A new report said scientists may not be far from giving apes the ability to think and talk like humans. The report is about experiments which transplant human cells into animals for medical purposes.
It claimed that concerns about the creation of talking apes should be taken seriously. It should also draw people’s attention to the possibility that the medical research about creating “humanised” animals is going to generate monsters.
A regulatory(监管的)body is needed to closely monitor any experiments that many risk creating animals with human-like consciousness or giving them any appearance or behavioural traits that too closely resemble humans, the report said.
Scientists would, for example, be prevented from replacing a large number of an ape’s brain cells with human brain cells until more is known about the potential risks. This has already been done in simpler animals like mice, which is judged to be less risky.
Under the new UK guidelines, the power to regulate tests on animals containing human material would be transferred to a body with wider responsibility for animal testing in the Home Office.
While there is no risk from experiments currently being carried out in Britain, it is possible that ethical (道德的) boundaries could be crossed within the next few years if scientists are not careful, the experts said.
Professor Thomas Baldwin, a member of the Academy of Medical Sciences working group that produced the report, said the possibility of humanised apes should be taken seriously.
He said, “The fear is that if you start putting very large numbers of human brain cells into the brains of primates(灵长类动物)you might transform the primates into something that has some of the abilities that we regard as distinctly human, such as speech, or other ways of being able to manipulate or relate to us.”
Professor Martin Bobrow, chair of the academy working group that produced the report, said, “The very great majority of experiments present no issues beyond the general use of animals in research and these should continue to proceed under the current regulations.”
Lord Willis, chair of the Association of Medical Research Charities, said, “AMRC only supports research that is absolutely necessary and where no suitable alternative methods are available.”
1.What is the passage mainly about?
A.Ethical rules to limit humanised animals.
B.The potential results of humanised apes.
C.The possibility of humanised animals.
D.The danger of human-like animals.
2.The underlined word “manipulate” in the passage probably means “_______”.
A.appeal B.possess C.control D.associate
3.Which of the following statements might Professor Thomas Baldwin agree with?
A.It is necessary to do some experiments about humanised animals.
B.Experiments about humanised animals should be done within the law.
C.It would be dangerous to do experiments about humanised animals.
D.It is urgent to ban experiment about humanised animals.
4.It can be inferred that _______.
A.people should be careful when creating talking apes
B.Thomas Baldwin and Lord Willis are from the same organization
C.creating humanised animals is difficult in Britain now
D.scientists must be cautious not to cross ethical boundaries
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题
A new report said scientists may not be far from giving apes the ability to think and talk like humans. The report is about experiments which transplant human cells into animals for medical purposes.
It claimed that concerns about the creation of talking apes should be taken seriously. It should also draw people’s attention to the possibility that the medical research about creating “humanised” animals is going to generate monsters.
A regulatory(监管的)body is needed to closely monitor any experiments that many risk creating animals with human-like consciousness or giving them any appearance or behavioural traits that too closely resemble humans, the report said.
Scientists would, for example, be prevented from replacing a large number of an ape’s brain cells with human brain cells until more is known about the potential risks. This has already been done in simpler animals like mice, which is judged to be less risky.
Under the new UK guidelines, the power to regulate tests on animals containing human material would be transferred to a body with wider responsibility for animal testing in the Home Office.
While there is no risk from experiments currently being carried out in Britain, it is possible that ethical (道德的) boundaries could be crossed within the next few years if scientists are not careful, the experts said.
Professor Thomas Baldwin, a member of the Academy of Medical Sciences working group that produced the report, said the possibility of humanised apes should be taken seriously.
He said, “The fear is that if you start putting very large numbers of human brain cells into the brains of primates(灵长类动物)you might transform the primates into something that has some of the abilities that we regard as distinctly human, such as speech, or other ways of being able to manipulate or relate to us.”
Professor Martin Bobrow, chair of the academy working group that produced the report, said, “The very great majority of experiments present no issues beyond the general use of animals in research and these should continue to proceed under the current regulations.”
Lord Willis, chair of the Association of Medical Research Charities, said, “AMRC only supports research that is absolutely necessary and where no suitable alternative methods are available.”
1.What is the passage mainly about?
A.Ethical rules to limit humanised animals.
B.The potential results of humanised apes.
C.The possibility of humanised animals.
D.The danger of human-like animals.
2.The underlined word “manipulate” in the passage probably means “_______”.
