Climate change, not human hunting, may have destroyed the thylacine （袋
The meat-eating marsupials （有袋动物）died out on mainland Australia a few thousand years ago, but survived in Tasmania, an island of southeast Australia separated from the mainland, until the 1930s. Until now, scientists have believed the cause of this mainland extinction （灭绝）was increased activity from native Australians and dingoes （Australian wild dogs）.
Scientists behind the University of Adelaide study, which was published in the Journal of Biogeography on Thursday, collected 51 new thylacine DNA samples from fossil （化石）bones and museum skins. The paper concluded that climate change starting about 4,000 years ago was likely the main cause of the mainland extinction.
The ancient DNA showed that the mainland extinction of thylacines was rapid, and not the result of loss of genetic diversity （基因多样性）.There was also evidence of a population crash （大跌）in thylacines in Tasmania at the same period of time, reducing their numbers and genetic diversity.
Professor Jeremy Austin said Tasmania would have been protected from mainland Australia's warmer, drier climate due to its higher rainfall. He argued that climate change was "the only thing that could have caused, or at least started, an extinction on the mainland and caused a population crash in Tasmania.”
"They both occurred at about the same time, and the other two things that have been talked about in the past that may have driven thylacines to extinction on the mainland were dingoes and humans. So the only explanation that's left is climate change. And because that population crash happened at the same time that the species （物种）went extinct on the mainland, our argument is there's a common theme there and the only common theme is that there is this change in climate."
1. What did scientists believe in the past according to the passage?| A．Marsupials were all meat-eating animals. |
| B．Dingoes should be removed from Australia. |
| C．Thylacines had no enemies on mainland Australia. |
| D．Human activities may cause the extinction of thylacines. |
| A．Tasmania has more dingoes. |
| B．Tasmania has more rainy days. |
| C．Tasmania has a higher temperature. |
| D．Tasmania has more native activities. |
| A．something similar occurred on mainland Australia and Tasmania |
| B．Tasmania were protected from mainland Australia's warmer climate |
| C．humans and dingoes may have driven thylacines to extinction |
| D．mainland Australia suffered from much higher rainfall in the past |
| A．The cause of disappearance of thylacines |
| B．The ways of protecting meat-eating animals |
| C．The result of warmer climate in Australia |
| D．The effect of climate change on wildlife |
That night, I quarreled with my mother, and then rushed out of the house. While on the road, I remembered that I did not have any money in my pocket. I did not even take my cell phone with me to make a call home.
At the same time, I went through a noodle shop, and I suddenly felt very hungry. I wished for a bowl of noodles, but I had no money!
The seller saw me standing before the counter and asked, “Hey, girl, you want to have the noodles?”
“Oh, yes... but I don’t have money on me...” she replied. “That’s nothing. I’ll treat you today,” said the man, “Come in.”
A few minutes later the owner brought me a steaming bowl of noodles. I thanked the man and started to gobblle (
“What is it?” asked the man kindly.
“Nothing. I am just touched by your kindness!” I said as I wiped my tears. “Even a stranger on the street gives me a bowl of noodles, while my mother, after a quarrel, chased me out of the house. She showed no care for me. She is so mean and cruel!”
Hearing the words, the seller smiled “Girl, do you really think so? I only gave you a bowl of noodles and you thanked me a lot. But it is your mother who has raised you since you were a baby. why were you not grateful and why did you hurt your mom? You should say sorry to your mom.“
I was really surprised after hearing that.
Why did I not think of that? A bowl of noodles from a stranger made me feel grateful, and my mother has been taking care of me since I was little and I have never felt so, not even a little.
注意：
1. 续写词数应为 150 左右：
2. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
Paragraph 1:
Just at that moment. many memories came back into my mind.
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Paragraph 2:
When arriving home, I saw my mother sitting at the dinner table, worried and tired.
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Everyone should be so lucky as to have a friend like Francia Raisa. On Thursday, singer and actress Selena Gomez, 25, used Instagram to explain why she was “laying low” this summer. She posted a photo of herself in a hospital bed with her friend Francia Raisa holding hands. She said she recently received a kidney transplant from her best friend because of complications(并发症) from lupus(
People with lupus may first experience tiredness, joint pain or a little bit of rash(皮疹) on their bodies and can go for a long time before their doctors realize it is more serious. Many people see two or four doctors before the real problem is picked up. According to Dr. Kyriakos Kirou, roughly a third to one-half of people with lupus develop kidney disease, and up to one in five of them will eventually need a transplant, sometimes because they weren’t treated with effective drugs to prevent the immune system from attacking the kidneys. Though Gomez said that she was “very well now,” she warned about the dangers of not taking medical diagnoses seriously, like she initially did.
Her Instagram post also called attention to two major health topics: the need for living organ donators and the fact that Gomez represents three groups more likely to be diagnosed with lupus and lupus-related kidney disease. Nine out of 10 people diagnosed with lupus are women, and most develop the disease between the ages of 15 to 44. And lupus is two to three times more common among women of color, including Hispanic women, according to the Lupus Foundation.
Raisa is Latina, and Gomez’s father is of Mexican origin. While it’s not essential that the organ donator and receiver be of the same ethnicity, people who share a similar background sometimes are better matched, according to data from the United Network for Organ Sharing.
