Desert ants on their expeditions for food use clues to lead themselves in the homeward direction, but with few landmarks in the poor land, scientists have wondered how the insects always take the most direct route and know exactly how far to march．
The new study shows that counting their steps is an important part of the scheme．
Over the years, scientists have proposed several theories for how ants find their way home．One is that they do it like honeybees and remember visual clues, but experiments showed ants can travel in the dark．Another theory is that because ants run at a steady pace, they could time how long it took them to get to and from．Other studies have shown that once ants find a good source of food, they teach other ants how to find it．
The ant “pedometer” technique was first proposed in 1904, but it remained untested until now．Scientists trained desert ants to walk along a straight path from their nest entrance to a feeder 30 feet away．If the nest or feeder was moved, the ants would break from their straight path after reaching the expected spot and search for their goal．
Try that on stilts．They glued stilt-like extentions to the legs of some ants to lengthen stride．The researchers shortened other ants' stride length by cutting off the ants' feet and lower legs, reducing their legs to stumps．
The ants on stilts took the right number of steps, but because of their increased stride length, marched past their goal．Stump-legged ants, meanwhile, fell short of the goal．After getting used to their new legs, the ants were able to adjust their pedometer．
(1)
What is the passage mainly about?
[ ]
A．
Ants' marching depends on counting their steps
B．
Desert ants know how to look for food
C．
The secret for ants' marching is known to all
D．
Ants know how far their food is
(2)
Apart from counting their steps, how can ants find their way?
[ ]
A．
By smelling
B．
By communicating
C．
By hearing
D．
By recognizing wind
(3)
About the ant pedometer, we know that ________．
[ ]
A．
the technique is a recent discovery
B．
ants always walk along a straight path
C．
ants often change their nest to keep the pedometer
D．
the pedometer needs changing depending on new situations
(4)
According to the passage, the “stump-legged ants”________．
It is unbelievable how popular English is in Venezuela(委内瑞拉)．Now we have a kind of language mixture between English and Spanish．
In the Venezuelans’ daily conversations, they often use English words with Spanish verb endings．For example, if they send a fax(传真), they use the word faxear, or if they have to click on the screen of their computer, they say clickear．
Also, they use simple English words in some Spanish sentences．You might hear someone say, “Voy a comprar unos jeans in el mall”which means“I’m going to buy some jeans in the mall,”or“Okey, vamos”which means“OK, let’s go”．
In addition, you see English names everywhere for restaurants, Crystal Ranch, stores, Area Company, gymnasiums, Sport Center, Athletic Center, malls, The Country, and night clubs, Studio Fifty Four．In Caracas(加拉加斯), there is a very fashionable neighborhood named Las Merce des, where each street has an American name like New York or Fifth Avenue．Therefore, when you go shopping, you can see signs in English in the windows of stores, such as On Sale．
In some Latin American countries, the increasing influence(影响)of English is a question often argued about．But in Venezuela, however, this is not the case．Venezuelans are open to receiving different cultural influences such as European fashion(时装)and British music．Moreover, many Venezuelans don’t know where the words come from．They have been using them for years as a part of their language．
(1)
Which language do Venezuelans usually speak, judging from the information given in the article?
[ ]
A．
English．
B．
Spanish．
C．
Latin．
D．
We cannot know．
(2)
From the third paragraph we can know that ________．
[ ]
A．
Venezuelans can’t speak English well
B．
there’re no words for“jeans”or“mall”in Spanish
C．
Spanish sentences are often based on English
D．
English words are often heard in Venezuelans’ speech
(3)
The last sentence of the article seems to support the point that ________．
[ ]
A．
Venezuelans care little about cultural influence
B．
Venezuelans’ own language is going to die away
C．
English words are popular in Venezuela because the users don’t know they are English
D．
it’s time for Venezuelans to do something to keep their mother tongue alive
阅读理解
Travel across the globe with Wasabi Airlines’ new Watchman Digital Entertainment System! The Watchman is available to all first class passengers, offering hundreds of hours of entertainment that puts you in control．
With the aid of digital technology, you get to choose from a library of 25 of the latest Hollywood movies, 45 hours of television’s best, and a host of Sony Play Station games, all presented in attractive digital quality．View your favorite selections on your own personal monitor．With your own remote control, you decide when your movie starts, pauses, rewinds, or fast forwards, not the flight attendants．
Also, Watchman offers you 40 of the world’s hottest CDs．With Wasabi’s Watchman DES you can sit back, relax, and forget you’re on an airplane．
(1)
Who is this ad meant for?
[ ]
A．
Teenagers．
B．
Airline travelers．
C．
Airplane repairmen．
D．
Adults．
(2)
Which of the following statements is true?
