1 . When Joseph Cook first landed on the Greenland ice sheet in 2010, he was expecting to see a primitive white environment. What he found was "colorful mix"-from blacks and grays to greens, purples and browns, with blue streams cutting through the ice. the rainbow colors Cook encountered are created by a collection of tiny life forms that reproduce on the surface of the ice sheet. Biodiversity is usually considered a good thing, but in this case the abundance of tiny life is speeding up ice melt, and likely causing global sea levels to rise faster than scientists have predicted
Cook says the tiny life forms he studies are contributing to the problem. One of these organisms is an algae(海藻) that grows in the thin layer of water on the surface of the ice. it produces purple-brown- pigment(色素) which acts “like a natural sunscreen, "says Cook, protecting the algae from the full force of the Arctic sunlight. The pigment also causes the ice to heat up and melt.
“If you go out on a hot day wearing a black T-shirt, you get warmer than if you go out on a hot day wearing a white T-shirt. The same thing happens on the ice," says Cook. "These algae, like the black T-shirt for the glacier, are causing it to warm up in the sun and melt faster.”
Cook’s research on a part of the Greenland ice sheet covering 3, 900 square miles revealed that algae is responsible for up to 13% of the ice melt. In some localized areas, the algae boosted melting by up to 26%.
Glacier algae are not a new phenomenon-there are records of them in the diaries of polar explorers from the 1870s, says Cook. What's becoming clear is that ice sheets are surprisingly dynamic and complex environments. "There are so many questions to answer, "says Cook. "It's kind of like a theme park for a scientist because there's just so much to do.
1. What is quickening the ice melt?| A．The algae. | B．Human activities. |
| C．Global warming. | D．Blue melt streams. |
| A．To clarify a rule. | B．To explain the phenomenon. |
| C．To add humour. | D．To make a conclusion. |
| A．Scientists will avoid exploring polar regions. |
| B．Cook feels proud of the current results. |
| C．A theme park will be built on ice sheets. |
| D．There's a long way for research into ice sheets. |
| A．A news review. | B．A travel brochure. |
| C．A geography textbook. | D．A science magazine |
2 . People today are not unfamiliar with term such as "going eco-friendly" and "sustainable lifestyle". However, there exists a group of sceptics（怀疑论者）who believe that going eco-friendly is merely a fad（一时的风尚）. I disagree with this viewpoint, Going eco-friendly is not merely a fad and it does, in fact, change the beliefs and attitudes of people.
The long-term presence of environmental organisations shows the efforts that people have made towards going eco-friendly. Organisations such as World Wildlife Fund advocate people to go eco-friendly. The high involvement of the organisations and the participants is thus a strong indicator that going eco-friendly is not merely a fad but a trend that can last decades.
Another strong indicator is the emergence of sustainable products in many industries, such as organic produce and electric vehicles. The consumer demand, coupled with eco-conscious（环保意识的）businesses, is behind the sharp increase in such products. This shows a shift in the beliefs and attitudes of people towards adopting a sustainable lifestyle. Thus, it seems quite certain that going eco-friendly is not merely a fad.
While some people who broadcast their eco-friendly practices are criticised for just hoping to project an eco-conscious image, there are a number of celebrities who have been practising the zero-waste lifestyle for years. For those who do so for years, and not mere days or months, it is indeed a commitment that can only come with a true change in beliefs and attitudes towards caring for the earth.
The call to save the earth looks set to stay. With the development of technology and the appearance of many platforms advocating going green, people are more willing to change their beliefs and attitudes when they can learn about and appreciate the positive impact of the work of different environmental organisations and individuals. It is hoped that these effects will go a long way in ensuring that our planet will remain a suitable place to live in.
