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A

Are you a dog person or a cat person?

With so many photos and videos of cats and dogs doing cute things online, it’s easier than ever to answer which of these furry friends you like more. There are many reasons why people prefer one type of pet over the other. So, have you ever wondered what your preference for cats or dogs says about you?

In fact, a 2010 study done by Sam Gosling, a psychologist at the University of Texas, US, and his graduate student Carson Sandy found that dog people are more extroverted (外向的), agreeable and conscientious (认真的) than cat people.

“Cats will occasionally engage in social activities, but usually after only a few minutes they will abandon the game. Dogs, on the other hand, will often engage in play, like fetching a thrown ball, for hours at a time,” said Modern Dog magazine.

Just on the basis of dogs’ nature being more sociable than cats’, you may expect that the personalities of dog people also reflect higher sociability. And Gosling’s study found that dog people are generally about 15 percent more extroverted and 13 percent more agreeable, both of which are linked with social orientation (态度).

In addition, dog people are 11 percent more conscientious than cat people. “Conscientiousness” is a tendency (趋势) to show self-discipline (自律), to complete tasks and aim for achievement. This trait (特点) also shows a preference for planned rather than spontaneous (一时冲动的) behavior.

In comparison, cat people are about 12 percent more anxious, but they are also 11 percent more “open” than dog people, due to a general appreciation for art, emotion, imagination, curiosity, adventure, unusual ideas and variety of experience. And people high on openness are more likely to hold unconventional (非传统的) beliefs.

Despite vast differences, there are some things that cat people and dog people have in common. “Both types of people consider themselves close to nature, dislike animal-print clothing and are generally optimists,” noted Mother Nature Network.

1. What does the article mainly talk about?

A. Differences between dogs and cats in their personality traits.

B. Factors that influence people’s preference for dogs or cats.

C. How raising a pet helps shape your personality.

D. What your preference for dogs or cats tells about you.

2. The underlined phrase “engage in” in the fourth paragraph probably means ______.

A. get involved in B. benefit from

C. take little interest in D. perform well in

3. According to the study done by Sam Gosling, dog owners tend to ______ than cat owners.

A. be more imaginative and creative

B. live a more organized life

C. love to get close to nature more

D. be more easygoing and adventurous

4. According to the article, both dog people and cat people ______.

A. are generally self-disciplined

B. are usually positive and care about nature

C. are likely to hold unconventional beliefs

D. like to wear animal-print clothing

B

When I was in college, I spent a semester studying abroad at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland. In my brief time there, I came to love Scotland for its local culture, food and scenery (景色).

You might think, “Scotland isn’t so different from the US; they still speak English there!” But when I stepped off the plane, I was greeted by a gruff-voiced (声音粗哑的) lady at customs. “You’ll be coming from America, then?” she asked me, and I nodded. “But all of our lads (小伙子) are leaving Glasgow for the States!” Her thick Scottish English and sense of humor were obvious right away. I was not in the US anymore, where customs agents never joke around.

As I settled in at the university, I could feel myself getting used to hearing – and even speaking – the Scottish English of my customs agent. In classroom discussions, people would say “em” when they couldn’t think of what to say instead of “um”. After the first few weeks, I stopped chuckling (咯咯笑) about this. Strathclyde students stayed up late into the night, running around campus and shouting, “Here weh, here weh, here weh [curse word] go! Lat’s go, lat’s go, lat’s go [curse word] Glasgow!” Pretty soon, I was no longer saying “thanks” at the supermarket – instead, I said “cheers”.

My Scottish friends drank whiskey and ate haggis (羊杂碎布丁), a hearty dish made from sheep’s heart, liver and lungs. I drank plenty of whiskey but I’m ashamed to admit that I wasn’t brave enough to try haggis. Scottish bakeries usually sell bridies (肉馅饼), pies filled with salt and pepper, sliced onions, steak, butter and fat. Add a cup of tea – though I usually Americanized it by choosing coffee instead – and a bridie makes for a delicious breakfast.

Every time I took a train anywhere in Scotland, I’d gaze out at the rolling hills and wonder if grass was greener anywhere else in the world. Then I’d reflect that there’s a reason this country was the birthplace of golf.

