1 . While a lot of undergraduates live with loud roommates, 24-year-old Nikolai shares his home with over 600 noisy animals. It is no_______he is continuously getting interrupted.

Twenty years ago his parents bought a zoo in Denmark and started the first zoo and rescue centre for animals. Two years ago his dad unfortunately_______cancer and he was out on his own as a game developer. So he_______came home again to his mother to _______the zoo and attend to the 600 animals.

Owning a zoo is busywork with Nikolai taking on many _______: feeding, cleaning and playing with the animals. 600 animals may sound like _______but Nikolai actually wants the zoo to_______. He hopes to_______his parents’ goal and make it the greatest rescue centre for _______animals in all of Europe.

“As it is a rescue zoo, everything________a little bit differently than it did in the ________zoos. Because in general zoos, it usually has ________animals. We feel a need and a(n)________to help where we can. Thus, we ________the zoo into a rescue zoo instead,” Nikolai once said. And that means taking in animals that has been treated________or has been in laboratories. And some of our animals may have some scars and some________that we have to deal with or treat.

Having to support his mother and the zoo, Nikolai has come up with a________way to collect extra money: a mobile app game about the zoo. The game’s________will go to various charities. Nikolai believes the money ________will surely help realize his family’s ________of making their rescue centre the biggest.

1.

A．doubt

B．wonder

C．pleasure

D．use

2.

A．came across

B．appealed to

C．died of

D．went through

3.

A．lately

B．occasionally

C．constantly

D．instantly

4.

A．guard

B．manage

C．decorate

D．construct

5.

A．events

B．projects

C．jobs

D．performances

6.

A．richness

B．plenty

C．maximum

D．majority

7.

A．root

B．grow

C．last

D．survive

8.

A．achieve

B．assume

C．estimate

D．establish

9.

A．rare

B．nice

C．living

D．extinct

10.

A．reflects

B．focuses

C．responds

D．functions

11.

A．traditional

B．historical

C．royal

D．formal

12.

A．priceless

B．fortunate

C．expensive

D．perfect

13.

A．command

B．affection

C．responsibility

D．schedule

14.

A．introduced

B．registered

C．directed

D．transformed

15.

A．cruelly

B．carefully

C．aimlessly

D．sincerely

16.

A．results

B．effects

C．marks

D．diseases

17.

A．creative

B．complex

C．common

D．universal

18.

A．funds

B．scores

C．profits

D．allowances

19.

A．spared

B．raised

C．saved

D．charged

20.

A．policy

B．suggestion

C．dream

D．prediction

2 . The heating of the planet is pushing Earth’s polar bear population to its limit, and according to a new study, they could have fewer than 100 years left before extinction.

The polar bears live by hunting seals in the Arctic Ocean, but as more and more ice melts (融化) in that region, their habitat continues to reduce. Since amounts began to be measured at the end of the 1970s, sea ice that lasts for more than a year in the Arctic has decreased at a rate of 13% per decade.

Studies have long shown that declining sea ice will lead to a decline in polar bears, but new research published in Nature Climate Change models a specific doomsday (世界末日) timeline. Polar bears will be unable to endure the effects of climate change over the next several decades, the scientists believe, and will be wiped out by 2100.

“What we’ve shown is that, first, we’ll lose the survival of cubs (幼崽), so cubs will be born, but the females won’t have enough body fat to produce milk to bring them along through the ice-free season, said Dr. Steven Amstrup, chief scientist of Polar Bears

International, to the BBC. “Any of us know that we can only go without-food for so long. That’s a biological reality for all species.”

The study estimated that, even in a situation where countries achieve a moderate (适中的) reduction in greenhouse gases, several populations of polar bears will disappear. But Amstrup emphasized that the animal can still persist (坚持) if climate change does not continue.

“Showing how imminent (迫在眉睫的) the threat is for different polar bear populations-is-another reminder that we must act now to head off the worst of future problems faced by us all,” he said. “The course we’re on now is not a good one, but if society gets its act together, we have time to save polar bears. And if we do, we will benefit the rest of life on Earth, including ourselves.”

