Reading Comprehension

　　A barn owl(猫头鹰) silently flies at night through the dark forest. Suddenly, the large bird hears a mouse running through the leaves. The bird quickly changes its flight path, drops down, and scoops up(抓起) the mouse in its talons(猛禽的爪). Another meal has been successfully captured.

　　How is the barn owl able to pinpoint the location of the mouse in the dark? Credit(把…归功于) the bird' s excellent hearing and its ability to determine the exact location of the source of a sound.

　　According to a recent study at Stanford University, a barn owl learned how to pinpoint the location of a sound source when it was only about two weeks old. The owl did this by noting the difference in the time it took a sound to reach each ear and in the difference in the loudness of the sound in each ear.

　　In another test, three young barn owls were given eyeglasses when their eyes were just beginning to open. The lenses(镜片) in the glasses distorted(使变形) a scene so that an object an owl was looking at seemed to be 20 degrees to the left of its actual position.

　　The scientists found that whenever one of the young owls heard a sound, it would look at a spot 20 degrees to the left of the sound source. Thus, the scientists concluded, the owls learned at a very young age how to locate the source of a sound.

1．What is the reason for the barn owl to successfully catch the mouse?

[　　]

A．It has very good eyesight at night.

B．It has very sharp hearing.

C．It is very good at determining the location of the sound.

D．Both B and C.

2．According to a recent study, a barn owl learned how to ________ when it was only about two weeks old.

[　　]

A．fly fast without sound

B．catch the mouse with its talon

C．locate the sound source

D．open its eyes wider

3．What do the words “to pinpoint the location” in the second paragraph mean?

[　　]

A．To find the exact position.

B．To notice the particular smell.

C．To recognize the real shape.

D．To hear the sound clearly.

4．Why did one of the young owls, after hearing a sound, look at a spot 20 degrees left of the sound source?

[　　]

A．It was too young to find the correct spot.

B．It was used to looking at the spot 20 degrees to the left of an object.

C．It was a mistake often made by this young owl.

D．It was wearing eyeglasses which distorted the object.

5．What is the main idea of the passage?

[　　]

A．How did the scientists train the owls to catch mice at night?

B．Why can eyeglasses help owls to catch mice?

C．Scientists used eyeglasses to make owls see better.

D．Why can owls catch mice at night?

Everything that humans hear is in the form of waves (波).Just as the eye sees light wares in the form of colors, the ear and the eye Curs these different waves into signals that the brain (大脑) can make sense of.

The ears and brain have an Amazing amities to recognize（识别）particular sounds. For example, a mother often can tell when her baby is crying even if there are other crying babies in the same room. This is because the sound of her baby’s cry has special meaning to her and the brain has recorded is importance.

The ability to recognize sounds improves with experiences. As the brain receives information about sounds from day to day, it stores the information in its memory. When the brain hears new sounds, it gives meaning to them based on the information already in the memory. This is why certain words or songs can make a person happy. Often it is not the words or songs themselves that cause this feeling. The sounds are connected to happy memories for that person.

After hearing process controlled by the brain is to decide where a sound is coming from. One ear is usually closer to the source (来源) of a sound than the other ear is. Sound waves are stronger when they reach the ear that is closer. They also reach the closer ear first. The brain recognizes these differences and uses them to decide the location of the source of the sound.

1.Which of the following shows the normal hearing process of a mother hearing her baby crying?

a. The ears receive the sound waves.

b. The mother recognizes her baby’s cry.

c. The ears turn the sound waves into signals.

d. The baby’s cry ravels in the form of sound waves

e. The brain connects the signals to the information in me memory.

A．d-a-c-b-e          B．d-a-c-e-b          C．a-d-c-b-e          D．a-d-c-e-b

2. Certain words or songs can change tarpon’s moods mainly because of his         .

A．lifestyle           B．personality        C．experiences       D．hobbies

3.According to the last paragraph, It will be the most difficult for a person who has lost the hearing in one ear to tell         .

A．where the source of a sound is             B．how loud a sound is

C．when a sound starts to appear              D．what makes a sound

4.What is the best title for this passage?

