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Some houses are designed to be smart.Others have smart designs.An example of the second type of house won an Award of Excellence from the American Institute of Architects.
Located on the shore of Sullivan's Island off the coast of South Carolina, the award-winning cube-shaped beach house was built to replace one smashed to pieces by Hurricane (飓风) Hugo 10 years ago.In September 1989, Hugo struck South Carolina, killing 18 people and damaging or destroying 36,000 homes in the state.
Before Hugo, many new houses built along South Carolina's shoreline were poorly constructed, and enforcement of building codes wasn't strict, according to architect Ray Huff, who created the cleverly-designed beach house.In Hugo's wake, all new shoreline houses are required to meet stricter, better-enforced codes.The new beach house on Sullivan's Island should be able to withstand a Category 3 hurricane with peak winds of 179 to 209 kilometers per hour.
At first sight, the house on Sullivan's Island looks anything but hurricane-proof.Its redwood shell makes it resemble "a large party lantern (灯笼)" at night, according to one observer.But looks can be deceiving.The house's wooden frame is reinforced with long steel rods to give it extra strength.
To further protect the house from hurricane damage, Huff raised it 27 meters off the ground on timber pilings—long, slender columns of wood anchored deep in the sand.Pilings might appear insecure, but they are strong enough to support the weight of the house.They also elevate the house above storm surges.The pilings allow the surges to run under the house instead of running into it."These swells of water come ashore at tremendous speeds and cause most of the damage done to beach-front buildings," said Huff.
Huff designed the timber pilings to be partially concealed by the house's ground-to-roof shell." The shell masks the pilings so that the house doesn't look like it's standing with its pant legs pulled up," said Huff.In the event of a storm surge, the shell should break apart and let the waves rush under the house, the architect explained.
1
After the tragedy caused by Hurricane Hugo, new houses built along South Carolina's shore line are required ________.
A.
to be easily reinforced
B.
to look smarter in design
C.
to meet stricter building standards
D.
to be designed in the shape of cubes
本题答案:
A
B
C
D
参考答案:
C
系统解析:
根据题目中的专有名词Hugo查找到文中第3段第2句。句中的In Hugo's wake相当于题目中的after Hugo,由该句是的stricter,better-enforced codes可知C正确。
2
The award-winning beach house is quite strong because ________.
A.
it is strengthened by steel rods
B.
it is made of redwood
C.
it is in the shape of a shell
D.
it is built with timber and concrete
本题答案:
A
B
C
D
参考答案:
A
系统解析:
第4段开始具体介绍the house,根据该段最后一句可知,这幢房子的木制结构用长钢筋加固了,因而特别结实,故选A。
3
Huff raised the house 27 meters off the ground on timber pilings in order to ________.
A.
withstand peak winds of about 200 km/hr
B.
anchor stronger pilings deep in the sand
C.
break huge sea waves into smaller ones
D.
prevent water from rushing into the house
本题答案:
A
B
C
D
参考答案:
D
系统解析:
根据题干的数字可迅速定位至第5段首,第2、3句阐述这样做的目的是"将房屋抬髙到暴风雨巨浪之上,及让巨浪能在屋下流过。"其中running into it与D中的rushing into the house同义,故D正确。
4
The main function of the shell is ________.
A.
to strengthen the pilings of the house
B.
to give the house a better appearance
C.
to protect the wooden frame of the house
D.
to slow down the speed of the swelling water
本题答案:
A
B
C
D
参考答案:
B
系统解析:
最后一段第2句提出,外壳可以把木桩遮盖住,所以它主要起"粉饰"作用。
5
It can be inferred from the passage that the shell should be ________.
A.
fancy-looking
B.
waterproof
C.
easily breakable
D.
extremely strong
本题答案:
A
B
C
D
参考答案:
C
系统解析:
根据最后一句可知,如果暴风雨巨浪涌来,外壳就会裂开,让巨浪在房屋下面奔涌而过,因此外壳应该是"易碎的"。
Sleep is very ancient.In the electroencephalographic(脑电图仪的)sense we share it with all the primates(灵长类动物)and almost all the other mammals and birds: it may extend back as far as the reptiles(爬行动物).
There is some evidence that the two types of sleep, dreaming and dreamless, depend on the life style.of the animal, and that predators(食肉动物)are statistically much more likely to dream than prey, which are in turn much more likely to experience dreamless sleep.In dream sleep, the animal is powerfully immobilized(使固定不动)and remarkably unresponsive to external stimuli.Dreamless sleep is much shallower, and we have all witnessed cats or dogs cocking their ears to a sound when apparently fast asleep.The fact that deep dream sleep is rare among prey today seems clearly to be a product of natural selection, and it makes sense that today, when sleep is highly evolved, the stupid animals are less frequently immobilized by deep sleep than the smart ones.But why should they sleep deeply at all? Why should a state of such deep immobilization ever have evolved?