1. In writing Paragraph 1, the author aims to________.

A．present an argument	B．make a comparison
C．propose a definition	D．introduce a topic

2. What could we learn from Paragraph 2?

A．Seals hunt polar bears for food.

B．The sea ice has decreased by 13% in a year.

C．Polar bears depend on sea ice for their survival.

D．More and more seals are leaving the Arctic Ocean.

3. What could be inferred from Paragraphs 3 and 4 about the effect of climate change?

A．Sea ice will be wiped out by 2100.

B．The doomsday for mankind is coming.

C．Newborn bears will starve to death in the coming decades.

D．Polar bears will eventually be able to survive without sea ice.

4. By saying “if we do, we will benefit the rest of life on Earth, including ourselves.” in the last paragraph, the author means________.

A．we must act now to save ourselves

B．reducing greenhouse gases is good for all living things on Earth

C．the polar bear population is an imminent threat and we must take action

D．we should stay on our current course for the survival of all living things

5. What is the passage mainly about?

A．How do polar bears survive?

B．Arctic sea ice is melting at an accelerating rate.

C．Polar bears and humans should coexist in harmony.

D．Polar bears could be extinct by end of the century.

3 . Styrofoam, or polystyrene, is a light-weight material, about 95 percent air, with very good insulation (隔热) properties, according to Earthsource.org. It is used in products from cups that keep your drinks hot or cold to packaging material that protects items during shipping. With the above good features, Styrofoam still enjoys a bad reputation. It cannot be recycled without releasing dangerous pollution into the air. The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency says it is the fifth-largest creator of harmful waste.

But now the common worms which are usually disgusting can come to the rescue, specifically, mealworms. Scientists from the U. S. and China have discovered that mealworms can digest plastic. One mealworm can digest a pill-sized amount of plastic a day. Study co-author Wei-Min Wu says that in 24 hours, the plastic is turned into carbon dioxide.

Since Styrofoam has no nutrition at all, are the worms hurt by eating plastic? Much to the scientists’ surprise, the study found that worms eating Styrofoam were as healthy as worms eating bran (谷糠). The researchers will study the worm’s eating habits and digesting system, looking to copy the plastic breakdown but on a larger scale. Once the way can be put into practice, it will make a revolutionary difference to the disposal of plastic.

“Solving the issue of plastic pollution is important”, says Wu, a Stanford University environmental engineering instructor. After all, our earth is small and landfill space is becoming limited with too much garbage waiting to be dealt with, he says.

About 33-million tons of plastic are thrown away in the United States every year. Plastic plates, cups and containers take up 25 percent to 30 percent of space in America’s landfills. One Styrofoam cup takes more than 1 million years to recycle in a landfill, according to Cleveland State University.

1. What do we know about Styrofoam?

A．It can be used to cool drinks.

B．It is a weightless material.

C．It is harmful when recycled.

D．It is usually used on ships.

2. What can we infer from the second paragraph?

A．Mealworms have amazing digesting power.

B．Mealworms are not bad in their nature.

C．Mealworms can rescue people’s lives.

D．People misunderstood mealworms in the past.

3. Why will researchers study the worm’s eating habits and digesting system?

A．To find ways to help mealworms grow larger.

B．To imitate their ways of breaking down plastic.

C．To help develop their digesting ability.

D．To make sure of their safety after eating plastic.

4. In the future, plastic may be recycled ______.

A．by raising amounts of mealworms

B．by environmental engineering instructors

C．using a method inspired by eating mealworms

D．without sending out dangerous pollution

5. What’s the main idea of this passage?

A．Styrofoam is widely used in daily life.

B．Mealworms are genius at eating plastic.

C．Plastic recycling may be no more a problem.

D．Plastic can be turned into carbon dioxide.

4 . Canaries, a kind of small yellow songbirds, are more sensitive to carbon monoxide (CO) than people are. Thus they were routinely taken into mines as men went about their work of mining for coal. CO could quickly poison many miners before they even knew what was happening. If a canary stopped singing, this was an indicator of rising CO levels. Now ecologists think they’ve found a “canary” that could predict possible disaster for tropical (热带的) ecosystems—the cricket (a small brown jumping insect).

