In the story of “The crow and the Pitcher” from Aesop’s Fables, a thisty crow (乌鸦)drops stones into a narrow jar to raise the low level of water inside so he can take a drink.
Now scientists have evidence to back up that story. Crows actually do understand how to make water displacement (移位) work to their advantage, experiments show. The results suggest that the birds are, at least in some aspects, as smart as first-graders.
Researchers, led by Sarah Jelbert at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, presented six crows with tubes filled with water. Inside the tubes, a worm or piece of meat on a piece of wood was floating, just out of reach of the crow. In front of the tubes, the researchers arranged several rubber erasers that would sink, and some plastic objects that would float. The crows found out that they could drop the erasers into the tubes in order to raise the water level and get their snack.
However, the birds handled awkwardly in experiments in which they could choose to drop objects in either a wide tube or a narrow one to get a snack, the researchers said. Dropping objects into narrow tube would lift the water level by a greater amount and put the treat within reach after just two drops; while it took around seven drops to raise the snack to the same level in the wide tube. The crows obviously didn’t realize this, and most of them went for the wide tube first.
Previous studies showed that chimps and human children can solve similar tasks. In a 2011 study, chimps and kids found out that they could put water into a tube to reach a peanut that was floating in a small amount of water at the bottom.
1.How did the crows get the snack in Sarah’s experiment?
A.By breaking the tube.
B.By dropping in erasers.
C.By standing on the wood.
D.By removing the wood.
2.What does the author mean by “the birds handled awkwardly” in paragraph 4?
A.They were unable to tell different shapes.
B.They dropped objects only into narrow tubes.
C.They were not aware of the snack at first sight.
D.They mostly avoided the easier way to get the snack.
3.What does the text mainly focus on?
A.Stories of Aesop’s Fables.
B.The development of crows.
C.Crows’ intelligence.
D.Human-animal communication.
4.What can we learn from the passage?
A.Crows are almost as clever as first-graders in some respects.
B.Crows understand water displacement completely.
C.Chimps and children are much smarter than crows.
D.The story of “The crow and the Pitcher” lacks evidence.
高二英语阅读理解困难题
In the story of “The crow and the Pitcher” from Aesop’s Fables, a thisty crow (乌鸦)drops stones into a narrow jar to raise the low level of water inside so he can take a drink.
Now scientists have evidence to back up that story. Crows actually do understand how to make water displacement (移位) work to their advantage, experiments show. The results suggest that the birds are, at least in some aspects, as smart as first-graders.
Researchers, led by Sarah Jelbert at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, presented six crows with tubes filled with water. Inside the tubes, a worm or piece of meat on a piece of wood was floating, just out of reach of the crow. In front of the tubes, the researchers arranged several rubber erasers that would sink, and some plastic objects that would float. The crows found out that they could drop the erasers into the tubes in order to raise the water level and get their snack.
However, the birds handled awkwardly in experiments in which they could choose to drop objects in either a wide tube or a narrow one to get a snack, the researchers said. Dropping objects into narrow tube would lift the water level by a greater amount and put the treat within reach after just two drops; while it took around seven drops to raise the snack to the same level in the wide tube. The crows obviously didn’t realize this, and most of them went for the wide tube first.
Previous studies showed that chimps and human children can solve similar tasks. In a 2011 study, chimps and kids found out that they could put water into a tube to reach a peanut that was floating in a small amount of water at the bottom.
1.How did the crows get the snack in Sarah’s experiment?
A.By breaking the tube.
B.By dropping in erasers.
C.By standing on the wood.
D.By removing the wood.
2.What does the author mean by “the birds handled awkwardly” in paragraph 4?
A.They were unable to tell different shapes.
B.They dropped objects only into narrow tubes.
C.They were not aware of the snack at first sight.
D.They mostly avoided the easier way to get the snack.
3.What does the text mainly focus on?
A.Stories of Aesop’s Fables.
B.The development of crows.
C.Crows’ intelligence.
D.Human-animal communication.
4.What can we learn from the passage?
A.Crows are almost as clever as first-graders in some respects.
B.Crows understand water displacement completely.
C.Chimps and children are much smarter than crows.
D.The story of “The crow and the Pitcher” lacks evidence.
高二英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
In the story of “The Crow and the Pitcher”（乌鸦和水罐）from Aesop’s Fables（伊索寓言）, a thirsty crow drops stones into a narrow jar to raise the low level of water inside so he can take a drink.
