1 . Bumble bees (大黄蜂) play, according to new research led by Queen Mary University of London. It is the first time that object play behaviour has been shown in an insect, adding to evidence that bees may experience positive feelings.
The researchers set up numerous experiments to test this, which showed bumble bees went out of their way to roll wooden balls repeatedly despite there being no apparent motivation for doing so. The study also found that younger bees rolled more balls than older bees and that male bees rolled them for longer than their female ones.
The study followed 45 bumble bees. Individual bees rolled balls between 1 and, impressively, 117 times over the experiment. The repeated behaviour suggested that ball-rolling was rewarding. This was supported by a further experiment where another 42 bees were given access to two coloured rooms, one always containing movable balls and one without any object. When tested and given a choice between the two rooms, neither containing balls, bees showed a preference for the colour of the room previously associated with the wooden balls.
The experiments removed any idea that the bees were moving the balls for any greater purpose other than play. Rolling balls did not contribute to survival strategies and was done under stress-free conditions.
The research was based on previous experiments, which showed that bumble bees could be taught to score a goal by rolling a ball to a target in exchange for a sugary food reward. The new research showed the bees rolling balls repeatedly without being trained and without receiving any food for doing so — it was spontaneous.
Professor Lars Chittka said, “Play is thought to contribute to the healthy development and maintenance of an animal’s cognitive (认知) and motor abilities, which may make for their searching for food and is considered an important aspect of animal welfare. The finding shows insect minds are far more complex than we expect. We need to do all we can to protect insects.”
1. What do we know about female bumble bees compared with male ones?| A．They rolled far more balls. |
| B．They spent less time playing rolls. |
| C．They had bigger motivation to roll balls. |
| D．They preferred to play in the colorful rooms. |
| A．Rolling balls is what bumble bees are expert in. |
| B．Rolling balls helps reduce bumble bees’ pressure. |
| C．Rolling balls develops bumble bees’ survival skills. |
| D．Rolling balls is done without any purpose for bumble bees. |
| A．Voluntary. | B．Rewarding. | C．Forced. | D．Conscious |
| A．Play makes a difference to animals’ life. | B．Humans find it hard to figure out insect minds. |
| C．Many insects are faced with dying out. | D．Play can ensure insects to find food successfully. |
2 . New research led by scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has revealed that the spiny pollen (带刺花粉) of plants in the sunflower family can reduce infection of a common bee parasite (寄生生物) by up to 94 percent. The sunflowers'spiny pollen can destroy a parasite called C. bombi (熊蜂短膜虫), which has been significantly reducing bumblebee populations.
To investigate how sunflowers help bumblebees resist C. bombi, the researchers separated the spiny outer shell of the pollen from the chemical metabolites (代谢物) in the pollen’s core. They then mixed the spiny pollen shells of sunflowers, with the chemistry removed, into the pollen fed to one group of bees.
Another group was fed wildflower pollen with sunflower metabolites and no sunflower shells. The researchers discovered that the bees that ate the spiny sunflower pollen shells had the same response as bees feeding on whole sunflower pollen. These bees had a markedly reduced risk of C. bombi infection compared to those fed sunflower metabolites.
Bumblebees, which are vital pollinators of crops and wildflowers, are experiencing a rapid decline in their populations worldwide. Habitat loss due to urbanization and agricultural intensification is the greatest threat to bumblebees. Climate change is also taking a toll on bumblebees. As temperatures rise, bumblebees are forced to move further north to cooler climates, which can affect their ability to find food and nesting sites. Pesticide use is another significant threat to bumblebees. These chemicals are harmful to them and can damage their navigation and immune systems, leading to reduced reproductive success. Bumblebees play a vital role in maintaining healthy and diverse ecosystems. Understanding how sunflowers protect bees from disease could help us identify other flowers that have similar protective properties. Through this, researchers can work towards developing new strategies to help conserve bumblebees.
