When people want to know about the weather,they usually go to their radios,TVs, newspapers,or to the Internet.However,you can also find many weather signs among wildlife, because of their highly developed senses.Drops in air pressure(压力) produce an effect on small animals in many ways.Mice and deer are good weather indicators.People who spend a lot of time outdoors have observed that,before a storm,field mice come out of their holes and run around.Deer leave high ground and come down from the mountains.

Birds are especially good weather indicators because they also show the effect of a pressure drop in many ways.For example,some birds become irritable(急躁的) and quarrelsome and will fight over a piece of bread.Other birds chirp(叽叽喳喳) and sing just before a storm.It seems they know they won’t get another chance for an hour or two.Birds also seek safe places before a storm.You will sometimes see birds settling in trees or gathering together on a wire close to a building.Pre-storm low pressure makes the air so thin that birds have difficulty flying.

It is unusual to see many birds flying overhead in the summertime,rather than during the periods in the spring or autumn.Watch for other weather signs if you see this.If they fly in the wrong direction,they may be flying ahead of a storm.

By paying closer attention to some important signs in nature,we can become better prepared for any kind of weather.

The word “indicators” in Paragraph 1 probably means ______.

A.maps                                                           B.services

C.signs                                                            D.stations

There will be a storm if birds ______.

A.make more noise than usual

B.fly in different directions

C.come down from tall trees

D.share a piece of bread

How can birds sense the coming of a storm?

A.By feeling a drop in air temperature.

B.By noticing the change of wind directions.

C.By feeling a drop in air pressure.

D.By noticing the movements of other animals.

The best title for the text would be ______.

A.Signs of a Storm

B.Drops in Air Pressure

C.Animals’ Sharp Senses

D.Nature’s Weather Signs

Starving polar bears are eating one another in the Arctic. Flowers are blooming too soon and die. The ice caps are melting so fast that rising water levels will threaten coastal towns along Florida within several decades. These are just a few examples of the terrible consequences of climate change supported by a new analysis in Nature.

   In the past three decades, average global temperatures have risen about 0. 6°C and are projected to jump by about 1. 7°C by the end of the century, says Cynthia Rosenzweig, who leads the Climate Impacts Group at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies at Columbia University in New York. “We’ve already seen that a relatively low amount of warming,” she says, “can lead to a broad range of changes. ”

   The unnatural warming caused by man-made greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide produced by cars and coal-powered plants, brings trouble for entire ecosystems. In North America alone, scientists have identified 89 species of plants, such as the American holly that have flowered earlier in the spring. In Spain, apple trees bloom 35 days ahead of schedule in response to the higher temperatures. Other wildlife, like the insects that use certain plants for food and the birds that feed on the insects, must then move forward their seasonal stirrings(萌动) and mating(交配) patterns to survive.

   To try to follow this time shift, some birds such as robins, the classic symbol of winter’s thaw(解冻时期), are returning to Colorado from their migrations some two weeks earlier than in years past. All these changes can throw a food chain in disorder. Some bird species that arrive before the insects reappear may starve to death.

   “Around the world, plants and animals are waking up to an earlier alarm clock than they used to,” says Terry Root, a biologist from Stanford University.  

The underlined word “projected”(in Paragraph 2) probably means “____”.

       A. forced           B. presented         C. indicated       D. predicted

According to the third paragraph, as a result of climate change ____ .

       A. the warm weather wakes animals up earlier

       B. certain trees bloom a season ahead of time

       C. the birds need to change patterns of living

       D. the American holly will flower in late spring

What can we know about robins according to the passage?

       A. Farmers depend on them to tell the time.

      B. They used to come back when spring came.

      C. They used to predict the change of weather.

      D. They usually migrate when seasons change.

What would be the best title for the passage?

       A. Man is to blame for global warming     

       B. Great changes take place on Earth

      C. Bird migration and climate change

       D. Global warming changing nature’s clock

When it comes to social behaviourmammals are in a league of their own.Some birds may form pairsor even cooperate to huntbut the complexity (复杂性) of their relationships can hardly compare to those within a school of dolphinsa herd of elephants or a group of humans.What makes mammalian social groups different from a flock of starlings or a shoal of fishis that in many cases the individuals could recognize each other.Although we may think that? all elephants look pretty much the samewe can easily tell individuals of our own species apart and it has become clear through studies that the same is true of other species.Dolphins have their own signature whistles that act like “names”and elephants can recognize and greet other individuals they have known but not seen for many years.This is something that only a few species of birds appear to be able to do.

