要点：1．你为环境保护做了什么。
2．你的感受和收获。
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2 . Gorillas (大猩猩) in films such as King Kong and Tarzan are wildly beating their chests when under threat. Researchers have tried to find out what the behavior might mean, and they doubt that the gorillas exhibit this behavior not to start fights, but to prevent themselves — and chest-beating could be used to advertise (展示) their body size to other gorillas.
Scientists observed 25 wild male mountain gorillas for over 3,000 hours. The research team used audio (音频) equipment to record the sound frequency (频率), rate, duration, and amount of chest beats. To determine each gorilla’s size, the researchers used cameras to photogragh and measure each gorilla’s back.
Although the rate, duration, and amount of beats did not correlate (相关) with the size of the gorillas, sound frequency did , the researchers report. The team also noticed that larger gorillas produced deeper-tone chest drumming. Previous research has shown that a gorilla’s larger body size is linked to reproductive success and social rank (地位). The chest-beating could be a way for the gorillas to advertise their size to others and, in turn, avoid fights that could result in serious injury or death.
Though gorillas can obviously observe size just by getting a good look at others, the researchers suggest chest beating is copper-bottomed when trying to communicate through a thick forest. The sounds gorillas created by beating their chests are powerful enough to travel long distance through thick forests and signal others their size and fighting ability.
Animal expert Anna Nekaris says it would be interesting to see if smaller gorillas can imitate the deep tones of larger ones in future studies. Nekaris says, “For now, the researchers will continue to study chest-beating to see if the action can pass on other information, such as dominance rank (优势等级), sex, and individual identity, to nearby gorillas.”
1. What is the second paragraph mainly about according to the research?| A．Its fingdings. | B．Its method. | C．Its samples. | D．Its purpose. |
| A．To declare war on other gorillas. | B．To celebrate their victory in a fight. |
| C．To welcome their companions. | D．To frighten other gorillas away. |
| A．Scientific. | B．Interesting. | C．Reliable. | D．Skillful. |
| A．If smaller gorillas can make deep-toned chest drumming. |
| B．If gorillas’ chest-beating contains other information. |
| C．If larger gorillas are better at using their body influence. |
| D．If gorilas have other communication skills. |
| A．Health. | B．Entertainment. | C．Science. | D．Sports. |
3 . Here are several places which will surprise you.
Death Valley, California, USA
Very lively at night but completely dead during the day, this place is nothing but dry hot desert. It actually holds the record for the hottest air temperature. It has an average temperature of 46℃ but it has reached 56.7℃ in 1913 and is considered to be a current record. As the driest place in the USA, this place is actually inhabited even though less than a thousand people live there.
Kebili, Tunisia
Tunisia’s close location to the Mediterranean Sea suggests that it should be nice and cool but Kebili is a desert town which has the highest temperature recorded at 55℃. The people inhabiting the area have adjusted to tough conditions and learned to spend most of their time in the shade. Date palms are one of the key features of this place.
Wādī Halfā, Sudan
The city is located on the shores of Lake Nubia, and dust storms are a pretty common thing in the summer. With an average temperature of 41℃, it still managed to make it to 53℃ in 1967. You would think that it should be a little bit cooler for it is the most northern place in Sudan.
Dasht-e Lut Desert, Iran
It’s another uninhabited desert which is actually getting super hot. In the past 20 years, the temperatures of 70℃ have been recorded. The salt desert spreads over 200 miles and even wildlife is not that spread. The place is popular with tourists and naturalists who would like to experience extreme landscapes.
1. What can we say about Death Valley?| A．There is little rainfall in it. | B．Over 1, 000 people live there. |
| C．There is nothing but dry hot sand in it. | D．Its average temperature is 56.7℃. |
| A．Death Valley. | B．Dasht-e Lut Desert. |
| C．Wādī Halfā. | D．Kebili. |
| A．They are places suitable to settle in. |
| B．They are located close to deserts. |
| C．They are the hottest places on earth. |
| D．They are more popular with tourists than other places. |
4 . Cambodia recorded 792 rare white-shouldered ibises (白肩黑鹮) in its 2022 census (统计), an increase of 5 percent from 755 birds in a year earlier, conservationists said on Thursday.
