-
They still bite, but new research shows lab-grown mosquitoes are fighting dengue fever — a dangerous disease that they normally would spread. Dengue infections appear to be dropping fast in communities in Indonesia, Vietnam, Brazil and Australia that are filled with the specially grown mosquitoes.
Researchers first injected （注射）mosquito eggs with Wolbachia bacteria that's common in insects and harmless to people in a lab. Infected females then pass the bacteria on through their eggs. Releasing enough Wolbachia carriers, both the females that bite and the males that don't, allows mating（交配）to spread the bacteria through a local mosquito population.
Rather than using chemicals to wipe out pests, “this is really about transforming the mosquito," said Cameron Simmons of the nonprofit World Mosquito Program, which is conducting the research.
The first success came from Australia. Mosquitoes carrying Wolbachia were released in parts of North Queensland starting in 2011, and gradually spread through the local mosquito population. Dengue is spread when a mosquito bites someone who is infected, and then bites another person, but somehow Wolbachia blocks that — and local spread has nearly disappeared in those North Queensland Communities, Simmons said.
The studies are continuing in other countries. But the findings, presented at a meeting of the American Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, suggest it's possible to turn at least some mosquitoes from a public health threat into annoying biters.
The work marks “exciting progress," said Michigan State University professor Zhiyong Xi, who wasn't involved with the project but has long studied how Wolbachia can turn mosquitoes against themselves.
More research is needed, specialists cautioned. "The results are pretty exciting — strong levels of reductions — but there clearly are going to be things to be learned from the areas where the reductions are not as great," said Penn State University professor Elizabeth McGraw.
1.What can we learn about the lab-grown mosquitoes?
A.They lose the ability to bite people.
B.They become harmful to human beings.
C.They carry dangerous Wolbachia bacteria.
D.They spread Wolbachia bacteria by mating.
2.What does the underlined word "that" refer to in Paragraph 4?
A.The bite from a mosquito. B.The local community.
C.The spread of Dengue. D.The infected person.
3.What do the last two paragraphs suggest?
A.This research proves a complete success.
B.Scientists agree on this research.
C.There is still room for improvement.
D.Mosquitoes turn themselves against harmful ones.
4.What is the best title for the text?
A.Bacteria- infected Mosquitoes Bite Deadly Dengue.
B.Transform Mosquitoes into Annoying Biters
C.Fight against Mosquitoes with Wolbachia
D.Harmless Mosquitoes Are on Their Way
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
-
For Americans, a mosquito bite is an itchy bother. But for many in Africa, a tiny bite can be deadly. One million people die each year of malaria, a disease spread by infected mosquitoes. Most of these people live in Africa, and are under age 5.
Malaria can be prevented and treated. However, many African nations don't have the funds to fight it. Nothing but Nets (NBN) hopes to change that. The United Nations Foundation created the campaign in 2006. The aim is to prevent malaria by covering sleeping areas with nets. Hanging bed nets treated with insecticide(杀虫剂) is the simplest way to stop mosquitoes from biting at night. The chemicals last four to five years. For $10, anyone can send a net to Africa and help save a life.
So far, NBN has raised $19 million and delivered 700,000 nets to seven countries. Families are taught how to use the nets. Kids also get vaccines (疫苗)and vitamins. "Women line up for miles to get the medicine for their kids," says NBN director Elizabeth McKee Gore. "They understand the importance."
So do kids in this country. "They get so excited thinking of ways to raise money," says NBN spokesperson and basketball star Ruth Riley.
NBN's biggest fund-raiser is Katherine Commale, 7. She's been spreading the information about bed nets for the past two years. To show how they work, she and her brother made a video. "We teach that bed nets can save lives," she said.
Katherine has raised $42,000 for NBN. "She just wants those who need a net to have one," says her mom, Lynda. "It's pretty simple to her." To find out how you can help, visit nothingbutnets.net.
1.We know from the passage that NBN is in fact _________.
A. a deadly disease B. an organization
C. a piece of equipment D. a game
2.The purpose of the passage is most probably ___________.
