1 . 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. |
| A．To test a new tracker. | B．To help elephants fall asleep. |
| C．To train wild animals. | D．To study elephants’ sleep. |
| 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. |
| A．Tips on watching wildlife. | B．Wild elephants’ sleep habit. |
| C．Efforts to protect wild elephants. | D．National nature reserves in Africa. |
2 . 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. |
| A．Shifting. | B．Disappearing. | C．Recovering. | D．Increasing. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
3 . For almost a century, Ecuador’s giant tortoises (陆龟) have been protected. These species are one of the largest living reptiles (爬行动物) on the planet. They live a very long life—the oldest tortoise on record was 175 years old. And, they all live on the Galapagos Islands.
Hunting the tortoises is illegal under Ecuador’s laws, but now the Attorney General’s office has opened an investigation into the remains of four tortoises that were found in the park. Tortoise meat is considered delicious, meaning there can be large financial gains made by wildlife hunters. “This is not an isolated incident,” said the Galápagos Conservancy, a US-based conservation organization in a statement. “In September 2021, the remains of 15 critically endangered giant tortoises from the subspecies Chelonoidisguntheri were found on Isabela. Evidence from the investigation showed that the reptiles had likely been hunted for consumption.”
The islands are considered one of the world’s best places to see wildlife, and they’re home to animal and plant species that are found nowhere else in the world. The famously fearless wildlife is believed to have been a source of inspiration for Darwin’s theory of evolution, following his visit to the islands in 1835. The islands were actually discovered by accident in 1535, when a Spanish ship was blown off course while sailing from Panama to Peru. Ridiculously enough, the ship’s captain was unimpressed by the islands, writing to the king that they were “worthless”.
In late August, a special unit for environmental crime traveled to the Galápagos Islands to investigate and interview park keepers about the incident. And when the keepers discovered four animal bodies on Isabela Island, just a few months after the discovery of 15 dead tortoises, environmentalists were shocked. There were once at least 250,000 tortoises on the islands. But now there are only fewer than 15,000 in the wild today, and two subspecies are already extinct. “Evidence from the 2021 investigation showed that the reptiles had likely been hunted for consumption,” Galapagos Conservancy continued. “Therefore, it comes as no surprise that many are worried that their population will continue to decrease if serious action isn’t taken soon.”
1. What does the underlined word “This” in paragraph 2 refer to?| A．The long life of the giant tortoises. | B．The hunting of the tortoises in the park. |
| C．The food consumption of the tortoises. | D．The investigation into the remains of the tortoises. |
| A．To show the value of the islands. | B．To criticize the captain’s ignorance. |
| C．To present Darwin’s great achievements. | D．To raise people’s awareness of protecting the islands. |
| A．It is not surprising that they are dying out. | B．The population of them is on the sharp decline. |
| C．Strict measures have been taken to protect them. | D．They have been so popular because of their meat. |
| A．Reptiles Face Extinction in a Park of Ecuador |
| B．How Are Galápagos Giant Tortoises Well Protected? |
| C．Hunting Threatens Galápagos Giant Tortoises’ Survival |
| D．Why Are Galápagos Giant Tortoises Called Fearless Reptiles? |
4 . A Michigan farmer Bristle was digging with a backhoe (反铲挖土机) in one of his wheat fields when — bang — it struck a large bone.
Bristle contacted Fisher, a paleontology (古生物学家) professor at the University of Michigan. Fisher rushed to the farm and identified the bone as a fossil of an Ice Age mammoth (猛犸象). Since it was harvest season, Bristle gave Fisher and his students only one day to remove the rest of the fossils from the ground. The team found 20 percent of the animal’s bones, including its skull, tusks, pelvis, and shoulder blades as well as some teeth, ribs, and other bones.
The age of a mammoth can be determined by counting the rings in one of its tusks. Like the rings in a tree trunk, each ring stands for one year of a mammoth’s life. Fisher thinks that the bones are supposed to belong to male mammoth around forty years old. It was probably a rare hybrid of a woolly mammoth and a Colombian mammoth that lived between 11,700 and 15,000 years ago during the Pleistocene lee Age, when ice sheets covered much of Earth’s land.
The bones appeared to have been cut up and some of them were missing, leading Fisher to conclude that early humans must have killed the animal and stored its meat so they could return to it at a later time. Some other indications of human activity include a stone flake (薄片) that might have been from a cutting tool and the arrangement of the neck bones in order. If the mammoth had died naturally, its bones would have scattered randomly.
