【文章內(nèi)容簡介】 he journal Scientific Reports. Shining iridescent color, which changes depending on the angle from which it39。s viewed, is favored by everything from birds to beetles and blossoms to butterflies. And in our research group we are of course interested in why this vivid metallic color is so widespread in nature. Karin Kjernsmo of the University of Bristol adds that in some cases the showy splashes of light are a sexual strategy. Here I would like to point out that in some species, particularly those that display strong sexual dimorphism(雌雄兩性), such as birds of paradise or some butterflies or fishes, the occurrence of iridescence is most likely driven by sexual selection. For example, in many of these cases it is the males that have these vivid iridescent colors and they use them in mate choice or they use them as a signal to attract mates. But iridescence also shows up in situations where reproduction is not an issue. So what we are studying now is whether natural selection imposed by predation(捕食行為) could explain the occurrence of iridescence in prey animals. The idea that eye173。catching colors could be used as a cover173。up isn39。t a new one. The father of camouflage theory, Abbott Thayer, really believed that iridescence should be categorized as a camouflage strategy. And he wrote in his famous lifework Concealing173。Coloration in the Animal Kingdom, already in 1909, that 39。brilliantly changeable or metallic colors are among the strongest factors in an animal39。s concealment39。. And this sounds like a pletely unreasonable thing to say, because how can colors that are both brilliant and changeable contribute to animal39。s concealment？ In a similar way, we were asking whether iridescence, due to its changeability, could work as a form of camouflage by preventing shape recognition. Kjernsmo and her colleagues trained bumblebees to associate a particular shape—a circle or an oval—with a sugar reward. And they found that the bees, when given a choice, would preferentially visit the shape they knew to be sweet. But when the shapes were iridescent, the bees had trouble telling them apart. It seemed that the strikingly iridescent surfaces on our targets visually broke up the otherwise recognizable shape of the targets, which made them hard to distinguish. As for making use of this method for hiding in plain sight, Any practical applications is of course directly linked to any industry that has an interest in camouflage, that is how to conceal objects or make them more difficult to recognize. The researchers are currently conducting experiments with birds, which often prey on iridescent insects to see if it helps to have a bird39。s173。eye view.（1）According to the passage, iridescence is not made use of by animals to ________. A.live a little longer by escaping their predator(捕食者)B.catch the attention of their matesC.conceal themselves when in dangerD.catch sight of more colorful preys（2）From the study in the last paragraph, we can learn that ________. A.Bees can always tell the difference between a circle and an ovalB.Bees are creatures that are fascinated by sweet things that are iridescentC.If a circle, with a sugar reward, is iridescent, the bees may have difficulty finding itD.Bees are likely to prefer circles to ovals, whether they are iridescent or not（3）What will be talked about in the following paragraph? A.Whether there are any differences between bees and birds.B.Some industries that have great interest in camouflage.C.Why birds are not effected by iridescent insects.D.Which camouflage theory applies more to birds.（4）Which of the following might serve as the best title of the passage? A.A famous camouflage strategyB.Metallic iridescent as the best disguiseC.Colors unique to animalsD.Shining colors as a sexual strategy【答案】 （1）D（2）C（3）C（4）B 【解析】【分析】本文是一篇說明文，介紹了彩虹色有助于生物隱藏。 （1）考查細(xì)節(jié)理解。根據(jù)第一段中的“A good disguise keeps you hidden, right? Well, sometimes the best disguise is actually the most dazzling because research reveals that flashy metallic iridescence(金屬彩虹色) can visually puzzle predators, which allows colorful prey to survive another day.”可知彩虹色被動物用來通過逃離捕食者而活得更久，排除A；根據(jù)第三段中的“Here I would like to point out that in some species, particularly those that display strong sexual dimorphism(雌雄兩性), such as birds of paradise or some butterflies or fishes, the occurrence of iridescence is most likely driven by sexual selection.”在這里我想指出的是，在某些物種中，尤其是那些表現(xiàn)出強(qiáng)烈兩性差異的物種，比如天堂鳥、孔雀，甚至在某些蝴蝶或魚類中，彩虹色的出現(xiàn)很可能是由性別選擇所驅(qū)動的。可知動物用彩虹色引起同伴的注意，排除B；根據(jù)倒數(shù)第二段中的“The idea that eye173。catching colors could be used as a cover173。up isn39。t a new one.”引人注目的顏色可以用來偽裝，這種想法并不新鮮，排除C，故選D。 （2）考查細(xì)節(jié)理解。根據(jù)最后一段中的“It seemed that the strikingly iridescent surfaces on our targets visually broke up the otherwise recognizable shape of the targets, which made them hard to distinguish.”似乎我們的目標(biāo)上驚人的彩虹表面在視覺上打破了原本可以辨認(rèn)的目標(biāo)形狀，這使得它們很難區(qū)分。故選C。 （3）考查推理判斷。根據(jù)最后一段說研究人員目前正在對鳥類進(jìn)行實(shí)驗(yàn)，這些鳥類的飲食中經(jīng)常含有彩虹色的昆蟲。實(shí)驗(yàn)?zāi)康氖强纯带B類的視角是否能提供幫助。由此推斷接下來一段會談?wù)?為什么鳥類不受彩虹色昆蟲的影響，故選C。 （4）考查主旨大意。第一段中的“Well, sometimes the best disguise is actually the most dazzling because research reveals that flashy metallic iridescence(金屬彩虹色) can visually puzzle predators, which allows colorful prey to survive another day.”有時，最好的偽裝其實(shí)是最耀眼的偽裝，因?yàn)檠芯勘砻鳎W光的金屬彩虹色能在視覺上迷惑捕食者，這讓五顏六色的獵物能夠再存活一天，是全文的主題句，結(jié)合全文內(nèi)容，可知這篇文章主要講了彩虹色有助于生物隱藏，故選B。 【點(diǎn)評】本題考點(diǎn)涉及細(xì)節(jié)理解，推理判斷和主旨大意三個題型的考查，是一篇科研類閱讀，要求考生在捕捉細(xì)節(jié)信息的基礎(chǔ)上，進(jìn)一步根據(jù)上下文的邏輯關(guān)系，進(jìn)行分析，推理，概括和歸納，從而選出正確答案。5．犇犇Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read. The Rapid Rise and Fall of Robot Babysitters During the winter of 2017, an 18year old college student named Canon Reeves spent much of his time trailing a kneehigh robot around Fayetteville, Arkansas, as it delivered Amazon packages to students. The rob