Many people regard sharks as dangerous monsters. But human beings cause a far greater danger to them than they do to us. Although shark attacks do occur, they are quite rare. According to a survey, however, humans kill 100 million sharks every year.
Why should we save the sharks?
Sharks take up the top position on the food chain in the ocean. As sharks die off, the population of the animals that sharks eat will increase. This, in turn, means that the number of the creatures those animals eat will drop.
Don’t use shark products
First, vitamin energy drinks and leather goods can be made from shark parts.
Shark fin soup is a popular dish. However, the process of getting fins is cruel. Fishermen cut the shark’s fins off and then throw the shark back into the water, still alive.
A.Actually, the killing of sharks will affect the whole planet. |
B.Shark oil is also used in many popular beauty products. |
C.Then the shark dies slowly, sometimes over several days. |
D.It is time for children to learn about sharks. |
E.People in some countries are especially keen on shark products. |
F.This number is a warning that many kinds of sharks may die out. |
G.Among them are some sea fish that humans eat every day. |
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【推荐1】The forest was full of shadows as Sylvie hurried through it one summer evening in June. The child hurried the cow through the dark forest to her grandmother’s home.
Suddenly the air was cut by a sharp whistle not far away. Sylvie knew it wasn’t a friendly bird’s whistle. She hid in some bushes. But she was too late.
“Hello, little girl,” a young man called out cheerfully. “I’ve lost my way. Can I spend the night at your house?” he asked.
Sylvie didn’t answer. The stranger began walking with Sylvie as she followed her cow through the forest. She was glad when she could see her grandmother standing near the farm house. The stranger explained his problem to Sylvie’s grandmother.
“Of course you can stay with us.” she said. The young man explained he was a scientist, who collected birds.
“Do you put them in a cage?” Sylvie asked.
“No,” he answered slowly, “I shoot them and preserve them with special chemicals.”
“I’ve been looking for a white heron(苍鹭),” he said, “It’s a very rare white bird.”
But Sylvie’s heart began to beat fast. She knew that strange white bird! Early the next morning, she quietly hurried through the forest. She finally reached a huge pine tree, and climbed to the top. Sylvie’s bare feet and tiny fingers grabbed the tree’s rough trunk. Sharp dry branches scratched her like cat’s claws.
Suddenly, a bird with broad white wings landed on a pine branch next to her. The white heron smoothed its feathers and called to its mate. She knew the wild bird’s secret now.
Were the birds better friends than their hunters? Who can know?
1. What made Sylvie hide in some bushes?A.A young man. | B.A missing cow. | C.A sharp whistle. | D.An unfriendly bird. |
A.She was scared by the young man. |
B.The white heron might be in danger. |
C.She was familiar with that white heron. |
D.The man would spend a night with them. |
A.The young man killed the white heron. |
B.Sylvie kept the secret of the white heron. |
C.Sylvie and the scientist became good friends. |
D.The young man knew where the white heron was. |
【推荐2】When Sugar arrived at the Exploits Valley SPCA in July, he had a disease related to breathing that required medication. Therefore, he needed to stay at the shelter a bit longer than other animals before he could be adopted.
While Sugar recovered, he developed a close relationship with all of the shelter staff members and volunteers, and loved showing off what a sweet little kitten he was. “He was extremely popular from the beginning,” Sarah, a worker of the Exploits Valley SPCA said.
One of the volunteers who Sugar saw a lot was Glen. Glen has been volunteering at the shelter for the past 30 years and really loved it. He was often arranged to clean the room where Sugar was staying, and every time Sugar saw Glen, he got so excited. “Sugar would shout loudly at Glen to make him stop doing his work,” Sarah said. Every time Glen passed by Sugar, Sugar would meow endlessly until Glen finally gave him some love and attention.
Over the past 30 years, Glen had fallen in love with countless cats, but still managed to see them off to their forever homes. Something about Sugar was different, though. The relationship between Glen and Sugar was clearly special. Glen certainly hadn’t had any plans to adopt a kitten. After a while, though, it became clear that Sugar wasn’t going to be happy unless he was always by Glen’s side. He knew what he had to do.
Sugar has now settled into his new home and loving life. Every time Glen wakes up and sees Sugar, he knows he made the right decision.
