题目内容
Research led by UK and Australian scientists sheds (发出)new light on the role that our ancestors played in the extinction of Australia's prehistoric animals. The new study provides the first evidence that Tasmania's giant prehistoric animals were still living on the island when humans first arrived.
The findings suggest that the mass extinction of Tasmania's large prehistoric animals was the result of human hunting, and not climate change as previously believed.
Scientists have long argued over the reasons behind the worldwide mass extinction that took place towards the end of the last ice age. The main culprits are generally thought to be climate change or some form of human impact. People only arrived in Tasmania around 43,000 years ago, when the island became temporarily connected by a land bridge to mainland Australia. None of Tasmania's giant animals, known as "megafauna" were known to have survived until this time. This appeared to clear humans of any involvement in the disappearance of the island's large megafauna.
This new international study reports the discovery of giant kangaroos surviving in Tasmania until people arrived, placing humans back on the list of likely culprits for the extinction of the megafauna.
Using the latest techniques, the team were able to determine the age of the fossilized remains of the megafauna more accurately than ever before. The results showed that some of these animals survived until at least 41,000 years ago一much later than previously thought and up to 2,000 years after the first human settlers arrived. As climate in Tasmania was not changing dramatically at this time, the researchers argue that this is evidence of these species being driven to extinction through over-hunting by humans.
58. The underlined word "culprits" in Paragraph 3 probably means“______”.
A. results B. signals C. theories D. reasons
59. The third paragraph mainly tells us________.
A. the conclusion of previous studies
B. when and how humans arrived in Tasmania
C. the disappearance of Tasmania's giant animals
D. the reasons for the worldwide mass extinction
60. It can be inferred from the results of the new study that after humans arrived in Tasmania_________.
A. they killed a lot of giant animals
B. giant animals began to disappear
C. they built a bridge to the mainland
D. climate began to change dramatically
61. The best title for the passage would be________．
A. Giant prehistoric animals found in Tasmania
B. Climate change and human activities
C. Humans involved in prehistoric animals’ extinction
D. Roles of climate change and human activities
DAAC
阅读快车系列答案Looking for a new weight loss plan? Try living on top of a mountain. Mountain air contains less oxygen than air at lower altitudes, so breathing it causes the heart to beat faster and the body to burn more energy. A handful of studies have found that athletes training at high altitudes tend to lose weight. Doctor Florian Lippl of the University Hospital Of Ludwig-Maximilians-university Munich wondered how the mountain air would affect overweight individuals if they weren’t doing any more physical activity than usual.
Lippl and his colleagues invited 20 overweight men to an environmental research station about 300 meters below the summit of Zugspitze, a mountain around 2,970 meters near the Austrian border. They were allowed to eat as much as they liked. The men also gave blood so that researchers could test for hormones linked to appetite and fatness. At the end of the week, the men, whose mean weight starting out was 105kg, had lost on average about l.5kg. The men’s blood pressure also dropped, which the researchers believed was due to weight lost.
Exactly what caused the weight loss is uncertain. Loss of appetite is common at higher altitudes, and indeed the men ate significantly less than usual—about 700 calories fewer per day. Lippl also notes that because their consumption was being recorded, they may have been more self-conscious about what they ate. Regardless, eating less accounts for just l kg of the l.5 kg lost, says Lippl. He thinks the increased metabolic (新陈代谢的) rate, which was measured, also contributed to weight loss but cannot separate the different effects with the given data.
Appetite loss at high altitudes could certainly be key, notes Damian Bailey, a physiologist at the University of Glamorgan, UK, who recently lost 11 kg during a 3-month expedition to the Andes in Chile.
Unfortunately, for the average person there is no treatment that can resemble living at high altitude, says Lippl. The only alternative is hypobaric chamber, which exposes subjects to low oxygen and isn’t practical as a treatment. He says, half- jokingly, “If fat people plan their holidays, they might not go to the sea, but maybe to the mountain.”
