A new study found that nearly half of bald eagles    1    (test) across the United States show signs of repeated lead (铅) exposure. Researchers examined the blood, bones, feathers and liver tissue (肝脏组织) of l,210 eagles between 2010 and 20l8.

Lead is a poisonous substance     2     affects the nervous system and interferes (妨碍) with the normal function of nerve cells. Even in low amounts, lead can reduce bald eagles’ ability     3     (fly), hunt and reproduce. In high amounts, lead causes     4    (breathe) difficulty and death.

Bald eagles are one of America’s most celebrated conservation success stories. The birds       5    (remove) from the U. S. Endangered Species List in 2007. But scientists say that high lead levels are still     6     concern. Lead exposure also reduces their ability to face future difficulties, such as climate change or infectious diseases.

“Lead is available to these birds more than we     7    ( previous) thought,” said VinceSlabe, a research wildlife biologist at the nonprofit group Conservation Science Global.

The blood samples from live eagles in the new study were taken from birds trapped andstudied     8    other reasons. The bone, feather and liver samples came from eagles killed by vehicles, power lines or other causes.

The researchers also found higher levels of lead exposure in fall     9    winter. During these months, eagles eat animal remains left by hunters. These remains often contain many    10    (piece) of lead ammunition (弹药).

What species of dolphin is the smallest? Hector’s dolphin, Risso’s dolphin, Spinner dolphin    1    Dusky dolphin? The smallest dolphins    2    (be) Hector’s dolphins. They’re usually around four to five feet in length and 100 pounds in    3    (weigh).

And they are    4    (extreme) rare. You will only find Hector’s dolphins off the coast of New Zealand. And there’s a subspecies (亚种) of them called Maui dolphins    5    population has decreased to just a few dozen    6    (leave) in the wild. The biggest threat to Maui dolphins is when they’re caught    7    accident in the fishing industry. Disease, danger to their habitat and tourism    8    (suspect) in reducing their numbers, too.

But there’s a new eye in the sky and by that we mean a drone that aims to help Maui dolphins by locating, identifying and following them. The aircraft runs on electric and gas power. It’s estimated to cost $ 150. 000 and its aim is    9    (use) artificial intelligence technology to keep    10    eye on the 63 adult Maui dolphins that are still alive.

Long ago in Ancient China, there was a mythical figure     1     (know) as Shennong. Not only did Shennong bring agriculture and the use of herbal medicine to China, but he also invented     2     (agriculture) tools and techniques, and the Chinese calendar with its 24 solar terms.

It is said that the home town of Shennong was a forest in Hubei Province, which today is called “Shennongjia”. This beautiful and diverse region covers     3     area of 3,253 square kilometers of north-west Hubei Province. It gives shelter to over 1000 species of medicinal plants, many of     4     are rare and unique to Shennongjia. Here mountain slopes     5     (cover) with trees and some of them grow up to 40 meters tall. In summer, pink and violet flowers lend splashes of color. These are some of     6     (it) most breathtaking landscapes. The magnificent Shennong Peak rises to 3,105 meters above sea level.

Banbiyan is famous for its stone forest, as well as its bamboo forests and grasslands that flood with     7     (flower). The stone forests of Fengjingya stand     8     a background of green mountains that reaches as far as the eye can see. When it rains, the tops of these mountains look like islands     9     (float) on a sea of clouds. Come to Shennongjia     10     (enjoy) its beauty and the legend.

4 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word,fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word;for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall:

Can Animals Recognize Their Reflection at All?

Daniel Povinelli was in high school when he first read about an experiment published in 1970. It left a deep impression     1     him as it showed that chimpanzees, rather than monkeys, can recognize themselves in mirrors. All it took was a simple mirror    2     (reveal) that our close chimpanzee relatives are self-aware.