Crickets are tiny, present in large numbers and, most importantly, noisy. The chirps (唧唧叫声) of individual species are identifiably different. Researchers had previously wondered if ecosystems might be monitored by listening to how the sounds of their crickets change over time.

Amandine Gasc and her colleagues studied cricket populations on Grande Terre Island in New Caledonia, where multiple ecosystems often exist very near to each other. They collected crickets at 12 sampling sites. Four were healthy forest sites, four were shrubland (灌木地) areas, which is often created when people cut down forests, and four were shrubland areas that were turning into forests again. They listened for insects in square zones and ran ten 30-minute collection sessions at each site.

Dr. Gasc described how each ecosystem had, in effect, a distinct “cricket fingerprint”. Species richness varies considerably among the different environments. Of the 20 cricket species found in the healthy forest, 12 were unique to that habitat alone, 2 of the 15 species found in transitioning forests were unique to this habitat and 3 of the 7 shrubland species were unique to shrubland.

Just by looking at the crickets found in a given location, the team found that it was possible to determine whether they were looking at shrubland, forest or shrubland that was changing into the forest. There was no need to examine the other surrounding plants or animals.

What’s more, Dr. Gasc’s team found each habitat contained cricket species that generated their identifiable chirps. This suggests that setting up audio recorders in forests that pick up cricket calls will be an easy, cheap and accurate way to detect the early stages of change in tropical ecosystems.

1. Why did miners take the canary into mines?

A．To bring down CO levels.

B．To promote their work efficiency.

C．To offer them some entertainment.

D．To remind them of the potential danger.

2. How did Dr. Gasc and her colleagues carry out their study?

A．By analyzing “cricket fingerprints”.

B．By comparing plants in different zones.

C．By observing the changes in landscapes.

D．By referring to previous findings on crickets.

3. What conclusion may Dr. Gasc and her colleagues draw from their study?

A．Healthy forests may attract fitter crickets.

B．Crickets are suitable to be indicators in mines.

C．Different species of crickets may sound different alarms.

D．The species of crickets are strongly related to the environment.

4. What’s the point of Dr. Gasc’s studying crickets?

A．To enrich the methods of monitoring the crickets.

B．To arouse people’s awareness of protecting crickets.

C．To correct the previous wrong recognition of crickets.

D．To help humans easily monitor environmental changes.

5. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．Canaries: miners’ good helpers.

B．How crickets are distributed in tropical areas.

C．Crickets: an early indicator of tropical ecosystem health.

D．Why cricket chirps are collected on Grande Terre Island.

5 . Imagine a tasty bug landing on the web of a hungry spider. How does the spider detect its prey? Spiders don’t have ears like we do, and many have poor eyesight. But they can sense vibrations, like those that happen when an unlucky insect touches their webs. And instead of eardrums, spiders hear using tiny, sensitive hairs that move in response to sounds.

Scientists recently learned that spiders can pick up sounds in another way: through their webs. “It’s basically using the web as the ear,” said Ron Miles, a professor of mechanical engineering at Binghamton University in New York.

Miles and his team studied orb-weaving spiders, which make wheel-shaped webs. The scientists placed the spiders in a specially designed quiet room. Then they played sounds on a loudspeaker. They tracked how the spiders reacted to different sounds played on a loudspeaker.

The spiders turned their bodies toward the sound. Some crouched (蹲伏) and stretched. Others raised their front legs. The scientists said this suggested that the spiders knew where the sounds came from.

Miles said that spiders use their web like a giant extended ear. If an insect is flying nearby, for instance, “that’s going to cause the web to vibrate because of the sound,” Miles said. “That kind of gets the spider’s attention.”

Spiders might even use their webs to tune in to a variety of sounds. Miles said they suspect that the spider is able to adjust the web’s tension, or how tightly they stretch the web. This way, it can pick up certain types of sounds.

Miles hopes the research on spiders will help us find better ways to detect sound. Most microphones today work by sensing pressure and turning it into an electronic signal. But in the natural world, “spiders aren’t sensing pressure”.

Miles said: “Most animals don’t hear that way; they sense the motion of the air.” Future microphones, like those used in hearing aids, could someday have a design like this in mind.

