中级口译（笔试）模拟试卷29

What is the tallest mountain on Earth? Most school children will say the answer is【C1】______near the border between Nepal and Tibet. There is something that is【C2】______taller than Mount Everest. However, it is mainly【C3】______. It begins at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, and rises more than seventeen kilometers from the ocean floor. Its name is Mauna Loa. In the 【C4】______, Mauna Loa means “Long Mountain.“ Mauna Loa is more than half of the island of Hawaii, the largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is also the largest and【C5】______on Earth. It has produced liquid rock called lava more than thirty times since records were【C6】______in 1843. Today, Mauna Loa is quiet. It is not producing lava. However volcano experts say it is only【C7】______before this happens once again. Mauna Loa is not the only volcano on the island of Hawaii. There are【C8】______. Three of them are no longer active. One of them still【C9】______. It is named Kilauea. It has produced lava more than fifty times in the last one hundred years.【C10】______, red hot lava is pouring out of Kilauea. It has been doing this 【C11】______. Sometimes the lava moves slowly. At other times it【C12】______ very fast as huge amounts of pressure force it from the volcano. During these times, it moves almost as quickly as water【C13】______the side of a mountain. Sometimes Kilauea produces large amounts of lava that seem like【C14】______. When the lava from Kilauea【C15】______the ocean, its fierce heat produces great amounts of steam that rise into the air. The lava is so hot it【C16】______ underwater for some time. The lava from Kilauea continues to add land to the island as the volcanoes of Hawaii have always done. It is these volcanoes【C17】______the islands of Hawaii. Most of the time the lava of Kilauea seems to move【C18】______the ocean. Yet it is not as peaceful as it seems from a distance. In recent years the lava destroyed one small town on the island. The liquid rock slowly covered the town. It【C19】______and destroyed them. Nothing can stop the lava of Kilauea. Experts say the volcanoes of Mauna Loa and Kilauea are a serious 【C20】______on many parts of the island.What is the tallest mountain on Earth? Most school children will say the answer is Mount Everest near the border between Nepal and Tibet. There is something that is 304 meters taller than Mount Everest. However, it is mainly underwater. It begins at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, and rises more than seventeen kilometers from the ocean floor. Its name is Mauna Loa. In the Hawaiian language, Mauna Loa means “Long Mountain“. Mauna Loa is more than half of the island of Hawaii, the largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is also the largest and most active volcano on Earth. It has produced liquid rock called lava more than thirty times since records were first kept in 1843. Today, Mauna Loa is quiet. It is not producing lava. However volcano experts say it is only a matter of time before this happens once again. Mauna Loa is not the only volcano on the island of Hawaii. There are four others. Three of them are no longer active. One of them still is active. It is named Kilauea. It has produced lava more than fifty times in the last one hundred years. At this moment, red hot lava is pouring out of Kilauea. It has been doing this since 1983. Sometimes the lava moves slowly. At other times it pours out very fast as huge amounts of pressure force it from the volcano. During these times, it moves almost as quickly as water moving down the side of a mountain. Sometimes Kilauea produces large amounts of lava that seem like rivers of fire. When the lava from Kilauea reaches the ocean, its fierce heat produces great amounts of steam that rise into the air. The lava is so hot it continues to burn underwater for some time. The lava from Kilauea continues to add land to the island as the volcanoes of Hawaii have always done. It is these volcanoes that formed the islands of Hawaii. Most of the time the lava of Kilauea seems to move peacefully toward the ocean. Yet it is not as peaceful as it seems from a distance. In recent years the lava destroyed one small town on the island. The liquid rock slowly covered the town. It blocked roads and destroyed them. Nothing can stop the lava of Kilauea. Experts say the volcanoes of Mauna Loa and Kilauea are a serious threat to property on many parts of the island.

