Life finds me on the Isle of Islay, Queen of the Hebrides. I am the warden (管理员) of The Oa Reserve, a 2, 100-hectare nature reserve and working farm owned by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
It was always a dream of mine to live in Scotland. The friendly nature of the island communities, the landscape, beautiful coastlines and — above all — the wildlife. The amazing wildlife. So, here I am: living and working on the west coast of Scotland in a dream job. But, things weren’t always this way.
My school life never really amounted to much. I didn’t go on to higher education and my early working life was sloppy (马虎的), at best. Much of this was due to my disinterest in the work I was doing. I worked in factories, shops, warehouses and even a castle. I was always unsettled and uninspired. I never knew how to channel my interest and passion for nature into a paying job. Wildlife and nature had been part of my life since my youth. I remember my childhood with great fondness: I would read bird books, doodle fact files for each species and get lost in the natural world.
In 2014, the opportunity I so desperately needed finally appeared — a paid traineeship with Durham Wildlife Trust. I was given all the basic skills and training for habitat control, wildlife surveys and ground management works. In October 2015, I became the reserve warden for the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT), where I stayed for just under half a decade. As happy as I was, new opportunities dared me to dream even bigger. The time had come to take my next step, to continue to grow within my career.
So, this is where I am now: living in the middle of a nature reserve, with golden eagles, red deer and hen harriers as neighbors. I feel as if I’m the luckiest man alive.
1. What does the author like the most about Scotland?| A．Its unique scenery. | B．Its wild species. |
| C．Its friendly communities. | D．Its beautiful shorelines. |
| A．He changed jobs too often. | B．He was not well-paid. |
| C．He found his jobs to be boring. | D．He felt inferior to others. |
| A．He knew a lot about biology. | B．He was forced to leave school early. |
| C．He dreamed of living in Scotland. | D．He was fascinated by nature. |
| A．Rewarding. | B．Challenging. | C．Exhausting. | D．Flexible. |
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【推荐1】It was a Sunday and the heavy storm had lasted all night. The morning after the storm, though, was beautiful: blue skies, warm air and a calm, inviting sea touching the shore gently.
My father realized it was a good day for fishing and invited my sister and me to go with him. I was only 14 and fishing had never been my thing, but I decided to go all the same. I’m so glad I did.
On the road to the harbor, we could see the terrible destruction on the coast, but the harbour itself was in fairly good shape. After all, it was protected by the arms of a bay that had only one tiny channel to the sea. As we got on board, we noticed two big humps (脊背) in the distance.
On approaching them, we saw it was a mother whale with her baby. We couldn’t believe it—there aren’t any whales along the coast here. The storm must have driven them across the ocean into the bay, in which the still water was so badly polluted that nothing could survive.
The little baby whale—actually as big as our boat—was obviously stuck and could not move. The mother dived under the water and came up suddenly, making big whirlpools (漩涡) and waves. “She’s trying to help her baby, but on the wrong side,” my father said. At this point, my father moved our boat in a semicircle to the other side and, heading the boat towards the baby whale, pushed it gently. With our several gentle pushes the big hump turned over and disappeared under water. Then it swam up right beside its mum. They struggled in their desperate attempts to escape but missed the exit and started heading in the wrong direction. We hurried up to the whales and tried to lead them towards the bay channel. Slowly, they let us lead them, sometimes rising from the water right beside us to breathe, and to give us a trusting look with those huge eyes. Once they hit their first part of clean water flowing straight from the sea, the mum gave us a wave with her tail and off they swam into the distance.
In the excitement it had felt like only a few minutes, but we had been with those wonderful animals for almost an hour and a half. That was the simple and lasting beauty of the day. Nearly four decades later, I still look back fondly to that golden day at sea.
1. The author says “I’m so glad I did.” in Para.2 because __________.| A．he witnessed the whole process of fishing | B．he enjoyed the beauty of the calm sea |
| C．he experienced the rescue of the whales | D．he spent the weekend with his family |
| A．the shape of the harbour | B．the arms of the bay |
| C．the still water in the channel | D．the long coastline |
| A．she had stayed in the polluted water for too long |
| B．the whirlpools she had made were not big enough |
| C．she had no other whales around to turn to for help |
| D．the waves pushed her baby in the wrong direction |
| A．Saving lives brings people a sense of happiness. |
| B．Fishing provides excitement for children. |
| C．It’s necessary to live in harmony with animals. |
| D．It’s vital to protect the environment. |
【推荐2】Two of the world’s most common species of reef-building corals seem surprisingly able to survive and even cope well with climate change, according to a new study—at least so long as global warming is kept below 2 degrees Celsius, the target set by the Paris Agreement.