Now scientists have evidence to back up that story. New Caledonian crows actually do understand how to make water displacement work to their advantage, experiments showed. The results suggests that the birds are, at least in some aspects, as smart as first-graders, according to the study.
Researchers, led by Sarah Jelbert at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, presented six crows with tubes filled with water. Inside the tubes, a worm or pieces of meat on a piece of wood was floating, just out of reach of the crow. In front of the tubes, the researchers arranged a bunch of heavy rubber erasers that would sink, and light plastic objects that would float. The crows found out that they could drop the heavy objects into the tubes in order to raise the water level and get their snack.
However, the birds handled awkwardly in experiments in which they could choose to drop objects in either a wide tube or a narrow tube to get snack, the researchers said. Dropping objects into the narrow tube would lift the water level by a greater amount and put the treat within reach after just two drops. In contrast, it took around seven drops to raise the snack to the same level in the wide tube. The crows obviously didn’t realize this, and most of them went for the wide tube first.
Previous studies showed that chimps and human children can solve similar tasks. In a 2011 study, chimps and kids found out that they could put water into a tube to reach a peanut that was floating in a small amount of water at the bottom.
1.What does the text focus on?
A. Aesop’s prediction. B. Crows’ intelligence.
C. The development of crows. D. Human-animal communication.
2.How did the crows get the worm in a tube in Sarah’s experiment?
A. By dropping in the heavy erasers. B. By removing the plastic objects.
C. By standing on the wood. D. By breaking the tube.
3.What does the underlined part “the treat” in paragraph 4 refer to?
A. the tube. B. The object.
C. the snack. D. The water
4.What did the experiment with wide and narrow tubes show?
A. Crows are sensitive to surroundings.
B. Crows have the ability to recognize shapes.
C. Crows are cleverer than chimps and children.
D. Crows understand water displacement incompletely.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
When it comes to problem solving, many of us have heard of the skills of the crow (乌鸦) in Aesop’s Fables (《伊索寓言》).
In the story, a thirsty crow comes across a bottle of water, but the water level (水平面) is out of its reach. The bird then drops small stones into it until the water level rises enough for the bird to drink.
“Oh, it’s just a fable,” you may think. After all, it’s hard to imagine birds knowing about “problem solving”.
But new research has found that crows’ brains may sometimes be better than those of 6-year-old children.
In a recent experiment, US scientist Corina Logan and her team caught six crows to test them. There were two tubes (试管) of water, one wide and the other narrow (窄的). Each crow was given four stones, enough to help them get the water in the narrow tube, but not the wide one.
Surprisingly, the crows dropped all or most of the stones into the narrower tube and got the food reward! They had found out the cause-and-effect relationship.Using such brains, crows are making their lives easier. For example, some crows in cities have learned to use road traffic for breaking nuts, National Geographic News reported.
But how are their wits (智力) compared to humans’? Logan’s team did another experiment, this time on both crows and children.
Here, the crows and children had to choose between two sets of tubes.
With the red set, when they dropped a stone into a wide tube, the water level raised in a connected narrow tube that contained food.
The blue set of tubes, however, had no connection between them. So dropping a stone in the wide tube did not cause the water level to rise in the narrow tube.
Children aged 7 to 10 were able to learn the rule. Children aged 4 to 6, however, failed.
Five of the six crows failed the test. But Kitty, a 6-month-old crow, passed it. She put all or most of the stones into the red tube.
So, could a bird be more clever than a kindergartner? Don’t be too quick to say no.
1.Why is Aesop’s Fables mentioned in the beginning of the article?
A. To introduce the idea that crows are smart.
B. To show that fables about crows are wrong.
C. To explain why crows can solve problems.
D. To prove that crows can be better than babies at problem solving.
2.What have Logan’s team found out from their recent experiments?
A. Crows prefer to get their food reward from wider tubes.
B. Crows are able to understand or learn cause and effect relationships.
C. Crows can easily recognize the tubes with a food reward inside.
D. Some crows even make use of road traffic to help them break nuts.
3.What can we learn from the experiment on crows and children?
A. Five of the six crows threw stones into the red tube.
B. Children aged 6 did better than children aged 4.
C. One crow passed the test while the younger children didn’t.
D. Some crows proved to be more clever than children aged 10.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
The librarian took a story book _____ from the shelf and gave it to the girl.
