I used to think ants knew what they were doin...

I used to think ants knew what they were doing. The ones marching across my kitchen counter looked so confident; I just figured they had a plan, knew where they were going and what needed to be done. How else could ants organize highways, build elaborate nests, launch impressive attacks, and do all the other things ants do?

Turns out I was wrong. Ants aren’t clever little engineers, architects, or soldiers after all --- at least not as individuals. When it comes to deciding what to do next, most ants don’t have a clue. “If you watch an ant try to accomplish something, you’ll be impressed by how awkward it is,” says Deborah M. Gordon, a biologist at Stanford University.

“Ants aren’t smart,” Gordon says. “Ant colonies are.” A colony can solve problems unthinkable for individual ants, such as finding the shortest path to the best food source, assigning workers to different tasks, or defending a territory from neighbors. As individuals, ants might be tiny dummies, but as colonies they respond quickly and effectively to their environment. They do it with something called collective intelligence.

Where this intelligence comes from raises an essential question in nature: How do the simple actions of individual ants add up to the complex behavior of a group? How do hundreds of honey-bees make a critical decision about their hive (蜂巢)if many of them disagree? The collective abilities of such animals --- one of which grasps the big picture, but each of which contributes to the group’s success --- seem miraculous even to the biologists who know them best. Yet during the past few decades, researchers have come up with fascinating insights.

1.The author’s former false impression about ants is that he thought them to be _______.

A. smart　　 B. awkward　　 C. elaborate　　 D. creative

2.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Ants will function as a single body once a decision is made by the commander.

B. Ants are the only species which developed collective intelligence.

C. The ant queen plays a role in managing ant workers besides laying eggs.

D. An individual ant can’t comprehend the whole process of a big movement.

3.The paragraph following the passage will most probably deal with _______.

A. where we can observe such fantastic behavior of ants

B. which is the leading ant in charge of the action

C. how the collective intelligence works

D. what inspiration can be drawn from the collective abilities

高二英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析

There were smiling children all the way. Clearly they knew at what time the train passed their homes and they made it their business to stand along the railway，wave to complete strangers and cheer them up as they rushed towards Penang. Often whole families stood outside their homes and waved and smiled as if those on the trains were their favorite relatives. This is the simple village people of Malaysia. I was moved.

I had always traveled to Malaysia by plane or car，so this was the first time I was on a train. I did not particularly relish the long train journey and had brought along a dozen magazines to read and reread. I looked about the train. There was not one familiar face. I sighed and sat down to read my Economics.

It was not long before the train was across the Causeway and in Malaysia. Johore Baru was just another city like Singapore, so I was tired of looking at the crowds of people as they hurried past. As we went beyond the city, I watched the straight rows of rubber trees and miles and miles of green. Then the first village came into sight. Immediately I came alive；I decided to wave back.

From then on my journey became interesting. I threw my magazines into the waste basket and decided to join in Malaysian life. Then everything came alive. The mountains seemed to speak to me. Even the trees were smiling. I stared at everything as if I was looking at it for the first time.

The day passed fast and I even forgot to have my lunch until I felt hungry. I looked at my watch and was surprised that it was 3:00 p. m.. Soon the train pulled up at Butterworth. I looked at the people all around me. They all looked beautiful. When my uncle arrived with a smile，I threw my arms around him to give him a warm hug. I had never done this before. He seemed surprised and then his weather­beaten face warmed up with a huge smile. We walked arm in arm to his car.

I looked forward to the return journey.

1.he author expected the train trip to be ________.

A. exciting　　 B. pleasant

C. dull　　　　　 D. adventurous

2.What did the author remember most fondly of her train trip?

A. The friendly country people.

B. The mountains along the way.

C. The crowds of people in the streets.

D. The simple lunch served on the train.

3.Which of the following words can best take the place of the word“relish” in the second paragraph?

A. choose　　　　　　　 B. enjoy

C. prepare for　　　　 D. carry on

4.What can we learn from the story?

A. Comfort in traveling by train.

B. Pleasure of living in the country.

C. Reading gives people delight.

D. Smiles brighten people up.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

A

There were smiling children all the way. Charily they knew at what time the train passed their homes and they made it their business to stand along the railway, wave to complete strangers and cheer them up as they rushed towards Penang. Often whole families stood outside their homes and waved and smiled as if those on the trains were their favorite relatives. This is the simple village people of Malaysia. I was moved.

I had always traveled to Malaysia by plane or car, so this was the first time I was on a train. I did not particularly relish the long train journey and had brought along a dozen magazines to read and reread. I looked about the train. There was not one familiar face. I sighed and sat down to read my Economics.

It was not long before the train was across the Causeway and in Malaysia. Johore Baru was just another city like Singapore, so I was tired of looking at the crowds of people as they hurried past. As we went beyond the city, I watched the straight rows of rubber trees and miles and miles of green. Then the first village came into sight, Immediately I came alive; I decided to wave hack.

From then on my journey became interesting. I threw my magazines into the waste basket and decided to join in Malaysian life. Then everything came alive. The mountains seemed to speak to me. Even the trees were smiling. I stared at everything as if I was looking at it for the first time.

The day passed fast and I even forgot to have my lunch until I felt hungry. I looked at my watch and was surprised that it was 3:00 pm. Soon the train pulled up at Butterworth. I looked at the people all around me. They all looked beautiful. When my uncle arrived with a smile, I threw my arms around him to give him a warm hug (拥抱). I had never done this before. He seemed surprised and then his weather-beaten face warmed up with a huge smile. We walked arm in arm to his car. I looked forward to the return journey.

1.The author expected the train trip to be _______.

