【推荐1】It is currently the harvest season for Christian Nachtwey, who operates an apple farm, or orchard, in the western German town of Gelsdorf.

A reporter from The Associated Press (AP) recently visited Nachtwey as workers loaded up red Elstarapples ready to be shipped to stores. In addition to apples, Nachtwey’s farm also produces a second harvest: electricity. Many of the farm’s trees grow beneath solar panels that have been producing power during this year’s unusually sunny summer. In addition to providing electricity, the panels protect the fruit below with shade.

Nachtwey said the idea behind the farm is simple. The design protects the trees from getting too much sun without reducing the available growing area. “On top of that, there’s the solar electricity being generated on the same land,” Nachtwey said. Putting solar equipment on the same land as crops is becoming increasingly popular in Europe and North America. Farmers are finding that this model can make the most of their land, while establishing a second way to earn money.

But getting the right mix of crops and solar panels is difficult. Most fruit requires specific growing conditions. Even small changes in the environment can harm crops and cause financial losses. Even if the fruit survives, it might turn the wrong color or be less sweet and may be difficult to sell. For this reason, Nachtwey is working with researchers to test which kinds of apples do well under a solar cover. He is also investigating which kinds of solar panels work best in the orchard. For testing purposes, Nachtwey covered some of his trees with a traditional netting material. It is normally used to protect sensitive crops from damaging weather events.

Juergen Zimmer is an expert in the area’s agricultural services department. He told the AP that apples grown under the solar covers were a little less sweet this year than those under the nets.

Researchers hope the tests will show that fruit crops perform well under solar panels.

1. What’s the main purpose of the design of the farm?

A．To generate electricity.	B．To protect the environment.
C．To make the most of the land.	D．To protect the fruit trees.

2. Why is getting the right mix of crops and solar panels hard?

A．Because of fruit’s specific growing conditions.	B．Because of financial problems.
C．Because of the lack of traditional material.	D．Because of the weather changes.

3. What can we learn about Juergen Zimmer from the passage?

A．He is an expert in The Associated Press.

B．He figures apples grown under the nets are sweeter.

C．He is working with Christian Nachtwey.

D．He is testing which kinds of apples do well under a solar cover.

4. What’s the main idea of the text?

A．Nachtwey’s farm produces a good harvest.

B．A German farmer plans to provide electricity to homes in the surrounding area.

C．Nachtwey is growing apples beneath solar power equipment that produces electricity.

D．Nachtwey uses the solar electricity produced on the farm to power his own machines.

【推荐2】Modern advancements in digital and online technology are changing the art market. Online events are becoming more popular than ever as they can be attended by anyone from anywhere. At the heart of this online art world are OVRs.

Before going into how OVRs are shaping the art world, it’s important to understand what they are. An OVR is an Online Viewing Room that allows art enthusiasts to take part in events through their computer screens. OVRs transmit galleries and events to art lovers through live feed which can be viewed from anywhere in the world!

OVRs enable art to travel across the world, without ever leaving the studio! This increases the number of possible collectors and buyers that will be able to view new pieces.

Online viewings also meant that the art market could continue to function and exhibit art, even with lockdown restrictions. Although many events were cancelled, a study showed 41% of wealthy people bought work at a fair in 2020, while 45% did it through an online viewing room.

Besides, OVR displays can be changed easily and updated at any time. This means that viewers can easily stay on track with the latest works and view updated displays as regularly as they would like.

While OVRs may be practical, many enthusiasts say that the online viewing platforms don’t provide the full gallery experience, and this is their main problem. Physical art shows allow enthusiasts to network with new people, discuss and see the art in real life before making a decision to buy.

So, will OVRs continue to rise? Probably yes: OVRs are likely to play a big role in future art sales. This is because online viewing platforms bring a number of benefits to art lovers. However, the interactive aspect of viewing art cannot be fully replaced by OVRs, so expect a combination of the physical and the digital art world.

1. What is the author’s main purpose in writing Paragraph 1?

A．To bring up the topic of the text.	B．To list some interesting examples.
C．To show the types of the markets.	D．To introduce a problem to be solved.

2. What do the percentages in Paragraph 4 show?

A．The art market is easily affected by accidents.

B．OVRs are more effective than face-to-face events.

C．OVRs help the art market to survive during lockdown.

D．People involved in art sales are mostly from wealthy families.

3. What does Paragraph 6 mainly talk about?

A．The future of OVRs.	B．The history of OVRs.
C．The popularity of OVRs.	D．The disadvantages of OVRs.

4. What can we know from the last paragraph?

A．OVRs will gradually replace face-to-face art events.

B．OVRs will coexist with the physical art world.

C．OVRs will create an interactive atmosphere for art lovers.

D．OVRs will make up more than half of the future art market.

