1 . For thousands of years, Chinese writers have travelled all over the country to take down notes about the geographical conditions of each city. Among them, well-known Chinese geographer and writer Li Daoyuan, in the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534), composed his book, Commentary on the Water Classics, after studying the original literary version, Water Classics. He later expanded the river records to 1, 252 from the original 137.
The book is now being studied again by Professor Li Xiaojie and his team from Fudan University. They have been using drawing software and 3D modelling to recreate the waterway situations on a map based on the book description. So far, they have completed research on four rivers.
“Ancient people knew really well how to apply the power of nature to technical considerations,”Li said, giving the example of Qianjin’e, one of the most famous ancient water conservation projects in Luoyang, Henan. In order to lead the river into the city for irrigation (灌溉) in ancient Luoyang, the officials built a canal branch by separating a northwest-southeast river. However, the canal water wasn't enough to support the citizens in dry seasons. To solve that, on the northern side of the canal branch, the officials built a reservoir (水库) and a channel to lead the water to the canal branch, where the waterways would converge and flow together to the city.
In Commentary on the Water Classics, a total of 2, 800 cities are recorded with details. Still, the process of recreation takes much effort. After doing a lot of text analysis and fieldwork, the team has gradually created the model with 3D modelling software based on repeated deductions (推论).
For Professor Li, the book is not only a record of the natural landscape over 1, 000 years ago, but also a detailed description of humanity and culture and a treasure for today’s reference.
1. What can we learn about the book Commentary on the Water Classics?A.It has been out of date. | B.It explains 3D modelling. |
C.It keeps records of 137 rivers. | D.It is based on previous studies. |
A.Join. | B.Pass. | C.Cross. | D.Begin. |
A.Its major problems. | B.Its detailed analysis. |
C.Its complex process. | D.Its successful application. |
A.3D Technology Fuels Modern Research |
B.Ancient Classics Inspire Modern Research |
C.An Effective Approach to Model Recreation |
D.A Famous Writer of Chinese Ancient Classics |
When a tornado(龙卷风) touched down in a small town nearby,many families were left completed ruined. Afterward all the local newspapers carried many human-interest stories featuring some of the families who suffered the hardest.
One Sunday, a particular picture especially touched me. A young woman stood in front of an entirely shattered(破碎的) mobile home, a depressed expression on her face. A young boy, seven or eight years old, stood at her side, eyes downward. Clutching(紧握) at her skirt was a tiny girl who stared into the camera, eyes wide with confusion and fear.
The article that went with the picture gave the clothing sizes of each family member. With growing interest, I noticed that their sizes closely matched ours. This would be a good opportunity to teach my children to help those less fortunate than themselves. I stuck the picture of the young family on our refrigerator, explaining their difficulty to my seven-year-old twins, Brad and Brett, and to three-year-old Meghan.
“These poor people now have nothing,” I said. “We’ll share what we have with them. I brought three large boxes down from the room upstairs and placed them on the living room floor. Meghan watched seriously, as the boys and I filled one of the boxes with canned goods and foods.
While I sorted through our clothes, I encouraged the boys to go through their toys and donate some of their less favorite things. Meghan watched quietly as the boys piled up old toys and games.
Meghan walked up with Lucy, her worn, much-loved rag doll hugged tightly to her chest. She came to the box that held the toys, pressed her round little face into Lucy's flat, painted-on-face, gave her a final kiss, then laid her gently on top of the other toys.
“Oh, Honey,” I said.” You don’t have to give Lucy. You love her so much.”
Meghan nodded seriously, eyes filled with held-back tears. "Lucy makes me happy, Mommy. Maybe she’ll make that other little girl happy,too.”
Paragraph. 1:The boys had watched,open-mouthed,as their baby sister placed her favorite doll in the box.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph. 2:
I looked my children for a long moment.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________3 . Birders get nervous when they see landscapes covered in wind turbines (涡轮机). When the wind gets going, their blades (叶片) can turn around at well over 200km per hour. It is easy to imagine careless birds getting cut into pieces and wind turbines do indeed kill at least some birds. But a new analysis of American data suggests the numbers are negligible, and have little impact on bird populations.
