1 . The colorful anemonefish (海葵鱼), also known as clownfish, possesses a cheerful and carefree image among humans. However, their actual behavior might not always align with the family-friendly portrayal seen in a Pixar film. They can aggressively defend their territory against other anemonefish they perceive as threats.

To investigate how these fish identify group members, a team from Japan conducted two experiments with lab-raised common clownfish that had never encountered any other species.

In the first experiment, researchers introduced different species of anemonefish, distinguishable by the number of white bars on their bodies, into a tank in small cases. They observed that the common clownfish were particularly hostile toward members of their own species that displayed three white bars. These fish fought 80 percent of their specific-targeted fish for up to three seconds. In contrast, invaders from other species, like the orange skunk clownfish with no side bars and a white line along its back, were barely attacked. The two-barred Clarke’s clownfish and three-barred saddleback clownfish were “mildly bullied”, according to the team.

During the second experiment, the researchers exposed a colony of clownfish to various plastic discs. The discs were painted with anemonefish coloration and measured the level of aggression towards these artificial models. Similar to reactions to live fish, models with two bars were less frequently attacked, and those without any bars saw the least aggression. According to study co-author and ecologist Kina Hayashi, the findings “suggest that clownfish is capable of counting the number of bars to recognize the species of the invader”.

The team also found that a rigid hierarchy (社会等级) within clownfish colonies determines which specific fish attack the invader. Earlier studies have shown that the social position of the clownfish is determined by very slight differences in size. This study used fish that had not matured and were in a lab setting, but the team still observed the same size-based hierarchy. The largest clownfish led the charge against the invader.

2 . The corn eaten around the world today originated in Mexico nearly 10,000 years ago. From the ancient rituals of the Mayans to modern-day dishes like tortillas, corn is central to culture, cuisine, and identity in this region.

To protect this heritage, Mexico is fighting to phase out genetically modified (GM) U. S. — grow n corn this year. The Mexican government claims that banning GM corn will protect the country’s native corn varieties. Yet the announcement aroused strong objections from the U. S., whose largest annual customer for GM corn is often Mexico. The U. S. claims that the GM ban breaks the trade agreement between the two countries.

Mexico insists that modified seeds threaten Mexico’s agricultural traditions and cultural identity. In the U. S., most corn is grown with seed produced by large companies, which create just a handful of genetically identical corn varieties grown at mass scale. In Mexico, however, seeds come from seed-sharing practices among small-scale farms, which facilitates more diversity and allows farmers to grow corn that ranges widely in color and size.

“Traditional varieties maintain a substantial amount of genetic diversity,” says Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra, an ecologist at the University of California, but he doesn’t think banning GM corn will help preserve these varieties, and points to adec line in small-scale farms as the greater threat to native corn. “If traditional farmers abandon subsistence farming, we’re potentially losing diversity whether that crop is GM or traditionally bred, so economic policy has a much bigger impact on the risk of corn diversity than an adoption of GM corn.” Since Mexico began importing U. S. corn, small-scale farms have been declining.

Mauricio Bellon, a research professor at the Swett Center for Sustainable Foods Systems, believes that while threatened species are often stored in gene banks, the relationship between a farmer and their crop plays a crucial conservation role. “Evolution at scale continues with corn in Mexico through millions of farmers,” says him.

I was doing homework with my friend Ollie at his home when he randomly started scribbling (乱画) a fish. But not just any fish. This fish was riding a skateboard and blowing a bubble that said “I’d rather be skating!”I laughed and drew a sea star saying “Quit fooling around and get to work!”

Just then, Ollie’s grandma Abuela and her friend Mr. Goldberg came into the kitchen. Mr. Goldberg was in charge of the local animal shelter. Abuela poured their tea and inquired about how things were going at the animal shelter. Mr. Goldberg sighed, shaking his head. He explained that not enough people were adopting pets, resulting in too many animals without homes.

Overhearing the conversation, Ollie offered to adopt some excitedly. But Abuela said that one noisy parrot was plenty for this house.

“Blue isn’t noisy,” defended Ollie. “He’s just musical.”

“I’d have a whole farm full of animals if I could,” I said. “But my parents say two cats and a hamster (仓鼠) are enough.”

Mr. Goldberg said he kept trying to attract people to adopt animals, but found it hard to get people’s attention these days. Ollie drew a sad whale, and I wrote the words “Please adopt me” in the shape of a whale spout (喷水). Mr. Goldberg took a look at our drawings and made favorable comments on them, saying that these clever talking animals just might grab people’s attention. And he asked us if we were willing to design a poster for his animal shelter, a proposal we happily accepted. We decided to draw some ideas on our own and meet up again the next afternoon.

