Rare birds in the UK have been living far better than the more common birds over the last decade due to the efforts of conservation organisations, according to a new assessment．

The research shows almost 60% of the 63 rare birds that live in the UK have increased over the last 10 years.

By contrast, only about one third of common species have increased over the same period．Just 28% of rare birds have decreased over the same period, compared with four out of every 10 common birds．The rare birds described in the assessment with increasing populations include the osprey (鹗) and corncrake (秧鸡)．All of these birds are subject to conservation action.

The declining common birds include the nightingale, swift (雨燕), house sparrow and red grouse (苏格兰雷鸟)．These are suffering declines for a variety of reasons, including changes in farming practices.

Dr David Noble, from the British Trust for Ornithology, said: “That some of our rarer birds have responded to targeted conservation action is great news．It shows just what can be achieved．What we need to do now is to continue the good work and use some of the lessons we have learned to help our more common birds.”

Dr Mark Avery, the conservation director of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), said: “Over the last decade we've enjoyed some great conservation successes, including removing some threatened species from the World Conservation Union's Red List of Thratened Animals and increasing the populations of red kite, osprey, etc．However, these successes are countered (抵消) by continued declines of some widespread species.”

The overview of 210 native birds has been produced by a group of conservation organisations, to mark the publication of The State of the UK's Birds report, which is in its l0th year．The report was published by the RSPB for a group of conservation organisations.

1.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

  A．The decline of widespread birds is not worrying for the UK.

  B．The UK has got some practical experience of bird conservation.

  C．Changes in farming practices contribute to the increase of rare birds.

  D．Half of common birds have decreased in the past ten years in the UK.

2.We can learn from the passage that Dr David Noble      .

  A．hopes that conservation organisations will change the way they work

  B．is quite disappointed with the result of the new assessment

  C．is losing confidence in conservation organizations’ action

  D．has high hopes for the increase in bird population in Britain

3.Which of the following can best explain Dr Mark Avery's words?

  A．The UK should not be satisfied with what they have achieved.

  B．The UK should share their experience with other countries.

  C．What conservation organisations do is far from satisfactory.

  D．The RSPB is responsible for the decrease of common birds.

4.The passage is most likely to be found in a book about      .

  A．popular science                                     B．historical events

  C．nature                                                     D．society

5.The author's purpose of writing this article is to tell people      .

  A．some good ways to protect rare birds

  B．the differences between rare birds and common birds

  C．the number of rare birds has increased over the last decade

  D．some widespread birds in the UK are in great need of help

 

Sarah came running in saying, "Look what l found. " Over the top of the paper I was reading I saw a long object that made me jump. It was a piece of snakeskin that had been shed （脱皮)  by one of our garden snakes.

'Isn't it beautiful?" said my wide-eyed 7~year-old daughter. I stared at the organic wrapper and thought to myself that it really was not that beautiful, but I did not want to disappoint Sarah.  Everything children see for the first time is elementary to their sense of beauty and creativity. They see only merit (忧点) and excellence in the world.

"Why does it do this?" Sarah asked. I like to teach my children that there is something else going on besides what they see in front of them. "Snakes shed their skin because they need to renew themselves," I explained.

"Why do they need to renew themselves?" Sarah asked. "We often need to shed our skins, those coatings that we cover ourselves with," I said to my now absorbed daughter. "We outgrow some things and find other stuff unnecessary. This snake no longer needs this skin.  It is probably too old, and the snake probably doesn't think it looks as smart in the skin as it once did.  Like buying a new suit. "

Of course, I'm sure this explanation won't suit naturalists. But Sarah got the point. As we talked, I knew that she began to understand that renewal is part of progress; that we need to take a good look at ourselves, and rooms and schoolwork and creativity, and she began to see what we need to keep and what need to cast off.  I was careful to point out that this is a natural process, not one to be forced.

"Snakes don't peel off their skin when they feel like it," I explained.  "lt happens as part of their growth. "

"I see, Dad. " said Sarah.  She then jumped off my lap, grabbed the snakeskin, and ran off.

I hoped she would remember this. Often, in order to find our real selves underneath the layers of community and culture we are cloaked (掩饰) in year after year, we need to start examining these layers. We need to gently peel some away, as we recognize them to be worthless, unnecessary, or flawed (有缺陷的);  or at best,  remember the things we discard（丢掉）to teach us how we can improve.

1.When Sarah asked the author whether the snakeskin was beautiful,___________

A．he was shocked and jumped

B．he tried to understand her point of view

C．he thought that telling the truth was a merit

D．he decided to teach her something about the garden

2.How did Sarah feel about the author's explanation?

A．Confused.         B．Boreci            C．Satisfied.          D．Excited.

3.Which of the following would the author agree with?

A．By reflecting on ourselves, we can better ourselves.

B．It is necessary to force others to remove some things.

C．The community and culture force us to change.

D．It is natural to keep some old clothes.

4.From the text, we can conclude that the author___________.

A．does not like nature much

B．takes the chilcl's feelings lightly

C．is both a logical and thoughtful person

D．loves to see his daughter excited about animals

5.Which of the following could be the best title for the article?

