A decade ago biologists identified a remote protected area in northern Laos, called Nam Et-Phou Louey, as the country’s probable last heaven for wild tigers. To formally test this assumption, researchers set up 300 camera stations in 2013 and quickly confirmed two tigers’ presence. But the success was short-lived: over their four-year study, they never saw those or any other tigers again.
This result, reported last October in Global Ecology and Conservation, confirms that tigers are now functionally extinct in Laos. The researchers also found that leopards, formerly believed to still live in the park, have vanished as well. “For the remaining protected areas in Southeast Asia for tigers, this was an important one — maybe even a potential jewel in the crown,” says senior author David Macdonald, a wildlife expert at the University of Oxford. “To find that jewel has been dull is destructive. ”
Laos’s tiger loss is part of an alarming sign across Southeast Asia; the animals have already disappeared from Vietnam and Cambodia. In almost every study site Macdonald and his colleagues have surveyed, wild tigers — which number fewer than 4,000 worldwide — are in steep decline or completely absent. So are once common leopards. Habitat loss is partly to blame, but Macdonald says that the main driver is “the astonishing trend of poaching. Leading international nonprofit groups support anti-poaching efforts in Laos’s main protected areas, but as in many other countries, poachers still find ways to kill wildlife. Without protections against people doing large-scale hunting, the wildlife will go. ”
Tigers can live in human-dominated landscapes: India has the world’s second highest population, but it has favourable tiger conservation and now hosts two thirds of the planet’s remaining wild tigers. Macdonald says the respective examples of India and Laos offer lessons for countries such as Thailand, which still has about 200 wild tigers; protecting habitat is critical but so is fighting against poaching and reducing demand for big cat parts. “One way or another,” he adds, “people have to change.”
1. What’s David Macdonald’s attitude towards the research result?| A．Indifferent | B．Pessimistic | C．Positive | D．Objective |
| A．Leopards have been extinct in southeastAsia. |
| B．Poaching is the only cause of tiger loss in southeastAsia. |
| C．It’s urgent to take measures against poaching in many Asian countries. |
| D．Anti-poaching efforts in Laos’main protected areas has achieved a huge success. |
| A．absorbs | B．defends | C．holds | D．exposes |
| A．The future of wild tigers in Thailand is uncertain. |
| B．India is faced with a tough task in protecting wild tigers. |
| C．Macdonald thinks that the main reason for tiger loss is habitat decrease. |
| D．After 2013, biologists never identified any presence of tigers again in northern Laos. |
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【推荐1】In southeastern Brazil, local fishers walk into dark waters in search of mullet (鲻鱼). On their own, it would be tricky to find the silvery fish. But the humans get help from an unusual partner — wild bottle-nose dolphins.
With nets in hand, the fishers patiently wait as their cetacean (鲸类的) partners drive the fish toward the shore. A signal from the dolphins — usually a deep dive — indicates when they should cast their nets. This fishing partnership has passed down through the generations, lasting for more than a century,
While researchers knew humans profited from this pairing, they couldn’t confirm whether it benefited the dolphins. Now, in a new study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers suggest cetaceans that hunt with humans have more chances to live than those that don’t. Human-wildlife cooperation in general is a rare phenomenon at a global scale, “says Mauricio Cantor, a biologist at Oregon State University and leader of the study. Usually humans gain the benefit, and nature pays the cost. But this interaction has been happening for over 150 years.”
Fishers were more successful when they worked with the dolphins. When dolphins were present, the fishers were 17 times more likely to catch prey (猎物) and netted nearly four times more mullet when they timed their casting with the cetaceans signals. Eighty-six percent of all 4,955 mullet caught during the study period came from their interactions at the same time — when the allies organized their actions perfectly with one another.
The study also revealed dolphins hunting with humans had a 13 percent increase in survival rate over other dolphins, These cooperative dolphins are more likely to stay near the shore, reducing their chance of being caught in illegal fishing equipment. Besides, the dolphins can take some fish directly from the fishers’ harvest.
