Cuckoos (布谷鸟) are masters of cheating. When it comes to raising young, they don’t spend the energy building a nest, protecting eggs or feeding children. Instead the female passes these roles on to other birds. They don’t raise their own young. Usually, they lay their eggs in the nests of other birds, fooling other birds into thinking the cuckoo eggs are theirs.
To succeed in doing this, a female cuckoo watches over her chosen nest to observe feeding times. When the host parent leaves its nest in search of food, the cuckoo quickly lays her eggs among those already in the nest. Sometimes, she will even destroy and remove one of the host’s eggs to make room for her own.
Cuckoos are medium-sized birds with long tails, and often have gray or brown backs. When they hatch (孵化) and begin to grow in a host’s nest, the difference between the two can be obvious to an onlooker. Often the cuckoo is twice the size of its foster (收养的) parents, but still continues to receive food from them.
The cuckoo imposter (冒名顶替者) is usually the only baby bird that the host parent has to care for. This is because when the cuckoo hatches after around 11 days, it gets rid of all the other eggs in the nest. It will lift each egg onto its back before throwing them one by one over the edge of the nest. Even then, the non-biological parent will continue to treat it as one of its own.
Also, cuckoos have developed to produce eggs that are similar in color to their main hosts’. This reduces the chances of eggs being attacked. Female cuckoos have been known to take host birds’ attention away after laying their eggs by producing a noise similar to Eurasian sparrowhawks, scaring birds away from returning to the nest and allowing time for the cuckoo to make her escape unnoticed.
1. What do mother cuckoos usually do when it comes to raising their young?| A．Attend to eggs. | B．Build a new nest. | C．Depend on other birds. | D．Learn feeding skills. |
| A．Other cuckoos. | B．Baby cuckoos. | C．Birth parents. | D．Host parents. |
| A．It usually hatches out earlier than the other eggs in the nest. |
| B．It throws all the other eggs out of nest with its mother’s help. |
| C．It often makes a noise to scare other birds away from the nest. |
| D．It looks much larger than other eggs in the nest before hatching. |
| A．How cuckoos fool other birds. | B．How cuckoos protect their children. |
| C．How cuckoos destroy others’ nests. | D．How cuckoos produce eggs in host nests. |
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【推荐1】Do you like the woolly mammoths (毛猛犸象) from the movie Ice Age? Too bad they’re extinct? Thanks to recent developments in biotechnology, the stuff of science fiction may soon become a reality through an attractive process called “de-extinction”, which aims to bring the extinct species back. The resurrected (复活的) species are functionally equal to the original extinct species, but they are not exact copies.
There are three primary techniques of de-extinction. One of them is that scientists deliberately select existing species with similar characters to the extinct species to produce later generation. This is a natural method. Another is cloning. A cloned animal is created by obtaining the DNA of the extinct animal. The later generation will be an identical copy of the extinct species. This is only applied to animals that are either endangered or have recently gone extinct, as it requires well-preserved eggs. The third is the newest technique, genetic engineering (基因工程). It uses gene-editing tools to place selected genes from extinct animals in place of those present in its closest living relative.
If we refer to Jurassic Park, resurrecting extinct animals is a terrible idea. Thankfully, we don’t have to worry about dinosaurs running wildly, as their DNA has disintegrated over the 65 million years since their extinction. DNA can survive for several million years at best under certain rare conditions, but does that mean we should do that?
De-extinction is more for ecology than for tourism. Ecologist Ben Novak said, “All animals perform critical roles in their ecosystem. Woolly mammoths, for example, were excellent gardeners. Their disappearance was followed by a loss in diversity and the Arctic grassland became a cold, ice field. If a resurrected animal is always going to be a zoo animal then it shouldn’t be brought back.”