1. Why does the author mention World Wildlife Fund?| A．To appreciate its environmental efforts. |
| B．To encourage people to go eco-friendly. |
| C．To evidence the universal recognition of going green. |
| D．To highlight the difficulty in changing people's attitudes. |
| A．Sudden disappearance. | B．Sharp increase. |
| C．Gradual development. | D．Limited application. |
| A．It may discourage people from sustainable lifestyle. |
| B．It may boost the business of organic produce. |
| C．It will be used to project an eco-conscious image. |
| D．It will promote environmental awareness. |
| A．To prove going eco-friendly a lasting trend. |
| B．To popularize the eco-friendly products. |
| C．To offer strategies to go eco-friendly. |
| D．To advertise for eco-friendly platforms. |
3 . On March 18, 34-year-old Lance Karlson was walking on the beach and looking for somewhere to swim in Geographe Bay when he saw what he thought was a stingray (黄貂鱼) leap from the water.
Realizing the creature was, in fact, an octopus (章鱼), he started filming it — just in time for the angry octopus to launch itself at him. He immediately felt a sharp pain across his left arm, followed by a second strike across his neck and upper back. His goggles (护目镜) fogged and the water around him turned dark with what he thought might have been octopus ink as he struggled back toward the shore.
"I was confused — it was more of a shock than a fright," said Karlson, "I might have hit on its home." Within a minute, a perfect imprint of an octopus tentacle (触手) appeared on Karlson's neck and back.
A former volunteer lifeguard, Karlson rushed back to his hotel room to find something acidic to put on the wound. All his family could grab was Coca-Cola, which his wife poured over his back and the pain disappeared.
"The pain went away and more than anything since then, it's been more the physical hit that was painful.... The imprint on my neck is more from the physical hit, and I guess it makes complete sense when you look at the video I took," he said.
Karlson said he'd never seen an octopus that close before and watched Netflix documentary "My Octopus Teacher" after the incident to learn more about the species.
"They are beautiful creatures and I really hope this promotes more interest in octopuses as opposed to fear of them. I think this is a fascinating creature with clearly some very strong emotions just like we do as humans," he added.
1. When did the octopus attack Karlson?| A．When he was swimming in the bay. |
| B．When he was shooting the octopus. |
| C．When he was looking for some fish. |
| D．When he was fighting against the octopus. |
| A．The lifeguard's timely help. |
| B．Karson's wife's quick action. |
| C．The family members' efforts. |
| D．Karlson’s knowledge of first aid. |
| A．The octopus is dangerous. |
| B．People should get away from the octopus. |
| C．People need know more about the octopus. |
| D．The physical hit from the octopus is painful. |
| A．Pain from Strong Attack |
| B．First Aid for Octopus' Strike |
| C．Face to Face with Angry Octopus |
| D．Under Sea with Dangerous Creature |
4 . While space travel still gets lot of attention, not enough attention has been paid to the exploration of oceans, about which we know much less than the dark side of the moon.
Ninety percent of the ocean floor has not even been recorded and while we have been to the moon, the technology to explore the ocean's floors is still being developed. For example, a permanent partially-underwater sea exploration station, called the Sea Orbiter, is currently in development.
The oceans play a major role in controlling our climate. But we have not learned yet how to use them to cool us off rather than contribute to our overheating. Ocean organisms are said to hold the promise of cures for a wide of the unique eyes of skate (ray fish) led to advances in conquering blindness, the horseshoe crab was important in developing a test for bacterial pollution, and sea urchins helped in the development of test-tube fertilization(人工授精). The toadfish's' ability to regenerate its central nervous system is of much interest to neuroscientists. A recent Japanese study concluded that the drug Eribulin, which was taken from sea sponges, is effective in fighting with breast, colon, and Urinary cancer.
Given the approaching crisis of water insufficiency, we badly need to improve current methods, of desalinating(淡化) ocean water and make them more efficient and less costly. By 2025, 1.8 billion people are expected to suffer from severe water shortage, with that number jumping to 3. 9 billion by 2050-well over a third of the entire global population.
