People diet to look more attractive. Fish diet to avoid being beaten up, thrown out of their social group, and getting eaten as a result. That is the fascinating conclusion of the latest research into fish behavior by a team of Australian scientists.
The research team have discovered that subordinate fish voluntarily diet to avoid challenging their larger competitors. “In studying gobies we noticed that only the largest two individuals, a male and female, had breeding （繁殖） rights within the group,” explains Marian Wong. “All other group members are nonbreeding females, each being 5-10% smaller than its next largest competitor. We wanted to find out how they maintain this precise size separation.”
The reason for the size difference was easy to see. Once a subordinate fish grows to within 5-10% of the size of its larger competitor, it causes a fight which usually ends in the smaller goby being driven away from the group. More often than not, the evicted fish is then eaten up.
It appeared that the smaller fish were keeping themselves small in order to avoid challenging the boss fish. Whether they did so voluntarily, by restraining how much they ate, was not clear. The research team decided to do an experiment. They tried to fatten up some of the subordinate gobies to see what happened. To their surprise, the gobies simply refused the extra food they were offered, clearly preferring to remain small and avoid fights, over having a feast.
The discovery challenges the traditional scientific view of how boss individuals keep their position in a group. Previously it was thought that large individuals simply used their weight and size to threaten their subordinates and take more of the food for themselves, so keeping their competitors small.
While the habits of gobies may seem a little mysterious, Dr. Wong explains that understanding the relationships between boss and subordinate animals is important to understanding how hierarchical （等级的） societies remain stable.
The research has proved the fact that voluntary dieting is a habit far from exclusive to humans. “As yet, we lack a complete understanding of how widespread the voluntary reduction of food intake is in nature,” the researchers comment. “Data on human dieting suggests that, while humans generally diet to improve health or increase attractiveness, rarely does it improve long-term health and males regularly prefer females that are fatter than the females’ own ideal.”
1.When a goby grows to within 5-10% of the size of its larger competitor, it .
A. faces danger B. has breeding rights
C. eats its competitor D. leaves the group itself
2.The underlined words “the evicted fish” in Paragraph 3 refer to .
A. the fish beaten up B. the fish found out
C. the fish fattened up D. the fish driven away
3.The experiment showed that the smaller fish .
A. fought over a feast B. went on diet willingly
C. preferred some extra food D. challenged the boss fish
4.What is the text mainly about?
A. Fish dieting and human dieting.
B. Dieting and health.
C. Human dieting.
D. Fish dieting.
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Eddie McKay, a once-forgotten pilot, is a subject of great interest to a group of history students in Canada.
It all started when Graham Broad, a professor at the University of Western Ontario, found McKay’s name in a footnote in a book about university history. McKay was included in a list of university alumni （校友） who had served during the First World War, but his name was unfamiliar to Broad, a specialist in military history. Out of curiosity, Broad spent hours at the local archives （档案馆） in a fruitless search for information on McKay. Tired and discouraged, he finally gave up. On his way out, Broad’s glance happened to fall on an exhibiting case showing some old newspapers. His eye was drawn to an old picture of a young man in a rugby uniform. As he read the words beside the picture, he experienced a thrilling realization. “After looking for him all day, there he was, staring up at me out of the exhibiting case,” said Broad. Excited by the find, Broad asked his students to continue his search. They combed old newspapers and other materials for clues. Gradually, a picture came into view.
Captain Alfred Edwin McKay joined the British Royal Flying Corps in 1916. He downed ten enemy planes, outlived his entire squadron （中队） as a WWI flyer, spent some time as a flying instructor in England, then returned to the front, where he was eventually shot down over Belgium and killed in December 1917. But there’s more to his story. “For a brief time in 1916 he was probably the most famous pilot in the world,” says Broad. “He was credited with downing Oswald Boelcke, the most famous German pilot at the time.” Yet, in a letter home, McKay refused to take credit, saying that Boelcke had actually crashed into another German plane.
McKay’s war records were destroyed during a World War II air bombing on London — an explanation for why he was all but forgotten.
