1 . Janet, now 37, was playing with her new pet dog, Stitch, who jumped up, grabbed her sleeve, and tore several holes in her sweater with its sharp teeth. Instead of throwing the sweater away, Janet decided to repair it.

She turned to “visible repairing,” an idea of repairing clothes that leaves an obvious fix. She added bright flowers and other small designs to damaged clothes. “Every time you do a repair, it’s like having bought a new piece of clothes,” says Janet.

Actually, repairing is a great opportunity to realize the urgent (迫切的) need to reduce waste. Sadly, we have become used to replacing things instead of repairing them — and the rubbish is piling up. Worldwide, we throw away 92 million tons of cloth every year. Electronic waste is another growing problem: About 50 million tons of it is created each year around the world.

The good news is that fixing things can help deal with the waste problem. There are some solutions. Due to information online, the popular how-to site iFixit.com , a database (数据库) with nearly 100,000 repair brochures for everything from electronics to clothing, has promoted more than 100 million repairs. In addition, since the first Repair Café opened in2009 in Amsterdam, more than 2,700 cafés have been set up to offer in-person fix-it help in various countries. Organizers set up events, and volunteers with repair knowledge bring their tools. They will try to fix whatever people bring in, for free, and teach visitors how to do repairs themselves.

Fixing things is part of a larger change toward a circular economy —the idea that instead of throwing away things once they are broken or out of date, we reuse or repair them, keeping them out of the landfill (垃圾填埋场) for as long as possible. According to a 2023 report from Circle Economy, a Netherlands-based NGO, if the world changed to a circular economy, we could lower the amount of waste by a third.

1. What is the author’s purpose in mentioning Janet?

A．To praise her way of protecting pets.

B．To introduce special clothing designs.

C．To call for attention to repairing things.

D．To market the products of fixed clothes.

2. What can we learn from the numbers in paragraph 3?

A．The action of replacing things is wise.

B．The behaviour of repairing things is popular.

C．The need for reducing clothes is urgent.

D．The problem of producing waste is serious.

3. How do people deal with the waste problem according to paragraph 4?

A．By teaching volunteers repair knowledge.

B．By sharing tips on opening repair cafés.

C．By providing information to the repair database.

D．By offering online and off line help to encourage repairs.

4. Which of the following behaviours contributes to the circular economy?

A．Jim threw away a used bike.	B．Jackson mended a torn sofa.
C．Sue replaced a worn carpet.	D．Windy removed a broken vase.

3 . How to Keep Betta Fish

Keeping betta fish can be a fun hobby that does not involve going outside. It does not require too much skill, either. But you do have to be willing to learn. How do you take care of betta fish?

Required parts

First, Etta fish need a home.     1     Second, the container needs small rocks or sand at the bottom. Third, a filter(过滤器)is needed to purify the water. Fourth. a heater is suggested to keep your fish in good condition.

Water quality

Make sure the water you add to the container is safe for fish. Tap water can be used. But it usually contains a chemical harmful to fish, so additional steps need to be taken to test the water.     2     But many fish stores are happy to test your water if you give them some money. They can also provide advice on keeping fish in your area’s water.

Betta fish care

    3     You will need to feed your fish and change its water.

There are many choices for food. Pet stores will carry many of these. Feed your fish once to twice a day. Whatever food you choose, make sure it contains meat.     4    

It is advised to change one fourth of your container’s water once every week or two. Remove the old water and add fresh water.

Friends

Male betta fish are kept alone because they are fighting fish.     5     H you have a larger container with other fish, they might live together peacefully. But do remember that male betta fish often attack other fish and may have to live separately.

A．That is what bettas eat in the wild.

B．Stores sell home water testing products.

C．Betta fish are known for their bright colors.

D．A container that holds at least I1 liters of water is suggested.

E．Males should never be kept with other betta males.

F．Bettas are popular with Americans as pets.

G．After setting up your container, there are two more things to consider.

4 . As each spring passes, fewer and fewer bees are coming back again, buzzing from flower to flower. Their absence might have picnickers celebrating, but it has scientists scratching their heads. The fact is, the world's bees are disappearing at an alarming rate, and scientists have not been able to uncover the reason for this disturbing occurrence.

