A wildfire in New Mexico, a state in the southwestern US, has burned for nearly two months, consuming more than 315, 000 acres of land — an area about the size of the city of Los Angeles.
“With climate change, it seems like the dominoes are beginning to fall,” NASA hydrologist JT Reager told the BBC. “We get warmer temperatures, we get less rain and snow. The reservoirs (水库) start drying up, then in a place like the West of the US, we get wildfires.”
In recent years, wildfires have wreaked havoc across countries including the US and Australia.
These fires destroy homes and businesses, claim lives and also negatively impact the environment. As climate change worsens, global temperatures increase and so does the risk of wildfires. A recent report from the United Nations Environment Programme and GRID-Arendal, a partner organization in Norway, reveals that wildfires are becoming more frequent and severe.
This is harmful to people around the globe. According to the joint UN report, it is estimated that the yearly “economic burden from wildfire for the United States is between $7. 1 billion and $347. 8 billion”.
Another article published in Nature journal on April 19 found that wildfires have created seasonal pollution patterns in the northwestern US. Between 2002 and 2018, carbon monoxide (一氧化碳) levels increased every year for the month of August in the area.
In 2019 and 2020, Australian bushfires displaced millions, filled the air with deadly clouds of smoke and killed thousands of koalas.
Forest fires are common in China too. In the recent decade, the total number of forest fires in the country every year has increased to more than 2,000 cases, according to The Paper.
Greater Hinggan Mountains (大兴安岭) is one of the important forestry bases in China. The National Forestry and Grassland Administration adopted mountain watchtowers, forest cameras and aerial drones (无人机) to prevent forest fires in the summer.
1. The author quotes Reager’s words in the second paragraph to ______.| A．show the seriousness of the recent wildfire in the US |
| B．list some environmental problems caused by wildfires |
| C．explain how climate change contributes to wildfires |
| D．provide possible solutions to wildfires around the globe |
| A．Created pollution. | B．Been out of control. |
| C．Cause d great damage. | D．Drawn much attention. |
| A．global warming makes it easier to happen |
| B．water in the reservoirs is drying up |
| C．putting out wildfires costs too much |
| D．Economic development burnden is high |
| A．Millions of people have been displaced. |
| B．It has caused seasonal patterns of pollution. |
| C．It has led to around $7. 1 billion economic loss annually. |
| D．Carbon monoxide levels have increased year on year. |
| A．There has been over 2,000 cases in the last decade. |
| B．Greater Hinggan Mountains experienced the largest one. |
| C．They were not very common several decades ago. |
| D．Measures have been taken to prevent them from happening. |
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【推荐1】According to Japanese media, about eight thousand people are dead and more than twelve thousand people are missing. More than 300-thousand people have been forced to leave their homes and more than 200 thousand are staying in public shelters.
According to Japan's nuclear safety agency up to 190 people may have been exposed to radiation from the Fukushima nuclear power plant(核电站).
According to Kyodo News Agency, more than 34-hundred buildings have been destroyed and at least 200 fires have broken out in cities across the country.
In northeastern Japan, power has been cut off in at least 5.5 million households, a million families are without water, and gas supplies have been cut off in nearly half a million homes. It is expected to be about 2 weeks before normal daily supply can be resumed.
China delivered 10 tons of bottled drinking water to Japan's earthquake—hit areas on Thursday in the country's latest round of relief donations sent to assist Japan's rescue and recovery efforts. The water, packaged in 800 boxes, was air-lifted from China's northeastern city of Changchun, Jilin Province, to Niigata in northeastern Japan on Thursday before it was taken by road to devastated Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, said Duan Yingli, a foreign affairs official with Jilin provincial government.
Funds and other forms of aid have flowed from the Chinese government and the public after a 9.0-magnitude earthquake hit off Japan's northeast coast and triggered an array of disasters, including a massive tsunami, last Friday.
China sent a 15-member international rescue team to Japan, while the Ministry of Commerce said it is providing 30 million yuan worth of emergency humanitarian assistance.
The first relief package — 2,000 blankets, 900 cotton tents and 200 emergency lights — was delivered early this week.
On Wednesday, Beijing boosted aid to Japan by pledging 20,000 tons of fuel — 10,000 tons of gasoline and 10,000 tons of diesel.
1. How many parts can be divided according to the main idea of the passage?| A．1 | B．2 | C．3 | D．4 |
| A．about 8,000. | B．more than 12,000. | C．about 20,000. | D．over 500,000. |
| A．Funds and a rescue team. |
| B．30million yuan, a team of scientists and many goods. |
| C．Water, food, package, gasoline and diesel. |
| D．Funds, necessities as well as a rescue team. |
【推荐2】After an earthquake most survivors can be expected to recover over time, particularly with the support of family and friends. Some families will be able to return to their normal life quickly, while others will have to contend with the destruction of their homes, medical problems, and injury to family members. Children especially will need time to recover from the loss of a loved one or a pet or from the closing down of their school.
Children often turn to adults for information, comfort and help. Parents should try to remain calm, answer children’s questions honestly and remain understanding when they see changes in their children’s behavior.