A. to list the sufferings of the African people
B. to introduce new ways to avoid mosquito bites
C. to call on people to offer their help to Africans
D. to tell people how to buy nets in Africa
3. By saying “So do kids in this country” in Paragraph 4,the author means that kids in this country also ___________.
A. know the importance of the bed nets
B. know how to protect themselves
C. lack nets to protect themselves
D. suffer from malaria
4. What do we know about Katherine from the passage?
A. She set up the website nothingbutnets.net.
B. She is the youngest money-raiser for NBN.
C. She raised money by making and selling videos.
D. She started working for NBN at the age of 5.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
-
Choosing a name for a child is often a headache for parents, but new research shows that picking well could be more crucial than previously thought.
Academics have found that your first name actually changes the way you look. For example, someone called ‘Bob’ is expected by society to have a rounder and happier face than a man called ‘Tim’. That expectation eventually leads ‘Bobs’ to become more social, while ‘Tims’ may appear thinner and reserved. The connection may be linked to the “bouba-kiki” effect which suggests that across languages, rounder and smoother objects are labelled with rounded ‘bouba’ sounds, while thinner pointed objects have ‘kik’ sounds. Likewise ‘Winstons’ are believed to be feeling blue, while ‘Marys’ are considered to be moral, both traits which may change appearance, and over time, change face shape. And a woman named ‘Katherine’ is considered to be more serious and dependable than a girl named ‘Bonnie’. Such cultural expectations may encourage ‘Katherines’ to be more studious and academic, which could gradually influence the development of facial muscles, perhaps through increased concentration.
“Prior researches have shown there are cultural stereotypes attached to names, including how someone should look,” said lead author Dr Yonat Zwebner, of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. “For instance, people are more likely to imagine a person named Bob to have a rounder face than a person named Tim. We believe these stereotypes can, over time, affect people’s facial appearance.”
To find out if face shape was linked to name, researchers conducted eight studies to see whether it was possible for strangers to correctly identify the names of people simply by looking at their faces. In every experiment, the participants were significantly better (up to 40 percent accurate) at matching the name to the face than random chance (20-25 percent accurate) even when nationality, age and other socioeconomic variables were controlled for. “Together, these findings suggest that facial appearance represents social expectations of how a person with a particular name should look. In this way, a social tag may influence one’s facial appearance,” said co-author Dr Ruth Mayo.
1.What does the second paragraph mainly talk about?
A.How your name sounds simply counts.
B.Your name may tell how you look.
C.Social expectations determine your name.
D.It’s important to concentrate on facial muscles.
2.What can we learn from the eight studies?
A.Most of the participants match the name with the face correctly.
B.The findings are contradictory to those of the previous research.
C.They are based on the data from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
D.The findings are similar to those of the previous research.
3.According to Dr Ruth Mayo, one’s facial appearance is basically affected by ___________.
A.social expectations B.the experience of their life
C.their parents’ preference D.the meaning of their names
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
-
When we know somewhere well，we say we “know it like the back of our hand”. But new research has shown that we don’t actually know as much about our hands as we think we do.
Wider and shorter
Professor Matthew Longo at the University of London and his team did an experiment, covering the left hands of 100 people. Then they asked the people to point to where they thought their fingertips and knuckles (指关节) were. They made some quite big mistakes.
“People think their hand is wider than it actually is,” said Longo. The fingers also seem shorter than they are. This mistake gets worse as you go across the hand from the thumb to the little finger.
Sense of position
“It is connected to our sense of position,” explained Longo. This is our ability to tell where different parts of our bodies are, even when we can’t see them. “It tells us whether a joint is straight, or not” he said. It also tells us whether we are going up or down in an elevator. All this information comes from signs from nerves in real time. It’s like our brain has maps — maps that show the size and shape of our body. “This experiment tried to find those maps,” said Longo.
Strength(强度) of feeling
But these maps make mistakes. These mistakes may be made because of how the brain understands different parts of the skin. “Our brains ‘see’ areas as larger where the skin feels touch strongly,” said Longo. Body parts don’t appear as their true size, but appear bigger or smaller depending on how strongly they feel touch. Our lips, for example, have more nerves than our nose. So brain “sees” lips on its map of the body as being bigger than our nose. The same thing happens for other parts of the body that have lots of nerves.
