1 . Japanese researchers placed electronic devices(装置)on seals(海豹)in Antarctic waters to collect surprising information about the environment there. Japan’s National Institute of Polar Research started the research project in 2017. The team recently reported its results in a study in the publication Limnology and Oceanography.
Eight Weddell seals were fitted with the devices,which have antennas(天线)to send electronic signals.The 580-gram monitoring devices were attached(缚上;系上)to the animals’heads. They were designed to measure data such as water temperatures and sea salt levels.
Investigative teams on ships have difficulty reaching important research areas in Antarctica. These include areas along continental shelf formations where ice is attached to the shore, the National Institute of Polar Research said in a statement. Nobuo Kokubun led the project. Since the seals are active year-round, Kokubun added, “I thought we should have them collect the data.”
He told Reuters that the research also helps scientists follow the seals’ behaviors and learn about their relationship to the environment. “During the summer, we can go to Antarctica on icebreakers to conduct actual research activities, so that we can collect data there.” Kokubun said. ”But during the winter. such things cannot be done in so many places.“
Information gathered from the seals showed that one of the animals traveled as far as 633kilometers from Japan’s Showa Station in Antarctica. Another dove to a depth of 700 meters.Kokubun said the scientists learned from the data that warm seawater from the upper levels of the open sea reached Antarctica from March through the winter of 2017. The water flowed below the ice, bringing in sea creatures like Antarctic krill, an important food for seals.
Kokubun and his team plan to keep finding new ways to further examine the effects of climate change on Antarctic coastal areas. Next, he hopes to make the device small enough to fit on other animals at the South Pole, such as penguins,“The advantage with penguins is that they come back to the same place and we can collect data from them immediately,”Kokubun said.
1. What does paragraph 3 mainly talk about?| A．The reasons why seals are a good pick. |
| B．The difficulties the researchers met with. |
| C．The disadvantages of the research. |
| D．The formation of Antarctic waters. |
| A．It challenges some traditional views. |
| B．It is an eye-opener for the researchers. |
| C．It is in urgent need of improvement. |
| D．It simply focuses on the seals’ behavior. |
| A．They will further study the penguins. |
| B．They will make use of the same device. |
| C．They intend to expand the research further. |
| D．They plan to help the endangered penguins. |
| A．Increasing Temperature of Antarctic Waters |
| B．Seals Help Researchers Study Antarctic Environment |
| C．Seals Are in Danger of Dying out Due to Global Warming |
| D．Climate Change and Its Far-reaching Consequences |
2 . Lapland's reindeer (驯鹿) grow well in winters of -30℃ and even colder. So when rain falls instead of snow during the coldest months in the Arctic,it makes food hard to get for them. Now one of the best-loved symbols of Christmas is probably dying out. Numbers have fallen by over half in the last two decades as the place warms at four times the global average rate.
The animals are used to pull sleigh (雪橇) rides for tourists. The rides are part of Lapland winter wonderland experiences in thousands of British tourists each year. But this year the working herd had to be moved 60 miles further north due to the absence of snow. As a result, they can't be provided in some areas, making it hard for people to earn a living.
Lapland is often described as Europe's last great wilderness, home to lynxes, brown bears, wolverines and golden eagles. Tourism is a big part of the economy, and the town of Rovaniemi is also the "official home of Santa Claus". But changing climate (气候) is threatening its tourism industry. A report by The Finnish Climate Change Panel warns of flooding and increased rainfall, with Rovaniemi most at risk. Firms that rely on snow "will have great effects on visit levels" and these industries may be forced further north.
Erkkila of the Arctic Husky Park in Rovaniemi says: "Tourists see pictures of the Santa Claus village covered in snow and when they get here they think, 'Is this the winter wonderland?'." The Husky Park bought a wheeled cart (车) six years ago as a replacement for sleigh rides when the snow fails.
In the past it was thought the Arctic was warming twice as fast as the rest of the world. But a report published last week by scientists showed the rate is actually four times the global average.
