Humans aren't the only species on the planet ...

Humans aren't the only species on the planet with a penchant for electronic gadgets(小配件）.Zookeepers across the US and Canada are discovering that apes also get excited about Apps.

As part of a program called"Apps for Apes",12 zoos across the two countries have been introducing iPads into the entertainment time for orangutans,the giant furry red primates native to Indonesia and Malaysia.

"We are finding that,similar to people,they like touching the tablet,watching short videos of David Attenborough for instance,and looking at other animals and orangutans," said Richard Zimmerman,founding director of Orangutan Outreach,the non-profit that runs the program.

Twice weekly,orangutans are provided with access to the tablets.The animals spend from 15 minutes to half an hour using different Apps depending on their attention span.Apps designed for children that stimulate activities such as painting,music and memory games are among the most popular Apps with the apes.

"It is a lot like when we're showing children pop-up books,"said Zimmerman,adding that the orangutans are among the most intelligent primates,with the intelligence level of a young child.

The program,which relies on donated iPads, will soon be expanding to zoos across Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Europe.

1.The word"penchant" in the first paragraph is closest in meaning to________________.

A．awareness         B．addiction          C．impression        D．devotion

2.Which of the following statements is true according to the article?

A．12 zoos are involved in the program in the US.

B．Orangutans were originally found in Indonesia and Malaysia.

C．Orangutan Outreach is a successful company which earns much money.

D．All the animals in the zoo spend from 15 minutes to half an hour using different Apps.

3.It can be concluded from the passage that______________________________________.

A．the program has been successful in Europe

B．orangutans are nearly as smart as children of young ages

C．orangutans are the animals with thick shell

D．Apps are designed for orangutans to stimulate activities such as painting, and memory games

4.Which can be the best title for the text?

A．Using Apps for Apes                     B．Let’s Help Zoos

C．Wonderful Zoos Welcome You             D．A Traditional Program Will Expand

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Humans’ invention of zero was vital for modern mathematics and science, but we’re not the only species to consider “nothing” a number. Parrots and monkeys understand the concept of zero, and now bees have joined the club, too.

Honey bees are known to have some numerical skills such as the ability to count to four, which may come in handy when keeping track of landmarks in their environment. To see whether these abilities extended to understanding zero, researchers trained 10 bees to identify the smaller of two numbers. Across a series of trials, they showed the insects two different pictures displaying a few black shapes on a white background. If the bees flew to the picture with the smaller number of shapes, they were given delicious sugar water, but if they flew toward the larger number, they were punished with bitter-tasting food.

Once the bees had learned to consistently make the correct choice, the researchers gave them a new choice: a white background containing no shapes at all. Even though the bees had never seen an empty picture before, 64% of the time they chose it rather than a picture containing two or three shapes, the authors report today in Science. This suggests that the insects understood that “zero” is less than two or three. And they weren’t just going for the empty picture because it was new and interesting. Another group of bees trained to always choose the larger number tended to pick the nonzero image in this test.

In further experiments, the researchers showed that bees’ understanding of zero was even more complex: for example, they were able to distinguish between one and zero-a challenge even for some other members of the zero club. Advanced numerical abilities like this could give animals an evolutionary advantage, helping them keep track of predators（捕食者）and food sources. And if an insect can display such a thorough grasp of the number zero, write the researchers, then this ability may be more common in the animal kingdom than we think.

1.According to the trials, the researchers have found that bees ________.

A. have the same intelligence as parrots and monkeys

B. can count many numbers after being trained

C. can identify the smaller number quickly

D. understand the concept of zero

2.The researchers trained another group of bees to ________ .

A. confirm the bees are able to identify the smaller number

B. find the big difference between the two groups of bees

C. prove the bees are interested in new things

D. show the bees can be distinguished easily

3.What do the researchers suggest in further experiments?

A. Bees should be trained more.

B. Numerical abilities could help predators find bees.

C. Insects are better at understanding zero than animals.

D. Animals may display a thorough grasp of the number zero.

4.What is the best the title for the text?

