By the time Robert Porter Allen was born in 1905, the whooping crane was already in trouble. The beautiful bird was once commonly found across North America. By 1941, the whooping crane population had dwindled to the double digits. The tallest species in North America were critically endangered.
In the 1940s, the remaining cranes migrate every year from the Gulf Coast of Texas to somewhere in the north of Canada to breed. The conservation community didn’t know where the birds went. The wetlands where they used to spend winters were growing rarer and rarer as the tiny, non-migrating group of whooping cranes was alive in Louisiana in 1941, but the group had disappeared by the time Allen started his research.
In 1942, Allen undertook the whooping crane project over the next three years, he did almost constant fieldwork that took him from Texas up the cranes’ migration route to Nebraska, and on into Saskatchewan in search of the nesting ground of the birds.
Studying the bird in its breeding habitat and seeing how many birds were born would allow conservationists to understand how to help the birds on their journey. But finding the whooping cranes’ nesting site meant difficult and fruitless air searches over northern Canada.
In 1952, Allen wrote a report on the whooping crane. The report was a warning call to the conservation community: only 33 migratory “whoopers” remained, and their nesting site still hadn’t been found. Two years later, the whooping cranes breeding grounds in Canada’s Wood Buffalo National Park were finally found, and Allen headed north to study them personally, an “incredibly difficult journey,” in Sprunt’s words, Allen’s work laid the groundwork for conservationists to save the birds.
Their efforts paid off as the numbers reached 57 by 1970 and 214 by 2005. Today, the whooping crane is still listed as endangered, but there are roughly 600 birds alive.
1. What is the passage mainly about?| A．It is a story about Allen’s searching for a lost bird. |
| B．It is a story about conserving the whooping crane. |
| C．It is a story about the cranes’ long migration flight. |
| D．It is a story about the crane surviving the winters. |
| A．Reduced. | B．Stayed. | C．Increased. | D．Limited. |
| A．Deadly diseases. | B．Habitat loss. | C．Natural disaster. | D．Illegal hunting. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Why do we find ugly-cute animals so attractive? And what makes odd-looking creatures so cute?
Evolution (进化) plays a role. According to Austrian zoologist Erin Fekete, human attraction to childish features, such as big eyes, large heads and soft bodies, is an evolutionary adaptation that helps ensure that adults care for the young, assuring the survival of their species. Odd-looking animals such as blobfish, pugs, aye-ayes and bulldogs all share these childish qualities that cause a loving response among humans and a nature to raise and protect. And these childish characteristics increase a person’s “protective behavior, attention and willingness” to care for the individual and reduce the “possibility of aggression towards a child”, says Cyril Drouet, a researcher.
Ugly-cute animals often have other value— some, like the blobfish, live in extreme environments that they have adapted to in remarkable ways. Scientists are keen to study these animals to understand whether their biology might provide fresh ideas that could lead to treatments for human health conditions such as cancer and heart disease.
But while many ugly creatures are strongly adapted to their life in the wild and can provide numerous benefits to the ecosystems they live in, they often still don’t get as much attention as more traditionally cute and beautiful animals, which leads to many of the ugly-cute species being ignored in terms of research.
There are other culture-led factors that also cause our attraction for ugly-cute animals. “The ugly-cute thing is very fashionable.” says Rowena Packer, a lecturer of animal behavior. “This is partly caused by social media, with many social media influencers showing off pet pugs and French bulldogs on Instagram.” she says.
But there are some serious worries around this trend. Veterinarians (兽医) are calling on people not to keep a flat-faced dog, because they suffer from serious health problems. Pugs and French bulldogs which have been selectively kept experience breathing difficulties, repeated skin problems and eye diseases. So while childish features such as big eyes may make us smile, we might want to reconsider our attraction for “ugly-cute” pets.
