1 . In an awe-inspiring incident, a young killer whale recently demonstrated remarkable intelligence by seeking assistance from a group of humans to save its trapped mother, which challenged our conventional understanding of wild predators (食肉动物).

The online viral video, shared by Alvin Foo, began with a young killer whale emitting distressing cries towards a group of people on a boat. Recognizing the urgency of the situation, the concerned individuals promptly responded by contacting a rescue team. The young whale’s desperate request for help touched more people’s hearts and set a truly extraordinary chain of events in motion.

As the rescue team arrived, they were amazed to witness the young killer whale’s playful interaction with the humans. The whale appeared elated, seemingly understanding that assistance had finally arrived. This interaction between the mother killer whale and rescuers underlined the potential for mutual understanding beyond the boundary of traditional predator-prey relationships.

The young whale took on the role of a guide, leading the rescue team to its mother trapped in a fishing net. It navigated the water with purpose, as if fully aware that the humans possessed the means to save its mother. This display of intelligence left the rescuers in awe, highlighting the complex cognitive abilities of these magnificent marine creatures. With its guidance, the rescue team swiftly initiated the liberation process, carefully cutting the net to free the trapped whale. Astonishingly, they seemed to understand that the humans were there to help and did as asked.

The instant the mother whale was finally freed, an eruption of joyous cries filled the air. The emotional outpouring conveyed the immense gratitude of both the mother whale and the young whale to the humans who had intervened. As the rescue team made their way back to shore, the two whales swam alongside them. This heart-warming sight emphasized the lasting impact of the rescue. The bond formed through this extraordinary rescue operation was well obvious, proving that the profound connections can be established between various species. The journey back to safety symbolized the victory of compassion over adversity.

1. What can we learn about the video from paragraph 2?

A．It spread widely.

B．It went unnoticed.

C．It documented humans’ requesting help.

D．It recorded passive response to the rescue.

2. What does the underlined word “elated” in paragraph 3 mean?

A．Tired.

B．Excited.

C．Frightened.

D．Confused.

3. What is the young whale like?

A．Wise and cooperative.	B．Complex and mysterious.
C．Curious and careful.	D．Wild and rude.

4. What does the author mainly want to convey in the last paragraph?

A．Adversity is a good discipline.

B．It is urgent to protect wildlife.

C．Different species can coexist in harmony.

D．Human intervention poses a threat to whales.

4 . Haze (薄雾) and smoke from hundreds of Canadian wildfires covered most of the US Northeast for a second day — Wednesday, with New York City experiencing the world’s worst air quality over the last two days.

New York, the Big Apple became the Big Orange by midday Wednesday as the sky over the nation’s largest city fell into a deep hazy orange. Streets in Manhattan are like what they were like during the pandemic (流行病) as residents again wore masks and cared for warnings from health officials about the impact of PM2.5, which can lead to respiratory (呼吸的) illnesses.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul said on Wednesday that the state was making one million N95 masks available to the public. Approximately 400,000 N95 masks would be distributed at New York state parks, and at subway stations and other locations in New York City, Hochul said at a press briefing. An additional 600,000 masks would be made available at Homeland Security stockpiles (囤聚的物资) for local governments to pick up, she said.

Hochul called the poor air quality “a very serious, dangerous situation”. She recommended that people across the state cancel outdoor activities. “Simply stay indoors. Outdoors is dangerous in just about every part of our state,” the governor said. Officials at the briefing said they had been monitoring any potential rise in respiratory illnesses or health issues due to the poor air quality.

The city’s air was more polluted than all the world’s major cities on Wednesday morning, according to data from Swiss technology company IQAir. Dubai and Delhi came in second and third, respectively. Mike Hardiman, a staff in the National Weather Service, told The New York Times the city “smells like cigars”.

1. Why do people wear masks in New York?

A．Because of health concern.	B．Because of the pandemic.
C．Because of officials’ demand.	D．Because of their habits.

2. What message does Paragraph 3 convey?

A．New York has good welfare system.	B．N95 masks can settle the crisis.
C．The public’s support is vital.	D．The government took measures to handle the issue.

3. What kind of activity might Hochul recommend?

A．Camping.	B．Doing housework.
C．Fishing.	D．Climbing mountains.

4. What does Mike Hardiman mean by saying the city “smells like cigars”?

A．The city is polluted by cigars.	B．Cigars have very good smell.
C．The air quality in the city is terrible.	D．There are too many smokers in the city.

5 . For Aravind Tharunsri and Thaaragai Aarathana, every day is Environment Day and every hour is Earth Hour. And they are on a mission to ______ oceans.