Children react differently to an earthquake depending on their ages, developmental levels and former experiences. Some will respond by withdrawing (不与人交往), while others will have angry outbursts (爆发). Parents should remain sensitive to each child’s reactions. Parents should spend time talking to their children, letting them know that it’s OK to ask questions and to share their worries. Although it may be hard to find time to have these talks, parents can use regular family mealtimes or bedtimes for them. They should answer questions briefly and honestly and be sure to ask their children for their opinions and ideas. Issues may come up more than once and parents should remain patient when you answer the questions again. For young children, parents, after talking about the earthquake, might read a favorite story or have a relaxing family activity to help them calm down. Parents should also tell children they are safe and spend extra time with them. They could play games outside or read together indoors. Most importantly, be sure to tell them you love them.
1. The underlined phrase “contend with” in Paragraph 1 can be replaced by “________”.| A．deal with | B．make up | C．put off | D．turn back |
| A．All people will recover from an earthquake quickly. |
| B．Children may need a longer time to recover after an earthquake. |
| C．Children should turn to their classmates for help after an earthquake. |
| D．Children react in the same way as adults do to an earthquake. |
| A．read a favorite story to comfort them |
| B．ask them to help do some housework |
| C．be patient and answer the question again |
| D．take them out to play games |
| A．Keep a close watch on children’s behavior. |
| B．Tell the children they are safe. |
| C．Tell the children you love them. |
| D．Ask educational experts for help. |
【推荐3】The record-breaking 2020 Atlantic hurricane season is still setting records. Zeta was a late-season hurricane that hit Cocodrie, Louisiana, on October 28, 2020, highlighting a season that already made southern Louisiana suffer. The National Hurricane Center (NHC),that week, published a report for Hurricane Zeta. After analyzing the data in the report, experts have upgraded Zeta from a Category 2 to a “major” Category 3 hurricane.
The experts said Zeta’s force was more difficult to forecast(预测) than for atypical Atlantic hurricane. Because it grew strong rapidly and interacted(互相作用) with land closely. The plane gathering data from Zeta did the last complete flight through the hurricane two hours before landfall. The NHC said, “Because of the fast-moving and rapidly growing nature of the hurricane, by the time the plane returned to the storm, Zeta’s northern eyewall already made landfall.”
After analyzing the data, the experts said Zeta’s winds were 115 mph at landfall, upgrading it to Category 3 and making it the season’s seventh major hurricane. That matches the record set in 2005 for the most major hurricanes Category 3 and higher) in a single season. It also sets a record for the latest U.S. landfall of a major hurricane. The previous one was the Tampa Bay Hurricane of 1921.
2020 was the most active Atlantic hurricane year. There were 30 named storms. There were so many of them that the list of 21 traditional names was exhausted and the Greek alphabet(字母表) was used for only the second time.
The NHC said Zeta’s 115 mph winds were experienced over a small area and that upgrading the hurricane to Category 3 “is of little practical significance in terms of the impacts related to the storm”. Zeta caused $4.4 billion in damage in the U.S., mostly in Louisiana.
1. What does the NHC report indicate?| A．Zeta was a late-season hurricane. | B．Southern Louisiana suffered a lot in 2020. |
| C．The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season is over. | D．Zeta is more powerful than previously expected. |
| A．Why it is hard to forecast the power of Zeta. |
| B．How experts gather data from Zeta before landfall. |
| C．What could impact the power of Atlantic hurricanes. |
| D．What experts do to organize a meeting after every storm. |
| A．Forgotten. | B．Ignored. | C．Used up. | D．Put forward. |
| A．It is the most powerful hurricane in history. |
| B．It is the 21st named storms in America in 2020. |
| C．It caused more damage to Louisiana than other states. |
| D．A large area of the U.S. experienced its 115mph winds. |
【推荐1】For more than twenty years scientists have been searching for signs of life on other planets. Most of these searches have been done over the radio. The hope is that someone in outer space may be trying to get in touch with us. Scientists also have sent radio and television messages on spaceships traveling through space, on the chance that someone may be receptive to such messages.
Scientists are using powerful radio telescope to listen to signals from about 1,000 stars, all within 100 light years of earth. In addition, they will scan (扫视) the entire sky to “listen” for radio messages from more distant stars. Using a computer, they will be able to monitor more than eight channels at one time. Scientists are looking for any signal that stands out from the background noise.
Of the 200 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy, scientists find that five percent are like our sun. Perhaps half of them have a planet like earth. Such a planet would be a reasonable distance from the star for temperatures to be right for the evolution (进化) of life. Based on the inhabitable (that can be lived in) planets in our galaxy, most scientists agree that chances are likely that one or more of these planets support some life.
However, many scientists wonder whether intelligent life exists on other planets. Some believe that twenty years of searching without any intelligible messages shows that no one is out there. They say that the evolution of intelligence comparable to ours is unlikely.
Other scientists believe that our search hasn’t been long enough to rule out the possibility that intelligent life exists in our galaxy. Although our sun family in only about five billion years old, our galaxy is about 20 billions years old. In that time, some scientists think it is likely that civilizations are much more advanced than ours. Perhaps these civilizations send us no signals; perhaps we have not recognized the signals they have sent us. If we hope to find intelligent life, these scientists believe that we have to keep looking.
