阅读理解

　　Here in the hills were buffaloes．I had even, in my very young days－when I could not live till I had killed one of each kind of African animal－shot a bull out here．Later on, when I was not so interested to shoot as to watch the wild animals, I had been out to see them again, but twice I had to go back without success．

　　But one afternoon as I was having tea with some friends outside the house．denys came flying from Nairobi and went over our heads westwards; a little while after he turned and came back and landed on the farm．I drove down to the plain to bring him back, but he would not get out of his plane．

　　“The buffaloes are out feeding in the fields, ”he said, “come out and have a look at them．”

　　“I cannot come, ”I said, “I have got tea party up at the house．”

　　“But we will go and see them and be back in a quarter of an hour, ”he said．

　　This sounded to me like the suggestions that people make to you in a dream．So I went up with him．It did not take us long to see the buffaloes from the air; we counted them as they peacefully mixed and separated on the open ground closed in by bushes．There was one very old big black bull, and a number of young ones; if a stranger had come near to them they would have heard or smelt him at once, but they were not prepared for something from the air．They heard the noise of our machine and stopped feeding, but they did not seem to be able to look up．In the end they realized that something very strange was about; the old bull first walked out in front of the others．Suddenly he began to go down the valley side and after a moment he broke into a run．The whole group now followed him, rushing hurriedly down into the bushes．In a small wood of low trees they stopped and kept close together．Here they believed themselves to be out of sight．We flew up and away．It was like having been taken there by a secret unknown route．

　　When I came back to my tea?party the teapot on the stone was still so hot that I burned my fingers on it．

阅读理解

　　1970 was World Conservation(保护)year．The United Nations wanted everyone to know that the world is in danger．They hoped that governments would act quickly in order to conserve “nature”．Here is one example of the problem．At one time there were 1300 different plants, trees and flowers in Holland, but now only 866 remain．The others have been destroyed by a modern man and his technology．We are changing the earth, the air and the water, and everything that grows and lives．We can’t live without these things．If we continue like this, we shall destroy ourselves．

　　What will happen in the future? Perhaps it is more important to ask “What must we do now?” The people who will be living in the world of tomorrow are the young of today．A lot of them know that conservation is necessary．Many are helping to save our world．They plant trees, build bridges across rivers in forests, and so on．In a small town in the United States a large group of girls cleaned the banks of 11 kilometers of their rivers．Young people may hear about conservation through a record, called No one’s going to change our world．It was made by the Beatles, Cliff Richard and other singers．The money from it will help to conserve wild animals．

阅读理解

Dangerous Creatures

　　Some beach creatures are wonderful－like dolphins, but others are dangerous．Find out more about the dangerous ones－puffer fish, blue ringed octopus, and stingrays．The blue ringed octopus．The blue ringed octopus is not a very big creature but it is very dangerous．

　　These octopuses are found all around the coast of Australia．They often lie in rock pools close to shore．The blue ringed octopus is usually a dull color but it shows its bright blue rings when it is in danger．If it is taken out of the water it is able to bite a person and poison them．If this creature bites someone they will feel numbness(麻木)around the mouth, face and neck．

Puffer Fish

　　Puffer Fish are found in all Australian seas．They are very easy to catch but must not be eaten because their flesh and internal organs contain a poison．

　　Anyone who does eat the flesh can become sick very quickly．They may even stop breathing．

The Blue Bottle

　　The Blue Bottle is found in most Australian waters．Blue Bottles float lightly on the surface of the water but their tentacles(触须)can be as long as 10 meters．

　　Blue Bottles are much less dangerous than some other jellyfish but they can give a swimmer a bad sting(刺)if the swimmer accidentally touches them．Stingrays

　　There are many different kinds of stingrays in Australian waters．They usually swim and feed on bottom of the sea．Accidents can happen if people stand on them or try to pick them up．Stingrays have a sting on their tail．These stings have poison on them．If someone is stung the wound can easily become infected．

阅读理解

　　Some scientists say that animals in the ocean are increasingly threatened by noise pollution caused by human beings．

　　The noise that affects sea creatures comes from a number of human activities．It is caused mainly by industrial underwater explosions, ocean drilling, and ship engines．Such noises are added to natural sounds．These sounds include the breaking of ice fields, underwater earthquakes, and sounds made by animals themselves．

　　decibels(分贝)measured in water are different from those measured on land．A noise of one hundred and twenty decibels on land causes pain to human ears．In water, a decibel level of one hundred and ninety five would have the same effect．

