Predicting the potential distribution of the alien invasive American bullfrog ( Lithobates catesbeianus) in Brazil | SpringerLink
This service is more advanced with JavaScript available, learn more at http://activatejavascript.org
Advertisement
Predicting the potential distribution of the alien invasive American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus) in BrazilJo?o G. R. GiovanelliCélio F. B. HaddadJo?o AlexandrinoOriginal Paper
The non-native invasive anuran Lithobates catesbeianus is presently distributed in Brazil, especially in the Atlantic Rainforest biodiversity hotspot. Here, we use a maximum entropy ecological niche modeling algorithm (i) to model the North American native geographic distribution of this species and (ii) to project that model onto the whole of Brazil. After applying a threshold value that balances commission and omission errors, the projection results suggested high probabilities of occurrence mostly in southern and southeastern Brazil. We also present the first report on the species known distribution in Brazil, showing good agreement with model predictions. If the predictive map is interpreted as depicting invasiveness potential of L. catesbeianus, strategies to prevent further invasion in Brazil should be focused especially in the Atlantic Rainforest biodiversity hotspot.Ecological modeling Exotic species Maxent Bioclim Anura American bullfrog This is a preview of subscription content,
to check access.We are grateful to Marinez Siqueira for discussion and suggestions on early versions of the manuscript and to Denise Rossa-Feres and Reuber Brand?o for valuable information about bullfrog distribution in Brazil. J. G. R. Giovanelli was supported by NatureServe and CNPq (# 7-9) schorlarships. This work was supported by the FAPESP Research Grant # 05/52727-5 to J. Alexandrino, and CNPq and FAPESP (01/13341-3) research grants to C. F. B. Haddad. Appendix 1 Occurrence points of Lithobates catesbeianus in Brazil based on field work, the literature, museum collections and personal communications (CFBH—Cole??o de Anuros Célio F. B. Haddad, Unesp, Rio Claro, SP, B DZSJRP—Cole??o do Departamento de Zoologia de S?o José do Rio Preto, Unesp, S?o José do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil)
Municipality
Duque de Caxias
Rio de Janeiro
Atlantic Rainforest
-43.30446°
-22.58242°
Instituto Hórus ()
Cocal de Telha
-41.98333°
-4.53333°
Instituto Hórus ()
Santo Ant?nio do Descoberto
-48.26030°
-15.96968°
Brand?o (pers. comm.)
Atlantic Rainforest
-35.74513°
-9.62554°
Instituto Hórus ()
Espírito Santo
Atlantic Rainforest
-40.41272°
-20.33107°
Instituto Hórus ()
Minas Gerais
Atlantic Rainforest
-42.14000°
-19.79000°
Instituto Hórus ()
Uberl?ndia
Minas Gerais
-48.27997°
-18.90001°
Instituto Hórus ()
Minas Gerais
Atlantic Rainforest
-42.88000°
-20.76000°
Instituto Hórus ()
Rio Grande do Sul
Atlantic Rainforest
-53.24992°
-29.64157°
Instituto Hórus ()
Arroio do Tigre
Rio Grande do Sul
Atlantic Rainforest
-53.09613°
-29.33865°
Instituto Hórus ()
Rio Grande do Sul
Atlantic Rainforest
-51.53456°
-29.37932°
Borges-Martins et al. ()
Rio Grande do Sul
Atlantic Rainforest
-51.45442°
-27.67698°
Instituto Hórus ()
Caxias do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul
Atlantic Rainforest
-51.16754°
-29.17837°
Borges-Martins et al. ()
Rio Grande do Sul
Atlantic Rainforest
-50.80187°
-29.35992°
Instituto Hórus ()
Derrubadas
Rio Grande do Sul
Atlantic Rainforest
-53.85530°
-27.26627°
Borges-Martins et al. ()
Dom Feliciano
Rio Grande do Sul
Atlantic Rainforest
-52.11066°
-30.69785°
Instituto Hórus ()
Dona Francisca
Rio Grande do Sul
Atlantic Rainforest
-53.35898°
-29.62626°
Instituto Hórus ()
Rio Grande do Sul
Atlantic Rainforest
-51.87989°
-29.23984°
Instituto Hórus ()
Rio Grande do Sul
Atlantic Rainforest
-50.98002°
-28.10002°
Instituto Hórus ()
Estrela Velha
Rio Grande do Sul
Atlantic Rainforest
-53.15368°
-29.17225°
Instituto Hórus ()
Rio Grande do Sul
Atlantic Rainforest
-52.26892°
-27.62956°
Borges-Martins et al. ()
Rio Grande do Sul
Atlantic Rainforest
-50.99000°
-29.95000°
Borges-Martins et al. ()
Rio Grande do Sul
