When you travel in South America, you’d better pay attention to the following three kinds of dangerous South American animals.
Piranhas(水虎魚)
Although only a small number of piranhas are considered to be dangerous to humans, the red-bellied piranha is definitely one of those. Evidence has shown that a large group of piranhas can absolutely eat a herd of large animals crossing the river, leaving only bones. This fish lives in the freshwater streams of South America, and they can smell the blood from far away and launch attacks swiftly. It is said that they are only dangerous to humans if the water volumes are less and lower.
Anacondas(水蟒)
This South American monster of a creature often appears in the films or your nightmares!They have weighed over 230 kilograms. It is often considered to be the biggest snake in the world. You certainly don’t want to get caught alone with this snake due to its method of attacking and killing its victim. It is indeed a remarkably different brand of snake type as it regularly coils(纏繞)around all over its target, increasing the pressure until eventually its victim dies. Its jaws are powered by large muscles that produce enough power for its over 100 sharp teeth to pass through the thick skin of an crocodile. They don’t have poison. Sometimes they prefer to camouflage themselves so they look like their surroundings and swiftly draw back when humans are near.
Golden Poisonous Frogs
The golden poison frog might be the most-deadly of the South American animal, which is protected by means of poison. This very small frog, less than 55 mm in length, packs enough punch(效力)to take down a pair of African bull elephants. This apparently harmless frog has always been known to have killed people who have touched it directly. It’s also been noted that chicken and dogs have died by contacting things on which a golden poison frog had wandered! In intense colors, they normally look attractive to their targets.
【小題1】What can we learn about piranhas from the passage?
A.Piranhas are the most dangerous animals. |
B.Piranhas like to live in the deep seabed. |
C.Piranhas may attack human beings when the water level is low. |
D.Piranhas only attack human beings when they cross the river in groups. |
A.It often uses its poison to kill its victim. |
B.It often uses its strength to kill its victim. |
C.It kills its victim mainly using its powerful teeth. |
D.It kills its victim with the help of other snakes. |
A.hide itself by appearing like the surroundings |
B.terrify and capture the enemy by making much noise |
C.move around to search for delicious food |
D.give off harmful gas to kill the targets |
A.no animals can survive the poison of the golden poison frog |
B.they like to wander along the path of the golden poison frog |
C.the golden poison frog likes eating them most |
D.the poison of the golden poison frog is deadly |
【小題1】C
【小題2】B
【小題3】A
【小題4】D
解析試題分析:本文描述了南美三種危險的動物:水虎魚,水蟒和金毒蛙。
【小題1】從第二段最后一句It is said that they are only dangerous to humans if the water volumes are less and lower可得知正確答案為C。解題時也可以根據(jù)選項結(jié)構(gòu)及內(nèi)容先答案應(yīng)該是在CD兩項中確定,再進(jìn)一步找信息句排除選項D。
【小題2】從第三段.... it regularly coils(纏繞)around all over its target, increasing the pressure until eventually its victim dies可得知水蟒主要是通過它的力氣將目標(biāo)物纏繞致死,故選擇B。
【小題3】從第三段so they look like their surroundings可以得知答案C,即喬裝自己使它們看起來像周圍的環(huán)境從而躲避自己。
【小題4】文章最后一段主題句是The golden poison frog might be the most-deadly of the South American animal, which is protected by means of poison。然后通過舉例子人,雞,狗等動物論證支撐這一觀點,故選D
考點:科普說明文
科目:高中英語 來源: 題型:閱讀理解
Language learning begins with listening. Children are greatly different in the amount of listening they do before they start speaking, and later starters are often long listeners. Most children will "obey" spoken instructions some time before they can speak, though the word "obey" is hardly accurate as a description of the eager and delighted cooperation usually shown by the child. Before they can speak, many children will also ask questions by gesture and by making questioning noises.
Any attempt to study the development from the noises babies make to their first spoken words leads to considerable difficulties. It is agreed that they enjoy making noises, and that during the first few months one or two noises sort themselves as particularly expressive as delight, pain, friendliness, and so on. But sincethese can't be said to show the baby's intention to communicate, they can hardly be regarded as early forms of language. It is agreed, too, that from about three months they play with sounds for enjoyment, and that by six months they are able to add new words to their store. This self-imitation leads on to deliberate (有意的) imitation of sounds made or words spoken to them by other people. The problem then arises as to the point at which one can say that these imitations can be considered as speech.
