题目
题型：同步题难度：来源：
Britain"s seed bank, the only one in the world aiming to collect all of the planet"s wild plant species,
has reached its goal of banking 10 percent by 2010.
The Millennium Seed Bank Project, run by Kew Gardens-one of the oldest botanical gardens-will
officially deposit the 24,200th species on Thursday, a pink, wild banana from China.
More than 50 countries are now on board with Kew"s giant task but vast places of the globe,
including India and Brazil, still need to join in and donate seeds, director Paul Smith said.
The seed bank is one of the largest and most diverse in the world with more than 1.5 billion seeds.Its
goal is to help protect the planet"s biodiversity during a time of climate change.
The wild banana seed is under threat of extinction (灭绝) in Southwest China from agricultural
development.It is a vital food source for Asian elephants and important for growing bananas for human
consumption.
Stored at minus20 degrees centigrade, the seeds can last for thousands of years and await the day
that scientists hope never comes-when the species no longer exist in the wild.
It is a race against time, Smith said, because in the last decade alone, 20 plants held in the bank
have already been wiped out in the wild.He estimates that between a third and a quarter will become
extinct this century.
"It is urgent and it is happening now.An area, the size of England, is cleared of primary vegetation
(植被) every year." Smith said.
Because most of the world"s food and medicines come from nature, protecting wild plant species
is quite important, scientists say.There are already many other seed banks safeguarding food crops,
which only account for 0.6 percent of plant diversity.
For Kew"s next goal-to collect a quarter of wild varieties by 2020-the botanists need 10 million
pounds a year, or a further 100 million pounds on top of the 40 million they have already been granted.
1. What"s the final purpose of the Britain"s seed bank?
A. To collect enough money for the project.
B. To safeguard food crops.
C. To protect wild plants from extinction.
D. To help scientists study wild plants.
2. The wild banana seed in China is in danger because of________.
A. the expanding of farming work
B. the climate change in this area
C. the large number of Asian elephants
D. human"s large consumption
3. We can learn from the passage that________.
A. the seeds in the bank can be used now and then spread all over the world
B. India and Brazil haven"t joined in the Seed Bank Project at present
C. there is only one seed bank in the world at present
D. the wild plants in places like India and China will never die out
4. What does the underlined word "It" in Paragraph 7 refer to?
A. The extinction of plant species.
B. The Millennium Seed Bank Project.
C. Britain"s seed bank.
D. Kew Gardens"next goal.
5. Which of the following information isn"t mentioned in the passage?
A. The global partnership of collecting wild plant species.
B. The temperature condition of the conservative wild plant species.
C. The government"s financial support for the seed bank project.
D. Scientists"concern on the extinct wild plant species.
答案
核心考点
试题【阅读理解 Britain"s seed bank, the only one in the world aiming to collect all o】；主要考察你对题材分类等知识点的理解。[详细]
举一反三
B. How do we use renewable energy?
C. The sources of renewable energy.
D. What is renewable energy?
E. Where is the solar energy from?
F. The advantages of renewable energy.
When speaking about renewable energy, we are talking about power which derives its energy from
resources which will not be diminished from the use. Renewable energy is a substitute for the
nonrenewable energy of fossil fuel.
2.
One fundamental advantage of renewable energy, and environmentalists" favorite reason to promote
its use, is that there are no greenhouse gases or other pollutants give out as there are with the burning
of fossil fuels. Renewable energy, or solar, water and wind power, are certainly not new although they
have received much attention recently because they will not cause pollution. Environmental friendly
power sources such as wind, solar and water power have been used in both developing and developed
countries for a long time because they are cheap and clean, but they have yet to be used as a primary
source of energy for any big urban area.
3.
The generation of power from renewable energy sources has become somewhat more common in
recent times as people have increasingly become aware of issues such as climate change due to fossil
fuel byproducts and the political or social worries about nuclear power. There are numerous countries
and nonprofit, environmentally conscious organizations that are supporting the use
of renewable energy. 4.