Bou Vorsak, director of BirdLife in Cambodia, said the census, jointly conducted by the members of the Cambodian Ibis Working Group (CIWG), found 377 white-shouldered ibises at Siem Pang Wildlife Sanctuary, 326 at the Mekong Flooded Forest, and 89 at Koh Srolauv, Kulen Promtep, Lomphat, Srepok and Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuaries. “The white-shouldered ibis is one of the rarest birds in the world, with the global population of approximately 1,000 birds,” he told the journalist. “Cambodia is the largest habitat for this critically endangered species, accounting for nearly 80 percent of the global population.”
Vorsak said BirdLife in Cambodia is delighted to support this species working group to develop and implement the Cambodian ibis conservation action plan to protect the critically endangered birds from extinction.
Neth Pheaktra, secretary of state and spokesman for the Ministry of Environment, said the government thanked all conservation partners for their efforts to protect and conserve natural resources and wildlife, including white-shouldered ibises.
“The Ministry of Environment and non-governmental organization (NGO) partners will continue their efforts to provide safe habitats to wildlife through law enforcement (执行), local economic supporting, and other education campaigns to change public behavior,” he said. “The Ministry of Environment will continue to educate people to stop trapping, hunting, eating and trading wildlife.”
World Wide Fund (WWF) Cambodia country director Seng Teak congratulates the rising number of white-shouldered ibis population trends in Cambodia. “It is a positive result for the conservation and protection of the species. We stand ready to collaborate on the joint conservation action efforts to thrive for stronger survival of this rare species,” he said.
1. What can we learn from the first two paragraphs?| A．There were 755 ibises recorded in 2022. |
| B．The population of ibises has dropped by 5 percent. |
| C．The population of the white-shouldered ibis is small. |
| D．The white-shouldered ibis is the rarest bird in the world. |
| A．Arrange for. | B．Line up. | C．Take over. | D．Carry out. |
| A．Making policy to protect them. |
| B．Educating people not to do harm to them. |
| C．Forcing people to spare fields for wildlife. |
| D．Giving local residents economic supporting. |
| A．To make others join WWF. |
| B．To show how great work he had done. |
| C．To express his attitude to the conservation. |
| D．To convince people to keep the white-shouldered ibis. |
5 . What if someone told you about a kind of grass as tall as the tallest trees? A grass as strong as steel? Would you believe that person? You should, for that grass is bamboo (竹子), which has more than 1,000 uses. It is not just a material for making useful products. Young bamboo is eaten, often mixed with other vegetables.
Bamboo grows in many parts of the world. In the USA it grows in many states like Virginia and Florida. Most bamboo, however, is found in wet and warm climates, especially in Asia and on the islands of the South Pacific Ocean.
In most Asian countries, bamboo is nearly as important as rice. This unusual material is used to not only build large buildings but also make water pipes, musical instruments and paper. There are over 1,000 kinds of bamboo. No wonder the lives of nearly half the people on earth would change greatly if there were no longer any bamboo.
1. According to the text, bamboo is actually a kind of .| A．grass | B．steel | C．tree | D．vegetable |
| A．Only in Asia. | B．Only in the USA. |
| C．In wet and warm climates. | D．All over the world. |
| A．Build large buildings. | B．Make water pipes. |
| C．Make musical instruments and paper. | D．All of the above. |
| A．Over 1,000. | B．Over 800. | C．Over 600. | D．Over 400. |
6 . “It’s alarming that5 0 percent of species could go extinct in the UK in the near future,” Harvey, 18, told Rustic Pathways, “To fight the ecological crisis, we have to start restoring.” That’s why he and his friend Tom founded the organization Celtic Reptile & Amphibian to breed(培育)endangered native species as to reintroduce them back into the wild.
Harvey’ inspiration was sparked by a trip to a rewilded farm in Devon. Here famous expert Derek has successfully reintroduced beavers(海狸), previously extinct in the UK, and is also breeding wild pigs and cats.
This visit has inspired Harvey to start restoring wild animal populations. But why reptiles and amphibians? Harvey put it simply, “The fact of the matter is, they are food, especially frogs and lizards.” Reptiles and amphibians are food for birds and various other species. They are working on restoring 10 different types of species as to provide food in support of the ecosystem.
