Suppose we built a robot to explore the planet Mars. We provide the robot with s
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Suppose we built a robot to explore the planet Mars. We provide the robot with seeing detectors(探测器) to keep it away from danger. It is powered entirely by the sun. Should we program the robot to be equally active at all times? No, the robot would be using up energy at a time when it was not receiving any. So we would probably program it to stop its activity at night and to wake up at dawn the next morning.
According to evolutionary(进化的) theory of sleep, evolution equipped us with a regular pattern of sleeping and waking for the same reason. The theory does not deny that sleep provides some important restorative functions. It merely says that evolution has programmed us to perform those functions at a time when activity would be inefficient and possibly dangerous. However, sleep protects us only from the sort of trouble we might walk into; it does not protect us from trouble that comes looking for us. So we sleep well when we are in a familiar, safe place, but we sleep lightly, if at all, when we fear that bears will nose into the tent.
The evolutionary theory explain the differences in sleep among creatures. Why do cats, for instance, sleep so much, while horses sleep so little? Surely cats do not need five times as much repair and restoration as horses do. But cats can afford to have long periods of inactivity because they spend little time eating and are unlikely to be attacked while they sleep. Horses must spend almost all their waking hours eating, because what they eat is very low in energy value. Moreover, they cannot afford to sleep too long or too deeply, because their survival depends on their ability to run away from attackers.
小题1:The author uses the example of the robot in space exploration to tell us _______. | A．the differences between robots and men | | B．the reason why men need to sleep | | C．about the need for robots to save power | | D．about the danger of men working at night |
小题2:Evolution has programmed man to sleep at night chiefly to help him ______.| A．keep up a regular pattern of life | | B．prevent trouble that comes looking for him | | C．avoid danger and inefficient labor | | D．restore his bodily functions |
小题3:Which of the following is the main idea of the passage?| A．Evolution has equipped all creatures with a regular pattern of sleeping and waking. | | B．The study of sleep is an important art of the evolutionary theory. | | C．Sleeping patterns must be taken into consideration in the designing of robots. | | D．The sleeping pattern of a living creature is determined by the food it eats. |
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答案
小题1:B
小题2:C
小题3:A |
解析
本文介绍了有关睡觉进化论方面的知识。
小题1:推断题。根据文章第2段第1句evolution equipped us with a regular pattern of sleeping and waking for the same reason可推知此题答案为B。
小题2:推断题。根据文章第2段第3句when activity would be inefficient and possibly dangerous可推知此题答案为C。
小题3:推断题。根据文章第2段第1句和第3段第1句可推知此题答案为 A。 |
举一反三
Education is not an end, but a means to an end. In other words, we do not educate children only for the purpose of educating them. Our purpose is to fit them for life.
In some modem countries it has for some time been fashionable to think that by free education for all — one can solve all the problems of society and build a perfect nation. But we can already see that free education for all is not enough; we find in such countries a far larger number of people with university degree; they refuse to do what they think “low” work; and, in fact, work with hands is thought to be dirty and shameful in such countries. But we have only to think a moment to understand that the work of a completely uneducated farmer is far more important than that of a professor; we can live without education, but we die if we have no food. If no one cleaned our streets and took the rubbish away from our houses, we should get terrible diseases in our towns…
In fact, when we say that all of us must be educated to fit us for life, it means that we must be educated in such a way that, firstly, each of us can do whatever work suited to his brains and ability and, secondly, that we can realize that all jobs are necessary to society, and that is very bad to be ashamed of one’s work. Only such a type of education can be considered valuable to society.
小题1:The writer of the passage thinks that _______.| A．education can settle most of the world’s problems | | B．free education for all probably leads to a perfect world | | C．free education won’t help to solve problems | | D．all the social problems can’t be solved by education |
小题2:The writer wants to prove that _______.| A．our society needs all kinds of jobs | | B．our society needs free education for all | | C．a farmer is more important than a professor | | D．work with hands is the most important |
小题3:The purpose of education is _______.| A．to choose officials for the country | | B．to prepare children mainly for their future work | | C．to let everyone receive education fit for him | | D．to build a perfect world |
小题4:The passage tells us about _______ of the education.| A．the means | B．the system | C．the value | D．the type |
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“It hurts me more than you”, and “This is for your own good” —these are the statements my mother used to make years ago when I had to learn Latin, clean my room, stay home and do homework.