The next time you see a spider, Miles suggested, watch how it reacts to sounds, like your footsteps — though what those noises mean to the spider remains somewhat of a mystery. “Spiders don’t have good facial expressions,” Miles laughed. “It’s hard to read them.”

1. Spiders know an insect lands on their web by ________.

A．seeing it trying to escape the web	B．sensing the motion it makes
C．using its ears to hear it moving	D．growing tiny hairs to find it

2. Scientists play sounds on loudspeakers in the experiment to ________.

A．observe how the spiders would react	B．assist the spiders in catching their prey
C．encourage the spiders to build new webs	D．protect people from spiders

3. Why do spiders need to use their webs like a giant ear?

A．It keeps them safe from dangerous animals.	B．It shows them when they need a new web.
C．It helps them detect insects flying nearby.	D．It lets them communicate with other spiders.

4. Spiders adjust the tension in their webs to ________.

A．block out sounds that scare away insects	B．help them pick up certain types of sounds
C．allow them to make sounds that attract prey	D．make sounds that get other spiders’ attention

5. What does Miles believe is the significance of studying spiders?

A．It could lead to hearing aids that sense pressure.

B．It shows that even small animals can make noise.

C．It could allow people to sense the force created by sounds.

D．It could result in microphones that sense the motion of air.

6 . When I was 13, I climbed my first mountain near my home. I was overweight then and ________ when I reached the top. But I loved the ________.

Two years ago, my friend Mel Olsen and I drove to Oregon to climb 11,240-foot Mount Hood.

As we went higher, the trail (山路) grew ________ and steeper. At around 9 a.m., we reached an ice step. Confident I was safe, I put my full ________ on it. Suddenly, I heard a ________, and the ice broke off the step, right under my foot.

In a second, I fell backward. Soon, I came to a stop on a flat slope. I ________ my whole body, feeling ________ that I was fine, except that I was suffering from a sharp pain in my left ________ and couldn’t move.

I ________ for help, and immediately Mel and other climbers came to assist me and called Mountain Rescue. Then I was loaded into a(n) ________ and taken to a hospital, ________ I stayed for four days. The doctors told me it would be a year before I could ________ again, but I was back on the trails within six months.

The fall has made me more ________. One slip (滑倒) on a mountain can change everything. But the experience also made me ________ as a person. Since the accident, I’ve climbed another 60 mountains. I’m not going to let one fall ________ me from doing my favorite thing.

1.

A．out of danger

B．out of trouble

C．out of balance

D．out of breath

2.

A．opportunity

B．memory

C．challenge

D．mountain

3.

A．wider

B．flatter

C．narrower

D．nearer

4.

A．body

B．strength

C．foot

D．weight

5.

A．cry

B．crack

C．crash

D．call

6.

A．calmed

B．looked

C．tested

D．checked

7.

A．fortunate

B．satisfied

C．grateful

D．confident

8.

A．arm

B．shoulder

C．leg

D．eye

9.

A．yelled

B．asked

C．begged

D．arranged

10.

A．car

B．ambulance

C．truck

D．shelter

11.

A．which

B．that

C．where

D．when

12.

A．jump

B．move

C．drive

D．climb

13.

A．positive

B．cautious

C．frightened

D．anxious

14.

A．grow

B．develop

C．feel

D．act

15.

A．protect

B．ban

C．addict

D．keep

7 . Growing up in Mauritius, I love nature. Behind my house, there is a mountain named Le Pouce, where I spent much time _________the forest as a kid. However, my instinct (天性) for exploration _________at the water’s edge. Even though Mauritius is an island country _________ by the Indian Ocean, the thought of entering the ocean made me scared.

When I was about 10, this started to _________. I began learning about the _________ climate change presented to island countries, and I started_________ an interest in protecting the environment. I watched nature documentaries,_________ the steps I could take to change the world,_________ I still didn’t know how to effectively achieve it. Later, I took the National Geographic Society’s Exploring Conservation courses, which set me on a path to helping start and_________, The Oceanic Project, an organization dedicated to helping people understand the ocean and enhancing people’s__________ of protecting the ocean.

Gradually, I realized how much humans __________ the ocean for its natural resources and that it was not as __________ as I had imagined. My fear was rooted in a(n) __________ of falling into a river in my childhood. Determined to__________ it, I became a certified diver last year.

