1 . 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.

2 . 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.

3 . 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.

4 . A team of leading environmental experts have warned that the current war on plastic is detracting from the bigger threats to the environment. In an article, they say that while plastic waste is an issue, its prominence in the general public’s concern for the environment is overshadowing greater threats, for example, climate change and biodiversity loss.

The team argue that much of the bad talk about plastic waste is based on data that is not always representative of the environments that have been sampled. The dislike of plastic associated with this could encourage the use of alternative materials with potentially harmful effects.

The authors warn that plastic pollution dominates the public’s concern for the environment and has been exploited politically, after capturing the attention of the world, for example, through the images of wildlife caught in plastic was alarmist headlines. They say small political gestures such as law banning cosmetic microplastics, taxing plastic bags, and financial rewards for using reusable containers, as well as the promotion of products as “green” for containing less plastic than alternatives, make people neglect other environmental problems that are not as noticeable as plastic pollution.

The article also highlights that plastic is not the only type of polluting materials, originating from human activity that pollutes the environment. Other examples include natural textile fibres such as cotton and wool, and brake-wear particles from vehicles — all of which are present in different places. The authors note that these materials are often much more abundant than microplastics and some are associated with “plastic alternatives” that are marketed as solutions to plastic pollution. The impacts of these materials are less well-known than plastic and microplastic pollution, yet they could have huge impacts.

The article states that solutions are likely to come from a greater focus on designing materials and products that can be recycled, that have their end-of-life, and that markets and facilities exist to recycle.

1. What’s the experts’ attitude towards the current war on plastic?

A．Indifferent.

B．Favorable.

C．Critical.

D．Objective.

2. What does the underlined word“this” in paragraph 2 refer to?

A．The negative view of plastic.

B．The use of alternative materials.

C．The potential harmful effects.

D．The defense for plastic.

3. What does the author intend to do in the last paragraph?

A．Explain a rule.	B．Make a comparison.
C．Clarify a point.	D．Offer a suggestion.

4. What is the text most likely to be?

A．A response to plastic pollution.

B．A schedule to fight against pollution.

C．An argument against climate change.

D．A guide to plastic management.

5 . Flora was playing with her new dog Stitch, while wearing a favourite second-hand sweater. Stitch jumped up and grabbed her sleeve-and tore several holes in it with her sharp teeth.

Flora wasn’t about to throw the item out. “I can’t bring myself to throw away nice clothing just because of a hole, ”she explains. She decided to tackle a new skill repairing. She began by reading a book called Make Do and Repair, about the innovative ways to avoid waste.

Instead of tying to make the repair as small as possible, she turned to “visible fixing, ”a fashion in repairing clothes that leaves an intentionally obvious fix. She added flowers, or other small designs to damaged clothes. “Every time you do a repair, it’s like getting a new piece of clothing, ”says Flora.

Sadly, we have been in the habit of replacing things instead of repairing them—and the garbage is piling up. Worldwide, we throw out 92 million tonnes of fabric every year.

The good news is that fixing things can help solve the waste problem. It’s part of a larger shift toward a circular economy -the idea that instead of throwing out items once they are broken or out of date, we reuse or repair them, keeping them out of the waste yard for as long as possible.

There was a time when people fixed things themselves or called their local repair shop, But as more items were produced and prices dropped, replacing even a big appliance became more convenient.

That’s changing, in part due to information now available online. The popular how-to site iFixit. com has enabled more than 100 million repairs.

“Companies have been designing products that break easily or become outdated quickly, forcing consumers to buy new ones or purchase upgrades. We’re now seeing some producers show interest in making it possible for users to repair things. Some companies are selling official parts and sharing their repair guides through iFixit. IFixit has grown into a database with over 100, 000 repair manuals. We have this vision of a world where repair is the expectation for all things that are made, ”says Chamberlain, director of iFixit.

1. Why did Flora read a book?

A．For innovation.	B．For repairing skills.
C．For a better life.	D．For dog-raising information.

2. What makes the author sad?

A．People’s habit.	B．Repairing quality.
C．Fabric production.	D．Worldwide garbage.

