Somewhere in the highlands of Afghanistan, a hungry fox pounces （猛扑）on a tasty-looking leopard gecko （豹纹 壁虎）.But the lizard has a get — out — of — jail — free card: a separable tail. The dropped part waves in an energetic but uncontrolled way around long enough to distract the fox, allowing the gecko itself to run off and hide.
Leopard geckos are one of a few lizard species that possess this ability, known as autotomy （自切）.The technique is effective, but the tail can account for about a quarter of the lizard's body mass. So how do these animals adapt to losing so much of it that quickly?
When geckos lose their tail, they "take this more sprawled posture （四肢伸开的姿势）"and walk with their limbs spread out farther from their body, says Chapman University biologist Kevin Jagnandan. Most researchers initially assumed this posture was a response to a suddenly shifted center of mass. But when Jagnandan observed leopard geckos with a tail in his laboratory, he realized that they wag it as they walk, suggesting that these movements may be key to the lizards' movements.
To test this assumption, Jagnandan and his team assessed the postures of 10 geckos walking in various conditions: with their tail intact （完整的）；with their tail restricted by a small section of glued-on fishing rod （whose mass can be neglected）; and with their tail self-amputated. These comparisons allowed the researchers to distinguish the effects of lost mass from those of lost tail-wagging on the geckos’ movements.
The lizards with an immobilized tail adopted ways similar to those with no tail, the researchers reported in a study published in Scientific Reports. This result suggests the sprawling walk they adopt after losing their tail is not compensating for the missing mass but rather for the lack of tail-wagging. Jagnandan thinks tail movements help the lizards keep balance and stability as they walk. He suspects that the tails of mammals living in trees, such as cats and monkeys, serve a similar purpose.
Bill Ryerson, a biologist at Saint Anselm College, who was not involved in the study, was surprised by the findings. "We thought we had settled it ——it seemed pretty open-and-shut" that mass was the main factor, he says. The new study challenges this earlier idea in a "beautifully simple" way, Ryerson adds.
Jagnandan hopes that understanding how animals react to missing body parts could ultimately help engineers design robots that can move more efficiently as heavy loads — or even entire limbs --- are added and removed.
1.From the first two paragraphs we can learn that ______.
A.the fox likes to play with the gecko's tail
B.the fox falls for the trick of the gecko
C.moving without a tail is much tougher for the gecko
D.the gecko becomes inactive when losing its tail
2.Most researchers once thought geckos adopted the sprawled posture because ______
A.the posture was key to their movements
B.their center of mass had changed
C.the posture was their unique survival skill
D.they imitated other mammals' behavior
3.What can we know about the findings of the study?
A.They are in accordance with the expectation of Bill Ryerson.
B.They were obtained after researchers compared three geckos' movements.
C.They solved several mysteries concerning other mammals.
D.They can be applied to the field of artificial intelligence.
4.What does the passage mainly talk about?
A.Why leopard geckos prefer a habitat in the highlands.
B.How leopard geckos play hide and seek games.
C.How leopard geckos adapt to losing their tails.
D.What role tails play in leopard geckos' life.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题
Somewhere in the highlands of Afghanistan, a hungry fox pounces （猛扑）on a tasty-looking leopard gecko （豹纹 壁虎）.But the lizard has a get — out — of — jail — free card: a separable tail. The dropped part waves in an energetic but uncontrolled way around long enough to distract the fox, allowing the gecko itself to run off and hide.
Leopard geckos are one of a few lizard species that possess this ability, known as autotomy （自切）.The technique is effective, but the tail can account for about a quarter of the lizard's body mass. So how do these animals adapt to losing so much of it that quickly?
When geckos lose their tail, they "take this more sprawled posture （四肢伸开的姿势）"and walk with their limbs spread out farther from their body, says Chapman University biologist Kevin Jagnandan. Most researchers initially assumed this posture was a response to a suddenly shifted center of mass. But when Jagnandan observed leopard geckos with a tail in his laboratory, he realized that they wag it as they walk, suggesting that these movements may be key to the lizards' movements.
To test this assumption, Jagnandan and his team assessed the postures of 10 geckos walking in various conditions: with their tail intact （完整的）；with their tail restricted by a small section of glued-on fishing rod （whose mass can be neglected）; and with their tail self-amputated. These comparisons allowed the researchers to distinguish the effects of lost mass from those of lost tail-wagging on the geckos’ movements.
