1 . In British Bristol, 70 English women at once entered into legal "marriage" with dozens of trees in protest (反对，抗议) against their being cut down. They "married" the trees in an attempt (试图) to prevent them from being cleared for construction (建造) of residential buildings worth £55 million in the forest. The British construction company has applied for the construction of 166 houses in Bristol, including luxury (奢华的) cottages. At the same time, the townspeople were especially angry at the fact that the application did not show the exact number of trees that are planned to be cut down. So, in order to attract the attention of the government, the activists organized an unusual wedding ceremony to save the forest.
The event took place at a park on Spike Island. The women who went there, dressed in wedding dresses, held photographs of the "suitors" in their hands. The celebration itself took place according to the classic storyline—with groomsmen and wedding vows (誓词). The organizer was John Tarleton, a professor at the Bristol Veterinary School, According to him, this action was supposed to suggest that tees are partners of people throughout their life.
The idea to hold such a ceremony came from Siobhan Kierans, who admitted that she came up with it by the story of women from the environmental movement Chipko, who chained (链在一起) themselves to trees in the 1970s to save them from destruction by logging companies.
The protesters said that Bristol needs trees more than luxury private housing. One of the "brides", Suzan Hackett, said, "To get married to a tree is a real honor. It's not a show. It's highly significant (important) and symbolic."
1. Why did the women marry trees?| A．To protect the trees from going extinct (dying out). |
| B．To appeal to (呼吁) people to plant more trees. |
| C．To draw the government's attention to save the forest. |
| D．To blame the company for damaging trees. |
| A．The men to marry. | B．The companies to build houses. |
| C．The buildings to be pulled down. | D．The trees to be saved. |
| A．A previous (以前的) environmental campaign. |
| B．Cruel behavior of logging companies. |
| C．Movements of women fighting for rights. |
| D．Women chained to trees for their faults. |
| A．Interesting. | B．Meaningful. |
| C．Pioneering. | D．Emotional. |
2 . Climate change leads to a threat to the world’s sandy beaches, and as many as half of them could disappear by 2100, a new study has found. Even by 2050 some coastlines could be unrecognizable from what we see today, with 10% to 12% facing severe erosion (侵蚀).
Using updated sea level rise predictions, the researchers analyzed how beaches around the world would be in a future with higher seas and more damaging storms. They also considered natural processes like wave erosion, as well as human factors-like coastal building developments, all of which can affect a beach’s health. The study found that sea level rise is expected to outweigh these other factors, and that the more heat-trapping gases humans put into the atmosphere, the worse the influences on the world’s beaches are likely to be.
It’s hard to overstate just how important the world’s beaches are. They cover more than one third of the world’s coastlines, and protect coastal areas from storms. Beaches are also important economic engines, supporting relaxation, tourism and other activities. And in some areas, the beach is more than a vacation destination. In places like Australia, life near the coast revolves around the beach for much of the year.
Some of the world’s most popular beaches are already taking action. Places like Miami Beach are trucking in thousands of tons of sand to patch up (修复) badly eroded shorelines, while others have built sea walls and breakwaters in an attempt to hold precious sand in place. But the financial and environmental costs of these projects are huge, and scientists say rising seas and more powerful storms, supercharged by a warmer climate, will make this a losing battle.
However, the researchers did find that humans have some control over what happens to the world’s beaches. If the world’s governments are able to stick to modest cuts to heat-trapping gas pollution, the researchers found that 22%of projected beach losses by 2050 could be prevented, a number that grows to 40%by 2100 if greenhouse gases are limited.
1. Which is the biggest contributor to severe beach erosion?| A．Damaging storms. | B．Wave erosion. |
| C．Coastal building. | D．Sea level rise. |
| A．It is hard to protect coastal beaches. |
| B．One third of storms take place near beaches. |
| C．Beaches are of great significance to our lives. |
| D．Most Australians live on beach tourism. |
| A．Popularizing the beaches. |
| B．Holding sand in place. |
| C．Reducing the project costs. |
| D．Stopping global warming. |
| A．Half beaches could disappear by 2100. |
| B．Climate change is doing harm to our lives. |
| C．The beach is more than a vacation destination. |
| D．Governments are taking action to fight wave erosion. |
3 . Heading to the beach is a popular option for lots of people on a hot summer's day. It's there that you'll find plenty of sand. But could sand be more important than we've ever realized? A team of scientists have found a very different use for the tiny grains that we like to play with on the beach.
They've come up with a type of measurement which will allow them to figure out what's known as the "age distribution fingerprint" of the mineral zircon, which is found within sand. The researchers believe this could provide them with new information on how the Earth's surface has changed over the last few thousand million years.
