Question

One kind of female butterfly mates only once in its life -- and then closes its wings to avoid "harassment" when pursued by persistent and unwanted males, a Japanese researcher said.

Observations of the Small Copper Butterfly, a colourful orange and black butterfly, showed that some females closed their wings when males flew by, but only when they were males of their own species, said Jun-Ya Ide, an associate professor at Kurume Institute of Technology in Fukuoka, western Japan.

"When we looked into why, the males were courting the females. They do this very stubbornly, so the females sometimes try to get away -- or prefer to stay unobserved," he added.

Ide and his colleagues brought a model of a male butterfly near the females to test their reactions and found that young females that had yet to mate kept their wings open, but those that had already mated closed them.

Not only can the persistent attentions of unwanted suitors harm the delicate females, fleeing from them -- with the male often in pursuit -- uses up strength and can even shorten their lives, he added.

"Closing their wings makes them less visible, helping them avoid communication with their own species. We figured they were trying to avoid harassment by males," Ide said.

1.What does the word “harassment”mean in the paragraph？

A. attack B. embarrassment

C. sexual invasion D. threat

2.Why some some females closed their wings when males flew by？

A. because they close their wings to avoid "harassment" when pursued by persistent and unwanted males.

B. because the female butterfly mates only once in its life.

C. because they don’t like the male butterfly at all.

D. because they are afraid of the male butterfly.

3.According the the passage, which is correct?

A. The females closed their wings when males flew by.

B. Only the model of a male butterfly can make the young female butterflies to keep their wings open.

C. The female butterfly mates only once in its life

D. Not only can the persistent attentions of wanted suitors harm the delicate females, fleeing from them with the male often in pursuit -- uses up strength and can even shorten their lives.

Answer 1

1.C

2.A

3.C

【解析】本文是一篇说明文，科学家发现一种雌性蝴蝶一生只交配一次，并且会在交配之后合上翅膀，以此来躲避雄性蝴蝶的追逐。

1. kind of female butterfly mates only once in its life -- and then closes its wings to avoid "harassment" when pursued by persistent and unwanted males, a Japanese researcher said.日本一位研究人员称，雌性红灰蝶一生只交配一次，在其它雄性红灰蝶不停地追求它时，它会合上翅膀躲避这种harassment。根据句意，故选C性骚扰。

2. their wings makes them less visible, helping them avoid communication with their own species. We figured they were trying to avoid harassment by males,"“合上翅膀可以让雌蝶不那么显眼，避免与同类红灰蝶的接触。我们认为它们是在躲避雄蝶的性骚扰。”故选A

3. kind of female butterfly mates only once in its life 一种雌性蝴蝶一生只交配一次。故选C

考点：考察说明文阅读。