“Renewable energy development is a critically important component of the transition away from fossil fuels, making our air cleaner. However, bird death has become an unintended consequence of renewable energy development,” said Hannah Vander Zanden, an assistant professor of biology at the University of Florida. Birds can be killed when they hit wind turbines (涡轮机), fly into solar panels they mistake for bodies of water or get burned by the intense heat from concentrating solar power plants. While the death rate of birds due to these energy facilities is far less than deaths due to domestic cats and crashes with buildings, efforts to deal with this new problem are important, scientists say.
Vander Zanden and her colleagues performed geospatial (地理空间的) analyses of stable hydrogen isotope (氢同位素) data obtained from feathers of 871 individual birds found dead at these renewable energy facilities in California, which represented 24 species. Results from the study show that the birds killed at the facilities were from a broad area across the continent. Their geographical origins varied among species and included a mix of local and nonlocal birds. Researchers found most birds killed at solar facilities were nonlocal and peaked during the migratory periods of April and September through October. The percentage of migratory birds found at wind facilities nearly matched that of local birds, at 51%.
“The data can help inform us about the best strategies to use to minimize the deaths,” Vander Zanden said. “For example, facilities management could work with conservationists to improve the local habitat to help protect local birds or improve other parts of the species’ range where the migratory birds originate.” The results also illustrate the power of stable isotope data to assess future population growth or decline patterns for birds due to a variety of reasons.
“Studying the remains of animals like what we did is a noninvasive approach to get information that is otherwise hard to track and apply to conservation,” Vander Zanden said. “It’s a great way to understand the mysteries about animals.”
1. What is the new threat to birds according to Vander Zanden?| A．The high-rise buildings. | B．The loss of natural habitats. |
| C．The devastating climate change. | D．The rise of renewable energy facilities. |
| A．Solar facilities were primarily responsible for bird death. |
| B．Non-migratory birds faced a greater death risk at wind facilities. |
| C．Migratory birds were more affected by solar facilities than local ones. |
| D．The bird death rate was closely associated with migration patterns. |
| A．Animals hold many mysteries to humans. |
| B．The research possesses scientific significance. |
| C．Keeping track of and analyzing birds is challenging. |
| D．The remains of dead birds should be well conserved. |
| A．Renewable energy is a two-edged sword. |
| B．Solar energy is a major cause of birds’ death. |
| C．Studying birds promotes energy development. |
| D．Birds are threatened by renewable energy facilities. |
相似题推荐
The number of gunners, however, grows rapidly. Children too young to develop proper judgments through independent thought are led a long way away by their gunning parents. They are subjected to advertisements of gun producers who describe shooting as good for their health and guncarrying as a way of putting redder blood in the veins (血管). They are persuaded by gunner magazines with stories honoring the chase and the kill. In school they view motion pictures which are supposedly meant to teach them how to deal with arms safely but which are actually designed to stimulate (刺激) a desire to own a gun. Wildlife is disappearing because of shooting and because of the loss of wildland habitat (栖息地). Habitat loss will continue with our increasing population, but can we slow the loss of wildlife caused by shooting? There doesn’t seem to be any chance if the serious condition of our birds is not improved.
Wildlife belongs to everyone and not to the gunners alone. Although most people do not shoot, they seem to forgive shooting for sport because they know little or nothing about it. The only answer, then, is to bring the truth about sport shooting to the great majority of people.
Now, it is time to realize that animals have the same right to life as we do and that there is nothing fair or right about a person with a gun shooting the harmless and beautiful creatures. The gunners like to describe what they do as character-building, but we know that to wound an animal and watch it go through the agony of dying can make nobody happy. If, as they would have you believe, gun-carrying and killing improve human-character, then perhaps we should encourage war.
