| A ． smarts B ． strategies C ． signal D ． guideline E. normal F. automatic G. challenged H. deceives I. target J. suspended K. disturbance |
Spiders are Smarter than We Think People tend to associate intelligence with brain size. As a general ___36___ , this makes sense: the more brain cells, the more mental capabilities. Humans, and many of the other animals we have come to think of as intelligent, such as chimpanzees and dolphins, all have large brains. And it’s long been assumed that the smallest brains simply don’t have the capacity to support complex mental processes. But what if we are wrong and they actually do?
“Spiders are one case where this general idea is ___37___ ”, said Dimitar Dimitrove of the University Museum of Bergen in Norway, “Behaviors that can be described as ‘cognitive’, as opposed to ___38___ responses, are fairly common among spiders.” Jumping spiders are the undisputed champions of cognition among spiders. The jumping spiders shown to have the most impressive ___39___ belong to the genus( 属 )Portia, found in Africa, Asia and Australia. These spiders prefer to hunt other spiders and have ___40___ tailored to each species they prey on.
When hunting another group of jumping spiders called Euryattus, Portia employs a clever trick. Euryattus females build nests in curled-up dead leaves ___41___ in air by silk attached to rocks or vegetation. Courting males crawl down the silk ropes, stand on top of the nest, and shake it in a specific way. The ___42___ draws the female out of the nest.
To pursue a spider that also eats Jumping spiders, Portia ___43___ it into moving closer by plucking （拔） some of the silk strands of its web. If the ___44___ spider is relatively small, Portia plucks the web to imitate a trapped insect, prompting the spider to rush over, thinking it is about to have a meal—only to become one itself. But if the spider is bigger and potentially more dangerous, Portia may copy a gentle ____45____ similar to a fruit fly contacting a single strand at the edge of the web that the spider will slowly wander over to inspect. As soon as the target is close enough, Portia pounces and strikes with its poisonous long sharp teeth.
D 37 ． G 38 ． F 39 ． A 40 ． B 41 ． J 42 ． C 43 ． H 44 ． I 45 ． K
【导语】这是一篇说明文。人们习惯于将智力与大脑的大小联系起来，但是蜘蛛却颠覆了固有的认知，它们有微小头脑却有浩瀚心智，文章还介绍了有着认知领域公认的冠军称号的跳蛛是如何捕猎的。
36 ．考查名词。句意：作为一般准则，这是有道理的：脑细胞越多，心智能力越强。句子结构分析可知设空处作宾语，根据上文的 “People tend to associate intelligence with brain size. ” 以及下文的 “And it’s long been assumed that the smallest brains simply don’t have the capacity to support complex mental processes. ” 可知脑子大小是人们长期以来判断心智能力的准则，所以名词 “guideline 意为 “ 指导原则，参考 ” 符合句意。故选 D 。
37 ．考查动词及语态。句意： “ 蜘蛛是这种普遍想法受到挑战的一个案例， ” 挪威 Bergen 大学博物馆的 Dimitar Dimitrove 说， “ 可以描述为 ‘ 认知 ’ 的行为，而不是无意识的反应，在蜘蛛中可能相当普遍。 ” 根据第一段最后一句 “And it’s long been assumed that the smallest brains simply don’t have the capacity to support complex mental processes. But what if we are wrong and they actually do?” 以及下文的 “Jumping spiders are the undisputed champions of cognition among spiders.” 可知跳蛛是蜘蛛中无可争议的认知冠军，挑战了一直以来的普遍观点：最小的大脑根本没有能力支持复杂的心理过程，所以 challenge“ 挑战 ” 为动词，符合题意， this general idea 与 challenge 之间是被动关系，所以此句用被动语态，设空处填过去分词 challenged 。故选 G 。
38 ．考查形容词。句意： “ 蜘蛛是这种普遍想法受到挑战的一个案例， ” 挪威 Bergen 大学博物馆的 Dimitar Dimitrove 说， “ 可以描述为 ‘ 认知 ’ 的行为，而不是无意识的反应，在蜘蛛中可能相当普遍。 ” 句子分析可知，设空处作定语修饰名词 “responses” ，根据下文 “These spiders prefer to hunt other spiders and have __5_ tailored to each species they prey on.” 以及下文的详细阐述可知蜘蛛的行为不是自动反应， automatic“ 无意识的，自动的 ” 为形容词，符合句意。故选 F 。
39 ．考查名词。句意：被证明具有最令人印象深刻的智慧的跳蛛属于孔蛛（ Portia ）属，分布在非洲、亚洲和澳大利亚。句子分析可知设空处在句中作宾语，由上文 “Jumping spiders are the undisputed champions of cognition among spiders. ” 可知跳蛛极具智慧， smarts 意为 “ 智慧，聪明才智 ” 为不可数名词，符合句意。故选 A 。
40 ．考查名词复数。句意：这些蜘蛛更喜欢捕食其他蜘蛛，并有针对它们捕食的每个物种量身定制的策略。句子结构分析可知设空处作宾语，由下文 “When hunting another group of jumping spiders called Euryattus, Portia employs a clever trick. ” 以及跳珠捕猎的详细阐述可知跳珠有针对猎物量身定做的计策，所以 strategy“ 策略，计策，行动计划 ” 为名词，符合句意，作此意时 strategy 为可数名词，句中为复数概念，所以填 strategies 。故选 B 。
41 ．考查非谓语动词。句意：雌性 Euryattus 蜘蛛会在蜷曲的枯叶中筑巢，然后用蛛丝将枯叶悬吊在岩石或植物下面。句子分析可知，设空处在句中作后置定语修饰 “ curled-up dead leaves” ，根据下文 “in air by silk attached to rocks or vegetation” 及句意可知动词 suspend“ 悬，吊，挂 ” 符合题意， dead leaves 与 suspend 之间是逻辑上的被动关系，所以用过去分词 suspended 。故选 J 。
42 ．考查名词。句意：这个信号吸引雌性离开巢穴。句子分析可知，设空处在句中作主语，根据上文 “Courting males crawl down the silk ropes, stand on top of the nest, and shake it in a specific way. ” 以及句中的 “draws the female out of the nest.” 可知这是雄性 Euryattus 蜘蛛求爱的信号，名词 signal“ 信号 ” 符合句意。故选 C 。
