Both honeybees and ants are social insects that live in groups called colonies. They survive by means of their collective intelligence. Their decision-making power is distributed throughout the group; that is, no one ant or bee makes decisions for the group. Instead, they work together. As Deborah M. Gordon, a biologist at Stanford University, says,” Ants aren't smart. Ant colonies are.”
The same is true for bee colonies. Although bees and ants are quite different physically, they have a lot in common in terms of their social behavior. Specifically, honeybees and ants have similar roles within the colony, both have communication systems, and both have the capacity for learning.
Ants communicate by using chemicals called pheromones, which can alert others to danger or to a food source. For example, when worker ants find a promising source, they let the rest of the colony know how to find it by leaving a trail of pheromones on the way back to the colony. The other ants pick up the message using their sense of smell. Bees, on the other hand, use movement to communicate with each other. Worker bees send messages to each other by means of a “dance”. Different speeds and movements send different messages. For example, when worker bees called scouts go out to find a new home for the colony, they return and do a dance for the other worker bees that indicates the location of the new home and how suitable it is. The faster the scouts dance, the better the new location is.
Honeybees and ants are both capable of learning. One Chinese study found that bees can be trained to learn and remember a route to a food source. The researchers also found that bees can be taught to recognize hidden objects and use the concepts of “sameness” and “difference” to accomplish certain tasks. Ants take this one step further. Recent American research has shown that ants not only have the ability to learn, but also can teach their foraging skills to other younger ants.
They observed that older ants accompany young ants in search of food and teach them the route and how to avoid obstacles.
As we can see, the social behavior of honeybees and ants is quite similar. Both coordinate(协调) complex actions and accomplish survival tasks by cooperating in groups consisting of many individuals. Unintelligent as they may be as individuals, as groups they often show amazing brilliance as they go about their everyday activities.
1.What do ants and bees have in common?
A.They live in similar-sized colonies.
B.They make use of collective intelligence.
C.They have small leadership groups that make all decisions.
D.They use the same methods to communicate with each other.
2.What does the speed of a bee's dance indicate?
A.The quality of a new colony location.
B.The distance to a neighboring colony.
C.The discovery of a new food source.
D.The direction to a potential food source.
3.In paragraph 4, how does the author demonstrate the idea that Honeybees and ants are both capable of learning?
A.By using statistics.
B.By explaining reasons.
C.By referencing opinions.
D.By presenting study findings.
4.What is the benefit of collective intelligence?
A.It allows the colony to reproduce more rapidly.
B.It improves work cooperation within the colony.
C.It reduces the division of labor among members.
D.It enables individuals to teach each other new skills.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题
Both honeybees and ants are social insects that live in groups called colonies. They survive by means of their collective intelligence. Their decision-making power is distributed throughout the group; that is, no one ant or bee makes decisions for the group. Instead, they work together. As Deborah M. Gordon, a biologist at Stanford University, says,” Ants aren't smart. Ant colonies are.”
The same is true for bee colonies. Although bees and ants are quite different physically, they have a lot in common in terms of their social behavior. Specifically, honeybees and ants have similar roles within the colony, both have communication systems, and both have the capacity for learning.
Ants communicate by using chemicals called pheromones, which can alert others to danger or to a food source. For example, when worker ants find a promising source, they let the rest of the colony know how to find it by leaving a trail of pheromones on the way back to the colony. The other ants pick up the message using their sense of smell. Bees, on the other hand, use movement to communicate with each other. Worker bees send messages to each other by means of a “dance”. Different speeds and movements send different messages. For example, when worker bees called scouts go out to find a new home for the colony, they return and do a dance for the other worker bees that indicates the location of the new home and how suitable it is. The faster the scouts dance, the better the new location is.
Honeybees and ants are both capable of learning. One Chinese study found that bees can be trained to learn and remember a route to a food source. The researchers also found that bees can be taught to recognize hidden objects and use the concepts of “sameness” and “difference” to accomplish certain tasks. Ants take this one step further. Recent American research has shown that ants not only have the ability to learn, but also can teach their foraging skills to other younger ants.