1. How does the spiny pollen of sunflowers benefit bees?| A．It protects them from predators. | B．It improves their sense of smell. |
| C．It can be used for their nest building. | D．It helps them resist parasite infections. |
| A．By collecting data. | B．By making comparisons. |
| C．By referring to previous studies. | D．By surveying experienced farmers. |
| A．Habitat loss. | B．Climate change. | C．The use of pesticides. | D．Environmental pollution. |
| A．It offers a way to increase sunflower yield. |
| B．It draws public attention to the role of ecosystems. |
| C．It provides a new idea for protecting bumblebees. |
| D．It allows people to distinguish between different plants species. |
3 . Dogs and humans clearly have a special bond. But do dogs, like humans, produce more tears at times when they are flooded with emotion? A new study, which may be the first to look at this question, says that, indeed, the eyes of dogs do well up with tears. In fact, it happens regularly when they’re reunited (团聚) with the owners.
“We found that dogs produce tears associated with positive emotions,” says Takefumi Kikusui of Azabu University in Japan. “We also made the discovery of a chemical, oxytocin, as a possible mechanism (机制) behind it.”
Kikusui and his colleagues made the discovery after one of his two dogs had babies 6 years ago. He noticed that, when his dog was nursing the babies, something changed in the dog’s face — there were tears. Those tears don’t fall as they often do in humans but they do get teary eyes. “That gave me the idea that oxytocin is likely to increase tears,” Kikusui says.
They decided to run a reunification experiment and see if oxytocin brought dogs to tears. First, they used a standard test to measure dogs’ tear volume (量) before and after reuniting with their owners. They found that tear volume indeed ascended when they got back together with the familiar human and not with a person they didn’t know. When they added oxytocin to the dogs’ eyes, their tear volume also increased. That finding supports the idea that the release of oxytocin plays a role in tear production when dogs and their owners get back together. They also asked people to rate pictures of dogs’ faces with and without artificial tears in them, and it turned out that people gave more positive responses when they saw dogs with teary eyes. These findings suggest that dogs’ tear production helps to develop stronger connections between people and their dogs.
Kikusui says they had never heard of the discovery that animals produce tears in joyful situations, such as reuniting with their owners, and that they were all excited that this would be a world first!
1. What’s the author’s purpose in raising the question in the first paragraph?| A．To compare different ideas. |
| B．To express his personal doubt. |
| C．To lead in the topic for discussion. |
| D．To introduce the rich emotions of dogs. |
| A．A lesson at university. | B．An experience of his own. |
| C．The interaction with a dog. | D．A reminder from his colleagues. |
| A．remained unchanged | B．rose |
| C．became zero | D．decreased |
| A．came as a big surprise | B．required further evidence |
| C．were within their expectation | D．were contrary to previous ones |
4 . Michael Gonsalves, a chef of Golden Oak at Disney World, has a cuisine concept rooted in fresh, locally-sourced ingredients that originated from childhood harvesting produce from their family garden with his mom to eventually leading kitchens at Walt Disney World Resorts to employ a sustainable model.
“Truly the whole process starts with menu planning,” he said. Creating one dish leads into the creation of many more through the end-to-end use of products. As chefs, they are always searching for the best ingredients. It is then their focus to ensure they appreciate and respect all that go into each and every one of them. For example, they source chicken that is naturally grown and fed on a natural plant forward diet, no hormones (激素) or additives — that’s used in many ways throughout menus from a simple grilled chicken breast to bone soup. Nothing goes to waste.
When they do have waste, even if minimal, they shift it from landfills to transform it into compost (堆肥) that’s then used across the Walt Disney World property. They also support Second Harvest, a local community food bank where healthy produce, prepared, but not served, meals eatable for human consumption are donated. Disney also works with pig farmers when they can’t distribute foods past the point of safety for human consumption. Besides, wildlife reservations love to get the meat because tigers and wild cats can still eat that.
Their operations are “on a path to a sustainable zero waste kitchen of tomorrow” where chefs learn the full-life cycle of plants from seed to plate and gain a better understanding and appreciation for the product and their craft.
