When Lady Gaga releases a new single, it quickly goes around the world.
Now scientists have discovered the same thing happens with the songs of another unusual and interesting creature – the humpback whale.
The mammals become interested in new tunes just like people do, and the most popular original whale songs spread globally like hit singles.
The discovery has astonished experts who say it is the first time such a large, “population-wide cultural exchange” has been seen in the animal kingdom.
Male humpback whales are well-known for the loud, long and complex songs they make during the mating season. Scientists are unsure why the males sing. Some believe it is a way of advertising themselves to females, others that it allows migrating(迁徙)whales to stay in contact.
Each song lasts for 10 to 20 minutes and the males can sing continuously for 24 hours. At any period of time, all the males in a population sing the same song. But a study, published in the journal Current Biology, shows that this song changes over time and spreads around the oceans. Dr Ellen Garland, of Queensland University, said: “Our findings show cultural exchange on a vast scale. Songs move like cultural ripples from one population to another, causing all males to change their song to a new version.”
Researchers recorded songs from six neighboring populations of whales in the Pacific over a decade. They found that new versions of the songs appear over time and always spread from west to east.
It takes around two years for songs that appear in the waters off Australia to be heard in French Polynesia.
Dr Garland believes that a small number of whales may migrate to other populations carrying the new songs with them, or that they are heard by passing whales.
Dr Garland said, “We think this male search for song novelty(新颖)is in the hope of being that little bit different and perhaps more attractive to the opposite sex.”
63. The author mentions Lady Gaga to ______.
A. prove the popularity of her hit singles
B. show whales’ songs also spread globally
C. emphasize humpbacks are as famous as her
D. provide readers with a new way to learn her songs
64. The underlined word “release” in Paragraph 1 means “______”.
A. announce B. sell
C. publish D. record
65. The discovery is very astonishing to experts, because it reveals ______.
A. the existence of cultural change
B. cultural exchange on a vast scale
C. the reason why male humpbacks sing
D. the novelty of the songs of humpbacks
66. According to the passage, Dr Garland wants to tell us ______.
A. male whales adopt new songs to make themselves distinct
B. all female humpbacks also change their song during the mating season
C. whales have their own tunes that spread around the world for a decade
D. whales can sing continuously for 24 hours when migrating from west to east
阅读快车系列答案科目：高中英语 来源：2016届山西省朔州市高一上学期第四次月考英语试卷（解析版） 题型：阅读理解
Chuck，unlike other frogs，didn't like catching flies himself. But he did love eating them.
Some frogs thought Chuck was lazy. Some believed he must think he was too good for them. Some thought Chuck was the strangest frog ever.
That didn't matter to Chuck. Each morning，Chuck jumped over and sat under the spider's web. Then when Lady Eightlegs went off to dip (浸) her feet in the pond，Chuck ate flies from her web.
One morning while Chuck was enjoying his fly breakfast，Lady Eightlegs returned and caught him.
“You're the one who keeps eating my flies！”she cried.
Chuck jumped away and into the pond. Now there was an idea！Why not spin (结) his own web?
He collected some vines (葡萄藤) from a nearby farm. Then he began to spin his web. He worked on his web for hours，until very late at night. And then he fell asleep.
When he woke up the next morning，he found that he got caught by the vines.
“Help！”he shouted.
Lady Eightlegs looked up from the edge of the pond. She hurried up to help Chuck out of the vine web.
“No matter how hard I try，I can't spin a spider's web，”Chuck said.
“Of course not，”Lady Eightlegs said. “You're a frog. Frogs can't spin spider's webs any better than spiders can swim，I guess.”
“But I always see you in the water，”Chuck said.
“I only wade in (蹚水) up to my knees，”Lady Eightlegs sighed. “How wonderful it would be to swim in the middle of the pond and float (漂浮) peacefully under the sun.”
Chuck smiled，“I have an idea.”