It is a problem we need to get out. The meaning of a word depends on what a particular person means by it in a particular situation and it is clear that what a child means by a word will change as he gains more experience of the world.Thus the use at seven months of"mama" as a greeting for his mother cannot be dismissed as a meaningless sound simply because he also uses it at other times for his father, his dog, or anything else he likes. Playful and meaningless imitation of what other people say continues after the child has begun to speak for himself, I doubt, however, whether anything is gained when parents take advantage of this ability in an attempt to teach new sounds.
【小題1】Before children start speaking, _____.
A.they need equal amount of listening |
B.they need different amounts of listening |
C.they are all eager to cooperate with the adults by obeying spoken instructions |
D.they can't understand and obey the adult's oral instructions |
A.may have problems with their listening |
B.probably do not hear enough language spoken around them |
C.usually pay close attention to what they hear |
D.often take a long time in learning to listen properly |
A.a(chǎn)n expression of his moods and feelings |
B.a(chǎn)n early form of language |
C.a(chǎn) sign that he means to tell you something |
D.a(chǎn)n imitation of the speech of adults |
A.is important because words have different meanings for different people |
B.is one that should be properly understood because the meaning of words changes with age |
C.is not especially important because the changeover takes place gradually |
D.is one that should be completely ignored (忽略) because children's use of words is often meaningless |
A.parents can never hope to teach their children new sounds |
B.even after they have learnt to speak, children still enjoy imitating |
C.children no longer imitate people after they begin to speak |
D.children who are good at imitating learn new words more quickly |
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科目:高中英語 來源: 題型:閱讀理解
Antidepressant(抗憂郁)drugs such as Prozac were viewed in the early 1900's as wonder pills that would remove depressive blues for good. But in the past five years, growing scientific evidence has shown these drugs work for only a minority of people. And now a research journal says that these antidepressants can make many patients' depression worse. This alarming suggestion centres on the very chemical that is targeted by antidepressants-serotonin(血清素). Drugs such as Prozac are known as selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors(or SSRIs). Their aim is to increase the level of this “feel-good” chemical in the brain.
But the new research, published in the journal Frontiers In Evolutionary Psychology, points out that serotonin is like a chemical Swiss Army knife, performing a very wide range of jobs in the brain and body. And when we start changing serotonin levels purposely, it may cause a wide range of unwanted effects. These can include digestive problems and even early deaths in older people, according to the study's lead researcher Paul Andrews. “ We need to be much more cautious about use of these drugs,” says Andrews, an assistant professor of evolutionary psychology at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada.
Previous research has suggested that the drugs provide little benefit for most people with mild depression, and actively help only a few of the most severely depressed. Famous psychologist Irving Kirsch has found that for many patients, SSRIs are no more effective than a placebo pill. A research in 2010 on Danish children found a small, but significant, increase in the risk of heart problems among babies whose mothers had used SSRIs in early pregnancy. The key to understanding these side-effects is serotonin, says Andrews. Serotonin is also the reason why patients can often end up feeling still more depressed after they have finished a course of SSRI drugs. He argues that SSRI antidepressants disturb the brain, leaving the patient an even greater depression than before.
“After long use, when a patient stops taking SSRIs, the brain will lower its levels of serotonin production,” he says, adding that it also changes the way receptors in the brain respond to serotonin, making the brain less sensitive to the chemical. These changes are believed to be temporary, but studies indicate that the effects may continue for up to two years.
Most disturbingly of all, Andrews' review features three recent studies which, he says , show that elderly antidepressant users are more likely to die earlier than non-users, even after taking other important variables into account. One study, published in the British Medical Journal last year, found patients given SSRIs were more than 4 per cent more likely to die in the next year than those not on the drugs.
“Serotonin is an ancient chemical,” says Andrews. “It is regulating many different processes, and when you disturb these things, you can expect that it is going to cause some harm.”