They observed that older ants accompany young ants in search of food and teach them the route and how to avoid obstacles.
As we can see, the social behavior of honeybees and ants is quite similar. Both coordinate(协调) complex actions and accomplish survival tasks by cooperating in groups consisting of many individuals. Unintelligent as they may be as individuals, as groups they often show amazing brilliance as they go about their everyday activities.
1.What do ants and bees have in common?
A.They live in similar-sized colonies.
B.They make use of collective intelligence.
C.They have small leadership groups that make all decisions.
D.They use the same methods to communicate with each other.
2.What does the speed of a bee's dance indicate?
A.The quality of a new colony location.
B.The distance to a neighboring colony.
C.The discovery of a new food source.
D.The direction to a potential food source.
3.In paragraph 4, how does the author demonstrate the idea that Honeybees and ants are both capable of learning?
A.By using statistics.
B.By explaining reasons.
C.By referencing opinions.
D.By presenting study findings.
4.What is the benefit of collective intelligence?
A.It allows the colony to reproduce more rapidly.
B.It improves work cooperation within the colony.
C.It reduces the division of labor among members.
D.It enables individuals to teach each other new skills.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
The fact that ants are fascinating insects has been known for some time. Now, scientists have discovered a large number of wood ants living in an abandoned underground storehouse in Templewo, Poland, despite having no obvious source of food.
Polish zoologist Wojciech Czechowski and his team began studying the underground colony in 2013. They found the ants built a 60-cm high nest in the soil directly over the storehouse vertical air pipe. As years passed, the metal covering on the pipe eroded, leaving behind a hole that thousands of worker ants accidentally slip into each day as they go about their daily chores. The scientists say that there are no sources of food in the storehouse. This means that the insects live in a state of near starvation.
In July 2015, the researchers disturbed part of the ant nest in search of larvae (幼虫), cocoons(茧), and queens. They found nothing, leading them to suspect that the lack of food and cold temperatures made reproduction impossible and that the group tending the nest is entirely made up of non-reproductive female workers. Their population is refilled every year, by a new rain of unfortunate ants that slide down the hole. The researchers say that when they returned in January 2016, the nest had been repaired. It appears that despite the terrible conditions, the worker ants do not stop constructing their nest.
Wood ants are known for their ability to adapt to bad living conditions. In this case, the millions of worker ants trapped in the storehouse have no choice. But instead of losing hope, they are making the best of the situation—a classic example of “when life gives you lesions make lemonade.”
1.How did the wood ants arrive in the storehouse?
A. They fell down there by accident.
B. The research team brought them there.
C. The storehouse builders left them there.
D. They were attracted by the environment.
2.What does the underlined word “eroded” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?
A. Expanded. B. Rotted.
C. Exploded. D. Melted.
3.What did the researchers find in the nest?
A. Larvae. B. Cocoons.
C. A queen. D. Worker ants.
4.Why did the population of wood ants remain steady?
A. They had enough food.
B. They were able to reproduce.
C. They adapted to the conditions.
D. They had new comers to join them.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Living in a culture that is different from your own can be both an exciting and challenging experience. You have to learn different cultural practices and try to adapt to them.
1.. They talk about topics such as ages, income or marital status, which Americans think are annoying.
In China, elders are traditionally treated with enormous respect and dignity while the young are cherished and nurtured. In America, the goal of the family is to encourage independence, particularly that of the children. 2.
Chinese people have different meanings to define friends.3.. Friendship means lifelong friends who feel deeply obligated to give each other whatever help might seem required. Americans always call people they meet friends, so the definition of friends is general and different. There are work friends, playing friends, school friends and drinking friends.
As is well known, Chinese like to save.4.. It is different in the USA, where far fewer families are saving money for emergencies and education than Chinese people.
5. If you achieve something in the US, it's because you are great. While in China, if you achieve something it's because the team, or family, or company is great. Everything you do gets attributed to the greater whole, while in America individual virtues are celebrated.