The lizards with an immobilized tail adopted ways similar to those with no tail, the researchers reported in a study published in Scientific Reports. This result suggests the sprawling walk they adopt after losing their tail is not compensating for the missing mass but rather for the lack of tail-wagging. Jagnandan thinks tail movements help the lizards keep balance and stability as they walk. He suspects that the tails of mammals living in trees, such as cats and monkeys, serve a similar purpose.
Bill Ryerson, a biologist at Saint Anselm College, who was not involved in the study, was surprised by the findings. "We thought we had settled it ——it seemed pretty open-and-shut" that mass was the main factor, he says. The new study challenges this earlier idea in a "beautifully simple" way, Ryerson adds.
Jagnandan hopes that understanding how animals react to missing body parts could ultimately help engineers design robots that can move more efficiently as heavy loads — or even entire limbs --- are added and removed.
1.From the first two paragraphs we can learn that ______.
A.the fox likes to play with the gecko's tail
B.the fox falls for the trick of the gecko
C.moving without a tail is much tougher for the gecko
D.the gecko becomes inactive when losing its tail
2.Most researchers once thought geckos adopted the sprawled posture because ______
A.the posture was key to their movements
B.their center of mass had changed
C.the posture was their unique survival skill
D.they imitated other mammals' behavior
3.What can we know about the findings of the study?
A.They are in accordance with the expectation of Bill Ryerson.
B.They were obtained after researchers compared three geckos' movements.
C.They solved several mysteries concerning other mammals.
D.They can be applied to the field of artificial intelligence.
4.What does the passage mainly talk about?
A.Why leopard geckos prefer a habitat in the highlands.
B.How leopard geckos play hide and seek games.
C.How leopard geckos adapt to losing their tails.
D.What role tails play in leopard geckos' life.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
________with fright, a hungry fox hid himself in a small cave, ________his tail to the rain.
| A．Trembling; exposing | B．Trembled; exposed | C．Trembled; exposing | D．Trembling; exposed |
高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1.Where does the man live?
A. In a city. B. In the Highland of Scotland. C. In the Lake District.
2.What do we know about modern mountain running races?
A. They are independent events.
B. They take place at fairs or during festivals.
C. They haven’t got any support from the government.
3.What does the man say about the Dragon’s Back Race?
A. It covers a distance of 200 kilometers.
B. It only allows certain people to do the run.
C. It is not as challenging as some other courses.
4.What does the man suggest beginners do?
A. Try to enter races.
B. Begin with easy runs.
C. Learn about the race grading system.
高三英语长对话中等难度题查看答案及解析
Among the Boys is a unique after-school program for boys living in the Highland Park neighborhood of our city. The organizational task is to provide males living in low-income and public housing with opportunities to discover their ability to change challenges into possibilities. The program includes an academic part as well as specific plans for supporting the overall development of the participants. Among the Boys uses painting as an instrument for helping boys examine their world, discuss it, and develop positive ways of handling the challenges they face daily. Young men present personal challenges to the group, such as a recent fight or the long-term drug abuse they observe in their neighborhood. After guided discussion, the youth work as a team, determining how to best represent the issue at hand in a painting. The resulting paintings and explanations of these paintings provided by the young people suggest that something profound(深远的) occurs through this process. These young men are learning a healthy way to express and cope with the pain and suffering they feel. Art serves as a healing process and a structured method of teaching teamwork, nonviolent values, conflict handling and problem-solving skills.
Activities in Among the Boys are in agreement with the best practices in the prevention of high-risk behavior. First, community-based youth development programs are considered important parts of a comprehensive prevention method, particularly in high-risk neighborhoods. Second, compensatory(补偿) education that targets at risk youth for academic failure is also considered an effective prevention method. Third, interventions(介入) aimed at improving youth’s moral reasoning, social problem-solving, and thinking skills are reported to be effective methods for reducing violence in high-risk populations, especially when carried out with elementary school-aged boys. Finally, Among the Boys has an adapted tutoring part, considered an effective prevention tool. Tutoring is typically a one-to-one match between a tutor and a youth, but Among the Boys employs what is referred to as “group tutoring.” Among the Boys makes up for its high student-tutor ratio(比例) with quality and quantity of time, as the program meets after school, on Saturdays, and all day during the summer, and is staffed primarily by males, an unusual quality among educational programs.
Among the Boys is rare and successful form of grassroots program, and represents the dream of a successful male who grew up in the Highland Park neighborhood and has returned to make a valuable contribution to his community.
