1 . One long gray ship at the Port of Los Angeles is doing its part to combat climate change. On the ship, which belongs to Captura, a Los Angeles-based startup, is a system that takes into seawater and sucks out CO2, which can be used for various purposes or buried. The decarbonated (不含二氧化碳的) seawater is returned to the ocean, where it absorbs more CO2 from the atmosphere, in a small strike against the massive rise of the greenhouse gas.
After a yearlong experiment, Captura is planning to open a 1000-ton-per-year facility that will bury the captured CO2 in rock formations under the North Sea. Equatic, another Los Angeles-based startup, is launching an even larger 3650-ton-per-year ocean CO2 capture plant this year in Singapore.
Supporters say capturing CO2 from the ocean should be easier and cheaper than a seemingly more direct approach: extracting it directly from the air. Direct air capture, which relies on fans to sweep air past absorbent chemicals, currently costs between $600 to $1000 per ton of CO2 removed, largely because atmospheric CO2 is so thin, making up less than 0.05% of the air. Earth’s oceans, in contrast, hold the gas at a concentration nearly 150 times higher, and absorb roughly 30% of all CO2 emissions each year. Companies say they should ultimately be able to capture CO2 at $100 per ton, or less.
Ocean capture advocates are seeking government support. In the US, direct air capture plants earn a $180 tax credit per ton of removed CO2, but Ocean efforts currently don’t qualify. “A similar tax incentive (激励政策) for water-based CO2 removal is absolutely needed,” says Ruben Brands, CEO of Equatic.
Even if the technology takes off, it will have to scale up massively to make a meaning contribution in offsetting (抵消) global emissions. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, by 2050 we will need to remove some 5 billion tons of CO2 every year to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5℃. So far, the ocean capture companies are pulling out only thousands of tons. Matthew Eisaman, a chief scientist at Captura, says, “We have an enormous challenge ahead of us.”
1. How does the system in para. 1 work?| A．It converts seawater into CO2. |
| B．It releases CO2 into the atmosphere. |
| C．It absorbs seawater and extracts CO2. |
| D．It stores decarbonated seawater on the ship. |
| A．CO2 in seawater is more absorbent. |
| B．CO2 is stored in solid form in seawater. |
| C．CO2 in the ocean is more readily accessible. |
| D．CO2 is naturally more concentrated in seawater. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Objective. | C．Supportive. | D．Indifferent. |
| A．Combining Ocean CO2 Capture with Air Capture |
| B．Setting a New Example of Climate Change Solution |
| C．Analyzing Ocean CO2 Capture against Climate Change |
| D．Exploring Oceanic Solutions for Reducing CO2 Emissions |
The golden pheasant (红腹锦鸡) , known for its bright feathers,
Normally, golden pheasants act in small groups in dense forests
Golden pheasants mainly feed on grain, berries and seeds as well as other kinds of vegetation. They will also eat small
They are very timid birds and will hide in dark forests and woodlands, resting in very high trees at night. Despite their flying abilities, golden pheasants often look for food on the ground,
3 . On March 20, the U. N. International Panel on Climate Change(IPCC) released the final volume in a series of reports outlining experts’ latest understanding of climate science. It warned that even with urgent action we will face a dramatic increase in catastrophic events—from droughts to floods—that have become signs of a rapidly warming world. But the most worrisome things are the “known unknowns”—potential outcomes scientists know could happen even if they don’t know exactly when or how.
It’s striking how little we know about them. Take the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation(AMOC) for example. This system of ocean currents is a key regulator(调节器) of Atlantic Ocean temperatures and, in turn, maintaining land temperatures, particularly in North America. If it collapsed, it would remake weather patterns and disturb “human activities”.
Another known unknown is the scale of sea-level rise. It is estimated that global average sea levels are expected to rise up to 1m (about 3 ft.) by 2100. But because the science of rapidly melting ice sheets remains difficult for scientists to understand, that number could also end up being 2m in the same time frame.
The more the planet warms, the more likely we are to experience unpredictable catastrophic changes. Climate events like these are referred to as tipping points: singular climatic events that can instantly reshape our understanding of climate systems. The new report also points out how the future becomes more difficult to predict as climate change continues. Impacts that scientists could forecast today will become more difficult to predict effectively when they are combined with other climate effects. Food insecurity, for example, could drive changes in agricultural practices, which would in turn affect the climate.
According to three decades of IPCC reports, it’s easy to see how the science has become more certain and more urgent. The IPCC is not expected to publish another report for at least six years. In that time, the science will evolve, as will the human impacts. By then we should know more about these known unknowns, too. We can only hope that the knowledge brings relief, not the alternative.
