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Bowhead whales (弓头鲸) can live 200 years or longer. How they do it is no longer among the secrets of the deep. Scientists have mapped the genetic code of this long-lived whale species. The international effort found unusual features in the Arctic whale’s genes. Those features likely protect the species against cancer and other problems related to old age.
“We hope to learn what is the secret for living longer, healthier lives,” says João Pedro de Magalhães. He is a gerontologist (a scientist who studies old age) at the University of Liverpool in England. He also is co-author of the study that appeared January 6 in Cell Reports. His team hopes, he says, that its new findings might one day be used “to improve human health and preserve human life.”
No other mammal is known to live as long as the bowhead. Scientists have shown that some of these whales have lived well beyond 100—including one that survived to 211. For perspective, if he were still alive, Abraham Lincoln would be turning just 206 this year. De Magalhães’ team wanted to understand how the bowhead can live so long. To study this, the experts analyzed the animal’s complete set of genetic instructions, called its genome (基因组). Those instructions are coded in the animal’s DNA. The team also compared the whale’s genome to those of people, mice and cows.
The scientists discovered differences, including mutations (突变), in the whale’s genes. Those changes are linked to cancer, aging and cell growth. The results suggest that the whales are better than humans at repairing their DNA. That’s important because damaged or flawed DNA can lead to diseases, including some cancers.
Bowheads also are better at keeping abnormally dividing cells in check. Together, the changes appear to allow bowhead whales to live longer without developing age-related diseases such as cancer, says de Magalhães.
1.What do we learn about bowhead whales?
A.Their average life is 100. B.They are the longest-lived animals.
C.They don’t have aging problems. D.They live in the Arctic Ocean.
2.Why did scientists map the genetic code of bowhead whales?
A.To discover the secret of long life.
B.To find out a cure for cancer.
C.To prevent age-related diseases.
D.To lengthen human life.
3.Why does the author mention Abraham Lincoln?
A.To remind us of the time he lived.
B.To show the long life of the bowhead.
C.To compare him with the bowhead.
D.To express people’s respect for him.
4.What allows the bowhead to live a longer and healthier life?
A.Good DNA repair system. B.Gene mutation.
C.Cell division. D.Perfect living environment.
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
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“How can we live longer?” many people wonder. Being sociable looks like a good way to add years to your life. Relationships with family, friends, neighbors, even pets, will all do the trick, but the biggest longevity (长寿) boost seems to come from marriage or an equal relationship. The effect was first noted in 1858 by William Farr, who wrote in 1858 by William Farr, who wrote that widows and widowers (鳏夫) were at a much higher risk of dying than their married peers. Studies since then suggest that marriage could add as much as seven years to a man’s life and two to a woman’s, The effect holds for all causes of death, whether illness, accident or self-harm.
Even though the odds are stacked against you (the conditions are not favourable to you), marriage can more than compensate. Linda Waite of the University of Chicago has found that a married older man with heart disease can expect to live nearly four years longer than an unmarried man with a healthy heart. Likewise, a married man who smokes more than a pack a day is likely to live as long as a divorced man who doesn’t smoke. There’s a less pleasant
side, however, as partners are more likely to become ill or die in the couple of years following their spouses; death, and caring for a spouse with mental disorder can leave you with some of the same severe problems. Even so, the odds favour marriage. In a 30-year study of more than 10,000 people, Nicholas Christakis of Harvard Medical School describes how all kinds of social networks have similar effects.
So how does it work? The effects are complex, affected by socioeconomic factor, health-service provision, emotional support and other more physiological mechanisms (机制). For example, social contact can boost development of the brain and immune system, leading to better health and less chance of depression later in life. People in supportive relationships may handle stress better. Then there are the psychological benefits of a supportive partner.
A life partner, children and good friends are all recommended if you aim to live to 100. The best social network is still being mapped out, but Christakis says: “People are interconnected so their health is interconnected.”
1.William Farr’s study and other studies show that ________.
A. social life provides an effective cure for illness
B. being sociable helps improve one’s quality of life
C. women benefit more than men from marriage
D. marriage contributes a great deal to longevity
2.What does the underlined word “compensate” in the second paragraph probably mean?
A. pay money B. provide something had
C. help recover D. increase damage
3.What does the author say about social network?
A. They have effects similar to those of a marriage.
B. They help develop people’s community spirit.
C. They provide timely support for those in need.
D. They help relieve people of their life’s burden.
4.What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
A. It’s important that we develop a social network when young.
B. To stay healthy, one should have a proper social network.
C. Getting a divorce means risking a reduced life span.
D. We should share our social networks with each other.
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
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—Though itin the desert most of the year, people still live there.
—That’s the case. They say east or west home is the best.
A．hasn’t rained B． didn’t rain C．doesn’t rain D．hadn’t rained
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
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Wolves are very ______: they can live in forests, on open plains, or in the snows of the Arctic.
