Australian cities can keep their native wildlife — but only if they can kick their habit of urban sprawl (扩展). That’s the finding of a new study by leading Australian environmental researchers Jessica Sushinsky, Professor Hugh Possingham and Dr. Richard Fuller of The University of Queensland.
“While urban development usually reduces the number of birds in a city, building more compact (紧凑的) cities and avoiding urban sprawl can slow these reductions greatly,” says lead author Jessica Sushinsky. “Compact housing development leaves birds’ homes untouched, leading to fewer losses of birds.”
The researchers surveyed native and wild birds in Brisbane’s urban areas, including living and industrial areas, public parks and gardens, major roadways and airports. They then used statistical modeling to find out what will happen to the birds as the city grows. The first setting was compact growth — where multiple homes are built on land that previously had only one house. The second setting was sprawling growth — a familiar pattern where homes are built here and there beyond the city’s current boundaries.
The team’s forecasts showed that a much greater diversity of species was lost over 20 years in the sprawling setting compared to the more compact setting. “Urban sprawl resulted in the disappearance of many urban-sensitive birds — birds that only live in areas where there is native vegetation (植被), such as parklands and woodlands,” Ms. Sushinsky says.
“On the other hand, we found the city with the compact development attracted more birds because it kept more of its parks and green areas.”
Now the Queensland Government has adopted the more compact urban growth strategy, which, Dr. Richard Fuller says, is good news for Australia’s native birds. These birds are environmental specialists — they need a particular environment to do well. “While compact development means smaller backyards, it can also make our entire cities more biodiverse,” according to Dr. Fuller. “The study shows that we should hold on to our green spaces instead of clearing them for sprawling development.”
This is the first time science has modeled the effects of different urban growth strategies on birds, the researchers say. “Statistical models like these are important because they help us to understand the ecological consequences of a particular decision,” says Dr Fuller.
1.Why is compact urban growth better than the sprawling strategy?
A. It makes the cities more beautiful. B. It gives people larger backyards.
C. It is money-saving. D. It is bird-friendly.
2.Dr Richard Fuller thinks the Queensland Government’s action ______.
A. is really brave B. is worth praising
C. has an uncertain future D. should be performed nationwide
3.What can we learn about the study from the passage?
A. It is based on the statistics in the past.
B. It is strongly against urban development.
C. It criticizes the city environment in Brisbane.
D. It suggests leaving more green spaces for birds.
4.Where does the passage probably come from?
A. A news report. B. A travel guide.
C. A health magazine. D. A history book.
高二英语阅读理解困难题
Australian cities can keep their native wildlife — but only if they can kick their habit of urban sprawl (扩展). That’s the finding of a new study by leading Australian environmental researchers Jessica Sushinsky, Professor Hugh Possingham and Dr. Richard Fuller of The University of Queensland.
“While urban development usually reduces the number of birds in a city, building more compact (紧凑的) cities and avoiding urban sprawl can slow these reductions greatly,” says lead author Jessica Sushinsky. “Compact housing development leaves birds’ homes untouched, leading to fewer losses of birds.”
The researchers surveyed native and wild birds in Brisbane’s urban areas, including living and industrial areas, public parks and gardens, major roadways and airports. They then used statistical modeling to find out what will happen to the birds as the city grows. The first setting was compact growth — where multiple homes are built on land that previously had only one house. The second setting was sprawling growth — a familiar pattern where homes are built here and there beyond the city’s current boundaries.
The team’s forecasts showed that a much greater diversity of species was lost over 20 years in the sprawling setting compared to the more compact setting. “Urban sprawl resulted in the disappearance of many urban-sensitive birds — birds that only live in areas where there is native vegetation (植被), such as parklands and woodlands,” Ms. Sushinsky says.
“On the other hand, we found the city with the compact development attracted more birds because it kept more of its parks and green areas.”
Now the Queensland Government has adopted the more compact urban growth strategy, which, Dr. Richard Fuller says, is good news for Australia’s native birds. These birds are environmental specialists — they need a particular environment to do well. “While compact development means smaller backyards, it can also make our entire cities more biodiverse,” according to Dr. Fuller. “The study shows that we should hold on to our green spaces instead of clearing them for sprawling development.”
This is the first time science has modeled the effects of different urban growth strategies on birds, the researchers say. “Statistical models like these are important because they help us to understand the ecological consequences of a particular decision,” says Dr Fuller.
