1 . Light pollution is blocking a starry view of the night sky for more than half of people across England, a research has found.

Fifty-seven percent of stargazers struggled to see more than 10 stars, while just 2% of participants said they experienced a truly dark sky making them be able to count more than 30, according to the research by the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE). People in the countryside were encouraged to count how many stars they could see with eyes within the constellation of Orion, which is visible only in the winter months.

Campaigners said the results of the star count, supported by the British Astronomical Association, showed the problem of light pollution and how it affected one of the countryside's most magical sights-a dark, starry night sky. They said the results of the research to map England's night skies suggested more could be done by the government, local councils and the general public to reduce the negative effects of artificial light from streets and buildings.

Emma Marrington, dark skies campaigner at the CPRE, said "We're hugely grateful to the people who took the time to get out and take part in our star count. But it's deeply disappointing that the vast majority were unable to experience the natural wonder of a truly dark sky blanketed with stars. " Without any action, our night sky will continue to be lost under a covering of artificial light, ruining the health of the natural world.

She added: "The star count results show just how far-reaching the light from street lights and buildings can be seen. Light doesn't respect boundaries, and careless use can see it spread for, miles from cities.”

She suggested better-designed lighting, street light dimming systems and part-night lighting where some street lights are turned off during the small hours should provide an, opportunity to limit the damage caused by light pollution, reduce carbon emissions and save money.

1. What causes the light pollution according to the text?

A．More and more buildings.	B．Less and less outdoor activities.
C．The overuse of artificial light.	D．The spread of light in the countryside.

2. How does Emma feel about the stargazers' efforts?

A．Disappointed.

B．Surprised.

C．Regretful.

D．Appreciative.

3. What is Emma's suggestion for dealing with the light pollution?

A．Using street lights wisely.	B．Turning off lights at night.
C．Spreading light further.	D．Changing the streets' design.

2 . The biggest and the smallest of the world’s animals are most at risk of dying out, according to a new analysis, with vertebrates (脊椎动物) in the so-called “Goldilocks zone”—not too big and not too small—winning out. Action is needed to protect animals at both ends of the scale, they say. The research adds to evidence that animals are dying out on such a scale that a sixth extinction is considered under way.

One clue is body size. Research on birds and mammals has shown that those with larger bodies are more likely to go extinct. Yet, when the researchers made a database of thousands of birds, mammals, fish, amphibians (两栖动物) and reptiles (爬行动物) at risk of extinction, they found disproportionate (不成比例的) losses at the large and small ends of the scale.

“Surprisingly, we found that not only the largest of all vertebrate animal species are most threatened, but the very tiniest ones are also highly threatened with extinction,” Prof. Ripple told BBC News.

Large animals, such as elephants, rhinos (犀牛) and lions have long been the target of protection efforts. However, fish, birds, reptiles and amphibians that are the giants of their kind, such as the whale shark, Somali ostrich (鸵鸟) and the Chinese giant salamander (蝾螈), tend to be overlooked. Meanwhile, small species at risk--such as frogs and shrews (鼩鼱)--receive very little attention.

“I think, for the smallest species, first of all we need to bring higher awareness to them, because the larger ones get a lot of attention, but the smaller ones get very little,” said Prof. Ripple.

In the study, vertebrates with the smallest and the largest bodies were found to be most at risk of disappearing, whether they were on land or living in oceans, streams or rivers.

Heavyweights are threatened mainly by hunting, while featherweights are losing out to pollution and cutting down forests. “Ultimately, reducing global consumption of wild meat is a key step to reduce negative impacts of hunting, fishing, and trapping on the world’s vertebrates,” they write in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

1. What made the researchers feel surprised?

A．A sixth of animals are dying out.

B．Small animals are in great danger.

C．Great losses of birds and mammals.

D．Big animals are at risk of disappearing.

2. What should we do first for the smallest species according to Prof. Ripple?

A．Transform our habits.	B．Change our concepts.
C．Find ways to save small animals.	D．Take measures to stop pollution.

3. What presents the great threat to vertebrates according to the last paragraph?

A．Loss of forests.	B．Climate change.
C．Human activities.	D．Environmental pollution.

4. What would be the best title for the passage?

A．Size Matters When It Comes to Extinction Risk

B．Large Animals Are Badly in Need of Protection

C．Why a Great Number of Animals Are Dying out

D．What We Should Do to Protect Endangered Species

3 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入一个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Strange things were happening in the countryside of northeastern Hebei. For several days, the water in the village wells rose and     1     (fall). Deep cracks appeared in the well walls. Chickens and even pigs were     2     nervous to eat and fish jumped out of the water. Dogs refused to go inside the buildings. At 3:42 a.m., everything began to shake. In an instant, the city lay in     3     (ruin). A huge crack cut across houses, roads, and waterways. Hard hills of rock became rivers of dirt.     4     number of people who were killed or badly injured in the quake was more than 400,000. Consequently, thousands of children     5     (leave) without parents.