The world has so far warmed by 1.1°C. The Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest reef system, is currently in “crisis,” a recently published UN report said. That report warned that some coral reef ecosystems could face irreversible damage if the world warms more than 1.5°C. A 2018 report by the IPCC concluded that at 2ºC or more, 99 percent of all reef-building corals could be lost.
But that’s not what McLachlan and her colleagues observed when they subjected Hawaiian corals to a simulated (模拟) 2ºC world for nearly two years. They found that two common coral species were especially resilient (能复原的) : Two-thirds of those corals survived the simulated future.
To learn more about how both warming and acidification might threat reefs in the future, they collected samples of three common coral species and placed them in tanks where they would be exposed to the same weather as a reef just offshore. They filled a total of 40 tanks with sand, rubble, reef fish, plankton, and other reef features. The idea was to simulate ocean conditions as realistically as possible.
For 22 months, the researchers subjected some corals to 2ºC of warming, some to acidified water, and some to both changes. Overall, of the corals exposed to both conditions, 46 percent of rice coral, 56 percent of lobe coral, and 71 percent of finger coral survived. Many of the corals were even thriving.
“The paper supports what has been observed in Hawaii.” says Ku’ulei Rodgers, a coral expert at the University of Hawaii at Manōa. “However, although it is hopeful that some species will survive this century, unless significant reductions in emissions occur, corals will eventually lose their fight for survival.”
1. What can we know from the passage?| A．It seems some corals can adapt to a warmer world without limits. |
| B．The Great Barrier Reef will be lost as the world has warmed by 1.1°. |
| C．Two kinds of reef-building corals seem able to survive be free of global warming. |
| D．Living coral reefs would disappear from the planet if the world warms 2ºC or more. |
| A．To collect samples of three common coral species. |
| B．To simulate ocean conditions as realistically as possible. |
| C．To figure out how both warming and acidification might damage reefs. |
| D．To warn that reef ecosystems could face significant damage for global warming. |
| A．Ku’ulei Rodgers speaks highly of the paper. |
| B．It’s hopeful that corals will survive in the future. |
| C．Corals will eventually lose their fight for survival. |
| D．Humans should spare no effort to reduce emissions. |
| A．By sampling and discussing. |
| B．By contrasting and observing. |
| C．By assuming and contrasting. |
| D．By observing and discussing. |
Friends shows off their pets on wechat Moments. people walk dogs in the park and people watch videos of cats on line. Everywhere you look, people seem to be enjoying their pets. Indeed, they are an important part of our modern lives, even for people who don't own a pet.
A new report from August 15 sheds light on this trend. Asian Pet Show and online platform Goumin released the 2019 Chinese Pet industry White Paper. It shows that China's urban pet consumer market is expected to break through the 2 billion yuan threshold(门槛) this year, which the overall consumption scale reaching 202. 4 billion yuan. That means an increase of 18.5% over that of 2018. Young people in big cities are main contributors.
Most young people are suffering from great loneliness and pressure. Keeping pets will help them feel cosy and relaxed." wrote the report.
Many young people who leave their hometown to make a living in big cities have had pressure of living m a new place. After working all day in competitive environment, they have few friends and face high costs of living.
Claire Krisko from the Us is one of the many young people.She told Teen lnk, a website for the teenagers in the US, that she felt very lonely in her own city. To combat it, she bought a dog.
“After a hard day, seeing a happy face and a wagging(摇动的)tail, bounding (跳跃着跑) around the corner and running toward me will make my day better. I was no longer lonely. she said.
Apart from relieving loneliness, many scientific studies have shown that keeping a pet reduces stress and may improve overall health.
“Playing with or petting an animal can increase levels of the stress-reducing hormone and decreasing production of the stress hormone. These hormonal changes can help nervous people feel more relaxed and happy.” the BBC noted.
We always believe that pets have to live with humans but it seems that many of us can't live with humans but it seems that many of us can't live without furry companions.