Atlantic Rainforest
-51.32000°
-30.11000°
Instituto Hórus ()
Rio Grande do Sul
Atlantic Rainforest
-53.12692°
-29.42114°
Instituto Hórus ()
Rio Grande do Sul
Atlantic Rainforest
-51.95792°
-29.44716°
Instituto Hórus ()
Rio Grande do Sul
Atlantic Rainforest
-51.86931°
-29.16500°
Instituto Hórus ()
Nova Palma
Rio Grande do Sul
Atlantic Rainforest
-53.47223°
-29.47145°
Instituto Hórus ()
Nova Petrópolis
Rio Grande do Sul
Atlantic Rainforest
-51.14000°
-29.36000°
Borges-Martins et al. ()
Nova Roma do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul
Atlantic Rainforest
-51.40667°
-28.99972°
Instituto Hórus ()
Porto Alegre
Rio Grande do Sul
Atlantic Rainforest
-51.22000°
-30.04000°
Borges-Martins et al. ()
Santa Cruz do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul
Atlantic Rainforest
-52.43371°
-29.71577°
Instituto Hórus ()
Santa Maria
Rio Grande do Sul
Atlantic Rainforest
-53.82853°
-29.69524°
Instituto Hórus ()
Santa Tereza
Rio Grande do Sul
Atlantic Rainforest
-51.74586°
-29.16881°
Instituto Hórus ()
Rio Grande do Sul
Atlantic Rainforest
-51.86026°
-29.80109°
Instituto Hórus ()
Tenente Portela
Rio Grande do Sul
Atlantic Rainforest
-53.76015°
-27.37591°
Borges-Martins et al. ()
Rio Grande do Sul
Atlantic Rainforest
-49.75560°
-29.34821°
Instituto Hórus ()
Veranópolis
Rio Grande do Sul
Atlantic Rainforest
-51.56000°
-28.94000°
Borges-Martins et al. ()
Rio Grande do Sul
Atlantic Rainforest
-50.98000°
-30.09000°
Borges-Martins et al. ()
Campos Novos
Santa Catarina
Atlantic Rainforest
-51.24860°
-27.38399°
Present study (CFBH 13260)
Santa Catarina
Atlantic Rainforest
-49.28181°
-26.43266°
Present study
Santa Catarina
Atlantic Rainforest
-50.80000°
-29.58000°
Present study
Santa Catarina
Atlantic Rainforest
-52.40806°
-26.57067°
Present study (CFBH 7303)
Jaraguá do Sul
Santa Catarina
Atlantic Rainforest
-49.10000°
-26.48000°
Borges-Martins et al. ()
Campos do Jord?o
Atlantic Rainforest
-45.58008°
-22.73046°
Instituto Hórus ()
Atlantic Rainforest
-46.95245°
-23.74414°
Dixo and Verdade ()
Atlantic Rainforest
-46.83191°
-23.63990°
Present study (CFBH 11628)
-49.94580°
-22.21390°
Present study (DZSJRP 2644–45)
Pariquera-A?u
Atlantic Rainforest
-47.88330°
-24.71670°
Present study (DZSJRP 4961)
Pedro de Toledo
Atlantic Rainforest
-47.23137°
-24.28726°
Present study (CFBH 12711)
Piracicaba
Transition Atlantic Rainforest/Cerrado
-47.64000°
-22.71000°
Instituto Hórus ()
Transition Atlantic Rainforest/Cerrado
-47.57117°
-22.35471°
Present study
S?o José dos Pinhais
Atlantic Rainforest
-49.20640°
-25.53470°
Present study (DZSJRP 6226)
S?o José do Rio Preto
-49.37940°
-20.81970°
Present study (DZSJRP 1806)
S?o Luís do Paraitinga
Atlantic Rainforest
-45.13300°
-23.34600°
Present study (CFBH 12159)
Atlantic Rainforest
-46.64290°
-23.77614°
Present study (CFBH 10155)
Atlantic Rainforest
-46.29992°
-23.56980°
Present study (CFBH 5626)
Atlantic Rainforest
-45.13253°
-23.49728°
Present study (CFBH 13375)
Begon M, Harper JL, Townsend CR (1996) Ecology: individuals, populations and communities. Blackwell Scientific Publications, OxfordBorges-Martins M, Di-Bernardo M, Vinciprova G, Measey J (2002) Geographic distribution. Rana catesbeiana. Herpetol Rev 33:319Bruening S (2002) Rana catesbeiana. In: Animal diversity Web. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. Available at: . Cited 24 April 2007Conte CE, Rossa-Feres DC (2006) Diversidade e ocorrência temporal da anurofauna (Amphibia, Anura) em S?o José dos Pinhais, Paraná, Brasil. Rev Bras Zool 23:162–175Dixo M, Verdade VK (2006) Leaf litter herpetofauna of the Reserva Florestal de Morro Grande, Cotia (SP). Biota Neotrop 6:0-0. On-line journal:
