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Birds have been observed to sleep while in flight for the first time ever. Because of some flights that can often last several days, weeks, or even longer, some sea birds have long been thought of being able to fall fully asleep while “on the wing”, though it was not proven.
Now researchers say they have evidence which shows birds can sleep in flight. Scientists from Max Planck Institute used a sample of 15 adult female frigate birds (军舰鸟) to test the sleep patterns. Each bird had a small electroencephalogram (EEG脑电图) sensor fitted to record changes in the animals’ brain activity as they flew for up to 10 days and over 3,000 kilometres.
The readings showed that during flight the birds could sleep using one hemisphere of the brain, or both together. It was known that frigate birds could sleep with one “half” of the brain, which allows them to keep one eye open and “connected” to the awake half.
According to the research, it is sleeping technique used by birds for finding directions. “Frigatebirds sleep mostly while circling in rising air and keep the eye connected to the awake hemisphere facing the direction of flight, suggesting that they watch where they are going,” says the study.
Despite the ability to fall “fully” asleep, the birds were found to do it less in the air compared to one land. They slept “very little and less deeply while in flight. This suggests that though it is possible, falling totally asleep is not very good during flight which will need the bird’s attention.
The researchers said the short sleep could be serving as “power naps” to keep the birds going until they return to land. Further study could help us understand why lack of sleep affects humans so badly.
1.The phrase “on the wing” in the first paragraph may mean __________.
A. flying. B. fighting.
C. sleeping. D. thinking.
2.How do the sleeping birds find the directions?
A. They sleep less when they are circling in rising air.
B. They keep one eye connected to the awake part.
C. They pay special attention to the way.
D. They have a good sleep before they start flying.
3.What is the best title of the text?
A. A Study on Birds in Flight B. Flying Birds’ Brain Activity
C. Birds Can Sleep in Flight D. Sleep With Half of the Brain
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
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To help make up for sleep lost during marathon night flights, migrating( 迁徙 ) birds take hundreds of power nap(小睡) during the day, each lasting a few seconds.
Every autumn, Swainson’s thrushes(画眉) fly up to 3,000 miles from their breeding grounds in northern Canada and Alaska to winter in Central and South America. Come spring, the birds make the long trip back.
The birds fly mostly at night and often for long hours at a time, leaving little time for sleep. So to get through these tiresome periods, thrushes, during autumn and spring when the birds are normally migrating, change their sleep patterns, staying awake at night and resting during day. But instead of sleeping for a long period at a time, the birds took several naps a day, each one lasting only 9 seconds on average.
The thrushes also mixed up their shut-eye sessions with two other forms of sleep. In one, called unilateral eye closure, or UEC, the birds rested one eye and one half of their brains while their other eye and half brain remained open and active, protecting them from danger.
The birds also occasionally slipped into another state, one that any college student who has ever been stuck in a boring lecture can relate to. Called drownsiness( 睡 意 ), this state is characterized by a partial shutting of both eyes that still allows for some visual processing.
“In terms of quality, drowsiness may be less useful than normal sleep, but it may also be safer.” said Fuchs.
What’s interesting is that even animals should make up for sleep loss. That a need for sleep cannot be lost even in these birds means the importance of sleep for many, if not all, animals, not to mention human.
1.What would be the best title for the text?
A. Migrating Birds Travel for Long Hours
B. Migrating Need Help
C. How Birds Migrate during Autumn
D. Migrating Birds Take Many Daily Power Naps
2.According to the text, when having drowsiness, the thrushes______.
A. will rest one eye and the other active
B. will often sleep during day
C. will still be careful with the possible dangers
D. will not see anything in front of them
3.What can we learn from the text?
A. Sleep is important for human being.
B. Animals need sleep to rest.
C. Migrating birds need sleep only during day.
D. College students often have drowsiness in fall.
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
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Scientists have been interested for years in the observation that ratios(比率）of finger lengths differ in men and women. In men, the ring (fourth) finger is usually longer than the index (second); their so-called 2D :4D ratio is lower than 1. In females, the two fingers are more likely to be the same length. Because of this sex differences, some scientists believe that a low ratio could be a marker for higher prenatal hormone(产前激素）levels, although it’s not clear how the hormone might influence finger development. The 2D : 4D ratio has also been fingered in connection with brain-related characteristics—most often in males--such as depression, left-handedness, musical ability, and homosexuality.
In the latest such study, psychologist Mark Brosnan and colleagues at the University of Bath in the United Kingdom photocopied the hands of 74 boys and girls aged 6 and 7.They compared the measurements of the second and fourth fingers with the children's scores on a standard UK test of math and literacy. In boys, the lower the ratio, the better their math score, the team reports in the May issue of the British Journal of Psychology, The boys with the lowest ratios also were the ones whose abilities were most skewed in the direction of math rather than literacy. These differences are small but significant, says Brosnan. With the girls, there was no correlation between finger ration and numeracy, but those with higher ratios—probably indicating low hormone levels—had better scores on verbal abilities.
