Scientists in Britain have managed to teach bumblebees(大黄蜂) to pull strings to get to food and then pass on what they have learned to others in their colony(群体)—showing a high level of intelligence despite their tiny brains.
Researchers at Queen Mary University of London said the experiments, often used to test the intelligence of apes (猿) and birds, showed for the first time that some insects are up to the task, and can also pass skills on through several generations.
The findings add to the evidence suggesting the ability for “culture spread” — the ability to learn and pass on knowledge and skills — may not be exclusive to humans.
In the research, published in the journal PLOS Biology on Tuesday, the scientists were able to train 23 out of a group of 40 bees to pull strings with their legs and feet.
The strings were attached to discs — or artificial “flowers” — containing food at their center but placed under a transparent screen. The bees, spotting the food beneath the screen, learned to pull the “flowers” out by pulling the string with their legs and feet to be able to get to it.
From another group of bees given the chance to solve the task without any training, only two of 110 were successful.
Another group of bees was then allowed to observe the trained bees pulling the strings, and 60 percent of them successfully learned the skill. Finally, trained bees were put in colonies, and the scientists found the technique spread successfully to a majority of the colony’s worker bees.
Lars Chittka, a Queen Mary University professor who guided the project, said the team is interested in figuring out the brain processes behind the bees’ learning and teaching skills.
1.What does the underlined word “exclusive” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?
A. Ordinary. B. Unique. C. Beneficial. D. Widespread.
2.What did the researchers find about bees?
A. Bees learn best in insects.
B. Bees are as clever as birds.
C. Bees are born good learners.
D. Bees can be trained to learn skills.
3.What may the research team focus on next?
A. What else bees can do. B. Where bees learn skills.
C. How bees teach others. D. How bees’ brain work.
4.What may be the best title for the text?
A. Small bees, great abilities B. Bees can learn and teach
C. Bees are smarter D. Let bees learn
高二英语阅读理解困难题
Scientists in Britain have managed to teach bumblebees(大黄蜂) to pull strings to get to food and then pass on what they have learned to others in their colony(群体)—showing a high level of intelligence despite their tiny brains.
Researchers at Queen Mary University of London said the experiments, often used to test the intelligence of apes (猿) and birds, showed for the first time that some insects are up to the task, and can also pass skills on through several generations.
The findings add to the evidence suggesting the ability for “culture spread” — the ability to learn and pass on knowledge and skills — may not be exclusive to humans.
In the research, published in the journal PLOS Biology on Tuesday, the scientists were able to train 23 out of a group of 40 bees to pull strings with their legs and feet.
The strings were attached to discs — or artificial “flowers” — containing food at their center but placed under a transparent screen. The bees, spotting the food beneath the screen, learned to pull the “flowers” out by pulling the string with their legs and feet to be able to get to it.
From another group of bees given the chance to solve the task without any training, only two of 110 were successful.
Another group of bees was then allowed to observe the trained bees pulling the strings, and 60 percent of them successfully learned the skill. Finally, trained bees were put in colonies, and the scientists found the technique spread successfully to a majority of the colony’s worker bees.
Lars Chittka, a Queen Mary University professor who guided the project, said the team is interested in figuring out the brain processes behind the bees’ learning and teaching skills.
1.What does the underlined word “exclusive” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?
A. Ordinary. B. Unique. C. Beneficial. D. Widespread.
2.What did the researchers find about bees?
A. Bees learn best in insects.
B. Bees are as clever as birds.
C. Bees are born good learners.
D. Bees can be trained to learn skills.
3.What may the research team focus on next?
A. What else bees can do. B. Where bees learn skills.
C. How bees teach others. D. How bees’ brain work.
4.What may be the best title for the text?
A. Small bees, great abilities B. Bees can learn and teach
C. Bees are smarter D. Let bees learn
高二英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
A small insect is gettinga lot of attention in the United States. The rusty patched bumblebee (大黄蜂) is the first of its species to be declared endangered in the lower 48 states—meaning every state except Alaska and Hawaii. The rusty patched bumblebee is named for a rust-colored line on its back.
The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced this month it was adding the bee to its endangered species list. The insects are "on the brink of extinction, " according to the service. It said the bees were once found in 28 states. But there now are only small populations remaining in 13 states. The government agency will make a plan to help the dying bees recover. The agency said that such a plan might help other insects,like butterflies.
