In the three decades since Darah Lady’s grandmother first arrived in this distant area of northern Brazil, clearing the forest by hand to build a house for her 14 children, the family has pushed deeper and deeper into the Amazon. It has been driven by a saying that good fortune comes when nature gives in to human control.
Yet their growing community there could ruin not only their children’s future but also that of the entire planet. More global pandemics (流行病) are on the way, scientists say, and the next one is likely to crop up from a community like Darah Lady’s, where people are taking up more and more space of the natural world and erasing the buffer zone (缓冲区) between themselves and habitats that existed long. As people cut down forest, they not only speed up the global warming but also greatly increase their risk of exposure to disease.
Scientists also say disease hot zones are expanding from Africa to South America, and that deforestation has already led to a rise in spreading disease. Zoologists have found that a third of all known disease outbreaks around the world were due to rapid land use change.
Darah Lady’s community of Maruaga is filled with risks for the spread of viruses (病毒). Their family has already battled zoonotic illnesses — the term used to describe diseases spread between animalsand humans.
When 40% of a land area has been destroyed, according to Tom Gillespie, a university researcher, the region hits a sort of tipping point: Wild animals are pushed closer to humans for food, and viruses begin to spread.
Darah Lady seemed to notice the slight dfference of deforestation. “I get kind of sad,” Darah Lady said, “Because the forest is something I’ve loved since I was little. And they are deforesting, right? It’s destroying nature.”
1. What do you know about Darah Lady?| A．She built a house for her 14 children. |
| B．She made a big fortune in Amazon. |
| C．Her family cut down trees for growing crops. |
| D．Her family lived in Amazon for decades. |
| A．The loss of the buffer zone. |
| B．The effect of global warming. |
| C．The lack of species variety. |
| D．The expansion of wildlife habitats. |
| A．A possible treatment for diseases. |
| B．A real example of the prevention of diseases. |
| C．A further explanation of the spread of diseases. |
| D．A supporting evidence for the danger of diseases. |
| A．Entertainment. | B．Design. |
| C．Education. | D．Environment. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Going Zero Waste means more than dealing with the rubbish we create. It means reducing it, too. People who go Zero Waste are careful about what they do. They never take more than they need, they reuse plastic bags, and they make good plans not to buy more than necessary before going shopping.
Kamikatsu, a Japanese village, has already gone Zero Waste. The 2,000 villagers recycle (循环利用) everything possible. There are 34 different boxes at the recycling center! The villagers sometimes just feel unhappy about what they have to do, but they also see the good side.
Let’s think about how to enjoy a Zero Waste Christmas. By sending recyclable cards, we can help our friends and family reduce waste. And wouldn’t it be better to enjoy the spirit of Christmas with a real tree that can be re-planted in spring?
Going Zero Waste requires us to think more about what happens before and after we act. It is not always easy. But just think how good it would be, both for ourselves and for the environment, if we never had to waste anything.
1. The underlined word “it” in Paragraph 1 refers to .| A．a plastic bag | B．the rubbish |
| C．a difficult thing | D．going Zero Waste |
| A．Planting trees at Christmas. |
| B．Using plastic bags when shopping. |
| C．Sending recyclable cards for Christmas. |
| D．Buying food when you are very hungry. |
| A．To persuade people to reduce waste. |
| B．To teach people how to enjoy Christmas. |
| C．To introduce the life of Japanese villagers. |
| D．To tell people how to deal with difficulties. |
| A．Topic—Examples—Discussion |
| B．Examples—Argument—Topic |
| C．Topic—Explanation—Argument |
| D．Examples—Explanation—Discussion |
Lynn's interest in sustainable living has expanded over the years from simple recycling and wildlife gardening to encouraging others to appreciate nature and do what each can to protect the environment. The creation of Indiana Living Green comes from her belief that most individuals have an inner desire to do what is best for our environment and that each individual act truly does make a difference.
Lynn has been instrumental in bringing her green consciousness to Indiana by way of Indiana Living Green magazine over the past two years. Indiana Living Green is the only local publication solely focused on green living and sustainability. In addition, Lynn’s pioneering efforts also provide public educational forums via "Green Scenes" — a series of three hour events, each focusing on specific topics teaching Hoosiers how to lead greener lifestyles. She is a sought-after speaker, delivering topics such as "Greening Your Outdoor Space," "Updating Your Home to Green" and "Greening Your Lifestyle" to various businesses and organizations throughout Central Indiana. In addition, Lynn has appeared regularly on Indianapolis Fox 59 morning show’s "Living Green" segment, discussing various topics of interest ranging from grilling green and green baby buys to composting and recycling.
In addition to her role as publisher of Indiana Living Green magazine, Lynn is also a Habitat Steward Host for National Wildlife Federation, editor of Hoosier Organic Gardener, the newsletter of the Indiana Organic Gardeners Association, and a member of Garden Writers Association.
Lynn Jenkins deserves to be publicly recognized for all that she is and all that she has done and continues to do to educate and empower each of us to improve our individual lives, communities and our Earth.
