Humans might be the most highly-evolved species on the planet, but most animals possess skills we can only dream of having. Imagine how much electricity we could save if we could see in the dark the way cats do. Imagine leaping from tree to tree like a monkey. Giraffes, which are otherwise calm and good-natured, sleep only 4.6 hours a day.
We realized a long, long time ago that nature provides the best blueprint for invention. We’ve borrowed canals from beavers and reflectors from cat’s eyes. Although the words “bionics”(仿生学) became popular only after the 1960s, history shows that nature has always provided ideas on solving everyday problems. Our archives(档案) don’t go back to the time of Leonardo da Vinci and his bird-like flying machines, but we can take you to the late 19th century, where we applied those same principles for building our first practical airplanes.
To prepare for their flight at Kitty Hawk, the Wright brothers studied the movements of pigeons to figure out how they stayed high up when they were heavier than air. Their success inspired scores of successors to improve on the airplane by studying various aspects of nature. One of Orville Wright’s pupils caught and stuffed seagulls to examine their wingspan. Meanwhile, two French inventors examined spinning sycamore(梧桐) seeds in an effort to apply those same motions, reversed, to a helicopter .
Some examples are more obvious than others. The outside of the airplane designed by the Wright brothers looks like a minimalistic(简单抽象艺术) structure. On the other hand, Barney Connett’s fish submarine actually looks like a fish.
Some bio-inspired concepts have yet to be invented. In the 1960s, the US Army commissioned several university professors to conduct research on the motor skills animals in hope of applying those same abilities to tanks. Tanks that run like horses or jump like grasshoppers(蚂蚱)-sounds shocking, doesn’t it? But imagine how life would change if we could achieve that.
【小题1】“Cats”, “monkeys” and “giraffes” mentioned in paragraph 1 are examples to show______.
| A．they are highly-evolved species as humans |
| B．animals have skills that humans do not possess |
| C．humans can learn animals’ skills |
| D．they are skillful in different ways |
| A．People carried out a systematic study on pigeons. |
| B．People studied more animals and plants to develop the airplane. |
| C．People could fly their airplane for fun. |
| D．People kept their airplane at a French gallery. |
| A．It has cost a large sum of money. |
| B．It has changed our life. |
| C．It has improved the abilities of tanks |
| D．It has not succeeded yet. |
| A．many inventions get ideas from nature. |
| B．Some animals possess unique skills. |
| C．People should protect nature. |
| D．Bionics is far from perfect |
【小题1】B
【小题2】B
【小题3】D
【小题4】A
解析试题分析：人类也许是地球上进化最高级的动物，但是，有许多动物都有着人类无法企及的技能。从莱特兄弟制造飞机开始，人类一直都在从大自然中探索发明创造，这些发明创造给人们的生活带来了很大的改变。
【小题1】根据第一段“but most animals possess skills we can only dream of having.”可知，猫的夜视，猴子的跳跃，长颈鹿短的睡眠时间，许多动物有着人类没有的技能，故选B。
【小题2】根据第三段“Their success inspired scores of successors to improve on the airplane by studying various aspects of nature.”可知，在莱特兄弟之后，许多人开始研究动植物来研制飞机，故选B。
【小题3】根据最后一段“Some bio-inspired concepts have yet to be invented. ...sounds shocking, doesn’t it? But imagine how life would change if we could achieve that.”可知，一些仿生概念尚有待发明，如果美国军方的研究成功的话，会给我们的生活带来什么样的变化？由此可见，美国军方的研究还没有成功，故选D。
【小题4】根据“history shows that nature has always provided ideas on solving everyday problems. ...the Wright brothers studied the movements of pigeons ...One of Orville Wright’s pupils caught and stuffed seagulls ...two French inventors examined spinning sycamore(梧桐) seeds”可知，文章讲的是，人类不断从大自然中获得启发，进而发明出许多解决日常问题的事物，故选A。
考点：科技类短文阅读
暑假作业安徽少年儿童出版社系列答案科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
The behaviour of a building’s users may be at least as important as its design when it comes to energy use, according to new research from the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC). The UK promises to reduce its carbon emissions (排放）by 80 percent by 2050, part of which will be achieved by all new homes being zero-carbon by 2016. But this report shows that sustainable building design on its own — though extremely important- is not enough to achieve such reductions: the behaviour of the people using the building has to change too.
