1 . The world’s largest whales are more than just astonishing creatures. Much like the ocean, soil and forests, whales can help save humans from the increasing climate crisis by storing carbon. In a paper published recently, climate researchers suggest that whales are important, but often overlooked, carbon sinks.     

The enormous size of these marine mammals, which can reach 150 tons, means they can store carbon much more effectively than smaller animals. And because whales live longer than most animals, they could be “one of the largest stable living carbon pools” in the ocean. Even when whales die, their dead bodies fall down to the deepest parts of the sea and settle on the seafloor, trapping the carbon they’ve stored in their bodies. An indirect way whales can be critical carbon sinks is through their waste. Whale poop (粪便) is rich in nutrients which can be taken up by phytoplankton — tiny organisms that suck up carbon dioxide as they grow.

The process of carbon sequestration helps reduce climate impact, because it locks away carbon that otherwise would have warmed the planet somewhere else for hundreds, if not thousands of years.

Yet whales are threatened, with six out of 13 great whale species classified as endangered or vulnerable due to threats including industrial whaling, as well as trap in fishing equipment, climate change-caused shifts in prey availability, noise pollution and more.

Heidi Pearson, a researcher at the University of Alaska Southeast, said the research shows that protecting whales has a double benefit — helping to stop the biodiversity crisis as well as human-caused climate change. Protecting whales is a low risk and low regret strategy, because there’s really no downside. She said there was no risk to this strategy compared to other untested, expensive solutions to capturing and trapping carbon, such as geoengineering.   

But there remain big gaps in knowledge to fully determine how whale carbon should be used to slow down climate changes. Pearson hopes the current paper pushes policymakers to consider whales as a significant part of climate change solution.

1. What does paragraph 2 focus on about whales?

A．What their life cycles are like.	B．Why their roles are overlooked.
C．Why they are called carbon sinks.	D．Where they are on the food chain.

2. What does the underlined “it” refer to?

A．The waste of whales.	B．The carbon trap of whales.
C．The death of whales.	D．The carbon cycle in nature.

3. What does Heidi Pearson want to stress?

A．Geoengineering is costly and untested.

B．The strategy involving whales carries no risks.

C．Protecting whales can be a natural climate solution.

D．Whales’ survival is the key to stopping biodiversity crisis.

4. What is the purpose of the text?

A．To call for further research on whales.	B．To call on people to balance the ecosystem.
C．To present a new reason for protecting whales.	D．To stress the need of addressing climate changes.

2 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

The Mystery of the “Unfriendly” Neighbor

Every morning, Mai would pass her neighbor’s fence with Chó, a German shepherd. For her, walking by Mr. Groll’s yard was the best part of their morning walk and also the worst. It was the best part because the roses along the way seemed to greet them through their scents, “Good morning, Chó,” “Hello, Mai!”. Then the worst part — the unfriendly shape nearby: Mr. Groll. Every time, Mai would offer a polite greeting to Mr. Groll, and Chó, being friendly, would thump (拍打) her tail. Typically, there was no response. Still, Mai knew he was there, watching behind his fence. He sounded out of breath, and the gate swung nervously in his hand.

“Why does Mr. Groll ignore me?” It remained a mystery to Mai. Was he afraid of her because she was blind? Disabilities sometimes scared grown-ups. Then Mai remembered: the previous day, she heard him playing with her friend Jimmy, who was in a wheelchair.

Maybe Mr. Groll didn’t like Vietnamese (越南的) neighbors. Some folks were said to dislike people from faraway places. No, that couldn’t be it. Every Saturday Mr. Groll and Mai’s big brother, Lien, helped each other with yard work. They were friends.

Well, then, Mai thought: “Maybe he doesn’t like me because I’m a girl.” Then she remembered her friend Jana. Mr. Groll would respond happily to her greeting. Mai’s heart twisted: “Mr. Groll likes Jimmy. And Lien. And Jana. But not me and Chó...”

“Me and Chó!” An idea brightened Mai’s mystery. Maybe she did know why Mr. Groll didn’t talk to her!

“Down,” Mai ordered, letting go of Chó’s harness (拴狗绳). Surprised, Chó flopped to the ground. Mai attached her harness to a post, and felt her way along the fence cautiously.

注意：
1. 续写词数应为150个左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答；
3. 参考问题（无需作答）。
① Was Mr. Groll a real unfriendly neighbor? If not, how would he show his friendliness to Mai?
② How can you make your writing agree with the fact that Mai is blind?
Paragraph 1: The gate squeaked (嘎吱作响) open. “Mai! Be careful!”
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Paragraph 2: But being scared of dogs wasn’t funny.
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3 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2016, the Shennongjia Forestry District is covered by vast forest,     1     (nurture) countless species of plants and animals, as well as legends and stories     2     (pass) down through the ages.

