Walk like a penguin. Sounds funny, right? But think about it. Penguins are experts at walking on snow and ice. Maybe we could learn something from them.
Slips (滑倒) and falls happen when we try to walk on slippery surfaces, and the way we typically walk with one leg in front of us and one leg behind us is naturally unstable. Our weight pushes our feet outward along the surface of the ice.
By keeping our center of gravity directly above one foot, we use our own weight to pin (固定) down our foot, preventing slips and falls. Keeping our arms out not only improves our balance, but it also means we can catch ourselves if we do fall—just like a penguin. Let’s have a try.
But what should you do if you have taken all the safety tips and you still feel yourself start to fall? Try to tuck your chin (收下巴) so that your back, not your head, will hit the ground first. Also try to twist or roll on your side to help spread the impact (冲击力) of the fall, which can reduce the chances of injury.
Plan ahead, pay attention and slow down for a safe winter season!
1. Why should we walk like penguins?2. What’s our typical way of walking?
3. How many suggestions are mentioned about walking on slippery surfaces like a penguin?
4. Ask ONE question about the fourth paragraph with How, What, Why?
5. What’s the main idea of the passage?
Do you know that the world’s largest bird can’t fly? It’s an ostrich (鸵鸟). Why can’t it fly? It’s too big. An ostrich can be more than eight feet tall. It can weigh more than 330 pounds. Although ostriches cannot fly, these African birds can run quite fast. Their highest speed is about forty miles per hour. They can run fast to escape from danger.
The female (雌性) ostrich lays from six to twelve large eggs in the nest. The ostrich egg is very large and weighs about four pounds. That’s 24 times as heavy as a chicken egg. Both the male and the female sit on the nest and wait until the nest is full of eggs. Then they take turns to sit on the nest to keep the eggs warm. In this way, the eggs are cared for every minute, and growing chicks (雏鸟) in the eggs will become neither too hot nor too cold.
After about six weeks, the little chicks come out. They grow rapidly. By the time they are a month old, they can run as fast as their parents.
When an ostrich is frightened, it tries to hide by lying flat on the ground with its head and neck pulled out. From a distance, it looks as though it has hidden its head. Ostriches don’t need to hide often. Their strong legs are good for both running and fighting.
The ostrich is the world’s biggest bird that is over 8 feet tall and weigh over 330 pounds. Although it can’t |
A surprising different kinds of insects (昆虫) live in our planet. Most of insects live more than all other animals together. Insects have survived (存活) on earth for more than 300 million years, and they may have the ability to survive for millions more.
Insects can be found almost everywhere—on the high mountains and on the bottom of rushing rivers, in the cold South Pole and near the hot equator. They dig through the ground, jump and sing in trees, and run and dance in the air. They are so small that they can hide in almost any tiny space. The one place that they have not yet been found is open oceans (海洋).
There are many reasons why insects are so successful in surviving. They are able to gradually change themselves to survive in changeable and quite difficult environments. Insects have a strong ability to reproduce: An African ant queen can lay as many as 43,000 eggs a day. A strong and hard cover can protect their soft bodies from chemicals, water and physical harm. Their wings help them fly away from dangers or towards food. Also, insects can survive on a wide and different kinds of natural and man-made foods—wood, grain, pepper, cotton, books, other insects and so on.
Another reason for their success is their protective colors. They come in many different colors and shapes. An insect may be right before our eyes, but nearly unable to be seen because it looks like a green leaf, a seed or some other natural things. Some insects have wing patterns that look like the eyes of bitter-tasting insects, and hungry enemies are fooled into avoiding them. Others use bright colors to send warning signals (信号) that they taste bad, have pains or are poisonous (有毒的).