1. What causes the drop in Lapland's reindeer population?| A．Cold winter. | B．Polluted habitats. |
| C．Heavy snow. | D．Rising temperatures. |
| A．Rides. | B．Animals. | C．Experiences. | D．Tourists. |
| A．Lapland is home to various wildlife. |
| B．Increased rainfall threatens Rovaniemi. |
| C．Rovaniemi is official home of Santa Claus. |
| D．Changing climate affects Lapland's tourism. |
| A．They feel excited. | B．They are disappointed. |
| C．They enjoy themselves. | D．They prefer wheeled carts. |
As a boy, Ramirez Cruz loved hiking with his grandfather up into the mountains of central Mexico. While the old man hunted for wild mushrooms, Ramirez would play among the monarch butterflies that migrated 3,000 miles to this forest each autumn, turning the blue sky into a sea of orange.
Ramirez is 75 now and each winter he still goes looking for butterflies. But these days, he might spend hours searching the forest without catching sight of a single one.
The world is losing monarch butterflies at a surprising rate, as many human activities destroy their natural habitats. But the biggest threat yet has only recently come into focus. Climate change, with its extreme storms, is destroying the forest that serves as the butterfly’s winter home.
To help his beloved butterflies, Ramirez has partnered with scientists on an experiment: They are trying to move an entire forest 1,000 feet up a mountain. He agrees with scientists that it is necessary to create an ecosystem where the butterflies will be able to survive.
Over the last several years, the team of researchers has overseen the relocation(迁移) of about 1,000 trees that were growing at lower altitudes up to higher and cooler areas. Ramirez and the scientists hope to expand the project and establish the trees at even higher altitudes on other nearby mountains if temperatures continue to soar.
After checking on the trees, Ramirez went off to look for the butterflies. He found a few butterflies then a few more. There weren’t as many as he remembered from his childhood, but it was still a sight to see. Ramirez eased himself down to sit on the soft forest floor and watched in silence. The only sound was the whistle of the wind and the gentle flapping(拍打) of their wings.
1. What does “sea of orange” refer to in paragraph 1?2. Why is the forest important to the monarch butterflies according to paragraph 3?
3. What is the project Ramirez has been working on in paragraph 5?
4. How did Ramirez probably feel when he sat on the soft forest floor?
4 . Wearing a caveman mask, Dr. John Marzluff walks across the campus at the University of Washington in Seattle. Crows (乌鸦) circle and squawk (尖叫), diving at him and away.
Beneath the mask, he smiles. Days before, he and his students, wearing caveman masks, trapped them and placed colored plastic bands on their legs. Then they released the unhappy birds. When the researchers wandered around campus without the masks, the crows they had caught and banded did not react to them. But when the same humans walked by while wearing the masks, the crows scolded loudly and dived at their “enemies”.
At first, only the banded birds reacted aggressively to the people in masks. But in later tests, more and more crows joined in, and even when the banded birds were not around. “Crows think and dream, fight and play, reason and take risks,” he says. “Their antics confuse us.”
This led him to study how crows’ brains work. He and his students wore one type of mask as they captured crows and brought them into the lab, training them to link that face with danger. Then a different kind of mask for more positive activities, such as feeding and caring. Then he worked with scientists at the university who scan animal brains to see which parts of a crow's brain do certain tasks. Surprisingly, the scientists found that when the crow saw the “danger” mask, one part of its brain became active. When the crow saw the “care and feeding” mask, a different part of its brain lit up. The team has shown that crows use the same parts of their brains for recognition that humans do — something that was not known before!
More than 10 years after the first mask experiment, campus crows still scold the “cavemen”. Crows also recognize people who are kind to them. Crows are always watching us... and they remember.
1. Why does Dr. John Marzluff smile?| A．He intends to show his kindness. |
| B．He realizes his trick has worked. |
| C．He is amused by the happy crows. |
| D．He is embarrassed at the crows’ response. |
| A．Ways of behaving. | B．Hunting types. |
| C．Flying models. | D．Chances of survival. |
| A．Sociable, intelligent and observant. |
| B．Noisy, dangerous and annoying. |
| C．Reasonable, cautious and aggressive. |
| D．Strong-headed, proud and popular. |
| A．They share the same wisdom as humans do. |
| B．They never forgive those who once hurt them. |
| C．They only recognize the people who are bad to them. |
| D．They perform tasks with different parts of their brains. |
5 . Most polar bears could disappear by the end of the century, scientists say. Global warming is to blame. According to a study published this month in Nature Climate Change, most polar bear populations will be in serious decline by 2080. The cause is melting sea ice.
