The idea for a science experiment can come from an unusual place. After watching a YouTube video of a dancing bird named Snowball, a scientist in California decided to study the ability of animals to keep the beat.
Bird lovers have long claimed that their pets have rhythm, and there are many videos of dancing birds online. Until now, scientists have suspected that humans are the only animals that can accurately keep rhythm with music.
Thanks to Snowball, that scientific opinion is changing. Snowball is a cockatoo, a kind of parrot, and his favorite song is "Everybody" by the Backstreet Boys. When he hears the song, he moves his feet and rocks his body with the tempo, or pace of the music, as though he is the only bird member of the boy band.
Aniruddh Patel is a neuroscientist, or a scientist who studies how the brain and the nervous system contribute to learning, seeing and other mental abilities. He works at the Neurosciences Institute in San Diego. After seeing Snowball's dance online, Patel visited the cockatoo at the bird rescue facility he's called home for two years. The scientist played "Everybody" for Snowball and also played versions of the song that were sped up or slowed down. Sometimes, Snowball danced too fast or too slowly. Often, when there was a change in tempo, Snowball adjusted his dancing to match the rhythm. In other experiments, scientists have observed the same abilities in preschool children.
Patel isn't the only scientist who has studied Snowball's moves. Adena Schachner, who studies psychology at Harvard University, also wanted to know more about the dancing bird. Schachner's team played different musical pieces for Snowball and a parrot named Alex, as well as eight human volunteers. The scientists observed that the birds and the humans kept time to the music with about the same accuracy.
Schachner and her team watched thousands of YouTube videos of different animals moving to music. Not all the animals could dance, however. From watching the videos, the scientists observed that only animals that imitate sounds, including 14 parrot species and Asian elephants, accurately moved in time to music.
63. The underlined words “that scientific opinion” in the third paragraph refers to the theory that ______.
A.birds like Snowball have the ability to keep the beat
B.humans are the only animals that can accurately keep rhythm with music
C.the brain and the nervous system contribute to some mental abilities
D.bird pets can have their special rhythm under human’s instruction
64. From the fourth paragraph we may know that ______.
A.Patel is the only scientist who has studied Snowball’s moves.
B.Snowball is able to adjust his dancing to match the rhythm.
C.Snowball cannot dance to the versions of the song Everybody.
D.it is the brain and the nervous system that control the mental abilities.
65. The idea of studying animals’ ability to keep the beat comes from ______.
A.bird lovers’ discovery
B.humans musical sense
C.the same abilities in children
D.videos of dancing birds
66. According to the scientists, Snowball’s ability to dance to music is probably related to the fact that ______.
A.it is the only bird member of the Backstreet Boys band
B.it has the ability to imitate sounds
C.it is a kind of dancing parrot
D.it has the same abilities as preschool children
高三英语阅读理解简单题
The idea for a science experiment can come from an unusual place. After watching a YouTube video of a dancing bird named Snowball, a scientist in California decided to study the ability of animals to keep the beat.
Bird lovers have long claimed that their pets have rhythm, and there are many videos of dancing birds online. Until now, scientists have suspected that humans are the only animals that can accurately keep rhythm with music.
Thanks to Snowball, that scientific opinion is changing. Snowball is a cockatoo, a kind of parrot, and his favorite song is "Everybody" by the Backstreet Boys. When he hears the song, he moves his feet and rocks his body with the tempo, or pace of the music, as though he is the only bird member of the boy band.
Aniruddh Patel is a neuroscientist, or a scientist who studies how the brain and the nervous system contribute to learning, seeing and other mental abilities. He works at the Neurosciences Institute in San Diego. After seeing Snowball's dance online, Patel visited the cockatoo at the bird rescue facility he's called home for two years. The scientist played "Everybody" for Snowball and also played versions of the song that were sped up or slowed down. Sometimes, Snowball danced too fast or too slowly. Often, when there was a change in tempo, Snowball adjusted his dancing to match the rhythm. In other experiments, scientists have observed the same abilities in preschool children.
Patel isn't the only scientist who has studied Snowball's moves. Adena Schachner, who studies psychology at Harvard University, also wanted to know more about the dancing bird. Schachner's team played different musical pieces for Snowball and a parrot named Alex, as well as eight human volunteers. The scientists observed that the birds and the humans kept time to the music with about the same accuracy.
