The average bear, it seems, is getting ever smarter. First, it turned out that at least one can use a comb. Now it appears that some can count, too.
Jennifer Vonk, of Oakland University, in Michigan, and Michael Beran, from Georgia State University, set three American black bears the task of distinguishing between numerically larger and smaller groups of dots(点)on a computer screen. In return for a food reward one bear, Brutus, would touch the more heavily dotted pattern with his nose. The others, Bella and Dusty, would touch the screen with their claws(爪子).
As the researchers report in Animal Behavior, the bears did best with patterns where the coloured dots did not move and where more of them also took up a larger coloured area. This could be explained by the bears' distinguishing the different areas of colour rather than truly counting the dots. However, the three bears managed to pick out the bigger number of dots even in pairs of patterns where fewer dots took up a larger area.
Moving patterns, where each dot followed its own path around the screen, were more of a challenge. But Brutus, at least, was not defeated. He seemed to be counting mobile dots even when the scientists tried to mislead him by moving the total coloured area of the dots at the same time.
It is not entirely surprising that bears should have a high degree of intelligence. They face a lot of challenges when trying to get food. They are, however, always alone, and so do not have the complex social systems that contribute to animal smarts. Perhaps, then, their maths skill developed because they cannot count on their friends for help.
1. What task did the scientists set for the three bears?| A．Distinguishing different dot patterns. |
| B．Figuring out different colours of dots. |
| C．Putting the dots into differently coloured groups. |
| D．Picking out the group with a larger number of dots. |
| A．the coloured dots were moving slowly |
| B．the dot patterns were regular in shape |
| C．the dots followed a path on the screen |
| D．more dots covered a larger coloured area |
| A．They learn skills from other animals. |
| B．They face life challenges on their own. |
| C．They feed on a diverse range of food. |
| D．They have complex social networks. |
| A．Bears Taught to Distinguish Colours |
| B．New Evidence of Bear Intelligence Found |
| C．Three Bears Learned How to Count |
| D．The Smartest American Black Bear Brutus |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Only humans speak using words. But all animals can communicate in one way or another. Maybe you have heard about the way bees dance around to send messages to each other and the way dogs make loud noises in different ways to give warnings.
Do you know that animals can communicate through infrasonic (次声的) sounds? This is how it works:
Humans hear low sounds like thunder rumbling (雷声轰鸣) in the sky. But we don’t hear sounds lower than these. However, elephants can hear many lower sounds, and they use them to communicate with each other. This is known as infrasound.
Another surprising thing about infrasound is that it travels over several kilometres. Sounds which have a higher pitch(音调), like the ones people can hear, don’t travel through walls, leaves, trees and so on. And that is why we can’t hear sounds from more than 100 metres away. But infrasound is much ‘stronger’, and things like grass and trees have no effect on it. Because of that it can travel much farther. Elephants can hear infrasonic calls from four kilometres away!
There have been reports that people were watching elephants feeding or resting when the elephants all ran away for no reason at all. It is clear that they heard a warning call from a long way away, but the people didn’t hear the sound. In places like a zoo where you can get nearer to animals, it is a bit easier to sense when infrasonic sounds are made. When you stand near mother elephants with their babies in a zoo you may notice a weak rumbling in the air every few minutes — not loud or strong, but clearly noticeable. They are infrasonic calls — the mother elephants “talking” to their babies.
1. Why does the author mention bees and dogs in Paragraph 1?| A．To show humans are special. |
| B．To introduce animal communication. |
| C．To compare different kinds of animals. |
| D．To tell us an interesting story about animals. |
| A．belongs to high sounds |
| B．can travel longer distances |
| C．is higher than the sound of thunder |
| D．gets weaker when traveling through walls |
| A．The people watching also heard the warning call. |
| B．The people could hear lower sounds than elephants. |
| C．The elephants were frightened by the people nearby. |
| D．The elephants communicated through infrasonic sounds. |
| A．live in the wild | B．go to the park |
| C．stay closer to animals | D．watch elephants feeding |
| A．Wild Elephants | B．The Animal World |
| C．Talking Through Infrasound | D．Dog Communication |
【推荐2】A saw-whet owl (猫头鹰) is recovering at a wildlife refuge in New York state after it was discovered glued to the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. The bird was found by workers helping to transport the tree 170 miles from Oneonta to New York City.