1. What does the underlined word “aggression” in paragraph 2 mean?| A．Threatening behavior. | B．Strange behavior. | C．Friendly behavior. | D．Smart behavior. |
| A．They are of no interest to scientists. | B．They are less cute and attractive. |
| C．They do not have unique biological feature. | D．They are not well-adapted to their environments. |
| A．Influencers have started a campaign to raise awareness about ugly animals. |
| B．People prefer to post pictures of ugly animals on social media rather than cute animals. |
| C．Social media didn’t make it easier to spread information about animals. |
| D．The ugly-cute animals shared on social media could raise people’s attraction for them. |
| A．Encouraging. | B．Indifferent. | C．Concerned. | D．Excited. |
【推荐2】Tommy, a 26-year-old chimp (猩猩), lives in a small cage in a used truck sales lot in New York. Retired from movie work and whatever else once occupied him, he has no chimp friends—just a TV. He is worlds away from the rainforest of Western Africa, where chimps spend most of their lives in trees, hunting, and socializing together.
His owner hasn’t broken any laws, but an animal rights group called the Nonhuman Rights Project (NhRP) is trying to change the view. The group says chimps have such a humanlike intelligence that they should be recognized as “legal persons” and be placed in an animal shelter and wander free.
You’ve probably heard the term “animal rights”, but animals don’t actually have rights in many countries. Animal-welfare laws punish people who mistreat animals, but that’s not the same as chimps having a right to liberty or anything else.
NhRP’s first step is to ask a judge to end people’s unjust arrest on behalf of Tommy and other privately owned chimps. If the court (法庭) decides to recognize chimps as legal persons, NhRP’s next step will be arguing for what rights the chimps should be guaranteed. “The right that they should have is the right to body liberty,” says Wise, a NhRP group member. “They should be able to choose how to live their lives.”
Tommy’s owner, Pat Lavery, says he rescued Tommy from a careless owner about a decade ago and denies the chimp is mistreated or unhappy. “He likes being by himself,” he says.
“There’s a danger in making a jump to say they’re just like people,” says Richard Cupp, a professor who writes about animals and the law. “If we really believe chimps are very, very smart, then who knows if maybe someday we might…say, ‘Hey, here’s a particular human being that’s not very smart at all, maybe the chimps have higher status than this person.’”
1. What can we infer from the text?| A．Great progress has been made on improving animal rights. |
| B．Pat Lavery is thought to mistreat Tommy by NhRP. |
| C．Animal rights are going from bad to worse. |
| D．Animal rights have been admitted in western countries. |
| A．To ensure chimps’ body safety. | B．To stop illegal hunting of chimps. |
| C．To help chimps find their families | D．To help chimps enjoy their freedom. |
| A．Hopeful. | B．Uncaring. | C．Worried. | D．Supportive. |
【推荐3】Fur Babies
Kong Qin, a 32-year-old white-collar worker in Beijing, recently noticed that Cheese, her cat, had been acting oddly since she gave birth to her son several weeks ago. The cat started using the bathroom all over the house, and she was never like that before.
Kong did not know what happened to the cat, and she asked for advice from a friend of hers who is also a cat owner. Her friend told her that Cheese may be acting out as she may be feeling neglected since the baby was born. She added that behaving this way was probably a trick to win over her master’s attention.
Kong remembered that in a family in Baba Huilaile (Dad is Back), a Chinese reality show that she watched around one year ago, the dog often pushed the kid aside when the kid asked his dad for a hug. When she was watching the show, she only took the pushing as a joke and did not think too much of it, but she is now beginning to wonder if the dog was actually trying to steal the limelight.
Zhang Yu, a veterinarian (兽医) in Beijing, advises that if fur babies start to misbehave after a baby is born, pet owners should not punish them, which may stress the pet out. Pets rarely actively attack kids, but if kids hurt pets out of curiosity, like pulling their tails, pets may bite kids to run away. She also recommends that parents should be with the kids who are younger than two years old when there are pets around to protect pets and kids from being hurt by each other. As children get older, parents can help introduce their kids to the pets to help them become familiar and comfortable around each other. “Pets will eventually get used to having kids around after some time, and pets owners need to wait some time,” she said.
Kong has happily found that Cheese is more like her usual self over the past few days. She is conscious that the cat has gone through the toughest stage. The next thing she is planning to do is to take Cheese to her son’s bed more often so that she will like him more.