Golden Oak at Disney has millions of bees that produce up to 300 pounds of honey per year, plus those bees help with cross pollination (授粉) of their gardens on a daily basis. They advocate a culture that helps develop not only the quality of food, but an appreciation for nature.
1. Where did Michael Gonsalves’ idea about cuisine come from?| A．His mom’s suggestions. | B．His dream of becoming a chef. |
| C．His interest in delicious food. | D．His labor experience as a child. |
| A．They are grilled to eat. | B．They are used to the fullest. |
| C．They are divided into groups. | D．They are selected by quality. |
| A．Give examples about zero waste. |
| B．Introduce the unique habit of wildlife. |
| C．Stress the importance of natural food. |
| D．Explain the operation mode of the food bank. |
| A．Disney World:New Cuisine Road |
| B．Michael Gonsalves:Creative Chef |
| C．Michael Gonsalves:Advocate of Food Diversity |
| D．Disney World:Pioneer in Environmental Protection |
5 . The effect of climate change extends beyond ruining Earth’s environment and our physical safety. A report published this week suggests that climate change has a negative effect on our mental health, too.
The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States(PNAS), links an increase in monthly temperatures to a rise in mental health issues. The experimental evidence stems from meteorological (气象的) data paired with information collected from nearly 2 million randomly sampled residents in the United States. The data was collected over the span (跨度) of a decade.
“We find that experiences with hotter temperatures and added rainfall each worsen mental health, that long-lasting warming associates with an increased popularity of mental health issues, and that exposure to tropical cyclones(热带气旋), likely to increase in frequency in the future, is linked to worsened mental health,” authors of the study stated. “These results provide added large-scale evidence to the growing link between climate change and mental health.”
The report specifically focused on mental health outcomes due to the effects of environmental stress - such as temperature, rainfall, and tropical cyclones - but other climate change-related issues are likely to affect mental health as well - specifically, the stress and anxiety of knowing natural disasters could be more frequent as temperatures rise.
1. From the newly-published report, we learn that the climate change may _________.| A．save a lot of people’s lives |
| B．cause unbelievable disasters |
| C．influence people’s mental health |
| D．greatly change people’s life styles |
| A．To stress the importance of the study. |
| B．To show that the study cost too much money. |
| C．To explain the difficulties and hardships of the study. |
| D．to indicate that the study is objective and believable. |
| A．In Paragraph 1 | B．In Paragraph 2 |
| C．In Paragraph 3 | D．In Paragraph 4 |
| A．The study has its limits. |
| B．The results of the study aren’t satisfactory. |
| C．The environmental problems can’t be solved. |
| D．Mental health is determined by climate change. |
6 . Throughout the world, there are about one thousand kinds of bats (蝙蝠), which are usually divided into two groups: Megachiroptere and Mricochiroptera. Their body lengths vary (变化) rather widely from 1.5 inches to 16.7 inches.
Bats are the only little mammal (哺乳动物) that can actually fly in the world, and it is safe to say they are very good at this skill using echolocation (回声定位) to find their way in the sky. Using echolocation bats are able to take sound waves to create a detailed map of the area around them.
Bats use the ability not only to know what may be in their way but also to hunt for food. Bats are active during the night, and they use nighttime to look for food. In fact, they can eat so many bugs (小虫) in one night as to make them flightless for a period of time. Bats not only eat bugs, but also feed on fruit and small birds. Many places have brought in bats to help as a choice instead of using pesticides (杀虫剂).
Anyone can build or buy a bat house to put up in the backyard. Building a bat house is easy and just a little care is needed to keep it. It could help deal with bugs each year. Bats stay together in these bat houses along with inside houses, buildings, trees and other places, and usually stay together in large numbers.
As you can see, bats are far from the scaring creatures. So, next time you see them, stop and think of the bugs and flies you will miss.
