1 . Few sights fill you with nostalgia (怀旧) like the fireflies dancing at night.     1    Their populations are declining around the world as the threats against them are increasing. Sara Lewis, an expert who studies the insects, offers tips on what you can do to ensure that fireflies will continue to light up your backyard.

Create a firefly habitat

    2     With about 2, 000 different species of fireflies, there’s a wide variety of environments in which they thrive (繁衍) —including wetlands, forests, and even city parks—which is why some species are more threatened than others. “You can recreate those conditions in your own backyard simply by leaving some leaf litter around the edges of your property, “ Lewis says. ”That’s a good microhabitat for fireflies.”

    3    

Flashing lights are an important part in fireflies life. As the sun sets, male fireflies move around while flashing their lights to signal their interest. If a nearby female is interested, she flashes back from her position to the ground, and the males fly down to find her. “All of that has to happen for the next generation to survive,” says Lewis. “However, light pollution makes those scenes much harder to see. It’s like cutting a phone line. It really stops the romance.     4    You can draw your curtains shut at night and turn off the lights completely when possible.”

Stop using pesticides (杀虫剂)

Using pesticides in your yard also poses an existential threat to fireflies, which are insects after all.     5    . Scientists are researching alternatives to chemical pesticides that could target specific species, like mosquitoes, while leaving other insects unharmed.

A．Reduce light pollution

B．Make a fire in the open air

C．Luckily, there are some solutions

D．But these beloved insects are in trouble

E．The living conditions of fireflies are getting better

F．The biggest threat facing fireflies today is the loss of their habitats

G．Most of the pesticides will kill less-beloved insects as well as fireflies

2 . Ocean temperature extremes are now normal, a new study reports. It has analyzed ocean surface temperatures for the past 150 years. It reveals that by 2019, 57 percent of the ocean’s surface was warming to temperatures rarely seen 100 years ago.

Ecologists wanted to learn how often modern extreme heat events occur. They also wanted to see how long they last. Kisei Tanaka was one of those ecologists. He now works for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in Honolulu, Hawaii. Tanaka teamed up with Kyle Van Houtan, who works at the Loggerhead Marinelife Center. The two analyzed monthly sea surface temperatures collected from 1870 through 2019. Then they mapped where and when extreme heat events had shown up, decade by decade.

By looking at monthly extremes instead of annual averages, the two found that over time, more and more patches (区域) of water were reaching extreme temperatures. Then, in 2014, the entire ocean hit a point of no return, Van Houtan says.

Heat waves harm ocean ecosystems. They can lead seabirds to starve... And animals—from fish and whales to turtles—may have to swim long distances in search of comfortable temperatures.

In May 2020, NOAA announced that it was updating what climates it now considered “normal”. These values are what the agency uses to put daily weather events in a historical context. The average values from 1991 to 2020 are now higher than those from 1981 to 2010, NOAA found.

Van Houtan says his new study shows extreme ocean warming is now the norm. Much discussion on climate change, he notes, has been about future events, and whether or not they might happen. But what the emerging data make clear, he says, is that extreme heat became common in our ocean in 2014. It’s a documented historical fact—not a future possibility.

1. Why did the ecologists conduct the research?

A．To prove what they had forecast.	B．To recognize the value of the data.
C．To update readers on newfound species.	D．To find out the trend of ocean record heat.

2. Where can you find the harmful effect of global ocean warming?

A．In paragraph 3.	B．In paragraph 4.
C．In paragraph 5.	D．In paragraph 6.

3. What does Van Houtan want to stress at last?

A．People’s lifestyle will be greatly affected.	B．It is a must to discuss the climate change.
C．Scientists must focus on historical events.	D．Ocean heat extremes are the new normal.

4. In which section of a newspaper may this text appear?

A．Nature.

B．Travel.

C．Business.

D．History.

3 . It is not always easy to understand animal behavior, especially when it’s related to other species (物种). For decades, researchers have observed orca (虎鲸) attacking and even killing porpoises (鼠海豚) in the Pacific Northwest. But it confuses people that these expert hunters don’t eat them. So what’s going on here?

Southern Resident orcas are a different population of orcas that live in the Pacific Northwest. The lives of these orcas are closely tied to those of the salmon (鲑鱼). So if the salmon disappear, so too will the orca. But despite their preference for salmon, these whales are known to attack and kill other smaller marine mammals (海洋哺乳动物) without eating them.