That night, when I was sitting in the living room brainstorming ideas for the poster, my little brother brought in our hamster, Mr. Nibbles, to give him a little run-around time. He made a hamster playground out of couch pillows and Mr. Nibbles began to run around merrily.

Suddenly, an idea formed in my mind.

We decided to make both Mr. Nibbles and Blue the stars of the poster.

6 . Sometimes we only appreciate something when we realize we may lose it. That is the story of the Everglades. A shallow slow-moving river, the Everglades once covered about 18,000 square miles of southern Florida. Until the 1900s, few people lived in the grassy wetlands. Not much was understood about the unique balance of nature that existed there. Plants, creatures, and water had formed a remarkable ecosystem.

By the early 1900s, Florida’s pleasant winters attracted more people. Visitors became new permanent residents. They built homes and roads. The conditions looked good for farming, so the newcomers planted large agricultural crops. But South Florida’s cycle of flooding was a problem. To address that, developers attempted to drain (排水) the land. They also built structures to control water levels and flow.

Those changes made it easier for more people to live year-round in South Florida. However, they also disturbed life in the Everglades, which depends on freshwater regularly refilling the land. The area’s growing human population needed freshwater. And large farms consumed large quantities of freshwater. By the mid-1900s, water levels in southern Florida began to go down. Lack of freshwater wasn’t the only problem. As more and more land was developed for people and farms, the Everglades’ historic boundaries contracted. Loss of habitat and hunting threatened the survival of native species in the Everglades.

Some people hoped that the government’s recognition might save the Everglades. They fought for it. Everglades National Park was established in 1947. It became the first park in the United States created for its biodiversity.

Now, Everglades National Park protects 1.5 million acres along the southern tip of Florida. An amazing variety of creatures live there. About 360 different species of birds have been sighted in the park. Nearly 300 different species of fish have been identified. About 40 species of mammals and 50 species of reptiles inhabit the park. Nature still rules in the Everglades, a place worth understanding, appreciating, and protecting.

8 . Adrienne Tully, an amateur photographer, went to the coast of a beach in Belmar, New Jersey. She planned to take photos of the ______ against the sea. Instead, she was able to ______ a frightening but happy journey. It all started last Sunday morning when she noticed a crowd ______ on the beach. Naturally, she joined them in the ______ of learning what was going on.

For a minute, Adrienne was ______ about what everyone was looking at. From how far away they were, it almost seemed like a bird. Looking closer, ______ , it was clearly a deer who was ______ on a raised rock in the middle of the ocean. The deer made a couple of ______ to swim back to the shore but the turbulent (汹涌的) water ______ all its efforts. Then someone who came out of nowhere ______ rode his surfboard to the deer. After a short magic while, the ______ managed to guide the deer out. Upon ______ ashore, the deer just ran north on the beach. Those watching nearby were no doubt ______ at the way this nameless young man ______ to help. But he somehow disappeared too, leaving people to hope he knows that he is greatly ______ for what he did.

The Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve in northwest China’s Qinghai Province has updated     1     (it) list of protected wildlife, adding 10 species     2     the previous total of 72, according to a report by the Xinhua News Agency. The updated list, which was revised by experts,     3     (include) 82 species of protected wildlife. The number of national first-level protected animals has increased from 19 to 22. Meanwhile, the number of second-level nationally protected animals has increased from 53 to 60.     4     (addition), the number of wild plants under national protection has reached 12 species. According to the report, the     5     (revise) of the wildlife list focused on optimizing (优化)     6     adjusting the bird list. Species with uncertain records were removed from the original list and new species that have been monitored in recent years were added, increasing the total number of bird species from 232 to 281.

First     7     (found) in 1975, the Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve is located in the northeast of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,     8     (cover) the entire water area of the Qinghai Lake and the islands, beaches and wetlands,     9     birds breed and nest. The reserve is the     10     (early) of its kind in China to be listed in the List of Wetlands of International Importance in 1992, according to UNESCO.

As a country     1     has a long history of producing great writers, Ireland’s rural beauty has     2     great influence on people and traditions. Its beautiful rural scenery stirs your every sense,     3     (make) people unwilling to leave. The peaceful landscape, along with the rolling mountains,     4     (be) a grand visual feast. The waves and seabirds play music by the sea.     5     (bathe) in sunshine on a quiet morning, you can breathe in the scent of the flowers. Tasting a glass of wine and     6     (tradition) food is essential. All these lead to the formation of traditional     7     (custom) in Ireland, music, dancing and dining     8     (include). If you’re lucky to introduce     9     (you) to a friendly face, you will get an opportunity to experience local culture and traditions     10     person.