Elith J, Graham CH et al (2006) Novel methods improve prediction of species’ distributions from occurrence data. Ecography 29:129–151Feix RD, Abdallah PR, Figueiredo MRC (2006) Resultado econ?mico da cria??o de r? em regi?es de clima temperado, Brasil. Info Econ 36:70–80Ficetola GF, Thuiller W, Miaud C (2007) Prediction and validation of the potential global distribution of a problematic alien invasive species—the American bullfrog. Diversity Distrib 13:476–485Fielding AH, Bell JF (1997) A review of methods for the assessment of prediction errors in conservation presence/absence models. Env Conserv 24:38–49Fontanello D, Ferreira CM (2007) Histórico da Ranicultura Nacional. . Cited 22 Apr 2007GBIF—Global Biodiversity Information Facility (2007) Free and open access to biodiversity data. . Cited 21 Apr 2007Guisan A, Thuiller W (2005) Predicting species distribution: offering more than simple habitat models. Ecol Lett 8:993–1009Herpnet (2007) Specimens searching portal. . Cited 2 Jul 2007Hijmans RJ, Guarino L, Rojas E (2002) DIVA-GIS. A geographic information system for the analysis of biodiversity data. Manual—International Potato Center, LimaHijmans RJ, Cameron SE, Parra JL, Jones PG, Jarvis A (2005) Very high resolution interpolated climate surfaces for global land areas. Int J Climatol 25:Instituto Hórus (2007) Base de dados de espécies exóticas invasoras no Brasil. . Cited 23 Apr 2007Jeganathan P et al (2004) Modelling habitat selection and distribution of the critically endangered Jerdon’s courser Rhinoptilus bitorquatus in scrub jungle: an application of a new tracking method. J Appl Ecol 41:224–237Kiesecker JM, Blaustein AR (1998) Effects of introduced bullfrog and smallmouth bass on microhabitat use, growth, and survival of native red-legged frogs (Rana aurora). Conserv Biol 12:776–787Lowe S, Browne M, Boudjelas S, De Poorter M ( of the World’s worst invasive alien species a selection from the global invasive species database. The Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG), AucklandManel S, Williams HC, Ormerod SJ (2001) Evaluating presence-absence models in ecology: the need to account for prevalence. J Appl Ecol 38:921–931Moyle PB (1973) Effects of introduced bullfrogs, Rana catesbeiana, on the native frogs of the San Joaquin Valley, California. Copeia 1:18–22Myers N, Mittermeier RA, Mittermeier CG, Fonseca GAB, Kent J (2000) Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities. Nature 403:853–858Papes M, Peterson AT (2003) Predicting the potential invasive distribution for Eupatorium adenophorum Spreng. in China. J Wuhan Bot Res 21:137–142Peterson AT, Vieglais DA (2001) Predicting species invasions using ecological niche modeling: new approaches from bioinformatics attack a pressing problem. BioScience 51:363–371Peterson AT, Scachetti-Pereira R, Kluza DA (2003) Assessment of invasive potential of Homalodisca coagulata in western North America and South America. Biota Neotrop 3:0-0:Online journal:
Phillips SJ, Anderson RP, Schapire RE (2006) Maximum entropy modeling of species geographic distributions. Ecol Model 190:231–259Silvano DL, Segalla MV (2005) Conservation of Brazilian amphibians. Conserv Biol 19:653–658Thuiller W, Brotons L, Araújo MB, Lavorel S (2004) Effects of restricting environmental range of data to project current and future species distributions. Ecography 27:165–172Young BE (ed) (2007) Distribución de las especies endémicas en la vertiente oriental de los Andes en Perú y Bolivia. NatureServe, ArlingtonYoung BE, Lips KR, Reaser JK et al (2001) Population declines and priorities for amphibian conservation in Latin América. Conserv Biol 15:Jo?o G. R. Giovanelli1Célio F. B. Haddad1Jo?o Alexandrino11.Herpetology Lab, Department of ZoologyUNESP-Rio ClaroRio ClaroBrazil08.06.2018
The UTRGV School of Rehabilitation Services and Counseling starting this fall semester will offer a brand new Bachelor of Science degree in Addiction Studies that is fully online.
08.16.2018
The Master of Education (M.Ed.) in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and School Counseling within the UTRGV College of Education and P-16 Integration has been granted accreditation by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Program (CACREP).
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley’s Student Teacher Education Preparation University Partnership (STEP UP) program is fulfilling its goal in expanding and assisting future teachers in the Valley.FACT SHEET: Emergency Supplemental Request to Address the Increase in Child and Adult Migration from Central America in the Rio Grande Valley Areas of the Southwest Border | whitehouse.gov当前位置：
