1 . Canaries, a kind of small yellow songbirds, are more sensitive to carbon monoxide (CO) than people are. Thus they were routinely taken into mines as men went about their work of mining for coal. CO could quickly poison many miners before they even knew what was happening. If a canary stopped singing, this was an indicator of rising CO levels. Now ecologists think they’ve found a “canary” that could predict possible disaster for tropical (热带的) ecosystems—the cricket (a small brown jumping insect).

Crickets are tiny, present in large numbers and, most importantly, noisy. The chirps (唧唧叫声) of individual species are identifiably different. Researchers had previously wondered if ecosystems might be monitored by listening to how the sounds of their crickets change over time.

Amandine Gasc and her colleagues studied cricket populations on Grande Terre Island in New Caledonia, where multiple ecosystems often exist very near to each other. They collected crickets at 12 sampling sites. Four were healthy forest sites, four were shrubland (灌木地) areas, which is often created when people cut down forests, and four were shrubland areas that were turning into forests again. They listened for insects in square zones and ran ten 30-minute collection sessions at each site.

Dr. Gasc described how each ecosystem had, in effect, a distinct “cricket fingerprint”. Species richness varies considerably among the different environments. Of the 20 cricket species found in the healthy forest, 12 were unique to that habitat alone, 2 of the 15 species found in transitioning forests were unique to this habitat and 3 of the 7 shrubland species were unique to shrubland.

Just by looking at the crickets found in a given location, the team found that it was possible to determine whether they were looking at shrubland, forest or shrubland that was changing into the forest. There was no need to examine the other surrounding plants or animals.

What’s more, Dr. Gasc’s team found each habitat contained cricket species that generated their identifiable chirps. This suggests that setting up audio recorders in forests that pick up cricket calls will be an easy, cheap and accurate way to detect the early stages of change in tropical ecosystems.

1. Why did miners take the canary into mines?

A．To bring down CO levels.

B．To promote their work efficiency.

C．To offer them some entertainment.

D．To remind them of the potential danger.

2. How did Dr. Gasc and her colleagues carry out their study?

A．By analyzing “cricket fingerprints”.

B．By comparing plants in different zones.

C．By observing the changes in landscapes.

D．By referring to previous findings on crickets.

3. What conclusion may Dr. Gasc and her colleagues draw from their study?

A．Healthy forests may attract fitter crickets.

B．Crickets are suitable to be indicators in mines.

C．Different species of crickets may sound different alarms.

D．The species of crickets are strongly related to the environment.

4. What’s the point of Dr. Gasc’s studying crickets?

A．To enrich the methods of monitoring the crickets.

B．To arouse people’s awareness of protecting crickets.

C．To correct the previous wrong recognition of crickets.

D．To help humans easily monitor environmental changes.

5. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．Canaries: miners’ good helpers.

B．How crickets are distributed in tropical areas.

C．Crickets: an early indicator of tropical ecosystem health.

D．Why cricket chirps are collected on Grande Terre Island.

2 . As people travelling by air become increasingly aware of their carbon footprint, flying has become not only one of the most polluting industries, but also one with the most potential to turn things around.

After Solar Impulse 2 completed the world’s first flight by a solar-powered aircraft in 2016, airlines and aircraft producers looked to become the first to provide a commercial plane. Bertrand Piccard, one of the pilots responsible for Solar Impulse 2’s journey said, “All the clean technologies we’ve already had can be used everywhere. We have to use them, not only for the environment, but also because they are profitable and able to create jobs.”

The following year saw many projects in the aviation (航空) field as the airline industry acknowledged the future of low- carbon transportation methods. In 2017, Zunum Aero, a small aviation company which focused on delivering a range of hybrid-electric (混合电动的) planes received financial aid from JetBlue and Boeing, whilst EasyJet teamed up with Wright Electric to develop battery-powered aircraft and NASA also announced its plans to develop its own electric aircraft.