1.Which of the following most accurately describes the organization of the second paragraph？
A. A theory is presented and proved with data.
B. A statement is made and supported with examples.
C. A problem is put forward and solutions are suggested
D. A situation is described and a prediction is provided
2. Which of the following statements is implied in the passage?
A. Art programs can promote painting but cannot prevent school failure.
B. Social problem-solving skills are not important for high school-age youth.
C. Most educational programs have some female staff members.
D. Teamwork produces better paintings than does independent work.
3. In discussing Among the Boys’ tutoring part, the author implies that ______.
A. Among the Boys employs a traditional tutoring model
B. tutoring is effective only with elementary school-age boys
C. tutoring prevents the youth’s attention from wandering off
D. increased hours with a group can be as effective as a one-to-one tutoring relationship
4.The founder of the program described in the passage ______.
A. sought contributions to make his program successful
B. designed the program for the same neighborhood in which he grew up
C. is seeking reelection for the Highland Park community school board
D. was a successful graduate of Among the Boys when he was a youth
5. The attitude of the author of the passage toward Among the Boys is ______.
A. forgiving B. doubtful C. praising D. ignorant
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
The mass death of flying foxes in extreme heat in North Queensland last month underlines the importance of University of Queensland wildlife research released today.The UQ research sheds light on how various species have responded to major climate events.
A study led by UQ School of Earth and Environmental Science researcher Dr Sean Maxwell has spent more than 70 years quantifying the responses of various species.
“The growing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as cyclones, droughts and floods is causing unpredictable and immediate changes to ecosystems and blocking existing management efforts,” Dr Maxwell said.“Some of the negative responses we found were quite concerning, including more than 100 cases of dramatic population declines and 31 cases of local population extinction following an extreme event.”
"Populations of critically endangered bird species in Hawaii, such as the palia, have been annihilated due to drought, leaving none of its kind, and populations of lizard species have been wiped out due to cyclones in the Bahamas."
Cyclones were the most common extreme event for birds, fish, plants and reptiles, while mammals and amphibians were most responsive to drought events, with drought leading to 12 cases of major population decline in mammals.Drought also led to 13 cases of breeding declines in bird populations and 12 cases of changes in the composition of invertebrate communities.
UQ Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science director Professor James Watson said the detailed information would help inform ecosystem management.
“The research clearly shows species will respond, often negatively, to extreme events,” Professor Watson said.“As climate change continues to ensure extreme climate and weather events are more and more common,we now need to act to ensure species have the best chance to survive.Wherever possible, high quality and intact habitat areas should be retained, as these are the places where species are most resilient(易恢复的) to increasing exposure to extreme events.”
1.How was the UQ researchconducted?
A. By observing extreme weather events.
B. By protecting the endangered species.
C. By recording reactions of animals to extreme climate.
D. By analyzing the reason why mass animal death happened.
2.What does the underlined word “annihilated” in paragraph 4 probably mean?
A. destroyed B. defeated
C. decreased D. disappeared
3.Which of the following sentences is true about extreme weather events?
A. Drought caused 13 cases of distinctionin bird populations.
B. Drought caused 12 cases of population decline in mammals.
C. Birds and mammals are most responsive to cyclones.
D. Cyclones wiped out populations of lizard.
4.What can we infer from Professor Watson’s words?
A. Animals often show negative responses to extreme events.
B. The existing management ways for wildlife protection are limited.
C. Different methods should be adopted to ensure the survival of different species.
D. Complete and undamaged habitats are of great importance to species’ survival.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
With the project of animal protection, foxes are becoming more ________ in urban areas.
| A．popular | B．ordinary | C．universal | D．widespread |
高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
The secret of happiness is to spend around ￡2.50 every day on somebody else.
To give a couple of pounds each day rather than to spend it on treats and fashion for yourself is the key to happiness, according to a new study.
Dr Elizabeth Dunn and her colleagues who did a national survey of 630 people in the United States found that people report greater happiness if they spend money more socially. That means spending on gifts for others or on charitable(慈善的) donations rather than spending on themselves.
"We wanted to test our theory that how people spend their money is at least as important as how much money they earn," says Dunn, who reports the work in Science.
The results from all three lines of research are quite the same.
"Regardless of how much income each person made," says Dunn, "those who spent money on others reported greater happiness, while those who spent more on themselves did not."
"Making a modest donation is enough to increase people's happiness" the researchers conclude.
"These findings suggest that a very small change in spending, as little as ￡2.50, may be enough to produce real gains in happiness on a given day," says Dr Dunn.
The researchers call on governments to encourage people to spend more on others to help translate increased national wealth into increased national happiness.
Surveys have also shown that happiness levels have remained almost flat within developed countries even as incomes have increased in recent decades.
