1 . Seafloor cables (光缆) carry over 95% of all digital data traffic worldwide, including financial trading information and social media communications. However, how the Earth’s changing climate could impact this vast undersea network has been relatively understudied until now.
In a new study published in Earth-Science Reviews, an international team of researchers led by the UK’s National Oceanography Centre(NOC) worked to illuminate this problem by assessing how and where future climate change is likely to impact subsea cables.
By analyzing published datasets, the researchers identified regional climate change “hotspots” where threats to subsea cables may become more intense. These include areas in the western Pacific where changes to tropical cyclone (热带气旋) intensity and frequency have already increased cable damage.
“In our paper, we conducted the first comprehensive assessment of a range of climate-related threats to seafloor cables across the globe and their landing stations,” says study co-author Thomas Wahl. “Our analysis clearly stresses the need to carefully plan cable routes and landing station locations factoring in a range of local threats and how those are affected by climate change.”
When we look at Florida, there are at least 21 subsea telecommunications cables that connect to the Florida coastline, North and South America and the Caribbean, meaning that there will be a breakdown in communications worldwide if a cable is damaged, the researchers say.
However, the study identifies the importance of assessing changing conditions, particularly where multiple cable systems share a landing point, as they may be affected by combinations of threats that affect the low-lying Florida coastline, such as sea level rise, and changes in storm activity. “Our reliance on cables that are no wider than a garden hose (软管) is a surprise to many, who regard satellites as the main means of communication,” says lead author Mike Clare, a researcher with NOC. “But satellites simply don’t have the bandwidth to support modern digital systems. The ‘cloud’ is not in the sky—it is under the sea.”
1. What does the underlined word “illuminate” in paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．Find. | B．Miss. | C．Explain. | D．Connect. |
| A．The threat of sea level rise. | B．The finding of the study. |
| C．The cause of climate change. | D．The method of the research. |
| A．Effective. | B．Complex. | C．Stable. | D．Critical. |
| A．Subsea cables are more important for global communications. |
| B．Satellites have the ability to support modern digital systems. |
| C．Natural disasters will happen frequently due to climate change. |
| D．There is no need to assess potential threats to seafloor cables. |
2 . Many visual artists have a signature style, as unique and identifiable as a fingerprint. For Amoako Boafo, who often paints with his fingers, this seems doubly true. His distinctive paint strokes (笔画) combine the complex skin tones of his chosen subjects, many of whom are, like himself, Africans with global life experiences.
Boafo, whose first solo museum exhibition runs at the Seattle Art Museum, was born and raised in Accra, Ghana, and moved to Vienna, Austria, in 2014, where he ran into difficulties, with gallerists unwilling to show his works due to his focus on Black figures. He continued making an effort to create self-portraits (自画像) and people he knew or admired-African people and Black people who have African ancestry, painting a community of sorts during a time of hardship. He also developed his standout approach to figurative painting, which combines areas of bright and noticeable color with his soft and deep fingerpainting.
He began posting his art online and caught the attention of artists like Kehinde Wiley, the celebrated American artist. The word started to spread.
Boafo is now a global art star, with numerous shows at galleries and art fairs, working with fashion house Dior, and several paintings selling for over a million dollars. In 2021, with three of his paintings being launched into space by Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’ Kent-based spaceflight company, you might even say Boafo has rocketed to success.
And yet a recent phone conversation with the artist from his studio in Accra, which is once again his home base, revealed a well-mannered person who appreciated his success while pointing out all of the luck and preparation that led to it. Seeing so many of his paintings -created from 2016 to 2022-gathered together in an exhibition has helped him remember that “I did not ‘just happen. ‘I did not expect this success but I was hopeful and ready for it.”
1. What makes Boafo’s paintings different from other artists’ works?| A．His finger strokes. | B．His home country. ss-ess |
| C．His life experiences. | D．His traditional style. |
| A．By turning to celebrated artists for help. | B．By developing a unique painting style. |
| C．By running his art exhibition at home. | D．By working with local art galleries. |
| A．To indicate the price of space travel. | B．To show the value of Boafo’s works. |
| C．To introduce an international brand. | D．To tell us the advances in technology. |
| A．He is talkative. | B．He is patient. | C．He is determined. | D．He is humorous. |
Thirty years ago, I was a sixteen-year-old boy, tall and thin. It was the end of summer and the cool winds of fall were in the air. In front of a house, there was a truckload of wood, which my father, my brother and I had unloaded the day before.
My father and my brother were out to do farm work, so I needed to move these pieces of wood around the house again and again to where we were piling the chooped wood. And then I would cover it with oilcloth to keep it from getting wet. In those days, we used to use these wood fires to cook. We tried our best to collect firewood because we still needed some to get through the whole winter.
