1 . From Dec 7 to 19, delegates from around the world met at the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (also known as COP15), in Montreal, Canada. After two weeks of intense debate at COP15, delegates agreed on Dec 19 to adopt a landmark plan to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. “Finally, we reached our destiny. We adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework,” Huang Runqiu, COP15 president and China’s minister of ecology and environment, announced on Dec 19.

The new framework is a commitment by 196 parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity to conserve at least 30 percent of the Earth’s land and ocean area by the next decade. It also will increase the expected annual financial assistance from developed countries through 2030 to help developing nations with biodiversity protection.

The aim of COP15 is to ensure biodiversity loss is changed by 2030, and that humans are able to live in harmony with nature by 2050.To realize these objectives can be very challenging. At COP10 in Nagoya, Japan in 2010, the parties agreed on the 20 Aichi Biodiversity Targets (爱知生物多样性目标). But, as of now, none of the 20 objectives has been fully realized.

It is important to turn consensus into effective actions. Yet, as recent talks have shown, an aspect of effective international action on stopping climate change is the cooperation of developed countries. Developed countries, however, have fallen short of their responsibility as they have failed to fulfill the obligations according to the COP convention to provide funding and technology to poorer nations who lack the means to combat climate change.

To solve this problem, the framework creates a new biodiversity fund within the UN’s existing Global Environment Facility. This came about as a compromise between developing nations, which wanted a new fund, and developed countries, which did not. In addition, a global youth initiative (倡议) was also released, hoping young people to be leaders and advocates for biodiversity conservation.

1. What is the aim of COP15?

A．To save at least 30 percent of the Earth’s land and ocean area by next decade.

B．To stop biodiversity loss and promote harmony between man and nature.

C．To strengthen the cooperation between developed and developing countries

D．To provide funding and technology to poorer nations to fight climate change.

2. Why is COP10 mentioned in the passage?

A．To show the parties didn’t fulfill the obligation

B．To show the objectives were too high to realize

C．To show it is difficult to realize the objectives of COP 15

D．To show Japan didn’t hold the meeting successfully.

3. What does the underlined word “consensus” mean in paragraph 4?

A．Statistic.

B．Emotion.

C．Intervention.

D．Agreement.

4. Which of the following is a suitable title for the text?

A．International cooperation is important.

B．A new framework is made in the COP15.

C．Joint efforts are needed to fight climate change.

D．Historic COP 15 deals are released on biodiversity.

2 . On Monday, American ski mountaineer Hilaree Nelson and her partner Jim Morrison reached the summit of 26,781-foot Manaslu, the eighth-highest mountain in the world. Soon after the 49-year-old Nelson began her descent（下降）on skis，she triggered small avalanche（雪崩）and was swept away. On Wednesday, Morrison found her body.

“Often times in life, people want to play it safe, and we make everything around us to be comfortable and safe,” ski mountaineer Hilaree Nelson once said. “Therefore, we can make choices where you can see where that road is going to take you, and I've always been tending to make a choice that I don't know where it's going to take me.”

Nelson, a National Geographic Explorer, had a distinctive sense of travel that led her through more than 40 expeditions to 16 countries. In 2012, six years later, Nelson returned to Lhotse to become the first to ski from its summit.

She was deeply respected for both her extensive big-mountain experience, and her mindful approach to life's challenges. In 2018, Nelson was named captain of the North Face Athlete Team, a title only one other athlete has held. A National Geographic Society grantee, she was also one of the winners of the 2018 National Geographic Adventurer of the Year award. Despite her many super-hero accomplishments, friends recall her as a thoughtful presence and quiet leader, someone who never sought the limelight.

Throughout her career, Nelson struggled at times with the expectations and limitations of being a woman, a mother, and a professional adventurer---and becoming a role model for younger generations of female athletes in the process. “Nelson paved the way for women in the adventure sports space with her refusal to choose between motherhood and her athletic career," says Emily Harrington, a climber who joined her on the Hkakabo Razi expedition. “ She followed her passion as well as raising her family with a mix of courage and grace in a way only a true leader could.”

1. What happened to Hilaree Nelson according to paragraph 1?

A．She lost her life because of an avalanche.

B．She reached the summit of Manaslu alone.

C．She failed to find her partner and lost her life.

D．Her partner found her body a week after her death.

2. Why did Nelson return to Lhotse in 2012?

A．To explore the high mountain.

B．To meet with her partner Morrison.

C．To challenge herself to ski from its top.

D．To become the best woman explorer to ski.

3. What is paragraph 4 mainly about?

A．Courage of Nelson as a good adventurer.

B．Reasons for Nelson's love for adventures.

C．Hardships for Nelson to balance life and work.

D．The great achievements Nelson once achieved.

4. Which of the following best describes Hilaree Nelson ?

A．Careful and confident.	B．Devoted and adventurous.
C．Thoughtful and considerate.	D．Creative and responsible.

6 . Oscar is a homeless young man in Portland. I _______ him years ago online by chance. I wrote to him last spring to see how I could help him. He has an autoimmune disease (自身免疫性疾病) and lost his_______ during COVID-19 and then his home.

