California Condor's Shocking Recovery
California condors are North America's largest birds, with wing-length of up to 3 meters. In the 1980s, electrical lines and lead poisoning(铅中毒) nearly drove them to dying out. Now, electric shock training and medical treatment are helping to rescue these big birds.
In the late 1980s, the last few condors were taken from the wild, and there are now more than 150 flying over California and nearby Arizona, Utah and Baja in Mexico.
Electrical lines have been killing them off. "As they go in to rest for the night, they just don't see the power lines," says Bruce Rideout of San Diego Zoo. Their wings can bridge the gap between lines, resulting in electrocution(电死) if they touch two lines at once.
So scientists have come up with a shocking idea. Tall poles, placed in large training areas, teach the birds to stay clear of electrical lines by giving them a painful but undeadly electric shock. Before the training was introduced, 66% of set-freed condors died of electrocution. This has now dropped to 18%.
Lead poisonous has proved more difficult to deal with. When condors eat dead bodies of other animals containing lead, they absorb large quantities of lead. This affects their nervous systems and ability to produce baby birds, and can lead to kidney(肾) failures and death. So condors with high levels of lead are sent to Los Angeles Zoo, where they are treated with calcium EDTA, a chemical that removes lead from the blood over several days. This work is starting to pay off. The annual death rate for adult condors has dropped from 38% in 2000 to 5.4% in 2011.
Rideout's team thinks that the California condors' average survival time in the wild is now just under eight years. "Although these measures are not effective forever, they are vital for now," he says. "They are truly good birds that are worth every effort we put into recovering them. "
63.California condors attract researchers' interest because they ______.
| A． |
are active at night |
| B． |
had to be bred in the wild |
| C． |
are found on in California |
| D． |
almost died out in the 1980s |
64.Researchers have found electrical lines are______.
| A． |
blocking condors' journey home |
| B． |
big killers of Califorbnia condoras |
| C． |
rest places for condors at night |
| D． |
used to keep condors away |
65.According to Paraghaph 5，lead poisoning______.
| A． |
makes condors too nervous to fly |
| B． |
has little effect on condors' kidneys |
| C． |
can hardly be gotten rid of form condors' blood |
| D． |
makes it different for condors to produce baby birds |
66.The passage shows that______ .
| A． |
the average survival time of condors is satisfactory |
| B． |
Rideout's research interest lies in electric engineering |
| C． |
the efforts to protect condors have brought good results |
| D． |
researchers have found the final answers to the problem |
There are robots all around us. Some do very complicated jobs like flying airplanes and driving subway trains. and some do one simple job. When an automatic washing machine is switched on, water pours in. The machine waits until the water is warm enough for washing clothes. It does this by “feedback”(反馈). Information about what is happening is feedback into the robot to tell what to do next. Our eyes, ears and other senses are our feedback. They tell us what is going on around us. So robots are like human beings in two ways.
They work and they have feedback.
In some ways robots are better than human beings. They work quickly and do not make mistakes. They do not get bored doing the same job over and over again. And they never get tired. So robots are very useful in factories. They can be taught to do many different jobs. First their electronic brain must be shown how the job is done. A person moves the robot’s “arms” and “hands” through each part of the job.
The most intelligent robots can move and see. Their eyes are cameras. Their fingers can feel shapes and sizes of the objects. These robots have computer brains linked to their eyes and fingers, which control their actions. The expensive robots are used in scientific research. They do such job as handling radioactive materials.In this passage the author tells us that ________.
| A．robots are very popular |
| B．there are various kinds of robots |
| C．we see robots only at certain times |
| D．robots can be easily controlled |
What does the author seem to inform you about robots?
| A．They should be greatly improved. |
| B．They will probably take over in the future. |
| C．They are very helpful and useful to humans. |
| D．They are machines that break down a lot. |
The author says that in industry ________.
| A．robots break down a lot |
| B．robots can do many jobs |
| C．robots only get in the way |
| D．robots sometimes cause troubles |
The fact that a robot never gets bored doing the same job means that _______.
| A．it is very much like human beings |
| B．it can do boring jobs for people |
| C．it will never bore people |
| D．it will work much better than human beings |
The robots used for scientific research _______.
| A．are not very clever |
| B．are very cheap |
| C．are very big |
| D．are very costly |
Some people make you feel comfortable when they are around. You spend an hour with them and feel as if you have known them half your life. These people have something in common. And once we know what it is, we can try to do it ourselves.
