Scientists in New Zealand have found fossilized (化石的) leg bones from a penguin believed to have been about the size of an adult human. The previously undiscovered giant penguin species likely stood about 1.6 meters tall and weighed up to 80 kilograms.
The penguin existed about 60 million years ago. The bones are believed to be from the oldest of several species of giant penguins that lived after dinosaurs died out. A fossil hunter found the bones last year in the Waipara River bed near the city of Christchurch. The bones are from the animal’s legs and feet. Scientists confirmed that the bones came from a newly discovered species.
Paul Scofield is senior curator (馆长) at New Zealand’s Canterbury Museum. He co-wrote a paper on the discovery. He said that the bones are an important find. They show that the species is similar to another giant penguin found in Antarctica in 2000. The latest discovery, he said, helps show a clear connection between the two areas during the Paleocene period. This period lasted from 66 million to 56 million years ago.
Scofield said the penguins were able to grow larger after entering a new development period following the extinction of dinosaurs, sea reptiles and huge fish. Scofield added that the giant penguins became extinct within 30 million years, as large mammals began to rule the waters.
John Cockrem is a penguin expert at the country’s Massey University who was also not involved in the research. He said the discovery helps add to what we know about giant penguins. He said it also confirmed New Zealand as the penguin center of the world.
New Zealand is believed to have been home to many giant bird species that later disappeared. These included the world’s largest parrot, a giant eagle and an emu-like bird called the moa. Recently, Canterbury Museum announced the discovery of an unusually large parrot believed to have lived about 19 million years ago. Scientists say the bird stood about one meter tall.
1.What is special about the penguin found in New Zealand?
A.The place it lived in. B.The age of its existence.
C.Its species and size. D.Its shape and habits.
2.Why did the giant penguins die out?
A.Large mammals controlled the sea.
B.They were killed out by huge fish.
C.Climate changes were not fit for them.
D.They grew too large to feed themselves.
3.What do we know from the last paragraph?
A.All kinds of penguins live in New Zealand.
B.Many giant birds used to exist in New Zealand.
C.The world’s largest parrot lives in New Zealand.
D.New Zealand owns the most bird species in the world.
4.What can be a suitable title for the text?
A.Similar Penguin Fossils Have Been Found Again
B.An Ancient Creature Has Been Found in New Zealand
C.Some Giant Penguins Appeared after Dinosaurs Died Out
D.Scientists Found Bones from Giant Penguin in New Zealand
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题
Scientists in New Zealand have found fossilized (化石的) leg bones from a penguin believed to have been about the size of an adult human. The previously undiscovered giant penguin species likely stood about 1.6 meters tall and weighed up to 80 kilograms.
The penguin existed about 60 million years ago. The bones are believed to be from the oldest of several species of giant penguins that lived after dinosaurs died out. A fossil hunter found the bones last year in the Waipara River bed near the city of Christchurch. The bones are from the animal’s legs and feet. Scientists confirmed that the bones came from a newly discovered species.
Paul Scofield is senior curator (馆长) at New Zealand’s Canterbury Museum. He co-wrote a paper on the discovery. He said that the bones are an important find. They show that the species is similar to another giant penguin found in Antarctica in 2000. The latest discovery, he said, helps show a clear connection between the two areas during the Paleocene period. This period lasted from 66 million to 56 million years ago.
Scofield said the penguins were able to grow larger after entering a new development period following the extinction of dinosaurs, sea reptiles and huge fish. Scofield added that the giant penguins became extinct within 30 million years, as large mammals began to rule the waters.
John Cockrem is a penguin expert at the country’s Massey University who was also not involved in the research. He said the discovery helps add to what we know about giant penguins. He said it also confirmed New Zealand as the penguin center of the world.
New Zealand is believed to have been home to many giant bird species that later disappeared. These included the world’s largest parrot, a giant eagle and an emu-like bird called the moa. Recently, Canterbury Museum announced the discovery of an unusually large parrot believed to have lived about 19 million years ago. Scientists say the bird stood about one meter tall.
1.What is special about the penguin found in New Zealand?
