Plants are living things. So can they feel pain? Plants don't feel pain the same way animals and people do, says Anke Steppuhn. She is a scientist at the Free University of Berlin in Germany. “What we define as pain usually has to do with a nervous system,” Steppuhn explains. When you put your hand too close to a hot stove, nerve cells send a signal to your brain. Your brain decodes(解码) that signal as pain. This causes you to pull your hand away before any serious damage is done.
Plants don't have nerves or brains, so they can't feel pain like we do. “But plants do recognize when something is hurting them,” Steppuhn says. Because they are rooted to the ground, they can't escape a dangerous situation. So they need other ways of fighting back.
The biggest threat to a plant's life is getting eaten. Some plants grow sharp little hairs. Other plants produce bad-tasting or even harmful chemicals. These force an attacker to abandon its meal. A plant called bittersweet nightshade does something even smarter, Steppuhn found. When a slug(蛞蝓) chews holes in a nightshade' s leaf, liquid begins dripping(滴) around the wound. It is almost as if the plant were bleeding. The liquid is sugary nectar(花蜜), and it happens to be a favorite food of ants. In their effort to collect the nectar, the ants swarm(蜂拥而至) all over the injured plant. They will attack anything that stands in their way. That includes the slug that damaged the plant in the first place. It's a very clever trick. Whenever a slug attacks a plant, the plant calls an army of ants to kill the slug.
Nectar isn't the only way plants attract bodyguards. They also release certain chemicals into the air when they are being eaten. People usually can't detect these smells. But wasps(黄蜂) can. When a wasp detects this cry for help, it races to the scene of the crime. If it finds the right kind of insect chewing down on the plant, the wasp will interrupt the attacker's meal. It will do this by laying eggs inside the insect’s body!
1.Why do plants feel pain differently from us?
A. They don’t know whether they're hurt.
B. They face different kinds of danger.
C. They don’t have nervous systems.
D. They have slow response to pain.
2.What does the underlined word “They” in Paragraph 3 refer to?
A. Ants. B. Slugs. C. Plants. D. Wasps.
3.Why do some plants need wasps?
A. To help them call bodyguards.
B. To keep them safe from attackers.
C. To let wasps lay eggs on their leaves.
D. To let their smells spread into the air.
4.What is the text mainly about?
A. How plants feel pain.
B. How plants attract insects.
C. How plants defend themselves.
D. How plants attack small animals.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题
Plants are living things. So can they feel pain? Plants don't feel pain the same way animals and people do, says Anke Steppuhn. She is a scientist at the Free University of Berlin in Germany. “What we define as pain usually has to do with a nervous system,” Steppuhn explains. When you put your hand too close to a hot stove, nerve cells send a signal to your brain. Your brain decodes(解码) that signal as pain. This causes you to pull your hand away before any serious damage is done.
Plants don't have nerves or brains, so they can't feel pain like we do. “But plants do recognize when something is hurting them,” Steppuhn says. Because they are rooted to the ground, they can't escape a dangerous situation. So they need other ways of fighting back.
The biggest threat to a plant's life is getting eaten. Some plants grow sharp little hairs. Other plants produce bad-tasting or even harmful chemicals. These force an attacker to abandon its meal. A plant called bittersweet nightshade does something even smarter, Steppuhn found. When a slug(蛞蝓) chews holes in a nightshade' s leaf, liquid begins dripping(滴) around the wound. It is almost as if the plant were bleeding. The liquid is sugary nectar(花蜜), and it happens to be a favorite food of ants. In their effort to collect the nectar, the ants swarm(蜂拥而至) all over the injured plant. They will attack anything that stands in their way. That includes the slug that damaged the plant in the first place. It's a very clever trick. Whenever a slug attacks a plant, the plant calls an army of ants to kill the slug.
