1 . “A lot of the time when climate change is discussed in mainstream media, people are asking ‘can humans overcome this?’, or ‘what technology can solve this?’. It’s high time we recognized that animals also have to adapt to various changes. We know some animals change their skin colors to escape from natural enemies or due to environment pollution,” says Ryding. “The climate change that we have created is putting a lot of pressure on them, and some species try to adapt by shapeshifting (变形). ”
Strong shapeshifting has particularly been reported in birds. Several species of Australian parrot have shown, on average, a 4%—10% increase in beak (鸟喙) size since 1871, and this is positively linked with the summer temperature each year. North American dark-eyed juncos, a type of small songbird, had a link between increased beak size and short-term temperature extremes in cold environments. There have also been reported changes in mammalian species. Researchers have reported tail length increases in wood mice and leg size increases in masked shrews (鼩鼱).
“The increases in some body parts size we see so far are quite small—less than 10%—so the changes are unlikely to be immediately noticeable,” says Ryding. “However, some body parts such as ears are predicted to increase.”
Ryding intends to investigate shapeshifting in Australian birds firsthand by 3D scanning museum bird specimens from the past 100 years. It will give her team a better understanding of which birds are changing their body parts and why. “Shapeshifting does not mean that animals are coping with climate change and that all is ‘fine’,” says Ryding. “It just means they are adapting to survive it—but we’re not sure what the other ecological consequences of these changes are, or indeed that all species are capable of changing and surviving. ”
1. What may cause animals’ shapeshifting according to Ryding?| A．Human hunting. | B．Climate change. |
| C．Natural enemies. | D．Polluted surroundings. |
| A．Giving examples. | B．Cause-effect analysis. |
| C．Making comparison. | D．Process analysis. |
| A．Animals can well adapt to changes and survive. |
| B．Influence of animals’ shapeshifting is uncertain. |
| C．Rdying will research into bird museums in Australia. |
| D．All adaptations of animals to climate change are beneficial. |
| A．Technology. | B．Health care. | C．Environment. | D．Education. |
Have you ever heard of the largest and most beautiful salt lake in China? If the answer is no, you can take
Qinghai Lake is
The lake
These lakes,
3 . Avebury is near the far more famous Stonehenge. What is interesting about it is that a village has grown up around the stones, unlike Stonehenge, which stands alone. Avebury and Stonehenge are just two of about 1,300 stone circles all over the UK. Many of them are in fantastic locations, like Castlering in Cumbria, from which you can see England’s highest mountain; and the Ring of Brodgar in the beautiful Orkney Island, off Scotland’s northern coast.
Some of them are UNESCO World Heritage sites, and several have local stories connected to them. For example, the Merry Maidens in West Cornwall is a group of nineteen stones. According to the story, they were young women — maidens — who were turned into stone for dancing on a Sunday.
Early historians thought that the stone circles were temples for the people who arrived in the UK in about 500 BC. Later research has shown that they are far older than that, at least 4,000 years old. Stonehenge could have been built 5,000 years ago, but it’s still nowhere near as old as the nearby wooden circle built about 10,000 years ago. Some experts believe they acted like calendars and have shown that some stones line up with sunrise or sunset on the longest and shortest days of the year. Others believe they were places for the dead bodies of the local rich and powerful.
We may never know why they were built, but each one leaves the visitor with a strong sense of the shortness of our existence in the sea of history. There are groups of stone circles and other prehistoric (史前的) monuments throughout the British Isles, so wherever you are staying you should include at least one in your tour.
1. What can we learn about Avebury?| A．It stands alone. | B．It is a part of Stonehenge. |
| C．It has a village around it now. | D．It consists of a couple of Merry Maidens. |
| A．Stone circles. | B．Mountains. |
| C．Temples. | D．Islands. |
| A．The local stories of stone circles. |
| B．The original purpose of stone circles. |
| C．The historic value of stone circles. |
| D．The time when stone circles were built. |
| A．Building more monuments. | B．Protecting World Heritage sites. |
| C．Learning more about our history. | D．Visiting some of those stone circles. |
4 . Mr. Fang is now the owner of 36 greenhouses producing organic vegetables in the Gobi desert in Northwest China’s Gansu province. He is one of the beneficiaries of the Gobi Farming Program of Gansu province that is building rows of greenhouses in the desert to help transform local farming and alleviate poverty.
