A victim of climate change
A polar bear's dead body found on the Arctic island of Svalbard, the northernmost part of Norway, has shocked experts who say climate change may be to blame for the death. The starved polar bear in Norway was said to be in good bones by the time a group of explorers came across its body in July.
The bear is thought to have been heading north in a desperate search for sea ice that would allow it to hunt for seals."From his lying position in death, the bear appears to simply have starved to health in April when the Norwegian Polar Institute examined and labeled it. However, the animal was reduced to skin and bones and died where he dropped," polar bear expert Dr. Ian Stirling, a professor at the University of Alberta said, "He had external suggestion of any remaining fat, having been reduced to little more than skin and bone."
Stirling believes the bear starved to death as a result of a lack of sea ice which the animals use as a platform for hunting seals. That may also explain why the 16-year-old male bear was found about 155 miles north of where it was seen in April.
Arctic sea ice reached a record low in 2012, according to a report released this week by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that pointed to continued signs of climate change.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature currently classifies polar bears as vulnerable on its Red List of Threatened Species.
【小题1】How did Stirling know the reason for the death of the polar bear?
| A.By the food he ate. | B.By doing further experiments. |
| C.By observing other polar bears. | D.By his lying position in death. |
| A.easily hurt | B.difficult to hunt |
| C.dangerous | D.amazing |
| A.Favorable. | B.Uncaring. |
| C.Doubtful. | D.Concerned. |
| A.A novel. | B.A guidebook. |
| C.A news report. | D.An advertisement. |
【小题1】D
【小题2】A
【小题3】D
【小题4】C
解析试题分析:文章讲述了在挪威北部北极的一个岛上发现了一头北极熊,这件事使专家很震惊。从发现北极熊的地方看,是北极熊为了寻找食物在向北去的路上死掉的,他是为了寻找冰来作为他猎取海豹的平台才向北转移的,在些过程中因饥饿而死。这一事件是由气候的变化引起的,因为全球的气候变暖,使冰在减少,才使北极熊处于濒危境地。
【小题1】 D细节理解题。.. From his lying position in death, the bear appears to simply have starved to health in April when the Norwegian Polar Institute examined and labeled it。句意为:当挪威极地研究院在检测北极熊时发现,从他死的位置上可以看出,北极熊是在四月份因饥饿而死的。故答案为D。
【小题2】A词义理解题。The International Union for Conservation of Nature currently classifies polar bears as vulnerable on its Red List of Threatened Species.国际联盟自然保护机构将北极熊归类到了濒危物种的红色名单上。由此可知北极熊是易受攻击,受伤害的动物。dangerous 危险的,此处并非北极熊是危险的,而是处于危险之中。故答案为A。
【小题3】D综合理解题。文中从发现北极熊开始到对动物检测,查找原因,对这件事情一直处在关注之中,同时也了解到,挪威自然研究院把北极熊划为濒危动物的行列。故作者对此事是关注的,所以答案应为D。
【小题4】C段落理解题。文章从发现北极熊的尸体开始展开,经过对熊尸体的检测,推测出了是因气候变化而导致死亡的原因,同时指出了气候变暖使北极的冰在连年减少,2012年达到了新的纪录。所以这篇文章应出自于一篇报道。novel 小说,文章并非在讲一个故事;a guidebook 一本指导书,文章并未对事情作出指导;advertisement 广告,没有介绍什么产品,故答案应为C。
【考点】考查科普环保类文章的阅读理解。
科目:高中英语 来源: 题型:阅读理解
Passage 1
The information Highway is the road that links computer users to a large number of on-line services; the Web, e-mail, and software, to mention just a few. Not long ago, the information Highway was a new road, with not many users. Now, everyone seems to want to take a drive, with over 30 million families connected worldwide. Not surprisingly, this well-traveled highway is starting to look like a well-traveled highway. Traffic jams can cause many serious problems, forcing the system to close down for repair. Naturally, accidents will happen on such a crowed road, and usually victims are some files, gone forever. Then, of course, there’s Mr. Cool, with his new broad-band connection, who speeds down the highway faster than most of us can go. But don’t trick yourself; he pays for that speeding.
