As they migrate（迁移) , butterflies and moths choose the winds they want to fly with, and they change their body positions if they start floating in the wrong direction. This new finding suggests that insects may employ some of the same methods that birds use for traveling long distances. Scientists have long thought that insects were simply at the mercy of the wind.
Fascinating as their skills of flight are, migrating behavior has been difficult to study in insects because many long distant trips happen thousands of feet above ground. Only recently have scientists developed technologies that can detect such little creatures at such great heights.
To their surprise, though, the insects weren't passive travelers on the winds. In autumn, for example, most light winds blew from the east, but the insects somehow sought out ones that carried them south and they positioned themselves to navigate directly to their wintering homes.
Even in the spring, when most winds flowed northward, the insects didn't always go with the flow. If breezes weren't blowing in the exact direction they wanted to go, the insects changed their body positions to compensate. Many migrating birds do the same thing.
The study also found, butterflies and moths actively flew within the air streams that pushed them along. By adding flight speeds to wind speeds, the scientists calculated that butterflies and moths can travel as fast as 100 kilometers an hour. The findings may have real-world applications. With climate warming, migrating insects are growing in number. Knowing how and when these pests move could help when farmers decide when to spray their crops.
【小题1】 What's the main idea of the text?

Animals are natural resources that people have wasted all through our history.
Animals have been killed for their fur and feathers, for food, for sport, and simply because they were in the way. Thousands of kinds of animals have disappeared from the earth forever. Hundreds more are on the danger list today. About 170 kinds in the United States alone are considered in danger.
Why should people care? Because we need animals. And because once they are gone, there will never be any more.
Animals are more than beautiful or interesting or a source of food. Every animal has its place in the balance of nature. Destroying one kind of animal can create many problems.
For example, when farmers killed large numbers of hawks(鹰), the farmers’ stores of corn and grain were destroyed by rats and mice. Why? Because hawks eat rats and mice. With no hawks to keep down their numbers, the rats and mice multiplied(繁殖) quickly.
Luckily, some people are working to help save the animals. Some groups raise money to let people know about the problem. And they try to get the governments to pass laws protecting animals in danger.
Quite a few countries have passed laws. These laws forbid the killing of any animal or plant on the danger list. Slowly, the number of some animals in danger is growing.
【小题1】Why do people kill animals?

Animals are natural resources that people have wasted all through our history.

Animals have been killed for their fur and feathers, for food, for sport, and simply because they were in the way. Thousands of kinds of animals have disappeared from the world forever. Hundreds more are on the danger list today. About 170 kinds in the United States alone are considered in danger.

Why should people care? Because we need animals. And because once they are gone, there will never be any more.

Animals are more than just beautiful and interesting. They are more than just a source of food. Every animal has its place in the balance of nature. Destroying one kind of animal can create many problems.

For example, when farmers killed large numbers of hawks(老鹰), the farmers stores of corn and grain were destroyed by rats and mice. Why? Because hawks eat rats and mice. With no hawks to keep down their numbers, the rats and mice multiplied(繁殖) quickly.

Luckily, some people are working to help save the animals. Some groups raise money to let people know about the problem. And they try to get the governments to pass laws protecting animals in danger.

Quite a few countries have passed laws. These laws forbid the killing of any animals or plants on the danger list. Slowly, the number of some animals in danger is growing.

1.Animals are important to us mainly because____.

2.What has happened to the animals on the earth?

3.Which of the following is NOT true?

4.What can we infer from the fact that quite a few countries have passed laws protecting animals in danger?

For the past year, the World Food Program has operated a project to prevent hunger in twenty-one countries in Africa. In the project, the United Nations agency works with small farmers to grow more and better produce.

The World Food Program buys the produce through local cooperative associations. Then it distributes the products within the country or area. The project works mainly with women. Sheila Sisulu from the World Food Program says the project aims to break a cycle that keeps people hungry. The situation is that farmers have to sell their produce at low prices after harvest, when supplies are greatest. Then they have to pay high prices to buy food for themselves during the "lean season," when supplies are limited.

