Question

18．Grasshoppers are having to change their song-one of the iconic sounds of summer-to make themselves heard above the noise of road traffic，ecologists have discovered．The study，published in the British Ecological Society's journal Functional Ecology，is the first to show that human-made noise affects natural insect populations．Animals use sound to communicate for many reasons，including marking out territory，warning of predators and finding mates，and although previous research shows birds，whales and even frogs change their calls in noisy environments，the impact of human-made noise on insects has been neglected until now．Ulrike Lampe and colleagues from the University of Bielefeld in Germany caught 188 male bow-winged grasshoppers，half from quiet locations and half from beside busy roads．The grasshoppers use their song to attract mates．
     The team then studied the differences in the two groups'songs in the laboratory．To encourage them to sing they exposed the males to a female grasshopper，and then recorded their courtship songs．Analysis of almost 1，000 recordings revealed grasshoppers living beside noisy roads produced different songs to those living in quieter locations．
     According to Lampe："Bow-winged grasshoppers produce songs that include low and high frequency components．We found that grasshoppers from noisy habitats increase the volume of the lower-frequency part of their song，which makes sense since road noise can mask signals in this part of the frequency spectrum（频谱）．"
     The team's findings are important because traffic noise could be upsetting the grasshopper's mating system（交配系统）．"Increased noise levels could affect grasshopper courtship in several ways．It could prevent females from hearing male courtship songs properly，prevent females from recognising males of their own species，or impair females'ability to estimate how attractive a male is from his song，"Lampe explains．
     Having discovered that human-made noise affects insect communication，the researchers now want to learn more about how the mechanism works，and whether the grasshoppers adapt to noise during their development as larvae（幼虫），or whether males from noisy habitats produce different songs due to genetic differences．
     The bow-winged grasshopper is a common species in Central Europe．Adults occur mainly between July and September，preferring dry grasslands．Around 1.5 cm long，they vary in colour from green and browns to red and purple．The male's song consists of 2 second-long phrases that increase in amplitude （振幅） towards the end．The beginning of a phrase is characterised by slower ticking sounds that increase in speed and amplitude，leading to a buzzing sound towards the end of the phrase．A courtship song usually includes 2 phrases．
63．The author wrote the article toC．
A．introduce how grasshoppers make noises to attract mates．
B．raise the awareness of protecting bow-winged grasshoppers．
C．inform us of a recent discovery of ecological research．
D．warn us that human-made noise has changed ecological system．
64．Which of the following could be the main idea of the passage？B
A．Bow-winged grasshoppers use their songs to communicate．
B．Grasshoppers change their songs to adapt to the noisy environment．
C．Grasshoppers'songs include both low and high frequency components．
D．Bow-winged grasshoppers are a common species in Central Europe．
65．What does the underlined word"impair"in the fourth paragraph mean？C
A．repair        B．develop        C．weaken         D．improve
66．Which of the following statements is true according the passage？A
A．Road noise can cover the lower-frequency part of their song．
B．Animals make sounds only for the purpose of finding mates．
C．Grasshopper larvae learn to adapt to human-made noise．
D．Bow-winged grasshoppers grow up into adults in spring．

Answer 1

分析 这篇文章主要是告诉我们生态学研究的最新发现，蚱蜢为了适应嘈杂的环境会改变声音．

解答 CBCA
63．答案 C 写作意图题：根据第一段的句子：The study，published in the British Ecological Society's journal Functional Ecology，is the first to show that human-made noise affects natural insect populations．可知作者写这篇文章主要是告诉我们生态学研究的最新发现，所以选C．
64．答案 B 主旨大意题：根据文章的内容和第一段的句子：Grasshoppers are having to change their song-one of the iconic sounds of summer-to make themselves heard above the noise of road traffic，可知这篇文章的主要内容是蚱蜢为了适应嘈杂的环境会改变声音，所以选B．
65．答案 C 猜测词义题：根据第四段的句子：It could prevent females from hearing male courtship songs properly，prevent females from recognizing males of their own species，和prevent这样的词并列，可知"impair"的意思是"削弱"的意思，所以选C．
66．答案 A 细节理解题：根据第三段的句子：We found that grasshoppers from noisy habitats increase the volume of the lower-frequency part of their song，which makes sense since road noise can mask signals in this part of the frequency spectrum（频谱）．"可知公路上的噪音会覆盖它们歌声中的低频部分，所以选A．

点评 阅读理解题主要考查考生对书面语篇的整体领悟能力和接受及处理具体信息的能力．试题的取材，密切联系当前我国和世界经济、科技等方面的变化，有关数据的来源真实可信．因此科普知识类文章是每年的必考题．分析历年的科普类文章我们不难发现以下特点：
1、文章逻辑性强，条理清楚，语法结构简单，用语通俗．
2、文章内容注重科技领域的新发现．内容新颖，从而使文章显得陌生，内容抽象复杂．
3、命题方面注意对具体细节的准确理解和以之为依据的推理判断．
4、以人们的日常行为或饮食健康入手，探讨利弊，诠释过程，阐述概念．