【推荐1】阅读下面短文，根据题目要求回答问题。

Many animals and plants are endangered in the world today. These endangered species are threatened with becoming extinct, meaning they will no longer exist on Earth. Examples include the Cuban Macaw and the Sri Lankan Legume Tree. Hunting, and collecting of the Macaw bird for pets, led to its extinction. While the main reason the native Sri Lankan Legume Tree went extinct was due to habitat loss from development in the 20th century. The main cause for animals and plants disappearing is often a disruption to the food chain due to hunting, habitat loss or even the introduction of invasive (入侵的) species.

Every living thing from one-celled animals to a blue whale needs to eat. Nature is connected and controlled by many fragile food chains. A food chain describes who eats whom in a habitat. When one of the links in a food chain is no longer present — for example, a species goes extinct — the food chain breaks and sometimes this can cause other animals to disappear and the whole system can become imbalanced or even collapsed.

Humans can have disastrous effects on food chains. When people first explored the world, they took animal and plant species from their home countries to the places they explored and settled in. They did not realise the results of introducing invasive species. By doing so, they were disrupting the natural food chains of the areas they explored.

Nowadays there are strict rules controlling the movement of animals and plants between countries. But some parts of the world are still experiencing problems with invasive species introduced hundreds of years ago.

With rising awareness of how we affect the natural environment, hopefully we can learn to protect these food chains and help them to thrive. Otherwise the continued loss of species will eventually mean our own extinction.

1. What is a food chain?
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2. What may cause a disruption to the food chain?
____________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Please decide which part is false in the following statement, then underline it and explain why.
●Due to strict rules controlling the movement of species between countries, we have solved the problem with invasive species.
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4. What can you do to help protect food chains as an individual?
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【推荐2】A woman in Pulaski, Virginia, says she was stopped by a squirrel, who pulled on her leg repeatedly and led her to help its injured baby.

Tia Powell was walking in Kiwanis Park when she was “approached by a squirrel”, the Pulaski Police Department wrote on Facebook. The squirrel stood in her way on the path. After realizing that the squirrel did not mean any harm and wasn’t going to leave her side, Powell turned around and the squirrel led her down the path to a baby squirrel with an injured leg.

At one point, Powell wasn’t sure she could help and she began walking and the squirrel followed her again and actually pulled her trouser leg! So, she fed the squirrels a sandwich she had with her and watched them try to Jump up into a tree. When she realized the baby squirrel was still struggling to get up the tree, she decided to call in backup. Powell called the Pulaski Police Department.

Powell didn’t know how the baby squirrel got injured, but she thought a nearby street cat was the culprit (肇事者). So, the group of rescuers decided to move the squirrels to safer area. “We were able to get the baby and mother to a different area with more trees and it was able to climb all the way up and they looked very happy,” Powell said.

She went back a few days later to show her kids where it all went down. In the trees, Powell spotted two squirrels staring at her, and couldn’t help but wonder if they were the same squirrels she rescued.

1. Why did the squirrel stop Tia Powell?

A．To attack her side.

B．To save its baby.

C．To ask her the way.

D．To pull her trousers.

2. What did Tia Powell do after feeding the squirrels?

A．Turned and walked away.

B．Helped them into a tree.

C．Left a sandwich for them.

D．Reported them to the police.

3. Who did Powell think injured the baby squirrel?

A．The baby squirrel itself.	B．The mother squirrel.
C．A street cat.	D．Tia Powell’s kid.

4. How did the squirrel feel after getting rescued?

A．Cheerful.	B．Doubtful.
C．Sensitive.	D．Unhappy.

【推荐3】Humans and elephants don’t always get along. In Africa and Asia, elephants damage infrastructure (基础设施), farmers’ crops, and natural habitat critical for other species. If an elephant becomes a problem, humans may kill it. So local people and conservationists are trying to find better ways to keep elephants away from sensitive places. Now, researchers think they have a good tool to stop elephants: honeybee pheromones (信息素).

