When an ant dies, other ants take it out of the nest, often within an hour after its death. This behavior interests scientists and they wonder how ants know for sure—and so soon—that another ant is dead.
One scientist recently came up with a way to explain this ant behavior. Dong-Hwan Choe is a biologist, a scientist who studies animals and plants. He found that ants have a chemical on the outside of their bodies that signals to other ants, “I'm dead—take me away” when it is dead.
But there's a question to answer: As we know, if an ant is dead, it stops moving. But when an ant is sleeping or knocked unconscious, it is also not moving. However, other ants don't move the living ant out of the nest. How do they know this ant is not dead? Choe found that ants have another chemical on their bodies, which tells nearby ants something like, “Wait—I'm not dead yet” when it is not dead. Choe suspects that when an ant dies, the chemical that says, “Wait— I'm not dead yet” quickly goes away. When other ants detect the “dead” chemical without the “not dead yet” chemical, they move away the body.
To test his theory, Choe and his team put different chemicals on ants. When the scientists used the “I'm dead” chemical, other ants quickly moved the treated ant away. When the scientists used the “Wait—I'm not dead yet” chemical, other ants left the treated ant alone. Choe believes this behavior shows that the “not dead yet” chemical is stronger than the “dead” chemical when picked up by other ants. And that when an ant dies, the “not dead yet” chemical fades away. Other nearby ants then detect the remaining “dead” chemical and remove the body from the nest.
Understanding this behavior can help scientists figure out how to stop ants from invading new places and causing problems.
【小题1】What is the function of the first paragraph?
| A．Leading the following paragraphs. |
| B．Showing the main idea of the passage. |
| C．Introducing the background of the passage. |
| D．Giving a summary of the passage. |
| A．Living ants can also be taken away when they are not moving. |
| B．When an ant dies, it can tell others using a certain chemical. |
| C．A living ant can pretend to be dead using a special chemical. |
| D．Ants often use chemicals to communicate with each other. |
| A．Choe did this study in order to stop ants from invading new places. |
| B．Choe is a biologist who is only interested in animals, especially in ants. |
| C．Choe first came up with an idea to explain this ant behavior, and then did some tests to prove his theory. |
| D．Choe did the research on this ant behavior on his own. |
| A．experiments about how ants manage to keep their nests clean. |
| B．experiments about why ants have special chemicals on their bodies. |
| C．experiments about why ants can have this removal behavior |
| D．experiments about how to decide whether an ant is dead or not. |
【小题1】A
【小题2】B
【小题3】C
【小题4】C
解析试题分析：文章主要介绍了科学家研究蚂蚁搬尸体行为的实验。当一只蚂蚁死了，其它蚂蚁就会把它搬出巢穴，通常发生在它死后一小时之内。这种行为引起了科学家的兴趣，他们想知道蚂蚁们是怎样那么快就明确地知道了有蚂蚁死的消息。
【小题1】“When an ant dies, other ants take it out of the nest, often within an hour after its death. This behavior interests scientists and they wonder how ants know for sure—and so soon—that another ant is dead.”当一只蚂蚁死了，其它蚂蚁就会把它搬出巢穴，通常发生在它死后一小时之内。这种行为引起了科学家的兴趣，他们想知道蚂蚁们是怎样那么快就明确地知道了有蚂蚁死的消息。接下来讲的是科学家做的实验。第一段起到提纲挈领的作用，引入接下来的内容。故选A。
【小题2】根据第二段“ants have a chemical on the outside of their bodies that signals to other ants, “I'm dead—take me away” when it is dead.”可知，蚂蚁身体表面有一种化学物质，能够告诉其它蚂蚁它的死讯。故选B。
【小题3】根据第三“Choe suspects that when an ant dies, the chemical that says, “Wait— I'm not dead yet” quickly goes away. When other ants detect the “dead” chemical without the “not dead yet” chemical, they move away the body.”和第四段“To test his theory, Choe and his team put different chemicals on ants.”可知，Choe有了新发现，并做了实验来检验。故选C。
【小题4】文章主要介绍了Choe的实验，研究蚂蚁怎样确定一只蚂蚁是否死掉，并搬走死亡蚂蚁的行为。故选C。
考点：自然科学类短文阅读
名校课堂系列答案科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
One of my China Dialogue colleagues in Beijing recently bought a Philips energy-saving light bulb to replace a standard one．He was happy with his choice．It may have cost 30 yuan （just under US$4．50） - ten times the price of a filament （灯丝） bulb - but he wanted to save energy as part of his low-carbon lifestyle．And according to the shopkeeper, he would save, in the long run, much more than the 30 yuan he was spending．
Yet only one month later, his expensive light bulb blew up, before he had saved even a small part of the purchase price．Will he stick to his high-cost, low-carbon lifestyle?
