1 . 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. |
After spending Thanksgiving on Uncle Howard’s farm, he gave us two turkey eggs. My younger brother Chris was so excited that he nearly dropped his egg on the way home. Dad put the eggs under an old hen in our backyard. Every day Chris and I would check to see if they’d hatched yet. 26 days later, two little creatures waddled (摇摇摆摆地走) behind the hen. As they got older, one was dead. We named the other Timothy.
Timothy liked to wander in the woods and find tasty berries and weed seeds. Mom kept telling us not to get too attached to Timothy, because we were going to have him for Thanksgiving. But we never paid too much attention to what that really meant. One day, Dad gave Chris and me instructions. “I want you to start giving him corn along with his regular feed,” he said. “We want a nice fat bird for Thanksgiving.” After Dad walked away, Chris’s face began to pucker, just as he did before he started to cry.
“Don’t worry, Chris,” I said comfortingly. “We’ll save Timothy, somehow.”
“Why don’t we give him away?” Chris suggested.
“No.” I said. “If we do, he’ll just end up on someone else’s Thanksgiving table.” Suddenly I had an idea. “Hey, Chris, you know that small cave in the woods?” Chris nodded. “We can take Timothy there. We’ll cover the entrance with a wire net and hide him till Thanksgiving is over.” “Yeah!” We were so excited that we gave each other high-fives. We took Timothy out of his cage and left him in the cave with water and plenty of food. We piled branches over the opening to hide the entrance.
One day Dad sent us out to look for him. Both of us felt guilty, but we wanted to save Timothy’s life, so we kept quiet. Finally, Dad decided that a fox must have gotten him. That year Uncle Howard provided a turkey for our Thanksgiving dinner. The next day a big snowstorm hit. It was days before we could get out and see Timothy. When we got to the cave, we saw something had happened.
注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
The wire net was pulled away from the entrance, and Timothy was gone.
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“Look at that！It’s Timothy！”Mom cried one day.
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1.你身边的环境问题;
2.相应的解决办法。
注意：1.词数80左右;
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4 . Plant biologists have found a way that may enable poor farmers to do away with the need to purchase expensive hybrid seeds every year. Researchers at the University of California report that they have solved a long-standing problem of hybrid seeds by making exact clones of the hybrid plants from seeds.
For long, many crops have been grown from high-yielding, anti-disease or climate-tolerant hybrid seeds. But the seeds of hybrid crops do not produce plants with the same qualities during reproduction and hence farmers cannot save the seeds for the next growing season. They end up paying for new hybrid seeds each sowing season. The discovery, long sought by plant researchers, could make it easier to grow desirable high-yielding crops and make them available to the world’s farmers. Farmers could thus replant seeds from their own hybrid plants and enjoy the benefits of high production year after year, the scientists report.
While the discovery would help farmers, it would also impact the commercial interest of the hybrid seed industry. Siddiq, a former Deputy Director General in the Crop Science Division of the ICAR, said at first sight, this might seem like a setback for hybrid seed companies but there would be plenty of things they can still do. “Rice is grown over such a vast climatic and geographical range that specialized hybrids would have to be developed for each region,” he said. The companies, he said, would continue to improve their hybrids. “It will be interesting to see how all this plays out in the years to come.”
Currently, the high costs of producing hybrid seeds are a major barrier to farmers in developing countries, especially South Asia and Africa. Siddiq said if efficiently used, this method could potentially be a game-changer for poor farmers, who would need to purchase hybrid seeds just once and plant the progeny(后代) seeds from their own harvest in the following seasons.
1. What problem do the researchers aim to solve?| A．Farmers’ income. | B．Farmers’ costs. |
| C．Hybrid seeds’ cloning. | D．Hybrid seeds’ climate tolerance. |
| A．They have a pretty long growth cycle. |
| B．They tend to be affected by various diseases. |
| C．They have stricter requirements for sowing time. |
| D．They fail to reproduce plants with the same quality. |
| A．Hopeful. | B．Concerned. | C．Doubtful. | D．Anxious. |
| A．The future of the hybrid seed industry. |
| B．The drawback of cloning hybrid seeds. |
| C．A method of cloning hybrid plants from their seeds. |
| D．A means of promoting the specialized hybrid seeds. |
Ar Horqin Grassland Nomadic System in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, listed on the list of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems by the United Nations,
The
For example, since 2015, under the guidance of the local government of Ar Horqin Banner, the number of sheep and goats in the nomadic system
6 . Regarded as the “loneliest tree in the world”, the Sitka spruce (云杉) on uninhabited Campbell Island lately has kept good company with a team of New Zealand researchers who believe it could help unlock secrets of climate changes.
