1 . BBYY, as the adult female was known, made a wild dash of more than 388 kilometers in 49 days—the longest distance ever recorded among hares, rabbits or any other relatives—researchers report online December 22 in Ecology.
“To think that such a small animal living under such extreme conditions averaged about eight kilometers per day across seven weeks is truly amazing,” says Joel Berger, a scientist at Colorado State University in Fort Collins.
Arctic hares, also known as North-Pole hares—which weigh more or less the same as house cats, about four kilograms—are desirable targets for foxes and wolves on the tundra (苔原). Given the hares’ important role in the Arctic food chain, scientist Dominique Berteaux wanted to know how the animals move across the dry landscape where very few plants can grow.
In 2019, Berteaux and colleagues fixed satellite tracking rings on 25 hares caught near the northern tip of Ellesmere Island in Nunavut, Canada. As the hares quickly ran away, the researchers had no idea the creatures were beginning a mind-blowing journey across the tundra, Berteaux says. That’s because hares and their relatives, typically spend their lives within a familiar area where food is plentiful and easy to find.
The Arctic hares behaved quite differently, with most traveling anywhere between 113 and 310 kilometers. None came close to BBYY, who died of unknown causes about a month after reaching her final destination.
For a hare to complete such a dangerous journey, it must balance the need to find food without becoming food, says Dennis Murray, a scientist. That makes BBYY’s adventure even more impressive, he says.
Berteaux and colleagues hope data from BBYY and the other hares can help shape conservation strategies for the desert system near the North Pole. But even at this early stage, it’s exciting to find “something unknown in an animal that we thought we knew quite well,” Berteaux says.
1. Why did Berteaux and colleagues do research on Arctic hares?| A．Because of their amazing ability to travel a long distance. |
| B．Because of their weighing more or less the same as house cats. |
| C．Because of their important role in the Arctic food chain. |
| D．Because of their extreme living conditions. |
| A．Amazing. | B．Challenging. | C．Demanding. | D．Upsetting. |
| A．BBYY was an adult male with the longest distance record among hares. |
| B．BBYY died of tiredness from traveling the longest distance. |
| C．BBYY, like other Arctic hares, typically lived within a familiar area. |
| D．BBYY managed to balance the need to find food without becoming food. |
| A．The findings of Berteaux and colleagues are good for nothing. |
| B．The findings of Berteaux and colleagues just confirm what people believe about hares. |
| C．Berteaux and colleagues have discovered an unknown species—Arctic hares. |
| D．Berteaux and colleagues will go on with their research on Arctic hares. |
The Ming City Wall Ruins Park, one of the best parks in Beijing,
The Ming Dynasty City Wall from Dongbianmen to Chongwenmen is one of the only two remaining Ming Dynasty City Walls in Beijing.
Using a simple design, the park highlights the beauty of the
3 . A worldwide shift from fossil fuel-powered cars to electric vehicles could significantly reduce the amount of carbon dioxide that humans emit to the atmosphere. But current strategies for vehicle electrification (电气化) can also shift some pollution to communities already suffering under higher economic, health and environmental burdens, researchers warn.
California, which leads the United States by a mile when it comes to EV adoption, offers a window into this evolving problem. The state is aggressively seeking to reduce its carbon footprint and has made substantial increases in wind and solar power generation as well as in the promotion of electric vehicle purchases. One tool the state has used is the California Clean Vehicle Rebate Project, or CVRP, which kicked off in 2010 and offers consumers money back for the purchase of new EVs.
Now, an analysis of the CVRP’s impact on the state’s air quality from 2010 to 2021 reveals both good and bad news, researchers report May 3 in PLOS Climate.
The good news is that the CVRP is responsible for making a dent in the state’s overall CO2 emissions, reducing them by about 280,000 metric tons per year on average. The bad news is that the most disadvantaged communities in the state didn’t see the same overall improvement in air quality. Those communities in fact saw an increase in one type of air pollution, tiny particulates known as PM2.5. That increase may be indirectly related to putting more EVs on the road. Although electric vehicles themselves don’t produce PM2.5 from their tailpipes, increased electricity generation, if it’s not fossil fuel-free, can. Renewable resources, including rooftop solar cells, supplied about half of California’s electricity in 2022. But natural gas-fired power plants still provide a large part of the state’s power.