The Surprising Insects | ||
| Amazing insects | ◎ Insects have lived on earth for over 300 million years. Most lived longer than all other animals together. ◎Insects can live everywhere | |
| Strong abilities to survive | To | This helps insects live in hard conditions. |
| To reproduce | An African ant queen can lay 43,000 eggs a day. | |
| To adapt to a wide and different kinds of foods | Insects can survive on variety of foods both from | |
| To protect themselves | ◎The strong and hard cover is used as a ◎Different colors and shapes | |
Ladybugs (瓢虫) are loved by people so much. In many cultures they’re considered good luck. There are about 5,000 different types of ladybugs in the world. They come in many different colors and patterns, but the most familiar in the UK is the seven-spot ladybug, which has a shiny, red-and-black body. Most people like ladybugs because they are pretty, graceful and harmless to humans. Farmers also love them very much. They eat aphids (蚜虫) and other plant-eating pests.
Most ladybugs have oval, dome-shaped bodies with six short legs. Depending on the types, they can have spots, stripes (条纹) or no markings at all. Seven-spot ladybugs are red or sometimes orange with three spots on each side and one in the middle. Their head is black with white patches (斑点) on either side. The ladybug’s bright colors can warn animals they’d better not eat them. When they are in danger, the ladybugs produce an oily, yellow fluid from joints in their legs—and their coloring acts as a reminder to any predators who have eaten their kind before that they taste disgusting (令人厌恶的)!
These bugs have another trick to avoid danger, too—remain still and pretend to be dead. Simple, eh? Birds are ladybugs’ main predators, but they also fall victims (牺牲品) to frogs, spiders and dragonflies.
Seven-spot ladybugs are native to Europe but were introduced to North America in the mid-1900s to control aphid populations. These ladybugs are happy in many different habitats (栖息地), including grasslands, forests, cities, suburbs and along rivers. During spring and summer, when they are most active, these ladybugs can be seen fluttering around or walking on the leaves of plants. But when the weather turns colder in autumn, they look for a warm, secluded (与世隔绝的) place to hibernate (冬眠), such as under rocks or even inside houses. They like to group together, too.
请务必将1—5小题的答案写在答题卡的相应位置！1. In many cultures what do ladybugs stand for?
2. Why do farmers love ladybugs?
3. What will ladybugs do when they are in danger?
4. When can ladybugs be found easily on the plants?
5. Do you love to keep ladybugs as pets? Why or why not?
5 . When Chinese movie lovers watched Fantastic Beasts which came out on April 8th, 2022, they would see the phoenix (凤凰) and the qilin. These are the well-known animals with mysteries in their childhood.
The qilin is a kind of animal that can only be found in East China. Being able to look into a person’s heart, it has been admired by wizards (巫师) for a long time.
The qilin is seen as a kind animal in Chinese culture. Its head looks like a dragon and its body looks like a deer or horse. It can tell the good and nice things from the cruel and harmful ones. It can even bring good luck.
In English, the qilin is sometimes called the “Chinese unicorn (独角兽)”. This is probably because it is not only kind but also behave in a good way, like the unicorn. In the west, this horse-like animal has one horn (角) on its head. It is said that a unicorn’s horn or tears can treat serious illnesses.
There are other animals appearing in both Chinese culture and western culture. In Chinese culture, the phoenix is very important. It is a symbol of luck and is the “king of birds”. In the west, it is a symbol of rebirth (重生). Although dragons in China and west look alike, they are very different. The dragon is well admired in China, symbolizing good luck, while western dragons are always full of bad thoughts and bring dangers to the world.
1. When did Fantastic Beasts come out?2. Can the qilin be found in the western world?
3. What do the qilin and a unicorn have in common?
4. How many animals are mentioned in the passage?
5. What is the passage mainly about?
A spider was looking for a place to make a web. He wanted a suitable place where there were lots of insects. In this way, he could spend his life eating, drinking and relaxing with pleasure.
Soon the spider found a corner in a room. Just when he started making a web, a cat saw him and laughed loudly. The spider asked, “Why are you laughing?” “Can’t you see how clean this corner is? No insects will come here. They like dirty places,” the cat replied. Hearing this, the spider gave up the idea of making a web in that corner. Then he decided to make a web on a window. When he had prepared half of the web, a bird came and said, “Have you lost your mind? A strong wind will blow away your web.”