Longo believes that more research in this area may help us to understand eating problem better, because people suffering from these problems may not know their bodies properly.
1.Which of following statement is TRUE about the experiment according to the article?
A. People think their body parts are larger than they actually are.
B. People made more mistakes about their little fingers length than their thumbs’ length.
C. People’s fingers are actually shorter than they think.
D. People were asked to draw their hands from memory
2.What does the underlined “it” in Paragraph 4 refer to?
A. The new experiment. B. The location information.
C. The mistake people made. D. The sizes of fingers and hands.
3.We can learn from the article that ________.
A. the maps of people’s bodies form before they are born
B. the maps of our body are based on information from nerves
C. our sense of position tells how different parts of the body work
D. how we feel about our body shape is only decided by our sense of position
4.We can infer from the article that ________.
A. the hand feels touch more strongly than fingers do
B. our lips have a weaker sense of touch than our nose
C. there are more nerves in the finger than in the hand
D. our sense of position should not be trusted because it is too often incorrect
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
-
The sound of a mosquito can mean trouble in many parts of the world. The bite of the mosquito can be deadly. The insects carry serious diseases like malaria (疟疾). It is estimated that almost 630,000 people died from malaria and malariarelated causes in 2012, and most of these cases were in African countries.
In the United States, a group of California scientists are working to develop a more effective and less costly substance (物质) to protect people from mosquitoes. The researchers are investigating the sense of smell in mosquitoes. They found the insects use the same receptor for identifying carbon dioxide in human breath as they do for the smell of our skin. Anandasankar Ray, who is leading the investigation, says scientists tested more than a million chemical compounds (化合物) until they found a substance called Ethyl Pyruvate. He says Ethyl Pyruvate makes the mosquitoes' receptors inactive. “When we apply Ethyl Pyruvate to a human arm and offer it to hungry mosquitoes in a cage, very few of the mosquitoes are attracted to the human arm because only a few of them are able to smell it out,” said Ray.
Genevieve Tauxe, a member of the research team, says it was not easy to find the neurons (神经元) of noble cells that recognize both the smell of human breath and skin. “With the device used to examine the mosquito, we are able to insert a very small electrode (电极) into the part of the mosquito's nose, where its smelling neurons are and where the smell is happening,” said Tauxe.
Anandasankar Ray says a product based on Ethyl Pyruvate may cost less to produce than DEFT, the most effective chemical treatment now in use. He says DEFT is too costly for most people who live in areas affected by malaria.
“Perhaps by finding smells that can attack other target receptors, we will be able to improve upon DEFT and finally have the next generation of insect behaviour control products,” said Ray.
1.The underlined word in the second paragraph probably means ________.
A. a substance that protects people from mosquitoes
B. a piece of equipment that sends signals
C. a device that reacts to light
D. a sense organ that reacts to changes
2.According to the passage, Ethyl Pyruvate can ________.
A. kill the mosquitoes' smelling neurons
B. cause the mosquitoes to lose their senses of smell
C. result in the inactiveness of the mosquitoes' receptors
D. make the mosquitoes uninterested in human breath and skin smell
3.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A. Ethyl Pyruvate—an Insect Behaviour Control Product
B. Malaria—a Serious Disease Causing 630,000 Deaths
C. Scientists Find a New Substance to Fight Mosquitoes
D. A New Generation of DEET Has Been Developed to Kill Mosquitoes
4.This passage most probably appears in ________.
A. a textbook of medical schools
B. a collection of doctors' essays
C. the column of newspaper ads
D. the health column of a magazine
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
-
The sound of a mosquito can mean trouble in many parts of the world. The bite of the mosquito can be deadly. The insects carry serious diseases like malaria. It is estimated that almost 630,000 people died from malaria and malaria-related causes in 2012, and most of these cases were in African countries.