A.The place it lived in. B.The age of its existence.
C.Its species and size. D.Its shape and habits.
2.Why did the giant penguins die out?
A.Large mammals controlled the sea.
B.They were killed out by huge fish.
C.Climate changes were not fit for them.
D.They grew too large to feed themselves.
3.What do we know from the last paragraph?
A.All kinds of penguins live in New Zealand.
B.Many giant birds used to exist in New Zealand.
C.The world’s largest parrot lives in New Zealand.
D.New Zealand owns the most bird species in the world.
4.What can be a suitable title for the text?
A.Similar Penguin Fossils Have Been Found Again
B.An Ancient Creature Has Been Found in New Zealand
C.Some Giant Penguins Appeared after Dinosaurs Died Out
D.Scientists Found Bones from Giant Penguin in New Zealand
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Scientists have solved the mystery of why the overwhelming majority of mammoth fossils(化石)are male.
Much like wild elephants today, young male Ice Age mammoths probably travelled around alone and more often got themselves into risky situations where they were swept into rivers, or fell through ice or into mud, lakes or sinkholes that preserved their bones for thousands of years, scientists say.
Females, on the other hand, travelled in groups led by an older matriarch who knew the landscape and directed her group away from danger.
"Without the benefit of living in a herd led by an experienced female, male mammoths had a much higher risk of dying in natural traps such as mud holes, rock cracks and lakes, "said co-author Love Dalen of the Swedish Museum of Natural History in a report published on Thursday in the journal Current Biology.
The study used genetic data to determine the sex of 98 woolly mammoth fossils in Siberia Researchers found that 69% of the samples were male, a heavily unbalanced sex ratio, assuming that the sexes were fairly even at birth.
"We were very surprised because there was no reason to expect a sex bias in the fossil record," said first author Patricia Pecnerova, also of the Swedish Museum of Natural History. Therefore, researchers believe that something about the way they lived influenced the way they died.Most bones, tusks, and teeth from mammoths and other Ice Age animals haven't survived," explained Dalen.
"It is highly likely that the remains that are found in Siberia these days have been preserved because they have been buried, and thus protected from weathering."
These giant, tusked plant eaters disappeared about 4,000 years ago. While there is no scientific agreement about the causes of their disappearance from the planet, most believe that climate change, excessive hunting by humans and the spread of other animals into mammoth feeding grounds were influential factors.
1.The underlined word "matriarch" in paragraph 3 means _______.
A. figure head B. female leader
C. experienced animal D. mature mammoth
2.Why do the majority of mammoth fossils come from male animals?
A. Scientists find it easier to study male fossilized bones.
B. There were more male mammoths in comparison to females
C. Male mammoths were better able to adapt to the changing circumstances.
D. Male mammoths more frequently died in places where fossils could form.
3.Which of the following is suggested as a reason for mammoths dying out?
A. The increasing competition for food.
B. The cooling of the earth's temperature.
C. The disappearance of male mammoths.
D. The risky behaviour of younger mammoths.
4.What is the text type of the passage?
A. A newspaper article. B. An academic essay.
C. A historical description. D. A science fiction story.
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
Chinese scientists have found a new way to use cells found in human urine （尿液）that could aid in the treatment of a range of nerve disorders.That is a new technique for reprogramming cells in human urine into nerve progenitor cells that can grow into multi-functional nerve and brain cells.
The technique is expected to be used in the study and treatment of nerve disorders such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and other nerve disorders.
Pei Duanqing, a professor at Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, said his research team has combined an episomal system to deliver reprogramming factors with a chemically defined culture medium to reprogram kidney epithelial(肾表皮) cells in urine into NPCs.
These NPCs, normally only found in the human brain, were later proven to be transgene-free and self-renewing, he said.
"These nerve and brain cells can survive for up to one month when transplanted into the brain of a newborn rat," said Pei. "My team is working hard to understand why our experimental condition allowed the urine cells to become NPCs, because we want to improve the technique and make it more efficient".
Scientists have long searched to treat and study neural disorders by obtaining and transplanting neural stem cells. However, the previous method of getting and using cells from either fetal (胎儿)or adult human tissue remains challenging due to ethical concerns and immune system rejections, he said.
