A
One evening last summer, 11-year-old Owen and his mom put on white suits and taped their rain boots to their pant legs. Then they each grabbed a wooden pole with a large white cloth attached to it and started dragging the tools through the trees and grass in their Wisconsin backyard.
They were looking for ticks(扁虱虫). Owen’s mom, Amy Prunuske, teaches microbiology at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Wausau. She studies diseases that ticks carry. Owen, though, is known as a citizen scientist. Citizen scientists are people—young or old—who help collect data for research projects. They usually aren’t professional scientists, or if they are, not in the field of the project. Still, their work can be incredibly important. Citizen scientists can help trained scientists gather data from all over the world—even from space. They can provide new ideas and new ways of thinking.
Kids often make great citizen scientists because they tend to be curious and good at following precise directions. Sometimes they’re even better at these things than adults. And schools are convenient places for scientists to recruit big groups of helpers. As a bonus, citizen science often gets kids more excited about science.
Citizen science takes advantage not just of many sets of eyeballs, but also of many minds. When professional European scientists in Austria were trying to find how best to encourage people to use less energy, they partnered with student citizen scientists. The adult scientists had a long list of questions for people about how much energy they used. Right away, the students noticed some problems the adults hadn’t thought of. There were too many questions, the kids said. And some of those questions were too complicated.
The day in the backyard, Owen found two black-legged ticks, animals so tiny they’re often hard to see. He and his mom took the pests to a summer program she was teaching. There, he and other young citizen scientists tested the ticks for the bacterium that causes Lyme disease, which causes fever and headaches and can make a person extremely tired.
1. Why did Owen go to catch ticks with his mom?
A. To provide data for professional scientists.
B. To prepare for his own future research.
C. To help her study the diseases carried by ticks.
D. To prevent ticks from spreading diseases.
2. What do we learn from paragraph 4?
A. Citizen science is mostly carried out at school.
B. Students only help find answers to basic questions.
C. Student scientists are more creative in scientific research.
D. Young citizen scientists help professional scientists a lot
3. Which of the following is the best title for the text?
A. Scientists Find New Ways of Research B. Kids Make Great Citizen Scientists
C. Scientists Need New Ideas from Kids D. Kids Show Great Interest in Science
【答案】1. C 2. D 3. B
【解析】
【分析】
这是一篇记叙文。文章通过11岁的男孩欧文帮妈妈抓虱子，用来帮助研究虱子传播的疾病，指出孩子往往因为好奇和善于遵循准确的方向，是伟大的公民科学家。
【1题详解】
推理判断题。根据第二段中She studies diseases that ticks carry. Owen, though, is known as a citizen scientist. Citizen scientists are people—young or old—who help collect data for research projects.(她研究虱子携带的疾病。然而，欧文以平民科学家而闻名。公民科学家是帮助研究项目收集数据的年轻人或老年人。)可知，欧文和他妈妈去抓虱子是为了帮助她研究虱子传播的疾病。故选C。
【2题详解】
推理判断题。根据第四段中When professional European scientists in Austria were trying to find how best to encourage people to use less energy, they partnered with student citizen scientists. The adult scientists had a long list of questions for people about how much energy they used.(当奥地利的专业欧洲科学家试图找到鼓励人们少用能源的最佳方法时，他们与学生公民科学家合作。成年科学家给人们列出了一长串关于他们使用了多少能量的问题。)可知，年轻的公民科学家帮助专业科学家很多。故选D项。
【3题详解】
主旨大意题。纵观全文，尤其是第三段中Kids often make great citizen scientists because they tend to be curious and good at following precise directions.(孩子们往往是伟大的公民科学家，因为他们往往是好奇和善于遵循准确的方向。)可知，B项Kids Make Great Citizen Scientists.(孩子是伟大的公民科学家。)是最佳主题。故选B。
【易错分析】Which of the following is the best title for the text?
A. Scientists Find New Ways of Research B. Kids Make Great Citizen Scientists
C. Scientists Need New Ideas from Kids D. Kids Show Great Interest in Science
本题容易误选C项“科学家需要孩子们的新想法”，但文章中并没有提到这一点，只是说孩子们往往好奇，善于遵循精确的方向，属无中生有；D项“孩子们对科学表现出极大的兴趣”，文章中也没有提到这一点，属无中生有。