A.appeal B.possess C.control D.associate
3.Which of the following statements might Professor Thomas Baldwin agree with?
A.It is necessary to do some experiments about humanised animals.
B.Experiments about humanised animals should be done within the law.
C.It would be dangerous to do experiments about humanised animals.
D.It is urgent to ban experiment about humanised animals.
4.It can be inferred that _______.
A.people should be careful when creating talking apes
B.Thomas Baldwin and Lord Willis are from the same organization
C.creating humanised animals is difficult in Britain now
D.scientists must be cautious not to cross ethical boundaries
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Scientists who discovered a new way of generating electricity from water say they may have come across an alternative source of clean energy to rival wind and solar power.
The breakthrough, which scientists say is the first new way to generate electricity in 160 years, could lead to batteries that use water instead of poisonous substances.
The scientists made the discovery when they were investigating what happens when tap water is forced through extremely narrow glass tubes. Water squeezed down the tubes, each of which was narrower than a tenth the thickness of a human hair, generating a small electric current that ran the length of the tube. To produce a larger electric current, the team tried forcing water through a glass water filter(滤水器)that contained thousands of narrow channels lined up side by side. “When we took a syringe(注射器)of water and squeezed it through the filter, we got enough power to light a light bulb,” said Larry Kostiuk of the University of Alberta in Canada. “The harder you push the syringe, the more electric current you get.”
The current is produced because of an effect in the glass tubes. When they are filled with water, positively charged ions(阳离子)fixed in the tubes are washed away, leaving a slight negative charge on the glass surface. When water is then forced along the tube, the surface repels negatively charged ions in the water while positively charged ions are attracted down the tube. The result is a net flow of positively charged ions that sets up an electric current.
According to Dr Kostiuk, no one has ever thought to use water to produce electricity in this way. “The last time someone came up with a way of generating electricity was Michael Faraday in 1839,” he said. “So this is the first new way of generating electricity in 160 years, which is why we are so excited about it.”
Dr Kostiuk says water batteries might one day be used to power mobile phones and calculators, but admitted that the engineering challenges might make other applications more realistic. “You’d need to be sure it wouldn’t leak, and you’d need to make sure it wouldn’t freeze,” he said.
More likely would be to install the electricity-generating devices where water is already being pumped, such as at city water filtration sites, he said. “It could compete with wind and solar power,” he added.
1.What does the passage mainly want to tell us about?
A. A kind of solar power discovered by scientists.
B. A kind of new energy source found in tap water.
C. The breakthrough to generate electricity 160 yeas ago.
D. A kind of new battery invented without poisonous substances.
2.The underlined word “repels” in Paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to _________.
A. rejects B. identifies C. attracts D. rebels
3.Why were the scientists extremely happy about their new discovery?
A. They were the first to find a new way to produce electricity.
B. They could make an electric current to light a light bulb.
C. Their discovery could be used to invent water batteries.
D. Their discovery was made 160 years earlier than Faraday’s.
4.What can we infer about potential water batteries?
A. They must be used to power mobile phones and calculators.
B. They have some possible disadvantages like water leaking.
C. They would be needed greatly at city water filtration sites.
D. They would be better than wind and solar power.
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
The Truth Can Set You Free
I recently got pulled over for speeding not far from my new home in Virginia. I hadn’t been paying attention, and I had driven a few miles an hour over the speed limit.
“Can I see your license and registration?” the police officer asked me. I pulled both out for him, and he saw my Pittsburgh address on my Pennsylvania driver’s license.
“What are you doing here?” he asked. “Are you with the army?”
“No, I’m not.” I answered. I explained that I had just moved to Virginia, and I hadn’t had time to re-register yet.
“So what brings you here?”
He had asked a direct question. Without thinking very hard, I gave him a direct answer. “Well, officer,” I said, “since you’ve asked, I have cancer. I have just months to live. We’ve moved down here to be close to my wife’s family.”
“So you’ve got cancer,” he said flatly. He was trying to figure me out. Was I really dying? Was I lying? He took a long look at me. “You know, for a guy who has only a few months to live, you sure look good.”
He was obviously thinking: “Either this guy is pulling one big fat line on me, or he’s telling the truth.” He was trying to question my honesty without directly calling me a liar. And so he had forced me to prove that I was being honest.
“Well, officer, I know that I look pretty healthy. I look great on the outside, but the tumors(肿瘤)are on the inside.” And then, I don’t know what possessed me, but I just did it. I pulled up my shirt, showing the operational scars.