By Calvin Pollak, 21st Century Teens staff

5. The author was ______ by the greeting of the lady at customs in Scotland.

A. amused B. embarrassed

C. made proud D. puzzled

6. During his stay in Scotland, the author ______.

A. found it hard to understand the Scottish accent

B. wasn’t interested in participating in classroom discussions

C. fell in love with Scottish whiskey and bridies

D. often stayed up late into the night and ran around the campus

7. Which of the following statements about Scotland is TRUE according to the article?

A. Most Scottish people prefer coffee to tea.

B. Scottish customs officers are friendlier than their American counterparts.

C. Coffee and haggis are traditionally combined in the Scottish breakfast.

D. The only way to enjoy Scottish scenery is by taking a train.

8. What is the article mainly about?

A. The traditional food and drinks in Scotland.

B. The author’s experience in Scotland as an exchange student.

C. A comparison between Scottish English and American English.

D. Suggestions about how to enjoy Scottish culture, food and scenery.

C

When US teenager Jake Olson isn’t playing football or golf for his high school, he’s often offering inspiration (启发) through his new book about his own life.

These activities might be too much for the average 16-year-old to deal with, but Jake is blind. When people ask him how he can possibly play golf without being able to see the ball, he says he is thankful for his father’s guidance.

It seems apparent (明显的) that his early experience playing sports as a person with sight and muscle memory – repeating behaviors over and over until they become second nature – have also enabled Jake to hit the ball quite well.

Jake was born with a rare kind of eye cancer that took away the vision (视力) from his left eye when he was an infant (婴儿) and eventually his right eye, in 2009, when he was 12 years old.

Rather than letting the disease hold him back, Jake used his loss of sight and his faith (信念) as sources of motivation (动力).

“If I was going to sit on the couch (沙发) all day feeling sorry for myself, I wasn’t going to [do] anything. I decided right then and there that I wasn’t going to let it stop me and that I was going to go out and persevere (坚持不懈),” he said.

It was with that mind-set that the student from Orange Lutheran High School in California was able to write his first book, Open Your Eyes: 10 Uncommon Lessons to Discover a Happier Life.

“It’s about opening the readers’ eyes to their true potential in life and making sure that they use all the abilities that they have,” Jake said.

Jake’s father, Brian Olson, said the family is impressed with what he has done with his life, including showing people that they can get through adversity (困境).

“Your darkest hour can soon become your brightest, and with every setback, there’s a setup,” Jake said. “In every one of us, there’s more potential than we can ever imagine, and it really is a choice.”

9. We can learn from the article that Jake Olson ______.

A. was born a blind child

B. could have been a golf master

C. has great muscle memory

D. is trying to find the cure for his disease

10. According to the article, Jake’s family members ______.

A. pity him deeply B. once gave up hope on him

C. encouraged him to write the book

D. admire his efforts and determination

11. The purpose of the book Open Your Eyes: 10 Uncommon Lessons to Discover a Happier Life is to ______.

A. promote good approaches to getting along with disabled people

B. inspire people to discover and use their hidden abilities

C. help people come up with better life goals

D. explain different definitions (定义) of “a happier life”

12. The underlined word “setback” is closest in meaning to ______.

A. fight B. failure C. opportunity D. success

D

In her schoolgirl outfit – gray miniskirt, knee-highs and blue shoes – Tavi Gevinson looks like any other fashion-obsessed (迷恋时尚的) teenager. She wanders in the crowded aisles (走廊) of a shopping mall in Los Angeles, US.

“I can’t afford anything here on my allowance (零用钱),” the 17-year-old says.

She pulls out her iPhone and responds to a text.

“My dad, he’ll be here in about half an hour to pick me up,” she says, heading toward a display of postcards. “The one thing I actually can afford!” she says.

“There,” she says sweetly. “I’ll take these four.” After paying, Gevinson puts the cards away in her floral (花卉图案的) backpack.

You might not think there’s anything unusual about this student from Oak Park and River Forest High School, but she is definitely not a typical teenager.

After flying in from Chicago, she was up late the night before finishing an essay. But the assignment wasn’t for school. It was an editorial (社评) for Rookie, an online pop culture magazine she started when she was 15. Now, she oversees a staff of about 80. There was also a photo shoot this morning, followed by a meeting with her agent and then another shopping trip in Hollywood.

Gevinson was just 11 when she started the Style Rookie fashion blog out of her Oak Park, Illinois bedroom. By 15, she shifted her focus to pop culture, music and issues that mattered to teenage girls like herself, culminating (最终发展成) in the website Rookie magazine. Soon, she was sitting on the front lines of New York’s Fashion Week.

“I’d felt like there wasn’t a publication for teenagers that was respected. Or that I, myself, or my friends could really relate to,” Gevinson said.

