1 . You’ve probably heard of a hybrid(杂交物种)in films or books. The centaurs in the Harry Potter films are hybrids of human and horse.     1    

Hybridization occurs in both plants and animals.     2     What’s more, many plants that people eat, from strawberries to carrots, corn and potatoes, have been created by hybridization.

Cross-breeding(杂交)sometimes occurs when animals’ normal territory overlaps(部分重叠).     3     The grolar bear is a hybrid that happens when grizzly and polar bears mate. As the environment warms, grizzlies in Alaska and Canada wander further north, bringing them into contact with polar bears.

Artificial mixing often happens in zoos, where different species that don’t normally meet in the wild can be introduced to each other. Ligers(lion and tiger hybrids)are unlikely to occur in nature, because the only place that their habitats overlap is the Gir Forest in India.     4     Mixed species are more likely to be born with health issues than other animals. Most hybrids born in zoos are infertile, which means they are unable to have babies. However, many cross-breeds born in the wild, like the grolar bear, can have their own babies.

    5     “It’s part of the evolutionary process,” he says. Fertile hybrids can lead to the creation of a new species and increase the variety of living things.

A．Wildlife conservation is of significance.

B．Did you know hybridization is a biological process?

C．That’s due to habitat destruction or changing climate.

D．Did you know that hybrids appear in the natural world, too?

E．Jimmy believes species hybridization in nature is a good thing.

F．Many conservationists think that creating hybrids is a bad thing.

G．Living things, especially plants, will naturally hybridize in the wild.

2 . A recent study in Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems shows that tomato fruits are able to transmit alerts to their mother plant when attacked by caterpillars.

Plants have a large number of chemical and hormonal signaling pathways, which are generally transmitted through the sap (树液). Given the facts that fruits just hang from the main plant before ultimately falling off and sap typically only runs from the plant no the fruit—not back and forth between the two—it has long been unclear whether or not fruits can transmit information to the plant.

To address that question, scientists at Brazil’s Federal University of Pelotas placed tomato plants in a Faraday cage. Electrodes (电极) were attached to the ends of the plants’ branches, at the points where they connected to the fruits. Then they measured electrical responses within the branches before, during and after a 24-hour period in which the frits were attacked by caterpillars. Machine-learning-based algorithms were used to identify patterns in the signals.

It was found that there was a “clear difference” between the signals before and after caterpillar attacks. Additionally, defensive biochemical responses were observed throughout the plants’ bodies, suggesting that they had been triggered by signals sent by the fruits. The researchers gave the following explanation. The tomato fruit, sensing a nearby insect, emitted electrical signals to reach the rest of the plant. These warming impulses were received by the main plant and as a result, the rest of the plant got prepared to fight off the unwanted invaders. The tomato fruit made sure that the plant produced chemicals that were unpleasant to taste, so that hungry caterpillars stayed of the fruit.

The scientists now plan on investigating whether other fruiting plants behave in the same manner as tomatoes, and whether their fruits respond to threats other than insects. “It will be possible to detect early signs of pest presence, allowing for less aggressive control measures and more accurate insect management,” explains Niemeyer Reissig, first author of a paper on the study. “Understanding how the plant interacts with its fruits, and the fruits among themselves, may bring insights into bow to ‘manipulate’ this communication for enhancing fruit quality, resistance to pests and shelf life after harvest.”

1. What is the purpose of the research?

A．To state an issue about pest management.

B．To prove the significance of sap transmission.

C．To explain the effects of insect attacks on fruit quality.

D．To better know the interaction between fruits and plants.

2. What happened to the tomato plant during the research?

A．It got ready to protect itself.	B．It sent out poisonous chemicals.
C．It sent warning signals to the fruits.	D．It made few electrical responses.

3. What might future studies contribute to?

A．Extended fruit harvest periods.	B．Prevention of insect threats.
C．Improvement in the output of fruits.	D．Decrease in the number of pest species.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Do fruits of a plant sense insects first?

B．Can fruits warn mother plants of pest attacks?

C．Do plants experience the same threats as their fruits?

D．Can all parts of a plant communicate with each other?

3 . A group of farmers in Nigeria is using a technology-based method to grow crops from small drops of water in the air. The method, known as aeroponics, does not involve soil. Instead, plant roots hang in the air.

Aeroponics is not well-known in Nigeria, but farmers there are working to make the technique more popular. The technique could make a big difference in places like the city of Abeokuta. Violent conflicts and desertification--the process by which rich land becomes deserts--have made huge amounts of land unsuitable for farming.

Biochemist Samson Ogbole is popularly known as Nigeria's smart farmer. He and his team are growing crops without soil at the technology-based farm they started three years ago in Abeokuta. “We are putting an end to seasonal food shortage in Nigeria,” said Ogbole. “Because we are the ones controlling everything that the plant requires--we are not depending on seasons. So it's no longer seasonal farming. It is just farming any time of the year, meaning you can plant any time of the year. We can harvest any time of the year,” said Ogbole.

