1 . Zhang Fan, 36, a movie visual effects designer who returned to Beijing from New Zealand for work last year, was surprised by the improvement to the city’s air quality. “I remember the smell in the air and the frequent smoggy days before I left in 2013, after getting a job offer from a film company in New Zealand, ” he said. Last year, a Chinese company offered Zhang a more promising position, so he returned, saying that he could find more opportunities in his line of work in Beijing than elsewhere. In addition to rapid economic development in the Chinese capital, he said the most impressive change is the local air quality. “People discussed air pollution a lot when I was in Beijing previously. Now, it seems that the topic has disappeared completely, as every day is good in terms of air quality,” Zhang said. “The sky in Beijing these days is so clear. ”
On Jan. 4, the municipal authorities in Beijing announced a comprehensive success in improving air quality, with the city’s annual average concentration of PM2. 5 in the air, falling to 33 micrograms per cubic meter, and ozone (臭氧) concentration dropping to 149 mcg per cu m last year.
Yu Jianhua, spokesman for the Beijing Municipal Ecology and Environment Bureau, said at a news conference, “This is a milestone for Beijing’s hard work in fighting air pollution and also means that the city has met its air quality target outlined in the 14th Five-Year Plan(2021-25) ahead of schedule. Beijing has demonstrated to the world over the past 20 years that a mega city with a rapidly increasing GDP, vehicle count, population and energy consumption can move forward to cut air pollution effectively. The PM2.5 reduction over the past few years has surpassed that of developed countries during the same period.
According to the Bureau, the city’s average concentration of PM2.5 dropped by 63 percent last year from 2013, an average annual reduction of about 8 percent. The city experienced 288 days of good air quality last year—up from 112 days in 2013—and just eight days of heavy air pollution. This achievement is clear to see and exciting, but it has not been easy work.
1. Why did Zhang Fan returned to Beijing?| A．He was tired of his life abroad. | B．He has a deep affection for the city. |
| C．The city’s air quality has improved. | D．A golden chance was offered to him. |
| A．By using examples. | B．By using figures. |
| C．By offering experimental findings. | D．By citing personal experience. |
| A．Huge. | B．Rich. | C．Civilized. | D．Noted. |
| A．Business. | B．Fashion. | C．Environment. | D．Entertainment. |
2 . The Greenwood fire took its name from the nearby lake where lightning struck on Aug.15, causing a wildfire that burned for weeks. Fueled by drought and wind, its persistence dominated headlines for much of late summer and early fall in Minnesota. When the last flames were finally put out, the northern Minnesota fire had consumed nearly 27,000 acres, countless firefighting resources, and at its worst, the lives that some had built around nearby McDougal Lake. Vast areas of forest were left burned-out, with the black and bare remains of what were once massive pines.
But, despite the destruction left behind, Mother Nature is set to a comeback. When organic matter is burned from the forest floor, seeds dropped by plants and trees begin to take hold, with the sprouting species emerging first. The trees above have died, which sends a chemical signal to the root system that is actually more expansive than just under that tree, and that chemical response encourages those root systems to re-grow. Ten years ago, a fire ripped through 93,000 acres of Minnesota forest in and around the BWCA. Today, that burnt area's rebirth is well underway.
"Here in the Pagami Creek wildfire scar, we have Jack Pine, Red Pine, Black Spruce, Aspen and paper birch-those are our main species, those are the ones that are growing quickly. It's 10 years on, and these trees are 10 to 15 feet tall in many areas," said Kyle Stover from the U.S. Forest Service.
A wildfire kills most things in its path, but despite the flames and intense temperatures, rarely is everything reduced to ashes -and that plays a key role in a forest's regeneration. Just one year after the fire, the survivors dominate the forest, and grasses replace the burnt ground. Wildflowers are abundant bushes and small trees have started to grow, and Jack Pine returned. So, it's an amazing ecological system of creating new forest life when it appears that all is lost, one that has evolved throughout the ages, where fire has always played a vital role.
