Scientists Alan M.Goldberg and Thomas Hartung describe recent advances in replacing the use of animals in toxicology(毒物学)testing.Improvements in cell and tissue culture technologies,for example,allow a growing number of tests to be performed on human cells alone.Computer models are becoming increasingly complex and many could one day become more accurate than trials in living animals.
Since the late 1990s,Huntingdon Life Sciences--a company that conducts testing of substances on animals conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration—has become a proving ground for aggressive strategies by animal-rights militants (好战分子).At a hearing,a Senate.committee listened to testimony(证词) against Huntingdon employees and financial institutions providing services to the company.One experimentation witness at the hearing insisted that any means necessary were justified(辩护) to spare animals’ lives;he has previously accepted the idea of murder to that end.
Use of animals in testing and in biomedical research continues to be necessary in many instances and is ethically(伦理道德地)preferable to experimenting on humans or giving up cures that could save human lives.But for the sake of people and animals alike,the development and acceptance of animal substitutes deserve enthusiastic support.
In some instances, substitutes are already thought as good or better than animals,but supervising agencies(监督机构)have yet to catch up.In both the European Union and the U.S.,scientists and companies wanting to use the new alternative tests complain that regulatory standards for proving a drug or chemical to be safe for humans force the continued use of animals.Thus,animal-loving Americans might turn to persuading the EPA and the FDA to speed validation(确认)of new methods so that they can be more widely employed.And animal advocates(保护者) who want to influence business could consider investing in the small biotech’s and large pharmaceutical(药品的) companies that are working to develop alternatives to animals in research.
【小题1】_____ plays a leading role in replacing the use of animals in testing.
A.Huntingdon Life Sciences | B.Improvement in technologies |
C.Animal-fights militants | D.Scientists Alan and Thomas |
A.animals shouldn’t be used in toxicology testing |
B.animals should enjoy equal rights with human beings |
C.animals should live wildly and freely |
D.we should protect animals from being killed casually |
A.the use of animals in testing has been stopped abruptly |
B.animal substitutes are not preferable |
C.supervising standards contribute to the continued use of animals in testing |
D.only Huntingdon Life Sciences is accused |
A.Saving animals and people. |
B.The new trend in toxicology testing |
C.The use of animals in testing is against human nature |
D.New technology changes the fate of animals |
A.arbitrary(武断的,随意的) | B.pessimistic |
C.indifferent(不关心的 ) | D.optimistic |
【小题1】B
【小题2】A
【小题3】C
【小题4】B
【小题5】D
解析试题分析:数百年来,人类已在使用动物进行病毒学研究。近年,随着动物保护组织的反对和电脑模拟实验的成功,这人们在讨论这种以活体动物为实验对象的手段还能继续下去吗?
【小题1】细节题;从第一段的句子:Improvements in cell and tissue culture technologies,for example,allow a growing number of tests to be performed on human cells alone.毫无疑问,用动物进行病毒学研究,对人类健康保障起了重要作用。要在实验中不用或少用动物,有赖于现代技术的改进和发展。选B
【小题2】细节题:从第二段的句子:Since the late 1990s,Huntingdon Life Sciences--a company that conducts testing of substances on animals conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration—has become a proving ground for aggressive strategies by animal-rights militants 可知好战的动物保护分子的极端意见,认为人类要停止以动物为研究对象的所有实验。选A
【小题3】细节题:根据最后一段的句子:In some instances, substitutes are already thought as good or better than animals,but supervising agencies(监督机构)have yet to catch up.可知动物实验在现有条件下还要存在,但必须有一个监督标准(supervising standard),以便对动物保护要求有个交代。选C
【小题4】主旨题:文中提到毒物学研究有新发展,可以用电脑模拟实验过程,但这些都还不完善,只是一种科学技术的发展倾向。选B
【小题5】作者态度题:在语境中考查形容词的用法。arbitrary意为“任意的”,pessimistic意为“悲观的”, indifferent意为“不以为然的”, optimistic意为“乐观的”,按作者的意见,在新技术的条件下,完全有可能用其它手段代替活体动物实验,是乐观的态度,故选D。
考点:考查科普类短文
科目:高中英语 来源: 题型:阅读理解
We produce 500 billion of plastic bags in a year worldwide and they are thrown away polluting oceans, killing wildlife and getting dumped in landfills where they take up to 1000 years to decompose. Researchers have been unsuccessfully looking for a solution.
The 16-year old Canadian high school student, Daniel Burd, from Waterloo Collegiate Institute,
has discovered a way to make plastic bags degrade(分解) in as few as 3 months, a finding that won him first prize at the Canada-Wide Science Fair, a $10 000 prize, a $20 000 scholarship, and a chance to revolutionize a major environmental issue.
