A.What causes fearfulness externally. |
B.Why mice are particularly fearful animals. |
C.Whether fearfulness is inherited or not. |
D.How animals react to frightening situations. |
A.They wandered around the box. |
B.They bred again and again. |
C.They couldn’t find a hiding place. |
D.They remained close to one wall. |
A.Some changes in the nervous system. |
B.The interference from human beings. |
C.The size of nerve cells in the brain. |
D.The existence of certain nerve cells. |
A. approach B. beneficiaries C. recently D. eliminates E. nutrients F. practices G. irreparable H. threat I. undesirable J. panic K. naturally |
The Beneficial Effects of Forest Fires
Forest fires are undoubtedly a threat. In the mid-1900s, all forest burns were considered
Previously, people believed that forest fires caused
In the past, it was not obvious how forest fires enriched the soil. Today, foresters understand that forest fires improve soil quality by changing the ‘litter’ — dead leaves and branches on the forest floor — to nutrient-rich soil. Normally, litter decomposes very slowly. However, fire releases the
As forest managers have leared more about the long-term effects of forest fires, they have realized that forest fires can have beneficial effects and have changed their forest management
A.Return the dog to her relative. | B.Place a ban on dogs. |
C.Clean her apartment. | D.Stay with her relative. |
Wildlife Report Calls for Action
The World Wide Fund for Nature released its Living Planet Report, which found that the Earth’s wildlife populations have fallen by 69% in the past 50 years.
The report is produced every two years to show how the natural world is changing, so governments, businesses, and conservationists understand
The change in wildlife varies around the world. South America and the Caribbean are the most affected. In these areas, the average wildlife populations have dropped by 94% over 50 years. Central Asia and Europe have
While some news from the Living Planet Report is worrisome, there is good news, too. Up to now the numbers of many species
In the US, conservation efforts in recent decades have helped to save several species, including the bald eagle, which
A. carved B. unknowingly C. ecosystem D. artificial E. elemental F. changing G. practically H. wrinkled I. unmoving J. species K. inspection |
Magical Creatures: AN APPRECIATION OF AUTUMN MOTH (蛾)
Moths seem to have a bit of a bad reputation: to some they are ill indications or something scary, to others they are dull in comparison to our well-loved butterflies. But moths are an essential part of a(n)
My first meeting with an Angle Shades moth was nearly a non-encounter. I almost passed by without noticing it, thinking it was a fallen leaf on a fence post. But there was something about it that stopped me in my tracks. Its angular shape perhaps? Or the way it sat,
The Canary-shouldered Thorn, with its hairy buttercup-coloured body and yellow and orange wings, reminds me of a fallen silver birch (白桦树) leaf. A night-flyer, it favours gardens and woodlands, and is often drawn to
There’s more to these imitators than fallen leaves. The Green-spotted Crescent, which
6 . The cultivation of plants by ants is more widespread than previously realized, and has evolved on at least 15 separate occasions.
There are more than 200 species of ant in the Americas that farm fungi (真菌) for food, but this trait evolved just once sometime between 45 million and 65 million years ago. Biologists regard the cultivation of fungi by ants as true agriculture appearing earlier than human agriculture because it meets four criteria: the ants plant the fungus, care for it, harvest it and depend on it for food.
By contrast, while thousands of ant species are known to have a wide variety of interdependent relationships with plants, none were regarded as true agriculture. But in 2016, Guillaume Chomicki and Susanne Renner at the University of Munich, Germany, discovered that an ant in Fungi cultivates several plants in a way that meets the four criteria for true agriculture.
The ants collect the seeds of the plants and place them in cracks in the bark of trees. As the plants grow, they form hollow structures called domain that the ants nest in. The ants defecate (排便) at designated absorptive places in these domain, providing nutrients for the plant. In return, as well as shelter, the plant provides food in the form of fruit juice.
This discovery prompted Chomicki and others to review the literature on ant-plant relationships to see if there are other examples of plant cultivation that have been overlooked. “They have never really been looked at in the framework of agriculture,” says Chomicki, who is now at the University of Sheffield in the UK. “It’s definitely widespread.”