Mammals in complex social groups not only recognize each other as individualsbut also they remember a lot of information about that individual.Social groups often rely on this memory—such as knowing who is dominant to whomwho is related to whomand who has done what to whom in the past.It’s like remembering who you have lent money to or done a favour forand who hasn’t repaid that money or has talked about you behind your back.You have to learn who to trustwho your friends areand who to watch out for.

All this remembering goes on in a particular part of the brain called the neocortex (大脑皮层)If you compare the size of a mammal’s social group with the size of this part of the brainyou will find they are remarkably closely related.This area seems to take a long time to develop fully and animals in which it is very large take a very? long time to grow up to adulthood.During this timethe youngster has to learn all the rules of social behaviour in their group and to piece together all? the relationships between the group membersKnowledge that will be needed to avoid getting into trouble.

1.What is special about a mammalian social group according to the passage?

AAll the individuals cooperate to hunt.

BThe individuals can communicate with each other.

CThe individuals can recognize each other.

DThe individuals form closer relationship.

2.The passage suggests that elephants________.

Aare cleverer than dolphins

Bcan recognize other species

Cmay mistake a member for another

Dhave good memories

3. Animals whose area of the neocortex is large________.

Awill have a long period of time before they become adults

Bwill spend a shorter time learning the necessary knowledge

Cwill learn the necessary knowledge much more easily

Dwill have more difficulty in growing up as adults

4. If the neocortex is largerthe animals________.

Acan live a longer life

Bhave a smaller social group

Chave a larger social group

Dhave a greater body size

 

阅读下面短文,根据以下提示:1)汉语提示,2)首字母提示,3)语境提示,在每个空格内填入一个适当的英语单词,并将该词完整地写在右边相对应的横线上。所填单词要求意义准确,拼写正确。

Last week I went on an eco-travel with a travel agency.

All the way we enjoyed the beautiful scenery and f          air.

But a few of us picked flowers           going sightseeing.

Some even tried to catch some birds. What was          ,

many tourists t          rubbish here and there.

I don’t think this is an eco-travel. A true eco-travel is a tour

that not only a          us to express our love for nature, but

needs our          (责任) as well. As we enjoy the beauty of nature,

we should try our best to protect          . And we should also try to

protect wildlife. A true eco-travel should be           this:

take nothing away but your good          (记忆); leave nothing

b          but all the green trees and the clean water.

                          

76.                     

77.                     

78.                     

79.                     

                     

80.                     

81.                     

82.                     

83.                     

84.                   

85.                     

 

       If your mother wants to tell you something, she uses words. Birds cannot talk as we do. But some birds can make sounds to warn their young of danger. They have their own way to make the young birds do certain things.

The jackdaw is a kind of blackbirds that lives in Europe. Jackdaws live together in flocks(群).Young jackdaws do not know their enemies. When an older jackdaw sees a dog, it makes a loud rattling(格格响的)sound. The younger birds know this sound means an enemy is nearby. The sound warns them to know their enemies.

If a young jackdaw is in a dangerous place, a jackdaw parent flies over him from behind. The parent bird flies low over the young bird’s back. The parent’s tail feathers(羽毛) move quickly from side to side. It is trying to say,“Follow me.”At the same time, the parent calls out,“Key-aw,”key-aw.”The parent means,“Fly home with me.”The young bird then follows the older one home. Young jackdaws do not have to learn what certain sounds mean. They know the meaning of these sounds form the time they hatch(孵出).

72.The jackdaw lives in       .

A.Europe     B.Australia   C.America   D.Africa

73.Which of the following does this story lead you to believe?

A.All animal parents can talk to their young.   

B.Dogs are the most dangerous enemies for jackdaws.

C.Young jackdaws know the meaning of their parents’ sound when they grow older.

D.Some birds can give certain information to one another.

74.Parent jackdaw can use their tail feathers to       .

A.ask their young to follow them      B.play a game with the young

C.tell the meal time            D.give a warning of a fire

75.This story tells much about       .

A.the danger of jackdaws   

B.ways in which mother can talk to their children

C.the way jackdaws warn their young of danger

D.how the jackdaw are living

76.When an old jackdaw sees a dog, it       .

A.calls out,“Follow me.”       B.makes a loud sound

C.flies away               D.fights the dog

 

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