Happy news arrived from Colorado this week as Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) announced that two wolves, John M2101 and Jane F1084, had been spotted with multiple pups (幼崽). The gray wolves and their pups were first sighted by a wildlife biologist and CPW district wildlife manager. The good news follows the decision to reintroduce gray wolves to the state just last year.
To gain further confirmation, CPW staff conducted three separate observations to see what was happening at the den (窝) from a safe distance. This confirmed the presence of the collared wolves John and Jane, who were joined by three pups. The true group size remains to be seen, however, as it’s possible there may be more that have not yet been spotted. Gray wolf dens usually contain around four to six pups.
“Colorado is now home to our first wolf den since the 1940s,” said Governor Jared Polis in a statement. “We welcome this historic den and the new wolf family to Colorado. With voter passage last year of the project to require reintroduction of the wolf by the end of 2023, these pups will have plenty of potential mates when they grow up to start their own families.”
“It’s incredible that these two adult animals have traveled the distance and overcome the challenges they have to get here, and to now have pups in Colorado,” said Kris Middledorf, area wildlife manager for CPW. “Our first duty is to ensure that they have the chance to boom, so even as we have exciting news, we want to remind everyone that these animals remain endangered in Colorado.”
The status of gray wolves is backed up by law in the western state, where killing an endangered species can result in the removal of hunting privileges, a fine of $100, 000, and even jail time. It’s also prohibited to hunt wildlife in the state— but with acute hearing and excellent eyesight, leaving these smart animals should be easy enough if you don’t go looking for them.
1. What made CPW researchers happy recently?| A．They found gray wolf pups in Colorado. |
| B．Two gray wolves were released to the wild. |
| C．The state decided to reintroduce gray wolves. |
| D．They discovered a few groups of wolves and pups. |
| A．Gray wolves are welcome back to Colorado. |
| B．Colorado voted for the introduction of the wolf. |
| C．Colorado is the best place for gray wolves to survive. |
| D．Gray wolves have lived in Colorado for over 80 years. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Worried. |
| C．Supportive. | D．Uncaring. |
| A．Wildlife diversity in the Colorado Parks. |
| B．The research of gray wolves in the CPW. |
| C．The habitats of gray wolves and their pups. |
| D．The reintroduction of gray wolves to Colorado. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Every year, millions of birds are killed or hurt when they fly into buildings. Why does this happen?
Many birds fly from one place to another. Most of the time, they live in the wild, such as forests and wetlands.
Some birds fly at night. They use the moon and stars to help guide them in the right direction. Tall buildings with lights on at night can confuse the birds.
| A．This is a big problem, especially on foggy and rainy nights. |
| B．People are trying to solve the problem. |
| C．These birds have no idea what glass is. |
| D．As a result, they fly right into the glass. |
| E．The answer is glass. |
【推荐2】Across the world, animals including bears, moose, lynx, squirrels and frogs are leaving their homes as the planet warms.
A study was done of more than 4,000 species from around the world. It showed that about half of them are on the move, according to National Geographic. They are moving up slopes and away from the equator toward the poles to seek cooler environments. The ones on land are moving an average of more than 16 kilometers per decade, while marine species are moving four times faster.
Mountain species in particular, “are struggling to keep pace” with global warming, said Shaye Wolf, climate science director at the Center for Biological Diversity in the US. In North America, for example, pikas used to climb an average of 13 meters per decade but it has gone up to 145 meters per decade since the late 1990s. Similarly, moths on Mount Kinabalu in Borneo, an island in the Pacific Ocean, moved up 67 meters in altitude to escape rising temperatures. “We’re concerned many species won’t be able to move quickly enough, or that they will run out of mountaintop to flee,” said Wolf.
In some cases, moving species can lead to big changes in the whole ecosystem, as such areas aren’t able to deal with it. In Australia’s seas, kelp forests are being destroyed by tropical fish that have come in to eat them, threatening the survival of rock lobster, which also feeds on help forests.
And this is just adding fuel to the fire, making climate change worse. Take the pole ward spread of bark beetles in northern hemisphere forests as an example. The beetles attack trees that might already have been weakened by warmer, drier conditions, leading to more pest outbreaks and tree deaths. These, in turn, provide more fuel for forest fires, releasing more planet-warming carbon dioxide.
Climate-driven species’ movement shouldn’t be a concern only for scientists — it should worry everyone, Nathalie Pettorelli, at the Zoological Society of London, UK, told the Guardian. “The world as a whole isn’t fully prepared to deal with the range of issues emerging from species moving across local, national, and international boundaries”.