If the oceans do not make your heart go beating faster, how about engineering a bacterium that eats carbon dioxide — and thus helps protect the world from overheating — and produces fuel which will allow us to drive our cars and machines, without oil? I cannot find any evidence that people young or old, Americans or citizens of other nations would be less impressed or less inspired with such a breakthrough than with one more set of photos of a faraway galaxy or a whole Milky Way full of stars.
1. What does the author think about the ocean exploration?| A．It is equal to the space exploration. | B．It is well developed. |
| C．It deserves more attention and devotion. | D．It is beyond our knowledge. |
| A．Curing human diseases with ocean organisms. |
| B．Preventing the world getting warmer. |
| C．Mapping the global ocean floor. |
| D．Removing salt from sea water. |
| A．The temperature rise will be overcome by a bacterium. |
| B．Solving the existing problems is more significant. |
| C．The space exploration is worth the efforts. |
| D．The ocean exploration is not inspiring. |
| A．Oceans, the Last Hope. | B．Oceans, the Hidden Treasure. |
| C．Space, the Final Frontier. | D．Space, the Faraway Dream. |
5 . Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (麻省理工学院) have turned spider webs into music——creating an strange soundtrack that could help them better understand how the spiders output their complex creations and even how they communicate.
The MIT team worked with Berlin-based artist Tomas Saraceno to take 2D (two- dimensional) laser (激光) scans of a spider web, which were linked together and made into a mathematical model that could recreate the web in 3D in VR (virtual reality). They also worked with MIT’s music department to create the virtual instrument.
“Even though the web looks really random (随机)，there actually are a lot of inside structures and you can visualize (可视化) them and you can look at them, but it’s really hard to grasp for the human imagination or human brain to understand all these structural details,” said MIT engineering professor Markus Buehler, who presented the work on Monday at a virtual meeting of the American Chemical Society.
Listening to the music while moving through the VR spider web lets you see and hear these structural changes and gives a better idea of how spiders see the world, he told CNN. “Spiders use vibrations (振动) as a way to locate themselves, to communicate with other spiders and so the idea of thinking really like a spider would experience the world was something that was very important to us as spider material scientists,” Buehler said.
Spiders are able to build their webs without shelves or supports, so having a better idea of how they work could lead to the development of advanced new 3D printing techniques. “The reason why I did that is I wanted to be able to get information really from the spider world, which is very weird and mysterious,” Buehler explained. In addition to the scientific value, Buehler said the webs are musically interesting and that you can hear the sounds the spider creates during construction. “It’s unusual and eerie and scary, but finally beautiful.” he described.
1. What have MIT scientists done according to the passage?| A．They have translated spider webs into sounds. |
| B．They have made a mathematical model to produce webs. |
| C．They have created a soundtrack to catch spiders. |
| D．They have known how spiders communicate. |
| A．Their structures are beautiful and clear. |
| B．Professor Markus Buehler knows them well. |
| C．The American Chemical Society presents the result. |
| D．They are complex for people to figure it out. |
| A．virtual reality | B．printing |
| C．painting | D．film-making |
| A．It tells us that the music created by spiders is scary. |
| B．It shows how the researchers carry out the experiment. |
| C．It presents a new and creative way to study spiders. |
| D．It explains why scientists did the experiment. |
6 . The annual 3-to-4-millimeter rise in sea levels is expected to impact many coastal communities in the coming decades. However, few are as defenceless as the Republic of the Maldives, a collection of more than a thousand picturesque islands in the Indian Ocean. NASA researchers believe that parts of what is “arguably the lowest-lying country in the world” will become uninhabitable by 2050, due to wave-driven flooding and limited freshwater. To fight the unavoidable, the government recently revealed plans for the world's first 'true' floating island city.