In the US, fossils found on private property belong to the owner of the land. However, Bristle donated the fossils to the University of Michigan for further study. Fisher hopes to display the bones at the University of Michigan Museum of Natural History, possibly combined with fiberglass models of bones from other Michigan mammoths to form a complete Mammoth skeleton (骨架).
1. Why was Fisher’s time limited to one day?| A．Because the mammoth was a small one. | B．Because it was easy to remove the bones. |
| C．Because it was the time of gathering crops. | D．Because Bristle was busy planting in the field. |
| A．By counting the bones. | B．By judging the living age. |
| C．By measuring the ice sheets. | D．By numbering the tusk rings. |
| A．How the mammoth died. | B．Where the missing meat was. |
| C．How the stone flake was made. | D．Whether the neck bones scattered. |
| A．To own the fossils. | B．To study the mammoth. |
| C．To complete the skeleton. | D．To promote the university. |
5 . Are worms the heroes we didn’t know we needed? Silent, slimy and wriggling (扭动), you might think that worms are good for nothing except bait (诱饵) on the end of a fishing pole.
The British naturalist Charles Darwin said that no other animal has “played such an important part in the history of the world as these lowly organised creatures”. They have lived on Earth for 600 million years and have even survived five mass extinctions.
Earthworms literally move the earth, and this is why farmers love them. As they travel, they aerate (使透气) the soil by loosening, mixing and oxygenating it.
In 2022, a group of scientists at the Margarita Salas Centre for Biological Research isolated enzymes (酶) found in wax worm saliva (唾液) which are plastic-eating.
So, next time you see a worm, show it a little respect. They really are changing the world!
| A．So, what do worms do that is so great? |
| B．Worms have a lifespan of a few months. |
| C．And worms are even inspiring the building industry. |
| D．It increases the ground’s capacity to hold and empty water. |
| E．However, there is more to the humble worm than meets the eye. |
| F．Humans produce more than 300 million tons of plastic every year. |
| G．These can break down a very common plastic that normally breaks down over many years. |
6 . Sleep-deprived human parents know the value of a quick nap, but it turns out chinstrap penguins have us all beat. When nesting, these Antarctic birds take four-second-long “micro- sleeps”, a strategy that allows parents to keep constant watch over weak eggs and chicks, all while having 11 hours of total sleep a day, according to a new study.
Like other penguins, chinstrap parents take turns guarding the nest. While one bird protects the chicks, the partner finds food at sea. Then the penguins trade places. For two months between egg laying and fledging(羽化) , it’s a series of nonstop demands.
To study how penguins manage to accomplish all this and get the necessary sleep, Lee, a leader researcher, first stuck biologgers, small battery-powered devices, to the backs of 14 nesting penguins of both sexes. This device functions like a smart-watch, measuring physical activity, pulse, and the ocean depths of foraging birds.
Next, the team humanely arrested each of the penguins, attaching the devices temporarily into their skull to measure brain activity. When an animal is awake, the brain constantly buzzes with activity. During sleep, however, brain waves slow down and stretch out. When Lee started reviewing the data, he was surprised to discover the birds, slept in four-second intervals throughout the day and night while looking after their eggs or chicks.
“In both humans and penguins, micro-sleeps occur during times of exhaustion, yet nesting chinstrap penguins seem to have a near-exclusive reliance on it,” Cirelli, another scientist, says. Studying sleep in natural environments is difficult, so “the simple fact that they were able to record data in these conditions is incredible. ”
While the data is convincing, Cirelli notes that the researchers only studied the penguins during nesting periods, making it impossible to tell if the birds micro-sleep when they’re not parenting. The other challenge is understanding how micro-sleep impacts the brains and bodies of the pen-guins. Sleep deprivation in humans causes a range of health problems, and it’s not clear whether penguins experience this, too.
1. When do the birds have micro-sleeps?| A．When they lay eggs. | B．When they hunt for food. |
| C．When they care for babies. | D．When they exchange places. |
| A．A charger. | B．A smart-watch. |
| C．A sleep monitor | D．A safety alarm. |
| A．The micro-sleep study is successful. | B．Chinstrap penguins sleep more than human. |
| C．The data from the micro-sleep study is simple. | D．Chinstrap penguins rely entirely on micro-sleep. |
| A．Effects and occurrence of micro-sleep. | B．Short-term strategies for tired bird parents. |
| C．Problems caused by lack of sleep in humans. | D．Approaches of chinstrap penguins’ parenting. |
7 . Crouching on all fours on Widdybank Fell in Teesdale, Margaret Bradshaw, a 97-year-old botanist, calls out the names of some rare plants. This part of the uplands is a seemingly empty landscape, heavily grazed (吃草) by sheep, but it hides botanical treasures that have been here for more than 10,000 years. Some of the plants can’t be found anywhere else in the UK and —until Bradshaw arrived on the scene—many were unaccounted for.