3. What is the purpose of ”circular economy“?

A．To remove landfills.	B．To increase production.
C．To help exchange goods.	D．To realize resource cycle.

4. What can be inferred from Chamberlain?

A．He expects more wiser users.

B．He supports purchase upgrades.

C．He creates the repairing database of iFixit.

D．He has a desire for companies and consumers.

6 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

One of my favourite things about spring is the arrival of different species of birds. My grandfather was a bird lover, and I picked up the birdwatching hobby at a young age, thanks to his influence. My husband John and I found it a relaxing way to enjoy nature; we like birdwatching when we go camping or hiking. Plus, I have a great love of nature photography, so when we sit out in the backyard of our home, I always have my digital camera with me. John is an artist, and he often paints the birds I photograph.

Usually when the yellow warblers (莺) come back from the south in springtime, they pass us by; we don’t typically see them hanging around our home. But not on this particular sunny day in spring. As soon as I finished my workday, I put on a light jacket and went out to the backyard to relax in my favourite way: by watching the birds.

While taking some pictures of cardinals (红衣凤头鸟) and chickadees (北美山雀) at one of our feeders, I looked up and noticed this yellow warbler in our maple tree. The tree had recently begun to bud, and the bird’s yellow feathers looked striking against the yellow blooms, so I took this photo. Our backyard has a variety of trees and between my husband and me, we’ve documented almost 40 different species of birds. I’ve photographed most of them, but some can be a bit camera shy so I also keep a written list of what we see. Our more common visitors are cardinals, chickadees, hummingbirds and various sparrows.

注意：
1.续写词数应为150左右;
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
One day, I was watching the yellow warbler jumping among trees when a snake crawled towards it.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
At this time, I saw many small stones in the backyard.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7 . UK summers are likely to regularly see temperatures above 40℃ even if humanity manages to limit global warming to 1.5℃, meteorologists (气象学家) have warned.

The UK is already seeing increasingly extreme weather, with 2022 the third warmest, fifth wettest and eighth sunniest year on record-the first to fall into the top 10 for all three variables. Data published in State of the UK Climate 2022 report revealed the average winter temperature for last year was 5.3℃, which is 1.6℃ higher than the 1981 to 2010 average.

That makes December 2021 to February 2022 the fifth warmest winter on record, while the average temperature last summer was 14.8℃, 0.4℃ above the 1981 to 2010 average.

Early August 2022 saw maximum temperatures hit 34℃ on six continuous days, with five “tropical nights” above 20℃, making it one of the most significant heatwaves to affect southern England in the past 60 years, the report’s authors said.

Comparing data from the Central England Temperature series, which goes back to 1772, the research found the early 21st century in this region has been 0.5℃ to 1℃ warmer than 1901 to 2000 and 0.5℃ to 1.5℃ warmer than 1801 to 1900.

Liz Bentley, chief executive of the Royal Meteorological Society, which publishes the report, said the world was already seeing extreme heat as a result of warming of 1.1℃ to 1.2℃ above pre-industrial levels.

“If you take that up by another 0.3℃, these (heatwaves) are just going to become much more intense—we’re likely to see 40℃ in the UK although we have never seen those kinds of temperatures (before),” she said.

“As we hit 1.5℃ of global warming, that’s going to not just become something that we see once or twice, it’ll start to become something that we see on a much more regular basis.” Mike Kendon, climate scientist at the Met Office and lead author of the report, said the figures indicated a new normal for the UK.

1. What does paragraph 2 intend to tell us?

A．The weather was not as wet as before.	B．The rise in temperature in winter is mild.
C．The weather has changed but not so serious.	D．Figures show signs of extreme weather.

2. What’s the weather in early August 2022 like in the UK?

A．Extremely hot weather appeared in southern England.

B．Early August 2022 had only a few days’ hot weather.

C．Six continuous days’ extreme weather brought little harm.

D．It became the wettest season in the past 60 years or so.

3. Which of the following can best describe the extreme weather in the UK in future?

A．Periodic.

