1 . We've certainly seen a dog nursing a wound, or a deer calling out in pain. But many animals suffer in silence. The most silent sufferers in the animal world may be fish.
Do fish feel pain? A new study from the University of Liverpool has found that fish feel pain in a way that's "strikingly similar" to humans. For the study, Lynne Sneddon, from the university's Institute of Integrative Biology, reviewed the existing body of research 98 studies in all and concluded that they feel pain just as sharply as we do."
When subject to a potentially painful event, fish show changes in behavior such as stopping feeding and reduced activity, which are prevented when a pain-relieving drug is provided. In fact, like us, they breathe heavily and stop eating when they're hurting. They will even rub the part of their body that aches." Sneddon notes in a university release.
To understand pain in other species, scientists look at nociceptors (疼痛感受器), which send signals to the brain when the body is being damaged. Humans have them throughout their skin, bones and muscles. Nociceptors have also been found in many other species, including even those tiny fruit flies.
Fish have the same means to detect pain signals and the equipment to receive them. Besides, the fishermen's opinion that fish feel no pain just doesn't add up from an evolutionary view. Pain is an efficient messenger that tells, us that we've got a problem. An animal that can't feel it won't get that memo (ER), even if it hurts itself.
"If we accept fish experience pain, then this has great significance for how we treat them," Sneddon says. "Care should be taken when handling fish to avoid damaging theirs sensitive skin and they should be humanely caught and killed."
1. What can we learn about fish?| A．They are insensitive to pain. | B．They are able to sense pain. |
| C．They won't react to painkillers. | D．Their brain is the first to send pain signals. |
| A．It might rub its lips. | B．It will keep its mouth open. |
| C．It will swim around like crazy. | D．It will keep eating to forget pain. |
| A．People will treat fish in a kinder way. |
| B．People can understand evolution better. |
| C．People can develop more drugs to save fish. |
| D．People will think of more ways to catch fish. |
| A．Disappear. | B．Put forward. |
| C．Make sense. | D．Happen. |
内容要点:1.地震来临时不要慌张。如果在室外请远离大树、高楼、高压线等物。
2.如果在室内，要尽量躲在桌子等坚固家具下面，并注意保护好头部、颈部。
3.逃生时不要选择乘坐电梯。
注意:1.词数100左右；
2.可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
How to Survive in an Earthquake
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3 . Global warming is the increase of the earth’s average surface temperature due to the effect of greenhouse gases, for example, carbon dioxide, which trap heat that would otherwise escape from the earth. After the trees are cut down and more greenhouse gases are released, the “blanket” around the earth called the ozone layer (臭氧层), will get thicker. This catches more heat and makes the earth hotter. Luckily, there are many things that every citizen of the earth can do to help reduce the effects of global warming, and it’s never too late or too early for children to take action.
The children should learn what a carbon footprint is. A carbon footprint is the amount of carbon and greenhouse gases people make as they lead the daily life and go about the normal activities. In other words, the carbon footprint is a measure of the environmental impact (冲击) the life has. To live an environmentally friendly life that doesn’t contribute to global warming, people want to have the smallest carbon footprint possible.
Almost everything people do contributes to global warming and is related to fossil fuel consumption. These can be direct uses of fossil fuels, like riding in a gasoline-powered car, or indicrect contributions to greenhouse gases, such as eating fruits or vegetables that had to be shipped from far way to reach their tables.
If a child wants to make a contribution to reducing global warming, he should ride a bicycle to the near park, school, his friend’s house, or anywhere else instead of taking the car. Or he may try to walk or jog, which is also helpful. In addition, although trains and buses often run on fossil fuels, on average, each person uses less energy and produces less pollution to run. Next time if children with their parents have to get around town or it’s too far to walk or bike, take the bus or other public transportation instead of asking for a ride.
1. What is the first paragraph mainly about?| A．A brief description of carbon footprint |
| B．The serious water pollution. |
| C．The protection of ozone layer. |
| D．The causes of global warming |
| A．Useless. | B．Expensive. |
| C．Helpful. | D．Attractive. |
| A．Go to the near park by bus. |
| B．Walk or cycle as much as possible. |
| C．Keep staying at home or school. |
| D．Go around the town with parents by car. |
| A．What Can People Do to Use Less Energy? |
| B．How Can Kids Help Reduce Global Warming? |
| C．How Does Carbon Footprints Measure Pollution? |
| D．Why Global Warming Affects Humans’ Life? |
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The government has recorded 72, 843 fires. The fire is just one of
Environmental
5 . Mice and rats have long been used in medical research because of their biological similarities to humans. Recently scientists at the University of Richmond in Virginia have trained rats to drive small vehicles.
