XI'AN - China's conservation work for the endangered crested ibis（朱鹮）is facing new challenges, including an increasing mortality rate due to inbreeding, and the conflict between the need to expand natural habitats and local communities' economic interests, bird experts have warned.

The crested ibis, once widespread in Japan, China, Russia and the Korean Peninsula, almost became extinct in the first half of the 20th century.

Before 1981, when seven crested ibis were accidentally found in Yangxian county, in Northwest China's Shaanxi province, academics thought the species had been extinct in China for almost 17 years.

Due to the huge effort put into species protection since 1981, the number of crested ibis in China has risen to an estimated 1,617, including 997 in the wild, the State Forestry Administration said at a meeting on crested ibis protection in Xi'an on Monday.

However, although the ibis population exceeds 1,000, the birds are still not free from the threat of extinction, said Fang Shengguo, director of the State Conservation Center for Gene Resources of Endangered Wildlife at Zhejiang University.

“Ornithologists used inbreeding in the early stages of protection so that numbers of the precious birds could increase quickly, but that method had consequences,” Fang said.

"Studies have proved that as a result of inbreeding, crested ibis have the lowest genetic diversity of all endangered birds," Fang said.

"It means a high mortality rate and more physical defects for hatched chicks."

“The government should collect genetic information from all crested ibis and establish a genetic database as soon as possible, then design a scientific mating plan for the species,” Fang said.

So far, about 90 percent of crested ibis live in Shaanxi province, and fewer than 140 ibis live in three zoos in other parts of the country, including Beijing Zoo, according to Liu Dongping, an assistant researcher at the National Bird Banding Center of China, which is affiliated to the Chinese Academy of Forestry.

The bird has lost the ability to migrate, he said, adding that if an unexpected natural disaster occurred in Shaanxi province or an infectious disease spread through the area, the ibis population could be greatly reduced.

Experts also warned that the increased population of ibis, whether in the wild or in captivity, requires a larger and more varied natural habitat.

Rampant hunting, the massive loss of habitat caused by deforestation and the overuse of pesticides, which killed aquatic insects on which the ibis feed, are believed to be the main reasons for the sharp reduction in the ibis population before 1981.

So, in 1983, a State-level natural reserve was set up in Shaanxi province to protect the bird. But the struggle for living space between human and animal has never stopped, said Lu Baozhong, deputy director of the Shaanxi Crested Ibis Conservation Station.

"For example, ibis often look for loaches in farmers' rice fields. Sometimes their claws trample the rice seedlings. In another case, villagers discovered some land with abundant mineral resources which happened to be a habitat for ibis," said Lu, who has devoted 30 years to ibis protection.

A long-term win-win solution for ibis and local communities needs to be developed, one that would provide ecological compensation for local residents, Lu said.

1..    What’s the best title for the passage?

  A. The Rare Bird in China             B. New Problems for the Crested Ibis

  C. The Way to Save the Crested Ibis     D. The Reason for the Crested Ibis’s Extinction

2. Which of the following statement is TRUE ?

A. The crested ibis is a native of China.

  B. Before 1981, the crested ibis was extinct in China.

  C. The crested ibis is now free from the threat of extinction.

  D. Most of the crested ibis are in Shaanxi province.

3.. Why did the experts adopt the way of inbreeding to protect the crested ibis?

  A. To increase the mortality rate.

  B. To increase the number of the crested ibis.

  C. To get more physical defects for hatched chicks

  D. To have the lowest diversity of the endangered bird.

4.. What may be the reason for the reduction in the population of the crested ibis before 1981?

  A. inbreeding                  B. economic development

  C. over hunting                D. sandstorm

5.. What can we learn from the passage?

  A. Due to our great efforts, the crested ibis lives in the wild well.

  B. Scientists will choose a better habitat for the crested ibis.

  C. The problems of the crested ibis have not been solved now.

  D. The government has established a genetic database of the crested ibis.

The marine environment is fascinating to study and work in due to its beauty, richness, and complexity. It covers three quarters of the surface of the Earth, yet we know more detail about the surface of Mars.

In the past, it was seen as both an inexhaustible resource and a bottomless sink for our wastes. Yet the increasing pressures of overpopulation, pollution and the threat to our natural environment mean that there is an increasing need for scientists who can understand how it all works, how it affects us, and how we are affecting it from global warming through to the smallest plankton.

