Mosquitoes(蚊子) ruin countless American picnics every year, but around the world, this bloodsucking beast isn’t just annoying--it causes a health problem. More than a million people die from the spread of mosquito-borne diseases like malaria and yellow fever each year. Attempts to control populations via insecticides like DDT have had ruinous side effects for nature and human health. Neurobiologist Leslie B. Vosshall has a different solution for stopping the insects and the spread of disease. “I believe the key to controlling mosquito behavior is to understand better how they sense us,” she says.
At their Rockefeller University lab, Vosshall and her colleagues are studying the chemical sensory processes by which mosquitoes choose hosts. How do they sense heat, humidity, carbon dioxide, and body odor(气味)? What makes some people more attractive to a mosquito than others? It takes blood and sweat to find out. To study how mosquitoes assess body odor, Vosshall and her teammates might wear stockings on their arms and keep from showering for 24 hours to create sample smells, Then comes the hard part. They insert their arms into the insects’ hidden home to study how mosquitoes land, bite, and feed and then they document how this changes. This can mean getting anywhere from one bite to 400, depending on the experiment. Studying male mosquitoes is more pleasant. Since they don’t feed on blood, the lab tests their sense of smell using honey.
Vosshall and her team have also begun to study how genetics contribute to mosquitoes’ choice of a host. She’s even created a breed that is unable to sense carbon dioxide, an important trigger for the insects. “By using genetics to make mutant(变异的) mosquitoes, we can document exactly how and why mosquitoes hunt humans,” Vosshall says.
Once Vosshall figures out what makes mosquitoes flock to us, she can get to work on making them leave us alone. Many of her lab’s proposed solutions sound simple enough, including bracelets(手镯) that carry long-lasting repellants(驱虫剂) or traps that can reduce populations, but the breakthroughs, when they come, may save millions of lives in the developing world—and a lot of itching everywhere else.Vosshall and her colleagues are mainly studying mosquitoes’ ______.
| A．appearance | B．size |
| C．behavior | D．change |
By saying the underlined part “Then comes the hard part”, the author probably means that______.
| A．the insects smell terrible |
| B．the experiment will last long |
| C．The researchers will probably suffer |
| D．the researchers have to study lots of documents. |
Why is it less challenging to study male mosquitoes?
| A．They are not bloodsuckers. |
| B．They are afraid of stockings. |
| C．They have a poor sense of smell. |
| D．They are protective of their hosts. |
It can be inferred from the last paragraph that Vosshall’s research______.
| A．looks very promising |
| B．has saved millions of lives |
| C．is facing great difficulties |
| D．is quite simple to carry out. |
There was a 17% fall in the number of first year undergraduates at UK universities in the first year of higher tuition fees, official figures show.
In 2012-13 UK universities were allowed to treble their yearly fees to ￡9,000.
England saw a 12% fall in new full-time undergraduate students overall.
The government acknowledged the fall but stressed that demand for full time higher education has already "returned to record levels".
A spokesperson for Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said the figures were influenced by a higher number of students taking up places the previous year, rather than having a gap year.
"A reduction in entrants in 2012 was well documented and the numbers were affected by the significant number of students who opted not to defer their place from the year before," she said.
'Direct consequence'
The decline had not continued into the current year, she added.
"Application rates for some of the most disadvantaged young people have risen to an all time high in England and more students than ever before are being successful in securing a place at their first choice institution."
The figures, collated by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (Hesa), are official confirmation of other indications that there was a fall in the number of people going to university last year.
Previously released figures had shown declines in applications and offers of places, and the admissions body Ucas also reported a fall. What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．The number of undergraduates in Uk has decreased due to the higher fees . |
| B．The government says undergraduate numbers have 'returned to record levels'. |
| C．The reduction is the direct result of the significant number of students who opted not to defer their place from the year before. |
| D．Application rates for some of the most disadvantaged young people have risen to an all time high in England |
What does the underlined word “treble” in paragragh 2 mean?
| A．make a change | B．cut down on | C．increase three times | D．bring down |
Which of the following is Not True according to the passage?
| A．The government refused to admit the decrease. |
| B．The demand for full time higher education has already "returned to record levels". |
| C．More than one media reported the same result. |
| D．The number of the students who are successful in applying for their first choice institution is the largest. |
What is the attitude of the spokesperson for Department for Business, Innovation and Skills?
| A．contradictory | B．positive | C．negative | D．indifferent |
Dyslexia（失读症）is a learning disorder, it interferes with the ability to recognise words, and for some readers to understand what they have read.
