1 . Do plants listen to music? How can a plant possibly respond to music? Well, plants breathe through their many mouths, which are also known as stomata and it has been discovered that plant stomata respond to music!
A few years ago, scientists at the University of California, San Diego discovered what controls a plant’s stomata.The two cells that form the stoma consist of specialized cells adjusted to the resonant(共鸣的)frequency of calcium(钙). When exposed to this frequency the stomata close. However, if the frequency isn’t exactly right the cells will open again within an hour.This happens even if the concentration of calcium is high enough that the stomata would normally close.
When specific music or bird songs cause the plant to vibrate(颤动), but not at the exact frequency for calcium resonance, the stomata will open after a misjudgment of time, even though the plant would keep them closed under normal circumstances.
Testing has shown that a leaf fertilizer(肥料)applied to the plant will have more effect on the development and growth of the plant if its stomata are wide open. This is quite logical, because plants absorb the leaf fertilizer through their stomata.Combinations of frequency and leaf fertilizer are available for many different crops. However, if the stomata are forced to remain open, the plant won’t be able to control the amount of water lost and so it risks dehydration(脱水). As a result, exposing plants to music for over 3 hours a day could endanger their health.There could also be bad effects on plants if the volume or frequency is too high.
It isn’t exactly clear how music influences the development and growth of plants, but more and more is being discovered about resonance physics and we’re closer than ever to solid scientific proof and theories in this area. Maybe, in twenty years’ time people will laugh if you say plants don’t have ears!
1. Why does the author ask the questions in Paragraph 1?| A．To express his doubts. |
| B．To present different ideas. |
| C．To describe the lifestyle of plants. |
| D．To introduce points for discussion. |
| A．The reopening of the cells. |
| B．The change in frequency. |
| C．The frequency of calcium. |
| D．The closing of the stomata. |
| A．future plants are likely to have ears |
| B．how music affects plant growth is widely known |
| C．growers must be careful when exposing plants to music |
| D．the stomata don’t affect the effect of leaf fertilizer on plants |
| A．Benefits of Music to Plants |
| B．Influence of Music on Plants |
| C．How to Improve Plant Growth? |
| D．How Do Plants Listen Without Ears? |
2 . “I can’t turn the desert into an oasis, but I’m working hard to prevent any oasis from degrading (退化) into desert,” says 78-yearold Wang Tianchang in Wuwei city, in Northwest China’s Gansu province.
Sticking to the belief that “only by containing the sand, our children and grandchildren will survive and thrive”, Wang and his wife Li Lanying have been stationed in the Tengger Desert for 22 years, voluntarily dealing with sand encroachment (侵蚀) and planting more than 8,000 acres. They have helped turn the once endless desert into an oasis.
In the spring of 1999, the then 56-year-old Wang put forward the idea of afforestation (造林) in the Tengger Desert. Strongly opposed by his family and ridiculed by the villagers, Wang secretly sold the family’s cattle, sheep and camels. With the collected money, the couple brought their tents and sand control tools to the desert.
“It’s not easy to plant trees, especially in the desert. To improve the survival rate of sand-grown seedlings (幼苗) in the desert, Wang observed the flow of sand dunes (沙丘) in areas where it was most severe in the 12th lunar month in winter. He also explored the best spots for planting grass and trees, and gradually found effective methods for planting saplings in the desert. In order to solve the problem of water scarcity, Wang bought two-humped camels. His wife led the camels to transport water on a route of more than 3 kilometers between their home and the desert back and forth every four and five hours.
Over the past 22 years, Wang and his family have invested more than 1.2 million yuan ($ 187,770) to the task of containing the sand and planting trees in the Tengger Desert. During this period, in order to improve the progress of sand suppression (抑制), the couple spent more than 6,000 days in achieving more than 8,000 acres of sand afforestation, and used camels to transport 5,000 tons of water on the sand line. The round-trip journey was more than 12,000 kilometers.
Wang’s spirit of living in the desert for decades has moved many people. Every year, volunteers from all over the country and tens of thousands of local people come here to fight the sands with the couple and protect their home.