He looked at my scars. He looked in my eyes. He now knew he was talking to a dying man. Well, he wasn’t taking this any further. He handed me back my license. “Do me a favor.” he said, “Slow down from now on.”
The awful truth had set me free. As he went back to his police car, I had a realization. I had been one of those gorgeous blondes (金发美女) who could bat her eyelashes and get out of tickets. I drove home under the speed limit, and I was smiling like a beauty queen.
1.The author was stopped by the police officer because ______.
A. he didn’t have a license
B. he forgot to re-register
C. he was seriously ill
D. he drove too fast
2.The author moved to Virginia probably because ______.
A. he was homesick
B. he served in the army there
C. Virginia had better hospitals
D. his family could be better cared for
3.On hearing about the author’s cancer, the police officer ______.
A. said it was an excuse
B. doubted his honesty
C. showed sympathy for him
D. asked him to show his scars
4.It can be inferred from the passage that the author was ______.
A. optimistic B. adventurous
C. dishonest D. romantic
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
I recently got pulled over for speeding not far from my new home in Virginia. I hadn’t been paying attention, and I had driven a few miles an hour over the speed limit.
“Can I see your license and registration?” the police officer asked me. I pulled both out for him, and he saw my Pittsburgh address on my Pennsylvania driver’s license.
“What are you doing here?” he asked. “Are you with the army?”
“No, I’m not.” I answered. I explained that I had just moved to Virginia, and I hadn’t had time to re-register yet.
“So what brings you here?” He had asked a direct question. Without thinking very hard, I gave him a direct answer. “Well, officer,” I said, “since you’ve asked, I have cancer. I have just months to live. We’ve moved down here to be close to my wife’s family.”
“So you’ve got cancer,” he said flatly. He was trying to figure me out. Was I really dying? Was I lying? He took a long look at me. “You know, for a guy who has only a few months to live, you sure look good.”
He was obviously thinking: “Either this guy is pulling one big fat line on me, or he’s telling the truth.” He was trying to question my honesty without directly calling me a liar. And so he had forced me to prove that I was being honest.
“Well, officer, I know that I look pretty healthy. I look great on the outside, but the tumors(肿瘤)are on the inside.” And then, I don’t know what possessed me, but I just did it. I pulled up my shirt, showing the operational scars.
He looked at my scars. He looked in my eyes. He now knew he was talking to a dying man. Well, he wasn’t taking this any further. He handed me back my license. “Do me a favor.” he said, “Slow down from now on.”
The awful truth had set me free. As he went back to his police car, I had a realization. I had been one of those gorgeous blondes (金发美女) who could bat her eyelashes and get out of tickets. I drove home under the speed limit, and I was smiling like a beauty queen.
1.The author was stopped by the police officer because ______.
A. he drove too fast B. he forgot to re-register
C. he was seriously ill D. he didn’t have a license
2.The author moved to Virginia probably because ______.
A. he was homesick
B. Virginia had better hospitals
C. he could spend more time with families
D. he served in the army there
3.On hearing about the author’s cancer, the police officer ______.
A. said it was an excuse
B. doubted his honesty
C. showed sympathy for him
D. asked him to show his scars
4.It can be inferred from the passage that the author was ______.
A. romantic B. adventurous
C. dishonest D. optimistic
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
They may be small and not able to speak, but babies are proving their amazing cleverness. Scientists began finding infants’ skills are more than they are supposed to be.
_________
Speaking of music, babies can’t seem to resist it. Not only are their ears turned to the beats, babies can actually dance to the music.
To test babies’ dancing ability, the researchers played recordings of classical music, rhythmic beats and speech to infants, and recorded the results. They also invited professional dancers to analyze how well the babies matched their movements to the music. The babies moved their arms, hands, legs feet and heads in response to the music, much more than to the speech. The finding suggests this dancing ability is innate(与生俱来的) in humans, though the researchers aren’t sure why it becomes weaker later in their life.
Learning Quickly while Sleeping
Babies can learn even while asleep, according to a 2011 study. In experiments with 26 sleeping infants, each just 1 to 2 days old, scientists played a musical tone followed by a puff of air to their eyes 200 times over the course of a half-hour. 124 electrodes(电极) stuck on the head and face of each baby recorded brain activity during the experiments. The babies rapidly learned to foretell a puff of air upon hearing the tone, showing a four-time increase on average in the chances of tightening their eyelids in response to the sound by the end of the experiments.
