The Australian Koala Foundation says Australia has lost about 30 percent of its koalas over the past three years. The non—profit group says drought, wildfires and development projects played a part in the drop in the koala population. They are asking the government to do more to protect the creature’s environment.
The group said the koala population has dropped to less than 58,000 this year from more than 80,000 in 2018. The biggest decrease(减少) was in the state of New South Wales, where the numbers have dropped by 41 percent. Deborah Tabart leads the Australian Koala Foundation. She called the drop quite huge. Only one area in the study was estimated(预估) to have more than 5,000 koalas. Some areas were estimated to have as few as five or ten.
Tabart said, “What we’re concerned about are places like western New South Wales where the drought over the last ten years has just had this cumulative(积累) effect, river systems completely dry for years, and red gum plants, which are the lifeblood of koalas, are dead.” The loss in New South Wales likely sped up after large forest areas were destroyed by wildfires in late 2019 and early 2020. But some of those areas already had no koalas.
Tabart said the country needs a koala protection law. Land clearing by property developers and road builders has also destroyed the koala’s environment. “I think everyone gets it that we’ve got to change. But it bulldozers (推土机) keep working, then I really fear for the koalas,” Tabart said.
1. How did the author develop the second paragraph?| A．By giving numbers. | B．By telling stories. |
| C．By following the time order. | D．By comparing opinions. |
| A．The harm to koalas from wildfires. |
| B．The bad effect of development. |
| C．The death of various trees. |
| D．Some causes of the decrease in koalas. |
| A．Fighting against climate change. |
| B．Making a special law. |
| C．Stopping housing building. |
| D．Keeping wildfires from spreading. |
| A．Australia’s Wild Animals Are Facing Big Danger |
| B．Effects of Australia’s Wildfires Are Beginning to Show Up |
| C．Australia Lost One-Third of Its Koalas in Last Three Years |
| D．Koalas in Australia Could Disappear from the Earth in the Future |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】We know that our pet dogs and cats can recognize our faces, but our pet fish? A team of scientists from the UK and Australia have discovered that archer-fish(喷水鱼) can distinguish human faces!
This marks the first time that a species of fish has shown such an ability. Such abilities have been previously shown in birds, but unlike fish, they have been proven to possess structures similar to the neocortex(大脑新皮层), the researchers added.
“Being able to distinguish between a large number of human faces is a surprisingly difficult task, ” Dr Newport said, “mainly due to the fact that all human faces share the same basic features.”
During their experiments, Dr Newport and her colleagues presented archerfish with two images of human faces, and trained them to choose one by spitting jets(喷射流)of water at that picture. Next, the fish were presented with the familiar face and several that were unfamiliar, and were able to correctly pick the one that they had been trained to recognize, even when features such as head shape and color were removed from the selected pictures.
In the first experiment, the archerfish were tasked with picking the previously learned face from a group of 44 new ones, which they did with 81 percent accuracy. In the second, the researchers decided to make things a little harder. They took the pictures and made them black and white and evened out (使平均) the head shapes. You would think that would throw the fish for a loop. But no, they were able to pick the familiar face even then—and with more accuracy: 86%!
“Fish have a simpler brain than humans and entirely lack the section of the brain that humans use for recognizing faces. Despite this, fish may still be capable of finding the face they are trained to recognize,” Dr Newport said. “The fact that archerfish can learn this task suggests that complicated brains are not necessarily needed to recognize human faces.”
1. What does the underlined word “they” in paragraph 2 refer to?| A．Species | B．Birds. |
| C．Fish. | D．Abilities. |
| A．archerfish are cleverer than other fishes. |
| B．all fishes can be trained to recognize human faces. |
| C．complex brains are not necessary for facial recognition. |
| D．it is very difficult for animals to recognize human faces. |
| A．archerfish have a good memory. |
| B．archerfish can only recognize human faces. |
| C．people’s similar physical appearance limits archerfish’s facial recognition. |
| D．archerfish can recognize the familiar face even if its head shape and color are changed. |
| A．a biology textbook | B．a medical report |
| C．a science fiction | D．a science magazine |
【推荐2】Dogs are often called as “man's best friend”, MacKenzie, a four-pound Chihuahua （吉娃娃）, was named winner of the 2020 American Hero Dog Competition on October 19, 2020.