Experts say dyslexia affects about five to ten percent of the population of the United State. Researchers have long known that people with dyslexia write or read words and letters backwards in the wrong order.
But a new study shows that people with dyslexia may have trouble redirecting（重新传入） their attention between senses, from seeing something to hearing something. The study suggests something that might help dyslexic people learn more quickly - play video games.
Vanessa Harrar of Britain's University of Oxford led the study. She reported the findings in the journal Current Biology. The study suggests that dyslexic people may have trouble moving quickly from what they read to what they hear. Doctor Harrar calls this a "sluggish shifting of attention across the senses."
"So, if you are trying to read something and then trying to listen to somebody who's reading aloud and you're trying to follow along with what they are reading -- they have to switch their attention from hearing what they are saying to looking at the piece of paper and back again. So we found they have quite sluggish shifting of attention across the senses," said Harrar.
In the study, Doctor Harrar tested 17 people with dyslexia, and 19 others without reading problems. The volunteers were asked to push a button as quickly as possible when they heard a sound, saw a light or experienced both together. Doctor Harrar compared the speed of their reactions.
She found that people with dyslexia were just as fast as the others when they saw only a picture or heard only a sound. But the dyslexics had a slower reaction time when they heard a sound and saw a picture at the same time.
Doctor Harrar feels like playing action video games could help dyslexic people shift from seeing to hearing more quickly. She adds that images in video games force the eyes to move and focus quickly.
"Video game types of things pop out of here and there, they move your eyes around the screen quite quickly in response to things quite quickly, and the more you play a video game the faster you get that kind of thing. So, the video game is really training the attention system to move quickly," said Harrar.
The study also shows that dyslexic people have the most difficulty going between what they saw and what they heard, this may have an effect on how dyslexic children are taught how to read.
When children learn the alphabet，they usually see the letter first and then hear the sound, or they see and hear the letter at the same time. The study shows that dyslexics might learn more quickly if they hear the sound of a letter or word first before seeing it.What is the main idea of the passage？
| A．Video Games are good for children. |
| B．Study Suggests Video Games Might Help Dyslexics |
| C．A study about Video Games is being carried out. |
| D．Children with Dyslexics can learn better by playing video games. |
People with Dyslexia have the following problems except_________.
| A．writing or reading words and letters backwards in the wrong order. |
| B．redirecting their attention between senses, from seeing something to hearing something. |
| C．moving quickly from what they read to what they hear. |
| D．seeing a picture or hearing a sound. |
What does the underlined word“sluggish”in Paragragh 4 mean？
| A．slow | B．wrong | C．specific | D．accurate |
Why can playing video games help dyslexic people learn more quickly?
| A．While playing video games, people will train their reading and hearing. |
| B．While playing video games, people will have a good knowledge of the system. |
| C．While playing video games, people should move their eyes around the screen quite quickly train the attention system to move quickly. |
| D．Video games can arouse their interest in reading. |
What is the importance of the finding?
| A．The finding will prove video games are not necessarily bad for children. |
| B．People with Dyslexia will be cured by playing video games. |
| C．People with Dyslexia will not be made fun of by others. |
| D．The finding may have an effect on the way to teach dyslexic children how to read. |
Drinking eight cups or two litres of water a day is longstanding advice. But is there any scientific basis for it, asks Dr Chris van Tulleken.
You know those ads that remind us that even a small drop in hydration（水合作用） levels can massively affect performance so you need to keep hydrated with whatever brand of super drink they're selling?
They seem pretty scientific don't they? Man in white coat, athlete with electrodes attached and so on. And it's not a hard sell because drinking feels right - you're hot and sweating so surely replacing that fluid must be beneficial.
