The Amazon rainforest is moving toward a “tipping point” past which trees will start to die off in large numbers, researchers have said.
The study, published in the Joumal of Natural Climate Change, was conducted by scholars from the University of Exeter, the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and the Technical University of Munich. They used satellite data from 1991 to 2016 to examine trends in deforestation.
They calculated that 75 percent of the rainforest is now at risk of being unable to recover when experiencing droughts, which are also increasingly more common because of global warming.
“Deforestation and climate change are likely to be the main drivers of this decline,” Niklas Boers of PIK and the Technical University of Munich told the BBC. The study has predicted that it is only a matter of decades until a “significant chunk” of the Amazon is changed from rainforest into savannah (大草原).
What would the world be like without the Amazon rainforest?
The destruction of the Amazon rainforest, in some ways caused by global warming, will also speed up this process. “The Amazon stores lots of carbon and all of that would be released into the atmosphere, which would then further contribute to increasing temperatures and have future effects on global mean temperatures,” Professor Boulton of the University of Exeter told the BBC.
This worrying snowball effect means that the destruction of the Amazon will make the much larger battle against global warming more difficult.
The destruction of the Amazon would also have a huge influence on the ecology of the Earth. The Amazon rainforest is home to more than 30,000 species of plants, 2.5 million species of insects, 2,500 fish, over 1,500 bird species, 550 reptiles, and 500 mammals, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society. A savannah, a grassland environment that lacks a large variety of plant life, would be unable to host the large and varied ecosystems that currently exist in the rainforest. It is likely that many animals would become endangered or even die out, as they would be unable to adjust to this new ecosystem.
1. What does the underlined phrase “tipping point” mean in this passage?| A．return to zero | B．begin to become less |
| C．remain unchanged | D．begin to become more |
| A．By listing numbers. | B．By analyzing causes. |
| C．By comparing ideas. | D．By describing details. |
| A．Researchers used satellite data to check trends in deforestation for more than 30 years. |
| B．Deforestation and climate change are surely the main factors of the decline of the rainforest. |
| C．The process of destruction of the rainforest will slow down because action has been taken. |
| D．It is highly possible that the ecology of the Earth will become out of control. |
| A．to describe a lot of endangered species | B．to predict the special life in the future |
| C．to explain the way to protect the environment | D．to make us pay attention to the rainforest |
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Madison Checketts loves beaches. But she often sees the sand covered with plastic bottles. “This needs to change,” she told Smithsonian magazine.
The 12-year-old from the US created a new kind of water bottle. People can actually eat it! The idea comes from the “popping boba” in bubble（气泡）tea drinks. A thin piece of jelly（胶状物）keeps the juice inside.
Checketts learned how to make this online. First, she put some chemicals（化学物质）together. Then she froze（冷冻）them to make the jelly. After some tries, she made her own hand-sized “bubble” with water inside!
People can bite（咬）a hole at the top of the bubble, drink the water and then either eat the “bottle” or throw it away. It can break down without polluting the environment. Checketts said the bottle felt like a gummy bear（小熊软糖）and tasted a bit sweet.
In the future, Chcckotts will run more tests to make the water bottle stronger and bigger. She wants her water bottle to be used during the marathon; a long running race. As runners stop for water, they can get a bubble, drink the water and either eat or throw the bubble. “I hope people can understand that everyone can make the world a better place,” she said.
1. How might Checketts feel after seeing plastic bottles on beaches?| A．Excited. | B．Surprised. | C．Unsafe. | D．Unhappy. |
| A．How Checketts made bubble tea drinks. | B．How Checketts made her water bottle. |
| C．How Checketts made her water bottle sweet. | D．How people can make use of Checketts’s water bottle. |
| A．It looks like a bubble. | B．It looks like a bear. | C．It looks like a hand. | D．It looks like a hole. |
| A．Many runners are using Checketts’s water bottle. |
| B．Checketts often takes her water bottle to marathons. |
| C．The world has changed because of Checketts’s water bottle. |
| D．Checketts hopes to make better water bottles in the future. |
| A．A Beach Girl | B．The Delicious Tea Drink | C．A Great Marathon | D．A New Kind of Bottle |
【推荐2】Hundreds of years ago, life was much harder than it is today. People didn’t have modern(现代化的) machines. There was no modern medicine, either.