I worked fast at first, but soon I realized that I needed to go slower if I didn’t want to make myself too tired. Then I spent much time piling the wood and tying it together with a rope in case of falling down. To start with, I thought the work was boring. But then it became a game for me. Seeing that I could pile the wood so neatly, I smiled during the hard work.
After a while, the wood was all piled up, and my skinny arms felt a little sore. However, I didn’t stop working. I still needed to fetch some water with containers from the spring near our home. Our well water was so full of iron that it tasted terrible, so all cooking and drinking water had to come from the spring. The five-gallon containers felt like they weighed a ton, but I picked one at a time and carried them all up the hill to my house.
As I carried the last container back home, I saw my mother smiling at me at the door with a glass of tea in her hand. She said to me, “Here you are, baby. Just take a break.” We sat down with our dogs at our feet, watching the leaves blowing in the wind. Relaxing in the moment of peace and harmony, I figured out a good way to get water easier.
注意：
1．续写词数应为 150左右；
2．请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
I decided to make a pipe to convey water.
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My neighbors came to my house to get water at dusk.
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Hotpot has a long history of over 1,000 years in China. It used to
Chongqi ng Hotpot is the staple dish of the city. Hotpot restaurants in Chongqi ng are everywhere — if you look up on the street you are in, chances are that you
5 . China has built in Kunming City, Yunnan Province, the Germplasm (种质) Bank of Wild Species, a comprehensive national database for the collection and preservation of wildlife germplasm resources. As of the end of 2020, the bank preserved 85,046 copies of 10,601 wild plant seeds for protecting wildlife germplasm resources. Preserving dried and frozen seeds, the bank provides technological support for the protection and research, makes use of China’s wildlife germplasm resources, and plays a major part in international biodiversity conservation.
The importance of science and technology for biodiversity conservation is increasingly obvious. When remote sensor monitoring was not available, agricultural technicians had no choice but to go for field studies, which could barely meet the need for large-scale, fast and nondestructive (非破坏性的) monitoring of crop conditions and timely prevention and control of diseases and pests. Nowadays, remote sensor monitoring has been applied in agricultural production in China, allowing agricultural technicians to analyze the movements of insect pests and evaluate plant diseases and insect pests by monitoring remotely the vegetation growth, coverage, surface temperature, humidity and other indicators.
In the Internet era, information technology has made the processing of massive data possible and created wider and more convenient platforms for biodiversity conservation in China, including Chinese Virtual Herbarium, Plant Photo Bank of China, and National Animal Collection Resource Center. The emergence of databases and digital programs in recent years is driving China to turn around its seriously threatened biodiversity.
From the collection and storage of information to the management and analysis of resources, the constantly improving biodiversity information network has realized the exploration and use of massive biodiversity data, providing a solid foundation for China’s biodiversity conservation and research. Biodiversity conservation and science and technology are inextricable. Only by making science and technology a strong support for biodiversity conservation can humankind guard the Earth and build a beautiful world of harmony among all beings on the planet.
1. What can we learn about the bank from paragraph 1?| A．Its crisis. | B．Its administration. | C．Its role. | D．Its staff. |
| A．Evaluate plant diseases and insect pests. |
| B．Go to fields to control the plant diseases. |
| C．Analyze the tracks of the pests of plants. |
| D．Satisfy the need to monitor crop conditions. |
| A．Linked. | B．Competitive. | C．Inadequate. | D．Inessential. |
| A．The Germplasm Bank of Wild Species Develops Fast |
| B．Technologies Promote Chinese Biodiversity Protection |
| C．China Has Made Great Efforts to Process Massive Data |
| D．Information Technology Contributes Much to Many Fields |
6 . Denmark retired after practicing medicine for 73 years and then volunteered her services until she couldn’t anymore. She died at the age of 114.
I met her by phone when the pediatrician (儿科医生) couldn’t figure out what was wrong with my baby. On the phone, she talked with me for more than 30 minutes. I took her advice, and my baby was better about 10 days later. She never charged me.
“You keep on doing what you do best as long as you can,” she was famous for the words. And it turned out her advice about actively helping others was as good as her medical advice.
Obviously, we can’t all live as long as Dr. Denmark. But recent research has shown that volunteering provides a longevity boost similar to the effects of adding multiple servings of fruits and vegetables to your daily diet. Specifically, older adults who volunteer are at 24 percent less risk of early death. The positive impact of giving and volunteering on older people goes beyond that. According to the research, adults over 55 who give their time for others have an easier time with everyday tasks. Besides, volunteers experience 250 percent less cognitive decline leading to dementia (痴呆).
