The African elephant, the largest land animal remaining on earth, is of great importance to African ecosystem(生态系统). Unlike other animals, the African elephant is to a great extent the builder of its environment. As a big plant-eater, it largely shapes the forest-and-savanna(大草原)surroundings in which it lives, therefore setting the terms of existence for millions of other animals that live in its habitat(栖息地).

It is the elephant's great desire for food that makes it a disturber of the environment and an important builder of its habitat. In its continuous search for the 300 pounds of plants it must have every day, it kills small trees and underbushes, and pulls branches off big trees. This results in numerous open spaces in both deep tropical forests and in the woodlands that cover part of the African savannas. In these open spaces are numerous plants in various stages of growth that attract a variety of other plant-eaters.

Take the rain forests for example. In their natural state, the spreading branches overhead shut out sunlight and prevent the growth of plants on the forest floor. By pulling down trees and eating plants, elephants make open spaces, allowing new plants to grow on the forest floor. In such situations, the forests become suitable for large hoofed plant-eaters to move around and for small plant-eaters to get their food as well.

What worries scientists now is that the African elephant has become an endangered species. If the elephant disappears, scientists say, many other animals will also disappear from vast areas of forest and savanna, greatly changing and worsening the whole ecosystem.

1.What is the passage mainly about?

A. Disappearance of African elephants.

B. Forests and savannas as habitats for African elephants.

C. The effect of African elephants' search for food.

D. The eating habit of African elephants.

2.What does the underlined phrase “setting the terms” most probably mean?

A. Fixing the time. B. Worsening the state.

C. Improving the quality. D. Deciding the conditions.

3.What do we know about the open spaces in the passage?

A. They result from the destruction of rain forests.

B. They provide food mainly for African elephants.

C. They are home to many endangered animals.

D. They are attractive to plant-eating animals of different kinds.

4.The passage is developed mainly by _____.

A. showing the effect and then explaining the causes

B. pointing out similarities and differences

C. describing the changes in space order

D. giving examples

Everyone has done experiments in high school laboratories,but have you ever thought about designing a satellite to explore space?

On Nov.19,a team of students from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in the US awed peers and even scientists by successfully launching a satellite.

The first satellite designed and built by high school students was sent up into space along with a record-setting.28 other small ones on a rocket were sent from a NASA center in Virginia,CNN reported.It took the students seven years to build.

The students call their tiny satellite TJ3Sat,which is named after their school.It is just 10x10x12 centimeters and weighs only 0.89 kilograms,according to Orbital Sciences,a company which developed the rocket and supported the students’ project.It can be controlled with a smartphone.

Like most satellites,TJ3Sat can send and receive data.The small spacecraft is equipped with a voice synthesizer (合成器),which can switch text to voice and transmit those sounds back to Earth over radio waves,said Orbital officials.In this case,anyone can give it a try via the project’s website (school website) by submitting (提交) a text.The texts that get approved will be sent to the satellite,changed to voice and then broadcast back to Earth via radio waves.

“I can say ‘Go Colonials’on our ground station and when it is on the other side of the world,in India,someone can hear‘Go Colonials’over the radio,”the team explains on the website.

The satellite will stay in space for at least three months.

School principal Evan Glazer told The Washington Post that the project started in 2006 as an activity in the spare time.Later it became a research project for a select group of seniors.

At a time when American students are busy with SATs,the launch of the satellite shows what diligent teenagers can achieve when allowed to pursue their own curiosities,Glazer said.

“It used to be that kids growing up wanted to be an astronaut,” Andrew Petro,program executive (主管) for small spacecraft technology at NASA,said in a statement.“I think we might be seeing kids saying what they want to do is build a spacecraft.The idea here is that they really can do that.”

1.The underlined word “awed” in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to _____.

A.influenced

B.amazed

C.delighted

D.inspired

2.Which of the following statements about TJ3Sat is TRUE according to the article?

A.It took a group of students about a decade to build the satellite.

B.Besides TJ3Sat,28 other small satellites were built by the students.

C.TJ3Sat can receive text messages that the students send into space,which can be changed to voice messages and broadcast back to Earth.

D.TJ3Sat is expected to stay in orbit for the next year,sending out messages together with information about its position in space.

3.According to the article,the launch of the satellite _______.

A.is evidence of the advance of spacecraft technology

B.proves that hard-working teenagers can achieve a lot

C.shows the importance of extracurricular activities at school

D.has inspired many people to take an interest in space travel

违法和不良信息举报电话:027-86699610 举报邮箱:58377363@163.com

精英家教网