1. What is the man’s project about?
| A．The animals. | B．The deserts. | C．The rainforest. |
| A．The spiders. | B．The snakes. | C．The sloths. |
| A．Its color. | B．Its size. | C．Its lifespan. |
2 . “Many people consider cats to be a largely nonsocial species,” Daniel Mills, a veterinary behaviorist at the University of Lincoln, tells Science. “There is clearly a lot going on that we are not aware of.”
To collect data on these furry subjects, researcher Lauren Scott of the University of Kansas Medical Center frequented a cat café located in Los Angeles for about a year and recorded videos of interactions between 53 cats. In total, Scott gathered 194 minutes of feline (猫科的) films that contained 186 interactions. With the help of her co-author, evolutionary psychologist Brittany N. Florkiewicz, she analyzed the cats’ facial signals. The pair discovered 276 expressions made up of a combination of 26 facial movements, including shifts in ear position, blinks, nose licks and whisker (胡须) and mouth movements. Of all expressions, about 45 percent or 126 were categorized as friendly, 37 percent were aggressive and 18 percent were ambiguous.
“These findings show it is good to look at a cat’s ears, eyes and whiskers to understand if they are feeling friendly,” Florkiewicz tells. “Their mouth provides a lot of information about whether a cat fight is likely. People may think that cats’ facial expressions are all about warning other cats and people off, but this shows just how social and tolerant pet cats can actually be.” The team also identified a “common play face” among cats, which was characterized by a dropped jaw and drawn back corners of the mouth.
Still, the scientists detected some patterns: Cats tended to move their ears and whiskers toward one another during friendly interactions and away during unfriendly ones. When the animals are aggressive, they often shrink their pupils (瞳孔) and flatten their ears. Cats display negative emotions with flattened ears and curled-back whiskers.
The new study could be used to help humans adopting cats find one that’s more likely to get along with existing pets, or it could help pet owners understand their feline companions better, Florkiewicz tells Science.
1. What did Lauren Scott do to collect data about cats’ facial expressions?| A．She observed cats in their natural habitat. |
| B．She shot videos of cats’ interaction at a cat café. |
| C．She conducted experiments in a laboratory setting. |
| D．She interviewed cat owners about their pets’ behaviour. |
| A．move its ears and whiskers forward |
| B．narrow its pupils and flatten its ears |
| C．close its ears and twist its whiskers |
| D．lower its jaw and draw back the corners of the mouth |
| A．Cats’ nonsocial nature is well confirmed. |
| B．Cats’ facial expressions are usually offensive. |
| C．Cats’ expression study will assist pet adopters. |
| D．Cats’ expressions won’t signal their negative emotions. |
| A．Friendliness and Aggression of Cats |
| B．The Social Nature of Cats |
| C．Facial Signals and Interactions of Cats |
| D．The Common Behaviour of Cats |
3 . Nzou is one of the quiet stars of the Rhino& Elephant Conservation(保护) Programme at Imire in Zimbabwe(津巴布韦). The oldest elephant in the protected area, Nzou is around 55 years old, and has been there since she was two years old.
It is said that elephants never forget, but this special animal seems to have forgotten she is an elephant，and now thinks of herself as one of the buffaloes(水牛).
Nzou was brought to the area in the 1970s, when she lost her parents. She was encouraged to stay with the elephants. But she was happy with the buffaloes and has lived with them ever since. They could understand each other. Their relationship is amazing but not easy. Buffalo leaders are usually male(雄性的). Over the 40+ years that Nzou has been the leader, she has killed 14 young male buffalo who challenged her.
Nzou has never lost her elephant's instinct(本能) for loyalty(忠诚). One day, one of her keepers was attacked by a young male buffalo. Nzou stood over him as he waited for help to arrive, protecting him against more attacks from the buffalo.
Nzou no longer communicates with the other elephants at Imire perhaps she has forgotten how and no longer understands what they are saying. She is happy with the buffalo, and as long as they don't step out of line, she is happy and pleased to be their leader.
