Grizzly bears, which may grow to about 2.5 m long and weigh over 400 kg, occupy a conflicted corner of the American psyche — we revere (敬畏) them even as they give us frightening dreams. Ask the tourists from around the world that flood into Yellowstone National Park what they most hope to see, and their answer is often the same: a grizzly bear.
“Grizzly bears are re-occupying large areas of their former range,” says bear biologist Chris Servheen. As grizzly bears expand their range into places where they haven’t been seen in a century or more, they’re increasingly being sighted by humans.
The western half of the US was full of grizzlies when Europeans came, with a rough number of 50,000 or more living alongside Native Americans. By the early 1970s, after centuries of cruel and continuous hunting by settlers, 600 to 800 grizzlies remained on a mere 2 percent of their former range in the Northern Rockies. In 1975, grizzlies were listed under the Endangered Species Act.
Today, there are about 2,000 or more grizzly bears in the US. Their recovery has been so successful that the US Fish and Wildlife Service has twice attempted to delist grizzlies, which would loosen legal protections and allow them to be hunted. Both efforts were overturned due to lawsuits from conservation groups. For now, grizzlies remain listed.
Obviously, if precautions (预防) aren’t taken, grizzlies can become troublesome, sometimes killing farm animals or walking through yards in search of food. If people remove food and attractants from their yards and campsites, grizzlies will typically pass by without trouble. Putting electric fencing around chicken houses and other farm animal quarters is also highly effective at getting grizzlies away. “Our hope is to have a clean, attractant-free place where bears can pass through without learning bad habits,” says James Jonkel, longtime biologist who manages bears in and around Missoula.
1. What has helped the increase of the grizzly population?| A．The European settlers’ behavior. |
| B．The expansion of bears’ range. |
| C．The protection by law since 1975. |
| D．The support of Native Americans. |
| A．Food should be provided for grizzlies. |
| B．People can live in harmony with grizzlies. |
| C．A special path should be built for grizzlies. |
| D．Technology can be introduced to protect grizzlies. |
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【推荐1】Instagram is one of the most popular photo apps. Animal photos are huge on it, with creatures such as tigers, monkeys holding millions of tags (标签) each. This year Instagram reveals the top four most Instagrammable animals that can be found in the UK.
1. Rabbit — 18.7 million tags
Our clear winner is the rabbit. Popular as pets, rabbits are a common sight in many UK homes. Although it is a symbol of Easter, rabbits can be seen year-round. Shy, danger-averse animals, wild rabbits will run away when threatened, which may make it tricky to get the perfect shot of them.
2. Duck — 8.2 million tags
A variety of duck species native to the UK can be seen year-round, close to bodies of water. The Mallard with its bright yellow beak and emerald green head is well-known to many of us. Ducks tend to stick together in groups, so visit your local pond or river to try and spot a flock to photograph!
3. Robin — 4.4 million tags
The red-breasted robin is associated with winter and Christmas. Robins will protect their space aggressively and won’t hesitate to drive away interlopers (闯入者) . Interestingly, robins can often be heard singing at night in that they mistake artificial light, such as street lamps for daylight. Try to catch a quick shot of a robin singing to the street lamps at dusk!
4. Hedgehog — 4.3 million tags
Hedgehogs are nocturnal creatures and hibernate during the coldest months. You’re most likely to catch sight of one on a summer evening in dry spaces. Hedgehogs can travel as far as 12 miles in a single night!A baby hedgehog is known by the sweet name of “hoglet” and a little hedgehog family makes for the perfect picture if you can capture it without frightening the animals.
1. Which animal is associated with Easter?| A．Rabbit. | B．Duck. | C．Robin. | D．Hedgehog |
| A．Because they try to guard against shots. |
| B．Because they attempt to drive away interlopers. |
| C．Because they tend to mix artificial light up with daylight. |
| D．Because they want to express their affection for street lamps. |
| A．They are all active at night. | B．They are all social animals. |
| C．They are all found in urban areas. | D．They are all popular on Instagram. |
Friends of the Earth (FOE) campaigns on a range of problems including rainforests，the countryside, water and air pollution and energy. Friends of the Earth International Secretariat P. O. Box 19199 1000 G. D. Amsterdam The Netherlands | Greenpeace uses peaceful but direct action to defend the environment. It campaigns to protect rainforests and sea animals, stop global warming and end pollution of air, land and seas. It also opposes nuclear (核) power. Greenpeace International Keizergracht 176 1016 DW Amsterdam The Netherlands |
| BirdLife International is an organization which works to save endangered birds all over the world. BirdLife International Wellbrook Court Girton Road  Cambridge CB3 ONA England |  WWF-World Wide Fund For Nature is the world’s largest private international organization for the protection of nature and endangered species. Information Officer WWF International Avenue du Mont-Blanc 1196 Gland Switzerland |
| A．call them | B．write them a letter |
| C．visit them | D．send them an e-mail |
| A．reduce pollution |
| B．defend rainforests |
| C．protect ocean animals |
| D．save endangered birds |
| A．Friends of the Earth |
| B．World Wide Fund For Nature |
| C．Greenpeace |
| D．BirdLife International |
| A．It helps to protect nature and save endangered animals. |
| B．It is the world’s largest international organization. |
| C．It works for private companies and rich people. |
| D．It is a private organization in the United States. |
| A．Environmental Protection Organizations |
| B．Global Environmental Problems |
| C．Endangered Animals |
| D．Friends of the Earth |
【推荐3】The Arctic is a polar region. It surrounds the North Pole.