Grain production in Gansu is greatly affected by the climate and the output is unstable. Agricultural production there relies heavily on rivers, oases and groundwater irrigation. If traditional extensive agricultural production continued, it could gradually narrow the living space.
In 1995, a local entrepreneur ventured to use Israeli technologies to build greenhouses for vegetables growing in the desert. Such individual pilot projects encouraged the Gansu government to launch a provincial-level Gobi farming program in 2017 with a target to build up a controlled-environment agriculture of about 20,000 hectares by 2022. Some cities in the province, which include Fang’s village, have already been experimenting with Gobi farming for several years.
Despite the harsh environment, farming in the Gobi desert has its advantages: the extended amount of sunlight provides adequate energy for crops, a significant temperature difference between day and night helps crops accumulate nutrients and the Gobi’s hot and dry air means fewer pests and crop diseases. The Gobi greenhouses popping up in Gansu use drip and spray irrigation, which can cut water consumption by almost 50 percent compared to a normal farm. The greenhouses are also eco-friendly, as they use substrates for soilless cultivation recycled from rotten leaves, straw and cow and sheep feces.
With the greenhouses, Fang earns around 70,000 yuan annually. Data from Suzhou. district of Jiuquan showed the greenhouse program has helped bring an average revenue of about $ 72,300 per hectare to local farmers. Large scale greenhouse farming is an investment-intensive project and cannot be sustained only by government financial support. Therefore, the local government has been encouraging villagers such as Fang to take the lead to rent greenhouses or build their own.
It is not an easy task, and many villagers still want to wait and see. However, more and more are starting to join in, either to rum their own greenhouses or work as hired workers for greenhouse owners. Starting from managing four greenhouses in 2009, Fang now is also a partner of a greenhouse farming cooperative running 120 greenhouses.
The relatively low cost of large-scale land use in the Gobi desert have also encouraged large firms to start their Gobi farming pilot projects in Gansu. If the Gobi farming proves successful, it could provide experiences for countries in Central Asia linked with Gansu both by the ancient Silk Road as well as its modern version of the Belt and Road Initiative.
1. What affects grain production in Gansu most?| A．Money. | B．Sunlight. | C．Air | D．Water. |
| A．1n 1995. | B．In 2009. | C．In 2017. | D．In 2022. |
| A．The harsh environment is good for crops . |
| B．At first, Fang only ran four greenhouses. |
| C．With the greenhouses, Fang earns around $ 70,000 annually. |
| D．Mr. Fang now owns 120 greenhouses producing organic vegetables. |
| A．The Belt and Road Initiative |
| B．A Great Adventurer — Mr. Fang |
| C．The Gobi Farming Program of Gansu |
| D．The Advantages of Farming in the Gobi Desert |
You’ve been asking for a while now, so we’re agreeing to it, but there are going to be some rules, OK? This is going to be your dog, not Mommy and Daddy’s, which means you will be taking care of him. And taking care of another living thing is a big responsibility.
It’s going to be your job to feed him, to bathe him and to walk him. If he poops, you’re going to clean it. If your dog gets sick, you’ll have to take him to the vet. If he goes to Doggy Heaven, you will have to bury him. If he happens to be buried in a magic place that causes him to come back to life and become a zombie dog, and I know we may sound like a broken record here, it’s going to be your job to take care of him. Dead or undead, it’s still your concern.
If he kills a deer and drags it to our yard, it’s going to be your responsibility to remove that dead deer. Your pet, your dead deer. If he steps things up and kills a human, perhaps a mailman, as his owner, you might be legally involved in that person’s death. If you try to coverup that death and, in a rush, bury him in the same magic place, bringing him back to life too, don’t scream and cry because a zombie mailman is trying to burst into your bedroom. Your pet, your zombie mailman.