Pei hopes the discovery will be used to generate NPCs from patients with nerve disorders such as Parkinson's disease. "These NPCs from patients may help us discover new drugs for these diseases."
"It is a remarkable advance in the stem cell field. The results and methods obtained from this study will be of great value and significance to the field, " said Fred Gage,a professor with the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.
1.What is the passage mainly about?
A. NPCs are beneficial in treating human diseases.
B. Chinese scientists succeeded in making NPCs from human urine.
C. Chinese scientists have found cures for all diseases.
D. A new technique was used to study the use of human urine
2.Pei and his tean try their best to work hard in order to________.
A. make more contributions to medical study
B. discover another new technique
C. make the technique more perfect
D. treat more patients suffering from bad diseases
3.What is the challenge of making NPCs in the previous method?
A. The ethical comcerns and immune system refusal
B. The difificulties in getting cells from human.
C. The under-developed techniques in medical science.
D. The lack of financial support from the government.
4.From the last paragraph we can infer________.
A. the new technique will be developed in science
B. the results and methods will be applied to treating cancers
C. the study will give a major push to the stem cell field
D. the mew technique will bring great profis
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
A firm from New Zealand has revealed a set of robotic legs which they claim will soon allow ________ wheelchair-bound people to walk again.
A. extremely B. previously C. actually D. eventually
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
Scientists in Norway have more good news for coffee drinkers. Researchers have already found evidence that the drink — or the beans can help with weight loss, _______one's risk of developing some diseases, _______ muscle growth, protect against certain types of cancers and can even reduce one's risk of _______ death. Now comes word that a cup of coffee reduces physical pain.
The surprising finding is based on a study _______ 48 volunteers who agreed to spend 90 minutes performing fake computer tasks meant to mimic office work. The tasks were known to _______pain in the shoulders, neck, forearms and wrists, and the researchers wanted to _________ how people with pain and those who were pain-free tolerated the pain of such tasks. As a matter of convenience, the scientists allowed people to drink coffee before taking the test "to avoid _______effects of caffeine deprivation, e.g. decreased vigor and alertness, sleepiness, and fatigue," they reported.
But when it came time to analyze the data, the researchers from Norway's National Institute of Occupational Health and Oslo University Hospital noticed that the 19 people who drank coffee reported a lower _______ of pain than the 29 people who didn't. In the shoulders and neck, _______, the average pain intensity was rated 41 (on a 100-point scale) among the coffee drinkers and 55 for non-coffee drinkers. Similar gaps were found for all pain sites measured, and coffee's apparent pain-reduction effect ________.
However, the authors of the study, which was published this week in the journal BMC Research Notes, cautioned that since the study wasn't designed to test coffee's influence on pain, the results came with many ________. For starters, the researchers don't know how much coffee the coffee drinkers consumed before taking the computer tests. ________they doubt whether the coffee drinkers and non-coffee drinkers were ________in all respects except for their coffee consumption. Problems like these tend to ________ the importance of the findings. But those doubts are ________ to trouble the coffee drinkers looking for any reason not to cut back on their daily caffeine habit.
1.A.rise B.reduce C.release D.suffer
2.A.shape B.establish C.boost D.preserve
3.A.mutual B.subtle C.premature D.prepared
4.A.involving B.researching C.interviewing D.qualifying
5.A.cause B.endure C.ease D.cure
6.A.warn B.compare C.relieve D.treat
7.A.unpleasant B.modest C.significant D.positive
8.A.tendency B.intention C.intensity D.extension
9.A.on the contrary B.as a result C.for instance D.in one word
10.A.turned up B.broke out C.pointed out D.took up
11.A.satisfactions B.uncertainties C.consequences D.qualifications
12.A.Moreover B.However C.Otherwise D.Nevertheless
13.A.contemporary B.similar C.temporary D.initial
14.A.realize B.attach C.demonstrate D.weaken
15.A.unlikely B.sensible C.influential D.definite
高三英语完形填空困难题查看答案及解析
Scientists said they have found evidence of a giant planet far out in our solar system. In a statement, the California Institute of Technology(Caltech) said this planet travels a strange “highly elongated orbit in the distant solar system”.
