1 . In the world of water, 2021 was another year for the record books. Parts of Western Europe suffered from deadly floods while large areas of the southwestern United States remained locked in a massive drought.
One might think that our impressive water management would safeguard society from such catastrophic events. Yet when it comes to water, the past is no longer a good guide for the future and most of the water engineering is unprepared for consequences of increasingly occurring extreme weather. One of the most alarming wake-up calls came from the city of Cape Town, where the water taps of 4 million residents were nearly forced to be shut off after severe drought dried up its reservoir (水库).
Appealing as it might be, the solution is not to further build bigger and higher dams (水坝) that often result in more disastrous flooding. Rather, it is to work more with natural processes.
The Netherlands avoided major damage from the historic floods in July 2021 thanks to its recently completed project, which gives river room to spread out by redirecting floodwaters into wetlands, lowering parts of the stormy river by more than a foot. Agricultural practices offer another strategy. Scientists have found that boosting organic matter in the soil by 1% can increase the soil’s water-holding capacity by up to 18,000 gallons per acre, creating flexibility to both intense rains and dry periods. This means farmland practices such as the planting of cover crops can not only raise output but improve water management.
Solutions don’t come easily, but they are key to a livable future. While it’s too late to avoid the impacts of climate change, we can avoid the worst of those impacts by investing more in such nature-based water solutions.
1. Cape Town is mentioned to show__________.| A．the reservoir was of no use |
| B．new water management is in need |
| C．how awful it was without tap water |
| D．the existing water management is impressive |
| A．The Netherlands was spared from flood damage. |
| B．The river’s water level was reduced to over a foot. |
| C．Improving soil’s water-holding ability is practical. |
| D．Planting crops boosts organisms at the cost of production. |
① “Restoring Healthy Soil”
② “Filling Wetland”
③ “Strengthening Dam”
④ “Making Room for River”
| A．①② | B．②③ | C．③④ | D．①④ |
| A．Water disaster: way out of control |
| B．Investment in water: a key to the future |
| C．Nature-based solution: a way out for water |
| D．Good news: farming practices working well |
2 . Batman may not have any superpowers, but his inspiration certainly does.
More than 1,400 bat species live around the world, except in Antarctica and a few remote islands. Over their 50 million years of evolution, bats have developed clever solutions to life’s challenges, from a built-in sonar (声呐) system for finding food to fast, flexible wings that produce the fastest level-flight speed of any animal on Earth.
“There is still a lot to learn, but it is clear that bats really do have superpowers,” says Rodrigo Medellín, an ecologist. “Bats are showing us how to live a better life, for instance, by serving as models for healthy living and long lives.”
As a general rule in biology, smaller animals have shorter lives than larger ones. But bats are rule breakers: they’re the longest-lived mammals (哺乳动物) relative to their body size. Recently, scientists looked inside bats’ cells for the secrets to their exceptionally long lives. They focused on telomeres (端粒), which are the protective structures found at the ends of chromosomes (染色体). In most animals, telomeres tend to get shorter with age. But the telomeres of the longest-lived group of bats, Myotis, do not appear to shrink (收缩) with age. Understanding why bats live so long may help humans live longer one day.
In addition to living longer, bats remain healthy throughout their lives, with very low risk of developing cancer. Furthermore, bats can carry deadly viruses without getting sick. So further research into their unique immune (免疫的) systems may actually give insight into how people can live with viruses and not get sick.
Beyond their own abilities, bats also support many other parts of their ecosystems. Three out of every four bat species eat insects. Many are pests that cause damage to important agricultural crops, such as cotton. Scientists estimate that insect-eating bats may save U.S. farmers about 1 billion per year. In addition, many bat species help improve plant health and diversity.
“Bats are unsung heroes of biodiversity,” says Medellín. “It’s about time we appreciated them.”
1. What can be learned about bats from the text?| A．They fly the fastest of all land animals. |
| B．They are at low risk of falling sick with a virus. |
| C．They live mainly on the islands of Antarctica. |
| D．They are the longest-lived animals given their size. |
| A．Animals’ telomeres rarely shrink with age. |
| B．Myotis’s telomeres do not shorten as they age. |
| C．Smaller animals usually live shorter lives than larger ones. |
| D．More research into bat telomeres could help people live more healthily. |
| A．To show what bats feed on. |
| B．To call on people to protect bats. |
| C．To explain how bats benefit the farmers. |
| D．To highlight the importance of bats to the ecosystem. |
| A．Bats Offer Clues to Treating Diseases |
| B．How Bats Deal with Life’s Challenges |
| C．Scientists Unlock the Secrets to Long Lives |
| D．Why Bats Are Superheroes of the Animal World |
3 . 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. |
4 . The yogurt that’ s past its sell-by date. The banana in your lunch that turned brown. The leftovers in the fridge that you forgot to eat. For most people, all that food goes right into the garbage can.