【推荐1】Foxes and farmers have never got on well. These small dog-like animals have long been accused (控告)of killing farm animals. They are officially considered as harmful and farmers try to keep their numbers down by shooting or poisoning them.
Farmers can do call on the services of their local hunt to control the fox population . Hunting consists of hunting a fox across the countryside, with a group of specially trained dogs, followed by men and women riding horses. When the dogs eventually catch the fox , they kill it or a hunter shoots it.
People who take part in hunting think of it as a sport ; they wear a special uniform of red coats and white trousers , and follow strict codes of behavior. But owning a horse and hunting regularly is expensive, so most hunters are wealthy.
It is estimated (估计) that up to 100,000 people watch or take part in fox hunting . But over the last couple of decades the number of people against fox hunting , because they think it is cruel, has risen sharply. Nowadays it is rare for a hunt to succeed without some kind of _______between hunters and hunt saboteurs（阻拦者）. Sometimes these incidents lead to violence, but mostly saboteurs fight with the hunt by misleading riders and disturbing the search of the fox’s smell, which the dogs follow.
Noisy confrontations between hunters and saboteurs have become so common that they are almost as much a part of hunting as the hunting of foxes itself. But this year supporters of fox hunting face a much bigger threat to their sport. A Labour Party Member of the Parliament, Mike Foster, is trying to get Parliament to pass a new law which will make the hunting of wild animals with dogs illegal. If the law is passed, wild animals like foxes will be protected under the ban in Britain.
1. What is special about fox hunting in Britain?

A．It involves the use of a deadly poison.

B．It is a costly event which rarely happens.

C．The hunters have set rules to follow.

D．The hunters have to go through strict training.

2. A new law may be passed by the British Parliament to ________

A．keep farmers from hunting foxes.

B．forbid hunting foxes with dogs.

C．stop hunting wild animals in the countryside

D．prevent fox hunting in large numbers

3. Which can replace the underlined word in paragraph 4?

A．reunion(联合)	B．conversation(对话)
C．conflict(冲突)	D．relationship

【推荐3】International Women's Day takes place every year on 8 March to celebrate the achievements of women all over the world.It started with a protest (抗议) that took place in New York City in 1908.Then women went out onto the streets to demand the right to vote，shorter working hours and better pay.Since then it has taken many forms and today it's a global event.    1    In other countries it's an official holiday but only for women.

    2    If you watch the news you will see women astronauts，women prime ministers and women leaders in business.However，if you look at the statistics (统计数据) you realize there's still a long way to go.The BBC did a report a few years ago that showed that in the UK women took only 30.9% of the most senior positions across a range of jobs in areas like politics，business and policing.So there is still a lot for us to do.    3    

    4    There are exhibitions，theatre shows，talks，discussions，walking tours，films，workshops，fun runs and so much more.All the events are designed to celebrate the role of women in society and to make us all take a step back and think about the progress that has been made.    5    The purpose is to make sure the world is a fair and equal place for all people.

A．In some countries，March 8 is an official holiday.

B．It's important for men and women to be totally equal.

C．Thus we will see an equal number of men and women in the top jobs.

D．They also make us think about the changes that still need to take place.

E．In today's world it may appear that women have all the same opportunities as men.

F．The role of women has changed in all areas of their lives，both at work and in the family.

G．A lot of special events take place in towns and cities to celebrate International Women's Day.

【推荐1】Wood stork, which was on the brink of extinction in 1984, has recovered enough in Florida and other Southern states. The American wildlife officials proposed removing the waterfowl (水禽) from the endangered species list.

This symbolic species, which is the only stork native to North America, has rebounded (反弹) because dedicated partners in the southeast have worked tirelessly to restore ecosystems that support it. In addition, the wood stork has increased its range in coastal areas. The birds have adapted to new nesting areas, tripling the number of colonies across their range from 29 to 99 in recent years.

Credit goes mainly to the wildlife protections provided by the Endangered Species Act(ESA), which can impose restrictions on a variety of activities in areas where such species are, located, such as development, mining and oil drilling. The act saved the wood stork and it helped; preserve and rebuild vital habitats throughout the southeast, which has improved water quality and benefited countless other species who call the area home. The Endangered Species Act has saved 99% of the species that have been on the list since 1973, with 100 types of plants and animals delisted because they have recovered or are at least stable.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said that restoration of the wood stork’s habitat, especially in the Florida Everglades and adjacent Big Cypress National Preserve, led to a, sharp increase in breeding pairs. Those numbers had shrunk to just 5,000 pairs in 1984, whereas there are more than 10,000 pairs today.

“The proposed delisting of the wood stork is a significant milestone and a remarkable, achievement of the hard work by federal agencies, state and local governments, tribes, conservation organizations, and private citizens in protecting and restoring our most at-risk species,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said.

If the wood stork is delisted, officials said it would remain protected by other laws including the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Clean Water Act. A monitoring plan, would be put in place for at least five years to ensure the stork population remains stable.

1. What can be inferred about the wood stork from the text?

A．Its population is increasing.	B．It has already died out.
C．It is widely distributed worldwide.	D．It is the most endangered species.

