1 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in each blank with a proper word given in the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one more word than you need.

A. pace     B. registered     C. assess       D. baseline     E. reverse    F. shifting   G. production     H. fundamental   I. pointing       J. invisible    K. acknowledged

Chemical Pollution Has Passed Safe Global Limit

Chemical pollution threatens Earth’s systems by damaging the biological and physical processes that support all life. For example, pesticides (杀虫剂) wipe out many non-target insects, which are     1     to all ecosystems and, therefore, to the supply of clean air, water and food.

“There has been an increase 50 times in the     2     of chemicals since 1950 and this is projected to become three times as much again by 2050,” said Patricia, who was part of the study team. “The     3     that societies are producing and releasing new chemicals into the environment is not in agreement with staying within a safe operating space for humanity.”

Determining whether chemical pollution has crossed a planetary border is complex because there is no pre-human     4    , unlike with the climate crisis and the pre-industrial level of CO₂ in the atmosphere. There are a huge number of chemical compounds     5     for use—about 350,000—and only a tiny proportion of these have been assessed for safety.

So the research used a combination of measurements to     6     the situation. These included the rate of production of chemicals, which is rising rapidly, and their release into the environment, which is happening much faster than the ability of authorities to track the effects.

The well-known negative effects of some chemicals were also part of the assessment. The scientists     7     that the data was limited in many areas, but said the weight of evidence pointed to a break of the planetary boundary. “There’s evidence that things are     8     in the wrong direction every step of the way,” said Prof Bethanie Carney Almroth, who was part of the team. “For example, the total mass of plastics now is greater than the total mass of all living mammals (哺乳动物). That to me is a pretty clear indication that we’ve crossed a border. We’re in trouble, but there are things we can do to     9     some of this.”

Patricia said that     10     to a circular economy was really important and that meant changing materials and products so they can be reused.”

2 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。1.

A．Different types of pollution.	B．Some effects of pollution.
C．The prevention of noise pollution.	D．Noise is a kind of pollution.

2.

A．They can’t be heard all the time.

B．They are not familiar to most people.

C．They only exist in the remote countryside.

D．They’ve become a part of our daily life.

3.

A．To find out all the sources of noise pollution.

B．To become more sensible of our surroundings.

C．To realize the importance of protecting ourselves from it.

D．To change the way of making noise in our normal life.

3 . In just a few decades the United States could eliminate fossil fuels（矿物燃料）and rely 100 percent on clean, renewable energy. That's the vision of, a Stanford engineering professor who has produced a state-by-state road map of how the country could rid itself of coal oil, natural gas, and nuclear power.

By 2050, Jacobson expects the nation's transportation network - cars, ships, airplanes - to run on batteries or hydrogen produced from electricity. He sees the winds blowing across the Great Plains powering vast stretches of the country's middle while the burning sun helps electrify the Southwest. "There's no state that can't do this," Jacobson says.

Today only 13% of U. S. electricity comes from renewables（再生性能源）. Jacobson's goal would be one of the nation's most ambitious undertakings. This transformation would cost roughly $15 trillion, or $47,000 for each American, for building and installing systems that produce and store renewable energy.

What would it take? Seventy-eight million rooftop solar systems, nearly 49,000 commercial solar plants, 156,000 offshore wind turbines（风力涡轮机）, plus wave-energy systems. Land-based wind farms would need 328,000 turbines, each with blades longer than a football field,. These farms would occupy as much land as North Carolina.

For now, he says, prospects are encouraging. Thanks in part to government funding and large-scale production, costs are falling. The amount of power generated nationwide by wind and solar increased 15-fold each between 2003 and 2013. This summer Barack Obama moved to reduce carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants, and Hawaii committed to having all its electricity provided by renewables by 2045.

Still, many experts aren't convinced. “It has zero chance,”Stephen Brick, an energy fellow with the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, says of Jacobson's plan. Political, regulatory, and social barriers are huge, especially in a nation where the energy systems - and much of its political influence - is rooted in the oil, gas, and coal industries. Some critics are concerned about whether the resulting grid（输电网）would be reliable. And neighborhood battles would likely occur over wind farms and solar plants. Even outspoken scientist James Hansen, who warned the government a quarter century ago about climate change, insists that nuclear power is essential to rid the country of fossil fuels.

