1 . After years of heated debate, gray wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park. Fourteen wolves were caught in Canada and transported to the park. By last year, the Yellowstone wolf population had grown to more than 170 wolves.
Gray wolves once were seen here and there in the Yellowstone area and much of the continental United States, but they were gradually displaced by human development. By the 1920s, wolves had practically disappeared from the Yellowstone area. They went farther north into the deep forests of Canada, where there were fewer humans around.
The disappearance of the wolves had many unexpected results. Deer and elk populations — major food sources (来源) for the wolf — grew rapidly. These animals consumed large amounts of vegetation (植被), which reduced plant diversity in the park. In the absence of wolves, coyote populations also grew quickly. The coyotes killed a large percentage of the park’s red foxes, and completely drove away the park’s beavers.
As early as 1966, biologists asked the government to consider reintroducing wolves to Yellowstone Park. They hoped that wolves would be able to control the elk and coyote problems. Many farmers opposed the plan because they feared that wolves would kill their farm animals or pets.
The government spent nearly 30 years coming up with a plan to reintroduce the wolvers. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service carefully monitors and manages the wolf packs in Yellowstone. Today, the debate continues over how well the gray wolf is fitting in at Yellowstone. Elk, deer, and coyote populations are down, while beavers and red foxes have made a comeback. The Yellowstone wolf project has been a valuable experiment to help biologists decide whether to reintroduce wolves to other parts of the country as well.
1. What is the text mainly about?| A．Wildlife research in the United States. |
| B．Plant diversity in the Yellowstone area. |
| C．The conflict between farmers and gray wolves. |
| D．The reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone Park. |
| A．Damage to local ecology. |
| B．Preservation of vegetation. |
| C．A decline in the park’s income. |
| D．An increase in the variety of animals. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Uncaring. | C．Positive. | D．Disapproving. |
1. Which pet may an outgoing person prefer?
| A．A bird. | B．A dog. | C．A cat. |
| A．Clever. | B．Sociable. | C．Careful. |
| A．Pet people’s personalities. | B．More outgoing dog people. | C．Less sociable cat people. |
For protecting endangered neighbors, pandas make unreliable umbrellas.
Like many undergraduate biology students, Wang Fang was taught that pandas are a prime example of
In fact, the story is much
Panda conservation, on its own,
All of those efforts focused simply not on other species,
4 . The evolution of butterflies continues very fast. Species with larger wingspans(翼幅) have expanded their range in high-latitude parts of North America as the climate has warmed, while smaller butterflies and those adapted to cold conditions have tended to decline.
Vaughn Shirey at Georgetown University in Washington DC and his colleagues built a computational model to analyse the presence of 90 butterfly species above 45 north in North America from 1970 to 2019.
The team analysed how shifting monthly minimum temperatures over the past 50 years may have affected the ranges of butterflies.
The monthly minimum temperatures increased by 0. 86℃(1. 5°F), on average, across the study region from the 1970s to the 2010s. As temperatures rose, butterfly species with larger wingspans were more likely to spread out into a greater proportion of the study region. But for smaller butterflies, rising temperatures were linked with a a smaller number in the area over which they were found.
“It seems logical to assume that, if species with larger wingspans have the capacity to better travel to new suitable habitats, it gives those species an advantage in a changing climate,” says Yoan Fourcade at the Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences in Paris.
Butterflies adapted to warmer temperatures also seemed to have dispersed(分散) more across the study region than those adapted to colder climates.
Climate change has been linked with a fall in some butterfly species, including the monarch （Danaus plexippus）in North America. But some appear to be adapting: a 2022 study found that British butterflies are steadily getting bigger in response to rising temperatures.
1. What is the focus of the article?| A．The impact of climate change on butterflies. | B．The migration patterns of butterflies. |
| C．The size of butterfly wingspans. | D．The smaller number of butterflies. |
| A．Temperatures have little effect on smaller butterflies. |
| B．Smaller butterflies have increased in number. |
| C．Smaller butterflies have reduced in number. |
| D．Smaller butterflies have migrated to colder climates. |
| A．They are better able to travel to new suitable habitats. |
| B．They are better adapted to colder climates. |
| C．They are more resistant to climate change. |
| D．They are more likely to disperse across. |
| A．They are migrating to warmer climates. | B．They are becoming smaller in size. |
| C．They are reducing in number. | D．They are getting bigger. |
5 . Scientists have studied cats’ social relationships—both with other cats and humans—but it can be difficult to tell whether two cats are playing or fighting, says cat behavior researcher Noema Gajdoš-Kmecová.