1. Why do you think the young people in big cities are main contributors of the larger pet consumer market?2. What is the trend that a new report from August 15 shows?
3. Please decide which part is false in the following statement.then underline it and explain why
> Keeping a pet makes a difference to people's life because it relieves loneliness,reduce stress and provide topics to talk about.
4. What do you think of keeping a pet? Please breny explain. fabout 40 words)
【推荐1】Go. Stop. Go. Stop. The travel signals in my head were conflicting. “Are you sure you want to head to Greece this November with Kathleen?” asked my husband. “The weather could be unpleasant.”
“You must go,” said my friend Larry, who talked about having spent Thanksgiving on Santorini. “It’s a wonderland. ”
With his encouraging words, I booked our flights to Athens and included two Greek islands: Santorini and Grete.
A sunny Saturday afternoon welcomed us to Eleftherios Venizelos Airport in Athens. During the next few days Kathleen and I tried a lot of unknown-to-us foods. No annoying lines of tourists either as we saw sights on the Athens “A” list.
And then came Wednesday. The flight to Santorini was yo-yoed by wind gusts of up to 40 miles an hour. Fira, usually a much-photographed tourist destination, was chilly, rainy... empty. With rain beating our faces, Kathleen and I headed for our hotel and checked in for a three-night stay.
“This isn’t how I want to spend my holiday,” said Kathleen. “Maybe Crete isn’t experiencing the same storm. Can we fly out later today? ”
Her question mirrored my own thoughts. But we couldn’t leave. We’d just arrived. Payments for the hotel and rental car would be lost, and costly last-minute plane reservations needed. “Let’s not decide right now,” I suggested.
During the next few days, we drove around despite the showers. At a restaurant named Poseidon, on our third night, we waited and waited for dinner. “Your dinner will be out shortly. The chef was busy studying something beautiful,” our waiter explained.
Seeing our puzzled look, the waiter then said, “He went out for a smoke, saw a beautiful girl and began to chat…”
Suddenly, Kathleen laughed. Instead of complaining, she leaned back and out came a loud, happy sound.
An attitude adjustment into grace, I realized, had been happening since our arrival. “You know, Mum, you can’t live a positive life with a negative mind,” she said.
Grace surrounds us. The challenge is to let go of anxieties and worries, the tendency to complain. A sunny attitude can let grace shine.
1. What did the author’s husband think about her trip to Greece?| A．It was pleasant. | B．It was ill-advised. |
| C．It would be costly. | D．It would be eye-opening. |
| A．Delightful. | B．Busy. |
| C．Struggling. | D．Annoying. |
| A．To wait for sunny days. | B．To avoid wasting money. |
| C．To enjoy the off-season. | D．To deeply explore the place. |
| A．The role of grace. |
| B．The benefits of travelling. |
| C．The power of positive thinking. |
| D．The importance of understanding. |
Pearl Buck’s works after 1938 are too many to speak about. Her novels have continued to deal with the differences between East and West. Her interest has spread to such countries as India and Korea.
Pearl Buck was active in many charity(慈善)organizations; in particular she set up an organization for the adoption of Asian-American children and took an active interest in children with low IQ.
1. What is the correct time order of the following events?
a. Pearl Buck took an MA at Cornell University.
b. Pearl Buck published The First Wife and Other Stories.
c. Pearl Buck’s first novel, East Wind; West Wind appeared.
d. Pearl Buck published the biographies of her mother and father.
| A．a,b,c,d | B．a,d,c,b |
| C．a,c,b,d | D．a,d,b,c |
| A．Pearl Buck attended a college in China |
| B．The Good Earth was well-received by American readers |
| C．Pearl Buck stayed in China in 1926 |
| D．Pearl Buck stopped writing in 1938 |
| A．American history | B．politics in India and Korea |
| C．writing novels about war | D．doing charity work |
| A．People | B．Politics | C．Travel | D．Business |
【推荐3】Jean Craighead George was born in Washington, D. C. in 1919. Her interest in nature and animals came early arid maybe from her father. He worked for the National Forest Service. The family spent a lot of time in wooded areas. Jean and her twin brothers learned how to build shelters and find food in the woods.
Her brothers trained falcons (猎鹰). Jean said they gave her a falcon to train when she was 13 years old. Later the main character in one of her books develops a close relationship with a falcon.
