If it weren’t for passionate people, this would be a dull world indeed.
Peter Cavanagh, of Lopez Island, certainly qualifies in the passionate category, having taken 600, 000 pictures of birds all over the world in the past 13 years. Cavanagh, 73, is a retired professor in the University of Washington. He minored in math and is an instrument-rated pilot. His pictures mostly capture birds in flight, not on a perch (栖息).
“I have a sense of wonder at flight because it is the most highly complex form of movement in the entire animal kingdom,” says Cavanagh. “Humans have spent more than six centuries trying to imitate bird flight but still have not produced flying machines with all of the complexity, flexibility and performance that is commonplace for birds.” For birds, the math of it all just happens. A small bird such as the American kestrel, the smallest falcon (猎鹰) in our region at about 4 ounces, sits and waits for prey.
Meanwhile, to achieve fight, a 90-ton commercial jet is filled with electronics and computer systems. “Birds have flying abilities we have not come close to matching in airplanes,” says Cavanagh. The Royal Aeronautical Society in London, in a January 2021 posting, told how researchers at the University of Denmark did computer design of a Boeing 777 wing based on a bird’s wings. It was 5% lighter, which matters in fuel costs. In 2019, Airbus produced a “Bird of Prey” design that mimicked the eagle’s wing and tail structure for flight control.
Cavanagh enjoys every minute of waiting, and waiting, and waiting, starting at sunrise to capture those images. “I am happiest in truly wild places where the human is a tolerated guest and they are the world of wild animals.”
1. What is Peter Cavanagh’s passion?| A．Math education. |
| B．Bird photography. |
| C．Airplane engineering. |
| D．Wilderness exploration. |
| A．To compare the sizes and weights of the birds. |
| B．To show the importance of math in biomechanics. |
| C．To prove the unmatched flying abilities of birds. |
| D．To stress the diversity of native American species. |
| A．Imitated. |
| B．Abandoned. |
| C．Outperformed. |
| D．Discovered. |
| A．Skeptical. |
| B．Respectful. |
| C．Objective. |
| D．Indifferent. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】In the shadow of Kenya’s Mount Kilimanjaro, nine Rothschild giraffes, the rarest giraffes on the planet, are free to wander at the English-style manor (庄园). Every day shortly before 9am, they come up to the house and stick their heads through the windows and doors in search of morning treats. The manor’s owners, Tanya and Mikey Carr-Hartley, share their dining table with them. And now the couple are sharing the fantastic experience with the public by opening the manor gates to guests at the giraffe hotel, the only hotel of its kind in the world. Now, guests can feed the giraffes at breakfast but can also get up close to them from their second-floor bedrooms.
Mr and Mrs Carr-Hartley，both 38, spent their childhood living close to the house in Nairobi and have always been enthusiastic about the animals. Tanya said, “Mikey and I grew up near this manor house when we were children. We are both third generation Kenyans and have always wanted to work in conservation. Mikey’s family have been related to the protection of animals for many generations. His granddad helped the removal of giraffes as far back as the 1930s because the Rothschild giraffes lost much of their natural living space. When the house came up for sale, we jumped at the chance to buy it as we had always dreamed of owning it. Now, we were absolutely overjoyed to do something for the giraffe protection. Having the giraffes so close is very special and something which people can now experience by staying in one of the ten rooms at the hotel.”
A conservation project to save them was started at the manor in 1974 by the previous owners. “The previous owners ran a very successful breeding (繁殖) programme, where many giraffes were set free into the wild and we hope to continue,” said Tanya.
1. Why are the Carr-Hartley family unusual?| A．They’re living on the rarest giraffes. | B．They share their home with giraffes. |
| C．They’re good at making giraffes’ food. | D．They train giraffes to manage the hotel. |
| A．It has had a long connection with giraffes. | B．It used to raise giraffes around the manor. |
| C．It built a new manor for the wild giraffes. | D．It removed giraffes to Mount Kilimanjaro. |
| A．Visitor-friendly. | B．Energy-saving. | C．Costly. | D．Fruitful. |
| A．Giraffes’ breakfast by guests | B．Reasons for giraffe protection |
| C．The world’s only giraffe hotel | D．History of the giraffe manor |
【推荐2】When you’re walking your dog in the park, he comes across another dog. The dogs look at each other, sniff each other, and walk circles around each other. And then the fight begins. But is it really a fight, or is it just play-fighting? It’s very important for you to know whether he’s in any true danger.
