Urban Wildlife
Cities are diverse ecosystems. In addition to visitors from the wild, a large number of species share our urban areas. As our cities spread, we need to think about what it is like for other species to have human neighbors.
Cities are built for humans. _________For example, most city parks are kept neat and tidy so that humans will find them beautiful. But when we cut grass or plant flowers, we destroy natural habitats.
_________When a bridge in Austin, Texas was repaired, engineers added small gaps running along the length of its bottom. This made a good home for bats, and soon the bridge was the home of
thousands of bats. _______ Now, they have come to value their winged neighbors. The bats are a tourist attraction, and they eat lots of bugs every night.
There are also structures built with the aim of bringing wildlife into the city. The Beijing Olympic Forest Park is a good example. The park used native plants and created open, natural spaces for wildlife. The result is a zone in Beijing with over 160 species of birds. In many ways, the park is the opposite of a zoo. _________
If we learn to share our space, we can become better neighbors to the wildlife around us. _________ Our own future will be endangered too.
A. They are built to protect birds.
B. Our actions sometimes help other species.
C. If we do not, more species will become extinct.
D. They do not always provide suitable habitats for wildlife.
E. Instead of being kept in cages, wildlife can move about freely.
F. At first, people were afraid of the bats and tried to get rid of them.
G. They would sit on it and their droppings would fall into the water.
1.____________
2.____________
3.____________
4.____________
5.____________
Gretchen Altman is smiling, leaning back casually, a cup of coffee in hand — Hills Bros. Coffee, to be precise. It looks like a casual shot, but if you hit like, leave a comment, and tag a friend, you can get three different cups of coffee, for free.
Altman is part of a growing trend of "micro-influencers". She has a small following — around 6,000 on Instagram(社交平台). Her going rate is $300 to $800 to promote something. She does some posts in exchange for free goods, as long as it’s stuff she believes in.
As a micro-influencer she has a much closer relationship with her followers than a big social media star. "I’m just living a normal life and people relate to that," she says. "They just feel like I’m a friend of theirs."
But it worries consumer rights groups. Several recent studies have found that young audiences are largely unable to understand when something is sponsored content.
In some cases, it’s clear. When a big star takes to a social media to advertise Coca-Cola, for example, the assumption is that he or she’s probably getting paid to do so. And the posts are clearly labeled as ads, with the caption "advertisement" or "sponsored content".
But what happens when an everyday person with just a couple thousand followers takes to social media to extol(颂扬) the virtues of a product? The motivations are not so clear cut. The problem with these social media posts is that you don’t know whether it’s an ad or not.
Altman is diligent about using those hashtags(标签). She loves what she does and sees it as a business, but she doesn’t necessarily want to be a social media celebrity.
"With social media being so integrated into our everyday lives, we have this unique opportunity that I don’t think anyone has ever had before where we can each be our own brand," Altman says.
1.What does a micro-influencer do according to the passage?
A.Give enough likes. B.Post to promote sales.
C.Recommend some comments. D.Design advertisements.
2.What makes consumer rights groups feel worried?
A.Sponsored ads content.
B.Ads with caption on posts.
C.The unclear motivations of the posts.
D.The increasingly growing number of audiences.
3.How does Gretchen Altman feel about being a micro-influencer?
A.Annoyed. B.Delighted. C.Ambitious. D.Depressed.
4.Which of the following can be the best title?
A.Instagram Advertising: Do You Know It, When You See It
B.To be a Micro-influencer or to be a Big Star
C.We Can Each Be Our Own Top Brand
D.Hills Bros. Coffee, Your Coffee
We've certainly seen a dog nursing a wound, or a deer calling out in pain. But many animals suffer in silence. The most silent sufferers in the animal world may be fish.
Do fish feel pain? A new study from the University of Liverpool has found that fish feel pain in a way that's "strikingly similar" to humans. For the study, Lynne Sneddon, from the university's Institute of Integrative Biology, reviewed the existing body of research 98 studies in all and concluded that they feel pain just as sharply as we do."
When subject to a potentially painful event, fish show changes in behavior such as stopping feeding and reduced activity, which are prevented when a pain-relieving drug is provided. In fact, like us, they breathe heavily and stop eating when they're hurting. They will even rub the part of their body that aches." Sneddon notes in a university release.
