So far, scientists have named about 1.8 million living species (物种), and that"s just a small number of
what probably exists on Earth. With so many plants, animal, and other living things covering the planet, it
can be tough to figure out what type of grass is growing by the roadside or what kind of bird just flew by.
A soon-to-be-started Web site might help. An international term of researchers has announced the creation
of Web-based Encyclopedia (百科全书) of Life (EoL). The project aims to list every species on Earth in a
single, easy-to-use reference guide.
To get the encyclopedia started, the creators will use information from scientific databases (数据库) that
already exist. And eventually, in special sections of the site, non-scientists with specialized knowledge will
come to help. Bird-watchers, for example, will be able to input what birds they"ve seen and where. To make
sure the encyclopedia is accurate, scientists will review much of the information added to it.
As the EoL develops, you might find it useful for school projects. The site will feature (以…为特色)
special pages for kids who are studying ecosystems in their neighborhoods. Another convenient feature of
the EoL is that you"ll be able to pick the level of detail you want to see to match your interests, age, and
knowledge.
It now takes years for scientists to collect all the data they need to describes and analyze species. The
creators of the Encyclopedia of Life hope that their new fool will speed up that process.
B. list all living things on Earth
C. work out the number of birds
D. save the existing plants
B. it focuses on different types of grass
C. it provides different levels of information
D. it allows non-scientists to review its data
B. creating a new tool
C. collecting data
D. describing species
province, will begin test-launching (试发射) a satellite the size of a Rubik"s cube.
The one-kilogram Win-Cub satellite, named for its home city and its shape, will be put into low orbit. Once
in space, it can perform for a few months or up to several years, communicating information that could help
find the signs of earthquakes.
There are 80 similar satellite projects worldwide, but this is the first high-school based program of its kind
in Canada. 30 Manitoba high school students are having a hand in designing and building the satellite, in
cooperation with aerospace (航空航天的) experts and 10 students from the University of Manitoba, and with
support from two other organizations.
The Win-Cube project is not something that goes on a piece of paper; it is real-world engineering, allowing
high school students to have an opportunity to learn more about the exciting world of engineering through their
participation in this challenging program. It is also taken as a wonderful example of the unique partnerships
within Manitoba. Designing, building and launching a satellite with high-school participation will bring this world-
class educational project into reality and Manitoba closer to space.
"These Manitoba high school students deserve congratulations for their enthusiasm, innovation (创新), and
a strong love for discovery," said Education, Citizenship and Youth Minister Peter Bjomson. "We want to make
science more relevant (相关的), interesting and attractive to high school students by showing them how
classroom studies can relate to practical experience in the workplace or, in this case, in space," Bjomson added.
The Win-Cube program is mainly named at inspiring a strong desire for discovery on the part of the students.
It also shows Manitoba"s devotion to research and innovation and the development of a skilled workforce-all
important drivers of knowledge-based economic growth.
B. intended for international communication
C. designed like a Rubik"s cube both in shape and size
D. challenged by university students around the world
B. the study of space can be practically made in classrooms
C. Manitoba high schools are famous for the study of space
D. scientific research is too far away from high school students
B. relate studies to practical
C. help high school students study real-world engineering
D. inspire a strong desire for discovery among the students
B. Win-Cube Program
C. Space Co-operation
D. Satellite Launching
One of our biggest fears nowadays is that our kids might some day get lost in a "sea of technology"
rather than experiencing the natural world. Fear-producing TV and computer games are leading to a
serious disconnect between kids and the great outdoors, which will changes the wild places of the world,
its creatures and human health for the worse, unless adults get working on child"s play.
Each of us has a place in nature we go sometimes, even if it was torn down. We cannot be the last
generation to have that place. At this rate, kids who miss the sense of wonder outdoors will not grow up
to be protectors of natural landscapes. "If the decline in parks use continues across North America, who
will defend parks against encroachment (蚕食)?" asks Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods.
Without having a nature experience, kids, can turn out just fine, but they are missing out a huge
enrichment of their lives. That applies to everything from their physical health and mental health, to stress
levels, creativity and cognitive (认知的) skills. Experts predict modern kids will have poorer health than
their parents-and they say a lack of outside play is surely part of it; research suggests that kids do better
academically in schools with a nature component and that play in nature fosters (培养) leadership by the
smartest, not by the toughest. Even a tiny outdoor experience can create wonder in a child. The three-year-
old turning over his first rock realizes he is not alone in the world. A clump of trees on the roadside can be
the whole universe in his eyes. We really need to value that more.
Kids are not to blame. They are over-protected and frightened. It is dangerous out there from time to
time, but repetitive stress from computers is replacing breaking an arm as a childhood rite (仪式) of passage.
Everyone, from developers, to schools and outdoorsy citizens, should help regain for our kids some of
the freedom and joy of exploring, taking friendship in fields and woods that cement (增强) love, respect and
need for landscape. As parents, we should devote some of our energies to taking our kids into nature. This
could yet be our greatest cause.
B. parks are in danger of being gradually encroached
C. Richard Louv is the author of Last Child in the Woods
D. children are expected to develop into protectors of nature
B. be over-protected by their parents
C. be less healthy both physically and mentally
D. change wild places and creatures for the better
B. the natural experience in their growing up
C. the result of their own carelessness in play
D. the effect of their repetitive stress from computers
B. encourage children to protect parks from encroachment
C. show his concern about children"s lack of experience in nature
D. inspire children to keep the sense of wonder about things around
![](http://img.shitiku.com.cn/uploads/allimg/20191216/20191216172818-96638.gif)
Scientists have found what look like caves on Mars (火星), and say they could be protecting life from
the planet"s terrible environment.
