2 . How do you feel about bees? Do you get annoyed when they fly around you and do you fear their mission is just to sting (叮) you?     1     Without them, we might starve (饿死).

Bees deserve some respect. They give us honey, and they play their part either pollinating (授粉) the many vegetables and fruits we eat directly or pollinating the food for the animals that we then consume.     2     That’s not all — a study in the UK, found bees and other pollinating insects have a global economic value of around £120bn ($150bn) and contribute around £690m ($850m) to the UK economy every year. So, bees are worth protecting.

    3     But experts say we should be taking care of all our bees. Researchers say conservation efforts should be aimed at a wide number of species — even those that currently contribute little to crop pollination — in order to maintain biodiversity and ensure future food security.     4     It’s something we should be worried about because, as Gill Perkins, chief executive of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, said, “They provide a whole ecosystem service.” The recent lockdowns caused by the coronavirus pandemic (流行病) seem to have given bee populations a little boost because they faced less human disturbance, traffic and polluting fumes.

Conservationists hope, going forward, people will appreciate bees more and encourage them to do well as they reconnect with nature. Gill Perkins says, “They are beginning to realise how their mental health and wellbeing is supported by nature — particularly by bumblebees (大黄蜂), which are so beautiful and buzzy.”     5    

A．A small number of bee species are essential for crops such as apples and strawberries.

B．The bees busied themselves at making honey.

C．So, it really seems time to give bees a second chance.

D．In fact, they are the world’s most important pollinators.

E．The words remind people of this saying “honey is sweet but the bee stings”.

F．Love them or dislike them, these little insects are extremely important creatures.

G．Unfortunately, in recent times, bee populations have been declining due to pesticides, disease and habitat loss.

3 . Western monarch butterflies(帝王蝶) spend their winters on the central California coast. A few months later, they produce young in the Central Valley and as far north and east as Idaho. But where they go in between remains an open question to biologists. Therefore, a group of biologists call on anyone who spots a monarch north of Santa Barbara this spring to get a quick shot and email them the photo with a date and a location.

“Something’s going on in early spring,” said Cheryl Schultz, a professor at Washington State University Vancouver. Winter survival isn’t the problem in the short term, but they don’t know whether the monarchs are not making it to producing places, not finding plants to feed themselves along the way, she said.

The Western monarch population stood in the millions in the 1980s. In 2017, an annual count found 200,000 butterflies. In 2018, the number fell to about 30,000 — a figure that held steady last year. The monarchs’ decline is part of a larger trend among dozens of butterfly species in the West. What exactly caused the decline? Biologists attach it to a variety of reasons. Many chemicals are sprayed on the milkweed monarchs will feed on. Climate change also plays a role in challenges facing monarchs. Yet, they’re not nearly as threatening as those leading to loss of their living room. Farms used to have rough borders that were grounds for the plants monarchs love and live in. However, newly applied practices pushed crops to the edge of fields.

“Butterflies often have good years and bad. We do think there’s potential to turn the situation around,” Dr. Schultz said. And she said she saw two reasons for that. First, the population decline seen in 2017-2018 wasn’t repeated last year. And second, she’s seen butterfly populations recover before.

1. Why do the biologists need the public’s help?

A．To confirm monarchs’ producing places.

B．To find how monarchs survive the winter.

C．To address the unknown about monarchs.

D．To know the distance that monarchs cover.

2. Which of the following harms monarchs most?

A．New farming practices.	B．Lack of healthy food.
C．Wide use of chemicals.	D．Severe climate change.

3. What is Dr. Schultz’s attitude towards monarchs’ future?

A．Doubtful.

B．Positive.

C．Worried.

D．Cautious.

4. What’s the best title for the text?

A．What Is Happening to the Monarchs	B．Why the Monarchs Are Flying Away
C．Where All the Monarchs Have Gone	D．How the Monarchs Adapt to Nature

6 . Would it surprise you to learn that, like animals, trees communicate with each other and pass on their wealth to the next generation?

Professor Simard form University of British Columbia explains how trees are much more complex than most of us ever imagined. Although Charles Darwin thought that trees are competing for survival of the fittest, Simard shows just how wrong he was. As far as Simard is concerned, actually the opposite is true: trees survive through their co-operation, passing around necessary nutrition “depending on who needs it”.

