Question

    A butterfly's wings can have many jobs besides keeping the insect in the air. They may be called on to attract mates, to warn potential enemies to stay away, to do other animals or even to provide disguise（伪装）.

All of these roles, though, depend on their colouration—which is unchanging. This plays into the idea that butterfly wings are dead tissue, like a bird's feathers or a mammal's hair. In fact, that is not true. For example, in some species males' wings harbour special cells that release chemicals which attract females.

Nanfang Yu, a physicist at Columbia University, in New York, has been looking into the matter. One of his interests is the optical（光学的）properties of biological materials. That has led him to study butterfly wings in more detail. And, in cooperation with Naomi Pierce, a butterfly specialist at Harvard University, he has now shown, in a paper published this week in Nature Communications, that butterfly wings are, indeed, very much alive.

Initially, Dr Yu and Dr Pierce wanted to know how the insects keep their body temperatures up without their wings overheating.

Unlike birds and mammals, butterflies do not produce enough internal heat to metabolize（新陈代谢）. Instead, they rely on outside heat sources—usually the sun—to bring their bodies up to speed. But their wings, being thin protein membranes（膜）, have a limited thermal capacity. Those wings can therefore overheat quickly if the insects are exposed to the sunlight too long, or, oppositely, can cool down too rapidly if they are flying through cold air.

In their experiments, the two researchers used a laser（激光）to heat up spots on the wings of dozens of butterfly species. When the temperature of the area under the laser reached 40℃ or so, the insects responded within seconds by doing things that stopped their wings heating up further. These actions included a butterfly turning around to minimize its exposure to the laser, beating its wings or simply walking away.

1.What's Dr Yu's discovery about butterfly wings?

A.They contain dead tissue.

B.They are too thin to store heat.

C.They have different functions.

D.They react quickly to high heat.

2.Which of the following is True according to the text?

A.Butterflies metabolize completely with its internal heat.

B.Chemicals from butterfly wings help drive away threats.

C.The color of butterfly's wings keeps fixed.

D.The researchers achieved big in optical properties.

3.How can a butterfly stop its wings overheating?

A.By providing heat itself.

B.By flying through cold air.

C.By removing the source of heat.

D.By adjusting their heating surface.

4.What's the best title for the text?

A.A Research into Butterfly Wings

B.The Jobs of Butterfly Wings

C.Butterfly Wings:  Dead or Alive

D.Butterfly Wings Temperature Changes

Answer

1.D

2.C

3.D

4.C

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。普遍认为蝴蝶翅膀是死亡组织的观点，就像鸟的羽毛或哺乳动物的毛发一样。但事实并非如此，经过研究证实蝴蝶的翅膀确实是活的。

1.细节理解题。根据最后一段第二句When the temperature of the area under the laser reached 40℃ or so, the insects responded within seconds by doing things that stopped their wings heating up further.“当激光照射的区域温度达到40℃左右时，昆虫会在几秒钟内做出反应，停止翅膀进一步升温。”由此可知，他们对高温方应迅速。故选D。

2.细节理解题。根据第二段第一句All of these roles, though, depend on their colouration—which is unchanging.“然而,所有这些角色都取决于它们不变的色彩。由此可知蝴蝶翅膀的颜色是固定的。故选C。

3.推理判断题。根据最后一段中the insects responded within seconds by doing things that stopped their wings heating up further. These actions included a butterfly turning around to minimize its exposure to the laser, beating its wings or simply walking away.“昆虫在几秒钟内做了一些事情,阻止了他们的翅膀进一步加热。这些动作包括蝴蝶转身以减少暴露在激光下的时间，拍打翅膀或者干脆走开。”由此可知，蝴蝶通过调整受热表面，来阻止翅膀的过热。故选D。

4.主旨大意题。根据第二段第二句This plays into the idea that butterfly wings are dead tissue, like a bird's feathers or a mammal's hair.“这正好印证了蝴蝶翅膀是死亡组织的观点，就像鸟的羽毛或哺乳动物的毛发一样。”和第三段最后一句that butterfly wings are, indeed, very much alive. “蝴蝶的翅膀确实是活的。”所以短文的最佳标题为“蝴蝶的翅膀:死的还是活的”。故选C。