You’ve probably heard of a hybrid(杂交物种)in films or books. The centaurs in the Harry Potter films are hybrids of human and horse.
Hybridization occurs in both plants and animals.
Cross-breeding(杂交)sometimes occurs when animals’ normal territory overlaps(部分重叠).
Artificial mixing often happens in zoos, where different species that don’t normally meet in the wild can be introduced to each other. Ligers(lion and tiger hybrids)are unlikely to occur in nature, because the only place that their habitats overlap is the Gir Forest in India.
| A．Wildlife conservation is of significance. |
| B．Did you know hybridization is a biological process? |
| C．That’s due to habitat destruction or changing climate. |
| D．Did you know that hybrids appear in the natural world, too? |
| E．Jimmy believes species hybridization in nature is a good thing. |
| F．Many conservationists think that creating hybrids is a bad thing. |
| G．Living things, especially plants, will naturally hybridize in the wild. |
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【推荐1】When raindrops fall to the ground in summer, a familiar scent always follows. Many people call this the “smell of rain”. However, rain is made up of odorless (无味的) water. So, where does this smell come from?
The pleasant smell has long been an interest of scientists since Australian scientists first documented the formation of petrichor in 1964. According to scientists, some plants produce oils during dry periods.
Yet, it’s the second reaction that creates the most petrichor. It occurs when chemicals produced by bacteria in soil are released.
Lots of animals are sensitive to geosmin but human beings are extremely sensitive to it. When it rains after a long period of dryness, drops of water hit the ground. Geosmin is then released from the surfaces.
| A．And when it rains, these oils are released into the air. |
| B．The smell of petrichor is quite pleasant to the human nose. |
| C．There are a group of microorganisms widely found in soils. |
| D．Rain can refresh the soil specially when it rains heavily. |
| E．Scientists found the distinctive smell doesn’t come from rain. |
| F．The pleasant smell always comes into being with the flow of air. |
| G．It is further spread around its surroundings with the aid of wind and rain. |
【推荐2】Schoolbooks typically present explorers as fearless individuals who, for example, sail wooden ships to new lands. But today most explorers who are making fundamental discoveries are scientists. And whether the frontiers are tiny, like the human genome, or massive, like our deepest oceans, we still have much left to learn about planet Earth. What modern scientists pursue equals anything in a history book or an adventure novel.
Exploration is science in its most basic form — asking questions of the natural world and, we hope, using the answers for the betterment of everything on Earth.
Exploration has great value. It inspires us, widens our knowledge and gives us hope for a better future. And the practical payoffs can even be lifesaving. Scientists who spent decades exploring what was in the atmosphere found that over time the concentration of carbon dioxide was rising. Without that discovery, we humans would now be living like the proverbial frog in a pot of gradually heating water, unsure why the environment around us is changing, and slowly boiling to death.
The human drive to overcome challenges is an essential aspect of the human drive to explore, which, in most cases, spurs innovation. Early human submarines that reached the bottom of the deepest ocean trenches (海沟) made the trip just once, stressed by the enormous pressures there. But eventually a more stress-resistant vehicle, the Limiting Factor, allowed investor and undersea explorer Victor Vescovo to reach trench bottoms numerous times.
Now there are roughly 4,000 autonomous Argo floats across the world’s oceans that dive down to 2,000 feet and resurface every 10 days, gathering data about basic physical traits (特性) such as water temperature and pressure. The Argo group will also deploy (部署) dozens of sensors every year that will gather biological and chemical data, leading to new observations about marine life.
Other institutions plan to search the seas together, sending data to guide ships that forward the information to researchers on shore. Ocean research groups have made it a priority to openly share their discoveries and data with the public and to inspire the next generation of young scientists. Anyone can go along for the ride — we can all be explorers.
Captain James T. Kirk began each episode of the original Star Trek television series by saying, “Space, the final frontier.” Not necessarily. We still have plenty to discover right here on Earth, and we eagerly await surprises from the newest worlds we find.
1. Why does the author mention the example of the proverbial frog in Paragraph 3?| A．To illustrate the significance of exploration. | B．To stress the importance of knowledge. |
| C．To argue for the necessity of innovation. | D．To show the impact of global warming. |
| A．The discoveries made by modern scientists cannot match what the adventurers pursue. |
| B．Undersea explorers can reach the bottom of the deepest ocean for quite a few times now. |
| C．Argo floats dive to the deep ocean to collect fundamental information about the ocean. |
| D．The human desire to take on challenges leads to the achievements of ocean exploration. |
| A．Everyone is an explorer. | B．Sharing the ocean data is compulsory. |
| C．Exploring the earth can still be fruitful. | D．Space will be human’s final frontier. |
| A．Fearless Explorers | B．Ocean Exploration | C．Earth Exploration | D．Next Frontiers |
【推荐3】A BioBlitz is an event that focuses on finding and identifying as many species(物种) as possible in a given area over a short period of time. A BioBlitz is also known as a biological inventory(清单). The main goal of a BioBlitz is to get an overall(全面的) list of the plants, animals, and other species that live in a place.
A BioBlitz has its own features different from a scientific inventory. Scientific inventories are usually limited to biologists, geographers, and other scientists. A BioBlitz brings together volunteer scientists, as well as families, students, teachers, and other members of the community. While a scientific survey often focuses on faraway or isolated areas, BioBlitzes involves places that are connected to a living or industrial areas. Finally, scientific surveys may take a long period of time to conduct. A BioBlitz lasts a short period of time, traditionally 24 hours.
These differences make a BioBlitz a unique biological survey that encourages a relationship between the nature and human communities of a certain area. Citizens work together with scientists to learn about the biological diversity of local natural spaces. In the process, they gain skills and knowledge and develop a stronger connection to their home environment. A BioBlitz makes citizens better understand and protect local natural spaces.
Hundreds of BioBlitzes have been conducted all over the world, mainly in the United States. Canada, Australia, and Europe. The first BioBlitz was sponsored by the National Park Service and the National Biological Service in Washington D.C.’s Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens in 1996. Surrounded by heavy living and industrial development, Kenilworth Park was thought to have very little biological diversity. Scientists, however, recorded more than 900 species that first year and added even more species to their list at continuous Kenilworth BioBlitzes.
1. What is a feature of BioBlitz?| A．It explores faraway natural places. | B．It takes years to conduct a survey. |
| C．It lists species in a certain local area. | D．It only allows scientists to take part. |
| A．By giving examples. | B．By listing reasons. |
| C．By comparing differences. | D．By describing a process. |
| A．It introduces wildlife around the world. |
| B．It builds a strong connection with scientists. |
| C．It saves many endangered animals and plants. |
| D．It makes people more aware of the nature around. |
| A．To advertise a science program. |
| B．To introduce a unique biological survey. |
| C．To call on people to protect environment. |
| D．To compare BioBlitz with scientific inventories. |