To assess and classify interactions, Gajdoš-Kmecová and colleagues watched about 100 videos of different cats interacting in pairs. After viewing about one-third of the videos, Gajdoš-Kmecová identified six types of behaviors, including wrestling and staying still. She then watched all of the videos and noted how often each cat displayed one of the specific behaviors, and for how long. By running statistical analyses on the behaviors, she found three types of interactions between the cat pairs: playful, aggressive and intermediate. To confirm the outcome, other members of the team also watched the videos and classified each interaction between cats.
Some clear connections appeared. Quietly wrestling, for example, suggested playtime, while chasing and vocalizations(发声), like growling, hissing or gurgling, implied aggressive encounters.
Intermediate interactions had elements of both playful and aggressive encounters, but especially included prolonged activity of one cat toward the other, such as pouncing(突袭) on or grooming(梳毛) its fellow cat. These in-between encounters could suggest that one cat wants to keep playing while the other doesn’t, with the more playful cat gently pushing to see if its partner wants to continue, the authors say.
This work provides an understanding of cat interactions for the first time, Gajdoš-Kmecová says, but it’s just the start. In the future, she plans to study more subtle behaviors, like ear twitches and tail swishes. Gajdoš-Kmecová also stresses that one potentially controversial encounter doesn't necessarily signal a terrible cat relationship.
1. What did the study focus on?| A．The cats' social relationships with humans. |
| B．The real meaning of the interactions between cats. |
| C．The ways cats communicate with each other. |
| D．The benefits of being a cat owner. |
| A．Researchers determined nine types of interactions finally. |
| B．The frequency and length of certain behaviors were noticed. |
| C．The cats were trained and grouped before they were filmed. |
| D．100 pairs of different cats interacting were watched on the spot. |
| A．The two cats are wrestling quietly. | B．The two cats are grooming each other. |
| C．One cat is pouncing while the other stays still. | D．One cat is running after the other violently. |
| A．A future idea of the study. | B．A data analysis of the study. |
| C．A conclusion of the study. | D．An application of the study. |
6 . The endangered pandas in the Qinling Mountains might face a new threat: the loss of their food, bamboo, which makes up 99% of their meals.
Adult pandas spend most part of the day eating bamboo and have to take in at least 40 pounds a day to stay healthy. However, a new study published in Nature Climate Change warned that they may soon find their food gone because most of the bamboo in the Qinling Mountains might disappear by the end of the century as a result of rising temperature worldwide.
A team made up of researchers from Michigan State University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences has studied the effects of climate change on the bamboo in the Qinling Mountains. They have found that bamboo is very sensitive to climate changes. “80% to 100% of the bamboo would be gone if the average temperature rises 3.5 degrees worldwide by the end of the century,” said Liu Jianguo, one of the report’s authors.
He added, “This is how much the temperature would rise by 2100 even if all countries will keep their promises in the Paris Agreement. But you know what is happening all around the world.”
In recent years, China has been trying its best to protect the endangered pandas by setting up more and bigger natural reserves.
“But it is far from enough and the endangered pandas need cooperation from the rest of the world, because their future is not just in the hands of the Chinese,” said Shirley Martin from the World Wildlife Fund but not a member of the team.
The Qinling Mountains, in the southwest of China, are home to about 260 pandas. That is about 13% of China’s wild panda population. In addition, about 375 are living in research centers and zoos in China.
1. How many wild pandas are there in China?| A．About 260. | B．About 635. |
| C．About 2,635. | D．About 2,000. |
| A．China needs more help from the World Wildlife Fund. |
| B．It is difficult to control the temperature rise within 3.5℃. |
| C．Bamboo is sensitive to the changes of temperature. |
| D．China is making great efforts to protect the pandas. |
| A．The Qinling Mountains can provide enough bamboo for the pandas. |
| B．Pandas in the Qinling Mountains are only threatened by the loss of food. |
| C．Lots of the bamboo in the Qinling Mountains will probably disappear. |
| D．Pandas have already eaten 99% of the bamboo in the Qinling Mountains. |
| A．The Disappearance of Bamboo |
| B．Necessity to Change Pandas’ Food |
| C．A New Threat Faced by the Pandas |
| D．Efforts Made to Save Pandas |
Nearly one billion animals died in the Australian bushfires. That number would have been even
Wombats are small, furry mammals native to Australia. There are three wombat species. Northern and southern wombats have furry noses,
Now there are only about 500 northern wombats
8 . Scientists say a huge percentage of bird species are in danger because their habitats, or homelands, are disappearing.
Traditional migration paths take birds through countries that are not protecting the places for birds to stop, rest and feed. The scientists studied the migration or flight paths of almost 1,500 species. They decided that 91 percent of them passed through dangerous areas.