China's environmental organizations have started to advocate low-carbon lifestyles and the decrease of carbon footprints to help fight against climate change．But they have overlooked one fact: in China, low-carbon living comes at a high cost．It means buying energy-saving bulbs and appliances, and environmentally friendly building materials and daily goods．Cost can no longer be the only standard for purchases．An energy-saving and environmentally friendly product is more expensive than a standard alternative - whether it's a simple light bulb or the house it shines．For average consumers, even buying an ordinary bulb is a huge burden．How can we persuade ordinary people to choose an energy-saving residence? This is not a trend they can afford to follow; perhaps this fashion is only for the rich．
Most consumers today do not cause huge carbon dioxide （CO2） emissions．Their responsibility lies not in choosing a low-carbon lifestyle today, but in avoiding a high-carbon life in the future．The principle of "common but differentiated responsibility" - a basis of sustainable development - can be applied here as well．
In China, low-carbon living still is resisted by a lack of social infrastructure（基础设施）. Even if your salary allows you to make that choice, nobody is there to help you accomplish it．
Consider energy-saving homes. You need to find out whether or not the developer has used natural materials wherever possible; how effective the insulation（绝缘物、隔热物） is; and what the green credentials of installed equipment are．You can read up a little, but you'll still be lucky to avoid being puzzled by the developers' marketing．Many so-called energy-saving buildings are nothing of the sort, and some are even more energy-hungry than the average home - as Li Taige warned in his article "Energy-efficient buildings? Not always", on China Dialogue last August．
【小题1】 What may probably be the best title of this passage?
| A．To purchase a cheap bulb - your wise alternative． |
| B．To choose an energy-saving residence - a must of your life |
| C．To learn a low-carbon lifestyle - each citizen's responsibility |
| D．To learn a low-carbon lifestyle - a promising but difficult purpose |
| A．Because the cost is a very important standard for purchases. |
| B．Because buying an ordinary bulb is very expensive. |
| C．Because energy-saving products are more expensive than the common alternatives. |
| D．Because rich people like to follow this trend. |
| A．Most of them are environmentally friendly. |
| B．They are musts of low-carbon lifestyle of Chinese. |
| C．They are huge burdens for Chinese people. |
| D．Many of them are more in name than in reality. |
| A．Using energy-saving bulbs and appliances is a fashion． |
| B．It's easy for most Chinese to try to learn a low-carbon lifestyle． |
| C．All citizens in China don’t have the same responsibility in living a low-carbon lifestyle． |
| D．Most Chinese families cannot afford to purchase an energy-saving residence. |
| A．informative and entertaining | B．supportive but cautious |
| C．negative but wise | D．positive and active |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Today is National Bike-to-Work Day. And on New York City’s jammed streets, people are cycling on hundreds of miles of new bike lanes. But New York’s widespread efforts to make streets safer for bikes have also left some locals complaining about the loss of parking spots and lanes for cars.
When the weather is good, Aaron Naparstek likes to pedal（用踏板踩）his two young kids to school on a special Dutch-made bicycle. Naparstek supports the new lane.
Aaron: The bike lane on Prospect Park West is really introducing a lot of new people to the idea that it’s possible to use a bike in New York City for transportation or to travel around. This is what 21st century New York City looks like.
Prospect Park West is still a one-way road, but where it used to have three lanes of car traffic, now it has two, plus a protected bike lane. Supporters say that makes the road safer for everyone, including pedestrians, by slowing down cars and taking bikes off the sidewalk. But some longtime residents disagree. Lois Carswell is president of a group called Seniors for Safety. She says the two-way bike lane is dangerous to older residents who are used to one-way traffic.
Lois: We wanted a lane — the right kind of lane that would keep everybody safe, that would keep the bikers safe. But we want it to be done the right way. And it has not been done the right way.
Craig Palmer builds bars and restaurants in Manhattan. I was interviewing him for a different story when he brought up the bike lanes all on his own.
Craig: I think the biggest problem is that Bloomberg put all these bike lanes in. You took what used to be a full street and you’re shrinking it.
Then there are the Hasidic Jews in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, who forced the city to remove a bike lane through their neighborhood. But polls show that the majority of New Yorkers support bike lanes by a margin of 56% to 39%. Bicycle advocate Caroline Samponaro of Transportation Alternatives calls that a mandate.
Caroline: If this was an election, we would have already had our victory. The public has spoken and they keep speaking. And I think, more importantly, the public is starting to vote with their pedals.