Passage 2
Want to know more about global warming and how you can help prevent it? Doctor Herman Friedman, who is considered a leading expert on the subject, will speak at Grayson Hall next Friday. Friedman studied environmental science at three well-known universities around the world before becoming a professor in the subject. He has also traveled around the world observing environmental concerns. The gradual bleaching (变白) of the Grate Barrier Reef, which came into the public eye in 2002, in his latest interest. Signed copies of his colorful book, which was published just last month, will be on sale after his talk.
【小题1】The Information Highway________.
| A.appeals to a large number of users |
| B.is crowded with car drivers |
| C.offers just a few on-line services] |
| D.is free from traffic accidents |
| A.By storing fewer files. |
| B.By repair the system. |
| C.By using a broad-band connection. |
| D.By buying a better computer. |
| A.There will be a book show at Grayson Hall |
| B.Friedman is now studying the Great Barrier Reef. |
| C.Friedman is a leading expert on computer science. |
| D.There will be a talk on global warming this week. |
| A.An ad for a new book. |
| B.A poster about a lecture. |
| C.A note to a doctor in a university. |
| D.An introduction to a professor. |
| A.Doctor Herman Friedman is a famous expert on environmental science. |
| B.A new book has been published recently by Doctor Herman Friedman. |
| C.The colorful new book, signed by him, will be sold before the talk. |
| D.Doctor Herman Friedman has studied the changes of the Grate Barrier Reef. |
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科目:高中英语 来源: 题型:阅读理解
All over the world people enjoy sports, Sports help to keep people healthy and happy, and to live longer.
Many people like to watch others play games. They buy tickets or turn on their TVs to watch the games. Often they get very excited when “their” player or team wins.
Some sports are so interesting that people everywhere go in for(参加) them. Football, for example, has spread(展开)around the world. Swimming is popular in all countries near the sea or in those with many rivers. What fun it is to jump into a pool or lake, whether in China, Egypt or Italy! And think of people in cold countries. Think how many love to skate or ski (滑雪) in Japan, Norway or Canada.
Some sports or games go back thousands of years, like running or jumping. Chinese wushu, for example, has a very long history. But basketball and volleyball are rather new. Neither one is a hundred years old yet. People are inventing new sports or games all the time. Water-skiing is one of the newest in the family of sports.
People from different countries may not be able to understand each other, but after a game together they often become good friends. Sports help to train a person’s character. One learns to fight hard but fight fair, to win without pride and to lose with grace(胜不骄,败不馁).
【小题1】Why do people all over the world enjoy sports?
| A.Because they are healthy. |
| B.Because they are happy. |
| C.Because they want to live longer. |
| D.All the above. |
| A.their favourite team wins | B.they win the game |
| C.they get the good news | D.they can’t help themselves |
| A.they train their character in the game |
| B.they understand each other |
| C.they are friendly to each other |
| D.they help each other |
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科目:高中英语 来源: 题型:阅读理解
In an ideal world, people would not test medicines on animals. Such experiments are stressful and sometimes painful for animals, and expensive and time–consuming for people. Yet animal experimentation is still needed to help bridge vast gaps in medical knowledge. That is why there are some 50 to 100 million animals used in research around the world each year.
Europe, on the whole, has the world’s most restrictive laws on animal experiments. Even so, its scientists use some 12 million animals a year, most of them mice and rats, for medical research. Official statistics show that just 1.1 million animals are used in research in America each year. But that is misleading. The American authorities do not think mice and rats are worth counting and, as these are the most common laboratory animals, the true figure is much higher. Japan and China have even less comprehensive data than America.
Now Europe is reforming the rules governing animal experiments by restricting the number of animals used in labs. Alternatives to animal testing, such as using human tissue or computer models, are now strongly recommended. In addition, sharing all research results freely should help to reduce the number of animals for scientific use. At present, scientists often share only the results of successful experiments. If their findings do not fit the hypothesis being tested, the work never sees the light of day. This practice means wasting time, money, and animals’ lives in endlessly repeating the failed experiments.
Animal experimentation has taught humanity a great deal and saved countless lives. It needs to continue, even if that means animals sometimes suffer. Europe’s new measures should eventually both reduce the number of animals used in experiments and improve the way in which scientific research is conducted.
