1 . It sounds impossible for a 500-pound bear to break into a house through a small window. But the animal known as Hank the Tank is no ordinary bear: He has used his extraordinary strength to force into at least 28 garages in South Lake Tahoe and is responsible for 152 reports of conflict behavior with the local people over the past seven months.
“This smart bear does not break into a garage where trash is kept,” the police department said in a statement. “He hangs out in the neighborhood quite often because he has been continuously rewarded with food stored in garages.”
The most recent incident occurred late last week, when local police officers were called to a home on Catalina Drive when Hank broke into another garage and the police department has planned a special trapping effort to remove Hank the Tank from the neighborhood. After he’s caught, it will decide whether he can be placed in a controlled habitat or whether he should be killed. “We hope that Hank can avoid the sad ending of another famous bear from the Tahoe area,” it said.
Like Hank the Tank, the 500-pound bear named the Safeway Bear had lost its fear of people. It was known for driving away Kings Beach get-togethers, helping itself to a birthday cake and other treats. In 2020, it was caught on camera stealing food from a grocery store at Lake Tahoe’s northern shore.
The bear was eventually trapped and sent to a remote wild habitat in El Dorado County. Its tracking collar was found in the woods in the spring of 2021, leading biologists to hope that it had successfully gotten used to a natural diet and lost weight, allowing the collar to slip off.
But the truth was very heart-breaking. The big bear was reduced to a shell of its former self and was killed at a campground where a family gathering included small children.
“The action of the shooter was the most humane outcome for this bear,” said one of the biologists.
1. What do the police officers probably suggest the public do?| A．Avoid mixing food leftovers with garbage. |
| B．Replace small windows with bigger ones. |
| C．Call the police once they see Hank the Tank. |
| D．Put food outside to help the trapping effort. |
| A．El Dorado County. | B．Kings Beach. |
| C．Catalina Drive. | D．Lake Tahoe. |
| A．It had a hard life in the Tahoe area. |
| B．It lost its ability to live in the wild. |
| C．It successfully got used to a natural diet. |
| D．It stole food and killed people on the beach. |
| A．Opposed. | B．Skeptical. | C．Supportive. | D．Unconcerned. |
2 . A new study has found that water in the air, not just heat, is important in measuring global warming. The researchers say, when considering humidity and heat, the temperature increase is two times greater than earlier estimates.
The researchers also note, temperature by itself is not the best way to measure the effects of climate change and using temperature underestimates conditions in the tropical areas of the world.
The study was published on January 31 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The researchers team show that the energy created in extreme weather, such as storms, is related to the amount of water in the air. For this reason, they decided to use a special atmospheric measurement to show the amount of heat in an area of air. It is expressed in a scientific measurement for temperature known as degrees Kelvin.
Ramanathan is one of the writers of the study. He is a climate scientist at the University of California San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography. “There are two factors of climate change: temperature and humidity. And so far, we have measured global warming just in terms of temperature,” he says. “Warm air can hold more water than cold air. For every degree Celsius that air temperature increases, it can hold seven percent more water. When the water vapor in the air becomes liquid, it releases heat or energy. That’s why when it rains, now it pours.”
Ramanathan added that water vapor is a powerful heat-trapping gas in the atmosphere that increases climate change. From 1980 to 2019, the average world surface air temperature increased by 0.79 degrees Celsius. But when they considered energy from humidity, their temperature measurement had increased by 1.48 degrees Celsius. In the tropics, the warming was as much as 4 degrees Celsius.
Wuebbles is a climate scientist at the University of Illinois. He was not part of the study. But Wuebbles said the idea makes sense because water vapor is important in extreme rainfall. He said, “Both heat and humidity are important.”
1. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?| A．The combination of water and heat decreases average surface temperature. |
| B．The reason why it pours is that cold air can hold more water than warm air. |
| C．Scientists adopt temperature degrees Kelvin as a special atmospheric measurement. |
| D．Scientists used both temperature and humidity to measure global warming in the past. |
| A．By making comparisons. | B．By taking examples. |
| C．By analyzing reasons. | D．By giving definitions. |
| A．Critical. | B．Objective. | C．Skeptical. | D．Appreciative. |
| A．Extreme Weathers Are Closely Related to Air Heat Amount |
| B．A New Study Focuses on Global Warming Solutions |
| C．Humidity Is Also Important in Measuring Climate Changes |
| D．Two Climate Scientists Develop a Scientific Method |
3 . On Friday January 14, 2022, blast was heard 2,000 km away in New Zealand and 3,300 km away in Australia. Boats crashed into a quiet harbor in Southern California, a remote island was battered in Japan by 4 foot waves and two women were swept to their deaths on a beach in Peru some 6,000 miles from an undersea volcanic eruption so powerful that the tsunami which it set off stirred ocean waters halfway across the globe.