Dog owners everywhere like to take their dogs to the park to play. But is their behavior best described as “play”? Scientists have used the word “play” to describe any behavior that does not have any obvious purpose.
The natural world is filled with examples of such “purposeless activities”. Bernd Heinrich and Rachel Smolker describe a common activity among ravens(乌鸦): snowboarding. Ravens in Alaska and Northern Canada are known to slide down steep, snow-covered roofs. When they reach the bottom, they walk or fly back to the top, and repeat the process over and over again. In Maine, ravens were observed sliding down small hills of snow. “We see no obvious practical function for sliding behavior,” they write. Anyone who has spent time in a school playground will recognize that ravens and children both like this type of sliding activity.
It is easy to see that play may sometimes have a purpose. Given that young animals borrow actions from fighting, hunting, or other behaviors, play may serve as a for m of practice. Play might help animals become more flexible and prepare better for their future life.
So next time you walk by a playground or a schoolyard, take a look around. The kinds of games that young children play may look like simpler forms of play seen in animals. Some children may remind you of the snowboarding raven, just trying to have a good time. Other games, though, might have a deeper purpose, helping children learn their place in the social world within which they live.
1. What does “play” refer to according to scientists?| A．Children’s activities. | B．Walking dogs in the park. |
| C．The fighting between animals. | D．Activities without obvious purpose. |
| A．Giving an example. | B．Providing a way. |
| C．Offering a reason. | D．Asking for advice. |
| A．Flying to the top of snow-covered roofs. |
| B．Hiding in the snow hole. |
| C．Sliding down roofs covered with deep snow. |
| D．Walking on the snow-covered ground. |
| A．Learn some living skills. | B．Get along well with others. |
| C．Be the ruler of the animal world. | D．Practice sliding and running. |
【推荐3】A 19-foot Burmese python-the longest snake ever recorded—was caught by local hunters in South Florida’s National Preserve this week. To put the catch into view, the snake is as long as an adult giraffe is tall.
It was caught on Monday by 22-year-old Jake Waleri, who brought the python to the Conservancy of Southwest Florida in his hometown of Naples. Officials there measured the snake at 19 feet and 125 pounds, and said it set a new world record for length.
A video of Waleri’s record-breaking catch shows the python attacked Waleri as he pulls the snake by its tail. Waleri and the snake fought on the ground until others joined in to help. Burmese pythons are one of the largest snakes on the planet. They’re also a species running uncontrollably through much of southern Florida. They’re threatening (威胁) the state’s native animal populations because they have no natural enemy, which is why Waleri spends his nights hunting them. “It’s surprising to be able to have an effect on South Florida’s environment,” he said. “We love this ecosystem and try to protect it as much as possible.”
The earlier record was set in 2020 by a python caught in the Everglades, 18 feet 9 inches long and 104 pounds heavy. The record for the heaviest python ever caught was set by one caught in 2022, at 215 pounds.
According to the Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission, these pythons have such a big threat that hunters and local people don’t need a permit to kill them. The animals are, however, protected by anti-cruelty (反残暴) laws, which ask hunters to humanely kill the snakes. Burmese pythons feed on Florida wildlife big and small, from rabbits to foxes and white-tailed deer. And one video from 2022 shows Florida scientists removing a 5-foot-long crocodile from an 18-foot python.
The state hosts a yearly competition to keep the populations at bay. The competition attracts hunters, competing for prize money from $1,000 to $10,000.
1. Why does the author mention an adult giraffe in Paragraph 1?| A．To explain a fact. | B．To prove a view. |
| C．To introduce a topic. | D．To show a problem. |
| A．It was at peace with native animals. |
| B．It was attacking and difficult to catch. |
| C．It was the biggest snake ever recorded. |
| D．It was caught in Naples of South Florida |
| A．Pythons are in great need of protection. |
| B．Pythons threaten hunters and local people. |
| C．Pythons have a wide range of food options. |
| D．Pythons are not allowed to be killed by law. |
| A．Control the number of pythons. | B．Keep the living space of pythons. |
| C．Limit the food supply of pythons. | D．Protect the population of pythons. |
It is reported that conservation groups（自然环境保护小组）in North America have been arguing about the benefits and dangers of wolves.Some groups believe wolves should be killed．Other people believe wolves must be protected so that they will not disappear from the wilderness(荒野)
For Killing Wolves
In Alaska，the wolf almost disappeared a few years ago,because hunters were killing hundreds of them for sport.However, laws were established to protect the wolves from sportsmen and people who catch the animals for their fur.So the wolf population has greatly increased．Now there are so many wolves that they are destroying their own food supply.
