1 . Building good transportation is a good idea. To have environmental value, new transportation has to sufficiently replace or eliminate driving to cut energy consumption overall. That means that a new traffic system has to be supported by reduction in car use. Traffic lanes should be eliminated or converted into bike or bus lanes. Ideally, these should be combined with higher fuel taxes, and parking fees. Needless to say, I have to struggle to make myself extensively understood. But they’re necessary, because you can’t make people drive less, in the long run, by taking steps that make driving more pleasant, economical, and productive.

Lengthy commuting (通勤) time is a forceful factor which can slow the growth of suburbs. The farther people live away from cities, the longer commuting time they need, which means more pollution their cars produce. If, in a misguided effort to do something of environmental value, governments take steps that make long-distance car commuting faster or more convenient—by adding lanes, building bypass, employing traffic-control measures that make it possible for existing roads to accommodate more cars with fewer delays—we are actually encouraging people to live still farther from their jobs, stores, and schools. As a result, governments are forced to further extend road networks, water lines, and other facilities. If you cut commuting time by 10 percent, people who now drive fifty miles each way to work can find reason to move five miles farther out, because their travel time won’t change.

Traffic congestion (拥堵) isn’t an environmental problem; traffic is. Relieving congestion without doing anything to reduce the total volume of cars can only make the real problem worse. Highway engineers have known for a long time that building new car lanes only temporarily reduces congestion, because the new lanes add additional driving. Widening roads makes traffic move faster in the short term, but the improved conditions eventually attract additional drivers, and congestion reappears. With more car on the roads, people think about widening roads again. Moving drivers out of cars and into other forms of transportation can have the same effect, if existing traffic lanes are kept in service: road space stimulates road use.

One of the arguments that cities inevitably make in promoting transportation plans is that the new system, by relieving automobile congestion, will improve the lives of those who continue to drive. No one ever promotes a transportation system by arguing that it would make travelling less convenient—even though, from an environmental perspective, inconvenient travel is a worthy goal.

1. In the first paragraph, the author gives us the hint that his recommendations are ______.

A．not widely supported	B．costly to carry out
C．generally recognized	D．temporarily beneficial

2. According to the passage, what will happen if commuting time for drivers is reduced?

A．Drivers will become more productive employees.

B．Mass transportation will be extended farther into suburban areas.

C．Drivers will be more willing to live farther from their working place.

D．Mass transportation will carry fewer passengers and receive less government funding.

3. Which of the following can be inferred about the author’s attitude towards the measures to improve traffic?

A．They are environmentally beneficial and should be carried out immediately.

B．They are well intentioned but ultimately lead to environmental harm.

C．They will definitely arouse people’s awareness of environmental protection.

D．They will only work if they can make driving more economical and productive.

4. The author wrote this massage mainly to ______.

A．support the claim that efforts to reduce traffic actually increase traffic.

B．oppose the belief that improving mass transportation systems is good for the environment.

C．provide a balance between suburban expansion and traffic congestion.

D．indicate that making driving less agreeable is a way to reduce negative effects of traffic.

3 . Directions: After reading the passages below fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

Forests give us shade, quiet and one of the harder challenges in the fight against climate change. Even as we humans count on forests to soak up a good share of the carbon dioxide we produce, we    1     (threaten) their ability to do so. The climate change we are hastening could one day leave us with forests that emit more carbon than    2    absorb.

Thankfully, there is a way out of this trap—but it involves striking a subtle balance. Helping forests flourish as valuable “carbon sinks” long into the future    3       require reducing their capacity to absorb carbon now. California is leading the way, as it does on so many climate efforts, in figuring out the details.

The state's proposed Forest Carbon Plan aims to double efforts    4    (thin) out young trees and clear brush in parts of the forest. This temporarily lowers carbon-carrying capacity. But the remaining trees draw a greater share of the available moisture, so they grow and thrive,     5    (restore) the forest's capacity to pull carbon from the air. Healthy trees are also better able to fend off (抵挡) insects. The landscape is considered less easily burnable. Even in the event of a fire, fewer trees    6     (consume).

The need    7    such planning is increasingly urgent. Already, since 20l0, drought and insects have killed over 100 million trees in California, most of them in 2016 alone，and wildfires have burned hundreds of thousands of acres.

California plans to treat 35,000 acres of forest a year by 2020, and 60,000 by 2030—financed from the proceeds of the state's emissions-permit auctions. That's only    8     small share of the total acreage that could benefit, about half a million acres in all, so it will be vital to prioritize areas at greatest risk of fire or drought.

State governments are well accustomed to managing forests,     9     traditionally they've focused on wildlife, watersheds and opportunities for recreation. Only recently have they come to see the vital part forests will have to play in storing carbon. Califomia's plan,     10     is expected to be finalized by the governor next year, should serve as a model.