A. New Findings About Bees’ Concept of Zero

B. Experients on Bees’ Numerical Skills

C. Complex Trials About the Zero Club

D. A Science Report of the Species of Bees

高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析

We humans are a curious species． As NASA says on its website，"Humans are driven to explore the unknown， discover new worlds， push the boundaries of our scientific and technical limits，and then push further． "

And space exploration is where we\e been "pushing" our furthest curiosity．

The year 2019 began with two pieces of exciting space exploration news． On Jan． 3， China landed a spacecraft，Chang′e 4，on the moon's far side﹣the side we can′t see from Earth﹣for the first time in human history． And according to a report published on Jan． 9 in Nature， scientists from the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment （CHIME） detected repeated radio signals from a galaxy 1.5 billion light years away， possibly sent by intelligent aliens．

However， what，s even more exciting than the news is the fact that whenever speaking of space exploration， we forget our political and cultural differences﹣the things that so obsess us．

"When you go into space， you become part of this overall collective （集体）called ‘humanity， Ken Liu， Chinese﹣American sci﹣fi writer and translator，told Quartz website． "You′re no longer Chinese， American， Russian …Your culture is left behind． You're now just ‘humanity' with a capital ‘H'． "

This magic has worked all the way along our journey into space． When US astronaut Neil Armstrong （1930﹣2012）became the first human to set foot on the moon in 1969， for example，he told the world： "That's one small step for man， one giant leap for mankind， "Now， with Chang'e 4 touching down on new moon territory， China′s aim is to help scientists from around the world find out more about Earth's only satellite． And with the discovery of the CHIME astronomers， we ' re one step closer to answering a common question in science： "Are humans alone in the universe？"

It's true that we are a curious species． But instead of being curious about the "unknown"， perhaps we're really more eager to "push further" our own human "boundaries" and "limits"．

1.Which of the following is the discovery of the CHIME scientists？

A. A galaxy with intelligent aliens．

B. Repeated radio signals sent by intelligent aliens．

C. Repeated radio signals from a distant galaxy．

D. Radio signals from a galaxy several years ago．

2.Why does the author quote Ken Liu's words ？

A. To introduce the famous writer， Ken Liu．

B. To show that in space we are just humanity．

C. To emphasize that culture is not important．

D. To introduce the things that obsess us very much．

3.What does the author intend to do in paragraph 6？

A. Further confirm his opinion．

B. Add some background information．

C. Summarize the previous paragraphs．

D. Introduce a new topic for discussion．

4.What's the main idea of the text？

A. China takes the lead in space exploration．

B. Humans are not alone in the universe．

C. Space exploration is a common cause of mankind，

D. Humans desire to push the boundaries of scientific limits．

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Humans aren’t the only ones getting a buzz from coffee．Caffeine can improve memory among honeybees and lead to better pollination(授粉)．According to a recent study published in the journal Science．

The study was conducted by a team of researchers at Newcastle University in the United Kingdom．They found that the nectar(花蜜)of some flowers，such as those from grapefruit and lemon plants，as well as certain coffee flowers，contains low doses of caffeine．To get bees to feed on these flowers，the team trained the insects to associate food with the smell of the flowers．They also trained another group of bees to feed on nectar from flowers that were sweetened with a sugar, but did not contain caffeine．After 24 hours，the bees trained on caffeinated flowers returned to these plants three times as often as those trained on the sweetened flowers returned to the uncaffeinated plants．

Professor Geraldine Wright led the researchers．“Remembering floral traits(花部特征)is difficult for bees to perform at a fast pace as they fly from flower to flower and we found that　　 caffeine helps the bee remember where the flowers are，”Wright said in a statement．

Improved memory led to the better pollination．That’s because once bees sip the caffeine　 nectar, they continue to look for more coffee plants to pollinate．This also suggests that caffeine　 plays a role in improving the bees’ability to search for food．

Researchers found that caffeine’s effect on the bee brain is similar to its effect on mammals．“The change is similar to that produced by caffeine in neurons(神经元)associated with learning and memory in the rat brain，”Wright said．

Bee populations have declining since 2007．The dramatic drop in the insects’numbers has　 serious effects for ecosystems and the farming industry．Bees are needed in the reproduction of　 crops and spreading wild flower species．Understanding what keeps bees buzzing could help to make sure that the insects are able to remember and pollinate their favorite flowers．

1.Which of the following is mentioned in the passage?