She and her family started exploring wilderness areas all over the country. The family had more than 170 animals, although not all at once. The pets were always free to stay or go.
Her career in children’s literature began in 1948 with the publication of her first book, Vulpes: The Red Fox. Eleven years later came My Side of the Mountain, one of the best loved children’s books ever.
It tells the story of Sam Gribley who escapes the busy life of New York City. He goes to live in the wilderness of the Catskill Mountains. Sam makes friends with several animals, including a falcon he calls Frightful. Jean Craighead George said she wrote it to tell about all the wonderful adventures she experienced as a child in the woods.
In 1973, Jean Craighead George won a Newberry Medal for Julie of the Wolves. She had earlier travelled to Barrow, Alaska and met with scientists there. They taught her how to communicate with wolves. The author said she was finally successful with a beautiful female wolf. She knew then she wanted to write about a little Eskimo girl lost on the frozen land. Julie survives by learning how to talk to the wolves. They then help protect her.
Jean Craighead George hoped her works in fiction would help children enjoy the wilderness and also protect it. Her own children follows in her footsteps. Her daughter writes books about nature for children. One son is a whale researcher. The other studies birds.
Jean Craighead George died at a hospital in New York City, where she lived most of her adult life.
1. What is implied in the first paragraph about Jean？| A．She liked to do outdoor activities. |
| B．She had the ability of living in the wilderness. |
| C．She didn’t get enough food to eat at home. |
| D．She had to work harder to support the family. |
| A．were left alone al home | B．were traditional ones like dogs and cats |
| C．enjoyed freedom to leave or not | D．was fed with food at the same time |
| A．Her early life in New York City. | B．The history of her family in New York. |
| C．The legend in the Catskill Mountains. | D．Her early experience in the woods. |
| A．After she learned how to communicate with a wolf. |
| B．After she met an Eskimo girl in Alaska. |
| C．After she was saved by wolves in travelling Alaska. |
| D．After she learned many stories about wolves. |
【推荐1】“I really want to, but I can't because...”
It hurts every time I hear someone say it. I see it for what it is an excuse. Every one of us has hopes, dreams and goals. We talk about how we will achieve them, but when it's time to do them, we use that sentence.
During my teen years, I felt stuck. I wanted to learn so many things and achieve my wildest dreams, yet I couldn't. Living in an underdeveloped country, we suffer from a lack of water, electricity, security (安全) and opportunities. And, we don't have training courses, libraries or clubs, and the internet is slower than a snail crawling (爬行) through peanut butter.
One day, I had had enough. I decided to use the resources (资源) I had to create the future I dreamed of. I set my mind on getting the Japanese Monbusho Scholarship (奖学金). I found articles and books online to become fluent in Japanese. In a few months, I was able to hold a simple conversation in Japanese. I realized that I would need money. I set out to build a hedgehog (刺猬) care website. Every day, after school,I would research hedgehogs and write detailed articles about them. I studied Japanese and wrote about hedgehogs for three years. I'm sure you're expecting a spirit-lifting ending where I travel to Japan and live off my website. That's not how this story ends. The fact is, I didn’t even get the chance to apply for the scholarship. I failed. Unwilling to accept the facts, I started an online university the next year. And the hedgehog website made me a total of $60.
I can tell you that I tried, but it didn’t work out. It did just not the way I expected.
I'm not in Japan, but I know how to speak Japanese and have met many interesting people along the way. My hedgehog website didn’t succeed, but I created a new one that's even better with the experience I gained.
I didn't let my difficulties stand in my way, and I created my own opportunities. Anyone can embrace (欣然接受) the cards they've been dealt (发牌) and create their own way to make them into a winning hand.
1. Why does the author mention the underlined sentence at the beginning of the text?| A．To explain how it hurt her. |
| B．To show she disagrees with it. |
| C．To show how often people say it. |
| D．To explain when people usually say it. |
| A．Her lack of aim in life. |
| B．Her unrealistic dreams. |
| C．Her lack of interest in studying. |
| D．The shortage of educational resources. |
| A．She won a scholarship to study in Japan. |
| B．She kept trying even though she failed. |
| C．Her website earned her a lot of money. |
| D．She didn't go to a university in the end. |
| A．Opportunity seldom knocks twice. |
| B．Failure is the mother of success. |
| C．The more you expect, the more disappointed you will be. |
| D．The weak wait for opportunities; the strong create them. |
【推荐2】If you’re in charge of a project, the key to success is getting everyone to want to help you. As a director, I point. I gently push the actors in the direction I want them to go.
