1 . On November 8th, a tornado, the most powerful in the past 70 years, hit Jersey, causing great damages to the area and leaving the residents in great panic.

“Suddenly, the windows of the waiting room exploded in and dragged everything inside. My cars have been completely destroyed by branches and fences, and my garden is completely gone. There’s no furniture, no fence; everything has been thrown everywhere. At first there was lightning but then a strange noise and strange darkness came over the whole house. It was like being in a scary scene in the movie The Wizard of Oz,” Ashleigh Quail-Charleston, a Jersey resident, told the Bailiwick Express after the tornado that struck overnight on November 1—2 during Storm Ciaran.

The consequence looked like a bomb had gone off: cars hit, roofs with holes, windows broken. “A huge tree leans drunkenly against a block of flats. Piles of branches are piled optionally and pavements are covered with pieces,” said Chris Stone at BBC Radio Jersey. The tornado was powerful and exceptionally rare, caused by a severe thunderstorm that had sent out intense lightning and huge hailstones described as “ice bombs”. The Tornado and Storm Research Organization (Torro) and Jersey Met Office revealed the tornado left a trail of damages 8 km long across the island, and rated its intensity as T6 on an international scale of tornado power.

According to Torro records, this was the most powerful tornado to strike anywhere in the British Isles or Channel Islands since December 7th, 1954 when a tornado struck west London, leaving tremendous devastation, with Gunnersbury railway station torn apart, roofs torn off houses and one car even thrown through the air.

Tornados during Storm Ciaran also hit Sompting in West Sussex and Loders in Dorset. One resident in Loders, Sophie van Hensbergen, described the moment, saying, “The tornado struck with a very, very powerful whistling sound and the windows looked as though we were in a car wash.”

1. Why is The Wizard of Oz mentioned in paragraph 2?

A．To summarize the consequence.	B．To introduce the topic.
C．To enrich the readers’ knowledge.	D．To help describe the tornado.

2. What does paragraph 3 mainly about?

A．How tornado was rated.

B．What caused the tornado.

C．How severe the tornado was.

D．What should be done to prevent the tornado.

3. What does the underlined word “devastation” mean in paragraph 4?

A．Marks.

B．Damages.

C．Memory.

D．Impression.

4. What is this text?

A．A news item.	B．A science report.
C．A movie reviewer.	D．A weather forcast.

2 . Should we hide in the “Triangle (三角) of Life” when the earthquake comes?

At 1:39 on June 15, a magnitude (里氏) 3.1 earthquake occurred in Qingpu District, Shanghai, with a focal depth of 8 kilometers. Earthquakes are one of the major natural disasters, so how to avoid danger and self rescue during earthquakes has become a topic of great concern.

There has always been a saying on the Internet that when an earthquake comes, collapsed objects and solid large objects will form a triangular space around them(the “Triangle of Life area”), and hiding in this area will have a greater probability of survival, which many people believe deeply.

In this regard, the China Earthquake Administration said that although observing the ruins after the earthquake, we can find that there are similar triangular spaces in some places.

However, when an earthquake occurs, people cannot know in advance the way of the earthquake, the direction of the collapse of buildings or objects, and it is difficult to know where there will be the so-called “Triangle of Life”.

The “Triangle of Life area” was proposed by an American disaster relief worker named Kupp, who believed that traditional self-help methods such as drilling tables were no longer suitable for people living in modern buildings. The collapsed floor structure would crush the tables or beds for refuge, and only hiding in the triangle area could survive.

Although the “Triangle of Life area” self-help method has been popular for more than ten years. However, the American Red Cross, the California State Emergency Service Office and earthquake experts have all pointed out the irrationality of the “Triangle of Life”. The Chinese Ministry of Emergency Management has also provided a refutation explanation.

In fact, after an earthquake, the internationally recognized most reliable method of self rescue is ‘lying on the ground, blocking, and holding onto your hands’. You should lie down, squat down, or sit down, try to lower the center of gravity of the body, and protect important parts such as the head, neck, eyes, and mouth and nose.

1. What information can we learn about the “Triangle of Life” in the first three paragraphs?

A．The Triangle of Life area is an official definition.

B．Many people believe in the “Triangle of Life”.

C．The earthquake in Shanghai has caused panic among the masses.

D．When an earthquake strikes, one should hide in the triangle area.