1. All the board members except the Chairman voted for my proposal to set up a branch office in the suburbs instead of the downtown area. 2. Although Miss Brown has less teaching experience than other faculty members, she is one of the best instructors in the college. 3. We had expected the repairs to cost us no more than fifteen thousand dollars, but the maintenance company charged us twice as much. 4. Don’t worry. I think Jack can fix that projector in the lab, there’s really nothing to him. 5. Mrs. Green couldn’t attend the opening ceremony last Tuesday, because she had to meet the CEO from our Chicago headquarters at the airport. All the board members voted for the Chairman’s proposal to open the branch office. The Chairman was not in favor of the opening of a branch office in the suburbs. The board members are expecting a new chairman from the downtown office. The Chairman’s proposal to set up a branch office was turned down by the board members.

6. Never have I been more willing to cooperate! Although I was a chief executive officer, I am now an assistant. 7. Although Jenny and I have many differences of opinion, we usually get along well most of the time. 8. We emphasize that only those applicants with appropriate certificates or diplomas are eligible for the job. 9. Because of the increasing population migration to other residential areas we decided to close down our branch in that downtown district. 10. Just between you and me, Mary is shortlisted and has made an appointment to see that personnel manager next Tuesday. I’ve never been a cooperative person. I’m very ready to cooperate now. I’ll be a corporate executive. I never want to be an operator.

W: Dr. Thomas? This is Bradley from the Daily News. I’d like to ask you some questions about the new official standard weight that you purchased. M: I’d be happy to help you. What would you like to know? W: First of all, how was the standard weight used? M: Well, the people in our department use it to check the scales all over the country. The department of weights and measures is a government agency. It’s our responsibility to see that all the scales measure a kilogram accurately so this is the way we use to adjust the scales. W: How did you check the scales before? M: We have an old standard weight that we used to use. It had to be replaced because it was imprecise. You see it was made of poor quality metal that was too porous. It absorbed too much moisture. W: Oh! So when the weather was humid it weighed more and when it was dry it weighed less. M: Exactly. And that variation can affect the standards of the whole country. So our department had the new weight made out of higher quality metal. W: How much did it cost? M: About 45 thousand dollars. W: 45,000 dollars? For one kilogram weight? That’s more expensive than gold. Is it really worth that much? M: I’m sure it is. Industries depend on our government agency to monitor the accuracy of scales so that when they buy and sell their products there is one standard. Think of the drug industry, for example, those companies rely on high accuracy scales to manufacture and package medicine. 11. What’s the usage of the standard weight? 12. If it keeps raining, what will happen to the old standard? 13. How much does the standard weight cost? 14. Why is the new standard weight worth so much? It’s used to help industries buy and sell products. It’s used to check the scales all over the country. It’s used to measure a product. It’s used to improve the poor quality.

As humans we laugh and cry, but seldom do we question how, or why. Crying is a more complicated process than one would at first imagine. First of all, there are really three different types of tears. Basal tears keep our eyes lubricated constantly. Reflex tears are produced when our eyes get irritated, like with onions or when something gets into our eyes. The third kind of tear is produced when the body reacts emotionally to something. Each type of tear contains different amounts of chemical proteins and hormones. Scientists have discovered that the emotional tears contain higher levels of manganese and the hormone prolactin, and this contributes to a reduction of both of these in the body: thus helping to keep depression away. Many people have found that crying actually calms them after being upset and this is in part due to the chemicals and hormones that are released in the tears. How then actually do we cry? The psychic tears require an emotional response, or trigger to be activated. This response can be caused by an outside source, either pain or loss of love, etc., or from an inside source. When emotions affect us, the nervous system stimulates the cranial nerve in the brain and this sends signals to the neurotransmitters to the tear glands. Thus, we cry. The largest tear gland, the lacrimal gland produces the tears of emotion and reflex. Many believe that the body, in times of emotional stress, depends on this gland to release excess amounts of chemicals and hormones, returning it to a stable state. 15. Which type of tears is not mentioned in the talk? 16. Which of the following statements is not true? 17. How do we actually cry? 18. What is the largest tear gland inside our body? Basal tears. Reflex tears. Emotional tears. Physical tears.