The research team built tiny cars out of plastic and other materials, which had an opening at one end to which electrical wires were attached. By touching one of three different wires, the rat could control the car in different directions-left, center and right. Sweet treats were placed inside the containers in an attempt to get the rats to drive the vehicle for the food. After several months' training, the animals could drive to get to the treats.
Kelly Lambert, who has long been interested in the way the brain changes to react to different experiences and difficulties, led the experiment. She told the French news agency AFP the research suggested rat brains might be more complex and flexible than once thought. The driving activity seemed to help the rats relax and the rats kept in what was called “enriched environments” performed far better than those in labs.
The researchers examined levels of two hormones (荷尔蒙) in the rats — one that causes stress and the other that counters it. All the rats that took part in the training had higher levels of the hormone that reduces stress. The research suggests the increased relaxation levels could be linked to the enjoyment of successfully completing a new skill. The team also found the rats that drove themselves showed higher levels of the stress-fighting hormone than those that simply rode in small cars controlled by humans.
Lambert's team is planning to further the research to learn more about how the rats learned to drive. This research may open new areas of non-drug treatments for people suffering from mental health conditions.
1. Why have scientists chosen rats for the research?| A．They can build tiny vehicles on their own. |
| B．They are biologically similar to human beings. |
| C．They are clever enough to be trained to drive cars. |
| D．They can be used as non-drug treatments for humans. |
| A．removes. | B．substitutes. |
| C．resists. | D．transforms. |
| A．The brains of rats might be more complex and flexible than those of human beings. |
| B．The increased relaxation levels led to the rats' enjoyment of learning a new skill. |
| C．All the rats involved in the training had higher levels of the hormone causing stress. |
| D．The rats in cars controlled by humans had lower levels of the stress-fighting hormone. |
| A．Science. | B．Sports. |
| C．Education. | D．Entertainment. |
“Climate emergency” was picked by Oxford Dictionaries as the word of the year for 2019 after
Defined as “a situation
The dictionary’s word of the year is chosen
7 . Many scientists today are convinced that life exists elsewhere in the universe---life probably much like that on our own planet. They reason in the following way.
As far as astronomers can determine, the entire universe is built of the same matter. They have no reason to doubt that matter obeys the same laws in every part of the universe. Therefore, it is reasonable to guess that other stars, with their own planets, were born in the same way as our own solar system. What we know of life on earth suggests that life will arise wherever the proper conditions exist.
Life requires the right amount and kind of atmosphere. This eliminates(除去) all those planets in the universe that are not about the same size and weight as the earth. A smaller planet would lose its atmosphere; a larger one would hold too much of it.
Life also requires a steady supply of heat and light. This eliminates double stars, or stars that flare up suddenly. Only single stars that are steady sources of heat and light like our sun would qualify.
Finally, life could evolve(进化) only if the planet is just the right distance from its sun. With a weaker sun than our own, the planet would have to be closer to it. With a stronger sun, it would have to be farther away.
If we suppose that every star in the universe has a family of planets, then how many planets might support life? First, eliminate those stars that are not like our sun. Next eliminate most of their planets; they are either too far from or too close to their suns. Then eliminate all those planets which are not the same size and weight as the earth. Finally, remember that the proper conditions do not necessarily mean that life actually does exist on a planet. It may not have begun yet, or it may have already died out.
This process of elimination seems to leave very few planets on which earthlike life might be found. However, even if life could exist on only one planet in a million, there are so many billions of planets that this would still leave a vast number on which life could exist.
1. The existence of life depends on all of the following factors EXCEPT .| A．the right amount of atmosphere | B．our own solar system |
| C．steady heat and light | D．the right distance from the sun |
| A．The planet must be as big and heavy as the earth. |
| B．Proper conditions are essential to the existence of life. |
| C．Double stars can provide steady light and heat. |
| D．The distance between a planet and its sun should be right. |
| A．Most of the planets of the stars. | B．Stars similar to our sun. |
| C．Planets similar to the earth. | D．Planets with proper conditions. |
| A．it is impossible for life to exist on planets. | B．earthlike life could only exist on a few planets. |
| C．life could exist on only one planet in a million. | D．life could exist on a great number of planets. |
8 . Coral reefs (珊瑚礁) are an integral part of sea life and sustain it by providing shelter and habitat to various organisms. They also supply and recycle nutrients as well as enable a growing fish population, along with other species, for a healthy and diverse ecosystem. However, the rise in average water temperatures due to climate change has resulted in more frequent and longtime coral bleaching (白化现象) events that damage their health, causing fish and other sea species to abandon them.
