1 . Throughout the world, there are about one thousand kinds of bats (蝙蝠), which are usually divided into two groups: Megachiroptere and Mricochiroptera. Their body lengths vary (变化) rather widely from 1.5 inches to 16.7 inches.
Bats are the only little mammal (哺乳动物) that can actually fly in the world, and it is safe to say they are very good at this skill using echolocation (回声定位) to find their way in the sky. Using echolocation bats are able to take sound waves to create a detailed map of the area around them.
Bats use the ability not only to know what may be in their way but also to hunt for food. Bats are active during the night, and they use nighttime to look for food. In fact, they can eat so many bugs (小虫) in one night as to make them flightless for a period of time. Bats not only eat bugs, but also feed on fruit and small birds. Many places have brought in bats to help as a choice instead of using pesticides (杀虫剂).
Anyone can build or buy a bat house to put up in the backyard. Building a bat house is easy and just a little care is needed to keep it. It could help deal with bugs each year. Bats stay together in these bat houses along with inside houses, buildings, trees and other places, and usually stay together in large numbers.
As you can see, bats are far from the scaring creatures. So, next time you see them, stop and think of the bugs and flies you will miss.
1. According to the passage, bats can’t fly for a period of time when they are ________.| A．too full | B．too tired | C．very hungry | D．very sleepy |
| A．Living habits | B．Physical features. | C．Diet. | D．Growth. |
| A．Scaring. | B．Clever. | C．Helpful. | D．Strange. |
| A．bats have sharp eyes at night |
| B．many people may be afraid of bats |
| C．a bat house in the backyard needs no care |
| D．bats send out sound waves to find their way |
2 . Once upon a time, there was a tortoise (乌龟) on a ship, but the ship sank. Some time later the tortoise made it to a desert land surrounded by water on all sides except for one. The side led up to a big mountain. To avoid starving (挨饿) to death, the tortoise decided to climb to the top of the mountain, hoping that he would be able to cross to the other side.
When he got to the mountain, he felt very cold. He just managed to make out a small pathway leading down the other side of the mountain, but there was a big monster on the way.
Such a strong animal almost killed the tortoise with fright, and all he wanted to do was hide his head inside his shell. Then he saw that many other animals were lying frozen to death, and with looks of horror on their faces. So the tortoise didn’t go into his shell.
He gathered up all his courage to move down the path towards the monster. The closer the tortoise got, the more the monster changed its shape. Then, when he was almost upon it, the tortoise realized that what he had thought was a monster was only a great pile of rocks, which formed a shape just like a monster.
The tortoise carried on and eventually came to a beautiful village. The tortoise lived very happily there, and became known as the brave little tortoise.
1. When travelling by ship, the tortoise ________.| A．saw a mountain ahead | B．met with an accident |
| C．passed by a desert land | D．heard a voice of a monster |
| A．Because he was too frightened to do so. |
| B．Because the monster ordered him to do so. |
| C．Because he saw many dead animals around him. |
| D．Because he found a safer place on the mountain. |
| A．Its size. | B．Its colour. | C．Its height. | D．Its appearance. |
| A．great courage | B．good luck | C．swimming skills | D．rich experience |
3 . The South American nation of Chile has been experiencing bad droughts for the last 13 years. This serious lack of water has led to fewer flowers and, as a result, fewer honeybees. Some chemicals used to kill insects harmful to crops called pesticides (杀虫剂), also hurt bees.
Beekeepers in Chile are concerned. Carlos Peralta and his brother Marco are beekeepers. Carlos has seen the number of his honeybees dropping sharply. He said he had lost about 300 hives (蜂巢) since the start of November 2021. A hive can hold tens of thousands of bees. Losing so many bees left Peralta with a difficult choice. He could keep his remaining 900 hives alive with man-made honey, or he could move the hives to a place where there are more flowers. “If the bees die, we all die… The bee is life,” Carlos said. He was describing the important job that bees have to pollinate (授粉) plants in the wild and for food growers.
So Carlos decided to move his beehives about 1, 000 kilometers to the south, to a place called Puerto Montt. However, his brother Marco chose to stay in Colina with his bees rather than join Carlos in the south. Marco said he feared losing bees to pesticides if he moved.
An FAO study in 2018 found that Chile’s introduction of pesticides had grown by 460 percent over the previous 20 years. Beekeepers blame (责备) this increase for their losses. Chile’s honey exports (出口) have dropped over the past four to five years.
Carlos Peralta said, “You enter a fruit garden with your bees and you don’t know if you'll come out with living bees or dead ones.”
His brother Marco has been feeding his bees with sugar water. However, this food leaves the bees unable to produce honey. “The bees grow weak with sugar water,” said Mario Flores.
Before the drought, beekeepers would use the sugar food during the winter months. But now they use it almost all year.
1. What does Carlos think of the survival of bees according to paragraph 2?| A．It is related to beekeepers’ skill. | B．It is a matter of life and death for him. |
| C．It is important to the water system. | D．It is a must for his country’s exports. |
| A．To save the cost of moving. | B．To benefit the plants nearby. |
| C．To avoid harmful chemicals. | D．To leave the chance to his brother. |
| A．Their health can be harmed. | B．They gather more honey. |
| C．They are too full to work. | D．Their honey is of poor quality. |
| A．Dry Conditions and Poisonous Chemicals Are Killing Bees |
| B．Nature Balance of Chile Is Being Destroyed by Beekeepers |
| C．Harmful Chemicals Are Bringing Danger to Living Things |
| D．Two Brothers’ Different Ways to Keep Bees Have Different Results |
4 . Manta rays (魔鬼鱼)are some of the creatures in the ocean who allow divers to swim right up to and interact (互动) with them. Unfortunately, these gentle animals are in big trouble. Since 2011, manta rays have been listed as a threatened species worldwide.
Peru, a country in South America, recently took a big step to protect giant manta rays: It banned fishing for them. Although 12 other countries have passed laws to protect rays, Peru's may be the most important one yet. That's because there are more manta rays in the Pacific Ocean near Peru than in any other place in the world.
Giant manta rays are unusual — looking creatures. The giant, flat rays are typically about 4.5 meters wide and can grow up to 8 meters wide! "They're" sort of like giant flying carpets underwater, says Joshua Stewart of the Manta Trust, an organization that researches manta rays.
People catch rays for their meal. Overfishing is bad for any sea creature, but it's even worse for manta rays. Female manta rays usually have only one baby every two to five years. So every ray that's caught hurts the population in a big way. People who break Peru's new law can be fined or have their fishing licenses taken away. Even rays caught accidentally in fishing nets must be set free.
Earlier this year, the Manta Trust attached video cameras, called Crittercams, to manta rays off the west coast of Mexico. The footage(连续镜头)the cameras collect could help researchers predict where rays swim and when. The scientists could use the information to warn fishing boats to avoid these areas, helping reduce the number of accidentally caught rays.
Stewart says it's important to protect these unique creatures. "There's really no other animal that compares in size and that you can have interactions with in the wild.
1. What's a characteristic of manta rays?| A．They can fly like a bird. |
| B．They are usually of small size. |
| C．They are very friendly to people |
| D．They like swimming up and down. |
| A．They haven't their own home. |
| B．They only live in the Pacific Ocean. |
| C．Their number has dropped greatly. |
| D．Almost no female rays give birth. |
| A．protect them | B．look for more rays |
| C．make films about them | D．reduce their population |
| A．It makes no sense. | B．It is hard to follow. |
| C．It is really essential, | D．It needs improvement. |
