2 . In the animal kingdom, killer whales (虎鲸) are social stars: they travel in varied family groups, care for grandchildren, and even imitate human speech. Now, scientists are adding one more behavior to the list: forming fast friendships. A new study shows killer whales can rival animals such as chimpanzees and macaques (a kind of monkey), and even humans when it comes to the kind of “social touch” that indicates strong bonds.

Some ocean animals maintain social structures — including male dolphins that learn the “names” of their close allies (盟友). But there is little data about wild killer whales. That’s where drone (无人机) technology came in. Michael Weiss, a behavioral ecologist, teamed up with his colleagues to launch drones, flying them 30 to 120 meters above a group of killer whales. That was high enough not to trouble the whales, marking the first time drones have been used to study friendly physical contact in whales.

The researchers recorded over 800 instances of physical contact between individuals. Those included hugs, back-to-back and nose-to-nose touches between pairs of whales. Other whales playfully threw young whales into the air, letting them fall into the water. Besides, the drone images revealed clear preferences among individuals, usually for one “best friend” of the same sex and age. Take J49 and J51 — two distantly related young males aged 9 and 6 — for instance. “Every time you see a group of whales, those two are right there interacting with each other,” Weiss says.   

The young led most of these interactions, rather than the older females or males. Older males in particular were less important. “The young individuals really seem to be the glue holding the groups together,” Weiss says. As individuals age, this gradual loss of “centrality” is known in many social mammals, including humans. That finding is “especially appealing” to Stacey Tecot, who wasn’t involved in the study. “Scientists have long observed this social aging trend in animals, but there are still many unanswered questions,” she says. That’s certainly on the researchers’ radar. “We’re already gathering new data, with more advanced equipment,” says Weiss.

1. What does the underlined word “rival” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?

A．Benefit from.

B．Be equal to.

C．Depend on.

D．Be fond of.

2. What is new about Weiss’ research?

A．The research method.	B．The variety of species.
C．The size of the research team.	D．The time spent on the research.

3. What did Weiss find about J49 and J51?

A．They have a stable friendship.	B．Their interactions are more complicated.
C．Their communicating ways change frequently.	D．They prefer playing with young female whales.

4. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A．More researchers will be involved in the study.

B．Other scientists take a negative attitude to the research.

C．Researchers will collect more data to study killer whales.

D．Researchers will uncover the social aging trend in animals soon.

3 . The world’s forests may hold more secrets than previously thought: a new global estimate of tree biodiversity suggests that there are about 9,200 tree species remaining undocumented. Most are likely in the tropics, according to the new research.

The new research drew on the efforts of hundreds of contributors, who have categorized trees in two huge data sets: One, the Global Forest Biodiversity Initiative, records every species found in extensively documented forest plots worldwide. The other, TREECHANGE, puts together sightings of individual species. Together they suggest there are approximately 64,100 recorded tree species on the planet — up from previous estimates of around 60,000.

The researchers reached their estimate of an additional 9,200 yet undocumented species on the basis of the number of rare ones already in the databases. Most unknown species are likely to be defined as rare, found in limited numbers in small geographical areas, says the quantitative forest ecologist Jingjing Liang. The team’s result is “a rather conservative estimate,” Liang says, “because scientists know less about the preponderance of uncommon trees in places such as the Amazon, where out-of-the-way spots could host pockets of unusual species found nowhere else.” “If we can focus the resources on those rain forests in the Amazon,” Liang adds, “then we would be able to estimate it with higher confidence.”

Silman, a conservation biologist, who was not involved in the new study agrees that the study result is likely an underestimate. His and his colleagues’ local surveys suggest there are at least 3,000 and possibly more than 6,000 unknown tree species in the Amazon basin alone. Tree species often get grouped together based on appearance, he notes, so new genetic analysis techniques will likely lead to the discovery of even more biodiversity. Sliman wonders how many species will go extinct before scientists describe them. “How many are already known to native peoples in the Amazon — or were known to peoples or cultures who have themselves been made extinct through colonization, disease, or absorption? How many “species” already have dried samples sitting in a cabinet?” he says.

Searching for the new species will inform not only conservation but the basic evolutionary science of how and why species diversify and die out, Silman says. “Just the fact that there are thousands of species of something as common as trees out there that are still left to be discovered,” he adds, “I find pretty inspirational.”

1. What is the finding of the new research?

A．About nine thousand new tree species have been identified.

B．Thousands of tree species remain unknown to science.

C．Maintaining tree diversity has become a global challenge.

D．Human activities have led to the reduced number of trees.

2. What can be learned about the research method?

A．The researchers adopted quality method to analyze data.

B．The researchers did extensive field study in out-of-the-way spots.

C．Inferring from the existing dada is the main research method.

D．Doing surveys and interviews is the main research method.