The study suggests that the ways that people use and live in their homes have been largely ignored by existing efforts to improve energy efficiency (效率)，which instead focus on architectural and technological developments.
‘Technology is going to assist but it is not going to do everything,’explains Katy Janda, a UKERC senior researcher，‘consumption patterns of building users can defeat the most careful design. ’In other words，old habits die hard, even in the best-designed eco-home.
Another part of the problem is information. Households and bill-payers don’t have the knowledge they need to change their energy-use habits. Without specific information，it’s hard to estimate the costs and benefits of making different choices. Feedback (反馈） facilities, like smart meters and energy monitors，could help bridge this information gap by helping people see how changing their behaviour directly affects their energy use; some studies have shown that households can achieve up to 15 percent energy savings using smart meters.
Social science research has added a further dimension (方面），suggesting that individuals’behaviour in the home can be personal and cannot be predicted 一 whether people throw open their windows rather than turn down the thermostat (恒温器) , for example.
Janda argues that education is the key. She calls for a focused programme to teach people about buildings and their own behaviour in them.
【小题1】As to energy use, the new research from UKERC stresses the importance of________.
| A． zero-carbon homes | B．the behaviour of building users |
| C． sustainable building design | D．the reduction of carbon emissions |
| A．the ways | B．their homes |
| C． developments | D．existing efforts |
| A． The importance of changing building users, habits. |
| B． The necessity of making a careful building design. |
| C． The variety of consumption patterns of building users. |
| D． The role of technology in improving energy efficiency. |
| A． can be bridged by feedback facilities |
| B． affects the study on energy monitors |
| C． brings about problems for smart meters |
| D． will be caused by building users’ old habits |
| A． The social science research is to be furthered. |
| B． The education programme is under discussion. |
| C． The behaviour of building users is unpredictable. |
| D． The behaviour preference of building users is similar. |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
At first sight the planet Mars(火星)does not appear very welcoming to any kind of life. It has very little oxygen and water, the temperature at night is below 50 degrees and winds of 100 miles(161 kilometers)per hour cause severe dust storms. However, the surface of the planet seems to show that water flowed across it at some time in the past, and it is believed that there would be enough ice at the poles to cover the planet with water if it melted. Although there is no life on the Mars now, some scientists think there may have been some form of life a long time ago. At that time, the planet had active volcanoes(火山); the atmosphere was thicker and warmer; and there was water. In fact, in some ways the Mars may have been similar to the Earth, where life exists. 
Some people believe that the Mars could support life in the future if the right conditions were produced. The first step would be to warm the planet using certain gases which trap the Sun’s heat in the planet’s atmosphere. With warmth, water and carbon dioxide, simple plants could begin to grow. These plants could slowly make the Mars fit to live on. It is judged that the whole process might take between
100, 000 and 200, 000 years. In the meantime, people could begin to live on the planet in a special closed environment. They would provide a lot of useful information about conditions on the Mars and the problems connected with living there.
【小题1】 According to the passage, the planet Mars has no on it.
| A．winds | B．dust |
| C．mountains | D．animals |
| A．there is a large amount of ice at the poles |
| B．there is a thicker and warmer atmosphere |
| C．there are some kinds of simple plants |
| D．there are many active volcanoes |
| A．Certain gases should be used to warm the Mars. |
| B．Plants should be grown to make the Mars fit to live on. |
| C．The Mars could support life on right conditions in the future. |
| D．People could live on the Mars in a special closed environment. |
| A．No Life on the Mars |
| B．Study of the Mars |
| C．The Possibility of Life on the Mars |
| D．Future Conditions on the Mars |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
If you think English means endless new words, difficult grammar and sometimes strange pronunciation, you are wrong. Haven’t you noticed that you have become smarter since you started to learn a language?
