1 . 4 Reasons Why Wild Animals Are So Important
As we know, the earth gives us food, medicines and materials, often through wild animals. These wild animals are important to our existence. Sadly, they are becoming extinct at an alarming rate. We need to change this loss of nature and create a future where wildlife and people thrive (蓬勃发展) again.
Wild animals keep balance in ecosystems.
Diversity (多样性) means healthier ecosystems and healthier wild animals.
When there is a wildlife issue, you’ll often hear the term biodiversity, which refers to the number of species in an ecosystem.
All of the food that we eat comes from an animal or plant. Living without various food sources causes our nutrition (营养) to suffer. Protecting wildlife and its natural habitats strengthens food safety for humans around the world.
Wildlife helps medical research.
Wild animals have helped us find important medicines that help with many diseases.
A.All living things are interconnected. |
B.Healthy ecosystems mean a lot of diversity. |
C.Or we will lose these animals to future generations. |
D.People worldwide depend on wildlife for their snack. |
E.Wildlife provides important nutrients for the human race. |
F.The human race has always turned to nature for medicine. |
G.We should notice the influence caused by wildlife on culture. |
2 . The African continent has seen its average monthly temperatures rise by 0.5 — 2 degrees Celsius over the past century, with up to another two degrees of warming projected for the next 100 years. The changing climate will break historical rainfall patterns, but which of these, temperature or rainfall, will have the most impact on a species, like rhinos (犀牛) ?
“Generally speaking, most, if not all, species will. in one way or another, be affected by the changing climate,” says lead author Hlelowenkhosi S. Mamba, who completed this research. It is therefore important to catch tendency (趋势) and model futures for some of the world’s weakest species. It can help prepare to reduce climate change’s effects, hence reducing global biodiversity losses.
To understand how our changing climate will affect rhino populations, Mamba and Timothy Randhir, professor of environmental protection, focused their efforts on the five large national parks that are home to most of the rhinos.
Mamba and Randhir then modeled two scenes for each of the parks: the IPCC’s high-emissions (排放) scenes and a more moderate (适度的) emissions scenes. They projected temperature and rainfall for each of the scenes out to 2055 and 2085 to arrive at a possibility that each park would remain suitable for the rhinos.
Nearly every park will become increasingly drier as emissions increase. This is all very bad news for the rhinos, because the team also found that, though the change in rainfall will not be most suitable for the rhinos, the changes in temperature are greater than what the species can bear.
“The temperature conditions in all study parks will become increasingly unsuitable for the species. And under the high-emissions scenes, the possibility of occurrence of the species falls to zero by 2085,” the authors write.
But to be forewarned is to be prepared in advance. “We propose that park managers think now about increasing water supplies, tree cover, watching for stress and planning to allow rhinos to move from one place to another place as the world warms,” says Randhir.
1. Why does the author ask a question in Paragraph 1?A.To show an evidence. | B.To stress the main idea. |
C.To lead in the topic. | D.To offer some background. |
A.The means of the research. | B.The content of the research. |
C.The process of the research. | D.The significance of the research. |
A.Changes in rainfall have a greater effect on rhinos. | B.Each park will have no rhinos in 2055. |
C.Changes in temperature affect rhinos more. | D.Each park will be warmer by 4. 5℃ in 2085. |
A.Rhinos are better suited to natural growth. | B.Rhinos are in great danger in the five parks. |
C.Park managers should plan to protect rhinos. | D.Park managers must pay more attention to nature. |
3 . Wild African elephants may break sleep records for mammals (哺乳动物). New data show that they seem to survive on about two hours of shut-eye a night. Much of that sleeping took place while they were standing up. The animals lie down to sleep only once every three to four nights.
Trying to figure out how much wild elephants sleep just by watching them 24 hours a day is tricky, especially in the dark. Much of what scientists had known about sleeping elephants came from animals living in zoos, notes Paul Manger, who is a brain researcher at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa. In zoos, elephants have been recorded sleeping from about three hours to nearly seven during a 24-hour period. Using electronic monitors on African elephants in the wild, however, has turned up more extreme behavior.
Manger’s team implanted (植入) activity monitors in the trunks (象鼻) of two elephants. Both were female leaders of their herds in the Chobe National Park. Trunks, like human hands, are important for exploring the world. Elephants hardly keep them still — unless sleeping. The researchers thought that a trunk monitor that didn’t move for at least five minutes likely meant its host was asleep.
The monitors tracked the animals over about a month. During that time, the elephants averaged just two hours of sleep a day. What’s more, the elephants were able to skip a night’s sleep without needing extra rest the next day. Those trunk implants showed there were times when the elephants went up to 46 hours without any sleep.
There has been some thought that animals need sleep to store memories properly. But that can’t explain animals, like the elephants, which skip sleep for a night without needing catch-up rest later. “Elephants are usually not considered to be forgetful animals,” Manger observes. In fact, he notes, studies have found that they can have long memories.
