1 . My kitchen may be the best kitchen on the planet. That is because when I look out of its window can see the west side of Grandeur Peak. Grandeur Peak is one of the most attractive mountains in central Wasatch, with its animals, trees, morning clouds, evening sunset, and the mountain’s paragliders (滑翔伞运动员).
The number of paragliders flying above Grandeur Peak has grown over the past 15 years, so much so that they have become part of the mountain. But during the past year they have largely disappeared. Some paragliders told me that the wind became too strong to fly in. The wind is too strong! Is this another character of our changing climate (气候)? Will paragliding be a sport affected by a warming planet? Utah has been much windier in the past few years. For me, a scientist who studies living things, it is easy to believe that our future will be windier. This year it’s getting super-hot, and the planet is warming faster than scientists expected. I can’t help but worry that the future of paragliding in Utah is not bright.
I’m writing to the brave people who fly from Grandeur Peak with beautiful wings. I want you to join Clean The Dam Air, a group that’ s working hard to fight climate change and air pollution — I’m part of it too. We are introducing a measure, which aims to remove the state sales tax (税) on grocery store food and put a carbon tax on fossil fuels (化石燃料) in its place: gas, electricity produced from fossil fuels, and natural gas. The goal isn’t to make taxes higher. The idea is to encourage everyone to reduce their use of fossil fuels. So, paragliders, join us. Now is the time to take care of our planet. If we succeed, then Utah can be an example to others in fighting climate change.
1. Why does the author mention his kitchen?| A．To share his love of cooking dishes. |
| B．To bring back his memories of paragliding. |
| C．To introduce Grandeur Peak’s paragliding. |
| D．To describe his adventures around Grandeur Peak. |
| A．The author saw less paragliding. | B．Few people visited Grandeur Peak. |
| C．Air pollution became serious in Utah. | D．Strong winds stopped people going outside. |
| A．Uncaring. | B．Supportive. | C．Positive. | D．Worried. |
| A．Buy those foods that are taxed less. |
| B．Reduce flying with wings in Grandeur Peak. |
| C．Join him to support a program about taxing. |
| D．Join a group to improve their paragliding skills. |
2 . Yang He, a 64-year-old man from Yichang, Hubei, has observed the changes in finless porpoises (江豚) population with his camera for six years. As a(n)
Every day, Yang wakes up early and drives to the
The Yangtze finless porpoise is so
However, the situation has changed as
Thanks to his camera, he once discovered and
| A．leader | B．admirer | C．hunter | D．advisor |
| A．banks | B．waves | C．beaches | D．sights |
| A．suddenly | B．patiently | C．formally | D．strangely |
| A．imagination | B．anxiety | C．strength | D．beauty |
| A．follows | B．listens | C．knows | D．exchanges |
| A．belongs to | B．focuses on | C．applies for | D．adapts to |
| A．addicted | B．connected | C．convenient | D．important |
| A．threaten | B．balance | C．conduct | D．promote |
| A．crashing | B．trapping | C．tracking | D．preventing |
| A．in addition to | B．due to | C．in spite of | D．apart from |
| A．global | B．possible | C．effective | D．historic |
| A．creative | B．lucky | C．magic | D．valuable |
| A．catching | B．striking | C．kicking | D．drawing |
| A．inspired | B．approached | C．reserved | D．rescued |
| A．confirm | B．remind | C．document | D．identify |
3 . Coming into the town of Santa Catarina Palopó, in the highlands of Lake Atitlan in Guatemala, the first thing you notice is the bright colors. Most of the buildings along the main street are eye-catching, deep blues and greens, dotted with red and yellow to form diverse patterns and designs.
Santa Catarina Palopó was once a sleepy town of 5, 000 people, most of them dependent on agricultural work. But as agriculture began to dry up here, poverty came. To deal with poverty and promote econ on growth through tourism, a small but creative group of laborers, artisans, domestic workers and stay-at-home moms created the Pintando Santa Catarina Palopó project.
