1 . Sleep is so important that it has long interested scientists. Scientists have studied everything from mice to fruit flies in the lab to get a better understanding of what happens when animals sleep and why they do it. However, gathering data (数据) on how animals sleep in their natural habitat has always been hard to do.
But scientists did just that with wild chinstrap penguins in Antarctica. In doing so, researchers found the birds took over ten thousand microsleeps throughout the day — adding up to a 11-hour-long sleep.
To study the penguins, scientists put devices (设备) into a small group of penguins’ brain and neck muscles, which provided the brain wave and location data. The devices had never been used before, so this data collection was only supposed to be a test. However, the process went so well and the data was published in this study.
Researchers found that the microsleeps last only seconds. Researchers think that being able to sleep for such a short time might help the animals avoid predators (捕食者) that might more likely attack if the penguins were asleep for longer — especially when one parent goes out feeding in the ocean for days, leaving the other parent to protect the eggs from predatory birds.
The study is an early insight into a relatively large missing scientific knowledge about sleep.
“Almost every study on sleeping birds discovers something new, something we didn’t know about before,” says study co-author Paul-Antoine Libourel.
Vladyslav Vyazovskiy, a sleep neuroscientist at the University of Oxford who didn’t join in the study, is excited about this new data because “most of what we know about the animal sleep was gained in laboratory conditions, which are totally different from conditions where sleep developed”.
1. What is paragraph 3 mainly about?| A．The study method. | B．The device introduction. |
| C．The research purpose. | D．The background information. |
| A．Feeding baby birds. | B．Getting longer sleep. |
| C．Avoiding being hunted. | D．Attacking other birds. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Positive. | C．Confused. | D．Objective. |
| A．Animal Sleep Is Researched in the Lab |
| B．Penguins Gain a Different Way of Sleep |
| C．Sleep Is of Great Importance to Penguins |
| D．Penguins Take Thousands of Microsleeps a Day |
2 . San Francisco’s waterfront (海滨) is on the National Register of Historic Places for good reason.
Its beautiful old landmarks, like the Ferry Building and the Bay Bridge, have been seen in many books, TV shows and movies—from the stories and novels of Jack London to the 1970s TV series The Streets of San Francisco. The future of San Francisco’s waterfront, however, isn’t safe.
In 2016, the National Trust for Historic Preservation put part of the city’s shoreline on its list of the U. S.’s most endangered historic places, in part because of the threat of sea level rise. The waterfront landmarks of many cities are under increasing threat from floods and rising sea levels brought on by human-driven climate change. St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice, Italy and the Venice Beach boardwalk in Los Angeles face similar challenges to San Francisco.
“The whole issue of climate change and historic preservation intersects (交织) right at the waterfront,” said Elaine Forbes, director of the Port of San Francisco. As she watched the boats come and go on a sunny afternoon, Forbes said, “Sea level rise hasn’t historically been as much of a threat to San Francisco as major earthquakes.” However, that’s changed. Parts of the main road that runs along the waterfront have flooded from heavy rains in recent years. The state estimates (预估) the water could rise up to about two and a half feet above its present level by 2060, and possibly up to seven feet by the turn of the century.
Now, San Francisco is considering measures to save its historic shoreline. But the growing magnitude and frequency of the climate-related threats, the high costs and effort needed in saving heritage sites, and competing ideas about what’s worth saving and what isn’t, can make it hard for cities to know what to do first.
1. What is San Francisco’s waterfront famous for?| A．Old landmarks. | B．Famous beaches. |
| C．Beautiful bridges. | D．Comfortable climate. |
| A．The loss of public support. | B．The threat from rising sea levels. |
| C．The influence of tourist activities. | D．The competition from other cities. |
| A．To give an example of existing threats. | B．To stress the seriousness of sea level rise. |
| C．To compare different types of natural disasters. | D．To show the difficulty in the waterfront protection. |
| A．Heritage sites are in ruins. | B．Threats have been removed. |
| C．The shoreline has been flooded. | D．Solutions are under consideration. |
3 . Anew study reports that a mosquito’s sense of smell is more complicated than we once thought. And it may explain why this annoying insect is so good at seeking you out at a barbecue or in your bedroom and biting you—as well as lead to new strategies to prevent the potentially deadly diseases transmitted by its bite.
Meg Younger, a neuroscientist at Boston University, is co-author of the study. She exhales(呼气)gently into one of the mosquito-filled cages. A waft of carbon dioxide blows across the insects, and they go wild. “And now, they’re looking fora target like the complex mixture of human body smell—a smell that’s attractive to the mosquitoes,” Younger explains.
