飛蛾為何要“撲火”？

Turn on a light outside at night， and it won’t be long before lots of insects start gathering around it. This behavior has led to a popular comparison for attraction， “l(fā)ike a moth to a flame.” However， according to a new study published in the journal Nature Communications， it turns out that insects aren’t “attracted” to artificial lights， but rather confused by it.

The new finding is based on a theory about insect orientation （定位） . Due to their small and lightweight bodies， insects experience less air resistance， allowing them to achieve higher accelerations （加速度） ， which in turn makes it challenging for them to sense up and down during flight. So， they typically rely on stable light sources like the moon and stars to orient themselves at night， keeping the sky at their backs to stay upright. However， the introduction of artificial lights confuses their natural sense of direction. The insects you see circling street lights， in other words， are probably lost.

To reach these conclusions， scientists used high-resolution cameras to film insects flying around artificial lights in Costa Rica. They also attached tiny sensors to insects and filmed motion-capture videos of them in flight. In this way， researchers are able to slow down the insects’ pace and study their movements in greater detail. The videos showed insects turning their backs toward sources of artificial light — even at the price of flipping over or crashing.

This can be dangerous for insects， as circling around artificial lights can put them at risk from enemies， exhaustion， and starvation， causing many to die before morning. Night artificial light is a major cause of insect population loss， which could severely impact crop pollination （傳粉） and food supplies for larger animals， including humans. “Insects have been flying around for 370 million years， and it’s just in the last 150 years that it’s really gone wrong for them，” says entomologist Samuel Fabian of Imperial College London. “If we don’t want to influence large amounts of insect populations， we should not have lights shining up into the sky.”

（材料來自Smithsonian magazine）

1. According to the new study， what does the comparison “l(fā)ike a moth to a flame” symbolize？

A. Insects’ natural habitat destroyed by a flame.

B. Insects’ confusion with artificial lights .

C. Insects’ attraction to artificial lights.

D. The possible danger of using artificial lights.

2. According to the previous theory， what is the main reason why insects have difficulty sensing direction when flying？

A. The brightness of the moon and stars.

B. The presence of artificial lights.

C. Their body size and weight.

D. The lack of air resistance.

3. What does the third paragraph talk about？

A. Why the scientists studied the artificial lights.

B. How the insects moved and crashed .

C. Why the researchers used cameras.

D. How the professionals conducted the study.

4. What does Samuel Fabian suggest to minimize the impact on insect populations？

A. Installing more artificial lights to help insects navigate.

B. Avoiding the natural light putting the insects at risk.

C. Limiting the use of lights that shine upwards into the sky.

D. Developing new types of artificial lights that insects can avoid.

1. B。解析：詞義理解題。材料第一段提到“‘like a moth to a flame’這個短語通常用來比喻昆蟲被人造光源吸引。然而，根據(jù)新的研究成果，昆蟲實際上是被人造光源迷惑了”，B選項“昆蟲被人造光源迷惑”與材料內(nèi)容相符，故選B。

2.C。解析：細節(jié)理解題。材料第二段的第二句提到“根據(jù)之前的昆蟲定位理論，由于昆蟲身體小且輕，它們在飛行中遇到的阻力較小，能夠?qū)崿F(xiàn)更高的加速度，這使得它們在飛行中難以感知上下方向”，C選項“它們的體型和重量”與材料內(nèi)容相符，故選C。

3. D。解析：主旨大意題。材料第三段主要討論了科學家如何具體開展研究，包括“used high-resolution cameras to film...attached tiny sensors to insects and filmed...to slow down the insects’ pace and study their movements...”，D選項“專家如何開展研究”與材料內(nèi)容相符，故選D。

4. C。解析：觀點態(tài)度題。材料最后一段的最后一句提到了昆蟲學家塞繆爾·法比安的建議，“如果我們想最小化對昆蟲種群的影響，就不應(yīng)該讓燈光照向天空”，C選項“限制使用向上照射天空的燈光”與材料內(nèi)容相符，故選C。