In its tenth year in 2020 the annual contest is the brainchild of American Humane, the country's first national charitable organization founded for the safety and well-being of animals. Often called the “Oscars for dogs”, the award recognizes dogs who make extremely great contributions to society.
The competition of 2020 attracted over 400 entries（参赛者）from across the country. These heroic dogs have gone above the call of duty, saving lives, comforting the ill and aged and reminding us of the powerful, age-old ties between animals and people. While all were impressive, it was tiny MacKenzie who won the judges' hearts.
MacKenzie's growth was not easy. Born with a mouth disability, she had to be fed through a tube（管子）for the first year of her life. Despite her own struggles, she always seemed to think more of other animals in need. “Never have I seen such a will to live. Though sick, she carefully looked after the baby animals at the rescue（救助）center,” said her caretaker.
A life-saving operation performed in 2014 gave MacKenzie the ability to eat independently. The seven-year-old chihuahua is now working for the Mia Foundation, an organization that rescues and nurses animals with inborn disabilities. The chihuahua does an excellent job and has raised various animals. She plays nurse, cleans, comforts and hugs them, acting as their mother and teaching them how to socialize, play and have good manners.
In addition to her role as an animal caretaker, MacKenzie also visits schools to educate kids about the importance of accepting physical differences in both animals and people. Her heartwarming and inspiring story makes MacKenzie a worthy receiver of America's top dog honor.
1. What can we infer about the American Hero Dog Competition?| A．It was first held in 2010 | B．It was held to honor caretakers of dogs. |
| C．It takes place every ten years. | D．It was started by a charitable organization. |
| A．Talent and bravery | B．Friendliness and care. |
| C．Courage and selflessness. | D．Confidence and independence. |
| A．Learning from failures. | B．Understanding the disabled. |
| C．Valuing physical health. | D．Developing practical ability. |
| A．Dogs Are Man's Best Friends. | B．Treat Dogs the Way We Want to Be Treated. |
| C．Touching Stories between MacKenzie and People | D．2020 American Hero Dog: A Tiny Chihuahua. |
【推荐3】Scientists researching climate change in Antarctica are studying penguins in an effort to better understand the area’s environmental health. The scientists are measuring the growth and development of the penguin population on the eastern side of the Antarctic Peninsula.“We are counting penguin nests to understand how many penguins are in a colony, producing young every year, and whether that number is going up or down with the environmental conditions,“ said Alex Borowicz. He is an ecology researcher at New York’s Stony Brook University.
The work is not easy for climate researchers in the icy,faraway reaches of Antarctica. But penguins are easier to follow than some other kinds of animals because they nest on land. Their black bodies and wastedroppings can also be identified against the area’s white background.
Michael Wethington,another researcher from Stony Brook,told Reuters the penguin population can represent overall climate conditions and the health of the area’s whole ecosystem.The researchers say countsof individual penguins can be combined with data from satellite images to get a more complete picture of how the animals are progressing.
Gentoo penguins-with bright orange beaks and white markings on their heads-prefer open water without broken pieces of ice floating around. So when temperatures on the Antarctic Peninsula began rising during the latter half of the 20th century,gentoo populations moved south.Gentoo penguins don’t like sea ice. They mostly forage(觅食)over the continental shelf and don＇t go far out to sea. As sea ice has decreased along the western side of the peninsula,gentoos seem to have gotten used to the changed conditions. But those same conditions have been worse for the Adelie penguin species. This is because the Adelies depend on sea ice for feeding and reproduction.
“When we find Adelie penguins, we typically know that sea ice is nearby,”Stony Brook’s Wethington said. He added that whenever researchers see sea ice decreasing or disappearing,they also see Adelie penguin populations plunge.Even though Adelie penguins are increasing in number overall, some populations have fallen by more than 65 percent,researchers say.