In the 1986 movie nothing in common, Jackie Gleason’s character, Max Basner, gets fired from his job as a clothing salesman. The scene, shot on a boat, shows Max’s despair about being out of work. I was looking for some gesture that would allow Max to show his feelings.
Jackie had far more experience at everything than I did, and at first I was frightened. What could I possibly tell “The Great One” about acting? Out of fear I decided to direct by suggestion, and I sat down with Gleason to talk about the scene. “So Max is and, right?” I said.
Gleason nodded.
“And he’s probably still carrying his pens with his name on them – the ones he used to hand out to his customers, right?”
Gleason nodded.
“So what would you want to do with the pens after you were fired?”
He was silent for a moment. “Why don’t I throw them overboard?”
I stood up and turned toward the crew. “Hey, everybody. Jackie has a wonderful idea. Let’s shoot it”.
After filming the scene, Gleason called me over and said with a smile, “Garry, what kind of wonderful idea am I going to have tomorrow?”
You and your team can discover the answers to problems together. When there are no prizes or gold stars.
For who gets the solution first, you’ll all benefit when everything turns out right.
1. The author tells us that to succeed in a project you are in charge of you should ______.| A．make everyone work for you | B．get everyone willing to help you |
| C．let people know you have the final say | D．keep sending out orders to them |
| A．Jackie Gleason is the director of the film Nothing in Common. |
| B．Jackie Gleason is very angry when he is fired from his job. |
| C．Max, a character in film, is in very low spirits when he loses his job. |
| D．Jackie Gleason is the writer of the film Nothing in Common. |
| A．Gleason | B．the director himself | C．Max | D．Max’s boss |
| A．Directing Film | B．The Key to Success |
| C．A Wonderful Experience | D．Working with Film Stars |
【推荐3】For six hours we shot through the landscape of the Kalahari Desert in South Africa. Just rocks and sand and baking sun. Knowing our journey was ending, Daniel and I just wanted to remember all we had seen and done. He used a camera. I used words. I had already finished three notebooks and was into the fourth, a beautiful leather notebook I’d bought in a market in Mozambique.
Southern Africa was full of stories and visions. We were almost drunk on sensations. The roaring of the water at Victoria Falls, the impossible silence of the Okavango Delta in Botswana. And then the other things: dogs in the streets, whole families in Soweto living in one room, a kilometre from clean water.
As we drove towards the setting sun, a quietness fell over us. The road was empty—we hadn’t seen another car for hours. And as I drove, something caught my eye, something moving next to me. I glanced in the mirror of the car; I glanced sideways to the right, and that was when I saw them. Next to us, by the side of the road, thirty, forty wild horses were racing the car, a cloud of dust rising behind them—brown, muscular horses almost close enough to touch them, to smell their hot breath. I didn’t know how long they had been there next to us.
I shouted to Daniel: “Look!”, but he was in a deep sleep, his camera lying useless by his feet. They raced the car for a few seconds, then disappeared far behind us, a memory of heroic forms in the red landscape. When Daniel woke up an hour later I told him what had happened.
“Wild horses?” he said. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”
“I tried. But they were gone after a few seconds.”
“Are you sure you didn’t dream it?”
“You were the one who was sleeping!”
“Typically,” he said. “The best photos are the ones we never take.”
We checked into a dusty hotel and slept the sleep of the dead.
1. During their journey in Africa, the two travelers _______.| A．made friends with local residents |
| B．complained about the poor living conditions |
| C．recorded their experiences in different ways |
| D．enjoyed the sunset in the Kalahari Desert most |
| A．Racing cars. | B．Running dogs. |
| C．Eye-catching locals. | D．Wild horses. |
| A．He had already taken beautiful pictures. | B．He always missed out on the best thing. |
| C．A sound sleep was more important. | D．The next trip would be better. |
| A．Running into wildlife in Africa. | B．How to view wildlife in Africa. |
| C．Tourist attractions in southern Africa. | D．Possible dangers of travelling in the desert. |
