科普环保类 知识点题库

Are you shy? If you are, you are not alone. In fact, close to 50 percent of people are shy. Almost 80 percent of people feel shy at some point in their lives. These days, shyness is becoming more and more common. Now, scientists are trying to understand shyness. They have some interesting ideas about why people are shy.

    Is it possible to be born shy? Many scientists say yes. They say 15 to 20 percent of babies behave shyly. These babies are a little quieter and more watchful than other babies. Interestingly, these shy babies usually have shy parents. As a result, scientists think that some shyness is genetic.
    Family size might causepeople to be shy as well. Scientists at Harvard University studied shy children. They found that 66 percent of them had older brothers and sisters. As a result, they became shy. At the same time, children with no brothers and sisters may be shy as well. Growing up alone, they often play by themselves. They are not able to learn the same social skills as children from big families.

    You may also be shy because of where you were born. When scientists studied shyness in different countries. They found surprising differences. In Japan, most people said they were shy. But in Israel, only one of three people said so. What explains the difference? One scientist says the Japanese and Israelis have different opinions of failure. In Japan, when people do not succeed, they feel bad about themselves. They blame（责备）themselves for their failure. In Israel, the opposite is true. Israelis often blame failure on outside reasons, such as family, teachers, friends, or bad luck. In Israel, freedom of opinion and risk taking are strongly supported. This may be why Israelis worry less about failure and are less shy.

    For shy people, it can be difficult to make friends, speak in class, and even get a good job. But scientists say you can get over your shyness. They suggest trying new things and practicing conversation. And don't forget—if you are shy, you are not the only one.

For many people the subject of hiccups (嗝) is a joke, but for Harry Mendes, a fifteen-year-old schoolboy from Birmingham, it was something quite different.
His hiccups began one Sunday lunch time and continued day and night for two weeks. After the first week, Harry's parents took him to hospital, but it took another week for the doctors to cure his attack.
Harry, who is now back at school, described what happened to him.“When I began to hiccup, I drank a glass of water but that didn't do any good. That evening I had hiccups every four seconds. We tried everything to stop them. I held my breath and drank cold drinks. My father even tried to give me a shock but that didn’t work either.”
After a week of sleepless nights, he went to hospital. The doctors took an X-ray of his chest but they couldn't find anything wrong.“They gave me some medicine and my hiccups slowed down, but it was another week before the medicine worked completely and my hiccups stopped.”
Harry was very lucky. The world record holder is the American farmer Charles Osborne, who hiccupped for sixty-eight years. He stopped in 1990 at last, but nobody knows why.

    Many animals do strange things before an earthquake (地震). This news may be important. Earthquakes can kill people and knock down homes. The animals may help to save lives.
    Some animals make a lot of noise before an earthquake. Farmers have told about this. Dogs that are usually quiet have started to howl(吠). Horses on farms have run around in circles. Mice have left their holes and run away. Cows have given less milk.
    In a town in Italy, cats raced down the street in a group. That happened only a few hours before an earthquake. In San Francisco, a man kept tiny pet frogs. One Sunday, the frogs jumped around more than ever. They made loud noises, like bigger frogs. That night, an earthquake struck the city.
    People want to know when an earthquake is coming. Then they could get away safely. Right now, there is no sure way to know ahead of time. Maybe the best way is to watch the animals.

根据短文内容，选择正确答案。

    Terrafugia Company has said that its flying car, named Transition, has successfully finished a 37- second test flight.

    On March 5th, 2009, at Plattsburgh International Airport in New York. The company's chief pilot, Phil Meteer, piloted the flying car.

    Transition is a two-seat airplane that can take off and land at airports as well as drive on roads.

    The company said that the flying car can travel at speeds up to 115 mph in the air, drive at highway speeds on the ground, and fold up (折叠）to fit in a garage (车库) 81 inches wide and 80 inches high.

Hospitals could use it to transport patients so as to avoid road traffic. It may start running on wheels, and when it gets to traffic lights it can fly overhead the lights and keep its way forward. So it's good news to avoid traffic problems and the traffic accidents.

But some people say this is a going airplane rather than a flying car, at least on the appearance. Anyway, we are happy for scientific-technical progress, what a fantastical world in the near future!

根据短文理解，选择正确答案。

C

    Almost all cultures celebrate the end of one year and the beginning of another in some way. Different cultures celebrate the beginning of a new year in different ways, and at different times on the calendar(日历).

