Scientists today are making greater effort to study ocean currents (洋流) . Most do it using satellites and other high-tech equipment. However, ocean expert Curtis Ebbesmeyer does it in a special way -- by studying movements of random floating garbage. A scientist with many years’ experience, he started this type of research in the early 1990s when he heard about hundreds of athletic shoes washing up on the shores of the northwest coast of the United States. There were so many shoes that people were setting up swap meets to try and match left and right shoes to sell or wear.
Ebbesmeyer found out in his researches that the shoes — about 60,000 in total — fell into the ocean in a shipping accident. He phoned the shoe company and asked if they wanted the shoes back. As expected, the company told him that they didn't. Ebbesmeyer realized this could be a great experiment. If he learned when and where the shoes went into the water and tracked where they landed, he could learn a lot about the patterns of ocean currents.
The Pacific Northwest is one of the world's best areas for beachcombing(海灘搜尋) because winds and currents join here, and as a result, there is a group of serious beachcombers in the area. Ebbesmeyer got to know a lot of them and asked for their help in collecting information about where the shoes landed. In a year he collected reliable information on 1, 600 shoes. With this data, he and a colleague were able to test and improve a computer program designed to model ocean currents, and publish the findings of their study.
As the result of his work, Ebbesmeyer has become known as the scientist to call with questions about any unusual objects found floating in the ocean. He has even started an association of beachcombers and ocean experts, with 500 subscribers from West Africa to New Zealand. They have recorded all lost objects ranging from potatoes to golf gloves.
小題1:The underlined phrase swap meets in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ______________.
A．fitting rooms
B．trading fairs
C．business talks
D．group meetings
小題2:Ebbesmeyer phoned the shoe company to find out _____________.
A．what caused the shipping accident
B．when and where the shoes went missing
C．whether it was all right to use their shoes
D．how much they lost in the shipping accident
小題3:How did Ebbesmeyer prove his assumption?
A．By collecting information from beachcombers.
B．By studying the shoes found by beachcomber.
C．By searching the web for ocean currents models.
D．By researching ocean currents data in the library.
小題4:Ebbesmeyer is most famous for ___________________.
A．traveling widely the coastal cities of the world
B．making records for any lost objects on the sea
C．running a global currents research association
D．phoning about any doubtful objects on the sea
小題5:What is the purpose of the author in writing this passage?
A．To call people's attention to ocean pollution.
B．To warn people of shipping safety in the ocean.
C．To explain a unique way of studying ocean currents.
D．To give tips on how to search for lost objects on the beach.

小題1:B
小題2:C
小題3:A
小題4:D
小題5:C

試題分析：本文是一篇說明文。文中介紹了海洋科學家Curtis Ebbesmeyer的一種獨特研究洋流的方法——根據(jù)海上的漂浮物來研究洋流。他通過尋問海洋搜尋，請他們幫忙來收集漂浮物的信息，用這些信息資料他做實驗和研究，不斷完善洋流模型的電腦程序設計，然后出版他的研究結果。
小題1:B.考查詞義猜測。和第一段畫線短語swap meets的意思更接近的詞是什么？根據(jù)try and match left and right shoes to sell or wear.可知人們要試穿或賣這些鞋，故推測這是在進行一個交易會。故選B。
小題2:C.考查推理判斷。 Ebbesmeyer給這些鞋的公司打電話是為了確定什么？根據(jù)As expected, the company told him that they didn't. Ebbesmeyer realized this could be a great experiment. If he learned when and where the shoes went into the water and tracked where they landed, he could learn a lot about the patterns of ocean currents.可知他打電話問公司要不要這些鞋，公司說不要。他覺得這可能是一個巨大的實驗。如果他能知道這些鞋是何時下水的，何時登陸的，那他就可以推斷洋流的形式。這樣，打電話最根本的目的是確定“能用你們的鞋子嗎？能用我就用來實驗了�！惫蔬xC。
小題3:A.考查細節(jié)理解。 Ebbesmeyer如何證明他的假設的？根據(jù)Ebbesmeyer got to know a lot of them and asked for their help in collecting information about where the shoes landed. 可知Ebbesmeyer通過尋問海洋搜尋，請他們幫忙來收集信息，證明他的假設。故選A。選項B, 通過研究海洋搜尋發(fā)現(xiàn)的鞋。根據(jù)In a year he collected reliable information on 1, 600 shoes. With this data, he and a colleague were able to test and 可知他用這些鞋的信息做實驗，故排除B項。選項C,通過上網(wǎng)搜尋洋流的模型。根據(jù)improve a computer program designed to model ocean currents,可知他自己不斷完善洋流模型的電腦程序設計，不是在網(wǎng)上搜的洋流模型，故與原文不符。選項D,通過在圖書館研究洋流資料。文中沒有提到他在圖書館的學習研究，故排除D項。
小題4:D.考查細節(jié)理解。Ebbesmeyer以什么最出名？根據(jù)Ebbesmeyer has become known as the scientist to call with questions about any unusual objects found floating in the ocean. 可知Ebbesmeyer是個著名的科學家，專門打電話尋問罕見的海上漂流物。故選D。
小題5:C.考查推理判斷。作者下這篇文章的目的是什么？根據(jù)However, ocean expert Curtis Ebbesmeyer does it in a special way -- by studying movements of random floating garbage. 可知本文介紹了一種獨特的研究洋流的方法——通過研究海洋上的漂流物。故選C。
考查：科普類短文閱讀。
練習冊系列答案
相關習題

