阅读理解，请根据短文内容，为每题确定1个最佳选项。

　　Night of the Living Ants

　　When an ant dies，other ants move the dead insect out of the nest．This behavior is interesting to scientists，who wonder how ants know for sure and so soon that another ant is dead．

　　Dong-Hwan Choe，a scientist at the University of California found that Argentine ants have a chemical on the outside of their bodies that signals to other ants．"I'm dead．take me away．"

　　But there's a twist to Choe's discovery．These ants ave a little bit like zombies(僵尸)．Choe says that the living ants，not just the dead ones，have this death chemicals．In other words．While an ant crawls around，perhaps in a picnic or home，it's telling other ants that it's dead．

　　What keeps ants from hauling away the liring dead?Choe found that Argentine ants have two additional chemicals on their bodies，and these tell nearby ants something like，"Wait-I'm not dead yet，"So Choe's research turned up two sets of chemical signals in ants：one says，"I'm dead．"the other set says，"I'm not dead yet．"

　　Other scientists have tried to figure out how ants know when another ant is dead． If an ant is knocked unconscious，other ants leave it alone until it wakes up．That means ants know that unmoving ants can still be alive．

　　Choe suspects that when an Argentine ant dies，the chemical that says"Wait-I'm not dead yet" quickly goes away.Once that chemical is gone，only the one that says"I'm dead"is left．"It's because the dead ant no longer smells like a living ant that it gets carried to the graveyard(墓地)，not because its body releases new unique chemicals after death，"said Choe． When other ants detect the"dead"chemical without the"not dead yet"chemical，they haul away the body． This was choe's hypothesis(假设)．

　　To test his hypothesis，Choe and his team put different chemicals on Argentine ant pupae(蛹). When the scientists used the"I'm dead"chemical，other ants quickly hauled tbe treated pupae away. When the scientists used the"Wait-I'm not dead yet"chemicals，other ants left the treated pupae alone.Choe believes this behavior shows that the"not dead yet"chemicals override(优先于) the"dead"chemical when picked up by adult ants． And that when an ant dies，the"not dead yet"chemicals fade away．Other nearby ants then detect the remaining"dead"chemical and remove the body from the nest．

　　36．What is meant by"death chemical"mentioned in paragraph 3?

　　A．A chemical that contains poison．

　　B．A chemical that causes death．

　　C．A chemical that announces death．

　　D．A chemical that prevents death．

　　37．Which of the following statements is NOT true of ants?

　　A．Ants know very soon that another ant is dead．

　　B．When an ant is dead，others move its body out of the nest．

　　C．If an ant is unconscious，it is moved out of the nest．

　　D．Living ants have the"I'm dead"chemical on their bodies．

　　38．According to Choe's hypothesis，___________.

　　A．an ant still smells like a living when it dies

　　B．the"I am dead"chemical leaves the ant's body when it dies

　　C．the"I am not dead yet"chemical is left when an ant dies

　　D．the"I am not dead yet"chemical leaves the ant's body when it dies

　　39．According to paragraph 7，what is the result of the test on Choe's hyothesis?

　　A．It shows that his hypothesis is wrong．

　　B．It proves that his hypothesis is convincing．

　　C．It suggests that his hypothesis needs revising．

　　D．Not enough evidence has been found to support his hypothesis．

　　40．The passage"Night of the Living Ants"tells us about________.

　　A．how an ant is moved out of the nest at nigh

　　B．what an ant does at night

　　C．how an ant finds its way in darkness

　　D．what happens when an ant dies

　　参考答案及解析

　　36．C [解析]本题是细节考查题。原文在第二段"加州大学科学家周东环发现阿根廷蚂蚁的身体能向外释放一种化学物质告诉同伴：'我死了，把我挪走吧。'"选项A"含有毒物质的化学品"与原文不符；选项B"导致死亡的化学物质"与原文不符；选项C"宣布死亡的化学物质"，符合原文；选项D"阻止死亡的化学物质"与原文不符，因此只能选C。

　　37．C [解析]本题是细节考查题。选项A"蚂蚁们很快知道有同伴死了"符合原文内容：选项B"当有蚂蚁死了，其他同伴把它的尸体挪出蚁穴"符合原文内容；选项C"有蚂蚁昏迷了，它会被拖出蚁穴"不符合原文内容，符合选项要求；选项D"活蚂蚁身上有'我活着'化学物质"，与原文相符。因此只能选C。

　　38．D[解析]本题是细节考查题。选项A"蚂蚁死后气味依然和活着时一样"与原文不符；选项B"'我已死'化学物在蚂蚁死后会消失"与原文不符；选项C"蚂蚁死后，'我还没死'化学物质留在尸体上"与原文不符；选项D"'我没死'化学物质在蚂蚁死后会消失"与原文相符。因此只能选D．

　　39．B [解析]本题是阅读理解能力考查题。周的假设是当其他蚂蚁监测到"我没死"化学物质消失了，而只有"我死了"物质，它们就将尸体拖走。而实验结果是当科学家用"我已死"化学物质时，蚂蚁们立刻将处理过的蛹拉走。当科学家使用"等等，我还没死"这一化学物质时，其他蚂蚁并不碰这个蛹。结果证明了周假设的正确性。选项A"他的假设是错误的"，不符合原文；选项B"他的假设有说服力"，符合原文；选项C"他的假设需要修改"，不符合原文；选项D"他没有发现有力的证据证明这一假设"，与原文不符。所以只能选B。

　　40．D [解析]本题是阅读综合理解能力考查题。选项A"一只蚂蚁怎样被移出蚁穴"不是文章主旨；选项B"蚂蚁在晚上做什么"不是文章主旨；选项C"蚂蚁如何在黑暗中找到路"不是文章主旨；选项D"蚂蚁死后会发生什么"符合文章内容。因此只能选D。

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