Burd's strategy was simple: Since plastic does eventually degrade, it must be eaten by microorganisms (微生物). If those microorganisms could be identified, we could put them to work eating the plastic much faster than under normal conditions.
With this goal in mind, he ground plastic bags into a powder and concocted(调制) a solution of household chemicals, yeast(酵母) and tap water to encourage microbes growth. Then he added the plastic powder and let the microbes work their magic for 3 months. Finally, he tested the resulting bacterial culture on plastic bags, exposing one plastic sample to dead bacteria as a control. Sure enough, the plastic exposed to the live bacteria was 17% lighter than the control after six weeks.
The inputs are cheap: maintaining the required temperature takes little energy because microbes produce heat as they work, and the only outputs are water and tiny levels of carbon dioxide.
“Almost every week I have to do chores and when I open the closet door, I have piles of plastic bags falling on top of me. One day, I got tired of it and I wanted to know what other people are doing with these plastic bags. The answer: not much. So I decided to do something myself.” said Daniel Burd.
【小题1】Daniel Burd won first prize at the Canada-Wide Science Fair because________.
A.he found a new kind of microorganism |
B.he contributed much to environmental protection |
C.he found a way to degrade plastics in shorter time |
D.he could encourage microbes growth in an easier way |
A.make the live bacteria work better |
B.test how effective his method was |
C.know which bacteria worked faster |
D.control the temperature in the process |
A.plastics can get hot easily |
B.microbes can produce heat themselves |
C.much carbon dioxide is produced |
D.the temperature can be controlled |
A.his school textbook | B.the failure of researchers |
C.his everyday work | D.the practice of other people |
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科目:高中英语 来源: 题型:阅读理解
Winter begins in the north on December 22nd. People and animals have been doing what they always do to prepare for the colder months. Squirrels (松鼠), for example, have been busy gathering nuts from trees. Well, scientists have been busy gathering information about what the squirrels do with the food they collect.
They examined differences between red squirrels and gray squirrels in the American state of Indiana. The scientists wanted to know how these differences could affect the growth of black walnut (黑胡桃) trees. The black walnut is the nut of choice for both kinds of squirrels. The black walnut tree is also a central part of some hardwood forests.
Rob Swihart of Purdue University did the study with Jake Goheen, a former Purdue student now at the University of New Mexico. The two researchers estimate that several times as many walnuts grow when gathered by gray squirrels as compared to red squirrels. Gray squirrels and red squirrels do not store nuts and seeds in the same way. Gray squirrels bury nuts one at a time in a number of places. But they seldom remember where they buried every nut. So some nuts remain in the ground. Conditions are right for them to develop and grow the following spring. Red squirrels, however, store large groups of nuts above ground. Professor Swihart calls “death traps for seeds”.
Gray squirrels are native to Indiana. But Professor Swihart says their numbers began to decrease as more forests were cut for agriculture. Red squirrels began to spread through the state during the past century.
The researchers say red squirrels are native to forests that stay green all year, unlike walnut trees. They say the cleaning of forest land for agriculture has helped red squirrels invade Indiana. Jake Goheen calls them a sign of an environmental problem more than a cause.
【小题1】The study done by Rob Swihart and Jake Goheen is to ________.
A.find out the living conditions for squirrels |
B.learn squirrels’ influence on black walnut trees |
C.do something to get rid of squirrels |
D.save the forests in the American state of Indiana |
A.the way they gather the walnut |
B.the time they have winter sleep |
C.the place they have winter sleep |
D.the place they store the walnuts |
A.red squirrels eat more nuts than gray squirrels |
B.gray squirrels and red squirrels will have severe fights |
C.nuts above the ground will not develop into plants |
D.seeds can be traps for other animals in the forest |
A.The black walnut is equally attractive to both gray and red squirrels. |
B.Gray squirrels do more harm to the forest than red squirrels. |
C.Red squirrels and gray squirrels have helped the spread of walnut trees. |
D.The cleaning of forest land benefits red squirrels directly. |
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科目:高中英语 来源: 题型:阅读理解
A new study says one part of the human brain may become smaller as the result of a condition known as jet lag. Jet lag results from flying long distances in an airplane. Jet lag interferes with a person's normal times for sleeping and waking. People with jet lag may feel extremely tired for several days. They also may have problems thinking clearly and remembering.
Kwangwook Cho is a researcher at the University of Bristol in Britain. He reported the findings of his jet lag study in the publication Nature Neuroscience.
The study involved twenty young women who worked for international airlines. The women had served passengers on airplanes for five years. These flight attendants flew across many countries and at least seven time zones. In the study, the flight attendants had different amounts of time to recover from jet lag. Half the women spent five days or fewer in their home areas between long flights. The other half spent more than fourteen days in their home areas.
Mister Cho took some fluid from the women's mouths to measure levels of a hormone that increases during stress. He tested them to see if they could remember where black spots appeared on a computer screen. And he took pictures of their brains using magnetic resonance imaging. This is a way to measure the size of the brain's temporal lobes.
