The African grey parrot’s ability to talk and mimic sounds makes it a charming companion. African grey owners often report that their greys oftentimes talk in context and can understand their people’s emotions (情感). The African grey parrot is not just a top talker - this bird is also known for its extreme intelligence, which gives them the name “The Einsteins of the Bird World”.
The bird is medium-sized, dusty-looking and almost pigeon-like. It has a bright red tail, intelligent orange eyes, and a stunning scalloped (扇形的) pattern to its feathers. Their diet in the wild consists mostly of nuts, seeds, fruits, and leafy matter.
At home, African greys need plenty of toys that challenge their intelligence, such as food searching and puzzle toys. Nutri-Berries by Lafeber Company are a perfect choice, which, with a balance of grains, seeds and other nutrients in the shape of a berry, encourages African greys to hold, bite off, and even play with, just as they do in the wild.
African greys seem especially affected by stress and disturbing noise in their environment and can be put more at ease by placing one corner of the cage against a wall as opposed to in the middle of a room.
African grey parrots are more likely to suffer from lack of Vitamin-A/beta-carotene, and therefore benefit from eating vegetables high in beta-carotene, such as cooked sweet potato and fresh kale. Lack of Vitamin-D is another concern, especially for greys on a poor diet. Offering a balanced, pill-shaped diet, such as Nutri-Berries, helps prevent vitamin and mineral shortage.
1.Why are African grey parrots called “The Einsteins of the Bird World”?
A.Because of their brain size. B.On account of their intelligence.
C.Owing to their rich emotions. D.Due to their talking ability.
2.What can “Nutri-Berries” probably be?
A.A brand of bird food. B.Puzzle toys for birds.
C.A type of round fruit. D.Wild Intelligence games.
3.What is the characteristic of African grey parrots?
A.They may get ill due to lack of Vitamin
B.They prefer to stay in the middle of the room.
C.They are dusty looking with blue eyes.
D.They are smart and love to have fun.
4.Where can we most probably find the passage?
A.In a wildlife magazine. B.In science fiction.
C.In a travel guide. D.On a shopping website.
高三英语阅读选择中等难度题
The African grey parrot’s ability to talk and mimic sounds makes it a charming companion. African grey owners often report that their greys oftentimes talk in context and can understand their people’s emotions (情感). The African grey parrot is not just a top talker - this bird is also known for its extreme intelligence, which gives them the name “The Einsteins of the Bird World”.
The bird is medium-sized, dusty-looking and almost pigeon-like. It has a bright red tail, intelligent orange eyes, and a stunning scalloped (扇形的) pattern to its feathers. Their diet in the wild consists mostly of nuts, seeds, fruits, and leafy matter.
At home, African greys need plenty of toys that challenge their intelligence, such as food searching and puzzle toys. Nutri-Berries by Lafeber Company are a perfect choice, which, with a balance of grains, seeds and other nutrients in the shape of a berry, encourages African greys to hold, bite off, and even play with, just as they do in the wild.
African greys seem especially affected by stress and disturbing noise in their environment and can be put more at ease by placing one corner of the cage against a wall as opposed to in the middle of a room.
African grey parrots are more likely to suffer from lack of Vitamin-A/beta-carotene, and therefore benefit from eating vegetables high in beta-carotene, such as cooked sweet potato and fresh kale. Lack of Vitamin-D is another concern, especially for greys on a poor diet. Offering a balanced, pill-shaped diet, such as Nutri-Berries, helps prevent vitamin and mineral shortage.
1.Why are African grey parrots called “The Einsteins of the Bird World”?
A.Because of their brain size. B.On account of their intelligence.
C.Owing to their rich emotions. D.Due to their talking ability.
2.What can “Nutri-Berries” probably be?
A.A brand of bird food. B.Puzzle toys for birds.
C.A type of round fruit. D.Wild Intelligence games.
3.What is the characteristic of African grey parrots?
A.They may get ill due to lack of Vitamin
B.They prefer to stay in the middle of the room.
C.They are dusty looking with blue eyes.
D.They are smart and love to have fun.
4.Where can we most probably find the passage?
A.In a wildlife magazine. B.In science fiction.
C.In a travel guide. D.On a shopping website.
高三英语阅读选择中等难度题查看答案及解析
Dolphins, African gray parrots and some other animals understand the idea of “zero,” but researchers were surprised to find that honeybees also comprehend this abstract concept, considering the insects’ tiny brains, according to a new study. Honeybees have fewer than one million neurons (神经元), compared with the 86 billion neurons in humans—and yet, they grasp a concept that humans, by some measures, don’t start to understand before preschool.
