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 |
【小题1】C
【小题2】D
【小题3】B
【小题4】A
解析试题分析：文章大意：介绍奇异的旅鼠集体自杀现象及对其原因的推测。
【小题1】C 主旨大意题第一段引出旅鼠定期集体自杀的话题，然后介绍他们的习性，接下来因为食物供应不足而进行迁徙，到达海边，然后集体渡海，体力不支死亡。最后一段是人们对于这种现象的推测。文章主要介绍的是旅鼠的自杀现象。
【小题2】D 细节理解题根据最后一段：旅鼠可能没有意识到海洋那么广阔，他们可能认为大海不过是可以游过去的。
【小题3】B 推理判断题根据文章最后一句：But no final answer has been found to the strange happening.
但是对于这种奇特现象至今还没有最终的解答，导致科学家们对于旅鼠的异常行为非常好奇。
【小题4】A 词义猜测题旅鼠的这次迁徙导致了不同于寻常动物迁徙的结果，所以这是unusual: 不同寻常的；非同寻常的。single: 单一的；单身的；单程的；wonderful: 奇妙的；极好的；common: 共同的；一般的；普通的。
考点：考查科普类文章阅读。
阅读快车系列答案科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
It is thought that crying is hardly an activity encouraged by society. Tear, whether they are of sorrow, anger, or joy, typically make Americans feel uncomfortable and embarrassed. The shedder of tears (落泪者) is likely to apologize, even when a great tragedy was the cause. The observer of tears is likely to do everything possible to put an end to the emotional tears. But judging from recent studies of crying behavior, both those responses to tears are often inappropriate and may even be counterproductive (适得其反).
Humans are the only animals clearly known to shed emotional tears. Since evolution has given rise to few purposeless physiological responses, it is logical to assume that crying has one or more functions that enhance (increase) survival.
Although some observers have suggested that crying is a way to ask for assistance form others (as a crying baby might from its mother), the shedding of tears is hardly necessary to get help. Vocal cries would have been quite enough, more likely than tears to gain attention. So, it appears, there must be something special about tears themselves.
Indeed, the new studies suggest that emotional tears may play a direct role in alleviating stress, University of Minnesota researchers who are studying the chemical composition of tears have recently isolated two important chemicals from emotional tears. Both chemicals are found only in tears that are shed in response to emotion. Tears shed because of exposure to cut onion would contain no such substance.
Other researchers are investigating the usefulness of tears as a means of diagnosing human ills and monitoring drugs. At Tulane University’s Teat Analysis Laboratory Dr. Peter Kastl and his colleagues report that they can use tears to detect drug abuse, to study the causes of “dry eye” syndrome（综合症）and the effects of eye surgery, and perhaps even to measure exposure to environmental pollutants.
【小题1】What does the phrase “both those responses” in Paragraph 1 refer to ?
| A．Crying out of sorrow and shedding tears for happiness. |
| B．The embarrassment and unpleasant sensation of the observers. |
| C．The tear shedder’s apology and the observer’s effort to stop the crying. |
| D．Linking illness with crying and finding the chemical composition of tears. |
| A．it is unnatural for people to shed tears |
| B．we can reduce our stress by shedding tears |
| C．shedders of tears can’t get help by crying loudly |
| D．unlike animals, humans can shed tears for survival |
| A．Roles of emotional tears. |
| B．functions of shedding tears. |
| C．Unwelcome shedders of tears. |
| D．Research on the effects of tears. |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
At night, bats fly through the air, catching hundreds of insects and other small animals. But during the day, they hardly move at all. Instead, bats pass the time hanging upside down from a secret spot.
There are a couple of reasons why bats rest this way. First of all, it puts them in a position for takeoff. Unlike birds, bats can’t fly into the air from the ground. Their wings don’t produce enough lift to take off from a dead stop, and their hind legs are so small and underdeveloped that they can’t run to build up the necessary takeoff speed. Instead, they use their front claws to climb to a high spot, and then fall into flight.
During the hours when most enemies are active, bats gather where few animals would think to look and most can’t reach. This allows them to disappear from the world until night comes again. There’s also little competition for these resting spots, as other flying animals don’t have the ability to hang upside down. Bats have a unique physiological adaptation that lets them hang around this way without using any energy. For you to hold your fist around an object tight, you contract(紧缩) several muscles in your arm, which are connected to your fingers by tendons(腱)；as one muscle contracts, it pulls a tendon, which pulls one of your fingers closed. A bat’s talons(爪) close in the same way, except that their tendons are connected only to the upper body, not to a muscle. To hang upside down, a bat pulls its claws open with other muscles. To get the talons to take hold of the surface, the bat simply lets its body relax. The weight of the upper body pulls down on the tendons connected to the talons, causing them to hold tight. Therefore, the bat doesn’t have to do anything to hang upside down.
