1 . Great tits（大山雀）in the UK are the same in almost every way as great tits in the Netherlands: black and yellow feathers，and white spots across the cheeks.But the British ones have slightly longer beaks（鸟喙），and the reason might be the wide use of bird feeders in Britain. In a recent study，researchers reported that great tits in the UK have evolved to have longer beaks in past decades.

Both Britain and the Netherlands are home to great tit populations that have been studied for many years，and the team suspected that the birds' genes might help explain whether they've evolved differently.Measurements dating back to the 1970s showed that the UK great tits' beaks had increased in length by about 0.2 millimeters.The birds with the longer-beaked gene variants（基因变种）successfully raised about one more baby bird every five years than those with the short-beaked variants.“The assumption would be that if a great tit has a longer beak and is better able to access food, then it is in general in better condition and better able to focus on its young,”says Lewis Spurgin, one of the researchers.

So are the bird feeders behind all this? "Something in the Dutch habitat might be different from that in Britain, or perhaps the distinct beaks have to do with the song. But previous research has suggested that bird feeders might be driving selection for longer beaks among birds that spend their winters in the United Kingdom,” Spurgin says.

British people adore birds. More than half of their gardens are believed to host a feeder, and the UK spends twice as much on bird food annually as all of mainland Europe.“Humans are causing animals to evolve in lots of ways, many of which we probably don't understand. It's going to be an interesting area for future research,”Spurgin says.

1. What do we know about great tits in the UK and the Netherlands?

A．The British ones live in a fragile environment.

B．They feed on completely different food.

C．The British ones live longer in general.

D．They are almost alike in appearance.

2. What does Spurgin mainly talk about in paragraph 3?

A．Possible reasons for the different beaks.

B．Further research findings about great tits.

C．Different results reported by other studies.

D．Strong evidence of bird feeders' influence.

3. What does the study about great tits indicate?

A．The birds were evolving rapidly in the1970s.

B．Natural selection could be affected by humans.

C．All genetic changes are blamed on bird feeders.

D．Short-beaked birds tend to have more babies.

4. What does the passage mainly talk about?

A．Longer-beaked great tits are found in the UK.

B．British people's love for birds might harm them.

C．Great tits could be evolving to eat from bird feeders.

D．It's easier for longer-beaked birds to eat food from bird feeders.

2 . Over the past few years, as architects and city planners have confronted the tragedy of our planet losing species at rates never seen in human history, many have started designing more greenery into urban areas, creating tidy plots of grass with non-native flowers. But European designers Hougaard and Qual find it problematic. These green spaces don’t actually encourage wildlife to grow. To counter that, the designers created outdoor furniture that would be beautiful to look at, but also allow bugs, birds, and wildflowers to thrive, nurturing biodiversity in cities and rewilding urban spaces.

The natural world tends to appear messy, chaotic, with plants and animals interacting with each other. Bacteria, plants, and insects thrive in rotting logs. Birds and bees create homes in dead, hollow tree trunks. Weeds and flowers grow in wild patches of grass. People perceive this as messy and dirty, trying to get rid of them in cities despite the fact that even though wildlife appears chaotic, there is often method in the madness.

Qual had this in mind when creating a large, leaf-shaped insect hotel to be placed on a flower bed. The structure contains wooden blocks with different size of holes for different insect species. Hougaard created a metal log bench with an empty space in the middle to provide a habitat for creatures. He also created planting containers without a base, which are placed right on top of the soil and filled with different materials to provide a place for insects, reptiles, and small animals to hide and find food. They can also interact with earthworms and other creatures in the soil underneath, creating a thriving ecosystem.

Will people actually want to be so close to bugs, snakes, and nesting birds? The designers acknowledge that modern humans have been trained to stay away from such creatures. But these structures keep animals contained, while allowing people to observe and appreciate them safely. And ultimately, humans need to become much more comfortable living alongside wildlife.

1. What do Hougaard and Haul notice about creating tidy grass plots in urban areas?

A．It encourages the growth of wildlife.

B．It keeps a more balanced ecosystem.

C．It doesn’t increase species diversity.

D．It doesn’t damage the habitat of species.

2. What does the author intend to do in Paragraph 2?

A．To describe the peace of nature.

B．To introduce the law of the jungle.

C．To show the need for rewilding urban areas.