A．Caffeine has no effect on the rat brain．

B.　 Bee population has been increasing．

C．The nectar of lemon plants contains caffeine．

D．Bees dislike nectar from sweetened flowers．

2.After reading the passage，John，who works in the farming industry, will probably feel　　 ____________.

A．annoyed　　 B．angry　　 C．nervous　　 D．excited

3.Which of the following relationship is correct according to the passage?

A．improved memory—caffeine nectar—better pollination

B．caffeine nectar—improved memory—better pollination

C．improved memory—better pollination—caffeine nectar

D．caffeine nectar—better pollination—improved memory

4.What section of a newspaper may this passage be taken from?

A．Science　　 B．Education

C．Culture　　 D．Sports

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

That the success of humans as a species depends to a large extent on our ability to cooperate in groups is widely believed. Much more so than any other animal, people are able to coordinate and join their forces and actions to produce mutual benefits.

New research involving Dr Molleman, an expert at the University of Nottingham, suggests that successful cooperation in groups depends on how people gather information about their peers, and how they base their cooperative decisions on it.

Biologists wonder how cooperation could have developed by natural selection: it is puzzling how cooperation can be beneficial when it is possible to behave selfishly and take advantage of the cooperative efforts of your group. Psychologists and economists try hard to understand why many people are willing to sacrifice their own welfare to benefit their social environment. They asked questions like “How do people make decisions when their actions can affect the welfare of others?” “How people determine their behavior when they have to cooperate in groups?”.

Dr Pieter Van Den Berg from the University of Groningen said, “From previous research we know that some people are ‘majority-oriented (以……为中心)’ and tend to look at the behavior of the majority in their group, whereas others are ‘success-oriented’ and try to find out what kind of behavior pays off best for themselves.”

Dr Molleman, from the center of the Decision Research and Experimental Economics, said, “It turns out that behavior in groups of success-oriented people was much more selfish than it in groups of majority-oriented people. As a consequence, the people in the majority-oriented groups tended to cam more money in the experiment since they cooperated more.”

1.Compared with other animals, human beings are capable of ________.

A. communicating well with others B. working together with each other

C. surviving some natural disasters D. getting access to various information

2.What are the psychologists and economists most interested in?

A. Whether people’s personal efforts will pay off eventually.

B. How cooperation has developed over a long lime naturally.

C. Why people offer to affect those around them unselfishly.

D. What benefit that good cooperation can bring immediately.

3.We can infer that the success-oriented people________.

A. are careful to select a group to join

B. are likely to be successful in the future

C. pay more attention to the result of their effort

D. have some skills in collecting useful information

4.What is the new finding of the research?

A. Having good relationship gets us to live fullest life.

B. Focusing on individual success makes people selfish.

C. Being considerate can ensure our long-term benefit.

D. Mastering social skills help create harmonious society.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Many of the most striking beasts on the planet come in only two colors: black and white. These high-contrast markings represent some of the nature's most diverse evolutionary choices. For some animals, black -and- white coloring is a way to warn off natural enemies. For others, to keep insects away. For still others, it creates a clever cover. Spend some time exploring what science has discovered about these animals’ appearances, and you will see that basic black and white isn't so basic after all.

Skunk

Depending on the species, black skunks may wear white spots that act as a cover or white stripes(条纹)that signal enemies to watch out for their smelly spray.

Giant Panda

Resent insights into panda coloring have come from studying each body part separately. Black ears indicate fierceness, and distinct eye patches aid in individual recognition. The panda in white body hides it against snow, white its dark limbs(四肢) keep it from being spotted in forests, a compromise developed from its poor bamboo diet:Bamboo doesn’t let pandas build up enough fat to hibernate(冬眠), forcing them to spend winters in the snow.

Badger

Even when a badger is in its cave, its facial stripes can be seen, Zoologists say the warning coloration helps the small animal prevent natural enemies.

Blackbuck(male)

In bright sun, the buck’s white stomach reduces the effect of the shadow cast by his back, allowing him to appear one color and two dimensional---especially hiding from natural enemies in his own shadown.

