1 . Nature can be unforgiving, especially when it comes to the animal world. As such, squirrels need every advantage they can get in order to protect themselves from a variety of predators that may want to make them their next meal. Squirrels pay incredibly close attention to their surroundings, and they pick up alarm calls from other nearby animals in reference to nearby predators. Now, a new study reveals that squirrels also listen to nearby birds’ conversations to make sure there is no threat close by.
Researchers from Oberlin University say that if the talk from birds is relaxing and normal, the squirrel knows it is not in immediate danger. The authors said that squirrels were listening to bird conversations and sounds to assess their safety, so in order to test their theory they observed the behavior of 54 wild Eastern gray squirrels scattered across various parks and areas in Ohio.
First, a threat was shown by playing a record of a red-tailed hawk(鹰), an animal known to hunt and eat both squirrels and other smaller birds. Then, researchers played one of two different recordings; one recording was of many songbirds chattering among one another happily, and the other was with no bird noises. After playing these recordings, each squirrel’s behavior was monitored for three minutes.
As expected, after hearing the initial record, all the squirrels displayed defensive attitudes, such as running away, looking around, or freezing their movements. Interestingly, the squirrels that heard the happy sounds of songbirds returned back to a normal, relaxed state much faster than the other group that heard the quiet sounds.
The study’s authors say that this indicates squirrels use the sounds of nearby animals to ensure their own safety. This allows the squirrel to either get back to what they were doing in a faster manner, or prepare for potential threats more efficiently.
“Perhaps in some circumstances, cues of safety could be as important as cues of danger,” the study reads. The study is published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE.
1. What does the underlined word “predators” mean in the first paragraph?| A．Animals that hunt squirrels as food. |
| B．Animals that make friends with squirrels. |
| C．Animals that hunt squirrels and birds at night. |
| D．Animals that steal the food from the squirrels’ nests. |
| A．They will stay and freeze. |
| B．They will behave normally. |
| C．They will keep on their guard. |
| D．They will look around and run away. |
| A．By studying the different data. |
| B．By listing the different figures. |
| C．By comparing the different responses. |
| D．By playing different games with the squirrels. |
| A．Three interesting experiments. |
| B．Squirrels listen to birds to stay safe. |
| C．Judging danger from nearby sounds. |
| D．Squirrels can record the dangerous sound. |
2 . Check out these stories of some animals.
The cat Homer
Homer the blind cat weighs only four pounds. Gwen Cooper adopted him when he was three weeks old. One night his growling (狂吠) wakes up Cooper, He’s never growled before. Surprised, Cooper opens her eyes. A burglar is standing at the foot of her bed! Cooper reaches for her phone to call 911.
“Don’t do that!” the burglar says. The sound of his voice shows his exact location, and blind Homer leaps. No match for a cat with sharp claws, the would-be robber flees.
The dog Geo
Geo follows 10-year-old Charlie Rilcy everywhere. One day Charlie, his mom, and two younger brothers are standing at a street corner. Geo is sitting at Charlie’s side. Suddenly, an out-of-control truck is heading straight for Charlie!
But Geo makes a flying leap. “He hits me so hard that I fall over,” Charlie says. The speeding truck hits Geo instead. Geo is rushed to the animal hospital.
The dog Teddy
It’s 3 a.m. in West Jordan, Utah. A mother and two children stand outside as firefighters hose (用软管浇) water on their burning house. “Is anybody inside?” the firemen ask.
The mom says no, because she feels certain that her older son escaped out the back. But just to be sure, Don Chase and his partner plunge (冲入) through the flames to look.
And what do they find? Teddy the pet dog standing by the door. Chase reaches for him, but Teddy runs down the basement stairs. Midway down, he stops and waits. But just as the firemen reach him, he takes off again. “I’m really maddened.”Chase says. “We’re wasting time chasing a dog when we should be searching for human victims.”
Then they see him — the older son, unconscious on a basement couch. Grabbing his legs and chest, the astonished firemen move him to safety, as Teddy runs behind.