2. Why did disaster relief personnel propose the definition of a triangular area?

A．To protect himself	B．To overthrow the government
C．To avoid earthquakes	D．To attract attention

3. According to the passage, what are the unreasonable aspects of the triangle area?

A．Its unpredictability	B．Its out-of-date construction
C．Its instability	D．Its illegality

4. Where may this article be selected from?

A．Newspaper

B．Horror Book

C．History Book

D．Science Magazine

3 . Steller or Northern Sea Lions are sometimes confused with California Sea Lions but are much larger and lighter in color. Males may grow to 11 feet in length and weigh almost 2,500 pounds.     1     Steller Sea Lions are light brown to reddish-brown in color. They have a boxy, bear-like head and a very thick neck.

Stellers are not often seen in bays or rivers. Steller pups are born on offshore islands from mid-May to mid-July and weigh 35—50 pounds.     2     Then they spend roughly equal amounts of time hunting and nursing pups on land. Pups usually nurse for a year, but some in Alaska continue to nurse for up to three years. During the breeding season, males do not leave their territories.

    3     They hunt schooling fish, squid, rockfish, and occasionally salmon. In turn, they are hunted by killer whales, white sharks, and sea elephants.

The current population of Steller Sea Lions is about 40,000 along the entire Pacific coast. There is great concern about this species. The western Aleutian stock has dropped by 80 percent in the last 30 years. In 1997, the western stock in Alaska was listed as endangered.     4     However, researchers believe possibilities include a decline in specific species of fish they eat, competition with commercial fisheries in the Gulf of Alaska, and possible hunting by killer whales. Drowning, being caught in nets, and gunshots are other reasons for the Stellers’ decline. Stellers are protected under the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act.     5    

A．Steller Sea Lions eat a variety of fishes.

B．Reasons for this decline are not known.

C．The male has a thick neck and looks like a lion.

D．They spend about half their time on land and half in water.

E．Mothers stay with pups for one to two weeks before hunting at sea.

F．They forbid the killing, harming or disturbance of any sea mammal.

G．Females are much smaller, growing to 9 feet in length and weighing up to 1,000 pounds.

4 . Time is running short to address climate change, but there are possible and effective solutions on the table, according to a new UN climate report released in March.

Only swift, dramatic, and sustained emission (排放) cuts will be enough to meet the world’s climate goals, according to the new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a body of climate experts that regularly summarize the state of this issue.

“We are walking when we should be running fast,” said Hoesung Lee, IPCC chair, in a press conference announcing the report in March. To limit warming to 1.5℃ above preindustrial levels, the target set by international climate agreements, annual greenhouse-gas emission will need to be cut by nearly half between now and 2030, according to the report. It calculates that the results from actions taken now will be clear in global temperature trends within two decades.

“We already have the technology and the know-how to get the job done,” said Inger Andersen, executive director of UN Environment Programme, during the press conference. “Stopping climate change will still be complicated, and long-term emission cuts may largely rely on technologies, like carbon dioxide removal, that are still unproven at scale. In addition to technological advances, cutting emission in industries that are difficult to transform will involve many factors.”

But in the near term, there’s a clear path forward for the emission cuts needed to put the planet on the right track. There are some of the tasks with the lowest cost and highest potential to address climate change during this decade, such as developing wind and solar power, cutting methane (甲烷) emission from fossil-fuel production and waste, protecting natural ecosystems that trap carbon, and using energy efficiently in vehicles, homes, and industries.

1. What is the author’s attitude towards tackling climate change?

A．Positive.

B．Worried.

C．Skeptical.

D．Uncertain.

2. What does Hoesung Lee mean?

A．It’s impossible to achieve the climate goal.

B．He knows how to cut emission efficiently.

C．The pace of global warming is speeding up.

D．He is dissatisfied with current emission cuts.

3. What is the guarantee of long-term emission reduction according to Inger Andersen?

A．Policy.

B．Market.

C．Funding.

D．Technology.

4. What message does this text mainly convey?

A．Emission cutting is urgent.

B．Climate change is unstoppable.

C．Global warming is becoming complicated.

D．Meeting climate goals needs cooperation.

5 . A 36-year-old man is attempting to set a new record by rowing 5,000 miles solo from Hawaii to Australia while dedicating his journey to saving the planet.

Tez Steinberg, of Boulder, Colorado, plans to leave Hawaii on December 20 on his solo trip across the Pacific Ocean. Actually, it’s the second leg of an adventure that began in 2020 when he rowed solo for 71 days from Monterey, California, to Oahu, Hawaii.