4 . Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. categorise B. creation C. good D. innovative E. maximum F. packed G. pedestrianise H. processing I. shape J. short-lived K. transformation

All Change in Curitiba!

Like many other major world cities, Curitiba in southern Brazil has had to deal with issues such as pollution, poverty, and limited public funding. However, the architect and three-times mayor of the city, Jaime Lerner, has introduced some     1     solutions.

As part of his ‘Master Plan’, Lerner hoped to make the city more environmentally friendly. He initiated a recycling scheme. In return for delivering recyclable rubbish to specified     2     points, residents receive a bag of vegetables or bus tickets. As a result, Curitiba now has one of the highest recycling rates in the world. Lerner also ordered the     3     of 26 urban parks. As well as preventing pollution, these control flooding.

Lerner did not win over all the city’s residents immediately, however. When his plans to     4     part of the centre were passed, local businesses were up in arms, fearing a reduction in profits. Realising he needed to act quickly, Lerner had the     5     of six blocks completed within three days. When a group of motorists attempted to drive through the new pedestrian area, Lerner arranged for local primary schools to hold a painting workshop on the streets. The drivers were forced to turn back. Luckily for Lerner, this rebellion was     6    . The increase in profit rapidly persuaded shop owners to change their minds.

Lerner’s determination helped     7     the Curitiba of today. The average income per capita has risen from a level that was below the Brazilian average in the 1970s to 66% above the average, and surveys indicate high levels of resident satisfaction.

So, is it all just one big success story? In some respects, Curitiba may have been too successful for its own    8    . People and businesses have come to the city, which now has more than 1.8 million residents. This has put the city under enormous stress. Forty years ago, buses transported 54,000 passengers a day. Now the number is 2.3 million. According to some experts, the transport system has reached its     9     efficiency capacity. Following a rise in complaints about the noisy and     10     buses, the service is in decline.

6 . The Man Who Ate his Boots is a fascinating account of expeditions that went wrong. The book examines the 19th century search for a route to Asia by way of the Northwest Passage through the Arctic Ocean. Author Anthony Brandt describes the many attempts by both land and sea that ended in failure and tragedy, including the 1845 expedition led by Sir John Franklin. Brandt shows how these brave, yet sometimes foolish, explorers could have avoided starvation, frostbite, and even death if they had copied the survival techniques of the local Inuit people. Some of the more surprising details the book reveals include:

IGLOOS The explorers, despite repeatedly watching the Inuit build igloos, insisted on using canvas tents. Tents freeze in sub-zero temperatures and give little protection to anyone inside them. If they had learned to build igloos, the explorers would have been warm even in the worst Arctic weather.

SEALSKIN If the explorers had worn sealskin and furs like the Inuit, they wouldn’t have suffered from the frostbite that was common among them, but rare among the Inuit.

DOG TEAMS Why didn’t the British use dog teams to pull their sleds? Pulling sleds themselves was a tradition among many explorers right into the early 20th century. It cost Scott and his men their lives on their return from the South Pole in 1912.

The British did get something right, however, when Captain Edward Parry grew salad vegetables in boxes on board his ship. It was known that fresh vegetables and fresh meat prevented scurvy (坏血病)，although at that time the reason for this (vitamin C) had not been discovered. Parry’s men wouldn’t have been as healthy if they hadn’t eaten the salads.

1. In The Man Who Ate his Boots’ the author mainly ________.

A．introduces some foolish explorers

B．focuses on some unsuccessful expeditions

C．analyzes the Inuit people’s survival techniques

D．explores the advances in equipment used for expeditions

2. According to Anthony Brandt, what should the explorers have done?

A．They should have learned more about how seals survived in cold water.

B．They should have set up more canvas tents to keep themselves warm.

C．They should have helped the Inuit people build igloos.

D．They should have used dogs to pull the sleds for them.

3. It can be inferred from the passage that________.

A．Edward Parry found a way to prevent scurvy by accident

B．Edward Parry’s successful voyage was a rare case at that time

C．Edward Parry was the first captain that grew salad vegetables on board

D．Edward Parry’s men could have been more healthy if they took vitamin C

7 . Directions: Fill in each blank with a proper word chosen from the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. adaptable        B. classic          C. determined   D. effectively   E. fundamentally F. immediately     G. sideways       H. stretched       I. survival        J. underside       K. upright

Why Are Trees Tree-shaped?

