Recordings of angry bees are enough to send big, tough African elephants running away, a new study says. Beehives (蜂窝)-either recorded or real-may even prevent elephants from damaging farmer's crops.
In 2002, scientist Lucy King and her team found that elephants avoid certain trees with bees living in them. Today, Lucy wants to see if African honeybees might discourage elephants from eating crops. But before she asked farmer to go to the trouble of setting up beehives on their farms, she needed to find out if the bees would scare elephants away.
Lucy found a wild beehive inside a tree in northern Kenya and set up a recorder. Then she threw a stone into the beehive, which burst into life. Lucy and her assistant hid in their car until the angry bees had calmed down. Next,Lucy searched out elephant families in Samburu National Reserve in northern Kenya and put a speaker in a close to each family.
From a distance, Lucy switched on the pre-recorded sound of angry bees while at the same time recording the elephants with a video camera. Half the elephant groups left the area within ten seconds. Out of a total of 17 groups, only one group ignored the sound of the angry bees. Lucy reported that all the young elephants immediately ran to their mothers to hide under them. When Lucy Played the sound of a waterfall (瀑布) instead of the angry bees to many of the same elephant families, the animals were undisturbed. Even after four minutes, most of the groups stayed in one place.
Lucy is now studying whether the elephants will continue to avoid the sound of angry bees after hearing it several times. She hasn't tested enough groups yet to know, but her initial (最初的) results were promising enough to begin trials with farmers. She has now begun placing speakers in the fields to see if elephants are frightened away.We know from the passage that elephants may be frightened of .
A.loud noises | B.some crops |
C.video cameras | D.angry bees |
As mentioned in the passage, Lucy
A.works by herself in Africa |
B.needs to test more elephant groups |
C.has stopped elephants eating crops |
D.has got farmers to set up beehives on their farms |
Why did Lucy throw a stone into a wild beehive?
A.To record the sound of bees. |
B.To make a video of elephants. |
C.To see if elephants would run away. |
D.To find out more about the behavior of bees. |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A.Young elephants ignore African honeybees. |
B.Waterfalls can make elephants stay in one place. |
C.Elephants do not go near trees with bees living in them. |
D.Farmers do not allow Lucy to conduct tests in their fields. |
Things to Do in Yorkshire This Summer
Harrogate Music Festival
Since its birth,Harrogate Music Festival has gone from strength to strength.This year, we are celebrating our 50th anniversary. We begin on 1st June with Manchester Camerata and Nicola Benedetti,presenting an amazing programme of Mozart pieces.
Dates:1 June-31 July
Tickets:£12-£96
Jodie's Fitness Summer Classes
As the summer months roll in, our Georgian country estate makes the perfect setting for an outdoor fitness session. Come and work out with our qualified personal trainer, Jodie McGregor,on the grounds of the Middleton Lodge estate.
We will be holding a free taster session on 23rd May,at 10 am, to demonstrate the variety of effective and active exercises. There are eight spaces available for the taster session. Advance bookings are required(info@middletonlodge.co.uk.paris)
Dates:23 May-11 July
Tickets: £7.50 per session
Felt Picture Making
Working from an inspirational picture,this workshop at Helmsley Arts Centre will teach you the techniques you will need to recreate your picture in wool.
We will also discuss the origins of felt(毛毡),what enables wool fibres to become felt and how the processes we use work.
Dates: 12 June-12 July
Tickets: £40 including materials
Figure It Out!-Playing with Math
A new exhibition in Halifax uses everyday activities to explain the hidden math principles we all use on a regular basis. Pack a bag, cut a cake, guess which juice container holds the most liquid,and much more.Discover how architects, product designers and scientists use similar skills in their work.
Dates:7 May-10 June
Tickets:Free
1.What should you do if you want to attend the taster session of Jodie's fitness classes?
A. |
Join a fitness club. |
B. |
Pay a registration fee. |
C. |
Make a booking. |
D. |
Hire a personal trainer. |
2. How much is the ticket for Felt Picture Making?
A. |
£7.50. |
B. |
£12. |
C. |
£40. |
D. |
£96. |
3.Which of the following starts earliest?
A. |
Harrogate Music Festival. |
B. |
Jodie's Fitness Summer Classes. |
C. |
Felt Picture Making. |
D. |
Figure It Out!-Playing with Math. |
Recent research suggests that if an argument gets resolved,the emotional response tied to it is significantly reduced or almost completely erased.Thus,it may be worth bringing up issues with your friends, family members,or classmates rather than holding them back.
