1 . The song of the Florida grasshopper sparrow is unusual and surprisingly insect-like. But it almost fell silent forever. In 2012, Joel Sartore, the founder of National Geographic Explorer and Photo Ark received a call from the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service: The songbird, an important ecological link in Florida’s dry grassland, was on the edge of extinction. With only a few dozen males showing up in counts, it was among North America’s most endangered bird species.
Sartore flew to Florida to photograph the bird and work with conservationists to raise awareness of the species’ difficult situation. The story appeared in outlets, such as newspapers, magazines and even the Internet, helping boost government funding for a breeding program. Thanks to these steps, there are now as many as 180 adults in the wild and researchers are working hard to bring the species back from the brink of extinction.
Like other examples of species survival, the push to save the sparrow is “a remarkable story of belief and cooperation,” says Sartore. It also shows what it takes to protect an endangered species: research, narratives, partnerships, resources and time. This journey shows the society’s mission to illustrate and protect the wonder of the world. Over the past 136 years, we’ve developed a unique Explorer-led model, combining science, exploration, education, and storytelling to drive impact. We support Explorer in more than 140 countries, including Sartore and others whose work appears in this issue: biologist André Green II, photographer Lynsey Addario and education advocate Ara Kusuma.
Sartore has been creating an “ark” of animal photos for 17 years. Portraits of more than 15, 000 species invite audiences to connect and care. With the society’s support, the images have appeared on landmarks and U. S. postage stamps, prompting on—the—ground conservation efforts such as an initiative of National Geographic Explorer and Photo Ark.
As Sartore says, “The sounds of birds are the sounds of a healthy planet. When we save a bird or another species, we’re actually saving ourselves.”
1. How does the author introduce the topic?A.By clarifying a concept. | B.By offering an example. |
C.By giving an explanation. | D.By quoting a remark. |
A.Stores. | B.Media. | C.Exits. | D.Books |
A.A funding program from the government. |
B.An ark of animal photos in the magazine. |
C.A unique initiative for species protection. |
D.A joint effort from different professionals. |
A.The urgency of species’ protection. |
B.The promotion of cooperative methods. |
C.The importance of coexistence. |
D.The situation of human survival. |
2 . Relatives of starfish, brittle stars (海蛇尾) spend most of their time hiding under rocks in the ocean or digging in the sand. These shy marine creatures have no brain to speak of—just nerve cords running down each of their five wiggly arms, which join to form a nerve ring near their mouth.
“There’s no processing center. Each of the nerve cords can act independently. Instead of a boss, it’s like a committee. That seems to be enough to learn by association,” said lead author Julia Notar. This type of leaning involves associating different stimuli via a process called classical conditioning (条件反射).
Classical conditioning has been demonstrated in a handful of previous studies in starfish. But brittle stars and similarly brainless starfish have not been tested.
To find out if brittle stars have the ability of learning, the researchers put 16 black brittle stars in individual water tanks and used a video camera to record their behavior. Half the brittle stars were trained by dimming the lights for 30 minutes whenever the animals were fed. Every time the lights went out, the researchers would put a bit of shrimp in the tanks, placed just out of reach. The other half got just as much shrimp and also experienced a 30-minute dark period, but never at the same time—the animals were fed under lit conditions.
Whether it was light or dark, the animals spent most of their time hiding behind the filters in their tanks, only coming out at mealtime. But only the trained brittle stars learned to associate darkness with food. They didn’t need to smell or taste the shrimp to react.
Notar said the results are exciting because classical conditioning hasn’t really been shown definitively in this group of animals before. “Knowing that brittle stars can learn means they’re not just robotic scavengers (清道夫) cleaning up the ocean floor,” Notar said. “They’re potentially able to expect and avoid predators (捕食者) or expect food because they’re learning about their environment.”