A．in vain B．at random C．at the moment D．at any rate
高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
The weather predictions for Asia in 2050 read like a story from a doomsday movie．
Many experts and green groups fear they will come true unless there is a united global effort to hold back greenhouse gas outpouring．In the decades to come, Asia—home to more than half the world's 63 billion people—will change from one climate extreme to another, with tired farmers battling droughts, floods, disease, food shortages and rising sea levels．
"It's not a pretty picture," said Steve Sawyer, climate policy adviser with Greenpeace in Amsterdam．Global warming and changes of weather patterns are already occurring and there is more than enough carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to drive climate change for decades to come．
Already, changes are being felt in Asia but worse is likely to come．Sawyer and top climate bodies say, and could lead to mass migration and widespread human disasters．According to predictions, icebergs will melt faster, some Pacific and Indian Ocean islands will have to evacuate or build sea defenses, storms will become stronger and insects and water-borne diseases will move into new areas as the world warms．
All this comes on top of rising populations and demand for food, water and other resources．Experts say environmental worsening such as deforestation and pollution will likely enlarge the results of climate change．
In what could be a sign of the future, Japan was hit by a record of 10 typhoons and tropical storms this year, while two - thirds of Bangladesh, parts of Nepal and large areas of northeastern India were flooded, affecting 50 million people, destroying livelihoods and making tens of thousands ill．
The year before, a winter cold strike and a summer heat wave killed more than 2,000 people in India．
1.This passage is mainly about ____ ．
A．present situation and predictions of environmental problems in Asia.
B．the weather predictions for Asia in the future and the reasons
C．how to improve our environment
D．reasons why the world will no longer be suitable for us to live in
2.In the future the Asian farmers will have to face the following except ____ ．
A．food shortages B．wars
C．droughts D．floods
3.The underlined word "doomsday" in the first paragraph may mean____ ．
A．the hell B．the end of the world
C．a great world war D．mystery
4.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A．Asian climate will change greatly．
B．Some islands may be flooded in the future．
C．People may meet with some new diseases resulting from water．
D．More than 50 million people have been ill in Asia the year before．
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
The weather predictions for Asia in 2050 read like a story from a doomsday movie．
Many experts and green groups fear they will come true unless there is a united global effort to hold back greenhouse gas outpouring．In the decades to come, Asia—home to more than half the world's 63 billion people—will change from one climate extreme to another, with tired farmers battling droughts, floods, disease, food shortages and rising sea levels．
"It's not a pretty picture," said Steve Sawyer, climate policy adviser with Greenpeace in Amsterdam．Global warming and changes of weather patterns are already occurring and there is more than enough carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to drive climate change for decades to come．
Already, changes are being felt in Asia but worse is likely to come．Sawyer and top climate bodies say, and could lead to mass migration and widespread human disasters．According to predictions, icebergs will melt faster, some Pacific and Indian Ocean islands will have to evacuate or build sea defenses, storms will become stronger and insects and water-borne diseases will move into new areas as the world warms．
All this comes on top of rising populations and demand for food, water and other resources．Experts say environmental worsening such as deforestation and pollution will likely enlarge the results of climate change．
In what could be a sign of the future, Japan was hit by a record of 10 typhoons and tropical storms this year, while two - thirds of Bangladesh, parts of Nepal and large areas of northeastern India were flooded, affecting 50 million people, destroying livelihoods and making tens of thousands ill．
The year before, a winter cold strike and a summer heat wave killed more than 2,000 people in India．
1.This passage is mainly about ____ ．
| A．present situation and predictions of environmental problems in Asia. |
| B．the weather predictions for Asia in the future and the reasons |
| C．how to improve our environment |
| D．reasons why the world will no longer be suitable for us to live in |
2.In the future the Asian farmers will have to face the following except ____ ．
| A．food shortages | B．droughts | C．wars | D．floods |
3.The underlined word "doomsday" in the first paragraph may mean____ ．
| A．the hell | B．the end of the world | C．a great world war | D．disaster |
4.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Asian climate will change greatly． |
| B．Some islands may be flooded in the future． |
| C．More than 50 million people have been ill in Asia the year before． |
| D．People may meet with some new diseases borne from water． |
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
The weather predictions for Asia in 2050 read like a story from a doomsday movie.
