Question

【題目】The sight of a mosquito can mean trouble to people in many parts of the world. The bite of the mosquito can be deadly. The insects carry serious diseases like malaria (瘧疾). 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 (物質(zhì)) to protect people from mosquitoes. The researchers are investigating the sense of smell in mosquitoes. They found the insects use the same receptor 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 (神經(jīng)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 (電極) 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.ytytzygx.

【1】The underlined word in the second paragraph probably means ________.

A. a substance that protects people from mosquitoes

B. a sense organ that reacts to changes

C. a device that reacts to light

D. a piece of equipment that sends signals

【2】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

【3】This passage most probably appears in ________.

A. a textbook of medical schools

B. a collection of doctors' essays

C. the column of newspaper ads

D. the health column of a magazine

【4】Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A. Ethyl Pyruvate—an Insect Behaviour Control Product

B. Malaria—a Serious Disease Causing 630,000 Deaths

C. Scientists Find a New Substance to Fight Mosquitoes

D. A New Generation of DEET Has Been Developed to Kill Mosquitoes

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】B

【2】C

【3】D

【4】C

【解析】

試題分析：本文講的是在世界上很多地方，蚊子的聲音就意味著麻煩。蚊子叮咬有可能致命。這種昆蟲會(huì)傳播瘧疾等嚴(yán)重疾病。據(jù)世界衛(wèi)生組織估計(jì)，2012年將近有63萬人死于瘧疾和瘧疾相關(guān)疾病。科學(xué)家們相信他們將很快能夠找到辦法生產(chǎn)出更便宜更有效的防蚊產(chǎn)品。

【1】B詞義猜測(cè)題。根據(jù)第二段第二、三句The researchers are investigating the sense of smell in mosquitoes. 研究人員正在調(diào)查蚊子的嗅覺。They found the insects use the same receptor for identifying carbon dioxide in human breath as they do for the smell of our skin. 他們發(fā)現(xiàn)蚊子使用相同的感受器來識(shí)別人呼吸的氣味和皮膚的氣味。故選B。

【2】C細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第二段倒數(shù)第二句He says Ethyl Pyruvate makes the mosquitoes' receptors inactive. 他說丙酮酸乙酯使得蚊子的感受器不敏感。故選C。

【3】D推理判斷題。根據(jù)第一段The sight of a mosquito can mean trouble to people in many parts of the world. 看到一只蚊子就意味著在世界上許多地方給人到來煩惱。The bite of the mosquito can be deadly. 蚊子的叮咬可能是致命的。The insects carry serious diseases like malaria (瘧疾).昆蟲可能帶來像瘧疾一樣的疾病。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.估計(jì)在2012年大約有630,000人死于瘧疾或與瘧疾有關(guān)的疾病。這些案例多數(shù)在非洲國(guó)家。通過以上內(nèi)容可知這篇文章最有可能出現(xiàn)在一本雜志的健康欄目。故選D。

【4】C根據(jù)第二段第一句In the United States, a group of California scientists are working to develop a more effective and less costly substance (物質(zhì)) to protect people from mosquitoes.在美國(guó)，一群加利福尼亞科學(xué)家正在想辦法生產(chǎn)出更便宜更有效的防蚊產(chǎn)品。故選C。