There is a difference between arguing and fighting.Arguing is that you and your opponent present your concerns and discuss the feelings and issues related to those concerns.You can engage in an argument respectfully without stirring up(激起) anger.Fighting,however,usually involves personal attacks,raising of voices, and storming out.Discussing your issues and resolving them instead of stuffing them down can improve your emotional health.In a study,2.000 people were asked to record their feelings and experiences for eight days in a row.When people had an argument that they considered resolved, they had half the reactivity (情绪反应) of those who avoided an argument.Reactivity is an increase in negative emotions or a decrease in positive emotions.In other words,resolving an argument cuts your negative feelings by half.One day later, people who had a resolved argument reported no increase of negative emotions compared with those who avoided an argument. This means that resolving an argument can feel like you have reached a state of resolution-and you are less likely to be annoyed.
Moreover,the older you are,the more likely you will come to a resolution after an argument.This may be because more life experience usually leads to more defined priorities.You are more likely to distinguish between what matters and what does not.
It is easier to avoid a discussion,but risking talking about it may eventually lead to a better outcome.
40. According to this passage,what is arguing?
41. Why is it that "the older you are, the more likely you will come to a resolution after an argument"?
42. Please decide which part is false in the following statement,then underline it and explain why.
Resolving arguments can improve your emotional health,because it increases your reactivity and reduces the chance of you getting angry.
43. In addition to improving emotional health,what do you think are some other benefits of resolving an argument? (In about 40 words)
Early fifth-century philosopher St.Augustine famously wrote that he knew what time was unless someone asked him.Albert Einstein added another wrinkle when he theorized that time varies depending on where you measure it.Today's state-of-the-art atomic(原子的) clocks have proven Einstein right.Even advanced physics can't decisively tell us what time is, because the answer depends on the question you're asking.
Forget about time as an absolute.What if,instead of considering time in terms of astronomy, we related time to ecology?What if we allowed environmental conditions to set the tempo(节奏) of human life?We're increasingly aware of the fact that we can't control Earth systems with engineering alone,and realizing that we need to moderate(调节)our actions if we hope to live in balance.What if our definition of time reflected that?
Recently,I conceptualized a new approach to timekeeping that's connected to circumstances on our planet,conditions that might change as a result of global warming.We're now building a clock at the Anchorage Museum that reflects the total flow of several major Alaskan rivers,which are sensitive to local and global environmental changes.We've programmed it to match an atomic clock if the waterways continue to flow at their present rate.If the rivers run faster in the future on average,the clock will get ahead of standard time.If they run slower,you'll see the opposite effect.
The clock registers both short-term irregularities and long-term trends in river dynamics.It's a sort of observatory that reveals how the rivers are behaving from their own temporal frame(时间框架),and allows us to witness those changes on our smartwatches or phones.Anyone who opts to go on Alaska Mean River Time will live in harmony with the planet.Anyone who considers river time in relation to atomic time will encounter a major imbalance and may be motivated to counteract it by consuming less fuel or supporting greener policies.
Even if this method of timekeeping is novel in its particulars,early agricultural societies also connected time to natural phenomena.In pre-Classical Greece,for instance,people"corrected"official calendars by shifting dates forward or backward to reflect the change of season.Temporal connection to the environment was vital to their survival.Likewise,river time and other timekeeping systems we're developing may encourage environmental awareness.
When St.Augustine admitted his inability to define time, he highlighted one of time 's most noticeable qualities:Time becomes meaningful only in a defined context.Any timekeeping system is valid,and each is as praiseworthy as its purpose.
31. What is the main idea of Paragraph 1?
A. |
Timekeeping is increasingly related to nature. |
B. |
Everyone can define time on their own terms. |
C. |
The qualities of time vary with how you measure it. |
D. |
Time is a major concern of philosophers and scientists. |
32. The author raises three questions in Paragraph 2 mainly to__________.
A. |
present an assumption |
B. |
evaluate an argument |
C. |
highlight an experiment |
D. |
introduce an approach |
33. What can we learn from this passage?
A. |
Those who do not go on river time will live an imbalanced life. |
B. |
New ways of measuring time can help to control Earth systems.. |
C. |
Atomic time will get ahead of river time if the rivers run slower. |
D. |
Modern technology may help to shape the rivers' temporal frame. |
34. What can we infer from this passage?
A. |
It is crucial to improve the definition of time. |
B. |
A fixed frame will make time meaningless. |
C. |
We should live in harmony with nature. |
D. |
History is a mirror reflecting reality. |
Hundreds of scientists,writers and academics sounded a warning to humanity in an open letter published last December:Policymakers and the rest of us must engage openly with the risk of global collapse.Researchers in many areas have projected the widespread collapse as"a credible scenario(情景) this century".
