1 . Standing out from the crowd isn’t always a good thing.

Birds with uncommon traits like big beaks(喙), long tails and extended wings are more likely to be threatened and face extinction, new research finds.

“We are fascinated by the diversity of the planet’s bird species. At the same time, we are deeply concerned about the threats these birds face,” lead author Jarome Ali, a PhD candidate at Princeton University, says. Ali completed the research at Imperial College London.

For their work, researchers analyzed measurement data collected from 9, 943 bird species, which are about 99% of all living bird species. The information came from both living birds as well as museum specimens(标本). The measurements included beak size and shape, as well as the length of legs, tails and wings. Researchers combined the information on physical traits with the birds’ risk of extinction. Next, they ran simulations(模拟) about what would occur if the most threatened birds were to become extinct.

“All our simulations showed that extinction has worse effects on the diversity of bird shapes than we expected. This is deeply concerning, but not shocking given that we first found that threatened birds were more unique than non-threatened birds,” Ali says.

The researchers weren’t sure what could explain the link between unusual birds and their extinction risk. “Unique birds are likely to play specialized roles in the ecosystem. One possible explanation is that as habitats come under threat, these specialized roles are likely to be the first to be targeted,” Ali says. “For example, if you were a hummingbird and specialized to feed on a small subset of plants, then damage to your habitat would be worse than if you were a less unique bird that eats a whole range of foods.”

“The loss of these rare birds has an impact on the environment because their role in the ecosystem is lost,” Ali says. “Our findings imply that we cannot simply hope that non-threatened species will come in and fill the role of the threatened species.”

1. What did the researchers do for the study?

A．They only focused on living bird species.

B．They analyzed data on most bird species.

C．They saved a number of threatened birds.

D．They made a map of all the extinct birds.

2. What is Jarome Ali’s feeling after knowing the finding of the simulations?

A．Relief.

B．Disappointment.

C．Surprise.

D．Concern.

3. What can we learn from Jarome Ali’s words in the last paragraph?

A．Rare threatened bird species’ role is unique.

B．The loss of rare birds is actually unavoidable.

C．Non-threatened species will take the leading role.

D．The impact of bird loss can be easily controlled.

4. What is the main idea of the text?

A．Rare birds are the future of the ecosystem.

B．Birds with rare features have lost their place.

C．The current ecosystem is going unbalanced.

D．Unusual birds are more likely to go extinct.

2 . Harbour seals may sound different than expected from their body size. Is this ability related to their vocal (声音的) talents or is it the result of an anatomical (身体结构上的) adaptation? An international team of researchers led by scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics Nijmegen investigated the vocal tracts of harbour seals, which matched their body size. This means that harbour seals are capable of learning new sounds thanks to their brains rather than their anatomy.

Most animals produce calls that reflect their body size. A larger animal will sound lower-pitched because its vocal tract, the air-filled tube that produces and filters sounds, is longer. But harbour seals do not always sound like they look. They may sound larger —perhaps to impress a rival (对手)—or smaller—perhaps to get attention from their mothers. Are these animals very good at learning sounds (vocal learners), or have their vocal tracts adapted to allow this vocal flexibility?

To answer this question, PhD student Koen De Reus and senior investigator Andrea Ravignani from the MPI worked together with researchers from Sealcentre Pieterburen. The team measured young harbour seals’ vocal tracts and body size. The measurements were taken from 68 young seals (up to twelve months old) who had died. The team also re-analysed previously gathered harbour seal vocalisations to confirm their impressive vocal flexibility.

De Reus and Ravignani found that the length of harbour seals’ vocal tracts matched their body size. There were no anatomical explanations for their vocal skills. Rather, the researchers argue that only vocal learning can explain why harbour seals do not always sound like they look. “Vocal learners will sound different from their body size, but the size of their vocal tracts will match their body size. The combined findings from acoustic (听觉的) and anatomical data may help us to identify more vocal learners,” says de Reus. “Studying different vocal learners may help us to find the biological bases of vocal learning and shed light on the evolution of complex communication systems, such as speech.” “The more we look, the more we see that seals have something to say about human speech capacities.” adds Ravignani.

1. What can we learn from the passage?

A．Harbour seals’ voice matches their body size.

B．If harbour seals were in danger, they would sound larger.

C．The young harbour seals produce higher-pitched sound than the old.

D．Harbour seals have their vocal tracts adapted to allow their vocal flexibility.

2. Why did De Reus and Ravignani conduct their research?

A．To explain why harbour seals’ voice is flexible.

B．To confirm the flexibility of harbour seals’ voice.

C．To find out the relation between harbour seals’ vocal tracts and their body size.

D．To prove harbour seals are capable of learning new sound because of their anatomy.

