Reading comprehension. A recent study of ancient and modern elephant has com
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| Reading comprehension. |
A recent study of ancient and modern elephant has come up with the unexpected conclusion that the
African elephant is divided into two distinct (不同的) species.
The discovery was made by researchers at York and Harvard University when they were examing the
genetic relationship between the ancient woolly mammoth and mastodon modern elephants-the Asian
elepphant, African forest elephant, and African savanna elephant.
Once they obastain DNA sequences (序列) from two fossils (化石), mammoths and mastodons, the
team comparted them with DNA from modern elephants. They found their amazement that mordern forest
and savanna elephants are as distinct from each other as Asian elephants and mammoths.
The scientists used detailed genetic analysis to prove that the African savanna elephant and the African
forest elephant have been distinct species for several million years. The divergence of the two species took
place around the time of the divergence of Asian elephants and woolly mammoths. This result amazed all
the scientists.
There has long been debate in the scientific community that the two might be separate species, but this
is the most convincing scientific evidence so far that they are indeed different species.
Previously, many naturalists believed that African savanna elephants and African forest elephants were
two populationgs of the same species, despite the elephants" significant size differences. The savanna elephant
has an average shoulder height of 3.5 metres while the forest elephant has an averate shoulder double the
weight of the forest elephant. But the fact that they look so differrent does not neccssarily mean they are
different species. However, the proof lay in the analysis of the DNA.
Alfried Roca, assitant professor in the Department of Animal Sciences at t he University of Illinois, said,
"We now have to treat the forest and savanna elephants as two difficult units for conservation purpose.
Since 1950, all Afican elephants have been conserved as one species. Now that we know the forest and
savanna elephants have been distinct animals, the forest elephant should become a bigger priority (优先) for
conservation purposes." |
| 1. One of the fossiles studied by the researchers is that of _____. |
A. the Asian elephant
B. the forest elephant
C. the savanna elephant
D. the maslodon elephant |
| 2. The underlined word "divergence" in Paragraph 4 means "_____". |
A. evolution
B. exhibition
C. separation
D. examination |
| 3. The researchers" conclusion was based on a study of the African elephant"s _____. |
A. DNA
B. height
C. weight
D. population |
| 4. What are Alfred Roca"s words mainly about? |
A. The conservation of Afican elephant
B. The purpose of studying Afican elephant
C. The way to divide Afican elephants into two units
D. The renson for the distinction of African elephants |
| 5. Which of the following can be the best tille for the passage? |
A. Naturalist" Beliefs about Elephants
B. Amazing Experiments about Elephants
C. An Unexpected Finding ahout Elephants
D. A Long Scientifif Debate about Elephants |
答案
| 1-5: DCAAC |
举一反三
Directions: Read the following passage. Fill in the numbered blanks by using the information from the passage.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer. |
A person searches various websites for different reasons, such as school, work, or entertaiment. For
teenagers, many information resousces on the Internet can be used. As a matter of fact, there are educational,
music and art websites that are truly helpful to teeagers, because they can help make one"s life easier.
Education websites are helpful to a teenager in doing school work and searching for a colleag. Some can
help studying for testes, explaining a lesson, and doing homeward.Some can help find the right school based
on one"s interests. And still others have pages devoted to the social life at each colleges or the species activities
that at a certain school. Some free music sites enable a teenager to diversify their musical_ tastes. On these
sites, all types of music are available such as pop, jazz and country. One can type in a song,category or artist
and his or her entire catalog appears. Then the listener can make multiple play lists without creating an account
(账户) with the site. There various art websites that can help students to appreciate and create art pieces. On
these sites, a student can view numerous photos and art pieces from different. Mediums or create an account
with the website to upload their art pieces for people to see. In addition, one can enjoy various art people have
created on display for the rest of the world.Truly informative resources offered on the Internet. The best
suggestion one can receive is to try to look for new websites that can help in the educational,music, or art area
so one can become well-rounded and informed. |
Truly Helpful Websites for Teenagers
Many 1______ are available on various websites.
I. Educational sites: helping one 2______ and search for a college
· Study for tests, explain a lesson, and do homework
· Find the right school that one 3______
· learn information about college social life and 4______
II. Free music sites; 5______ to diversify musical tastes
· Listen to all types of music
· Type in a song, category, or artist to get an entire catalog
· make multiple playlists 6______
III. 7______; helping one appreciate and create works
· View photos and works from mediums
· 8______ for others to see
· 9______ on display
Helpful websites can make teenagers 10______ |
| 阅读理解。 |
We know the famous ones-the Thomas Edisons and the Alexander Graham Bells-but what about the less
famous inventors? What about the people who invented the traffic light and the windshield wiper (雨刮器)?
