When we think of Antarctica, the first thing that comes to our mind is a picture of penguins and large areas covered with snow. Large amounts of white snow spreading over thousands of kilometers is a pretty good description of Antarctica.
Research and observations conducted over the past few years have led to the conclusion that the Antarctic Peninsula's snow is turning green.
Scientists fear that such profound growth of algae can set off more global warming, causing even more snow to melt. To better understand that, we must consider that white snow reflects most of the sunlight that falls on it. However, as the surface of the snow darkens, it absorbs more and reflects less of the sunlight.
| A．This is due to algal growth. |
| B．But, that legendary snow is not completely white anymore. |
| C．Sometimes, they can be present below the surface of the snow. |
| D．The algae grow so quickly that they occupy great areas of the snow. |
| E．The Antarctic is the area of the continent with the most vegetation. |
| F．More sunlight implies more heat trapped on the surface of the Earth. |
| G．Scientists are estimating the area covered by these green snow algae. |
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【推荐1】In our human-centric view, the ability to shoot ink or change colors may seem odd, but you know what’s really odd? Menopause (更年期). You can count species other than humans known to experience and outlive menopause on one hand. Only Oracs (虎鲸) and some whale populations have females that live long past their reproductive years to become grandmothers. But a new, landmark study confirms that at least one population of chimpanzees can now be added to the list.
The discovery comes as the result of 21 years’ worth of observing the Ngogo community of wild chimpanzees in Kibale National Park, Uganda. Studying urine from 66 Ngogo females, aged 14 to 67, showed that their hormone levels changed after approaching 50, confirming they were in menopause. Interestingly, 50 is also the age when many people begin to experience menopause. “It’s really cool to finally have that piece of the puzzle come into place,” says Catherine Hobaiter, a primatologist who was not part of the new study.
But Catherine points out that the Ngogo community lives in a chimp paradise: the resource-rich, well-protected Kibale National Park that also lacks leopards, their main predator. And because the Noggo community is found in the heart of the park, its only neighbors are other chimps — not humans who can expose chimpanzees to viruses that have devastated other communities. “The Ngogo population may be an outlier (局外人) when it comes to the rest of the species,” she cautions.
And there is a question concerning “the grandmother effect”, according to which a grandmother has a decidedly beneficial effect on her children and grandchildren. Chimpanzees do not form long-term pair-bonds and females leave in search of new communities when they reach maturity, which means grandmother chimpanzees likely don’t know who their grandchildren are in the same way humans or even orcas do. What they do after the menopause remains a question of interest. “And that’s all future work to be done.” said Catherine.
1. What can be learned about menopause?| A．It is rare among animals. | B．It is unique to human beings. |
| C．It just occurs at the age of 50. | D．It is experienced only by females. |
| A．Scientist have found the solution to menopause. |
| B．What happens to the 66 Ngogo females remains a puzzle. |
| C．There is a puzzle whether chimpanzee females experience menopause. |
| D．The latest discovery casts new light on the puzzle of animal menopause. |
| A．To stress the importance of protecting chimpanzees from viruses. |
| B．To remind researchers of the potential limitation of the new study. |
| C．To prove that Ngogo chimpanzees are perfect subjects of the study. |
| D．To argue that the discovery of the new study is completely groundless. |
| A．By offering a definition. | B．By drawing a conclusion. |
| C．By presenting relevant facts. | D．By giving examples and opinions. |
【推荐2】Scientists have discovered an underwater coral tower near the Great Barrier Reef(大堡礁) that’s taller than New York’s Empire State Building. It’s the tallest underwater structure discovered in over 120 years.
The researchers who discovered the reef were on a year-long trip aboard the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research ship Falkor, where they were working to map the sea floor around Australia.
The scientists used a special underwater robot called SuBastian to help them explore and develop 3D maps. In late October, as part of their exploration, the team came across the tower. It’s known as a “detached reef”, since its structure isn’t attached to the Great Barrier Reef, but rises on its own from the sea floor.
At the bottom, the tower is nearly a mile wide. But from there, it becomes much more narrow, rising 1,640 feet and stopping just 130 feet below the surface of the ocean. The lower is one o£ eight similar towers near Northern Australia’s Cape York Peninsula. The other seven towers were discovered in the 1880’s.
“It’s a big reef not to have known about,” said Tom Bridge, “What it highlights is how little we know about the ocean, even the Great Barrier Reef. The Great Barrier Reef is bigger than many European countries and that only a small part of it is made of the shallow water reefs it’s famous for.”
Overall, the Great Barrier Reef is struggling. Recent studies have shown that about half of its corals have died in the last 25 years, in part because of rising ocean temperatures due to the climate crisis. Over the last year, the Falkor’s scientific team has discovered 30 new kinds of sea creatures. In March, they discovered what they believe is the longest sea creature ever recorded. The animal is called a “siphonophore” and it’s 150 feet long.
