Dr. Richard Fairhurst,
When it comes to online
The Monarch’s Journey
Many animals move from one place to another at certain times of the year. This annual movement is called migration. They migrate to find food, seek a partner, or in search of warmer weather. One of the most wonderful migrations in nature is that of the North American monarch butterfly.
Every autumn, millions of these beautiful insects with fine black and orange wings begin a long and difficult journey. Somehow they manage to travel around 4,000 kilometres south and find their way to California or Mexico. However, until recently no one knew how they did this.
A team of scientists led by Professor Eli Shlizerman at the University of Washington has now found the answer. They have found out that the monarch is able to tell the time of day. It uses its eyes to measure the position of the sun. These two pieces of information — the time of day and the point where the sun is in the sky — allow the butterfly to determine the way to go. Eventually, it manages to reach the places where it will spend the winter.
The solution to the mystery of the monarch’s amazing ability comes at a time when it is in serious trouble. Its population has crashed by as much as 90 per cent in the last few years. Sadly, human activity is the main reason why the number of monarch butterflies is falling. In many of the places where the butterfly can be found, people are destroying the natural environment. They cut down trees and use chemicals that kill the plants that monarch caterpillars eat.
The research on the monarch’s behaviour has however led to a greater awareness of this creature. People have been working together to record its migration and make sure that there are enough plants for it to feed on. If this works, there may come a time when the number of monarch butterflies increases once again. The more we know about this lovely creature, the greater the chance it will survive and keep its place in the natural world for a long time to come.
1. What’s the main idea of the text?| A．The routes of the Monarch’s migration. |
| B．The reasons of the Monarch’s migration. |
| C．The significance of the Monarch’s migration. |
| D．The study of the Monarch’s migration. |
| A．To tell us what migration is exactly. |
| B．To tell us the reasons for migration. |
| C．To introduce the topic of the text. |
| D．To tell us how many animals migrate. |
| A．They may lose their way. |
| B．They can’t see anything. |
| C．They can’t find any food. |
| D．They will feel very cold. |
| A．Negative. | B．Neutral. |
| C．Indifferent. | D．Positive. |
| A．Being caught by humans. |
| B．The destroyed natural environment. |
| C．The bad weather condition. |
| D．Being eaten by birds. |
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CLICK FOR A FRIEND?
How would you feel if moving to a new town meant losing track of your friends? What if the only way of getting news from faraway friends was writing letters that took ages to be delivered? This was how things worked not very long ago. Thanks to advances in technology, how we make friends and communicate with them has changed significantly.
Nowadays, we can move around the world and still stay in touch with the people that we want to remain friends with. Social media tools let us see what our friends are up to and maintain friendships. All you need is a wi-fi connection.
The digital age also enables us to find people who share our interests, such as collecting model cars or playing an unusual instrument. Whatever our hobbies, the Internet can connect us with others who also enjoy doing them, even if they live on the other side of the world.
But when you “friend” people online, does this mean that they really are your friends?
It depends.
If people always exchange true personal information online, then yes, these friendships can be real and meaningful. But we need to keep in mind that what we see on social media is often not the whole truth about a person.
On social media sites, people tend to post only positive updates that make them appear happy and friendly. But smiling photos can hide real problems. Remember the saying: on the Internet, nobody knows you’re a dog. A young person could be old; a woman could be a man; we could even be sharing our information with criminals.
But this doesn’t mean that we should throw the baby out with the bathwater. Although technology has changed the way we acquire friends, the meaning of friendship and our longing for friends remain the same. As Aristotle said, no one would choose to live without friends, even if he had all other goods.
1. What does the text mainly talk about?| A．Disadvantages of making friends online. |
| B．Making friends on the Internet. |
| C．How to make friends on the Internet. |
| D．How to maintain friendships. |
| A．By writing letters. |
| B．By making calls. |
| C．By sending emails. |
| D．By using social media tools. |
| A．You don't exactly know who the person on the Internet is. |
| B．You may communicate with a dog on the Internet. |
| C．You can pretend to be a dog on the Internet. |
| D．You may have a chance to be a lucky dog on the Internet. |
| A．The author is in favour of making friends online. |
| B．The author thinks technology makes it hard for us to make friends. |
| C．The author thinks technology helps us maintain friendship more easily. |
| D．The author thinks the meaning of friendship has changed. |
6. 细读短文并找出文中的比喻句