Like Antarctica, the Arctic is a land of ice and snow. Antarctica holds the record for a low temperature reading －125 degrees Fahrenheit below zero. Reading of 85 degrees below zero is common in Antarctica. Winter temperatures average 30 degrees below zero in the Arctic. At the South Pole the winter average is about 73 degrees below zero.
One thing alone makes it almost impossible for men to live in Antarctica and in parts of the Arctic. This one thing is the low temperature — the killing chill of far North and the polar South.
To survive, men must wear the warmest possible clothing. They must build windproof shelters. They must keep heaters going at all times. Not even for a moment can they be unprotected against the belowzero temperatures.
Men have a way of providing for themselves. Polar explorers wrap themselves in warm coats and furs. The cold makes life difficult. But the explorers can stay alive.
What about animals? Can they survive? Do we find plants? Do we find life in the Arctic and in Antarctica? Yes, we do. There is life in the oceans. There is life on land.
Antarctica, as we have seen, is a cold place indeed. But this has not always been the case. Expedition (探险) scientists have discovered that Antarctica has not always been a frozen continent. At one time the weather in Antarctica may have been much like our own.
Explorers have discovered coal in Antarctica. This leads them to believe that Antarctica at one time was a land of swamps and forests. Heat and moisture must have kept the trees in the forests alive.
1. The lowest temperature that man has ever known was recorded ________.| A．in Antarctica | B．in the Arctic |
| C．at the North Pole | D．in the polar region |
| A．they are frozen |
| B．they are wasted |
| C．there are no life there |
| D．they are extremely cold |
| A．stay inside the building there |
| B．have their own way to keep warm |
| C．are stronger than other people |
| D．have no heaters and windproof shelters |
| A．The Arctic is colder than Antarctica. |
| B．The history of the Arctic and Antarctica. |
| C．The discovery in the Arctic and Antarctica. |
| D．The environmental features in polar regions. |
【推荐1】How does a person become an Olympic champion? In reality, a combination of biological, environmental, and psychological elements, as well as training and practice, all go into making a super athlete.
Perhaps the most important element involved in becoming an outstanding athlete is genetic. Most Olympic competitors are equipped with certain physical characteristics that make them different from the average person. Olympic weightlifters, for example, have a large number of fast- twitch fibers (快速收缩肌肉纤维) in their muscles. These allow them to lift hundreds of kilos from the ground and over their heads in seconds. Surprisingly, a large, muscular body is not the main requirement to do well in this sport. It is more important to have a large number of fast-twitch fibers in the muscles.
The legs of an outstanding marathon runner, on the other hand, might contain up to 90 percent slow-twitch muscle fibers. When we exercise long or hard, it’s common to experience tiredness, muscle pain, and difficulty breathing. These feelings are caused when the muscles produce high amounts of a substance called lactate and can’t remove it quickly enough. Athletes with many slow-twitch muscle fibers seem to be able to clear the lactate from their muscles faster as they move.
Some athletes’ abilities are naturally enhanced by their environment. Those raised at high altitudes (海拔高地) in countries such as Kenya have blood rich in hemoglobin (血红素). Large amounts of hemoglobin carry oxygen around the body faster, enabling these athletes to run better. Although genes, environment, and even culture play a part in becoming an outstanding athlete, training and practice are needed to succeed. Marathon runners may be able to control tiredness and keep moving for long periods of time, but they must train to reach their goals. Weightlifters and gymnasts perfect their skills by repeating the same motions again and again until they become automatic. Greg Louganis, winner of four Olympic diving gold medals, says divers must train the same way to be successful: “You have less than three seconds from takeoff until you hit the water, so it has to be reflex (对刺激的本能反应). You have to repeat the dives hundreds, maybe thousands, of times.” Training this way requires an athlete to be not only physically fit but psychologically healthy as well. Otherwise, they couldn’t handle the training loads.
