Honey from the African forest is not only a kind of natural sugar, it is also delicious.
Most people, and many animals, like eating it. However, the only way for them to get that honey is to find a wild bees" nest and take the honey from it. Often, these nests are high up in trees, and it is difficult to find them. In parts of Africa, though, people and animals looking for honey have a strange and unexpected helper - a little bird called a honey guide.
The honey guide does not actually like honey, but it does like the wax in the beehives (蜂房). The little bird cannot reach this wax, which is deep inside the bees" nest. So, when it finds a suitable nest, it looks for someone to help it. The honey guide gives a loud cry that attracts the attention of both passing animals and people. Once it has their attention, it flies through the forest, waiting from time to time for the curious animal or person as it leads them to the nest. When they finally arrive at the nest, the follower reaches in to get at the delicious honey as the bird patiently waits and watches. Some of the honey, and the wax, always fall to the ground, and this is when the honey guide takes its share.
Scientists do not know why the honey guide likes eating the wax, but it is very determined in its efforts to get it. The birds seem to be able to smell wax from a long distance away. They will quickly arrive whenever a beekeeper is taking honey from his beehives, and will even enter churches when beeswax candles are being lit.
小题1:Why is it difficult to find a wild bees" nest?| A．It"s small in size. | B．It"s hard to recognize. | | C．It"s covered with wax. | D．It"s hidden in trees. |
小题2:What do the words "the follower" in Paragraph 2 refer to?| A．A bee. | B．A honey seeker. | C．A bird. | D．A beekeeper. |
小题3:The honey guide is special in the way ________.| A．it goes to church | B．it gets its food | | C．it sings in the forest | D．it reaches into bees" nests |
小题4:What can be the best title for the text?| A．Wild Bees | B．Wax and Honey | | C．Beekeeping in Africa | D．Honey-Lover"s Helper |
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小题1:D
小题2:B
小题3:B
小题4:D |
试题分析：本文主要介绍了一种帮助人们寻找到蜂蜜的鸟儿a honey guide的情况。
小题1:细节题。根据文章第一段第2行Often, these nests are high up in trees, and it is difficult to find them.可知这些蜂巢都在高高的树上，所以很难找到。故D正确。
小题2:推理题。根据. Once it has their attention, it flies through the forest, waiting from time to time for the curious animal or person as it leads them to the nest. When they finally arrive at the nest, the follower reaches in to get at the delicious honey as the bird patiently waits and watches.可知这里的follower就是指那些寻找蜂蜜的人。故B正确。
小题3:推理题。这种鸟儿非常喜欢蜂巢里的蜡。但是它们得到这些蜡的过程却是非常的独特。通过吸引别人来找到蜂巢，再等到自己的食物。故B正确。
小题4:主旨大意题。本文主要介绍了一种帮助人们寻找到蜂蜜的鸟儿a honey guide的情况。故D正确。
点评：本文主要介绍了一种帮助人们寻找到蜂蜜的鸟儿a honey guide的情况。推断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。 |
核心考点
试题【Honey from the African forest is not only a kind of natural sugar, it is also de】；主要考察你对
题材分类等知识点的理解。
[详细]举一反三
It is easy for us to tell our friends from our enemies. But can other animals do the same? Elephants can! They can use their sense of vision and smell to tell the difference between people who pose a threat and those who do not.
In Kenya, researchers found that elephants react differently to clothing worn by men of the Maasai and Kamba ethnic groups. Young Maasai men spear animals and thus pose a threat to elephants; Kamba men are mainly farmers and are not a danger to elephants.
In an experiment conducted by animal scientists, elephants were first presented with clean clothing or clothing that had been worn for five days by either a Maasai or a Kamba man. When the elephants detected(察觉)the smell of clothing worn by a Maasai man, they moved away from the smell faster and took longer to relax than when they detected the smells of either clothing worn by Kamba men or clothing that had not been worn at all.
Clothing color also plays a role, though in a different way. In the same study, when the elephants saw red clothing not worn before, they reacted angrily, as red is typically worn by Maasai men. Rather than running away as they did with the smell, the elephants acted aggressively toward the red clothing.