Well earlier this year sports scientists in Australia did an extraordinary experiment that had never been done before.This group wanted to find out what happened to performance after dehydration. So they took a group of cyclists and exercised them until they lost 3% of their total body weight in sweat.
Then their performance was assessed after rehydration with either 1) nothing, 2) enough water to bring them back to 2% dehydration or 3) after full rehydration.
So far nothing unusual, but the difference between this and almost every other study that's ever been done on hydration was that the cyclists were blind to how much water they got. The fluid was given intravenously without them knowing the volume.
This is vital because we all, and especially athletes, have such an intimate(密切的)psychological relationship with water consumption.
Remarkably, there was no performance difference between those that were fully rehydrated and those that got nothing. This study was part of a growing movement to "drink to thirst" which hopes to persuade athletes not to over hydrate with the potentially fatal consequence of diluting your sodium level, causing hyponatraemia.
Perhaps the result shouldn't be so surprising. Humans evolved doing intense exercise in extreme heat and dryness. We are able to tolerate losses in water relatively well whereas even slight over hydration can be far more dangerous. In simple terms, being too watery is as bad for you as being too concentrated. What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．There is no scientific basis for drinking eight cups of water a day |
| B．People used to drink eight cups of water a day |
| C．An experiment about whether people should drink eight cups of water. |
| D．People shouldn’t believe longstanding advice. |
what does the word“dehydration ”in paragragh 4 mean？
| A．doing exercise | B．losing water |
| C．drinking water | D．having a rest |
What is NOT TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Drinking too much water is bad for us |
| B．Sports scientists in Australia did an extraordinary experiment for the first time. |
| C．Those that were fully rehydrated and those that got nothing performed differently. |
| D．The cyclists didn’t know how much water they got. |
What can we learn from the last paragragh?
| A．Humans can bear losing water relatively well |
| B．It’s dangerous to drink water. |
| C．Athletes should drink more water than others. |
| D．This study was part of a growing movement to "drink to thirst". |
what is Dr Chris van Tulleken’s attitude towards the. longstanding advice？
| A．positive | B．doubtful | C．supportive | D．indifferent |
Climate change is making it harder than usual for scientists to figure out what the future will bring and what impact weather changes will have on society and the economy. An upsurge of severe weather events has already destroyed homes, businesses and lives. Some fairly simple changes may reduce the toll.
In a laboratory test, a house built with conventional techniques is falling apart in hurricane-force winds.
The survivor has stronger shingles, thicker roof boards, and metal straps holding floors together.
Wind tunnel tests were done by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety. It says stronger construction costs a little more, but holds up much better to extreme weather.
The growing number of unusually strong storms, like Typhoon Haiyan, has convinced the Chairman of the U. S. Senate Homeland Security Committee, Tom Carper, that extreme weather is the “new norm（标准）.”
"Extreme weather events have increased in frequency over the past 50 years and are expected to become even more common, more intense, and more costly," said Carper.
Hurricane Sandy hit beachfront businesses along the U.S. East Coast, including Carper's home state. Insurance companies had to pay out huge claims. To limit such losses, the insurance industry can raise premiums（保险费） for businesses in vulnerable（易受攻击的）locations and offer discounts to clients who make their buildings more resilient with upgraded construction techniques.
Managing risks is the job of insurance brokers like Kevin Connelly of the Graham Company, who spoke to VOA via Skype.
“We are either going to price your insurance at a huge markup, or we are not going to write (sell it) it at all, which is just as bad obviously," said Connelly.
Drought is another suspected consequence of climate change, and dry ground means more wildfires in California. Current mathematical models of climate change do a poor job of predicting the economic impact of drought and other weather events, says Massachusetts Institute of Technology Professor Robert Pindyck, who spoke via Skype.
“I think all we can do, taking all of that into account, is come up with some very rough numbers, very rough estimates, "said Pindyck. "Consensus estimates that maybe experts provide, that give us a view of what would the catastrophic outcome look like if we don’t do anything?”