“Elephants hate being stung (刺) in the trunk, so it’s an extremely sensitive organ. Imagine being stung in your nose by a bee, and multiply that a few thousand times.” said Mark Wright, a professor of entomology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Kenyan farmers have long known that if they hang live beehives around their farms, they will repel elephants. “The problem is logistical, how do you manage hundreds of thousands of hives, if you have a huge area to protect? And then the idea came up to look at the alarm pheromones, which are chemicals that the bee release to launch an attack on something that’s damaging the hive.” Because elephants have a highly developed sense of smell, Wright and his team thought they might be able to use the bees’ alarm signal to affect elephant behavior.

So the researchers tested out a synthetic blend (合成混合物) of chemicals that imitates honeybees’ alarm pheromones. In Greater Kruger National Park in South Africa, the team hung white socks treated with the synthetic mixture as well as untreated control socks around an elephant watering hole, and then observed the animals’ behavior. “Elephants are really curious organisms, they’ll walk along and see something like a sock hanging on a branch in the environment, and they’ll inspect it. And if it’s not treated with the alarm pheromones, they’ll pick it up, throw it around, try to taste it, things like that. And in the case of the treated ones, we found that they would show immediate signs of unease or uncertainty, and they’d eventually back off from them. Very seldom would they go to pick them up and play with them.” The study is in the journal Current Biology.

1. What will the researchers do to prevent elephants from damaging human’s habitat?

A．Kill them.	B．Scare them away.
C．Apply honeybee pheromones.	D．Rebuild a new ecosystem.

2. What does Mr. Wright think of Kenyan farmers’ method if it’s applied to a huge area?

A．Scientific.

B．Flexible.

C．Awesome.

D．Impractical.

3. Why did the researcher conduct the study?

A．To confirm what they thought.

B．To attract the elephants’ attention.

C．To preserve the elephants’ habitat.

D．To test out honeybee’s alarm pheromones.

4. What’s the main idea of the text?

A．Elephants and humans don’t get along well.

B．Honeybee pheromones can keep elephants away.

C．Elephants have a highly developed sense of smell.

D．Honeybees release pheromones to launch attacks.

【推荐1】The Sequoia National Park in California’s southern Sierra Nevada mountains is best known for the Giant Forest, a collection of 2,000 trees that includes half of the Earth’s largest and longest-living trees. This past weekend, the ancient wonders came dangerously close to being burned by the KNP Complex Fire. But thanks to resourceful firefighters, the precious treasure has been saved.

The firefighters had taken the standard measures of clearing brush and setting controlled fires long before the fire began heading toward the Giant Forest. But they knew more needed to be done. On September 17, 2021, they took the unusual step of covering the base of some of the oldest trees with protective aluminum “blankets”. High on the list was General Sherman, the world’s largest tree by volume. The park officials believed the specialized foil(锡纸)would help block some of the heat from the fires and enhance the natural insulation(隔热)provided by the ancient trees’ thick bark. They were right!

On Sunday, September 19, 2021, the officials reported that the extra prevention measures, which also included 24-hour timed sprinklers(洒水装置)on General Sherman and the nearby park buildings, had worked. Jack Owen, a spokesman for the KNP Complex Fire Information Office, said, “There are no trees that have been burned yet, as far as in the Giant Forest. Firefighters are pouring everything they can into it as long as it’s safe. That area is looking good.”

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about the rest of the national park. The KNP Complex Fire has burned through 21,777 acres. Meanwhile, the Windy Fire, which started further south on the Sierra slopes on the same night, has burned over21, 598 acres. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate and allow firefighters to gain control of the massive fires, which are now beginning to threaten nearby communities.

1. What did the firefighters first do to protect the Giant Forest from fire?

A．Cover it with specialized foil.

B．Put it on the list of protective steps.

C．Set up a fire prevention belt around it.

