As humans encroach (侵入) more and more on wildlife habitats, animals are finding that the best way to survive isn’t to pack up and move — it’s to adapt to the night life. A variety of previously daytime animals such as foxes, deer and boars have become active at night to avoid human activity out of fear. But this nighttime switch comes with its own risks.
Researchers looked at how 62 species of animals on six continents changed their behavior in response to human activities such as hunting, farming, and development. The studies employed various technologies to follow the animals, from GPS trackers to motion-activated cameras.
Once night falls, the animals surveyed became far more active than they were before humans arrived, hunting and looking for food in the dark. For example, animals that used to split their activity evenly between day and night typically increased their nighttime activity to 68%.
The team also found the animals responded similarly to these human encroachments, regardless of whether human activity directly affected them. So, a deer might become more active at night simply because it sees humans hiking nearby, not because it’s being hunted.
The researchers believe these nighttime behaviors not only allow humans and animals to coexist more peacefully, they may be able to give us hints as to how to plan conservation efforts accordingly, such as limiting human activity during times when a specific species is more active. But moving to the nightlife could also have downsides for these animals. A nighttime lifestyle can reduce an animal’s ability to hunt and find food successfully and can even affect its ability to find a mate. Switching to a nighttime lifestyle can affect natural patterns of life even if these animals are doing so to reduce their interaction with humans. So, just because animals are becoming more active at night doesn’t mean they’ve escaped the influence of humans.
1. Why are animals becoming more active at night?| A．It is easier to find food at night. | B．It is easier to escape being hunted. |
| C．They can be less affected by human. | D．They have got used to nightlife. |
| A．Any human encroachment can affect animals. |
| B．Animals can be affected only when being hunted. |
| C．Deer can get used to nightlife easily. |
| D．Animals should stay away from humans. |
| A．The benefits and risks of animals’ nightlife style. |
| B．Animals have their own ways to get used to life changes. |
| C．Animals should be well protected before it is too late. |
| D．Animals move to nightlife due to human encroachments. |
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【推荐1】It is known that not all heroes wear capes (披风), but Chris Van Dorn does, who has saved dozens of animals in animal shelters (收容所). He has given these animals a second chance of life while dressed as the Dark Knight.
Van Dorn has been a big fan of Batman and grew up watching the TV series about animals. He also became a fan of animal rescue (营救) when his family took in a shepherd dog named Mr. Boots.
“While dressing like Batman is not necessary to rescue animals — anyone can be a superhero by adopting (收养) shelter animals — it does keep the focus on saving animals, not the man behind the cape. The dress just makes everybody happy and smile. It’s special to see Batman walking around, and when they find out that he’s doing a good deed in the world, they get even more excited,” Van Dorn said.
Van Dorn always wanted to be an unknown hero. “When I was first starting out, I would sign everything ‘Bruce Wayne’ and not put my real name out there,” Van Dorn said.
Van Dorn will spend long hours in his Batmobile — a Honda Accord — to take four rescued animals at a time to their new homes. He hopes to be able to buy a large truck so he can transport even more animals. He also hopes to use his pilot’s license as a means to transport animals further away quickly.
Now Van Dorn wants to share what he does with more people, saying, “I challenge anyone to go to their local animal shelter because it’s a sad place, but if you can help out in any way — whether that’s to adopt a dog or just volunteer your time, then you should do it.”
1. What made Van Dorn turn into a fan of animal rescue?| A．The advice from his parents. | B．The experience of raising Mr. Boots. |
| C．The influence from the TV series. | D．The visit to a local animal shelter. |
| A．To learn from Batman. | B．To show others his cool clothes. |
| C．To bring others happiness. | D．To make himself the focus of attention. |
| A．Gaining a big truck. | B．Getting a pilot’s license. |
| C．Building homes for animals. | D．Repairing his Batmobile. |
| A．Share their stories. | B．Get ready for challenges. |
| C．Take care of their pet. | D．Support animal shelters. |
【推荐2】A heart-stopping video shows that a group of hikers were able to keep their cool as a curious black bear approached them—and one even stayed composed enough to snap a selfie （自拍）.
The black bear pulls one of the women by the leg with its paws（爪子）,moving towards her across the path as she tries to remain completely still. When the frightening animal stands up on its legs to smell her, the fearless walker can be seen taking a photo with the wild animal as it breathes down her neck.
The incident is reported to have happened on a path in Chipinque Ecological Park, Mexico, and the clip （剪辑片段）has had millions of views since being shared on social media. With the bear particularly interested in one member of the group, another walker remains frozen with her back to the animal as she stares still into the trees.
A third can be seen nervously fearing as the bear begins to approach her and shakes her hand in fear, but it circles back around to check out the first hiker for a second time. It pushes her off balance with its head before twice pawing at her legs as onlookers shout to try and warn the bear off.
The woman remains fearless as the animal isn't into her and continues walking up the path, giving the group an opportunity to make a swift exit.