During 2020, staying at home due to the pandemic, Harvey and Tom used their weekends and evenings and sometimes all night to build a reptile facility in their backyard. They now do different tasks to better run the facility, including feeding the animals and holding meetings with wildlife biologists.
Harvey has introduced a set of guidelines of International Union for Conservation of Nature(IUCN)for reintroduction and migration. The guidelines ensure that the reintroduction is as successful as possible, based on a science-based approach.
Now Harvey is taking a gap year before his university education. He wants to get the business to a more self-sustainable level. “Although it’s a small piece of rewilding, we hope the message that Celtic Reptile & Amphibian holds is that we can rewild the world. We must rewild the world and we must do it now,” Harvey added.
1. What inspired Harvey to establish Celtue Reptile & Amphibian?| A．A successful rewilded farm. | B．The global environmental crisis. |
| C．His interest in beavers in the UK. | D．A well-known expert’s encouragement. |
| A．Many of them are close to extinction. | B．They are easier to breed than other species. |
| C．They feed on birds and many other species. | D．They play an important role in the ecosystem. |
| A．Harvey’s vision for their business. | B．The background of IUCN guidelines. |
| C．Challenges of running the organization. | D．The team’s efforts in reintroducing species. |
| A．Creative and humorous. | B．Kindhearted and modest. |
| C．Diligent and responsible. | D．Independent and cautious. |
7 . The UK’s planned ban on sales of new petrol, diesel (柴油) or hybrid (混合动力) cars could start as early as 2032, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has said. Last week, the government raised industry concern after bringing the date forward from 2040 to 2035 in order to hit zero-carbon emission targets. But Mr. Shapps told BBC Radio 5 live it would happen by 2035, “or even 2032,” adding there would be consultation.
The main car trade body had previously said the 2035 figure was “concerning”.
The government is setting out its proposals in a United Nations climate summit in November. A Department for Transport spokesperson said, “We are consulting on a range of possible dates to bring forward the end to the sale of petrol and diesel cars.”
“The proposal for this is 2035 — or earlier if a faster transition appears reasonable — as well as including hybrids for the first time.” The UK has set a target of emitting zero carbon by 2050. Experts warned that the original target date of 2040 would still leave old conventional cars on the roads 10 years later. Once the ban comes into effect, only electric cars will be available. Hybrid vehicles are now included in the proposals, which were originally announced in July 2017.
Despite this, Royal Automobile club spokesman Simon Williams said, “While the government appears to be constantly moving forward for ending the sale of new petrol, diesel and hybrid vehicles, drivers should not be worried about choosing a hybrid car now.” “They are potentially the perfect stepping stone for those who want to go electric but have concerns about range (续航), as they aren’t as expensive as a battery electric vehicle. At the moment, they give drivers the best of both worlds.”
How attached are British people to their petrol vehicles? How long until conventional cars go the way of steam engine cars and horse coaches?
1. What is the car industry's attitude towards the ban on the sale of conventional cars?| A．Ambiguous. | B．Indifferent. | C．Worried. | D．Approving. |
| A．To remove the concern of main car trade body. |
| B．To hold back the development of pure battery electric cars. |
| C．To hold a United Nations climate summit in November. |
| D．To meet the zero carbon emission target as planned. |
| A．It's still a wise choice to choose a hybrid car nowadays. |
| B．Battery electric cars should be widely used immediately. |
| C．Drivers should consider about range when choosing a car. |
| D．People should abandon petrol vehicles as soon as possible. |
| A．They will fall out of use some day. | B．They are as important as horse coaches. |
| C．They will remain as a family necessity. | D．They may increase your daily expenses. |
8 . “Best space tacos(玉米卷饼) yet,” American astronaut Megan McArthur wrote on social media Twitter on Oct 30, with a photo of her smiling from ear to ear. The taco feast celebrated the first time peppers were successfully grown on the International Space Station.
Life as an astronaut is exciting, but that doesn’t include food. Astronauts have endured packaged food for decades. “If you store packaged food for a long duration, the quality, flavor and nutritional quality decrease, the vitamins degrade,” Gioia Massa of NASA Kennedy Space Center in the US told The Guardian. Growing food in space could be crucial for astronauts on long-duration missions.
