Recently a report was made public by NatureServe, a Virginia-based environmental group, which said 40 percent of animals and 34 percent of plants in the United States are at risk of disappearing.
The group examined data from over 1,000 scientists in the United States and Canada, using 50 years of information on the health of animals, plants and ecosystems. The report provided pictures and maps of areas that are unprotected and where animals and plants are most threatened.
Sean O’Brien, president of NatureServe, said what the report showed was dreadful. For example, among the species (物种) at risk of extinction is the Venus flytrap, a plant that “eats” insects. The report said it is only found in the wild in a few places in the states of North and South Carolina. The report also said 200 species of trees might die out and that America’s large northern grasslands are among the ecosystems most threatened. The main threats to plants, animals and ecosystems include environmental destruction (破坏), land-use change, river pollution, and climate change, according to the report.
California, Texas and the southeastern United States are where the highest percentages of plants, animals and ecosystems are at risk. Those areas have many different forms of life. Wesley Knapp, head plant scientist at NatureServe, said those parts of America haven’t seen much population growth in recent years. Knapp said lawmakers usually do not provide as much money for protecting plants as they do for animals. He hoped the data could guide state and area officials in creating effective State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP) to protect endangered species.
Now $50 million nationwide is shared among all states to carry out their SWAP. If the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act was passed, it would increase that amount to $ 1.4 billion. Knapp said the bill would have better served the protection of plants and animals.
【小题1】What can we infer about the environmental group?A.It has been running for 50 years. | B.It has saved 40 kinds of animals. |
C.It put much effort into the report. | D.It just protects threatened plants. |
A.Pleasant. | B.Similar. | C.Common. | D.Terrible. |
A.It could play an active role. | B.It may cover all the species. |
C.It might help reduce the cost. | D.It will take the place of SWAP. |
A.The Protection by Law Making Sense | B.Many US Animals and Plants at Risk |
C.State Wildlife Action Plan on the Way | D.NatureServe Working for a Green World |
The doctor made it sound easy. Just walk; walk every day. But I couldn’t even make it to the end of our driveway to pick up the mail. A quarter mile there and back. I tried to stand up, but soon got breathless and just stopped. My mailbox looked as if it were in China. I was all of 39 years old, still in the prime of my life, for crying out loud!
A month ago, I was traveling for work or taking care of our 40-acre horse farm in Texas. And for fun, my wife, Stephanie, and I took our horses on narrow paths. Stephanie and I had been in Colorado Springs with friends when I woke up at the middle of the night with discomfort in my chest. Stephanie and I drove to the ER. My 10-day vacation turned into a 10-day hospital stay. My souvenir was a scar from my chest to my belly.
Stephanie had to go to work so she encouraged me to try to take some steps. Minutes later, Stephanie came rushing back, carrying a puppy. “Where did you get that?” I asked. “In our mailbox. What a miracle!” Stephanie replied. “Aren’t I enough of a burden? Do we really need a puppy? We’re no strangers to the homeless. And I can’t take care of myself. How could I babysit this puppy?” I said unhappily.
However, the puppy finally became one of our family members. Wherever I went, he would always follow. I tried to open the door to the yard. It was hard for me and I was a little afraid. Then the puppy ran ahead, looked back and repeated the behavior. He seemed to say “Come on”, encouraging me to go ahead. I took a deep breath, and then a few steps, the puppy right at my side. I succeeded at last. Then we walked. This time, toward the mailbox.
We named him Cheyenne. Before long, I was walking with Cheyenne every day. Pretty soon, I was strong enough to work on the farm again. We had both gotten strong. I always wondered who put a puppy in a mailbox. Nobody was so crazy after all. Finally, it turned out that Cheyenne was what the doctor ordered for me.