　　Some scientists have proposed setting a noise limit of one hundred and twenty decibels in oceans．They have observed that noises at the level can frighten and confuse whales．

　　A team of American and Canadian scientists discovered that louder noises can seriously injure some animals．The research team found that powerful underwater explosions were causing whales in the area to lose their hearing．This seriously affected the whales’ ability to exchange information and find their way．Some of the whales even died．The explosions had caused their ears to bleed and become infected．

　　Many researchers whose work depends on ocean sounds object to a limit of one hundred and twenty decibels．They say such a limit would mean an end to important industrial and scientific research．

　　Scientists do not know how much and what kinds of noises are harmful to ocean animals．However, many scientists suspect that noise is a greater danger than they believed．They want to prevent noises from harming creatures in the ocean．

阅读理解

　　Here in the hills were buffaloes．I had even, in my very young days－when I could not live till I had killed one of each kind of African animal－shot a bull out here．Later on, when I was not so interested to shoot as to watch the wild animals, I had been out to see them again, but twice I had to go back without success．

　　the house．Denys came flying from Nairobi and went over our heads westwards; a little while after he turned and came back and landed on the farm．I drove down to the plain to bring him back, but he would not get out of his plane．

　　“The buffaloes are out feeding in the fields,” he said, “come out and have a look at them．”

　　“I cannot come,” I said, “I have got teaparty up at the house．”

　　“But we will go and see them and be back in a quarter of an hour,” he said．

　　This sounded to me like the suggestions that people make to you in a dream．So I went up with him．It did not take us long to see the buffaloes from the air; we counted them as they peacefully mixed and separated on the open ground closed in by bushes．There was one very old big black bull, and a number of young ones; if a stranger had come near to them they would have heard or smelt him at once, but they were not prepared for something from the air．They heard the noise of our ?machine and stopped feeding, but they did not seem to be able to look up．In the end they realized that something very strange was about; the old bull first walked out in front of the others．Suddenly he began to go down the valley side and after a moment he broke into a run．The whole group now followed him, rushing hurriedly down into the bushes．In a small wood of low trees they stopped and kept close together．Here they ?believed themselves to be out of sight．We flew up and away．It was like having been taken there by a secret unknown route．

　　When I came back to my tea-party the teapot on the stone was still so hot that I burned my fingers on it．

阅读理解

　　1970 was World Conservation(保护)year．The United Nations wanted everyone to know that the world is in danger．They hoped that governments would act quickly in order to conserve “nature”．Here is one example of the problem．At one time there were 1300 different plants, trees and flowers in Holland, but now only 866 remain．The others have been destroyed by a modern man and his technology．We are changing the earth, the air and the water, and everything that grows and lives．We can’t live without these things．If we continue like this, we shall destroy ourselves．

　　What will happen in the future? Perhaps it is more important to ask “What must we do now?” The people who will be living in the world of tomorrow are the young of today．A lot of them know that conservation is necessary．Many are helping to save our world．They plant trees, build bridges across rivers in forests, and so on．In a small town in the United States a large group of girls cleaned the banks of 11 kilometers of their rivers．Young people may hear about conservation through a record, called ?No one’s going to change our world．It was made by the Beatles, Cliff Richard and other singers．The money from it will help to conserve wild ?animals．

阅读理解

Dangerous Creatures

　　Some beach creatures are wonderful－like dolphins, but ?others are dangerous．Find out more about the dangerous ones－puffer fish, blue ringed octopus, and stingrays．The blue ringed octopus The blue ringed octopus is not a very big creature but it is very dangerous．

　　These octopuses are found all around the coast of Australia．They often lie in rock pools close to shore．The blue ringed octopus is usually a dull color but it shows its bright blue rings when it is in danger．If it is taken out of the water it is able to bite a person and poison them．If this creature bites someone they will feel numbness(麻木)around the mouth, face and neck．

　　Puffer Fish

　　Puffer Fish are found in all Australian seas．They are very easy to catch but must not be eaten because their flesh and internal organs contain a poison．

　　Anyone who does eat the flesh can become sick very quickly．They may even stop breathing．

　　The Blue Bottle

　　The Blue Bottle is found in most Australian waters．Blue Bottles float lightly on the surface of the water but their tentacles(触须)can be as long as 10 meters．

