1 . Nobody expects a natural disaster to strike. Neither does anyone know the impact it can have on life. The following measures can save your life in an emergency.
Typhoon
Typhoons occur in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, particularly in exposed regions like the Caroline Islands, the Philippines, and Japan. The best place to hide during a typhoon is a secure basement or a bathroom with no windows. It is also a good idea to get under a solid piece of furniture to save yourself from a collapsing roof. A must-have device is a battery-powered weather radio, through which you will hear evacuation orders or in other cases, instructions on how to survive in your shelter and learn about the weather situation.
Flood
Floods occur more often than any other natural disaster and change the landscape dramatically. They are usually caused by intense rainfalls lasting for days. Don't try to be the bravest person around and stay in your house. Once you hear the evacuation warning, leave for safer higher grounds with your important papers in a waterproof container.
Avalanche
An avalanche can hit when you are enjoying Alpine skiing in a dreamlike location. It is very fast and disastrous, burying everything in its way under tons of snow. When an avalanche starts, try to move to the side of the slope as fast as you can. There will be more snow in the centre of the flow. To move faster, drop any heavy equipment you have on you. If you get buried in the snow, dig an air pocket to be able to keep breathing. Wait for the rescue team to find you and don't waste your energy shouting or digging frantically. Call out when you hear the team approaching.
Wildfire
Wildfires spread at an amazing speed and destroy everything in their way. If you are caught in a wild fire, use a wet cloth to cover your nose and mouth to ensure that you can breathe. Try to stay upwind of the fire at all times and get close to a pond or river. If there is no water nearby, move to a place which has already burned out and is less likely to spark again. Stay low and cover yourself with wet clothing, a blanket, or soil until the fire passes.
1. Among the four natural disasters, which one requires people to hide indoors?| A．Typhoon | B．Flood | C．Avalanche | D．Wildfire |
| A．get to a basement or windowless bathroom |
| B．find something solid to hide under |
| C．leave the place where they are |
| D．get a torch in case of a blackout |
| A．Typhoons occur only in the exposed regions in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. |
| B．Floods cause the most frequent damage among the disasters mentioned. |
| C．Those who meet with avalanches are advised to call out the minute they’re trapped. |
| D．Getting clean air matters most in the case of wildfires, despite the difficulty. |
| A. voyaged B. barely C. renowned D. abnormality E. discipline F. navigable G. unprecedented H. eyed I. Fortunately J. accessible K. degradation |
For voyager and green promoter Zhai Mo, the 504-day non-stop voyage to the Arctic Ocean has stimulated his concern about the climate and awareness of his responsibilities.
Navigating more than 28,000 nautical miles (51,856 kilometers) in harsh conditions, Zhai, a (n)
Zhai undertook this task as an ambassador of the Chinese navigation science and marine public welfare, and also the ForNature Campaign of the United Nations Development Program. He set sail on June 30 last year to raise public awareness of global warming, climate change and land
“When we passed through the Northwest Pacific Ocean on our way back, we encountered three typhoons within a week, which
Zhai didn’t see any floating ice during his one-week voyage in the Kara Sea while the previous meteorological data showed ice there.
“My own experience tells me that climate
The voyage, to enter the Arctic Ocean from the Bering Strait before making a round trip returning to Shanghai, was planned to take four months, but the return schedule was delayed for more than a year. “As soon as we entered the Bering Strait, we encountered a polar cyclone. A large number of ice floes and icebergs were blown to the coast. However, the Arctic Ocean can only be
Zhai was attracted by sailing when holding an art exhibition abroad in 2000. In 2007, he got a second-hand sailboat with simple supplies, such as instant noodles, pancakes and potatoes, and started his voyage trip around the world.
After that 35,000-nautical-mile voyage, Zhai
He adds that he hopes more young people would participate in navigation, to promote and publicize the ocean awareness and navigation spirit. He is preparing for the third voyage trip around the world next year or the year after that. “Antarctica is also a very big challenge. I hope to explore more unknowns, and I also want to launch a transoceanic sailing competition.”
3 . China becomes a world leader in clean technology by fighting environmental pollution, sharing experience.
Erik Solheim, former executive director of the United Nations Environmental Programme, said he is
This is very
He believes that it’s time for the rest of the world to
For Solheim, who is also the former Norwegian Minister of the Environment and Minister of International Development, China’s achievements on the climate and environmental fronts all started with its fight against
“People wanted to see beautiful skies over their cities,” he told China Daily. “The
The latest
Minister of Ecology and Environment Huang Runqiu told a news conference on Sept 15 that the country’s toughest measures and greatest progress on the ecological and environmental front have occurred in the last decade.
