1 . 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. |
2 . David lost his beloved dog Baya before Christmas two years ago. Baya was active and cute. David’s family spent many days
Two years later, a homeless dog
Obviously, Baya is
| A．preparing | B．searching | C．paying | D．begging |
| A．calls | B．honor | C．gifts | D．rescue |
| A．fruitless | B．generous | C．worthwhile | D．different |
| A．advantage | B．challenge | C．decision | D．hope |
| A．continued | B．appeared | C．hid | D．returned |
| A．sent | B．forced | C．followed | D．invited |
| A．refer to | B．rely on | C．track down | D．cheer for |
| A．appreciated | B．impressed | C．recognized | D．contacted |
| A．frightened | B．excited | C．confident | D．curious |
| A．addicted | B．related | C．adapted | D．reduced |
| A．aware | B．uncertain | C．afraid | D．proud |
| A．native | B．self | C．partner | D．owner |
| A．calm | B．average | C．pretty | D．active |
| A．care | B．notice | C．control | D．advantage |
| A．removing | B．identifying | C．recovering | D．reserving |
3 . Most of us have heard of the 3Rs: reduce, reuse and recycle. It is the core principle of a sustainable (可持续的) life, but few of us can apply it in our own lives. Now, there’s a “lab” you can explore and discover a way toward living sustainably.
3R Lab is located in Xuhui district, Shanghai. It offers exhibitions, activities and goods that showcase the 3R principle. The key to a sustainable life, according to Vincent T. M. Fong, the 32-year-old from Hong Kong who created the lab, is to make it a long-term promise. “A sustainable life should be sustainable itself in the first place. You can’t lead a sustainable life on a whim. Small and comfortable changes are exactly what you need,” Fong said.
The lab regularly hosts ugly fruit markets, offering these strange fruits which are often thrown away by traditional markets and consumers at a quite attractive price. “They’re thrown away simply because of their appearance. Buying fruit regardless of how they look reduces food waste significantly in our daily life,” Fong commented.
A water tank with two types of straws is another equipment in the lab. “One type is made from normal plastics widely used in our daily life while the other is from PHA, a new replacement for plastics, and the water is sourced from the Suzhou River,” explained Ni Li, an employee of the lab. Visitors can see how the PHA straws degrade (降解) into a thin layer in just one month, while the others remain unchanged.
“Leading a sustainable life does not necessarily mean sacrifice,” said Fong. Consuming ugly fruit and using degradable plastics are small changes that are good for the environment and easy to stick to. Only in this way can the 3R principle become part of our lives, he added.
After working there for six months, Ni, who wasn’t mindful of the 3R principle before arriving at the lab, now uses her cup every time she buys a coffee. “The job has reshaped my life,” Ni said.
1. What does the-underlined phrase “on a whim” in the second paragraph probably mean?| A．In a rush. | B．On a regular basis. |
| C．Without any reason. | D．As a common practice. |
| A．To reduce food waste. | B．To promote healthy eating. |
| C．To sell new kinds of fruit. | D．To provide more affordable fruit, |
| A．The water pollution caused by plastics. | B．The degradation of PHA straws. |
| C．The interaction between two types of straws. | D．The disappearance of normal plastic straws. |
| A．She avoids going to traditional markets. | B．She has devoted less time to her hobbies. |
| C．She has got rid of a few bad habits. | D．She is leading a low carbon life now. |
Earthquakes are quite common. In fact, thousands of earthquakes are happening almost at every moment.
As one of the most deadly
Besides the great damage and deaths
There is a well-known Chinese saying written on the Great Wall, “He
The great wall
The Great Wall has
When Qin Shihuang, the first emperor in Chinese history, unified the whole country in 221 B.C., he ordered
Looking from the space, you will find a construction. This is the Great Wall in China.
The Great Wall of China is the
| A．Rainy. | B．Sunny. | C．Cloudy. |
7 . The temperature was rising to 90 degrees on Tuesday in the hills of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreational Area, when Lexie Daniel and her friends saw a heroic act of kindness to save a dog’s life.
Lexie and her fellow hikers met a man whose dog was seriously overheated. Even though they donated (捐赠) their water, they were afraid it wouldn’t be enough to save the pup, after seeing how much the dog was already struggling.
“The owner brought along a huge jug, but no water seemed to be helping,” Lexie told GNN.
Too tired to carry the dog himself, the loving owner called the park rangers as soon as possible. Supervisory Park Ranger Kris Salapek soon found them on the trail (追踪). Kris then lifted the huge dog onto his shoulders and carried him down the mountain. “It was a long distance-a couple miles down a difficult rocky path,” says Lexie.
