1. What helped Dr. Osborn make her discovery?
A.That her photograph was unsatisfying. |
B.That her photograph had special qualities. |
C.That her photograph showed the strange shape of the fish. |
A.In making food. | B.In making paint. | C.In making cameras. |
A.A special light in the ocean. |
B.A mystery on the blackest fish. |
C.A new discovery of the super-black materials. |
2 . I was attacked by a tiger shark in late October 1997. It was near my home on the island of Kauai—a typical fall morning with friends. The waves were really good, so nothing was stopping us.
That is until a large shark came right up under me and sank his teeth into my lower leg. There had been no splashing. no noise, and I felt no pain, only great pressure on my lower body.
Then I followed my instinct: I punched the shark in the face, again and again which happens to be what the expert advice, until the shark released me. As I swam back into shore, I felt my lower right leg spasming(痉挛). When I looked down, I realized it was gone. The shark had bit my lower leg off. My friends rushed to my aid, and rushed me to hospital.
It was another day before the “fog” lifted, at which point I opened my eyes and realized I was in the hospital—a below-the-knee amputee(截肢). For the next few bedridden weeks, I spent time with my family, and considered the future.
As soon as I was given the OK by my doctors, I did what many of us might consider unthinkable: I started riding the waves again. In fact, my first time back was near the site of his attack. I was unshaken and curious—Was it because of the tides? The phase of the moon? I also recalled that the morning of the attack the water had a fishy smell. Was that what attracted the shark?
I was determined to research sharks, and I did learn something that would change my life: Humans are far more dangerous to sharks than the other way around, I tell Reader’s Digest. “I watched a documentary called Sharkwater, and I learned about the demand for shark fin soup and the fact that 70 million sharks a year are killed for their fins alone.”
My unique situation as a shark survivor empowered me to give sharks a voice. I began working with the Hawaii state legislature to help pass a ban on shark-derived products. I partnered with other like-minded shark attack survivors and marine biologists, and we headed to Washington to urge senators to create a nationwide bill protecting sharks.
1. What is mainly talked about in the first two paragraphs?A.The missing leg. | B.The shark attack. |
C.The timely rescue. | D.The expert’s advice. |
A.To go on with his unshaken hobby. | B.To figure out why he became a target. |
C.To keep track of the phase of the moon. | D.To explore why the water had a fishy smell. |
A.Humans tend to ignore the dangers. | B.Humans can’t survive without sharks. |
C.Sharks pose a greater threat to humans | D.Sharks are in urgent need of protection. |
A.He is speaking in favor of sharks. | B.He argues against the bill about sharks. |
C.There is widespread doubt about sharks. | D.People should give sharks a preference. |
1. What does the man say about foxes?
A.They are dangerous. | B.They also eat plants. | C.They look pretty and small. |
A.8 hours. | B.4-5hours. | C.48 minutes. |
4 . Some chimpanzees(黑猩猩)are much wilder when it comes to making beats, scientists have discovered. In a Ugandan rainforest, the chimps have developed their own drumming(击鼓)styles on tree roots. Researchers observed their drumming styles range from rock to jazz. One chimpanzee brought back the style of the late John Bonham, a drummer who played a piece of music, Whole Lotta Love, and is ranked as one of the best. “The chimpanzee makes very fast drums with many evenly separated beats. His drumming is so fast that you can hardly see his hands.” said Catherine, leading scientist of the study.
Drumming with feet and hands with their special calls is used to exchange messages through thick forests, even with miles between them. Ben the Alpha’s call was a close two quick beats and a distant third, sometimes fourth.
Catherine also said. “We could often recognize which chimpanzee was drumming, and it was a fantastic way to find the different ones we were looking for. So if we could recognize, we were sure they could.”
The team was surprised to note the chimpanzees only used their personalized drumming styles when on the move, showing that the chimpanzees could decide whether to be recognized or not. The research could also settle a problem about why these chimpanzees greet each other when they meet but are not observed to say goodbye when they part in the forest. “The chimpanzees don’t need to say goodbye because they’re effectively able to keep in touch.” Catherine said. These long-distance signals give the chimpanzees a way to recognize with each other.
The researchers’ next study will be to explore whether different drumming styles can lead to different drumming cultures among the different chimpanzee populations.