[ ]
A．
You can enjoy hundreds of hours of CDs during the travel．
B．
The Wasabi’s Watchman DES is controlled by the flight attendants on the airplane．
C．
You can have fun by means of three amusing ways．
D．
The purpose of the passage is to introduce the Wasabi’s Watchman DES to passengers．
阅读理解
Forget Miami, Los Angeles and New York．The next big Latin music explosion is on its way in secondary markets across the United States, and the numbers are there to back it up．Among all genres(种类),Latin music was the only one registering growth in 2005．From tiny Vero Beach in northern Florida to Des Moines, Iowa, in the heart of the Midwest, from Charlotte, N．C．to Salt Lake City, Latin music sales are skyrocketing．
Wilson says there are two major reasons for the increase．One is simply the Hispanic(说西班牙语国家的)population's increase in specific areas, which encourages stores to carry Latin product for the first time．Second, and perhaps more important, is the fact that major companies－whether dealing in music or not－are addressing the Latin consumer at a corporate(公司的)level, creating Latin departments and hiring Latin ad agencies．One of Handleman's suburban Detroit stores, for example, has expanded its Latin section four times in the last two years．Cities like Milwaukee and Des Moines are now stocking Latin product．
Besides, it also results from economic development．It goes something like this：More often than not, a city or country with a seeming important Hispanic population will suddenly expand its construction or offer affordable housing to those working in larger, neighboring cities．This attracts lower-income workers, many of whom are Latin．Small shops and groceries begin to stock a small selection of music．When the Latin population numbers reach a critical mass, the local mass merchant, if there is one, begins stocking the product．Sooner or later, a local radio station follows; first AM, then FM．Sometimes it's a cable TV show or a small TV station．
Of course, there are other driving forces that should not be forgotten, for example, regional Mexican music．
(1)
The passage mainly tells readers ________．
[ ]
A．
that more and more Americans like Latin music
B．
what makes Latin music develop fast in American market
C．
why Latin music becomes Americans' favorite music
D．
that Latin music is bringing in more benefits for Americans
(2)
The underlined word "skyrocketing" in the first paragraph means
[ ]
A．
changing very quickly
B．
disappearing slowly
C．
recovering slowly
D．
increasing very quickly
(3)
According to the third paragraph, which shows the right relations among the following things?
①economic development
②more Latin workers
③shops' stock of Latin music
④local radio station
⑤small TV station
⑥the development of Latin music
[ ]
A．
B．
C．
D．
(4)
Suppose that passage doesn't finish, which of the following may be discussed next?
[ ]
A．
The variety of Latin music in America．
B．
The economic development in Hispanic area．
C．
The historic development of regional Mexican music．
D．
The driving forces of regional Mexican music．
阅读理解
Not long ago, I spent the morning having coffee with Kanzi．He invited me．Kanzi is a bonobo, which is a close cousin of the chimpanzee．Researchers say Kanzi knows 384 words．But he probably knows more．He uses paper boards displaying colorful symbols that stand for the words．Kanzi can build thoughts and sentences by pointing at the boards．
Sue Rumbaugh joined Kanzi and me for coffee．She is a zoologist at the Great Ape Trust which is a research center in Des Moines, Iowa, where Kanzi lives．The Great Ape Trust is
home to seven bonobos．They have been raised from birth with both spoken language and symbols as part of each day·
Scientists are discovering that humans are not the only animals that can use language or tools, or have feelings．Crows(乌鸦)are good at using tools, for example．In an experiment crows proved good at using some materials to create a hook(钩子)．They used the hook to fish a basket of food out of a container．Monkeys practice charity．A former study showed that monkeys would share food with monkeys who are familiar to them rather than keeping all the food for themselves．Elephants mourn their dead．If they find elephant bones, they would gently examine them with what looks like sadness．
Scientists have also found that the way animals hunt and live together may drive intelligence higher．Animals behave most cleverly when they are hunting for food together．Last year, Christilie Drea, an animal biologist, conducted an experiment in hyena(鬣狗)cooperation．She placed food on a platform．The animals could get the food only if they pulled on a strong thick string together．In less than two minutes, the hyenas figured out that cooperation was the key to success．
Research is showing that animals are surprisingly intelligent．Our pets may know more than we ever imagined．And that is raising questions about how we treat them．Can animals feel? Should they be kept in zoos? What do you think?
(1)
According to fhe first paragraph, Kanzi _________．
[ ]
A．
makes tea for the writer
B．
speaks human language
C．
is an animal which can show his thought out
D．
is a smart monkey which can write and paint
(2)
What can we know from the passage?
[ ]
A．
Kanzi began to learn as soon as he was born
B．
The writer used to have coffee in the morning
C．
The Great Ape Trust is owned by Sue Rumbaugh．
D．
Pet animals are much cleverer than wild animals
(3)
What does the underlined word “mourn” mean?
[ ]
A．
To be careless of something．
B．
To be afraid of something．
C．
To show sadness．
D．
To show anxiety．
(4)
What is the main idea of the third paragraph?
[ ]
A．
Animals are good at searching for food and getting them．
B．
Animals can be as intelligent as humans in some ways．
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