1 . Stress often occurs when humans have too much work or are in immediate danger. We communicate our stress to others through our behavior and physiological changes. Thus, stress can communicate information and even be useful for survival in certain situations. On the other hand, the massive spread of stress frequently leads to dangerous situations in groups, such as mass panic.
However, not only humans, but also animals can experience and spread stress. This is the present research focus of Dr Hanja Brand l from the University of Konstanz.
“It has been repeatedly shown that stress can be spread from one human to another,” Brand l says. “Often, a similarly strong physiological response is triggered, even though you have never experienced the stress yourself.” But what is known about stress among animals? Brand l concludes other animals in the group can be just as stressed as the friend who experienced something bad. Stress is evolutionarily deeply rooted and the process is similar in all vertebrates (脊椎动物).
When are animals stressed? To be mentioned primarily are naturally occurring threats to which they are exposed, such as natural enemies. Human influences raise the level of stress. “Increasing changes in the habitat or noise and light pollution also have an impact as these massively influence the environment of the animals.” Brand l explains. “Animals are flexible and can adapt to situations. But at some point, the stress response—the adaptations that otherwise help animals better escape stressors like enemies—no longer gives them a survival advantage,” she adds.
This not only endangers the animals’ health, but also changes the social structure of groups. “If we know how the underlying mechanisms (机制) work, we can better protect animals,” says Brandl.
For humans, too, insights from the animal world are useful, she says. “With humans, we can’t measure the functionality of groups under stress well in natural scenes.” Therefore, Brandl is now continuing her studies. In the future, this will make it easier to respond to and help with the spread of stress in groups of people.
1. What can we learn about stress from paragraph 1?| A．Stress is both good and bad. |
| B．Group living. can easily cause stress. |
| C．Each individual reacts differently to stressful situations. |
| D．Poor communication is one of the biggest causes of stress. |
| A．Ignored. | B．Eased. | C．Caused. | D．Transformed. |
| A．Supply food to them. |
| B．Make them live in groups. |
| C．Protect their habitat from being destroyed. |
| D．Provide opportunities for them to practice their survival skills. |
| A．A pet magazine. | B．A news website. |
| C．A book review. | D．A technical forum. |
2 . At age four, I found a garden behind the kitchen. My eyes became glued to the patterns of roses across my childhood landscape. I saw them and felt a sense of joy and adventure.
When spring arrived, I ran so fast through the house, speeding ahead of my mother’s voice. I dashed out of the front door and threw myself on a fresh carpet of grass. Excited, I bounced to my feet and had three more cartwheels before landing by her side.
Gardening has taught me that planting and growing a garden is the same process as creating our lives. It begins in the spring, when you break up the soil and start anew.
| A．My life was completely transformed. |
| B．Mother dear was in the garden busy breaking up the soil. |
| C．My mother cooked with the colors and textures of her garden. |
| D．The workman was busy when the garden caught my attention. |
| E．Then it’s time to clear out the dead leaves and roots of the winter. |
| F．My passion and connection to garden started at that exact moment. |
| G．Gardens are a mirror that cast their own reflection into our real lives. |
3 . A little girl was enjoying the beautiful garden in her home. Her father had a good collection of rare and prized plants, which he
The girl was
She worked out a plan to clean the plant. She
Later her father came to the garden and spotted the uprooted plant, which had lain
The father showed her how her treatment had nearly killed the plant and told her that the filthy soil was the best
A great gardener mixes the
| A．weeded out | B．brought up | C．attended to | D．fed on |
| A．collected | B．attracted | C．attacked | D．shocked |
| A．recalled | B．observed | C．recognized | D．concluded |
| A．formation | B．presentation | C．presence | D．composition |
| A．held | B．picked | C．pulled | D．dragged |
| A．flowers | B．branches | C．leaves | D．roots |
| A．deed | B．deal | C．operation | D．project |
| A．burning | B．bathing | C．breathing | D．dying |
| A．confirm | B．exhibit | C．evaluate | D．celebrate |
| A．thoughtlessly | B．distantly | C．patiently | D．innocently |
| A．reserve | B．medicine | C．medium | D．venue |
| A．right | B．same | C．dirty | D．loose |
| A．Moreover | B．Likewise | C．Rather | D．Nevertheless |
| A．environment | B．mode | C．neighbourhood | D．opportunity |
| A．unpleasant | B．disorganized | C．immoral | D．invisible |
| A．It’s very warm. | B．It’s super cold. | C．It’s rather hot. |
5 . Arbor Day came from the mind of a tree lover named Julius Sterling Morton, who had a passion for planting all kinds of trees. Morton was born in Adams, New York, in 1832, but his life took a decisive turn on his wedding day in October 1854. After he and his bride, Caroline Joy French, were married in Detroit, they headed west for adventure in the wilds of Nebraska Territory. The couple settled on 160 treeless acres (the key word here is treeless).
