For more than twenty years scientists have been seeking to understand the mystery of the "sixth sense" of
direction. By trying out ideas and solving problems one by one, they are now getting closer to one answer.
One funny idea is that animals might have a built-in compass (指南针).
Our earth itself is a big magnet (磁体). So a little magnetic needle that swings freely lines itself with the big
earth magnet to point north and south. When people discovered that idea about a thousand years ago and
invented the compass,it allowed sailors to navigate (航海) on ocean voyages, even under cloudy skies.
Actually the idea of the living compass came just from observing animals in nature.
Many birds migrate twice a year between their summer homes and winter homes. Some of them fly for
thousands of kilometers and mostly at night. Experiments have shown that some birds can recognize star
patterns. But they can keep on course even under cloudy skies. How can they do that?
A common bird that does not migrate but is great at finding its way home is the homing pigeon. Not all
pigeons can find their way home. Those that can are very good at it, and they have been widely studied.
One interesting experiment was to attach little magnets to the birds" heads to block their magnetic sense-just
as a loud radio can keep you from hearing a call to dinner. On sunny days, that did not fool the pigeons.
Evidently they can use the sun to tell which way they are going. But on cloudy days,the pigeons with magnets
could not find their way. It was as if the magnets had blocked their magnetic sense.
Similar experiments with the same kind of results were done with honeybees. These insects also seem to
have a special sense of direction.
In spite of the experiments,the idea of an animal compass seemed pretty extraordinary. How would an
animal get the magnetic stuff for a compass.
An answer came from an unexpected source. A scientist was studying bacteria that live in the mud of ponds
and marshes. He found accidentally little rod-like bacteria that all swam together in one direction-north.
Further study showed that each little bacterium had a chain of dense particles inside,which proved magnetic. The bacteria had made themselves into little magnets that could line up with the earth"s magnet.
The big news was that a living thing,even a simple bacterium, can make magnetite. That led to a search to
see whether animals might have it.. By using a special instrument called magnetometer, scientists were able to
find magnetite in bees and birds, and even in fish. In each animal,except for the bee. The magnetic stuff was
always in or closer to the brain. Thus the idea of a built-in animal compass began to seem reasonable. |
| The Magnetic Sense-The Living Compass | | 完形填空。 | When I first entered university, my aunt, who is an English professor, gave me s new English dictionary.
I was 1 to see that it was an English dictionary, also known as a monolingual dictionary. 2 it was a
dictionary intended for non-native learners, none of my classmates had one 3 , to be honest, I found it
extremely 4 to use at first. I would look up words in the dictionary and 5 not fully understand the meaning,
I was used to the 6 bilingual dictionaries, in which the words are 7 both in English and Chinese, I really
wondered why my aunt 8 to make things so difficult for me. Now, after studying English at university for
three years, I 9 that monolingual dictionaries are 10 in learning a foreign language.
As I found out, there is 11 often NO perfect equivalence (对应) between two 12 in two language. My
aunt even goes so far as to 13 that a Chinese "equivalent" can never give you the 14 meaning of a word in
English! 15 , she insisted that I read the definition (定义) of a world in a monolingual dictionary 16 I wanted
to get a better understanding of its meaning. 17 , I have come to see what she meant.
Using a monolingual dictionary for learners has helped me in another important way. This dictionary uses
a(n) 18 number of words, around 2, 000, in its definitions. When I read these definitions, I am 19 exposed
to (接触) the basic words and learn how they are used to explain objects and ideas. 20 this, I can express
myself more easily in English. | ( )1.A.worried
( )2.A.Because
( )3.A.but
( )4.A.difficult
( )5.A.thus
( )6.A.new
( )7.A.explained
( )8.A.offered
( )9.A.imagine
( )10.A.natural
( )11.A.at best
( )12.A.words
( )13.A.hope
( )14.A.exact
( )15.A.Rather
( )16.A.when
( )17.A.Largely
( )18.A.extra
( )19.A.repeatedly
( )20.A.According to | B.sad
B.Although
B.so
B.interesting
B.even
B.familiar
B.expressed
B.agreed
B.recommend
B.better
B.in fact
B.names
B.declare
B.basic
B.However
B.before
B.Generally
B.average
B.nearly
B.In relation to | C.surprised
C.Unless
C.or
C.ambiguous
C.still
C.earlier
C.described
C.decided
C.predict
C.easier
C.at times
C.ideas
C.doubt
C.translated
C.Therefore
C.until
C.Gradually
C.total
C.immediately
C.In addition to | D.nervous
D.If
D.and
D.practical
D.again
D.ordinary
D.created
D.happened
D.understand
D.convenient
D.in case
D.characters
D.tell
D.expected
D.Instead
D.while
D.Probably
D.limited
D.anxiously
D.Because of | | 阅读理解。 | Too much TV-watching can harm children"s ability to learn and even reduce their chances of getting a
college degree, new studies suggest in the latest effort to examine the effects of television on children.
One of the studies looked at nearly 400 northern California third-graders. Those with TVs in their bedrooms
scored about eight points lower on math and language arts tests than children without bedroom TVs.