A wolf naturally eats animals in the deer family.People in the wilderness also hunt deer for food．Many of the animals have been destroyed by the very cold winters recently and by changes in the wilderness plant life.When the deer can’t find enough food,they die.
If the wolves continue to kill large numbers of deer，their prey(猎物)will disappear some day．And the wolves will.too.So we must change the cycle of life in the wilderness to balance the ecology（生态学）.If we killed more wolves,we would save them and their prey from dying out.We’d also save some farm animals.
In another northern state,wolves attack cows and chickens for food.Farmers want the government to send biologists（生物学家） to study the problem.They believe it necessary to kill wolves in some areas and to protect them in places where there is a small wolf population.
Against Killing Wolves
If you had lived long ago,you would have heard many different stories about the dangerous wolf.According to most stories，hungry wolves often kill people for food.Even today,the stories of the “big bad wolf'＂will not disappear.
But the fact is that wolves are afraid of people．and they seldom travel in areas where there is a human smell.When wolves eat other animals,they usually kill the very young or the sick and injured.The strongest survive.No kind of animal would have survived through the centuries if the weak members had not lived.And has always been a law of nature.
Although some people say it is good sense to kill wolves,we say it is nonsense! Researchers have found wolves and their prey living in balance.The wolves keep the deer population from becoming too large, and that keeps a balance in the wilderness plant life.
The real problem is that the areas where wolves can live are being used by people.Even if wilderness land is not used directly for human needs, the wolves can’t always find enough food.So they travel to the nearest source, which is often a farm.Then there is danger.The “big bad wolf” has arrived! And everyone knows what happens next.
1. According to the passage,some people in North America favor killing wolves for all the following reasons EXCET that ．
| A．there are too many wolves |
| B．they kill large numbers of deer |
| C．they attack cows and chickens for food |
| D．they destroy the wilderness plant life |
| A．wolves help to keep the ecological balance in the wilderness |
| B．there is too small a wolf population in the wilderness |
| C．there are too many deer in the wilderness |
| D．wolves are afraid of people and never attack people |
| A．they never eat strong and healthy ones |
| B．they always go against the law of nature |
| C．they might help this kind of animals survive in nature |
| D．they disturb the ecological balance in the wilderness |
| A．farm animals will be in danger and have to be shipped away |
| B．wolves will kill people and people will in turn kill them |
| C．wolves will find enough food sources on farms |
| D．people will leave the areas where wolves can live |
【推荐2】In parts of Africa, people communicate with a wild bird called honeyguide in order to locate bee habitats and harvest their stores of honey. It’s a rare example of cooperation between humans and wild animals, and a potential instance of cultural coevolution (共同进化). Brian Wood from UCLA and Claire Spottiswoode from University of Cape Town were leading authors on a study showing how this valuable partnership is maintained and varies across cultures.
“Our study demonstrates the bird’s ability to learn distinct voiced signals that are traditionally used by different honey-hunting communities, expanding possibilities for mutually (相互的) beneficial cooperation with people,” Wood said. “Honeyguides seem to know the landscape well, gathering knowledge about the location of bee nests, which they then share with people,” Spottiswoode said. “People are eager for the bird’s help.” The honeyguides also benefit from locating the colonies: They eat the leftover honeycomb.
Spottiswoode and Wood’s study was done in cooperation with the Hadza in Tanzania and the Yao community of northern Mozambique. Their prior work in both communities documented differences in how the two cultures enchant honeyguides. Among the Hadza, a honey-hunter announces a desire to partner with the bird by whistling. In Mozambique, Yao honey-hunters do so with a “Brr! …” followed by a “… hmm!”
Using mathematical models and audio playback experiments, the team studied these signals, their usefulness to people and their impacts on birds. They experimentally exposed honeyguides in Tanzania and Mozambique to the same set of prerecorded sounds. This enabled the researchers to test whether honeyguides had learned to recognize and prefer the specialized signals that local honey-hunters used, or were naturally attracted to all such signals.
The honeyguides in Tanzania were over three times more likely to cooperate when hearing the calls of local Hadza people than the calls of “foreign” Yao. The honeyguides in Mozambique were almost twice as likely to cooperate when hearing the local Yao call, compared to the “foreign” Hadza whistles.