Later that afternoon, another big quake shook Tangshan again,     6     made more buildings fall down. People found water, food, and electricity hard     7     (get) and wondered how long the disaster would last. But hope was not lost.     8     (luck), 150,000 soldiers and more than 10,000 doctors and nurses came to provide medical care. Water and food were brought into the city by train, truck, and plane. Besides, workers built shelters for     9     (survive) whose homes had been destroyed. Slowly, Tangshan started to revive     10     (it) and breathe again.

4 . Brownie and Spotty were neighbor dogs who met every day to play together. Like pairs of dogs you can find in any neighborhood, these two loved each other and played together so often that they had worn a path through the grass of the field between their houses.

One evening, Brownie’s family noticed that Brownie hadn’t returned home. They went looking for him with no success. Brownie didn’t show up the next day, and although they made their efforts to find him, by the next week he was still missing.

Curiously, Spotty showed up at Brownie’s house alone, barking and jumping. Busy with their own lives, they paid no attention to the nervous little neighbor dog.

Finally, one morning Spotty refused to take “no” for an answer. Ted, Brownie’s owner, was continuously disturbed by the angry, determined little dog. Spotty followed Ted around, barking all the time, then darting toward a nearby empty lot (an area of land) and back, as if to say, “Follow me! It’s urgent (紧急的)!”

Eventually, Ted followed Spotty across the empty lot as Spotty stopped to race back and barked encouragingly. The little dog led the man to a deserted spot. There Ted found his beloved Brownie alive, one of his legs stuck in a steel trap. Frightened, Ted now wished he had followed Spotty earlier.

Then Ted noticed something. Spotty had done something else besides leading Brownie’s human owner to his trapped friend. In a circle around the injured dog, Ted found some food remains of every meal. Brownie had been fed that week! Spotty had been visiting Brownie regularly, in the hope of keeping his friend alive. Spotty had actually stayed with Brownie to protect him from hunger and other dangers, and keep his spirits up.

Brownie’s leg was carefully treated and he soon got well again. For many years thereafter the two families watched the faithful friends running after each other down that well-worn path between their houses.

1. At the very beginning, Brownie’s family paid little attention to Spotty because __________.

A．they were not free at the moment	B．they were sure Brownie would be OK
C．they didn’t like Spotty	D．their missing dog made them sad

2. After Ted was brought where Brownie was trapped, he __________.

A．managed to free his dog at once	B．was very thankful to Spotty
C．regretted not following Spotty earlier	D．was angry with the trap-maker

3. We can infer from the passage that __________.

A．it was Spotty’s timely help that saved Brownie

B．it’s not right to hunt animals in any neighborhood

C．Ted has to take better care of his beloved dog later on

D．humans and animals depend on each other for comfort

5 . Hardware in general, and smartphones in particular, have become a huge environmental and health problem in the Global South' s landfill sites(垃圾填埋场).

Electronic waste(e-waste) currently takes up 5 percent of all global waste, and it is set to increase rapidly as more of us own more than one smartphone, laptop and power bank. They end up in places like Agbogbloshie on the outskirts of Ghana's capital, Accra.It is the biggest e-waste dump in the world, where 10,000 informal workers walk through tons of abandoned goods as part of an informal recycling process.They risk their health searching for the precious metals that are found in abandoned smartphones.

But Agbogbloshie should not exist. The Basel Convention, a 1989 treaty aims to prevent developed nations from unauthorized dumping of e-waste in less developed countries. The E-waste industry, however, circumvents the regulations by exporting e-waste labelled as “secondhand goods” to poor countries like Ghana, knowing full well that it is heading for a landfill site.

A recent report found Agbogbloshie contained some of the most dangerous chemicals.This is not surprising: smartphones contain chemicals like mercury(水银), lead and even   arsenic (砷 ) Reportedly, one egg from a free-range chicken in Agbogbloshie contained a certain chemical which can cause cancer and damage the immune system at a level that's about 220 times greater than a limit set by the European Food Safety Authority(EFSA), Most worryingly, these poisonous chemicals are free to pollute the broader soil and water system. This should concern us all, since some of Ghana's top exports are cocoa and nuts.

Some governments have started to take responsibility for their consumers' waste.For example, Germany has started a project that includes a sustainable recycling system at Agbogbloshie, along with a health clinic for workers.However, governments cannot solve the problem alone, as there is am almost limitless consumer demand for hardware, especially when governments’ green policies are focused on issues like climate change.

Only the manufacturers can fix this.A more economically sustainable and politically possible solution is through encouraging hardware manufacturers to make the repair, reuse and recycling of hardware profitable, or at least cost-neutral.