Nectar isn't the only way plants attract bodyguards. They also release certain chemicals into the air when they are being eaten. People usually can't detect these smells. But wasps(黄蜂) can. When a wasp detects this cry for help, it races to the scene of the crime. If it finds the right kind of insect chewing down on the plant, the wasp will interrupt the attacker's meal. It will do this by laying eggs inside the insect’s body!
1.Why do plants feel pain differently from us?
A. They don’t know whether they're hurt.
B. They face different kinds of danger.
C. They don’t have nervous systems.
D. They have slow response to pain.
2.What does the underlined word “They” in Paragraph 3 refer to?
A. Ants. B. Slugs. C. Plants. D. Wasps.
3.Why do some plants need wasps?
A. To help them call bodyguards.
B. To keep them safe from attackers.
C. To let wasps lay eggs on their leaves.
D. To let their smells spread into the air.
4.What is the text mainly about?
A. How plants feel pain.
B. How plants attract insects.
C. How plants defend themselves.
D. How plants attack small animals.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Goldfish have pretty boring lives, so maybe it’s a good thing they can only concentrate for nine seconds! But according to new research, humans are becoming like goldfish. Our attention span (时长) is getting shorter...and it’s all because of technology.
“We move quickly from one site to another on the web, ”says Doctor Ted Selker, a computer scientist from Massachusetts, “and we are losing the ability to concentrate.” With millions of websites to choose from, the attention span of the average internet user is just seconds. There are other digital distractions (分心) too: email, instant messaging and quickie movies on websites. Some people are worried about the effect on young people. “You need time to understand and think about what you read,” says Julia Wood, from London. “Young people search the net all the time and their brains become full of useless information but there is no time to make sense of it. I am trying to persuade my pupils to read more books, so that they concentrate on one subject for longer.”
Other teachers are trying more unusual methods to improve students’ concentration. Anne Savan, from Wales, was so worried about her students that she started playing Mozart during her science lessons. She says that it had an amazing effect: “The music made them calmer, and their concentration was much better.”
But not everyone believes that there is a problem. Ray Cole, an educational psychologist says: “On the web, young people learn to make quick decisions about what is and isn’t worth reading.
They might look at five unhelpful websites very quickly, before stopping and reading a sixth useful website more carefully. In a world with so much information available, this is an important skill.”
1.Why does the writer mention “goldfish”?
A.To analyze data. B.To introduce a topic.
C.To settle problems. D.To suggest a way out.
2.What may cause a shorter attention span according to Dr. Ted Selker?
A.Skipping around the internet. B.Time to digest information.
C.Traditional methods of reading. D.Making decisions.
3.What will help students overcome a short attention span?
A.Receiving emails. B.Texting messages.
C.Reading more books. D.Watching quickie movies.
4.What is Ray Cole’s attitude towards looking through websites quickly?
A.Cautious. B.Unfavorable.
C.Skeptical. D.Supportive.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Animals are more like us than we ever imagined.They feel pain, they experience stress, they show affection, excitement and love.All these findings have been made by scientists in recent years---and such results are beginning to change how we view animals.
Strangely enough, some of this research was sponsored by fast food companies like McDonald’s and KFC.Pressured by animal rights groups , these companies felt they had to fund scientists researching the emotional and mental states of animals.
McDonald’s, for instance, funded studies on pig behavior at Purdue University, Indiana.This research found that pigs seek affection and easily become depressed if left alone or prevented from playing with each other.If they become depressed, they soon become physically ill.Because of this, and other similar studies, the European Union has banned the use of isolating pig stalls from 2010.In Germany, the government is encouraging pig farmers to give each pig 20 seconds of human contact a day, and to provide them with toys to prevent them from fighting
Other scientists have shown that animals think and behave like humans.Koko, the 300-pound gorilla at the Gorilla Foundation in Northern California, for instance, has been taught sign language.Koko can now understand several thousand English words, more than many humans who speak English as a second language.On human IQ tests, she scores between 70 and 95.
Before such experiments, humans thought language skills were absent from the animal kingdom.Other myths are also being overturned, like the belief that animals lack self-awareness.Studies have also shown that animals mourn their dead, and that they play for pleasure.
