1 . In 2013, my husband Robin took a new job in Ghana. We relocated from London, where I worked as a photographer, to the capital, Accra.Robin worked,but my visa didn’t permit me to, and I was left homesick and lacking
In September 2018,after one bad thunderstorm,I found a bird,barely a month old,on the ground. He was
For the next 84 days, the
| A．purpose | B．interest | C．experience | D．confidence |
| A．family | B．sports | C．nature | D．school |
| A．grateful | B．alive | C．stressed | D．scared |
| A．envied | B．controlled | C．recognized | D．abandoned |
| A．survive | B．fight | C．escape | D．play |
| A．go with | B．care for | C．focus on | D．speak about |
| A．travel | B．stay | C．wild | D．change |
| A．rare | B．lazy | C．proud | D．tiny |
| A．noises | B．dances | C．flights | D．stops |
| A．kindly | B．cheerfully | C．once | D．never |
| A．remind | B．promise | C．cheat | D．motivate |
| A．attracted | B．honored | C．shocked | D．rewarded |
| A．high | B．strong | C．smart | D．calm |
| A．Raising | B．Tolerating | C．Evaluating | D．Amusing |
| A．secret | B．message | C．news | D．lesson |
2 . By the end of the century, if not sooner, the world’s oceans will be bluer and greener thanks to a warming climate, according to a new study.
At the heart of the phenomenon lie tiny marine microorganisms(海洋微生物) called phytoplankton. Because of the way light reflects off the organisms, these phytoplankton create colourful patterns at the ocean surface. Ocean colour varies from green to blue, depending on the type and concentration of phytoplankton. Climate change will fuel the growth of phytoplankton in some areas, while reducing it in other spots, leading to changes in the ocean’s appearance.
Phytoplankton live at the ocean surface, where they pull carbon dioxide(二氧化碳) into the ocean while giving off oxygen. When these organisms die, they bury carbon in the deep ocean, an important process that helps to regulate the global climate. But phytoplankton are vulnerable to the ocean’s warming trend. Warming changes key characteristics of the ocean and can affect phytoplankton growth, since they need not only sunlight and carbon dioxide to grow, but also nutrients.
Stephanie Dutkiewicz, a scientist in MIT’s Center for Global Change Science, built a climate model that projects changes to the oceans throughout the century. In a world that warms up by 3℃, it found that multiple changes to the colour of the oceans would occur. The model projects that currently blue areas with little phytoplankton could become even bluer. But in some waters, such as those of the Arctic, a warming will make conditions riper for phytoplankton, and these areas will turn greener. “Not only are the quantities of phytoplankton in the ocean changing. ” she said, “but the type of phytoplankton is changing.”
And why does that matter? Phytoplankton are the base of the food web. If certain kinds begin to disappear from the ocean, Dutkiewicz said, “it will change the type of fish that will be able to survive.” Those kinds of changes could affect the food chain.
Whatever colour changes the ocean experiences in the coming decades will probably be too gradual and unnoticeable, but they could mean significant changes. “It’ll be a while before we can statistically show that the changes are happening because of climate change,” Dutkiewicz said, “but the change in the colour of the ocean will be one of the early warning signals that we really have changed our planet.”
1. What are the first two paragraphs mainly about?| A．The various patterns at the ocean surface. |
| B．The cause of the changes in ocean colour. |
| C．The way light reflects off marine organisms. |
| D．The efforts to fuel the growth of phytoplankton. |
| A．Sensitive. | B．Beneficial. | C．Significant. | D．Unnoticeable. |
| A．Phytoplankton play a declining role in the marine ecosystem. |
| B．Dutkiewicz’s model aims to project phytoplankton changes. |
| C．Phytoplankton have been used to control global climate. |
| D．Oceans with more phytoplankton may appear greener. |
| A．To assess the consequences of ocean colour changes. |
| B．To analyse the composition of the ocean food chain. |
| C．To explain the effects of climate change on oceans. |
| D．To introduce a new method to study phytoplankton. |
3 . Scientists at MIT have managed to change ordinary spinach (菠菜) plants into natural sensors which can find chemicals used in bombs. The secret to giving spinach these special powers is nanotech (纳米技术), which is scientific area that deals with making or changing things that are extremely tiny.