1. Why do scientists studying climate change in Antarctica study penguins?| A．To offer them better protection. |
| B．To learn more about the conditions of Antarctica. |
| C．To find out about the penguin population. |
| D．To have a clearer idea of their living habits. |
| A．Their various species. |
| B．Their unusual hunting ways. |
| C．Their unique eating habits. |
| D．Their nesting habit and body color. |
| A．They are quite adaptive. |
| B．They are in great danger. |
| C．They tend to hunt far out to sea. |
| D．They have a preference for sea ice. |
| A．Rise steadily. |
| B．Swing violently. |
| C．Drop sharply. |
| D．Grow swiftly. |
The development of human society brings us opportunities as well as challenges. One of these challenges is how to live harmoniously with nature.
Millions of years ago, our ancestors realized that they were entirely dependent on nature. They made for themselves totems symbolizing plants or animals. By doing this they showed great respect for nature and also showed us that mankind and nature should not be divided as, they were originally one. Yet this delicate balance between humans and nature has long been ignored and now the damage is done.
Today, around the globe, as many as three species die every 60 minutes. “Species that become extinct are lost forever. We can't bring them back,” says biologist Stuart Pimm. At this rate, in the following 50 years, all known species could disappear. The collective actions of man are changing the course of rivers and streams and altering the atmosphere's protective ozone layer. These may bring an end to the lives of creatures on Earth. With the gradual extinction of a number of species, we are getting lonelier and taking 'a step closer to our own extinction.
We cannot exist without biodiversity. But how? What strategy can satisfy both immediate human needs and long-term environmental protection? The answer is the sustainable development that maintains economic growth and at the same time protects our environment. For example, conservationists have never stopped searching for ways to protect biodiversity. Thanks to their ceaseless effort, an increasing number of biological breakthroughs will benefit the survival of the species. More and more people realize what biodiversity means to us. And we do need a revival of the respect that our ancestors used to give to nature.
We shall always remember don't ask what nature can do for us; ask what wean do for nature.
1. How did our ancestors show respect for nature? (no more than 10 words)2. How many species are dying out every day globally today?(no more than 2 words)
3. According to the passage, what is sustainable development?(no more than 15 words)
4. What causes the increasing number of biological breakthroughs?(no more than 5 words)
【推荐2】Guide to Hiking on the Appalachian Trail
How do I “Leave No Trace on the Appalachian Trail?”
At about 2,189 miles, the Appalachian Trail is the longest single unit of the National Park System. With the number of people visiting this place increasing each year, the chances are great that any of us may damage the natural environment along the Trail and affect the experience for others. So please do your part by following these hiking and camping practices, and encourage others to learn about and adopt these techniques.
1. Plan ahead and prepare.
Evaluate the risks associated with your outing, identify campsites and destinations in advance, and use maps and guides. Prepare for extreme weather, dangers, and emergencies — especially the cold — to avoid impacts from searches, rescues, and campfires. Learn when areas are most crowded and try to avoid those times.
2. Dispose of waste properly.
Pack out all trash and food waste, including that left behind by others. Don’t bury trash or food, and don’t try to burn packaging materials in campfires. Use the privy (茅房) for human waste only. Do not add trash. If there is no privy, dispose of human waste by burying it in a hole, a hole at least 200 feet (80 steps) from campsites, water sources and shelters, and well away from trails.
3. Leave what you find.
Leave plants, cultural artifacts (器物) and other natural objects where you found them for others to enjoy. Do not damage live trees or plants; green wood burns poorly. Collect only firewood that is dead, down, and no larger than your wrist. Leave dead standing trees and dead limbs on standing trees for the wildlife.
4. Minimize campfire impacts.
Use stoves for cooking — if you need a fire, build one only where it’s legal and in an existing fire ring. Keep fires small. Never leave your campfire unattended, and drown it when you leave. Do not try to burn trash, including plastic, glass, cans, tea bags, food, or anything with food on it. These items do not burn thoroughly. They create harmful fumes (烟雾), and attract wildlife like skunks and bears.
5. Respect wildlife.
Don’t feed or disturb wildlife. Store food properly to avoid attracting bears, varmints, and rodents. If you bring a pet, keep it leashed (用皮带系住).