【小题1】What is the main idea of this passage?
| A.The success of animal experiments should be ensured. |
| B.A ban on the use of animals in the lab should be enforced. |
| C.Greater efforts need to be taken to reduce the number of lab animals. |
| D.Scientists should be required to share their research results with each other. |
| A.America uses only about 1.1 million lab animals per year. |
| B.Europe does not use mice and rats as lab animals at all. |
| C.Britain does not use as many lab animals as China does. |
| D.Japan has less comprehensive data on the number of lab animals used each year. |
| A.Statistical studies. |
| B.Computer models. |
| C.DNA planted in animals. |
| D.Tissue from dead animals. |
| A.They are not revealed to the public. |
| B.They are made into teaching materials. |
| C.They are collected for future publication. |
| D.They are not removed from the research topic list. |
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科目:高中英语 来源: 题型:阅读理解
Culture helps human societies survive in changing natural environment.For example, the end of the last Ice Age, beginning about 15,000 years ago, brought a big challenge to which humans had to adapt.Before this time, large parts of the northern hemisphere were covered in great sheets of ice that contained much of the earth' s water.In North America, large animals that wandered the vast tundra (冰原) provided people with food and materials for clothing and simple shelters.When the earth became warm, large Ice Age animals disappeared, and many land areas were covered by rising sea levels from melting ice.But people survived, they developed new technologies and learned how to survive on new plant and animal species. Finally some people settled into permanent villages, durable houses and farms.
Cultural adaptation has made humans one of the most successful species on the planet. Through history, major developments in technology, medicine, and nutrition have allowed people to reproduce and survive in ever-increasing numbers.The global population has risen from 8 million during the Ice Age to about 6 billion today.
However, the successes of culture adaptation can also create problems in the long run.Over the last 200 years, people have begun to use large quantities of natural resources and energy and to produce a great amount of material and chemical wastes.The global population now consumes some important natural resources—such as petroleum, wood, and minerals—faster than nature can produce them.Many scientists believe that in the process of burning fuels and producing wastes, people may be changing the global climate in unpredictable and possibly harmful ways.Thus, the adaptive success of the present-day global culture of production and trade may be temporary.
【小题1】What is the first paragraph mainly talking about?
| A.How the human beings survived in the Ice Age. |
| B.What the situation was like during the Ice Age. |
| C.What caused the Ice Age to come to an end. |
| D.Why the Ice Age was very important. |
| A.stop developing any longer |
| B.reduce the overuse of natural resources |
| C.stop the global warming and using natural resources |
| D.save more animals in case they all die out |
| A.A very developed culture came into being. |
| B.New technologies have been developed. |
| C.Natural resources have been used up. |
| D.Human activities have done damage to the balance of nature. |
| A.Natural Environment Should Be Protected. |
| B.The Success of Cultural Adaptation Is Not Permanent. |
| C.The Global Population Is Increasing Since Ice Age. |
| D.Human Beings Are Capable of Surviving on Earth. |
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科目:高中英语 来源: 题型:阅读理解
Since the 1970s, scientists have been searching for ways to link the brain with computers. Brain-computer interface (BCI) technology could help people with disabilities send commands to machines.
Recently, two researchers, Jose Millan and Michele Tavella from the Federal Polytechnic School in Lausanne, Switzerland, demonstrated a small robotic wheelchair directed by a person's thoughts.
In the laboratory, Tavella operated the wheelchair just by thinking about moving his left or right hand. He could even talk as he watched the vehicle and guided it with his thoughts.
“Our brain has billions of nerve cells. These send signals through the spinal cord (脊髓) to the muscles to give us the ability to move. But spinal cord injuries or other conditions can prevent these weak electrical signals from reaching the muscles.” Tavella says. “Our system allows disabled people to communicate with external world and also to control devices.
The researchers designed a special cap for the user. This head cover picks up the signals from the scalp (头皮) and sends them to a computer. The computer interprets the signals and commands the motorized wheelchair. The wheelchair also has two cameras that identify objects in its path. They help the computer react to commands from the brain.
Prof. Millan, the team leader, says scientists keep improving the computer software that interprets brain signals and turns them into simple commands. “The practical possibilities that BCI technology offers to disabled people can be grouped in two categories: communication, and controlling devices. One example is this wheelchair.”