The discovery was made by two researchers at Caltech; Konstantin Batygin and Mike Brown. They used mathematical modeling and computer simulations (模拟)to find the planet. So far, there have not been any direct observations of the planet. “My jaw hit the floor,” said astronomer Mike Brown, the moment he realized there might be a ninth planet.
The scientists said it would take this planet 10,000to 20,000 years just to make one full orbit around the sun. The new planet, called “Planet Nine” has a mass about 10 times the size of Earth.
It is believed that the planet orbits, or travels, around the sun from a great distance. The planet Neptune’s average distance to the sun is about 4.5 billion kilometers. But “Planet Nine” could be 20 times farther away from the sun than that. While they did not get a picture of “Planet Nine” yet, the scientists say they are using the biggest and best telescopes on Earth to try to find it.
Brown and Batygin reported their finding in The Astronomical Journal. They say that this new planet is so large that there should be no doubt that it is a true planet, once they confirm it.
Robert Massey is with the Royal Astronomical Society in London. He told AFP that planets have been predicted before, and then were not found. But, he said the work of the these researchers is definitely worth following up. “It would be a really exciting thing to find. At the moment it’s simply a prediction.”
1.How was the evidence of the ninth planet found?
A. Through a special telescope
B. Through researchers’ direct observation
C. Through studying its special orbit in the solar system
D. Through mathematical modeling and computer simulations
2.What can we know about “Planet Nine” from the text?
A. It is much smaller than the earth
B. It travels a normal orbit like other planets
C. Its distance to the sun is about 90 billion kilometers
D. Its picture has been caught by the biggest and best telescope
3.What’s Robert’s attitude towards the discovery of “Planet Nine”?
A. Worried B. Supportive
C. Indifferent D. Opposed
4.What’s the best title for the text?
A. The discovery of the largest planet
B. A big prediction of the solar system
C. A ninth planet may be in the solar system
D. The ninth planet has been found in the solar system
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
In a surprising discovery about where higher life can survive, scientists have found a shrimp -like creature and a jellyfish swimming beneath an Antarctic ice sheet.
About 180 meters below the ice where no light can get through, scientists had figured nothing much more than a few microbes (微生物) could exist.
That’s why a NASA team was surprised when they lowered a video camera to get the first long look at the underbelly of an ice sheet in Antarctica. A curious shrimp-like creature came swimming by and then parked itself on the camera’s cable. Scientists also pulled up a tentacle (触须) they believe came from a jellyfish.
“We were operating on the presumption that nothing’s there.” said NASA ice scientist Robert Bindschadler. “It was a shrimp you’d enjoy having on your plate.”
“We were just gaga (狂热的) over it,” he said when talking about the 7.5cm long, orange creature starring in their two-minute video. Technically, it’s not a shrimp. It’s a Lyssianasid amphipod, which is distantly related to the shrimp.
The video is likely to inspire experts to rethink what they know about life in harsh environments. And it has scientists thinking that if shrimp-like creatures can live below 180 meters of Antarctic ice in freezing dark water, what about other cold places? What about Europa, a frozen moon of Jupiter?
Cynan Ellis – Evans, a scientist of the British Antarctic Survey called the finding fascinating. He said it was possible the creatures swam in from far away and don’t live there permanently.
But Kim, who is a co-author of the study, doubts it. “The site in West Antarctica is at least 19 km from open seas. Bindschadler drilled a 20 cm-wide hole and was looking at a tiny amount of water. That means it’s unlikely that two creatures swam from great distances and were captured randomly in that small area,” she said.
“Yet scientists were puzzled at what the food source would be for these creatures. While some microbes can make their own food out of chemicals in the ocean, complex life like the shrimp can’t,” Kim said.
“So how do they survive? That’s the key question.” Kim said.
“It’s pretty amazing when you find a huge puzzle like that on a planet where we thought we know everything.” Kim said.
