A whooping crane is a large white North American crane famous for its loud call.
You may weigh more than a whooping crane, but maybe you aren’t taller than one! Whooping cranes can grow up to five feet tall. It makes them the tallest birds in North America. But even as tall as they are, whooping cranes weigh only about 15 pounds, because of their hollow （空心的） bones.
WHAT’S FOR DINNER?
Whooping cranes live in wetlands, wet prairies, and fields. They’re not picky （挑剔的） about their meals—they have a mixed diet and eat small fish, and insects, as well as grains and marsh plants.
CALL OF THE WILD
Whooping cranes really like to ‘whoop it up’ when they want to attract a mate （伙伴）. They call loudly and do what might look like a crazy dance to be eye—catching. They flap their wings, and move their heads from side to side quickly, jumping up and down.
A SPECIAL TRICK
These cranes are in danger, but scientists have used some very interesting tricks to help them stay alive. At first, they moved one group of cranes to Florida, but the cranes never learned to migrate （迁徙）. When they got to Florida, they didn’t know how to fly back home. Scientists did all they could do to make the number of the cranes larger, so they used a special trick with another Florida group of cranes. Scientists “taught” the younger cranes to migrate by having them follow a very light airplane from Florida to Wisconsin. After the cranes gave birth to their babies in Florida, they’d follow the plane back to Wisconsin!
Some whooping cranes stay in Florida all year round, some fly from Florida to Wisconsin, and others fly from Texas to Canada and back again each year.
Whooping Cranes | |
| A whooping crane is from North America. | |
Looks | Whooping cranes can be five feet in They weigh only about 15 pounds |
Food | They |
Qualities | To catch a mate’s eyes, whooping cranes use a |
Fun facts | Scientists moved one group of cranes to Florida, but they were not Scientists wanted to have Scientists used a plane to |
2 . Once there was a forest where all the animals lived together happily. One day a family went to spend the day in the forest, and the son left his socks there. After the family left, a bear came by. He found the socks and decided to try them on. They fit so well, and he liked them so much that he wouldn’t take them off.
All the other animals talked about the bear’s new look. Soon, in that forest, squirrels in shirts, rabbits in shoes, and even rats (老鼠) wearing hats began appearing! The forest doctor shook his head, telling animals, “This can’t be good. Animals don’t need clothes!”But no one listened to him. They said he was just out of fashion.
However, soon the animals had accidents because of the clothes. Several times the squirrel got caught on trees because of his shirt, making him fall to the ground from a tree. The rat couldn’t go into his hole without taking off his hat first. because of the socks, the bear slipped（滑到） from the river rock and almost killed himself.
When the animals came to see the doctor, he gave them all the same advice, “Take off those clothes before they kill you.” Then they listened to the doctor’s advice and stopped having accidents. And the animals realized that they didn’t need clothes at all.
1. Who found the socks and tried them on?2. Did the other animals like the bear’s new look?
3. What did the animals think of the forest doctor at first?
4. Why did the animals have accidents?
5. What did the doctor advise the animals to do at the end of the story?
Camels are amazing animals. They aren’t the most beautiful animals in the world. But they are certainly the most useful animals in the hot areas such as North Africa and the Middle East. They usually help people carry things. Now let’s learn more about camels.
There are two kinds of camels on the Earth. They are Arabian (阿拉伯的) camels and Asian camels. Arabian camels are dromedaries (单峰骆驼), but Asian camels are bactrianus (双峰骆驼). An adult camel is about 2 meters tall and weighs about 500 kilograms. Its legs are long. And its feet are big and soft. Most of the camels can live for about 40 years, but they usually stop working when they are about 25.
Camels live on their own in the desert (沙漠). They aren’t afraid of the hot and cold weather. They mainly eat grass, leaves and bushes. They can walk for more than 600 kilometers without drinking. They only need to drink water every six or eight days. But when there is water, they can drink up to 90 liters (升). Camels walk slowly. They don’t like running because it’s too hot. But if they need, they can run at 20 kilometers an hour.
Ships of the desert | |
| Age | Most camels can live for about They usually stop |
| Kinds | They are Arabian camels and |
| Features | An Its legs are long and its The |
| They live They They only need to drink water every six or eight days. They can drink up to 90 liters every time. They walk not very |
After getting some information about dinosaurs from the encyclopedia (百科全书), Mary got interested in these animals. She surfed the Internet and found a lot more about dinosaurs. Here’s what she wrote in her notebook.