U.S. officials think land owners can take small steps to help the rusty patched bumblebee. They say land owners can be friendlier towards bees by using native plants in their gardens. The insects directly fertilize many kinds of fruit and vegetable crops. And they fertilize grain crops used to feed cattle and milk cows. It costs billions of dollars to duplicate the job the bees do for free. Land owners are also being urged to cut back on their use of pesticide products. The officials also suggest that gardeners leave their plants alone at the end of the summer instead of cutting them. That way, the bees will have a place to live over the winter.
The Fish and Wildlife Service says the rusty patched bumblebee was added to the endangered species list partly because of habitat loss. Other reasons were disease, pesticides and climate change. Officials are worried that other bees will suffer, too. Another species of bees in Hawaii is also endangered.
1.How many states declared the rusty patched bumblebee endangered?
A. 13. B. 28. C. 48. D. 50.
2.Which one is harmful to the rusty patched bumblebee?
A. Planting native plants. B. Reducing the use of pesticide products.
C. Leaving plants alone. D. Cutting out plants regularly.
3.What can we know about the rusty patched bumblebee according to the text?
A. All the states declared it as endangered species.
B. It is named for a rust-colored line on its belly.
C. It is beneficial to land owners.
D. It is endangered mainly because of habitat loss.
4.What's the best title for the passage?
A. Bumblebee added to U. S. endangered species list
B. Why is bumblebee on the brink of extinction
C. Take steps to help bumblebee
D. The benefits of protecting bumblebee
高二英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
Britain seems to have great creativity---especially in the performing and visual arts.
Theatrical Tradition
Theatres in Britain date back to the 16th century, and the most famous playwright is of course William Shakespeare. A company was founded in his name, with a stage at his birthplace, Stratford-on-Avon. It has trained generations of actors. In the 20th century, classical and more modern plays were also performed at many regional theatres, where actors and writers gained experience.
Film Stars
The world of film-making has involved British creative talent from the beginning. Charlie Chaplin, born in poverty in London’s East End, began as a child entertainer in music halls. He then became a pioneer of silent movies in Hollywood and created many black and white classics during the First World War. British actors, who were often classically trained in theater, Laurence Oliver and Alec Guinness became house-hold names after the Second World War.
Supporting Talent
Film-making creativity has been supported by two major studios. Productions at Shepperton have included Richard Attenborough’ s Gandi and Ridley Scott’s Alien. Pinewood’s most famous products must be the James Bond films. Both theater and film have their own annual festivals, including one of the biggest festivals in Scotland’s capital, Edinburgh.
1.If you want to learn something about plays of Shakespeare, you can go to___________.
A. the Shepperton Studio B. Stratford-on-Avon
C. Damien Hirst D. Edinburgh
2.What can we learn from the text?
A. Theatres in Britain have a history of over 600 years.
B. The Shepperton Studio is known for its James Bond films.
C. Laurence Oliver became very famous after the Second World War.
D. Charlie Chaplin made many color movies during the First World War.
3.Which section is this text most likely to appear in a newspaper?
A. Sports and fitness. B. Business and finance.
C. Science and technology. D. Fashion and entertainment.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
In a public library one has access to whatever book _________ in Britain.
a. appearing b. having appeared c. appears d. that appears[Դ:]
高二英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
Two teaching staff stood in court last week, in different parts of Britain, each charged with assault (人身侵犯) after attempting to remove a troublemaking student from the classroom.In both cases the men had been suspended(使暂时停职) from their schools and each had spent almost a year waiting for their cases to come to court.One man, Mark Ellwood, was cleared.The other was found guilty.Both cases show the almost impossible position teachers are now in as they try to keep order in schools.They have the responsibility for what goes on in classrooms, but it’s naughty pupils who have the power.
Ellwood was the comparatively lucky one.He was brought in to work with children with behavioral difficulties.When he asked a boy to take off his jacket and put away his phone, the pupil threatened to stab(刺) him.Ellwood removed the boy from the class, and when the boy started kicking him, Ellwood swept his feet from under him and lowered him to the ground.Weeks later he was charged with assault.Social services decided that the charge made him a potential risk to any child, so he was ordered to leave his wife and teenage daughters and move out of his home.The judges told him that they hoped he would now forget his nightmare and restart his life.