试题内容Water, Desert and BodyA) Rainfall is not completely absent, in desert areas, but it is highly variable. An annual rainfall of four inches is often used to define the limits of a desert. The impact of rainfall upon the surface water and groundwater resources of the desert is greatly influenced by landforms. Flats and depressions where water can collect are common features, but they make up only a small part of the landscape.B) Arid lands, surprisingly, contain some of the world's largest fiver systems, such as the Murray-Dar- ling in Australia, the Rio Grande in North America, the Indus in Asia, and the Nile in Africa. These rivers and fiver systems are known as &exogenous& because their sources lie outside the arid zone. They are vital for sustaining life in some of the driest parts of the world. For centuries, the annual floods of the Nile, Tigris, and Euphrates, for example, have brought fertile silts and water to the inhabitants of their lower valleys. Today, river discharges are increasingly controlled by human intervention, creating a need for international river-basin agreements. The filling of the Ataturk and other dams in Turkey has drastically reduced flows in the Euphrates, with potentially serious consequences for Syria and Iraq.C) The flow of exogenous rivers varies with the season. The desert sections of long rivers respond several months after rain has fallen outside the desert, so that peak flows may be in the dry season. This is useful for irrigation, but the high temperatures, low humidity, and different day lengths of the dry season, compared to the normal growing season, can present difficulties with some crops.D) Regularly flowing rivers and streams that originate within arid lands are known as &endogenous& (内流河). These are generally fed by groundwater springs, and many issue from limestone massifs, such as the Atlas Mountains in Morocco. Basaltic rocks also support springs, notably at the Jabal AIArab on the Jordan-Syria border. Endogenous rivers often do not reach the sea but drain into inland basins, where the water evaporates or is lost in the ground. Most desert streambeds are normally dry, but they occasionally receive large flows of water and sediment.E) Deserts contain large amounts of groundwater when compared to the amounts they hold in surface stores such as lakes and rivers. But only a small fraction of groundwater enters the hydrological cycle-feeding the flows of streams, maintaining lake levels, and being recharged (or refilled) through surface flows and rainwater. In recent years, groundwater has become an increasingly importantsource of freshwater for desert dwellers. The United Nations Environment Programme and the World Bank have funded attempts to survey the groundwater resources of arid lands and to develop appropriate extraction techniques. Such programs are much needed because in many arid lands there is only a vague idea of the extent of groundwater resources. It is known, however, that the distribution of groundwater is uneven, and that much of it lies at great depths.F) Groundwater is stored in the pore spaces and joints of rocks and unconsolidated sediments or in the openings widened through fractures and weathering. The water-saturated rock or sediment is known as an &aquifer&. Because they are porous, sedimentary rocks, such as sandstones and conglomerates, are important potential sources of groundwater. Large quantities of water may also be stored in lime- stone when joints and cracks have been enlarged to form cavities. Most limestone and sandstone aquifers are deep and extensive but may contain groundwater that are not being recharged. Most shallow aquifers in sand and gravel deposits produce lower yields, but they can be rapidly recharged. Some deep aquifers are known as fossil waters. The term &fossil& describes water that has been present for several thousand years. These aquifers became saturated more than 10,000 years ago and are no longer being recharged.G) Water does not remain immobile in an aquifer but can seep out at springs or leak into other