1. How are mountain species influenced by the global warming?| A．They are moving slower than they used to. |
| B．They are having a difficult time adapting to it. |
| C．They are moving downhill to cooler environment. |
| D．They are struggling with the warmer temperatures. |
| A．Tropical fish threaten to eat lobster. |
| B．The beetles make trees warmer and drier. |
| C．Dealing with environmental problems faces new challenges. |
| D．Moving species make some change in the whole ecosystem. |
| A．More concern and action from the public. |
| B．A focus on improving forest ecosystems. |
| C．Stricter regulations on animal movement. |
| D．Increased research on species movement. |
| A．Keeping pace means moving slowly. |
| B．Large quantities of pest are the final killer of tree deaths. |
| C．Marine animals are moving a little faster than those on land. |
| D．Many animals flee their home because of the occupation of their habitats. |
【推荐3】The birth of Britain’s first cloned dog has been considered “a ridiculous waste of money” and scientists said the process raised serious ethical (伦理的) concerns.
Sooam Biotech, a company in Seoul, said it had cloned the puppy, named Mini-Winnie, from a 12-year-old dog belonging to Rebecca Smith, who lives in the west London. She had won a contest run by the company which hoped to sell the service to pet owners for 60,000 pounds a time.
Mini-Winnie was born after scientists took skin cells from Mr Smith’s pet and dropped them into donor eggs to make embryos (胚胎). The puppy must remain in Korea for six months to satisfy British quarantine (检疫) laws.
But researchers warned that while a cloned dog might look similar to its biological parent, it would be a very different animal. “You would have many chances of replicating (复制) your favourite pet by choosing one from Battersea Dogs Home,” said Robin Lovell-Badge, a geneticist at the National Institute for Medical Research in London. Dusko Ilic, a stem cell scientist at King’s College London, said, “It is extremely unlikely that a puppy cloned from a favourite pet will behave in the same way. As time passes by, the differences will be more and more pronounced, especially personality traits. It is an absolute waste of money.”
The cloning process is controversial (有争论的) because the animals are often born with diseases or die soon after birth.
I think it’s unnecessary to try to clone pets for pet owners. First, it’s really costly. Second, the cloned pet is actually another dog. Third, there are many homeless dogs for people to adopt in shelters. So why not just adopt a dog instead?
1. What is “the service” underlined in paragraph 2?| A．Cloning puppies. | B．The contest. | C．Buying houses. | D．Pet treatment. |
| A．Its skin was taken off by scientists. |
| B．It is planned to be sent to Britain. |
| C．It’s going to be cloned by Korean scientists. |
| D．It is a 12-year-old dog belonging to Smith. |
| A．Humans should spend more cloning them. |
| B．Cloned pets are exact copies of pets. |
| C．Personality traits can’t be cloned. |
| D．It is ridiculous for scientists to clone animals. |
| A．Ethical concerns of cloning a pet. | B．Process of cloning a pet. |
| C．A warning of a pet cloning. | D．Making embryos of a pet. |
【推荐1】If someone created a flying machine capable of tracking you down by listening for your voice, you might be terrified. But what if you were trapped in ruins after a natural disaster and first responders couldn’t locate you? Maybe then a human-seeking drone(无人机) wouldn’t be such a terrible idea. That concept is the focus for engineers at Germany’s Fraunhofer FKIE Institute, who’ve built a drone to find people by detecting(探测) human screams.
“The human-seeking drone would be ideal for post-disaster situations,” said Macarena Varela, one of the lead engineers. “They could hover over an area that rescue crews have difficulty getting to and locate exactly where people may be trapped.” An auditory(听觉的) system would need to distinguish human cries from sounds that often happen in nature, such as animal calls and wind. It might also need to recognize patterns associated with kicking, clapping or other ways people try to get the attention of rescue teams.
Engineers took those situations into account when building out their concept drone. They recorded themselves screaming, tapping and creating other noises that might be a sign of people in trouble. Then, they analyzed each sound frequency to find common signatures and used those to train artificial intelligence software. They also worked to remove the noise created by the drone and other environmental sounds.
Once the software part was complete, the team placed tiny digital microphones under the drone and used signal processing techniques that enabled them to track where human noises are coming from. The microphones also enhanced the volume and clarity of the speech. So far, they have conducted successful open field experiments, finding that the drone can estimate a victim’s location within a few seconds of picking up sound.
Next, they would like to add a higher frequency microphone to a drone to acquire more audio sound signals.
1. What is the advantage of the human-seeking drone?| A．Its high speed of flying. | B．Its long working hours. |
| C．Its quick response to screams. | D．Its easy access to disaster scene. |
| A．Make out human cries. | B．Pick up sounds from far away. |
| C．Send victim’s location data to a tablet. | D．Improve the quality of human screams. |
| A．Effects. | B．Symbols. | C．Situations. | D．Features. |
| A．AI Enables Drones to Give Better Performance. |
| B．Engineers Teach Drones to Hunt Human Screams. |
| C．Human-seeking Drones Replace Rescue Crews. |
| D．Rescuers Use Drones to Locate Disaster Survivors. |
【推荐2】Tired of standing in line? Wait a bit longer, and you may never have to again. Everyone from Amazon to Silicon Valley startups is trying to eliminate lines in retail (零售) stores.