“It’s just a story out of a movie,” said Ravensbeard Wildlife Center director Ellen Kalish, who is caring for the owl.
After the owl-now named Rockefeller-was dropped off with Ms Kalish and taken to the wildlife centre, her team began giving him fluids and “all the mice he will eat”. Rockefeller had not had anything to eat or drink during his three-day road trip. “It’s amazing he didn’t get hurt,” Ms Kalish said.
Rockefeller was taken to the vet on Wednesday night for a check-up and some X-rays, but Ms Kalish said he appears to be in great condition considering his adventurous week.
Diminutive as Rockefeller is, he is a full-grown adult. Saw-whet owls are the smallest owls in the US north-east, Ms Kalish said, typically growing to no more than 8.3 in (17-21cm) tall.
“They’re a very interesting species,” Ms Kalish said.They are “very” nocturnal, meaning they’re typically not seen unless someone is looking for them. Some migrate south for the winter, and some don’t migrate at all.
Once Rockefeller has a clean bill of health, Ms Kalish and the Ravensbeard team will release him back into the wild.” Our goal is to release any bird that can be released,” she said.
There are about two million saw-whet owls across the US, so Rockefeller will be OK if he doesn’t make it all the way back to Oneonta. “They find a new mate each year and go on with their lives,”she said.
With all the bad news of 2020, this little owl’s rescue “was a story that needed to be shared”, Ms Kalish said.
1. Where was the owl stuck?| A．On a tree. | B．On a truck. |
| C．In New York City. | D．At the wildlife centre. |
| A．A medical examination. | B．Food and drink. |
| C．Christmas gifts. | D．A three-day road trip. |
| A．Weak. | B．Mature. |
| C．Interesting. | D．Tiny. |
| A．Be sent to a zoo. | B．Be kept at the center. |
| C．Be sent back to nature. | D．Be sent back to Oneonta. |
【推荐3】Before bringing a dog into your family, it is important to know how to take care of it.
Knowing how to take care of a dog involves proper attention to your dog's diet.
Knowing how to take care of a dog also involves an adequate level of exercise.
Proper veterinary(兽医的) care is extremely important when understanding how to take care of dog. It's best if you bring your dog in for veterinary checkups at least once year.
| A．Dogs are very expensive to keep if you want them happy. |
| B．You need to provide for its needs, both physical and emotional. |
| C．You should know training is very important for a domestic animal. |
| D．Each year, thousands of dogs experience obesity-related health problems. |
| E．Inexpensive low-quality dog food can negatively affect your dog's health. |
| F．Part of knowing how to take care of a dog involves knowing how to train a dog. |
| G．If you're worried about costs, you may want to invest in pet insurance for your dog. |
【推荐1】There is plenty of complaints about how social media-texting in particular — may be harming children’s social and intellectual development. But a new study suggests that constant instant messaging (IM’ing) and texting among teens may also provide benefits, particularly for those who are introverted (内向的).
British researchers studied instant messages exchanged by 231 teens, aged 14 to 18. All of the participants were “regular” or “extensive” IM’ers. In the U. S., two thirds of teens use instant messaging services regularly, with a full third messaging at least once every day.
The researchers analyzed 150 conversations in the study, and reported the results in the journal Computers in Human Behavior. In 100 of these chats, the study participant began IM'ing while in a negative emotional state such as sadness, distress or anger. The rest were conversations begun when the participant was feeling good or neutral. After the chat, participants reported about a 20% reduction in their distress — not enough to completely eliminate it, but enough to leave them feeling better than they had before reaching out.
