born worldwide, according to a new study.
Scientists noted these types of atmospheric blasts rather than ontheground incidents like Chernobyl
(切尔诺贝利), effected birth gender across the globe.
Scientists at Helmholtz Zentrum M?nchen, Germany, analysed population data from 1975 to 2007
for the U．S. and 39 European countries.
There was an increase in the number of baby boys relative to girls in all of the countries from 1964
to 1975. This was the case in many eastern European countries for several years after 1986.
Scientists are putting the first spike down to the atomic bomb tests of the 1960s and 1970s where
radioactive atoms were blasted into the atmosphere. Air currents caught these atoms and then distributed
them around the world.
They think the second spike is due to the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in which the reactor exploded in
the Ukraine(乌克兰)．
The effects of Chernobyl were felt locally and no effect was seen in the U．S., probably because it
was too far from the disaster to have an effect.
"The closer the country was to Chernobyl, the stronger the effect," said study coauthor Hagen Scherb, a biostatistician(生物统计学家) at the German Research Center for Environmental Health in Munich.
More males were born relative to females in Belarus-the Ukraine"s neighbour-than in France.
The study is based largely on Cold Warera statistics, but the findings are highly relevant for how
gender could be affected after future nuclear disasters.
And in the wake of Japan"s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident experts are predicting
another baby boy boom could come, especially on the U．S. West Coast.
Previous radiation experiments on animals may give a clue for the increase in male births. Tests showed that radiation caused damage to the X chromosome(染色体) in sperm, Dr Scherb said.
A human sperm cell contains either an X or Y chromosome, while an egg only has an X chromosome. An XY combination will become a boy, while an XX combination will be a girl.
B．2.
C．3.
D．4.
B．There was an increase in the number of baby boys in many eastern European countries for several
years after 1986.
C．The Japan"s nuclear accident will not effect the birth gender of the U．S. because of the long distance.
D．Where radioactive material has spread, women can"t give birth to children.
B．It stops X chromosomes and Y chromosomes combining.
C．It kills baby girls before they are born.
D．It damages the X chromosome in sperm.
B．Nuclear radiation has bad effects upon people"s health.
C．Worries about radiation risks.
D．Nuclear age helps reduce the world population.
difficult tasks.Their specialized behavior due to chemical communication is so well developed, in fact, that
humans can learn a lot from them about how to work best in teams.
British scientists at the University of Bristol are studying colonies(群体)of army ants to understand
how they organize themselves and share knowledge.These insects-which come in various sizes-are known for using their bodies as living plugs to cover holes on the uneven ground between their nest and their prey.When they meet a hole in their path, they can quickly determine which of them is the best fit.The
appropriate ant then lies across the gap, allowing the remainder of the group-as many as 200,000 other
ants-to step on its back.This important minority of ants makes the food collection of the entire colony in
the best possible way by "paving the way" for the others.
The collective behavior that emerges from a group of social insects, such as ants, can be called
"swarm intelligence". Swarm intelligence consists of the selforganization of many individuals that work
collectively to find the best solution to a difficult problem.The concepts of swarm intelligence have been
used in a variety of human applications.It has been used as a method that improves the efficiency of
goods transfers on airplanes, and has even become a routing technique for moving data across
telecommunications networks more smoothly.You could say that our daily lives benefit from the tireless
work of ants.
