If a diver surfaces too quickly, he may suffer the bends. Nitrogen (氮) dissolved (溶解) in his blood is suddenly liberated by the reduction of pressure. The consequence, if the bubbles (气泡) accumulate in a joint, is sharp pain and a bent body—thus the name. If the bubbles form in his lungs or his brain, the consequence can be death.
Other air-breathing animals also suffer this decompression (减压) sickness if they surface too fast: whales, for example. And so, long ago, did ichthyosaurs. That these ancient sea animals got the bends can be seen from their bones. If bubbles of nitrogen form inside the bone they can cut off its blood supply. This kills the cells in the bone, and consequently weakens it, sometimes to the point of collapse. Fossil (化石) bones that have caved in on themselves are thus a sign that the animal once had the bends.
Bruce Rothschild of the University of Kansas knew all this when he began a study of ichthyosaur bones to find out how widespread the problem was in the past. What he particularly wanted to investigate was how ichthyosaurs adapted to the problem of decompression over the 150 million years. To this end, he and his colleagues traveled the world’s natural-history museums, looking at hundreds of ichthyosaurs from the Triassic period and from the later Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.
When he started, he assumed that signs of the bends would be rarer in younger fossils, reflecting their gradual evolution of measures to deal with decompression. Instead, he was astonished to discover the opposite. More than 15% of Jurassic and Cretaceous ichthyosaurs had suffered the bends before they died, but not a single Triassic specimen (标本) showed evidence of that sort of injury.
If ichthyosaurs did evolve an anti-decompression means, they clearly did so quickly—and, most strangely, they lost it afterwards. But that is not what Dr Rothschild thinks happened. He suspects it was evolution in other animals that caused the change.
Whales that suffer the bends often do so because they have surfaced to escape a predator (捕食动物) such as a large shark. One of the features of Jurassic oceans was an abundance of large sharks and crocodiles, both of which were fond of ichthyosaur lunches. Triassic oceans, by contrast, were mercifully shark- and crocodile-free. In the Triassic, then, ichthyosaurs were top of the food chain. In the Jurassic and Cretaceous, they were prey (猎物) as well as predator—and often had to make a speedy exit as a result.
【小题1】Which of the following is a typical symptom of the bends?

A．A twisted body.

B．A gradual decrease in blood supply.

C．A sudden release of nitrogen in blood.

D．A drop in blood pressure.

【小题2】The purpose of Rothschild’s study is to see ______.

A．how often ichthyosaurs caught the bends

B．how ichthyosaurs adapted to decompression

C．why ichthyosaurs bent their bodies

D．when ichthyosaurs broke their bones

【小题3】Rothschild’s finding stated in Paragraph 4 ______.

A．confirmed his assumption	B．speeded up his research process
C．disagreed with his assumption	D．changed his research objectives

【小题4】Rothschild might have concluded that ichthyosaurs ______.

A．failed to evolve an anti-decompression means

B．gradually developed measures against the bends

C．died out because of large sharks and crocodiles

D．evolved an anti-decompression means but soon lost it

If a diver surfaces too quickly, he may suffer the bends. Nitrogen (氮) dissolved (溶解) in his blood is suddenly liberated by the reduction of pressure. The consequence, if the bubbles (气泡) accumulate in a joint, is sharp pain and a bent body—thus the name. If the bubbles form in his lungs or his brain, the consequence can be death.

Other air-breathing animals also suffer this decompression (减压) sickness if they surface too fast: whales, for example. And so, long ago, did ichthyosaurs. That these ancient sea animals got the bends can be seen from their bones. If bubbles of nitrogen form inside the bone they can cut off its blood supply. This kills the cells in the bone, and consequently weakens it, sometimes to the point of collapse. Fossil (化石) bones that have caved in on themselves are thus a sign that the animal once had the bends.

Bruce Rothschild of the University of Kansas knew all this when he began a study of ichthyosaur bones to find out how widespread the problem was in the past. What he particularly wanted to investigate was how ichthyosaurs adapted to the problem of decompression over the 150 million years. To this end, he and his colleagues traveled the world’s natural-history museums, looking at hundreds of ichthyosaurs from the Triassic period and from the later Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.

When he started, he assumed that signs of the bends would be rarer in younger fossils, reflecting their gradual evolution of measures to deal with decompression. Instead, he was astonished to discover the opposite. More than 15% of Jurassic and Cretaceous ichthyosaurs had suffered the bends before they died, but not a single Triassic specimen (标本) showed evidence of that sort of injury.

If ichthyosaurs did evolve an anti-decompression means, they clearly did so quickly—and, most strangely, they lost it afterwards. But that is not what Dr Rothschild thinks happened. He suspects it was evolution in other animals that caused the change.

Whales that suffer the bends often do so because they have surfaced to escape a predator (捕食动物) such as a large shark. One of the features of Jurassic oceans was an abundance of large sharks and crocodiles, both of which were fond of ichthyosaur lunches. Triassic oceans, by contrast, were mercifully shark- and crocodile-free. In the Triassic, then, ichthyosaurs were top of the food chain. In the Jurassic and Cretaceous, they were prey (猎物) as well as predator—and often had to make a speedy exit as a result.

1.Which of the following is a typical symptom of the bends?

A．A twisted body.

B．A gradual decrease in blood supply.

C．A sudden release of nitrogen in blood.

D．A drop in blood pressure.

2.The purpose of Rothschild’s study is to see ______.

A．how often ichthyosaurs caught the bends

B．how ichthyosaurs adapted to decompression

C．why ichthyosaurs bent their bodies

D．when ichthyosaurs broke their bones

3.Rothschild’s finding stated in Paragraph 4 ______.

A．confirmed his assumption                 B．speeded up his research process

C．disagreed with his assumption              D．changed his research objectives

4.Rothschild might have concluded that ichthyosaurs ______.