1. What can we infer from paragraph2?

A．Electronic products need improving urgently.

B．Electronic waste is too complex to get fully recycled.

C．Electronic waste requires more landfill sites across Ghana.

D．Electronic pollution is a burning question in Agbogbloshie.

2. What does the underlined word"circumvents" in paragraph 3 mean?

A．Tightens

B．Abolishes

C．Avoids

D．Follows

3. What should be the biggest concern according to the text?

A．The violation of EFSA’s standard

B．The lack of diversity in Ghana s exports.

C．The damage to chickens immune system

D．The threat of polluted food around the world

4. What does the author think is the best solution to the e-waste problem?

A．Manufacturers' developing a sustainable hardware economy.

B．Governments' adjusting their green policies about e-waste.

C．Reducing customers' demands for electronic products.

D．Letting governments take on the main responsibility.

6 . Scientists have long known that a crow （乌鸦）native to New Caledonia is able to use tools. The birds use them to remove food from deep holes. Now, American researchers have discovered a second species of crow with the same ability. They reported on their experiments with Alala crows, which are from the Hawaiian Islands.

In the experiment, the researchers placed pieces of food in holes inside the wood. The holes were too deep for the crows to reach with their beaks(鸟喙). But, by using small pieces of wood held in their beaks, Alala crows quickly got the food. They used small objects as tools, sometimes changing them by shortening too-long sticks. They also made tools from plant materials.

“The crows use their beaks as people use thumbs on their hands. Tool use is rare in the animal kingdom. ” said Chritian Rutz of University of St. Andrews. “Current evidence strongly suggests that tool use is part of the species’ natural behavioral pattern(行为模式). These birds had no special training in the study, yet most of them were skilled at handling stick tools. ”

Bird experts claim finding out that the crows use tools is important discovery. “It makes us rethink how to look at the whole tool-use idea now and encourages us to go out and look for things that we may have ignored before. ”

All the Alala crows left in the world live in Hawaii. There were less than 20 Alalas left in the late 1990s when scientists decided to bring them into a protected area. Now, it is reported that there are over 100 birds living there. Scientists plan to release a small number of the birds back into the wild later.

1. What are the findings of American researchers?

A．Alala crows can also use tools.

B．It’s difficult for birds to look for food.

C．New Caledonia is home to some crows.

D．The Hawaiian Islands are full of rare birds.

2. What can we learn from the study?

A．The holes were very big and wide.

B．Alala crows could only use short sticks.

C．Alala crows got the food by working together.

D．Alala crows would deal with tools if necessary.

3. What do Chritian Rutz’s words mean?

A．Using tools comes naturally to Alala crows.

B．Using stick tools is not easy for Alala crows.

C．Alala crows’ beaks look like people’s hands.

D．Alala crows won’t use tools without being trained.

4. What do scientists plan to do with Alala crows?

A．Move all of them out of Hawaii.	B．Increase the population of them.
C．Set some of them free in nature.	D．Build more protected areas for them.

7 . 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。

It was a Monday and Khan, a pet dog had joined the family the previous Friday. He had already decided that two-year-old Charlotte was-his No.1 girl. The dog had seldom left her side since arriving at his new home.

Khan was next to Charlotte when Catherine took her into the garden for some fresh air. “I was just in the house doing boring mother things and Charlotte wanted to go outside and run around,” she says. “We were just walking around the garden looking at flowers and all that good stuff. Khan was with her.”

Charlotte was soon tired of playing in the garden and then went to play the padlock on the gate. “She was beating the padlock and it was banging on the gate,” Catherine recalls. She thought Khan, who was naturally right next to Charlotte, might be disturbed by the loud noise, but he seemed undisturbed by it. That was until, entirely without warning, he became very upset indeed.

“Khan suddenly started making this noise from the depths of his chest, this growl,” she says. “His whole chest puffed up, his hair stood up, and he lowered his head. He continued to make this growl.”

As Catherine watched, Khan seemed to double in size. “He kept trying to push her. I was right next to Charlotte—no more than a metre away and I thought, ‘He’s going to hurt her’. His chest was bigger than he was long,” she says.

Time seemed to slow down as Catherine rushed desperately to save her daughter. But Khan got to Charlotte first. He grabbed her by the back of her clothes and threw her over his shoulder into the garden. “I turned and looked and she was just sitting there in a pile of grass.” Still not certain whether Khan’s strange behaviour was some sort of attack on her child, Catherine raced to pick up Charlotte, who was completely unharmed, and take her inside to safety. Just as she turned to run into the house, Catherine saw a big brown snake bite Khan right in the chest and slid away quickly.