    In Western countries, people usually celebrate New Year at midnight on December 31st—January 1st. People may go to parties, sometimes dressed in formal(正式的) clothes, and they may drink champagne(香槟酒)at midnight. During the first minutes of the new year, people cheer and wish each other happiness for the year ahead. But some cultures prefer to celebrate the new year by waking up early to watch the sunrise. They welcome the new year with the first light of the sunrise.

    Many cultures also do special things to get rid of(摆脱) bad luck at the beginning of a new year. For example, in Ecuador(厄瓜多尔), families make a big doll from old clothes. The doll is filled with old newspapers and firecrackers. At midnight, these dolls are burned(燃烧) to show the bad things from the past year are gone and the new year can start afresh(重新). Other common traditions to keep away bad luck in a new year include throwing things into rivers or the ocean, or saying special things on the first day of the new year.

    Other New Year traditions are followed to bring good luck in the new year. One widespread(普遍的) Spanish tradition for good luck is to eat grapes on New Year's Day. The more grapes a person eats, the more good luck the person will have in the year. In France, people eat pancakes for good luck at New Year. In the United States, some people eat black­ eyed peas(豌豆) for good luck—but to get good luck for a whole year you have to eat 365 of them!

Answer the questions according to the passage.

    Have you seen advertisements about hair care products? The models(模特) have shining hair like jewels(宝石). But now making hair shine is no longer the task of hair care products, because hair can be made into real jewels. Believe it or not, a company called LifeGem in the US makes it possible.

    The company is in the business of taking hair from dead people and making them into diamonds(钻石). Now the company plans to make three diamonds using Beethoven's hair to show their latest technology. The work will take about 7 months. In the end, Beethoven's long hair will become three shining diamonds.

    Since the great musician died in 1827, you may wonder where they got Beethoven's hair. A man called John Reznikoff gave the hair to the company. He holds the Guinness World Record for the latest and most valuable collection of celebrity(名人) hair. His collection also includes hair of Napoleon, Albert Einstein, Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy. In total, the collection is worth over five million dollars.

    Though it sounds unbelievable, diamonds made with hair are for the families to remember the dead.

阅读理解

    In most parts of the world, many students help their school make less pollution. They join “environment clubs”. In an environment club, people work together to make our environment clean.

     Here are the things students often do.

      No-garbage lunches! How much do you throw away after lunch? Environment clubs ask students to bring their lunches in bags that can be used again. Every week they will choose the class that makes the least garbage and report it to the whole school!

    No-car day! On a no-car day, nobody comes to school in a car, not only the students but the teachers as well! Cars give pollution to our air, so remember to do such things: walk, jump, bike or run! Use your legs! It's very fun.

    Turn off the water! Do you know that some toilets can waste twenty to forty tons of water an hour? In a year, that would fill a small river! In environment clubs, students mend those broken toilets.

    We love our environment. Let's work together to make it clean!

    This is the end of our radio programme. Wish you have a good night. This is Grace Brown.

阅读下列短文，从下面每小题的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳选项。

C

    We humans produce a lot of waste every day．We pour it onto the environment．This waste often gives off gases and dusts into the air．Often．it is harmful both to nature and to our human life．

    Do you know one of the main causes of the large amount of dangerous waste? It is people who do not realize how big a problem it is．Because it can be simply removed and sent to a landfill(废渣填埋场)．The problem is often believed to end there．In addition，industries are not willing to find ways to deal with the dangerous waste．They think it will cost money．Many industries and governments build simple landfills to store waste．They often just pour waste chemicals into nearby bodies of water．Often，the chemicals used for industrial production cause dangerous forms of waste．The amount of these chemicals has increased greatly in the past．It is often difficult and expensive to get rid of them．It is also hard to store them in a safe way．

    Every year, major health problems result from dangerous waste．Sadly, often only after someone has died or become seriously ill，and then the governments will take measures to reduce the levels of harmful waste．

    Some governments have realized how serious the dangerous waste problem is．They are now trying to solve this problem．They are also trying to limit the amount of waste industries．

    Not only governments but ordinary people must work together to solve the problem．We can choose not to buy those products which produce dangerous waste．Many scientists think waste can be reduced at least one third by using technologies and methods．

阅读理解

    Do you and your friends ever talk about your dreams with each other? If you do, you might have noticed something interesting – some of your friends seldom remember their dreams, but some can always describe their dreams so clearly that it seems like they're describing things that really happened to them. What makes those people different?