Steinberg began to experience depression while he was in college. At the time, he found a solution by participating in endurance sports. “It helped me feel better,” he said. “But as I went farther and farther, pushing myself through marathons and triathlons, I discovered this belief in myself that I’m so much stronger than I thought I was.”

However, in 2016, his life took a big turn after the sudden death of his dad. The blow caused him to challenge himself even more by solo rowing across an ocean. After successfully completing the task without any prior professional experience, Steinberg realized he could use his story to inspire other people to believe in themselves and their potential to change and grow.

Recalling the first journey at sea, he said, “I was so surprised by how beautiful the ocean was, and also how much plastic I saw. So it was that realization at sea that led me to want to go back out again.” Inspired by his first expedition, Steinberg’s new mission is to focus on ocean conservation, and specifically ocean plastics. “All the plastic I saw at sea was just heartbreaking,” he said.

The upcoming voyage will be part of an attempt to break a Guinness World Record. Nevertheless, breaking records isn’t his priority. “Personally, although a world record is exciting, that’s not why I’m in it. The world record is fun for media attention, but through it we can get more donations, support and action for ocean plastics,” Steinberg said.

1. What can we learn about Steinberg from paragraphs 3 and 4?

A．He suffered academically.

B．He was expert in extreme sports.

C．He gained confidence from motivating others.

D．He turned to challenging tasks in face of difficulties.

2. Why did Steinberg go on the first adventure at sea?

A．To recover from the state of depression.

B．To relieve the pain of his father’s passing.

C．To inspire other people to fulfil their dreams.

D．To challenge himself to achieve the impossible.

3. What is Steinberg’s main purpose in setting off for the second expedition?

A．To break a world record.	B．To establish a good reputation.
C．To contribute to ocean protection.	D．To urge governments to take action.

4. Which of the following best describes Steinberg?

A．Stubborn and ambitious.	B．Self-centered and sympathetic.
C．Determined and knowledgeable.	D．Responsible and courageous.

6 . The spotlight shines brightly on the dancers as they gracefully leap across the stage. But what sets this performance apart from others is not just the skill and grace of the dancers but the unique and meaningful use of recycled materials in their costumes and set design.

The famous Japanese ballet company, K-Ballet, recently showed their new production “Plastic”, which aims to raise awareness about the global plastic pollution crisis. The costumes worn by the dancers are made from used bubble wrap, the stage is surrounded by four massive walls constructed from recycled plastic bottles, and even the 100 umbrellas used in the performance were found abandoned in the streets of Tokyo.

The dancers, including guest star Julian MacKay, look like space-age creatures with hand-cleaned plastic bottles tied to their bodies as they dance on stage. MacKay, from the United States, notes that the issue of plastic waste “really hasn’t gotten that spotlight” in the dance world and believes that the performing arts can inspire people to take action.

The problem of plastic waste is a pressing one. According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), plastic waste has doubled globally in the past 20 years, and only 9 percent of it is successfully recycled. The United Nations predicts that the volume of plastic entering the oceans will nearly triple (成为三倍) by 2040.

K-Ballet plans to keep its costumes and set design for at least a year with the hope of restaging the show and after that, the bottles will be recycled by Shirai, a waste management company. The chow’s experience and message moved audience members who attended the performance. Ayumi Kisaki, a 30-year-old actor, said, “It’s an issue I don’t usually think about. But these dancers highlighting the issue of plastic call me and all of us to find ways to recycle and reuse the plastic.”

1. How did K-Ballet draw the public’s attention to its “Plastic”?

A．By applying new equipment and set design.	B．By exhibiting new plastic products on the stage.
C．By creatively using recycled materials in dance.	D．y inviting American dance star Julian MacKay.

2. What can he inferred from Julian MacKay’s comment about “Plastic”?

A．It is the best art in the dance world.	B．It is a pressing show to the audience.
C．It will inspire more people to take up dancing.	D．It integrates art with environmental protection.

3. What’s the function of paragraph 4?

A．Introduce another topic of the text.	B．Add some background information.
C．Provide some advice for the readers.	D．Summarize the previous paragraphs.

4. What does Ayumi Kisaki think of the performance of “Plastic”?

A．Impressive.

B．Entertaining.

C．Depressing.

D．Logical.

7 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

South Koreans have enjoyed their first close-up look of new baby giant pandas at a name-revealing ceremony that is also     1     early celebration of the 100 days since the twins’ birth.