科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

      Pulling heavy suitcases all day in the summer is hard work, especially when you are a thin  14-year-old boy. That was me in 1940-the youngest and smallest baggage boy at New York City's Pennsylvania Railway Station.
After just a few days on the job, I began noticing that the other fellows were overcharging  passengers. I'd like to join them, thinking, "Everyone else is doing it."
When I got home that night, I told my dad what I wanted to do. "You give an honest day's   work," he said, looking at me straight in his eye. "They are paying you. If they want to do that,   you let them do that."
I followed my dad's advice for the rest of that summer and have lived by his words ever since.
Of all the jobs I've had, it was my experience at Pennsylvania Railway Station that has stuck with me. Now I teach my players to have respect for other people and their possession. Being a member of a team is a totally shared experience. If one person steals, it destroys trust and hurts everyone. I can put up with many things, but not with people who steal. If one of my players were caught stealing, he'd be gone.
Whether you're on a sports team, in an office or a member of a family. if you can't trust one another, there is going to be trouble.
小題1: What can be inferred about the baggage boys?
A．They could earn much, but they had to work hard.
B．Many of them earned money in a dishonest way.
C．They were all from poor families.
D．They were thin, young boys.
小題2: What does the father's advice imply?
A．It is wrong to give more to the passengers.
B．Don't believe them if they are paying you more.
C．Don't follow others to overcharge the passengers.
D．It is difficult to work hard and live as an honest boy.
小題3: The underlined word "it" (in Paragraph 2) refers to______
A．overcharging passengers
B．pulling heavy suitcases all day
C．paying passengers money
D．working in an honest way
小題4:The writer can't put up with stealing because he thinks that _______
A．it is a total shared experience
B．it is considered as the most dangerous
C．it does great harm to human relationship
D．it may led to the loss of his sports team.
小題5: It can be concluded from the text that _______
A．his father's advice helped him to decide which job to take up
B．working in the sports team was his most important experience
C．he learned much from his shared experience with his team members
D．his experience as a baggage boy had a great influence on his late life

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

What would you do if you were a fifth grader facing a huge homework load every night, and you found out that there was a machine that would do all the work for you? That's the situation presented to Sam, Kelsey, Judy and Brenton in Dan Gutman's entertaining new book for young readers, The Home Machine.
The four children, all fifth graders in Miss Rasmussen's Grand Canyon School, are as different as any other 11-year-old child could be, but they have one thing in common — all are somewhat separated from their classmates. Sam is a newcomer and has had his share of school trouble before; Kelsey quietly carries her pain at losing her father; Judy's sense of justice always annoys others; Brenton is the smartest child in the school, so smart that even his parents and teachers have trouble keeping up with him. When Brenton and his three classmates are put into the same study group by their teacher, the others discover that Brenton has made a time-saving gadget(裝置) to do homework for him. While the boy is perfectly able to do his homework himself, Sam, Kelsey and Judy can use the help.
Having perfect grades is something new for these three, and as they meet every day to "do homework", they find that they're learning a lot about each other. Such a good thing can't last though, and when a secret man starts trying to get in touch with them, they begin to get nervous. Soon there's an even more frightening problem ― why can't the Homework Machine be turned off?
Told in different voices as all the children make statements to the Grand Canyon Police, the story develops in an interesting fashion. Gutman is a gifted writer who has written dozens of children's books, each with a funny and impressing table that should be equally liked by boys and girls.
小題1: What is one common thing that all the four children have to deal with at school?
A．Getting along with their classmates.
B．Doing their homework by themselves.
C．Overcoming difficulties on their own.
D．Catching up with others to get good grades.
小題2: Which of the following words best describe Brenton?
A．Strange and nervous.B．Quiet and smart.
C．Brave and special.D．Clever and helpful.
小題3: Why did the children get frightened?
A．They lost touch with each other.
B．They were questioned by a strange man.
C．They had no idea how to stop the machine.
D．They were tracked down by the police.
小題4: This passage most probably comes from            .
A．a(chǎn) student's diaryB．a(chǎn) book reviewC．a(chǎn) school reportD．a(chǎn) science story

