New animals
In northern Vietnam, in thick forests in the North Annamite Mountains, there is a wildlife park called Vu Quang. In 1986, the area was made an official forest reserve. In 2002, 550 square kilometers of the area were declared a National Park.
The new animals discovered at the park include the Vu Quang ox or Saola, a “slow” deer, a giant muntjac (the world’s largest, in fact), a black deer and a “holy” goat.
The Saola was the first new species of large mammal to be discovered in more than fifty years, so it caused a lot of excitement in the scientific world. It is a strange goat-like creature that looks as if it is somehow related to cattle. It has horns that can be between one and two feet long, and that seem to come out of the animal’s head at slightly different angles.
The creature had hidden safely for generations in the Vu Quang area. But once it was discovered, it was in danger.
| A．That’s why it attracts hunters |
| B．Vu Quang is no ordinary park, though |
| C．Hunters have no respect for new species |
| D．But that’s not all that is unusual about Vu Quang |
| E．Five new species of fish have also been found there |
| F．This was the first time so many new species had been found in this area |
| G．That’s why it is called “Saola”, meaning “spinning wheel posts” in Vietnamese |
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【推荐1】An amateur fossil hunter has unearthed a new type of prehistoric “sea dragon” on the beach of the UK's Dorset Coast. The new 2m-long ichthyosaur is named “Etches sea dragon”,after fossil collector Dr. Steve Etches, who found it buried head-first. Ichthyosaurs are called sea dragons for their usually very large teeth and eyes. He thought its teeth were unusual,so he passed it on to experts at the University of Portsmouth to identify(鉴定).There,a Masters student, Megan Jacobs, who has spent several years working on ichthyosaurs, identified it as a new species, which lived 150 million years ago.
The find is the UK's fifth known ichthyosaur from the Late Jurassic periods,and by far the smallest so far.
The fossil was found near Kimmeridge Bay—part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. When it died, the seafloor would have been very soft mud, allowing the front half of the animal to sink into the mud, before other animals came along and ate the tail end.Being buried in a bed of soft mud meant it was preserved in exceptional condition and even some of its soft tissues were preserved.
Megan said, “Fossils of Late Jurassic ichthyosaurs in the UK are extremely rare. I did some research,comparing it with those known from other Late Jurassic fossils found around the world. It was very exciting that I didn’t find a match. Steve's extraordinary collection contains many new and exciting animals, and it was a real honor to have the chance to describe this ichthyosaur.”
Professor David Martill,who leads the palaeontology(古生物学)research,said, “Steve is an exceptional fossil collector and although he is sometimes referred to as an amateur collector, he has done so much for palaeontology that he has been awarded an MBE, Member of the British Empire, and is truly a professional.”He added, “If it were not for collectors like Steve,scientists would have very few specimens(样本)to work on. ’’
1. What did Steve Etches do after finding the ichthyosaur?| A．He spent years studying it. | B．He sent it to a university. |
| C．He named it after himself. | D．He announced it’s a new species. |
| A．The largest sea dragons once lived there. |
| B．Fossils found there usually have soft tissues. |
| C．It is very popular among fossil hunters worldwide. |
| D．The seafloor there was once covered with soft mud. |
| A．Confirming the uniqueness of the fossil. |
| B．Admiring Steve’s extraordinary collections. |
| C．Finding a matching name for the new ichthyosaur. |
| D．Seeing other Late Jurassic’s fossils around the world. |
| A．He had a good taste of collections. |
| B．He contributed a lot to palaeontology. |
| C．He set an example for other amateur collectors. |
| D．He did better than professional palaeontologists. |
【推荐2】A sleeping animal cannot look for food or flee from danger. But the fact that sleep is widespread among animals shows its restorative powers are essential. Some animals, though, try to have their cake and eat it. Dolphins and ducks sleep with half their brains, leaving the other half on guard. A paper in Science by Dr Le reports another innovative workaround. Chinstrap penguins take their sleep in thousands of naps, tiny micro- sleeps-or at least when they are nesting.
Chinstraps sleep with either their whole brain or just one half. Data confirmed they sleep in the ocean or on land. Ducks sleep in long periods, while the penguins nod of for several seconds at a time, hundreds of times an hour. The naps average 4 seconds in length; 72% lasted less than 10 seconds. Micro-sleeps aren’t unknown. Exhausted humans, like jet-lagged (倒时差) tourists and parents of newborn babies, can experience them. Totaling the duration, the researchers concluded Chinstraps get around 12 hours of sleep daily.
Two explanations are given for Chinstraps’ sleep pattern. The first is to do with external threats. Penguins hatch eggs alone while their partners are away seeking for food. Colonies (领地) are threatened by big birds that’ll steal unattended eggs. Broken sleep is a clever strategy of getting some shut-eye during long egg-guarding periods.
Penguins with nests near the edge of the colony are at greater risk than those in the centre, but enjoy more extended naps. The second is threats from within, as penguin colonies are noisy, crowded places. They steal nesting materials from careless neighbors, so penguins in the crime-ridden centre find it harder to sleep than those in the safer suburbs.
