"It's this time of year when the weather starts warming up and frogs start breeding - but they haven't been breeding," says John Wilkinson, research and monitoring officer at the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust (ARC). Amphibians are just one of the groups of animals that nature observers fear may have problems reproducing this year, as groundwater levels are even lower now than in the infamously dry summer of 1976, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). According to the UK's Centre for Hydrology and Ecology the average rainfall so far this winter has been the lowest since 1972. "If ponds dry up totally," says Mr. Wilkinson, "you could have lots of dead tadpoles." Drier and windier conditions could also make it more difficult for juvenile amphibians to survive their journeys between wet habitats. But Peter Brotherton, the biodiversity manager for Natural England, says that "drought is part of nature's cycle", and, at present, a lot of animals, plants and insects are still in hibernation. This means that the population picture is unclear. "However, when we get extreme events, we get animals dying," he says. "And what is worrying is that normally at this time of year we expect soil to be near saturation after winter." Charlie Kitchin, the RSPB's site manager of the Nene Washes in Cambridgeshire, says the 2,000-acre wetland and grassland area is now struggling following two winters with relatively little winter rain and no flooding. One species that could suffer, he says, is the black-tailed godwit . "There are only 50 breeding pairs in the country, and we have 40 of them, and everything is bone-dry," Mr Kitchin says. But one bad nesting season, he says, is "not the end of the world". "One of the features of flood plains is that they're _ anyway," he adds. "But if they fail to breed another year, the population is likely to dip again." Which of the following is NOT true of Charlie Kitchin's words? A) Drought has so far continued for two winters. B) Animals could survive one bad nesting season. C) The black-tailed godwit is in danger of extinction. D) 40 black-tailed godwits live in the Nene Washes.
D
The next time your face turns red after tripping over your own feet in public, don't try to hide it--a new study finds that showing your embarrassment actually makes other people view you as more reliable. Researchers at the University of California have carried out the study and found that embarrassment is a good signature of a person to whom you can entrust valuable resources. Not only are the findings useful for people seeking cooperative and reliable team members and business partners, but they also make for helpful dating advice."Moderate levels of embarrassment are signs of virtue. Our data suggests embarrassment is a good thing, not something you should fight."said Matthew Feinberg, who led the study. While the most typical gesture of embarrassment is a downward gaze to one side while partly covering the face, a person who feels shame, as distinguished from embarrassment, will typically cover the whole face, Feinberg said. The results were got from a series of experiments. In the first experiment, 60 college students were videotaped describing embarrassing moments, such as making incorrect assumptions based on appearances. The college students also participated in the "Dictator Game" which is used in economics research to measure altruism . For example, each was given 10 raffle tickets and asked to keep a share of the tickets and give the reminder to a partner. The findings, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, showed that those who showed greater levels of embarrassment tended to give away more of their raffle tickets, indicating(=showing) greater generosity. According to the passage, which of the following is thought to be reliable? A) A person who feels shame. B) A person who hides his embarrassment. C) A person who shows his embarrassment. D) A person who gives away more raffle tickets.
C
*Question*
I was 18 when Tim and I began to date. Shy and quiet, I'd met his parents once before but hadn't ventured to say more than " Hello". This particular evening, however, we were taking them out to dinner for their anniversary and I wanted to make a good impression. Tim and his parents arrived and I was out the door in a flash. My good impression began with " punctual". I sat in the backseat beside Tim nervously watching his father's eyes glance into the rearview mirror to examine me. Tim and his parents had already decided on their favorite Mexican restaurant and that was fine with me; the dim lighting would hide the rising flush of my cheeks, and if anyone noticed, I could blame it on the peppers. With proper table manners I managed to survive halfway through dinner without making any unforgivable mistakes. However, in the midst of conversation I reached for my iced tea, raised the glass to my lips and very quickly discovered I had picked up the wrong glass. I quickly lowered the glass and set it back but it was too late; I had burnt my eyebrows, the hair in my nose, and curl over my forehead! I looked up slowly, praying no one had seen me, but all eyes at the table had seen and each face stared at me in shocked silence. Excusing myself, I ran to the restroom. I would have hidden there forever but I'd barely gotten in the door when Tim's mother arrived. " Ah, honey," she said, holding out her arms to me. " Everything will be just fine." Tim and I eventually married. We had a small ceremony and a family reception afterwards held at the very restaurant where this incident occurred. This time, however, I didn't drink any candles... only a Margarita ; they were served in different glasses. It can be inferred from the passage that _ . A) the author had never met her parents-in-law before dinning together B) Tim and the author took the bus to get to the restaurant C) Tim's father was curious to know about the author D) Tim's mother was not satisfied with the author's behavior
**Answer**
C