1 . 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.

Your Cat Might Not Be Ignoring You When You Speak

Every cat owner has a story to tell of being blanked by their cat. We call to our cat, it turns away, and some of us might be left     1     (wonder) why we didn’t get a dog. But your cat may be listening after all. More than that, it     2     (care) more than you may think.

A study by French researchers     3     (publish) last month in the journal Animal Cognition found that not only do cats react to what scientists call cat-directed speech — a high-pitched (高音的) voice similar to     4     we talk to babies — they react to who is doing the talking.

“We found that hearing their owners using a high-pitched voice, cats reacted more than when hearing their owner speaking normally to another human adult,” said Charlotte de Mouzon, an author of the study. “But it actually didn’t work when it came from a stranger’s voice.”

    5     studies involving dogs, analyzing cat behavior is difficult, which is part of why humans understand them less. Cats are often so stressed by being in a lab     6     meaningful behavioral observations become impossible. And forget about trying to get a cat     7     (sit) still for an M.R.I. scan (核磁共振扫描) to study its brain function.

So the researchers for the latest study went to the cats’ homes and played recordings of different types of speech and different speakers. At first, there was concern from Dr. de Mouzon and her team for lack of reaction from the cats, but upon analysis of the film recordings, delicate reactions     8     (notice). “It could be just moving an ear or turning the head to the speaker or even freezing what     9     were doing,” Dr. de Mouzon said.

In the study, there were a few cases     10     cats would approach the speaker playing a voice and meow. “In the end, we had really clear gains in the cat’s attention when the owner was using cat-directed speech,” Dr. de Mouzon said.

2 . Human beings have somehow managed to engineer the night to receive us by filling it with light. This kind of control is no different from the feat ( 壮 举 ) of damming a river. Its benefits come with_________ — called light pollution — whose effects scientists are only now beginning to study. Light pollution is largely the result of bad lighting design. _________ lighting washes out the darkness of night, altering light levels and light rhythms to which many forms of life, including ourselves, have_________. Wherever man-made light spills into the natural world, some aspects of life-migration, reproduction, feeding-is affected.

For most human history, the phrase “light pollution” would have_________. Imagine walking towards London on a moonlit night around 1800, when it was Earth’s most populous city. Nearly a million people lived there, _________ candles, torches and lanterns, as they always had. Only a few houses were lit by gas, and there would be no public gaslights in the streets or squares for another seven years. From a few miles away, you would have been more likely to_________ London than to see its dim collective glow.

We’ve lit up the night as if it were a(n) _________ country. As a matter of fact, among mammals (哺乳动物) alone, the number of species active at night is astonishing. Light is a powerful biological force, and on many species it acts as a magnet attracting them to it. The effect is so powerful that scientists speak of songbirds and seabirds being_________ by searchlights on land or by the light from gas flares on marine oil platforms, circling and circling in the thousands until they drop.

It was once thought that light pollution only affected astronomers, who need to see the night sky in all its glorious clarity. Unlike astronomers, most of us may not need a_________ view of the night sky for our work. __________, like most other creatures, we do need darkness. __________ darkness is pointless. It is as essential to maintaining our biological welfare as__________ itself; the price of modifying our internal clockwork means it doesn’t operate as it should, causing various physical discomforts. So fundamental are the regular rhythms of waking and sleep to our being that__________ them is similar to altering our center of gravity.

In a very real sense, light pollution causes us to__________ our true place in the universe, to forget the scale of our being, which is best__________ against the dimensions of a deep night with the Milky Way — the edge of our galaxy — arching overhead.

1.

A．consequences

B．achievements

C．agreements

D．circumstances

2.

A．Randomly-designed

B．Well-designed

C．Poorly-designed

D．Economically-designed

3.

A．appealed

B．adapted

C．objected

D．amounted

4.

A．come under criticism

B．made no difference

C．come into effect

D．made no sense

5.

A．making do with

B．fed up with

C．identifying with

D．overflowing with

6.

A．visit

B．greet

C．feel

D．smell

7.

A．independent

B．disconnected

C．unoccupied

D．excluded

8.

A．exposed

B．captured

C．dismissed

D．frustrated

9.

A．clear

B．comprehensive

C．traditional

D．critical

10.

A．Subsequently

B．However

C．Therefore

D．Similarly

11.

A．Reviewing

B．Embracing

C．Denying

D．Regulating

12.

A．light

B．rhythm

C．status

D．dawn

13.

A．emerging from

B．withdrawing from

C．messing with

D．coinciding with

14.

A．keep track of

B．lose sight of

C．catch hold of

D．let go of

15.