The team identified 37 examples of tree-living ants that cultivate plants that grow on trees, known as epiphytes (附生植物). By looking at the family trees of the ant species, the team was able to determine on how many occasions plant cultivation evolved and roughly when. Fifteen is a conservative estimate, says Campbell. All the systems evolved relatively recently, around 1million to 3 million years ago, she says.
Whether the 37 examples of plant cultivation identified by the team count as true agriculture depends on the definitions used. Not all of the species get food from the plants, but they do rely on them for shelter, which is crucial for ants living in trees, says Campbell. So the team thinks the definition of true agriculture should include shelter as well as food.
1. According to biologists, why is ant-fungus cultivation considered as a form of true agriculture?A.Because it occurred earlier than human agriculture. |
B.Because it fulfills the standards typical of agricultural practices. |
C.Because it redefines the four criteria for true human agriculture. |
D.Because it is less common than previously thought. |
A.They determined on new family trees of the ant species. |
B.They overlooked some tree-living ants that provided nutrients for the plants. |
C.They never studied the ant-plant relationships within the context of agriculture. |
D.They never identified any an t species that engaged in cultivation of fungi. |
A.Ants’ cultivation of plants is limited to a few specific species. |
B.The cultivation of fungi by ants is considered the earliest form of agriculture. |
C.True agriculture in ants involves only food-related interactions with plants. |
D.Ants have independently cultivated plants on at least 15 distinct occasions. |
A.The evolution of ants in the plant kingdom. |
B.The widespread occurrence of ant-plant cultivation. |
C.The discovery of a new ant species engaging in agriculture. |
D.The contrast between ant agriculture and human agriculture. |
7 . Reducing the workweek to four days could have a climate benefit. In addition to improving the well-being of workers, cutting working hours may reduce carbon emissions. But those benefits would depend on a number of factors, experts emphasize, including how people choose to spend nonworking time.
Commuting and travel
Transportation is the biggest contributor to greenhouse emissions. A November 2021 survey of 2,000 employees and 500 business leaders in the United Kingdom found that if all organizations introduced a four-day week, the reduced trips to work would decrease travel overall by more than 691 million miles a week.
But the climate benefits of less commuting could be eliminated, experts said, if people choose to spend their extra time off traveling, particularly if they do so by car or plane.
Energy usage
Shorter working hours could lead to reductions in energy usage, experts said. According to a 2006 paper, if the United States adopted European work standards, the country would consume about 20 percent less energy.
Energy could also be conserved if fewer resources are needed to heat and cool large office buildings, reducing demands on electricity. For example, if an entire workplace shuts down on the fifth day, that would help lower consumption — less so if the office stays open to accommodate employees taking different days off.
Lifestyle changes
It’s possible that fewer working hours may lead some people to have a larger carbon footprint, but experts say research suggests that most people are likely to shift toward more sustainable lifestyles.
One theory is that people who work more and have less free time tend to do things in more carbon-intensive ways, such as choosing faster modes of transportation or buying prepared foods. Convenience is often carbon-intensive and people tend to choose convenience when they're time-stressed. Meanwhile, some research suggests that those who work less are more likely to engage in traditionally low-carbon activities, such as spending time with family or sleeping.
“When we talk about the four-day workweek and the environment, we focus on the tangible, but actually, in a way, the biggest potential benefit here is in the intangible,” experts said.