1. According to the passage, how many planets in our galaxy might be inhabitable?| A．15 billion. | B．10 billion. |
| C．5 billion. | D．200 billion |
| A．why scientists are looking for signs of life on other planets |
| B．how scientists are looking for signs of life on other planets |
| C．where scientists are looking for signs of life on other planets |
| D．when scientists are looking for signs of life on other planets |
| A．find | B．follow |
| C．form | D．check |
| A．Scientists are tying different ways to find signs of life on other planets. |
| B．Most scientists believe that there is intelligent life on other planets. |
| C．The earth is one of the oldest planets in our galaxy. |
| D．Scientists don’t believe that there might be life on other planets. |
For many people, lack of sleep is rarely anything of choice. Some have problems getting to sleep, others with staying asleep until the morning. Despite popular belief that sleep is one long event, research shows that, in an average night, there are five stages of sleep. In the first light stage, the heart rate and blood pressure go down and the muscles relax. In the next two stages, sleep gets progressively deeper. In stage four, usually reached after an hour, the slumber is so deep that, if awoken, the sleeper would be confused and disorientated. It is in this state that sleep-walking can occur, lasting no more than 15 minutes. In the fifth stage, the rapid eye movement (REM) stage, the eyes move constantly beneath closed lids as if the sleeper is looking at something. During this stage, the body is almost paralysed(瘫痪的). This REM stage is also the time when we dream.
Sleeping patterns change with age. One theory for the age-related change is that it is due to hormonal changes. The temperature rise occurs at daybreak in the young, but at three or four in the morning in the elderly. Age aside, it is estimated that roughly one in three people suffer some kind of sleep disturbance. Causes can be anything from pregnancy, smoking, and stress to alcohol and heart disease.
Apart from self-help therapy such as regular exercise, there are psychological treatments, including relaxation training and therapy aimed at getting rid of pre-sleep worries and anxieties. Medication is regarded by many as a last option and often takes the form of sleeping pills.
1. What’s the best title of this passage?
| A．Lack of Sleep | B．Change of Sleep |
| C．Patterns of Sleep | D．Benefits of Sleep |
| A．Their burden from illness and drinking. |
| B．Their incomplete sleep stages. |
| C．Their body temperature change with age. |
| D．Their damaged immune system. |
| A．Nobody can escape lack of sleep. |
| B．A sleep-walker usually dreams before the sleepwalking. |
| C．In the REM stage sleepers can see things around but can’t move the body. |
| D．Regular exercise can better help improve sleep quality than sleeping pills do. |
【推荐3】“The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.” When it comes to device addiction, this may very well be the case. If you believe that how you engage with your smartphone has no impact on your children, think again.
One study looked at 200 families and noted that the children of parents with phone addictions were much more likely to have behavior issues. In short, this addiction led to “technoference”or interruption of everyday interactions between parents and kids. In some cases, this interruption happened in face-to-face conversations, and in other cases, the devices disrupted（干扰） playtime or meals. When this type of “technoference” occurred, parents rated their children as displaying more behavior problems, including whining, losing temper, sulking（生闷气）, and becoming frustrated.
In addition, according to children development experts, there are bilateral（双边的） signaling systems that occur between adults and children, aiding the construction of the basic architecture of the brain. For example, babies and kids are highly engaged with the daily words of their parents that tend to happen with simplified grammar, a high-pitched tone, and exaggerated enthusiasm. This mode of relational conversation is incredibly important to a child's development.
With the arrival of smartphones, many parents are distracted and stuck in what experts are calling “continuous partial attention” mode. This leads to significant and repeated disruptions to the parent-child conversation flow, which can damage not only a child's language learning ability but also their school achievements overall.
While your habit may seem harmless, your kids may actually be copying your behavior and forming a dependence of their own. One study reported that some teenagers may spend up to 12 hours—half of an entire day—online and mindlessly swiping through social media apps without engaging in any one piece of content beyond a few seconds.
As a parent, the best thing you can do is lead by example. Try to limit time spent with technology, especially when it diverts（牵制） your attention from other priorities. Shut down smartphones at dinner. Set aside phone-free time each day to engage with your children without the distraction that technology brings. While you may not be able to completely cut ties with new modes of communication, you can be sure that your children get the one-on-one time they need to develop into healthy, happy adults.
1. Why does the writer start the passage with the quote “The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.”?| A．To stress children will follow parents' example. |
| B．To provide evidence of device addiction. |
| C．To show the close bond between parent and children. |
| D．To highlight the final solution to device addiction. |
| A．Children who use the phone tend to dose temper and become frustrated. |
| B．Children's poor school achievements are due to their addiction to social media. |
| C．The more engagement of parents, the better development of speech in children. |
| D．Children imitate parents' behavior but form their own harmless habits. |
| A．discouraged | B．absent-minded |
| C．disabled | D．abnormal |
| A．Disrespectful | B．Apologetic |
| C．Negative | D．Friendly |