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

When you tidy your messy bedroom，it gets a lot easier to find things.Dreams may work the same way for a messy brain，helping you learn by organizing memories and ideas.
To test how much dreams can help learning，Robert Stickgold had some students play a shape­fitting game called Tetris (俄羅斯方塊) for a few hours and then go to sleep.Soon they were dreaming of falling Tetris shapes.Interestingly，the worst Tetris players had the most Tetris dreams and improved their game the most.Similar tests have shown the same results for all kinds of skills.
As we dream，many important tasks are getting done.The brain decides what to keep and what to forget.It is connecting new experiences to older learning.In fact，the brain is learning all night long.
Another important task of dreams may be to help us deal with emotions (情緒)．At night，emotions are in the driver’s seat.People who have had an upsetting experience often dream  about  it  afterward.Often  the  dream event  changes somehow—another way the brain tries to make the memory less upset.So if your best friend moves away，you might dream that you’re the one who’s moving.In fact，dreams have a proven power to improve mood，and people who dream about what’s bothering them usually feel better sooner than those who don’t.
Everybody dreams for a couple of hours every night—in the course   of your life，you’ll spend about 25 years asleep and 6 years dreaming.There’s probably no single answer to the question why we dream，but there doesn’t have to be.One dream might help you remember your math facts，while another might lead to a new invention，or give you a fun，crazy story to tell your friends.It’s all in a night’s work for our busy，mysterious brains.
小題1:Robert Stickgold’s test shows that________.
A．games are useful for memory
B．dreams can help improve skills
C．players stop learning in dreams
D．tasks can only be settled through dreams
小題2:We can learn from Paragraph 4 that________.
A．dreams can get rid of sufferings
B．only drivers can deal with emotions
C．one may be less upset after a dream
D．dreams can copy what one experienced
小題3:Which of the following does the author probably agree with?
A．Dreaming does harm to one’s mood.
B．Dreaming affects the quality of sleep.
C．It’s hard to find out the secrets of dreaming.
D．It’s not so important to know the cause of dreaming.
小題4:What does the text focus on?
A．Dreams and memories.　B．Dreams and emotions.
C．The benefits of dreams.　D．The patterns of dreams.
小題5:In which part of a magazine can this text be found?
A．Entertainment.B．Tourism.
C．Science.　D．Advertisement.

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

 MONTREAL (Reuters) – Crossing the US-Canada border（邊界）to go to church on a Sunday cost a US citizen ＄10,000 for breaking Washington’s strict new security（安全）rules.
The expensive trip to church was a surprise for Richard Albert, who lives right on the Canadian border. Like the other half-dozen people of Township 15, crossing the border is a daily occurrence for Albert. The nearby Quebec village of St. Pamphile is where they shop, eat and go to church.
There are many such situations in these areas along the largely unguarded 5,530-mile border between Canada and the US-which in some cases actually runs down the middle of streets or through buildings.
As a result, Albert says he did not expect any problems three weeks ago when he returned home to the US after attending church in Canada, as usual. The US customs（海關）station in this area is closed on Sundays, so be just drove around the locked gate, as he had done every weekend since the gate appeared last May, following a tightening of border security. Two days later. Albert was told to go to the customs office, where an officer told him be had been caught on carnera crossing the border illegally（非法）.
Ottawa has given out special passes to some 300 US citizens in that area so they can enter the country when Canadian customs stations are closed, but the US stopped a similar program last May. That forces the people to a 200-mile detour along hilly roads to get home through another border checkpoint.
Albert has requested that the customs office change their decisions on the fine, but he has not attended a Sunday church since. “I feel like I’m living in a prison,” he said.
小題1:We learn from the text that Richard Albert is            .
A．a(chǎn)n American living in Township 15B．a(chǎn) Canadian living in a Quebec village
C．a(chǎn) Canadian working in a customs stationD．a(chǎn)n American working in a Canadian church
小題2:Albert was fined because he              .
A．failed to obey traffic rulesB．broke the American security rules
C．worked in St. Pamphile without a passD．damaged the gate of the customs office
小題3:The underlined word “detour” in paragraph 5 means              .
A．a(chǎn) drive through the townB．a(chǎn) race across the fields
C．a(chǎn) roundabout way of travellingD．a(chǎn) journey in the mountain area
小題4:What would be the best title for the text?
A．A Cross-country TripB．A Special Border Pass
C．An Unguarded BorderD．An Expensive Church Visit