In many parts of the world, this attraction isn’t merely an annoyance for humans. It’s a major health problem. Mosquitoes transmit diseases to humans. These diseases include dengue, Zika, chikungunya fever and malaria. The last disease alone causes over half a million deaths each year.
So scientists have attempted to break this attraction. But try as they might, the little mosquito has resisted. “They’re really good at what they do,” Younger says. Most of what we know about the neuroscience of smell comes from mice and fruit flies, where the wiring is fairly simple. Each neuron(神经元) in the nose has one kind of receptor(感受器) that detects a single kind of smell—say, a banana. And all the neurons with receptors for the banana smell connect to the same part of the brain. Younger and the others studied mosquito brains, where she found that each neuron has multiple receptors that can detect multiple smells.
This work could give researchers additional ways to battle the insects like developing traps that contain new smell mixtures that are more appealing than people.
“It’s an enormous study,” says Josefina del Marmol, a neurobiologist at the Harvard Medical School. She says there’s more work to be done to check. neuron by neuron, that each one actually responds to all the smells it has receptors for. But regarding the central finding, she says, “It really does change a lot about what we know of how insects perceive the world.”
1. Why does Younger exhale into a mosquito-filled cage?| A．To keep targeted mosquitoes alive. | B．To confuse the experimented mosquitoes. |
| C．To experiment on mosquitoes’ sense of smell. | D．To see if breath contributes to disease transmission. |
| A．They have a clearer smell mechanism. | B．They have more neurons to detect smells. |
| C．They have bigger brain parts focusing on smell. | D．They have more smell receptors in each neuron. |
| A．It may have found an ideal way to study insects. |
| B．It inspires new methods to prevent mosquito bites. |
| C．It proves the previous assumption about mosquitoes. |
| D．It sheds light on how mosquitoes transmit diseases. |
| A．It is a big step forward. | B．It has many weaknesses. |
| C．It is far from impressive. | D．It has a worldwide influence. |
4 . In Florida’s Everglades, few species are more closely tied to this place’s health than an endangered bird, the snail kite, which eats just one thing: snails. Over the last century, due to changing environments, these local snails have become hard to find, and the birds are dying out. But the number of snail kites has increased recently thanks to an unusual invasive (入侵的) snail, which is a pretty uncommon event.
Snail kites got their name from their amazing flying ability. They were one of the last bird species discovered in the U. S. because of where they live, often hidden in the Everglades. Over the past century, as many of their living places became pretty dry and water stopped running through parts of the Everglades, the snail kite population fell rapidly. It was one of the first birds put on the endangered species list in the 1960s. And by 2007, fewer than 800 had remained.
Right shortly after that, this invasive snail came in, and just started flourishing and getting into every wetland. Since then, the snail kite population has been slowly increasing. By last year’s count, there are now more than 3,000 snail kites. And, although it’s early in the season, researchers are finding lots of nests with eggs and young birds.
Efforts to restore (恢复) Florida’s Everglades have also helped the snail kite, bringing back local plants and the flow of water. The restoration work has been in place for more than 30 years with a cost of more than $20 billion. But progress is slow.
Though some scientists say the invasive snail may have saved the snail kite, Professor Robert Fletcher is feeling uneasy about the possible influence the species will have on the Everglades over the long term. He says, “What we should be thinking about is how to restore local snails to get those benefits rather than depending on this invasive species that can harm the ecosystem. The snails may already have a bad effect on some local plants, and a sign trouble may be showing soon.”
1. What does the uncommon event in the first paragraph refer to?| A．The snail kite’s population keeps changing. |
| B．The local snail kite has found a new food source. |
| C．An invasive snail positively influences a local species. |
| D．A local snail has lost its living places to an invasive snail. |
| A．Their losing good flying ability. | B．The absence of a protection list. |
| C．The appearance of an invasive snail. | D．Their long-lasting dry living conditions. |
| A．Falling slowly. | B．Growing rapidly. | C．Changing quickly. | D．Disappearing largely. |
| A．The restoration work in the Everglades has stopped. |
| B．Bringing the Everglades to its normal condition is difficult. |
| C．The Everglades is facing different kinds of natural disasters. |
| D．Protecting the Everglades’ water is key to snail kites’ survival. |
5 . One year after WildAid started its new program to protect ocean wildlife in China, Chinese world-famous pianist Lang Lang has joined the latest public campaign (运动), “Play Your Part in the Oceans Symphony” on Friday.
The campaign video public service announcement (PSA) impressed the public with Lang Lang playing his song “Stay”, greatly calling attention to the beauty and importance of protecting the marine life in China’s waters such as whale sharks, sea turtles, dolphins and spotted seals.