1. How did the African elephants typically sleep according to the new study?A.They stood up. | B.They walked around. |
C.They grouped. | D.They kept eyes open. |
A.To test a new tracker. | B.To help elephants fall asleep. |
C.To train wild animals. | D.To study elephants’ sleep. |
A.People always think elephants are forgetful animals. |
B.A good night’s sleep benefits all the wildlife’s brains. |
C.Little sleep doesn’t affect the memory of elephants. |
D.Scientists can’t understand why sleep makes sense. |
A.Tips on watching wildlife. | B.Wild elephants’ sleep habit. |
C.Efforts to protect wild elephants. | D.National nature reserves in Africa. |
4 . If you’ve seen the movie Cast Away, you probably remember the scene in which Tom Hanks’ character, who survived a plane crash and found a refuge on a desert island, struggles to crack open coconuts before finally figuring out how to make use of one and drink from it. Well, it turns out that, in such a situation, a coconut palm tree actually could be your best hope for survival.
The coconut palm tree is native to tropical islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It is a tall tree, growing as tall as 100 feet, and with a branchless, light gray trunk that’s swollen at the base and topped by a crown of arching green leaves that stretch as long as 20 feet. It has fragrant (芳香的) yellow flowers, which appear in groups, and of course coconuts, which technically are a fruit rather than a nut, grow up to 14 inches long.
The fruit has a wooden shell surrounded by a fibrous cover, but inside is the stuff that a person wants — the coconut meat, which can be eaten raw or cooked, and the drinkable liquid. The nutritional qualities of a coconut — its meat and its juice — are nothing short of miracles. The meat is high in health fats, which are very important for survival, and the juice is filled with minerals like copper, iron and zinc, and can keep your electrolytes (电解质) balanced and blood levels healthy.
In Hawaii, coconut palm trees are known as “niu”, and are considered as a very important food source. While they are not native to this place, they are one of the famous “canoe plants”. Some of the ancestors of the trees currently found in Hawaii also moved slowly on water to or on the shore, alive for up four months at sea, still able to germinate (发芽). They are the symbol of vitality. They are admired here so much that traditionally, a coconut palm tree is planted at the birth time of a child born in Hawaii.
1. Why does the author speak of the movie Cast Away in Para.1?A.To explain the way to prevent a terrible situation. |
B.To introduce the theme of the movie. |
C.To lead in the topic of the text. |
D.To show Tom Hank’s success. |
A.The trunk of the tree is swollen at the top. |
B.The tree can grow tall and has no branches. |
C.Yellow flowers appear in groups without any smell. |
D.Coconuts are a kind of nut instead of a kind of fruit. |
A.It has a unique taste. | B.Its price is quite high. |
C.It can help people remain healthy. | D.Its production is increasing. |
A.They decorate their houses with green leaves of coconut trees. |
B.They drink the liquid inside coconuts. |
C.They have a taste of coconut meat. |
D.They plant a coconut plum tree. |
5 . Monarch butterflies (帝王蝶) are edging dangerously close to extinction despite a decision late last year to remove the orange-and-black insects from the endangered species list, a new study has found.
An annual survey led by the World Wildlife Fund(WWF)of the species wintering in central Mexico found the second-lowest number of monarch butterflies on record, meaning they took up just 2.2 acres of regional forests, 59% less than during the 2022 — 2023 winter season. The findings are troubling to scientists determined to protect the species.
Each year, monarch butterflies migrate (迁徙) thousands of miles from southern Canada and the northern and central US to the mountain forests of central Mexico. They require a large and healthy forest to protect them from winds, rain and low temperatures in the areas where they migrate for winter. Yet because of heat and drought brought on by climate change, scientists say, their natural habitat is quickly depleting. Scientists with the WWF considered this winter season’s findings serious and said they represented the second-smallest area taken up by monarch butterflies in Mexico since 1993.
What’s worse, in recent years, their breeding areas in Canada and the US have seen a reduction in milkweed leaves where female monarch butterflies lay their eggs. “Land-use changes in the United States, combined with the widespread use of chemicals, also contributed to the loss of milkweed and other plants that adult monarch butterflies feed on,” the WWF said.
Monarch butterflies play an important role in maintaining plant ecosystems and are also an important food source for birds, small animals and other insects, according to the National Park Service. It’s necessary that all governments, communities, scientists, and others continue to strengthen our protection efforts to support their unique migration.
1. Why do monarch butterflies fly to central Mexico each year?A.To spend winter. | B.To lay eggs. |
C.To search for shelter. | D.To escape from enemies. |
A.Shifting. | B.Disappearing. | C.Recovering. | D.Increasing. |
A.The loss of food sources. |
B.The widespread use of chemicals. |
C.The land-use changes in the United States. |
D.The threat of being eaten by other animals. |
A.To raise people’s awareness about climate change. |
B.To call for more measures to protect monarch butterflies. |
C.To inform people of the serious situation of monarch butterflies. |
D.To prove monarch butterflies should be on the endangered species list. |
6 . Blue whales have made themselves at home in a part of the Indian Ocean where they hadn’t been seen for many years, according to a study published late last year. The blue whale, an endangered species, is the largest animal on Earth. These whales can grow to about 100 feet long and the animal’s heart alone can be the size of a small car.
