Rhythm controls everything in Nature. ____1____

　　The sun provides a basic time rhythm for all living creatures including humans. Nearly all animals are influenced by sun cycles and have developed a biological clock in their bodies following these cycles. The moon also exerts its force and influence on the sea. Its gravitational attxacSon causes the rising of the tide. ____2____When the moon is behind the Earth, centrifugal force causes the second tide of the day.

　　Animals living in tidal areas must have the instinct of predicting these changes, to avoid being stranded and dying of dehydration. Since the time of the dinosaurs, the king crab has been laying eggs1 at the seaside in a set way2. To avoid predator fish3，the eggs are always far from seawater and protected by sand. In the following two months, the eggs undergo dramatic changes related to the cycles of the moon4. When the second spring tide comes, the young king crabs have matured. ____3____

　　Most of the mammals, either the giant elephant or the small shrew, have the same average total number of heartbeats in their lifetime. Shrews live only for two and a half years, and spend their life at a high speed and high tempo. Animals like shrews with a pulse rate of 600 per minute have an average total of eight hundred million heartbeats5 throughout their life. The African elephant has a pulse rate of 25 beats per minute, and a life span6 of 60 years. The size of the body determines the speed of life. ____4____

　　As we get older, our sense of time is being influenced by the physiological changes of our body. The elderly spend more time resting, and do few sports. ____5____ For a child, a week is seen as a long time.

　　練習：

　　A　For an adult, time goes fast year by year.

　　B　It controls, for example, the flapping of birds, wings, the beating of the heart and the rising and setting of the sun.

　　C　The larger the animal is, the longer its life span is and the slower its life tempo is.

　　D　The tide goes out when the moon moves away and its attraction is weaker.

　　E　We always tend to think all the animals have the same sense of time as human beings.

　　F　The second spring tide takes them back to the sea.

　　答案與題解：

　　1.B　“空1”前面的句子“Rhythm controls everything in Nature”是主題句�！翱�1”的句子應該是陳述主題句的細節(jié)。選項B的“It controls, for example, the flapping of birds’ wings, the beating of the heart and the rising and setting of the sun”是主題句的例解。controls是兩個句子的詞匯連接手段，兩個句子的內(nèi)容也連貫，所以B是答案。

　　2.D　“空2”前面兩句說，月亮對大海施加力量和影響，其地心吸力造成漲潮�！翱�2”后的句子涉及第二次漲潮�？梢酝茢�，位于這兩個句子之間的“空2”的內(nèi)容應該與大海和潮汐有關(guān)。選項D說的是退潮，因此是答案。

　　3.F　第三段說到生長在潮汐地區(qū)的動物具有預測潮汐的本能。然后舉king crab為例。鱟遠離海岸產(chǎn)卵，并將之埋在沙下，防止食肉魚吞食。到第二次春潮來臨時,小鱟已破殼而出。“空3”應該填什么呢?選項F出現(xiàn)second spring，這是與上一句聯(lián)系的信號。再看內(nèi)容，它是上一句意思的自然發(fā)展，所以F是答案。

　　4.C　第四段說到哺乳動物不管壽命長短、體形大小，其一生心跳總次數(shù)大致相同。作者以體形大、壽命長的大象和體形小、壽命短的shrew(鼩鼱)為例說明。本段倒數(shù)第二句是結(jié)論：The size of the body determines the speed of life�！翱�4”應該填什么呢?估計應該與上述結(jié)論有關(guān)。選項C的“The larger the animal is, the longer its life span is and the slower its life tempo is”是對上一句的結(jié)論的細化說明，所以C是答案。

　　5.A　第五段說到隨著年齡的增長，生理變化會影響人的時間感�！翱�5”前面一句說到老人，“空5”后面一句說到小孩。由此可以判斷，“空5”的內(nèi)容會涉及另一個年齡段。選項A說了一個成年段，所以A是答案。