1 . Why does the giant squid (乌贼) have eyes as large as a football? Why do more than 350 species of fish produce their own electricity? Why do dogs become more optimistic after two weeks of plentiful sniffing (嗅)?
The mysteries and miracles of animal senses are revealed in this year's winner of Royal Society Trivedi science book prize. An Immense World by Ed Yong is an exploration of the unique sensory world of other creatures, from tree hoppers to singing frogs, who sense the world in vastly different ways to humans.
Yong has interviewed many kinds of scientists during his writing but sensory biologists are his favourite. “There's a surprising number of sensory biologists who are themselves neuro-atypical—they have something like face blindness or colour blindness,” he says. “Their different than‘normal’ way of experiencing the world themselves might help them better empathize (共情) with other creatures who have those experiences. The core of this book is curiosity and empathy, understanding and valuing animals for their own benefit, and trying to put ourselves in the shoes of creatures who are very different to us.”
Yong's book carries an important message about how our lack of understanding of the sensory worlds of other animals is hugely destructive. Studies have shown that LED lights are particularly damaging to bats and insects. Flowers illuminated (照亮) by bright lights receive 62%fewer visits from insects. Meanwhile, low-frequency noise in oceans has risen 32-fold since the Second World War because of global shipping-damaging whales' ability to communicate.
Unfortunately, reducing noise and light pollution is nowhere near the political agenda. "It's understandable why it's not on the political agenda because it's not a visceral (强烈的) problem like a plastic-ridden beach or chemicals billowing from a smokestack, ”says Yong. “Light and sound don't produce the same kind of horror. Light especially feels like an entirely good thing-we want more light in our lives; light is knowledge, safety, beauty and goodness. So just raising awareness that these are problems that could be tackled is an important first step and one I hope An Immense World moves people further towards taking."
1. What is An Immense World aimed at?A.Popularizing scientific knowledge. |
B.Exploring the origin of the universe. |
C.Revealing the unknown lives of animals. |
D.Building harmony between man and nature. |
A.They are pleasant to talk with. | B.They are more knowledgeable. |
C.They have abnormal behaviour. | D.They identify with the creatures. |
A.Their seriousness is not so obvious. | B.There is a lack of government funds. |
C.There is public ignorance about them. | D.They have been brought under control. |
A.A news report. | B.A biology textbook. | C.A research paper. | D.A book review. |
2 . African grey parrots (鹦鹉) help their peers complete tasks despite no immediate benefit to themselves, researchers have found in the first study to show that birds display such apparently “selfless” behaviour.
Writing in the journal Current Biology, Brucks and colleagues report how they tested African grey parrots in a task that involved the birds passing a token, in the form of a metal ring, through a hole in their section to a neighbouring bird of the same species. This token could then be passed by the second bird to a human, via another hole, who would exchange it for a piece of nut.
The team found African grey parrots helped their neighbours by passing tokens to their neighbour when a human held out their hand, allowing the second bird to drop it through-the hole and receive a tasty treat.
The same behaviour was seen when the roles of the birds were reversed (颠倒). The more tokens a bird had previously given, the more they received in return.
However, the team stress previously the birds did not know that their favour would be rewarded, suggesting it is something of a “selfless” act.
The team say it may be due to African grey parrots gathering in huge flocks at night but splitting into smaller groups during the day to forage (觅食). Brucks said such behaviour is thought to require strong social cognitive (认知) abilities, adding that being helpful might help the birds gain a good reputation with their peers, making it more likely they would team up for foraging and other tasks.
Dr Manon Schweinfurth, an expert in animal behaviour, said evidence of reciprocal (互惠的) behaviour in African grey parrots is quite interesting. “It has been thought that it is so cognitively demanding that only humans can show it. But we now get more and more evidence from other animals that they are able to show reciprocity,” she said.
1. What is paragraph 2 mainly about?A.The methods of observation. | B.The comparison of the species. |
C.One feeding behaviour of parrots. | D.One example of Brucks’ experiments. |
A.there was no human signal | B.there was no neighbor request |
C.they received no instant reward | D.they got punished for a selfish act |
A.Possible reasons for the research finding. | B.Potential application of the research result. |
C.A further explanation of the research method. | D.A reasonable doubt about the research process. |
A.A scientific discovery about grey parrots. | B.The development of parrots’ selfless spirit. |
C.A practical experiment on animal behaviour. | D.The protection of parrots’ living environment. |
3 . Welcome to Buckler’s Hard
Fun facts about Buckler’s Hard
A former ship-building village on the River Beaulieu in the New Forest. The setting is lovely, two rows of well-preserved red-brick workers’ cottages-separated by a lawn-lead down to the water’s edge where boats glide past. Attractions include a maritime (航海) museum telling the story of warships built for Nelson’s navy and other moments in seafaring history.
Costumed volunteers are on hand to answer questions and entertain children with, say, a game of coits or explain how families lived in the Shipwright’s Cottage. In summer hop on a boat for a cruise(漫游)up the river(extra charge).
Getting there
Take the M27, exit at junction 2 and follow the tourist signs towards nearby Beaulieu motor museum-from there Buckler’s Hard is signposted. The car park is an extra £6-£10. Train to Brockenhurst then taxi-or hire a bike and cycle the three miles through the New Forest.
Value for money?
Yes. The amount of time you take will likely depend on the weather. On a sunny day you could easily spend an afternoon for a reasonable £6.90 (adult), £4.70 (child 5-16) or £21 (family ticket for four).
Opening hours
10 a.m.-6 p.m. every day, except Christmas Day.