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

With petroleum reserves (石油儲量) decreasing，the search is on to replace gas with a cleaner，greener alternative.Though much eco－talk has centered on biofuels from corn and soybeans，the biofuel that looks more likely to replace petroleum comes from a most unlikely source：algae (藻類)．
Algae，like corn，soybeans，and other crops，grow via photosynthesis (光合作用) and can be processed into fuel oil.However，they yield 30 times more energy than land crops such as soybeans，according to the U．S.Department of Energy.Many algae species also can grow in saltwater and polluted water－while corn and soy require arable land and fresh water that will be in short supply as the world's population balloons.
“If you replaced all the diesel (柴油) in the U．S.with soy biodiesel，it would take half the land mass of the U．S.to grow those soybeans，”says Matt Caspari，chief executive of Aurora Biofuels，a Berkeley，Calif.－based private firm that specializes in algae oil technology.On the other hand，the Energy Department says that if algae fuel replaced all the petroleum fuel in the United States，it would require 15,000 square miles，which is a few thousand miles larger that Maryland (12,407 square miles)，the 42nd state in land area.
Another bonus：Because algae can be grown just about anywhere in a closed space，they 're being tested at several power plants across the nation as a carbon absorber.Smokestack emissions (煙囪排放物) can be pumped directly into the ponds，feeding the algae while keeping greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere.
Although processing technology for algae fuel—also known as “oilgae” in some environmentalist circles—is improving，it's still years away from reaching your local gas pump.“It's just a question of cost，because no large－scale facilities have been built yet，” Caspari says.
小題1:The underlined word “yield” in Paragraph 2 can be replaced by “________”．
A．controlB．require
C．produceD．grow
小題2:Compared with corn and soybeans，algae ________.
A．may pollute water and soil
B．can grow in poor conditions
C．provide much less energy
D．need more special care
小題3:According to Paragraph 3，one of the advantages of algae fuel is that ________.
A．it can be used more widely
B．it is more easy to produce
C．it needs much less land
D．it costs much less money
小題4:What do we learn about algae from Paragraph 4?
A．Algae help protect the environment.
B．People can grow algae anywhere.
C．Fish can get more oxygen from algae.
D．Algae produce less waste.

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Passenger pigeons（旅鴿）once flew over much of the United States in unbelievable numbers. Written accounts from the 18th and 19th centuries described flocks（群）so large that they darkened the sky for hours.
It was calculated that when its population reach its highest point, there were more than 3 billion passenger pigeons – a number equal to 24 to 40 percent of the total bird population in the United States, making it perhaps the most abundant birds in the world. Even as late as 1870 when their numbers had already become smaller, a flock believed to be 1 mile wide and 320 miles (about 515 kilometers) long was seen near Cincinnati.
Sadly, the abundance of passenger pigeons may have been their undoing. Where the birds were abundant, people believed there was an ever-lasting supply and killed them by the thousands. Commercial hunters attracted them to small clearings with grain, waited until pigeons had settled to feed, then threw large nets over them, taking hundreds at a time. The birds were shipped to large cities and sold in restaurants.
By the closing decades of the 19th century, the hardwood forests where passenger pigeons nested had been damaged by Americans’ need for wood, which scattered（驅散）the flocks and forced the birds to go farther north, where cold temperatures and spring storms contributed to their decline. Soon the great flocks were gone, never to be seen again.
In 1897, the state of Michigan passed a law prohibiting the killing of passenger pigeons, but by then, no sizable flocks had been seen in the state for 10 years. The last confirmed wild pigeon in the United States was shot by a boy in Pike County, Ohio, in 1900. For a time, a few birds survived under human care. The last of them, known affectionately as Martha, died at the Cincinnati Zoological Garden in September 1, 1914.
小題1:In the 18th and early 19th centuries, passenger pigeons _______.
A．were the biggest bird in the world
B．lived mainly in the south of America
C．did great harm to the natural environment
D．Were the largest population in the US
小題2:The underlined word “undoing” probably refers to the pigeons’ _______.
A．escapeB．ruinC．liberationD．evolution
小題3:What was the main reason for people to kill passenger pigeons?
A．To seek pleasure.B．To save other birds.
C．To make money.D．To protect crops.
小題4:What can we infer about the law passed in Michigan?
A．It was ignored by the public.B．It was declared too late.
C．It was unfair.D．It was strict.