1.Which animals can use their color to warn off natural enemies?

A. Skunk and Badger B. Giant panda and Zebra

C. Badger and Blackbuck D. Zebra and Blackbuck

2.White body and dark limbs help the giant panda to ________.

A. show fierceness B. store fat

C. recognize individuals D. take cover

3.What can be a suitable title for the text?

A. Which animals have black- and- white color?

B. How some animals protect themselves from harm.

C. Why so many animals wear black- and- white coats?

D. What science has discovered about different colors.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

A remarkable variety of insects live on this planet. More species of insects exist than all other animal species together. Insects have survived on earth for more than 300 million years，and may possess the ability to survive for millions more.

Insects can be found almost everywhere—on the highest mountains and on the bottom of rushing streams, in the cold South Pole and in bubbling hot springs. They dig through the ground, jump and sing in the trees, and run and dance in the air. They come in many different colors and various shapes. Insects are extremely useful to humans, pollinating (授粉) our crops as well as flowers in meadows, forests, deserts and other areas. But ticks and some insects, such as mosquitoes and fleas, can transmit disease.

There are many reasons why insects are so successful at surviving. Their amazing ability to adapt permits them to live in extreme ranges of temperatures and environments. The one place they have not yet been found to any major extent is in the open oceans. Insects can survive on a wide range of natural and artificial foods—paint, pepper, glue, books, grain, cotton, other insects, plants and animals. Because they are small, they can hide in tiny spaces.

A strong, hard but flexible shell covers their soft organs and is resistant to chemicals, water and physical impact. Their wings give them the option of flying away from dangerous situations or toward food or mates. Also, insects have an enormous reproductive capacity: An African ant queen can lay as many as 43,000 eggs a day.

Another reason for their success is the strategy of protective color. An insect may be right before our eyes, but nearly invisible because it is cleverly disguised like a green leaf, lump of brown soil, gray lichen (青苔), a seed or some other natural object. Some insects use bright, bold colors to send warning signals that they taste bad, sting or are poisonous. Others have wing patterns that look like the eyes of a huge predator, confusing their enemies. Some insects also imitate bitter-tasting insects; hungry enemies are fooled into avoiding them.

1.Insects protect themselves from chemicals by ______.

A.hiding in tiny spaces B.flying away when necessary

C.having a strong shell D.changing colors or shapes

2.Some insects disguise like natural objects so as to ______.

A.avoid being discovered B.frighten away their enemies

C.send warning signals D.look bitter-tasting

3.The passage is mainly about ______.

A.how insects survive in different places B.why insects can survive so successfully

C.what insects can do to the environment D.where insects can be found in quantity

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

There might be as many as 10 million species of complex life on this planet today —— a huge number. But add up all of the complex species that ever lived and some biologists think the grand total would be about five billion. The estimate leads to an astonishing conclusion: a staggering 99% of species are not around any more. They have been driven to extinction.

More species are joining the ranks of the extinct every year. Many scientists believe we are living through an episode of remarkably rapid extinction, on a scale that has been seen only five times in the last half a billion years.

They call this current episode the sixth mass extinction —— a large, global decline in a wide variety of species over a relatively short period of time. And they tend to agree that humans are the main cause.

Over-hunting, overfishing, and human-driven habitat loss are pushing many species to the brink. In fact, we have changed the planet so much that some geologists are now suggesting that we have entered a new phase in Earth’s history; an epoch they call the ＂Anthropocene＂. By 2100, it is expected that humans will have caused the extinction of up to half of the world’s current species.

Because we are living through this extinction, it is relatively easy for us to study the driving forces behind it. But how do we determine what caused other mass die-offs that happened long ago? To do so we have to look at what archaeologists, palaeontologists, geologists and other scientists have concluded from the evidence they have gathered.

The trouble is, those scientists do not always agree with one another —— even about the most recent extinction event. As well as the five-or six- mass extinctions, there have also been many smaller extinctions.

One of these mini extinction events happened towards the end of the Pleistocene, a few tens of thousands of years ago. It is sometimes called the ＂megafaunal＂ extinction because many of the species it claimed were particularly large animals, weighing more than 97lb (44kg). However, its cause remains a debate amongst scientists.