From that day forward，Chuck carried Lady Eightlegs out to the middle of the pond，where they floated and played together. When they returned to land，they shared a breakfast of flies from her spider's web.
It wasn't exactly an ordinary friendship. But Chuck was not an ordinary frog.
1.The second paragraph is written to show that Chuck ______.
A．was different from other frogs B．didn't get along well with other frogs
C．led a lonely life D．was a proud frog
2.What do we know about Chuck's web?
A．Lady Eightlegs helped Chuck spin it. B．It was successfully spun by Chuck.
C．It was spun far from the pond. D．Chuck failed to spin it himself.
3.It can be inferred from the text that ______.
A．Chuck had tried to catch Lady Eightlegs B．Chuck had difficulty collecting vines
C．Lady Eightlegs was very wise D．Lady Eightlegs swam well
4.What was Lady Eightlegs' attitude towards Chuck in the end?
A．Worried. B．Friendly. C．Doubtful. D．Cold.
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科目：高中英语 来源：2011-2012学年浙江省高三上学期期中考试英语试题 题型：阅读理解
He almost didn’t see the old lady, stranded on the side of the road, but even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front her Mercedes and got out.
Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn’t look safe; he looked poor and hungry. He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold. He knew how she felt.
He said, “I am here to help you, ma’am. Why don’t you wait in the car where it’s warm? By the way, my name is Bryan Anderson.”
Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt.
As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down the window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was from St. Louis and was just passing through. She couldn’t thank him enough for coming to her aid.
Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk. The lady asked how much she owed him. Any amount would have been all right with her. She already imagined all the awful things that could have happened, had he not stopped. Bryan never thought twice about being paid. This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need, and God knows there were many people who had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way.
He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance they needed, and Bryan added, “And think of me.”
He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the twilight.
1.This story most probably took place_______.
A. in a garage B. on a highway C. in a busy street D. near a gas station
2.When the man approached the old lady, the first thing he did was to______.
A. ask what was wrong with her car B. get the old lady out of her car
C. change her tire as soon as possible D. make her know he wanted to help her
3.The underlined part in Paragraph 6 suggests that________.
A. the old lady had got ready to pay the man
B. the old lady was grateful to the man
C. the man had a lot of difficulty changing the tire
D. the man didn’t stop changing the tire
4.Which of the following words can best describe the man?
A. Warm-hearted and sensitive. B. Careful and serious.
C. Thoughtful and helpful. D. Generous and open-minded.
5. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that ______________.
A. the man was happy after helping the old lady
B. the man received a lot of money from the old lady
C. the man made the old lady feel cold and depressed
D. the man felt extremely frustrated all the way home
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
| HUMPBACK WHALE FACTS Every humpback can be identified from the unique marking on the underside of its tail. They can dive for up to 45 minutes and can reach depths of 600 feet. Humpbacks can weigh two tons at birth . A full-grown whale can be 45 feet long and weigh up to 40 tons. Nearly 40 percent of a humpback’s body weight is muscle. They can see up to 400 feet underwater. They can blow out air from their blowholes at a speed of 300 mph . Their lungs can hold 2,500 gallons of air. |
When Lady Gage releases a catchy new single , it quickly goes around the world.
Now scientists have discovered the same thing happens with the songs of another exotic（外来的） creature the humpback whale.
The mammals become interested in new tunes just like people do ,and the most popular original whale songs spread globally like hit singles. The discovery has astonished marine experts who say it is the first time such a large., “ population-wide cultural exchange” has been seen in the animal kingdom.
Male humpback whales are famed for the loud , long and complex songs they make during the mating season . Scientists are unsure why the males sing . Some believe it is a way of advertising themselves to females , others that it allows migrating whales to stay in contact.
Each song lasts for 10 to 20 minutes and the males can sing continuously for 24 hours . At any period of time , all the males in a population sing the same song . But a study ,published in the journal Current Biology , shows that this song changes over time and spreads around the oceans . Dr Ellen Garland , of Queensland University , said :“Our findings reveal cultural change on a vast scale. Songs move like cultural ripples from one population to another , causing all males to change their song to a new version.”