1. How long has Nzou been at Imire?| A．70 years. | B．55 years. | C．2 years. | D．53 years. |
| A．Friends | B．Enemies | C．Leader and followers | D．Mother and children |
| A．powerful and loyal | B．loyal and honest |
| C．honest and brave | D．powerful and unfriendly |
| A．An elephant living with buffaloes | B．An elephant showing loyalty to her keepers |
| C．An elephant star in Zimbabwe | D．An elephant challenging buffaloes |
4 . “Strange and yet very real, thousands and thousands of flip-flops (人字拖) are washed up onto the East African coast, creating an environmental disaster. Not only do they destroy the natural beauty of our beaches and oceans, but they also block baby turtles’ way back to the sea and are eaten by fish and other animals,” states Ocean Sole.
The company collects the flip-flops — including paying people who bring in what they’ve collected— and transforms (改造) them into art while providing working opportunities for local people. At Ocean Sole’s workshop, 40 Kenyans are now employed full-time. The company pays their medical bills and provides free lunches to workers. “I was not able to afford shoes and had to borrow some to come to Nairobi to find work. Having been working here for six years, I can now afford to send my two children to school,” says Eric Mwandola, an artist with Ocean Sole.
Not only has the company grown in size, but so has the reach of its message. Ocean Sole now has products displayed in the gift shops of more than 40 zoos and museums. With each piece sold, the message about plastic pollution finds its way to a broader audience. “We are continuing to call on organizations to offer environmentally friendly souvenirs (纪念品) rather than plastic decorations,” says Ocean Sole. The company is all about cleaning up pollution, and that further develops their zero-waste guidelines. The waste from the sculptures (雕塑) is collected and used as flooring for kids’ playgrounds, and they even collect rainwater to use in their production. Other materials needed for the sculptures are also recycled goods, and the packaging comes in different sizes for products of various shapes and sizes.
In 2013 alone, Ocean Sole transformed around 50 tons of flip-flops into artworks. The company’s goal is to recycle 400,000 flip-flops per year.
1. What is paragraph 1 mainly about?| A．The living conditions of ocean animals. |
| B．Threats to the development of baby turtles. |
| C．Strategies for beautifying the East African coast. |
| D．The harmful effects of flip-flops littering the coast. |
| A．To show the happiness of local residents. |
| B．To stress the importance of having a job. |
| C．To explain the social benefits brought by Ocean Sole. |
| D．To describe the possible value of unwanted flip-flops. |
| A．By buying their art products. | B．By working in their gift shops. |
| C．By visiting polluted beaches. | D．By offering green souvenirs. |
| A．Making rules to manage the wastewater. |
| B．Using one-size-fits-all boxes for the sculptures. |
| C．Reusing leftover materials for similar products. |
| D．Repurposing waste products as useful tools for other processes. |
1. What percentage of rainforest does Peru account for?
| A．10%. | B．13%. | C．60%. |
| A．In Brazil. | B．In Peru. | C．In Colombia. |
| A．Disease. | B．Bad weather. | C．Human factors. |
| A．New animals will never exist. |
| B．New medicine for curing diseases couldn’t be found. |
| C．New sources of food will be in short supply. |
July 2023 was the world’s warmest month on record, with heat waves spreading across North America, Asia and Europe. How to cool the planet
According to Euro news, a European television news network, one idea
However, following the report,
7 . Humans aren’t the only animals that move to music. Parrots have been known to do it. And now rats have been observed moving their heads in time with the tunes of Mozart, Lady Gaga, Michael Jackson and others, according to a new paper from the University of Tokyo. What’s more, the rats seems to respond (回应) to the same beats that get humans’ feet tapping (轻踩).
The researchers played a sonata by Mozart for lab rats at different changes of the original speed: 75%, 100%, 200% and 400%. Wireless sensors (感应器) on the rats, bodies tracked their movements. Meanwhile, 20 people took part in it and listened to the same music through motion sensor- equipped headphones.
It was observed that the rats’ head movements were the most obvious when the music played at its normal speed, which was around 132 bpm (beats per minute). The same was true for the people taking part in it. The researchers then changed to some pop songs such as Lady Gaga’s “Bora This Way” and Michael Jackson’s “Beat It”，As with Mozart’s, rats moved their heads along the rhythm (节奏) of pop songs, similar to how people do, at about 120 to 140 bpm.