Some minerals, like zircon, have stood the test of time, and are thought to carry clues of Earth's history. By studying the zircon found in grains of sand from rivers and rocks, the scientists are able to work out previously hidden details about the Earth's past. "Strong and lasting minerals like zircon paint a vivid picture of the planet's history, including changing environments, the evolution of continents, and the accumulation of mineral resources at ancient p late boundaries," said Dr Milo Barham, who worked on the research. “The world's beaches faithfully record a detailed history of our planet's geological past, with billions of years of Earth's history marked in the geology(地质状况)of each grain of sand and our technique helps unlock the information.”
The scientists tried out their new technique by taking a look at sediment(沉淀物)in South America, East Antarctica, and Western Australia and they found some interesting differences. "The sediment on the west and east coasts of South America is completely different because there are many young grains on the west side that were created beneath the continent. However, on the east coast, all is relatively calm geologically and there is a mix of old and young grains," said professor Chris Kirkland, who also worked on this research.
1. What do the underlined words "a very different use" in paragraph 1 refer to?| A．Sand can provide a geological history of the Earth's surface. |
| B．Sand can reconstruct the conditions of mineral formation. |
| C．Sand can help discover the age distribution fingerprint. |
| D．Sand can be used to kill time on a hot summer's day. |
| A．Its cost is extremely low. | B．Its zircon is hard and long-lasting. |
| C．It exists all over the world. | D．It's experienced many changes. |
| A．The west coast is relatively calm geologically. |
| B．The east coast is more active than the west one. |
| C．Its beaches have revealed the Earth's mysteries. |
| D．The grains on the west and east coast have different ages. |
| A．History of grains of sand |
| B．Interesting differences of sediment |
| C．A new technique will trace the human past |
| D．Sand can unlock what happened to Earth |
4 . A parent’s hopes for 2030
When 2010 arrived, my son was only a year old—tiny.
Now my baby has grown into an
A
I hope we finally get
I’m not sure what a warming planet will
The world is always going to be full of
The world of 2030 won’t
| A．special | B．generous | C．intelligent | D．dependent |
| A．welcomed | B．raised | C．grown | D．congratulated |
| A．athlete | B．adolescent | C．artist | D．engineer |
| A．director | B．author | C．lover | D．reader |
| A．month | B．century | C．year | D．decade |
| A．questions | B．experience | C．danger | D．change |
| A．create | B．notice | C．face | D．shake |
| A．worry | B．sacrifice | C．provide | D．arrange |
| A．plans | B．methods | C．hopes | D．choices |
| A．particular | B．serious | C．optimistic | D．enthusiastic |
| A．drying | B．rising | C．growing | D．cooling |
| A．for sure | B．as usual | C．no longer | D．till now |
| A．slow | B．record | C．complete | D．oppose |
| A．mean | B．obtain | C．share | D．seek |
| A．pick up | B．fight over | C．turn down | D．take part |
| A．finished | B．continued | C．started | D．left |
| A．aims | B．examples | C．disagreements | D．results |
| A．escape | B．express | C．seek | D．affect |
| A．differ from | B．agree with | C．refer to | D．call for |
| A．blame | B．admire | C．prove | D．build |
5 . Kids' health：Four steps for fighting stress
Everybody gets stressed from time to time.
Try taking these four steps the next time you are stressed：
(1)Get support. When you need help, reach out to the people who care about you. Talk to a trusted adult，such as a parent or other relatives.
(2)Don't take it out on yourself. Sometimes when kids are stressed and upset they take it out on themselves. Oh, dear，that's not a good idea. Remember that there are always people to help you. Don't take it out on yourself.
(3)Try to solve the problem. After you're calm and you have support from adults and friends，it's time to get down to business.
(4)Be positive. Most stress is temporary (暂时的). Remember stress does go away, especially when you figure out the problem and start working on solving it.
These steps aren't magic，but they do work. And if you can stay positive as you make your way through a tough time，you'll help yourself feel better even faster.
| A．Ask for a helping hand to get you through the tough situation. |
| B．Notice your friends' feelings and find a way to help them. |
| C．Different people feel stress in different ways. |
| D．Ah, it feels so good when the stress is gone. |
| E．You need to figure out what the problem is. |
| F．And don't forget about your friends. |
| G．Then, find a way to calm down. |
6 . The TV dramas concerning the unique Empress of China are always hot among audiences. Actresses who play the role of Empress Wu Zetian, are indeed all beauties. What did Wu Zetian, China’s only female emperor, look like in real life? Let’s explore the possibilities.