Perhaps one useful hint about the original function of sleep is to be found in the fact that dolphins and whales and aquatic mammals in general seem to sleep very little.There is, by and large, no place to hide in the ocean.Could it be that, rather than increasing an animal's vulnerability, Ray Meddis of London University has suggested this to be the case.It is conceivable that animals that are too stupid to be quite on their own initiative are, during periods of high risk, immobilized by the implacable arm of sleep.The point seems particularly clear for the young of predatory animals.This is an interesting notion and probably at least partly true.
6
Which of the following might be the best title for this passage?
A.
Evolution of Sleep.
B.
Two Types of Sleep.
C.
The Original Function of Sleep.
D.
Animals and Sleep.
本题答案:
A
B
C
D
参考答案:
A
系统解析:
本文三段虽然讨论的内容各有侧重,但是都谈到了睡眠在各种动物中的差异以及发展的历史,具体用词如下:第1段第1句中的ancient,最后一句中的extend back;第2段最后一句中的evolved;第3段第1句中的original function。A比较准确地归纳了本文大意。B只是概括了第2段的内容;C只提及第3段的论述内容;D 似乎涵盖了三段内容,但是过于宽泛,不够具体。
7
Predators are ___________.
A.
able to prey even when they are in deep dream sleep
B.
more likely to experience dream sleep
C.
incapable of preying when immobilized by dreamless sleep
D.
good at preying on stupid animals
本题答案:
A
B
C
D
参考答案:
B
系统解析:
根据第2段第1句第4个分句可知应选B。A的内容与该段第2句相悖;C中dreamless sleep应为dream sleep。D的内容文中没有涉及。
8
The example of dogs and cats in the second paragraph is intended to _?
A.
explain which animals are mammals
B.
show the differences between mammals
C.
illustrate how shallow dreamless sleep is
D.
reveal how smart they are
本题答案:
A
B
C
D
参考答案:
C
系统解析:
这个例子是为了证明无梦睡眠比较浅,即第2第3句的前半句,所以选C比较合适。所有例子都是为之前或之后的话提供例证,因此,作者使用例子的目的可以从该例子之前或之后的一句话找到。本题中,猫和狗的例 子是为了说明其前面的一句话,其他选项与此无关,均可排除。
9
Compare with dreamless sleep, deep dream sleep is _______.
A.
not the result of natural selection
B.
less likely to appear to primates
C.
more protective to the animals
D.
at a higher stage of evolution
本题答案:
A
B
C
D
参考答案:
D
系统解析:
根据第2段倒数第3句及末句,可以推断与无梦睡眠相比,深睡不动处于更髙的进化阶段。文中虽有提及无梦睡眠对于被捕食动物来说是一种自然选择,但并不意味着深睡不动不是自然选择,因此A不正确;该句也 提到"笨拙的动物与敏捷的动物相比,更少有深睡不动的时候",primates属于smart ones,因此更有可能深睡不动,B与此相悖;文中暗示无梦睡眠使低级动物更警觉,从而起到一定的保护作用,C正好与这种理解相反,因此也不正确。
10
According to some scientists' research findings, dolphins seldom sleep because __.
A.
of their stupidity
B.
of their vulnerability
C.
there are possible dangers in the ocean
D.
aquatic mammals do not need sleep
本题答案:
A
B
C
D
参考答案:
C
系统解析:
最后一段第2句解释了第1句中所说的"海豚等睡眠少"的原因,C比较确切地反映了文章内容。A、B、D三项都与最后一段开头两句表达的意思无关。
Not all sounds made by animals serve as language, and we have only to turn to that extraordinary discovery of echolocation (回声定位) in bats to see a case in which the voice plays a strictly practical role.
To get a full appreciation of what this means we must turn first to some recent human inventions.Everyone knows that if he shouts near a wall or a mountainside, an echo will come back.The further off this solid obstacle, the longer time it will take for the return of the echo.A sound made by tapping on the main body of a ship will be reflected from the sea bottom, and by measuring the time interval between the taps and the receipt of the echoes the depth of the sea at that point can be calculated.So was born the echo-sounding equipment, now in general use in ships.Every solid object will reflect a sound, varying according to the size and nature of the object.A shoal of fish will do this.So it is a comparatively simple step from locating the sea bottom to locating a shoal of fish.With experience, and with improved equipment, it is now possible not only to locate fish but to tell if it is herring, cod, or other well-known fish, by the pattern of its echo.