aquifers. The rate of movement may be very slow : in the Indus plain, the movement of saline (salty) ground waters has still not reached equilibrium after 70 years of being tapped. The mineral content of groundwater normally increases with the depth, but even quite shallow aquifers can be highly saline.H) According to the European Federation of Bottled Water (EFBW) Group for Health's Chairman, Dr. Laurent Le Bellego, water is essential for almost all body functions as it plays an important role in the formation of cells and fluids. In Dr. Le Bellego's opinion, drinking water compensates for lost fluid and ensures adequate hydration for the body: a fact &which is fundamental to the health and welfare&, as evidenced by the document, &The science on water and hydration&. The document was introduced as part of the 38th World Congress of International Society of Medical Hydrology and Climatology (ISMH), which was held in Lanjaron (Granada).I) The document also recognizes the need to drink water every day to stay properly hydrated. &Over a lifetime, water should be the preferred beverage to hydrate our bodies on a daily basis,& Le Bellegosuggested. Dr. Le Bellego also warned that when you fail to drink enough fluids, your body retainswater and your urine appears dark. Among the symptoms of mild dehydration are a dry mouth, fatigue, thirst, decreased urine output, decreased mental and physical performance, headaches and dizziness. As for the amount of water that needs to be drunk, this expert has pointed to the panel of experts from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which believes that everyone should consume at least two liters of water a day. The amount should be increased depending on the physical activity and heat. The document, &The science on water and hydration&, has been endorsed by the Re-search Institute of Water and Health (IIAS) and the Spanish Society of Primary Care Physicians ( SE-MERGEN). and has been distributed to general practitioners.&1.[选词填空]The word &aquifer& means rock or sediment containing lots of water.解题思路：根据aquifer定位到F段第二句The water．saturated rock or sed-iment is known as an“aquifer”．这里是把water-saturated rock or sediment替换成rock or sediment containing lots of water。 2.[选词填空]The endogenous rivers are generally fed by groundwater.解题思路：替换题。根据endogenous和groundwater定位到D段第二句。These指代 &的就是endogenous rivers。 3.[选词填空]The document stresses the need to drink water every day to stay properly hydrated.解题思路：根据the need to drink water，properly hydrated可以定位到I段，原文说的是recognizes the need，题干中换成了stresses the need，属于近义表达替换。 4.[选词填空]The sources of exogenous rivers and river systems lie outside the arid zone.解题思路：根据exogenous定位到B段第二句。这里是对外流河下了一个 简单的定义。整个句子就是原句“These riv． ers and fiver systems are known as‘exoge- nous’because their sources lie outside the arid zone．”的同义替换。 5.[选词填空]The flow of exogenous river is influenced by different seasons and the water increased could be a good factor for irrigation.解题思路：从exogenous river定位到c段，根据原文含义“季节常常会影响到外
流河的流量。对于灌溉是好消息，但是较高温度，较低湿度，以及旱季不同的日照时间，使得栽种一些作物不如正常时段容易。”可 知，C项正确。 6.[选词填空]The water-saturated rock or sediment is known as an aquifer, which may not always refilled according to different situations.解题思路：根据aquifer定位到F段第二句“The water．saturated rock or sedi-ment is known as an‘aquifer’．”快速浏览相关句子可知，保有水资源不能再生，因此不是所有蓄水层都可以复原。 7.[选词填空]Water is essential for almost all body functions as it plays an important role in the formation of cells and fluids.解题思路：根据body functions和& cells and fluids定位到H段第一句，关键是去掉前面表示专有概念和名称的部分。& 8.[选词填空]Only a small fraction of groundwater enters the hydrological cycle.解题思路：根据a small fraction和hydrological cycle定位到E段，可以找到原句
But only a small fraction of groundwater enters the hydrological cycle． 9.[选词填空]It introduces the definition of desert and the relationship between the rainfall and landforms.解题思路：根据rainfall and land． forms，以及desert可以定位到A段。根据 “Rainfall is not completely absent in desert are． as，but it is highly variable．An annual rainfall of four inches is often used to define the limits of a desert．”这两句话可以概括出该段说的是 沙漠的定义以及降雨和地貌的关系。 10.[选词填空]The mineral content of groundwater increases with the depth if in a normal way.解题思路：根据mineral content定位到G段，最后一句中的normally被替换成了in a normal way参考答案：F,D,I,B,C,F,C,E,A,G