Schachner and her team watched thousands of YouTube videos of different animals moving to music. Not all the animals could dance, however. From watching the videos, the scientists observed that only animals that imitate sounds, including 14 parrot species and Asian elephants, accurately moved in time to music.
63. The underlined words “that scientific opinion” in the third paragraph refers to the theory that ______.
A.birds like Snowball have the ability to keep the beat
B.humans are the only animals that can accurately keep rhythm with music
C.the brain and the nervous system contribute to some mental abilities
D.bird pets can have their special rhythm under human’s instruction
64. From the fourth paragraph we may know that ______.
A.Patel is the only scientist who has studied Snowball’s moves.
B.Snowball is able to adjust his dancing to match the rhythm.
C.Snowball cannot dance to the versions of the song Everybody.
D.it is the brain and the nervous system that control the mental abilities.
65. The idea of studying animals’ ability to keep the beat comes from ______.
A.bird lovers’ discovery
B.humans musical sense
C.the same abilities in children
D.videos of dancing birds
66. According to the scientists, Snowball’s ability to dance to music is probably related to the fact that ______.
A.it is the only bird member of the Backstreet Boys band
B.it has the ability to imitate sounds
C.it is a kind of dancing parrot
D.it has the same abilities as preschool children
高三英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析
I’d been trying for weeks to come up with an idea for my next book. And then suddenly the idea came: Why not write about a celebrity reporter signing up as a hospital volunteer so she could gain access to a movie star who was a patient of the hospital? The heroine would be motivated totally by her career until she learned that in helping others, we help ourselves.
Sounded like a romantic comedy with uplifting message, but first, there was the matter of research. I’d have to observe hospital volunteers. I headed over to my nearby hospital and asked the director of volunteers if I might hang around for a day or two just to research my story. Her answer, “No. If you really want to see what it’s like to be a volunteer, you should become one.”
Become a volunteer? I was not wild about being in close to people with germs (细菌). I would just skip the research, I thought, then reminded myself that I did need to spend quality time at the hospital if I wanted to write credibly about my heroine’s journey. So I signed up, was given my uniform and ID badge (徽章), and reported for duty. My “job” was to wheel a magazine cart throughout the large facility and, in the process, be a shoulder to lean on.
At the beginning, my focus was on my novel. And then a funny thing happened: I stopped researching and started realizing that I might actually be making a difference in people’s lives. A woman who’d just been diagnosed with lung cancer thanked me for brushing her hair and applying her lipstick. A man who was wasting away from AIDS called me his “angel”, simply because I took twenty minutes to note down the letter he dictated to his mother.
Now long after finishing my book, I continued to volunteer. Friends would ask, “Isn’t it depressing at that place?” “On the contrary,” I’d say and mean it.
1.Why did the author want to observe hospital volunteers?
A.She intended to write stories about them.
B.She was preparing for her volunteering jobs.
C.She hoped to gain access to a movie star.
D.She wanted to make her heroine’s story realistic.
2.What can we infer from paragraphs 3&4?
A.The author was determined to become a volunteer in the beginning.
B.The author was meant to shoulder the responsibility of the patients.
C.The patients the author met and the appreciation she received changed her.
D.The patients relied on the author to help them survive in the hospital.
3.In what way is the author similar to the heroine of her book?
A.Motivated by their career, they succeed.
B.By lifting other’s spirits, they lift their own.
C.Being volunteers, they spread uplifting messages.
D.By providing support to others, they are appreciated.
4.What can be a suitable title of the passage?
A.My Turn: Life as a Hospital Volunteer.
B.My Discovery: I Can Make a Difference.
C.My Investigation: Celebrities in Hospital.
D.My Identity: a Volunteer in a Hospital.
高三英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析
Here’s an idea whose time has come: A flu shot that doesn’t require an actual shot.
For the first time, researchers have tested a flu vaccine patch (疫苗贴) in a human clinical trial and found that it delivered as much protection as a traditional injection with a needle. Doctors and public health experts have high hopes that it will increase the number of people who get immunized (免疫的) against the flu.
Seasonal flu is responsible for up to half a million deaths around the world each year according to the World Health Organization. A team led by Georgia Tech engineer Mark Prausnitz has come up with an alternative method that uses “microneedles”. These tiny needles are so small that 100 of them, arranged in order on a patch, can fit under your thumb (拇指). Yet they’re big enough to hold vaccine for three types of flu.