1. How does Homer know where the burglar is?| A．Cooper shows him. | B．He sees the burglar. |
| C．Through the burglar’s voice. | D．Through the burglar’s actions. |
| A．interested | B．surprised | C．excited | D．annoyed |
| A．Real animal heroes | B．Funny stories about pets |
| C．How to take care of your pets? | D．Why arc dogs better pets than cats? |
3 . Could animals from the past one day walk among us? One company is now looking to introduce extinct(已灭绝的) animals into the real world.
US company Colossal Biosciences announced on Jan 31 that it would be trying to bring back to life the dodo—a large bird that was native to the island of Mauritius in the Indian ocean. They lived there until the 17th century.
“[The place] to reintroduce the dodo into the wild would be Mauritius,” Ben Lamm, the co-founder of the company told The Guardian. A reintroduction of dodos to the ecosystem of the island, instead of just being a novelty(新奇), is thought to potentially bring benefits to the endemic (地方性的) plants and other animals that already live there.
Having discovered the genetic code(基因序列) of extinct animals from their remains, the company seeks to change the DNA of currently living creatures to make them close to the animal of the past. The Nicobar pigeon(尼柯巴鸠) will be used as the genetic base for the dodo, according to MIT Technology Review.
The company also has plans for other extinct animals. When the company first formed in 2021, it announced its plans to bring back mammoths(猛犸象). They believe that mammoths introduced to the Arctic regions could help tackle climate change as they turn the wet tundra(苔原) into sunlight-reflecting dry grasslands by cating the grass, according to The New Yorker.
However, some people are skeptical. According to BBC Science Focus, with a third of all bird species currently in decline, strategies to protect existing species are needed more than ever instead of focusing on animals of the past.
Despite the lack of consensus (共识), it has yet to be seen if this miracle of science can actually be pulled off. A real-life Jurassic Park isn’t likely to open anytime soon.
1. What do we know about dodos, according to the text?| A．They were native to the island of Mauritius. | B．They died out around the 19th century. |
| C．They will be reintroduced into India. | D．They could help slow down climate change. |
| A．The remains of the dodo. | B．The Nicobar pigeon. |
| C．The mammoth. | D．The current DNA data bank. |
| A．They think extinct animals are not important. |
| B．They think the plans will not work in practice. |
| C．They believe the plans go against nature. |
| D．They believe protecting existing species is more necessary. |
| A．It’s worth trying. | B．It sounds risky. |
| C．It will bring many benefits. | D．It still has a long way to go. |
4 . Scientists have discovered a new structure that allows lunge feeding whales, also called rorqual whales (长须鲸), to take in massive amounts of water without choking.
To capture prey (猎物), rorqual whales use a method called lunge feeding. They speed up, and take in a volume of water large enough to fill their entire bodies.
Scientists didn’t know how these whales avoided choking on prey—filled water and flooding their respiratory tracts (呼吸道) during a lunge feeding event. Now Dr. Gil and his colleagues have discovered a large structure that they’ve termed the “oral plug” —a structure never before described in any other animal—that they think makes lunge feeding possible.
Dr. Gil and his colleagues analyzed dead fin whales. By physically dissecting (解剖) the mass of muscle and tissue that plug the back of the whale’s mouth, the researchers determined that when the animal is at rest, the plug blocks off the whale’s pharynx (咽道), a tube-shaped structure that leads to both the respiratory and digestive tracts. When a whale lunges, the “oral plug” protects both tracts from being flooded by the water and the living creatures that the animal has taken in.
When the animal is ready to swallow its latest meal, the oral plug shifts upward to protect the upper respiratory tract. At the same time, the larynx (喉) closes up and shifts downward, blocking the lower respiratory tract. In other words, during swallowing, the pharynx only leads to the digestive tract.
“This fills in a blank that we didn’t even know really existed,” said Dr. Gil of the team’s findings. Ari Friedlaender, who studies whale feeding behaviors at the University of California but was not involved in this research, sees great value in filling in these anatomical blanks about whales.
“The more we can understand how they develop these means for being able to eat so much, the more we understand about what their abilities are, and how they function as part of marine ecosystems,” Dr. Friedlaender said.