1. The underlined expression“limelight”in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to __________.| A．food. | B．glance. | C．attention. | D．ownership. |
| A．Pets won’t start a fight with babies when parents are around. |
| B．Pets are always safe alone with those younger than 2-year-olds. |
| C．Owners should be patient before pets get used to having babies around. |
| D．Owners should stress pets out when they are not behaving themselves. |
| A．Comfortable. | B．Thankful. | C．Depressed. | D．Hateful. |
| A．Children need to be smart enough to avoid being hurt by pets. |
| B．Owners should learn to help fur babies coexist with newborns. |
| C．Parents’ fur babies can become friends with the newborns easily. |
| D．Pets, like some parents, will feel delighted when newborns come. |
【推荐1】Suppliers of artificial grass have been told to stop describing it as “environmentally friendly” and to expect enforcement(强制执行) if they do not obey.
The Advertising Standards Authority, a watchdog, will punish severely firms that make the claim after criticizing a leading supplier for saying that one of its products was “eco” with “no evidence” to back it up. The decision by the watchdog followed a complaint by the campaign group Plastics Rebellion, which argued that Perfectly Green’s “Soul” eco-grass was actually harmful to the planet. In response, Perfectly Green said it believed that the product was environmentally friendly because it did not need to be watered, did not require maintaining with chemical-based products such as pesticides(杀虫剂).
However, the Advertising Standards Authority said that to make the claim, Perfectly Green would have to prove that it was not harmful to the environment in any way throughout its full life cycle. It added that no such evidence had been provided and the claim was misleading.
The watchdog made it clear that other suppliers should review their use of the term: “This official decision acts as setting an example and we expect advertisers for artificial grass to take note of our decision and act accordingly.”
At present dozens of suppliers are claiming that their products are recyclable and environmentally friendly. The Times understands that the watchdog will undertake a “compliance sweep”(合规清查) in the near future, focusing on those companies.
Janet Storey, of Plastics Rebellion, described Perfectly Green’s claims as “greenwashing”. She said: “Just 9 percent of plastic waste has been recycled, with an estimated 79 percent of all plastic waste ever created either in the open environment or in landfill. Tonnes of plastic grass are burnt in the UK as there are no recycling facilities here.”
She added that it carried ecological, microplastic and climate change risks and “causes an unhealthy disconnect from nature”. The group is campaigning for a ban on the sale of plastic grass, which has so far been rejected by the government. Perfectly Green agreed to obey the official decision and remove the words “eco-grass” from its product’s name.
1. Why was the Perfectly Green blamed?| A．Its products set a bad example. | B．It launched a campaign of protest. |
| C．It wasn’t qualified as a leading supplier. | D．Its advertisement didn’t match its products. |
| A．To direct suppliers’ products. | B．To speak for leading companies. |
| C．To decide the companies’ future. | D．To promote environmental protection. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Indifferent. | C．Disapproving. | D．Objective. |
| A．Eco-friendly Fake Grass Cut Down to Size | B．A Ban on the Sale of Artificial Grass |
| C．Eco-grass Does Harm to the Planet | D．The Recycling of Plastic Waste |
【推荐2】Plastic recycling is a hot topic. But what’s the real face behind it? You diligently sort your rubbish; you dutifully wash your plastic containers; then everything gets thrown in a landfill or in the ocean anyway. According to one analysis, only 9% of all plastic ever made has likely been recycled. Here’s the kicker: the companies making all that plastic have spent millions on advertising campaigns lecturing us about recycling while knowing full well that most plastic will never be recycled.
A new investigation by National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) reports that the large oil and gas companies that manufacture plastics have known for decades that recycling plastic was unlikely to ever happen on a broad scale because of the high costs involved. “They were not interested in putting any real money or effort into recycling because they wanted to sell raw material,” Larry Thomas, former president of one of the plastic industry’s most powerful trade groups, told NPR. There is a lot more money to be made in selling new plastic than reusing the old stuff. But, in order to keep selling new plastic, the industry had to clean up its wasteful image. “If the public thinks that recycling is working, then they are not going to be so concerned about the environment,” Thomas noted.
We have been successfully convinced that people start pollution and people can stop it and that if we just recycle more, the planet will be OK. To some degree, that is right: there must be a level of personal responsibility when it comes to the climate emergency. We all have to do our part. But individual action is a tiny drop in a heavily polluted ocean. We need systematic change to make a real difference. And, more than anything, we need to change what we value.