    The answer is simple. There are two different types of dreamers – low dream recallers（回忆者）and high dream recallers.

    Low dream recallers usually remember their dreams only twice a month. But high dream recallers are able to remember them about five mornings a week. And a new study suggests that activity in a certain part of the brain could have something to do with it, reported The Huffington Post.

    Perrine Ruby, a French researcher at the Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, studied 41 people (21 high dream recallers and 20 low dream recallers) and recorded their brain activity.

    She found that a part of the brain called the temporo-parietal junction (颞顶联合区) was more active in high dream recallers than in low dream recallers – both when they were sleeping and awake.

    This brain area collects and processes（编程）information from the outside world. This means that high dream recallers know more about what's happening around them. For example, when they are awake, they respond (对……有反应) more strongly to hearing their own names, and when they are sleeping, they are woken more easily by sounds and movements.

    By closely studying people's brain activities, Ruby found that high dream recallers have twice as much “wakefulness time” during sleep as low dream recallers do. And it is during these short times of wakefulness that the brain remembers dreams.

    “The sleeping brain is not able to remember new information,” Ruby told The Washington Post. “It needs to wake up to be able to do that.”

    This is not hard to understand. Just try to think of your own sleeping experiences. If you are worried during the night, you are more likely to remember your dreams, but if you sleep well, you will remember little in the morning, and this is because “you never get a chance to remember”, Robert Stickgold, a Harvard Medical School researcher, told The Washington Post.

阅读理解

    The world's forests become smaller and smaller. People are still cutting down the trees. Why is this happening? There are two reasons—land and wood. People need land for animals and crops. And people want wood. Japan, Europe and North American need wood. There, it is used for buildings or it is made into furniture.

    But most places from the forests are not good for animals or crops. The soil (土壤) in the forests is very thin. When trees are cut down, the soil is washed away by the rain or the wind. Soon there is nothing but sand. Then more land will be needed and more trees will be cut down.

根据短文内容，从题中所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出正确选项

    Nobody knows how many different languages there are in the world. The most widely used language is English. It's used by business people, airline pilots all over the world. It's also the first language of sports and science. So it's very important for us to learn English.

    English is most widely spoken in the world, while Chinese has the largest number of speakers. There are not only over one billion people living in China, but also many Chinese people living outside China. You can find large or small groups of Chinese people living in almost every country in the world.

    There are some other important languages in the world, too. Chinese is of course very important, especially in Asia. Arabic is widely spoken in many parts of Asia and Africa. Russian is spoken both in Europe and Asia. French is widely understood, not only in Europe, but also in parts of Canada, Africa and Asia. Spanish has a growing number of speakers all over the world, especially in Central and South Africa.

    What language do people speak in the United Nations? There are so many different languages in the world, but they decide to use only six of them. They are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish. Everything spoken or written in one language is translated into the other five.

阅读理解

C

    In the future, your automobile will run on water instead of gas! You will be able to buy a supercomputer that fits in your pocket! You might even drive a flying car!

    For each prediction(预言) that has come true today, several others have missed by a mile. Many of these predictions didn't consider how people want to use the technology, or if people really needed it in their lives or not. Let's look at some predictions from the not-too-distant past.

    Robot helpers

    Where's the robot in my kitchen? Nowhere, of course. And he's probably not coming any time soon. Robots do exist today, but mostly in factories and other manufacturing environments.

    Back in the 1950s, however, people said that by now personal robots would be in most people's homes.

    So why it hasn't happened? Probably because robots are still too expensive and clumsy. And maybe the idea of robots cooking our dinners and washing our clothes is just too weird. At home we seem to be doing fine without them.

    Telephones of tomorrow

    In 1964, an American company introduced the video telephone. They said by the year 2000 most people would have a video phone in their homes. But of course the idea hasn't caught on yet.

    Why? The technology worked fine, but it overlooked something obvious: People desire for privacy. Would you want to have a video phone conversation with someone after you just stepped out of the shower?

    Probably not—it could be embarrassing! Just because a technology available(可利用的) doesn't always mean people will want to use it.

