Question

    A day in the life of a sun bear is what you might expect from the name: sunny. In its natural habitat, the sun bear spends over 80 percent of its active waking time in daylight.

But when disturbed by human activity, that changes dramatically. In areas where people are pushing into the sun bear’s habitat, the animals are spending 90 percent of their waking time after dark. Effectively, the threat of human presence is making the sun bear change into “the moon bear”.

Led by scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, the study found that human activity is driving scores of mammals to shift their activity from the daytime into the dark hours of the night. As many animals have already been forced out of their local habitats, others are attempting to avoid interaction with humans by separating themselves in time rather than in space.

For the work, the researchers examined the behaviors of 64 mammal species, including deer, tigers, boars, and, of course, sun bears. They observed increased nocturnal (夜间的) behavior in a large majority of them, with species that are naturally active during the day tending to shift their activity to after dark, and those that are naturally nocturnal becoming more so. The mammals affected ranged across body size, habitat type, region of the world, and diet.

Human activity of all sorts affect animals，lives, including activities like hunting, agriculture and land development, harvesting local natural resources, even hiking or walking through wild areas. Sport hunting in the Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe drove antelopes to spend more of their active waking hours at night, restricting their access to water. Similarly, hikers in the Santa Cruz Mountains in California made coyotes (郊狼) more nocturnal, forcing them to find new preys (猎物) among traditionally nocturnal animals.

The researchers warn that profound shifts in the natural behavior patterns of so many species disturb dynamics that have evolved over generations, leading to a series of unknown effects on the entire ecosystems.

1.What did the study find?

A. More animals separate themselves in space.

B. Human activity changes animals’ way of life.

C. Many animals were pushed out of their local habitats.

D. The sun bear spends over 80% waking time in daylight.

2.What does the underlined word “that” refer to?

A. The sun bear. B. The waking time.

C. Human activity. D. The natural habitat.

3.What can we infer from paragraph 5?

A. Antelopes have easier access to water.

B. Coyotes have to prey on new types for survival.

C. Human activity shortens animals’ sleeping time.

D. Animals have managed to escape interaction with humans.

4.What does the author want to tell us in the text?

A. Human threat makes the sun bear nocturnal.

B. Animals are badly hurt by human presence.

C. Animals become more adaptable thanks to human.

D. Ecosystems may be reshaped due to human activity.

Answer

1.B

2.B

3.B

4.D

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。主要说明了由于人类的活动，动物不得不该自己原有的生活方式。由于许多动物已经被迫离开了它们在当地的栖息地，其他动物正试图通过在时间上而不是空间上与人类隔离来避免与人类的互动。研究人员警告说，许多物种的自然行为模式发生了深刻的变化，扰乱了经过几代人进化而来的动态，导致了对整个生态系统的一系列未知影响。

1.细节理解题。第三段第一句the study found that human activity is driving scores of mammals to shift their activity from the daytime into the dark hours of the night.可知研究发现，人类活动正促使许多哺乳动物将活动时间从白天转移到黑夜。即人类活动改变了动物的生活方式。故选B。

2.推理判断题。根据上文In its natural habitat, the sun bear spends over 80 percent of its active waking time in daylight.太阳熊在它的自然栖息地80%的活动时间都在白天。而由于人类活动的干扰，这个醒着的时间改变了。故that指代太阳熊醒着的时间。故选B。

3.推理判断题。根据第五段Sport hunting in the Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe drove antelopes to spend more of their active waking hours at night, restricting their access to water. Similarly, hikers in the Santa Cruz Mountains in California made coyotes more nocturnal, forcing them to find new preys among traditionally nocturnal animals. 津巴布韦Hwange国家公园的狩猎运动迫使羚羊在夜间活动的时间增加，限制了它们获得水源。类似地，加州圣克鲁斯山的徒步旅行者使土狼更喜欢夜间活动，迫使它们在传统的夜间活动动物中寻找新的猎物。可知动物们已经通过改变自己的生活方式来设法逃避与人类的接触。故选B。

4.推理判断题。最后一段The researchers warn that profound shifts in the natural behavior patterns of so many species disturb dynamics that have evolved over generations, leading to a series of unknown effects on the entire ecosystems. 研究人员警告说，许多物种的自然行为模式发生了深刻的变化，扰乱了经过几代进化而来的动态，导致了对整个生态系统的一系列未知影响。可推理得知由于人类活动，生态系统可能会被重塑。故选D。