1. According to the text, what does the underlined word “kicker” probably mean?| A．A player who kicks the football. |
| B．An event that is controversial. |
| C．An action that is taken to start a plan quickly. |
| D．A discovery that is unpleasant and unexpected. |
| A．Plastic recycling is necessary and effective. |
| B．Large amounts of money are spent on recycling. |
| C．The companies try to promote the sales of new material. |
| D．The companies prefer to sell recycled material rather than new materials. |
| A．Most people have a sense of responsibility. |
| B．Plenty of rubbish is dropped into the ocean. |
| C．Fighting against pollution calls for joint efforts. |
| D．Systematic change was made to reduce pollution. |
【推荐3】Researchers at MIT and in China developed a simple, solar-powered water desalination (脱盐) system. They have made a breakthrough in getting fresh drinking water from sea water by using sunlight.
As the research paper published in Energy & Environmental Science explains, equipment applied in this system includes several layers of fiat evaporators (蒸发器) that turn water sources into fresh water through solar energy, as well as condensers (冷凝器) that cool the gas into the liquid. The authors of the paper are MIT students Lenan Zhang and Lin Zhao, Professor Evelyn Wang, and nine other researchers at MIT and at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China.
How the system uses each of the multiple stages to remove salt from the water is critical to its efficiency. The heat released per stage will be used by the next stage. In this way, the team’s device can convert (转换) the energy of sunlight into the energy of water evaporation with an efficiency of 385 percent.
The device can be considered as a multilayer solar still. The heat is absorbed by its flat panels and then transferred to make water evaporate. The vapor then cools down and turns into liquid water on the next panel. As the water is collected, the released heat is transferred to the next layer.
The team’s 10-stage system produces pure water. Its quality is above the city drinking water standards. It also has the highest yield compared to other similar systems, at a rate of nearly six cubic decimeter per hour for every square meter of the solar collecting area. The system is distinguished from some others by the fact that there is no accumulated salt to be got rid of. Most materials of the demonstration unit don’t cost much and are easy to get.
Further experiments will be carried out on the device to optimize the choices of materials and test its durability under realistic conditions. Researchers will also work on the design of the device to make it more consumer-friendly. It is expected that the system could finally help developing regions that are short of electricity supplies but rich in sea water and sunlight handle water crises.
1. What contributes most to the high efficiency of the device?| A．The recycling of released heat. | B．The choice of materials. |
| C．The use of multilayer equipment. | D．The simplicity of the structure. |
| A．What the device is for. | B．How solar energy is collected. |
| C．How the device works. | D．What makes the device. |
| A．The quality of water it produces. | B．Its zero accumulation of salt. |
| C．Its stable and high production level. | D．The low cost of its condensers. |
| A．make cheap | B．make perfect | C．make diverse | D．make beautiful |
| A．To make it suitable for use by consumers. | B．To make it environment-friendly. |
| C．To check its performance in labs. | D．To reduce its cost. |
【推荐1】Nenad Sestan was working in his office one afternoon in 2016, when he heard his lab members whispering with excitement over a microscope. He realized something beyond their expectations was happening.
The researchers, at Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, had found electrical activity in brains taken from dead pigs. With that shocking result, Sestan realized what had started as a side project to find ways to better preserve brain tissue for research had changed into a discovery that could redefine our understanding of life and death.
The excitement soon turned to concern, when the researchers thought they saw widespread, consistent electrical activity which can indicate consciousness( 意识 ). Sestan brought in a neurologist, who determined the readout was actually an error, but the possibility had frightened them.
Sestan kept his cool and immediately did two things: he shut down the experiment and contacted the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), as well as a Yale bioethicist(生物伦理学家). Over the next few months, experts discussed the potential ethical implications, such as whether the brains could become conscious and whether physicians needed to reconsider the definition of brain death.
They submitted the work to Nature. But before the final paper was published, Sestan met sharp criticism from the press. Some even suggested that the researchers were engineering immortality(永生), or maintaining a room full of living brains in jars. Neither he nor his team wanted to discuss the results until the paper was out, but as their inboxes filled with concerns and anger from animal rights activists and futurists, Sestan became depressed. He felt all they could do, however, was to hold off on correcting public misunderstandings until the expert review process had run its course.