The project aimed to paint all 850 homes and buildings in bright colors to change the hillside town into a work of art. “We wanted to paint the houses with colors and figures that represent the community” says the project’s executive director Stephany Blanco. “Families can choose designs for their house that are representative of the family.”
One of the most representative characteristics of the region is the blue huipil, a traditional blouse which has been worn commonly by local women since the 16th century. That deep sky blue was chosen the primary color-for the Pintando project, with secondary colors found in the sunsets and the nearby lake to make the design more attractive. Inspiration was also found in local culture, symbols such as volcanoes, flowers, and the national bird of Guatemala.
Each week, local artists, community members and tourists pick up paintbrushes to make buildings colorful. “At first, the idea of the project was uncertain, but now you can see a considerable difference in the town,” Melissa Whitbeck said. “The color of the buildings is believed to improve the quality-of life of the people. It uplifts the people’s mood and encourages them to be proud of their hometown.”
1. Why was the Pintando Santa Catarina project started?| A．Because of a workforce shortage. | B．Due to the poor economic conditions. |
| C．Thanks to the increase in population. | D．For the old-fashioned farming ways. |
| A．Building family art galleries in Guatemala. | B．Creating job opportunities for local artists. |
| C．Developing local tourism by selling artworks. | D．Changing the town into a cultural destination. |
| A．The surrounding volcanoes. | B．Mayan-styled butterflies. |
| C．A type of traditional clothing. | D．The national bird of Guatemala. |
| A．Positive. | B．Reserved. | C．Concerned. | D．Negative. |
4 . Yang He, a 64-year-old man from Yichang, Hubei, has observed the changes in finless porpoises (江豚) population with his camera for six years. As a(n)
Every day, Yang wakes up early and drives to the
The Yangtze finless porpoise is so
However, the situation has changed as
Thanks to his camera, he once discovered and
| A．leader | B．admirer | C．hunter | D．advisor |
| A．banks | B．waves | C．beaches | D．sights |
| A．suddenly | B．patiently | C．formally | D．strangely |
| A．imagination | B．anxiety | C．strength | D．beauty |
| A．follows | B．listens | C．knows | D．exchanges |
| A．belongs to | B．focuses on | C．applies for | D．adapts to |
| A．addicted | B．connected | C．convenient | D．important |
| A．threaten | B．balance | C．protect | D．promote |
| A．crashing | B．trapping | C．tracking | D．preventing |
| A．in addition to | B．due to | C．in spite of | D．apart from |
| A．global | B．possible | C．effective | D．historic |
| A．creative | B．lucky | C．magic | D．valuable |
| A．catching | B．striking | C．kicking | D．drawing |
| A．inspired | B．approached | C．reserved | D．rescued |
| A．conquer | B．remind | C．document | D．identify |
| A．The environment. | B．An activity. | C．A lifestyle. |
| A．A baby. | B．A dog. | C．A cat. |
7 . In the northernmost edge of Colombia sits the coastal town of Acandí. Access to the town is only by water or air; there is no road that leads there. The residents there are faced with the struggles of balancing livelihoods while protecting biodiversity.
In the past, traditional community fishing methods, passed down by the elders, focused on the reasonable fishing and management of resources. However, the introduction of large-scale trawling vessels(拖网渔船) decades ago gradually depleted the area’s fishing resources, leading to damage to marine(海洋的) life seriously.
Jesús Antonio Julio Cuestas, who serves in the region’s conservation and management of marine resources, stresses the bad impact of these developments and calls for new fishing techniques. “Fishing and conservation co-exist as long as we have good management practices and reasonable use of our fishing resources,” says Cuestas. He and other officials actively monitor fishing activities in Acandí. Each morning, they visit the fish markets to gather data on fishery resources—including prices and sizes—to monitor the state of the local fishing industry.