“Our findings suggest that IM'ing between distressed adolescents and their peers may provide emotional relief and consequently contribute to their well-being,” the authors write, noting that prior research has shown that people assigned to talk to a stranger either in real life or online improved their mood in both settings, but even more with IM. And people who talk with their real-life friends online also report feeling closer to them than those who just communicate face-to-face, implying a strengthening of their bond.
Why would digital communication do better than human contact? The reasons are complex, but may have something to do with the fact that users can control expression of sadness and other emotions via IM without revealing emotional elements like tears that some may consider as embarrassing or sources of discomfort. Studies also show that the anonymity (匿名) of writing on a device blankets the users in a sense of safety that may cause people to feel more comfortable in sharing and discussing their deepest and most authentic feelings. Prior research has shown that expressive writing itself can “vent” emotions and provide a sense of relief — and doing so, knowing that your words are reaching a sympathetic friend, may provide even more comfort and potentially be therapeutic. Researchers also found that introverted participants reported more relief from IM conversations when they were distressed than extroverts did. Susan Cain, author of Quiet wrote recently for TIME: Introverts are often brimming over with thoughts and care deeply for their friends, family and colleagues. But even the most socially skilled introverts sometimes long for a free pass from socializing or talking on the phone. This is what the Internet offers: the chance to connect—but in measured doses and from behind a screen.
1. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?| A．Teens are more likely to send instant messages when feeling distressed. |
| B．Instant messaging can help completely remove teens’ negative emotions. |
| C．Chat via instant messaging services makes participants feel good or calm. |
| D．Constant instant messaging can help teens control their negative emotions. |
| A．control | B．maintain |
| C．release | D．conceal |
| A．Find more sympathetic friends. |
| B．Share and discuss more information. |
| C．Produce more expressive writings. |
| D．Avoid embarrassment and discomfort. |
| A．Instant messaging will prevent children’s social and intellectual development. |
| B．Introverted teens may benefit from constant instant messaging. |
| C．Teens feeling bad often feel closer to real-life friends than to the net friends. |
| D．American teens aged 14 to 18 are extensive instant messaging users. |
【推荐2】Mosquitofish (食蚊鱼) may look small, but these fish are a threat. Outside of their range, they defeat other freshwater creatures and eat their eggs. Since they don’t have any natural enemies beyond their range, their population goes unchecked as they cause damage to native wildlife.
Fortunately, scientists have now invented a new tool, a robotic fish, meant to intimidate mosquitofish. “Instead of killing them one by one, we’re presenting an approach that can inform better strategies to control this global pest,” said Giovanni Polverino, a biologist at the University of Western Australia. “We made their worst nightmare (噩梦) become real: a robot that scares the mosquitofish but not the other animals around it.”
The robot, shaped like a largemouth bass (大嘴鲈), one of the mosquitofish’s natural enemies, was equipped with a camera to recognize mosquitofish and tadpoles (蝌蚪). The researchers set up 12 containers with six mosquitofish and six tadpoles in each one and allowed the creatures to adapt for a week before meeting the robot. For one hour twice a week for five weeks, each group was placed in a container with the robot.
In the robofish’s presence, the mosquitofish spent more time getting together, and their swimming became more abnormal. With the mosquitofish anxious and scared, the tadpoles went out more. These effects even lasted for weeks after the final encounter with the robot. When the creatures returned to their containers, the mosquitofish were less active and didn’t eat as much, which are signs of anxiety. The mosquitofish spent so much energy living in extreme fear that they lost weight. Males’ body shapes also changed to become more streamlined, likely so they can escape more quickly when they’re scared.
Though the study showed promising results, these robots can’t be released into the water yet. The team still needs to understand the long-term impacts on other animals and downstream effects on the ecosystem as a whole. But Polverino says they have achieved their main goal: to prove fear can affect the survival of mosquitofish.
