【推荐1】When the natural climate changes due to global warming, it can surely affect seals. The majority of them live in the Antarctic region so as the ice is melting, their natural habitat (栖息地)can be seriously affected. These changes don’t take place overnight. They can be the result of many years of additional temperatures in the area. The seals then have to find ways to adapt.

Seals depend on the cool air currents to bring plenty of food for them. When the temperatures get higher, there is less and less food and the seal population starts to get depleted. Mothers aren’t healthy enough to feed their babies. Many of them end up abandoned as the mothers have to leave to find their own source of food.

The fact that their desire to produce young can be changed by the warmer temperatures is frightening too. It is also believed that the warmer temperatures can allow different diseases and viruses to attack the seals. This is a huge concern as they can rapidly wipe out huge numbers of seals out there.

However, these changes in climate and temperature aren’t all bad for other species of seals. Scientists have found that those living in warmer climates are producing more young due to the changes. Research also shows that the females are moving further to find food and water. When they are out of the reach of the governing males, they are more willing to accept the moves of other males in the group.

This is good news too because it means that there will be more selection in the gene pool (基因库)for future generations. It can help the seals as a species adapt to changes in their natural environment more easily.

The climate change problem for seals is directly linked to humans. When we take action to change what we let out into the environment, we will make positive changes for the seals. However, it is going to take a very long time to reverse (彻底改变)the effects of what has already been done.

1. What does the author regard climate changes for seals as?

A．An unavoidable disaster for existence.

B．A double-edged sword.

C．A mirror of evolution

D．A requirement for more choice in the gene pool.

2. What does the underlined phrase in Paragraph 2 most probably mean?

A．Explode	B．Disappear
C．Shrink	D．Vary

3. What will happen to the seals in warmer climates?

A．Their number will be on the increase

B．The female seals will be in the lead.

C．Their genes will change a great deal.

D．The females will keep away from the males.

4. Which the following can be the best title for the text?

A．The Importance of Protecting Seals.

B．Seals’ adaptation to Climate Change.

C．How Climate Change Affects Seals.

D．Why Are Seals Becoming Less and Less.

【推荐2】New research proves it wrong that the loss of one sense may sharpen other senses. A new study from the University of Montreal found that blind people have no sharper sense of smell than the sighted. The loss of sight simply makes blind people pay more attention to how they sense smells, the researchers said.

“If you enter a room in which coffee is boiling, you will quickly look for the coffee machine. However, for a blind person, he or she will only have the smell of coffee as information,” said a researcher, Mathilde Beaulieu-Lefebvre.

“There is a saying that blind people have better smell than the sighted. We are proving it wrong,” said Maurice Ptito, a professor at the University of Montreal. “However, the blind do set themselves apart as they are somewhat better than the sighted at deciding what direction a sound is coming from.”

It is further found that the blind use a certain part of the brain more than the sighted when they smell. They also use the part which is normally used for sight. “That’s interesting because it means that part of the brain is reorganized and used in a new way,” said Ptito.

The research on the sense of smell could lead to new applications that are likely to help guide blind people in their surroundings.

1. How do blind people know coffee is boiling?

A．By looking for the coffee machine.	B．By using the sense of smell.
C．By sharpening their sense of sight.	D．By doing a scientific study.

2. The underlined phrase “set themselves apart” probably means “      ”.

A．put themselves aside	B．make themselves puzzled
C．give themselves up	D．make themselves distinguishing

3. In which part of a magazine can we most probably read this passage?

A．Science.	B．Food.
C．Culture.	D．Music.

【推荐3】In a digital age, we almost never write things by hand. However, multiple studies have shown that this act has many benefits.

New brain research, led by researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, confirms the same choosing handwriting over using a keyboard results in better learning and memory.

“When you write your shopping list or lecture notes by hand, you simply remember the content better afterwards,” said Audrey Van der Meer, author of the study.

The study was conducted using equipment to track and record brain wave activity. The participants included 12 young adults and 12 children. This is the first time that children have participated in such a study. Each subject was asked to write by hand and type on a keyboard while wearing a hood(风帽) with over 250 electrodes(电极). The sensors(传感器)in the electrodes are very sensitive and pick up the electrical activity that takes place in the brain. Each examination took 45 minutes per person.

The results showed that the brain in both young adults and children is much more active when writing by hand than when typing on a keyboard. According to Van der Meer, plenty of senses are activated (激活) by pressing a pen on paper, seeing the letters written and hearing the sound made while writing. These sense experiences build contact between different parts of the brain, opening the brain up for learning.

