1 . A bill to conserve endangered species was passed by the U.S. House in a 231-to-190 vote on Tuesday.
The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act would create an annual fund of more than $1.3 billion, given to states, and territories for wildlife conservation on the ground. While threatened species have been recognized and protected under the Endangered Species Act since 1973, that law does not provide constant funding to actively maintain their numbers.
The effort comes as scientists and international organizations sound the alarm about accelerating species decline.
“Too many people don’t realize that about one-third of our wildlife is at increased risk of extinction,” said lead House sponsor Debbie Ding-ell, echoing (呼应) a recent study about climate change.
In the United States, there are more than 1,600 endangered or threatened species, but state agencies have identified more than 7 times that number in need of conservation assistance in their wildlife action plans.
“The bottom line is, when we save wildlife we save for ourselves,” said Collin O’ Mara, CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, which supports the bill. He said species loss threatens everything from the insects that pollinate (授粉) plants in the food chain, to sea life that helps to reduce damages to coastlines from storm.
The bill would improve a 1937 law, the Pittman-Robertson Act, which was passed in response to decreasing game and waterfowl species. That law allows states to tax hunting supplies to pay for wildlife and habitat restoration, but that money is not enough to do the same for non-game species.
The act would also invest more in conservation than the existing program for threatened non-game species, called the State Wildlife Grant Program, which awarded states a total of $56 million this year.
1. What do we know about the Endangered Species Act?| A．It does not involve continuous funding. |
| B．It was passed by the House this Tuesday. |
| C．It has proved to be a failed Act. |
| D．It ensured the population of all the species. |
| A．Human behavior causes species to decline. |
| B．People’s efforts matter a lot in conservation. |
| C．People lack awareness of animal protection. |
| D．The decline of species is beyond imagination. |
| A．To indicate they are at risk of dying out. |
| B．To illustrate how to protect them properly. |
| C．To show they’re more important than others. |
| D．To tell man and nature are an organic whole. |
| A．Entertainment. | B．News. | C．Technology. | D．Health. |
2 . The Curb-cut Effect (路缘坡效应) refers to the fact that supporting small groups of people often ends up helping much larger ranges of society.
Curb cuts: Easing the walking
In the 1940s, hundreds of thousands of World War Ⅱ soldiers returned home with disabilities. Disappointed by the difficulties they faced, Jack Fisher of Kalamazoo, Michigan, as one of them, asked his city government to build an experimental curb cut-a gentle slope that brings the end of a sidewalk down to meet the level of the street-at the corners of several blocks downtown. A few months later, Fisher reported that even residents without wheelchairs were enjoying the impact of the little slopes.
Reading machines: Getting the message
In 1976, technologist Ray Kurzweil invented a machine for the blind and visually damaged to change images into text that it then read aloud. Smart speakers with those voices are now in roughly one-quarter of US homes. By detecting street signs and house numbers, it is helping build the maps that self-driving cars use to navigate the world.
Closed captions (字幕): Following the conversation
Sears launched the first TV with a built-in equipment that allowed deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers to read along with their favorite programs in 1980. In the 1990s, text became increasingly common as DVDs and, later, streaming services added the ability to switch the words on at will. A 2006 survey found that only around 20 percent of the people using captions had hearing problems.
DeafSpace designs: Keeping things quiet
More than 150 designs of the DeafSpace Project came from architect Hansel Bauman. One aim is to clear distracting noises, which can make it difficult for people to use their limited hearing abilities. By keeping conversations and other sound disturbances from walking and jumping around the room, these ways also make it easier for all sorts of students and workers to focus.
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1. Who were the four inventions initially intended to serve?| A．The army. | B．Special groups. | C．All human beings. | D．Professionals. |
| A．A city designer. | B．A city governor. | C．A disabled soldier. | D．An ordinary roadman. |
| A．Sears'. | B．Jack Fisher's. | C．Ray Kurzweil's. | D．Hansel Bauman's. |
3 . Off-duty firefighter Roben Duge smelled the smoke, saw the flames and heard the screams from his neighbor's house and thought instantly of his own family. The heroic smoke eater pulled a grandmother and two children from a burning house, on Thursday night, while walking home from his job at Ladder 103 in Brooklyn.
“I’m not a hero, I'm just reacting off instinct (本能),” the fearless father said on Friday at home, right next door to the fire-damaged house. His wife Crystal disagreed “It’s just who he is.” He is a superman.
The mild-mannered firefighter was heading home from the subway when he noticed the thick black smoke pouring out of his neighbor’s house. “A child playing downstairs in the basement accidentally started the fire and he was too frightened to tell his grandmother as the flames spread quickly,” reporters said. Duge, a five-year FDNY experienced firefighter, started rushing toward the two-storeyed residence when he saw the smoke. Visions of his own three kids flashed through his mind. “When I heard the kids screaming, I realized it from the bottom of my heart,” Duge told the Daily Neivs. “I thought how I could get in deep enough because I didn’t have any equipment and I didn’t know how dangerous it was.”
The grandmother, a stroke victim, was merely able to get around on her own when he made his way inside. “The lady could stand up, but she needed assistance to walk and the kids were screaming and scared to death,” said Duge.
After getting the three residents out of their house, he assisted them over to his home. The fire was brought under control about half an hour after it started. Duge, reflecting on his daring rescue, shrugged (耸肩) off the praise that was arrived via text and voicemail from fellow firefighters. “We often operate in chaos and we do put ourselves at risk,” said the FDNY officer.
1. Who was supposed to blame for the fire?| A．Duge’s kids. | B．The old lady. |
| C．Duge’s wife. | D．The neighbor’s kid. |
| A．The lady sat on the floor. | B．The kids were frightened. |
| C．The firefighters arrived. | D．The smoke was disappearing. |
| A．He thought what he had done deserved it. |
| B．He viewed it as a big surprise. |
| C．He owed it to his fellow firefighters’ help. |
| D．He cared little about it. |