According to a new study by a British university, learning a second language can lead to an increase in your brain power. Researchers found that learning other languages changes grey matter. This is the area of the brain which processes information. It is similar to the way that exercise builds muscles.
The study also found the earlier people learn a second language, the greater the effect is.
A team led by Dr. Andrea Mechelli, from University College London(UCL), took a group of Britons who only spoke English. They were compared with a group of“early bilinguals(通两种语言的人)”, who had learnt a second language before the age of five, as well as a number of later learners.
Scans showed that grey matter density in the brain was greater in bilinguals than in people without a second language. But the longer a person waited before mastering a new language, the smaller the difference was.
“Our findings suggest that the structure of the brain is changed by the experience of learning a second language,”said the scientists.
It means that the change itself increases the ability to learn.
Professor Dylan Vaughan Jones of the University of Wales, has researched the link between bilingualism and maths skills.
“Having two languages gives you two windows on the world and makes the brain more flexible,”he said,“You are actually going beyond language and have a better understanding of different ideas.”
The findings were matched in a study of native Italian speakers who had learned English as a second language between the ages of 2 and 34. Reading, writing and comprehension were all tested. The results showed that the earlier they started to learn, the better.“Studying a language means you get an entrance to another world,”explained the scientists.
【小题1】What does the underlined part“grey matter”(in paragraph 2) refer to?
| A．Grey hair. | B．Material of the brain. |
| C．Intelligence. | D．Difficult situations. |
| A．change one’s brain completely |
| B．improve one’s maths skills |
| C．make one smarter than others |
| D．increase the ability to learn |
| A．the researchers from UCL did another study in Italy |
| B．a similar study was done on native Italian speakers who learn English as a second language |
| C．the research done on the Italians showed a totally different result |
| D．it will be easier for one to travel around the world by learning a second language |
| A．Learning a second language can help improve your brain power. |
| B．You should learn a second language in English that is not your native language. |
| C．If you want to learn a second language, you should do it at a certain age. |
| D．The research done by the researchers from UCL is very successful. |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Running like the wind, roaring (咆哮) like thunder, tigers have long been feared and respected as a king of the animal world. But last week a report said that there are no more than 30 wild tigers left in south China.
This was the conclusion of a team of scientists from China's State Forestry Administration and the World Nature Fund.
The South China tiger, also known as the Chinese tiger, is native to southern China. In the 1950's, there were over 4000 tigers found in mountain forests in the country. But due to the destruction of their natural habitat and uncontrolled hunting, it has been pushed on to the list of the world's top ten most endangered species.
Sixtysix of the big cats can be found in the cages of a dozen zoos around China. But they are nothing like their wild cousins. They have lost their natural skills such as hunting and killing. If they were set free they could not look after themselves.
“Breeding has damaged the quality of the species”, said Pei Enle, deputy director of the Shanghai Zoo.
To reintroduce the species into the wild, the country started a programme to send five to ten young tigers to South Africa. Four of them have already arrived. Progress has been made as two elder tigers have recovered some of their instincts(本能) and can hunt wild animals by themselves at the African base.
“South Africans are very experienced in reintroducing big animals to the wild. The country has very good natural conditions for the tigers to learn in”, said Lu Jun, office director of the National Wildlife Research and Development Center.“We tried in Fujian Province, but it was not successful as there was not a complete ecochain(生物链) and there was a lack of space.”
The tigers should return to China in 2007 when the reservations in Fujian are ready.
【小题1】What is the main reason for the South China tiger becoming one of the world's top ten most endangered species?