But on Sunday, as reports of the volcano’s effect crowded in from far-flung countries, there was little word from Tonga, the island nation just 40 miles from the site of the extraordinary explosion. As concerns from all over the world grew, the nation of about 100,000 people remained largely cut off from the rest of the world, its undersea internet cables knocked out of commission by the volcano.
In Tonga on Sunday, many residents lost not only communication channels but electric power. Up to 80,000 people there could be affected, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies told the BBC.
New Zealand and other nations in the region pledged to give Tonga aid to recover. But with heavy concentrations of airborne ash making flights impossible, just like the Iceland volcano eruption in 2021, it was difficult even to know what was needed. Ardern, the New Zealand prime minister, said flights over Tonga were planned for Monday or Tuesday, depending on ash conditions.
Tonga has experienced a succession of natural disasters in recent years. In 2018, more than 170 homes were destroyed and two people killed by Cyclone Gita, a Category 5 tropical storm. In 2020, Cyclone Harold caused about $111 million in damage.
1. Which country wasn’t affected by Tanga undersea volcanic eruptions?| A．America | B．Japan | C．Peru | D．Iceland |
| A．20% | B．30% | C．50% | D．70% |
| A．out of action | B．out of range | C．out of existence | D．out of account |
| A．The Iceland volcano eruption in 2021 made nearby flights delayed. |
| B．New Zealand as well as other nations in the region gave Tonga aid timely. |
| C．Flights could reach Tonga two days after the eruption. |
| D．The undersea volcanic eruption caused severer damage to Tonga than ever before. |
Against a backdrop of misty green forests and with its buildings on stilts (桩) above the River Tuo, Fenghuang is a picturesque place to spend a day or two. Its winding allays, lined with traditional shops and temples, lead
Although the town can get
Fenghuang itself does have a section of rebuilt Ming city walls
5 . When Finn the golden retriever (寻回犬) was diagnosed with a terminal cancer in May , his family decided to do something special to make his last days on earth brighter—and made a doggie bucket list.
Cynthia and Robert Peterson, who live in Burlington, Vermont, wanted to treasure his last days as part of their family. The family said that the idea is to “make him comfortable, make him happy, Spoil him a little bit”.
They said the list is full of fun and includes everything that Finn would want to do. Finn has already completed over half of the ten activities on his bucket list and there are an exciting mixture of things he’s set to do. Some of them are fairly regular dog activities like going for a hike, playing fetch, having a steak dinner, making a new friend and walking along the beach. There’re also some more unusual activities like taking a hot air balloon ride , going apple picking and having a song written about him.
People on social media have found the sweet idea by Finn’s family heartwarming. One person commented on the video:“An animal is so often more than a pet, the unconditional bond and love they pro-vide is a reward in itself. But this couple show their own love back for Finn ten times.” The family said that they think Finn has inspired others to live “more authentically”.
The family have appealed for help with his final bucket list activity. The family say they need help to have a children’s book written about him. Cynthia and Robert are raising money for the book on their Go Fund Me page.
1. Why did Finn’s owners make the bucket list?| A．To brighten his last days. | B．To rid him of pain. |
| C．To raise money from public. | D．To help to cure the cancer. |
| A．It lists tasks full of challenges. | B．It focuses on physical sports. |
| C．It contains some special activities. | D．It is designed by people online. |
| A．They were touched. | B．They donated money. |
| C．They attacked the idea. | D．They rewarded the owners. |
| A．Going apple picking. | B．Offering comfort to other pets. |
| C．Taking a hot air balloon ride. | D．Having a specially-written book. |
When visiting China, many travellers expect to have close contact with the giant panda, one of the msot adorable creatures in the world. Actually, no other country can provide such a
The giant panda's diet is mainly herbivorous,
As a result, the giant panda has its behavior
The giant panda typically lives around 15-20 years in the wild and above 30 years in captivity. The oldest one ever in captivity is a female named Jia Jia, who
The giant panda is one of the world's most adored and protected rare
7 . For humans, adapting to climate change will mostly be a matter of technology. More air conditioning, better-designed houses and bigger flood defenses may help lessen the effects of a warmer world. Animals will have to rely on changing their bodies or their behaviour. In a paper published inTrends in Ecology & Evolution, a team led by Sara Ryding, a professor in Australia, shows that is already happening. In some species of Australian parrot, for instance beak (喙) size has increased by between 4% and 10%since 1871. Similar trends are seen in species of mice and bats growing bigger ears, tails, legs and wings.