1. What do the first two paragraphs talk about concerning Brazilian fishers?| A．They trick dolphins into fishing for them. |
| B．They have been training dolphins over a century. |
| C．They harvest more fish with dolphins’ help. |
| D．They cast the fishing nets when dolphins surface. |
| A．Nature favors human beings at no cost. |
| B．Fishers’ benefiting from cooperation with cetaceans is common. |
| C．Human-wildlife interaction is a new global trend. |
| D．Dolphins cooperating with man have higher survival rate. |
| A．Partners. |
| B．Fishers. |
| C．Dolphins. |
| D．Researchers. |
| A．To appeal for the protection of sea creatures. |
| B．To applaud for development in fishing research. |
| C．To show a unique human-dolphin relationship. |
| D．To encourage fishers to better draw on dolphins. |
【推荐2】One of the most exciting parts of Halloween is getting pumpkins (南瓜) to decorate the inside and outside of your home. You might even enjoy carving out Jack O Lanterns and might even keep the pumpkins around until they are right at the end of looking good. So what do you do once it’s time to deal with them?
A lot of people think that it’s a good idea to throw them into the woods in order to feed them to wildlife. You would think that it’s better to do that rather than throw them in the trash. However, this is why wildlife experts are warming against doing that.
While the idea is reasonable, it is actually causing a lot of harm to the local creatures. A myth seems to have built up that leaving pumpkins in woods helps wildlife.
One of the biggest issues is that these pumpkins are frequently eaten by hedgehogs (刺猬) that are looking to gain as much weight as possible in this time of the year before winter kicks in. However, the pumpkin is actually bad for their little stomachs, causing them to experience dehydration and diarrhoea, eventually causing them to lose weight, and in some cases their lives.
Of course, while Jack O Lanterns are lovely to look at, a lot of people throw them out without cleaning out any of the candles, plastic, or anything else that has been added as decorations. This can cause damage and can even be deadly to wildlife that end up eating these thrown-away pumpkins. The rotting pumpkins could attract wildlife that is not meant to be in that specific area, like rats.
If you’re wondering what you should be doing with these old pumpkins instead, experts have some suggestions. You could try to compost (堆肥) them on your own at home. Another alternative is to ask a local farm if they want to accept them as donations. Just make sure that the way you deal with these pumpkins doesn’t end up causing harm.
1. What is a possible result of hedgehogs eating pumpkins?| A．They put on weight. | B．Their health improves. |
| C．They get in danger. | D．Their diets change. |
| A．They are unfit to eat. | B．They can’t break down easily. |
| C．They are not available in abundance. | D．They attract too much. |
| A．Pumpkin harm you should avoid. |
| B．Benefits coming from the old pumpkins. |
| C．Places where used pumpkins are needed. |
| D．Suggestions on dealing with used pumpkins. |
| A．Thrown-Away Pumpkins Attract Rats |
| B．Never Throw Old Pumpkins into Woods |
| C．Pumpkins Bring Great Fun to Holidays |
| D．Avoid Pumpkin Decorations for Holidays |
【推荐3】Dog lovers are well aware of the ability of a dog to communicate with its eyes. Now, scientific research suggests this ability developed over time as dogs learned to live with humans.
Dogs are known in many cultures as ”man’s best friend“, and the eyes can be one of the loveliest things about these animals. But a new study found that dog’s face developed to present ”puppy dog eyes“ as a way to help connect with humans. The study compared the face of dogs and wolves (狼), which share family history. Dogs broke off from wolves after being kept by and living with humans about 33,000 years ago. During that time, dogs changed both in their bodies and actions to fit life with humans.
The researchers checked the heads of six dogs and two wolves for comparison. They found the facial parts of both animals were mostly very similar. But one important difference was found above the eyes.
The dogs were found to have two well-formed muscles (肌肉) around the eyes that were not presented in the wolves. These small muscles allow dogs to raise their inner eyebrows(眉毛) obviously, the study found.
Anne Burrows, a lead researcher on the-study, said ”You don’t typically see such muscle differences in species that are so closely connected“. The team suggests this eyebrow-raising action causes ”a caring“ feeling in humans because it makes the dogs’ eyes appear larger.