“Electric vehicles are often incorrectly referred to as ‘zero-emission vehicles’, but they’re only as clean as the underlying electric grid (电网) from which the energy is sourced,” Mejía-Duwan says. The most disadvantaged 25 percent of the state’s communities also contain 50 percent of the power plants, the team found.
1. What do we know from paragraph 2?| A．California takes the lead in environmental protection. |
| B．Wind and solar power generation has dominated California. |
| C．California’s carbon footprint has been reduced as planned. |
| D．The launch of CVRP is intended to promote electric vehicle purchases. |
| A．adjustment. | B．shift. | C．reduction. | D．increase |
| A．Putting more EVs on the road. | B．Increased electricity generation. |
| C．Warming climate. | D．Increased rooftop solar cells. |
| A．Zero emission for EVs can’t be ensured nowadays. |
| B．‘Zero emission’ isn’t good enough to describe EVs. |
| C．EVs, with no zero emission, shouldn’t be advocated. |
| D．EVs have a promising future as zero emission vehicles. |
4 . Mars is truly a fascinating planet for those of us here on Earth. It is about half of the size of Earth and is often referred to as the “Red Planet” because of its red surface.
Mars has seasons like Earth, but the seasons there are twice as long as the seasons on Earth. Mars also has an atmosphere, but it is very thin and made up mostly of carbon dioxide. Because of its thin atmosphere and greater distance from the Sun, Mars is much colder than Earth. However, Mars does have weather, with clouds and winds. The poles on Mars are a lot like Antarctica, capped by ice, but much of Mars’s ice is made from carbon dioxide, not water.
Many scientists believe that studying Mars can help us answer some of the key questions about our planet Earth, or even the universe. But missions to Mars have never been easy. Facing great challenges, many countries will still continue their explorations. Launching the first Mars probe (探测器) from Wenchang around 2020 is China’s first step to explore the “Red Planet”
The Chinese Mars probe is made up of three parts: the orbiter, the lander, and the rover. Entering the Earth-Mars transfer orbit, the Mars probe separates from the launch vehicle. Then the space-to-ground communications link is created. Controllers on Earth guide it into the orbit around Mars. After collecting detailed information about the landing area, the probe is ready for the landing. The orbiter and the lander separate. The orbiter stays in the orbit for at least a year to photograph key areas and monitor the planet’s environment, while the lander heads down to the surface of Mars.
Nine kilometres above the planet, a large parachute(降落伞) opens to slow the landing craft as it falls. After removing the parachute, the lander chooses a safe place to land, where the Martian rover can start operations, collecting and transmitting data back to Earth. After receiving its orders from Earth, the rover leaves the landing point and begins to explore the surface of Mars.
1. How does the writer develop paragraph 2?| A．By making a list. | B．By giving examples. |
| C．By making comparisons. | D．By analyzing cause and effect. |
| A．China has been exploring Mars for many years. |
| B．Mars exploration is not so difficult for some countries. |
| C．Some countries will stop Mars exploration due to great difficulties. |
| D．Mars exploration can help us better understand the earth and universe. |
① The probe is ready for the landing.
② The Mars probe separates from the launch vehicle.
③ Controllers on Earth guide it into the orbit around Mars.
④ The probe collects detailed information about the landing area.
| A．①②③④ | B．④③①② | C．②③④① | D．②③①④ |
| A．It slows the landing craft as it falls. |
| B．It collects and transmits data back to Earth. |
| C．It helps the lander to find a safe place to land. |
| D．It guides the probe into the orbit around Mars. |
She came into my life when I was seven years old. My dad found her at work. She was wandering and starving. He took one look at her, and said, “Seems like you could use a good home.” He opened up the door to his truck and she jumped in. Her tail wagged (摇动) all the way.
I was still at school when dad arrived home with the puppy. Mom and dad fed her and gave her a bath. This would be my first pet.
I had always wanted a dog. My parents told me when I was old enough and responsible, I could have one. Well, I guess they figured the time was right.