Choosing between those theories requires more research. Dr Lee said, “Nor can we measure how restorative such naps are. Chinstraps are evidently able to hatch their young under such conditions, which suggests they’re getting something from their constant nodding-off. So, humans nurturing their newborns should take heart.”
1. Why do dolphins and ducks sleep with only one side of their brains?| A．To enjoy their cake. | B．To establish a nice nest. |
| C．To be watchful during naps. | D．To obtain high-quality sleep. |
| A．Engaging in numerous naps a day. | B．Sleeping nowhere beyond the ocean. |
| C．Ranging from 4 seconds to 12 hours. | D．Always sleeping with the entire brain. |
| A．Penguins live safely in natural colonies. | B．Penguins encounter a variety of challenges. |
| C．Penguins hatch their eggs away from colony. | D．Penguins at the core of the colony sleep longer. |
| A．Their duration is hard to detect. | B．They distract the restorative effects. |
| C．Adopting them aids human newborns. | D．Taking this sleep mode favors penguins. |
【推荐3】A woodpecker (啄木鸟) is a type of bird with along sharp mouth. They use their mouths to make holes in trees. Usually, a strong hit to the head will normally give you a concussion (脑震荡). Woodpeckers, however, strike their mouths into trees thousands of times a day and are perfectly fine.
We used to think that the bone inside a woodpecker’s head worked as a kind of safety helmet which absorbed (吸收) the shocks. A new research by Sam Van Wassenbergh, a researcher at the University of Antwerp in Belgium, showed that this “commonsense” was in fact false. Van Wassenbergh and his colleagues argued that, if a woodpecker’s head absorbed the force, it would not be able to strike the tree with enough force. “If the mouth absorbed much of its own impact, the unfortunate bird would have to hit even harder,” they said in their paper. In other words, if the “commonsense” was true, the woodpecker would have to peck (啄) even harder to pay for both the shock-absorbing qualities of the bone inside its head as well as the concentration of the wood.
The scientists recorded four different kinds of woodpeckers in zoos as they were pecking. And the research suggested that woodpeckers don’t have any shock-absorbing device or the ability to reduce the amount of force. Although they are without “helmets”, the team said that the woodpeckers’ tiny size and weight protect them.
A woodpecker’s brain is about 700 times smaller than that of a human. “Smaller animals can deal with the damage of a sudden stop. Think about a fly that hits a window and then just flies back again,” Van Wassenbergh said. “So that is why even the hardest hits we observed are not expected to do any harm to their brains.”
1. What will happen if a woodpecker gets a strong hit on the head?| A．It will stay totally fine. | B．It will get a concussion. |
| C．Its bone will be broken. | D．Its mouth will be sharper. |
| A．The researchers agreed to the “commonsense. |
| B．The researchers recorded woodpeckers in the forest. |
| C．Woodpeckers are able to reduce the amount of force. |
| D．Woodpeckers’ small size and weight protect them well. |
| A．To support the researchers’ opinion. | B．To explain the reasons for pecking |
| C．To describe how a fly hits a window. | D．To show how small the fly brain is |
| A．Music. | B．Nature. | C．Business. | D．Culture. |
【推荐1】We’re all familiar with the feeling―it usually starts with a little itch (痒) deep inside the nose. Next comes the awareness that it’s going to happen. Then, achoo! Air rushes out of our nose at a shocking 100 miles per hour, bursting out whatever was causing the itch. The high-pressure from a sneeze (喷嚏) has led some people to think that if we didn’t close our eyes, they could be pushed out.
For decades, countless people have tested the theory. When finding it almost impossible to keep their eyes open while sneezing, many have concluded that the theory must be true. If you try it yourself, the possibilities are that your eyes are still where they belong. That’s because they are held firmly by the muscles in the eyes. Furthermore, increased pressure from sneezing actually builds up in the blood vessels (血管), which may cause vessels to break but may not be possible to push the eyeballs out.
Why did this theory start, anyway? Some say that it all began in 1882, when the New York Times reported an incident of a woman who burst one of her eyeballs during a sudden sneeze. Others point at the fact that different high-pressure experiences, such as childbirth, can cause blood vessels in the eyes to break out. Still others say that closing our eyes when we sneeze shows the theory is true. Scientists, on the other hand, explain that we close our eyes for the same reason we sneeze ― to prevent unwanted things from entering our bodies. Either way, as far as we know, there are no actual recorded cases of anyone losing an eyeball because of a sneeze, so don’t lose any sleep over it!
