Just when scientists think they have discovered and recorded every species of insect that crawls the earth they find something new. Earlier this month, Peter Jager, the head of Frankfurt’s Senckenberg Research Institute reported the discovery of a unique eyeless spider.
The creature that has a leg span (跨度) of six centimeters and a body size of just twelve millimeters was found in a cave inside the tiny nation of Laos, in Southeast Asia. It was identified as a member of the Huntsman spider, a large family that consists of 1100 species. However, the other members of the family all have eyes. The spider is the first one that has no eyes. They believe that the kind of spider has adapted to the fact that they do not really need the eyes to such a degree that they have dispensed with them altogether.
But they are not the only creature to have done that. Over the years, scientists have discovered completely blind cave fish, and even a freshwater crab, which happens to live in the same cave as this eyeless spider!
Surrounded by Burma and China on the northwest, Vietnam on the east, Cambodia on the south and Thailand on the west, the landlocked nation of Laos is filled with a large number of new and exotic (新奇的) species. In the last few years researchers have discovered the Saola—never-before-seen antelope-like creature, a small deer species called muntjacs, a tiny stripped rabbit and a rock rat that was thought to have been extinct 11 millions years ago. In addition to that it is also home to over one hundred species of large mammals ranging from tigers to macaques and over 165 species of amphibians (两栖动物) and reptiles like the terrible King cobra and the noisy Tokay gecko, a permanent resident inside most Laos households.
64. 1.Which of the following is the best title of passage?
A.Laos full of a large number of exotic species
B.Laos popular with plenty of strange species
C.Every species of insect discovered and recorded by scientists
D.World’s first eyeless spider discovery in Southeast Asia.
65. 2.What does the second paragraph mainly tell us about the unique eyeless spider?
A.The eyesight, identification and family members.
B.The size, identification and the reason for being eyeless
C.The body, species and living environment
D.The size, identification and the species
66. 3.The underlined part “dispensed with” (in 2nd Para) means _________.
A.got rid of B.put up with C.carried away D.taken no notice of
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题
Just when scientists think they have discovered and recorded every species of insect that crawls the earth they find something new. Earlier this month, Peter Jager, the head of Frankfurt’s Senckenberg Research Institute reported the discovery of a unique eyeless spider.
The creature that has a leg span (跨度) of six centimeters and a body size of just twelve millimeters was found in a cave inside the tiny nation of Laos, in Southeast Asia. It was identified as a member of the Huntsman spider, a large family that consists of 1100 species. However, the other members of the family all have eyes. The spider is the first one that has no eyes. They believe that the kind of spider has adapted to the fact that they do not really need the eyes to such a degree that they have dispensed with them altogether.
But they are not the only creature to have done that. Over the years, scientists have discovered completely blind cave fish, and even a freshwater crab, which happens to live in the same cave as this eyeless spider!
Surrounded by Burma and China on the northwest, Vietnam on the east, Cambodia on the south and Thailand on the west, the landlocked nation of Laos is filled with a large number of new and exotic (新奇的) species. In the last few years researchers have discovered the Saola—never-before-seen antelope-like creature, a small deer species called muntjacs, a tiny stripped rabbit and a rock rat that was thought to have been extinct 11 millions years ago. In addition to that it is also home to over one hundred species of large mammals ranging from tigers to macaques and over 165 species of amphibians (两栖动物) and reptiles like the terrible King cobra and the noisy Tokay gecko, a permanent resident inside most Laos households.
64. 1.Which of the following is the best title of passage?
A.Laos full of a large number of exotic species
B.Laos popular with plenty of strange species
C.Every species of insect discovered and recorded by scientists
D.World’s first eyeless spider discovery in Southeast Asia.
65. 2.What does the second paragraph mainly tell us about the unique eyeless spider?
A.The eyesight, identification and family members.
B.The size, identification and the reason for being eyeless
C.The body, species and living environment
D.The size, identification and the species
66. 3.The underlined part “dispensed with” (in 2nd Para) means _________.