Since the paper was published in April, 2019, the team has been so busy fielding questions from the media and scientists that it hasn’t performed any further experiments. Sestan wants to focus on his original questions and explore how long the brains can be maintained and whether the technology can preserve other organs.
“We want to get outside opinion before we do anything,” Sestan says. “When you explore uncharted territory, you have to be extremely thoughtful.”
1. What happened in the lab at Yale School of Medicine in 2016?| A．A better method was found to maintain brain tissue. |
| B．Researchers discovered how to redefine brain death. |
| C．Brains from dead pigs were accidentally discovered alive. |
| D．Researchers arrived at the expected results of the experiment. |
| A．He needed assistance with the final paper. |
| B．He spotted a major mistake in the final result. |
| C．He was frightened by the possibility of failure. |
| D．He was concerned about the related moral issues. |
| A．The press were strongly opposed to the experiment. |
| B．Some people supported the research on immortality. |
| C．Nobody wanted to discuss the final result in advance. |
| D．The public took a positive attitude towards the experiment. |
| A．Responsible and reliable. | B．Cooperative and creative. |
| C．Determined and inspiring. | D．Professional and cautious. |
【推荐2】It was New Year’s night. An aged man was standing at a window. Few more hopeless people than himself now moved towards their certain goal—the tomb. He had already passed sixty of the age leading to it, and he had brought from his journey nothing but errors and regrets.
The days of his youth appeared like dreams before him, and he recalled the serious moment when his father placed him at the entrances of the two roads. One leading to a peaceful, sunny place covered with flowers and fruits; the other leading to a deep dark cave which was endless. He looked towards the sky and cried painfully, “Oh youth, return! Oh, my father, place me once more at the entrance to life.” But both his father and the days of his youth had passed away.
He saw the lights flowing away in the darkness, and these were the days of his wasted life; he saw a star fall from the sky and disappear, and this was the symbol of himself. Then he remembered his friends in his childhood, who entered life together with him. But they had made their way to success and were then honored and happy on that New Year’s night.
The clock in the high church tower struck and the sound made him remember his parents. They had taught him and prayed to God for his good. But he chose the wrong way with shame and grief. He dared no longer to look towards the heaven where his parents lived. He burst out a cry: “Come back, my early days!” And his youth did return, for all this was only a dream on New Year’s night. He was still young though his faults were real. He had not yet entered the deep dark cave, and he was still free to walk on the road which leads to the peaceful and sunny land.
1. Which of the following words can best describe the aged man?| A．Merciful. | B．Foolish. |
| C．Regretful. | D．Fortunate. |
| A．The man wasted his life at one time. |
| B．The man’s friends missed their youth. |
| C．The man’s friends suffered failure finally. |
| D．The man was lonely in his childhood. |
| A．A Hopeless New Year’s Night | B．Two Roads to Take |
| C．Youth Coming Back | D．An Old Man’s Decision |
【推荐3】My parents and teachers-even some of my friends—think I’m quiet and shy, really smart but not very cool. In fact, that’s who I am when I am with them, but not who I really am. The real me comes out when I’m around guys who are more like me-like Tom Henderson and Graham Barry. I met Tom and Graham at a Young Scientist contest last y car. The three of us were among the five finalists. As soon as we met, we really hit it off.
As we talked about the conference, we discovered that all three of us were interested in space debris mitigation, which is the study of the prevention of space garbage damaging satellites and the new space station. It was great to meet other people my age who actually knew what I was talking about. When I talk about “space garbage,” most of the kids at my school just say, “Oh, you mean like asteroid-type (小行星之类的) things? I played a videogame about that once.”
Luckily, we met each other on the first day of the conference, so we were able to spend a lot of time together for the entire three days. We talked about everything from the best schools to go to, what degrees to get, and even the names of the best people in each field. We want to study with the pioneers. Both Tom and I want to study with Dr. Claude Phipps, the inventor of a project that developed a laser (光) that knocks down space garbage before it does any damage to expensive space vehicles. Graham wants to study under Didier Patrick Queloz, the physics Nobel winner from the University of Cambridge.