The famous Chinese scholar Guo Moruo researched this, and he thought that an empress in a painting by Tang Dynasty painter Zhang Xuan is Wu Zetian. Zhang left many famous paintings, such as Paintings of Lady of Guoguo on a Spring Outing of the Tang Dynasty, Court Ladies Preparing Newly-Woven Silk and Lady of Wei. It is guessed that Zhang Xuan was a court painter and had met Wu Zetian before, so the portrait by him is quite reliable.
Another frequently seen image of Wu Zetian is the block-painted edition of Images of Ancient People in History, created in 1498, during the government of Emperor Hongzhi in the Ming Dynasty. However, as the painting was recreated by Ming people, it is not very reliable and possibly a portrait born out of imagination.
There are also many stone statues of Empress Wu Zetian, and the most ancient one is now at her birthplace, Guangyuan in Sichuan province. The statue is said to be very close to the real appearance of Wu Zetian. When Empress Wu Zetian came into power, she built many temples and Buddha statues. Many Buddha statues in the Longmen Grottoes in today’s Luoyang in Henan province were constructed during her reign. Among them, a large Vairocana Buddha in Fengxian Temple is considered to be a “portrait” of Wu Zetian at 44 years old. The Buddha has characteristics of an oriental beauty’s face and is honored as the most beautiful Buddha in the world. At 17.14 meters high, the face of the Buddha looks pretty and has a mysterious smile. Wu Zetian funded the statue’s construction and took part in the consecration(神圣)ceremony when it was completed. Ancient people assumed that the statue was a vivid portrait of Empress Wu Zetian.
1. What is the passage mainly about?| A．A discussion about what Empress Wu Zetian looked like. |
| B．A brief introduction to Empress Wu Zetian. |
| C．why many stone statues were built. |
| D．The development of people’s ideas about Wu Zetian’s apprearance. |
| A．Because there are too many puzzling possibilities. |
| B．Because even the famous Chinese scholar Guo Moruo researched this. |
| C．Because Wu Zetian is the only female empress in Chinese history. |
| D．Because it is human to be curious. |
| A．How and why ancient people made stone statues resembling Wu Zetian. |
| B．Different stone statues assumed close to the appearance of Wu Zetian. |
| C．The development of Buddha statues resembling Wu Zetian. |
| D．The reason why Buddha statues were built during Wu’s government. |
| A．Wu Zetian admired Buddhism. |
| B．The empress portrayed by Zhang Xuan is Wu Zetian. |
| C．Images of Ancient People in History was created during Wu’s government. |
| D．People now assume Vairocana is an vivid portrait of Wu Zetian. |
7 . The biggest and the smallest of the world’s animals are most at risk of dying out, according to a new analysis, with vertebrates (脊椎动物) in the so-called “Goldilocks zone”—not too big and not too small—winning out. Action is needed to protect animals at both ends of the scale, they say. The research adds to evidence that animals are dying out on such a scale that a sixth extinction is considered under way.
One clue is body size. Research on birds and mammals has shown that those with larger bodies are more likely to go extinct. Yet, when the researchers made a database of thousands of birds, mammals, fish, amphibians (两栖动物) and reptiles (爬行动物) at risk of extinction, they found disproportionate (不成比例的) losses at the large and small ends of the scale.
“Surprisingly, we found that not only the largest of all vertebrate animal species are most threatened, but the very tiniest ones are also highly threatened with extinction,” Prof. Ripple told BBC News.
Large animals, such as elephants, rhinos (犀牛) and lions have long been the target of protection efforts. However, fish, birds, reptiles and amphibians that are the giants of their kind, such as the whale shark, Somali ostrich (鸵鸟) and the Chinese giant salamander (蝾螈), tend to be overlooked. Meanwhile, small species at risk--such as frogs and shrews (鼩鼱)--receive very little attention.
“I think, for the smallest species, first of all we need to bring higher awareness to them, because the larger ones get a lot of attention, but the smaller ones get very little,” said Prof. Ripple.
In the study, vertebrates with the smallest and the largest bodies were found to be most at risk of disappearing, whether they were on land or living in oceans, streams or rivers.
