1 . Since childhood, London-based artist Josh Gluckstein has been fascinated by the incredible diversity of our planet’s wildlife and inspired to make sculptures of animals from found materials. He often uses abandoned or recycled materials like clothing from junk shops or wood from old furniture. An important aspect of his practice is concern for the environment. “I have traveled through Asia, Latin America and East Africa, and have been fortunate enough to have some incredible wildlife encounters,” he says. “However, on my travels, even in the most remote locations, I was shocked by the huge amounts of plastic waste.”
Mach of the garbage that washes up on shorelines around the world is due to an unregulated (未受监管的) system in which richer countries export waste to developing countries because it is often cheaper than developing better infrastructures (基础设施) to handle it. Many of the thousands of shipping containers exported each year are often dumped illegally.
“I remember going to the Galapagos Islands and visiting a beach famous for a large population of sea lions. It was indeed incredible to see them in the wild, but on every inch of sand not covered by sea lions, there were plastic bottles and cans. It was a heartbreaking sight. I knew I wanted to create artworks that didn’t create waste or harm our planet,” Gluckstein says.
Gluckstein hopes his works will raise people’s awareness about the importance of protecting endangered species. His new series called “Gold” focuses on illegally hunted animals by applying gold leaves to their bodies. He plans to donate some of the sales of his sculptures to the world Wide Fund for Nature.
1. What do Gluckstein’s sculptures focus on?| A．Fashion. | B．Animals. | C．Sports. | D．Travel. |
| A．Poured, | B．Protected. | C．Sold. | D．Used. |
| A．Where he has toured. | B．How sad he was. |
| C．How he found sea lions. | D．Why he created eco-friendly sculptures. |
| A．They can bring him financial benefits. |
| B．They can make him famous as an artist. |
| C．They can help protect endangered animals. |
| D．They can improve people’s ability to appreciate art. |
2 . Polar bears are icons of the Arctic. Detailed monitoring of their populations is crucial for their conservation—but because polar bears are so difficult to find, we are missing critical data about population size. Scientists have now developed a new tool to help: DNA analysis using skin cells left in the bears’ footprints in the snow.
The scientists were inspired by the techniques that can be applied to tiny, degraded DNA samples. With these techniques, it isn’t necessary to physically capture bears, which can be stressful and dangerous for both bears and humans. Instead, the researchers can turn to the snow tracks of polar bears and look at sources of DNA left in passing—environmental DNA. "The tracks usually contain fresh cells, and the DNA is intact because of the cold’ storage’ temperature, "said Dr. Melanie Lancaster of the World Wide Fund, lead author.
The scientists collected snow from individual tracks made by Alaskan polar bears in the wild. Additional materials like hair and saliva(唾液)were sampled, confirming that the tracks provided accurate genotype(基因型) 24 wild polar bear tracks were sampled. The researchers melted and filtered the snow to collect environmental DNA, then carried out micro-satellite analysis. Although the concentrations (浓度)of DNA taken from trucks sampled in the wild were very low, 13 of the wild polar bear samples could be genotype, identifying 12 different individuals.
This technique has huge potential to inform conservation of these animals, to better understand their populations and behavior. Although the sampling has a lower success rate, ease of collection means that it can significantly expand sample sizes.
"We hope this method will be taken up by the polar bear research community, with the involvement of hunters, volunteers, and local communities, as a new way to collect information on polar bears, "said Lancaster. "We also hope the method will be expanded to other animals living in snowy environments. "