This expression also makes the dog look more like a human baby. The eye expression is similar to which humans make when they are sad, the statement said. The researchers suggest that the expression developed over time as a way for dogs to get humans to do things for them. This could include humans giving them food, care or attention. The researchers called the findings ”significant“ for showing that these muscles are likely developed to help in their interactions with people.
Anne Burrows said in the future the work could also be carried out on other animals with which humans have developed close relationships, including horses and cats.
1. What does the new study find about dogs?| A．Dogs’ eyes have become more beautiful since they lived with humans. |
| B．Dogs have developed the ability of using eyes to communicate with humans. |
| C．Dogs have developed unique skills to make friends with humans. |
| D．Do’s change their faces to make themselves look differently from wolves. |
| A．Because they used to live together with each other. |
| B．Because they belonged to the same family in earlier times. |
| C．Because dogs became wolves’ enemy after living with humans. |
| D．Because wolves were also kept by humans in the history. |
| A．It is not found in wolves though they have the same facial muscles. |
| B．It makes the dogs’ eyes look larger so that humans will be frightened. |
| C．It is presented when dogs want humans to know that they are sad. |
| D．It makes dogs look like a human baby who needs care from parents. |
| A．How other animals develop interactions with people. |
| B．Different relations humans have with horses and cats. |
| C．Whether wolves can be developed to use eyes to connect with humans. |
| D．Whether people’s relation with dogs are closer than that with other animals. |
【推荐1】Florence Nightingale was born in a rich family. When she was young, she took lessons in music and drawing, and read great books. She also travelled a great deal with her mother and father.
As a child, she felt that visiting sick people was both a duty and a pleasure. She enjoyed helping them.
At last, her mind was made up.“I'm going to be a nurse，” she decided.
“Nursing isn't the right work for a lady，” her father told her.
“Then I will make it so，” she smiled. And she went to learn nursing in Germany and France. When she returned to England, Florence started a nursing home for women.
During the Crimean War in 1854, she went with a group of thirtyeight nurses to the front hospital. What they saw there was terrible. Dirt and death were everywhere to be seen and smelled. The officer there did not want any woman to tell him how to run a hospital, either. But the brave nurses went to work.
Florence used her own money and some from friends to buy clothes, beds, medicines and food for the men. Her only pay was the smiles from the lips of dying soldiers. But they were more than enough for this kind woman.
After war, she returned to England and was honoured for her service by Queen Victoria. But Florence said that her work had just begun. She raised money to build the Nightingale Home for Nurses in London. She also wrote a book on public health, which was printed in several countries.
Florence Nightingale passed away at the age of ninety, still trying to serve others through her work as a nurse. Indeed, it is because of her that we honour nurses today.
①terrible adj. 可怕的；危害极大的；②raise money 筹钱
1. When she was a child, Florence ________.| A．wrote a book on public health |
| B．knew what her duty in life was |
| C．loved to help the sick people |
| D．was most interested in music and drawing |
| A．she earned a lot of money |
| B．work was very difficult |
| C．few soldiers died because of her work |
| D．she didn't have enough food and clothes |
| A．Because she built the Nightingale Home for Nurses. |
| B．Because of her old age. |
| C．Because she worked as a nurse all her life. |
| D．Because she did a great deal of work during the Crimean War. |
| A．the life story of a famous woman |
| B．a description of the nursing work |
| C．an example of successful education |
| D．the history of nursing in England |
【推荐2】Xia boyu，70， the first Chinese double amputee （被截肢者） to have reached the top of Mount Qomolangma， the highest mountain in the world， Du Juan reports．
On May 14， 2018， Xia， who is the same age as the People's Republic of china， made his dream come true by reaching the top of Qomolangma （Mount Everest） seven days after leaving Base Camp on the Nepal side of the mountain．
Success didn't come easy． He had failed to reach the 8，844﹣meter peak four times before becoming one of the few double amputees to reach the top of the world．