That was before we entered the permissive period in education in which we decided it was all right not to push our children to achieve their best in school. The schools and the educators made it easy for us. They taught that it was all right to be parents who take a let-alone policy. We stopped making our children do homework. We gave them calculators, turned on the television, left the teaching to the teachers and went on vacation.
Now teachers, faced with children who have been developing at their own pace for the past 15 years, are realizing we’ve made a terrible mistake. One such teacher is Sharon Clomps who says of her students—“so passive” —and wonders what has happened. Nothing is demanded of them, she believes. Television, says Clomps, contributes to children’s passivity. “We’re talking about a generation of kids who’ vet never been hurt or hungry. They have learned somebody will always do it for them, instead of saying ‘go and look it up’, you tell them the answer. It takes greater energy to say no to a kid.”
Yes, it does. It takes energy and it takes work. It’s time for parents to end their vacation and come back to work. It’ s time to take the car away, to turn the TV off, to tell them it hurts you more than them but it’ s for their own good. It’s s time to start telling them no again.
小题1:Children are becoming more inactive in study because _______.| A．they watch TV too often | B．they have done too much homework | | C．they have to fulfill too many duties | D．teachers are too strict with them |
小题2:We learn from the passage that the author’s mother used to lay emphasis on _______.| A．learning Latin | B．discipline | | C．natural development | D．education at school |
小题3: By “permissive period in education” (L.1, Para.2) the author means a time _______.| A．when children are allowed to do what they wish to | | B．when everything can be taught at school | | C．when every child can be educated | | D．when children are permitted to receive education |
小题4:The main idea of the passage is that _______.| A．parents should leave their children alone | | B．kids should have more activities at school | | C．it’s time to be more strict with our kids | | D．parents should always set a good example to their kids |
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There are robots all around us. Some do very complicated jobs like flying airplanes and driving subway trains. and some do one simple job. When an automatic washing machine is switched on, water pours in. The machine waits until the water is warm enough for washing clothes. It does this by “feedback”(反馈). Information about what is happening is feedback into the robot to tell what to do next. Our eyes, ears and other senses are our feedback. They tell us what is going on around us. So robots are like human beings in two ways.
They work and they have feedback.
In some ways robots are better than human beings. They work quickly and do not make mistakes. They do not get bored doing the same job over and over again. And they never get tired. So robots are very useful in factories. They can be taught to do many different jobs. First their electronic brain must be shown how the job is done. A person moves the robot’s “arms” and “hands” through each part of the job.
The most intelligent robots can move and see. Their eyes are cameras. Their fingers can feel shapes and sizes of the objects. These robots have computer brains linked to their eyes and fingers, which control their actions. The expensive robots are used in scientific research. They do such job as handling radioactive materials.
小题1: In this passage the author tells us that ________.| A．robots are very popular | | B．there are various kinds of robots | | C．we see robots only at certain times | | D．robots can be easily controlled |
小题2:What does the author seem to inform you about robots?| A．They should be greatly improved. | | B．They will probably take over in the future. | | C．They are very helpful and useful to humans. | | D．They are machines that break down a lot. |
小题3:The author says that in industry ________.| A．robots break down a lot | | B．robots can do many jobs | | C．robots only get in the way | | D．robots sometimes cause troubles |
小题4: The fact that a robot never gets bored doing the same job means that _______.| A．it is very much like human beings | | B．it can do boring jobs for people | | C．it will never bore people | | D．it will work much better than human beings |
小题5: The robots used for scientific research _______.| A．are not very clever | | B．are very cheap | | C．are very big | | D．are very costly |
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The blue tits(山雀) have been inspecting the nest-box again this year. The male is the house-hunter but the female will make the final choice. He lands at the hole and turns his head to expose his white cheeks as a signal to attract the female from where she has been feeding.
