三、阅读
(A)
To many web-building spiders, most of whom are nearly blind, the web is their essential window on the world: their means of communicating, capturing prey（猎物）, meeting mates and protecting themselves. A web-building spider without its web is like a men cast away on an island of solid rock，totally out of touch and destined to starve to death. by controlpanel
So important is the web to an orb-web spider’s survival that the animal will continue to construct new webs daily even if it is being starved. For 16 days the starving spider builds completely normal webs. Then, as the animal gets scrawnier（憔悴的）， it constructs a wider-meshed web using fewer strands（线）. Such webs would only trap larger prey, which is more economical from the perspective of a starving spider. by controlpanel
The spider stores energy by recycling web protein. It simply eats its own web each evening and reuses it to produce new silk. In studies with radioactively，labeled materials, it was found that 95 percent of web protein reappears in the next day’ web. Most of the energy needed for web-building is used in walking over the strands as they are laid down．by controlpanel
Scientists are impressed by the adaptability of the spider’s highly preprogrammed brain, which is larger for its size than the brain of any other invertebrate（无脊推动物）．If web-building is interrupted, or if some of the existing strands are destroyed，the spider simply goes back to see where the web is left off and then finishes building a normal web. One spider will finish building the incomplete web of another. by controlpanel
1. A title that would best express the main idea of the passage would be .
A. Secrets of Spiders. B. Secrets of the Web
C. Secrets of Nature D. A New Discovery of Scientists
2. According to the passage which of the following statements is true
A. All web-building spiders are blind
B. Most spiders are blind
C. Only a small part of web-building spiders can see.
D. All spiders can weave webs.
3. Without its web a web-building spider would NOT be able to .
A. walk quickly B. see the prey clearly
C. conserve its energy D. survive
4. A spider conserves its energy .
A. because it constructs new webs daily
B. as it walks over the strands it lays
C. by eating its own web protein and then re-using it in the new web
D. by eating only in the evening
5. That a spider is able to finish an incomplete web of another proves that .
A. a spider re-uses its web energy to reproduce new silk
B. spiders have a highly preprogrammed brain
C. the web is everything to a spider
D. a spider is able to remedy a destroyed web.
(B)
Large animals that inhabit the desert have evolved a number of adaptations for reducing the effects of extreme heat. One adaptation is to be light in color, and to reflect rather than absorb the Sun’s rays. Desert mammals also depart from the normal mammalian practice of maintaining a constant body temperature. Instead of trying to keep down the body temperature deep inside the body, which would involve the expenditure of water and energy, desert mammals allow their temperatures to rise to what would normally be fever height, and temperatures as high as 46 degrees Celsius have been measured in Grant’s gazelles. The overheated body then cools down during the cold desert night, and indeed the temperature may fall unusually low by dawn, as low as 34 degrees Celsius in the camel. This is an advantage since the heat of the first few hours of daylight is absorbed in warming up the body, and an excessive buildup of heat does not begin until well into the day. by controlpanel
Another strategy of large desert animals is to tolerate the loss of body water to a point that would be fatal for non-adapted animals. The camel can lose up to 30 percent of its body weight as water without harm to itself, whereas human beings die after losing only 12 to 13 percent of their body weight. An equally important adaptation is the ability to replenish this water loss at one drink. Desert animals can drink prodigious volumes in a short time, and camels have been known to imbibe over 100 liters in a few minutes. A very dehydrated person, on the other hand, cannot drink enough water to rehydrate at one session, because the human stomach is not sufficiently big and because a too rapid dilution of the body fluids causes death from water intoxication. The tolerance of water loss is of obvious advantage in the desert, as animals do not have to remain near a water hole but can obtain food from grazing sparse and far-flung pastures. Desert-adapted mammals have the further ability to feed normally when extremely dehydrated, it is a common experience in people that appetite is lost even under conditions of moderate thirst. by controlpanel
6. What is the main topic of the passage?
(A) Weather variations in the desert
(B) Adaptations of desert animals
(C) Diseased of desert animals
(D) Human use of desert animals.
7. According to the passage, why is light coloring an advantage to large desert animals?
(A) It helps them hide from predators.
(B) It does not absorb sunlight as much as dark colors.
(C) It helps them see their young at night
(D) It keeps them cool at night.
8. The author uses of Grant’s gazelle as an example of
(A) an animal with a low average temperature
(B) an animal that is not as well adapted as the camel
(C) a desert animal that can withstand high body temperatures
(D) a desert animal with a constant body temperature
9. What does the author imply about desert-adapted mammals?
(A) They do not need to eat much food.
(B) They can eat large quantities quickly
(C) They easily lose their appetites.
(D) They can travel long distances looking for food.
10. Why does the author mention humans in the second paragraph?
(A) To show how they use camels.
(B) To contrast them to desert mammals.
(C) To give instructions about desert survival.
(D) To show how they have adapted to desert life.
(D)
Proper arrangement of classroom space is important to encouraging interaction. Most of us have noticed how important physical setting is to efficiency and comfort in our work. College classroom space should be designed to encourage the activity of critical thinking. by controlpanel
We may be approaching the twenty-first century, but step into almost any college classroom and you step back in time at least a hundred years. Desks are normally in straight row, so students can clearly see the teacher but not all their classmates. The assumption behind such an arrangement is obvious. Everything of importance comes from the teacher. by controlpanel
With a little imagination and effort, unless desks are fixed to floor, the teacher can correct this situation and create space that encourage interchange among students. In small or standard-size classes, chairs, desks, and tables can be arranged in a variety of ways. The primary goal should be for everyone to be able to see everyone else. Larger classes, particularly those held in lecture halls, unfortunately, allow much less flexibility.