Scientists in Colombia have trained a team of rats to help remove land mines from the countryside. Land mines are small bombs hidden in the ground and designed to explode(爆炸) when someone steps on them.
When trained, the rats can smell special metals in the mines and then signal(发信号) to their human team. Then why use rats for such an important job?
In the past, dogs have been used to find bombs. Rats have a good sense of smell and can respond to orders, just like dogs do. But rats are much lighter than dogs. They stand less of a chance of setting off the mines, which explode under a certain amount of weight. What’s more, the best rats are cheaper to keep than dogs. It costs about the same amount of money to take care of one dog as it does 70 rats.
The rats have already been used in Tanzania, an African country with many land mines. Luisa Fernanda Méndez and her team in Colombia are training the even lighter Wistar rats. These are the white rats with red eyes that scientists often use in laboratory experiments. “They even train their babies to perform their jobs, which saves us a lot of time, ” Méndez said.
Colombia has the second-highest rate(比率) of deaths from land mine accidents in the world. Last year, land mines killed 695 people — 56 of whom were children. A criminal group called the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, as well as other organizations, have placed the mines. FARC are strongly against Colombia’s government. The group has placed mines all around its own bases and in many places in the countryside.
In the past, the Colombian government hired peasants and poor farmers to find mines. Many of them died trying to find the well-hidden bombs.
Colombian police official Erick Guzmán hopes the team of rats can come to the rescue(援救). “These rats will be a great help,” he said.
1.How do rats help to find land mines?
A．By their special sight. B．By their light weight.
C．By their sense of smell. D．By their excellent hearing.
2.The advantage of rats over dogs in finding bombs is that _____.
A．they are cleverer.
B．they run faster
C．they have a better sense of smell
D．they don’t make mines explode as easily
3.The underlined word “They” may refer to ______.
A．scientists B．Wistar rats
C．dogs D．Méndez and her team
4. What is the passage mainly about?
A．Specially-trained rats help clear land mines.
B．People in Tanzania are suffering from land mines.
C．Dogs are no longer used to find land mines.
D．Land mines have become a great danger to Colombians.
高一英语阅读理解中等难度题
Scientists in Colombia have trained a team of rats to help remove land mines from the countryside. Land mines are small bombs hidden in the ground and designed to explode(爆炸) when someone steps on them.
When trained, the rats can smell special metals in the mines and then signal(发信号) to their human team. Then why use rats for such an important job?
In the past, dogs have been used to find bombs. Rats have a good sense of smell and can respond to orders, just like dogs do. But rats are much lighter than dogs. They stand less of a chance of setting off the mines, which explode under a certain amount of weight. What’s more, the best rats are cheaper to keep than dogs. It costs about the same amount of money to take care of one dog as it does 70 rats.
The rats have already been used in Tanzania, an African country with many land mines. Luisa Fernanda Méndez and her team in Colombia are training the even lighter Wistar rats. These are the white rats with red eyes that scientists often use in laboratory experiments. “They even train their babies to perform their jobs, which saves us a lot of time, ” Méndez said.
Colombia has the second-highest rate(比率) of deaths from land mine accidents in the world. Last year, land mines killed 695 people — 56 of whom were children. A criminal group called the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, as well as other organizations, have placed the mines. FARC are strongly against Colombia’s government. The group has placed mines all around its own bases and in many places in the countryside.
In the past, the Colombian government hired peasants and poor farmers to find mines. Many of them died trying to find the well-hidden bombs.
Colombian police official Erick Guzmán hopes the team of rats can come to the rescue(援救). “These rats will be a great help,” he said.
1.How do rats help to find land mines?
A．By their special sight. B．By their light weight.
C．By their sense of smell. D．By their excellent hearing.
2.The advantage of rats over dogs in finding bombs is that _____.
A．they are cleverer.
B．they run faster
C．they have a better sense of smell
D．they don’t make mines explode as easily
3.The underlined word “They” may refer to ______.
A．scientists B．Wistar rats
C．dogs D．Méndez and her team
4. What is the passage mainly about?
A．Specially-trained rats help clear land mines.
B．People in Tanzania are suffering from land mines.
C．Dogs are no longer used to find land mines.
D．Land mines have become a great danger to Colombians.
高一英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
首字母填空
1.With the help of the Cassini spacecraft, NASA scientists have found e _____ to prove that chemical reactions (反应) are taking place deep below the surface of Enceladus, Saturn’s (土星) sixth largest moon.
