Unit 2
Task 1
【答案】
A.
1) elephants
2) chimpanzees
3) giraffes
4) penguins
5) kangaroos
6) zebras
7) polar bears
B.
1) and a tail
2) big ears
【原文】
1) They live in Africa and India. They have four legs and a tail. They are very big and very strong. They are intelligent, too. They have a trunk and some of them
have tusks. They sometimes live for 70 years.
2) They live in Africa and Asia. They are brown. They have arms and legs, but they don’t have a tail. Their arms are very long and they have big ears. They are good climbers. They are very intelligent, too.
3) They live in Africa. They are very tall. They have four legs, a tail and a very long neck. They eat leaves and twigs. They can run very fast. They are brown and white.
4) They live in very cold countries. They have wings, but they can’t fly. They are good swimmers. They eat fish. They are blue and white or black and white.
5) They live in Australia. They are red or gray. They have short front legs, long back legs and a very long tail. The back legs and the tail are very strong. They can run very fast. The females carry their young in a pouch.
6) They live in Africa. They have four legs and a tail. They have a beautiful coat with black and white or brown and white stripes. They eat grass and plants.
7) They live in very cold countries. They have four legs. They are very big and very strong. They have a white coat. They can swim. They eat seals and fish.
Task 2
【答案】
A.
1) The cheetah.
2) 170 km/h.
3) More than 100 km/h.
4) Because most animals run on four legs.
5) Because we have machines.
B.
1) F, 2) F, 3) T
【原文】
The fastest animal on land is the cheetah. It can run at a speed of about 100
kilometres an hour. The fastest bird in the world can fly at 170 km/h, and the fastest fish can swim at more than 100 km/h.
Human beings are not very fast. The fastest man in the world can only run at about 40 km/h.
Many animals can run faster than this. But most animals run on four legs. Four legs are better than two, aren’t they? Why do we only have two legs?
Scientists say that we are more intelligent than other animals because we stand on two legs, so we can use our hands for other things. We can pick things up with them. We can use tools. Human beings have used tools for millions of years. That is why our brains have developed. That is why we have become the most intelligent animals in the world.
In the past few years, we have made all kinds of machines. We have made cars, ships, aeroplanes and spacecraft. In these machines we can travel faster than any animal—by land, by sea, or by air. We can even go to the moon. No other animal has ever done that!
Task 3
【答案】
A.
1) Climate, lack of food and aliens from outer space might be responsible for their extinction.
2) No.
B.
B: might have gotten, killed them off
A: may have run out of food
B: could have been destroyed by aliens
【原文】
A: You know, we’re studying dinosaurs in science class. It’s really interesting.
B: Oh, yeah? Hey, have you learned why the dinosaurs disappeared?
A: Well, no one knows for sure.
B: I thought it had something to do with the climate. The temperature might have gotten cooler and killed them off.
A: Yeah, that’s one theory. Another idea is that they may have run out of food.
B: Uh-huh. And you know, there’s even a theory that they could have been destroyed by aliens from outer space.
A: That sounds crazy to me!
Task 4
【答案】
1) The mayfly. A few hours.
2) They just do two things: finding a mate and producing young.
3) We could judge by its growth rings.
4) It was kept for 152 years.
【原文】
For the shortest life, the first prize must go to the mayfly, which typically lives only a matter of a few hours after it emerges from its shell. Few mayflies live to see the sun rise again. These creatures devote their whole lives to a single desperate mission: finding a mate and producing young. They don’t even have functional mouths and stomachs. They simply have no time to eat. In fact they have no time for anything else.
The record-holder for the longest life may be the Arctic clam, one of which lived quietly underwater for 220 years. However it did not have any birth certificate to prove this. One could only judge by its growth rings.
If you insist on better documentation, the oldest animal ever was probably a tortoise that died in 1918. It had been captured already full-grown in 1766, nine years before the American Revolution began and it died 152 years later as World War I came to a close.
Task 5
【答案】
A.
People have different opinions on using animals for research.
B.
1) for
a. was tried first on animals.
b. is dependent on
c. using unwanted animals.
2) against
a. suffer
b. unnecessary
c. the same rights
3)
a. cell culture
b. computer modeling.
【原文】
Every year about 17 million animals are used in Laboratory experiments. But in many countries today, a difficult question is being asked: Do we have the right to use animals in this way?
People who are for using animals in research argue that the use of animals in medical research has many practical benefits. Animal research has enabled researchers to develop treatments for many diseases, such as heart disease and depression. It would not have been possible to develop vaccines for diseases like smallpox and polio without animal research. Every drug anyone takes today was tried first on animals.
Future medical research is dependent on the use of animals. Which is more important: the life of a rat or that of a three-year-old child?
Medical research is also an excellent way of using unwanted animals. Last year, over 12 million animals had to be killed in animal shelters because no one wanted them as pets.
However those who are against it point out that the fact that humans benefit cannot be used to justify using animals in research any more than it can be used to justify experimenting on other humans. Animals suffer a lot during these experiments. They are forced to live in small cages, and they may be unable to move.
Much of the research that is carried out is unnecessary anyway.
Animals have the same rights as humans do — to be able to move freely and not to have pain or fear forced on them. Researchers must find other ways of doing their research, using cell culture and computer modeling. There should be no animals in research laboratories at all.
Task 6
【答案】
A.
1) No.