1. What can we learn about Francia Raisa?| A．She is lucky. |
| B．She is selfless. |
| C．She is optimistic. |
| D．She is encouraging. |
| A．It is deadly. |
| B．It is hard to recognize. |
| C．Its symptoms are psychological. |
| D．It reminds you of a kidney disease. |
| A．People with lupus. |
| B．Colored women lupus patients. |
| C．Lupus patients with kidney disease. |
| D．Women between the ages of 15 to 44. |
| A．Raisa and Gomez have a similar background. |
| B．Gomez has fully recovered thanks to the kidney from Raisa. |
| C．It is vital for the donator and receiver to be of the same race. |
| D．The organ from the donator of the same race matches the receiver better. |
当我看到一头可怕的
"When an animal keep their ears open and stares at you, it's showing alarm. There' s stress going on. You're too close for its comfort," says Greg Kurz, a wildlife biologist at Yellowstone National Park. An animal that' s alarmed is not relaxed and is suddenly alert. If it's feeding, it'll quickly stop. If it' s walking, it may change direction. If standing, it may move away or suddenly turn to face you. Animals that feel they' re being hunted will back up, keeping as much distance as possible between you.
Some animals have unique ways of expressing alarm. A beaver (河狸) hits its tail on the water. A pronghorn antelope flares the hair on its rump (臀部). A deer "lags" its white tail over its back as it races to safer ground. An opossum (负鼠) plays dead by going limp, closing its eyes, and dropping its tongue.
"Skunks and rabbits beat their feet on the ground when they're alarmed." says Vince Yannone, an independent wildlife consultant who has more than 30 years of experience with animals in the wild. "And if you frighten a coyote (丛林
Some alarmed ducks and other birds, such as the killdeer, will pretend broken wings and flap across the water or flutter across the ground in an attempt to draw you from nearby nests where eggs or hatchlings are hidden.
In short, an alarmed animal is issuing warnings, either to you or its partners. When you see these signs, back off. An alarmed animal is under stress and may become dangerous or flee habitat critical to its survival.(Hikers persistently approaching bighorn sheep in California's Santa Rosa Mountains eventually drove the animals from an important watering hole. )Alarmed animals also expend extra energy, and may even desert their young.
1. The word "alert" in the first paragraph means________?| A．secure | B．abnormal | C．watchful | D．scared |
| A．By reasoning. | B．By giving examples. | C．By contrasting. | D．By making up stories. |
| A．A frightened coyote will make its ears flat. |
| B．An opossum beats its tail on the water to express alarm. |
| C．A beaver can pretend to be dead when frightened. |
| D．Some alarmed animals may kill their young |
A． | B． |
C． | D． |
A man on a rafting (竹筏漂流) trip in Saskatchewan saved a coyote pup(郊
Justin was in a multi-day rafting trip down the Red Deer and South Saskatchewan rivers“when he heard some noise," the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Saskatchewan wrote in an Instagram post."He said it sounded like a dog fight so he parked his raft to find out what was going on. However, he wasn't able to see anything so he went back to his raft to go fishing.
While he was fishing, he heard something in the water crying out-and that was when he saw some kind of animal swimming in the river! Its nose was hardly above the water and the water was so dark that Justin couldn't tell what kind of animal it was at first. Justin tried to reach for the animal but ended up falling in the freezing cold water as well.Luckily, Justin was somehow able to locate the animal-a coyote pup!-in the water and catch his raft before it was taken away by water for good!
When Justin brought the animal back to his raft, the little coyote pup didn't seem to be breathing, with its eyes closed. The pup was lucky yet again as Justin had first-aid knowledge and was able to do a Heimlich treatment by pushing on its stomach. After a few pushes, water came out of the coyote's nose and he was breathing again! Justin and his new' friend were both wet through so they made an effort to reach land again where Justin made a fire and tried to warm the little guy up.”
Para1:
Justin shortened the trip over the next 10 or so days in order to take care of the pup well.
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Para2:
Finally, Justin was able to find a place where he could get service and call experts for advice.
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【知识点】 人与动植物
One day I was walking around in a national park when I saw a beautiful tarantula (
Behind me there was a family going up the same way and they also noticed the tarantula. Without doubting it, a kid shouted, ''Quick, Dad, kill it. '' His brother also encouraged their dad to do that.
Then I stopped their dad. ''Wait. This is the last place the tarantula has to live in. Do you really want to kill it? ''
''Well, it's dangerous and we have kids here…''
''Why not stand still and let it cross safely? Then you can go and admire the rest of the park. ''
After some discussions I persuaded them to stand still and watch. Soon, the tarantula crossed and hid into the bushes.
Their dad thanked me and said, ''You're right. I was about to make a mistake. '' The children even said good bye to the tarantula and they learned something too.
1. What did the family want to do on seeing the tarantula?| A．To watch it. | B．To kill it. |
| C．To stand by. | D．To hide away. |
| A．Dangerous. | B．Interesting. |
| C．Powerful. | D．Beautiful. |
| A．To stop it quickly. | B．To greet it politely. |
| C．To let it cross safely. | D．To drive it into the bushes. |
| A．Stay calm in time of danger. |
| B．Enjoy the beauty of nature. |
| C．Stay away from animals. |
| D．Treat the wildlife kindly. |
