1 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.
The Mystery is No Mystery
The area of ocean between Florida, Puerto Rico, and Bermuda, known as the Bermuda Triangle, is the source of much mystery. Over the centuries, reports of ships and planes disappearing
The Bermuda Triangle covers a vast 700,000 square-kilometer swathe of ocean. Close to the equator(赤道)and near the United States, it is a particularly busy patch of sea with heavy traffic. According to Lloyd’s of London and the U. S. Coast Guard,
These days, new theories are being put forward, with a bit of scientific truth to them. Some have attributed Bermuda Triangle disappearances to explosive releases of methane (甲烷) gas,
The only problem with this theory is that scientists won’t be able to tell with much certainty if this is a factor
2 . What do you know about fashion? The fashion industry, which has become one of the most
A friend of mine
The items are the products of an industry that, in the past 30 years, has become one of the most successful and also most
“The fashion industry represents a key environmental
One wonders: What can we do about it? Don’t you have any clothes on? It’s not that
| A．convincing | B．interesting | C．confusing | D．damaging |
| A．carry out | B．come out | C．set out | D．break out |
| A．builds | B．runs | C．supports | D．controls |
| A．expensive | B．useless | C．worthless | D．attractive |
| A．businessmen | B．children | C．locals | D．masses |
| A．little | B．few | C．much | D．many |
| A．on behalf of | B．in the form of | C．for the sake of | D．in terms of |
| A．effective | B．destructive | C．preventive | D．alternative |
| A．quarrel | B．argument | C．fight | D．conflict |
| A．tell the truth | B．hit the brakes | C．pave the way | D．break the ice |
| A．threat | B．effect | C．problem | D．protection |
| A．results from | B．consists of | C．brings about | D．relies on |
| A．ambition | B．action | C．satisfaction | D．attraction |
| A．far | B．extreme | C．bad | D．complex |
| A．enjoy | B．imagine | C．miss | D．avoid |
3 . The news that Derby has approved what promises to be Britain’s largest urban rewilding project so far is very welcome. The 320-hectare Allestree Park will, subject to detailed consultation, be given over to a range of habitats and perhaps even see the reintroduction of species such as dormice and red kites.
Urban rewilding - which is not the same as urban green space, however extensive - can take many forms. They
But in fact, some of the most successful projects have been
Urban rewilding,
The pressure for development means that there will always be tension with
In these mid-pandemic, post-Brexit, austerity-bitten (财政紧缩的) times, the financial arguments can be hardest to
| A．differ | B．originate | C．range | D．develop |
| A．transporting | B．attaching | C．leading | D．transforming |
| A．mature | B．established | C．reputational | D．accidental |
| A．specifically | B．fundamentally | C．previously | D．primarily |
| A．bring about | B．serve as | C．contribute to | D．rely on |
| A．breeding | B．launching | C．introducing | D．favoring |
| A．by contrast | B．for instance | C．in itself | D．in the meanwhile |
| A．appreciations | B．perceptions | C．insights | D．recovery |
| A．encounter | B．sustain | C．create | D．promote |
| A．recreational | B．political | C．industrial | D．commercial |
| A．qualified | B．maintained | C．reserved | D．cultivated |
| A．linked to | B．inseparable from | C．dismissed as | D．equivalent to |
| A．value | B．profit | C．benefit | D．worth |
| A．approve | B．counter | C．settle | D．consider |
| A．fundamental | B．essential | C．overwhelming | D．obvious |
Shark attacks in U.S. waters—and how common they really are
The first American shark panic began in the hot summer of 1916, when a series of attacks of the Jersey Shore killed four in two weeks. This was thought to be the work of a single great white shark—a species native to the Atlantic coast and the same likely involved in recent attacks. In a time when little was known about beasts from the deep, the deaths were big news. One paper warned that, facing a scarcity of fish, the shark had “probably acquired a taste for human flesh.”
But 1916 did not start a new time of human-hunting sharks. The rate of attacks in the U.S. stayed relatively stable, at two or three per year, for decades. From the 1950s on, that number rose with human population growth, and its attendant increase of people in the water.
Globally, both numbers have been climbing faster since the late 1980s and into the 21st century, but such encounters with sharks are still remarkably uncommon given that the human population is some 7.5 billion. In 2017, 53 of the world’s 88 confirmed attacks took place on U.S. coastlines, with 31 in Florida - but even there, you’re far less likely to be killed by a shark than by lightning. Thanks to beach safety and hospital access, only five of last year’s global attacks were fatal.
“If sharks were actively hunting people, we’d see far more attacks,” says Gavin Naylor, director at the Florida Museum’s Program for Shark Research.
Statistically, sharks have far more to fear from us than we do from them—fisheries wipe out an estimated 100 million each year, and climate change and other human activity have threatened shark habitats, sending their global population into decline. But that doesn’t make it any less sad when the beasts bite back.
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5 . Wild animals are equipped with a variety of techniques to avoid becoming lunch for a bigger animal, also known as a predator (捕食者) in nature. The most well-known methods include the classic fight and flight as well as freeze.
