1 . After an extremely heavy rain flooded the town of Ruthin, 44-year-old farmer Llyr Derwydd encountered an awful scene that Friday afternoon. As Llyr checked on his sheep, he discovered his three ewes (母羊)
Realizing the
Reflecting on the event, Llyr shared, “I know Patsy is a(n)
At the critical moment, Patsy
| A．released | B．trapped | C．stolen | D．tied |
| A．threatening | B．demanding | C．confusing | D．breathtaking |
| A．protect | B．raise | C．rescue | D．distract |
| A．significance | B．satisfaction | C．necessity | D．impossibility |
| A．applied | B．prepared | C．waited | D．signaled |
| A．settled | B．recalled | C．hesitated | D．insisted |
| A．shelter | B．command | C．agreement | D．management |
| A．delightfully | B．unwillingly | C．intentionally | D．fearlessly |
| A．relieved | B．energetic | C．frightened | D．scary |
| A．guidance | B．control | C．authority | D．observation |
| A．confirm | B．escape | C．approach | D．measure |
| A．capable | B．competitive | C．professional | D．inexperienced |
| A．behind | B．within | C．beyond | D．alongside |
| A．rose to | B．ran into | C．turned to | D．put up |
| A．confidence | B．generosity | C．loyalty | D．modesty |
2 . Whales are known for their majestic (雄伟的) songs that travel through the ocean depths, but the reasons behind this behavior have long puzzled scientists. Recent research reveals this mystery, suggesting that whales possess a unique voice box that enables their powerful voice, a feature not found in other animals.
In a study published in the journal Nature, Coen Elemans and his team from the University of Southern Denmark examined the voice boxes. By conducting experiments, the researchers identified the tissues responsible for producing sound.
Whales, whose ancestors were land-dwellers around 50 million years ago, have developed their voice boxes over millions of years to adapt to underwater communication. Unlike humans and many other mammals (哺乳动物) , whales lack vocal cords and instead have a unique U-shaped tissue in their voice boxes. This specialized structure allows them to intake large volumes of air and generate sounds by pushing this tissue against a cushion of fat and muscle, a mechanism essential for their deep-sea sound.
The significance of this research is highlighted by Jeremy Goldbogen, an associate professor at Stanford University, who describes it as the most comprehensive study to date on how whales vocalize. He emphasizes the need for further exploration to these marine giants. For instance, humpback whales are known for their sound that can travel vast distances across oceans, serving as a form of communication within whales.
Joy Reidenberg, a whale expert, says, “More experiments are needed to confirm the study’s conclusions and understand how these creatures use their voice boxes to communicate in the ocean.”
1. What does the research find?| A．Whales may make sound underwater. |
| B．Whales communicate in a special way. |
| C．What brings about whales’ strange behavior. |
| D．What makes whales’ loud sound possible in the ocean. |
| A．Paragraph 3. | B．Paragraph 4. | C．Paragraph 5. | D．Paragraph 2. |
| A．Mysterious. | B．Ineffective. | C．Inadequate. | D．Creative. |
| A．Evolution Of Whale Communication Skills | B．Research On How Whales Make Sounds |
| C．How Whales Communicate Underwater | D．How Scientists Research Whales’ Sound |
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. |
| A．It stays still. | B．It acts friendly towards them. | C．It tries to catch them. |
5 . Any schoolchild knows that a whale breathes through its blowhole. Fewer know that a blowhole is a nostril (鼻孔) slightly changed by evolution into a form more useful for a mammal that spends its life at sea. And only a dedicated expert would know that while toothed whales, such as sperm whales, have one hole, baleen (鲸须) whales, such as humpback and Rice whales, have two.
Even among the baleen whales, the placing of those nostrils differs. In some species they are close together. In others, they are much further apart. In a paper published in Biology Letters Conor Ryan, a marine biologist at the Scottish Association for Marine Science, suggests why that might be. Having two nostrils, he argues, helps whales smell in stereo (立体空间).
Many types of baleen whales eat tiny animals known as zooplankton (浮游动物), which they catch by filtering (过滤) them from seawater using the sheets of fibrous baleen that have replaced teeth in their mouths. But to eat something you first have to find it. Toothed whales do not hunt by scent. In fact, the olfactory bulb—the part of the brain that processes smell—is absent in such creatures. But baleen whales still have olfactory bulbs, which suggests smell remains important. And scent can indeed give zooplankton away. Zooplankton like to eat other tiny creatures called phytoplankton (浮游植物). When these are under attack, they release a special gas called dimethyl sulphide, which in turn attracts baleen whales.
Most animals have stereoscopic senses. Having two eyes, for instance, allows an animal to compare the images from each in order to perceive depth. Having two ears lets them locate the direction from which a sound is coming. Dr Ryan theorized that paired blowholes might bring baleen whales the same sorts of benefits.
The farther apart the sensory organs are, the more information can be extracted by the animal that bears them. The researchers used drones to photograph the nostrils of 143 whales belonging to 14 different species. Sure enough, baleen whales that often eat zooplankton, such as the North Atlantic right whale, have nostrils that are farther apart than do those, such as humpback whales, that eat zooplankton occasionally. Besides allowing them to breathe, it seems that some whales use their blowholes to determine in which direction dinner lies.