| A．Because it has lost its natural instincts. |
| B．Because there is not a complete ecochain. |
| C．Because there is no space for it. |
| D．Because uncontrolled hunting has destroyed its natural living conditions. |
| A．Its effect still remains to be seen. |
| B．Two tigers can already compete with their wild cousins. |
| C．Some of the tigers are already on the road to recovering their natural skills. |
| D．The tigers should be able to recover their instincts completely by 2007. |
| A．they are no longer feared by other wild animals |
| B．they don't know how to hunt or kill |
| C．a complete change has resulted in the species because of breeding |
| D．to reintroduce them into the wild has become an urgent task |
| A．To help the tigers recover their ability to live in the wild. |
| B．To provide them with a better environment. |
| C．To get the tigers to go on a tour. |
| D．To find a complete ecochain for them. |
| A．Because the tigers can hunt wild animals by themselves at the African base. |
| B．Because South Africans are skilled at dealing with the tigers. |
| C．Because there is a complete ecochain and enough space there. |
| D．Because the country has good natural conditions for the tigers to learn in. |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Can noncombustion (非燃烧) technology create a no-pollution way to drive？Imagine pulling into a service station to fuel up your car. But not at the gas pump or electric battery charger —at the air pump! That’s not hot air, either! The next generation of cars may run on thin air. Wouldn’t that be an incredible way to cut both pollution and dependence on foreign oil?
If you’ve ever inflated a balloon and then let it go, you’ve got the basics to test-drive the amazing MiniCAT, currently being developed by Noteur Development International (MDI), headquartered in Luxembourg. Invented by Formula One racing car designer Guy Negre, this experimental vehicle is unlike any car you’ve ever seen. While your family’s traditional car or SUV draws its horsepower using combustion, the only fuel that MiniCAT needs (CAT stands for Compressed Air Technology) is the air we breathe.
Start with about 25,000 gallons of air. Now, press it all into a space smaller than your school locker—because that’s the size of two super-strong, high-pressure air tanks, made from fiber and fixed beneath the air car.
Confining that much air inside those small tanks generates an internal pressure of over 4,000 pounds per square inch. That’s over 300 times normal air pressure.
When this cold, high-pressure air enters MiniCAT’s unique engine, it interacts(交互作用) with warmer air to create pressure waves that pump the engine’s engineered pistons (活塞) to move the car. MiniCAT’s projected top speed is 60 miles per hour, with a range of 120 miles on a full air supply.
【小题1】What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Ways to cut down air pollution. |
| B．Cars that run on thin air. |
| C．Formula One racing car designer. |
| D．Dependence on foreign oil. |
| A．The name of a car. |
| B．The name of a balloon. |
| C．The name of a car company. |
| D．The name of a car designer. |
| A．Keeping | B．Preventing | C．Pushing | D．Running |
| A．How much pressure the air creates. |
| B．How the car works. |
| C．What the normal air pressure is. |
| D．How the air gets into the engine. |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Butterflies are some of the most fascinating and beautiful insects in the world. Adult butterflies will live about 2 to 4 weeks. They use their senses of sight, touch, hearing, smell, and taste to survive in the world, find food and mates, lay eggs in an appropriate place, migrate, and avoid hungry enemies.
Butterflies have large compound eyes, which allow them to see in all directions without turning their heads. Like most insects, butterflies are very nearsighted, so they are more attracted to a sea of flowers than individual plants. Butterflies do not “see” colors such as red, green, and yellow, but they can sense sunlight, which indicates the direction the sun is shining, as well as ultraviolet light, which is present on many flowers and guides butterflies to honey sources.
Butterflies have a very well-developed sense of smell, but it is not in their nose, since they don't have one. Sense receptors are located in their antennae, feet, and many other parts of the body. They can help butterflies find their favorite flower honey food, and mates.
Butterflies' feet have sense organs that can taste the sugar in flower honey, letting the butterflies know if something is good to eat or not. Some females also carefully choose host plants by tasting to find appropriate places to lay their eggs. Adult butterflies feed their babies using a long tube. Butterflies force blood into the tube to straighten it out, allowing them to feed. Butterflies get all their food from this tube.
Butterflies don't have ears. Instead they “hear” sounds through their wings by sensing changes in sound vibrations.
Butterflies may possess senses we don't even know about yet, because their body structure is very different from ours, and therefore difficult to understand, when observed through our own human senses.