1. Which words can best describe the lunge feeding method of rorqual whales?①speedy ②massive ③precise
| A．②③ | B．①② | C．①③ | D．①②③ |
| A．It just blocks off the two airways when the whale rests. |
| B．It just protects the upper airway when the whale swallows. |
| C．It just blocks the lower airway when the whale lunges. |
| D．It ensures that the meals and water just go into the pharynx. |
| A．Dr. Friediaender shared his findings of whale feeding behavior with Dr. Gril. |
| B．Dr. Friedlaender praised the research for it further explains how marine ecosystems function. |
| C．Dr. Friedlaender will cooperate with Dr. Gil and his team for the future research. |
| D．Dr. Gil was probably surprised to find the existence of the “oral plug”. |
| A．Negative. | B．Indifferent. | C．Cautious. | D．Positive. |
| A．Why do whales lunge for food? | B．Why don’t whales choke? |
| C．Why do whales have respiratory tracts? | D．Why are whales unique? |
5 . For this year’s Fourth of July celebration, some US cities have replaced traditional fireworks with impressive drone (无人机) light shows. Maybe most importantly, the drones being employed by more and more cities for Fourdr of July celebrations don’t leave behind a blanket of smoke at a time when America’s air quality is already at its worst in decades.
“Around the world, we’ve seen consistently that, during times when firework usage is really high, we have really bad air quality.” said Pallavi Pant, the head of global health at the Health Effects Institute. And while that pollution typically disappears quickly— usually around noon on July 5th— the concentration can be high enough to worsen the condition for those with breathing problems. Cities making the switch to high-tech shows say there’re plenty of other reasons why people may want to avoid traditional fireworks.
“Fireworks can be harmful to folks who suffer from PTSD (创伤后应激障碍) or families who have dogs. Salt Lake City has more households with dogs than we do with kids,” said Lynze Twede, a manager for Salt Lake City Public Lands. “Being away from fireworks is considered by many to be the tendency of the future. Drones are reusable, while with fireworks, you have smoke, falling debris (碎片), and noise which especially stresses dogs and people with PTSD out.”
About 12, 264 fires were started by firework displays in 2021, according to the National Fire Protection Association. Those added up to around $59 million in direct property damage. But data also shows that much of the wildfire risk comes not from grand public displays, but from the small-scale shows on sidewalks.
It may be too early to tell how this tendency may get close to smaller shows and consumers, but the price is a limiting factor.
1. What is the most important reason for US cities’ giving up traditional firework shows?| A．To reduce fire risks. | B．To prevent noise pollution. |
| C．To protect the environment. | D．To support new technology. |
| A．Their thick smoke. | B．Their falling debris. |
| C．Their frightening noise. | D．Their shining bright light. |
| A．Public fireworks win more people’s favor. | B．Street fireworks present more fire threats. |
| C．Usage of fireworks is on the decrease | D．Prevention of fireworks is costly. |
| A．Economic pressure. | B．Appreciation value. |
| C．Drones’ safety. | D．Related policy. |
| A．What response Americans have to drone light shows |
| B．Why some US cities replace fireworks with drones. |
| C．How Americans celebrate special events. |
| D．How drone shows develop in America. |
6 . Butterflies, a familiar sight around the world, are disappearing now. Over the past four decades, more than 450 butterfly species have been affected by threats from climate change. In the US alone, the monarch butterfly has seen a drop of 80%, from millions of them recorded by scientists in the 1980s to only 29,000 in 2020; in 2017 scientists in Germany raised alarm bells after stressing that insects had decreased (减少) by more than 70% in 30 years.
Leading environmental organizations have been working hard to find new ways of tracking butterflies. Now, there is no long-term data available to develop effective strategies in those areas where the threat is particularly widespread. The scientists also wanted to say the big problem that long-term monitoring programs worldwide have faced for a long time: they are focused on training locals as citizen biologists, which, although successful, requires significant and continued funding.
In Ecuador, however, scientists have taken things one step further. The study was undertaken (承担) to fight against the serious threat of dying out that so many insects — not just butterflies — are facing. They came up with a unique approach. In Yasuni National Park, one of the world’s most diverse reserves, they started a monitoring project where park rangers (护林员) were trained and then performed monitoring. The rangers were able to identify butterflies to species with impressive accuracy (精确性) — an 85% success rate — which was key for these monitoring programs to be successful. The data gathered by the park rangers was so accurate that it did not significantly differ from the data collected by trained biologists in the area.