To help deal with this serious problem, Pindyck says policymakers should take actions such as imposing a tax on carbon dioxide emissions. A carbon tax would encourage companies and families to use less energy and generate fewer of the gases thought to be driving changes in the climate. But other analysts say it is unlikely a new tax will get approval in the U.S. Congress any time soon. What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．There are many severe weather events destroying homes, businesses and lives. |
| B．Stronger construction will save the expense in the long run. |
| C．Government should be totally responsible for the weather change. |
| D．Typhoon Haiyan hit Tom Carper's home state. |
What natural disasters are not mentioned in the passage?
| A．Drought | B．Hurricanes | C．earthquakes | D．wildfires |
In a laboratory test , what kind of houses can stay up?
| A．a house built with conventional techniques |
| B．A house with stronger shingles |
| C．A house with thinner roof boards |
| D．a house with metal floors . |
What won’t insurance companies do to limit such losses?
| A．pay out huge claims |
| B．raise premiums（保险费） for businesses in vulnerable（易受攻击的）locations |
| C．offer discounts to clients who make their buildings more resilient with upgraded construction techniques. |
| D．price insurance at a huge markup |
What is the attitude of other analysts towards the new tax on carbon dioxide emissions?
| A．supportive | B．doubtful | C．indifferent | D．positive |
Tony Hawken, 57, is divorcing his wife Xiu Li, 51, Britain’s wealthiest woman entrepreneur（企业家）, because he says he doesn’t like being rich and is ‘not in the habit’ of spending lots of money.
The pair traded up their semi-detached home in South Norwood, London, and bought a £1.5million house in Surrey.
Li, who is now worth $1.2billion (£700million) according to Forbes, quickly settled into a life which included sipping a £900 bottle of wine on a luxurious yacht.
However, Mr Hawken says he felt more comfortable getting lunch in his local Wetherspoon’s.
Despite his sudden wealth he continued to buy books from charity shops, and shunned dear clothes.
In an interview withThe Times, he said: ‘I think it made me uncomfortable because I’m not in the habit, I don’t like spending lots of money — I’ve been brought up that way.
‘Until recently I was never a wealthy person. I’ve been moderately comfortable because I have been careful with my money.’
Now the couple have decided to part, Mr Hawken will walk away with just £1million, but says it will be enough for him.
He added: ‘I have got a settlement which is not great, but it’s enough for me because I don’t have an extravagant lifestyle. I won’t have to work if I’m careful.’
On a recent trip to China, Mr Hawken said his wife took him on a yacht and treated him to a £900 bottle of wine, but he prefers his local Wetherspoon pub.
‘I’m getting a little pay when you consider her potential wealth, but I don’t really want to fight it.’
Mr Hawken met Li on a blind date while he was still a teacher and she was studying English.
The couple married, but as Li’s business took off the couple spent more and more time apart. Mr Hawken says the couple have spent most of the relationship apart.
Far from driving them apart, Mr Hawken believes the distance kept them together, and says they would have divorced a long time ago if they were under the same roof.
Mr Hawken says his only regret is not getting a divorce sooner, but he didn’t push for it over fears it would affect the couple’s teenage son William, now 17.
Mr Hawken no longer teaches full-time, but instead gives free tuition to under-privileged children.Tony Hawken is divorcing his wife Xiu Li because________.
| A．he doesn’t affect his son. |
| B．they spent less and less time together. |
| C．he is no longer a teacher. |
| D．he isn’t used to spending a lot of money. |
what does the underlined word “shunned”mean in the fourth paragraph？
| A．enjoy | B．prefer | C．avoid | D．expect |
From the passage， we inferred that ________.
| A．Tony Hawken gave up teaching, because of his sudden wealth. |
| B．Tony Hawken wanted to divorce sooner. |
| C．Tony Hawken lived a rich life. |
| D．Tony Hawken didn’t care about his son. |
From the passage，we know that Xiu Li________.
| A．doesn’t like Mr Hawken. |
| B．is richest woman in China. |
| C．is wealthiest woman entrepreneur in Britain. |
| D．is studying English now. |
which of the following statements is true according to the passage？
| A．Mr Hawken wants to get a lot of money by divorcing |
| B．When Mr Hawken dated Xiu Li，she was an English teacher. |
| C．Mr Hawken believes it was the distance that kept them apart. |
| D．As many passed, Mr Hawken still kept his own lifestyle. |