1. Why does the author mention the movie Ice Age?| A．To recall the joy from the movie. | B．To lead the readers into the topic. |
| C．To attract readers’ attention to the movie. | D．To show functions of resurrecting animals. |
| A．Its wide application. | B．Its main methods. |
| C．Its complex procedures. | D．Its distinct characteristic. |
| A．broken away | B．picked up | C．fallen apart | D．run out |
| A．Can we bring extinct animals back? | B．Do you like the woolly mammoths? |
| C．Will dinosaurs be seen in the zoos? | D．Should we promote cloning skills? |
【推荐2】On Monday, about 270 pilot whales got into difficulty on a sandbank at Macquarie Heads, near Strahan on Tasmania’s west coast, about 190 kilometres from Hobart. Another 200 of the animals were found early on Wednesday, making it Tasmania’s largest recorded stranding event. The Department of Primary Industry, Parks, Water and Environment (DPIPWE) said that about a third had died.
Marine biologists arrived in the area to carry out rescue operations. They planned to use specialized equipment such as special tarpaulins to push the whales back into the deep water. The local police also assisted in the rescue.
The whales that were stranded are Pilot Whales, and they are found in almost all the oceans of the world, according to the Marine conservation group. Pilot whales are in fact one of the largest members of the dolphin family, but they are treated as whales for the Marine Mammals Protection Regulations issued in 1992.They were named pilot whales because it was thought that each pod followed a ‘pilot’ in the group.
Cetacean stranding, commonly known as beaching, is a phenomenon in which whales and dolphins strand themselves on land, usually on a beach. Several explanations for why cetaceans strand themselves have been proposed, including changes in water temperatures, unusual features of whales’ echo location in certain surroundings, and geomagnetic disturbances, but none have so far been universally accepted as a definitive reason for the behavior.
In recent years, whale strandings have become more frequent around the world. In November 2018, a dead sperm whale that had washed ashore in eastern Indonesia consumed a horrifying collection of plastic trash, including 115 drinking cups, 25 plastic bags, plastic bottles, two flip-flops and a bag containing more than 1,000 pieces of string. In all, the plastic contents of the whale’s stomach weighed 13.2 pound (six kilograms). The bags are black due to a reaction with the creature’s stomach acids, according to Thai Whales organization. A person, on average, breathes or swallows at least 74,000 microscopic particles of plastic each year.
1. How many whales died according to DPIPWE?| A．About 160. | B．About 200. | C．About 270. | D．About 470. |
| A．Being put into danger. |
| B．Being trapped in trouble. |
| C．Being found in extinction. |
| D．Being left or driven ashore. |
| A．Whales mistake plastics for food. |
| B．Whales need the ability of self-protection. |
| C．Whales’ living conditions are worsening. |
| D．Whales have an excellent digestive system. |
| A．Protective measures for whales. |
| B．The reasons for whale stranding. |
| C．Studying whales’ stomach deeply. |
| D．Researching the oceans’ ecosystem. |
【推荐3】Kids everywhere love to play. And they know that a ball is a perfect thing to play with. Now scientists report bumblebees(大黄蜂)seem to know the same thing, making bumblebees the first insects known to play.
Lots of animals play. But the behavior is best known in mammals(哺乳动物)and birds. For many animals, playing is often seen as a kind of training for things they’ll have to deal with in later life. But before this, there were no reports of insects playing.
Dr. Lars Chittka did an earlier experiment, where he trained bumblebees to roll balls into a goal for food. He noticed some bees were rolling balls even when they weren’t rewarded. He wondered if they were playing.
To test the idea，he with other scientists set up a new experiment. First, they marked 45 young bumblebees, both male and female, between one and 23 days old. Then they set up a clear pathway from the bumblebees’ nest to a feeding area. On either side of the open pathway, small colored wooden balls were placed. On one side of the path，the balls couldn’t move. On the other side, the balls could roll around.
For three hours a day over 14 days, the scientists opened the pathway. The bumblebees never had to leave the pathway to find food, but they left anyway. They weren’t so interested in the side where the balls couldn’t move, but they made lots of visits to the side with the rolling balls.
Grabbing the balls with their legs, the bumblebees would beat their wings to pull on the balls, causing them to roll. The 45 marked bumblebees did this 910 times during the experiment. Though some only did it once, others did it a lot. The scientists found the younger bumblebees spent more time rolling balls, and that males seemed more likely to play than females.