Stafford Lightman, professor of medicine at the University of Bristol, and a leading UK expert in brain chemicals and hormones, says Andrews’ review highlights some important problems, yet it should also be taken with a pinch of salt. “This report is doing the opposite of what drug companies do,” he says. “Drug companies selectively present all the positives in their research, while this search selectively presents all the negatives that can be found. Nevertheless, Andrews' study is useful in that it is always worth pointing out that there is a downside to any medicine. ” Professor Lightman adds that there is still a great deal we don't know about SSRIs-not least what they actually do in our brains.
When it comes to understanding why the drugs work only for a limited part of patients, U.S. scientists think they might now have the answer. They think that in many depressed patients, it’s not only the lack of feel-good serotonin causing their depression, but also a failure in the area of the brain that produces new cells throughout our lives. This area, the hippocampus, is also responsible for regulating mood and memory. Research suggests that in patients whose hippocampus has lost the ability to produce new cells, SSRIs do not bring any benefit.
【小題1】According to paragraph 2, serotonin, like a chemical Swiss Army knife, can .
A.make many patients' depression worse |
B.cause a wide range of unwanted effects |
C.a(chǎn)ffect human body and brain in various ways |
D.provide little benefit for most depressed people |
A.drug companies don't know the negative effect of antidepressants |
B.Andrews focused on different things from the drug companies |
C.scientists have found what SSRIs do in the brain |
D.Andrews' research has no medical value |
A.They are used to increase the “feel-good” medical in the brain. |
B.They can work even when the hippocampus can't produce new cells. |
C.They create a risk of heart problems in pregnant women. |
D.They are responsible for controlling mood and memory. |
A.The aim of drug companies |
B.The function of SSRIs |
C.The side-effects of antidepressants |
D.The cause of depression |
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科目:高中英語 來源: 題型:閱讀理解
Ever wonder how much a cloud weighs? What about a hurricane? A meteorologist(氣象學(xué)者) has done some estimates and the results might surprise you.
Let's start with a very simple white puffy cloud — a cumulus cloud(積云). How much does the water in a cumulus cloud weigh? Peggy LeMone, senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, did the numbers. "The water in the little cloud weighs about 550 tons," she calculates. "Or if you want to convert it to something that might be a little more meaningful … think of elephants."
The thought of a hundred elephants-worth of water suspended(懸浮的) in the sky begs another question — what keeps it up there?
"First of all, the water isn't in elephant-sized particles(微粒), it's in tiny tiny tiny particles," explains LeMone. And those particles float on the warmer air that's rising below. But still, the concept of so much water floating in the sky was surprising even to a meteorologist like LeMone. "I had no idea how much a cloud would weigh, actually, when I started the calculations," she says.
So how many elephant units of water are inside a big storm cloud—10 times bigger all the way around than the "puffy" cumulus cloud? Again, LeMone did the numbers: About 200,000 elephants.
Now, ratchet up(略微調(diào)高) the calculations for a hurricane about the size of Missouri and the figures get really massive(巨大的). "What we're doing is weighing the water in one cubic meter theoretically pulled from a cloud and then multiplying by(乘上) the number of meters in a whole hurricane," she explains.
The result? Forty million elephants. That means the water in one hurricane weighs more than all the elephants on the planet. Perhaps even more than all the elephants that have ever lived on the planet.
【小題1】The weight of is NOT mentioned in the passage.
A.a(chǎn) cumulus cloud | B.a(chǎn) tornado |
C.a(chǎn) hurricane | D.a(chǎn) storm cloud |
A.She found it not convincing. |
B.She thought it needed further calculations. |
C.She was quite surprised at it. |
D.She considered the calculations inaccurate. |
A.A storm cloud weighs about 200,000 elephants. |
B.The water in a hurricane weighs more than that in any other kind of cloud. |
C.There are less than forty million elephants living on the earth. |
D.The water in the cloud is in very tiny partials. |
A.How Much a Cloud Weighs | B.How Much a Hurricane Weighs |
C.Surprising Results | D.Elephants in the Sky |
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科目:高中英語 來源: 題型:閱讀理解
Rene Descartes’ explanation of pain has long been acknowledged in medicine. He proposed that pain is a purely physical phenomenon – that tissue injury makes specific nerves send a signal to the brain, causing the mind to notice pain. The phenomenon, he said, is like pulling on a rope to ring a bell in the brain. It is hard to overstate how deeply fixed this account has become. In medicine, doctors see pain in Descartes’ terms— as a physical process, a sign of tissue injury.
