The Araguaia River is one of the biggest rivers in Brazil. It is home to thousands of animals. River dolphins swim and play in the water, and there are many different colored fish.
In one town, a 13-year-old boy named Rhenan walks along the river every day. But looking at the river makes him worry because there is rubbish everywhere. He sees plastic bottles, old clothing, and empty food packages. The water looks dark and ugly.
One day Rhenan asked about the dirty river at school. “You wouldn’t want rubbish in your house,” said his teacher. “Think about the poor animals!” For days, Rhenan couldn’t stop thinking about the river. It doesn’t seem right to him that this big and powerful river is filled with rubbish. “It’s hurting the animals in my area,” he thought. “And it’s also hurting the families who live here.” Then Rhenan had an idea.
The next morning, Rhenan talked to his mother about his plan for the river. He wanted to go around his town and ask for everyone’s help. Maybe if they all worked together, they could clean up the river!
Rhenan’s mother loved his idea. “I believe the most important thing for you, Rhenan, is learning how to change things that you care about. That will stay with you forever.” She said. She told him she would help him along the way.
The next day, Rhenan went to the police department and next to the office of the Mayor (市长). He visited offices, businesses, and other schools. Soon he had a very big group of people who like his idea! They all decided to meet at the river the following week. On the day of the river clean-up, Rhenan was excited—but he was also nervous. What if no one showed up? But when he and his mother arrived, there were almost a hundred people there, including many of Rhenan’s friends.
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。
Over the whole day, they all worked together to clean up the rubbish.
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At the end of the day, everyone started to cheer.
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2 . In the northernmost edge of Colombia sits the coastal town of Acandí. Access to the town is only by water or air; there is no road that leads there. The residents there are faced with the struggles of balancing livelihoods while protecting biodiversity.
In the past, traditional community fishing methods, passed down by the elders, focused on the reasonable fishing and management of resources. However, the introduction of large-scale trawling vessels(拖网渔船) decades ago gradually depleted the area’s fishing resources, leading to damage to marine(海洋的) life seriously.
Jesús Antonio Julio Cuestas, who serves in the region’s conservation and management of marine resources, stresses the bad impact of these developments and calls for new fishing techniques. “Fishing and conservation co-exist as long as we have good management practices and reasonable use of our fishing resources,” says Cuestas. He and other officials actively monitor fishing activities in Acandí. Each morning, they visit the fish markets to gather data on fishery resources—including prices and sizes—to monitor the state of the local fishing industry.
Along with Cuestas, the fishers work to reduce their impact on the marine ecosystem. By changing fishing methods and adopting new practices, they aim for a more balanced approach to fishing. “This year the local fishermen have not used the trawl net s that were causing the death of the leatherback sea turtles,” explains Cuestas proudly. Changes include the efforts of boats to protect the seagrass that serves as feeding grounds for marine life and an end to fishers throwing net s where turtles lay their eggs.
This marine reserve in Acandí, Cuestas believes, is their greatest treasure. He attaches great importance to working together with local residents to improve the quality of life while preserving the marine ecosystem. By doing so, he imagines a picture where individuals from the fishing community can pursue various careers, such as engineers or lawyers, proudly stating that they are the products of the fishing tradition in Acandí.
1. What does the underlined word “depleted” in paragraph 2 mean?| A．Reused. | B．Restored. |
| C．Explored. | D．Reduced. |
| A．To cut down on the costs of fishing. |
| B．To improve the income of local residents. |
| C．To promote the well-being of marine wildlife. |
| D．To spread traditional community fishing methods. |
| A．The aim of the changes to fishing methods. |
| B．The efforts to preserve marine ecosystem. |
| C．The results the trawl net s have brought about. |
| D．The impact of fishers on the local environment. |
| A．Confident. | B．Uncaring. |
| C．Concerned. | D．Doubtful. |
3 . Meat, milk, cheese — just some of the things provided by goats. But now we can also add fire safety to this list. As wildfires damage increasingly large areas of the planet each year, goatherds (牧羊人) may offer a way of reducing the risk.
Wildfires are made possible by hot, dry weather conditions as well as a supply of dead plants that serve as fuel. We may have limited control over the former factor, but we can control the latter. Reducing the fuel load lowers the possibility of wildfires occurring, as well as the amount of damage caused. This is where we can turn to goats to search for a solution, which are being used for landscape management in a number of places around the world, including Greece, Spain, Portugal, Chile and a number of parts of the United States.
