1. How many people does the king rule?
| A．Eighteen. | B．Fourteen. | C．Thirteen. |
| A．A doctor. | B．A photographer. | C．A fisherman. |
| A．Building more houses. | B．Running a restaurant. | C．Building more roads. |
| A．In the morning. | B．In the afternoon. | C．In the evening. |
1. What’s getting less and less these days according to the talk?
| A．Empty land. | B．Garbage. | C．Water. |
| A．Burying it. |
| B．Sending it out of our planet. |
| C．Using it as an energy source. |
| A．It is hardly ever done. |
| B．It causes air pollution. |
| C．It is useless for hard materials. |
| A．The weather in London is excellent. |
| B．People hold different attitudes toward the sun. |
| C．London is worth visiting with friends. |
4 . Each spring, millions of people take photos among the famous cherry trees around the Tidal Basin in Washington DC-some even get married there. That’s what Jody Axinn did 10 years ago.
“Now, the romantic spot is unrecognizable. The whole section is under water,” says Axinn who is revisiting the cherry trees with her family. “When I got here 10 years ago, the place was flooded regularly, but certainly not twice a day, every day.”
There are two forces working together to affect the Tidal Basin, the trees and monuments around it. The seawall around the basin, built with mud dug up from the Potomac River bottom, has sunk about five feet over the past century.
“At the same time, the water level in the basin has gone up by more than a foot because of climate change,” explains Leslie Frattaroli, manager of the National Park Service (NPS). “The Tidal Basin looks like a small lake, but it’s actually part of the Potomac River, because there are gates at the upstream and downstream ends of the basin that allow river water to rush through. Therefore, it is gradually rising along with the level of the world’s oceans.”
Combining these two factors, the water is six feet above where the seawall was originally designed to keep it out. Later this spring, the park service will start to raise parts of the walkway around the basin and along the Potomac River.
“It would be impossible to complete the $113 million project without removing the cherry trees along the water,” Leslie says. “The good news is that when the project is completed in 2027, 274 new cherry trees will be planted.”
Among the trees to be removed is a very famous little tree known as “Stumpy”. At high tide (潮汐), the base of the tree is flooded. Although it is in extremely bad conditions, its remaining three or four small branches burst into flower each spring, with the Washington Monument standing tall in the background.
1. What can be learned from Jody Axinn’s words?| A．The famous cherry trees should be protected. |
| B．The flooding around the basin is more serious. |
| C．Getting married at the Tidal Basin is unpopular. |
| D．Washington DC has changed beyond recognition. |
| A．The sinking seawalls. | B．The rising sea level. |
| C．The beautiful scenery. | D．The warming climate. |
| A．too small to hold the water | B．a small inland lake |
| C．at the downstream end of a river | D．connected with the oceans |
| A．It is not in harmony with the scenery. | B．It is in very bad conditions. |
| C．It happens to be in the reconstruction area. | D．It is attracting too much attention. |
5 . The green, natural forest absorbs carbon dioxide from the air through photo- synthesis (光合作用). There is another way of dealing with the climate crisis. That is setting up fields of dark-colored solar panels (太阳能电池板), also known as “solar forests”, which replace power stations that use fossil fuels such as coal and gas to make electricity, thus mitigating harmful emissions (排放) of greenhouse gases.
But since they are both relatively dark, they absorb a lot of solar radiation. Some of the energy is used for photosynthesis in natural forests or to produce electricity in “solar forests”, but most returns to the atmosphere, heating it up. Then what would be the more effective land use option in terms of the climate crisis: planting a forest, or building solar panels? This issue has long been debated by decision-makers around the world. Now, we may have an answer, thanks to a new study.
First, the researchers compared the impact of a forest on the climate crisis in a dry area to that of a solar farm in a similar environment. The researchers found that the albedo effect (反射效应) of both of these “forests” was similar, but that the absorption or prevention of carbon emissions was very different. It turns out that it takes 2.5 years for the heat emitted by solar farms to be balanced by the carbon emissions that are avoided, thanks to the energy they produce. In the case of a natural forest of similar size, it would take more than 100 years of photosynthesis to balance its heating effect.
The researchers also studied how the heating-cooling relationship changed in other climates and found that in more humid environments, the heating effect of planting large numbers of trees is smaller. And the break-even point is reached within 15 to 18 years.
“In dry places, building solar forests seems far more effective in addressing the climate crisis. Meanwhile, forests absorb about a third of annual carbon emissions and play a vital role in the global rain cycle, in maintaining biodiversity and in many other environmental and social contexts. Preventing them from being cut down and planting more trees in humid areas are of great significance,” explains one of the researchers in the study.
1. What does the underlined word “mitigating” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?| A．Releasing. | B．Decreasing. | C．Generating. | D．Stabilizing. |
| A．They cause much damage to the land. |
| B．They result in a serious loss of farmland. |
| C．They contribute to the warming of the atmosphere. |
| D．They lose energy during the absorption of solar radiation. |
| A．The natural forest exhibits a stronger albedo effect. |
| B．The solar forest can generate more energy in dry areas. |
| C．The solar forest is superior in balancing the heating effect. |
| D．The natural forest is more effective in solving the climate crisis. |
| A．More trees should be planted in dry regions. |
| B．More methods should be adopted to address the climate crisis. |
| C．Fields of solar panels should be set up everywhere on the earth. |
| D．Building solar panels and planting trees should be effectively combined. |
6 . As I was standing in a long line to get into the grocery store waiting to buy fruits and vegetables, I realized I could turn my backyard into a garden.