43 ．考查动词。句意：为了捕猎那些同样以跳蛛为食的蜘蛛， Portia 蛛通过拔掉蜘蛛网的一些丝线来欺骗蜘蛛靠近。句子分析可知设空处在句中作谓语动词，根据下文的 “Portia plucks the web to imitate a trapped insect” 以及 “Portia may copy a gentle __10___ similar to a fruit fly contacting a single strand …” 可知 Portia 蛛通过模仿来欺骗猎物，所以动词 deceive“ 欺骗 ” 符合句意， Portia 作主语，谓语动词用单数，所以填 deceives 。故选 H 。
44 ．考查名词。句意：如果目标蜘蛛比较小， Portia 蛛就会模仿受困的昆虫触动蛛网，赶来的蜘蛛自以为可以饱餐一顿，结果自己却做了其他蜘蛛的大餐。句子分析可知设空处作定语修饰名词 spider ，由句意可知此处指的是 Portia 蛛想要猎取的目标， target“ （攻击的）目标，对象 ” 为名词，符合句意。故选 I 。
45 ．考查名词。句意：但如果目标蜘蛛很大并且可能更加危险， Portia 蛛就可能会模仿果蝇，只触动蛛网边缘的单根蛛丝，这样织网蛛就会缓慢靠近查看。句子分析可知设空处作宾语，根据句中 “contacting a single strand at the edge of the web that the spider will slowly wander over to inspect.” 可知 Portia 蛛通过触动蛛网，让对方出来查看，然后捕食，所以名词 disturbance“ 打扰，干扰 ” 符合句意。故选 K 。
请认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一个最恰当的单词。注意：每个空格只填1个单词。
Feeling extreme loneliness can increase an older person’s risk of premature (过早的)death by 14 percent, according to research by John Cacioppo, professor of psychology at the University of Chicago.
Cacioppo and his colleagues’ work shows that the impact of loneliness on premature death is nearly as strong as the impact of disadvantaged socioeconomic status, which they found increases the chances of dying early by 19 percent. A 2010 meta﹣analysis showed that loneliness has twice as much impact on early death as obesity does, he said.
The researchers looked at dramatic differences in the rate of decline in physical and mental health as people aged. Cacioppo and his colleagues have examined the role of satisfying relationships on older people to develop their resilience ([rɪˈzɪliəns] 快速恢复的能力；适应力), the ability to feel better quickly after something unpleasant, and grow from stresses in life.
The consequences for health are dramatic, as feeling isolated or separated from others can disturb sleep, elevate blood pressure, increase morning rises in the stress hormone cortisol ([‘kɔ:tɪsɒl] 皮质醇), change the gene expression in immune cells, increase depression and lower overall subjective well﹣being, Cacioppo pointed out in a talk, “ Rewarding Social Connections Promote Successful Aging.”
Cacioppo, one of the nation’s leading experts on loneliness, said older people can avoid the consequences of loneliness by staying in touch with former co﹣workers, taking part in family traditions, and sharing good times with family and friends ﹣ all of which give older adults a chance to connect with others about whom they care and who care about them.
”Retiring to Florida to live in a warmer climate among strangers isn’t necessarily a good idea if it means you are disconnected from the people who mean much to you,” said Cacioppo. Population changes make understanding the role of loneliness and health all the more important,he explained. “People have to think about how to protect themselves from depression, low subjective well﹣being and early death. “
Although some people are happy to be alone, most people develop from social situations in which they provide mutual support and establish a strong bond. Evolution encourages people to work together to survive and accordingly most people enjoy companionship compared to be alone.
It is not solitude (独处)or physical isolation itself, but rather the subjective sense of isolation that Cacioppo’s work shows to be so destructive. Older people living alone are not necessarily lonely if they remain actively engaged in social life and enjoy the company of those around them. Some aspects of aging, such as blindness and loss of hearing, however, place people at special risk of becoming isolated and lonely, he said.
| Passage outline | Supporting details |
| The main idea | Chances are that older people will die early if they feel extremely 51．. |
| 52． with loneliness | • Like disadvantaged socioeconomic status and obesity, loneliness can 53． old men’s premature death. • When 54． from others, one will find physical health impacted and tend to feel depressive and unhappy. |
| Suggestions | • Keep in touch with others and take part in 55． activities. • Choosing to live in a pleasant climate don’t necessarily make sense if the elder are disconnected from people who are 56． to them. • Think about how to57． depression, low subjective well﹣being and early death. • Work together with others to 58．, to gain mutual support and establish a strong bond. |
| Conclusions | • The sense of isolation, rather than solitude or physical isolation itself, isn’t 59．to elders. • Living alone doesn’t mean loneliness if older people live an 60． social life. |