The researchers set up two cards, each of which had a set of symbols on them, like triangles or circles. Then, they trained a group of the bees to fly to the card with the lower number of symbols. The bees quickly learned what the humans wanted them to do to get their delicious, sweet rewards. The trained bees were then shown a card that was empty and one that had symbols on it. There is no need for the bees to be trained to fly more often to the empty card—thus showing that they understood that “zero” was a number less than the others.
Although they flew more often to an empty card than to one that had one symbol on it, it became easier for them to distinguish when the symbols on the card increased in number. For example, they more often flew to the zero when the other card had four symbols than when it had one.
Perhaps these findings will explain the brain mechanism (机制) behind what allows us to understand the concept of “nothing,” Adrian Dyer, a researcher said. This understanding, in turn, could help in the development of artificial intelligence (AI) that also understands this concept. “If bees can understand ‘zero’ with a brain of less than a million neurons, it suggests there are simple, efficient ways to teach AI new tricks,” Dyer said in the statement.
1.What is a surprising finding for the researchers?
A. Many animals also comprehend the meaning of “zero”.
B. The number of neurons of honeybees is much smaller.
C. Honeybees can understand “zero” with their tiny brains.
D. Humans fail to recognize abstract ideas before preschool.
2.What can the bees do without further training?
A. Fly directly to the card with more symbols on it.
B. Fly less often to the card with fewer symbols on it.
C. Fly quite slowly to the card without anything on it.
D. Fly more often to the card without any symbol on it.
3.What does Adrian Dyer say about these findings?
A. They offer inspiration to the development of technology.
B. They enable people to understand more abstract concepts.
C. They suggest ways to teach humans some complex tricks.
D. They allow people to set a new type of brain mechanism.
4.What is the main idea of the text?
A. Honeybees know about the concept of “zero”.
B. Honeybees can understand much as humans do.
C. Honeybees will help to improve AI in the future.
D. Honeybees can be trained to comprehend “zero”.
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
Dyslexia is a problem that restricts the ability to recognize words and connect sounds with letters when people read. People with this learning disorder may also have problems when they write. Dyslexia is not related to eyesight or intelligence. The problem involves areas of the brain that process language. Brain scientists are studying whether they can predict which young children may struggle with reading to provide them with early help. John Gabrieli at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is leading the study of five-year-olds in about twenty schools in the Boston area.
They studied in the schools with kindergartens. And for all the children joining in the study, they give them a brief set of paper-and-pencil tests to look at which children appear to be at some risk for struggling to read. So far, fifty of them have been examined in a scanner, a special machine, to show brain activity. Written tests are not always able to identify dyslexia or other problems, while brain scans may offer a more scientific way to identify problems. And with reading problems, early identification is important. When it comes to helping children overcome reading difficulties, the younger the child, the more effective they are.
Reading problems are not usually identified until a child is in the third or fourth grade. The later children are recognized as poor readers, the less treatment can help. And, as Professor Gabrieli points out, poor reading can make education a struggle. Reading is everything. Even math and science have textbooks.
While the children are given tasks related to reading, the brain scans measure the extent to which certain parts of the brain become active while the children do the work. The scientists say they are pleased with early results from the study, but have a long way to go.
1.Dyslexia affects the part of brain concerning ________.
A. eyesight B. intelligence C. language D. emotion
2.Dyslexia problems are more likely to be identified through ________.
A. speech contests B. reading efficiency
C. listening comprehension D. brain scans
3.According to the passage, which of the followings has the best time to overcome reading difficulties?
A. Tom, a boy in the kindergarten.
B. Kate, a high school leaver.
C. Jane, a primary school student.
D. Steve, a man in his thirties.
4.What is the passage mainly about?
A. An effective way to identity Dyslexia at an early stage.
B. A learning disorder involving one’s intelligence.
C. Dyslexia — a problem affecting one’s reading and writing.
D. A possible solution to the problems related to Dyslexia.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Dyslexia is a problem that restricts the ability to recognize words and connect sounds with letters when people read. People with this learning disorder may also have problems when they write. Dyslexia is not related to eyesight or intelligence. The problem involves areas of the brain that process language. Brain scientists are studying whether they can predict which young children may struggle with reading to provide them with early help. John Gabrieli at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is leading the study of five-year-olds in about twenty schools in the Boston area.
They studied in the schools with kindergartens．And for all the children joining in the study, they give them a brief set of paper-and-pencil tests to look at which children appear to be at some risk for struggling to read. So far, fifty of them have been examined in a scanner, a special machine, to show brain activity. Written tests are not always able to identify dyslexia or other problems, while brain scans may offer a more scientific way to identify problems. And with reading problems, early identification is important. When it comes to helping children overcome reading difficulties, the younger the child, the more effective they are.
