1 . Some scientists have traced the increase in earthquakes, especially in areas not known for the presence of fault lines or past seismic (地震的) activity, to human actions. The idea of humans causing earthquakes may seem strange at first. After all, you can run around your backyard and jump up and down as you want, and the ground isn’t going to start shaking. However, scientists have identified a variety of large scale human activities that can result in earthquakes.
Scientists have confirmed over 700 places where human activities have caused earthquakes over the last century. While many human-related earthquakes are mild and don’t cause much damage, some of them can be serious and dangerous. In fact, scientists believe human activity has caused earthquakes with magnitudes as high as 7.9 on the Richter scale.
Scientists believe most human-related earthquakes are the result of mining. As companies drill deeper and deeper below Earth’s surface to get natural resources, holes left behind can cause instability that leads to collapses that cause earthquakes. Another human activity leading to earthquakes is fracking (水力压裂) for oil and gas, including the high pressure waste water processing that usually goes with fracking. In this process, water, sand and chemicals are pressed underground under high pressure to break rocks to release natural resources.
Building large dams can also cause earthquakes. For example, about 80, 000 people died in China in 2008 as a result of a 7.9-magnitude earthquake caused by 320 million tons of water that had been collected in the Zipingpu Reservoir after a large dam was built over a known fault line.
These aren’t the only human activities that can result in earthquakes, though. Scientists point out that earthquakes can also be caused by other human activities, such as construction of skyscrapers and nuclear explosions.
1. What does the underlined part “fault lines” in Paragraph 1 refer to?| A．Regions with active human actions. | B．Places associated with natural balance. |
| C．Zones where natural resources are rich. | D．Areas where earthquakes tend to happen. |
| A．They break the balance of nature. | B．They destroy the stability of rocks. |
| C．They use high pressure to get resources. | D．They do much damage to Earth’s surface. |
| A．The 2008 earthquake is the worst in history. | B．Construction of dams should be stopped. |
| C．Tons of water must cause earthquakes. | D．The location of a dam matters much. |
| A．Nature punishes humans by means of earthquakes. | B．Progress has been made on earthquake research. |
| C．Humans are to blame for some earthquakes. | D．Earthquakes are no longer nature-made. |
“I’m old in age, but young in mind. The zoo is my lifetime’s happiness.” Despite
At the one-man Fenghuang Mountain Zoo, Luo serves
A ticket only costs 10 yuan ( $1.5) per person, and it’s free for children. But the zoo’s appeal to locals is fading. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the number of visitors
While the world changes
3 . Lake Baikal, the biggest body of fresh water on Earth near Russia’s border with Mongolia, is home to several unusual animals, including the world’s only species of freshwater seal.
Seals exist in large quantities in Baikal, about 100,000 of them, though the lake is poor in nutrition.
Most seals eat fish. And Baikal seals do, indeed, have needle-pointed teeth. But in 1982 researchers noted that they develop a second sort of specialized tooth behind those canines. They have sharp teeth which look like combs.
Seals arrived in Baikal 2 m years ago, from the Arctic Ocean. So too did some much smaller sea creatures, known as amphipods. These have grown into more than 340 species.
Records showed that the seals would dive in with their mouths open and collect amphipod groups that form at night. Dr Watanabe estimates that each seal catch an average of 57 amphipods per dive.
| A．The needlelike canines are necessary |
| B．So how they do so well has been a puzzle |
| C．This has led to their numbers increasing sharply |
| D．At the time, nobody knew what to make of them |
| E．He therefore used waterproof cameras to observe a few seals |
| F．Cameras remained attached to some seals for between two and four days |
| G．Sea mammals the size of seals would normally see amphipods as too small to hunt |
In southern China, there is a famous road
This road is sure
For the next few months, this road is not above the surface
5 . Padraig ó Dubhlaoidh,an Irish master violin maker，has created the world’s first-ever vegan violin,valued at 8, 000.
An amateur violinist himself, Padraig ó Dubhlaoidh has long held the belief that animal body parts aren’t needed to create the instrument.“With our planet facing crises on almost every front, the collective voice of people wanting a fairer future grows stronger every day, ”he said.“ Ethical(合乎道德的)musicians are part of this movement and have long wished for a violin that is fully vegan yet retains all the qualities of the classic instrument.”
Traditional instruments are tightly connected to animal products.Like other wood-based instruments, violins use hide glue-a product obtained from the skins and bones of animals-as a primary adhesive(黏合剂).Violin strings and bows have also been known to contain ivory and horse tail hair. Using traditional tools and methods, Padraig chose natural replacements such as steamed pears, berries, and spring water to create the instrument. His adhesive, composed in part of spring water gathered from the hills behind his home, is 100%natural.
