你可能想不到，世界上最强壮的动物居然是它！
Measuring about 1 mm in size, the armored mite (甲螨) is recognized as the strongest creature on Earth. It can lift over 1,000 times its own body weight.
The Asian weaver ant can lift 100 times its own body weight, while the dung beetle can lift up to 400 times its body weight. That’s like a human being able to lift tens of tons, you know, Superman stuff. But even these impressive insects don’t come close to the strongest creature on the face of the planet, the tiny armored mite, which, thanks to an extremely strong exoskeleton (外骨骼), can lift 1,180 times its own body weight.
The armored mite is about the size of a grain of sand, measuring between 0.2 mm and 1.4 mm, but when it comes to power relative to size and weight, it is by far the strongest animal in the world. To match its strength, a human should be able to lift about 82 tons.
One of the main reasons that grain mites and many other insects tend to be so much stronger than other animals is their exoskeleton. It’s considerably lighter and stronger than bone, allowing them to devote more energy to muscle power. But there are also other factors at play, such as the ratio (比率) of its surface area to its volume and mass. A mite weighs just 100 micrograms (微克).
If the armored mite were the size of a human, it would be extremely weak, due to simple physics. Bigger creatures may have bigger muscles, but a lot of their strength goes to supporting their own weight. In contrast, tiny insects can dedicate more of their muscle power to weightlifting, because they have less mass to carry around.
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1.What do the insects mentioned in Paragraph 2 have in common?
A They are strong.
B They are heavy.
C They are harmful.
D They can lift their body.
解析：选A。A细节理解题。根据第一段的“The Asian weaver ant can lift 100 times its own body weight, while the dung beetle can lift up to 400 times its body weight.”以及“the strongest creature on the face of the planet, the tiny armored mite”可知，昆虫亚洲编织蚁、屎壳郎以及甲螨都非常强壮。故选A。
2.Why does the author mention “about 82 tons”?
A To start a new topic.
B To make a comparison.
C To make an assumption.
D To make a definition.
解析：选B。B推理判断题。前文中作者提到甲螨可以举起超过自身体重1180倍的东西，为了方便读者理解，作者说“要达到甲螨的力气，一个人应该能举起大约82吨的东西”，即作者是为了对这二者进行一个比较。故选B。
3.What can we know about the insects’ exoskeleton?
A They are weaker than bones.
B They weigh about 100 micrograms.
C They are light and strong.
D They need more muscle power.
解析：选C。C细节理解题。根据第四段中的“is their exoskeleton. It’s considerably lighter and stronger than bone...”可知，昆虫的外骨骼很轻很强壮。故选C。
4.What’s the purpose of the text?
A To instruct.
B To educate.
C To entertain.
D To inform.
解析：选D。D写作意图题。文章第一段点明主题，本文主要介绍了世界上力气最大的动物甲螨的相关情况，因此本文的写作目的是为了说明/介绍。故选D。