A.got rid of B.put up with C.carried away D.taken no notice of
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Scientists say they have developed a system that uses machine learning to predict when and where lightning will strike. Researchers report the system is able to predict lightning strikes up to 30 minutes before they happen within a 30-kilometer area.
Lightning is a strong burst of electricity in the atmosphere. Since it carries an extremely powerful electrical charge, it can be destructive and deadly. European researchers have estimated that between 6,000 and 24,000 people are killed by lightning worldwide each year. For this reason, climate scientists have long sought to develop methods to predict lightning.
The system tested in the experiments uses a combination of data from weather stations and machine learning methods. The researchers developed a prediction model that was trained to recognize weather conditions that were likely to cause lightning.
The model was created with data collected over a 12-year period from 12 Swiss weather stations in cities and mountain areas. The data, related to four main surface conditions: air pressure, air temperature, relative humidity and wind speed, was placed into a unique machine learning algorithm (算法), which compared it to records of lightning strikes. Researchers say the algorithm was then able to learn the conditions under which lightning happens.
The researchers test-ran the system several times. They found that the system made predictions that proved correct almost 80 percent of the time. “It can now be used anywhere,” the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology said in a statement.
The researchers plan to keep developing the technology in partnership with a European effort that aims to create a lightning protection program. The effort is called the European Laser Lightning Rod project. Scientists working on the project are experimenting with a laser technology that could someday control lightning activity, transferring lightning charges from clouds to the ground. They hope that such technology can one day be used as protection against lightning strikes. Possible uses could be at stations, airports or places where large crowds gather.
1.Why was the system developed?
A.To meet kids’ curiosity about lightning.
B.To show the power of lightning.
C.To keep track of lightning deaths.
D.To protect people from lightning.
2.What is special about the system?
A.It was based on a number of samples worldwide.
B.It adopted a different machine learning algorithm.
C.It used an effective method of collecting data.
D.It required low cost of predicting lightning.
3.What will the researchers do next with the laser technology?
A.Monitor lightning activity. B.Prevent the occurrence of lightning.
C.Direct energy from lightning. D.Generate electricity with lightning.
4.What can be a suitable title for the text?
A.A System of Controlling Lightning B.A Method of Forecasting Lightning
C.A Theory of Employing Lightning D.A Model of Creating Lightning
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Scientists say they have developed a system that uses machine learning to predict when and where lightning will strike. The research was led by engineers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Lightning is a strong burst of electricity in the atmosphere. It can strike between clouds or between a cloud and the ground. Since lightning carries an extremely powerful electrical charge, it can be destructive and deadly. It is difficult to know exactly how many people die of lightning-related causes. European researchers have estimated that between 6,000 and 24,000 people are killed by lightning worldwide each year. The strikes can also cause power failure, destroy property, damage electrical equipment and start forest fires.
For this reason, climate scientists have long sought to develop methods to predict and control lightning. The system tested in the experiments uses a combination of data from weather stations and machine learning methods. The researchers developed a prediction model that was trained to recognize weather conditions that were likely to cause lightning. The model was created with data collected over a 12-year period from 12 Swiss weather stations in cities and mountain areas. The data related to four main surface conditions: air pressure, air temperature, relative humidity (湿度) and wind speed. The atmospheric data was placed into a machine learning algorithm (计算程序), which compared it to records of lightning strikes. Researchers say the algorithm was then able to learn the conditions under which lightning happens.
“Once trained, the system made predictions that proved correct almost 80 percent of the time,” the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology said in a statement. “It can now be used anywhere.”
Amirhossein Mostajabi, a PhD student at the institute, said current systems for gathering such data are slow and complex and require costly collection equipment like radar or satellites. “Our method uses data that can be obtained from any weather station,” he said. “This will improve data collection in very remote areas not covered by radar and satellite or in places where communication systems have been cut,” he added.
The researchers plan to keep developing the technology in partnership with a European effort that aims to create a lightning protection system. Scientists working on the Paris-based project are experimenting with a laser technology that could someday control lightning activity. The idea is that powerful, ground-based lasers can be positioned in the sky to direct energy from lightning.
1.What does Paragraph 2 mainly focus on?
A.The cause of lightning. B.The forming process of lighnting.
