1 . 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. army   B. available   C. displayed   D. reserves   E. straight   F. inserted G. additional   H. advocates   I. initiative   J. proven   K. existing

A new way to reduce poaching

Researchers are working on a pilot program backed by Russia’s Rosatom Corp to inject rhino horns (犀牛角) with radioactive material, a strategy that could discourage consumption and make it easier to detect illegal trade.

Poachers (偷猎者) killed 394 rhinos in South Africa for their horns last year, government data shows, with public and private game     1     lacking the resources needed to monitor vast tracts of land and protect the animals that live there. While the toll was a third lower than in 2019 and the sixth     2     drop, illegal hunting remains the biggest threat to about 20,000 of the animals in the country — the world’s biggest population.

Thousands of     3     sensors along international borders could be used to detect a small quantity of radioactive material     4     into the horns, according to James Larkin, a professor at the University of Witswatersrand in Johannesburg, who has a background in radiation protection and nuclear security. “A whole new     5     of people could be able to detect the illegal movement of rhino horn,” he said. Some alternate methods of discouraging poaching, including poisoning, dyeing and removing the horns, have raised a variety of opinions as to their virtue and efficacy.

Known as The Rhisotope Project, the new anti-poaching     6     started earlier this month with the injection of an amino acid (氨基酸) into two rhinos’ horns in order to detect whether the compound will move into the animals’ bodies. Also,     7     studies using computer modeling and a replica rhino head will be done to determine a safe dose of radioactive material. Rhino horn is used in traditional medicine, as it is believed to cure disease such as cancer,     8     as a show of wealth and given as gifts.

“If we make it radioactive, these people will be hesitant to buy it,” Larkin said. “We’re pushing on the whole supply chain.”

Besides Russia’s state-owned nuclear company, the University of Witwatersrand, scientists and private rhino owners are involved in the project. If the method is     9     feasible, it could also be used to curb illegal trade in elephant ivory.

“Once we have developed the whole project and got to the point where we completed the proof of concept, then we will be making this whole idea     10     to whoever wants to use it,” Larkin said.

2 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passages 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.

Beethov-hen’s first symphony

On a grey Friday morning at a Hawke’s Bay farm, members of New Zealand’s symphony orchestra dressed in black to perform their latest composition in front of a large crowd.

The music contained many marks of traditional classical music, but as it began, the instruments started to make loud, rough sounds more commonly     1     (hear) in chicken coops than in an auditorium.

However, no feathers were angered by this departure from tradition,     2     the audience that gathered to listen to the concert last week was, in fact, a couple of thousand chickens.

The piece of music – Chook Symphony No.1 –     3     (create) specifically for the birds out of an unlikely partnership between the orchestra and an organic free-range chicken farm which wanted a piece of chicken-friendly music to enrich its flocks’ lives.

“We’ve been playing classical music for the chickens for some years now because     4     is well researched that the music can calm the chickens down,” says Ben Bostock, one of the two brothers who     5     (own) the Bostock Brothers farm.

Research has shown animals can respond positively to classical music, and chickens are particularly responsive to baroque (巴洛克风格), according to some studies.

The composer, Hamish Oliver,     6     used the baroque tradition as a starting point and drew inspiration from composers such as Corelli, Bach, and Schnittke, wanted the piece to be playful by including sounds from a chicken’s world. “The trumpet imitates the chicken… the woodwind instruments are the cluckiest, especially if you take the reeds off.”

The early stages of composition were spent     7     (test) out which instruments and sounds the chickens responded to best.

“They didn’t like any big banging,” Bostock said, adding that when the birds respond positively to the music, they tend     8     (wander) farther among the trees. Bostock now hopes chicken farmers around the world will use the piece of music to calm their own birds.

For Oliver, having input from the farmers about     9     the chickens were responding to particular sounds and instruments was a highlight of the project.

The symphony has searched exhaustively     10     any other examples of orchestras making music specifically for chickens and believes this to be a world-first, says Peter Biggs, the orchestra’s chief executive.

3 . Mary kept tossing and turning in her sleeping bag. It was late in the night. She had been a school counsellor in the summer camp for a year now. She took care of young children who were as young as seven. That night, she was having a bad dream. In it, she was running desperately towards a river. She kept shouting, “Fire!”

Mary was awake. She realized that she had been shouting in her sleep. Suddenly, she smelled smoke. Then she saw shadows dancing against the walls of the tent. Mary jumped up and hurried to the opening in the tent. A tree was on fire! Fanned by the wind, the fire leaped up hungrily to devour everything in its path. It was going to spread to the tents very soon.

Time was of essence so Mary pulled the four children instantly out of their sleeping bags. “Fire! Fire!” She yelled, as loudly as she could.” Wake up! Get up!” After that, Mary ran back to her tent and grabbed all the sleeping bags she could carry. By then, everyone had emerged from their tents. Their faces were etched with confusion. Mary took the youngest child by the hand. Knowing that the sleeping bags would be useful, Mary pulled them along. Everyone quickly but calmly followed her. They held on to each other, in solemn silence.