The researchers believe that the elephants’ emotional reactions are due to their different interpretations of the smells and the sights. Smelling a potential danger means that a threat is nearby and the best thing to do is run away and hide. Seeing a potential threat without its smell means that risk is low. Therefore, instead of showing fear and running away, the elephants express their anger and become aggressive.
小题1:According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE about Kamba and Maasai people? | A．Maasai people are a threat to elephants. | | B．Kamba people raise elephants for farming. | | C．Both Kamba and Maasai people are elephant hunters. | | D．Both Kamba and Maasai people traditionally wear red clothing. |
小题2: How did the elephants react to smell in the study? | A．They attacked a man with the smell of new clothing. | | B．They needed time to relax when smelling something unfamiliar. | | C．They became anxious when they smelled Kamba-scented(有…气味的) clothing. | | D．They were frightened and ran away when they smelled their enemies. |
小题3: What is the main idea of this passage?| A．Elephants use sight and smell to detect danger. | | B．Elephants attack people who wear red clothing. | | C．Scientists are now able to control elephants’ emotions. | | D．Some Kenyan tribes understand elephants’ emotions very well. |
小题4:What can be inferred about the elephants’ behavior from this passage? | A．Elephants learn from their experience. | | B．Elephants have sharper sense of smell than sight. | | C．Elephants are more intelligent than other animals. | | D．Elephants tend to attack rather than escape when in danger. |
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Mandara seemed to know something big was about to happen. So she let out a yell, caught hold of her 2-year-old daughter Kibibi and climbed up into a tree. She lives at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.
And on Tuesday, August 23rd, witnesses say she seemed to sense the big earthquake that shook much of the East Coast before any humans knew what was going on. And she’s not the only one. In the moments before the quake, an orangutan (猩猩) let out a loud call and then climbed to the top of her shelter.
“It’s very different from their normal call,” said Brandie Smith, the zookeeper. “The lemurs (monkey-like animals of Madagascar) will sound an alarm call if they see or hear something highly unusual.”
But you can’t see or hear an earthquake 15 minutes before it happens, can you? Maybe you can — if you’re an animal. “Animals can hear above and below our range of hearing,” said Brandie Smith. “That’s part of their special abilities. They’re more sensitive to the environment, which is how they survive.”
Primates weren’t the only animals that seemed to sense the quake before it happened. One of the elephants made a warning sound. And a huge lizard (蜥蜴) ran quickly for cover. The flamingoes (a kind of bird) gathered before the quake and stayed together until the shaking stopped.
So what kind of vibrations were the animals picking up in the moments before the quake? Scientist Susan Hough says earthquakes produce two types of waves — a weak “P” wave and then a much stronger “S” wave. The “P” stands for “primary”. And the “S” stands for “secondary”. She said she thinks the “P” wave might be what set the animals off.
Not all the animals behaved unusually before the quake. For example, Smith says the zoo’s giant pandas didn’t jump up until the shaking actually began. But many of the other animals seemed to know something was coming before it happened. “I’m not surprised at all,” Smith said.
小题1:Why did Mandara act strangely one day?| A．Because it sensed something unusual would happen. | | B．Because its daughter Kibibi was injured. | | C．Because it heard an orangutan let out a loud call. | | D．Because an earthquake had happened. |
小题2:According to Brandie Smith, _____.| A．many animals’ hearing is sharp | | B．earthquakes produce two types of waves | | C．primates usually gather together before a quake | | D．humans can also develop the ability to sense a quake |
小题3:Which word in the passage has a close meaning to the underlined word “cover”?| A．vibration | B．shelter | C．quake | D．range |
小题4:Which animal seems unable to sense a quake?| A．A giant panda. | B．A flamingo. | C．A lemur. | D．A lizard. |
小题5:What is the best title for the passage?| A．How animals survive a quake. | B．How animals differ from humans. | | C．How animals behave before a quake. | D．How animals protect their young in a quake. |
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New genetic analysis has revealed that many Amazon tree species are likely to survive human-made climate warming in the coming century, contrary to previous findings that temperature increases would cause them to die out. A study, 1 in the latest edition of Ecology and Evolution, reveals the 2 age of some Amazonian tree species -- more than 8 million years -- and 3 shows that they have survived previous periods as warm as many of the global warming imagined periods 4 for the year 2100.