1. According to the text, most people do not seem to be against hunting because ________.
| A．they have little knowledge of it |
| B．it helps to build human character |
| C．it is too costly to stop killing wildlife |
| D．they want to keep wildlife under control |
| A．form | B．condition | C．pain | D．sadness |
| A．teach them how to deal with guns safely |
| B．praise hunting as character-building |
| C．describe hunting as an exercise |
| D．encourage them to have guns of their own |
| A．blame the majority of people |
| B．worry about the existence of wildlife |
| C．be in favour of war |
| D．be in support of character-building |
【推荐2】Have you ever wished you could snuggle down under your blankets and stay there for the whole winter? Well, it turns out that humans may be able to hibernate (冬眠) like bears and other animals after all — and it could be good for us.
Hibernation is when animals go into a cave, tree hollow, or other cozy location and turn down some of the functions in their body. This helps them save energy when it's cold and there isn't much food to be found. When an animal is hibernating, its heart becomes less active and its body temperature drops. Grizzly and black bears don't eat, drink, or go to the bathroom when they're hibernating, while animals like bats and hedgehogs sometimes wake up to find food or move to another spot.
Although humans don't hibernate, scientists think we might have the ability to. Sandy Martin of the University of Colorado, says it is likely that the common ancestor of all mammals, including humans, was a hibernator. This means our bodies could still have the tools to allow us to hibernate.
One of those tools could be a natural chemical in our bodies called adenosine (腺苷), which sends messages to the brain to make mammals feel sleepy. Domenico Tupone from Oregon Health and Science University discovered that after boosting adenosine in rats' brains, their core body temperature fell — just like it falls in a hibernating animal. As Tupone pointed out, “Rats are similar to humans in terms of the internal circuitry（回路）of the brain. What we suspect is that this circuit is also present in humans, but we have lost the ability to trigger it.”
Researchers are trying to determine how to harness (利用) the power of hibernation to help humans. It's possible that hibernating could protect people from conditions such as heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, and strokes. Doctors already deliberately lower people's body temperature to treat heart attacks. Hibernation could also help us lengthen life. A recent study of bats and marmots shows that when they hibernate, they age more slowly. Hibernation might even help astronauts travel further into space because they wouldn't need so much food on very long journeys.
1. What are animals like when they enter hibernation?| A．Their heartbeat slows down. | B．Their bodies function as normal. |
| C．Their body temperature rises. | D．Their breathing rate speeds up. |
| A．It stimulates the rat’s growth. | B．It helps mammals sleep. |
| C．It damages the circuitry of the brain. | D．It increases after a man gets sleepy. |
| A．Living a longer life. | B．Predicting heart disease. |
| C．Improving mental health. | D．Getting high-quality sleep. |
| A．Humans Were Hibernators Too | B．Adenosine: Secret of Hibernation |
| C．Hibernation: Solution to Human Diseases | D．Hibernating Could Be Good for Humans Too |
【推荐3】The noble tree house—all natural materials, solid construction, away from the troubles of the world. In a more dangerous time in human history, their position above the ground would protect the dweller(居民)against environmental difficulties and possible predators(掠夺者). As modern construction has improved, these woody residences have become less of a practical dwelling and more of a children’s novelty. But now, these fun shelters are appealing to adults too and many are booking themselves in for a few nights among the treetops.
These tree house hotels can be found From Europe to Australia. Best of all, they come in a variety of interesting designs!From the traditional “four walls and a roof” habitation, such as at TreeHouse Point, in Washington, North America, to the more artistic Nothofagus Hotel in Chilean Patagonia, whose twelve-sided walls make it look like a beehive. If that doesn’t appeal, how about a tree hut?
The Free Spirit Spheres resort on Vancouver Island in Canada allows guests to stay in one of three yellow spheres(球体), which hang from trees. The company was founded in 1998 by Tom Chudleigh, who hand built the huts from cedar wood and fiber glass. Not only are they as safe as houses, they’re popular! Mr Chudleigh tells the BBC.
Digs(借宿的地方)which are original seem to be a big draw. In Sweden, at the Treehotel numbers have also risen. “Today we have seven rooms and nearly 5,000 guests. ” Kent Lindvall explains. Each of the houses there was designed to make use of the light and surroundings.
