Tiny as they are, bats have the ability to “see” in the dark by using a special skill called echolocation (回声定位法).They make noises and wait for sound waves, or an echo, to bounce back off objects. They can tell the distance of various objects by how quickly the sound waves bounce back off them. If no sound bounces back, they can then fly forward.
This special ability has been copied in the human world for a long time, such as in submarines and planes. But apart from helping vehicles “see” where they are, what if blind people could use echolocation for themselves? American Daniel Kish, who is blind, is known as “Batman”. This isn’t because he walks around in a cape (披风)and a mask, but because he has a bat-like ability to locate where he is through sharp clicks he makes by moving his tongue against the roof of his mouth. Kish is so skilled at echolocating that he can ride a bike and hike on his own.
Recently, a research carried out at the University of Durham in England shed some light on the power of human echolocation. Kish, as well as other volunteers, worked with a group of scientists who studied the way blind people listen to the echoes that they produce from clicks. The team found that people were capable of hearing even very faint echoes, ones far fainter than had been previously thought.
Lore Thaler, lead scientist of the group, said, “We found that in some conditions, they were really faint—about 95 percent softer than the actual clicks, but the echolocators were still able to sense this.”
Andrew Kolarik, another expert in echolocation, told BBC News that echolocation “can be very useful at providing information at face or chest height” and could help people “avoid objects like low hanging branches that might not get detected by the cane or a guide dog”
According to BBC News, echolocation is a skill blind people can acquire and develop, just like learning a language. As Kolarik said, “Teaching echolocation skills could provide blind people with the means of exploring new places.”
1.What does “this special ability” in Paragraph 2 refer to?
A.The ability to make noises in the dark.
B.The ability to bounce back off objects.
C.The ability to measure the distance quickly.
D.The ability to use sound waves to echolocate.
2.What do we know about Daniel Kish from the text?
A.He is fond of riding a bike and hiking alone.
B.He is called “Batman” because he looks like a bat.
C.He is able to hear echoes he produces from clicks.
D.He conducted the experiment to circulate echolocation.
3.What is Kolarik’s attitude towards the future use of echolocation in blind people?
A.Hopeful. B.Ambiguous.
C.Tolerant. D.Doubtful.
4.What’s the best title for the text?
A.Echolocation in Human World B.Finding New Way to “See”
C.A Very Special Batman D.A Breakthrough in Echoing
高二英语阅读选择中等难度题
Tiny as they are, bats have the ability to “see” in the dark by using a special skill called echolocation (回声定位法).They make noises and wait for sound waves, or an echo, to bounce back off objects. They can tell the distance of various objects by how quickly the sound waves bounce back off them. If no sound bounces back, they can then fly forward.
This special ability has been copied in the human world for a long time, such as in submarines and planes. But apart from helping vehicles “see” where they are, what if blind people could use echolocation for themselves? American Daniel Kish, who is blind, is known as “Batman”. This isn’t because he walks around in a cape (披风)and a mask, but because he has a bat-like ability to locate where he is through sharp clicks he makes by moving his tongue against the roof of his mouth. Kish is so skilled at echolocating that he can ride a bike and hike on his own.
Recently, a research carried out at the University of Durham in England shed some light on the power of human echolocation. Kish, as well as other volunteers, worked with a group of scientists who studied the way blind people listen to the echoes that they produce from clicks. The team found that people were capable of hearing even very faint echoes, ones far fainter than had been previously thought.
Lore Thaler, lead scientist of the group, said, “We found that in some conditions, they were really faint—about 95 percent softer than the actual clicks, but the echolocators were still able to sense this.”
Andrew Kolarik, another expert in echolocation, told BBC News that echolocation “can be very useful at providing information at face or chest height” and could help people “avoid objects like low hanging branches that might not get detected by the cane or a guide dog”
According to BBC News, echolocation is a skill blind people can acquire and develop, just like learning a language. As Kolarik said, “Teaching echolocation skills could provide blind people with the means of exploring new places.”