2.A report said wealthier families tended to create more chances to help their children a _____ skills valued
by the labor market.
3.Whether in p _____ metropolises (大都市), or in remote (偏远的) countryside, every kid is supposed to be provided equal educational opportunities.
4.In a digital world, d _____ the convenience modern technology brings, paper books are still valued by many people.
5.A new study suggested that having people think of you as constantly busy and needed at work is a far better way to show off social s _____.
6.We really shouldn’t have bought this house, because it will cost far more than we can afford to r _____ it. We didn’t realize what a bad state it’s in until we moved in.
7.The car’s i _____ is very impressive --- wonderful leather seats and a wooden dashboard (仪表盘).
8.The Grammy Awards is truly an award for artistic achievement, not just sales or chart position. It is recognizedas one of the most p _____ awards in field of music.
9.In the extremely heavy storm last week, many car owners were o _____ to abandon (放弃) their cars and evacuate (撤离) on foot.
10.We got so wet in the heavy rain that our clothes c _____ to us. It was really uncomfortable.
11.Even though this area was seriously damaged during an earthquake, the r _____ of a 12th century monastery (修道院) can still be seen on the site.
12.The shop said they could replace the newly bought air-conditioner for free as it was still under g _____.
13.After weeks at sea, it was wonderful to feel firm ground b _____ our feet once more.
14.Whatever happens, don’t sign any c _____ before you have examined its terms and conditions in detail.
15.In fact, Santa has an official in Lapland where he greets visitors all year round. But as it happens, people known more about Santa than the country he comes from --- Finland, a nation of o _____ natural beauty.
高一英语单词拼写中等难度题查看答案及解析
The rat is named Lola and she’s at the top of her class of risk-running animals being trained to smell out landmines (地雷) in Colombia, home to the world’s highest number of mine-related deaths and injuries last year. Of the victims, many are children who died in the accidents while walking to school or playing in the countryside.
The smartest rat among the first six that the government is teaching to locate landmines equipment planted by rebels(叛乱者) has a 90 percent success rate in locating landmines material in her lab training.
Police animal trainers, tired of seeing their landmines-smelling dogs blown up by stepping on mines, hope the white-furred, pink-eyed creature will lead her classmates through coming open field tests and then into the country mine fields before the end of the year. It takes about 400 grams of pressure to detonate (引爆) a mine while Lola only weighs about 220 grams. “The dogs can easily set off the landmines, sometimes killing people nearby,” they said.
Police animal trainer Jose Pineda says that rats have more sensitive noses than dogs, which should allow them to better smell out mines in difficult terrain (地形).
Plus, it takes the police about six months to train mine-smelling dogs. Training the rats is expected to take about half that time once the program is established.
Trainers think that they are much smarter than the dogs. The second-best scorer in the laboratory is Lucrecia, with an 83 percent success rate. Males, such as one named Runcho, have fallen behind until now but may do better in the coming field tests. Pineda said that the next step of training will present new challenges to the rats as they are sure to meet distractions (分心的事) in the open.
1.What do the underlined words “the accidents” in the first paragraph mean?
A. Children were shot while playing outside.
B. A buried landmine was walked on and set off.
C. A rebel blew up a landmine and killed children.
D. Children got hurt in traffic accidents on the way to school.
2.Which of the following is NOT a reason why rats are chosen to find buried landmines?
A. They have a good sense of smell.
B. They are too light to set off buried landmines.
C. They can smell all kinds of explosive materials.
D. They cost people less time in terms of training
3.What can we learn from the last paragraph?
A. Rats will perform as well in the open air as in the lab.
B. Until now, female rats are better than the male ones.
C. Trainers should have chosen only female rats for the program.
D. Because they are foolish, dogs are not preferred for the program.
4.What would be the best title for the passage?
A. Dogs Bring Peace to the People in Colombia
B. Colombia Develops a New Way to Reduce Deaths
C. Buried Landmines are a Great Danger to Colombians
D. Colombian Police Train Rats to Sniff Out Landmines
高一英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
What would the man like to do?
A.Watch a football match.
B.Help train a basketball team.
C.Join the school volunteer project.