A．measured

B．neutralized

C．undergone

D．supervised

3 . On a dark night, 11-year-old Joe was playing hide-and-seek with his friends in the backyard when he thought he saw Magellan—a huge housecat. However, when the cat suddenly jumped on his head, Joe found it turned out a young cougar. He backed away from the animal, then turned and ran inside the house.

Cougar encounters like this one are becoming increasingly common in the U.S. Most people assume that’s because cougar populations are growing, or because the big cats are coming into closer contact with the expanding web of human suburbs. But Professor Robert Wielgus at Washington State University argues that poorly designed hunting policies might be causing an increase in cougar-human conflicts.

Wielgus’s research teams have been fitting the big cats with radio collars and monitoring their movements. They find that the cougar population is actually declining rapidly and almost no male cougars are over four years of age. And a study shows that the heavily hunted area has five times as many cougar complaints as the lightly hunted area—even though the density of cougars is about the same in both areas.

Wielgus suspects that hunting policies, which allow older males to be killed to keep cougar populations in check, were the culprit and teenage cougars in the heavily hunted area may be responsible for most of the trouble. To test his theory, he adds two more groups of cougars to the tracking program—one in a heavily hunted area and another in a comparable but lightly hunted area. He concludes that heavy hunting indeed almost wipes out older males and the population structure in the heavily hunted area shifts toward younger animals.

With these findings, Wielgus believes without adults to keep them under control, the disorderly teens are more likely to come into conflict with humans, farm animals and pets.

Wielgus’s ideas don’t sit well with everyone. “Hunting definitely does cause lots of teenage males to flow in, but I don’t yet see solid proof that they are more likely to cause trouble than older cats,” says the University of Montana’s Robinson. “In many cases, the new arrivals have been squeezed out of remote wilderness habitat and forced into areas where they are more likely to encounter humans. I think humans are primarily responsible for all the interaction you see. We’re moving into these areas where cougars and deer are,” according to Alldredge, a researcher at the Colorado Division of Wildlife.

We may not understand what makes 18-year-old males more likely than 48-year-old men to do dangerous things, Wielgus says, but we know that the world would be a different place, if teenagers were in charge.

1. The passage begins with a story to ________.

A．lead into the topic	B．describe an incident
C．show the author’s attitude	D．warn of the dangers of cougars

2. The underline word “culprit” in Para. 4 is closest in meaning to ________.

A．effect

B．evidence

C．cause

D．target

3. Which of the following is true?

A．Alldredge agrees hunting results in the arrival of lots of teens.

B．Robinson doubts whether age is a key factor in human-cougar conflicts.

C．Alldredge believes killing older males may cause a bigger threat.

D．Robinson holds humans are to blame for the fall of older males.

4. What might Wielgus suggest to reduce cougar attacks?

A．Driving teenage cougars back into their natural habitat.

B．Getting people to move out of the areas where cougars are.

C．Forbidding children to play in the backyard by themselves.

D．Changing hunting policies to ensure a healthy cougar population.

5 . What do you know about fashion? The fashion industry, which has become one of the most _________ to the planet, is having a moment of punishment. But which changes make a difference, and which ones just _________ in the wash? In fact, the fashion industry is second only to the oil industry, the most environmentally unfriendly industry.

A friend of mine _________ an antique clothes store in the north of London. Business has been good for many years, which makes her acquire a large fortune. Every few weeks, she visits a vast storehouse on the edge of the city to go through piles of clothing. Most of it is _________, but if you know what you are looking for, there are raw diamonds. The storehouse has a long history. It was once a clearing house for the low-quality wool scraps(碎料) that were used to make cheap clothing for the _________ in Victorian Britain. A century on, _________ has changed. Nowadays, it is full of modern-day inferior products, all _________ cheap clothing made for the masses around the world. Except that this stuff is going to be burned or buried, not being reused.

The items are the products of an industry that, in the past 30 years, has become one of the most successful and also most _________ on the planet. Known as fast fashion, it has filled our wardrobes(衣柜) with cheap and cheerful clothes. But after three decades of continuous growth, the model is in _________ with fundamental environmental limits and there is widespread agreement – even from within the industry – that it is time to ____________. Otherwise, “Fast fashion” creates a mountain of unsellable, cheap clothing that ends up in a terrible place.

“The fashion industry represents a key environmental ____________,” says Kirsi Niinimäki at Aalto University in Espoo, Finland. “Eventually, the long-term stability of the fashion industry ____________ the total abandonment of the fast-fashion model.” Like fast food, fast fashion is all about instant ____________ on the cheap.

One wonders: What can we do about it? Don’t you have any clothes on? It’s not that ____________. More importantly, don’t waste, learn to control your desires and ____________ falling into this “Fast fashion” lifestyle. As the guardian columnist Lucy Seagal once said, the “Fast fashion” industry is profit-driven, but consumers who have experienced “over-consumption” will naturally grow tired of it, and the market will have its choice.