Van der Meer believes that the outcomes stress the importance of children being challenged to draw and write at an early age, especially at school. “Learning to write by hand is a bit slower process, but it’s important for children to go through the tiring phase of learning to write by hand”, she said.

The hand movements used to form the shapes of letters are beneficial in several ways. “If you use a keyboard, you use the same movement for each letter. Writing by hand requires control of your fine motor(精细动作)skills and senses. It’s important to put the brain in a learning state as often as possible,” Van der Meer added. For example, you might use a keyboard to write an essay, but you should take notes by hand during a lecture.

1. What’s the main purpose of the text?

A．To encourage the use of handwriting

B．To advise children to start to write early

C．To report on new research on handwriting

D．To explain how handwriting affects adults and children differently

2. What do we know about the study?

A．The study involved 45 participants altogether.

B．The participants were divided into two groups to conduct.

C．All the participants were gathered together for examinations.

D．The sensors in the electrodes were used to track brain wave activity.

3. Why does the brain become more active when writing by hand than when typing on a keyboard according to Van der Meer?

A．More senses are made active when writing by hand.

B．Writing by hand is easier on the brain.

C．Noise made by typing doesn’t distract the brain when writing by hand.

D．The brain is more used to the skills required to write by.

4. How does Van der Meer think handwriting benefits people?

A．It allows children to become more patient.	B．It increases people’s interest in learning.
C．It helps people develop fine motor skills.	D．It allows people to write better essays.

【推荐1】Many people who live on Norway’s far-northern island of Sommaroey are campaigning to go “time-free”. They note that between May and July, the sun does not set there for 69 days.

To enjoy the bright summer months, they would like to ignore traditional business hours. For example, stores would be open when people are there to work at them. Schools would operate when teachers and students are ready. Kjell Ove Hveding is one of the local leaders of the campaign. He said the 350 people who live on the island already go mostly time-free. He said that in the summer at 2 in the morning, you might see “children playing soccer, people painting their houses or mowing their lawns, and teens going for a swim”.

To show their feelings about time, many islanders take off their watches. They leave them on a bridge that connects the island to the mainland.

Earlier this month, Hveding met with a Norwegian lawmaker. Hveding presented a formal request signed by people who live on the island. The request asked the government to declare the area a “time-free zone”.

Hveding noted that he understands going completely time-free would be too complex in a world that operates on schedules. And, as an article in the Smithsonian magazine says, people’s health depends on keeping a usual rhythm of being asleep and being awake.

But Hveding argues that letting go of time limits can also be good for people. He said the time-free proposal would permit the islanders to get used to the daylight and feel calmer. “The idea is also to chill out,” he said, “I have seen people suffering from stress because they were pressed by time.”

1. What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?

A．People’s ways to work during summer.

B．People’s ways to spend business hours.

C．People’s ways to enjoy time-free months.

D．People’s ways to entertain during summer.

2. What do we know about the formal request presented by Hveding?

A．It was put forward by a lawmaker.

B．It was approved by the islanders.

C．It was rejected by the government.

D．It was about a “trade-free zone”.

3. Why does the author mention Hveding’s opinion in the last paragraph?

A．To prove going time-free would be beneficial to the islanders.

B．To show the article’s view in the magazine is wrong.

C．To introduce the lifestyle of the islanders.

D．To present people’s suffering from time pressure.

4. Where is this text most likely from?

A．A news report.

B．A geography book.

C．A health magazine.

D．A travel brochure.

【推荐2】When you walk along a street in a big city in the United States, you may see clocks in most stores. Radio announcers give the correct time during the day. People there think that it is important to know the time. Most Americans have watches. They want to do certain things at certain times. They do not want to be late. Not all people all over the world value time. Suppose you visit a certain country in South America. You would find that people living there do not like to rush. If you had an appointment (约会) with someone, he would probably be late. He would not care for arriving on time. In some countries in South America, even the radio programs may not begin right on time, nor do the radio announcers think it important to announce the right time. Many people regard a clock as a machine. It seems to them that a person who does everything on time is controlled (控制) by a machine. They do not want a clock or any machine to have that much power over their lives.

1. There are clocks in most stores in the US cities because ______.

A．people in the stores want to sell these clocks

B．people think it important to know the time

C．bosses want to make their stores beautiful

D．they needn’t wear watches when they are away from home

2. The underlined word “rush” in the passage most probably means ______.

A．run

B．race

C．move

D．hurry

3. In some countries in South America ______.

A．the radio programs may start a bit early or late

B．the radio announcers do think it important to announce the exact time

C．many people think a clock has much power

D．most people do not want to be controlled by others