1.What does “this special ability” in Paragraph 2 refer to?
A.The ability to make noises in the dark.
B.The ability to bounce back off objects.
C.The ability to measure the distance quickly.
D.The ability to use sound waves to echolocate.
2.What do we know about Daniel Kish from the text?
A.He is fond of riding a bike and hiking alone.
B.He is called “Batman” because he looks like a bat.
C.He is able to hear echoes he produces from clicks.
D.He conducted the experiment to circulate echolocation.
3.What is Kolarik’s attitude towards the future use of echolocation in blind people?
A.Hopeful. B.Ambiguous.
C.Tolerant. D.Doubtful.
4.What’s the best title for the text?
A.Echolocation in Human World B.Finding New Way to “See”
C.A Very Special Batman D.A Breakthrough in Echoing
高二英语阅读选择中等难度题查看答案及解析
Fresh pomegranates at a market.
The seeds of this round, red fruit are known for their antioxidants (抗氧化剂). On the outside, they may look a bit like red delicious apples —but once you cut them open, you can tell pomegranates are quite different. Unlike apples, the tastiest part of pomegranates is actually their seeds. Just cut off the crown, cut the pomegranate into pieces like an apple, and pop out the seeds for a sweet snack.
Tiny as these kernels (果粒) are, pomegranate seeds, which are full of antioxidants, have been found to have a number of health benefits.
Let’s take a closer look at the health benefits of pomegranates:
Pomegranates improve your immune system. Moore recommends drinking pomegranate juice. ‘The antioxidant activity of pomegranate juice can be as much as three times higher than that of green tea and red wine,’ she explained. Antioxidants are important to keep the cells in our bodies healthy and able to fight off viruses, keeping down inflammation (炎症) and preventing organ damage. Besides, pomegranates lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol(胆固醇)and may prevent cancer.
With dozens of studies proving the positive health effects of pomegranates, it’s easily seen that this fruit is more than just a snack. Next time you see one at the market, give it a try – add the fruit to your breakfast.
1.Which is the suitable description of pomegranates?
A.They are a kind of red apples.
B.They can offer juice and salad.
C.They has tastiest seeds like apples.
D.They have seeds good for people’s health.
2.What does the underlined phrase in paragraph 1 mean?
A.Take something out quickly.
B.Make a strange sound.
C.Send out something.
D.Appear suddenly.
3.How do pomegranates benefit people’s health?
A.They can cure cancer.
B.They can protect cholesterol.
C.They can cause inflammation.
D.They can reduce blood pressure.
高二英语阅读选择简单题查看答案及解析
Scientists have created the world's first living, self-healing robots using stem cells (干细胞) from frogs. Named xenobots after the African clawed frog from which they take their stem cells, the ''machines'' are less than a millimeter wide — small enough to travel inside human bodies. They can walk and swim, survive for weeks without food, and work together in groups. ''These are entirely new life forms, '' said the University of Vermont, which conducted the research with Tufts University's Allen Discovery Center.
The researchers removed living stem cells from frog embryos (胚胎), and left them to hatch. Then, the cells were cut and reshaped into specific ''body forms'' designed by a supercomputer — forms ''never seen in nature'',according to a news release from the University of Vermont.
Xenobots even have regenerative abilities. When the scientists sliced into one robot, it healed by itself and kept moving. They don’t look like traditional robots - they have no shiny clothing or robotic arms. Instead, they look more like a tiny drop of moving pink flesh. The researchers say this is deliberate — this ''biological machine'' can achieve things typical robots of steel and plastic cannot. ''Traditional robots degrade over time and can produce harmful ecological and health side effects, '' researchers said in the study. ''As biological machines, xenobots are more environmentally friendly and safer for human health.''