Goats have an extremely powerful digestive (消化的) system. Many kinds of plants that are dangerous to other animals can be easily eaten by goats. It’s not just fully-grown plants that goats are able to deal with: any seeds that pass through a goat can’t survive and will not grow. Human clearance teams have to worry about getting to the hard-to-reach places where plants grow but goats don’t. They are skilled mountain climbers and when standing on their hind legs, they can reach up to two metres to the plants that humans would struggle to reach. Because of this, using goats can reduce both the possibility of workplace accidents and the amount of money spent on fire protection measures. Goatherds have been found to clear some parts of land for a third of the price of human control teams.
Cost and safety aren’t the only benefits. Goats are quieter than grass-cutting machines and people usually prefer to see goats eating grass rather than litres of herbicide (除草剂). Children are often attracted to see the goats at work and this provides an opportunity to educate people about preventing wildfires.
1. Why can goats help to prevent wildfires?| A．They are not afraid of bad weather. | B．They are easily controlled by goatherds. |
| C．They have the strongest digestive system. | D．They can remove dead plants causing fire. |
| A．The fire protection measures that people often take. |
| B．The reasons why goats are used to prevent wildfires. |
| C．The difficulty human clearance teams have preventing fire. |
| D．The effects goats have on the natural balance of mountains. |
| A．Herbicide will not be used to remove grass soon. |
| B．Children like goats because of their quiet character. |
| C．It’s a green way to prevent wildfires by using goats. |
| D．Herbicide works better than grass-cutting machines. |
| A．Firefighting Goats. | B．Clever Goatherds. |
| C．Damage Caused by Wildfires. | D．Ways to Prevent Disasters. |
4 . For centuries, people thought that fish did not feel pain or emotions. Now research has shown that fish not only have feelings but can also sense others’ moods.
When a human understands and shares the feelings of another person, this is called empathy (共情). Scientists have found that a chemical in the brain called oxytocin (催产素) is involved in our ability to connect with others.
A team of researchers tested zebra fish with a series of experiments. First, they placed the fish in two separate containers and gave one group a material that caused them to act fearful—either freezing or swimming irregularly. Even though the fish in the nearby container had not touched the material, they also began to freeze in fear. “They respond to other individuals being frightened… just like us,” said Ibukun, a co-author of the study. The scientists tried the experiment again with the changed fish whose brains would not produce oxytocin. These fish were much less likely to act anxious when they saw other fish showing fear. If researchers gave them an injection (注射) of oxytocin, their ability to empathize returned.
Finally, researchers played videos of fearful fish on one side of the container and relaxed fish on the other side. Normal fish moved closer to the side that showed the fearful fish, which might have been an attempt to comfort them. The changed fish did not move toward either side.
Looking at the normal fish’s brains, researchers saw activity in an area similar to the one humans and other mammals (哺乳动物) use when empathizing with others. This could mean that the ability to have empathy developed more than 350 million years ago, when fish and mammals shared a common ancestor.
1. How many experiments did the researchers do?| A．One. | B．Two. | C．Three. | D．Four. |
| A．By modeling. | B．By comparison. |
| C．By describing. | D．By investigation. |
| A．Fish and humans use the same brain area when empathizing. |
| B．Fish always ignore others’ emotions. |
| C．It wasn’t long before fish had empathy. |
| D．Oxytocin plays a key role in empathy. |
| A．To test whether fish and mammals share a common ancestor. |
| B．To test whether fish have the ability to empathize. |
| C．To test whether fish can comfort other fish. |
| D．To test whether fish can produce oxytocin. |
5 . Celebrated on June16th, World Sea Turtle Day is a day dedicated to one of the world’s oldest and most fascinating creatures. Unfortunately, this is also a day to remind everyone of the sea turtle’s endangered status.
Sea turtles have been around since the time of dinosaurs. They typically live to between 30 and 50 years of age, spending most of their lives at sea. Part of the reptile(爬行动物) family, sea turtles can hold their breath for up to five hours. This comes in handy since some species can dive as deep as 1,000 meters below the water’s surface before needing to come up for air. Sea turtles also like to get around, often migrating very long distances. One species can migrate over 12,000 km from nesting beaches in Japan all the way to feeding grounds near Mexico.