【小题1】What contributes the most to one’s heart rates according to the first paragraph?
| A．our bodyweight | B．the consumption of energy |
| C．the rates of our breathing | D．the amount of oxygen provided |
| A．one’s bodyweight | B．one’s blood pressure |
| C．one’s way of living | D．one’s metabolic rate |
| A．They controlled what to eat self-consciously. |
| B．They took in much fewer calories than usual. |
| C．They lost appetite because of lack of physical activity. |
| D．They were provided with a healthier diet than before. |
| A．He experimented with the new weight loss plan in the Andes. |
| B．He found no other reasons for his loss of weight in the Andes. |
| C．He researched the related subject in the Andes. |
| D．He lost much weight in the high altitude Andes. |
| A．casual | B．inaccurate | C．uncertain | D．confident |
阅读下面短文，根据所读内容在表格中的空白处填入恰当的单词。注意：每个空格只填一个单词。
Time, a faithful company of our life, is a universal topic. People are always curious about what it is, how it travels and who it meets.
Stephen Hawking, one of the world’s smartest physicists, once said. “I’m fascinated by time.”
Many of us are, and the popularity of time travel novels, movies and TV series has proved that. After Palace and Startling by Each Step achieved astonishing ratings last year, Palace 2 aired on January 20, attracting time travel fans back to TV.
Woody Allen’s movie Midnight in Paris achieved great success. It was nominated for Best Picture, Directing, Original Screenplay and Art Direction for the 2012 Academy Awards.
Dream of heroism
Time travel TV series and movies connect both today and the past, thus offering room for imagination. Imagination creates a chance for the young to fulfill a dream that is hard to achieve in reality.
Chinese writer Xi Juan is a pioneer of time-travel stories in China. In 1993 she published a love story about a young woman time traveling to ancient times. The leading role’s modern personality and perception of love help her win the heart of a cool, handsome martial art master. Such a plot satisfies female fans’ love fantasy.
Starting from the late 1990s, novels about men traveling back to the past prevailed (盛行), with a Step into the Past as the most popular example. In these stories, the male leading roles accomplish great things with their modern skills and wisdom.
It is usually “a dream of heroism come true”, along with enviable romances.
Eye candy
“I’m hooked by the shows because they are characterized by dramatic and poetic love and have eye-pleasing actors,” Xia Xiaoyan, who works for a foreign-owned enterprise in Shanghai, explained her love for time travel TV series.
Her comment echoes a 2011 survey by Creat Marketing Research Co Ltd in China. When asked about what is so appealing about time travel TV series, 21 percent of respondents answered, “These attractive characters.”
A bigger reason behind the popularity of time travel stories, however, is the relaxation they offer, according to the survey.
Cai Yinong agrees. “Many people are facing tremendous pressure in their fast-paced lives, so this genre is more relaxing than other shows as it provides people with a terrific outlet to escape reality,” Cai told China Daily.
Cultural homesickness
“Which dynasty would you like to live in if you could travel to the past?” asked a survey launched by Shanghai University and Shanghai Social Sciences Association last December.
About 60 percent of the 2,543 respondents chose Tang Dynasty, while Qing Dynasty, and the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods were the other top two destinations.
The survey results reflects people’s definition of the good days: prosperous economy and culture, steady society, fair and uncorrupted politics, and opening up to the outside world.
As for the movie Midnight in Paris, it features modernity versus cultural homesickness. The New York Times commented, “The past seems so much more vivid, more substantial, than the present. The good old days are so attractive because we were not around, however much we wish we were.”
| Time travel wins fans | |
| Phenomenon | l Stephen Hawking shows great interest in 【小题1】 _. l People prefer 【小题2】____ time travel movies and TV series. l Woody Allen was 【小题3】_______ in his time travel movie. |
| Reasons for its 【小题4】___ | Supporting details |
| Dream of heroism | l Chances are offered for the young to fulfill 【小题5】__________ hard to l achieve in reality. l Xi Juan’s 1993 love story【小题6】_______ a young woman traveling to l ancient times, which satisfies females fans. l From the late 1990s, novels about 【小题7】________ traveling back to l the past became increasingly popular. l The male leading role in A Step Into the Past travels back to the past l to fulfill great things by using his 【小题8】_______ skills and wisdom. |
| Eye candy | Attractive actors and travel stories make viewers under pressure 【小题9】_________. |
| Cultural homesickness | Most respondents chose to live in a certain dynasty for: l Prosperous economy and【小题10】________; l Steady society; l Fair and uncorrupted politics; l Opening up to the outside world. |