When an ant dies, other ants move the dead insect out. Sometimes, the dead ant get moved away very soon—within an hour of dying. This behavior is interesting to scientists, who 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. Choe found that Argentine ants have a chemical on the outside of their bodies that signals to other ants, “I’m dead—take me away.”
But there’s a twist to Choe’s discovery. Choe says that the living ants—not just the dead ones—have this death chemical. In other words, while an ant crawls around, perhaps in a picnic or home, it’s telling other ants that it’s dead.
What keeps ants from dragging away the living ants？Choe found that Argentine ants have two additional chemicals on their bodies, and these tell nearby ants something like, “Wait—I’m not dead yet.” So Choe’s research turned up two sets of chemical signals in ants: one says, “I’m dead,” and the other set says, “I’m not dead yet.”
Other scientists have tried to figure out how ants know when another ant is dead. If an ant is knocked unconscious, for example, other ants leave it alone until it wakes up. That means ants know that unmoving ants can still be alive.
Choe suspects that when an Argentine ant dies, the chemical that says “Wait-I’m not dead yet” quickly goes away. Once that chemical is gone, only the one that says “I’m dead” is left. “It’s because the dead ant no longer smells like a living ant that it gets carried to the graveyard, not because its body releases(释放) new unique chemicals after death,” said Choe. When other ants detect the “dead” chemical without the “not dead yet” chemical, they drag away the body.
Understanding this behavior may help scientists figure out how to stop Argentine ants from invading new places and causing problems. Choe would like to find a way to use the newly discovered chemicals to spread ant killer to Argentine ant nests.
The ants’ removal behavior is important to the overall health of the nest. “Being able to quickly remove dead individuals and other possible sources of disease is extremely important to all animals living in societies, including us,” says Choe. “Think about all the effort and money that we invest daily in waste management.”The underlined word “twist” in Paragraph 3 means .
| A．an unexpected change | B．a clear mistake |
| C．an important key | D．a shocking conclusion |
Ants judge whether another one is dead or not depending on .
| A．the sense of taste | B．the sense of smell |
| C．the sense of touch | D．the sense of sight |
The result of the research can be used to .
| A．kill troublesome pests |
| B．solve the problem of endangered species |
| C．prevent further expansion of the ants’ territory |
| D．keep the balance of nature |
Why is it important to remove dead individuals?
| A．Because it is easier to manage the living. |
| B．Because it can save money to deal with the waste. |
| C．Because it can provide more space for the living. |
| D．Because it can keep the living from suffering disease. |
What might be the best title of the text?
| A．Dead or living? It is easy to judge |
| B．Pulling away the dead ants is a difficult task |
| C．Ant nests have great undertaking capacity |
| D．Leaving it alone or taking it away? Ants feel puzzled |
Ⅲ 阅读(共两节，满分40分)
第一节 阅读理解(共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分)
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Is a mouse that can speak acceptable? How about a dog with human hands or feet? Scientists, the people with the know-how to make such things happen, are now thinking about whether such experiments are morally right or not.
On Nov. 10, Britain’s Academy of Medical Sciences launched a study on the use of animals with human materials in scientific research. The work is expected to take at least a year, but its leaders hope it will lead to guidelines for scientists in Britain and around the world on how far they can go mixing human genes into animals in search of ways to fight human diseases.
“Do these constructs (构想) challenge our idea of what it is to be human?” asked Martin Bobrow, a professor of medical genetics at Cambridge University and chair of a 14-member group looking into the issue. “It is important that we consider these questions now so that appropriate boundaries are recognized.”
Using human material in animals is not new. Scientists have already created monkeys that have a human form of the Huntingdon’s gene so they can study how the disease develops; and mice with livers (肝) made from human cells are being used to study the effects of new drugs.
However, scientists say the technology to put ever greater amounts of human genetic material into animals is spreading quickly around the world --- raising the possibility that some scientists in some places may want to go further than is morally acceptable.
Last year in Britain there was a lively debate over new laws allowing the creation of human-animal embryos (胚胎) for experiments. On one side of the debate were religious groups, who claimed that such science interferes with nature. Opposing them were scientists who pointed out that such experiments were vital to research cures for diseases.
The experts will publish reports after the end of the study, in which they will give definitions (定义) for animal embryos with human genes or cells, look at safety and animal welfare issues, and consider the right legal framework to work within.