A.Just hanging out together from time to time is not friendship
B.American people put more emphasis on business and virtues
C.Chinese people value education and career more than Americans
D.Unlike Chinese, older Americans seldom live with their children
E.They are always conservative when they are planning to spend money
F.Basically China values the community and the US values the individual
G.Chinese people do not have the same concept of privacy as Americans do
高二英语七选五中等难度题查看答案及解析
_____ teens are using the Internet for both social and intellectual development, they are also facing significant challenges on how to manage their relationships online.
A.Unless B.While C.Once D.Until
高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
As a middle school student, you are in an age group that is both fascinating and complex. You are no longer a “baby”, but you are not yet an adult. You are experiencing biological, physical, and behavioral and social changes. Relationships with your friends and family take on new meanings. This time period, called adolescence, can be joyful and painful at the same time. However, it is always a time of growth. You will be dealing with more complex intellectual tasks. You will be expected to behave in a more mature manner and you will be held more responsible for your actions. In other words, you are growing up. Use your curiosity, imagination, energy, and idealism to make your school an exciting place to learn and play.
As an adolescent, you now have more control over how you apply yourself to your school work and on the kinds of friends you make. As an intelligent and thinking adolescent, be aware of health risks to avoid such as involvement with drugs, alcohol, tobacco, and sexual activity. This involvement reduces your quality of life. Be kind and gentle to yourself, seek the advice and wisdom of your parents/guardians regularly, and talk with your teachers and school counselor.
Middle school students are expected to be respectful and considerate of others. You are responsible for your behavior. Think of ways to improve your behavior
△in your classroom
△in the lunchroom
△on school grounds
△during school activities
△on the school bus
△in your community
If you need assistance in working on ways to improve yourself as a person, contact your counselor. The counselor is trained to help students solve personal problems.
1.A middle school student is considered to be a(n) ______.
A. baby B. adolescent C. adult D. wiser
2.Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
A. Being a middle school student can be painful and joyful at the same time.
B. Middle school students are expected to behave in a more mature manner.
C. Curiosity and imagination are to be considered part of middle school life.
D. It’s hoped that middle school students will improve their behavior after school.
3.What are middle school students warned of in the passage?
A. Dealing with more complex tasks.
B. Applying themselves to their school work.
C. Involvement with drugs or alcohol.
D. Association with their parents or teachers.
4.What is a school counselor responsible for according to the passage?
A. Management of everything at work.
B. Assisting students with their problems.
C. Control of students’ issues in study.
D. Contact between students and parents.
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Recently in the hope of earning both money and social experience, I became a door-trw door salesman.
I once read a saying. “If somebody wants something of yours, you will be treated as warmly as spring, but if they don’t you may be treated as coldly as winter.” You may consider this an exaggeration (夸张), but if you are a salesman, it is clearly correct.
You would never have found it to be so true if you hadn’t been a salesman. You needn’t stand doubtful looks and unfriendly comments; you needn’t listen to something completely wrong and nod to say that it was quite right, you needn’t worry about being refused time after time; you needn’t always keep patience and a smile; you needn’t repeat the same sentences over and over again; you needn’t talk to somebody you dislike ....
I did this work for a month, then I decided to give it up; Apart from the reasons above, I found I was paying too much attention to the job and thus sacrificing my study time. The latest test result proved that my grades were getting worse.
Even worse, I hadn’t enough time to join my classmates in college activities. Some times 1 felt lonely and unhappy because of both my study and my part-time job. Now I don’t think it is worth doing such a thing for even though I was earning money it came at great cost.
Newspapers and magazines often publish stories about excellent students who do part-time work while also keeping high scores in class. But according to my experience, park-time work can have some strong negative influences on study.
Most students don’t view the relationship between study and work correctly. In my opinion, if it isn’t a must for financial reasons, students should be careful about taking up a part-time job.
1. From the text, we can tell that the writer is _____.
A. an unemployed man B. a middle-school student
C. a college student D. a door-to-door salesman
2.Which of the following words has the closest meaning to the underlined word “sacrificing”?
A. Losing B. Wasting C. Using D. Getting
3.The writer thought_____.
A. doing a part-time job was unnecessary
B. part-time jobs had good effect upon study
C. it was hard to deal with the relationship between study and work
D .part-time jobs would be good for every college student
4.What would be the best title for the text _____.