Reading problems are not usually identified until a child is in the third or fourth grade. The later children are recognized as poor readers，the less treatment can help. And, as Professor Gabrieli points out, poor reading can make education a struggle. Reading is everything. Even math and science have textbooks.
While the children are given tasks related to reading, the brain scans measure the extent to which certain parts of the brain become active while the children do the work. The scientists say they are pleased with early results from the study, but have a long way to go.
1. Dyslexia affects the part of brain concerning ________.
A. eyesight B. intelligence
C. language D. emotion
2. Dyslexia problems are more likely to be identified through ________.
A. speech contests
B. reading efficiency
C. listening comprehension
D. brain scans
3.According to the passage, which of the followings has the best time to overcome reading difficulties?
A. Tom, a boy in the kindergarten.
B. Kate, a high school leaver.
C. Jane, a primary school student.
D. Steve, a man in his thirties.
4. What is the passage mainly about?
A. An effective way to identity Dyslexia at an early stage.
B. A learning disorder involving one’s intelligence.
C. Dyslexia — a problem affecting one’s reading and writing.
D. A possible solution to the problems related to Dyslexia.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Dyslexia is a problem that interferes (干扰) with the ability to recognize words and connect sounds with letters when people read. People with this learning disorder may also have problems when they write. Dyslexia is not related to eyesight or intelligence. The problem involves (涉及)areas of the brain that process language.
Brain scientists are studying whether they can predict which young children may struggle with reading, in order to provide early help. John Gabrieli is leading a study of five-year-olds in about twenty schools. He says, “We partner with schools that have kindergartens. What we do is, for all the children whose parents permit them to participate, we give them a brief set of paper-and-pencil tests to look at which children appear to be at some risk for struggling to read.
So far, fifty of the kindergartners have been examined in a machine that shows brain activity. The scanner uses a high-energy magnetic (有磁性的) field and radio waves to “look” inside the body. Written tests which are often used in previous studies are not always able to identify dyslexia or other problems. Professor Gabrieli says, “Brain scans may offer a more scientific way to identify problems.
And with reading problems, early identification is important. Reading problems are not usually identified until a child is in the third or fourth grade. The later children are recognized as poor readers, the less these interventions can help. And, as Professor Gabrieli points out, poor reading can make education a struggle. Reading is everything. Even math and science require one to read textbooks.
1.What do we know about Dyslexia?
A.It results in poor eyesight.
B.It is related to brain activity.
C.It only causes reading difficulty.
D.It has an influence on intelligence.
2.What does the underlined word “interventions” in the last paragraph probably mean?
A.Approaches. B.Researches.
C.Instructions. D.Treatments.
3.How is Professor Gabrieli’s study different from early ones?
A.It is scientifically based.
B.It focuses on written tests.
C.It examines children’s brains.
D.It needs parents’ participation.
4.What can be a suitable title for the text?
A.Dyslexia – a Learning Disorder Involving Intelligence
B.Dyslexia – a Problem Relating to Kindergartners
C.A Way Identifying Dyslexia at an Early Stage
D.A Machine Showing Brain Development
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
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
There was a pet store and the owner had a parrot. One day a walked in and the parrot said to the man ,“Hey you!” The man said, “What!?” The parrot said, “Your is really ugly.” The man got very and went to the store owner and said, “Your bird just my wife. It said she was ugly.”
The owner stormed over, the bird, took it into the “black room,” shook it a bit, out a few feathers, and said, “Don’t ever, ever say anything to my customers again. You got that！！！”
With that he took the bird and put it back into its cage. The old bird shook out its and relaxed in its cage. A couple of weeks and in walked this guy and his wife again. The parrot said, “Hey you!” The guy said, “What!?” The parrot answered, “You know that.”
1.A. group B. team C. couple D. crowd
2.A. wife B. sister C. mother D. daughter
3.A. curious B. nervous C. guilty D. angry
4.A. greeted B. puzzled C. offended D. scared
5.A. hugged B. seized C. trained D. rescued
6.A. sent B. handed C. pulled D. dug
7.A. touch B. amuse C. cheat D. embarrass
8.A. warning B. comment C. suggestion D. request
9.A. eyes B. feathers C. fur D. skin
10.A. lasted B. arrived C. appeared D. passed
高三英语完型填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
Calling someone a “birdbrain” is considered rude. It implies that someone has a small brain and thus is not smart. A new study found that the expression doesn’t do birds justice either. Birds’ brains are much bigger than we thought-at least compared to their small bodies.
