Each year, about 10,000 to 100,000 animal species die off. They join the countless species that have gone extinct over the course of Earth's history - and extinction means forever. At least it used to. Scientists are now closing in on the ability to bring back extinct species. No, this doesn't mean the plot of Jurassic Park is going to become a reality. Researchers need DNA to bring back a species. DNA is the chemical that carries the structure for a living thing. Dinosaurs have been gone too long for any of their DNA to remain in fossils. But there's a very real chance that we will be able to bring back more recently extinct species. This could even include Ice Age animals like the woolly mammoth. In 2003, a team of Spanish and French scientists re-created the Pyrenean ibex, which had gone extinct three years earlier. The new animal didn't survive long, but scientific advances should improve the success rate. In January, Australian scientists announced that they were on their way to bringing back the gastric brooding frog. That we can bring species back doesn't mean that we should. There may be benefits to reviving a species. But there's no way to know how it will turn out. For example, would a passenger pigeon fit into its old habitat? Or might it crowd out existing species? Environmentalists worry that our ability to bring species back might cut down support for the hard work of traditional conservation. Why worry about preserving a wildlife habitat or fighting poachers if we know we can just make up for our mistakes? But those extinctions are our mistakes to correct, which may give us an obligation to do so. As businessman and environmentalist Stewart Brand recently said, "Humans have made a huge hole in nature. We have the ability now to repair some of that damage." We would do well to remember the lesson of Jurassic Park: Proceed with caution. The Pyrenean ibex was mentioned to show that _ . A) scientists are only able to bring back small species B) scientists are likely to bring back recently extinct species C) scientists have managed to bring back Ice Age species D) animals can live very well after being brought back to life
B
It happened to me recently that I was telling someone how much I had enjoyed reading Barack Obama'sDreamsfromMyFatherand how it had changed my views of the current US president.The person I was talking to agreed with me that it was,in his words,"a wonderfully written book". However,he then _ to talk about Mr Obama in a way that suggested he had no idea of his background at all.I sensed that I was talking to a book liar. And it seems that he is not the only one.Clearly two thirds of people have lied about reading a book which they haven't.In the World Book Day survey,DreamsfromMyFatheris at number 9.The survey lists top ten books,and various authors,which people have lied about reading.As I'm not one to lie too often,I'll admit here and now that I haven't read the entire ten books.But I am pleased to say that I have read the book at number one,GeorgeOrwell's1984.I think it's absolutely outstanding. Asked why they lied,the most common reason was to impress someone they were speaking to.This could be difficult if the conversation became more indepth! The World Book Day survey also has some other interesting information in it.It shows that many people lie about having read classical works by Jane Austen,the Bronte sisters,Charles Dickens and so on.But when asked which authors they actually enjoy,they named J.K.Rowling,Jilly Cooper,and Stephen King (ah,the big sellers,in other words).Fortyone percent of people asked admitted they turned to the back of the book to read the end before finishing the story. So which books have you lied about reading--if any--and which is your favourite? The main reason why people lie about reading is to _ . A) make fun of the listener B) impress the listener C) please the listener D) interest the listener
B
Q: If you look at the night sky, you'll often see stars moving very quickly. In fact, they move much more quickly than they should according to their size and the laws of physics. Scientists do not completely understand why the speed of these stars is so high. But many believe the reason is that much of the universe is made of something called "dark matter". Groups of stars called galaxies, such as the Milky Way, might even be made up of 90 percent dark matter. How much something weighs depends on where it is. The same object weighs only half as much on Mars as it does on Earth and almost three times as much on Jupiter. So scientists prefer to talk about the mass of something rather than how much it weighs, because mass does not change. They can work out the mass of galaxies by measuring the distance between them and the speed they move at. Recently, Jorge Penarrubia, a senior academic at Edinburgh University, UK, and his team discovered something interesting: The mass of the Milky Way is only half as much as the mass of another nearby galaxy, Andromeda. This seems strange, and dark matter may explain why. Finding out more about dark matter could help us understand how the universe began, but this is not easy. Lots of scientists with different types of expert knowledge are working on the problem. We can't see dark matter, it's very difficult to measure and we can't find out its mass. Unlike stars, dark matter doesn't produce or reflect light. But we can make a good guess that it is there because of the way things move and the way light bends. Experts now think dark matter may be very different from the matter that we find on Earth. There may also be five times as much dark matter in the universe as ordinary matter. According to the text, dark matter _ . A) could accelerate the speed of stars B) could lessen the mass of objects in galaxies C) makes up the entire universe and its stars D) may help us identify the origins of the universe
A: D
*Question*
Researchers may tell us that spending money on experiences produces more happiness than spending money on things. Going to a bar with friends is always pleasurable in slightly different ways. However, on the other hand, a table may also give us lots of positive experiences sometimes. I just moved from New York City to suburban Pennsylvania, It's been quite a change of pace, with some positives and negatives, One of the best parts is that I'm spending more time outside. I quite enjoy staying outside, especially eating outside. I had a goal to eat outside as often as possible this summer, so one of my first purchases for the new house was a table and a set of chairs for the yard. Is my yard table a thing or an experience? It's clearly a thing and yet it enables the experience of eating outside. I love eating outside, and so my yard table is one of my favorite purchases, ever. Therefore I find the dividing line between things and experiences is more nuanced than at first glance. However, to be happy, the most important thing is what kind of purchases you have made. Sometimes we may all have purchases that seem like a waste of money like probably half the clothes in our closets, but how does this happen?' There are many reasons for why this happens. The biggest is that we spend a lot of our time working to earn money to buy things. The problem is that we buy a lot of stuff that we don't actually need. There's nothing worse than looking in your closet and realizing how many hours you spent laboring to buy things you never wear. But how about a table that lets you enjoy being outside in the summer? That's worth every minute and penny and from it you will also get more happiness. What does the author want to tell readers about her personal experiences? A) The suburban life in Pennsylvania is quite good. B) It is really enjoyable eating outside. C) Her first purchase was very successful. D) Things can give us the same happiness as experiences.
**Answer**
D