"It's this time of year when the weather starts warming up and frogs start breeding - but they haven't been breeding," says John Wilkinson, research and monitoring officer at the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust (ARC).
Amphibians (两栖动物) are just one of the groups of animals that nature observers fear may have problems reproducing this year, as groundwater levels are even lower now than in the infamously dry summer of 1976, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). According to the UK's Centre for Hydrology and Ecology the average rainfall so far this winter has been the lowest since 1972.
"If ponds dry up totally," says Mr. Wilkinson, "you could have lots of dead tadpoles." Drier and windier conditions could also make it more difficult for juvenile amphibians to survive their journeys between wet habitats.
But Peter Brotherton, the biodiversity manager for Natural England, says that "drought is part of nature's cycle", and, at present, a lot of animals, plants and insects are still in hibernation. This means that the population picture is unclear. "However, when we get extreme events, we get animals dying," he says. "And what is worrying is that normally at this time of year we expect soil to be near saturation（湿润）after winter."
Charlie Kitchin, the RSPB's site manager of the Nene Washes in Cambridgeshire, says the 2,000-acre wetland and grassland area is now struggling following two winters with relatively little winter rain and no flooding. One species that could suffer, he says, is the black-tailed godwit（黑尾豫）. "There are only 50 breeding pairs in the country, and we have 40 of them, and everything is bone-dry," Mr Kitchin says.
But one bad nesting season, he says, is "not the end of the world". "One of the features of flood plains is that they're volatile anyway," he adds. "But if they fail to breed another year, the population is likely to dip again."According to the passage animals may have problems reproducing this year mainly due to _____.
| A．drought | B．hibernation | C．windier conditions | D．extreme events |
What really worries Peter Brotherton is that ________.
| A．drought is part of nature’s cycle | B．animals are still in hibernation |
| C．soil at this time is far from saturation | D．the population of animals is still unclear |
Which of the following is NOT true of Charlie Kitchin’s words?
| A．Drought has so far continued for two winters. |
| B．Animals could survive one bad nesting season. |
| C．The black-tailed godwit is in danger of extinction. |
| D．40 black-tailed godwits live in the Nene Washes. |
The underlined word volatile in the last paragraph can be replaced by ________.
| A．losing water | B．undergoing changes |
| C．breeding animals | D．suffering flood |
It can be learnt from the text that ______________.
| A．groundwater levels this summer are lower than those of 1976 |
| B．the average rainfall this year has been the lowest since 1972 |
| C．windier conditions could also cause some amphibians’ death |
| D．flooding plays no useful role in wetlands and grasslands |
One of the latest trends（趋势） in American Childcare is Chinese au pairs．Au Pair in Stamford, Conn, for example, has got increasing numbers of request for Chinese au pairs from aero to around 4, 000 since 2004．And that’s true all across the country．
“I thought it would be useful for him to learn Chinese at an early age” Joseph Stocke, the managing director of a company, says of his 2-year old son．“I would at least like to give him the chance to use the language in the future, ” After only six months of being cared by 25-year-old woman from China, the boy can already understand basic Chinese daily expressions, his dad says．
Li Drake, a Chinese native raising two children in Minnesota with an American husband, had another reason for looking for an au pair from China．She didn’t want her children to miss out on their roots．” Because I am Chinese, my husband and I wanted the children to keep exposed to(接触) the language and culture．” she says．
“Staying with a native speaker is better for children than simply sitting in a classroom, ” says Suzanne Flynn, a professor in language education of Children．”But parents must understand that just one year with au pair is unlikely to produce wonders． Complete mastery demands continued learning until the age of 10 or 12．”
The popularity if au pairs from china has been strengthened by the increasing numbers of American parents who want their children who want their children to learn Chinese．It is expected that American demand for au pairs will continue to rise in the next few years．
What does the term” au pair” in the text mean?
| A．A mother raising her children on her own |
| B．A child learning a foreign language at home |
| C．A professor in language education of children |
| D．A young foreign woman taking care of children． |
Li Drake has her children study Chinese because she wants them ______．
| A．to live in China some day |
| B．to speak the language at home |
| C．to catch up wit other children |
| D．to learn about the Chinese culture |
What can we infer from the text?
| A．Learning Chinese is becoming popular In America, |
| B．Educated woman do better in looking after children |
| C．Chinese au pairs need to improve their English Skills． |
| D．Children can learn a foreign language well in six months． |
Since the first Earth Day in 1970, Americans have gotten a lot “greener” toward the environment ．“We didn’t know at that time that there even was an environment, let alone that there was a problem with it, ”says Bruce Anderson, president of Earth Day USA．
But what began as nothing important in public affairs has grown into a social movement ．Business people, political leaders, university professors, and especially millions of grass-roots Americans are taking part in the movement．“The understanding has increased many, many times, ”says Gaylord Nelson, the former governor from Wisconsin, who thought up the first Earth Day．
According to US government reports , emissions (排放)from cars and trucks have dropped from 10．3 million tons a year to 5．5 tons ．The number of cities producing CO beyond the standard has been reduced from 40 to 9 ．Although serious problems still remain and need to be dealt with , the world is a safer and healthier place ．A kind of “Green thinking ” has become part of practices ．
Great improvement has been achieved ．In 1988 there were only 600 recycling programs , ; today in 1995 there are about 6, 600 ．Advanced lights , motors , and building designs have helped save a lot of energy and therefore prevented pollution ．
Twenty –five years ago , there were hardly any education programs for environment ．Today , it’s hard to find a public school , university , or law school that does not have such a kind of program ．” Until we do that , nothing else will change! ” say Bruce Anderson ．According to Anderson , before 1970, Americans had little idea about ___
| A．the social movement |
| B．recycling techniques |
| C．environmental problems |
| D．the importance of Earth Day |
Where does the support for environmental protection mainly come from?