注意：
1.所续写短文的词数应为150以上；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

Khan screamed in pain and at the same moment, Catherine understood all.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Khan needed immediate medical help, so Catherine called a vet (兽医) in no time.       

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8 . It is widely believed that biodiversity (生物多样性) is promoted to save species. But in reality species exist only as part of ecosystems and cannot survive unless their ecosystems are protected along with as much as possible of the diversity they contain.

Protecting habitats(栖息地) is important for keeping biodiversity. In 2003, over 102,000 habitats covering nearly 19 million square kilometres, or 11. 5 % of the world's land surface,were under some form of protection. Though this is a great improvement since 1962, when just l,000 protected habitats were listed, it is still not considered enough to stop the ecocide that is endangering the world's biodiversity.

For a number of environmentalist, protecting the world's 25 biodiversity hotspots(热点地区) is critical to saving habitats and species. But many hotspots are endangered already, hav-ing lost up to three-quarters of their original plants.

The poor state of most biodiversity hotspots results directly from population growth and migration(迁移) into these areas. A study found that by the mid-1990s around l. I billion people liVed in these hotspots.   Moreover, the annual population growth rate in these areas was l. 8%, higher than the global average of l. 4%.   The PAI report concluded that human-related environmental changes will continue to put pressure on hotspots. Therefore, keeping biodiversity requires paying close attention to population size.

Protecting hotspots is not simply a matter of putting up fences and employing guards.The best results are achieved when local people are educated about the value of wildlife, and actually gain a share of the benefits from eco-tourism. Only then do they have a chance to see the benefits of protecting hotpots.

1. What can we infer from paragraph l?

A．The loss of any species can affect humans.

B．Endangered species are paid more attention to by humans.

C．Species can still survive when their ecosystems are destroyed.

D．Ecosystem protection is as important as diversity protection.

2. What does the underlined word“ecocide" in paragraph 2 mean?

A．Ecosystem protection.

B．Reduction of the number of species.

C．Serious damage to habitats.

D．Habitats protection.

3. What's the direct cause of the terrible state of the hotspots?

A．Population growth in hotpots.

B．Migration out of these areas.

C．Global warming.

D．The global average population growth rate.

4. What's the author's opinion on protecting the hotspots?

A．It's simple to carry out.

B．It leads to the increase of tourists.

C．It's closely connected with local people.

D．It suggests that the local people are well educated.

9 . People feel good about recycling, maybe even more so when it comes to electronics. While electronics recycling isn’t bad, making it a panacea(万能药) for the e-waste problem we currently have certainly is. Unfortunately, that’s how we think of recycling and companies are eager to jump on that trend to appear more “green”.

A case in point: Apple. In 2016, there was lots of report on Liam, a robot able to dismantle(拆解) an iPhone in just 11 seconds--- a good way to recycle 1.2 million units a year. That sounds amazing until you take into account the fact that Apple had actually sold 231 million new iPhones the year before. Actually, Liam is the perfect symbol for recycling in the field of high-tech: a drop of green water in an ocean of pollution.

According to a recent UN report, the US produces about 6.3 million tons or 14% of the world’s electronic waste. Worldwide, almost 45 million tons of electronic waste were produced in 2016. Among them, only 20% has been recycled in some shape or form. The remaining 80% made its way to a more environmentally damaging end at the landfill(垃圾清理场).

Of course, we can say it’s time to double our recycling efforts. However, the huge amount of e-waste is impossible to deal with. The UN report points out that while there is an increased focus on recycling today compared to the past, the efforts to reuse used devices simply can’t keep pace with the high consumption rates for new devices.

And in their environmental responsibilities report, Apple admits that 77% of the carbon footprint of their electronics comes from its actual use. The environmental effect of replacing a device, even if it is recycled after, remains significant.

1. What’s the author concerned about according to Paragragh 1?

A．Some recycling turns out to be harmful

B．People have too much faith in recycling

C．Companies bear a high cost to be green

D．The e-waste problem is out of control

2. What may worsen the e-waste problem?

A．Few reports on the issue

B．Low quality of equipment

C．Difficult recycling progress

D．High demand for new electronics.

3. What does the author want to tell us?

A．The ways to lead a green life.

B．The limitation of electronics recycling

C．The responsibilities Apple should take on

D．The importance of protecting the environment.

10 . 请听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. What is the woman?

A．A hostess

B．A cook

C．A company owner

2. What does Maya make more effort to do about shopping?

A．Take her own bags.

B．Go to little shops more often.

C．Avoid things in plastic containers.

3. How did Maya’s family react to her decision to live waste-free?

A．They were worried that she would regret it.

B．They did not believe that she really meant it.

C．They did not think that she was likely to succeed.

4. In which way do Maya’s cooking and eating habits change?

A．She uses leftover food creatively

B．She cooks more often for her friends.

C．She develops her own cooking skills.