M: Could we have a quick word about the sales conference? W: Yes, of course. The venue’s booked. M: Good. And I’ve got some definite numbers now. There are 107 delegates. W: That’s OK. The auditorium holds 130, and I’ve booked two other rooms as well. M: We need to sort out the program. W: It’s difficult to do that without knowing how many people are attending each talk. There is a conference room that holds 60 people and a meeting room that holds 30. M: Well, everyone’s going to Mr. Tanaka’s presentation. He’s giving the opening address. But I’ll find out about the others. W: Would you also ask the speakers if they need any special equipment? M: What have you got, then? W: There are simultaneous translation facilities in the auditorium and there’s a video projector in the conference room. M: What about microphones and slide projectors? W: All the rooms have them. M: Good. W: What time would you like to start? M: Nine, I think. Then we can fit two sessions in before lunch. What are we doing for lunch? W: There’s a bar for drinks and I thought we’d have a buffet. M: Don’t they do sit-down meals? W: Yes. Would you prefer a sit-down meal, then? M: I think so. W: OK, I’ll arrange it. M: And I’ll find out what equipment the speakers need. 19. Why can’t the speaker sort out the program now? 20. How many people are attending Mr. Tananka’s presentation? 21. Which of the following items is not included in the discussion? 22. Who will arrange the meal? Because they don’t know how many people are coming to the conference. Because they don’t have enough time for detailed discussion now. Because they don’t know how many people are attending each talk. Because they haven’t booked enough rooms yet.

Hello, everyone. Have you ever wondered what the weather is like in other places around the world? Today, I’d like to talk to you about the changing seasons in my city which was the assigned topic for this class. First of all, the winter season usually begins in December and ends in early March. The coldest month is January, and temperatures can drop below freezing for most of this month. The city usually averages about 30 inches of snow during this entire 3-month period. Occasionally, we have snow storms that can drop a foot of snow in a very short period of time. Winter activities during this season include sledding, skiing, and snowshoeing. Spring usually arrives in late March, and the temperatures hover around 50 degrees during the day. It is a beautiful season because the flowers start to bloom. It is sometimes windy, and this is great for flying kites. People in my city often like to go on picnics, stroll through parks, and play outdoor games. Next, summer starts in June, as temperatures start to rise to around 80 degrees. The summer in my city is very dry with little rain throughout the season, and temperatures can soar above 100 degrees in August. Fortunately, the weather is very dry with low humidity, so it is really pleasant even on hot days. Popular activities during this season include hiking, fishing, camping, water skiing, and outdoor sports include football and soccer. And finally, summer changes to fall in late September when the weather cools off, and the trees begin to change colors. A lot of people enjoy driving into the mountains and viewing the fall colors. It is also a time when people clean up their yards and gardens in preparation for the winter season. So, as you can see, my city has a lot to offer no matter when you visit this area. 23. Which type of recording does the talk most probably belong to? 24. According to the talk, how would you characterize the winter season in the city? 25. Which statement is not true about spring? 26. What is among the activities people like in the fall? A TV weather program on seasonal changes. An informal discussion between friends. An academic presentation at school. An advertisement for a city tour.

M: Okay. May I see your driver’s license please? W: What? Did I do anything wrong? M: License, please. And your car registration. W: Oh, yeah. Yeah, here it is. M: Madam, did you realize you were speeding in a school zone? W: What? No, I didn’t, but that’s probably because my odometer is broken, I mean, malfunctioning. M: Yes, you were going 50 miles per hour in a 20 miles per hour zone. And, you failed to come to a complete stop at the intersection back there. W: Rolling stops don’t count? M: And, one of your break lights is out, you’re not wearing a seat belt, and your driver’s license expired six month ago. W: And your name is...Officer Smith? Hey, are you related to the Smiths in town? My husband’s cousin’s husband, I think his name is Fred, works for the police department here. Or was that the fire department? Anyway, I, I thought you might be good pals, and you know... M: Hey, are you trying to influence an officer? I could have this car impounded right now because of these infractions. W: No, of course not. M: Okay, then. Here’s your ticket. You can either appear in court to pay the fine or mail it in. Have a nice day. W: Do you take cash? 27. Which law did the driver break in the school zone? 28. What happened at the intersection? 29. When mentioning the officer’s name, what did the driver want to imply? 30. What happens at the end of the conversation? She exceeded the speed limit. She drank the wine before driving. She didn’t yield to children crossing the road. She parked illegally near the school.

