Construction workers in Southern California have made a wild discovery. They wer

Construction workers in Southern California have made a wild discovery. They wer

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Construction workers in Southern California have made a wild discovery. They were digging at a building site in San Timoteo Canyon (峡谷) when they unearthed hundreds of ancient animal fossils. Researchers say the bones hold important clues about the history of the region.
Nearly 1, 500 fossils were recovered from the dusty canyon. The remains are about 1.4 million years old. They include the bones of a new species of deer, several small rodents (啮齿目动物) and more. A giant cat fossil was also found. Scientists believe the animal was an ancestor of the saber- toothed tiger. Signs of plant life were uncovered as well.
“This is a huge find,” says Rick Greenwood, a scientist studying the site. “I don’t think most people had any idea that those types of animals were wandering around here more than a million years ago.”
San Timoteo Canyon is located about 85 miles from Los Angeles. The area of the canyon where the fossils were found was once part of a green river valley. Today, the region is dry and plant life is rare.
Most of the fossils are well preserved. Experts say a muddy lake bed may have trapped thirty animals that wandered over for a drink. The mud helped to protect the animal fossils.
The remains are a million years older than those discovered at the famous La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles. Scientists studying the bones will be able to learn more about how the animals adapted to changes in the environment.
“We have a confused view of what this time period was like, ” says another scientist. “A discovery like this could really be an important contribution.”
About 35 different animal species are represented in the fossil collection. Scientists began removing bones from the site last fall. The project was completed this summer. Starting next year, the fossils will be on display at the Western Science Center in the nearby city of Hemet, California.
小题1:
What does the passage mainly focus on?
A.The secret of ancient animals’ deaths.
B.The preparation for a future fossil exhibition.
C.A great discovery of fossils.
D.The history of San Timoteo Canyon.
小题2:
From what Rick says, we know ________. (原创)
A.fossils were discovered in the canyon for the first time.
B.the canyon in ancient times was quite different.
C.more research work will be carried on in the canyon.
D.the river water helped to protect the animal fossils.
小题3:
Compared to the discovery at the La Brea Tar Pits, the canyon-involved fossils _______.
A.are far olderB.include more species
C.are better preservedD.make experts more confused
小题4:
What do we know about the fossils from the passage?
A.All of them are of new species.
B.Some of them have been destroyed
C.They were looked for under experts’ guidance.
D.They will be on show in the near future.

答案

小题1:C
小题1:C
小题1:A
小题1:D
解析

举一反三
You know that pearls grow inside oysters(牡蛎), but would you ever think to look for diamonds inside an ostrich(鸵鸟)? Well, a hunter once shot an ostrich and discovered, to his great surprise, that the big bird had swallowed a bunch of diamonds. How could such a strange thing happen?
Like many other birds, the ostrich swallows small stones that stay inside its “gizzard”. The gizzard is a bird’s second stomach. It is where the food is ground up. The small stones help to grind up the food so it can be digested. The small stones do the chewing because birds don’t have teeth. In that case of the ostrich with the diamonds, the bird simply had expensive taste in rocks. It used the diamonds to digest its dinner.
Diamonds and stones aren’t all that an ostrich will swallow. If there are no stones around, it will eat just about anything. Sadly for ostriches in zoos, this can be a fatal habit. The tendency to swallow anything it sees has caused the death of many an ostrich. Cruel or careless people often throw things into the bird’s living space. They throw keys, coins, and even large objects such as horseshoes. The ostrich swallows them without hesitation. Coins can be the worst. Inside the ostrich they wear down to a razor-sharp edge. They will cut open the bird’s gizzard from the inside. When one young zoo ostrich died, 484 coins weighing more than eight pounds were found in its gizzard.
小题1:
Which of the following best expresses the main idea of the passage?
A.Birds often eat strange and funny things.
B.Ostriches will swallow anything to help them digest food.
C.One ostrich died with 484 coins in its gizzard.
D.Ostriches are often hurt by cruel or careless people.
小题2:
The ostrich is not smart enough to ______.
A.digest its own foodB.eat only diamonds
C.avoid eating harmful objectsD.escape from the zoo
小题3:
The sentence “the small stones do the chewing” makes rocks seem as though they were ______.
A.importantB.alive
C.dangerousD.uncomfortable
小题4:
he word “fatal” in the third paragraph is another word for “______”.
A.foolishB.carelessC.deadlyD.cruel

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It’s always great to hear news about wildlife returning to where they once lived. For the first time in 8 years the small blue --- British’s smallest butterfly--- has been seen back at a nature reserve in Hertfordshire.
This nature reserve has had a lot of work done recently in order to help butterflies. Management of the land has included bringing in sheep to keep the grass under control in a more natural way and planting wild flowers for butterfly species. The nature reserve is home to a number of butterfly species. In fact the way that this reserve has been managed means that it is probably the best reserve in Hertfordshire to see butterflies with at least 25 species now living in the area.
There are a number of threats to British butterflies and the greatest threat is the loss of their habitat. Changing farming practice has affected British native butterfly species greatly with many more now being at risk. Butterflies are such an excellent species that they can clearly tell the situation of local environment because they are easily influenced by environmental changes, A wide species of butterflies will generally mean a healthy environment.
The type of land management at the nature reserve in Hertfordshire offers a hope for many species of butterfly to live as usual. Butterflies need all the help they can get at the moment. Although the number of butterflies is beginning to increase, many are still at risk.
小题1:What has the nature reserve done to help butterflies return ?
a. changing the reserve place     b. bringing in sheep
c. planting wild flowers         d. changing farming practice
A.a.bB.c,dC.a,dD.b,c
小题2:Why did the butterflies fly away eight years ago?
A.The weather is changingB.The flowers have died out
C.Their habitat has been lost.D.The environment has changed
小题3:What can we infer from the passage?
A.The environment has changed healthier a lot than before.
B.All the butterflies have returned to the reserve.
C.There is no threat to the British butterflies.
D.Over 25 species is living in the reserve now.
小题4:What does the underlined sentence mean?
A.The butterflies changed as the environment changed.
B.Butterflies are very beautiful.
C.Butterflies are sensitive to the environment the live.
D.Butterflies can tell us what is happening.