A survey of scientists found that extreme weather events,food insecurity,and freshwater shortages might create global collapse.Of course,if you are a non-human species,collapse is well underway.
The call for public engagement with the unthinkable is especially germanein this moment of still-uncontrolled pandemic and economic crises in the world's most technologically advanced nations.Not very long ago,it was also unthinkable that a virus would shut down nations and that safety nets would be proven so disastrously lacking in flexibility.
The international scholars' warning letter doesn't say exactly what collapse will look like or when it might happen.Collapseology,the study of collapse,is more concerned with identifying trends and with them the dangers of everyday civilization.Among the signatories(签署者)of the warning was Bob Johnson,the originator of the"ecological footprint"concept,which measures the total amount of environmental input needed to maintain a given lifestyle.With the current footprint of humanity,"it seems that global collapse is certain to happen in some form,possibly within a decade,certainly within this century,"Johnson said in an email.
Only if we discuss the consequences of our biophysical limits, the December warning letter says,can we have the hope to reduce their "speed,severity and harm".And yet messengers of the coming disturbance are likely to be ignored.We all want to hope things will turn out fine.As a poet wrote,
Man is a victi m of dope(麻醉品)
In the incurable form of hope .
The hundreds of scholars who signed the letter are intent(执着) on quieting hope that ignores preparedness."Let's look directly into the issue of collapse,"hey say,"and deal with the terrible possibilities of what we see there to make the best of a troubling future."
28. What does the underlined word "germane" in Paragraph 3 probably mean?
A. |
Scientific. |
B. |
Credible. |
C. |
Original. |
D. |
Relevant. |
29. As for the public awareness of global collapse,the author is__________.
A. |
worried |
B. |
puzzled |
C. |
surprised |
D. |
scared |
30. What can we learn from this passage?
A. |
The signatories may change the biophysical limits. |
B. |
The author agrees with the message of the poem. |
C. |
The issue of collapse is being prioritized. |
D. |
The global collapse is well underway. |
I remember the day during our first week of class when we were informed about our semester(学期) project of volunteering at a non-profit organization.When the teacher introduced us to the different organizations that needed our help,my last choice was Operation Iraqi Children (OIC).My first impression of the organization was that it was not going to make enough of a difference with the plans I had in mind.
Then,an OIC representative gave us some details,which somewhat interested me.After doing some research, I believed that we could really do something for those kids.When I went online to the OIC website,I saw pictures of the Iraqi children.Their faces were so powerful in sending a message of their despair(绝望) and need that I joined this project without hesitation.We decided to collect as many school supplies as possible,and make them into kits--one kit,one child.
The most rewarding day for our group was project day,when all the efforts we put into collecting the items finally came together.When I saw the various supplies we had collected,it hit me that every kit we were to build that day would eventually be in the hands of an Iraqi child.Over the past four months,I had never imagined how I would feel once our project was completed.While making the kits,I realized that I had lost sight of the true meaning behind it.I had only focused on the fact that it was another school project and one I wanted to get a good grade on.When the kits were completed,and ready to be sent overseas,the warm feeling I had was one I would never forget.
In the beginning,I dared myself to make a difference in the life of another person.Now that our project is over,I realize that I have affected not only one life,but ten.With our efforts,ten young boys and girls will now be able to further their education.
24.How did the author feel about joining the OIC project in the beginning?
A. |
It would affect his/her initial plans. |
B. |
It would involve traveling overseas. |
C. |
It would not bring him/her a good grade. |
D. |
It would not live up to his/her expectations. |
25. What mainly helped the author change his/her attitude toward the project?
A. |
Images of Iraqi children. |
B. |
Research by his/her classmates. |
C. |
A teacher's introduction. |
D. |
A representative's comments. |
26. The author's OIC project group would help ten Iraqi children to__________..
A. |
become OIC volunteers |
B. |
further their education |
C. |
study in foreign countries |
D. |
influence other children |
27. What can we conclude from this passage?
A. |
One's potential cannot always be underrated. |
B. |
First impression cannot always be trusted. |
C. |
Actions speak louder than words. |
D. |
He who hesitates is lost. |