If I get through this speech, it'll be the first time I actually finish something at Harvard.

Long before they can actually speak, babies pay special attention to the speech they hear around them. Within the first month of their lives, babies responses to the sound of the human voice will be different from their responses to other sorts of auditory stimuli. They will stop crying when they hear a person talking, but not if they hear a bell or the (5) sound of a rattle. At first, the sounds that an infant notices might be only those words that receive the heaviest emphasis and that often occur at the ends of utterances. By the time they are six or seven weeks old, babies can detect the difference between syllables pronounced with rising and falling inflections. Very soon, these differences in adult stress and intonation can influence babies emotional states and behavior. Long before they (10) develop actual language comprehension, babies can sense when an adult is playful or angry, attempting to initiate or terminate new behavior, and so on, merely on the basis of cues such as the rate, volume, and melody of adult speech. Adults make it as easy as they can for babies to pick up a language by exaggerating such cues. One researcher observed babies and their mothers in six diverse cultures and (15) found that, in all six languages, the mothers used simplified syntax, short utterances and nonsense sounds, and transformed certain sounds into baby talk. Other investigators have noted that when mothers talk to babies who are only a few months old, they exaggerate the pitch, loudness, and intensity of their words. They also exaggerate their facial expressions, hold vowels longer, and emphasize certain words. (20) More significant for language development than their response to general intonation is observation that tiny babies can make relatively fine distinctions between speech sounds. other words, babies enter the world with the ability to make precisely those perceptual discriminations that are necessary if they are to acquire aural language. Babies obviously derive pleasure from sound input, too: even as young as nine months (25) they will listen to songs or stories, although the words themselves are beyond their understanding. For babies, language is a sensory-motor delight rather than the route to prosaic meaning that it often is for adults.123． What does the passage mainly discuss?

Why does the author mention a bell and a rattle in lines 4-5 ?

A．To contrast the reactions of babies to human and nonhuman sounds

B．To give examples of sounds that will cause a baby to cry

C．To explain how babies distinguish between different nonhuman sounds

D．To give examples of typical toys that babies do not like

A、Once

B、Whatever

C、Onward

D、However

听力原文： The first book we'll be reading in this class will be One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Marquez was the winner of 1982 Nobel Peace Prize and this is his most famous novel. The story is set in the 1700s in South America. It's a story of the successes and failures of the Buendia family, and it covers it all--love and death, war and peace, youth and age. The story begins with one man and one woman, Jose Arcadio and Ursula, setting off in the jungles to start a new life in a new town. What follows is a chronicle of their lives. You can find copies of the book at most bookstores downtown, and I think the school bookstore has some used copies, too. We'11 be reading the English translation, but I encourage you to read the Spanish edition, too. The novel has been translated into 15 different languages, though the most common editions are in either Spanish or English.

In what department would this class most likely be offered?

A．Economics of South America.

B．Latin American History.

C．United States history.

D．Political Science.

听力原文：W: I'll be ready in a few minutes. I have to finish up this letter.

M: OK, I'll go down to the lobby for a paper.

Q: What will the man probably do?

(15)

A．Read the newspaper while he waits.

B．Help the woman with her correspondence.

C．Mail the letter from the lobby.

D．Get some stationery for the woman.

If you avoid the bottle and cigarettes, you'll be much healthier.

A．take off

B．keep off

C．get off

D．set off

Karen : I'm not optimistic about finding a job after I finish college. Joseph: Oh? Why not? Karen: The economy is going downhill fast. Joseph: I know. ______. It's getting to the point where even a degree won't help you anymore. Karen: That's right. And I'll be lucky to even move out of my parents' house.

A．My friend could offer me a job.

B．I am not sure whether I agree or not.

C．How do you feel about the economy?

D．What is this world coming to?