In an hours-long struggle, as many as 70 killer whales hunted down and killed a blue whale off the southwestern coast of Australia.
At first, it seemed like a normal day of whale watching, said Kristy Brown, a marine biologist. People on the boat happened to spot two groups of killer whales in Bremer Bay Canyon, about 28 miles off the coast. They were "playing and surfing the waves," Brown wrote in a blog post. But soon, people on the boat noticed that the killers were creating nonuniform waves. This was strange. Then there arose a long, high blow that stayed in the air. It was a blue whale.
Even though the blue whale was nearly twice the length of the largest killer whale, which can grow to lengths of about 31 feet, it couldn't shake off its pursuers. “It was completely surrounded by killer whales as it swam," Brown wrote in the blog. Moreover, the killers didn't appear to rush the hunt, but instead were strategic, thoughtful, collaborative, patient and persistent.
Multiple killers were on the animal, pushing roughly against it and swimming fast, beside and under it, while others just follow and rest along and beside the hunt, nearly 200m back. It seemed that “tiring out the blue was their goal," she noted.
Unlike the blue whale, killers have teeth, a weapon they used to chomp(咬)down on this blue whale's jaw. “As the blue whale spun and turned, the killers held on—they wanted its tongue,” Brown said. After hours of this fierce hunt, the blue whale succumbed to its attackers and the killers divided up the blue whale and shared with all involved in the depths below.
1. What made Brown realize the killer whales were unusual?A.The waves they made. | B.The fountain they made. |
C.The direction they headed in. | D.The number of killer whales. |
A.Blue whales are too large to be killed. |
B.Killer whales are experienced hunters. |
C.Killer whales swim slower than blue whales. |
D.A blue whale is twice the weight of a killer whale. |
A.The steps of the hunting. |
B.The cruelty of the hunting. |
C.The scene of the hunting. |
D.The preparation of the hunting. |
A.Got rid of. | B.Gave in to. |
C.Made up for. | D.Made room for. |
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【推荐1】Rabbits are a popular symbol of Easter and there is usually an increase in owning rabbits at this time.
Rabbits need a lot of space
They are active animals that need to be able to hop, jump, run and explore. A pair of rabbits should be provided with a space that is no less than three metres by two metres by one metre high.
Rabbits are social creatures and need the company of their own kind. Keep at least two together and you’ll never look back — watching rabbits interact with each other is a joy. The best combination is a neutered (绝育的) male and neutered female, but neutered same sex siblings can work too.
All paws on the floor
Rabbits are thought of as an “easy” introduction to owning a pet and are often bought for small children. Of course, children can enjoy learning about rabbits and interacting with them.
Always give the right food
A.A single rabbit is a lonely rabbit |
B.Adopt rabbits from a rescue shelter |
C.Children’s playhouses are often a cost-effective choice |
D.But it’s important to think twice before deciding if they are right for you |
E.Rabbits have a complex digestive system and teeth that grow continuously |
F.Rabbits can reproduce from four months, so it’s important to get them neutered |
G.Unfortunately, they don’t enjoy being picked up and they are easily frightened |
【推荐2】Plans to bring wild tigers back to their original home , their historical range(历史分布范围) in the IliBalkhash region, have been announced by Kazakhstan( 哈萨克斯坦 ) and an agreement with World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to conduct a tiger reintroduction program has been signed . “It will not only bring wild tigers back to their original home, but also protect the unique ecosystem of the IliBalkhash region,” said Askar Myrzakhmetov, the Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
If successful, Kazakhstan will be the first country in the world to bring wild tigers back to an entire region where they have died out for nearly half a century. Tiger reintroduction projects have only been achieved within national borders and in areas that are considered current tiger habitats . Kazakhstan's tiger reintroduction program is unique and it badly requires the restoration of a vast forest that is part of the wild tiger's historical range.
Since the beginning of the 20th century, wild tigers have lost over 90 per cent of their historical range. Wild tigers have completely disappeared from the region since the late 1940s, due to the loss of habitat. To prepare for the return of wild tigers, on 1st January 2018 Kazakhstan will set up a new nature reserve in the southwestern IliBalkhash, in order to restore the unique forest habitat. This will include the protection of existing wildlife, and reintroducing important prey ( 猎物 ), such as the endangered wild Bactrian deer(中亚红鹿).
Restoring tigers will also help protect Lake Balkhash and prevent it from repeating the fate of the Aral Sea, formerly the world's fourth largest lake and now 10 percent of its original size. “The hard work remains ahead of us. We have to spare no effort to make this region ready for tigers and involve all the relevant people to make this happen. That means dealing with illegal activities, having these people who govern parks be welltrained and equipped, increasing prey populations and involving local communities,” said Ekaterina Vorobyeva, Director of the WWF program.
