Alaska's Arctic is experiencing surprising changes with the effects of climate change occurring at twice the rate of the rest of the world. Significant loss of sea ice from a warming climate is one example of this change. Polar bears rely on sea ice — their primary habitat — to hunt seals, which are their primary food source. In certain regions of the Arctic, loss of sea ice has sharply reduced the ability of polar bears to hunt for seals, and it has resulted in polar bears coming to shore to look for food and den in greater numbers.
There are 19 polar bear populations throughout the circumpolar Arctic, two of which include the Chukchi and Southern Beaufort Sea Populations. The Southern Beaufort Sea population is considered the most endangered on the planet, and Defenders has prioritized our polar bear work to focus on this population.
Defenders has a multi-pronged approach to protecting the Southern Beaufort Sea population of polar bears. We are working to protect its critical habitat, minimize climate change effects and reduce human-polar bear conflicts. To reduce human-polar bear conflicts, we promote and support a variety of coexistence measures, including the use of polar bear-proof food storage lockers and polar bear patrols in Arctic communities that use non-lethal hazing and deterrence measures as a first line of defense.
The Southern Beaufort Sea population of polar bears has experienced such a dramatic rate of decline in the past few decades that it's possible that this population could be extinct within our lifetime. Clearly strong measures are needed to limit greenhouse gas emissions to lessen the effects of climate change and slow the loss of sea ice.
In the case of the Southern Beaufort Sea population of polar bears, in addition to reducing climate impacts, we need to continue to work to reduce human-polar bear conflicts so that community residents remain safe and fewer of these polar bears are lost to “defense of life and property” kills. Defenders is grateful to be able to work with Arctic communities, families and residents to do what we can't to ensure community safety and preserve and ultimately recover this polar bear population.
1. How has climate change influenced polar bears?| A．It has threatened their freedom and security. |
| B．It has created increasing conflicts among them. |
| C．It has caused a dangerous population imbalance. |
| D．It has destroyed their habitats and food source access. |
| A．The effects of human activities on polar bears. | B．The measures taken to preserve polar bears. |
| C．The current living situations of polar bears. | D．The favorable environment for polar bears. |
| A．Their population has recovered. |
| B．Their self-protection efforts have worked. |
| C．Some have lost their lives to residents' defense kills. |
| D．Some have adapted to changes in their surroundings. |
| A．Encountering polar bears | B．Coexisting with polar bears |
| C．Polar bears are making a comeback | D．Polar bears may survive the ice melt |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】A rescue center in Alaska has taken in an orphaned baby seal (海豹) that was still in the body when a hunter killed its mother on Easter Sunday.
The Alaska Sea Life Center says a hunter killed the baby’s mother in a village on Nelson Island in the Bering Sea. The hunter then realized there was a live baby inside the seal and successfully delivered (接生) it.
The hunter’s daughter found a hotline of the Seward Rescue Center and called to report the incident. Guided by center staff, a village teacher helped transport the baby to the local airport, and the animal was flown to Anchorage. The Alaska Sea Life Center members met the baby, now called Maxwell, at the Anchorage airport and drove him to Seward on Monday. Staff members say the baby has responded well to food and care, but his condition is still considered very serious.
“Maxwell was close to full-term, and everything looks fairly normal,” said Pam Tuomi, a center vet. “But babies that have never received antibodies (抗体) from their mothers’ milk are at higher risk of infection (感染), so we will keep Maxwell in a separate place and watch him closely for the next few weeks.”
The Sea Life Center is Alaska’s only permanent facility licensed to house stranded marine mammals and seabirds. The staff choose a theme each year for naming animals admitted there, and this year the names are related to caffeine.
“We hope to give Maxwell a second chance to live as a wild sea,” said Brett Long, the center’s director.
