Question

    Tiny as they are, bats have the ability to “see” in the dark by using a special skill called echolocation (回声定位法).They make noises and wait for sound waves, or an echo, to bounce back off objects. They can tell the distance of various objects by how quickly the sound waves bounce back off them. If no sound bounces back, they can then fly forward.

This special ability has been copied in the human world for a long time, such as in submarines and planes. But apart from helping vehicles “see” where they are, what if blind people could use echolocation for themselves? American Daniel Kish, who is blind, is known as “Batman”. This isn’t because he walks around in a cape (披风)and a mask, but because he has a bat-like ability to locate where he is through sharp clicks he makes by moving his tongue against the roof of his mouth. Kish is so skilled at echolocating that he can ride a bike and hike on his own.

Recently, a research carried out at the University of Durham in England shed some light on the power of human echolocation. Kish, as well as other volunteers, worked with a group of scientists who studied the way blind people listen to the echoes that they produce from clicks. The team found that people were capable of hearing even very faint echoes, ones far fainter than had been previously thought.

Lore Thaler, lead scientist of the group, said, “We found that in some conditions, they were really faint—about 95 percent softer than the actual clicks, but the echolocators were still able to sense this.”

Andrew Kolarik, another expert in echolocation, told BBC News that echolocation “can be very useful at providing information at face or chest height” and could help people “avoid objects like low hanging branches that might not get detected by the cane or a guide dog”

According to BBC News, echolocation is a skill blind people can acquire and develop, just like learning a language. As Kolarik said, “Teaching echolocation skills could provide blind people with the means of exploring new places.”

1.What does “this special ability” in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A.The ability to make noises in the dark.

B.The ability to bounce back off objects.

C.The ability to measure the distance quickly.

D.The ability to use sound waves to echolocate.

2.What do we know about Daniel Kish from the text?

A.He is fond of riding a bike and hiking alone.

B.He is called “Batman” because he looks like a bat.

C.He is able to hear echoes he produces from clicks.

D.He conducted the experiment to circulate echolocation.

3.What is Kolarik’s attitude towards the future use of echolocation in blind people?

A.Hopeful. B.Ambiguous.

C.Tolerant. D.Doubtful.

4.What’s the best title for the text?

A.Echolocation in Human World B.Finding New Way to “See”

C.A Very Special Batman D.A Breakthrough in Echoing

Answer

1.D

2.C

3.A

4.B

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章介绍了蝙蝠的回声定位法被人类。研究人员发现人类也有回声定位能力，而且比我们想象的更好，人类的这种能力可以为盲人服务，科学家对盲人使用回声定位进行了研究。

1.

词义猜测题。本题需要我们判断画线短语的意思，通过This special ability中的this可推断出这种特殊的能力应该在上文提到过。根据第一段中的“Tiny as they are, bats have the ability to “see” in the dark by using a special skill called echolocation (回声定位法).”可知，尽管蝙蝠很小，但它们有能力在黑暗中“看”到东西，他们使用一种叫做回声定位的特殊技能。可知，回声定位法指的是利用声波或回声进行定位的能力。故选D项。

2.

细节理解题。根据第二段中的“he has a bat-like ability to locate where he is through sharp clicks he makes by moving his tongue against the roof of his mouth.”可知，他有一种蝙蝠般的能力，通过移动舌头抵住嘴顶发出的尖锐咔嚓声来定位自己所在的位置。所以Daniel Kish可以通过听到他发出的尖锐的咔嚓声所产生的回声来定位自己所在的位置。故选C项。

3.

推理判断题。根据文章最后一段中的As Kolarik said, “Teaching echolocation skills could provide blind people with the means of exploring new places.”可知，Kolarik认为回声定位技术能够为盲人提供探索新地方的手段，从他的话中可推断出他对回声定位技术在盲人中的应用前景是充满希望的。故选A项。

4.

主旨大意题。浏览全文，文章第一段介绍了蝙蝠的回声定位法原理，其余段落介绍的是这种方法能给盲人带来帮助。根据文章中Daniel Kish的例子可知，回声定位法可以帮助他定位自己所在的位置，再根据文章最后一段关键句Teaching echolocation skills could provide blind people with the means of exploring new places.可知，回声定位技术能够为盲人判断自己的位置提供帮助。故可推断出文章主要讲的是我们在寻找一种让盲人能够“看见”的新的方式。所以短文的最佳标题为“寻找新的“看见”的方式”。故选B项。