Polar bears hunt seals on the ice. Without ice, the bears must wander on the shore, where they are spending more and more time away from their main food source. That means the animals could starve.
“There’s not enough food on land to sustain a polar bear population,” Péter K. Molnár told the New York Times. He is the study’s lead author.
Lack of food leads to another problem: Mother bears may not be fat enough to produce milk for their cubs. Some bear populations could stop having babies, leading to a rapid decline in numbers.
Arctic sea ice usually melts in the spring and summer, then grows in the winter. But now, the ice is taking longer to grow back. Weather statistics say the Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet. Ice in the region has declined 13% every 10 years since the 1970s.
The Arctic is home to roughly 25,000 polar bears. Scientists have long known that the animals are in danger. This study, which looked at 13 of the world’s 19 polar bear populations, is the first to identify when they could disappear.
But the study also notes that it is still possible to slow Arctic melting. The world can reduce the burning of fossil fuels and lower the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. It would have to be a drastic reduction. Bringing emissions to only a moderate level will still mean the loss of some polar bears.
Saving the bears is up to us, Holland says. “I believe that there is hope,” she says. “But humans need to act quickly to turn that hope into a reality.”
1. Why are polar bears in danger of disappearing?| A．Lack of seals. | B．Global warming. |
| C．Less milk for cubs. | D．The loss of home. |
| A．Reduce. | B．Suffer. | C．Support. | D．Increase. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Neutral. | C．Negative. | D．Positive. |
6 . Dogs are man's best friend. If you plan on buying a dog, try to put in a little bit of research. You will find out that there are plenty of dog breeds(品种)to choose from, but some are more expensive than others. Not just in terms of the purchase price, but also grooming(动物美容)and medical expenses.
In this list, we will cover the most expensive dog breeds in the world that you can buy. We’ll even include the dog's price tag, grooming expenses, and average health care costs.
Kerry Blue Terrier
With a purchase price at $ 600 this dog might be inexpensive. However, due to their many health concerns, health care costs can reach up to $ 7, 000. If taken care of, they can live up to 15 years.
Great Dane
The Great Dane breed is a big dog with an average price of $ 800. This breed has a life expectancy of 7 to 10 years. The average health care costs are expected to be around $7, 100.
Bernese Mountain Dog
The purchase price for one of these huge 120-pound dogs is around $800. This breed has a life expectancy of 9 to 12 years. This breed has many health concerns like elbow and hip dysplasia(髓关节发育不良)which will cost you around $ 6, 500.
German Shepherd
Known for their cleverness as a sheepherder, the purchase price for one is around $ 800. Although they can live for up to 13 years, their health care costs up to $20, 500. What causes their health care to be expensive is treating common health conditions such as hip dysplasia.
1. How long can a Kerry Blue Terrier live?| A．7 years. | B．15 years. | C．10 years. | D．12 years. |
| A．Kerry Blue Terrier. | B．Great Dane. |
| C．Bemese Mountain Dog. | D．German Shepherd. |
| A．Where to buy a great dog. | B．How to take care of a dog. |
| C．What to know in choosing a dog. | D．How to make friends with dogs. |
7 . Though plastic shopping bags are cheap and useful, they cause widespread pollution. Now, we may have an unlikely helper to help clean up our garbage — a small wax worm.
The worm’s hidden skills were discovered by accident. About two years ago, Federica Bertocchini, a developmental biologist at the Spanish National Research Council and an amateur beekeeper, was cleaning out bees’ nest that had been filled with worms. She removed the worms and put them in a plastic bag while doing the cleaning. After finishing, she went back to the room where she had left the worms, and found they had escaped from the bag. When she checked, she saw that the bag was full of holes.