A. Part-time Jobs Are Useful B. Part-time Jobs Can Cost Dear
C. Students Shouldn’t Take Part-time Jobs D. Part-time Jobs Are Important to Many Students
高二英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析
Forest are amazing and so are the animals that live in them. We enjoy watching TV shows about bears, bats or monkeys. We know a lot about their lives: how they find food or what they do at different times of the year. But what about smaller animals that are more difficult to see or film?
Many small animals that live in forests are very important for the soil. A French scientist, Francois Xavier Joly, is studying one of them — the millipede(千足虫).
The importance of leaves
When the leaves begin to die in fall, they turn from green to yellow and fall from the trees. As they decompose on the ground, nutrients(营养物质) are returned to the soil and carbon dioxide to the air. Life in the forest needs these nutrients. Without them, plants could not grow and there would be no food for animals such as the millipede.
Food on the forest floor
Some living things, like mushrooms, break the leaves into smaller pieces and eat them. In a few months there is nothing left of them. But for mushrooms, not all trees are the same. Mushrooms prefer some types of leaves to others. This means that some leaves take much longer to be broken down than others. Sometimes it takes years. So what happens to these? This is where the millipede can help.
More on the menu
The millipede also likes leaves and it eats any type. But when it has finished, it produces waste. This waste then becomes the food of mushrooms. When mushrooms eat leaves they choose only certain types but when they eat waste, they will eat any kind. This is how the millipede turns dead leaves into food for others and helps life continue.
So next time you are walking through a forest, remember that something may be having a meal right under your feet.
1.According to the passage, what can we learn about the millipede?
A. It can often be seen on TV shows.
B. It mostly feeds on the nutrients in the soil.
C. It is too small to be noticed by people.
D. It lives under mushrooms in the forest.
2.What does the underlined word "decompose" in Paragraph 3 mean?
A. Break down.
B. Dry up.
C. Dig in.
D. Make out.
3.What does the author want to tell us by mentioning mushrooms?
A. The millipede eats mushrooms in the forest.
B. The millipede helps to provide food for mushrooms.
C. Mushrooms play an important part in helping millipedes out.
D. Mushrooms decide what types of leaves the millipede will eat.
4.According to the author, the millipede is ________.
A. poisonous
B. rare
C. unimportant
D. amazing
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
短文改错 （每小题1分，满分10分）
We are now living in an information world that TV, cell phones and the Web are wide used. It seems that many people can not enjoy them without them. However, if I had to give up one of them, I will turn off the TV rather than switch off my cell phone and cut off the Internet. I could do without TV because few show take my fancy and there’re too many commercials. Besides, most programs on the TV are also available elsewhere. As for cell phones and the Web, they are more necessarily to me. I need a cell phone to keep touch with my friends and family, and almost all information can be gather on the Internet.
高二英语短文改错中等难度题查看答案及解析
Studies show that kids living and studying in a harmonious environment are less likely to become .
A. abnormal B. aggressive
C. alarmed D. opposed
高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
语法填空
Yuppies are young people who earn a lot of money and live in____1._ style that is too expensive for most people. If you are invited to a yuppie dinner party, don't be surprised ____2.___ you are offered freshly-cooked insects as a first course. While the idea of eating fried insects fills most of us with horror, insect-eating is becoming highly ____3.____(fashion). For example, in the media industry, successful executives ____4._____(see) to eat fried or boiled insects from time to time while working at their desks. These safe-to-eat insects can be found and ordered on the Internet. And young people are logging on to exotic food websites ____5.____ ordering samples of prepared insects to serve at their dinner parties. Although the idea of eating insects is probably ______6.___(disgust) to most of us, _____7.___ people would claim that pigs, chickens and some kinds of seafood we often eat are examples of great beauty. One day insects could be marketed and sold ____8.___ a food item in supermarkets. According to their fans, they are not only ___9.__ in protein and low in fat, but also very tasty. But until our attitudes to food change fundamentally, it seems ___10.___ insect-eaters will remain a few.
高二英语语法填空中等难度题查看答案及解析