1 . Elephants eat plants. That’s common knowledge to biologists and animal-loving, schoolchildren alike. Yet figuring out exactly what kind of plants they eat is more complicated.
A new study from a global team that included Brown University conservation biologists used innovative methods to efficiently and precisely analyze the dietary habits of elephants in Kenya. Their findings on the habits of individual elephants help answer important questions about group food searching behaviors, and aid biologists in understanding the conservation approaches that best keep elephants not only sated (饱的) but satisfied.
“When I talk to non-ecologists, they are surprised to learn that we have never really had a clear picture of what all of these large animals actually eat in nature,” Kartzinel, an expert botanist who has conducted field research in Kenya, said. “The reason is that these animals are difficult and dangerous to observe from up-close, they move long distances, they feed at night and in thick bush and a lot of the plants they feed on are quite small.”
Then the team compared the diets of individual elephants through time. In their analysis, they showed that dietary differences among individuals were often far greater than what had been previously assumed, even among family members that ate together on a given day.
This study helps address a classic paradox (悖论) in wildlife ecology. Kartzinel said: “How do social bonds hold family groups together in a world of limited resources?” In other words, given that elephants all seemingly eat the same plants, it's not obvious why competition for food doesn't push them apart and force them to search for food independently.
“The simple answer is that elephants vary their diets based not only on what’s available but also their preferences and physiological needs,” said Kartzinel. These findings help inform theories of why a group of elephants may search for food together: The individual elephants don't always eat exactly the same plants at the same time, so there will usually be enough plants to go around.
These findings may offer valuable insights for conservation biologists. To protect elephants and create environments in which they can successfully grow their populations, they need a variety of plants to eat.
1. What did the new study focus on?| A．The results of conservation approaches. | B．The eating habits of elephants. |
| C．Ways to protect elephants from starving. | D．Elephants’ social behavior and needs. |
| A．Elephants are hard to monitor. | B．Elephants only live in thick bush. |
| C．Elephants are kind and friendly animals. | D．Elephants seldom eat with humans around. |
| A．It is necessary for elephants to live together. |
| B．It is possible to observe elephants up-close. |
| C．It is social bonds that hold elephants together. |
| D．It is important to protect the variety of plants. |
| A．Inaccurate. | B．Shocking. | C．Beneficial. | D．Subjective. |
2 . Are you facing a situation that looks impossible to fix?
In 1969,the pollution was terrible along the Cuyahoga River Cleveland, Ohio. It
But the river wasn’t changed in a few days
Maybe you are facing an impossible situation. Maybe you have a habit
While there are
3 . One day last summer, my 9-year-old son Ben and I were riding the waves at a popular ocean beach on outer Cape Cod. As we were playing happily with our surfboard, I suddenly noticed an astonishing
We stared and pointed in
Ben’s words took my breath away, more than the dramatic waves and the amazing sight of the
He was absolutely
We each have a part to play in
How we
| A．show | B．change | C．sight | D．sign |
| A．stood | B．left | C．started | D．lay |
| A．fear | B．amazement | C．silence | D．confusion |
| A．seldom | B．never | C．always | D．again |
| A．beach | B．ships | C．swimmers | D．whales |
| A．confident | B．crazy | C．smart | D．right |
| A．home | B．family | C．performance | D．stage |
| A．secret | B．public | C．natural | D．native |
| A．ignore | B．remember | C．prove | D．imagine |
| A．forever | B．only | C．once | D．almost |
| A．sharing | B．creating | C．improving | D．finding |
| A．required | B．judged | C．expected | D．did |
| A．true | B．easy | C．funny | D．powerful |
| A．researches | B．dreams | C．communities | D．activities |
| A．compete with | B．connect with | C．hear from | D．separate from |
4 . In a world-record effort to help save a rare sea creature, Australian scientists have released hundreds of baby seahorses into the wild. The tiny seahorses are endangered, and the scientists hope the new seahorses will help their numbers grow.
Seahorses are small, thin fish with a long mouth. They’re called “seahorses” because they look a bit like horses. Even though they’re fish, seahorses aren’t great swimmers.
There are over 40 different kinds of seahorses. They mostly live in warm, shallow waters around the world. They are often found in coral reefs, in beds of seagrass, and areas where rivers empty into the sea.
Many kinds of seahorses are threatened, often by the actions of humans.
This is the fifth time the scientists have released seahorses into the area. and this is a new record,
| A．Seahorse babies are easy to carry. |
| B．Around 380 seahorses were released. |
| C．Sometimes they’re caught and sold as pets. |
| D．People should be prohibited from catching seahorses. |
| E．Seahorses form an important part of the ocean’s food chain. |
| F．They often use their tails to hold onto something in the water. |
| G．Seahorses are unusual because it’s the males who carry the babies. |
Ten-year-old Sami loved to visit his grandfather's house. The house was near the beautiful blue sea. At the seaside stood thick and tall palm trees with green coconuts hanging from them. When the coconuts fell down, Sami would break them open and drink the coconut water. Sami liked to play under the trees. It was always great fun to spend the holidays at Grandpa's place.