Tourism development in the area takes a back seat to the wonders of nature. The natural environment has been largely left untouched,     3     allows visitors the opportunity to appreciate unique beauty. Visitors     4     Shennongjia can base themselves in the town of Muyu, which is the     5     (near) to all the scenic areas in the district.

The name of the district is adapted from the legendary father of Chinese herbal medicine, Shennong, who is said     6     (try) hundreds of types of herbs to heal     7     sick. The Shennongjia Museum of Natural History in Muyu provides a memorial to Shennong and     8     (display) more than 2,000 breeds of plant species.

What if you are not interested in medicinal herbs and just want some sightseeing delights? Shennongjia provides a variety of     9     (option). For example, hikers who love challenges climb the Shennong Top, a pyramid-shaped peak that is considered as the “Roof of Central China.” The climb can never be     10     (bore) with different views along the stairway: a sea of bamboo, a stone forest, and a plateau meadow(高原牧场) filled with flowers and greenery.

4 .

Crab traps (蟹笼) work like this: crabs crawl in, but they don’t crawl out.     1     However, when traps get lost at sea, they become a threat to all sorts of animals.

With no one there to get them back, the traps continue to fish, says a researcher. “Marine life gets into the trap. Eventually, they can’t eat so they die, and then other marine life becomes attracted to it. They get into the trap, and they die.     2    ”

Abandoned crab traps harm wildlife and affect other fishers, especially shrimpers (捕虾者). Large and heavy crab traps get caught in shrimping nets, tearing them open or blocking them from catching shrimp. Helpless shrimpers, with nowhere to put the smelly traps, generally just throw them back, continuing the cycle.

But a group in Mississippi has found a solution:     3     In just three years, the program has removed almost 3,000 crab traps from Mississippi waters. Crab traps are marked, and those that are still in good condition are returned to their owners, while traps that are too broken down are recycled.

    4     Wildlife is safer, the water is cleaner and there’s been a clear trend that shrimpers are encountering fewer traps.

Chloé Dubois, head of a nonprofit focused on marine debris (废弃物), calls it “a great success story.” Dubois says there have been programs historically very successful at recycling waste products at the end of their life cycle. But in the ghost fishing and marine debris field, she says, “     5     There aren’t many examples of programs like this.”

A．It’s a real win-win.

B．The Mississippi program is a pioneer.

C．It just becomes this awful cycle of death.

D．Shrimpers are informed of basic knowledge of fishing.

E．In the meantime, the Mississippi program is expanding.

F．That’s good news for crab fishers’ chances of pulling in a good catch.

G．A $5 reward is paid to shrimpers to collect and recycle abandoned crab traps.

5 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Carved from mountains in Yunnan province, the Hong-he Hani Rice Terraces reach over more than 160 square kilometers to create a most spectacular landscape.

Since ancient times, the local Hani people have channeled spring water from mountains and forests     1     (water) the terraced fields. Some terraces are as big as football fields, and others no larger than a bed sheet. They climb     2     riverbank locations at less than 500 meters above sea level to heights of more than 1,800 meters. The     3     (common) used description “stairways to heaven” is most suitable here.

However, the wonder remained largely unknown to the rest of the world for     4     (century). Nobody paid much attention to these terraces until     5     2000s. New roads arrived and the local government was determined to get the terraces     6     (place) on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. This     7     (achieve) in 2013. Over the past decade, it has become impossible to keep such a wonder under wraps. Photography fans have crowded in, taking postcard-perfect pictures and then     8     (post) them on social media.

Although the terraces shine with bright green during the summer growing season, the landscape is most     9     (appeal) from November to late April. During this period, the water-filled terraces turn into natural mirrors     10     reflect every sunrise and sunset.

6 . Home to the world’s second biggest freshwater lake, as well as its longest lake, Africa hosts some of the best lakes on the planet. Here are some of our picks:

Lake Assal, Djibouti

Sitting at 155 meters below sea level, Lake Assal is in Africa’s lowest point. Its salt levels are 10 times greater than the sea. As such it is also the world’s largest salt reserve (储备量). Visitors will note there is no wildlife around due to its unfriendly desert climate and super salty water.

Lake Retba, Senegal

Photography fans will love Lake Retba for its breathtaking scenery. Also called the Pink Lake of Senegal, it is an impressive pink-colored lake. The color comes from a type of algae (海藻) that grows because of the large amount of salt in the lake. To see the lake at its most pink, you’ll want to visit during the November to June dry season.

