题目内容
Can animals have a sense of humor Sally Blanchard, publisher of a newsletter called the Pet Bird Report, thinks a pet parrot may have pulled her leg. That’s one explanation for the time her African gray parrot, named Bongo Marie, seemed to feign distress at the possible death of an Amazon parrot named Paco. It happened one day when Blanchard was making Cornish game hen for dinner. As Blanchard lifted her knife, the African gray threw back its head and said, "Oh, no! Paco!" Trying not to laugh, Blanchard said, "That’s not Paco," and showed Bongo Marie that the Amazon was alive and well. Mimicking a disappointed tone, Bongo Marie said, "Oh, no," and launched into a hoarse laugh. Was the parrot joking when it seemed to believe the other bird was a goner Did Bongo Marie comprehend Blanchard’s response Studies of African grays have shown that they can understand the meaning of words--for example, that red refers to a color, not just a particular red object. Parrots also enjoy getting a reaction out of humans, and so, whether or not Bongo Marie’s crocodile tears were intentional, the episode was thoroughly satisfying from the parrot’s point of view. When Blanchard was making Cornish game hen for dinner, Bongo Marie acted as if Paco was ______.
查看答案
搜索结果不匹配？点我反馈
更多问题
Assuming that a constant travel-time budget, geographic constraints and short-term infrastructure constraints persist as fundamental features of global mobility, what long-term results can one expect In high-income regions, (41) North America, our picture suggests that the share of traffic (42) supplied by buses and automobiles will decline as high-speed transport rises sharply. In developing countries, we (43) the strongest increase to be in the shares first for buses and later for automobiles. Globally, these (44) in bus and automobile transport are partially offsetting. In all regions, the share of lowspeed mil transport will probably continue its strongly (45) decline. We expect that throughout the period 1990～2050, the (46) North American will continue to devote most of his or her 1.1-hour travel-time (47) to automobile travel. The very large demand (48) air travel (or high-speed mil travel) that will be manifest in 2050 (49) to only 12 minutes per person a day; a little time goes a long way in the air. In several developing regions, most travel (50) in 2050 will still be devoted to nonmotorized modes. Buses will persist (51) the primary form of motorized transportation in developing countries for decades. (52) important air travel becomes, buses, automobiles and (53) lowspeed trains will surely go on serving vital functions. (54) of the super-rich already commute and shop in aircraft, but average people will continue to spend most of their travel time on the (55) .
Don’t call him just a college professor. Internet entrepreneur, TV personality, advisor to presidents, and friend to the rich and powerful would be more accurate. Henry Louis "Skip" Gates Jr. is better known for his activities outside the academy. This week he sold Africana com, a website he created with a fellow Harvard University professor, to Time Warner. Terms of the deal weren’t revealed, though the Wall Street Journal pegged the price at more than $10 million, with Gates reaping up to $1 million. Time Warner will incorporate the site, a portal with news and information about people of African descent, into America Online when the two merge as expected. The sense is that Gates got a very good deal. The site is a rich source of scholarship but hardly a rich source of revenue. As recently as the late 1980s Gates, who turns 50 this week, was an obscure professor, penning books on literary theory only a graduate student could love. Now he can’t be avoided. He hosted a series about Africa on public television, writes occasional articles for the New Yorker, and even advises the Gore presidential campaign. He counts director Steven Spielberg, Microsoft’s Bill Gates and President Clinton as friends. "They’re not intimate friends," he insists. Indeed, Gates has evolved into a kind of expert on everything African-American. "He remains the go-to person on the state of African-American affairs," said Perry Steinberg, head of American Program Bureau, a lecture agency. The 30 or so speeches Gates delivers each year are another source of income for the professor. With fame comes controversy. Several other black intellectuals have taken him to task for not being confrontational enough. Gates has heard it before. ’"Me Critics Oh, what a shock." But he considers himself more a descendent of historian and educator W. E.B. Du Bois than of Malcolm X. His ultimate goal is to build the field of Afro-American studies. "Fifty years from now I want there to be at least 10 great centers of Afro-American studies," he says. If working as a consultant on Spielberg’s historical film Amistad or giving A1 Gore advice helps, so be it. According to Henry Louis "Skip" Gates Jr. himself, giving advice to A1 Gore is ______.