An international team of 37 scientists measured the brain volume of hundreds of dinosaurs and extinct birds by scanning fossils of their skulls. The readings were compared to a large database containing the brain sizes of modern birds. These measurements were then analyzed, taking into consideration each bird’s body size-resulting in something called “relative brain size”. The results showed that a dramatic change of birds’ body size happened right after the mass extinction of dinosaurs 66 million years ago.
According to the study, published on April 23 in the journal Current Biology, birds and non-avian (非鸟类的) dinosaurs had similar brain sizes before the extinction. After the extinction of the dinosaurs, however, birds had to find a way to survive, so they shrank their bodies-since smaller animals need less food-but they kept their big brains.
“The changed landscape may have caused the rapid evolution of new brain-body scaling patterns (缩放比例) by favoring both larger brains and smaller bodies,” US paleontologist (古生物学家) Daniel Ksepka, who is the lead author of the study, told CNN.
This “evolutionary brain leap”-as scientists call it-also happened very rapidly. Without dinosaurs, birds quickly repopulated. They came in all types and sizes, which contributed to the diverse species of birds we see today.
But among all the bird species, certain ones “show above average rates of brain and body size evolution”, study co-author Adam Smith at Clemson University, US, said in a statement-with crows and parrots being the most evident. In fact, previous studies have already discovered that these birds have an amazing cognitive ability. They are able to use tools, imitate human speech and even remember human faces.
So, in the words of Smith, “calling someone ‘bird-brained’ is actually quite a compliment!”
1.How did scientists learn the brain sizes of dinosaurs and extinct birds?
A.By referring to a database.
B.By analyzing their body size.
C.By studying their fossil skulls.
D.By examining the brain size of modem birds.
2.What were birds’ brains like after the extinction of the dinosaurs?
A.They were the same size as non-avian dinosaurs.
B.They shrank to adapt to the environment.
C.They kept growing to avoid extinction.
D.They remained as big as they were before.
3.According to Adam Smith, what do we know about birds?
A.Their brain evolution happened very rapidly.
B.Some species evolved to be smarter than others.
C.Crows and parrots have the largest bird brains.
D.Birds have amazing abilities to copy human speech.
4.What is the purpose of this text?
A.To explain the origin of the word “birdbrain”.
B.To describe how a bird evolved through history.
C.To present a new study on birds’ brain size.
D.To reveal reasons for the rapid growth of bird populations.
高三英语阅读选择中等难度题查看答案及解析
I will never forget the darkness, the pain and strong desire to die.
November arrived grey and busy, and going into an even more stressful. December, I was filled with anxious thoughts.
A visit to my father’s grave is often a good chance to cry and when I leave I feel a little more at peace. But this time was different. I drove home and every night for the rest of that week, I cried.
On Saturday, I watched a TV program teaching baking, and then I started to learn. By the end of the weekend, I had a dining room table covered with sweet treats. I packaged them up in tins, attached a label to each of them with “winter love” on it, and dropped them off on a few of my neighbors’ porches (门廊) before work. It shocked me how much it lightened my mood, seeing a small package lost on a porch.
The thanks I received later from the neighbors made me light up. It felt so good, and it distracted me from my dark thoughts.
By January I had developed a routine: on Sunday I’d bake cookies and package them up, and on Monday I'd deliver them. Every week I added a few different people to my delivery route, baked a few different kinds of cookies.
Somewhere along the way things started showing up on my doorstep a homemade cup, a pair of socks with tiny cookies and even a gift certificate from the local bookstore. Every single one melted my heart. But what I really appreciated was how people began to share their own stories of mental health with me. There is no greater honor than to be trusted with another’s life. I was overwhelmed by the love and care of my community. It humbled me that something so simple had created such incredible kindness. It reminded me that there was good in me, in my neighbors, in the world.
I was shifting into a new season of light, while letting go of a season of darkness. What had begun as an attempt to bring light into my own darkness had been transformed into a story more beautiful than I could have ever dreamed. It reminded me that there is beauty in being kind. That life is tough, but there is a quiet strength in knowing you are not alone.
1.After she started sharing cookies with neighbors, the author_________.
A.gained trust and care from them
B.added other things to her delivery list
C.felt her life was no longer busy or stressful
D.found some of them had more mental problems than her
2.What is the author’s attitude toward her future life?
A.Positive. B.Cautious. C.Doubtful. D.Concerned.
3.What is the main purpose of this passage?
A.To express gratitude to caring neighbors.
B.To speak of the benefits of baking cookies at home.
C.To share how being kind helped her regain hope.
D.To show the importance of a closely connected community.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Obviously, the ability to talk is ______ that marks humans off from animals.
A. something B. anything
C. nothing D. everything
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析