General information
Millions of years ago, long before there were any people, there were dinosaurs. They existed (存在) on earth for about 165 million years and suddenly died out (灭绝) 65 million years ago.
Fun facts
Size
◆The largest dinosaurs were more than 30 meters long and up to 15 meters tall.
◆The smallest dinosaurs were about the size of a chicken and had very long tails. They ate insects (昆虫).
Egg
◆Most dinosaurs were hatched (孵化) from eggs.
◆The biggest dinosaur egg ever found was the size of a football.
◆There were egg-eating dinosaurs that stole eggs from other dinosaurs’ nests (巢穴).
Brain
◆A lot of dinosaurs have big heads, but they didn’t have much brain inside. Most of the space was taken up with muscle (肌肉) and bones instead.
Tail
◆Dinosaurs that used their tails to beat their enemies had four feet and ate plants.
◆Dinosaurs that used their tails for balance (平衡) had two feet and two small arms, and they were often meat-eaters.
Discovery
◆From looking at bones, scientists can figure out (弄清楚) the shape of the dinosaur’s body.
◆There were more than 800 different kinds of dinosaurs.
Conclusion
We can only know about the lives of dinosaurs from the fossil (化石), eggs and footprints they left behind. But we still don’t know how they sounded, how they behaved, what colors they were and so on.
Oh, my God! Dinosaurs are the most mysterious animals in the world!
Mary’s notebook | |
| General information | Dinosaurs lived on earth for about 165 million years and suddenly |
| Fun facts | Size: The smallest dinosaurs were as Eggs: Some dinosaurs stole and ate other dinosaurs’ eggs. Brain: The dinosaur’s big Tail: Some tails were used to beat their enemies and some to |
| Discovery | Scientists can figure out the shape of the dinosaur’s body from looking at the bones. |
| Conclusion | There are still many things we don't know about dinosaurs. |
5 . This summer vacation, 14-year-old Wen Jiayi made a good friend. He is not a person, but a giant panda! His name is Jingke. We spent three days with him, learning how he ate, slept and played.
Wen worked as a volunteer(志愿者) at China Giant Panda Garden in Sichuan this summer. Every year, volunteers go to the garden to take care of its pandas. People aged 12 to 65 can apply(申请) for the job. Each volunteer works for at least one day.
Wen is a student from Yucai Middle School in Sichuan. Wen cleaned the panda’s home every morning. “We have to collect the pandas’ feces(粪便), as it can tell us what the pandas have been eating and whether(是否) they are healthy or not,” she said. “The panda keepers analyze(分析) the feces every day.”
Wen got to do this as well. She carefully analyzed the feces. “We check to see what is in the feces and what color it is. If it is green, it means the panda has been eating bamboo leaves,” she said.
The experience also helped the volunteers better understand pandas. When Wen fed Jingke, she touched its fur. “It was not soft, but hard. It was like touching needles(针)!” Wen said.
1. Who can apply for the job to take care of pandas in China Giant Panda Garden?
2. What can we know from pandas’ feces?
3. Do you want to be a volunteer like Wen? Why or why not?
6 . A little mouse thinks no one is taller and stronger than him in the world. His mother says to him," Don’t say that in front of an elephant. He doesn’t like that.”
Little mouse does not know who the elephant is. So he goes out to look for the elephant. He meets an ant. He asks, "Are you an elephant?"" No, I am not ,"says the ant.
Then the little mouse meets a rabbit. He asks," Are you an elephant? You are bigger than me." "No, I'm not. An elephant is much bigger." says the rabbit. The little mouse goes on.
Suddenly he sees four big trees," Aha, let me climb up one of the trees. Then I can see where the elephant is,” says the little mouse.
“Get down! Get down!”someone shouts to him.“I’m the elephant. Go and climb that tall tree nearby. Then you can see me.”
“Now, I see. The elephant is much taller and stronger than me,”says the little mouse.
1. What does the mouse think of himself?（根据短文内容回答问题）2. How many animals do the mouse meet before he sees the elephant?（根据短文内容回答问题）
3. What are the “four big trees”? (根据短文内容回答问题）
4. Go and climb that tall tree nearby.（改为否定句）
5. In the passage, the underlined word “ me” refers to
Animals are people’s friends. But many wild animals are in danger because the environment that they are living in has changed a lot. For example, their living area has become smaller and smaller because of the development of cities and the serious pollution. They don’t have enough places to live in or enough food to eat. At the same time, men are trying to kill these animals to earn more money or have their meat.
People should realize how serious the situation is and must do something to protect the animals. We should stop the killing and build some nature reserves, so that animals can live happily there. What’s more, we should do something to make our world cleaner.