C.The destruction of lightning. D.The difficulty to count the deaths.
2.Which is the correct order of how the system works?
① develop a prediction model.
② learn to recognize weather conditions.
③ collect related data.
④ input the data onto the computer.
⑤ make predictions.
A.①→②→③→④→⑤ B.③→④→①→②→⑤
C.①→②→④→③→⑤ D.③→①→②→⑤→④
3.What’s the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology’s attitude toward the system?
A.Satisfied. B.Doubtful.
C.Negative. D.Neutral.
4.The advantage of the new system for collecting data lies in its .
A.accuracy B.efficiency
C.wide coverage D.reliability
5.What does the Paris-based project aim to do?
A.Identify lighting. B.Predict lighting.
C.Stop lighting. D.Control lighting.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Scientists say they have discovered a promising treatment for sleeping sickness, a killer disease that infects(感染) about 60,000 people in Africa a year.
British and Canadian experts say drugs could attack the parasite(寄生虫) causing the illness needs to survive. They say the drug could be ready for human medical test in about 18 months.
The disease, spread by the bite of a fly, is caused by a parasite attacking the central nervous system. It has similar symptoms(症状) to malaria(疟疾), making it difficult to diagnose. Left untreated, it moves to the brain, resulting in mental confusion and final death
The "breakthrough" came at the University of Dundee in Scotland, where scientists were offered money to research diseases ignored by major drugs companies.
Professor Paul Wyatt, director of the programme, said: "This is one of the most significant findings made in recent years in terms of drug discovery and development for ignored diseases."
He said the research, published in the journal Nature, represented "significant progress" in the development of a full blown drug against the disease.
The World Health Organization said there are between 50,000 and 70,000 cases of the disease a year, with a further 60 million people at risk of infection.
The research in Dundee was backed by partners at the University of York in England and the Structural Genomics Consortium in Toronto, Canada. The two drugs currently available to treat sleeping sickness both have problems. One is with side effects that kill one in 20 patients and the other is costly, only partially effective and requires long-time hospital treatment, the scientists said.
1.The word backed in the last paragraph probably means_____.
A. conducted B. supported C. believed D. managed
2.What the World Health Organization said suggested that______.
A. about 60000 people died of the disease each year
B. about 60000 people were cured of the disease each year
C. 600 million people are likely to get infected
D. the disease is spreading fast in Africa
3.We can read this passage______.
A. in the journal Nature
B. in a newspaper of the University of Dundee
C. in a book about flies
D. in a newspaper about medicine
4.We can learn from the passage that______ .
A .big drug companies play an important role in the research of the new drug
B. people who get infected with the disease are mentally disturbed
C. among 200 people infected with the disease, 5 may die because of the old drug
D. Professor Paul Wyatt may be a professor at the University of York
高三英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析
Scientists have discovered thirteen kinds of vitamins. They say vitamins help to carry out chemical changes within cells. If we do not get enough of the vitamins we need in our food, we are at risk of developing a number of diseases. Which foods should be eaten to keep us healthy? Let us look at some important vitamins.
Vitamin A helps prevent skin and other tissues from becoming dry. People who do not get enough vitamin A cannot see well in darkness. Vitamin A is found in fish liver oil and the yellow part of eggs.
Vitamin B-1 is also called thiamine. Thiamine changes starchy(含淀粉的)foods into energy. Thiamine is found not just in whole grains like brown rice, but also in beans and peas, nuts, and meat and fish.
Vitamin B-12 is needed so folic acid can do its work. Together, they help produce red blood cells. Folic acid has been shown to prevent physical problems in babies when taken by their mothers during pregnancy. Vitamin B-12 is found naturally in foods like eggs, meat, fish and milk products. Vitamin B-12 is found in green leafy vegetables and other foods, like legumes and citrus fruits (柑橘类水果).
Vitamin C is needed for strong bones and teeth. The body stores little vitamin C. So we must get it every day in foods such as citrus fruits, tomatoes and uncooked cabbage.
Vitamin D prevents the children’s bone disease rickets (佝偻病). Ultraviolet light from the sun changes a substance in the skin into vitamin D. Fish liver oil also contains vitamin D.
