专题限时训练(三十八) [科普知识型阅读理解(二)]
(限时：25分钟)
(一)
A huge cloud of dust rose and an overpass disappeared. This was the scene in Zhuzhou, Hunan Province on May 17.Nine people were killed and sixteen injured.
Things were similar in 2008 in the Sichuan earthquake. Thousands of people were buried in the ruins and lost their lives. What if we could have warned them?
People are always racking_their_brains to find a way of preventing buildings' collapse. Better materials and technologies help, but they are not a solution.
Just like humans, a building has its own life cycle from“birth” to “death”．If we know when a building is going to collapse, we can repair it in advance or get out of it before it falls.
Now, scientists at the University of Illinois have developed a material that turns red before it breaks. The invention could be used in things like climbing ropes or bridge supports.
The research was led by Nancy Sottos, a professor at the university's Beckman Institute, and Douglas Davis, a graduate research assistant.
The secret behind the colourchanging material is a type of molecule(分子)．A molecule is a group of atoms held together by chemical bonds. Imagine you and your friends stand in a circle, holding hands. Each person stands for one atom; your hands represent the bonds，and the entire circle represents a molecule. If one person lets go of his or her hands, the molecule changes colour.
The research team put the molecule into a soft material. When the researchers stretched the material, it turned bright red for a few seconds before it broke into two pieces. When they repeatedly stretched and relaxed the material，without breaking it, it only turned a little red.
The major problem is that light can get rid of the red colour. When the team shone bright light on the molecule, the broken bond was fixed, and the colour disappeared.
If the bright light keeps the red colour from appearing, the material's warning system will be useless. Scientists still have a lot of work to do before the colourchanging molecules can be used outside the lab.
1．What does the passage mainly introduce?
A．The collapse of an overpass in Zhuzhou, Hunan Province.
B．The Sichuan earthquake.
C．A material that turns red before it breaks.
D．A way of preventing buildings from collapsing.
2．The underlined words “racking their brains” in the third paragraph mean “________”．
A．suffering a lot B．collecting beyond imagination
C．losing a lot D．thinking very hard
3．Which of the following is a WRONG statement?
A．Thousands of people died from the collapse of buildings in the Sichuan earthquake because they hadn't been warned.
B．There is no building that will never collapse.
C．A new material has been applied to buildings to warn people of collapse.
D．A colourchanging material can turn red before it breaks.
4．What can we infer from the passage?
A．The colourchanging molecules are certain to be used outside the lab.
B．There will be no collapse with the help of the colourchanging material.
C．There is a long way to go before the material can be applied.
D．The problem caused by bright light will be solved by scientists.
(二)
The sound of a mosquito can mean trouble in many parts of the world. The bite of the mosquito can be deadly. The insects carry serious diseases like malaria. It is estimated that almost 630,000 people died from malaria and malariarelated causes in 2012, and most of these cases were in African countries.
In the United States, a group of California scientists are working to develop a more effective and less costly substance(物质) to protect people from mosquitoes. The researchers are investigating the sense of smell in mosquitoes. They found the insects use the same receptor(感受器) for identifying carbon dioxide in human breath as they do for the smell of our skin. Anandasankar Ray, who is leading the investigation, says scientists tested more than a million chemical compounds(化合物) until they found a substance called Ethyl pyruvate. He says Ethyl pyruvate makes the mosquitoes' receptors inactive.“When we apply Ethyl pyruvate to a human arm and offer it to hungry mosquitoes in a cage, very few of the mosquitoes are attracted to the human arm because only a few of them are able to smell it out，” said Ray.
Genevieve Tauxe, a member of the research team, says it was not easy to find the neurons(神经元) of noble cells that recognize both the smell of human breath and skin.“With the device used to examine the mosquito, we are able to insert a very small electrode(电极) into the part of the mosquito's nose, where its smelling neurons are and where the smell is happening，” said Tauxe.
Anandasankar Ray says a product based on Ethyl pyruvate may cost less to produce than DEFT，the most effective chemical treatment now in use. He says DEFT is too costly for most people who live in areas affected by malaria.
“Perhaps by finding smells that can attack other target receptors, we will be able to improve upon DEFT and finally have the next generation of insect behaviour control products，”said Ray.
5．The best title of the passage is most probably “________”．
A．Scientists find a new substance to fight mosquitoes
B．A new generation of DEET has been developed to kill mosquitoes
C．Malaria—a serious disease causing 630,000 deaths
D．Ethyl pyruvate—an insect behaviour control product
6．According to the passage, Ethyl pyruvate can________.
A．kill the mosquitoes' smelling neurons
B．cause the mosquitoes to lose their senses of smell
C．result in the inactiveness of the mosquitoes' receptors
D．make the mosquitoes uninterested in human breath and skin smell
7．Through the passage, the writer aims to________.
A．inform readers of the new development in fighting mosquitoes
B．praise the achievements made in the battle against malaria
C．introduce a cheaper product in fighting mosquitoes
D．tell the differences between Ethyl pyruvate and DEET
8．This passage most probably appears in________.
A．the column of newspaper ads
B．the health column of a magazine
C．a textbook of medical schools
D．a collection of doctors' essays
(三)
A hug from someone you love gives warmth and comfort. They are familiar feelings that we sometimes forget about, and few of us realize that our lives depend on our
sense of touch. Touch is the first sense babies develop while in their mother's womb(子宫). In fact, it is the memory of being surrounded by warm liquid that makes babies want to be held or wrapped in soft blankets. Like all our senses, touch depends on a special organ. Other sense organs, like eyes, ears, nose and mouth, are located in one place. But the touch organ is the skin, our biggest organ, which stretches over our whole body.
