the original shapes and size of patterns. For the reason that, they have been
Questions 14-19
List of Headings
Paragraph A: v (Sample)
Questions 20-26
Different Types of Settlement
For such a small country, England has been consisted of villages and several
20. farmsteads and a group of helmets. The reason for various types of settlement patterns is the
21. different farming. (20 题在文章第一段,21 在第三段)
Capital equipment lackage makes the cooperation a necessity. Several villages cooperate in the
22.clearance of woodland and build 23. dikes where the water is a threat. (22 题和 23 题在第三段,)
Moving east, 24. Pastoral farm is a popular pattern, where farmers cultivate cows and sheep,
Farmers and animals are generally housed in the isolated houses, called 25. long houses. (24 题和 25
题在第四段)
Passage 3
P1 Video games is originally created for children. James Gee conducted research about the
influence of video games on adult. Other researchers are investigating the potential hidden benefits in
video games.
P3 Video games challenge the brain, making it process incoming visual information more efficiently.
P4 In one study, scientists used fMRI (functional MRI) technology to study the brains of subjects.
P5 Fast action games require the player constantly to switch their attention from one part of the
screen to another while also staying vigilant for other events in the environment.
P6 The reject to the cliché that video games is the coordination of eye contact and visual
contact. Prof Daphne Bavelier has compared the visual abilities of gamers and non-gamers.
P7 Science has failed to find a causal link between video games and real-world acts of violence.
P8 Players use adapted controllers that mimic the tools used in surgery - and those who perform
P9 Video game play is literally the neurological opposite of depression. It has been further
discovered that dopamine, a chemical that the brain produces, is released when we play video games.
Questions 32-35
32. The most popular video games are to some extent of violence. NOT GIVEN
34. Many schools are supposed to adapt video games into their courses. NOT GOVEN
35. Game players who are addicted to video games produce more dopamine in their brains. YES
Questions 36-40
Use the information in the passage to match the organization (listed A-E) with opinions or
details below.
37. Daphne Bavelier (D)
39. Steve Johnson (E)
Passage One
Title: Rubber
Type: Judgment 6, fill in the blank question 7
Article theme:
The second paragraph: introduced the initial use of rubber such as waterproof shoes, clothes
The third paragraph: rubber in the extreme temperature instability and hard shortcomings
Fourth, fifth: experts on the improvement of rubber, the first experts invented the recovery
T experts have discovered vulcanization, an improved technology that adds a new chemical
synthetic rubber
Sixth paragraph: rubber for further commercial use, such as an expert can be used as a new
Seventh paragraph: Describe the increase in demand for rubber in the United Kingdom, the
Judgment question 6
1. rubber exists in a certain region F The first sentence of the first paragraph, spread across
the global, and the following grow in different places, denies the dry information.
2. The reason why Mexico chose not to grow the rubber tree in C book is due to the poor
quality of the rubber latex. The last sentence of the first paragraph of the C-tree, which
states that the rubber tree can not grow in Mexico right now, is not to say poor quality.
3. A French mathematician raised the Interests of rubber amongst the Europeans F The
original French name is better positioned in the second paragraph, the replacement error.
scientists think that due to the rubber in the extreme temperature uncertainty can be added
to the new composition of synthetic rubber but the whole The paragraph did not say
6. The import of rubber in the UK experienced a declining tend F The last paragraph of the
import phrase • The original text that there is a confusion under, under six times as much as
the before here is increased to nearly six times the original, not down.
T scientists found the rubber 7.waterproof features, but when in extreme climates will
become 8.rigid, rubber, 9. Some experts pointed out that the device can be used after the
waste strips were used in 10.steam engine, D Science plus the use of new technology,
improved after adding new ingredients so that it will ll.stabilize, followed by 12.tyre led to
Passage Two
Title: the rebirth of circus
Questions: paragraph information pairing 4, fill in the blame 5, the name of the characters
match 4
Article theme:
The first paragraph: the circus show in the long history and people love the circus.
The second paragraph: the circadian status analysis, can already be regarded as a discipline.
The third paragraph: a well-born background named S university professor, studied the
circus, became a circus master and analyzed the circus of several key elements: the picture to
the United States, can be funny, but also stimulate take audience breath.
Fifth paragraph: Circus is also a subject, in order to successfully graduated not so easy.
Sixth paragraph: from a student's point of view do not think the circus performance is to
learn some of the skills, in fact, students feel pressure will never be able to learn new
technologies waiting for you, while she was in the initial performance of co-acting partner It
14 section A: V
15 section B: vii
16 section C: iv
17 section D: iii
21. viewers like to see beautiful things, it can attract the eye, beauty
22.charaterics
Name matching 4
23 a description of a subject taught in circus B
Passage Three
Title: Asian Space: Return of an Asian Invention
Question type: list of heading 6, paragraph fine plot information match 3, determine the title
Article theme:
The first paragraph: the development of aviation technology in Asia Presentation: From
fireworks.
Paragraph 2: Describe the application of space technology: As China, this country faces many
natural disasters, aviation technology can be used to detect tsunamis, droughts and so on.
The third paragraph: satellite wider use of seismic detection technology as an example.
The fourth five: But the cost of the satellite is high, talked about the emergence of mcro
Seventh paragraph: Japan's aviation technology, the leading attack, and the future
prospects.
Subheading 6
34-36 EBC
Judgment questions 4
37. the rock and powder were first used in past Asia for war F
Is used to do fireworks
The satellite is used in detecting potential earthquake T The original is said that the
39. the satellite improved the literacy level of Asian N The original text just mentioned could
be used for remote education but not specific to literacy rate has been raised
2017 Nian 8 Yue 19 Ri
2017 Nian 8 Yue 26 Ri
Second: Senses
2017 Nian 9 Yue 9 Ri
2017 Nian 9 Yue 16 Ri
The first one: the development and application of robots (9 points to read 2 - T 6 P1 )
2017 Nian 9 Yue 21 Ri
2017 Nian 9 Yue 30 Ri
The first one: the development of refrigeration and refrigerator
2017 Nian 10 Yue 5 Ri
Part 2: waste production
2017 Nian 7 Yue 20 Ri
2017 Nian 7 Yue 29 Ri
June 8, 2017
First: Traditional Maori Fishing Hooks
July 8 , 2017
July 15 , 2017
First: the Pearl
The second part: European high temperature (9 points up to people reading 1-T1P2)
Part 3: What are the shoppers thinking about (how do merchants research and develop market
policies)
May 6, 2017
The first one: the reason for the left and right hands
Second: smell