But now, thanks to the efforts of Broad and his students, a marker in McKay’s memory was placed on the university grounds in November 2007. “I found my eyes filling with tears as I read the word ‘deceased’ （阵亡） next to his name,” said Corey Everrett, a student who found a picture of Mckay in his uniform. “This was such a simple example of the fact that he had been a student just like us, but instead of finishing his time at Western, he chose to fight and die for his country.”
1.What made Professor Broad continue his search for more information on McKay?
A. A uniform of McKay. B. A footnote about McKay.
C. A book on McKay. D. A picture of McKay.
2.What did the students find out about McKay?
A. He trained pilots for some time.
B. He lived longer than other pilots.
C. He died in the Second World War.
D. He was downed by the pilot Boelcke.
3.McKay’s flying documents were destroyed in .
A. Belgium B. Germany C. Canada D. England
4.We can learn from the last paragraph that McKay .
A. preferred fight to his study
B. went to war before graduation
C. left a picture for Corey Everrett
D. set an example for his fellow students
5.What is the text mainly about?
A. The research into war history.
B. The finding of a forgotten hero.
C. The pilots of the two world wars.
D. The importance of military studies.
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从第36至第55小题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
“It’s no use, Mum,” said Johnny. “I’m just no good at dancing.”
“You’ve got to keep trying. Tonight will be 1, dear. Try a turn with that pretty Lisette.”
Johnny 2. Every Saturday night used to be the best of the week. He and his parents went to the 3at the Club, where his hero, Alcide, played the accordion （手风琴） with the band. But lately everything had changed. Now that Johnny was older, he was 4to dance with a girl!
5Johnny and his parents arrived at the Club, music had already started. Johnny got up his 6to approach Lisette. “May I have this dance?” Johnny asked. “That’s all right,” said Lisette. Johnny struggled to keep up with Lisette’s 7steps, but he was always one beat behind her. Then Johnny heard his friend Pierre say, “Look! Johnny has two left feet!” 8
burst from the crowd. Johnny 9and ran outside, determined never to go to another dance.
The next Saturday, Alcide 10to Johnny’s house for some potatoes. He happened to hear Johnny playing the accordion. Alcide’s eyes 11. “Bring that accordion and play some songs tonight,” Alcide said. Then he drove off, leaving Johnny staring open- mouthed 12him.
At the Club, Johnny scanned the crowd for Lisette and 13her. The band played for a long time before Alcide said, “Dear friends, I got a 14for you tonight. Young Johnny is going to join us!” 15, Johnny stepped up on the platform, his eyes on the floor. He began to play, and the band 16behind him. When the song ended, he heard cheers. Johnny kept playing until the dance was 17. “You did a fine job tonight. Play with us again next Saturday night,” Alcide said. “Yes, sir!” said Johnny. 18he went outside, Johnny saw Lisette and her friends near the door. Lisette stepped 19, smiling. “You played really good tonight!” she said.
“Thank you,” Johnny blushed （脸红）. As he walked on, Pierre 20moved out of the way for him to pass.
Johnny patted his accordion. Come to think of it, in his whole life, he had never once seen Alcide out on the dance floor.
1.A. difficult B. troublesome C. different D. terrible
2.A. answered B. sighed C. smiled D. laughed
3.A. platform B. appointment C. meeting D. dance
4.A. expected B. invited C. allowed D. chosen
5.A. If B. Since C. Though D. When
6.A. spirits B. feelings C. courage D. strength
7.A. smooth B. clumsy C. slow D. small
8.A. Shouts B. Laughter C. Applause D. Cheers
9.A. broke away B. went out C. broke up D. turned out
10.A. ran B. walked C. drove D. cycled
11.A. opened B. rolled C. sharpened D. widened
12.A. off B. with C. after D. for
13.A. caught B. searched C. sought D. spotted
14.A. surprise B. puzzle C. story D. joke
15.A. Struggling B. Trembling C. Wandering D. Whispering
16.A. got round B. joined in C. turned around D. showed off
17.A. in B. out C. over D. on
18.A. As B. Because C. Until D. So
19.A. backward B. forward C. onward D. downward
20.A. still B. even C. ever D. almost
— The food here is nice enough.
— My friend ______ me a right place.
A. introduces B. introduced C. had introduced D. was introducing
______ the police thought he was the most likely one, since they had no exact proof about it, they could not arrest him.
A. Although B. As long as C. If only D. As soon as
