17．It was an exciting day when Thomas Finger looked inside the nose of a small black mouse．Finger had borrowed the animal from another scientist．It was not your average mouse．The mouse's genes had been changed so that the taste buds（味蕾） on its tongue turned green when you shined light on them-like a secret message written in secret ink．
But no one had ever looked inside its nose．When Finger finally did look there with a microscope，he saw thousands of green cells．"It was like looking at little green stars at night，"says Finger，
Seeing that green starry sky was Finger's first glimpse of a new world．If he and other scientists are right，we don't taste things just on our tongues．Other parts of our body can also taste things-our nose，our stomach，even our lungs!
You might think of taste as something that you experience when you put chocolate in your mouth-or chicken soup，or salt．But for you to taste chocolate or chicken soup，special cells on your tongue have to tell the brain that they detected chemicals that are in the food．We have at least five kinds of these chemical-detecting cells （commonly called taste cells） on our tongues：cells that detect salt，sweet mixtures，sour things，bitter things and savory（香的） things like meat or broth．
It's these chemical-sensing cells that scientists are now finding all over the body．"I'll bet you that in terms of total number of cells，"says Finger，"there are more[taste cells]outside the mouth than inside the mouth．"
This gives us clues about other functions the sense of taste has in our bodies．It could also help scientists find new treatments for certain diseases．
33．In which way is Finger's mouse different from a common one？B
A．Its nose has chemical-detecting cells．
B．Its tongue can change color．
C．Its tongue has more taste cells．
D．Its nose is green．
34．What Finger saw inside the mouse's nose is．C
A．a kind of cell detecting salt
B．a kind of gene like a star
C．a surprising finding
D．a secret message
35．From the passage，we may conclude that Finger's finding．A
A．helps find more functions of the sense of taste
B．helps find more functions of the tongue
C．will cause quarrels among scientists
D．will prevent some diseases．
分析 本文由介绍了科学家的一个新发现，有一种老鼠可以感光而改变味蕾的颜色．这给我们提示了可以探究许多味觉的新功能．
解答 33．B．理解推断题．由第一段The mouse's genes had been changed so that the taste buds（味蕾） on its tongue turned green when you shined light on them-like a secret message written in secret ink，可知这种老鼠在对它们照射光的时候，舌头上的味蕾会变成绿色，故选B．
34．C．理解推断题．由第一段It was an exciting day when Thomas Finger looked inside the nose of a small black mouse，和第二段But no one had ever looked inside its nose，可知这个发现是激动人心的时刻，从来没有人注意到这一点，故选C．
35．A．细节理解题．由最后一段This gives us clues about other functions the sense of taste has in our bodies，可知这个发现给了我们一些发现味觉其他功能的线索，故选A．
点评 本类文章时代气息浓郁，但专业词语较多，增加了阅读难度．考生平时可以有意识地从报刊杂志上找一些较难的阅读材料来阅读，以培养自己迎难而上的心理素质．