When they reached the stream, Kris laid him in the water as he knelt beside him and poured water on him. The ranger then picked him back up over his shoulders and walked all the way back down to the street for about an hour.
Lexie’s cousin Tori Matyola said, “The owner hiked down ahead of the ranger so that once he got down the mountain he had the car ready to take him straight to the vet. The dog was looking a little better by the time he got to the car and picking up his head.”
When she got home, Lexie, a pediatric (小儿科的) nurse from Hackettstown, New Jersey, posted the good deed on Facebook and it went viral with 35,000 people sharing the post and showing admiration for the ranger.
“This is a HERO,” Lexie wrote. “We are so lucky to have rangers like this who put animals before themselves. This ranger deserves recognition and a standing ovation (列队鼓掌) for his bravery, selflessness, and strength.”
1. What were Lexie and her fellow hikers worried about?| A．The dog’s struggle for more water. | B．The dog’s lack of water to keep alive. |
| C．The owner’s unability to feed his dog. | D．The owner’s tiredness to carry the dog. |
| A．It was tough. | B．It was simple. | C．It was unbelievable. | D．It was unexpected. |
| A．To clean it. | B．To feed it. | C．To cool it. | D．To relax it. |
| A．Her appreciation to Kris. | B．Her relief of the dog’s recovery. |
| C．The ranger’s example set to people. | D．The ranger’s experience of saving the dog. |
When talking about the ancient
In the minds of many Chinese people,
The temple was built on
Constructed out of wood, tiles and stone during the Northern Wei Dynasty, the temple is made up of two three-story pavilions (亭子) and a yard
Seen from below, Xuankong Temple appears
But “precarious” and “dangerous” are not the right adjectives for this structure preserved for one and a half millennia. Despite several restorations in various historical periods, the temple
9 . As water levels rise, causing severe erosion, many coastal Puerto Ricans are left watching their homes fall into the sea. A small software company in Puerto Rico called Terra Firma, founded in 2019 by island native Alejandro Mieses, is using satellite data to forecast accurate erosion pain points that might help Puerto Rican city planners better protect their island.
Terra Firma is dealing with the challenge of scattered (分散的) environmental data by creating a single database. Their user-friendly software allows scientists, construction professionals, and government agencies to model and predict environmental risks accurately. Similar to a powerful Google Maps, the software collects data from 1941 to the present, enabling users to predict erosion, landslides, flooding, solar exposure, and wind-related risks for up to 30 years.
This technology, once only available to well-funded projects, is now helping communities and individuals to protect their land. Since Hurricane Maria in 2017, Puerto Rico has focused on rebuilding a stronger island. With Terra Firma’s predictive data on flooding and erosion, city planners can better prepare for severe weather events.
One organization collaborating with Terra Firma is Blue Tide, a non-governmental group devoted to oceanic research and promoting the Blue Economy. After Hurricane Maria damaged coral reefs important for coastline protection, Blue Tide asked Terra Firma to design 3D-printed tiles. These unique tiles, made of clay, will help prevent erosion during future storms. They are shaped like cylinders (圆柱体), creating a nesting space for young coral, and over the next ten years, the clay is expected to dissolve (溶解), forming a complete organic coral reef.
This innovative approach aims to help Puerto Rico deal with erosion caused by storms, and Terra Firma plans to come up with more solutions as weather events get worse. According to Mieses, Terra Firma gives hope to Puerto Rico, which often faces hurricanes, by providing insights to better prepare for future storms and protect important infrastructure.
Currently, Terra Firma operates only in Puerto Rico, but they hope to expand to the southern United States in the next few years. Their work shows how technology can help deal with the effects of climate change on vulnerable coastal communities.
1. What do we know about Terra Firma’s software?| A．It depends on Google Maps. |
| B．It helps predict possible risks. |
| C．It is used only by governmental groups. |
| D．It demands specialized technical knowledge. |
| A．Terra Firma’s latest product. |
| B．Terra Firma’s expansion plans. |
| C．Terra Firma’s promising future. |
| D．Terra Firma’s partnership with Blue Tide. |
| A．Creative. | B．Ordinary. | C．Traditional. | D．Official. |
| A．To entertain. | B．To persuade. | C．To inform. | D．To relate. |
The ancient city of Kashgar (喀什), which has a population of around 200,000,
As the night closes in. street
Neil Munro, from Britain, walks into a restaurant with friends
“The people here are welcoming. Kashgar is full of energy,” said Sirpa Jarvenpa, from Finland,