The limitations of this explanation, however, have been apparent for some time, since people with obvious injuries sometimes report feeling no pain at all. Later, researchers proposed that Descartes’ model be replaced with what they called the gate control theory of pain. They argued that before pain signals reach the brain, they must first go through a gating mechanism in the spinal cord(脊髓). In some cases, this imaginary gate could simply stop pain signals from getting to the brain.
Their most amazing suggestion was that what controlled the gate was not just signals from sensory nerves but also emotions and other “output” from the brain. They were saying that pulling on the rope need not make the bell ring. The bell itself—the mind— could stop it. This theory led to a great deal of research into how such factors as mood, gender, and beliefs influence the experience of pain. In a British study, for example, researchers measured pain threshold and tolerance levels in 53 ballet dancers and 53 university students by using a common measurement: after immersing your hand in body-temperature water for two minutes to establish a baseline condition, you put your hand in a bowl of ice water and start a clock running. You mark the time when it begins to hurt: that is your pain threshold. Then you mark the time when it hurts too much to keep your hand in the water: that is your pain tolerance. The test is always stopped at 120 seconds, to prevent injury.
The results were striking. On average female students reported pain at 16 seconds and pulled their hands out of the ice water at 37 seconds. Female dancers were almost three times as long on both counts. Men in both groups had a higher threshold and tolerance for pain, but the difference between male dancers and male nondancers was nearly as large. What explains that difference? Probably it has something to do with the psychology of ballet dancers—a group known for self-discipline, physical fitness, and competitiveness, as well as by a high rate of chronic(慢性) injury. Their driven personalities and competitive culture evidently accustom them to pain. Other studies along these lines have shown that outgoing people have greater pain tolerance and that, with training, one can reduce one’s sensitivity to pain.
There is also striking evidence that very simple kinds of mental suggestion can have powerful effects on pain. In one study of 500 patients undergoing dental procedures, those who were given a placebo(安慰劑) injection and promised that it would relieve their pain had the least discomfort— not only less than the patients who got a placebo and were told nothing but also less than the patients who got actual drug without any promise that it would work.
Today it is abundantly evident that the brain is actively involved in the experience of pain and is no more bell on a string. Today every medical textbook teaches the gate control theory as fact. There’s a problem with it, though. It explains people who have injuries but feel no pain, but it doesn’t explain the reverse, which is far more common— the millions of people who experience chronic pain, such as back pain, with no signs of injury whatsoever. So where does the pain come from? The rope and clapper are gone, but the bell is still ringing.
【小題1】The primary purpose of the passage is to .
A.describe how modern research has updated an old explanation |
B.support a traditional view with new data |
C.promote a particular attitude towards physical experience |
D.suggest a creative treatment for a medical condition |
A.The brain can shut pain off at will. |
B.The brain plays no part in the body’s experience of pain. |
C.Pain can be caused in many different ways. |
D.Pain is an automatic response to bodily injury. |
A.offered an extremely new and original explanation |
B.was just opposite to people’s everyday experiences |
C.was grounded in an ridiculous logic |
D.was so sensible it should have been proposed centuries before |
A.costly, because it troubles millions of people |
B.puzzling, because it sometimes has no obvious cause |
C.disappointing, because it does not improve with treatment |
D.worrying, because it lies beyond the reach of medicine |
A.scientific judgments are difficult to understand |
B.theoretical investigations are generally useless |
C.researchers still have a long way to go before the puzzle is made clear |
D.there is always something puzzling at the heart of science |
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科目:高中英語 來源: 題型:閱讀理解
At night, bats fly through the air, catching hundreds of insects and other small animals. But during the day, they hardly move at all. Instead, bats pass the time hanging upside down from a secret spot.