1. Why do scientists develop the new method?| A．To improve the environment in the Aretic. |
| B．To protect humans from the polar bears attack. |
| C．To find solutions to global climate change. |
| D．To gather essential data for monitoring polar bears. |
| A．Unknown. |
| B．Undamaged. |
| C．Unusual. |
| D．Unstable. |
| A．They tracked and caught polar bears in the wild. |
| B．They recorded the bears’ behaviors with cameras. |
| C．They analyzed DNA from polar bears’ snowy footprints. |
| D．They compared the polar bears’ genotype with other animals? |
| A．Disapproving. |
| B．Favorable. |
| C．Uncertain. |
| D．Suspicious. |
1. What did the viewer find in the background of the weather report?
| A．A video game. | B．A family photo. | C．A sleeping dog. |
| A．On TV. | B．In a pet store. | C．On social media. |
| A．They felt sympathy for Evan. |
| B．They supported what Evan did. |
| C．They asked Evan to be more serious. |
| A．His pets. | B．His fans. | C．His office. |
4 . Eric knew he was in trouble. His
In 2010, a
Eric was
Peety needed to be
It wasn’t just the walks with Peety that
| A．height | B．weight | C．length | D．depth |
| A．spending | B．donating | C．contributing | D．cheating |
| A．master | B．volunteer | C．soldier | D．doctor |
| A．holding | B．gaining | C．losing | D．taking |
| A．concerned | B．amazed | C．frightened | D．annoyed |
| A．heading | B．parading | C．exploring | D．advancing |
| A．simply | B．illegally | C．officially | D．extremely |
| A．loved | B．discovered | C．met | D．taught |
| A．walked | B．fed | C．cared | D．trained |
| A．counting | B．working | C．standing | D．performing |
| A．variety | B．pack | C．source | D．diet |
| A．got off | B．gave off | C．worked out | D．made out |
| A．ruined | B．transformed | C．impressed | D．exchanged |
| A．unpleasant | B．unexpected | C．unusual | D．unhealthy |
| A．island | B．street | C．planet | D．campus |
5 . 100-year-old Alfred Larson has been through a lot in his lifetime, but one thing that keeps him going is bluebirds.
When Alfred retired in 1978, he wanted to find a hobby or something to do that would keep him busy and provide him with a sense of purpose. When he read a National Geographic article about crafting wooden nest boxes for bluebirds to help improve their populations, he decided to give it a try. Alfred explained that he started building nest boxes on his ranch (大牧场) using left-over pieces of wood.
More than four decades later, Alfred is still going strong and promoting bluebird conservation efforts. Alfred is now monitoring nearly 350 nest boxes on six different trails (小路) in Southwest Idaho. He said, “I settled on a simple design that was easy to build and easy to monitor. I kept adding more boxes on these trails, and these birds responded.” Alfred’s boxes give bluebirds a lot of help in survival. “Without his work, we can’t see so many bluebirds now,” said Pearman, the author of Mountain Bluebird Trail Monitoring Guide.
To celebrate his achievements, filmmaker Matthew Podolsky worked with Alfred for weeks to create a 30-minute documentary—Bluebird Man. The film explores how everything led him to the work he does today and his efforts in bluebird protection. “I remember the first trip I took to the bluebird trail with Alfred, and I was very surprised by the speed with which he moved from box to box,” said Podolsky. “He was hiking across difficult and uneven terrain (地形). I often struggled to keep up with him. Sometimes we’d check more than 100 boxes and be driving home in the dark.”
The impact he’s had on the populations of bluebirds in North America will continue.
1. How did Alfred help save bluebirds?| A．By feeding them personally. | B．By preventing illegal hunting. |
| C．By making wooden nests for them. | D．By writing articles about them. |
| A．The number of bluebirds in Southwest Idaho decreases. |
| B．Alfred makes a big difference to bluebird conservation. |
| C．Climate change is threatening the survival of bluebirds now. |
| D．Alfred’s efforts have greatly inspired others to protect bluebirds. |
| A．How the natural habitat of bluebirds disappeared. |
| B．How bluebirds have survived in the past four decades. |
| C．What influence humans have on bluebirds. |
| D．What Alfred does every day to protect bluebirds. |
| A．To praise Alfred’s contribution. | B．To help people learn more about birds. |
| C．To advise people to protect the environment. | D．To show the living conditions of bluebirds. |
6 . The animal kingdom is dotted with species that give birth to spotted young, from deer to birds and fish. Even species that we don’t typically associate with spots, such as lions, wear the pattern as babies, only to lose it later in life.
But what purpose do these spots serve, and why do only some species seem to have them? Kiyoko Gotanda, a biologist at Brock University, said it is likely so common because spots are useful in keeping babies hidden from their enemies.
Spotted young tend to be more common in species that live in habitats with some three-dimensional structures, Gotanda noted, and less common in environments that are uniform or featureless. Indeed, baby seals born on pack ice are pure white, and develop spots only when they leave the ice for rocky beaches. But in habitats with some cover, spots function as the sunlight passing through leaves or tall grass, making an animal hard to be discovered in its background.
“It is not as overt a pattern as something like a stick insect that becomes something else entirely, which can be clearly identified. But spots do create these three-dimensional effects that help some species hide better,” said Gotanda.
In other rarer cases, spots actually help babies stand out. Young garibaldi — orange marine fish found along the coast of California and Mexico — have bright-blue spots that advertise their lowly status to highly territorial (有地盘意识的) males. As the fish grow and start to engage in the social order, their spots fade.
In fact, many species grow out of their spots, and the reasons aren’t entirely understood. According to Gotanda, patterning is typically considered more energetically costly to produce than a single, solid color. But spots don’t take a lot of energy to grow and maintain at least in the case of white spots. There must be other reasons to explain their loss, he said.
