Wild beavers (河狸) are back! Experts say that the wild beaver families are doing well. The beavers are even boosting wildlife and the environment!
Over ten years ago, a family of beavers turned up in a part of the river Otter, in Devon. No one knew exactly where they came from. It was a big surprise, wild beavers hadn't lived in England for around 400 years!
In 2015, the government allowed the beavers to stay there as part of a trial (试验). They wanted to see if these animals could be reintroduced to the wild. The trial ends in February. Some scientists from the University of Exeter already say the beavers help the wildlife in the area. One scientist called it "an amazing story".
A lot of this is because of dams. Beavers build dams along the river. This creates deep pools in the riverbed and slows the water down. Scientists say this is perfect for many different types of plants and animals! Many plants are growing near the beavers. Different types of animals are also becoming more and more in the river. Beavers also help make flooding less, scientists say. The beavers' dams slow down the speed of the river, especially after heavy rain.
There are, however, some problems. Beavers gnaw (咬,啃)on trees and this can harm them. Their dams can also sometimes create floods (洪水) on people's land.
Beavers aren't the only animals that are being reintroduced to the wild! In 2019, red squirrels were brought back to an area of the Scottish Highlands. Further away, the world's rarest (罕见的) duck, the Madagascar pochard, is making a comeback. It was set free into the wild on the African island in 2019 and is doing well.
Who knows what other animals might be making a comeback?
【小题1】Which of the following best explains "boosting" in paragraph 1?| A．building | B．spreading | C．helping | D．creating |
| A．grow more plants along the river |
| B．build dams for the beavers in the wild |
| C．introduce the beavers to the wild |
| D．see if the beavers could be reintroduced to the wild |
| A．They help plants grow and make flooding less. | B．They bring heavy rain and floods. |
| C．They gnaw on trees and harm them. | D．Their dams create floods on people's land. |
| A．One. | B．Two. | C．Three. | D．Four. |
| A．Embarrassed. | B．Pleased. | C．Tired. | D．Disappointed. |
Dragons are not real animals, but look like a combination of many animals such as snakes, fish and deer. They have two horns (角) and a long moustache. With fantastic powers, they fly in the sky or swim in the sea. They can make rain, too. The Chinese dragon is a symbol of strength and good luck. The emperors of ancient China loved dragons. Their clothes were covered with pictures of dragons.
We are proud to call ourselves the “descendants of the dragon”. In Chinese, excellent people are often called dragons. A number of Chinese sayings talk about dragons, for example, “Hoping one’s child will become a dragon.”, which means hoping he or she will be successful.
It is said that people born in the Year of the Dragon have certain characteristics. They are creative, confident, brave and quick-tempered. There are also some traditional festivals about dragons in China, such as Dragon Head- Raising Day and Dragon Boat Festival. We have different kinds of activities to celebrate them. These two festivals come every year, but the Year of the Dragon comes every twelve years. The dragon is very important in Chinese culture. As the “descendants of the dragon”, it is necessary for us to know the opinions on dragons in our culture. It can help us understand why our parents always want us to be “dragons”.
【小题1】The Chinese dragon is a symbol of _________ .| A．a combination of many animals | B．Chinese sayings |
| C．traditional festivals | D．strength and good luck |
| A．Confident, brave, successful and powerful. |
| B．Creative, confident and quick-tempered. |
| C．Lovely, brave and quick-tempered. |
| D．Lucky, confident, successful and creative. |
| A．Dragons are real animals. |
| B．There are many Chinese sayings about dragons. |
| C．People born in the Year of the Dragon must be successful. |
| D．The “descendants of the dragon” is often called. |
Many kinds of birds are very successful at fooling other animals. For example, a bird called the plover sometimes pretends to be hurt in order to protect its young. When a predator（猎食动物）gets close to its nest, the plover leads the predator away from the nest. How? It pretends to have a broken wing. The predator follows the "hurt" adult, leaving the baby birds safe in the nest.
Another kind of bird, the scrub jay, buries its food so it always has something to eat. Scrub jays are also thieves. They watch where others bury their food and steal it. But clever scrub jays seem to know when a thief is watching them. So they go back later, unbury the food, and bury it again somewhere else.
Birds called cuckoos have found a way to have babies without doing much work. How? They don't make nests. Instead, they get into other birds' nests secretly. Then they lay their eggs and fly away. When the baby birds come out, their adoptive parents feed them.
Chimpanzees, or chimps, can also be sneaky. After a fight, the losing chimp will give its hand to the other. When the winning chimp puts out its hand, too, the chimps are friendly again. But an animal expert once saw a losing chimp take the winner's hand and start fighting again.
Chimps are sneaky in other ways, too. When chimps find food that they love, such as bananas, it is natural for them to cry out. Then other chimps come running. But some clever chimps learn to cry very softly when they find food. That way, other chimps don't hear them, and they don't need to share their food.
As children, many of us learn the saying "You can't fool Mother Nature." But maybe you can't trust her, either.
【小题1】A plover protects its young from a predator by___________.
| A．getting closer to its young |
| B．driving away the adult predator |
| C．leaving its young in another nest |
| D．pretending to be injured |
| A．chimps are ready to attack others |
| B．chimps are sometimes dishonest |
| C．chimps are jealous of the winners |
| D．chimps can be selfish too |
| A．Some chimps lower their cry to keep food away from others. |
| B．The losing chimp won the fight by taking the winner's hand. |
| C．Cuckoos fool their adoptive parents by making no nests. |
| D．Some clever scrub jays often steal their food back. |
| A．Do animals lie? |
| B．Does Mother Nature fool animals? |
| C．How do animals learn to lie? |
| D．How does honesty help animals survive? |
Thousands of years ago, Shennong, who had an ox (公牛) head and a human body, lived in south China. Seeing that local people were suffering from (受…折磨) disease, he built ladders (梯子) and houses on a high mountain to store hundreds of medicinal plants.
This legend (传说) has made Shennongjia in Hubei an inviting (吸引人的) place for tourists.
Shennongjia is also home to 5，000 species (种类) of animals and plants.
| A．But scientists haven't proven that they exist (存在). |
| B．To remember him, people named the place Shennongjia. |
| C．This beautiful place recently earned (获得) a new title. |
| D．Many rare (稀罕的) animals live there. |
| E．Traveling there is a unique (独一无二的) experience. |
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