1. What can we know about Sugar at the shelter?A.He failed to find an owner. |
B.He came with a badly hurt body. |
C.He had to live there to receive treatment. |
D.He liked making fun of the workers there. |
A.Friendly and sociable. | B.Hardworking and careful. |
C.Talented and confident. | D.Thoughtful and helpful. |
A.To push Glen to clean his room quickly. | B.To hope for Glen’s attention and care. |
C.To remind Glen of the danger. | D.To try to cheer Glen up. |
A.Help Sugar get a trustful owner. | B.Adopt many cats from the shelter. |
C.Make Sugar a member of his family. | D.Look after Sugar carefully at the shelter. |
【推荐3】The dogsled (狗拉雪橇) race was about to begin. Julie’s team of dogs was lined up at the sating gate. Julie stood behind them. The air was so cold that she could see her breath. The other teams were lined up, too, and the dogs were excited. Julie kept her eyes on the clock. At exactly ten o'clock, she and the other racers shouted, “Mush!” The dogs knew that meant “Go!” They jumped forward and the race began!
Julie had trained months for this race, and she hopes she and her dogs would win. Hour after hour, day after day, Julie’s dogs pulled the sled in order to get in shape for the race.
Now, they ran over snowy hills and down into frozen valleys. They stopped only to rest and eat. They wanted to stay ahead of other teams. The racers got them to go a thousand miles across Alaska. The dogs, thick fur coats helped keep them warm in the cold winds and weather. In many places along the way, the snow was deep. Pieces of ice were as sharp as a knife. The ice could cut the dogs’ feet. To keep that from happening, Julie had put special booties (短靴) on their feet.
At first, the dogs seemed to pull the sled very slowly. They were still getting used to the race.
But on the the third day out, they began to pull more quickly. They worked as a team and passed many other racers. Once, one of the sled’s runners slid into a hole and the sled was broken. Julie could have given up then, but she didn’t. She fixed it and they kept going.
When they finally reached the finish line, they found out that they had come in first place! It was a great day for Julie and her dogs.
1. What does the passage tell us about the race?A.It was a single-day race. | B.It was a race for children. |
C.It was a race of a thousand miles. | D.The racers came from different countries. |
A.They were fed enough food. | B.They wore warm clothes. |
C.They were put on special shoes. | D.They were trained to get up early. |
A.They were the first to reach the finish line. | B.They had an accident and gave up. |
C.They ran slowly and lost the race. | D.They ran faster at the beginning. |
A.A Girl and Her Dogs | B.Winter Sports in Alaska |
C.Training for a Dogsled Race | D.The Story of a Dogsled Race |
【推荐1】The desire for ivory products causes the killing of an elephant, but as their populations continue to fall, the hungry black market has become creative to satisfy its greed. Now, ivory hunters are setting their sights on everything. One victim of this cruel practice is the hippopotamus(河马). A new study says that arise in demand for hippopotamus’s teeth is threatening them with extinction.
In many ways, it takes a lot of effort to kill an elephant. They are legally well protected in most countries where they range and international regulations are clear. Also, smuggling(走私)large pieces of ivory internationally is easily noticed. Hippos offer a cheaper and easier ivory option. The simple truth is that they are not high on the priority list of the international conservation community. A group of wild-living African elephants will either be tracked with radio collars(项圈) or will be the focus of long-term conservation research, ecotourism or law-enforcement efforts. Not so with hippos. Unlike their famous cousins, they don’t come with a protective environment, meaning hunters can take their time.
Most elephant populations are listed under the highest level (Appendix I) of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, but hippos are listed under Appendix Ⅱ of it, meaning some trade impossible. We have created a situation where some hippos can be shot, but we have few effective ways to regulate the trade, leaving it wide open to abuse.
Having lived in Africa and worked in frontline conservation, I have seen the first-hand that in the name of art, no ivory-bearing animal is safe. I have heard the stories and seen the bodies of hippos killed by machine-gun fire, mouths open, bloody and toothless. People are working to stop this and many wildlife authorities do what they can, but until there is a real change in the demand for ivory, the hippo has joined the elephant in being in desperate need of our help.
1. What does the new study find?A.Black marketers are hunting other animals for ivory. |
B.Hippos face extinction due to ivory demand. |
C.The number of elephants is decreasing. |
D.Ivory demand is rising. |
A.They wear radio collars. |
B.They are the targets of ecotourism. |
C.They live in a less protective environment. |
D.They are well protected by clear international regulations. |
A.by process |
B.by analyses |
C.by statistics |
D.by comparison |
A.Law enforcement. |
B.The efforts of authorities. |
C.Raising public awareness. |
D.Reducing the demand for ivory |
【推荐2】Scientists have recently discovered a major habitat where live more than 1.5 million Adelie penguins(企鹅)near the Antarctic Peninsula. Based on direct ground counts and computer counts, the researchers found a total of 751,527 pairs of Adelie penguins on the Danger Islands in the Weddell Sea on the east side of the Antarctic Peninsula. The Adelie penguins discovered here is more than the rest in the other places of Antarctic Peninsula, which was published in the journal Scientific Reports.
