than 6 meters long. Their bodies are flat and winged, like underwater airplanes. And their noses
are shaped like chainsaws.
Sawfish are food hunters of the sea. When a sawfish is hungry, it waves its sharptoothed snout
(口鼻部) through a group of fish. Then, it lifts its nose and uses its mouth to draw the injured victims.
Hardy (适应力强的) population of sawfish thrived in warm waters along coastlines around the
world for thousands of years. Over the past 200 years, however, human actions have severely
endangered sawfish. Threats include fishing nets that trap the huge animals, often by mistake.
Some people collect sawfish"s snouts as prizes: One snout recently sold for nearly $1,600 online.
In some Asian cultures, the toothy snouts are used in ceremonies to drive evil and disease away. And
sawfish are also delicious. A growing demand in Asia for the fish"s fins for a pricey soup has contributed
to the fish"s disappearance. Compared with other fish, sawfish give birth late in life and at slow rates,
which makes it hard for them to recover from overfishing.
New efforts now aim to restore sawfish population. Beginning next month, an international agreement
will provide protection for all seven of the world"s sawfish species. Scientists are hoping that it"s not too
late to save the sawfish.
"Until 1998, this fish had never been formally studied in the United States," says Tonya Wiley of the
Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, FIA."We didn"t know such basic things as where they live, what
habitat they use, how often they breed, how many young they have- even what age sawfish are when
they begin breeding."
Through historical studies and field research, scientists have become aware of how much the fish"s
numbers have decreased. Today, there may be 90 percent fewer sawfish than there used to be. Wiley
estimates that only 3,000 to 6,000 sawfish remain in US waters.
Sawfish
2.Flat and winged
3.Steps/Ways
4.its sharptoothed snout
5.Factors/Reasons/Causes
6.People"s fishcatching activities/Human actions
7.giving birth/breeding
8.Present/Today"s situation
9.Aim/Goal/Purpose
10.Providing protection
Freedom by Jonathan Franzen is one of the most repeatedly praised books on this year"s list of
favorites. It tells about the ups and downs of the Berglund family over many years. Mr. Franzen fills the
book with sharp
observations about American politics, culture and society.
Jennifer Egan"s book A Visit from the Goon Squad takes place in 13 chapters over 40 years. The
story moves back and forth in time, from different viewpoints. One main character is former rock
musician Bennie Salazar who works for a record company. The other main character is a troubled
young woman named Sasha who works for Bennie. The reader learns about their pasts and those of their
friends.
The main character in The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman is a failing English Language newspaper published in Rome, Italy. Each chapter of the book tells about a reporter or editor working for this paper. Their stories are filled with intelligence and great personality.
Two of the most popular nonfiction books of 2010 were about rock and roll stars. Just Kids is by
rock singer Patti Smith.It tells about her friendship with the artist Robert Mapplethorpe in the 1960s and
1970s before they became famous. Life is the autobiography of Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards. It
is an honest and exciting look at the development of rock and roll and the wild times this famous band has experienced.
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand tells about a man named Louis Zamperini. She tells about his
extraordinary survival story after his plane crashed into the Pacific Ocean during Would War Two.
Stacy Schiff has received great praise for her book Cleopatra: A Life. It tells about one of the most
misrepresented and famous women in his story, Cleopatra. She ruled ancient Egypt about 2,000 years
ago.One critic said Ms. Schiff has brought Cleopatra to life again by unearthing her story from centuries
of lies.
B. 6.
C. 7.
D. 8.
B. The Imperfectionists
C. Just Kids
D. Life
B. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
C. Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff
D. The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman
B. Cleopatra: A Life.
C. Life.
D. A Visit from the Goon Squad.
B. Stacy Schiff tells a story about an imaginary Egyptian queen
C. the critic speaks highly of Cleopatra in history
D. the critic finds the character in the book very real
The contemporary environmental movement is often said to have begun with the publication of Silent
Spring by the zoologist and biologist Rachel Carson (1907-1964). This landmark work, which took
Carson 4 years to complete, diligently detailed the relationship between animal death and the use-now
understood as the abuse of manmade chemicals used as pesticides, especially DDT. One of the claims of
the book that she tried to demonstrate was that DDT had the effect of softening the eggshells of birds as
well as interfering with their reproduction, and that such effects would lead to their extinction if the use of
DDT were to continue. It would eventually create a springtime of silence when the songs of birds would
not be heard. Her studies also found DDT to be a cause of human cancers.
Born in Springdale, Pennsylvania, Carson graduated from the Pennsylvania College for Women in
Pittsburgh (now Chatham College), where she majored in English until her junior year, when a course in
biology inspired her to switch to zoology as her field of concentration. She earned a master’s degree in
this area from Johns Hopkins University and became a biologist at the Bureau of Fisheries in 1936.
During this time, she wrote for various national magazines, and her first book, Under the SeaWind, was
published. Carson had concerns as early as 1945 about pesticides being used more and more by the
government. But her cautionary claims in Silent Spring were met with anger by the pesticide and chemical
industries. Her authority as a scientist was challenged, and it was held that her findings were just the roars
of a hysterical(歇斯底里的) woman. She was even accused of being a member of the Communist Party.
Some go so far as to say that she told a lie.
But she is often celebrated as the founder of the contemporary U. S. environmental movement. Yet her work in Silent Spring, warning about the misuse of pesticides and other chemicals, has not as yet taken
firm hold. Americans likely use twice as much the volume of pesticides that they did at the time she
published her seminal work, and globally, their use is ever increasing. Powerful pesticides are sold over the
counter, and their use is so widespread that many environmentalists are fearful that chemical runoff into
streams and rivers is still polluting the animals that humans eat and the water that they drink. In short, while
the main purpose of Silent Spring was to warn the public of the dangers of the overuse of pesticides and
chemicals, nonetheless the public haven"t refused such use. Isn"t it time that we firmly said no to pesticides?
Title: The ____1____ of Environmentalism | ||||||||||||||
The ____ 2____: the publication of Silent Spring | ||||||||||||||
The contents | One of the claims of the book was that DDT had the effect on softening the eggshells of birds, interfering with their reproduction and ____3____ | |||||||||||||
The author | ||||||||||||||
Name: ____4____ | ||||||||||||||
Her formal major: English | ||||||||||||||
Her latter major: ____5____ | ||||||||||||||
Her first published book: ____6____ | ||||||||||||||
The present situation | ||||||||||||||
Pesticides are still ____7____, the volume of which is twice as much as it was | ||||||||||||||
Pesticides are ____8____ to homeowners | ||||||||||||||
Chemical is still polluting the animals and ____9____ | ||||||||||||||
Conclusion | We should ___10_____ pesticides | |||||||||||||
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