Life today has brought new problems. One of the biggest is pollution.
Water pollution has made our rivers and lakes dirty. It kills our fish and pollutes our drinking water. Noise pollution makes us talk louder and become angry more easily. Air pollution is the most serious kind of pollution. It’s bad to all living things in the world.
Cars, planes and factories all pollute our air every day. Sometimes the polluted air is so thick that it is like a quilt over a city. This kind of quilt is called smog(烟雾).
Many countries are making rules to fight pollution. Factories must now clean their water before it is poured and they mustn’t blow dirty smoke into the air.
We need to do many other things. We can put waste things in the dustbin and not throw it on the ground. We can go to work by bus or with our friends in the same car. If there are fewer people driving, there will be less pollution.
Rules are not enough. Every person must help to fight pollution.
1. Hundreds of years ago, life was much harder than it is today because ________.| A．there wasn’t any pollution | B．there was a lot of pollution |
| C．there were not many people | D．there weren’t any modern medicines |
| A．until | B．when | C．after | D．before |
| A．Factories don’t clean their water. | B．Go to work by bus or with friends in the same car. |
| C．Put the waste in the dustbin. | D．People help to fight pollution. |
| A．a few years ago, there was no smog at all |
| B．today people don’t have to talk to each other in a loud voice |
| C．people are making rules in order to fight pollution |
| D．we can drink water from polluted rivers and lakes |
All kinds of pollution and waste are doing harm to the earth. We can do something to change it.
Reduce (减少) the use of resources.
Reuse things more often.
When we go to the supermarket, we can bring reusable bags. If we do that, we won’t need plastic bags.
We can recycle different kinds of paper, glass and metal. By recycling those old materials, we can use less energy. Please separate materials correctly and put them in the recycling bins.
Earth is our home. Everyone wants to live in a safe and clean environment.
| A．Keep everything clean. |
| B．Recycle as much as possible. |
| C．Other things can also be reusable, such as batteries. |
| D．Here are some ways on how to protect the environment. |
| E．So we should encourage people to protect the environment. |
| F．My grandfather and grandmother are good at recycling boxes. |
| G．We can turn off the water while brushing our teeth, and have shorter showers. |
【推荐1】What do you like to drink every day? Do you like cola? If so, you should be careful, because such soft drinks (软饮料) are not healthy. As we know, one soft drink has about 40g of sugar. Too much sugar is bad for your teeth and eyes and makes you fat.
How about energy (能量) drinks? Sporty kids like them a lot. This kind of drink has caffeine (咖啡因) in it. It can give you more energy. But don’t drink too much. Once a student wants to do well in his PE test. Hoping to have more energy, he drinks some “Red Bull (红牛)”. As a result, he can’t sleep for the whole night and feels sleepy the next day. Of course, he does badly in the PE test.
So what can you drink? Don’t worry, here are some cool and healthy drinks. Let’s have a look!
Water. It is the best and healthiest drink. Water has no sugar or calories (卡路里). It doesn’t give you bad teeth or make you fat. How much water should you drink every day? The US research group Mayo Clinic says about 8 glasses of water a day (200 ml water for each glass) is good for us.
Juice. If you don’t like fresh fruit and vegetables, you can drink 100% fruit juice. Just don’t drink too much—about 940 ml each day is fine. When you open a bottle of fresh juice, drink it in one sitting. Remember not to leave it to the next day, because it will go bad easily.
Milk. Milk helps you build a healthy body. Milk is rich in protein (蛋白质), vitamin D and calcium. They are all good for children’s bones and teeth.