Orkney Islands, lying about 20 miles north of the Scottish mainland, are rich in renewable resources, especially the wind energy. Loganair, a Scottish airline, is cooperating with aviation companies to make Orkney the world’s first fully electric airline routes. However, this is never easy. Due to the limited size and weight of a battery that an airplane can carry, airplane producers are faced with a bottleneck — the continued power supply for electric airplanes. They believe the abundant wind energy in Orkney could be the key to solving it.

The benefits of electric air travel transcend its low-carbon emissions. Aviation experts believe these aircraft’s power source will also mean they will be less noisy, smaller, require less maintenance costs, and need a shorter runway to take off and land — this could lead to more airports in small cities and more rural areas being connected to the world at large.

1. What did Bertrand want to convey in his words?

A．The future of aircraft pilots.

B．The success of Solar Impulse 2.

C．The convenience of commercial planes.

D．The significance of using renewable energy.

2. How did EasyJet carry out the low-carbon transportation methods?

A．By asking for financial support from banks.

B．By working together with another company.

C．By purchasing patents from other countries.

D．By improving the technology on its own.

3. What will airplane producers probably do to make Orkney’s electric airline routes a reality?

A．Use natural resources to charge airplanes.

B．Build more coal-fired power stations.

C．Develop shorter airline routes.

D．Increase the size of battery.

4. What does the underlined word “transcend” in Paragraph 5 probably mean?

A．Go beyond.

B．Rely on.

C．Differ from.

D．Refer to.

5. What’s the benefit of electric planes besides its green footprint?

A．Making plane tickets cheaper.

B．Making the flying time shorter.

C．Making the world more connected.

D．Making the plane maintenance easier.

3 . Parrots live extremely long partly due to their relatively large brains, an international team of researchers has discovered. Simeon Smeele, a doctoral student at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, led the study, the results of which were published in March in the Proceedings of the Royal Society.

When it comes to lifespan (寿命), birds truly stand out. Lifespan tends to increase with an animal’s body size, roughly speaking. Thus, the bigger the animal, the longer they live. But a bird tends to live much longer than a comparably-sized mammal. One theory is that birds’ ability to fly means they are less at risk from the animals that kill them, which reduces their risk of being eaten, decreases stress, and frees up bodily resources for growth.

And among birds, parrots are the aging champions. The confirmed longest-living bird was Cookie, a Major Mitchell’s cockatoo (a species of parrot), who lived at the Brookfield Zoo in Illinois for all but one of his 83 years. Though cockatoos often weigh around a pound, they usually live for four decades. Most of the other 398 parrot species also live longer than other birds of similar size.

What sets parrots apart? In the new research, Smeele and his colleagues gathered data on over 130,000 individual parrots held in more than 1,000 zoos, representing 217 species. Through this data, they created reliable estimates of the average lifespan for each species. They next searched for a link between each species’ lifespan and its relative brain size and found a clear, positive correspondence. Parrot species with larger brains relative to their body size lived longer than species with smaller brains.

“This supports the idea that in general larger brains make species more flexible. For flexibility allows them to live longer.” Smeele said in a statement. “For example, if they run out of their favorite food, they could learn to find something new and thus survive.” He added, “All parrots have relatively large brain sizes compared to most other birds.”

Researchers have previously shown that, when trained, some parrots can recognize and understand objects, colors, and shapes, and even speak with an impressive vocabulary. They can even match five-year-old humans on basic tests of intelligence.

1. What may cause birds’ long life?

A．Their big body size.	B．Their ability to fly.
C．Their less adventurous nature.	D．Their slow-paced lifestyle.

2. What do we know about parrots according to the text?

A．They outlive other similar-sized birds.

B．They live longer in the zoo than in the wild.

C．They have an average lifespan of four decades.

D．They live in relatively less competitive environments.

3. What does the underlined word “correspondence” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?

A．Goal.

B．Evidence.

C．Difference.

D．Connection.

4. What does the author want to stress with the example in Paragraph 5?

A．Parrots find it hard to survive nowadays.

