Two of naturalist Charles Darwin’s notebooks that were reported stolen from Cambridge University’s library have been returned, two decades after they disappeared.
The university said on Tuesday that the manuscripts were left in the library inside a pink gift bag, along with a note wishing the librarian a happy Easter.
The notebooks, which include the 19th-century scientist’s famous 1837 “Tree of Life”sketch on evolution, went missing in 2001 after being removed for photographing, though at the time the staff believed they might have been misplaced. After the staff had searched the library’s collection of 10 million books, maps and manuscripts, but failed to find them, they were reported to police in October 2020 as stolen.
Darwin filled the notebooks with ideas shortly after returning from his voyage around the world on the ship HMS Beagle, developing ideas that would bloom into his landmark work on evolution On the Origin of Species. The notebooks are estimated to be valued at millions of dollars.
On March 9, 2022, the books reappeared, left in a public area of the library, outside the librarian’s office, which is not covered by security cameras. The university’s director of library services, Jessica Gardner, said her relief at the books’ reappearance was “profound and almost impossible to properly express.”
“The notebooks can now retake their rightful place alongside the rest of the Darwin archives (档案) at Cambridge, at the heart of the nation’s cultural and scientific heritage, alongside the archives of Sir Isaac Newton and Professor Stephen Hawking,” she said.
The notebooks are set to go on public display from July as part of a Darwin exhibition at the library. Cambridgeshire police said their investigation was continuing,“and we are following up some lines of inquiry. We also renew our appeal for anyone with information about the case to contact us,”the force said.
1. What caused the notebooks to go missing?| A．Being left in a pink plastic bag. |
| B．Getting removed by two naturalists. |
| C．Getting mixed with other collections. |
| D．Being taken away for taking pictures. |
| A．The staff had misplaced them. |
| B．The staff misjudged the situation. |
| C．The notebooks were guaranteed to be returned. |
| D．The notebooks were too worthless to be reported. |
| A．Anxious. | B．Disturbed. | C．Indifferent. | D．Overjoyed. |
| A．The police were to drop the case. | B．New witnesses have come forward. |
| C．The stealer has yet to be determined. | D．The investigation came to a dead end. |
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【推荐1】A task called “Operation Noah’s Ark” was carried out to cage (装笼子) and ship hundreds of birds off Pine Island in Florida after it was hit hard by Hurricane (飓风) lan.
The government called on people of Pine Island to give up their homes because of damaged roads, including a broken bridge that prevented deliveries of food, gas and other life-supporting supplies.
But Will Peratino and Lauren Stepp did not want to leave and give up their 275 parrots at the Malama Manu Sanctuary. “We would not give them up. I would never leave them. Never,” Stepp told The Associated Press. “If they cannot be fed or watered, they will die. And I can’t live with that.”
The birds had been relying on food donated by wildlife officials since Hurricane lan hit, but the supply of fruit, peanuts and other foods would soon be hard to come by because of the broken bridge and the lack of gas on the island.
Bryan Stern, the founder and leader of Project Dynamo, said his team had saved at least six dogs and three cats before Tuesday’s massive rescue (救援). “Our saved animal numbers are small compared with the number of the 100 cages of parrots that we are about to save,” Stern said, before carrying out the rescue task. “Will and Lauren own the preserve, and their hearts and souls are in the birds. So they’re going through their own suffering from the hurricane and having to rebuild their lives. They lost all kinds of things.”
The volunteers were not about to let that happen. For several hours, the volunteers used nets and their hands to put the birds into cages. “To have every bird safe is a huge task,” Peratino said. “I mean, it’s almost impossible to do. So the help we’ve gotten has been priceless.”
1. Why did the officials ask people to leave the island?| A．The destroyed homes needed rebuilding. | B．The parrots no longer needed their help. |
| C．There were no roads to deliver goods. | D．A more powerful hurricane would come. |
| A．To repair their house. | B．To carry out their experiment. |
| C．To help with the rescue. | D．To take care of their parrots. |
| A．A new home will be built for Peratino and Stepp. |
| B．Many more animals need to be saved. |
| C．Parrots are more important than other animals. |
| D．All animals will be taken away in cages. |
| A．It was meaningful. | B．It was not worth the risk. |
| C．It encouraged more people to take part. | D．It turned out to be fruitless. |
【推荐2】At 8,844.43 meters high, Mount Qomolangma (珠穆朗玛峰) is the tallest mountain on Earth. While it is famous for its beautiful views, parts of the mountain are facing a problem: rubbish (垃圾). Every year, thousands of visitors throw away tons of rubbish, such as bottles and plastic bags.
According to the UN, over 140 tons of rubbish has been left on the mountain. To reduce rubbish, China is limiting (限制) the number of people who are allowed to climb up the north side of the mountain. Only 300 people will be allowed to climb it, and only during spring.
