1 . Last summer, bird-watchers confirmed the discovery of a new species of bird in Cambodia was not an event of particular biological significance, but it was striking for one reason in part. This species of bird was discovered not in an unspoiled rain forest but within the limits Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh – a city the size of Philadelphia.

What the researchers found was surprising in cities. The medium-sized city in the state about 110 species of birds, over 95 percent of which would have been growing there urbanization. Ecologically speaking, cities are different, concrete buildings. Rather, each unique bio-profile – a kind of ecological fingerprint – that is against the idea of an environment dead zone.

Of course, it’s also true that in the world of birds and plants, as in human society, there is such a thing as worldwide—the city-inhabitants who feel equally at home in San Francisco, Milan and Beijing. Four birds occur in more than 80 percent of the cities studied, and 11 plants occurred in more than 90 percent of the cities. On the plant side, those are seemingly spread by European settlement. In the air, it’s the usual suspects: the rock pigeon and many other birds. “They have become completely adapted to urban life,”Katti says. “That’s not much of surprise. But they don’t actually dominate as much as we think they do.” Those species—occurring in the cities across the globe—represent only a small part of a city’s natural varieties.

Not all cities are equal protectors of native animals and plants, though. One of the biggest predictors for a city’s biodiversity is its urban design. Territory as varied as backyards and street trees can lay important roles in greening a city. In fact, the amount of green space is a stronger predictor of the density of biodiversity than a city’s size. A metropolis with a sizable network of parks can contain more species per square mile than a much smaller city.

In a world where architecture, food, language, fashion and commerce are increasingly globalized, a city’s native animals and plants can be a kind of identity. There may be neighborhoods in London and Paris that resemble Singapore or Hong Kong. Cities are becoming similar, but their natural environments stand completely apart.

1. According to the passage, what do you think of Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital?

A．It is full of various rare plants and animals.

B．Its birds’ population is larger than that of San Francisco.

C．It’s as big as Philadelphia in terms of area.

D．It is on an equal footing with Beijing and Milan.

2. Which of the following statements is NOT the same as the author’s idea?

A．From a biological point new changes happen every day.

B．From an environmental point the daily changes aren’t obvious enough.

C．Each city has different characteristics in terms of ecological development.

D．Different species of creatures are born in different cities.

3. Some plants are found in many cities in the world, which seems to be a result of ____.

A．natural selection	B．globalization
C．urban development	D．colonization

4. Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?

A．What Surprising Cities! The Medium-sized City Has Various Species of Birds!

B．The Power of Plants and Animals! The Charm of All the Cities!

C．The Cities Are Concrete Jungles! Never Think about Them the Same Way Again!

D．More Species Per Square Mile! The Amount of Green Space Is a Stronger Predictor!

2 . The purpose of a map is to express graphically the relations of points and features on the earth’s surface to each other. These are determined by distance and direction. In early times distance was often expressed in units of time, for example “so many hours’ march” or “a day’s journey by river”, but such measurements gave more information about the relative ease of crossing the local terrain than they did about actual distance. The other element is direction, but for the ordinary traveller, whose main concern was “Where do I go from here?” and “How far away is it?”, the accurate representation of direction was not of primary importance. Partly for this reason, written itineraries (行程) for a long time rivaled maps. Even today, certain types of maps, for example, those showing railway systems, may make little attempt to show true directions. Similarly, obvious landmarks along a route were at first indicated by signs, realistic or conventional (惯常的), and varied in size to indicate their importance. Clearly the conventions employed varied with the purpose of the map, and also from place to place, so that in studying early maps the first essential is to understand the particular convention employed.

The history of cartography (制图) is largely that of the increase in the accuracy with which these elements of distance and direction are determined and in the comprehensiveness of the map content. In this development, cartography has called in other sciences to its aid. For example, instead of determining direction by observing the position of a shadow at midday, or of a constellation (星座) in the night sky, or even of a steady wind, use was made of terrestrial magnetism (地磁学) through the magnetic compass, and instruments were evolved which enabled horizontal angles to be calculated with great accuracy.