3. What’s the meaning of the underlined sentence in the last paragraph?

A．Seals have something to do with humans.

B．Studying seals contributes to improving humans speech capacities.

C．The more we know about seals’ vocal learning, the better our speech will be.

D．The deeper insight into seals’ vocal learning contributes to human speech capacities.

4. Which of the following can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Harbour Seals’ Voice	B．Harbour Seals’ Vocal Skills
C．Harbour Seals’ Vocal Learning	D．Harbour Seals’ Vocal Adaptation

3 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当单词或括号内单词的正确形式。       

The Great Wall winds its way from west to east, across deserts, upon mountains, through valleys till at last it reaches the sea. It is one of the most famous places of interest in China and Chinese people are very proud of it. Every year a lot of people came to the Great wall to feel the     1     (great) of the ancient people.

The Great Wall has     2     history of over twenty centuries. The first part of it     3    (build) during the Spring and Autumn Period. During the Warring States Period,     4    (many) walls were put up to defend the borders of the different kingdoms. During the Qin Dynasty, the Emperor Qinshihuang had all the walls    5    (join) up. Thus, the Great Wall came     6     being.

    7    was very difficult to build such a wall in the ancient days without any modern machines. All the work was done by hand.     8    (thousand) of men died and were buried under the wall they built. It was made not only of stone and earth,     9     also of the flesh and blood of millions of men.

Today the Great Wall is a place of interest not only to the Chinese but also to people from all over the world. Many people know the famous Chinese saying: “He     10     does not reach the Great Wall is not a true man.”

4 . Floodwaters may not look all that dangerous on TV, especially if you’re a skilled swimmer.    1    Because they can happen with little to no warning.

    2     So sign up for local weather alerts (警报), and be sure to check local forecasts if the weather starts to look a little questionable. It also helps to know what places are most likely to flood in your area.

As soon as you receive word of a flash flood, immediately head for higher ground and stay put until help arrives. If you see floodwaters, follow the advice “turn around, don’t drown.”    3    Just six inches of moving water can trip you up and knock you over. Anything deeper than your ankles is bad news, especially at night when it’s much harder to see. As you make your way to higher ground, avoid touching or getting near any electrical equipment since you’re probably wet or standing in water.     4    

If you get swept away by floodwaters, hold or climb onto something as soon as you are able. Once you’ve climbed onto something, shout loudly for help and wave an arm if possible. It’s hard for rescue teams to find people in the water, so anything you can do to make yourself more noticeable is a big help.    5     Keep shouting and waving until you’re rescued.

A．But flash floods are actually extremely dangerous.

B．Don’t go home!

C．Awareness and prevention is always going to be your best chance of survival.

D．Don’t give up!

E．And if floodwaters have reached your home, do not use your home’s power.

F．Besides, you can’t exactly tell how deep water is.

G．That means avoiding all moving water.

5 . 阅读下列短文，根据短文内容或括号内所给词的恰当形式填空。

A research team led by Guo Songtao, professor at the Northwest University in China, is developing a system with facial recognition and other technologies     1    (identify) golden snub-nosed monkeys(川金丝猴),     2     are a protected species living in the Qinling Mountains in Northwest China. Called “Tri-AI”, the system can detect, track and recognize individual animals from videos and images,     3    (make) all-time monitoring and behavior analysis of animals possible.

“In the past few years, machine learning     4     (apply) to recognize species, but accurate individual recognition is the first step to do in animal behavior analysis and animal     5     (protect),” Guo told Global Times, noting the system enables researchers to achieve this goal.

    6     (previous), to monitor and track a particular animal, researchers usually used radio collars(无线电项圈) to mark     7    . But this method often injures the animal or is easy to be disturbed by bad weather, leaving the researchers faced     8     the challenge of finding out the one they want to track among a group of animals in the wild.

With the facial recognition technology     9     (adopt) on animals, it may be much     10     (easy) to protect rare animals than 10 years ago.

6 . The humble honey bee is responsible for up to 80 per cent of plant pollination (授粉) worldwide. But population numbers are in steep decline because of habitat loss, pesticides and pollution — threatening our food security. One startup has identified a potential solution — the common hoverfly (食蚜蝇).

UK-based designer Tashia Tucker has created an AI-based technology called Olombria, which encourages hoverflies to increase their pollination levels to match that of bees. Although flies perform approximately 30 percent of the world’s pollination, they aren’t as efficient as bees, often getting distracted and “wandering off” before they can carry pollen between plants.

Olombria is a solution — an AI pollination system that encourages hoverflies to pollinate targeted sites when the plants are in bloom (鲜花盛开). The system consists of sensors, cameras and chemical signaling devices placed within specified areas of an orchard or field. It starts by collecting data on the level and diversity of pollinators in a grower’s field as well as pollination effectiveness.

