Question

B

Humans aren't the only ones getting a buzz from coffee. Caffeine can improve memory among honeybees and lead to better pollination(授粉)，according to a re?cent study published in the journal Science.

The study was conducted by a team of researchers at Newcastle University in theUnited Kingdom. They found that the nectar(花蜜)of some flowers, such as those from grapefruit and lemon plants, as well as cer?tain coffee flowers, contains low closes of caffeine. To get bees to feed on these flowers, the team trained the insects to associate food with the smell of the flowers. They also trained another group of bees to feed on nec?tar from flowers that were sweetened with a sugar, but did not contain caffeine. After 24 hours, the bees trained on caffeinated flowers returned to these plants three times as often as those trained on the sweetened flowers returned to the uncaffeinated plants.

Professor Geraldine Wright led the researchers. "Remembering floral traits (花部特征)is difficult for bees to perform at a fast pace as they fly from flower to flower and we found that caffeine helps the bee remem?ber where the flowers are?" Wright said in a statement.

Improved memory led to the better pollination. That's because once bees sip the caffeine nectar, they continue to look for more coffee plants to pollinate. This also suggests that caffeine plays a role in improving the bees' ability to search for food.

Researchers found that caffeine's effect on the bee brain is similar to its effect on mammals. "The change is similar to that produced by caffeine in neurons(神經(jīng)兀) associated with learning and memory in the rat brain," Wright said.

Bee populations have declining since 2007. The dra?matic drop in the insects' numbers has serious effects on ecosystem and the farming industry. Bees are needed in the reproduction of crops and spreading wild flower spe?cies. Understanding what keeps bees buzzing could help to make sure that the insects are able to remember and pollinate their favourite flowers.

5.    Which of the following is mentioned in the passage?

A.    Caffeine has no effect on the rat brain.

B.    Bee population has been increasing.

C.    The nectar of lemon plants contains caffeine.

D.    Bees dislike nectar from sweetened flowers.

6.    After reading the passage, John, who works in the farming industry, will probably feel .

A.   annoyed B. angry

C.  nervous   D. excited

7.    We can know from the passage that .

A.    the rat is a mammal

B.    caffeine has nothing to do with memory

C.    bees are good at remembering floral traits

D.    Geraldine Wright did the research on his own

8.    What section of a newspaper may this passage be taken from?

A.  Science.  B. Education.

C.  Culture.   D. Sports.

Answer 1

【文章大意】文章介紹了從咖啡中受益的不僅僅是人類，有的花蜜中含有咖啡因，吃了帶有咖啡因的花蜜的蜜蜂能提髙記憶力， 從而更多地授粉，因此農(nóng)產(chǎn)品的產(chǎn)量得以提髙。

C 細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第二段中的"They found that the nec-tar(花蜜)of some flowers, such as those from grapefruit and lemon plants, as well as certain coffee flowers, contains low doses of caffeine."可知檸檬的花蜜里含有咖啡因。

D 推理判斷題。從文章最后一段中的"The dramatic drop in the insects' numbers has serious effects on ecosystem and the farming industry. Bees are needed in the reproduction of crops and spreading wild flower species."可以看出蜜蜂數(shù)量的下降巳經(jīng)對(duì)生態(tài)和種植業(yè)產(chǎn)生了嚴(yán)重的影響，吃了帶咖啡因花粉的蜜蜂會(huì)更多地授粉，從而提高農(nóng)產(chǎn)品的產(chǎn)量。故作為從事種植業(yè)的John讀了這篇文章會(huì)感到興奮。

A推理判斷題。從文章倒數(shù)第二段可以推斷老鼠也是一種哺乳動(dòng)物。

A 文章出處題。從第一段的句子"…according to a recent study published in the journal Science.'，可看出這篇文章出自報(bào)紙的科技版面。