In 2006, an alarm sounded concerning the health of honeybees in the United States when a Florida beekeeper found 400 of his hives were empty.
Food. Grow a variety of plants to supply nectar (花蜜) and pollen (花粉) throughout the growing season. Bees like plants native to their habitats.
Water. Although we rarely see them taking a drink, bees appreciate gardens with a source of water. It can be as simple as filling a shallow water dish with small stones and branches so bees can land and rest while drinking. A birdbath (水盘) also offers a dependable destination for bees.
Shelter.
By creating an environment with shelter, water, and bee-friendly plants, soon your local bees will be buzzing.
| A．Replace the water regularly. |
| B．Even plants in a window box can help. |
| C．Leave an inch of space between holes. |
| D．Leave an area of bare dirt for ground insects. |
| E．So choose wildflowers and natives whenever possible. |
| F．Don’t ignore the wild bees that live in North America. |
| G．Similar reports of disappearing bees were reported nationwide. |
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【推荐1】One million species face extinction, more than ever before in human history, according to a UN report released in May. And humans should be responsible.
The researchers based the assessment (评估) on some 15,000 sources considering the causes and results of environmental changes over the past 50 years.
The findings are clear and alarming. The researchers have found that about 25 percent of the world’s plants and animals are at risk of extinction. These include sea and land animals. Even the domesticated (驯养的) animals are at risk: Over 9 percent of the domesticated animal species used for food and agriculture might have been lost.
There are some big problems. This rapid decrease of the natural world endangers global food safety and quality of life. For example, about 4 billion people rely on natural medicines, produced by the disappearing species, for their health care.
The researchers identified five drivers responsible for the bad news. They think at the top of the list is the change of land and sea use. The change in ecosystems towards agriculture, aquaculture and other human developments has led to changes in the natural living space of species. It is followed by the direct overuse of creatures (harvesting crops, cutting down the trees, hunting and fishing) and climate change, including rising sea levels and increasing extreme-weather events, wildfires, floods and droughts. The final causes of species extinction are pollution, especially plastics, and the spread of non-native species that can kill native plants and animals. In fact, good ecosystems can promote the growth of species.
The researchers say it is time for humans to act. They think maybe a new global way to save food and refuse waste in our life can turn the tables. Whether that is possible is an open question.
1. What is the main purpose of the first paragraph?| A．To introduce the topic of the text. | B．To introduce the schedule of the report. |
| C．To introduce humans’ sense of responsibility. | D．To introduce the history of human development. |
| A．The reliability of the findings. | B．The species of animals worldwide. |
| C．The seriousness of species’ reduction. | D．The risky experiences of the researchers. |
| A．Narrow. | B．Interdependent. | C．Competitive. | D．Unrelated. |
| A．Change the situations. | B．Ask the open questions. |
| C．Pollute the environments. | D．Turn the tables upside and down. |
【推荐2】Hummingbirds (蜂鸟) are a very important part of Mexico’s ecosystem, but because of the ever-spreading city landscape, they face all sorts of serious dangers. That’s where 73-year-old Catia Lattouf de Arida comes in. As a self-taught hummingbird care-taker, she devotes most of her free time and resources to nursing the tiny birds back to health. Her home in Mexico City has become known as a hummingbird hospital
Catia’s story as a hummingbird nurse began in 2011, at a very dificult moment in her life. At that time, she focused on her battle with cancer and fell into a depression (抑郁) . She was walking on the strect one day when she noticed a hummingbird that had suffered a serious eye injury. The kindhearted woman took it home and named it Gucci. She managed to nurse Gucci back to health, but she said it was Gucci that saved her. Why? Because the hummingbird managed to pull her out of the sadness and loneliness that had taken over her life.
Word of her success spread among Catia’s friends, and before long some of them began bringing her injured hummingbirds. She didn’t repulse them at all. She began to study the bird and their habits in order to better take care of them, and after 11 years of experience, the 73-year-old woman is considered an expert on hummingbirds.
