GUATEMALA CITY(Reuters)---- A fish that lives in mangrove swamps(红树沼泽)across the Americas can live out of water for months at a time, similar to how animals adapted(适应)to land millions of years ago, a new study shows.
The Mangrove Rivulus, a type of small killifish, lives in small pools of water in a certain type of empty nut or even old beer cans in the mangrove swamps of Belize, the United States and Brazil. When their living place dries up, they live on the land in logs(圆木), said Scott Taylor, a researcher at the Brevard Endangered Lands Program in Florida .
The fish, whose scientific name is Rivulus marmoratus, can grow as large as three inches. They group together in logs and breathe air through their skin until they can find water again.
The new scientific discovery came after a trip to Belize.
“We kicked over a log and the fish just came crowding out,” Taylor told Reuters in neighboring Guatemala by telephone. He said he will make his study on the fish known to the public in an American magazine early next year.
In lab tests, Taylor said he found the fish can live up to 66 days out of water without eating.
Some other fish can live out of water for a short period of time. The walking catfish found in Southeast Asia can stay on land for hours at a time, while lungfish found in Australia, Africa and South America can live out of water, but only in an inactive state. But no other known fish can be out of water as long as the Mangrove Rivulus and remain active, according to Patricia Wright, a biologist at Canada’s University of Guelph.
Further studies of the fish may tell how animals changed over time.
“These animals live in conditions similar to those that existed millions of years ago, when animals began making the transition(过渡)form water onto land, ” Wright said.
【小题1】The Mangrove Rivulus is a type of fish that ________.

A.likes eating nuts
B.prefers living in dry places
C.is the longest living fish on earth
D.can stay alive for two months out of water
【小题2】Who will write up a report on mangrove Rivulus?
A.Patricia Wright.
B.Researchers in Guatemala.
C.Scientists from Belize.
D.Scott Taylor.
【小题3】According to the text, lungfish can __________.
A.breathe through its skin
B.move freely on dry land
C.remain alive out of water
D.be as active on land as in water
【小题4】What can we say about the discovery of Mangrove Rivulus?
A.It was made quite by accident.
B.It was based on a lab test of sea life.
C.It was supported by an American magazine.
D.It was helped by Patricia Wright.

It’s easy to see how the sawfish got its name. These frightful creatures can grow to be more than 6 meters long. Their bodies are flat and winged, like underwater airplanes. And their noses are shaped like chainsaws.
Sawfish are food hunters of the sea. When a sawfish is hungry, it waves its sharp-toothed snout(口鼻部)through a group of fish. Then, it lifts its nose and uses its mouth to draw the injured victims.
Hardy(适应力强的)population of sawfish thrived in warm waters along coastlines around the world for thousands of years. Over the past 200 years, however, human actions have severely endangered sawfish. Threats include fishing nets that trap the huge animals, often by mistake.
Some people collect sawfish’s snouts as prizes: One snout recently sold for nearly $ 1,600 online. In some Asian cultures, the toothy snouts are used in ceremonies to drive evil and disease away. And sawfish are also delicious. A growing demand in Asia for the fish’s fins for a pricey soup has contributed to the fish’s loves. Compared with other fish, sawfish give birth late in life and at slow rates, which makes it hard for them to recover from overfishing.
New efforts now aim to restore sawfish population. Beginning next month, an international agreement will provide protection for all seven of the world’s sawfish species. Scientists are hoping that it’s not too late to save the sawfish.
Until 1998, “this fish had never been formally studied in the United States,” says Tonya Wiley of the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Fla. “We didn’t know such basic things as where they live, what habitat they use, how often they breed, how many young they have — even what age sawfish are when they begin breeding.”
Through historical studies and field research, scientists have become aware of how much the fish’s numbers have decreased. Today, there may be 90 percent fewer sawfish than there used to be. Wiley estimates that only 3,000 to 6,000 sawfish remain in US waters.
Sawfish

Descriptions
Size
【小题1】__________
【小题2】 __________
Body: Flat and winged
Nose: Like a chainsaw
【小题3】 __________ of hunting for food
Attacking fish with 【小题4】__________
Drawing the injured victims with its mouth
【小题5】 __________ Sawfish’s disappearance
【小题6】 __________
Sawfish’s snout relates business
Its 【小题7】 __________ and slowly which makes it hard to recover from overfishing
【小题8】__________
Only 10 % sawfish left
3,000 to 6,000 remain in US waters
Efforts
【小题9】__________
Measure
Restoring sawfish population
【小题10】 __________ all seven of the world’s sawfish species
 