Lake Turkana, Kenya

Lake Turkana is the largest long-lasting desert lake in the world, as well as its fourth-largest salt lake. Lake Turkana is most famous for the vapor rising out of the active volcano (火山) within it. A dream place for bird-watchers, it is home to hundreds of bird species that are only found in Kenya.

1. What makes Lake Retba pink-colored?

A．Its depth.	B．The desert climate.
C．Its amount of salt.	D．A certain sea-plant.

2. What is Lake Turkana most famous for?

A．The large size.	B．The unique bird species.
C．The sandy beaches.	D．The steam from the volcano.

3. What do the three lakes have in common?

A．They are saltwater lakes.	B．They sit below sea level.
C．They are rich in wildlife.	D．They share the same tourist season.

7 . When glaciers melt, they leave behind infertile (贫瘠的) landscapes. But a new study found that within just three years, such exposed land was restored by llamas (美洲驼), whose activity enriched the soil and promoted plant growth. By the foot of Peru’s melting Uruashraju glacier, researchers partnered with local farmers to farm llamas on four specific plots. For three days a month from 2019 to 2022, the llamas grazed (吃青草) the plots, fertilizing them with waste and spreading seeds from droppings.

As is the case worldwide, glaciers are disappearing in Peru’s Cordillera Blanca mountains at an alarming rate. And as the ice melts, nearby ecosystems wither: They lose access to summertime supplies of freshwater and sometimes encounter harmful acidic minerals in rocks once covered by the glaciers.

Llamas may help count er some of these effects. Their transformation of the land, as seen in the new study, could reduce rock weathering and help the soil hold onto more dampness, thus limiting the acidic runoff that can poison farmers’ crops. Such pollution is one reason why local farmers partnered with the researchers. The animals’ behavior could one day even generate new grasslands as soil quality improves.

The idea that animal grazing may positively impact a landscape is not new. Nor is rewilding, the push to bring key species back to their native ecosystems, unique to the Cordillera Blanca mountains. In Finland, for example, the Indigenous Sami are working to reintroduce reindeer in deforested land, potentially restoring it. But the size and speed of the changes the llamas helped bring about surprised the researchers. From 2021 to 2022, the average amount of plant cover in the llama plots grew from about 9 percent to nearly 14 percent—faster than it did in four control plots. The research underscores the valuable roles animals play in shaping landscapes, says ecologist Kelsey Reider of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va., “The animals themselves are doing a lot.”

1. What did the new study find?

A．Llamas could help improve ecology.	B．Llamas needed to be exposed to soil.
C．Llamas might survive poor situation.	D．Llamas were able to stop ice melting.

2. What does the underlined word “wither” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．Expand.

B．Arise.

C．Integrate.

D．Worsen.

3. Why did the farmers work with the researchers?

A．Because they longed to be more learned.

B．Because they profited from the research.

C．Because they wanted to keep llamas away.

D．Because they failed to know llamas’ behavior.

4. What can we know from the last paragraph?

A．Llamas restore the forest in Finland.	B．Wildlife helps a lot in restoring nature.
C．The idea of rewilding isn’t common.	D．The research should collect more data.

8 . This past summer I set out on a journey to Canada’s Arctic. When I left I was wrapped in a blanket of uncertainty and ______.

But when I first met the group members, I knew I didn’t have anything to ______. The group was amazingly ______ and I was soon part of a big family boarding on an amazing ______!

Approaching the Arctic, I was repeatedly ______ with its unusual largeness and its beauty. There I flew over vast glaciers (冰河) and stood on the frozen Arctic Ocean, ______   polar bears walk in search of seal holes, and _______ wait for a meal.

However, I also learned the pollutants carried by ocean from far away have a negative ______ on all Arctic inhabitants. And global warming has put polar bears at ______ because a warmer climate means that they have a shorter time to ______ seals on the ice.

During the journey, I talked with some ______ scientists about the ruins of homes once ______ by the ancient Thule people. I made good friends with people from different parts of world.

The Arctic is a land of incredible beauty which ______ to be preserved. I’ve learned why it is so important to ______ it. This journey has made me more determined to try to ______ that I do not leave negative or harmful footprints on either Earth or its people.

1.

A．relief

B．anxiety

C．pride

D．argument

2.

A．put up

B．prepare for

C．give up

D．worry about

3.

A．easy-going

B．well-behaved

C．sensitive

D．flexible

4.

A．failure

B．performance

C．adventure

D．conflict

5.

A．embarrassed

B．ashamed

C．amused

D．shocked

6.

A．watching

B．organizing

C．noticing

D．guessing

7.

A．painfully

B．patiently

C．unconsciously

D．doubtfully

8.

A．source

B．reaction

C．effect

D．development

9.

A．rest

B．ease

C．peace

D．risk

10.

A．hunt

B．explore

C．help

D．meet

11.