1. What does the underlined word “intimidate” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．Kill. | B．Protect. | C．Monitor. | D．Frighten. |
| A．Its size. | B．Its shape. | C．Its equipment. | D．Its swimming style. |
| A．They swam more actively. | B．They developed a big appetite. |
| C．They became kind to tadpoles. | D．They changed their normal behavior. |
| A．Mosquitofish — a headache for scientists | B．Robotic fish — mosquitofish’s nightmare |
| C．Mosquitofish — a threat to native wildlife | D．Robotic fish — a new member of the ecosystem |
【推荐3】One of the most productive architects of the 20th century, Frank Lloyd Wright had no shortage of ideas. Throughout his life, he designed 1,171 architectural works. Many of them, like the Guggenheim Museum and Fallingwater, were eventually built. But over half — 660 to be exact — never moved beyond paper. Now, thanks to the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, we are finally getting a look at what his unbuilt architecture would have looked like. Working with digital artist David Romero, the organization has been building an impressive library of works that show Wright’s creative genius.
The reasons that these pieces of incredible architecture were never built vary. Wright’s homage to his adopted home state of Arizona was rejected for several reasons. While Wright considered his avant-garde (前卫的) design for the Arizona State Capitol Building to be a gift to the city, officials felt otherwise. With a price of $5 million, too costly, he was passed over for the project.
In the case of the cliffside (悬崖边) Morris House, it’s not completely clear why the family did not go with Wright’s design. But, in examining his ideas for the home, it’s clear that Wright successfully combines the architecture and nature. The design uses rounded forms that fit into the cliffs and merge the home and the natural surroundings.
In 1947, he was asked to rebuild Roy Wetmore’s service station. What Wright provided was a futuristic design that included a ramp (斜坡) allowing a car to be displayed on the roof. Unfortunately, Wetmore wished to simply remodel the existing structure rather than demolish it and start over, so the project was never done. Later, Wetmore did incorporate the car ramp on the roof.
Romero has been able to bring these ideas to life and give a new generation of architecture lovers a reminder of why Wright had such a long, influential career.
1. Why was the design for Arizona State Capitol Building refused?| A．The government wanted a perfect design. |
| B．It was originally designed for other states. |
| C．It needed much more money than expected. |
| D．The design didn’t go with the surroundings. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Intolerant. | C．Doubtful. | D．Unclear. |
| A．Redesign. | B．Pull down. | C．Improve. | D．Put up. |
| A．Wright’s productive architecture wasn’t recognized. |
| B．Many good productive architects didn’t come to light. |
| C．Wright’s excellent designs for some famous buildings. |
| D．Modern technology makes a genius’ designs come true. |
【推荐1】Laughter is a kind of universal body language. But did you know that the ability to tell real laughter apart from fake laughter also goes beyond cultures?
Greg Bryant, a professor of communication at the University of California, published a study in psychological Science in late July in which he found that people are able to identify real laughter through slight differences in sound.
In the study, 884 people from 21 countries were asked to listen to random recordings of laughter. Some of the recordings were made up of natural laughs, while others were made by people who were asked to laugh on command. The study showed that people around the word have the ability to pick out real laughter, although their abilities differ from country to country. Residents of the Samoan Islands, are particularly good at it, correctly identifying real laughter 56 percent of the time.
But how do people from different cultures detect natural laughter so easily?
As Professor Jessica Wolf of the University of California said, real laughter will “produce qualities such as higher pitch and volume(音量), as well as faster bursts of unclear sounds and more non-tonal noise”. By contrast, fake laughter will “sound like speech”, producing slower bursts of clear sounds and toneless noise. According to Science Daily, fake laughter is controlled by the same brain system that controls the lips and tongue. This system has an imitative(模仿的) ability, saying “with this speech system, you can make a lot of different noises, including crying, laughter or a scream of pain. That’s where fake laughter comes from”.
So that’s something to think about the next time one of your friends laughs at something you said. Will you be able to tell if it’s real or fake?