D．To provide the basis for designing outdoor furniture.

3. What does the underlined word “this” in Paragraph 3 refer to?

A．The tragedy of losing species.

B．The goal to keep cities organized.

C．The plan to design more greenery.

D．The concept of order and messiness.

4. What can we infer about the author from the text?

A．He is also a designer of insect hotels.

B．He is against keeping animals caged.

C．He is a strong advocate for a chaotic lifestyle.

D．He is in support of Hougaard and Qual’s idea.

3 . Lacey, 13, found a large bumblebee(大黄蜂)lying in the road while walking her dog. She picked up the bee and noticed it had a broken wing. She tried to put it on some flowers in a nearby park, but it refused to stay there and climbed back to her hand. After an hour, she gave up and headed home with the little creature.

On the way home, the bumblebee was resting on Lacey’s glasses as she went into a local shop to buy milk-shocking other shoppers. Despite many attempts to leave the insect outside, the lovely bee refused to leave Lacey’s side.

Now recovered and named Betty, it follows her everywhere. And once it even stayed with Lacey during the games with her friends at the bowling room.

During the day, Betty rests on the back of Lacey’s neck, or hides inside her clothes or flies around the living room. At night, Lacey puts Betty in a little bottle beside her bed. While there is no lid(盖子), it stays inside quietly until morning.

“I’m so happy and I love spending my time with her,” said the girl. “She’s so lovely and I love our friendship.”

The bee likes Lacey’s food, but also gets sugar water, honey and strawberry jam. Lacey also takes her bee-pal into the garden to enjoy flower honey, but as soon as the girl goes back inside, Betty is right beside her.

“It’s really lovely and so beautiful,” said her mother, Laura. “I’m also glad that Lacey has a new close friend.” Betty enjoys a touch between the wings, but stays away from the rest of the family—mom, dad and two younger brothers. “We have all the doors open a lot and she’s just never gone—I don’t know why,” said Laura.

1. What did Lacey find in the road?

A．A lost dog.

B．An injured bumblebee.

C．A girl called Betty.

D．Some beautiful flowers.

2. How did the customers feel when Lacey entered the shop?

A．Shocked.

B．Angry.

C．Delighted.

D．Excited.

3. Where does Betty stay when Lacey sleeps at night?

A．In the living room.

B．On Lacey’s glasses.

C．In a nearby park.

D．In a little bottle.

4. What can be learned from the last paragraph?

A．Betty loves every one of Lace’s family.

B．Betty dislikes touches from humans.

C．Laura also likes the presence of Betty.

D．Laura is worried about Lacey’s safety.

4 . I'd shared my home with scorpions（非洲蝎子）in Africa before. But when we moved to Costa Rica which was an insect center, there were scorpions under the fridge, a stick insect and a tarantula（狼蛛）, the size of a dinner plate, wandering around the courtyard.

To begin with, I was scared to death, and got away from them as quickly as possible. But slowly things changed. With no TV, no radio and often staying at our house for days in this rainforest, I started to get used to these uninvited visitors. It was for a long time that I was gradually used to them. Then I kept an eye out for them and finally was delighted to see them no matter what they were.

Soon when a creature came to visit, I'd call the kids over, take photos and even pose with them. We'd try to work out what these creatures were doing, see where they were going and pick them up if they seemed safe. Not all the wildlife was traditionally frightening. We gently held panic-stricken hummingbirds that were trapped in the house and set them back in the wild. We listened out for the woodpeckers（啄木鸟）that decorated our garden. We practiced shouting like howling monkeys. Those feathered and furry creatures were easy to love, and we also grew to love the seemingly unlovable when traveling in Costa Rica.

Sweeping away the terror from this fresh new love, I started emailing photos of my new insect friends to human friends and family overseas. I was as proud as any new mother with my latest discoveries. Then when their replies came back saying “Disgusting!", “Ewww” or “Nasty”, I was saddened, and I could hardly remember that not so long ago I would also have been disgusted by the sight of a ten-inch cricket（蟋蟀）on my dining table.

Travel changes you in ways you never expect, and changes things you never want to change. You may not imagine you could find beauty in an insect, if you look closely at it there. You may not think you could love the unlovable. And if you take time to wonder and open your heart to the possibility, love can spread in anywhere.

