Michael Fish may soon be replaced as a weather forecaster by the shark (鲨鱼).
Research by a British biology student suggests that sharks could be used to predict storms. Lauren Smith, 24, is close to completing her study on shark’s ability to sense pressure. If her studies prove the theory, scientists may be able to monitor the behavior of sharks to predict bad weather.
Miss Smith had previously studied the behavior of lemon sharks in the Bahamas.
She then used their close relatives, lesser spotted dogfish, for further research at Aberdeen University.
Her work---thought to be the first of its kind to test the pressure theory ---- resulted from the observation that juvenile blacktip sharks off Florida moved into deeper water ahead of a violent storm in 2001.
Miss Smith said: “I’ve always been crazy about traveling and diving and this led me to an interest in sharks.”
“I was delighted to have been able to research in the area for my degree. I know there’s so much more we need to understand ---- but it certainly opens the way to more research.”
It has been discovered that a shark senses pressure using hair cells in its balance system.
At the Bimini Shark Lab in the Bahamas, Miss Smith fixed hi-tech sensors to sharks to record pressure and temperature, while also tracking them using GPS (Global Positioning System) technology.
In Aberdeen, she was able to study the effects of tidal (潮汐的) and temperature changes on dogfish----none of which were harmed. She also used a special lab which can mimic (模拟) oceanic pressure changes caused by weather fronts.
She is due to complete her study and graduate later this year. She says she will be looking for a job which will give her the chance to enrich her experience of shark research.
小题1:The passage is most probably taken from _______.
A．a short-story collection
B．a popular science magazine
C．a research paper
D．a personal diary小题2:What do we learn from the first four paragraphs of the passage?
A．Sharks may be used to predict bad weather.
B．Sharks’ behavior can be controlled.
C．Michael Fish is not fit for his job.
D．Lauren Smith will become a weather forecaster.小题3:Lauren Smith conducted her research by _______.
A．removing hair cells from a shark’s balance system
B．measuring the air pressure of weather fronts
C．recording sharks’ body temperature
D．monitoring sharks’ reaction to weather changes小题4:What is the passage mainly about?
A．A popular way of forecasting weather.
B．A new research effort in predicting storms.
C．Biologists’ interest in the secrets of sharks.
D．Lauren Smith’s devotion to scientific research.
小题1:B
小题2:A
小题3:D
小题4:B
题目分析：本文为科普类文章，介绍了一位英国生物系学生对于鲨鱼来预测暴风雨的研究。
小题1:推理判断题。本题适宜用排除法。由文章内容来看这是一篇科普文，A、D可删除，由文章的语言来看，并未出现大量的专业术语，可删除C “a research paper”(科研论文) 选B
小题2:推理判断题。由第一段和第四段可知，前四段所要表达的含义为If her studies prove the theory, scientists may be able to monitor the behavior of Sharks to predict bad weather。(科学家们可以通过监视鲨鱼的行为来预测不好的天气”。故A 项正确。
小题3:事实细节题。由文章倒数第三段可知,Miss Smith 在鲨鱼身上安装高科技感应器来记录pressure(压力)和temperature(温度),故选D 项,C 项不全面。
小题4:主旨大意题。文章的主旨句为第二段,全文围绕着鲨鱼可能被用来预测天气的研究展开。因此,B 项正确。
点评：细节推断题要求学生根据语篇关系，推断具体细节，如时间、地点、人物关系、人物身份、事件等。一般可根据短文提供的信息，或者借助生活常识进行推理判断。解答此类题，不仅需要我们有一定的社会基础知识，而且还需要对细节以及有关背景知识有一个充分的理解。