1. What can we learn from the passage?| A．The mother seal was killed in order to protect the baby seal. |
| B．The mother seal was killed before the baby seal was born. |
| C．The cruel hunter was unwilling to save the baby seal. |
| D．Both the mother seal and the baby seal were in good condition now. |
| A．She helped to feed it. | B．She delivered it successfully. |
| C．She reported it to a rescue center. | D．She persuaded her father to save it. |
| A．The hunter | B．The baby seal |
| C．a member of the center | D．the village teacher |
| A．It still faces the danger of dying young. | B．It is only half of the normal size. |
| C．It is found to be difficult to feed. | D．It will be set free into the sea soon. |
Noah's Ark is aimed at collecting eggs, embryos(胚胎), semen and DNA of these animals and storing them in liquid nitrogen. If certain species should become extinct, Dr. Duane Kraemer, a professor in Texas A & M's College of Veterinary, Medicine, says there would be enough of the basic building blocks to reintroduce the species in the future.
It is estimated that as many as 2, 000 species of mammals, birds and reptiles will probably become extinct in over 100 years. The panda, native only to China, is in danger of becoming extinct in the next 25 years. This week, Chinese scientists said they grew an embryo by introducing cells from a dead female panda into the egg cells of a Japanese white rabbit. They are now trying to implant the embryo into a host animal. The entire procedure could take from three to five years to complete. "The nuclear transfer of one species to another is not easy, but the lack of available panda eggs could be a major problem," Kraemer believes. "They will probably have to do several hundred transfers to result in one pregnancy (having a baby). It takes a long time and it's difficult, but this could be groundbreaking science if it works. They are certainly not putting any live pandas at risk, so it is worth the effort," adds Kraemer, who is one of the leaders of the Project at Texas A&M, the first-ever attempt at cloning a dog.
"They are trying to do something that's never been done, and this is very similar to our work in Noah's Ark. We're both trying to save animals that face extinction. I certainly appreciate their effort and there's a lot we can learn from what they are attempting to do. The cooperation between us is very much needed."
1. The final aim of "Noah's Ark" project is to ___________.
| A．make efforts to clone the endangered pandas |
| B．save endangered animals from dying out |
| C．collect DNA of endangered animals to study |
| D．transfer the nuclear of one animal to another |
| A．the long time lasting cloning research could be successful. |
| B．the eggs transfers immediately result in having a baby. |
| C．the lack of nuclear transfer could be a major problem to have new pandas. |
| D．if species should die out, basic building blocks would heal them. |
| A．China's Success in Pandas Cloning |
| B．Helping Ways to Avoid Extinction |
| C．Exploring the Possibility to Clone Pandas |
| D．The Practice in Noah's Ark |
| A．Kraemer and his team have succeeded in cloning a panda |
| B．scientists try to implant a panda's egg into a rabbit |
| C．Kraemer will work with Chinese scientists in clone researches |
| D．about two thousand species are to die out in a century |
【推荐3】Dexter went through all the training to become a police dog with England's Metropolitan Police, but when all was said and done, he just wasn't cut out for the job. For one thing, the work was stressing him out. Me started showing signs of distress (痛苦) during training.
“If a dog isn't settling or isn't happy in their role, it’s our duty to lake it out,” said Dexter's handler, Mike Sheather.
The other reason Dexter was rejected from the job was that he is too friendly!
“He's got a really good nose on him. It's just that his personality didn't lend itself to being a drug dog," Mike explained. "He's just too good around people. He was taken out because he was too sociable (友善的)."
Mike is an experienced dog handler with the police force, and he hated to see such a good animal with so much training go to waste. Science tells us that just petting a dog gives out a feel-good chemical in the brain called oxytocin, and Mike realized that while Dexter might not be a tough police dog, his special skill is lightening the mood and offering comfort. That’s how Dexter became Scotland Yard's first-ever “Wellness Dog”.
Dexter has visited health care workers, police officers who have experienced trauma (创伤), and local residents suffering from stress. Wherever he goes, Dexter inspires smiles! When Dexter enters a room, the mood is instantly lightened. Dexter and Mike have seen so much success that Mike plans to expand (扩大) the wellness dog program.