Many experts and green groups fear they will come true unless there is a united global effort to hold back greenhouse gas outpouring. In the decades to come, Asia---home to more than half the world’s 63 billion people-will change from one climate extreme to another, with tired farmers battling droughts, floods, disease, food shortages and rising sea levels.
“It’s not a pretty picture,” said Steve Sawyer, climate policy adviser with Greenpeace in Amsterdam. Global warming and changes of weather patterns are already occurring and there is more than enough carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to drive climate change for decades to come.
Already, changes are being felt in Asia but worse is likely to come, Sawyer and top climate bodies say, and could lead to mass migration and widespread human disasters. According to predictions, icebergs will melt faster, some Pacific and Indian Ocean islands will have to evacuate(疏散) or build sea defenses, storms will become more intense and insect and water-borne diseases will move into new areas as the world warms.
All this comes with rising populations and demand for food, water and other resources. Experts say environmental worsening such as deforestation and pollution will probably enlarge the results of climate change.
In what could be a sign of the future, Japan was hit by a record of 10 typhoons and tropical storms this year, while two-thirds of Bangladesh, parts of Nepal and large areas of northeastern India were flooded, affecting 50 million people, destroying livelihoods and making tens of thousands ill.
The year before, a winter cold struck and a summer heat wave killed more than 2,000 people in India.
1.This passage is mainly about .
A. what kind of weather we like best
B. the weather predictions for Asia in the future and the reasons
C. how to improve our environment
D. that the world will not be suitable for us to live in
2.In the future the Asian farmers will have to face the following except .
A. food shortages B. droughts C. wars D. floods
3.The underlined word “doomsday” may give us the feeling of .
A. happiness B. sadness C. peace D. excitement
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
I’m a 20-year-old boy, and the following is my story.
A month after I graduated from high school in August, 2007, I was coming home from swim practice in the training centre of the city and was involved in a car accident. I was so seriously injured that I was in a coma for more than two months at Prince Georges Hospital.
I suffered a lot from the experience of dying eight times during my coma and I couldn’t open my mouth to talk or to communicate when I eventually came around. At that time, it seemed that walking was never going to happen again due to all the extreme injuries. Just like my body, my dreams were completely destroyed. But I was not going to let my injuries stop me from realizing my dreams.
After receiving a total of 15 operations and 36 blood transfusions, I had to make every great effort to learn to talk, eat, walk, shower, and live on my own again. When I was out of hospital, I still had to go to outpatient therapy（门诊治疗） in Waldorf, Maryland. After I spent a few months in a wheelchair, I took baby steps to walk on my own. It was a miracle that I was able to walk again, but I still wanted to prove that I could not only walk, but also run. When it came true, I wanted to get back into the pool again. After having a few lung tests, I was able to go in the pool a little bit each week. After a few months of swim training, I began my freshman year at St. Mary’s College of Maryland and then became a proud member of the swim team.
By telling my story, I want to make a positive influence on the world. I am just trying to live each day to the fullest and inspire other people never to give up their dreams no matter how bad a situation is to them. I remember when I was still in my hospital bed: I would have my mom and dad push me round in my wheelchair to the other rooms to see the other patients and chat with them and their family members. I wanted to let them know that everything was going to be okay. Somehow, things would work out for the best.
1.The underlined word “coma” in Paragraph 2 probably has the meaning of “_______”.
A. operation B. unconsciousness C. treatment D. emergency
2.According to Paragraph 3, it can be inferred that the author _______.
A. was unable to talk or communicate B. was in despair
C. faced physical and mental challenges D. felt anxious about his state
3.In the last paragraph, the author mainly wants to show _______.
A. his positive influence on other patients B. his meaningful life
C. his purpose of sharing his story D. his great achievements
4.The best title for the passage would be “_______”.
A. Attitude is everything B. Actions speak louder than words
C. Everything happens for a reason D. A good beginning is half done
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
I'm a 20-year-old boy,and the following is my story.
A month after I graduated from high school in August,2007,I was coming home from swim practice in the training centre of the city and was involved in a car accident.I was so seriously injured that I was in a coma for more than two months at Prince Georges Hospital.