It was shared on Twitter by former basketball player Rex Chapman, getting 2.7 million views, with the caption: "Oh, my goodness. She's a rock."
1. What does the underlined word "composed” mean in the first paragraph?| A．Calm | B．Confused | C．Amazed | D．Afraid |
| A．On seeing the black bear. | B．On the bear's pulling her leg. |
| C．On the bear's smelling her | D．On the bear's seeing her. |
| A．It was frightened. | B．It lost interest. |
| C．It got injured. | D．It was hungry. |
| A．A brochure. | B．A health magazine. |
| C．A research report. | D．A newspaper. |
【推荐3】Hiking is tricky when you’re carrying a threatened species. Ally Whitbread carefully jumped over logs while carrying a cooler full of tiny, rare snails. “I feel like I’ve got like 500 babies to take care of — just a very crazy mother hen,” she said.
The Chittenango ovate amber snails inside are facing extinction. Only dozens are estimated to remain at one waterfall in Upstate New York. But Whitbread is part of a team transporting a lab-bred population to a new, remote home for a shot at survival. Such a recovery process can take years to decades, and success is obscure, but scientists are racing to better understand our planet’s biodiversity before species are wiped out.
The hike to a hidden waterfall is a chance to examine what makes them thrive in the wild, or what doesn’t.
These efforts to study rare species can unlock their hidden benefits to humans, said Professor Laura Dee. “Our idea that we might want to have a species down the line comes from the uncertainty of what the future is going to bring, and what role that species might play,” Dee said.
Like the once-rare Madagascar rosy periwinkle — a compound from the plant is now used in leukemia treatments. While not every species will cure cancer, Dee said more study is needed because we don’t fully know what will happen if we lose them.
Even just observing species in their habitats can prove helpful. University of Utah biology professor Jack Longino is cataloging the planet’s ants. He said understanding how the insects communicate could help programmers with robotics. “To create things, to make new technologies, we’re sort of imitating nature all the time,” Longino said.
The Chittenango ovate amber snail doesn’t have any known unique traits critical to humans, and it’s been a lengthy journey just to attempt to save them. The half-hour hike to the new habitat is the latest step in a process that’s lasted more than five years.
1. Which can best replace the underlined word “obscure” in Paragraph 2?| A．Undeniable. | B．Unpredictable. | C．Inevitable. | D．Incomparable. |
| A．Because they help programmers create robotics. |
| B．Because we have a great affection for this rare snail. |
| C．Because they can be adopted for the treatment of cancer and leukemia. |
| D．Because we are uncertain about the hidden benefits of them to humans. |
| A．The benefits of sustaining and studying rare species. |
| B．The helpfulness of observing how ants communicate. |
| C．The consequences of losing rare animals and plants in nature. |
| D．The healing effect of the compound from Madagascar rosy periwinkle. |
| A．Explore the rare species | B．Tiny snails, Great benefits |
| C．Small snails, Long journey | D．Save the extinct species |
【推荐1】A study published in the journal Nature Communications, details how tiger sharks helped a team of researchers discover the world’s largest known seagrass meadows (草地), located in the warm waters of the Bahamas.
Tiger sharks are fast swimmers and spend around 70 percent of their time swimming over seagrass meadows. Researchers used satellite tags to track individual tiger sharks as they crossed the Bahamas with 360-degree cameras. The satellite-tagged tiger sharks swam more than 2,485 miles in both regions of the Bahama Banks, located near Andros Island, Grand Bahama, and Great Abaco. Besides, these big fish can explore deep waters. These allowed the researchers to see into areas that aren’t easily accessible by humans.
The sharks’swimming in the grass helped the team map out a seagrass meadow that was even bigger than they had imagined. The Bahamas Seagrass Meadow is one continuous ecosystem that covers 35,521 square miles across the Bahama Banks. This study shows a 41 percent increase from the previous projected global amount of seagrass.
The findings suggest that all of this greenery plays a major role in absorbing some of the excess (过多的) carbon in the ocean due to burning fossil fuels. One study suggests seagrass can remove carbon 30 times faster than the rainforest. Seagrass also supports the ocean’s biodiversity and fish stocks. In the Bahamas, for example, these meadows serve as key nursery grounds for a host of commercially relevant marine species such as the Nassau Grouper, Queen Conch, Lobster, Manatees, and also they serve as key habitat for threatened species like shark and sea turtles.
The work helps protect the sea grass, and also shows off a powerful way to explore the ocean. “The health of the ocean is clearly linked to the ocean’s top predators (捕食者),” says Beneath the Waves project manager and study co-author David Harris. “By protecting these animals, and learning about their daily lives, we have discovered one of the largest marine findings in the ocean over the last 20 years. Imagine what else we will find as we continue to protect and partner with sharks!”
