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.
Holiday News
Vacancies (空位) now and in the school holidays at a country hotel in Devon. This comfortable, friendly home-from-home lies near the beautiful quiet countryside, but just a drive away from the sea. The food is simple but good. Children and pets are welcome.Reduced prices for low season.
The Snowdonia Center
The Snowdonia Center for young mountain climbers has a mountain 1068.The beginners’ costs are ￡57 for a week, including food and rooms. Equipment is included except walking shoes, which can be hired at a low cost.
You must be in good health and prepared to go through a period of body exercises. This could be the beginning of a lifetime of mountain climbing adventure.
The World Sea Trip of a Lifetime
Our World Sea Trip of 2008 will be unlike any holiday you have ever been on before. Instead of one hotel after another, with all its packing and unpacking waiting and traveling, you just go to bed in one country and wake up in another.
On board the ship, you will be well taken care of. Every meal will be first-class and every cabin like your home.
During the trip, you can rest on deck(甲板), enjoy yourself in the games rooms and in the evening dance to our musical team and watch our wonderful play.
You will visit all the places most people only dream about – from Acapulco and Hawaii to Tokyo and Hong Kong.
For a few thousand pounds, all you’ve ever hoped for can be yours.
1. What can you do if you like to go on holidays with pets?
A. Choose the holiday in Devon. B. Go to the Snowdonia Centre
C. Join the World Sea Trip of 2008 D. Visit Acapulco and Hawaii
2. In what way is the Snowdonia Centre different from the other two holidays?
A. It provides chances of family gatherings.
B. It provides customers with good food.
C. It offers a sport lesson.
D. It offers comfortable room.
3. What is special about the World Sea Trip of 2008?
A. You can have free meals on deck every day.
B. You can sleep on a ship and tour many places.
C. You will have chances to watch and act in a play.
D. You have to do your own packing and unpacking.
4. At the Snowdonia Centre, the beginners’ costs of ￡57 do not cover ______.
A. food B. rooms C. body exercises D. walking shoes
Without proper planning, tourism can cause problems. For example, too many tourists can crowd public places that are also enjoyed by the inhabitants of a country. If tourists create too much traffic, the inhabitants become annoyed and unhappy. They begin to dislike tourists and to treat them impolitely. They forget how much tourism can help the country’s economy. It is important to think about the people and a destination country and how tourism affects them. Tourism should help a country keep the customs and beauty that attracts the tourists. Tourism should also advance the wealth and happiness of local inhabitants.
Too much tourism can be a problem. If tourism grows too quickly, people must have other jobs to work in the tourism industry. This means that other parts of the country’s economy can suffer.
On the other hand, if there is not enough tourism, people can lose jobs. Business can also lose money. It costs a great deal of money to build large hotels, airports, air terminals, first-class roads, and other support facilities (配套设施) needed by tourist attractions. For example, a major international-class tourism hotel can cost as much as 50 thousand dollars per room to build. If this room is not used most of the time, the owners of the hotel lose money.
Building a hotel is just a beginning. There must be many support facilities as well, including roads to get to the hotel, electricity, sewers to handle waste, and water. All of these support facilities cost money. If they are not used because there are not enough tourists, job and money are lost.
1.Which of the following do you think has been discussed in the part before this selection?
A. Planning is of great importance to tourism.
B. It is very necessary to develop tourism.
C. Why is proper planning needed to develop tourism.
D. How to develop successful tourism.
2. The underlined word “inhabitants” in Para.1 probably mean _____
A. tourists B. natives C. foreigners D. customers
3.It is certain that ______
A. tourism industry is the most important industry in a country.
B. tourism developing is do no good to the inhabitants.
C. the inhabitants must benefit a lot from the tourism industry if it is properly planned.
D. facilities building is a waste of money.
4.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. Too much tourism can cause a bad effect on other industries.
