Most people know this joke. But recently, some people have been much more worried about how the grizzly bear and mountain lion can cross the road.
“Millions of animals die each year on U.S. roads,” the Federal Highway Administration reports. In fact, only about 80 ocelots, an endangered wild cat, exist in the U.S. today. The main reason? Roadkill.
“Eco-passages” may help animals cross the road without being hit by cars. They are paths both over and under roads. “These eco-passages can be extremely useful, so that wildlife can avoid road accidents,” said Jodi Hilty of the Wildlife Protection Society.
But do animals actually use the eco-passages? The answer is yes. Paul Beier of Northern Arizona University found foot marks left by mountain lions on an eco-passage that went under a highway. This showed that the lions used the passage.
Builders of eco-passages try to make them look like a natural part of an area by planting trees on and around them.
The next time you visit a park or drive through an area with a lot of wildlife, look around. You might see an animal overpass!
【小题1】The writer uses the example of “ocelots” to show that _______.
A.wild animals have become more dangerous |
B.the driving condition has improved greatly |
C.the measure for protecting wildlife fails to work |
D.an increasing number of animals are killed in road accidents |
A.an underground path for cars |
B.a path for animals to cross the road |
C.a bridge for animals to get over a river |
D.a fence built for the safety of the area |
A.animals begin to learn to use eco-passages |
B.animals begin to realize the dangers on the road |
C.animals are crossing the road in groups |
D.animals are increasing in number |
A.they may see wild animals in the park |
B.wild animals may jam the road |
C.they may see wild animals on eco-passages |
D.wild animals may attack cars |
One of the easiest ways to stop the spread of disease is to simply wash your hands. Twenty seconds of handwashing with soap and water can reduce illnesses and save lives. But, many people, especially children, do not have good handwashing habits. One problem is that children do not wash their hands often enough or long enough. Children may think that it is a tiresome thing to do.
To help handle this problem, two businesswomen from India created a product to turn handwashing into a fun activity. Amanat Anand and Shubham Issar created a tool called SoaPen, aimed at teaching kids good handwashing habits and encouraging kids to wash their hands with soap appropriately and regularly.
“It’s such a simple habit to do, but the fact is that people aren’t doing it, and it’s resulting in actual deaths---which is shocking. So, we decided to come up with a fun method, said Issar.
As the name suggests, SoaPen is a pen made out of soap. The children draw on their hands with the soap pen and then wash the drawing off. If they don’t spend enough time washing it off, the colors remain on the children’s hands. Issar said it makes sure that children take enough time to wash their hands. This may be especially helpful in a classroom. Often a teacher does not have the time to make each child wash his hands properly.
Kids actually wash their hands for the proper amount of time because they’re drawing on their hands. To obliterate the drawing, they actually wash their hands instead of just going under water and, you know, a one-second wash and off.
Good news is that the school children in Mumbai, India, will soon most likely wash their hands after handling a pet. Issar and Anand stated that SoaPen to be created everywhere will help promote good habits through handwashing in the city across the globe.
【小题1】Why is SoaPen invented?A.To teach kids the importance of handwashing. |
B.To make money from children consumers. |
C.To help kids wash their hands correctly. |
D.To rid kids of some kinds of diseases. |
A.SoaPen is designed for classrooms. |
B.Handwashing is anything but little. |
C.Some teachers ignore kids’ health in school. |
D.Kids don’t know the right way of handwashing. |
A.Remove. | B.Reserve. | C.Learn. | D.Show. |
A.SoaPen has become popular worldwide. |
B.Kids’ health should be paid more attention to. |
C.SoaPen has been applied in Mumbai schools. |
D.The inventors think SoaPen has a bright future. |
However, it wasn’t all sweetness and light. There was a reported coldness between the cat and dog in 25% of the homes, while aggression(侵略,好斗) and fighting were found in 10% of the homes. One reason for this is probably that some of their body languages are just different. For example, when a cat turns its head away it means aggression, while a dog doing the same means submission(顺从).
In homes with cats and dogs living peacefully, researchers found a surprising behavior. They are learning how to talk each other’s language. It is a surprise that cats can learn how to talk “Dog”, and dogs can learn how to talk “Cat”.
What’s interesting is that both cats and dogs have appeared to become smarter. They can learn to read each other’s body languages, suggesting that the two may have more in common than was expected. Once familiar with each other’s body language, cats and dogs can play together, and enjoy sleeping together on the sofa.
The importance of this research on cats and dogs may go beyond pets — to people who don’t get along well, including neighbors, colleagues at work, and even countries. If cats and dogs can learn to get along, surely people have a good chance.
【小题1】The underlined word swimmingly in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ________.
A.early | B.mostly | C.quickly | D.smoothly |
A.They eat and sleep together. |
B.They watch each other’s behaviors. |
C.They learn to speak each other’s language. |
D.They know something from each other’s voices. |
A.have common interests |
B.are less different than was thought |
C.have a common body language |
D.are not so smart as was expected |
A.We should learn to get along well with others |
B.We should know more about animals. |
C.We should live in peace with animals. |
D.We should learn more body languages. |
According to the US government, wind farms off the Pacific coast could produce 900 gigawatts of electricity every year.Unfortunately, the water there is far too deep for even the tallest windmills to touch bottom.An experiment under way off the coast of Norway, however, could help put them anywhere.
The project, called Hywind, is the world’s first large-scale deepwater wind turbine (涡轮发电机).Although it uses a fairly standard 152-ton, 2.3-megawatt turbine, Hywind represents totally new technology.The turbine will be fixed 213 feet above the water on a floating spar, a technology Hywind’s creator, the Norwegian company StatoilHydro, has developed recently.The steel spar, which is filled with stones and goes 328 feet below the sea surface, will be tied to the ocean floor by three cables ; these will keep the spar stable and prevent the turbine from moving up and down in the waves.Hywind’s stability in the cold and rough sea would prove that even the deepest corners of the ocean are suitable for wind power.If all goes according to the plan, the turbine will start producing electricity six miles off the coast of southwestern Norway as early as September.
To produce electricity on a large scale, a commercial wind farm will have to use bigger turbines than Hywind does, but it’s difficult enough to balance such a large turbine so high on a floating spar in the middle of the ocean.To make that turbine heavier, the whole spar’s center of gravity must be moved much closer to the ocean’s surface.To do that, the company plans to design a new kind of wind turbine, one whose gearbox (变速箱) sits at sea level rather than behind the blades.
Hywind is a test run, but the benefits for perfecting floating wind-farm technology could be extremely large.Out at sea, the wind is often stronger and steadier than close to shore, where all existing offshore windmills are planted.Deep-sea farms are invisible from land, which helps overcome the windmill-as-eyesore objection.If the technology catches on, it will open up vast areas of the planet’s surface to one of the best low-carbon power sources available.
【小题1】The Hywind project uses totally new technology to ensure the stability of_________.
A.the cables which tie the spar to the ocean floor |
B.the spar which is floating in deep-sea water |
C.the blades driven by strong and steady sea wind |
D.the stones filled in the spar below the sea surface |
A.on the sea floor |
B.on the spar top |
C.at sea level |
D.behind the blades |
A.solve the technical problems of deepwater windmills |
B.make financial profits by producing more turbines |
C.settle the arguments about environmental problems |
D.explore low-carbon power resources available at sea |
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