B．Bigger brains give parrots more adaptability.

C．Parrots like to discover new things by nature.

D．Bigger brains aid parrots with their social ability.

5. What would be the best title for the text?

A．Why do parrots live so long?	B．Why are parrots so intelligent?
C．What do parrots do for a living?	D．What are the longest living animals?

4 . Scientists are developing unmanned planes—called drones—what can collect weather information from the atmosphere.

Weather experts say their weather forecasts would be more accurate if they had information from many parts of the atmosphere. They already place satellites, drones and balloons at different altitudes (高度). And they use radar (雷达) and collect information from equipment on towers. But that information only helps experts predict weather conditions for the next few days. It does not help predict changes in the next few hours. This is very important where sudden, violent storms happen.

So scientists at Oklahoma State University are developing new drones to collect information from more parts of the Earth’s atmosphere. This will help forecasters improve predictions about local weather conditions.

Jamey Jacob is an aerospace engineer and a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Oklahoma State University. He and other scientists at the university are developing small drones that do not cost a lot of money but can fly for hours, collecting information from many atmospheric levels.” Oklahoma is a really good example, because even though we’re already a very weather-dynamic (动态天气的) state, Oklahoma only has two balloon launches a day—one at dawn and one at dusk—from a single location in the state, and that’s where all the weather forecasting information comes from. So that data is really sparse, and it’s difficult for weather experts to get a very good idea about how that weather is changing from these very limited number of data points.”

Phillip Chilson, a professor of meteorology (气象的) at Oklahoma State University, says the drone program should give researchers a low-cost way of understanding storms better, and improve computer-based forecasting. The drone can measure atmospheric conditions, send live video to forecasters, and help search for people hurt in storms. “Our real goal is to try to develop systems. I don’t want to say they will replace weather balloons but there may be that possibility. Researchers still have a lot of work to do before the drones are ready. That includes making sure the drones know how to stay away from other planes.”

1. According to the text, the drones being developed can________.

A．raise people’s interest in science

B．help to improve weather predictions

C．replace weather balloons and satellites

D．examine different altitudes of the Earth

2. The underlined word “sparse” in Paragraph 4 probably means________.

A．limited

B．reliable

C．confused

D．correct

3. What does Phillip Chilson think of the drone program?

A．Worried.

B．Hopeful.

C．Doubtful.

D．Satisfied.

4. What can be concluded from the last paragraph?

A．The drones can not be put into use now.

B．It will cost a lot of money to build drones.

C．Researchers find it difficult to design planes.

D．The drone program should be carried out on planes.

5. What is the purpose of the text?

A．To introduce a team of scientists.

B．To explain how unmanned planes work.

C．To report a new way of predicting weather.

D．To give some advice on preparing for storms.

5 . 假如你是校学生会主席，为了更好地保护环境，你代表学生会向全校学生发出倡议。请根据以下内容，写一份倡议书：
1.保护环境是我们的职责。
2.我们要养成环保的习惯(例如绿色出行，不乱扔垃圾等)
3.发出环保的号召。
注意：1.词数：120左右
2.开头结尾已给出，可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6 . Hawks(鹰) and other raptors(猛禽) are impressive predators, and many of these species are adapted for fast, quiet flight to help them attack their prey(猎物). After all, raptors make their living by flying down to take small animals off the ground. While a hawk clearly couldn’t lift a full-grown dog, it might seem reasonable that raptors could lift a small dog, cat or possibly even a human child. Is that a reasonable concern, or just a flight of fancy?

There are urban legends about hawks stealing 12-pound pets, and some taking away kids, but these are based on wrong descriptions of how much weight these raptors can lift. Hawks and owls, for instance, can’t fly away with prey that outweighs them. And given the light weight of even big raptors like red-tailed hawks and great-horned owls —which average about 2 pounds and 3 pounds separately, — they’re unable to take away most adult dogs and cats, not to mention human children.