It was months before he finally _______. He hoped to have a fan to keep _______ in the hot summer. We sent him one quickly. Later he said he _______ on concrete (水泥) and needed a ground mattress (床垫). The next month we got him that. He later _______ how wet it is in Portland so I found him a pair of waterproof (防水的) pants. He said that summer was like Christmas as he _______ so many things.

I _______ I could do more. My heart breaks for him. I told him how my son Ben was _______ and how he used to use the name Oscar in a game. “I’m sorry for that. But I’m not your ________,” he said. “I know. But I hope wherever he is, if he is homeless too, a ________ person is helping him.”

The other day I got a ________ from Oscar on the phone: “I have found a job and I just wanted to thank you for your generosity.”

________, most people we had helped for years found homes. One of those, John, leads a fulfilled (充实的) life. And I even plan to ________ a story about his excellent performance. I hope Oscar will find a ________ too. We’ll do whatever we can to help him until he does.

1.

A．taught

B．understood

C．knew

D．found

2.

A．car

B．job

C．leg

D．hand

3.

A．wrote back

B．came back

C．came up

D．gave up

4.

A．silent

B．calm

C．warm

D．cool

5.

A．sat

B．studied

C．slept

D．ate

6.

A．asked

B．explained

C．complained

D．wondered

7.

A．repaired

B．sold

C．bought

D．received

8.

A．agree

B．wish

C．suggest

D．promise

9.

A．interesting

B．missing

C．lazy

D．naughty

10.

A．son

B．daughter

C．friend

D．relative

11.

A．normal

B．special

C．kind

D．clever

12.

A．message

B．gift

C．book

D．card

13.

A．Luckily

B．Accidentally

C．Obviously

D．Suddenly

14.

A．read

B．collect

C．design

D．write

15.

A．business

B．school

C．company

D．home

7 . My niece Jessica was six. One day she came home from school _________. It had finally been her turn at her class’ weekly Show and Tell, but her teacher’s _________ to her presentation brought her to tears. “I talked about Uncle Steve,” Jessica said sadly. “When I showed his picture to the class, Mrs. Yates _________ it.”

Being only three years old, Steve was more like a _________ to Jessica than an uncle. Truly her best partner, Uncle Steve was a favorite topic of Jessica’s. It was no surprise that she’d make him the _________ of her Show and Tell. What was a little strange was why Mrs. Yates would find his picture _________ enough to upset Jessica.

Several days later, my sister _________ Mrs. Yates in the shopping centre. After _________ Jessica’s progress with Mrs. Yates, my sister mentioned her daughter’s presentation. _________, the teacher broke into laughter.

“Oh, Mrs. DeDeo,” she laughed. “I had no idea Jessica was so unhappy, __________ I must explain my reaction. Every Monday when Jessica comes into school, she talks about her weekends spent with her grandmother and Uncle Steve. She tells other students how he sometimes __________ her, takes her toys and steals her cookies. I was planning to call you to ask if you were __________ of the situation. When she __________ a picture of Uncle Steve with the class, I was __________ to find a bully (霸凌者) of a man. What I saw was a __________ three-year-old boy. I couldn’t help but laugh!”

1.

A．excited

B．nervous

C．shocked

D．upset

2.

A．attention

B．reaction

C．response

D．preference

3.

A．laughed at

B．complained about

C．subscribed to

D．disagreed on

4.

A．stranger

B．brother

C．classmate

D．student

5.

A．director

B．performer

C．focus

D．symbol

6.

A．disappointing

B．surprising

C．annoying

D．amusing

7.

A．encountered

B．called

C．contacted

D．persuaded

8.

A．revealing

B．observing

C．predicting

D．discussing

9.

A．In return

B．As usual

C．Once again

D．In fact

10.

A．so

B．but

C．though

D．and

11.

A．protects

B．blesses

C．hits

D．helps

12.

A．proud

B．sure

C．afraid

D．aware

13.

A．shared

B．enjoyed

C．decorated

D．switched

14.

A．waiting

B．expecting

C．preparing

D．pretending

15.

A．brave

B．patient

C．sweet

D．wise

8 . Scientists have found the world’s biggest seagrass ecosystem in the Bahamas. Seagrass refers to dozens of different species of flowering plants that live entirely underwater, producing energy through photosynthesis (光合作用) by absorbing sunlight. Like their land-based relatives, seagrasses have roots and leaves and also produce seeds. Seagrasses grow in salty coastal waters around the world, usually in shallow waters where sunlight is more plentiful. Since seagrasses carry out the process of photosynthesis, they are known to be very effective at storing carbon dioxide, the greenhouse gas. This is because photosynthesis involves plants using sunlight to transform carbon dioxide into oxygen.

These underwater plants play an important role in carbon sequestration, in which carbon is stored in the environment rather than being allowed to float freely in the atmosphere where it can contribute to global warming. According to Gallagher, one of the new study’s authors, carbon enters the ocean as part of the carbon cycle, and the seagrass takes in this carbon through photosynthesis via their leaves. This is part one. The second part is when the seagrass transports this carbon through itself, burying and storing it in its root system. Seagrass stores this carbon permanently.