相关试题库试题
大学英语四级试题库 第1题：Ancient Egyptian SculptureA) In order to understand ancient Egyptian art, it is vital to know as much as possible of the elite Egyptians' view of the world and the functions and contexts of the art produced for them. Without this knowledge we can appreciate only the formal content of Egyptian art, and we will fail to understand why it was produced or the concepts that shaped it and caused it to adopt its distinctive forms. B ) In fact, a lack of understanding concerning the purposes of Egyptian art has often led it to be compared unfavorably with the art of other cultures: Why did the Egyptians not develop sculpture in which the body turned and twisted through space like classical Greek statuary? Why do the artists seem to get left and right confused? And why did they not discover the geometric perspective as European artists did in the Renaissance? The answer to such questions has nothing to do with a lack of skill or imagination on the part of Egyptian artists and everything to do with the purposes for which they were producing their art.C) The majority of three-dimensional representations, whether standing, seated, or kneeling, exhibit what is called frontality: they face straight ahead, neither twisting nor turning. When such statues are viewed in isolation, out of their original context and without knowledge of their function, it is easy to criticize them for their rigid attitudes that remained unchanged for three thousand years. Frontality is, however, directly related to the functions of Egyptian statuary and the contexts in which the statues were set up. Statues were created not for their decorative effect but to play a primary role in the cults of the gods, the king, and the dead. They were designed to be put in places where these beings could manifest themselves in order to be the recipients of ritual actions. Thus it made sense to show the statue looking ahead at what was happening in front of it, so that the living performer of the ritual could interact with the divine or deceased recipient.D) Very often such statues were enclosed in rectangular shrines or wall niches whose only opening was at the front, making it natural for the statue to display frontality. Other statues were designed to be placed within an architectural setting, for instance, in front of the monumental entrance gateways to temples known as pylons, or in pillared courts, where they would be placed against or between pillars: their frontality worked perfectly within the architectural context.E) Statues were normally made of stone, wood, or metal. Stone statues were worked from single rectangular blocks of material and retained the compactness of the original shape.. The stone between the arms and the body and between the legs in standing figures or the legs and the seat in seated ones was not normally cut away. From a practical aspect this protected the figures against breakage and psycho- logically gives the images a sense of strength and power, usually enhanced by a supporting back pillar. By contrast, wooden statues were carved from several pieces of wood that were pegged together to form the finished work, and metal statues were either made by wrapping sheet metal around awooden core or cast by the lost wax process.F) The arms could be held away from the body and carry separate
there is no back pillar. The effect is altogether lighter and freer than that achieved in stone, but because both perform the same function, formal wooden and metal statues still display frontality.G) Apart from statues representing deities, kings, and named members of the elite that can be called formal, there is another group of three-dimensional representations that depicts generic figures, frequently servants, from the non-elite population. The function of these is quite different. Many are made to be put in the tombs of the elite in order to serve the tomb owners in the afterlife. Unlike formal statues that are limited to static poses of standing, sitting, and