1. What is paragraph 1 about?A.The living habits of brittle stars. | B.The features of a brainless creature. |
C.The characteristics of the starfish. | D.The definition of classical conditioning. |
A.The hiding time in tanks. | B.The change of feeding location. |
C.The amount of the shrimp. | D.Light conditions at mealtime. |
A.Brittle stars can be trained to make a connection. |
B.Brittle stars can clean up the ocean floor. |
C.Brittle stars’ nerve cords can act independently. |
D.Brittle stars have a sharp sense of smell. |
A.Brainless brittle stars can act like robots. |
B.Brittle stars might keep away from catchers. |
C.Brittle stars are the only ocean floor cleaners. |
D.Brittle stars are adaptable to new environment. |
3 . Most people don’t know much about electric eels (鳗鱼), except that they produce electricity. Although not endangered, electric eels only live in one small region of the world and are hard to keep in captivity (圈养), so most people have never seen one.
The most important fact to know about electric eels is that they are not actually eels. Although it has a long body like an eel, the electric eel is actually a type of knifefish. Scientists have been confused about it for many years. The electric eel was first described by Linnaeus in 1766. At present, the electric eel is the only species in its family. It is only found in muddy, shallow waters surrounding the Amazon and Orinoco rivers in South America.
An electric eel living in water, needs to rise to the surface and breathe about once every ten minutes. In the wild, electric eels live about 15 years. In captivity by human being, they may live 22 years.
An electric eel has three organs in its belly that produce electricity. Together, the organs make up four-fifths of an eel’s body, allowing it to deliver low voltage or high voltage or use electricity for electrolocation. In other words, only 20 percent of an eel is devoted to its vital organs.
A shock from an electric eel is like the brief and sudden hit from an electric stick. Normally, the shock can’t kill a person. However, the eels can cause heart or respiratory failure from multiple shocks or in persons with underlying heart disease. More often, deaths from electric eels shocks occur when the sudden hit knocks a person in the water and they drown. Eel bodies are insulated, so they don’t normally shock themselves. However, if an eel is injured, the wound can make the eel vulnerable to electricity.
1. What can we learn about electric eels according to the passage?A.They are close to getting extinct. | B.They are used to living in clear rivers. |
C.They can breathe once every ten minutes. | D.They can possibly be raised in captivity. |
A.The living area. | B.The origin of the name. |
C.The shape of their body. | D.The reason for producing electricity. |
A.High voltage can shock an electric eel itself to death. |
B.Three organs in an electric eel’s belly produce electricity. |
C.Three organs in the belly can produce different voltages separately. |
D.Shocks from an electric eel may be a contributing cause of a person’s death. |
A.A website about biology. | B.A paper about endangered species. |
C.A science fiction about animals. | D.An engineering course about electricity. |
4 . This summer we witnessed interview teams at the North Pole wearing short sleeve shirts due to the warm weather. A study published on Aug 29 revealed more concerning issues in the supposedly coldest area of the world. Zombie ice from a massive Greenland ice sheet was confirmed to be melting, which would eventually raise global sea levels by at least 10 inches (27 centimeters) on its own, reported Associated Press (AP).
Zombie ice is the kind of ice that is still attached to thicker areas of ice but is no longer getting fed by larger glaciers. Since glaciers are getting less snow to make up for the amount of ice melted, once the zombie ice is melted, it cannot be re-formed.
Scientists decided to look at the balance of the ice. In perfect equilibrium (平衡), snow in the mountains of Greenland flows down and thickens the sides of glaciers, balancing out what’s melting on the edges, according to AP. But in the last few decades, there is less refill and more melting, creating an imbalance.
Study co-author William Colgan at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland told AP that 3.3 percent of Greenland’s total ice volume will melt eventually. “Starying would be a good phrase” for what’s happening to the ice, Colgan added.
With a great number of natural resources buried under the earth, areas of melted ice revealed treasures that attracted the world’s richest men. According to CNN, in early August, there was a “treasure hunt” in Greenland. Billionaires, including Bill Gates and others, financially backed KoBold Metals, a US-based mineral exploration company, to explore the rare metals under the glaciers in Greenland. The company told CNN that since there were enough minerals to power hundreds of millions of electric vehicles, the critical resource is capable of powering the green energy transition.