The first climb by a Chinese team to the peak of Qomolangma was in 1960． Xia， who was born in Chongqing in 1949， was chosen by the Chinese mountaineering team in 1974． In 1975， the second mountaineering team set off． All the teammates finally reached the top， but Xia suffered bad frostbite （W1）in his legs， which had to be amputated at the knees．
"It's beyond imagination how difficult it was to accept the fact that I would suddenly become a disabled person，" Xia recalls． "I could not imagine a future of sitting in a wheelchair， perhaps forever．"
When a doctor told him that with artificial limbs he could live a normal life like anyone else， and he would even be able to do a lot of physical exercise， his hopes rose and he made up his mind to climb Qomolangma again．
To prepare for his fifth attempt（尝试）on Qomolangma， every day he got up at five in the morning and completed 90 minutes of strength training at home． On Mondays， Wednesdays and Fridays he would ride a bike to Fragrant Hills， 30 kilometers from his home， walk to the top and then ride back home． On Tuesdays， Thursdays and Saturdays， he completed 10 km of speed walking．
"Without targets， people lose' direction， "Xia says． So I will keep climbing and contributing more ways to society．"
1. Which is the correct order according to the passage？a． Xia had to be amputated at the knee immediately after the climb．
b． Xia joined the Chinese Mountaineering team．
c． Xia made his dream come true by reaching the top of Qomolangma．
d． Xia tried four times but failed， so he prepared for the fifth．
e． Chinese team set for the first climb to the top of Qomolangma．
| A．e﹣b﹣d﹣c﹣a |
| B．b﹣a﹣e﹣c﹣d |
| C．b﹣e﹣a﹣d﹣c |
| D．e﹣b﹣a﹣d﹣c |
| A．Xia was 27 when he first climbed qomolangma． |
| B．Xia was 72 when he made his dream come true． |
| C．The Base camp lay on the Chinese side of the mountain． |
| D．Xia reached the top of the world in 2018． |
| A．Xia felt it unimaginable to be sitting in a wheelchair all his life． |
| B．Xia lost hope after a doctor explained about his artificial limbs． |
| C．it took Xia a long time to make full preparations for his fifth attempt． |
| D．Xia had failed to reach the peak four times before his fifth attempt． |
| A．Plans． |
| B．Aims． |
| C．Wills． |
| D．Hopes． |
| A．Travel journal． |
| B．TV Interview． |
| C．News report． |
| D．Short story． |
【推荐3】I had grown up in a football-loving family; my dad had played until injury forced him out.
My older sister Stevie trained with Crewe Alexandra Girls for a year or two as a left back just like our hero Jamie Carragher.
I remember the exact moment I told my dad I was interested in doing what my big sister did. I was watching the game with him in the living room as a pre-teen and it just came out, “It makes me sad that I can’t be a footballer.” He asked why not, and I answered, “Because I’m not a boy.”
He immediately responded by telling me that women’s football was “great” and that I could play if I wanted to. “Yeah, I suppose,” I responded, “but no one watches women’s football.” Looking back I can see exactly why I felt like that.
At school, there was an unwritten rule that sports like hockey and netball were “girl” sports and rugby and football were for the boys. I’d never seen a women’s football match on TV; the only female athletes I’d heard of were in the Olympics.
Today, the Lionesses will take on Scotland in the World Cup. But although women’s football has turned out to be one of the FIFA’s best investments, the majority of female players in top tiers are earning under what anyone would consider a fair wage.
On Twitter you’ll find that the most popular defence of those figures is that there’s less money in the female side of the game because viewing statistics are lower than those from the male footballers, but the truth is that investment is needed for female football to become more visible and become an equally respected game.
Today, I’ll be cheering on the Lionesses, and its coming home will mean more this time around, because it’ll mean talented, skilful female footballers being broadcast into millions of homes and maybe, just maybe, a little girl believing that she can also be a lioness one day.
1. What do we know about Jamie Carragher?| A．He is the author’s teacher. |
| B．He is a friend of the author’s sister’s. |
| C．He’s on the Crewe Alexandra Girls. |
| D．He is an excellent footballer. |
| A．Strict. | B．Encouraging. |
| C．Creative. | D．Critical. |
| A．Disappointing. | B．Flexible. |
| C．Fair. | D．Appealing. |
| A．Hold more matches. |
| B．Increase investment. |
| C．Employ more skillful female footballers. |
| D．Broadcast women’s football matches. |