Some larger red-tailed hawks may be able to carry prey weighing 5 pounds,which could include not just puppies and kittens but also some adult cats and dogs from small kinds. Great-horned owls also focus on small mammals and birds, but they have the most diverse diet of any North American raptor, including larger animals like skunks, ducks and even other raptors. They don’t create a serious threat to pets overall, although they have been known to attack house cats and chickens left outside overnight.

While most pets and kids are probably safe from raptors, it still might be wise to take a few precautions, depending on the situation.

One of the most effective precautions is to watch over your pets when they’re outdoors, which is generally wise anyway, for their safety as well as that of your neighbors and local wildlife. Some pet owners try to drive raptors away, using reflective tape and so on. Some of these might work, at least for a while, but they can’t replace human supervision. If raptors fly down at your pet, an umbrella could help prevent off some species, while a flashlight can reportedly discourage owls after dark.

The presence of wild raptors suggests you live in a healthy ecosystem, and if you can bear to share space with them, there’s a good chance they’ll repay you for your tolerance. Instead of hunting pets, for example, many raptors are far more likely to hunt pests like rats.

1. What does the author think of a hawk taking away a kid?

A．It’s just imagination.

B．It’s a reasonable statement.

C．It remains to be proven.

D．It may happen as to big raptors.

2. What do we learn about raptors, like hawks and owls?

A．Some big hawks can lift up to 12 pounds.

B．Red-tailed hawks can carry cats and dogs, large and small.

C．Great-horned owls prefer to eat small animals rather than large ones.

D．Great-horned owls in general cannot lift more than 3 pounds.

3. Which can best protect your pets from raptors?

A．Use reflective tape.

B．Use a flashlight at night.

C．Keep an eye on your pets as much as possible.

D．Keep your pets under the umbrella all the time.

4. It’s not always a bad thing to have raptors around because________.

A．they can scare away harmful animals

B．they may help you catch rats and other pests

C．it helps to keep the ecosystem in balance

D．it helps you understand the importance of tolerance

5. What is the main idea of the passage?

A．How to protect pets from raptors.

B．How raptors get their food.

C．What prey raptors usually feed on.

D．Whether raptors catch pets or kids.

7 . There will be a miracle when you believe. Against all odds, a beloved border collie (博德牧羊犬) has amazingly been _______ with her owners who spent 57 days searching for her.

Carole King and her husband Verne had traveled to Kalispell from their home in Spokane, Washington so they could enjoy a relaxing 4-day _______ in the mountain wilderness.

_______ , their vacation turned into a _______ search mission after they found that their 7-year-old border collie named Katie had _______ from their room.

The Kings immediately _______ their return trip home so they could stay in Kalispell and search for Katie. For several weeks, they _______ hundreds of advertising leaflets throughout the community; they published her _______ on social media channels and Facebook groups; concerned local citizens helped them _______the countryside — but they still couldn’t find Katie.

At one point, Carole traveled back home so she could go back to her job as a mail carrier; but when they _______ her request to take additional time off to keep searching, she _______.

_______ returning to Kalispell once more, Carole continued the search. At that time, Verne flew back home to take her _______ to look after their other pets. Thankfully, a local family in Kalispell offered to _______ her until she found Katie.

By the time September _______, Carole began to lose hope. She missed her home, husband, and pets, but Verne _______ her to continue looking for one more week.

She then received a _______ from a resident who said that he had seen a border collie in his yard. Carole visited the property, but found nothing — until they _______ a pair of hikers who pointed out a border collie that had been resting under a nearby tree. When Carole called Katie’s name, the dog ran bounding into her arms.

Though Katie had lost much _______ in the wild, she was in relatively good health — and she was overwhelmed (被淹没) with joy. Carole now hopes that their story will _______ other pet owners to never give up on their missing animals.

1.

A．returned

B．reunited

C．replaced

D．restored

2.

A．breakdown

B．overlook

C．getaway

D．outlet

3.

A．Therefore

B．Instead

C．Moreover

D．However

4.