1. What is Askar Myrzakhmetov's attitude toward the tiger reintroduction program?A.Doubtful. | B.Favorable. |
C.Concerned. | D.Disapproving. |
A.The increasing loss of prey. | B.The evolution of the species. |
C.The lack of natural living places. | D.The serious environmental pollution. |
A.Regulating human activities. | B.Limiting the number of prey. |
C.Building a reserve for tigers only. | D.Training tigers to be more adaptable. |
A.Efforts to restore forests in Kazakhstan |
B.Bringing tigers back home to Kazakhstan |
C.Attempts to handle illegal activities effectively |
D.Preventing tigers disappearing in Kazakhstan |
【推荐3】Cows are a large source (来源) of greenhouse gases. Now scientists have shown the pollution from cows can be cut down by adding a little seaweed (海藻) to their food.
Cows have four stomachs, one of which helps break down the grass into something that the cow’s body can use. But when this happens, much methane (甲烷), which is the world’s second worst greenhouse gas, will be produced. The methane comes out of a cow’s body mainly as burps (打嗝).
Recently, the researchers from the University of California, Davis studied 21 cows on a farm for about five months. They taught the cows to get their food from inside a special hood (罩子), which allowed the scientists to know how much methane the cows were giving off. They used some seaweed, which they mixed with the cows’ food.
The results were surprisingly good. In some cases, the cows produced 82% less methane. The improvement depended on the kind of food the cows were given, but even the worst-polluting cows produced 33% less methane.
Over the five months, the scientists didn’t see any signs that the cows produced more methane again. What’s more, the cows that were fed seaweed put on just as much weight as the other cows, but they didn’t need as much food.
But there are still some big problems with the idea of feeding cows seaweed. For one thing, there’s not enough seaweed to feed all of the cows in the world. So farmers would have to find a way to grow lots of seaweed. A bigger problem is that for most of their lives, cows live in the fields, where they eat grass. That means there’s no chance to feed them seaweed every day.
Still, it’s very good news that something as simple as feeding cows seaweed can help cut down on some of the pollution causing the increasing temperature (温度).
1. Why did the researchers carry out the study?A.To improve cows’ diets. |
B.To change cows’ way of eating. |
C.To prove that seaweed has more uses. |
D.To cut down on greenhouse gases from cows. |
A.Their weight wasn’t influenced. |
B.Their eating habits have changed. |
C.They couldn’t get used to the change at first. |
D.They increasingly depended on seaweed. |
A.Cows have been used to eating grass. |
B.Seaweed can’t be easily mixed with grass. |
C.Seaweed can’t be easily provided for cows. |
D.Farmers cannot afford to grow seaweed. |
A.Doubtful. | B.Positive. | C.Worried. | D.Confused. |
【推荐1】Some things we cannot copy where I live. We will never celebrate Christmas inside a picture postcard. We have no winter wonderland, though once, inspired by a snowfall seen on the black-and-white television, I did collect some ice from the inside of the freezer to throw at my brother. By the time I got to him, all I had was a handful of rain.
What we do have is electricity. As long as the Tennessee Valley Authority can light up the southern night with strands of color, shining from every house and mobile home, they can have their white Christmas. I have seen lights wrapped around mailbox posts. In the country, you need a whole lot of extension cord (电缆) to electrify a mailbox.
I have seen them strung across the Peterbilt trucks. My mother never takes down her lights, strung on a cedar beam (雪松木梁) in the living room, though she does unplug them. The rich folks have switched to white lights, a lot of them, to be elegant. But it will always be lights of color, shining through a night which smells of woodsmoke, that mean Christmas to me.
I find it especially hard not to live in the past at this time of year, when I would do anything to see the world like a child again. It is why I fill the refrigerator every December with chocolate-covered cherries and watch, for the hundredth time, those 50-year-old Christmas specials about Santa Claus.
It is important that some things stay the same — that, at some point this season, someone will say, “We’re going to look at Christmas lights. Do you want to come?”
I go sometimes and sometimes just say no. It is enough to know someone is going. I have a fine memory of the lights; I do not want it to grow less than it was by putting on it new lights bought at Walmart.