A．adventurous                           B．pleasant

C．exciting                               D．dull

2.What did the author remember most fondly of her train trip?

A．The friendly country people.

B．The mountains along the way.

C．The crowds of people in the streets.

D．The simple lunch served on the train.

3.Which of the following words can best take the place of the word“relish”in the second paragraph?

A．choose                               B．enjoy

C．prepare for                            D．carry on

4.What can we learn from the story?

A．Comfort in traveling by train.

B．Pleasure of living in the country.

C．Reading gives people delight.

D．Smiles brighten people up.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

There were smiling children all the way. Clearly they knew at what time the train passed their homes and they made it their business to stand along the railway, wave to complete strangers and cheer them up as they rushed towards Penang. Often whole families stood outside their homes and waved and smiled as if those on the trains were their favorite relatives. This is the simple village people of Malaysia. I was moved.

I had always traveled to Malaysia by plane or car, so this was the first time I was on a train. I did not particularly relish the long train journey and had brought along a dozen magazines to read and reread. I looked about the train. There was not one familiar face. I sighed and sat down to read my Economics.

It was not long before the train was across the Causeway and in Malaysia. Johore Baru was just another city like Singapore, so I was tired of looking at the crowds of people as they hurried past. As we went beyond the city, I watched the straight rows of rubber trees and miles and miles of green. Then the first village came into sight. Immediately I came alive; I decided to wave back.

From then on my journey became interesting. I threw my magazines into the waste basket and decided to join in Malaysian life. Then everything came alive. The mountains seemed to speak to me. Even the trees were smiling. I stared at everything as if I was looking at it for the first time.

The day passed fast and I even forgot to have my lunch until I felt hungry. I looked at my watch and was surprised that it was 3:00 pm. Soon the train pulled up at Butterworth. I looked at the people all around me. They all looked beautiful. When my uncle arrived with a smile, I threw my arms around him to give him a warm hug (拥抱). I had never done this before. He seemed surprised and then his weather-beaten face warmed up with a huge smile. We walked arm in arm to his car.

I looked forward to the return journey.

1. The author expected the train trip to be________ .

2. What did the author remember most fondly of her train trip?

3. Which of the following words can best take the place of the word "relish" in the second paragraph?

4. Where was the writer going?

5. What can we learn from the story?

高二英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析

There were smiling children all the way．Charily they knew at what time the train passed their homes and they made it their business to stand along the railway, wave to complete strangers and cheer them up as they rushed towards Penang．Often whole families stood outside their homes and waved and smiled as if those on the trains were their favorite relatives．This is the simple village people of Malaysia．I was moved．

I had always traveled to Malaysia by plane or car, so this was the first time I was on a train．I did not particularly relish the long train journey and had brought along a dozen magazines to read and reread．I looked about the train．There was not one familiar face．I sighed and sat down to read my Economics．

It was not long before the train was across the Causeway and in Malaysia．Johore Baru was just another city like Singapore, so I was tired of looking at the crowds of people as they hurried past．As we went beyond the city, I watched the straight rows of rubber trees and miles and miles of green．Then the first village came into sight, Immediately I came alive; I decided to wave back．

From then on my journey became interesting．I threw my magazines into the waste basket and decided to join in Malaysian life．Then everything came alive．The mountains seemed to speak to me．Even the trees were smiling．I stared at everything as if I was looking at it for the first time．

The day passed fast and I even forgot to have my lunch until I felt hungry．I looked at my watch and was surprised that it was 3:00 pm．Soon the train pulled up at Butterworth．I looked at the people all around me．They all looked beautiful．When my uncle arrived with a smile, I threw my arms around him to give him a warm hug （拥抱）．I had never done this before．He seemed surprised and then his weather-beaten face warmed up with a huge smile．We walked arm in arm to his car．

I looked forward to the return journey．

1.The author expected the train trip to be

A．adventurous                                    B．pleasant

C．exciting                                   D．dull

2.What did the author remember most fondly of her train trip?

A．The friendly country people．              B．The mountains along the way．

C．The crowds of people in the streets．   D．The simple lunch served on the train．

3.Which of the following words can best take the place of the word "relish" in the second paragraph?

A．choose              B．enjoy                C．prepare for         D．carry on

4.Where was the writer going?

A．Johore Baru,    B．The Causeway．  C．Butterworth,      D．Singapore．

5.What can we learn from the story?

A．Comfort in traveling by train．           B．Pleasure of living in the country．

C．Reading gives people delight．              D．Smiles brighten people up．

高二英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析

--- What do you think of the service of this hotel?

--- Excellent! They do their best to ______ the guests’ needs.

A. get across   B. cater to      C. give away   D. take over

高二英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析

---- ____?

---- Maybe the possible solutions to the air pollution.

A. Do you think what they are talking about

B. Do you think what are they talking about

C. What do you think they are talking aobut

D. What do you think are they talking about

高二英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析

听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。

1.What does the speaker think of the Middle Ages?

A. They were the Dark Ages.

B. They were an interesting time.

C. They were full of artistic works.

2.Where was the modern game of chess developed?

A. In India.　　 B. In. Persian　　 C. In Spain.

3.In which room can we see the fountain pen?

A. Room 11B.　　 B. Room12A　　 C. Room 12B.

4.What is the speaker doing?

A. Teaching history.　　 B. Having a meeting.　　 C. Conducting a tour

高二英语短文中等难度题查看答案及解析

When asked what they would volunteer to do, ________ said they were willing to do something they could.

A．half of these                           B．half of which

C．half of whom                           D．half of them

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

There was a(n)________silence in the live interview，when no one knew what to say to the audience.

A．ashamed　　 B．disappointed　　 C．desperate　　 D．awkward

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析