Erik Katovich, an economist at the University of Geneva, made use of the Christmas BirdCount, a citizen-science project run by the National Audubon Society. Volunteers count birds they spot over Christmas, and the society gathers the numbers. He assumed, reasonably, that if wind turbines harmed bird populations, the numbers seen in the Christmas Bird Count would drop in places where new turbines had been built. Combining bird population and species maps with the locations and construction dates of all wind turbines, he found building turbines had no noticeable effect on bird populations.
Instead of limiting his analysis to wind power alone, he also examined oil-and-gas extraction (开采), which has boomed in America over the past couple of decades. Comparing bird populations to the locations of new gas wells revealed an average 15% drop in bird numbers when new wells were drilled, probably due to a combination of noise, air pollution and the disturbance of rivers and ponds that many birds rely upon. When drilling happened in migration centers, feeding grounds or breeding locations, bird numbers instead dropped by 25%.
Wind power, in other words, not only produces far less planet-heating carbon dioxide and methane than do fossil fuels. It appears to be significantly less damaging to wildlife, too. Yet that is not the impression you would get from reading the news. Dr Katovich found 173 stories in major American news media reporting the supposed negative effects that wind turbines had on birds in 2020, compared with only 46 stories discussing the effects of oil-and-gas wells.
1. What does the underlined word“negligible”in paragraph 1 mean?A.Insignificant. | B.Inaccurate. | C.Inconsistent. | D.Indefinite. |
A.Previous studies. | B.Relevant data. |
C.Reasonable prediction. | D.Experiment results. |
A.Oil-and-gas extraction has expanded in America. |
B.Birds are heavily dependent on rivers and ponds. |
C.Many factors lead to the decline of bird populations. |
D.Well drilling poses a serious threat to birds' survival. |
A.Wind turbines could share the sky with wildlife. |
B.More evidence is needed to confirm the finding. |
C.Wind power will be substituted for fossil fuels. |
D.Wind turbines deserve wider media coverage. |
4 . Should We Create More National Parks to Save Endangered Animals?
Don’t you find it worrying that more and more species of animals are in real danger of becoming extinct?
On the other hand, some people fight against the creation of national parks because they consider it is wrong to interfere with nature. They believe that wild animals are happier living in their natural environment.
All in all, these disadvantages are far less important than the benefits of national parks.
A.To begin with, animals are important to humans. |
B.Some hunters even hunt animals simply for sport. |
C.I personally believe that we must save these animals. |
D.These parks allow animals to live in a safe environment. |
E.Firstly, national parks protect these animals’ natural environment. |
F.They say though the animals may face danger, they enjoy a free life. |
G.There is a heated discussion about whether to create more national parks. |
5 . There are few places on Earth that humans haven’t messed up. Now even Antarctica, the only continent with no permanent human inhabitants, is being altered by us. A study found that the increasing human presence in Antarctica is causing more snow melt-bad news for a frozen world already battling the effects of human-caused global warming.
Black carbon, the dark, dusty pollution that comes from burning fossil fuels has settled in locations where tourists and researchers spend a lot of time, scientists found. Even the smallest amount of the dark pollutant can have a significant impact on melting because of its very low reflectiveness: things that are light in color, like snow, reflect the sun's energy and stay cool; things that are dark, like black carbon, absorb the sun's energy and warm up.
“The snow albedo (反射率) effect is one of the largest uncertainties in regional and global climate modeling right now,” Alia Khan, a snow and ice scientist at Western Washington University, told CNN. “That’s one of the motivations for the study, to quantify the impact of black carbon on regional snowmelt, which is important for quantifying the role of black carbon in the global loss of snow and ice.”
“Antarctica is sitting there pretty much silently all year. But, if it weren’t there, in the state that it is meant to be, the balance that we have in the climate system will no longer be,” Marilyn Raphael, a geography professor said. “Antarctica’s sea ice is also important to maintain a balance in atmospheric circulation,” he added. As waters get warmer, some Antarctic creatures are finding their homes more and more unlivable.
“Everything we do has consequences,” Raphael said. “We need to educate ourselves about those consequences, especially in systems that we know relatively little about. We have to be careful that we don’t upset the climate balance.”