B. Too much tourism can cause heavy pressure on traffic.
C. Too much tourism can change the people’s value system in the destination country.
D. Too much tourism can sometimes annoy the local people.
Recently a Beijing father sent in a question at an Interact forum(论坛)asking what“PK”meant．
“My family has been watching the‘Super Girl’singing competition TV programme．My little daughter asked me what’PK’meant，but I had no idea，”explained the puzzled father．
To a lot of Chinese young people who have been playing games online，it is impossible not to know this term．In such Internet games，“PK”is short for“Player Kill”，in which two players fight until one ends the life of the other．
In the case of the“Super Girl”singing competition．“PK”was used to refer to the stage where two singers have to compete with each other for only one chance to go up in competition ranking．
Like this father，Chinese teachers at high schools have also been finding their students’compositions using Internet jargons which are difficult to understand．A high school teacher from Tianjin asked her students to write compositions with simple language，but they came up with a lot of Internet jargons that she didn’t understand．
“My‘GG’came back this summer from college．He told me I’ve grown up to be a‘PLMM’．I loved to‘FB’with him together；he always took me to the‘KPM’，”went one composition．
“GG”means Ge Ge(Chinese pinyin for brother)．“PLMM”refers to Piao Liang Mei Mei(beautiful girl)．“FB”means Fu Bai(corruption)．“KPM”is short for KF．Pizza Hut and McDonald’s．
Some specialists welcome Internet jargons as a new development in language．
If you do not even know what a Kong Long(dinosaur，referring to an ugly looking female)ora Qing wa (frog，referring to an ugly looking male)is，you will possibly be regarded as a CaiNiao!
1.By writing the article，the writer tries to ．
A．explain some Internet language
B．suggest common Internet language
C．laugh at the Beijing father
D．draw our attention to Internet language
2.What does the writer think about the term“PK”?
A．Fathers can’t possibly know it．
B．The daughter should understand it．
C．Online game players may know it．
D．“Super Girl”shouldn’t have used it．
3.The examples of the Beijing father and the Tianjin teacher are used to show that Internet jargons ．
A．are used not only online
B．can be understood very well
C．are welcomed by all the people
D．cause trouble to our mother tongue
4.The underlined word“jargons”means“ ”in Chinese．
A．行话 B．粗口 C．歌词 D．趋势
Mom, Dad, I’m going to college! Can you believe it? I never thought it could happen. 16 middle school and part of high school, I 17 to keep up. I was not a bad student，but I just didn’t understand 18 they were teaching because I have a learning 19 . I wanted to show everyone I could graduate and go to 20 . I wanted to make something of myself, and 21 I wasn’t a failure.
22 the time came to choose a college, I wasn’t sure which would be the best for me. I knew I didn’t 23 to go to a big school, which narrowed (缩小) my 24 to a small college which could be 25 for me with a learning disability. I looked in Florida and found three schools. I 26 two, but they just didn’t 27 . Then I visited Beacon College. Beacon is mainly for students who have learning disabilities and it has small classes.
The day when I was 28 by Beacon College was the happiest day of my life. I received the call from the school 29 me I was accepted just as I was sitting down for dinner. My family was so 30 , and I was ready to pack that night and move to Florida. The expectation of going to college 31 the rest of my senior year.
The closer the time came, the more nervous I became about being in a(n) 32 place. Finally my parents and I packed the car and 33 Florida. After a two-day drive, we arrived. “Welcome to Beacon College! It is so nice to see you!” I heard 34 from the teachers and students, as we were introduced. I felt so 35 to hear those cheerful voices. I knew I had found a perfect（理想的）school. I had found my home for the next four years.
1.A.During B. Through C. Until D. Under
2.A. struggled B. started C. forgot D. turned
3.A. how B. that C. why D. what
4. A. experience B. advantage C. disability D. habit
5. A. work B. college C. hospital D. home
6. A. believe B. prove C. feel D.imagine
7. A. Because B. After C. When D. Before
8. A. want B. manage C. decide D. refuse
9.A. plans B. decisions C. choices D. purposes
10. A. honorable B. imaginable C. suitable D. comfortable
11. A. expected B. left C. visited D. dreamed
12. A. work B. fit C. match D. satisfy
13.A. asked B. invited C. admitted D. attracted
14. A. telling B. warning C. advising D. reminding
15. A. worried B. surprised C. frightened D. excited
16.A. stopped B. lasted C. saw D. held
17. A. old B. famous C. familiar D. new
18. A. cared for B. looked for C. headed for D. asked for
19.A. day and night B. over and over C. more or less D. up and down
20.A. warm B. cold C. sad D. sorry
The foreigners are ______ by the ________ progress that the Chinese have made.
A. amazing…amazing B. amazed…amazed
C. amazed…amazing D. amazing…amazed
