1 . 4 Reasons Why Wild Animals Are So Important

As we know, the earth gives us food, medicines and materials, often through wild animals. These wild animals are important to our existence. Sadly, they are becoming extinct at an alarming rate. We need to change this loss of nature and create a future where wildlife and people thrive (蓬勃发展) again.     1     Here are some reasons why wild animals are so important to the world at large.

Wild animals keep balance in ecosystems.

    2     If any part is threatened or becomes extinct, this has a knock-on effect on the whole ecosystem. sending shock waves through the environment. For ecosystems to survive and perhaps even thrive, we must protect all of our wildlife.

Diversity (多样性) means healthier ecosystems and healthier wild animals.

When there is a wildlife issue, you’ll often hear the term biodiversity, which refers to the number of species in an ecosystem.     3     Why do we consider this important? A wide variety of animals means greater productivity and better health. If there are fewer animal species, a disease that affects any species spreads faster and more effectively.

    4    

All of the food that we eat comes from an animal or plant. Living without various food sources causes our nutrition (营养) to suffer. Protecting wildlife and its natural habitats strengthens food safety for humans around the world.

Wildlife helps medical research.

Wild animals have helped us find important medicines that help with many diseases.     5     Many medical systems like Chinese traditional medicines still rely on herbs and spices, but even Western medicine have made great progress with wildlife research.

A．All living things are interconnected.

B．Healthy ecosystems mean a lot of diversity.

C．Or we will lose these animals to future generations.

D．People worldwide depend on wildlife for their snack.

E．Wildlife provides important nutrients for the human race.

F．The human race has always turned to nature for medicine.

G．We should notice the influence caused by wildlife on culture.

2 . Wild African elephants may break sleep records for mammals (哺乳动物). New data show that they seem to survive on about two hours of shut-eye a night. Much of that sleeping took place while they were standing up. The animals lie down to sleep only once every three to four nights.

Trying to figure out how much wild elephants sleep just by watching them 24 hours a day is tricky, especially in the dark. Much of what scientists had known about sleeping elephants came from animals living in zoos, notes Paul Manger, who is a brain researcher at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa. In zoos, elephants have been recorded sleeping from about three hours to nearly seven during a 24-hour period. Using electronic monitors on African elephants in the wild, however, has turned up more extreme behavior.

Manger’s team implanted (植入) activity monitors in the trunks (象鼻) of two elephants. Both were female leaders of their herds in the Chobe National Park. Trunks, like human hands, are important for exploring the world. Elephants hardly keep them still — unless sleeping. The researchers thought that a trunk monitor that didn’t move for at least five minutes likely meant its host was asleep.

The monitors tracked the animals over about a month. During that time, the elephants averaged just two hours of sleep a day. What’s more, the elephants were able to skip a night’s sleep without needing extra rest the next day. Those trunk implants showed there were times when the elephants went up to 46 hours without any sleep.

There has been some thought that animals need sleep to store memories properly. But that can’t explain animals, like the elephants, which skip sleep for a night without needing catch-up rest later. “Elephants are usually not considered to be forgetful animals,” Manger observes. In fact, he notes, studies have found that they can have long memories.

1. How did the African elephants typically sleep according to the new study?

A．They stood up.	B．They walked around.
C．They grouped.	D．They kept eyes open.

2. Why did Manger’s team implant the trunk monitors?

A．To test a new tracker.	B．To help elephants fall asleep.
C．To train wild animals.	D．To study elephants’ sleep.

3. What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A．People always think elephants are forgetful animals.

B．A good night’s sleep benefits all the wildlife’s brains.

C．Little sleep doesn’t affect the memory of elephants.

D．Scientists can’t understand why sleep makes sense.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．Tips on watching wildlife.	B．Wild elephants’ sleep habit.
C．Efforts to protect wild elephants.	D．National nature reserves in Africa.

3 . Monarch butterflies (帝王蝶) are edging dangerously close to extinction despite a decision late last year to remove the orange-and-black insects from the endangered species list, a new study has found.

An annual survey led by the World Wildlife Fund(WWF)of the species wintering in central Mexico found the second-lowest number of monarch butterflies on record, meaning they took up just 2.2 acres of regional forests, 59% less than during the 2022 — 2023 winter season. The findings are troubling to scientists determined to protect the species.

Each year, monarch butterflies migrate (迁徙) thousands of miles from southern Canada and the northern and central US to the mountain forests of central Mexico. They require a large and healthy forest to protect them from winds, rain and low temperatures in the areas where they migrate for winter. Yet because of heat and drought brought on by climate change, scientists say, their natural habitat is quickly depleting. Scientists with the WWF considered this winter season’s findings serious and said they represented the second-smallest area taken up by monarch butterflies in Mexico since 1993.