To better understand this unusual behavior, an international team of researchers did a research and examined more than 60 years of recorded interactions between Southern Resident orcas and porpoises in the Salish Sea.

“Why don’t the Southern Residents just eat porpoises instead?” Deborah Giles of Wild Orca said. “It’s because fish-eating killer whales have a completely different ecology and culture from orcas that eat marine mammals. So we must conclude that their interactions with porpoises serve a different purpose, but this purpose has only been a guess until now.”

According to Giles and her colleagues’work, the orca may be attacking the porpoise as a form of social play. It is possible these large animals may be attacking the smaller mammals as a way to build up social cohesion (凝聚力). Similarly, the behavior could represent hunting practice, by which the orcas are practising their teamwork and cooperation skills for hunting salmon. Finally, the behavior could be a way of “mismothering” where the orca see the smaller porpoises as weaker or ill and so in need of care.

This work highlights the need for the protection of salmon populations in the area as well as the orcas’entire hunting range. The threat (威胁) to the salmon’s future is not just a threat to a single species, but an entire ecosystem.

1. Why did an international team of researchers do their study?

A．To find out a way to protect porpoises.

B．To make sure the reason why some orcas attack salmons.

C．To solve the problem of marine mammals’ living environment.

D．To better understand the strange behavior of Southern Resident orcas.

2. What are Southern Resident orcas’favorite food?

A．Porpoises.

B．Marine mammals.

C．Salmons.

D．Whales.

3. According to Giles’research, which maybe a reason for the orcas’attacking porpoises?

A．It’s a kind of social play with porpoises.

B．It is a practice to kill porpoises as their food.

C．The orcas may dislike the smaller porpoises.

D．It’s a way for the orcas to practice their hunting skills.

4. What’s the writer’s attitude to the research?

A．Positive.

B．Objective

C．Doubtful.

D．Uncertain.

4 . High-resolution (高分辨率) satellite imagery has been used to map every single tree in Africa, showing a technique that could help improve the monitoring of deforestation (森林砍伐) across the world. Florian Reiner at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, and his colleagues used images from sate lies to map canopy (树冠) across the entire African continent.

Modern sate lies usually catch tree canopies at a resolution of 30 meters — fine for measuring the size of forests, but less good at mapping individual trees. The satellite data Reiner and his colleagues used had a resolution of 3 meters, enabling the study to map all trees, including those not part of a forest.

The results suggest that 30 percent of all trees in Africa aren’t in a forest and instead are across farmland, savannah and urban areas. “Many countries in Africa lack thick forests, but have a lot of trees.” says Reiner. “These trees are extremely important to the local ecosystems, the people and the economy. By tracking every single tree, researchers can start to monitor how these trees are coping with climate change or whether they are sensitive to deforestation.” It could also improve the monitoring of reforestation efforts, which are growing in popularity as a way of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

“At a local level, being able to consistently monitor when and where trees are disappearing or reappearing can lead to more actionable insights,” says John Francis at the Alan Turing Institute in London.

“The study is a proof of concept rather than a map ready for immediate commercial use,” says Reiner. “It’s research work. It’s showing what could be done,” he says. But he is already working with colleagues to scale up the tracking approach to cover the entire global canopy: “We’re hoping that this will be seen as a way forward in monitoring tree resources.”

1. Why is high-resolution satellite imagery used to map every single tree?

A．To know the exact height of the tree.

B．To have a clear picture of the canopy.

C．To help monitor the deforestation.

D．To improve the satellite technology.

2. What is John Francis’ attitude towards the map?

A．Doubtful.

B．Disapproving.

C．Indifferent.

D．Favorable.

3. What do Reiner and his colleagues expect to do?

A．Protect the trees only in Africa.

B．Put the map into commercial use.

C．Track the entire global canopy.

D．Improve the imagery technology.

4. What is probably the best title?

A．Ways to Measure the Size of Forests in Africa

B．Coping with Climate Change by Tracking Every Single Tree

C．A Map from the Satellite Ready for Immediate Commercial Use

D．High-resolution Satellite Imagery Used in Monitoring Deforestation

5 . As we all know, waste is extremely bad for the environment. Let’s talk about why litter is harmful to our streets and towns, our drinking water, and sea animals.

