69.Organic chemistry helps to produce materials that are　　 .

A.as good as wool　 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B.as good as an insect’s body

C.better than natural materials　　　 　　　D.not as good as natural materials　　

68.According to the passage, the science of the future is likely to be　　　 .

A.biotechnology　　　　 B.electronics　　　　 C.genetic engineering　 　　　 　D.nuclear technology　　　

67. According to the passage, the “stump-legged ants”_______.

　 A. have longer legs than ones on stilts　　 B. have longer legs than the common ones

　 C. need more steps to reach their goal　　 D. can arrive at their goal as usual

答案　 64. A　 65.B　 66.D　 67.C　　　

　Passage 28

(衡阳市八中2008届高三模拟试题D篇)

Until recently, the “science of the future” was supposed to be electronics and artificial intelligence. Today it seems more and more likely that the next great breakthroughs in technology will be brought through a combination of those two sciences with organic chemistry and genetic engineering. This combination is the science of biotechnology.

Organic chemistry enables us to produce marvelous synthetic materials. However, it is still difficult to manufacture anything that has the capacity of wool to conserve heat and also to absorb moisture. Nothing that we have been able to produce so far comes anywhere near the combination of strength, lightness and flexibility that we find in the bodies of ordinary insects.

Nevertheless, scientists in the laboratory have already succeeded in “growing” a material that has many of the characteristics of human skin. The next step may well be “biotech hearts and eyes” which can replace diseased organs in human beings. These will not be rejected by the body, as is the case with organs from humans.

The application of biotechnology to energy production seems even more promising. In 1996 the famous science fiction writer, Arthur C. Clarke, many of whose previous predictions have come true, said that we may soon be able to develop remarkably cheap and renewable sources of energy. Some of these power sources will be biological. Clarke and others have warned us repeatedly that sooner or later we will have to give up our dependence on non-renewable power sources. Coal, oil and gas are indeed convenient. However, using them also means creating dangerously high levels of pollution. It will be impossible to meet the growing demand for energy without increasing that pollution to catastrophic levels unless we develop power sources that are both cheaper and cleaner.

It is attempting to think that biotechnology or some other “science of the future” can solve our problems. Before we surrender to that temptation we should remember nuclear power. Only a few generations ago it seemed to promise limitless, cheap and safe energy. Today those promises lie buried in a concrete grave in a place called Chernobyl, in the Ukraine. Biotechnology is unlikely, however, to break its promises in quite the same or such a dangerous way.

66.About the ant pedometer, we know that______.

　 A. the technique is a recent discovery　　　　

B. ants always walk along a straight path

　 C. ants often change their nest to keep the pedometer

　 D. the pedometer needs changing depending on new situations

65. Apart from counting their steps, how can ants find their way?

A. By smelling　　　 　　　　　　　　　B. By communicating　　　

C.By hearing　　　 　　　　　　　　　　D. By recognising wind

64. What is the passage mainly about?　

A. Ants’ marching depends on counting their steps　　

B. Desert ants know how to look for food　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 　　 　　　　

C. The secret for ants’ marching is known to all　　　

D. Ants know how far their food is

75. What can we infer from the passage?

　　 A. Relaxation is the key of holistic treatment.

　　 B. Holistic medicine needs to become more trustworthy.

　　 C. Holistic treatment is more beneficial than traditional treatments.

D. Holistic medicine will become the most welcome treatment soon.

答案　 71.D　 72.D　 73.C　 74.A　 75.B

Passage 27

(衡阳市八中2008届高三模拟试题C篇)

Desert ants on their expeditions for food use clues to lead themselves in the homeward direction, but with few landmarks in the poor land, scientists have wondered how the insects always take the most direct route and know exactly how far to march.

The new study shows that counting their steps is an important part of the scheme.

Over the years, scientists have proposed several theories for how ants find their way home. One is that they do it like honeybees and remember visual clues, but experiments showed ants can travel in the dark. Another theory is that because ants run at a steady pace, they could time how long it took them to get to and fro. Other studies have shown that once ants find a good source of food, they teach other ants how to find it.

The ant “pedometer” technique was first proposed in 1904, but it remained untested until now. Scientists trained desert ants to walk along a straight path from their nest entrance to a feeder 30 feet away. If the nest or feeder was moved, the ants would break from their straight path after reaching the expected spot and search for their goal.

Try that on stilts. They glued stilt-like extentions to the legs of some ants to lengthen stride. The researchers shortened other ants’ stride length by cutting off the ants’ feet and lower legs, reducing their legs to stumps.

The ants on stilts took the right number of steps, but because of their increased stride length, marched past their goal. Stump-legged ants, meanwhile, fell short of the goal. After getting used to their new legs, the ants were able to adjust their pedometer.

74. Which of the following titles best sums up the passage?

　　 A. Holistic Medicine　　　　　　　　　 　B. Traditional Medicine Returns

　　 C. History of Medicine　　　　　　　　 　D. Combination of Treatments Works

73. The principle of homeopathy is that ________.

　　 A. the large doses of medicine that will not be harmful will take better effect

　　 B. the disease will be cured sooner by taking larger doses of medicine

　　 C. a small thinner dose of medicine will be more effective

　　 D. the doses of medicine depend on how serious the illness is

72. Which of the following does NOT belong to holistic medicine?

　　 A. massage　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. meditation

　　 C. a balanced diet　　　　　　　　　　 D. a knee operation