(1)Girls who regularly eat breakfast, particularly one that includes cereal, are slimmer than those who skip the morning meal. (2)New York’s crowded quarters force restaurants to store trash indoors until it can be collected, providing rats with an indoor food source. (3)Research among youngsters has found 47 per cent feel unsafe being driven by their mother, compared with 39 per cent who feel unsafe with their father. (4)Air and water pollution combined with widespread use of food additives and pesticides made cancer the top killer in China last year, according to a recent government survey. (5)Divorce, inheritance and business sense has helped a growing number of women to become millionaires, who have increased at five times the rate of wealthy men.

(1)To help you better manage your salary, here comes some money-saving tips. First, you need to set ambitious goals to encourage you to save money. For example, you plan to have a formal dress in one year, to own a car in two years’ time or to buy an apartment in five years. Second, economize your daily expense. Third, form money-saving habits while stay away from those that waste money. Learn to keep a diary of how much you spend and what it’s for. (2)More than 600 million people worldwide work excessively long hours—and Britons are the worst offenders among rich nations. A report on working trends shows that more than a quarter of British workers put in more than 48 hours a week. It pointed to the growth of service industries, such as tourism and transport, and the expanding informal economy, where workers are not under contract, contributed to longer working hours. Both elements are signs of increasing globalization, it said.

The most widely discussed alternative to the traditional campus is the Internet University—a voluntary community to scholars/teachers physically scattered throughout a country or around the world but all linked in cyberspace. A computerized university could have many advantages, such as easy scheduling, efficient delivery of lectures to thousands or even millions of students at once, and ready access for students everywhere to the resources of all the world’s great libraries. Yet the Internet University poses dangers, too. For example, a line of franchised courseware, produced by a few superstar teachers, marketed under the brand name of a famous institution, and heavily advertised, might eventually come to dominate the global education market, warns sociology professor Peter Manicas of the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Besides enforcing a rigidly standardized curriculum, such a “college education in a box“ could undersell the offerings of many traditional brick and mortar institutions, effectively driving then out of business and throwing thousands of career academics out of work, note Australian communications professors David Rooney and Greg Hearn. On the other hand, while global connectivity seems highly likely to play some significant role in future higher education, that does not mean greater uniformity in course content—or other dangers —will necessarily follow. Counter-movements are also at work. Many in academia, including scholars contributing to this volume, are questioning the fundamental mission of university education. What if, for instance, instead of receiving primarily technical training and building their individual careers, university students and professors could focus their learning and research efforts on existing problems in their local communities and the world? Feminist scholar Ivana Milojevic dares to dream what a university might become “if we believed that child-care workers and teachers in early childhood education should be one of the highest(rather than lowest)paid professionals“. Tomorrow’s university faculty, instead of giving lectures and conducting independent research, may take on three new roles. Some would act as brokers, assembling customized degree-credit programmes for individual students by mixing and matching the best course offerings available from institutions all around the world. A second group, mentors, would function much like today’s faculty advisers, but are likely to be working with many more students outside their own academic specialty. This would require them to constantly be learning from their students as well as instructing them. A third new role for faculty, and the most challenging and rewarding of all, would be as meaning-makers: charismatic sages and practitioners leading groups of students/colleagues in collaborative efforts to find spiritual as well as rational and technological solutions to specific real-world problems. Moreover, there seems little reason to suppose that any one form of university must necessarily drive out all other options. Students may be “enrolled“ in courses offered at virtual campuses on the Internet, between—or even during—sessions at a real-world problem-focused institution. No future is inevitable, and the very act of imagining and thinking through alternative possibilities can directly affect how thoughtfully, creatively and urgently even a dominant technology is adapted and applied. Even in academia, the future belongs to those who care enough to work their visions into practical, sustainable realities.