Vitamin K is needed for healthy blood. It thickens the blood around a cut to stop bleeding. It can also be found in pork products, liver and in vegetables like cabbage, kale and spinach (菠菜).
Vitamins are important to our health. A lack of required vitamins can lead to health problems.
1.What is the main idea of the passage?
A. There are thirteen kinds of vitamins in total.
B. One can not live without enough vitamins.
C. Vitamins can carry out chemical changes within cells.
D. Enough vitamins are vital to keep healthy.
2.Women who wish to become mothers should take in ________.
A. vitamin A B. vitamin B-1
C. vitamin B-12 D. vitamin C
3.What can change a substance in the skin into vitamin D?
A. Fish liver oil.
B. Ultraviolet light from the sun.
C. Fresh milk drunk by people.
D. Doing a certain amount of exercise.
4.According to the passage, taking in enough vitamin C can ________.
A. make our eyesight better
B. help to stop bleeding
C. make our bones and teeth strong
D. help produce red blood cells
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Scientists say they have discovered a promising treatment for sleeping sickness, a killer disease that infects(感染) about 60,000 people in Africa a year.
British and Canadian experts say drugs could attack the parasite(寄生虫) causing the illness.They say the drug could be ready for human medical test in about 18 months.
The disease, spread by the bite of a fly, is caused by a parasite attacking the central nervous system.It has similar symptoms(症状) to malaria(疟疾), making it difficult to diagnose.Left untreated, it moves to the brain, resulting in mental confusion and final death
The "breakthrough" came at the University of Dundee in Scotland, where scientists were offered money to research diseases ignored by major drugs companies.
Professor Paul Wyatt, director of the programme, said: "This is one of the most significant findings made in recent years in terms of drug discovery and development for ignored diseases."
He said the research, published in the journal Nature, represented "significant progress" in the development of a full blown drug against the disease.
The World Health Organization said there are between 50,000 and 70,000 cases of the disease a year, with a further 60 million people at risk of infection.
The research in Dundee was backed by partners at the University of York in England and the Structural Genomics Consortium in Toronto, Canada.The two drugs currently available to treat sleeping sickness both have problems.One is with side effects that kill one in 20 patients and the other is costly, only partially effective and requires long-time hospital treatment, the scientists said.
1.The word backed in the last paragraph probably means_____.
A.conducted B.supported C.believed D.managed
2.What the World Health Organization said suggested that______.
A.about 60000 people died of the disease each year
B.about 60000 people were cured of the disease each year
C.600 million people are likely to get infected
D.the disease is spreading fast in Africa
3.We can read this passage______.
A.in the journal Nature
B.in a newspaper of the University of Dundee
C.in a book about flies
D.in a newspaper about medicine
4.We can learn from the passage that______.
A.big drug companies play an important role in the research of the new drug
B.people who get infected with the disease are mentally disturbed
C.among 200 people infected with the disease, 5 may die because of the old drug
D. Professor Paul Wyatt may be a professor at the University of York
高三英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析
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
1. Scientists and experts have proved the uniqueness of finger-prints and discovered that no exactly similar pattern is passed on from parents to children, though nobody knows why this is the case.
The ridge (隆起) structure on a person's fingers does not change with growth and is not affected by surface injuries.Burns, cuts and other damage to the outer part of the skin will be replaced in time by new one, which bears a reproduction of the original pattern.2. Some criminals make use of this fact to remove their own finger-prints but this is a dangerous and rare step to take.
Finger-prints can be made very easily with printer's ink.They can by recorded easily.3. Because of the simplicity and economy of this system, finger-prints have often been used as a method of solving criminal case.A suspected man may deny a charge but this may be in vain.4.
When a suspect leaves finger-prints behind at the scene of a crime, they are difficult to detect with the naked eye.
5. Some of the marks found are incomplete but identification is possible if a print of a quarter of an inch square can be obtained.
A.Special techniques are used to "develop" them.
B.A fingerprint is an impression of the friction ridges of all part of the finger.
C.It is only when the inner skin is injured that the arrangement will be destroyed.