According to the researchers, these robots could be used to clean up radioactive waste, collect microplastics in the oceans, or even carry medicine inside human bodies. Aside from these immediate practical tasks, they could also help researchers to learn more about cell biology - opening the doors to future advancement in human health and longevity. This sounds like something from a sci-fi movie. Some people even voiced their concern that humans might be taken control of by those xenobots. However, the researchers in the study say there is no need for alarm. They can't reproduce or evolve (进化).
1.What is this passage mainly about?
A.The advantages of a medical robot.
B.The application of robots in biology.
C.The general introduction of a living robot.
D.The medical value of African clawed frogs.
2.The underlined word ''regenerative'' in Paragraph 3 probably means ''________''.
A.living longer B.growing again
C.replacing old cells D.defending against attacks
3.What can we know about xenobots?
A.They can do everything that traditional robots can.
B.They can break up steel and plastic while degrading.
C.They are able to cure people of all kinds of diseases.
D.They are harmless to the environment and human health.
4.What is the researchers' attitude to the development of xenobots?
A.Doubtful. B.Positive.
C.Cautious. D.Casual.
高二英语阅读选择困难题查看答案及解析
The Intelligent Plant. That is the title of a recent article in The New Yorker, and new research is showing that plants have surprising abilities to sense and react to the world.
But can a plant be intelligent? Some plant scientists insist they are since they can sense, learn, remember and even react in ways that would be familiar to humans.
Michael Pollan, author of “The Botany of Desire,” says for the longest time, people who have long talked to their plants or played music for them were being considered “mad.”
The new research, he says, is in a field called plant neurobiology(神经生物学), which is not a proper name, because even scientists in the field don’t argue that plants have neurons(神经) or brains.
“They have analogous structures as humans,” Pollan explains. “Plants have all the same senses as humans. They have ways of taking all the sensory data they gather in their everyday lives, integrate it and then behave in an appropriate way in response.” In addition to hearing, taste, for example, they can sense gravity, the presence of water, or even feel that an obstacle(障碍物) is in the way of its roots, before coming into contact with it. Plant roots will change direction, he says, to avoid obstacles.
So what about pain? Do plants feel? Pollan says they do respond to anesthetics (麻醉剂). “You can put a plant out with a human anesthetic. And not only that, plants produce their own compounds that are anesthetic to us.” But scientists are unwilling to go as far as to say they are responding to pain.
How plants sense and react is still somewhat unknown. They don’t have nerve cells like humans, but they do have a system for sending electrical signals and even produce neurotransmitters (神经递质) and other chemicals the human brain uses to send signals.
1.Why does the author mention the article The Intelligent Plant in the first paragraph?
A.To support his opinion. B.To introduce the topic.
C.To give an example. D.To make comparison.
2.People who usually talked to their plants would be thought .
A.Intelligent. B.Crazy. C.Patient. D.Comforting.
3.What does the underlined word “analogous” in paragraph 5 mean?
A.Simple. B.False. C.Flexible. D.Similar.
4.What can we learn about plants according to the last two paragraphs?
A.Plants can feel and react to pain. B.Plants send two kinds of signals.
C.Plants are able to sense and react. D.Plants have their own brains.
高二英语阅读选择中等难度题查看答案及解析
Life is full of challenges. Some people seem to meet every challenge with confidence, while others struggle to overcome them. Here are some ways to better meet your personal challenges, whatever they may be.
Do not undervalue the power of being present. If you make a practice of facing your challenges - even in failure - with full presence and awareness, 1.. You can ask yourself questions that help you better understand the problem.
2.. Others can help you arrive at your own understanding, but no one ever solves your problems for you. Even in circumstances where someone else is acting as a partner, only you can decide for yourself how you will process the situation. The longer you spend searching for guidance outside of yourself, the longer you spend ignoring the problem. Assess the situation, your resources, and your abilities, and then act. 3..
It is important to know yourself. There is a reason why certain challenges seem hard for you while easy for others. 4.. It's all about consciousness. Those who face challenging tasks have found a way to avoid seeing those activities as challenges.
