With more and more rain falling, it’s time for snakes to be active. Living in the city, it never crosses your mind that we might meet them face to face.
Most people are afraid of snakes. They may think snakes are dangerous and ugly. There are more than 2,000 kinds of snakes. Most of them live in mountains or forests, and in cities sometimes we can find them in grass or other dark places. Snakes can’t walk or run because they have no legs or feet, but these long and thin animals can move very fast on their stomachs. Snakes usually have green, yellow or black skins, which make it difficult for their enemies to find them. In winter they hibernate in holes. They look for a hole to stay inside, in the ground, or in a rock or a tree. They do not wake up again until spring comes. Snakes feed on mice, frogs, bird eggs and so on.
Snakes play an important part in nature. We can make useful medicine with them. Without their help, the rodents (啮齿动物) will be out of control. But many of them are in danger of disappearing. Houses and buildings take up the land where snakes live. Many snakes lose their lives in traffic, and people often kill snakes for their skins or meat.
【小题1】Which month may it be active according to the text?| A．July. | B．November. | C．January. | D．March. |
| A．to sleep during winter | B．to catch something for food |
| C．to look for a place to keep warm | D．to protect oneself from other animals |
| A．We never see snakes in cities. | B．Snakes only eat mice as food. |
| C．Snakes are useless to nature. | D．Many snakes are in danger. |
| A．Science. | B．Geography. | C．Biology. | D．Weather. |
Probably nothing can compare with a parent’s will to protect her child. Let’s see how these animals find ways to protect their children.
Sperm whales are emperors of the ocean. They are also the world’s biggest babysitters（保姆）. The mother supports her baby near the surface in order to help it to breathe until it is strong enough to swim on its own. While they are diving for food, however, their young may be unable to follow their parents. This causes a big childcare problem. How to solve it? A babysitter. Older whales have an active role. They may be aunts or grandmothers (who can live to 100 or more years old) and they may even be members of other families. They patiently take care of the young whales just under the surface of the water, waiting for the feeding mothers to return. |
Elephants give new meaning to the phrase: takes a village to raise a child. “The baby has a huge group of mothers. These mothers take turns to watch over each other’s children.” They are called “all mothers”, helping the new born survive by helping its mother. With their help, the mother can get enough food and provide milk for her child. After carrying a nearly 300 pound baby for 22 months, you’d probably need some rest too! |
How far would you go to protect your child? Would you starve（饿死）yourself to help it survive? Female Octopuses do. An octopus lays between 50,000 and 200,000 eggs each time. Then she separates the eggs into groups based on their size, shape and possibility of survival. She then spends the next two months of her life protecting them. She is so busy keeping them alive. As a result, she doesn’t even have time to feed herself, so she often ends up dying shortly after her eggs hatch（孵化）. |
| A．The mother spends 22 months taking care of her baby. |
| B．Others in the community help the mother take care of her babies. |
| C．The mother tries to get enough food and provide milk for her child. |
| D．Older members of the family help the mother take care of her babies. |
①She lays her eggs. ②Her eggs hatch. ③She dies of hunger. ④She separates the eggs into groups. ⑤She works hard to keep her eggs alive.
| A．①②③④⑤ | B．④⑤①②③ | C．①④⑤③② | D．①④⑤②③ |
| A．Three Kinds of Endangered Animals in the world. |
| B．Animals that Help and Protect Each Other. |
| C．Amazing Ways Animals Care for Their Young. |
| D．The Sperm whales, the Elephants and the Octopuses. |
Have you ever wondered why birds sing? Maybe you thought that they were just happy. After all, you probably sing or whistle（吹口哨） when you are happy.
Some scientists believe that birds do sing some of the time just because they are happy. However, they sing most of the time for a very different reason. Their singing is actually a warning to other birds to stay out of their territory.
Do you know what a "territory" is? A territory is an area that an animal, usually the male, claims (声称)as its own. Only he and his family are welcome there. No other families of the same species (物种) are welcome. Your yard and house are your territory where only your family and friends are welcome. If a stranger should enter your territory and frighten（使惊恐）you, you might shout. Probably this would be enough to frighten him away.
If so, you have actually scared the stranger away without having to fight him. A bird does the same thing. But he expects an outsider almost any time, especially at nesting (筑巢) season. So he is screaming all the time, whether he can see an outsider or not. This screaming is what we call a bird's song, and it is usually enough to keep an outsider away.
Birds sing loudest in the spring when they are trying to attract a mate（同伴）and warn others not to enter the territory of theirs.
You can see that birds have a language all their own. Most of it has to do with attracting mates and setting up territories.
【小题1】Some scientists believe that most of the time birds' singing is actually _____.| A．an expression of happiness | B．a way of warning |
| C．an expression of anger | D．a way of greeting |
| A．A place where families of other species are not accepted. |
| B．A place where a bird may shout at the top of its voice. |
| C．An area for which birds fight against each other. |
| D．An area which a bird considers to be its own. |
| A．Because they want to invite more friends. | B．Because their singing helps frighten outsiders away. |
| C．Because they want to find outsiders around. | D．Because their singing helps them out of fear. |
| A．By comparing birds with human beings. | B．By reporting experiment（实验）results. |
| C．By describing birds' daily life. | D．By telling a bird's story. |
Bumblebees (大黄蜂) have four wings, the two wings in the black are smaller and usually attached to the forewings.
【小题1】The tongues of bumblebees are as long as ________.
| A．human ears | B．strawberry flowers | C．their own fur | D．their own bodies |
| A．One year. | B．Two years. | C．Three years. | D．Three to four years. |
| A．They change into a colour that is hard to see. |
| B．They might travel 6 km in a day. |
| C．They fly around the globe 10 times get to the shops. |
| D．They move their wings very quickly. |
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