More than 65 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous Period(白垩纪), many species died off during a global disaster often called the K-Pg extinction. The end of the Cretaceous Period saw some very big changes in Earth’s oceans and on its lands. It wiped out up to 80% of all animal species, including the dinosaurs. But 20% of the animals that were alive with the dinosaurs did survive. What were these amazing animals? How and why did they survive while so many others disappeared forever? Behold the survivors of the K-Pg mass extinction.
Spider (Arachnid)
The earliest web-spinning arachnids (蛛形纲动物)produced silk from their abdomens about 386 million years ago. These ancient arachnids are closely related to today’s spiders. The original function of spider webs was probably to wrap eggs in a protective covering. Later, spiders evolved to use their silk to spin webs for catching prey. This ingenious invention helped them save energy while hunting and made it easier for them to survive.
Dragonflies (Meganeura 巨脉蜻蜓)
Today these flying insects have wings with a span of about 6 inches. But the earliest dragonflies used to grow to huge sizes 325 million years ago. The Meganeura dragonfly had a wingspan of almost 27 inches and would have dwarfed the largest modern dragonfly. In the oxygen-rich swamp environment of the Cretaceous, their large size helped Meganeura to absorb needed oxygen. But after the K-Pg extinction, the air and water contained less oxygen. Dragonflies adapted to their new environment by becoming smaller.
Crocodile (Sarcosuchus 帝王鳄)
The largest Sarcosuchus from the Cretaceous was 39 feet long. This is three times longer than the biggest modern crocodile. Crocodiles are predators and have probably hunted in much the same way for the past 225 million years. They have survived all this time by matching their relatively small size with their extremely powerful jaws that produce a great biting force.
Some of you may play Ant Forest. It is a game on Alipay. Users collect “energy” to make their “trees” grow. When the “energy” reaches a certain level, some organizations and companies will plant a real tree in a desert area of China. And now it seems that the nation’s efforts as a whole to make a greener world have paid off.
According to a study by NASA and published in the journal Nature Sustainability in February, China and India are mainly responsible for making the Earth greener over the past two decades. The study has found that since 2000 the Earth’s green leaf area has increased by 5 percent, or over 5 million square kilometers. That’s an area equivalent to the total area of the Amazon rainforest. It is mainly the result of big tree planting programs in China and intensive agriculture in both countries, according to NASA. “China and India account for one third of the increased greening but contain only 9 percent of the planets land area covered in vegetation.” Chi Chen, the study’s lead author and a researcher at Boston University, US, told CNN. China was the major contributor, adding 25 percent to this increase, while India added 6.8 percent.
Over the past decades, China has made great efforts to green the land. In 1978, China began a national-level forestation project—the Three North Shelterbelt Forest Program, also known as the “Great Green Wall”. The program has seen many trees planted in 13 provinces and autonomous regions in northern China to act as windbreaks, according to China Daily. By the end of 2017, the forest coverage rate among the regions of the project had reached 13.57 percent, compared to 5.05 percent 40 years ago.
For example, Kubuqi Desert, which is near the Yellow River in Inner Mongolia, is the seventh largest in the country. It was once the source of sandstorms in Beijing. But thanks to forestation efforts, about one third of the Kubuqi Desert is now covered with trees and shrubs, and sandstorms are less common, reported Xinhua News Agency.
In the light of China’s success in dealing with desertification, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) believes China is a good example for others to follow. “China is one of the most successful countries in greening the desert and has lessons to share with the world.” UNEP Executive Director Erik Solheim told Xinhua.