B．Normal.

C．Changeable.

D．Rare.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Extreme Weather Hit the UK	B．What Extreme Weather Looks Like
C．Where the Future Weather Will Go	D．What We Can Do with Extreme Weather

8 . 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。

The Forbidden City, also known as the Palace Museum, and Gu Gong in Chinese, lies at the city center of Beijing, and once served     1     the imperial palace for 24 emperors during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Rectangular (矩形的) in shape, it is the world’s     2     (large) palace complex.

The Palace Museum is becoming waste-free as the 720,000-square-meter structure has managed to reduce     3     number of trash bins to 110 sets in areas open to the public. “It is a decrease from 310 sets logged in January 2020,     4     a zero-waste campaign was launched,” said the museum.

While     5     (protect) features of the six-century-old historical relic, the action also helps visitors and tourists get into the habit of creating less waste. The museum also recycled more than 32,000 plastic bottles to make cultural and     6     (create) products between June 2021 and October 2023, equivalent to a     7     (reduce) in carbon emission by 931 kilograms.

“By launching the campaign, the Palace Museum is taking a science-based and meticulous approach to waste. The target is to minimize the generation of waste that needs     8     (bury) or burned and bring the amount of such waste     9     (extreme) close to zero,” said the museum.

So far, approximately 3,000 museum staff members, 40,000 tourist guides, and 21 million visitors     10     (participate) in the campaign.

9 . 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.

2. Why does the author mention the record in 1986?

A．To give an example.	B．To make a comparison.
C．To make a summary.	D．To offer an argument.

3. What is the possible direct reason for the change in Antarctica’s sea ice?

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.

4. How do scientists feel about the low record?

A．Worried.

B．Annoyed.

C．Excited.

D．Satisfied.

10 . In the past few weeks, Richard Eckersley has noticed a change in the type of people who come into his shop. In 2017, the former Manchester United footballer set up Earth. Food. Love in Tones, Devon, with his wife, Nicola. It’s the UK’s first “zero waste” store—the food is in big jars and boxes and people bring their own containers. “A lot of new people are coming in-people who have not necessarily been interested in environmental issues before”, he says.

Recently, the government called for supermarkets to introduce plastic-free passageways. But Eckersley says many customers are already way ahead of politicians. He and Nicola have helped people set up similar stores in Wales, Birmingham, and Bristol. Ingrid Caldironi had a similar idea. She set up a plastic-free shop in London last year, which has been so popular that it is soon moving to a bigger site.

Eckersley and Caldironi are members of an anti-plastics movement in the UK that has been growing as a result of the BBC’s Blue Planet series and a general worry about the damage plastic is doing to the environment. But big supermarkets have so far not tried very hard to reduce their plastic waste. Sian Sutherland, founder of the movement “A Plastic Planet”, says, “The most exciting thing is that politicians and industry are no longer saying that recycling will solve the problem. Banning the use of plastic packaging for food and drink products is the only answer.” Walking down the passageways of the supermarket where everything from pizza to fresh fruit and vegetables is covered in plastic. Sutherland says immediate action is needed.

Plastic pollution is causing widespread global damage. More than one million plastic bottles are bought around the world every minute, and most end up in landfill or the sea. The contamination is so wide that tap water around the world also contains plastic.

1. What is special about Earth. Food. Love?

A．It gives away boxes of food.	B．It is a store without plastic bags.
C．It has few new customers.	D．It is the UK’s first supermarket.

2. What caused Caldironi’s shop to be relocated to a larger place?

A．Its popularity.

B．Its products.

C．Its profits.

D．Its similarity.

3. What does the underlined word “contamination” in last paragraph mean?

A．Pollution.

B．Acceptance.

C．Influence.

D．Application.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．The impact of BBC’s Blue Planet series on anti-plastics movements.

B．Rising anti-plastics movement alongside increasing environmental concerns.

C．A guide to setting up plastic-free stores to promote recycling in the whole UK.

D．Richard Eckersley’s personal journey in waste reduction and pollution prevention.