“Ordinary spinach plants can be found everywhere and easy to store; like other plants, they normally take in carbon dioxide gas,” the scientists say. “But actually they can sense small changes of soil and water potential and respond to them. If we tap into this point, there is a wealth of information to access.” That’s what the scientists use to power their tiny experiments.
For this experiment, the scientists placed two different kinds of tiny nano-materials into spinach plants. To get them into the plants, the scientists put a liquid containing them on the bottom of the plant’s leaves. As part of its natural process, the spinach plant pulls water through its roots and into its leaves. If the water contains certain chemicals used in bombs, the tiny sensors in the leaves make the nano-tubes, which, along with the sensors, were placed into the spinach plant before by the scientists, produce a slightly special kind of light. By watching the plant constantly using a camera attached to a cheap computer, the scientists set up a system that can send a warning email if chemicals from explosives are found in the water.
The computer the scientists used is about the size of a playing card. They say that in the future, their system could even use a cell phone with its camera changed slightly. Discovering chemicals used in bombs is just one of the many uses the researchers are exploring. They have used such plants to discover several other dangerous chemicals as well. From their point of view, there’s no doubt that in the future, such systems could give farmers specific information about the health of the land and water on their farms.
1. Why do the scientists use plants to do the experiment?| A．They are common in the daily life. | B．They are environmentally responsive. |
| C．They absorb much carbon dioxide gas. | D．They are small in size and easy to store. |
| A．To control the camera. | B．To contain the liquid. |
| C．To fix the tiny sensors. | D．To give off plant light. |
| A．It’s diverse. | B．It’s unexpected. | C．It’s limited. | D．It’s cheap. |
| A．Spinach Is Sensitive to Chemicals in Bombs |
| B．Spinach Sends Warning Emails Using Nanotech |
| C．Nanotech Helps Spinach Grov Healthily |
| D．Nanotech Protects Spinach from Danger |
I must admit, I haven’t always liked animals. In fact, I distrusted them greatly while growing up, and I still fear the ones I don’t know personally. What set my beliefs in stone was being attacked—not once but many times, including the summer after second grade when I was bitten by a rabbit. Then, when I was nine and riding my dirt bike down the road, a large dog charged me and tried to bite my ankle. After all those negative experiences, there was one thing I knew for sure: All creatures, great and small, were no friends of mine.
After college in California, I returned to live the single life in Las Vega. Then I met Lisa. In no time at all, we fell in love, married and moved into a new house. Despite my avoidance of animals, Lisa had a dog called Bailey. Bailey didn’t like me, but he tolerated my existence once he realized I wasn’t going anywhere.
Things changed as spring came. We welcomed a new member of our family: our son Evan. One evening Evan grabbed hold of the dog’s tail. The irritated dog paused and turned to look at his stuck tail but waited patiently until being released. Still the stories I’d heard of animals attacking babies worries me.
Then my worst fear occurred. I sat on the couch (沙发) reading after a long day while my wife worked at the dining-room table paying the bills. I saw Evan crawl across the family-room carpet as he made his way behind the couch. One minute, all was quiet and then Bailey entered the room and headed to where Evan had crawled. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard the dog start a fearful barking behind me.
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Throwing the book away, I rushed around the couch with great fear.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Having witnessed our dog killing a scorpion (蝎子) and saving my son, I was speechless.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________5 . Soaring to 29, 035 feet, the famous Mount Everest had long been considered unclimbable due to the freezing weather, the obvious potential fall from cliffs and the effects of the extreme high altitude, often called “mountain sickness.” But that was to be changed by Edmund Hillary.
When he was invited to join the British Everest expedition in 1953, Edmund Hillary was a highly capable climber. The glacier-covered peaks in his hometown in New Zealand proved a perfect training ground for the Himalaya. It was his fourth Himalayan expedition in just over two years and he was at the peak of fitness.
On May 28, 1953, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, an experienced Sherpa (夏尔巴人) set out and reached the South Summit by 9 a. m. next day. But after that, the ridge (山脊) slightly fell before rising suddenly in a rocky spur (尖坡) about 17 meters high just before the true summit. The formation is difficult to climb due to its extreme pitch because a mistake would be deadly. Scratching at the snow with his ax, Hillary managed to overcome this enormous obstacle, later to be known as the Hillary Step.