1. What can be learned about Dexter?| A．He doesn't have a good nose for drugs. |
| B．Fie failed to get through all the training. |
| C．He proved unsuitable to be a police dog. |
| D．He doesn't get along well with his handler. |
| A．Dexter's sociable character. |
| B．Mike's personal life. |
| C．Advice given by a kind scientist. |
| D．Problems faced by distressed people. |
| A．Helping the disabled. | B．Searching for the injured. |
| C．Lightening people's mood. | D．Adapting to tough situations. |
| A．How police dogs are twined. |
| B．How Mike put a dog to proper position. |
| C．What the duties of wellness dogs are. |
| D．What the job of a dog handler is like. |
【推荐1】In between all the measures to battle the severe air pollution in Delhi, India, there’s one more choice—a bar that has “pure air”.
Founded by Aryavir Kumar, Oxy Pure, Delhi’s first-ever oxygen bar, offers 15 minutes of 80-90 percent pure oxygen, costing $4.2. Customers are given a lightweight tube for oxygen intake. The device(装置) is placed near the customer’s nostrils(鼻孔) through which they are advised to breathe in the oxygen.
The bar also offers its customers several aromas(气味) to go with oxygen, including lemongrass, cherry and more. According to the aroma people choose, each session promises to improve sleep patterns and digestion, cure headaches, and even claims to work as a treatment for depression.
Bonny Irengbam, a senior sales assistant at the bar, said, “Some people, who try it for the first time, will feel relaxed and fresh. But only people who do this regularly will get real benefits. By saying “regularly”, I mean once or twice a month. We don’t encourage back-to-back sessions, as increased levels of oxygen in the body can make a person dizzy.”
Dr. Rajesh Chawla, a senior doctor at the Apollo Hospital, said, “Even if you breathe in the so-called pure oxygen for two hours in a day, you will go back to breathing the polluted air for the rest of the 22 hours. The concept is purely money-driven.”
Recalling the first few months of the bar, Irengbam admitted that people were skeptical. “Many people criticized, saying we were selling air. Others were simply scared to breathe through the tube.”
Irengbam said the bar saw a significant rise in the number of customers two to three days after Diwali, an Indian festival mainly celebrated by fireworks and lights, as the pollution levels were high.
1. Which of the following can replace “back-to-back” in Paragraph 4?| A．Once-a-month. | B．One-after-another. |
| C．Once-and-for-all. | D．Once-in-a-while. |
| A．Positive. | B．Doubtful. | C．Unconcerned. | D．Ambiguous. |
| A．It was not well received at first. | B．It will always cause side effects. |
| C．It surely has a promising future. | D．It can cure people of depression. |
| A．To explain how to breathe in the oxygen. |
| B．To advertise for Aryavir Kumar’s business. |
| C．To show people’s responses to the device. |
| D．To introduce the first oxygen bar in India. |
【推荐2】Climate change has been a long-standing issue that continuously drives scientists to find green fuels. The universe's most rich element, hydrogen(氢), has drawn their attention and is now on its way to becoming the future of green fuel.
More than $150 billion worth of green hydrogen projects were announced globally in 2020, according to Reuters. Airbus, a European corporation, has taken the lead in the new sustainable fuel industry. It has designed self-contained hydrogen fuel cell pods(燃料电池舱) that can be attached to the underside of airplane wings, which aim to achieve zero emissions(排放). The company plans to launch hydrogen -powered aircraft in 2035, according to Daily Mail.
Compared to fossil fuels, hydrogen is a much more eco-friendly fuel. When hydrogen bums, the only by-product is water. However, the traditional way to extract(提取) hydrogen from natural gas or coal generates considerable carbon emissions. The greenest way is to obtain hydrogen from water using electrolysis(电解) powered by renewable energy, although this process requires so much electricity that it is quite expensive. The key to making hydrogen competitive with fossil fuels is to lower the production cost to under $1.50. This would require lowering around 50 percent of renewable power costs and 75 percent of electrolyzer costs, according to Australia’s renewable energy agency.
Also, shipping liquid hydrogen is challenging, because that needs to be chilled to －253℃ to do so. According to Reuters, most of the world's big hydrogen export projects are looking to ship hydrogen in the form of liquid ammonia(氨), which can be converted to hydrogen and needs to be chilled to only －33℃.
With more and more countries aiming to cut down carbon emissions to deal with the issue of global warming, green hydrogen will help them hit the targets by decarbonizing industries that cannot be electrified.