A．Human Brain’s Amazing Facts

B．Human Hearing Characteristics

C．How to improve Hearing

D．How Do Humans Hear

Answer the questions（根据短文内容回答下列问题)
Your Nose is Busy and Important
Your nose has many important jobs, and is always busy.
Smelling
Smelling helps you gather information about the world around you. A good scent (气体),like flowers, brings you pleasure. A bad scent, like smoke or sour milk, warns you of danger. Most things around you release scent particles (微粒) into the air. These invisible chemicals enter the nose when you breathe. Nerves in the nose send information to the brain to identify a smell. You are able to recognize thousands of smells.
Breathing
Most of the air you breathe enters through your nose. The nose uses hair and mucus (粘液) to clean dust and germs (细菌) out of the air. The air that enters your nose contains oxygen. Your body uses oxygen to unlock the energy in the food you eat.  Even when you sleep, your body needs energy to keep your heart beating and your brain working.
Tasting
Your nose helps you enjoy food. Flavor is a mixture of taste and smell. The smell of the food helps you identify what you are eating. The sense of smell contributes more to (贡献) food flavor than the sense of taste .When you are sick and have a stuffy nose, your food doesn’t taste as good because without smell, food loses most of its flavor.
Smell memory
Smells can bring back memories. Your brain uses a process to create a picture in your mind from the odors(气味)you smell. Smells can affect your feelings because the part of the brain that helps you identify smells is close to the area that affects your emotions, mood and memory. More smell memories are collected as you get older.
Your nose has many important jobs, and is more than just a smeller!
【小题1】How many important jobs does a nose do according to the passage? What are they?
【小题2】Smelling helps you recognize thousands of smells, doesn’t it?
【小题3】What does the nose use to clean dust and germs out of air?
【小题4】What happens to your food if you are sick and have a stuffy nose?
【小题5】How do smells bring back memories?
【小题6】What do you think of your nose? Why do you think so?

One day, there was a blind man called John sitting on the bench（长条椅）with a hat by his feet and a sign that read,“I am blind. Please help me.”

A creative publicist(广告员) named Tom was walking by the blind man and stopped to see that the man only had a few coins in his hat. He put a few of his own coins in the hat. Without asking for permission, he took the sign, turned it around and wrote a new message. Then he put the sign by the feet of the blind man, and left.

Later that afternoon the publicist returned to the blind man and noticed that his hat was almost full of bills and coins. The blind man recognized（认出，识别出）his footsteps and asked if it was he who had changed his sign. He also wanted to know what the man wrote on it.

The publicist said,“I just wrote the message a little differently.”He smiled and went on his way.

The new sign read,“Spring has come, but I can’t see anything.”

1.What’s the blind man’s name?

A．Tom.                                 B．John.

C．Tony.                                 D．Sorry, I don’t know.

2.Who wrote a new message?

A．The blind man.                         B．The teacher.

C．The publicist.                           D．The farmer.

3.How did the blind man recognize the publicist?

A．By his sign.                            B．By his footsteps.

C．By his voice.                           D．By his coins.

4.When did the story happen?

A．In spring.                              B．In summer.

C．In autumn.                             D．In winter.

5.What can we learn from the passage?

A．Publicists are always friendly and helpful.

B．We can get more money by changing a sign.

C．The blind man was very stupid, so he had little money.

D．The power（力量）of language is great.

One day, there was a blind man called John sitting on the bench with a hat by his feet and a sign that read, "I am blind. Please help me.”

A creative publicist(广告员)named Tom was walking by the blind man and stopped to see that the man only had a few coins in his hat. He put a few of his own corns in the hat. Without asking for permission, took the sign, turned it around and wrote a new message. Then he put the sign by the feet of the blind man, and left.

Later that afternoon the publicist returned to the blind man and noticed that his hat was almost full of bills and coins. The blind man recognized(识别)his footsteps and asked if it was he who had changed his sign. He also wanted to know what the man wrote on it.

The publicist said, "I just wrote the message a little differently.” He smiled and went on his way.

The new sign read, "Spring has come, but I can't see anything.”

1.What's the blind man's name?

A. Tom.         B. John.        C. Tony.        D. Sorry, I don't know.

2.Who wrote a new message?

A. The blind man.       B. The teacher.

C. The publicist.       D. The farmer.

3.How did the blind man recognize the publicist?

A. By his sign. B. By his footsteps. C. By his voice.  D. By his corns.

4.When did the story happen?

A. In spring. B. In summer. C. In autumn.  D. In winter.

5.What can we learn from the passage?

   A. Publicists are always friendly and helpful.

   B. We can get more money by changing a sign.

   C. The blind man is very stupid, so he has little money.

   D. The power (力量) of language is great.