While running through a leafy park days ago, I passed dozens of tree species of different sizes and ages, and I was suddenly struck by how     1     similar they were. Wide trunks split into smaller branches in the same sort of way. You could guess the height of a tree just by looking at how wide its trunk is. We would notice     2     if someone drew a tree with branches that were too wide or a trunk that was too thin. What makes a tree look like a tree? Maximising the sunlight hitting the tree’s leaves is obviously critical for the tree’s     3    . But the size and shape of the branches is largely     4     by a different standards: a tree must be strong enough to stay standing     5    , possibly for centuries. Imagine an oak tree, with branches reaching     6     off the main trunk. Each branch has to support its own considerable weight, so the wood in its lower half is slightly compressed and the top half is being     7    . That top layer of a branch takes the weight of the branch. And a particular type of wood has grown there to do that job. It’s called reaction wood, because it formed as reinforcement (增强) to take the increasing weight as the branch grew. The trees that reinforce on top the branches are the “lollipop” ones:     8     branching species like oaks. But there is another way of solving that problem. Some trees grow their reinforcing reaction wood on the     9     instead, so the branch is pushed up, rather than pulled from above. It works, but not as     10    , so these trees can’t support large side branches. The ones that reinforce underneath have a thick trunk with much smaller side branches, and they grow to be conical—some examples of these trees are pines and firs.

oak pine fir

8 . In Mumbai, there’s the ceaseless clamor of car homes as drivers edge through traffic. There’s pounding and buzzing from the construction of office towers and apartment blocks. Drumbeats and trumpet melodies spill out from weddings and countless festivals. And it’s all topped off by bellowing (大声吼叫的) street vendors and garbage trucks blasting Bollywood songs. Living in Mumbai requires a huge ______ for noise.

When Sumaira Abdulali began campaigning against noise pollution in India’s financial capital two decades ago, friends, acquaintances and even her lawyers insisted it was ______ . “People told me it’s foolish to even try, because Indians love noise,” she says. “We’re a noisy country.”

But in 2003, Abdulali won a lawsuit seeking to ______ environmental rules that had allowed loud music late into the night during a festival. ______ , the victory led to a ban on loudspeakers within 100 meters of schools, hospitals, courts and places of worship. And she has since won more than a dozen other actions both on her own and via the Awaaz Foundation (awaaz means “noise” in Hindi), which she launched in 2006.

The World Health Organization warns that noise is a top threat to human ______ , affecting not only hearing but also sleep, brain development and cardiovascular health. Abdulali claims Mumbai is the world’s ______ city. A study led by Ritesh Vijay, an expert from India’s National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, did find that noise levels in Mumbai and surrounding areas in 2020 dramatically exceed legal limits.

In recent years, the battle against noise has become increasingly ______ , with Abdulali often facing powerful interests who consider it an inevitable byproduct of growth. With increasing ______ , ever more people are exposed to continuous noise. In a rapidly expanding city such as Mumbai, with a population topping 12 million, demand for housing puts noise rules ______ development plans. Although sound barriers are required for construction projects, they’re expensive, so developers ______ installing them.

Traffic is a tougher problem. Noise on the road can reach 110 decibels (分贝) — a level that can lead to permanent hearing damage after just 15 minutes of exposure, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Luckily, ______ can help in the fight, Vijay says. He suggests devices that measure horn use, which would let officials offer ______ drivers rewards like deductions (扣除) on car insurance. Dynamic signaling, where sensors linked to stoplights detect traffic density, would improve vehicle flow and ______   the urge to resort to horns, he says. Local government also ______ . Mumbai decreed (颁布) India’s first “No-Honking” day in 2008, with police handing out booklets to raise awareness about traffic noise and imposing fines up to 1,000 rupees ($12) on offending motorists.

Far more important is the longer-term impact of the day-to-day noise, so that’s where Vijay believes activists should focus their energy. “In India we celebrate festivals with lots of noise,” he says. “But our ______ noise itself is beyond the allowed limit.”

1.

A．talent

B．potential

C．demand

D．tolerance

2.

A．encouraging

B．reasonable

C．ridiculous

D．depressing

3.

A．take advantage of

B．put an end to

C．lay emphasis on

D．throw light on

4.

A．Therefore

B．Similarly

C．Subsequently

D．However

5.

A．well-being

B．intelligence

C．interaction

D．behavior

6.

A．largest

B．busiest

C．loudest

D．richest

7.

A．difficult

B．successful

C．diverse

D．easy

8.

A．availability

B．capitalization

C．urbanization

D．convenience

9.

A．in pace with

B．in contact with

C．in league with

D．in conflict with

10.

A．recommend

B．justify

C．resist

D．advocate

11.

A．government

B．technology

C．finance

D．psychology

12.

A．quiet

B．brave

C．safe

D．alert

13.

A．trigger

B．satisfy

C．reduce

D．maintain

14.

A．steps in

B．takes over

C．cuts in

D．takes off

15.

A．traffic

B．construction

C．ceremony

D．background

9 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

The First Space Cat

In a few weeks, space scientists will celebrate a remarkable event — the 60th anniversary of the launch of the first cat into space, an astronautical success that has never been repeated.

