1 . Don't undervalue the Rio pearlfish, which is roughly 3 inches long and ages quickly with a very short life cycle. This fish can produce eggs that can survive being completely dry for months at a time. That’s the reason Michigan State University scientists have sequenced (排序) the first complete genome (基因组) of the fish. With that genome, researchers can better understand the species' survival skills.

The team also captured the full 3-D structure of the genome, which helps show how and when genes turn on and interact with each other. All of this new information strengthens the Rio pearlfish's potential as a model organism that can further the understanding of human health.

Rio pearlfish are a type of fish that live in pools that form in and around Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, during the region's two rainy seasons. Those are followed by dry seasons that run from February to March and July into August when the pools dry up and the grown pearlfish populations are wiped out. Their eggs, however, survive such unfavorable conditions.

The eggs' adaptation to dry conditions offers practical advantages for establishing them as a model organism. The dried-out eggs are exceptionally hardy, making them easy to store and transport.

On the other hand, their survival mechanism has made Rio pearlfish perfectly suited for exactly one environment under growing stress. Longer wet or dry seasons can threaten generations of fish and, as the city of Riode Janeiro expands, the pools where these fish live disappear. This provides researchers with another important reason to'raise these fish. “They can't stay in dry seasons forever,” Thompson said. “If their habitats get destroyed or permanently flooded, they could go extinct.”

1. Why did researchers sequence the genome of the Rio pearlfish?

A．To change their genes.	B．To extend their lifetime.
C．To learn how they go through dry seasons.	D．To look for a cure for human disease.

2. What does the underlined phrase “wiped out” in paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Removed.

B．Killed.

C．Ruined.

D．Consumed.

3. What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A．The natural habitat of the Rio pearlfish is being threatened.

B．Stress prevents the Rio pearlfish from growing well.

C．The Rio pearlfish only live in mild climates.

D．The Rio pearlfish will die out very soon.

4. Where is the passage most likely to have been taken from?

A．An official report.	B．A realistic novel.
C．A scientific magazine.	D．A tourist guidebook.

2 . While facial recognition technology continues to promote many aspects of human life, it's now being applied to aid the protection of giant pandas, Xinhua News Agency reported on 6 January 2022.

A nature reserve has built an AI-enabled video monitoring system to better protect giant pandas. Installed with 300 infrared (红外线) cameras, the monitoring system helps ensure the health and safety of 110 wild giant pandas there. It was put into operation two years ago, and has captured numerous photos and videos of pandas engaged in activities such as eating, resting and fighting for mates. It provides scientific data to help us grasp pandas’ living conditions and establish conservation strategies. More importantly, it achieves real-time monitoring of the reserve so that we can discern the threats to the wildlife as early as possible.

A recent study found the facial recognition system can automatically recognize various wild animals caught in infrared cameras, allowing researchers to collect data on giant pandas while staying indoors. It's shown that by equipping the AI-aided system to retain the filed photos of giant pandas, we obtain a 98% success rate for species recognition. Its success rate of recognizing other wild animals can top 80%. In 2021 alone, this monitoring system captured 2, 896 photos of giant pandas and other rare animals and filmed 3,218 seconds of footage, showcasing the reserve's sound ecological environment as well as a gradual rise in panda population there.

Head of the reserve's administration, Liu Xingming, said researchers used the system not only to observe the dynamics and health of the giant panda population but also to learn about changes in the natural surroundings of their habitat. “The monitoring system has enabled systematic, scientific, and intelligent conservation of wildlife,” he added. “However, it is expected to be further improved and optimized in the near future.”

1. What does the underlined word “discern” mean in paragraph 2?

A．Solve.

B．Pose.

C．Attach.

D．Detect.

2. What can be inferred about the new technology from the study?

A．It precisely recognizes any species.	B．It makes panda population rise rapidly.
C．It contributes to species data collection.	D．It understands pandas' facial appearance.