A second study, looking at nearly 1000 grown-ups in New Zealand, found lower education levels among
26-year -olds who had watched lots of TV during childhood.But the results don"t prove that TV is the cause
and don"t ride out that already poorly motivated youngsters (年轻人) may wash lots of TV.
Their study measured the TV habits of 26-year-olds between ages 5 and 15. These with college degrees
had watched average of less than two hours of TV per weeknight during childhood compared with an average
of more than 2 1/2 hours those had no education beyond high school.
In the California study, children with TVs in their rooms but no computer at home scored the lowest while
those with no bedroom TV but who had home computers scored the highest.
While this study does not prove that bedroom TV sets caused the lower scores, it adds to accumulating
findings that children shouldn"t have TVs in their bedrooms. | | 1. According to the Caledonia study, the low-scoring group might _____. | | [ ] | A. have watched a lot of TV
B. not be interested ted in math
C. is unable to go to college
D. have had computers in their bedrooms | | 2. What is the researchers" understanding of the New Zealand study results? | | [ ] | A. Poorly motivated 26-year-olds watch more TV.
B. Habits of TV watching reduce learning interest.
C. TV watching leads to lower education levels of the 15-year-olds.
D. The connection between TV and education levels is difficult to explain | | 3. What can we learn from the last two paragraphs? | | [ ] | A. More time should be spent on computers.
B. Children should be forbidden from watching TV.
C. "IV sets shouldn"t be allowed in children"s bedrooms.
D. Further studies on high-achieving students should be done. | | 4. What would be the best title for this text? | | [ ] | A. Computers or Television
B. Effects of Television on Children
C. Studies on TV and College Education
D. Television and Children"s Learning Habits | | 阅读理解。 | On May 23, 1989, Stefania Follini came out from a cave at Carlsbad, New Mexico. She hadn"t seen the
sun for eighteen and a half weeks. Stefania was in a research program, and the scientists in the program were
studying body rhythms (节奏). In this experiment Stefania had spent 130 days in a cave, 30 feet in depth.
During her time in the cave, Stefania had been completely alone except for two white mice. Her living place
had been very comfortable, but there had been nothing to feel the time. She"d had no clock or watches, no
television or radio. There had been no natural light and the temperature had always been kept at 21℃. | | 1. Stefania stayed in the cave for a long time because _____. | | [ ] | A. she was asked to do research on mice
B. she wanted to experience loneliness
C. she was the subject of a study
D. she needed to record her life | | 2. 69 hat is a cause for the change of Stefania"s body clock? | | [ ] | A. Eating fewer hours of sleep.
B. Having more hours of sleep.
C. Lacking physical exercise.
D. Getting no natural light. | | 3. Where does the text probably come from? | | [ ] | A. A novel.
B. A news story.
C. A pet magazine.
D. A travel guide. | | 阅读理解。 | The terrible college entrance exam is not only a big challenge for Chinese high school students, but also
a very important exam in the lives of South Korean students.
Although the long, cold winter has already started in South Korea, the annual (一年一度的) national
exams have made the atmosphere very heated.
More than 675,000 South Korean high school graduates (毕业生) took the college entrance exam last
Wednesday. They usually take exams in Korean, maths, sociology (社会学), history and foreign languages.
Officially there is one college place for every 1.33 students. But because all the students want to go to
the top universities in the country, the competition can reach one place for 10 students. The students want
to attend these colleges for both their famous names and better job opportunities.
Because students face fierce competition, they have to study very hard to realize their dreams. Park
Seung said he and his classmates often go to school before 7:30 am. After school has finished at 6:30 pm,
most of them go to the library to continue their study instead of returning home. Since many libraries in
South Korea are open 24 hours a day, they often stay long into the night. Many of the Senior 3 students
only sleep for three to four hours a day.
"I feel a lot of pressure,but I have to study very hard in order to make my dream come true. This is my
lifetime goal and it will be a turning point in my life which could decide my future," Park said.
The exam day is a very serious day for the whole of South Korea. Vehicles are not allowed within a 200-
metre radius (范围) of all the test sites to make sure the students have quiet surroundings. Tooting (吹奏)
of horns is forbidden, even airplanes are ordered to avoid landing and take-off near the test sites during
listening comprehension test hours.
Students are told their scores in December before they apply for college. This is followed by face-to-face
oral tests (口试). There are public and private universities in South Korea. Many private universities are well-
known, but their fees can be 18, 000 yuan each term. This has made a lot of students think again. | | 1. In South Korean _____. | | [ ] | A. there is only one college
B. there is only one top college
C. there are only top universities
D. there are a number of colleges | | 2. We can infer that there are almost _____ college places for high school graduates. | | [ ] | A. 675, 000
B. 507, 520
C. 500, 000
D. 600, 000 | | 3. Airplanes are not permitted to land near the test sites _____. | | [ ] | A. when the test begins
B. when the test is going on
C. during some period of the test
D. during the tests | | 4. Before students are allowed to colleges _____. | | [ ] | A. they will be interviewed
B. they will ask questions of colleges
C. they will not be tested any more
D. first they will pay all the education fee at all | 最新试题
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