I suffered a lot from the experience of dying eight times during my coma and I couldn't open my mouth to talk or to communicate when I eventually came around.At that time,it seemed that walking was never going to happen again due to all the extreme injuries.Just like my body,my dreams were completely destroyed.But I was not going to let my injuries stop me from realizing my dreams.
After receiving a total of 15 operations and 36 blood transfusions,I had to make every great effort to learn to talk,eat,walk,shower,and live on my own again.When I was out of hospital,I still had to Go to outpatient therapy in Waldorf,Maryland.After I spent a few months in a wheelchair,I took baby steps to walk on my own.It was a miracle that I was able to walk again,but I still wanted to prove that I could not only walk,but also run.When it came true,I wanted to get back into the pool again.After having a few lung tests,I was able to go in the pool a little bit each week. After a few months of swim training,I began my freshman year at St.Mary's College of Maryland and then became a proud member of the swim team.
By telling my story,I want to make a positive influence on the world.I am just trying to live every day to the fullest and inspire other people never to give up their dreams no matter how bad a situation is to them.I remember when I was still in my hospital bed,I would have my mom and dad push me round in my wheelchair to the other rooms to see the other patients and chat with them and their family members.I wanted to let them know that everything was going to be okay.Somehow,things would work out for the best.
1.The underlined word "coma" in Paragraph 2 probably has the meaning of " ".
A. operation B. unconsciousness
C. treatment D. emergency
2.According to Paragraph 3,it can be inferred that the author .
A. was unable to talk or communicate B. was in despair
C. faced physical and mental challenges D. felt anxious about his state
3.In the last paragraph,the author mainly wants to show .
A. his positive influence on other patients B. his meaningful life
C. his purpose of sharing his story D. his great achievements
4.The best title for the passage would be " ".
A. Actions speak louder than words B. Attitude is everything
C. Everything happens for a reason D. A Good beginning is half done
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
I’m a 20-year-old boy, and the following is my story．
A month after I graduated from high school in August，2007，I was coming home from swim practice in the training centre of the city and was involved in a car accident. I was so seriously injured that I was in a coma for more than two months at Prince Georges Hospital．
I suffered a lot from the experience of dying eight times during my coma and I couldn’t open my mouth to talk or to communicate when I eventually came around．At that time，it seemed that walking was never going to happen again due to all the extreme injuries. Just like my body，my dreams were completely destroyed. But I was not going to let my injuries stop me from realizing my dreams．
After receiving a total of 15 operations and 36 blood transfusions, I had to make every great effort to learn to talk，eat，walk，shower，and live on my own again．When I was out of hospital，I still had to go to outpatient therapy in Waldorf, Maryland．After I spent a few months in a wheelchair, I took baby steps to walk on my own．It was a miracle that I was able to walk again, but I still wanted to prove that I could not only walk, but also run. When it came true, I wanted to get back into the pool again．After having a few lung tests，I was able to go in the pool a little bit each week．After a few months of swim training，I began my freshman year at Mary’s College of Maryland and then became a proud member of the swim team．
By telling my story, I want to make a positive influence on the world．I am just trying to 1ive every day to the fullest and inspire other people never to give up their dreams no matter how bad a situation is to them. I remember when I was still in my hospital bed，I would have my mom and dad push me round in my wheelchair to the other rooms to see the other patients and chat with them and their family members．I wanted to let them know that everything was going to be okay. Somehow，things would work out for the best.
1.The underlined word “coma” in Paragraph 2 probably has the meaning of __________.
| A．operation | B．unconsciousness | C．treatment | D．emergency |
2.According to Paragraph 3, it can be inferred that the author ________.
| A．was unable to talk or communicate |
| B．was in despair |
| C．faced physical and mental challenges |
| D．felt anxious about his state |
3.What is the correct order of the following events?
a．went to outpatient therapy
b．received membership of the swim team
c．was pushed around to visit other patients
d．walked 1ike a baby
e．1earnt to live all by himself
| A．d,a,c,b,e | B．e,c,d,a,b | C．d,c,a,b,e | D．e,c,a,d,b |
4.In the last paragraph，the author mainly wants to show_______．
| A．his positive influence on other patients |
| B．his meaningful life |
| C．his purpose of sharing his story |
| D．his great achievements |
5.The best title for the passage would be“____________”
| A．Attitude is everything |
| B．Actions speak louder than words |
| C．Everything happens for a reason |
| D．A good beginning is half done |
高二英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析