The first caves discovered beyond the Earth appear as seven anysterious black dots on the pictures sent
back by NASA"s Mars Odyssey orbiter. Each as large as a football field, they may be openings into natural
caves below the Martian suface.
"If there is life on Mars, there is a good chance you"d find it in caves," said Jut Wynne, one of the
researchers who noticed the features while working on a US Geological Survey Mars Cave Detection
Program.
Jonathan Clarke, a geologist with the Mars Society of Australia, yesterday described the discovery as
exciting.
One photo taken at night by an infrared imager (红外线成像器) showed one hole to be unusualy warm,
suggesting hot air trapped during the day is flowing out.
"I said:"Wow, that"s a cave"" Dr. Clarke said excitedly." People have been looking for these for a long
time; now we have found them."
He agreed such caves would be perfect places to hunt for life escaping from the bitterly cold,
radiation-soaked (充满辐射的), dry surface.
"Tiny drops of water could collect inside," he said. "If there are gases coming out, they could provide
energy for a whole range of bacteria. A cave is also a protection from radiation; the surface of Mars is
exposed to high levels of space radiation."
The caves probably formed when tube-shaped lave flows (管状岩浆流) spread across the planet long
ago. The outside of the tubes cooled, forming solid walls, while something hotter inside allowed the
remaining have to flow out, forming caves.
B. How scientists found these caves on Mars.
C. Caves on Mars may be full of hot air or a sign of life.
D. Scientist have completely recognized the surface of Mars.
B. the scientists found all the caves at night
C. it is certain that there is life in these caves
D. the surface of Mars is bitterly cold, radiation-soaked and dry
B. they had finally found the caves on Mars
C. such caves would be perfect places to hunt for life
D. scientists had long been looking for these caves
B. water and radiation from space
C. gases and lava
D. water and protection from radiation
Arctic and is now angling toward Siberia.
Not to be confused with the geographic North Pole-the northern extremity of the Earth"s axis (地轴),
the north magnetic pole (where the Earth"s magnetic field is directed downward) is moving due to natural
changes in the Earth"s magnetic field, a process that originates about 3, 000 kilometers below our feet, in
the outer core (核心) of the planet. But scientists are now noticing that the magnetic pole has picked up
its pace.
Over the past century, the pole has been migrating at an average speed of about 10 kilometers per year,
says Larry Newitt, head of Geomagnetic Laboratory at Natural Resources Canada in Ottawa. Since the
1970s, this speed has increased to about 50 kilometers per year.
Scientists are wondering why the speed is increasing, says Newitt. One Hypothesis (假说) relates it to
"magnetic jerks", sudden shifts (变化) in the rate of change of the magnetic field. There have been three
jerks in the past four decades, each one correlating to an increase in speed.
If the north magnetic pole continues at its current rate, it could reach Siberia by 2056.
"For most of recorded history, the pole has been a part of Canada, and now it"s not," says Newitt. "It
may be a blow to our collective psyche, but other than that, it doesn"t have a major effect on most people"s
existence. 73. Find in the passage a word closest in meaning to the underlined word "angling".
____________________________________________________________________________________
2. What could happen to the north magnetic pole by the middle of the 21 century? (回答词数不超过8个)
____________________________________________________________________________________
3. What is the main idea of the passage? (回答词数不超过8个)
____________________________________________________________________________________
to move forward or threatened and thinking of moving back, a study has found.
Researchers in Italy examined the tail wagging behavior of 30 dogs, catching their responses to a range
of stimuli (刺激物) with video cameras. To conduct the study they chose 15 male dogs and 15 female ones
aged between one and six years. The dogs were all family pets whose owners had allowed them to take part
in the experiment at Bari University. The dogs were placed in a large wooden box with an opening at the front
to allow for them to view various stimuli. They were tested one at a time.
The researchers led by Professor Giorgio Vallortigara of the University of Trieste found that when the
dogs were shown their owners-a positive experience-their tails wagged energetically to the right side. When
they were shown an unfamiliar human they wagged to the right, but with somewhat less enthusiasm. The
appears of a cat again caused a right-hand side wag, although with less intensity again. The appearance of a
large unfamiliar dog, similar to a German shepherd, changed the direction of tail wagging to the left. Research
ers supposed the dog was thinking of moving back. When the dogs were not shown any stimuli they tended
to wag their tails to the left, suggesting they preferred company. While the changes in the tail wagging were
not easily noticed without the aid of video, it was thought that the findings could help people judge the mood
(心情) of dogs. Computer and video systems, for example, could be used by professional dog trainers to
determine the mood of dogs that they were required to approach.
B. the dogs were put in the wooden boxes and tested one at a time.
C. they enabled the dogs"owners to know about their dogs"habit
D. the dogs wagged their tails in different directions when they were in different moods
B. worry
C. excitement
D. interest
B. wag to the right
C. not wag at all
D. wag to the left and then to the right
B. the trainers
C. the systems
D. the researchers
B. to help people judge the mood of dogs
C. to help dogs find company
D. to help people choose their pet dogs
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