Nitrogen (氮) and carbon are shared through miles of underground fungi (真菌) networks, making sure that all trees in the forest ecological system give and receive just the right amount to keep them all healthy. This hidden system works in a very similar way to the networks of neurons (神经元) in our brains, and when one tree is destroyed, it affects all.

Simard talks about “mother trees”, usually the largest and oldest plants on which all other trees depend. She explains how moribund trees pass on the wealth to the next generation, transporting important minerals to young trees so they may continue to grow. When humans cut down “mother trees” with no awareness of these highly complex “tree societies” or the networks on which they feed, we are reducing the chances of survival for the entire forest.

“We didn’t take any notice of it” Simard says sadly. “Trees move nutrition into the young trees before they die, but we never give them chance.” If we could put across the message to the forestry industry, we could make a huge difference towards our environmental protection efforts for the future.

1. Which statement would Simard agree with?

A．Trees support each other.

B．Trees compete for nutrition.

C．Trees depend on their needs.

D．Trees co-operate with the fittest.

2. Why are the networks of neurons in brains mentioned in Paragraph 3?

A．To explain the importance of fungi networks.

B．To introduce the function of neurons networks.

C．To illustrate how Nitrogen and carbon are shared.

D．To show how the forest ecological system works.

3. What does the underlined word in Paragraph 4 mean?

A．Energetic.

B．Ancient.

C．Previous

D．Dying

4. What does Simard call on people to do?

A．Protect tree societies.

B．Cut down oldest trees.

C．Get nutrition from nature.

D．Improve our environment.

7 . We recognize our friends’ faces. And we’re not alone. Many social animals can identify individuals of their own species by features of their faces. That's important, because they need to be able to change their behavior depending on who they meet. And a recent research has shown that some species of monkeys, birds, and domesticated (家养的) animals can even tell different faces apart by looking at photographs alone.

Ethologist Léa Lansade of the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment did an experiment to find out how well horses can recognize individual people in photographs.

She and her team first taught the horses how to “choose” between two side-by-side pictures by touching their noses to a computer screen. The horses were then shown photos of their present keeper alongside faces of unfamiliar humans. They had never seen photos of any of the people before. The horses correctly identified their current keeper and ignored (忽视) the stranger’s face about 75%of the time. In fact, even though the horses didn't get it right every single time, they were at least as correct in picking out their earlier keeper as they were at identifying their present one.

The results suggest that not only can horses differentiate between familiar and unfamiliar human faces, they also naturally understand that photographs are two dimensional representations (二维呈现) of real life, without any other intimations such as smell or sound. And they’re even better at this than our oldest animal parter, the domestic dog.

In addition, horses seem to have a strong long-term memory for human faces, like their long lifespan and history of domestication. In future experiments, the researchers would like to test whether looking at photos of people that they have had bad experiences with in the past might cause horses to act anxious or even avoidance. So maybe think twice before doing anything that might give a horse a long face.

1. Why did researchers show the horses both the keeper’s photos and the strangers’?

A．To find out what horses would do in the experiment.

B．To see why horses could recognize the keeper in the pictures.

C．To test whether horses could recognize the strangers in pictures.

D．To study to what degree horses can make out different people in pictures.

2. What does the underlined word “intimations” in paragraph 4 refer to?

A．Clues.	B．Differences.
C．Photographs.	D．Senses.

3. What are researchers still uncertain about?

A．Whether horses can live longer than other animals.

B．Whether horses can remember human's faces for a long time.

C．Whether horses can show their emotions at the sight of photos.

D．Whether horses are better at recognizing photos than other animals.

4. What is the purpose of the text?

A．To talk about animals’ species.

B．To explain animals’ facial features.

C．To show animals’ behaviour for adaptation.

D．To introduce animals’ ability to identifying faces.

8 . If you have ever had a cat, or have watched one of the many funny cat videos online, you’ll know that cats have a mind of their own. A lot of the things they do are hard to understand---they like to climb up tall furniture, fit themselves in small spaces and attack small objects for no reason at all.

Now scientists have managed to figure out what exactly is going on in the brains of our little friends. According to Tony Buffington, a professor at Ohio State University in the US, cats’ strange behavior largely comes from their way of life back in the wild. “Cats today still have many of the same instincts(本能)that allowed them to live in the wild for millions of years.” he said in a TED Talk. “To them, our homes are their jungles.”

In the wild, cats are hunters. Their bodies and great balancing abilities allow them to climb to high spots to better look at the environment. Even though they don’t have to hunt any more in human houses, they still keep the old habit of viewing the living room from, for example, the top of the refrigerator.

