A
A day in the life of a sun bear is what you might expect from the name: sunny. In its natural habitat, the sun bear spends over 80 percent of its active waking time in daylight.
But when disturbed by human activity, that changes dramatically. In areas where people are pushing into the sun bear’s habitat, the animals are spending 90 percent of their waking time after dark. Effectively, the threat of human presence is making the sun bear change into “the moon bear”.
Led by scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, the study found that human activity is driving scores of mammals to shift their activity from the daytime into the dark hours of the night. As many animals have already been forced out of their local habitats, others are attempting to avoid interaction with humans by separating themselves in time rather than in space.
For the work, the researchers examined the behaviors of 64 mammal species, including deer, tigers, boars, and, of course, sun bears. They observed increased nocturnal (夜间的) behavior in a large majority of them, with species that are naturally active during the day tending to shift their activity to after dark, and those that are naturally nocturnal becoming more so. The mammals affected ranged across body size, habitat type, region of the world, and diet.
Human activity of all sorts affect animals’ lives, including activities like hunting, agriculture and land development, harvesting local natural resources, even hiking or walking through wild areas. Sport hunting in the Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe drove antelopes to spend more of their active waking hours at night, restricting their access to water. Similarly, hikers in the Santa Cruz Mountains in California made coyotes more nocturnal, forcing them to find new preys (猎物) among traditionally nocturnal animals.
The researchers warn that profound shifts in the natural behavior patterns of so many species disturb dynamics that have evolved over generations, leading to a series of unknown effects on the entire ecosystems.
【语篇概述】本文是一篇说明文。受人类活动的影响, 动物不得不改变原有的生活方式, 离开原有的栖息地或改变原有的生活习惯避免与人类接触。而这种动物行为的改变对整个生态系统带来了一系列未知的影响。
1. What was the finding of the study by the scientists at the University of California, Berkeley?
A. More animals separate themselves in space.
B. Human activity changes animals’ way of life.
C. Many animals were pushed out of their local habitats.
D. The sun bear spends over 80% waking time in daylight.
【解析】选B。细节理解题。从文章第三段第一句中的the study found that human activity is driving scores of mammals to shift their activity from the daytime into the dark hours of the night. 可知, 研究发现, 人类活动正迫使许多哺乳类动物将活动时间从白天转移到黑夜。即人类活动改变了动物的生活方式。故选B。
2. What does the underlined word “that” refer to?
A. The sun bear. B. The waking time.
C. Human activity. D. The natural habitat.
【解析】选B。词义猜测题。由上文提到的In its natural habitat, the sun bear spends over 80 percent of its active waking time in daylight. 太阳熊(马来熊)在它的自然栖息地80%的活动时间都在白天。而由于受到人类活动干扰, 这个醒的时间改变了。故that指代太阳熊醒的时间。故选B。
3. What can we infer from paragraph 5?
A. Antelopes have easier access to water.
B. Coyotes have to prey on new types for survival.
C. Human activity shortens animals’ sleeping time.
D. Animals have managed to escape interaction with humans.
【解析】选D。推理判断题。文章第五段首句介绍人类活动对动物造成了影响, 下面以津巴布韦Hwange National Park中生活的羚羊和美国加州的土狼的生活习性的改变为例, 说明动物是如何在生活方式上做出改变从而逃避与人类接触。由此可知, 动物们已经通过改变自己的生活方式来设法逃避与人类的接触。故选D。
4. What does the author want to inform us in the text?
A. Human threat makes the sun bear nocturnal.
B. Animals are badly hurt by human presence.
C. Animals become more adaptable thanks to human.
D. Ecosystems may be reshaped due to human activity.
【解析】选D。推理判断题。根据最后一段中The researchers warn that profound shifts in the natural behavior patterns of so many species disturb dynamics that have evolved over generations, leading to a series of unknown effects on the entire ecosystems可推知, 人类活动的影响可能使整个生态系统发生改变, 进而重塑生态系统。故选D。