The scientists say it’s not clear why the bumblebees roll the balls or whether they enjoy it. But the experiment raises important questions about how the insects’ minds work and whether they have feelings.
1. What does the underlined word in paragraph 2 refer to?| A．The discovery that playing is training. |
| B．The experiment about mammals’ living habits. |
| C．The report that bumblebees play for fun. |
| D．The comparison between insects and birds. |
| A．They trained bumblebees to play balls. |
| B．They put small balls on both sides of the pathway. |
| C．They set up a feeding area in bumblebees’ nest. |
| D．They rewarded the bumblebees that rolled balls. |
| A．Male bumblebees lend to play balls more often. |
| B．Colorful balls are bumblebees’ favourite toys. |
| C．Younger bumblebees are better at rolling balls. |
| D．Bumblebees show interest in anything round. |
| A．Bumblebees Arc Just Like Kids | B．Balls Are a Perfect Thing to Play with |
| C．Playing Is Animals’ Second Nature | D．Bumblebees Are First Insect Known to Play |
【推荐1】When we’re facing an annoying problem, we often gather a group to brainstorm. We’re looking to get the best ideas as quickly as possible. I love seeing it happen — except for one tiny wrinkle. Group brainstorming usually backfires.
In brainstorming meetings, many good ideas are lost — and few are gained. Extensive evidence shows that when we generate ideas together, we fail to maximize collective intelligence. Brainstorming groups fall so far short of their potential that we get more ideas — and better ideas — if we all work alone. As the humorist Dave Barry joked, “If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be ‘meetings’.”
To unearth the hidden potential in teams, instead of brainstorming, we’re better off shifting to a process called “brainwriting”. The initial steps are solo. Start by asking everyone to generate ideas separately and then share them unnamed among the group. To preserve independent judgment, each member evaluates them on their own. Only then does the team come together to select and improve the most promising options. By developing and assessing ideas individually before choosing them, teams can appear and advance possibilities that might not get attention otherwise.
For instance, Dow Chemical invited people to enter an innovation tournament to save energy and reduce waste. They invited any proposals that cost no more than $200, 000 and had the potential to pay for themselves within a year — and invested in the most promising ones. Over the next decade, they bet on 575 ideas that saved the company an average of $110 million per year.
Research by organizational behavior scholar Anita Woolley and her colleagues helps to explain why this method works. They find that a key to collective intelligence is balanced participation. In brainstorming meetings, it’s too easy for participation to become lopsided (倾向一方的) in favor of the biggest egos (自我价值感), the loudest voices, and the most powerful people. The brainwriting process makes sure that all ideas are brought to the table and all voices are brought into the conversation. The goal isn’t to be the smartest person in the room — it’s to make the room smarter.
1. Which is the closest in meaning to “backfire” in Paragraph 1?| A．shoot from behind the back | B．make a fire in the backyard |
| C．produce an unexpected result | D．achieve what was planned |
| A．Limited time for discussion. | B．Lack of diverse perspectives. |
| C．Difficulty in reaching agreement. | D．Overemphasis on individual ideas. |
| A．To encourage independent ideas. | B．To speed up the idea generation process. |
| C．To give more attention to promising ideas. | D．To increase the influence of powerful individuals. |
| A．To prove the effectiveness of brainwriting. |
| B．To illustrate the principle behind brainwriting. |
| C．To emphasize the value of traditional brainstorming. |
| D．To make a comparison between brainstorming and brainwriting. |
Amazingly, though so many regret the rising dropout rate, our schools continue to lack formal plans--or any plans--to teach students motivation(动机). Most schools have no game plan to ensure that students understand that school will be completely necessary. Schools expect youth and children to act as though school is important, but they never teach them to believe that.
Years ago, families ensured that the offspring recognized the value of school. But in many modern families, the children may fail to recognize the importance of school life just because these families may actually tell the child that school is not important. Since many families are not motivating their children to be interested students, youth professionals, like teachers may need to provide this training. Otherwise, it is likely the dropout rate will continue not to drop, but only worsen.