1. What does the underlined word “they” in Paragraph 2 refer to?
A. Scientists in Britain and around the world. B. Leaders of the research.
C. Guidelines for scientists. D. Scientific experiments.
2. Scientists do research of mixing human genes into animals in order to ____.
A. test new drugs on animals B. to find ways to fight human diseases
C. prove the research is morally acceptable
D. create monkeys and mice with livers made from human cells
3. We can infer from the passage that ____.
A. the experts will release reports after the study
B. scientists have never doubted the use of animals with human materials
C. the creation of human-animal embryos for experiments is legal in Britain
D. religious groups hold that cures for diseases have to be done through experiments
4. What would be the best title of the passage?
A. Morally right or not? B. A debate about new laws
C. Cures for diseases D. Animal embryos with human genes
5. Where is the passage from?
A. A science textbook B. A science booklet
C. the science column of a newspaper D. A science magazine for teenagers
The Japanese believe that a person has two souls, each necessary. One is the “gentle” soul; the other is the “rough” soul. Sometimes the person uses his gentle soul; sometimes he must use his rough soul. He does not favor his “gentle” soul; neither does he fight his “rough” soul. Human nature in itself is good, Japanese philosophers insist, and a human being does not need to fight any part of himself. He has only to learn how to use each soul properly at the appropriate times. Virtue for the Japanese consists in fulfilling one’s obligations to others. Happy endings, either in life or in fiction, are neither necessary nor expected, since the fulfillment of duty provides the satisfying end, whatever the tragedy it inflicts (遭受，承受). And duty includes a person’s obligations to those who have conferred benefits upon him and to himself as an individual of honor. He develops through this double sense of duty a self-discipline which is at once permissive and rigid, depending on the area in which it is functioning.
The process of acquiring this self-discipline begins in childhood. A Japanese child is given his own identity very early! If I were to define in a word the attitude of the Japanese toward their children I would put it in one succinct (简洁的) word – “respect”. Love? Yes, abundance of love, warmly expressed from the moment he is put to his mother’s breast. For mother and child this nursing of her child is important psychologically.
Rewards are frequent, a bit of candy bestowed ( 给予) at the right moment, an inexpensive toy…As the time comes to enter school, however, discipline becomes firmer. To bring shame to the family is the greatest shame for the child.
What is the secret of the Japanese teaching of self-discipline? It lies, I think, in the fact that the aim of all teaching is the establishment of habit. Rules are repeated over, and continually practiced until obedience becomes instinctive. This repetition is enhanced by the expectation of the elders. They expect a child to obey and to learn through obedience. The demand is gentle at first and tempered to the child’s tender age. It is no less gentle as time goes on, but certainly it is increasingly inexorable （不可阻挡的）.
1. The main purpose of the passage is to discuss_________.
A. the belief system of the Japanese people B. Japanese view of happiness
C. Japanese view of duty D. self-discipline of the Japanese people
2. What can be inferred according to the Japanese belief system?
A. Some people have two different souls.
B. Some people are born evil. C. One should try to achieve the happy ending.
D. Duty is central in Japanese view of virtue.
3. In the teaching of self-discipline the Japanese emphasize _________.
A. obligations to one’s family and relations.
B. early tolerant training combined with restrictive movement
C. heavy external (外界的) control including strict punishment
D. a permissive atmosphere almost until adulthood
4. How do the Japanese teach their children of self-discipline?
A. They lie to their children about the benefit of self-discipline.
B. They develop their children’s habit of obedience through various teachings.
C. They rely on the important role of schools.
D. They use rewards to set good samples of self-discipline.
5. What does the underlined word “It”in the last sentence refer to?
A. The demand. B. The age. C. The obedience. D. The establishment.
There was no possibility of taking a walk that day. We had been wandering, indeed, in the leafless shrubbery an hour in the morning; but since dinner ( Mrs. Reed, when there was no company, dined early) the cold winter wind had brought with it clouds so dark, and rain so likely to pour, that further outdoor exercise was now out of the question.
I was glad of it. I never liked long walks, especially on cold afternoons. Awful to me was the coming home in the raw twilight, with nipped (冻伤的) fingers and toes, and a heart saddened by the scoldings of Bessie, the nurse, and humbled (贬低) by the consciousness of my physical inferiority to Eliza, John, and Georgiana Reed.
Eliza, John, and Georgiana were now surrounding their mama in the drawing room; she lay on a sofa by the fireside, and with her darlings around her ( for the time neither quarrelling nor crying) looked perfectly happy. She had stopped me from joining the group. She said that she regretted to be under the necessity of keeping me at a distance, but that until she heard from Bessie, and could discover by her own observation that I was trying to acquire a more sociable and childlike nature and a more attractive and lovely manner, and that she really must exclude me from privileges intended only for good children.
“What did Bessie say about me?” I asked.
“Jane, I don’t like questioners; besides, there is something truly forbidding in a child taking up her elders in that manner. Be seated somewhere; remain silent until you can speak pleasantly.”
The study room adjoined the drawing room and I slipped there. It contained a bookcase. I soon possessed myself of a volume stored with pictures.
With the book on my knee, I was then happy; happy at least in my way. I feared nothing but interruption, and that came too soon.
1. The underlined phrase “out of the question” in the first paragraph probably means________.
A. impossible B. possible C. likely D. no problem
2. Jane never liked long walks on cold afternoons because ________.
A. it often rained
B. it was too cold to walk outside
C. she often suffered a lot, both mentally and physically
D. she was often scolded by the nurse
3. We can infer from the passage that________.
A. Jane was treated equally in the family
B. Jane couldn’t enjoy equal rights with her cousins
C. Mrs. Reed was very strict with Jane for the sake of her
D. Jane was too troublesome
4. From the passage we can infer that ________.
A. the drawing room contained a bookcase B. Jane liked reading very much
C. Jane drew the curtain to keep warm D. Bessie was Jane’s good friend
5. The main idea of this part of the story is ________.
A. Jane was on good terms with her cousins B. Jane spent a happy childhood
C. Jane was badly treated in such a family D. Jane loved Mrs. Reed and her cousins
III阅读（共两节，满分40分）
第一节 阅读理解（共15小题：每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D 选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Do you have any idea what you would like to be and do after graduation? A lot of people don’t begin thinking about careers until they reach junior or senior year, which, in my opinion, is too late.