Before you start your work, think about the space you’re changing. Is your space a yard? A rooftop? How much sunlight does it get? Watch out for the temperature and find out which plants adapt well in your region.
Set the stage with healthy soil. It’s full of billions of bacteria and helps plant roots grow. Then consider the structure of the soil. Different plants require different soil.
Should I plant seeds or transplants? In general, a seed is like a baby. It needs tons of care, but not everyone knows how to get it to survive. Transplants are for starters.
With a little planning, I was able to watch three adorable baby trees take root in my yard. One of them recently had its first fruit — sweet little peaches. The yard has totally transformed too.
| A．It used to be a junkyard. |
| B．Just create a vision based on your location. |
| C．You can start a garden in pots or containers. |
| D．You can buy your garden soil at a hardware (五金) store. |
| E．It enables me to grow my own food and save waiting time. |
| F．Carrots want sandier soil, so their roots can more easily grow. |
| G．They are plants that are a few inches high grown in small pots. |
7 . Having studied more than 400 groups of honeybees in Brazil for two years, a group of biologists led by Viviana Di Pietro report that, like humans, honeybees are capable of learning new traditions which are then handed down over generations.
“The most obvious example is that honeybees can build their homes according to different architectural traditions which are then handed down over generations,” they write. “We found that around 95% of the honeybees built their homes in a horizontal (与地面平行的) style, while 5% of them preferred a spiral (螺旋形的) structure. In each case, the tradition was passed down to the next generations.”
Since honeybees showed a strong preference for a horizontal structure, it was surprising that spiral structures occurred at all. “With the help of video cameras, we found that there was a noticeable difference in average building rate between the two styles.” the researchers add.
In order to rule out a genetic (遗传的) explanation for the different styles, the researchers took honeybees from the groups that built in spiral tradition close to the groups that built in horizontal tradition. The imported honeybees soon learned to build their homes in the local style, which was then passed down to their children as they eventually grew up. “It is very likely that the imported honeybees might have changed the style as a way of correcting the construction errors made by their ancestors.” the researchers suggest.
The findings have surprised observers of animal culture, as they suggest that honeybees can learn and hand down different building traditions over generations. This has changed the way of thinking about culture, which is often strictly defined as behaviour directly handed down from human parents to their children until it becomes a tradition in a group.
“Insect culture was thought impossible. Less than a century ago, culture was thought to be uniquely human,” says biologist Andrew Whiten of the University of St Andrews, who was not involved in the research. “But the new research has offered strong evidence pointing to the opposite.”
1. Why do most honeybees prefer a horizontal structure according to the research?| A．It is easier to be copied. | B．It is a bit stronger. |
| C．It is more comfortable. | D．It is faster to build. |
| A．Scientists. | B．Traditions. | C．Findings. | D．Parents. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Disapproving. | C．Doubtful. | D．Unclear. |
| A．Researchers Have Different Views on Animal Culture |
| B．Honeybees May Learn and Preserve Cultural Traditions |
| C．Honeybees Can Learn Building Skills From Their Neighbors |
| D．Researchers Have Misunderstood Honeybees for a Long Time |
8 . Samarkand in Uzbekistan hosted an important intergovernmental conference on how to stop the slow spread of degraded (退化) land. Between 2015 and 2019, the world lost at least 100 million hectares of healthy and productive land a year, according to an analysis for the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). Human activities—including destroying forests and agricultural practices — and climate change are among the main causes.
115 countries reported ahead of the meeting on three measures for restoring degraded land and soil: protecting the area used for agriculture or covered by forests or wetlands; increasing the ability of land to support and sustain life, retaining above-and below-ground stocks of carbon. Reaching the target of “land degradation neutrality (土地退化中性)” by 2030 means reversing a negative trend: the global share of land that is degraded increased from 14.7% in 2015 to 18. 9% in 2019.
Yet there are some important signs of hope amid a mostly bleak prospect. The analysis enables countries to understand land degradation at a more granular (细致的) level than before. And the UNCCD’s science teams helped to train researchers in some of the most-affected countries, so that local scientists and policymakers could do the work themselves. And some countries are moving in the right direction. In Ecuador, for example, the area of land classed as degraded went from 21.9% to 12.8% between 2015 and 2019.
Land degradation is not a priority on the world’s environmental agenda. Although the UNCCD has the same status as the UN conventions on climate change and biodiversity, unlike them it does not have an autonomous body that provides independent scientific advice. Restoration projects also receive much less international funding.
This funding gap illustrates just how little priority is given to restoring land and preventing further countries are providing data. These nations, especially high-income countries, should start reporting degradation. Yet the latest analysis shows what can be done even with limited resources. But not all their plans and actions, to raise the profile of land degradation.