Although scientists don't yet know the source of CCD, they have theories. Some think that cellphone usage might be the cause. The radiation sent off by phones could be interrupting the bee's internal navigation system (体内导航系统). German research also shows that bee behavior changes when they are near power lines. Other scientists believe that the use of certain pesticides (杀虫剂) might be the reason. Another possible cause could be biological，with bees being affected by a disease that spreads from one to another.

This summer, children jumping through sprinklers (喷泉) in the hot July air may not have noticed the lack of bees. Picnicking families will be happy to have only ants to shoo away.

However, beekeepers and scientists will continue to scratch their heads and sweat in a way that has nothing to do with the heat, but rather with the continuing disappearance of what could be the world's most important creature—the bee.

1. What would be the best title for the passage?

A．The Importance of Bees	B．Bee Trouble
C．The Effect of Pesticides	D．Summer Without Bees

2. Who can feel happy with the absence of bees?

A．Farmers.

B．Picnickers.

C．Scientists.

D．Ice cream makers.

3. The radiation sent off by phones could cause bees to ________.

A．have terrible disease	B．get stuck on power lines
C．lose their way	D．kill themselves

4. What can we conclude from the passage?

A．Picnickers might have caused the loss of bees.	B．Bees have been greatly affected by the summer heat.
C．Many factors contribute to the disappearance of bees.	D．No one knows exactly why bees are disappearing.

5 . A new study discussed the high probability that no chicks had survived from four of the five monitored (监测) emperor penguin groups in Antarctic. The satellite images showed the loss of sea ice at breeding (繁殖) sites, well before chicks would have developed waterproof feathers.

Emperor penguins are dependent on stable sea ice where they lay eggs in Antarctic winter from May to June. Eggs hatch after 65 days, but chicks do not grow feathers until summer, between December and January. So emperor penguins are highly sensitive in a warming climate.

Since 2016, Antarctica has seen the four years with the lowest sea ice extents in the 45-year satellite record, with the two lowest years in 2021/22 and 2022/23. Between 2018 and 2022, 30% of the 62 known emperor penguin groups in Antarctica were affected by part or total sea ice loss. Although it is difficult to immediately link specific extreme seasons to climate change, a longer-term decline (减少) in sea ice extent is expected from the current generation of climate models. At the beginning of December 2022, the Antarctic sea ice extent matched the previous all-time low set in 2021. The most extreme loss was seen in the central and eastern Bellingshausen Sea region, west of the Antarctic Peninsula where there was a 100% loss of sea ice in November 2022. Current scientific evidence suggests that extreme sea ice loss events like this will become more frequent and widespread.

Emperor penguin populations have never been subject to extensive hunting, home loss, overfishing or other local anthropogenic (人为的) interactions in the modern era. Unusually for a vertebrate (脊椎的) species, climate change is considered the only major factor influencing their long-term population change. Recent efforts to predict emperor penguin population trends from forecasts of sea ice loss have painted a dark picture, showing that if present rates of warming persist, over 90% of the groups will be extinct by the end of this century.

It is another warning sign for humanity that we cannot continue down this path, and that politicians must act to minimise the effect of climate change. There is no time left.

1. When do emperor penguins usually hatch?

A．From May to June.	B．From July to August.
C．In the months of summer.	D．In the months of autumn.

2. What does paragraph 3 mainly talk about?

A．Antarctic sea ice loss is becoming more and more serious.

B．Antarctic sea ice loss is obviously affected by climate change.

C．Antarctic sea ice loss reached 100% in November 2022.

D．Antarctic sea ice loss makes emperor penguins in danger.

3. Which has the main effect on Emperor penguin populations?

A．Hunting.

B．Home loss.

C．Overfishing.

D．Climate change.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Sea Ice Loss and Ecosystem Destruction

B．Understanding Emperor Penguin Groups

C．The Effect of Loss of Sea Ice on Penguins

D．The Importance of Stopping Climate Change

6 . 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。

I was washing dishes one day last May when my youngest, 11-year-old Nathan, came running into the house. "Mom, you won't believe what I found in the mud puddle（水坑）. Come see! ”I dried my hands and followed him to a large puddle in our driveway. “They're tadpoles（蝌蚪）!” he said. I bent down for a closer look. There were hundreds of tadpoles swimming around.

The next few days, Nathan kept his eye on the tadpoles. One afternoon he asked if he could use my phone to check the weather. “The puddle is drying up, and it's not supposed to rain this week,” he said. “We have to do something or the tadpoles will die.”