He said that
While poor air quality used to be a source of frequent public complaints, the average
About 87.5 percent of days last year were rated as having good air quality, up 6.3 percentage points from 2015, making China the country with the biggest
In the last decade, the
China has has legislated or revised roughly 30 laws and regulations, some of which focused on water resource protection, including the Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law, which was modified in 2017, and the Yangtze River Protection Law, which
| A．confused | B．impressed | C．obsessed | D．connected |
| A．available | B．accessible | C．sustainable | D．substantial |
| A．evident | B．attractive | C．invisible | D．unique |
| A．donating | B．contributing | C．manufacturing | D．distributing |
| A．fall behind | B．put forward | C．look up | D．catch up |
| A．pollution | B．environment | C．ecology | D．emission |
| A．probably | B．inevitably | C．incredibly | D．traditionally |
| A．biological | B．advanced | C．far-reaching | D．green |
| A．study | B．figures | C．technologies | D．innovation |
| A．thanks to | B．despite | C．regardless of | D．other than |
| A．height | B．length | C．concentration | D．weight |
| A．obstacle | B．improvement | C．contribution | D．cultivation |
| A．quality | B．flavor | C．deposit | D．proportion |
| A．accounting | B．making | C．looking | D．applying |
| A．took effect | B．took place | C．took to | D．took in |
4 . Eradajere Oleita thinks she may have a partial solution for two of American’s persistent problems: garbage and poverty. It’s called the Chip Bag Project. The 26-year-old student and environmentalist from Detroit is asking a favor of local snack lovers: Rather than toss your empty chip bags into the trash, donate them so she can turn them into sleeping bags for the homeless.
Chip eaters drop off their empty bags from Doritos, Lay’s, and other favorites at two locations in Detroit: a print shop and a clothing store, where Oleita and her volunteer helpers collect them. After they sanitize the chip bags in soapy hot water, they slice them open, lay them flat, and iron them together. They use padding and liners from old coats to line the insides.
It takes about four hours to sew a sleeping bag, and each takes around 150 to 300 chip bags, depending on whether they’re single-serve or family size. The result is a sleeping bag that is “waterproof, lightweight, and easy to carry around,” Oleita told the Detroit News.
Since its start in 2020, the Chip Bag Project has collected more than 800,000 chip bags and, as of last December, created 110 sleeping bags. Sure, it would be simpler to raise the money to buy new sleeping bags. But that’s only half the goal for Oleita — whose family moved to the United States from Nigeria a decade ago with the hope of attaining a better life — and her fellow volunteers. “They are dedicated to making an impact not only socially, but environmentally,” she says.
And, of course, there’s the symbolism of salvaging bags that would otherwise land in the trash and using them to help the homeless. It’s a powerful reminder that environmental injustice and poverty often go hand in hand. As Oleita told the media: “I think it’s time to show connections between all of these issues.”
1. What does the Chip Bag Project call on people to do?| A．To throw empty chip bags into dustbins |
| B．To bring empty chip bags to appointed locations |
| C．To donate them to those homeless |
| D．To sanitize empty chip bags for recycle |
| A．charge | B．protect | C．load | D．fill |
| A．To lead a better life with her immigrated family in U.S.A |
| B．To launch a charity project with other volunteers in school time. |
| C．To make a difference both socially and environmentally. |
| D．To help those homeless by giving them handmade sleeping bags. |
| A．adaptable and extroverted |
| B．creative and warm-hearted |
| C．aggressive and capable |
| D．modest and generous |
5 . Mt. Everest is no longer an inaccessible giant. More than 4,000 people have stood on the world’s highest peak since 1953. Last year alone, more than 650 people made it to the top.
But as the crowds have grown, so too has the list of stories coming from the mountain: long lines over train, and conflict over the value of Sherpas.
For people who want a more drama-free climbing experience, the globe is filled with other peaks worth tackling.
There are literally 13 other mountains over 8,000 meters and some get virtually no attention. They are very challenging mountains that would be an equal feather in someone’s hat to climb with many routes still to be discovered, unlike Everest. Mountains taller than 8,000 meters (more than 26,000 feet) are rare and exceptionally challenging to climb, purely for the lack of oxygen at such height. Above 8,000 m, it becomes so difficult to breathers that climbers call it the “death zone.”
The Himalayas contain all 14 of the world’s 8,000 meter-plus peaks, which are among Nepal, China, India and Pakistan. Among those, Everest is not only the tallest. It’s also accessible by hiking for about a week and a half after flying into Lukla.
From there, the mountain is loaded with equipment, including a cell phone tower and Sherpas who fix ropes for Western climbers. That makes the climb far less technical than it otherwise would be.
Why Do People Keep Climbing Mt. Everest? “It’s certainly not the easiest climb because of the height,” said Alan Amette, a mountaineer and Everest blogger in Fort Collins, Colo. “I hate the word ‘easy’ for any 8,000-meter mountain. A better word is achievable. Everest is achievable.”