A．failed to evolve an anti-decompression means

B．gradually developed measures against the bends

C．died out because of large sharks and crocodiles

D．evolved an anti-decompression means but soon lost it

 

If a diver surfaces too quickly, he may suffer the bends. Nitrogen (氮) dissolved (溶解) in his blood is suddenly liberated by the reduction of pressure. The consequence, if the bubbles (气泡) accumulate in a joint, is sharp pain and a bent body—thus the name. If the bubbles form in his lungs or his brain, the consequence can be death.

Other air-breathing animals also suffer this decompression (减压) sickness if they surface too fast: whales, for example. And so, long ago, did ichthyosaurs. That these ancient sea animals got the bends can be seen from their bones. If bubbles of nitrogen form inside the bone they can cut off its blood supply. This kills the cells in the bone, and consequently weakens it, sometimes to the point of collapse. Fossil (化石) bones that have caved in on themselves are thus a sign that the animal once had the bends.

Bruce Rothschild of the University of Kansas knew all this when he began a study of ichthyosaur bones to find out how widespread the problem was in the past. What he particularly wanted to investigate was how ichthyosaurs adapted to the problem of decompression over the 150 million years. To this end, he and his colleagues traveled the world’s natural-history museums, looking at hundreds of ichthyosaurs from the Triassic period and from the later Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.

When he started, he assumed that signs of the bends would be rarer in younger fossils, reflecting their gradual evolution of measures to deal with decompression. Instead, he was astonished to discover the opposite. More than 15% of Jurassic and Cretaceous ichthyosaurs had suffered the bends before they died, but not a single Triassic specimen (标本) showed evidence of that sort of injury.

If ichthyosaurs did evolve an anti-decompression means, they clearly did so quickly—and, most strangely, they lost it afterwards. But that is not what Dr Rothschild thinks happened. He suspects it was evolution in other animals that caused the change.

Whales that suffer the bends often do so because they have surfaced to escape a predator (捕食动物) such as a large shark. One of the features of Jurassic oceans was an abundance of large sharks and crocodiles, both of which were fond of ichthyosaur lunches. Triassic oceans, by contrast, were mercifully shark- and crocodile-free. In the Triassic, then, ichthyosaurs were top of the food chain. In the Jurassic and Cretaceous, they were prey (猎物) as well as predator—and often had to make a speedy exit as a result.

61. Which of the following is a typical symptom of the bends?

A. A twisted body.

B. A gradual decrease in blood supply.

C. A sudden release of nitrogen in blood.

D. A drop in blood pressure.

62. The purpose of Rothschild’s study is to see ______.

A. how often ichthyosaurs caught the bends

B. how ichthyosaurs adapted to decompression

C. why ichthyosaurs bent their bodies

D. when ichthyosaurs broke their bones

63. Rothschild’s finding stated in Paragraph 4 ______.

A. confirmed his assumption                    B. speeded up his research process

C. disagreed with his assumption            D. changed his research objectives

64. Rothschild might have concluded that ichthyosaurs ______.

A. failed to evolve an anti-decompression means

B. gradually developed measures against the bends

C. died out because of large sharks and crocodiles

D. evolved an anti-decompression means but soon lost it

 I just spent a wonderful holiday on a little Greek island together with my family. Ono day , my wife and I left the village we lived in to visit the other side of the island. There we_36_ to see a French lady who was walking with a cane(手杖). Clearly , it was not _37__for  her to climb up the 300 steps leading up to an old building. Noticing she had a French accent(口音) I __38_speaking French with her. She __39_that, saying her English wasn’t very good. We had a _40__. She said the next day she would visit the __41__we were in at that moment. I was looking forward to our___42_ again there, because I enjoyed _43__my French.

But the next day I didn’t see her. I __44_she had said that she would leave the island the day after. I must have __45__her. Yet , three days later I suddenly met her again at the beach. She told me she was taking the ferry boat that night 2 a.m. and was now___46_ a place to stay close to the port(港口),__47__she has difficulty taking her suitcase to the port herself. The hotel she mentioned was rather __48_and I suggested another restaurant which would cost her less, and was a short _49__for her to reach the port.  50 ,her hotel could not help her carry her suitcase anywhere. So I  51 _to carry the suitcase to the _52 _for her.

I did as I had promised, and the lady was  53  and kept thanking me . I did it _54__ , for my parents broght me up to give others a helping hand.

Watching the  55  on the lady’s face ,I wish I got the chance to do it more often.

36. A. failed                  B. happened           C. planned                    D. expected

37. A. common             B. hard                  C. tired                      D. relaxing

38. A. enjoyed            B. continued          C. started                         D. stopped

39. A. appreciated       B. shared               C. believed                 D. refused

40. A. discussion           B. conversation      C. fight                  D. competition

41. A. hotel                   B. house                C. country                    D. village

42. A. exam                  B. train                  C. meeting                    D. lesson

43. A. copying                  B. understanding    C. practicing              D reading

44. A. joked                  B. remembered       C. imagined               D. mentioned

45. A. missed                B. called                C. accepted            D. disappointed

46. A. escaping from     B. checking on       C. cleaning up         D. looking for

47. A. though                B. because             C. so                            D. but

48. A. dirty                   B. suitable              C. comfortable          D. expensive

49. A. flight                  B. walk                 C. sail                       D. sight

50. A. Unfortunately    B. Strangely          C. Differently          D. Unusually

51. A. hoped                 B. liked                  C. offered                     D. forgot

52. A. island                  B. building             C. beach                    D. restaurant

53. A. happy                 B. kind                  C. worried                    D. confused

54. A. seriously             B. luckily               C. naturally                D. carefully

55. A. pleasure                  B. excitement         C. surprise                 D. fear