Waste can have a bad influence on our cities. Cleaning up litter costs US taxpayers (纳税人) and businesses $11.5 billion each year.    1     Litter on the streets can cause road accidents with hundreds of deaths because of it. Areas that have more waste have more crime (犯罪). The litter on the streets sends a message that people don’t care about their neighborhood.

    2     The litter we drop on the ground can pollute rivers, lakes, oceans, and other bodies of water. 60%of water pollution is caused by littering. Waste hurts sea animals.     3     You may think that when you litter, “Oh, this is just one piece of litter. It can’t do any harm. But if every person does that, even if it’s only once, there will still be 7.9 billion pieces of litter in our ocean. Over one million sea animals die every year because of waste.    4    

As you can see, waste is harmful in many ways.    5     We need to take action to avoid unnecessary waste, and pick up every piece of waste we see. We should try to make it a habit because if we don’t, the waste problem will become even worse.

A．Everybody wants to breathe fresh air.

B．That money could have been spent on parks.

C．How do you feel when you see people littering around?

D．In the future there might be more waste than fish in the ocean.

E．Litter can go into the soil and water and pollute our drinking water.

F．We need to stop littering for us, for the environment, and for the planet.

G．Did you know every day almost 8 million pieces of litter go into the ocean?

6 . While many animal populations seem to dwindle, one species that is moving in the opposite direction of such loss is America’s native wildlife — wood stork.

The wood stork is the only stork that breeds in North America. In 1984, it was declared an endangered species after its population decreased sharply to just 5,000 mating pairs. At the time, scientists predicted that the bird would become completely extinct by 2000. Today, it numbers 10,000 mating pairs, and the Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing a delisting of the wood stork as an endangered species. So how did the population bounce back?

The success is in part down to the resourcefulness of the wood stork. The wood stork’s native home was in the Everglades in Florida, but it migrated north as the Everglades were being destroyed by development of mankind. Wetland preservation and restoration, protection of nesting areas, and management of water flows began with the approval of the wood stork’s first recovery plan in 1986. In the following year, former Savannah Coastal Refuges biologist John Robinette noticed stork nests in Georgia as stork populations moved to safer wetlands.

According to Stephanie Kurose, a senior policy specialist at the Centre for Biological Diversity, the Endangered Species Act is also to thank for this recovery. She said, “The act saved the wood stork and it helped preserve and rebuild vital habitats throughout the southeast, which has improved water quality and benefited countless other species who call the area home.” “The Endangered Species Act has saved 99 per cent of the species that were on the list since 1973. A hundred types of plants and animals have been delisted as their populations become stable again.

If the wood stork is delisted, it will remain protected by other laws and a monitoring plan will be put in place to ensure the population remains stable.

1. What does the underlined word dwindle probably mean?

A．Boost.

B．Change.

C．Decline.

D．Explode.

2. What can we learn about the wood stork in paragraph two?

A．Its population shows a rising trend.	B．It has become completely extinct.
C．It is widely distributed worldwide.	D．It is the most endangered species.

3. What threatened the population of the wood stock?

A．Climate change of Earth.	B．Popularity of water sports.
C．Impact of human activities.	D．Arrival of other wild animals.

4. What is a direct result of the Endangered Species Act?

A．People have safer water to drink.	B．A list of species have been saved.
C．The local economy has boomed.	D．The wood stock has flown away.

7 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. What did the woman enjoy doing during the flight?

A．Sleeping.

B．Watching films.

C．Seeing the views outside.

2. How was the weather when the speakers arrived in South Africa?

A．Rainy.

B．Sunny.

C．Windy.

3. What animals did the man like best?

A．Elephants.

B．Lions.

C．Monkeys.

4. What did the speakers do on Sunday?

A．They went boating.

B．They went swimming.

C．They walked in the desert.

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。

Seated in the center of Beijing, the Palace Museum,     1     was built in the former palace of the Ming(1368—1644) and Qing(1644—1911）dynasties,     2    （cover)an area of 1.12 square kilometers, and is home to 1.8 million artistic     3    (piece)that represent the best part of Chinese traditional culture.

Ever since     4     founding of the museum in 1925, the halls of the former palace have been turned into public showrooms, while the royal families’ private rooms have been preserved     5    （protect)the old decorations.

Exhibitions     6    (feature)architecture, bronzes and ceramics are available all year round but exhibitions of paintings and calligraphic works are     7    (basic)held in Spring and Summer due to strict requirements for proper temperature and humidity. Many of the     8    (remark)artworks, including paintings, sculptures and rare books, belong     9     the royal families’ private collection.