2) Because zoo officials want him to produce cubs with another female tiger, so they don’t want him to become too interested in this family.
B.
1) four months
2) 13 kilograms
3) horse meat, their mother’s milk.
4) the National Zoo’s Website
C.
1) c, 2) c, 3) b
【原文】
Visitors to the National Zoo in Washington D. C. can see three new young tigers. The rare babies met the public for the first time late last month. Chip O’Neal tells us about them.
The mother tiger sat nearby on the grass as her babies rolled, chased and bit
each other playfully. Then Korenchy also jumped into the games. Her cubs were born at the zoo four months ago. They are called Mike, Eric and Chrisy. The new young tigers at the National Zoo each weigh about 13 kilograms. Their fur is dark orange with black stripes. They eat horse meat and drink milk from Korenchy.
Korenchy and her babies are Sumatran tigers. Sumatran tigers came from the Indonesian island of Sumatra. They are now in danger of disappearing from the earth. Fewer than 500 of these tigers remain in the world. That includes about 60 living in zoos in North America.
Korenchy came to the National Zoo from the Jakarta Zoo in Indonesia. The girl was part of the Sumatran Tiger Species Survival Program. Korenchy has given birth to live cubs three tines. The father of her new cubs is Rokan, a Sumatran tiger who arrived two years ago from another zoo. Korenchy and Rokan had their babies the natural way instead of the scientific method often used to produce young animals in zoos.
A wire fence separates Rokan from his babies. Zoo workers who care for Rokan say he reaches through the fence to wash the cubs with his tongue. They say this means he recognizes Mike, Eric and Chrisy as his cubs. However, zoo officials are hoping that Rokan will produce more cubs with another female Sumatran tiger at the zoo, so they do not want him to become too interested in this family.
The National Zoo hopes to keep the Sumatran tiger cubs for at least 18 months before sending them to other zoos. That is about the age when most tiger
cubs in the wild leave their mothers. The National Zoo has placed cameras in the Sumatran tigers’ living area, so people with computers can see them. To do this, use your computer to find the National Zoo’s Website at www. si.edu/natzoo.
Task 7
【答案】
A.
1) Cats have been more popular, because there are more pet cats in American homes.
2) About 8,000 years
3) They probably arrived in the United States from Europe.
4) No.
B.
1)
a) food especially prepared for cats
b) other equipment
c) with images of cats
d) in special burial grounds
2)
a) pleasure
b) care
c) being alone
d) independent
C.
1) F, 2) F, 3) T, 4) F, 5) F
【原文】
An old expression says, “Man’s best friend is his dog.” Today, however, it seems that cats have replaced dogs as the most popular pets in American homes.
Americans have more than 62 million pet dogs. But even more cats — more than 64 million — live in American homes.
These pet cats may have long hair or short hair. They are different colors and sizes. Some are costly animals that take part in competitions. Many more are common American mixtures of several kinds of cats.
Most house cats live a good life. They are not expected to work for their food. Instead, they rule their homes like furry kings and queens. They wait for their owners to serve them.
Americans are increasingly serious about their cats. These concerns have made the care of cats into big business.
Each year, cat owners buy tons of food especially prepared for cats. They buy toys and other equipment. They buy jewelry and clothes for themselves with images of cats on them. Some owners even bury their dead pets in special burial grounds.
Humans have loved and respected cats for centuries. Scientists have evidence that cats and people lived together as long as 8000 years ago. The small house cat was once a highly honored animal. In ancient Egypt, for example, people who killed a cat could be punished by death.
Early in American history cats were not treated as gods, however. They probably arrived in the United States with settlers and traders from Europe. These cats worked. They killed rats and mice.
Sometimes, Americans mistreated their cats. During the early days of the nation, religious extremists believed that some cats were working for the devil. Black cats were especially suspected of being evil.
Later, American families who had enough food began taking cats into their homes. People cared for the cats because the animals gave them pleasure. The cats thanked people for feeding them by making a purring sound. This pleasant noise usually means a cat is happy.
Animal experts offer several reasons why cats have become so popular as house pets. They say cats need less care than dogs. And cats do not seem to suffer as much as dogs from being alone if the owners are away.
Still, millions of other people do not like cats at all. They say dogs are better and more loving pets. They say cats do not have much feeling. They believe cats stay with people only to be fed. Cat owners defend their pets against such criticism. They say cats are just much more independent than dogs.
A student of animal medicine explains the situation this way: dogs follow you around — they want you to talk to them and play with them a lot of the time. Cats like more space and more privacy — this does not mean they do not love their owners.
Task 8
【答案】
Little Steve has a pet rabbit, Bunny. He plays with it every day after school. One day his mother sees that her little boy is holding Bunny by the ears. From time to time he gives the poor rabbit an angry shake and says: “How much is two plus two?”
“Steve,” says his mother, “Why do you treat your poor little Bunny that way?”
“Well,” explains Steve angrily, “Our teacher says that rabbits multiply very quickly, but this dummy can’t even add.”
Task 9
【答案】
Most mammals live on land, but not all of them. Millions of years ago, some mammals went back to the sea and lived there. The legs of these animals disappeared, and after a long time they looked like fish. These animals became whales and dolphins.
Whales and dolphins are still like other mammals in many ways. They are warm-blooded and they breathe air. They also have big brains. That is why they are more intelligent than fish. Whales have the biggest brains in the world. Their brain
is bigger than the brain of a human being.
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