At 11:30 a. m, the two men found themselves standing at the top of the world. “Not until we were about 50 feet of the top was I ever completely convinced that we were actually going to reach the summit.” Hillary later recounted, “Of course I was very, very pleased to be on the summit, but my first thought was a little bit of surprise. After all, this is the ambition of all mountaineers.”
Emerging as the first to summit Mount Everest, Hillary Hillary continued by helping explore Antarctica, and establishing the Himalayan Trust (信托基金), through which he provided a number of beneficial services to the Himalayan peoples. He also a sizeable legacy that mountain climbers have chased ever since. As a young climber said, “It was not just Hillary and Tenzing that reached the summit of Mount Everest. It was all of humanity. Suddenly, all of us could go.”
1. What made Edmund Hillary a capable climber on the 1953 expedition?| A．His undisputed reputation. | B．His remarkable physical condition. |
| C．His previous training on Mount Everest. | D．His exceptional ability to adapt to the cold. |
| A．A mistake Hillary avoided making. | B．A steep spur of rock Hillary conquered. |
| C．An ax Hillary used to scratch snow. | D．A sudden fall of a ridge Hillary skipped. |
| A．Overwhelming joy. | B．Enormous pride. |
| C．Complete disbelief. | D．A touch of astonishment. |
| A．It opens up possibilities for other climbers. |
| B．It enabled him to give back to his hometown. |
| C．It left financial benefits for climbers to pursue. |
| D．It led to friendly regulations for mountaineering. |
Allen was playing in his room. He heard a familiar chirping and rustling from the cage in the bedroom corner. It was his beloved Blue Finch, named Mary. The boy had cared for the bird since he was six, a gift from his mother for graduating from kindergarten and entering primary school. Now, at 12 years old, Allen had just recently celebrated his primary school graduation and was about to take another step in his life journey toward junior high school. For the past six years, Mary was his constant companion and closest friend.
As he grew up, Allen found it difficult to make friends or be close to others. Having had to move around many times and transfer schools due to his father’s work in the military, Allen never felt like he truly belonged in any one place. He always knew it wouldn’t be long before he would have to move yet again. The stress and pressure of a constantly mobile life also led to strain and pressure at home, leading to loud arguments and fights between his mother and father which he could hear from behind closed doors.
But, throughout all of this. Allen’s closest friend and companion-the true source of stability in his life — was Mary, his finch. But Mary was more than just a simple, calm pet: whenever Allen felt sad, the bird would always be singing and chirping, almost as if she sensed how he felt and wanted to lift his spirits. And when Allen fed the bird, Mary always moved across her branch to rest against his finger, never failing to bring a smile to Allen’s face. Yet, one summer day after Allen had come home after a walk at the park he found the window of his bedroom open and the door of Mary’s cage open-the-bird was gone. Suddenly, Allen realized that he must have left the cage open after cleaning it and forgot about the window being open on such a hot day. Upset, Allen fell down to the floor sobbing.
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2. 请按如下格式在相应位置作答。
Upon hearing the noise, Allen’s mother rushed upstairs and asked what had happened.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Filled with anticipation, Allen and his mother went outside to look for Mary.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________7 . When a chunk of ice fell from a collapsing glacier(冰川)on the Swiss Alps’ Mount Eiger in 2017, part of the long deep sound it produced was too low for human ears to detect. But these vibrations held a key to calculating the ice avalanche’s(崩塌)critical characteristics.
Low-frequency sound waves called infrasound that travel great distances through the atmosphere are already used to monitor active volcanoes from afar. Now some researchers in this field have switched focus from fire to ice: dangerous blocks snapping off glaciers. Previous work has analyzed infrasound from snow avalanches but never ice, says Boise State University geophysicist Jeffrey Johnson. “This was different,” Johnson says. “A signature of a new material has been detected with infrasound.”
Usually glaciers move far too slowly to generate an infrasound signal, which researchers pick up using detectors that track slight changes in air pressure. But a collapse—a sudden, rapid breaking of ice from the glacier’s main body—is a prolific infrasound producer. Glacial collapses drive ice avalanches, which pose an increasing threat to people in mountainous regions as rising temperatures weaken large fields of ice. A glacier “can become detached from the ground due to melting, causing bigger break— offs,” says University of Florence geologist Emanuele Marchetti, lead author of the new study. As the threat grows, scientists seek new ways to monitor and detect such collapses.
