1 . Cats and many other animals, including most dogs, can reflect light from their eyes. That’s why cats’ eyes will usually shine brightly in photos taken in a dimly lit room or glow when lightened in the dark by a flashlight or a car’s headlights.

Species whose eyes glow have evolved to see better in low light because they either forage or need to look out for predators (天敌) throughout the night, or they do most of their hunting at dawn and dusk. In fact, domesticated cats can see in conditions that are only 16% as bright as what people require.

Cats accomplish this because their pupils (瞳孔) — the openings that appear black in the middle of their eyes that widen and narrow in response to light conditions—are special. Pupils operate like windows, with bigger ones letting more light into the eye. And a cat’s pupils can become up to 50% larger than human pupils in dim light. They also have a higher number of a specific type of light-sensing cell in the back of their eyes than we do. These cells, called rods (杆细胞), catch low-level light. In addition to having large pupils and lots of rods, cats have something people don’t: a tapetum lucidum (荧光膜), a Latin medical term that translates to “bright or shining tapestry”. The tapetum lucidum is also known as “eyeshine”.

It’s located in the back of the eye behind the retina (视网膜) — a thin layer of tissue that receives light, converts the light to an electrical signal and sends this signal to the brain to interpret the image．

A cat’s tapetum lucidum is made up of cells with crystals that, like a mirror, reflect light back to the retina. This gives the retina a second chance to absorb more light.

In cats, the tapetum most often glows yellow-green or yellow-orange, but the color varies, just like their irises (虹膜) — the colorful part of their eye, which can be green, yellow, blue or golden. Variation in tapetum color is not unique to cats and can be found in lots of species.

1. The underlined word “forage” in Paragraph 2 can be replaced by “______”.

A．perceive	B．hunt
C．sign	D．assess

2. According to the passage, a cat’s pupils ______.

A．can reflect lights	B．can absorb more light
C．can widen and narrow	D．can convert light to a signal

3. What’s the best title for the text?

A．How do Cats’ Pupils Work?

B．How do Cats’ Eyes Reflect Light?

C．Why do Cats’ Pupils Appear Black?

D．Why do Cats’ Eyes Glow in the Dark?

4. We can probably find this passage in ______.

A．a travel journal	B．a science magazine
C．a technology report	D．an admission guide

3 . Chen Guanghui is a guardian for black-necked cranes(黑颈鹤) in the Dashanbao Black-necked Crane National Nature Reserve of Zhaotong city, in southwest China’s YunnanProvince. Whistling(吹口哨) is the secret language Chen uses to communicate with the black-necked cranes, a type of migratory bird under first class protection in China. She says different whistles signal different things. When she whistles in an increasing tone, she tries to tell the cranes: ask your companions to come back for lunch, and they would chirp(吱喳叫)to spread the message right away.

Living near the Dashanbao Nature Reserve, a major winter habitat(栖息地) for the rare species, Chen started to take care of them in 2003, a mission she took over from her mother, whose devotion dates back to the 1990s.

“In the first few days, I remembered they ran away as soon as I approached them. I was very upset and asked my mom to come back, and I was worried they would starve,”   says Chen. “I initially tried everything, even singing folk songs to attract them, but failed. Later, I used special whistles and gradually formed close bond with the cranes. ”

“I treat them as if they were my own children, and I’m always concerned about them, especially during snowy days when they can’t get food. I feel uncomfortable and anxious when I hear them chirp and usually rush to prepare corn for them. ” It’s never been an easy job, and Chen has sustained quite a few injuries over the years, even falling into frozen marsh(沼泽)while trying to save a trapped crane in 2008. However, she never gave up. With love and responsibility, she has persisted in caring for the cranes for about 20 years.

Thanks to the joint protection efforts of Chen and staff members at the nature reserve, now more than 1,900 black-necked cranes overwinter in the area each season every year, up from about 300 when the nature reserve was established.

1. How does Chen Guanghui communicate with black-necked cranes?

A．By singing folk songs.	B．By imitating chirps of birds.
C．By making hand gestures.	D．By blowing special whistles.

2. What do the underlined words “a mission” in paragraph 2 refer to?

A．Rescuing injured animals.

B．Restoring habitats for rare species.

C．Looking after black-necked cranes.

D．Building Dashanbao Nature Reserve.

3. How did Chen Guanghui feel about her initial attempts at the work?

A．It is inspiring.

B．It is frustrating.

C．It is interesting.

D．It is exciting.

4. What can we learn from Chen’s story?

A．Efforts bear fruit.	B．Fortune favors the brave.
C．Virtue is its own reward.	D．A miss is as good as a mile.

6 . Why do we find ugly-cute animals so attractive? And what makes odd-looking creatures so cute?

Evolution (进化) plays a role. According to Austrian zoologist Erin Fekete, human attraction to childish features, such as big eyes, large heads and soft bodies, is an evolutionary adaptation that helps ensure that adults care for the young, assuring the survival of their species. Odd-looking animals such as blobfish, pugs, aye-ayes and bulldogs all share these childish qualities that cause a loving response among humans and a nature to raise and protect. And these childish characteristics increase a person’s “protective behavior, attention and willingness” to care for the individual and reduce the “possibility of aggression towards a child”, says Cyril Drouet, a researcher.