1. What is the unique strength of the hydrogen fuel cell pods?| A．They work very efficiently. | B．They produce no by-product. |
| C．They are environmentally friendly. | D．They allow for long-distance flights. |
| A．Its lower performance. | B．Its production cost. |
| C．Its carbon emissions. | D．Its electricity consumption. |
| A．The required temperature. | B．The expensive shipping cost. |
| C．The building of professional carriers. | D．Getting it to the form of liquid ammonia. |
| A．Those funded by public money. | B．Those depending on electricity. |
| C．Those unable to be electrified. | D．Those with an improved energy system. |
【推荐3】Tips for Green Travel With Kids
Travelling doesn’t mean letting go of all the eco-friendly choices we work so hard to achieve in our daily life. Here are a few tips for green travel with kids: Booking nonstop flights whenever possible will reduce carbon emissions (碳排放). If the closest local airport doesn’t have nonstop flights to a certain place, check with other local airports to see if nonstop flights are available.
Whether you’re flying or driving, it’s easy when travelling to pull into fast food restaurants for snacks.
| A．Walking is good for your health. |
| B．Try to cut back to save water and energy. |
| C．But you can pack healthy food from home. |
| D．Travelling is a great chance to introduce your kids to the world. |
| E．Reusable water bottles are easy to bring along wherever you travel. |
| F．Save energy by turning off the hotel room lights when you head out for the day. |
| G．You might have to drive a bit further, but saving on carbon emissions makes it worthwhile. |
【推荐1】When we are desperately searching for our glasses, wallet or keys, we might wish to have a photo-graphic memory, but the truth is we are designed to forget.
In fact, the majority of what we experience in a given day is likely to be forgotten in less than 24 hours. And that is a good thing. Think of all the passing encounters with people you will never see again and the times you spend waiting in a queue at the supermarket. If our brains hoarded (贮藏) every moment of every experience, we would never be able to find the information we need among an ever-increasing pile of information.
So, if memory is not supposed to be a comprehensive collection of the past, what is the point of remembering at all?To answer this question, it helps to think about what it means to remember in the first place. For more than 25 years, I have studied how we are able to recall past events, an ability known as “episodic memory”. It is described as the uniquely human capability for “mental time travel, roaming at will over what has happened as readily as over what might happen, independently of the physical laws that govern the universe”. I first read this description of mental time travel when I was a graduate student, and I was deeply sceptical. Now, with the wisdom of age, I understand what it meant.
When you recall a rich episodic memory, there is a noticeable feeling of being transported back to a point in your past, a specific time and place. For instance, the smell of freshly baked pastries might remind you of having breakfast with your grandmother. Findings from my lab and others have shown that, at the moment of remembering, the brain appears to return a bit to the state that it was in at the time, enabling us to relive these past experiences.
This is why, if you have misplaced your keys, it can be helpful to put yourself, mentally into the context where you last saw them. Getting in touch with the sights, sounds and thoughts from an earlier time period can be an effective way of accessing those memories.
1. Why does the author think forgetfulness is a good thing?| A．We are born to forget the past events. |
| B．It helps to find the needed information. |
| C．All the encounters are not that pleasant. |
| D．Our brains fail to hoard important moments. |
| A．It partly depends on the physical laws. |
| B．It explains our ability to remember the past. |
| C．It becomes obvious with the wisdom of age. |
| D．It focuses on purposeful mental time travel. |
| A．To express love for grandmother. | B．To share a feeling of time travel. |
| C．To illustrate a vivid episodic memory. | D．To forget precious past experiences. |
| A．Recall the situation where we saw them. |
| B．Search the labs where we do experiments. |
| C．Think in our mind what they looked like. |
| D．Write our real thoughts related to them. |
【推荐2】To the book lovers, nothing beats walking through a bookshop and looking at all the covers, picking large heavy books up and turning them over, the smell of ink on paper, conversations with strangers about authors. With the coming of the online book buying and e-books, many have predicted(预测) that the bookstores will disappear. And we’re grateful that there are plenty of beautiful bookstores still out there.