Yet Jacobson’s work at least offers a starting point. Scientists and policymakers may keep arguing about solutions, but as Obama points out, the nation must continue its march toward a clean-energy future even if it's not yet clear how that will look in 35 years. “If we don't do it,” he said this summer, “nobody will.”

1. Which of the following does Professor Mark Jacobson engage in?

A．Organizing projects to build and install solar energy systems state by state.

B．Persuading the U. S. President to realize his renewable energy goal.

C．Outlining a plan detailing how energy in the U. S. could be carbon free by 2050.

D．Arguing about opportunities and obstacles of his plan.

2. Which of the following is the major obstacle to the transformation from fossil fuels to renewables?

A．The huge investment in solar and wind projects.

B．The unshakeable foundation of traditional energy systems.

C．The job losses in oil and coal industries.

D．The inevitable land-use battles between states.

3. It can be inferred from the passage that ________.

A．one state of the U. S. will be first to become carbon free before 2050

B．developing clean-energy industry will drive the world's market

C．fossil fuels will soon be eliminated in the U. S.

D．there will be no vacant land for wind farms

4. Many experts suspect Jacobson's plan in that the plan ________.

A．has no scientific grounds	B．unreasonably excludes nuclear power
C．will be eventually lacking in funds	D．is not feasible in some aspects

5. What is the best title for the passage?

A．The Coexistence of Fossil Fuels and Renewables

B．A Blueprint for a Carbon Free America

C．One Man's Dream: Determination and Innovation in Energy Future

D．Professor and his Solar and Wind Technology

4 . Lorcan Dillon is overcoming selective mutism(选择性缄默症) and learning to share his feelings with the help of a cat named Jessi-cat.

Young Lorcan Dillon has never told his parents that he loves them, but with the help of his best friend, Jessi-cat, this 7-year-old has been making strides toward expressing his emotions.

Lorcan has selective mutism, an anxiety disorder that makes it difficult for him to speak in social situations or tell even his family how he feels. The boy, who lives in the U. K, struggles with communication on a daily basis and rarely speaks to his teachers or classmates.

However, Lorcan's behavior began to change when his mother got him Jessi-cat two years ago.The two quickly became close friends.

“The reason I got Jessi-cat is because pets and cats in particular are very good with children with special needs, "Lorcan's mom, Jayne Dillon, said in an interview with Cats Protection, a British cat welfare agency.

According to his mother, Lorcan has made progress in overcoming his disability. In the past few weeks, he's begun speaking to people he doesn't know very well and has even been reading to one of his teachers something he's never done before.

Dillon says she has Jessi-cat to thank for her son's improvements: He does speak normally at home. He does not have selective mutism with us at all in the house, but he does not express his emotions. He would not say love you mummy". He just does not do it. But with the cat, he can hold her. he can stroke her, he can talk to her. And he does say, ' I love you Jessi-cat, 'which is really nice. It is a way for him to express emotions which otherwise he would not be able to do.

Jessi-cat's role in Lorcan's life hasn't gone unnoticed. Lorcan's kitty companion is currently one of the Best Friends category (类别) finalists in the Cats Protection National Cat Awards。

1. The word"strides"in Para. 2 probably means ________ .

A．habits

B．demand

C．improvements

D．mistakes

2. What can Lorcan do now with the help of the cat? He can ________.

A．accept an interview	B．say"love you mummy”
C．speak normally at home	D．express emotions to his family

3. How did Dillon feel when she was accepting the interview?

A．Amazed

B．Delighted

C．Embarrassed

D．Confused

4. What is the passage mainly about?

A．A cat helped a boy express his emotions.

B．A mother expressed her love to her son

C．A boy overcame his illness by raising a cat.

D．A cat was awarded the prize for its behavior

5 . Nearly 40 years ago, Peter Harrison, a marine ecologist witnessed the first recorded large-scale coral bleaching（珊瑚白化）event. Diving in the Great Barrier Reef（大堡礁）, he was shocked by the scene before him. "The reef was made up of healthy corals and badly bleached white corals, like the beginnings of a ghost city," he says. Just months before, the same site was filled with colorful tropical life.