Applying for a mortgage Susan Thomas and her husband Alan have decided to buy a house. They have seen one that they like and now have to get a mortgage loan. Susan goes to see Joan Bentley. Ms. Bentley works in the mortgage department of the Yorktown Bank in Texas, where the Thomases live. Ms. B: Hello, Mrs. Thomas. How are you today I hear you want to apply for a mortgage loan with us. Mrs. T: That’s right. I hope you have the time to answer some questions, though. My husband and I have never owned any real estate before and we have only elementary ideas about mortgages. Ms. B: I’ll be happy to help you in any way I can. What would you like to ask Mrs. T: First, is there any difference between a mortgage and a mortgage loan I have heard both terms used. Ms. B: Yes there is, although in everyday speech people call the mortgage loan’a mort- gage. The mortgage is actually a written document. In legal terms it is called an instrument of conveyance because it transfers title of property from one party to another. The mortgage loan is, of course, the money that the mortgagee lends to the mortgagor so that the mortgagor can buy a house or some other piece of real property. Mrs. T: I see. That’s clear to me now, but something has been worrying me. Many of my friends have told Alan and me that it won’t be easy to get a mortgage. I don’t know what they mean--Alan and I have always held good jobs. It seems that two good risks like us wouldn’t have much difficulty in getting financing for a new home. Ms. B: The problem isn’t the element of risk. The supply of mortgage money has become very tight lately. Also, with interest rates rising, banks don’t want to lend a large sum of money for 25 or 30 years at a fixed rate. Mrs. T: When you mention fixed rates you remind me that I have been hearing a lot about variable - rate mortgages. I’m not quite sure that I understand exactly what they are, but people say more and more banks are using them now. Ms. B: I can explain them to you. In the past, the borrower or mortgagor paid the same rate of interest over the life of the mortgage. Monthly payments to the bank were the same for 30 years. But with variable-rate mortgages they can be adjusted every six months to changes in the interest rates banks pay on deposits. Mrs. T: That sounds very upsetting to me. What if the borrower gets a very large increase How would he meet his payments Variable - rate mortgages must greatly increase the possibility of the bank’s foreclosing. Ms. B: Not really. The bank can’t adjust the rate more than 1/4 of one percent for any six - month period. And most banks give an initial guaranteed - rate period of six months to five years. During this period, no adjustments are allowed. However, there’s no limit to how much the rate that you pay can rise or fall over the life or the mortgage. Mrs. T: Why have banks begun to insist on variable-rate mortgages The old system seems so much simpler. Ms. B: I’ll admit it was simpler, but changes in conditions have made it difficult for banks to keep the system of fixed - rate mortgages. With certificates of deposit and other term - de- posit accounts, banks now pay very high interest rates to depositors in order to attract their money. These interest rates fluctuate, too, so banks want the protection of variable - rate mortgages. Mrs. T. Your explanation makes me feel more secure about variable -rate mortgages. How much does your bank expect as a down payment Ms. B: Between 10% and 20% of the purchase price. Is that possible for you and your husband Mrs. T: Yes. We have saved enough money for that. I would like to fill out an application. Ms. B: Fine. Here’s one. We will be able to let you know whether we approve it or not in a week or ten days. Mrs. T: Thank you very much. Comprehension check State whether each sentence is true or false based on the dialogue of this lesson. The interest rate on a variable - rate mortgage fluctuates with changes in the interest rate the bank pays its depositors.
Forget football. At many high schools, the fiercest competition is between Coke and Pepsi over exclusive "pouring rights" to sell on campus. But last week Jeffrey Dunn, president of Coca-Cola Americas, called a timeout: Coke’s machines will now also stock water, juice, and other healthful options--even rival brands and their facades will feature school scenes and other "noncommercial graphics" instead of Coke’s vivid red logo. "the pendulum needs to swing back" on school-based marketing, said Dunn. Coke’s about-face--particularly the call to end the exclusive deals that bottlers make with school districts--comes amid rising concern over kids’ health: American children are growing ever more obese and developing weight-related diseases usually found in adults. While inactivity and huge helpings factor heavily, a recent study in the Lancet fingered soda pop as a likely culprit. Communities--and legislators--are already on the case. Last year, for instance, parents in Philadelphia detailed a proposed contract with Coca-Cola that would have netted the school system $ 43 million over 10 years. And in a searing’ report to congress last month, the U. S. Department of Agriculture recommended that all snacks sold in schools meet federal nutrition standards (the requirements are loose enough that Snickers bars qualify). Spare change Activists hope Coke’s capitulation will help curb commercialism in schools altogether. From ads on Channel One, which broadcasts current-affairs programs on classroom TV, to middle-school math texts that cite Nike and other bran-name products in their word problems, to company-sponsored scoreboards on football fields, American pupils are bombarded. But Andrew Hagelshaw, executive director of the Oakland, Calif.-based Center for Commercial-Free Public Education, views Coca-Cola’s policy shift as a "partial victory". Schools sign contracts with local bottlers; the parent company can only urge them to back off. Moreover, Coke’s machines will remain in place, although with healthier options. And don’t expect teenagers to suddenly swear off the stuff--or school districts to give up the revenue. At Wheeler High School in Marietta, Ga., where students arrive before 7 a.m. and stay as late as 11 o’clock at night, they rely on the machines. And the $ 50,000 in annual vending revenues have enabled Principal Joe Boland to refinish the gym floor, in- stall a new high-jump pit, and pay $ 7,000 for two buses. "If someone made an offer to me to take the machines out, I’d consider it," says Boland. "But nobody’s offering me any money.\ "Forget football" in Paragraph 1 suggests that football has been ______.
微信支付 
支付宝支付