How is it done? Here are several skills that good talkers have. If you follow the skills, they’ll help you put people at their ease, and make friends with them quickly.
First of all, good talkers ask questions. Almost anyone, no matter how shy he is, will answer a question. One well-known businesswoman says, “At business lunches, I always ask people what they did that morning. It’s a common question, but it will get things going.” From there you can move on to other matters—sometimes to really personal questions. And how he answers will let you know how far you can go.
Second, once good talkers have asked questions, they listen to the answers. This point seems clear, but it isn’t. Your questions should have a point and help to tell what sort of person you are talking to. And to find out, you really have to listen carefully and attentively.
Real listening at least means some things. First it means not to change the subject of conversation. If someone sticks to one topic, you can take it as a fact that he’s really interested in it. Real listening also means not just listening to words, but to tones of voice. If the voice sounds dull, then, it’s time for you to change the subject.
Finally, good talkers know well how to deal with the occasion of parting. If you’re saying good-bye, you may give him a firm handshake and say, “I’ve really enjoyed meeting you.” If you want to see that person again, don’t keep it a secret. Let people know what you feel, and they may walk away feeling as if they’ve known you half their life.Asking questions might be a quite good and suitable way _______.
| A．for you to make more and more new friends |
| B．to begin your business talks |
| C．to get the conversation going smoothly |
| D．for you to make a deep and lasting impression on others |
After having asked somebody a question, it’ll be polite of you to _______.
| A．make clear what kind of person he is |
| B．listen to his reply attentively |
| C．wait quietly and patiently for his answer |
| D．go on asking him more questions |
Generally speaking, good talkers are persons who _______.
| A．are good at making any topic interesting |
| B．never talk too much or too little |
| C．always speak in a gentle way |
| D．know how and when they should change the topic of the talk |
If you really take delight in meeting someone again, _______.
| A．you may take him as your lifelong trustworthy friend |
| B．it seems necessary for you to let him know it |
| C．it’s proper for you to give him a second handshake |
| D．it’ll be helpful for you to have further understanding of him |
We often use the words “growth” and “development” as if they meant basically the same thing. But this may not always be the case. One can easily imagine instances in which a country has achieved higher levels of income (growth) with little or no benefit coming to most of its citizens (development).
In the past, most development policies were aimed at increasing the growth rate of income per capita (人均所得). Many are still based on the theory that benefit of economic growth will come to all members of society. If this theory is correct, growth should encourage development.
By the early 1970s, however, the relationship between growth and development was being questioned. A major study by the World Bank in 1974 concluded that it is now clear that more than decades of rapid growth in developing countries has been of little benefit to & third of their population.
The World Bank study showed that increase in GNP per capita did not promise important improvements in such development indicators as nutrition (营养), health, and education. Although GNP per capita did indeed rise, its benefit came down to only a small part of the population. This realization gives rise to a call for new development policies. These new policies favor agriculture over industry, call for national redistribution (资源分配) of income and wealth, and encourage programs to satisfy such basic needs as food and shelter.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s the international macroeconomic crises (大规模的经济危机) of high oil prices, worldwide recession (衰退) and the third world debt, forced attention away from programs designed to get rid of poverty. however, the lesson remains: economic growth does not promise economic development. Efforts may be required to change growing output capacity (能力) into economic benefit that reach most of a nation’s people. What do we learn from the first paragraph about the relationship between growth and development?
| A．Growth and development refer to the same thing. |
| B．Growth always brings about development. |
| C．Development is not a necessary result of growth. |
| D．Development is a reliable measure of growth. |
Before the 1970s, most development policies were based on theory that economic growth would benefit ________.
| A．most people in society | B．some people in society |
| C．few people in society | D．everyone in society |
according to the study by the World Bank in 1974, economic growth in some backward countries brought ________.
