【推荐1】We've known for years that plants can see,hear,smell and communicate with chemicals.Now, reported New Scientist,they have been recorded making sounds when stressed.

In a yet-to-be-published study, Itzhak Khait and his team at Tel Aviv University, in Israel, found that tomato and tobacco plants can make ultrasonic(超声的)noises. The plants "cry out" due to lack of water,or when they are cut. It's just too high-pitched(音调高的）for humans to hear.

Microphones placed 10 centimeters away from the plants picked up sounds in the ultrasonic range of 20 to 100 kilohertz(干赫兹)。Human hearing usually ranges from 20 hertz to 20 kilohertz."These findings can change the way we think about the plant kingdom,”they wrote.

On average,"thirsty"tomato plants made 35 sounds an hour,while tobacco plants made 11. When they were cut,tomato plants made an average of 25 sounds in the following hour,and tobacco plants 15.Unstressed plants produced less than one sound per hour,on average.

Perhaps most interestingly,different types of stress led to different sounds.The researchers trained a machine-learning model to separate the plants' sounds from those of the wind,rain and other noises of the greenhouse.In most cases,it correctly recognized whether the stress was caused by dryness or a cut.Water-hungry tobacco appears to make louder sounds than cut tobacco,for example.Although Khait and his colleagues only looked at tomato and tobacco plants,they think other plants also make sounds when stressed.

If farmers could hear these sounds,said the team,they could give water to the plants that need   it most.As climate change causes more droughts,they said this would be important information for farmers. "The sounds that drought-stressed plants make could be used in precision(精准) agriculture, "said Anne Visscher at the Royal Botanic Gardens,Kew,in the UK.

Khait's report also suggests that insects can hear the sounds up to 5 meters away and respond. For example,a moth(蛾子）may decide not to lay eggs on a water-stressed plant.Edward Farmer. at the University of Lausanne,Switzerland,is doubtful.He said that the idea of moths listening to plants is"a little too speculative”。

If plants are screaming(尖叫）for fear of their survival,maybe we should be glad we can't hear them.

1. Paragraph 3 mainly explains_______.

A．where humans differ from plants

B．how the research was carried out

C．what the findings of the study are

D．why humans can't hear the cries of plants

2. Which of the following is TRUE according to the study?

A．All plants make sounds when they feel hungry.

B．Stressed plants make more sounds than unstressed ones.

C．Tobacco plants are more afraid of thirsty than being cut.

D．The more stressed a plant is,the louder sounds it makes.

3. What does the underlined word"speculative"in Paragraph 7 probably mean?

A．Surprising.

B．Uncertain.

C．Incorrect.

D．Unique.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Deaf humans

B．Stressed plants

C．Silent screams

D．Precision agriculture

【推荐3】A new study finds that young females in one group of African chimps(黑猩猩) use sticks as dolls more than their male peers (同龄) do, often treating pieces of wood like a mother chimp caring for a baby. In human cultures around the world, girls play with dolls and pretend that the toys are babies far more than boys do.
Chimp observations, collected over 14 years of field work with the Kanyawara chimp community in Kibale National Park in Ugandan, provide the first evidence of a nonhuman animal in the wild that exhibits sex differences in how it plays. This finding supports an argument that biology as well as society underlies boys’ and girls’ different toy preferences.
Stick play occurred most commonly between ages 3 and 9. Females spent a lot more time carrying sticks than males did. Young male chimps occasionally used sticks to mimic(模仿) childcare. “Far more often, they fought with sticks, an infrequent behavior among females,” say Sonya Kahlenberg of Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, and Richard Wrangham of Harvard University.
“Biological differences between the sexes make female chimps more receptive to stick-mothering than males,” says Wrangham.
Consistent with reported cultural traditions among adult chimps, Kanyawara youngsters learned from each other to play with sticks as if caring for babies. Stick play among young chimps showed no evidence of being directly influenced by older chimps. Child-bearing females never played with sticks and thus didn’t model such behavior for younger chimps.
Young females carried sticks for anywhere from a few minutes to several hours. They often rested in nests with their sticks, sometimes playing with them much as chimp mothers play with their babies though they didn’t get any form of teaching from the adults.
1. What does a stick seem like to a young female chimp who plays with it?