【小题1】Bats hang upside down because________.
| A．they haven’t developed a pair of strong claws |
| B．they can’t start to fly from the ground directly |
| C．they have no hind legs to support their body |
| D．they can’t find quiet places to stay during the day |
| A．is to save their energy for night movement |
| B．is a way to fight against flying animals |
| C．is a great way to hide from danger |
| D．is a skill to compete for the flying places |
| A．Because their upper body is light. |
| B．Because they have strong muscles. |
| C．Because their talons are linked to muscles tightly. |
| D．Because their tendons are linked to their upper body. |
| A．The living habits of bats. |
| B．How and why bats hang upside down. |
| C．The importance of bats’ hanging upside down. |
| D．How bats use their energy at night. |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
We know that sugary sodas aren’t good for our bodies. Now it turns out that they may not be good for our minds, either. A new study of more than 260,000 people has found a link between sweetened soft-drinks and depression, and diet sodas may be making matters worse.
Americans drink far more sodas than people in other countries— as much as 170 liters per person per year. But the impact of this study isn’t limited to the United States. “Sweetened drinks, coffee and tea are commonly consumed worldwide and have important physical consequences. And they may have important mental-health consequences as well,” study author Dr Honglei Chen said in a statement.
The study studied 263,925 people between the ages of 50 and 71. Researchers followed their consumption of drinks like soda, tea coffee, and other soft drinks from 1995 to 1996 and then. 10 years later, asked them if they had been diagnosed with depression since the year 2000. More than 11,3000 of them had.
Participants who drank more than four servings of sodas per day were 30 percent more likely to develop depression than participants who did not drink sodas at all. People who stuck with fruit punch(鸡尾酒), had a 38 percent higher risk than people who didn’t drink sweetened drinks. And all that extra sugar isn’t the actual problem. Researchers say that the artificial sweetener aspartame may be to blame.
The study found a link but could not surely determine whether sodas and other sweet soft drinks cause depression. Still, the results “are consistent with a small but growing body of evidence suggesting that artificially sweetened beverages may be linked to poor health outcomes.”
But there’s a bright side for those who can’t live without their daily sodas. Adults who drank coffee had a 10 percent lower risk of depression compared to people who didn’t drink any coffee, according to the study. “Our research suggests that cutting out or down on sweetened diet drinks or replacing them with unsweetened coffee may naturally help lower your depression risk,” said Chen.
【小题1】What has the new study of more than 260,000 people found?
| A．Sugary sodas aren’t good for the physical health of old people. |
| B．Americans have a special tooth for sweet foods. |
| C．Sweetened soft-drinks may increase the risk of depression. |
| D．Sweetened soft-drinks have important physical consequences. |
| A．About twenty-six thousand people participated in it. |
| B．The oldest participants were below 80 when the study was over. |
| C．Most of the participants had depression when the study was over. |
| D．The study lasted more than ten years from the beginning to the end. |
| A．can reduce the harm of sweetened drinks |
| B．is used to reduce the risk of depression |
| C．is mainly used to make fruit punch |
| D．is used to make something .sweet |
| A．more research is needed to confirm the new findings |
| B．the new findings aren’t consistent with any previous findings |
| C．cutting one’s sodas intake will surely reduce one’s depression |
| D．the new findings won’t have an impact on people’s drinking habits |
| A．Sodas. |
| B．Unsweetened coffee. |
| C．Sugary coffee. |
| D．Fruit punch. |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Next time a customer comes to your office, offer him a cup of coffee. And when you’re doing your holiday shopping online, make sure you’re holding a large glass of iced tea. The physical sensation（感觉）of warmth encourages emotional warmth, while a cold drink in hand prevents you from making unwise decisions—those are the practical lesson being drawn from recent research by psychologist John A. Bargh.
Psychologists have known that one person’s perception（感知）of another’s “warmth” is a powerful determiner in social relationships. Judging someone to be either “warm” or “cold” is a primary consideration, even trumping evidence that a “cold” person may be more capable. Much of this is rooted in very early childhood experiences, Bargh argues, when babies’ conceptual sense of the world around them is shaped by physical sensations, particularly warmth and coldness. Classic studies by Harry Harlow, published in 1958, showed monkeys preferred to stay close to a cloth “mother” rather than one made of wire, even when the wire “mother” carried a food bottle. Harlow’s work and later studies have led psychologists to stress the need for warm physical contact from caregivers to help young children grow into healthy adults with normal social skills.
Feelings of “warmth” and “coldness” in social judgments appear to be universal. Although no worldwide study has been done, Bargh says that describing people as “warm” or “cold” is common to many cultures, and studies have found those perceptions influence judgment in dozens of countries.
