Question

【題目】Jennifer Fish, a weather forecaster may soon be replaced by something truly fishier---the shark.

Research by a British biology student suggests that sharks could be used to predict storms.

Laura Smith, 24, is close to completing her study on shark’s ability to sense pressure.

If her studies prove the theory, scientists may be able to monitor the behaviour of sharks to predict bad weather.

Miss Smith had previously studied the behaviour of lemon sharks in the Bahamas.

She then used their close relatives, lesser spotted dogfish (貓鯊), for further research at Aberdeen University.

Her work---thought to be the first of its kind to test the pressure theory---resulted from the observation that juvenile blacktip sharks off Florida moved into deeper water ahead of a violent storm in 2001.

Miss Smith said: “I’ve always been crazy about traveling and diving and this led me to an interest in sharks.”

“I was delighted to have been able to research in the area for my degree. I know there’s so much more we need to understand---but it certainly opens the way to more research.”

It has been discovered that a shark senses pressure using hair cells in its balance system.

At the Bimini Shark Lab in the Bahamas, Miss Smith fixed hi-tech sensors to sharks to record pressure and temperature, while also tracking them using GPS (Global Positioning System) technology.

In Aberdeen, she was able to study the effects of tidal (潮汐的) and temperature changes on dogfish---none of which were harmed. She also used a special lab which can mimic (模擬) oceanic pressure changes caused by weather fronts.

She is due to complete her study and graduate later this year. She says she will be looking for a job which will give her the chance to enrich her experience of shark research.

【1】The passage is most probably taken from .

A. a short-story collection B. a personal diary

C. a research paper D. a popular science magazine

【2】What do we learn from the first four paragraphs of the passage?

A. Jennifer Fish is not fit for her job.

B. Sharks’ behaviour can be controlled.

C. Sharks may be used to predict bad weather.

D. Laura Smith will become a weather forecaster.

【3】Laura Smith conducted her research by .

A. monitoring sharks’ reaction to weather changes

B. measuring the air pressure of weather fronts

C. recording sharks’ body temperature

D. removing hair cells from a shark’s balance system

【4】What is the passage mainly about?

A. A popular way of forecasting weather.

B. Biologists, interest in the secrets of sharks.

C. A new research effort in predicting storms.

D. Laura Smith’s devotion to scientific research.

Answer 1

【答案】Research by a British biology student suggests that sharks could be used to predict storms.，C選項(xiàng)A new research effort in predicting storms.

【解析】本文為科普類文章，介紹了一位英國生物系學(xué)生對于鯊魚來預(yù)測暴風(fēng)雨的研究。

【1】推理判斷題。本題適宜用排除法。根據(jù)文章內(nèi)容來看這是一篇科普文，A、B可刪除，再從文章的語言來判斷，并未出現(xiàn)大量的專業(yè)術(shù)語，可刪除C “a research paper” （科研論文）。故選D。

【2】推理判斷題。由第一段和第四段可知，前四段所要表達(dá)的含義為If her studies prove the theory, scientists may be able to monitor the behavior of Sharks to predict bad weather.（科學(xué)家們可以通過監(jiān)視鯊魚的行為來預(yù)測不好的天氣”。故選C。

【3】細(xì)節(jié)理解題。由文章倒數(shù)第三段可知，Miss Smith 在鯊魚身上安裝高科技感應(yīng)器來記錄 pressure(壓力)和temperature(溫度)，故選A，

【4】主旨大意題。文章的主旨句為第二段Research by a British biology student suggests that sharks could be used to predict storms.，全文圍繞著鯊魚可能被用來預(yù)測天氣的研究展開。故選C。