Even though the three of us don’t get a chance to see each other very often, we’re still the best of friends. We call each other a couple of times a month. I always feel happy when I talk with Tom and Graham. It’s like the other person in me wakes up. With them, I’m my “real shade.”
1. What does the underlined phrase “hit it off” in paragraph 1 mean?| A．Competed seriously. | B．Prepared fully. |
| C．Got on well. | D．Stood out fast. |
| A．Concerned. | B．Confused. | C．Disappointed. | D．Surprised. |
| A．He is a Nobel Prizewinner in physics. |
| B．He finds some asteroid-type things. |
| C．He reduces the price of space vehicles. |
| D．He contributes to dealing with space garbage. |
| A．A friend is a second self. |
| B．A friend in need is a friend indeed. |
| C．A friend to all is a friend to none. |
| D．A friend is easier lost than found. |
It came from the story of Jesus’ death on the cross two thousand years ago in Jerusalem. Jesus was Jewish，and at that time Jewish people were under Roman rule. Jesus was badly punished because he declared to be the Son of God and the King of Jews. Surely，the Son of God could have saved himself from the death！But the Bible says that Jesus had a reason to die that day. It was in God’s purpose that it would happen.[
Christians call the day that Jesus died “Good Friday”. At first，it is hard to understand how a terrible day could ever be called good. Well，the story does not end there. Jesus died and he was buried. But three days later，Jesus was alive，and the whole world was changed.
Today Christians everywhere remember this important time. They celebrate Easter. Easter is the day that Jesus rose from the dead. After his death on the cross，Jesus’ body was placed in a tomb. On the third day from then，God raised him from the dead. Jesus stayed on earth physically for several weeks. Many people saw him. Easter is the happiest time of year for Christians because they believe that Jesus had victory over death and evil and that now he lives with God the Father in heaven. But before celebrating Easter, Good Friday should be remembered. Jesus died a horrible and painful death. He suffered, though he did nothing wrong. Christian believe that Jesus was God’s substitute(代表) for humans， because humans all do wrong. He died because of humans and he died for humans.
Christians often wear crossed around their necks of hang them in their homes because they believe it is a very important sign. The cross helps them remember how much God loves them. It helps them remember how much his Son had to suffer. Seeing a cross always makes them think of Jesus’ death， and what it means.
1. According to the bible， why Jesus could not save himself from death that day？
| A．Jesus was not afraid of death |
| B．God arrange Jesus’ death for certain purpose |
| C．Jesus should die without a reason |
| D．Jesus was not God’s Son at all |
| A．God loved humans despite human’s wrong—doing，so he asked his beloved Son to die in human’s place |
| B．Jesus did something wrong by acclaiming himself the Son of God |
| C．God wanted His Son Jesus to live with him in heaven |
| D．God wanted “Good Friday” and “Easter”mainly to be remembered by humans |
| A．a cross is a piece of jewelry or an image in a painting for Christians |
| B．Christians call the day that Jesus died “Good Friday”mainly to reduce their pain for the loss of Jesus |
| C．if Jesus hadn’t returned to life，people would often wear crosses around their necks or hang them in their homes |
| D．Christians like crosses because crosses always remind them of God’s love and Jesus’ death |
| A．introduce a symbol for Christian---- the cross |
| B．tell an interesting Christian story |
| C．inform the origin of two Christian festivals |
| D．describe the rebirth of Jesus |
【推荐2】The most intuitive argument against immigration we come across is that immigrants are causing higher unemployment rate or lower wages for low-skilled workers within the nation, which is probably not true in the US. Statistics show that in the US, wages and unemployment rate are rarely affected for the reason that immigrants move more flexibly for jobs than local workers.
Immigration boosts economy by driving up both demand and supply. Official data show that immigrants have a far more diverse composition than the native-born. They have a higher percentage of doctoral degree owners while also a higher percentage of worse-educated. The effect is that companies actually adjust to the change in job market in the long-run and figure out their way to deal with a mix of workers with different skills and levels, which at the end of the day fits them into different jobs.