1. What did Bryant discover about people’s ability to identify real laughter?| A．Not all people have the same ability. |
| B．People across cultures laugh differently. |
| C．The ability can be improved by practicing. |
| D．Samoans are fond of picking out real laughter. |
| A．It is easy to imitate. |
| B．It has faster bursts of toneless noise. |
| C．It is high-pitched and has loud sounds. |
| D．It is produced by a speech system in the brain. |
| A．an advertisement | B．a magazine |
| C．a novel | D．a brochure |
【推荐2】The term“smiling depression”—appearing happy to others while actually suffering depressive symptoms—has become increasingly popular. In fact, many people who experience a low mood and a loss of pleasure in activities manage to hide their condition in this way. And these people might be particularly easy to suicide.
While smiling depression is not a technical term that psychologists use，it is certain to be depressed and manage to successfully mask the symptoms. The closest technical term for this condition is “atypical depression”. It can be very hard to spot people suffering depression because they may seem like they don’t have a reason to be sad — they have a job, an apartment and maybe even children or a partner. They smile when you greet them and can carry pleasant conversations. In short, they often put on a mask to the outside world while leading seemingly normal and active lives. Inside, however, they often feel hopeless and down, sometimes even having thoughts about ending it all.
People with smiling depression put on a happy face to the outside world, but they can experience a lift in their mood as a result of positive occurrences in their lives. Other symptoms of this condition include overeating, feeling a sense of heaviness in the arms and legs and being easily hurt by criticism or rejection. They are also more likely to feel depressed in the evening and feel the need to sleep longer than usual. With other forms of depression, however, your mood might be worse in the morning and you might feel the need for less sleep than you are normally used to.
So how can they break this circle? A starting point needs to be known that this condition actually exists and that it’s serious. Only when we stop ignoring our problems because we think they’re not serious enough can we start making an actual difference. Then we can find purpose by taking the attention away from ourselves and placing it onto something else. Feeling that our lives matter is finally what gives us purpose and meaning — and this can make a significant difference for our mental health and well-being.
1. What do we know about people suffering smiling depression?| A．They are wearing masks all day. | B．They are difficult to get along with. |
| C．They lead an abnormal life actually. | D．Most of them commit suicide. |
| A．representative | B．common | C．hidden | D．formal |
| A．may feel sleepless | B．feel more depressed in the evening |
| C．are tired of heaviness in the arms | D．may eat more food |
| A．Never talk about smiling depression and ignore its existence. |
| B．Admit the condition and pay attention to ourselves. |
| C．Value the importance of our life and enjoy it. |
| D．Find out the problem and place it onto somebody else. |
【推荐3】Four years ago, we asked ourselves: what if we could create a shopping experience with no waiting in lines and no checkout? Or could we create a physical store where customers could simply take what they want and go? Our answer to those questions is Amazon Go, where you could experience the idea of “just walk out shopping”.
Amazon Go is a new kind of store with no checkout required. We created the world’s most advanced shopping technology, so you never have to wait in line. With our “just walk out shopping” experience, simply use the Amazon Go app to enter the store, take the products you want, and go! No lines, no checkout.
Our checkout-free shopping experience is made possible by the same types of technologies used in self-driving cars: computer vision, sensor fusion, and deep learning. Our “just walk out technology” automatically detects when products are taken from or returned to the shelves and keeps track of them in your virtual cart（虚拟购物车）. When you’ve done shopping, you can just leave the store. Shortly after, we’ll charge your Amazon account and send you a receipt.
We offer delicious ready-to-eat breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack options made fresh every day by our on-site chefs and favorite local kitchens and bakeries. Our selection of foodstuff ranges from bread and milk to cheeses and locally made chocolates. You’ll find well-known brands we love, plus special finds we’re excited to introduce to customers. For a quick home-cooked dinner, pick up one of our chef-designed Amazon Meal Kits, and you can make a meal for two in about 30 minutes.