The nine-meter-tall spruce holds the Guinness Record title for the “remotest tree” on the planet. It is the sole tree on the shrubby, windswept island, 700 kilometers south of New Zealand in the Southern Ocean. It’s the only tree for 222km around; its nearest neighbor grows on the Auckland Islands.
Although classified as an invasive species, for radiocarbon science leader at GNS Science, Dr. Jocelyn Turnbull, the tree could be a valuable tool to understand what is happening with the uptake of CO2 in the Southern Ocean. In order to measure CO2 concentrations, taking samples of the atmosphere is the best method, and can be complemented with radiocarbon dating samples of deep water. But it comes with limitations. “You can’t collect air that was there 30 years ago, because it is not there anymore,” Turnbull said, “So we came up with this idea of using tree rings. Plants, when they grow, take CO2 out of the air by photosynthesis (光合作用) and they use that to grow their structures and the carbon from the air ends up in the tree rings.”
This is helpful when there is an abundance of established trees, but those are a rarity in the Southern Ocean. Enter the Sitka Spruce - the south most tree, and the team could find it would offer up good data. “It’s grown a lot faster than anything else in that region and the rings are bigger and easier to separate out and get a record form.”
As for the tree’s lonely status: the description may be in the eye of the beholder. “To get to the tree you have to walk through elephant seals and sea lions, penguins and albatross,” Turnbull said. “The tree doesn’t look lonely …it looks quite content actually.”
1. What is special about the tree?| A．It measures nine meters wide. |
| B．It is the only tree on a vast land. |
| C．It grows on the Auckland Islands. |
| D．It owns the Guinness title for the “loneliest tree”. |
| A．CO2 builds up in the tree rings. |
| B．The Sitka spruce is a native species. |
| C．Samples from water are usually inaccessible. |
| D．Photosynthesis stops the plants absorbing air. |
| A．The tree coexists with a variety of animals. |
| B．The tree grows well because of suitable climate. |
| C．It’s unwise to use tree rings as an indicator of CO2. |
| D．It’s possible to measure previous CO2 concentrations directly. |
| A．Trees are of great significance to scientific research. |
| B．The “loneliest” tree in the world is not lonely at all. |
| C．Global warming has a far-reaching impact on creatures. |
| D．A remote Sitka spruce may help us learn about climate changes. |
7 . It’s 4:30 in the morning. Behind a forest, the sun begins to lighten the sky with bright and warm tones. The national bird of Honduras, scarlet macaws (红金刚鹦鹉), which have colorful feathers, groom (理毛) each other as they wait for Anayda Pantin Lopez who has devoted the last 12 years to protecting them.
Pantin and her husband. Santiago Lacuth Montoya, live in a small village called Mabita. where most of its villagers protect these birds and the rest of the wildlife surrounding them. Twice a day, Pantin prepares food for 40 to 60 scarlet macaws that come to her village for feedings. She also cares for several other birds at a rescue center, or chicks that fall down from their nests, until they can fly freely.
Years ago, Lacuth supported the family by selling mac aw eggs and chicks as pets—not realizing it would have a detrimental impact on the bird population. At that time, the hunting and sale of wild species was legal and thousands of scarlet macaws disappeared.
However, when Lacuth learned the number of scarlet macaws was sharply decreasing, he decided to become a guardian of them. He tried to convince other hunters to follow in his footsteps. Eventually, other Mabita residents joined Lacuth and Pantin’s efforts. “For many years the scarlet macaws helped me provide for my family. Now it was my turn to help them.” Lacuth said.
“The Mabita project is very impressive because of the commitment of Pantin and Lacuth and the entire community,” says LoraKim Joyner, founder of One Earth Conservation. In 2014, additional funds came from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and England’s Darwin Foundation stepped in to support the conservation and community engagement efforts.
Since the project began, the scarlet macaw population has grown from 500 to more than800. “Now we have seen that the number of these birds has increased,” said Pantin. “But that does not change our goal, which is to continue caring for them so that our children and grandchildren can have the opportunity to enjoy everything that nature gives us.”