Public distrust of scientists stems in part from the blurring of boundaries between science and technology, between discovery and manufacture. Most governments, perhaps all governments, justifies public expenditure on scientific research in terms of the economic benefits the scientific enterprise has brought in the past and will bring in the future. Politicians remind their voters of the splendid machines “our scientists“ have invented, the new drugs to relieve old ailments, and the new surgical equipment and techniques by which previously intractable conditions may now be treated and lives saved. At the same time, the politicians demand of scientists that they tailor their research to “economics needs“, that they award a higher priority to research proposals that are “near the market“ and can be translated into the greatest return on investment in the shortest time. Dependent, as they are, on politicians for much of their funding, scientists have little choice but to comply. Like the rest of us, they are members of a society that rates the creation of wealth as the greatest possible good. Many have reservations, but keep them to themselves in what they perceive as a climate hostile to the pursuit of understanding for its own sake and the idea of an inquiring, creative spirit. In such circumstances no one should be too hard on people who are suspicious of conflicts of interest. When we learn that the distinguished professor assuring us of the safety of a particular product holds a consultancy with the company making it, we cannot be blamed for wondering whether his fee might conceivably cloud his professional judgment. Even if the professor holds no consultancy with any firm, some people many still distrust him because of his association with those who do, or at least wonder about the source of some his research funding. This attitude can have damaging effects. It questions the integrity of individuals working in a profession that prizes intellectual honesty as the supreme virtue, and plays into the hands of those who would like to discredit scientists by representing them a venal. This makes it easier to dismiss all scientific pronouncements, but especially those made by the scientists who present themselves as “experts“. The scientist most likely to understand the safety of a nuclear reactor, for example, is a nuclear engineer declares that a reactor is unsafe, we believe him, because clearly it is not to his advantage to lie about it. If he tells us it is safe, on the other hand, we distrust him, because he may well be protecting the employer who pays his salary.

“Museum“ is a slippery word. It first meant(in Greek)anything consecrated to the Muses: a hill, a shrine, a garden, a festival or even a textbook. Both Plato’s Academy and Aristotle’s Lyceum had a mouseion, a muses’ shrine. Although the Greeks already collected detached works of art, many temples—notably that of Hera at Olympia(before which the Olympic flame is still lit)—had collections of objects, some of which were works of art by well-known masters, while paintings and sculptures in the Alexandrian Museum were incidental to its main purpose. The Romans also collected and exhibited art from disbanded temples, as well as mineral specimens, exotic plants, animals: and they plundered sculptures and paintings(mostly Greek)for exhibition. Meanwhile, the Greek word had slipped into Latin by transliteration(though not to signify picture galleries, which were called pinacothecae)and museum still more or less meant “Muses’ shrine“. The inspirational collections of precious and semi-precious objects were kept in larger churches and monasteries—which focused on the gold-enshrined, bejewelled relics of saints and martyrs. Princes, and later merchants, had similar collections, which became the deposits of natural curiosities: large lumps of amber or coral, irregular pearls, unicorn horns, ostrich eggs, fossil bones and so on. They also included coins and gems— often antique engraved ones—as well as, increasingly, paintings and sculptures. As they multiplied and expanded, to supplement them, the skill of the fakers grew increasingly refined. At the same time, the 15th century, visitors could admire the very grandest paintings and sculptures in the churches, palaces and castles: they were not “collected“ either, but “site-specific“, and were considered an integral part both of the fabric of the buildings and of the way of life which went on inside them—and most of the buildings were public ones. In the 17th century, scientific and prestige collecting became so widespread that three or four collectors independently published directories to museums all over the known world. But it was the age of revolutions and industry which produced the next sharp shift in the way the institution was perceived: the fury against royal and church monuments prompted antiquarians to shelter them in asylum-galleries, of which the Musee des Monuments Francais was the most famous. Then, in the first half of the 19th century, museum funding took off, allied to the rise of new wealth: London acquired the National Gallery and the British Museum, the Louvre was organized, the Museum-Insel was begun in Berlin, and the Munich galleries were built. In Vienna, the huge Kunsthistorisches and Naturhistorisches Museums took over much of the imperial treasure. Meanwhile, the decline of craftsmanship(and of public taste with it)inspired the creation of “improving“ collections. The Victoria and Albert Museum in London was the most famous, as well as perhaps the largest of them.