D．find out the features of the complex fire.

2. Why was the specialized foil applied?

A．To stop some heat from the fire from developing.

B．To stop the fire from spreading.

C．To keep tree roots from losing water.

D．To test the survival ability of the trees.

3. What can we infer from paragraph 3?

A．Firefighters are ready to leave the area.

B．General Sherman is relatively safe.

C．Nearby buildings have been abandoned.

D．Some trees in the Giant Forest have been cut down.

4. What is the author’s attitude towards the safety of the rest of the national park?

A．Worried.

B．Optimistic.

C．Discouraged.

D．Unconcerned.

【推荐1】       The people who built Stonehenge in southern England thousands of years ago had wild parties, eating barbecued pigs and breaking pottery. This is according to recent work by archaeologists—history experts who investigate (调查) how human beings lived in the past.
       Archaeologists digging near Stonehenge last year discovered the remains of a large prehistoric village where they think the builders of the mysterious stone circle used to live.
       The village is about 4600 years old, the same age as Stonehenge and as old as the pyramids in Egypt. It is less than two miles from the famous ancient landmark and lies inside a massive man­made circular dirt wall, or “henge”, known as the Durrington Walls.
       Remains found at the site included jewellery, stone arrowheads, tools made of deer antlers, wooden spears and huge amounts of animal bones and broken pottery. “These finds suggest Stone Age people went to the village at special times of the year to feast and party”, says Mike Parker Pearson from Sheffield University in England.
       He said many of the pig bones they found had been thrown away half­eaten. He also said the partygoers appeared to have shot some of the farm pigs with arrows, possibly as a kind of sport before barbecuing them.
       An ancient road which led from the village to the River Avon was also found. Here, the experts think, people came after their parties to throw dead relatives in the water so the bodies would be washed downstream to Stonehenge.
       Parker Pearson believes Stonehenge was like a cemetery where ancient Britons buried the dead and remembered their ancestors. “The theory is that Stonehenge is a kind of spirit home to the ancestors.”
       The recent discovery of the village within the Durrington Walls shows that Stonehenge didn’t stand alone but was part of a much bigger religious site, according to Parker Pearson.
       People still come to worship and celebrate at Stonehenge today. They meet there when the sun sets on the shortest day of winter and when it rises on the longest day of summer. But the days of barbecuing whole pigs there and throwing family members into the river are a thing of the past.
1. What was Stonehenge according to the text?

A．A village where hundred of people once lived.

B．A place that regularly hosted large parties.

C．A church where local villagers would get married.

D．A site where dead people were placed or remembered.

2. From the text we can infer that the people who came to the village ________.

A．liked to drink wine	B．knew how to hunt
C．were from Egypt	D．lived by the River Avon

3. What do experts think people did after the village parties?

A．Returned to live at Stonehenge.

B．Prayed for good luck in the new year.

C．Hunted farm pigs as a sport.

D．Put their dead relatives in the river.

4. When do people most often go to Stonehenge today?

A．When a new discovery is made.

B．At the beginning of summer and winter.

C．On the longest and shortest days of the year.

D．When they want to have a barbecue.

【推荐2】How far back does your family tree go? A hundred years? A thousand years? What about 6 to 7 million years?

An ancient skull (颅骨) found in Africa suggests that the human family might be that old. Discovered in 2001 in the desert of Chad, the skull was nicknamed Toumai by scientists. Toumai is a rare find. The skull is nearly complete and it even includes a few teeth. The Toumai skull is estimated to be between 6 and 7 million years old. Scientists are debating whether the skull is linked to humans.

The finding is not without controversy. Some scientists think that Toumai is the oldest known hominid (人科), or primitive human ancestor, ever found. Others say Toumai is an ape. Most hominids that scientists are aware of lived millions of years after Toumai. The most famous one is called Lucy. She lived in Ethiopia about 3.5 million years ago. While Lucy’s face looked like the face of a chimpanzee, Toumai’s skull has both human and ape-like features. Because Toumai’s skull looks different from other hominid skulls, some scientists think Toumai represents a whole new species.