1. What can we learn from ants according to the text?
A. How to help others to achieve great goals.
B. Good communication skills are important.
C. How to achieve the best result by working as a team.
D. The hardworking spirit in teamwork.
2. A study made by British scientists suggests that________.
A. ants are a group of clever insects
B. army ants" behavior is difficult to understand
C. ants enjoy using their bodies as living plugs
D. ants" collective behavior ensures their food supply
3. What can we learn about "swarm intelligence"?
A. It is a kind of collective behavior in social insects.
B. It refers to the selforganization of many insects.
C. The concepts of it will be used by many animals.
D. It is the best method of processing data.
4. The study of ants" behavior can be applied in ________.
A. road transportation and education
B. aerial transport and telecommunications
C. team organization and engineering
D. computer and information technology
Surface Exploration. Robots make great explorers on planets,moons,and other landing areas.Aside
from Earth,just about every surface in the solar system is unsafe for humans to explore.The air on most
other planets is insufficient for humans to breathe,making it necessary to wear a space suit and oxygen
equipment.The temperatures on these surfaces are much too hot or much too cold for any humans to
withstand.Plus there would be complications with radiation,weather,and a lack of gravity.Robots have
much less limitation in these areas and can survive much longer under these conditions.
Data Collection. Robots are designed for collecting scientific data.Robots are also able to perform
many tasks at one time and can process information much quicker and more efficiently.Important scientific projects from detecting minerals,analyzing ground samples,and finding water are all performed much quicker and more accurately(精确地)by robots.
Cost Effective. The use of robots has made the cost of space exploration much less expensive than it would cost for humans to do the work.In order to successfully send humans into space we would need to build a vehicle that can not only carry humans,but also have enough food and water to keep them alive for
the duration of the trip.Moreover,robots have no problems working for hours on end.Robots never
complain,they don"t require food or water,and they never need a bathroom break.
Space Travel. Over the past 30 years or so there have been many different types of robots used
successfully in the exploration of space.Perhaps the most famous and successful robots are the Spirit and Opportunity who have both been exploring the surface of Mars.They have both been very successful with experiments on soil and rocks and have even found evidence of water in Mars" history.
1. According to the passage,which of the following is NOT true?
A. The use of robots in space exploration costs more than the use of humans.
B. It may be dangerous for human to explore the solar system except the earth.
C. Both the Spirit and Opportunity have found the evidence of water in the Mars.
D. Many different types of robots have explored the space successfully.
2. Which column of the passage could come from?
A. Education.
B. Finance.
C. Travel.
D. Science.
3. The underlined phrase "withstand" most probably means "________".
A. arise
B. bear
C. defeat
D. diverse
4. What is the writer"s attitude in writing this passage?
A. Negative.
B. Persuasive.
C. Subjective.
D. Objective.
物) from the earth.This idea may sound like something from a science fiction (科幻小说), but it is
actually being taken seriously by many researchers.
This suggested future for the "red planet" will be the main topic for discussion at an international
conference hosted by NASA (美国宇航局) this week.Leading researchers as well as science fiction
writers will attend the event.It comes as NASA is preparing a multibilliondollar Mars research programme."Turning Mars into a little earth has long been a topic in science fiction, "said Dr Michael Meyer, NASA"s senior scientist for astrobiology (太空生物学). "Now, with scientists exploring the reality, we can
ask what are the real possibilities of changing Mars."
Most scientists agree that Mars could be turned into a little earth, although much time and money
would be needed to achieve this goal.
But many experts are shocked by the idea."We are destroying our own world at an unbelievable
speed and now we are talking about ruining another planet, " said Paul Murdin, of the Institute of
Astronomy, Cambridge, UK.Over the past months, scientists have become increasingly confident they
will find Martian life forms.Europe and America"s robot explorers have found proof that water, mixed
with soil, exists in large amounts on the planet.
In addition, two different groups of scientistsannounced on March 28 that they had found signs of
methane (甲烷) in the Martian atmosphere (大气). The gas is a waste product of living creatures and
could be produced by microbes (微生物) living in the red planet"s soil.
But scientists such as Dr Lisa Pratt, a biologist at Indiana University, say that these microbes will be
put in danger by the little earth project."Before we have even discovered if there is life on Mars, we are
talking about carrying out projects that would destroy all these native life forms, all the strange microbes
that we hope to find buried in the soil, " said Dr Pratt.This view is shared by Monica Grady, a planetary
scientist at the Natural History Museum, London."We cannot risk starting a global experiment that would wipe out the precious information we are looking for." she said, "This is just wrong."