But when farmers produce more food, they can sell more. And when they produce high-quality food, they can get higher prices. They can also store food for themselves, and have enough money to buy food if they need to during the lean season. Sheila Sisulu says the farmers are now starting to earn profits through the project.

The Food and Agriculture Organization and the International Fund for Agricultural Development help the farmers choose the best seeds and fertilizers. They also advise the farmers on the quality levels that the World Food Program requires to buy their produce.

Two other groups recently launched a separate effort to increase food security in Africa. The groups are the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa and the New Partnership for Africa's Development. They say African governments have to increase their investment in agriculture in order to fight problems related to climate change. The groups want the governments to develop programs in seeds, soil health, policy and markets.

Former United Nations chief Kofi Annan is the chairman of AGRA. The group's president, Namanga Ngongi, says many African governments are not meeting a target of spending ten percent of their national budgets on agriculture. But he says investment has risen from four percent of national budgets to probably five and a half percent today.

1. The underlined word “lean” in Paragraph 2 probably has the same meaning with ______.

A. He is a tall, lean and handsome boy, liked by many girls.

B. The changes made the company leaner and more competitive.

C. The company recovered well after going through several lean years.

D. The doctor told him that lean meat was healthier for his mother than fatty meat.

2. According to Sheila Sisulu, the project _____.

A. distributes the products within the whole world

B. has benefited few African farmers during the past year

C. enables the African farmers to sell their produce at low prices after harvest

D. can help the farmers to get away from the situation that keeps them hungry

3. The problem of hunger in Africa can possibly be relieved by ______.

A. United Nations chief

B. the World Food Program

C. African governments and farmers

D. the Food and Agriculture Organization

4. Which can be the best title?

A. Hunger, the most serious problem in Africa      

B. Two efforts seek to increase food security in Africa

C. A project to grow more and better produce in Africa

D. More investments in agriculture by African governments

Save the Animals

Animals are natural resources(资源) that people have wasted all through our history.

Animals have been killed for their fur and feathers(羽毛), for food, for sport, and simply because they were in the way. Thousands of kinds of animals have disappeared from the earth forever. Hundreds more are on the danger list today. About 170 kinds in the United States alone are considered in danger.

Why should people care? Because we need animals. And because once they are gone, there will never be any more.

Animals are more than just beautiful or interesting. They are more than just a source of food. Every animal has its place in the balance of nature. Destroying one kind of animal can create many problems.

For example, when farmers killed large numbers of hawks(鹰), the farmers’ stores of corn and grain were destroyed by rats and mice. Why? Because hawks eat rats and mice. With no hawks to keep down their numbers, the rats and mice multiplied(繁殖) quickly.

Luckily, some people are working to help save the animals. Some groups raise money to let people know about the problem. And they try to get the governments to pass laws protecting animals in danger.

Quite a few countries have passed laws. These laws forbid(禁止) the killing of any animal or plant on the danger list. Slowly, the number of some animals in danger is growing.

1.Animals are important to us mainly because __________.

 A. they give us a source of food                B. they are beautiful and lovely

 C. they keep the balance of nature              D. they give us a lot of pleasure

2.What has happened to the animals on the earth?

A. About 170 kinds of animals have disappeared forever.

B. Thousands of kinds of animals are gone forever.

C. A few kinds of animals have died out.

D. All kinds of animals are in danger.

3.Why do people kill animals?

A. They kill animals for something they need.

B. They kill animals to raise some money.

C. Animals destroy their natural resources.

D. Animals create many problems.

4.Which of the following is NOT TRUE?

A. People care much about animals because they need them.

B. Killing all rats and mice may cause some new problems.

C. Once a certain kind of animal is gone forever, there will never be any more.

D. People must not kill any animal or plant.

5.What can we conclude from the fact that quite a few countries have passed laws protecting animals in danger?

A. Animals in danger will be kept away from people.

B. Animals in danger will not be killed any more.

C. The number of some animals in danger will increase.

D. Every person will know the importance of protecting wild animals.