One emerging alternative to Everest is K2, the world’s second tallest mountain — at 8,611 m (28,251 feet) to Everest’s 8,848 m (29,029 feet). But for every four or so people who have summited K2, one person has died trying, Amette said, for a total of 300 successful climbs and 81 deaths.
On Everest, by comparison, the ratio of successes to deaths is about 24 to one with more than 6,000 summits and about 250 deaths. K2 is a “loose” mountain with lots of rock fall and avalanche (雪崩) activity, Amette said. Its main route also goes up the east side, making climbers get affected by incoming storms.
1. The term “Death Zone” is used to describe an area ________.| A．that is 8,000 meters high with the shortage of oxygen |
| B．where there is the highest rate of death in mountain-climbing |
| C．where climbers are unable to breathe |
| D．where breathers are very likely to die due to the height |
| A．They cover as many as four countries. |
| B．They contain ten peaks over 8,000 meters. |
| C．Everest is its tallest and easiest peak to climb. |
| D．Everest is its peak with good technical support. |
| A．more people died in mountain-climbing |
| B．more natural disasters occur due to its loose quality |
| C．there are more snow storms happening on average |
| D．storms are more unpredictable at the peak |
| A．Introduction to the exciting mountain climbing. |
| B．The awesome challenges of the tallest mountains. |
| C．Climbing the most challenging mountains in the world. |
| D．How to overcome difficulties as those brave mountaineers. |
(A)
Concerns about microplastics are not new. They’ve been growing for more than a decade. Over the past two years, however, many creative solutions
The term microplastics was coined in 2004 by marine ecologist Richard Thompson after he discovered tiny bits of plastic littering British beaches. Since then, scientists have found microplastics—fragments less than 5 millimeters wide-nearly everywhere: in the deep sea, in Arctic ice, in the air. Even inside us.
A 2019 study in Environmental Science Technology estimated humans take in up to 100, 000 bits of plastic each day. It’s not just the physical presence of plastic inside the body
For a global view of this vast issue, some scientists in 2020 created a public database to track plastic removal innovations. For example, Hong Kong Polytechnic University researchers presented
7 . An environmental group in Colombia is leading a project to save wild areas in the San Lucas mountains with the help of coffee growers.
Government information shows that in 2017, almost 220,000 hectares of forest were destroyed compared to 124,000 hectares in 2015. Areas like San Lucas have been threatened by mining and growers of coca plants, which are used to make the drug cocaine.
To date, the project includes 10 families who farm 400 hectares of coffee plants. WebConserva said the project costs about $77,000 dollars a year. The group said it hopes that, in time, 200 families will be included. At that level, 20,000 hectares of untouched forest could be protected. In San Lucas, the families promise not to cut down trees to expand their crops or to hunt wild animals from the forest.
Arcadio Barajas is among those taking part. His new coffee plantation establishes a barrier between cattle ranches and forests where wild animals like the jaguar live and hunt. The presence of the coffee fields reduces the likelihood that there will be conflict between cattle ranchers and the big cats. Barajas said that cutting down the forest to plant coca and killing wildlife were against his faith.
Arnobis Romero is a former coca grower and miner. He said many families depended on illegal activities to support their children. For example, at times one kilogram of Coca could be sold for $760. Romero said, “We feel really proud to look after this biodiversity and to leave it... for future generations.”
| A．In return, they receive $250 to $300 for 125 kilograms of coffee. |
| B．It protects forests, biodiversity and ecosystems at the same time. |
| C．Colombia has set aside 16 percent of its territory as protected land. |
| D．Gold mining and coca farming make more money than coffee growing. |
| E．But now he feels that growing coffee lets him be a good steward of the land. |
| F．The goal is to limit additional development in the northern San Lucas area which is rich in biodiversity, meaning many forms of life live there. |
8 . Climate change disproportionately affects the world’s most vulnerable people, particularly poor rural communities that depend on the land for their livelihoods and coastal populations throughout the tropics. We have already seen a chain of tough suffering that results from extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, floods, droughts, wildfires, and more.
For remedies, advocates and politicians have tended to look toward cuts in fossil-fuel use or technologies to capture carbon before it enters the atmosphere—both of which are crucial. But this focus has overshadowed the most powerful and cost-efficient carbon capture technology in the world. Recent research confirms that forests are absolutely essential in reducing climate change, thanks to their ability to absorb and isolate carbon. In fact, natural climate solutions such as conservation and restoration of forests, along with improvements in land management, can help us achieve 37 percent of our climate target of limiting warming to a maximum of two degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, even though they currently receive only 2.5 percent of public climate financing.
Forests’ power to store carbon dioxide is staggering: one tree can store an average of about 48 pounds in one year. Intact(完整的)forests could take in the CO2 emissions of some entire countries.