The aptly-named Maldives Floating City (MFC) is the brainchild of Dutch Docklands, a global leader in floating infrastructure ( 基建). According to the March 13, 2021, announcement, the new city will be constructed on a 200-hectare lagoon (环礁湖) located just 10 minutes by boat from the Maldivian capital, Male. It will initially consist of a thousand waterfront residences, arranged in a series of honeycomb-like maze rows. The developers plan to add hotels, restaurants, shops, and even a school and a hospital in the near future. The floating structures. will be attached to the surrounding islands, which will form a base and provide protection from high tides.
Maldive officials aim to make MFC as self-sufficient as possible. Freshwater storage will provide drinking water for residents, while floating solar blankets and agriculture fields will take care of their energy and food needs.
“This Maldives Floating City does not require any land rehabilitation, therefore has a minimal impact on the coral reefs,” explains Mohamed Nasheed, Speaker of Parliament. “What's more, giant, new reefs will be grown to act as water breakers. In the Maldives, we cannot stop the waves, but we can rise with them.”
Construction of the revolutionary city is expected to begin in 2022 and be completed in phases over the next five years. If successful, it will provide a blueprint for other countries facing a similar situation.
1. Why does Maldives decide to build MFC?| A．It is the lowest-lying country. | B．It will be flooded soon. |
| C．It is running out of fresh water. | D．It will be unsuitable for living. |
| A．The prospect of MFC. |
| B．The developers of the plan. |
| C．The location of the residences. |
| D．The barriers to the construction. |
| A．MFC will keep waves away. |
| B．MFC will make use of waves. |
| C．MFC will adjust to the waves. |
| D．MFC will work as water breakers. |
| A．To introduce a construction program. |
| B．To appeal to people to protect nature. |
| C．To seek international help for Maldives. |
| D．To report the achievement of a city plan, |
7 . For millions of years, Arctic sea ice has expanded and shrunk in a rhythmic dance with the summer sun. Humans evolved in this icy world, and civilization relied on it for climatic, ecological and political stability. But now the world comes ever closer to a future without ice. The National Snow and Ice Data Center reported that 2019’s minimum arctic sea ice extent was the second lowest on record. Arctic summers could become mostly ice-free in 30 years, and possibly sooner if current trends continue. As the northern sea ice declines, the world must unite to preserve what remains of the Arctic.
Although most people have never seen the sea ice, its effects are never far away. By reflecting sunlight, Arctic ice acts as Earth’s air conditioner. Once dark water replaces brilliant ice, Earth could warm substantially, equivalent to the warming caused by the additional release of a trillion tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere and declining sea ice threatens wildlife, from the polar bear to algae that grow beneath the sea ice, supporting the large amount of marine life.
To avoid the consequences the scientific community should advocate not just for lowering greenhouse gas emissions, but also for protecting the Arctic from exploitation. The Antarctic shows the way. In the 1950s, countries raced to claim the Antarctic continent for resources and military installations. Enter the scientists. The 1957-1958 International Geophysical Year brought together scientists from competing countries to study Antarctica, and countries temporarily suspended their territorial disputes (争议). In 1959, 12 countries signed the Antarctic Treaty to preserve the continent for peaceful scientific discovery rather than territorial and military gain.
Sixty years later, we must now save the Arctic. A new Marine Arctic Peace Sanctuary (MAPS) Treaty would protect the Arctic Ocean as a scientific preserve for peaceful purposes only. Similar to Antarctica, MAPS would prohibit resource exploitation, commercial fishing and shipping, and military exercises. So far, only 2 non-Arctic countries have signed MAPS; 97 more need to sign on to enact it into law. Scientists can help—just as they did for the Antarctic—by giving statements of support, asking scientific organizations to endorse (支持) the treaty, communicating the importance of protecting the arctic to the public and policy-makers, and above all, by convincing national leaders to sign the treaty. In particular, Arctic nations must agree that recognizing the arctic as an international preserve is better than fighting over it. In 2018, these countries successfully negotiated a 16-year moratorium on commercial fishing in the Arctic high seas, demonstrating that such agreements are possible.