1. Which of the measures is mentioned before the conference?| A．Developing more forests or wetlands. |
| B．Increasing industrial productivity. |
| C．Making people support their life. |
| D．Keeping the stocks of carbon. |
| A．Dark. | B．Interesting. | C．Wonderful. | D．Reasonable. |
| A．The land degradation is serious nowadays. |
| B．Land degradation isn’t sufficiently prioritized. |
| C．The biodiversity deserves more attention. |
| D．More funds are obtained for the restoration project. |
| A．Provide funding to support relevant projects. |
| B．Help other countries to collect and analyze data. |
| C．Start reporting their own schedules and actions. |
| D．Stop land degradation in their countries completely. |
9 . “Earth” has always been an odd choice of name for the third planet from the Sun. After all, if an alien examines it through a telescope, he would note that two-thirds of its surface is covered not by earth at all, but by oceans of water.
However, most of the oceans on Earth remain unexplored. For example, photographers are fond of pointing out that scientists have mapped nearly all the oceans’ surface, but less than a quarter of the seabed. Biologists think the oceans might host more than 2 million species of animals, of which they have so far identified perhaps a tenth.
A new project may change this. Launched in London on April 27th, 2023, Ocean Census aims to discover 100,000 new species of ocean animals over the coming decade. Its first ship, Kronprins Haakon, set sail on April 29 for the Barents Sea.
The project is launched for two reasons. One is that the longer scientists wait, the less there will be to study. “Top on our agenda are species thought to be in the greatest danger from climate change,” says Oliver Steeds, founder of the project. “Otherwise, the forest is burning down and we won’t know what was there before it is lost.”
The second reason is technological. Biologists find about 2,000 new species a year, a rate hardly changed since Darwin’s day. Ocean Census is betting that it can go faster. Fancy cameras on remote-operated vehicles, for instance, allow scientists to scan deep-sea creatures such as jellyfish without removing them from their habitat. Just as the huge pressures of the deep sea are deadly for humans, taking such a jellyfish to the surface for examination may reduce it to gooey slime (黏液).
Exactly what the new effort might turn up, of course, is impossible to predict. But history suggests it will be fruitful. Half a century ago, scientists discovered hot seabeds that were home to organisms living happily in conditions that, until then, had been thought harmful to life. These days, such hot seabeds are thought to be one possible candidate for the origin of all life on Earth.
1. What phenomenon is described in the second paragraph?| A．The oceans are home to most of the animals. | B．The oceans have not been studied in depth. |
| C．Scientists enjoy photographing the oceans. | D．“Earth” is not a proper name for our planet. |
| A．More efforts from scientists are necessary. | B．Animals in the forest should be rescued, too. |
| C．Climate change is endangering the forest. | D．The project should start with threatened species. |
| A．It is mature to study the oceans now. | B．Scientists should slow down their studies. |
| C．It is harmful to study deep-sea animals. | D．Researchers want more advanced equipment. |
| A．Dangerous. | B．Creative. | C．Promising. | D．Unnecessary. |
Bill McDonnell, who was a soldier when young, was a 92-year-old now, still healthy and strong. He loved hunting very much. On December 15, Bill decided to go hunting in Shenandoah Mountain the next day as the deer season had begun. His wife Joanna McDonnell intended to let their son Bill McDonnell Jr. accompany him, but Bill Jr. had a football game that day. Bill McDonnell said he could manage all by himself. Joanna then required Bill to be out of the woods by 2 pm and home by 3 pm, plenty of time before sunset. She added, “ Do take some necessities like a flashlight, just in case.”
The next morning, Bill woke up at four, grabbed his muzzleloader (前装枪), and steered his Jeep toward Shenandoah Mountain. At the end of the old Laurel Run logging road, he began to walk. It was about 7:30 am and 25 degrees when the sun peeked through the trees.
Not long into the hike, he came upon a path he didn't remember. Maybe this was a secret route to the king of all bucks (雄鹿). He took it. Then, around 11 am, he came into a clearing (林中空地) along a ridge line (山脊线). He had walked farther than he had expected. It seemed that his path up the mountain had meandered quite a bit. “Where am I now?” he muttered. Bill figured he could drop into the valley, hunt a bit and then go back home. But when he snaked down through the forest, he found there was no path at all. The forest was thick. It was hard to tell the direction now.
By around 2 pm, Bill stopped at somewhere in the valley, exhausted. “I’ll get it figured out,” he said to himself. He took out his phone to call his wife, but the phone had died. He dug into his pants for the GPS device he always brought in case of emergency and pushed the “on” button. Nothing. He had forgotten to charge it the night before.
“No, I’m not lost,” he told himself. His eyes caught a stand of tall trees. He remembered admiring the line of fantastic oaks and pines earlier. Reach them and the car wouldn’t be that far off. It meant he would have to cover some ground.
注意:续写词数应为150左右。He was moving slower and slower, Joanna‘s 3 pm deadline having passed.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________It was about 9:45 pm when Bill heard the whoop-whoop-whoop of a helicopter.
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