Amazon has opened 24 of its Amazon Go stores, which use cameras and artificial intelligence to see what you’ve taken off shelves and charge you as you walk out. Some startups are closely copying Amazon’s approach to using AIpowered cameras fixed in ceilings.But others are trying an entirely different way to skip the checkout: smart shopping carts. These companies have added cameras and sensors (传感器) to the carts, and are using AI to tell what you’ve placed in them. A builtin scale weighs items, in case you have to pay by the pound for an item. Customers pay by using a credit card, or through an online payment system. When customers exit the store, a green light on the shopping cart indicates that their orders are complete, and they’re charged.
The startups behind the smart shopping carts, including Caper and Veeve, say it’s much easier to add technology to the shopping cart than to an entire store. Amazon Go stores rely on hundreds of cameras in the ceiling. The shelves also include sensors to tell when an item is removed. Ahmed Beshry, cofounder of Caper, believes the technology to run Amazon Go is too expensive to use in a large grocery store. Neither Caper nor Veeve has said how much their smart shopping carts will cost, making it difficult to compare the different formats. Shariq Siddiqui, CEO of Veeve, said he’s finding increased interest from retailers given Amazon’s steady expansion of Amazon Go since the first Amazon Go store opened in Seattle in 2018. “We’re always happy when Amazon is doing something,” Siddiqui said. “They force retailers to get out of their old school thinking.”
Each time a business uses artificial intelligence and cameras, it raises questions about customer privacy and the impact on jobs.Beshry notes that the cameras in his smart shopping cart point down into the cart, so only customers’ hands and part of their arms will be captured (拍摄) by cameras.
1. Which of the following best explains the underlined word “eliminate” in Paragraph 1?| A．Cross. | B．Remove. |
| C．Extend. | D．Break. |
| A．They are linked to the cameras fixed in the ceilings. |
| B．They can tell customers where to find what they want. |
| C．They flash the green light when the order is cancelled. |
| D．They are able to recognize purchases placed in them. |
| A．It is far more expensive than their smart shopping carts. |
| B．It may increase the cost of running a large grocery store greatly. |
| C．It has attracted many more retailers than before. |
| D．It is likely to help retailers to think differently. |
| A．The New Technology Promotes Retail Sales |
| B．AIpowered Cameras Are Used in Retail Stores |
| C．Smart Shopping Carts Will Let You Skip the Line |
| D．Artificial Intelligence Affects the Future Job Market |
【推荐3】Letters as a way of communication have long given way to phone calls and WeChat messages.
But a TV show, Letters Alive, is helping bring this old way to keep in touch back into the present.
Letters Alive took its idea from a UK program with a similar name, Letters Live, which was first shown in 2013. Both shows feature famous actors and actresses, but there is no gossip , no eye-catching visual effects or any regular showbiz (演艺圈) activities. Instead, it’s just one person walking up to a microphone and reading a letter.
But these are not just any letters. They are selected from a wide time span and a diverse range of subjects. There is, for example, a passionate letter that famous painter Huang Yongyu wrote to playwright Cao Yu 30 years ago to criticize his lack of creativity. There is also a heartfelt note from Spring and Autumn Period written by two ordinary young soldiers to their elder brother to report their lives in the war zone.
Every letter is like a small piece of history. By hearing them being read, it’s as if we are being sent back in time to experience a moment that we would otherwise never have had the chance to.
“Letters Live makes us pause and imagine the lives behind the letters,” UK actor Benedict Cumberbatch, one of the readers on the UK show, told The Guardian. “It allows people from all ages and all walks of life to experience a moment of time in someone else’s life for a brief moment.”
Compared to published texts, letters also come with a personal touch.
One example from Letters Live was a note of thanks from the mother of a dying child to JK Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books. It read: “Mrs Rowling, Cancer threatened to take everything from my daughter, and your books turned out to be the castle we so desperately needed to hide in.”
According to Guan Zhengwen, the director of Letters Alive, it is this kind of humanity behind every letter that strikes a chord (引发共鸣) with the audience. It is also what made the show a big hit in China ever since its first episode aired on Dec 5.
“It’s a thing of the past that entertainment shows establish themselves only with pretty faces,” Guan told Sohu News. “Showbiz is starting to switch to a focus on wisdom and intelligence.
1. What do you know about the TV show Letters Alive from this passage?| A．Any letters can be read in this TV show. |
| B．It is exactly the same with a UK program Letters Live. |
| C．The program brings the old way of writing letters back to life. |
| D．Much gossip of celebrities and eye-catching visual effects lie in the program. |
| A．They help cure a dying child of her cancer. |
| B．They make people forget their past experience. |
| C．They reflect the whole history of the world. |
| D．They allow people to experience others ‘life and a personal touch. |
| A．It features famous actors and actresses. |
| B．People can find many regular showbiz activities. |
| C．Letters have been completely replaced by phone calls and WeChat messages. |
| D．The humanity behind every letter makes the audience experience the same feelings as its writer. |
| A．Pretty faces still play an important role in showbiz. |
| B．Showbiz is starting to centre on wisdom and intelligence. |
| C．JK Rowling provided a lot of books for a girl suffering from cancer. |
| D．The painter Huang Yongyu and the playwright Caoyu weren’t good friends. |
