When an ant dies, other ants take it out of the nest, often within an hour after its death. This behavior interests scientists and they 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 behaviour. Dong-Hwan Choe is a biologist, a scientist who studies animals and plants. He found that ants have a chemical on the outside of their bodies that signals to other ants, “I'm dead—take me away” when it is dead.

But there's a question to answer: As we know, if an ant is dead, it stops moving. But when an ant is sleeping or knocked unconscious, it is also not moving. However, other ants don't move the living ant out of the nest. How do they know this ant is not dead? Choe found that ants have another chemical on their bodies, which tells nearby ants something like, “Wait—I'm not dead yet”when it is not dead. Choe suspects that when an ant dies, the chemical that says, “Wait I'm not dead yet”quickly goes away. When other ants detect the“dead”chemical without the“not dead yet”chemical, they move away the body.

To test his theory , Choe and his team put different chemicals on ants. When the scientists used the “I'm dead” chemical, other ants quickly moved the treated ant away. When the scientists used the“Wait—I'm not dead yet”chemical, other ants left the treated ant alone. Choe believes this behavior shows that the“not dead yet”chemical overrides the“dead” chemical when picked up by other ants. And that when an ant dies, the “not dead yet” chemical fades away. Other nearby ants then detect the remaining“dead”chemical and remove the body from the nest.

Understanding this behavior can help scientists figure out how to stop ants from invading new places and causing problems.

57. What is the function of the first paragraph?

A. Leading the following paragraphs.

B. Showing the main idea of the passage.

C. Introducing the background of the passage.

D. Giving a summary of the passage.

58. Which of the following has the closest meaning to the underlined word “overrides” in the fourth paragraph?

A.is weaker than        B. is stronger than    C. is better than    D. is worse than

59. What can we learn from the passage?

A. Living ants can also be taken away when they are not moving.

B. When an ant dies, it can tell others using a certain chemical.

C. A living ant can pretend to be dead using a special chemical.

D. Ants often use chemicals to communicate with each other.

60. Which of the following descriptions about Dong-Hwan Choe is right?

A. Choe did this study in order to stop ants from invading new places.

B.Choe is a biologist who is only interested in animals, especially in ants.

C. Choe first came up with an idea to explain this ant behavior,and then did some tests to prove his theory.

D. Choe did the research on this ant behavior on his own

【小題1】A

【小題2】B

【小題3】B

【小題4】C

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科目:高中英語 來源: 題型:閱讀理解

Once in a blue moon there is one on New Year's Eve. Revelers ringing in 2010 will be treated to a so-called blue moon. According to popular definition, a blue moon is the second full moon in a month. But don't   1   it to be blue - the name has nothing to   2   the color of our closest celestial(天體) neighbor.

A full moon   3   on December 2. It will appear again on Thursday in time for the New Year's countdown.

"If you're in Times Square, you'll see the   4   moon right above you. It's going to be that brilliant," said Jack Horkheimer, director emeritus of the Miami Space Transit Planetarium and host of a weekly astronomy TV show.

The New Year's Eve blue moon will be   5   in the United States, Canada, Europe, South America and Africa. For partygoers in Australia and Asia, the full moon does not show up  6   New Year's Day, making January a blue moon month for them.

However, the Eastern Hemisphere can celebrate with a partial lunar eclipse(月蝕) on New Year's Eve when  7   of the moon enters the Earth's shadow. The   8   will not be visible in the Americas.

A full moon occurs   9   29.5 days, and most years have 12.  10  , an extra full moon in a month - a blue moon - occurs every 2.5 years. The   11   time there was a lunar double take was in May 2007. New Year's Eve blue moons are rarer, occurring every 19 years. The last time was in 1990; the next one won't   12    again until 2028.

Blue moons have no astronomical   13   , said Greg Laughlin, an astronomer at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

"`Blue moon' is just a   14   in the same sense as a `hunter's moon' or a `harvest moon,'" Laughlin said in an e-mail.

The popular definition of blue moon   15   after a writer for Sky & Telescope magazine in 1946 misunderstood the Maine Farmer's Calendar and marked a blue moon as the second full moon in a month. In fact, the calendar   16   a blue moon as the third full moon in a season with four full moons, not the usual three.