He says his team has set two goals. One is testing with real patients, so as to prove that this is a technology they can benefit from. And the other is to guarantee that they can use the technology over long periods of time.
【小题1】BCI is a technology that can ________.
| A.help to update computer systems |
| B.link the human brain with computers |
| C.help the disabled to recover |
| D.control a person's thoughts |
| A.By controlling his muscles. |
| B.By talking to the machine. |
| C.By moving his hand. |
| D.By using his mind. |
| A.scalp→computer→cap→wheelchair |
| B.computer→cap→scalp→wheelchair |
| C.scalp→cap→computer→wheelchair |
| D.cap→computer→scalp→wheelchair |
| A.Switzerland, the BCI Research Center |
| B.New Findings About How the Human Brain Works |
| C.BCI Could Mean More Freedom for the Disabled |
| D.Robotic Vehicles Could Help to Cure Brain Injuries |
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科目:高中英语 来源: 题型:阅读理解
As most university students are packing their bags,boarding trains or flying home for the Spring Festival,some will stay behind to spend the holiday on campus.
Zhou Yunyun,22,a senior finance major at Jilin University,has decided that instead of traveling to Hainan province,he will kill the time by playing computer games with his online friends.
“I'm used to chatting and playing with them every day.It’s just fun to make friends this way,”he said.“When I returned home in past years,my relatives always asked me a lot of questions about my plans after graduation.They had high expectations of me,which made me feel stressed,” said Zhou.
The campus,usually lively,will probably turn into a death town,with most restaurants,shops and student centers closed during the break.But there are also a few advantages,according to Jia Debao,2 1,a junior majoring in administration at China Agricultural University.“I might feel a bit lonely,but at least I can stay away from my parents’ complaining and enjoy the peaceful and quiet stay,” he said.“More importantly,I can enj oy the high speed of the Internet,I can always find empty seats in classrooms,and I don’t have to wait to use the bathroorm” But education experts recommend students who stay on campus to come up with more interactive plans.That’s because communication on the Internet can’t replace real life interpersonal relationships.
Society has promoted a kind of“couch potato" or close-in culture among some young people, according to Shi Tongyu, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. He warned that this kind of lifestryl can damage students’ mental and physical development.
“When you constantly stare at a computer screen and type on your keyboard,you gradually lose the ability to socialize and survive normally,"said Shi.“A human’s most important task is to survive,which cannot be completed by staying at home all the time. Instead,it must be achieved through real life experience and communication.”
【小题1】What can we learn about Zhou Yunyun?
| A.He feels very lonely on campus. |
| B.He will promote close-in culture. |
| C.He will spend the Spring Festival with relatives. |
| D.He will spend the Spring Festival with on-line friends. |
| A.he will miss his parents a little bit |
| B.there will be more seats in classrooms |
| C.he will have a quiet and peaceful break |
| D.the speed of the Internet will get faster |
| A.inactive person | B.close friend |
| C.sociable student | D.addicted gamer |
| A.To do some traveling. |
| B.To stay more with families. |
| C.To find empty seats in classrooms. |
| D.To experience real life and communication. |
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科目:高中英语 来源: 题型:阅读理解
All around the world, shoppers flock to Wal-Mart to buy everything. In Texas, they come for another reason: to see the wind turbine(涡轮机), which supplies 5% of the store’s electricity. It along with other facilities, such as exterior walls coated with heat-reflective paint, makes this Wal-Mart a green giant.
The laws of economics suggest that Wal-Mart, with 5, 200 stores worldwide, influences everything including the price of all kinds of goods. It throws its weight behind environmental responsibility, and the impact could be amazing. “One little change in product packaging could save 1, 500 trees,” says Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott.“If everybody saves 1, 500 trees or 50 barrels of oil, at the end of the day you have made a huge difference.”
Scott wants Wal-Mart to do its part too. He has promised to cut the existing greenhouse-gas emissions(排放)over the next few years and promised to construct new stores that are more efficient. He wants Wal-Mart’s fleet of more than 7, 000 trucks to get twice as many miles per gallon by 2015. Factories that show Wal-Mart they’re cutting air pollution will get preferential treatment in the supply chain. Wal-Mart says it’s working with consumer-product manufacturers to reduce their packaging and will reward them if they do so.