1. Where are spotted baby animals more likely to appear according to Paragraph 3?| A．In the desert. | B．On the ice. | C．In the forest. | D．In the lake |
| A．Obvious. | B．Strange. | C．Hidden. | D．Complex. |
| A．Animals with spots on the body are more energetic. |
| B．Spotted animals often exist in uniform surroundings. |
| C．The growth of animal spots will consume lots of energy. |
| D．There are more to explore about the loss of animal spots. |
| A．How Are Spots Protecting Baby Animals? |
| B．Why Do So Many Baby Animals Have Spots? |
| C．Where Can You Find Baby Animals with Spots? |
| D．What Causes the Loss of Spots on Baby Animals? |
In a small quiet coastal village lived a fisherman named James and his faithful dog, Oliver. Oliver was more than just a pet; he was James's companion and close friend. They spent their days together, out on the fishing boat, with Oliver's ears flapping in the wind.
One day, a terrible storm was brewing, and the villagers urged James to stay onshore. But James needed to go out to sea. Oliver, sensing the danger, barked and whined, trying to stop James. But James reassured Oliver and promised to return safely.
Out at sea, the storm grew fierce. The waves towered, and the wind howled. Hours turned into days, and the villagers lost hope for James's return. Only Oliver waited, day and night, at the end of the pier（码头）, eyes fixed on the horizon. Only he refused to give up hope. He knew that James was a strong and experienced sailor, who would do everything he could to survive the storm.
After three agonizing days, a broken boat drifted ashore. The villagers found James, extremely weak but still alive. Oliver's joy knew no bounds; he leaped and danced around James, licking his face and wagging his tail happily. The friendship between the two was evident to everyone.
Time went by, and the incident became a story, but for James and Oliver, it was a life-changing experience. James realized that Oliver's instincts were right, and he vowed never to ignore them again. The relationship between James and Oliver deepened. They understood each other in a way that transcended mere human-animal interaction. Their connection was spiritual, soulful, and strong. But as the years rolled on, Oliver grew old. His movements slowed, and his eyes dimmed. James took care of him with the same love and patience that Oliver had shown him. They spent their last days together, cherishing every moment.
注意：
1.续写词数应为 150左右；
2.请按如下格式在相应位置作答。
Oliver's last days were peaceful, filled with love and comfort from James.
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James buried Oliver near their favorite spot on the shore, marking it with a wooden cross.
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8 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. What does the man ask the woman to do for the dog?| A．To feed it. | B．To bathe it. | C．To walk it. |
| A．It is too noisy. |
| B．She has no room for the dog. |
| C．She can’t afford a dog. |
| A．The man. | B．The woman. | C．The woman’s mother. |
| A．A rabbit. | B．A parrot. | C．A cat. |
9 . Slobodchikoff, a biologist who has spent years working to better understand the calls of dogs, used that knowledge to help people who were having trouble with their pets.
A man reported his dog wanted to bite him. So Slobodchikoff went to the man’s house. He watched as the owner walked over to the dog, towered over the pet and then said, “Good dog!” in a low-pitched(音高) voice. “The dog ran into a corner,” Slobodchikoff recalled. The owner had scared the dog. Slobodchikoff recommended that the man should do the opposite. The owner took that advice—and ended up developing a great relationship with his pet.
Not everyone has the time to study dog communications or the money to bring in an expert. Slobodchikoff thinks tech could help. He thinks a cell phone app or device that you could point at a dog. This would record video and audio(音频) of a dog’s behavior and then upload it.An artificial intelligence(AI)system would later analyze it.
The AI “ would translate this for you into English or any other language,” says Slobodchikoff. The result, he explains, may be something like “‘I’m hungry’ or ‘I need to go outside to pee’ or ‘I want to go for a walk.’”
To train the AI system, Slobodchikoff planned to get data directly from pet dogs, but for some reason, he hasn’t yet restarted the project to date, but hopes to soon.
Search an app store for a pet translator and you’ll find plenty. Some are completely unscientific and silly. MeowTalk, however, is a cat-translation app based on an AI model. In 2021, its creators reported that the AI model achieved 90 percent accuracy at identifying nine different emotional states in meows. These included angry, happy, hunting, pain and rest. The app picks conversational phrases based on these emotions, like “nice to see you,” or “let me rest.”
People who have tried the app say it doesn’t always work well. But better translations of barks and meows may be just around the corner.
1. What might the man do to calm the dog?| A．Tower over the pet dog. | B．Follow the dog to the corner. |
| C．Give the dog delicious food. | D．Speak in a high-pitched voice. |
| A．To analyze data. | B．To train a dog. |
| C．To record a dog’s behavior. | D．To collect data from a dog. |
| A．It can communicate with cats. | B．It can judge cats’ state of mood. |
| C．It can store 90 conversational phrases. | D．It can be used to track pet cats. |
| A．A biologist’s puzzle. | B．Slobodchikoff’s achievements. |
| C．Trials of animal translator technology. | D．The invention of Slobodchikoff. |
10 . 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. |
| 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. |
| A．Strange. |
| B．Beautiful. |
| C．Loud. |
| D．Sharp. |
| A．Crazy. |
| B．Amusing. |
| C．Uncreative. |
| D．Helpful. |