It was found that the women who had less time between flights had smaller right temporal lobes. This area of the brain deals with recognizing and remembering what is seen. The same group performed worse and had slower reaction times on the visual memory test. And their saliva samples showed higher levels of stress hormones.
Mister Cho says he believes the brain needs at least ten days to recover after a long trip. He says airline workers told him their ability to remember got worse after working on planes for about four years. Other studies have shown that increased feelings of stress can cause a loss of cells in the part of the brain that controls memory.
Scientists say more tests are needed to study the effects of jet lag on the brain. They want to find out if too much jet lag could permanently affect memory.
【小题1】According to the text, jet lag _____.
A.can cause difficulties in speaking |
B.can make people feel tired for a few weeks |
C.is the illness only found in people who work on the airplanes |
D.can be caused by flying over several time zones in an airplane |
A.the conclusion was questioned by many scientists |
B.scientists fear that his research is not done properly |
C.every scientific conclusion needs the support from many tests |
D.the woman who were studied in the research were not healthy |
A.The cause of jet lag. |
B.A story of a group of flight attendance. |
C.A research about the effects of jet lag on the brain. |
D.The importance of having enough rest after long flights. |
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科目:高中英语 来源: 题型:阅读理解
Most animals have little connection with animals of a different kind, unless they hunt them for food. Sometimes, however, two kinds of animals come together in a partnership(伙伴关系) which does good to both of them. You may have noticed some birds sitting on the back of sheep. This is not because they want a ride, but because they find easy food in the parasites(寄生虫)on sheep. The sheep allow the birds to do so because they remove the cause of discomfort. So although they can manage without each other, they do better together.
Sometimes an animal has a plant partner. The relationship develops until the two partners cannot do without each other. This is so in the corals(珊瑚)of the sea. In their skins they have tiny plants which act as “dustman”, taking some of the waste products from the coral and giving in return oxygen which the animal needs to breathe. If the plants are killed, or are even prevented from light so that they cannot live normally, the corals will die.
【小题1】Some birds like to sit on a sheep because _________.
A.they can eat its parasites |
B.they consider the sheep as their shelter |
C.they enjoy traveling with the sheep |
D.they find the position most comfortable |
A.birds and parasites | B.sheep, birds and parasites |
C.parasites and sheep | D.birds and sheep |
A.comfort | B.light | C.oxygen | D.food |
A.Some plants depend on each other for food. |
B.Some animals and plants develop their relationship easily. |
C.Some animals and plants depend on each other for existence. |
D.Some animals live better together. |
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科目:高中英语 来源: 题型:阅读理解
Why would an animal kill itself? It seems a strange question, and yet it is one that has made some scientists curious for a long time. For there is a kind of animal called lemming(旅鼠), that periodically killed themselves together, and no one knows just why!
The small creatures which live in the Scandinavian mountains, feed on a diet of roots and special insects and live in nests they dig underground. When their food supply is large, the lemmings live a normal and undisturbed life.
However, when the lemmings’ food supply becomes too low to support the population, a singular migration(迁徙)begins. The lemmings leave their nests in groups. Great numbers of them begin to travel across the Scandinavian plains, a journey that may last weeks. The lemmings eat everything in their path, continuing their long march until they reach the sea.
The reason for what follows remains unbelievable to naturalists. Upon reaching the coast, the lemmings do not stop but swim by the thousands into the sea. Most stay afloat only a short time before they tire, sink and drown.
A common theory for this mass self-killing is that the lemmings do not realize that the ocean is such a huge body of water in their cross-country journey, the animals must cross many smaller bodies of water, such as rivers and small lakes. They may think that the sea is just another such swimmable path to go through. But no final answer has been found to the strange happening.
【小题1】The passage is mainly about______.
A.how lemmings find food |
B.why animals kill themselves |
C.the lemmings’ self-killing |
D.the food supply in the Scandinavian mountains |
A.go mad from a lack of food |
B.hope to find fish for food |
C.decide to reduce the population |
D.think they can cross the sea |
A.Because they are the only animals that live in Scandinavia. |
B.Because it is very unusual for animals to kill themselves. |
C.Because of the amount of food they can eat on their march to the sea. |
D.Because they can gather together in such huge numbers. |
A.unusual | B.single | C.wonderful | D.common |
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科目:高中英语 来源: 题型:阅读理解
Humans have sewn by hand for thousands of years. It was said that the first thread was made from animal muscle and sinew (肌腱). And the earliest needles were made from bones. Since those early days, many people have been involved in the process of developing a machine that could do the same thing more quickly and with greater efficiency.
Charles Wiesenthal, who was born in Germany, designed and received a patent on a double-pointed needle that eliminated the need to turn the needle around with each stitch (缝合) in England in 1755. Other inventors of that time tried to develop a functional sewing machine, but each design had at least one serious imperfection.
