The secret of carrier pigeons' unbelievable ability to find their way home has been discovered by scientists: the feathered navigators follow the roads just like we do.
Scientists now believe the phrase "as the crow (乌鸦) flies" no longer means the shortest most direct route between two points. They say it is likely that crows and other day birds also choose AA-suggested routes, even though it makes their journeys longer.
Scientists at Oxford University spent 10 years studying homing pigeons using global positioning satellite (GPS) and got a surprising result. The birds often don't use the sun to decide their directions.
Instead they fly along motorways, turn at crossing and even go around roundabouts (绕道) , adding miles to their journeys.
"It really has knocked our research team sideways to find that after a decade-long international study, pigeons appear to ignore their inbuilt directional instincts (本能) and follow the road system," said Prof Tim Guilford, reader in animal behavior at Oxford University's Department of Zoology.
Guilford said pigeons use their own navigational system (导航系统) when doing long distance trips or when a bird does a journey for the first time.
"But once homing pigeons have flown a journey more than once, they can fly home on a habitual route, much as we do when we are driving or walking home from work," said Guilford.
"In short, it looks like it is mentally easier for a bird to fly down a road. They are just making their journey as simple as possible."What would be the best title of the passage?
| A．How Pigeons Find Their Ways Home? | B．Why Pigeons Can Fly long Distance? |
| C．Birds Follow Roads as We Do. | D．Why Crows Fly the Shortest D stance? |
What does the words "the feathered navigators" refer to?
| A．The crows. | B．The pigeons. | C．Day birds. | D．Animals that can fly. |
Scientists used to think that homing pigeons often find their directions ____.
| A．by global positioning satellite | B．by the sun |
| C．by the road system | D．by following other birds |
Why do homing pigeons tend to follow the road system daring the r journey?
| A．Because they don't have their inbuilt directional instincts now. |
| B．Because their own navigational system doesn't work. |
| C．Because it is too hard to use their own navigational system. |
| D．Because it is easier to make journey simple by following road system. |
Have you ever heard a news reporter talk about DNA? Reporters talk about DNA found at the scene of a crime. They talk about police finding DNA “fingerprints.” Police sometimes use DNA as a clue to find out who committed the crime.
DNA is a substance（物质） that makes up genes. Everything alive has genes. Plans have genes. Animals have genes. Yo
u have genes.
Genes are the basic units of heredity（遗传）. Heredity means all the characteristics you inherit from your parents. You get your genes from your parents. You inherit half of your genes from your mother. You inherit half of your genes from your father.
Genes are a kind of code. A tree’s genes tell w
hat shape its leaves will be. A cat’s genes tell what color its fur will be. Your genes tell what color your eyes will be. Your genes tell what color your hair will be. Everything about you co
mes from the code in your genes.
Genes line up on strands（链） called chromosomes（染色体） in cells. Everything alive is made up of cells. Chromosomes are in the center, or nucleus, of cells.
Different parts of you are made of different kinds of cells. Your muscles are made of muscle celIs. Your skin is made of skin cells. The code in your genes tells your body to make different kinds of cells. The genes in each cell tell the cell how to work. They tell the cell when to make new copies of itself.
An Austrian monk named Gregor Mendel first saw inherited patterns in pea plants. He experimented with pea plants in the 1860s. One of the things, or traits（特质）， Mendel studied was what makes some pea plants tall and some short. He said that the traits must come from units of heredity passed from the parent plants. These units were later called genes.
In the mid-1900s, scientists discovered that genes are made of DNA. In the 1970s, scientists learned how to change DNA with genetic engineering. Scientists also learned that problems with certain genes cause diseases. Muscular dystrophy, cystic fibrosis, and hemophilia are some genetic diseases-diseases caused by problems in genes. Today, scientists are looking for ways to cure genetic diseases by changing genes through a process called gene therapy. What is DNA?
| A．DNA is a kind of gene. |
| B．DNA is a substance that makes up genes. |
| C．DNA is the basic unit of heredity. |
| D．DNA is a measure to protect crime. |
Which of the following about genes is correct according to the passage?
| A．Plants, animals and human beings have the same genes. |
| B．Half people inherit all genes from their mother, others from their father. |
| C．Genes decide the trees shapes, the cats’ fur color and our eyes’ color as well. |
| D．Genes will give you a code when you need them. |
Where are genes?
| A．Genes lining up on strands called chromosomes are in the center of cells. |
| B．Genes hide in everything alive in your body. |
| C．Genes can be nowhere but in your mind, controlling all your actions. |
| D．Genes travel in your body and help cope skin, muscle, and eyes. |
An Austrian monk named Gregor Mendel .
| A．first saw inherited patterns in people |
| B．was interested in why plants were different |
| C．first called the units of heredity from parents genes |
| D．was the first who discovered genes |
We can conclude that .
| A．scientists were less intelligent than monks in 1900s |
| B．some genes are bad and can cause diseases |
| C．we don’t need to worry about genetic diseases any longer |
| D．the discovery of genes may be of great help in our daily life |
The Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers has been named the greenest one in the world by the travel and tourist organization Skaal International, reported the Danish news agency Ritzau on Monday.