3. What is Liu Xingming's attitude to the facial recognition monitoring system?

A．Critical.	B．Objective.
C．Ambiguous.	D．Conservative.

4. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．Panda Facial Recognition Using Database

B．Functions of Facial Recognition Technology

C．AI Technology for Better Panda Protection

D．A Breakthrough in Video Monitoring System

3 . The Malaysian state of Sabah on the island of Borneo is a ________ for tree-climbers. It is home to some of the world’s tallest tropical trees. It has also proved to be the treasure for scientist as they have already ________ lots of towering yellow meranti trees (a kind of tree), finding a tree with a record ________ each year.

Just recently, scientists ________ a golden find-the world’s tallest tropical tree to date. It was found, ________ on the island of Borneo, in a grove of yellow meranti trees. The method that scientists used to ________ this tree to prove its height was surprisingly ________ .

In 2018, scientists used laser imagery from airplane to ________ the cluster of huge trees, by creating 3-D images of the forest canopy and spotting any extremely tall growth. Subsequently, drones (遥控飞机) were flown over the site of the yellow meranti trees to double ________ the presence of the probably tallest tree. However, after finding the tree, they go ________ !

Bringing just a tape measure (卷尺) and climbing equipment, an ________ climber is sent up to the very top of the 100-meter tree to accurately ________ the height of the tree, nicknamed “Menara” which is Malay for “tower” . This Malaysian climber Unding Jami ________ one of the world’s tallest standing trees on January 6, 2019. Slowly, but ________ ,Unding Jami and his fellow climbers ________ the highest point of the tree and assured the tree to be about 100.8 meters!

In an interview, Jami talked about his ________ to the top of the tree. When asked about how he felt at the ________ , Jim replied, “I was scared but honestly the ________ from the top was unbelievable. I don’t know what to say other than it was very, very, very amazing! After we had measured it, I couldn’t ________ for the whole night.” Let’s hope we will continue to preserve the ________ of this world for as long as we can.

1.

A．shelter

B．hell

C．paradise

D．nightmare

2.

A．researched

B．designed

C．planted

D．discovered

3.

A．width

B．height

C．length

D．depth

4.

A．came across

B．led to

C．set aside

D．left out

5.

A．unsurprisingly

B．unhappily

C．unbelievably

D．unfortunately

6.

A．remove

B．transport

C．measure

D．surround

7.

A．modern

B．unusual

C．effective

D．strange

8.

A．clean

B．cut

C．plant

D．spot

9.

A．assess

B．arrange

C．check

D．identity

10.

A．traditional

B．crazy

C．ridiculous

D．awkward

11.

A．educated

B．experienced

C．admired

D．approved

12.

A．draw

B．prevent

C．put

D．prove

13.

A．decorated

B．climbed

C．trimmed

D．protected

14.

A．easily

B．fearfully

C．surely

D．clumsily

15.

A．reached

B．observed

C．calculated

D．judged

16.

A．arrival

B．approach

C．flight

D．journey

17.

A．top

B．distance

C．middle

D．bottom

18.

A．sunshine

B．air

C．wind

D．view

19.

A．work

B．sleep

C．lie

D．eat

20.

A．habitats

B．heritages

C．wonders

D．resources

4 . 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。

Who owns a photo taken by a monkey? That may seem like a strange question. But photographer David Slater and an animal rights group argued about it for nearly two years. They finally reached an     1     (agree) in September.

In 2011, Slater photographed endangered monkeys     2     (call) crested black macaques (黑冠猕猴) in Indonesia. Slater also set up a camera on a tripod (三脚架),     3     (hope) the monkeys would take photos of themselves.

His plan worked. One of the photos became famous after it     4     (post) online. Slater also included the monkey selfie (自拍照) in a book he published in 2014 titled Wildlife Personalities.

But the following year, the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) charged Slater. The group declared that Slater couldn’t publish and sell the photo because he didn’t take     5    . PETA argued that the monkey that took the picture was     6     (actual) its true owner.