A new series of messages calls on the public to help protect marine biodiversity (生物多样性) by supporting marine protected areas (MPAs) and the protection of ocean wildlife. The campaign video PSA and billboards, which will be displayed across China, were released (发布) at a Beijing press event hosted by WildAid, with China Green Carbon Foundation and the First Institute of Oceanography of the Ministry of Natural Resources (FIO) as key partners.
Ranked among “the world’s 100 most influential people” by Time magazine, Lang Lang has served as WildAid ambassador for more than 12 years, contributed to protecting endangered wildlife and nature. Speaking at the event he said, “we can all play our part in protecting our oceans by taking simple steps, such as refusing to eat endangered wildlife such as sea turtles, reporting illegal wildlife trade, and reducing the use of single-use plastics.”
WildAid also designed online activities for this campaign in which Lang Lang invites users to re-create his song “Stay” through the two most popular social platforms in China: Weibo and Tik Tok.
Lang Lang joined this campaign following a survey report conducted by WildAid and FIO that discusses public awareness of MPAs and marine biodiversity in China.
The report finds that more than 80% of the survey takers believe that MPAs are very important, but their understanding of the functions of MPAs is low. More than half do not know the term “marine biodiversity” and have not received enough information about marine protection.
“Play Your Part in the Oceans Symphony” campaign PSA and billboards will be given out at outdoor places across China, reaching millions of viewers.
1. What is the purpose of the latest PSA of WorldAid?| A．To show the special beauty of marine life in China’s waters. |
| B．To stress the importance of protecting China’s ocean wildlife. |
| C．To call on the public to support marine protected areas (MPAs). |
| D．To invite world-famous pianist Lang Lang to join the campaign. |
| A．Report illegal wildlife hunting to FIO. | B．Stop eating endangered wildlife. |
| C．Re-create his song “Stay” on line. | D．Call on friends to join the campaign. |
| A．Lots of Chinese do not clearly know how to protect the ocean life. |
| B．The Chinese public would like to help protect marine biodiversity. |
| C．The Chinese public awareness of marine biodiversity should be raised. |
| D．Weibo and Tik Tok are the two most popular social platforms in China. |
| A．Interesting. | B．Demanding. | C．Beneficial. | D．Enjoyable. |
6 . Most of us know about hurricanes, droughts, and floods. But from time to time, nature delivers a weather event that is really unusual.
One day in 2005, people in a small town in Serbia saw an unusual sight. It was raining frogs! Without any warning, they found their streets filling with the little jumping creatures. “There were thousands of them,” one person told a local newspaper. “I thought perhaps a plane carrying frogs had exploded (爆炸),” said another. Scientists believe a tornado passed over a lake and sucked (吸) up the frogs. It then dropped them on the town, far away. Surprisingly, many survived the fall to the ground.
As if tornadoes aren’t dangerous enough, some can actually be made of fire. When a wildfire reaches very high temperatures, it causes the air to heat up and then rise. Cooler air moves quickly to replace the hot air. This create s strong winds, which suck up the fire. When this happens — like it did in 2014, in Denver, United States-a fire tornado is created. A tornado like this can become 15meters wide and grow as tall as a 40-store y building. It is one of nature’s most frightening creations.
In 1942, hundreds of thousand-year-old skeletons (骨架) were found under the ice of Lake Roopkund in the Himalayas. Many had holes in their skulls-but they weren’t hurt in any other way. For years, the cause of their deaths was a mystery. Today, scientists think they were killed by giant hailstones. Hailstones are balls of ice that form when raindrops turn into ice. The ice pieces increase in size until the wind cannot hold them up. This results in hailstones falling to the ground, often at speeds of over 160 kilometers an hour. For the unlucky people at Lake Roopkund, there was nowhere to run. Sadly, they were all killed that day.
1. Why did the frogs appear in Serbia one day in 2005?| A．A large flood washed the frogs down. | B．The frogs were brought by heavy rains. |
| C．A plane carrying the frogs had exploded. | D．The frogs were dropped by a strong wind. |
| A．Hot air rises from the fire. | B．Strong winds suck up the fire. |
| C．Cooler air removes the hot air. | D．Wildfires reach high temperatures. |
| A．They were turned into ice balls. | B．They had no signs of injury. |
| C．They showed the force of nature. | D．They were hundreds of years old. |
| A．When Strange Weather Strikes | B．Protect Ourselves In Disasters |
| C．The Great Power of Nature | D．What Causes Extreme Weather |
Located in Shaoxing, east China’s Zhejiang Province, Luzhen features typical
The main street of Luzhen was built according to the descriptions in Lu Xun’s novels,
There are also statues of the characters from Lu Xun’s novels, depicting (描绘) the classic scenes from the
8 . Parrots are prey animals, which means that other predators (捕食者) in the wild, such as hawks or snakes, are looking to make them into a meal. This one factor influences parrots’ behavior in your house more than any other.