Researchers recorded songs from six neighboring populations of whales in the Pacific over a decade. They found that new versions of the songs appear over time and always spread from west to east.
Dr Garland believes that a small number of whales may migrate to other populations carrying the new songs with them , or that they are heard by passing whales.
Dr Garland said, “We think this male search for song novelty（新奇） is in the hope of being that little bit different and perhaps more attractive to the opposite sex. ”
66. What can we learn from the facts of humpback whales?
A. They can travel at a speed of 300 miles per hour.
B. They always stay at a depth of 600 feet in the sea.
C. All of them differ from each other.
D. Approximately 40 tons of a grown humpback whale is muscle.
67. The author mentions Lady Gaga to .
A. Prove the popularity of her hit singles
B. show the whale’s songs also spread quickly
C. emphasize humpbacks are as famous as her
D. provide readers with a new way to learn her songs
68. The word “population ” in this passage probably refers to .
A. the spreading of the humpback whales’ new versions of the tunes
B. the number of male humpback whales singing in the sea
C. the place where certain amounts of humpback whales live
D. the migration of humpback whales from one place to another
69. The discovery is very astonishing to experts , because it reveals .
A. the existence of cultural change
B. the reason why male humpbacks sing
C. the novelty of the songs of humpbacks
D. cultural exchange on a vast scale
70. According to the passage , Dr Garland wants to tell us .
A. all female humpbacks also change their song during the mating season
B. whales have their own tunes that spread around the world for a decade
C. whale’s songs always spred from east to west in the Pacific Deean
D. male humpbacks adopt new songs to make themselves unique and attractive
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
When Lady Gaga releases a new single, it quickly goes around the world.
Now scientists have discovered the same thing happens with the songs of another unusual and interesting creature – the humpback whale.
The mammals become interested in new tunes just like people do, and the most popular original whale songs spread globally like hit singles.
The discovery has astonished experts who say it is the first time such a large, “population-wide cultural exchange” has been seen in the animal kingdom.
Male humpback whales are well-known for the loud, long and complex songs they make during the mating season. Scientists are unsure why the males sing. Some believe it is a way of advertising themselves to females, others that it allows migrating(迁徙)whales to stay in contact.
Each song lasts for 10 to 20 minutes and the males can sing continuously for 24 hours. At any period of time, all the males in a population sing the same song. But a study, published in the journal Current Biology, shows that this song changes over time and spreads around the oceans. Dr Ellen Garland, of Queensland University, said: “Our findings show cultural exchange on a vast scale. Songs move like cultural ripples from one population to another, causing all males to change their song to a new version.”
Researchers recorded songs from six neighboring populations of whales in the Pacific over a decade. They found that new versions of the songs appear over time and always spread from west to east.
It takes around two years for songs that appear in the waters off Australia to be heard in French Polynesia.
Dr Garland believes that a small number of whales may migrate to other populations carrying the new songs with them, or that they are heard by passing whales.
Dr Garland said, “We think this male search for song novelty(新颖)is in the hope of being that little bit different and perhaps more attractive to the opposite sex.”
63. The author mentions Lady Gaga to ______.
A. prove the popularity of her hit singles
B. show whales’ songs also spread globally
C. emphasize humpbacks are as famous as her
D. provide readers with a new way to learn her songs
64. The underlined word “release” in Paragraph 1 means “______”.
A. announce B. sell
C. publish D. record
65. The discovery is very astonishing to experts, because it reveals ______.
A. the existence of cultural change
B. cultural exchange on a vast scale
C. the reason why male humpbacks sing
D. the novelty of the songs of humpbacks
66. According to the passage, Dr Garland wants to tell us ______.
A. male whales adopt new songs to make themselves distinct
B. all female humpbacks also change their song during the mating season
C. whales have their own tunes that spread around the world for a decade
D. whales can sing continuously for 24 hours when migrating from west to east
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