The study showed that both rats and humane moved their heads along to the beat in a similar rhythm. The level of head moving from both humans and rats decreased as the music sped up. The study suggests that there is something similar about the way human and rat brains respond to rhythm, but rats do not match their motions to the beat like humans do. Humans can tell the timing of a beat in advance and move predictably to it.
Aniruddh Patel, a psychologist who studies brain response to music, says humans and parrots respond to beats with big, voluntary movements such as head shaking, dancing or foot tapping. Patel also stresses that this study does not show that rats have the same emotional associations with music as humans do. Yet he believes it could help show how humans and some other animals developed a sense of rhythm.
1. What does the study focus on?| A．How music influences rats’ brains. |
| B．Whether rats can respond to human music. |
| C．Which types of music is attractive to rats. |
| D．Why rats respond to music like human do. |
| A．75 bpm. | B．100 bpm. | C．132 bpm. | D．150 bpm. |
| A．They seem more interested in pop music. |
| B．They are unable to tell the beat of music in advance. |
| C．They prefer moving their heads with the beat of music. |
| D．They make similar movements to different rhythms. |
| A．Positive. | B．Doubtful. | C．Uncaring. | D．Negative. |
8 . As night falls on the streets of Shanghai, Mikiko Chen can often be found pacing up and down through the winding narrow streets of the city hunting for discarded items.
“I pick up all sorts of things, chairs, wine boxes, bowls and cups. . . it’s like treasure hunting for me, “she says. The 27-year-old digital marketer is among the first adopters of “stooping” in China, a practice that refers to picking up discarded furniture and other goods on the streets for re-use. She says the concept “stooping” was inspired by New Yorkers who often leave unwanted things on the “stoops” —or doorsteps—leading up to the entrances of buildings.
“The core concept of stooping for me is to make the best use of things,” Ms. Chen says. “It can help you to save money, but it’s not just about lowering consumption.” “It’s wasteful to throw away something that’s still usable; it’s better to share it with others who need it.”
Ms. Chen says she was among the first to use the hashtag (话题标签) #stooping on Xiaohongshu. “I initially started with posting items that people no longer used and wanted to throw away or exchange . . gradually I’m receiving hundreds of messages each day,” she says. Since then, the trend has become increasingly popular.
Ms. Chen says she is “very surprised” the concept has become a hit on social media, as older generations often stigmatize picking up things from the street or using second-hand goods. “People like my mum consider stooping as ‘rubbish picking’ and ‘scavenging’ (拾荒),” she says. “She thinks that people will look down on you for doing this.”
For Nan Zheng, an environmentalist and advocate, stooping is more than the physical act of picking up things from the streets. He created an app called “Grecycle” where people can give away or take unwanted items for free. “I think we can let more people know about the concept of stooping as an interesting and fun thing to do,” Mr. Nan says. “But then, gradually we can let people know this can also be about charity and helping others.”
1. What can we learn about Mikiko Chen from paragraph 2 and 3?| A．She is hunting for costly treasures. |
| B．She just wants to reduce consumption. |
| C．She got inspiration from New Yorkers. |
| D．She intends to make the most of throwaway items. |
| A．To collect varieties of messages. |
| B．To go viral on social media. |
| C．To share something still usable with others. |
| D．To throw away unwanted things on the “stoops”. |
| A．The older are ashamed of stooping. | B．The older are skilled at stooping. |
| C．The older are exposed to stooping. | D．The older are addicted to stooping |
| A．Recycling discarded things from the streets. |
| B．Getting unwanted items for free on “Grecycle”. |
| C．Exchanging items through “Grecycle”. |
| D．Enhancing people’s awareness of charity. |
1. What is the man’s project about?
| A．The animals. | B．The deserts. | C．The rainforest. |
| A．The spiders. | B．The snakes. | C．The sloths. |
| A．Its color. | B．Its size. | C．Its lifespan. |
China launched a remote-sensing satellite, the Gaofen 12D, for Earth observation. The Gaofen 12D,
Remote-sensing satellites refer to those
China launched the Gaofen program ten years ago and listed it
The Long March 4C rocket, also