1. What phenomenon is described in the first paragraph?| A．The young birds are waiting for their mother. |
| B．The trees in the forest grow very well. |
| C．Scarlet macaws live comfortably and safely. |
| D．Scarlet macaws are trying to feed themselves. |
| A．Meaningful. | B．Harmful. |
| C．Possible. | D．Small. |
| A．To protect other hunters from harm. |
| B．To encourage other villagers to live better. |
| C．To improve the quality of life for his family. |
| D．To stop the number of scarlet macaws decreasing. |
| A．Its efforts have paid off. | B．Its goal has changed. |
| C．It will attract more volunteers. | D．It will continue to build schools for children. |
8 . Children returned to school after a big wildfire in Northern California. But the influence is so huge that it will be some time before the life of students there returns to normal.
Eight schools were lost to the wildfire. Government officials were not sure how many of their nearly 3,500 students would report to temporary (临时的) schools. Some families have left California. Others are staying with friends. It is too far for some of them to drive to one of those schools every day.
There are not enough classrooms for middle and high schools. So for the l3 days before the start of the traditional winter break in the school year, students will learn through independent study. They will be given homework online and be able to visit a special drop-in center in Chico, California. Children going there can get help from teachers or visit other classmates.
Loren Lighthall, a spokesman for one school there, said studying will be less important than dealing with pain and reconnecting with friends. “They don’t have their school, they don’t have their work, they don’t have their friends, they don’t have books and we’re asking them to do homework?” Light hall said. “It’s less important at this point. We’re going to do it. But what is important now is to deal with the pain left.”
Search members have stopped looking for the lost in burned cars and houses. But they remain available whenever there is need for help.
1. What does the underlined “those schools” in the second paragraph refer to?| A．The schools being built. | B．The online schools. |
| C．The 8 schools lost to the fire | D．The temporary schools. |
| A．Because there aren’t enough classrooms for them. |
| B．Because the traditional winter break is coming soon. |
| C．Because the students want to start a new way of study. |
| D．Because the teachers ask them to do their homework online. |
| A．Students should go to school immediately. |
| B．It is important to deal with the pain. |
| C．Students should be given much homework. |
| D．It is not necessary to study after the fire. |
| A．Life of students in North California has come to normal. |
| B．Search members have not stopped looking for the missing. |
| C．The wildfire in North California influences students greatly. |
| D．Classrooms are prepared for students affected in the wildfire. |
9 . New research links outdoor air pollution — even at levels considered safe — to an increased risk of diabetes (糖尿病) globally, according to a study from the VA St. Louis Health Care System. The findings raise the possibility that reducing pollution may lead to a drop in diabetes cases in heavily polluted countries such as India and less polluted ones such as the United States.
Diabetes is one of the fastest growing diseases, affecting more than 500 million people worldwide. The main drivers of diabetes include eating an unhealthy diet, having a sedentary lifestyle and obesity, but the new research indicates the extent to which outdoor air pollution plays a role.
“Our research shows a significant link between air pollution and diabetes globally,” said Ziyad Al-Aly, MD, the study’s senior author and an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Washington. “We found an increased risk, even at low levels of air pollution currently considered safe by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the World Health Organization (WHO). This is important because many industry lobbying (游说) groups argue that current levels are too stringent and should be relaxed. Evidence shows that current levels are still not sufficiently safe and need to be tightened.”
While growing evidence has suggested a link between air pollution and diabetes, researchers have not attempted to quantify that burden until now. “Over the past two decades, there have been bits of research about diabetes and pollution,” said Al-Aly. “We wanted to thread together the pieces for a broader, more solid understanding.”
The researchers also found that the overall risk of pollution-related diabetes tilted (倾斜) more toward lower-income countries such as India that lack the resources for environmental mitigation systems and clean-air policies. For instance, poverty-stricken countries facing a higher diabetes-pollution risk include Afghanistan, Papua New Guinea and Guyana, while richer countries such as France, Finland and Iceland experience a lower risk. The US experiences a medium risk of pollution-related diabetes.
1. What does the underlined word “stringent” in paragraph 3 mean?| A．Strict. | B．Slight. |
| C．Bright. | D．Ordinary. |
| A．To identify the causes of diabetes. |
| B．To make better air pollution control policies. |
| C．To lead the study of diabetes and air pollution. |
| D．To figure out the link between pollution and diabetes. |
| A．India. | B．Finland. |
| C．The US. | D．Guyana. |
| A．Current pollution control levels need to be tightened |
| B．Diabetes is one of the fastest growing diseases globally |
| C．Air pollution contributes significantly to diabetes globally |
| D．Poverty-stricken countries face a higher diabetes-pollution risk |
Marine (海洋的) creatures have long attracted scientists. Recently, researchers described remains discovered in northeastern Spain,
Leviathanochelys swam in
Scientists found the Leviathanochelys remains near the village of Coll deNargo in Catalonia’s Alt Urgell area.