What to name the twin sisters was widely discussed among netizens after they were born on July 7 in theme park Everland. The names were     2     (ultimate) decided on through two public voting     3     (procedure). One is named Rui Bao, which means wise treasure, and the other is Hui Bao or shining treasure. Half a million panda lovers helped choose their names with a handful of lucky fans     4     (invite) to the ceremony. “They are even     5     (cute) in real life than they appear on screen,” said a college student in attendance.

The baby pandas,     6     have just begun teething and crawling, are very healthy. Everland has shared videos documenting the pandas’ growth online. The twins’ birth has gained 640,000 views since it     7     (upload). “This feels like a great opportunity to call for better     8     (preserve) of pandas,” said Donghee Chung, head of the park’s zoo. Chung noted that between 40% and 50% of panda births result     9     twins.

Everland said it would monitor the twins’ health     10     (determine) when the twins are ready to be open to the public.

8 . Scientists have been experimenting with playing sounds to plants since at least the 1960s, during which time they have been exposed to everything from Beethoven to Michael Jackson. Over the years, evidence that this sort of thing can have an effect has been growing. One paper, published in 2018, claimed that an Asian shrub known as the telegraph plant grew substantially larger leaves when exposed to 56 days of Buddhist music — but not if it was exposed to Western pop music or silence. Another, published last year, found that marigolds and sage plants exposed to the noise of traffic from a busy motorway suffered growth difficulty.

Plants have been evolving (进化) alongside the insects that eat them for hundreds of millions of years. With that in mind, Heidi Appel, a botanist now at the University of Houston, and Reginald Cocroft, a biologist at the University of Missouri, wondered if plants might be sensitive to the sounds made by the animals with which they most often interact. They recorded the vibrations made by certain species of caterpillars (毛毛虫) as they chewed on leaves. These vibrations are not powerful enough to produce sound waves in the air. But they are able to travel across leaves and branches, and even to neighbouring plants if their leaves touch.

They then exposed tobacco plant — the plant biologist’s version of the laboratory mouse — to the recorded vibrations while no caterpillars were actually present. Later, they put real caterpillars on the plants to see if exposure had led them to prepare for an insect attack. The results were striking. Leaves that had been exposed had significantly higher levels of defensive chemicals, making them much harder for the caterpillars to eat. Leaves that had not been exposed to vibrations showed no such response. Other sorts of vibration — caused by the wind, for instance, or other insects that do not eat leaves — had no effect.

“Now speakers with the right audio files are more often being used to warn crops to act when insects are detected but not yet widespread,” says Dr. Cocroft. “Unlike chemical pesticides, sound waves leave no dangerous chemicals.”

1. What can we learn about plants from the first paragraph?

A．They may enjoy Western music.	B．They can’t stand Buddhist music.
C．They can react to different sounds.	D．They can make different sounds.

2. What’s the basis for Appel and Cocroft’s research?

A．Plants can make a cry for help.	B．Plants evolve alongside insects.
C．Plants are sensitive to the sounds.	D．Plants have been studied for years.

3. What can we infer about plants from Paragraph 3?

A．They can recongnize harmful vibrations.	B．They look like laboratory mice.
C．They can threaten the caterpillars.	D．They can release poisonous chemicals.

4. What does the last paragraph mainly talk about?

A．Disadvantages of chemical pesticides.	B．Application of the experimental results.
C．Interaction between plants and insects.	D．Warning system of widespread insects.

10 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

With more and more scientists saying we no longer have a climate problem but a climate emergency, the call for all hands to be part     1     the solution is bringing people of all     2    (age) to be ready. Leslie Wharton, spokesperson for Elders Climate Action(ECA), is in the midst of organizing a     3    (grow) number of “old hands” into a nationwide network of people who, instead of just talking, are getting together     4     (close) and taking action.

In 2014, after attending one of Al Gore’s Climate Reality training workshops, Paul Severance, a member of Elders Action Network(EAN), started ECA, which     5     (hold)its first in-person conference in September 2015 in Washington, D. C., with other climate activist groups. “That’s how I got     6     (involve),” Wharton says. “I was there in 2015 and I just felt such a community, such energy and support and focus, that I was just overwhelmed. At the end, I was given a form that asked if I would be willing to be     7    volunteer. I said yes.” Although most ECA members are in     8    (they) 50s through 80s and even 90s, some are as young as 18.

ECA’s mission is to reach out to older individuals and let them join, so they can use their expertise, experience and knowledge     9     (help) build a sustainable future. Those things can provide the support, encouragement, initiative     10     energy to get more and more people out there doing whatever they can do, right where they are.