Throughout the nation’s more than 15,000 school districts, widely differing approaches to teaching science and math have emerged. Though there can be strength in diversity, a new international analysis suggests that this variability has instead contributed to lackluster achievement scores by US children relative to their peers in other developed countries. Indeed, concludes William H. Schmidt of Michigan State University, who led the new analysis, “no single intellectually coherent vision dominates US educational practice in math or science.“ The reason, he said, “is because the system is deeply and fundamentally flawed.“ The new analysis, released this week by the National Science Foundation in Arlington, Va., is based on data collected from about 50 nations as part of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study. Not only do approaches to teaching science and math vary among individual US communities, the report finds, but there appears to be little strategic focus within a school district’s curricula, its textbooks, or its teachers’ activities. This contrasts sharply with the coordinated national programs of most other countries. On average, US students study more topics within science and math than their international counterparts do. This creates an educational environment that “is a mile wide and an inch deep“, Schmidt notes. For instance, eighth graders in the United States cover about 33 topics in math versus just 19 in Japan. Among science courses, the international gap is even wider. US curricula for this age level resemble those of a small group of countries including Australia, Thailand, Iceland, and Bulgaria. Schmidt asks whether the United States wants to be classed with these nations, whose educational systems “share our pattern of splintered visions“ but which are not economic leaders. “The new report couldn’t come at a better time,“ says Gerald Wheeler, executive director of the National Science Teachers Association in Arlington. “The new National Science Education Standards provide that focused vision,“ including the call “to do less, but in greater depth.“ Implementing the new science standards and their math counterparts will be the challenge, he and Schmidt agree, because the decentralized responsibility for education in the United States requires that any reforms be tailored and instituted one community at a time. In fact, Schmidt argues, reforms such as these proposed national standards “face an almost impossible task, because even though they are intellectually coherent, each becomes only one more voice in the babble.“

Government bond markets are supposed to be the accountants of the financial world: calm, steady and rational. They are not supposed to frighten the horses. But in the days following June 7th, bond investors had a traumatic experience. The yield on the ten-year Treasury bond rose from 4.96% that day to reach 5.33% during trading on June 13th before closing just below 5.2%. What makes the slump in bond prices all the odder is that Treasury bonds are normally regarded as the risk-free asset, the one that investors buy when they are really worried. What could have prompted the sell-off? Inflation One thing that could cause investors to flee government bonds would be an unexpected rise in inflation. Higher inflation devastates the value of fixed-income assets, as investors found to their cost in the 1970s. But this does not look like an inflation scare. Real yields have caused the vast bulk of the move: inflation expectations have moved up by only around a tenth of a percentage point. Strong Growth Investors may well have decided that American growth will be stronger than they had previously expected. But, in the absence of inflation, faster growth need not be bad for government bonds: higher tax revenues will make it easier for the government to service the debt. Alternatively, unexpectedly strong growth ought to be good news for equities, yet the stock market has also fluctuated wildly. Rate Cuts Another potential explanation is that the markets have given up on rate cuts from the Federal Reserve this year. But the futures market suggests this hope has been dwindling for some time. Global monetary policy is generally being tightened. However, this should not necessarily be bad news for long-dated bonds, if investors believe(as they seem to)that central banks will be successful in containing inflation. This suggests that economic fundamentals may not be the primary cause for the sell-off. Big market moves like this tend to occur when investors shift their positions in a hurry. In this case, it looks as if some bond bulls decided to throw in the towel. Hedging Behavior of the Mortgage Issuer The hedging policies of mortgage issuers may also have played a part. Because most Americans have fixed-rate mortgages, issuers find they tend to get repaid early when bond yields fall: they hedge this risk by buying Treasury bonds. When rates rise, borrowers are far less likely to repay: that causes mortgage issuers to sell their bonds. The effect can be to exacerbate short-term moves in bond prices. Asian Central Banks The big question, however, is whether Asian central banks have lost their appetite for American Treasuries. Part of the reason for the rise in yields was a disappointing auction of ten-year bonds, with foreign investors buying just 11% of the issue. Asian central banks had been buying Treasury bonds with their foreign-exchange reserves in an attempt to prevent their currencies from appreciating too rapidly against the dollar. Some analysts have estimated that these purchases had pushed bond yields between a half and a full percentage point below the level they would otherwise have reached. The result was that yield curves were “inverted“—long yields were below short-term rates. When he was Fed chairman, Alan Greenspan described this state of affairs as a “conundrum“: such curves had traditionally been a harbinger of recession, but perhaps Asian central bank policies meant this signal was no longer valid. Whoever has been selling Treasury bonds, the result is that the conundrum has disappeared: yield curves are now sloping upwards.