Bradshaw is the chief caretaker of some of the country’s rarest flowers. She has spent seven decades studying the unique flora (植物群) of Teesdale, in the north of England. Although once they were widespread in Britain, now only a few remain, and 28 species are threatened with extinction.
Bradshaw has just written a 288-page book on the subject, Teesdale’s Special Flora: Places, Plants and People, published as part of the Princeton Wild Guides series.The Teesdale fora is celebrated because it is a mix of alpine-arctic (高寒的) flowers and southern European species; nowhere else in Britain do they all grow together.
Now, though, the area’s unique features are under threat. Bradshaw has been recording rare
plants here since the early 1950s and has witnessed great declines. Since the 1960s, plant abundance has dropped by 54%on average. Some have essentially disappeared, such as the dwarf milkwort, down by 98%, and the hoary whitlow-grass, down by 100%.She says, “We’ve got various buildings in the country—Stonehenge, Durham Cathedral, and others; if they were falling apart, there would be groups and money helping stop it, because people would say we can’t let this happen. “These flowers’ communities are much older, and in some respects they are more beautiful.
The main reason for the decline of these plants is an unusual one—not enough sheep. The number of sheep on the areas had been reduced by half by 2000, as the uplands were generally believed to be overgrazed. Bradshaw says while some upland areas are damaged by sheep, reducing grazing on Teesdale has been devastating. Longer grass overshadows the delicate flowers, taking away the light they need to grow.
1. Why is the flora in Teesdale unique?| A．It is site-specific. |
| B．There is a book about it. |
| C．It is under strict protection. |
| D．There are many sheep feeding on it. |
| A．To recommend popular tourist attractions. |
| B．To recognize their historic value. |
| C．To draw attention to the flora in Teesdale. |
| D．To praise the conservation efforts. |
| A．Overgrazing in upland areas. |
| B．Reduced sheep population. |
| C．Response to climate change. |
| D．Lack of enough shadows. |
| A．Innovative. | B．Satisfying |
| C．Challenging | D．Destructive |
8 . For thousands of years, humans have used names to communicate with one another. We also give names to animals, especially ones we love, such as pets. Until now there has been little evidence of animals naming one another, but a new study suggests that elephants use specific noises to identify other elephants.
A few animals, including parrots and dolphins, have been known to use sounds that are similar to names. Each dolphin invents a signature whistle that is unique to it, and other members of its species communicate with it by imitating (模仿) this special call. The new study, led by Michael Pardo of Colorado State University, shows that wild African elephants use names in a way that is not just copying sounds and is much closer to the way humans use names.
For the study, the researchers recorded 625 sounds made by wild African elephants in Kenya that they called “rumbles (隆隆声)”. This is the most common type of call produced by elephants, and it can travel long distances-as far as 3. 7 miles. It takes place at a very low frequency, which means humans can’t hear it.
The researchers analyzed the sounds using computers and found that certain rumbles were directed at specific elephants to get their attention. They found that all the elephants in the herd used the identical call to get a particular elephant’s attention-these calls were not just nicknames used by one of the elephant’s friends. Also, unlike the way dolphins communicate, the rumbles were not imitations of the elephant they were trying to communicate with.
The researchers then played back some of the recorded rumbles to the elephants. They found that elephants responded more to their own name than to other calls, coming toward it more quickly or calling back faster. Caitlin O’Connell-Rodwell, an elephant expert, said, “The study shows that elephants can still keep in touch with one another even across a large area. ” She told Live Science, “It allows them to spread out much further and still have very close tabs (密切关注) on individuals. “
1. How can elephants recognize others according to the new study?| A．By employing certain sounds. | B．By using a signature whistle. |
| C．By giving out specific smells. | D．By adopting particular postures. |
| A．Its findings were not accepted by the public. |
| B．It asked researchers to analyze elephants’ lives. |
| C．Its researchers needed to engage in outdoor work. |
| D．It revealed elephants’ sounds are at a high frequency. |
| A．To get noticed by the herd. |
| B．To imitate other elephants. |
| C．To lead the way for other elephants. |
| D．To draw a specific elephant’s attention. |
| A．Elephants only respond to their own names. |
| B．Elephants can walk very far without losing the way. |
| C．Rumbles can help elephants interact with each other. |
| D．Rumbles are imitations of the elephant they were communicating with. |
9 . It is generally assumed that humans are the only species that deal with the persistence (持续存在) of memory and the ability to remember friends and loved ones even if one has not seen then fora long period of time. But humans may not be alone. New research has shown that apes (类人猿) also recognize their friends even when they have not seen them in years.