Our 1,800-square-foot shopping space is conveniently compact(紧凑的), so busy customers can get in and out fast. It is located at 2131, 7th Ave, Seattle, WA, on the corner of 7th Avenue and Blanchard Street. All you need is an Amazon account, a supported smartphone, and the free Amazon Go app.
Amazon Go is currently only open to Amazon employees in our testing program, and will be open to the public soon.
1. What is the author’s purpose in writing the text?| A．To encourage people to shop online. | B．To tell people of a new concept store. |
| C．To advise people to work for Amazon. | D．To share a happy shopping experience. |
| A．Ordering in advance. | B．Paying by their credit card. |
| C．Using the Amazon Go app. | D．Opening their own account. |
| A．Smartphones. | B．Automatic door. |
| C．Electric bikes. | D．Self-driving cars. |
| A．When Amazon Go opens. | B．Where Amazon Go lies. |
| C．What Amazon Go sells. | D．How Amazon Go works. |
【推荐1】Great speakers are not born but made. You too can become a good orator (演说家) by taking up the public speaking courses. Those who are incapable of speaking in front of the public can't come up in their life. The art of public speaking must be practiced by everybody who wants to reach great heights in their career. A lot of public speaking courses are available on the Internet. Choosing the best course that is right for you may be difficult but not impossible.
The basic motive of public speaking courses should be to train you to become a public speaker and improve your skills of delivering a public speech. The course should first educate you with the principles of public speaking and tell you how to overcome stress and anxiety. By overcoming fear,you will be able to deliver your presentation clearly to your audience.
A speaker can have a great influence on the audience with his body language and your public speaking course should tell you the gestures on stage that can attract the audience. Non-verbal communication also has a major role to play in delivering a speech effectively to a group. Though body language is important, the content and the natural use of words are what the audience are closely caring about. Public speaking courses should give tips in using the right words at the right time.
Even though you have prepared well, the real success of public speaking lies in the way your speech is delivered. Public speaking courses will train you to present the contents in a lively manner impressing the audience. Your presentation should be professional and stylish. You can add humor or interactive sessions(互动环节) to your presentation to gain the audience attraction.
1. If you want to become a good speaker you should________.| A．be born an excellent one |
| B．practice speaking in public |
| C．attend all kinds of courses |
| D．make a search on the Internet |
| A．using non-verbal communication |
| B．getting rid of your fear and nervousness |
| C．following the instructions in the public speaking course |
| D．speaking in a loud voice |
| A．What to look for in the public speaking courses. |
| B．Some golden rules of giving a good speech. |
| C．It is easy to find the speaking courses online. |
| D．Some useful tips of delivering a public speech. |
【推荐2】It may seem as if Mother's Day was invented by a company named Hallmark, but people have been taking time on the calendar to give a shout-out to Mom for a long time. The Greeks and Romans had mother goddess festivals — although their celebrations didn't involve the menfolk taking their underappreciated mothers out to dinner. A more recent tradition was Mothering Sunday, which developed in the British Isles during the 16th century. On the fourth Sunday in April, young men and women who were living and working apart from their families were advised to return to their mothers’ houses.
Mother's Day as it is observed in the United States started in the 1850s with Ann Jarvis, a West Virginia woman who held “Mothers' Work Days” to promote health and hygiene(卫生 ) at home and in the workplace. During the Civil War, Jarvis organized women to improve sanitary conditions for soldiers on both sides, and after the war she became a peacemaker, furthering the cause by bringing together mothers of Union and Confederate soldiers and promoting a Mother's Day holiday.
Jarvis's work inspired another 19th-century woman, Julia Ward Howe. In 1870 Howe published her “Mother's Day Proclamation”, which envisioned(设想) the day not as appreciation of mothers by their children but as an opportunity for women to exercise their collective power for peace. Howe started holding annual Mother's Day celebrations in Boston, her hometown, but after about a decade she stopped footing the bill and the tradition faded away.
