中学生科普英语趣味阅读低年级阅读材料2.doc

II. Life Science 生命科学Animal Kingdom早在人类出现之前，史前动物已经在地球上繁衍发展地球上的动物以从低等到高等、从简单到复杂的趋势不断进化并繁衍至今科学家根据动物的各种特征将动物分为两大类和七个等级至今科学家已经鉴别出46900多种脊椎动物，130多万种无脊椎动物下面让我们一起去探索奇妙的动物世界吧!Rearing of lion cubs 狮子是唯一雌雄两态和群居的猫科动物，生活于开阔的草原疏林地区或半荒漠地带· Warm-upHave you ever seen the movie The Lion King? Do you know how lions live in the wild inreality?· Big question to think about while you readHow does the rearing of lion cubs go according to the text?Content Vocabulary1. rearing n. the process of helping someone grow up to be an accepted member of the community 抚养2. litter n. a group of animals born to the same mother at the same time 一窝( 动物的幼崽)3. cheetah n. a wild animal that looks like a large cat with black spots on its body 猎豹4. leopard n. a large feline living in African and Asian forests, usually having a tawny coat with black spots 豹5. hyena n. a wild animal like a dog and eats the meat of animals that are already dead 鬣狗6. mortality n. the number of deaths in a particular place 死亡The pride is highly structured when it comes to rearing the cubs. Males are extremely protective of their mates while they are breeding. At the end of the approximately 105-day gestation period, the lioness leaves the pride to go to a sheltered, isolated area to give birth to its litter of two to five cubs. Cubs are born blind. They weigh 1.5 to 2 kilograms, and they have a soft, woolly grayish-yellow-brown coat. The lioness rarely leaves her cubs. When she does, either to hunt or drink, she risks losing them to predators, such as cheetahs, leopards, jackals, or hyenas.At first, the cubs will stay close to their mother as they explore their surroundings. Male cub mortality is high because males are more active and more likely to leave their protected shelter. Cubs accompany their mother on hunting expeditions when they are three to four months old. Cubs will not be able to kill their own prey until they are about two years old. Through early play experiences, the cubs learn how to hunt, crash, leap, and kill their prey.Adolescent males tend to remain near the pride's territory at first and then go off on their own. They will try and join another pride. Male lions display excellent teamwork when threatened by another male wanting to dominate the pride. The typical duration for which a strong group of males is able to defend their pride is two to three years, during which time they father all of the offspring. ( 256 words)· Reflection questions on what you read1. Why does the lioness rarely leave its cubs?2. What contributes to the high mortality of male cubs?3. How long will it take before cubs are able to kill their own prey? How are they able to do so?4. In the movie The Lion King, Simba finally became the mighty king. Can you explain why would adolescent males like to defend their pride according to the text? Leopards 豹在四种大型猫科动物（其余三种为狮、虎、美洲豹）中体积最小，颜色最鲜艳。

奔跑速度快，可以说是敏捷的猎手· Warm-upHave you ever seen a leopard in the zoo? Do you know how it looks like?· Big question to think about while you readHow does the leopard live in the wild?Content Vocabulary1. wild n. a natural environment not controlled by people 自然环境2. panthera n. a leopard in the black color phase 黑豹3. spot n. a small, round, colored area on a surface 斑点4. rosette n. a decoration or design that looks rather like a rose 玫瑰花环5. stalk v. to move slowly and quietly towards an animal in order to catch or kill it 偷偷接近(猎物)6. agile adj. moving quickly and lightly 敏捷的7. mating n. the act of pairing a male and female for reproductive purposes 交配The leopard is scattered over a wider area today than any of the other big cats. It lives across most of the African continent (with the exception of the Sahara Desert), in parts of Asia, from the Middle East to India, Pakistan, China, Siberia, and on the islands of Java and Sri Lanka. The leopard may be the most difficult big cat to find in the wild because leopards spend much of their time in trees. Leopards usually live on their own. Leopards are from about 1.3 to 1.9 meters long, and they weigh from about 30 to 80 kilograms. Their scientific name is Panther pardus. Even on the ground, leopards' spotted coats of golden brown with black ring spots help them to become invisible. Jaguars and leopards have the same dark rosettes on their fur, but leopards do not have spots within the rosettes. Jaguar fur has spots in the rosettes. The leopard is probably the smartest hunter of all cats. At night, it moves silently and stalks its prey by crawling with its stomach low to the ground, or it may wait in a tree and jump on prey that comes near the tree. The agile animal even hunts for monkeys in trees. Hunting and living alone, the leopard survives in many places because it eats almost anything. The leopard will kill gazelles, wild pigs, and birds. It can drag prey 。