When I walked back home, a white and black puppy with a red bow stuck to her head greeted me with many many puppy kisses. A wild joy took hold of me and a very special friendship was born that day.
Now she needed a name. My older brother laughed at her and said her tail didn’t wag back and forth like others, but went in a circle. He moved his finger around his ear, and said, “She’s squirrely”. Thus my puppy got her name, Squirrely.
注意：
1. 续写词数应为 150 左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Squirrely was a smart dog and brought me much joy.
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However, arthritis (关节炎) hit my best friend when she was 12.
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6 . Populations of humpback whales (座头鲸) that live in different places can learn long, complicated (复杂的) songs from one another. Scientists at the University of Queensland, in Australia, focused on two populations of humpback whales, one by Australia’s east coast and the other off New Caledonia—a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean about 900 miles away. These populations may share feeding grounds or come across one another while moving from one place to another.
Only male whales sing. Their songs are known to be made up of a wide variety of different sounds arranged into patterns (模式) and can last for hours. The researchers listened to samples (样本) of male humpback songs from 2009 to 2015. They found out how complicated the songs were based on the number of sounds and how long the patterns lasted.
“The team found that the whales from New Caledonia were able to sing the same songs as the Australian whales without simplifying or leaving anything out,” said lead researcher Jenny Allen. This was true no matter how complicated the songs were. The whales also sang a different song each year. “It means humpback whales can learn a whole song pattern from another population very quickly,” Allen said.
It is not known for sure why male whales sing, but two possible reasons are to attract a mate or to warn other males to stay out of a private area. In addition to humpbacks, only a few other species of whales (blue, fifin, bowhead, and minke whales) sing.
Humpback whale numbers have been badly affected by hunting, which was stopped by law in the 1980s. Today there are thought to be about 40,000 humpbacks swimming in Australia’s waters, although scientists warn that the species still faces a number of threats in the wild. Allen said the study’s findings will aid efforts to save and protect humpback whales.
1. Why did the researchers choose Australian whales and whales from New Caledonia?| A．They are quick learners. |
| B．They are good at singing. |
| C．They have the chance to meet. |
| D．They have the same living habit. |
| A．They could show where they came from through songs. |
| B．They attracted different species of whales through songs. |
| C．They increased sound numbers and pattern length every year. |
| D．They were able to learn each other’s songs exactly and quickly. |
| A．Easy. | B．Warning. | C．Meaningful. | D．Pioneering. |
| A．Why male humpback whales can sing |
| B．Humpback whales prefer complicated song |
| C．How whales communicate with each other |
| D．Humpback whales learn songs from one another |
7 . Andrew White brings his four-legged friends Oliver and Amore to his neighborhood Petco pet stores in San Diego for a little takeout. He has brought the pair to a kibble refill station (宠物食品补给站) that allows owners to use their own containers (容器).
“It’s more affordable for everyone,” he said.
Like the price of many things these days, the price of owning a pet has been increasing. A report on petfoodindustry.com finds the cost of feeding household animals was up about 6% in March over last year. The overall pet category saw a 7.5% increase compared to March of 2021. The American Pet Products Association says a record $123.6 billion was spent in the US last year on pets. A survey shows 70% of American families now include a pet of some Kind.
In Kansas City, the KC Pet Project is seeing animals surrendered because of their owners’ money problems. “It is sad to see a number of pets coming in through our doors,” said KC Pet Project Chief Communications Officer Tori Fugate. “People are calling us every week saying, ‘I don’t want to leave my animal, but I can’t find a place to live with it.’”
One big cost is vet (兽医) care. The KC Pet Project gave out more than $96,000 last year to help owners with medical bills. Recent findings from Consumers’ Checkbook show costs differed widely from vet to vet in seven Cities they listed. So they say f pet owners want to save money, do some checking first. “If you know that your pets are going to need certain treatment, you can call around and get prices, and then decide what to do next,” said Consumers Checkbook Executive Editor Kevin Brasler.
In Florida, the Humane Society of Tampa Bay has increased its animal pantries (食品储藏室), so people can get free food for their dogs and cats.