A．disturbing

B．thrilling

C．threatening

D．appealing

5.

A．stormed

B．disappeared

C．transferred

D．hidden

6.

A．canceled

B．shortened

C．reserved

D．completed

7.

A．purchased

B．promoted

C．distributed

D．collected

8.

A．picture

B．story

C．name

D．location

9.

A．contact

B．identify

C．explore

D．comb

10.

A．learned

B．declined

C．considered

D．repeated

11.

A．hesitated

B．compromised

C．resigned

D．suffered

12.

A．For

B．Until

C．Upon

D．In

13.

A．part

B．chance

C．turn

D．place

14.

A．consult

B．host

C．equip

D．protect

15.

A．rolled around

B．came about

C．went back

D．drew up

16.

A．reminded

B．promised

C．encouraged

D．required

17.

A．signal

B．call

C．gift

D．letter

18.

A．turned to

B．called in

C．picked out

D．ran into

19.

A．patience

B．wealth

C．appetite

D．weight

20.

A．persuade

B．induce

C．warn

D．inspire

8 . 阅读表达

Imagine a world with no more wild animals: no elephants, no giraffes and no lions.

To some people, that thought is too terrible, so they are doing something about it. Being surrounded by wild animals — feeding them and caring for them — is all Tiffany Soechting has ever wanted to do all her life. And that is exactly what she does.

Soechting is the human “mother” to the 500 animals that live on her family’s wildlife farm. On the farm, she cares for creatures from every continent except Antarctica (南极洲).

Visitors get a chance not only to see these creatures there, but also to feed them, And the animals are not against that. For them, people and the special vehicles used on the farm are part of their natural environment. “When you come here, the animals are walking around freely like they would if they were in their native homeland. And you can touch them,” said Soechting. “For the most part, the majority of them were born and grew up here. But even when we bring them in — like if we bring a new male in the rest of the herd (兽群) is comfortable with what is going on.”

Tourists are not the only people to visit the farm. Many schools come for field trips all throughout the year, so it is a place of education as well as conservation. But for Soechting, the farm is simply home, and it has been for many generations.

As the animals walk peacefully around, it is easy to forget that a busy city is just a few minutes away. Tiffany Soechting and the 500 animals do not seem to give it a second thought.

1. What does Tiffany Soechting do?
__________________________________________________________________
2. What can visitors do on Soechting’s family farm?
__________________________________________________________________
3. How do animals feel about the visit?
__________________________________________________________________
4. Apart from animal conservation, what else can people do on the farm?
__________________________________________________________________
5. What does the sentence “Tiffany Soechting and the 500 animals do not seem to give it a second thought” in the last paragraph mean?
__________________________________________________________________

9 . Dog lovers are well aware of the ability of a dog to communicate with its eyes. Now, scientific research suggests this ability developed over time as dogs learned to live with humans.

Dogs are known in many cultures as ”man’s best friend“, and the eyes can be one of the loveliest things about these animals. But a new study found that dog’s face developed to present ”puppy dog eyes“ as a way to help connect with humans. The study compared the face of dogs and wolves (狼), which share family history. Dogs broke off from wolves after being kept by and living with humans about 33,000 years ago. During that time, dogs changed both in their bodies and actions to fit life with humans.

The researchers checked the heads of six dogs and two wolves for comparison. They found the facial parts of both animals were mostly very similar. But one important difference was found above the eyes.

The dogs were found to have two well-formed muscles (肌肉) around the eyes that were not presented in the wolves. These small muscles allow dogs to raise their inner eyebrows(眉毛) obviously, the study found.

Anne Burrows, a lead researcher on the-study, said ”You don’t typically see such muscle differences in species that are so closely connected“. The team suggests this eyebrow-raising action causes ”a caring“ feeling in humans because it makes the dogs’ eyes appear larger.

This expression also makes the dog look more like a human baby. The eye expression is similar to which humans make when they are sad, the statement said. The researchers suggest that the expression developed over time as a way for dogs to get humans to do things for them. This could include humans giving them food, care or attention. The researchers called the findings ”significant“ for showing that these muscles are likely developed to help in their interactions with people.