1. What do honeyguides gain by cooperating with honey-hunters?| A．Their nests can be better sheltered. |
| B．They can have access to more food. |
| C．They can locate bee habitats more easily. |
| D．They will be more familiar with the landscape. |
| A．Shape. | B．Guide. | C．Investigate. | D．Attract. |
| A．To prove the their usefulness to human beings. |
| B．To help honeyguides learn and recognize them. |
| C．To see if they make honeyguides more eager to share. |
| D．To check if the preference to them is born or acquired. |
| A．The honeyguides benefit more from the human-bird relationship. |
| B．The honeyguides are more responsive to calls from the local people. |
| C．The signals from the Yao were more effective in attracting honeyguides. |
| D．The ways to maintain this human-bird partnership are quite complicated. |
【推荐3】China has made great improvements in environmental protection during the past 70 years.
In recent decades, a series of wildlife protection movements have been carried out by the central government.
The giant panda used to have a population of 1,114 in the 1970s. It now totals 1,864 thanks to 52 protection areas.
| A．Another species was once thought to be almost extinct. |
| B．Protecting wildlife is, without doubt, an important part. |
| C．China will continue its efforts at the wildlife protection. |
| D．People call for immediate protection of the remaining species. |
| E．Scientists have worked to feed pandas and then release them into the wild. |
| F．As environmental damage has increased, signs of change have appeared around the world. |
| G．Several species in danger of extinction have made impressive progress thanks to the methods. |
【推荐1】As the planet gets hotter, the need for cool living environments is becoming more urgent. But air conditioning is a major contributor to global warming since units release powerful greenhouse gases and use lots of energy.
Now, researchers from McGill University, UCLA and Princeton have found in a new study an inexpensive, sustainable alternative to mechanical cooling with refrigerants (制冷剂) in hot and dry climates, and a way to relieve dangerous heat waves during electricity blackouts.
The researchers set out to answer how to achieve a new benchmark (基准) in passive cooling inside naturally conditioned buildings in hot climates such as Southern California. As an attempt, they examined the use of roof materials that radiate (辐射) heat into the cold universe, even under direct sunlight, and how to combine them with temperature-driven ventilation (通风). These cool radiator materials and coatings are often used to stop roofs overheating. Researchers have also used them to improve heat rejection from chillers. But there is untapped potential for integrating them into architectural design more fully, so they can not only reject indoor heat to outer space in a passive way, but also drive regular and healthy air changes.
“We found we could maintain air temperatures several degrees below the current surrounding temperature, and several degrees more below a reference ‘gold standard’ for passive cooling,” said Remy Fortin, lead author and PhD candidate at the Peter Guo-hua Fu School of Architecture. “We did this without sacrificing healthy ventilation air changes.” This was a considerable challenge, considering air exchanges are a source of heating when the aim is to keep a room cooler than the outside.
The researchers hope the findings will be used to positively impact communities suffering from dangerous climate heating and heatwaves. “We hope that materials scientists, architects, and engineers will be interested in these results, and that our work will inspire more complete thinking for how to integrate breakthroughs in radiative cooling materials with simple but effective architectural solutions,” said Remy Fortin.
1. What might cause researchers to look for an alternative to air conditioning?| A．The severe shortage of energy. | B．The greenhouse effect of air conditioning. |
| C．The increasing dangerous heatwaves. | D．The need for cool living environments. |
| A．To obtain ideas for their research. | B．To prevent roofs from overheating. |
| C．To find the best material for roofs. | D．To make roofs well ventilated. |
| A．Uncaring. | B．Disapproving. | C．Positive. | D．Worried. |
| A．An effective architectural solution |
| B．A major contributor to global warming |
| C．A sustainable alternative to air conditioning |
| D．A more complete thinking for cooling materials |
【推荐2】Foxes in southern England have apparently developed a taste for automobiles. Instead of wanting to drive them, though, they’re eating vital components. The damage hasn’t just cost U.K. drivers thousands in repair bills. The foxes have also caused dangerous accidents when people have taken to the roads without realizing their brakes no longer work.
Already in 2009, police in the southern county of Kent warned drivers to check their cars’ wires and test their brakes before driving. Indeed, for some reason, the foxes seem to find brake lines particularly attractive. With their cars’ cables broken, drivers have had to get their vehicles fixed. That has resulted in occasionally sky-high bills. The damage has also resulted in accidents. Fortunately, we didn’t find any casualties linked to the foxes, but faulty brakes and cables connected to the animals have been behind crashes and stranded (抛锚) vehicles.