While investors are taking advantage of global warming, experts express their concerns that the mineral exploration is likely to worsen the local environment, running out of the world’s resources at a faster rate.
1. What do we know about zombie ice?A.It’s made up by nearby glaciers. | B.It’s independent from large glaciers. |
C.It will melt away from the ice cap. | D.It has increased sea levels by 10 inches. |
A.Why more zombie ice can’t be created. | B.How zombie ice was formed in the past. |
C.What the melting of zombie ice can lead to. | D.How zombie ice functions in the ecosystem. |
A.The ice has brought about starvation. | B.The ice is refilled more than before. |
C.The ice is becoming gradually thinner. | D.The ice has been good to skate on. |
A.To explain a natural phenomenon. | B.To comment on the “treasure hunt”. |
C.To call for environmental protection | D.To report on the melting zombie ice. |
About 5,000 years ago, to escape the cold weather, the ancestors of the Liangzhu people settled around the Taihu region
The Liangzhu ancient city was composed of the palace zone, the inner city and the outer city, and there
A complex multi-functional water management system was constructed on the northwest outskirts of the ancient city. Taking advantage of the natural terrain (地势), the system connected numerous valleys,
Jade (玉)
In 1936, the remains of the Liangzhu ancient City were found
6 . I was quite young when I married. My wife shared with me my love for animals and she got several
The black cat was beautiful. We named him Pluto. I liked him best so that I often fed him alone. Our friendship
One night I came home quite late from the inn. Walking with
It seemed a ring
I made my efforts to
A.adoptive | B.adorable | C.ambitious | D.adaptable |
A.started | B.appeared | C.lasted | D.passed |
A.left | B.claimed | C.beat | D.defeated |
A.regret | B.silence | C.music | D.wine |
A.adjust | B.anger | C.arrange | D.abandon |
A.smooth | B.flexible | C.stable | D.uncertain |
A.avoid | B.stop | C.bend | D.accuse |
A.actions | B.words | C.reason | D.reach |
A.constantly | B.purposely | C.intently | D.appropriately |
A.storm | B.thunder | C.rainbow | D.lightning |
A.awakening | B.striking | C.knocking | D.uplifting |
A.stressed | B.frightened | C.guilty | D.delicate |
A.unforgettable | B.unforgivable | C.unaffordable | D.unforeseen |
A.do away with | B.get away with | C.make up with | D.catch up with |
A.observing | B.assisting | C.impressing | D.surrounding |
7 . Human and their inventions, such as cars or plastic, have caused most environmental pollution on Earth. Today car emissions (排放物) are a major source of air pollution leading to climate change. In the meanwhile, plastics fill our ocean, creating a significant health issue to marine (海洋的) animals.
And what about the electric light, which is thought to be one of the greatest human inventions of all time? Electric light can be a beautiful thing, guiding us home when the sun goes down, keeping us safe and making our homes bright. However, like CO2 emissions and plastic, too much of a good thing has started to influence the environment. Light pollution, the wrong use of outdoor light, is affecting human health, wildlife behavior and our ability to observe stars.
Light pollution is a global issue. This became obvious when the World Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness, a computer-created map based on thousands of satellite photos, was published in 2016, which can be viewed online. The map shows how and where our globe is lit up at night. Vast areas of North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia are glowing (发光) with light, while only the most distant regions on Earth (Greenland, Central African Republic and Niue) are in total darkness. Some of the most light-polluted countries in the world are Singapore, Qatar, and Kuwait.
Sky glow is the brightening of the night sky, mostly over cities, due to the electric lights of cars, streetlamps, offices, factories, outdoor advertising, and buildings, turning night into day for people who work and play long after sunset.
People living in cities with high levels of sky glow have a hard time seeing more than a handful of stars at night. Astronomers (宇航员) are particularly concerned with sky glow pollution as it reduces their ability to view stars.
Mostly over 80 percent of the world's population, and 99 percent of Americans and Europeans live under sky glow.