“Growing colorful vegetables in space can have long-term benefits for physical and psychological health,” said Mat Romeyn, project scientist at NASA, in a statement. The benefits of growing vegetables in space are obvious, but how are they grown?
Though astronauts have been growing plants in space for decades , cultivating edible(可食用的) food without the benefits of gravity and natural light has been difficult . A plant growth system called Veggie has been used to grow plants on the space station since 2014, according to The New York Times.
The Veggie garden is about the size of a piece of luggage and typically holds six plants. Each plant grows in a “pillow” filled with clay and fertilizer. The “pillows” are important for distributing water, nutrients and air in a healthy balance around the roots.
In the absence of gravity, plants use other environmental factors, such as light, to guide growth. LEDs above the plants produce a light suited for the plants’ growth. According to NASA, Veggie typically glows pink, which enables plants to use both blue and red wavelengths more efficiently. Other spectrums(光谱) of light, like greens, yellows or oranges, are less useful for plants.
So far, US astronauts have successfully grown 10 different crops, including lettuce and radish, on the space station since 2015, according to CNN.
1. Which word can best describe the food consumed by astronauts in space?| A．Low-nutrition | B．Tasty-flavor | C．Poor-package | D．High-calorie |
| A．The shortage of crop varieties |
| B．The objection of the International Space Station |
| C．The lack of gravity and natural light |
| D．The long-duration missions |
| A．It can hold 10 different crops for a piece of garden. |
| B．It has been used to grow plants on the space station for nearly six years. |
| C．The “pillows” can provide plants with balanced water, nutrients and air. |
| D．Blue, red and orange lights are important for the growth of plants. |
| A．Life of American Astronauts on the Space Station |
| B．Success of Planting in Space |
| C．Benefits of Growing Vegetables in Space |
| D．Varieties of crops on the Space Station |
9 . Chung Sun-hee breaks eggshells into a powder, dries and saves her coffee grounds, and cuts large vegetable offcuts into smaller pieces. Later, the 5-year-old professional translator will bury them in her backyard, in plots of earth that are given plenty of time to compost before being reused. She will plant tomatoes and corn in the resulting soil. When we lived in an apartment, I would throw away all my food waste into the shared collection containers," Chung said. “But now, I compost almost all of it."
Chung is one of a growing number of city residents who are getting into urban farming, not just to grow their own vegetables, but also as an exercise in waste reduction. “Reducing food waste and the urban farming movement are very closely linked," said Chung. Her new habits reflect a larger change that is taking place in South Korea's heavily populated capital. The country's government banned sending food to landfills in 2005 and, in 2013, also prohibited pouring liquid garbage into the sea. Today, 95 percent food waste is recycled—a remarkable progress from less than 2 percent in 1995. Seoul has managed to cut the amount of food waste produced by 400 tons per day.
Walk along any residential street in Seoul and you'll see why. On Chung’ s street residents emerge at dusk to put small yellow bags in special waste collection containers. Since 2013, South Koreans have been required by law to throw food waste in these bags, priced according to volume and costing the average four person family about $6 a month. By purchasing them from the local convenience store or supermarket, residents are effectively paying a tax on their food waste ahead. In Seoul, this tax pays for about 60 percent of the cost of collecting and processing the city's food waste.
1. What does Chung do with her food waste now?| A．She buries it in her backyard. | B．She throws it into a container. |
| C．She uses it directly to plant crops. | D．She deals with it in a recyclable way. |
| A．South Koreans are accustomed to urban farming. |
| B．Chung's habits have great impacts on people in Seoul. |
| C．South Korea has made a big success in waste reduction. |
| D．Chung has to take further action to deal with food waste. |
| A．By buying small yellow bags. | B．By giving it to tax departments. |
| C．By purchasing food from supermarkets. | D．By spending money on collection containers. |
| A．How to Reduce Food Waste | B．Why We Shouldn’t Waste Food |
| C．The Woman Composting Food Waste | D．The Country Winning the Battle on Food Waste |
Since mid-July, a large part of Henan province has seen many heavy rains, during
We are reminded how fragile we human beings are when faced