This information, combined with other environmental data — time, the location and temperature, allows the system to paint an overall picture of pollinator health and then take action. “We first provide that baseline data,” Tucker explains, “so we have an understanding of where there are deficiencies (缺乏) and areas that need to be improved, and then we distribute our natural chemical signaling from the device.”

Depending on what areas of an orchard need pollinating, Olombria’s AIcloud system triggers chosen devices to release organic chemicals that encourage hoverflies to move towards those specific areas. “The chemicals do not change what the flies would naturally do, but target their location and increase the amount of pollen that they’re picking up and transferring,” Tucker explains.

The hoverflies work in cooperation with the bees and, through Tucker’s research, she’s found that the hoverflies even encourage bees to become more efficient pollinators. “There’s a bit of competition; it focuses the bees’ pollination as there’s another insect in the area,” says Tucker.

As a designer, Tucker initially designed Olombria’s device to look like a fruit to reflect the ethos (气质) of the design. “When I started working with farmers, I knew I needed to design the technology to be strong enough to stay out in the field and in various weather conditions,” says Tucker. Since then, Tucker has changed the design and is exploring what colors work well with insects. “As we start to streamline the technology, it is becoming more refined,” Tucker explains. “As an AI system, it’s great, as it’s just getting smarter as the technology develops.”

1. Why are hoverflies not so efficient at plant pollination?

A．Most of them don’t know how to pollinate plants.

B．They can hardly focus on their pollinating work.

C．They have great difficulty carrying pollen.

D．The population of them is declining.

2. What does Olombria first do to encourage hoverflies to pollinate plants?

A．Take pictures of plants in a field.	B．Examine overall plant health there.
C．Choose chemical signaling devices.	D．Get basic facts about pollinators there.

3. What is the purpose in releasing organic chemicals?

A．To attract hoverflies to a certain area.	B．To change pollinators’ behavior.
C．To make pollen attractive to hoverflies.	D．To locate the position of pollinators.

4. Why did Tucker make changes to her design?

A．To deal with pollination crisis quickly.	B．To make it attractive in appearance.
C．To meet the demands of AI systems.	D．To make it as practical as possible.

7 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

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.

8 . Cold winter coming

Big snowstorms and cold air swept across northern China in the first week of November. Many people trembled in the freezing cold. At the same time, a global meeting on climate change—COP 26—was held in Glasgow, Scotland. There, leaders from around the world tried to deal with global warming.

Why are we experiencing such a cold winter on a warming planet? The cold winter and global warming, two seemingly opposite facts, are not contradictory. Global warming does not happen evenly(均衡地) on Earth, and it causes more extreme heat and cold.

Because of the warming climate, China has seen a growing average temperature in winter. It has increased by 0.41 C every ten years since 1961. But in some cases, the country has also seen freezing cold—for example, the icy weather in early 2008.

Global warming has changed Earth’s air circulation(循环), affecting the local weather through sea-air or land-air interaction. For example, in October, La Nina affected China. It is a weather pattern caused by strong winds above the Pacific Ocean. It brought more cold air to China.

Another reason for the cold weather is the warming Arctic. It is warming almost three times as fast as any other place on Earth. The polar vortex(极地涡旋)—a rotating pool of cold air—becomes unstable as the temperature increases there. So, lots of cold Arctic air then goes southward.

Will this winter be much colder? The official forecast said a cold winter is likely. Northern China will probably see more snow than average, and southern China less rainfall than average.

1. The underlined word “contradictory” probably means ________.

A．opposite

B．common

C．similar

D．false

2. The icy weather in early 2008 may show that ________.

A．global warming is not as serious as we thought

B．global warming can cause extra rain

C．global warming doesn’t happen

D．global warming can also cause extreme cold

3. What is the most common effect of a La Nina event in China according to the text?

A．A rise in temperature.	B．Less rainfall.
C．Colder winters.	D．Big storms.

4. According to the official forecast, ________.

A．there will be lots of snow in southern China this winter

B．northern China will probably see a cold winter

C．southern China will be warmer and wetter this winter

D．this winter will not be as cold as usual

5. What is the author’s main purpose in writing the article?

A．To explain the connection between the cold snap and global warming

B．To describe the phenomenon and causes of La Nina.

C．To predict if this winter will be particularly cold.

D．To discuss the importance of stopping global warming.

9 . Wildlife crossings don’t just protect animals. They can also mitigate problems related to wildlife-vehicle collisions (碰撞) and save significant money for a community.

Wildlife crossings are man-made structures that help animals move safely around their habitat. They are often paths under or over another existing road or railway, or underground passages for animals to get past for food or avoiding attacks.