1. What can we learn about the Greenwood fire?| A．It was a natural occurrence | B．It was caused by drought. |
| C．it gained half-year fame. | D．It took many people's lives. |
| A．Seeding growth is held up. | B．Burnt organic matter hardly functions. |
| C．Root systems spread further and wider | D．Chemicals in the soil are in greater demand. |
| A．They are flammable | B．They are fire-resistant |
| C．They are fire-adapted. | D．They are overgrown. |
| A．A fire. | B．A life | C．A time. | D．A system |
3 . I looked out of the door of my 100 year-old house and saw my newly built garden. I realized nothing is rubbish. I was full of
I
My neighbors would put the autumn
Nothing has to be really
| A．joy | B．sympathy | C．doubt | D．regret |
| A．refused | B．hesitated | C．liked | D．started |
| A．wealth | B．garbage | C．investments | D．necessities |
| A．packed up | B．brought up | C．threw away | D．gave away |
| A．value | B．request | C．confusion | D．consequence |
| A．own | B．find | C．forget | D．lose |
| A．collecting | B．recovering | C．recycling | D．competing |
| A．sorting | B．picking | C．spotting | D．recording |
| A．uniform | B．broken | C．limitless | D．separate |
| A．fruit | B．rice | C．leaves | D．vegetables |
| A．compare | B．deal | C．communicate | D．fit |
| A．platform | B．garden | C．picture | D．schedule |
| A．building | B．tent | C．sign | D．show |
| A．piled | B．polished | C．decorated | D．cleaned |
| A．unwillingly | B．hardly | C．seriously | D．casually |
| A．submitted | B．sowed | C．removed | D．reserved |
| A．smelly | B．annoying | C．imaginary | D．attractive |
| A．useless | B．careless | C．priceless | D．defenseless |
| A．pleasant | B．vivid | C．violent | D．disgusting |
| A．trouble | B．treasure | C．terror | D．trade |
4 . Five years ago, French navy officer Jérôme Chardon was listening to a radio program about the journey of the bar-tailed godwit, a bird that migrates 14,000 kilometers between New Zealand and Alaska. Chardon understood how treacherous the journey would be, as heavy storms frequently hit Pacific island communities. Yet, somehow, bar-tailed godwits routinely pass through the area uninjured. Chardon wondered whether learning how birds traveled could help coastal communities avoid natural disasters.
This past January, a team from France’s National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) began experiments designed to test Chardon’s idea. Researchers with a project led by Frédéric Jiguet from NMNH equipped 56 birds of five species with cutting edge animal tracking technology. The team members were ferried to remote islands in French Polynesia, where they attached tags (标签) using tracking technology. These tags sent the birds’ locations to the International Space Station, which bounced the data back to scientists on Earth who could then follow the birds—waiting to see how the birds responded to natural disasters.
The project is focusing on birds’ ability to hear infrasound, the low-frequency sound humans cannot hear but that the researchers believe is the most likely signal birds would use to sense storms and tsunamis (海啸). In a 2014 study, scientists tracking a kind of golden-winged birds in the central and southeastern America found that the birds flew up to 1,500 kilometers to escape from an outbreak of tornadoes (龙卷风) that killed 35 people. The birds fled at least 24 hours before any extreme weather hit, leaving the scientists to believe that they had heard the storm system from more than 400 kilometers away.
The team plans on tagging hundreds more birds across the Pacific to prepare for a potential tsunami. “I think if there’s one wave that spreads across islands, we can get data from different species at different locations,” says Jiguet. “That will say it s worth continuing to tag and to develop local systems to better analyze this. There are chances that we will develop a bird-based tsunami early warning system.”
1. Which of the following best explains the word “treacherous” underlined in paragraph 1?| A．Strange. | B．Boring. |
| C．Frequent. | D．Dangerous. |
| A．Tracking natural disasters. | B．Distinguishing bird species. |
| C．Guiding researchers to islands. | D．Reporting the birds’ locations. |
| A．To prove an assumption. | B．To clarify a concept. |
| C．To present a new topic. | D．To make comparisons. |
| A．How Can Birds Avoid Natural Disasters? |
| B．Can Birds Warn Us of Natural Disasters? |
| C．How Does a Warning System Function? |
| D．Can Birds Play a Role in Human Research? |
5 . People often say that man can change nature or human being is the king of nature. According to the power of nature, however, man cannot live without nature that is offering man with fresh air to breathe, clean water to drink and various food to eat. Besides, animals in nature can help our human in some way.