These sex-specific correlations show how tricky it is to define the roles of sex hormones, says psychologist S .Marc Breedlove of Michigan State University in East Lansing. The range of normal levels of the hormone is different in males and females, so comparable levels would have very different meanings depending on the sex of the individual. And the timing of hormone surges is as important as levels.
Nevertheless, Brosnan believes finger measurements might be useful for predicting cognitive abilities—although he acknowledges that “we are not suggesting that finger length measurements could replace SAT tests”. Others are more cautious, pointing out that scientists still have not confirmed that finger ratio is a reliable marker for prenatal hormone levels.
1.What can we learn from the first paragraph?
A. Scientists never show interest in people's fingers.
B. Many women have different kinds of fingers.
C. In males, the ring finger may equal the index in length.
D. In females, the ring finger may equal the index in length.
2.What is the author's attitude to Brosnan's research?
A. Supportive. B. Positive.
C. Neutral. D. Indifferent.
3.We can infer from the passage that .
A. in girls, the higher the ratio, the better their maths scores
B. finger length contributes to people's academic abilities
C. it is easy to give a definition of the roles of sex hormones
D. Brosnan is serious about his research
4.What's the main idea of this passage?
A. Finger ratio is critical to people's future.
B. Finger length measurements may be useful
C. Finger length is related to children’s scores.
D. Finger ratio is a reliable maker for hormone levels.
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
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Most birds find it safe to sleep in the trees, but ______ they have eggs or young chicks, they don’t use a nest.
A. why B. how C. where D. unless
高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
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Most birds find it safe to sleep in the trees,but_______they have eggs or young chicks,they don’t use a nest.
A.why B.how
C.unless D.where
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
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Birds have long been known to be the disease carries for years, but now they are receiving so much pressure due to Avian Bird Flu. Bird cause health danger to humans and animals in or around their droppings.
Bird Buffer Q2, is designed to protect your facility from unwanted troublesome birds naturally, and is especially effective for sparrow control. When birds keep coming back and you’ve tried everything imaginable, it’s time for Bird Buffer Q2.
Bird control is now safe, easy, and economical with Bird Buffer. The Bird Buffer is also simple to operate. Just hang it with Bird Buffer cables or set it on the roof. Fill it with the specially?prepared liquid, and turn it on. It is that simple. Bird Buffer Q2 is a permanent, automatic and cost?effective commercial process for indoor and outdoor bird control. Contact Bird Buffer LLC ＠www. Birdbuffer.com or call 866－557－4274.
Bird Buffer Q2 Frequently Asked Questions:
a) How does Bird Buffer Q2 work?
It is operated by an electrically?controlled sprayer(喷雾器）to spread the vapor at 90 mph over larger areas. A time releases the vapor every 2 minutes into the air to keep fresh vapor in the area for birds. When birds fly through the area, the tiny particles（颗粒） of vapor enter the birds breathing system, making the birds fly away. When the birds come back, they once again breathe the particles and fly away. After a few weeks, birds remember their responses and stay away.
b) How much water is needed per month?
About one gallon a mouth
c) How long does it take to get bird control?
Usually two weeks is enough to control flocks of birds from the treated area. It takes time for the birds to find a new home and new feeding grounds.
1.It can be inferred that the text is used_________. .
A．to promote the product
B．to warn people not to go near birds
C．to remind people of the present situation of bird control is
D．to inform people what the present situation of bird control is
2.Where can Bird Buffer Q2 be most likely used?
A．In basements. B．In wild forests.
C．In wildlife zoos. D．In outdoor restaurants.
3.Which of the following words can best describe Bird Buffer Q2?
A．Attractive B．Inexpensive C．Time?saving D．Dangerous
4.All of the following aspects of bird control using Bird Buffer Q2 are mentioned except_______.
A．the time taken B．the amount of water needed
C．the way it works D．the side effects brought about
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
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I needn’t have been in that hurry. The flight to Chongqing ______ due to the foggy weather.
A. has cancelled B. was cancelled
C. will be cancelling D. had cancelled
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
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I needn’t have been in such a hurry. The flight to Hong Kong _____ due to the typhoon.
A. has cancelled B. was cancelled
C. will be canceling D. had cancelled
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
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THE idea came to Ralph Liedert while he was sweating in the Californian sunshine, having been standing with his daughter for over an hour in a queue for a ride at Disneyland. What, he thought, if his T-shirt had a cooling system he could turn on, at the tap of a smart phone app, when he needed it. Luckily, Mr Liedert does have the means to make the dream reality, for he works at the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, as one of a team there studying the rapidly growing field of microfluidics (微流控技术).