A．demanding

B．learned

C．modest

D．rigid

12.

A．classified

B．decorated

C．confused

D．occupied

13.

A．promises

B．benefits

C．deserves

D．intends

14.

A．take care of

B．make use of

C．run out of

D．became tired of

15.

A．deny

B．ensure

C．argue

D．overlook

9 . Five years ago, we cut nearly every single tree across 19 acres here, piled and burned the branches and left the trunks where they lay. The goal was to restore one of the Ozarks’ rarest ecosystems, a type of dry and rocky grassland.

Logging down trees to bring back grass may seem puzzling in a time of climate change, as forest conservation and tree planting have become popular ways to keep carbon out of the atmosphere. But it is exactly what we should do in some parts of the Southeast. The climate and biodiversity crises are problems to be solved together. We can’t afford to rob biodiversity to pay for the climate. And grasslands are surprisingly good at pulling carbon out of the atmosphere. A single sunflower might not be the carbon grab that an oak tree is, but grass’s deep root systems store the element deep underground, where it can take hundreds or thousands of years to return to the atmosphere.

For the past century, the commonly held belief was that forests once covered most of the region from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River. But we now know that’s not true. Much of the Southeast was a string of large and small grassland ecosystems with enormous biodiversity. All of these unique grasslands are under threat, but not all by tree invasion. The few remaining grasslands in Arkansas are being converted to grow rice, Virginia grasslands are being flattened by housing developers, and low-lying coastal grassy plain is facing sea-level rise. Because grasslands are so easily navigated (导航) and settled, they may be the most threatened ecosystems in the world.

And it’s obvious that everywhere, grasslands remain undervalued. Many conservation organizations working in the Southeast are still focused on tree planting and preserving existing forests. The Nature Conservancy’s Cumberland Forest Project covers 253, 000 acres of land in Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia, part of an effort to store carbon and create continuous habitats for species migration during climate change. In fact, recent laws are beginning to lead us in the right direction.

1. Why were the trees cut down in Ozarks?

A．To take in more carbon.	B．To regain its grassland.
C．To create a new ecosystem.	D．To deal with climate change.

2. What is paragraph 3 of the text mainly about?

A．The reasons for grasslands reduction.	B．The purpose of cutting down trees.
C．The changes of ecosystems.	D．The result of tree invasion.

3. What is presented about grasslands in the Southeast?

A．Grasslands are greatly valued.	B．Carbon can be broken down by grasslands.
C．Forests took up more region than grasslands.	D．All the grasslands are not threatened by trees.

4. What might the author continue talking about?

A．The importance of grasslands.	B．The influence of planting trees.
C．The measures of restoring grasslands.	D．The present situation of the Southeast.

10 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

Dude

The first time my husband Bart told me about his horse, Dude, I knew their bond had been something special.

Growing up on a family farm, Bart loved all animals. But Dude, a birthday gift Bart received when he turned nine, became his favorite. Years later when Bart’s father sold Dude, Bart grieved (悲痛) in secret.

One evening, as we took a walk, Bart suddenly asked, “Did I ever tell you Dude won the World Racking Horse Championship?”

“Rocking?” asked I.

“Racking, it’s a kind of dancing horses do.” Bart corrected, smiling gently. “Dude was the greatest and most intelligent racking horse ever. Whenever I whistled (吹口哨), he would run at me and dance.”

“Then why’d you let your dad sell him?” I asked.

Bart explained, “When I found a job away from home, Dad figured I wouldn’t be riding anymore, so he sold Dude without even asking me. Running a horse farm means you buy and sell horses all the time.”

“I’ve always wondered if that horse missed me as much as I’ve missed him. I’ve never had the heart to try to find him. I couldn’t stand knowing if something bad. . . .” Bart’s voice trailed off (减弱).

My heart ached for him. I didn’t know what to do. Then one day while walking through the pasture (牧场), a strange thought came to me — finding Dude for Bart. How absurd! I thought. I knew nothing about Dude, certainly not how to find him. The harder I tried to dismiss the thought, the stronger it grew.

One morning after that first “find Dude” thought, I met with our new neighbor, Mr. Parker, and started a friendly conversation. When he mentioned he’d once bought a horse from Bart’s dad, I interrupted. “You remember the horse’s name?” I asked.

“Sure do.” Mr. Parker said. “Dude. Paid twenty-five hundred dollars for him.”

I went wild with joy, barely catching my breath. “Do you know what happened to him?”

“I sold him for a good profit years ago.”

“Would you be willing to try to help me find him?” I asked. And then I explained the situation.

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。

Mr. Parker agreed to join the search, promising not to say anything to Bart.

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Getting out of the car, I asked Bart to whistle as he used to do to Dude.

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