When people are trying to decide what they want to do, it helps to know something they love. Ever since I was little, I’ve always been doing someone’s hair, make-up or nails, starting with Barbie dolls and progressing to humans. Over the years my family has really inspired me to do this and now I fix friends’ and family members’ hair for weddings, dances and other big events.
I have been thinking about what I would like to do for a career since middle school. I did some research and discovered that I might really enjoy being a cosmetologist, so I went to my hair stylist and asked her lots of questions about what it takes to reach her level and what she would recommend I do. I considered her advice and then did more research.
I used Aveda’s website to get information on the Aveda Institute and what type of credit(贷款) I would need from high school to apply. I found their institute has three parts: theoretical knowledge, practical experience, and professional business-building skills. For the past few years, I have been looking at Aveda in more and more detail. This school not only offers cosmetology, but also massage therapy. I grew up in Minnesota(美国中北部的一个州), so I plan to apply to the institute in Minneapolis that several people have highly recommended. It helps students become “future industry leaders in hair care, skin care, makeup and total body wellness”. It is affordable and everyone there is friendly and understanding.
Having done the groundwork and thinking about what I’d like to do after high school, I know that I will definitely pursue my dream of becoming a cosmetologist.
1.After reading the text, we can infer the author is interested in ___________.
A.traveling abroad B. service business C. social activities D. acting on the stage.
2.Why does the author think it’s too late for people to start thinking about careers in junior or senior year?
A. Because he/she began to think about them when very young.
B. Because many people are too old to learn.
C. Because a lot of people can’t grasp the opportunity.
D. Because many people have little they love.
3.We know from the text that a cosmetologist is __________ .
A. a chemist working at college B. a person who works in the institute
C. a doctor in a hospital D. a person doing all types of body care for people
4.The author plans to apply to the institute in Minneapolis NOT because________
A.the people there are good to others B. some people advise him/her to do so
C. the institute is free of charge D. the institute is helpful to his/her future
5. The author of the text may be a __________.
A. married person B. middle school student C. college student D. a teacher in an institute.
It has been more than twenty years since pioneering British computer programmer, Sir Tim Berners Lee, created the World Wide Web. But could he have ever imagined how much the web would change our lives? And would he approve of how some British students are taking advantage of his invention?
Universities and exam boards around the UK are becoming increasingly concerned with the rising number of cases of plagiarism, many of which are facilitated (助长) by the Internet access.
In the UK most school and university students complete coursework throughout the academic year which contributes toward their final mark. In many cases coursework makes up the main part of the qualification. Since coursework is completed in the students’ own time it cannot be monitored by teachers in the same way as an exam.
Derec Stockley, director of examinations in the UK, explains, “Plagiarism affects coursework more tha
n anything else, and in the cases that come to our attention, more and more are linked to the Internet.”
At a university level recent reports suggest that plagiarism has evolved from separate cases of individual cheating to systematic and even commercial operation. Students can now pay for bespoke essays to be written for them by experts.
It is estimated that the market in online plagiarism is now worth 200 million pounds a year. Every month more and more websites offering to write student’s essays for them appear on the Internet.
Barclay Littlewood, owner of Degree Essays UK employs 3,500 specialist writers and charges between 120 pounds and 4,000 pounds per essay. However, Mr. Littlewood refutes the accusation that he is helping students to cheat.
1．What dose the underlined word “plagiarism” in Paragrha 2 mean in the passage?
A．cheating B．problems of the Internet C．learning pressure D．coursework
2．Which of the following statements is mentioned by the author?
A．With the help of online plagiarism, students can write more creative coursework.
B．There will be no problem if online plagiarism is a systematic and commercial operation.
C．The Internet seems to have contributed much to the problem of online plagiarism.
D．Teachers should lay more emphasis on exams than coursework.
3．It can be inferred from the text that the author seems to _____.
A．blame Sir Tim Berners Lee for having created the World Wide Web
B．worry about the 
quality of students’ coursework influenced by the World Wide Web
C．be in favour of Littlewood’s defence against the accusation of him
D．have studied the problem of online plagiarism for nearly 20 years
4．Who should be blamed for online plagiarism?
A．Barclay Littlewood. B．Sir Tim Berners Lee. C．Derec Stockley. D．Nobody.
5．The paragraph following the passage will most probably be about_____.
A．the author’s opinions of Mr. Littlewood
B．different people’s opinions on plagiarism
C．how students use the website of Mr. Littlewood
D．Mr. Littlewood’s defence against those who accused him of his website
粤公网安备 44130202000953号