A．A doll.

B．A mother.

C．A baby.

D．A toy.

2. We can see from the text that young female chimps ________.

A．often carry sticks with males

B．always carry sticks with males

C．never use sticks in fighting

D．seldom use sticks in fighting

3. From whom do the young chimps pick up the stick play behavior?

A．From each other.	B．From older chimps.
C．From their mothers.	D．From male chimps.

4. What does the text mainly tell us about young chimps’ stick play?

A．The types of stick play and social influence.

B．The sex differences and social influence.

C．The sex differences and age differences.

D．The ways of stick play and age differences.

【推荐1】The twilight zone (朦胧地带) contains the largest and least explored fish stocks (储备) of the world’s oceans. Ranging from just below 200 metres to 1,000 metres deep, it is an interface between the well-studied sea life in the sunlit zone above and the ecosystems of the darkest territory below. It has a major role in removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it for centuries or longer. The twilight zone is also known to the largest migration on Earth. Huge numbers of fishes and zooplankton (浮游动物) move hundreds of metres towards the surface each night to feed, before withdrawing back down at dawn.

Yet the zone is poorly understood — physically,     biogeochemically and ecologically. Even the number of organisms that live there remains a mystery, let alone their diversity and function.

It is alarming, then, that this vast ocean domain is at risk in three ways-even before any of the potential consequences are understood. First, the world’s growing population has an increasing need for food. Second, sea-floor mining for minerals and metals could release waste into the region. And   third, climate change is varying temperature, acidification and oxygen levels in ways that are likely to affect life there.

The twilight zone is hard Io study. Its organisms are difficult to sample and analyse, being thinly distributed, almost invisible and often fragile. They also live at pressures of up to 100 atmospheres, which poses problems for laboratory-based investigations.

Critics might argue that walers near coasts and above shelves are more deserving of study, given the huge environmental pressures there, as well as their importance to societies. And, of course, they need attention. Sadly, however, it is too late to avoid widespread environmental damage to these inshore regions. Instead, research efforts and local policies must aim at minimizing the worst effects.

By contrast, the twilight zone is almost left in its original condition. Moreover, the majority of it lies beyond national administration. This makes it of common interest and responsibility, and means that global agreement is necessary to manage it.

1. What can we learn about the twilight zone?

A．It has the least fish stocks.

B．It reduces atmosphere’s carbon dioxide.

C．It lies at the bottom of sea.

D．Il is located above the sunlit zone.

2. What does Paragraph 3 mainly tell us?

A．Where global warming leads us.

B．Why high food consumption arises.

C．How the twilight zone is threatened.

D．What impacts pollution has on ocean.

3. What does the underlined word “it” in the last paragraph refer to?

A．The twilight zone.	B．The inshore area.
C．Its original condition.	D．National administration.

4. Which statement does the author agree with?

A．International cooperation is essential.

B．Inshore regions deserve more attention.

C．Global agreement has been reached.

D．Study on the twilight zone is out of the question.

【推荐2】There’s an ongoing discussion over whether electric vehicles(EVs) should emit sounds to let the blind and other pedestrians know they're on the scene. Some think those sounds should be standardized一like the “beep, beep, beep” of heavy machinery backing up, so you'll think “something heavy this way comes” when you hear it. Several car companies have created their own sounds, especially for car markets outside the United States.

Starting in 2021, all new electric vehicles of any model will need the acoustic vehicle alarming system or AVAS. That sound will come into play when the car is going backwards or when it’s traveling at less than 12 miles an hour—speeds at which cars are more likely to be combined with pedestrians.

“We're calling on the government to take this announcement further by requiring AVAS on all existing electric and hybrid vehicles and to make sure drivers have them switched on, ” John Weisman, guide dog owner and Guide Dogs staff member, said in a statement shared by CNN.

This action followed in the steps of Japan, which was an early adopter, passing its rules in 2010. Meanwhile, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration passed its final ruling in February 2018, requiring vehicles to emit sound if they’re traveling slower than 6 mph.

Drivers in most situations have the ability to shut off the device when it is needed. They will probably eventually be standardized register “electric car” when you hear it. And that’s a good thing to reduce the mess on the roads.