After they ran to the river, Mary pulled the children into the water. Then she got into it herself. She dragged the sleeping bags in. She pushed them under the water until they were soaked. Mary was not surprised that all the trees were on fire. It had been an extremely hot season and everything in the forest was dry. Soon, they saw many animals racing to the river. Deer, rabbits and squirrels splashed into it. By then, the fire roared. Mary and other adults grabbed the wet sleeping bags and pulled them over the children’s heads.

Everything around them was bright orange and the sleeping bags had to stay wet. They made a final effort to splash water over all the sleeping bags and hid under the water.

The heat and smoke finally ended. Mary raised her head and looked around. To her relief, all the children had escaped unhurt. People all called out, “You saved our lives.” Mary suddenly thought of the dream she had.

1. The underlined word devour is closest in meaning to ________.

A．brighten

B．destroy

C．evaluate

D．refuse

2. Why did Mary carry sleeping bags with her in the first place?

A．Because some children were still in the bags

B．Because these sleeping bags were expensive.

C．Because the bags could protect them against fire in the water.

D．Because bags could be used to put out the fire.

3. According to Mary, why did the fire spread so quickly?

A．Because someone set the fire.	B．Because there were no fire fighters.
C．Because it was rather try.	D．Because animals worsened the fire.

4 . Everybody loves to hate invasive species. The international list of invasive species—defined as those that were introduced by humans to new places, and then _________ — runs to over 4,000. In Australia and New Zealand hot war is fought against introduced creatures like cane toads (蔗蟾蜍) and rats.

Some things that are uncontroversial (无争议的) are nonetheless foolish. With a few important exceptions, campaigns to   _________ invasive species are merely a waste of money and effort — for reasons that are partly practical and partly philosophical.

Start with the practical arguments. Most invasive species are neither terribly successful nor very _________ . Britons think themselves surrounded by foreign plants. _________ , Britain’s invasive plants are not widespread, not spreading especially quickly, and often less of a(n) _________ than vigorous native plants. The arrival of new species almost always _________ biological diversity (多样性) in a region; in many cases, a flood of newcomers drives no native species to extinction. One reason is that invaders tend to colonise _________ habitats like polluted lakes and post-industrial wasteland, where little else lives. They are nature’s opportunists.

The philosophical reason for starting war on the invaders is also _________. Elimination campaigns tend to be   _________ by the belief that it is possible to restore balance to nature — to return woods and lakes to the state before human   ____________ . That is misguided. Nature is an everlasting mess, with species constantly emerging, withdrawing and hybridizing (杂交). Humans have only quickened these processes. Going back to ancient habitats is becoming ____________ in any case, because of man-made climate change. Taking on the invaders is a(n) ____________ gesture, not a means to an achievable end.

A reasonable attitude to invaders need not imply passivity. A few foreign species are truly ____________ and should be fought: the Nile perch – a fish, has helped drive many species of fish to extinction in Lake Victoria. It makes sense to ____________ pathogens (病菌), especially those that destroy whole native tree species, and to stop known agricultural pests from gaining a foothold. Fencing off wildlife reserves to create open-air ecological museums is fine, too. And it is a good idea for European gardeners to destroy Japanese plants, just as they give no space to native harmful grasses like bindweed and ground elder. You can garden in a garden. You cannot garden ____________ . That is universally accepted.

1.

A．multiplied

B．shrunk

C．disappeared

D．harvested

2.

A．conserve

B．eliminate

C．investigate

D．prioritize

3.

A．healthy

B．intentional

C．harmful

D．profitable

4.

A．As a result

B．For example

C．By contrast

D．In fact

5.

A．attraction

B．dominance

C．annoyance

D．substitute

6.

A．increases

B．destroys

C．reveals

D．targets

7.

A．oppressed

B．disturbed

C．cultivated

D．preserved

8.

A．acceptable

B．needless

C．mistaken

D．convincing

9.

A．fueled

B．organized

C．interrupted

D．greeted

10.

A．civilization

B．interference

C．interaction

D．maintenance

11.

A．tolerable

B．impossible

C．beneficial

D．critical

12.

A．reluctant

B．disorderly

C．invalid

D．unbalanced

13.

A．damaging

B．flexible

C．doubtful

D．outstanding

14.

A．pick up

B．take in

C．keep out

D．turn down

15.

A．agriculture

B．vegetation

C．atmosphere

D．nature

5 . Do you celebrate Earth Day? There are a few things you probably don’t know about this global environmental celebration.

The first Earth Day was held on April 22, 1970. It has been celebrated on this day annually since. Every year people across the world come together to celebrate Earth Day. The celebration is marked by lots of different activities, from festivals to running races. Earth Day events typically have one theme in common: to show support for environmental issues and increase future generations’ awareness about the need to protect our planet.

