1 . Have you ever wondered why birds sing? Maybe you thought that they were just happy. After all, you probably sing or whistle when you are happy.

Some scientists believe that birds do sing some of the time just because they are happy. However they sing most of the time for a very different reason. Their singing is actually a warning to other birds to stay out of their territory.

Do you know what a territory is? A territory is an area that an animal, usually the male, claims as its own. Only he and his family are welcome there. No other families of the same species are welcome. Your yard and house are your territory where only your family and friends are welcome. If a stranger should enter your territory and threaten you, you might shout. Probably this would be enough to frighten him away.

If so, you have actually scared the stranger away without having to fight with him. A bird does the same thing. But he expects an outsider almost any time, especially at the nesting (筑巢) season. So he is screaming all the time, whether he can see an outsider or not. This screaming is what we call a bird’s song, and it is usually enough to keep an outsider away.

Birds sing loudest in the spring when they are trying to attract a mate and warn others not to enter the territory of theirs.

You can see that birds have a language of their own. Most of it has to do with attracting mates and setting up territories.

1. What does the underlined word “its” in Para.3 refer to?

A．The area.	B．The other bird.
C．The animal.	D．The family.

2. How can we describe a bird at the nesting season?

A．He often fights with outsiders.

B．He always watches out for outsiders.

C．He tries to make friends with outsiders.

D．He often expects outsiders to help him.

3. In what way does the writer explain birds’ singing?

A．By comparing birds with human beings.

B．By reporting experiment results.

C．By describing birds’ daily life.

D．By telling birds’ stories.

4. What is most of birds’ language used to do?

A．To protect their family members.

B．To express their happiness or anger.

C．To greet other birds of the same species.

D．To cause mates to come and set up territories.

2 . Many people say dolphins are very intelligent.They seem to be able to think, understand, and learn things quickly.But are they smart like humans or more than cats or dogs?Dolphins use their brains differently from people.But scientists say dolphin intelligence and human intelligence are similar in some ways.How?

Fact 1：Talk to me

Like humans, every dolphin has its own "name". The name is a special whistle.Each dolphin chooses a specific whistle for itself, usually by its first birthday.Actually, scientists think dolphins, like people,   "talk" to each other about a lot of things, such as their ages, their feelings, or finding food.And, like humans, dolphins use a system of sounds and body languages to communicate.But understanding their conversations is not easy for humans.No one speaks dolphin's language yet, but some scientists are trying to learn.

Fact 2：Let's play

Dolphins are also social animals.They live in groups, and they often join others from different groups to play games and have fun—just like people.In fact, playing together is something only intelligent animals do.

Fact 3：Fishermen's helper

Dolphins and humans are similar in another way：both make plans to get something they want.In the seas of southern Brazil, for example, dolphins use an interesting strategy（策略）to get food.When fish are near a boat, dolphins show signs to the fishermen to put their nets in the water.Using this method, the men can catch a lot of fish.What is the advantage for the dolphins in doing so?They get to eat some of the fish.

1. What does a dolphin often use as its "name"?

A．A body language.

B．A special whistle.

C．Its feeling.

D．Its age.

2. How do dolphins help fishermen catch fish?

A．By playing with other fish.

B．By following fishing boats.

C．By leading the fish into the net.

D．By showing signs to the fishermen.

3. What is the passage mainly about?

A．Dolphins are smarter than humans.

B．Dolphins make friends with humans.

C．Dolphins teach humans to speak their language.

D．Dolphins and humans are similar in some ways.

3 . I work with Volunteers for Wildlife, a rescue and education organization at Bailey Arboretum in Locust Valley. Trying to help injured, displaced or sick creatures can be heartbreaking; survival is never certain. However, when it works, it is simply beautiful.

I got a rescue call from a woman in Muttontown. She had found a young owl(猫头鹰) on the ground. When I arrived, I saw a 2-to 3-week-old owl. It had already been placed in a carrier for safety.

I examined the chick(雏鸟) and it seemed fine. If I could locate the nest, I might have been able to put it back, but no luck. My next work was to construct a nest and anchor(固定) it in a tree.

The homeowner was very helpful. A wire basket was found. I put some pine branches into the basket to make this nest safe and comfortable. I placed the chick in the nest, and it quickly calmed down.

Now all that was needed were the parents, but they were absent. I gave the homeowner a recording of the hunger screams of owl chicks. These advertise the presence of chicks to adults; they might also encourage our chick to start calling as well. I gave the owner as much information as possible and headed home to see what news the night might bring.

A nervous night to be sure, but sometimes the spirits of nature smile on us all! The homeowner called to say that the parents had responded to the recordings. I drove over and saw the chick in the nest looking healthy and active. And it was accompanied in the nest by the greatest sight of all — LUNCH! The parents had done their duty and would probably continue to do so.