高一英语短对话中等难度题查看答案及解析
Lost cities that have been found
The White City
In 2015, a team of explorers to Honduras in search of “the Lost City of the Monke God” led to the discovery of the White City. It is believed that local people hid here when the Spanish conquerors (征服者) occupied their homeland in the16th century.
Canopus and Heracleion
The Egyptian cities Canopus and Heracleion, where Queen Cleopatra often visited, weren’t found until 1992. Artifacts (史前器物) showed that the cities once highly developed as a trade network, which helped researchers piece together more about the last queen of Egypt.
Machu Picchu
A Yale professor discovered “the Lost City in the Clouds” in 1911. Machu Picchu displays the Inca Empire at the height of its rule. Abandoned in the 16th century for unknown reasons, the city was hidden by the local people from the Spanish conquerors for centuries keeping it so well preserved.
Troy
The ancient city of Troy in Homer’s The Iliad was considered a fictional setting for his characters to run wild. But in 1871, explorations in northwestern Turkey exposed nine ancient cities layered (层叠) on top of each other, the earliest dating back to about 5,000 years before. It was later determined that the sixth or seventh layer contained the lost city of Troy and that it was actually destroyed by an earthquake, not a wooden horse.
1.Why did people hide in the White City in the 16th century?
A.To survive the war. B.To save the land.
C.To protect their country. D.To search for a lost city.
2.Which of the following was related to a royal family member?
A.The White City B.Canopus and Heracleion
C.Machu Picchu D.Troy
3.What can we learn about Troy?
A.It was built by Homer. B.It consisted of nine cities
C.It had a history of 5,000 years D.It was ruined by a natural disaster.
高一英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Recently, scientists are reported to have grown a living human “brain”. The team at Aston University in UK created tiny bunch of cells which act like a mini nervous system.
They believe it could help find a cure for worse mental conditions like Parkinson’s disease. Professor Michael Coleman is leading the research program. He explained, “We are aiming to be able to study the human brain at the most basic level, using an actual living human cell system. Cells have to be alive and operating efficiently to enable us to really understand how the brain works.” The experiment involves changing cells from a cancer tumor (肿瘤）and making them behave like brain cells.
Although far from finished, researchers hope the false brain cells will give them a greater understanding of how real brains work. This, in turn, could significantly further research into conditions which affect the brain. Neil Hunt, chief leader of the research group, said, “It is still very early days, but in the future the research could lead to a useful tool for looking into dementia (痴呆).”
The technique could also provide a way to carry on animal test and is being supported by the Humane Research Trust (HRT). The scientists predict that over the next ten years a million people will develop dementia. Professor Coleman believes their findings could change this. He said, “We hope our research will provide scientists with a new and highly relational human experimental model to help them understand the brain better and develop new drugs to control the related disease. However, the biggest challenge at present is that we are greatly short of fund, which will slow our research.”
1.UK scientists grow a living human “brain” in order to ______.
A. separate cells from a cancer tumor
B. discover how human brain really works
C. make use of living human cell system
D. study the structure of human brain
2.According to Neil Hunt, research into brain cells ______.
A. will help treat some diseases in nerve system
B. will influence the brain growth in many ways
C. will get finished as early as possible
D. will make people discover dementia
3.From the last paragraph, we can know that ______
A. the technique provided by HRT is not fully developed
B. the research program lacks financial support
C. animal tests are no longer allowed by law
D. a million people suffer from brain diseases
4.The text is meant to ______.
A. tell us about an important achievement in medical research
B. introduce the progress of drugs for dementia
C. tell us about health problem in nerve system
D. introduce a research program in human's brain
高一英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Recently some American scientists have given a useful sincere piece of advice to people in industrialized nations that they would be much healthier if they ate more of the same kind of food eaten by humans living more than 10,000 years ago.
The scientists say that the human body has changed very little since humans first appeared on the earth, but the way we live has changed greatly. Our body has not been able to deal with (处理,对付)these changes in life style and this has led to new kinds of sicknesses. These new sicknesses were not known in ancient times, so they are called “ diseases of civilization”. Many cancers and diseases of the blood system, including heart attacks and strokes (中风) are examples of such diseases.
Scientists noted that people in both the Old Stone Age and the New Stone Age enjoyed very little alcohol (酒精) or tobacco (烟草), probably none. Ancient people also got a great deal of physical exercise, but a change in food is one of the main differences between life in ancient times and that of today.