Researchers often use radar to track ice avalanches, which is precise but expensive and can monitor only one specific location and neighboring avalanche paths. Infrasound, Marchetti says, is cheaper and can detect break—off events around a much broader area as well as multiple avalanches across a mountain. It is challenging, however, to separate a signal into its components (such as traffic noises, individual avalanches and nearby earthquakes) without additional measurements, says ETH Zurich glaciologist Malgorzata Chmiel. “The model used by Marchetti is a first approximation for this,” she says. Isolating the relevant signal helps the researchers monitor an ice avalanche’s speed, path and volume from afar using infrasound.
Marchetti and his colleagues are now working to improve their detectors to pick up more signals across at-risk regions in Europe, and they have set up collaborations around the continent to better understand signals that collapsing glaciers produce. They are also refining their mathematical analysis to figure out each ice cascade’s physical details.
1. What can we learn from Paragraph 2 and Paragraph 3?| A．Infrasound has a major role to play in discovering new materials. |
| B．Ice avalanches are a bigger threat to people than volcanic eruptions. |
| C．Researchers are trying to use infrasound in detecting ice avalanches. |
| D．Scientists employ infrasound more in mountain areas than in other places. |
| A．The combination with other relevant signals. |
| B．The accuracy in locating a certain avalanche. |
| C．The ability in picking up signals in wider areas. |
| D．The sensitivity in tracking air pressure changes. |
| A．distinguishing different components of a signal |
| B．detecting multiple avalanches at the same time |
| C．calculating the speed and path of ice avalanches |
| D．monitoring the specific location of ice break—offs |
| A．From Fire to Ice | B．Glacier Whispers |
| C．Nature is Warning | D．Secret of Ice Avalanches |
8 . “You should get a cat, ”my therapist(治疗专家)said. “A cat?” I couldn’t even look after myself. . I took a deep breath and carefully considered the idea of welcoming a feline (猫科的)friend into my life. This seemed like too easy a fix for the fact that I couldn’t leave the house without bursting into tears.
When my partner and I found Cinnamon, her adoption profile made her out as the perfect kitten. We filled out the paperwork and prepared for her arrival.
When she came home, it became increasingly obvious that Cinnamon didn’t understand “no”, “stop it” or “don’t do that”. She was the worst cat I’ve ever owned. I was beginning to doubt my therapist’s advice.
After visiting our vet, she concluded that Cinnamon just wanted our attention. She fought tooth and nail to get a bite of our meals. She’d fearlessly lick sharp knives when left unattended for a split second. Cinnamon stole my heart with her bravery and kept me busier than I’d ever expected.
We decided to start taking her for walks. I could barely leave the house before, but my heart couldn’t say no to Cinnamon. Cinnamon showed me what bravery looked like. She didn’t stop to consider every possible outcome of a situation; she simply went for it. If there was a dog at a park, she would run toward it. She jumped without knowing where she would land. She loved adventure. I found myself mirroring her behavior after a while, jumping out of bed without a second thought. I began to find the motivation to get out of bed in the morning.
Cinnamon unfortunately passed away after a medical accident. I’m no stranger to sadness or grief, but losing my pet so suddenly was the most confusing emotional experience I’ve had to date. She no longer wakes me up at 5 am begging for breakfast, but she’s still the reason I get up every morning.
Our time is often cut unpredictably, unmistakably short. It would be a shame to live life being anything less than brave and adventurous.