What’s worse, in recent years, their breeding areas in Canada and the US have seen a reduction in milkweed leaves where female monarch butterflies lay their eggs. “Land-use changes in the United States, combined with the widespread use of chemicals, also contributed to the loss of milkweed and other plants that adult monarch butterflies feed on,” the WWF said.

Monarch butterflies play an important role in maintaining plant ecosystems and are also an important food source for birds, small animals and other insects, according to the National Park Service. It’s necessary that all governments, communities, scientists, and others continue to strengthen our protection efforts to support their unique migration.

1. Why do monarch butterflies fly to central Mexico each year?

A．To spend winter.	B．To lay eggs.
C．To search for shelter.	D．To escape from enemies.

2. What does the underlined word “depleting” in paragraph 3 mean?

A．Shifting.

B．Disappearing.

C．Recovering.

D．Increasing.

3. What may have nothing to do with the reduction in monarch butterflies’ number?

A．The loss of food sources.

B．The widespread use of chemicals.

C．The land-use changes in the United States.

D．The threat of being eaten by other animals.

4. What is the author’s purpose in writing the text?

A．To raise people’s awareness about climate change.

B．To call for more measures to protect monarch butterflies.

C．To inform people of the serious situation of monarch butterflies.

D．To prove monarch butterflies should be on the endangered species list.

4 .

Panda Ya Ya returns home

Ya Ya the giant panda has just arrived in Shanghai, east China on Thursday after 20 years of stay at the Memphis Zoo in the U.S. The flight was around 15.5 hours. Both Chinese and American vets are with Ya Ya.

Ya Ya was born at Beijing Zoo on August 3, 2000. She arrived at Memphis Zoo in April, 2003. Ya Ya has become a bridge of friendship between Chinese and foreign people. She will spend a month in Shanghai before returning to her birthplace, Beijing Zoo.

We do hope all pandas that are in foreign countries can be healthy and happy.

Did you know…?

Baby pandas are born pink and measure about 15cm-that’s about the size of a pencil

Giant pandas spend up to 12 hours a day eating bamboo.

Pandas live for about 20 years in the wild, but in the zoos they can live for up to 35 years.

1. Ya Ya was born in _______.

A．Beijing

B．Chengdu

C．Shanghai `

D．Guangzhou

2. What color are new-born pandas?

A．Black and white.

B．Pink.

C．Yellow.

D．Gray.

3. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Ya Ya spend up to 10 hours a day eating bamboo.	B．Shanghai Zoo is Ya Ya’s final home.
C．Ya Ya had a short flight coming back home.	D．Ya Ya helps foreigners know more about China.

4. This passage is _______.

A．a piece of news

B．an ad

C．a diary

D．a letter

5 . For most of December, Adele Adkins had the top-selling album in Australia, followed by Ed Sheeran, and then there was a collection of songs that took everyone by surprise.

Songs Of Disappearance is a collection of calls from endangered Australian birds. Last month, it briefly reached No.3 on the country’s top 50 albums chart (排行榜) — ahead of Taylor Swift.

Anthony Albrecht, a PhD student at Charles Darwin University, produced the album with Professor Stephen Garnett. “I knew it was a crazy thing to suggest. But Stephen’s a little bit crazy like me and he let me do it,” Albrecht said.

Songs Of Disappearance was published with a university report which found that 1 in 6 Australian bird species are now threatened. The album records 53 of those species.

“Some sing what you might think of as bird songs, but not all of them,” said SeanDooley, who represents the conservation organization Bird life Australia. “Songs from the golden bowerbird sound like a death cry from some sci-fi series. And the love songs from Christmas Island frigate bird, which has a piece of skin hanging under its mouth that caninflate (膨胀) like a huge red balloon, sound as bizarre as its unusual looks.”

There’s also the Christmas Island pigeon. When people hear that pigeon, they might think that it’s a human making silly noises, Dooley added.

The Charles Darwin University and Bird life Australia report does document successes in protecting endangered birds, the hope being that the album will protect more species.

“The increased awareness can make a difference,” Dooley said. “When we have a community on board, that brings pressure to the government to do the right thing. We know that these conservation actions do work.”

1. Whose album reached No.1 on the chart in December?

A．Taylor Swift’s.

B．Adele Adkins’.

C．Ed Sheeran’s.

D．Anthony Albrecht’s.