The two sides made     7     deal in September. Slater     8     (donate) 25 percent of the money he makes     9     future sales of the photo to groups that protect crested black macaques in Indonesia. Slater says he is happy to help the monkeys,     10     was his intention from the start.

5 . University of Colorado Boulder researchers have developed a new tool that could lead to more efficient and cheaper technologies for capturing (捕获) heat-trapping gases from the atmosphere and turning them into beneficial substances, like fuel or building materials, meanwhile limiting global warming and avoiding disastrous impacts of global climate change.

The tool predicts how strong the bond will be between carbon dioxide and the molecule (分子) that traps it. It allows researchers to identify suitable molecular candidates to capture carbon dioxide from everyday air.

The goal of carbon capture and storage technology is to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it safely for thousands of years. But while it has been in use in the USA since the 1970s, it currently captures and stores a mere 0.1% of global carbon emission (排放) annually. To help meet the goal of carbon emission laid out by the IPCC, carbon capture and storage would have to rapidly increase in scale by 2050.

Current industrial facilities around the world rely on capturing carbon dioxide from a concentrated source, such as emissions from power plants. While these methods can bind (凝结) a lot of carbon dioxide quickly and efficiently using large amounts of certain chemical binders, they are also extraordinarily energy- intensive. This method is also quite expensive at scale to take carbon dioxide and turn it into something else useful, such as carbonates, according to Luca, fellow-elect of the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute (RASEI). Using the tool would free carbon capture facilities from being tied to concentrated source, allowing them to exist almost anywhere.

Being able to easily estimate the strength of chemical bonds also enables researchers to identify which binders will be best suited and offer a cheaper alternative to the traditional method for capturing and converting carbon into materials or fuel according to Haley Petersen, co-lead author of the study.

1. What can the new tool be used to do?

A．Stop climate change.	B．Capture oxygen from air.
C．Help deal with climatic issues.	D．Divide the molecule of carbon.

2. What does the underlined word “it” in paragraph 3 refer to?

A．The atmosphere.	B．The material from carbon.
C．The goal of carbon emission.	D．The carbon capture and storage technology.

3. What does paragraph 4 mainly talk about the traditional method?

A．Its disadvantages.	B．Its functions.
C．Its working principle.	D．Its practical application.

4. In which section of a newspaper can the text be found?

A．Art.

B．Science.

C．Fashion.

D．Culture.

6 . Ada Smith, chairwoman of a non-profit organization Protect the Earth, wore green for a special event with school children in New York on Wednesday. The 40-year-old woman stood against the cool weather in a long green coat that has been in her wardrobe (衣柜) for years.

She wore the coat for the first time in 2019 during her husband Bill Smith’s tour to a national environmental conference, and she put on it again in her classic sustainable (可持续的) style. Ada’s recycled outfit was perfect for the occasion, all about the environment.

Ada and Bill headed to the Central Park, where they spent time brainstorming ideas with students on how to deal with environmental issues. Ada said, “Education is such an important part of protecting our planet. We must inspire the next generation with the optimism, confidence and enthusiasm to chase those solutions and continue building a more sustainable future.”

Ada and Bill helped the students generate more than 60 ideas to help the environment. Ada said, “Young children already identify the climate as one of their biggest worries, and our organization aims to educate them that we can find the answers by working together.”

Their visit came ahead of an award ceremony, in which five winners will be announced in the first round of the environmental prize pioneered by Ada. Ada and Bill will appear at the ceremony on the next weekend, when they will walk the “green carpet” with activists committed to environmental causes.

Though their time with the children was part of a larger initiative, environmentalist Steve Johnson said, “They didn’t come there for a photo, but to sit, talk to and listen to kids. It is from the heart and people get that.”

1. Why did Ada wear green?

A．To show a different dressing style.	B．To make herself more attractive.
C．To make herself match the event.	D．To fight against the cool weather.

