英语阅读（四）
A
For some time past，it has been widely accepted that babies — and other creatures — learn to do things because certain acts lead to “rewards”（报酬），and there is no reason to doubt that this is true．But it used also to be widely believed that effective rewards，at least in the early time，had to be directly connected to such basic physiological（生理的）“drives”as thirst or hunger．In other words，a baby would learn if he got food or drink or some sort of physical comfort，not otherwise．
It is now clear that this is not so．Babies will learn to behave in ways that produce results in the world with no reward except success in sight．
Papousek began his studies by using milk in the normal way to“reward”the babies and to teach them to carry out some simple movements，such as turning the head to one side or the other．Then he noticed that a baby who had had enough to drink would refuse the milk but would still go on making the learned response（反应）with clear signs of pleasure．So he began to study the children's responses in situations where no milk was provided．He quickly found that children as young as four months would learn to turn their heads to right or left if the movement“turned on”some lights—and indeed that they were able to learn some more turns to bring about（产生）this result，for example，two left or two right，or even to make as many as three turns to one side．
Papousek's light experiment was placed directly in front of the babies and he made the interesting observation that sometimes they would not turn back to watch the light closely although they would“smile and speak”when the light was on．Papousek concluded that it was not the sight of the lights which pleased them．It was the success they were achieving in solving the problem，in mastering the skill，and then there is a basic human nature to make sense of the world and bring it under control．
1．According to the writer，babies learn to do things which ____.
A．will satisfy their surprise B．will meet their physical needs
C．are directly connected to pleasure D．will bring them a feeling of success
2．Papousek noticed in his studies that a baby ____．
A．would make learned responses when it saw the milk
B．would continue the simple movements without being given milk
C．would turn its head to right or left when it had enough to drink
D．would carry out learned movements when it had enough to drink
3．In Papousek's experiment babies make learned movements of the head in order to ____ ．
A．be pleased B．please their parents
C．be rewarded with milk D．have the lights turned on
4．The babies would “smile and speak ”at the lights because ____.
A．they succeeded in“ turning on” the lights B．the sight of lights was interesting
C．they need not turn back to watch the lights
D．the lights were directly connected to some basic “drives”
B
Human beings act in a different way from that of animals just because they can think while animals cannot．Even the cleverest animals cannot do things which to us seem very simple and which small children，as soon as they learn to talk，would be able to do．
A German scientist，who made experiments for many years with big apes，found that his apes could use sticks as tools to pull down bananas which they could not reach．But they only used the stick to get a banana when both the stick and the banana were in view at the same time．If the banana was in front of them and the stick was behind them，they could not use the stick．They could not bear（记住）the banana in mind long enough to look around and pickup the stick and then use it．
The reason for this is clear．We have words for banana and stick which help us to think about these things when they are not in sight．Even a small child knowing the words“banana”and“stick” has an idea of their relationship and is able to think of“stick”together with“banana”and to remember this long enough to pick up the stick from behind and use it on the banana．
Unable to speak，animals cannot keep their knowledge for long．That is why they often interrupt one line of action to do something else and later forget it completely．Human beings，on the other hand，use language and are able to go after one thing continuously and do it with a definite（明确的）aim．
5．One of the main differences between human beings and animals is that ____ ．
A．animals can't walk with their feet B．animals can't think
C．people can do all that animals do D．people can live in the houses
6．Apes can't use sticks ____ ．
A．if they are too young B．when they are full
C．unless they see them D．unless they find food
7．A child knows ____，so he can use it though he doesn't see it．
A．what a“stick”is used for B．where he can find a stick
C．it's important to remember“stick”for ever D．he can easily get a stick from a tree
8．Animals can't speak，so ____．
A．they can't talk to each other B．they are more foolish than human beings
C．they have to be taught D．they can't keep any knowledge for long
C
James wrote a play for television about a family who came to England from Pakistan，and it was difficult for them to settle down in England．The play was very successful，and it was bought by an American TV company．
James was invited to go to New York to help with the production．He lived in Dulwich，which was an hour's ride away from Hesthrow Airport．The flight was to leave at 8：30a．m，so he had to be at the airport at about 7：30 in the morning．
He ordered a taxi for 6：30，set his alarm clock for 5：45，and then went to sleep．Unfortunately he forgot to wind （上发条）the clock，and it stopped shortly after midnight．Also the driver of the taxi had to work deep into the night and overslept.