1. The passage is about________.
A. a plan turning Mars into a little earth
B. the necessity of changing Mars
C. Mars supporting life
D. finding water in the Mars
2. Which of the following is NOT the reason why some scientists are against the plan?
A. The project would wipe out all the native life forms on the Mars.
B. The project will cost too much money and work.
C. We would ruin Mars.
D. We are destroying our own world at an unbelievable speed.
3. We can infer from the passage that________.
A. water is a crucial factor for life
B. the project will have little effect on the native life forms supposed to live on the Mars
C. Monica Grady is in favour of carrying out the little earth project
D. the idea turning Mars into a little earth is nothing but a science fiction
4. Which of the following supports the conclusion of microbes living in the Mars soil?
A. Scientists found liquid water in the Mars.
B. Scientists found signs of methane in the Martianatmosphere.
C. Scientists found a lot of good soil on the Mars.
D. Scientists found some creatures living on the Mars.
The latest research suggests that the key factor separating geniuses from the merely accomplished is
not IQ, a generally bad predictor of success. Instead, it"s purposeful practice. Top performers spend
more hours practising their craft. If you wanted to picture how a typical genius might develop, you"d take
a girl who possessed a slightly above average language ability. It wouldn"t have to be a big talent, just
enough so that she might gain some sense of distinction. Then you would want her to meet, say, a
novelist, who coincidentally shared some similar qualities. Maybe the writer was from the same town,
had the same family background, or shared the same birthday.
This contact would give the girl a vision of her future self. It would give her some idea of a fascinating
circle she might someday join. It would also help if one of her parents died when she was 12, giving her
a strong sense of insecurity and fuelling a desperate need for success. Armed with this ambition, she
would read novels and life stories of writers without end. This would give her a primary knowledge of her
field. She"d be able to see new writing in deeper ways and quickly understand its inner workings.
Then she would practise writing. Her practice would be slow, painstaking and errorfocused. By
practising in this way, she delays the automatizing process. Her mind wants to turn conscious, newly
learned skills into unconscious, automatically performed skills. By practising slowly, by breaking skills
down into tiny parts and repeating, she forces the brain to internalize a better pattern of performance.
Then she would find an adviser who would provide a constant stream of feedback, viewing her
performance from the outside, correcting the smallest errors, pushing her to take on tougher challenges.
By now she is redoing problems-how do I get characters into a room-dozens and dozens of times. She
is establishing habits of thought she can call upon in order to understand or solve future problems.
The primary quality our young writer possesses is not some mysterious genius. It"s the ability to
develop a purposeful, laborious and boring practice routine. The latest research takes some of the magic
out of great achievement. But it underlines a fact that is often neglected. Public discussion is affected by
genetics and what we"re "hardwired" to do. And it"s true that genes play a role in our capabilities. But the
brain is also very plastic. We construct ourselves through behaviour.
1. The passage mainly deals with ________.
A. the function of IQ in cultivating a writer
B. the relationship between genius and success
C. the decisive factor in making a genius
D. the way of gaining some sense of distinction
2. By reading novels and writers" stories, the girl could________.
A. come to understand the inner structure of writing
B. join a fascinating circle of writers someday
C. share with a novelist her likes and dislikes
D. learn from the living examples to establish a sense of security
3. In the girl"s long painstaking training process, ________.
A. her adviser forms a primary challenging force to her success
B. her writing turns into an automatic pattern of performance
C. she acquires the magic of some great achievement
D. she comes to realize she is "hardwired" to write
4. What can be concluded from the passage?
A. A fuelling ambition plays a leading role in one"s success.
B. A responsible adviser is more important than the knowledge of writing.
C. As to the growth of a genius, IQ doesn"t matter, but just his/her effort.
D. What really matters is what you do rather than who you are.
the flights across the Atlantic Ocean, leaving hundreds of passengers stuck in airports.