Lead researcher Dr. Christopher Krupenye created this research due to his sense over the many years when he worked with apes that individual chimpanzees or bonobos recognized him even if they hadn’t seen him for some time.
“You have the impression that they’re responding like they recognize you and that to them you’re really different from the average zoo guest,” Krupenye said. “They’re excited to see you again. So our goal with this study was to ask: Do they really have a lasting memory for familiar social partners?”
In order to test whether apes remember their friends, the researchers printed photos of chimpanzees and bonobos who had died or left zoos in Edinburgh, Scotland, Belgium and Japan. Then they showed those photos of the participating animals’ former group mates alongside photos of strange apes to the participating animals at the zoos. Using eye-tracking technology, the researchers were able to confirm that the apes spent more time looking at their friends than they did at the apes they were not familiar with.
The research team believes that apes’ long-term social memory can stretch back at least 26 years. Additionally, they believe that this may indicate that like humans, chimpanzees and bonobos can miss their friends and families.
Whatever the case, it is clear that this study shows that apes are more similar to humans than previously thought. So the next time you visit the zoo, take some time to befriend your local chimpanzees and bonobos. They may just remember you for many years to come.
1. What led Krupenye to do the research?| A．His years of work with apes. |
| B．His experience of visiting zoos. |
| C．His impression of a dying ape. |
| D．His relationship with zoo guests. |
| A．They had them look at photos of other apes. |
| B．They used technology to improve their eyesight. |
| C．They allowed them to play with their former mates. |
| D．They asked them to live with strange apes for some time. |
| A．Some similarities between humans and apes. |
| B．The research team’s expectations of the study. |
| C．Some tips on interacting with apes in the zoo. |
| D．The researchers’ conclusions from the research. |
| A．Apes Tend to Prefer Their Old Friends |
| B．Humans Can Make Friends With Apes |
| C．Apes Remember Their Friends As Well |
| D．Humans Are Quite Different From Apes |
10 . Wind power is one of the most powerful tools for reducing carbon emissions(排放) that cause climate change. Turbines(涡轮机), however, can be a threat to birds, which is why experts are looking for ways to prevent the danger.
A Boulder, Colorado company has produced a camera- and AI-based technology that can recognize eagles as they approach in enough time to shut off turbines in their flight path. Their tool, called IdentiFlight, can detect 5.62 times more bird flights than human observers alone with an accuracy rate of 94 percent. Using high-precision sensors, the system calculates a bird’s speed and flight path, and if it is on a crash path with a turbine, a signal is sent to shut that turbine down.
Winning an award for its performance in Australia, the tracking system was set up in 2018 at a Tasmanian facility and was found to cut eagle deaths at the Cattle Hill Wind Farm by more than four fifths. Each day, signals have shut down their movement an average of 400 times—across the field of 48 turbines—for 2 to 3 minutes each time.
Across the globe, Duke Energy in Wyoming is employing the same technology with impressive results at its Top of the World Windpower Project. Top of the World was the first wind site to use the technology. In 2014, IdentiFlight’s maker, Boulder Imaging, used Top of the World for testing after eagles were killed by the turbine, which left Duke Energy in violation(违反) of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. 47 units made of eight wide-angle cameras now constantly scan(扫掠) the sky to monitor all 110 turbines. The camera unit is mounted to the top of a 30-foot pole and powered by software that learns and improves with each photo taken.
Bird lover Garry George admits, “IdentiFlight makes it possible to protect the birds we love in the process of reducing the worst effects of climate change.”
1. What can IdentiFlight do?| A．Ensure turbines make full use of wind power. |
| B．Suspend wind turbines when detecting eagles. |
| C．Prevent birds from choosing a crash path. |
| D．Identify potential threats to wind turbines. |
| A．It has been widely used. | B．It got a warm welcome. |
| C．It has been very effective. | D．It has a really long service life. |
| A．It broke the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. |
| B．It responded to Boulder Imaging’s call. |
| C．It intended to improve its wide-angle cameras. |
| D．It followed in the Cattle Hill Wind Farm’s footsteps. |
| A．Conservative. | B．Favorable. | C．Uncertain. | D．Uninterested. |