    Flying cars

    And finally, how about that crazy prediction of the flying car? It's not so crazy any more! But a flying car remains one of the most fascinating technology ideas to capture our imagination. Keep watching the news or perhaps the sky outside your window to see what the future will bring.

阅读下列材料，从A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳答案。

B

    Gardening is popular in many parts of the world. It brings us sweet smelling flowers, fresh fruit and vegetables. But you can get more from your garden.

    Gardening helps to keep healthy. Today's people sit indoors for too long and don't get much exercise. When you garden, you have to move around. It's a good chance for you to exercise your body by watering flowers or doing some digging. Besides, when you are in your garden, you can feel the warm sunshine. This means you are getting Vitamin D. It helps your bodies use calcium (钙), which is necessary to keep your bones (骨骼) strong.

    It gets them off computers, televisions and phones. Gardening can be a great teacher to teach children about nature and healthy eating. It can also help them to understand the meaning of “No pains, no gains.”

    Gardening is a great way to meet people and build relationships. When you are gardening, you are outdoors. So it is a perfect time to communicate with your neighbors. Most people love to talk about their hobbies, and so do gardeners. They usually enjoy showing people what they are growing. And most enjoy sharing advice and stories about their gardens.

阅读理解

    What was discovered by accident? The answer is penicillin(青霉素). It kills germs. By killing germs, it saves lives. Suppose you are sick. You go to a doctor. She examines you. She says you have a "staph" infection(葡萄球菌感染). She gives you some medicine. You take it. The medicine knocks out the staph. Soon you are well. Before penicillin, this would not happen. Staph was almost sure death.

    Everyone wanted a medicine. Laboratories worked day and night. They grew the staph in small dishes. Then they tried to kill it. Nothing worked.

    The laboratory dishes had covers on them. They kept things from falling into dishes. Molds(霉菌)were a big worry. They are always in the air. You can't see them. They're too small .There are thousands of different molds. Molds can make an experiment (实验)fail. That's why dishes are covered.

    Dr. Alexander Fleming was working to kill the staph germ. He worked for years. One day he took a cover off a dish. He looked inside. There was a thick growth of staph germ. There was also some mold. Then he saw something strange. Where the mold was, there was no growth of staph. This is what Fleming probably thought. "By accident, I found a mold to kill the dreaded staph."

    This is how penicillin was found. But here's the real miracle(奇迹). There are thousands of kinds of molds. But only one kind can kill staph. The mold must have fallen into the dish a few days before. The cover was probably off only a few seconds(秒). In those few seconds the right mold fell into the right dish. Another mall might have thrown the dish away. But Fleming was very careful and smart. He understood what the mold did. How lucky the humans were!

阅读理解

    Since the 1970s, scientists have been searching for ways to link the brain with computers. Brain-computer interface (BCI) technology could help people with disabilities send commands to machines.

    Recently, two researchers, Jose Millan and Michele Tavella from the Federal Polytechnic School in Lausanne, Switzerland, demonstrated(展示) a small robotic wheelchair directed by a person's thoughts.  In the laboratory, Tavella operated the wheelchair just by thinking about moving his left or right hand. He could even talk as he watched the vehicle and guided it with his thoughts.

    "Our brain has billions of nerve cells~ These send signals through the spinal cord(脊髓) to the muscles to give us the ability to move. But spinal cord injuries or other conditions can prevent these weak electrical signals from reaching the muscles," Tavella says. "Our system allows disabled people to communicate with external (外部的) world and also to control devices."

    The researchers designed a special cap for the users. This head cover picks up the signals from the scalp(头皮) and sends them to a computer. The computer interprets (translate) the signals and commands the motorized wheelchair. The wheelchair also has two cameras that identify (find or discover) objects in its paths. They help the computer react to commands from the brain.

    Professor Millan, the team leader, says scientists keep improving the computer software that interprets brain signals and turns them into simple commands. "The practical possibilities that BCI technology offers to disabled people can be grouped in two categories: communication and controlling devices. One example is this wheelchair. "

    He says his team has set two goals. One is testing with real patients, so as to prove that this is a technology they can benefit from. And the other is to guarantee that they can use the technology over long periods of time.

阅读下面短文，根据文中信息完成信息摘记，每空限填一词。

Monsters of the Deep

    Sea monsters are not just imaginary creatures. Millions of years ago, real monsters did actually live on Earth.

    Today, scientists use fossils(化石)to help them find out what these monsters were like and make pictures of these animals. So now, we can all see what they look like.

