Question

【題目】 Bombardier beetles are known for their skillful response to predators (捕食性動物).If they are about to be eaten, the insects spray their predators with boiling-hot chemicals. If they get swallowed anyway, they have plan B: Blast (爆炸) their way out from the inside.

In an experiment, scientists watched as a Japanese stream toad readily swallowed an Asian bombardier beetle. But 44 minutes later, the toad vomited (嘔吐) the contents of its stomach. The insect ran away, physically unharmed.

“The vomited beetle was alive and active,” study authors Shinji Sugiura and Takuya Sato of Kobe University in Japan reported in the journal Biology Letters. Why, the researchers wondered, does luck always favor the escape artists? To find out, they needed more of them, and they needed to feed them to more toads. Scientists gathered 15 species of ground beetles, including the bombardier beetle. They also collected Japanese common toads, which are natural bombardier beetle predators, and Japanese stream toads, which do not live in the same place as the insect.

Sugiura and Sato hypothesized (假設) that over years of exposure, the common toad species developed a greater tolerance to the bombardier beetle's poisonous chemicals than the stream toads had. The bombardier beetles were divided into two groups. Some were poked (戳) with special tools, which caused them to release all their poisonous chemical spray. Other beetles were left alone. Then they were fed to the toads.

The toads that swallowed a fully loaded bombardier beetle were in for a surprise. “An explosion was heard inside each toad, which indicates that the bombardier beetle sent up a chemical spray after being swallowed, the authors wrote. The common toads vomited their prey 35 percent of the time. The stream toads vomited their prey 57 percent of the time. That confirmed their hypothesis about the toads' evolutionary adaptation. All 16 of the vomited insects were “alive and active” 20 minutes later. Almost all the beetles that released their defensive chemicals before meeting the toads were “successfully digested”. The test told the researchers that the beetles' boiling chemical spray was indeed their ticket to freedom.

【1】When Bombardier beetles are in danger, they can ______.

A.have relevant ways to escapeB.bring up the content of stomach

C.cause damage to their enemiesD.make no response to outside attack

【2】What was the scientists’ assumption before the experiment?

A.Bombardier beetles were always lucky to escape.

B.Japanese common toads were natural predators.

C.Common toads had the ability to resist the poison.

D.Bombardier beetles could release poison constantly.

【3】What do we know about Sugiura and Sato’s test?

A.It showed the process of the insects’ evolution.

B.It demonstrated the harm of explosion in the toads.

C.It stressed the importance of a balanced ecosystem.

D.It provided convincing evidence for their assumption.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】A

【2】C

【3】D

【解析】

這是一篇說明文。文章介紹了一種叫Bombardier beetles的昆蟲在被攻擊時噴出滾燙的毒液來進行自保。科學家們用日本的常見蟾蜍和溪流蟾蜍兩種不同物種來進行試驗，發(fā)現(xiàn)生活在Bombardier beetles所在地區(qū)的常見蟾蜍對那種昆蟲噴出來的毒液有抵抗性，而生活在其他的地區(qū)的溪流蟾蜍則基本沒有這種抵抗力。

【1】

細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)文章第一段Bombardier beetles are known for their skillful response to predators. If they are about to be eaten, the insects spray their predators with boiling-hot chemicals. If they get swallowed anyway, they have plan B: Blast (爆炸) their way out from the inside.(龐巴迪甲蟲以其對捕食者的熟練反應而聞名。如果它們即將被吃掉，昆蟲就會用滾燙的化學物質(zhì)噴灑捕食者。 如果他們被吞下去，他們有計劃B：從內(nèi)部炸出一條路)可知，無論是噴灑滾燙的化學物質(zhì)，還是從內(nèi)部炸出條生路，都是為了從捕食者那里逃脫的方法。故選A。

【2】

細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第四段Sugiura and Sato hypothesized (假設) that over years of exposure, the common toad species developed a greater tolerance to the bombardier beetle's poisonous chemicals than the stream toads had.(杉浦和佐藤假設，在多年的暴露中，普通蟾蜍物種對龐巴迪甲蟲有毒化學物質(zhì)的耐受性比溪流蟾蜍強)可知，在實驗之前，科學家假設普通蟾蜍對毒液有抵抗能力。故選C。

【3】

細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)最后一段第四行That confirmed their hypothesis about the toads’ evolutionary adaptation.(這證實了他們關于蟾蜍進化適應的假設) 可知，實驗為他們的假設提供了令人信服的證據(jù)。故選D。