What’s small, buzzes here and there and visits flowers? If you said bees or hummingbirds, you got it. You wouldn’t be the first if you mixed the two up. Now a group of researchers even say we should embrace our history of considering the two together in the same group. The way scientists study bees could help them study hummingbird behavior, too.
Scientists first compared the two back in the 1970s when studying how animals search for food. The idea is that animals use a kind of math to make choices in order to minimize the work it takes to earn maximum rewards. Researchers at the time focused on movement rules, like the order in which they visited flowers, and where flowers were located relative to others. It was “almost like an algorithm(算法)” for efficient searching, said David Pritchard, a biologist at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. Hummingbirds and bees had similar solutions.
As the field of animal cognition(认知) appeared, hummingbird and bee research parted. Neuroscientists and behavioral ecologists developed ways to study bee behavior in naturalistic settings. Hummingbird researchers compared hummingbirds to other birds and borrowed methods from psychology to study their ability to learn in the lab. To be fair, hummingbirds and bees differ. For example, hummingbirds have more advanced eyes and brains than bees. Honeybees and bumblebees are social; hummingbirds typically aren’t.
But however they perceive(感知) or process information, they both experience similar information, Dr. Pritchard said. In day-to-day searching for food, for example, hummingbirds may rely on more of a bee’s-eye view than a bird’s-eye view. Like other birds, they rely on landmarks, distances and directions to make maps when travelling long distances, but they don’t use these cues to find flowers. Move a flower just an inch or so away from where a hummingbird thought it was and it will hover over the flower’s original location. Dr. Pritchard is investigating if, like bees, hummingbirds engage in view matching — hovering, scanning snapshots of a place to its memory and using those as references later.
1.What is the center of research on hummingbirds and bees in the 1970s?
A.Memory.
B.Movement rules.
C.Reward calculating.
D.Information processing.
2.Which subject’s research methods were adopted to study the learning ability of Hummingbirds?
A.Math.
B.Biology.
C.Ecology.
D.Psychology.
3.How do researchers find out that hummingbirds are not like birds?
A.By setting them free.
B.By moving flowers.
C.By matching view.
D.By making maps.
4.Which of the following can be the best title for the text?
A.Hummingbirds and Bees
B.Hummingbirds in the Lab
C.New Trends in Studying Bees
D.Thinking of Hummingbirds as Bees
We humans love to stare into our smart devices. We gaze for hours-about 10 hours and 39 minutes a day-at our computers, smartphones,tablets and televisions. Is all this staring bad for us? It might be mainly because as we stare at our devices we are exposing ourselves to blue light.
Blue light is a type of electromagnetic(电磁的) radiation with a very short wavelength that produces a high amount of energy. While it’s true that light can damage our eyes under certain circumstances, there’s no scientific evidence suggesting that blue light is harmful to our eyes. But many people still think it is, which is why blue-light-blocking glasses are so popular. So do the glasses work?
“Everyone is very concerned that blue light may be causing damage to the eye, but there’s no evidence that it may be causing serious damage,” Dr. Rahul Khurana, clinical spokesman for the American Academy of Ophthalmology,told Business Insider.
Blue light exposure is nothing new. In fact,the sun is the largest source of blue light. Moreover, blue light is also present in LED light. But if blue light isn’t harmful, then why are we constantly rubbing our eyes when we’re looking at our screens? The answer is eyestrain(眼疲劳): More than 60 percent of people experience eye problems associated with digital eyestrain. And blue light, it seems, isn’t the cause. Instead, our eyes are so strained because most of us blink less when we stare at our digital devices. So if eyestrain is the issue, blue-light-blocking glasses are probably of little use.
1.What do we know about blue light?
A.It is a kind of nuclear radiation.
B.It has the shortest wavelength.
C.It may come from electronic devices.
D.It consumes a great deal of energy.
2.What causes the popularity of blue-light-blocking glasses?
A.Evidence of their benefits to eyes.
B.Belief in blue light's harmful effect.
C.Widespread use of smart devices.
D.Scientific understanding of blue light.
3.What can be inferred from Paragraph 4?
A.Blue light exposure is hardly avoidable.
B.Eye problems are not easy to deal with.
C.Blue light may connect with tired eyes.
D.Rubbing eyes makes people strained.
4.According to the text, wearing blue-light-blocking glasses may be________.
A.tiring B.harmful
C.useless D.beneficial
Today show's Kathie Lee Gifford is hoping to bring the story of David to a new generation with her latest musical project, The Little Giant.