1. According to the passage, bats can’t fly for a period of time when they are ________.| A．too full | B．too tired | C．very hungry | D．very sleepy |
| A．Living habits | B．Physical features. | C．Diet. | D．Growth. |
| A．Scaring. | B．Clever. | C．Helpful. | D．Strange. |
| A．bats have sharp eyes at night |
| B．many people may be afraid of bats |
| C．a bat house in the backyard needs no care |
| D．bats send out sound waves to find their way |
7 . Once upon a time, there was a tortoise (乌龟) on a ship, but the ship sank. Some time later the tortoise made it to a desert land surrounded by water on all sides except for one. The side led up to a big mountain. To avoid starving (挨饿) to death, the tortoise decided to climb to the top of the mountain, hoping that he would be able to cross to the other side.
When he got to the mountain, he felt very cold. He just managed to make out a small pathway leading down the other side of the mountain, but there was a big monster on the way.
Such a strong animal almost killed the tortoise with fright, and all he wanted to do was hide his head inside his shell. Then he saw that many other animals were lying frozen to death, and with looks of horror on their faces. So the tortoise didn’t go into his shell.
He gathered up all his courage to move down the path towards the monster. The closer the tortoise got, the more the monster changed its shape. Then, when he was almost upon it, the tortoise realized that what he had thought was a monster was only a great pile of rocks, which formed a shape just like a monster.
The tortoise carried on and eventually came to a beautiful village. The tortoise lived very happily there, and became known as the brave little tortoise.
1. When travelling by ship, the tortoise ________.| A．saw a mountain ahead | B．met with an accident |
| C．passed by a desert land | D．heard a voice of a monster |
| A．Because he was too frightened to do so. |
| B．Because the monster ordered him to do so. |
| C．Because he saw many dead animals around him. |
| D．Because he found a safer place on the mountain. |
| A．Its size. | B．Its colour. | C．Its height. | D．Its appearance. |
| A．great courage | B．good luck | C．swimming skills | D．rich experience |
8 . When it comes to planning a student trip, there are few better choices than our nation’s capital. There are many places of interest in Washington, DC, with sites that will attract students who are interested in everything from history, art, to STEM. Don’t miss these must-see sites on your trip to Washington, DC.
Smithsonian Museums
Managed by the Smithsonian Institution, admission (入场券) is free, and all locations are open every day except December 25. Students will love the exhibitions of the National Air and Space Museum, and everyone can enjoy the National Zoo, which is home to giant pandas, Sumatran tigers, and much more.
National Gallery (画廊) of Art
This is an amazing place for students interested in art. It includes the East Building and the West Building and houses the gallery’s more modern works and a collection of older works. The museum welcomes visitors from 10 am to 5 pm from Monday to Saturday and 11 am to 6 pm on Sundays. There is a variety of free self-guided and audio (音频) tours available.
Newseum
The Newseum aims to increase public awareness of the importance of a free press. Visitors can experience the story of news, the role of a free press in major events in history and how freedom of speech is applied to their lives.
Mount Vernon
Only 16 miles south of Washington, DC lies Mount Vernon, George Washington’s home. This historic place features beautiful gardens and wonderfully kept grounds. The outbuildings surrounding the main house still run today. Visitors can tour these structures in addition to the inside of the main house and go there by subway.
1. In Smithsonian Museums, students _________| A．are allowed to drive space ships |
| B．can get in close contact with nature |
| C．can watch animals and learn space knowledge |
| D．are free to visit the National Zoo at Christmas |
| A．Students can enjoy famous artworks of different times there. |
| B．Some artists offer to teach visitors to draw for free |
| C．It just opens to the public from Monday to Saturday. |
| D．It helps visitors choose their favorite guide. |
| A．Newseum. | B．Mount Vernon. |
| C．Smithsonian Museums. | D．National Gallery of Art. |
9 . Each spring in the global north, brown bears appear from their dens(洞穴) with new babies. The babies came into the world tiny and weak. Their fathers are long gone; bear mothers must find a way to raise the kids while surviving themselves.
Female bears generally spend either 1.5 or 2.5 years with their young. But a new study of brown bears has found a surprising trend. “There’s about a 30 percent increase in females staying to care for their young for an extra year,” Fanie Pelletier says, an ecologist at Shebrooke University of Quebec. “Early on, in the 1980’s, almost all females stayed with their young for 1 year and a half.”