Diving plays a big part in my life now, and I work to__________ the protection of the underwater environment. I helped run a summer camp for young divers. During that time, I led a beach cleanup to help the participants understand how human litter could end up in the ocean. I got encouraged by the__________ of the activity when a parent told me her son insisted on __________ plastic items in their home with bamboo alternatives after returning home.

Protecting the ocean is very__________ and I’ll keep dedicating myself to it. And I__________ hope more people will join me. Only with everyone’s effort can we make the world a(n)__________ place for human beings.

1.

A．exploring

B．transforming

C．extending

D．constructing

2.

A．expanded

B．appeared

C．assisted

D．stopped

3.

A．ruined

B．surrounded

C．covered

D．represented

4.

A．change

B．worsen

C．repeat

D．occur

5.

A．progress

B．threat

C．opportunity

D．image

6.

A．proving

B．hiding

C．developing

D．resisting

7.

A．avoiding

B．teaching

C．pretending

D．considering

8.

A．if

B．yet

C．so

D．unless

9.

A．lead

B．follow

C．recognize

D．prevent

10.

A．hesitation

B．awareness

C．memory

D．guess

11.

A．paid back

B．adapted to

C．depended on

D．kept up

12.

A．simple

B．significant

C．dangerous

D．effective

13.

A．mood

B．skill

C．hobby

D．experience

14.

A．confirm

B．neglect

C．overcome

D．analyze

15.

A．turn down

B．hold back

C．add up

D．contribute to

16.

A．introduction

B．influence

C．advertisement

D．prediction

17.

A．mixing

B．burning

C．replacing

D．combining

18.

A．risky

B．impractical

C．shocking

D．crucial

19.

A．sincerely

B．suddenly

C．formally

D．seemingly

20.

A．wonderful

B．imaginative

C．familiar

D．traditional

8 . Every spring, as the weather warms, trees up and down the East Coast explode in a display of bright green life as leaves fill their branches, and every fall, the same leaves provide one of nature’s great color displays of vivid yellow, orange and red.

Thanks to climate change, the timing of these events has shifted over the last two decades, Harvard scientists say.

Andrew Richardson, an associate professor of organismic and evolutionary biology, and research associate Trevor Keenan worked with colleagues from seven different institutions on a study which found that forests throughout the eastern United States are showing signs of spring growth dramatically earlier, and that the growing season in some areas extends further into the fall.

Richardson said, “Climate change isn’t just about warmer temperatures. It’s also about changes in precipitation (降水) patterns... so in the future, an earlier spring might not help forests take up more carbon dioxide if they end up running out of water in mid-summer.”

The research combined information from three sources. Using satellite data, Keenan tracked when forests across the region began to turn green in the spring, and when leaves began to turn yellow in the fall. Ground observations made every three to seven days at the Harvard Forest in Petersham and a long-term research site in New Hampshire provided information about the state of buds, leaves and branches. When combined with records from instrument towers, the data sets allowed the researchers to paint a richly detailed picture that shows spring starting earlier, and the growing season lasting longer than at any point in the past two decades.

Another important result, Richardson said, was the discovery of a significant source of error in existing computer models on how forest ecosystems work.

“This shows an opportunity to improve the models and how they simulate how forests will work under future climate scenarios forecast.” he said.

The real power of the findings, however, may be in helping to make the effects of climate change clearer to the public, the researchers said.

1. What is the reason of the earlier spring according to the Harvard scientists?

A．The human activities.	B．The climate change.
C．The tree growth.	D．The reduction in water.

2. What can we infer from Richardson’s words in the fourth paragraph?

A．An earlier spring can only bring benefits.

B．The influence of climate change is complex.

C．The water in mid-summer will increase.

D．The role of forests becomes less important.

3. What is closest in meaning to the underlined word simulate in the seventh paragraph?

A．Change

B．Explain

C．Imitate

D．Create

4. What is the real power of the findings of the research?

A．It helps scientists to figure out how forest ecosystems work.

B．It reflects how the growing season is extending faster.

C．It provides an opportunity to improve the computer models.