1. What is mainly talked about in paragraph 1?| A．The cause of a sneeze. | B．The danger of sneezing. |
| C．The importance of a sneeze. | D．The experience of sneezing. |
| A．Because they are fixed firmly in the eyes. |
| B．Because high pressure builds up in the eyes. |
| C．Because they are held strongly by blood vessels. |
| D．Because increased pressure prevents them from bursting out. |
| A．Sneezes usually cause an itchy nose. |
| B．People sneeze to burst out unwanted things. |
| C．The high pressure caused by a sneeze will become less through breathing. |
| D．People close their eyes when sneezing to stop their eyeballs from popping out. |
| A．A guidebook. | B．A magazine. |
| C．A storybook. | D．A textbook. |
【推荐2】We all know that eating later in the day isn’t good for our waistlines, but why? A new study weighed in on that question by comparing people who ate the same foods — but at different times in the day. “Does the time that we eat matter when everything else is kept consistent?” said first author Nina Vujovic, a researcher at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital. The answer was yes — eating later in the day will double your odds of being hungrier, according to the study published in the journal Cell Metabolism (新陈代谢).
The study does show eating later results in “an increase in hunger, impacts hormones and also changes gene expression, especially in terms of fat metabolism with a tendency towards less fat breakdown and more fat deposition,” said Dr. Bhanu Prakash Kolla, a professor of psychiatry and psychology at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine.
The study was small — only 16 overweight or obese people — but carefully planned to eliminate other potential causes of weight gain. All participants were in good health, with no history of diabetes or shift work and had regular physical activity. Each person in the study kept to a strict healthy sleep/wake schedule for about three weeks and were provided with prepared meals at fixed times for three days before the lab experiment began.
Participants were then divided into two groups randomly. One group ate calorie-controlled meals at 8 am, noon and 4 pm, while the other ate the same meals four hours later, at noon, 4 pm and 8 pm for the six days reported in the study. Measures of hunger and appetite were gathered 18 times each while tests for body fat, temperature and energy expenditures were gathered on three separate days.
After a break of a few weeks, the same participants reversed the procedure — those who had eaten earlier moved to the late eating group and vice versa, thus using each person as their own control. Results showed that hunger pangs doubled for those on a night-eating regime (规则). People who ate later in the day also reported a desire for salty foods, meat and, to a lesser extent, a desire for dairy foods and vegetables.
1. What can we infer about eating later in the day from the text?| A．It does harm to our fat storage. |
| B．It helps keep our body in shape. |
| C．It has nothing to do with our health actually. |
| D．It has a negative effect on our fat breakdown. |
| A．By conducting a large-scaled test. |
| B．By analyzing the causes of the phenomenon. |
| C．By collecting many data to facilitate the study. |
| D．By giving examples to prove the scientific research. |
| A．All the participants weren’t out of shape. |
| B．Most of the participants lacked regular exercise. |
| C．The participants were restricted to particular foods. |
| D．The participants were grouped according to their weights. |
| A．Eat Less, Live Longer | B．Eat Later, Be Fatter |
| C．Eat Better, Live Healthier | D．Eat More, Feel Hungry Later |
【推荐3】Sharks are the world’s most frightening and impressive fish. They are believed to have been in existence before the dinosaurs. In fact, scientists guess that the earliest shark species were swimming in the earth’s waters some 420 million years ago.
The shark species are different in terms of their physical appearance, diets and habits. Different shark species prefer different waters, but, generally, sharks are found all over the world. They live anywhere between relatively shallow depths and about 2,000 meters from the surface.
The shark’s body is streamlined (流线型的) to allow these effective hunters to slide through the water smoothly. Sharks that swim around on the ocean floor usually have flat bodies, allowing them to slide across the sand unnoticed. Unlike other fish, which have both bones and cartilage (软骨), sharks only have cartilage, increasing their flexibility and decreasing their weight to allow even faster movement. Their replaceable rows of teeth are used only for catching their prey (猎物) and tearing off large pieces of flesh. They do not chew their food, but swallow it whole.
All sharks are meat eaters. However, their diets are varied. Sharks are believed to be relatively intelligent.
There have been several shark attacks on people, usually resulting in severe injuries or death. The bull shark is the most common killer for bathers, as it swims in the shallow waters. To avoid attacks by such sharks, it is necessary for bathers to stay within the swimming confines (界限) set by lifeguards and for bathers to get out of the water immediately if they have a bleeding injury.
Sharks continue to be threatened by hunting and pollution, yet remain one of the most fascinating (迷人的) creatures.
1. From the first two paragraphs, we can learn that________.| A．Shark species have the same diets and habits |
| B．The earliest sharks lived on the earth about 420 years ago |
| C．A wide variety of shark species exists in the world |
| D．Sharks usually live 2,000 meters under the water’s surface |
| A．Swimming faster. | B．Shaping them. | C．Intelligence. | D．Strength. |
| A．they tear off the flesh of their prey and chew |
| B．they swallow their food whole without chewing |
| C．they have sharp teeth but are irreplaceable |
| D．they are as intelligent as whales |
| A．Bathers get out of the water immediately if they have a bleeding injury. |
| B．Bathers stay within the swimming confines set by themselves. |
| C．Bathers only swim in the shallow waters of the ocean. |
| D．Bathers swim as quickly as possible when they see the sharks. |