kneeling, these figures depict a wide range of actions, such as grinding grain, baking bread, producing pots, and making music, and they are shown in appropriate poses, bending and squatting as they carry out their tasks.H) It is suggested that one choose something to read about the archaeology before he goes to carry on the research. It is interesting that many try to understand the old things in their own perspective. One tends to consider that the big bowl is for the ancient male and the small one for the female because that is basically the case in the world now. However, in most of the ancient time, female individuals use the bigger one instead of their husbands because there used to be a period--or there is in some remote are-as-when the mother enjoys a greater respect over the father. That is very different from today's situation.I) No one is sure of the reason for setting the statues into the tomb. The first group thinks that the servants taking the forms of the statues would still be with those who died there, in the afterlife. There come the same cases in other Asian countries including China, Japan and India. And there may be something more horrific. In the ancient China, nobles seldom died lonely since shortly after their death, their emperors would choose some children to follow them. And this is said to set up a group of servants who would make service for the dead. However, the second group counters this opinion by saying that this may be a way to reserve the love from the living family members and from other friends. When laid in the tomb, the servants could represent those who love the dead and still be with them.
答案解析与讨论：
大学英语四级试题库 第2题：Questions 19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard.
答案解析与讨论：
大学英语四级试题库 第3题：Section CDirections: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.Passage OneQuestions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.　　Declining mental function is often seen as a problem of old age, but certain aspects of brain function actually begin their decline in young adulthood, a new study suggests.　　The study, which followed more than 2,000 healthy adults between the ages of 18 and 60, found that certain mental functions—including measures of abstract reasoning, mental speed and puzzle-solving—started to dull as early as age 27.　　Dips in memory, meanwhile, generally became apparent around age 37.　　On the other hand, indicators of a person’s accumulated knowledge—like performance on tests of vocabulary and general knowledge—kept improving with age, according to findings published in the journal Neurobiology of Aging.　　The results do not mean that young adults need to start worrying about their memories. Most people’s minds function at a high level even in their later years, according to researcher Timothy Salthouse.　　“These patterns suggest that some types of mental flexibility decrease relatively early in adulthood, but that the amount of knowledge one has, and the effectiveness of integrating it with one’s abilities, may increase throughout all of adulthood if there are no diseases,” Salthouse said in a news release.　　The study included healthy, educated adults who took standard tests of memory, reasoning and perception at the outset and at some point over the next seven years.　　The tests are designed to detect subtle (细微的)changes in mental function, and involve solving puzzles, recalling words and details from stories, and identifying patterns in collections of letters and symbols.　　In general, Salthouse and his colleagues found, certain aspects of cognition (认知能力)generally started to decline in the late 20s to 30s.　　The findings shed light on normal age-related changes in mental function, which could aid in understanding the process of dementia(痴呆), according to the researchers.　　“By following individuals over time,” Salthouse said, “we gain insight in cognition changes, and may possibly discover ways to slow the rate of decline.”　　The researchers are currently analyzing the study participants’ health and lifestyle to see which factors might influence age-related cognitive changes
答案解析与讨论：
更多试题库