2. What can be learned from the university report?

A．About 53 bird species are threatened in Australia.

B．It has not found success in protecting endangered birds.

C．One sixth of Australian bird species are now endangered.

D．Music is very powerful in encouraging people to protect birds.

3. Which is closest in meaning to “bizarre”in paragraph 5?

A．Strange.

B．Beautiful.

C．Loud.

D．Sharp.

4. What does Sean Dooley think of Anthony Albrecht’s project?

A．Crazy.

B．Amusing.

C．Uncreative.

D．Helpful.

7 . Veery, a small songbird only weighing about 30 grams, will migrate thousands of miles south —from North America, across the ocean, to South America in summer. No doubt it’s a perilous journey. Some of those birds may never make it if a hurricane(飓风) happens.

But a study published in the journal Scientific Reports in 2018 showed that when the veeries begin to leave the north is closely related to the coming of the Atlantic hurricane season. The little birds try not to be destroyed by the possible hurricanes. “During bad years, the birds would shorten their breeding (繁殖) season in the north and head down to South America earlier than usual. In this way, most of the birds survived. It makes sense that they have figured it out somehow.” says Christopher Heckscher, an ecologist at Delaware State University.

Exactly, how the veeries “predict” hurricane seasons may partly result from small changes in climate like El Niio (厄尔尼诺) events. During El Niio years, the ocean water is warmer than average, and produces winds that more effectively weaken hurricanes, bringing down the number of hurricanes. The little birds are usually smart enough to sense this and make a wise decision to migrate. With these changes, rainfall in veery habitat (栖息地) may differ. When more rain falls, more fruit could be available. This change in diet may help the veery return to North America in a better shape and also enjoy a longer breeding season back home.

Heckscher says although it’s too early to determine what the birds are predicting for future Atlantic hurricane seasons, veeries have been just as good, and in one case better than meteorological (气象) models in predicting hurricanes.

1. What does the underlined word “perilous” in paragraph 1 mean?

A．Dangerous.

B．Unfamiliar.

C．Beneficial.

D．Powerful.

2. What have scientists discovered about the veery migration?

A．It brings the climate change.

B．It explains why hurricanes happen.

C．It often occurs later than other migrant birds’.

D．It is influenced by the possible hurricane season.

3. What may happen to veeries during El Niio years?

A．They seek for more food.	B．They meet more hurricanes.
C．They don't fly back to the north.	D．They become stronger for breeding.

4. Which can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Veery: Beating Climate Models	B．Veery: A Natural Predictor of Hurricanes
C．El Nino: Destroying Vecries' Migration	D．Christopher Heckscher: A Famous Ecologist

8 . Humans and horses have enjoyed strong working relationships for nearly 10,000 years. Can these age-old relationships teach us something about building robots? Researchers at the University of Florida carried out research and said yes. “As we work to improve how humans communicate with robots, I thought why not learn from our partnership with horses to help solve the problem of natural interaction (互动) between humans and robots?” said Eakta Jain, an associate professor of computer and information science and engineering.

Looking at our history with animals to help shape our future with robots is nothing new. But Jain and her colleagues are the first to bring together engineering and robot researchers and horse experts and trainers to do on-the ground field studies with the animals.

Jain first reached out to Joel McQuagge, who managed the UF Horse Teaching Unit. He provided Jain with full access, so Jain spent months observing classes. She interviewed and observed horse experts, including horse trainers and owners. Jain’s notes resulted in findings and design ideas that can be applied by robot designers.

“Some of the findings are easy to visualize (可视化), while others are not very specific,” Jain said. “For example, we learned that a horse speaks with its body. You can see its ears pointing to where something caught its attention. We could build similar types of expressions without speech in our robots, like ears that point to something visual in the car when there’s a person walking on that side of the street.”

A groundbreaking finding is the sense of respect. When a trainer works with a horse, he looks for signs of respect from the horse for its human partner. “We don’t typically think about respect in the situation of human-robot interaction,” Jain says. “Can we design behaviors similar to what the horse uses? Will that make the human more willing to work with the robot?”

1. Why does the author mention horses in the first paragraph?

A．To provide examples.	B．To make comparisons.
C．To introduce the topic.	D．To support his argument.

2. How did Jain carry out her research?

A．She interviewed engineers and robot designers.

B．She worked with horse experts for observations.

C．She discussed her design with robotics and horse experts.

D．She checked historical records of human-horse partnerships.

3. What lesson can robot designers draw from Jain’s notes?

A．Body language can be designed into robots.

B．Early warnings could be given if something happens.