　　Blue Bottles are much less dangerous than some other jellyfish but they can give a swimmer a bad sting(刺)if the swimmer accidentally touches them．

　　Stingrays

　　There are many different kinds of stingrays in Australian waters．They usually swim and feed on bottom of the sea．Accidents can happen if people stand on them or try to pick them up．Stingrays have a sting on their tail．These stings have poison on them．If someone is stung the wound can easily become infected．

阅读理解

　　Some scientists say that animals in the ocean are increasingly threatened by noise pollution caused by human beings．

　　The noise that affects sea creatures comes from a number of human activities．It is caused mainly by industrial underwater explosions, ocean drilling, and ship engines．Such noises are added to natural sounds．These sounds include the breaking of ice fields, underwater earthquakes, and sounds made by　animals themselves．

　　Decibels(分贝)measured in water are different from those measured on land．A noise of one hundred and twenty decibels on land causes pain to human ears．In water, a decibel level of one hundred and ninety five would have the same effect．

　　Some scientists have proposed setting a noise limit of one hundred and twenty decibels in oceans．They have observed that noises at the level can frighten and confuse whales．

　　A team of American and Canadian scientists discovered that louder noises can seriously injure some animals．The research team found that powerful underwater explosions were causing whales in the area to lose their hearing．This seriously affected the whales’ ability to exchange information and find their way．Some of the whales even died．The explosions had caused their ears to bleed and become infected．

　　Many researchers whose work depends on ocean sounds object to a limit of one hundred and twenty decibels．They say such a limit would mean an end to ?important industrial and scientific research．

　　Scientists do not know how much and what kinds of noises are harmful to ocean animals．However, many scientists suspect(认为……是可能的)that noise is a greater danger than they believed．They want to prevent noises from harming creatures in the ocean．

阅读理解

　　Until recently the chances for criminal activity(犯罪活动)on the Internet have been low．However, business done on the Internet is growing rapidly, as people order books and other products and make money transactions(交易)．All this is a strong temptation(诱惑)for hackers．

　　Hackers are often young people who are deeply attractedby computers．They use them to prowl the Internet, looking for ways to break into computer systems(系统)run by banks, telephone companies and even government departments．They look for examples of credit cards(信用卡)and try to steal the numbers．

　　Recently in America, hackers have been caught testing the security(安全)system at the Pentagon, headquarter(总部)of the American Defence Department．But still the backers insist often for a dare “because it’s there” although with what success nobody really knows．

　　Hackers seldom admit to(享有)a successful break in．The first sign of a security breach(泄密)may be when a customer discovers fraudulent(欺骗)money transaction on a credit card account(账户), and it is hard to discover it．

　　“You just don’t give your credit card out to anybody, ”says Michael White, multimedia product manager for clear communications, “and in the same way you should regularly change your credit card entering number, you can defeat hackers by regularly changing your　Internet password(密码)．If you don’t, it’s like leaving the bank vault(金库)door wide open．”

　　The warning against hackers is out there, and the answer is obviously to choose tricky passwords and change them frequently and to watch who you pass your credit card details to．

阅读理解

　　Not long ago, the only time you could see a robot was when you were reading a novel or watching a movie such as Star Wars(《星球大战》)．Today, however, a lot of things in science stories have been science facts．Robots are starting to ?appear in our everyday lives．These robots have differentsizes, shapes, and colors．But they all have the same type of man-made “brain”．Leading the robotrevolution are industrial(工业的)robots that work in factories．Industrial robots can do different kinds of jobs that are often boring and sometimes dangerous．Robots are also coming to American homes, though not as quickly as they are entering factories．These robots aren’t as friendly and bright as those you saw in Star Wars．But, their makers say, today’s home robots “walk”, sense objects(感知物体)in their way(and sometimes knock into them), and even carry objects(which they sometimes drop)．Well, nobody is perfect．

　　We may laugh at home robots today, but some day they may see and hear better than humans do．We humans can only see certain wavelengths(波长)of light, and hear certain sounds．That’s because the abilities of our eyes and ears are limited(有限的)．Robots, ?however, need not have the same limits as we have．Robots may also be equipped with devices that pick up information humans can’t．To understand what their sensing devices(传感器)pick up is a hard job．Remember, man made brains handle information, including all kinds of data(数据), as zeroes and ones．Imagine the difficulty in trying to explain to a robot what a football looks like－using only zeroes and ones．