1.

A．convincing

B．interesting

C．confusing

D．damaging

2.

A．carry out

B．come out

C．set out

D．break out

3.

A．builds

B．runs

C．supports

D．controls

4.

A．expensive

B．useless

C．worthless

D．attractive

5.

A．businessmen

B．children

C．locals

D．masses

6.

A．little

B．few

C．much

D．many

7.

A．on behalf of

B．in the form of

C．for the sake of

D．in terms of

8.

A．effective

B．destructive

C．preventive

D．alternative

9.

A．quarrel

B．argument

C．fight

D．conflict

10.

A．tell the truth

B．hit the brakes

C．pave the way

D．break the ice

11.

A．threat

B．effect

C．problem

D．protection

12.

A．results from

B．consists of

C．brings about

D．relies on

13.

A．ambition

B．action

C．satisfaction

D．attraction

14.

A．far

B．extreme

C．bad

D．complex

15.

A．enjoy

B．imagine

C．miss

D．avoid

8 . I’ve been in an 18-year love-hate relationship with a black walnut tree.

It’s a unique tree. In late September or early October, falling fruits as hard as baseballs threaten the skulls (头骨) of you, your children, your neighbors and those that reside next door to them. Umbrellas in the yard are a must while dining in early August, and as for me, I wear my bike helmet while working in the garden.

The black walnut also releases a chemical substance through its roots as a competitive strategy. It’s poisonous to several common plants. There have been many new plant varieties that I brought home with hopes that maybe the black walnut would accept them, but they failed to flourish.

What does work are native plants that naturally grow in the area. Native plants are important to have around since they provide beneficial pollinators (传粉者) like birds, bees and butterflies with seeds and contribute to a healthy and biodiverse environment. Native plants for this area are generally easy to grow, so they experience less stress.

Have I thought of getting rid of this giant pain in my tiny backyard? Yes, however, getting rid of this tree standing at 50 feet with an 87-inch trunk is next to impossible. It’s also protected under the law. Rightfully so. Trees are important to the urban forest and for all of those that inhabit it.

Sometimes I think about my life without the black walnut. I can’t imagine a spring without the birds who arrive every year and loudly sing their songs before dawn. I’d miss falling asleep on lazy weekend afternoons as I look up into its leaves.

Every spring, I wonder what the season holds: What are the chances of being knocked unconscious while barbecuing? Like any good relationship, I’ll never be pleased. I’m stuck with this tree, so I’ll listen to its needs and give it the space it requires. In return, my walnut offers a habitat for wildlife and a reminder.

1. Why does the author wear a bike helmet while working in the garden?

A．To protect the injured skull.	B．To prevent herself from sunburn.
C．To avoid being hit by the nuts.	D．To reduce the chance of getting bitten by bees.

2. What is the tree’s survival strategy?

A．It attracts beneficial pollinators.

B．It lets out poison to drive away pests.

C．It produces a chemical fatal to some plants.

D．It competes for nutrition with similar species.

3. Which of the following DOESN’T account for the author’s love-hate relationship with the tree?

A．The volume of its fruits may bring inconvenience.

B．The tree outcompetes the native plants in the garden.

C．The tree is home to numerous birds and other creatures.

D．The presence of the tree takes up much space of the garden.

4. The author most probably got a reminder from the tree that ________.

A．it’s better to give than to take

B．trees and plants have their own ways to flourish

C．even a good relationship is not always trouble-free

D．acceptance, instead of resistance, is the better way to be

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.

Japan Releases Nuclear Wastewater into the Pacific. How Worried Should We Be?

Japan has started releasing wastewater into the ocean. But this isn’t the kind of wastewater     1     flows from city streets into stormwater drains. It’s treated nuclear wastewater used to cool damaged reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant,     2     (strike) by an earthquake over a decade ago.

Since the accident, over 1.3 million tons of nuclear wastewater     3     (collect), treated, and stored in a tank farm at the plant. That storage space is about to run out, the Japanese government says, leaving no choice other than     4     (begin) dumping the wastewater into the Pacific.

Japan’s discharge plan involves incrementally (递增地) releasing it over the next three decades, although some experts say it could take longer, given the amount still     5     (produce). Some of Japan’s neighbors are criticizing the plan as unilateral and dangerous. On May 15, South Korea’s opposition leader ridiculed Japanese leaders’ claims that the water is safe enough to drink: “    6     it is safe enough to drink, they should use it as drinking water.”

Now, American scientists are raising concerns that marine life and ocean currents could carry harmful radioactive isotopes (同位素) —also called radionuclides—    7     the entire Pacific Ocean.