These striking similarities between animal and human behavior have led some to ask a question: “If you believe in evolution, how can’t you believe that animals have feelings that human beings have?”
Until recently, scientists believed that animals behaved by instinct and that what appeared to be learned behavior was merely genetically-programmed activity.But as Koko the Gorilla shows, this is not the case.In fact, learning is passed from parent to offspring far more often than not in the animal kingdom.
So what implications does this knowledge have for humans? Because of this, should we ban hunting and animal testing? Should we close zoos? Such questions are being raised by many academics and politicians.Harvard and 25 other American law schools have introduced courses on animal rights.Germany meanwhile, recently guaranteed animal rights in its constitution---the first country to do so.
1.McDonald’s and KFC give money to support scientist to do research on animals, because_____
A.they are international big companies. |
B.they love animals. |
C.they are pressured by animal right groups. |
D.they earn a large amount of money and want to do some good deeds. |
2.The research on pigs at Purdue University shows that______
A.pigs love being alone. |
B.pigs easily become physically ill. |
C.pigs need affection. |
D.pigs don’t like to play with each other. |
3.Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A.Animals behave by instinct. |
B.Animals have self-awareness. |
C.Animals have feelings and love. |
D.Animals do not have language skills. |
4.Should we ban hunting and animal testing?
A.Yes. |
B.No |
C.Not certain |
D.Not mentioned |
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Because plants cannot move or talk, most people believe that they have no feelings and that they cannot receive signals from outside. However, this may not be completely true.
People who studied plants have found out that plants carry a small electrical charge (电荷). It is possible to measure this charge with a small piece of equipment called “galvanometer”. The galvanometer is placed on a leaf off the plant, and it records any changes in the electrical field of the leaf. Humans have a similar field which can change when we are shocked or frightened.
A man called Backster used a galvanometer for his studies of plants and was very surprised at his results. He found that if he had two or more plants in a room and he began to destroy one of them - perhaps by pulling off its leaves or by pulling it out of its pot - then the galvanometer on the leaves of the other plants showed a change in the electrical field. It seemed as if the plants were signalling a feeling of shock. This happened not only when Backster started to destroy plants, but also when he destroyed other living things such as insects (昆虫).
Backster said that the plants also knew if someone had destroyed a living thing some distance away, because they signalled when a man who had just cut down a tree entered the room.
Another scientist, named Sauvin, achieved similar results to Backster’s. He kept galvanometers fixed to his plants all the time and checked regularly to see what the plants were doing. If he was out of the office, he telephoned to find out about the signals the plants were sending. In this way, he found that the plants were sending out signals at the exact times when he felt strong pleasure or pain. In fact, Sauvin could cause a change in the electrical field of his plants over a distance of a few miles simply by thinking about them.
1.Backster was surprised at the results of his studies because _____.
A.he destroyed an insect |
B.he destroyed a plant by pulling off its leaves |
C.he found that plants could express feelings of shock |
D.he found that plants could move and speak after all |
2.The plants sent out signals _____.
A.only when Backster Started to destroy plants |
B.when Backster destroyed plants or other living things |
C.only when he destroyed things such as insects |
D.only when Backster placed the galvanometer on the leaves of the plants |
3.The scientist called Sauvin _____.
A.did not agree with Backster’s ideas |
B.did not get the same sort of results as Backster did |
C.got different results from Backster’s |
D.found out some of the same things that Backster did |
4.Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A.The electrical charge plants carry may shock or frighten us. |
B.A tree will signal when it has been cut down. |
C.Sauvin could make his plants send out signals some distance away. |
D.Plants have feelings because they can receive signals without moving. |
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Fear and its companion pain are two of the most useful things that men and animals possess, if they are properly used. If fire did not hurt when it burnt, children would play it until their hands were burnt away. Similarly, if pain existed but fear did not, a child would burn itself again and again, because fear would not warn the child to keep away from the fire that had burnt him or her before. A really fearless soldier-and some do exist –is not a good soldier because he is soon killed; and a dead soldier is of no use to his army. Fear and pain are therefore two guards without which men and animals might soon die out.