Cats’ hunting instinct is also what makes them attack small things like keys and USB drives. In the wild, they hunt whatever they can get, and most of the animals they kill are small.

However, cats can also be prey. This explains why they like to stay in small spaces like drawers or washing machines---they are hiding, or they think they are hiding, from more dangerous animals. This is also why cats prefer a clean box: a smelly one could easily show enemies where they are.

Knowing how cats’ minds work is not only useful for better understanding them. It may also help cats’ owners to better meet cats’ needs. For example, owners could try to make climbing easier for cats by moving their furniture around. They could also use “food puzzles” to make eating feel more like hunting instead of just giving food to the cats.

1. According to Tony Buffington, ________.

A．cats’ strange behavior is hard for people to understand

B．cats are more used to living in the wild than in humans’ homes

C．cats behave strangely mainly because of some instincts in the wild

D．cats’ instincts are as helpful to them today as they were millions of year ago

2. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the text?

A．Cats like to climb up high because they want to hide from dangerous animals.

B．Cats attack keys and USB drives because they have a habit of hunting small animals.

C．Cats enjoy staying in small spaces because they usually live in small caves in the wild.

D．Cats’ preference for a clean box probably has something to do with their hunting instincts.

3. The underlined word “prey” in Paragraph 5 probably means _________.

A．an animal that is too lazy

B．an animal that likes hiding games

C．an animal that keeps itself clean

D．an animal that is hunted

4. This article is mainly written to _________.

A．explore the reasons behind cats’ strange behavior

B．describe cats’ past wild experience to readers

C．tell cat owners how to make life easier for cats

D．compare cats’ behavior in human homes with that in the wild

9 . 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.

2. How did researchers come to the conclusion?

A．By experimenting and measuring.	B．By referring to books.
C．By imagination.	D．By turning to farmers for help.

3. Which of the following is NOT true according to the text?

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.

4. What’s the author’s attitude towards crops in the future?

A．Indifferent.	B．Doubtful.
C．Negative.	D．Positive.

10 . The number of snow geese arriving in the Arctic each spring to breed has risen over the past few decades. At first, wildlife biologists saw this as an environmental crisis, pointing to marshes（湿 地 ） where plants were eaten by the hungry birds. In response, the federal government loosened restrictions on snow goose hunting.

But how do the Inuit, in whose backyard this is taking place, view the situation? A recent plan is giving Inuit wildlife experts the opportunity to lend their knowledge to managing the species. The snow goose study, which is supported in part by Polar Knowledge Canada and led by the Kivalliq Wildlife Board (an Inuit organization that manages hunting, trapping and fishing in central Nunavut), asked the experts to share their generations of knowledge about snow geese and their views on what should be done.

“The community had concerns about controlling the   population,” says Ron, a   community officer of the Kivalliq Inuit Association, “and Inuit snow goose knowledge had never been recorded. People wanted to pass on what they knew.” Inuit experts disagreed with that, considering it wasteful and unnecessary. They felt hunting more snow geese in an organized way, such as paying local hunters a minimal amount of money and distributing the birds to disadvantaged families or operating a limited commercial hunt by employing local people, would be appropriate.

Inuit wildlife experts will plan to call on scientists this fall. They say they hope to search for a common way forward and that while there may be too many snow geese in some areas, it’s not a crisis. Biologists now generally agree that there seem to be plenty of undamaged marshes available and newer research shows that some damaged areas can recover.

“Now that we have recorded and documented Inuit knowledge of snow geese,” says Ron, “when facing the crisis other people will be able to use the information to help manage the species, which is fundamental to dealing with it effectively.”

1. Why did the federal government loosen limitations on snow goose hunting?

A．To make more profits.	B．To create more marshes.
C．To wipe out the hungry birds.	D．To protect the ecosystem.

2. Which of the following might Inuit wildlife experts agree with?

A．Organizing large commercial hunts.

B．Using snow goose hunting to man’s best advantage.

C．Regarding too many snow geese as a crisis.

D．Hunting as many snow geese as possible.

3. What might biologists think about the marshes’ future now?

A．It’s a bit promising.	B．It’s unpredictable.
C．It’s too discouraging.	D．It’s hard to get better.

4. What does the underlined word “it” in the last paragraph refer to?

A．The species.	B．Inuit knowledge.
C．The crisis.	D．Inuit research.