【小题1】What does Aaron mean by saying “This is what 21st century New York City looks like.”?
| A．There are hundreds of miles of new bike lanes in 21 st century New York City. |
| B．Drivers slow down their cars and bikes are taken off the sidewalk in New York. |
| C．Bikes are used as a means of transport in 21 st century New York City. |
| D．It’s possible to make the streets safe for pedestrians in New York. |
| A．Drivers lose parking spots and lanes for cars. |
| B．The two-way bike lane is dangerous to older residents. |
| C．We took what used to be a full street so the road is broader than before. |
| D．The removal of one bike lane through a neighbourhood in Brooklyn was not supported by the majority of New Yorkers. |
| A．the authority | B．the public | C．the supporters | D．the government |
| A．Ride on National Bike-to-Work Day |
| B．A New Bike Lane Appears in New York |
| C．A Bike Lane Divides New Yorkers |
| D．Who Wins an Election |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Sooner or later, many families will face the situation of moving. The experience can be very bad for kids, who may not be a part of the decision to move and may not understand it. You can take steps to make the entire process (过程) easier for everyone.
Many kids like to stay in familiar places. So as you consider a move, weigh the benefits (好处) of that change against the comfort that neighborhood, school, and social life give your kids. If your family has recently dealt with a big life change, such as death, you may want to put off a move to give your children time to accept the fact.
The decision to move may be out of your hands, perhaps because of a new job or money problems. Even if you’re not happy about the move, try to keep a positive (积极的)attitude to it. During the move, a parent’s attitude can greatly influence kids.
No matter what the results are, the most important way to prepare kids to move is to talk about it. Try to give your children as much information about the move as possible. You can ask kids to join in the planning such as house-hunting or the search for a new school. This can make the change feel less like it’s being forced on them. If you’re moving across town, try to take your children to visit the new house and the new neighborhood.
A move can have many problems, but good things also come from this kind of change. Your family might grow closer and you may learn more about each other by going through it together.
【小题1】According to the text, a move can be a bad experience for kids because ______.
| A．they may feel they’re forced to do so |
| B．they often feel lonely in a new school |
| C．they are ignored by their busy parents |
| D．they are tired of the moving process |
| A．Allowing them to choose a school by themselves. |
| B．Trying not to show them the bad parts of a move. |
| C．Offering them as much information as possible. |
| D．Promising to choose a new house with them. |
| A．what we should do before a move |
| B．how to prepare children for a move |
| C．how a move can change the family |
| D．why parents should talk to children often. |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
The next time your face turns red after tripping(绊倒) over your own feet in public, don’t try to hide it—a new study finds that showing your embarrassment actually makes other people view you as more reliable.
Researchers at the University of California have carried out the study and found that embarrassment is a good signature of a person to whom you can entrust valuable resources.
Not only are the findings useful for people seeking cooperative and reliable team members and business partners, but they also make for helpful dating advice.“Moderate(适度的) levels of embarrassment are signs of virtue. Our data suggests embarrassment is a good thing, not something you should fight.”said Matthew Feinberg, who led the study.
While the most typical gesture of embarrassment is a downward gaze to one side while partly covering the face, a person who feels shame, as distinguished(区别) from embarrassment, will typically cover the whole face, Feinberg said.
The results were got from a series of experiments. In the first experiment, 60 college students were videotaped describing embarrassing moments, such as making incorrect assumptions(假想) based on appearances. The college students also participated in the “Dictator Game” which is used in economics research to measure altruism(利己主义). For example, each was given 10 raffle tickets(奖券) and asked to keep a share of the tickets and give the reminder(提示物) to a partner.
The findings, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, showed that those who showed greater levels of embarrassment tended to give away more of their raffle tickets, indicating(﹦showing) greater generosity.
【小题1】According to the passage, which of the following is thought to be reliable?
| A．A person who feels shame. |
| B．A person who hides his embarrassment. |
| C．A person who shows his embarrassment. |
| D．A person who gives away more raffle tickets. |
| A．it’s useless to fight our embarrassment |
| B．people should try to overcome their embarrassment |
| C．embarrassed people are not good at doing business |
| D．people who show embarrassment can be good business partners |
| A．measure the students’ economic status |
| B．test whether a student is generous or not |
| C．determine the different levels of embarrassment |
| D．record how each student reacts during embarrassing moments |
| A．proved to be more generous | B．kept more of the raffle tickets |
| C．didn’t care for raffle tickets | D．were less reliable |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Below is a discussion on a website.