1.Why is compact urban growth better than the sprawling strategy?
A. It makes the cities more beautiful. B. It gives people larger backyards.
C. It is money-saving. D. It is bird-friendly.
2.Dr Richard Fuller thinks the Queensland Government’s action ______.
A. is really brave B. is worth praising
C. has an uncertain future D. should be performed nationwide
3.What can we learn about the study from the passage?
A. It is based on the statistics in the past.
B. It is strongly against urban development.
C. It criticizes the city environment in Brisbane.
D. It suggests leaving more green spaces for birds.
4.Where does the passage probably come from?
A. A news report. B. A travel guide.
C. A health magazine. D. A history book.
高二英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
语法填空
Koalas, native to the Australian wilds, initially proved difficult to keep alive in zoos, because koalas eat nothing but the leaves of the eucalyptus tree(桉树). Zoos provided them ____1.______ an unlimited supply of eucalyptus leaves. One zoo even planted eucalyptus trees _____2.____(make) sure that the koalas had a continual supply of fresh leaves. However, koalas kept in cages always died within a year of their ___3._____(arrive) at the zoo.
Eventually it was discovered that eucalyptus trees less than five years old sometimes produce a kind of acid in their leaves. Taking in small quantities of this acid ___4.____ (be) fatal to the koalas. In their natural habitat, the koalas’ senses tell them ____5.____ eucalyptus trees have dangerous leaves, and they simply move on to other trees until they find leaves _____6.____ are safe to eat. But in zoos, when their keepers unknowingly were giving them leaves with acid, the koalas ____7.____(leave) with only two options: eat the poisonous leaves ____8.___ starve. Either option was fatal to the ____9._____(trap) koalas.
Fortunately, today’s zoos use special tests to distinguish between poisonous eucalyptus leaves and safe ___10.______, and now koalas are eating well and living an easy life in zoos.
高二英语语法填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
Most people go to a doctor in their own town or suburb . But people in the Australian outback can’t get to a doctor quickly. The nearest doctor is sometimes hundreds of kilometers away so they have to call him on a two-way radio. This special doctor is called the “flying doctor”. He visits sick people by plane.
When someone is very sick, the doctor has to fly to the person’s home. His plane lands on a flat piece of ground near the person’s house. Sometimes the doctor has to take the patient to hospital. Flying doctors take about 8,600 people to hospital each year.
However, most of the time the person isn’t very sick, and the doctor doesn’t have to visit. He can give advice on the radio from the office at the flying doctor center. He can tell the patient to use some medicine from a special medicine chest (箱子). There is one of these chests in every home in the outback. Each bottle, tube and packet in the chest has a number. The doctor often says something like this,” take two tablets from bottle 5 every four hours.”
1.Some people in the Australian outback can’t get to a doctor quickly. Because_________
A. there are few doctors there
B. the nearest doctor is sometimes very far away from them
C. there is always heavy traffic on the road
D. they don’t want to see a doctor
2.The doctor there usually goes to visit his patient _____.
A. by sea B. in a car
C. on foot D. by air
3.From the passage we know that_________.
A. every family in the outback has a special medicine chest
B. people in Australia are seldom ill
C. a “flying doctor” is a man who flies people to hospital
D. there are very few hospitals in Australia
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
You may find out more information about Australian natives through the Internet _______.
A.if possible B.if necessary
C.if anything D.if they are necessary
高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
Not only_______polluted but________crowded.
A. was the city,were the streets B.the city was,were the streets
C.was the city,the streets were D. the city was,the streets were
高二英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
There is no doubt ________ only by lifelong learning can we keep up with the advancing society.
A. whether B. that C. which D. why
高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
Most young architects—particularly those in big cities—can only dream about working in a building of their own. And making that dream come true often means finding a building no one else seems to want, which is exactly what happened to David Yocum and his partner, Brain Bell. Their building is a former automobile electrical—parts firm in Atlanta. From the outside, it looks too old, even something horrible, but open the door and you are in a wide, open courtyard, lined on three sides with rusting (生锈的) walls.