Local people cleaned the mountain last year, removing rubbish at a height of 5,200 meters. They collected about8.4 metric tons (公吨) of rubbish.
This year, the local government plans to spend 4 million yuan on a new clean-up activity. The local government is also setting up stations to sort (分类), recycle and break down rubbish collected from the mountain. A group of artists will also try to turn the rubbish into art works. They will show these works of art to remind people not to leave rubbish when climbing the mountain.
1. What problem are parts of Mount Qomolangma facing?| A．Air pollution. | B．Rubbish. |
| C．Noise. | D．Water pollution. |
| A．140. | B．5,200. |
| C．4 million. | D．300. |
| A．using up | B．making better |
| C．putting on | D．taking away |
| A．teach people to make works of art |
| B．help people to know about Qomolangma |
| C．encourage people to clean up Qomolangma |
| D．remind people not to throw rubbish on Qomolangma |
| A．A notice (通知). | B．News. |
| C．A story. | D．An advertisement (广告). |
【推荐3】A man in northwest Spain, 54, died after being stung by a “murder hornet (大黄蜂),” according to a report. The man from Villestro in Galicia was stung in the eyebrow by an Asian giant hornet while tending to a nest close to a beehive (蜂窝) he owned. The deadly insects from Asia were first spotted last weekend in Washington state. Such reports have caused a national fear that may lead to more “needless” damage to those essential insect populations, the experts warned. “Millions and millions of innocent native insects are going to die as a result of this,” Dr. Doug Yanega, a professor at the University of California, Riverside, told the Los Angeles Times. “People in China, Korea and Japan have lived side by side with these hornets for hundreds of years, and it has not caused the collapse (崩溃) of human society there. My colleagues in Japan, China and Korea are just rolling their eyes in disbelief at what kind of snowflakes we are.”
Following the initial hornet sightings on May 2, the Washington State Department of Agriculture issued instructions on how to trap the hornets, stressing that so far, the hornets have been sighted only within the state. “There are no known sightings of Asian giant hornets anywhere else in the United States and trapping for them there will likely do more harm than good. PLEASE DO NOT TRAP FOR ASIAN GIANT HORNETS IF YOU LIVE OUTSIDE OF WASHINGTON STATE,” the warning read. The concern for bees has originated from their role in the general ecosystem: Bees are responsible for pollinating (授粉) approximately 75 percent of the fruits, nuts and vegetables grown in the United States, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Numerous bug experts told The Associated Press that what they call murder hornet reminds them of the 1970s public scare when Africanized honeybees, nicknamed “killer bees,” started moving north from South America. However, they just kill people in rare situations.
1. What does Dr. Doug Yanega mean in paragraph 1?| A．People saw millions of hornet in China, Korea and Japan. |
| B．Many native insects will die because of national fear of hornets. |
| C．Asians are killed by hornets as well. |
| D．People living with hornets are safe. |
| A．a small piece of snow that falls from the sky. |
| B．people who like snow weather |
| C．someone considered to be too easily upset |
| D．people who like to roll their eyes |
| A．Because they are seen only in Washington state. |
| B．Because insects do harm to general ecosystem. |
| C．Because Washington need hornets to maintain ecosystem. |
| D．Because most of plants in the US depend on insects to grow. |
| A．Negative. | B．Supportive. |
| C．Unconcerned. | D．Indifferent. |
【推荐1】Nike’s “Just do it” slogan is undoubtedly a killer line-and now it's been revealed that the inspiration for it came from an actual killer. The phrase, first used in a Nike advertisement in 1988 was brought to the firm by advertising executive Dan Wieden, who admitted that it was borrowed from something a Utah murderer spoke as he faced a firing squad. The murderer in question was Gary Gilmore, who was sentenced to death in 1977 for robbing and killing two men in Utah the previous year.
Mr Wieden, speaking at an advertising conference in February, said that he recalled this line in 1988 just before he had a marketing campaign meeting with Nike bosses, and decided to suggest a slightly changed version as a slogan. His company had been sent in by Nike to help them fight back rivals Reebok, who had just announced bigger profits. Mr Wieden said: “We came up with five different 30 second spots. The night before a meeting with Nike, I got concerned because there wasn’t a strong connection to them all. Some were funny, some were serious. So I thought we need a slogan to pull them together. I wrote about four or five ideas. I narrowed it down to the last one, which was ‘Just do it’. The reason I did that one was funny because I was recalling a man in Portland. He murdered a man and a woman, and was put before a firing squad. And they asked him if he had any final thoughts and he said: “Let’s do it. And for some reason I didn’t like ‘Let’s do it’ so I just changed it to ‘Just do it’.”