| A．The grass –roots level |
| B．The business circle |
| C．Government officials |
| D．University professors |
What have Americans achieved in environmental protection ?
| A．hey have cut car emissions to the lowest |
| B．They have settled their environmental problems |
| C．They have lowered their CO levels in forty cities． |
| D．They have reduced pollution through effective measures ． |
What is especially important for environmental protection according to the last paragraph ?
| A．Education |
| B．Planning |
| C．Green living |
| D．CO reduction |
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项 （A 、B 、C 和 D ）中，选出最佳选项。
Arriving in Sydney on his own from India, my husband , Rashid, stayed in a hotel for a short time while looking for a short time while looking for a house for me and our children．
During the first week of his stay, he went out one day to do some shopping．He came back in the late afternoon to discover that his suitcase was gone．He was extremely worried as the suitcase had all his important papers, including his passport．
He reported the case to the police and then sat there，lost and lonely in strange city, thinking of the terrible troubles of getting all the paperwork organized again from a distant country while trying to settle down in a new one．
Late in the evening, the phone rang．It was a stranger．He was trying to pronounce my husband’s name and was asking him a lot of questions．Then he said they had found a pile of papers in their trash can（垃圾桶）that had been left out on the footpath．
My husband rushed to their home to find a kind family holding all his papers and documents．Their young daughter had gone to the trash can and found a pile of unfamiliar papers．Her parents had carefully sorted them out, although they had found mainly foreign addresses on most of the documents．At last they had seen a half-written letter in the pile in which my husband had given his new telephone number to a friend．
That family not only restored the important documents to us that day but also restored our faith and trust in people．We still remember their kindness and often send a warm wish their way．
What did Rashid plan to do after his arrival in Sydney?
| A．Go shopping |
| B．Find a house |
| C．Join his family |
| D．Take a vacation |
The girl’s parents got Rashid’s phone number from_______．
| A．a friend of his family |
| B．a Sydney policeman |
| C．a letter in his papers |
| D．a stranger in Sydney |
What does the underlined word “restored” in the last paragraph mean?
| A．Showed |
| B．Sent out |
| C．Delivered |
| D．Gave back |
Which of the following can be the best title for the text?
| A．From India to Australia． |
| B．Living in a a New Country． |
| C．Turning Trash to Treasure |
| D．In Search of New Friends． |
“We need carbohydrates, protein and fat — they are like the wood in the fireplace．The vitamins and minerals are like the match, the spark, for the fuel,” she explains．“We need them all, but in a very different proportions．And if the fuel isn’t there, the spark is useless.”
From the first paragraph we know that working women .
| A．think cooking is especially complicated |
| B．do not share the same views with registered dietitians |
| C．are busy and not interested in cooking |
| D．are likely to eat healthfully |
Orange juice is different from orange drink in that .
| A．it contains only a small percentage of real juice |
| B．it is natural, nutritious and prepared from real oranges |
| C．it is largely orange-colored sugar water |
| D．it produces nothing but calories |
In Paragraph 4, “a fruitless search” means .
| A．an effort with no results |
| B．a search for a diet without fruits |
| C．a research on fruitless diet |
| D．a diet serving as medicine |
Justin Bieber may have millions of fans worldwide, but Russia’s bears don’t appear to admire the pop singer’s music --- which proved fortunate for one lucky fisherman.
Igor Vorozhbitsyn had his life saved by a Justin Bieber ringtone, when his mobile phone went off during a dangerous attack by a brown bear.
The 42-year-old was attacked as he was walking to a favourite fishing spot in northern Russia’s Yakutia Republic and firmly believed that he was going to be killed.
Wildlife experts believe the ringtone must have frightened the bear into stopping its attack.
‘Sometimes a sharp shock can stop an angry bear in its attack and that ringtone would be a very unexpected sound for a bear,’ explained one．
Mr Vorozhbitsyn suffered from cuts and severe wounds and was rescued when he was found by other fishermen after using the phone to call for help.
Mr Vorozhbitsyn ---now recovering from his wounds---explained: ‘I had parked my car and was walking towards the spot I’d marked out when there was a tremendous impact on my back and the bear was on top of me.’
‘I couldn’t believe my luck when the phone went off and it run away.’
‘I know that sort of ringtone isn’t to everyone’s taste but my granddaughter loaded it onto my phone for a joke,’ he added.
Adult brown bears can weigh as much as 600kg and have been known to kill wolves and even Siberian tigers.
Finally, this is a proof that Justin Bieber is unbearable
Igor Vorozhbitsyn was attacked when____.
| A．he was fishing at his favourite fishing spot. |
| B．he was walking towards his favourite fishing spot. |
| C．he was phoning his granddaughter. |
| D．he was driving to his favourite fishing spot. |
The bear stopped attacking because___.
| A．Justin Bieber came to rescue Igor Vorozhbitsyn. |
| B．Justin Bieber sang to it. |
| C．Justin Bieber’s ringtone was a sudden fright to it. |
| D．Igor Vorozhbitsyn’s mobile phone was a sudden fright to it. |
What is the writer’s attitude towards Justin Bieber?
| A．positive |
| B．negative |
| C．neutral (中立的) |
| D．not mentioned |
What does the last paragraph imply?
| A．Justin Bieber’s music is popular all over the world. |
| B．Justin Bieber’s music is life-saving. |
| C．Justin Bieber’s music is threatening. |
| D．Even bears cannot stand Justin Bieber’s music. |
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