Bats are the real superheroes of the animal world

山東 李全忠

題材_______動物體裁說明文______________文章詞數390______________建議用時7分鐘_______

More than 1,400 bat species live around the world,except in Antarctica and a few remote islands.What makes these flying mammals so successful?“It is clear that bats do have supernatural powers,”says an ecologist called Rodrigo Medellín.

Supernatural power 1:Echolocation（回聲定位）

Many bats do not rely on vision as their primary sense, but use echolocation to navi?gate and find food in complete darkness.

Echolocation is a way of noticing the environment by bouncing high?frequency sounds off objects and listening for their echoes.From these echoes, bats can calculate the dis?tance, size, and shape of objects, such as a tasty mosquito.Some bats can detect an object as small as the width of a human hair.

Supernatural power 2:Speedy flight

Bats are the only mammals that use their muscles to fly,which makes their flight tech?niques unique in the animal kingdom.

The flexible wings, packed with blood vessels, nerves and tendons（腱）, are sup?ported by special muscles that make bats efficient and quick fliers.Unlike bird or insect wings, bat wings can fold during flight in various ways, similar to the way that a human hand can close into different shapes.

Supernatural power 3:Longevity

As a general rule in biology, smaller animals have shorter life spans than larger ones.But bats are rule breakers: They're the longest?lived mammals relative to their body size.The oldest bat ever recorded was a tiny Brandt's bat in Russia, which weighed less than a quarter of an ounce,yet lived at least 41 years.

Supernatural power 4:Resistance to viruses

In addition to living longer, bats remain healthy throughout their lives, with very low incidences of cancer.In any case, wild bats carrying coronaviruses do not threaten humans if left undisturbed.Research into their unique immune systems may actually give insight into how people can live with viruses and not get sick.

Supernatural power 5:Keeping the environment healthy

Beyond their own abilities,bats also improve many other parts of their ecosystems.

Three out of every four bat species eat insects.Many are pests that cause damage to important agricultural crops, such as cotton.What's more, many bat species boost（使增長）plant health and diversity: At least 549 plant species are either pollinated（授粉）or spread by bats.Therefore, bats provide crucial services to ensure our food, clothes, and drinks.It's high time that we should appreciate them.

Reading

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1.Which of the following helps bats greatly find directions and food?

A.The sense of smell.

B.The sense of sight.

C.The sense of hearing.

D.The sense of touch.

2.What's special about bats'flight skills?

A.They're the only animals flying at night.

B.They can use muscles to fly as mammals.

C.They're the fastest fliers in the animal kingdom.

D.They can hardly fly with their wings folded.

3.What's the advantage of studying the immune systems of bats?

A.It may help bats live longer.

B.It may keep bats safe during the pandemic.

C.It may help people deal with viruses better.

D.It may keep the diversity of plant species.

4.In what way do bats improve ecosystems?

A.By controlling their weight.

B.By fighting against viruses.

C.By providing food for insects.

D.By eating insects and keeping plants healthy and diverse.

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Sentence for writing

It's high time that we should appreciate them.我們是時候感謝它們了。

【信息提取】It's high time that...意為“該是（做）……的時候了”，that 后面的從句謂語動詞要用過去式或用“should+動詞原形”，should不可省略。

【句式仿寫】孩子們是時候睡覺了。