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 that 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.

1.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

2.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.

3.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

 

A close friend of mine lives with six hundred wild animals on the Greek Island of Kyklos.Ever since he left school (where I first knew him),he has travelled all over the world collecting animals for his very own zoo.He hoped to collect at least two examples of every sort of animal on his island before the Great Flood. But the flood that my friend was afraid of was a flood not of water, but of people. I expect you have heard of my friend: he writes books about his travels,and about the wild and wonderful animals that he collects. The money from the books helps to pay for all the food that these animals eat.

My friend told me that when he was out looking for water last week,(there is not enough water on the island,though there is plenty all round it,)he found oil.He needs money for his travels,and for his zoo,and a little oil would buy enough water for a lifetime;but he knows that if he tells anybody else about it,it will be the end of his zoo, and his life's work.

So,if I know my friend,he will not tell anybody (but you and me)about what he found—because oil and water do not mix.

1.My friend lives________.

A.on an island in the middle of great flood

B.at the school that we used to go to on Kyklos

C.on a Greek island with six hundred animals

D.all over the world;he is always travelling

2.Since he left school________.

A.he has collected books about every sort of animal

B.he has lived in zoos all over the world

C.he has lived all the time on a Greek island

D.he has travelled all over the world collecting animals

3.The flood,of which my friend was afraid, was ________.

A.a flood of too many people

B.a great flood of water

C.a flood of too many animals on his island

D.a flood of oil

 

(Reuters) — A group of Chinese scientists and explorers are looking for international help to organize a new search for the country’s answer to Bigfoot, known locally as the “Yeren”, or “wild man”.

Over the years, more than 400 people have said they saw the half-man, half-ape (半猿) Yeren in a remote, mountainous area of the central province of Hubei, state news agency Xinhua said on Saturday.

Expeditions (探险) in the 1970s and 1980s found hair, a footprint, and a sleeping nest suspected(怀疑) of belonging to the Yeren, but there has been no conclusive proof (确凿的证据), the report added.

Witnesses(目击者) describe a creature that walks upright and is more than 2 meters tall with grey, red or black hair all over its body, Xinhua said.

Now the Hubei Wild Man Research Association is looking for volunteers from around the world to join them on another expedition to look for the Yeren.

“We want the team members to be devoted, as there will be a lot of hard work in the process,” Luo Baosheng, vice president of the group, told Xinhua.

But the team will have to come up with about 10 million yuan ($1.50 million) first, and is talking to companies and other bodies to secure the money, so there is no timetable yet for when they may start, the report added.

China is no stranger to crypto zoology. There are many tales about mysterious, monster-like creatures in remote parts of the country. For example, Tibetans have long talked about the existence of the Yeti (喜马拉雅雪人), or “Abominable Snowman”, in the high mountains of their snowy homeland.

1.What the volunteers for this expedition need most is _____.

A. experience B. enthusiasm

C. confidence D. devotion

2.The timetable for starting the trip depends on _____.

A. the number of explorers

B. government’s support

C. the money

D. local people’s guiding

3.According to the text, the underlined word “crypto zoology” in the last paragraph probably refers to _____.

A. the study of mysterious animals

B. the study of human beings

C. dangerous expeditions

D. tourism industry

4.What would be the best title for this text?

A. Volunteers for an expedition needed

B. Scientists to look for China’s Bigfoot

C. International cooperation in finding wild animals

D. Yeren appeared in Hubei again

 

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