1 . A recent study of ancient and modern elephants has come up with the unexpected conclusion that the African elephant is divided into two distinct (不同的) species.
The discovery was made by researchers at York and Harvard Universities when they were examining the genetic relationship between the ancient woolly mammoth and mastodon to modern elephants—the Asian elephant, African forest elephant and African savanna elephant.
Once they obtained DNA sequences (序列) from two fossils (化石), mammoths and mastodons, the team compared them with DNA from modern elephants. They found to their amazement that modern forest and savanna elephants are as distinct from each other as Asian elephants and mammoths.
The scientists used detailed genetic analysis to prove that the African savanna elephants and the African forest elephants have been distinct species for several million years. The divergence of the two species took place around the time of the divergence of Asian elephants and woolly mammoths. This result amazed all the scientists.
There has been debate in the scientific community that the two might be separate species but this is the most convincing scientific evidence so far that they are indeed different species.
Previously, many naturalists believed that African savanna elephants and African forest elephants were two populations of the same species despite the elephants’ significant size differences. The savanna elephant has an average shoulder height of 3.5metres while the forest elephant has an average shoulder height of 2.5metres. The savanna elephant weighs between six and seven tons, roughly double the weight of the forest elephant. But the fact that they look so different does not necessarily mean they are different species. However, the proof lay in the analysis of the DNA.
Alfred Roca, assistant professor in the department of Animal Sciences at the University of Minois, said, “We now have to treat the forest and savanna elephants as two different units for conservation purpose. Since 1950, all African elephants have been conserved as one species. Now that we know the forest and savanna elephants are two very distinct animals, the forest elephant should become a bigger priority (优先)for conservation purpose .”
1. One of the fossils studied by the researchers is that of ________.| A．the Asian elephant | B．the forest elephant |
| C．the savanna elephant | D．the mastodon elephant |
| A．evolution | B．exhibition |
| C．separation | D．examination |
| A．The conversation of African elephants. |
| B．The purpose of studying African elephants |
| C．The way to divide African elephants into two units |
| D．The reason for the distinction of African elephants |
| A．Naturalist’s Belief about Elephants. |
| B．Amazing Experiment about Elephants |
| C．An Unexpected Finding about Elephants |
| D．A Long scientific Debate about Elephants |
2 . If history doesn't quite repeat itself, it certainly rhymes. With demand for bicycles rocketing, and nations preparing to spend billions of dollars to redesign their cities with a new focus on cycling and walking, it's worth remembering how the invention of the bicycle in the late 19th century transformed societies the world over. It was a hugely revolutionary technology, easily equal to the smartphone today. For a few heady years in the 1890s, the bicycle was the best must-have—swift, affordable, stylish transportation that could take you anywhere you cared to go, anytime you liked, for free.
Almost anyone could learn to ride, and almost everyone did. The sultan of Zanzibar（a former Muslim country）took up cycling. So did the king of Russia. But it was the middle and working classes around the globe that truly made the bicycle their own. For the first time in history, the masses were mobile, able to come and go as they pleased. No more need for expensive horses and carriages.
Society was transformed. Women were especially enthusiastic, abandoning their burden some Victorian skirts, adopting reasonable clothes, and taking to the road in groups. “I think bicycling has done more to liberate women than anything else in the world,” Susan B. Anthony, the American champion of women's suffrage（选举权）said in an interview with The New York Sunday World in 1896. “I stand and feel thrilled every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel...the picture of unrestricted womanhood.”
By 1898 cycling had become such a popular activity in the United States that The New York Journal of Commerce claimed it was costing restaurants and theaters more than $ 100 million a year in lost business. Bicycle manufacturing became one of America's biggest and most advanced industries. A third of all patent applications were bicycle-related—so many that the US patent office had to build a separate building to deal with them all.
The arrival of the bicycle touched virtually every aspect of life—art, music, literature, fashion, and even the human gene pool. English songwriter Henry Dacre scored a huge hit on both sides of the Atlantic in 1892 with Daisy Bell and its famous refrain（副歌）A Bicycle Built for Two.
1. Why did the author consider the bicycle as a revolutionary technology?| A．It cost its owner too much money. | B．It harmed the cyclists' health at first. |
| C．It had a huge influence on the society. | D．It made people redesign their city buildings. |
| A．It changed public morals. | B．It made women more united. |
| C．It offered women more freedom. | D．It made Victorian skirts more popular. |
| A．Bicycle-related patent applications. | B．Interviews with cyclists. |
| C．Bicycle management charges. | D．Broken restaurants and theaters. |
| A．Business and economy. | B．Environment and energy. |
| C．Entertainment and sports. | D．History and culture. |
The story of Atlantis is one of the
More than 2,000 years ago, a famous Greek writer Plato wrote a story about a beautiful island in the Atlantic Ocean,
For over 2,000 years, everyone thought the island of Atlantis
Archaeologists have found something even more exciting in Sichuan Province, and the discovery was made at the Sanxingdui Ruins (三星堆遗址). The site
The first discovery here was a piece of jade (玉石) unearthed
Even today, many secrets are hidden in the Sanxingdui Ruins. But hopefully one day we can find out more about the
A comforting cup of tea is an essential part of the day for hundreds of millions of people around the globe. Worldwide, three cups of tea
The art of tea extended to its fancy containers, which are
May 4-Chinese Youth Day
Youth Day in China falls on May 4. It originates from the May 4th Movement,
The news incensed (激怒)students in Beijing. Along with those from the business and educational circles, they sent a number of telegrams
On May 4, 1919. many students gathered around Tiananmen Square and staged demonstrations. They boycotted classes in order to make
The effect of the movement worked as the government refused to sign the treaty. However, on September 30, 1919, the Paris Peace Treaty
The May Fourth Movement was an anti-imperialist as well as
7 . Canada is a bilingual country with "co-official" languages. English and French enjoy equal status as the official languages of the country. This means that the public has the right to communicate with and receive services from federal(联邦的)government institutions in either English or French. Federal government employees have the right to work in the official language of their choice in bilingual regions.