65.According to the survey, what kind of people have greater happiness?
A.People who can make enough money.
B.People who can buy whatever they want.
C.People who spend money on treats and fashion for themselves.
D.People who spend a modest amount of money every day on others.
66.The underlined word "flat" probably means______.
A.smooth B.dull C.same D.interesting
67.Which of the following statements is true?
A.Researchers pay no attention to spending on others.
B.The government did much in helping others.
C."Science" in Paragraph 4 is probably a magazine.
D.The survey is very successful.
68.The purpose of the writer is to tell us______.
A.the secret of happiness. B.money spent on friends.
C.link between money and happiness. D.difference between national wealth and happiness.
高三英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析
He’s out there somewhere, an instant icon in the records of American conflict, the final big-game hunter. But a puzzle, too, his identity would be kept a secret for now, and maybe forever.
He is the unknown shooter. The nameless, faceless triggerman who put a bullet in the head of the world’s most notorious（臭名昭著的）terrorist, Bin Laden.
He’s likely between the ages of 26 and 33, says Marcinko, founder of the “SEALs Team 6” that many believe led the attack on Bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan. He’ll be old enough to have had time to hurdle the extra training tests required to join the counter-terrorism unit, yet young enough to stand the body-punishing harshness of the job. The shooter’s a man, it’s safe to say, because there are no women in the SEALs. And there’s a good chance he’s white, though the SEALs have stepped up efforts to increase the number of minorities in their ranks, Marcinko and Smith say.
He was probably a high school or college athlete, Smith says, a physical specimen who combines strength, speed and wisdom. “They call themselves ‘tactical athletes,’” says Smith, who works with many future SEALs in his Heroes of Tomorrow training program in Severna Park. “It’s getting very scientific.”
Marcinko puts it in more conventional terms: “He’ll be ripped,” says the author of the best-selling autobiography “Rogue Warrior.” “He’s got a lot of upper-body strength. Long arms. Thin waist. Flat stomach.”
On this point, Greitens departs a bit. “You can’t make a lot of physical assumptions,” says the author of “The Heart and the Fist: The Education of a Humanitarian, the Making of a Navy SEAL.” There are SEALs who are 5 feet 4 and SEALs who are 6 feet 5, Greitens says. In his training group, he adds, there were college football boys who couldn’t hack it; those who survived were most often men in good shape, but they also had a willingness to show their concerns in favor of the mission.
The shooter’s probably not the crew-cut（平头）, neatly shaven ideal we’ve come to expect from American fighting forces. “He’s bearded, rough-looking, like a street naughty boy,” Marcinko supposes. “You don’t want to stick out.” Marcinko calls it “modified grooming standards.”
His hands will be calloused（长老茧）, Smith says, or just rough enough,” as Marcinko puts it. And “he’s got frag in him somewhere,” Marcinko says, using the battlefield shorthand for “fragments” of bullets or explosive devices. This will not have been the shooter’s first adventure. Marcinko estimates that he might have made a dozen or more deployments（部署）, tours when he was likely to have dealt with quite a number of dangerous situations, getting ready any time for explosive devices or bullets.
1.Which of the following is most likely to be the title of the passage?
A. Who shot Bin Laden? B. What do the SEALS do?
C. How can boys be SEALS? D. What SEALS are like?
2. From the passage we can know that the writer ___________.
A. knows clearly what the shooter is like B. doubts whether Bin Laden is dead
C. is certain that the shooter is a man D. is not sure of the shooter’s gender
3.We can say for sure according to the passage that ___________.
A. the shooter will eventually be revealed in the Press
B. the writer is a person who is curious about the shooter
C. the writer is a detective who tries to arrest the shooter
D. the shooter is a strong man with a pair of rough hands
4.Which of the following are the names of writers mentioned in the passage?
①. Marcinko ②. Greitens ③. Smith ④. Abbottabad
A. ①④ B. ③④ C. ②③ D. ①②
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
He’s out there somewhere, an instant icon in the records of American conflict, the final big-game hunter. But a puzzle, too, his identity would be kept a secret for now, and maybe forever.
He is the unknown shooter. The nameless, faceless triggerman who put a bullet in the head of the world’s most notorious（臭名昭著的）terrorist, Bin Laden.
He’s likely between the ages of 26 and 33, says Marcinko, founder of the “SEALs Team 6” that many believe led the attack on Bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan. He’ll be old enough to have had time to hurdle the extra training tests required to join the counter-terrorism unit, yet young enough to stand the body-punishing harshness of the job. The shooter’s a man, it’s safe to say, because there are no women in the SEALs. And there’s a good chance he’s white, though the SEALs have stepped up efforts to increase the number of minorities in their ranks, Marcinko and Smith say.
