A new study says that birds living in big cities sing shorter, faster songs that are higher-pitched (高音调的) than those sung by their brothers in the forests. The researchers think that the birds adjust their songs to allow themselves to be heard over the noises of the city, especially the low traffic noise.

To study how urban birds song, Hans Slabbekoorn and Ardie den Bore, biologists at the University of Leiden in Netherlands, travelled around Europe and recorded bird songs in ten major cities and in nearby forests. The species they focused on, the great tit (大山雀), is widespread across Eurasia and one of the few types of birds that thrives in big cities.

Singing is crucial (重要的) for males, which use their songs to attract mates and mark out their territory. The changing songs could play a role in eventually causing the city birds and the forest dwellers to evolve into separate species.

The findings could also help explain why usually only a few bird species thrive in cities. By contrast, many more bird species tend to be found in forests and other undeveloped habitats.

Studies like this could eventually help researchers predict how urbanization (都市化) will affect birds, using this knowledge could help urban planners design more pleasant city environments, study co-author Slabbe-koorn said. “You can make a city much more livable if you pay attention to where the noise goes and where the people go,” he said. “It would be easy to fit the birds into those models.” Then cities wouldn’t be strictly for the people, but also for the birds.

1. Which is the best title of the passage?

A. Birds Change Songs to Suit Country Life

B. Birds Change Sex to Suit Urban Life

C. Birds Change Living Habits to Suit Urban Life

D. Birds Change Songs to Suit Urban Life

2. Males usually sing their songs to ____.

A. evolve into another species

B. attract mates and mark out their living area

C. attract city people’s attention and make them supply food

D. allow themselves to be heard over the noises of the city

3. The underlined word “thrives” in the second paragraph means “____”.

A. dies       B. survives       C. suffers     D. travels

4.What is NOT the effect that studies of birds’ songs have?

A. Predicting how course of the city’s expanding will affect birds.

B. Helping the city planners design more pleasant city environments.

C. Making cities more livable for both the birds and people.

D. Driving the urban birds back to the forest.

RESOURCES BELONG TO THE SOCIETY

When I arrived in Hamburg Germany, my colleague who worked there arranged a welcome party for me in a  36 . We noticed a few customers including several old ladies, were having their meal. When a dish is  37 , the waiter would distribute the food for them, and they would  38 every bit of the food on their plates.

As I was hungry, my local colleague  39 much food for me. Since there were other things to do, we did not  40 much time dining. When we planned to leave, there was still about one third of  41 food left. When we were leaving the restaurant, we  42 someone calling us. When the old ladies spoke to us in English, we understood that they were  43 about us wasting so much food.

“We  44 for our food; it is none of your  45 how much food we left behind”, my colleague told the old ladies. They got angry, and one of them  46 made a call to someone. After a while, an officer in  47 arrived. Upon knowing what had happened, he issued us a 50-euro  48 . The officer told us in a stern（严厉的）voice: “order  49 you can consume. Money is yours,   50 the resources belong to the society. You have no  51 for wasting them.” Our face turned red. We all agreed with him in our  52 . My colleague took out a 50-euro note and repeatedly  53 to the officer.

My colleague copied the fine ticket and gave a copy to each of us as a souvenir. We all  54 it to remind us that we should never be  55 .

Prepare: Plan ahead and think about what you are going to say. In the words of Mark Twain, it usually takes you more than three weeks to prepare for it.

Know your subject: Always make sure that you know the subject and have background information at hand for question time.

Know you audience: Find out who you will be addressing so that you can tailor(适合) your comments accordingly.

Make a point: Keep your speech short and brief and have a few clear points that you need to convey(传达).

Practice: Never learn your speech by heart as your speech will become stilted, but do practice it a few times in front of the mirror, your parents or your dog.

Eye contact: If the thought of looking into a sea of faces scares you, adjust your gaze（注视）regularly at different points in the room to create the same effect.

First impressions: Your first impression is important when making a public presentation. Find out about dress codes(准则) at the place so that you look your best and, if possible, check the microphone beforehand to ensure you know how to use it.

