题型:阅读理解 题类:常考题 难易度:普通
山西省大同市第一中学2017-2018学年高二下学期英语3月月考试卷
Easter (复活节) is still a great day for worship (崇拜), randy in baskets and running around the yard finding eggs, but every year it gets quite a bit worse for bunnies (兔子).
And no, not because the kids like to pull their ears. The culprit is climate change, and some researchers found that rising temperatures arc having harmful effects on at least five species of rabbit in the US.
Take the Lower Keys March rabbit, for instance. An endangered species that lives in the Lower Florida Keys, this species of cottontail is a great swimmer—it lives on the islands!—but it is already severely affected by development and now by rising levels. According to the Center for Biological Diversity, an ocean level rise of only 0.6 meters will send these guys jumping to higher ground and a 0.9-meter rise would wipe out their habitat (栖息地) completely.
The snowshoe hare, on the other hand, has a color issue. Most of these rabbits change their fur color from white in the wintertime to brown in the summer, each designed to give them better cover from predators (捕食者). As the number of days with snow decreases all across the country, however, more and more bunnies arc being left in white fur during brown dirt days of both fall and spring, making them an easier mark for predators. Researchers know that the color change is controlled by the number of hours of sunlight, but whether the rabbit will be able to adapt quick enough to survive is a big question. The National Wildlife Federation has reported that hunters have noticed their numbers are already markedly down.
American pikas or rock rabbits, a relative of rabbits and hares, might be the firs' of these species to go extinct due to climate change. About 7-8 inches long, pikas live high in the cool, damp mountains west of the Rocky Mountains. As global temperatures rise, they would naturally migrate (迁徙) to higher ground - but they already occupy (占据) the mountaintops. They can't go any higher. The National Wildlife Federation reports that they might not be able to stand the new temperatures as their habitat beats up.
The volcano rabbit has the same problem. These rabbits live on the slopes of volcanoes in Mexico, and recent studies have shown that the lower range of their habitat has already shifted upward about 700 meters, but there are not suitable plants for them to move higher, so they are stuck in the middle. Scientists are concerned about their populations.
Native to the US, pygmy rabbits weigh less than 1 pound and live in the American West. They are believed to be the smallest rabbits in the world. Their habitats have been destroyed by development. Several populations, such as the Columbia Basin pygmy, almost went extinct and were saved by zoo breeding programs. Pygmy rabbits also rely on winter cover by digging tunnels through the snow to escape predators, but lesser snowfall is leaving them exposed.
All of this gives new meaning to dressing up in a giant bunny costume (服装) this Easter.
Thanks to exchange programmes an increasing number of young students are following educational courses in foreign countries. The Erasmus Programme, which started in 1987, is a European Union student exchange programme. It provides opportunities for young people from Europe to study in a foreign country for shot An intercontinental version of the programme, known as Erasmus Mundus, has existed since 2003, providing non-Europeans the opportunity to study in Europe.
Student's name: Paul Dupont Erasmus trip: Lyon-Aberdeen Time: in 2007 | Cool! What an amazing time that was! We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun! To me, Erasmus means discovering a completely new lifestyle You live together with new friends in a different country. Sorry, the heating system in our apartment was horrible and the food was strange, but hey... anyhow. It's amazing! | |
| Student's name: Beatrice Giletti Erasmus trp: Verona-Du blin Time: in 2008 | I went to Dublin, in Ireland. It was a great discovery, which opened up the world to me and I made many friends from different countries and cultures. The experience changed my life. I felt richer, smarter and happier after my time on Erasmus. My English became almost fluent and I knew so much about the world and about the people who live in it... Internationality has become part of my life, and I could not imagine living or working in a non-multicultural or non-multinational environment. |
Student's name: Wilmie Boot Erasmus trip: Rotterdam—Naples Time: in 2009 | When I first arrived, the first of the city of Naples struck me and I loved it from the first second! The language is a beautiful mixture of Italian, Greek, Latin, Spanish and the influences of the villages surrounding Naples. I have wonderful memories of my year in the Universita Federico Ⅱ in Naples and the time spent in our dormitory, where I was the only foreigner among the Italian students. If I were to do it all over again, I wouldn't change a thing! | |
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