2. What is the key to protecting the earth according to Ada?

A．Teaching young children to participate in it.

B．Asking young children to study together.

C．Building the confidence of the next generation.

D．Inspiring more students to wear green clothes.

3. What will Ada and Bill do on the next weekend?

A．Go to visit some students.	B．Attend an award ceremony.
C．Set up a non- profit organization.	D．Receive an environmental prize.

4. What did Steve think of Ada and Bill’s action?

A．It’s costly.

B．It’s suspect.

C．It’s interesting.

D．It’s genuine.

7 . Elephants are the only living land animals to have a long, boneless trunk, says Andrew Schulz,a mechanical engineer. Up until now, detailed knowledge of what happens inside that trunk during feeding has been extremely lacking. So Schulz and his colleagues worked with zookeepers at Zoo Atlanta to study it.

The study finds that an elephant’s trunk can suck up three liters of water in a second, a surprising rate of flow equal to about 24 shower heads, reports Katherine J. Wu for The Atlantic. Moving that much water so quickly requires inhaling (吸入) air at 330 miles per hour. That's 30 times faster than a human sneeze.

To do research on the trunk, researchers took high-speed video of a then 34-year-old African elephant named Kelly at Zoo Atlanta and assessed her long nose's suction capabilities (自吸能力).

In another experiment, the team measured the internal volume of a similar-sized, 38-year-old African elephant’s trunk. They found Kelly s impressive inhalation exceeded (超过) the volume of water they expected. To investigate further, the team used ultrasound to see what was happening inside an elephant’s trunk while it was sucking up water. This revealed that the trunk actually expanded its total volume by up to 64 percent.

Another test shows elephants’ ability to decide how to their trunk depends on what they’re trying to achieve. “An elephant’s trunk is useful in just about any situation. It’s like a multitool, ” Schulz says. “So an elephant's trunk is actually like a trunk. ” This research shows how effectively the trunk allows the elephant to move both air and water to help hold different objects.

According to The Atlantic, Schulz’s next move is to try to create a complete map of the internal structure of an elephant’s trunk in hopes of revealing more of the mechanisms (机制) behind its many uses.

1. Why did Schulz and his colleagues study elephants’ trunks?

A．To better feed elephants.

B．To help zookeepers train elephants.

C．To figure out their inner mechanism.

D．To know why they are boneless.

2. What can be learned about an elephant’s trunk in Paragraph 2?

A．It sucks up water at a very high speed.

B．It usually functions as a shower head.

C．It can suck 3 liters of water each time.

D．It inhales 30 times more air than a human sneeze.

3. What do we know about Kelly?

A．She could suck less water than expected.

B．She was a 34-year-old African elephant in the wild.

C．Her trunk expanded its volume when sucking water.

D．Her trunk was larger than the 38-year-old elephant's.

4. What might affect the suction capabilities of an elephant’s trunk?

A．The body size of the elephant.

B．The purpose of using the trunk.

C．The length of the trunk.

D．The physical condition of the elephant.

8 . California’s Pacific Grove Monarch Sanctuary(保护区) didn’t have a single monarch butterfly(帝王蝶) sighting last year, so no one knew what to expect for this year’s migration(迁徙). The pleasant surprise, according to SFGate :“The butterflies are back in town”, more than 13,700 of them , per the sanctuary’s count as of November 20,2021.What’s more , the high point of the overwintering season —which runs from October through February—is not even set to hit for several more weeks.

The butterflies typically head west from the Rocky Mountains each year to spend the winter along the Pacific coast; on the other side of the country , butterflies from the East Coast and Canada head to Mexico before the cold weather hits. The population decline(下降)over the years has been noticeable : For example , between 4 million and 10 million butterflies spent the winter in the Golden State in the 1980s, though by the late 1990s that number fell to just over 1 million. By 20I8, the butterflies numbered about 30,000, and last year , there were only about 2,000 seen across the California coast.