1. What do we know about the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation?| A．It is the biggest system of all the oceans. |
| B．It will still be working in the 22nd century. |
| C．It can adjust temperatures of its coasts. |
| D．It may raise sea-levels by 3 meters. |
| A．Food security can have an impact on climate change. |
| B．Scientists know much about climate systems. |
| C．Combined climate effects can be predicted today. |
| D．Climate change makes no difference to our planet. |
| A．Optimistic. | B．Indifferent. |
| C．Pessimistic. | D．Concerned. |
| A．A medical lecture. | B．A science magazine. |
| C．A technology report. | D．A tour guidebook. |
4 . Every tropical (热带的) forest looks different, particularly in the eyes of an ecologist, and Peter Ellis has been lucky enough to visit a fair few. One in particular holds a special place in his heart: the rain forests of Gabon. He first visited as a Peace Corps volunteer. “It completely changed the way I think about conservation and our relationship with nature,” he says.
These days, Ellis is the global director of natural climate solutions science at the US-based conservation organization — The Nature Conservancy, where he’s presently investigating the role that logging (cutting down trees) can play in tropical forests. Logging for forest conservation may sound contradictory, and it often is. But logging in a tropical forest looks different to the practices we might expect to see. “We might imagine it as a wasteland of stumps (树桩) after a clear cut,” says Ellis. Instead, only a few trees are actually removed. A sustainably logged forest is the one that remains a breathing, rich, tropical rain forest full of trees and wildlife, thus helping keep a large part of the biodiversity while ensuring that more damaging industries don’t take its place. It can also provide a means of basic livelihood for the local people.
The two years that Ellis spent in the Gabon rain forests opened his eyes to a different method of land management. “The locals took me out into the forest and taught me the names, usages and spiritual significance of all the trees and other plants in the forest,” he says. “Science is about exact, designed experiments, but it’s also about asking the right questions. And the people who live in those places and protect the ecosystem are more likely to help us learn what the right questions to ask are.”
Tropical forests are essential to our planet’s future as they support high levels of biodiversity and act as crucial carbon sinks (碳储存器). “We need to honour, and protect them so that they can do their job to help save us all” says Ellis.
1. What does Peter Ellis think of his first visit to the rain forests of Gabon?| A．It was poorly arranged. | B．It made little difference to his life. |
| C．It brought him far-reaching influence. | D．It was physically challenging for him. |
| A．Logging balances the rain forests. |
| B．Logging means a complete clear-out. |
| C．Logging brings huge profits to the locals. |
| D．Logging encourages the local damaging industries. |
| A．Conduct many experiments. | B．Consult experienced local people. |
| C．Get involved in designing procedures. | D．Spread more knowledge about wildlife. |
| A．To stress the importance of biodiversity. |
| B．To introduce Ellis’s ideas about the future. |
| C．To provide further information about Ellis. |
| D．To call on people to preserve tropical rain forests. |
1. What will the weather be like later today?
| A．Rainy. | B．Cloudy. | C．Windy. |
| A．10℃. | B．18℃. | C．28℃. |
| A．Take an umbrella. | B．Follow the forecast. | C．Put on more clothes. |
1. Which pet may an outgoing person prefer?
| A．A bird. | B．A dog. | C．A cat. |
| A．Clever | B．Sociable. | C．Careful. |
| A．Pet people’s personalities. | B．More outgoing dog people. | C．Less sociable cat people. |
7 . In June a massive “heat dome” baked the famously temperate Pacific Northwest, subjecting parts of Washington State, Oregon and western Canada to extreme temperatures. It is virtually impossible that heat waves like this would have occurred without climate change. Scientists estimate it was a one-in-1,000-year event. “And that’s an ‘at least,’ ” says Kristie. L. Ebi. “It could be more rare than that.” If warming reaches two degrees Cabove preindustrial levels — the threshold (阈值) that most national governments have agreed to try to avoid in hopes of reducing climate change impacts, “that event could occur every five to 10 years,” Ebi says.
“In an average year in the U.S., heat kills more people than any other type of extreme weather,” says Kristina Dahl, a climate scientist. Hundreds of people died in the recent Pacific Northwest heat wave, according to estimates: there were at least 486 deaths in British Columbia, 116 in Oregon and 78 in Washington. A recent U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report found there were more than 3,500 emergency department visits for heat-related illness this past May and June in a region that includes Oregon and Washington State.
The human body functions best at 98.6 degrees F (37 degrees C). The body has mechanisms to rid itself of excess heat, most notably sweating. But at a certain point, that fails to work, causing loss of consciousness. People can eventually acclimatize to some level of heat. If you live in a hot climate or work in hot conditions for a period of weeks or months, your body becomes more efficient at sweating and cooling itself down. This process takes time, however.