The purpose of the study by Gallagher and his colleagues was to map seagrass in the Bahamas, using data from 15 tiger sharks equipped with tracking instruments that could also take images of the sea floor. That information was then combined with reports from 2,500 surveys by human divers.

Mark Huxham, professor of teaching and research in environmental biology, said “This brilliant study uses imaginative and exciting new technology, in partnership with tiger sharks. We know seagrass is important for the health of our seas and our planet, but there are major gaps in our understanding about it.”

1. What is Paragraph 1 mainly about?

A．The cause of photosynthesis.

B．Living conditions for seagrass.

C．Environmental effect of seagrass.

D．The introduction of photosynthesis.

2. What does the underlined part “carbon sequestration” refer to in Paragraph 2?

A．Absorbing carbon from the air.

B．Reducing carbon in the roots.

C．Releasing carbon into the air.

D．Keeping carbon in sea plants.

3. What may Mark Huxham agree with?

A．Scientists have fully studied seagrass.

B．The study contributes to a new technology.

C．There is still a lot of work to study seagrass.

D．Tiger sharks will be the focus of future studies.

4. What is the purpose of the text?

A．To inform.

B．To criticize.

C．To advertise.

D．To persuade.

9 . Body language is as important as the language itself. And if you think it means the same all around the world, you’ve got that all wrong. Gestures that mean something in one country don’t necessarily mean the same in another. As much as you need to learn a second language fluently, it’s also vital to get to know gestures in different cultures.

No matter how fluently you can speak Russian, we bet you don’t know a fun fact. While counting from one to five using fingers, people all over the world start counting with a ball-up fist. Starting from one, you uncurl(伸直) each of the fingers. Until you come to five, your hand is wide open. Everywhere worldwide, people count like this except in Russia. Instead of a ball-up fist, they start counting with a wide-open hand. So, when Russians start counting from one, they curl their fingers one by one. In the end, when they reach five, they get a ball-up fist.

What is the best way to learn Italian? Let’s be straight right away: without hand gesturing, it is impossible. So, if you are learning Italian, besides the language, you should learn their hand gestures as well. One of the worldwide-known Italian gestures is the pinecone. The pinecone gesture is formed when you bring all the tips of your fingers to one point. Then you move your wrist back and forth. The gesture is usually used when you have questions.

1. How might Russians express ten with hands?

A．With two fists.	B．With two fingers.
C．With two open hands.	D．With one finger and a fist.

2. What do Italians probably express with the pinecone gesture?

A．Happiness.

B．Confusion.

C．Appreciation.

D．Fear.

3. What is the text mainly about?

A．Tips on learning Italian.

B．Ways of communication.

C．Meanings of hand gestures.

D．Techniques of counting numbers.

10 . In the back of my closet, there is a small cardboard chest that has followed me to every one of my new addresses. Until now, the only _________ contents in it are three wrapped _________ marked in my mother’s tidy handwriting: “Engagement”, “Wedding” and “First Baby”.

When I was three, my mother learned that she had advanced breast cancer. When I was seven, she had begun _________ a gift box for me. Inside, she packed presents and letters for the _________ of my life she was going to be missing — driver’s license, graduation, and every birthday until the age of 30.

My mother died ten days before our _________ birthday. That morning, when I turned 12 and she would have turned 49, I woke up early and opened the package _________ “12th Birthday”. A white card curling around the present _________: “I always _________ a birthstone ring when I was a little girl. Your Granny finally bought me one and I loved it more than I can say. I hope you like it, too.” I put on the ring and _________ her writing with my fingertip.

On the morning of my high school graduation, a __________ of pearls appeared as I opened the wrapped present. Her note read: “There seemed to be a __________ in my family that when girls graduated from high school, they received pearls.” I wore the pearls that afternoon as I took the stage to accept my diploma.

Year after year, my mother __________ forward in time to meet me. When I was a child, opening the next package felt like a treasure __________. As I grew older, her message met me like guideposts in a dark forest. If her words couldn’t point the way, at least they offered the __________ of knowing that someone had been there before and that I have been __________, wildly loved.

1.

A．following

B．remaining

C．entire

D．full

2.

A．plastics

B．products

C．pieces

D．presents

3.

A．working

B．preparing

C．writing

D．receiving

4.

A．milestones

B．majors

C．purposes

D．centers

5.

A．individual

B．usual

C．shared

D．national

6.

A．marked

B．celebrated

C．created

D．made

7.

A．read

B．sounded

C．found

D．signed

8.

A．called for

B．stood for

C．paid for

D．longed for

9.

A．tackled

B．traced

C．revealed

D．confirmed

10.

A．list

B．string

C．matter

D．variety

11.

A．member

B．problem

C．impression

D．tradition

12.

A．put

B．looked

C．traveled

D．stepped

13.

A．house

B．box

C．map

D．hunt

14.

A．property

B．sorrow

C．comfort

D．value

15.

A．deeply

B．temporarily

C．unfortunately

D．simply