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A recent study of ancient and modern elephants has come up with the unexpected conclusion that the African elephant is divided into two distinct species.

The discovery was made by researchers at York and Harvard universities when they were examining the genetic relationship between the ancient woolly mammoth and mastodon to modern elephants — the Asian elephant, African forest elephant and African savanna elephant.

Once they obtained DNA sequences from two fossils, mammoths and mastodons the team compared them with DNA from modern elephants. They found to their amazement that modern forest and savanna elephants are as distinct from each other as Asian elephants and mammoths.

The scientists used detailed genetic analysis to prove that the African savanna elephants and the African forest elephants have been distinct species for several million years. The divergence of the two species took place around the time of the divergence of Asian elephants and woolly mammoths. This result amazed all the scientists.

There has long been debate in the scientific community that the two might be separate species but this is the most convincing scientific evidence so far that they are indeed different species.

Previously, many naturalists believed that African savanna elephants and African forest elephants were two populations of the same species despite the elephants’ significant size differences. The savanna elephant has an average shoulder height of 3.5metres while the forest elephant has an average shoulder height of 2.5metres. The savanna elephant weighs between six and seven tons, roughly double the weight of the forest elephant. But the fact that they look so different does not necessarily mean they are different species. However, the proof lay in the analysis of the DNA.

Alfred Roca, assistant professor in the department of Animal Sciences at the University of Minois, said, “We now have to treat the forest and savanna elephants as two different units for conservation purpose. Since 1950 all African elephants have been conserved as one species. Now that we know the forest and savanna elephants are two very distinct animals, the forest elephant should become a bigger priority for conservation purpose.”

【小题1】One of the fossils studied by the researchers is that of ________.
A.the Asian elephantB.the forest elephant
C.the savanna elephantD.the mastodon elephant
【小题2】The underlined word “divergence” in paragraph 4means “________”
A.evolutionB.exhibitionC.separationD.examination
【小题3】The researcher’s conclusion was based on a study of the African elephant’s ____________
A.DNAB.heightC.weightD.population
【小题4】What were Alfred Roca’s words mainly about?
A.The conservation of African elephants.
B.The purpose of studying African elephants
C.The way to divide African elephants into two units
D.The reason for the distinction of African elephants
【小题5】Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
A.Naturalist’s Belief about Elephants.B.Amazing Experiment about Elephants
C.An Unexpected Finding about ElephantsD.A Long scientific Debate about Elephants
2011·湖南·高考真题
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Do you like animals? If you do, you can go to visit the following zoos around America.


Denver Zoo, Colorado

The zoo covers 80 acres in all. It houses species from all over the world, including bears, elephants, giraffes, birds, monkeys and fish. The zoo is laid out in a large circle, with animals both inside and outside the circle. It houses 4,125 animals.


Riverbanks Zoo, South Carolina

It covers 170 acres. The zoo is the beautiful home of over 2,000 animals, including African elephants, kangaroos and koalas. Also, Riverbanks Zoo has a 70-acre botanical(植物的)garden with more than 4,200 species of native and foreign plants.


Zoo Miami, Florida

It is the largest and oldest zoo in Florida. Zoo Miami is also the only tropical(热带的)zoo in the United States. There are four main sections in the zoo: Asia, Africa, Amazon and Beyond, and Australia. Don’t miss a ride on the air-conditioned monorail(单轨列车). It is a convenient and comfortable way to move between sections. And it also provides an amazing view of the zoo.


Fort Worth Zoo, Texas

The zoo has been named as a top zoo in the nation by Family Life magazine, The LA Times, and USA Today, and it made the list of top zoos in the South by Southern Living magazine. The zoo now is home to 5,000 native and foreign animals.


Colorado Springs, Colorado

America’s only mountainside zoo spans 140 acres and has a collection of more than 750 animals, representing nearly 150 different species. Don’t miss the wildly popular giraffe-feeding activity.