Despite being busy with his work and having four sons, Morton planted thousands of trees on the homestead he called the Morton “ranche”. He planted an apple orchard, as well as peach, plum, and pear trees, plus cottonwoods, evergreens, beeches, and more.
Morton took every opportunity he could to spread the word. He gave speeches and filled his newspaper with agricultural advice, urging Nebraskans to plant trees and try new crops.
Today, the family home, Arbor Lodge, is a state park in Nebraska City, Nebraska. Over the years, Arbor Lodge grew from a four-room home into a 52-room mansion, complete with a terraced garden, a pine grove, and 65 acres of more than 250 varieties of trees and shrubs.
Julius Sterling Morton died at the age of 70 on April 27, 1902, writing just a month earlier that he hoped to plant trees as soon as the weather turned warm. A statue of him stands in the National Hall of Fame in Washington, D.C.
Highlights from Morton’s Career
·Morton worked as a journalist and a politician, becoming secretary and acting governor of the Nebraska Territory from 1858 to 1861.
·In 1872, Morton declared: “If I had the power, I would compel every man in the State who had a home of his own to plant out fruit trees.”
·In 1893, President Grover Cleveland appointed him U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. He also served on the Nebraska State Board of Agriculture and the State Horticultural Society.
1. What do we know about Julius Sterling Morton?| A．He planted trees on weddings. | B．He was crazy for adventure. |
| C．He was fond of planting trees. | D．He had no time for planting. |
| A．He spread words about his adventures. |
| B．He called on people to plant trees. |
| C．He tried to find adventures in the wilds. |
| D．He planted only fruit trees in his garden. |
| A．To suggest planting more trees. |
| B．To show the great practice of Morton. |
| C．To illustrate the beauty of Morton’s home. |
| D．To prove human can change nature. |
| A．Who Was Julius Sterling Morton? | B．What Is Arbor Day? |
| C．What Is the History of Arbor Day? | D．What Is the Power of Trees? |
6 . Like other penguins, African penguins have white feathers covering their chests and black feathers covering their backs. They have lifelong mates, and they live in huge numbers —so, scientists wondered how the birds were able to identify their partners among a sea of black-and-white birds. To find it out, they studied 12 African penguins at a marine park called Zoomarine Italia.
In one test, they hung two life-size photographs of the African penguins. One is selected randomly(随机选择地), while the other is the test subject’s mate. The scientists recorded their interactions with the photos: How long did they spend looking at each photo, as well as how much time did they spend standing near each one? The penguins spent more time looking at the photo of their partners—about 23 seconds longer, on average —than looking at the other photo. They also stood next to the mate’s photo for twice as long. Then, the researchers covered up the heads of the birds in the photographs, and the penguins still stayed near their partners’ photos.
In another experiment, the researchers hung up two photos of a bird’s mate —but, in one, they had digitally removed its spots(点). In this case, the penguin again spent more time looking at the photo with the spots. In the third experiment, the researchers hung two penguin photos with digitally removed spots—one of the test subject’s mate and the other: a random penguin. In this case, the penguins did not appear to recognize their partners—they spent almost the same time looking at or standing near both photos.
Together, the research results suggest African penguins are zeroing in on their partners’ spots and using them like name tags. Scientists say: “Our results prove birds recognize their mates by specific visual patterns and all sensory modalities(模态)should be considered in the study of animal communication.”
1. What can we learn from Paragraph 1?| A．African penguins live independently. |
| B．African penguins have special ability to recognize partners. |
| C．African penguins have when feathers covering their backs. |
| D．Scientists studied 12 African penguins from the wild. |
| A．Their partners’ voice. | B．Their partners’ heads. |
| C．Their partners’ back feathers. | D．Their partners’ spotted bodies. |
| A．Losing sight of. | B．Taking delight in. |
| C．Paying attention to. | D．Speaking highly of. |
| A．In a science report. | B．In a travel brochure. |
| C．In a biology textbook. | D．In a fashion magazine. |
7 . In the 19th century, an Arab physician known as Ibn Zuhr conducted some animal research to assess the surgical procedures that could be applicable to humans. Since then, animal testing has been considered to be the most efficient way to develop new drugs. New medical treatments and drugs are tested on animals first to determine their effectiveness or safety levels before they are finally tested on humans. However, it remains controversial whether it is morally right or wrong to use animals for medical or commercial experiments.
The use of animals for medical purposes is seen to be necessary by many scientists. Researchers usually begin their trials using rats. If the tests are successful, further tests are done on monkeys before using human beings. For testing, such tiered (分层的) rounds are important because it reduces the level of error and any negative side effects. Some argue that animal testing has contributed to many life-saving cures and treatments and that there is no adequate alternative to testing on a living, whole-body system. Moreover, there are regulations for animal testing that limit the misuse of animals during research, which serves as evidence that animals are well taken care of and treated well instead of being intentionally harmed.
