1 . The world’s oldest known wild bird, an albatross (信天翁) named Wisdom, has returned to her nesting place in the Midway Atoll. The 68-­year­-old bird has just laid another egg.

The Midway Atoll is made of two small islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is an important place for albatrosses, and an important place for scientists who want to study them. One of the ways scientists can study birds is by banding (给……戴环志) them. Putting a small numbered band on the leg of a bird, helps scientists tell which bird is which. This makes it easier to keep track of what happens among the birds. Over 250,000 albatrosses have been banded on Midway since 1936.

Wisdom was first banded by scientist Chandler Robbins in 1956, along with thousands of other albatrosses. At the time, she was at least 5 years old. Wisdom carried Robbins’ band around the world for many years. Then, surprisingly, the scientist and the bird were reunited in 2002, when Robbins returned to Midway to research albatrosses again. He rebanded Wisdom and, checking the band records, discovered he had been the first one to put a band on her — 46 years before.

Wisdom was using the same nesting place. Adult albatrosses spend a lot of their lives flying over the sea, resting from time to time on the water to eat. But they return to the same nesting place every year. When albatrosses choose a partner (配偶), they remain partners for life. But Wisdom has been alive so long that she has had a few partners.

Wisdom is not just old, she is also active. Because it takes so much time and energy for parent albatrosses to raise a chick — it takes about seven months until it can fly — many albatrosses lay eggs every other year. But Wisdom has laid an egg every single year since 2006. Because Wisdom has been laying eggs for so long, she could have her chicks and the chicks of her chicks all around her. There may soon be one more to add to the list.

1. What does the author want to do in Paragraph 2?

A．Use an example to support the topic.

B．Offer some background information.

C．Give an explanation for what happened.

D．Attract the readers’ interest in the topic.

2. What is Paragraph 3 mainly about?

A．How albatrosses are banded.

B．How biologists study albatrosses.

C．The life of Wisdom since she was banded.

D．The connection between Wisdom and a scientist.

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

A．Wisdom.	B．Wisdom’s chick.
C．A baby albatross.	D．A parent albatross.

4. How is Wisdom different from ordinary albatrosses?

A．She lays an egg every year.

B．She uses different nesting spots.

C．She changes partners very often.

D．She has been banded several times.

2 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容(1个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。

In India, a lot of elephants aren’t wild. Instead, they are domesticated (驯养的). They aren’t kept as pets,     1     as working animals. Every working elephant has its own keeper. An elephant and its keeper meet for the first time when they are both young.     2     (develop) a strong and lasting relationship, the elephant and its keeper grow up together. In fact,     3     (they) relationship continues for the rest of the elephant’s life — perhaps 40 years. Lots of elephants work in the forest,     4     (move) heavy trees after they are cut down. Some give rides to tourists, or carry people during     5     (celebrate) and festivals. Keepers try to take good care of their elephants, feeding them well and giving them     6     bath at the end of the working day.

Another animal     7     is treated in a special way in India is the cow. Cows are     8     (protect) animals, so they aren’t kept on farms or killed     9     food, although people do use their milk. So in India you can often see cows walking around in a town or city, and nobody tries to control them. If they sit down in the middle of the road, people     10     (usual) try to keep away from them. Do you think it’s interesting?

3 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。1.

A．How to handle spiders.

B．Spiders in the United States.

C．People’s fear of spiders.

D．A special kind of spider.

2.

A．Most spiders will not bite even when handled.

B．Most spiders are poisonous and dangerous.

C．Most spiders are likely to attack people.

D．Most spiders have sharp eyes.

3.

A．Because she cannot find a husband for herself.

B．Because the female spider is larger than the male one.

C．Because the female spider often eats her husband.

D．Because she is a black female spider.