"Many of the hundreds of corals that I'd carefully tagged and monitored finally died," he says. "It was shocking and made me aware of just how weak these corals really are.”

Coral exists together with photosynthetic algae（藻类）, which live in its tissues and provide essential nutrition（and coloration）. But high temperatures and other stresses can turn algae poisonous. When this occurs, the algae may die or be removed by the coral, a process known as bleaching because the coral's clear tissue and white calcium carbonate skeleton（碳酸钙骨骼）are exposed. If the coral can't reestablish its link with algae, it will starve or become ill.

The widespread destruction Harrison saw in 1982 was repeated on many other Pacific Ocean reefs that year and the next. In 1997 and 1998 the phenomenon went global, killing some 16 percent of the world's corals. With rising temperatures, pollution, disease, increased ocean acidity, invasive species, and other dangers, Harrison's ghost cities are expanding

Scientists suppose that about four decades ago severe bleaching occurred roughly every 25 years, giving corals time to recover. But bleaching events are coming faster now—about every six years—and in some places soon they could begin to happen annually.

"The absolute key is dealing with global warming," says marine biologist Terry Hughes. "No matter how much we clean up the water, the reefs will die." In 2016, a record-hot year in a string of them, 91 percent of the reefs that consist of the Great Barrier Reef bleached.

1. Peter Harrison was shocked when diving in the Great Barrier Reef, because___________.

A．the reefs were made up of precious corals	B．the corals were ruined badly and quickly
C．he found a ghost city with tropical life	D．he saw the corals he had tagged before

2. Paragraph 3 is mainly about___________.

A．the causes of coral bleaching	B．the weakness of corals and algae
C．the elements that make algae die	D．the process of building a link with algae

3. The phrase "Harrison's ghost cities" in paragraph 4 most probably refers to___________.

A．global warming

B．the polluted ocean

C．the white corals

D．invasive species

4. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．With algae living in its tissues, coral's white skeleton is exposed.

B．Solving global warming is the real solution to coral bleaching.

C．The reefs die because the water hasn't been cleaned thoroughly

D．The severest coral bleaching occurred about four decades ago.

6 . Are zoos bad for animals?

Zoos have existed since ancient times and were features of the great courts of Egypt and China. The display of unusual animals from foreign countries was, for a long time, a show of wealth and power. Today, zoos focus on the preservation of animal species and education of the public.     1    

Some animals are distinctly unsuited for life in a zoo, however noble the aims of the organization. Keeping elephants in captivity (囚禁) has long caused argument among animal rights activists. Elephants in the wild wander constantly, covering a wide territory on a daily basis. In captivity, they have no choice but to stand still for long periods of time.     2     Yet elephants are a threatened species in their native environments and are heavily caught for ivory (象牙), leather and meat illegally. To protect the species from extinction, some experts feel that captive breeding programs may be the best strategy for future survival. Many elephants in captivity were rescued from circuses (马戏团), saved from natural disasters or removed from the wild due to injury or abandonment.

    3     The chances are, if a zoo has nothing but cement floors and metal enclosures, the animals will not do as well. Many famous zoos now construct enclosures allowing animals freedom of movement and native vegetation. Some zoos have even begun housing species of animals together that normally interact I the wild, such as certain types of monkeys.

Zoos are not a perfect solution for preservation.     4     They are undeniably helpful in repopulating declining animal species and encouraging a preservationist outlook, but they are unquestionably primary in their treatment of some animals. Hopefully, animal activists and zoo advocates will continue to work together, finding ways to create the best environment for captive animals in breeding and re-population efforts.

A．They can be endlessly improved as we better understand how to treat animals.

B．Experts have broken fresh ground in breeding captive animals.

C．Yet critics suggest that animals should not be kept in cages.

D．Studies have clearly shown that captive animals will live longer and be more active kept in an environment close to their native surroundings.

E．This, therefore, puts severe pressure on the legs and feet of these giants and causes long-lasting injury in some captive animals.

F．Evidences indicate that some animals depend greatly on surroundings.