The 13-song album tells the story of the shepherd (牧羊人) boy who defeated a giant with five stones and a slingshot and became a king. The idea of the record came after Gifford and her husband Frank went on a life-changing trip to the Holy Land in 2012.
Gifford hoped to shine light on David's story to help a new generation find their own purpose; it's why she decided to compose this album that invites kids to hear the tale of the shepherd in a fun and educational way. Gifford based the record's opening track What is Your Stone on bravery and faith. She hopes the songs can help children find confidence in themselves.
Though the album is aimed towards families and children, Gifford found recording the story of David to be an exercise in healing after the death of her beloved husband Frank who passed away two years ago.
"I catch myself saying that I lost him sometimes," Gifford says, "No, he hasn't been gone. The trip took root in my husband's life, because he truly came to understand exactly what David did."
Gifford says the trip and the teachings stayed with her husband until his death. For the next three years, when people came to visit us, they’d always see Frank's trophy (奖杯) room because it's like a museum," Gifford explained. "He would take them over. Instead of all of his trophies, he would point to the stones we brought back from the travelling destination and talk about them. "
Gifford expects her own journey, her new album and her commitment to bringing a bit of joy to people through her show can help inspire children to discover their own faith and purpose.
1.What was Gifford's main intention of making the album?
A. To honor the meaningful trip.
B. To show her love to her husband.
C. To help children find faith and purpose.
D. To make children understand David's story.
2.How did the album benefit Gifford?
A. It made her become a superstar.
B. It made her win lots of trophies.
C. It helped her plan to have a trip to the Holy Land.
D. It helped her recover from the pain of losing Frank.
3.What does the underlined word "them" in paragraph 6 refer to?
A. The visitors. B. The stones. C. The trophies. D. The trips.
4.What do we know from the text?
A. David was the hero of many children.
B. Gifford finished recording the album in 2012.
C. Frank had won much glory when he was alive.
D. The author liked Gifford's songs very much.
In an effort to inform our citizens to clear the street snow, the city adopts a snow removal plan.
Routes used by City Emergency Services come first. Secondly, connector streets will be cleared which allow citizens the greatest access to public roads. And thirdly, roads within neighborhoods will be cleared.
Snow removal and ice control will start when:
* Snow accumulates 4 inches or more.
* Weather conditions do not endanger the safety of road crew.
* Snow falls during peak traffic periods of heavy use of main streets.
Snow and ice removal will be delayed or cancelled when:
* There is severe cold, significant wind and limited visibility.
* The snowfall occurs on the weekend or a holiday and is not considered a threat to public safety. In that case, snow and ice removal may take place on the next normal weekday.
* Snow and ice may be left on roadways if melting is obvious.
Your cooperation is requested during snow removal and these suggestions may apply:
* Limit travel during storms. Travel is possible once roads have been cleared or salted by the road crew
* Avoid removing snow from your driveway into the road. Pile the snow in your yard.
* Park your vehicles in your driveways and off the road or walkwalks.
* Keep public sidewalks next to your house clear of snow and ice.
* Be responsible for removing this snow which is thrown by the snow plough(犁) from your driveways. Hopefully, you can understand this inconvenience.
1.When will the snow have to be removed______.
A.If it reaches a certain thickness.
B.If the main streets are not busy.
C.If the snow and ice begin to melt.
D.If extreme weather makes roads dangerous.
2.What should citizens do to cooperate in the snow removal?
A.Help to put the salt on the road.
B.Pile the snow nearby to the road.
C.Throw the snow into the driveways.
D.Clear the sidewalks close to their houses.
3.Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?
A.clearance of emergency routes has a priority.
B.Snow and ice must be removed on the weekends.
C.Citizens play the most important tole in snow removal.
D.The poster is to inform citizens of an oncoming heavy snow.
假定你是李华，你校将要举办风筝节。请给你的英国朋友Harry写封邮件邀请他参加。内容包括:
1. 活动的时间、地点；
2. 活动内容。
注意:
1. 词数100词左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行为连贯。
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假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌 写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加:在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧)，并在其下面写岀该加的词。
删除:把多余的词用斜线(\)划掉。
修改:在错的词下画一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意:1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词。
2.只允许修改10处，多者(从第11处起)不计分。
We were considering making an English magazine, and without hands-on experience we didn’t know how to start it. To get profession instructions, we left for Beijing to visit a chief editor of Beijing Review, the famous English journal. Busy as he was, he showed me around, explaining us the amazing history of the journal and its production process. Beside, he offered us lots of tip, which were practical and valuable. What make us especially happy was that when he promised to give us continuous guidance. Filling with confidence, we are now beginning to handle our magazine.