Along with Cuestas, the fishers work to reduce their impact on the marine ecosystem. By changing fishing methods and adopting new practices, they aim for a more balanced approach to fishing. “This year the local fishermen have not used the trawl net s that were causing the death of the leatherback sea turtles,” explains Cuestas proudly. Changes include the efforts of boats to protect the seagrass that serves as feeding grounds for marine life and an end to fishers throwing net s where turtles lay their eggs.
This marine reserve in Acandí, Cuestas believes, is their greatest treasure. He attaches great importance to working together with local residents to improve the quality of life while preserving the marine ecosystem. By doing so, he imagines a picture where individuals from the fishing community can pursue various careers, such as engineers or lawyers, proudly stating that they are the products of the fishing tradition in Acandí.
1. What does the underlined word “depleted” in paragraph 2 mean?| A．Reused. | B．Restored. |
| C．Explored. | D．Reduced. |
| A．To cut down on the costs of fishing. |
| B．To improve the income of local residents. |
| C．To promote the well-being of marine wildlife. |
| D．To spread traditional community fishing methods. |
| A．The aim of the changes to fishing methods. |
| B．The efforts to preserve marine ecosystem. |
| C．The results the trawl net s have brought about. |
| D．The impact of fishers on the local environment. |
| A．Confident. | B．Uncaring. |
| C．Concerned. | D．Doubtful. |
8 . Scientists have reported that the sea ice in Antarctica (南极) is at a record low level. Antarctica is a great, icy land, surrounded (围绕) by the huge Southern Ocean. The ice in Antarctica doesn’t just cover the land. There’s also a large area of sea ice on the ocean’s surface.
Every year, the sea ice at the South Pole goes through a cycle. In the summer, the huge sea ice melts (融化) to its smallest point. Over the colder winter months, the sea ice grows and grows until it covers a wide area. Usually, the sea ice covers the greatest area around September 23, as winter ends at the South Pole.
Scientists have been measuring the area of the sea ice in Antarctica since 1979. For most of this time, Antarctica has seemed to be almost unaffected by the changing weather conditions experienced in other parts of the globe. That began to change around 2016. Now, for several years, the area of Antartica’s sea ice has been shrinking.
This year, the US National Snow and Ice Data Centre (NSIDC) reported that Antartica’s sea ice covered its greatest area on September 10 — almost two weeks earlier than normal. And the sea ice was at a new record low-not just by a little bit, but by a lot.
The last time Antartica’s low sea ice set a record at the end of winter was in 1986. And this year, there’s about 398, 000 square miles less sea ice than in 1986.
Scientists are still trying to understand what is driving the change in Antarctica. One likely direct cause for the change is the rising temperatures of the world’s oceans. Ted Scambos, a research scientist at the University of Colorado, says Antarctica’s ice levels have always changed some, but the sharp loss this year is “pointing towards warmer ocean conditions around the continent.”
The new low record has concerned the scientists. Scientists are working hard to better understand Antarctica. They don’t know yet if this is just a short-term problem, or part of a long-term shift (转变) towards less sea ice in Antarctica.
1. What does the underlined word “shrinking” mean in Paragraph 3?| A．Getting smaller. | B．Being flat. | C．Observed. | D．Measured. |
| A．To give an example. | B．To make a comparison. |
| C．To make a summary. | D．To offer an argument. |
| A．The changing weather conditions. | B．Human activities in Antarctica. |
| C．Increased volcanic activities in the area. | D．The increasing temperatures of the global oceans. |
| A．Worried. | B．Annoyed. | C．Excited. | D．Satisfied. |
9 . From 2018 to 2021, about 10 billion snow crabs (蟹) disappeared from the eastern Bering Sea off the coast of Alaska. “It’s a fishery disaster in the truest sense of the word,” says Cody Szuwalski, a fishery biologist.