A few years ago it was found that certain bats emit squeaks (吱吱声) and by receiving 'he echoes they could locate and steer clear of obstacles--or locate flying insects on which they feed.This echolocation in bats is often compared with radar, the principle of which is similar.
11
The main purpose of this passage is to ______.
A.
describe that animals can make different sounds
B.
prove that animals' voices can play practical roles
C.
inspire the readers to make more inventions
D.
startle the readers with some shocking facts
本题答案:
A
B
C
D
参考答案:
B
系统解析:
主旨大意题。文章第1段就点明主题,明确指出以蝙蝠为例,动物发出的声音有实际作用,只有B可以概括文章的这个写作目的。
12
The discovery of echolocation may help with all of the following EXCEPT
A.
measuring the depth of the sea
B.
distinguishing different kinds of fish
C.
improving the functions of radar
D.
varying the size and nature of an object
本题答案:
A
B
C
D
参考答案:
D
系统解析:
事实细节题。本题考査列举处,可用排除法解答。A、B、C在文中都有相关提及。D利用第2段中的varying制造干扰。在原文中,指的是回声因障碍物的不同而不同,而D偷换概念、曲解文意,D中的varying为及物动词,意为"改变",显然不可能是回声定位的发现带来的功效。
13
By saying "A shoal of fish will do this"(Lines 6-7, Para.2), the author means ________.
A.
only one special kind of fish can reflect sounds
B.
only one special kind of fish can be used to help locate a ship
C.
a large group of fish can reflect sounds
D.
a large group of fish can be used to help locate a ship
本题答案:
A
B
C
D
参考答案:
C
系统解析:
词义推断题。本题考查对shoal的词义推测及代词this的理解。依据第2段最后几句话,可推测出a shoal of fish指的是"海里的一群鱼";this则是指上一句提到的"任何固体都可以反射声音",因此这句话表明一大群鱼就能像一个固体一样反射声音。
14
As it is discussed in the passage, the squeaks of bats can be functionally compared with ________.
A.
human languages
B.
a mountainside
C.
a shoal of fish
D.
taps on a ship
本题答案:
A
B
C
D
参考答案:
D
系统解析:
推理判断题。根据最后一段可知,蝙蝠发出吱吱声可以探测障碍物的距离,而第2段也指出轻敲船体可测知海底的距离,因此在功能上,D与蝙蝠的吱吱声相同。A中的human languages在文中未提到;B和C在文中各自的例子中充当的都是障碍物的角色,因此都不正确。
15
Which of the following statements can be inferred from the passage?
A.
Animals are more intelligent than humans.
B.
Humans are more intelligent than animals.
C.
Animals are often compared with human inventions.
D.
Humans are often inspired by animals.
本题答案:
A
B
C
D
参考答案:
D
系统解析:
推理判断题。文章先说动物的回声定位功能,再说到回声定位探测仪的发明,由此可见,是动物的某些能力启发了人类的创造,因此只有D可从文中推测。文章并没有从智力方面比较人类和动物,因此可以排除A 和B;尽管文章说到了蝙蝠和雷达的原理相似,但是C中的often一词无据可循,且C的说法浮于表面,没有说到重点,故排除。
Alzheimer's disease has no cure. There are, however, five drugs—known and approved-that can slow down the development of its symptoms. The earlier such drugs are administered, the better. Unfortunately, the disease is usually first noticed when people complain to their doctors of memory problems. That is normally too late for the drags to do much good. A simple and reliable test for Alzheimer's that can be administered to everybody over the age of about 65, before memory-loss sets in,would therefore be useful.
Theo Luider, of the Erasmus University Medical Centre in Rotterdam, and his colleagues think they have found one-but it works only in women. They made their discovery, just reported in the Journal of Proteome Research9 by tapping into a long-term,continuing study that started in 1995 with 1,077 non-demented and otherwise healthy people aged between 60 and 90. At the banning of the project, and subsequently during the periods 1997-99 and 2002 - 04, participants were brought in for a battery of neurological (神经学的)and cognitive investigations, physical examinations,brain imaging and blood tests.
During the first ten years of the study. 43 of the volunteers developed Alzheimer's diseases. When Dr.Luider compared blood samples from these people with samples from 43 of their fellow volunteers, matched for sex and age, who had remained Alzheimer's-free, he found something startling. Levels of a substance called pregnancy zone protein had been unusually high, even before their symptoms appeared, in some of those who went on to develop Alzheimer's disease.
Those "some",it turned out, were all women. On average, levels of pregnancy zone protein in those women who went on to develop Alzheimer's were almost 60% higher than those of women who did not. In men, levels of the protein were the same for both.