Blue whales were filmed in the waters around the Seychelles in 2020 and 2021. The Seychelles area group of islands that make up the smallest African country. Hunters almost completely wiped out blue whales in the area in the 1960s.
During this recent exploration, however, scientists spotted several of the creatures. Research suggests that these whales are not just passing through — they are staying in the region for months. The discovery was made with the help of a “sound trap”, an object that was fitted with recording equipment and batteries and placed on the seafloor in November 2021. It was left there for a year, recording 15 minutes every hour. When scientists studied the recordings, they discovered the blue whales’ recognizable song, which is so deep that it can’t be heard naturally by human ears.
The whale songs were found between December and April, a common time for blue whales to breed (繁殖) and nurse their young. Kathleen Stafford, one of the researchers, told BBC News that the scientists think the noise was the singing of male whales. “They sing during the breeding season to attract the females,” she explained. This could mean that the Seychelles is an important breeding area or nursery site for the species.
The government of the Seychelles has been making major efforts to protect the oceans around the islands since 2015. The appearance of these whales shows that its work seems to have made a big difference. Stafford said that the Seychelles, which doesn’t have ma my big ships sailing nearby, could be “a nice, quiet, safe place for blue whales”.
1. What does the underlined phrase “wiped out” in Paragraph 2 mean?A.Killed. | B.Washed. | C.Removed. | D.Approached. |
A.To track sounds. | B.To video whales, |
C.To study the seafloor. | D.To play songs every hour, |
A.It is seasonal. | B.It is annoying. |
C.It can be heard by humans. | D.It can drive away other animals. |
A.Local hunters. | B.Foreign sailors. |
C.The government. | D.Kathleen Stafford. |
7 .
Panda Ya Ya returns home
Ya Ya the giant panda has just arrived in Shanghai, east China on Thursday after 20 years of stay at the Memphis Zoo in the U.S. The flight was around 15.5 hours. Both Chinese and American vets are with Ya Ya.
Ya Ya was born at Beijing Zoo on August 3, 2000. She arrived at Memphis Zoo in April, 2003. Ya Ya has become a bridge of friendship between Chinese and foreign people. She will spend a month in Shanghai before returning to her birthplace, Beijing Zoo.
We do hope all pandas that are in foreign countries can be healthy and happy.
Did you know…?
Baby pandas are born pink and measure about 15cm-that’s about the size of a pencil
Giant pandas spend up to 12 hours a day eating bamboo.
Pandas live for about 20 years in the wild, but in the zoos they can live for up to 35 years.
1. Ya Ya was born in _______.A.Beijing | B.Chengdu | C.Shanghai ` | D.Guangzhou |
A.Black and white. | B.Pink. | C.Yellow. | D.Gray. |
A.Ya Ya spend up to 10 hours a day eating bamboo. | B.Shanghai Zoo is Ya Ya’s final home. |
C.Ya Ya had a short flight coming back home. | D.Ya Ya helps foreigners know more about China. |
A.a piece of news | B.an ad | C.a diary | D.a letter |
1.活动的内容;
2.活动的意义。
注意:1.写作词数应为80左右:
2.可适当增加细节,使行文连贯。
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9 . When I was 16, I worked at a fast food restaurant. That was when I came across two new family
One afternoon in the fall I happened to find a little cat crying outside. He got a little wet because of the morning rain. I picked him up into the kitchen,
After work, I hurried to my car to
I
My family had Penny and Rizzo for the next 15 years.
1.A.rescuers | B.leaders | C.members | D.supporters |
A.begged | B.concerned | C.dried | D.cooled |
A.angry | B.excited | C.hopeful | D.tired |
A.restaurant | B.apartment | C.shelter | D.trap |
A.knock | B.check on | C.avoid | D.depend on |
A.feed | B.protect | C.attack | D.reach |
A.secretly | B.slowly | C.curiously | D.obviously |
A.like | B.want | C.have | D.know |
A.danger | B.trouble | C.sadness | D.surprise |
A.controlled | B.beat | C.buried | D.hid |
A.confused | B.glad | C.amazed | D.frightened |
A.raise | B.exchange | C.adapt | D.donate |
A.name | B.store | C.box | D.home |
A.quit | B.separate | C.endanger | D.kill |
A.allowance | B.appreciation | C.impression | D.responsibility |
Like many nature reserves in Kenya, Borana used to be a cattle ranch (牧场). For thousands of years, cows were
Borana now aims
Borana put all profits (收益) into efforts like this one, and it has made a