1. Which of the following is NOT true of Lynn Jenkins?
| A．She is the publisher of the magazine Indiana Living Green. |
| B．She is a member of Garden Writers Association. |
| C．She won the award the Heart of Green Local Hero. |
| D．She encourages people to love and protect nature. |
| A．a book on modern life style | B．a magazine on fashion |
| C．a journal on travel | D．a magazine on green living |
| A．It is a scene set in a three-hour film. |
| B．It is a series of events focusing on green life. |
| C．It is a film set in Central Indiana. |
| D．It is a forum focusing on green lifestyle. |
| A．simply | B．mainly | C．earnestly | D．seriously |
| A．To call on readers to protect the environment and live green. |
| B．To nominate Lynn Jenkins for the Heart of Green Local Hero. |
| C．To introduce the readers to the Heart of Green Local Hero. |
| D．To advertise for Indiana Living Green and its publisher. |
【推荐3】Soda bottles and sour cream containers—these plastics typically arrive at recycling plants mixed together in the same bin. But because they are made of different monomers (单体), they must be sorted into different streams before they can be melted to make new products.
“Until about a year ago, everybody thought the only thing you could do is take a plastic, break it back down to a monomer and then re-form it,” says Sanat Kumar, a chemical engineer at Columbia University. To seek new solutions to old recycling problems, his team had to solve a fundamental chemical difficulty: when different plastics are melted together, their various monomers tend to separate from one another. They have developed a process that allows different kinds of plastic to be recycled together. Their findings, reported recently in Nature, could give new life to many items that end up in landfills.
The new process solves this problem by adding chemicals called universal dynamic cross-linkers (交联剂) to the mix. Just as soap brings together oil and water, which creates a bridge, allowing the oil and water to mix together and form a stable liquid, these cross-linkers(when applied under heat)form covalent molecular bonds (共价键) that attach the diverse monomers together. These materials can then be melted and remade again and again because the cross-linkers can break and re-form their bonds.
The researchers hope the technique could eventually help handle more plastic waste—but it’s not yet cheap enough to be widely used at existing recycling facilities. Still, Kumar wishes it would be one way to help recyclers address the plastic waste crisis. “The plastics problem is huge,” he says, “and you’re going to have to look for multiple solutions.”
1. The difficulty of recycling different plastics together lies in how to ________.| A．re-form them more quickly |
| B．prevent various monomers being apart |
| C．break them down thoroughly |
| D．separate various monomers successfully |
| A．By listing facts. |
| B．By quoting a report. |
| C．By providing examples. |
| D．By making a comparison. |
| A．It still needs some improvement. |
| B．It will solve the plastics problem. |
| C．It has already gained great popularity. |
| D．It has been affordable for most plants. |
| A．Monomers Are Still Important for Plastics Recycling |
| B．The Use of Cross-linkers Outperformed Other Chemicals. |
| C．Multiple Solutions Are Needed for Mixed-Plastics Recycling |
| D．New Chemical Process Offers Hope for Mixed-Plastics Recycling |
【推荐1】According to new research from the University of Cambridge in England, sheep are able to recognize human faces from photographs.
The farm animals, who are social and have large brains, were previously known to be able to recognize one another, as well as familiar humans. However, their ability to recognize human faces from photos alone is novel.
The recent study, the results of which were published in the journal Royal Society; Open Science, show the woolly creatures could be trained to recognize still images of human faces, including those of former President Barack Obama and actress Emma Watson.
Initially, the sheep were trained to approach certain images by being given food rewards. Later, they were able to recognize the images for which they had been rewarded. The sheep could even recognize images of faces shown at an angle, though their ability to do so declined by about 15 percent—the same rate at which a human’s ability to perform the same task declines,
“Anyone who has spent time working with sheep will know that they are intelligent and individual animals who are able to recognize their handlers.” said Professor Jenny Morton, who led the Cambridge study. “We’ve shown with our study that sheep have advanced face-recognition abilities, close to those of humans and monkeys.”
Recognizing faces is one of his most important social skills for human beings, and some disorders of the brain, including Huntington’s disease, affect this ability.
“Sheep are long-lived and have brains that are similar in size and complexity to those of some monkeys. That means they can be useful models to help us understand disorders of the brain, such as Huntington’s disease that develop over a long time and affect cognitive (认识的) abilities. Our study gives us another way to monitor how these abilities change.” Morton said.
1. According to the new research, what’s unusual about sheep?| A．They have large brains. |
| B．They can recognize their owners. |
| C．They can tell animals from humans. |
| D．They can recognize human faces from photographs. |
| A．By giving food rewards. |
| B．By showing photos of famous people. |
| C．By guiding them to follow their handlers. |
| D．By showing photos of humans and monkeys by turns. |
| A．Sheep have a higher face-recognition ability than monkeys. |
| B．The new discovery is of great benefit to the study of cognitive ability changes. |
| C．The sheep’s face-recognition ability may prevent some disorders of the brain. |
| D．The sheep’s face-recognition ability stays the same when shown photos at any angle. |
| A．A Wonderful Scientist |
| B．The Life of Sheep |
| C．A New Discovery about Sheep |
| D．How Sheep Recognize Each Other |
【推荐2】Drinking three to four cups of coffee a day may reduce your risk of liver cancer and other alcohol-related liver diseases, according to a new study.