To understand pain in other species, scientists look at nociceptors (疼痛感受器), which send signals to the brain when the body is being damaged. Humans have them throughout their skin, bones and muscles. Nociceptors have also been found in many other species, including even those tiny fruit flies.
Fish have the same means to detect pain signals and the equipment to receive them. Besides, the fishermen's opinion that fish feel no pain just doesn't add up from an evolutionary view. Pain is an efficient messenger that tells, us that we've got a problem. An animal that can't feel it won't get that memo (ER), even if it hurts itself.
"If we accept fish experience pain, then this has great significance for how we treat them," Sneddon says. "Care should be taken when handling fish to avoid damaging theirs sensitive skin and they should be humanely caught and killed."
1.What can we learn about fish?
A.They are insensitive to pain. B.They are able to sense pain.
C.They won't react to painkillers. D.Their brain is the first to send pain signals.
2.What will a fish do when its lips get hurt?
A.It might rub its lips. B.It will keep its mouth open.
C.It will swim around like crazy. D.It will keep eating to forget pain.
3.What is the significance of the study according to Sneddon?
A.People will treat fish in a kinder way.
B.People can understand evolution better.
C.People can develop more drugs to save fish.
D.People will think of more ways to catch fish.
4.What does the underlined part "add up" probably mean?
A.Disappear. B.Put forward.
C.Make sense. D.Happen.
When Wilbur and Orville Wright finished their flight at Kitty Hawk, Americans celebrated the brotherly bond. The brothers had grown up playing together, they had been in the newspaper business together, and they had built an airplane together. They even said they "thought together." However, when the Wright brothers said they thought together, what they really meant is that they argued together. After long arguments we often found ourselves in the position of each having been pulled to the other's side,"
Orville reflected. I don't think they really got mad," their mechanic (机械师) remembered, but they sure got awfully hot."
The skill to get hot without getting mad is critical in life. But it’s one that few parents teach to their kids. We want to give kids a stable home, so we ѕtор ѕіblіngѕ (兄弟姐妹) from quаrrеlіng and we have our own arguments behind closed doors. Yet if kids never get exposed to disagreement, we’ll end up limiting their creativity. As the psychologist Robert Albert put it, the creative person-to-be comes from a family that is anything but harmonious, one with a “wobble (摇晃).”Orville Wright came from a wobbly family. The brothers often watched their father Milton Wright fight with school authorities who weren't fond of his decision to let his kids miss a half-day of school from time to time to learn on their own.
The Wright brothers weren't t alone. The Beatles fought over instruments and tunes. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak argued constantly while designing the first Apple computer. Brainstorming groups generate16 percent more ideas when the members are encouraged to criticize one another. The most creative ideas in Chinese technology companies come from teams that have real disagreement early on.
Children need to learn the value of thoughtful disagreement. We should teach kids that silence is bad manners. It disrespects the value of your own view point and your own voice. It's a sign of respect to care enough about someone's opinion that you’re willing to challenge it. Good arguments are wobbly: a team or family might rock back and forth but it never tips over. If kids don't learn to wobble, they never learn to walk; they end up standing still.
1.What does the author say about the Wright brothers?
A.They always took advice from their mechanic.
B.They knew little about the newspaper business.
C.They often held conflicting opinions.
D.They kept a very tense relationship.
2.What sort of father was Milton Wright?
A.Untraditional. B.Generous.
C.Scholarly. D.Sensitive.
3.What does the author intend to do in Paragraph 3?
A.Summarize the previous paragraphs. B.Add some background information.
C.Introduce a new topic for discussion. D.Provide more examples to support his idea.
4.What is the best title for the text?
A.Conversation matter in a family kids B.Uncomfortable silence harms Kids.
C.Kids, would you please start fighting: D.Parents, would you please stop arguing?
Have you ever made a mistake while trying to print from a computer? That paper probably went right into the recycling bin. From there, it is taken to a waste-handling plant to be eventually broken down and remade. But what if you could simply erase your mistake and reuse that paper? It may become available, thanks to a new technology.
