17.Dogs and other hairy mammals shake at just the right frequencies to get rid of water most quickly from their bodies-and directly on to any unlucky humans nearby.Mice do it.So do tigers and pandas.These animals really know how to shake.Frequency is the number of cycles-movements back and forth-per second.
Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta recently recorded videos of 40different animals,standing for 15different species.The scientists wanted to see how wet,hairy mammals shake off water after they get wet.The scientists say the animals shake at just the right frequencies to lose water drops as quickly as possible."I think it's pretty amazing that they can do that,"David Hu,one of the scientists,said.
This study was led by Andrew Dickerson,a graduate student in Hu's lab.His team calls this get-dry shake"nature's analogy(类似) to the spin cycle of a washing machine".Both the washing machine and shaking animals can get rid of water quickly-but animals are much faster than washing machines.For animals,this process helps them control heat in their bodies.
"If a dog couldn't dry itself,it would have to use 25percent of its daily calories to heat its body to get rid of the water,"Hu said."Every time they got wet they would get hypothermia and die."
The bigger the animal,the slower it shakes,according to Dickerson and his team.A mouse moves its body back and forth 27times per second,but a bear shakes only four times per second.
Animals'skin also helps them get rid of water.The scientists are continuing to look at how animals interact with water in the natural world.In particular,the scientists want to know how water interacts with hair-which means studying animals that have got used to life in the water,like beavers and otters.
24.Which of the following animals is not likely to be studied in the experiments?D
A.A panda. B.A tiger. C.A cat. D.A snake.
25.What can we learn from the passage?B
A.Professor David Hu led the study.
B.A dog shakes off water at a higher speed than a washing machine.
C.Animals shake off water to keep themselves cool.
D.A dog shakes off water faster than a mouse.
26.How did David Hu feel about the video?A
A.Surprised. B.Encouraged. C.Excited. D.Amused.
27.Which of the following does hypothermia probably refer to?C
A.a disease caused by hunger
B.a disease caused by getting too hot.
C.a disease caused by getting too cold.
D.a disease caused by shaking too fast.
分析 这是一篇科普文,讲的是毛皮哺乳动物身体弄湿后会尽快弄干身上的水,研究发现它们甩水的频率比洗衣机还快,研究还发现动物体型越大,甩的速度越慢.因为水留在毛上她们要多花25%的卡路里来保持体温.
解答 24-27DBAC24.答案:D 细节理解题.由第一段"Dogs and other hairy mammals shake at just the right frequencies to get rid of water most quickly from their bodies-and directly on to any unlucky humans nearby."可知这里研究的都是哺乳动物,而A、B、C选项都是哺乳动物,D却不是,所以答案选D.
25.答案:B 推理判断题.由第三段"Both the washing machine and shaking animals can get rid of water quickly-but animals are much faster than washing machines."可知动物甩掉身上的水的频率比洗衣机还快,所以答案选B.
26.答案:A 推理判断题.由第二段""I think it's pretty amazing that they can do that,"David Hu,one of the scientists,said."可知David Hu对动物甩水的频率如此快速感到很惊讶,所以答案选A.
27.答案:C 推理判断题.由倒数第二段""If a dog couldn't dry itself,it would have to use 25 percent of its daily calories to heat its body to get rid of the water,"Hu said."Every time they got wet they would get hypothermia and die.""可知hypothermia是由于皮毛上的水过多,导致体温过低而引起其他疾病,最终导致死亡,所以答案选C.
点评 阅读理解题测试考生在阅读基础上的逻辑推理能力,要求考生根据文章所述事件的逻辑关系,对未说明的趋势或结局作出合理的推断;或根据作者所阐述的观点理论,对文章未涉及的现象、事例给以解释.考生首先要仔细阅读短文,完整了解信息,准确把握作者观点.