children in to see the hens and residents come and sit outside to watchthem.

I’m enjoying the creative activities, and it feels great to have donesomething

useful.”

There are now 700 elderly people looking after hens in 20 care homes in

the North East, and the charity has been given financial support to roll itout

countrywide.

Wendy Wilson, extra care manager at 60 Penfold Street, one of the first

to embark on the project, said: “Residents really welcome the idea ofthe

project and the creative sessions. We are looking forward to the benefitsand

fun the project can bring to people here.”

Lynn Lewis, director of Notting Hill Pathways, said: “We are happy tobe

taking part in the project. It will really help connect our residentsthrough a

shared interest and creative activities.”

28. What is the purpose of the project?

A. To ensure harmony in care homes.

B. To provide part-time jobs for the aged.

C. To raise money for medical research.

D. To promote the elderly people’s welfare.

29. How has the project affected Ruth Xavier?

A. She has learned new life skills.

B. She has gained a sense of achievement.

C. She has recovered her memory.

D. She has developed a strong personality.

30. What do the underlined words “embark on” mean in paragraph 7?

A. Improve.

B. Oppose.

C. Begin.

D. Evaluate.

31. What can we learn about the project from the last two paragraphs?

A. It is well received.

B. It needs to be more creative.

D. It takes ages to see the results.

C. It is highly profitable.

D

Human speech contains more than 2,000 different sounds, from the

common “m” and “a” to the rare clicks of some southern Africanlanguages.

But why are certain sounds more common than others? A ground-breaking,

five-year study shows that diet-related changes in human bite led tonew

speech sounds that are now found in half the world’s languages.

More than 30 years ago, the scholar Charles Hockett noted that speech