If the zombie mailman kills you, will we be upset? Of course we will. You’re our child. And our child didn’t take her pet-ownership duties seriously enough to predict this sort of thing. If we choose to bury you in the same magic place and allow you to come back to life, well need to make one thing absolutely clear. Just because your human life ends doesn’t mean your human responsibilities end with it. Homework is homework. If the dog’s still kicking around, food/walks/baths you know the drill.
So the answer is yes, you can get a dog. Or just stick with your goldfish. Your call.
1. What can we infer from the underlined part “we may sound like a broken record”?| A．The parents keep playing a broken record. |
| B．The parents keep reminding their child of her duty. |
| C．The parents are frightened of a zombie dog. |
| D．The parents are confident of their child’s ability. |
| A．He is sure to upset the parents. | B．He is bound to kill a deer or a man. |
| C．He is expected to become a zombie. | D．He is supposed to be cared for well. |
| A．By comparison. | B．By analysis. | C．By assumption. | D．By debate. |
| A．To show the responsibilities of raising a pet dog. |
| B．To show the excitement of raising a pet dog. |
| C．To persuade the child not to get a pet dog. |
| D．To persuade the child not to get any pet at all. |
Saving nature is at the very heart of what we do as World Wildlife Fund(WF). For nearly 60 years, we have made it our mission
This is clear: we cannot afford to fail in
7 . As a nature photographer, I enjoy working outside in the wild. One of the best things about this job is that you can
My
Last spring in Yellowstone. I
From time to time I look at the photo as a reminder to show
| A．feed | B．raise | C．observe | D．catch |
| A．strange | B．awkward | C．terrible | D．favorite |
| A．As | B．Beyond | C．Despite | D．For |
| A．speed | B．height | C．cost | D．price |
| A．carried | B．led | C．followed | D．picked |
| A．suddenly | B．finally | C．lately | D．firstly |
| A．reflected | B．recorded | C．recalled | D．remarked |
| A．called | B．touched | C．watched | D．bitten |
| A．camera | B．wood | C．dream | D．prospect |
| A．jumping | B．blowing | C．showing | D．falling |
| A．near | B．still | C．quiet | D．close |
| A．refused | B．forgot | C．managed | D．failed |
| A．tiring | B．frightening | C．wonderful | D．colorful |
| A．thanks | B．principles | C．respect | D．power |
| A．owners | B．enemies | C．hunters | D．visitors |
8 . Bowhead whales can live 200 years or longer. How they do it is no longer among the secrets of the deep.
Scientists have mapped the genetic code of this long lived whale species. The international effort found unusual features in the Arctic whale’s genes. Those features likely protect the species against cancer and other problems related to old age. The researchers hope their findings will one day translate into ways to help people too.
“We hope to learn what is the secret of bowhead whales living longer, healthier lives,” says Joao Pedru de Magalhes. He is a gerontologist at the University of Liverpool in England. (Gerontology is the scientific study of old age. ) He is also a co-author of the study that appeared in Cell Reports. His team hopes, he says, that its new findings might one day be used to improve human health and preserve human life.
No other mammals are known to live as long as the bowhead whales. Scientists have shown that some of these whales have lived well beyond 100 — including one that survived to 216. For perspective, if he were still alive, Abraham Lincoln would be turning just 211 this year.
Dr. Magalhäes’ team wanted to understand how the bowhead can live so long. To find out this, the experts analyzed the animal’s complete set of genes, called its genome. Those instructions are coded in the animal’s DNA. The team also compared the whale’s genome to that of people, mice and cows.
The scientists discovered differences, including mutations, in the whale’s genes. Those changes are linked to cancer, aging and cell growth. The results suggest that the whales are better than humans at repairing their DNA. That’s important because damaged or flawed DNA can lead to disease, including some cancers.
Bowhead whales are also better at keeping abnormally dividing cells in check. Together, the changes appear to allow bowhead whales to live longer without developing age related diseases such as cancer, said Magalhäes.