【小题1】Riverbanks Zoo would most probably attract those who__________.
A.want to visit a tropical zoo
B.love both animals and plants
C.want a ride on a monorail
D.love the giraffe-feeding activity
【小题2】Which of the following zoos has the most animals?
A.Denver Zoo.
B.Riverbanks Zoo.
C.Fort Worth Zoo.
D.Colorado Springs.
【小题3】What makes Colorado Springs special?
A.Being the largest zoo in the US.
B.Being named as a top zoo in the US.
C.Having the largest number of animals.
D.Being the only mountainside zoo in the US
Mr. Eckerd at the end of the street was a different fellow with a different kind of house. He let kids from the neighborhood come to see his house, but only if they had written permission from their parents, and if he’d already spoken to the parents before.
What made it so different? He shared his home with rescued animals that the county couldn’t keep. He had the permission to have things like monkeys, large cats, and other strange creatures. His house had the ivy(常春藤)-covered brick wall and the iron gate across the driveway. Once you went inside, the hedges(树藤)lining the driveway were carved into the shapes of animals. There were other pretty plants on the grounds, too.
The old brick house held a lot of surprises. The double doors with the lion’s head door knockers opened into a large flat entryway. In the wooden board walls all around, there were fish tanks with colorful fishes. The ceilings were painted with scenes of plants and rare animals. Room opened off from there. Continuing down the hall, you came to a large courtyard, which had been caged in, partly open to the sky .A large group of tiny monkeys shook up and down trees. You had to walk through a caged tunnel into other parts of the house. They called out to whoever walked in, hoping for treats of fruits, nuts, and seeds. Behind that, the hall continued to a room full of snakes and lizards. It felt like a desert in that room, so dry and hot. It was not everyone’s favorite room, but it certainly was interesting. The final room was actually out back, and definitely not something to miss. It was much like a large glass bird cage or a greenhouse. It was there that you would usually find Mr Eckerd on a bench next to some carvings of jungle animals. He was watching the Bengal tiger that wandered back and forth inside the cage.
Mr. Eckerd’s house was the strangest and most unique place in town, a place very well worth seeing.
【小题1】What was different about Mr. Eckerd’s house?
A.It was big and frightening.
B.It was full of flowers and gardens.
C.It had wild animals inside and outside.
D.It was an amusement park.
【小题2】What kind of live animals was NOT at Mr. Eckerd’s house?
A.FishB.Snakes and lizards.
C.Monkeys.D.Elephants.
【小题3】What exhibit or animal room seemed to be the least popular for most people?
A.The tiger.B.The monkeys.
C.The birds.D.The snakes and lizards.
【小题4】According to the story, ______seemed to be Mr. Eckerd’s favorite animal at his house.
A.The tiger.B.The monkeys.
C.The birds.D.The fish and reptiles

Fur Babies

Kong Qin, a 32-year-old white-collar worker in Beijing, recently noticed that Cheese, her cat, had been acting oddly since she gave birth to her son several weeks ago. The cat started using the bathroom all over the house, and she was never like that before.

Kong did not know what happened to the cat, and she asked for advice from a friend of hers who is also a cat owner. Her friend told her that Cheese may be acting out as she may be feeling neglected since the baby was born. She added that behaving this way was probably a trick to win over her master’s attention.

Kong remembered that in a family in Baba Huilaile (Dad is Back), a Chinese reality show that she watched around one year ago, the dog often pushed the kid aside when the kid asked his dad for a hug. When she was watching the show, she only took the pushing as a joke and did not think too much of it, but she is now beginning to wonder if the dog was actually trying to steal the limelight.

Zhang Yu, a veterinarian (兽医) in Beijing, advises that if fur babies start to misbehave after a baby is born, pet owners should not punish them, which may stress the pet out. Pets rarely actively attack kids, but if kids hurt pets out of curiosity, like pulling their tails, pets may bite kids to run away. She also recommends that parents should be with the kids who are younger than two years old when there are pets around to protect pets and kids from being hurt by each other. As children get older, parents can help introduce their kids to the pets to help them become familiar and comfortable around each other. “Pets will eventually get used to having kids around after some time, and pets owners need to wait some time,” she said.

Kong has happily found that Cheese is more like her usual self over the past few days. She is conscious that the cat has gone through the toughest stage. The next thing she is planning to do is to take Cheese to her son’s bed more often so that she will like him more.

【小题1】The underlined expressionlimelightin paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to __________.
A.food.B.glance.C.attention.D.ownership.
【小题2】According to paragraph 4, which of the following is TRUE?
A.Pets won’t start a fight with babies when parents are around.
B.Pets are always safe alone with those younger than 2-year-olds.
C.Owners should be patient before pets get used to having babies around.
D.Owners should stress pets out when they are not behaving themselves.
【小题3】How does Kong feel about Cheese’s reaction to the birth of her son these days?
A.Comfortable.B.Thankful.C.Depressed.D.Hateful.
【小题4】What does the writer mainly want to tell us in this passage?
A.Children need to be smart enough to avoid being hurt by pets.
B.Owners should learn to help fur babies coexist with newborns.
C.Parents’ fur babies can become friends with the newborns easily.
D.Pets, like some parents, will feel delighted when newborns come.

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