1 . Marmoset monkeys exist on a branch of the evolutionary tree that is distinct from the one that led to mans. But they constantly astonish researchers with ________ behavior that seems pretty highly evolved. Their social organization and ________ practices could have been the model for the phrase “It takes a village.” A dominant male and female breed, and their babies are carefully looked after by extended family members who then aren't free to breed themselves.

A new study further ________ the marmoset’s reputation for admirable community values. Researchers report that these caregivers share their food more generously with little ones ________ than when they’re surrounded by the watchful eyes of other community members. In complex societies where individuals band together for ______ protection, researchers have come up with a few widely accepted explanations for selfless behavior. But specific acts, like sharing a delicious cricket(蟋蟀) with a begging baby marmoset, seem to need more ______ explanation

One possibility is that an individual practices ______ as a means of enhancing his status among peers. By ______ that he is so well gifted with material goods that he can give some away, this do-gooder enhances his power within the group. That, in turn, may ______ prospective mates. The other explanation for charitable behavior ______ that kindnesses extended to others are simply the fees of group membership, which offers some future promise of a chance to mate. Failure to share would result in exclusion from the group and a loss of ______ partners. Scientists call this the “pay to stay” model. Importantly, for both of these models to work, acts of kindness must have a(n) ______. That suggests you would see more sharing in group settings; away from judging eyes, a caregiver might be more likely to keep food for himself or herself. And yet, in 2,581 tests conducted with 31 adult and 14 baby marmosets, the ______ appeared to be true

Anthropologists (人类学家) from the University of Zurich carefully documented how often, in groups and in conditions that found caregiver and baby separated from the crowd, an adult would share his or her cricket. When alone with a baby begging for a taste, adult marmosets shared their cricket 85% of the time. When in a group, caregivers offered up their cricket 67% of the time.” Our results show that helping in common marmosets is not driven by reputation management or ______ avoidance, “ the study authors reported Rather, it is driven by a deep-down motivation to help that is more ______ expressed when individuals are alone with young.”

Noise Pollution Rules Should Be Tightened

Road traffic, aircraft, ships, factories and oil drilling are all human activities that produce noise. The noise should be better     1     to protect wildlife, say the authors of a study     2     how sound pollution affects creatures from fish to birds.

Studies have found noise pollution to be linked to poorer human health. But experts say it can also affect wildlife, from preventing their communication to affecting the     3     with which they search for food. “For example, if bats     4     their prey through sound clues can’t hear clearly,” said Dr Hansjoerg Kunc, the co-author of the research, “they have to fly longer and invest more time and energy to find food.”

The studies were based on experiments in which     5     aspects of the animals’ behaviour or other measures, such as changes in hormone (荷尔蒙) levels, were     6     before and after exposure to noise. The results reveal that human-produced noise affects a wide range of species. “Thus, the response to noise can be explained by most species responding to noise rather than a few species being     7     sensitive to noise,” the authors wrote.

The team continued to     8     that their research did not examine whether the effects were beneficial or harmful to species. That was because such considerations were     9    . For example, noise that affects hunting could benefit prey while creating difficulties for predators (食肉动物).

“Even if some animals benefitted, it did not mean noise should not be dealt with, since the majority would still experience negative effects”, said Kunc. But there was     10     for optimism. “Unlike chemical pollution, if a noise source moves away, then nothing stays in the environment any more,” he said.

Repair Café

When things around the house stop working, what do you usually do with them? If you're     1     a lot of people, you probably just throw them away.

This tendency has led to the modern nickname: the throwaway culture. There are many reasons for this trend. In some areas     2     it's difficult to find people who can make repairs, fixing things can be quite expensive. Also, some small appliances are so inexpensive that it's often much     3     (easy) to just buy a new one.

In 2009, Martine Postma from the Netherlands decided there must be a better way. Her solution was Repair Cafés: places where people can take damaged or     4     (tear) items. There they will find tools, resources and volunteer experts who are willing to help with repairs.

Postma's first Repair Café opened on Oct. 18, 2009, in Amsterdam, and was a huge success. News of the café spread, and people began asking     5     they could start their own. In 2011, Postma established the Repair Café Foundation. This nonprofit organization provides guidance to those hoping to begin their own neighborhood repair group.

Today, there are roughly 2,000 Repair Cafés around the world with meetings typically    6     (occur) once a month. Around 25 objects per session are repaired.     7     is free, but donations are greatly appreciated.

Not only do the cafés provide help with repairs, they also strengthen community ties. Neighbors get to know one another as they work together on projects. In addition, valuable knowledge is passed along and preserved. Items are kept     8     thrown away, meaning less trash in landfills.    9     an average broken item weighs a kilo, it's been estimated that 2,000 Repair Cafés prevent 35,000 kilos of trash every month. That    10     (add) up to about 420,000 kilos per year!

Ecotourism can put wild animals at risk

Ecotourism has become increasingly popular in recent years.     1     There travelers visit natural environments to fund conservation efforts or promote local economies.

Now, scientists have analyzed more than 100 research studies on how ecotourism affects wild animals. They find the presence of humans changes the way animals behave, and those changes may put them at risk. Therefore, they concluded that such trips can be harmful to the animals.

When animals interact in seemingly kind ways with humans, they may let down their guard.     2    . If this transfers to their interactions with predators（捕食者）, they are more likely to be injured or killed.