1. What can we learn about AVAS?

A．Its speed is limited to 12 miles an hour.

B．The Japan government isn’t in favor of it.

C．Not all the newly-produced EVs need to use it.

D．It sounds the alarm when the car is backing up.

2. What is John’s attitude to AVAS?

A．Supportive.

B．Cautious.

C．Unconcerned.

D．Doubtful.

3. What is the last paragraph mainly about?

A．The usage of AVAS.	B．The characteristics of AVAS.
C．The benefits of using AVAS.	D．The ways of turning off AVAS.

【推荐3】 Most people are good at recognizing the universal facial expressions of our emotions 一 anger, joy, sadness, etc., which present a lot of emotional information. In fact, there are less obvious facial expressions called micro-expressions (MEs). Huma n beings often show them and communicate their private thoughts to others unconsciously (无意识的).What's more, people cannot hide them, including the experienced ones. And MEs have universality (普遍性), regardless of one's age, religion or culture.

All the findings lead to the possibilities of MEs' wide use in different fields, where people can use MEs to understand other people's true feelings, thoughts, or beliefs. Police can use MEs to detect unnatural behavior. Teachers can recognize unease in students and give a more careful explanation. Businessmen can use expressions of happiness to determine when they have given a suitable price. When one wants to be able to do what are mentioned above, it is useful to be able to read MEs.

However, MEs are difficult to read, because they are unconscious, and occur sometimes as fast as one-tenth of a second or even one-fifteenth of a second. At present, even highly trained persons are not always able to notice them. Some people do see something that has changed on the face, but they don't know exactly what it is that has changed. Since the human recognition accuracy (精准)is so low, a possible method for spotting MEs would be very precious.

1. Which word can replace the underlined word "detect” in Paragraph 2?

A．Discover.	B．Show.
C．Govern.	D．Affect.

2. What makes it difficult for people to read MEs?

A．Absence of training.

B．MEs' short existence.

C．MEs' universality.

D．Cultural differences.

3. What will probably be discussed in the next paragraph of the passage?

A．The meaning of MEs.

B．The importance of spotting MEs.

C．The application of MEs.

D．The approach to recognizing MEs.

【推荐1】Ants are truly incredible creatures. In addition to talents like predicting earthquakes and saving themselves from drowning during floods, the hardworking insects go all out to protect their own comrades, often carrying the wounded back to the nest to heal. Now researchers have discovered ants who explode and sacrifice themselves to save their nests from attackers.

Although scientists have known about the existence of exploding ants since 1916, they were first found in the rainforests of Borneo in Southeast Asia by an international team of researchers led by Alice Laciny, a graduate student at the Natural History Museum, Vienna.

The researchers noticed that during the day, when the ants went outside to look for food, they would be closely monitored by a small army of “guards”, who touched each member as it went in and out of the nest. Upon running into an attacker, the guard ant would angle its back part towards the attacking creature and shrink its stomach. This caused the ant’s body to explode and release a yellow, deadly goo(粘状物), which instantly killed the attacker.

The ability to explode, however, was not universal among the species and appeared to be possessed only by minor worker ants, usually the smallest ants of the nest. Even more interesting was that while the minor members were blowing themselves up, the large worker ants with oversized plug-shaped heads, placed barriers at the nest’s entrance to prevent other potential enemies from entering.

While the defense measure may sound extreme, Tomer Czazkes believes it is necessary. The behavioral ecologist at Germany’s University of Regensburg says since the insects live in large groups, they are a natural and easy source of food for ant eaters. They, therefore, have to find ways to protect themselves. Ants are not the only insects known to conduct this type of voluntary-sacrifice. Older termites(白蚁 ), who have lost their abilities of nesting and finding food, also explode onto their enemies.

Next, the researchers hope to find out the make-up of their yellow goo, how they use their explosion to take down larger attackers and so on.

1. What’s the main function of Paragraph 1?

A．To tell us ants are gifted	B．To show concern for ants’ safety.
C．To say ants face more challenge	D．To lead to the main topic of the text.