Some people may doubt it is a bid to attract attention from Wal-Mart’s controversial labor and health-insurance practices. But it’s not just window dressing, because Wal-Mart sees profits in going green. Scott says, “This is a business philosophy, not a social philosophy. We don’t go where we don’t think there’s a great interest in change.”
Like Bill Gates, who started his charitable foundation, Scott happens to be promoting Wal-Mart’s image at a time when his company’s reputation is declining. He acknowledges that he launched the plan partly to shield (保护)Wal-Mart from bad press about its contribution to global warming. “By doing what we’re doing today, we avoid the headline risks that are going to come for people who did not do anything,” he says. “At some point businesses will be held responsible for the action they take.” Meanwhile, should Wal-Mart succeed at shrinking its environmental footprint and lowering prices for green products, both the planet and the company will profit.
【小题1】 We can infer from the passage that ______.
| A.Lee Scott is Wal-Mart’s CEO |
| B.there are 5, 200 stores in the world |
| C.Wal-Mart has a great influence on the world market |
| D.Wal-Mart has more than 7, 000 trucks all over the world |
| A.Wal-Mart predicts huge profits in its green activity. |
| B.Wal-Mart’s green activity is just window dressing. |
| C.Wal-Mart aims to solve its health-insurance practices. |
| D.Wal-Mart doesn’t have any social responsibility at all. |
| A.Reduce air pollution in its present stores. |
| B.Give favorable treatment to its consumers. |
| C.Ask the factories to reduce their packaging. |
| D.Demand the fleet of trucks to use more fuel than before. |
| A.Provide the background of the green plan. |
| B.Stress the purpose of Wal-Mart’s green plan. |
| C.Present the risk that Wal-Mart is facing nowadays. |
| D.Analyze the similarity between Bill Gates and Scott. |
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科目:高中英语 来源: 题型:阅读理解
Electrical devices(仪器)could soon use power make by human energy, Scientists say they have developed an experimental device that produces electricity from the physical movement of a person walking , British scientist Max Donelan and other scientists in Canada and the United States developed the device.
The device connects to a person’s knee, As the person walks, the device captures energy each time the person slows down, To do this ,the device helps with the slowing sown movement of the leg, The movements of the walking person push parts of a small machine that produces electricity, Using the device, an adult walking quickly could produce thirteen watts of electricity in just a minute, Donelan says walking at that speed could produce enough power to operate a laptop computer for six minutes.
There are several possible uses for the device ,Developers say it could help people who work in areas without electricity to operate small computers, The deice could also be used in hospitals to operate heart pacemakers(起博器),It could even be used to assist in the movement of robotic arms and legs.
The experimental version of the device weighs about one and a half kilograms, but it is too costly for most people to buy, But the researchers hope to make a lighter, less costly version.An improved version should be ready in one year.
The developers hope the device will one day help developing countries, Nearly twenty five percent of people around the world live without electric power.
A similar product was invented in 2005 by Larry Rome of the University of Pennsylvania,He created a bag carried on a person’s back that also produces power from walking, The knee device does not produce as much electricity as the bag ,But the bag requires the walker to carry a load of twenty to thirty kilograms.
【小题1】The second paragraph mainly talks about .
| A.who developed the device |
| B.how the device works |
| C.several possible uses for the devices |
| D.how much electricity the device can produce |
| A.It is too heavy for the walker to bear |
| B.It is too complex for people to use |
| C.It is too expensive for most people to afford |
| D.It will slow down one’s walking speed. |
| A.produces power without adding more loads to the walker |
| B.can produce more power in a much shorter time |
| C.needs to be equipped with a battery |
| D.can help the walker walk faster |
| A.help housewives operate the washing machine |
| B.make it much easier for us to go online |
| C.produce more electricity than that invented by Larry Rome |
| D.be applied in medicine to operate heart pacemakers |
| A.First device powered by walking will soon be on the market |
| B.Advanced technology brings in a new way to operate heart pacemakers |
| C.Device gives new meaning to the idea of power walking |
| D.Human energy will become a main source of electricity |
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