大一英语考试资料.docx

大一英语考试资料.docx

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大一英语考试资料

FreshStart

[1]IfirstbegantowonderwhatIwasdoingonacollegecampuswhenmyparentsdroveoff,leavingmestandingpitifullyinaparkinglot.IdecidedIwantednothingmorethantofindmywaysafelytomydormroom.Itseemedthateveryoneoncampuswaswatchingme.MyplanwastokeepmyearsopenandmymouthshutandIhopednoonewouldnoticeIwasafreshman.

[2]ThenextmorningIfoundmyfirstclassandmarchedin.OnceIwasintheroom,however,anotherproblemawaitedme.Wheretosit?

AftermuchhesitationIchoseaseatinthefirstrowandtotheside.

[3]"WelcometoBiology101,"theprofessorbegan.Oh,God,Ihadthoughtitwasaliteratureclass.Acoldsweatbrokeoutonthebackofmyneck.Igropedformyscheduleandcheckedtheroomnumber.Iwasintherightroombutthewrongbuilding.

[4]Sonowwhat?

Getupandleaveinthemiddleofthelecture?

Wouldn'ttheprofessorbeangry?

Ikneweveryonewouldstare.Forgetit.Isettledintomychairandtriedtolookasseriousasabiologymajormightbe.

[5]AfterclassIfeltalittlehungry,andIhurriedtothecafeteria.IpiledmytraywithsandwichesandwasheadingfortheseatwhenIaccidentallysteppedinalargepuddleofketchup.MyfoodtraytippedandIlostmybalance.Asmyrearendmetthefloor,Isawmyentirelifepassbeforemyeyes;itendedwithmyfirstdayofcollegeclasses.

[6]InthesecondsaftermyfallIthoughthowniceitwouldbeifnoonehadnoticed.Butasallthestudentsinthecafeteriacametotheirfeet,cheeringandclapping,Iknewtheyhadnotonlynoticed,theyweredeterminedthatIwouldneverforgetit.

[7]ForthenextthreedaysIdinedaloneonnothingmorethanshame,andsomejunkfoodfromamachineplacedoutsidemyroom.OnthefourthdayIthoughtIneededsomerealfoodbadly.Perhapsthreedayswaslongenoughforthecampuspopulation[N]tohaveforgottenme.SoofftothecafeteriaIwent.

[8]Imademywaythroughthefoodlineandtiptoedtoatable.SuddenlyIheardacrashthatsoundedfamiliar.IlookeduptofindthatanotherpoorsoulhadmetthesamefateasIhad.Myheartwentouttohimaspeoplebegantocheerandclapastheyhadforme.Hegotup,handsheldhighabovehisheadinavictoryclasp,grinningfromeartoear.IexpectedhimtoslipoutofthecafeteriaasIhad,butinsteadheturnedaroundandbeganpreparinganothertray.Andthat'swhenIrealizedIhadbeentakingmyselffartooseriously.

[9]WhocaredwhetherIdroppedatray,whereIsatinclass,orevenwhetherIshowedupinthewronglecture?

Nobody.Thiswasn'tlikehighschool.Incollege,itdidn'tmatter.Thiswasmybigchancetodomyownthing.

[10]OnceIrealizedthatIhadnoone'sexpectationstoliveuptobutmyown,Irelaxed.Ibegantoviewcollegeasawonderfulexperiment.Idressedalittledifferently,Idiscoveredatasteforjazz,andIdecidedIlikedgoingbarefoot.

[11]Igaveuptryingtoactmywaythroughcollegeandbegannotactingatall.College,Idecided,wasprobablytheonlytimeIwouldbecompletelyforgivenforanymistakes（includingsteppinginpuddlesofketchupanddroppingfoodtrays）.SoIusedtheopportunitytomakealltheonesIthoughtI'devermake.

[12]Threeyearsaftergraduation,I'mstillmakingmistakes.AndI'mevenbeingforgivenforafew.

DoAnimalsHaveaCulture?

JohnFriedl

Lately,socialscientistshavebeguntoaskifcultureisfoundjustinhumans,orifsomeanimalshaveaculturetoo.Whenwespeakofculture.Wemeanawayoflifeagroupofpeoplehaveincommon.Cultureincludesthebeliefsandattitudeswelearn.Itisthepatternsofbehaviorthathelppeopletolivetogether.Itisalsothepatternsofbehaviorthatmakeonegroupdifferentfromanothergroup.

Ourcultureletsusmakeupforhavinglostourstrength,claws,longteethandsomeotherdefenses.Instead,weusetools,cooperatewithoneanother,andcommunicatewithlanguage.Buttheseaspectsofbehavior,or’’culture”,canalsobefoundinthelivesofcertainanimals.

Weusedtothinkthattheabilitytousetoolswasthedividinglinebetweenhumanbeingsandanimals.Lately,howeverwehavefoundthatthisisnotthecase.Chimpanzeescannotonlyusetools,butactuallymaketoolsthemselves.Thisisamajorstepupfromsimplypickingupahandyobjectandusingit.Forexample,chimpanzeeshavebeenseenstrippingtheleavesofabranch,thenputtingitintoatermitenest.Whenthetermitesbiteatthestick,thechimpanzeeremovesitandeatsthemofftheend----likeouruseofafork.

