The top-selling album (唱片) Songs of the Humpback Whale was released in 1970. This collection of nature recordings changed the way many people thought about whales and eventually helped save thousands of whales’ lives.
The album might never have been made if it hadn’t been for a sound engineer named Frank Watlington. In the 1960s, Watlington was making underwater recordings when he noticed some strange, deep sounds, which he realized were coming from whales.
Watlington played the recordings for a pair of biologists named Roger and Katy Payne. When they listened, they were instantly hooked on the beauty of the whales’ voices.
Katy Payne studied music as well as biology, and she was amazed by how the whales communicate like an opera singer. She also noticed another interesting detail: they had recognizable patterns. In biology terms, an animal call with a repeating pattern is called a song. The songs of whales are so complex that some scientists have even compared them to composers and poets.
The Paynes thought that other people needed to hear the beauty of the whales’ songs, so Roger organized the recordings into an album. At the time when the album came out, whales were often hunted and traded for money and some whale species were dying out. Most people had never thought of whales as creatures that could communicate through songs. But after hearing the album, many people began to think differently.
The album led people to start the Save the Whales movement. Musicians began using whale songs in their music, and whales were included in movies and television shows. In 1982, the deep-sea whaling was banned. Before the ban, more than 50,000 whales per year were killed. After it, the number went down below 2,000.
It might seem incredible that just one album could help save the lives of so many whales. But this one-of-a-kind album revealed secrets long hidden beneath the waves and allowed these amazing creatures to finally share their songs with the human world.
1. What is the purpose of the passage?| A．To call on people to save whales. | B．To prove that whales are born singers. |
| C．To explain how a good album was made. | D．To introduce a popular album and its stories. |
| A．A song recorder. | B．An opera singer. |
| C．A sound engineer. | D．A pair of biologists. |
| A．They could talk with scientists. | B．They could sing like an opera singer. |
| C．They could repeat interesting sounds. | D．They could communicate through songs. |
| A．It successfully stopped deep-sea whaling. | B．It helped people understand whales better. |
| C．It made some music and movie stars popular. | D．It encouraged musicians to work with scientists. |
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【推荐1】Domestic cats, like many other animals, use smelly substances from anal sacs (肛门囊) to mark territory and communicate with other animals. The new study shows that many smelly compounds from a cat are actually made by a group of bacteria living in the anal sacs.
“Cats use a lot of smelly chemicals for signaling, and they probably don’t make the mall,” says David Coil, project scientist at the Genome Center at the University of California. The project grew out of the Kitty Biome Project, which started by researcher Holly Ganz, professor of evolution and ecology.
The researchers obtained anal sac substances from a single male Bengal cat. They extracted DNA for sequencing (排序) to identify types of bacteria, and also took samples for chemical smell analysis in Professor Cristina Davis’ laboratory in the mechanical and aerospace engineering department.
Davis’ lab focuses on technology for detecting and characterizing low levels of volatile (挥发性的) organic compounds that can be markers of health and disease, from flu in humans to a disease in fruit trees. Sequencing showed that the microbial community was not very diverse and controlled by a small number of bacterial type. “There are not a lot of players there,” Coil says.
The researchers grew the most abundant bacteria from the screen in culture. Researcher Mei Yamaguchi analyzed the volatile chemicals that the bacteria gave off. Yamaguchi and Davis were able to detect 67 volatile compounds that the bacterial cultures released. Of the compounds, 52 were also found directly in the anal sac substances. The results support the idea that the bacterial community, not the cat itself, produces many of the smells the cat uses to communicate.
Coil and colleagues want to follow up by looking at more cats. If bacteria make these smells, why do cats smell different from each other? How do cats acquire the bacteria and do they change over life? Understanding how microbes influence their smell could have wide implications for understanding smell communication in animals.
1. What do cats use for communication and marking territory?| A．Smelly bacteria living in cats. | B．Smelly substances from anal sacs. |
| C．DNA extracted from Bengal cats. | D．Chemicals from the KittyBiome Project. |
| A．Cats produce their own unique smells. |
| B．Bengal cats have distinct DNA sequencing patterns. |
| C．Bacteria in the anal sacs create the majority of smells. |
| D．The KittyBiome Project found new chemical compounds in cats. |
| A．Diet’s impact on cat smells. | B．Cats’ acquisition of bacteria. |
| C．Bacterial communities in wild cats. | D．Microbes’ role in cat smell variation. |
| A．The Secret Behind Cat Smells | B．How bacteria affect Cat Communication |
| C．The Role of Davis’ Lab in Animal Studies | D．Exploring DNA Sequencing in Bengal Cats |
【推荐2】More than half of the birds in Washington are at risk of extinction because of climate change. That's according to a new national report from the Audubon Society, which gives detailed analysis of climate effects on about 600 species of North American birds.
It's based on more than 140 million observations of birds across the US, Mexico and Canada. Audubon scientists looked at the likely effects of sea-level rise, urbanization, drought, extreme spring heat, increased fires, heavy rain and other factors.
But it doesn't just spell out a doomsday scenario (世界末日).Instead, it offers a range of effects and warming, depending on how much carbon humans add to the atmosphere.