As newborns spend most of their time asleep, this newfound ability might be crucial to rapidly adapting to the world around them and help to ensure their survival, researchers said.
Judging Characters Well
Judging another person helpful or harmful is crucial when choosing friends. And that ability starts early. Kiley Hamlin of Yale University showed both 6-and 10-month-olds a puppet(木偶) show, in which one character helped another climb a hill. In another scene a third character pushed the climber down. The little ones then got to choose which character they preferred. For both age groups, most babies chose the helper character. This character-judging ability could be baby’s first step in the formation of morals, Hamlin thought.
1.Which of the following subtitles can fill in the underlined blank?
A.Dancing to Music |
B.Babies’ Amazing Abilities |
C.Learning to Dance Quickly |
D.Born to Dance |
2.The underlined word “it” in the third paragraph refers to______.
A.the finding |
B.the dancing ability |
C.the response |
D.the baby |
3.The experiment with 26 sleeping infants prove that_______.
A.babies can learn even while asleep |
B.babies can respond to the world around them |
C.babies can tighten their eyelids in response to the sound |
D.babies can communicate with others while asleep |
4.In the last experiment, most babies chose the helper character, showing that________.
A.babies can judge a person helpful or harmful |
B.babies love to see a puppet show |
C.babies were born to help others |
D.babes have learned to help others |
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
Scientists say it may be one year or so ________ it is possible to test the new medicine on human patients.
A. when B. after C. before D. since
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出最佳选项。
I recently got pulled over for speeding not far from my new home in Virginia. I hadn’t been paying attention, and I had driven a few miles an hour over the speed limit.
“Can I see your license and registration?” the police officer asked me. I pulled both out for him, and he saw my Pittsburgh address on my Pennsylvania driver’s license.
“What are you doing here?” he asked. “Are you with the army?”
“No, I’m not.” I answered. I explained that I had just moved to Virginia, and I hadn’t had time to re-register yet.
“So what brings you here?”
He had asked a direct question. Without thinking very hard, I gave him a direct answer. “Well, officer,” I said, “since you’ve asked, I have cancer. I have just months to live. We’ve moved down here to be close to my wife’s family.”
“So you’ve got cancer,” he said flatly. He was trying to figure me out. Was I really dying? Was I lying? He took a long look at me. “You know, for a guy who has only a few months to live, you sure look good.”
He was obviously thinking: “Either this guy is pulling one big fat line on me, or he’s telling the truth.” He was trying to question my honesty without directly calling me a liar. And so he had forced me to prove that I was being honest.
“Well, officer, I know that I look pretty healthy. I look great on the outside, but the tumors are on the inside.” And then, I don’t know what possessed me, but I just did it. I pulled up my shirt, showing the operational scars.
He looked at my scars. He looked in my eyes. He now knew he was talking to a dying man. Well, he wasn’t taking this any further. He handed me back my license. “Do me a favor.” he said, “Slow down from now on.”
The awful truth had set me free. As he went back to his police car, I had a realization. I had been one of those gorgeous blondes (金发美女) who could bat her eyelashes and get out of tickets. I drove home under the speed limit, and I was smiling like a beauty queen.
1.The author was stopped by the police officer because ______.
A. he didn’t have a license
B. he forgot to re-register
C. he drove too fast
D. he was seriously ill
2. The author moved to Virginia probably because ______.
A. he was homesick
B. his family could be better cared for
C. Virginia had better hospitals
D. he served in the army there
3. On hearing about the author’s cancer, the police officer ______.
A. said it was an excuse
B. showed sympathy for him
C. asked him to show his scars
D. doubted his honesty
4.It can be inferred from the passage that the author was ______.
A. adventurous B. optimistic
C. dishonest D. romantic
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
-- He said you’d be giving them a lift.
-- ________. There are already five people.
A. Why not? B. Not likely. C. What of it? D. All right.
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
Bicycle lights may not exactly be a problem that needs solving, but the following can be said about most of them ---- they’re easily stolen if left on an unattended bike. People riding at dusk can forget to turn them on, and those same people can forget to turn them off when they reach their destination. Well, the makers of the Blink/ Steady Bike Light have set out to address all of those shortcomings.