Shouldn"t we know who they are?
Joan Mclean thinks so. In fact, Mclean, a professor of physics at Mountain University in Range, feels so
strongly about this matter that she"s developed a course on the topic. In addition to learning "who" invented
"what", however, Mclean also likes her students to learn the answers to the "why" and "how" questions.
According to Mclean, "When students learn the answers to these questions, they are better prepared to
recognize opportunities for inventing and more motivated to give inventing a try."
So,just what is the story behind the windshield wiper? Well, Mary Anderson came up with the idea in 1902
after a visit to Mew York City. The day was cold and stormy, but Anderson still wanted to see the sights, so
she jumped aboard a streetcar. Noticing that the driver was struggling to see through the snow covering the
windshield, she found herself wondering why there couldn"t be a buolt-in devic for cleaing the window. Still
wondering about this when she returned home to Birmingham, Alabama, Anderson started drafting out solutions.
One of her ideas, a lever (操作杆) on the inside of a vehicle that would contral an arm on the outside, became
the first windshield wiper.
Today we benefit from countless inventions and innovations,It"s hard to imagine driving without Garrett A.
Morgan"s traffic light. It"s equally impossible to picture a world without Katherine J. Blodgett"s innovation that
makes glass invisible. Can you picture life without clear windows and eyeglasses? |
| 1. By mentionong "traffic light" and "windshield wiper", the author indicates that countless inventions are _____. |
A. beneficial, because their inventors are famous
B. beneficial, though their inventors are less famous
C. not useful, because their inventors are less famous
D. not useful, though their inventors are famous |
| 2. Professor Joan McLean"s course aims to _____. |
A. add colour and variety to students" campus life
B. inform students of the windshield wiper"s invention
C. carry out the requirements by Mountain University
D. prepare students to try theie own invention |
| 3. Tommy Lee"s invention of the unbreakable umbrella was _____. |
A. not eventually accepted by the umbrella producer
B. inspired by the story behind the windshield wiper
C. due to his dream of being caught in a rainstorm
D. not related to Professor Joan McLean"s lectures |
| 4. Which of the following can best serve as the title of this passage? |
A. How to Help Students to Sell Their Inventions to Producers?
B. How to Design a Built-in Dervice for Cleaning the Window?
C. Shouldn"t We Know Who Inventd the Windshield Wiper?
D. Shouldn"t We Develop Invention Courses in Universities? |
| 阅读理解。 |
For those who study the development of intelligence (智力) in the animal world, self-awareness is an
important measurement. An animal that is aware (意识) of itself has a high level of intelligence.
Awareness can be tested by studying whether the animal recognizes itself in the mirror, that is, its own
reflected image (反射出的影像). Many animals fail this exercise bitterly, paying evry little attention to the
reflected image. Only humans, and some intelligent animals like apes and dolphins, have shown to recognize
that the image in the mirror is of themselves.
Now another animal has joined the club. In the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
researchers report that an Asian elephant has passed the mirror self-reflection test.
"We thought that elephants were the next important animal," said Dinana Reiss of the Wildlife Conservation
Society, an author of the study with Joshua M. Plotnik and Fans B. M. de Waal of Emory University. With
their large brains, Reiss said, elephants "seemed like cousins to apes and dolphins."
The researchers tested Happy, Maxine and Patty, three elephants at the Bronx Zoo.They put an 8-foot-
square mirror on a wall of the animals" play area (out of the sight of zoo visitors) and recorded what happened
with cameras, including one built in the mirror.
The elephants used their long noses to find what was behind it, and to examine parts of their bodies.
Of the three, Happy then passed the test, in which a clear mark was painted on one side of her face. She
could tell the mark was there by looking in the mirror, and she used the mirror to touch the mark with her
long nose.
Diana Reiss said, "We knew elephants were intelligent, but now we can talk about their intelligence in a
better way." |
| 1. What can mirror tests tell us about animals? |
A. Whether they have large brains.
B. Whether they have self-awareness.
C. Whether they enjoy outdoor exercises.
D. Whether they enjoy playing with mirrors. |
| 2. Why does the author mention apes and dolphins in the text? |
A. They are most familiar to readers.
B. They are big favorites with zoo visitors.
C. They are included in the study by Reiss.
D. They are already known to be intelligent. |
| 3. Why does the author mention apes and dolphins in the text? |
A. They are most familiar to readers.
B. They are big favorites with zoo visitors.
C. They are included in the study by Reiss.
D. They are already known to be intelligent. |
| 阅读理解。 |
Laws that would have ensured pupils from five to 16 received a full financial education got lost in the
"wash up". An application is calling on the next government to bring it back.