The authors write that, having survived warm periods in the past, the trees will 5 survive future warming, provided there are no other major environmental changes. 6 extreme droughts and forest fires will impact Amazonia as temperatures 7 , the trees will stand the direct impact of higher temperatures. The authors 8 that as well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions to minimize the risk of drought and fire, conservation policy should remain 9 on preventing deforestation（采伐森林）for agriculture and mining.
The study disagrees with other recent researches which predicted tree species’ extinctions 10 relatively small increases in global average air temperatures.
Study co-author Dr Simon Lewis (UCL Geography) said the 11 were good news for Amazon tree species, but warned that drought and over-exploitation of the forest remained major 12 to the Amazon’s future.
Dr Lewis said: “The past cannot be compared directly with the future. while tree species seem likely to 13 higher air temperatures than today, the Amazon forest is being transformed for agriculture and 14 , and what remains is being degraded by logging, and increasingly split up by fields and roads.
“Species will not move as freely in today’s Amazon as they did in previous warm periods, when there was no human 15 . Similarly, today’s climate change is extremely fast, making comparisons with slower changes in the past 16 .”
“With a clearer 17 of the relative risks to the Amazon forest, we 18 that direct human impacts -- such as forest clearances for agriculture or mining -- should remain a key point of conservation policy. We also need more aggressive 19 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to make minimum the risk of drought and fire impacts and 20 the future of most Amazon tree species.”
| 小题1: | | A．advertised | B．described | C．published | D．presented |
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| 小题2: | | A．frightening | B．surprising | C．exciting | D．interesting |
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| 小题3: | | A．still | B．nevertheless | C．however | D．therefore |
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| 小题4: | | A．assess | B．confirm | C．forecast | D．promise |
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| 小题5: | | A．particularly | B．probably | C．merely | D．possibly |
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| 小题6: | | A．Since | B．Although | C．When | D．If |
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| 小题7: | | A．rise | B．change | C．drop | D．end |
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| 小题8: | | A．consider | B．decide | C．guarantee | D．recommend |
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| 小题9: | | A．based | B．built | C．focused | D．made |
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| 小题10: | | A．in relation to | B．in response to | C．in reply to | D．in reference to |
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| 小题11: | | A．findings | B．thoughts | C．inventions | D．writings |
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| 小题12: | | A．threats | B．disadvantages | C．embarrassments | D．instructions |
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| 小题13: | | A．accept | B．tolerate | C．permit | D．Require |
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| 小题14: | | A．farming | B．planting | C．catering | D．mining |
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| 小题15: | | A．power | B．influence | C．desire | D．violence |
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| 小题16: | | A．difficult | B．clear | C．easy | D．important |
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| 小题17: | | A．belief | B．direction | C．understanding | D．suggestion |
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| 小题18: | | A．doubt | B．conclude | C．calculate | D．prefer |
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| 小题19: | | A．thought | B．guidance | C．protection | D．action |
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| 小题20: | | A．secure | B．advance | C．sacrifice | D．evaluate |
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Family Vs Technology
Modern technology certainly changes family behavior, but does it really damage family life as many people fear? Not necessarily, says Dr. Silva, a professor in Sociology(社会学) at the Open University, she also argues it is wrong to assume technology erodes(腐蚀，侵蚀) the quality of family life.
“There is the idea that technology has an influence on the family and the family suffers. My take is quite different,” she explains. “Technological change happens because people’s lives change. And it is people’s choices of how to live that creates processes of innovation(革新) as well. The family has a role like the economy or like technology itself in changing the world. The imagination is important in driving the things technologists want to find for our daily lives. People desire to see nature as it is, so color television comes about,” she says.
In another case, the increase in working mothers helped create a market for labor-saving kitchen equipment. “The time that women have to shop every day for food is no longer available so there is a need to have a refrigerator for food storage,” says Dr. Silva. “The need to cook that food more easily and quickly, means you have developments in cooking technology like the microwave oven(微波炉). The microwave oven already existed because it was developed for the navy during World War Two but it wasn’t used in ordinary families until the early 1980s.