Frenchman Barthelemy Thimonnier finally engineered a machine that really worked. However, he was nearly killed by a group of angry tailors when they burned down his garment factory. They feared that they would lose their jobs to the machine.
American inventor Elias Howe, born on July 9, 1819, was awarded a patent for a method of sewing that used thread from two different sources. Howe’s machine had a needle with an eye at the point, and it used the two threads to make a special stitch called a lockstitch. However, Howe faced difficulty in finding buyers for his machines in America. In frustration, he traveled to England to try to sell his invention there. When he finally returned home, he found that dozens of manufacturers were adapting his discovery for use in their own sewing machines.
Isaac Singer, another American inventor, was also a manufacturer who made improvements to the design of sewing machines. He invented an up-and-down-motion mechanism that replaced the side-to-side machines. He also developed a foot treadle (脚踏板) to power his machine. This improvement left the sewer’s hands free. Undoubtedly, it was a huge improvement of the hand-cranked machine of the past. Soon the Singer sewing machine achieved more fame than the others for it was more practical. It could be adapted to home use and it could be bought on hire-purchase. The Singer sewing machine became the first home appliance, and the Singer company became one of the first American multinationals.
However, Singer used the same method to create a lockstitch that Howe had already patented. As a result, Howe accused him of patent infringement (侵犯). Of course, Elias Howe won the court case, and Singer was ordered to pay Howe royalties (版税). In the end, Howe became a millionaire, not by manufacturing the sewing machine, but by receiving royalty payments for his invention.
【小题1】Barthelemy Thimonnier’s garment factory was burned down because __________.
A.people did not know how to put out the fire |
B.Elias Howe thought Thimonnier had stolen his invention |
C.the sewing machines couldn’t work finally |
D.workers who feared the loss of their jobs to a machine set fire |
A.Because the judge was against Singer for his unfriendly attitude. |
B.Because Howe had already patented the lockstitch used by Singer. |
C.Because Singer had borrowed money from Howe and never repaid it. |
D.Because Singer and Howe had both invented the same machine. |
A.A Stitch in Time Saves Nine |
B.The Case between Howe and Singer |
C.Patent Laws on the Sewing Machine |
D.The Early History of the Sewing Machine |
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科目:高中英语 来源: 题型:阅读理解
What exactly is intelligence? There aren’t any easy answers.Despite the progress that has been made in genetics and psychology, human intelligence has remained one of the most controversial areas of modern science,until now, that is, for the discovery of a gene linked to intelligence has made the experts think again.
Robert Plomin of the Institute of Psychiatry in London and his colleagues in the US have been looking into genetic make-up.From their research, they have discovered that a slightly different gene is more common in those with a high IQ.Plomin analyzed DNA from two groups of 51 children aged between 6 and 15.What he found was that the first group had an IQ of 136, putting them in the top 5% of the population, while the other group had an average IQ of 103.An analysis of their genes showed that 32% of children in the higher group had the gene in question, while only 16% in the second group did.However, there is a lot more research to be done, and Plomin himself is cautious at this early stage.He suggests that there are probably many genes that contribute to intelligence, rather than just one. Several studies have shown a strong link between IQ and career success, although some psychologists remain unconvinced about this.Professor Michael Rowe, who has written a book called Genius Explained, is one of these.“The people with the highest IQs are not usually the ones who do best in their careers.”
Many psychologists now believe that when it comes to intelligence, IQ isn’t everything.Many alternative views have been put forward recently.One example is the idea of multiple intelligences, which was developed in the 1980s by Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner.This offers a much broader view than the IQ theory, including creativity and communication skills as relevant factors in intelligence.
Tony Buzan, brain expert and author of Master your Memory, is enthusiastic about this belief, arguing that true geniuses do indeed appear to combine high levels of each type of intelligence.He lists Alexander the Great, Pablo Picasso and Albert Einstein as examples.At the same time, Buzan believes that everyone can develop their intelligence, only if they take the trouble to exercise their brain.Perhaps there’s hope for us all!
【小题1】What does the underlined word “This” in Paragraph 3 refer to?
A.The development of intelligence |
B.The idea of multiple intelligences |
C.IQ isn’t everything for intelligence |
D.Alternative views have been put forward |
A.To make a suggestion. | B.To draw a conclusion |
C.To prove an idea. | D.To give an example |
A.Robert Plomin confirms genes have something in common |
B.Howard Gardner thinks intelligence includes various factors |
C.Michael Rowe approves of a strong link between IQ and career |
D.Tony Buzan agrees geniuses exercise brain to improve intelligence |
A.The relationship between genes and intelligence |
B.IQ benefits a lot from high intelligence |
C.How to develop intelligence. |
D.What makes intelligence. |
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