2. What is regarded as more interesting for the author?

A．The guard ants’ touching each other.	B．The minor ants’ voluntary self-sacrifice.
C．The guard ants’ shrinking their stomachs.	D．The large ants’ blocking the nest entrance.

3. What do scientists plan to do in the future?

A．Do more research on the older termites.

B．Discover if the ants can kill larger attackers.

C．Uncover more secrets about the exploding ants.

D．Tell the difference between the ants and older termites.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Worker Ants Are Easy to Attack

B．Ants Are Expert in Protecting Themselves

C．Worker Ants Explode to Protect Their Nests

D．Graduate Student Discovered New Kind of Ants

【推荐2】Children moving from primary to secondary school are ill-equipped to deal with the impact of social media, as it is playing an increasingly important role in their lives and exposing them to significant emotional risk, according to a recent report by the Office of the Children’s Commissioner for England.

The report shows that many children in year 7 -- the first year of secondary school, when almost all students will have a phone and be active on social media -- feel under pressure to be constantly connected.

They worry about their online image, particularly when they start to follow celebrities on Instagram and other platforms. They are also concerned about “sharenting” -- when parents post pictures of them on social media without their permission – and worry that their parents won’t listen if they ask them to take pictures down.

The report, which was created with data from focus group interviews with 8 to 12-year-olds, says that although most social media sites have an official age limit of 13, an estimated 75 percent of 10 to 12-year-olds have a social media account.

Some children are almost addicted to “likes”, the report says. Aaron, an 11-year-old in year 7, told researchers, “If I got 150 likes, I’d be like, that’s pretty cool, it means they like you.” Some children described feeling inferior(差的) to those they follow on social media. Aimee, also 11, said, “You might compare yourself because you’re not very pretty compared to them.”

Children’s Commissioner for England Anne Longfield is calling on parents and teachers to do more to prepare children for the emotional impact of social media as they get older. She wants to see the introduction of compulsory digital literacy and online resilience (适应力) lessons for students in year 6 and 7.

“It is also clear that social media companies are still not doing enough to stop under-13s using their platforms in the first place,” Longfield said.

“Just because a child has learned the safety messages at primary school does not mean they are prepared for all the challenges that social media will present,” Longfield said.

“It means a bigger role for schools in making sure children are prepared for the emotional demands of social media. And it means social media companies need to take more responsibility,” Longfield said.

1. What does this text mainly tell us?

A．Children are not entirely able to handle the impact of social media.

B．Social media occupies too much time for secondary school freshmen.

C．Many secondary school freshmen suffer from social media-related stress.

D．An increasing number of children in year 7 are being exposed to social media.

2. Some students in year 7 are concerned _____________ .

A．about becoming addicted to social media

B．about how they are seen on social media sites

C．that their parents won’t allow them to post pictures

D．that their parents will monitor their use of social media

3. What does the underlined word “them” in Paragraph 5 probably refer to?

A．their followers	B．children of the same age
C．their parents	D．celebrities they follow

4. Anne Longfield suggests that ______.

A．parents monitor how their children use social media

B．social media companies set an official age limit of 13

C．schools help equip students for the challenges of social media

D．social media companies create special sites for children under 13

【推荐3】Nothing is more tiresome than being stuck in a boring class. Every second takes ages to tick by. A recent survey of American kids revealed that 91 percent experience boredom. In fact, adolescence is considered a peak period for the problem. One study showed that roughly one in three teenagers was bored at school.

Peter Stromberg, professor at the University of Tulsa says, “Our brains adapt really quickly to certain levels of stimulation(刺激). We get used to the media providing levels of highly emotional stimulation, and when we’re not getting them we feel bored. As our society develops various ways of keeping us entertained, we may discover that rather than getting rid of boredom, we’re multiplying it.” Luckily, new research is implying a way that we can battle the trend.

Professor John D. Eastwood of the University of York developed a new theory of boredom, which links it to the brain’s attention system—the part of the brain that we use to focus. Anything the attention system in your brain locks onto will be automatically sucked up into your conscious awareness—it might be a bird outside the window, the pleasant smell of lunch, or even someone sleeping in the back of the class.