None of the study volunteers had serious side effects. The groups that got patches had mild skin reactions that were not seen in the regular needle group, while the volunteers in the regular needle group were more likely to experience pain. Overall, 70 percent of the volunteers who got vaccine patches said they’d rather use them again than get a traditional flu shot. The study authors declared it a success on all fronts.
The biggest beneficiaries could be people in low-and-middle—income countries, where flu vaccines are hard to come by. Reducing pain is nice, but other benefits-the patch costs less, is easier to transport, doesn’t require refrigeration, can be self-administered and doesn’t cause waste of needles — are even better.
“Microneedle Patches have the potential to become ideal candidates for vaccination programs,” wrote Katja Hoschler and Maria Zambon of Public Health England.
1.What is the passage mainly about?
A. A vaccine patch that cures people of their flu.
B. A clinical study that protects people from disease.
C. A patch that makes flu shots a thing of the past.
D. A method that makes traditional flu shots painless.
2.What do we know about the vaccine patch?
A. It is produced by the WHO.
B. It causes slight side effects.
C. It delivers vaccine to the little finger.
D. It works badly on 30% of the volunteers.
3.The new patch has all the following benefits except that .
A. it is provided free of charge
B. it can be used without a doctor
C. it can be kept at room temperature
D. it needs less care in transportation
4.What is Katja and Maria’s attitude towards the new shot?
A. Cautious. B. Favorable.
C. Ambiguous. D. Disapproving.
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
For many seniors in some universities, the final year can be an unpleasant experience, _______ that ends the campus romance.
A .which B. the one C . what D. one
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
A model or an experiment in a science class can help us see things which would_______ remain hidden.
A. therefore B. yet C. otherwise D. still
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
A model or an experiment in a science class can help us see things which would________remain hidden.
A.therefore B.yet C.otherwise D.still
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
Our new science teacher comes from either New York or Washington. But I can’t remember _______.
A.where | B.there | C.which | D.that |
高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
Discovering the beauty of the science and maths that shape our everyday lives, an experience in Wonderlab will fuel your imagination and inspire you to see the world around you in new and exciting ways. Come and enjoy yourself!
What to see
Spread across seven different zones, there' re loads of opportunities to get hands on with real scientific phenomena. Observe live experiments at our Chemistry Bar, see lightning strike before your eyes, play with forces on giant slides or travel through space under a canopy (苍穹)of stars. You can also take part in explosive science demonstrations led by our talented team of explainers. With 50 mind-blowing wonders of science to enjoy, Wonderlab is an experience unlike any other. Besides, a selection of shows will be performed daily in Wonderlab’s beautiful new show space. They are free of charge and last 20 minutes.
Tickets
♦ Day pass: £6 per person.
This ticket gives you day-long access to Wonderlab, perfect whether you' re planning a special trip to the Museum or simply passing through London and want to feed your curiosity.
♦ Annual pass: £10 per person.
For less than the price of two visits, give yourself a year packed full of wonder, curiosity and breathtaking experiences.
Opening times
Open seven days a week, 10:00 — 18:00 (last entry 17:15). Wonderlab will be closed on December 24,25 and 26 and will be open as usual from December 27.
During school holidays our opening hours are 10:00 — 19:00 (last entry 18:15). Please note that in peak periods ( from midday onwards) we are experiencing long queues due to the gallery' s popularity.
1.What can you do in Wonderlab?
A. Explore stars. B. Produce lighting.
C. Join in explosion shows. D. Do chemistry experiments.
2.How much should two visitors pay if they visit Wonderlab and enjoy the shows for one day?
A. £ 12. B. £ 20. C. £32. D. £40.
3.When can you enter Wonderlab?
A. 9:30 on December 23. B. 18:30 on school holidays.
C. 11:00 on Christmas. D. 10:30 on December 28.
4.What is the purpose of the text?
A. To introduce Wonderlab.
B. To attract people to Wonderlab.
C. To explain how Wonderlab works.
D. To analyze why Wonderlab is attractive.
高三英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析
______ has an interest in the lecture can go for a ticket from the office next to the gate of the lecture room.
A.No matter who | B.Whoever | C.Anyone | D.Those who |
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
We all need knowledge from the past — ______ it comes from personal experience or from studying history. It is our only guide to the future.
A. as B. whether C. how D. when
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析