But setting up the aeroponic farm was not easy. “It required more than $180,000,” Ogbole said. And, some people in Abeokuta were very much against this non-traditional method of farming. “It took a lot of effort to change people's minds about aeroponics,” said Ogbole.

In Nigeria, about 30 million hectares（公顷）of farmland is being used, instead of the 78.5 million hectares required for food security. Violent conflicts and desertification are the top reasons why the farmland is being lost. And only 49 percent of the land is rich. Besides, most farmers do not have the technical knowledge to increase productivity. They are also in need of high-quality seeds to guarantee better harvests.

For now, technologically skilled farmers like Samson Ogbole are offering a new way forward.

1. What is special about aeroponics?                           .

A．Crops are not grown in soil.	B．Crops can grow all by themselves
C．Crops without roots can grow well.	D．Crops can grow well without water.

2. Why is aeroponics especially important to Abeokuta?

A．Because there are not many farmers there.

B．Because there isn't plenty of rich land there.

C．Because many farmers there are terribly violent.

D．Because farmers there are thirsty for farming techniques.

3. What does the new method enable farmers to do?

A．Reduce the cost of farming.	B．Produce crops of higher quality.
C．Grow crops whenever they like.	D．Keep crops fresh for a longer period.

4. Which of the following could be the most suitable title for the passage?

A．A new method of growing crops

B．Ways to turn deserts into rich land

C．Techniques for developing high-quality seeds

D．The importance of fighting against worldwide hunger

4 . When Joseph Cook first landed on the Greenland ice sheet in 2010, he was expecting to see a primitive white environment. What he found was "colorful mix"-from blacks and grays to greens, purples and browns, with blue streams cutting through the ice. the rainbow colors Cook encountered are created by a collection of tiny life forms that reproduce on the surface of the ice sheet. Biodiversity is usually considered a good thing, but in this case the abundance of tiny life is speeding up ice melt, and likely causing global sea levels to rise faster than scientists have predicted

Cook says the tiny life forms he studies are contributing to the problem. One of these organisms is an algae(海藻) that grows in the thin layer of water on the surface of the ice. it produces purple-brown- pigment(色素) which acts “like a natural sunscreen, "says Cook, protecting the algae from the full force of the Arctic sunlight. The pigment also causes the ice to heat up and melt.

“If you go out on a hot day wearing a black T-shirt, you get warmer than if you go out on a hot day wearing a white T-shirt. The same thing happens on the ice," says Cook. "These algae, like the black T-shirt for the glacier, are causing it to warm up in the sun and melt faster.”

Cook’s research on a part of the Greenland ice sheet covering 3, 900 square miles revealed that algae is responsible for up to 13% of the ice melt. In some localized areas, the algae boosted melting by up to 26%.

Glacier algae are not a new phenomenon-there are records of them in the diaries of polar explorers from the 1870s, says Cook. What's becoming clear is that ice sheets are surprisingly dynamic and complex environments. "There are so many questions to answer, "says Cook. "It's kind of like a theme park for a scientist because there's just so much to do.

1. What is quickening the ice melt?

A．The algae.	B．Human activities.
C．Global warming.	D．Blue melt streams.

2. Why is the example of wearing a black T-shirt mentioned?

A．To clarify a rule.	B．To explain the phenomenon.
C．To add humour.	D．To make a conclusion.

3. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A．Scientists will avoid exploring polar regions.

B．Cook feels proud of the current results.

C．A theme park will be built on ice sheets.

D．There's a long way for research into ice sheets.

4. From which is the text probably taken?

A．A news review.	B．A travel brochure.
C．A geography textbook.	D．A science magazine

5 . Bees are extremely important to our health and survival. As pollinators (授粉者), they are responsible for about a third of the food we eat. However, the bee population worldwide are on the decrease.     1    .

Some bee species defend their hives (蜂巢) with large balls of heat

The body temperature of bees is typically similar to their surrounding environment. But within the hive, bees maintain a steady temperature of around 92—93 degrees Fahrenheit year-round. Using their wings, bees can fan hot air out of the hive to cool an area.     2    . When an enemy invades, together they will create a large ball around it to cook the invader alive.

Bees help farmers grow better food and keep food prices down

Bees are highly efficient pollinators. When bees are employed to pollinate, the quantity and quality of the crops improve surprisingly. As the climate continues to change, many animals will move to more favorable habitats.     3    . With the reducing numbers of bees, the cost of over 130 fruit and vegetable plants that we rely on for food in is going up in price.

Policemen find murderers by studying bees

    4    . Similarly, criminals avoid committing crimes close to where they live, Police can make reasonable guesses about where a suspect might live or visit regularly.

    5    

Bees are able to pick out individual characteristics on human faces and recognize them. This ability not only helps these highly social creatures recognize each other, but it also helps them recognize and return to flowers they like best.

A．Bees can recognize human faces

B．Here are a few surprising facts about the amazing insects

C．Fortunately, you can take action to protect bees where you live

D．Honeybees live cooperatively and have a strict division of labor

E．Bees generally leave flowers closest to their nest entrance untouched

F．But bees aren’t adapting to changing temperatures like some other species

G．They can move their flight muscles quickly and constantly to heat it as well