The major danger for migratory birds is development. Buildings and pavements have covered the places where birds stop and feed as they move from one part of the world to another. One of the scientists who worked on the study says “Many of these important places have been lost to land reclamation because of urban, industrial and agricultural land expansion”.
The problem, according to scientists, is that many of these small birds die along their migration paths because they don’t have a safe place to feed and rest. There is no place to restore their energy for the next part of their journey. Countries in North Africa, Central Asia and those along the coasts of East Asia are having the most difficult time in protecting land. The scientists say these countries do not have enough areas that are safe for birds. One species that doesn’t exist now is the Eskimo curlew. “Our world gets poorer every time we lose a species,” one of the scientists says.
The researchers say countries need to work together and come up with safe stopping areas for birds that pass through their boundaries. For example, one country might have preserved safe zones for migrating birds. But a neighbor country might not. A bird might die.
One scientist who is not connected with the report tells Los Angeles Times that while some habitats are changing, more work can be done to make urban areas safe for birds.
He says small changes, like planting more native plants or keeping cats out of the areas birds would be likely to use, could make a big difference.
1. What mainly caused the disappearing of birds’ habitats?| A．The decrease of awareness to protect birds. | B．Natural disasters. |
| C．Overuse of land by human beings. | D．The rising sea level. |
| A．Tiredness and hunger. | B．Beast attack on the ground. |
| C．Hunting of humans. | D．The long journey. |
| A．By keeping fewer cats or dogs. |
| B．By restoring their destroyed habitats. |
| C．By helping change the birds’ migration paths. |
| D．By preserving the ecological environments on their migration paths. |
| A．To call on people to protect the birds’ habitats. |
| B．To analyze the reasons for disappearing of birds’ habitats. |
| C．To offer some solutions to the problem of birds’ habitats. |
| D．To tell us a huge percentage of bird species are in danger. |
9 . It is one thing to visit a zoo as an ordinary member of the public but quite another to own a zoo and live in the middle of it; this at times can be a mixed thing. It certainly forces you to rush out at any time of the day or night to watch your charges (收费), but it also means that you are on duty 24 hours of the day and you can find that a fine little dinner party breaks up because some animal has broken its leg, or because the heaters in the snake house have failed. Winter, of course, is your least busy period and sometimes days pass without a single visitor.
But in the summer season the days are so full and the visitors so many that you can hardly seem to notice the passing of time and you forget how much you have in the bank.
1. From the passage we understand that the writer .| A．is always visiting zoos | B．lives in a cage in the zoo |
| C．is the owner of the zoo | D．can’t tell animals from people |
| A．you have to look after the animals every hour |
| B．you never have any free time |
| C．you only work at night |
| D．you are always having fine dinners |
| A．only one person visits zoo | B．the zoo is closed |
| C．nobody visit the zoo | D．very few people visit the zoo |
| A．The animals eat all he food. | B．It’s too hot in the snake house. |
| C．Something always goes wrong. | D．The animals break your legs. |
| A．there are too many visitors visiting the snakes |
| B．you don’t remember how much you have in the bank |
| C．time passes very slowly |
| D．you don’t know how to pass the time |
Horses are picky eaters
Horses have an even better sense of smell than humans do. When horses raise their noses and open their nostrils (鼻孔), their nervous system allows them to sense smells we can’t sense. This might explain why they refuse dirty water and carefully move around meadows, eating only the tastiest grasses, experts say.
Whale says thanks
In 2018, a whale expert spotted a humpback whale trapped in a fishing net and spent an hour freeing it. Afterward, in an hour-long display of thanks, the whale swam near their boat and leaped into the air about 40 times.
Pandas like to be naughty
Is there anything more lovely than a baby panda, except maybe a human baby? In fact, baby pandas sometimes behave like human babies. They sleep in the same positions and value their thumbs. Pandas are shy by nature for its shy behaviors such as covering its face with a paw or ducking its head when confronted by a stranger.
A cat honors its owner
Paper towels, and a plastic cup are just a few of the gifts that Toldo, a devoted three-year-old gray-and-white cat, has placed on his former owner Iozzelli Renzo’s grave every day since the man died in September 2018. Renzo adopted Toldo from a shelter when the cat was three months old, and the two formed an inseparable bond. After Renzo passed away, Toldo followed the coffin to the cemetery, and now “stands guard” the grave for hours at a time.
1. What can horses do to pick delicious grasses?| A．Feel them. |
| B．Taste them. |
| C．Smell them. |
| D．Observe them. |
| A．They are clever. |
| B．They have a grateful heart. |
| C．They are active and lovely. |
| D．They have a good sense of smell. |
| A．The whale |
| B．The cat. |
| C．The horse. |
| D．The panda. |