"It is truly an existential threat (威胁), not only to birds but to people,” said Doug Santoni, board chair of Audubon Washington, who looked into the report as soon as it came out.
Santoni says he was struck to see the vulnerability (脆弱)of a common “ backyard bird" , the dark-eyed junco. It's one that many first-time birders become familiar with as they learn how to identify species based on their markings and other traits. Currently in Washington, you can count on juncos to show up at your feeder, year round. Extreme spring heat, increased fires and heavy rain are the kinds of changes that will force birds like these north, or kill them off if they fail to adapt.
Trina Bayard, director of bird conservation at Audubon’s Washington chapter, says, "It's certainly a very serious warning report," but adds that there’s still hope. “If we can stabilize current temperatures and decrease our emissions (排放), we can really reduce the effects to these birds …that's very motivating. ”
1. What can we know about the new report?| A．It analyses the species of birds in detail. |
| B．It's issued by watching 600 bird species. |
| C．It shows the end of North American birds. |
| D．It reports the threat some birds are facing. |
| A．Climate change is a threat only to birds. |
| B．It's too late to take action to save the birds. |
| C．The current situation of the birds is worrying. |
| D．It's common that birds are affected by climate change. |
| A．Lowering present temperatures. |
| B．Reducing our daily emissions. |
| C．Making them adapt to climate change. |
| D．Encouraging people to protect them. |
| A．Climate change threatens many Washington bird species. |
| B．A new report about 600 species of North American birds. |
| C．Different attitudes towards the situation of bird species. |
| D．Climate change makes different kinds of species at risk. |
【推荐3】The western green mamba(绿曼巴蛇), a kind of snake, is between 5.9 feet and 10.5 feet long. This makes the western green mamba the second longest poisonous snake in Africa, with the black mamba being the first.
The western green mamba is, however, the most agile(敏捷的) snake in the mamba family. Their skin color is greenish yellow or live green, which helps them to hide in the environment. One other important feature of the snake is its long tail with a sharp point.
The western green mamba can be found in West Africa. They often live in rain forests. Being an arboreal species, these snakes spend most of their time moving among the tree tops. They are also used to moving on the ground and will commonly leave their trees to run after a potential meal on the ground. The western green mamba is mostly active in the daytime, but can also be seen hunting at night from time to time.
The diet of a western green mamba is made up of birds and all kinds of small animals such as squirrels, mice and even bats. These snakes can get close to their target with the help of their natural skin color. When they are close enough, they bite the target with poisonous teeth quickly. Once the target has died, the western green mamba will swallow it whole. If these snakes are faced with danger, they will try to run away. If they have no way to run away, however, they will become very aggressive and attack their enemies with their sharp teeth repeatedly.
The female western green mamba is the one who lay eggs. They will lay from 5 to 15 eggs. The young snakes are completely independent after birth. The mother and father play no part in raising the baby snakes. The babies are born with everything they need to survive in the wilderness. If they can reach adulthood, then they will have almost no natural predators.
The western green mamba is not dying out. But its biggest threat comes from people and the damage they can bring to their homes. Hopefully, the western green mamba can continue to live alongside people and never have to worry that they will die out.
1. What do we know about the western green mamba ?| A．They are less poisonous than the black mamba. |
| B．Their skin colors help them hide from others. |
| C．They are usually seen looking for food at night |
| D．They are the longest poisonous snake in Africa . |
| A．living in hotels | B．living in the water |
| C．living in the grass | D．living in trees |
| A．hide itself into the environment nearby | B．fight against the enemy bravely |
| C．change its natural skin color | D．swallow the enemy whole |
| A．They can take care of each other. |
| B．They have no natural predators. |
| C．They don’t need their parents’ care after birth. |
| D．They lay from five to fifteen eggs at a time. |
【推荐1】Chinese elements highlighted at Olympic closing ceremony
The curtains came down on the closing ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games Sunday night at Bird’s Nest in Beijing. During the ceremony, many Chinese cultural elements were put into the design of the grand show, expressing some Chinese romance. They became the highlights of the closing ceremony and let’s take a look.
Festival lanterns
The closing ceremony began with a large snowflake torch appearing in the sky, echoing the moment from the opening ceremony. Then accompanied by cheerful music, children hung traditional Chinese festive lanterns, lighting up the emblem (象征) of the Winter Olympics, which originated from the Chinese character for winter, “dong”.
Chinese knot
The 12 Chinese zodiac (生肖)-themed ice cars created an outline of a Chinese knot with its wheel trails. And then it was enlarged, and an enormous “Chinese knot” was presented using digital AR technology. Each ribbon could be clearly seen, and all of the ribbons twisted together, symbolizing unity and a good fortune.
Fish and riches
During the closing ceremony, the Malanhua Children’s Choir from a mountainous area of Fuping county in Hebei province performed again, this time with different clothes. The Chinese paper-cut of double fish was seen on their clothes, meaning “rich and have a surplus in the next year” in Chinese culture.