1. What do we know about whales’ nostrils according to the first two paragraphs?| A．They are adapted ones. | B．They are developed merely for smell. |
| C．They are not easy to detect. | D．They are fixed universally in numbers. |
| A．The teeth that baleen whales have. |
| B．The smell that phytoplankton send. |
| C．The sound waves that zooplankton create. |
| D．The chemical signals that zooplankton give off. |
| A．By quoting a theory. | B．By using examples. |
| C．By making contrast. | D．By making inferences. |
| A．The sense of smell. | B．The possibility to attract food. |
| C．The ability to locate food. | D．The ability to communicate. |
1. What probably happened around Fountain Hills during last winter?
| A．All animals died off. | B．It didn’t rain much. | C．Many chemicals were used. |
| A．They were eaten by birds. |
| B．They were dying off themselves. |
| C．They were killed by the government. |
| A．To bring bees to the town. |
| B．To tell people the importance of bees. |
| C．To teach farmers how to grow food better. |
7 . Biologists Slagsvold and Wiebe have spent years studying tits, flycatchers, and other birds that lay their eggs into holes in trees, walls and even human-made boxes. “Holes are rare, so there’s great competition,” Wiebe said. Birds will sometimes get into fights. Even after a bird gets a hole, it has to watch out: There’s always a chance that a passerby tries to possess it. Owners don’t have many options to wait for and stop thieves. Some police their nest’s entrance hole, but preparing for parenthood is hungry work, and eventually the birds have to leave to get food. So Slagsvold and Wiebe started to look for alternative home-defense systems the birds might be using.
They noticed feathers, usually helping animals keep warm, but that doesn’t seem to be how these particular birds are using them. Blue tits, for instance, get feathers on top of the nest, rather than putting them in. Some other birds dump feathers into holes before gathering other materials. “They’re white, and often noticeable,” Wiebe said, “as if the birds want to send a message.”
To find out, they built nest boxes — some feathery, some not — in Europe and America, and recorded how tits, flycatchers and swallows reacted. The birds entered feather-free boxes quickly. But they froze at the sight of white feathers, sometimes hesitating outside for an hour. Black feathers scared them less, perhaps because they were harder to see. The feathers didn’t stop the birds as most eventually went inside. But even a brief delay can make a huge difference, Wiebe said. “Even 20 minutes can give the owner enough time to circle back, and fight off their competitors.”
The birds’ behavior shows their high-risk lifestyle. They have to think twice as the holes may be hiding danger. The feathers represent possible violence, showing a predator might be inside.
The experiment reflects the lies animals tell where nest sites are rare. They build a scene so horrible to discourage nest stealers. Birds are terrified of death. And they can exploit that reality to safeguard what’s theirs.
1. What inspired Slagsvold and Wiebe to seek birds’ other possible ways to protect homes?| A．Birds have to fight to get the limited holes. | B．Birds get tired from watching out in nests. |
| C．Birds face many nest stealers on their own. | D．Birds leave their nests unattended sometimes. |
| A．To show a friendly welcome. | B．To help stealers avoid danger. |
| C．To buy time for the nest owners. | D．To confirm this place is occupied. |
| A．Understandable. | B．Confusing. | C．Possible. | D．Worrying. |
| A．Some birds refuse to build their nests | B．It’s important for birds to have feathers |
| C．High risks of life lead birds to turn to lies | D．Birds create a false scene to protect their nests |
8 . 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. |
10 . Parrots consistently top the charts of the world’s smartest animals. A new discovery published by the Royal Society Open Science reveals to us what sets the intelligent individual monk parakeet (和尚鹦鹉) apart in a group.
Previously, it was thought that these birds introduced themselves to others with a sort of “catchphrase” that distinguished their identity. However, after running the vocalizations (发声) collected in this study through a machine learning program, a team led by Simeon Smeele, a doctoral student at Aarhus University in Denmark, found that the birds actually had “voiceprints” like humans that identify themselves in the group.
The researchers studied thousands of monk parakeet vocalizations from hundreds of birds in Barcelona across two years and ran these recordings through the program that identifies small differences in their calls.
“The voiceprint is the underlying quality of a voice that you can recognize in humans, and this is the first time that has been shown in another vocal learner,” Smeele said. For example, the voiceprint of your father is how you know it’s his voice, even if he isn’t present. “This is what I think could explain how they recognize each other, because it can be stable over very long periods of time.” he added.
“This shows that these birds also have that sort of information that they might be using in their complicated social interactions,” said Emily Du Val, Ph.D., a behavioral ecologist at Florida State University. “Research into animal communication has the potential to motivate the public into action to conserve animals. Recognizing who each other is and understanding how they interact with one another are important for human life,” she said.
This model can potentially be applied to other animals with vocal recognition like bottlenose dolphins, bat s and elephants. Future research will look into whether these voiceprints are recognized by all parakeets in the community or only a circle of close relatives.
1. What helps the monk parakeets recognize each other?| A．The catchphrase. | B．The intelligence. |
| C．The voiceprint. | D．The communication. |
| A．By combining “catchphrase” with “voiceprints”. |
| B．By keeping track of the monk parakeets’ relatives. |
| C．By collecting vocalizations and identifying their differences. |
| D．By comparing humans’ voiceprints with monk parakeets’. |
| A．The information that voiceprints can express. |
| B．The potential influence that voiceprints can bring. |
| C．The animals among which voiceprints are identified. |
| D．The range where parakeets’ voiceprints are recognized. |
| A．Mon k Parakeets Are Great Vocal Learners |
| B．Mon k Parakeets Resemble Humans in Communication |
| C．“Voiceprints” Are Found in Animals’ Social Interactions |
| D．“Voiceprints” Help Monk Parakeets Identify Themselves |
