Ⅰ.阅读理解
Recordings of angry bees are enough to send big, tough African elephants running away, a new study says. Beehives (蜂窝)—either recorded or real—may even prevent elephants from damaging farmer's crops.
In 2002, scientist Lucy King and her team found that elephants avoid certain trees with bees living in them. Today, Lucy wants to see if African honeybees might discourage elephants from eating crops. But before she asked farmer to go to the trouble of setting up beehives on their farms, she needed to find out if the bees would scare elephants away.
Lucy found a wild beehive inside a tree in northern Kenya and set up a recorder. Then she threw a stone into the beehive, which burst into life. Lucy and her assistant hid in their car until the angry bees had calmed down. Next,Lucy searched out elephant families in Samburu National Reserve in northern Kenya and put a speaker in a close to each family.
From a distance, Lucy switched on the prerecorded sound of angry bees while at the same time recording the elephants with a video camera. Half the elephant groups left the area within ten seconds. Out of a total of 17 groups, only one group ignored the sound of the angry bees. Lucy reported that all the young elephants immediately ran to their mothers to hide under them. When Lucy played the sound of a waterfall (瀑布) instead of the angry bees to many of the same elephant families, the animals were undisturbed. Even after four minutes, most of the groups stayed in one place.
Lucy is now studying whether the elephants will continue to avoid the sound of angry bees after hearing it several times. She hasn't tested enough groups yet to know, but her initial (最初的) results were promising enough to begin trials with farmers. She has now begun placing speakers in the fields to see if elephants are frightened away.
本文讲述了非洲大陆的大象十分害怕蜜蜂的声音,科学家Lucy King正在研究是否可以利用这个现象来保护庄稼不受大象的侵扰。
1.We know from the passage that elephants may be frightened of ________.
A.loud noises B.some crops
C.video cameras D.angry bees
解析:细节理解题。根据文章第一句Recordings of angry bees are enough to send big, tough African elephants running away, a new study says.可知愤怒的蜜蜂的录音的声音足以让非洲大象都害怕地跑开。故D正确。
答案:D
2.As mentioned in the passage, Lucy ________.
A.works by herself in Africa
B.needs to test more elephant groups
C.has stopped elephants eating crops
D.has got farmers to set up beehives on their farms
解析:推理判断题。根据文章最后一段She hasn't tested enough groups yet to know, but her initial (最初的) results were promising enough to begin trials with farmers.可知她还需要对更多的象群进行研究,以证明蜜蜂的声音对大象是有影响的。故B正确。
答案:B
3.Why did Lucy throw a stone into a wild beehive?
A.To record the sound of bees.
B.To make a video of elephants.
C.To see if elephants would run away.
D.To find out more about the behavior of bees.
解析:推理判断题。根据文章第三段Lucy found a wild beehive inside a tree in northern Kenya and set up a recorder. Then she threw a stone into the beehive, which burst into life. Lucy and her assistant hid in their car until the angry bees had calmed down.他们找到一个蜂巢,放好录音机,然后扔一个石块击中蜂巢,让蜜蜂都飞起来寻找敌人。他们录下这个声音。可知他们扔石头是为了录下愤怒的蜜蜂的声音。故A正确。
答案:A
4.Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A.Young elephants ignore African honeybees.
B.Waterfalls can make elephants stay in one place.
C.Elephants do not go near trees with bees living in them.
D.Farmers do not allow Lucy to conduct tests in their fields.
解析:细节理解题。根据文章第二段In 2002, scientist Lucy King and her team found that elephants avoid certain trees with bees living in them可知大象避免有蜜蜂的树。故C正确。
答案:C