1. Before you hike on the Appalachian Trail, you are advised to ________.| A．leave your pet dog at home |
| B．bring some food for the wildlife there |
| C．prepare for bad weather and emergencies |
| D．avoid crowded periods and book a hotel in advance |
| A．collect | B．store | C．make use of | D．get rid of |
| A．collect firewood that is larger than your wrist |
| B．keep it small and drown it when you go away |
| C．burn or bury your trash before you leave |
| D．use it to drive away wildlife like skunks and bears |
【推荐3】How to release your art potential? Traditionally. people may bury themselves in learning painting skills at a studio and begin from drawing lines. However, Maggie Wiebe, a 21-year-old girl from Stamps School of Art &Design at the University of Michigan, has her own method.
Wiebe and her school friend Jessie Rice are trying to do something that shows their love for art and also benefits the environment. For the past year or so, they have tended a garden at their campus farm, planting a variety of colorful flowers, as well as flax (亚麻) to make linen and paper to be used in art.
Inspired by a group of old ladies in Canada who plant sustainable art materials and post their videos on social platform YouTube, Wiebe learned about how to plant, harvest and separate fibers. She planted different fruits and vegetables traditionally used to dye (给……染色) fabrics. She then put their peels (外皮) into boiled water and added hot pressurized air to make a dye. For her, it’s a demanding but enjoyable process.
Wiebe and Rice plan to eventually buy some land in Detroit to grow these sustainable art materials—a dye, fiber and pigment garden— “a bigger version of what we’re already doing”, Wiebe told Minnesota News. “We’d set it up like an organization where artists can volunteer a few hours a week and then use all of the plants that we grow. ”
Wiebe also likes fiber-based art, such as quilting, weaving and sewing. She has applied those techniques to her recent works, displayed as part of the annual Senior Exhibition at her school. During her sophomore year, Wiebe joined the Michigan Daily as an illustrator, learning to conceptualize and complete complex illustrations on tight deadlines. Wiebe’s works received a lot of help from others. “Because the art school doesn’t have departments, we have studio coordinators who take care of each studio. “she said. “I see them every day, and they’ve helped me a lot. ”
1. What can we learn about Wiebe from the first two paragraphs?| A．She realized her potential. | B．She longed to be a gardener. |
| C．She was fond of growing plants. | D．She had an environmentally friendly mind. |
| A．To get fibers eventually. | B．To peel fabrics skillfully |
| C．To grow plants traditionally. | D．To dye fabrics individually. |
| A．To review Wiebe’s future plan. | B．To present Wiebe’s contribution. |
| C．To display Wiebe’s future prospect. | D．To promote an application of Wiebe’s idea. |
| A．Practice makes perfect. | B．Creativity is productivity. |
| C．Unity is strength. | D．Curiosity is motivation. |
【推荐1】Sixty-four-year-old Pierre Deom has spent his entire life close to the woods and fields that he loves. Twice a year, his magazine, La Hulotte, focuses on an animal or plant native to the French countryside.
The 100th edition was published in November. The magazine counts more than 150,000 subscribers in many countries, and is doing very well financially. Deom says it all began in January 1972, when he was teaching science in a one-room schoolhouse here. “It upset me how the forests and swamps were beginning to be ruined. The word ‘ecology’ didn’t really exist yet. Some friends and I wanted to call attention to the issue. So we said, let’s educate the kids. They’re ready to hear our message.” So he took a step into the unknown, planning to publish his nature journal.
Deom does all the research and writing and the illustrations of the magazine by hand. He combines science and humor in his writing and drawing to describe the daily life and sufferings of his creatures. Animals you might overlook or consider dull are magically and vividly brought to life in La Hulotte. “I try to write about animals and plants that are easy to find because I want kids to put on boots, take a magnifying glass, go to the woods and fields to observe and be amazed by what they find,” Deom says.
And it seems to work. Biologist Jerome Fournier began subscribing to La Hulotte when he was just eight years old. “For me it was the first contact with nature when I was a child. And maybe it’s the beginning for my life of scientist. I think so.”
What’s amazing is its approach. The magazine has realistic drawings and also a little cast of cartoon creatures who comment on things and give a different views. You can read it as an adult or a child; it can be understood on two different levels. So scientists, regular people and children all get something out of it. “It’s extraordinary.” Fournier says, who works at the Museum of Natural History in Paris, where he says La Hulotte has a crazy following.