1.What can we learn about the sixth mass extinction？

A. Humans are the main cause of it.

B. It means a global decline over a long time.

C. It occurred towards the end of the Pleistocene.

D. Scientists still disagree about the cause of it.

2.What can be inferred from the text about species？

A. 99% of species will not be around any more by 2100.

B. By the 22nd century, there will probably be about five million on this planet.

C. About eight years later we will enter what is called the ＂Anthropocene＂.

D. It is not easy for us to figure out causes behind the＂Anthropocene＂.

3.Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined word in the last paragraph ?

A. Land animals.　　 B. Marine life.

C. Huge animals.　　 D. Flesh-eating creatures.

高三英语完形填空困难题查看答案及解析

Humans are responsible for causing changes in the environment that hurt animals and species(物种). We take up more space on Earth for our homes and cities. We pollute habitats(栖息地). ________1.  illegally hunt and kill animals. All of these activities take resources and habitats away ________2.________ plants and animals.

Human activity often changes or destroys the habitats that plants and animals need to survive.  3.________ human populations are growing so fast, animals and plants are disappearing many times faster 4.________ they have in the past 65 million years.

Animals and plants have always had a ________5.________ time surviving. Animals became extinct (灭绝的) in the past for a wide variety of reasons. In some cases, competition for resources among animals led to extinction and in ________6.________ cases, environmental changes caused extinction.

Fortunately, we humans are beginning to realize our mistakes, ________7.________ we could destroy everything on Earth. We must not only use our knowledge and abilities to manage the Earth, but to make the Earth ________8.________ safe and healthy place where all animals and plants——including humans ourselves——can live.

高三英语其他题中等难度题查看答案及解析

Wolves strike fear into the hearts of many species, humans included. Our fear of them has brought them to the edge of dying out, as we have cruelly killed them as competitors and trouble-makers. But researchers are discovering that the very fear they put into prey（被捕食者）species is exactly what helps make ecosystems（生态）healthy.

Yellowstone National Park is a typical example of just how wolves can help repair an ecosystem. An October 2018 study analyzed 40 years of research on large animals inside the park.

“Yellowstone has benefited from the reintroduction of wolves in ways that we did not anticipate, especially the complexity of biological interactions（互动） in the park,” explained Mark Boyce, a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences.　 “We were really surprised at that and we’ d never have seen these responses if the park hadn’t adopted ecological-process management—allowing natural ecological processes to take place with least human intervention.”

After the wolves were re-introduced at Yellowstone, willow and cottonwood trees increased in number. The population of bears and bison also rose and what was once a ruling deer-wolf interaction is now more diverse.

To learn more about just how wolves are beneficial, a short documentary from Quest explains how the presence of wolves influences the behavior of deer, which eventually makes entire ecosystems more biologically diverse and healthy. In this documentary, biologist Aaron Wirsing explored why wolves and other top predators （捕食者） were needed for diverse ecosystems to develop. Using a simple video camera, Wirsing is gaining a unique view point on predator-prey relationships and changing the way we think about wolves.

The research is one more piece of evidence for why protecting these top predators is important not just for wolves as a species, but for hundreds of species at every level of an ecosystem. The fear they bring along may be the very angle that helps save them from dying out.

1.What does the underlined word “anticipate” in paragraph 3 probably mean?

A. Expect. B. Understand.

C. Notice. D. Accept.

2.For what purpose was a documentary made?

A. To introduce how wolves behave in the wild.

B. To show how wolves benefit from ecosystems.

C. To record how Aaron Wirsing observed wolves.

D. To study what good wolves can do to ecosystems.

3.What is the significance of the research?

A. It proves wolves feed on hundreds of species.

B. It helps prove the importance of protecting wolves.

C. It shows the complex relationships between species.

D. It provides evidence that wolves are endangered animals.

4.What is the main idea of the passage?

A. The fear of wolves is beneficial to ecosystems.

B. The fear of wolves put them in danger of disappearing.

C. Yellowstone National Park owes its healthy ecosystems to wolves.

D. The introduction of wolves in Yellowstone National Park is a success.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析