Parrots are most easily hurt when feeding on the ground. Membership in a group plays an important function in ensuring their safety and improving their chances of survival from attacks by predators. The most common predators of parrots include hawks, snakes, cats, monkeys, and bats. Some predators make attacks only during the day while others hunt in the night.
As prey animals, parrots are constantly watching out for danger and they instinctively (本能地) react to risks. Their first choice is to take flight. However, if this is not possible, they will fight with their powerful beaks to defend themselves.
Because their biggest enemy is the hawk, parrots are especially reactive to quick movements from above and behind. For this reason, it is wise to avoid quick, sudden movements near your bird. This is a built-in reaction not subject to logic or reason. Simple and relatively harmless household objects can draw extreme fear responses from a bird. For example, a balloon may represent a hawk or a vacuum hose (吸尘器软管) may be the same as a snake in your bird’s mind.
As prey animals, parrots are often frightened by exposure to new household items or strangers. It is important to expose your bird to safe experiences and changes starting at a very young age to build flexibility and improve their adaptability. Variety in diet and toys, travel, and exposure to new people and places all help to make your bird more flexible and adaptable to change.
1. What is important for parrots to better survive from attacks in the wild?| A．Living in a group. | B．Growing beautiful feathers. |
| C．Feeding on the ground. | D．Avoiding coming out at night. |
| A．To attack back. | B．To get away. |
| C．To protect the young. | D．To play dead. |
| A．It may explode suddenly. | B．It may be in a strange shape. |
| C．It may have a strong color. | D．It may move around quickly. |
| A．To explain wild parrots’ behavior. | B．To give advice on raising a parrot. |
| C．To call for action to protect animals. | D．To introduce a study on bird ecology. |
From the adorable pandas in Sichuan to the playful Pallas’s cats in Inner Mongolia, photographer Xie Jianguo has committed himself to documenting China’s rare and endangered animals,
Xie’s passion for
During his shooting process, Xie
With the aim of preserving the natural beauty of China
10 . Pocket gophers (囊鼠) spend most of their lifetime alone, digging underground. Although they’re common across North and Central American grasslands, you’re unlikely to see one—their presence is usually only noticeable thanks to the piles of sandy soil they leave behind reaching more than 500 feet, usually about 50 inches below the ground.
Gophers were thought to feed themselves mainly by eating the roots (根) they meet while building new tunnel systems. Yet, digging tunnels is energetically costly and researchers show that only eating the roots just doesn’t make up for the energy spent.
To understand how else these animals get enough roots to survive, Francis Putz, a professor at the University of Florida, and the student researcher Veronica Selden looked at the behavior of gophers in northern Florida. They observed that, in the dark and wet tunnels the gophers had dug, new and soft roots grew fast.
The gophers seem to be actively looking after the roots like farmers, the scientists say. They create the perfect wet environment for roots and causing soil aeration (透气) by loosening the ground in which plants grow in the first place. Importantly, the gophers spread waste throughout the tunnels, which makes the roots grow more successfully. This is rather unlike other gopher species, which tend to have fixed waste areas.
The study found that the gophers’ daily harvest of root crops can supply from 21 to 62 percent of their calorie needs. “They have these long tunnels that cannot be explained,” Putz says. So why do it? If it’s not to “farm food”, he says, “I can’t think of any other reason.”
But some researchers wonder if “farming” is a right term for the gophers’ activities. “To describe the activity as farming seems to be overstated,” says scientist Kimberly Asmus Hersey. “I don’t see this as all that different from many other plant and plant-eating animal relationships.”
1. What can be learned about the species of gophers?| A．They exist all across America. | B．They are highly social animals. |
| C．They mainly live underground. | D．They dig tunnels 500 feet deep. |
| A．They are as hard as rocks for gophers to eat. |
| B．They make digging work more effort-taking. |
| C．They are perfect home locations for gophers. |
| D．They cannot meet gophers’ needs for energy. |
| A．They prefer building tunnels in dry conditions. |
| B．They try to make their tunnels as deep as possible. |
| C．They create a perfect environment for roots to grow. |
| D．They usually have fixed waste areas in their tunnels |
| A．She disagrees with it. | B．She is curious about it. |
| C．She thinks highly of it. | D．She is unconcerned about it. |
