新教材2020-2021学年译林版高中英语第三册课时作业-1-1-Nature-in-the-balance-含解析-D.doc

课时分层作业(一) Ⅰ.单词拼写 1．We're going to spend a weekend on the South American continent(大陆). 2．Her old man left her a few million (百万)when he died. 3．This region is the home of many species (物种)of wild flower. 4．This area of France has a pleasing climate (气候)in August. 5．Hundreds of tree species is facing extinction(绝种). 6．He may say no，but there's no harm(伤害)in asking. 7．The cost of living(生活)has risen sharply. 8．Her nervousness quickly disappeared(消失)once she was on stage. 9．The development of the food industry depends on that of agriculture(农业). 10．The impact (冲击)of the blow knocked Jack off balance. Ⅱ.阅读理解 A Big cats have existed on the earth for millions of years，though scientists aren't sure exactly how long.But a new study indicates that a skull(颅骨)of a snow leopard(豹)relative that was recently unearthed is 4.4 million years old.That makes it the oldest big cat fossil(化石)ever found. A team of US and Chinese scientists unearthed the skull in Tibet.This creature is not a direct ancestor to big cats，but it is closely related to the snow leopard，the study leader Jack Tseng told the Associated Press.The fossil lends evidence to the belief that big cats existed in Asia and spread out from there. Big cats are at the top of the food chain and have few predators of their own.Big cats include snow leopards，clouded leopards，tigers and lions.Based on genetic judgements，most scientists believe they first existed in Central Asia.But previously，the oldest known big cat fossil was 3.6 million years old and found in Africa. The new fossil findings were published in the November 13 issue of the science journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B：Biological Sciences.Tseng and his team were fossil hunting in the Himalayas in 2010 when they discovered some bones，including the buried cat skull.The researchers were able to determine its age by studying the surrounding rocks and soil.The skull indicates that the animal was about the size of a clouded leopard，which can grow up to 50 pounds