North Shore, Oahu, Hawaii: Famous for being the birthplace of surfing
Wide, sandy beaches stretch nearly 20 miles along the Pacific Ocean. Between December and February, this surfing destination is suitable only for experienced surfers, as its big waves can reach 30 feet. In summer, the ocean can be almost completely flat, making it perfect for swimming.
Huntington Beach, California: Famous for the US Open of Surfing competition
This busy 8.5-mile-long beach attracts 8 million visitors a year for bodysurfing, boogie boarding （趴板冲浪）, and board surfing at every level, beginner to expert. At night, the beach’s fire pits （深坑） draw families as much as the waves do during the day. The best time for surfers is winter, when the swells can hit 15 feet.
Jeffreys Bay, South Africa: Famous for being the setting of the classic movie The Endless Summer
This area of the ocean may contain the most consistent waves on the planet, with some up to 10 feet. The best waves are between late May and late August. The beach sometimes closes because of sharks, but at other times, surfers are lucky enough to surf alongside dolphins.
Tamarindo, Costa Rica: Famous for being featured in the movie The Endless Summer Ⅱ
This beach has waves up to 12 feet high, which are good for long-boarders or short-boarders, beginners or experts, with the best waves from April to July. Bodysurfing is not recommended because of offshore rocks. The laid-back atmosphere and nearly perfect year-round weather make it feel like the California beaches of the 1950s.
1. The beach with the biggest waves is ______.| A．Oahu’s North Shore | B．Huntington Beach |
| C．Jeffreys Bay | D．Tamarindo |
| A．offshore rocks | B．competitions |
| C．movies | D．dolphins |
| A．Both beaches are the same length. |
| B．Both are suitable for all surfing levels. |
| C．The waves are both perfect for bodysurfing. |
| D．Winter is the best time to surf at both beaches. |
| A．Worried. | B．Relaxed. |
| C．Excited. | D．Depressed. |
| A．the height of the wave |
| B．the weather conditions |
| C．the best time to visit |
| D．the number of visitors each year |
| A．Birds’ physical characteristics. | B．The migrating patterns of birds. |
| C．The size of bird population. | D．The behavior of migrating birds. |
| A．They become tired of their partners. | B．They can’t reach home at the same time. |
| C．They are likely to find new mates. | D．They have conflicts during the flight. |
| A．They are able to keep pace with their partners. |
| B．They migrate shorter distances than other birds. |
| C．They do not have to migrate for food. |
| D．They have little chance to meet new mates. |
| A．Cloudy. | B．Clear. |
| C．Rainy. | D．Overcast. |
4 . Nature’s Gigantic Snow Plough
On January 10, 1962, an enormous piece of glacier broke away and collapsed down the side of a mountain in Peru. A mere seven minutes later, when cascading ice finally came to a stop ten miles down the mountain, it had taken the lives of 4,000 people. This disaster is one of the most “destructive” examples of a very common event: an avalanche (雪崩) of snow or ice. Because it is extremely cold at very high altitudes, snow rarely melts.
Even an avalanche of light power can be dangerous, but the Peruvian disaster was particularly terrible because it was caused by a heavy layer of ice.
At present there is no way to predict or avoid such enormous avalanches, but luckily, they are very rare.
| A．It is estimated that the ice that broke off weighed three million tons. |
| B．It just keeps piling up higher and higher. |
| C．Scientists are constantly studying the smaller, more common avalanches, to try to understand what causes them. |
| D．An extremely rare snow and ice disaster hit the south area of China in January, 2008, seriously influencing people’s production and life. |
| E．But most avalanches occur long before this happens. |
| F．This year’s snow and ice disaster has caused great harm to power network. |
A. inky B. ashore C. facility D. worldwide E. female F. conclusions G. double H. confused I. Talk J. preservation K. typically |
Several deep-sea fish have been mysteriously washed up on California’s beaches this year, leaving marine biologists
The latest Pacific football fish to be washed
The fish is black, almost spherical in shape and has sharp teeth. It has a strange external body sticking out from its head with multiple branches, used to attract prey in the
The fish found on Swami’s Beach is a mature
Pacific football fish are very rarely seen considering that they are
Despite the fact that the fish are rarely seen, three of them have been washed up on California’s beaches this year —including one that was spotted last month at Black’s Beach, north of San Diego. The three sightings this year
Despite the series of recent sightings, experts said, it’s hard to jump to any
1.
| A．Come down from high places. | B．Hide themselves in holes. |
| C．Search for shelters. | D．Run around impatiently. |
| A．By feeling a decrease in air pressure. |
| B．By noticing the change of wind directions. |
| C．By feeling a drop in air temperature. |
| D．By observing the behaviors of other animals. |
| A．Birds and Signs of a Storm. | B．Air Pressure and Weather Change. |
| C．Animals’ Sharp Senses. | D．Weather Signs from Animals. |
7 . In the 1990s, when an area of Brazilian rainforest the size of Belgium was cut down every year, Brazil was the world’s environmental villain (反派角色) and the Amazonian jungles the image of everything that was going wrong in green places. Now, the Amazon ought to be the image of what is going right. Government figures show that deforestation fell by 70% in the Brazilian Amazon region during the past decade. If clearances had continued at their rate in 2005, an extra 3.2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide would have been put into the atmosphere. That is an amount equal to a year’s emissions from the European Union. Arguably, then, Brazil is now the world leader in addressing climate change.
