Alex rode his bike on his way home, and Johnson’s Pond came into view.
Sometimes his dad took him canoeing (划独木舟) there, and Alex loved it. The pond was always alive with activity, and sometimes Alex discovered turtles (乌龟) sunbathing on suing rocks Alex as curious about turtles. When it was too rainy to go canoeing, he often went to the library to check out books on turtles,
Now it looked like tomorrow might be another sunny day. He decided to ask Dad if they could go canoeing and look for turtles again. Suddenly Alex saw something in the road up ahead. It looked like a big gray rock. But it was a funny place for a rock to be. He jumped off to have a look.
And then, the rock started to move! It was actually a large turtle slowly making its way across the road! Alex knew right away it was a snapping turtle.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a car approaching The turtle was still only halfway across the road Alex knew he couldn’t pick it up because snapping turtles have a powerful bite and they could even bite off someone’s finger! What could he do?
Thinking fast, he started waving both hands wildly. “Stop! Stop!” he cried. The car slowed to a stop.
“Are you alight, Alex?” It was his neighbor, Mrs. Ramos.
“I’m fine, Mrs. Ram’s.” said Alex. “I’m just trying to save a turtle. It’s probably going to lay egg.”
“Oh, yeah. It’s spring.” said Mrs. Ram’s. “So, I guess a lot of turtles need to lay their eggs in the grass across the road.” Then she waved goodbye and drove off.
Alex thought about what Mrs. Ram’s had said. “There would probably be more turtles trying to cross the road at this spot!” he realized. But he couldn’t stand there all day trying to stop cars. He looked around and a road sign caught his eye. And then his face brightened.
He jumped on his bike and raced home to find Dad.___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The next morning, Dad and Alex drove to the pond with the wooden sign in the car.
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2 . Fat is an important part of all living things and most body fat in animals and people is white. White fat allows people to eat more than they need when food is enough. It stores those extra calories until food becomes short.
Hibernation(冬眠) can help animals get through the cold winter. They feed themselves on much food in fall in preparation for a long and cold winter. Animals don’t eat when they are hibernating.
When in torpor, it seems that animals have been sleeping. But torpor goes much deeper than that. In fact, animals’ activities slow down in torpor.
In order to wake up during the hibernation, these animals have to warm their bodies.
| A．But hibernating animals don’t stay asleep all winter long. |
| B．If so, they will suffer from hunger during the winter. |
| C．Their heart may beat only a few times each minute. |
| D．Instead, they burn their white fat to keep their bodies running. |
| E．They might feel comfortable when they wake up after a long winter. |
| F．Then the body burns it for energy to stay alive until more food shows up. |
| G．That means going from a temperature above freezing to their usual body temperature. |
3 . Plastic fishing nets, the so-called ghost nets, abandoned yearly in the sea—about 1 million tons—are more than just rubbish; they’re a killer. Fish, sea birds, and turtles get caught in the netting and die, with more species at risk.
Much shocked at this, Pranveer Singh Rathore, a materials-science engineer and materials R&D manager at Samsung, and his team set themselves the task of giving new life to the deadly nets. Last month, Samsung revealed a new line of Galaxy products made in part from recycled plastic fishing nets for the first time. The company estimates this year alone it can recycle over 50 tons of ocean-bound plastic into the key components that will go into its smartphones, tablets, and computers, thus taking a bite out of the global ghost nets problem.
It’s no small task to give waste fishing nets a second act. The nets are typically made of a substance called nylon which tends to dramatically degrade (降解) the longer it sits in the ocean and is exposed to the sun. “This makes it nearly impossible to use abandoned fishing nets directly,” Rathore explains. Besides, high-performance smartphone, tablet, or PC has to be waterproof and can survive severe weather. The nylon in the fishing nets falls far short of that level of durability (耐用).
To deal with that problem, Samsung last summer teamed up with two partners: one to collect and transform the nets into tiny nylon pellets (颗粒) while the other to strengthen their toughness and durability. The end result: The partners hit upon an eco-friendly and high-performance plastic material that’s being used to build the component parts for its latest line of products. For example, two parts of the Galaxy S22 mobile phone—the key bracket and the inner cover—are made of these fishing-net plastic materials. Samsung aims to use even more upcycled materials in future product lines.