The reason for this curious result seems to be that the brain plaques (斑块)associated with Alzheimer,s disease are themselves turning out pregnancy zone protein. Certainly,when Dr. Luider applied a chemical stain specific to that protein to the plaques of dead Alzheimer's patients he found the protein present in them.
Confusingly,though, it was there in the plaques of both sexes. Presumably, female cells (and therefore the plaques of female brains) make more of it than male ceils do. But that remains to be proved. Whatever the reason, however, this result means that women, at least, may soon be able to tell whether and when they are at risk of Alzheimer's and thus do something about it before they start losing their minds.
16
What can we learn from the first paragraph?
A.
No medication can slow down the development of Alzheimer's symptoms.
B.
People who always complain are most likely to have Alzheimer's disease.
C.
Doctors had better tackle Alzheimer's disease when people are 65 years old.
D.
To detect Alzheimer's disease before memory loss appears is crucial.
本题答案:
A
B
C
D
参考答案:
D
系统解析:
细节题。第一段最后一句提到,如果有一种简单、可靠的方法,能在患者记忆力减退前检测出该病,且适用于任何65岁年龄以上的人,这种方法会大有裨益,所以D.“在患者记忆力减退前诊断出阿尔茨海默病是很重要的”陈述正确,故为正确答案,同时可知C.是对这句话字面意思的曲解,故排除;根据本段第二句“然而,有五种药物可以减缓阿尔茨海默病症状的恶化”可知,有药物可以缓解阿尔茨海默病症状,故排除A.;B.是对本段第四句“不幸的是,当人们开始向医生抱怒记 忆力问题时,这种病才开始被注意到”的字面意思的曲解,故排除。
17
The word "non-demented" in Paragraph 2 probably means_____.
A.
physically disabled
B.
unconscious
C.
mentally clear
D.
low-spirited
本题答案:
A
B
C
D
参考答案:
C
系统解析:
语义题。根据第二段第二句“1,077 non-demented and otherwise healthy people aged between 60 and 90”可知,调查研究的对象是1077名60到90岁之间的“non-demented”和“healthy” 的人,其中的“and otherwise”表明这两个词在意思上是并列、递进的关系;再根据第三段前两句可知,在研究的前十年里,志愿者中有43人患上了阿尔茨海默病,后面又将这些患阿尔茨海默病的病人与未患病者进行比较。综上所述,可以推出C.“神志清醒的”为正确答案。A.、B.和D.均不符合文意,故排除。
18
What does Dr. Luider's study tell us about the pregnancy zone protein?
A.
It never increase before the symptoms of Alzheimer's appear.
B.
In men, level of it remain stable for their lifetime.
C.
Women developing Alzheimer's usually have lower levels of it.
D.
The brain plaques connected with Alzheimer's produce it.
本题答案:
A
B
C
D
参考答案:
D
系统解析:
细节题。第五段第一句提到,出现这一奇怪结果的原因似乎是,与阿尔茨海默病有关联的脑部斑块自身会产生妊振区带蛋白,故D. “与阿尔茨海默病有关的大脑斑块产生妊振区带蛋白质”;为正确答案。根据第三段最后一句可知,在一些患者的阿尔茨海默病症状出现之前,妊振区带蛋白质也异常地高,故排除A.;根据第四段可知,出现上述症状的多为女性,而男性则不同,他们患有阿尔茨海默病之前和之后,妊振区带蛋白质的水平是一致的,所以C.陈述错误,故排除;同时可知 B.为本句意思的曲解,故排除。
19
How does the author feel about Dr. Luider's study?
A.
Confuse
B.
Optimistic
C.
Indifferent
D.
Meaningless
本题答案:
A
B
C
D
参考答案:
B
系统解析:
态度题。根据本文最后一句可知,但不管是什么原因,这一发现至少意味着女性可以尽早得知其是否会患有阿尔茨海默病,以及什么时候可能患上阿尔茨海默病——因此,医生可以在她们记忆力减退前采取一些措施。可见,作者对这项研究持乐观的态度,故正确答案为B.“乐观的”。
20
The passage is mainly about_____.