In comparison to other monitoring projects that employ individuals from the community to act as citizen biologists, which usually terminate when funding is used up, this study represents a long-term solution. Monitoring with a system already in place means that it can continue, regardless of funding.
“Our approach increases the possibility of continued monitoring in the long term by saving money,” said the lead author. “What’s more, it will provide the possibility for other highly threatened and important areas for biodiversity (生物多样性) protection.” Soon, the researchers hope to expand their efforts to other parks and reserves in Ecuador and other countries.
1. The figures in the US and Germany listed in Paragraph 1 intend to ________.| A．show the rich diversity of butterflies |
| B．describe the sharp fall of butterflies’ number |
| C．stress scientists’ great attention to butterflies |
| D．compare butterfly population decrease in different regions |
| A．The high cost of training staff. | B．The wide areas to be monitored. |
| C．The lack of professional trainers. | D．The difficulty of handling existing data. |
| A．Attracting biologists’ attention. | B．Butterflies’ being saved effectively. |
| C．Rangers making accurate identification. | D．Spreading technical monitoring methods. |
| A．Grow. | B．Return. | C．Appear. | D．End. |
| A．Share their method and experience. |
| B．Prove long-term effects of their method. |
| C．Test for their approach’s economic benefits. |
| D．Compare their results with those of other areas. |
7 . Planetary changes which will have an influence on many are drawing near of the poor ecological state of the planet. Actually change has already begun through climate changes, but most humans haven’t noticed this yet. Climate change has begun to influence the world already and will begin to worsen within the near few years. Around 2020 most people will begin to see that the results of climate change will be far more serious than now understood.
As the planet is under big geological (地质的) stresses, which are continuously increasing, it will in the future no longer be able to support its population. Scarcity (缺) of resources, over-farming, lack of clean air, not enough clean drinking water and drought (旱灾) are some of the issues that will all play a much greater role in the near future.
Humans have caused large ecological devastation (破坏). The lifestyles of many people are changing at a fast speed; however, this will finally result in a shortage of some valuable resources. When this scarcity begins to happen, people will no longer be able to have sustainable (可持续的) lifestyles.
It’s important to understand that everyone plays a role in the whole process of life. Each person’s decision can finally affect the future. These decisions, all combined, can have a very good effect on what the future will be like for humans. So the future depends on the choices we make at the present moment.
While more and more people are becoming aware of climate change and other environmental problems related to global warming, not all are fully understanding how far-reaching its effects will be. Unfortunately, most of the humans realize that the planet isn’t functioning well, but they don’t understand that this is creating a major problem for the future survival of humans.
So, every person should make the necessary changes to reduce their influence on the environment and help create a more sustainable future.
1. What can be the best title for the text?| A．The Causes of Planetary Changes |
| B．The Influence of Ecological Devastation |
| C．Reasons and Ways to Build a Sustainable Future |
| D．Environmental Damage and the Human Future |
| A．planetary changes are caused by global warming |
| B．climate changes will affect the life of humans soon |
| C．the ecological state of the earth has been destroyed |
| D．most people have realized the danger of climate changes |
| A．Humans shouldn’t try to change their lifestyles. |
| B．The ecological devastation is coming to a stop soon. |
| C．The future we’ll have depends on every one of us. |
| D．The future of humans can be determined ahead of time. |
| A．encourage people to make efforts to protect the environment |
| B．inform people the planet isn’t functioning well |
| C．warn people of the dangers of ecological devastation |
| D．tell people the right way to protect the environment |
| A．grateful | B．negative | C．serious | D．humorous |
(1)活动目的；
(2)活动内容；
(3)活动感想。
要求：
(1)短文内容不少于100词；
(2)开头已为你写好，不计入词数；
(3)可适当发挥，以使行文连贯。
参考词汇：濒危动物： endangered species
Dear Tom,
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Yours,
Li Jin
A Nation of Animal Lovers
The British are traditionally a nation of animal lovers. This is clear from the large number of animal programmes on TV. There are programmes about wildlife in Britain and other countries, and about pets at home. There are programmes like Animal Hospital about sick animals and the working lives of animal doctors. Some programmes try to find new homes for unwanted or homeless animals. All these programmes are very popular. There is a pet in more than half of the homes in the UK(52.3%). The most popular pets are cats.