Research Report Problem ● Many animals are in Situation ● Animals’ living area is becoming ● They don’t have enough Reason ● The environment animals live in has changed. ● People Action to ● Build some nature reserves. ● Make the world cleaner |
8 . Can plants eat people? Probably not, but there are many plants that eat meat. Some of them are big, and they can eat small animals. One famous meat-eating plant is the Venus flytrap(捕蝇草).
The Venus flytrap is a very strange plant. It grows in dry parts of the US. Its leaves are like the pages of a book. They can open and close very quickly.
Inside the leaves, there are three small hairs. If a fly (苍蝇) touches one of the hairs, the leaf closes quickly. The fly cannot get out. After about half an hour, the leaf presses (压) the fly to make it die. Then, the plant covers the fly. Slowly, the plant eats the fly.
Plants are living things that have leaves and roots and grows in earth. Most plants get what they need from the sun, the air, and the ground. In some places, the ground is very poor. It doesn’t have all these important things, especially nitrogen(氮). Animal meat has a lot of nitrogen，so some plants eat it. Let’s hope that some of the bigger plants don’t get the same idea!
1. Where does the Venus flytrap grow?2. What do the plant’s leaves look like?
3. How many small hairs are there inside the leaves?
4. When does the leaf press the fly to make it die?
5. Why do some plants eat animal meat?
9 . Many animal lovers would like to do more to help animals, but aren’t sure where to start or feel like they just don’t have the time. The good news is that there are many simple things you can do to help protect animals.
Think more before you make decisions
The decisions you make may go a long way toward stopping the killing of animals. You can eat a vegetarian diet. If you aren’t ready to make this change, there are still things you can do. Do not buy animal products from companies that have illegal(违法的) practices.
Help speak the word out
Speak the word out about the problems faced by animals by putting up a notice on your car. Also, talk to your friends and family members about important problems of animals. Give some simple advice to a friend with a new pet about the pet over-population (过剩)problem we’re facing.
Write a letter
We’ve all heard the saying, “ The pen is more powerful than the sword(宝剑)”. Put this idea to the protection of animals. If a company has practices or rules that are harmful to animals, write them a letter to let them know about your anger, and that you won’t buy their products until they make some changes. Write letters to state and local legislators(立法者)to let them know how important it is that they support legislation for protecting animals. Make them know that their actions will have a great effect on your vote.
Be more loving
If you’re considering adding a dog or a cat to your family, think about getting one from a homeless-animal house rather than buying a pet. There are many wonderful animals just waiting for a home. By taking back an animal from there, you will be helping in the fight against pet over-population, as well as giving your money to those who look after poor animals.
Let your actions be an example to others
It may sound simple，but one of the best ways to help animals is to let your actions speak to the world. You should do the following things first by yourself: Treat all living animals with respect. Care about your pets and look after them well. Avoid (避免)entertainment places that use animals to perform. Support legislation that protects animals. All of these things set an example for others to follow.
Title: Ways of | |
| Think carefully before | ●Don’t eat meat. ● |
| Speak the word out | ●Put up an animal-protection ●Talk to your friends and family members about important animal problems. ● ●Get help from books if necessary. |
| Write letters | ●Let those companies that are harmful to animals know you are about them. ●Let legislators know the |
| Be more loving | ●Get a pet from a homeless-animal house ●Give your money to those who look after poor animals. |
| ●Treat all living animals with respect. ●Take good ●Do not go to places where animals perform . ●legislation which is good for animals. | |
10 . There are forty-seven different kinds of kangaroos（袋鼠）. The smallest are about a quarter of a meter long; the biggest are taller than a man.
Kangaroos have very long strong back legs. These are used for jumping. They also have long strong tails（尾巴）used for resting on. Kangaroos’ front legs are much shorter, and are almost like arms. Kangaroos’ heads are quite small, but their ears are quite large.
Mother kangaroos have a pocket at the front. They have one baby each year. When it is born, the baby kangaroo is straight（直接） into its mother’s pocket. The baby kangaroos stay there for six months.
The biggest kangaroos stand more than 2 meters tall, and their legs are so strong that they can jump more than 9 meters. They are very fast, and can travel at more than 50 kilometers an hour. They are very strong, but only eat fruit, leaves and grass.
1. How many different kinds of kangaroos are there?2. How large are the biggest kangaroos?
3. Does a mother kangaroo have a pocket?
4. How long does a baby kangaroo stay in its mother’s pocket?
5. How far can kangaroos jump?