A．adaptable B．adoptable C．available D．accessible
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
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Wolves are very ______: they can live in forests, on open plains, or in the snows of the Arctic.
A．adaptable B．adoptable C．available D．accessible
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
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For a few months twice a year, the waters off California are home to gray whales moving north or south between the coast of Mexico and the Bering Sea. This year, however, it seems that fewer whales are surviving the journey north. So far this year, a total of 30 dead gray whales have washed up on the West Coast: Eight in Washington, one in Oregon and 21 in California. Those numbers are unusually high.
In Northern California, three out of four of the dead whales that have been examined so far appear to have died of starvation and the fourth was killed by a ship strike, said Barbie Halaska, a research assistant at The Marine (海洋的) Mammal Center (TMMC), a nonprofit organization that rescues and rehabilitates (使康复) marine mammals in California. Halaska and her colleagues examined the four whales—three young whales and one adult male — and planned to examine the remaining dead whales in the region in the next couple of days.
Gray whales were once severely threatened by whalers. Only around 2,000 of them lived in the ocean in 1946, so an international agreement to stop gray whale hunting was signed in order to help the population recover. Gray whales were removed from the endangered species list in 1994 when the population reached 23,000 individuals and TMMC predicts there are now around 26,000 gray whales in the Pacific Ocean, which is about the number before the whaling boom got up steam almost 200 years ago.
Although the gray whale population has recovered to a certain degree, the number of dead whales washing up this year is alarming, Halaska said. Climate change and declining fish stocks are likely key factors in the whales’ poor health, she said .
Halaska stressed that boaters and beachgoers on the West Coast should watch out for gray whales this time of year.
1.What are the statistics in paragraph 3 about?
A.Severe conditions facing gray whales.
B.An agreement to stop killing whales.
C.The evolving development of gray whales.
D.The number of gray whales in different times.
2.What’s Halaska’s attitude towards the population of gray whale?
A.Worried. B.Discouraged.
C.Optimistic. D.Uncaring.
3.What may be talked about following the last paragraph?
A.The importance of gray whales.
B.Gray whales’ living environment.
C.Things to do to help gray whales .
D.Ways to increase gray whales’ population.
4.What can be a suitable title for the text?
A.Gray Whales Are Threatened by Whalers
B.Why Many Gray Whales Died on California’s Coast?
C.Gray Whales Are in Great Danger of Dying Out
D.Where Gray Whales Move to Avoid Being Hunt?
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
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Moby Dick,or The Whale,of which only 5 copies were sold in the year of its first publication,has been recognized as one of the greatest masterpieces of the twentieth century novels across the world.Yet its author,Herman Melville,was not blessed enough to change his fate as the great work did.
Herman was born into an upper class New York family in 1819,but he had to drop out of school at the age of 15due to bankruptcy （破产）of the family.He struggled for living by working as a clerk at a bank,a farmer and a primary school teacher,but did not manage to hold on quite long to any of the jobs.And in 1841,he turned himself a whaling sailor on a big whaler.
In the next three years,his sailor’s life was torn apart by betrayal,injury,living with anthropophagi（食人族）， love,killing,imprisonment,prison break,which did not bear the expected fruit of fortune or being a captain.
At the age of 25 ,Herman returned to America,starting his writing career.During the following five years,he published five novels,among which was Moby Dick,but none of the works brought him any fame or sense of success.
He had to live up with his poor life,supported by regular financial help from his father in-law.Not much changed even after his father-in-law assisted him onto a post at the customhouse(海关).His self-doubt whether he should fight to write as an author disturbed Herman for the rest of his life till his death in 1899,which is suggested in his wife’s diary.And his wife described his several struggles where he fought bitterly back to his desk to pick up his pen.
1.Which of the following statements is TRUE about Moby Dick according to the passage?
A. It came out as a published novel in the twentieth century.
B. It was not recognized as a great work until the twentieth century.
C. It was not for sale until the twentieth century.
D. It was adampted from the passage?
2.What can be inferred from the passage?
A. Herman chose his life on purpose to make himself a great writer.
B. Herman’s parents had scheduled those failures in his life to make him a man.
C. Herman did not offer the best of himself to foresee and avoid those series of misfortune.
D. Herman’s insufficient capability to fight problems he was faced with might result.
3.What is the first working element that built Herman up be a most outstanding writer?
A. His rich life experience and perseverance. B. His sharp sense to observe and think.
C. Help from his wife and father-in-law. D. His brilliant language talent and skill.
4.What can we learn from Herman’ life story?
A. There is no much point struggling and working too hard in one’s like.
B. Never invest too much of yourself into what others have the power to judge.
C. Never trust decisions that have been made by others.
D. Never doubt yourself but stick to what you are committed to.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
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Many Americans live on credit, and their quality of life is measured _________ how much they can borrow, not how much they can earn.