He was probably a high school or college athlete, Smith says, a physical specimen who combines strength, speed and wisdom. “They call themselves ‘tactical athletes,’” says Smith, who works with many future SEALs in his Heroes of Tomorrow training program in Severna Park. “It’s getting very scientific.”
Marcinko puts it in more conventional terms: “He’ll be ripped,” says the author of the best-selling autobiography “Rogue Warrior.” “He’s got a lot of upper-body strength. Long arms. Thin waist. Flat stomach.”
On this point, Greitens departs a bit. “You can’t make a lot of physical assumptions,” says the author of “The Heart and the Fist: The Education of a Humanitarian, the Making of a Navy SEAL.” There are SEALs who are 5 feet 4 and SEALs who are 6 feet 5, Greitens says. In his training group, he adds, there were college football boys who couldn’t hack it; those who survived were most often men in good shape, but they also had a willingness to show their concerns in favor of the mission.
The shooter’s probably not the crew-cut（平头）, neatly shaven ideal we’ve come to expect from American fighting forces. “He’s bearded, rough-looking, like a street naughty boy,” Marcinko supposes. “You don’t want to stick out.” Marcinko calls it “modified grooming standards.”
His hands will be calloused（长老茧）, Smith says, or just rough enough,” as Marcinko puts it. And “he’s got frag in him somewhere,” Marcinko says, using the battlefield shorthand for “fragments” of bullets or explosive devices. This will not have been the shooter’s first adventure. Marcinko estimates that he might have made a dozen or more deployments（部署）, tours when he was likely to have dealt with quite a number of dangerous situations, getting ready any time for explosive devices or bullets.
1.Which of the following is most likely to be the title of the passage?
A. Who shot Bin Laden? B. What do the SEALS do?
C. How can boys be SEALS? D. What SEALS are like?
2.We can say for sure according to the passage that ___________.
A. the shooter will eventually be revealed in the Press
B. the writer is a person who is curious about the shooter
C. the writer is a detective who tries to arrest the shooter
D. the shooter is a strong man with a pair of rough hands
3.Which of the following are the names of writers mentioned in the passage?
①. Marcinko ②. Greitens ③. Smith ④. Abbottabad
A. ①④ B. ③④ C. ②③ D. ①②
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Somewhere between 40,000 and 110,000 tons of plastic waste produced by Americans ends up in the ocean, according to a study published in the journal Science.
It's difficult to point out where all that waste comes from, and researchers think that much or most of it probably comes from the nation's seriously-populated coasts. But there's also evidence that the nation's inland waterways serve as a passage for plastic to travel thousands of miles into the oceans.
While researchers have documented plastic and human trash floating in the world's oceans, there has been relatively little attention paid to plastics in rivers, streams and lakes. "To my knowledge, no one has studied particular routes, with the exception of places like L.A, and Baltimore Harbor where there are measures in place to prevent trash in rivers from entering the ocean." said Kara Lavender Law, an oceanographer.
The few studies that exist, however, suggest that it may be a huge problem. A 2011 study of two southern California urban rivers---including Santa Ana River---found that every square meter of water contained from 125 to 819 pieces larger than 4.75 millimeters. Another survey of the Meuse River, which flows 575 miles through France, Belgium and the Netherlands to the North Sea, found that it contained 70,000 pieces of plastics per square meter of water, about 500 of which were roughly an inch or bigger in size.
If there's anything positive in this, it's you that can do something, at least on a personal level, to reduce the amount of plastic that goes into the oceans. "Put trash where it goes." said Jenna Jambeck, an associate professor of environmental engineering at the University of Georgia. "Use reusable items---bags, cups and bottles---to reduce waste."
Finally, Jambeck urges people to pick up litter along waterways, and record it with a phone app called the Marine Debris Tracker. The data you provide can help scientists to get a better handle on the trash problem.
1.According to the text, the least polluted place might be __________.
A.Santa Ana River B.Meuse River
C.Baltimore Harbor D.The North Sea
2.How does the author prove plastic waste in rivers is a huge problem?
A.By referring to experts' views. B.By listing statistics.
C.By making comparisons. D.By following time order.
3.What does Jenna Jambeck advise us to do?
A.Make use of plastic items. B.Reduce the size of waste we throw away.
C.Stay positive about the oceans' future. D.Start from small things to deal with waste.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析