For those who have a bachelor or a doctoral degree, they are the driving engines whose innovation largely boosts the US economy. Immigrants to the United States tend to generate more patentable technologies than natives: though they constitute only 18 percent of the 25 and older workforce, immigrants obtain 28 percent of high-quality patents. Immigrants are also more likely to become Nobel winners in physics, chemistry, and physiology or medicine. These innovations can increase productivity and job supplies in the long run.
For those badly-educated, even though they did cause a negative impact to net financial contribution to the US government, the impact is rather small compared to those undereducated native people. It is because as immigrants who come to seek for a change for their life, it is more likely for them to take a job rather than accepting the basic living standard provided by government subsidy like those desperate native-born Americans who have lost faith in the so-called “American Dream”. In the long run, it eases the burden of government and brings in more tax income. In this sense, their stable income also brings about more domestic demand in the US.
All in all, immigrants are actually beneficial for the US economy, largely owing to the values created by those highly-educated. The expulsions of unauthorized immigrants may bring about negative impact to the economy.
1. Why does the author write this passage?| A．To appeal to more foreigners to immigrate to America. |
| B．To urge the US to treat unauthorized immigrants equally. |
| C．To confirm what’s long been believed about immigration. |
| D．To argue for the positive economic effects of immigration. |
| A．They contribute less to government finances. |
| B．They have less access to government subsidy. |
| C．They’re more confident of the American Dream. |
| D．They’re more likely to go where jobs are available. |
| A．Companies are more willing to employ immigrants. |
| B．Immigrants are more adaptable than native Americans. |
| C．Most Americans with a doctor’s degree are immigrants. |
| D．Immigration creates more job opportunities for America. |
| A．By listing specific statistics. | B．By making a detailed analysis. |
| C．By presenting typical examples. | D．By comparing different opinions. |
【推荐3】If you're like many people, you may have decided that you want to spend less time staring at your phone. It's a good idea: an increasing body of evidence suggests that the time we spend on our smartphones is affecting our sleep, self-respect, relationships, memory, attention, creativity, productivity and problem solving and decision-making skills.
Until now, most discussions of phones' biochemical effects have focused on dopamine (多巴胺)，a brain chemical that helps us form habits. Smart-phones and apps are designed to cause dopamine's release, with the goal of making our phones difficult to put down.
But our phones' effects on cortisol（皮质醇）are potentially even more alarming. Cortisol is our primary fight-or-flight hormone. Its release（释放） causes our bodies' changes, such as a jump in blood pressure, heart rate and blood sugar, that help us react to and survive acute physical threats. But by raising levels of cortisol, our phones may be threatening our health and shortening our lives.
The average American spends four hours a day staring at their smart-phone and keeps it within arm's reach nearly all the time, according to a tracking app called Moment. The result, as Google has noted in a report, is that "mobile phones loaded with social media, email and news apps" create "a constant sense of commitment bringing unintended personal stress."
"Your cortisol levels are increased when your phone is in sight or nearby, or when you hear it or even think you hear it," says David Greenfield, professor at the University of Connecticut School. "It's a stress response, and it feels unpleasant, and the body's natural response is to want to check the phone to make the stress go away."
But while doing so might comfort you for a second, it probably will make things worse in the long run. Any time you check your phone, you're likely to find something else stressful waiting for you, leading to another increase in cortisol and another desire to check your phone to your anxiety go away. This cycle, when continuously strengthened, leads to increased cortisol levels, which have been tied to an increased risk of serious health problems, including depression, obesity, high blood pressure, heart attack and so on.
1. What phone-related effect is dopamine responsible for?| A．Memory loss. | B．Increased mental stress. |
| C．A behavioral addiction. | D．Poor sleep quality. |
| A．Its decrease will improve heart rate. |
| B．Its release will lower blood pressure. |
| C．Its release has no benefits for humans. |
| D．Its increase is related to personal stress. |
| A．Ways to make phones less stressful. |
| B．Benefits of reducing dopamine levels. |
| C．Reasons why cortisol levels are increased. |
| D．Bad results of checking phones frequently. |
| A．Entertainment. | B．Health. | C．Technology. | D．Education. |