1. According to the passage, ________ is the best drink.| A．water | B．cola | C．fruit juice | D．Red Bull |
| A．asks a question | B．draws pictures |
| C．gives an example (举例子) | D．uses numbers |
| A．Soft drinks are healthy | B．you can have some Red Bull for a PE test |
| C．you can drink much fruit juice | D．Milk is good for our health |
| A．Water or Cola | B．What to Drink |
| C．Healthy Drinks | D．Energy Drinks |
| A．In a dictionary. | B．In a history book. |
| C．In a geography book. | D．In a health magazine (杂志). |
【推荐2】Doraemon, one of the most famous cartoons, is always popular in “post-80” (80后) hearts. Almost everyone wishes to have his own Doraemon. Here are the main characters.
Doraemon: Doraemon is a cat-like robot from the future, the 22nd century (世纪). His favorite food is dorayaki (铜锣烧). He’s afraid of mice because a mouse ate his ears.
Nobi Nobita: Nobi Nobita is the main character in the story. He’s the least smart and laziest student in his class. But he’s really kind and warm-hearted. He can always get what he wants with the help of Doraemon.
Honekawa Suneo: Suneo is smart and was born in a rich family. His schoolwork is not bad. He thinks himself handsome. Though he can always get what he wants, he isn’t able to get Doraemon.
Minamoro Shizuka: Shizuka is the only girl in the main characters. She’s beautiful and lovely. Also she’s kind and friendly to all people. All the boys like her.
Goda Takeshi: Others call him Gian. He is heavy and scary. Almost all the other children are afraid of him. He and Suneo are always playing jokes on Nobita.
1. Which is true information about Doraemon?| A．He likes to catch mice. | B．He is a robot from the future. |
| C．He was born with no ears. | D．He is a cat from another planet. |
| A．He is kind and hard-working. | B．He is careful and excellent. |
| C．He is not smart but he is kind. | D．He is smart and warm-hearted. |
| A．he was born in a rich family | B．he is friendly to all people |
| C．he has a lot of good friends | D．he can get Doraemon’s help |
| A．Nobi Nobita. | B．Honekawa Suneo. | C．Minamoto Shizuka. | D．Goda Takeshi. |
【推荐3】It’s believed that football was first developed in China. It was known as “Cuju”（蹴鞠）. The sport, Cuju, came from two words, “cu” meaning to kick, and “ju”, meaning a leather（皮革）ball. In the game, players get points by kicking the ball through a hole in the goal in the middle of the field. The goal was made of two posts（门柱）with a net between them, with a hole cut in the middle. Cuju was a way for people to have fun.
During the Han Dynasty, clear rules were made and Cuju became a big thing. It became the most popular during the Song Dynasty. There were mainly two ways to play Cuju, Zhu Qiu（筑球）and Bai Da（白打）. Zhu Qiu was performed as a competitive（竞争的）match between two teams with 12-16 players each and Bai Da paid more attention to developing personal skills. In Bai Da, the players took turns to kick the ball in the field with thread（线）around. Players could touch the ball with any part of the body except their hands. In the end, the player with the highest score would win. However, when the Ming Dynasty came to an end, Cuju faded away.
There are some differences between Cuju and football. Cuyju has just one goal in the middle of the field but football two. The number of players is also different.
In 2022, China Women’s National Football Team won the 2022AFC Women’s Asian Cup in India. It brings back Chinese people’s confidence in this sport.
1. When did Cuju become a big thing?| A．During the Song Dynasty. | B．During the Qing Dynasty. |
| C．During the Han Dynasty. | D．During the Ming Dynasty. |
| A．They played between two teams with 1 1 players each. |
| B．They played it in the field without thread around. |
| C．The players could touch the ball with feet and hands. |
| D．The players took turns to kick the ball in the field with thread. |
| A．Players get points by throwing the ball into the hole in the goal. |
| B．There are no differences between Cuju and football. |
| C．Cuju means kicking a leathere ball. |
| D．Cuju was from two words “cu” and “ju” |
| A．ran away | B．died down | C．put down | D．gave away |
| A．To introduce the history of football. |
| B．To tell us how many players in each team. |
| C．To explain how people killed time in ancient China. |
| D．To explain why China Women’s National Football Team won the important match. |
