70天攻克考研英语阅读DAY48

DAY48
Reading comprehension
Direction： In this part， there are four passages followed by questions or unfinished statements， each with four suggested answers marked A， B， C and D. Choose the one that you think is the correct answer.
Passage 1 Well over half a century ago， neurologists found that by placing elements on the scalp they could record the electrical signature of the brain at work. Most of them saw a random hotchpotch of signals the combined activity of hundred of thousands of brain cells. But they were astonished to find long stretches when this mess of activity became ordered into a pattern of elegant rhythmical waves. Ever since， scientists have wondered whether the secrets of our thoughts，perceptions and even consciousness itself might be hidden in the patterns of our brain waves.
The question of why we have brain waves — and what they tell us about how we think — is as hotly debated today as it was when the patterns were discovered. Researchers can see slow “alpha” waves in scalp recordings when the brain is relaxed， and “theta” and “delta” rhythms while we sleep. But the meaning， and even the existence， of faster “gamma”rhythms in the alert brain is highly controversial.
The problem is that you can t see these faster rhythms directly. They are so well hidden in the noise of other brain activity that researchers have to uncover them by mathematically breaking up the scalp electrode trace the electroencephalogram or EEG — into its component frequencies. And once you ve uncovered a rhythm， how do you know it is anything more than an artifact of the technique， or a meaningless by — product of neurons that are wired together into networks？
But many researchers are now coming round to the idea that these brain waves are for real， and far from meaningless. The latest suggestion is that the rhythms could be the key to detecting， kinking and organizing processes going on in different regions of the brain. Some believe that two of the rhythms — the theta rhythm， with between 4 and 8 waves a second， and the gamma rhythm， which oscillates up to ten times faster — might even interact， and in so doing help the brain to package information into coherent images， thoughts and memories. Some of the first clues that brain waves might help to organize neural activities came from experiments with rats. By recording from large electrodes placed in the hippocampus a brain area that is important for navigation， learning and memory — neurophysiologists detected a very prominent theta rhythm. “Early on， there was a strong concern that this was an artifact of sniffing，” says Howard Eichenbaum， a neuroscientist at Boston University. People thought that the rhythmic muscle activity was modulating the electrical signal. But theta waves are now known to be the result of genuine neuronal activity associated with the animal s movement through the environment， he says. And they turn out to provide an elegant framework for organizing the activity of hippocampus neurons.
1. What s scientist s assumption on electrode experiment？
A. It s recording of brain s electrical signature at work.
B. There is complex activity of brain cells when human being is at work.
C. There is pattern of elegant rhythmical waves at times.
D. There is some linkup between people s brain work and the patterns of their brain waves.
2. According to the passage， which of the following is NOT true？
A. Researchers can see faster “gamma” rhythms in people when they are in alert situation.
B. The function of brain waves causes the controversy as the discovery of that used to do.
C. Slow “alpha” can be researched when human brain is relaxed.
D. Scalp recordings show “theta” and “delta” rhythms while people are asleep.
3. Researchers have to uncover faster rhythms by
A. placing electrodes on the scalp.
B. recording random hotchpotch of signals.
C. breaking up the scalp electrode trace.
D. discovering by products of neurons.
4. What does “Hippocampus” mean？
A. It means a kind of bad looking animal that mostly lives in water.
B. It means a brain area essential to navigation， learning and memory.
C. It means a brain area where neurophysiologists detected a very prominent theta rhythm.
D. It means a range where brain waves organize neural activities.
5. The passage mainly discusses
A. the existing reason of human s brain waves.
B. deeper probing for human being s brain waves.
C. scientific breakthrough on human brain s experiments.
D. human movement and their brain waves.
Passage 2 Manners nowadays in metropolitan cities like London are practically non existent. It is nothing for a big，strong schoolboy to elbow an elderly woman aside in the dash for the last remaining seat on the tube or bus， much less stand up and offer his seat to her， as he ought to. In fact， it is saddening to note that if a man does offer his seat to an older woman， it is nearly always a continental man or the older generation.
This question of giving up seats in public transport is much argued about by young men， who say that， since women have claimed equality， they no longer deserve to be treated with courtesy and that those who go out to work should take their turn in the rat race like anyone else. Women have never claimed to be physically as strong as men. Even if it is not agreed， however， that young men should stand up for young women， the fact remains that courtesy should be shown to the old， the sick and the burdened. Are we really lost to all ideals of unselfishness that we can sit there indifferent reading the paper or a book， saying to ourselves “First come， First served”， while a grey haired woman， a mother with a young child or a cripple stands？ Yet this is all too often seen.
Conditions in travel are really very hard on everyone， we know， but hardship is surely no excuse. Sometimes one wonders what has been the behavior of these stout young men in a packed refugee train on its way to prison camp during the War. Would they have considered it only right and their proper due to keep the best place for themselves then？
Older people， tired and irritable from a day s work， aren t angels， either — far from it. Many a brisk argument or an insulting quarrel breaks out as the weary queues push and shove each other to get on buses or tubes. One can t command this， of course， but one does feel there is just a little more excuse.
If cities are to remain pleasant places to live in at all， however， it seems urgent not only that communications in transport should be improved， but also that communication between human beings should be kept smooth and polite. All over cities， it seems that people are too tired and too rushed to be polite. Shop assistant won t bother to assist， taxi drivers growl at each other as they dash dangerously round the corner， bus conductors pull the bell before their desperate passengers have had time to get on or off the bus， and so on and so on. It seems to us that it is up to the young and strong to do their small part to stop such “deterioration”。

