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0 阅读理解阅读理解 第三 八篇第三 八篇 Life Form Found on Saturn s Titan Scientists say they have discovered hints of alien life1 on the Saturn s moon2 The discovery of a sort of life was announced after researchers at the US space agency NASA3 analyzed data from spacecraft Cassini4 which pointed to the existence of methane based form of life on Saturn s biggest moon Scientists have reportedly discovered clues showing primitive alien beings are breathing in Titan s dense atmosphere filled with hydrogen They argue that hydrogen gets absorbed before hitting Titan s planet like surface covered with methane lakes and rivers This they say points to the existence of some bugs 5 consuming the hydrogen at the surface of the moon less than half the size of the Earth We suggested hydrogen consumption because it s the obvious gas for life to consume on Titan similar to the way we consume oxygen on Earth says NASA scientist Chris McKay If these signs do turn out to be a sign of life it would be doubly exciting because it would represent a second form of life independent from water based life on Earth To date scientists have not yet detected this form of life anywhere though there are liquid water based microorganisms on Earth that grow well on methane or produce it as a waste product On Titan where temperatures are around 90 Kelvin6 minus 290 degrees Farenheit a methanebased organism would have to use a substance that is liquid as its medium for living processes but not water itself Water is frozen solid on Titan s surface and much too cold to support life as we know it Scientists had expected the Sun s interactions with chemicals in the atmosphere to produce a coating of acetylene on Titan s surface But Cassini detected no acetylene on the surface The absence of detectable acetylene on the Titan s surface can very well have a non biological explanation said Mark Allen a principal investigator7 of the NASA Titan team Scientific conservatism suggests that a biological explanation should be the last choice after all non biological explanations are addressed Allen said We have a lot of work to do to rule out8 possible non biological explanations It is more likely that a chemical process without biology can explain these results 练习 1 What have scientists found about Saturn C They have found methane based life on Titan 2 What do scientists say about Titan A There are life clues there 3 To date scientists have not yet detected this form of life paragraph 5 What does this form of life refer to B Methane based life 4 What can be inferred from what Allen said A Scientists have different arguments over whether there is life on Titan 5 Which of the following can replace the title of this passage D A different Life Form a Possibility 第四十篇第四十篇 Teaching Math Teaching Anxiety In a new study about the way kids learn math in elementary school the psychologists at the University of Chicagol1 Sian Beilock and Susan Levine found a surprising relationship between what female teachers think and what female students learn If a female teacher is uncomfortable with her own math skills then her female students are more likely to believe that boys are better than girls at math If these girls keep getting math anxious female teachers2 in later grades it may create a snowball effect on their math achievement3 said Levine In other words girls may end up learning math anxiety from their teachers4 The study suggests that if these girls grow up believing that boys are better at math than girls are then these girls may not do as well as 1 they would have if they were more confident Just as students find certain subjects to be difficult teachers can find certain subjects to be difficult to learn and teach The subject of math can be particularly difficult for everyone Researchers use the word anxiety to describe such feelings anxiety is uneasiness or worry The new study found that when a teacher has anxiety about math that feeling can influence how her female students feel about math The study involved 65 girls 52 boys and 17 first and second grade teachers in elementary schools in the Midwest The students took math achievement tests at the beginning and end of the school year and the researchers compared the scores The researchers also gave the students tests to tell whether the students believed that a math superstar had to be a boy Then the researchers turned to the teachers To find out which teachers were anxious about math the researchers asked the teachers how they felt at times when they came across math such as when reading a sales receipt5 A teacher who got nervous looking at the numbers on a sales receipt for example was probably anxious about math Boys on average were unaffected by a teacher s anxiety On average girls with math anxious teachers scored lower on the end of the year math tests than other girls in the study did Plus on the test showing whether someone thought a math superstar had to be a boy 20 girls showed feeling that boys would be better at math and all of these girls had been taught by female teachers who had math anxiety This is an interesting study but the results need to be interpreted as preliminary and in need of replication with a larger sample6 said David Geary a psychologist at the University of Missouri7 in Columbia 练习 1 What is the result of the research at the University of Chicago according to the first paragraph D Female teachers confidence in their math skills is related to girl s math skills 2 What is implied in the third paragraph B A difficult subject like math may affect teachers confidence in teaching the subject 3 According to the experiment those teachers were probably anxious about math when they felt C uneasy reading the numbers of a sales receipt 4 The sixth paragraph tells us that the research findings A prove a strong link between female teachers math anxiety and their female students math achievements 5 David Geary thinks that B the research results need to be retested based on a larger sample 完形填空完形填空 第十一篇第十一篇 Climate Change Poses Major Risks for Unprepared Cities A new examination of urban policies has been 1 carried out recently by Patricia Romero Lankao She is a sociologist specializing in climate change and 2 urban development She warns that many of the world s fast growing urban areas especially in developing countries will likely suffer from the impacts of changing climate Her work also concludes that most cities are failing to 3 reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse 4 gases These gases are known to affect the atmosphere Climate change is a deeply local issue and poses profound threats to the growing cities of the world says Romero Lankao But too few cities are developing effective strategies to 5 protect their residents Cities are 6 major sources of greenhouse gases And urban populations are likely to be among those most severely affected by future climate change Lankao s findings highlight ways in which city residents are particularly vulnerable and suggest policy interventions that could offer immediate and longer term 7 benefits The locations and dense construction patterns of cities often place their populations at greater risk for 2 natural disasters Potential 8 threats associated with climate include storm surges and prolonged hot weather Storm surges can flood coastal areas and prolonged hot weather can heat 9 heavily paved cities more than surrounding areas The impacts of such natural events can be more serious in an urban environment For example a prolonged heat wave can increase existing levels of air pollution causing widespread health problems Poorer neighborhoods that may 10 lack basic facilities such as drinking water or a dependable network of roads are especially vulnerable to natural disasters Many residents in poorer countries live in substandard housing 11 without access to reliable drinking water roads and basic services Local governments 12 therefore should take measures to protect their residents Unfortunately they tend to move towards rhetoric 13 rather than meaningful responses Romero Lankao writes They don t impose construction standards that could reduce heating and air conditioning needs They don t emphasize mass transit and reduce 14 automobile use In fact many local governments are taking a hands off approach Thus she urges them to change their 15 idle policies and to take strong steps to prevent the harmful effects of climate change on cities 第十二篇第十二篇 Free Statins With Fast Food Could Neutralize Heart Risk Fast food outlets could provide statin drugs free of charge so that customers can reduce the heart disease dangers of fatty food researchers at Imperial College London suggest in a new study Statins reduce the amount of unhealthy LDL cholesterol in the blood A wealth of trial data has proven them to be highly effective at lowering a person s heart attack risk In a paper published in the American Journal of Cardiology Dr Darrel Francis and colleagues calculate that the reduction in heart attack risk offered by a statin is enough to offset the increase in heart attack risk from eating a cheeseburger and drinking a milkshake Dr Francis from the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College London who