2. What contribute mostly to recovering the population of the wood stork?

A．Charity organizations.	B．Federal agencies.
C．Protections of the ESA.	D．Local companies.

3. What is Deb Haaland’s attitude to the delisting of the wood stork?

A．Negative.

B．Doubtful.

C．Indifferent.

D．Positive.

4. What is the best title of the text?

A．Effect of the Big Cypress National Preserve Counts

B．Saving of the Endangered Wood Stork Progresses

C．Efforts to Restore the Wildlife Habitat Pay Off

D．Protection of American Native Species Works

【推荐2】Conservationists (野生动物保护者） have long known that using pandas, tigers and other charming species to promote their campaigns is a good way to raise money. But some people argue that focusing on these "flagship" animals can ignore equally threatened but less cute ones.

Now Jennifer McGowan at Macquarie University in Sydney and her colleagues suggest that we can have it both ways, after finding that funding for flagship species also helps other threatened species in the surrounding areas. McGowan's team first drew up a list of 534 flagship species in wildlife-rich hot spots around the world. The biodiversity areas were each split into grids (网格） of 100 by 100kilometer squares. The researchers then compared two conservation approaches across eight simulated scenarios (模拟场景） which assumed different levels of human activity and protected areas.

The first focused on protecting flagship species, while the second aimed to protect the maximum number of species in an area, regardless of their fundraising potential. Their study has found that targeting grid squares with flagship species also protected 79 to 89 per cent of the non-flagship species in that area. The figure rose to 97 per cent in some scenarios. "The findings could help when choosing which species to promote. Flagship species are very effective at getting the public to care, "she says.

Morgan Trimble, the author of a paper that has found scientists also have a preference for charming animals, says the results don't surprise her. "While I think it's important that we don't lose sight of the bigger picture --- conserving species is about conserving all the component parts of ecosystems, even the not-so-cute species ---I think highlighting flagship species in fundraising and education is a practical idea and appeals to human nature," she says. Trimble also asks what the alternative to using flagship species would be randomly picking species? McGowan's study found a random approach to choosing where to spend conservation funds only protected 39 to 55 per cent of the non-flagship species.

1. What kind of animals do conservationists usually use to raise funds?

A．Less attractive animals.

B．Endangered flagship animals

C．Threatened but not necessarily cute species.

D．Charming but not necessarily threatened species.

2. What has McGowan and her team's study revealed?

A．It works well to focus on flagship species.

B．There are very few flagship species in grid squares.

C．Non-flagship species are poorly protected in general.

D．Flagship species are getting more than enough attention.

3. What does the passage mainly talk about?

A．An approach to choosing a charming species

B．The effects of human activity on animals

C．The role of fundraising in saving animals

D．An effective way to conduct wildlife conservation

【推荐3】It was his final climb to reach the highest summit on all seven continents. When Christopher Kulish finally reached Mount Everest’s 29,035-foot peak, he joined a group known as the “Seven Summits Club”. But the 62-year-old Colorado lawyer died suddenly Monday after returning to the first camp below the mountain’s summit. He’s the second American to die in the past week after reaching Everest’s highest point. His family believes the cause was a heart attack.

Last week, 55-year-old Donald Cash died just after reaching the Everest peak. He also had reached the highest point on all seven continents. Including Christopher and Cash, at least 11 people have died on Mount Everest this year.

The deaths come among reports of overcrowding on the popular mountain. The Nepali government granted a total of 381 permits to climb Everest this year, a number that doesn’t include guides who are on the mountain as well. For some climbers, that traffic has meant longer wait time—some told the Himalayan Times the wait has exceeded two hours between the last camp and the peak. “When there’s a crowd, being a more experienced climber won’t help you,” Mountaineer O’Brien, who has also climbed the seven summits, said. “When a climber is stuck in that traffic, their body is starting to deteriorate (恶化) and the descent is often harder than the climb.”

“There’s no simple explanation for the string of deaths,” climbing expert Alan Arnette said. “Weather is one factor causing overcrowding. Meanwhile, the cost to climb Mount Everest has decreased, which means more people are making the journey.”

Still, Christopher was no beginner. His family said he’d been mountain climbing for five decades. He arrived at the base camp nearly two months before his climb so he could give himself time to adapt to the conditions.

His brother, Mark Kulish, described being a lawyer as a “day job” for Christopher. Climbing was his passion.

1. What made longer wait time on Mount Everest?

A．Lacking guides.	B．Overcrowding.
C．Bad weather.	D．Getting Government’s permission.

2. Why did Christopher arrive at the base camp so early before climbing?

A．To wait for his friends.	B．To learn about the mountain.
C．To clear the traffic jam.	D．To adapt to conditions earlier.

3. What do we know about Christopher?

A．He joined the “Seven Summits Club” at the base camp.

B．He has reached the highest point on all seven continents.

C．He died from a heart attack below the Mount Everest’s peak.

D．11 people following him died after reaching the Everest peak this year.