Mosquito bites are unavoidable in summer—or is that so? Scientists recently found that mosquitoes are more attracted to some colors than others, which could possibly prove useful to those trying to avoid the annoying bites.
The study found that after a common type of mosquitoes smelled CO2 the gas humans breathe out—they decided to land on some colored dots (色点) but ignored others.
“Imagine you’re on a sidewalk and you smell toasty,” the lead researcher said in a press release announcing the study’s findings. “That’s probably a sign that there’s a bakery nearby and you might start looking around for it. Here, we started to learn what visual elements that mosquitoes are looking for after smelling their own version of a bakery.”
The research team put different colored dots at the bottom of a box and sprayed (喷洒) them with CO2. They found that mosquitoes were drawn most to red, orange and black. They also found that mosquitoes ignored green, blue and white. When a researcher reached his hand into the box wearing a green glove, mosquitoes ignored it, even when it was sprayed with CO2.
Unfortunately, avoiding mosquitoes isn’t as easy as choosing the right color of clothes. Human skin delivers a vivid red-orange “signal” to mosquitoes, the researchers said, making it hard to hide completely
“We previously discovered there are three major hints that attract mosquitoes: your breath, your sweat and the temperature of your skin,” the lead researcher said. “Now we have found a fourth hint: the color red, which can not only be found on your clothes, but is also found in everyone’s skin. The shade of your skin doesn’t matter. We are all giving off a strong red feature.”
While the research found that the mosquitoes appeared to prefer certain colors, it did not measure whether wearing colors like green or blue would help keep away from the mosquitoes. The researchers hope that their findings can help find other methods to drive back the biting insects.
12. Why did the researchers spray the dots with CO
2?
A.It drives mosquitoes away. |
B.It is attractive to mosquitoes. |
C.It prevents mosquitoes finding targets. |
D.It’s a practical material to catch mosquitoes. |
13. Which of the following colors causes the least attention from mosquitoes?
A.Red. | B.Black | C.Orange. | D.Blue. |
14. What does paragraph 6 focus on?
A.The features of human skin. |
B.Factors that attract mosquitoes. |
C.What elements mosquitoes ignore. |
D.How to choose the color of clothes. |
15. What may be the hopeful result of the study?
A.Mosquitoes will disappear someday. |
B.Most people will wear colorful clothes. |
C.The survival rate of mosquitoes will be affected. |
D.More ways will be found to keep mosquitoes off. |