Researchers looked at the coffee habits of more than 494,000 people in the UK Biobank, a biomedical database, and monitored their liver health over 11 years. Participants ranged from 40 to 69 years old, with 384,818 saying they were enthusiastic coffee drinkers, and 109,767 saying they were not.
Coffee drinkers were 21% less likely to develop chronic (慢性的) liver disease, 20% less likely to develop chronic or fatty liver disease, and 49% less likely to die of chronic liver disease than non-coffee drinkers, according to the study published Monday in the peer-reviewed journal BMC Public Health. “It confirms in a large UK cohort (一群人) that coffee drinking is protective against severe liver disease,“ said Prof. Paul Roderick, a co-author of the study from the University of Southampton.
People who drank ground caffeinated (含有啡非因的) or decaffeinated coffee saw the most benefits, while some reduction in risks was also found in instant coffee drinkers. The maximum benefit was found in people who drank three to four cups a day; any higher consumption didn’t show additional benefits, according to the study.
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is most common in people who are overweight or have diabetes, high cholesterol or high triglycerides. The disease affects up to 25% of people in the United States, according to the American Liver Foundation. Liver cancer is the sixth most common cancer worldwide, according to the World Cancer Research Fund. The rate of liver cancer since 1980 has more than doubled, aceording to the American Cancer Society.
Vanessa Hebditch, of the British Liver Trust, said that the study results further prove the theory that coffee is good for liver health. “However, it’s important that people improve their liver health not just by drinking coffee,” she said, “but by also cutting down on alcohol and keeping to a healthy weight by exercising and eating well.”
One of the major limitations to the study is that the participants were asked only about their coffee consumption at one point in time and then monitored for their health. For example, if someone changed their daily coffee intake from one to four cups of coffee a day over the 11-year period, researchers weren’t able to take that into account.
“The study raises the issue that drinking coffee might be an effective intervention (干预) to prevent severe liver disease in those at high risk,” Rodercki said.
1. What did the study find about coffee drinkers?| A．They could benefit more by drinking more coffee. |
| B．They preferred caffeinated coffee to instant coffee. |
| C．They may have a healthier liver than non-coffee drinkers. |
| D．They had difficulty changing the way they drank coffee. |
| A．To avoid drinking coffee at night. | B．To drink coffee after doing exercise. |
| C．To reduce weight by drinking coffee. | D．To improve liver health in many ways. |
| A．It failed to monitor participants closely. |
| B．It only focused on participants’ coffee consumption. |
| C．It may affect the coffee consumption in the future. |
| D．It may ignore the changes in participants’ coffee intake. |
| A．Critical. | B．Supportive. | C．Doubtful. | D．Concerned. |
【推荐3】Sulphur-crested cockatoos (葵花凤头鹦鹉) are common in Australian wood areas. But as forests have been cut down, the birds have gotten used to living near people.
In 2021, scientists at the Max Planck Institutes reported that the cockatoos had learned how to open the lids (盖子) of dustbins to find food, making a big mess. When scientists first began studying the cockatoos in 2018, only three areas near Sydney had lid-opening cockatoos. A year and a half later, cockatoos in 44 different areas knew the trick.
This time the scientists not only studied cockatoos, but also studied humans’ response. The scientists spent weeks studying more than 3,200 dustbins in four different areas of Sydney. They wanted to see how many bins were protected and what methods were used.
In one area, over half the bins were protected. The most common way of protecting them was to put some heavy objects on the lid. Some people also put things like rubber snakes on the top of their bins. The scientists discovered that humans were teaching each other tricks, too. In most neighborhoods, many people used the same cockatoo-stopping methods as their neighbors. The scientists say it’s like a race between humans and cockatoos to learn new ways of doing things. Now many cockatoos have learned how to push heavy items off the lids. As a result, humans have doped out ways to protect their bins. The scientists expect these conflicts to become more common as humans take over more areas that used to be wild.
1. What’s the main idea of the first two paragraphs?| A．More forests have been destroyed. |
| B．More people choose to live in the wild. |
| C．More cockatoos have learned to open lids. |
| D．More scientists discovered cockatoos’ secret. |
| A．How humans respond to the birds’ trick. |
| B．How the cockatoos learn the trick. |
| C．Why more birds can play the trick. |
| D．Why humans prevent the birds’ trick. |
| A．Animals defeat humans at last. |
| B．The design of bins is quite important. |
| C．People try to teach animals in a kind way. |
| D．Humans should live with animals harmoniously. |
| A．A New Place Where Cockatoos Find Food |
| B．A Battle Between Cockatoos and Humans |
| C．A Big Problem of “Homeless” Cockatoos |
| D．A Human-wildlife Conflict All Over Australia |
