题型:阅读理解 题类:模拟题 难易度:普通
江苏省如皋市2018-2019学年高三下学期英语模拟试卷一(音频暂未更新)
A good disguise keeps you hidden, right? Well, sometimes the best disguise is actually the most dazzling because research reveals that flashy metallic iridescence(金属彩虹色) can visually puzzle predators, which allows colorful prey to survive another day. Those surprising results appear in the journal Scientific Reports.
Shining iridescent color, which changes depending on the angle from which it'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(雌雄两性), 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(捕食行为) could explain the occurrence of iridescence in prey animals."
The idea that eyecatching colors could be used as a coverup isn'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 ConcealingColoration in the Animal Kingdom, already in 1909, that 'brilliantly changeable or metallic colors are among the strongest factors in an animal's concealment'. And this sounds like a completely unreasonable thing to say, because how can colors that are both brilliant and changeable contribute to animal'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 bird'seye view.
Favorite Books for Kids
◆Me and Marvin Gardens by A. S. King Image Source: Scholastic This middle-grade novel is perfect for introducing kids to recycling, but with a fun science fiction story. Obe lives on his family's farmhouse that was built a hundred years ago-and now it's being taken over by developers. While adventuring on the land, he discovers a creature, Marvin Gardens, which only eats plastic. Kids will love this charming story. Available from Amazon, $11.89 | |
Wrinkle in Time: A Guide to the Universe by Kari Sutherland Image Source: Disney Publishing World Wide Kids may get excited to see A Wrinkle in Time. While the original novel may be too hard of a read for them right now, they can dive into the fantastical world the film takes place in with this awesome guide to the characters and locations. Available from Amazon on March 6, $11.04 | |
◆Rivers of Sunlight by Molly Bang and Penny Chisholm Image Source: Scholastic Get kids going green with a little help from this educational picture book! Filled with excellent artwork and helpful explanations, these pages are filled with important lessons about the Earth. Kids will learn about how the sun keeps the ocean currents(流)moving and how the sun can power all living things—it's pretty amazing. Available from Amazon, $7.67 | |
◆How to Code a Sandcastle by Josh Funk Image Source: Penguin Random House Pearl's sandcastle keeps getting ruined by puppies (who could be mad at that?). So she teams up with her Robot friend Pascal to solve the problem with code(编码). Combining the fun of building a sandcastle with the discovery of coding, a future engineer will love paging through this story. Available from Amazon on May15, $16.99 |
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