话题阅读（二）science and technology(A)What is an insect? Insects of all kinds have existed on earth for millions of years. Sometimes we think of all insects as pests. Human life, however, would have a difficult time continuing without insects, because they pollinate plants and are a food source for many animals. Besides, insects, especially the social ones, are fascinating.One very interesting and useful social insect is the honey bee. Bees are considered social insects because they live and work together. They cooperate and communicate in order to survive. The bee lives in a beehive with other worker bees, and with the queen, who can lay thousands of eggs a day. The worker bees make wax used to create new cells inside the hive. Humans use this valuable beeswax in candles, cosmetics, expensive furniture polish, and other products. They also produce honey, a valuable food for humans (as well as for bees).Another fascinating social insect is the ant. Many types of ants live in colonies underground. There thousands of them build and maintain their "city". They keep it clean and free of enemies. They also cooperate to provide food, sometimes in a manner that looks human. For example, some ants actually raise their own food. One type of ant "farmer" keeps and cares for tiny insects that suck sweet sap from plants. Ant farmers milk them for the sap, just like actual farmers milk cows. The sap is then given as food to young ants and to the queen, whose main duty is to lay eggs. Another type of ant that produces its own food does so by gardening. These farmer ants take pieces of leaves into the colony and chew them up. The soft, chewed up leaves then sprout a fungus that the worker ants use to feed the queen and young ants. There are many other ways that ants cooperate to maintain and protect their colonies.There are also many other kinds of social insects. What makes them all so fascinating is their organization. Although each insect has certain tasks to perform, the entire hive or colony appears to function as one living organism.Word Bankbeehive n. 蜂窝sap n. 汁液sprout v. 涌出beewax n. 蜂蜡13. What does the word "pollinate" probably mean?A. Fertilize.B. Provide.C. Cultivate.D. Harvest.14. What is the reason humans think that beeswax is valuable?A.It can only be found inside of a beehive.B.It provides good food for humans.C.It is used in many helpful products.D.It is a food source for manyanimals.15. The passage is mainly about _________________ .A.different types of insectsB.the differences between bees and antsC.social insects and their featuresD.the differences between insects and pests16. Which of the following is NOT TRUE about bees and ants according to the passage?A.They both are social insects who live and work together.B.They both have their own queens whose main duty is to lay eggs.C.They need to communicate and cooperate so as to survive.D.They are fascinating insects who can raise and produce food.ACCD(B)It seems to be programmed into all of us the desire to be greater, to go further, to break down the boundaries. When we look to the stars, some of us wonder, "How far can we go?" Some scientists say not only will we go far, but we'll go soon.Seem believable? You know, it's not unreasonable to think that you might spend a couple of weeks vacationing in space or, who knows, maybe move on to another planet. I mean, who thought that Nell Armstrong was gonna walk on the moon, right? When he took those first steps, they seemed like real small steps, and if we start moving into another planets on our solar system, there are gonna be in small steps, too, but then, when we look back at the big picture, it's gonna seem like a giant leap.In our ever-shrinking world, it seems there are no more hills to climb, no new oceans to cross. Modern adventures are looking more and more to the heavens as the next explorablefrontier (疆界-).That adventure includes some fantastic ideas. Space hotel projects are in development across the country. Space Island Group of California plans to use empty fuel tanks and a space shuttle (区间内往返的车辆) to build a giant space hotel that will orbit the moon. The hotel could house up to 300 space guests, with a view that would be out of this world.The desire to vacation or adventure in space seems to be realistically within our reach. Is the space of our tomorrow filled with private rockets and space hotels?BEAFD(C)Nicotine(尼古丁) reaches the brain ten seconds after being breathed in. After repeated use, the brain and body become physically dependent on the drug.Smokers develop wrinkles at a younger age. Their teeth and fingers also become stained.Smokers are more likely to get cancer of the mouth than nonsmokers. Tobacco juice damages gums and teeth. Pipe smokers are more likely to get lip cancer. Tobacco smoke irritates the throat and can cause throat cancer. Smoking can make the voice thick and gravelly. It can ruin a singer's voice.Smokers are four times more likely than non-smokers to develop heart disease. Smokingputs stress on the heart and leads to high blood pressure. Smoking damages the air spaces in the lungs, causing "smoker's cough" , a disease that makes breathing difficult. Of those who die from this disease, 85% are smokers. Nicotine increases the production of stomach acid (酸) Smoking is also believed to double the risk of cancer of the digestive system.1. What is the effect of the repeated use of nicotine on the brain?2.If 20 non-smokers suffer from heart disease, it is likely smokers have thesame disease.3.According to the passage, it can be estimated that the number of smokers under the attack ofstomach cancer is likely to that of the