And how about an office? Microsoft, hoping to give its employees thinking space, has commissioned(委托)a tree-building structure from Pete Nelson, tree house book author and designer and builder of tree houses, “Studies show people can work better in nature. They are more productive. ”says Mr Nelson.
1. What is the text mainly about?| A．The designs of the tree house hotels. |
| B．The function of the tree houses. |
| C．The trend for tree houses. |
| D．The future development of houses. |
| A．People find few safe houses to live in. |
| B．They are of novel shape and appealing color. |
| C．There are no places of amusement for children. |
| D．Their construction have gotten modernized. |
| A．To help its employees work efficiently. |
| B．To provide its workers with break residences. |
| C．To offer its workers living convenience. |
| D．To give people space to make friends. |
| A．All tree house hotels have interesting designs. |
| B．Tree houses can make people safer nowadays. |
| C．Kent Lindvall have made hand—built tree houses. |
| D．Tree house hotels in Sweden seem to succeed. |
【推荐1】Chimps live in a male-dominated society, where most of their valuable partners are other males. However, as young male chimps become adults, they continue to maintain tight bonds with their mothers, a new study finds.
“The dramatic changes of adolescence are difficult for chimps, just like they are for humans,” says Elizabeth Lonsdorf, an expert on primates (灵长动物) at Franklin&Marshall College who was not involved in the study. “Sure enough,” she adds, “their moms remain a key social partner during this time.”
Previous research has shown chimp mothers provide their sons with support that goes far beyond nursing. Young male chimps that are close with their moms grow bigger and have a greater chance of survival. What’s more, losing their mothers after weaning (断奶), but before age 12，gets in the way of the ability of young chimps to win other males and reproduce.
To see whether this bond extends later into life, researchers followed 29 adolescent (9 to 15 years old) and young adult (16 to 20 years old) male chimps at a research site in Kibale National Park in Uganda and observed them from a distance for 3 years. The team found that the young adult males spent less time with their mothers than the adolescents did—26% vs. 76%. As the male chimps grew older and more independent, they began to travel over wider ranges and spent more time away from their moms.
However, when these young adult males happened to be in the company of their mothers, they acted just like the adolescents. They groomed (梳理) their moms just as often and kept track of them. “Many mothers remained the males’ ‘best friends’ or ‘social partners’ they associated with most frequently,” says study co-leader Rachna Reddy from Harvard University.
Such persistent ties are also common in humans after sons leave their mothers and live on their own—especially in tough times, Reddy says. “We really feel what it’s like to not be able to see our mothers when we want to in tough times. The importance of those bonds in our lives and the comfort we get from them have deep evolutionary roots.”
1. What do we know about Elizabeth Lonsdorf?| A．She is in favor of the new study’s finding. |
| B．She played a supporting role in the new study. |
| C．She did a different study on chimps’ adolescence before. |
| D．She thinks chimps actually live in a female-dominated society. |
| A．It may be easier for it to produce babies. |
| B．It may be easier for it to interact with other chimps. |
| C．It may be tough for it to defeat other males. |
| D．It may be much more aggressive than other males. |
| A．They took care of some motherless chimps. |
| B．They recorded the chimps’ social interaction. |
| C．They worked hard to win the chimps’ trust. |
| D．They limited the chimps’ range of movement. |
| A．To stress the purpose of the study. | B．To improve humans’ mother-son relationship. |
| C．To call on us to protect chimps. | D．To emphasize the significance of the study. |
【推荐2】As kids’ behaviour reaches crisis points after the pandemic, many schools are facing pressure from critics to rethink their approaches to discipline.
Approaches such as “restorative justice” were adopted widely in recent decades as educators updated the policies that cut off students’ access to learning, such as suspensions and expulsions (停学和开除). But more students have been acting out, and some school systems have faced questions from teachers, parents and lawmakers about whether a gentle approach can effectively solve problems that disrupt (扰乱) classrooms.