The waterproof(防水的) Blink/ Steady is so far only available as a tail light, although a head light is on the way. It’s fixed onto the bike’s seat post. A built- in photosensor(感光器) tells when it’s become dark enough for the light to be required, and allows it to come on once you begin the riding. According to the producers, it isn’t fooled by things such as headlights or streetlights. The light also contains an accelerometer, also known as a motion sensor, which can tell when the bike is in motion.
Between the two sensors, this means the light will come on only once it’s dark enough, and the bike is moving. Even when stopped at red lights, the small movements of the rider will reportedly be enough to keep the light activated---- it’ll go out after 30 seconds of complete inactivity. While this does mean that the two sensors are continuously powered up, they go into a very low---- power sleep pattern when the bike is sitting, unused.
Light is provided by two5- watt LEDs, seeable over a range of 180 degrees. And power comes from two AAA batteries, which provided up to 200 hours of continuous run time. The designers and engineers behind the Blink/ Steady are now raising money for its commercial production. About US $95 will get you one if they become available.
1.The first paragraph is mainly to mean that______.
A. bicycle lights are worth a research
B. bicycle lights are not a problem at all
C. bicycle lights are easy to deal with
D. bicycle lights are difficult to turn off
2.According to the text, the Blink/Steady Bike Light is sensitive to______.
A. the weather B. streetlights C. headlights D. natural light
3.Why is there an accelerometer in the Blink/ Steady Bike Light?
A. To protect the bike against water.
B. To tell if the bike is moving.
C. To make the bike easy to ride.
D. To judge the speed of the bike.
4.What can be inferred about the Blink/ Steady Bike Light?
A. It will be turned off immediately if the bike stops.
B. The traffic lights have no effect on the light.
C. It won’t use any power if the bike is unused.
D. It must meet two requirements if it comes on.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
My daughter was being thrown out of the sixth grade. The teacher said to me, “She may not be up to what we’re trying to accomplish.” He was really saying she didn’t have the intelligence. I got mad because I knew she was smart, just as my father had known I was smart when I was failing in school. We had her tested and found that the troubles my daughter was having were the same as those I had had. I decided to get tested as well. She was dyslexic, and so was I. By then I was a successful television writer and producer. I’d won an Emmy for “The Rockford Files.”
Had I known earlier, though, that there was a reason beyond my control to explain why I was a low achiever, I may not have worked so hard in my late 20s and early 30s. I was writing and writing. I was working for no other reason than to hear people praise me.
I needed that praise because I was carrying around the failure in studies. I did badly in all my courses.
I once asked a friend who had always gotten an A, “How long did you study for this?” He said, “I didn’t. I just glanced at it.” So what do I take from that? He must be smarter than I am. I began to ask, “What will happen to me when I’m not good at anything?” Despite my doubts, I did become successful, and people now say to me, “So you’ve overcome dyslexia.”
No. You don’t overcome it, you learn to compensate for it. Some easy things are very hard for me. Most people who go through college read at least twice as fast as I do. I avoid dialing a phone if I can, because I sometimes have to try three times to get the number right. I get that recording “The number you have reached is not in service” more than any man on earth.
Despite my weaknesses I view dyslexia as a gift, not a curse (诅咒). Many dyslexics are good at right- brain, abstract thought, and that’s what my kind of creative writing is. And I can write quickly— I go like wind — and can get up to 15 pages a day. Writing is not the problem. That’s my strength.
The real fear I have for dyslexic is not that they have to struggle with regular school studies, but that they will quit on themselves before they get out of school. Parents have to create victories whenever they can, whether it’s music, sports or art. You can make your dyslexic child able to say, “Yeah, reading’s hard. But I have these other things I can do.”
1.The writer decided to get himself tested probably because ________.
A.he wanted to know if they had the same problem
B.he accepted that his daughter was not smart
C.he didn’t (realize the problem with his daughter
D.his father had the same troubles as they did
2.What can you infer from the second paragraph?
A.The writer struggled hard and finally ended with good grades.
B.The writer was thankful not knowing of his dyslexia before.
C.Dyslexia made the writer a low achiever all through his life.
D.People praised the writer because they knew he had dyslexia.
3.The word “dyslexia” can be interpreted as ________.
A.hearing disability B.low in intelligence
C.mental illness D.disorder of reading
4.Which of the following proverbs can best summarize the main idea?
A.Never judge a person by his appearance.
B.God never shuts one door but he opens another.
C.If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.
D.No one can make a good coat with bad cloth.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析