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 (夜間的) 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 (獵物) 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.

【語篇概述】本文是一篇說明文。受人類活動的影響, 動物不得不改變原有的生活方式, 離開原有的棲息地或改變原有的生活習慣避免與人類接觸。而這種動物行為的改變對整個生態系統帶來了一系列未知的影響。

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】選B。細節理解題。從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, 研究發現, 人類活動正迫使許多哺乳類動物將活動時間從白天轉移到黑夜。即人類活動改變了動物的生活方式。故選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】選B。詞義猜測題。由上文提到的In its natural habitat,  the sun bear spends over 80 percent of its active waking time in daylight. 太陽熊(馬來熊)在它的自然棲息地80%的活動時間都在白天。而由于受到人類活動干擾, 這個醒的時間改變了。故that指代太陽熊醒的時間。故選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】選D。推理判斷題。文章第五段首句介紹人類活動對動物造成了影響, 下面以津巴布韋Hwange National Park中生活的羚羊和美國加州的土狼的生活習性的改變為例, 說明動物是如何在生活方式上做出改變從而逃避與人類接觸。由此可知,  動物們已經通過改變自己的生活方式來設法逃避與人類的接觸。故選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】選D。推理判斷題。根據最后一段中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, 人類活動的影響可能使整個生態系統發生改變, 進而重塑生態系統。故選D。