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For more than twenty years scientists have been seeking to understand the mystery of the''sixth sense"of direction.By trying out ideas and solving problems one by one,they are now getting closer to one answer.
One funny idea is that animals might have a built-in compass(指南针).
Our earth itself is a big magnet(磁体).So a little magnetic needle that swings freely lines itself with the big earth magnet to point north and south.When people discovere
d that idea about athousand years ago and invented the compass,it allowed sailors to navigate (航海)on oceanvoyages, even under cloudy skies.
Actuallly the idea of the living compass came just from observing animals in nature.
Many birds migrate twice a year between their summer homes and winter homes.Some of them fly for thousands of kilometers and mostly at night.Experiments have shown that some birds can recognize star patterns.But they can keep on course even under cloudy skies.How can they do that?
A common bird that does not migrate but is great at finding its way home is the homing pigeon.Not all pigeons can find their way home.Those that can are very good at it,and they have been widely studied.
One interesting experiment was to attach little magnets to the birds'heads to block their magnetic sense-just as a loud radio can keep you from hearing a call to dinner.On sunny days, that did not fool the pigeons.Evidently they can use the sun to tell which way they are going.But on cloudy days,the pigeons with magnets could not find their way.It was as if the magnets had blocked their magnetic sense.
Similar experiments with the same kind of results were done with honeybees.These insects also seem to have a special sense ot direction.
In spite of the experiments,the idea of an animal compass seemed pretty extraordinary.How would an animal get the magnetic stuff for a compass.
An answer came from an unexpected source.A scientist was studying bacteria that live in the mud of ponds and marshes.He found accidentally little rod-like bacteria that all swam together in one direction-north.
Further study showed that each little bacterium had a chain of dense particles inside,which proved magnetic.The bacteria had made themselves into little magnets that could line up with the earth's magnet.
The big news was that a living thing,even a simple bacterium,can make magnetite.That led to a search to see whether animals might have it.. By using a special instrument called magnetometer,scientists were able to find magnetite in bees and birds,and even in fish.In each animal,except for the bee.the magnetic stuff was always in or closer to the brain.
Thus.the idea of a built-in animal compass began to seem reasonable.
The Magnetic Sense - The Living Compass |
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| Passage outline |
Supporting details |
| The existence of the earth magnet and the invention of the navigating compass |
◇Our earth is a big magnet and a little freely1magnetic needle lines itself with the earth magnet to point north and south. ◇2on the idea above, the navigating compass was invented. |
| The possibility of birds' built-in compasses |
◇ One piece of evidence is the3of many birds between their summer homes and winter homes. ◇ Birds can recognize star patterns on clear nights and keep on course4under cloudy skies |
| The5on pigeons' and bees' built-in compasses |
◇Little magnets were tied to the pigeons' heads to6their magnetic sense. ◇The pigeons' magnetic sense seemed to be affected on7days. ◇Similar things with the same results were done with bees. |
| The8of the magnetic stuff for the animal compass |
◇Little rod-like bacteria were found by chance to swim together in the direction of9. ◇Some animals had a chain of dense magnetic particles in or close to the10inside their bodies. |
基础训练篇(25)
On keeping a Diary in English
Keeping a diary in English is one of the 1.___________ (effect) ways to improve our English writing ability.
2._____________ (compare) with other forms of writing, it is shorter and takes 3.____________ time. It can help us to develop the habit of thinking in English. 4.____________ we persist in this practice, gradually we’ll learn how to express ourselves in English. In keeping a diary in English, we certainly run up against many 5.__________. In the first place, 6.____________ often happens that we have trouble finding appropriate words and phrases to give expression to our mind. Secondly, there are many idiomatic ways of saying things in Chinese. And it is extremely hard for us to put them into English properly.
As far as I _7. ______________ (concern), my 8._____________(suggest) is that we should always have a notebook and a Chinese-English dictionary within easy reach. Whenever something beats us, we can first put it down in our notebook and then consult our dictionary. We can also turn to our English teacher for help, if necessary. In short, I believe that it is 9._____ ______ great use to keep a diary in English for 10.___ ________ development of our writing skills.