Willow (柳树) branch for farewell
In ancient times, Chinese people broke a willow branch and gave it to their friends, family or relatives when seeing them off, as willow sounds like “stay” in Mandarin. Willow branches appeared in the closing ceremony, expressing Chinese people’s hospitality and bidding farewell to the world guests.
1. Which of the following is inspired by a Chinese character?| A．Festive lanterns. |
| B．A snowflake torch. |
| C．The emblem. |
| D．Cheerful music. |
| A．Both employed AR technology. |
| B．Both symbolized a wealthy life. |
| C．Both were created by ice cars. |
| D．Both were performed by children. |
| A．Festive lanterns. |
| B．Chinese knot. |
| C．Fish and riches. |
| D．Willow branch. |
【推荐2】Even chess experts perform worse when air quality is lower, suggesting a negative effect on cognition(认知). Here’s something else chess players need to keep in check: air pollution.
That’s the bottom line of a newly published study co-authored by a researcher, showing that chess players perform objectively worse and make more suboptimal(次优的) moves, as measured by a computerized analysis of their games, when there is more fine particulate matter(颗粒物) in the air, notated as PM 2.5.
More specifically, given a modest increase in fine particulate matter, the probability that chess players will make an error increases by 2.1 percentage points, and the spectrum of those errors increases by 10.8 percent. In this setting, at least, cleaner air leads to clearer heads and sharper thinking.
“We find that when individuals are exposed to higher levels of air pollution, they make more mistakes, and they make larger mistakes,” says Juan Palacios, an economist in Sustainable Urbanization Lab.
“It’s pure random exposure to air pollution that is driving these people’s performance,” Palacios says. “Against comparable opponents in the same tournament round, being exposed to different levels of air quality makes a difference for move quality and decision quality.”
The researchers also found that when air pollution was worse, the chess players performed even more poorly when under time limitation. “We find it interesting that those mistakes especially occur in the phase of the game where players are facing time pressure,” Palacios says.
“There are more and more papers showing that there is a cost with air pollution, and there is a cost for more and more people,” Palacios says. “And this is just one example showing that even for these very excellent chess players, who think they can beat everything, it seems that with air pollution, they have an enemy who harms them.”
1. What effect does air pollution have on chess players?| A．They make fewer good choices. | B．They perform subjectively worse. |
| C．They suffer body discomfort. | D．They lose all games with computers. |
| A．Magic. | B．Process. | C．Range. | D．Balance. |
| A．His appeal for attention to chess players. |
| B．His concern about air pollution. |
| C．An example of chess players’ performance. |
| D．Approaches to dealing with air pollution. |
| A．Air pollution is a tough enemy chess players face. |
| B．Chess players make more and more mistakes. |
| C．There is a cost with air pollution for more people. |
| D．Chess players perform poorly under time limitation. |
【推荐3】The rapid growth in skyscrapers worldwide, most of which have large windows, has led to a high demand for window washers. Though the job is well-paid, it is dangerous and accidents are not uncommon. However, if Israel-based start-up Skyline Technologies has its way, the dangerous job may soon be done by Ozmo, an intelligent window cleaning robot, with humans supervising (监督) from the safety of the ground.
Much like humans, Ozmo, sitting on platforms hanging from the buildings, uses its arms and brushes to clean the dirt on the glass. A 3D map of the building’s surface programmed into its system allows the robot to skillfully deal with any obstacle it is likely to meet, as it moves up and down the buildings. The robot will self-correct and move around every obstacle that it might have met so as not to break a window.
Unlike present window washers, the robot cleaner does not require soap to clean the glass. Instead, it uses distilled (蒸馏的) water to do the job. Yaron Schwarcz, CEO of Skyline Robotics explains, “We are environmentally friendly.”
Ozmo is also expected to be much more efficient than its human counterparts. While it presently takes three cleaners 480 hours each to clean windows of a 40-storey glass building, the robot will be able to do it in 80 hours. However, unlike other robots, Ozmo will not replace human workers, and only make their jobs safer by making them supervisors, who will be controlling the operation from the safety of the ground.
Whether Ozmo, which is still being tested, does as good a job as humans remains to be seen. If things go well, its creators have much bigger ambitions for Ozmo. Schwarcz told Forbes Magazine, “Window cleaning is just the tip of the iceberg. We plan to replace all tasks that are dangerous and dirty.”
1. Why is Ozmo friendly to our environment?| A．It uses less soap than other robots. |
| B．It depends on solar energy. |
| C．It makes our ecosystem more balanced. |
| D．It consumes nothing made from chemicals. |
| A．Like cleaning windows, a well-paid job is usually dangerous. |
| B．Without humans supervising, Ozmo could have performed better. |
| C．Ozmo can save 400 hours per building compared to a human cleaner. |
| D．Ozmo can’t be stopped by obstacles with its advanced system. |
| A．A small part of a big plan. |
| B．As cool as the iceberg. |
| C．The most advanced technology. |
| D．The leading role in the modern world. |
| A．Robots make a difference. |
| B．Meet Ozmo, the window cleaning robot. |
| C．Supervise Ozmo, human safe. |
| D．Intelligent Ozmo becomes known worldwide. |