Ugly-cute animals often have other value— some, like the blobfish, live in extreme environments that they have adapted to in remarkable ways. Scientists are keen to study these animals to understand whether their biology might provide fresh ideas that could lead to treatments for human health conditions such as cancer and heart disease.

But while many ugly creatures are strongly adapted to their life in the wild and can provide numerous benefits to the ecosystems they live in, they often still don’t get as much attention as more traditionally cute and beautiful animals, which leads to many of the ugly-cute species being ignored in terms of research.

There are other culture-led factors that also cause our attraction for ugly-cute animals. “The ugly-cute thing is very fashionable.” says Rowena Packer, a lecturer of animal behavior. “This is partly caused by social media, with many social media influencers showing off pet pugs and French bulldogs on Instagram.” she says.

But there are some serious worries around this trend. Veterinarians (兽医) are calling on people not to keep a flat-faced dog, because they suffer from serious health problems. Pugs and French bulldogs which have been selectively kept experience breathing difficulties, repeated skin problems and eye diseases. So while childish features such as big eyes may make us smile, we might want to reconsider our attraction for “ugly-cute” pets.

1. What does the underlined word “aggression” in paragraph 2 mean?

A．Threatening behavior.

B．Strange behavior.

C．Friendly behavior.

D．Smart behavior.

2. Why are some ugly animals overlooked in terms of research?

A．They are of no interest to scientists.	B．They are less cute and attractive.
C．They do not have unique biological feature.	D．They are not well-adapted to their environments.

3. What can be inferred about the role of social media in promoting the popularity of ugly-cute animals?

A．Influencers have started a campaign to raise awareness about ugly animals.

B．People prefer to post pictures of ugly animals on social media rather than cute animals.

C．Social media didn’t make it easier to spread information about animals.

D．The ugly-cute animals shared on social media could raise people’s attraction for them.

4. How does the author feel about the current trend of keeping flat-faced dogs?

A．Encouraging.

B．Indifferent.

C．Concerned.

D．Excited.

8 . Landslides occur when large amounts of wet debris (碎片), including rocks, earth, and trees, slide down a slope (斜坡). They may occur as a result of fires, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, storms, or human activities. Landslides are particularly dangerous because they strike suddenly, move at extremely high speeds, and travel long distances. Although landslides are often difficult to predict, you can prepare for a landslide.     1    

1. Keep yourself alert and awake. Landslides can occur quite suddenly, so you need to be ready to take action at a moment’s notice. Many landslide-related deaths occur while people are asleep.     2    

2.    3     Your local community should have a designated (指定的) public shelter. Go to the shelter if your home is unsafe or the authorities have called for an evacuation (疏散).

3. Contact local officials about past landslides. Landslides tend to happen in the same area where they have occurred before.     4     If you are in an at-risk area, consider getting a site analysis of your property. This will help you determine any necessary corrective measures.

4. Make an emergency kit (工具箱).     5     Make your kit in advance so it is ready at a moment’s notice. Your kit should contain enough food and water to last for at least 72 hours, as well as supplies like medications, flashlights, batteries, cell phones, copies of personal documents, and cash.

A．Notice unusual sounds.

B．Go to a public shelter.

C．Here are some tips which can help you.

D．Talk to local officials about landslides in your area.

E．In the event of a landslide or other emergency, choose a place.

F．If you are with other people, work together to keep one another awake.

G．An emergency kit contains the essentials that your household will need during an emergency.

10 . For hundreds of years, America’s wilderness has been reduced due to growing cities, leaving outdoors lovers like hunters with fewer chances. By around 1900, too much hunting drove America’s deer nearly into extinction (灭绝), less than a half-million deer, from 45 million in 1450.

Law-makers began to make rules to protect deer and keep ecological balance (生态平衡). And it did make a big difference. By 2000, the deer population had come up to 38 million. Those days, millions of deer lived side by side with humans and could freely find enough food resources.

Gradually, the number of deer was increasing too rapidly, which was not good for both the animals and people. City hunting plays an important role in keeping ecological balance, particularly in places where the animals sometimes cause major problems.

“City deer hunting is a management practice used in many cities and suburban areas across the United States,” says Jason Andrews, program manager of the Urban Deer Hunt in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In the early 2000s, a high number of car accidents were caused by deer. And there was also significant vegetation degradation (植被退化) in many cities. Many possible solutions were researched by the city government. Some suggested hunting deer and other wild animals, but others were against that practice.

In the end, researchers determined that the most effective and sustainable (可持续的) population management solution would be hunting with bows. “City deer hunting is popular in cities that have too many wild deer as well as wooded areas,” says Andrews. “In Cedar Rapids, all parts of the city have right habitats to keep deer population, thus hunting is allowed. I must note that hunting is only allowed on private lands. No parks or any other public grounds can be hunted.”

1. What can we learn from paragraph 1?

A．The deer population was dropping rapidly.

B．Some cities grew smaller in the country.

C．The number of deer dropped to 1,450.

D．The deer population grew up by 45 million.

2. What can we infer about the rules for protecting deer?

A．They failed to be carried out in the US.

B．They were quite successful.

C．People had different attitudes towards them.

D．They were made by Jason Andrews.

3. Which tool is the best for deer hunting according to the text?

A．Stones.

B．Guns.

C．Branches.

D．Bows.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Ways to Protect the Environment

B．The Number of Deer in the US

C．People’s Attitude to Deer Hunting

D．America’s Rules for Deer to Keep Ecological Balance