Challenges are opportunities to grow. That growth takes place out of potentiality, your potentiality, which is tremendous and highly active in every moment of life. Come to know yourself as that. Challenges can guide you to awareness.
Pay little attention to the outcome. 5.. Once you focus on what you're actually doing, instead of the result, the most upsetting part starts to disappear.
A.Look to yourself for the solution
B.Don't trouble yourself with questions
C.It's not because they are better than you
D.you may have a sense of being stuck anywhere
E.you will find most challenges are not challenges at all
F.The sooner you take up the challenge, the quicker it stops being a problem
G.Worrying about the potential outcome is often what turns a hill into a mountain
高二英语七选五中等难度题查看答案及解析
Have you ever wished you could see in the dark as well as an animal? In action movies, we often see characters wearing special glasses that reveal(显示)things that can't be seen in darkness. Everything looks green, but we can see the shapes and outlines clearly. As a matter of fact, this is somewhat similar to the way animals' night vision (视力) works.
You may have noticed eyeshine in pictures of animals, or seen it for yourself when light hits an animal's eyes. Dogs, cats, and many other animals have tissue (组织) called the tapetum lucidum(光神经纤维层) in each eye. The purpose of this tissue is reflect (反射) light deeper into the eye. For many animals, it leads to their excellent night vision, and it helps them hunt.
Different types of animals have different colors of eyeshine. The light reflecting back from the eyes of dogs and cat is likely to be yellow. Rats and birds usually have eyes that shine red. Other animals’ eyes may reflect white, yellow, green, or pink light. In each case, the color is related to the type of cells that make up the tapetum lucidum, as well as the chemicals inside the cells.
Eyeshine has the function of improving animals' night vision, but humans have found other uses for it. For example, when people are searching for certain types of animals, their eyeshine may be helpful in recognizing or discovering them. Also, eyeshine has inspired humans to invent substance (物质) that reflect light at night. Strips containing this substance are used to warn us of safety risks such as raised parts of roads. Even though humans cannot see so well at night, we have still found ways to benefit from this amazing animal feature.
1.How does the tapetum lucidum help animals' night vision?
A. It sends out light in the dark. B. It makes everything appear green.
C. It reflects light back into the eyes. D. It enables them to see colors at night.
2.How does the author mainly develop Paragraph 3?
A. By providing reasons. B. By giving examples.
C. By following space order. D. By doing experiments.
3.What can we learn about scientists' research on eyeshine?
A. They've put it to practical uses.
B. They're using it to protect some animals.
C. They're trying to include more animal types.
D. They've invented special glasses based on it.
4.What is the text mainly about?
A. How humans' night vision works. B. Different colors of animals' eyes.
C. How animals see in the dark. D. Eyeshine and its benefits.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Mya Le Thai is a scientist studying at the University of California, Irvine. She recently discovered a process that may result in batteries that last forever. Thai said she had been discouraged that the batteries for her wireless devices degrade. Over time, they fail to charge fully.
Thai did not like to have kept her wireless laptop connected to an electrical outlet. She decided to do something about that problem.
At first, she and her team thought about inventing a new battery. But as they experimented, Thai discovered something that might permit lithium-ion(锂离子) batteries to last forever. Lithium-ion batteries power most wireless devices. Over time, the batteries lose the ability to hold a charge. Most of these batteries have a life span of about 7,000 charging cycles before they die.
One of the reasons lithium-ion batteries degrade is their use of nanowires(纳米线) to carry electricity. Nanowires are extremely thin. A human hair is thousands of times thicker, for example. Nanowires are extremely efficient carriers of electricity, which makes them useful in batteries. But Thai said their thinness also makes them weak. “Nanowires break over time,” she said. “That's why they lose capacity(能力).”
But, Thai had a theory: The nanowires might last longer if covered with a material. She and the team tested her theory. The team tried many coverings for the wires. PMMA was one of them. The nanowires were coated with PMMA and cycled through charges 200,000 times. The PMMA coated nanowires showed no evidence of damage. The results suggest that batteries could last forever, without losing charging ability.