3. What does the underlined word “preponderance” in paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．majority

B．evolution

C．cultivation

D．capability

4. According to Silman, one of the reasons for the underestimate of the tree species may be that ________.

A．genetic analysis technique failed to produce accurate information

B．trees of similar sizes in the Amazon basin are grouped together

C．too many rare trees were made into dried samples before being documented

D．the local peoples or the local cultures are not fully aware of the tree species.

4 . They say once you learn to ride a bike, you never forget. Most of us learned to ride when we were kids, and many still wear our helmets, put our feet on the pedals, and shoot off for a ride on the streets. In recent times, cycling has seen an increase in popularity, so many people raise a question:     1    

First, let’s look at the health benefits. Cycling can improve your cardiovascular (心血管的) health and burn extra body fat. Strengthening your muscles in your legs helps increase your potential torque (扭矩) and cadence (节奏).     2     A long ride in the countryside could help you clear your mind, or de-stress. But it’s not only about your body and mind there are also some plus sides for your wallet’s health.

Cycling can be a great way to go to work or get about town.     3     If you drive to work, sometimes finding somewhere to park can be a nightmare, whereas finding somewhere to chain your bike up can be much simpler. Then, on the subway, there are changes at stations and other people who go to work speaking loudly on their phones to deal with.     4     And if you’re worried about safety, there are designated cycle lanes in many major cities. In addition, wearing high-visibility clothing is another way to improve your safety when cycling on the roads.

    5     It can help you reduce your carbon footprints. Not giving off greenhouse gases into the atmosphere is better for the planet and your own environment.

So, whether people want to cycle for their health, their wallet, the environment, or a combination of all of them —the popularity of cycling is on the rise.

A．What makes cycling so convenient?

B．But cyclists face neither of these issues.

C．And people will choose to go to work by cycling.

D．This can save you a lot of money on fuel or public transportation.

E．Finally, cycling can also be good for the environment.

F．And the benefits from cycling aren’t just physical, but mental as well.

G．What makes it so attractive for people to take their bikes once again?

5 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

“This Saturday, we’ll be visiting cats at the animal shelter. If you’d like to join us, here’s an application form”, said Ms. Delgado, the school librarian who had held the reading engagement event for students.

Ben loved cats and he had always wanted one, so he hurried to take an application form. Then Ms. Delgado added, “We’ll be reading to the cats and award readers who make most progress.” Ben stopped. Reading al oud can be a challenging task. Ben might feel his heart racing, his palms sweating, and his voice shaking as he read. He might stumble over words or lose his place in the text. He might feel like everyone was watching him and judging him. Still, he really wanted to visit the cats, so he took an application form anyway.

On Saturday, Ben arrived at the shelter with some of his classmates. “This is Max,” the shelter worker told Ben as she handed him a gray cat. Ben carried Max to a beanbag chair and sat down. Max settled onto his lap. He took a book he’d been working on and started reading. Max, very different from other cats walking around the room while the kids read, purred (发出呼噜声) on his lap as if he had understood what Ben read.

“I’m glad Max is staying and listening to my reading and he is the best cat ever,” Ben told Dad excitedly. “I’m glad you two are friends,” Dad said. All week, Ben’s heart was filled with anxiety as he waited for Saturday to arrive. He was eager to read to Max and the anticipation of spending time with his feline (猫咪的) friend made him restless and nervous. When it arrived, Ben got to read to Max again.

“What if someone adopts Max?” Ben asked Dad later. “I guess you’d read to a different cat,” Dad said. “But I don’t want a different cat. I wish we could adopt Max,” Ben said to Dad. He knew they couldn’t because Mom had allergies (过敏). Ben loved the cat so much that he even told his next-door neighbor, Mrs. Patel, about Max. “Max sounds like a special cat,” said Mrs. Patel.

注意：
1.续写词数应为 150左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

Week by week, Ben realized that reading seemed easier with Max’s company.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

But on Saturday, Ben couldn’t find Max at the shelter.

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8 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

There are nearly 40 plots of funnel-centered (漏斗状的) farmland in Nahui Village,     1    (refer) to as a “funnel group.” The funnels are     2    (natural) formed by a partial collapse of underground rivers and surface water erosion (侵蚀). The funnel group shows an     3    (order) zonal (区域的) distribution. There are two rivers, the Nahui River which is visible above ground, and an invisible river that is underground. As if by magic, the Nahui River flows along the surface of the ground for     4     distance, and then suddenly disappears underground without a trace, only     5    (appear) again more than 20 kilometers away.

Local people grow crops all around the funnel in the center. During rainy seasons, flood water quickly flows into the funnel,     6     in times of drought, water from the underground river     7    (employ) to water the farmland.

The funnel in the fields near Xianahui Village is known as the “Earth eye”. According to local people’s belief, mother Earth watches over her children with her     8    (power) eye and protects them. The lower part of the Earth eye, similar     9     other funnels, is connected with the underground river, which passes through the very topography (地形)     10     even today people have failed to fully map.