This famous mirror self-recognition experiment was conducted in the 1960s by scientist Gordon Gallup, Jr. No such tests had been done before     3     people had long observed animals interacting with mirrors. In this experiment, the chimps originally tried to attack the image in the mirror. But after a couple of days, they began using the mirror to examine parts of their bodies such as their teeth. He then anesthetized(使麻醉) them and put red dye on their face. The chimps later woke up and reacted to the unexpected mirror image as if they     4     understand that the marks were on their own faces. In Gallup’s view, passing this test proved that the chimps had self-awareness, which was an evolutionary leap     5     (make) only by humans and their close relatives and led to empathy and higher-level thinking.

Though convinced at first, Povinelli now holds a different view on what animals may be doing after spending years     6     (commit) himself to studying mirrors and higher-order consciousness for years. He holds that animals may have a     7     (complicated) sense of their own body’s movement than we imagine. With that kind of physical self-concept, a chimp could use a mirror as a tool to examine its body. But that wouldn’t indicate anything about the richness of the animal’s inner life. Recent research also shows monkeys can actually learn to perform this skill, if they     8     (give) the proper training.

Povinelli says people     9     live with cats and dogs tend to project their own understanding of the world onto their pets. Since they can’t directly ask     10     their pets are experiencing, their projection is very likely to be wrong.

In their spare time, most young people like to enjoy     1     (they)and play on their smartphones. But Li Ruxue is different. He often walks around a forest alone,     2     (isolate)himself from the outside world. “Though the lifestyle is a little bit tiring, it’s meaningful,” he often said.

In college, Li actively took part in field research. After graduation, he joined a gibbon protection organization where what he mainly needs to do is     3     (pick)up gibbon waste. The gibbon is a top-level state-protected animal     4     population is smaller than that of wild giant pandas. So over the past four and a half years, Li     5     (follow)gibbons and collecting their waste for researchers. Li said the job relies heavily on luck and     6     (persevere). But he has never regretted his choice or felt alone.

Like Li, Chu Wenwen, 27, has also worked to protect animals. As her father is engaged     7     wildlife research, Chu has long been surrounded by wild animals. She followed in her father’s footsteps. Listed as     8     first-class state-protected animal in China, the Mengxin beaver is found only along the Ulungur River in Xinjiang’s Altay prefecture.To protect them, Chu initiated the “beaver canteen” program, which     9     (eventual)attracted over 1 million internet users to donate snack money.

According to Fan Pengfei,     10     (ecology)protection as an industry can provide only a few jobs,most of which are in research institutes and nongovernmental organizations. He has seen more and more young people take part-time jobs as journalists, photographers and so on to raise public awareness of wildlife protection. “Young people are the future of the world and the future of global biodiversity conservation,” said Fan.

The Grand Canal is the longest and     1     (old) canal in the world. It forms a vast inland waterway system in China, running from the capital Beijing in the north     2     Zhejiang Province in the south.

    3     (construct) in sections from the 5th century BCE and completed and maintained by several     4     (dynasty), it formed the backbone of China’s inland communications system, which enabled the supply of rice     5     (feed) the population. The Grand Canal reached a new peak in the 13th century, providing an inland shipping network consisting of more than 2,000 km of artificial waterways,     6     linked five of the most important river basins in China, including the Huanghe River and the Changjiang River. Still     7     major means of internal communication today, it     8     (play) an important role in ensuring the prosperity(繁荣) and stability of China over the ages.

The Grand Canal bears witness to a remarkable and early development of hydraulic engineering(水利工程). It is an essential technological achievement     9     (date) from before the Industrial Revolution. It is a perfect example of dealing with difficult natural conditions, as is reflected in the many constructions that are     10     (full) adapted to the diversity and complexity of circumstances. It best demonstrates the technical capabilities of Eastern civilizations.

The 14th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (RAMSAR COP14) took place in Wuhan, Hubei Province in November. It was the first time that China    1    (host) this international event.    2    (know) as the kidneys (肾脏)of the Earth, wetlands are among the world’s three major ecosystems together with forests and oceans. China’s wetlands arc vast. diverse and widely distributed (分布),    3    (range) from the cold temperate zone to the hot zone. In recent years. China has been strengthening the protection and restoration of wetlands.    4    is remarkable is that more than 600 wetland nature reserves and 1.600 wetland parks have been established. China’s first law on    5    (specific) protecting wetlands took effect on June 1 this year.