1. Having a lot of slow-twitch muscle fibers is particularly important for ________.| A．long-distance cyclists | B．gymnasts |
| C．table-tennis players | D．weightlifters |
| A．strength | B．pain | C．excitement | D．dizziness |
| A．Athletes cannot perform well unless they are under pressure. |
| B．A professional athlete should think carefully about each movement. |
| C．It’s important to practice and train hard, but not take things too seriously. |
| D．It’s important to joke with your teammates before you perform any sport. |
| A．The size of a super athlete. |
| B．Ways to qualify for the Olympics. |
| C．Different muscle types of a super athlete. |
| D．Factors that make someone a super athlete. |
【推荐2】A nickname is a shortened form of a person’s name. A nickname can also be a descriptive name for a person, place or thing. Many American cities have nicknames. These can help establish an identity, spread pride among citizens and build unity. Nicknames can also be funny.
Los Angeles, California is the second largest city in population, after New York City. Los Angeles has several nicknames. One is simply the city’s initials, L.A. It is also called the City of Angels because Los Angeles means “the angels” in Spanish.
Los Angeles often has warm, sunny weather. So another nickname is City of Flowers and Sunshine. New York is called the Big Apple. So Los Angeles is sometimes called the Big Orange because of the fruit that grows in that city’s warm climate.
The American motion picture and television industries are based in Los Angeles. So it is not surprising that it is called the Entertainment Capital of the World. Many films are made in the area of Los Angeles called Hollywood. Millions of people visit the area. No trip to Los Angeles is complete without seeing the word “Hollywood” spelled out in huge letters on a hillside.
Many movie stars live in Los Angeles. The city is sometimes called Tinseltown. This nickname comes from the shiny, bright and often unreal nature of Hollywood and the movie industry.
Another nickname for Los Angeles is La-La Land, using the first letters of Los and Angeles. This means a place that is fun and not serious, and maybe even out of touch with reality.
A good place for watching unusual-looking people is Venice, an area on the west side of Los Angeles. A system of waterways designed after the Italian city of Venice has been built there.
Many people love Los Angeles for its warm sunny weather, beautiful mountains and beaches, and movie stars. That includes Randy Newman, who sings about his hometown.
1. Which of the following is not the function of a nickname of a place?| A．Building up identity. | B．Entertainment. |
| C．Bringing pride to the locals. | D．Uniting surrounding cities. |
| A．Tourists shouldn't pay a visit to the big letters “Hollywood” on a hillside. |
| B．The word “Hollywood” is so large that tourists can’t miss it. |
| C．The big letters “Hollywood” on a hillside is your first destination. |
| D．Tourists are proud of seeing the big word “Hollywood”. |
| A．4. | B．5. | C．6. | D．7. |
| A．Los Angeles is most famous for its nicknames. |
| B．Hollywood alone adds fame to Los Angeles. |
| C．All the nicknames increase the charm of Los Angeles. |
| D．Los Angeles was built after the Italian city of Venice. |
【推荐3】The endangered pandas in Qinling Mountains might face a new threat: the loss of their food—bamboo, which makes up 99% of their meals.
Adult pandas spend most part of the day eating bamboo and have to take in at least 40 pounds a day to stay healthy. However, a new study published in Nature and Climate Change warned that they may soon find their food gone because most of the bamboo in Qinling Mountains might disappear by the end of the century as a result of rising temperature worldwide.
A team made up of researchers from Michigan State University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences has studied the effects of climate change on the bamboo in Qinling Mountains. They have found that bamboo is very sensitive to climate changes. “80% to 100% of the bamboo would be gone if the average temperature increases 3.5 degrees worldwide by the end of the century.” said Liu Jianguo, one of the reports’ authors. He added, “This is how much the temperature would rise by 2100 even if all countries will keep their promises in the Paris Agreement. But you know what is happening around the world.”
In recent years, China has been trying its best to protect the endangered pandas by setting up more and bigger natural reserves. “But it is far from being enough and the endangered pandas need cooperation from the rest of the world, because their future is not just in the hands of the Chinese,” said Shirley Martin from World Wildlife Fund.
The Qinling Mountains are home to about 360 pandas. That is about a quarter of the China’s wild panda population. In addition, about 435 are living in research centers and zoos in China.
1. What can we learn from the first paragraph?| A．Pandas have already eaten 99% of the bamboo in Qinling Mountains. |
| B．Pandas in Qinling Mountains are just threatened by the loss of food. |
| C．Lots of the bamboo in Qinling Mountains will possibly disappear. |
| D．Qinling Mountains cannot provide enough bamboo for the pandas. |
| A．The changes of temperature is sensitive to bamboo. |
| B．China needs more help from World wildlife Fund. |
| C．China is making great efforts to protect the pandas. |
| D．It is difficult to control the temperature rise within 3.5 degrees. |
| A．About 1,500. | B．About 720. | C．About 360. | D．About 1,900. |
| A．Necessity to Change Pandas’ Food | B．A New Threat Faced by the Pandas |
| C．The Disappearance of Bamboo | D．Efforts Made to Save Pandas |