The spider stopped working. He started looking for another place. The whole day passed. He was tired, hungry and thirsty. He didn’t have any energy left to make a web. Just then an ant went to him and said, “I’ve been watching you since morning. You started making a web and left it incomplete after listening to others, so you didn’t complete your web.”
The spider realized his mistake and started regretting it. He said to himself, “I should have done my work with confidence (自信) and determination (决心).”
1. The spider was looking for a place where there were2. The cat said the corner was so
3. The bird didn’t think it was a good idea to make a web on a(n)
4. The whole day passed and the spider
5. From the story, we can learn that we shouldn’t be easily
Elephants are in great danger. | |
Reasons (原因) | Solutions (解决) |
| Reason 1 People So they are | We must Remember that |
| Reason 2 People Today there are only about | We don’t |
1. Who is the writer?
2. Why do they write the article?
3. Are there any sentences showing the importance of elephants in Thailand?
4. What else can we do to save elephants?
5. When is Thai Elephant Day?
Sea turtles (海龟) live in the sea most of the time. The beaches in Florida are home to sea turtles. Female sea turtles come here from the ocean to lay eggs. Then they return to the ocean. However, the number of some of these turtles is falling. They are in danger. So people in Florida work together as a community to protect them.
Some volunteers take direct action to help the turtles. They look closely at the sand to find out where the sea turtles lay their eggs. Then they help bury (埋藏) the eggs in order to save them from being killed. They also help people who are studying sea turtles.
Florida’s government has passed laws to save the turtles. One of these laws is “Florida’s Marine Turtle Protection Act”. This law stops anyone from killing sea turtles or taking away their eggs. It helps protect the turtles from dying out.
People also work together to save the turtles through organizations like the Sea Turtle Conservancy. For example, the bright light from buildings near the beach can influence sea turtles. The baby turtles may get lost. Many of them do not make it to the ocean and die. The Sea Turtle Conservancy works with house owners to make the lighting in their building’s sea turtle friendly. They also advise people to turn off their lights at night if they live close to a beach.
In a word, everyone can do their part to protect sea turtles and their living places. People in Florida can work as volunteers to clean up the beaches and pick up their own litter. Everyone in the community has the power to make a difference!
1. What is the Chinese meaning of the underlined word Female in Paragraph One?2. What does “It” refer to (指的是) in the third paragraph?
3. Which sentence in the passage has the similar meaning to the following one?
Besides, the volunteers ask the people whose home is near the beach not to turn on the lights during night.
4. Please list two other ways to protect sea turtles except the ways in the passage.
5. 请根据短文内容填空，每空不超过2个单词。
Most of the sea turtles can live in the sea or on land. They return to the sea when the eggs ①
10 . Asian elephants are getting more and more. In 2021, there were 300 of them. They need more food and they go to villages to find food. Their favorite food is corn and sugarcane. These are the villagers’ plants to sell. The elephants are happy to eat their favorite food, but this brings losses for the villagers. The elephants eat the villagers’ plants so the villagers can’t sell them for money. Sometimes, when the elephants meet people, they are afraid and then hurt (伤害) people. But we still need to be friends with elephants. They are important to the health of the environment (环境).
How can we get on with these Asian elephants? Our country is thinking of some smart ways.
※If the elephants eat the villagers’ plants, villagers can get some money from our country.
※People put fences (栅栏) outside villages and schools. Then the elephants can’t get in.
※_________
根据上面短文，完成1至8小题。1. What bad things do Asian elephants do?
（请列举两件事，用完整的句子表述，每件事不超过6个单词。）
（1）
2. 推测划线单词losses的汉语意思是
3. Why do we need to be friends with elephants?
4. 下面哪一句填在原文※_________ 空白处更合适?（只写字母代号）
| A．People must save the trees and not buy things made of ivory. |
| B．When people see some elephants, they must keep 300 meters away and leave quickly. |
