A recent study of ancient and modern elephants has  come up with the unexpected conclusion that the African elephant is divided into two distinct (不同的) species
The discovery was made by researchers at York and Harvard universities when they were examining the genetic relationship between the ancient woolly mammoth and mastodon to modern elephants—the Asian elephant, African forest elephant and African savanna elephant
Once they obtained DNA sequences (序列) from two fossils (化石),mammoths and mastodons, the team compared them with DNA from modern elephants. They found to their amazement that modern forest and savanna elephants are as distinct from each other as Asian elephants and mammoths.
The scientists used detailed genetic analysis to prove that the African savanna elephants and the African forest elephants have been distinct species for several million years. The divergence of the two species took place around the time of the divergence of Asian elephants and woolly mammoths. This result amazed all the scientists.
There has long been debate in the scientific community that the two might be separate species but this is the most convincing scientific evidence so far that they are indeed different species.
Previously, many naturalists believed that African savanna elephants and African forest elephants were two populations of the same species despite the elephants’ significant size differences. The savanna elephant has an average shoulder height of 3.5metres while the forest elephant has an average shoulder height of 2.5metres. The savanna elephant weighs between six and seven tons, roughly double the weight of the forest elephant. But the fact that they look so different does not necessarily mean they are different species. However, the proof lay in the analysis of the DNA.
Alfred Roca, assistant professor in the department of Animal Sciences at the University of Minois, said, “We now have to treat the forest and savanna elephants as two different units for conservation purpose. Since 1950 all African elephants have been conserved as one species. Now that we know the forest and savanna elephants are two very distinct animals, the forest elephant should become a bigger priority (优先)for conservation purpose .”
【小题1】One of the fossils studied by the researchers is that of ________.

A.the Asian elephantB.the forest elephant
C.the savanna elephantD.the mastodon elephant
【小题2】The underlined word “divergence” in paragraph 4means “________”
A.evolutionB.exhibitionC.separationD.examination
【小题3】The researcher’s conclusion was based on a study of the African elephant’s _____
A.DNAB.heightC.weightD.population
【小题4】What were Alfred Roca’s words mainly about?
A.The conservation of African elephants.
B.The purpose of studying African elephants
C.The way to divide African elephants into two units
D.The reason for the distinction of African elephants
【小题5】Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
A.Naturalist’s Belief about Elephants.
B.Amazing Experiment about Elephants
C.An Unexpected Finding about Elephants
D.A Long scientific Debate about Elephants

Tom, Mary, Jason, Ann 和Juliet想根据各自的兴趣爱好挑选自己喜欢阅读的文章。阅读下面某杂志的文章摘要(A----F),选出适合他们阅读的文章。选项中有一项是多余选项。

A. The Forbidden City, situated in the heart of Beijing, is the largest and the most complete imperial palace and ancient building complex in China. It was home to 24 emperors of the Ming (1368—1644) and Qing (1616—1911) dynasties. The construction of the palaces in the Forbidden City began in 1406. The project spread over 15 years and was not completed until 1470. Most of the buildings in the Forbidden City were rebuilt many times, although they maintained the original style.

B. Mount Tai, the leader of the “Five Sacred Mountains”, is located in the center of Shandong Province, spanning the ranges of Tai’an and Jinan. It covers an area of 550 square kilometers, and its main peak is about 1,532.7 meters high. Mount Tai is a natural museum with many cultural relics and artwork like Heavenly Queen Pool, Red Gate Palace and Mid-Heaven Gate. Besides historic relics, Mount Tai has unique natural scenery.

C. Each year, forecasts of when the blossoms will open are headline news. The information is used by cities to plan cherry blossom festival, travel agencies to schedule tours, and ordinary people to choose dates for parties involving lots of eating and drinking under the trees.

D. Hong Kong is perhaps the best shopping place in the world with reasonable prices, various products and best service. In Hong Kong, shopping is not only a “social activity” but also an important part of recreation and a way of life. Visitors can enjoy the shopping environment and experience the fashion trend.

E. The Leaning Tower of Pisa leans because of the unstable soil on which it was built. The construction started in 1173. The building began to lean as soon as the first three floors were completed. Nevertheless, building continued, and the seven-story structure was finished between 1360 and 1370. It leans a bit more each year, and it was closed for repairs in 1990. Engineers worked to stabilize the foundation and straighten it slightly to prevent damage.

F. Centuries ago, the African elephant inhabited most of the African continent. Today, elephants are found only in the south of the Sahara. As a result of the habitat loss, along with poaching(偷猎), the number of elephants has greatly declined. The decline has caused serious concern about the long-term survival of the species.

以下是Tom, Mary, Jackson, Ann 和Juliet各自的兴趣爱好的描述。请匹配最适合他们喜欢阅读的文章。

1.Tom is a history teacher at Wuhan University. He has a strong desire of studying the ancient Chinese architecture.

2.Mary is a volunteer, who supports and encourages people to protect wild animals and plants.

3.Jason is a student of Houston University. He dreams of seeing Japanese cherry blossoms with his friends. After graduation, he will go on a trip to Japan.

4.Ann is an energetic girl who loves climbing mountains. She said, “Climbing a mountain is hard work, but the higher I climb, the more wonderful my view is.”

5.Juliet often buys new clothes and shoes alone or accompanied by a friend. When she feels annoyed about a matter, going shopping always makes her relaxed.

 

In many cultures white is often associated with something positive. A white-collar job, for instance, is the kind of job many people look for, working with your brain and not your hands.

White has a clean and pure image. That is why doctors, dentists, and nurses usually wear white uniforms. Babies are dressed in white at baptisms(洗礼)and brides wear white wedding gowns at weddings. White in these cases is the symbol of innocence or purity.

Sometimes white is used in expressions that are not good. “Whitewash” is one such expression. At first, “whitewash” meant to paint over something with white paint to make it look better. However, it means something different today: to hide or to cover up mistakes or failures.

A “white elephant” is another example of white used in a negative way. In ancient Thailand, a white elephant was regarded as a sacred animal, but it was very expensive to keep. The kings of those days presented a white elephant to the people they wanted to ruin. Once they received this holy, royal animal as a gift, they were not allowed to sell or kill it. Today, a “white elephant” means something that is big, useless, and unwanted. In America, when people want to get rid of their furniture or clothes, they often have a “white elephant sale”.

1.The text is mainly about________.

    A. the meanings of white in English culture  

B. the history of some English idioms

    C. some interesting customs in English culture

    D. some useful English words and expressions

2.Which expression has an historical background ?

    A. White-wash.                           B. White-collar.

C. White elephant.                         D. White elephant sale.

3.In which statement does “white” have a negative meaning?

A. A boy is dressed in white at baptisms.     

B. A bride wears a white wedding gown.

C. A man whitewashes his crime.        

D. A girl finds a white collar job.

4.From the text we can learn that _______.

   A. a white-elephant sale is useful to the poor    

B. the white color is important in our daily life

   C. a white-collar job used to be easy to get

   D. expressions with white have different meanings

5.The author develops the text mainly by ______.

A. analyzing its cause and effect

B. providing typical examples

C. comparing different ideas

D. following the time order

 

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.

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. According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?

A. The African elephant is the largest animal on earth.

B. African elephants have 300 pounds of plants every day.

C. The African elephant is in a way the builder of the environment like all the other land animals.

D. If the African elephant disappears, the whole ecosystem won’t be affected.

5. 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

 

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