| http://www.TalkingPoints.com/ | |
| Stuck on a desert island? | |
| Started on 23rd April by Steve Posts 1 – 7 of 42 | |
| Post 1 Steve USA | Hi, everyone. What would you miss most and least if you were stuck on a desert island? For me, it would be the changing seasons in New England. I guess this will sound stupid but I’d probably miss the rain, too. I wouldn’t miss getting up at six every day to go to work, though! What about you? |
| Post 2 Tomas Germany | Good question. Steve, I think I’d miss different types of bread, and shopping at the supermarket. I’d miss the food most. What would I miss least? My mobile phone---I’d like to be completely quiet --- at least for a little while |
| Post 3 Paola Italy | I would miss the company of people because I know I’d like to have someone to share experiences with. I’d go mad on my own. And I sure wouldn’t miss junk mail(垃圾邮件) --- I hate coming home every evening and a pile of junk mail in my post box. |
| Post 4 Miko Japan | Hi, I would miss Manga cartoon, the Internet and Japanese food, like sushi. I’d also miss TV shows and shopping for clothes… |
| Post 5 Roger UK | I would miss my daily newspaper and listening to the news on TV and radio. I’d feel very cut off if I didn’t know what was happening in the world. What I’d miss least would be traffic jams in the city, particularly my journey to work. |
| Past 6 Jayne | Why hasn’t anyone mentioned their family? I’d be lost without my husband and two kids. They’re the most important for me. And I can’t get started in the morning without a cup of black coffee. I wouldn’t miss doing the housework! |
| Post 7 Jaime Mexico | It would have to be music. I couldn’t live without my music. I wouldn’t miss going to school at all or doing homework! |
| A．Jaime | B．Jayne | C．Miko | D．Paola. |
| A．Steve. | B．Jaime | C．Roger. | D．Tomas |
| A．One | B．Two | C．Three | D．Four |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
All around the world, shoppers flock to Wal-Mart to buy everything．In Texas, they come for another reason: to see the wind turbine(涡轮机) , which supplies 5% of the store's electricity．It along with other facilities, such as exterior walls coated with heat-reflective paint, makes this Wal-Mart a green giant．
The laws of economics suggest that Wal-Mart, with 5, 200 stores worldwide, influences everything including the price of all kinds of goods．It throws its weight behind environmental responsibility, and the impact could be amazing．"One little change in product packaging could save 1, 500 trees," says Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott．"If everybody saves 1, 500 trees or 50 barrels of oil, at the end of the day you have made a huge difference．"
Scott wants Wal-Mart to do its part too．He has promised to cut the existing greenhouse-gas emissions （排放） over the next few years and promised to construct new stores that are more efficient．He wants Wal-Mart's fleet (车队) of more than 7, 000 trucks to get twice as many miles per gallon by 2015．Factories that show Wal-Mart they're cutting air pollution will get preferential treatment in the supply chain. Wal-Mart says it's working with consumer-product manufacturers to reduce their packaging and will reward them if they do so．
Some people may doubt it is a bid to attract attention from Wal-Mart's controversial labor and health-insurance practices．But it's not just window dressing, because Wal-Mart sees profits in going green．Scott says, "This is a business philosophy, not a social philosophy．We don't go where we don't think there's a great interest in change．"
Like Bill Gates, who started his charitable foundation, Scott happens to be promoting Wal-Mart's image at a time when his company's reputation is declining．He acknowledges that he launched the plan partly to shield （保护，庇护） Wal-Mart from bad press about its contribution to global warming．" By doing what we're doing today, we avoid the headline risks that are going to come for people who did not do anything," he says．"At some point businesses will be held responsible for the actions they take．" Meanwhile, should Wal-Mart succeed at shrinking its environmental footprint and lowering prices for green products, both the planet and the company will profit．
【小题1】We can infer from the passage that ______．
| A．Lee Scott is Wal-Mart's CEO |
| B．there are 5, 200 stores in the world |
| C．Wal-Mart has a great influence on the world market |
| D．Wal-Mart has more than 7, 000 trucks all over the world |
| A．Wal-Mart predicts huge profits in its green activity． |
| B．Wal-Mart's green activity is just window dressing． |
| C．Wal-Mart aims to solve its health-insurance practices． |
| D．Wal-Mart doesn't have any social responsibility at all． |
| A．Reduce air pollution in its present stores． |
| B．Give favorable treatment to its consumers． |
| C．Ask the factories to reduce their packaging． |
| D．Demand the fleet of trucks to use more fuel than before． |
| A．Provide the background of the green plan． |
| B．Stress the purpose of Wal-Mart's green plan． |
| C．Present the risk that Wal-Mart is facing nowadays． |
| D．Analyze the similarity between Bill Gates and Scott. |
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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 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 mid-1700s, 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 type (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.
【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 fast-moving 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 fast-moving vehicles. |
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