“Technologies for housework were as important as those for work itself,” she says, “So washing machines, refrigerators and microwave ovens are terribly important. We couldn’t imagine what life would be like if we didn’t have them.” Technological changes in the kitchen have played an important role in the changes of family behavior, creating a new social focus in the home.
“With advanced technology, you can feed the family in an easier manner. People can do housework with less difficulty. But that doesn’t mean that family practices are not important — it’s just a different way of doing things.”
小题1:What is Dr. Silva’s attitude towards the effect that technology has on family life? | A．Worried. | B．Optimistic(乐观的). | | C．Puzzled. | D．Uncertain. |
小题2:What causes advances in technology according to Dr. Silva? | A．People’s love for nature. | | B．Great changes in people’s way of life. | | C．People’s desire to change the world. | | D．The wonderful imagination in inventing things. |
小题3:What can we learn from the passage? | A．The microwave oven was first used by working mothers. | | B．People cook less because of modern kitchen equipment. | | C．Technology has little effect on the changes of family behavior. | | D．People need less skill to do housework due to advanced technology. |
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It was a cold evening and my daughter and I were walking up Broadway．I didn’t notice a guy sitting inside a cardboard box．But Nora did．She wasn’t even four, but she 36 at my coat and said, “That man’s cold, Daddy, 37 we take him home?”
I don’t remember my reply．But I do remember a sudden 38 feeling inside me．I had always been delighted at how much my daughter noticed in her 39 , whether it was 40 in flight or children playing．But now she was noticing 41 and beggary．
A few days later, I saw an article in the newspaper about volunteers who picked up a food package from a nearby school on a Sunday morning and 42 it to an elderly person．It was quick and easy．I 43 us up．Nora was 44 about it．She could understand the importance of food, so she could easily see how 45 our job was．When Sunday came, she was ready, but I had to 46 myself to leave the house to fetch the food package．On the way to the school, I fought an urge to turn 47 ．The Sunday paper and coffee were waiting for me at home．Why do this? 48 , we phoned the elderly person we’d been appointed．She 49 us right over．
The building was in a bad state．Facing us was a silver-haired woman in an old dress．She took the package and asked us to come in．Nora ran inside．I unwillingly followed． 50 inside, I saw that the apartment belonged to someone poor．Our hostess showed us some photos．Nora played and when it came time to say good-bye, we three hugged, I walked home in tears．
Professionals call such a（n） 51 a “volunteer opportunity”．They are opportunities, and I’ve come to see．Where else but as volunteers do you have the opportunity to do something 52 that’s good for others as well as for yourself? Nora and I regularly serve meals to needy people and 53 clothes for the homeless．Yet, as I’ve 54 her grow over these past four years, I still wonder ------ which of us has 55 more?
| 小题1: | | A．pulled | B．glanced | C．pointed | D．aimed |
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| 小题3: | | A．general | B．heavy | C．funny | D．simple |
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| 小题4: | | A．area | B．part | C．eyesight | D．world |
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| 小题5: | | A．insects | B．animals | C．plants | D．birds |
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| 小题6: | | A．coldness | B．suffering | C．illness | D．ignorance |
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| 小题7: | | A．delivered | B．returned | C．devoted | D．posted |
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| 小题8: | | A．held | B．hurried | C．lined | D．signed |
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| 小题9: | | A．casual | B．sorry | C．astonished | D．excited |
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| 小题10: | | A．valuable | B．creative | C．shocking | D．simple |
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| 小题11: | | A．push | B．stop | C．allow | D．warn |
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| 小题13: | | A．Therefore | B．Obviously | C．Still | D．Also |
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| 小题14: | | A．called | B．promised | C．invited | D．helped |
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| 小题15: | | A．Although | B．Though | C．Because | D．Once |
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| 小题16: | | A．visit | B．stay | C．adventure | D．challenge |
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| 小题17: | | A．fair | B．famous | C．difficult | D．enjoyable |
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| 小题18: | | A．wear | B．make | C．order | D．collect |
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| 小题19: | | A．let | B．watched | C．made | D．noticed |
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| 小题20: | | A．increased | B．tried | C．benefited | D．seized |
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