D. until girls can keep their weight off forever 55. What is the main purpose of the text? A. To explain why Active Challenge is popular. B. To share skills and strategies of losing weight. C. To show how important losing weight is. D. To invite girls to join in Active Challenge.
B
The killdeer, a small bird known for its high-pitched ( 声调高的) call, could lead to the cancellation of one of Canada’ biggest music festivals.
The first hint of trouble for Ottawa’s Bluesfest, an outdoor festival that draws around 300,000 people each year, came last week after workers at the site found one of the birds.
It had laid four eggs nearby, effectively claiming the main stage area as its nesting ground. “This is one of the most challenging problems we’ve been presented with, but we feel we
can work through this,” said Mark Monahan, executive director of the festival.
“Anything that changes the schedule has a major effect, so we’re taking it very seriously.” The discovery meant that government officials rushed to protect the nest and the eggs, hiring a security guard to watch over them 24 hours a day. Environmentalists were also brought in.
“We don’t know when the eggs might hatch,” said Monahan. What is known is that the young killdeer will likely leave the nest soon after they are hatched, leading many to hope that the eggs hatch in the next day or so.
The festival is now seeking permission from Environment
Canada to relocate the nest some 50 meters away or take it to a
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wildlife center.
Moving the nest would also ensure the bird and its young would be protected during the festival’s 11-day run, said Monahan. It’s highly likely that the festival’s thousands of attendees would cause huge problems for the bird and its eggs.
Monahan was confident that the festival would go on as planned, however.
“Most of the people we’re working with are looking for a positive solution,” Monahan said. “There is no one saying that the festival can’t go on.”
As news of the dilemma spread, it left residents divided. Some supported the bird, saying that moving the nest might result in the eggs being abandoned.
Others expressed annoyance that protecting the eggs of the small bird, which is widespread across North America, was risking an annual festival that contributes millions of dollars to the local economy.
The killdeer’s tendency to build its nest in open fields or flat areas has caused issues in other areas of the US: earlier this year, construction on a health center in Wisconsin was temporarily stopped after a killdeer and its four eggs were discovered.
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56. What can we learn about Bluesfest? A. It is the first music festival in Canada. B. It is an important event for music lovers. C. It is a music festival held every two years. D. It is a challenging outdoor activity in Ottawa. 57. What was especially challenging for Bluesfest this year? A. Pressure from the government. B. Disagreements with the public. C. The need to protect the bird’s eggs. D. The lack of experience in hosting the event. 58. How did the festival plan to deal with the problem? A. Move the nest to another place. B. Ask government officials for help. C. Seek advice from environmentalists.
B. Hire security guards to protect the eggs.
59. What was Monahan’s attitude toward hosting the festival? A. Negative. B. Positive. C. Unsure. D. Indifferent.
60. The underlined word “dilemma” is closest in meaning to “ ”. A. a difficult situation B. an extreme situation C. a dangerous situation D. an encouraging situation
C
Professor Stephen Hawking recently came out with a serious warning for people. While at the Starmus Festival, a festival in Trondheim, Norway, celebrating science and the arts, Hawking warned people that the human race is in serious danger.
Hawking criticized President Donald Trump for denying climate
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change. Then the physicist warned the audience, “I am not denying the importance of fighting climate change and global warming, unlike Donald Trump, who may just have taken the most serious, and wrong, decision on climate change this world has seen.”
Hawking proposed that the leading countries should send astronauts to the Moon before 2020 to restart a movement of more exploration in space. BBC reported that Hawking suggested that we “build a lunar base in 30 years’ time and send people to Mars by 2025.”
According to BBC, Professor Hawking said, “Spreading out into space will completely change the future of humanity.” He continued, “I hope it would unite competitive nations in a
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