For this reason, policymakers and business leaders must create and enforce policies to prevent deforestation, foster, reforestation of degraded land, and promote the sustainable management of standing forests in the fight against climate change. Protecting the world’s forests ensures they can keep performing essential functions such as producing oxygen, filtering water and supporting biodiversity. Not only does the world’s entire population depend on forests to provide clean air, clean water, oxygen and medicines, but 1.6 billion people also rely on them directly for their livelihoods.
Unfortunately, a huge amount of forest continues to be converted into agricultural land to produce a handful of resource-intensive commodities - despite zero-deforestation commitments from companies and governments. So now is the time to increase forest protection and restoration. This action will also address a number of other pressing global issues. For example, in less developed, rural areas - especially in the tropics - community-based forest-management programs can forge pathways out of poverty. In the Peten region of Guatemala, for instance, community-managed forests boasted a near-zero deforestation rate from 2000 through 2013, as compared with 12 percent in nearby protected areas and buffer(缓冲)zones. These communities have built low-impact, sustainable forest-based businesses that have stimulated the economy of the region enough to fund the creation of local schools and health services. Their success is especially noticeable in a location where, outside these community-managed zones, deforestation rates have increased 20-fold.
1. Which of the following statements about natural climate solutions is true according to the passage?| A．They are the only effective strategies available to address the climate change. |
| B．They pale in comparison with the reduction in fossil-fuel use or technologies. |
| C．They can and should play a more important role in cutting carbon emissions. |
| D．They manage to limit warming to two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. |
| A．documented | B．incredible |
| C．unsteady | D．negligible |
| A．The policies to prevent deforestation have borne fruit. |
| B．Developed countries are hit the hardest by climate change. |
| C．Economic growth contributes a lot to reducing deforestation. |
| D．Some governments fail to keep their promises to preserve forests. |
| A．Keeping forests undamaged can go a long way toward saving the planet. |
| B．A high-tech climate fix is required to dramatically lessen global warming. |
| C．Governments should work together with businesses to stop deforestation. |
| D．Sustainable management of forests is crucial in powering regional development. |
9 . Most people have seen animals solve problems in one context or another Whether it’s a dog getting food out of a puzzle toy, a squirrel (松鼠) breaking into a “squirrel-proof, bird feeder, or — in what is hopefully a rarer experience — a bear opening a door to get to the food inside!
Do all individuals within a species come up with
The above examples tie into the theory that the individuals who are least able to gain access to good quality
However, while there is support for this theory in some species, many species show opposing patterns.
Both make instinctive sense. The more likely an individual is to
Regardless of the reason individuals innovate, once an individual finds a solution to a problem,
| A．instant | B．comprehensive | C．fair | D．creative |
| A．friendly | B．popular | C．close | D．faithful |
| A．Similarly | B．Inevitably | C．Apparently | D．Gradually |
| A．purpose | B．priority | C．pressure | D．potential |
| A．services | B．materials | C．goods | D．resources |
| A．pretend | B．compete | C．survive | D．evolve |
| A．reluctant | B．excited | C．motivated | D．confused |
| A．Thus | B．Besides | C．Still | D．Meanwhile |
| A．Emotion | B．Gender | C．Appearance | D．Personality |
| A．living | B．novel | C．endangered | D．ideal |
| A．Persistence | B．Intelligence | C．Performance | D．Confidence |
| A．conflict | B．compare | C．interact | D．identify |
| A．position | B．object | C．solution | D．chance |
| A．absolutely | B．fortunately | C．definitely | D．particularly |
| A．copy | B．change | C．influence | D．evaluate |
10 . When discussing the causes of animal endangerment, it is important to understand that individual species are not the only factors involved in this difficult situation. Endangerment is a broad
Our planet is continually changing, causing habitats to be altered and modified. Natural changes tend to occur at a(n)
It can be difficult for an individual to
| A．remark | B．issue | C．project | D．experiment |
| A．worsen | B．protect | C．seek | D．ignore |
| A．extreme | B．favorable | C．gradual | D．rapid |
| A．command | B．spirit | C．impact | D．expectation |
| A．react | B．boost | C．express | D．announce |
| A．sports | B．meanings | C．forces | D．crimes |
| A．usually | B．formally | C．freely | D．formerly |
| A．escape | B．goal | C．release | D．origin |
| A．update | B．recognize | C．cover | D．remind |
| A．predict | B．devote | C．struggle | D．transfer |
| A．obvious | B．vital | C．contemporary | D．selfish |
| A．In short | B．In a word | C．As a result | D．For example |
| A．naturally | B．completely | C．fully | D．actually |
| A．contain | B．lack | C．reduce | D．limit |
| A．growth | B．loss | C．extension | D．planting |