Researchers believe different factors have led to the butterflies’ population decline over the years, including climate change, use of pesticides, and loss of living space. And recent Wildfires in California have exacerbated the situation. Scientists say the public can help by planting milkweed ( the butterflies lay their eggs on the plant and their young feed on it; cutting down on pesticide use; and helping observe them.

Still , even though last year’s numbers were worrying, some experts say it may not be as terrible as it seems. David James, an entomologist at Washington State University, tells SFGate that the butterflies seem to be adaptable(能适应的), based on a recent study he led, and that he’s “ confident ” they’ll avoid extinction. Xerces Society conservation biologist Emma Pelton agrees, saying that “ We can make a difference. There is still time to act. ”

1. What did SFGate find surprising about the butterflies ?

A．Their growing number.	B．The time when they migrate.
C．The places they head to.	D．Their shorter overwintering period.

2. What do the numbers in paragraph 2 show ?

A．The butterflies prefer heading to Mexico.

B．The population of the butterflies has fallen for years.

C．The living space of the butterflies has been badly damaged.

D．The butterflies have difficulty adapting to new environments.

3. What does the underlined word “ exacerbated " in paragraph 3 mean?

A．Worsened.

B．Covered.

C．Changed.

D．Saved.

4. What did David James think of the butterflies ?

A．They are too weak to migrate far.

B．They will be widely protected soon.

C．They can avoid the danger of extinction.

D．They make him worry about our Earth’s future.

9 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入一个单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Climate change is a familiar topic to us for decades. There is little doubt     1     Earth is getting warmer and warmer. A lot of evidence     2     (indicate) a dramatic change in the global climate.

The increase in temperature has     3     impact on Earth’s ecology. In 2013, a news photo of a dead polar bear which     4     (find) on Norway’s Arctic island of Svalbard made a lot of people     5     (shock). In addition, there is strong and comprehensive evidence that the rise in temperature has led to an increase in extreme weather and natural disasters worldwide,     6     (cause) great loss of life and property. Climate scientists have warned that this warming trend will probably continue and there will be a     7     (high) price to pay, if we do not take appropriate actions.

“Greenhouse effect” is a key factor in clime change. Continued greenhouse gas emissions will result     8     further warming and long-lasting changes to the global climate. Governments should make     9     (policy) and take appropriate actions and measures. Individuals can reduce our “carbon footprint” by restricting the amount of carbon dioxide our lifestyles produce. It is our responsibility to seize every opportunity     10     (educate) everyone about global warming.

10 . Interesting Space Facts

As time goes by, technological advancements have made us learn more facts about space in the past century than in all time before that. We’ve already searched the universe for the most amazing space facts, including facts about the planets in our solar system, moons, the Milky Way and beyond!     1    

The highest mountain discovered is the Olympus Mons, which is located on Mars. It is 16 miles high, making it nearly 3 times higher than Mount Everest.    2     That’s the size of Arizona !

The sun weighs about 330,000 times more than Earth.    3     In fact, the sun is so huge that it contains 99.85% of all mass in our solar system.

Footprints left on the moon won’t disappear as there is no wind. But wait a minute.

    4     Well, it actually wasn’t blowing. That blowing you see is because of a telescopic horizontal rod (望远镜水平杆) that the astronauts were struggling to remove from the flag’s top.

    5     This is due to the lack of gravity in space causing the vertebrae (椎骨) to expand a little. However, this extra height is lost when they re-enter the earth’s atmosphere and are affected by the earth’s gravity again.

A．We’re pretty sure they will make you interested!

B．New discoveries will no longer be made in the future.

C．It is so large that it can contain about 1,300,000 Earths!

D．Not only is it tall, but it’s 114,000 square meters as well.

E．All these space facts may not be true at the time of writing.

F．Astronauts can grow about two inches in height when in space.

G．If there’s no wind to blow them away, then why is the flag blowing?