1 . First established as a state capital in 229 CE, Nanjing, China, has long been one of the country’s most important (and largest) inland river ports and is recognized as one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China.

Why do people love it?

    1    Xuanwu Lake provides a peaceful escape right in central Nanjing, with temples, teahouses and restaurants located in nearby Xuanwu Lake Park. Unlike city walls in Beijing or Xi’an, Nanjing’s old wall isn’t geometric and instead contours the lake and mountain areas.     2    The sense of surprise delivered by these central natural expanses, like the Yangtze River, Zhongshan Mountain range and Xuanwu Lake, is what new residents love about living here.

What’s it like living here?

For those who miss the foods of home, there’s no shortage of foreign restaurants and cafes that cater   to   expats   and   international   students.       3    Nanjing has an efficient and expansive metro system that covers most of the city, but cycling is also an option, with bike-friendly wide and straight roads.

Residents rave about how affordable Nanjing is compared to other Chinese cities, especially when it comes to housing.     4    That said, the weather can be rough in winter, since most buildings lack central heating. Summers are also very hot and humid.

In general, a certain traditionalism and conservatism can be felt more strongly here than in other Chinese cities, which can make it more of a challenge to make local friends quickly. The language and cultural barrier tends to be high.     5    

A．Rent for an 85-sq-m apartment is more than 50% cheaper than Beijing and 65% less than Shanghai.

B．If you want to experience more of Nanjing’s past, the streets of Lao Men Dong is a must-see.

C．As a result, natural sites often appear in unexpected areas of the city.

D．Though home to 8.3 million people, Nanjing is one of the few big cities left in China to offer easy access to peace.

E．The city also has plenty of low-key and live-music clubs.

F．Getting around the city is easy.

G．So learning and speaking Mandarin Chinese can help with integrating into the local community.

2 . Caves (洞穴) have a primary appeal — they hold the secrets to our past and are mysterious in and of themselves.

● Mammoth Cave

Kentucky, USA

The longest cave system in the world lies beneath the Green River Valley in Kentucky and while over 400 miles of passageways have been mapped, it has yet to be fully discovered. The complex limestone labyrinth (石灰岩迷宫) was discovered by humans 4,000 years ago.

● Blue Grotto

Capri, Italy

Once used as the personal swimming hole for the Roman Emperor Tiberius, this extremely bright sea cave is almost 200 feet long and 82 feet wide. Its unique glow comes from the light entering the small opening to the outside.

● Avshalom Cave Nature Reserve

Beit Shemesh, Israel

Also known as the Soreq Cave Nature Reserve, Avshalom is considered to be the Rosetta Stone of climate history in the Eastern Mediterranean through the packed stalactites (钟乳石) found in the cave, some of which are over 13 feet long, and are as old as 300,000 years.

● Cave of the Crystals

Naica, Mexico

This unique cave system in Mexico contains some of the largest natural crystals (水晶) ever found—the longest of which is 39 feet long and 13 feet thick. However, it is rarely explored due to logistical difficulties: it is extremely hot due to its location above a volcanic vent, and the huge crystals block also block the passage.

1. Where does the longest cave lie in?

A．Kentucky, USA.	B．Capri, Italy.
C．Beit Shemesh, Israel.	D．Naica, Mexico.

2. Avshalom is famous as           .

A．the most beautiful cave.	B．the Soreq Cave Nature Reserve.
C．the Emperor’s swimming hole.	D．over 400 miles of passageways.

3. Which cave includes the largest natural crystals?

A．Cave of the Crystals.	B．Blue Grotto.
C．Mammoth Cave.	D．Avshalom Cave Nature Reserve.

3 . By the end of the century, if not sooner, the world’s oceans will be bluer and greener thanks to a warming climate, according to a new study.

At the heart of the phenomenon lie tiny marine microorganisms(海洋微生物) called phytoplankton. Because of the way light reflects off the organisms, these phytoplankton create colourful patterns at the ocean surface. Ocean colour varies from green to blue, depending on the type and concentration of phytoplankton. Climate change will fuel the growth of phytoplankton in some areas, while reducing it in other spots, leading to changes in the ocean’s appearance.

Phytoplankton live at the ocean surface, where they pull carbon dioxide(二氧化碳) into the ocean while giving off oxygen. When these organisms die, they bury carbon in the deep ocean, an important process that helps to regulate the global climate. But phytoplankton are vulnerable to the ocean’s warming trend. Warming changes key characteristics of the ocean and can affect phytoplankton growth, since they need not only sunlight and carbon dioxide to grow, but also nutrients.

Stephanie Dutkiewicz, a scientist in MIT’s Center for Global Change Science, built a climate model that projects changes to the oceans throughout the century. In a world that warms up by 3℃, it found that multiple changes to the colour of the oceans would occur. The model projects that currently blue areas with little phytoplankton could become even bluer. But in some waters, such as those of the Arctic, a warming will make conditions riper for phytoplankton, and these areas will turn greener. “Not only are the quantities of phytoplankton in the ocean changing. ” she said, “but the type of phytoplankton is changing.”

And why does that matter? Phytoplankton are the base of the food web. If certain kinds begin to disappear from the ocean, Dutkiewicz said, “it will change the type of fish that will be able to survive.” Those kinds of changes could affect the food chain.

Whatever colour changes the ocean experiences in the coming decades will probably be too gradual and unnoticeable, but they could mean significant changes. “It’ll be a while before we can statistically show that the changes are happening because of climate change,” Dutkiewicz said, “but the change in the colour of the ocean will be one of the early warning signals that we really have changed our planet.”