1. What s the author s opinion concerning courteous manners toward women？
A. Now that they have claimed equality， they no longer need to be treated differently from men.
B. It is generally old fashioned for young men to give their seats to young women.
C. “Lady First” should be universally practiced.
D. Special consideration ought to be shown to them.
2. What s the purpose of giving instance of stout young men during the War in paragraph 3？
A. to arouse readers indignation toward War
B. to make people realize the crowd of city transport
C. to illustrate that hardship is no excuse
D. to warm people to avoid traffic prime
3. According to the author， communication between human beings would be smoother if
A. People were more considerate towards each other.
B. People were not so tired and irritable.
C. Women were treated with more courtesy.
D. Public transport could be improved.
4. What s the possible meaning of the word “deterioration” in the last paragraph？
A. worsening of the general situation.
B. lowering of the moral standards.
C. declining of physical constitution.
D. spreading of evil conduct.
5. How could you describe the tone of this passage？
A. neutral.
B. indignant.
C. optimistic.
D. impellent.
Passage 3 Cryptic coloring is by far the commonest use of color in the struggle for existence. It is employed for the purpose of attack （aggressive resemblance or anticryptic coloring） as well as defense （protective resemblance of procryptic coloring）。

The fact that the same method， concealment， may be used both for attack and defense has been well explained by T. Belt who suggests as an illustration the rapidity of movement which is also made use of by both pursuer and pursued， which is similarly raised to a maximum in both by the gradual dying out of the slowest through a series of generations. Cryptic coloring is commonly associated with other aids in the struggle for life. Thus well concealed mammals and birds， discovered， will generally endeavor to escape by speed and will often attempt to defend themselves actively. On the other hand， small animals that have no means of active defense， such as large numbers of insects， frequently depend upon concealment alone. Protective resemblance is far commoner among animals than aggressive resemblance，in correspondence with the fact that predaceous forms are as a rule much larger and much less numerous than their prey. In the case of insectivorous Vertebrata and their prey such differences exist in an exaggerated form. Cryptic coloring， whether used for defense or attack， may be either general of special. In general resemblance the animal， in consequence of its coloring， produces the same effect as its environment， but the conditions do not require any special adaptation of shape and outline. General resemblance is especially common among the animals inhabiting some uniformly colored expanse of the earth s surface， such as an ocean or a desert. In the former， animals of all shapes are frequently protected by their transparent blue color； on the latter， equally diverse forms are defended by their sandy appearance. The effect of a uniform appearance may be produced by a combination of tints in starting contrast. Thus the white and black stripes of the zebra blend together at a little distance， and “their proportion is such as exactly to match the pale tint which arid ground possesses when seen by moonlight”。

Special resemblance is far commoner than general and is the form which is usually met with on the diversified surface of the earth， on the shore， and in shallow water， as well as on the floating masses of algae on the surface of the ocean， such as the Sargasso Sea. In these environments the cryptic coloring of animals is usually aided by special modifications of shape， and by the instinct which leads them to assume particular attitudes. Complete stillness and the assumption of a certain attitude play an essential part in general resemblance on land； but in special resemblance the attitude is often highly specialized， and perhaps more important than any other element in the complex method by which concealment is effected. In special resemblance the combination of coloring， shape， and attitude is such as to produce a more or less exact resemblance to some one of the objects in the environment， such as a leaf or twig， a patch of lichen， of flake of bark. In all cases the resemblance is to some object which is of no interest to the enemy or prey prospectively. The animal is not hidden from view by becoming indistinguishable from its background as in the case of general resemblance， but it is mistaken for some well known object.
1. When does aggressive resemblance occur？
A. An animal blends with its background.
B. Shadows are balanced by tinting.
C. An animal relies on its speed.
D. A predaceous attitude is assumed.
2. Of the flowing， which is the least common？
A. protective resemblance.
B. general resemblance.
C. aggressive resemblance.
D. special resemblance.
3. Which of the following is true according to the context？
A. Predator runs faster than its prey.
B. The speed is gradually raised by dying out for existence.
C. Animals need all adaptation of shape and outline to protect themselves.
D. General resemblance is as common as special resemblance.
4. Special resemblance differs from general resemblance in that the animal relies on
A. its ability to frighten its adversary
B. coloring
C. speed
D. mistaken identity
5. Which of the titles can best express the ideas of the whole passage？
A. cryptic Coloration for Protection
B. how Animals Survive
C. the Uses of Mimicry in Nature
D. preserving the Species
Passage 4 Every Dec.26， millions of folks in Britain， Canada and Australia take an extra 24 hours off after Christmas to celebrate what to most Americans sounds like a made up holiday.p >。