An article published recently in the scientific journal Nature is shedding new light on an important, but so far little has been appreciated, aspect of human evolution. In this article, Professors Dennis Bramble, and Daniel Lieberman suggest that the ability to run was a decisive factor in the development of our species. According to the two scientists, humans possess a number of anatomical（人体结构的）features that make them surprisingly good runners. “We are very confident that strong selection for running，which came at the expense of the historical ability to live in trees-was helpful in the origin of the modern human body form,” says Bramble, a biology professor at the University of Utah.
Traditional thinking up to now has been that the upright body form of modern humans has come about as a result of the ability to walk, and that running is simply a by-product of walking. Furthermore, humans have usually been regarded as poor runners compared to such animals as dogs, horses or antelopes. However, this is only true if we consider fast running over short distances. Even Olympic athlete can hardly run as fast as a horse can gallop, and can only keep up a top speed for fifteen seconds or so. Horses and antelopes, on the other hand, can run at top speed for several minutes, clearly outperforming us in this respect. But when it comes to long-distance running, humans do astonishingly well. They can maintain a steady pace for miles, and their overall speed compares favorably with that of horses or dogs.
Bramble and Lieberman examined twenty-six anatomical features found in humans. One of the most interesting of these is the nuchal ligament（颈背的韧带）. When we run, it is this ligament that prevents our head from pitching back and forth or from side to side. Therefore, we are able to run with steady heads held high. The nuchal ligament is not found in any other surviving primates（灵长类动物）, although the fossil（化石）record shows that Homo erectus, an early human species that walked upright, much as we do, also had one. Then there are our Achilles tendons（跟腱）at the backs of our legs, which have nothing to do with walking. When we run, these tendons behave like springs, helping to push us forward. Furthermore, we have low, wide shoulders, virtually disconnected from our skulls (the bony part of the head), another anatomical adaptation which allows us to run more efficiently.
But what evolutionary advantage is gained from being good long-distance runners? One assumption is that this ability may have permitted early humans to obtain food more effectively. “What these features and fossil facts appear to be telling us is that running evolved in order for our direct ancestors to compete with other carnivores (animals that eat meat) for access to the protein needed to grow the big brains that we enjoy today.” says Lieberman.
1.We can learn from the passage that the human ability to run _______.
A. was only recently described in a scientific journal
B. played an important part in human evolution
C. was considered more natural than the ability to live in trees
D. contributed to the form of human language
2.According to the second paragraph, humans _______
A. are better runners than most other animals
B. are not good at running short distances
C. compare unfavorably with horses and dogs
D. are poor long-distance runners
3.It appears that the nuchal ligament _______.
A. enables us to run with steady heads
B. is found in modern primates only
C. prevents the head from being held high
D. is a unique feature of carnivores
4.The passage does NOT tell us that _______
A. early humans had an advantage in obtaining food thanks to the running ability
B. fossils help us better understand human evolution.
C. our Achilles tendons are an adaptation for running efficiently
D. big brains may have been evolved for running long-distance
励耘书业暑假衔接宁波出版社系列答案科目：高中英语 来源：2015-2016学年湖南省张家界市高一上学期期末联考英语（A）试卷（解析版） 题型：阅读理解
Dear Editors,
On my way to work every morning I drive by a farm where I can see some horses off in the distance in the woods. They are there every single morning no matter how cold or rainy or windy it is. There is a shed(牲口棚）on the farm, but it doesn’t look to me that the horses are ever taken into the shed. Is this right? I don’t think horses should be treated like this.
Sam
Dear Sam,
Thanks for taking an interest in these horses. Problems about the care of horses are different from cats and dogs. Think of wild horses that spend their whole lives outdoors finding whatever food and shelter（遮蔽物）they can on their own. The point is that horses don’t require as much shelter as a lot of other farm animals. However, that doesn’t mean that they don’t need some shelter.
It is hard to tell from your letter whether the situation for these horses is unacceptable. Above all, do you know the people who own the horses well enough to just talk to them as a neighbor and express your concern (关注)? Maybe they will tell you that the horses do go in the shed at night.
If direct contact (联系）is not a choice and you can see that the horses’ situation is poor, then call 911, report the situation and ask law enforcement officers (执法官员) to look into it.
If you just can’t see enough to prove such a report, call the Oswego Court Humane Society on 207-1070 for help from the Large Animal Assistance Project (LAAP). A volunteer from the project will help solve the problem.
Speaking of volunteer assistance, since you appear to be a horse lover, why not talk to the LAAP about volunteer opportunities for you? It’s big job, but totally rewarding, and the project always needs knowledgeable horse people to help.
1.Sam writes to the editors in order to____________.