Female sea turtles return to the beach they hatched on to nest. Some species lay up to 250 eggs in a single nest, and each egg takes around 60 days to incubate(孵化). However, it’s estimated that only one in a thousand baby turtles can survive to adulthood.
Although it is worth having a day to celebrate these magnificent animals, World Sea Turtle Day also has a more serious purpose: to raise awareness of their difficult situation. Sea turtles are threatened with extinction. Plastic trash is a big problem because the turtles often mistake bags and other plastic items for food like jellyfish. In fact, half of all sea turtles have consumed plastic at some time in their lives.
Rising global temperature is another threat facing turtles. Turtle eggs that lie on warm sand are more likely to result in female turtles, which affects the animal’s diversity. Also, trash-covered beaches can make it hard for baby turtles to reach the sea.
However you want to celebrate World Sea Turtle Day, take some time to spread the word about what we can do to protect these ancient animals. Reducing the amount of plastic we use is just one small way we can help make sure sea turtles stick around for another 100 million years.
1. Which of the following best explains “comes in handy” underlined in Paragraph 2?| A．is useful | B．is interesting | C．is close | D．is difficult |
| A．Turtles are a species which hates going around. |
| B．Turtles’ rate of survival is low though they are productive. |
| C．Turtles came into being long after the extinction of dinosaurs. |
| D．Turtles, belonging to reptile family, spend most of their lives on land. |
| A．Turtle eggs lying on warm sand tend to result in female turtles. |
| B．Sea turtles often mistake plastic bags and other plastic items for food. |
| C．Sea turtles are captured by fishermen for food or for other purposes. |
| D．Baby turtles will have difficulty in reaching the sea when they are on trash-covered beaches. |
| A．The factors of causing sea turtles to die out. |
| B．Raising the awareness of protecting sea turtles. |
| C．A brief introduction of sea turtles’ living habits. |
| D．How sea turtles lay eggs. |
6 . The first time ever I realized that plastic was a serious matter for our planet was during a road trip in Western Australia, almost 12 years ago.
We
This was just one of the many experiences I’ve lived that made me more
Our trip to Borneo was another life-changing
Besides, we were also
Facing this global issue
| A．stayed | B．visited | C．worked | D．stopped |
| A．land | B．ocean | C．district | D．supermarket |
| A．threw | B．picked | C．dropped | D．carried |
| A．sure | B．proud | C．conscious | D．comfortable |
| A．travel | B．deliver | C．remove | D．play |
| A．adversity | B．campaign | C．experience | D．expedition |
| A．free | B．cheap | C．valuable | D．safe |
| A．failed | B．managed | C．hesitated | D．happened |
| A．frequently | B．precisely | C．deeply | D．firmly |
| A．action | B．project | C．discipline | D．protection |
| A．dry up | B．give off | C．clean up | D．shave off |
| A．washed | B．proved | C．rushed | D．injured |
| A．on purpose | B．on behalf | C．in particular | D．in person |
| A．confusion | B．determination | C．frustration | D．satisfaction |
| A．make | B．have | C．achieve | D．find |
7 . Six relatives crowded in a small air pocket, day after day. A hopeless teenager grew so thirsty that he drank his own urine (尿液). Two frightened sisters were comforted by a pop song as they waited for rescuers to free them.
These earthquake survivors were among more than a dozen people pulled out of the rubble (瓦砾) alive Friday after spending over four days trapped in extremely cold darkness following the disaster that struck Turkey(土耳其) and Syria(叙利亚). The disaster has already killed more people than Japan’s Fukushima earthquake and tsunami, with many more bodies yet to be recovered and counted.
Relatives wept and chanted as rescuers pulled 17-year-old Adnan Muhammed from a basement (地下室) in the Turkish city of Gaziantep, near the quake’s epicenter (震中). He had been trapped for 94 hours. For one of the rescuers, Adnan ‘s survival hit home hard: “I have a son just like you,” she told him after giving him a warm hug. “l swear to you, I have not slept for four days... I was trying to get you out.”
The building was only 600 feet from the Mediterranean Sea (地中海) and narrowly avoided being flooded when the serious earthquake sent water pouring into the city center. A trapped woman told her would-be rescuers that she had given up hope of being found and prayed to be put to sleep because she was so cold.
Even though experts say trapped people can live for a week or more, the chances of finding more survivors were quickly waning. Death is closing everywhere: deadhouse and graveyard were unbearable, and bodies wrapped in blankets and tarps (防水油布) in the streets of some cities.
