【推荐2】For years, scientists have debated whether humans or the climate have caused the population of large mammals to decline dramatically over the past several thousand years. A new study from Aarhus University confirms that climate cannot be the explanation.

About 100,000 years ago, the first modern humans migrated out of Africa in large numbers. They were very good at adapting to new habitats, and they settled in almost every kind of landscape — from deserts to jungles to the icy taiga in the far north.

Part of the success was human’s ability to hunt large animals. With clever hunting techniques and specially built weapons, they perfected the art of killing even the most dangerous mammals.

But unfortunately, the great success of our ancestors came at the expense of the other large mammals.

It is well-known that numerous large species went extinct during the time of worldwide colonization by modern humans. Now, new research from Aarhus University reveals that those large mammals that survived also experienced a dramatic decline.

By studying the DNA of 139 living species of large mammals, scientists have been able to show that the abundances of almost all species fell dramatically about 50,000 years ago. This is according to Jens-Christian Svenning, a professor and head of the Danish National Research Foundation’s Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO) at Aarhus University and the initiator of the study.

“We’ve studied the evolution of large mammalian populations over the past 750,000 years. For the first 700,000 years, the populations were fairly stable. But 50,000 years ago, the populations fell dramatically and never recovered,” he says, and continues: “For the past 800,000 years, the globe has fluctuated (波动) between ice ages and interglacial periods about every 100,000 years. If the climate was the cause, we should see greater fluctuations when the climate changed 50,000 years earlier.But we don’t. Humans are, therefore, the most likely explanation.”

1. What do the underlined words “the success” mean in Paragraph 3?

A．The evolution of large mammals.

B．The prosperity of various habitats.

C．The achievement of human migration.

D．The progress in hunting techniques.

2. According to Svenning, what happened 50,000 years ago?

A．Populations of large mammals significantly dropped.

B．Living conditions of large mammals remained stable.

C．Global climate dramatically changed.

D．A large number of glaciers suddenly melt.

3. What’s used as a clue of the research according to the last two paragraphs?

A．Species.

B．Place.

C．Time.

D．Climate.

4. Which can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Climate Impact on Animals

B．Changes of Prehistoric Environment

C．Evolution of Large Mammal Populations

D．Human Influence on Giant Mammals

【推荐3】阅读下面短文，根据题目要求用英文回答问题。

Mussels in Port Phillip Bay are taking in microplastics used in cosmetics(化妆品). The microplastics travel from bathroom sinks to the ocean, where they are easily confused with seaweeds. Because the mussels cannot tell the difference, they take in the plastic along with their normal diet of seaweeds.

According to researcher Dr Charlene Trestrail, the plastic doesn’t affect mussels directly, but it does reduce their ability to digest the real food. It means they miss out on energy and nutrients, which affects their ability to grow and reproduce.

“Besides being a tasty treat for humans, mussels play an important role in keeping marine ecosystems healthy,” Dr Trestrail said. “And because of the reduced ability to grow and reproduce, we could see a drop in mussel populations, with knock-on effects for other marine wildlife.”

While environmental campaigners have worked hard to reduce the amount of plastic in the oceans from easily visible items such as shopping bags and packaging, most people are not aware of the impact of microbeads and other hidden plastics in products including toothpaste or bath scrubs.

“We know lots about how plastics affect animals externally—we’ve all seen photos of birds and turtles twisted in plastic—but this is the first study to investigate how tiny plastics affect animals’ stomachs,” Dr Trestrail said.

There has been a push in recent years to reduce microplastic pollution. But while the Government has supported phasing out(淘汰) microbeads, some cosmetics industries stopped short of banning their use.

We need to take pollution from microplastics seriously. Because they’re so small, once they’re in the ecosystem they are impossible to remove. The only solution is not to use them in the first place.

mussel
1. Why do mussels eat microplastics?
________________
2. What will eventually happen to mussels if they eat microplastics mistakenly?
________________
3. Please decide which part is false in the following statement, then underline it and explain why.
       The first thing to solve microplastic pollution is not to use microplastics and some cosmetics industries agreed to stop using microbeads.
________________
4. Please briefly present your own solutions to the plastic pollution problem in your daily life. (In about 40 words)
________________

【推荐2】There have been many studies that show being in nature is good for your health. Walking in the woods is good for your well-being. Living near trees can help you live longer. But when you go for a walk in the woods, what is it particularly about being in nature or being outdoors that makes you feel good? Is it the sights or smells or sounds? A new study finds it might have something to do with the birds you hear while you have a walk.