1. What is a reason for researchers choosing tiger sharks in the study?| A．They mainly feed on grass. |
| B．They are the fastest animals. |
| C．They are easily accessible by humans. |
| D．They swim in seagrass most of the time. |
| A．The size of the meadow. | B．The depth of the ocean. |
| C．The sharks’ swimming speed. | D．The sharks intelligence. |
| A．It is much more important than the rainforest. |
| B．It provides food and shelter for sea creatures. |
| C．It plays a significant role in cleaning the water. |
| D．It keeps the amount of carbon steady in the ocean. |
| A．Their populations are decreasing quickly. |
| B．Humans regard them as a major food source. |
| C．They could help us learn more about the ocean. |
| D．Seagrass meadows would not survive without them. |
【推荐2】A short while ago, I lost access to my WeChat account. I am not sure why it wouldn’t let me log in; perhaps it was my ancient, out-of-date phone. But I wasn’t too upset because It offered me an opportunity to take a break from social media — something more and more people are doing.
In the United States, Twitter is losing millions of users each month and Facebook has seen a 44 percent decline among its younger users. Some of these users may have deserted Twitter and Facebook for other social media platforms, while many others have quit because they felt that social media was having a negative effect on their happiness and overall quality of life.
Stars such as Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeren have taken a break from social media because they were tired of many Internet rolls (网络喷子) leaving negative comments. Ordinary people (like me) are turning away from it because of the feeling that they were spending more time online and enjoying it less.
It is not unusual for people to spend two or three hours a day posting or reading posts, to the point where it becomes an addiction. And it is an addiction. There is a chemical in your brain known as dopamine (多巴胺) which is sometimes called the “reward molecule” and its release gives you a feeling of pleasure. For instance, when you post a photo on WeChat and get a hundred likes, you feel happy. That’s dopamine at work.
In my case, being off WeChat left me with a feeling of anxiety for a few days. No doubt I missed my dopamine. And I got e-mails from friends wondering if I was fine or if I was just being anti-social. But I soon began to feel quite peaceful and started to worry less about what other people were doing and concentrate more on my personal life. And it is an added bonus that I’m getting better sleep at night.
I’m not advocating that all of you quit social media, but spending less time on these platforms does bring you advantages. You could start by leaving your phone at home when you go to school (For some, that’s already a school rule). And it is also a good idea to charge your phone outside of your bedroom at night, as you are unlikely to get a good night’s sleep when the notification (通知) bell keeps ringing.
Someday I may reconnect with my WeChat account, but I’m not in a hurry. Life can be more relaxing and just as interesting without it.
1. The author mentions his/ her disconnection with WeChat at the beginning of the passage to ______.| A．prove how WeChat makes life easier | B．explain why he lost access to his WeChat account |
| C．illustrate the function of dopamine | D．introduce the disadvantages of social media |
| A．loses an increasing number of users | B．is completely dominated by Facebook and Twitter |
| C．improves users’ happiness and overall quality of life | D．attracts more older users than younger ones |
| A．Because they feel like quarreling with Internet trolls. |
| B．Because there are a good many celebrities on social media. |
| C．Because ordinary people want to kill time by posting on social media. |
| D．Because users’ brains will release dopamine when they are using social media. |
| A．Get away from all social media. | B．Spend less time on social media platforms. |
| C．Enjoy the convenience of social media to the full. | D．Concentrate on the posts on social media. |
【推荐3】Siri is an artificial intelligence (AI) that you can carry around in the pocket, where it waits patiently to be told what to do. In the week we spend together, my AI assistant has performed admirably in finding me restaurants, or the location of the nearest coffee shop.
A typical command might be: “Reserve a table for two at a good French restaurant in San Francisco.” Siri responds by presenting a list of top-rated restaurants that can be booked on OpenTable.com. If you say which time you want, it can book you a table without your lifting a finger. In some ways Siri is just a fancy program to the 35 websites it can connect to, from taxi booking websites to movie review databases (数据库). But what’s new is the way it can analyze the intentions of its users and use those sites to put them into action.
Siri attaches possibilities to the explanation of each word and compare your location with other data, some of which you must provide yourself. To send email reminders, Siri obviously needs to know your email address. To “find me the flower shop closest to work”, it needs to know where you work. To pay bills or buy airline tickets, it would need to be linked to your credit card.
That raises the question of how far we are willing to trust a piece of software that can go and do things for us based on what it “thinks” we mean. Siri may be simple, and always shows its explanation of a command before carrying it out. But it gives users a preview of a new balance between privacy, trust and convenience that the expansion of AI into everyday life is likely to develop.
1. What is Siri?| A．A digital e-book reader. |
| B．A music-sharing software. |
| C．A voice-controlled website. |
| D．An artificial intelligence software. |
| A．The list of umbrella shops. |
| B．The local weather forecast. |
| C．The list of umbrella makers. |
| D．The local climate conditions. |
| A．to connect a lot of websites |
| B．to understand what you speak |
| C．to give a variety of commands |
| D．to create computerized database |
| A．Can I trust you, Siri? | B．Will Siri be popular? |
| C．Is Siri simple for use? | D．Does Siri think itself? |
