1 . 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 |
2 . 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 |
3 . 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. |
4 . 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. |
5 . GET A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF THE WORLD’S MOST ATTRACTIVE FEATHERED ANIMALS WITH THESE BOOKS
Flamingo (火烈鸟)
Biologist and photographer Claudio Contreras Koob spent 20 years travelling deep into the wet lands and forests of his native Mexico—and beyond—to feed his flamingo attraction. This book offers a unique window into the behavior and life of red-feathered birds, with more than 120 show-stopping shots displaying their beauty. teNeues, £35.
Around the World in 80 Birds
Inspiring secrets, national pride or scientific discoveries, every bird has a story to tell, from the weaver bird building multi-nest “apartment blocks” in Namibia to the bar-headed goose taking on a twice-yearly trans-Himalayan journey at an extreme altitude. Mike Unwin’s tour is accompanied by beautiful illustrations from Ryuto Miyake. Laurence King Publishing, £22.
A World on the Wing
Pulitzer-shortlisted Weidensaul, who’s at the forefront of research into bird migration, here tracks some of nature’s most remarkable journeys. He sails through the stormy Bering Sea, encounters trappers in the Mediterranean and visits former headhunters in northeast India, where a bird migration crisis has become a conservation success story. Pan Macmillan, £9.99.
Galapagos Crusoes: A Year Alone with the Birds
Explore this updated version of the 1968 title, Galapagos: Islands of Birds, by late bird expert Bryan Nelson, with previously unpublished material from his wife, June. The couple spent a year living on two Galapagos islands, studying birds, including the Galapagos albatross (信天翁). This is their clever and amusing account. Bradt Guides, £11.99.
1. By whom is the second costliest book illustrated?| A．Claudio Contreras Koob. | B．Mike Unwin. |
| C．Ryuto Miyake. | D．Weidensaul. |
| A．Flamingo. | B．Around the World in 80 Birds. |
| C．A World on the Wing. | D．Galapagos: Island of Birds. |
| A．Its humorous description. | B．Its romantic style. |
| C．Its vivid imagination. | D．Its moving plot. |
6 . War can be deadly for wildlife, too. A new study reports that war is the biggest threat to Africa’s elephants, rhinoceroses and other animals. Researchers examined how years of conflict in Africa have affected populations of large animals. More than 70 percent of Africa’s protected wildlife areas have been within a war zone at some point in the last 70 years. “The more frequent the fighting, the greater the drop in animal populations,” said Josh Daskin, an ecologist at Yale University. He was the lead author of the study, which was published on Wednesday in the journal Nature.
“It takes very little conflict, as much as one conflict in about 20 years, for the average wildlife population to be declining,” Daskin said. “Areas with frequent fighting-but not necessarily the bloodiest fighting-lose 35 percent of their large animal populations during each year of war,” he said.
“Some animals get killed by weapons of war. Yet, many also die because of changes in social and economic conditions in an area as a result of war,” said Rob Pringle. He is an ecologist at Princeton University and the study’s co-author. “People in and around war zones are poor and hungry. So they may begin to illegally hunt animals for valuable tusks or hunt protected animals to eat,” Pringle said. “And during wartime, animal conservation programs do not have as much money or power to protect wildlife.”
The new study examined the entire African continent over 65 years. The researchers looked at 10 different factors that could change population numbers. They included war, animal size, protected areas and human population density. The number of wars had the biggest effect on wildlife population. The intensity of the wars-measured in the number of human deaths-had the least effect on animals.
1. Which is the most dangerous to Africa’s animals?| A．War. | B．Society. | C．Economy. | D．Hunting. |
| A．Little conflict has no effect to animals’ population. |
| B．More than 70 percent of animals live in a war zone. |
| C．The more frequent the fighting is, the fewer the animals are. |
| D．35 percent of animals in the world died each year because of war. |
| A．The extreme weather. |
| B．Being killed by the weapons. |
| C．Being killed by poor and hungry people. |
| D．Lack of money or power to protect them. |
| A．Protected areas. | B．The intensity of the wars. |
| C．The number of wars. | D．Animal size. |
7 . 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. |
“Children look at screens for too long every day, and don’t exercise and sleep enough, and it’s affecting their cognitive (认知的) ability”, researchers have said
When I was a little boy, I
The scientists already knew that keeping cubs (幼兽) safe, healthy, and fed is a full-time job for a female tiger. But they weren’t exactly sure how mother tigers did it. By
9 . Jonathan the tortoise, the world’s oldest land animal, turned 190 over the weekend on the island of St. Helena, where he enjoyed a “cake” of seasonal fruits, leafy greens and vegetables, including carrots carved into the number “190”.
Jonathan was brought to St.Helena from the Seychelles in 1882 as a gift. According to Guinness World Records, Jonathan surpassed the previous record holder, Tu’i Malila, who lived in the 1770s until 1965and could be even older. He arrived in St.Helena as a fully mature tortoise, meaning he was at least 50 in 1882.
“The vet is still feeding him by hand once a week to boost his calories, vitamins, minerals and trace elements, as he is blind and has no sense of smell. His hearing though is excellent and he loves the company of humans, and responds well to his vet Joe Hollins’ voice as he associates him with a feast, Guinness World Records said.
“The tortoise enjoys the sun but on very hot days takes to the shade. On mild days, he will sunbathe his long neck and legs stretched fully out of his shell to absorb heat and transfer it to his core,” according to Hollins. When it’s cold, Jonathan has been known to “dig himself into leaf mold or grass cuttings and remain there all day.”
In most cases, the lifespan of a tortoise or turtle depends on the species and level of care they receive. They generally live much longer in captivity than in the wild, because in the wild, they must find their own food in addition to evading predators while not getting medical treatment. Larger turtle and tortoise species also tend to live longer than their smaller counterparts. For more information about animal record holders, click here.
1. When might Jonathan be born?| A．In 1882. | B．In 1770. | C．In 1965. | D．In 1832. |
| A．Jonathan had a birthday cake made of fruits, meat, and vegetables. |
| B．Jonathan was born and raised on the island of St. Helena. |
| C．Jonathan is the Guinness World holder of the oldest land animal. |
| D．Jonathan is a very old but healthy tortoise with full senses. |
| A．Species differences. | B．Food shortage. |
| C．Lack of medical treatment. | D．Animal enemies. |
| A．In a science fiction. | B．On a news website. |
| C．In a travel brochure. | D．In a biology textbook. |
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