Wuhan, the host city of RAMSAR COP 14. has 162,400 hectares (公顷) of wetlands, accounting    6    18. 9 per cent of its total area. In June,Wuhan    7    (award) Wetland City Accreditation by the Ramsar Convention,    8    international honor for the protection of urban wetland ecology.

Nature provides the basic conditions for human    9    (survive) and development. With a comprehensive approach to the conservation of ecosystems in place. China aims to boost their biodiversity, stability and sustainability. Wetland conservation is a crucial part of the country’s efforts to achieve    10    (it) green development goals.

“Children look at screens for too long every day, and don’t exercise and sleep enough, and it’s affecting their cognitive (认知的) ability”, researchers have said     1     a new report. Researchers studied how many children are following recommended screen time, exercise, and sleep     2     (guideline).     3     (publish) on Wednesday in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, the study showed that most U.S. children aren’t meeting the recommendations and it could be affecting     4     (they) cognition.

When I was a little boy, I     5     (convince) I wasn’t “smart”. However, Ms. Jambard totally changed me. Ms. Jambard,     6     taught me in the fifth grade, took an instant liking to me. Of all the subjects in school, reading was my favorite. She would tell me, “Terry, you keep reading. If you can understand what you’re reading, you’ll be     7     (smart) than most kids.” I did as she told me to. Soon I couldn’t find enough to read, and I started to     8     (true) like school. Because of Ms. Jambar’s confidence in me, I went on to have a successful career in engineering and law.

The scientists already knew that keeping cubs (幼兽) safe, healthy, and fed is a full-time job for a female tiger. But they weren’t exactly sure how mother tigers did it. By     9     (combine) modern technology and traditional tracking, scientists could get a unique look at how Varvara, a momma tiger, managed to get it all done. With only an estimated 600 Siberian tigers left in the wild, scientists hope that the more they learn about     10     tiger families need, the better humans we’ll be able to keep them safe.

Antarctica is a place of extremes. It is the coldest, highest, driest and windiest continent on Earth. Antarctica is a continent     1     (cover) by an inland ice sheet up to 4.8km thick,     2     (hold) about 90% of the world’s fresh water. The ice sheet is     3     heavy that it has pushed the land below sea level in places.

The South Pole is 1, 235km from the closest coastline and is located high on the polar plateau (高原) (height 2, 800m). Here it may be as cold as - 75℃ , but the world’s     4     (low) temperature record is from an even more remote Antarctic station, Vostok,     5     recorded a temperature of -89℃.

Only about 0.4% of the surface of Antarctica is free     6     snow and ice. The tops of mountains stick up through the ice — the highest is Mount Vinson, 4,900m above sea level.

Over the past few decades, Britain     7     (play) a major role in the exploration and study of Antarctica. Captain James Cook was the first person     8     (cross) the Antarctic circle in     9     1770s. Later explorations involved searching for commercial (商业的) opportunities, usually hunting for seals or whales. At the start of the twentieth century,     10    (explore) Scott and Shackleton made scientific explorations, a tradition which continues to the present.

Dogs can cry tears of joy when they see their owners after a long period of absence, researchers have said.

The study,     1    (base) on the behaviour of 22 dogs, looked at the reactions of dogs reunited with their owners     2     with other people they knew. To test their theory, academics placed pieces of paper under the eyes of the dogs during normal interaction with their owners and a minute before they were reunited with them after hours of     3     (separate). They discovered when the dogs saw their owners, it was the only time they shed tears. There was not     4     same level of increased tear production when the dogs were reunited with the people they were familiar     5    , but were not their owners.

To see whether the tears     6     (link) to their emotions, the researchers applied a solution containing oxytocin, a hormone (激素)     7     in humans sometimes is called the love hormone, to the dogs. After they used the hormone, they found the dogs’ tears     8     (significant) increased. While dogs are known to cry     9     (keep) their tear ducts (泪腺) clean, it has not been connected to their emotional response before.

Raised by humans, dogs     10    (develop) specific communication skills over time.The tears are believed to deepen the bond between dogs and their owners.