Stone-age people hunted wild animals for their meat, which had much less fat than domestic or tame ones (家畜). They also ate a lot of fresh wild vegetables and fruits. They didn’t have milk or any other dairy products, and they made very little use of grains. But today, we eat a large amount of these. We eat six times more salt than our remote ancestors (祖先). We eat more sugar. We eat twice as much fat but only one third as much protein (蛋白质) and much less vitamin C.
People today probably do not want to live the way people thousands of years ago did, but scientists say that we would be much healthier if we ate much the same way as remote ancestors did, cutting the amount of fatty, salty and sweet food.
1.According to the passage, people in industrialized nations would be much healthier if they ate___________.
A. more food than humans living 10,000 years ago did.
B. as much food as humans living 10,000 years ago did
C. more kinds of food eaten by people living over 10,000 years ago.
D. more of the same kind of food eaten by people over 10,000 years ago.
2.New kinds of sicknesses have been found because __________.
A. the human body has changed compared with humans who first appeared on the earth.
B. the way we live has changed a little.
C. our body can’t deal with the changes in life style.
D. the way we live today is proper for the human body.
3.What is the main cause that people suffer from a lot of new sicknesses?
A. Ancient people did a great deal of physical exercise.
B. People today have a lot of alcohol.
C. People today have more tobacco.
D. Food today is quite different from that of ancient times.
4.According to some scientists , Stone-age people were much healthier than people today because they ate a lot of _____________.
A. milk and other dairy products. B. wild animals, fresh wild vegetables and fruits.
C. salt and sugar D. grain foods
高一英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Have you ever dreamed of meeting top scientists in person? If so, what would you want to ask them? For Tan Fanglin, a 15-year-old girl from No.2 High School of East China Normal University in Shanghai, her dream of meeting top scientists has already come true.
In October, she attended the World Laureates Forum(论坛)for a second time. Tan was by far the youngest participant among the scientists invited to be at the meeting of the world's sharpest minds. Her discovery about the relationship between the Fibonacci sequence(菲波那契数列)and Bézout numbers has won her many prizes in youth innovation competitions. This finding has been praised by the famous Canadian mathematician, Professor Rankin. According to Guangming Daily, Rankin has been studying the same theme for five years but with no conclusions.
From a very young age, Tan has always been fascinated by mathematics. This is largely because of the influence of her father, who teaches mathematics in University. But she had not participated in any Mathematics Olympiad exams before. According to Xu Jun, Tan's head teacher from her middle and high school, she doesn't take after-school classes or too many extra exercises either. Her mastering of Further Mathematics and her good grades in school are thanks to the right study method.
Attending this forum enabled Tan to get more inspiration from top scientists. She asked Professor Miesenbock, the 2019 Warren Alpert Foundation Prize winner, what he considered were the best personal qualities for conducting scientific research. Miesenbock encouraged her not to lose her passion and love for what she does. He stressed that people all knew that even Thomas Edison went through hundreds of unsuccessful attempts before finally inventing the light bulb. Tan has met many barriers in her research and often feels upset. The words made Tan feel inspired. "I will keep my curiosity and interests in mathematics and overcome any obstacles(障碍)in my research," she told Chinese Business View.
1.What does the underlined word "fascinated" in the third paragraph mean?
A.threatened B.refused
C.discovered D.attracted
2.What do we know about Tan Fanglin?
A.Tan has realized her dream of meeting top scientists.
B.Tan is one of the youngest participants in the World Laureates Forum.
C.When she was young，she took part in many Mathematics Olympiad exams.
D.Tan's discovery has achieved a breakthrough after studying the theme for 5 years.
3.What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
A.Tan has seldom met obstacles in her research.
B.Tan often feels undefeated when meeting barriers.
C.Inspired by Miesenbock, Tan is determined to overcome difficulties in research.
D.Tan has the best personal qualities for conducting scientific research in Miesenbock's eyes.
4.What's the best title for the passage?
A.Top Minds Inspire Student.
B.Failure is the Mother of Success.
C.Loving What You Do, a Way to Success.
D.The Elder One Grows, the More He Gets.
高一英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
Scientists in some countries have done a lot of work to _____ the moon.
A. cover B. search C. explode D. explore
高一英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
Though I have traveled in hundreds of trains, few unusual things have ever happened to me. But one day in a train something did happen. I do not mean that I was hurt: no one was hurt.
