Why would an animal kill itself? It seems a strange question, and yet it is one that has made some scientists curious for a long time. For there is a kind of animal called lemming(旅鼠), that periodically killed themselves together, and no one knows just why!
The small creatures which live in the Scandinavian mountains, feed on a diet of roots and special insects and live in nests they dig underground. When their food supply is large, the lemmings live a normal and undisturbed life. 
However, when the lemmings’ food supply becomes too low to support the population, a singular migration(遷徙)begins. The lemmings leave their nests in groups. Great numbers of them begin to travel across the Scandinavian plains, a journey that may last weeks. The lemmings eat everything in their path, continuing their long march until they reach the sea. 
The reason for what follows remains unbelievable to naturalists. Upon reaching the coast, the lemmings do not stop but swim by the thousands into the sea. Most stay afloat only a short time before they tire, sink and drown. 
A common theory for this mass self-killing is that the lemmings do not realize that the ocean is such a huge body of water in their cross-country journey, the animals must cross many smaller bodies of water, such as rivers and small lakes. They may think that the sea is just another such swimmable path to go through. But no final answer has been found to the strange happening. 
【小題1】The passage is mainly about______.

A.how lemmings find food
B.why animals kill themselves
C.the lemmings’ self-killing
D.the food supply in the Scandinavian mountains
【小題2】A reason for the lemmings’ self-killing might be that they______.
A.go mad from a lack of food
B.hope to find fish for food
C.decide to reduce the population
D.think they can cross the sea
【小題3】Why are scientists curious about the lemmings’ behavior?
A.Because they are the only animals that live in Scandinavia.
B.Because it is very unusual for animals to kill themselves.
C.Because of the amount of food they can eat on their march to the sea.
D.Because they can gather together in such huge numbers.
【小題4】The underlined word “singular” means______.
A.unusual B.single C.wonderful D.common


【小題1】C
【小題2】D
【小題3】B
【小題4】A

解析試題分析:文章大意:介紹奇異的旅鼠集體自殺現(xiàn)象及對(duì)其原因的推測(cè)。
【小題1】主旨大意題第一段引出旅鼠定期集體自殺的話題,然后介紹他們的習(xí)性,接下來(lái)因?yàn)槭澄锕⿷?yīng)不足而進(jìn)行遷徙,到達(dá)海邊,然后集體渡海,體力不支死亡。最后一段是人們對(duì)于這種現(xiàn)象的推測(cè)。文章主要介紹的是旅鼠的自殺現(xiàn)象。選C
【小題2】細(xì)節(jié)理解題:根據(jù)最后一段:旅鼠可能沒(méi)有意識(shí)到海洋那么廣闊,他們可能認(rèn)為大海不過(guò)是可以游過(guò)去的。選D
【小題3】推理判斷題根據(jù)文章最后一句:But no final answer has been found to the strange happening.但是對(duì)于這種奇特現(xiàn)象至今還沒(méi)有最終的解答,導(dǎo)致科學(xué)家們對(duì)于旅鼠的異常行為非常好奇。選B。
【小題4】詞義猜測(cè)題旅鼠的這次遷徙導(dǎo)致了不同于尋常動(dòng)物遷徙的結(jié)果,所以這是unusual: 不同尋常的;非同尋常的。single: 單一的;單身的;單程的;wonderful: 奇妙的;極好的;common: 共同的;一般的;普通的。選A
考點(diǎn):考查科普類文章閱讀。

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A.people living in northern latitudes need more sunlight
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【小題3】Which of the following is NOT mentioned according to the passage?
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D.People like pop king Michael Jackson.
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Americans drink far more sodas than people in other countries— as much as 170 liters per person per year. But the impact of this study isn’t limited to the United States. “Sweetened drinks, coffee and tea are commonly consumed worldwide and have important physical consequences. And they may have important mental-health consequences as well,” study author Dr Honglei Chen said in a statement.
The study studied 263,925 people between the ages of 50 and 71. Researchers followed their consumption of drinks like soda, tea coffee, and other soft drinks from 1995 to 1996 and then. 10 years later, asked them if they had been diagnosed with depression since the year 2000. More than 11,3000 of them had.
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【小題1】What has the new study of more than 260,000 people found?

A.Sugary sodas aren’t good for the physical health of old people.
B.Americans have a special tooth for sweet foods.
C.Sweetened soft-drinks may increase the risk of depression.
D.Sweetened soft-drinks have important physical consequences.
【小題2】What do we know about the process of the study?
A.About twenty-six thousand people participated in it.
B.The oldest participants were below 80 when the study was over.
C.Most of the participants had depression when the study was over.
D.The study lasted more than ten years from the beginning to the end.
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A.can reduce the harm of sweetened drinks
B.is used to reduce the risk of depression
C.is mainly used to make fruit punch
D.is used to make something .sweet
【小題4】It is implied in the passage that ______.
A.more research is needed to confirm the new findings
B.the new findings aren’t consistent with any previous findings
C.cutting one’s sodas intake will surely reduce one’s depression
D.the new findings won’t have an impact on people’s drinking habits
【小題5】What should you drink in order to reduce the risk of depression?
A.Sodas.
B.Unsweetened coffee.
C.Sugary coffee.
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