1.. Scientists had believed that harsh environments could only have been populated by ______ .
A. jellyfish B. mammals C. microbes D. shrimp-like creatures
2. According to Kim, the shrimp-like creature _________ .
A. swam great distances to Antarctic B. has always lived in the area
C. gradually evolved from shrimps D. has nothing in common with shrimps
3. The finding is significant in that __________.
A. it marks NASA’S first Antarctic biological study
B. it proves there is marine life in the Antarctic
C. it could inspire further study of life in harsh environments
D. it shows that Lyssianasid amphipod is closely related to shrimps
4.. The last three paragraphs suggest that __________.
A. researchers will look at the places the creatures came from
B. ice scientists will drill deeper to find more creatures
C. scientists know very little about the planet they live on
D. further research will be done about what the creatures live on
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
Scientists have found living organisms trapped in crystals(晶体) that could be 50,000 years old.
The organisms were found in a hot, but beautiful cave system in Naica, Mexico. These ancient life forms can be seen only with a microscope. Penelope Boston, who leads the Astrobiology Institute at NASA, the space agency of the United States, says the ancient microbes(微生物) were able to live by eating minerals such as iron.
She spoke about the discovery recently at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. If the findings are confirmed, they will show how microbes can survive in extreme conditions. Forty different kinds of microbes and some viruses were found in the underground area. The genetic structures of these organisms are 10 percent different from those of their nearest relatives.
The caves in Naica are 800 kilometers deep. They were once used for mining lead. Before the miners began working in the caves, the area was separated from the surface and the outside world. Some of the caves are as big as the large religious centers built during Europe's Middle Ages. There are crystals covering the walls. The caves are so hot that scientists must wear special clothing to keep cool. The clothing keeps the crystals safe from human germs（病菌）or other damage. Boston said the researchers could only work for about 20 minutes at a time before they had to go to a room that was 38 degrees Celsius to cool down.
NASA officials would not let Boston share her findings with scientific experts before last week's announcement. So scientists could not say much about the findings. But Norine Noonan, a biologist with the University of South Florida, said she believed them. "Why are we surprised?" Noonan asked. "As a biologist, I would say life on Earth is extremely tough and extremely colorful."
Boston is also studying microbes commonly found inside caves in other countries, such as Ukraine and the United States. These microbes appear to be impossible to kill. Boston said they show how difficult life on Earth can be.
1.The existence of the ancient microbes relies on _______.
A. surrounding insects B. diverse plants
C. eating minerals D. absorbing air
2.What can we infer about the caves in Naica from the passage?
A. The walls are covered by crystals.
B. The temperature in the caves is quite low.
C. The caves have been explored since they were formed.
D. The environment in the caves is difficult to adapt to.
3.What is the biologist Norine Noonan’s attitude towards the findings?
A. Critical B. Positive.
C. Doubtful. D. Indifferent.
4.What’s the main idea of the passage?
A. Living organisms bring hope to scientific research.
B. Scientists Discover 50,000-year-old “super life” in Mexico.
C. Microbes show great power to survive in terrible conditions.
D. Caves provide living environment for living organisms.
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
Scientists have long puzzled over how iguanas, a group of lizards(蜥蜴) mostly found in the Americas, came to live in the isolated Pacific islands of Fiji and Tonga. Some scientists used to suppose that they must have traveled there on a raft, a journey of around 5,000 miles from South America to the islands. There are documented cases of iguanas reaching remote Caribbean islands and the Galapagos Islands on floating logs. But new research in January by Brice Noonan and Jack Sites suggested that iguanas may have simply walked to Fiji and Tonga when the islands were still a part of an ancient southern supercontinent.
The ancient supercontinent was made up of present-day Africa, Australia, Antarctica and parts of Asia. If that’s the case, the island species would need to be very old. Using “molecular (分子) clock” analysis of living iguanas’ DNA, Noonan and Sites found that, sure enough, the lineage of iguanas has been around for more than 60 million years—easily old enough to have been in the area when the islands were still connected by land bridges to Asia or Australia.