One man shared his story with some special animals on TikTok.
Ten months ago, Ben started living on his own in Sydney because of the outbreak of the COVID-19. He was feeling very lonely during lockdown（封锁）-he missed his families and friends so much-and that’s when the birds started visiting him.
At first it was just one. He began interested in the regular friend and named it Peter.
“I couldn’t leave for the next hour and a half-I just sat there just let him play. It’s full of life and hope,” Ben told ABC News.
Over the next few months, Peter would come and go. Eventually, Peter started bringing his “girlfriend”.
“That was a turning point,” he said. “And it was strange, because it was when I started to really feel my loneliness in lockdown that the birds were coming more and more often. And whether or not that happened by chance, that’s when I started to take notice of them. They saved me from the deep and helpless loneliness and began to value life.”
Ben posted a video of his new friendship to TikTok where it instantly went viral.
1. What is the first paragraph mainly about?| A．Man is the king of nature. |
| B．Man can change nature for better. |
| C．Man depends on nature in some way. |
| D．Man and nature can live in peace with each other. |
| A．He suffered from illness. | B．He was alone locked home. |
| C．He had no family members. | D．He broke up with his girlfriend. |
| A．They inspired him with life and hope. | B．They taught him how to play. |
| C．They made him famous online. | D．They showed him how to treat his girlfriend. |
| A．Fall behind. | B．Become bad. |
| C．Spread widely. | D．Be fashionable. |
6 . Three years ago our yellow dog, Abby, passed away due to old age. My experience with my beloved dog became useful years later as I considered getting a new dog—a hiking and adventure companion, a nap buddy (午休伙伴), a watchdog: everything Abby used to be for my family and I when I was growing up.
The process of adopting a puppy (幼犬) can be long and hard. But thanks to large retailers (零售商) like Petco and their weekend “adoption days”, I was able to walk away with my puppy after only a $300 payment, a signature and verbal commitment to take care of her to the best of my abilities.
I wasn't entirely “prepared” for my puppy when I got her, and I can't say my parents were for sure on board when I adopted her, knowing she'd outgrow my living conditions and need the sizable yard and mountain access only my parents' house could provide her with. But I took the leap, supplied her with everything she could possibly need to be happy and develop properly, set up a vet appointment and made a commitment to myself and her to do whatever I had to do to make sure she grew up right.
My dad actually jokes now that he's become a grandpa before he thought he would, and I think there's some truth to that I'm not the mother of a human being yet, but I can draw some similarities between taking care of a baby and raising a puppy. Koda wakes up several times a night to go to the bathroom, eats her pricey puppy food, has accidents on the carpet and in my bed, cries when I'm not around and stops me from concentrating on my homework. Since adopting her, I can't do anything without first considering how my actions and choices will affect my dog.
Puppy parenting isn't easy, and that's part of why it's so rewarding.
1. What did the author consider important when thinking about adopting a new dog?| A．Getting her parents' approval. | B．Getting a yellow one once again. |
| C．Getting one like her previous dog. | D．Getting one that didn't demand much care. |
| A．Its process was long and hard. |
| B．It was easier than she had thought. |
| C．It got some money support on “adoption days”. |
| D．It cost more money than she expected. |
| A．Her living place didn't suit the dog. |
| B．Her parents didn't really love the dog. |
| C．She couldn't afford the expensive puppy food. |
| D．She had trouble in setting up vet appointments. |
| A．Tiring but worthy. | B．Easy and rewarding. |
| C．Exhausting and useless. | D．Terrifying but exciting. |
7 . Asian carp (鲤鱼) were introduced to American waters during the 1970s. Southern fish farmers began importing them to help clean their ponds. Asian carp are extraordinary cleaners.
Unfortunately, it didn't take too long for them to escape from these ponds, perhaps from flooding, and get into the Mississippi River. From there they have followed their natural tendency to swim upstream. This tendency may lead them into the Great Lakes and Canada, which worries fishermen.
Asian carp are large fish. One species, the silver carp, can grow to be 100 pounds. But despite their size, they feed from the bottom of the food chain. That means that they eat plankton (浮生物) and algae (海藻类). A one-hundred-pound fish can eat an awful lot of sea scum (浮渣), and some of it is toxic (有毒的). The carp are resistant to the toxins, but we aren't. Some Asian carp are risky to eat because they have so many algal toxins in their systems. They also have lots of tiny bones in their meat, which makes them difficult to prepare.
