1 . My husband and I always wanted to go to the Caribbean but didn’t know much about the islands or how we were going to afford it. By chance, a friend of ours in Australia mentioned “pet sitting” and that it is something you can do all over the world.
We quickly created an account on a pet sitting website and began searching for options. There were only a couple of sits available in that part of the world, but we tried our luck, sent a request, and to our surprise, landed a three-month job in Grenada, so our year was going to be taken up with Caribbean pet sits.
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Why did the author do pet sitting?| A．To cover travel expenses. | B．To raise fund. |
| C．To conserve the environment. | D．To shoot beautiful beaches. |
2 . A new study suggests that mindfulness education — lessons on techniques to calm the mind and body — can reduce the negative effects of stress and increase students’ ability to stay engaged, helping them stay on track academically and avoid behavior problems.
After finding that students who self-reported mindful habits performed better on tests and had higher grades, researchers from the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University wanted to know if school-based mindfulness training could help more students reap similar benefits.
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What was the purpose of the study?| A．To examine the techniques for practicing mindfulness. |
| B．To study the effects of group mindfulness training on students. |
| C．To see how students help themselves to perform better on tests. |
| D．To understand why mindfulness training calms the mind and body. |
3 . In recent years, the study of epigenetics has gained significant popularity, especially among psychologists and sociologists. It emphasizes that gene expression or suppression is influenced by the environment just as much as by genes themselves. Factors such as what we consume, what we experience, and how long we live can switch genes on or off, impacting our personality, body shape, and likelihood of contracting diseases.
What does the study of epigenetics show?| A．Genes can be easily expressed or suppressed after birth. |
| B．Genes can control body shape and the possibility of diseases. |
| C．Genes are not the only decisive factor behind our characteristics. |
| D．Genes contribute to certain tendencies and characteristics within us. |
4 . Polar bears are icons of the Arctic. Detailed monitoring of their populations is crucial for their conservation—but because polar bears are so difficult to find, we are missing critical data about population size. Scientists have now developed a new tool to help: DNA analysis using skin cells left in the bears’ footprints in the snow.
The scientists were inspired by the techniques that can be applied to tiny, degraded DNA samples. With these techniques, it isn’t necessary to physically capture bears, which can be stressful and dangerous for both bears and humans. Instead, the researchers can turn to the snow tracks of polar bears and look at sources of DNA left in passing—environmental DNA. "The tracks usually contain fresh cells, and the DNA is intact because of the cold’ storage’ temperature, "said Dr. Melanie Lancaster of the World Wide Fund, lead author.
The scientists collected snow from individual tracks made by Alaskan polar bears in the wild. Additional materials like hair and saliva(唾液)were sampled, confirming that the tracks provided accurate genotype(基因型) 24 wild polar bear tracks were sampled. The researchers melted and filtered the snow to collect environmental DNA, then carried out micro-satellite analysis. Although the concentrations (浓度)of DNA taken from trucks sampled in the wild were very low, 13 of the wild polar bear samples could be genotype, identifying 12 different individuals.
This technique has huge potential to inform conservation of these animals, to better understand their populations and behavior. Although the sampling has a lower success rate, ease of collection means that it can significantly expand sample sizes.
"We hope this method will be taken up by the polar bear research community, with the involvement of hunters, volunteers, and local communities, as a new way to collect information on polar bears, "said Lancaster. "We also hope the method will be expanded to other animals living in snowy environments. "
1. Why do scientists develop the new method?| A．To improve the environment in the Aretic. |
| B．To protect humans from the polar bears attack. |
| C．To find solutions to global climate change. |
| D．To gather essential data for monitoring polar bears. |
| A．Unknown. |
| B．Undamaged. |
| C．Unusual. |
| D．Unstable. |
| A．They tracked and caught polar bears in the wild. |
| B．They recorded the bears’ behaviors with cameras. |
| C．They analyzed DNA from polar bears’ snowy footprints. |
| D．They compared the polar bears’ genotype with other animals? |
| A．Disapproving. |
| B．Favorable. |
| C．Uncertain. |
| D．Suspicious. |
5 . Turning soil, pulling weeds, and harvesting cabbage sound like tough work for middle and high school kids. And at first it is, says Abby Jaramillo, who with another teacher started Urban Sprouts, a school garden program at four low-income schools. The program aims to help students develop science skills, environmental awareness, and healthy lifestyles.
What do we know about Abby Jaramillo?| A．She used to be a health worker. | B．She grew up in a low-income family. |
| C．She owns a fast food restaurant. | D．She is an initiator of Urban Sprouts. |
6 . As cities balloon with growth, access to nature for people living in urban areas is becoming harder to find. If you’re lucky, there might be a pocket park near where you live, but it’s unusual to find places in a city that are relatively wild.
Past research has found health and wellness benefits of nature for humans, but a new study shows that wildness in urban areas is extremely important for human well-being.
What phenomenon does the author describe at the beginning of the text?
| A．Pocket parks are now popular. | B．Wild nature is hard to find in cities. |
| C．Many cities are overpopulated. | D．People enjoy living close to nature. |
| Unde Tom’s store is having a big week sale! Everything 30% off All TVs, radios, MP3s, digital cameras and computers Open from 12:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. |
| A．8:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. | B．9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. |
| C．12:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. | D．6:00p.m. to 8:00 p.m. |
8 . Black clouds loomed over(笼罩) the distant horizon so suddenly that we were taken by surprise.
When the black clouds appeared suddenly in the distance, ________.| A．the family were surprised | B．they were extremely worried |
| C．they were preparing for the worst . | D．they faced the storm bravely |
9 . When Grylls heard about Nicholas’ amazing deeds, he was super impressed that Nicholas had made it since he knew better than anyone how hard Nicholas had to work to stay alive.
Nicholas left Grylls a very deep impression because he ______.| A．did the right things in the dangerous situation |
| B．watched Grylls’ TV program regularly |
| C．created some tips for survival |
| D．was very hard-working |
10 . On Tuesday, Nicholas went out again to find help. He had walked for about a mile when a volunteer searcher found him. After two days stuck in the snow, Nicholas was saved.
On Tuesday, Nicholas ______.| A．returned to his shelter safely | B．was saved by a searcher |
| C．got stuck in the snow | D．stayed where he was |