All that fits nicely with evolutionary (进化的) theory. “Allen’s rule”, named after Joe Allen, who suggested it in 1877, holds that warm-blooded animals in hot places tend to have larger appendages (附加物) than those in mild areas. Such adaptations boost an animal’s surface area relative to its body volume, helping it to get rid of additional heal. Fennec foxes, meanwhile, which are native to the Sahara desert, have strikingly large ears, especially compared with their Arctic cousins.
Ryding’s team combined data from different species in different places. Now that they have little in common apart from living on a warming planet, climate change is the most reasonable explanation. Since any evolutionary adaptation comes with trade-offs, it is unclear how far the process might go. Bigger beaks might interfere with feeding, for instance. Larger wings are heavier, and bigger legs cost more energy to grow.
Honestly, studying a broader range of animals will help firm up exactly what is happening. For now, at least, the increase is small, never much more than 10%. That may change as warming accelerates. Every little bit of avoided future temperature increases results in less warming that would otherwise stay for essentially forever.
1. Why do some species grow bigger parts of their body?| A．They are following the new trends. |
| B．They have to adapt to warmer climate. |
| C．Scientists need them to do experiments. |
| D．Larger parts tend to help them feed well. |
| A．In mild areas. | B．In hot places. |
| C．In the Arctic. | D．In deserted regions. |
| A．It comes at a cost. |
| B．Its cause is definite. |
| C．It happens in the same habitat. |
| D．Its process will end soon. |
| A．Living on a Warming Planet |
| B．Measures to Remove Heat |
| C．Pioneering Research on Animals |
| D．Evolution to Survive Heat |
8 . Moscow-based photographer Anastasiya Dobrovolskaya is not a typical “pet photographer.” Her trademark photos look like something out of a fairy tale, but everything is real-from beautiful and unique people to breathtaking landscapes, and various animals you wouldn’t expect to pose alongside people. Tigers, owls, horses anything you can think of is featured in Dobrovolskaya’s incredible portfolio, including the most-wanted bear model, Stepan, who was rescued as a cub and raised by loving humans.
In July of 2018, Anastasiya started taking photos by accident. After three failed attempts at photography, giving up trying, and finding her way to photography again, she received a message from a woman who wanted a photo shoot with a rooster Although she had never photographed people with animals and didn’t have much experience altogether, she took on a challenge and fell in love. In a week, she photographed an owl , then a horse, and it kicked off from there with some of her photos going viral online. It was enough to quit her job and pursue a career in commercial photography.
The 30-year-old photographer takes dreamlike photos that capture the magical bond between animals and humans and show how beautifully diverse, yet similar they are. “In my work, I want to show common features between people and animals so that animals become more respected by people and people will do their best to minimize the harm they do to nature.” She says.
However, some people accuse her of using animals, that animals suffer during photoshoots, and so on. But they don’t even know how far they are from the truth. In most cases, the animals were rescued from poor conditions, from fur factories, or were abandoned by the owners. Almost all large animals live in the countryside, in spacious areas, in specially equipped enclosures with regular walking. Each animal feeds on the basis of its species.” Only those animals with a certain character are selected for the photoshoots, and the process is almost always very comfortable,” explained the photographer.
The photographer now has an astonishing 179k followers on Instagram-an audience that has become a source of endless support, energy, and inspiration.
1. Which of the following statements about Stepan is true ?| A．He was saved in the wild. | B．He enjoys great popularity. |
| C．He was adopted by other bears. | D．He is kept in a small cage. |
| A．How Anastasiya faced her failure. |
| B．How much Anastasiya loved photography. |
| C．How Anastasiya began her photography careen |
| D．How Anastasiya’s photos became well-known online, |
| A．a baby sleeping in its mother’s arms . | B．a parrot resting on a girl’s shoulder. |
| C．a stream winding through a valley. | D．a fox running after a rabbit |
| A．The animals are treated badly. |
| B．Few people appreciate the photos. |
| C．The photos may arouse people’s awareness of protecting nature. |
| D．I he photographer has worked on photography for over four years. |
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