Thai hopes to continue her research to understand why this material works so well and to see if any other material could create better results.
“It's kind of cool,” she said, “I'm really glad people are showing interest in my work and not just in the work itself, but also in technology and energy.”
1.What caused Thai to do research on the batteries?
A.Weak power of the batteries. B.Her habit to use her computer.
C.Inconvenient use of batteries. D.Her preference for batteries.
2.What's the disadvantage of lithium-ion batteries?
A.They have a limited service life. B.They need charging very often.
C.They are not quite dependable. D.They are easy to break down.
3.Why did Thai try covering the nanowires with a certain material?
A.To convey more electricity. B.To make them a thicker cover.
C.To make them much safer to use. D.To protect them from being damaged.
4.What can probably be a suitable title for the text?
A.Batteries Would Work Without Recharging
B.Lithium-ion Batteries Might Come to an End
C.Batteries Lasting Forever Could Be Near Soon
D.Batteries Would Be Replaced By A New Power
高二英语阅读选择中等难度题查看答案及解析
In America, when people say “man’s best friend”, they don’t mean another person. Instead, they are talking about a lovely animal:A dog! These words show the friendship between people and animals. Dogs and other pets can give happiness to people’s lives. Some people think of their pets as their children. A few even leave all their money to their pets when they die!
Animals can help people, too. Dogs can be taught to become the “eyes” for a blind person or “ears” for a deaf people. Scientists have found that pets help people live longer! They make people happier, too. Because of that, animals are brought into hospitals for “visit”.
Americans hold “Be---Kind-to-Animals Week” in the first week of May.
Pets shows are held during the week. Even if you don’t live in America, you, too, can do this. How? First, think about how animals make your life richer. If you have a pet, take more time this week to play with it. Remember to give it delicious food. Also, be sure to keep your pet from those unwanted babies.
If you don’t have a pet, be kind to animals around you. For example, if you see a street dog, don’t kick it or throw things at it. Instead, just leave it alone, or better yet, make friends with it. If others around you do bad things to an animal, try to stop them. As people, we must protect animals who can’t speak for themselves.
1.“A few even leave all their money to their pets when they die!” means that__________
A.pets have the right to inherit (继承) money. B.money can give pets happiness.
C.it’s the best way to spend money. D.some pets are taken as children.
2.Why are dogs brought to hospitals?
A.Because they are ill and need to see doctors.
B.Because they can make the patients happier.
C.Because they can find out the problems of the patients.
D.Because doctors can do experiments on them.
3.What’s the passage mainly about?
A.A lot of people are interested in dogs. B.Dogs can help people do many things.
C.Pets are lovely and need care and protection. D.We have done a lot of things for pets.
高二英语阅读选择简单题查看答案及解析
Babies made from three people approved in UK
Babies made from two women and one man have been approved by the UK’s fertility regulator. The historic and controversial move is to prevent children from being born with deadly genetic diseases.
Doctors in Newcastle — who developed the advanced form of In Vitro Fertilization or IVF (人工授精) — are expected to be the first to offer the procedure and have already appealed for donor eggs. The first such child could be born, at the earliest, by the end of 2017.
Some families have lost multiple children to incurable mitochondrial (线粒体的) diseases, which can leave people with insufficient energy to keep their heart beating.
The diseases are passed down from only the mother, so a technique using a donor egg as well as the mother’s egg and father’s sperm has been developed.
The resulting child has a tiny amount of their DNA from the donor, but the procedure is legal and reviews say it is ethical (伦理的) and scientifically ready.
“It is a decision of historic importance,” said Sally Cheshire, chairwoman of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA). “I’m sure patients will be really pleased by what we’ve decided today.”
But some scientists have questioned the ethics of the technique, saying it could open the door to genetically-modified(转基因) ‘designer’ babies.