The northern and southern sections of the palace wall are accessible and a walk on top of the ten-meter-high wall can be the best way either to start     10     to end a tour of the Museum as one can enjoy a sweeping view of the entire Forbidden City.

9 . Arches（拱门）National Park

Why Go to Arches National Park

A trip to Arches National Park is like visiting another planet with thousands of natural sandstone arches, red rocks and amazing landscapes, as well as light that seems to change all the time. The way the shadows（阴影）pass through the arches makes the park particularly attractive for photographers.

Sitting 5 miles northwest of Moab, Utah, the park has 26 miles of scenic road and hikes for every level of fitness.

Best Months to Visit

The best time to visit Arches National Park is from April to May and from September to October. In summer, temperatures can go beyond 100 degrees, making exploring the park very uncomfortable. In late summer, violent storms often cause flash floods, which can be quite dangerous. Winter is a good time for sightseeing, with fewer crowds, but occasional snow and ice can make the paths wet, smooth and therefore easy to fall on. However, the visitor center is open daily.

What to Eat

There are no restaurants or hotels in Arches National Park, so you need to bring your own food or plan to eat in neighboring Moab, Utah, about 5 miles from the park entrance. There are several picnic areas in the park, so plan ahead if you want to eat with Arches as the background.

Getting Around Arches National Park

The best way to get around Arches National Park is by car. There is no public transport inside Arches National Park. Visitors can also ride bikes in the park, but there are no bike lanes or shoulders, so this is more of an option for experienced cyclists.

1. What may visitors do at Arches National Park?

A．Have dinner in restaurants.	B．Take some photographs.
C．Learn about another planet.	D．Stay in the hotel for a few days.

2. What is a disadvantage of visiting the park in winter?

A．The risk of falling.	B．The danger of flash floods.
C．The crowds of tourists.	D．The shutdown of the visitor center.

3. Where is this text probably taken from?

A．A travel journal.	B．A geography book.
C．A tourism website.	D．An academic article.

10 . Mawson was an Australian explorer and scientist who explored the Antarctic with a team of fellow adventurers in 1912. His travels in the frozen continent brought him worldwide _______. In December of that year, Mawson and two other _______ left the main base at Commonwealth Bay, _______ a 300-mile exploration into the central part of the continent to gather scientific data and samples. _______ followed.

One of the men, a young British soldier named Belgrave Ninnis, _______ down an open crack on a sledge, along with several of their best dogs and many of the team’s supplies, dead. For several weeks, the two others, _______ with scurvy(坏血病)and other _______, struggled to return to camp, keeping living first on the _______ dogs, then on starvation food. _______, Xavier Mertz, a Swiss mountaineer and skiing champion, died from exhaustion, starvation and possible poisonousness from eating dogs’ livers.

________ to return with the research data, Mawson ________ the elements for 30 days. Finally he returned to the________ in February of 1913, extremely thin, frost-bitten and exhausted-only to ________ he had missed the ship rescuing the rest of the ________ by hours. Mawson was regarded as a survivor hero. For his achievements as an explorer and scientist, he was knighted(封爵)in 1914. In addition to his other ________, Mawson edited and contributed to the 22-volume Reports of Australasian Antarctic Expeditions.

1.

A．praise

B．trust

C．worry

D．criticism

2.

A．celebrities

B．explorers

C．athletes

D．astronomers

3.

A．putting off

B．showing off

C．kicking off

D．letting off

4.

A．Wonders

B．Bonuses

C．Fortunes

D．Disasters

5.

A．took

B．fell

C．looked

D．wandered

6.

A．adjusted

B．circulated

C．infected

D．confused

7.

A．cures

B．disabilities

C．errors

D．illnesses

8.

A．remaining

B．wild

C．fierce

D．hunting

9.

A．Ultimately

B．Nevertheless

C．Temporarily

D．Meanwhile

10.

A．Discouraged

B．Relieved

C．Determined

D．Frightened

11.

A．combined

B．battled

C．contained

D．introduced

12.

A．center

B．normal

C．base

D．campus

13.

A．predict

B．discover

C．complain

D．explain

14.

A．passengers

B．witnesses

C．rescuers

D．crew

15.

A．achievements

B．references

C．services

D．subjects