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Only if you don’t have a fear of heights do you want to visit the CN Tower. And if you can take a trip to the top of it will surely be worth it. The CN tower is Canada’s most famous symbol and the centre of tourism in Toronto.
Over 550 meters, it is one of the tallest building in the world; on a clear day the view is wonderful. Each year, around 2 million people take the elevator ride to the top of the tower to take in the breath-taking view at the top of the world. Once you are at the top, see if you have the courage to walk across the see-through glass floor .
If you are hungry, plan to eat at the revolving restaurant at the top of the tower. The floor in the 360-degree restaurant rotates once every 72 minutes allowing everyone a complete view of the city below. The CN tower has broken record many times, winning such titles as World’s Longest Metal staircase ,World’s Tallest building and , most recently , World’s Highest Wine Cellar. In 1995, the CN tower was considered as one of the seven wonders of the Modern World.
Today, the top of the tower, more than 333m in the air, serves as the year-round workplace for more than 550 people. The tower’s workers help to make the world-class attractions and food there.
While at the CN tower, you’ll also have the chance to visit gift shops. You will find the CN Tower in the heart of downtown, on Front Street. On the north shore of Lake Ontario, the CN Tower is open 364 days a year(closed on Christmas Day).
小题1:Who can’t visit the CN tower?
A.Someone who has heart attack.
B.An old man who has got flu.
C.A person afraid of height
D.A woman having high blood.
小题2:How many titles has the Tower got?
A.2B.3C.4D.5
小题3:Which of the following number is Not agree with its description?
A.333 --- the height of the tower
B.550 --- the number of people who work at the top of the tower
C.364 --- the days that the tower is open each year
D.360--- the degree of the restaurant revolves.
小题4:What can we infer from the passage?
A.You can go to visit the tower any day you like.
B.You can buy some gifts and eat as well while you are at the tower.
C.You have to climb the stairs to the top of the tower to enjoy the view.
D.The floor of the revolving restaurant is made of glass.

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51---------
Successful people are nicer to those who are jealous of them, psychologists have found.
   The fear that they may become the target of malicious(恶意的)envy makes people act more helpfully toward people who they think might be jealous of them.
   Previous research found jealousy could be divided into benign and malicious envy. Those with benign envy were motivated to improve themselves, to do better so they could be more like the person they envied.52-------- The Dutch researchers then set out to question the effect on the target of the envy.
In lab experiments a group of people were made to feel like they would be maliciously envied by being told they would receive an award of five euros(欧元)53-------The researchers thought that the deserved prize would lead to benign envy, while the undeserved prize would lead to malicious envy.
   Then the volunteer was asked to give time-consuming advice to a potentially envious person.People who had reason to think they would be the target of malicious envy were more likely to take the time to give advice than targets of benign envy.
   In another experiment, an experimenter dropped a number of erasers on the floor as the volunteer was leaving.54-------- He said: "This sort of serves a useful group function. We all think better-off people should share with others but that"s not something we are inclined to do when we are better off..55----------  
A.Those who thought they would be maliciously envied were more likely to help him pick them up.
B.Helping others is a virtue.
C.However those with malicious envy wanted tobringthe more successful persondown.
D.Malicious envy. is terrible.
E. This fear of envy can encourage us to behave in ways that improve the social interactions of the group."
  F. People are more likely to help others if they think they are envious of them.
G.. Sometimes the prize was deserved and was based on the score they were told they had earned on a quiz. But sometimes it was not based on their score at all.
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According to a survey released by the Nielson Company on Thursday, China has become a global tourist attraction after the Beijing Olympics.
The survey said the Olympics not only built up China’s image but also served as an advertisement for China’s tourism.
The online survey was conducted on consumers in 16 countries and regions before Games’ opening ceremony and after the closing.
About 80 percent of the respondents had not been to China before the events and 50 percent of them expressed hopes of visiting China after the Games.
According to the survey, 70 percent of the respondents felt Beijing was more modern and scientific than what they had thought.
The most interested respondents were from Singapore, India, Mexico, South Africa and the Republic of Korea, as well as China’s Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Pan Wen, in charge of Chinese tourism research of the Nielson Company, said the World Tourism Organization predicted that China would become the largest tourist attraction in the world with 137 million foreign tourists every year.
“This figure would be realized earlier with the aid of the Beijing Olympics,” Pan said.
小题1:When was the online survey conducted?
A.During the Olympics
B.Before Games’ opening ceremony and after the closing
C.After the Olympics’ closing
D.We don"t know
小题2:Which countries were the most interested respondents from?
A.Singapore, India, MexicoB.South Africa and the Republic of Korea
C.China’s Hong Kong and TaiwanD.All of the above
小题3:Which country did the World Tourism Organization predict would become the largest tourist attraction in the world?
A.ChinaB.JapanC.South AfricaD.Hong Kong
小题4:Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A.About 80 percent of the respondents expressed hopes of visiting China during the Games
B.The online survey was conducted on consumers in 16 countries
C.137 million foreign tourists have come to China every year
D.The Beijing Olympics greatly speed up China’s tourism

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