1. What did researchers do by Falkor around Australia?| A．Seek for coral lowers. | B．Make a map of sea floor. |
| C．Research unknown species. | D．Film the Great Barrier Reef. |
| A．It’s the most advanced underwater robot. |
| B．It contributes to the discovery of the tower. |
| C．It is suitable to detect building structures. |
| D．It reports important discoveries under water. |
| A．The shape of the tower. | B．The history of the tower. |
| C．The position of the tower. | D．The information of the tower. |
| A．Europe used to ignore the Great Barrier Reef. |
| B．Climate crisis is ruining the Great Barrier Reef. |
| C．Tom Bridge has been researching the Great Barrier Reef. |
| D．More research should be done on the Great Barrier Reef. |
【推荐3】Laughing together is an important way for people to connect and bond. And though the causes of laughter can vary widely across individuals and groups, the sound of a laugh is usually recognizable between people belonging to different cultures.
But what about animals? Do they “laugh”? And are the causes of animal and human laughter alike? In humans, people may laugh when they hear a joke, or when they see something that they think is funny, though it’s unknown if animals’ intelligence includes what humans would call a sense of humor.
However, many animals produce sounds during play that are unique to that pleasant social interaction. Researchers consider such vocalizations to be similar to human laughter. Recently, scientists investigated play vocalization to see how common it was among animals. The team identified 65 species that “laughed” while playing — most were mammals (哺乳动物), but a few bird species demonstrated playful laughter too. Reports of playful laughter were notably absent in studies describing fish, perhaps because there is some question as to whether or not play exists at all in that animal group. This new study could help scientists to analyze the origins of human laughter.
But how can we identify play? Unlike fighting, play is usually repetitive and happens independently of other social behaviors, said lead study author Sasha Winkler, a doctor of biological anthropology at the University of California. When it comes to identifying it, “you know it when you see it,” Winkler told Live Science. One sign is that primates — our closest relatives — have a “play face” that is similar to the expressions of humans who are playing.
When Winkler previously worked with rhesus macaques, she had noticed that the monkeys panted (喘气) quietly while playing. Many other primates are also known to vocalize during play, she said, so a hypothesis (laughter in humans is thought to have originated during play) supported by the play-related panting laughter of many primate species was put forward.
People now still laugh during play, but we also integrate laughter into language and non-play behaviors, using laughter in diverse ways to express a range of emotions that may be positive or negative. Human laughter notably differs from other animals’ laughter in another important way: its volume. People broadcast their laughter loudly, often as a way of establishing inclusion. By comparison, when most animals laugh, the sound is very quiet — just loud enough to be heard by the laugher’s partner.
“It’s really fascinating that so many animals have a similar function of vocalization during play,” Winkler told Live Science. “But we do have these unique parts of human laughter that are also an important area for future study."
1. What is the main purpose of the passage?| A．To explain causes of animal and human laughter. |
| B．To assess complexities regarding animal laughter. |
| C．To present findings on the existence of animal laughter. |
| D．To analyze differences between animal and human laughter. |
| A．Animal laughter is even noticeable in fish. |
| B．Animal laughter is hard to recognize during play. |
| C．People have learned to combine play with laughter. |
| D．People laugh loudly because they want to involve others. |
| A．Distinctive features of human laughter. |
| B．Different functions of animal laughter. |
| C．The origin and development of human laughter. |
| D．The relationship between animal laughter and intelligence. |
【推荐1】The second little pig was unlucky. He built his house from sticks, which was blown away by a wolf. His brother, by contrast, built a wolf-proof house from bricks. The fairy tale could have been written by an agent for the construction industry, strongly favoring brick, concrete and steel. However, in the real world it would help reduce pollution and slow global warming if more builders copied the wood-loving second pig.
No other building material has environmental credentials (认证信息) as exciting and overlooked as wood. The energy required to produce a laminated wooden beam (层压木梁) is one-sixth of that required for a steel one of comparable strength. As trees take carbon out of the atmosphere when growing, wooden buildings contribute to negative emissions by storing the stuff. And for refitting older buildings to be more energy efficient, wood is a good insulator (绝缘体). A softwood window frame provides nearly 400 times as much insulation as a plain steel one of the same thickness and over a thousand times as much as an aluminium (铝) equivalent.
But such bigger stories are still uncommon. Governments can help push the industry to use more wood, particularly in the public sector — the construction industry’s biggest client. That would help wood-building specialists achieve greater scale and lower costs. Zero-carbon building regulations should be altered to take account of the emissions that are presented in materials.
Construction codes could be regulated to make building with wood easier. Here the direction of travel is wrong. Britain, for instance, is banning the use of timber on the outside of tall buildings after 72 people died in a tower fire in London in 2017. That is a nonsense. Grenfell Tower was covered in aluminium and plastic, not wood. Modern cross-laminated timber (交叉层叠木板) panels perform better in fire tests than steel ones do.
Carpentry alone will not bring the environmental cost of the world’s buildings into line. But using wood can do much more than is appreciated. The second little pig was not wrong, just before his time.