In 1962, Gaylord Nelson began trying to convince the authorities to establish a festival about environmental protection after his election to the Senate（参议院）, but he was repeatedly told that Americans were not concerned about environmental issues. As a result, Nelson focused his attention on college students. He proved authorities wrong when participants from 2,000 colleges and universities, 10,000 primary and secondary schools and hundreds of communities across the United States got together in their local communities to mark the occasion of the very first Earth Day in 1970, showing their support for environmental issues across the country. Events were focused on pollution, oil spill damage, the loss of wilderness and the extinction of wildlife.

Over the years, Earth Day has grown from local people’s efforts to a global network of environmental activity. Events can be found everywhere from tree planting activities at your local park to online Twitter parties that share information about environmental issues. Earth Day is now celebrated in 192 countries, and by billions of people around the world.

How can you get involved? The possibilities are endless. Pick up trash in your neighborhood. Go to an Earth Day festival. Make a commitment（承诺）to reduce your food waste or electricity use. Organize an event in your community. Plant a tree. Plant a garden. Visit a national park. Talk to your friends and family about environmental issues such as climate change and pollutions.

The best part? You don’t need to wait until April 22 to celebrate Earth Day. Make every day Earth Day and help to make this planet a better place for all of us to live and enjoy.

1. What can you learn about Earth Day from the passage?

A．It was first celebrated around the world in 1962 thanks to Gaylord Nelson.

B．Running races are not among the activities of Earth Day.

C．The activities focus on environmental issues and raise the awareness of environmental protection.

D．It is celebrated by local people from a certain region.

2. According to Para. 3, Gaylord Nelson ________.

A．was elected to the Senate because of his efforts to establish Earth Day.

B．receive great support from the authorities in convincing them to set up the festival.

C．held the first Earth Day with people from schools and communities across the country.

D．proved that Americans didn’t care about environment.

3. Which of the following may be the best way to participate in Earth Day?

A．Going to an Earth Day Festival

B．Being environmentally-friendly every day.

C．Organizing a celebrating event in communities.

D．Discussing environmental issues on this day.

4. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A．How to Celebrate Earth Day

B．How to Organize Earth Day Events

C．Gaylord Nelson – an Active Environmentalist

D．Things You Don’t Know about Earth Day

6 . These animal dads have some seriously strange ideas about fatherhood.

Barbary macaque

Unlike human dads boasting of their kids' winning contests or college acceptances, barbary macaques, monkeys that are native to North Africa, show off babies as a way to impress each other and build social networks. These monkeys live in troops of about 30 members, and life centers around the babies born each spring.

During baby season, males carry the infants, even picking up little ones that aren’t their own offspring (后代). However, there are status symbols, used to build male social networks and connections within the group. The infants can serve as a social passport, to approach other males and hang out with them. After all, it’s much simpler to break the ice if you have a cute baby in hand.

Sand grouse

Lots of dads bring home the bacon. But for young sand grouses living in Namibia’s dry deserts, water is the essential resource. Sand grouse fathers are the frequent flyers that travel almost 125 miles each day to fill up for the family at a watering hole.

With no other way to transport water, male sand grouses settle in the pool, rocking back and forth to bathe their belly feathers. Filling up can take 15 minutes, leaving them exposed to killers like falcons (猎鹰). But it all pays off. The dads return home after a long day and are able to provide their babies with few precious tablespoons of liquid.

Pipefish

Pregnant pipefish males-yes, males-give birth to live young from eggs that females deposit in their brood pouches (育儿袋). This mothering act has earned them praise as devoted animal dads.

But it turns out that the pregnant pipefish also has a wandering eye. If he sees a bigger female he often aborts (流产) existing eggs. If he stops exporting nutrients to the developing embryos (胚胎) while reabsorbing nutrients from abortions, he assures enough resources to invest in the more rewarding offspring.

Blue poison dart frog

Females of this species lay only about half a dozen precious eggs. That is maybe why dads are so devoted to them. Frog eggs must stay watery or moist, and these devoted dads accomplish that by regularly urinating on them over the course of 10 days, until they hatch (孵化) as tadpoles.

1. Barbary macaques carry their kids around in order to _____.

A．show how proud they are about being a father.

B．show their family strength within monkey groups.

C．center around their kids as a tradition.

D．build up better relations with other monkeys.

2. The resource of water or liquid is precious to _____.

A．barbary macaque and sand grouse.

B．sand grouse and pipefish.

C．pipefish and blue poison dart frog.

D．sand grouse and blue poison dart frog.

3. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．Sand grouse carries the water by drinking it first and then spitting it out.

B．Pipefish gives up some eggs in order to make himself stronger.

C．Male blue poison dart frog protects the eggs by keeping them wet.

D．Sand grouse has to compete for water with the falcon.