46. Lauren Smith conducted her research by _______.

　 A. removing hair cells from a shark’s balance system

　 B. measuring the air pressure of weather fronts

　 C. recording sharks’ body temperature

　 D. monitoring sharks’ reaction to weather changes

45. What do we learn from the first four paragraphs of the passage?

A. Sharks may be used to predict bad weather.

B. Sharks’ behaviour can be controlled.

C. Michael Fish is not qualified for his job.

D. Lauren Smith will become a weather forecaster.

44.The passage is most probably taken from _____.

A. a short-story collection　　　　　　　　　 　　　　　　 B. a popular science magazine

C. a research paper　　　　　　　　　　　 　　　　　　 D. a personal diary

60. What is the writer’s attitude in writing this passage?

A. Defensive.　　 　 　　B. Persuasive.　　　　 C. Supportive.　 　　　　 D. Objective.

答案　 57.C　 58.B　 59.B　 60.D

Passage 29

(08·天津C篇)

Michael Fish may soon be replaced as a weather forecaster by something truly fishier-the shark(鲨鱼).

Research by a British biology student suggests that sharks could be used to predict storms.

Lauren Smith, 24, is close to completing her study on shark’s ability to sense pressure.

If her studies prove the theory, scientists may be able to monitor the behaviour of sharks to predict bad weather.

Miss Smith had previously studied the behaviour of lemon sharks in the Bahamas.

She then used their close relatives, lesser spotted dogfish, for further research at Aberdeen University.

Her work-thought to be the first of its kind to test the pressure theory-resulted from the observation that juvenile blacktip sharks off Florida moved into deeper water ahead of a violent storm in 2001.

Miss Smith said: “I’ve always been crazy about traveling and diving and this led me to an interest in sharks.”

“I was delighted to have been able to research in the area for my degree. I know there’s so much more we need to understand-but it certainly opens the way to more research.”

It has been discovered that a shark senses pressure using hair cells in its balance system.

At the Bimini Shark Lab in the Bahamas, Miss Smith fixed hi-tech sensors to sharks to record pressure and temperature, while also tracking them using GPS (Global Positioning System) technology.

In Aberdeen, she was able to study the effects of tidal(潮汐的) and temperature changes on dogfish-none of which were harmed. She also used a special lab which can mimic(模拟) oceanic pressure changes caused by weather fronts.

She is due to complete her study and graduate later this year. She says she will be looking for a job which will give her the chance to enrich her experience of shark research.

59. Which of the following do you agree with according to the fourth paragraph?

　 A. Young boys may be stronger than young girls.

　 B. More women take up jobs requiring speech skills.

　 C. Women may have stronger feelings than men.

　 D. Our ancestors needed more spatial skills.

58. What can we infer from the second and third paragraphs?

　 A. Women prefer doing many things at a time.

　 B. Men do better dealing with one job at a time.　　

　 C. Women do not need to tell directions.

　 D. Men have weaker spatial abilities.

57. Which of the following is TRUE according to the first paragraph?

　 A. Women’s brain is 10% less than men’s.

　 B. Grey matter plays the same role as white matter.

　 C. Grey matter controls thinking in the brain.

　 D. Both sexes have the same amount of white matter.

56. What is the best title for the passage?

　 A. The Silk Road:Past and Present　　　　 　　　 　　B. The Silk Road:East Meets West

C. The Silk Road:Routes Full of Dangers　　 　　 D. The Silk Road:Pathways for Learning

答案　 53.D　 54.C　 55.A　 56.B

Passage 28

(08·陕西E篇)

Did you know that women’s brains are smaller than men’s? The average women’s brain weighs 10% less than men’s. Since research has shown that the bigger the brain, the cleverer the animal, men must be more intelligent(聪明的) than women. Right? Wrong. Men and women always score similarly on intelligence tests, despite the difference in brain size. Why? After years of study, researchers have concluded that it’s what’s inside that matters, not just the size of the brain. The brain consists of　 “grey matter” and　　 “white matter”.　 While men have more of the latter ,the amount of “thinking” brain is almost exactly the same in both sexs.

It has been suggested that smaller brain appears to work faster, perhaps because the two sides of the brain are better connected in women. This means that little girls tend to learn to speak earlier, and that women can understand sorts of information from different sources at the same time. When it comes to talking to the boss on the phone, cooking dinner and keeping an eye on the baby all at the same time, it’s women who come out on top every time.

　 There are other important differences between two sexes. As white matter is the key to spatial(空间的) tasks, men know better where things are in relation to other things. “A great footballer always knows where he is in relation to the other players, and he knows where to go,” says one researcher. That may explain one of life’s great mysteries:Why men refuse to ask for directions … and women often need to!

　 The differences begin when fetuses(胎儿) are about nine weeks old, which can be seen in the action of children as young as one. A boy would try to climb a barrier (障碍物) before him or push it down while a girl would attract help from others. These brain differences also explain the fact that more men take up jobs that require good spatial skills, while more women speech skills. It may all go back to our ancestors(祖先) ,among whom women needed speech skills to take care of their babies and men needed spatial skills to hunt, according to one research.

　 If all this disappoints you, it shouldn’t. “The brain changes throughout our lives according to what we do with it,” says a biologist.

55. New technologies could travel along the Silk Road because people　 　　　　.

A. learned from one another　　　　　　　 　　 B. shared each other’s beliefs

C. traded goods along the route　　　　　　 　 D. earned their living by traveling

54. The Silk Road became less important because　　　　　 .

A. it was made up of different routes　　　　 　　 B. silk trading became less popular

C. sea travel provided easier routes　　　　 　　 D. people needed fewer foreign goods