1. What can you know from the passage?| A．How bowhead whales five so long is still a mystery to scientists. |
| B．Bowhead whales live the longest among all the sea animals. |
| C．Most bowhead whales can live beyond 100. |
| D．The result of the research may be beneficial to human life span. |
| A．Lincoln died one hundred years age | B．Lincoln should have lived much longer. |
| C．the lifetime of bowhead whales is very long. | D．their study unlocked the secret of Lincoln’s death. |
| A．it faces little danger in its life |
| B．its DNA has a strong ability of self-repairing |
| C．it has a complete set of genetic instructions |
| D．its living environment is better than that of humans |
| A．Disabled | B．Changed | C．Misled | D．repaired |
| A．the bowhead is the animal which lives the longest |
| B．scientists have found ways to treat humans’ disease |
| C．scientists have new findings in search of bow head whales |
| D．bowhead whales may unlock the secrets of a long, healthy life |
A penguin colony in Antarctica that’s home to over 18,000 pairs of Adélie penguins suffered a massive breeding failure, with all but two of the babies starving to death when their parents
According to CNN, the World Wildlife Fund said unseasonably extensive amounts of sea ice around the colony forced the adult penguins to travel further
Downie continued: “The impact of this event is restricted to this specific colony of Adélie penguins, and predictions are that the Antarctic will get
Adélie penguins are
10 . I am not a morning person, but as I stand on the boulder (巨大的砾石) in the early dawn, my mind is sharp and alert. I am more than awake, concentrating on the vast endlessness below.
There is a noticeable lack of early birdsong here; no hiss of offshore wind fanning the waves. The only sound is my breath, heavy after the scramble to the top. It is by no means a difficult climb, but I had to hurry to beat the sun.
“If you stand at the top of Kubu Island just before sunrise,” said one of the returning visitors, “You can see the arc (弧线) of the Earth.”
He was right.
From up here the horizon cuts not so much a line as an arc.
Soon my feeling of being in the moment is replaced with something as strange and ancient as this place itself. My breathing calms and becomes shallow. My heartbeat slows. I am first surrounded by in silence. I am a tiny, shrinking spot. Then I disappear completely.
They say that astronauts looking down on Earth gain a sense of perspective that changes them forever. They begin to understand how much we are a part of our planet, and how much it is a part of us. The astronauts are 400 kilometres off the surface of Earth, and while the top of Kubu Island is only 10 metres high, there is something about this pile of boulders that sends you into orbit.
Kubu Island isn’t actually an island, but rather, an outcrop of ancient rocks that are up to two billions year old. It was once rested on the edge of a vast lake. As the water evaporated, it created the huge Makgadikgadi Pan (马卡迪卡迪盐沼盆地), one of the world’s largest salt pans.
Ancient tribes and civilizations have migrated and lived here, first to fish from its rocks and then to commune with nature and its spirits. Today, adventurers and tourists come here to marvel at this strange pile of boulders with baobab trees (猴面包树) growing out of it. These trees are estimated to be 3,000 or 4,000 years old; they are really impressive not only for their size but also because they seem to have so much to tell about the history of this island.
This is the gift that Kubu Island gives and the power that it has. This tiny, weird outcrop — if not in the middle of nowhere, then certainly on the edge of it — can give you a sense of yourself that very few places can. A sense of yourself as a person on this planet and, somehow, way beyond it.
1. Which of the following can best describe Kubu Island?| A．It is a “small” island, surrounded by waves and water. |
| B．It is an “ancient” island, featuring recreational activities. |
| C．It is a “dry” island, surrounded by a sea of salt. |
| D．It is a “remote” island, resting on the edge of a vast lake. |
| A．feel anxious for | B．pose danger to |
| C．be grateful to | D．be amazed at |
| A．recommend a unique travel route to a peaceful and silent island |
| B．encourage readers to reflect more on themselves while travelling |
| C．inform readers of a mysterious place that deserves to be explored |
| D．advise readers to visit an island which is peculiar in its original state |