Here are some strategies to convince even the most apathetic (无动于衷的) students that they must stay in school.
Ask students if they will ever need to work: The world has changed. 100 years ago, factory work was the booming job, and it required no education. Today, factories are increasingly automated. Most computer-related jobs require education and at least a high school diploma.
Ask students which century they will be prepared for: In 1900, the most common jobs were farm laborer and domestic servant—education not needed. Now, the most common jobs are office and sales worker—education and diploma usually needed. An amazing 6 out of 10 people today work in a store or office.
Ask students to devise a way that the employee could be replaced. For example, the coming trend in fast food is to use computers rather than people to run the restaurant. A prototype is apparently already being tested. The students should discover that most jobs that lack education and diploma requirements may be ripe for automation.
1. What does the underlined part mean in Paragraph1?| A．Few students can afford to go to school in large cities. |
| B．A large number of the 9th grades can graduate now. |
| C．There are still quite a few 9th graders leaving school early. |
| D．Most schools in large cities have fewer and fewer students. |
| A．tell us that many jobs requires certain education in the past |
| B．show that there are more factory work and employment in modern society |
| C．show that employment in the computer field grows at a high rate |
| D．emphasize that modern jobs require education and schools are necessary |
| A．both schools and families should answer for the high dropout rate |
| B．many new jobs don’t need children’s high school diploma |
| C．working in a store doesn’t require a high school diploma |
| D．most schools are ready to help students recognize the importance of study |
| A．They will know that they can ‘always’ do without a diploma |
| B．More of them will drop out early to go to work |
| C．They will discover that lack education is a disadvantage in choosing jobs |
| D．They will become better at using computers to hunt for a job |
【推荐3】Forcing waiters and waitresses to survive on tips from customers rather than normal wages is a pointless, offensive, and unique American custom that, in the past several years, a handful of progressive restaurant owners have attempted to abolish. Danny Meyer, CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group, is about to join their ranks and has announced that he plans to gradually stop tipping at the company’s thirteen restaurants.
What, exactly, is wrong with tipping? As Brian Palmer has explained, more or less it’s everything. To start with, leaving a waiter’s pay in the hands of customers has a feeling of classism (阶级歧视) . And in theory, handing restaurant customers the power to tip is at least supposed to motivate better service. This fails in practice because humans turn out to be pretty casual about their tipping behavior. Research has shown that the amount diners tip has very little to do with their level of satisfaction. All of this doesn’t encourage waiters and waitresses to do anything but turn over as many tables as possible.
Tipping is also very unfair to kitchen staff. The law allows restaurants to divide tips between front-of-the-house workers like waiters, hosts, hostesses, and bartenders, but not cooks. This creates a system in which the people serving the food in a restaurant can earn more than the people preparing it.
One of the most fascinating parts of Meyer’s move is that, unlike some restaurant owners who have taken an anti-tipping stand, he won’t simply add a standard extra charge to diners’ bills. Rather, Union Square Hospitality Group means to raise menu prices enough to fully cover the cost of a meal. If Meyer manages to move away from tipping at all without hurting his profits, it would almost certainly set the stage for others to follow suit.
1. Which of the following can replace the underlined word “ abolish ” (in para. 1)?| A．end up with | B．do away with | C．get used to | D．make use of |
| A．Tipping may disturb the restaurants’ management. |
| B．Tipping will guarantee diners high quality service. |
| C．Tipping can arouse the staff’s enthusiasm for work. |
| D．Tipping will bring customers a sense of satisfaction. |
| A．Brian Palmer is in charge of it now. |
| B．Its cooks earn much more than its servers. |
| C．Restaurant tipping has been totally banned there. |
| D．Diners will be charged more for the dishes there. |
| A．Restaurants’ getting rid of tipping. | B．Difficulties restaurants are faced with. |
| C．The popularity of no-tipping restaurants. | D．tips on running restaurants successfully. |