Grimsvom is one of the largest and most active volcanoes in Europe. What makes Grimsvom different
is that it lies under a huge glacier(冰川) of ice up to 12 meters thick. The hot volcano heats up the ice
above it, which then forms a layer(层)of water between the glacier and the volcano.This layer of water
puts pressure on the volcano, keeping it stable. As the water flows out from under the glacier, the pressure lifts. The lava(岩浆) from the volcano then comes up to the surface. This is exactly what happened today.
Now, airlines have to make changes to their flights so as not to fly through the clouds of volcanic ash.
According to KLM,one of Europe"s biggest airlines, airplanes cannot go under the cloud or over it. Going
through the cloud can result in ash getting stuck in the airplane"s engines, causing damage to the plane.
The eruption has also caused problems for animals in Iceland. The volcano left ash and sharp glasslike
rocks all over the countryside. Farmers are keeping their animals inside to stop them from eating
ashcovered grass or the sharp object.
1．What makes Grimsvom different from other volcanoes?
A．It is below ice.
B．It lies under the sea.
C．It is the largest volcano.
D．Its lava affects the airlines.
2．What keeps Grimsvom still?
A．The slow flow of water.
B．The low water temperature.
C．The thick glacier.
D．The water pressure.
3．Which of the following is the result of the volcanic eruption?
A．People stop traveling in Europe.
B．Airlines suffer from the loss of planes.
C．It becomes dangerous for animals to eat outside.
D．Farmers have lost many of their animals.
4．This text is most probably taken from________.
A．a research paper
B．a newspaper report
C．a class presentation
D．a geography textbook
- 1一轮船以一定的速度垂直河岸向对岸开行,当河水流速均匀时,轮船所通过的路程、过河所用的时间与水流速度的正确关系是（ ）
- 2下图为东非高原基塔莱和多多马的降水资料及两地之间游牧路线示意图。读图，回答下题。小题1:该游牧活动( )A．需要穿越热
- 3 我国耕地资源北方占_______，南方占_______，而水资源北方仅占_______，南方占_______，水
- 4请根据图中给出的信息，可得正确的方程是[ ]A．B． C．D．
- 5课外文言文阅读(5分)守株待兔《韩非子》宋①人有耕者，田中有株②，兔走触株，折颈而死因释其耒③而守株，冀④复得兔。兔不可
- 6（8分）在研究氧气的性质时，同学们发现含氧元素的质量可以相互转化，如“氧化物甲氧气氧化物甲”的转化，反应I的化学方程式为
- 7—_______ is not easy to draw pictures with this pen.—You are
- 8硫元素有多种化合价，可形成多种化合物。（1）常温下用1 mol·L﹣1 100 mL NaOH溶液恰好完全吸收0.1 m
- 9You can hardly imagine the difficulty the woman had ______ h
- 10函数y=-2x+1，当1≤x≤2时，y的取值范围是______．
- 1多用电表是实验室和生产实际中常用的测量仪器。使用多用电表测某段导体的电阻。(1)主要的操作过程分以下三个步骤，请填写第②
- 2若(m-2)xm2-3=5是关于x的一元一次方程，则m的值是______．
- 3如图所示的电路中，电源电压保持不变，当开关S闭合，滑动变阻器的滑片P从图示位置向右移动时，灯泡的亮度及电压表示数变化情况
- 4某个命题与正整数有关，若当时该命题成立，那么可推得当时该命题也成立，现已知当时该命题不成立，那么可推得 A．当时，该
- 5人与人之间是有差异的，我们要善于站在对方的角度，感同身受，推己及人。对于他人的缺点，我们不能取笑和歧视。这种表现是[
- 6Kate is ______ the computer.[ ]A. at B. in C. on D. of
- 7根据所给的图和提示词，各写一句话。必须用上所有的提示词。be made of, leather 1.__________
- 8下列词语中加点字读音全都正确的一组是（ ）A．嫉妒jí狭隘ài铜臭chòu镌刻juānB．譬如pì浅薄bó濒危pín
- 9The city is 1,500 kilometers ______ our village.A．far fromB．
- 10完形填空。 Reading newspapers has become an important part of