1. What can visitors do in Buckler’s Hard?A.Volunteer in cruise boats. | B.Explore maritime history. |
C.Play games with children. | D.Experience the country life. |
A.£13.80. | B.£18.50. | C.£21. | D.£ 23.20. |
A.It offers free river cruises. | B.It is conveniently located. |
C.It charges no parking fees. | D.It opens all the year round. |
A.The ticket is too expensive. |
B.The game isn’t worth seeing. |
C.They have lost all the money. |
5 . Elmer Whitaker sighed as he looked over his muddy crops. A terrible
"What a disaster, “Whitaker said.” My whole family has always survived on the harvests of this field. I feel
Thomas calmed him down and thought for a moment. “I see this not as a disaster but as an
Elmer Whitaker considered this. Thomas was right-he had become set in his ways. This disaster could push him to make his farm
And so Whitaker
A.force | B.smoke | C.war | D.storm |
A.mud | B.grass | C.mist | D.dust |
A.went on | B.set off | C.came by | D.burst in |
A.special | B.desperate | C.sensitive | D.tireless |
A.opportunity | B.agreement | C.intention | D.element |
A.as usual | B.in disbelief | C.on purpose | D.with pride |
A.innocently | B.gratefully | C.politely | D.cheerfully |
A.major | B.traditional | C.different | D.natural |
A.restore | B.exchange | C.donate | D.abandon |
A.formal | B.diverse | C.realistic | D.obvious |
A.informed | B.demanded | C.enlightened | D.promised |
A.tasted | B.planted | C.shared | D.received |
A.careful | B.troubled | C.familiar | D.impressed |
A.diversify | B.remove | C.deliver | D.observe |
A.manner | B.dream | C.symbol | D.cause |
内容包括:
1. 电影内容简介;
2. 该电影对你的影响。
注意:
1. 写作词数应为80左右;
2. 请按如下格式在相应位置作答。
A movie that has the greatest impact on you
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7 . I was annoyed that my mom had even scheduled the appointment with a doctor for me. As doctors so often do, when he arrived he went straight into the basic small talk about my
But then he
“You don’t know? Well, why don’t you go to college to become a
He looked me straight in the eyes when he
I
I was
A.career | B.health | C.credit | D.growth |
A.threw in | B.took in | C.consisted in | D.broke in |
A.account | B.activity | C.direction | D.movement |
A.idea | B.evidence | C.reason | D.discovery |
A.protected | B.explored | C.provided | D.emphasized |
A.professor | B.doctor | C.lawyer | D.lecturer |
A.crazy | B.anxious | C.violent | D.greedy |
A.casually | B.automatically | C.seriously | D.doubtfully |
A.got away | B.passed out | C.put down | D.rushed off |
A.continued | B.hesitated | C.intended | D.pretended |
A.comment | B.conclusion | C.impression | D.burden |
A.park | B.campus | C.workshop | D.stadium |
A.frightened | B.annoyed | C.surprised | D.discouraged |
A.anxiety | B.sympathy | C.guilt | D.confidence |
A.argument | B.conversation | C.conflict | D.negotiation |
8 . Wouldn’t it be wonderful to travel to a foreign country without having to worry about the headache of communicating in a different language?
In a recent Wall Street Journal article, technology policy expert Alec Ross argued that, within ten years or so, we would be able to communicate with one another through small earpieces with built-in microphones. That’s because technological progress is extremely fast. It’s only a matter of time. Such is the belief among certain parents that the technology is imminent and they’re wondering if their kids should learn a second language.
It’s true that an increase in the quantity and accuracy of the data loaded into computers will make them cleverer at translating “Noes Bueno dormer mucho” into “It’s not good to sleep too much”. Replacing a word with its equivalent (对等词) in the target language is actually the easy part of a translator’s job. But even this seems to be a difficult job for computers.
It’s so hard for computers because translation doesn’t — or shouldn’t — involve simply translating words, sentences or paragraphs. Rather, it’s about translating meaning. And in order to infer meaning from a specific expression, people need to understand a lot of information all at once. Think about all the related clues that help us understand what someone is trying to say: volume, gesture, situations, and even your culture. All are likely to convey as much meaning as the words you use.
Therefore, we should doubt a machine that can’t understand our world like we do. If people from different cultures can upset each other without realizing it, how can we expect a machine to do better? Unless engineers actually find a way to breathe a soul into a computer, undoubtedly when it comes to conveying and interpreting meaning using a natural language, a machine will never fully take our place.
1. What does the underlined word “imminent” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?A.Ready. | B.Confusing. | C.Unpractical. | D.Coming. |
A.The real meaning of words can vary. |
B.Their data is not rich enough. |
C.Their accuracy needs big improvement. |
D.A man’s soul hasn’t been breathed in them. |
A.Proper translation can be difficult for computers. |
B.Slight differences doesn’t matter in translation. |
C.Machines will translate our world properly. |
D.Cultures need more attention than words used. |
A.An Expert’s Prediction. | B.Travel without Headache. |
C.The Pleasure of Translation. | D.Will the Language Barrier (障碍) Actually Fall? |
9 . 假设你是学生会主席李华,近日你发现身边许多同学每天在社交媒体花费大量时间。请你以学生会的名义给全校学生写一份英文倡议书,倡议大家尽量减少使用社交媒体的时间。内容包括:
1.简述现象;2.分析危害;3.发出倡议。
注意:1.词数80左右;2.可以适当增加细节,以使行文连贯
Dear fellow students,
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When a person wakes up in the morning, seven items are necessary and unavoidable in his or her life: firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar and tea.
The saying
The
Although the delivery industry has boomed in the past decade, and many people rely
In China, these essential people usually have busy schedules
They often wear colorful uniforms and ride electric bikes through the streets and communities. People call them “busy bees” in honor of
Sometimes, they rush to meet their schedules and aim to deliver