In our first sentence we suggested that fear ought to be properly used. If, for example, you never go out of your house because of the danger of being knocked down and killed in the street by a car, you are letting fear rule you too much. Even in your house you are not absolutely safe: a plane may crash on your house, or ants may eat away some of the wood in your roof, and they later may fall on you, or you may get cancer !
The important thing is not to let fear rule you, but instead to use fear as your servant and guide. Fear will warn you of dangers; then you have to decide what action to take.
In many cases, you can take quick and successful action to avoid the danger. For example, you see a car coming straight toward you; fear warns you, you jump out of the way, and all is OK.
In some cases, however, you decide that there is nothing that you can do to avoid the danger. For example, you cannot prevent a plane from crashing into your house, and you may not want to go and live in a desert where there are no plants. In this case, fear has given you its warning; you have examined it and decided on your course of action, so fear of this particular danger is no longer of any use to you, and you have to try to overcome it.
1.Children would play with fire until their hands were burnt away if _______.
A. they were given no warning beforehand
B. they didn’t have any sense of pain at all
C. they had never burnt themselves
D. they felt afraid of the fire
2.A really fearless soldier _______.
A. is of a little use to his army
B. is not afraid of battles at all
C. is nothing but a dead soldier
D. is easy to get killed in a battle
3.People sometimes succeed in timely avoiding dangers because _______.
A. they are warned of the danger and take quick action
B. they are quick both in mind and in action
C. they are calm in face of danger
D. they have gained much experience
4.It is implied but not stated that _______.
A. fear is always something helpful
B. too much fear is harmful
C. fear should be used as a servant and guide
D. fear is something strange and particular
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Fear and its companion pain are two of the most useful things that man and animals possess if they are used. If fire didn’t hurt when it burned, children would play with it until their hands were burned away. Similarly, if pain existed but fear didn’t, a child could burn itself again and again because fear would not warn it to keep away from the fire that had burnt it before. A really fearless soldier—and some do exist—is not a good soldier because he is soon killed; and a dead soldier is of no use to his army. Fear and pain are therefore two guards without which man and animals might soon die out.
In our first sentence we suggested that fear ought to be properly used. If, for example, you never go out of your house because of the danger of being knocked down and killed in the street by a car, you are letting fear rule you too much. The important thing is not to let fear rule you, but instead, to use fear as your servant and guide. Fear will warn you of dangers; then you have to decide what action to take.
In many cases, you can take quick and successful action to avoid the danger. For example, you see a car coming straight towards you; fear warns you, you jump out of the way, and all is well.
In some cases, however, you decide that there is nothing that you can do to avoid the danger. For example, you cannot prevent an airplane crashing into your house, and you may not want to go and live in a desert where there are no airplanes. In this case, fear has given you its warning, you have examined it and decided on your course of action, so fear of the particular danger is no longer of any use to you, and you have to try to overcome it.
1.Children would play with fire until their hands are burnt away if _________.
A. they were not well educated at school
B. they had never played with fire before
C. they had no sense of pain
D. they were fearful of pain
2.People sometimes succeed in timely avoiding danger because _________.
A. they have gained experience
B. they are warned of the danger and take quick action
C. they jump out of the way in time
D. they are calm in face of danger
3.What is implied but not stated in the passage?
A. Too much fear is harmful
B. Fear is always something helpful
C . Fear is something that can be avoided
D. Fear ought to be used as our guide in our life
4.The best title for this passage should be __________.