A. ask how to keep horses in changeable weathers.
B. discuss whether some horses are badly treated
C. express his strong interest in keeping horses
D. describe some beautiful horses he has seen
2.Compared with cats and dogs, horses ________.
A. need less shelter
B. prefer living indoors
C. can predict bad weathers
D. like finding food by themselves
3.What do the editors advise Sam to do first?
A. To call 911 for help
B. To find a volunteer from the LAAP
C. To contact the horses’ owner directly.
D. To call the Oswego County Humane Society.
4.In the last paragraph of the second letter, the editors_______.
A. hope Sam can be more knowledgeable
B. stress the importance of volunteering
C. encourage Sam to join the LAAP
D. suggest Sam change his job
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科目：高中英语 来源：2016届江西省高三上学期第一次月考英语试卷（解析版） 题型：阅读理解
Once Dr. Mellinkoff invited me to join him at the hospital to discuss interesting cases with his students. The case at hand was a Guatemalan man, aged 34, who had a fever and many other medical problems. His condition was not improving, and there was not much hope he would live.
Dr. Mellinkoff asked to see the patient. He introduced himself in Spanish and, in a very gentle voice, asked how he felt. The patient smiled and said everything was all right. Then the doctor asked if he was able to eat. The patient said that he had no desire to eat.
“Are you getting food you like?”
The patient said nothing.
“Do you get the kind of food you have at home?”
The answer was no.
The doctor put his hand on the man’s shoulder and his voice was very soft.
“If, you had food that you liked, would you eat it?”
“Yes, yes.” the patient said.
The change in the patient’s appearance couldn’t have been more obvious. Nothing was said, but it was easy to tell that a message had been sent and had also been received.
Later, the doctor asked why the Guatemalan man wasn’t getting food he could eat. One of the students said, “We all know how difficult it is to get the kitchen to make special meals.”
“Suppose, ” the doctor replied, “you felt a certain medicine was absolutely necessary but that our hospital didn’t carry it, would you accept defeat or would you insist the hospital meet your request?”
“I would probably insist, ” the student said.
“Very well, ” the doctor said. “You might want to try the same method in the kitchen. It won’t be easy, but I can help you. Meanwhile, let’s get some food inside this man as fast as possible, and stay with it. Or he’ll be killed by hunger. By the way, there must be someone among you who can speak Spanish. If we want to make real progress, we need to be able to talk with him.”
Three weeks later, Dr. Mellinkoff told me that the Guatemalan man had left the hospital under his own power. It takes more than medicine to help sick people; you also have to talk to them and make them comfortable.
1.The patient had no desire to eat because ________.
A. he was not hungry
B. he was seriously ill
C. he was given special meals
D. he was not satisfied with the food
2.According to the passage, we can conclude that ________.
A. the patient was from another country
B. the patient’s illness was caused by hunger
C. Dr. Mellinkoff performed an operation on the patient
D. the hospital failed to provide the right medicine for the patient
3.Which of the following words can be used to describe Dr. Mellinkoff?
A. Cold. B. Considerate. C. Curious. D. Confident.
4.What do you think Dr. Mellinkoff wanted to tell his students in this case?
A. Doctors should know their patients’ real problems.
B. Doctors should be able to speak foreign languages.
C. Doctors should try to improve their medical skills.
D. Doctors should give more medicine to patients.
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科目：高中英语 来源：2016届甘肃甘谷县第一中学高三第四次检测考试英语试卷（解析版） 题型：阅读理解
I believe that my country，Poland，is a perfect example for a place where food is particularly important. When we were little children, we began to understand how much a loaf of bread meant to our parents—to some it might sound silly but for me the custom of kissing bread before you started cutting it was simply amazing. It’s not so common nowadays to treat food that way，since you hardly ever bake your own bread. Besides, everyone would call you crazy if you tried to kiss every bread roll before you ate them! But though we no longer make our food from scratch (起点), some customs have been kept—that’s why I feel so sorry every time I have to throw any food away—even though I no longer live with my parents and nobody would blame me for this anymore!
Many people of our nation are still working as farmers, eating what they grow and harvest and therefore enjoying everything more. It’s widely known that you value more anything that needs your effort in the first place. In most homes in Poland, especially those of farmers, the whole family would try and have their meals together—extremely difficult now, but so rewarding! You can share other members’ troubles and successes, give your children some attention, or just sit down for a moment, instead of rushing through life aimlessly. Furthermore, your body，and stomach in particular will be very grateful for such a time!
In Poland, a wedding，Christmas or even a birthday is celebrated with a great meal. Women in the house get together and cook ,sometimes for a few days before the event，and the extremely good or unusual food will be remembered and widely talked about.