4 . 语法填空

People     1    (use) to the idea of     2     (age) in ourselves are so accustomed to this that it makes us     3     (surprise) to find that there may be some animals     4     (observe) that do not age. Sea anemones (海葵) are an example     5     (experiment).     6     (keep) for nearly a century, some of them don’t show any signs of lifelessness. Some kinds of sea worms can even “grow backwards”. If kept in the dark and     7     (give) nothing to eat, they get steadily smaller. They finally end as a ball of cells     8     (look) rather like the egg from which they came. Under     9     (give) conditions, the ball will turn back to a worm and start growing again. One could probably keep them     10     (grow) and not growing again and again.

5 . 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。

When I adopted him, he had been rescued from death inside a tightly tied black trash bag abandoned right beside a garbage truck on the road. An alert garbage man noticed the bag moving and used a metal rake (耙子) to tear open the bag to look inside. There was my shaking puppy dog. The rake damaged the nerves in his back so he limped a little, but he could run as fast as lightning.

For my dog’s first birthday, I entered him in a fun run sponsored by our local Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). I’m not much of a runner, but the run was only 3 kilometers, so I thought it would be fun for both of us.

We practiced for weeks. On our practice runs, he was always eager to go and usually dragged me along behind him. I worked on his leash (拴狗链) manners so that he wouldn’t trip me on the big day. I felt we were ready for anything.

The fun run was downtown among the big buildings, so the noise of barking dogs all around us rose to a deafening pitch at the start of the race. My dog was frightened when the starting tone went off. He had trouble running in the right direction with all the confusion around us. Soon the runners began to thin out, and my dog was running straight and fast. We were passing people and making great time. I was dreaming of a gold-medal finish.

However, when we were six blocks from the finish, my dog suddenly stopped and dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes. I almost dislocated my shoulder from the sudden stop as I was pulled backward by the leash.

He was lying flat on his belly with his head down in the middle of the crossroads. At first I thought something bad had happened to him. He was shaking and sobbing. I did a quick check and couldn’t see anything wrong. I tried to get him up, but he refused. The police officer doing traffic control impatiently signed me to move away so he could release the cars.

注意：
1.续写词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
But I couldn’t get my seventy-five-pound dog to get up.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Another half-block of carrying him brought the answer—a moving garbage truck.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6 . 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。

In Fujian province, over 3,000 Tulou scatter (散落) in the mountains, more than any other province in China. Some of them are circular, while others are rectangular (方形的). They also vary     1     size and height.

A Tulou usually has 3 to 5 floors, covering     2     area of around 5,000 square meters. A Tulou can accommodate hundreds of people, who live and work together,     3     (share) the public areas, as well as the public     4     (facility) such as the well and the stairs. So, a Tulou     5     (function) as a village unit. It brings unity to all the villagers, passing down the traditional culture.

The     6     (early) Tulou was built in the 13th century, when the Hakka people moved to Fujian during the war.     7     (settle) here permanently, the Hakka people built the Tulou based on the local geographical environment, for both living and defense purposes. Featuring mud walls     8     are over one meter thick, a specially-designed entrance, high windows and secret tunnels (地道), the Tulou can defend against enemies effectively.

In 2008, the Fujian Tulou were on the UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Nowadays, the Tulou are no longer defensive buildings,     9     they still reflect the ideas of harmony and cooperation while living together.

When you get a chance, why not visit Fujian Tulou and take a look at these     10     (impress) earthen buildings?

7 . Making a family

For years, Dad had avoided getting a dog. Whenever the _________ came up, Dad complained, “Dogs are a pain. I don’t want to be _________.”   Despite his strong opposition, Mom brought home a puppy named Chip, a cute ball that _________ us all.

For me, at age thirteen, Chip brought out my _________ side. I fed, brushed and walked him every day. I also learned that when we take care of what is important to us, we _________ the benefits. And this _________ stayed with me as I grew. At that time, Chip meant a loyal (忠诚的) companion, someone to _________ me at the door when I returned, and someone to kiss my face when I was sad.