To test the relationship between physical and psychological warmth, Bargh conducted an experiment which involved 41 college students. A research assistant who was unaware of the study’s hypotheses（假设）, handed the students either a hot cup of coffee, or a cold drink, to hold while the researcher filled out a short information form. The drink was then handed back. After that, the students were asked to rate the personality of “Person A” based on a particular description. Those who had briefly held the warm drink regarded Person A as warmer than those who had held the iced drink.
“We are grounded in our physical experiences even when we think abstractly,” says Bargh.
【小题1】The author mentions Harlow’s experiment to show that ________.
| A．babies need warm physical contact |
| B．caregivers should be healthy adults |
| C．adults should develop social skills |
| D．monkeys have social relationships |
| A．write down their hypotheses |
| B．evaluate someone’s personality |
| C．fill out a personal information form |
| D．hold coffee and cold drink alternatively |
| A．abstract thinking does not come from physical experiences |
| B．feelings of warmth and coldness are studied worldwide |
| C．physical temperature affects how we see others |
| D．capable persons are often cold to others |
| A．Drinking for Better Social Relationships. |
| B．Developing Better Drinking Habits. |
| C．Experiments of Personality Evaluation. |
| D．Physical Sensations and Emotions. |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
In July 1994 Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, was struck by 21 pieces of a comet (彗星). When the fragments (碎片) landed in the southern part of the giant planet, the explosions were watched by scientists here on earth. But what if our own planet was hit by a comet?
The year is 2094. It has been announced that a comet is heading towards the Earth. Most of it will miss our planet, but two fragments will probably hit the southern part of the Earth. The news has caused panic.
On 17 July, a fragment four kilometers wide enters the Earth's atmosphere with a huge explosion. About half of the fragment is destroyed. But the major part survives and hits the South Atlantic at 200 times the speed of sound. The sea boils and an enormous wave is created and spreads. The wall of water rushes towards southern Africa at 800 kilometres an hour. Cities on the African coast are totally destroyed and millions of people are drowned. The wave moves into the Indian Ocean and heads towards Asia.
Millions of people are already dead in the southern part of the Earth, but the north won't escape for long. Tons of broken pieces are thrown into the atmosphere by the explosions. As the sun is hidden by clouds of dust, temperatures around the world fall to almost zero. Crops are ruined. Wars break out as countries fight for food. A year later civilization has collapsed. No more than 10 million people have survived.
Could it really happen? In fact, it has already happened more than once in the history of the Earth. The dinosaurs were on the Earth for over 160 million years. Then 65 million years ago they suddenly disappeared. Many scientists believe that the Earth was hit by a space fragment. The dinosaurs couldn't survive in the cold climate that followed and they became extinct. Will we meet the same end?
【小题1】55.Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the author's description of the disaster in 2094?
| A．The whole world becomes extremely cold |
| B．All the coastal cities in Africa are destroyed |
| C．The visit of the comet results in wars |
| D．The whole mankind becomes extinct |
| A．Because they could only live in the warm climate |
| B．Because their extinction indicates future disasters |
| C．Because they once dominated the earth |
| D．Because dinosaurs and humans never live in the same age |
| A．give an accurate description of the possible disaster in the future |
| B．prove that humans will sooner or later be destroyed |
| C．warn of a possible disaster in the future |
| D．tell the historical development of the Earth |
| A．article of popular science | B．news report |
| C．research paper | D．horror story |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
The rat is named Lola and she’s at the top of her class of risk-running animals being trained to smell out landmines (地雷) in Colombia, home to the world’s highest number of mine-related deaths and injuries last year. Of the victims, many are children who died in the accidents while walking to school or playing in the countryside.
The smartest rat among the first six that the government is teaching to locate landmines equipment planted by rebels(叛乱者) has a 90 percent success rate in locating landmines material in her lab training.
Police animal trainers, tired of seeing their landmines-smelling dogs blown up by stepping on mines, hope the white-furred, pink-eyed creature will lead her classmates through coming open field tests and then into the country mine fields before the end of the year. It takes about 400 grams of pressure to detonate (引爆) a mine while Lola only weighs about 220 grams. “The dogs can easily set off the landmines, sometimes killing people nearby,” they said.
Police animal trainer Jose Pineda says that rats have more sensitive noses than dogs, which should allow them to better smell out mines in difficult terrain (地形).
Plus, it takes the police about six months to train mine-smelling dogs. Training the rats is expected to take about half that time once the program is established.