The application of astronomical concepts, and the extension of the knowledge of the world through exploration, encouraged attempts to map the known world. Then astronomers discovered that the earth is not a perfect sphere, but is flattened slightly at the poles, which introduced further refinements into the mapping of large areas. Meanwhile, the demands being made of the map maker were shifting significantly. The traveller or the merchant ceased to be the sole user of maps. The soldier, especially after the introduction of artillery, and the problems of range, field of fire, and dead ground which it raised, demanded an accurate representation of the surface features, in place of the earlier conventional or pictorial delineation (描绘), and a solution in any degree satisfactory was not reached until the contour (等高线) was invented.

1. Why might early maps have been misleading?

A．Distances could not be calculated reliably.

B．They were based on written itineraries.

C．They were drawn by ordinary travelers.

D．Distances tended to be overestimated.

2. What problem did early maps exhibit when showing landmarks?

A．The signs used bore little relation to the landmarks.

B．The selection of landmarks was faulty.

C．They used symbols that were not standardized.

D．They sometimes included unimportant features.

3. In the second paragraph, the writer says that ______ made better quality map-making easier.

A．a greater understanding of climatic factor

B．greater accuracy in draughtsmanship (绘图术)

C．more accuracy in measurement

D．more intensive map production

4. What encouraged the search for a more precise means of mapping the physical geography of the landscape?

A．Discovery in astronomy.	B．The growth of mathematical science.
C．The activities of the great explorers.	D．Military considerations.

3 . 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.

Is climate change consuming your favorite foods?

Coffee: Whether or not you try to limit yourself to one cup of coffee a day, the effects of climate change on the world’s coffee-growing regions may leave you little choice.     1     America, Africa, Asia and Hawaii are all being threatened by rising air temperatures and unstable rainfall patterns, which invite disease and     2     species to live on the coffee plant and ripening beans. The result? Significant cuts in coffee yield and less coffee in your cup. It is estimated that, if current climate patterns continue, half of the areas     3     suitable for coffee production won't be by the year 2050.

Tea: When it comes to tea, warmer climates and erratic precipitation aren't only     4     the world's tea-growing regions, they're also messing with its distinct flavor. For example, in India, researchers have already discovered that the Indian Monsoon has brought more intense rainfall, making tea flavor weaker. Recent research coming out of the University of Southampton suggests that tea-producing areas in some places,     5     East Africa, could decline by as much as 55 percent by 2050 as precipitation and temperatures change. Tea pickers are also feeling the     6     of climate change. During harvest season, increased air temperatures are creating an increased risk of heatstroke for field workers.

Seafood: Climate change is affecting the world's aquaculture as much as its agriculture. As air temperatures rise, oceans and waterways absorb some of the heat and     7     warming of their own. The result is a decline in fish population, including in lobsters (who are cold-blooded creatures), and salmon (whose eggs find it hard to survive in higher water temps). Warmer waters also     8     toxic marine bacteria, like Vibrio, to grow and cause illness in humans whenever ingested with raw seafood, like oysters or sashimi.

And that     9     "crack" you get when eating crab and lobster? It could be silenced as shellfish struggle to build their calcium(碳) carbonate shells, a result of ocean acidification (absorb carbon dioxide from the air). According to a study, scientists predicted that if over-fishing and rising temperature trends continued at their present rate, the world's seafood     10     would run out by the year 2050.

4 . 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.

Wayward Penguin(企鹅)Released South of New Zealand

He needed a little push before speeding backward down a slide. Once in the water, he held his head up for one last look. And then he was gone. The wayward emperor penguin       1     (know) as “Happy Feet” was back home in Antarctic waters after a temporary stay in New Zealand.

Happy Feet was released into the ocean south of New Zealand on Sunday, more than two months after he came ashore on a beach nearly 2,000 miles from home and became an instant celebrity.     2     (speak) from a satellite phone, Wellington Zoo veterinarian Lisa Argilla said Happy Feet’s release went remarkably smoothly. Argilla said crew members from the boat carried the penguin inside his box to the rear part of the ship for his final send-off.