1. What is the primary feature that the author values about Christmas in their location?A.Snow-covered landscapes. | B.Traditional winter wonderland scenes. |
C.Colorful Christmas lights. | D.Cedar beams in living rooms. |
A.bring convenience to his life | B.create a Christmas atmosphere |
C.generate warmth in harsh winter | D.save cord to power a mailbox |
A.They prefer white lights for elegance. | B.They use fewer lights for simplicity. |
C.They avoid using extension cords. | D.They rely on woodsmoke for lighting. |
A.He takes delight in bidding farewell to the past. |
B.He gets fed up with looking at Christmas lights. |
C.He dislikes the color options available at Walmart. |
D.He feels relieved that Christmas lights tradition is preserved. |
【推荐2】Rinzin Phunjok Lama was 16 when he first saw a Himalayan snow leopard (雪豹) wandering in the mountains near his home in northeastern Nepal—an experience that changed his life. In the folklore (传说) of Lama’s community, snow leopards reveal themselves only when humans disturb the natural order. At that moment Lama says he recognized that his homeland was in danger.
Lama, now 30, has since devoted his life to wildlife conservation. Unlike thousands of young Nepalese who leave rural areas in search of work, Lama returned to his home in Humla after graduating from college with a forestry degree. Even in this remote corner of Nepal, the effects of climate change are clear, with ancient water sources drying up and once snow-capped mountains left bare.
Lama leads a team of trained conservationists who work to engage the community. They document and track threatened and endangered wildlife, facilitate workshops where local people share their knowledge of the landscape and run clubs for children to learn about conservation from an early age.
What makes Lamas project unique is that it’s driven entirely by the people it serves. Outsiders have previously brought sustainability efforts to the region and failed to make a lasting impact because they often did not understand the local culture, Lama says. “Gaining community trust should be the first step,” he says.
One challenge to that has been high levels of food insecurity and poverty (贫困) in the area, which makes it harder to convince people that conservation should be a priority. To show that it’s possible to obtain benefits from the land without harming it, Lama’s team has launched programs teaching beekeeping or helping locals to sell handmade artworks. “The people leading this project are from here,” he says. “There can be no prouder moment than this for us.”
1. What does the appearance of snow leopards show traditionally?A.Their increasing number. | B.People acting against nature. |
C.Their natural enemies becoming more. | D.People’s lives being disturbed by wildlife. |
A.To find jobs for young Nepalese. | B.To know more about the local landscape. |
C.To equip kids with conservation knowledge. | D.To track threatened and endangered wildlife. |
A.Its initial intention. | B.Its funding sources. |
C.The commitment of its team. | D.The support from the community. |
A.By selling their handmade artworks. |
B.By bringing back beekeeping traditions. |
C.By choosing project leaders from among the locals. |
D.By providing locals with various money-making methods. |
【推荐3】In the town of Willowbrook, two friends named Emma and Liam shared an intimate bond. They were inseparable and spent every moment together, laughing, exploring, and creating unforgettable memories.
One cold winter morning, Emma woke up with a stuffy nose and a sore throat. She tried to brave it and get ready for school, but her body felt weak and achy. Unwillingly, she called Liam to let him know she couldn’t make it to school that day.
Liam was concerned when he heard the tiredness in Emma’s voice. “Don’t worry, Em. I’ll take care of everything at school for you,” he assured her. Feeling grateful for Liam’s understanding, Emma forced a smile and replied, “Thank you, Liam. You’re the best friend anyone could ask for.”
After school, Liam hurried to Emma’s house, carrying a meal he had prepared for her. He knocked on the door, and Emma’s mother welcomed him with a warm smile. “Oh, Liam, you’re such a thoughtful friend,” she said.
“I brought some soup and tea for Emma. I hope it will make her feel better,” Liam replied, some concern in his eyes. Entering Emma’s room, Liam found her pale but relieved to see him. “I brought some comfort food to cheer you up,” he said, setting the food on her bedside table.
Emma’s eyes lit up, and she smiled weakly. “Thank you. This means the world to me,” she whispered. Sitting by her side, Liam kept her company, chatting softly and making her laugh. The warmth of their friendship enveloped the room, bringing a feeling of comfort to Emma’s tired soul.
As Emma regained her strength, she realized how lucky she was to have a friend like Liam. Their friendship grew stronger with each passing day, and from that moment on, they knew they would be there for each other through thick and thin.
1. What does the underlined word “intimate” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?A.Close. | B.Informal. | C.Satisfactory. | D.Temporary. |
A.She was in bad shape. | B.Liam failed to pick her up. |
C.It was too cold to go outside. | D.School was closed for the heavy snow. |
A.Brave but lazy. | B.Selfless and active. |
C.Considerate and caring. | D.Independent but weak. |
A.A friend is a second self. | B.A faithful friend is hard to find. |
C.A friend is easier lost than found. | D.A true friend is forever a friend. |