1. How did Wang manage to get the money he needed?| A．He borrowed some from his relatives. |
| B．The local government provided it for him. |
| C．Charity organizations donated much to him. |
| D．He sold the family’s cattle, sheep and camels. |
| A．Research. | B．Pollution. | C．Shortage. | D．Control |
| A．5,000. | B．6,000. | C．8,000. | D．12,000. |
| A．The sands of time blow toward a greener world |
| B．Wang observes flow of sand dunes in the desert |
| C．Wang’s spirit of living in the desert moves people |
| D．Planting trees and grass leads to success of afforestation |
3 . There is a myth that people can see glass, but birds can’t.
Many people are injured every year. They collide with unmarked doors and windows; embarrassment is the usual result.
Birds can learn to avoid glass. For example, birds in zoo exhibits learn to avoid exhibit walls if the glass is marked for the first few days of their residence.
Birds hit glass because it presents a triple threat. One is that reflections of vegetation or landscape attract birds to collide with glass.
As researchers have begun to understand collisions, they are creating better approaches to reduce impacts on birds. For example, some have documented mortality(死亡) patterns and how they are influenced by lighting, the amount of glass present, the distribution of nearby vegetation, and other variables.
This science has come along way, but many questions remain unanswered. Our efforts on the testing of bird-friendly materials are helping to expand understanding of how birds sec and respond to their environment, and will lead to more effective solutions.
| A．In fact, neither birds nor people can see glass. |
| B．Wild birds can learn about specific pieces of glass. |
| C．Each year up to one billion birds hit glass in the U. S. alone. |
| D．Therefore glass can be the invisible killer of birds in particular. |
| E．So architects and other professionals can design innovative bird-watching buildings. |
| F．Others have looked at the type of structure to identify which poses the most risk. |
| G．Green habitat inside buildings with see-through glass can also trick birds to their death. |
Dong Shuchang from China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region captured the solar eclipse (日蚀) on June 21, 2020, in his photography work The Golden Ring,
5 . Seeing a monarch butterfly used to be quite common in the US, but now it’s another story. Their numbers are falling rapidly. In fact, their numbers have fallen by 90 percent in just 20 years. In California, in just one year, their numbers dropped 86 percent.
These butterflies are amazing creatures. They are the only insect that migrates to a warmer climate. In fact, National Geographic says, “It’s one of the greatest natural events on Earth.” The butterflies that hatch in North America in the late summer will migrate the entire way to Mexico, a journey that is around 3,000 miles.
Monarch butterflies are pollinators (授粉者) and help crops. But now they need our help, just like the bees. That’s why I raise and set free monarch butterflies. However, 10 years ago, I didn’t know a single thing about butterflies.
My husband has always collected monarch caterpillars to observe their changes. For Father’s Day six years ago, I gifted him a box with painted lady butterflies. I didn’t know much about butterflies at that time, but he showed me how to find monarch caterpillars and taught me about milkweed (马利筋). That is when we began raising a handful, seven or eight, monarch butterflies a year.
This year, I was determined to double that number. We saved all the milkweed that was growing around our house for the females to have plenty of options to lay their eggs and have food. Last year, I didn’t find any monarch eggs until late August. This year, I started in the middle of July, and my intake is already over 200.
A female monarch butterfly will lay up to 500 eggs, one single egg at a time. Of all those eggs laid, only one or two per 100 survive to complete the full change.
These monarch butterflies are endangered, so I hope more people will join us.
1. What does the author mean by saying “now it’s another story” in Paragraph 1?| A．Monarch butterflies are hard to see in the US now. |
| B．The author no longer lives in the country. |
| C．Monarch butterflies now mainly live in California. |
| D．The author no longer likes monarch butterflies now. |
| A．Spending a lot of time living in Mexico. |
| B．Being only able to survive in a hot climate. |
| C．Flying far to another place for a warmer environment. |
| D．Hatching in the late summer instead of spring. |
| A．It’s too costly to save monarch butterflies. |
| B．Planting milkweed is very important. |
| C．These butterflies like laying eggs on different plants. |
| D．One doesn’t need much knowledge to save these butterflies. |
| A．To show the importance of pollinators. |
| B．To encourage people to help save monarch butterflies. |
| C．To tell some basic facts about monarch butterflies. |
| D．To explain why monarch butterflies are worth saving. |
1.受灾情况；
2.捐助方式。
注意：1.词数100左右；
2.可以适当增添细节使行文连贯。
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7 . Pangolins (穿山甲) are strange-looking creatures, covered with hard scales (鳞). They can roll up into a ball to protect themselves from enemies and have tongues that are longer than their bodies.