“What can we do?” I asked, hesitant about where this might lead.

“I'm going to move them into the pond where they'll be safe. But there are so many tadpoles. Can you help?”

“I have things to do…” I started to say, but the look on Nathan's face stopped me. This was important to him. I grabbed one cup and followed him. After just a few trips, the puddle was almost out of water but still very full of tadpoles.

“What are we going to do, Mom? We have to get them all out!”

I went back inside and grabbed two plastic spoons. We sat next to the puddle, caught the tadpoles with the spoons and put them in the plastic cups. When the cups were full, we transferred the tadpoles into the pond.

After two hours, there were still dozens of tadpoles to be rescued. I was hot and tired.

Then a fish in the pond swallowed several of the tadpoles. I closed my mouth, hoping Nathan hadn't noticed. Too late. “I thought they'd be safe here,” he said, fighting tears. I tried to explain that things like that happen in nature, but he wouldn't listen.

注意：
1．续写词数为150左右；
2．请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
He ran back into the house and grabbed an old fishbowl.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
“The tadpoles have legs!” Nathan burst into my bedroom, shouting three weeks later.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9 . 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。

We live in a vast, complex world,     1     new species are being discovered all the time. Yet even as these     2     (excite) creatures are being discovered, the increasing human population, climate change, habitat destruction, hunting and the over-exploitation of wildlife mean countless numbers of animals are currently     3    (push) to the edge of extinction.

Scientists have estimated that over the course of Earth’s history, anywhere between 1 and 4 billion species     4    (exist).

The natural extinction rate describes how fast plants, mammals, birds and insects     5     (die) off if humans weren’t in the picture. It is estimated that today species are disappearing at almost 1,000     6     (time) the natural rate, meaning we’re losing around 150—200 species every single day.

Choosing animals which are likely to go extinct before your children have the opportunity     7     (see) them was a daunting task.

By only picking 10, we had to leave     8     countless other animals that are facing     9     (similarity) depressing circumstances.     10     millions of other species, many never known to science, are also likely to die out in the coming decades.

10 . In elementary school, I earned my Girl Scout Bronze Award by planting a butterfly garden. When I got a little older, I earned my Girl Scout Silver Awar by bringing an art program to struggling refugees (难民). But when it was time for me to go for my Girl Scout Gold Award, there was something even bigger affecting us all that I had to focus on.

People talk about damage to our environment and argue about who’s to blame, but the thing is, we don’t have time for all that. The earth is in danger, and that means all of us are in danger. That’s why I founded Project ReefLove, an awareness and educational campaign (活动) that teaches kids one super simple and easy way we can help protect coral reefs, which are the rainforests of the sea.

Lots of creatures, from sea turtles to sharks to starfish, depend on coral for survival, and the reefs help prevent beach erosion. Coral is really important—but the chemical sunscreens a lot of people wear are poisoning it and threatening the whole ecosystem. Saving coral can seem like a huge undertaking, but once you know how big a difference something simple like switching to a mineral sunscreen or wearing a rash guard instead of using chemical SPF makes, you’ll realize it is not so hard after all.

The first step, I knew, had to be education. So I went to the source: kids. From my own experience growing up in Girl Scouts, I know there’s nothing stronger than the passion of young people. If you get a little kid excited about saving the environment, their parents, grandparents, teachers, and others in earshot are going to hear about it, too!

So far, the Project ReefLove message has directly reached more than 11,000 people—and I’ve been excited to see lawmakers take action to do their part, too. Hawaii just outlawed sunscreens that are toxic (有毒的) to reefs, and I’m hoping other states will follow its lead.

1. What did the author plan to do for her Girl Scout Gold Award?

A．Save kids in danger.	B．Build a butterfly garden.
C．Help refugees to make a living.	D．Teach kids how to protect coral reefs.

2. What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 3 refer to?

A．Saving coral.	B．Using chemicals.
C．Giving up sunscreens.	D．Protecting sea creatures.

3. What does Paragraph 4 mainly deal with?

A．The influence of Girl Scouts.

B．How family education affects kids.

C．The importance of protecting the environment.

D．Why the Projcct ReefLove focuses on kids’ education．

4. Why does the author write this text?

A．To encourage more kids to join Girl Scouts.

B．To tell readers how she’s saving coral reefs.

C．To show that the Project ReefLove is powerful.

D．To ask lawmakers to pay attention to coral reefs.