This winter vacation, Sami was surprised when he came to his grandfather's village. There were hardly any trees left. He saw houses built near the sea. People had cut down many palm trees and there was hardly any greenery left.
Grandpa's house was different. He never allowed his trees to be cut. He hugged each palm tree in his courtyard. He also named the two big trees near the front door--one was Petu, and the other Betu. He had planted them with his own hands and today they had become large, massive trees with thick trunks. They were tall and green and gave the sweetest, juiciest coconuts.
One night, Sami was awakened by a strange sound. He could not sleep. He tossed（辗转）and turned in bed.
Suddenly, the ground shook as if the earth was splitting. He sat up straight and then ran to Grandpa. He clung（附 着）to his grandpa tightly. Grandpa cried out, “It's an earthquake! It's an earthquake!" They ran outside the house. They thought that would be safe.
Suddenly, there was a loud sound; the earth was not splitting but the sea was roaring. People were shouting, screaming and crying, “The sea is rising! The sea is rising." The villagers started running away from the beach.
Sami watched dumbstruck（呆若木鸡）.
The waves were rising higher and higher. Sami thought, “How big the waves are!" He went into the house again and saw water coming in from all sides. He was scared.
Sami remembered his mother telling him long ago, “You must always get out of the house if the floods come too near." He ran outside the house with Grandpa. But the water came surging（汹涌） in.
Waves about twelve meters high came rushing in, drowning everything. Water was all around and everywhere.
Paragraph 1：
Grandpa held Sami's hand tightly but a huge wave separated them.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2：
“Sami, Sami!” Grandpa cried. “Don't be scared, little one, come to me, quickly.”
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
6 . Nowadays, with the popularity of modern traffic and modern communication means, our world is becoming much smaller. Thus our life today is much easier than it was hundreds of years ago, but meanwhile it has brought new problems, the biggest one of which is pollution. For a long time ever since, man has been polluting the earth. The more people, the more pollution.
To pollute means to make things dirty. Pollution comes in many ways. We see it, smell it, drink it and even hear it. Many years ago, the problem was not so serious because there were not so many people. When the land was used up or the river was dirty in one place, man moved to another place. But this is no longer true. Man is now slowly polluting the whole world.
Air pollution is still the most serious. It’s bad for all living things in the world, but it is not the only one kind of pollution. Water pollution kills our fish and pollutes our drinking water. Noise pollution makes us angry more easily.
Many countries are making rules to fight pollution. They stop people from burning coal in houses and factories in the city, and from putting dirty smoke into the air. Pollution by SO2 is now the most dangerous kind of air pollution. It is caused by heavy traffic. We are sure that if there are fewer people driving, there will be less air pollution.
The earth is our home. We must take care of it. That means keeping the land, water and air clean. And we must take care of the rise in pollution at the same time.
1. What is the reason for the world to become much smaller?| A．The rise in pollution. | B．Science and technology development. |
| C．The earth is being polluted day and night. | D．The earth is blown away by the wind every year. |
| A．Air pollution. | B．Rubbish pollution. |
| C．Noise pollution. | D．Water pollution. |
| A．It makes much noise. | B．It makes us angry more easily. |
| C．It makes our rivers and lakes dirty. | D．It’s bad for all living things in the world. |
| A．Supportive. | B．Critical. | C．Doubtful. | D．Indifferent. |
The Jiaohe Ancient City Ruins,
Guri Bakri, a 39-year-old conservator of the Jiaohe Ruins, starts her daily inspection at the site as usual, ensuring the safety of tourists and
After graduating in 2013, Guri returned to her hometown and became one of her father’s
In recent years, the state cultural protection department has invested more than 100 million yuan ($ 14.8m) in the
8 . As global warming becomes more and more serious, each one of us must take action to help.
First, diet.
Changing what you eat could easily have a significant effect because animal agriculture creates about 14% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions (排放).
Second, travel.
Nearly all transport relies on fossil fuels. In the US, driving one mile in an average 2016 car emits 404 grams of CO2 equivalents per mile. But taking nearly any other means of transport will reduce CO2 emissions.
Third, energy.
Fourth, waste.
Think before you buy. The fashion industry creates about 10% of global greenhouse emissions and consumes more energy than flight and shipping combined.
Last but not least, plant a garden.
Plant a garden instead of building a yard out of cement (水泥), the production of which creates 8% of global CO2 emissions a year.