Usually, as winter’s thick sea ice melts (融化), the meltwater settles on the seafloor, creating a cold-water pool with temperatures below 2° Celsius on the eastern Bering Sea shelf, which makes perfect habitat for snow crabs. But a sea heat wave in the area in 2018 and 2019 prevented the usual amount of sea ice from forming.
After a close study, Szuwalski and his colleagues have found the water temperature probably didn’t kill the crabs directly, as snow crabs in laboratories can survive in waters up to 12℃. Instead, the crabs might have died from hunger. According to the study, the food demand of snow crabs in labs almost double as water temperature rises from 0℃ to 3℃. The crab population reached historic highs in 2018 thanks to great ocean conditions for newborn crabs around 2010. As a result, the crowded crabs probably needed more food, but because of the smaller foraging (觅食) area, they had even fewer resources to sink their claws into.
“It’s just something we didn’t expect, but now we have to live with,” says Christopher Harley, an ocean scientist. Such effects of ocean heat waves are likely to go beyond snow crabs. In answer to climate change, ecosystems in northern areas of the earth, such as Alaska’s, are changing more rapidly than anywhere else. Scientists can try to help predict (预测) and prepare for changes in the future with the aid of former research. “But the future increasingly holds events that have never happened on record before, like the drop in the snow crab population,” Harley says.
1. Which of the following is suitable for snow crabs to live according to the text?| A．Quiet warm water. | B．Large water area. | C．Cold deep water. | D．Cold sea surface. |
| A．Polluted seawater. | B．Inability to fight diseases. |
| C．Change in water temperature. | D．Too little food for so many snow crabs. |
| A．To adapt to climate change. | B．To force people to reduce activities. |
| C．To avoid destruction from humans. | D．To remove environmental pollution. |
| A．It is useless. | B．It is challenging. | C．It is economical. | D．It is rewarding. |
10 . A powerful earthquake hit Morocco on Friday night. The earthquake struck around 11 pm on Friday night. The USGS (US Geological Survey) says that the earthquake had a magnitude of about 6.8. But Morocco’s earthquake center recorded the earthquake as being almost twice that strong.
The quake was one of the most powerful ever recorded in Morocco. It’s also the country’s deadliest earthquake in over 60 years. So far, the earthquake is reported to have killed over 2,680 people. It has injured over 2,500 others. The earthquake was extremely dangerous because it happened at night. Marrakesh is a big city that’s popular with tourists. Many of its modern buildings seem to have survived the earthquake. But the old part of the city, called the Medina, was hit hard. The Medina has buildings that are over 1,000 years old.
Outside of Marrakesh, the earthquake caused even more damage. In the Atlas Mountains, the earthquake’s center, there are many small villages. Some villages were nearly destroyed. Many of the people in the area live in simple houses made of mud bricks. This is a traditional way of building in Morocco. But it’s not strong enough to protect against earthquakes. Many of these houses collapsed. Some of the bricks turned to sand.
Rescue workers have been working hard to save those affected by the quake. In larger cities, rescue efforts seem to be going well.
But it has taken a lot longer for help to reach far areas in the mountains. Many of these villages are difficult to get to. The earthquake caused landslides, blocking roads and making these places even more difficult to reach. In some areas, phone and electrical service were also knocked out, leaving these places completely cut off. That means that the local people in some areas far away have had to deal with the situation on their own.
But more help is coming. Some countries have offered teams of experts; others have offered emergency supplies.
1. Why was the earthquake in Morocco especially dangerous according to the text?| A．It was the strongest on record. | B．There were too many tourists there. |
| C．The buildings there were all too old. | D．It happened when people were asleep. |
| A．Looked beautiful. | B．Fell down. | C．Lasted long. | D．Stood still. |
| A．Causes of the earthquake. | B．Terrible sights after the earthquake. |
| C．Difficulties met in rescuing. | D．Survivors’ efforts to rebuild the city. |
| A．Culture. | B．News. | C．Environment. | D．Tourism. |