In order to raise awareness of the difficult situation of hummingbirds in Mexico, Catia Lattouf de Arida started posting videos of the patients in her Mexico City apartment on social media, and many of them became popular. That’s when the need for her nursing services really blew up. She has cared for hundreds of hummingbirds in her 11-year career, when she has had as many as 50 of them in her apartment at any one time. She spends pretty much all her time looking after the tiny birds.
1. Which saying can best show the main idea of the first two paragraphs?| A．It is better to give than to take. |
| B．Actions speak louder than words. |
| C．Helping others is helping ourselves. |
| D．A bird in hand is worth two in the bush. |
| A．Expect. | B．Refuse. | C．Accept. | D．Recognize |
| A．When her friends heard about her success. |
| B．When she was considered as a bird expert. |
| C．After she shared the birds’ videos on the media. |
| D．After she looked after a large number of the birds. |
| A．honest and kind | B．generous and creative |
| C．devoted and strict | D．caring and responsible |
【推荐3】Covering more than 2,300 km, the Great Barrier Reef shelters over 1,000 different fish species.
Valerie and her husband, Ron Taylor, were among the first to explore the Great Barrier Reef on film.
Though the movie turned out to be a great success, it changed the public attitude towards sharks — they were terrified by them, and even hated them and began to hunt them. Shocked, the couple changed their lives forever and turned their attention to shark conservation. “We did every talk show we could and told the audience that Jaws was a fictional story — sharks don’t behave that way and are actually a mild animal, but people just didn’t buy it,” said Valerie Taylor. “
Valerie Taylor played an important role in getting sharks protected. In 2012, South Australia renamed the Neptune Islands Group Marine Park after the Taylors because of their work protecting the oceans.
| A．Taylors’ achievements were much more than that |
| B．However, despite her lifelong work, sharks are still at risk |
| C．“We still have a long way to go,” now-83-year-old Valerie says |
| D．Dolphins, whales and sharks swim around this underwater world |
| E．It enjoyed beautiful undersea scenery totally beyond imagination |
| F．In 1967, the couple spent six months filming its underwater habitats |
| G．It was shocking that people knew so little about sharks but formed such a stubborn impression |
【推荐1】If you studied pictures that ancient people left on rock walls and you tried to determine their meaning, you would not detect a deep interest in romance among the artists.
First Impression
To help determine the elements of attraction, researchers paired 164 college classmates and had them talk for 3,6 or 10 minutes so they could get a sense of each other’s individuality. Then students were asked to predict what kind of relationship they were likely to build with their partners. After nine weeks, they reported what happened. As it turned out, their initial judgments often held true.
The Nose Knows
Scientists have also turned to nonhumans to increase understanding of attraction. Many animals give off pheromones-natural chemicals that can be detected by, and then can produce a response in, other animals of the same species. Pheromones can signal that an animal is either ready to fight or is feeling open to partnerships.
Face Value
Being fond of someone seems to have a number of factors, including seeing something we find attractive. Researchers had people judge faces for attractiveness. The participants had 0.013 seconds to view each face, yet somehow they generally considered the images the same as people who had more time to study the same faces.
| A．It is easy to prepare a list of modern stories having to do with love. |
| B．The way we assess attractiveness seems to be somewhat automatic. |
| C．Instead, you would see plenty of animals with people running after them. |
| D．People responded to positive words faster after viewing an attractive face. |
| E．Students seemed to distinguish at an early stage who would best fit into their lives. |
| F．In modern times, when food is abundant, finding love is more central to people’s lives. |
| G．In contrast, humans do not seem to be as gifted as other animals at detecting such chemicals. |
【推荐2】Over the last 25 years, psychologists have found that personalities center on five basic traits(特性) — the Big Five: agreeableness, conscientiousness (责任心), neuroticism, extroversion and openness. Contrary to common belief, people just aren’t organized into certain personality types. Every trait is a continuous dimension and everyone can be described as having varying levels of each trait. A new research has also found animals from ants to apes all have the Big Five and that the universality of personality points to an evolutionary (进化) origin.