But how did it break the vicious cycle (恶性循环)? The answer, according to a paper is that there was no silver bullet but instead a three-stage process in which bans, better governance in frontier areas and consumer pressure on companies worked.
The first stage ran from the mid-1990s to 2004. This was when the government put its efforts into bans and restrictions. The Brazilian Forest Code said that, on every farm in the Amazon, 80% of the land had to be set aside as a forest reserve. As the study observes, this share was so high that the code could not be followed --- or enforced. This was the period of the worst deforestation. Soybean prices were high and there were a vast expansion of soybean farming on the south-eastern border of the rainforest.
During the second stage, which ran from 2005 to 2009, the government tried to boost its ability to police the Amazon. Brazil’s president made stopping deforestation a priority, which resulted in better co-operation between different bits of the government. The area in which farming was banned was increased from a sixth to nearly half of the forest.
The third stage, which began in 2009, was a test of whether a system of restrictions could survive as soybean expansion continued. The government shifted its focus from farms to counties (each state has scores of these). Farmers in the 36 counties with the worst deforestation rates were banned from getting cheap credit until those rates fell.
By any standards, Brazil’s Amazon policy has been a success, made the more remarkable because it relied on restrictions rather than rewards, which might have been expected to have worked better. Over the period of the study, Brazil also turned itself into a farming superpower, so the country has shown it is possible to get a huge increase in food output without destroying the forest. Moreover, the policies so far have been successful among commercial farms who care about the law and respond to market pressures. Most remaining deforestation is by small holders who care rather less about these things, so the government faces the problem of persuading them to change their ways, too. Deforestation has been slowed, but not yet stopped.
1. Brazil is considered to play a leading role in dealing with climate change because ________.| A．it has rainforest as large as Belgium. |
| B．it has cut down too much rainforest. |
| C．it has taken action to reduce deforestation. |
| D．it sent 3.2 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the air. |
| A．a powerful weapon. | B．an effective solution. |
| C．an intelligent device. | D．a golden opportunity. |
| A．Brazil has successfully eliminated deforestation. |
| B．All the farmers care much about forest protection. |
| C．Small farm holders are a headache for the Brazilian government. |
| D．Both the food output and the forest in Brazil have greatly increased. |
| A．Cutting Down on Cutting Down. | B．Brazil, the World Leader in Farming. |
| C．Restrictions Outperforming Rewards. | D．Former Awareness Working Wonders. |
1.
| A．Dogs become tired out | B．Cats are very happy. |
| C．Dogs feel enjoyable. | D．Cats get injured easily. |
| A．They misunderstand each other. |
| B．They are worried about their behaviors. |
| C．They enjoy exactly the same hobbies. |
| D．They wave their tails too often. |
| A．Dogs are good at hunting animals. |
| B．Dogs don't like cats naturally. |
| C．Cats usually like playing with dogs. |
| D．Dogs and cats can possibly live in harmony. |
| A．Exhausted. | B．Thirsty. | C．Dizzy. | D．Senseless. |
10 . The documentary Blood Lions shows South Africa's cruel "canned' lion hunting industry. In canned hunts, lions are raised by humans and kept in enclosed spaces on private hunting areas. Hunters can get trophy （战利品）easily in exchange for fees of up to $50, 000. There are about 8,000 ranch lions in South Africa. So the country’s hunt operators can make a fortune.
Ian Michler was a lead character in the film. He talked about Blood Lions last July when it was shown in Durban, South Africa. The film has since been viewed in 185 countries. More than 50 screenings have been held at film festivals and in meetings of special interest groups. This year, Blood Lions will be shown at every major tourism conference in Europe and Africa.
Outside the film, Michler and the team are running a global campaign. They are aiming at ending canned hunts and other cold-blooded activities involving lions and other animals.
Australia became the first country, in February 2015, to forbid imports of lion trophies. It was followed by France in November, That month, Blood Lions was shown in the European Parliament. As a result, the government of Finland, Italy, and Spain decided to hold their own screenings. There are a number of other countries likely to do the same.
At the same time, at the end of last year, the world's leading group of African lion researchers offered an important suggestion They advised that any analysis of the present state of wild lions in South Africa should not include its thousands of ranch lions. Wild lions in South Africa now number some 3, 000. There are around 20,000 wild lions in Africa.
"The great majority of lion populations in Africa have been reduced,” says Hans Bauer, lion researcher at Oxford University Wildlife Conservation Research Unit. 'It's important to stress that South Africa's ranch lions are horror that has nothing to do with lion protection. These lions should never be taken into account in any serious analysis of the state of lions in Africa."
1. What do we learn about the documentary Blood Lions?| A．It has an international influence. | B．It has attracted many tourists. |
| C．It tell the story of a lion fighter. | D．It has brought the producer lots of money |
| A．was first started in Australia | B．has won little support in Europe |
| C．has achieved noticeable effects | D．aims to save endangered animals |
| A．He suggests analyzing lions properly. |
| B．He has seen an increase of African wild lions |
| C．He maybe a strong supporter of trophy hunting. |
| D．He hopes that there will be more ranch lions in Africa. |
| A．To explain the main idea of a new film. |
| B．To report an animal protection campaign |
| C．To encourage fanners lo raise ranch lions. |
| D．To advertise South Africa's hunting industry. |
