C

Washoe, a female chimpanzee (黑猩猩) believed to be the first non-human to acquire human language, has died of natural causes at the research institute where she was kept.

The chimp died on Tuesday night, according to Roger and Deborah Fouts, co-founders of The Chimpanzee and Human Communications Institute in Washington, where she lived.

Washoe was born in 1965 in Africa, where she was captured by the Air Force and taken to the US for research use in the space program. In 1966, she left the program and began living with two scientists, Allen and Beatrix Gardner, who led a project to teach the chimp American Sign Language (ASL) in Washoe, Nevada, for which it was named. Washoe had been living on Central Washington University抯 E6llensburg Campus since 1980. She had a vocabulary of about 250 words. Also, Washoe taught sign language to three younger chimps: Tatu, 31, Loulis, 29, and Dar, 31

Primate (灵长类) researcher Jane Goodall, in Fouts’ book Next of Kin, noted the importance of the work with Washoe. 揜oger, through his ongoing conversations with Washoe and her extended family, has opened a window into a chimpanzee抯 mind,?Goodall said.

Though previous efforts to teach chimps spoken languages had failed, the researchers believed thf tere was a better chance using signs. But Washoe抯 language skills were disputed by scientists who believed that language is unique to humans. Among those who doubted that chimps could use lan guage were linguist (语言学家) Noam Chomsky and Harvard scientist Steven Pinker. They believed primates simply learn to perform certain acts in order to receive rewards, and do not acquire true language.

28. As for its first task, Washoe was involved with _______.

A. some space research

B. a study on African animals

C. an ASL project

D. the program of training the Air Force

29. In Goodall抯 opinion, teaching Washoe ASL ______.

A. was not successful

B. led to the book Next of Kin

C. won honor for _Fouts

D. made a difference

30. In the last paragraph, the underlined word 揹isputed?probably means 揰_____?

A. supported B. studied

C. questioned D. discussed

31. What can be inferred from the passage?

A. The ASL proj honect was first set up in Africa for the study on Washoe.

B. Washoe may communicate with other chimps by signing.

C. Washoe must have been able to speak 250 words or so.

D. The researchers will prove that most chimps could use language.

D

揅hildren who reat less salt and drink fewer sugar-sweetened soft drinks may significantly lower their risks of obesity,?researchers recently reported in the journal Hypertension.

揝ugar-sweetened soft drinks are a significant source of calorie intake in children,?n said Feng J. He, a researcher at St George抯 University of London, England. 揑t has been shown that sugar-sweetened soft drink consumption is related to obesity in young people.?They wanted to know whether there is a link between salt intake and sugar-sw,?neetened soft drink consumption.

Dr He and colleagues analyzed data from a 1997 national survey of more than 2,000 people between 4 and 18 in Britain. 揥e found that children eating a lower-salt diet drank less fluid,?said He. 揊rom our research, we es,?ntimated that 1 gram of salt cut from their daily diet would reduce fluid intake by 100 grams per day.? The researchers also found that children eating a lower-salt diet drank fewer sugar-sweetened soft drinks. From their research, they predicted that r?educing salt intake by 1 gram each day would reduce sugar-sweetened soft drink consumption by 27 grams per day, after. 揑f children aged 4 to 18 cut their salt intake by half, there would be a decrease of about two sugar-sweetened soft drinks per week per ?child, so each child would decrease calorie intake by almost 250 kilocalories per week,?Dr He said.

In previous studies, researchers found that a low-salt diet lowers blood pressure in children, and prevents the development of high blood pressure lat?er in life. 揃oth high blood pressure and obesity increase the risk of having strokes and heart attacks,?Dr He said.

Dr He recommends that parents check labels and choose low-salt food products. 揝mall reductions in the salt content of 10 to 20 percenlatt cannot be detected by the human salt taste receptors (感受器) and do not cause any technological or safety problems,” Dr He said.

32. According to the passage, obesity is directly linked to ______.

A. high-salt foods

B. sugar-sweetened soft drinks

C. high blood pressure

D. strokes and heart attacks

33. Compared with previous studies, the recent one found that ______.

A. a lower-salt diet may mean less sugar-sweetened soft drink consumption

B. a low-salt diet keeps children out of high blood pressure

C. children face the risk of having strokes and heart attacks

D. low-salt food products do not do harm to people抯 health

34. Which of the following statements would Dr He agree to?

A. The less salt people eat, the healthier people become.

B. Children sehould reduce fluid intake in their daily life.

C. No high-salt food products will be available in shops.

D. A low-salt diet may prevent both high blood pressure and obesity.

35. After reading the passage, who should take effective action?

A. Children. B. Parents. C. Doctors. D. Researchers.