1. What can we learn from paragraph 2?A.Electric light should be not be used outdoors. | B.Electric light is the main factor to keep us safe. |
C.Electric light has both advantages and disadvantages. | D.Electric light is the greatest human invention. |
A.Niue. | B.Singapore. | C.Kuwait. | D.Qatar. |
A.Keeping the streetlamps on. | B.Littering plastics about. |
C.Driving cars around. | D.Overfishing marine animals. |
A.Uncaring. | B.Unclear. | C.Worried. | D.Satisfied. |
8 . A report from the UN warns that countries’ current commitments would reduce carbon by only about 7.5% by 2030, far less than the 45% cut, which scientists say is needed to limit global temperature rises to 1.5℃, the aim of the COP26 summit (峰会).
Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary-general, described the findings as a “thundering wake-up call” to world leaders, while experts called for action against fossil fuel companies.
Although more than 100 countries have promised to reach net zero emissions (净零排放) around mid-century, this would not be enough to avoid climate disasters, according to the UN emissions report, which examines the shortfall (差额) between countries’ intentions and actions needed on the climate. Many of the net zero commitments were found to be unclear, and unless accompanied by strict cuts in emissions this decade would allow global heating of a potentially disastrous extent.
Gutierrez said: “The heat is on, and as the contents of the report show, the leadership we need is off. Far off. Countries are wasting a massive opportunity to invest Covid-19 finance and recovery resources in sustainable, cost-saving, planet-saving ways. As world leaders prepare for COP26, that is another thundering wake-up call. How many do we need?”
Inger Andersen, the director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said: “Climate change is no longer a future problem. It is a now problem. To stand a chance of limiting global warming to 1.5℃, we have 8 years to almost halve greenhouse gas emissions: 8 years to make the plans, put in place the policies, carry them out and deliver the cuts. The clock is ticking loudly.”
Emissions fell by about 5.4% last year during Covid lockdowns, the report found, but only about one-fifth of the economic recovery spending goes towards reducing carbon emissions. This failure to “build back better”, despite promises by governments around the world, cast doubt on the world’s willingness to make the economic shift necessary to settle the climate crisis, the UN said.
In the run-up (前期) to COP26, countries were supposed to submit (递交) national plans to cut emissions—called nationally determined contributions (NDCs) —for the next decade, a requirement under the 2015 Paris climate agreement. But the UNEP report found only half of countries had submitted new NDCs, and some governments had presented weak plans.
1. Why were the findings described as a “thundering wake-up call” in Para. 2?A.Because the world has failed to live up to its current commitments. |
B.Because the opportunities presented by covid-19 have been wasted. |
C.Because the world is falling behind in slowing down temperature rises. |
D.Because the serious problems were brought about by global fossil fuels. |
A.strict measures are taken to reduce emissions |
B.current commitments of many countries remain unchanged |
C.huge gaps are bridged between previous and present proposals |
D.global sustainable environmental resources develops significantly |
A.To show the number of alarm clocks required. |
B.To explain the reason for the world’s wasting chances. |
C.To ask for the number of the countries attending the meeting. |
D.To stress the need to make the most of resources and reduce emissions. |
A.Few countries have submitted plans to reduce the emissions. |
B.Many countries’ plans to cut emissions are far from satisfactory. |
C.Most of the countries work under the Paris Climate Agreement. |
D.Much progress in reducing emissions his been made these years. |
9 . If you have ever found yourself concluding that intelligence is in short supply in the modern world, perhaps you are looking in the wrong place. There are still plenty of smarts to be found elsewhere.
You will be familiar with the cleverness of dolphins and chimpanzees. But what about wasps (黄蜂)? They can recognize human faces. Or mosquitoes? They can learn to avoid being killed by chemicals after a single taste.
Such an astonishing group of talent is rather unsettling, which raises fundamental questions like what actually is intelligence, how did it develop and how do the abilities of various organisms (生物) compare? Evaluating intelligence in nature is tricky, particularly in life forms that are very different from us. Now a group of neuroscientists, AI researchers and philosophers want to create a periodic table of intelligence similar to the one used to categorize the chemical elements. The chemical version sorts elements by their atomic (原子的) number or atomic mass. For intelligence, researchers are still looking for a criterion that is equally straightforward. But where to begin?