In 2000, Yocum and Bell found this building in the city’s West End. Built in 1947, the structure had been abandoned (放弃) years earlier and the roof of the main building had fallen down. But the price was right, so Yocum bought it. He spent eight months of his off-hours on demolition (拆除), pulling rubbish out through the roof, because it was too dangerous to go inside the building, The demolition was hard work, but it gave him time to think about what he wanted to do, and “to treasure what was there—the walls, the rust, the light,” Yocum said. “Every season, more paint falls off the walls and more rust develops. It’s like an art installation (装置) in there—a slow-motion show.”
Since the back building had been constructed without windows, an all-glass front was added to the building to give it a view of the courtyard, and skylights were installed in the roof. The back of the building is a working area and a living room for Yocum and his wife. A sort of buffer (缓冲) zone between the front and the back contains a bathroom, a kitchen and a mechanical (机械的) room, and the walls that separate these zones have openings that allow views through to the front of the studio and the courtyard beyond.
Yocum and Bell, who have just completed an art gallery for the city, feel that the experience from the decoration of their building, focusing on the inside rather than the outside, has influenced their work. It has also given these architects a chance to show how they can make more out of less.
1.According to the passage, it is for most young architects in big cities to work in a building of their own.
A. easy B. unnecessary
C. unrealistic D. common
2.Working on the old building, Yocum and Bell .
A. pulled rubbish out through the roof
B. removed the skylights from the bathroom
C. presented a slow–motion show in an art gallery
D. built a kitchen at the back part of the old building
3.It can be inferred from the passage that Yocum and Bell .
A. benefited a lot from pulling down the roof
B. turned more old buildings into art galleries
C. got inspiration from decorating their old building
D. paid more attention to the outside of the gallery
4.The main idea of the passage is that .
A. people can learn a lot from their failures
B. it is worthwhile to spend money on an old building
C. people should not judge things by their appearance
D. creative people can make the best of what they have
高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Most young architects—particularly those in big cities—can only dream about working in a building of their own. And making that dream come true often means finding a building no one else seems to want, which is exactly what happened to David Yocum and his partner, Brian Bell. Their building is a former automobile electrical-parts firm in Atlanta. From the outside, it looks too old, even something horrible, but open the door and you are in a wide, open courtyard, lined on three sides with rusting walls.
In 2000,Yocum and Bell found this building in the city’s West End. Built in 1947, the structure had been abandoned years earlier and the roof of the main building had fallen down. But the price was right, so Yocum bought it. He spent eight months of his off-hours on demolition, pulling rubbish out through the roof, because it was too dangerous to go inside the building. The demolition was hard work, but it gave him time to think about what he wanted to do, and “to treasure what was there—the walls, the rust, the light,” Yocum said. “Every season, more paint falls off the walls and more rust develops. It’s like an art installation(装置) in there—a slow-motion show.”
Since the back building had been constructed without windows, an all-glass front was added to the building to give it a view of the courtyard, and skylights were installed in the roof. The back of the building is a working area and a living room for Yocum and his wife. A sort of buffer(缓冲) zone between the front and the back contains a bathroom, a kitchen and a mechanical room, and the walls that separate these zones have openings that allow views through to the front of the studio and the courtyard beyond.
Yocum and Bell, who have just completed an art gallery for the city, feel that the experience from the decoration of their building, focusing on the inside rather than the outside, has influenced their work. It has also given these architects a chance to show how they can make more out of less.
1.According to the passage, it is_________ for most young architects in big cities to work in a building of their own.
A. unrealistic B. easy
C. unnecessary D. common
2.Working on the old building, Yocum and Bell_______.
A. removed the skylights from the bathroom
B. presented a slow-motion show in an art gallery
C. pulled rubbish out through the roof
D. built a kitchen at the back part of the old building
3.It can be inferred from the passage that Yocum and Bell ________.
A. benefited a lot from pulling down the roof
B. turned more old buildings into art galleries
C. paid more attention to the outside of the art gallery
D. got inspiration from decorating their old building
4.The main idea of the passage is that_________.
A. creative people can make the best of what they have
B. people can learn a lot from their failures
C. it is worthwhile to spend money on an old building
D. people should not judge things by their appearance
高二英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析
Not only ________ their money, but they were also in danger of losing their lives.
A.lost they B.they lost C.did they lose D.they did lose
高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
Not others but Mother always _____ children ______ in their beautiful clothes.
A.keep; dressed | B.kept; dressing | C.keeps; dressing | D.keeps; dressed |
高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析