Butterflies at Risk

What's causing problems for these beautiful insects?

Something is harming the monarchs. One of the largest butterflies in North America, monarchs are famous for their long migrations(迁徙)covering thousands of miles. Yet the number of monarchs is dropping. Bad weather conditions, putting the butterfly population in danger. Some butterfly experts say that the number of monarch butterflies has been cut by 25 percent. In recent years, unusually cold temperatures and rain have caused monarchs to die in large numbers. These conditions have also caused new butterflies not to hatch(孵化).

Will they return?

Monarchs are very sensitive(敏感的)to change because of the long distances they travel. They cover thousands of miles each year, flying between their winter homes in Mexico or Southern California and their summer homes in the Midwest. Other animals also migrate. And many travel much farther. A bird called the Arctic tern goes round trip between the Arctic and the Antarctic every year. Like the Arctic tern, a type of gray whale has a long migration. It travels 12,400 miles from Baia California in Mexico to waters off Alaska and back. The longest migration ever recorded is by the sooty shearwater. Every year this bird flies 40, 000 miles from New Zealand to the northern part of the Pacific Ocean to find food.

The monarchs don't travel as far as animals like the Arctic tern and the sooty shearwater, but their journey isn't safe. Every year as many as 100 million monarch butterflies leave Mexico for the first leg of the migration. It's hard to imagine that such a large number might be in danger. Yet many scientists tell us that the danger is very real.

In Mexico people are destroying the natural environment. They cut down the trees where millions of monarchs. spend the winter and use chemicals to kill the milkweed, the monarch's favourite food. Monarchs spend the winter in Mexico and California. In both places, development is destroying these winter homes. Unless steps are taken to protect their habitats, the monarchs' migration could become a thing of the past.

"If we lose the whole migration, we lose one of the nation's most magnificent phenomena, " said Chip Taylor, a professor at the University of Kansas. These butterflies are the symbol of richness of biological diversity(生物多样性).

1.Are monarch butterflies famous for their long migrations?

2.What are putting the butterfly population in danger?

3.Where are monarchs' winter homes?

4.In Paragraph 2, what animal has the longest migration?

5.What can people do to protect monarch butterflies?

A long time________, there was a king in India. The king's favourite game was chess.

One day, a wise old man came to the palace and the king________him to a________. The king________the old man, "You can have________prize if you win the game."

The old man said, "If I win the game, I'd like one________for the first square of the chessboard, two________the second, four for the________, and then double the________for each of the________of the squares."

"Is that all?” asked the king. "Wouldn't you like gold or silver________?”

"No, just rice, " replied the old man.

The king and the old man played the game for a long time, finally, the old man won, so the king ordered his men to collect a bag of rice. He________one grain on the first square, two on the second, and so on. The king quickly ________the problem________with all the rice in the country, he would still not have________to put on all the squares!

1.A.before B.ago C.since D.in

2.A.asked B.wanted C.challenged D.changed

3.A.match B.chess C.play D.game

4.A.promised B.promised to C.promises D.promising

5.A.some B.any C.other D.another

6.A.grain of rice B.rice of grain C.grain a D.rice

7.A.in B.for C.to D.of

8.A.three B.four C.third D.forth

9.A.number B.size C.rice D.amount

10.A.rest B.others C.number D.other

11.A.inside B.replace C.instead D.instead of

12.A.puted B.puts C.putting D.put

13.A.realized B.remembered C.completed D.surprised

14.A.if B.even C.though D.after

15.A.rice enough B.rice of enough C.enough rice D.enough of rice

When I was in college, a white cat liked to show up on our campus at times. It was clear that he was a stray (流浪的) cat because he looked thin and weak. Students would play with him after class and feed him all kinds of food. The school didn’t say anything about the cat for a long time.

But one day, we were told that one of the students had an infectious (传染性的) disease. and that the cat was possibly the source(起源). After that, we were not allowed to touch any stray animals on campus. The school started to make efforts to keep animals off campus as well.

Since we were not allowed to feed the white cat, it was hard for him to find food on the street. He became weak and skinny. But while the rest of us ignored (忽视) the cat, a security guard (保安) at our school decided to take on the responsibility of caring for him. He took the cat to an animal hospital for a health check. He then went to a nearby supermarket and bought food for the cat, as well as a small bed for him to sleep in. He made sure the cat was healthy and comfortable.

It might seem like a small effort to some people. But this man risked his job – his only source of income - just to feed a tiny cat who no one else cared for. It was a very heartwarming thing to see.

根据短文内容,回答下列问题。

1.When did the students play with the white cat?

2.Who had an infectious disease?

3.How was the cat when it was hard for him to find food?

4.Where was the cat taken to before he got the food and the bed?

5.What did the writer think of the security guard’s behavior about the stray cat?

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