题目内容
Monarch butterflies(黑脉金斑蝶)are a common summer sight in the northern United States and Canada . These large orange and black insects(昆虫)brighten parks and gardens as they fly lightly among the flowers . What makes monarchs particularly interesting is that they migrate(迁飞)-all the way to California or Mexico and back . They are thought to be the only insect that does this .
Every year in the late summer monarchs begin their journey to the south . Those heading for Mexico go first for the Louisiana-Mississippi area , then fly across the Gulf of Mexico into Texas . Once in Mexico , they settle themselves in one of about fifteen places in a mountain forest filled with fir trees . Each place provides a winter home for millions of monarchs . The butterflies are so many that they often cover entire trees . When spring comes , they begin their long journey north .
The question is often asked whether every butterfly makes the round-trip journey every year . And the answer is no . The average monarch lives about nine months . So one flying north might lay eggs in Louisiana and then die . The eggs of that generation may be found in Kentucky ; the eggs of the next generation may end up in Wisconsin or Michigan . The last generation of the season , about the fourth , will make their way back to Mexico and restart the journey .
Scientists learn about monarchs’ migration by catching and making marks on the insects . By
recatching a monarch with such a mark and noticing where it came from , the next scientist can get to know things like the butterfly’s age and its routing(路线).
1. One of the places where monarchs spend the winter is .
A. the Gulf of Mexico B. an area in Mississippi
C. a forest in Mexico D. a plain in Texas
2 The routing of monarchs’ migration can be learned .
A. by examining the marks made on them
B. by collecting their eggs in the mountains
C. by comparing their different ages
D. by counting the dead ones in the forests
3. What is the subject discussed in the passage ?
A. Migration of monarchs . B. Scientists’ interest in monarchs .
C. Winter home of monarchs . D. Life and death of monarchs .
1.C 2.A 3.A
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中,选出最佳选项。
A
Researchers who helped discover a new species of Mexican butterfly are offering to sell the naming rights to raise money to fund more research. Co-discoverer Andrew Warren is hoping to raise at least $50,000 by auctioning(拍卖) off the rights to name the 4-inch “owl eye” butterfly, which lives in Sonora, a Mexican state bordering Arizona.
“That would support at least two years of research for our team down in Mexico,” Warren said. “Money goes a long way down here in Mexico.”
According to the scientific tradition, discoverers of a new species have the say in naming it. In recent years, some discoverers have auctioned off their naming rights to raise money.
Warren said the amount being sought for the butterfly is not out of the question, noting that naming rights for a new monkey species brought in $650,000 two years ago. A group of 10 new fish species that went on the naming auction block at the same time earlier this year brought in a total of $2 million.
The butterfly discovered by Warren and researcher George Austin ranges as far north as Mexico.
The butterfly was actually in a collection, misidentified as an example of another new species, at the McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity at the Florida Museum of National History in Gainesville, said Warren. They soon began the hard process of determining that it was indeed a “new” model of butterfly.
After checking photos and comparing it with other known species, they determined it was a separate species.
1.Where did the researchers discover the new species of butterflies?
A.In Sonora. |
B.In Mexico state. |
C.In a place in US. |
D.Near the US-Mexico border. |
2. Why will the researchers sell the naming rights of the butterfly?
A.To raise money for wildlife protection. |
B.To raise money for more research. |
C.To cause people’s attention to the new discovery. |
D.To cover the cost of the research. |
3.When the butterfly was first discovered, people thought ______.
A.it was a new species at once |
B.it wasn’t a species of American butterfly |
C.it belonged to the monarch branches |
D.it belonged to a new species |
4. We can infer from the passage that ______.
A.the new species of butterfly live both in the US and Mexico |
B.it took the researchers a lot of efforts to determine the new species of butterfly |
C.the researchers are not sure whether they can get the money they want from the auction |
D.it is the first time that the new species of butterfly has been found |