Sixty-two-year-old Michael Becker is the man who lost his case and will now lose his job.He taught in a special school.On the day of the incident, they were making pinhole cameras when the 15-year-old pupil arrived late.He refused to sit down, and instead walked around the classroom, telling jokes.He ignored several requests to start work and refused to leave the classroom when asked.Eventually Becker seized the boy by his belt and sweatshirt and removed him to a nearby storeroom, with the boy falling down as he struggled to break away.A teaching assistant, sent to check on him a few minutes later, found him sitting in the corridor, clearly unharmed.Becker considered the incident over, but the next day he was suspended as the subject of a police investigation.
1.Why did two British teachers stand in court?
A.Because they were charged with assault on their students.
B.Because they removed a troublemaking student from a classroom.
C.Because they were suspended from their schools.
D.Because they tried to keep order in schools.
2.According to the passage Ellwood __________.
A.was found guilty and lost his job B.was too strict with his students
C.often punished his students D.was lucky not to lose the case
3.When the incident happened, Michael Becker __________.
A.lost his case and will lose his job
B.was teaching his students to make pinhole cameras
C.ignored several requests to start work
D.was suspended as the subject of a police investigation
4.From the two cases we can learn in Britain __________.
A.removing students from the classroom is not allowed
B.teachers have no power to keep order in schools
C.students can do whatever they like in the classroom
D.it’s very difficult to be a teacher
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Measures have to be taken to teach young people how to ______ themselves both in family and in school. They don’t know the basic manners.
A. do B. perform C. behave D. work
高二英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
Recently some American scientists have given a useful piece of advice to people in industrialized countries.They say people should eat more of the same kind of food eaten by humans living more than 10,000 years ago.1.
The scientists say that human life has changed greatly. Our bodies have not been able to deal with these changes in lifestyle and this has led to new kinds of sicknesses.2.They are called“diseases of civilization”.Many cancers and diseases of the blood system are examples of such diseases.
The scientists noted that people in both the Old Stone Age and the New Stone Age enjoyed very little alcohol or tobacco, probably none.3.However, a change in food is one of the main differences between life in ancient times and that today.
Stone Age people hunted wild animals for their meat, which had much less fat than domestic (驯养的) ones. They ate a lot of fresh wild vegetables and fruits. They did not have milk or any other dairy products, and they made very little use of grains. 4. We eat six times more salt than our ancestors and we eat more sugar as well. We eat twice as much fat but only one third as much protein (蛋白质) and much less vitamin C.
5.But the scientists say that we would be much healthier if we eat much the same way the ancient people did, cutting the amount of fat, salty and sweet food.
A. Stone Age people lived a simple life without any meat.
B. But today, we enjoy eating a lot of these.
C. In that case, they would live a much healthier life.
D. Ancient people also got lots of physical exercise.
E. These new sicknesses were not known in ancient times.
F. People today probably don't want to live like our ancestors.
G. Modern people used to suffer from“diseases of civilization”.
高二英语阅读表达中等难度题查看答案及解析
Recently some American scientists have given a useful sincere piece of advice to people in industrialized nations that they would be much healthier if they ate more of the same kind of food eaten by humans living more than 10,000 years ago.
The scientists say that the human body has changed very little since humans first appeared on the earth, but the way we live has changed greatly. Our body has not been able to deal with these changes in life style and this has led to new kinds of sicknesses. These new sicknesses were not known in ancient times, so they are called “diseases of civilization”. Many cancers and diseases of the blood system, including heart attacks and strokes ( 中风 ) are examples of such diseases.
Scientists noted that people in both the Old Stone Age and the New Stone Age enjoyed very little alcohol or tobacco, probably none. Ancient people also got a great deal of physical exercise, but a change in food is one of the main differences between life in ancient times and that of today.
Stone-age people hunted wild animals for their meat, which had much less fat than domestic or tame ones ( 家畜 ). They also ate a lot of fresh wild vegetables and fruits. They didn’t have milk or any other dairy products, and they made very little use of grains. But today, we eat a large amount of these. We eat six times more salt than our remote ancestors. We eat more sugar. We eat twice as much fat but only one third as much protein and much less vitamin C.
People today probably do not want to live the way people thousands of years ago did, but scientists say that we would be much healthier if we ate much the same way as remote ancestors did, cutting the amount of fatty, salty and sweet food.