Among many birds that nest in holes, the male has a light-coloured patch on its plumage(鸟羽) which acts as signal for drawing the female’s attention to a suitable nesting-place. Unlike the blue tit, the redstart(红尾鸲) may be only the male that strikingly coloured and the female is not beautiful.
A few years ago I was lucky enough to spot a pair of redstarts in action in a Walsh wood. The male was leading an interested female to holes that he had previously(先前) checked out. He sat at the entrance of each hole and put his head on to show off his white forehead, or his head in to reveal(显露) his tail.
If the female failed to react to his visual signals, the male sometimes sang for extra effect, while gliding towards her on spread wings and tail. Once the female accepts by following the male through the hole the displays stop, you must be at the right place at the right time to watch them.
小题1:How do the blue tits choose their nest?| A．They choose their nest together. | | B．The male chooses their nest. | | C．The house-hunter chooses their nest. | | D．The female chooses their nest. |
小题2:The writer was lucky to see ________. | A．how the male made his tricks | | B．how an interested female played with the male happily | | C．what the male displayed and won the female | | D．that the male tried his best but failed to attract the female |
小题3:You can spot a pair of redstarts in a Walsh wood ________. | A．at any time | B．regularly | C．in April | D．occasionally |
小题4:The writer is probably ________. | A．a bird expert | B．a bird-hunter | | C．a bird raiser | D．a scientist |
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The global energy crisis is approaching. What can we do? Here are some steps you can take.
Cooling puts the greatest stress on your summer energy bill and the power grid(电网). Just as t tune-up for your car can improve your gas mileage, a yearly tune-up of your heating and cooling system can improve efficiency and comfort. Clean or replaces filters monthly or as needed.
For central air conditioning systems and room air conditioners, look for the ENERGY STAR, the federal government’s symbol for energy efficiency. For central air, purchase the system with the highest possible Seasonal Energy Efficiency Raton. (SEER)
Use energy-efficient ceiling fans either alone or with air conditioning. Ceiling fans do a great job of circulating air. When used with air conditioning, fans allow you to raise the thermostat(恒温器) and cut costs. Ceiling fans cool people, not rooms, so before you leave; turn off the ceiling fan.
Let a programmable thermostat! “remember for you” to automatically adjust the indoor climate with your daily and weekend patterns to reduce cooling bills by up to 10 percent. You can come home to a comfortable house without wasting energy and cresting pollution all day while you are at work.
Try to make your home airtight enough to increase your comfort, make your home quieter and cleaner and reduce your cooling costs up to 20 percent.
Gut your air conditioning load, and reduce pollution by planting planting leafy trees around your home and fixing reflective bricks on your roof.
Close blinds or shades on south-and west-facing windows during the day, or fix shading equipment to avoid heat build-up.
Turn off everything not in use: lights, TVs, computers. And use fluorescent bulbs(荧光灯), which provide bright, warm light while using at least two-thirds less energy, producing 70 percent less heat and lasting up to 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs(白炽灯).
Drive the car that gets better gas mileage whenever possible if you own more than one vehicle. If you drive 12,500 miles a year, switching 10 percent of your trips from a car that gets 20 mils per gallon to one that gets 30 mpg will save you more than ￡65 per year.
Carpool. The average U.S. commuter(乘车上班族) could save about ￡260 a year by sharing cars twice a week with two people in a car that gets 20.1 mpg---assuming the three passengers share the cost of gas.
小题1:According to the passage, the thermostat is used to ______.| A．make rooms quieter | B．control room temperature | | C．turn off the air conditioner | D．reduce room air pollution |
小题2:We can conclude from the passage that the author probably discourages ______.| A．planting leafy trees around your home | | B．turning off the ceiling fan before you leave your house | | C．keeping your south-facing windows open during the day | | D．using fluorescent bulbs instead of incandescent bulbs |
小题3:According to the passage, you can save fuel by ______.| A．using energy-efficient ceiling fans | B．sharing cars with others on workdays | | C．turning off everything not in use | D．reducing 10% of your car trips every year |
小题4:This passage is mainly about ______.| A．energy-saving tips | B．fuel-saving tips | | C．do-it-yourself tips | D．environment-protecting tips |
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