Scientists are trying to save Puerto Rico’s endangered Amazon parrots after Hurricane Maria destroyed the birds’ habitats and food sources(来源).
El Yunque is a large national forest on the eastern part of Puerto Rico. Just two of the 56 wild parrots that once lived there survived Maria, the Category-4 storm that struck Puerto Rico in September 2017. Scientists report other forests have seen great drops in parrot populations as well.
In the 1800s, there were more than a million of the bright green parrots living in the wild in Puerto Rico. By the 1970s, the number was down to just 13 birds after years of forest clearing.
A special program was started in 1972 to help increase the parrot population, which led to the creation of three breeding(繁殖) centers. Just weeks before Hurricane Maria hit, scientists counted 56 wild parrots at El Yunque. That was the highest number in the program’s history. Scientists say that even though several parrots have been born in captivity(笼养) and in the wild since Maria, the species is still in danger.
The Puerto Rican Amazon is the island’s only remaining native parrot. More than 460 of the birds are kept inside the breeding centers at El Yunque and the Rio Abajo forest. Scientists have not released(释放) any of the birds since Hurricane Maria. A third breeding center, in a forest in the western area of Maricao, has not been in operation since the storm.
Scientists are considering whether to catch some of the remaining wild parrots and put them in the same cage as the birds that are set to be released. This way, the captive birds can learn from the wild birds how to survive in the forests. Another consideration is to release some captive parrots in Maricao, which was not as heavily damaged by Maria.
1.Why has the parrot population greatly decreased in the past 200 years?
A. Because of Hurricane Maria.
B. Because of too much hunting.
C. Because of the loss of forests.
D. Because of lack of breeding centers.
2.Which of the following is true about Hurricane Maria?
A. It killed 56 wild parrots at El Yunque.
B. It greatly affected parrots in captivity.
C. It reduced the number of wild parrots.
D. It led to the creation of three breeding centers.
3.What can we infer about Amazon parrots in captivity?
A. They have the highest number in the history.
B. They have been released since Hurricane Maria.
C. They are used to living in the wild.
D. They are larger in number than those in the wild.
4.What is the best title for the text?
A. Scientists Work to Save Puerto Rican Parrots.
B. Amazon Parrots are in Danger of Disappearing.
C. A Special Program Helps Increase the Parrot Population.
D. Hurricane Maria Reduced the Number of Amazon Parrots.
It’s apparently become a trend in schools around the world to ban students from using the term, “best friends,” according to psychologist Dr. Barbara Greenberg. The movement, which is believed to have started in Prince George's school in South London, isn't intended to discourage close friendships, but rather encourage a wider friend group, Greenberg says.
“Let’s face it. You can’t ban somebody from having a close relationship, and you can’t really ban somebody from having a best friend but what the schools are trying to do is foster the idea of kids having more than a single friend,” Greenberg said.
The idea is to increase the number of interactions a student may have with different members of his or her peer group. “I see kids come in all week long who are feeling awful because they are either nobody’s best friend or their best friend has moved on,” Greenberg says.
Jay Jacobs, who operates Timber Lake Camp in New York, stresses the downside of not fostering multiple relationships at a young age, for exactly that reason. “I think that there are problems in just having one friend,” Jacobs says. “Remember as you grow up, interests change, and children go in different directions.” Jacobs adds that teachers at Timber Lake, which changes positions between Glen Cove in winter and Shandake in summer, have made it a point to promote a more inclusive environment for years.
Jacobs reminds people that, “As you grow up, interests change, and children go in different directions,” so having only one friend can be risky. He holds the belief that children will be better set up for success later in life if they get used to having a wider friend group at a young age. “It’s about promoting kindness, looking to children to be kind to one another and to be aware of what it looks like when you’re not,” Jacobs says.
1.Why do schools ban the term “best friends”?
A. To make students concentrate on their studies.
B. To encourage students to make more friends.
C. To prevent students from falling in love at a young age.
D. To discourage students from having a close relationship.
2.Why are some kids feeling awful according to Greenberg?
A. Their best friends have moved house.
B. They are banned from making best friends.
C. They are under great pressure from study.
D. Their best friends have started new friendships.
3.What does the underlined word “downside” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?
A. Mistake. B. Difficulty.
C. Drawback. D. Burden.
4.What would be Jay Jacobs’ attitude to Greenberg’s idea?
A. Supportive. B. Doubtful.
C. Opposed. D. Unconcerned.
Four Free Mobile Apps to Help You Learn English Faster
Have you realized that you can put your smartphone to really good use for learning English? Here are 4 free mobile apps that will help you do just that.
Hello English
It covers all the aspects of language learning, including vocabulary, translation, grammar, spellings, spoken and reading skills. It uses interactive games to teach different English lessons and offers new audiobooks, latest news, and books. However, you should already understand basic English structures and alphabets, for the app can’t help you learn English from scratch(从零开始).