1. What does the underlined word “subscribers” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．Readers | B．Editors | C．Sellers | D．Collectors |
| A．To make a lot of money. | B．To finish the task of teaching. |
| C．To enlarge the areas of forests. | D．To promote people’s awareness of ecology. |
| A．Scientific and interesting. | B．Magical and dull. |
| C．Vivid and unreal. | D．Hard to understand. |
| A．The magazine is a cartoon one. | B．Adults find the magazine too easy. |
| C．Many scientists are the fans of the magazine. | D．The magazine is not fit for regular people to read. |
【推荐2】Many experts have praised AI’s groundbreaking potential to help people become way more efficient at their jobs, and a lot of educators have been trying it out for themselves, including me.
I’ve used ChatGPT, an AI-powered tool that can instantly answer seemingly any instruction, in my job. Of course, there are potential downsides to the new technology. It can produce inaccurate or one-sided responses based on faulty data it collects, and it has the potential to cause huge data privacy problems. Despite those risks, I have used such AI-powered tools to plan lessons, provide feedback on student assignments, and respond to parent emails. And I’m looking for other ways to use the technology to make my job easier.
Take two other teachers, for example. Mike Kerr, a high school English teacher in Tennessee, uses ChatGPT to reduce Lexile levels-the measure of an individual’s reading ability and the difficulty of a text -for his students. High school students are often required to read relatively complex classic novels. The reading homework “can be a real big task for an English learner in their first couple of months here”. To help them, Kerr uses ChatGPT to give summaries of works of literature, which saves him from having to read all the assigned literary works, so he can have more time to better guide them through the text.
April Edwards, a 6th grade social studies teacher in Texas, shares ways that she uses AI in her instruction on a social media platform. “I use AI to help create lesson plans, presentations, to write emails, and to create checklists.AI is a great resource to use as a starting point for a task or to give you ideas,” Edwards said. She has not introduced AI to her students, because she wants to fully understand it before allowing students to use it in the classroom. “My goal is to show them how to use AI responsibly and effectively and demonstrate that to my students. If I am using AI irresponsibly, then so will they,” Edwards said.
1. How does the author regard ChatGPT?| A．It is of high accuracy. | B．It is undervalued. |
| C．It brings some convenience. | D．It often misleads users. |
| A．Reduce teaching pressure. | B．Help with students’ homework. |
| C．Summarize English lessons | D．Go through the complex classics. |
| A．Supportive. | B．Worried. | C．Opposed. | D．Cautious. |
| A．Can AI improve instruction? | B．Why is AI changing education? |
| C．Should teachers apply AI to teaching? | D．How can ChatGPT encourage study? |
Grammarphobes, it's time to put your fears behind you. Grammar isn't that dreadful (可怕的). Here's why.
Let's assume you like hearing and telling stories and that you enjoy joking with friends. You probably also like emailing and instantmessaging. Well, what do you think makes all these possible? Grammar!
Grammar is simply the art of putting words together to make sentences. Whenever you use words to express yourself, you're using grammar. You do this all the time without even thinking.
So why think about it? Because good grammar helps you convey the ideas you intend. If your words aren't right, or if they are not in the right order, the person you are talking to might get the wrong idea. This can have embarrassing results.
Grammar helps us understand each other. It's like a manual (手册) for assembling the words in your head. You have to put your words together the right way if you want them to make sense. They can't do what you want if they aren't put together correctly.
What if everybody you know had a different manual? How would you agree on what others' words mean? People with different grammar manuals might be speaking different languages.
Communicating is similar to playing cards. To make sense, we have to play the same game, by the same rules. What are the rules for playing the game of English? You already know most of them without having to open a book.
1. Grammarphobes refer to people who ________.
| A．consider grammar to be boring |
| B．are afraid of making grammar mistakes |
| C．mind grammar too much in writing |
| D．are worried about grammar homework |
| A．directing | B．remembering |
| C．looking for | D．bringing together |
| A．Both can be learned easily. |
| B．Both can be interesting games. |
| C．Both need standards. |
| D．Both can make sense for our life. |
| A．Grammar is not horrible. |
| B．Forgetting grammar when writing. |
| C．Improving grammar through writing. |
| D．What is grammarphobia? |