1. Why was the author called to Muttontown？

A．To look at a baby owl.	B．To cure a young owl.
C．To rescue a woman.	D．To take care of a woman.

2. What made the chick calm down？

A．Its parents.	B．A recording.
C．Some food.	D．A new nest.

3. How would the author feel about the outcome of the event？

A．It’s unexpected.	B．It’s humorous.
C．It’s beautiful.	D．It’s discouraging

5 . Ants are good navigators. They often travel long distances to search for food and carry it back to their nests. But how do they do it?

An international team of scientists, including researchers at the University of Edinburgh, UK, has recently come up with an explanation. According to the findings, ants use visual memories of their environments and the sun’s position to find their way home. And they can even do it while traveling backwards.

The researchers studied a group of desert ants in Seville, Spain. The study's purpose was to find out how ants navigate when they carry pieces of food of different sizes.

To make it work, the scientists first trained the ants to follow a particular path back home, including a challenging 90-degree turn. Then the ants were given either a small or a large piece of food to test their navigational skills.

Ants with small pieces of food walked forward and cleared the 90-degree turn just fine. However, those with larger pieces sometimes had to turn backwards to drag them. Generally, these ants would set off in the correct direction. But if they stayed too long in the backward position, they would miss the correct turn to reach the nest.

Interestingly, not of the backward-walking ants were that stubborn. Some would drop the food occasionally   to check their surroundings. So after turning back to pick up their food, the ants would find themselves back on the right path.

Barbara Webb, a professor from the University of Edinburgh’s School of Informatics, said the findings could help people make smarter robots in the future.

“Understanding their behavior gives us new insights into brain function and has inspired us to build robot systems that mimic their functions”, she told the BBC.

Scientists have been able to copy the neural network in the ant’s brain. The hope is to invent robots that can explore by themselves in natural areas such as forests.

1. According to the new study, ants ________.

A．mainly depend on local landmarks to guide them home

B．cannot navigate well when they are carrying food with them

C．prefer to travel in groups to avoid being lost on long-distance journeys

D．use the sun’s position and visual memories of their surroundings to navigate

2. Why do the researchers study desert ants?

A．To find out how ants find their way home.	B．To find out how ants carry pieces of food.
C．To study whether ants travel backward.	D．To study whether ants use sense of sight.

3. What inspiration does the researchers get from their findings?

A．Robots can be used to explore the forest.

B．Ants' neural network can be moved into robots.

C．Findings help understand humans' brain function better

D．People can make cleverer robots imitating ants' brain functions.

4. What is the best title of the passage?

A．Ants’ navigational skills and their possible application

B．Ants’ traveling habits and brain functions

C．How ants carry food pieces of various sizes

D．How scientists test ants’ skills.

8 . A company in San Francisco, California, has found a way to turn used plastic bottles into women's shoes. Every day, millions of Americans drink water and other liquids from plastic bottles. More than 60 million of them are thrown away each day. Many of the plastic bottles end up in landfills or are burned with other waste products.

A San Francisco-based company called Rothy's, however, turns this plastic waste into environmentally friendly shoes. Roth Martin is the company's co-founder. He explains how they turn plastic into soft material for women's feet. They take plastic, clean it, and break it down into small pieces. Then they press them through a device that makes soft fibers. Those fibers are then bonded together. This is done by a 3-D machine. It is designed to reduce waste while people are making the shoes. The knitted stuff and the inner part of the shoe are then attached to the shoe's outer part called the sole（鞋底）. This outer sole is also made from environmentally friendly material: responsibly sourced no-carbon rubber.

Rothy's shoes are sold online. They are flat shoes, with either a rounded or pointed toe. They come in different colors and designs. They cost either $ 125 or $ 145 per pair, depending on the design. After American actress Gwyneth Paltrow discovered them, the demand for the shoes grew. Martin says there is no shortage of material to fill that demand. “We're not going to run out of water bottles any time soon, so we have a limitless supply of material, and I think that is a good sign for our future.” When the environmentally friendly shoes wear out, customers can return them at no cost to a company that uses the recycled material to make other products.

For now, the shoes are only available to be shipped in the United States. However, the company says it will add international shops in the near future.

1. How are used plastic bottles usually dealt with?

A．They are used to make shoes.

B．They are buried or burned.

C．They are changed into soft material.

D．They are returned to factories for reuse.

2. What does the underlined word " knitted" in the third paragraph mean?

A．Combined.	B．Fixed.
C．Spotted.	D．Repaired.

3. Which of the following directly helped to increase the sales of Rothy's shoes?

A．The design and color.

B．The reasonable price.

C．The power of famous people.

D．The company's advertisement.

4. What is the purpose of the text?

A．To advertise a new kind of shoes.

B．To describe the process of making shoes.

C．To introduce a new way of recycling plastic waste.

D．To stress the importance of environmental protection.