“That’s the hope for the globe and our mission,” Rathore smiles.
1. What does the underlined word “this” in paragraph 2 refer to?| A．Rubbish in the sea. | B．Recycling the deadly nets. |
| C．Ocean species’ extinction. | D．Ghost nets’ threat to sea life. |
| A．The low level of durability of nylon. | B．The second act of waste fishing nets. |
| C．The great difficulty in reusing ghost nets. | D．The positive comment on Samsung’s products. |
| A．They are made from tiny nylon pellets. | B．They put an end to the problem of fishing nets. |
| C．They can stand up to water and severe weather. | D．They contain materials recycled from ghost nets. |
| A．It makes plastic easier to break down. | B．It marks the shift of Samsung’s mission. |
| C．It protects the planet from choking on plastic. | D．It raises public awareness of ocean exploration. |
4 . 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. |
5 . If you live in one of the 40 million American households with a gas stove, it could be leaking even when it’s turned off.
According to a new study from Stanford scientists, many stoves are constantly giving out gases that can warm the planet and pose serious health risks when breathed in. The research found methane missions from gas stoves across the United States are roughly equal to the carbon dioxide released by half a million gas-powered cars in a year.
To estimate the impact of these emissions, researchers measured three key gases from stoves in 53 homes across seven California counties. The team chose two gases — methane and carbon dioxide — because of their contribution to climate change, and selected nitrogen oxides because of their known risk to human health. The scientists set up plastic dividing walls between the kitchens and other rooms and used instruments that measure wavelengths of light to determine the concentration of certain gases.
The team estimated that stoves release between 0.8 and 1.3 percent of the natural gas they consume as unburned methane. To their surprise, they found that more than three-quarters of the methane emissions happened when both old and new gas stoves were turned off. “Over a 20-year time scale, the global warming potential of methane leaks is 86 times greater than carbon dioxide,” Stanford reports.
The most significant health risks happen when the stove is lit, the authors note, because the process creates nitrogen dioxide as a byproduct. Increasing airflow by using a range hood can help reduce the personal health risk of natural gas-burning appliances, but most individuals report rarely using their ventilation system.
In a small kitchen, it only took a few minutes of unventilated stove use to generate emissions levels above national health standards. According to a meta-analysis from 2013, children living in homes with gas stoves were 42 percent more likely to experience symptoms associated with asthma, and 24 percent more likely to be diagnosed with lifetime asthma.
In addition to health risks, natural gas burning stoves also endanger the planet by releasing methane. The results of the study have furled efforts by scientists and activists to encourage Americans to switch to all-electric stoves and appliances.
1. Which gas leaking from stoves warms the earth most?| A．Methane. | B．Carbon dioxide. | C．Nitrogen oxide. | D．Nitrogen dioxide. |
| A．The measuring instruments. | B．The American families. |
| C．The team members. | D．The gas stoves. |
| A．When it is old. | B．When it is new. |
| C．When it is turned on. | D．When it is turned off. |
| A．Equip kitchens. | B．Switch to clean fuels. |
| C．Use sustainable energy. | D．Purchase electric stoves. |
When I came back home, my mother was having a conversation with my seven-year-old daughter Jane. They were talking about how to fight against climate change in the holidays. I interrupted, saying we could do it by eating leftovers (剩菜) this holiday season. Mom and I both smiled.
I said, “You know Americans throw away 25 percent more trash between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, including things like plastic from old tech and gift wrap. Food waste, which accounts for 30 to 40 percent of year-round waste entering landfills (垃圾填埋场), also rises sharply during the holidays. During Thanksgiving week alone, Americans throw out roughly 200 million pounds of turkey meat, along with 30 million pounds of gravy (肉汁) and 14 million pounds of dinner rolls.”
Jane was puzzled at the figures of food waste but she was interested in the consequences. I told her, “When thrown-away food makes its way to landfills and rots, it produces methane, a kind of greenhouse gas. That’s not friendly. It can destroy the ecosystem, threatening the survival of animals, plants and humans on the planet.”
Jane was nervous and asked what we could do to help the earth. “One of the most powerful tools we have is just to directly decrease our own waste in our home,” my mom said. “It’s also really challenging because most of our waste is happening in different ways. But individual action can also play a huge role in dealing with food waste, particularly in the US.”