In the United States, a group of California scientists is working to develop a more effective and less costly substance(物质)to protect people from mosquitoes. The researchers are investigating the sense of smell in mosquitoes. They found the insects use the same receptor(感受器)for identifying carbon dioxide in human breath as they do for the smell of our skin. Anandasankar Ray, who is leading the investigation, says scientists tested more than a million chemical compounds(化合物)until they found a substance called Ethyl pyruvate. He says Ethyl pyruvate makes the mosquitoes' receptor inactive. ”When we apply Ethyl pyruvate to a human arm and offer it to hungry mosquitoes in a cage, very few of the mosquitoes are attracted to the human arm because only a few of them are able to smell it out,” said Ray.
Genevieve Tauxe, a member of the research team, says it was not easy to find the neurons (神经元)of nose cells that recognise both the smell of human breath and skin. "With the device used to examine mosquitoes, we are able to insert a very small electrode(电极)into the part of the mosquitoes' nose, where its smelling neurons are and where the smell is happening," said Tauxe.
Anandasankar Ray says a product based on Ethyl pyruvate may cost less to produce than DEFT，the most effective chemical treatment now in use. He says DEFT is too costly for most people who live in areas affected by malaria.
“Perhaps by finding smells that can attack other target receptors, we will be able to improve upon DEFT and finally have the next generation of insect behavior control products," said Ray.
1.The best title for the passage is most probably _______________________________.
A. Scientists Find New Substance to Fight Mosquitoes
B. A New Generation of DEET Has Been Developed to Kill Mosquitoes
C. Malaria一a Serious Disease Causing 630,000 Deaths
D. Ethyl Pyruvate一an Insect Behavior Control Product
2.According to the passage, Ethyl Pyruvate can_______________________________.
A. kill the mosquitoes' smelling neurons
B. cause the mosquitoes to lose their sense of smell
C. result in the inactiveness of the mosquitoes' receptor
D. make the mosquitoes uninterested in human breath and skin smell
3.Through the passage, the writer aims to_______________________________.
A. inform readers of the new development in fighting mosquitoes
B. praise the achievements made in the battle against malaria
C. introduce a cheaper product in fighting mosquitoes
D. tell the differences between Ethyl Pyruvate and DEET
4.This passage most probably appears in_______________________________.
A. the column of newspaper ads
B. the health column of a magazine
C. a textbook of medical schools
D. a collection of doctors' essays
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
-
A bite from a tsetse fly (采采蝇) is an extremely unpleasant experience. It is not like a mosquito, which can put its thin mouthpart directly into your blood, often without you noticing. In contrast, the tsetse fly’s mouth has tiny saws on it that saw into your skin on its way to suck out your blood.To make matters worse, several species of tsetse fly can transmit diseases. One of the most dangerous is a parasite that causes ＂sleeping sickness＂, or ＂human African trypanosomiasis＂to give it its official name. Without treatment, an infection is usually fatal.
Like so many tropical diseases, sleeping sickness has often been neglected by medical researchers. However, researchers have long endeavored to understand how it avoids our bodies’ defence mechanisms. Some of their insights could now help us eliminate sleeping sickness altogether.
There are two closely-related single-celled parasites that cause this deathly sleep: Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense and T. b. gambiense. The latter is far more common: it is responsible for up to 95% of cases, mostly in western Africa. It takes several years to kill a person, while T. brucei rhodesiense can cause death within months. There are still other forms that infect livestock.
After the initial bite, sleeping sickness symptoms often start with a fever, headaches and aching muscles. As the illness goes on, those infected become increasingly tired, which is where it gets its name. Personality changes, severe confusion and poor coordination can also happen.
While medication does help, some treatments are toxic and can themselves be deadly, especially if they are given after the disease has reached the brain.
It is worth noting that sleeping sickness is no longer as deadly as it once was. In the early 20th Century several hundred thousand people were infected each year. By the 1960s the disease was considered ＂under control＂ and had reached very low numbers, making its spread more difficult. But in the 1970s there was another major epidemic, which took 20 years to control.
