1 . Now, let’s talk about earthquakes on our planet. Some countries have large numbers of earthquakes. Japan is one of them. Others do not have many. For example, there are few earthquakes in Britain. There is often a great noise during an earthquake. The ground vibrates (震动). Houses fall down. Trains run off the lines. Sometimes, there is a heavy loss of human lives.
Earthquakes often happen near volcanoes, but this is not always true. The centers of some earthquakes are under the sea. The bottom of the sea suddenly moves. The powerful forces inside the earth break the rocks. The coast is shaken and great waves appear. These waves, also known as seismic waves(地震波), or tsunamis(海啸) can travel long distances and rush over the land when they reach it. They are strong enough to break down houses and other buildings. Very often fires follow the most serious earthquakes. In 1906, the numbers of fires were burning in the city. The water pipes were also shaken and broken, so it was not possible to put the fire out. There was no water. The Tokyo Earthquake of 1923 happened just before noon. People were cooking meals on their fires at that time. When the ground shook, the fires shook, too. Hot materials were thrown on the different parts of the houses, some of which were made of wood. Soon 134 fires were burning in the city.
What kind of building stands up best in an earthquake? A building with concrete walls is perhaps the best. A steel frame will make it even stronger. The frame holds the different parts together and the walls so not easily fall. There is less chance of fire because concrete and steel do not burn. Over the years, scientists studied the results of the earthquake in different parts of the world, and they are convinced that this kind of building is the safest.
1. What can we know about earthquake from the first paragraph?| A．Britain has large numbers of earthquake. |
| B．There is often a great noise during an earthquake. |
| C．There is a heavy loss of human lives in every earthquake. |
| D．Trains will not run off the lines during the earthquake. |
| A．the breakout of the volcano | B．the seismic waves |
| C．the tsunami | D．the powerful forces inside the earth |
| A．A building with concrete walls and a steel frame stands up best in an earthquake. |
| B．There is no chance of fire in a building with concrete walls. |
| C．Scientist studied the causes of the earthquake to get the conclusion. |
| D．A steel frame has no help in making the house stronger. |
| A．book review | B．popular science report |
| C．newspaper ad | D．fairy tale |
2 . In 1969, a ship carrying 90 passengers arrived in Antarctic waters. Since then, Antarctic tourism has increased noticeably. Nowadays, over 35,000 visitors a season came to the Antarctic during summer, with the intention of visiting colonies of penguins.
That worries many environmentalists, who fear such quantities of people may be disturbing the penguins. However, a study published in Polar Biology by Maureen Lynch of Stony Brook University brings good news for penguins, tourists and tour-operators alike – for the tourists’ visits are not stressing the birds at all.
The conventional way of deciding whether visits by tourists are stressful to the animals is to recruit a bunch of PhD students to observe those animals and make a number of behavioral observations when tourists are and are not present. This is difficult and expensive, for even PhD students need to be housed and fed. Another choice is to sample the animals’ blood and analyze it for stress hormones. The problem with this is that catching animals to measure their hormone levels is stressful.
There is, however, a third way, which is to look for stress hormones in animals’ droppings (排泄物). Dr. Lynch knew from previous work by her partner that some stress hormones show up in penguin wastes, and that hormone concentrations in droppings went up shortly after animals were approached by human beings, and then returned to normal later. With that in mind, she decided to compare droppings from penguin colonies visited by lots of tourists with those less visited.
As the researchers expected, all collected samples contained related stress hormones. Contrary to their expectations, however, there were no significant differences between samples from different sites, regardless of the number of visitors those sites played host to. It seems, then, either that penguins do not worry about human visitors in the first place, or that they quickly get used to them. What is more, Dr. Lynch’s method provides an easy way to monitor the situation. If a growing number of tourists put the birds under stress, it will be possible to advise tour operators to consider their business at less-visited colonies.
1. What do we know about Antarctic tourism?| A．It enjoyed popularity in 1969. | B．It attracts visitors in all the year round. |
| C．It allows people to see penguins. | D．It had disturbed the penguins. |
| A．the difficulty in recruiting PhD students | B．high costs required in the Antarctic |
| C．comparison of penguins’ behaviors | D．the huge trouble of catching animals |
| A．It contained certain stress hormones. | B．It had high level of stress hormones. |
| C．Its hormone level was unstable. | D．Its hormones were at normal levels. |
| A．Penguins are afraid of visitors. | B．Penguins are used to visitors. |
| C．Penguins are hardly stressed by tourists. | D．Penguins are always under great stress. |
| A. alternatives B. behavioural C. completion D. consideration E. met F. modernizing G. occupied H. powering I. schemes J. specify K. thorough |
Carbon Impact
De-carboning existing housing will require households to stop burning fossil fuels and wood to power and heat their homes. If the UK’s current energy demand could be
The smart solution is to reduce the energy demand of homes. This energy demand includes the energy needed to heat (or cool) a home and that required for a home to run, such as
Architects can have a big impact on energy demand through improving the performance of the building envelope by increasing insulation (绝缘) and airtightness. We can also work with building services engineers to
The rebuilding works took place while the building was
4 . There’s more fresh water hidden below Earth’s surface in underground aquifers (含水层) than any other source besides the ice sheets. That groundwater earns an unshakably important place for rivers worldwide, keeping them running even when droughts bring their waters low.