Battersea Dogs and Cats Home
Battersea Dogs and Cats Home in London is a very famous home for unwanted dogs and cats. It was started in 1860 by Mrs. Mary Tealby, because she was worried about all the homeless animals on the streets of London. Since it opened, the home has taken in more than 3 million dogs and cats. In 2006, over 11,000 dogs and cats came to the home. By the end of the year, homes were found for 5,000 of them. The home even has its own magazine, Paws.
| It Can Only Happen in Britain! The Echo January 13 The rat at platform one has just made your train late! An officer was called to Stirling station today because passengers were worried about a large white rat on the line. Three trains passed over it, but the rat was unhurt. The Scottish railway company, Scotrail, closed the line. Then passengers watched as the officer carefully caught the rat. It bit him, but he took it away safely. An officer from Scotrail said, “We try to protect all wild animals and pets. At first the rat was very frightened, but now he’s fine.” “We’ve called him Ronnie. He needs a good home. People think rats are dirty. But they make great pets!” |
2. How many homes in the UK raise pets?(no more than 10 words)
3. Why did Mrs. Mary Tealby started Battersea Dogs and Cats Home?(no more than 15 words)
4. What was the result of the rat in the train station?(no more than 10 words)
5. How will you react if you see some wild animals in cities? Please further explain that.(no more than 20 words)
10 . McCormick Place in Chicago, the largest convention center (会议中心) in North America, is covered in glass that is enjoyable for humans but deadly for birds. On Oct 5, over 1,000 migrating birds died from colliding with (相撞) its glass walls in a single day.
According to data from Cornell University, the number of birds killed there during that one night is roughly equal to the typical yearly bird collision deaths at the building.
One key reason for the accident is the glass. During the day, birds fly toward glass as it reflects a perfect image of the sky and nearby trees. As night falls, the bright light from glass buildings attracts birds who fly according to the location of the moon and stars. The recent collision happened on the night of Oct 5, when the lights in the building were on for an event.
After colliding with a building, many birds will die on the spot from a broken skull. Others may continue to fly for some distance, but they rarely survive for more than a few hours, as Brendon Samuels, who researches bird window collisions at the University of Western Ontario, Canada, told The Guardian.
Every year, nearly one billion birds collide with glass in the US, according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service. In China, bird collisions are not uncommon, either. In the autumn of 2022 and spring of 2023, the National Anti-bird Collisions Action Alliance reported a total of 190 cases of bird collisions, which included several types of birds listed as second-class protected wildlife.
These tragedies (悲剧) could have been avoided if appropriate (合适的) measures had been taken. Many places around the world have already put forward bird-related guidelines on building design. These include reducing the use of glass in building walls and applying bird-friendly materials and visual markers (视觉标记) to the buildings’ walls. Turning off lights at night during migration seasons can also significantly help reduce bird collisions.
Alongside guidelines on bird-friendly building design, people can also do their bit to help birds by putting stickers (贴纸) on glass windows in their homes and closing the curtains at night.
1. What do we know about the bird collision event that happened in Chicago on Oct 5?| A．It happened during the day. |
| B．About 10,000 birds were killed. |
| C．McCormick Place closed because of it. |
| D．The building`s glass is a key cause of it. |
| A．Many die instantly or within a few hours due to injuries. |
| B．They fly back to where they came from. |
| C．They will be rescued and rehabilitated. |
| D．Most survive but with minor injuries. |
| A．Common and harmful to birds. |
| B．Unavoidable and friendly to birds. |
| C．Rare and damaged to both birds and buildings. |
| D．Infrequent and preventable to both birds and buildings. |
| A．Building taller structures. |
| B．Painting buildings in bright colors. |
| C．Increasing lighting around buildings at night. |
| D．Reducing glass and adding bird-safe materials in buildings. |
| A．The effects of closing curtains at night on bird migration. |
| B．The National Anti-bird Collisions Action Alliance report. |
| C．The tragedy of bird collision with building glass. |
| D．The largest convention center in North America. |