1. Why can the smallest amount of black carbon have huge impact on melting?A.It is highly reflective. | B.Its dark colour absorbs heat. |
C.It produces vast energy. | D.It causes much pollution. |
A.To measure the impact of black carbon on melting. |
B.To quantify the cost of battling against climate change. |
C.To remove the uncertainties of global warming effects. |
D.To urge people to pay more attention to melting problem. |
A.The change caused by Antarctic melting. | B.The methods to stop Antarctic ice melting. |
C.The significance of Antarctic being in its state. | D.The sufferings Antarctic creatures are experiencing. |
A.Reduce tourist numbers. | B.Face the consequences. |
C.Acquire professional education. | D.Stop disturbing the climate. |
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European Commission Executive Vice-President Fran’s Timmermans,
7 . Each year, as many as one billion birds are killed in the US from collisions (相撞) with glass windows and buildings every year. Birds that crashed into Philadelphia buildings began to be collected in the 1890s. Nearly 100 species of birds are known to have died out from crashes with buildings and other structures in Philadelphia. Many other species are probably affected in the city.
Called Lights Out Philly, the voluntary program in Philadelphia encourages buildings to turn out or dim unnecessary external and internal lights between midnight and six o’clock early in the morning to protect birds as they pass through during migration seasons.
Bird migration seasons are from April l to May 31 in spring and from August 15 to November 15 in fall. Each year, millions of birds pass through Philadelphia along a migration route known as the Atlantic Flyway. Bird-glass crashes are very common for migrating birds, most of which travel at night. Glass is difficult for them to recognize as hard surfaces, and artificial light can fool them into crashing with buildings and outdoor structures. Turning off lights between midnight and sunrise helps minimize the effect of artificial light when most birds are migrating.
On Oct. 2, 2020, a stormy and foggy day, Philadelphia had its largest mass collision event in more than 70 years with an estimated 1,000 birds crashing with buildings in one 3.5-square block area in just one day. Paired with a terrible storm of weather and fog conditions, the bright city and building lights attracted and confused the migrating birds, causing them to crash with buildings and outdoor structures.
Even if you don’t play a part in managing the lights of a big building, you can help birds avoid crashes by making the glass opaque to reduce the amount and intensity of artificial light at night, changing the color of lighting to blue or green, shortening the duration lights are on, directing the lighting downward or screening lighting.
1. What is the first paragraph mainly about?A.The rich biological diversity in Philadelphia. |
B.Great efforts to protect migrating birds in Philadelphia. |
C.The present and the past of the bird conservation in America. |
D.The serious consequence of bird-glass crashes in Philadelphia. |
A.Bad weather conditions. | B.Traveling in the day. |
C.The mistaken route. | D.Too many buildings. |
A.Light-reflecting. | B.Delicate. | C.Lightproof. | D.Clean. |
A.It Is Difficult to Save the Migrating Birds |
B.Philadelphia Turns out Lights to Save Migrating Birds |
C.External and Internal Lights Affect the Bird Migration |
D.Lights Out Philly Program Helps Save Endangered Birds |
8 . The streets, sidewalks and roofs of cities all absorb heat during the day, making some urban areas across the United States up to 6 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than rural ones during the day—and 22 degrees F hotter at night. These “urban heat islands” can also develop underground as the city heat spreads downward, beneath the surface. And basements, subway tunnels and other underground infrastructure also constantly bleed heat into the surrounding earth, creating hotspots. Now the underground heat is building up as the planet warms.
According to a new study of downtown Chicago, underground hotspots may threaten the very same structures that emit the heat in the first place. Such temperature changes make the ground around them expand and contract (收缩) enough to cause potential damage. “Without anyone realizing it, the city of Chicago’s downtown was deforming,” says the study’s author Alessandro F. Rotta Loria, a civil and environmental engineer at Northwestern University.
The findings, published in Communications Engineering, expose a “silent hazard (危险)” to civil infrastructure in cities with soft er ground — especially those near water — Rotta Loria says. “There might have been structural issues caused by this underground climate change that happened, and we didn’t even realize,” he adds. While not an immediate or direct danger to human lives, this previously unknown effect highlights the impacts of a lesser-known component of climate change.
Similar to climate change above the surface, these underground changes occur over long periods of time. “These effects took decades, a century, to develop,” Rotta Loria says, adding that elevated underground temperatures would likewise take a long time to dissipate (逐渐消失) on their own.
But other researchers interviewed for this story all say this wasted energy could also be recycled, presenting an opportunity to both cool the subsurface and save on energy costs. Subway tunnels and basements could be updated with technologies to recapture the heat. For example, water pipes could be installed to run through underground hotspots and pick up some of the heat energy.