Everybody loves a fat pay rise. Yet pleasure at your own can vanish if you learn that a colleague has been given a bigger one. Indeed, if he has a reputation for slacking, you might even be outraged. Such behaviour is regarded as “all too human“, with the underlying assumption that other animals would not be capable of this finely developed sense of grievance. But a study by Sarah Brosnan and Frans de Waal of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, which has just been published in Nature, suggests that it all too monkey, as well. The researchers studied the behaviour of female brown capuchin monkeys. They look cute. They are good-natured, co-operative creatures, and they share their food tardily. Above all, like their female human counterparts, they tend to pay much closer attention to the value of “goods and services“ than males. Such characteristics make them perfect candidates for Dr. Brosnan’s and Dr. de Waal’s study. The researchers spent two years teaching their monkeys to exchange tokens for food. Normally, the monkeys were happy enough to exchange pieces of rock for slices of cucumber. However, when two monkeys were placed in separate but adjoining chambers, so that each could observe what the other was getting in return for its rock, their became markedly different. In the world of capuchins grapes are luxury goods(and much preferable to cucumbers). So when one monkey was handed a grape in exchange for her token, the second was reluctant to hand hers over for a mere piece of cucumber. And if one received a grape without having to provide her token in exchange at all, the other either tossed her own token at the researcher or out of the chamber, or refused to accept the slice of cucumber. Indeed, the mere presence of a grape in the other chamber(without an actual monkey to eat it)was enough to reduce resentment in a female capuchin. The researches suggest that capuchin monkeys, like humans, are guided by social emotions, in the wild, they are a co-operative, groupliving species, Such co-operation is likely to be stable only when each animal feels it is not being cheated. Feelings of righteous indignation, it seems, are not the preserve of people alone, Refusing a lesser reward completely makes these feelings abundantly clear to other members of the group. However, whether such a sense of fairness evolved independently in capuchins and humans, or whether it stems from the common ancestor that the species had 35 million years ago, is, as yet, an unanswered question.

Our common concepts of “soundness“ or “good health“ are far from the real criteria of health. In recent years, some experts have proposed the concept of sub-health as against the traditional view of health in terms of no illness. Although no evidence of illness is found in the body function of a person in sub-health, his energy tends to be deficient and adaptive abilities are on the decline to different degrees, which is a symptom of incomplete health. Physiologically people in sub-health are very susceptible to cold, fatigue and discomfort— including dyspepsia, insomnia, and psychological syndromes such as reduction of self-control, hypersensitiveness to surroundings, distortion of mental balance, and instability of mood. Experts estimate that without appropriate treatment or adjustment, 70% of the people in sub-health will die of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases: 10% will die of diabetes-incurred metabolic malfunction: 10% of overfatigue and unexpected sudden death: only the rest 10% are expected to run the natural course of life. This gloomy view should be taken into serious account by middle-and-old-aged people in sub-health. Never be too self-confident about your health. Instead, consult the doctor immediately or adjust yourself in work and life in case of any evidence of sub-health. Once in sub-health, no one is a better doctor than yourself.

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