The hotel has been awarded the EcoTourism Award for setting an envir
onmental-friendly example to other hotels, said the report.
The Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers is located in the Copenhagen suburb of Oerestad and has the largest solar cell facility in the Nordic. This facility delivers energy to the hotel while Danish groundwater supplies cooling and heating in the air condition of the hotel.
The Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers
TV and lights in the hotel are all of energy-saving brands. Shampoo bottles, toothbrushes and washing accessories are biologically degradable, which means that the nature can easily absorb the materials.
The hotel restaurant is only buying local goods and the food leftovers are used for bioenergy as well as fertilizer. The fitness facilities also provide a green touch to the hotel, as the training bikes of the fitness center are linked to the power grid（电网） of the hotel, thereby providing free energy if any guest wishes to exercise. People who do contribute free energy this way are supp
osedly getting a free meal in the hotel restaurant. “It is the first time that a Danish hotel receives this award. I think our throughout green thinking is the reason why we have been awarded. It is all the small details, as well as the big picture，” says Allan Agerholm, the CEO of the hotel, in a press release.
The Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers opened its doors last year. Skaal International was founded in 1932 by travel managers and has approximately 20,000 members in 89 nations. It is an organization promoting global tourism.Which of the following is the best title of this passage?
| A．Hotel in Copenhagen named world’s greenest |
| B．Copenhagen-the world’s greenest city |
| C．Eco Tourism Award in Copenhagen |
| D．The Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers |
The hotel has been awarded the EcoTourism Award because .
| A．delivers green energy to the hotels in Nordic |
| B．is located in the Copenhagen suburb not in the city center |
| C．has the largest solar cell facility |
| D．it sets an environmental-friendly example to other hotels |
The underlined word “degradable” in passage 3 means it can be .
| A．rejected by people who don’t like it |
| B．accepted by guests from all over the world |
| C．absorbed easily by nature |
| D．recycled by the nature |
What is s
o special about the fitness facilities?
| A．It is free for those who like to exercise. |
| B．It uses green power to drive. |
| C．It generates free electricity while being used. |
| D．It offers free meal to guests who use it. |
What is Skaal International?
| A．Another name for this green hotel. |
| B．An organization promoting global tourism. |
| C．The Danish news agency Ritzau. |
| D．A branch hotel restaurant in Danmark. |
Hundreds of people lined up at Grand Central Terminal yesterday, but they
weren’t there to catch a train. They came to New York City’s famous railroad station to trade in old dollar bills for the new George Washington Presidential苊1 coin.
The gold-colored coin is the first in a new series by the U.S. Mint（造币厂）that honors former U.S. Presidents. The Mint will issue(发行) four Presidential苊1 coins a year through 2016. Like the popular 50 State Quarters program, which issues coins in the order in which each state joined the Union, Presidential苊1 coins will come out in the order in which each President served. The George Washington coin is the first to be released. John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison coins will come out later this year.
The Presidential 苊1 coins will be the same size and color as the Sacagawea Golden Dollar. However, there is an important difference. For the first time since the 1930s, there is an inscription（题字）on the edge of each coin. Each coin will show a different President on its face, or head side. It will also show the President’s name, the order in which he served and his years in office. The other side of the coin will show the Statue of Liberty and the inscriptions “United States of America” and “苊 1”.
There will be one Presidential苊1 coin for each President, except Grover Cleveland. He will have two! Cleveland is the only U.S. President to have served two nonconsecutive（不连续的）terms.
The last President scheduled to get a coin is Gerald Ford because a President must have been dead for two years before he can be on a coin. Why did people line up at the railway station?
| A．To book train tickets. | B．To exchange money. |
| C．To visit a coin show. | D．To visit the station itself. |
In which order will the Presidential苊1 coins come out?
| A．Each state joined the Union. | B．Each President was born. |
| C．Each President took office. | D．Each President died. |
It can be inferred from the passage that .
| A．there are no words on the Sacagawea Golden Dollar |
| B．the new coin can buy more than the old coin |
| C．the new coin takes on a white color |
| D．the Sacagawea Golden Dollar is bigger |
Why will Grover Cleveland have two coins?
| A．He served longer than any other President. |
| B．He is the most famous President in the U.S. |
| C．He is the only one who has served two terms. |
| D．He served two terms but not continuously. |
Which of the following could be the best title of the passage?
| A．Presidential苊1 coin issued. |
| B．Different ways to honor Presidents. |
| C．The differences between Presidential苊1 coin and other coins. |
| D．Collections of old dollar bills. |
America’s greatest technological achievement, the Hoover Dam, now has a companion piece, a bridge held up by the longest arch in the Western Hemisphere（半球）. The Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, which opened this month and connects the U.S. states of Arizona and Nevada, crosses the vast chasm（峡谷）890 feet above the Colorado River that is controlled by the dam.