D．It helps to make the effects of climate change clearer to the public.

5. What is the purpose of this text?

A．To tell us people should be more aware of the climate change.

B．To tell us the climate change has some effects on the world.

C．To tell us the early spring in eastern USA is a good time to travel.

D．To tell us high technology is useful to detect the climate change.

9 . Telescope Searching for Space Treasure Unearths Giant Planet

A giant planet shrouded(遮盖)in clouds, in orbit(轨道)around a star 385 light years from our sun, has been captured by the James Webb Space Telescope in images described as a “_________ moment for astronomy.”

In observations led by a British astronomer, the pioneering telescope focused on a “gas giant” planet called HIP65426b. It captured images in infrared light(红外光), which allows astronomers to more _________ calculate the mass and temperature of “exoplanets”—the _________ for planets in orbit around other stars. It should ultimately allow them to detect clouds moving across their surface, _________ alien weather patterns on worlds hundreds of light years from our solar system. The images show the planet as “blobs(斑点) of light” in blue, purple, yellow and   red hues under various infrared wavelengths.

The planet is up to 12 times bigger than Jupiter and orbits about 100 times farther from its host star compared with the Earth’s distance from the sun, making it _________ for astronomers to separate the planet from its star when attempting to capture images of it. The planet is only 15 to 20 million years old, a fraction of the _________ of the Earth, which is 4.5 billion years old. Like Jupiter and Saturn, it has “no rocky surface and could not be _________,” NASA said.

The _________ of an exoplanet is usually detected when the light from a distant star appears to become less _________ at regular intervals, suggesting that a planet is passing across its face once per orbit like a tiny partial eclipse(日偏食). It is extremely difficult to capture a direct image of an exoplanet __________ they are thousands of times fainter than the stars they orbit.

James Webb used an instrument called a coronagraph to __________ light from HiP65426b’ s host star, which lies in the Centaurus constellation(半人马座), “Obtaining this image felt like __________ space treasure,” said Aarynn Carter, a researcher at the University of California. “At first, all I could see was light from the star, but with careful image processing, I was able to remove that light and uncover the planet.”

Analysis suggests that the planet has a red hue and a temperature of 1,300℃. The images could give a clue as to how Jupiter and Saturn looked in their __________ more than four billion years ago.

NASA said, “Webb’s view, at longer infrared wavelengths, shows new details that ground—based telescopes would not be able to detect __________ the intrinsic(本身的)infrared glow of Earth’s atmosphere.”

The telescope has already been used to analyze the __________ make—up of the atmosphere on another exoplanet, WASP—39b, detecting carbon dioxide by analyzing the spectrum(光谱) of light passing through its clouds.

1.

A．difficult

B．awful

C．dramatic

D．transformative

2.

A．carefully

B．precisely

C．positively

D．quickly

3.

A．term

B．reason

C．explanation

D．material

4.

A．reporting

B．forecasting

C．changing

D．revealing

5.

A．clear

B．impossible

C．easier

D．harder

6.

A．time

B．age

C．history

D．distance

7.

A．renewable

B．habitable

C．detectable

D．feasible

8.

A．form

B．component

C．existence

D．orbit

9.

A．gentle

B．natural

C．warm

D．bright

10.

A．because

B．although

C．unless

D．as if

11.

A．look out

B．find out

C．block out

D．make out

12.

A．digging for

B．hiding from

C．bringing out

D．mixing into

13.

A．infancy

B．childhood

C．youth

D．peak

14.

A．in case of

B．in the way of

C．regardless of

D．owing to

15.

A．chemical

B．physical

C．psychological

D．medical

10 . 环境问题影响着人们的工作、学习和生活,而我们的工作和生活又使环境问题越来越严重,假如你是晨光中学的学生会主席李津,准备以“What Can We Do for the Environment in Our School” 为题,写一篇保护环境的英语演讲稿,号召同学们从我做起,从身边小事做起,共同保护环境。
1. 简述学校内存在的环境问题;
2. 可以采取的措施;(至少写出两点措施或建议)
3. 提出倡议。
注意：词数 100 左右;可适当增加细节,以使行文连贯。

What Can We Do for the Environment in Our School

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