A. No Pains, No Gains B. Pain and Actions
C. The Value of Fear D. The Reason Why People Fear
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Fear and its companion pain are two of the most useful things that man and animals possess if they are used. If fire didn’t hurt when it burned, children would play with it until their hands were burned away. Similarly, if pain existed but fear didn’t, a child could burn itself again and again because fear would not warn it to keep away from the fire that had burnt it before. A really fearless soldier—and some do exist—is not a good soldier because he is soon killed; and a dead soldier is of no use to his army. Fear and pain are therefore two guards without which man and animals might soon die out.
In our first sentence we suggested that fear ought to be properly used. If, for example, you never go out of your house because of the danger of being knocked down and killed in the street by a car, you are letting fear rule you too much. The important thing is not to let fear rule you, but instead, to use fear as your servant and guide. Fear will warn you of dangers; then you have to decide what action to take.
In many cases, you can take quick and successful action to avoid the danger. For example, you see a car coming straight towards you; fear warns you, you jump out of the way, and all is well.
In some cases, however, you decide that there is nothing that you can do to avoid the danger. For example, you cannot prevent an airplane crashing into your house, and you may not want to go and live in a desert where there are no airplanes. In this case, fear has given you its warning, you have examined it and decided on your course of action, so fear of the particular danger is no longer of any use to you, and you have to try to overcome it.
1.Children would play with fire until their hands are burnt away if _________.
A. they were not well educated at school
B. they were fearful of pain
C. they had never played with fire before
D. they had no sense of pain
2.People sometimes succeed in timely avoiding danger because _________.
A. they have gained experience
B. they jump out of the way in time
C. they are warned of the danger and take quick action
D. they are calm in face of danger
3.What is implied but not stated in the passage?
A. Fear is always something helpful
B. Too much fear is harmful
C. Fear is something that can be avoided
D. Fear ought to be used as our guide in our life
4.The best title for this passage should be __________.
A. The Value of Fear
B. Pain and Actions
C. No Pains, No Gains
D. The Reason Why People Fear
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Fear and its companion pain are two of the most useful things that man and animals possess if they are used. If fire didn’t hurt when it burned, children would play with it until their hands were burned away. Similarly, if pain existed but fear didn’t, a child could burn itself again and again because fear would not warn it to keep away from the fire that had burnt it before. A really fearless soldier—and some do exist—is not a good soldier because he is soon killed; and a dead soldier is of no use to his army. Fear and pain are therefore two guards without which man and animals might soon die out.
In our first sentence we suggested that fear ought to be properly used. If, for example, you never go out of your house because of the danger of being knocked down and killed in the street by a car, you are letting fear rule you too much. The important thing is not to let fear rule you, but instead, to use fear as your servant and guide. Fear will warn you of dangers; then you have to decide what action to take.
In many cases, you can take quick and successful action to avoid the danger. For example, you see a car coming straight towards you; fear warns you, you jump out of the way, and all is well.
In some cases, however, you decide that there is nothing that you can do to avoid the danger. For example, you cannot prevent an airplane crashing into your house, and you may not want to go and live in a desert where there are no airplanes. In this case, fear has given you its warning, you have examined it and decided on your course of action, so fear of the particular danger is no longer of any use to you, and you have to try to overcome it.
1. Children would play with fire until their hands are burnt away if _________.
A. they were not well educated at school B. they had never played with fire before
C. they had no sense of pain D. they were fearful of pain
2. People sometimes succeed in timely avoiding danger because _________.
A. they have gained experience B. they are warned of the danger and take quick action
C. they jump out of the way in time D. they are calm in face of danger
3. What is implied but not stated in the passage?
A. Too much fear is harmful B. Fear is always something helpful
C .Fear is something that can be avoided
D. Fear ought to be used as our guide in our life
4.The best title for this passage should be __________.
A. No Pains, No Gains B. Pain and Actions
C. The Value of Fear D .The Reason Why People Fear
高三英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析
Plants and animals usually do not live apart, as in many ways they are important to each other. Most green plants can make their own food. The food of other living things, even the food of meat-eating animals, comes directly or indirectly from green plants. For example, some people eat mutton (羊肉); mutton comes from a goat; the goats eat grass. These steps, or links, make up what is called a food chain. Without green plants, all other living things would in time die of starvation.