nonsmokers.4.What percentage of the patients who die from "smoker's cough" are non-smokers?1.It becomes physically dependant on the poisonous chemical.2.803.be twice as many as \ double4.15%(D)Special trees that grow faster, fight pollution, produce better wood, and even sense chemical attacks are being planted by scientists in the US.When 40 percent of Hawaii's US $ 14 million-a-year papaya industry was destroyed by a virus five years ago, work began on creating genetically engineered trees.Researchers successfully introduced seed that were designed to resist the virus. Since then, more and more people have been testing genetically engineered trees.Some researchers put special bacteria into trees to help them grow faster and produce better wood. Others are trying to create trees that can clean polluted soil.Meanwhile fruit farmers are looking for trees that are strong enough to resist worms, and paper companies want trees that produce more wood and therefore more paper.The Pentagon even gave the researchers US $ 500,000 this year after they developed a pine tree that changes its colours if it senses a chemical attack.So far, the poplar, eucalyptus , apple and coffee trees are among those being engineered. All this can be done today because we have a better understanding of tree genomes.However, some people fear that the genetically engineered trees will cause dangerous results. They are worried that the new trees will breed with natural species and change the balance of the forest environment."It could be destructive," said Jim Diamond, an environmentalist. "Trees are what is left of our natural environment and home to many endangered species."But researchers insist that science could give nature a fighting change against both natural and man-made dangers.They hope to answer the critics by stopping the new trees from breeding, so their effecton the environment can be controlled. W ord Bankpapaya n. 木瓜poplar 杨树eucalyptus 桉树Pentagon n. 五角大楼1. Which kind of tree is not the ones that scientists are planting in the US?A.Trees that worms can't hurt.B.Trees that can protect themselves at a chemical attack.C.Trees that can resist wind better.D.Genetically engineered trees.2. What caused the American scientists to work on special trees?A.They think science could give nature a fighting chance against both natural andman-made dangers.B.Great numbers of trees have been lost due to attacks by viruses.C.Researchers successfully introduced seeds designed to resist the virus.D.Tree genomes are mapped out so scientists know how to improve trees.3. Which of the following was probably the first kind of trees being engineered?A. Papaya.B. Pine.C. Apple.D. Poplar.4. Why did critics think engineered trees dangerous?A.Because these trees can destroy the balance of nature.B.Because everything except trees has been genetically engineered.C.Because trees are home to many endangered species.D.Because these trees may affect normal trees.CBAD(E)Most episodes of absent-mindedness—forgetting where you left something or wondering why you just entered a room—are caused by a simple lack of attention. Schacter says, "You're supposed to remember something, but you haven't encoded it deeply. "Encoding, Schacter explains, is a special way of paying attention to an event that has a major impact on recalling it later. Failure to encode properly can create annoying situations. If you put your mobile phone in a pocket, for example, and don't pay attention to what you did because you're involved in a conversation, you Ml probably forget that the phone is in the jacket now hanging in your wardrobe. "Your memory itself isn't failing you," says Schacter. "Rather, you didn't give your memory system the information it needed."Lack of interest can also lead to absent-mindedness. "A man who can recite sports statistics from 30 years ago," says Zelinski, "may not remember to drop a letter in the mailbox." Women have slightly better memories than men, possibly because they pay more attention to their environment, and memory depends on just that.clear and available," he cautions. If you want to remember to take a medication with lunch, put thepill bottle on the kitchen table—don't leave it in the medicine chest and write yourself a note that you keep in a pocket.Another common episode of absent-mindedness:walking into a room and wondering why you're there. Most likely, you were thinking about something else. "Everyone does this from time to time," says Zelinski. The best thing to do is to return to where you were before entering the room, and you'll likely remember.Word Bankepisodes. 事件，插曲encode v. 把......译成电码（密码）5. We can learn from the passage that encoding _________________ .A.slows down the process of losing our memoriesB.helps us understand our memory system betterC.gets us to recall something from our memoriesD.helps us to find out the mobile phone in thepocket6. Why do women have better memories than men?A.Because they seldom use their mobile phones.B.Because they are more nervous about the environment.C.Because they are more interested in what's happening around them.D.Because they usually take some special medicine to improve memories.7. The underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 means that____________________ .A. a note in the pocket will easily get lostB.putting something in sight can be a good reminderC.taking medicine can get rid of absent-mindednessD.people of absent-mindedness must take medicine withthem8. What is the passage mainly about?A.The causes of absent-mindedness.B.The environment and memory.C. A way of encoding and recalling.D.The process of gradual memory loss. CCBA。