Scientists at Royal Holloway, University of London and Queen Mary, University of London ha

Scientists at Royal Holloway, University of London and Queen Mary, University of London have discovered that bees learn to fly the shortest possible route between flowers even if they discover the flowers in a different order. Bees are effectively solving the “traveling salesman problem”, and they are the first creatures found to do this.

The traveling salesman must find the shortest route that allows him to visit all locations on his route. Computers solve it by comparing the length of all possible routes and choosing the shortest, and it can keep computers busy for days. However, bees solve it without computer assistance using a brain the size of grass seed. Dr. Nigel Raine, from the School of Biological Sciences at Royal Holloway explains, “Bees solve traveling salesman problems every day. They visit flowers at multiple locations and because bees use lots of energy to fly, they find a route which keeps flying to a minimum. ”
The team used the computer to control artificial flowers to test whether bees would follow a route defined by the order in which they discovered the flowers or if they would find the shortest route. After exploring the location of the flowers, bees quickly learned to fly the shortest route.
As well as improving our understanding of how bees move around the landscape pollinating(授粉)crops and wild flowers, this research, which is due to be published in The American Naturalist, has other applications. Our lifestyle relies on networks such as traffic on the roads, information flow on the Web and business supply chains. By understanding how bees can solve their problems with such a tiny brain, we can improve our management of these everyday networks without needing lots of computer time. Dr. Raine adds, “Despite their tiny brains, bees are capable of extraordinary feats of behavior. We need to understand how they can solve the traveling salesman problem without a computer. ”
【小题1】 What would be the best title of the passage? A．Bees help salesmen travelB．Tiny-brained bees solve a complex mathematical problemC．How bees discover the flowersD．How to solve the “traveling salesman problem”【小题2】We may infer from the second paragraph that the “traveling salesman problem” . A．can be solved by a computer easilyB．can’t even be solved by a computerC．can puzzle both people and computersD．remains to be solved by scientists【小题3】 The main purpose of the last paragraph is to . A．provide further proof for the researchB．tell us how bees can fly the shortest route between flowersC．tell us how the research about bees’ flying route was conductedD．explain the importance of the research【小题4】 It can be concluded from the passage that . A．all creatures are smarter than computersB．the research about bees’ flying route can be applied to many fieldsC．our networks are more complex than bees’ onesD．with the help of the computer we can find out how bees can solve the “traveling salesman problem”B

(答案→)B 解析：英国的科学家发现, 蜜蜂在花丛中飞行时, 总是能够找到最近的路线, 这个“销售员旅行难题”即使是电脑也需要好几天才能解决。【小题1】选B。主旨大意题。“销售员旅行难题”用计算机也得需要几天才能解决, 而蜜蜂毫不费力地就能在花丛中找到最近的飞行路线, 故B项“具有微小大脑的蜜蜂解决了一个复杂的数学难题”作为文章的标题最贴切。【小题2】选C。细节理解题。根据第二段可知, 销售员在出发之前必须找到合适的路线, 这个“销售员旅行难题”即使电脑也需要好几天才能解决。【小题3】选D。推理判断题。最后一段说明了对蜜蜂飞行路线研究的意义和目的, 是为了帮助我们在实际生活中更好地节省时间和精力。【小题4】选B。推理判断题。根据最后一段可以推断出对蜜蜂飞行路线的研究可以应用到其他领域中。

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