So from a burger to a cyclist, no one thing will have a big influence, but lots of little things can.
| A．Almost every household appliance needs it. |
| B．When you do make a purchase, try to buy it in large quantity. |
| C．Planting a garden helps reduce CO2 emissions and produce oxygen. |
| D．Each of us contributes a particular amount of CO2 into the atmosphere. |
| E．As we all know, the environment around us is getting worse and worse. |
| F．After walking, cycling is the best choice because it almost has no emissions. |
| G．In 2017, beef was found to be one of the most damaging foods to the climate. |
9 . Every year, painted lady butterflies (小红蛱蝶) born in Europe head south on a long journey to Africa. But pinpointing exactly where painted lady butterflies overwinter and breed (繁殖) was the last unknown piece of their roughly 15,000-kilometer migration. Scientists knew that the painted ladies went to Africa, but where on the continent they waited out European winters from December to February was a mystery. Researchers had predicted that subtropical regions close to the equator might provide suitable habitat. To know for sure, the researchers needed to find butterflies in the field.
From late 2017 through early 2020, researchers conducted fieldwork at a wide variety of sites across sub-Saharan Africa during the months of December and January. Another 15 sites were monitored all year round for about two years. In total, the team looked for adults and their young in nine countries, including Benin, Cameroon, and Kenya.
The researchers found more than 2,700 caterpillars (毛虫) and nearly 2,000 adult butterflies, from as far west as Cote d’Ivoire and all the way east to Kenya and Ethiopia. From September to November, the butterflies occupy the tropical grasslands. As those areas dry up, the painted ladies shift south to slightly damp regions from December to February. Central Africa’s tropical rainforests stop the butterflies from going any farther south. Three to five generations might be born in sub-Saharan Africa before any surviving adults head north in February.
Knowing where painted lady butterflies breed could help researchers understand why there are occasional population booms with 100 times as many butterflies in some years as others. In 2021, researchers linked the phenomenon to rains in sub-Saharan Africa — perhaps giving butterflies more plants to stop and lay eggs on. But the part of West Africa identified in that study is different from the newly identified breeding grounds. Now, scientists can confirm the link by looking at rainfall and other conditions where baby butterflies are found growing up.
But the next mystery researchers hope to solve is why painted lady butterflies make such a long journey at all.
1. How do the researchers confirm the painted ladies’ wintering location?| A．By comparing their habitats. |
| B．By spotting them in the field. |
| C．By doing experiments with them. |
| D．By tracking them on their migration. |
| A．In the Europe. | B．South of Africa. | C．South to Sahara. | D．In the rainforest. |
| A．Rains. | B．Foods. | C．Droughts. | D．Temperatures. |
| A．To protect them. | B．To make use of them. |
| C．To know about their habits. | D．To know how they relate to climate. |
10 . Last year, the bushfires in Australia burned more than 12.35 million acres of land. At least 25 people were killed and 2000 homes destroyed. According to the BBC, that was the most casualties(伤亡) from wildfires in the country since 2009. The University of Sydney estimates that 480 million animals have died in South Wales alone.
Zeke Hausfather, an energy systems analyst and climate researcher at Berkeley Earth, said warmer temperatures and extreme weather made Australia more susceptible to fires and increased the length of the fire season. "The drier conditions combined with record high temperatures in 2019 created main conditions for the disastrous fires. Australia's fires were worsened by the combination of those two. 2019 was the perfect storm for being the warmest year on record for Australia and the driest year on record for Australia," Hausfather added on Friday.
Kevin Trenberth, a senior scientist at the US National Center for Atmospheric Research, said warmer ocean temperatures are also contributed to more variable weather around the world. Trenberth believes that global warming contributed to energy imbalances and hot spots in the oceans, which can create a wave in the atmosphere that locks weather patterns in places, causing longer rain events in Indonesia, for example, and at the same time contributing to drought in Australia. He said that once an area experiences drought conditions for two months or more, it increases the risk of fires catching and spreading. Those changing weather patterns due to global warming make drought events longer.
Climate experts stress that climate change is not the only factor in the severity(严重) of wildfires. How land is managed can also impact the amount of fuel available for fires. Practices like controlled bums and other factors can impact the risk to people and property, such as warning systems and the type of development in a given area. Changing those policies has great potential to limit future damage from wildfires along with changes to how fire management resources are dispatched(派遣).
1. What are the numbers about in paragraph 1?| A．The causes of Australian fires. | B．The results of Australian fires. |
| C．The damaged areas of Australian fires. | D．The property destruction of Australian fires. |
| A．Very quickly to adapt to. |
| B．Very seriously to focus on. |
| C．Very likely to be influenced by. |
| D．Very easily to be protected against. |
| A．Longer dry weather contributes to global warming. |
| B．Global wanning is also a main cause of the bushfires. |
| C．Warmer ocean temperatures leads to the fires directly. |
| D．The imbalanced energy leads to the temperature rising. |
| A．To stress the effects of Australia fires. |
| B．To show the methods for land management. |
| C．To predict the seriousness of Australia fires. |
| D．To provide some advice about reducing fire damage. |