1. What are the first two paragraphs mainly about?

A．The various patterns at the ocean surface.

B．The cause of the changes in ocean colour.

C．The way light reflects off marine organisms.

D．The efforts to fuel the growth of phytoplankton.

2. What does the underlined word “vulnerable” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Sensitive.

B．Beneficial.

C．Significant.

D．Unnoticeable.

3. What can we learn from the passage?

A．Phytoplankton play a declining role in the marine ecosystem.

B．Dutkiewicz’s model aims to project phytoplankton changes.

C．Phytoplankton have been used to control global climate.

D．Oceans with more phytoplankton may appear greener.

4. What is the main purpose of the passage?

A．To assess the consequences of ocean colour changes.

B．To analyse the composition of the ocean food chain.

C．To explain the effects of climate change on oceans.

D．To introduce a new method to study phytoplankton.

4 . In the 1960s, while studying the volcanic history of Yellowstone National Park, Bob Christiansen became puzzled about something that, oddly, had not troubled anyone before: he couldn’t find the park’s volcano. It had been known for a long time that Yellowstone was volcanic in nature — that’s what accounted for all its hot springs and other steamy features. But Christiansen couldn’t find the Yellowstone volcano anywhere.

Most of us, when we talk about volcanoes, think of the classic cone(圆锥体) shapes of a Fuji or Kilimanjaro, which are created when erupting magma(岩浆) piles up. These can form remarkably quickly. In 1943, a Mexican farmer was surprised to see smoke rising from a small part of his land. In one week he was the confused owner of a cone five hundred feet high. Within two years it had topped out at almost fourteen hundred feet and was more than half a mile across. Altogether there are some ten thousand of these volcanoes on Earth, all but a few hundred of them extinct. There is, however, a second less known type of volcano that doesn’t involve mountain building. These are volcanoes so explosive that they burst open in a single big crack, leaving behind a vast hole, the caldera. Yellowstone obviously was of this second type, but Christiansen couldn’t find the caldera anywhere.

Just at this time NASA decided to test some new high-altitude cameras by taking photographs of Yellowstone. A thoughtful official passed on some of the copies to the park authorities on the assumption that they might make a nice blow-up for one of the visitors’ centers. As soon as Christiansen saw the photos, he realized why he had failed to spot the caldera: almost the whole park—2.2 million acres—was caldera. The explosion had left a hole more than forty miles across—much too huge to be seen from anywhere at ground level. At some time in the past Yellowstone must have blown up with a violence far beyond the scale of anything known to humans.

1. What puzzled Christiansen when he was studying Yellowstone?

A．Its complicated geographical features.

B．Its ever-lasting influence on tourism.

C．The mysterious history of the park.

D．The exact location of the volcano.

2. What does the second paragraph mainly talk about?

A．The shapes of volcanoes.

B．The impacts of volcanoes.

C．The activities of volcanoes.

D．The heights of volcanoes.

3. What does the underlined word “blow-up” in the last paragraph most probably mean?

A．Hot-air balloon.	B．Digital camera.
C．Big photograph.	D．Bird’s view.

5 . Every year about 40,000 people attempt to climb Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa. They _______ with them lots of waste. The _______ might damage the beauty of the place. The glaciers(冰川) are disappearing, changing the _______ of Kilimanjaro.

Hearing these stories, I’m _______ about the place — other destinations are described as “purer” natural experiences.

However, I soon _______ that much has changed since the days of disturbing reports of _______ among tons of rubbish. I find a _______ mountain, with toilets at camps and along the paths. The environmental challenges are _______ but the efforts made by the Tanzania National Park Authority seem to be _______.

The best of a Kilimanjaro ________, in my opinion, isn’t reaching the top. Mountains are ________ as spiritual places by many cultures. This ________ is especially evident on Kilimanjaro as ________ go through five ecosystems(生态系统) in the space of a few kilometers. At the base is a rainforest. It ends abruptly at 3, 000 meters, ________ lands of low growing plants. Further up, the weather ________ — low clouds envelope the mountainsides, which are covered with thick grass. I ________ twelve shades of green from where I stand. Above 4, 000 meters is the highland ________: gravel(砾石), stones and rocks. ________ you climb into an arctic-like zone with ________ snow and the glaciers that may soon disappear.

Does Kilimanjaro ________ its reputation as a crowded mountain with lines of tourists ruining the atmosphere of peace? I found the opposite to be true.

1.

A．keep

B．mix

C．connect

D．bring

2.

A．stories

B．buildings

C．crowds

D．reporters

3.

A．position

B．age

C．face

D．name

4.

A．silent

B．skeptical

C．serious

D．crazy

5.

A．discover

B．argue

C．decide

D．advocate

6.

A．equipment

B．grass

C．camps

D．stones

7.

A．remote

B．quiet

C．tall

D．clean

8.

A．new

B．special

C．significant

D．necessary

9.

A．paying off

B．spreading out

C．blowing up

D．fading away

10.

A．atmosphere

B．experience

C．experiment

D．sight

11.

A．studied

B．observed

C．explored

D．regarded

12.

A．view

B．quality

C．reason

D．purpose

13.

A．scientists

B．climbers

C．locals

D．officials

14.

A．holding on to

B．going back to

C．living up to

D．giving way to

15.

A．changes

B．clears

C．improves

D．permits

16.

A．match

B．imagine

C．count

D．add

17.

A．village

B．desert

C．road

D．lake

18.

A．Obviously

B．Easily

C．Consequently

D．Finally

19.

A．permanent

B．little

C．fresh

D．artificial

20.

A．enjoy

B．deserve

C．save

D．acquire