I remember that in my family, there are two traditions when it comes to holiday meals: there must be more food on the table than everyone can eat, and everyone must take home a plate of food at the end of the meal to make sure all the hard work that went into its preparation wasn’t wasted.
注意：1.所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Jane asked, “why prepare so much food for a holiday?”
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Jane answered “Sure” and hoped to help Grandmother to prepare for dinners.
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7 . Humans sweat to keep cool. But did you know that besides them, only a small percentage of the world’s animals keep cool by sweating? In fact, animals have a variety of ways to beat the cruel heat, some of which you might say are even a little bit strange.
Giraffes
We know that giraffes live in a particularly dry, hot environment, but they don’t sweat. How do they stay cool? The answer lies in their beautiful skin pattern, which is like a large network with a very complex vascular (血管) system under each patch (斑块). A giraffe’s special blood flow can force heat out of its body. Because of their rather large skin surface, this is a more-than-effective way to escape the heat.
Elephants
As the largest land animal on earth, elephants rely on their huge pair of ears. Simply by tapping their ears, elephants can lower their body temperature by 12℃ or more. Moreover, elephants often open their ears when facing the wind to reach this cooling effect.
Dogs
The dog’s way of escaping the heat is probably the most common in our daily lives--sticking their tongues out. By breathing heavily, dogs quickly force the heat from their body and breathe cooler air in, which enters their lungs and cools their entire body.
Koalas
Koalas are well-known for their “laziness”, so it’s natural to see one lying on a branch and think it’s just being its lazy self, but that’s not the case. Researchers say that the koalas select their trees very carefully, looking in hot weather for tree bark that is cooler than the air temperature. By getting into the cool surface of the bark, koalas can stay relatively comfortable during Australia’s powerful heat waves.
1. How do dogs beat the heat?| A．By choosing the suitable tree skin. | B．By putting their tongues out. |
| C．By moving their ears. | D．By flowing blood. |
| A．Giraffe. | B．Elephants. | C．Dogs. | D．Koalas. |
| A．They live lazily. | B．They don’t sweat. |
| C．They don’t stay cool. | D．They live comfortably. |
8 . 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 |
9 . Above a shining ice pack in the Bering Sea, a helicopter flies over a polar bear, following paw prints in the snow. The bear suddenly appears as a hint of movement, white against white, making its way across the ice. The helicopter goes down, circling over the frightened creature, and a shotgun slides out the window, firing a tranquilizer (镇定剂) into the massive fur-covered bottom. Minutes pass. The bear shows no effects. The helicopter drops for a second shot. This time the bear stands its ground, and the pilot, fearing the animal is about to attack the aircraft, sharply noses the helicopter skyward.
But this bear finally moves unsteadily, then stretches out on the ice like a giant sheep dog. The helicopter sets down, and biologist Gerald Garner advances, kicking the bear in the behind to make sure it is motionless. A swivel (扭动) of its head and a flashing of teeth warn Garner that there is plenty of defiance left in this 272-kg meat-eating creature. With a syringe (注器), he injects more drug. At last the head lowers, and Garner can proceed. Around the bear’s neck he fastens a plastic collar containing a computer that will send data to a satellite, allowing scientists to keep track of the animal for a year. By the time Bear No. 6, 886 raises its head, the helicopter is softly above the air.
Those tense moments were all in a day’s work for Garner, one of a handful of hearty scientists, pilots and technicians taking part in a $700, 000 annual U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service study of polar bear populations. In an effort to follow the fate of more than 600 bears since the start of the program, the researchers have braved wind-chill factors of-59℃, hard living conditions, the constant threat of mechanical failures and the danger of being stuck on an ice pack. Last October two government biologists and a pilot disappeared while following polar bears from the air.
1. What do we know about the first shot?| A．It doesn’t work. | B．It annoys the bear. |
| C．It misses the target. | D．It frightens the bear. |
| A．Resistance. | B．Hope. | C．Evidence. | D．Fear. |
| A．Well-paid. | B．Short-staffed. | C．Life-threatening. | D．Time-saving. |
| A．Rescuing polar bears. | B．Tracking polar bears. |
| C．Hunting for polar bears. | D．Rounding up polar bears. |
10 . 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. |