Since then, better screening programmes and earlier interventions have reduced the number of cases dramatically. In 2009 there were fewer than 10,000 cases for the first time since records began, and in 2015 this figure dropped to fewer than 3,000, according to the latest figures from the World Health Organisation. The WHO hopes the disease will be completely eliminated by 2020.
While this decline looks positive, there may be many more cases that go unreported in rural Africa. To eliminate the disease completely, infections have to be closely monitored.
More problematically, a series of new studies have shown that the parasite is more complicated than previously believed.
Sleeping sickness has always been considered —— and diagnosed —— as a blood disease, because T. brucei parasites can readily be detected in the blood of its victims.
1.A tsetse fly is different from a mosquito in that________.
A. it can put its thin mouthpart directly into your blood
B. all species of tsetse fly can transmit diseases
C. it can spread a parasite that causes ＂sleeping sickness＂
D. its mouth has larger saws than those on a mosquito
2.What can be learned about ＂sleeping sickness＂ according to the text ?
A. It is formally called＂human American trypanosomiasis＂.
B. If left untreated, it can possibly be deadly.
C. It remains as deadly as it used to be.
D. It usually draws attention from medical researchers.
3.What is implied in the last three paragraphs ?
A. ＂Sleeping sickness＂ will be completely eliminated by 2020.
B. The parasite causing ＂sleeping sickness＂ is easy to detect now.
C. T. brucei parasites can only be detected in the blood of its victims.
D. Data about ＂sleeping sickness＂cases may not be so accurate.
4.What would be the best title of this passage ?
A. A mosquito that can carry deadly diseases.
B. A bite from this fly puts you into a deadly sleep.
C. Symptoms that are characteristic of ＂sleeping sickness＂.
D. How to control deadly＂sleeping sickness＂ from a tsetse fly.
高三英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析
-
Ants are troublesome, best known for itchy bites and ruining picnics. But, a new species of crazy ant is taking over Texas. In some ways they appear to be worse than fire ants and there's no good way to stop them* These ants move fast and are plentiful in some areas.
The crazy ants first sprang in Pearland in 2002 and have been becoming more and more of a problem ever since.“An invasion of these can be so extreme that it's hard to call it just a nuisance," University of Texas entomologist Edward LeBrun told The Austin American-tatesman. “The ants have been known to crawl into and ruin televisions, appliances and other electronic devices. No one is entirely sure why," He said.
David Oi , a research entomologist at the Department of Agriculture, told The New York Times in 2013, the strange idea that the ants are actually attracted to the electricity itself can't be ruled out.
The crazy ants or Raspberry ants-yep, that's actually what they are called-are found in 23 Texas counties. The ants have very little venom（毒液）, but do cause a slight sting when they bite. Mostly, though, they're a hazard to electrical equipment.
They are a relatively new species in the region and little is known about how to control or kill the population. And, unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be much that can be done about them right now. So, for the moment, the best advice is not to stay close to ant piles and groups. and hope that none make it inside to crawl around the electronics.
1.What do the ants do in Texas?
A. Bite some people. B. Damage local crops.
C. Destroy appliances. D. Pollute environment.
2.The underlined word "nuisance" in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to " ”.
A. story B. problem
C. visit D. failure
3.When meeting with ant piles, we'd better .
A. kill them all B. control them
C. drive them away D. stay away from them
4.What can we know from the text ?
A. The crazy ants first. appeared in Texas in 2013.
B. The crazy ants cause huge loss to the people in Texas.
C. The government is taking measures to deal with the ant.
D. David Oi is sure why the ants ruin electronic devices.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
-
The sight of a mosquito can mean trouble to people in many parts of the world. The bite of the mosquito can be deadly. The insects carry serious diseases like malaria (疟疾). It is estimated that almost 630,000 people died from malaria and malariarelated causes in 2012, and most of these cases were in African countries.