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。
One day, there was an elder couple buying fish from me, all of w____ happened was really very special. The Gentleman carried a basket ____ his elbow(肘部) , when the couple were near a pond to look at the fish, there was a pure silver long fin Koi(锦鲤) which about six inches jumped into the basket."Wha----" Their ____(吃惊的) sound drew my eyes. I have worked with fish for a long time, but it ____ the first time I had seen a fish jump up into customer's basket. "You are lucky!" I said to them."Come on, come on, I buy, I buy him!" I looked at them, the couple are so h____and I went to serve them."Anything else?" I asked."Yes, I want to find a partner for her." The gentleman was humorous. They were looking for another fish through the fish ____(池塘) one by one, I brought a net and the fish bag f____ them, the fish were always swimming towards us and asking for food in every pond. "What’s the matter with the fish?" The lady asked."They are hungry." I said."No, not hungry, they knew us and greeting us." The gentleman said."Yes, definitely!" I said. We stopped for a ____ minutes by a fish pond."How about that fish?" The lady pointed ___ a colourful Sarasa(红白色相间的印花布)Comet."It looks so beautiful!" The gentleman and I said same words."I want to buy it b____ she looked at me. You see, she still looked at me, I’ll buy her. "The couple were happy, I was happy too, the fish will be happy in its new home.

The beggar’s well-deserved dinner

Many years ago, there lived two woodcutters, Rahim and Rahman in a village. They went out every    36   to cut fire wood. After cutting wood. They would sit down and   37   their lunch from their boxes. Next they would   38   the firewood till the end of the day in the marketplace before going    39  .

One day, they were eating their lunch when Rahim noticed a beggar. The beggar   40   eyed the lunch and said, “I wonder if you can spare a little food for me.” Rahim, who felt   41  for him, was about to give him some of it, but was   42   back by Rahman. “ We   43   hard throughout the morning and   44   enough food for ourselves to see us through the   45   .  So you see we cannot give you any food. But if you   46  , I can lend you my axe and we both will teach you how to cut firewood and sell it. And you’ll have   47   to eat and buy yourself a(n)   48   axe to cut more fire wood. This way, you can   49   a livelihood with dignity (尊严).”

The beggar joined them.   50  , Rahman showed him how to cut firewood. Thereafter they took him to the   51   and told him how to sell it.

At the end of the day, the beggar proudly took the   52   to Rahman to show them his earnings. Rahman took him to buy a new axe. Then the beggar entered an inn (客栈).

After he had gone, Rahman told Rahim, “By teaching him how to   53   his own trade, we have taught him a skill, which will last him a   54  . Now he will hever go hungry again.” As a very famous saying goes, “Don’t give them fish   55   teach them how to catch the fish.”

1.

A.year

B.weekend

C.evening

D.morning

 

2.

A.spare

B.eat

C.cook

D.change

 

3.

A.sell

B.burn

C.cut

D.keep

 

4.

A.away

B.out

C.home

D.around

 

5.

A.quietly

B.happily

C.calmly

D.hungrily

 

6.

A.anxious

B.sorry

C.good

D.angry

 

7.

A.pulled

B.driven

C.thrown

D.beaten

 

8.

A.listen

B.prepare

C.search

D.work

 

9.

A.buy

B.collect

C.pack

D.grow

 

10.

A.noon

B.day

C.term

D.rest

 

11.

A.wish

B.know

C.doubt

D.believe

 

12.

A.anything

B.everything

C.enough

D.none

 

13.

A.extra

B.big

C.small

D.new

 

14.

A.accept

B.earn

C.lead

D.express

 

15.

A.Patiently

B.Simply

C.Directly

D.Quickly

 

16.

A.shelter

B.hill

C.market

D.street

 

17.

A.lunch

B.firewood

C.axe

D.money

 

18.

A.start

B.leave

C.seek

D.support

 

19.

A.decade

B.week

C.lifetime

D.century

 

20.

A.so

B.but

C.if

D.or

 

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