The problem is that your attention system doesn’t like being told what to do. It wants to focus on stuff that you find fun and interesting. For the parts of school that you enjoy, this isn’t a problem. But for those classes that don’t interest you, or present too much or too little challenge, the story is very different. In those situations, you’re going to have to spend a lot of effort constantly redirecting your attention system to focus on things it would rather ignore. And the effort is going to wear you out. Eastwood describes it as “wanting, but being unable, to be involved in a satisfying activity.” It’s like a block in the system. And it’s the awareness of that block combined with a sense that the environment is to blame that leads to feelings of boredom.

When we’re bored we blame the world around us, but Eastwood’s theory challenges this assumption: Boredom doesn’t exist out there; it exists inside your brain. What that means is—hard as it may be to hear—boring lessons aren’t only the fault of your teacher or the subject, they’re your fault too.

1. According to Peter Stromberg, ______.

A．teenagers are victims of boredom

B．our brains demand much stimulation

C．we’ve grown dependent on media for fun

D．the way we have fun makes us become bored

2. According to Paragraph 4, the attention system ______.

A．doesn’t like challenges	B．enjoys interesting things
C．does what you want it to do	D．can make our efforts fruitless

3. What might the author suggest about a boring class?

A．Focusing more attention on it.

B．Changing the way we look at it.

C．Employing various teaching methods.

D．Challenging the disturbing environment.

4. What might be the best title for the passage?

A．Escape Your Boredom.	B．Battle Your Attention.
C．Fun or Boredom?	D．Who Is to Blame?

【推荐1】①A quarter of women and two-thirds of the men in a study chose to experience an electric shock (电击) rather than do nothing and spend time alone with their thoughts, which shows we hate being alone.

②Solitude (独处) has had a bad reputation (名声) because it is sometimes used as a form of punishment, said Robert Coplan, a professor of psychology at Carleton University.

③The problem is that we forget solitude can also be a choice and it does not have to be full time, because there is so much research showing that humans are social creatures who benefit from communicating with others. “People will try to dismiss that it’s also important to spend time alone,” said Coplan. “It’s hard for them to imagine that you can have both.”

④People often feel inhabited (拘谨的) from enjoying activities alone, especially when they worry others are watching and judging them. It can stop us from doing things that will bring us joy.

⑤Indeed, loneliness hurts — it can even negatively impact your health. But the mere act of being alone with oneself does not have to be bad.

⑥An online survey called “The Red Test” showed that activities considered to be most relaxing are things that are done alone. Spending time alone is actually something our bodies long for and we need to make ourselves feel better.

⑦The freedom of not having to follow the lead of others, with no pressure to do anything, to talk to anyone, or to make plans with people, is a great way to relax, even for highly social individuals. It also helps us discover new interests and ideas without having to worry about the opinions of others.

⑧Developing this sense of being alone and making the choice to be alone can help develop your sense of self. Knowing oneself makes it easier to find other people who share your passions and develop true friendships.

⑨Don’t confuse loneliness with time by yourself. The latter can improve your creativity and confidence, and help you control your emotions so that you can better deal with different situations. Getting started is easy — all you need is yourself.

1. The underlined word “It” in paragraph 4 refers to ________.

A．anxiety about what others think of you

B．social worries about spending time alone

C．imagination of the effects of feeling lonely

D．the choice of feeling lonely or being alone

2. The benefits of being alone do not include ________.

A．exploring our interests	B．widening our circle
C．reducing our pressure	D．improving our confidence

3. What’s the author’s attitude towards being alone?

A．Disapproving.	B．Doubtful.
C．Uninterested.	D．Supportive.

4. Which is the structure of the passage?

A．	B．
C．	D．

【推荐2】A review of 100 years of fossil evidence reveals that 100 million years ago part of the Sahara Desert was arguably the riskiest place on our planet,wih a concentration of large predatory(食肉的）dinosaurs unmatched in any comparable modern ecosystem on land. The analysis of fossils from theso-called Kem Kem beds shows the presence in the area of large-scale predatory dinosaurs,reptiles and other hunters, all living together in what was at the time a river system full of very large fish, rather than a desert.