Though Sky & Telescope corrected the  17   decades later, the definition caught on. For purists(語言純正癖者), however, this New Year's Eve full moon doesn't even qualify as a   18   moon. It's just the first full moon of the winter season.

In a tongue-in-cheek essay   19   on the magazine's Web site this week, senior contributing editor Kelly Beatty wrote: "If skies are clear when I'm    20  celebrating, I'll take a peek(瞇著眼睛看) at that brilliant orb(天體) as it rises over the Boston skyline to see if it's an icy shade of blue. Or maybe I'll just howl."

(   ) 1. A. wish            B. wait                 C. hope             D. expect

(   ) 2. A. deal with       B. do with          C. develop with     D. form into

(   ) 3. A. occurred        B. came                 C. ran          D. went

(   ) 4. A. full            B. half                 C. bright       D. part

(   ) 5. A. out of sight        B. visible          C. big          D. clear

(   ) 6. A. until           B. when                 C. before       D. since

(   ) 7. A. part            B. all              C. any          D. none

(   ) 8. A. moon            B. eclipse          C. sun          D. shadow

(   ) 9. A. each            B. every                C. either           D. all

(   ) 10. A. On the whole   B. Generally speaking   C. On average   D. In addition

(   ) 11. A. last           B. next                 C. other            D. another

(   ) 12. A. go             B. see              C. come             D. look

(   ) 13. A. point          B. evident          C. theory       D. significance

(   ) 14. A. name           B. object           C. phenomenon   D. tradition

(   ) 15. A. created        B. came about       C. made             D. copied

(   ) 16. A. named      B. called           C. introduced       D. defined

(   ) 17. A. error          B. name                 C. reality      D. number

(   ) 18. A. blue           B. red              C. yellow       D. grey

(   ) 19. A. published      B. posted           C. printed      D. written

(   ) 20. A. in             B. out              C. away             D. on

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科目:高中英語 來源: 題型:閱讀理解

Once in a blue moon there is one on New Year's Eve. Revelers ringing in 2010 will be treated to a so-called blue moon. According to popular definition, a blue moon is the second full moon in a month. But don't   1   it to be blue - the name has nothing to   2   the color of our closest celestial(天體) neighbor.

A full moon   3   on December 2. It will appear again on Thursday in time for the New Year's countdown.

"If you're in Times Square, you'll see the   4   moon right above you. It's going to be that brilliant," said Jack Horkheimer, director emeritus of the Miami Space Transit Planetarium and host of a weekly astronomy TV show.

The New Year's Eve blue moon will be   5   in the United States, Canada, Europe, South America and Africa. For partygoers in Australia and Asia, the full moon does not show up  6   New Year's Day, making January a blue moon month for them.

However, the Eastern Hemisphere can celebrate with a partial lunar eclipse(月蝕) on New Year's Eve when  7   of the moon enters the Earth's shadow. The   8   will not be visible in the Americas.

A full moon occurs   9   29.5 days, and most years have 12.  10  , an extra full moon in a month - a blue moon - occurs every 2.5 years. The   11   time there was a lunar double take was in May 2007. New Year's Eve blue moons are rarer, occurring every 19 years. The last time was in 1990; the next one won't   12    again until 2028.

Blue moons have no astronomical   13   , said Greg Laughlin, an astronomer at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

"`Blue moon' is just a   14   in the same sense as a `hunter's moon' or a `harvest moon,'" Laughlin said in an e-mail.

The popular definition of blue moon   15   after a writer for Sky & Telescope magazine in 1946 misunderstood the Maine Farmer's Calendar and marked a blue moon as the second full moon in a month. In fact, the calendar   16   a blue moon as the third full moon in a season with four full moons, not the usual three.

Though Sky & Telescope corrected the  17   decades later, the definition caught on. For purists(語言純正癖者), however, this New Year's Eve full moon doesn't even qualify as a   18   moon. It's just the first full moon of the winter season.

In a tongue-in-cheek essay   19   on the magazine's Web site this week, senior contributing editor Kelly Beatty wrote: "If skies are clear when I'm    20  celebrating, I'll take a peek(瞇著眼睛看) at that brilliant orb(天體) as it rises over the Boston skyline to see if it's an icy shade of blue. Or maybe I'll just howl."