Some animals are unable to migrate to survive. People still rely on highways for business and travel, and animals continue to have mobility needs for survival, though. When new roads are built, animals living in a part of their habitat can greatly increase the number of wildlife vehicle collisions while trying to cross the new barriers.

In a new study, Wisnu Sugiarto, a Washington State University economics doctoral student, examined data for 13 of the 22 wildlife crossings, including bridges and underpasses, in the Washington State. He compared the number of wildlife-vehicle collisions each year before and after the construction of a wildlife crossing. He considered the area within 10 miles of a crossing.

Then he compared his analysis to a separate area in the state with no crossings at all. “The findings reported that wildlife crossing structures reduced the number of wildlife-vehicle collisions by one to three accidents on average per mile per year,” Sugiarto said. “Therefore, building wildlife crossing structures is typically an essential and effective strategy to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions.”

“Trior to working on this research, I wasn’t aware of any strategies to reduce wildlife vehicle collisions. I also thought we couldn’t do much about it, partly because we wouldn’t be able to communicate with wildlife and control their movement,” Sugiarto added. “However, it turns out that there are multiple strategies to deal with issues related to wildlife-vehicle collisions and we can do something about them. ”

It is reported that the government has invested $ 350 million over five years for the construction of wildlife crossings. Every wildlife crossing offers a mean benefit of between $235,000 and $443,000 each year.

1. What does the underlined word “mitigate” in paragraph 1 mean?

A．Analyze.

B．Reduce.

C．Study.

D．Discover.

2. What does the third paragraph mainly tell us?

A．How the wildlife crossings are built.

B．Why wildlife crossings are necessary.

C．What should be done to cross the roads.

D．When wildlife-vehicle collisions happen.

3. What is Sugiarto’s attitude to the construction of wildlife crossings?

A．Tolerant.	B．Skeptical.
C．Favorable.	D．Conservative.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Wildlife crossings save wild animals and money

B．The size of wildlife crossings affects animals greatly

C．Every wildlife crossing has a great effect on road safety

D．Wildlife crossings manage to help animals move safely

10 . According to the National Audubon Society, about 60 percent of all North American bird species have experienced northward shift during migration over the past four decades. This is symbolic of habitat loses from human development, as well as climate change. Without taking action to protect migratory bird’s habitats, many of these species will eventually die out, which in turn can destroy the ecosystems that depend on the bird species. While these numbers are based in North American, bird extinction is a worldwide problem.

World Migratory Bird Day was established in 2006 as a holiday to help educate the public and raise awareness about the growing problems that are affecting the habitats of bird species around the world. It has since become a holiday recognized by the United Nations, and it helps to organize events in numerous countries. World Migratory Bird Day was established at the height of the age in which humans were starting to understand the influence of climate change.

Since World Migratory Bird Day is held over the second weekend of May, the dates can differ. In 2014, the holiday started on Saturday, May 10^th. In 2015, the starting date was May 9^th. Celebrating the holiday over an entire weekend gives families and bird enthusiasts alike a chance to get outdoors and learn more about migratory birds.

Education is at the center of World Migratory Bird Day celebration. The number of programs and festivals continue to grow each year, the content differing by area. World Migratory Bird Day provides people with the opportunity to learn about their favourite birds, and there are often bird watching tours planned for that weekend.

While World Migratory Bird Day can be a fun way to learn about birds and their habitats, the weekend holiday is also focused on some serious notes surrounding conservation. At events and festivals, the public can learn exactly how their native birds’ habitats are being destroyed, and more importantly, people can learn how to stop the destruction.

1. What does the first paragraph mainly talk about?

A．The destruction of ecosystems.

B．The seriousness of bird extinction.

C．The reason to protect migratory birds.

D．Causes of migratory birds’ habitat losses.

2. Which of the following does the author agree with?

A．Climate change is the main cause of bird extinction.

B．Migratory birds’ habitat losses may endanger our ecosystem.

C．Bird extinction is a matter of course of historical development.

D．There is no doubt that bird migration can speed up global warming.

3. What does the author think of the establishment of World Migratory Bird Day?

A．Worthy but impractical.

B．Timely and educational.

C．Simple but beneficial.

D．Meaningless and wasteful.

4. What do you know about World Migratory Bird Day?

A．It is suitable for people of certain ages.

B．The dates of celebrations are changeable.

C．It is held by bird enthusiasts and experts.

D．It aims to provide chances for families to unite.

5. What can be inferred from the last two paragraph?

A．People can watch the whole process of bird migration.

B．People have the chance to have a direct connection with birds.

C．Learning to recognize birds is the key purpose of celebration.

D．The holiday lets people appreciate and encourage protection of birds.