Scientists were surprised to find a human-like face on a skull as old as Toumai’s. They thought hominids turned into humans step by step overtime. Scientists marked those changes on a timeline starting with a chimpanzee-like ancestor and ending with modern humans. Toumai’s human-like face and chimp-sized brain suggest that the development of hominids was not so simple. There may not be a direct line leading from Toumai to Lucy to us. Instead, the timeline might be like a tree with lots of branches. Different species in different places could have evolved human-like features at different times.

Scientists aren’t sure where exactly Toumai belongs on our family tree. Toumai could be like a great-great grandfather or just a distant cousin. Toumai could also be one of many types of hominids who wandered Earth millions of years ago.

1. What can be inferred about the skull found in Africa?

A．It is connected with humans.	B．It was named after a scientist.
C．It may be the oldest chimpanzee.	D．It is almost complete and unusual.

2. What does the underlined word “controversy” in paragraph 3 mean?

A．Promotion.

B．Cooperation.

C．Argument.

D．Prospect.

3. How could hominids evolve into humans according to scientists?

A．They evolved in various ways.	B．They developed like a tree with branches.
C．They followed a direct line from Lucy to us.	D．They had similar features in different places.

4. What is the main idea of the text?

A．Toumai is probably the primitive human ancestor.

B．A skull has an ape-like face and a human-like brain.

C．How does Toumai skull fit into the human family tree?

D．How did a species evolve human-like features overtime?

【推荐3】Scientists have uncovered a fast-food eatery (餐馆) in the ancient Roman town of Pompeii. The remains help with the understanding of foods of Pompeii’s citizens.

About 80 such fast-food eateries have been found at Pompeii. But the latest find means this is the first time such a hot-food-drink eatery—known as a thermopolium—has been completely unearthed. Pompeii was destroyed by the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Part of the fast-food counter was dug up in 2019 during work to shore up Pompeii’s ruins.

Since then, archaeologists (考古学家) have kept digging, uncovering a multi-sided-counter, with typical wide holes on its top, not unlike these for soup containers put into modern-day salad bars. The front of the counter included works of art showing ducks and chickens. The images brightened the eatery and also likely advertised food. Another image of a dog with a rope around its neck may remind people to keep pets tied up.

Early studies confirm “how the painted works represent, at least in part, the foods and drinks effectively sold inside”, said Valeria Amoretti, an anthropologist at Pompeii. Amoretti noted small pieces of duck bones were found in a food container. Remains of goats, pigs, and fish were also found. At the bottom of a wine container were remains of ground fava beans.

Massimo Osanna added, “We know what they were eating that day.” He was talking about the day of Pompeii’s destruction. The food remains are examples of “what’s popular with the common folk”. He added that wealthy Romans did not eat at such street-food businesses. Successful restaurant owners know that a good location is important for business. Osanna noted that right outside the eatery was a small square with a fountain. Another thermopolium was nearby.

1. What can we know about the fast-food eatery?

A．It was the only thermopolium at Pompeii.	B．It was dug up by accident at the beginning.
C．It once was one of the most popular eateries.	D．It was the first hot-food-drink eatery unearthed.

2. Why were there wide holes on the countertop?

A．They helped to beautify the countertop area.	B．The volcanic eruption damaged the counter.
C．They were used to hold containers for hot food.	D．Food could be stored for a longer time with them.

3. What did the painted images probably serve as according to Amoretti?

A．Reminders.

B．Decorations.

C．Records.

D．Advertisements.

4. What do Osanna’s words imply?

A．The eatery reveals the locals’ dining preference.	B．Ancient Romans liked eating at eateries.
C．Street-food business was rare in ancient Rome.	D．Food of Pompeii’s citizens was similar to today’s.