1. What is identified as the leading cause of greenhouse emissions according to the passage?A.The well-being of employees. |
B.The conservation of energy. |
C.Commuting and travel. |
D.The European work standard. |
A.People will have big potential in achieving intangible benefits while working. |
B.People are more likely to engage in carbon-intensive activities due to time constraints. |
C.People may shift toward more sustainable lifestyles and lower carbon footprints. |
D.People may travel more frequently by car or plane during their extra time off. |
A.highlight the importance of shortening working time in the context of well-being |
B.provide an overview of transportation emissions worldwide |
C.analyze the impact of reduced working hours on mode of business |
D.illustrate factors affecting the climate benefits of a shorter workweek |
8 . Global surface temperatures last month were 2.25 degrees warmer than the 20th century average of 60.1 degrees, breaking previous records, from August 2016, by more than half a degree, according to NOAA researchers. “That to me is a really huge
The report
It wasn’t just the land that
“We’ve seen unheard-of warmth in the global ocean, and that’s definitely alarming because its effects
In fact, the report comes after a series of severe natural
“The scientific evidence is
A.distance | B.jump | C.travel | D.flight |
A.confirms | B.emerges | C.quotes | D.argues |
A.holds | B.touches | C.surrounds | D.includes |
A.boiled | B.cooled | C.stricken | D.disappeared |
A.contributed to | B.suffered from | C.resulted from | D.devoted to |
A.slowest | B.lowest | C.highest | D.fastest |
A.enlarge | B.discharge | C.extend | D.undertake |
A.creating | B.saving | C.remaining | D.disturbing |
A.issues | B.debates | C.events | D.proposals |
A.floods | B.disasters | C.storms | D.earthquakes |
A.Though | B.Because | C.Unless | D.When |
A.damage | B.destroy | C.decrease | D.increase |
A.irresistible | B.unchangeable | C.inaccessible | D.unbearable |
A.conveying | B.releasing | C.relieving | D.dismissing |
A.predicted | B.expected | C.doubted | D.determined |
The problem of electronic waste
We have gradually come to realise that in two ways in particular, modern hi-tech can be bad for the planet. The first is its energy use; the worldwide scale of information technology is so enormous that electronics now produce fully two percent of global carbon emissions, which is about the same as the highly controversial emissions of aeroplanes. The other is the hardware, when it comes to the end of its natural life. This, increasingly, is pretty short. We have hardly noticed this important stream of waste, so much so that a Greenpeace report on the untraced and unreported e-waste two years ago referred to it as “the hidden flow”. We need to be aware of it.
The latest United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report estimates that worldwide, electronic waste is mounting by about 40 million tons a year. So what can we do about it?
The European Union has recognised the problem by adopting a key principle: producer responsibility. In other words, making it the duty of manufacturers of electronic goods to ensure their safe disposal at the end of their lives. In practice, an EU regulation now means that electronics dealers must either take back the equipment they sold you, or help to finance a network of drop-off points, such as public recycling sites. Its main feature is quite ambitious: it aims to deal with “everything with a plug”.
The new UN report suggests that all countries could do something about the problem with a change in design. Groups such as Greenpeace have led the way in putting pressure on major manufacturing companies to find substitutes for the toxic chemicals inside their products. Encouragingly, they have had some success in forcing them to develop non-poisonous alternatives to these. This may be the real way forward.
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You still need a better reason to plant a tree?
Police aren’t cheap and neither are lawyers, judges, and all the other layers that make up the justice system. But trees and some grass, in comparison, are a real bargain, and they prove to be effective in lighting crimes.
Many cities used to launch programs to plant vegetation along roadways to help absorb rainwater. After tracking 14 types of crime in nearby areas, Michelle Kondo, a social scientist found that a variety of crimes including property crimes such as theft and burglary, and violent crimes such as armed fights and mayhem in those areas decreased to 27 percent, a stunning 18 percent fall. Kondo believed the appearance of city trucks and vans in the landscaped areas— for planting and maintenance— was enough to scare away potential criminals.
Kondo’s study also worked on the link between grassland care and decrease of the crime in downtown areas. It’s tempting to use income as the connection. After all, if you have the crime and money to water your lawn, you probably live in a neighborhood that sees less crime. But actually, people are less likely to hang in those areas where the streets are maintained or cleaned. “You will see less kids hanging on the corners.’’ Kondo said. He argued that caution of the local people implied by the organized greenery helped to frighten away ill-intentioned guys, by announcing to would-be criminals that there are “eyes on the street’’ that care for their neighborhood and would be more likely to report a crime.
We already know greenery is beautiful to look at and can help improve mood and health while reducing pollution. Now we can add crime-fighting to the list of vegetation’s many benefits. Therefore, are you ready to plant a tree?