C．Robots may hardly understand non-speech instructions.

D．Robots can perform better than horses in locating things.

4. What can be the best title for the text?

A．Study the Influences of Robots on Horse Training

B．Improve the Interaction Between Robots and Humans

C．Explore the Relationships Between Humans and Horses

D．Build Better Robots Through the Experience with Horses

9 . An experiment published in iScience provides evidence that octopuses (章鱼) feel pain like humans do.

During the experiment, Crook, who comes from San Francisco State University, placed an octopus between two rooms with different lines and spots on the walls, and then observed where she preferred to stay. The next day, in another part of the lab, Crook put acetic acid into one of the octopus’s arms. She says doing so is like pouring lemon juice on a paper cut. When the animal awoke with an aching arm, Crook kept her in the room she had preferred before. The researcher removed the octopus 20 minutes later and used lidocaine to numb (使麻木) her arm. Crook then placed her in the room she had not liked as much at first. After another 20 minutes, Crook returned her to her home container.

Finally, about five hours later, Crook brought the octopus back to the rooms and gave her an alternative: return to the originally preferred room, where she was kept with an aching arm, or go to the one she had not liked as much but where she was numb. Crook ran the experiment with seven octopuses. They all chose to go to the non-preferred room. As a control, Crook put salt water into seven other octopuses. Unlike the experimental group, those octopuses returned to their originally preferred room.

It turned out the octopuses related the room they had once liked better to the ache they felt the last time they were there. Then they compared that experience with their typical pain-free state and decided that how they usually felt was better. Using that information, the octopuses chose to go to the non-preferred room. “There’s a lot of brain processing that has to happen,” Crook says.

Crook’s study suggests that there should be more focus on the welfare of octopuses. Due to people’s ignorance, animals like octopuses are not properly protected in both research and industry in the U.S. Luckily, Crook’s findings, giving us more insights into them, have led to increased protection for octopuses.

1. What effect did lidocaine have on the studied octopus?

A．Keeping her awake.	B．Making her energetic.
C．Making her feel less pain.	D．Removing her memory of pain.

2. What does the underlined word “alternative” in the third paragraph mean?

A．Treat.

B．Choice.

C．Lead.

D．Punishment.

3. What can we infer about octopuses according to Crook’s study?

A．They tend to work in groups.	B．Their preference changes with time.
C．They update their memories regularly.	D．Their painful memories last for hours.

4. What is the last paragraph mainly about?

A．The significance of the research.	B．The description of the research.
C．The reasons for protecting octopuses.	D．The assumption about the octopuses.

10 . Home away from home — pet boarding facilities in and around Rochester

BEAR CREEK KENNELS（犬舍）

507-287-0045/507-289-2470

Bear Creek Kennels offers boarding and day care for dogs of all ages.

It has both indoor and outdoor fenced areas. Dogs are encouraged to interact throughout the day, spending minimal time in kennels.

COST: $24 per night

DROP-OFF/PICK-UP TIMES:

Mon.-Fri.,（7 a. m.-6 p. m.）; Sat.,（8 a. m.-5 p. m.）; Sun.,（3-5 p. m.）

BOB’S ANIMAL FRIENDS

507-280-9572/507-280-9577

Bob’s Animal Friends wants your dogs to feel right at home, so much so that it offers a “Sleep Buddy” add-on for $10 per night. A caretaker will stay overnight with your dog, meaning extra care time and sleeping on the so fa instead of in his or her kennel.

COST: $25 per night（basic）

DROP-OFF/PICK-UP TIMES:

Mon.-Fri.,（6: 30 a. m.-7 p. m.）; Sat.,（7-8 a. m. and 5-6 p. m.）; Sun.,（5-6 p. m.）

K-9 KENNELS INC.

507-226-5384/507-226-5388

K-9 Kennels Inc. features 10 indoor/outdoor kennels for dogs and a boarding area for cats. Indoor areas feature windows for natural light and doggy doors for them to go outside at will. Besides, a 5,000-square-foot outdoor play area is fully fenced.

COST: Dogs 18pernight. Cats15 per night

DROP-OFF/PICK-UP TIMES:

Mon.-Sat.,（6: 30 a. m.-8 p. m.）; Sun.,（1-8 p. m.）

1. When can an owner drop off his pet at Bear Creek Kennels on Sunday?

A．At 7 a. m.

B．At 8 a. m.

C．At 4 p. m.

D．At 6 p. m.

2. Which number should someone call to ask about cat boarding service?

A．507-287-0045.

B．507-280-9572.

C．507-289-2470.

D．507-226-5384.