Get help: If public presentations are a major part of your life, read up on the art of speech---writing and delivery to improve your skills.

1.The advice benefits (有益于)____________________.

2.Knowing your subject helps you __________.

3. The underlined word “stilted” probable means ________ here.

4.If asked for more advice besides what has been mentioned in the text, you may suggest ______.

As the railroads and the highways shaped the American West in the past centuries, a new electrical generating(发电)and transmission (输送) system for the 21^st century will leave a lasting mark on the West, for better or worse. Much of the real significance of railroads and highways is not in their direct physical effect on the scenery, but in the ways that they affect the surrounding community. The same is true of big solar plants and the power lines that will be laid down to move electricity around.

The 19 ^th century saw land grants(政府拨地) offered to railroad companies to build the transcontinental railroads, leaving public land in between privately owned land. In much of the West, some of the railroad sections were developed while others remained undeveloped, and in both cases the landownership has presented unique challenges to land management. With the completion of the interstate highway system, many of the small towns, which sprang up as railway stops and developed well, have lost their lifeblood and died.

Big solar plants and their power lines will also have effects far beyond their direct footprint in the West. This is not an argument against building them. We need alternative energy badly, and to really take advantage of it we need to be able to move electricity around far more readily than we can now.

So trade-offs will have to be made. Some scenic spots will be sacrificed. Some species(物种) will be forced to move, or will be carefully moved to special accommodations. Deals will be struck to reduce the immediate effects.

The lasting effects of these trade-offs are another matter. The 21^st century development of the American West as an ideal place for alternative energy is going to throw off a lot of power and money in the region. There are chances for that power and money to do a lot of good. But it is just as likely that they will be spent wastefully and will leave new problems behind, just like the railroads and the highways.

The money set aside in negotiated trade-offs and the institutions that control it will shape the West far beyond the immediate footprint of power plants and transmission lines. So let’s remember the effects of the railroads and the highways as we construct these new power plants in the West.

1.What was the problem caused by the construction of the railways?

A．Small towns along the railways became abandoned.

B．Land in the West was hard to manage.

C．Some railroad stops remained underused.

D．Land grants went into private hands.

2.What is the major concern in the development of alternative energy according to the last two paragraphs?

A．The use of money and power.

B．The transmission of power.

C．The conservation of solar energy.

D．The selection of an ideal place.

3.What is the author’s attitude towards building solar plants?

A．Disapproving.      B．Approving.         C．Doubtful.          D．Cautious.

4.Which is the best title for the passage?

A．How the Railways Have Affected the West

B．How the Effects of Power Plants Can Be Reduced

C．How Solar Energy Could Reshape the West

D．How the Problems of the Highways Have Been Settled

A new study says that birds living in big cities sing shorter, faster songs that are higher-pitched (高音调的) than those sung by their brothers in the forests. The researchers think that the birds adjust their songs to allow themselves to be heard over the noises of the city, especially the low traffic noise.
To study how urban birds song, Hans Slabbekoorn and Ardie den Bore, biologists at the University of Leiden in Netherlands, travelled around Europe and recorded bird songs in ten major cities and in nearby forests. The species they focused on, the great tit (大山雀), is widespread across Eurasia and one of the few types of birds that thrives in big cities.
Singing is crucial (重要的) for males, which use their songs to attract mates and mark out their territory. The changing songs could play a role in eventually causing the city birds and the forest dwellers to evolve into separate species.
The findings could also help explain why usually only a few bird species thrive in cities. By contrast, many more bird species tend to be found in forests and other undeveloped habitats.
Studies like this could eventually help researchers predict how urbanization (都市化) will affect birds, using this knowledge could help urban planners design more pleasant city environments, study co-author Slabbe-koorn said. “You can make a city much more livable if you pay attention to where the noise goes and where the people go,” he said. “It would be easy to fit the birds into those models.” Then cities wouldn’t be strictly for the people, but also for the birds.
【小题1】 Which is the best title of the passage?

A．Birds Change Songs to Suit Country Life

B．Birds Change Sex to Suit Urban Life

C．Birds Change Living Habits to Suit Urban Life

D．Birds Change Songs to Suit Urban Life