1. The purpose of the writer telling the story in the first paragraph is to _______.| A．attract the readers’ attention | B．make the argument more convincing |
| C．criticize the author of the tale | D．lead in the topic of the text |
| A．wood is a good insulator |
| B．such skyscrapers with wood are uncommon currently |
| C．the unique advantages of wood material being friendly environmental |
| D．how wood reduces the emission of carbon dioxide |
| A．To encourage the construction industry’s biggest client to use more wood. |
| B．To transform Zero-carbon building regulations. |
| C．To arouse the public’s awareness of protecting the woods. |
| D．To regulate the Construction codes. |
| A．the second pig in the tale was unlucky |
| B．the outside of tall buildings Grenfell Tower could have been constructed in wood |
| C．we haven’t appreciated the characteristics of using wood at all |
| D．wood-building specialists will achieve greater profits |
【推荐2】At one time，computers were expected largely to remove the need for paper copies of documents because they could be stored electronically. But for all the texts that are written，stored and sent electronically, a lot of them are still ending up on paper.
It is difficult to measure the quantity of paper used as a result of the use of Internet-connected computers, although just about anyone who works in an office can tell you that when e-mail is introduced, the printers start working overtime. "I feel in my bones this revolution is causing more trees to be cut down. "says Ted Smith of the Earth Village Organization.
Perhaps the best sign of how computer and Internet use pushes up demand for paper comes from the high-tech industry itself, which sees printing as one of its most promising new markets. Several Internet companies have been set up to help small businesses print quality documents from a computer. Earlier this week, Hewlett-Packard Co. announced a plan to develop new technologies that will enable people to print even more so they can get a hard copy of a business document, a medical record or just an on-line e-mail, even if they are nowhere near a computer. As the company sees it, the more use of the Internet the greater demand for printers.
Does all this mean environmental concerns have been forgotten? Some activists suggest people have been led to believe that a lot of dangers to the environment have gone away. "I guess people believe that the problem is taken care of, because of recycling, "said Kelly Quirke, director of the Rainforest Action Network in San Francisco. Yet Quirke is hopeful that high-tech may also prove helpful. He says printers that print on both sides are growing in popularity. The action group has also found acceptable paper made from materials other than wood, such as agricultural waste.
1. Which of the following statements is NOT true?| A．Documents can be stored in computers electronically. |
| B．Computers effectively cut down the use of paper. |
| C．A large number of e-mails need to be printed in reality. |
| D．Printers are in a greater demand owing to the Internet. |
| A．the rapid development of small businesses |
| B．the opening up of new markets |
| C．the printing of high quality copies |
| D．the increased use of the Internet |
| A．they see a growing market for printers |
| B．printers in many offices are working overtime |
| C．small companies need more hard copies |
| D．people are concerned about the environment |
| A．to encourage printing more quality documents |
| B．to develop new printers using recycled paper |
| C．to find new materials for making paper |
| D．to plant more fast growing trees |
| A．Computers and Printers |
| B．E-mail and the Business World |
| C．Internet Revolution and Environment |
| D．Modern Technology and New Markets |
【推荐3】It was winter but people were everywhere in London at the weekend. They were in T-shirts or sandals (凉鞋). Monday was another warm day, without a cloud in the sky, and in the late afternoon the light took on a magical, honey-coloured color. It brought to mind one of those summer evenings you experienced in childhood, when you’d be in the park all day and your parents let you stay out until bedtime, and you felt like you were doing something deliciously naughty just by being there.
It wasn’t early summer: it was February. And the entire developed world has been attacking the global ecosystem (全球生态系统) for many years, and that’s how we go into this pickle.
We should try to hold on to this fact that this is not supposed to be happening. Less than a month ago, there was a video of extreme ( 极 端 的 ) cold weather coming out of Chicago. Water poured from cups immediately froze on its way to the ground. OK, that was on the other side of the world, and its temperature was- 11℃ then.
On Monday, though, the temperature hit 20.3℃ in Ceredigion, West Wales: the highest February temperature ever recorded in Britain and the first time the temperature had reached 20℃ in winter.
This isn’t good, is it? The 10 hottest years on record have all happened within the past 20 years, the five hottest were the last five. Yet the beaches and the beer gardens fill up, while the papers describe the weather as wonderful. There were those who gave in to the heat wave a little too easily. They let themselves forget it was winter and found themselves, when the sun went down and the temperature dropped, suddenly shaking and unprepared for the cold. It feels uncomfortably like a symbol.
1. What does the author want to do in the first paragraph?| A．To introduce a beautiful summer. |
| B．To encourage kids to play outside. |
| C．To share his daily activities with us. |
| D．To describe the scene of a warm winter. |
| A．Daily activity. | B．Unusual place. |
| C．Difficult situation. | D．Quick development. |
| A．To compare it with that of London. |
| B．To attract more people to Chicago. |
| C．To show it is well-known for an online video. |
| D．To encourage more people to post videos online. |
| A．The author hoped people stayed indoors. |
| B．The author worries about global warming. |
| C．The papers misled the public in weather reports. |
| D．The papers asked the public to prepare for the cold. |