As the planet warms, heat waves like these this year are becoming frighteningly common and catching climate scientists off guard. “Even a lot of our climate models that project out how frequent extreme heat will be in the future wouldn’t have necessarily predicted this level of heat for that part of the country,” Kristina Dahl says. “But then to realize that I am seeing it in my lifetime, and living it right now, is really terrifying.”
1. What does Ebi’s saying imply in Paragraph 1?| A．Heat dome has affected at least three regions. |
| B．Temperature reaches the threshold immediately. |
| C．Heat waves affect the Pacific Northwest greatly. |
| D．Severe weather could become frighteningly common. |
| A．Many areas are badly affected by heat waves. |
| B．Heat waves pose a major risk to public health. |
| C．More people died of illnesses in this summer. |
| D．Latest news on heat waves are widely reported. |
| A．Adapt. | B．Settle. | C．Respond. | D．Object. |
| A．ruins his normal daily life. |
| B．gets scientists prepared to it. |
| C．fails to be accurately forecast. |
| D．should be examined frequently. |
1. Where did Bruce see a red squirrel?
| A．At his garden. | B．In a farm. | C．In the wild. |
| A．About 3,500,000. | B．About 150,000. | C．About 25,000. |
| A．Introduction of grey squirrels. |
| B．Some unknown disease. |
| C．Lack of food. |
| A．By practicing a lot. |
| B．Through his tutor’s guidance. |
| C．With the help of his grandpa. |
I was eight years old when my mother was told that she would never walk again without calipers (双脚规形夹) , and she wished to visit doctors in London.
The day before we boarded the ship, father committed (托付) his pet dog, Spider to his friend Sandy while we were overseas. We didn’t know how long my mother’s treatment would take or how long we would be away.
Six weeks later, an air-letter arrived from Sandy, saying that Spider had run away just two weeks after we had sailed and that despite many efforts, the dog was never found. I will always remember my father’s eyes watery as he read this news. Though my mother and I tried to comfort him, we knew in our hearts how useless that was.
We sailed back to Australia two years later. My father immediately began his own search for Spider. After many false calls, we had to accept the fact that the dog was gone.
One cold winter’s Saturday morning eight months after our return, my father had a call from Gin Gin, an old lady 375 kilometers away. On the phone she said she had been putting food out “for a very yellow old dog” in the night for weeks and “it was just glimpses of the similar dog in the shadows” in her disused tennis court.
That was enough for my father to drive five and a half hours to see this yellow dog. Sadly, Gin Gin told us the yellow dog hadn’t been around for a few days. My father had a strange look in his eyes.
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。
Then, he put two fingers to his lips and did his special whistle for Spider.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________It was him, my father’s long-lost friend, Spider.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________10 . For the history of life on Earth, organisms have relied on the light of the sun, moon, and stars to find their way and schedule their lives. While the beginning of electric lighting in the late 19th century may have benefited humans, it has caused problems in the natural world. Among the impacts of artificial light at night(ALAN), light pollution lures migrating birds to cities with shocking consequences, contributes to the alarming decline in insect populations, and convinces sea turtle babies to amble(缓行)away from the water instead of towards it.
Now, a new study from the University of Plymouth adds another disappointing finding about how ALAN is affecting the creatures with whom we share the planet: Light pollution from coastal cities can trick corals(珊瑚)into reproducing outside of the optimum times when they would normally reproduce.
Using a combination of light pollution data and spawning(产卵)observations, researchers were able to show for the first time that corals exposed to ALAN are spawning one to three days earlier and closer to the full moon compared to those on unlit corals. “That shift may reduce the survival and fertilization success of gametes(配子)and genetic connectivity between nearby lit and unlit coral systems,” they explain.
“Corals are among the most biodiverse, economically important, and threatened ecosystems on the planet,” write the authors of the study.
“Climate change has led to mass bleaching(褪色)events. Habitat destruction, fisheries, and pollution have reduced corals substantially since the 1950s,” they write, adding, “The complete loss of corals is anticipated over the next 100 years.”
If we want to reduce the harm ALAN is causing, we could perhaps look to delay the switching-on of night-time lighting in coastal regions to ensure the natural dark period between sunset and moonrise when coral reproduction remains undisturbed.
1. Why is the first paragraph written?| A．To present the topic of the text. | B．To advocate energy conservation. |
| C．To explain a natural phenomenon. | D．To provide background information. |
| A．Possible. | B．Appropriate. | C．Flexible. | D．Sensitive. |
| A．Extinction. | B．Losing value. |
| C．Terrible diseases. | D．Exposure to moonlight. |
| A．Creatures Rely on Natural Lights to Schedule Their Life |
| B．Night-time Lighting Shortens Natural Dark Period |
| C．Coastal Lights Trick Corals into Early Spawning |
| D．Light Pollution Leads to Serious Consequences |