James awoke with the terrible feeling that something was wrong．He looked at his alarm clock．It was stood there silently，with the hands pointing to ten past twelve．He turned on the radio and discovered that it was in fact ten to nine．He switched on the electric kettle．
He was just pouring the boiling water into the teapot when the nine o'clock pips（报时声）sounded on the radio．The announcer（播音员）began to read the news…“Reports are coming in of a crash（坠毁）near Hesthrow Airport．A Boeing 707 leaving for New York crashed after taking off this morning．Flight number 2234…”James turned pale．
“My flight，”he said out loud．“IF I HADN'T OVERSLEPT，I would have been on that plane！”
9．James was ____ ．
A．a famous actor B．a successful writer
C．a writer from Pakistan D．a famous TV director
10．The TV company asked James to ____ ．
A．settle down in America B．watch how they produced the TV play
C．rewrite his play D．help them produce the TV play
11．James lived a little far from the airport，so ____．
A．he decided to go there by taxi
B．he had to wind the alarm clock
C．he told the taxi driver to get up early
D．he asked his friend to wake him up on time
12．The driver didn't go to James' because ____ ．
A．he forgot to wind the clock too B．he forgot the time
C．he hadn't been told about the task D．he was too tired to wake up that morning
13．Which of the following is true？
A．The driver was too careless． B．James' carelessness saved his life．
C．James was out of luck that day． D．James was sorry for his oversleeping.
D
In the past，most American mothers were at home to take care of their children during the day．Now however，many mothers are working．More than half of the American women with young children have jobs outside the house．
American families settle the child care problem in different ways．Some parents permit older children to stay home alone after school．The parents must be sure the children，usually not younger than 10 years old，understand safety rules and can deal with emergencies（紧急情况）．Other parents say they would never permit their children to be at home alone．They usually pay someone to take care of the children．
Some parents in the U．S．find their own way to reduce the cost of child care．They join child care groups．Each person in the group cares for the children of other group members at different times．Some parents ask local churches，schools and social organizations to help offer activities（活动）for the children．These child care choices often cost little or no money．Many American parents，however，still struggle with the problem of finding good child care at a reasonable price．
14．The problem most young American working mothers are facing is ____ ．
A．how to educate their children B．how much to spend on their children
C．how to take care of their little children D．what school to send their children to
15．Some families leave their children at home after school because ____ ．
A．they are old enough to look after themselves B．the parents think it's safe for them
C．they have a lot of homework to do D．they learn to do some cooking themselves
16．Some families join the care child group in order to ____.
A．save some time B．reduce the cost of child care
C．learn much about child care D．make more friends
E
In the second half of each year，many powerful storms are born in the tropical（热带的）Atlantic and Caribbean seas．Of these，only about half a dozen becomes the strong，circling winds of 75 miles per hour or more that are called hurricanes，and several usually make their way to the coast．There they cause millions of dollars of damage，and bring death to large numbers of people．
The great storms that hit the coast start as soft circling wind hundreds — even thousands — of miles out to sea．As they travel aimlessly over water warmed by the summer sun，they are carried westward by the southeast winds．When conditions are just right，warm，moist（潮湿）air flows in at the bottom of such a wind，moves upward through it and comes out at the top．In the process（过程），the moisture in this warm air produces rain，and with it the heat is changed to energy in the form of strong winds．As the heat increases，the young hurricane begins to move in a counter－clockwise motion（逆时针运动）．
The life of a hurricane is only about nine days，but it contains almost more power than we can imagine．The energy in the heat released（释放）by a hurricane's rainfall in a single day would satisfy the entire electrical needs of the United States for more than six months．Water，not wind，is the main source of death and destruction（毁灭）in a hurricane．A typical hurricane brings 6 to 12 inch downpours，causing sudden floods．Worst of all is the powerful movement of the sea — the mountains of water moving toward the hurricane center．The water level rises as much as 15 feet above normal as it moves toward shore．
17．When is an ordinary tropical storm called a hurricane？
A．When it begins in the Atlantic and Caribbean seas．
B．When it hits the coastline．
C．When it is more than 75 miles wide．
D．When its winds reach 75 miles per hour．
18．What is ths worst thing about hurricanes？
A．The terrible effects of water．
B．The heat they give off．
C．That they last about nine days．
D．Their strong winds．
19．Here the word“downpour”means ____ ．
A．heavy rainfall
B．dangerous waves
C．the progress of water to the hurricane center
D．the increasing heat
20．Which statement about a hurricane is wrong？
A．It travels more than 75 miles per hour．
B．It usually stays about 9 days．
C．It usually causes 6 to 12 inch downpours．
D．It sometimes brings the sea water level to the height of 15 feet．
参考答案(四) 1---5 CBAAB 6---10 CADBD 11---15 ADBCA 16---20 BDAAD