From local issues to global concerns, we now know that the marine environment is inextricably linked to our lives, and to our future survival. It is an area where much remains to be discovered, and where only a multidisciplinary approach can cover the breadth of issues to be confronted. This is the approach taken on our Marine Environmental Science degree course.

This course takes a multi-disciplinary approach to explore and understand the marine environment. After an initial grounding in basic science, optional choices are available in specialist topics such as marine ecosystems and pollution, coastal navigation and oceanography, among others.

Our new harbor side marine laboratory is used for some of the specialist lectures, laboratory and project work, while a week's residential field course in the Isle of Man provides training to prepare for the research project conducted in your final year. There is an optional trip to Belize in the final year to study tropical marine environments.

1. From the passage, we can infer that ______.

2.The present environment of the Earth forces the experts and scholars to study ______.

3. According to the passage, a multi-disciplinary approach is effective because _______.

4.We can divide the lectures of the course into ______ parts.

5.If a student choose marine Environmental Science degree course, he must ______.

A. make lectures about the issues to be confronted

B. provide training to get ready to do research project

C. take several days residential field in the Isle

travel to Belize to study tropical marine environments

Answers:

B
Edinburgh Zoo makes plans to bring a pair of giant pandas from China to Scotland． Representa-tives from Edinburgh Zoo have recently retumed from China, where they signed a letter ofintent(意向书) making a promise to bring giant pandas to the zoo．
It has been suggested that the breeding pair should be rented to the Royal Zoological Society ofScotland ( RZSS) for 10 years and it is hoped they would give birth to babies dunng that time． Edin-burgh Zoo would be the eighth zoo in the West to care for the species if the project goes ahead．
Zoo chiefs said that looking after the endangered animals could benefit conservation．David Windmill, chief of RZSS, said, "It is an opportunity to work on a global level with other consc'na-tionists to gain a better understanding of the giant panda, the threats they face, and what we can do to ensure their survival．"
At present, there are currendy only around l, 500 giant pandas in the wild．RZSS has been working on the project for almost a year, and hopes to have giant pandas at Edinburgh Zoo by 2011, the year of the society's centenary．
Mr．Windmill said that the*project has received strong support from the UK and Scottish Gov- emments and that this must continue if the zoo is to reach an agreement with the Chinese． As part of the p．roposed agreement with the Chinese government, Edinburgh Zoo will cooperate on research pro-jects benefiting conservation in the wild．
RZSS will also provide considerable money to support giant panda conservation projects in the wild． Giant pandas live in a few mountain ranges in central China and feed almost wholly on bam- boo, which makes up 99% of the their diet．
61．What result did zoo representatives get from China?
A．A breeding pair is on loan to RZSS for ten years．
B．China promised to sell two giant pandas before 2011．
C．They sig:ned a letter of intent about giant pandas to be loaned to Edinburgh Zoo．
D．China promised to offer the money but not．the experts for research into giant pandas．
62．If Edinburgh Zoo can borrow giant pandas, what will happen?
A．RZSS will celebrate its centenarv in 2011．
B．Scotland will be the eighth country to have giant pandas．
C．RZSS will have a better understanding of living habits of giant pandas．
D．Edinburgh Zoo will be the eighth zoo to have Chinese pandas in the world．
63．The underlined part "the project" in Paragraph 4 refers to “______ ”
A．the celebration of RZSS's centenary
B．introducing giant pandas to RZSS's collection
C．the Royal Zoological Societ)r of Scotland itself
D．borrowing giant pandas from China for conservation
64．At present what seems to be the key factor for giant pandas to successfully go to Edinburgh Zoo?
A．RZSS's attitude．
B．The Chinese govemment's attitude．
C．Edinburgh Zoo's support．,
D．The Scottish government' attitude．
65．The best title for this passage would be "______"
A．Edinburgh Zoo expects giant pandas from China
B．Edinburgh Zoo does research into giant pandas
C．Scot_land supports giant panda conservation
D．Giant pandas live happily at Edinburgh Zoo

Recently, a study was carried out to determine who was the greatest American president．Sixty-five presidential historians took part in it, and they judged the past forty-two American leaders based on ten leadership qualities, including public persuasiveness(信服), crisis leadership, management of the economy, moral leadership, and conduct of international relations．The historians also looked at administrative ability (管理能力), relations with Congress, ability to set goals, and the pursuit of equal justice for all．Finally, the experts took into consideration the historical period in which the president lived．