Realizing she may have made an important discovery, Bertocchini teamed up with other researchers to conduct further research. They began by placing 100 worms on some plastic bags and discovered that over a 24-hour period, the worms managed to chew through 92 milligrams of plastic. The researchers make an appropriate judgment that at this rate, the group of worms could degrade (降解) an average-sized 5.5-gram plastic bag within a month. To rule out the possibility that chewing was causing the degradation, the researchers spread the soft wet substance inside the body of some recently dead worms on a sheet of plastic. Sure enough, even the liquid was able to eat through the material, confirming that the worms have plastic-digesting enzymes (酶).
While the news is certainly encouraging, not everyone is convinced. The Michigan State University’s Ramani Narayan believes the tiny pieces of microplastics released by the plastic-eating worms would pick up harmful substances and transport them up the food chain, causing, even more, harm to the environment and human health. Susan Selke, director of Michigan State University School of Packaging, is concerned that the worms will not be able to survive in an oxygen-free landfills where large amounts of waste material are buried under the earth.
However, Bertocchini is not planning to transport worm armies to landfills. Instead, the researcher wants to identify the enzyme that helps degrade the plastic. The researcher says, maybe we can find the molecule (分子) and produce it on an industrial level, rather than using a million worms in a plastic bag.
1. What did the experiment of using dead worms find out?| A．Worms’ chewing may cause the degradation. |
| B．A plastic-eating chemical exists in wax worms. |
| C．Dead worms are effective in dealing with plastic. |
| D．It takes a long time for worms to degrade plastic. |
| A．Objective | B．Convinced | C．Questioning. | D．Optimistic. |
| A．The structure of plastic-degrading enzymes. |
| B．The use of other worms in disposing plastic. |
| C．Wax worms’ adaptability to the landfill environment. |
| D．The chance of producing wax worms on a large scale. |
| A．Can wax worms save the environment? |
| B．Wax worms have an appetite for plastic. |
| C．Why do wax worms have plastic-eating skills? |
| D．Hungry worms join the fight against plastic pollution |
8 . As levels of carbon dioxide - CO2 - in the atmosphere have been rising in recent decades, Earth has been warming. That’s because as a greenhouse gas, CO2 traps heat in Earth’s atmosphere. That warming is one symptom of climate change. And it has the potential to affect food in many ways. Data now show that rising levels of CO2 also can affect how nutritious a crop will be. Some of those data were reported last year in Annual Review of Public Health. Indeed, it noted that several studies have come to this conclusion.
Samuel Myers is an environmental health scientist at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. He was part of a team that has studied the potential effects of climate change on nutrition. In one 2014 study, his group looked at six major food crops: wheat, rice, field peas, soybeans, maize (corn) and sorghum. They exposed plants to different amounts of CO2. Some got levels of between 363 and 386 parts per million (ppm), which were typical at that time. (CO2 levels have since risen.) Other plants were exposed to more of that greenhouse gas as they grew — 546 to 586 ppm. Such levels are expected to develop within the next 50 years or so.
After harvesting the plants, the researchers measured their levels of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. And plants grown with more CO2 were less nutritious. Most people depend on cereal crops, such as wheat and rice, to meet their dietary needs for both zinc and iron. If crop levels of such nutrients fall, people may face an even greater risk of falling ill.
Scientists don’t yet know why CO2 impacts levels of these nutrients. But the new findings suggest scientists may want to try breeding new varieties of crops that are less affected by CO2. That way people will still get the most benefits from their greens and grains.
1. What can be the best title of the passage?| A．The rising CO2 levels. | B．Climate change affecting nutrition of crops. |
| C．Effects of a greenhouse gas on the environment. | D．New varieties of crops. |
| A．By experimenting and measuring. | B．By referring to books. |
| C．By imagination. | D．By turning to farmers for help. |
| A．Scientists don’t yet know why CO2 impacts levels of these nutrients. |
| B．CO2 levels are expected to rise to 546 to 586 ppm within the next 50 years or so. |
| C．The Earth has been warming because CO2 traps heat in the atmosphere. |
| D．Global warming affects food only in one way. |
| A．Indifferent. | B．Doubtful. |
| C．Negative. | D．Positive. |
9 . One spring morning many years ago, I had been prospecting for gold along Coho Creek in southeastern Alaska. Suddenly, no more than 20 paces away was a huge Alaskan timber wolf-caught in a trap.