1. What do we know about the author when she arrived in Costa Rica?

A．She missed TV and radio very much.	B．She quickly got used to the life there.
C．She enjoyed sharing her home with insects.	D．She was afraid of the insects at first.

2. Why was the author sad after getting the replies to her photos?

A．Because the insects looked really disgusting.

B．Because she was not so good at taking photos.

C．Because her love to insects was not understood.

D．Because she missed her friends and family overseas.

3. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A．The insects are not poisonous as imagined.	B．Travel changes our views about the world.
C．Not all lives should be equally treated.	D．Travel helps us change nature as we like.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．How did I fall in love with insects?	B．Welcome to the insects centre!
C．Search for fun in Costa Rica!	D．How did I start my travel?

5 . Next to a tall building, the Muziekplein forest is one of seven such special and very small forests in the Dutch city of Utrecht, and 144 tiny forests across the Netherlands. It's about the size of a basketball court. Before it was planted, the area was a parking lot.

By the end of this year, according to IVN Nature Education, an organization leading the country's plan, there will be 200 such small forests in the Netherlands. In many other countries, communities are creating such small-area and native forests as positive responses to big environmental challenges. The forests can be any shape, but must be at least four meters wide based on IVN's instructions. A tiny forest can be built under a year. And it generally includes between 20 and 40 different tree species.

Since the first forest was planted in the Netherlands in 2015, the idea has become popular. Daan Bleichrodt launched IVN's Tiny Forest plan with the goal of making it easier for children to know the significance of protecting environment. He thinks it is popular because people are becoming more and more aware of major environmental challenges. It's a very practical way for people to do something positive considering climate change and loss of biodiversity.

Data released by Wageningen University researchers in April shows that the forests hold a range of animal and plant species. Across the 11 tiny forests in a study, volunteers observed 636 animal species. They also recognized 298 plant species in addition to the original species planted in the areas. Daily maintenance of the forests sometimes involves obliterating unwanted weeds, but in general, new plant species, such as wildflowers, are allowed to grow, according to Bleichrodt.

Suzanne Valkman, head of the World Wildlife Fund(WWF) Netherlands forests unit, said, “I was just amazed to see how many total species were recognized.” A WWF report in 2020 found that wildlife populations in the Netherlands decreased by half over the last three decades. Butterflies, birds and reptile species were particularly hard hit. Valkman said, “The Tiny Forest data shows that the small project can improve that biodiversity in cities.”

1. What is the feature of the Muziekplein forest?

A．It has a small size.	B．It includes only rare species.
C．It has an interesting shape.	D．It is beside a park lot.

2. What's the purpose of creating tiny forests in the Dutch city?

A．To make a great profit out of them.	B．To raise the awareness of kids' education.
C．To set an example to other countries.	D．To help improve the local environment.

3. What does the underlined word “obliterating” in paragraph 4 probably mean?

A．Checking.

B．Protecting.

C．Removing.

D．Discovering.

4. Why did the author mention Suzanne Valkman's words?

A．To describe the current situation of wildlife species.	B．To show the effects of the Tiny Forest plan.
C．To explain the importance of biodiversity.	D．To encourage all of us to plant more trees.

6 . Canada has reintroduced some bisons (北美野牛) to the country’s oldest national park in Banff, Alberta, officials said on Monday, more than 130 years after the North American animal last appeared on the eastern slopes of the Canadian Rockies.

The protection team moved a group of 16 bisons into enclosed grassland in Banff National Park in the west of the province last week. The group will stay under observation in the Panther Valley until next summer, when the animals will be released into the full 1,189 sq km reintroduction zone in the park’s eastern valleys.

Parks Canada said bisons were once main grazers (plant-eaters) and that bringing them back would recover their missing role in Banffs ecosystem. “This would be one of only four bison groups in North America that would be fully interacting with their predators (meat-eaters) and shaping the ecosystem as they did over a hundred years ago,” said Karsten Heuer, the bison reintroduction project manager. Those predators will include wolves and bears native to the park.

Ten pregnant female bisons and six young bulls were disease-tested before being driven 400 km across Alberta by truck. Since the Panther Valley is not easy to reach by road, officials attached the containers by a long line to a plane and flew them in one at a time for the last 25 km.