A team of researchers wondered whether closeness to people might impact those survival strategies. “We often see that animals are more tolerant around us in urban areas, but we don’t really know why.” says evolutionary biologist Dan Blumstein. “Is it individual plasticity, meaning individuals change their fear of us and that leads to tolerance? Or can there be an evolutionary factor involved?”
To find out, Blumstein and his colleagues combined information from 173 studies of over 100 species, including mammals, birds, fish and even mollusks. It turns out that regardless of evolutionary ancestry, the animals react in a similar way to life among humans: they lose their anti-predator characteristics. That pattern is especially pronounced for plant-eating animals and for social species. This behavioral change is perhaps unsurprising when it’s intentional, the result of domestication or controlled breeding. But it turns out that urbanization alone results in a similar change, though around three times more slowly.
The main point is: we’re essentially domesticating animals by urbanization. We’re selecting for the same sorts of characteristics that we would if we were actually trying to domesticate them. If the urbanization process helps animals better co-exist with people, it could be to their benefit. But if it makes them more defenseless to their nonhuman predators, it could be a real problem. Either way, these results mean that city living has enough of an influence on wild animals that evolutionary processes kick in. Those reductions in anti-predator characteristics become encoded in their genes. We’re changing the population genetics one way or another.
What the researchers now wonder is whether the mere presence of tourists in less urbanized areas can cause similar changes in wild animals. If so, serious questions exist for the idea of ethical, welfare-oriented eco-tourism. If we wish to help animals keep their anti-predator defenses, the researchers say, we might have to intentionally expose animals to predators. It’s just yet one other way that we’re changing the world around us.
1. The research led by Blumstein is aimed at ________.| A．determining how animals’ survival is impacted by individual plasticity |
| B．studying how living among humans affects animals’ survival strategies |
| C．comparing the effectiveness of different survival techniques |
| D．finding out which evolutionary factor impacts animals’ survival methods |
| A．Controlled breeding of animals. | B．Banning the operation of eco-tourism. |
| C．Planned selection of favorable genes. | D．Eliminating domestication. |
| A．Urbanization has made wild animals more alert. |
| B．Urbanization has brought concrete benefits to animals. |
| C．City living has led to animals’ genetic variations. |
| D．City living has helped to preserve animal species. |
| A．expose the fox to the urban environment repeatedly |
| B．train the fox to co-exist with the less aggressive predators |
| C．intentionally get the fox accustomed to the presence of humans |
| D．purposefully adapt the fox to predator related environment |
6 . On a dark night, 11-year-old Joe was playing hide-and-seek with his friends in the backyard when he thought he saw Magellan—a huge housecat. However, when the cat suddenly jumped on his head, Joe found it turned out a young cougar. He backed away from the animal, then turned and ran inside the house.
Cougar encounters like this one are becoming increasingly common in the U.S. Most people assume that’s because cougar populations are growing, or because the big cats are coming into closer contact with the expanding web of human suburbs. But Professor Robert Wielgus at Washington State University argues that poorly designed hunting policies might be causing an increase in cougar-human conflicts.
Wielgus’s research teams have been fitting the big cats with radio collars and monitoring their movements. They find that the cougar population is actually declining rapidly and almost no male cougars are over four years of age. And a study shows that the heavily hunted area has five times as many cougar complaints as the lightly hunted area—even though the density of cougars is about the same in both areas.
Wielgus suspects that hunting policies, which allow older males to be killed to keep cougar populations in check, were the culprit and teenage cougars in the heavily hunted area may be responsible for most of the trouble. To test his theory, he adds two more groups of cougars to the tracking program—one in a heavily hunted area and another in a comparable but lightly hunted area. He concludes that heavy hunting indeed almost wipes out older males and the population structure in the heavily hunted area shifts toward younger animals.
With these findings, Wielgus believes without adults to keep them under control, the disorderly teens are more likely to come into conflict with humans, farm animals and pets.
Wielgus’s ideas don’t sit well with everyone. “Hunting definitely does cause lots of teenage males to flow in, but I don’t yet see solid proof that they are more likely to cause trouble than older cats,” says the University of Montana’s Robinson. “In many cases, the new arrivals have been squeezed out of remote wilderness habitat and forced into areas where they are more likely to encounter humans. I think humans are primarily responsible for all the interaction you see. We’re moving into these areas where cougars and deer are,” according to Alldredge, a researcher at the Colorado Division of Wildlife.
We may not understand what makes 18-year-old males more likely than 48-year-old men to do dangerous things, Wielgus says, but we know that the world would be a different place, if teenagers were in charge.
1. The passage begins with a story to ________.| A．lead into the topic | B．describe an incident |
| C．show the author’s attitude | D．warn of the dangers of cougars |
| A．effect | B．evidence | C．cause | D．target |
| A．Alldredge agrees hunting results in the arrival of lots of teens. |
| B．Robinson doubts whether age is a key factor in human-cougar conflicts. |
| C．Alldredge believes killing older males may cause a bigger threat. |
| D．Robinson holds humans are to blame for the fall of older males. |
| A．Driving teenage cougars back into their natural habitat. |
| B．Getting people to move out of the areas where cougars are. |
| C．Forbidding children to play in the backyard by themselves. |
| D．Changing hunting policies to ensure a healthy cougar population. |
Life On Venus?