More than just an ethical step in the right direction, Padraig says his natural adhesive has other advantages.He said, ”During my experiments, I discovered that the vegan violin has unexpected advantages.Apart from the benefit to animals, society, and our environment, it has become very clear that animal-based glues have harmful effects on violins, inducing powerful tension on wooden components.The adhesive used in my vegan violin, however, has no such effect.This is an acoustic(声音的)improvement.”
While Padraig doesn’t think everyone will switch to the vegan violin immediately, he does think there’s a bright future ahead for his instrument and the concept of vegan instruments. He continues to make both vegan and non-vegan violins in his workshops. However, he said, “Just as petrol cars are gradually being replaced with more eco-friendly options, the same progression may happen to violins gradually, and even many other handicrafts.”
1. What’s Padraig’s original purpose in making the vegan violin?| A．To help protect the earth. |
| B．To have a stronger violin body. |
| C．To enhance the qualities of violins. |
| D．To inspire more musicians to play classical music. |
| A．The process of making instruments. |
| B．The features of traditional instruments. |
| C．The reasons for instruments’ containing animal products. |
| D．The comparison between traditional instruments and the new violin. |
| A．It does no harm to animals. |
| B．It produces even better sounds. |
| C．It needs further improvements. |
| D．It has many unknown functions. |
| A．They will face great challenges. |
| B．They will experience ups and downs. |
| C．They will be acknowledged gradually. |
| D．They will be sold at affordable prices soon. |
6 . You never know when your life is about to change forever. It can happen any day, at any moment, and for some people, that
When I was 13, I climbed my first mountain — a fairly gentle 3,900-foot peak near where I live in Surrey, British Columbia. I loved the challenge of
I often go climbing with my friend Mel Olsen.Two years ago, on December 30, when I was 16, she and I drove to Oregon to
The trails we
The doctors told me it would be a year before I could climb again, but I was back on the
| A．awesome | B．fundamental | C．life-changing | D．influential |
| A．conquering | B．slicing | C．motivating | D．purchasing |
| A．proceed | B．tackle | C．trace | D．dominate |
| A．guaranteeing | B．declining | C．absorbing | D．melting |
| A．push | B．access | C．consequence | D．response |
| A．recommended | B．scheduled | C．followed | D．arranged |
| A．claimed | B．volunteered | C．admitted | D．confirmed |
| A．pack | B．hope | C．mind | D．weight |
| A．Desperately | B．Precisely | C．Apparently | D．Suddenly |
| A．tripped | B．broke | C．revealed | D．lowered |
| A．even though | B．as if | C．in spite of | D．regardless of |
| A．exposed | B．grasped | C．stuck | D．showed |
| A．survey | B．breath | C．expectation | D．rest |
| A．destination | B．trails | C．performance | D．innovation |
| A．energetic | B．ambitious | C．adventurous | D．careful |
7 . I was suddenly awakened at about 4 a.m. by a strange experience which I did not understand at first. I was
Others too in my house and neighborhood must have
The quakes of the earth caused no damage in Mumbai. For several hours next morning we thought, with
The destruction caused by the earthquake at Latur proved the
| A．attacked | B．comforted | C．rocked | D．sheltered |
| A．pleasant | B．strange | C．fascinating | D．fluent |
| A．coming | B．flashing | C．reflecting | D．tracking |
| A．annoyance | B．joy | C．relief | D．horror |
| A．warned | B．recognized | C．impacted | D．prevented |
| A．jumped | B．walked | C．rushed | D．struggled |
| A．anxious | B．excited | C．curious | D．hopeful |
| A．blown up | B．come out | C．died down | D．gone off |
| A．expected | B．forgiven | C．repeated | D．stopped |
| A．admiration | B．gratitude | C．regret | D．satisfaction |
| A．generous | B．impressive | C．harmless | D．tough |
| A．burned | B．frozen | C．thrown | D．ruined |
| A．lost | B．cured | C．discovered | D．rescued |
| A．power | B．creativity | C．helplessness | D．limit |
| A．fact | B．pity | C．honor | D．wonder |
On a hot September afternoon, Peter and his friend Isabel were on their way to the library. When they passed by Tubman park, Isabel suggested cutting through it to get to the library. As they entered the park, the sight of the swings (秋千) and the merry-go-round brought back a flood of memories of their childhood spent there. But now everything looked so old, sad, and dirty. Litter lay on the ground next to an overflowing trash bin. There were still young schoolchildren playing there but they had to avoid the trash that littered the playground. A little boy told them that the city took the other trash cans away and the remaining one never got emptied often.
As they headed toward the library, the two high school students wrinkled their forehead. In the library, they encountered Mrs. Evans, their kind-hearted fifth-grade teacher, retired yet still passionate. Mrs. Evans listened as Isabel and Peter eagerly explained what they’d seen. Finally, she recommended them to go to the City Hall to voice their concerns.