Forsometimewethoughtthatalthoughhumanbeingslearnedtheirculture,animalscouldnotbetaughtsuchbehavior.Oreveniftheycouldlearn,theywouldnotteachoneanotherinthewayhumansdo.This,too,hasproventobeuntrue.AgroupofJapanesemonkeyswasstudiedattheKyotoUniversityMonkeyCenterinJapan.Theyweregivensweetpotatoesbyscientistswhowantedtoattractthemtotheshoreofanisland.Onedayayoungfemalebegantowashhersweetpotatotogetridofthesand.Thispracticesoonspreadthroughthegroup.Itbecamelearnedbehavior,notfromhumansbutfromothermonkeys.Nowalmostallthemonkeyswhohavecomeintocontactwiththisgroupdonot.Thusthereis“culture”deferenceamonganimals.

Wehaveruledouttooluseandinventionaswaysoftellinganimalbehaviorandhumanbehavior.Wehavealsoruledoutthelearningandsharingofbehavior.Yetwestillhaveheldontothelastfeature---language.Buteventheuseoflanguagecannolongerseparatehumanculturefromanimalculture.Attemptstoteachapestospeakhavefailed.Butteachingthemlanguagehasbeenverysuccessfulifwearewillingtoacceptotherformsthanjustthespokenword.TwopsychologiststrainedachimpanzeenamedWashoetouseStandardAmericanSignLanguage.Thisisthesamelanguageusedbydeafpeople.Inthislanguage,talkismadethroughgestures,andnotbyspellingoutwordswithindividualletters.Bythetimeshewasfiveyearsold,Washoehadavocabularyof130signs.Also,shecouldputthemtogetherinnewwaysthathadnotbeentaughtoriginally.Thismeansshecouldcreatelanguageandnotjustmimicit.Shecreatesherownsentencesthathaverealmeaning.Thishasallowedtwo-waytalk.Itpermitsmorethanone-waycommandandresponse.

Ofcourse,therearelimitstothecultureofanimals.Asfarasweknow,noapehasformedsocialinstitutionssuchasreligionorlaw.Also,somechimpanzeesmaybeabletolearnsignlanguage,butthisformoflanguageislimitedinitsabilitytocommunicateabstractideas.Yetwithaspokenlanguagewecancommunicateourentireculturetoanyoneelsewhoknowsthatlanguage.Perhapsthemostimportantthingisthatthelinedividingusfromthemisnotasclearasweusedtothink.

fromFortLauderdale,Floridainfineweather.Therewasatotaloffourteenmenonboardtheplanes.Theplaneswereingoodcondition;theyhadthebestequipmentonboardincludingcompassesandradios,andtheyalsocarriedliferafts.Theplanescouldfloatonwaterforninetyseconds.Oneandahalfhoursafterthetake-off,aradiomessagefromoneoftheplaneswasheardatthecontroltoweratFortLauderdale.

[2]"Idon'tknowwhereweare."

[3]Afterthattheplanescouldnolongerspeaktothecontroltower,buttheycouldspeaktoandheareachother,andthecontroltowercouldhearthem.

[4]"Themagneticcompassisgoingcrazy."

[5]"We'recompletelylost."

[6]Noothermessageswereheardafterthat.Nobodyelseheardfromtheplanesorsawthemagain.Threehundredplanesandmanyboatssearchedthearea,butnotonetraceofFlight19wasfound.Thenoneoftheplanesthatwassenttolookforthemalsodisappearedcompletely.

[7]TheseplaneshaddisappearedinaverymysteriouspartoftheworldinthewesternAtlanticOceanwherelotsofstrangeeventshavetakenplace.Themysterystartedlongbefore1945,andsincethatyearmanyothershipsandplaneshavealsodisappearedinthisarea.ItiscalledtheBermudaTriangle.Itisalarge,triangularareaoftheoceanwiththeislandofBermudaatitsnortherntip.

[8]Planesandshipsdisappearinotherpartsoftheworld,buttherearemoredisappearancesintheTrianglethaninotherareas.Foryearsnowscientistsandothershavebeenpuzzledbythismystery.Therehavebeenmanyattemptstoexplainwhypeople,planesandshipsdisappearinsuchhighnumbershere.

[9]Onewriter,JohnSpencer,believesthattheshipsandplaneshavebeencarriedofffromtheseaandskybyflyingsaucersorUFOsfromanotherplanet.Sincetherearemillionsofotherplanetsintheuniverse,Spencerbelievestheremustbeotherintelligentcreaturessomewhereintheuniverse.Thesecreaturesareinterestedincollectinghumansandtheirequipmentsothattheycanexaminethemcarefully.

[10]Anothertheoryisthatthegeographyoftheareaisresponsibleforthedisappearancesoftheshipsandplanes.Bermudaliesonanearthquakebelt.Underwaterearthquakesresultinlargewavesappearingsuddenly.Thesewavesaresobigthattheycanbreakashipintopieces.Intheair,asimilarthingcanhappentoairplanesbecauseofsuddenstrongwinds.

[11]AswithFlight19,manyboatsandplaneshavereportedthattheirmagneticcompassesstopworkingproperlyintheBermudaTriangle.Normallyamagneticcompasspointstowardsmagneticnorth.However,theBermudaTriangleisoneofthetwoplacesonEarthinwhichacompasspointstowardstruenorth.Therefore,thereissomethingstrangeaboutthemagneticpropertiesofthearea.

[12]Manypeoplehavefoundtheseexplanationsdifficulttobelieve.However,themostrecenttheoryhasascientificbasi