To stop the greedy beasts, motorists have tried all manners of techniques. Yet, the most effective way to keep the foxes away they’ve discovered is wrapping their cars in chicken wire. It’s a trouble to constantly have to take the wire off and put it back on, not to mention the potential scrapes and scratches on the paint. But suppose it’s better than having to get your brake lines repaired — again.
But why are the foxes so crazy about biting car cables? Nobody can say for sure, but it’s most likely a sum of multiple causes. First of all, the insulation materials (绝缘材料) on car cables in the U.K. were changed from petroleum-based materials to soy-derived substances some 15 years ago. Rodents (啮齿动物), from rats to squirrels, have been attracted to the vegetable-based coatings and it could be that foxes find them delicious as well. Another reason probably lies in England’s disappearing woodlands. With fewer wild places left, the foxes are increasingly driven towards cities to find food. And then there’s the issue of people feeding them.
“Foolish people have been feeding foxes and treating them as pets,” said animal psychologist Dr. Roger Mugford. “They normally avoid humans and anything’s been touched by humans but if they are getting food given to them, that’s changed.” If some drivers have been feeding foxes. they’ve brought this problem on themselves. Unfortunately, those same foxes will then proceed to haunt the entire neighborhood
1. What have the foxes in southern England done?| A．They have developed a good taste. |
| B．They have eaten drivers’ repair bills. |
| C．They have damaged some parts of the vehicles. |
| D．They have hit cars and caused some accidents. |
| A．The cost of each car repair is very high. |
| B．Police in Kent are helping drivers chase away foxes. |
| C．Foxes biting car cables have caused a number of rollover accidents and deaths. |
| D．Drivers in some areas were warned years ago about the damage caused by foxes. |
| A．It may cause damage to the car. |
| B．It may trap the drivers sometimes. |
| C．It’s easy to be removed and put back on. |
| D．It can be used to repair the brake lines. |
| A．Changes in car cable insulation materials. |
| B．The area of forestland continues to decrease. |
| C．Some people like to feed foxes |
| D．Foxes and rodents are similar in appearance. |
| A．Praising. | B．Supportive. | C．Grateful. | D．Opposed. |
【推荐3】Discussions about the impact of false news often center on our preference of confirmation: we tend to believe and share things that fit with our prior beliefs. A new study finds that we're poor judges of truthfulness even when we can't trust a particular source — and we overestimate our powers of judgment.
In three experiments, the researchers asked participants to record two short videos, one to describe a real-life news event and one to make up an event. They were told they would get a reward if viewers thought that the events described in either video were true. Viewers, for their part, were paid both for accuracy and for correctly estimating their accuracy.
Across all the experiments, viewers’ ability to distinguish lies from truth stayed at or just above 50%, just like flipping (抛) a coin to decide. They believed false videos and doubted true ones. More than 65% of men and 61% of women thought they'd performed better than they actually had.
In one of the experiments, the researchers explored whether certain behaviors exhibited in the videos were associated with lying. This pointed to several clues, and analysis suggested that viewers noticed the clues, but they tended to interpret them in the wrong direction. For example, they judged wordier videos to be true.
In the final experiment, some viewers were shown eight videos, including one shared by a previous viewer because he or she found it to be interesting and believable. They selected one of the eight to watch and assess for truthfulness. Knowing that a video had been shared greatly increased the chances that participants would choose it to watch, and they believed what the previous viewer had thought to be true. Actually most of the shared videos were false and had been misjudged by the first viewers.
“The combination of overconfidence and being bad at detecting lies, with an overreliance on shared content, may explain why fake news is so prominent and influential,” the researchers write.
1. How do people judge false news according to the new study?| A．On the basis of careful research. | B．According to personal preferences. |
| C．Based on the influence of the news. | D．After attending a group discussion. |
| A．Most of them performed better than expected. |
| B．Some of them flipped coins to make a judgment. |
| C．They tended to see the clues in the opposite way. |
| D．They made good judgment when given good clues. |
| A．The opinions of previous viewers. | B．Their ability to tell lies from truth. |
| C．The number of videos offered to them. | D．The nature of the behaviors in the videos. |
| A．It's important to tell false news from real news. |
| B．Shared videos usually carry misjudged news. |
| C．False news is made by combining several forces. |
| D．Preferences determine our judgment of fake news. |
