Special Bridges Help Animals Cross the Road
— Reported by Sheila Carrick
Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side.
Most people know this joke. But recently, some people have been much more worried about how the grizzly bear(灰熊)and mountain lion can cross the road.
"Millions of animals die each year on US roads," the Federal Highway Administration reports. In fact，only about 80 ocelots, an endangered wild cat, exist in the US today. The main reason? Road kill.
"Ecopassages (生态通道 ) " may help animals cross the road without being hit by cars. They are paths both over and under roads. "These ecopassages can be extremely useful, so that wildlife can avoid road accidents," said Jodi Hilty of the Wildlife Protection Society.
But do animals actually use the ecopassages? The answer is yes. Paul Beier of Northern Arizona University found foot marks left by mountain lions on an ecopassage that went under a highway. This showed that the lions used the passage.
Builders of ecopassages try to make them look like a natural part of an area by planting trees on and around them. Animals seem to be catching on. Animals as different as salamanders(火蜥蜴) and grizzly bears are using the bridges and underpasses.
The next time you visit a park or drive through an area with a lot of wildlife, look around. You might see an animal overpass!The writer uses the example of "ocelots " to show that ________.
| A．wild animals have become more dangerous |
| B．the driving conditions have improved greatly |
| C．the measure for projecting wildlife fails to work |
| D．an increasing number of animals are killed in road accidents |
From the news story, we know an ecopassage is ________.
| A．an underground path for cars | B．a fence built for the safety of the area |
| C．a bridge for animals to get over a river | D．a path for animals to cross the road |
When the writer says that animals seem" to be catching on", he means ________.
| A．animals begin to realize the dangers on the road |
| B．animals begin to learn to use ecopassages |
| C．animals are crossing the road in groups |
| D．animals are increasing in number |
The writer asks visitors and drivers to look around when traveling because________
| A．wild animals may attack cars | B．wild animals may jam the road |
| C．they may see wild animals in the park | D．they may see wild animals on ecopassages |
Some spiders hunt on the ground, others build webs to trap their food, but the grass water spider catches its prey by running along the surface of the water.
This special water spider lives on the grassy banks of streams where mosquitoes, damsel flies and other insects come to feed and breed.
Although it is one of the largest spiders in New Zealand, it has an unusual ability. It doesn’t disturb the water as it waits for its meal, and there is barely a ripple(波纹) when it skims(掠过) across the surface at lightning speed to catch its prey.
Grass water spiders deal swiftly with larger insects like damsel flies by pulling their heads under the water and holding them there until they drown.
After a meal, the grass water spider spends up to half an hour grooming(修饰) itself. It wipes its eight eyes, brushes its antennae(触角), and takes special care to clean the hairs on its body.
It is the hairs that trap tiny bubbles(泡沫) of air so that the spider can run down a blade(叶片) of grass and stay underwater for up to an hour when it is frightened. The hairs also keep the spider dry, even underwater.
It is only when the female spider is caring for the young that she does not hunt on the water. After mating, she produces a large egg sac(囊), which she carries around for five weeks. Once the eggs start to hatch, she attaches the sac to some blades of grass or a thistle. She then tears the sac open and releases the tiny spiders into the nursery web.
1. How does the grass water spider kill its prey?
A. in a web B. by drowning C. by poisoning D. with its antennae
2. the writer describes the special spider as “special” because _______.
A. it walks on water B. it has eight eyes
C. of its hairy appearance D. of the way it produces its young
3. The passage tells us that the spider ______.
A. feeds grass and thistles to its young.
B. lives on blades of grass under the water
C. lives in the grass on the banks of streams
D. eats a meal once every five weeks
4. The purpose of the passage is to _______.
A. convince readers that spiders are dangerous
B. indicate that the grass water spider is endangered
C. list all of the spiders that can be found in New Zealand
D. describe the characteristics of the grass water spider
Space travel is definitely bad for astronauts’ bones, reducing their bone density(密度) after only a month of weightlessness, according to French research published on Friday.
Laurence Vico and his fellow workers at St Etienne University called for more research into the effects of microgravity, after their study of 15 astronauts from the Russian MIR station showed bone loss continued throughout space flights.
“Bone loss was especially striking in four astronauts, ” the scientists reported in the Lancet Medical Journal.
They measured the bone mineral density (BMD) of bones in the forearm(前臂) and lower leg of the astronauts who had spent one to six months in space.
The BMD loss was significant in the tibia(胫骨) of the lower leg, a weight-bearing bone, but barely changed in the radius(桡骨) of the forearm. “Our results indicate the need to investigate not only different bones, but also different areas of the same bone since not all sites of the skeleton (骨架) are similarly affected by space conditions, ” they added.
Without gravity the body isn’t bearing any weight so there is no need for calcium (钙) which makes bones strong, and it becomes empty into the bloodstream.
The research team suggested in future scientists should try to determine if the loss of bone density was only on weight-bearing bones on longer flights, also the possible recovery after returning to Earth.