There are a couple of reasons why bats rest this way. First of all, it puts them in a position for takeoff. Unlike birds, bats can’t fly into the air from the ground. Their wings don’t produce enough lift to take off from a dead stop, and their hind legs are so small and underdeveloped that they can’t run to build up the necessary takeoff speed. Instead, they use their front claws to climb to a high spot, and then fall into flight.
During the hours when most enemies are active, bats gather where few animals would think to look and most can’t reach. This allows them to disappear from the world until night comes again. There’s also little competition for these resting spots, as other flying animals don’t have the ability to hang upside down. Bats have a unique physiological adaptation that lets them hang around this way without using any energy. For you to hold your fist around an object tight, you contract(緊縮) several muscles in your arm, which are connected to your fingers by tendons(腱);as one muscle contracts, it pulls a tendon, which pulls one of your fingers closed. A bat’s talons(爪) close in the same way, except that their tendons are connected only to the upper body, not to a muscle. To hang upside down, a bat pulls its claws open with other muscles. To get the talons to take hold of the surface, the bat simply lets its body relax. The weight of the upper body pulls down on the tendons connected to the talons, causing them to hold tight. Therefore, the bat doesn’t have to do anything to hang upside down.
【小題1】Bats hang upside down because________.
A.they haven’t developed a pair of strong claws |
B.they can’t start to fly from the ground directly |
C.they have no hind legs to support their body |
D.they can’t find quiet places to stay during the day |
A.is to save their energy for night movement |
B.is a way to fight against flying animals |
C.is a great way to hide from danger |
D.is a skill to compete for the flying places |
A.Because their upper body is light. |
B.Because they have strong muscles. |
C.Because their talons are linked to muscles tightly. |
D.Because their tendons are linked to their upper body. |
A.The living habits of bats. |
B.How and why bats hang upside down. |
C.The importance of bats’ hanging upside down. |
D.How bats use their energy at night. |
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科目:高中英語 來源: 題型:閱讀理解
Since the beginning of the year, smog has covered parts of North China. In January, Beijing saw only five days without smog. The rising PM 2.5 readings terrified many people, and some health experts said that whenever the smog gets serious, hospitals receive more patients suffering acute respiratory(呼吸系統(tǒng))and heart diseases.
Later, news of polluted underground water in some provinces scared people who wondered whether the water they drink is safe.
So the need to emphasize environmental protection while developing the economy is heard everywhere.
Smog especially is a common concern. Like a popular online post said, air may be the only thing that is equal for everyone, despite your income or vocation. People with higher incomes are able to drink only bottled spring water and eat only organic food by paying higher prices, but they breathe the same air as everyone else.
At a meeting on Monday, many Representatives have expressed their concerns about the air quality, too. One talked about his experience in Beijing. “After taking a taxi from the capital airport to my hotel, which took about an hour, I washed my nose and found the inside of my nose was black. We should ask ourselves this question: Why do we want to develop? It's for living a better life. Dirty air is definitely not a better life," he said.
China needs to develop its economy and invest(投資) in high-tech. Every Chinese wants a strong country. But without blue sky, clean water and safe food, the achievements in the economy will become meaningless. Space technologies are not to be developed for building a base on Mars so that one day all human beings can migrate to the red planet because they have destroyed Earth.
What the public wants is a strong and beautiful China. Former president Hu Jintao spoke at the 18th Party Congress last November saying that great efforts must be made to promote ecological progress and build a beautiful China. The words have shown the central government's resolution to address the environment issue.
【小題1】The effect of smog doesn’t include.
A.the rising of PM 2.5 readings |
B.more people suffering diseases |
C.the increase of people’s income |
D.patients increased in hospital |
A.Because people have to pay higher prices. |
B.Because nobody can avoid it. |
C.Because we have to develop industry. |
D.Because a popular online-post discussed it. |
A.human beings | B.other plants |
C.space technologies | D.industrial development |
A.high-tech can completely solve the problem of pollution |
B.space technologies should be developed in a large scale |
C.we can move to the Mars after the earth has been destroyed |
D.we must protect the environment while developing economy |
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科目:高中英語 來源: 題型:閱讀理解
Next time a customer comes to your office, offer him a cup of coffee. And when you’re doing your holiday shopping online, make sure you’re holding a large glass of iced tea. The physical sensation(感覺)of warmth encourages emotional warmth, while a cold drink in hand prevents you from making unwise decisions—those are the practical lesson being drawn from recent research by psychologist John A. Bargh.