1. What can we learn about the “urban heat islands”?A.They can develop underground structures. |
B.They are impacted by global warming. |
C.They can destroy the ground around. |
D.They only exist in the United States. |
A.To discuss structural issues. |
B.To categorize climate change. |
C.To explain underground heat. |
D.To emphasize the neglected reality. |
A.The future of tunnels and basements. |
B.The reusing approaches of heat energy. |
C.The cost of maintaining structures. |
D.The evolution of underground environment. |
A.Warming Underground, Weakening Surface |
B.A Silver Lining of Global Warming |
C.Urban Silent Islands in the Making |
D.A Silent Crisis in Downtown Chicago |
9 . A very dangerous situation happened in California last week. More than 12 wildfires broke out in the state. Most of them began on October 8, in Northern California. They grew rapidly. The fires were made bigger by winds of up to 50 miles per hour and dry air in the area.
At least 20 people have been killed, the state government said. About 200 have been injured. At least 3,500 homes and businesses have been destroyed. About 50,000 people have been required to escape. Many left in a hurry, without time to take their personal things. “All the good stuff(东西)—I’m never going to see it again,” Jeff Okrepkie said. He escaped from his Santa Rosa home. It was destroyed soon after he left.
The fires burned through parts of eight counties(郡,县). These include Sonoma and Napa. The areas are important to California’s economy(经济). They are home to many of the state’s vineyards(葡萄园) and wineries(酿酒厂). In 2016, California’s wineries made more than $57 billion.
October is when wildfires usually produce the most ruins in California. But it is unusual for so many fires to start at once. Up to now, the government has not given a cause for any of the fires, many of which were still burning.
1. Why did the fires grow quickly?A.Most of the fires began in October. | B.12 fires happened at the same time. |
C.The state government didn’t do anything. | D.High-speed wind and dry air. |
A.50,000. | B.200. | C.3,500. | D.20. |
A.Homes have been destroyed. | B.Wineries have been burned. |
C.People have to leave their homes. | D.Many people have been injured. |
A.The high-speed wind and dry air. | B.Many fires started at once. |
C.October produces the most ruins. | D.The cause is not explained. |
10 . Temples have long served an important role since the early years of civilization. Whether you are seeking a sense of spiritual enlightenment or looking to learn more about a certain religion, these beautiful temples are worth a stop on your vacation.
Paro Taktsang in the Paro Valley, BhutanSituated on a steep cliff in Bhutan’s Paro Valley, the “Tiger’s Nest” earned its nickname from an 18th-century tale detailing Buddhist master Padmasambhava arriving to the site on a flying tiger. The journey to the cliffside is quite the challenge, requiring guests to climb two hours on a steep trail.
Seiganto-ji in Nachikatsuura, JapanNeighboring the tallest waterfall and set against the lush trees of Nachi, Seiganto-ji dates back to the 4th century. Seiganto-ji is now the first stop on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage, where individuals travel to 33 Buddhist temples throughout the Kansai region of Japan.
Man Mo Temple in Hong KongThis Buddhist and Taoist temple was built to honor the god of literature and the god of war, and the inscriptions found in the temple hall imply its construction may have taken place around 1847. It is still highly active and visited by local worshippers, so it’s asked that any visitor coming to the temple is prohibited from taking photos out of respect.
Kek Lok Si Temple, MalaysiaPenang is often touted(吹捧) for its sandy beaches and emerald blue waters, but it’s also home to the largest Buddhist temple in Malaysia. A melting pot of cultures, the temple’s architecture showcases Chinese, Thai, and Burmese styles throughout its stunning seven stories. It’s estimated there are 10,000 statues of Buddha depicted throughout its main pagodas(宝塔).
1. If you hope to enjoy a sea view, which temple is the best choice?A.Paro Taktsang in the Paro Valley, Bhutan. | B.Seiganto-ji in Nachikatsuura, Japan. |
C.Man Mo Temple in Hong Kong. | D.Kek Lok Si Temple, Malaysia. |
A.Kek Lok Si Temple is the largest temple in Malaysia. |
B.Paro Taktsang earned its nickname due to its unique location. |
C.Seiganto-ji is a time-honored temple with magnificent surroundings. |
D.Visitors tend to take photos to show their respect for Man Mo Temple. |
A.A travel journal. | B.A tourist brochure. |
C.A geography textbook. | D.An academic article. |