Question

    Dogs are our best friends. That’s especially true after a disaster, such as an earthquake. When buildings fall down, search and rescue dogs help find trapped people. Dogs’ amazing noses can pick up the smell of survivors. Now scientists have developed an electronic tool that does the same thing. It’s taking smell detection(探测) to a whole new level.

The new invention is a sort of electronic nose, which can detect extremely low levels of many compounds(化合物) from people’s skin. This isn’t the first time engineers have developed such an object. Earlier models, however, have been bulky and expensive. They could not detect low levels of target compounds either. The new one is inexpensive and small enough to fit inside hand-held equipment.

The electronic nose can detect extremely slight smell of more than one compound at the same time. "Being able to do this, in such a small object, is the significant discovery," says Sotiris E. Pratsinis, Professor of Process Engineering&Materials Science at the Swiss Federal Institute of  Technology in Zurich. His team tested it in special spaces. They were like the small spaces where people might be trapped. Chemicals given off by the volunteers built up inside. The electronic equipment detected those compounds at unbelievably low levels.

The results were good news for the research team. But they may be not for our four-legged friends, who could soon be out of a job. "Ideally, this technology could replace search and rescue dogs," Pratsinis says.

Stephen Taylor, an electrical engineer, agrees that the new technology has some benefits over dogs. Still, he thinks it may be too soon to have our trusty friends retire. He suspects, "I foresee that such an object could add to the fine work done by the dogs." Taylor also pointed out some potential limitations of the new invention. "E-noses are useful, but can be very likely to be affected by unstable readings and interruption," he says.

1.Why does the author talk about dogs at the beginning?

A. To catch the readers’ attention.

B. To introduce the topic about e-noses.

C. To show what search and rescue dogs do.

D. To add background information for discussion.

2.Which of the following best explains "bulky" underlined in paragraph 2?

A. Complex B. Fragile

C. Handy D. Large

3.What is Paragraph 3 mainly about?

A. What e-noses’ working principle is.

B. How e-noses are made.

C. What differences between dogs and e-noses are.

D. How powerful e-noses are.

4.What does Stephen Taylor mean?

A. Dogs and e-noses could work together.

B. Search and rescue dogs will retire soon.

C. E-noses are more reliable than noses of dogs.

D. Dogs are better at finding out trapped people.

Answer

1.B

2.D

3.D

4.A

【解析】

这是一篇应用文，介绍了一种可以用于探测的电子鼻。

1.推理判断题。第一段中，作者先介绍了狗的鼻子有很多用途，然后介绍科学家现在发明了可以做同样事情的电子鼻，可以推断先提及狗的原因是为了引出电子鼻的话题，故选B项。

2.词义猜测题。根据第二段中“Earlier models, however, have been bulky and expensive. Earlier models, however, have been bulky and expensive. The new one is inexpensive and small enough to fit inside hand-held equipment.”可知早期的电子鼻比较昂贵且“bulky”,新型的电子鼻则体积小巧，可放入手持设备内，新旧形成对比，由此猜测bulky是“庞大”的意思”，选D项。A项complex 意为“复杂的”，B项 fragile “易碎的”，C项handy “方便的”。

3.主旨大意题。第三段主要介绍了电子鼻可以同时检测到多种化合物的极轻微气味，故选D项How powerful e-noses are.（电子鼻有多厉害）。

4.推理判断题。根据最后一段 “"I foresee that such an object could add to the fine work done by the dogs."”可知Stephen Taylor“预测电子鼻可以配合狗进行工作，故选A项。根据下一句“Taylor also pointed out some potential limitations of the new invention…he says.”可知Stephen Taylor认为电子鼻虽然很有用，但是有潜在的局限性，所以排除C项。Stephen Taylor所说的话没有涉及到B、D两个选项的内容，所以排除。