A. on top of B. in case of C. in terms of D. regardless of
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
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People often say that money talks. They mean that a person with a lot of money can say how he or she wants things done. But it is not easy to earn enough money to gain
this kind of power.Ask anyone in business. They will tell you that it is a jungle out there. The expression probably began because a jungle is filled with wild animals and unknown dangers that threaten people.
People in business have to be careful if they are to survive the jungle out there. They must not be led into making bogus investments. Bogus means something that is not real.
Nobody is sure how the word got started. But it began to appear in American newspapers in the 1800s. A newspaper in Boston, Massachusetts, said the word came from a criminal whose name was Borghese. Borghese wrote checks to people although he did not have enough money in the bank. After he wrote the checks, he would disappear. So, people who were paid with his checks received nothing. The newspaper said Americans shortened and changed the criminal’s name Borghese to Bogus.
People trying to earn money must be also aware of the risk of being ripped off. A writer for a magazine said he first saw the expression used in 1971. It was on a sign that a student carried during a protest demonstration at a university. The message on the sign was that the student felt cheated.
To be successful, a
person in business works hard and tries to get down to brass tacks. This expression means to get to the bottom or the most important part of something. For example, a salesman may talk about his product without saying the price. You get down to brass tacks when you say, “it sounds good, but how much does it cost?”Word expert Charles Funk thinks the expression comes from sailors on ships. They clean the bottom of a boat. When they have removed all the dirt, they are down to the copper pieces that hold the ship together. So, if we get down to brass tacks, we can prevent rip-offs and bogus ways of earning money in that jungle out there. And, some good luck will help, too.
1.Why do people say money talks?
A. Because the rich tend to decide a thing.
B. Because money can tell us something.
C. Because it is hard to earn much money.
D. Because everyone loves to have money.
2.My uncle is in a jungle out there, which means .
A. he will fight against wild animals
B. he is interested to go through a jungle
C. he will face many difficulties soon
D. he is a success in his own business
3.When you ask how much it cost, it means .
A. you declare you won’t be cheated
B. you get down to the real issues
C. you care nothing about the quality
D. you are always caring about money
4.It can be inferred from the passage that .
A. many English words have their interesting stories
B. brass is a necessary piece of equipment of a ship
C. many businessmen have been cheated in life
D. Charles Funk has created many interesting words
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
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People often say that Money talks. They mean that a person with a lot of money can say how he or she wants things done. But it is not easy to earn enough money to gain this kind of power.
Ask anyone in business. They will tell you that it is a jungle out there. The expression probably began because a jungle is filled with wild animals and unknown dangers that threaten people.
People in business have to be careful if they are to survive the jungle out there. They must not be led into making bogus investments. Bogus means something that is not real.
Nobody is sure how the word got started. But it began to appear in American newspapers in the 1800s. A newspaper in Boston, Massachusetts, said the word came from a criminal whose name was Borghese. Borghese wrote checks to people although he did not have enough money in the bank. After he wrote the checks, he would disappear. So, people who were paid with his checks received nothing. The newspaper said Americans shortened and changed the criminal’s name Borghese to Bogus.
People trying to earn money must be also aware of the risk of being ripped off. A writer for a magazine said he first saw the expression used in 1971. It was on a sign that a student carried during a protest demonstration at a university. The message on the sign was that the student felt cheated.
To be successful, a person in business works hard and tries to get down to brass tacks. This expression means to get to the bottom or the most important of something. For example, a salesman may talk about his product without saying the price. You get down to brass tacks when you say, “it sounds good, but how much does it cost?”
Word expert Charles Funk thinks the expression comes from sailors on ships. They clean the bottom of a boat. When they have removed all the dirt, they are down to the copper pieces that hold the ship together. So, if we get down to brass tacks, we can prevent rip-offs and bogus ways of earning money in that jungle out there. And, some good luck will help, too.
1.Why do people say money talks?
A. Because money can tell us something.
B. Because the rich tend to decide a thing.
C. Because everyone loves to have money.
D. Because it is hard to earn money.
2.My uncle is in a jungle out there, which means .
A. he is a success in his own business
B. he will face many difficulties soon
C. he will fight against wild animals
D. he is interested to go through a jungle
3.Borghese is considered to be a criminal .
A. because he used the word “bogus” for the first time
B. because he was accused of writing false checks
C. because he didn’t have enough money in the bank
D. because he disappeared after he paid some checks
4.When you ask how much it cost, it means .
A. you are always caring about money
B. you declare you won’t be cheated
C. you care nothing about the quality
D. you get down to the real issues
5.It can be inferred from the passage that .
A. Charles Funk has created many interesting words
B. brass is a necessary people of equipment of a ship
C. many businessmen have been cheated in life
D. many English words have their interesting stories
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
this kind of power.
person in business works hard and tries to get down to brass tacks. This expression means to get to the bottom or the most important part of something. For example, a salesman may talk about his product without saying the price. You get down to brass tacks when you say, “it sounds good, but how much does it cost?”