Fossils (化石) uncovered in Mongolia suggest that iguanid ancestors did once live in Asia. Though there’s currently no fossil evidence of iguanas in Australia, that doesn’t necessarily mean they were never there. “The fossil record of this continent is surprisingly poor and cannot be taken as evidence of true absence,” the authors write.
So if the iguanas simply walked to Fiji and Tonga from Asia or possibly Australia, why are they not also found on the rest of the Pacific islands? Noonan and Sites say fossil evidence suggests that iguana species did once inhabit other islands, but went extinct right around the time when humans settled in those islands. But Fiji and Tonga have a much shorter history of human presence, which may have helped the iguanas living there to escape extinction.
The researchers say that their study can’t completely rule out the rafting theory, but it does make the land bridge theory “far more reasonable than previously thought.”
1. What did some scientists previously believe about the iguanas?
A. They were once discovered in America.
B. They traveled by raft to Fiji and Tonga.
C. They could survive in poor living conditions.
D. They moved to Fiji and Tonga from Australia.
2.According to Noonan and Sites, 60 million years ago ____.
A. the land of the world was a supercontinent
B. Fiji and Tonga were connected to Asia or Australia
C. Africa, Australia and America were a continent
D. iguanas walked to Fiji and Tonga from Africa
3.The underline word “lineage” in Paragraph 2 probably refers to ____.
A. conditions in which creatures can survive
B. the change in ancient plants and animals.
C. the line of generations of an ancestor
D. the habitat of a type of an ancient animal
4. What is the main topic of this passage?
A. The life span of animals living on the ancient supercontinent.
B. The two islands being home to several iguana species in the Pacific region.
C. The fossil evidence suggesting iguanas’ ancestors’ swimming to Fiji and Tonga
D. By raft or by land — how did iguanas reach the tiny Pacific islands?
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Scientists have found living organisms trapped in crystals (晶体) that could be 50,000 years old.
The organisms were found in a hot, but beautiful cave system in Naica, Mexico. These ancient life forms can be seen only with a microscope. Penelope Boston, who leads the Astrobiology Institute at NASA, the space agency of the United States, says the ancient microbes were able to live by eating minerals such as iron.
She spoke about the discovery recently at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. If the findings are confirmed, they will show how microbes can survive in extreme conditions. Forty different kinds of microbes and some viruses were found in the underground area. The genetic structures of these organisms are 10 percent different from those of their nearest relatives.
The caves in Naica are 800 kilometers deep. They were once used for mining lead. Before the miners began working in the caves, the area was separated from the surface and the outside world. Some of the caves are as big as the large religious centers built during Europe’s Middle Ages. There are crystals covering the walls. The caves are so hot that scientists must wear special clothing to keep cool. The clothing keeps the crystals safe from human germs (病菌) or other damage. Boston said the researchers could only work for about 20 minutes at a time before they had to go to a room that was 38 degrees Celsius to cool down.
NASA officials would not let Boston share her findings with scientific experts before last week’s announcement. So scientists could not say much about the findings. But Norine Noonan, a biologist with the University of South Florida, said she believed them. “Why are we surprised?”Noonan asked. “ As a biologist, I would say life on Earth is extremely tough and extremely colorful.”
Boston is also studying microbes commonly found inside caves in other countries, such as Ukraine and the United States. These microbes appear to be impossible to kill. Boston said they show how difficult life on Earth can be.
1.The existence of the ancient microbes relies on ________.
A. surrounding insects B. eating minerals
C. diverse plants D. absorbing air
2.What can we infer about the eaves in Naica from the passage?
A. The temperature in the caves is quite low.
B. The environment in the caves is difficult to adapt to.
C. The walls are covered by crystals.
D. The caves have been explored since they were formed.
3.What is the biologist Norine Noonan’s attitude towards the findings?
A. Neutral. B. Doubtful.
C. Positive. D. Indifferent.
4.What’s the main idea of the passage?
A. Living organisms bring hope to scientific research.
B. Caves provide living environment for living organisms.
C. Microbes show great power to survive in terrible conditions.
D. Scientists Discover 50,000-year-old “super life” in Mexico.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析