Eight to ten percent of global greenhouse gas emissions (放) are related to food waste, according to a report by the U. N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. “When you throw away an egg or a sandwich,” says Yvette Cabrera, food waste vice director at the Natural Resources Defense Council ( N. R. D. C. ) ,“you’ re also throwing away all the resources that went into producing those things.”
That includes not only all the water, land, and fertilizer (化肥) that went into producing that food, but also the massive amounts of fossil fuels used to power the farms, transport the food, and create the packaging.
Then there’s the issue of what happens to food after it’s thrown out. More food ends up in U.S. landfills than any other type of trash. Food rotting in landfills produces methane (甲烷), a greenhouse gas that’s roughly 25 times more powerful at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, which is produced by burning fossil fuels.
Food waste is a difficult problem to solve, though, in part because it happens for different reasons depending on the country. In developing nations,40 percent of food is lost before it ever reaches people’s homes, because many of those countries lack the technology and tools to preserve food.
It's another story in wealthier countries, where most of the food is wasted in people’s kitchens. Americans, for example, throw out a quarter of their groceries each year, on average, according to the N. R. D. C. That's like going to the grocery store, leaving with four bags of groceries, and then throwing one of them into the garbage before you get home.
1. What does the passage mainly talk about?| A．The problem of food waste. | B．The awareness of food saving. |
| C．The necessity of food diversity. | D．The ways of preservation. |
| A．The leftovers in the fridge. | B．The packaging for products. |
| C．The thrown egg or sandwich. | D．The resources to produce food. |
| A．Provide a persuasive example. | B．Add more background information. |
| C．Discuss a more serious consequence. | D．Summarize the previous paragraphs. |
| A．Storage. | B．Transportation. |
| C．Processing. | D．Consumption. |
5 . Three Things We Must Do to Tackle Climate Change
With world leaders meeting at the international climate change conference this August in Glasgow to discuss urgent global action to meet one of the greatest challenges, many people still don’t know what must be done.
Stop using fossil fuels gradually.
Protect the world’s forests. Forests all over the world currently absorb about a third of the carbon dioxide our activities send out to the atmosphere.
Finally, it is high time that we joined hands to protect the only home we have. If so, we can take on the challenge as we would whatever the difficulty is.
| A．Boost the development of new technology. |
| B．Speed up the use of clean, renewable energy. |
| C．The alarming messages released urged us to change our lifestyle. |
| D．To achieve this, we must allow no new development of coal, oil and gas. |
| E．The “code red” report from the conference greatly shocked many people. |
| F．We are on a mission to save planet Earth, its people and its natural wonders. |
| G．Tropical (热带)forests are especially at risk and still being cleared for agricultural uses. |
6 . Changing to electric vehicles makes sense. Now it can make cents, too. France on Wednesday announced a program to get high gas consumption old cars off the road by offering a grant（补助金）to buy an electric bike.
A French driver can get $2,991 towards a new e-bike. The grant is high enough to buy a quality e-bike. To receive the grant, the driver has to ensure their old car to be taken off the road and scrapped(报废). Replacing the highly inefficient gas-powered vehicles will help France meet its the Paris Agreement goals to keep global warming below 2℃. In 2018, 200countries-including France-agreed to the Paris Rulebook that details the way countries can relieve climate change and this includes limiting greenhouse gas emission(排放). Other benefit to the programme is to get cars off crowded roads. After all, e-bikes take up far less room. And cleaner air due to fewer pollutants is also a big plus.
A similar program was introduced in Norway. The project for the old car was actually spearheaded by the country’s government. Drivers applied to receive a grant for up to $1,200 to buy a bicycle, e-bike, e-motorcycle, or even public transportation credits for turning in their old vehicles. More than 8,500 people applied for the grant. Finland also has a similar grant, which is used to help fund more than 1,000 low emission cars,2,000 e-bikes, and 200public transportation tickets. “For the first time it is recognized that the solution is not to make cars greener, but simply to reduce their number, ” Olivier Schneider of the French Federation of Bicycle Users said.
Since the French grant is more than twice the amount of the Finnish and Norwegian ones, it should be more successful. Getting a large number of high gas consumption off the road will go a long way in helping to reduce emissions, road crowdedness, and less pollution in the air.
1. Why does France give drivers a grant to buy electric bikes?| A．To help repair old cars. | B．To help electric bike sellers. |
| C．To make the economy better. | D．To protect the environment. |
| A．Electric bikes are popular with the French. |
| B．Preventing global warming is difficult to achieve. |
| C．The French programme is not more costly than Norway. |
| D．France has announced the conditions of getting the grant. |
| A．corrected | B．added | C．led | D．discussed |
| A．He is a news reporter. | B．He is a novel writer. |
| C．He is an e-bike buyer. | D．He is a French driver. |
March 12th is China's annually National Tree-planting Day. On this day, millions of Chinese, from all walks of life, will put their works at hands aside for
First
China's Tree-planting Day could date back
In February 1979, the 5th National People's Congress of People Republic of China made a
“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.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________9 . Scientists from the National University of Singapore studied how much time twins spent in natural spaces compared with each other and found that they shared a similar level of desire to be in nature.