1.What is the main cause that people suffer from a lot of new sicknesses?
A. Ancient people did a great deal of physical exercise.
B. People today have a lot of alcohol.
C. People today have more tobacco.
D. Food today is quite different from that of ancient times.
2.Which of the following belongs to the dairy products?
A. Milk B. Corn C. Pork D. Flour
3. New kinds of sicknesses have been found because ________.
A. the human body has changed compared with humans who first appeared on the earth
B. the way we live has changed a little
C. our body can’t deal with the changes in life style
D. the way we live today is proper for the human body
4. According to some scientists, Stone-age people were much healthier than people today because they ate a lot of ________.
A. milk and other dairy products B. salt and sugar
C. wild animals, fresh wild vegetables and fruits D. grain foods
高二英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析
Recently some American scientists have given a useful piece of advice to people in industrialized nations.They say people should eat more of the same kind of food eaten by humans living more than 10,000 years ago. 1.
The scientists say that the human life has changed greatly.Our bodies have not been able to deal with these changes in lifestyle and this had led to new kinds of sicknesses. 2. So they are called "diseases of civilization".Many cancers and diseases of the blood system are examples of such diseases.
Scientists noted that people in both the Old Stone Age and the New Stone Age enjoyed very little alcohol or tobacco, probably none.3. However, a change in food is one of the main differences between life in ancient times and that of today.
Stone Age people hunted wild animals for their meat, which had much less fat than domestic ones.They ate a lot of fresh wild vegetables and fruits.They did not have milk or any other dairy products, and they made very little use of grains. 4..We eat six times more salt than our ancestors.We eat more sugar.We eat twice as much fat but only one third as much protein and much less vitamin C.
5. But scientists say that we would be much healthier if we eat much the same way the ancient people did, cutting the amount of fatty, salty and sweet food.
A.Stone Age people lived a simple life.
B.But today, we enjoy having a lot of these.
C.In that case, they would live much healthier.
D.Ancient people also got lots of physical exercise.
E.These new sicknesses were not known in ancient times.
F.People today probably don't want to live like our ancestors.
G.Modern people used to suffer from "diseases of civilization".
高二英语阅读表达中等难度题查看答案及解析
Recently some American scientists have given a useful sincere piece of advice to people in industrialized nations that they would be much healthier if they ate more of the same kind of food eaten by humans living more than 10,000 years ago.
The scientists say that the human body has changed very little since humans first appeared on the earth, but the way we live has changed greatly. Our body has not been able to deal with these changes in life style and this has led to new kinds of sicknesses. These new sicknesses were not known in ancient times, so they are called “diseases of civilization”. Many cancers and diseases of the blood system, including heart attacks and strokes ( 中风 ) are examples of such diseases.
Scientists noted that people in both the Old Stone Age and the New Stone Age enjoyed very little alcohol or tobacco, probably none. Ancient people also got a great deal of physical exercise, but a change in food is one of the main differences between life in ancient times and that of today.
Stone-age people hunted wild animals for their meat, which had much less fat than domestic or tame ones ( 家畜 ). They also ate a lot of fresh wild vegetables and fruits. They didn’t have milk or any other dairy products, and they made very little use of grains. But today, we eat a large amount of these. We eat six times more salt than our remote ancestors. We eat more sugar. We eat twice as much fat but only one third as much protein and much less vitamin C.
People today probably do not want to live the way people thousands of years ago did, but scientists say that we would be much healthier if we ate much the same way as remote ancestors did, cutting the amount of fatty, salty and sweet food.
1.What is the main cause that people suffer from a lot of new sicknesses?
A. Ancient people did a great deal of physical exercise.
B. People today have a lot of alcohol.
C. People today have more tobacco.
D. Food today is quite different from that of ancient times.
2.Which of the following belongs to the dairy products?
A. Milk B. Corn C. Pork D. Flour
3.New kinds of sicknesses have been found because ________.
A. the human body has changed compared with humans who first appeared on the earth
B. the way we live has changed a little
C. our body can’t deal with the changes in life style
D. the way we live today is proper for the human body
4.According to some scientists, Stone-age people were much healthier than people today because they ate a lot of ________.
A. milk and other dairy products B. salt and sugar
C. wild animals, fresh wild vegetables and fruits D. grain foods
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析