Thaaragai was never afraid of water. She started floating even when under one. Being a passionate diver, Aravind always wanted to make his daughter ______ diving. His vision came true when she became ______ to dive in shallow waters. She first started training in small tubs, then in swimming pools and ______ made a smooth transition to the ocean.

Now, Thaaragai can call attention to the issue of ______ marine species and draw our ______ to her ongoing battle against water pollution. She ______ a record in Assist World Records Attempt for swimming an 18-km stretch under the theme “Save the Ocean”. With help and encouragement from her father, Thaaragai also made a short documentary on marine ______ and presented it in various schools to spread awareness.

The eight-year-old girl ______ her birthday with a diving adventure. She spotted jellyfish, grouper and corals. The diving session didn’t end there as the young girl started spotting plastics. She didn’t have the heart to the ______ them. Both father and daughter ______ as much as they could. The young ______ has also been on a mission to clean up the beaches and the ocean as well as to ______ awareness of marine pollution.

Thaaragai hopes more kids can join. “Why wait for Ocean’s Day or Environment Day? Every day is important when we ______ against climate change. I’m ______ to do my duty as a citizen and I hope you too will join me,” the young diver said.

1.

A．clean up

B．focus on

C．make up

D．make out

2.

A．accept

B．abandon

C．quit

D．learn

3.

A．thrilled

B．disappointed

C．qualified

D．excited

4.

A．eventually

B．suddenly

C．frequently

D．relatively

5.

A．dangerous

B．extinct

C．energetic

D．endangered

6.

A．intention

B．responsibility

C．attention

D．memory

7.

A．broke

B．kept

C．witnessed

D．set

8.

A．protection

B．pollution

C．development

D．damage

9.

A．treated

B．completed

C．celebrated

D．proved

10.

A．ignore

B．deal

C．manage

D．value:

11.

A．bought

B．collected

C．packed

D．threw

12.

A．diver

B．dancer

C．singer

D．swimmer

13.

A．switch

B．connect

C．raise

D．compare

14.

A．swim

B．compete

C．go

D．fight

15.

A．reluctant

B．determined

C．patient

D．talented

6 . From Jilly Cooper to Winston Clurehill, horse riders have long supported the emotional benefit of the human-horse bond. Hernan Melville, the author of Moby Dick, once argued: “No philosophers so thoroughly comprehend us as dogs and horses.”

When it comes to dogs, we have no doubt about it. But horses can tell when a human being is feeling unhappy, a study has found, although whether or not they care remains an open question.

The latest study, published in the journal Animal Cognition, sought to correct this. The question the researchers wanted to answer was; do horses understand a range of human emotions? To investigate this, they employed a technique often employed in studying baby cognition (认知); they showed the horses something that made no sense, and watched to see whether it puzzled them. One after another, the scientists put 28 horses in a room. Each horse was shown two pictures of the same person at the same time. In one picture the person had a happy face, in the other the person had a long face. At the same time they heard either a happy or sad voice.

From a human perspective, only one of the pictures made sense — the one with a voice that corresponded to the image. The other was “incongruent (不一致的)”. Were the horses similarly confused? It appears they were. What the scientists found was that on average the first time the horses saw the incongruent image, they spent longer looking at it.

Oceane Liehrmann, from the University of Turku in Finland, said this implied a level of emotional and cognitive complexity that we may not always credit to horses.

We don’t know whether horses themselves understand what it is to be sad, or experience the emotion. What the research suggested was that, however, it is possible they learn that it means something for a human — and that when we are sad they expect what we say to match how we look.

1. Why does the author mention Herman Melville’s words in paragraph 1?

A．To introduce the topic of the text.	B．To state dogs and horses are smart.
C．To point out philosophers’ ignorance.	D．To promote Herman Melville’s book.

2. How did scientists investigate horses’ understanding of human emotions?

A．By observing their behavior in a room.

B．By testing their reactions to different emotions.

C．By training them to respond to human emotions.

D．By showing them pictures and playing corresponding voices.

3. When the horses were shown incongruent images and voices, they __________.

A．ignored the incongruent image and voice

B．were not confused and showed no reaction

C．recognized the incongruence and showed anger

D．were puzzled and spent more time looking at them

4. What’s the best title of the text?

A．Horses Are the Cleverest Animal

B．Horses Have Strong Cognitive Ability

C．Horses Can Make Sense of a Human’s Long Face

D．Horses Can Understand Humans’ Emotions Clearly

7 . Four Beautiful National Parks in New Zealand

Fiordland National Park

With over three million acres, the Fiordland National Park is the largest in New Zealand. It is also one of the most popular tourist attractions, drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors yearly to its dramatic landscape. When visiting, you will find beautiful fiords (峡湾), ancient rainforests, shining lakes, waterfalls, and snow-capped peaks.