Moreover, the number represents the first complete census of Adelie penguins in the Danger Islands, the researchers added. “Until recently, the Danger Islands wasn't known to be an important penguin habitat.” Heather Lynch, an ecologist from Stony Brook University who led the study, said, “These super habitats have gone undiscovered for decades partly because the islands themselves are distant and the dangerous waters that surround them.” The Danger Islands appears to have avoided recent loss in penguin population documented on other parts of the Antarctic Peninsula.
Another study published earlier suggested that more than 70 percent of king penguins may disappear by the end of the century as a result of global warming and overfishing. As the Danger Islands is likely to remain important islands for many penguins under climate change, scientists believe it deserves special consideration in the design of Marine Protected Areas in this area. “Now that we know how important this area is for penguin, we can better move forward designing Marine Protected Areas and managing the fishery,” said Lynch.
The idea of building the Marine Protected Areas, which covers 1.8 million square km of the Weddell Sea and around the Antarctic Peninsula, was first put forward by the European Union and supported by nongovernmental organization Greenpeace. In January, a global campaign has been started in the vast fishing-free zone to better protect wildlife.
1. What can we learn from paragraph 1?A.Researchers knew the number of penguins only by computers. |
B.There are 751,527 pairs of penguins on the Antarctic Peninsula. |
C.Researcher may have never been to the Antarctic Peninsula. |
D.The Danger Islands may be fit for penguins to live on. |
A.Population count. | B.Living condition. |
C.Birth. | D.Desert. |
A.The Danger Islands is unknown for humans. |
B.There is little climate change there. |
C.Many people are protecting penguins. |
D.The Danger Islands is free from being disturbed by humans. |
A.Half of king penguins will die out in the future. |
B.The Antarctic Peninsula needn't become Protected Areas. |
C.Because the Danger Islands is dangerous, it becomes a super habitat. |
D.The number of penguins discovered here is the largest in the Antarctic Peninsula. |
【推荐3】Microbiologists have designed a sustainable way to remove polluting microplastics from the environment by using bacteria. Initial design as it is, it paves the way for sustainably lowering plastic pollution levels and stop the “plastification”.
Bacteria naturally tend to group together and stick to surfaces, and this creates a sticky material called “biofilm”. Researchers at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) want to use this adhesive bacteria character and capture microplastics in polluted water to form an easily disposable and recyclable blob(团) .
Sylvia Lang Liu, microbiology researcher at PolyU and lead researcher on this project, together with his team, has engineered a bacterial biofilm, which can fix and absorb microplastics floating around in the water, and make them sink to the bottom of the water. Then the researchers can separate the microplastics from the bacteria traps and get them ready to recycle.
Microplastics are the plastic fragments, usually smaller than 5mm, which are accidentally released into the environment during production and breakdown of grocery bags or water bottles, or during everyday activities such as washing synthetic (合成的) clothes or using personal care products with scrubbing microbeads in them. Microplastics are visually tiny, making it challenging to develop effective solutions to trap, collect, and recycle them.
Microplastics are not easily biodegradable (生物降解的), so they stick around for long and absorb and accumulate poisonous chemicals. They spread into wastewater and into the oceans, endangering marine animals and eventually threatening human health, Microplastics had been found in more than 114 species living in the water and also salt, lettuce, apples, and more in 2018 according to the International Maritime Organization.
“This is an innovative application of biofilm engineering l0 address the plastio pollution crisis,” said Dr Joanna Sadler, researcher at University of Edinburgh, who was not involved in this study. “One of the biggest challenges in dealing with microplastics is capturing such small particles. Liu and co-workers have denmonstrated an elegant solution to this problem, which holds great potential to be further developed into a real-world wastewater treatment technology.”
1. Which of the following best explains the underlined word “adhesive” in Paragraph 2?A.Floating. | B.Sticky. | C.Diverse. | D.Visual. |
A.They are visually too small. | B.They are hard to biodegrade. |
C.They continue to exist for long. | D.They are poisonous chemicals. |
A.Small particles are essential to address water pollution |
B.Biofilm bas been widely used to settle plastic pollution. |
C.Sadler thinks little of the biofilm engineering application. |
D.Biofilm application is promising for wastewater treatment. |
A.Microplastic removal. | B.Uses of bacteria. |
C.Wastewater treatment. | D.Plastic pollution. |