El Ateneo Grand Splendid
Designed for Max Glucksmann, a pioneer of the music and film industries, this wonderful theater space was opened in 1919. The former theater now serves as a flagship store; more than 1 million people visit El Ateneo Grand Splendid every year.
The Book Barge
The Book Barge is a 60-foot canal boat bookshop. Inspired by the Slow Food movement, the operator Sarah Henshaw says, “We hope to help develop a less hurried lifestyle of leisurely (慢悠悠的) pleasures, cups of tea, conversations, culture and something like these.”
Selexyz Dominicanen
For those who regard bookstores with great respect, welcome to Selexyz Dominicanen, which now offers many kinds of books. The big space was used to store bicycles not long ago. But then the building was given interior (内部的) decoration, and the result is really a great surprise.
La Caverne aux Livres
Few things make as romantic a pairing as books and trains. At La Caverne aux Livres in Auvers-sur-Oise, northwestern of Paris, an old postal train station and several train cars have become home to used books for sale. Visitors often spend hours looking at them, surrounded by an atmosphere (氛围) of old letters and dreams of faraway places.
1. What do the book lovers care much about in bookstores?| A．Getting certain experiences. | B．Having many more choices. |
| C．Getting the best service. | D．Finding the latest bestsellers. |
| A．El Ateneo Grand Splendid. | B．La Caverne aux Livres. |
| C．The Book Barge. | D．Selexyz Dominicanen. |
| A．It is set up on a boat. | B．It is a car-themed bookstore. |
| C．Its decoration style is modern. | D．It mainly sells second-hand books. |
【推荐3】Beethoven is one of the greatest musicians. He completed 722 musical works including 9 symphonies. Unfortunately, the musician died while still working on his 10th Symphony. Now, a team of musicians and scientists have used artificial intelligence (AI) to complete the artist’s final masterpiece.
Dr. Matthias Roder first came up with the idea to complete the composition. The director of the Karajan Institute in Austria thought it was an appropriate way to celebrate Beethoven’s 250th birthday. He began by enlisting an international team of experts in music, including music composer Walter Werzowa and Dr Ahmed Elgammal, the creator of an innovative AI technology for the art market.
Elgammal and his colleagues started the process by familiarizing the AI software with a broad range of classical music and then narrowing it down to just Beethoven’s work. Meanwhile, Werzowa and his group tried to decipher the rough sketches and the handful of notes that detailed Beethoven’s plans for the10th Symphony.
The team then fed the AI software musical notes from the unfinished composition. Since music is very structured and mathematical, AI can predict the next note accurately. However, it starts to deviate from the central theme after a few notes. To stay true to Beethoven’s original composition, Elgammal’s team sent Werzowa hundreds of AI-generated musical note variations every evening. Werzowa would listen to them and then select the one that he thought was closest to what the artist would have written. The AI team would add the music and rerun the software to generate the next suggestions. And piece by piece, the team was able to complete the 10th Symphony!
The composition delayed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic debuted in Beethoven’s birthplace of Bonn, Germany, on October 9, 2021. Not surprisingly, the AI-generated masterpiece is causing some controversy. Critics believe technology shouldn’t be used to replicate the human creative process. Elgammal and his team agree with their stance and say their AI software isn’t out to replace humans — it’s just a tool to help artists express themselves in new ways.
1. Why did Matthias Roder decide to complete Beethoven’s final composition?| A．To make Beethoven more famous. |
| B．To help realize Beethoven’s dream. |
| C．To get a better understanding of Beethoven’s work. |
| D．To mark the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth. |
| A．They listened to hundreds of AI-generated musical notes. |
| B．They familiarized the AI software with Beethoven’s work. |
| C．They introduced the AI software to various kinds of classical music. |
| D．They fed the Al software musical notes from the unfinished symphony. |
| A．Perfect. | B．Copy. | C．Study | D．Destroy. |
| A．AI put extra notes to Beethoven’s 10th Symphony |
| B．AI technology was created for the art market |
| C．AI helped complete Beethoven’s unfinished symphony |
| D．AI enabled artists to express themselves in new ways |