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(   ) 2. A. deal with            B. do with                   C. develop with     D. form into

(   ) 3. A. occurred            B. came                      C. ran                   D. went

(   ) 4. A. full                   B. half                         C. bright               D. part

(   ) 5. A. out of sight               B. visible                     C. big                   D. clear

(   ) 6. A. until                  B. when                      C. before              D. since

(   ) 7. A. part                   B. all                           C. any                  D. none

(   ) 8. A. moon                 B. eclipse                     C. sun                  D. shadow

(   ) 9. A. each                  B. every                             C. either                      D. all

(   ) 10. A. On the whole    B. Generally speaking   C. On average       D. In addition

(   ) 11. A. last                  B. next                        C. other               D. another

(   ) 12. A. go                   B. see                          C. come               D. look

(   ) 13. A. point               B. evident                    C. theory              D. significance

(   ) 14. A. name                      B. object                      C. phenomenon     D. tradition

(   ) 15. A. created             B. came about              C. made               D. copied

(   ) 16. A. named              B. called                      C. introduced               D. defined

(   ) 17. A. error               B. name                      C. reality              D. number

(   ) 18. A. blue                 B. red                          C. yellow              D. grey

(   ) 19. A. published        B. posted                     C. printed             D. written

(   ) 20. A. in                    B. out                          C. away               D. on

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科目:高中英語 來源: 題型:閱讀理解

There are some very good things about open education.This way of teaching allows the students to grow as people, and to develop their own interests in  many subjects.Open education allows students to be responsible for their own education, as they are responsible for what they do in life.Some students do badly in traditional classrooms.The open classroom may allow them to enjoy learning. Some students will be happier in an open education school. They will not have to worry about grades or rules.For students who worry about these things a lot, it is a good idea to be in an open classroom.

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According to the passage, which of the following is NOT the reason why some students like open education?

A. The open classroom may allow them to enjoy learning.

B. Open education allows students to be responsible for their own future.

C. Open education allows the students to develop their own interests.

D. Open education has fewer rules.

From the passage we can learn that___________.

A. the writer believes that all students don’t want some structure in their classes

B. the writer believes that all students want some structure in their classes

C. nearly all teachers like open education

D. only the students that worry about rules or grades a lot like to be in an open classroom

Some students will do little in an open classroom because _______.

A. there are too few rules

B. they hate activities

C. open education is similar to traditional education

D. they worry about the rules

Which is NOT mentioned according to the passage given?

A. some advantages about open education

B. some disadvantages about open education

C. some students’ feelings in an open education school

D. the writer’s opinion about open education is the same as all the students’

Which of the following can best summarize the passage?

A. Many students like open education.

B. Open education is better than traditional education.

C. Open education is a really complicated idea.

D. Open education is a good idea in practice.

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科目:高中英語 來源: 題型:閱讀理解

Once in a blue moon there is one on New Year's Eve. Revelers ringing in 2010 will be treated to a so-called blue moon. According to popular definition, a blue moon is the second full moon in a month. But don't   1   it to be blue - the name has nothing to   2   the color of our closest celestial(天體) neighbor.

A full moon   3   on December 2. It will appear again on Thursday in time for the New Year's countdown.

"If you're in Times Square, you'll see the   4   moon right above you. It's going to be that brilliant," said Jack Horkheimer, director emeritus of the Miami Space Transit Planetarium and host of a weekly astronomy TV show.

The New Year's Eve blue moon will be   5   in the United States, Canada, Europe, South America and Africa. For partygoers in Australia and Asia, the full moon does not show up  6   New Year's Day, making January a blue moon month for them.

However, the Eastern Hemisphere can celebrate with a partial lunar eclipse(月蝕) on New Year's Eve when  7   of the moon enters the Earth's shadow. The   8   will not be visible in the Americas.

A full moon occurs   9   29.5 days, and most years have 12.  10  , an extra full moon in a month - a blue moon - occurs every 2.5 years. The   11   time there was a lunar double take was in May 2007. New Year's Eve blue moons are rarer, occurring every 19 years. The last time was in 1990; the next one won't   12    again until 2028.

Blue moons have no astronomical   13   , said Greg Laughlin, an astronomer at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

"`Blue moon' is just a   14   in the same sense as a `hunter's moon' or a `harvest moon,'" Laughlin said in an e-mail.