Abel Tasman National Park

Located on the north end of the South Island is Abel Tasman National Purk, named after the first European explorer to find New Zealand. At nearly 60,000 acres, it is the smallest national park in the country, but it offers the perfect mix of relaxation and adventure. For instance, the park features sandy beaches, clear streams, forested hills, and mossy valleys. The best way to experience the area is by hiking, camping, kayaking, sailing and swimming.

Arthur’s Pass National Park

Also on New Zealand’s South Island is Arthur’s Pass National Park, featuring primarily mountainous terrain (地形). Arthur’s Pass includes the heart of the Southern Alps and consists of high, rough mountains, steep gorges and wide rivers. Because the area is not as developed as other parks and requires visitors to have a knowledge of route-finding and river-crossing, it is not typically an area for inexperienced recreationists.

Tongariro National Park

Tongariro was the 6th national park established in the world and the oldest in New Zealand. It’s been open to the public since 1887 and is the perfect destination for thrill-seekers and those who appreciate mother nature. The park contains three active volcanoes and features world-famous crossings for some of the best hiking and skiing in the world.

1. Which one of the following parks is the largest park in New Zealand?

A．Fiordland National Park.	B．Abel Tasman National Park.
C．Arthur’s Pass National Park.	D．Tongariro National Park.

2. What do the Abel Tasman National Park and Arthur’s Pass National Park have in common?

A．They are located on the South Island.

B．They are named after European explorers.

C．They are suitable for inexperienced recreationists.

D．They feature world-famous crossings and beaches.

3. Who will probably be attracted to Tongariro National Park?

A．Beginner hikers.

B．Thrill-seekers.

C．Swim lovers.

D．Bridge-builders.

8 . In a joint effort to tackle the climate crisis, humans are turning to offshore wind farms (OWFs) as a source of renewable energy. OWFs are, quite literally, one of the biggest forms of renewable energy. The world’s largest OWF covers an area of 462 square kilometers, with each turbine (涡轮) standing 200 meters above the sea. It has the capacity to power over 1.4 million homes. But what impact do the towering turbines have on life in the waters below and the skies above?

It’s thought that OWFs could affect marine (海洋的) life in a number of ways, from noise disturbing the behaviors of fish and whales to changes in the diversity of species in the area. Seabirds that live in the North and Baltic Seas — where a vast majority of OWFs are placed — are also thought to be endangered by turbines. A report from Bird Life International found that twelve North and Baltic seabird species were at high risk of crashing with farms and seven at high risk of being displaced by their construction.

Not all impacts are negative though — some research has suggested that OWFs have the potential for environmental benefits too. A study following the movement of gray seals in the North Sea found that they were frequent visitors to two OWFs, searching between turbines for food. The researchers suggested that farms be acting like artificial reefs, representing a new and concentrated source of food. In areas where marine life has become less dense, it could allow life to flourish (繁荣) once again.

Even so, researchers explained that it’s difficult to predict the full extent of the potential environmental outcomes from these unexpected artificial reefs: “Only a small proportion of our study seals used wind farms or pipelines,” study author Deborah Russell told The Guardian at the time.

To avoid replacing one problem by creating a new one, it seems that researchers and developers will have to continue working hand in hand to ensure OWFs and marine life can successfully live side by side.

1. What is the main purpose of Paragraph 1?

A．To lead in the main topic of the text.

B．To show the effect of OWFs on sea life.

C．To draw readers’ attention to artificial reefs.

D．To introduce the largest OWF in the world.

2. How will OWFs affect the surrounding sea life?

A．They will help all the gray seals survive.

B．They will increase the diversity of species.

C．They will become a threat to seabirds.

D．They will provide new resources for seabirds.

3. What should researchers and developers do next?

A．Explore another resource of renewable energy.

B．Reduce the bad effects of OWFs on the marine life.

C．Build new OWFs to supply energy for more homes.

D．Make accurate assessment about the effect of OWFs.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．OWFs — Friends or Enemies to Marine Life?

B．The Pros and Cons of Wind Farms on Land

C．The Turbines — a Danger or Favor to Seals?

