【推荐2】The victims were carried in one by one, their paws burned and fur burnt, suffering from dehydration (脱水) and fear. Their caretakers bandaged (用绷带包扎) their wounds and laid them in baskets with the only thing that was familiar — the leaves of a eucalyptus (桉树) tree. As fires have burned more than two million acres in Australia, dozens of koalas have been rescued from burned trees and pale ground. The animals are being treated in rescue centers, and at least one private home, along the country’s east coast.

The difficult situation of the koala — a national symbol of Australia — has raised questions among environmentalists and scientists about what it will take to protect biodiversity (生物多样性) in a country with intense fire, extreme heat and lack of water. Australia has already been among the highest rates of species extinction in the world.

The bad situation goes beyond koalas. Recently, tens of thousands of bats fell from the sky in temperatures over 107 degrees Fahrenheit in northern Australia. Kangaroos destroyed the grapes in Canberra because of drought.

“Climate change and other human impacts have so changed the situation that the government needs to rethink its way to protect at once,” Dr. Bowman said, suggesting interventions (干预) like irrigating, feeding and moving animals to new places.

Koalas, unlike kangaroos, birds or snakes, do not escape from fires. Therefore, though the fires are still burning, a rescue team began to search the area carefully. Walking in a human chain, they looked up to the tree top, searching for survivors.

1. What do the victims in the first paragraph refer to?

A．Animals injured in fires.

B．Kangaroos driven by drought.

C．Bats that fell from the sky.

D．Koalas rescued from the fire.

2. Which of the following may cause the extinction of wildlife?

A．Wildfires that seldom happened.

B．Extreme hot weather in Australia.

C．The never-changing climate in Australia.

D．Not having enough money to take measures in Australia.

3. What can we draw from Dr. Bowman?

A．Human activities have little influence on animals.

B．The government should take immediate action.

C．The government does not care about the wild animals.

D．Scientists are concerned about the bad situation of wildlife.

4. What’s the best title for the text?

A．Saving the Fire Victims Who Cannot Escape: Australia’s Koalas

B．Saving the Endangered Wild Animals in Australia

C．Actions Needed to Protect Habitat for Koalas

D．National Symbol of Australia Needs Rescue

【推荐3】Bumblebee (大黄蜂) populations have declined (下降) by 90 percent in the past 20 years. The decline of the bumblebees is highly concerning as they are significant for ecosystems. They pollinate (授粉) flowers and crops. If their populations were to continue to decline, crops would not be able to produce fruits and vegetables. Despite being small, they are important to nature’s balance.

And now, a new study published in the Frontiers in Bee Science has found that the rising heat caused by global warming might be a reason for the decrease in numbers across the globe. “The decline in populations and ranges of several species of bumblebees may be explained by issues of overheating of the nests,” Peter Kevan of the University of Guelph in Canada and lead author of the study said in a statement.

Kevan and his colleagues decided to take a closer look at the facts relating to bumblebee populations across the world. Kevan and the colleagues looked at 180 years of literature on the species and found one common reason across all bumblebee species that they can survive in temperatures up to 36 degrees Celsius, but the perfect temperature for nests is between 28 to 32 degrees Celsius. They are unlikely to be able to adjust themselves to the extent that rising temperatures due to climate change require, the study reports. While individual bees may be able to deal with increased heat better than others, the study notes that if nests are too hot, the groups will not survive.

“The effect of high nest temperatures has not been studied very much, which is surprising,” Kevan said. Similar studies have been done on honeybees (蜜蜂), another threatened yet highly important species. This suggests further that heat stress is a major factor in bees’ overall decline.

Although the studies led by Kevan have limitations, the potential effects for bumblebee health and conversation are large and long-term.

1. What do we know about bumblebees from paragraph 1?

A．They have been extinct within decades in America.

B．Their populations have decreased a lot in the last two decades.

C．Americans are concerned about their living environment.

D．They tend to depend on flowers and crops to survive.

2. How did Kevan and his coworkers carry out the study?

A．They raised bumblebees to observe them.

B．They focused on studying individual bumblebees.

C．They conducted experiments on bumblebees.

D．They studied literature on bumblebees.

3. What is the author’s attitude toward Kevan’s studies?

A．Unclear.

B．Supportive.

C．Doubtful.

D．Uninterested.

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

A．Big Results for Small Bumblebees

B．Bumblebees Protection Inspires Scientists

C．The Impact of Climate Change on Honeybees

D．Research Shows the Main Reason of Bumblebee Decline

【推荐1】In Sao Paulo, a baby boy is smiling, unaware that a court is deciding his fate. If it finds in his father's favor, he is in all kinds of trouble. There may be a law in Brazil against giving your child a name that might cause him to be laughed at, but daddy wants to call his son Osama bin Laden. The same father, Osvaldo Oliveria Soares, has a habit of trying to use babies as political statements. Nine years ago, he was banned from naming a previous son Saddam Hussein.

Unlike Brazil, there is no law Britain that constrains a parent's right to name their child. "It's not for the officials to say if someone has picked a name they don't think is suitable," says Alison Cathcart, superintendent official at Westminster register office. "But if someone is from a different culture and wants to register a name that sounds like a swear word in English then we do advise them of that."

"Naming does matter," says Helen Petrie, a professor at the City University of London. "We have fixed beliefs of what sort of people are behind certain names. There are studies of teachers in primary schools in the US that show they rate children with certain names as less capable."

