Question

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? This is one of life’s 1 questions and people have been debating about it for thousands of years. Now scientists believe they have solved this 2. Researchers from Sheffield and Warwick Universities in England discovered the answer 3. They used a super computer to observe the shell-making process while a new shell was 4. Then they found one protein called OCl7 that is 5 for forming eggshell. This is only found inside a chicken’s body, which is proof that the 6 came first. The team was 7 looking at how animals and birds make eggshells but suddenly made their surprising 8. The big question now is where chickens came from. The 9 is from dinosaurs.
The research team said eggshells are one of nature’s most 10 creations. Professor John Harding from the team told reporters: “Understanding how chickens make eggshells is fascinating in itself, but it can also be 11 in designing new materials.” Eggshells are very lightweight but incredibly strong. Even the most up-to-date materials 12 by the world’s top engineers can not produce anything as 13 as an eggshell. Professor Harding added that 14 eggshells could help to cure bone diseases and design materials for the construction industry.“Nature has found wonderful ways that 15 for all kinds of problems in materials science and technology — we can learn a lot from them.” he said.

1. 1.
   1. A.
      strangest
   2. B.
      best
   3. C.
      oldest
   4. D.
      longest
2. 2.
   1. A.
      puzzle
   2. B.
      story
   3. C.
      history
   4. D.
      idea
3. 3.
   1. A.
      on purpose
   2. B.
      by chance
   3. C.
      without hesitation
   4. D.
      at work
4. 4.
   1. A.
      breaking
   2. B.
      changing
   3. C.
      disappearing
   4. D.
      forming
5. 5.
   1. A.
      necessary
   2. B.
      easy
   3. C.
      kind
   4. D.
      impossible
6. 6.
   1. A.
      egg
   2. B.
      eggshell
   3. C.
      chicken
   4. D.
      dinosaur
7. 7.
   1. A.
      obviously
   2. B.
      originally
   3. C.
      thoughtfully
   4. D.
      surprisingly
8. 8.
   1. A.
      invention
   2. B.
      mistake
   3. C.
      statement
   4. D.
      discovery
9. 9.
   1. A.
      answer
   2. B.
      research
   3. C.
      key
   4. D.
      egg
10. 10.
    1. A.
       strange
    2. B.
       ridiculous
    3. C.
       funny
    4. D.
       amazing
11. 11.
    1. A.
       hopeful
    2. B.
       helpful
    3. C.
       respectful
    4. D.
       colorful
12. 12.
    1. A.
       bought
    2. B.
       cut
    3. C.
       designed
    4. D.
       carried
13. 13.
    1. A.
       brilliant
    2. B.
       ordinary
    3. C.
       light
    4. D.
       strong
14. 14.
    1. A.
       finding
    2. B.
       watching
    3. C.
       studying
    4. D.
       making
15. 15.
    1. A.
       happen
    2. B.
       work
    3. C.
       wait
    4. D.
       look

Answer 1

CABDA CBDAD BCACB
1.C oldest“古老的”。
2.A puzzle“难题，谜团”。
3.B by chance“偶然”。符合题意。
4.D shell-making process“蛋壳形成的过程”，故选D。
5.A necessary，是蛋壳形成必须的。
6.C chicken“(小)鸡”，蛋白质OCl7只存在鸡的体内，故先有鸡。
7.B originally“最初，起初”，起初在观察蛋壳如何形成时，
8.D discovery“发现”。“突然发现了这个现象”。
9.A“答案是鸡来自恐龙”。answer与question对应。
10.D根据文意知，选D，蛋壳是自然界最令人惊异的发明之一。
11.B helpful“有帮助的”。蛋壳能帮助组织新物质。
12.C designed“被......设计”。
13.A brilliant“灿烂的，光辉的”。形容蛋壳的优点。
14.C研究团队是在“研究”蛋壳。
15.B work for…“为......效力”。自然界蕴含解决各种问题的奇妙的的方法。