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题型:阅读理解-阅读单选 难度:0.65 引用次数:70 题号:12323928

Saturn, an alligator, aged 84, died at the Moscow Zoo. That in itself made Saturn unusual. In the wild, the normal life span for an alligator is 30 to 50 years. But longevity was the least unusual aspect of Saturn’s life story.

Saturn was born somewhere in Mississippi in 1936 and was shipped to the Berlin Zoo from which he disappeared on November 23rd, 1943, when the zoo was stricken in an air bombing campaign. Of the 16,000 animals once kept in the Berlin Zoo, fewer than 100 survived the war. Saturn was one of them.

When he got freedom in 1943, Saturn was 7 years old. In June 1946, an almost adult Saturn was discovered and captured by British army. The alligator was then turned over to the allied Soviet troops in Berlin who sent him on to Moscow where he would live in the next 74 years.

It was in Moscow that word got around that Saturn was a pet which belonged to Adolf Hitler. This undocumented episode with Hitler made Saturn a public figure.

“Even if he belonged to someone,” the zoo’s announcement of Saturn’s death says, “animals are not involved in war and politics.” Officials at the Moscow Zoo treated him as an honored guest. “We tried to take care of him with great care and attention. He was picky about food.” Even among his keepers, he knew who he liked. He perfectly remembered the trusted keeper.

If a zoo animal can be a historical figure, officials say this one qualifies.

“Saturn is a whole era for us. There is not the slightest exaggeration,” the announcement of his death said. “He came after the victory in WWII — and witnessed its 75th anniversary. It is a great happiness that each of us could look into his eyes, just quietly being near. He saw many of us as children. We hope that we did not disappoint him.”

Death may not end Saturn’s public career. It has been reported that his body will be maintained and placed on show at Moscow’s Charles Darwin Museum of Biology.

1. What does the underlined “That” in Paragraph 1 refer to?
A.Saturn’s death.B.Saturn’s longevity.
C.Saturn’s life story.D.Saturn’s living conditions.
2. Read the timeline of Saturn’s life. Which matches the event to the year when it happened?
A.Saturn was born and raised in the Berlin Zoo in 1936.
B.Saturn survived an air attack and got freedom in 1943.
C.Saturn got caught by the allied Soviet troops in 1946.
D.Saturn celebrated its 75th birthday and died in 2020.
3. What do we know about Saturn while he was in Moscow?
A.He was kept a pet there.B.He could remember all the keepers.
C.He lived a go-as-you-please life.D.He got well-known as a picky eater.
4. What makes Saturn a historical figure according to the text?
A.His story with Adolf Hitler.B.His uncommon 84-year lifespan.
C.He will be on show after death.D.He was identified as a history witness.
5. What might be the purpose of the text?
A.To introduce an unusual alligator.B.To draw visitors to the Museum in Moscow.
C.To present the impact of war on poor animals.D.To show a close bond between man and animals.

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文章大意:本文是说明文。介绍了现今的技术为科学家提供更好的方法来追踪鸟类。

【推荐1】A songbird jumps around in the woods near Washington, D. C. On its back it carries a very small, lightweight electronic device called a tag (标签). Ecologist Emily Williams watches from behind a bush. On this clear spring day, she says, “Now I’m watching to see whether he’s found a mate.” The bird has moved to a nearby tree where there is another robin. When the bird leaves, this new device it carries will send data about its position to a special satellite, then back to Williams’ computer.

The Georgetown University researchers have been attaching tracking (跟踪) tags on birds and animals for many years. But, the International Space Station and the involved satellite now provide new ways to receive the information sent by the tags. The new system permits scientists to watch songbird movements from a faraway place in much greater detail than before.

“We’re in a sort of golden age for bird research,” said Adriaan Dokter, an ecologist at Cornell University, adding that the technology is improving as the tags are made smaller and smaller. “We can track a robin by satellite with smaller and smaller chips. The device that the robin wears can report its immediate place on Earth, within about 10 meters. Ten years ago, that was unthinkable,” said the scientist, who is not involved in Williams’ study.