The striking 1,900-foot-long structure will improve traffic in the region and help protect the dam from being destroyed. It is the seventh highest bridge in the world, behind four in China, one in Papua New Guinea and one in the US state of Colorado.
“The Hoover Dam is the greatest civil engineering achievement in America’s history,” said the bridge project manager Dave Zanatell. “Our goal was not to outdo or outshine it. Our goal was to, in a respectful way, do something that would be great for our generation and that would stand besides Hoover Dam in a respectful and quality way that would become a part of Hoover’s legacy（遗产）.”
Just as the Hoover Dam was built in the heart of the Great Depression（大萧条）and was seen as an example of the nation’s can-do spirit, some hope this project can also provide some uplift.
The bridge is surprising: at 1,050 feet, its support arch holds up a roadway that lies on 300-foot-long concrete pillars（柱子）, some of the tallest in the world. It contains 16 million pounds of steel.
The idea of the bridge came into being in the 1960s because the top of the Hoover Dam has been a narrow two-lane road that is the fastest route from Arizona to Las Vegas and then the Pacific Northwest and Canada.
Access to the dam from each direction is a dangerously winding route, but massive trucks and passenger vehicles shared it for decades. During the day, when thousands of tourists travel to the dam from Las Vegas three times as many accidents as on a normal road will happen.
The bridge has a sidewalk on the side facing the dam. The wall on both sides is 54 inches high, so walkers can take photos there.Which of the following is true of the Hoover Dam?
| A．It was completed recently. |
| B．It was built during the hard times. |
| C．It has the longest arch. |
| D．It’s the seventh highest dam in the world. |
What is one of the purposes of building the bridge?
| A．To protect the dam. | B．To save the cultures. |
| C．To outdo the dam. | D．To develop the tourism. |
The underlined word “uplift” in Paragraph 4 means _____.
| A．lift of the heavy object | B．support in money |
| C．spiritual encouragement | D．instruction in technology |
Which of the followings shows the right position of the bridge and dam?
The text is mainly about ______.
| A．the Hoover Dam |
| B．American western development |
| C．a tour along the Colorado River |
| D．a recently built bridge |
A town in Oxfordshire has become the first in the UK to have biomethane（生物甲烷）gas from human waste piped to their homes for gas central heating and cooking.
Up to 200 families in Didcot now receive the gas via the national gas power system. Head of energy and technology at British Gas, Martin Orrill, said customers wouldn’t notice any difference as the gas is purified（提炼）to the highest standard and has no smell. The gas is produced at a sewage（污物）treatment works plant in Didcot.
The entire process takes only less than three weeks, with the sewage being collected and sent first to settlement tanks. The solid waste material is then fed into digesters, where anaerobic bacteria（厌氧菌）digest the sewage, with the aid of enzymes（酶）to speed up the process. The digestion process produces methane, which can be burned to drive machines to produce electricity, or can be purified and fed into the gas network and piped to homes and businesses. British Gas says supplying the gas rather than electricity is far more efficient since around two-thirds of the energy is lost in producing electricity.
Partners in the Didcot project, British Gas, Scotia Gas Networks, and Thames Water, all hope to expand the process to other towns, and other companies such as Ecotricity and United Utilities have also announced biomethane projects being planned. One of these projects, in Manchester, could be supplying 500 homes with biomethane by mid next year. Another British Gas project in Suffolk will provide gas from digestion of brewery wastes to around 235 families.
The Didcot project cost ￡2.5m and was influenced by promises of government aids aimed at encouraging companies to develop renewable technologies. An EU directive means the UK must ensure at least 15 percent of its energy is from renewable sources by 2020.
The UK produces about 1.73 million tons of sewage annually. If all sewage treatment works in the UK were fitted with the technology, they could supply gas for up to 350,000 families.Which of the following is true of the biomethane gas?
| A．It’s mainly made from rotting plants. |
| B．It’s an environmentally friendly gas. |
| C．Its production process is too long. |
| D．It’s easily recognized by the customers. |
What is the function of the enzymes?
| A．To digest the solid waste material. |
| B．To help get rid of anaerobic bacteria. |
| C．To help purify the biomethane. |
| D．To speed up the digestion process. |
According to British Gas, the biomethane gas had better be used _____.
| A．as the power for the vehicles |
| B．for the heating and cooking |
| C．to produce the electricity |
| D．to drive a variety of machines |
The last three paragraphs mainly show that _____.
| A．UK government supports the biome thane projects |
| B．the biome thane projects are very costly |
| C．the biome thane projects still face many barriers |
| D．the biome thane projects are promising |
What should the text belong to?
| A．Computer science. | B．Engineering. | C．Energy. | D．Business. |
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