【推荐1】The Amazon rainforest is as pristine (处于原始状态的) a place as most people can imagine, but even there, the effects of a changing climate are playing out. Previous research found that some birds in the Amazon are experiencing drops that may be related to climate change. Now, new research suggests that as the Amazon's dry season has gotten hotter, some species are starting to evolve (进化).

For the new study, researchers studied 77 non-migratory species over a 40-year period. They reported in the journal Science Advances that 36 species have lost weight, as much as 2 percent of their body weight every ten years since 1980. Meanwhile, all the species became smaller in body size, while a third grew longer wings.

The researchers themselves are unsure what advantage the wing length changes give the birds, but smaller birds may have an easier time keeping cool. In general, smaller animals have a larger ratio (比例) of surface area to body size, so they dissipate more heat faster than a bigger animal. Less available food, such as fruit or insects, in dryer weather might lead to smaller body size.

“Think about a fighter plane. It has short wings and is heavy. It has to go really fast to stay high in the air, so it uses up plenty of energy,”says ecologist Vtek Jirinec, “who led the new study, while a glider (滑翔机) almost uses no power to stay high in the air, because it’s got these long wings, and it’s light.”

For those who wonder why a small body change in a small homebody bird should matter, Jirinec points to how our actions have effects we don’t always see － such as changing the size and shape of animals half a world away.

“We think of Amazonia as a pristine place, full of life, untouched by people, away from deforestation,” Jirinec says. “But it looks like no, not necessarily.”

1. What does the new study find out about some bird species in the Amazon rainforest?

A．They have changed physically.	B．They are dying out due to hotter weather.
C．They have a smaller population than before.	D．They have migrated as a result of less rainfall.

2. What does the underlined word “dissipate” in paragraph 3 mean?

A．Feel.

B．Need.

C．Give out.

D．Make use of.

3. Why does Vitek Jirinec mention a fighter plane and a glider in paragraph 4?

A．To study how birds speed up in the air.

B．To show the advantage of birds’ longer wings.

C．To describe how birds' wings move when flying.

D．To introduce the difficulty birds can meet when flying.

4. What does Vitek Jirinec think of the Amazon rainforest?

A．It isn't as attractive as it was.

B．It is making a quick recovery.

C．It is being influenced by human activities.

D．It isn't suitable for some bird species any longer.

【推荐3】Devon—A three-year-old labradoodle named Digby has been praised after he saved a woman who was thinking of taking her own life on a bridge.

Digby is an Australian labradoodle, a type of dog, whose hypoallergenic (低致敏性的) coat is less likely to start allergic reactions in those he communicates with. He was hired by the fire service in 2018 not for his ability to remove bombs but to relieve stress and anxiety among firefighters who had attended unpleasant call-outs. He also works with vulnerable (脆弱的) people in the community as part of a “pets for therapy” programme.

So when the emergency services were called to a vulnerable woman on a motorway bridge, a firefighter had the bright idea to take Digby along.

“We were at the incident as part of a multi-agency response. Police negotiators were speaking with the woman but the situation was becoming increasingly worrying. When Digby arrived, the young woman immediately swung her head round to look, and smiled,” said a spokesman for Devon and Somerset fire service. “This got a conversation started. The woman was asked if she would like to come and meet Digby if she came back over the railings (金属栏杆), which we are pleased to say she did. It was Digby who eventually got her out of harm’s way.”

“The use of therapy dogs has been scientifically proven to help people who are exposed to challenging situations in their lives such as ill health or learning disability,” the spokesman added.

Digby has also been trained to go into schools and hospitals for Pets As Therapy charity. Other services have also started adopting therapy dogs to assist in various situations.

1. Why is Digby chosen as a therapy dog?

A．He can remove bombs.

B．He can bring relief to people.

C．He can deal with emergencies.

D．He can communicate with people.

2. What can be learned from the text?

A．Digby was finally adopted by the woman.

B．Therapy dogs can cure people of illnesses.

C．Therapy dogs are now popular in various services.

D．The use of therapy dogs was started by a firefighter.

3. Where is the text probably from?

A．A news report.

B．A science magazine.

C．A guidebook.

D．A government document.

【推荐1】The latest bad but unsurprising news on education is that reading and writing scores on the SAT have once again declined. The language competence of our high schoolers fell steeply in the 1970s and has never recovered. This is very worrisome, because the best single measure of the overall quality of our primary and secondary schools is the average verbal(语言的) score of 17-year-olds. This score correlates with the ability to learn new things readily, to communicate with others and to secure a job. It also predicts future income.

The most credible analyses have shown that the chief causes are vast curricular changes, especially in the critical early grades. In the decades before the Great Verbal Decline, a content-rich elementary school experience evolved into a content-light, skills-based, test-centered approach. Cognitive psychologists agree that early childhood language learning (ages 2 to 10) is critical to later verbal competence, not just because of the remarkable linguistic plasticity of young minds, but also because of the so-called Matthew Effect.

The name comes from a passage in the Bible: “For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.” Those who are language-poor in early childhood get relatively poorer, and fall further behind, while the verbally rich get richer.

The origin of this cruel truth lies in the nature of word learning. The more words you already know, the faster you acquire new words. This sounds like an invitation to vocabulary study for babies, but that’s been tried and it’s not effective. Most of the word meanings we know are acquired indirectly, by intuitively(凭直觉的) guessing new meanings as we understand the main idea of what we are hearing or reading. The Matthew Effect in language can be restated this way: “To those who understand the main idea shall be given new word meanings, but to those who do not there shall follow boredom and frustration.”

Clearly the key is to make sure that from kindergarten on, every student, from the start, understands the main idea of what is heard or read. If preschoolers and kindergartners are offered substantial and coherent lessons concerning the human and natural worlds, then the results show up five years or so later in significantly improved verbal scores. By staying on a subject long enough to make all young children familiar with it (say, two weeks or so), the main idea becomes understood by all and word learning speeds up. This is especially important for low-income children, who come to school with smaller vocabularies and rely on school to pass on the knowledge base children from rich families take for granted.

Current reform strategies focus on testing, improving teacher quality, and other changes. Attention to these structural issues has led to improvements in the best public schools. But it is not enough.

1. The drop in verbal scores on the SAT is worrisome because ________.

A．it will lead to a short supply of talents in the labor market

B．it reveals young people’s negative attitude towards verbal study

C．it shows the schools’ inability to meet the national requirements

D．students’ reading and writing ability affects their future development

2. Which of the following is the reason for the falling verbal competence?

A．Children’s lack of language learning ability.

B．Fewer courses on reading and writing in school.

C．The shift of curricular focus from content to skills.

D．Heavy pressure that numerous tests have resulted in.

3. The implication of Mathew Effect in language is that ________.

A．children should be trained to understand the content

B．teachers should focus on one topic in language teaching

C．children’s family background determines their verbal ability

D．teachers should make everything understandable for students

4. Which of the following is the best title for the text?

A．Mathew Effect in Language Learning

B．How to Stop the Drop in Verbal Scores

C．Try to Understand the Main Idea

D．Don’t Overestimate Your Verbal Scores