“The reason we decided to study this in twins is that we could estimate heritability(遗传性)based on the genetic similarities in identical twins(100%)versus genetic similarities in non-identical twins(50%),” said Chia-chen Chang, who led the study. “If a trait(特性), such as the desire to be in nature, is clearly more similar between identical twins than non-identical twins, this will then suggest a trait is heritable.”
Using the TwinsUK registry, researchers surveyed 1,153 pairs of twins—identical and non-identical—about how they experienced nature. They were required to answer questions involving how frequently they visit natural spaces such as public parks and private gardens and rate their familiarity with nature. After comparing and analyzing the collected data, researchers found that identical twins were more similar to each other in their attitudes towards nature.
While previous studies have found that spending time in natural spaces improves mental well-being, this varies from person to person. For the first time, the researchers say, this study has indicated why that is by suggesting there is likely to be a genetic component in our preference for nature and our likelihood to visit natural spaces.
However, heritability declined with age, perhaps showing that environmental factors such as access to nature and green spaces bring about a love of the outdoors as one grows older. That is to say, a person's desire to be in nature and how often they experience it are influenced by both genes and personal experiences. Those who live in urban environments without access to nature could end up having a lesser appreciation of it. Hence, it's necessary that diverse urban planning is needed to provide access to natural spaces-and the benefits they offer—for all.
1. Why were twins chosen as subjects of the study?| A．To acquire more accurate results. | B．To confirm the previous studies. |
| C．To measure their gene similarity. | D．To identify their specific hobbies. |
| A．By analyzing previous data. | B．By referring to online resources. |
| C．By asking and answering questions. | D．By doing an experiment in the lab |
| A．It takes genes into consideration. | B．It takes advantage of the Internet. |
| C．It provides a new insight into the role of nature. | D．It reveals the link between nature and mental health. |
| A．One's love for nature is invariable. | B．City planning leaves much to be desired. |
| C．It may be a better choice to live in rural areas. | D．Genes are the only factor in shaping one's traits. |
10 . According to the State of Fashion 2020, the report released by Business of Fashion (BoF), the global fashion industry accounts for 20 to 35 percent of microplastic flow into the ocean, and produces 2.1 billion tons of carbon dioxide every year. It is considered “extremely energy-consuming, polluting and wasteful’’. Fortunately, revolution is going on thanks to people’s increasing awareness of sustainability. More and more fashion brands are reevaluating their priorities, offering consumers better choices and humankind a brighter future.
Weaving environment-friendly materials into beautiful clothing is normally brands’ first step toward achieving sustainability. All birds is a shoe brand founded in 2016 in New Zealand, which just entered China two years ago. The brand chooses natural and sustainable wool from merino sheep as the main raw material, and it costs 60 percent less energy than producing typical synthetic shoes; it sources tree fiber involved from farms in South Africa, where minimize fertilizer and irrigate the land with rainfall, directly saving 95 percent water and cuts carbon footprint in half.
During China Fashion Week, which was recently held, an increasing number of Chinese brands also showed their practice of sustainability. Demain presented the potential of plant-based regenerated fiber; I-La introduced new collection made from biodegradable natural materials; Chicco Mao called attention to the catastrophic impact of global warming on coastal ecology through design.
Ye Xiaowei, the former fashion editor of the magazine named Life Style and an influencer who consistently pushes the concept of sustainability, said in an earlier interview with BoF China, “Brands need to tell consumers a story about where this product comes from and what process it goes through before coming to the market. The revelation of the manufacturing process increases the attractiveness of the products. While it’s relatively easy for the manufacturing side to switch their focus, it is up to brands to continually educate consumers’ spending attitudes.
1. What is the advantage of the materials All bird adopts?| A．They are cost-effective. | B．They are energy-efficient. |
| C．They release little carbon dioxide. | D．They don’t contain harmful chemicals. |
| A．By giving examples. | B．By offering statistics. |
| C．By making comparison. | D．By analyzing cause and effect. |
| A．Telling consumers a story of the product. |
| B．Introducing the production site to consumers. |
| C．Informing consumers how the product is made. |
| D．Revealing the source of the product’s raw material. |
| A．China Fashion Week, 2020. | B．Sustainability in the New Fashion. |
| C．A Fashion Revolution in Clothing Materials. | D．Better Fashion Choices for Chinese Consumers. |