“It’s a trans-boundary and trans-generational event,” says Robert Richmond, director of the Kewalo Marine Laboratory at the University of Hawaii. “    8     released into the ocean off of Fukushima is not going to stay in one place.”

The radionuclides could be carried by ocean currents, especially the cross-Pacific Kuroshio current. Marine animals that migrate great distances could spread them too. No     9    (worrying) as carriers, Richmond says, are phytoplankton—free-floating organisms that are the basis of the food chain for all marine life and can capture radionuclides from the Fukushima cooling water. When swallowed, those isotopes may “accumulate in a variety of fish, marine mammals, and humans.”

Richmond and Buesseler say that     10     they’ve been allowed access to much of the same data as the IAEA, they remain suspicious. “The root of this problem is that they are moving already with a plan that has not yet shown that it will work,” Buesseler says. “They’re saying, ‘We can make it work. We’ll treat it as many times as it takes.’ If you want to put a nickname on this plan, it’s ‘trust us; we’ll take care of it.’”

10 . Climate experts have warned about the many ways a warming planet can negatively affect human health. ________ global temperatures are predicted to increase by 1.5℃ by the 2030s, that risk is becoming increasingly real.

One long-held prediction that appears to be coming true — according to the results of a study recently published in Nature Scientific Reports — is how climate change might enhance ________ of bacteria that thrive and spread through warm sea waters and cause an infection with a particularly high ________ rate.

Vibrio vulnificus (创伤弧菌) flourishes in salty or brackish waters above 68℉. Infections are currently rare in the U.S., but that’s likely to change. Using 30 years of data on infections, scientists at the University of East Anglia in the U.K. found that Vibrio vulnificusis ________ from its historic Gulf Coast range, with more Northern states reporting infections as waters become warmer.

“We’re seeing the core ________ of infections extending to areas that traditionally have very few and very rare cases,” says Elizabeth Archer, a Ph.D. researcher and ________ author of the study. “But these areas are now coming into the main area of infections.”

Based on the latest data on how much the world’s water and air temperatures will rise, the scientists predict that by 2081, Vibrio vulnificus infections could reach every state along the U.S. East Coast. Currently, only about 80 cases are reported in the U.S. each year; by 2081, that could go up to over three-fold, the authors say.

Such a proliferation could have serious health consequences. Vibrio vulnificus kills approximately 20% of the healthy people it infects, and 50% of those with weakened immune systems. There is little evidence that antibiotics can ________ the infection, but doctors may prescribe them in some cases. People can get infected either by eating raw shellfish like oysters or by exposing small ________ to waters where the bacteria live, which can lead to serious skin infections.

Warming sea temperatures aren’t the only reasons behind the rise of Vibrio vulnificus. Hotter air also draws more people to the coasts and bays, bringing them into closer contact with the bacteria.

“The bacteria are part of the natural marine environment, so I don’t think we can ________ it from the environment,” says Archer. “It’s more about mitigating infections by increasing ________ of the risk.”

To alert people to the growing threat, ________ systems are needed to track when concentrations of bacteria start to rise, similar to currently available pollen and pollution alarm.

Vbrio vulnificus is so ________ to temperature changes that concentrations could bloom after even a day of warmer water, so consistent monitoring and alerts are critical, says Iain Lake, professor of environmental epidemiology at University of East Anglia and senior author of the paper.

Lake says the expansion of Vibrio vulnificus is concerning for public health since the bacteria are now invading waters closer to heavily ________ areas, such as New York and Philadelphia. “Everyone can get a Vibrio vulnificus infection,” he says. “But the more ________ there is between warmer waters and people, the more the bacteria can move into populations ________ the elderly and those with other health conditions, who are more vulnerable to infections.”

1.

A．Even if

B．Except when

C．The instant

D．In case

2.

A．numbers

B．ranges

C．coverages

D．concentrations

3.

A．failure

B．fatality

C．survival

D．acid

4.

A．ranging

B．varying

C．expanding

D．shifting

5.

A．distribution

B．launch

C．community

D．sample

6.

A．principle

B．lead

C．principal

D．hit

7.

A．boost

B．accelerate

C．contain

D．remove

8.

A．harms

B．damages

C．injuries

D．wounds

9.

A．relieve

B．dissolve

C．resolve

D．erase

10.

A．conscience

B．awareness

C．panic

D．alert

11.

A．monitoring

B．processing

C．managing

D．delivering

12.

A．sensible

B．vital

C．vulnerable

D．sensitive

13.

A．populated

B．dense

C．paralleled

D．bordered

14.

A．reaction

B．interaction

C．intervention

D．relativity

15.

A．rather than

B．except for

C．such as

D．other than