The flow of renewable energy has to do with naturally occurring phenomena. Tides, sunlight, wind
and heat are all created by geothermal events and all are sources of energy has unique characteristics
related to where and how we can use them.
5.
Most technology which transforms renewable energy into power which we can use is solar power
either directly or indirectly. The atmospheric system of the earth keeps balance so that the heat which
spreads out into space is equal to the amount of radiation received from the sun. The quantity of energy
contained in the atmosphere approximates the earth" s climate. The bodies of water of the earth, or its
hydrosphere, absorb much of the radiation which is received from the sun. And much of that absorbed
radiation is i
n the lower latitudes surroun
ding the equator. Water shortage, already serious in Egypt and Sudan, will soon influence several other countries in the
watershed as well.Today, about 160 million people depend on the Nile River for their living. Within the
next 25 years, the district"s population is expected to double, adding to the demand brought about by growth in industry and agriculture. The frequent drought (干旱) adds to the urgency.
Water quality is also a problem. Precious soil is washed out to sea.Wastes from industry and agriculture create pollution. Higher concentrations of salt influence irrigated soils. Waterborne diseases continue unchecked. In areas where it"s hot and damp, water hyacinths choke off lakes, dams and other sections of the
river, making it difficult for fishing and other businesses to move forward.
Native people along the narrow area of farmland have watched the sand move closer day by day.
They"ve seen the river change course, and their only source (来源) of water thickened with mud. They"re
very poor and have few choices.
But a new program, the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI), is offering very practical assistance. The program is more than just a watermanagement project. It"s a plan for the social and economic development of a vast
district: it concentrates on the needs of the poorest of the poor and the environment that supports them.
These are whole ecosystem problems, calling for united solutions (解决办法). Half the Nile Basin"s
countries are among the world"s poorest nations; yet, somehow, they must find the resources, skills and
political will to overcome these challenges.
B. Overfishing of native people.
C. Water shortage and water quality.
D. Increasing population and tourism.
B. plants
C. rocks
D. salts
B. changing the river course
C. improving living conditions of the poor
D. preventing land from becoming desert
B. Frequent Drought in Egypt and Sudan
C. The Poorest Countries in the Nile Basin
D. The Ecosystem Problems in the Nile Basin
Bird lovers have long claimed that their pets have rhythm, and there are many videos of dancing birds
online. Until now, scientists have suspected that humans are the only animals that can accurately keep
rhythm with music.
Thanks to Snowball, that scientific opinion is changing. Snowball is a cockatoo, a kind of parrot, and
his favorite song is "Everybody" by the Backstreet Boys. When he hears the song, he moves his feet and
rocks his body with the tempo, or pace of the music, as though he is the only bird member of the boy
band.
Aniruddh Patel is a neuroscientist, or a scientist who studies how the brain and the nervous system
contribute to learning, seeing and other mental abilities. He works at the Neurosciences Institute in San
Diego. After seeing Snowball" s dance online, Patel visited the cockatoo at the bird rescue facility he"s
called home for two years. The scientist played "Everybody" for Snowball and also played versions of the song that were sped up or slowed down.Sometimes, Snowball danced too fast or too slowly. Often, when there was a change in tempo, Snowball adjusted his dancing to match the rhythm.In other experiments,
scientists have observed the same abilities in preschool children.
Patel isn"t the only scientist who has studied Snowball"s moves. Adena Schachner, who studies
psychology at Harvard University, also wanted to know more about the dancing bird.Schachner"s team
played different musical pieces for Snowball and a parrot named Alex, as well as eight human volunteers.
The scientists observed that the birds and the humans kept time to the music with about the same accuracy.
Schachner and her team watched thousands of YouTube videos of different animals moving to music.
Not all the animals could dance, however.From watching the videos, the scientists observed that only
animals that imitate sounds, including 14 parrot species and Asian elephants, accurately moved in time to
music.