Heavyweights are threatened mainly by hunting, while featherweights are losing out to pollution and cutting down forests. “Ultimately, reducing global consumption of wild meat is a key step to reduce negative impacts of hunting, fishing, and trapping on the world’s vertebrates,” they write in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
1. What made the researchers feel surprised?| A．A sixth of animals are dying out. |
| B．Small animals are in great danger. |
| C．Great losses of birds and mammals. |
| D．Big animals are at risk of disappearing. |
| A．Transform our habits. | B．Change our concepts. |
| C．Find ways to save small animals. | D．Take measures to stop pollution. |
| A．Loss of forests. | B．Climate change. |
| C．Human activities. | D．Environmental pollution. |
| A．Size Matters When It Comes to Extinction Risk |
| B．Large Animals Are Badly in Need of Protection |
| C．Why a Great Number of Animals Are Dying out |
| D．What We Should Do to Protect Endangered Species |
8 . The fall leaves are really starting to change now. It looks like the trees and mountains have become a canvas
Today I noticed a lovely little girl from our
I watched this
| A．sought | B．painted | C．discovered | D．praised |
| A．gone | B．reserved | C．allocated | D．transformed |
| A．pad | B．bed | C．curtain | D．carpet |
| A．fruitful | B．bare | C．safe | D．natural |
| A．relaxing | B．strange | C．sad | D．boring |
| A．brings up | B．brings about | C．brings forward | D．brings in |
| A．class | B．club | C．group | D．community |
| A．held | B．received | C．admired | D．searched |
| A．threw | B．sent | C．figured | D．spread |
| A．potentials | B．chances | C．treasures | D．exchanges |
| A．scene | B．view | C．story | D．notice |
| A．positive | B．frustrated | C．content | D．doubtful |
| A．return | B．break | C．continue | D．remain |
| A．fastest | B．easiest | C．coolest | D．fullest |
| A．face | B．soul | C．appearance | D．state |
9 . Whether you're a citizen, consumer or investor, it is fast becoming a key life skill to make out greenwashing, a word meaning a company claims that its products are environmentally friendly but actually not green at all. Misleading or not proved claims about benefits to climate can make it harder for people to make informed decisions. They can also weaken real efforts by companies to clean up their act and deal with the climate crisis.
The basic problem is a lack of clarity. Indeed, when it comes to spotting greenwashing, it can actually be more helpful to focus on the color grey—because it is the many grey areas that have helped make greenwashing appear in particular places. These grey areas might be around measurements, definitions, best practice, standards or regulations. Even the language we use is very imprecise, leaving lots of room for vagueness, confusion or complete cheating. For instance, what do words such as “green”, “sustainable” and “eco” even mean? You have no standards, measurements or definitions to judge by.
These problems are increasingly important when it comes to the greenwashing of investment products, such as pensions and investment funds. In recent years, there has been a sharp rise in consumer demand for funds that invest according to environmental, social and governance criteria, often referred to as ESG funds. According to the financial data provider Morningstar, the value of assets(资产) held in UK funds grew from £29bn at the beginning of 2017 to £71bn by the end of 2020.
With that much money at risk for high profits, misleading claims can effectively hamper the flow of money and resources into really green new plans and businesses, preventing global efforts from dealing with the climate emergency. “I describe it as the 'teenage years' of responsible investing, with a lot of experimentation, and a lot of people trying out new things.” says Ashley Hamilton Claxton.
1. Which of the following can be called greenwashing?| A．A product that is claimed to benefit the climate. |
| B．A product that can been washed in a green way. |
| C．A product that is absolutely environmentally friendly. |
| D．A product that is claimed to be green while not the case. |
| A．The product's description is not clear. |
| B．The language isn't grammatically right. |
| C．There are no such words as “sustainable”. |
| D．The company doesn't say it's “green” and “eco”. |
| A．put | B．clarify | C．stop | D．divide |
| A．Much money enables high profits |
| B．Responsible investing is still at its early stage. |
| C．More money is invested in real green businesses. |
| D．A lot of people are unwilling to try out new things. |
10 . Once I started working after graduating from Wilfrid Laurier University, I decided to stay in the workforce and go to school part-time. I began my journey as an adult
These days, I keep my industry knowledge
Some might call me a learning
I am looking at the Plain Language program as an opportunity to learn a new skill that will not only make me
The days of being able to
| A．designer | B．teacher | C．reporter | D．learner |
| A．heard | B．inferred | C．graduated | D．suffered |
| A．work | B．training | C．research | D．education |
| A．current | B．known | C．useful | D．remarkable |
| A．organizing | B．attending | C．recording | D．confirming |
| A．secret | B．personal | C．unique | D．common |
| A．choices | B．measures | C．courses | D．responsibilities |
| A．celebrity | B．master | C．consultant | D．addict |
| A．need | B．agree | C．continue | D．refuse |
| A．truth | B．demand | C．effect | D．future |
| A．financially | B．physically | C．mentally | D．socially. |
| A．better | B．stronger | C．braver | D．firmer |
| A．reduce | B．generate | C．reserve | D．negotiate |
| A．care about | B．leave behind | C．insist on | D．show off |
| A．comment | B．purchase | C．production | D．change |