基础训练篇(24)
Ms. Mary was over eighty, but she still drove her old car like half her age. She loved driving very fast, and boasted of the fact 1. she had never, in her thirty-five years of driving, been punished 2. a driving mistake.
Then one day, she nearly lost her record. A police car followed her, and the policemen in it saw her pass a red light without 3. (stop).
When Ms. Mary came before the judge, he looked at her severely and said that she was too old to drive a car, and that the reason 4. she had not stopped at red light was most probably that her eyes had become weak 5 old age, so that she had simply not seen it.
When the judge had finished 6. he was saying, Ms. Mary opened the big handbag she was carrying and took out her sewing. Without saying a word, she 7. (choose) a needle with a very small eye, and threaded it at the first time.
When she had 8. (success) done this, she took the thread out of the needle again and handed both the needle and thread to the judge, saying, “Now it is your turn. I suppose you can drive a car well, and you have no doubts 9. your eyesight.”
The judge took the needle and tried to thread it. After half a dozen times, he had still not succeeded. The case against Ms. Mary 10. (dismiss), and her record remained unbroken.
基础训练篇(23)
There was once a teacher in a village. He was a man named Goldsmith. He was a kind-hearted man. He was always poor (1)___________. He taught himself (2)___________, so sometimes people called him Doctor Goldsmith. One day a poor woman asked Mr. Goldsmith to go and see her husband, because he was very ill and couldn’t get up. Mr. Goldsmith did (3)____________. He found that the family needed help very much. The man had been out of work for a long time, but he was not (4)__________. He was just hungry because there was no food in his house.
“Come to my room this (5)_________”said Mr. Goldsmith to the woman, “I will give you some medicine for your husband.”
In the evening the woman came. Mr. Goldsmith gave her a little paper box.
“(6)__________is the medicine,” he said.” Take it and it will (7)_________ your husband a great deal of good, but don’t open the box until you get home.”
“What are the directions for (8) _________ it?” asked the woman.
“You will find them inside the box.” he answered.
When the woman (9)_______________ home, she sat down by her husband’s side, and they opened the box. They found it was full of money. And on the top were the (10)______________(direction):“TAKE IT WHEN YOU NEED IT.”
Goldsmith had given all the money he had.
基础训练篇(22)
Dear Lifeline,
I shall be getting married (1)_______ August. My mother wants me to have a white wedding in (2)_________, because I am the only daughter, and she wants me to have the kind of wedding that she had. I, on the other (3)____________, should like to have a simple wedding (4)____________ a small party (5)______________ for immediate family and close friends. I don’t want my parents (6)___________ go to a lot of expense just for one day; I’d rather they spent the money (7)__________ things that my husband and I will need, that will last us for many years.
Do you agree (8) ____________ me that this is a (9)_____________ (reason) point of view ? Can you think of a way in which I might persuade my parents (10) _____________ think as I do?
Yours,
Money-Conscious
基础训练篇(21)
Bassanio fell in love (1) Portia, but he couldn’t ask her to marry him (2) he was poor. He had to borrow some money (3) ______ his friend Antonio, a merchant of Venice. Antonio had no money then. He went to Shylock, a cruel and (4) ______ (greed) money-lender. Shylock agreed to lend him the money on condition that he would cut a pound of his flesh (5) ______ he couldn’t repay him within three months.
Unfortunately Antonio’s ships were lost (6) sea. (7) ______ (know) that Antonio probably had to die, Portia asked Bassanio to go to see his friend at once. She dressed herself (8) as a lawyer and turned up at the court. She let Shylock cut just one pound of flesh (9) ______ Antonio, no more, no less, no drop of blood, otherwise he (10) ______ lose all his money. Her clever idea saved Antonio and made Shylock give half of his money to Venice.