D
To look inside an ant nest is to meet with an alien civilization. The boiling mass of worker ants beneath an upturned stone is both strangely reminiscent of (联想到) human society and strikingly different. There is an organization that fascinates us and a long line of myrmecophiles (or ant lovers) leads back all the way to King Solomon, who in fact advised people to “go to the ant, consider her ways and be wise”. This was exactly the inspiration behind Planet Ant, a TV program showcasing what we know about the kingdom of ants, and what ants can teach us about the human world.
Like us, ants build structures, find food, defend their societies and manage waste, and-also like us-they must be well organized. For example, the leaf-cutting ants of Planet Ant have special waste disposal areas for storing harmful waste and a team of “waste-disposal ants” dedicated to keeping the nest clean. But ants achieve this familiar final result in a very different way to humans. Human societies have centralized control. In other words, someone tells us what to do. Ants, on the other hand, have decentralized control and neither the queen nor any other ant directs work. Ant workers are the final self-starters, following specific, but potentially flexible, rules in certain situations.
Chemical trails underpin much of this self-organization. Foragers (觅食者) lay a mix of chemicals known as trail pheromone (信息素) behind them as they walk. Other ants follow the trail and if they find food they reinforce it, laying more pheromone as they return to the nest. Stronger trails are more likely to be followed, so trails leading to food become progressively reinforced, while trails with no food at the end fade away.
This combination of positive feedback and evaporation (蒸发) produces an effective foraging system that is very good at finding the quickest routes to food. This simple guiding principle, and others like it, have provided some useful solutions to the complex problems faced by engineers, computer scientists and businesses.
12. Why does the author mention King Solomon in the first paragraph?
A. To provide a background. B. To show admiration for him.
C. To stress the wisdom of ants. D. To explain an abstract theory.
13. How do ants behave while performing tasks?
A. They get orders from their partners. B. They choose to do only routine tasks.
C. They strictly follow the queen’s orders. D. They follow their own senses and certain rules.
14. What does the underlined word “underpin” in paragraph 3 probably mean?
A. Decide. B. Support. C. Develop. D. Calculate.
15. What information can we get about trail pheromone from the text?
A. It comes from the food resources. B. It appears before ants’ self-organization.
C. It leads the following ants to food. D. It helps ants find their way back home.
【答案】12. C 13. D 14. B 15. C
【解析】
【分析】这是一篇说明文。文章介绍了蚂蚁充满智慧
工作方式，这种工作方式为人类提供了很多灵感。
【12题详解】
目的意图题。根据第一段第三句中的“go to the ant, consider her ways and be wise”（去看看蚂蚁，想想她的方式，然后变得有智慧）可知，作者在第一段提到了所罗门王是为了强调蚂蚁的智慧。故选C。
【13题详解】
推理判断题。根据第二段最后两句“Ants, on the other hand, have decentralized control and neither the queen nor any other ant directs work. Ant workers are the final self-starters, following specific, but potentially flexible, rules in certain situations.”（另一方面，蚂蚁的控制是分散的，既不是蚁后也不是其他蚂蚁指挥工作。蚂蚁工作者是最后的自我启动者，在某些情况下遵循特定但可能灵活的规则。）可知，在工作时蚂蚁遵循自己的感觉和某些规则。故选D。
【14题详解】
词义猜测题。根据第三段第二句“Foragers(觅食者) lay a mix of chemicals known as trail pheromone(信息素) behind them as they walk.”（觅食者行走时，身后会有一种被称为“踪迹信息素”的化学物质混合物。）可知，划线部分所在句子意为“化学踪迹对这种自组织起到支持作用。”所以underpin意为“支持”，与support同义。故选B。
【15题详解】
细节理解题。根据第三段最后两句“Other ants follow the trail and if they find food they reinforce it, laying more pheromone as they return to the nest. Stronger trails are more likely to be followed, so trails leading to food become progressively reinforced, while trails with no food at the end fade away.”（其他蚂蚁沿着这条路走，如果它们找到了食物，它们会加强这条路，在返回巢穴时释放更多的信息素。更强的路径更有可能被跟踪，所以通往食物的路径会逐渐加强，而最后没有食物的路径会逐渐消失。）可知，踪迹信息素引导跟随的蚂蚁找到食物。故选C。