    3     when they opened the door of the box, the penguin showed no interest in leaving.

“I needed to give him a little tap on his back,” Argilla said.

The penguin slipped down the slide on his stomach, bottom first, she said. He resurfaced about 6 feet from the boat,     4     (take) a look up at the people aboard, and then disappeared beneath the surface.

“I was really happy to see him go,” Argilla said. “The best part of my job is when you get to release animals back into the wild       5     they are supposed to be.”

The 3-foot-tall bird was found on June 20 on Peka Peka Beach, about 40 miles northwest of New Zealand’s capital, Wellington. It has been 44 years     6     an emperor penguin was last spotted in the wild in New Zealand.

At first, conservation authorities said they would wait and let nature take its course with the penguin. But it soon became clear the bird’s condition was growing     7     (bad), as he swallowed sand and, likely mistaking it for snow.

    8     the world watching, authorities finally took action, moving the penguin to the Wellington Zoo four days after he was discovered. It was at the zoo     9     the bird was given a home in a room filled with a bed of ice so he wouldn’t overheat.

Now that Happy Feet     10     (nurse) back to health, his chances are as good as they are for any other penguin in the wild.

“He swam away, not caring about us anymore,” Argilla said.

She paused.

“And that is a good thing,” she said.

5 . 阅读理解。
Is there link between humans and climate change or not? This question was first studied in the early 1900s. Since then, many scientists have thought that our actions do make a difference. In 1997, the Kyoto Protocol explained our role in the Earth’s changing atmosphere and set international limits for gas emissions(排放) from 2008 to 2012. Some countries have decided to continue these reductions until 2020. More recently, the Paris Agreement, stuck by nearly 200 countries, also aims to limit global warming. But just now how much warmer it will get depends on how deeply countries cut carbon emissions.

1. It can be concluded from paragraph 1 that _______.

A．the problem of global warming will have been quite solved by 2020

B．gas emissions have been effectively reduced in developed countries

C．the Paris Agreements is more influential than the Kyoto Protocol

D．humans have made continuous efforts to slow down global warming

2. If nations could only keep the initial promises of the Paris Agreement, what would happen by the year 2100?

A．The human population would increase by one third.

B．Little over 50% of all species would still exist.

C．Nations would not need to tighten their emissions targets.

D．The Agreement’s minimum goal would not be reached.

3. If those island nations not far above sea level are to survive, the maximum temperature rise, since the start of the industrial age, should be_______.

A．0.8℃	B．1.5℃
C．2℃	D．3.5℃

6 . Welcome to Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle is the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world and the Official Residence of the Queen of Britain. Over a period of nearly 1,000 years it has been     1    continuously, and altered and redecorated by monarchs(君主) one after the other. Some were great builders, strengthening the Castle against     2     and rebellion; others, living in more peaceful times, created a grand Royal residence. William the Conqueror chose the site, high above the river Thames and on the edge of a Saxon hunting ground. It was a day’s march from the Tower of London and intended to guard the western     3    to the capital. The outer walls of today’s structure are in the same position as those of the    4    castle built by William the Conqueror in the 1070s. The Queen uses the Castle both as a private home, where she usually spends the weekend, and as a Royal residence at which she undertakes certain formal duties. Windsor Castle is    5    used by the Queen to host State Visits from overseas monarchs and presidents. Every year the Queen takes up official residence in Windsor Castle for a month over Easter (March-April).

The Castle is huge, so people tend to head for the most    6    bits -- the State Apartments, St. George’s Chapel, the Gallery and the delightful Queen Mary’s Dolls House. Works of art, antique furniture, curiosities and impressive architecture reflect the tastes of many different royal generations. The State Apartments are    7    decorated formal rooms still used for state and official functions.

The magnificent and beautiful St. George’s Chapel was started in 1475 by Edward IV and was completed 50 years later by Henry VIII. It    8    among the finest examples of late medieval architecture in the UK.

The Drawings Gallery    9    the exhibition “The Queen: 60 Photographs for 60 Years”. The exhibition presents portraits of the Queen    10    in brief moments on both official occasions and at relaxed family gatherings.