It certainly isn’t brain size, as was long thought. Behavior might be a better way to categorize cleverness. But testing for intelligence through behavior is difficult. Recognizing oneself in a mirror is seen as a sign of advanced cognition (认知). Dolphins and bats can do it — but dogs typically can’t. Does this reflect a lack of intelligence in dogs or perhaps something else, such as their reliance more on smell than vision. Likewise, many organisms live in environments that are obviously different from ours and so might use senses that we don’t even possess.
Nevertheless, the researchers behind the initiative think intelligence might become clearer through a combination of behavioral and neuroanatomical (神经解剖学的) features. “We’re going to ask, are there kinds of intelligence, and can we identify structural features that are organizational of those kinds of intelligence?” says Andrew Barron at Macquarie University. “If we can, then we are starting to identify things that can be thought of as possible dimensions of intelligence.”
1. Why are wasps and mosquitoes mentioned in paragraph 2?A.To make comparisons between them. |
B.To prove smarts are in short supply. |
C.To show there are other forms of intelligence. |
D.To illustrate their similarities with humans. |
A.It is upsetting to see different talents in natural settings. |
B.It is hard to compare the abilities of different species. |
C.Life forms in the natural world are different from humans. |
D.It requires us to answer some basic questions about intelligence. |
A.Factors like brain size matter more. |
B.Other features need to be considered. |
C.Some organisms possess similar senses. |
D.All animals show signs of advanced cognition. |
A.Different Minds | B.Surprising Behaviors |
C.Unique Senses | D.Diverse Species |
10 . By flying in silence, the owl (猫头鹰) holds a deadly advantage over its prey (猎物), which is thought to have no idea of its hunter’s approach until its final moments.
Researchers have spent more than 80 years trying to solve the mystery of how owls, unique among birds, slice through the air creating just a whisper of audible (听觉的) disturbance. They hope to make use of the findings to reduce the noise generated by aircraft wings, fans and wind turbine blades (涡轮机叶片).
Extensive progress has been made, including developing innovations that have reduced noise from a wind turbine by as much as ten decibels (分贝), the difference between passing car and a passing truck, according to the authors of the study, Justin Jaworski and Nigel Peake.
However, in the study, published in the Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics, they conclude that “the primary barrier to the design of owl-inspired technologies remains the lack of understanding of the essential physics of silent owl flight”. The slight swoosh (嗖) made by an incoming barn owl is below the reach of human hearing until the bird is just under one metre away, laboratory measurements have shown.
In 1934, Robert Rule Graham, a British bird enthusiast and pilot, noted three structural aspects of owl wings that may help to explain their quiet approach: an unusual “comb” structure projecting from the wing’s leading edge, a soft layer of downy feathers that covers most of the wing and a ragged fringe (外围) of feathers that line the trailing wing edge. His theory is widely cited (引用).
Some researchers found that many larger owl species, such as the barn owl, can continuously track their prey in flight by hearing alone, meaning that any aerodynamic noise does not interfere with their tracking ability. When an aeroplane lands, much of the noise comes not from its engines but from the flow of air rushing around it. The ragged, feathered fringes of the owl’s wings may help to reduce the noise.
1. What is the purpose of the researchers’ study on owls?A.To understand the flying techniques of owls. |
B.To increase the flying speed of aircraft. |
C.To help hunters catch their preys with ease. |
D.To put the secret of owls’ quiet flight to use. |
A.compare the noise of cars with that of trucks |
B.illustrate the great achievements of the research |
C.show the striking difference between trucks and cars |
D.explain there is still a long way to go in reducing noise |
A.Lacking the source of inspiration. |
B.Limited sense of hearing of human beings. |
C.Failing to understand how owls fly silently. |
D.Blindness to the structure of owls’ wings. |
A.Owls don’t move their wings when hunting for their prey. |
B.The flying barn owl can follow their prey just by hearing. |
C.Much of the plane’s noise comes from its engines when landing. |
D.The feathered fringes of the owl’s wings generate the flow of air. |