Chip even _________ Dad. It was nearly a month before Chip’s _________ personality won him over. Dad was the first to __________ him to sit on the sofa. He even made chew toys for Chip to play with.

Most __________, Chip brought us together as a family. After dinner, instead of escaping to our bedrooms as before, we all __________ Chip into the family room. We’d teach him new __________ or perfect his old ones. We’d recall stories of the cute things he’d done that day. The key is that we’d do this together.

People sometimes complain that dog lovers are __________ humanity; rather, their pets stimulate the __________ of their humanity.

1.

A．topic

B．news

C．problem

D．doubt

2.

A．replaced

B．destroyed

C．bothered

D．controlled

3.

A．defeated

B．challenged

C．discouraged

D．transformed

4.

A．awkward

B．responsible

C．generous

D．creative

5.

A．harvest

B．desire

C．ignore

D．realize

6.

A．lesson

B．habit

C．custom

D．routine

7.

A．seek

B．greet

C．hide

D．assist

8.

A．feared

B．softened

C．admired

D．strengthened

9.

A．adorable

B．strong

C．aggressive

D．naughty

10.

A．persuade

B．forbid

C．allow

D．order

11.

A．necessarily

B．exactly

C．importantly

D．entirely

12.

A．drove

B．dragged

C．followed

D．pushed

13.

A．languages

B．tricks

C．subjects

D．styles

14.

A．satisfying

B．inspiring

C．changing

D．abandoning

15.

A．weakness

B．theory

C．darkness

D．beauty

8 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in each blank with a proper word given in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. applications	B. connections	C. emotions	D. identify	E. intervene	F. notifications
G. sacred	H. shared	I. specialize	J. stressed	K. technological

Animal Communication

Many pet owners long to talk with their animals. After all, if pets were able to talk, people could take care of them more easily and have closer emotional     1     to them, so a number of companies are working on devices and apps that could translate what animals say.

One such app is called MeowTalk. Using voice recognition software, this app recognizes different sounds a cat makes and offers English translations of them. For example, one type of sound might mean “feed me” while another could be translated “let me outside.” The app can use machine learning to assess its translations and improve at recognizing one particular cat’s voice. In other words, it can     2     in understanding your cat in particular. This is important because cats do not all have a(n)     3     language, but individual cats frequently use particular sounds to mean certain things.

In the future, MeowTalk could connect to a smart collar that would hear the cat meow and play the translation out loud. Perhaps if the cat is outside and needs to be let in, it could even send     4     to the owner’s phone.

For dogs, a Japanese company called Inupathy has developed a harness (保护带) with a heart rate monitor and an app. The heart rate monitor is used to assess a dog’s     5    . This is possible because, like humans, dogs’ heart rates go up when they are excited or     6    . The harness also has a light that turns red when the dog is excited, but when the dog is relaxed, the light is blue.

The most obvious use of this technology is to help pet owners     7     with and provide for their pets better. The more owners know about their pets, the easier it is to meet their needs.

There are other     8     of technology that help us understand animals. For example, some sheep farmers are using artificial intelligence to scan and determine if they are in pain, which helps them find out sick animals. As a result, they can     9     more quickly to treat the animal.

Anyone who interacts regularly with animals could benefit from understanding their animals better. Thus these     10     developments might transform the way we interact with the creatures around us.

9 . We humans have always been obsessed with reaching higher, building taller, and touching the sky. In effect, we have been building towers and buildings each taller than the other. Today, we will look at four of the tallest buildings in the world.

Burj Khalifa

Since it opened on January 4, 2010, the Burj Khalifa has been the tallest building in the world. The United Arab Emirates broke world records in the 21st century for building a needle-like, 162 story skyscraper in Dubai. A public observation deck called “At the Top” is located on the 124th floor. The top floor is home to a private VIP club, closed to anyone except members.