Duolingo
If you want to learn English from scratch, then this is the app you are looking for. Duolingo uses interactive games to help you learn English. For beginners, the app focuses on helping you learn verbs, phrases and sentences.
Lingbe
If you are ready to practice your spoken skills in the real-world, you’ll need Lingbe. It’s a community-based app where people help each other and share their native languages. It connects you with real people on call who are native English speakers.
HelloTalk
HelloTalk is similar to Lingbe as it connects you with native speakers to help improve your language skills. However, it adds a few extra functions that might interest you. You can view the information about users to find a match that interests you. Additionally, you can also send text and audio messages, and even do video calls with other people.
If you are a beginner, start from Duolingo and then use Hello English to take full command over the language. For fluent spoken English learners, you can try out Lingbe or HelloTalk.
1.What should you already understand to use Hello English?
A. Good reading and writing skills.
B. Basic listening and speaking tips.
C. Different English lessons and books.
D. English letters and basic structures.
2.Which app is the best choice for an English beginner at first?
A. Hello English.
B. Duolingo.
C. Lingbe.
D. HelloTalk.
3.What can you do on Lingbe?
A. Read the latest news.
B. Enjoy the interactive games.
C. Practice your spoken English.
D. Talk with native speakers in the flesh.
请阅读下面短文和图画,并按要求用英语写一篇150词左右的文章。
Dear Mom, Clear My Calendar
September is around the comer, and some of us are already complaining about summer's end. But parents have a special reason to do so. The end of summer means the start of school. And these days, planning a young child’s schedule is a big challenge. The challenge is no longer finding activities to fill a child's day; it is saying no to the hundreds of options available. Our mailbox is filled with brochures urging us to sign our kids up for classes from cooking to martial arts.
Educators are themselves discouraged by the number of special classes that many children attend. In the name of “enrichment”, three-year-olds not only go to preschool in the morning but study French or gymnastics after lunch. One teacher tells of a four-year-old asking for help in the toilet before hurrying off to tennis. Another teacher says that children sometimes hold on to her at pick up time. What happened to unstructured time?
（写作内容）
1.用约30个单词概述图画和文字的主要内容
2.结合上述信息,简要分析可能导致这一结果的原因;
3.表达你的想法。(不少于两点)
（写作要求）
1.写作过程中不能直接引用原文词句
2.作文中不能出现真实姓名和学校名称
3.不必写标题
（评分标准）
内容完整,语言规范,语篇连贯,词数适当。
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
请认真阅读下列短文,并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一个最恰当的单词。
注意:每个空格只填1个单词。请将答案写在答题纸上相应题号的横线上。
Robert F. Kennedy once said that a country’s GDP measures "everything except that which makes life worthwhile. "With Britain voting to leave the European Union, and GDP already predicted to slow as a result, it is now a timely moment to assess what he was referring to.
The question of GDP and its usefulness has annoyed policymakers for over half a century.Many argue that it is a flawed(有缺陷的) concept. It measures things that do not matter and misses things that do. By most recent measures, the UK's GDP has been the envy of the Western world, with record low unemployment and high growth figures. If everything was going so well, then why did over 17 million people vote for Brexit, despite the warnings about what it could do to their country’s economic prospects.
A recent annual study of countries and their ability to convert growth into well-being sheds some light on that question. Across the 163 countries measured, the UK is one of the poorest performers in ensuring that economic growth is translated into meaningful improvements for its citizens. Rather than just focusing on GDP, over 40 different sets of criteria from health, education and civil society engagement have been measured to get a more rounded assessment of how countries are performing.
While all of these countries face their own challenges, there are a number of consistent themes. Yes, there has been a budding economic recovery since the 2008 global crash, but in key indicators in areas such as health and education, major economies have continued to decline. Yet this isn't the case with all countries. Some relatively poor European countries have seen huge improvements across measures including civil society, income equality and the environment.
This is a lesson that rich countries can learn: When GDP is no longer regarded as the sole measure of a country's success, the world looks very different.
So, what Kennedy was referring to was that while GDP has been the most common method for measuring the economic activity of nations, as a measure, it is no longer enough. It does not include important factors such as environmental quality or education outcomes all things that contribute to a person’s sense of well-being.
The sharp hit to growth predicted around the world and in the UK could lead to a decline in the everyday services we depend on for our well-being and for growth. But policymakers who refocus efforts on improving well-being instead of simply worrying about GDP figures could avoid the forecasted doom and may even see progress.