【小题1】From the first paragraph, we learn that the author _________.A.kept fetching his mail |
B.felt very hopeful of recovering |
C.took care of the 40-acre horse farm |
D.thought the doctor’s advice impractical |
A.He was encouraged greatly by the dog. |
B.He became pessimistic about the future. |
C.He thought it troublesome to keep the dog. |
D.He asked his wife to treat the homeless nicely. |
A.Friendly and honest | B.Brave and professional |
C.Dutiful and considerate | D.Caring and energetic |
A.A Clever Dog | B.A Special Treatment |
C.I Met a Kind Doctor | D.Hanging on Will Pay Off |
When you visit people’s houses, they would be very glad to show you their pets and they are very proud of them. You will also find that almost every family has a
People in Canada have many reasons to like animals. One of them might be: Their family ties are not as close as ours. When children grow up, they leave their parents and start their own life. Then the old will feel lonely. But pets can solve this problem. They can be good friends and never leave them alone.
【小题1】The passage mainly talks about ______.
A.how to keep diseases from pets | B.Canadians have pets as friends |
C.how to take good care of pets | D.life of the old in Canada |
A.in order to keep them safe | B.after being taken home |
C.because they carry diseases | D.because they are sick |
A.a person who gives food to birds | B.a container that has food for birds |
C.something that catches birds | D.an animal that eats birds |
A.they don’t love their parents any more |
B.they can only find jobs far from their parents |
C.their parents’ houses are too small |
D.they wouldn’t depend on their parents any more |
A.Peoplebuyanimal foodonlyattheanimalfood stores. |
B.Pets eat better than people. |
C.Almost every family has a birdcage(鸟笼) in his house. |
D.Any bird can come to the bird feeders to eat. |
Thanks to its harsh environment, Antarctica remained largely untouched by humans for many millennia, allowing a thriving ecosystem to evolve. However, since the 1990s, the last true wilderness on the planet is becoming an increasingly popular destination for adventure-seeking tourists. Now, a new study declares that the visitors may be leaving behind harmful bacteria which could devastate the area's native bird population.
Humans can infect animals with illnesses such as the flu. Researchers, however, believed that the Antarctic animals were immune to the danger due to the continent's extreme weather. However, microbiologist Marta Cerda-Cuellar was not convinced.
She and some colleagues decided to examine waste samples from Antarctic birds for evidence of human bacteria. To ensure the waste was not polluted, the scientists had to collect it from the birds themselves.
The results of their study revealed the presence of several types of human bacteria in the bird waste. This included a common strain (品种) of bacteria that causes food poisoning in humans. The researchers say the bacteria strains were resistant to commonly-used human antibiotics, indicating they were brought in by the visitors, rather than migratory birds (候鸟).
“These strains, which are a common cause for infections in humans and livestock, do not usually cause death outbreaks in wild animals," says Gonzalez-Solis. "However, the emerging or invasive pathogens (病原体) that arrive to highly sensitive populations could have severe consequences and cause the local collapse and extinction of some populations." The researcher also fears the presence of these bugs could foreshadow the arrival of other, more deadly, pathogens as the number of tourists people increases.
Experts believe the only way to prevent the mass destruction of the birds is to impose stricter regulations or, at least, put the ones already in place into effect. For example, while the Antarctica Treaty requires visitors to carry their waste back home to safeguard the pristine environment, the regulation is rarely enforced. Nowadays, some officials are taking steps to save the vulnerable birds before it's too late.
【小题1】What problem is Antarctica facing according to Paragraph 1&2?A.The increasing number of tourists. | B.The worsening wilderness. |
C.The replaced native bird population. | D.The spread of infectious illnesses. |
A.Destroy. | B.Increase. | C.Protect. | D.Benefit. |
A.To treat their illness. | B.To get their waste. |
C.To raise them as pets. | D.To study their lifestyles. |
A.Bacteria can be killed by human antibiotics. |
B.Extreme weather keeps Antarctic animals healthy. |
C.Humans bring bacteria to Antarctica. |
D.Antarctic animals are immune to human bacteria. |
A.Indifferent. | B.Doubtful. | C.Ambiguous. | D.Optimistic. |
A.Entertainment. | B.Travel. | C.Nature. | D.Education. |
组卷网是一个信息分享及获取的平台,不能确保所有知识产权权属清晰,如您发现相关试题侵犯您的合法权益,请联系组卷网