Trainers think that they are much smarter than the dogs. The second-best scorer in the laboratory is Lucrecia, with an 83 percent success rate. Males, such as one named Runcho, have fallen behind until now but may do better in the coming field tests. Pineda said that the next step of training will present new challenges to the rats as they are sure to meet distractions (分心的事) in the open.
【小题1】What do the underlined words “the accidents” in the first paragraph mean?
| A．Children were shot while playing outside. |
| B．A buried landmine was walked on and set off. |
| C．A rebel blew up a landmine and killed children. |
| D．Children got hurt in traffic accidents on the way to school. |
| A．They have a good sense of smell. |
| B．They are too light to set off buried landmines. |
| C．They can smell all kinds of explosive materials. |
| D．They cost people less time in terms of training |
| A．Rats will perform as well in the open air as in the lab. |
| B．Until now, female rats are better than the male ones. |
| C．Trainers should have chosen only female rats for the program. |
| D．Because they are foolish, dogs are not preferred for the program. |
| A．Dogs Bring Peace to the People in Colombia |
| B．Colombia Develops a New Way to Reduce Deaths |
| C．Buried Landmines are a Great Danger to Colombians |
| D．Colombian Police Train Rats to Sniff Out Landmines |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Should we allow modern buildings to? be built next to older buildings in a historic area of a city? In order to answer this question, we must first examine whether people really want to preserve the historic feel of an area. Not all historical buildings are attractive. However, there may be other reasons for example, economic (经济的) reasons-why they should be preserved. So, let us assume that historical buildings are both attractive and important to the majority of people. What should we do then if a new building is needed?
In my view, new architectural styles can exist perfectly well alongside an older style. Indeed, there are many examples in my own home town of Tours where modern designs have been placed very successfully next to old buildings. As long as the building in question is pleasing and does not dominate (影响) its surroundings too much, it often improves the attractiveness of the area.
It is true that there are examples of new buildings which have spoilt (破坏) the area they are in, but the same can be said of some old buildings too. Yet people still speak against new buildings in historic areas. I think this is simply because people are naturally conservative(保守的)and do not like change.
Although we have to respect people's feelings as fellow users of the buildings, I believe that it is the duty of the architect and planner to move things forward . If we always reproduced what was there before,we would all still be living in caves . Thus , I would argue against copying previous architectural styles and choose something fresh and different , even though that might be the more risky choice.
【小题1】What does the author say about historical buildings in the first paragraph?
| A．Some of them are not attractive. |
| B．Most of them ate too expensive to preserve. |
| C．They are more pleasing than modern buildings. |
| D．They have nothing to do with the historic feel of an area. |
| A．We should reproduce the same old buildings. |
| B．Buildings should not dominate their surroundings. |
| C．Some old buildings have spoilt the area they are in. |
| D．No one understands why people speak against new buildings. |
| A．Destroy old buildings |
| B．Put things in a different place |
| C．Choose new architectural styles |
| D．Respect people’s feelings for historical buildings |
| A．To explain why people dislike change. |
| B．To warn that we could end up living in caves. |
| C．To admit how new buildings have ruined their surroundings. |
| D．To argue that modern buildings can be built in historic areas. |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Environmental problems are becoming more and more serious all over the world. For example, cars have made the air unhealthy for people to breathe and poisonous gas is given off by factories. Trees on the hills have been cut down and waste water is being poured continuously into rivers. Furthermore, wherever we go today, we can find rubbish carelessly disposed.
There are different kinds of pollutants, each of which comes from different sources. It is necessary to identify the source of pollution, in order to make a policy to eliminate them.
Different products, processes and activities of our industrialized world together form the major source of pollution. The forms of pollution can be mainly divided into three kinds—solid, liquid and gas.
These pollutions have greatly damaged our planet and continue to do so. In fact, pollution is threatening our existence. The whole ecological balance of the earth is changing. Massive destruction of environment has brought about negative effects and even posed a great threat to man’s existence.
We must face the situation that exists and take action to solve our environmental problems. For instance, new laws must be passed to place strict control over industrial pollution, the public must receive the education about the danger of pollution and so on.
The earth is our home and we have the duty to take care of it for ourselves and our later generation. Fortunately, more and more people have realized these problems. Measures have been taken to deal with these situations by the government. Laws have been passed to stop pollution, I hope the problems will be solved in the near future and our home will become better and better.
【小题1】 How many examples of environmental problems are given in the first paragraph?
| A．2 | B．3 | C．4 | D．5 |
| A．In all there are three kinds of pollution |
| B．If people continue to pollute our planet, there will be no trees. |
| C．Industrial pollution has been completely controlled. |
| D．Laws have been passed to stop pollution and protect our environment. |
| A．2 | B．3 | C．5 | D．6 |
| A．despair | B．negative | C．optimistic | D．hopeless |
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