It was Jarvis's daughter Anna who succeeded in getting Mother’s Day recognized as a national holiday. After her mother died, in May 1905, Anna started holding yearly ceremony on the anniversary and conducting a tireless PR campaign to have the day made a holiday. In 1908 she succeeded in enlisting the support of John Wanamaker, the Philadelphia department store magnate and advertising pioneer, and by 1912 West Virginia and a few other states had adopted Mother's Day. Two years later, President Woodrow Wilson signed a resolution declaring the second Sunday in May a national holiday.
It wasn't long, though, before whatever ideals the day was supposed to celebrate were buried under an amount of greeting cards and candy. By the 1920s Anna Jarvis was campaigning against the holiday she had been instrumental in creating. “I wanted it to be a day of emotionalism, not profit,” she said.
1. It can be inferred from the first paragraph that .| A．mothers didn't get enough appreciation in the past |
| B．Mother's Day was invented by Hallmark |
| C．young people all returned to their mothers' houses |
| D．Greeks and Romans were the first to celebrate Mother's Day |
| A．Ann Jarvis. | B．Julia Ward Howe. |
| C．Woodrow Wilson. | D．Anna Jarvis. |
| A．Because it was extremely emotional. |
| B．Because the festival was not profitable. |
| C．Because the celebrations went against the original spirit. |
| D．Because the day was celebrated in the form of exchanging greeting cards and candy. |
| A．The Definition of Mother’s Day |
| B．The Argument on Celebrating Mother's Day |
| C．The Story Behind the Creation of Mother's Day |
| D．Different Forms of Celebration on Mother's Day |
【推荐3】The public nowadays has a misunderstanding of forest fires, believing that fires should be kept out of every type of forest. Many of us can recall Smoky the Bear's famous warning: “Remember, only YOU can prevent forest fires”. However, that's not always the case. Under the right conditions, and when conducted safely, fire can create many environmental benefits as well as help prevent larger, uncontrollable wildfires.
After a forest fire, many wildlife species will move into recently burned areas to feed on these newly available foods. Some reptiles and amphibians such as the pine (松树） snake prefer forests frequently burned by fire. As Herbert Stoddard put it, “One of the most harmful things modern man has done to birds has been his attempt to exclude fire from fire-type pine forests. Within a few years most forests choke up with bushes, lose their prairie-like vegetation (草原般植被） and can no longer support birds dependent on periodic burning for their food supply and proper cover.”
If you are asked to picture the forest floor, what do you see? Pine needles, cones, leaves, branches might come to mind-all sources of fuel. If these fuel sources build up without any type of removal, the 'fuel load' can lead to fires catastrophic to forests and people alike. In contrast, prescribed fire can be used by forest professionals every couple of years to keep forest fuels at an appropriate and manageable level. They can also minimize the spread of pest insects and disease and remove unwanted tree and plant species. Plus, they can create and maintain important wildlife habitats rich in grasses and promote the growth of trees, wildflowers and other various plants.
Many organizations and agencies work to promote fire on the landscape when and where appropriate. Smokey Bear even has an updated warning: “Only You can Prevent Wildfires,” as the Forest Service has over the last few decades developed policies and procedures to include prescribed fire as a management tool, as well as continuing their work to prevent and fight wildfires.
1. Why did the author mention Smoky the Bear's warning?| A．To introduce the topic of the passage. |
| B．To clarify a misunderstood concept. |
| C．To show the significance of fire prevention. |
| D．To raise people's awareness of forest protection. |
| A．Forest bushes. |
| B．Fuel sources. |
| C．Pine forests. |
| D．Periodic burning. |
| A．To put out wildfires. |
| B．To keep the forest balance. |
| C．To remove tree and plant species. |
| D．To keep the fuel rich in the forest. |
| A．One Match Can Start A Forest Fire |
| B．Where There Is Smoke There Is A Fire |
| C．Not All Forest Fires Are Created Equal |
| D．Why Not Keep The Forest Fire Burning |