Cats Make for Ideal Human Companions
Cats have a reputation for being colder and less cuddly (令人想拥抱的) than their counterparts—dogs. In reality, they form close bonds with their owners and provide a sense of companionship, particularly for women. In fact, the findings of one Austrian study show that owning a cat is the emotional equivalent of being in a romantic relationship.
Some people feel silly talking to their pets, since, of course, they can’t respond. But interacting with your feline (猫科的) companions has proven health benefits. Not only does talking to your cat improve your bond, but it’s also said to be beneficial to your mental health by helping to improve your mood, lower your stress levels, and reduce our feelings of loneliness.
Cats are experts at sleeping, so it’s perhaps no surprise that they can help improve your sleep, too. A Mayo Clinic study found that people who slept with their pets in the same room were almost twice as likely to get a good night’s rest, with only 20 percent saying that they found their pets’ presence destructive.
Cats may not be able to help with the housekeeping, but they can assist in keeping your house free of mice. It turns out there’s some truth behind the cartoon cat-and-mouse chase. When mice smell certain proteins in cat saliva (唾液), they become tearful and therefore avoid the area.
It’s important for children to learn to care for and look after a living thing, just as their parents take care of them. Cats can help children develop social skills as they learn to approach the feline carefully and gently. Looking after a cat also encourages a sense of responsibility.
In addition to filling your heart with love, cats can contribute to keeping your heart healthy. Numerous studies have shown that owning a cat can help reduce your blood pressure and heart rate, as well as lowering your triglyceride (甘油三酸酯) and cholesterol levels, thereby reducing your risk of having a heart attack or stroke.
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Are People Unique?
It is human beings' pride that we are the only species on the Planet that can speak and think. However, recent research casts doubt on that common belief.
Zuberbuhler, a psychologist at St Andrews University, and his colleagues recorded thousands of calls made by Diana monkeys and noticed that the monkeys adapted their calls to change the meaning to warn one another about different situations. For example,they made a "krack" alarm call at the sight of a tiger. However,when they merely repeated calls made by other monkeys they added an "oo".
The researchers found that the same calls would be recognized by other species, like Campbell's monkeys. So they are communicating across species."And since then we have found that hornbill birds can understand these calls and they too can understand all the different meanings, said Zuberbuhler. What is also surprising is that signs of intelligence have been found in birds whose small brains were long assumed to be a complete barrier to intelligence. However, all that is changing fast. A few years ago, Irene Pepperberg of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology taught a parrot to recognize and count up to six objects, which couldn't have been achieved if birds were unable to memorize.
Last year that was topped by Alex Kacelnik, a professor of behavioral ecology at Oxford, who discovered that crows (乌鸦) are capable of using tools in complex orders, the first time such behavior had been observed in non-humans. In an experiment seven crows successfully grabbed a piece of food placed out of reach using three different lengths of stick. Crucially, they were able to complete the task without any special training, suggesting the birds were capable of a level of abstract reasoning normally associated only with humans.
All this is powerful evidence against the idea that people are unique.
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| A.tirelessly B. urgency C.concrete D.acknowledged E.roadmap F.call G committed H. intended I. update J. summed K.just |
The pressure for change is building: reactions to the Glasgow climate pact
The Glasgow climate package, aimed at ensuring the world limits global heating to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, was
"There is still a huge amount more to do in the coming years. But today's agreement is a big step forward and, critically, we have the first ever international agreement to phase down (逐步减少)coal and a
Al Gore,the former US vice-president,also praised the public pressure put on world leaders at the conference: “The Glasgow Climate Pact and the pledges made at Cop26 move the global community forward in our urgent work to address the climate crisis and limit global temperature rise to 1.5C, but we know this progress, while meaningful,is not enough. “We must move faster to deliver a
Many developed and developing countries nailed the progress it represented on the world's goals .But green campaigners warned that the
On the last-minute weakening of language about phasing out coal, Timmermans said: "Let's be clear, I'd rather not have the change. I was very happy with the language we had." But he added it was “like going from 24 carat gold to 18 carat, it's still gold...we are now making
Countries will have to return next year and the year after to
| A. crowded B. disregarding C. prospect D. secure E. sheltering F. shortage G. shrink H. suspended I. leading J. vulnerable K. groundbreaking |
Jane Goodall
Sixty years after the start of her groundbreaking study of chimpanzces in the wild, the primatologist looks for a silver lining in the pandemic.
Chimpanzees have no
To prevent transmission, scientists have
But the new's isn't all bad. she hastily adds. Befitting someone who used the word “hope” in the titles of three of her past four books. Dr. Goodall isn't above squinting（斜视）to find a silver lining. “I think people are seeing that we brought this pandemic upon ourselves by
“I think this is waking people up,” she says.