1. Why did the author’s therapist recommend that she get a cat?| A．To learn how to interact with animals. | B．To help the author fill up her spare time; |
| C．To solve the author’s fear of going out. | D．To distract the author’s attention from her pain. |
| A．Thrilled. | B．Amazed. | C．Pleased. | D．Disappointed. |
| A．Walking Cinnamon outdoors became an adventure for the author. |
| B．The author was positively affected by Cinnamon’s courageous behavior. |
| C．Cinnamon loved going outside and took consequences into consideration. |
| D．The author decided to take Cinnamon outside as she was too troublesome to stay in. |
| A．Life is short and unpredictable. | B．The loss of a pet can be painful. |
| C．We should have the courage to take risks. | D．Animal-assisted therapy is the best cure for mental illness. |
9 . Kala has deep ties to her Hawaiian roots. Her ancestors navigated (航行) the oceans for centuries using their knowledge of the stars, the sun, the currents and the wind. It’s not that she does it in a canoe without technology, but rather uses the natural technology around her. It’s called Way finding, and was taught to her by her father.
“My father was my foundation, my rock.” she says of her first voyage with him from Oahu to Lahaina in a traditional canoe. He taught her how to read the stars, the ocean swells and how to use them to hold the course. “Over 200 stars have specific names and purposes when you are Way finding. You have to look at each and determine if they are rising or setting. You know this star and the direction it represents. If you can do that, you can use it as a tool to orient (确定方向).” Kala added.
Kala Tanaka sailed the canoe in the ocean for up to three weeks. During the day, Kala used the sun until it hit a certain height. When she got closer to land, she looked for certain species of land birds and clouds that indicated there was land below. When Kala sailed she felt “I feel very connected to the crew and the canoe. We’re a family.” The longer voyage required Kala to spend hours studying the day and the night skies. It was demanding physical work. But it also had its moments of awe. For Kala, the beauty was in tying together the past and the present to enjoy the moment. So when she was not sailing, she was teaching Way finding skills to school-aged children in hopes of preserving the skills her ancestors relied on.
It’s easy to be lost in the immediacy of the technology of our day, to be consumed by screens and miss the nature that unfolds around us. But if we will take the time to look up, to see the stars and the sun, the way the clouds move, the miracle of life beneath and above us, we will discover something deep inside us, something that will always lead to happiness.
1. How does Kala navigate the ocean in a canoe?| A．By observing the natural elements around. |
| B．By following the course of ocean currents. |
| C．By using hi-technology navigation devices. |
| D．By recalling the first voyage with her father. |
| A．It was a heroic adventure. | B．It brought great joy to her life. |
| C．It was school children’s favorite. | D．It represented a kind of innovation. |
| A．Enjoy the screens. | B．Explore the universe. |
| C．Get close to nature. | D．Keep the earth clean. |
| A．Finding Our Way | B．Navigating the Ocean |
| C．The Wisdom from Ancestors | D．An Unforgettable Journey |
10 . I met the Man of the Trees in summer ten years ago, when I was visiting Uncle Jita.
Those were difficult times. People were cutting down our forest, and there was often flooding. Sometimes our water supply was dirty. When our pump(水泵)did have clean water, we had to wait in line for ages. When the pump wasn’t working, we had to walk five kilometres to the closest stream.
But I was happy. I was going to see my favorite uncle. When the day finally arrived, Dad drove me to Uncle Jita’s house and left. Once he saw me, Uncle Jita announced, “Tomorrow we’re going to explore a magical place. Here is my camera, Amy. You can take photos of what you see.”
The following day, we woke up and left early on a boat. The trip was exciting. But when we got off, there was ... nothing in front of us. “I don’t want to take pictures of this,” I complained.
Uncle laughed,“Start walking, Amy. I promise you’ll be surprised.” After some time, I could see the outline of a forest in the distance. A little closer, there was a man waving to us.
“That’s Kabir. The forest you see is his. He planted every single tree.” As we walked towards Kabir, Uncle explained that thirty years ago, the whole area was a wasteland. But one day Kabir decided to change all that and started planting trees. Thanks to him, part of the wasteland is now a paradise(天堂).
Uncle introduced me to Kabir, who had gray hair and a determined face. “Jita told me you like animals. Are you ready to see some?” he asked. “Of course!” I replied. We continued walking and soon were under the trees. I turned my head and was amazed at the difference between the two places. All because of the efforts of one man.
Like Uncle said, Kabir’s forest was magical. We saw deer, rhinos, and even tigers. During lunchtime, Kabir explained how, by planting trees, it was possible to stop the land from eroding(侵蚀).
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Hearing this, I turned to my uncle, “I think we can plant trees too ”
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________In the years that followed, people in our village worked hard to carry out our plan.
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