You cannot over-value the importance of food in the country. What’s more, almost everyone in Poland will be as interested in the topic as I am.
1.When the writer was a child, he/she _______.
A. found people were crazy about bread
B. began to realize the importance of food
C. thought that cutting bread was amazing
D. learned people hardly baked their own bread
2.The writer feels very sorry when he/she has to throw away any food because___________.
A. he/she makes food from scratch
B. his/her parents would blame him/her
C. some customs still have effect on him/her
D. many people are still working hard as farmers
3.From the text, we can learn that, in Poland, ________.
A. most meals can be interesting topics for a long time
B. the whole family often have meals together nowadays
C. it’s common for women to get together to cook for a few days
D. family members can know more about each other by having meals together
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科目：高中英语 来源：2017届湖南衡阳八中等校新高三实验班暑期第一次联考英语试卷（解析版） 题型：完形填空
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
My dad always collected coins. He was delighted when the new U.S. state coins were _________ .He would walk to his long-time bankers and make sure they put at least a _________ of new coins aside for him. He gave them to every family member. It gradually became a special family __________ to get coins from Dad.
When my dad _________, I felt such a sense of emptiness. My father and I had been so close. Iwas lost without his _________ and support. I wondered if I would ever feel my dad around me again, __________ me. It was right after Hurricane Katrina and I was doing a motivational meeting for aboutthree hundred volunteers. At the end of the event, I felt so grateful as I looked at these __________individuals. To my _________ , when I glanced at the floor, I saw nothing _________ a coin, from NorthCarolina, the state in which my dad was born and _________ .
Then two months later, I went back to visit my mom. While I was there, I went to the bankto ___________ a check. The bank manager, who had known me, called me into her office, showing methe coins for all the states my dad had _________ .
Ever since that time, I have always found coins at the most _________ times, when I neededsupport the most. Amazingly, nowadays when I need emotional support during a _________ time, a coin will always show up in a（n） _________ place.
It has now become a tradition in my family. Every time a coin appears in our house, oneof my kids says, “Oh, it’s _________! ”We all feel a sense of _________ every time a single coin turnsup in an unexpected place. We have all _________ it as a _________ of love, guidance and support fromDad — and every new coin we find makes us _________ .
1.A. delivered B. sold C. discovered D. issued
2.A. pack B. roll C. bunch D. pile
3.A. tradition B. memory C. decision D. interest
4.A. missed B. disappeared C. died D. dropped
5.A. guidance B. promise C. expectation D. belief
6.A.watchingover B. bringingup C. waitingfor D. listeningto
7.A.concerned B. devoted C. embarrassed D. relaxed[
8.A. delight B. confusion C. astonishment D. relief
9.A. from B. but C. with D. for
10.A. raised B. brought C. grown D. played
11.A. spend B. sign C. pay D. cash
12.A. ordered B. collected C. received D. shared
13.A. boring B. adventurous C. Precious D. extraordinary
14.A. complicated B. nervous C. disturbed D. tough
15.A. strange B. annoying C. satisfying D. hard
16.A. money B. Grandpa C. toy D. belief
17.A. proud B. comfort C. Success D. inspiration
18.A. thought B. explained C. Accepted D. consulted
19.A. result B. praise C. message D. need
20.A. change B. gain C. improve D. smile
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科目：高中英语 来源：2015-2016学年辽宁沈阳第二中学高二下期末考试英语试卷（解析版） 题型：七选五
根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。，选项中有两项为多余选项。
Crows Have Had a Bad Press
1. They are smarter than any cat and sometimes children too. But despite this, they have a bad reputation.
“There are a few reasons for this,” says Kevin J. McGowan, a U.S. bird expert, who has studied crows for 25 years. “One is that they’re black, and in western European culture, that’s bad. 2. So somebody died, lying on the side of the road, and the crows came in and picked at it because there it was, free food. ”
Crows are also attacked by gardeners. It’s not deserved, says John Marzluff, professor of wildlife science at the University of Washington. U.S. Marzluff says crows do more good than harm to a garden. “They eat a great variety of crop pest insects,” he said, “so in the family garden they are a good natural insecticide.”
3.
Crows have strong family values. They come closer to human beings in social behavior than any other animal studied. Crow society is family-based. 4. . When you see a number of crows gathering, they’re usually family groups that are helping each other make a living.
A crow has a big “vocabulary”. It can make around 30 calls unique to itself, each with a different meaning. From their calls, crows can tell the difference between family members, neighbors and strangers.
Young crows like to play. They get an object like a leaf or a feather and they chase each other around, trying to get the object. Then whoever gets it gets chased.
5. They let others know when they are calm, angry, fearful and playful. Some crow emotions and behavior are amazing, such as leaving goodies-candy, keys or shiny glass-for people who feed them, or pooping on the cars of people who bother them.