1. French scientists did their research on Russian astronauts, because _______.
A. they only cared for the Russian astronauts
B. they were not interested in their own astronauts
C. the Russian government invited them to do their research
D. the Russian astronauts worked in space for a long time
2. Scientists have found that _______.
A. the BMD loss may cause serious illness to astronauts
B. the BMD loss may cause some change in astronauts’ bodies
C. astronauts shouldn’t care about the BMD loss
D. astronauts should take some calcium before space travel
3. What cause the BMD loss to astronauts, according to this passage?
A. The food they eat in space. B. The drinks they take in space.
C. The temperature in space. D. The gravity in space.
4. In the third paragraph, the word “striking” means ______.
A. unusual B. simple C. weak D. slow
Technology is the application(应用) of knowledge to production. Thanks to modern technology, we have been able to increase greatly the efficiency of our work force. New machines and new methods have helped cut down time and expense while increasing overall output. This has meant more production and a higher standard of living. For most of us in America, modern technology is thought of as the reason why we can have cars and television sets. However, technology has also increased the amount of food available to us, by means of modern farming machinery and animal breeding techniques, and has extended our life span via(通过) medical technology.
Will mankind continue to live longer and have a higher quality of life? In large measure the answer depends on technology and our ability to use it widely. If we keep making progress as we have over the past fifty years, the answer is definitely yes. The advancement of technology depends upon research and development, and the latest statistics(统计) show that the United States is continuing to pump billions of dollars annually(每年) into such efforts. So while we are running out of some scarce resources(少的资源) we may well find technological substitutes(代用品)for many of them through our research programs.
Therefore, in the final analysis the three major factors of production(land, labor and capital) are all influenced by technology. When we need new skills, on techniques in medicine, people will start developing new technology to meet those needs. As equipment proves to be slow or inefficient, new machines will be invented. Technology responds to our needs in helping us maintain our standard of living.
1. What is the best title for the passage?
A. The definition of technology B. Modern technology
C. The application of technology D. The development of technology
2. Which is the main idea of the passage?
A. Modern technology is the key to the improvement of standard of living.
B. The three major factors of production (land, labor and capital) are all influenced by technology.
C. Technology is the response to our needs.
D. The United States is making great efforts to advance its technology.
3. According to the passage, people can live a long life with the help of _______.
A. higher quality of life B. medical technology
C. modern farming machinery D. technological substitute
Weather changes when the temperature and the amount of water in the atmosphere change. We can see and feel water coming from the atmosphere when we have rain. But the water must somehow get back to the atmosphere. Meteorologists call this the water cycle.
There are many stages in the water cycle. Rain falls when water vapour in clouds condenses(凝结). Drops of water form and fall to the ground. The water soaks into the ground and feeds streams and rivers. A lot of rain falls into the sea. The heat of the sun evaporates some of the water in the ground and in the rivers, lakes, and the sea. It changes the liquid water into water vapour. The vapour rises onto the air. Water vapour is normally invisible. On a very damp or humid day, however, you can sometimes see water vapour rising from a puddle(水坑) or pond in a mist(薄雾) above the water. Water vapour also gets into the air from living things. Trees and other plants take in water through their roots and give off water vapour from their leaves. People and land animals drink water and breathe out water vapour. In all these ways the water returns to the air. There it gathers to form clouds and condenses to form rain. The rain falls to earth, and the cycle starts again. It continues even if snow or hail(冰雹) fall instead because both eventually melt to form water. The amount of water vapour in the air depends on the temperature. The air is more moist(潮湿) in the tropics(热带) than in the cold polar regions.
1. What is the main idea of the passage?
A. Water cycle. B. Water vapour.
C. How rain forms. D. Water, vapour, rain.
2. How many ways of the water returning to the air are discussed in the text?
A. Two. B. Three.C. Four.D. Five.
3. Whether water vapour can be seen or not depends on _______.
A. how much water is evaporated B. how good your eyes are
C. in which way water is evaporated D. climate or weather
4. From the passage we get to know _______.
A. there is more water vapour in the air in the tropics than in cold polar regions
B. there is more water vapour in the air in cold polar region than in the tropics
C. it gets more rain in the tropics than in cold polar regions because there is less vapour
D. the amount of water vapour in the air depends on how often it rains
To get cash out in the 21st century, you won’t need a bank card, a PIN(个人识别编号) or even have to move a finger. You will simply have to look the cash machine straight in the eye, declares National Cash Registers, a multinational company that makes automated teller machines, or ATMs. NCR has shown its first example machine that is believed to be the future of banking. Instead of asking you for your PIN on a screen, the Super Teller-Stella for short, asks you orally through a loudspeaker to look straight ahead while an infrared camera turns to your head, then your eye, and finally takes an infrared photograph of your iris(虹膜). For identification(识别) purposes, an iris picture is better than a fingerprint, with around 256 noticeable characteristics compared with 40 for fingerprints. This means that the chances of someone else being recognized in your place is about 1 in 1020. Once you’ve been identified, Stella greets you by name and says: “Would you like cash or a statement?” An infrared port allows the machine to send a bank statement straight to your pocket computer.
1. What does this passage mainly talk about?
A. A new medical instrument
B. A new type of talking machine.
C. A new type of cash machine.
D. National Cash Register
2. What is this new machine called?
A. Stella B. ATM C. PIN D. NCR
3. When you want to get cash out in the 21st century, you will _______.
A. need a bank card B. have to put in your PIN
C. move your finger D. just look directly at the teller machine