However, some other experts and animal welfare groups have opposed such practice, terming it inhumane and claiming it should be banned. According to Humane Society International, animals used in experiments are commonly subjected to force-feeding, radiation exposure, operations to deliberately cause damage and frightening situations to create depression and anxiety. They also hold the view that animals are very different from human beings and therefore make poor test subjects. Drugs that pass animal tests are not necessarily safe. Animal tests on the arthritis (关节炎) drug Vioxx showed that it would have a protective effect on the hearts of mice, yet the drug went on to cause more than 27,000 heart attacks before being pulled from the market.
It’s safe to say that using animals for tests will continue to be debated in many years to come. Despite the benefits of animal testing, some of the animal welfare organizations’ concerns need to be addressed with adequate regulations to ensure that animals are treated humanely.
1. Why is animal testing considered necessary?| A．Because other testing alternatives may not replace the need for animals. |
| B．Because animal testing has been in practice since the 19th century. |
| C．Because animal testing can spare humans any side effect. |
| D．Because rats are more like humans than monkeys. |
| A．Having unnecessary operations. |
| B．Eating poisonous food. |
| C．Being killed deliberately. |
| D．Breathing in polluted air. |
| A．Arthritis is hard to cure. |
| B．Some drugs need to be pulled from the shelves. |
| C．A drug should be tested many more times before its release. |
| D．Animal tests cannot necessarily produce accurate results. |
| A．Experts try hard to determine whether animal tests are harmful. |
| B．Scientists reduce the number of animals used in research. |
| C．The authorities issue a new law to guarantee animal rights during research. |
| D．Relevant organizations show more concern about the animals’ welfare. |
Recently
In line with the agreement, both parties are
The San Diego Zoo is one of the world’s top five
9 . Are we human beings the only creatures in the world with a moral sense? Most experts in behaviour believe that morality is a uniquely human quality — yet I’m convinced that many animals can distinguish right from wrong. Decades spent watching animals have persuaded me that species living in groups often have a sense of fair play built on moral rules of conduct that strengthen their social relationships.
My studies of baby dogs and wolves reveal that they use a special signal to prevent misinterpretation of playful actions. They perform a “bow” — lowering the forelimbs (前肢) closer to the ground while keeping the back upright — when starting play, or in association with unfriendly actions such as biting, to convey their original intention. And role exchange is common, so that during play a dominant animal will often allow a physically weaker animal to have the upper hand. Such behaviors reduce inequalities in size, strength and dominance between playmates, promoting the cooperation that is essential for social play to occur. Indeed, on some occasions when an animal says “Let’s play” and then beats up an unsuspecting (无戒备的) animal, the “criminal” usually finds itself ostracized (排斥) by its former playmates.
What does this tell us about human morality? We should stop seeing ourselves as morally superior to other animals. True, our big brains give us a highly complicated sense of what’s right and wrong, but they also give us a much greater ability to benefit from immoral behaviour. In that sense, animal morality might be “purer” than our own. We should accept our moral responsibility towards other animals, and that means developing and enforcing more restrictive rules governing animal use. While animal minds may vary from one species to another, they are not so different from our own, and only when we accept this can we truly be moral in our relations with nature as a whole.
1. Which of the following about animals is TRUE according to the first two paragraphs?| A．Most animals have trouble telling right from wrong. |
| B．A “bow” can be a special signal to avoid misinterpretation of playful actions. |
| C．Species living alone don’t have a sense of fair play built on moral rules of conduct. |
| D．Lowering the forelimbs closer to the ground while keeping the back upright will lead to unfriendly actions. |
| A．It puts unsuspecting animals at a disadvantage. |
| B．It allows dominant animals to control the group. |
| C．It helps physically weaker animals develop survival skills. |
| D．It requires animals to follow the rules to avoid being crowded out. |
| A．Humans are indeed morally superior to animals. |
| B．Humans and animals share the same immoral behaviour. |
| C．Humans should treat animals on equal terms with themselves. |
| D．Humans should distinguish between moral animals and immoral ones. |
| A．Are animals moral beings? |
| B．Morality: Why it matters |
| C．Is human morality a product of natural selection? |
| D．Morality: How it differs between humans and animals |
1. How long did Mike work on his school paper?
| A．3 hours. | B．2 hours. | C．1 hour. |
| A．It got injured. | B．It became trapped. | C．It was lost. |
| A．He fed it. |
| B．He saved it by himself. |
| C．He called for help. |
| A．Opposed. | B．Supportive. | C．Indifferent. |