The trend is tied with a hunting law that protects family groups from hunters. It’s illegal to shoot mother or young bears when they are together. “For females, if she leaves her kids at one year and a half, then she becomes a target during the next hunting season,” explains Pelletier. “But if she spends more time with their babies, she is protected for an extra year.”
The analysis used decades of data collected from tagged(标记的) brown bears in Sweden. But the finding may be also applicable outside the country, in any place where the hunting polices that protect mother with young bears are carried out.
The new findings are reminder to policymakers that hunting policies can have a long-term effect on the animals that survive. Past studies have found that fishing and hunting rules can have similar effects on other types of wildlife. Fish mature at a smaller size and deer hunted for their big enough horns(角) eventually develop smaller horns.
“We assume when the hunting period is closed, hunting does not affect animals anymore,” says Pelletier. “But even the ones that are still alive are affected by our policies.”
1. What trend did Pelletier find about brown bears?| A．The number of baby bears is increasing. |
| B．Baby bears rely more on their mothers. |
| C．It’s harder for bear mothers to raise their kids. |
| D．More bear mothers stay with their young longer. |
| A．New hunting policies will be made. |
| B．The hunting period will be shortened. |
| C．Bears will not be the target for hunters. |
| D．Hunters find fewer available bears to hunt. |
| A．Fishers can only catch fish big enough. |
| B．Only certain kinds of fish can be fished for. |
| C．The closed season for fishing should be longer. |
| D．Ways for fishing should be changed completely. |
| A．Most animals are intelligent. |
| B．Hunting policies should be practical. |
| C．Animals can adapt to new hunting policies. |
| D．It’s easy for animals to survive the environment. |
10 . The deaths of 27 firefighters and three local residents who were engulfed by a burst of explosive fire on April 1st 2019 in Southwest China’s Sichuan province have touched people’s hearts.
Yet while mourning the dead, we should not ignore the fact that lessons need to be learned from the tragedy and that it is necessary to find out whether there was any mistake in directing the firefighting efforts that contributed to the loss of so many lives.
Of course, the bravery of the firefighters and local residents is worth our admiration and there is reason enough to regard them as heroes. However, if the authorities had taken into consideration a number of what-ifs before sending the firefighters into the forest, their lives might have been spared and their efforts might have been more effective.
Plans should have been made to deal with any contingency(意外). At an altitude of 3,800 meters, in which direction the wind blows is a factor that has to be taken into account, along with what might happen if it should suddenly change direction. And since the mountain is very rough and there is hardly any access to the forest where the fire broke out, there should have been a clear plan for how the firefighters would retreat if necessary.
Thus, it is necessary for the local governments and relevant experts to discuss what lessons can be learned from this tragedy and what kind of plans should be made for fighting forest fires in different places.
With little rain for nearly six months in many parts of the country, most parts of North China face the risk of forest fires. And with the greater frequency of extreme weather conditions because of climate change, the importance of preparations cannot be overemphasized.
The professional training of firefighters should be increased and more advanced equipment should be provided. This would not just upgrade the efficiency of fighting forest fires but it would also protect the lives of firefighters.
1. Which is not the possible reason that caused the deaths of the thirty firefighters and local residents?| A．The authorities hadn’t made full preparations before sending the firefighters into the forest. |
| B．The firefighters may not have made careful plans to deal with any contingency. |
| C．There has been little rain in many parts of the country for six months. |
| D．There may have been mistakes in directing the firefighting. |
| A．You cannot emphasize the importance of preparations too much. |
| B．The importance of preparations has been overemphasized. |
| C．You should not overemphasize the importance of preparation. |
| D．The importance of preparations has been emphasized enough. |
| A．Extreme weather conditions |
| B．Dry climate with little rain |
| C．Rough mountains |
| D．Strong wind |
| A．Supportive | B．Dissatisfied |
| C．Approval | D．Ambiguous |