The presence of humans can also discourage natural predators. It creates a kind of safe place for smaller animals that may make them bolder. For example, in Grand Teton National Park, elk and pronghorns in areas with more tourists are less alert and spend more time eating.

    3     “If animals become accustomed to tourists and if tourism practices enhance this taming, we might create unintended consequences - affecting the behavior or population of a species and influencing the species’ function in its community,” the researchers write.

Ecotourism has effects similar to those of animal domestication and urbanization. Research has shown that domesticated silver foxes become more obedient and less fearful. Fox squirrels and birds that live in urbanized areas are slower to flee from danger.     4    

Scientists hope the new analysis will encourage more research into the interactions between people and wildlife. It is essential to develop further understanding of how various species in various situations respond to human interaction and under what conditions human exposure may place them at risk.

High level of deforestation continues

We are all aware of the threats our planet is facing. Experts agree that it’s mainly us humans who are responsible for the destruction of the environment. One of the most destructive activities we are carrying out is cutting down forests - deforestation. This is done for many reasons, such as providing wood for fuel, making land available for housing or for crating space for more cattle to graze(吃草) on. This has been most noticeable in Brazil, which is home to the world’s largest rainforest. Deforestation there has hit its highest rate in a decade, according to official data. Over the course of a year, an area about five times the size of London has been destroyed.

The amount of deforestation in the Amazon and in other tropical(热带的) regions has actually seen a decline but the figures are still large. Global Forest Watch say that in 2018, an area equivalent to 30 football fields were cut down every minute. Frances Seymour from the World Resources Institute says that “If you look back over the last 18 years, it is clear that the overall trend is still upwards. We are nowhere near winning this battle.”

What’s special about places like the Amazon is that they are primary forests which exist in their original condition with some species of trees dating back thousands of years. This habitat is home to unique and rare animals and is critical for sustaining biodiversity(生物多样性). The BBC’s environment correspondent, Matt McGrath, says “These old forests really matter as stores of carbon dioxide, which is way the loss of 3.6 million hectares in 2018 is concerning.”

Brazil has taken some steps to try and decrease deforestation by introducing government policies including fines for breaking land use regulations and illegal logging. And International campaigns to stop the trade of soy and beef farmed on deforested parts of the Amazon have also had a significant impact.

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9 . Bees in a colony work with each other to gather food, and they try to find the most nectar (花蜜)in the least amount of time possible. A small number of bees work as searchers, but when a good flower patch (花丛) is found, how do they tell other bees where to find it?

Bees communicate flower location using special dances inside the hive, where bees live. One bee dances while the other bees watch. The dancing bee smells like the flower patch, and also gives the watching bees a taste of the nectar she has gathered. Smell and taste helps other bees find the correct flower patch. Bees use two different kinds of dances to communicate information: the waggle (摇摆) dance and the circle dance.

Waggle dance

The waggle dance tells the watching bees two things about a flower patch's location: the distance and the direction away from the hive.

A. Distance

The dancing bee waggles back and forth as she moves forward in a straight line, then circlesaround to repeat the dance. The length of the middle line, called the waggle run, shows roughly how far it is to the flower patch.

B. Direction

Bees know which way is up and which way is down inside their hive, and they use this to show direction. How? Bees dance with the waggle run at a specific angle away from straight up. Outside the hive, bees look at the position of the sun, and fly at the same angle away from the sun.

Circle dance

The circle dance tells the watching bees only one thing about the flower patch’s location: that it is somewhere close to the hive.

In this dance, the bee walks in a circle, turns around, then walks the same circle in the opposite direction. Sometimes, the bee includes a little waggle as she’s turning around. The duration of this waggle is thought to indicate the quality of the flower patch.

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10 . The Australian environment department has not finalised a single recovery plan for threatened species in nearly 18 months. The last time the department completed a recovery plan was in June last year. And the department says it has no time frame for addressing the other requests for recovery plans, which include the critically endangered animal Leadbeater’s possum (澳洲负鼠).

Recovery plans are documents that outline key facts about endangered animals and plants, threats to their survival, and what should be done to prevent their extinction. Under national laws, it is the environment minister who decides whether a species requires a recovery plan. Once a plan is adopted, the minister cannot make any changes that might harm the plan. It has been previously reported that less than 40% of the listed threatened species have a recovery plan. A further 10% have been identified as requiring a recovery plan but those plans haven’t been developed.

The Australian Conservation Foundation said the exposure was “shocking” and accused the department of prioritizing the economic development over environmental protection. “The fact that iconic (最具代表性的) species like the possum still don’t have a recovery plan highlights how broken the system is,” James Trezise, a policy analyst at the Foundation, said. “It is a critical issue that the development and implementation of these plans seem to be optional. These plans should be developed, as required by law, and their implementation should be funded.”

Trezise said the significant delay in developing the plans stood “in sharp contrast” to the government’s rush to carry out environmental assessments for major projects like the one for the mining company Rio Tinto. “The department’s priorities are all wrong,” he said. “They can bring bills before the congress for mining projects that harm the environment, but they can’t get just one recovery plan for a threatened species completed.”

He said the delays would push more species closer to extinction. He called on the government to urgently address the issue and commit more resources to recovery planning. But for now, officials could not tell when the delays would be addressed, saying it would “take a very long time”. Emma Campbell, a senior official, said the department was working with an independent scientific committee to “reevaluate” which species should have a recovery plan.