Like the United States, Canada started as a colony. Beginning in the 1500s, it was part of New France but later became a British colony after the Seven Years' War. As a result, the Canadian government officially recognized the languages of both colonizers: France and England. The Constitution(宪法)Act of 1867 legally accepts the use of both languages in federal courts. Years later, Canada strengthened its commitment to bilingualism when it passed the Official Languages Act of 1969, which restated the constitutional origins of its co-official languages and set out the protections afforded by its dual-language status.
Recognition of both English and French protects the rights of all Canadians. Among other benefits, the 1969 Act recognized that Canadian citizens should be able to access federal laws and government documents, whether their native language was French or English. The general law also requires that consumer products feature bilingual packaging throughout the country.
The Canadian federal government is committed to advancing the equality of status and use of the English and French languages, within Canadian society. However, the reality is that some Canadians speak English, and of course, some Canadians speak the other language entirely.
Although the federal government theoretically guarantees bilingual services in all areas, there are many regions of Canada where English is the clear majority language, so the local government does not always seek services in French in those regions. Canadians use the phrase "where numbers warrant" to determine whether a local population's language usage requires bilingual services from the federal government.
While many Canadians are bilingual, they are not only speaking English or French. Statistics Canada finds that more than 200 languages that were not English or French, were reported as a language spoken by its people. About two-thirds of the respondents who spoke one of these languages also spoke either English or French.
1. The acceptance of two official languages in Canada is due to______________.| A．the language-using tradition caused by Canada's colonial history |
| B．the convenience for business dealings by using two languages in the country |
| C．the welcome attitude toward immigrates from all over the world. |
| D．the mastery of two languages of Canadians because of school education |
| A．the legal order from the federal government |
| B．the popularity of the language in the world |
| C．the number of schools teaching the language |
| D．the number of local people using the language |
| A．English has gained superior legal position to French because of bigger number of users in Canada. |
| B．The legal court usage of French and English was established in Canada in 1969. |
| C．Both French and English should be used on products in Canada according to federal law. |
| D．Canadian people speak either French or English in social communication. |
| A．The advantages of using multiple languages in Canada. |
| B．The history and current situation of two languages used in Canada. |
| C．The disadvantaged status of the French language used in Canada. |
| D．Canadians' advancement in balancing two languages in business world. |
Aspirin, invented in 1897, has its
More effects of aspirin were discovered, such as reducing the risk of cancer, avoiding strokes,
Penicillin, discovered by Alexander Flemming in 1928, is considered to be the most vital medicine in contemporary society. It can
Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to the scientists devoted to the
9 . Some people described the civil rights era, in the 1950s and 1960s as “the greatest singing movement in American history”. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called music “the soul of the movement”.
Integrating singing into the cause was a deliberate choice by the movement’s organizers. It took advantage of a rich cultural tradition of music-making in communities with African American roots. Singing spirituals ( 圣歌) together was a key motivating activity during meetings, church services, sit-ins and freedom rides. Singing together made people feel strong. Singing inspired activists to stand up to the verbal ( 言语的) and physical assaults, to the police dogs, and to the high-pressure fire hoses aimed at them. Singing spirituals united people and focused them on their goals-freedom and equality.
The movement’s songs were mostly updated traditional African American spirituals. “We Shall Overcome” is probably its most famous song. Later on, the song, slightly changed to “We Will Overcome”, was taught to labor organizers in the 1940s at the Highlander Folk School. By 1952, a recording of the song was released, but the words had been changed again to “We Shall Overcome”.
By the late 1950s, the song was being taught to civil rights activists at the Highlander. That’s where King first heard it. At the end of meetings, everyone would rise, join hands, and sing the song. Today, it has spread around the world and can be heard wherever freedom and justice are threatened.
“Free at Last” was another popular civil rights song. Like “We Shall Overcome”, it inspired singers to continue with a difficult struggle. It sings of the dream and promise of freedom, urging everyone to join hands and to not give up hope. King ended his famous “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington by quoting a line from it: “Free at last, free at last! “
Taking a cue from the strengths of older African American traditions, music expressed the soul of the civil rights movement. Songs and singing proved essential nonviolent weapons in the struggle for freedom.
1. The second paragraph is mainly about .| A．what the goals of the civil rights movement were |
| B．on what occasions African Americans sang together |
| C．why organizers employed singing in the civil rights movement |
| D．how African Americans started the tradition of singing together |
| A．Violent attacks. | B．Severe problems. |
| C．Serious disabilities. | D．Potential dangers. |
| A．Both underwent a lot of changes. |
| B．Both required singers to stand up to sing. |
| C．Both influenced Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. |
| D．Both are still very popular around the globe. |
| A．King-hero of the civil rights movement |
| B．Music-soul of the civil rights movement |
| C．Freedom-dream of African Americans |
| D．Singing-language to unite Americans |
Ancient remains found in the Mongolian steppe(大草原）suggest that the story of the female soldier Mulan may have been inspired by real Xianbei women who
According to the folktale a
Christine Lee and Yahaira Gonzalez examined skeletons(骷髅）from 9 ancient burials across Mongolia.Three of the skeletons belonged to Xianbei women-and two were potentially soldiers.Lee and Gonzalez reached this conclusion partly due to the nature of marks left on the bones
Lee was surprised by the discovery."The number of women allowed to participate in these activities must have been really small,"she said,
Markings on three other skeletons indicate that Xiongnu women may also have engaged in archery and horseback riding