The popular definition of blue moon   15   after a writer for Sky & Telescope magazine in 1946 misunderstood the Maine Farmer's Calendar and marked a blue moon as the second full moon in a month. In fact, the calendar   16   a blue moon as the third full moon in a season with four full moons, not the usual three.

Though Sky & Telescope corrected the  17   decades later, the definition caught on. For purists(語言純正癖者), however, this New Year's Eve full moon doesn't even qualify as a   18   moon. It's just the first full moon of the winter season.

In a tongue-in-cheek essay   19   on the magazine's Web site this week, senior contributing editor Kelly Beatty wrote: "If skies are clear when I'm    20  celebrating, I'll take a peek(瞇著眼睛看) at that brilliant orb(天體) as it rises over the Boston skyline to see if it's an icy shade of blue. Or maybe I'll just howl."

(   ) 1. A. wish                  B. wait                        C. hope                D. expect

(   ) 2. A. deal with            B. do with                   C. develop with     D. form into

(   ) 3. A. occurred            B. came                       C. ran                   D. went

(   ) 4. A. full                   B. half                         C. bright               D. part

(   ) 5. A. out of sight               B. visible                     C. big                   D. clear

(   ) 6. A. until                  B. when                       C. before              D. since

(   ) 7. A. part                   B. all                           C. any                  D. none

(   ) 8. A. moon                 B. eclipse                     C. sun                  D. shadow

(   ) 9. A. each                  B. every                             C. either                      D. all

(   ) 10. A. On the whole    B. Generally speaking   C. On average       D. In addition

(   ) 11. A. last                  B. next                        C. other                D. another

(   ) 12. A. go                   B. see                          C. come                D. look

(   ) 13. A. point                B. evident                    C. theory              D. significance

(   ) 14. A. name                      B. object                      C. phenomenon     D. tradition

(   ) 15. A. created             B. came about              C. made                D. copied

(   ) 16. A. named              B. called                      C. introduced               D. defined

(   ) 17. A. error                B. name                       C. reality              D. number

(   ) 18. A. blue                 B. red                          C. yellow              D. grey

(   ) 19. A. published         B. posted                     C. printed             D. written

(   ) 20. A. in                    B. out                          C. away                D. on

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科目:高中英語 來源:四川省自貢市普高2010級第四次診斷性考試(英語) 題型:閱讀理解

As a parent you have the responsibility to help your children understand money. But first you will need to understand your own attitude towards money, and make sure to practise what you teach.
Ask yourself what things that cost money are the most important to you. Also ask yourself what financial goals do you have for yourself and your family this year, in five years, and so on?
Take a minute to write down a list. Below are some ideas to get you started. There’s no right or wrong here. This exercise is just to help you grasp what money means to you so that you can help your children understand your values.
◆ Home
◆ Household expenses
◆ Education
◆ Recreation, entertainment
◆ Savings
◆ Charitable contributions
You can start discussing money when your children are as young as three years old. The best time to teach a child anything is when he or she shows an interest. So he prepared to start talking about money when your child starts asking you to buy candy or toys.
Begin by showing how money is exchanged for items or services. Show your children how money works by allowing them to buy something, such as a toy or a book.
Be open and honest, and explain to your children why they can or cannot have certain items. If you must say no to a child’s request to spend money, you might say, “You have enough toy trucks now.” Or, if the request is for multiple items, “You have a choice to make, between this toy and that one.”
You can start explaining the bigger picture once your children understand the basic function of money. Show an older child how money is used to provide for the whole family.
45. Why should parents understand their own money attitudes first?
A. To help their children earn money.      B. To set an exampel to their children.
C. To help them set financial goals.       D. To help them tell right from wrong.
46. Which of the following is NOT one of the major categories of things that cost money listed in the article?
A. Travel and investments.               B. Household expenses.
C. Education and entertainment.         D. Savings and charitable contributions.
47. Which of the following is NOT a way to teach the children about money?
A. Showing how money is exchanged.
B. Allowing children to buy whatever they like.
C. Explaining the limits involved in using money.
D. Having an open discussion about money.
48. According to the passage, when should parents start teaching a child about money?
A. When the child can understand its basic function.
B. When the child can understand how money is used to provide for the whole family.
C. When the child knows how to support a family.
D. As young as three, or when they start showing an interest.

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