In the United States, a group of California scientists are working to develop a more effective and less costly substance (物质) to protect people from mosquitoes. The researchers are investigating the sense of smell in mosquitoes. They found the insects use the same receptor for identifying carbon dioxide in human breath as they do for the smell of our skin. Anandasankar Ray, who is leading the investigation, says scientists tested more than a million chemical compounds (化合物) until they found a substance called Ethyl Pyruvate. He says Ethyl Pyruvate makes the mosquitoes' receptors inactive. “When we apply Ethyl Pyruvate to a human arm and offer it to hungry mosquitoes in a cage, very few of the mosquitoes are attracted to the human arm because only a few of them are able to smell it out,” said Ray.
Genevieve Tauxe, a member of the research team, says it was not easy to find the neurons (神经元) of noble cells that recognize both the smell of human breath and skin. “With the device used to examine the mosquito, we are able to insert a very small electrode (电极) into the part of the mosquito's nose, where its smelling neurons are and where the smell is happening,” said Tauxe.
Anandasankar Ray says a product based on Ethyl Pyruvate may cost less to produce than DEFT, the most effective chemical treatment now in use. He says DEFT is too costly for most people who live in areas affected by malaria.
“Perhaps by finding smells that can attack other target receptors, we will be able to improve upon DEFT and finally have the next generation of insect behaviour control products,” said Ray.ytytzygx.
1.The underlined word in the second paragraph probably means ________.
A. a substance that protects people from mosquitoes
B. a sense organ that reacts to changes
C. a device that reacts to light
D. a piece of equipment that sends signals
2.According to the passage, Ethyl Pyruvate can ________.
A. kill the mosquitoes' smelling neurons
B. cause the mosquitoes to lose their senses of smell
C. result in the inactiveness of the mosquitoes' receptors
D. make the mosquitoes uninterested in human breath and skin smell
3.This passage most probably appears in ________.
A. a textbook of medical schools
B. a collection of doctors' essays
C. the column of newspaper ads
D. the health column of a magazine
4.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A. Ethyl Pyruvate—an Insect Behaviour Control Product
B. Malaria—a Serious Disease Causing 630,000 Deaths
C. Scientists Find a New Substance to Fight Mosquitoes
D. A New Generation of DEET Has Been Developed to Kill Mosquitoes
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
-
Decision-making under Stress
A new review based on a research shows that acute stress affects the way the brain considers the advantages and disadvantages, causing it to focus on pleasure and ignore the possible negative (负面的) consequences of a decision.
The research suggests that stress may change the way people make choices in predictable ways. “Stress affects how people learn,” says Professor Mara Mather. “People learn better about positive than negative outcomes under stress.”
For example, two recent studies looked at how people learned to connect images(影像) with either rewards or punishments. In one experiment, some of the participants were first stressed by having to give a speech and do difficult math problems in front of an audience; in the other, some were stressed by having to keep their hands in ice water. In both cases, the stressed participants remembered the rewarded material more accurately and the punished material less accurately than those who hadn’t gone through the stress. This phenomenon is likely not surprising to anyone who has tried to resist eating cookies or smoking a cigarette while under stress –at those moments, only the pleasure associated with such activities comes to mind. But the findings further suggest that stress may bring about a double effect. Not only are rewarding experiences remembered better, but negative consequences are also easily recalled.
The research also found that stress appears to affect decision-making differently in men and women. While both men and women tend to focus on rewards and less on consequences under stress, their responses to risk turn out to be different. Men who had been stressed by the cold-water task tended to take more risks in the experiment while women responded in the opposite way. In stressful situations in which risk-taking can pay off big, men may tend to do better, when caution weighs more, however, women will win.
This tendency to slow down and become more cautious when decisions are risky might also help explain why women are less likely to become addicted than men: they may more often avoid making the risky choices that eventually harden into addiction.
1.We can learn from the passage that people under pressure tend to ______.
A. keep rewards better in their memory
B. recall consequences more effortlessly
C. make risky decisions more frequently
D. learn a subject more effectively
2. According to the research, stress affects people most probably in their ______.
A. ways of making choices B. preference for pleasure
C. tolerance of punishments D. responses to suggestions
3.The research has proved that in a stressful situation, ______.
A. women find it easier to fall into certain habits
B. men have a greater tendency to slow down
C. women focus more on outcomes
D. men are more likely to take risks
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析