A.
the development stages of Alzheimer's disease
B.
the pregnancy zone protein
C.
a new discovery concerning Alzheimer's disease
D.
patients of Alzheimer's disease
本题答案:
A
B
C
D
参考答案:
C
系统解析:
主旨题。本文开篇第一段指出阿尔茨海默病是难以治愈和难以发现的,并指出阿尔茨海默病预防治疗的一个重要环节,即在患者记忆力减退前诊断出该症状;接下来,第二到四段详述了关于阿尔茨海默病的一项新发现——女性阿尔茨海默病患者体内的妊振区带蛋白质含量比未患此病的女性高很多,甚至在还未患上阿尔茨海默病之前,这些女性患者体内的妊娠区;带蛋白质的含量已经相当的高;第五段分析了出现这一现象的原因;最后一段分析了该实验未解决的疑问以及肯定了这一新发现的意义,综上所述,本文都是围绕“阿尔茨海默病领域的一项新发现”展开的,故C.为正确答案。
Joseph Weizenbaum, professor of computer science at MIT(麻省理工学院), thinks that the sense of power over the machine ultimately(根本上)corrupts the computer hacker (黑客)and makes him into a not very desirable sort of programmer. The hackers are so involved with designing their program, making it more and more complex and bending it to their will,that they don't bother trying to make it understandable to other users. They rarely keep records of their programs for the benefit of others,and they rarely take time to understand why a problem occurred.
Computer science teachers say they can usually pick out the prospective(将来的)hackers in their courses because these students make their homework assignments more complex than they need to be. Rather than using the simplest and most direct method, they take joy in adding extra steps just to prove their ingenuity(心灵手巧).
But perhaps those hackers know something that we don't know about the shape of things to come. "That hacker who had to be literally dragged off his chair at MIT is now a multimillionaire of the computer industry." says MIT professor Michael Dertouzos. "And two former hackers become the founders of the highly successful Apple home computer company." When seen in this light, the hacker phenomenon may not be so strange after all. If,as many psychiatrists(精神病学家)say, play is really the basis for all human activities, then the hacker games are really the preparation for future developments. Sherry Turkic, a professor of sociology at MIT, has for years been studying the ways computers fit into people's lives. She points out that the computer,because it seems to us to be so "intelligent",so "capable",so "human",affects the way we think about ourselves and our ideas about what we are. She says that computers and computer toys, already,play an important role in children's efforts to develop an identity by allowing them to test about what is alive and what isn't. "The youngsters can form as many subtle nuances(细微差别)and textured(密切的) relationships with the computers as they can with people." Turkic points out.
21
The passage tells about _____.
A.
what has caused the emergence of computer hackers
B.
the strange behavior of the computer hackers
C.
the ultimate importance of bringing up computer hackers
D.
different opinions concerning the hacker phenomenon
本题答案:
A
B
C
D
参考答案:
D
系统解析:
主旨题。全文涉及了对黑客现象的不同看法。前两段为一种观点,即黑客的表现和形成的原因;后两段为另一种观点,即计算机游戏的好处和黑客的可转变性与发展性。
22
According to Prof. Weizenbaum, what led to the hackers' strange behavior is _____.
A.
their deliberate attempts to make their problems complex and impracticable
B.
their incompetence in making new computer program
C.
their ignorance of the responsibility of a programmer
D.
their strong desire to control the computer
本题答案:
A
B
C
D
参考答案:
D
系统解析:
细节性问题。第一段第一句中提到导致黑客们奇异行为的原因在于对计算机的强烈控制欲,原文 中用的是“the sense of power over the machine ultimately corrupts the computer hackers”,与选项D相符。
23
We can guess from the context clues that the phrase "to develop an identity" (Line 7-8, Para. 4) means _____.
A.
to build a creative ability
B.
to seek an answer
C.
to become distinguished
D.
to form a habit
本题答案:
A
B
C
D
参考答案:
B
系统解析:
词汇题。根据上下文,孩子们通过计算机和计算机玩具来努力探寻人与计算机之间的细微差别及密切联系,选项B与之意思最接近。
24
The passage tries to convey to its readers the idea that _____.
A.
perhaps the hacker phenomenon is not bad at all
B.
the computer hackers are the hope of the computer industry of tomorrow
C.
the computer hackers could be useful if under proper guidance
D.
though the hackers are in fact playing with the computer, there may be some benefits
本题答案:
A
B
C
D
参考答案:
A
系统解析:
主旨题。这是一道对作者的观点、态度的判断题。从计算机业内人士的观点、实际的例子及文章的结论等综合来看,作者倾向于认为黑客现象或许并不是一件坏事。
25
According to Prof. Turkic,teenagers play computer games _____.
A.
to form closer relationship with computer than with people
B.
to become computer hackers
C.
to show off their intelligence, capability and humanity
D.
to make it an important part of their lives
本题答案:
A
B
C
D
参考答案:
C
系统解析:
推断题。答案参见后两段。从Turkic教授的阐述看来,年轻人玩计算机主要是想表现他们的智力和能力。
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