1. What do we know about the chimpanzees in the first paragraph?A.Their drumming styles are too fast to discover. |
B.Their own drumming styles have been formed. |
C.Their wild drumming styles are ranked as the best. |
D.Their drumming styles are in various music forms. |
A.By performing different styles of calling. |
B.By beating the drum quickly on tree roots. |
C.By combining drumming and special calls. |
D.By using their personalized drumming styles. |
A.Because they don’t want to be recognized. |
B.Because they don’t want to see each other. |
C.Because they are on the move all the time. |
D.Because they have their own way to contact. |
A.The Chimps—singers in their special voices |
B.The Chimps—drummers in personalized styles |
C.The Chimps interested in making musical beats |
D.The Chimps delighted in performing with hands |
5 . A man was visiting a zoo. As he was passing the
He saw a
The man was
A.horses | B.elephants | C.monkeys | D.tigers |
A.huge | B.furry | C.strange | D.sick |
A.chain | B.wire | C.rope | D.ring |
A.dangerous | B.important | C.impossible | D.obvious |
A.bonds | B.guards | C.work | D.habitat |
A.cleaner | B.driver | C.trainer | D.manager |
A.give in | B.get away | C.show up | D.calm down |
A.tired | B.quiet | C.excited | D.young |
A.hunt | B.beat | C.tie | D.threaten |
A.so | B.unless | C.but | D.though |
A.moved | B.amazed | C.pleased | D.annoyed |
A.hesitated | B.promised | C.refused | D.intended |
A.fact | B.habit | C.belief | D.dream |
A.Loneliness | B.Failure | C.Support | D.Friendship |
A.struggle | B.plan | C.job | D.freedom |
6 . What makes people so special? Tool use, self-consciousness, language, and culture are high on the list, but in fact all of these characteristics can be found elsewhere in the animal kingdom. Humans and apes are close relatives, so it is perhaps not surprising that chimpanzees use tools or that gorillas (大猩猩) have a sense of fair play, even rejecting carrots (which they normally accept) when they see their neighbors getting grapes. But the qualities that we often think of as uniquely human exist not just on land, but in the ocean as well.
Among the invertebrates, octopuses (八爪鱼) are known for their intelligence, even exhibiting evidence of playfulness, tool use, and personality. But these skilled predators live alone and consequently lack culture. Dolphins, on the other hand, are large-brained, long-living, social- group-based predators, and it is here that we find the greatest similarity to human-like culture and awareness.
Culture depends on the ability of animals to pass on things they have learned to others. Many animals have culture in this sense, but what sets dolphins apart is what they pass on. Some bottlenose dolphins hold sponges in their mouths that they use as tools to sweep for fish hiding on the ocean floor. This ability is handed down through generations (especially in females), with some families — grandmother, mother, and daughter — all feeding in this highly specialized way.
Another characteristic that dolphins share with humans is their ability to recognize themselves in a mirror. When facing a mirror, most animals behave as though they are interacting with another individual. Even in humans, the ability to recognize that the image in a mirror is oneself does not occur before the age of 18 months. Dolphins not only recognize themselves, but if a black mark is put on the body of a dolphin, it will spend extra time at the mirror to look at the mark.
1. The example of gorillas rejecting carrots shows they ________.A.are not easy to fool | B.prefer fruit to vegetables |
C.have a special taste for food | D.have an awareness of equality |
A.Cooperation. | B.Intelligence. |
C.Tool using ability. | D.Fun-loving spirits. |
A.They tend to hunt in groups. |
B.Their hunting skills are passed down. |
C.Their learning environment is favourable. |
D.Their families are typically female-controlled. |
A.Dolphins enjoy looking at their own reflection in the mirror. |
B.Dolphins are as intelligent as a typical 18-month-old human baby. |
C.Dolphins are generally regarded as the most advanced non-human species. |
D.Dolphins’ ability to recognize their own reflection is a higher-order mental skill. |
7 . Dad’s car pulled into the driveway. I ran to the door. Dad smiled as if he had a secret. “It feels cold to us, but it’s warm and attractive to see a frog. Are you coming?” he asked. I agreed with excitement and then put on my raincoat.
“Hey, look at this one,” Dad shined his light on a green frog the size of his thumb. The frog jumped, its four legs sticking straight out. I found my first frog on a driveway. A bright-green one with shiny skin. I wondered what it would feel like. I could see the frog breathing.
I could imagine a car running over it. I said, “Dad, can you move this one?” “You do it,” Dad said. I looked at the frog. I didn’t want to touch it. But I didn’t want it to get squashed (压扁的). I reached down. It jumped through my fingers. I tried again. Cupping one hand around the frog, I picked it up with the other hand. Its skin felt cold and soft. The frog moved. I walked to the grass and held out my hand. The frog climbed up my wrist. I laughed. Then I gently placed the frog onto the grass.
We walked a couple of blocks. We found lots of frogs-brown ones, green ones and spotted ones. I got better at finding them. If they were on the road, we moved them when traffic was clear. I actually started to like picking them up.
I was ready to go home. Then I saw something moving near a stone wall. Something bigger than a frog. Dad and I shined our lights and crouched. “Is it a lizard (蜥蜴)?” I asked. “No, it’s a salamander,” Dad said. “Hey, I just realized something,” I said. “The animals out tonight—frogs and salamanders—are amphibians (两栖动物). We’d learned about amphibians in school.” “Great observation,” Dad said.