"The name is the first thing we find out when we meet someone. If you call your child an unusual silly name like Fifi Trixibelle, as did Bob Geldof and Paula Yates, it can make life hard for your child — especially if you want him to be smart and are not in the least bit superficial"

There's also the class factor. “Fifty years ago there was no cross-over of names between classes. Now everyone can buy Tatler and see the name Tarquin," says Petrie. "Until the 60s, Tracey was a fashionable Chelsea name. Now it has a terrible image fixed in people's mind. I've interviewed some Traceys who find their name a huge burden. However high up they may be in their profession, people hear their name and think they're the cleaner."

1. The Brazilian court may rule against Osvaldo Olveria Soares if he ______.

A．states that he admires Osama bin Laden	B．gives his son a name that will be laughed at
C．uses his babies as political statements	D．keeps his habit of interfering in politics

2. What does the underlined word “constrain” in the passage most likely mean?

A．abolish	B．acknowledge
C．defend	D．restrict

3. As it is indicated in the third paragraph, the teacher rate some children as less capable because ______.

A．the students do not perform well in class

B．they do not love those children's name

C．they think a name can reveal one' ability

D．they understand the psychology of naming

4. What do we learn about the names?

A．A person named Fifi is usually silly.

B．Paula Yates is a name which sounds superficial.

C．Tatler is a name of low grade.

D．Tracey is still a fashionable Chelsea name.

【推荐2】Too much TV-watching can harm children’s ability to learn and even reduce their chances of getting a college degree, new studies suggest in the latest effort to examine the effects of television on children.

One of the studies looked at nearly 400 northern California third-graders. Those with TVs in their bedrooms scored about eight points lower on math and language arts tests than children without bedroom TVs.

A second study ,looking at nearly 1000 grown-ups in New Zealand, found lower education levels among 26-year-olds who had watched lots of TV during childhood. But the results don’t prove that TV is the cause and don't ride out that already poorly motivated youngsters (年轻人）may watch lots of TV.

Their study measured the TV habits of 26-year-olds between ages5 and 15. These with college degrees had watch an average of less than two hours of TV per week night during childhood, compared with an average of more than 2.5 hours for those who had no education beyond high school.

In the California study, children with TVs in their rooms but no computer at home scored the lowest while those with no bedroom TV but who had home computers scored the highest.

While this study does not prove that bedroom TV sets caused the lower scores, it adds to increasing findings that children shouldn't have TVs in their bedrooms.

1. According to the California study, the low-scoring group might _________.

A．have had computers in their bedrooms

B．not be interested in math

C．be unable to go to college

D．have watched a lot of TV

2. What is the researchers' understanding of the New Zealand study results?

A．Poorly motivated 26-year-olds watch more TV.

B．Habits of TV watching reduce learning interest.

C．The connection between TV and education levels is difficult to explain.

D．TV watching leads to lower education levels of the 15-year-olds.

3. What can we learn from the last two paragraphs?

A．TV sets shouldn't be allowed in children's bedrooms.

B．Children should be forbidden from watching TV.

C．More time should be spent on computers.

D．Further studies on high-achieving students should be done

4. What would be the best title for this text?

A．Computers or Television

B．Effects of Television on Children

C．Studies on TV and College Education

D．Television and Children's Learning Habits

【推荐3】   “All work and no play make Jack a dull boy.” But now scientists have given us an other warning: too much play with smart phones or computers makes you dull too.

“Many focus on the benefits of digital devices（设备）in education but ignore the costs”, said Patricia Greenfield from the University of California, “losing the ability to understand the emotions of other people is one of the costs.” Greenfield and her research team did an experiment. They worked with 105 children who spend about 4.5 hours in front of screens on a school day. The students were asked to describe the emotions towards the pictures of people who were happy, sad, angry or scared. Then, half of them attended a five-day nature and science camp. There they had no smart phones, TV, or computers. The other half stayed in school and spent the five days as usual. Five days later, all the children took the test again.

Students who had been to the camp got about 5 percent more answers correct than they had done before the camp. But the other group of students didn't show much improvement. The study is not perfect in some ways, said the researchers. But scientists say that the study is still a warning for us.

“Emotional skills develop in practice and the brain develops through real interaction.” said Professor Taylor, a professor at the University of San Francisco.

Researchers talked to 2,000 parents of children aged 2-16 in the UK about what activities their children could do confidently. The results were surprising: Their children could use a tablet(平板电脑)(59%)and work a mobile phone(57%)more confidently than they could tie their shoe laces(鞋带)(53%)! So, spend more time away from mobile phones and computers if you want to be an understanding friend, and not a member of what the Daily Mail called “Generation Helpless”.

1. According to Professor Greenfield，using digital media in education leads to ______.

A．being in bad terms with family members

B．making more mistakes when taking exams

C．falling far behind others in all schoolwork

D．failing to relate to other people's emotions

2. Scientists think the results of Greenfield's experiment ______.

A．are alarming for people	B．are far from perfect
C．are quite surprising	D．need to be improved

3. What can we know from the text？

A．Too much play with digital devices raised some worries．

B．Students learned how to describe emotions in the experiment．

C．Students living without screens did much better in studies．

D．Most of the UK children couldn't tie their shoe laces．

4. What is the best title for the text？

A．Stay away from the Internet	B．Here comes a digital world!
C．Screens do harm to emotions	D．How people become addicted？