1.When the users of Ant Forest collect enough “energy”, ________.A.a tree can be planted in the game |
B.they can go to the desert and plant a tree |
C.a tree in the desert will be named after them |
D.an organization or a company will plant a tree in a desert |
A.China contributes more to the increased greening than India |
B.the area covered in vegetation contains 9 percent of the planets land |
C.the increase in greening is the result of big tree-planting programs in India |
D.China and India helped the Amazon rainforest become greener |
A.The area is equivalent to the total area of the Amazon rainforest. |
B.Since 2000 the Earth’s green leaf area has increased by 5 percent, or over 5 million square kilometers. |
C.China and India are mainly responsible for making the Earth greener one the past two decades. |
D.Big tree-planting programs in China and intensive agriculture in both countries. |
A.It was a project led by the 13 provincial governments. |
B.This project started in 1978 and completed in 2017. |
C.Trees were planted to provide protection from the wind. |
D.The forest coverage rate of China increased about 8.5%. |
A.To suggest that other countries learn from China’s actions. |
B.To call for more efforts to make the Earth greener. |
C.To state that China has been playing a leading role to increase green land. |
D.To prove that the green leaf area on the Earth has been decreasing rapidly in recent years. |
A.is causing an effect on; has caused |
B.is having an impact on; has resulted from |
C.is damaging to; has lead to |
D.is causing damage to; has resulted in |
A.is in the South Pole; longitude |
B.reaches the top of the mountain; altitude |
C.is located near the equator; latitude |
D.is situated in the Sichuan Basin; clouds |
A.fear for | B.are concerned with |
C.are concerned about | D.worry about |
Many of us have been troubled by junk mail or phone calls from salespeople. We are especially angry that our personal information has been leaked (泄露).
Here comes some good news. On Dec. 28,China’s top law-making body made rules to protect personal information online and public interests (利益). Such a decision is timely and necessary. Online information safety has been a problem because of no Internet laws. Some people are making use of the Internet to damage (损害) the rights and interests of the nation and people.
Liu Yang, a bank officer in Beijing said to China Daily that he has received many messages from a school that asked whether he was interested in security (证券) classes.” I am preparing for a licensing examination, but I’d like to know how those schools could know that if the examination organizers didn’t sell my information,” he said.
The trading of personal information is not allowed in the rules. Companies and government staff who break the rules will be punished. If people find their information has been spread online, they have the right to ask websites to delete it.
The rules also ask Internet users to give their real names to service providers. Some main micro-blogging services, including Tencent Weibo and Sina Weibo, already started asking users to stop online rumors (谣言) and create a healthy online environment. But users can continue to use their Web names when posting something online.
Making laws to protect personal information and stop junk electronic information is common in other countries. Nearly 100 countries have such laws, including the US, the UK and Japan.
1.What does the word salespeople mean?A.雇主 | B.甩卖者 | C.推销员 | D.买家 |
A.We have got junk mail. | B.We have junk phone calls. |
C.We aren’t allowed to protect ourselves. | D.Our personal information has been leaked. |
A.Because there is not a Internet law. | B.Because people are interest in the Internet. |
C.Because people isn’t right to use the Internet. | D.Because some people are making use of the Internet. |
A.Internet users have to stop online rumors. |
B.The personal information is spread online. |
C.Internet users have to give their real names to service providers. |
D.We have the right to ask websites to delete the information that hurt ourselves. |
A.How to make us not be troubled. | B.The trading of personal information. |
C.The trouble of junk mail or phone calls. | D.The Internet law keeps the information safe. |
Your parents go to work and you are at home alone(独自). Do you
Cao Fan says
Students
The winter holiday is a good time to start. Come on! And try(尝试) to learn to do something.
1.A.call | B.help | C.know | D.think |
A.sorry | B.no | C.thanks | D.sure |
A.watching | B.playing | C.reading | D.doing |
A.party | B.music | C.food | D.sports |
A.of | B.in | C.to | D.with |
A.classmates | B.friends | C.parents | D.teachers |
A.take | B.play | C.need | D.ask |
A.short | B.difficult | C.boring | D.cool |
A.because | B.and | C.so | D.but |
A.habits | B.things | C.subjects | D.books |
A.Because the world has moved into a tech⁃driven century. |
B.Because STEM classes have long been neglected in America. |
C.Because education officials prefer STEM classes to art classes. |
D.Because US students are expected to be at an advantage in these areas. |
A.afford | B.direct | C.create | D.raise |
A.the benefits of drama education |
B.the importance of STEM learning |
C.the abilities needed for STEM learning |
D.the reasons to improve drama education |
A.drama is more important than STEM classes |
B.drama education has been the nationwide trend |
C.the result of neglecting drama education is hard to bear |
D.American students have made progress in playing catch⁃up |
A.Either; or | B.Neither; nor | C.Not only; but also | D.Both; and |
现状概述 | 由于课业繁重,学生压力较大。 更注重学生的语言能力,学生难得高分,因此有些学生可能灰心。 |
同学建议 | 我们不仅要勤奋努力,更要改进学习方法。 应该认真计划好时间,以便在学业和爱好间取得平衡。 |
你的建议 | ……(1-2点,做适当发挥) |
How to Face Senior High School Entrance Examination