Plants help animals in other ways too. They furnish homes and shelter for many animals. Many birds, as you know, build their nests in trees. Deer and many other animals use bushes for shelter. And even man depends much upon plants for his shelter. Animals repay some of this debt by helping plants. You may be aware that many insects and some birds do important work for plants by pollinating (授粉) them. You must have also learned how animals often help plants by spreading seeds.
What is waste material for one of these kinds of life is often valuable substance for the other. For example, animals give off carbon dioxide gas when they breathe. When plants make food, they absorb this gas from the air, using the carbon and releasing some of the oxygen back into the air. The oxygen that is released, then, is again supplied to animals. Thus the cycle continues, animals helping plants, and plants helping animals.
All plants and animals have their enemies. Insects eat plants; birds eat insects; other animals kill birds. But here too, animals such as birds and bats help the plants by destroying harmful insects. Many plants and animals are helpful to some living things but are harmful to others. Then there are other rules in nature that act as checks and balances. For example, if there are more animals in a certain area than there is food to support them, some of the animals must migrate or starve. In either case, the number of animals will be reduced until the balance between animals and the available food supply is restored.
These helps and hindrances (障碍) are constantly going on in the plant and animal world to achieve a balance. As long as one living thing is dependent on another, whenever the scales are tipped (使倾斜), nature takes steps to balance the scales again.
(Note: Answer the questions or complete the statements in NO MORE THAN TEN WORDS.)
1.What does the author mean by saying “Plants and animals usually do not live apart”?
2.Besides providing food and shelter for animals, plants can also ______ to help animals to live.
3.“Checks and balances” refers to ______ in the world of animals and plants.
4.What will be the final result if some animals migrate or starve for lack of food?
高三英语其他题中等难度题查看答案及解析
Most people say that they do not usually feel confident. But exciting things can happen when we actually believe in ourselves. Here is a man who believed in his own ability even as a boy, and that confidence helped shape his adult life.
At the turn of the last century, a young boy quit school to help with the family expenses. When he was fifteen, he became interested in automobiles(汽车) and worked in a garage. He subscribed to a correspondence course on automobiles and, after a long day in the garage, studied at the kitchen table in the lamplight.
When he felt ready, he walked into the Frayer-Miller Automobile Company of Columbus, Ohio. When Mr. Frayer noticed him, he asked, “Well, what do you want?”
“I just thought I’d tell you I’m coming to work here tomorrow morning,” the boy replied.
“Oh! Who hired you?”
“Nobody yet, but I’ll be on the job in the morning. If I’m not worth anything, you can fire me.”
Early the next morning the boy returned to the plant. Noticing the floor was thick with metal shavings and accumulated dirt, the boy got a broom and set out to clean the place.
Because of his self-confidence and work ethic, the boy’s future was predictable. He went on to stand out in many fields, including automobile racing, piloting World War I planes and founding one of America’s largest airline companies ---- Eastern Airlines.
People who become more confident habitually encourage themselves. Without confidence, we are not likely to move far in the direction of our dreams. It is important that we always believe in ourselves. In order to reach victory, we must believe in ourselves even when we make mistakes
1.How did the boy learn knowledge concerning automobiles?
A. He attended school in the daytime.
B. He studied hard at home.
C. He read books in the garage where he worked.
D. He turned to some instructors for help.
2.We can learn from the boy’s words that _____.
A. he wanted to show off his competence
B. he looked down upon others
C. he was very generous
D. he believed in himself
3.Due to his efforts and confidence, the boy _____.
A. made World War I planes
B. learned much knowledge in a garage
C. achieved everything in his life
D. set up Eastern Airlines
4.What is the purpose of the passage?
A. To inspire us with self-confidence.
B. To tell us an interesting story.
C. To inspire us to work hard.
D. To stress the importance of realizing our dreams.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析