It's a new type of rewritable paper that can be used more than 100 times. Words and pictures remain visible on it for at least half a year. This is nearly the first rewritable paper. But the marks on those earlier versions tended to fade away in less than three months.
Luzhuo Chen led the group that made the new rewritable paper. His team was inspired by pens that contain erasable ink. That ink disappears when heated. To make its new rewritable paper, Chen's group switched the ink from the pen to the paper. They covered one side of regular paper with the ink used in those erasable pens. Using a heated pen or printer, they can now write or print on this paper. That warmth makes the ink disappear.
This is the opposite of how writing usually works, where ink is applied to paper. With the new system, the spots where you write become white instead of colored because that heat makes the ink covering the white paper disappear.
Qiang Zhao has a creative mind behind another type of rewritable paper. He thinks Chen's paper is simple and doesn't cost much to make, so it should be easy and fairly inexpensive to produce. However, the paper will need a lot of ink. In large doses（剂量），chemicals in the ink can be bad for the environment and people's health. Zhao would like scientists to develop a safer ink. Still, he thinks this paper will have wide applications.
1.Why does the author raise the questions in the first paragraph?
A.To prove the necessity of recycling paper.
B.To introduce the importance of rewritable paper.
C.To draw readers attention to the new technology.
D.To show the development of paper-making technology.
2.What's the advantage of the new rewritable paper over earlier versions?
A.It can be reused for a lot more times.
B.The costs of producing it are much lower.
C.It can be produced in a much easier way.
D.The contents on it can be more long-lasting.
3.Which of the following reflects Qiang Zhao's opinion on Chen's paper?
A.It still needs improving. B.It's somewhat impractical.
C.It does no harm to its users. D.It's worth promoting right away.
4.What can we know about Luzhuo Chen's new paper from the text?
A.It shows colored words or pictures.
B.It doesn't require ink to write on it.
C.It will replace ordinary writing paper soon.
D.It has no requirement on the writing tool.
Alcantara Boat Trip
This sailing trip begins on the reservoir of Alcantara, located in the northwest of Extremadura, near the border of Portugal and within the Tajo Natural Park—25,000 hectares of park which spreads across Spain and Portugal.
Price:￡23 per adult and ￡19 per child (2-11 years old)
Duration: 3.5 hours
Meeting point on the Alcantara reservoir
Historic Cáceres Walking Tour
The old town of Cáceres has one of the most impressive artistic and huge collections of buildings. One of the best preserved in Europe, this ancient walled city was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986. Walking around the historic centre you will discover ancient walls, palaces, squares and streets all still in good condition.
Price: ￡54 per person
Duration: 1.5 hours
Meeting point at Plaza Mayor
Departure at 11:00, 17:00 or 20:00 (summer only)
Trujillo Cultural Walking Tour
This guided walk visits the most outstanding monuments of Trujillo, a town in history, where its castle, palaces, towers and houses have a glorious past. You will discover the development of Trujillo's history, its people and its most beautiful spots. From the point of Trujill's castle you will be able to capture the best shots, which during the evening tour are bathed by the light of the sunset.
Price: ￡54 per person
Duration: 2 hours
Meeting point at Calle Tiendas
Departure at 11:30, 17:00, 18:00
Wildlife Tour in the Monfragüe Nat ional Park
Travelling in a 6-seater car, within the Monfragüe National Park, you will enter one of the best well-conserved Mediterranean forests in the world with a large variety of birds, deer and other animals.
Price: ￡46 per person
Duration: 3 hours
Departure at 10:00 (return at 16:00)
Meeting point in the town of Malpartida
1.How much should a couple with a 13-year-old kid pay for Alcantara Boat Trip?
A.￡19. B.￡46.
C.￡65. D.￡69.
2.What can we learn about the town of Cáceres?
A.It has the oldest walls in Europe. B.It has the most impressive buildings.
C.It attracts many visitors in winter. D.It has well- preserved old buildings.
3.Which touring activity lasts the longest time?
A.Alcantara Boat Trip. B.Historie Cáceres Walking Tour.
C.Trujillo Cultural Walking Tour. D.Wildlife Tour in the Monfragüe National Park.
