职称英语考试理工类B级阅读理解专项练习(1)

　　Humans might be the most highly-evolved species on the planet, but most

　　animals possess skills we can only dream of having. Imagine how much electricity

　　we could save if we could see in the dark the way cats do. Imagine leaping from

　　tree to tree like a monkey. Giraffes(长颈鹿), which are otherwise calm and

　　good-natured, sleep only 4.6 hours a day.

　　We realized a long, long time ago that nature provides the best

　　blueprint(蓝图)for invention. We've borrowed canals from beavers(河狸)and reflectors

　　from cat's eyes. Although the words "bionics" became popular only after the

　　1960s, history shows that nature has always provided ideas on solving everyday

　　problems. Our archives(档案)don't go back to the time of Leonardo da Vinci and his

　　bird-like flying machines, but we can take you to the late 19th century, where

　　we applied those same principles for building our first practical airplanes.

　　To prepare for their flight at Kitty Hawk, the Wright brothers studied the

　　movements of pigeons to figure out how they stayed high up when they were

　　heavier than air. Their success inspired scores of successors to improve on the

　　airplane by studying various aspects of nature. One of Orville Wright's pupils

　　caught and stuffed seagulls to examine their wingspan. Meanwhile, two French

　　inventors examined spinning sycamore(梧桐) seeds in an effort to apply those same

　　motions, reversed, to a helicopter.

　　Some examples are more obvious than others. The outside of the airplane

　　designed by the Wright brothers looks like a minimalistic (简单抽象艺术) structure. On

　　the other hand, Barney Connett's fish submarine (潜水艇) actually looks like a

　　fish.

　　Some bio-inspired concepts have yet to be invented. In the 1960s, the US

　　Army commissioned several university professors to conduct research on the motor

　　skills animals in hope of applying those same abilities to tanks. Tanks that run

　　like horses or jump like grasshoppers(蚂蚱)-sounds shocking, doesn't it? But

　　imagine how life would change if we could achieve that.

　　36. "cats","monkeys" and "giraffes" mentioned in paragraph 1 are examples

　　to illustrate

　　A. they are highly-evolved species as humans.

　　B. humans can learn animals'skills.

　　C. they are skillful in different ways.

　　D. animals have skills that humans do not possess.

　　37. Which of the following can be found in the archive gallery?

　　A. History books.

　　B. The Wright brothers'sculpture.

　　C. First practical airplanes built in the late 19th century.

　　D. Leonardo da vinci's bird-like flying machines.

　　38. What happened after the Wright brothers'success?

　　A. People carried out a systematic study on pigeons.

　　B. People studied more animals and plants to develop the airplane.

　　C. People cound fly their airplane for fun.

　　D. People kept their airplane at a French gallery.

　　39. Which of the following in true about the research carried out by the US

　　Army?

　　A. It has changed our life.

　　B. It has cost a large sum of money.

　　C. It has improved the abilities of tanks.

　　D. It has not succeeded yet.

　　40. What does the writer want to tell in the passage?

　　A. Many inventions get ideas from nature.

　　B. Some animals possess unique skills.

　　C. People should protect nature.

　　D. Bionics is far from perfect.

　　参考答案：36 A 37 D 38 C 39 B 40 B

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