In order to restore this delicate ecosystem, scientists from the UK and Australia conducted a study that involved using loudspeakers underwater near damaged coral reefs to make them sound healthy and attract fish, potentially kick-starting the natural recovery process of coral reefs and their dependent life forms. The location for this experiment was the Great Barrier Reef in the Coral Sea, found alongside the east coast of Queensland, Australia. The site is noted to have the largest coral reef system in the world.
“Healthy coral reefs are remarkably noisy places-the crackle of snapping shrimp and the whoops and grunts of fish. Young fish concentrate on these sounds when they're looking for a place to settle,” said Steve Simpson, study co-author and a professor at the University of Exeter, UK.
By using loudspeakers to copy such sounds, parts of dead coral reefs were found to attract twice as many fish, compared to places where no sounds were played. “These returning fish, are crucial for coral reefs to function as healthy ecosystems. Boosting fish populations in this way could help to kick-start natural recovery processes, preventing the damage we're seeing on many coral reefs around the world,” said lead author, Tim Gordon.
1. What causes the phenomenon of coral bleaching?| A．Diverse species. | B．Noise pollution. |
| C．Fishing industry. | D．Climbing temperatures. |
| A．Removing damaged coral reefs. | B．Using loudspeakers to keep fish away. |
| C．Building new homes for sea species. | D．Playing certain sounds to appeal to fish. |
| A．To provide some findings of the study. | B．To show the progress of the experiment. |
| C．To explain reasons for the new approach. | D．To give another solution to the problem. |
| A．The attempts are in vain. | B．Natural recovery is impossible. |
| C．Initial success has been achieved. | D．The coral reefs have returned to normal. |
9 . Record fires sweeping across the Amazon this month have been catching global headlines as scientists and environmental groups are worried that they will worsen climate change and threaten biodiversity(生物多样性).
As the largest rainforest in the world, the Amazon is often called “the lungs of the world”. It is also home to about 3 million species of plants and animals, and 1 million local people. The vast lands of rainforest play an important role in the world’s ecosystem because they take in heat instead of it being reflected back into the atmosphere. They also store carbon dioxide (二氧化碳)and produce oxygen, making sure that less carbon is given off, mitigating the effects of climate change.
“Any forest destroyed is a threat to biodiversity and the people who use that biodiversity,” Thomas Lovejoy, an ecologist at George Mason University told National Geographic. “The shocking threat is that a lot of carbon goes into the atmosphere,” he stressed. “Facing the global climate change, we cannot afford more damage to a major source of oxygen and biodiversity. The Amazon must be protected,” U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said.
Data from the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) show that the number of forest fires in Brazil quickly increased by 82 percent from January to August this year from a year ago. A total of 71,497 forest fires were recorded in the country in the first eight months of 2019, up from 39,194 in the same period in 2018, INPE said. “It’s reported that the forest areas in the Brazilian Amazon have decreased something between 20 and 30 percent compared to the last 12 months,” Carlos Nobre, a researcher at the University of Sao Paulo, told German broadcaster Deutsche Welle.
Brazil owns about 60 percent of the Amazon rainforest, whose drop could have severe results for global climate and rainfall. The size of the area ruined by fires has yet to be determined, but the emergency has transcended(超出）Brazil’s borders, reaching Peruvian, Paraguayan and Bolivian areas.
1. What is the second paragraph mainly talking about?| A．The effects of climate change. |
| B．The role of the Amazon rainforest. |
| C．The results of the Amazon rainforest fires. |
| D．The causes of the decreasing biodiversity. |
| A．Easing. | B．Causing. |
| C．Worsening. | D．Benefiting |
| A．The biodiversity makes the rainforests unique. |
| B．The rainforest fires result in serious consequences. |
| C．The global climate crisis brings more rainforest fires. |
| D．The dry weather leads to the rainforest fires. |
| A．Sports and music. | B．Science and technology. |
| C．Nature and geography. | D．Business and culture. |
| A．Rainy | B．Sunny. | C．Cloudy |