Pangolins have recently become the focus of Chinese people. A screenshot (截屏) of a micro blog post showed some people eating pangolins at a feast spread. A few days later, people were angered again by pictures showing people eating protected animals, including pangolins.
Yet this is only the tip of the iceberg. Many more pangolins have been hunted or killed. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), more than 1 million of them have been killed or sold in the last 10 years. It also said that they are the most illegally traded mammals in the world. In September 2016, the IUCN added the pangolin to the world’s “endangered animals list”. They are now more endangered than pandas．
A growing trade of their scales and meat is the main reason for their decline in numbers. Many people in Asia and Africa consider pangolin meat is delicious. Some people even think pangolin scales have medicinal qualities. However, their scales are made of keratin (角蛋白), the same material human fingernails are made of.
Luckily, the situation is getting better. World Pangolin Day is on the third Saturday of February each year. It's a day to help people know more about pangolins. The government now stops anyone from buying and eating pangolins in China. Breaking this law is regarded as a crime. The trade of pangolins across the world is also not allowed, according to the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
1. Pangolins have caught people's attention these years because ________.| A．they look strange |
| B．they appear in some movies |
| C．they are killed and eaten by people |
| D．they have something to do with pandas |
| A．Pangolins can roll up into a ball to attack enemies. |
| B．More than 1 million pangolins were killed or sold last year. |
| C．Pangolins were named the most endangered animal in 2016. |
| D．The pangolin is a kind of mammal traded illegally worldwide. |
| A．attract people to the zoo to watch pangolins |
| B．raise people's awareness of protecting pangolins |
| C．remind people of pangolins' medical value |
| D．explain the protection law to the public |
| A．Positive. | B．Negative. |
| C．Disappointed. | D．Unconcerned. |
8 . In the far north, well above the Arctic Circle in Alaska, ground squirrels (地松鼠) are like little balls within a deep hole in the ground. If you look at one, you might think it is dead. The squirrel is as cold as ice. Its body temperature is –2℃. Its heart beats only once every 15 seconds. Its breathing stops for minutes at a time.
It’s not exanimate, of course — just hibernating (冬眠). But spring is on its way to Alaska. As the days are becoming longer and the ground becomes warm, the Arctic ground squirrels will be warm, too. At first, the increase will be almost too small to notice. “You see them begin to breathe a little more quickly — see their heart rate speed up,” says Brian Barnes, a zoologist of the University of Alaska. “As they get up to 10 to 20℃, you see them shivering (颤抖) quite clearly,” he notes, “just as we shiver.” This shivering is a type of way to create heat. “Once their body temperatures rise above 30℃,” he says, “they wake up, clean themselves, and move.” A squirrel that looked dead a few hours before is now very much alive.
Arctic ground squirrels are among the world’s coolest hibernators. Chilling out (放松) for months at a time lets them grow in this extremely cold place, where food is short. By studying how ground squirrels hibernate, scientists hope to answer some big questions. Among them: How do these animals go from warm to cold and back again? And might people ever do the same? The ability to chill out could help humans who suffer from brain injuries and heart problems survive.
1. What does the underlined word “exanimate” in the second paragraph mean?| A．Cold. | B．Weak. | C．Dead. | D．Tired. |
| A．To increase its body temperature. |
| B．To speed up its heart rate. |
| C．To restore its breathing. |
| D．To clean its body. |
| A．To show the results of the study. |
| B．To show the purpose of the study. |
| C．To show how the study was carried out. |
| D．To show people’s interest in ground squirrels. |
9 . As spring advances across the Midwest, a new study looking at blooming (盛开的) flowers suggests non-native plants might live longer than native plants due to climate change.