【小题1】The text mainly focuses on ________.
| A．butterflies' living habits | B．butterflies' beauty |
| C．butterflies' senses | D．butterflies' daily activities |
| A．Butterflies can see in all directions and don't need to turn heads. |
| B．Butterflies have good eyesight. |
| C．Butterflies are sensitive to bright colors including red and yellow. |
| D．Butterflies cannot sense the ultraviolet light. |
| A．To find highqualified honey. |
| B．To have a good place for living. |
| C．To make it easier for them to hide from the enemies. |
| D．To find a proper place for their eggs. |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Where do you find out about the world’s longest walk? The world's tallest man? The world's oldest woman? You know the answer, of course. It is the Guinness Book of World Records. How would people find such unusual facts without this book?
Guinness Book did not exist until 1951. Here is what happened. The managing director of Guinness Brewery was a curious man. He wanted answers to some questions about records. For example, he wanted to know what was the fastest flying game bird in Europe. But he was frustrated. There was no book to answer questions like this.
The director, Sir Hugh Beaver, contacted the McWhirter twins. They were brothers who owned a research agency. He asked them to put together a new reference book. It would include all kinds of unusual records. The brothers quickly accepted. The first edition of their book was published in 1955. Soon the Guinness Book of World Records was a best seller. It has sold more copies than any book except the Bible. A new edition is published every year.
Where do all the book's records come from? They are a combination of things like natural wonders, sports records, and stunts(特技) (How many people would push an egg with their noses if they weren’t trying to get to the book?). But the editors try to keep things honest. All records must be verified by an investigator. Only then are they printed.
The Guinness Book is a big business. It is published in dozens of languages. There are TV shows and museums. It is proof of how interested people are in strange pieces of information.
【小题1】The passage is mostly about _____.
| A．the McWhirter twins |
| B．the director Sir Hugh Beaver |
| C．unusual records in the Guinness Book |
| D．a history of the Guinness Book |
| A．is a best seller |
| B．is published only in English |
| C．does not always check its records |
| D．has a full-length movie based on it |
| A．wanted to publish the book so that they set up a research agency |
| B．owned so good a research agency that they liked to help others |
| C．recognizes that Sir Hugh's idea for a book was a good one |
| D．wanted to know the answers to some questions about records |
| A．questioned | B．proved the truth | C．written up | D．blocked |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Almost every machine with moving parts has wheels，yet no one knows exactly when the first wheel was invented or what it was used for.We do know，however，that they existed over 5,500 years ago in ancient Asia.
The oldest known transport wheel was discovered in 2002 in Slovenia.It is over 5,100 years old.Evidence suggests that wheels for transport didn’t become popular for a while，though.This could be because animals did a perfectly good job of carrying farming tools and humans around.
But it could also be because of a difficult situation.While wheels need to roll on smooth surfaces，roads with smooth surfaces weren’t going to be constructed until there was plenty of demand for them.Eventually，road surfaces did become smoother，but this difficult situation appeared again a few centuries later.There had been no important changes in wheel and vehicle design before the arrival of modern road design.
In the mid1700s，a Frenchman came up with a new design of road—a base layer(层) of large stones covered with a thin layer of smaller stones.A Scotsman improved on this design in the 1820s and a strong，lasting road surface became a reality.At around the same time，metal hubs (the central part of a wheel)came into being，followed by the pneumatic tyre(充气轮胎) in 1846.Alloy wheels were invented in 1967，sixty years after the appearance of tarmacked roads(柏油路)．As wheel design took off，vehicles got faster and faster. (2013·重庆，C)
【小题1】What might explain why transport wheels didn’t become popular for some time?
| A．Few knew how to use transport wheels. |
| B．Humans carried farming tools just as well. |
| C．Animals were a good means of transport. |
| D．The existence of transport wheels was not known. |
| A．It was easier than wheel design. |
| B．It improved after big changes in vehicle design. |
| C．It was promoted by fastmoving vehicles. |
| D．It provided conditions for wheel design to develop. |
| A．By giving examples. |
| B．By making comparisons. |
| C．By following time order. |
| D．By making classifications. |
| A．The beginning of road design. |
| B．The development of transport wheels. |
| C．The history of public transport. |
| D．The invention of fastmoving vehicles. |
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