According to a new study in the Journal of Happiness Studies, people who volunteer report higher levels of happiness and life satisfaction. The study took it a second step and followed people who began volunteering—monitoring their responses from the time they started volunteering. The longer they volunteered and the more they volunteered, the greater level of happiness they reported.
You may already be volunteering your time. But if you’re not, consider the charities you support. Think about the skills you might be able to offer them. You are likely to be glad about what you do.
1. What can we infer about Denmark?| A．She retired at the age of 73. | B．She volunteered for 73 years. |
| C．She was patient and professional. | D．She once forget to charge the author. |
| A．1. | B．2. | C．3. | D．4. |
| A．Seek support. | B．Advise about sharpening skills. |
| C．Offer solutions. | D．Encourage people to volunteer. |
| A．The kindness of a doctor. | B．The benefits of volunteering. |
| C．The process of being a volunteer. | D．The struggle of child-raising. |
It's common for folks not to know anything about the people who deliver their mail, but that certainly doesn't apply to these residents in Durango, Colorado. Their mail carrier, Seana Green, makes it a point to go out of her way and chat with folks whenever possible. Although she's had this job for 15 years, she didn't start the route where Marilyn Schmidt lives until about four or five years ago.
Marilyn, who recently turned 90-year-old, is just one of the many people that Seana has befriended over the years. The two of them love to chat just about every other day. This is made easier by the fact that Seana will park her vehicle, get out, and deliver mail on foot.
Seana walks through the neighborhood, and she does more than just deliver the mail. “I think of them as family,” Seana said. “A lot of them. I really do.” There is an appreciation between the mail lady and residents. That's why, when she hadn't seen Marilyn in quite some time, she grew concerned.
“I didn't see her on Thursday, and I didn't see her on Friday,” Seana recalled. “And when I showed up on Saturday and she wasn't on the porch (门廊) and the mail was like, just hanging out of her box. and I shouted through the screen door.”
At first, Seana couldn't hear anything coming from inside the home. Soon enough though. The quiet sound of Marilyn calling out for help became clear. Seana said that her voice sounded weak almost “like a kitten meowing (喵喵叫)”.
注意；
1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Seana was so frightened that she rushed into the room.
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Two weeks later, Marilyn was able to celebrate her 90th birthday at the hospital.
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8 . In the Arab world, a souk is a market usually held in an open-air location. Souks are an important part of life in the Middle East.
Most major souks probably started as informal meetings of merchants (商人) in open spaces, which slowly developed into more formal markets.
Everything from glassware to meat can be found at a souk,with merchants coming from nearby areas to sell their products.
If you happen to be traveling in the Middle East, just pay a visit to a souk. Some regions have famous markets with a long and interesting history, and a souk is a great place to get souvenirs. You can find a local guide for your visit to ensure that you know local cultural rules well.
| A．Europeans prefer to pay the list price. |
| B．Many countries in the Middle East have long artistic traditions. |
| C．That will certainly allow you a more enjoyable day at the market. |
| D．People may be shocked at the long process of making a deal at souks. |
| E．There are many cultural differences between the West and the Middle East. |
| F．Nowadays, souks make special designs to create a customer-friendly environment. |
| G．Many visitors to the Middle Eastern countries enjoy going to souks to buy great goods. |
A new chain of coffee shops has sprung up in the city of Wuxi, East China’s Jiangsu province, themed on the ancient Huishan clay figurine (泥人) culture—with a few modern adaptations. The Nanimomo Cafe chain has expanded
Huishan clay figurines are made from the black clay found at the foot of Huishan Mountain in Wuxi. They are said to have a
Once upon a time, a young girl whose name was Lily, lived in a small village in the heart of a forest. She was known throughout the village for her kind heart. She spent her days helping her neighbors, taking care of the animals and exploring the forests.
One day, as she was walking through the forest, she came across a small, injured bird lying on the ground. Its wing was broken, and it looked up at her with painful eyes. Lily knew she had to help the bird, so she carefully picked it up and put it in her arms.
She took the bird back to her house and dealt with its wounds. She fed it and gave it water, and soon the bird was on the way to recovering (康复). As the days passed, Lily came to love the bird. But she knew it belonged to the forest, so she helped the bird fly back to the forest.
Another day, Lily happened to see a group of children playing a joke on a young boy for his height, and the boy seemed to cry. Seeing that, Lily realized she had to do something to help.
She walked to the group of children and asked them to stop laughing at the boy. They looked at her doubtfully, but Lily seriously told them that it wasn’t kind to make fun of others. Finally, the children listened to her. They stopped laughing at the boy and even apologized (道歉) to him. Lily smiled, feeling proud of herself for standing up for what was right.
注意：1.续写词数应为150个左右；2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
As the years went by, Lily continued to spread kindness throughout the village.
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