（一）
Alia Sabur, from NY, US, has clearly been ahead of the learning curve since an early age. She finished elementary school at five, made the jump to college at 10, and by age 14, was earning a bachelor‟s degree of science in applied mathematics from Stony Brook University — the youngest female in US history to do so. Her education continued at Drexel University, where she earned an MS and a PhD in materials science and engineering.
With an unlimited future ahead of her, Sabur directed her first career choice to teaching. “I really enjoy teaching,” said Sabur. “It‟s something where you can make a difference. It‟s not just what you can do, but you can enable a lot of other people to make their changes.” She was three days short of her 19th birthday when she was hired as a professor at Konkuk University in Seoul, Korea. This distinction made her the youngest college professor in history, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, beating the previous record held by Colin Maclaurin, a student of physicist Isaac Newton.
Although she doesn‟t start until next month, Sabur has taken up teaching math and physics courses at Southern University in New Orleans. Sabur is old enough to teach, but not to join her fellow professors in a bar after work. In Korea, where the drinking age is 20, she might have more luck. In traditional Korean culture, children are considered to be one year old when they are born, and add a year to their age every New Year instead of their actual birthday.
In addition to her unprecedented (空前的) academic achievements, Sabur has a black belt in the Korean martial art of tae kwon do. She is also a talented clarinet (竖笛) player, who once performed with musicians like Lang Lang and Smash Mouth. So is there anything Sabur can‟t do?
1. What is Paragraph 1 mainly about?
A. Sabur‟s childhood. B. Sabur‟s education. C. Sabur‟s achievement in science. D. Sabur‟s interest in teaching. 2. What can be inferred from Sabur‟s words?
A. She‟s ambitious to make a big difference to the world. B. She‟s eager to show how special she is. C. She‟s ready to share her knowledge. D. She wants to be long remembered.
3. What does the underlined word “distinction” in Paragraph 2 mean?
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A. A difference between similar things. B. A strange man / woman. C. A famous place. D. A special honor.
4. By saying “she might have more luck” in Paragraph 3, the author means ____. A. Sabur might be more welcomed in Korea B. Sabur might make more achievements in Korea C. Sabur might be permitted to drink in bars
D. Sabur might be old enough to be a full-time professor 5. From the last paragraph we can infer that ____.
A. there is nothing Sabur cannot do B. where there is a will there is a way C. Sabur has varied interests D. Sabur has her own way to relax （二）
ScienceDaily (Apr 27, 2008) — Dutch ecologist Roxina Soler and her colleagues have discovered that subterranean (地下的) and aboveground herbivorous (食草的) insects can communicate with each other by using plants as telephones. Subterranean insects issue chemical warning signals through the leaves of the plant. This way, aboveground insects are warned that the plant is already “occupied”.
Aboveground, leaf-eating insects prefer plants that have not yet been occupied by subterranean root-eating insects. Subterranean insects send out chemical signals through the leaves of the plant, which warn the aboveground insects about their presence. This messaging makes it possible for spatially-separated insects to avoid each other, so that they do not compete for the same plant.
In recent years it has been discovered that different types of aboveground insects develop slowly if they feed on plants that also have subterranean residents and vice versa (反之亦然). It seems that a system has developed through natural selection, which helps the subterranean and aboveground insects to notice each other. This avoids unnecessary competition.
Through the “green telephone lines”, subterranean insects can also communicate with a third party, namely the natural enemy of caterpillars (毛虫). Parasitic wasps (寄生的黄蜂) lay their eggs inside aboveground insects. The wasps also benefit from the signals sent by the leaves, as these help them find more insects for their eggs.
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The communication between subterranean and aboveground insects has only been studied in a few cases. It is still not clear how widespread this phenomenon is. But scientists are looking into it. This research was carried out at the Netherlands Institute for Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) by Roxina Soler, Jeffrey Harvey, Martijn Bezemer, Wim van der Putten and Louise Vet. The PhD project, in which this study was carried out, was funded by the Free Competition of NWO Earth and Life Sciences.
6. After finding a plant occupied by subterranean insects, aboveground insects usually ____. A. send out warning signals B. choose to give up the plant
C. compete for the plant D. share it with the subterranean insects 7. Aboveground insects will develop more quickly if they ____. A. feed on plants occupied by subterranean insects B. feed on plants not occupied by subterranean insects C. become cleverer through natural selection D. compete with subterranean insects
8. Subterranean insects communicate with a third party through ____.
A. caterpillars B. parasitic wasps C. wasps‟ eggs D. a plant‟s leaves 9. What can be inferred from the last paragraph? A. Other animals may communicate in the same way. B. There will be further research into this phenomenon. C. Part of the study is a PhD project.
D. The Free Completion of NWO Earth and Life Sciences has the patent for these results. 10. What would be the best title for this passage? A. Insects use plants as a telephone. B. Insects live in harmony with each other. C. No species can live alone.
D. Plants and animals have an effect on each other.
【答案与解析】
1. B。第一段主要概述了Sabur的受教育情况：明显快于一般的学习进程。 2. C。从第二段中Sabur的话可以看出，她乐于向别人传授知识，以帮助他们进步。
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3. D。distinction指前面提到的Sabur被Konkuk大学聘为教授这件事，显然它是一项殊荣。
4. C。前文提到在New Orleans，Sabur不能去酒吧；后文提到韩国允许喝酒的年龄是20岁，而按韩国的年龄计算方法，Sabur正好20岁，因此答案为C。
5. C。最后一段介绍了Sabur在其他领域取得的骄人成绩。
6. B。第二段第一句Aboveground, leaf-eating insects … root-eating insects提到，地上的昆虫更喜欢没有被地下昆虫占领的植物。联系本段最后一句This messaging makes ．．． for the same plant可知，当地上昆虫发现植物已经被地下昆虫占领时，它们通常会选择放弃。
7. B。根据第三段第一句In recent years it … and vice versa可知，如果食用没有被地下昆虫占领的植物，地上昆虫就会繁殖得快些。
8. D。根据第四段首句“Through the „green telephone lines‟, subterranean insects can also communicate with a third party,”及本段中“The wasps also benefit from the signals sent by the leaves”可知答案。
9. B。根据“But scientists are looking into it.”可得出答案。
10. A。A项标题形象地表现出了昆虫间交流的独特方式。第一段第一句中的“ … insects can communicate with each other by using plants as telephones.”是本文的主题句
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