“One thing I’m very proud of is that Rookie has a lot of legitimacy (正统性) in publishing and music journalism and fashion. As it’s grown, the goal has become more to make people feel included, that they’re cool enough or smart enough.”

With more than 4 million page views a month, Rookie is becoming a DIY multi-platform (多平台的) media empire (帝国) designed for and by American girls. Gevinson has the ear of a new generation of young women. Moreover, she has the eye of the media, the fashion world and, increasingly, Hollywood filmmakers.

13. We can infer from the article that Tavi Gevinson was in Los Angeles to ______.

A. spend the holidays with her dad

B. collect materials for her online fashion magazine

C. finish an interview for a school assignment

D. study the shopping habits of local people

14. Tavi Gevinson started Rookie Magazine in order to ______.

A. make more friends online

B. report on major fashion events like New York’s Fashion Week

C. promote knowledge of pop culture and music to her fellow students

D. create a media platform for teenage girls to share their views on fashion and other issues

15. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the article?

A. Tavi Gevinson has to use her allowance to keep her online magazine running.

B. Tavi Gevinson prefers Los Angeles to her hometown Oak Park, Illinois.

C. Because of its popularity, Tavi Gevinson’s magazine now has the attention of more than just teenage girls.

D. Tavi Gevinson has always considered appearance central to teenage girls’ lives.

16. Which of the following best describes Gevinson, as the article shows her?

A. Sympathetic and gentle. B. Strict and thrifty (节俭的).

C. Pioneering and hard-working. D. Reflective (爱思考的) and serious.

E

Imagine this: you come home from school and find that your dog has messed up your bed and eaten the pizza on the table while you were away. You get so angry and start telling it off for what it did.

While you are doing this, the little “criminal (罪犯)” just sits there quietly, head down, ears back, eyes droopy (下垂的), looking extremely guilty. This makes you think that it understands you and you are teaching it a lesson.

But don’t be fooled by this look – animal behaviorists say that dogs actually lack the ability to feel shame, reported The Associated Press. Instead, they just put on that look so their owners will calm down.

“My guess is that their thinking is: ‘Oh man, my owner is super mad about something, but I don’t know what, but he seems to calm down when I give him the sad face, so let’s try that again,’” said Pascale Lemire, Canadian author of the book Dog Shaming.

One of the first scientific studies on the “guilty look” of dogs was conducted in 2009 by Alexandra Horowitz, a professor at Barnard College in the US. In the study, she videotaped how 14 dogs reacted when their owners left the room. When the owners returned, they were asked to scold (责骂) the dog no matter if they had misbehaved (做错事) or not.

Horowitz found that the guilty look would appear as long as the owner was angry, not when the dog had actually done something wrong, which means the look has nothing to do with guilt.

Surely, dogs can learn from their behavior – for example, when you give your dog a treat after it fetches a ball or punish it after it tears up your mail. But rewards or punishments are most effective right after the behaviors occur. “The farther it gets from that, the less connection is made with the behavior,” said Bonnie Beaver, a professor at A&M University, US. This means that when you come home and scold your dog for the damage he did hours ago, he won’t necessarily learn anything.

So the best way to deal with a dog that has misbehaved is probably to “just get over it and remind yourself not to put temptation (有诱惑力的东西) in the way next time”, suggested Beaver. In other words, don’t leave your bedroom door open or the pizza on the table in the first place.

17. The example given at the beginning of the article is meant to ______.

A. show the disadvantages of keeping pets

B. introduce a new book on pet behavior

C. prove that pets have strong senses of guilt

D. show how owners should teach lessons to their dogs

18. The most significant finding in Alexandra Horowitz’s research is that ______.

A. dogs learn quickly from previous punishments

B. dogs with the guilty look don’t actually feel shame at all

C. dogs try hard to calm down their owners when they get mad

D. dogs are more likely to misbehave when their owners are absent

19. According to Bonnie Beaver, ______.

A. dogs don’t remember what they did hours ago

B. rewarding and punishing dogs don’t make much difference

C. owners’ quick responses help dogs learn from their behaviors

D. it is totally unnecessary for owners to get mad at their dogs’ misbehavior

20. According to the last paragraph, the best way to keep dogs from misbehaving is to ______.

A. make strict house rules for them

B. offer better rewards and more serious punishments

C. avoid leaving them possibilities to misbehave

D. turn a blind eye to their misbehavior