1. How did the author feel when his dad asked him to see frogs?A.Excited. | B.Disappointed. | C.Ashamed. | D.Frightened. |
A.To have fun. | B.To play with the frog. |
C.To keep it safe. | D.To observe it carefully. |
A.The salamanders aren’t amphibians. |
B.The author’s experience was worthwhile. |
C.The author felt tired to pick up frogs. |
D.The experience had nothing to do with the author’s school lessons. |
A.Learn more about amphibians. | B.Protect our natural environment. |
C.Study hard at school. | D.Love every creature around us. |
8 . A group of volunteers joined forces to form a human chain to free four dolphins which had been stranded (搁浅) in a canal for four days. The four dolphins were seen in the water near the Fossil Park, Florida, US, on Sunday. Experts from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) had monitored the dolphins’ activities in the past few days and hoped that they would swim out with the tide (潮水).
But when the dolphins struggled to leave the canal, brave volunteers joined members of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Clearwater Marine Aquarium to form a rescue team to free them. Dozens of people gathered to take videos and pictures of the kind act. A team of 14 volunteers held hands to act as a block to guide the dolphins out of the narrow channel. They shouted and patted the water with their hands to direct the dolphins to the vast waters of Riviera Bay. Dolphins find their way in the water through echolocation (回声定位). That means, by making high-frequency sounds, they can recognize the echoes of sound waves to find their way around.
Andy Garrett, a biologist of the FWC said, “We were able to keep that chain together. The dolphins were interested. They actually came over right away.” He added that when the team reached a bridge, the dolphins appeared a bit nervous and started doing some spins. “They made one real hard pass at our team and then went under the bridge and took off,” Garrett said. The operation lasted about 45 minutes and the rescue team did not use nets or any items that could stress the dolphins.
1. What can we know about the dolphins from paragraph 1?A.They swam in groups to protect themselves. |
B.They lived in the water near Fossil Park. |
C.They were observed in secret by volunteers. |
D.They were forced to stay in a canal for four days. |
A.To make sounds to attract some people. |
B.To guide the dolphins to larger waters. |
C.To celebrate the success of saving dolphins. |
D.To test the different reactions of four dolphins. |
A.Brave and caring. | B.Absorbed and humorous. |
C.Smart and generous. | D.Independent and energetic. |
A.Dolphins swam to the canal to hunt for food. |
B.Rescuers formed a human chain to save dolphins. |
C.Volunteers trained four dolphins to find their way home. |
D.Experts studied the ways of dolphins finding directions. |
Elephants are one of the most intelligent creatures on the earth. Across Africa they have inspired respect from people
During the dry season, elephants use their tusks
When forest elephants eat, they create gaps in the vegetation. These gaps allow new plants to grow and create pathways for smaller animals to use. They’re also one of the major
Wherever they live, elephants leave dung (粪便) that is filled
Sadly, we’re losing elephants worldwide, especially in Africa, due to illegal hunting. Action should
10 . Every day for a week, a strange, happy visitor would drop to play with Vanessa Prior’s pet dog Bobby. Prior thought Bobby had made a new dog friend. It seemed very friendly and got well along with Bobby. They would run after each other, play on the pool cover, gently wrestle (摔跤) or nap side by side.
At first she thought it was a wild dog. But when she posted a photo of the two playing on her Facebook, a pet rescue centre called her. The group told her the Atlanta Wolf Project had been trying to catch the wolf for months, but they failed. Prior gave them new hope.
Because of the wolfs friendship with her pet dog, it was likely to come back to her backyard. Researchers hoped Prior could help them. When they put some traps (陷阱) in the back of her yard, Prior got a very complicated (复杂的) feeling. She couldn’t describe what it was. The wolf would be in a safe place, but she would do something that harmed Bobby’s feelings.
Researchers told Prior that they would take the rare, black wolf to the Yellow River Wildlife Sanctuary where it would live with another wolf. They didn’t think it a satisfying situation for a wild animal like a wolf to have a connection with humans’ life. They need to keep a natural awareness to humans and pets and keep to themselves.
Wolf experts added they would look into the genetics of the animal to try to learn why it liked to get close to people and tried to play with their pets. Some experts believe it could have a history with well-meaning humans. Prior had not expected that she and Bobby should meet such a special and lovely wolf. They just hoped the dear friend all the best.
1. What happened to Vanessa Prior according to the first two paragraphs?A.She didn’t like her dog’s new friend. |
B.She was awarded for her helpful picture. |
C.She realised her dog made friends with a wolf. |
D.She called the pet rescue centre to catch the wolf. |
A.She was afraid to lose Bobby. |
B.She regretted helping the researchers. |
C.She was worried about the wolf’s future. |
D.She had bittersweet feelings about the wolf. |
A.It is a kind and sociable animal. |
B.It was once kept as a human pet. |
C.It will be sent to the wild to live with other animals. |
D.It has a great awareness of distancing itself from humans. |
A.In a medical report. | B.In a travel leaflet. |
C.In a nature magazine. | D.In a scientific research. |