Animals and humans have common problems of survival, which are spelled out beautifully in the Big Five, and that’s why there’s so much continuity in human personality and animal personality. For example, conscientiousness involves behaviors like planning and consideration, which are important among animals for taking care of their young, selecting mates and living in groups. Being neat and orderly — aspects of conscientiousness-also has evolutionary superiority. Bees that like to keep clean and remove more dead group members reduce risk of disease, gain more weight and reproduce more Spiders that make tidy webs catch more insects. Birds that build neater and solider nests attract more mates.
These behaviors may seem primitive, but they’re nevertheless indications of personality. Personality is the expression of all of the behaviors that humans and animals exhibit that allow them to function adaptively in the world.
Evolution can also explain why personalities vary so much. Depending on the situation, each of the Big Five can be advantageous. For example, agreeableness is great for relationships. But if a lion were charging at you, you’d be better off with a less agreeable and more aggressive personality. Because the world is so unpredictable, every aspect of each personality trait could be useful at different times, so instead of evolving a single type of personality that’s best for every situation, we’re left with a wide variety.
1. What do people generally think about personality types?| A．Different personality types have respective strengths. |
| B．Everyone falls into a particular personality type. |
| C．People with common personality types gather, |
| D．Everyone has mixed personality types. |
| A．To illustrate the advantages of being conscientious. |
| B．To analyze survival chances of cooperative animals. |
| C．To explain why they are tidy and orderly. |
| D．To throw new light on their behavior. |
| A．To be free of trouble. |
| B．To be adaptive to circumstances. |
| C．To compete for equal rights. |
| D．To gain advantages over others. |
| A．Personality and behavior. |
| B．Categories of Big Five. |
| C．Contradictory facts on personality. |
| D．Diversity and variability of personality. |
【推荐3】To snack or not to snack? That is the question for doctors and for you, as you try to decide what to do about your hungry stomach when it’s nowhere close to mealtime. The short answer is: I have the snack.
Can snacking help you drop a few pounds? Yes. A smart snack can prevent the kind of unhealthy over-eating that comes from extreme hunger. “Your body is always talking to you — you just have to listen,” said medicine specialist Robert Graham. “So if you’re starting to feel a bit hungry, don’t wait.” But you can’t grab any old snack. Chips and cookies boost your blood sugar quickly, which leads to the sugar crash. Instead, try nuts and fruits.
Snacking is a way to add a variety of nutrients (营养) to your diet. Maya Feller, a registered dietitian nutritionist, says you can’t go wrong with a handful of mixed nuts, which can help your heart. Snacking on protein-rich foods helps to keep your muscle strong and staminal. The body can absorb only a limited amount of protein per meal, so distributing protein throughout the day via snacking can maximize protein intake.
If you’ve ever been unhappy with someone when you were hungry, you know that food can influence your mood. Snacking helps you avoid that position, resulting in fewer mood swings and better focus. Some studies have shown that healthy snacking may also improve memory and cognitive performance and help with mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. If you wait too long to eat between meals, your body thinks it’s starving and releases the stress hormone to remind you, which can produce negative moods. In addition to drinking water, snacking on fresh fruits can help your brain.
There are different ways to go about (处理) this whole snacking things. Choose a healthy, filling option in an appropriate size, and the benefits don’t stop at weight loss and improved health; your general approach to life might be affected. When you snack mindfully, it’s easier to take a deep breath, focus on exactly what you’re eating at that moment, and enjoy the day around you too.
1. How does the author develop the second paragraph?| A．By listing numbers. | B．By using metaphor. |
| C．By using parallel structures. | D．By giving examples. |
| A．Extreme. | B．Stressed. | C．Material. | D．Energetic. |
| A．We should have the snack instead of main meals. |
| B．Nuts and fruits may contribute to gaining weight. |
| C．Good snack can help people lose weight and improve health. |
| D．Snacking on cookies and chips can help with depression and anxiety. |
| A．Fitness. | B．Historical stories. |
| C．Culture and customs. | D．Traffic and holidays. |