Title: High GDP But 1. Well-being, a UK Lesson | |
Passage outline | Supporting details |
Different opinions of GDP | ·Robert F. Kennedy believed that everything was measured by a country's GDP except 2. made life worthwhile. ·Many people hold belief that GDP measures what is unimportant andmisses what 3. |
GDP as the measure of 4. is widely defied in the UK. | ·Despite the fact the Westem world has envied the UK's for its high GDP with high5. and high growth figures, over 17 million people voted to leave the European Union. ·A recent annual study shows that in the 163 countries measured ,the UK is one of countries, which have most 6. transformed economic growth into meaningful improvements for its citizens. |
Main assessments of a country’s7. | ·Over 408. of criteria from health, education and civil society engagement. ·Environmental quality or education outcomes-all things9.in a person's sense of happiness. |
Factors considered beyond GDP | Policymakers, who don't simply worry about GDP figures, instead think10. of improving happiness, can avoid forecasting doom and may even see progress. |
No one has a temper naturally so good, that it does not need attention and cultivation, and no one has a temper so bad, but that, by proper culture, it may become pleasant. One of the best disciplined tempers ever seen, was that of a gentleman who was naturally quick, irritable, rash, and violent; but, by taking care of the sick, and especially of mentally deranged (疯狂的) people, he so completely mastered himself that he was never known to be thrown off his guard.
There is no misery so constant, so upsetting, and so intolerable to others, as that of having a character which is your master. There are comers at every tum in life, against which we may run, and at which we may break out in impatience, if we choose.
Look at Roger Sherman, who rose from a humble(低下的) occupation to a seat in the first Congress of the United States, and whose judgment was received with great respect by that body of distinguished men. He made himself master of his temper and cultivated it as a great business in life. There are one or two instances which show this part of his character in a light that is beautiful.
One day, after having received his highest honors, he was sitting and reading in his sitting room. A student, in a room close by, held a mirror in such a position as to pour the reflected rays of the sun directly in Mr. Sherman's face. He moved his chair, and the thing was repeated. A third time the chair was moved, but the mirror still reflected the sun in his eyes. He laid aside his book, went to the window, and many witnesses of the rude behavior expected to see the ungentlemanly student severely punished. He raised the window gently, and then-shut the window blind(百叶窗)!
I can not help providing another instance of the power he had acquired over himself. He was naturally possessed of strong passions, but over these he at length obtained an extraordinary control. He became habitually calm and self-possessed. Mr. Sherman was one of those men who are not ashamed to maintain the forms of religion in their families. One morning he called them all together as usual to lead them in prayer to God. The "old family Bible "was brought out and laid on the table.
Mr. Sherman took his seat and placed beside one of his children. The rest of the family were seated around the room, several of whom were now grown ups. Besides these, some of the tutors of the college were boarders in the family and were present at the time. His aged mother occupied a corner of the room, opposite the place where the distinguished Judge sat.
At length, he opened the Bible and began to read. The child who was seated beside him made some little disturbance, upon which Mr. Sherman paused and told him to be still. Again he continued but again he had to pause to scold the little offender, whose playful character would hardly permit it to be still. At this time he gently tapped its ear. The blow, if blow it might be called, caught the attention of his aged mother, who now with some effort rose from the seat and tottered across the room. At length, she reached the chair of Mr. Sherman, and in a moment, most unexpectedly to him, she gave him a blow on the ear with all the force she could gather. “There, "said she, "you strike your child, and I will strike mine.”
For a moment, the blood was seen mounting to the face of Mr Sherman. But it was only for a moment and all was calm and mild as usual. He paused; he raised his glasses; he cast his eye upon his mother; again it fell upon the book from which he had been reading. Not a word escaped him; but again he calmly pursued the service, and soon sought in prayer an ability to set an example before his household which should be worthy of their imitation. Such a victory was worth more than the proudest one ever achieved on the field of battle.
1.The sentence “The difference in the happiness which is received by the man who governs his temper and that by the man who does not is dramatic. "should be put at the beginning of Paragraph .
A. Two B. There C. Four D. Five
2.How is the passage mainly developed?
A. By analyzing reasons
B. By comparing facts.
C. By listing arguments.
D. By giving examples.
3.What was Roger Sherman's attitude towards his aged mother?
A. Grateful. B. Skeptical.
C. Tolerant. D. Sympathetic.
4.What can we learn about roger Sherman?
A. He came from a distinguished family background.
B. He was not good at displaying his true inner feelings.
C. He was a man conscious of the consequences of his behavior.
D. He severely punished a student who didn’t behave himself.
5.What does the underlined sentence in the last paragraph mean?
A. Mr. Sherman’s face was covered with blood.
B. Mr. Sherman was then on the point of exploding
C. Mr. Sherman was seeking strength in prayer.
D. Mr. Sherman was ashamed of his mother's rude behavior.
6.Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
A. Treasure your bible B. Save your self-esteem
C. Mind your manners D. Control your temper