A second new device, for only the heaviest robins, provides more information about the bird’s movements; future versions may also measure the humidity and barometric pressure of the space the bird occupies. The devices are known as ICARUS tags.

Martin Wikelski is director of the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior. His scientific team is working to improve the ICARUS technology. He hopes that more and better devices could help develop what he called “an Internet of animals”—a collection of sensors around the world giving us a better picture of the movement of life on the planet.

1. What is Emily Williams doing in the woods?
A.Trying to catch a songbird.
B.Observing a bird with a new device.
C.Playing a bird game on the computer.
D.Taking an adventure trip in the nature.
2. How does the electronic device help the researchers?
A.Find the exact place of the robins quickly.
B.Take control of the robins easily.
C.Collect all the information from the satellite.
D.Communicate with the robin in a faraway place.
3. How does the text mainly develop?
A.By explaining the reasons.B.By making a comparison.
C.By listing two new devices.D.By analyzing the data.
4. Which is the expectation of Martin Wikelski?
A.People can use more devices to keep healthy.
B.Technology can give better ways to track animals.
C.Human beings and animals can live in harmony.
D.People will know more about animals from the Internet.
2024-04-18更新 | 50次组卷
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【推荐2】Uni(海胆籽)can be found in Japanese restaurants. But what do you think about uni? It's not everyone's favourite food. Let's find out more about it.

What is it?

Uni is the Japanese word for sea urchin (海胆).Sea urchins are easy to recognize. They have long, thin spines (刺) which are dangerous.     1     Sea urchins can grow up to 10 centimetres round and can live for 200 years!

Where can you find them?

Sea urchins live in seas in the world.     2     They can be found on rocky bottoms. There are over 200 different kinds of sea urchin. The inside of only 18 of them are eatable.

So what's inside a sea urchin?

Uni of course!     3     They are not. Uni are the sea urchin's reproductive organs (器官)! The best uni is said to come from Hokkaido in Japan. Uni from California has a very clean flavour (味道).

Describe uni to me.

A piece of uni is usually 1-3 centimetres long. When it has been cleaned, it looks a bit like a small tongue. It tastes like ice cream. The flavour is very rich.     4    

If it is so rich, is it good for you?

    5     Uni is rich in vitamins A, C and E. It is also full of protein (蛋白质). Uni has fewer calories than many other foods on the menu.

A.You should never step on one!
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【推荐3】When he was a small boy, he had loved butterflies. Oh, not to catch them, but to wonder at their designs and habits.

Now a grown man with his first son to be born in a few weeks, he found himself once again fascinated with a cocoon.He had it at the side of the park path. Somehow the branch had been knocked from the tree and the cocoon had survived undamaged and still attached to the branch.

As he had seen his mother do,he gently protected it by covering it with his handkerchief and high up for easy viewing and protection from their curious cat who would happily play with its silk.

The man watched and studied the silky cocoon. Almost unnoticeably at first, it moved. He watched more closely and soon the cocoon was trembling with activity. Nothing else happened. The cocoon remained attached to its part of the branch and there was no sign of wings

Finally it started shaking so much, the man thought the butterfly would die from the struggle. He opened the jar,took a sharp penknife from his desk, and carefully made a tiny cut in the side of the cocoon. Almost immediately, one wing appeared, followed by the other. The butterfly was free!

It seemed to enjoy its freedom and walked along the edge of the jar. But it didn’t fly. At first the man thought the wings needed time to dry ,but time passed and still the butterfly did not take off.

The man was worried and called up his neighbor who taught high school science. He told the neighbor how he had found the cocoon,placed it in the jar, and the terrible trembling as the butterfly struggled to get out. When he described how he had carefully made a small cut in the cocoon,the teacher stopped him, “Oh, that is the reason . You see,the struggle is what gives the butterfly the strength to fly.”

And so it is with us. Sometimes it’s the struggles in life that strengthen us the most.

1. The man brought the cocoon home because_________.
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B.he planned to repair the broken cocoon by himself
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2021-10-13更新 | 44次组卷
共计 平均难度:一般