The historians chose Abraham Lincoln as American’s greatest president．He had also been named best president in a similar study in 2000．Abraham Lincoln was the president who led the nation through the Civil War in the 1860s, and was able to unite it in the end．He also took the first steps to abolish slavery in America．

Edna Medford, a professor of history at Howard University in Washington, D.C., was an adviser on this study and the earlier one．She says Abraham Lincoln is seen to represent the values the nation most honors, such as truthfulness, moderation, and respect for human rights．

The historians put American’s first president, George Washington, second on the list, while Franklin D．Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, and Harry Truman follow in that order．John   F．Kennedy, the country’s first Roman Catholic president, is sixth on the list．Like Lincoln, Kennedy was murdered while in office．

Among recent presidents, Ronald Reagan was named the tenth best and Bill Clinton rated fifteenth, while the historians put former president George W．Bush at number thirty-six．His father, George H.W．Bush, did much better, being placed at number eighteen．

1.We learn from the text that ___________．

    A．this is the second time that Abraham Lincoln has been chosen as America’s greatest president

    B．Edna Medford didn’t take part in the study conducted in 2000．

    C．George H.W．Bush was thought to have done worse in office than George W．Bush

    D．Harry Truman was rated the fourth-best president by the study

2.Which of the following belong to the ten leadership qualities considered?

    a．Being able to persuade the public

    b．Taking effective measures during a financial crisis．

    c．Balancing home life and career．

    d．Pursuing equal justice for all．

   A．a,b,c           B．b,c,d          C．a,b,d          D．a,c,d

3.Who is rated worst among the following four presidents?

   A．John F．Kennedy                  B．George Washington

   C．Bill Clinton                     D．George W．Bush

4.The text is mainly about ________．

   A．the ten qualities a great president needs

   B．a study of American presidents

   C．the values the American nation honors most

   D．how Abraham Lincoln improved the country

One warm May day, two eighteen – year – old students from San Francisco State College decided to cool off with a swim at Bakers’ Beach. The two students were named Robert Kogler and Shirley O’Neill. They headed out to sea for a distance of 50 meters. Robert was in front.

“Suddenly, I heard him scream,” Shirley recalls. “I looked round and saw this great grey thing going up in the air. The water seemed to be alive.”

Robert screamed again. “It’s a shark! Get out of here!”

An eye – witness, Army Sergeant Leo P. Day was on guard at the nearby army post. He saw exactly what happened next. “I could see this boy struggling with the shark in the water,” he said. “The sea was red with blood. He was shouting and signaling someone to go back, go back. Then I saw the girl. She was swimming towards him. She completely ignored his warning.”

Shirley reached Robert, and tried to take his hand.

“When I pulled, all I could see was his arm, handing by a thread,” she said.

So she put her arm about Robert’s back, and started to swim towards the shore. She kept praying “Don't’ let it attack again!” That journey to the shore seemed to last for hours. At last, as they neared the shore, a fisherman threw them a line, and pulled them both the rest of the way.

The young man had lost a lot of blood, and died two and a half hours later. From the teeth marks, experts identified the attacker as a Great White Shark.

For what Sergeant Day called “the greatest exhibition of bravery I have ever seen,” the President of the US gave Shirley a medal for bravery.

1.When Robert was attacked by a shark Shirley          ?         .

       A．was swimming in the sea

       B．was watching him on the shore

       C．was on guard at the nearby army post

       D．was shouting and struggling with a shark, too

2.Choose the right time order of the following events in the story.

       a. Army Sergeant saw the girl swimming to the boy.

       b. Shirley saw a great grey thing.

       c. They headed out to sea.

       d. Robert died.

       e. A fisherman threw them a line.

       f. He saw a boy struggling with a shark.

       A．b, c, e, d, f, a        B．c, a, f, d, e, b C．b, c, f, a, d, e    D．c, b, f, a, e, d

3.We can learn from the passage that ______.         .

A．the two students were brave and considerate

B．the fisherman was adventurous and helpful

C．the experts didn’t do much research on sharks

D．the Sergeant cared too much about his own life

4. Which of the following is true?

   A．The President of the US gave Shirley a medal for bravery.

B．They were swimming in a lake.         

C．There is no eye – witness.

D．Shirley saved Robert’s life.