However, our sense of touch does more than just tell us if something is soft, hard, rough or smooth. It helps keep us from danger. Imagine relying on your sense of smell to tell you that your hand is burning on a hot pan!
Researches show that babies who are not held or touched can become sick and even die. Scientists have also studied how touch influences brain growth. Babies who are rarely touched often have much smaller brains than babies who get lots of hugs and attention, and they may develop behaviour problems as they grow up. In the 1950s a psychologist did an experiment on baby monkeys. He took the monkeys away from their mothers and put them into cages with two fake mother monkeys. One was made of wire and had a milk bottle tied to it. The other one was made of wood, covered in terry cloth, and did not have a milk bottle. The psychologist thought the monkeys would go to the wire mother because it had food. However, he saw that the monkeys held onto the terry cloth mother for hours, preferring the feeling of warmth and softness over food. From the monkey's behaviour, the scientists discovered that babies need more than something to eat, they also need soft touch.
9. Babies like to be wrapped in warm blankets because________.
A. it makes them feel as if they were still in their mother's womb
B. babies have cold skin
C. the blanket feels like the mother's skin
D. it keeps them from becoming sick
10. How is the touch organ different from the other sense organs?
A. It is found in only one location of the body.
B. It does not keep us from danger.
C. It spreads over our entire body.
D. It does not send information directly to the brain.
11. Babies who are not often hugged and held can develop all of the following problems EXCEPT________.
A. sickness and death
B. a smaller brain size
C. behaviour problems
D. blindness
12. Based on the experiment with the baby monkeys, which of the following is mentioned?
A. Babies hold on to their mothers only when they are hungry.
B. Baby monkeys, like human babies, need soft touch.
C. The behaviour of the baby monkeys is different from that of human babies.
D. The baby monkeys had undeveloped brains.
专题限时训练(三十八)【科普知识型阅读理解(二】
(一)
【文章大意】 这篇文章主要介绍了一种在坏掉之前可以变成红色的材料，介绍了材料变色的原理。这种新型的材料处于研究阶段，还没有应用于建筑物，在这种材料被应用之前，还有很长一段路需要走。
1．C 主旨大意题。根据第五段“Now, scientists at the University of Illinois have developed a material that turns red before it breaks.The invention could be used in things like climbing ropes or bridge supports.”可知，这篇文章主要介绍了一种在坏掉之前可以变成红色的材料，故选C项。
2．D 词义猜测题。根据第三段“People are always racking their brains to find a way of preventing buildings' collapse.Better materials and technologies help, but they are not a solution.”可猜出画线部分的意思是“很努力地想”，故选D项。
3．C 细节理解题。根据最后一段的“Scientists still have a lot of work to do before the colourchanging molecules can be used outside the lab.”可知，这种新型的材料处于研究阶段，还没有应用于建筑物，故选C项。
4．C 推理判断题。根据最后一段“If the bright light keeps the red colour from appearing，the material's warning system will be useless.Scientists still have a lot of work to do before the colourchanging molecules can be used outside the lab.”可以推断出在这种材料被应用之前，还有很长一段路需要走，故选C项。
(二)
【文章大意】 蚊子的嗡嗡叫对于人们来说是一个麻烦的问题，而它们的叮咬甚至有可能是致命的。幸运的是科学家们研究了一种能够影响蚊子嗅觉的药物，从而控制蚊子的叮人的行为。
5．A 主旨大意题。根据文章最后二段的内容可知，DEFT只是一种杀蚊药，而本文主要讲的是科学家研究出一种新的效果明显、花费少的药品。故选A项。
6．C 细节理解题。根据第二段的“He says Ethyl pyruvate makes the mosquitoes' receptors inactive.”可知，Ethyl pyruvate会使蚊子的感受器迟钝。故选C项。
7．A 推理判断题。本文主要介绍了科学家研究了一种能够影响蚊子嗅觉的药物，从而控制蚊子的叮人的行为。文章中作者只是客观介绍药物，并没有表明自己是赞扬还是批评的观点。故选A项。
8．B 推理判断题。A项为报纸广告板块；B项为杂志的健康板块；C项为医学院的教科书；D项为医生的文集。通过理解文章大意可知选B项。
(三)
【文章大意】 本文是一篇科普文，主要研究了触觉对人类的重要作用。
9. A 推理判断题。 根据文章第一段第三句和第四句“Touch is the first sense babies develop while in their mother's womb(子宫). In fact, it is the memory of being surrounded by warm liquid that makes babies want to be held or wrapped in soft blankets.”可推知，婴儿喜欢被裹在毯子里是因为那种触觉像是还在母亲的子宫里一样舒服，故选A项。
10. C 细节理解题。 根据文章第一段最后一句“But the touch organ is the skin, our biggest organ, which stretches over our whole body.”可知，触觉不同于其他感觉器官的特色就在于它覆盖了人体的全身，而其他器官都只占人身体的一部分，故选C项。
11. D 细节理解题。 根据文章最后一段的前三句可知，不被抱或不被碰的婴儿会生病、会死亡、会影响大脑发育、长大会有行为问题，并没有提到会导致失明，故选D项。
12. B 推理判断题。 根据文章最后一段倒数第二句“However, he saw that the monkeys held onto the terry cloth mother for hours, preferring the feeling of warmth and softness over food.”和本段的整体理解可知，猴子像人类婴儿一样，也需要温柔的触碰，故选B项。
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