A．The things we should cast off              B．A shed snakeskin in Sarah's eyes

C．A natural part of our growth               D．Renewal for snakes and us

 

Technology: Taking the good without the bad?
Very soon, unimaginably powerful technologies will remake our lives．This could have dangerous consequences, especially because we may not even understand the basic science underlyi ng them．There’s a growing gap between our technological capability and our basic scientific understanding．We can do very clever things with the technology of the future without necessarily understanding some of the science underneath, and that is very dangerous．
The technologies that are particularly dangerous over the next hundred years are nanotechnology （纳米技术）, artificial intelligence and biotechnology．The benefits that they will bring are beyond doubt．But they are going to be very, very dangerous．I’m working in the field of artificial intelligence．I have a model design for something that might be 50,000 million times smarter than the human brain．Target date is 2010．The only thing that's not possible in the film Terminator（终结者） is that the people win．If you're fighting against technology w hich is 50,000 million times smarter than you, you probably will not win．
Nanotechnology．We've all heard of the grey glue problem, that self-replicating nanotech devices might keep on copying until the world has become sticky glue．And certainly in biotechnology, we've really got a big problem because it's converging with nanotechnology and IT．Once you start mixing nanotech with organisms and you start feeding nanotech-enabled bacteria, we can really go an awful lot further than the Borg in Star Trek（星际迷航）．And those superhuman organisms might not like us very much．
Eventually these technologies will become routine．That’s a threat to humanity．I don’t think it’s possible to slow it down．So what we need to do is accelerate the scientific research and try to get some extra tools．The problems facing us in the future are getting bigger and bigger．I think if we don’t get some proper science done, the future is hopeless indeed．
【小题1】From the text, we know that the author’s greatest concern is         ．

A．our lack of technological understanding of the process involved

B．our lack of technological capability

C．creating technology without really understanding the basic science

D．Our refusal to face the consequences of the technology we create

【小题2】It can be inferred from the text that the author         ．

A．thinks people overvalue the capabilities of technology

B．is not optimistic that artificial intelligence will always be used positively

C．thinks that we should take science fiction movies more seriously

D．believes artificial intelligence is the greatest threat we face technologically

【小题3】Why does the author say it is not possible in the film Terminator that the humans win?

A．Because the power of the technology is exaggerated（夸大）．

B．Because the strength of the machines is much greater．

C．Because machines with that much intelligence can easily defeat humans．

D．Because human beings are not courageous enough to win the battle．

What we need to settle in this area now is how to ________ all the hyacinth (水、葫蘆), which can make the water dirty.

    

A．get rid of

B．get on with

C．get through with

D．get down to

 

Sarah came running in. She shouted happily, "Look what I ____36_____." She put a snake skin on the newspaper I was reading and it came so suddenly that it caused me to ____37_____. "Mom, look! Isn't it ____38_____?" said my seven-year-old daughter. I ____39_____ the snake skin and thought that it really wasn't pretty. Everything children see ____40_____is full of beauty in their eyes; they see only ____41_____ and excellence in the world until educated.

"____42_____ did the snake do this?" Sarah asked. I tried to seize the ____43_____ to teach my children that there was almost always something beyond the obvious. I wanted to tell them that there was something else going on ____44_____ what they saw in front of them. "Snakes shed (蜕) their skin because they need to renew themselves," I ____45_____.

"Why do they have to renew themselves?" Sarah asked.

My son Robert laughed and said, "Because they don't ____46_____ what they are and they want to be someone else." I politely ignored him and said that by shedding skins, we could ____47_____ the hidden reality.

"We often need to shed our skin, those coatings that we ____48_____ ourselves with," I said to my children, who listened very ____49_____, with their eyes wide open. "This snake ____50_____ needs this skin. It is probably too hard for him, or he probably doesn't think he looks as ____51_____in it as he once did. It's like buying a new ____52_____."

I'm sure this explanation will not ____53_____ the naturalists. But Sarah was getting to understand that renewal is part of ____54_____. She should learn from it what we need to keep and what we need to ____55_____.

1.                A．made          B．seized          C．caught   D．found

 

2.                A．think           B．jump           C．run  D．struggle

 

3.                A．interesting      B．smooth         C．beautiful  D．colorful

 

4.                A．stared at        B．took off         C．referred to    D．brought back

 

5.                                  A．by accident B．over and over again

C．in the future                      D．for the first time

 

6.                A．honesty        B．difference       C．value D．fear

 

7.                A．Where         B．Why           C．How D．When

 

8.                A．information     B．possibility       C．opportunity   D．question

 

9.                A．besides         B．for            C．without   D．around

 

10.               A．talked          B．explained       C．whispered D．shouted

 

11.               A．keep          B．want           C．need D．like

 

12.               A．see            B．guess          C．ignore D．remember

 

13.               A．keep          B．store          C．cover D．improve

 

14.               A．properly        B．attentively      C．sadly D．angrily

 

15.               A．once more      B．at times        C．right now  D．no longer

 

16.               A．nice           B．healthy         C．strong D．big

 

17.               A．hat            B．watch          C．suit   D．home

 

18.               A．move          B．satisfy          C．correct    D．defeat

 

19.               A．experience     B．achievement    C．progress   D．competition

 

20.               A．throw out       B．hope for        C．find out   D．throw away