At school the children are taught to add up and subtract (减法) but, extraordinarily, are not routinely
shown how to open a bank account-let alone how to manage their finances in an increasingly complex and
demanding world.
Today the parenting website Mumsnet and the consumer campaigner Martin Lewis have joined forces
to launch an online application to make financial education a compulsory element of the school curriculum
in England. Children from five to 16 should be taught about everything from pocket money to pensions,
they say. And that was exactly the plan preserved in the Children, Schools and Families bill that was shelved
by the government in the so-called "wash-up" earlier this month-the rush to legislation before parliament
was dismissed. Consumer and parent groups believe financial education has always been one of the most
frustrating omissions of the curriculum.
As the Personal Finance Education Group (Pfeg) points out, the good habits of young children do not
last long. Over 75% of seven- to 11-year-olds are savers but by the time they get to 17, over half of them
are in debt to family and friends. By this age, 26% see a credit card or overdraft (透支) as a way of extending
their spending power. Pfeg predicts that these young people will"find it much harder to avoid the serious
unexpected dangers that have befallen many of their parents" generation unless they receive good quality
financial education while at school."
The UK has been in the worst financial recession (衰退) for generations. It does seem odd that-unless
parents step in-young people are left in the dark until they are cruelly introduced to the world of debt when
they turn up at university. In a recent poll of over 8,000 people, 97% supported financial education in schools,
while 3% said it was a job for parents. |
| 1. The passage is mainly about _____. |
A. how to manage school lessons
B. how to deal with the financial crisis
C. teaching young people about money
D. teaching students how to study effectively |
| 2. It can be inferred from the first two paragraphs that _____. |
A. the author complains about the school education
B. pupils should not be taught to add up and subtract
C. students have been taught to manage their finances
D. laws on financial education have been effectively carried out |
| 3. The website and the consumer campaigner joined to _____. |
A. instruct the pupils to donate their pocket money
B. promote the connection of schools and families
C. ask the government to dismiss the parliament
D. appeal for the curriculum of financial education |
| 4. According to Pfeg, _____. |
A. it is easy to keep good habits long
B. teenagers spend their money as planned
C. parents are willing to pay the debt for their kids
D. it will be in trouble if the teenagers are left alone |
| 5. A poll is mentioned to _____. |
A. stress the necessity of the curriculum reform
B. show the seriousness of the financial recession
C. make the readers aware of burden of the parents
D. illustrate some people are strongly against the proposal |
| 阅读理解。 |
Liu Jiaoyang, 16, carefully winds a bobbin (绕线筒) with thread, places it on her sewing machine (缝纫机)
and then presses her foot down to begin sewing. While she"s doing this, she pretends to guide fabric (布料)
through the machine. Liu looks forward to the class when she can work on a piece of real cloth, and make a
beautiful dress.
Each Tuesday afternoon, after the bell rings for the fourth period, Liu becomes a fashion designer. At the
same time, the rest of the students at the High School Attached to Yunnan Normal University in Kunming are
also having classes a little bit different from the usual ones. Some students dance, others create robots, and still
others review films. These are just a few of the other 27 elective (选修的) courses besides Liu"s sewing class
that the school began to offer last month.
"The fashion design class has become the bright point of my week. I learn how to choose colors and fabrics
(织物) as well as sewing and sketching (素描) skills. It"s all helping me to realize the dream of becoming a
fashion designer I"ve had since I was a little girl," Liu said.
Design is Liu"s favorite, but for other students the electives are interesting lessons which relieve (舒缓) the
pressures of schoolwork. Some students, for example, are learning how to play bridge. Chen Xi, 15, is one of
them. She said, "Many people think that playing a card game like this in class is a waste of time. But in fact,
bridge is a very challenging game that helps develop memory and math skills." |
| 1. How often do the students have elective classes? |
A. Once a week
B. Once a month
C. Once a term
D. Once a year |
| 2. How often do the students have elective classes? |
A. Once a week
B. Once a month
C. Once a term
D. Once a year |
| 3. Why did the students like to have elective classes? |
A. Because the elective classes are easier.
B. Because they needn"t do any homework in the elective classes.
C. Because they can get an opportunity to relieve their pressures.
D. Because they want to be fashion designers in the future. |
| 4. According to the passage many people think _____ in class is a waste of time. |
A. dancing
B. creating robots
C. playing a card game
D. reviewing films |
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