Paleontologist Nizar Ibrahim, lead author of the study, said that the Kem Kem ecosystem was a highly enigmatic place,ecologically speaking, since typically ecosystems present a larger number of plant-eating animals than predators, and predators themselves will come in a variety of sizes,with one larger predator being dominant. In the Kem Kem beds,fossils of predators outnumber those of plant-eating dinosaurs, and several of the predators living together in the area, such as the Carcharodontosaurus, the Spinosaurus,the Abelisaur and the Deltadromeus, were as big as a Tyrannosaurus rex (T.rex) - one of the largest dinosaurs that ever lived. This is strange “even by dinosaur standards,” according to Ibrahim, since the T. rex, which was present in North America tens of millions of years later, was “the unarguable ruler of its ancient ecosystem.”

It is unlikely that the large predators in the Kem Kem ecosystem ate one another. What's more realistic, according to Ibrahim, is that they ate the abundant and supersized fish present in the area - fish like coelacanths"the size of a car” and sawfish that could reach 25 feet in length.

The study of the Kem Kem beds carried out by Ibrahim and a group of international researchers across the U.S., Europe and Africa draws attention to the importance of learning more about Africa,which remains paleontology's forgotten continent.It shows that African ecosystems"do not simply copy the ones we know from North America,Europe or other better-known places,"and it also reveals clues about what happens to life when dramatic changes in climate come into play.

1. What does the underlined word “enigmatic" in Paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．Dangerous.

B．Peaceful.

C．Puzzling.

D．Remote.

2. What can be learned about the Kem Kem ecosystem?

A．The T.rex was the real ruler of the ecosystem.

B．There once lived dangerous supersized dinosaurs.

C．There was an underground river instead of a desert.

D．The number of plant-eating dinosaurs went beyond that of predators.

3. Which of the following would Ibrahim agree with?

A．Sawfish once completely dominated North America.

B．Coelacanths were much larger than the Deltadromeus.

C．The Carcharodontosaurus and the Spinosaurus lived on fish.

D．The Abelisaur and the T. rex became extinct at the same time.

4. What does the study of the Kem Kem beds reveal?

A．African ecosystems have their uniqueness.

B．Humans have caused great changes in climate.

C．Fossils of predators proved to be alien species.

D．The Sahara Desert was formed 100 million years ago.

【推荐3】In the trailer (拖车式房屋)，Sischo was refreshing the snails ‘(蜗牛）accommodations--an ongoing routine that takes days of careful work. He had found a dozen of Achatinella bulimoides--a third of the world's population of the species. Once every individual was accounted for, he cleaned the cage and packed in new                    leaves. The work took much trouble, but the responsibility, he said, was like “a heavy weight sitting on you.”

The trailer is very vulnerable. It’s designed to keep away would-be thieved, and to resist hurricanes. But a fire could easily destroy it, or a disease could sweep through it. Last September , a mystery pathogon（病原体）appeared to have entered the trailer on leaves fed to the snails, killing almost an entire species. As sad as the event was, there’s no good way to insure against future catastrophe. The snails can’t simply be spread among zoos or other facilities: they need special equipment, experienced handlers, and a diet of native Hawaiian plants.

Consequently, it can be hard for the snails' minders to relax, even when they are outside the trailer. “How do you switch off when your decisions mean existence or extinction?" Sischo said. While action lightens the burden, yet with animals whose natural history is largely unknown, that action can be dangerous. "If you do it wrong, the snails die.”

Snails are neither intelligent nor beloved. Sischo's friends sometimes tease him about being "the strange snail guy' ; strangers ask why he cares. It's hard to convince people, but he insists that if he can just get them in the trailer, they will understand why the Achatinella bulimoides are worth saving. "People melt," he said“When you show them that the entire population is in this chamber, it hits them."

1. What is the trailer used for?

A．Accommodating guests	B．Sheltering snails
C．Planting vegetables.	D．Alarming thieves.

2. What does the underlined word “vulnerable" mean in paragraph?

A．Quite.	B．Safe.
C．Easily affected.	D．Well protected.

3. What is the snail minders' attitude towards their job?

A．Relaxed.	B．Confident.
C．Cautious	D．Disapproving

4. Which of the following could be the best title for the text?

A．The Last of Its Kind	B．The Worst of Times
C．Mourn Its Loss	D．Resist Possible Dangerous