Introducing the Asian carp into waters that have not known them can cause a lot of damage. Beneath the surface of the water is a unique ecosystem. This system rests on a balance that has developed over millions of years. Then along come these big, hungry bottom feeders to mess up everything. They produce young rapidly and thickly populate the waters. Worse still, they compete with the native bottom feeders. The native bottom feeders are smaller. Larger, tastier fish like salmon (鲑鱼) eat them. The native bottom feeders are an important part of the ecosystem. When the Asian carp outperform them, the whole food chain suffers, all the way up to the people.
Not only do Asian carp mess up the food chain, they mess up people seriously. Remember that silver carp can be 100 pounds. There is a reason why they are also known as “flying carp.” This particular species of Asian carp has a tendency to jump when frightened. They can jump up to ten feet in the air when the sound of boat motors frightens them. In 2018 a woman jet skier bumped into one and broke her nose and back. She almost drowned. Many others have been injured by these flying carp.
1. For what purpose were Asian carp brought to America?| A．To be sold for money. |
| B．To assist Southern fish farmers in cleaning. |
| C．To prevent other fish from getting out of ponds. |
| D．To make use of their tendency to swim upstream. |
| A．Asian carp are an unpopular menu item. |
| B．Asian carp are a species of the silver carp. |
| C．Asian carp are at the bottom of the food chain. |
| D．Asian carp's living environment is threatened. |
| A．Large salmon. | B．People in the area. |
| C．Plankton and algae. | D．The native bottom feeders. |
| A．When they are hurt by humans. |
| B．When they are lacking in food. |
| C．When they feel scared. |
| D．When they hear pleasing sounds. |
Researchers in China
Dragon Man could change our understanding of human
9 . For 300 years, the Slims River had been flowing through Canada’s Yukon region. But last year, in only four days, the water in the big river reduced sharply, which made the river almost disappear. What happened?
After a year of careful studies, a group of scientists recently said that the sudden change of the river was caused by climate change. The Slims River used to be a big river, reaching up to 150 metres at its widest points. It carried melt water from the huge Kaskawulsh glacier(冰川) into the Kluane River, then into the Yukon River toward the Bering Sea.
But in spring 2016, there was a sharp melting of the Kaskawulsh glacier because of climate change. It made the melt water run in a different direction, and into a second river, the Alsek River, then into the Gulf of Alaska. It is thousands of kilometers away.
In geography, this is called “river piracy”. Although it was not unusual in ancient times, this is the first time it has happened under scientists’ noses in modern times. The Slims River is almost dry now, which also takes away the clean air in the region because strong wind blows up all the dust in the river bed. Fish have already swum to other rivers. And sheep from Kluane National Park are now coming down to eat the fresh plants.
Lonnie Thompson, a scientist from Ohio State University, the US, said that we could hardly feel the effects of climate change in our daily life, but the case of the Slims River shows what will happen when gradual temperature increases.
1. Why did the Slims River almost disappear?| A．Because the air pollution brought more rain to Yukon region. |
| B．Because the climate suddenly became hotter than before. |
| C．Because the human activities destroyed the banks of the river. |
| D．Because the Kaskawulsh glacier did not exist any longer. |
| A．The Slims River has now become part of Kluane National Park. |
| B．The air in the region of the Sli ms Ri ver is still clean. |
| C．Climate change has no effect on our daily life. |
| D．Global warming can bring sudden changes to the environment. |
① the Kaskawulsh glacier ② the Gulf of Alaska
③ the Yukon River ④ the Alsek River
⑤ the Bering Sea ⑥ the Kluane River
| A．①→④→② | B．①→③→⑤ |
| C．③→⑥→⑤ | D．⑥→③→② |
| A．A river suddenly disappears without any reason. |
| B．Two rivers join together to make a bigger one. |
| C．The flow of a river is suddenly taken away into another. |
| D．The water in a river reduces sharply. |
Jim is an eight-year-old boy. One day, when he went to the countryside
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One day, his father said to him, “You should let the bird go now. It would be much
One morning, when Jim went to play with the bird as usual, he found that the bird