    Eyes in the Dark

    Temnodontosaurus was an unusual animal for sure. Its name means “cutting tooth lizard,” and with good reason―it had very big teeth. It also had some of the largest eyes in nature. They were over 25 centimeters across! With such big eyes, Temnodontosaurus could easily find its food in the dark water.

    The Stalker

    Known as a stalker，its name means the " lord of the seas," Thalassomedon was a large sea monster with a very long neck. It also had a special way of catching fish: It carried stones in its stomach! These helped keep the largest part of its body and tail down in the dark water. Meanwhile, its long neck slowly rose up toward the fish. The fish didn't have a chance to get away from Thalassomedon. They didn't see the sea monster until it was too late!

阅读理解

    Do you like pandas? Now you can watch them eat and play at iPanda. com 24 hours a day.

    The panda is a symbol of China. There are only about 1, 600 pandas in the wild(野外). You can also see them in the zoos of many countries like the US and the UK.

    Pandas have big black eyes and fat bodies(身体). When they eat, they sit on the ground and hold the food with two hands, just like children. They look very cute and funny.

    Pandas usually live for 30 years. Now many pandas in the wild have no food to eat. They are in danger and they need our help.

阅读理解

    On April 10, 2019, the first picture of a black hole was shown to people. Here are some interesting facts about black holes.

    What's a black hole?

    It was an idea first raised in Albert Einstein's Theory of General Relativity in 1915. A black hole is a place in space where the gravity is so strong that even light cannot get out. Some scientists think the smallest black holes formed when the universe (宇宙) began.

    How big is a black hole?

    Black holes can be big or small. Scientists think the smallest black holes are as small as just one atom (原子). Unlike small black holes, the mass of a big black hole can be more than one million suns together.

    If black holes are "black", how do scientists know they are there?

    A black hole cannot be seen, because strong gravity pulls all of the light into the middle of the black hole. But scientists can see how the strong gravity affects (影响) the stars and gas around the black hole. Scientists can study stars to find out if they're moving around a black hole.

    Could a black hole destroy (摧毁) Earth?

    The answer is no. Earth will not fall into a black hole because no black hole is close enough to the solar system for Earth to do that.

根据短文内容，判断正（T）、误（F）。

    Owls live in almost every country in the world. Most owls don't sleep at night. When they fly, you can't hear them. They are very quiet. Owls are good at hunting（捕猎）. They eat a lot of things such as mice, snakes, small birds and even fish. Owls have very good hearing. That helps them to hunt well in dark places. Their eyes are special. Both of their eyes face front. They can see very far away. There are facial disks(面盘) around their eyes. These facial disks can help with their hearing. Owls can turn their heads 270°. That helps them see what's going on all around them.

    Maybe because owls look a little different and have special life habits. There are a lot of stories about them. Some cultures believe that owls are very clever and some cultures think owls may bring bad luck to people. In fact, owls are really good friends of people. They eat lots of mice every year. That helps save a lot of food for people. But the number of owls in the world is becoming smaller and smaller because of people's activities. Now owls are protected by law(法律) in many places of the world. For example, in some places, people can't keep an owl as a pet at home.

阅读理解

    CHINA has built a biscuit factory to make food for its captive (圈养的) giant pandas, giving them a healthier diet (日常食物) than the usual steamed bread.

    The special biscuits, developed by the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding and Research Centre, are shaped like bamboo so they will not seem unfamiliar to the pandas.

    "The cream-colored biscuit, made of bamboo, is rich in vitamins and has 30 per cent more fiber (纤维) than normal bamboo," said Yu Jianqiu, who is in charge of the project.

    Steamed bread, which is eaten by most captive giant pandas as well as fresh bamboo, loses much of its goodness when cooked, often causing bad health. What's more, it can only be stored for a short time, making pandas expensive to feed.

    Thirty pandas have tried the biscuits since the factory was completed in October.

    "They love our new biscuits," Yu said. "In time, all captive pandas will be given the new food."

    Around 1,000 giant pandas live in the foggy mountains around the Sichuan basin (盆地) in southwest China, while about 140 live in captivity around the world.

    The destruction of forests, a panda's natural home and major food source, is the biggest threat to the animal.

    In 1998, China banned the cutting down of trees in panda-inhabited areas to help save an animal seen as a national treasure.