The next day, Isabel and Peter went into the building of the City Hall but were met with an impatient officer. They were informed that the city couldn’t help with their problem due to a tight budget. Discouraged, they left and turned to Mrs. Evans for help.
Under her guidance, they decided to ask Go Green, a non-profit organization whose goal is to protect the environment, for help. “This group is good at raising money for projects just like yours, ” said Mrs. Evans. She promised to arrange them to present their ideas to Go Green. Hearing this, their face lit up.
Two main tasks remained ahead: researching ways to clean up the park and preparing a convincing presentation. As Isabel was good at researching while Peter always had a talent for speaking, they cooperated quite well. Isabel learned from a science magazine that a new type of trash bin can squeeze the trash down without being emptied often, which saves time, money, and energy. Based on this, Peter practiced his presentation over and over again.
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。
A week later, Peter stood nervously at the back of the hall where Go Green was meeting.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________After the meeting, Isabel excitedly told Peter the good news.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________9 . From the lush green hill you can see Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, in the distance. Populations of deer, rabbits and turtle live here. The air is stinky and the only signs that we are standing above a 24-metre (79 feet) deep landfill are the methane gas pipes rising from the grass.
Ljubljana is the first European capital to commit to going zero-waste. But fifteen years ago, all of its refuse went straight to landfill. “And that is expensive,” says Nina Sankovic of Voka Snaga, the city’s waste management company. “It takes up space and you’ re throwing away resources.”
So the city decided to change course.
It began in 2002 with separate collection of paper, glass and packaging in Roadside container stands. Four years later the city began collecting biodegradable waste door to door; separate collection of biowaste is set to become mandatory across Europe in 2023, but Ljubljana was nearly two decades ahead of the curve.
In 2013, every doorstep in the city received bins for packaging and paper waste. And, most controversially, scheduled collections of the residual waste were cut by half-forcing people to separate their rubbish more efficiently.
The results have been impressive. In 2008, the city recycled only 29.3% of its waste and was lagging behind the rest of Europe. Today that figure is 68%, and its landfill receives almost 80% less rubbish, putting it at the top of there cycling leader board of EU capitals. The Slovenian capital now produces only 115kg of residual waste per capital annually(the European city with the lowest figure is the much smaller Treviso, Italy, at 59kg).
1. What is the usage of the pipe rising from the grass?| A．A sign to show there is a deep landfill. | B．To emit gas rising from the grass. |
| C．To discharge methane from the deep landfill. | D．A water pipe to water grass. |
| A．Compulsory. | B．Typical. | C．Normal. | D．Reasonable. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Intolerant. | C．Doubtful. | D．Unclear. |
| A．Society. | B．Geography education. | C．Tourism. | D．Environmental protection. |
“Sun, sun, sun, here it comes…”
Danny sang while his fingers pressed and pulled skillfully at the guitar strings, delivering a slow and peaceful tune. A circle of audience had formed, nodding and moving slowly to the song.
Lying at the feet of the street performer was his most adoring fan: One-Eyed, a white stray (流浪) dog with pieces of brown. Danny felt the name was suitable considering its physical disability. Usually, One-Eyed would bark loudly as Danny performed. Much to his annoyance, people often mistook the pair as owner and pet. At this time, Danny would reply, “My dog? No!”, eyes rolling at the idea. How he wished the dog would leave him alone instead!
On a snowy night, while Danny was performing, a bird flew downward, landing into the midst of the crowd. It cooed happily as if to harmonize with Danny. Unfortunately, that did not sit well with One-Eyed, which immediately bounced at it and the bird flew away desperately.
The unexpected chaos upturned Danny's hat, which could have been filled with notes and coins from his appreciative audience, leaving it ignored on the ground. "Argh! The hateful dog!” Danny broke down, thinking to himself, “Either the dog goes or I go!”
On the next night, Danny tried to find a new place and chanced upon the park. For a while his earnings were good unsurprisingly as there was a steady flow of visitors. However, that didn't last long. One-Eyed came along and appointed itself as Danny's guardian. "Argh! Here comes the hateful dog again!" That night, Danny hadn't made enough money he should have, all thanks to the troublesome dog.
Danny was almost mad with One-Eyed. “What should I do? Call an animal shelter?” Torn by this problem, he walked aimlessly by the lake of the park. With all his mind focused on how to get rid of the dog, Danny didn't watch his steps. Suddenly, he slipped and fell into the lake accidentally. Struggling in the icy water, he cried for help desperately, almost choking to death. Sensing the approach of death, Danny got into overwhelming panic.
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。
Just then, a familiar barking was heard in the distance.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________“My hero! Thank you for saving me,” Danny said gratefully with watery eyes.
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