But in recent decades humans have pumped trillions of gallons out of those underground reservoirs. In a new research, water experts and scientists are taking a global look at where groundwater is already being extracted at such a rate that it has caused water levels to drop so much in rivers and streams that they will slip into the ecological danger zone.
Much of that water is being removed much faster than it can be refilled. That has enormous potential consequences for people and crops in areas that don’t get enough rain. But far before those impacts emerge, the effects will fiercely hit rivers, streams, and the habitats around them. Hundreds of rivers and streams around the world would become so water-stressed that the entire ecological system would hit a danger point, says Inge de Graaf, the lead author of the research. “We can really consider this ecological effect like a ticking time bomb,” she says. “If we pump the groundwater now, we don’t see the impacts until like 10 years further or even longer.”
But the severity of the impacts might still be underestimated. As a baseline, they used the global water demand in 2010 and spun their climate model forward to predict how stresses on groundwater systems might develop. But as populations swell and the demand for food rises, those stresses could skyrocket for reasons other than climate change, speeding along the extraction from underground water sources.
The effects of over-pumping groundwater take years, if not decades, to become visible. Changes in rain have immediate, obvious effects on river flow. When it pours, rivers often rage. But groundwater is hidden and changes don’t always manifest in the place where the pumping occurs and are programmed to “wait for the perfect moment”. That makes aquifer management issues extra challenging. In the meantime, rivers and streams are the signal that says we’re using water in an unsustainable fashion, we need to take a hard look at what we’re doing.”.
1. The underground water is of critical importance to rivers due to the fact that ________.| A．it helps to maintain the same water level of rivers |
| B．it stops the running of rivers during dry spells |
| C．it leaves rivers drying out due to droughts |
| D．it ensures the flow of rivers throughout the year |
| A．it is thrilling to explore the ecological danger zone |
| B．pumping underground water is convenient though dangerous |
| C．the underground water level has dropped to an alarming level |
| D．the constant drop of water level prevents people feeling secure |
| A．Because the water demand data in 2010 was not accurate. |
| B．Because the water demand has soared ever since 2010. |
| C．Because the water demand was not stressful in 2010. |
| D．Because the water demand prediction didn’t consider climate change. |
| A．the changes are waiting for a heavy rain |
| B．underground water is used sustainably |
| C．the changes take longer to come to light |
| D．underground water is inexhaustible |
5 . We’ve heard many stories of individuals across the world who’ve adopted a zero-waste lifestyle. However, it’s much less often that we come across an entire community that is trying to become waste-free. The residents of Kamikastsu, Japan, take recycling so
Kamikatsu has no
Reuse is highly
With a population of just over 1,700, Kamikatsu
All the recycling facilities in Kamikatsu are managed by a Zero Waste Academy. It also regularly hosts groups of local schoolchildren,
| A．badly | B．personally | C．seriously | D．well |
| A．garbage | B．delivery | C．farm | D．military |
| A．rely on | B．trust in | C．get used to | D．get rid of |
| A．desired | B．restricted | C．promoted | D．experienced |
| A．combine | B．connect | C．equip | D．exchange |
| A．valuable | B．waste | C．similar | D．relative |
| A．produces | B．drops | C．recycles | D．empties |
| A．close | B．limited | C．used | D．equal |
| A．thought about | B．given up | C．believed in | D．looked at |
| A．advising | B．keeping | C．joining | D．educating |
| A. developed B. roughly C. standards D. inseparable E. awareness F. sustainable G. definitely H. transform I. vegetarian J. inform K. imported |
How Big is the Ecological Footprint of Your Food?
