1 . New Zealand is one of the best countries in the world to experience how life might have been in prehistoric times. New Zealand is a nature lover’s paradise(乐园) with its conservation reserves.
Kaharoa Conservation
The Kaharoa Conservation is home to a number of endangered birds and the North Island Kokako is just one of them. The Kokako is possibly New Zealand’s most beautiful songbird with such a variety of whistles, clicks, buzzes and whirrs in its sound range, one bird sounds like a chorus!
Mokaihaha Ecological Area
Rich in Maori history, the Mokaihaha Ecological Area has high conservation and scientific value. Birdlife features this natural wonderland with the symphony including such stars as the Tui, Kereru, Fantail, Bellbird and the endangered Kokako.
Whakarewarewa Forest Conservation Park
If mountain biking is your thing, then this is the place for you! The Whakarewarewa Forest provides a network of tracks through exceptionally impressive scenery that has made Rotorua famous for its mountain biking.
Maungatautari Ecological Island
A project of great ecological importance is being undertaken by a community aimed at the restoration of Maungatautari volcano forest.
The volcano forest has sustained the lives of its wildlife for hundreds of years but since the introduction of European pests such as deer, rabbits, goats, pigs and rats, the native varieties of mammals, birds and plants have been facing threats.
The aim of the courageous project is to get rid of all introduced pests from the 3363 hectares of forest. Luckily, life in the forest of Maungatautari is beginning to awaken again.
1. What is special about the bird Kokako?| A．It can make different sounds. |
| B．It is an endangered species. |
| C．It only lives in the Kaharoa Conservation. |
| D．It is the most beautiful birds in the world. |
| A．Kaharoa Conservation. |
| B．Mokaihaha Ecological Area. |
| C．Whakarewarewa Forest Conservation Park. |
| D．Maungatautari Ecological Island. |
| A．There is a live volcano on the island. |
| B．Introduced species threaten native ones. |
| C．The restoration project is of no effect. |
| D．It is rich in Maori history. |
2 . Today we know Antarctica as an extreme environment containing ice and snow. But new research provides evidence that the area was very different in the past.
The evidence was found inside a piece of earth sediment(沉积物) collected by researchers from a depth of about 30 meters below the ocean floor off the coast of Antarctica. In the sediment, they found forest soil estimated to be about 90 million years old. This would have been in the Cretaceous Period, when dinosaurs were the main land animals.
Johann Klages is a geologist, working in the Institute's Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research in Germany. He said an examination showed that the material formed on land, not in the ocean.
The researchers estimate that the area – about 900 kilometers from the South Pole – had average yearly temperatures of about 12 to 13 degrees Celsius. During the warmest summer months, average temperatures likely reached between 20 to 25 degrees Celsius. The average yearly temperature in that area is about 40 degrees below zero Celsius.
The examination results showed “a dense network of roots that spread through the entire soil layer,” the Helmholtz Center said in a statement.
The dark brownish-gray soil included fine dirt particles and hard clay, as well as substances linked to at least 65 different kinds of plants, the study found. Klages put that the plants included trees, ferns and flowering plants and while no animal remains were found, there were likely dinosaurs, flying reptiles and many insects in the environment.
The researchers said that the rainforest environment in Antarctica was especially surprising because each year, the area experiences a four-month polar night when there is no sunlight to fuel plant life.
1. According to the passage, we can learn that ________.| A．dinosaurs were from Antarctica |
| B．Antarctica was always extremely cold |
| C．the ocean floor is made up of sediment |
| D．the area has been experiencing climate changes |
| A．No animals left. |
| B．No fertilizer to fuel plants. |
| C．Roots spreading through the soil. |
| D．The rainforest experiencing polar night. |
| A．Science. | B．Entertainment. | C．Society. | D．Fiction. |
| A．Antarctica, Once a Warm Rainforest |
| B．Earth Sediment Found in Antarctica |
| C．Antarctica - an Extreme Environment |
| D．New Antarctica Found by Researchers |