At first, he recalled, Nike hated the idea, but he won them round and the slogan appeared at the end of an advert featuring 80-year-old runner Walt Stack. It is now one of the most famous slogans in the world, described by Campaign magazine as “arguably the best tagline of the 20th century”.
1. Why does the author write this passage?| A．He intends to tell the story of Gary Gilmore the murderer. |
| B．He wants to say that the famous slogan was inspired by a murderer. |
| C．He attempts to say that Nike once had a difficult time in development. |
| D．He wants to introduce the best slogan of the20th century. |
| A．He said “Just do it” before he was put to death. |
| B．He competed against Nike in the 1980s. |
| C．He robbed and murdered two men in Utah.. |
| D．He worked as the advertising executive at Nike. |
| A．Nike was having a hard time in 1988. |
| B．Nike was very competitive around the world. |
| C．Gary Gilmore taught a good lesson about advertisement. |
| D．Either funny or serious slogans are not impressive. |
| A．His idea was funny as it was borrowed from a murderer. |
| B．He was not pleased with any of the five parts. |
| C．The advertising lines were too serious to be attractive. |
| D．A slogan was needed to connect five parts together. |
【推荐2】It was several years since Adolf Hitler came into power in Germany. And now his army was marching into some parts of Europe. He must be in the prime(顶峰) of his career.
One day Hitler went to an exhibition where the works of school children were on show. He seemed to have great interest in the exhibits—inventions as well as carvings, drawings. After having walked around the hall and examined everything, he said he was ready to meet the young artists. And soon a group of children came into the room to salute(向-----敬礼) him.
“Well, well. You did very good work.” nodded Hitler in satisfaction. “I promise on my honor I’d satisfy you with whatever you want. What’d you wish to be if I were your father?”
“A sailor sailing the sea” one of the boys answered.
“Good. I’ll have you join my navy and some day you will rule the oceans.”(海洋)
“Ask for anything? What’d you wish to be if I were your father?” he asked a second boy.
“A painter as great as Rembruant.”
“Good. You are to be sent to the Fine Art School and surely you will make an even greater painter.”
When Hitler caught sight of a sad-looking boy be frowned(皱眉), then quickly forced a smile, “There my boy, in spite of my point of view towards the Jews(犹太人), I’d do you a favor and your dream will come true. What’d you wish to be if I were your father?”
The boy looked straight at the man.
“An orphan(the child who has no parents).” he murmured.（嘟哝）
1. Hitler promised to satisfy(知足) the children with whatever they want because ________ .| A．he wanted all the children to live a happy life | B．he wanted to make a good impression on the children |
| C．he liked paintings very much | D．he liked all the children |
| A．the boy was recognized to be a Jew | B．the boy didn’t come to the front to salute him |
| C．the boy didn’t want to ask for anything | D．the boy was sad-looking |
| A．the boy’s parents had died | B．the boy had no brothers or sisters |
| C．the boy hated Hitler very much | D．the boy wanted himself to be an orphan |
| A．Hitler wanted to be the father of the children. | B．The boy was both clever and courageous(勇敢的). |
| C．Rembruant was a great painter. | D．Hitler did not like Jews. |
If you're scratching your head right now, you're not alone. But Chinese hamburgers are very real and they definitely predate the hamburgers we call our own in the U.S. Known as rou jia mo, which translates to "meat burger" or "meat sandwich", they consist of chopped meat inside a pita-like bun, and they've been around since the Qin Dynasty, from about 221 BC to 207 BC. Despite the differences between this Chinese street food and our American-style burgers, the rou jia mo has been called the world's first hamburger.
The rou jia mo originated in the Shanxi Province of China, and is now eaten all over the country. It's typically prepared and eaten on the street. The dough for the bun, or mo, consists of a simple mixture of wheat flour, water and maybe yeast. Of course recipes may vary, but this basic equation makes for a chewy and subtle pillow for the delicious filling. While the mo is traditionally baked in a clay oven, today it's often fried in a pan. They may look a little like Chinese steamed buns or baozi, but the dough for those are, of course, steamed, not baked or fried.
The meat filling might consist of chopped pork, beef, lamb or chicken that has been stewed with a variety of spices, like ginger, cloves, coriander and star anise. You might also find herbs like cilantro or greens like lettuce garnishing the sandwich.
1. What does the underlined word mean?
| A．noodle | B．food | C．bread | D．beverage |
| A．The mo people eat today is baked in a clay oven. |
| B．The world's first hamburger which was originated in the Shanxi Province of China is popular around the world. |
| C．The rou jia mo has a history of more than 2200 years. |
| D．The rou jia mo and American-style burgers share a similar cooking process. |
| A．Delicious hamburger |
| B．How to cook hamburger |
| C．Chinese invented hamburger |
| D．History of hamburger |