D．The Shift to OWFs as a Source of New Energy

9 . Meteorites (陨石) can offer clues about what the early solar system was like. But finding them is far from difficult. Now, some scientists are turning to drones (无人机) and machine learning to help spot freshly fallen meteorites much more efficiently. “A team of six people on a meteorite-hunting expedition can search about 200,000 square meters per day,” says Seamus Anderson, a planetary scientist in Australia.

Around 2016, Anderson began toying with the concept of using drones to take pictures of the g round to look for meteorites. That idea blossomed into a Ph.D. project. In 2022, he and his colleagues reported their first successful recovery of a meteorite spotted with a drone. They’ve since found four more meteorites at a different site. Drone-based searches are much faster than the standard search way. “You’re going from about 300 days of human effort down to about a dozen or so,” he says.

Anderson and his workmates have used drones to search for meteorites in remote parts of Western Australia and South Australia. The team is tipped off about a fall site by networks of ground-based cameras that track meteoroids flashing through the Earth’s atmosphere. The researchers have to do a series of fun but difficult work before the hunt. They pack a four-wheel drive vehicle with drone and computer equipment, battery charging stations, generators, fuel, food, camping equipment, tables, chairs and much more. The drive to the fall site can take more than a day, often on rough or nonexistent roads. Anderson says, “You hope you don’t pop a tire.”

After arriving, the team flies its primary drone at an altitude of about 20 meters. Its camera takes an image of the ground once every second, and the scientists download the data every 40 minutes or so when the drone lands to receive fresh batteries. A typical day of flying can net over 10,000 images, which are then divided digitally into 100 million or so smaller sections. Those “tiles”, each 2 meters on a side, are fed into a machine learning algorithm (算法) that has been trained to recognize meteorites based on images of real land rocks which are spray-painted black.

1. Why do the scientists study meteorites?

A．To spot the planetary course.	B．To promote machine learning.
C．To test the functions of drones.	D．To explore the past of solar system.

2. What does Anderson say about drone-based searches in paragraph 2?

A．Their barriers.	B．Their causes.
C．Their efficiency.	D．Their concept.

3. Which words can best describe the preparations of the drone search for meteorites?

A．Fun and light.	B．Smooth and flexible.
C．Difficult and unpleasant.	D．Complicated and tough.

4. How does the drone process images?

A．By dividing them in half.	B．By storing them for analysis.
C．By combining them into a picture.	D．By linking them with a digital printer.

10 . Recent research confirms what our farming ancestors have known for centuries about hedges (树篱). They conserve precious soil by acting as windbreaks and absorbing rainwater that would otherwise wash it from the fields. And hedges store carbon, putting them in the front line of our bi d to tackle the climate crisis.

However, hedges have had a tough time in the poor countryside, with farmers encouraged to tear them down in pursuit of maximum production and larger field s to accommodate ever-larger machinery. What’s more, some hedges have been ignored. If left to their own devices, they’ll eventually become a line of trees. Some hedges each year lose their structures and fail to fulfil the primary duty as a barrier. Around a half of the nation’s hedges have disappeared in the past century.

There are signs that “the tide is turning”. The search for net zero has aroused many organizations’ interest in the humble hedge’s role as a carbon sink. The Climate Change Committee is recommending a 40 percent increase in hedges: an additional 200,000 km. Such recommendations are starting to drive policy. Cash-pressed farmers will be encouraged to create new hedges and improve their management of existing ones under the new Environmental Land Management Schemes, which will replace many of the existing agricultural support payments in coming years. Meanwhile, initiatives such as Close the Gap, led by the Tree Council, is providing funding and support to plug the gaps in existing hedges with new planting. There’s even an app to help time-pressed farmers do a quick survey to spot where their hedges need some help.

This is a good time for hedges. Take some of the most pressing challenges facing the countryside, and indeed, the world as a whole — the climate crisis, soil erosion (侵蚀), insect attack and wider biodiversity loss — and hedges are part of the solution.

1. What does recent research show about hedges?

A．They are unique landscapes in the rain.

B．They act as dividing lines between fields.

C．They have long been helpful to agriculture.

D．They are frequently washed away from the fields.

2. What does paragraph 2 mainly tell us about hedges?

A．Their suffering.	B．Their production.
C．Their duties.	D．Their structures.

3. What is many organizations’ attitude towards saving hedges?

A．Puzzled.

B．Concerned.

C．Humble.

D．Indifferent.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Hedges: Ancient Resources

B．Hedges: Official Recommendations

C．Restoring Hedges: Bringing Benefits to the Environment

D．Researching Hedges: Originating from Farmers’ Request