Scientists in Australia have found that honeybees seem to understand the idea of zero. This is 【小题1】 (surprise) since bees have very small brains. So far only a few animals with larger brains 【小题2】 (show) this skill. And humans don’t 【小题3】 (usual) understand it until they’re around four years old.

The scientists created an experiment to test 【小题4】 honeybees understood the idea of “zero” or not. First, they trained the bees by rewarding (奖赏) 【小题5】 (they) with sugar water for choosing smaller numbers. The scientists hung up cards with different numbers of shapes. Under each card was a tray (盘子). The tray under the smaller number had sugar water. The tray under the larger number had something sour. After about forty 【小题6】 (test), the bees had learned to choose the cards with smaller numbers of shapes. The bees knew how to look at the cards, “count” the shapes on each card, and choose the card 【小题7】 had the fewest shapes. Then came the interesting part. The scientists put out a card with nothing on it－zero shapes. When given a choice between two or three shapes 【小题8】 “zero” shapes, bees picked zero. This showed they knew that zero, or “none”, was 【小题9】(little) than “some”. Just to be sure, the scientists trained other bees 【小题10】 (choose) high numbers. Those bees did not choose zero.

The number of Amur tigers, also known as Siberian tigers, moving from Russia into northeastern China, 【小题1】(increase) because of lower levels human activity, improvements in their habitat 【小题2】 a smoother transit corridor between countries. The area 【小题3】 tigers lived across the Sino-Russian border expanded by about 12 kilometers every three years from 2003-2016. In 2021 the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park was established. 【小题4】 (cover) approximately 14,100 square kilometers, the park straddles the provinces of Heilongjiang and Jilin. By the end of 2021 the number of wild Amur tigers living there 【小题5】 (rise) to 50 from 27 in 2017. The conservation of tigers is recognized as a global challenge, due to 【小题6】 (they) expansive habitat requirements. A female needs 400 to 500 square kilometers while a male requires over 1, 000 square kilometers. The collaboration between these neighboring parks creates a 【小题7】 (share) home for the animals. The construction of the Sino-Russian cross-border environmental corridor is vital 【小题8】 several barriers hinder the movement of tigers between the two sides. Border fences and roads built in the area are among those obstacles. Efforts are required by both sides 【小题9】 (promote) the corridor. As the population of prey species including wild boar and deer rises, Amur tigers are travelling 【小题10】 (far) into China for food. The expansion of the tigers’ range is expected to continue.

A friendly animal waves his paw at visitors just before his enclosure（围墙）at a Spanish zoo. The bear entertains passers-by at Madrid Zoo with 【小题1】 (it) antics（滑稽的动作）.

Fictional bears are often friendly beasts. However, their real life counterparts（对应物）tend to have worse reputations, which is why photographer Andrey Slepnev, 31, could 【小题2】 (bare) believe his eyes when one of the 【小题3】 (creature) started waving at him. The bear 【小题4】 (entertain) him at Madrid Zoo by sitting at the edge of his enclosure and 【小题5】 (wave) excitedly at him and other visitors. The friendly animal wandered to the front of his enclosure in full view of zoo guests and lifting his 【小题6】 (power) paw in a decidedly wave-like motion.

Mr Stepnev said, "The bear seemed extremely happy -the more people waved at him,【小题7】 longer he waved for. After several minutes of waving on his own, other bears started following the example set 【小题8】 the friendly beast."

"I'd only seen this kind of behavior before in a circus, so perhaps that's 【小题9】 he used to do. Apparently they wave to zookeepers when they want feeding, so they try to get food from guests too."

"The bears 【小题10】 (know) to wave at zookeepers when they are hungry, and this bear was likely to look for a snack. The bear was enjoying the attention from passers-by," Mr Stepnev added.