Psychologists have known that one person’s perception(感知)of another’s “warmth” is a powerful determiner in social relationships. Judging someone to be either “warm” or “cold” is a primary consideration, even trumping evidence that a “cold” person may be more capable. Much of this is rooted in very early childhood experiences, Bargh argues, when babies’ conceptual sense of the world around them is shaped by physical sensations, particularly warmth and coldness. Classic studies by Harry Harlow, published in 1958, showed monkeys preferred to stay close to a cloth “mother” rather than one made of wire, even when the wire “mother” carried a food bottle. Harlow’s work and later studies have led psychologists to stress the need for warm physical contact from caregivers to help young children grow into healthy adults with normal social skills.
Feelings of “warmth” and “coldness” in social judgments appear to be universal. Although no worldwide study has been done, Bargh says that describing people as “warm” or “cold” is common to many cultures, and studies have found those perceptions influence judgment in dozens of countries.
To test the relationship between physical and psychological warmth, Bargh conducted an experiment which involved 41 college students. A research assistant who was unaware of the study’s hypotheses(假設(shè)), handed the students either a hot cup of coffee, or a cold drink, to hold while the researcher filled out a short information form. The drink was then handed back. After that, the students were asked to rate the personality of “Person A” based on a particular description. Those who had briefly held the warm drink regarded Person A as warmer than those who had held the iced drink.
“We are grounded in our physical experiences even when we think abstractly,” says Bargh.
【小題1】The author mentions Harlow’s experiment to show that ________.
A.babies need warm physical contact |
B.caregivers should be healthy adults |
C.a(chǎn)dults should develop social skills |
D.monkeys have social relationships |
A.write down their hypotheses |
B.evaluate someone’s personality |
C.fill out a personal information form |
D.hold coffee and cold drink alternatively |
A.a(chǎn)bstract thinking does not come from physical experiences |
B.feelings of warmth and coldness are studied worldwide |
C.physical temperature affects how we see others |
D.capable persons are often cold to others |
A.Drinking for Better Social Relationships. |
B.Developing Better Drinking Habits. |
C.Experiments of Personality Evaluation. |
D.Physical Sensations and Emotions. |
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科目:高中英語 來源: 題型:閱讀理解
About twenty of us had been fortunate enough to receive invitations to a film-studio(影棚)to take part in a crowd-scene. Although our "act" would last only for a short time, we could see quite a number of interesting things.
We all stood at the far end of the studio as workmen prepared the scene, setting up trees at the edge of a winding path.Very soon, bright lights were turned on and the big movie-camera was
wheeled into position. The director shouted something to the camera operator and then went to speak to the two famous actors nearby. Since it was hot in the studio, it came as a surprise to us to see one of the actors put on a heavy overcoat and start walking along the path. A big fan began blowing tiny white feathers down on him, and soon the trees were covered in "snow". Two more fans were turned on, and a "strong wind" blew through the trees. The picture looked so real that it made us feel cold.
The next scene was a complete contrast(對比).The way it was filmed was quite unusual. Pictures taken on an island in the Pacific were shown on a glass screen. An actor and actress stood in front of the scene so that they looked as if they were at the water's edge on an island. By a simple trick like this, palm trees, sandy beaches, and blue, clear skies had been brought into the studio!
Since it was our turn next, we were left wondering what scene would be prepared for us. For a full three minutes in our lives we would be experiencing the excitement of being film ”Stars”!
【小題1】Who is the author?
A.A cameraman. | B.A film director. |
C.A crowd-scene actor | D.A workman for scene setting |
A.The heavy snowfall. | B.The man-made scene. |
C.The low temperature. | D.The film being shown. |
A.A new scene would be filmed. |
B.More stars would act in the film. |
C.The author would leave the studio. |
D.The next scene would be prepared. |
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