I do my work in a hot country far away from England. Every September I go there to do my business, and every July I come back to England to have a rest. So every September I go to Paris and take a train from the great French city to Mendova, and at Mendova I catch my ship.
There is one very fast train from Paris to Mendova, and it suits me well. It goes as far as Endoran, but it stops at Mendova for a few minutes to let travelers get out or in. It is called The Flying Bluebird. It reaches Mendova at seven minutes past nine in the morning, and it is never late.
A ship leaves Mendova at half past eleven, and so you will understand that The Flying Bluebird suits me very well. I always travel by it, and I have nearly two and a half hours at Mendova to go from the station to the ship. That is more than enough time.
Well, one September night, I took my place in The Flying Bluebird as usual. The train leaves Paris at nine o’clock every night, and I was in my place soon after half past eight. There were three or four people there with me, but very soon a lot of others got into the train. When no more people could sit down, they began to stand up near us and also in the corridor(走廊). In a short time the corridor was full too, and it was impossible for any more travelers to get into the train.
I could see a lot of other people outside the corridor windows, but they could not get in, and the train left Paris without them. The man sitting next to me started to ask all kinds of questions: “Where do you work? How long does it take you to get there? Are you married? How many children do you have? How much money do they pay you every year? How much do you have in the bank? How much do you spend every month?”
He asked questions for about twenty minutes but I did not give him any clear answers, and at last he stopped and began to read the paper.
I usually sleep quite well in the train, but this time I slept only a little. There were too many people, and there were too many things: small bags, large bags, coats, hats, boxes, newspapers and food. As usual, we got angry about the window. Most people wanted it shut, and two of us wanted it open. But that always happens. It was shut all night, as usual.
When I awoke in the early morning I felt hot and dirty, and glad that the journey was reaching its end. At seven minutes past nine The Flying Bluebird stopped. We were at Mendova, and I stood up thankfully. I took my two suitcases, held one in each hand, and tried to move towards the door into the corridor. In order to get out of the train, I had to pass down the corridor to the door at the far end. There was no other way out.
I could not even into the corridor. There was a suitcase on the floor by my feet, and three men were standing in my way. I felt a touch of fear. I had to get out, you see; I had to catch my ship, which left at half past eleven. And the train did not stop again until it reached Endoran, two hundred miles away.
“I must get out!” I cried. Everyone there understood me, but no one could move.
At last I was able to put one foot over the suitcase on the floor, and I nearly reached the door into the corridor. But then, very slowly, the train began to move. It was taking me away!
“Stop!” I cried. “I want to get out!” But no one outside the train could hear me, and the people inside did not care much. The train moved a little faster. What could I do? I was not even in the corridor.
Fear made me think quickly. In front of my eyes, just, above the door, was a notice that told everyone how to stop the train. I had to pull an iron thing near the notice. I did not waste time. I pulled it.
Well, a noise started above our heads. That was to show everyone that there was something wrong. It was not a small sound. Possibly the men in my ship two miles away could hear it. Then the train stopped.
No one likes to stop a train if there is no need. But I had to catch my ship. That was the only thought in my mind: to get out and catch my ship.
1.The purpose of the author writing the first paragraph is to _______.
A. answer some questions
B. arouse (激发) the readers’ curiosity
C. express some unusual feelings
D. give some advice in advance
2.What do we know about the author and the man sitting next to him?
A. The author didn’t like the man’s foolish questions
B. They talked with each other all night
C. They got angry about the window
D. The author didn’t understand the man’s words
3. On this journey on The Flying Bluebird, the author felt uncomfortable because _______.
A. he couldn’t find a seat by the window
B. he was angry with the man sitting next to him
C. the window was kept shut all night
D. there were too many people on the train
4.It can be learned from Para.10 that the author was afraid that ______.
A. he would have to spend another sleepless night on the train
B. more people might crowd into the train
C. he would miss the ship that went where he worked
D. he would have to buy another ticket
5. The noise in the underlined sentence “a noise started above our heads”(Para.15) was made by ________.
A. the angry passengers shouting at the top of their voices
B. the ship that was lying two miles away
C. the falling of boxes and suitcases to the floor
D. the train itself telling people that something was wrong
6.What would be the best title for the text?
A. A Train that Is Never Late
B. A Quick and Wise Decision
C. A Journey to Mendov
D. A Bad Experience on the Train
高一英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析