From her appearance, I guessed she had been trapped for several days. She needed my help, I thought. But if I tried to release her, she would turn aggressive to me. The wolf was clearly suffering. The trap's steel jaws had imprisoned two toes. They were swollen and lacerated, but she wouldn't lose the paw (爪子) — if freed. Yet each time I moved closer, she would make a frightening growl. If I could only win her confidence, I thought. It was her only hope.
Over the next few days, I divided my time between prospecting and trying to win the wolf's trust. I talked gently with her, throwing her some meat. Gradually, I kept edging closer — though I was careful to remain beyond the length of her trap chain.
At dusk on the fifth day, I delivered her dinner. Suddenly, I saw a slight wagging of her tail. I moved within the length of her chain. She remained sill. As a towering man, my heart was in my mouth, though. Within her reach, I wrapped my blanket around myself and slowly settled onto the cold ground. It was long before I fell asleep.
The next morning, I slowly placed my hand on the wolf's injured leg. Unexpectedly; she made no threatening move. Then I applied pressure, the trap sprang open, and the wolf pulled free.
My experience told me the wolf would vanish into the woods quickly. But cautiously, she crept toward me and sniffed my hands and arms. This went against everything I'd ever heard about timber wolves. Yet, strangely, it all seemed so natural.
1. What happened to the timber wolf?| A．She was stuck in a trap. | B．Her food ran out. |
| C．Her legs were swollen. | D．She was caught in the author's trap. |
| A．Some food. | B．The author's care. |
| C．Her trust in the author. | D．Winning the author's confidence. |
| A．He was too close to the wolf. | B．The ground was too cold. |
| C．The wolf remained still. | D．The wolf wagged her tail. |
| A．It was frightening and surprising. | B．It was unexpected but natural. |
| C．It was humorous and natural. | D．It was terrifying but encouraging. |
10 . Half of US dog owners and 62 percent of American cat owners share the sheets with their pets, a practice that sleep experts warn can lead to sleep deprivation (剥夺). Besides，Mayo Clinic found that more than half of the patients seeking consultations at its sleep clinic were pet owners whose sleep was disturbed by their cats or dogs in 2014.
However, a 2018 study found that is not the case. Researchers from Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona, surveyed 150 of the patients who visited the facility’s center for sleep medicine. Every participant received a piece of paper and answered questions on it about their sleeping habits, their pets’ behavior, sleeping locations and how their pets affected their nightly sleep.
The researchers found that 56 percent of the study participants shared their bed or bedroom with their cat or dog. However, while 20 percent reported disturbed sleep because of their pets, 41 percent said that their pets presence in bed actually helped them sleep better.
Those who reported sleeping more soundly when their pets were present said that having them in the bedroom or on the bed offered them relaxation and provided a sense of companionship and security. Single sleepers were especially likely to report that sharing a bed with a cat or dog helped them get some shut-eye.
“Participants described feeling secure, content and relaxed when their pet slept nearby,” the study authors wrote. “The value of these experiences, although poorly understood, cannot be dismissed because sleep is dependent on a state of physical and mental relaxation.”
A similar small study published by the researchers from the University of Alberta found that having pets in bed can help people with chronic (慢性的) pain sleep better, while also easing feelings of loneliness and anxiety.
“They liked the physical contact with their dogs — cuddling before bed, and how it distracted them from feeling anxious about being alone at night,” researcher Cary Brown said. “They felt more relaxed and safer, so they weren’t anxious as they were trying to sleep.”
1. What is the 2018 study based on?| A．A controlled experiment of sleep. |
| B．A questionnaire survey of the patients. |
| C．The comparison of the patients’ sleeping habits. |
| D．The long-term observation of all the participants. |
| A．Sleeping with pets is beneficial. |
| B．It is painful to sleep with pets. |
| C．Some people suffer from loneliness. |
| D．Physical relaxation is important to our health. |
| A．Distracted. | B．Crowded. |
| C．Calm. | D．Nervous. |
| A．Sleeping has something to do with health |
| B．Owners can get on well with their pets |
| C．It is hard for people to sleep soundly |
| D．Pets may help you sleep better |