Cooling vests already exist (used by racing drivers, motorcyclists and people who work in hot conditions). But the tubes through which the cooling water is being pumped, and the vests’ need to be connected to outside units that cool this water, make them huge and clumsy. Mr Liedert thought VTT’s microfluidics department could do things better.
As its name suggests, microfluidics is the art of building devices that handle tiny amounts of liquid. Inkjet-printer cartridges (喷墨打印机墨盒) are a familiar example. Less familiar, but also important, are “labs-on-a-chip” (芯片实验室). These are tiny analytical devices that transport fluids such as blood through channels half a millimetre or less in diameter (直径), in order to carry them into what holds analytical reagents (试剂). Sensors, then detect the resulting reactions and provide an instant analysis of a sample (样本). Designing labs-on-a-chip is the VTT microfluidics department’s day job. One of its chips, for example, can tell whether water is affected by the bacteria that cause Legionnaires’ disease.
The department’s biggest contribution to the field, though, is to have developed a way of printing microfluidic channels onto large rolls of thin, flexible plastic. It works by passing the plastic between two heated rollers, one of which contains raised outlines of the required channels. As the rollers squeeze the plastic they create a pattern of channels into one surface. A second plastic film is then melted over the top as a cover. This process might, thought Mr Liedert, be suitable for printing a microfluidic cloth that was thin enough and pleasant enough to wear as a cooling vest.
The group’s first model showed that such a material could indeed be made and used to circulate cooled water. They are also looking at ways the water being circulated through the microchannels might be cooled. They have identified two. One uses a small heat-exchanger, the details of which they are keeping secret at this stage. The other employs evaporation (蒸发). It thus works in the same way that heat from circulating blood is removed by the evaporation of sweat.
Whichever cooling system is applied, the electronics needed to power and control it would be shrunk into a small package contained on the back of the vest. This could be operated by hand or, as Mr Liedert originally envisaged in his Californian queue, by a wireless link to a smart phone. Moreover, what can cool down can also, if run in an opposite way, warm up. In Finland, where winter temperatures fall as far as -50°C, that might be the technology’s killer app.
1.Microfluidics has been used in ______.
A. racing cars B. printing industry
C. testing material D. clothing industry
2.We can learn from the passage that ______.
A. VTT is a company which mainly works on the research into microfluidics
B. the new cooling vest of VTT will be smaller and work more effectively
C. the technology of microfluidics may have a positive effect on medical science
D. heat-exchanger as well as the way of evaporation will be used to cool the wearer
3.______ plays the key role in making the new cooling vest.
A. The special cloth B. The cooling system
C. The tiny liquid D. The wireless link
4.The underlined word “envisaged” most likely means _____ .
A. imagined B. discovered C. viewed D. planned
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
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Did you know that there are actually people who have paid for a flight to the moon? In the future, there will be a lot more opportunities to travel to faraway places than now… perhaps even as far as the moon. As people adventure further and further away and as planes, trains, cars, and rocket ships become faster, is it safer to have these vehicles controlled by humans or by computers?
While many flights by plane are controlled automatically by machines, most people today wouldn’t let their car drive itself. That’s because currently the autopilot function on your car can only keep it on the same course you are travelling on. It won’t turn the car right or left. It won’t stop if an animal jumps in the way. However, cars today can sense when something is too close and warn the driver with flashing lights and alarms. Many cars also have GPS（global positioning systems） that tell drivers which road to take and when to turn. These systems, unlike human drivers, never get lost. In the future, it is easy to believe that your car will be better able to drive itself with the aid of computers that can determine the position of your car and the speed it should travel at.
In addition to computers being ‘smarter’ than people regarding the best way to go or knowing how close another vehicle is, computers don’t get sick, tired, or angry. This means they won’t make the same mistakes that people make when they are not having a good day. While responding with emotion is a good thing when choosing the best way to deal with a friend’s personal problem, it may not be such a good thing when deciding what to do at the wheel of a fast-moving vehicle.
So what are the disadvantages of autopilot systems? Maybe one disadvantage is that a small computer problem could cause a serious accident. It could also be argued that in unexpected situations, computers might not be able to respond appropriately; some decisions require human emotions. Another problem might be that if everything were controlled by computers or robots, people wouldn’t have any jobs.
1.What is the best title for the passage?
A. The Development of Autopilot
B. Technology of Future Travel
C. A New Driving System
D. Computerized Cars
2.Which of the following is the disadvantage of an autopilot system?
A. It won’t make the same mistakes as people do.
B. It can point out the best route for the driver.
C. It might not respond properly to unexpected situations.
D. It does not have human emotions to influence its function.
3.If some falling rocks roll down toward your car, the autopilot on your car will_______.
A. inform you of the danger
B. turn the car right or left
C. do nothing about it
D. stop the car
4.What’s the author’s attitude towards the autopilot?
A. Approving. B. Objective. C. Negative. D. Doubtful.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析