A. benefit to a third of their population
B. benefit to two thirds of their population
C little benefit to their people
D. no benefit at all to their peopleIf the passage continues, what would the author most likely discuss in the next paragraph?
| A．How to turn growth into development. |
| B．How to remove poverty from society. |
| C．How to decrease the third world debt. |
| D．How to cope with economic crises. |
Having one of those days or weeks — when everything seems to annoy you? Even if you do nothing about it, your bad mood will probably go away after some time. But with a little effort, you can forget it much faster — often within a day or two.
Walk it off
Exercise is the most popular bad-mood buster. A person who’s in a bad mood has low energy and high tension. Taking a fast ten-minute walk, or doing some quick exercises can do wonders towards changing that bad mood.
Tune it out
Listening to your favorite music for a while can also make tension go away quickly, because music starts associations with past positive experiences we’ve had.
Give yourself a pep talk
Stop and listen to what’s on your mind. Bad moods are often started by too many negative thoughts. Write them all down on paper; the pessimistic (悲观的) messages you’ve been giving yourself and then give optimistic answers. ("I still don’t have a job. "vs" I have two interviews next week.")
Reduce your stress
Relaxation techniques are wonderful mood-lifters. These include deep breathing, stretching and visualizing (想象), all of which sound complicated but aren’t. One easy way to visualize: close your eyes and picture a favorite place, such as the beach. Another simple way to against distress is to make a to-do list. One reason for being in a bad mood is feeling you have no options(选择权) By taking control over certain areas, you realize you’re not helpless. You can make changes in your mood and life.
Avoid things that won’t improve your mood
TV may not help much: You need to increase your energy level and stimulate your mind something — that the TV show "Neighbors" won’t do. And before you reach for that piece of cake and coffee, think about how mood and food are linked. Sugar and caffeine contribute to depressed moods. The better choice? Research shows that carbohydrates, such as potatoes and pasta, produce a calming effect in people who have a desire for them. We learn from the text that it might help rid us of a bad mood ________.
| A．to do nothing about it |
| B．to take a long walk on the beach |
| C．to do some exercises with light music |
| D．to talk it to neighbours |
Why is it suggested that you close your eyes and picture the beach?
| A．It is not complicated to do so. |
| B．It is an area to be easily controlled. |
| C．It helps beat a bad mood. |
| D．It brings us a new technique. |
TV may not improve your mood because ________.
| A．it sometimes shows what happens around you |
| B．it keeps you stay unmoved |
| C．it reminds you of eating and drinking |
| D．it produces a calming effect |
This text most probably appears in ________.
| A．a book on physical exercises | B．a doctor’s handbook |
| C．a notice | D．a magazine |
In ancient times the most important examinations were spoken, not written. In the schools of ancient Greece and Rome, testing usually was made up of saying poetry aloud and giving speeches.
In the European universities of the Middle Ages, students who were working for advanced degrees had to discuss questions in their field of study with people who had made a special study of the subject. This custom exists today as part of the process of testing candidates (应试者) for the doctor’s degree.
Generally, however, modem examinations are written. The written examination, where all students are tested on the same questions, was probably not known until the nineteenth century. Perhaps it came into existence with the great increase in population and the development of modem industry. A room full of candidates for a state examination timed exactly by electric clocks and carefully watched over by managers, looks like a group of workers at an automobile factory. Certainly, during examinations teachers and students are expected to act like machines.
One type of test is sometimes called an “objective” test. It is intended to deal with facts, not personal opinions. To make up an objective test, the teacher writes a series (一系列)of questions, each of which has only one correct answer. Along with each question the teacher writes the correct answer and also three statements that look like answers to students who have not learned the material properly. The main idea of Paragraph Three is that ________.
| A．workers now take examinations | B．the population has grown |
| C．there are only written exams today | D．examinations are now written and timed |
The kind of exams where students must select answers are
| A．objective | B．personal |
| C．spoken | D．written |
Modem industry must have developed ________.
| A．around the 19th century | B．before the Middle Ages |
| C．in Greece or Rome | D．machines to take tests |
It may be concluded that testing ________.
| A．should test only opinions | B．should always be written |
| C．is given only in factories | D．has changed since the Middle Ages |