Taipei 101

Featured in many videos, the tallest building in Taipei, China, is famous for its unique shape and awesome fireworks display every year. It houses lots of hotels, offices, apartments, and an observatory deck. There’s an outdoor round observatory square on the 91st floor of the building, at 392m above the ground, it’s now the third highest open-air observation deck in the world.

Shanghai World Financial Centre

The Shanghai World Financial Centre, is a soaring glass skyscraper with a distinctive opening at the top in Pudong District, Shanghai, China. The construction of this building began in 1997, but due to the crisis in Southeast Asia, it temporarily halted and resumed in 2003. Its final height is 492 metres and has 101 floors.

International Commerce Centre (ICC)

The ICC building, completed in 2010 in West Kowloon, is the tallest building in Hong Kong, China, and one of the world’s tallest skyscrapers at 484 metres. Original plans were for an even taller building, but zoning laws prohibited the construction of buildings higher than the surrounding mountains. The design of the skyscraper was revised (修改) and plans for a pyramidal-shaped top were abandoned.

1. What do Burj Khalifa and Taipei 101 have in common?

A．They have observatory decks.

B．They are open for half a day.

C．They are famous for their unique shapes.

D．They have the same number of floors.

2. Which building is shorter than was designed to be?

A．Shanghai World Financial Centre.

B．Burj Khalifa.

C．International Commerce Centre.

D．Taipei 101.

3. According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．There’s an outdoor round observatory square on the 92nd floor of Taipei 101.

B．The top of ICC building is the shape of pyramid.

C．It took longer time than expected to finish Shanghai World Financial Centre.

D．Everyone can visit the top floor of Burj Khalifa.

10 . A new study led by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School has found that climate-impact labeling on a sample fast food menu significantly influenced people’s food choices in favor of more climate-friendly items, such as vegetarian diet, chicken, or fish dishes.

The researchers enrolled over 5,000 online participants and presented them a sample menu resembling a fast food menu and asked them to choose a single item for a meal. While one group of participants received a menu with non-red meat items like salads or chicken sandwiches labeled “low climate impact”, another one received a menu with red meat items, such as beef burgers, labeled “high climate impact.” Finally, a third control group received a menu with QR codes on all items but no climate labels.

The analysis revealed that both the high and low climate-impact labels significantly reduced red meat selections compared to the control group. The high climate-impact labels had a strong effect, increasing non-beef choices by 23 percent compared to just 10 percent in the case of menus including low climate-impact labels.

“These results suggest that menu labeling, particularly labels warning that an item has high climate impact, can be an effective strategy for encouraging more sustainable food choices in a fast food setting,” said the study lead author Julia Wolfson, an associate professor in the Department of International Heath at the Bloomberg School.

Besides, participants were also asked to rate how healthy they believed the item they ordered was, and those who selected a more sustainable item perceived their choice to be healthier compared to those who selected a red meat item.

Since red meat consumption has been linked to a variety of health issues, including colorectal (结肠的) cancer and type 2 diabetes (糖尿病), the type of climate-impact labeling could prove highly effective in preventing illness. However, as the researchers warn, climate-impact labels may also have the unwanted side effect of making a choice seem healthier than it actually is.

“We look for labeling strategies that create ‘win-wins’ for promoting both more sustainable and healthier choices,” Wolfson concluded.

1. What is the finding of the study?

A．Red meat consumption is closely linked to climate labeling.

B．Climate-impact labels are gaining popularity worldwide.

C．Climate-impact labeling influences people’s food selection.

D．Menu labeling contributes to less sustainable food choices.

2. How did the researchers conduct the research?

A．By citing examples.

B．By group experimenting.

C．By providing explanations.

D．By analyzing cause and effect.

3. What does the underlined word “perceived” mean in Paragraph 5?

A．Detected.

B．Required.

C．Urged.

D．Considered.

4. What’s the researchers’ attitude towards climate-impact labeling?

A．Skeptical.

B．Objective.

C．Tolerant.

D．Conservative.