B. humans are the only animals that can accurately keep rhythm with music
C. the brain and the nervous system contribute to some mental abilities
D. bird pets can have their special rhythm under human’s instruction
B. Snowball is able to adjust his dancing to match the rhythm.
C. Snowball cannot dance to the versions of the song Everybody.
D. it is the brain and the nervous system that control the mental abilities.
B. humans" musical sense
C. the same abilities in children
D. videos of dancing birds
_____.
B. it has the ability to imitate sounds
C. it is a kind of dancing parrot
D. it has the same abilities as preschool children
them cheaply, right? But Xia Yu collected 2,010 bottles and built a boat with them. As you read this, Xia
is, in fact, on a river somewhere in Anhui, slowly going towards his destination: the Expo Garden in
Shanghai. 2,010 plastic bottles were to celebrate the Expo 2010 Shanghai. On the opening day of the
Expo, Xia, together with five friends, went on a 1,500 km journey from Xiangtan to the Expo Garden, in
spite of the doubt whether they"ll make it.After all, the boat they are on can hardly be called a boat. It cost only 2,000 yuan to build in a month.
What"s keeping Xia going is a major cause behind the trip. "We are examining water pollution through
our journey and trying to promote a lowcarbon lifestyle. Before we started, no one believed we could sail
the boat to the Dongting Lake. But we made it." But as they expected, the journey has not always been
smooth. Of the six from Xiangtan, four gave up. As of press time (截至发稿时), only Xia and his friend
Huang Ying were on the boat.Huang suffered from a disease when they reached Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province.Xia said,"There are so many things that can stop us from making it to Shanghai, like the weather, health,
and sometimes swift river water."
"The boat was produced in a factory according to our design, and perhaps it"s not in a very good
condition. But," Xia said, "we are wearing life jackets." "Some boats passing by offered help." What is
more of a reward for Xia and Huang is that the Yangtze River turned out much cleaner than they had
expected. Although Xia and Huang are uncertain about the journey ahead, they are "quite happy" with
what they have already achieved. "After all, it"s not the destination that counts. It"s always the course that
matters the most."
B. the poor boat and the bad weather
C. few people taking part in the journey
D. the seriously polluted river in some parts
B. To celebrate the Expo 2010 Shanghai.
C. To win a race on the water.
D. To promote a lowcarbon lifestyle.
B. three people gave up due to their bad health
C. Xia Yu and his mate have arrived in Shanghai
D. Huang suffered from a disease on the journey
B. are sure to arrive at the destination
C. helped turn the Yangtze River cleaner
D. are happy because of their final success
early morning in fresh air, because it has many benefits. Firstly, it doesn"t disturb your daily routine activities.Secondly, it does not only help lose weight, but it"s also useful for good health. Thirdly, you won"t get an
excuse that you didn"t get time to go for your workout due to your tight schedule. It"s scientifically proved
that walking in the early morning to lose weight helps you to burn calories faster than at any time of the day.Having a good morning walk and then a healthy breakfast can help to increase the metabolism (新陈代谢) of your body. As the metabolism increases, you burn more calories.
The first thing to do is to set up a goal that you want to achieve. Therefore, work out a walking routine.
At first, start walking three times a week, and then slowly increase it to five times a week. It"s advisable not
to overdo walking, as it can have side effects on the body. Here are certain easy steps that you need to
follow when you start your daily walking routine.
Warm-up is an important activity that is to be done before you start to do any kind of exercise. A light
warmup period of about 15 minutes is enough. It will warm up your muscles and avoid any injury to your
body. Exercising without warmup can be dangerous and must be avoided.
Make sure that you don"t stop anywhere in between your 30 or 45 minutes" walk. Slow down if
necessary. Stopping in your walk won"t help you. Instead, slowing down your speed will help to burn more calories.
While walking, take long strides (步伐) and swing your arms in a rhythm.This will use up muscles and
help burn more calories.
In a word, regularity and correctness in walking is the key to success. Best of luck！