“I believe things will get better,” said Sherry Silk, CEO of the Humane Society of Tampa Bay.“It’s got to get better because the animals really need us.”
1. What do the numbers in paragraph 3 mainly show?| A．Keeping pets is still popular in the US. |
| B．The costs for pets are rising in the US. |
| C．Most Americans have difficulty keeping pets. |
| D．Many Americans are careful about having pets. |
| A．Hunted for. | B．Looked over. | C．Given up. | D．Handed out. |
| A．Ask for medical prices first. | B．Choose a big local pet hospital. |
| C．Call the KC Pet Project for help. | D．Get different vets to examine them. |
| A．Uncertain. | B．Worried. | C．Hopeful. | D．Doubtful. |
China has detailed measures to boost its climate change monitoring and risk prevention capabilities, marking a significant step forward in the country’s efforts
The country will seek to build a climate-resilient society
The first time China
As the global climate
9 . World in a dish: The garden path
Imagine a plate holding two strawberries, identical in appearance. One came from the supermarket, meaning it was probably harvested when it was still unripe, loaded onto a refrigerated truck and driven hundreds of miles.
The first one will probably taste like a slightly soft cucumber, with light berry flavors and strong sour tastes. The second is likely to be sweet and floral; the flavor will stay in the mouth, as the pleasant smell will on the hands.
A garden, especially in the early years, can also produce little but frustration. Beginning gardeners may plant the wrong crops for their soil. Squirrels have an annoying habit of taking single bites of cucumbers, beans and tomatoes, then leaving the rest on the vine (藤) to rot.
No matter.
| A．The real joy of gardening is the time spent doing it. |
| B．Growing your own vegetables ensures a reliable supply. |
| C．Well-stocked supermarket shelves are available all week. |
| D．Some columnists long considered gardening a waste of time. |
| E．However, supermarket strawberries are not entirely without advantages. |
| F．By the time it reached the plate it may have been off the vine for two weeks. |
| G．And even expert gardeners can lose a season's harvest to uncooperative weather. |
10 . Called “America’s wolf”, the red wolf is the only large predator whose historic range is found entirely within the United States, stretching from Texas to New England. But hunting gradually reduced its range, and it was declared extinct in the wild in 1980.
Recovery efforts in the wild began in 1987 on the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. In a ground-breaking successful experiment, eight captive (圈养的) wolves were released this year into North Carolina, eventually growing into a population over 100, reaching a peak of around 120 wolves in 2012. But illegal hunting and management changes by the Fish and Wildlife Service resulted in their numbers plummeting.
In the spring, conservationists celebrated a small bit of good news when four captive-born pups (幼兽) were placed into a cave and successfully adopted by a wild red wolf mother. Meanwhile, another four adults were released into the wild. The pups are thought to be still alive and healthy. But the adults didn’t go well. In the months after release, three were struck by cars and killed, and the fourth was fatally shot on private land.
To boost the population after these deaths, the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced in November that it planned to release nine adult red wolves into their recovery area this winter, land within and surrounding two wildlife reserves.
The Service also recently announced it would withdraw a 2018 proposal to shrink (缩小) the red wolves’ protected area in North Carolina by 90 percent, after a lawsuit accused the agency of going against the Endangered Species Act. Ron Sutherland of the Wildlands Network says it’s crucial that the agency has abandoned this wrong-headed proposal. And yet the situation now is even more urgent than it was in 2018 — this should launch the conservation community in the U. S. into crisis mode to save this species and bring it back from the extinction.
1. What does the underlined word “plummeting” in paragraph 2 mean?| A．Promising. | B．Declining. | C．Multiplying. | D．Increasing. |
| A．The released wolves lived well. |
| B．The population boosted after the release. |
| C．The red wolf faced greater threat than before. |
| D．The released red wolves still needed protection. |
| A．Shrink the red wolves’ reserves. |
| B．Make a proposal to protect the red wolves. |
| C．Put some red wolves in some specific places. |
| D．Force the protected area into the state of emergency. |
| A．The protection of red wolves. | B．Challenges faced by red wolves. |
| C．Reasons for red wolves extinction. | D．The relationship between red wolves and humans. |