In the early 60s, dogs and monkeys were the animals usually used by scientists to find out exactly     1    dangerous the conditions were in outer space. And they were also used to assess if humans     2     survive trips beyond the edge of Earth’s atmosphere.

A total of 14 street cats     3     (gather) at France’s space agency for selection as cat astronauts, but the cats were not given names on purpose in order to prevent scientists from becoming too fond of them. The cat selected to travel to space was simply known     4    C341. C341 flew on a French rocket in October 1963, taking it to a place     5    no cat had gone before.

Then,     6    the news of its flight was announced on 18 October 1963, the French press decided this cat had to have its name. They picked “Felix” after a cartoon cat character, only     7     (discover) that C341 was female, so her name was then adjusted to “Felicette” as a result. In putting Felicette in one of its rockets, France added a new species to the list of animals that scientists     8     (send) into space before. Previously, two garden spiders, Anita and Arebella, had been taken to the Skylab     9    (orbit) around the moon.

“In the 60s,     10    (concern) about the possible danger for a human to be in outer space, scientists and engineers primarily undertook animal space flights to see if they suffered or their lives were threatened by the weightlessness or increased radiation or other effects they might experience up there,” said astronomer Jake Foster at the Royal Observatory Greenwich. “The fact that they did not fail paved the way for humans to begin journeys into space.”

10 . The Grey’s Anatomy doctors are navigating the patients that have kept them on our screens for some 400 episodes of the show. But in this episode, for the first time, the _______ to the drama is the very real issue of climate change. It’s a relatively rare example of the many kinds of climate-related storylines that are typically missing from _______ TV and film worlds. Social scientists argue that climate is a topic that belongs in many kinds of on-screen stories, not just the _______ climate-disaster thriller.

But can seeing the realities of climate change affecting characters on the screen help us relate _______ to the unfolding climate crisis – to cope better, or even change our behavior?

Non-profit storytelling consultancy Good Energy believes it can. It is among a small but growing number of organizations _______ far more TV and film scripts to _______ climate-related storylines. In April 2022, it released its Good Energy Playbook, a set of guidelines for embedding climate change into any on-screen story. It joins other initiatives in drawing attention to the need for film and TV to _______ the numerous ways climate change leaves its mark on our everyday lives.

The Good Energy Playbook’s suggestions are appropriately wide-ranging: characters with climate anxiety and those fighting against injustice; utopian (乌托邦的) narratives that explore climate solutions; storylines that quietly _______ climate references into their characters’ worlds.

The playbook was created by Good Energy founder Anna Jane Joyner, “It started as a personal _______, where I just got on the phone with as many screenwriters as I could,” she says. She quickly learned that writers wanted to talk about climate, but “didn’t really have the support and toolset to be able to do it”.

Many research studies looked at the impact introducing climate stories had on viewers, and found it prompted greater concern about climate change. It also ________ people’s understanding of it and made them more likely to take action to reduce their emissions. ________, science tells us that stories have a power that hard facts often don’t. Research has long established that the human brain finds it easier to understand and remember information delivered as a ________, and has even found that stories can influence behavior.

Climate stories, then, seem like a pretty good idea. But these sorts of narratives have been few and far between. Julie Doyle, professor of media at the University of Brighton in the UK, says climate change has ________ for years to get into any form of fictional film or TV representation. “There’s been a silence around it,” she says.

It’s time to break the climate silence, says Doyle. “Mainstream media has tended to follow rather than lead, and it would be great if mainstream media could lead this.” Day-to-day mentions of climate change in media are especially important because, while blockbuster climate films can have a positive impact on awareness and action, the effect is sadly __________. People can feel inspired to take action in the moment, but the feeling __________ in a matter of weeks.

1.

A．resistance

B．background

C．response

D．application

2.

A．fictional

B．scientific

C．educational

D．theoretical

3.

A．logical

B．moral

C．occasional

D．spiritual

4.

A．differently

B．effortlessly

C．reluctantly

D．systematically

5.

A．depending on

B．referring to

C．identifying with

D．calling for

6.

A．restore

B．feature

C．demonstrate

D．sponsor

7.

A．reflect

B．maintain

C．eliminate

D．strengthen

8.

A．integrate

B．reverse

C．initiate

D．publish

9.

A．transition

B．campaign

C．achievement

D．association

10.

A．transferred

B．promoted

C．shifted

D．underestimated

11.

A．For example

B．As a result

C．On the contrary

D．In addition

12.

A．narrative

B．character

C．plot

D．memory

13.

A．explored

B．competed

C．struggled

D．appealed

14.

A．narrow-minded

B．ever-changing

C．short-lived

D．far-sighted

15.

A．resumes

B．fades

C．deepens

D．increases