D.With special methods, identification can be achieved successfully within a short time.
E.A latent print is the chance reproduction of the friction ridges deposited on the surface of an item.
F.His finger-prints can prove who he is even if his appearance has been changed by age or accident.
G.Every human being has a unique arrangement of the skin on his fingers and this arrangement is unchangeable.
高三英语其他题中等难度题查看答案及解析
__1.___ Scientists and experts have proved the uniqueness of finger-prints and discovered that no exactly similar pattern is passed on from parents to children, though nobody knows why this is the case.
The ridge (隆起) structure on a person's fingers does not change with growth and is not affected by surface injuries. Burns, cuts and other damage to the outer part of the skin will be replaced in time by new one, which bears a reproduction of the original pattern.2.________ Some criminals make use of this fact to remove their own finger-prints but this is a dangerous and rare step to take.
Finger-prints can be made very easily with printer's ink. They can be recorded easily.
___3.___ Because of the simplicity and economy of this system, finger-prints have often been used as a method of solving criminal case. A suspected man may deny a charge but this may be in vain. ___4.___ .
When a suspect leaves finger-prints behind at the scene of a crime, they are difficult to detect with the naked eye. ___5.___ . Some of the marks found are incomplete but identification is possible if a print of a quarter of an inch square can be obtained.
A.Special techniques are used to "develop" them. |
B.A fingerprint is an impression of the friction ridges of all part of the finger. |
C.It is only when the inner skin is injured that the arrangement will be destroyed. |
D.With special methods, identification can be achieved successfully within a short time. |
E. A latent(隐约的)print is the chance reproduction of the friction ridges deposited on the surface of an item.
F. His finger-prints can prove who he is even if his appearance has been changed by age or accident.
G. Every human being has a unique arrangement of the skin on his fingers and this arrangement is unchangeable.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Scientists at Royal Holloway, University of London and Queen Mary, University of London have discovered that bees learn to fly the shortest possible route between flowers even if they discover the flowers in a different order. Bees are effectively solving the “traveling salesman problem”, and they are the first creatures found to do this.
The traveling salesman must find the shortest route that allows him to visit all locations on his route. Computers solve it by comparing the length of all possible routes and choosing the shortest, and it can keep computers busy for days. However, bees solve it without computer assistance using a brain the size of grass seed. Dr. Nigel Raine, from the School of Biological Sciences at Royal Holloway explains, “Bees solve traveling salesman problems every day. They visit flowers at multiple locations and because bees use lots of energy to fly, they find a route which keeps flying to a minimum. ”
The team used the computer to control artificial flowers to test whether bees would follow a route defined by the order in which they discovered the flowers or if they would find the shortest route. After exploring the location of the flowers, bees quickly learned to fly the shortest route.
As well as improving our understanding of how bees move around the landscape pollinating(授粉)crops and wild flowers, this research, which is due to be published in The American Naturalist, has other applications. Our lifestyle relies on networks such as traffic on the roads, information flow on the Web and business supply chains. By understanding how bees can solve their problems with such a tiny brain, we can improve our management of these everyday networks without needing lots of computer time. Dr. Raine adds, “Despite their tiny brains, bees are capable of extraordinary feats of behavior. We need to understand how they can solve the traveling salesman problem without a computer. ”
1. What would be the best title of the passage?
A. Bees help salesmen travel
B. Tiny-brained bees solve a complex mathematical problem
C. How bees discover the flowers
D. How to solve the “traveling salesman problem”
2.We may infer from the second paragraph that the “traveling salesman problem” .
A. can be solved by a computer easily
B. can’t even be solved by a computer
C. can puzzle both people and computers
D. remains to be solved by scientists
3. The main purpose of the last paragraph is to .
A. provide further proof for the research
B. tell us how bees can fly the shortest route between flowers
C. tell us how the research about bees’ flying route was conducted
D. explain the importance of the research
4. It can be concluded from the passage that .
A. all creatures are smarter than computers
B. the research about bees’ flying route can be applied to many fields
C. our networks are more complex than bees’ ones
D. with the help of the computer we can find out how bees can solve the “traveling salesman problem”
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析