Vast bison groups of up to 30 million animals once lived freely across North America. The animal was nearly hunted to extinction, and park keepers estimate bisons have not grazed in Banff National Park since before it was set up in 1885.

1. Why did the protection team move bisons into enclosed grassland?

A．To observe them.	B．To protect them.
C．To cure diseases.	D．To change their habits.

2. Why did Canada reintroduce bisons to Banff National Park?

A．To reshape Banff’s ecosystem.

B．To help the bison population expand.

C．To make the oldest national park worth visiting

D．To recover their predators’ role in the ecosystem.

3. What’s the main reason for the great decrease of bisons?

A．Deadly diseases.	B．Cruel hunting.
C．Natural predators.	D．Worsened ecology.

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

A．To show how to protect bisons.

B．To describe the living condition of bisons.

C．To explain how to transport bisons to Banff.

D．To inform readers of bisons returning to Banff.

7 . Many animals need to move across large distances. Often they do this as part of their natural migration（迁徙）. Sometimes animals need to move to a new area when food gets low or conditions get worse. However, humans have taken over huge areas of the planet. Roads and highways cut up the remaining natural areas into many small sections, making it dangerous for animals to move.

Many people are working to help animals by creating “wildlife corridors（走廊）”, trying to reconnect smaller natural areas so that animals can move over larger areas. One important step in creating these corridors is building wildlife bridges and tunnels to give animals a way to safely cross dangerous roads. These changes don’t just help animals, but they also save human lives by avoiding accidents.

On China's Hainan Island, scientists created a bridge for gibbons, an animal that lives in southern Asia. But in 2014, natural accidents caused huge gaps in the forest, forcing them to make dangerous jumps. Scientists created a simple and cheap bridge, which solved the problem. In 2018, the experts in Utah, America built a wildlife bridge over the busy highway. A 4.8-kilometer fence was created to help guide animals to the bridge. Normally, animals take a long time to discover and begin using wildlife bridges, so experts didn’t expect the bridge to get much traffic for several years. However, to their surprise, many different kinds of animals have already used the bridge.

Now people in other countries are looking to try similar ideas. In Brazil, scientists want to create bridges to help animals cross the hundreds of miles of highway that cuts through the Amazon rainforest. In Uttarakhand, India, an eco-bridge made from all-natural materials has been built. Though it's high in the trees, it’s expected to help smaller animals on the ground by reminding drivers that they're in an important natural area with lots of wildlife. Already, the bridge has got a lot of attention, with many people taking selfies（自拍照）in front of it.

1. Why are the wildlife corridors created?

A．To avoid the attack from animals.	B．To offer a way to protect animals.
C．To improve animals' living conditions.	D．To bring more convenience to humans.

2. How does the bridge in Utah surprise the experts?

A．Animals need no guide to it.	B．Animals take more time to cross it.
C．It has made the traffic dangerous.	D．It is used by many animals sooner.

3. What do we know about the eco-bridge in India?

A．It has become a hit for tourists.	B．It is made of man-made materials.
C．It acts as a reminder for the hunter.	D．It serves as a sign of a natural area.

4. How is the text mainly developed?

A．By making a comparison.	B．By listing some examples.
C．By showing causes and effects.	D．By following the order of time.

8 . The worst outbreak of desert locusts (蝗虫)in Kenya in 70 years has seen hundreds of millions of the insects fly into the East African nation from Somalia and Ethiopia. Those two countries have not suffered like this in a quarter-century, destroying farmland and threatening the area with serious hunger.

“Even cows are wondering what is happening,” said Ndunda Makanga, who spent hours Friday trying to run after the locusts from his farm. “Corn, sorghum, cowpeas, they have eaten everything.”

“Even a small group of the insects can eat enough food for 35, 000 people in a single day,” said Jens Laerke of the UN humanitarian office in Geneva.

About 70. 000 hectares(172, 973 acres)of land in Kenya are attacked. A single swarm can contain up to 150 million locusts per square kilometer of farmland, an area the size of almost 250 football fields, the officials say.

“We must act immediately,” said David Phiri of the UN Food and Agricultural Organization.

About $70 million is needed to apply aerial pesticide (杀虫剂), the only effective way to fight them, the UN says. That won’t be easy, especially in Somalia.

