1 . The piping plovers（千鸟）are already one of the most endangered birds in the Great Lakes area of the northern United States. Now, the rising water levels of Lake Michigan further threaten（威胁）the birds and the areas where they live.
The waters of Lake Michigan are now only a few meters from the plovers' sandy living area. Their home could be one storm away from being destroyed. Many sandy areas near the water are getting smaller, while others are underwater. The birds are forced to move closer to places with trees and bushes, or even to city areas.
Water levels on the Great Lakes are reaching some of their highest points since the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began keeping records 101 years ago. Streets, businesses and houses in the area have flooded, the Associated Press（AP）reports. Vince Cavalieri works with the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He told the AP that the high water levels put plovers in more danger than most other bird groups. That is because the areas where they live have been disappearing. He added that some nests on the Canadian side of the Great Lakes also have been swept away.
The Great Lakes generally rise with the melting snow and rainstorms of spring, and fall during the drier summer months. However, some scientists believe climate change is causing more changes in water levels. If that is true, the piping plovers could be at greater risk. Their numbers have already dropped because of coastal development. The government lists the birds as threatened in the northern Great Plains and along the Atlantic coast. Rising sea levels there threaten their wintering grounds.
Recovery projects are helping, however. In 2017, officials counted 76 pairs of plovers. Vince Cavalieri expects to see more numbers this year. Most of this year's plover eggs will hatch（孵化）by the end of June. If more storms do not wash away nests, a new group of plovers may survive.
1. What do we know about the piping plovers from Paragraph 2?| A．They are forced to live in cities. |
| B．They build nests in trees and bushes. |
| C．Their living environment is badly polluted. |
| D．Their homes could be easily destroyed by storms. |
| A．A lot of houses have been flooded. |
| B．Many factories have been swept away. |
| C．Plenty of piping plovers may lose their nests. |
| D．He cannot provide enough service for people. |
| A．Spring. | B．Summer. |
| C．Autumn. | D．Winter. |
| A．There will be more snow in winter. |
| B．More rainstorms will happen in summer. |
| C．The government has taken measures to protect birds. |
| D．Water levels may change because of climate change. |
| A．Piping plovers' living habits. |
| B．Piping plovers in great danger. |
| C．Great Lakes getting smaller. |
| D．Climate change causing storms. |
2 . A 14-year-old killer whale named Wilkie has learned how to “speak” to humans. Wilkie, who lives at a whale aquarium（水族馆）in France, is able to imitate（模仿）a human saying “hello”, “bye-bye” and “one, two” after working with a team of researchers from the UK, Spain, Chile and Germany.
“Killer whales use their blowholes to make noises, almost like speaking out of your nose, so we were not expecting it to be perfect,” Jose Abramson, the lead author, told The Independent. “But we were surprised by how close it was.”
This isn’t the first time animals have learned how to imitate human sounds. Scientists have already made a record of animals like elephants，parrots，dolphins and beluga whales all imitating our words and noises, but it marks a first for killer whales.
Wilkie had already been trained to imitate the actions of a fellow killer whale. Once the scientists made her again learn how to mimic an action; they had her repeat four familiar sounds made by her 2-year-old calf（幼鲸），Moana. Next, they had her make five killer whale sounds she had never heard before, like a noise of opening the door. Then the researchers had Wilkie imitate the sounds made by a human and，finally，words like “ah ha” and her trainer’s name, “Amy”.
Wilkie was quickly able to imitate all the sounds and words, and she was even able to imitate some on the first try. Researchers said they had the first evidence that killer whales might be learning sounds by imitation, but they had no evidence that the killer whales understood what their “hello” stood for.
1. What is the main idea of the text?| A．Killer whales are the first to imitate humans. |
| B．Killer whale Wilkie has been used to test other animals. |
| C．Killer whales are able to imitate the sounds of their children. |
| D．Killer whale Wilkie has learned to imitate some human sounds. |
| A．Wilkie enjoyed human sounds. |
| B．Wilkie lived so close to humans. |
| C．Wilkie made sounds different from human voices. |
| D．Wilkie made sounds quite close to those of humans. |
| A．Change. | B．Copy. |
| C．Arrange. | D．Compare. |
| A．Quick. | B．Kind. |
| C．Honest. | D．Brave. |
| A．whether Wilkie can make human sounds |
| B．whether killer whales can tell voices from noises |
| C．whether Wilkie can understand the words like “hello” |
| D．whether other killer whales can do the same as Wilkie |
注意：开头部分已给出，不计入总词数。
爱丁堡：苏格兰的首府，政治和文化中心。
人口：133万。
面积：260平方公里 (square kilometers)。
地理位置：苏格兰 (Scotland) 的东南部。
交通：机场位于市中心，公共交通十分便利。
天气：气候温和 (mild climate)。
旅游：最受欢迎的旅游城市；古老建筑众多；每年吸引200多万名游客，是理想的度假胜地。
词数：110左右。
Dear Li Hua,
How are things with you? Today I’m writing to tell you something about Edinburgh which you asked about in the last e-mail.
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