The study — led by researchers at Indiana University and Michigan State University — has shown warming temperatures affect native and non-native flowering plants differently, which could change the look of local landscapes (风景) over time. “When a plant flowers determines whether it will be pollinated (授粉) by bees or other insects and how much time it will have to produce seeds. Our data makes me worry that we will have a very weedy (杂草丛生的) world in our future.” said the study’s lead author Jen Lau, an associate professor in Indiana University.
The researchers’ findings suggest non-native plants may be better at shifting their flowering time compared to native plants. These differences are thought to influence a plant’s success both now and in future warmer environments.
Lau and her students simulated (模拟) global warming in fields planted with 45 native and non-native plants. Some areas were warmed by infrared (红外线的) heaters, while other areas were not. Lau’s lab surveyed all plants to determine when they first flowered and how long they flowered.
When plants were grown in warmed plots simulating the climate change expected in the Midwest by the end of the century, the researchers found that non-native plants flowered more than 11 days earlier on average. In contrast, native plants didn’t change flowering times at all when warmed.
They also found earlier-flowering non-native plants had greater geographic spread, suggesting that flowering earlier may help promote successful occupation across large areas.
The findings suggest important differences in how native and non-native plants respond to climate change.
1. What does the new study find about native plants compared with non-native?| A．They have a longer life cycle. |
| B．They are likely to have more flowers. |
| C．They are more adaptable to climate change. |
| D．They may be at greater risk from climate change. |
| A．She’s quite sure that a weedy world is waiting for us. |
| B．Plants may lose the ability to flower in the future. |
| C．The timing of a plant’s flowering is key to its life cycle. |
| D．A plant’s flowering time almost has no effect on its pollination. |
| A．Changing. | B．Postponing. |
| C．Arranging. | D．Predicting. |
| A．How global warming affected plant species |
| B．How the researchers tested their supposition. |
| C．How to keep the warmth of the planted fields. |
| D．How to determine the flowering times of plants. |
10 . A recent issue of National Geographic magazine described one of the wonders of the earth, the tiny silver ants of the Sahara desert. These ants live in areas where temperatures reach up to 57℃, as the article described it, an environment “where shoes melt.”
These tiny ants are amazing. In the Sahara desert, where most creatures avoid going out in the middle of the day to avoid high temperatures,the Saharan silver ants have evolved(进化)a number of adaptations to do just that. Scientists have discovered that several unique features of the Saharan silver ants permit them to grow well in a scorching climate.
These ants have longer legs than other ants, which keep their bodies critically greater distance away from the hot desert sand. The ants run 108 times the length of their own bodies every second at a speed of just over 3kph. And they keep track of the position of the sun, so that they always know the most direct route back to the nest, thus lowering their time spent in extreme heat. Their bodies produce proteins that resist heat. Some other creatures produce such proteins after they come in contact with extreme heat. But since the silver ants only exit the nest for a few minutes at a time — not long enough for the protein to take effect — they produce the protein while still in the nest before they go out, or they would die before the protein could take effect.
Researchers also discovered that the ants are covered on their tops and sides with the uniquely triangular(三角的)shape of the silver hairs,which enable them to dissipate(消散)heat.The hairs help an ant's body exchange its heat to a cooler area, even under full sun conditions. This discovery inspired the scientists, for it could lead to new materials and paints that can be applied to rooftops or cars to keep them cool. And it is also expected to be applied in clinical care, wearable devices,protective clothing and other fields.
1. What does the underlined word “scorching”in Paragraph 2 mean?| A．extremely chilly | B．extremely cool |
| C．extremely mild | D．extremely hot |
| A．The Saharan silver ants' hairs act like a tiny air-heating system. |
| B．The Saharan silver ants are born with the ability to track the moon. |
| C．The Saharan silver ants' adaptations to the desert are to be discovered. |
| D．Inspiration from the Saharan silver ants will bring up more new inventions. |
| A．After coming in contact with extreme heat. |
| B．Before traveling in the sun. |
| C．While running under full sun condition. |
| D．After coming back to the nest from outside. |
| A．Small Ants Make a Big Difference |
| B．Small Ants Hunt for Food Easily |
| C．Small Ants Survive in the Saharan Desert |
| D．Small Ants Jump the Fastest in the World |