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

A new study shows students who write notes by hand during lectures perform better on exams than those who use laptops(筆記本電腦).
Students are increasingly using laptops for note-taking because of speed and legibility(清晰度).But the research has found laptop users are less able to remember and apply the concepts they have been taught.
Researchers performed experiments that aimed to find out whether using a laptop increased the tendency to make notes "mindlessly" by taking down word for word what the professors said
In the first experiment, students were given either a laptop or pen and paper .They listened to the same lectures and were told to use their usual note-taking skills. Thirty minutes after the talk , they were examined on their ability to remember facts and on how well they understood concepts.
The researchers found that laptop users took twice as many notes as those who wrote by hand. However, the typists performed worse at remembering and applying the concepts. Both groups scored similarly when it came to memorizing facts.
The researchers' report said, "While more notes are beneficial, if the notes are taken mindlessly, as is more likely the case on a laptop, the benefit disappears."
In another experiment aimed at testing long-term memory, students took notes as before but were tested a week after the lecture. This time, the students who wrote notes by hand performed significantly better on the exam.
These two experiments suggest that handwritten notes are not only better for immediate learning and understanding, but that they also lead to superior revision in the future.
小題1:More and more students favor laptops for note-taking because they can        .
A．write more notesB．digest concepts better
C．get higher scoresD．understand lectures better
小題2:While taking notes, laptop users tend to be      .
A．skillfulB．mindless
C．thoughtfulD．tireless
小題3:The author of the passage aims to       .
A．examine the importance of long-term memory
B．stress the benefit of taking notes by hand
C．explain the process of taking notes
D．promote the use of laptops
小題4:The passage is likely to appear in       .
A．a(chǎn) newspaper advertisementB．a(chǎn) computer textbook
C．a(chǎn) science magazineD．a(chǎn) finance report

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Scientists at Royal Holloway, University of London  and Queen Mary, University of London have discovered that bees learn to fly the shortest possible route between flowers even if they discover the flowers in a different order. Bees are effectively solving the “traveling salesman problem”, and they are the first creatures found to do this.

The traveling salesman must find the shortest route that allows him to visit all locations on his route. Computers solve it by comparing the length of all possible routes and choosing the shortest, and it can keep computers busy for days. However, bees solve it without computer assistance using a brain the size of grass seed. Dr. Nigel Raine, from the School of Biological Sciences at Royal Holloway explains, “Bees solve traveling salesman problems every day. They visit flowers at multiple locations and because bees use lots of energy to fly, they find a route which keeps flying to a minimum. ”
The team used the computer to control artificial flowers to test whether bees would follow a route defined by the order in which they discovered the flowers or if they would find the shortest route. After exploring the location of the flowers, bees quickly learned to fly the shortest route.
As well as improving our understanding of how bees move around the landscape pollinating(授粉)crops and wild flowers, this research, which is due to be published in The American Naturalist, has other applications. Our lifestyle relies on networks such as traffic on the roads, information flow on the Web and business supply chains. By understanding how bees can solve their problems with such a tiny brain, we can improve our management of these everyday networks without needing lots of computer time. Dr. Raine adds, “Despite their tiny brains, bees are capable of extraordinary feats of behavior. We need to understand how they can solve the traveling salesman problem without a computer. ”
小題1: What would be the best title of the passage?
A．Bees help salesmen travel
B．Tiny-brained bees solve a complex mathematical problem
C．How bees discover the flowers
D．How to solve the “traveling salesman problem”
小題2:We may infer from the second paragraph that the “traveling salesman problem” 　　　.
A．can be solved by a computer easily
B．can’t even be solved by a computer
C．can puzzle both people and computers
D．remains to be solved by scientists
小題3: The main purpose of the last paragraph is to　　　.
A．provide further proof for the research
B．tell us how bees can fly the shortest route between flowers
C．tell us how the research about bees’ flying route was conducted
D．explain the importance of the research
小題4: It can be concluded from the passage that　　　.
A．a(chǎn)ll creatures are smarter than computers
B．the research about bees’ flying route can be applied to many fields
C．our networks are more complex than bees’ ones
D．with the help of the computer we can find out how bees can solve the “traveling salesman problem”

查看答案和解析>>

同步練習冊答案