There is no doubt that eating less meat is good for our planet. However, if you are not ready to give up meat entirely, how to make a more
‘We are what we eat!’ confirms the important notion that food and human are
An expert from WWF Sweden (瑞典世界自然基金会) discussed the role of WWF at one meeting about future food. WWF Sweden aims to
“Our Planet Plate” is a campaign with which WWF Sweden hopes to raise climate change
WWF Food Calculator is a tool that gives you an idea of how much greenhouse gas emissions your breakfast, lunch or dinner leads to. This tool can
Initiated by SLU, a ‘Meat-Guide’ has been taken up and expanded by WWF Sweden since 2015. The Meat-Guide bases on five
Climate change is changing the flavor of French wine
Records going back 700 years show that Burgundy’s wine grapes have been feeling the heat of the past three decades.
The summer of 1540 was burning hot in the vine-covered hills of Burgundy, France—so hot as to be “almost unbearable,” according to one written account from the time.
Now, a nearly 700-year-long record of harvest shows that early harvest dates like the one from 1540 are now par for the course, thanks to climate change.
| A．Though the kind of heat hasn’t settled into Burgundy yet, it’s probably coming. |
| B．Winemakers have kept careful track of the harvest dates for centuries. |
| C．That will almost certainly affect the way wines taste and feel, and how strong they are. |
| D．In fact, it was hot all across Europe that year. |
| E．The subtle feel resulting from more alcoholic wine is not favored. |
| F．Winemakers know the growth stages intimately. |
Could goats become our new best friends?
In a new paper in the journal Biology Letters, researchers from QMUL's School of Biological and Chemical Sciences found that goats respond to people by gazing at them when facing a problem they cannot solve alone, and their responses change depending on the person's behaviour.
To investigate, the team trained goats to remove a lid from a box to receive a reward. They made the reward inaccessible and recorded their reaction. In the test, the goats redirected their gaze frequently between the inaccessible reward and human experimenters. They also gazed towards a forward facing person earlier, more often and for longer compared to when the person was facing away.
The results provide strong evidence for complex communication between humans and goats, which were domesticated primarily for agricultural production, and show similarities with animals bred to become pets or working animals, such as dogs and horses.
The research indicates that the domestication of animals has a much broader impact on our knowledge about human-animal relationship than previously believed. For example, it's thought that the capacity of dogs to be aware of information from humans is the result of changes to the brain from becoming a companion animal through domestication.
“Goats were the first livestock species to be domesticated, about 10,000 years ago,” said lead author Dr Alan McElligott from the School's Department of Biological and Experimental Psychology.
From our research, we know that many domesticated animals for agricultural production are smarter than their reputation suggests, and these results show how they can communicate and interact with their human handlers just as pets or working animals.
The researchers hope the study will lead to a better understanding of how skilled livestock are in their ability to solve problems and interact with humans. They also wish that an improvement in animal welfare would be reached ultimately.
| A．Children. | B．Family. | C．Parents. | D．ASPCA. |
| A．Because most people are afraid of it. |
| B．Because it is powerful and aggressive. |
| C．Because it is very small and easy to train. |
| D．Because it’s a companion and protection breed. |
| A．Ways to train various kinds of dogs. |
| B．The importance of dogs in our daily life. |
| C．Methods to collect information about dogs. |
| D．How to choose an ideal dog for the family. |
Since the dawn of civilization, crop diversity has always been holding an important position as the foundation of agriculture. Food plants have been domesticated, selected, exchanged, and improved by farmers in traditional ways, within traditional production systems. This process has been hugely accelerated and focused by scientific crop improvement, leading to the steady rise in yields since the 1960s. Half of the increase in food production globally can be attributed to genetic improvement.
But experts say the number of crops has decreased sharply during the past century. One of the world’s largest seed conservation projects has predicted further losses. The Millennium Seed Bank Partnership is warning that up to one hundred thousand plant species could permanently disappear. The rich collection of genes that decide their qualities would disappear with them.
Many experts blame climate change for damaging plant life. Rising temperatures, changing seasonal patterns and increasing frequency of extreme weather events are the invisible hand behind the great reduction. Others say human activities and poorly planned, overly heavy use of land also are responsible. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization says modern business farming is responsible for loss of farmers’ traditional crop varieties. Though the use of modern commercial farming methods saved millions of people from starvation, some traditional crops were lost during the process.
More recently, the UN Sustainable Development Goals have called for global efforts to highlight the protection and revival of crop diversity as an important means to ensure that crop diversity is conserved and made available for food and nutritional security to feed the increasing population of our planet. On top of the agenda is to maintain the genetic diversity of seeds and cultivated plants through soundly managed and diversified seed and plant banks at the national, regional and international levels. Equally important, more government funds be channeled into rural infrastructure, agricultural research and extension services, technology development and plant gene banks in order to enhance agricultural productive capacity in less developed countries.
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