The HFEA must approve every clinic and every patient before the procedure can take place. Three-person babies have been allowed only in cases where the risk of a child developing mitochondrial disease is very high.
Prof Mary Herbert, from the Newcastle Fertility Centre, said, “It is enormously pleasing that our many years of research in this area can finally be applied to help families affected by these devastating diseases”.
“Now that we are moving forward towards clinical treatments, we will also need donors to donate eggs for use in treatment to prevent affected women transmitting disease to their children.”
Prof Sir Doug Turnbull, the director of the Welcome Centre for Mitochondrial Research at Newcastle University, said, “We are delighted by today’s decision. We will also provide long-term follow up of any children born.”
NHS England has agreed to fund the treatment costs of the first trial of three-person IVF for those women who meet the HFEA criteria, as long as they agree to long-term follow up of their children after they are born.
1.Why is it historically important to approve babies made from three people?
A.It helps couples who lose the ability to give birth to a baby.
B.It marks a foundation stone to change babies’ appearances before birth.
C.It stops deadly genetic diseases passing down to newly-born babies.
D.It turns out to be an advanced form of In Vitro Fertilization.
2.Which of the following is TRUE about mitochondrial diseases?
A.They pass down on to babies from their parents.
B.They prevent people’s heart from functioning normally.
C.Some children infected can be cured with proper treatment.
D.Babies can be infected with them through a donor’s egg.
3.How can a clinic or a patient be approved of applying the three-person baby technique?
A.Only when the baby to be born needs it to survive.
B.Only when the patient gets financially prepared.
C.Only when the clinic gets scientifically ready.
D.Only when the technique is ethnically accepted.
4.What is the author’s attitude towards the approval of babies made from three people?
A.Supportive B.Indifferent C.Worried D.Objective
高二英语阅读选择困难题查看答案及解析
Sea urchins (海胆) are small creatures, but what’s really remarkable about them is that they eat anything that happens to float by. They have really sharp teeth they use to rid rocks of algae (海澡), which makes them pretty valuable especially in places like Hawaii where algae are threatening the coral reefs. In the summer of 2019, 500,000 of them were used to deal with the algae.
The problem started when non-native algae were introduced to the ecosystem of Kane’ohe Bay in the 1970s. Because they had no enemies, they ended up taking over the bay, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). The algae blocked sunlight from reaching the coral, which in turn affected the local fish because they changed the chemistry of the water.
That's when the NMFS turned to sea urchins that loved to devour the algae. But they had to grow to the size of a cherry tomato before they could be used. Since 2011, sea urchins have been grown and used to handle the algae problem. Some of the funds are available due to an unfortunate incident.
In 2005, a ship was grounded on a shallow reef near Kane’ohe Bay. When the ship was removed, 20 acres of reefs have been damaged. When there is environmental damage, the NMFS and other agencies receive funds from the wrongdoers and the funds are used to restore the damage. Some funds were spent on other projects like the sea urchins.When they are large enough, divers carefully place them on the reef.
Algae isn’t the only thing that threatens the coral reefs. Climate change and the effects of fishing and tourism in the area also endanger the coral reefs. But turning to sea urchins instead of man-made solutions seems like the best way to go.
1.Why are sea urchins regarded as outstanding creatures?
A.They are tiny but have teeth. B.They can keep the ocean clean.
C.They are useful in removing algae. D.They grow on coral reefs with algae.
2.What happened after non-native algae arrived at Kane’ohe Bay?
A.They helped the coral reefs to survive. B.They spread to every corner of the bay.
C.They didn’t fit in with the new surroundings. D.They fought against other species to get food.
3.What does the underlined word “devour” in paragraph 3 mean?
A.Eat. B.Block. C.Tease. D.Attract.
4.What does the author suggest doing to save coral reefs?
A.Relying on humans’ solutions. B.Banning fishing and tourism.
C.Employing divers to handle algae. D.Letting nature take care of nature.
高二英语阅读选择困难题查看答案及解析