A. Crow emotions are wonderful
B. Here is something more about crows that you might not know.
C. Young crows show respect for their parents as humans do.
D. They also get associated with death because in Europe there are no vultures(秃鹰).
E. Crows are very smart.
F. Crows express emotions.
G. Parents take care of their kids, just like people.
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科目：高中英语 来源：2015-2016学年河北唐山第一中学高一下期末考试英语试卷（解析版） 题型：完成句子
课文重点句子填空
1.He was not going to _________ _________ _________ (屏息) for her to apologize.
2.The fact is that I earned my passage by working as an unpaid hand, which _________ _________ (解释) my appearance.
3.Only after her mother came to help her for the first few months _________ _________ _________ (她被允许) to begin her project.
4._________ _________ (幸亏) his research, the UN has more tools in the battle to rid the world of hunger.
5.Unfortunately, his father died, leaving the family even _________ _________ (穷困) , so Charlie spent his childhood looking after his sick mother and his brother.
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科目：高中英语 来源：2015-2016学年河北沧州第一中学高一下期末考试英语试卷（解析版） 题型：阅读理解
Plants are very important living things. Life could not go on if there were no plants. This is because plants can make food from air, water and sunlight. Animals and man cannot make food from air, water and sunlight. Animals get their food by eating plants and other animals. Therefore animals and man need plants in order to live. This is why we find that there are so many plants around us.
If you look carefully at the plants around you, you will find that there are two kinds of plants: flowering plants and non-flowering plants. Flowering plants can make seed. The seeds are protected by the fruits. Some fruits have one seed, some have two, three or four, and some have many seeds. But a few fruits have no seeds at all. An example of a fruit without seeds is the banana fruit. Most non-flowering plants do not grow from seeds. They grow from spores (胚芽). Spores are very small. Some spores are so small and light that they can float in the air. We may say that spores are quite the same as seeds. When these spores are all on wet and shady places, they usually grow into new plants.
1.The main idea of the first paragraph is that ______.
A. plants are important for life
B. plants cannot grow without air
C. there are many plants in the world
D. we can’t live without water
2.Plants can make food from _______.
A. flower, water and air B. water, sunlight and air
C. air, water and soil D. air, sun and light
3.What can we infer from the passage?
A. Of all living things animals are most important.
B. Spores are seeds.
C. All fruits of flowering plants have seeds.
D. Without plants, man will die out.
4.This passage may be taken from ______.
A. a medicine book B. a novel
C. a science magazine D. an experiment report
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科目：高中英语 来源：2015-2016学年河北省高一3月月考英语试卷（解析版） 题型：阅读理解
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。
Long, long ago, there were a lot of donkeys. The donkeys worked hard every day. They had no time to play or to relax, but they never felt appreciated for the work they did.
One day two donkeys got bored. They wanted to live a comfortable life. So the donkeys went to see a wise old man. They told him their problem. The wise old man agreed that they worked too hard, and he wanted to help the donkeys. “I have an idea，” he said.
“What is your idea？” asked the donkeys.
“I will paint you and no one will know you are donkeys，” said the man.
The man went off to find some paint and he returned in just a few minutes. He had two pots of paint. One pot was filled with white paint, and the other black paint.
The old man first painted them white, and then painted black stripes (条纹) over the white paint. When he finished, the donkeys did not look at all like donkeys. “You no longer look like donkeys，” the old man said. “Everyone will be fooled. I will call you something else, zebras.”
The zebras went to a field to eat grass. Now they did not have to work.
Soon, other donkeys saw the zebras. They asked the zebras where they came from. When the zebras told the donkeys their secret, the donkeys all rushed to see the old man.
“Make us into zebras, too，” they pleaded. So the wise old man painted more donkeys. As he did, more and more donkeys came.
The old man could not paint fast enough. Soon the donkeys became impatient. They began to kick about, and they knocked over the paint pots.
There was no more paint. The painted donkeys ran off to become zebras. The unpainted donkeys, because of their impatience, had to return to work.
This is why it is important to be patient.
1.The two donkeys went to see a wise old man in order to ________.
A. tell him their problem B. ask him for help
C. change into zebras D. get some grass
2.When the two donkeys returned, why didn't they have to work?
A. Because they didn't eat enough grass.
B. Because they didn't want to work.
C. Because no one knew they were donkeys.
D. Because they were no longer donkeys.
3.What does the underlined word “pleaded” mean?
A. Advised. B. Ordered.
C. Agreed. D. Begged.
4.Many donkeys were not painted by the old man because ________.
A. no more paint was left
B. all the paint was used up
C. they couldn't wait any longer
D. he was too tired to paint
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