Temperatures remained below freezing and many people have no shelter. The Turkish government has distributed millions of hot meals, as well as tents and blankets, but was still struggling to reach many people in need.
The U.N. refugee agency estimated that as many as 5.3 million people have been left homeless in Syria. Reporters said Friday that the agency is focusing on providing reliefs.
Syrian President Bashar Assad and his wife visited survivors in the Aleppo University Hospital. It was the leader’s first public appearance in an affected area of the country since the disaster.
Turkey’s disaster-management agency said more than 20,200 people had been confirmed killed and more than 80,000 injured.
More than 3,500 have been confirmed killed in Syria, bringing the total number of dead to nearly 24000. Some12,000 buildings in Turkey have either collapsed or stood serious damage. Turkey’s vice president (副总统), Fuat Oktay said more than 1 million people were being housed in temporary shelters.
1. According to the article, recently there were disastrous earthquakes happened in ________.| A．America | B．Japan | C．Turkey and Syria | D．the Mediterranean Sea |
| A．The earthquakes have already caused lots of buildings to collapse and people homeless. |
| B．All survivors have been rescued already. |
| C．The earthquakes did not bring much impact on the disaster area. |
| D．Reliefs were supplied in time. |
| A．rising | B．balancing | C．decreasing | D．approaching |
| A．Syrian government organized rescuers to help. |
| B．Syrian government is focusing on providing reliefs. |
| C．The Turkish government has distributed meals and provided temporary shelters. |
| D．Turkey’s top politicians visited survivors and rescuers. |
8 . Take your dog for a meal. At more restaurants including some of the most fashionable ones, dining with animals is now part of the evening’s menu.
When locals in Key West, go out to dinner, a popular place is an open-air restaurant. On entering the restaurant, they’ll likely see a cat next to a sign that says “Pet the Cat, $1.”
For the owners of the restaurant, serving human guests alongside their pets is a no-brainer. Since they opened the restaurant, they’ve had a friendly rule towards pets, the one that allows pets into the restaurant in a given week.
Americans more and more depend on restaurants (they eat 4.2 meals out each week), it’s only natural that the family pet is finally getting into the act. Enter “pet-friendly restaurants” into an Internet search engine and many restaurants come out.
Why do restaurants court pets? “Dogs never send their food back,” jokes one owner.
The trend(趋势) doesn’t only belong to common places. Many high-rank restaurants also have followed the trend. And there are some cooks making a special effort to treat those with four legs. Lorie Ann, co-owner and cook at a restaurant named Fish Wagon in Calif., specializing in German and French food, serves a free home-made “doggie burger” and a few doggie “cookies” to non-human guests.
Even as more restaurants seek to draw pet owners, they are still the exception. Most local health rules make it clear that pets should be prevented from restaurants and suggest that they be kept out of open-air areas. Still, many officials don’t pay attention to the rules and allow pets to sit outside with their owners.
To make pet owners convenient within the rules, some restaurants allow pets to sit with their owners only when the animals are “parked” just outside the designated (指定的) dining area .
1. Why does it become part of the evening’s menu to take pets for a meal naturally in America?| A．Many restaurants aim to please non-human guests. |
| B．People have meals out more often than ever before. |
| C．Pet owners want to give their pets better things to eat. |
| D．More and more restaurants have friendly rules for pets. |
| A．Try to clean. | B．Try to stop. | C．Try to please. | D．Try to introduce. |
| A．Restaurants please owners in order to bring more dogs. |
| B．Restaurants give more special service to pets than humans. |
| C．Health rules don’t have any influence on dining out with pets. |
| D．Restaurants try to balance between the rules and guests’ need. |
| A．Pet Meals | B．Petting Cats in Restaurants |
| C．Pet Owners | D．Dining out with Your Pets |
9 . Mars is truly a fascinating planet for those of us here on Earth.
The Red Planet has the largest volcano in the solar system-Olympus Mons.
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.
Scientists believe that studying Mars can help answer some of the key questions about our planet Earth, or even the universe.
| A．It is roughly 27 kilometres high. |
| B．Missions to Mars have never been easy. |
| C．Mars, however, today has no active volcanoes. |
| D．The temperature at the planet’s surface varies widely. |
| E．However, Mars does have weather, with clouds and winds. |
| F．China will continue to explore the mysteries of the universe. |
| G．It is one of the few planets that we can see with our own eyes. |
10 . 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. |