Researchers from California Polytechnic State University analyzed how much the natural sounds people hear when they’re outdoors influence well-being. They found that the “chorus (合唱)” of birds singing increased well-being in protected natural areas.

For the study, researchers placed 10 hidden, evenly spaced speakers(扬声器) on two parts of trails(小路) in the Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks in Colorado. They played recorded songs from 11 kinds of birds. The researchers take turns to play the birdsong for a few hours a day for a week, and then turned off the speakers for a week at a time. They interviewed hikers after they passed through the areas with the speakers.

“The main result is that hikers that heard the birdsong responded to questions that showed a higher level of well-being compared to those that did not hear the birdsong,” Biology Professor Clinton Francis, who led the research, says.

Hikers who heard more birdsong on the first part of the trail said they felt better. Those who heard more birdsong on the second part reported that they thought more birds lived along that part of the trail. This feeling of more birds helps make the hikers feel better. “With the chorus, we were able to show that natural sounds have a clear effect on the quality of hikers’ experiences,” says Francis.

1. What’s the function of the questions in paragraph 1?

A．To bring in the topic of the text.	B．To advise people to walk in nature.
C．To call on people to care about nature.	D．To raise doubt about the research done before.

2. Why were the speakers placed along the trails?

A．To broadcast chorus live.	B．To remind hikers of their health.
C．To improve people’s well-being.	D．To play sounds of different birds.

3. What was the final step of the research?

A．Recording.

B．Comparing.

C．Photographing.

D．Interviewing.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Being in nature is good for people’s heath.

B．Walking in forests help people live longer.

C．Hearing birdsongs is good for people’s health.

D．Raising birds improves people’s living quality.

【推荐3】We touch our faces all the time, and it had never seemed to be a big problem—until COVID-19 arrived. Touching our faces—the "T-zone" of our eyes, nose and mouth in particular—can mean giving ourselves the deadly virus.

This is why organizations like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have suggested that we avoid touching our faces. "Just stop this simple behavior," William Sawyer, founder of Henry the Hand, a nonprofit organization that promotes hand hygiene (卫生), told The Washington Post. "It's the one behavior that would be better than any vaccine (疫苗) ever created."

Yet, stopping this "simple" behavior might be harder than you think because it's already hardwired (固定存在于) into our system.

Some face touching is an automatic reflex (反射) —like when there is an itch (痒) on your nose, you'll scratch (挠) it without thinking. According to CNBC, a 2014 study found that touching your face also helps to reduce stress and regulate emotions. For example, you're more likely to do it when you feel awkward or embarrassed. According to Dacher Keltner, a psychologist at the University of California Berkeley, US, this action may also come with a social function: When you are talking to someone and want to change the subject, for example, touching your face is like "the curtains on a stage, closing up one act of the social drama, ushering (引导) in the next," Keltner told the BBC.

Moreover, face-touching in almost all of these occasions is subconscious, which means it's very hard to change "because you don't even know you're doing it", said Sawyer. But you're not alone. In a 2015 study, where a group of medical students were filmed in class, it was found that they touched their faces an average of 23 times an hour—with 44 percent of the touches being in the "T-zones". That was particularly surprising since medical students were supposed to know better.

Since it's so hard to shake the habit, maybe the easiest way is to wash our hands more often. This way, we can be sure that our hands are free from the novel coronavirus.

1. What do the first two paragraphs talk about?

A．The best way to fight COVID-19

B．How organizations are fighting COVID-19.

C．Typical hand hygiene problems in the fight against COVID-19.

D．The necessity to avoid touching our faces to fight COVID-19.

2. Why is it hard for people to stop touching their faces?

A．It makes people feel more confident.

B．Many are unaware of this behavior's risks.

C．They usually do it automatically and subconsciously

D．Many think the action helps them express their emotions.

3. Which of the following is a social function of touching faces, according to the text?

A．Using it as a sign to change the topic

B．Bringing a conversation to an end.

C．Showing an interest in the ongoing subject.

D．Making others feel relaxed while talking.

4. What is the author's purpose in mentioning a 2015 study on a group of medical students?

A．To give tips on how to stop touching faces.

B．To prove that it is common for people to touch their faces.

C．To show it is impossible to shake the habit of touching your face.

D．To show how hygiene awareness helps people avoid touching their faces.