Shocked by the finger-length insects, children run here and there, waving blankets (毛毯)to shake the locusts free. Farmers are afraid to let their cattle out, and their crops are in danger, but there is little they can do.

One especially large group in northeastern Kenya measured 60 kilometers long by 40 kilometers wide(37 miles long by 25 miles wide).

“The locals are really frightened because they can eat everything,” said Francis Kitoo, deputy director of agriculture in southeastern Kenya’s Kitui County. “I’ve never seen such a big number. They will lay eggs and start another generation,” he said.

1. How does the author describe the outbreak of desert locusts?

A．By telling a story.	B．By explaining causes.
C．By listing numbers.	D．By reporting comments.

2. What helps control the locusts best?

A．Staying indoors	B．Letting their cattle out.
C．Using pesticide.	D．Waving blankets.

3. What’s Francis Kitoo’s attitude towards the future?

A．Concerned.	B．Confused.
C．Confident	D．Hopeful.

4. What is mainly talked about in the passage?

A．Hunger threatening East Africa.

B．The causes of the locusts outbreak.

C．An overall impression of East Africa

D．A disaster brought by locusts in East Africa.

9 . If you have a pet, you've probably wished at some point that it could talk to you.Too bad that's impossible...or is it? Alexis Devine would tell you that her dog can in a way.

Devine,an artist in Tacoma, has had Bunny, a female Sheepadoodle for a year. And in that time, Devine says she’s introduced Bunny to more than 50 words by teaching her to press buttons that play words out loud. For instance,as seen in videos,Devine has posted on social media,if Bunny wants to go to the park,she’ll press a button that says“park”.Or, if she wants to play, she’ll hit the button for“play”.Those posts on TikTok have become wildly popular with 3.4 million followers.

Devine was inspired after finding Christina Hunger,a speech-language pathologist(病理学家)who teaches her dog, Stella, how to communicate with buttons.“My goal before I got her was that I wanted to have the most connected,engaged relationship possible,”Devine said.“I feel like there's so much potential in animal relationships and I really wanted to make the most of it.”

So how does Bunny learn to use the buttons? Devine said a lot of it is from repetition. Normally when Devine adds words, she’s already using the word in conversation with Bunny. The hope, she said, is that Bunny has already built an association with that word. Then, to help her learn the button’s position, Devine will repeat the word and strengthen the behavior after Bunny presses a button.

While Devine and Bunny have fun with the buttons, Devine said they communicate great without them.“I don't want to take away any of her dog-ness,” Devine said.“The buttons are super interesting and they may give us more in-depth insight into what's going on inside a dog's mind, but she already has all the tools she needs to communicate.”

1. What has Bunny learned to do?

A．To communicate with buttons.	B．To watch videos on social media.
C．To distinguish “park” from “play”.	D．To know over 3.4 million followers

2. How did Devine teach Bunny the skill?

A．By using words Bunny had already known.

B．By repeatedly associating words with buttons.

C．By turning to a language-speech pathologist.

D．By regularly changing the positions of buttons.

3. What is Devine's intention of training Bunny?

A．Having an ideal relationship with her pet.

B．Catching eyes on social media like TikTok.

C．Connecting to as many animals as possible.

D．Inspiring more people to care for special dogs.

4. What does Devine mean by saying “I don't want to take away any of her dog-ness”?

A．She won't teach Bunny words in the future.	B．She'll continue the study about dogs’mind.
C．She enjoys talking with Bunny in other ways.	D．She respects Bunny's way of communicating.

10 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Compared to dogs, cats are usually believed     1    (be) less friendly to humans. However, a new study shows that cats bond to us just as     2    (strong)as dogs.

Researchers at Oregon State University, in the United States, invited the owners of 117 cats to take a test,     3     is often used to test the bonds dogs have with their human     4    (caretaker).

In the six-minute test, cat owners walked into an unfamiliar room with their pets. After two minutes, the owners left the room,     5    (leave) the cats alone, which caused the cats to feel     6    (stress). When the owners returned two minutes later, about two-thirds of the cats came to greet them. The cats then     7    (go) back looking around the room, but still returned to their owners now and then. These cats, the researchers said, saw their owners    8     a source of security in an unfamiliar place. “The more we find out about cats,     9    more we're seeing that they are     10    (society) creatures,” Kristyn Vitale, lead author of the study, said.