According to federal data, instances of misbehavior have been increasing since students returned to classrooms from the pandemic. A National Center for Education Statistics survey found 56% of respondents said the pandemic led to increased classroom disruptions from students’ misbehavior and 48%said it led to more acts of disrespect toward teachers and staff.
Rachel Perera studies education at the Brookings Institution. “There’s a lot of pressure on schools right now,” she said. “Schools also say they don’t have the resources to address more behavioral problems, and I worry that that will cause schools to fall back on old practices that are not effective in terms of supporting students in the way they need.”
Using restorative justice does not mean a school cannot remove a disruptive student from the classroom, said Thalia González, a professor at the UC College of the Law. But unlike other forms of discipline, restorative practices aim to deal with the root cause of students’ behavior and reintegrated them into classroom.
“That’s the problem with punitive discipline such as suspensions and expulsions,” González said. “You get removed and then you just come back. There’s nothing done to reintegrate into the community and rebuild the climate, the sense of safety, all the things that we know are so important to young people learning.”
1. What do we learn about “restorative justice” according to Paragraph 2?| A．It cuts off students’ access to learning. |
| B．It’s favored by both teachers and parents. |
| C．It’s less serious than suspensions and expulsions. |
| D．It’s more effective than suspensions and expulsions. |
| A．An increase in students’ misbehavior. | B．Ways to deal with students’ misbehavior. |
| C．An improvement on students’ performance. | D．Resources to address behavioral problems. |
| A．Negative. | B．Doubtful. | C．Confused. | D．Supportive. |
| A．Why are schools relying on restorative justice? |
| B．Is restorative justice an effective problem-solving approach? |
| C．How do schools make use of restorative justice? |
| D．What sets restorative justice apart from other discipline methods? |
【推荐3】Table-Waiting Robot Cat
A table-waiting robot cat built by a Chinese technology firm can carry plates of food, navigate a restaurant, miaow(喵喵叫) at dinners—and even react to having its ears stroked.
Making its debut(初次露面) at the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the so-called BellaBot was built for Chinese restaurants lacking enough waiters. It is the brainchild(智慧结晶) of the Chinese robotics and artificial intelligence firm PuduTech.
It features four shelves in the center of its tower-like body to carry plates. Having been loaded up with meals by its human colleagues, the cat-themed robotic waiters miaows when it delivers food to diners to encourage them to take their plates. If customers thank BellaBot by stroking its ears, it will initially respond with a look of pleasure on its on-board screen, which displays animations of a cat's face. “The owner’s hand is so warm,” BellaBot has been programmed to respond.
However—much like a real cat—the robot’s reaction soon changes if it is petted for too long. “It gets mad to remind you not to interrupt its job,” the designers introduced. The BellaBot waiter robot is a more personality-rich update to PuduTech’s previous model, which featured a more utilitarian(实用主义的) design and user interface.
Both BellaBot and its predecessor were designed with a particular mind to Chinese restaurateurs which are often short of waiting staff.
In a real-world food-service setting, however, BellaBot may find it difficult to operate at peak times. Nevertheless, restaurants are anticipated to increase their reliance on automation—whether in the form of robotic waiting staff or otherwise.
Furthermore, improvements in technology will see consumer robot designs grow steadily better at communicating with humans.
1. In what way can the cat robot serve as a waiter?| A．By serving food to the customers in time. |
| B．By stroking its ears to express its pleasure. |
| C．By sending food on the shelves set in its body. |
| D．By loading up meals with its human colleagues. |
| A．Delight. | B．Anger. | C．Surprise. | D．Anxiety. |
| A．To attract more customers. |
| B．To liberate humans from busy labor. |
| C．To advance the development of technology. |
| D．To help to solve the shortage of human labor. |
| A．They can cook the delicious food. |
| B．They can talk with the customers better. |
| C．They will replace the human waiters completely. |
| D．They will be fond of the customers’ long-time petting. |