Anne Burrows said in the future the work could also be carried out on other animals with which humans have developed close relationships, including horses and cats.

1. What does the new study find about dogs?

A．Dogs’ eyes have become more beautiful since they lived with humans.

B．Dogs have developed the ability of using eyes to communicate with humans.

C．Dogs have developed unique skills to make friends with humans.

D．Do’s change their faces to make themselves look differently from wolves.

2. Why did the researchers compare dogs with wolves?

A．Because they used to live together with each other.

B．Because they belonged to the same family in earlier times.

C．Because dogs became wolves’ enemy after living with humans.

D．Because wolves were also kept by humans in the history.

3. What is true about the eyebrow raising expression of dogs?

A．It is not found in wolves though they have the same facial muscles.

B．It makes the dogs’ eyes look larger so that humans will be frightened.

C．It is presented when dogs want humans to know that they are sad.

D．It makes dogs look like a human baby who needs care from parents.

4. According to Anne Burrows, what would future researches study about?

A．How other animals develop interactions with people.

B．Different relations humans have with horses and cats.

C．Whether wolves can be developed to use eyes to connect with humans.

D．Whether people’s relation with dogs are closer than that with other animals.

10 . Nan Hauser has spent much of her life in the South Pacific Cook Islands. As a whale researcher, she has been_________the international title of “Earth Ambassador.” While many of the locals had heard of this_________, it was an encounter (偶遇) that would make her known worldwide.

One day in 2017, Nan dived into the ocean to shoot some videos with the whales, when the most_________thing happened. As she swam alongside them, they began to display_________signs that danger was near. Suddenly, she saw another whale make an_________on her at full speed. Just as_________hit, one of the whales used its fin (鳍) to push Nan onto its back and_________of ...not a whale but a tiger shark.

After the shark disappeared, the whale safely_________Nan back to her boat. She climbed aboard and yelled her_________to the whale. After a few minutes, the whale disappeared into the__________, and Nan said goodbye, feeling grateful for this lifetime__________.

Almost a year later, Nan received a call from a local fisherman saying that he__________whales in the harbor. Could her whale friend have__________? She jumped onto a boat quickly. Nan__________recognized her friend by the two__________marks on his tail, and dived into the water to swim with him.

After Nan’s encounter, she__________with how best she could thank the whale. After all, it’s__________to hug something much larger than you. So what’s the most__________way to thank a whale? It’s by caring, learning more about them, and__________their habitat. As for us, we can help in small ways. For example,__________using the plastics will make a difference.

1.

A．featured

B．recorded

C．awarded

D．ranked

2.

A．chemist

B．physicist

C．doctor

D．biologist

3.

A．remarkable

B．comfortable

C．valuable

D．reliable

4.

A．rescuing

B．warning

C．greeting

D．thanking

5.

A．adventure

B．effort

C．attempt

D．attack

6.

A．excitement

B．panic

C．surprise

D．disappointment

7.

A．out of range

B．out of mind

C．out of hearing

D．out of question

8.

A．conserved

B．forced

C．accompanied

D．chased

9.

A．impression

B．expectation

C．commitment

D．appreciation

10.

A．sands

B．darkness

C．depths

D．landscape

11.

A．challenge

B．experience

C．leisure

D．memory

12.

A．spotted

B．waved

C．refused

D．followed

13.

A．known

B．suffered

C．returned

D．refreshed

14.

A．smartly

B．vaguely

C．constantly

D．instantly

15.

A．distinct

B．private

C．multiple

D．positive

16.

A．met

B．struggled

C．lived

D．played

17.

A．pretty

B．funny

C．tricky

D．vital

18.

A．influential

B．interesting

C．logical

D．popular

19.

A．beautifying

B．protecting

C．surrounding

D．leaving

20.

A．continuing

B．considering

C．missing

D．avoiding