Humans have only ever lived in a world topped by ice. Can we now work together to protect Arctic ecosystems, keep the northern peace, and allow the sea ice to return?
1. What can be inferred from the passage?| A．wildlife relies on sea ice for food and water. |
| B．The Arctic would be ice-free in 30 years. |
| C．Sea ice slows down the global warming. |
| D．The melting of sea ice releases CO2. |
| A．remind readers of the past of the Antarctic |
| B．propose a feasible approach for the Arctic |
| C．stress the importance of preserving sea ice |
| D．recall how the Antarctic Treaty came into being |
| A．battle | B．ban |
| C．memo | D．protection |
| A．Antarctic: a Successful Comeback? | B．Sea Ice and Global Warming |
| C．Arctic: the Earth’s Future | D．Life Without Ice? |
8 . When man and nature try to co-exist, man usually wins out. But that wasn’t the case in a small town in southern India when a native Robin recently chose to build her nest in an extremely inconvenient location.
The village of Potthakudi contains only 120 homes and has a total of 35 streetlights. Unfortunately ,the misguided mama bird had decided to set up housekeeping in the town’s main lighting switchboard (配电板).
The nest and its inhabitants were first discovered by Karuppu Raja, the man tasked with turning on the streetlights each evening. A lifelong bird lover, Raja posted his find to local social media to warn the citizens of his discovery and ask for their cooperation in taking a hands-off approach to the unexpected guests.
“Switching off the lights is the only solution because the bird will fly once it realizes there is a human touch or contact near its nest,” Raja wrote on WhatsApp. “We should save the bird and its babies at any cost.”
While some initially voiced concerns that lack of nighttime illumination (照明) would be inconvenient ,Raja was eventually able to persuade his fellow villagers that any sacrifice would be worth it in the long run. “I explained that so many birds have died out and we should not let Indian Robin go the same way,” Raja recalled.
So, rather than ousted the bird, the villagers agreed to observe a blackout (断电) until the baby birds were old enough to fly away. The town spent a total of 45 days and nights in the dark, even disconnecting the switchboard from the power source to keep the mom and her chicks safe.
After mama Robin and her babies finally took off, the blackout was lifted, but the village’s extraordinary protection efforts for the sake of one lone bird and her babies didn’t go unnoticed.
A bird in the hand may be worth two in the bush, but a bird in the switchboard has earned Potthakudi a reputation for kindness that’s likely to light up smiles for quite some time to come.
1. What can we know about Karuppu Raja?| A．He does his job carelessly. | B．He loves birds all the time. |
| C．He argues with his villagers. | D．He is the leader of the village. |
| A．Protected. | B．Set free. | C．Killed. | D．Drove away. |
| A．The reasons why many birds have died out. |
| B．The kind villagers in Potthakudi. |
| C．What villagers do to help the birds. |
| D．How to protect Indian Robins. |
| A．Man will conquer nature. |
| B．Man and animals can live in harmony. |
| C．A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. |
| D．A bird is known by its note and a man by his talk. |
9 . About a billion birds die from flying into buildings each year in North America. Suspicions have been that birds may regard the open areas behind glass as safe passageways. Or they may mistake the reflected trees for the real thing.
Researchers would like to reduce collisions, which requires a solid understanding about what makes a bird more or less likely to die by crashing into a building in the first place.
“There was relatively little known at a broad scale. Previous studies were at one small study site.'' Jared Elmore, a graduate student in natural resource ecology and management at Oklahoma State University. So he and his colleagues used a previously created data set of building collisions for birds at 40 sites throughout Mexico, Canada and the U.S.
The first finding was obvious: bigger buildings with more glass kill more birds. But the details were more remarkable. "We found that life history predicted collisions. Migrants(候鸟), insect-eaters and woodland-inhabiting species collided more than their counterparts(同类).”
Most migratory species travel at night, when lights near buildings can distract or disorient(使迷失方向)them. And Elmore thinks that insect-eating birds might be attracted to buildings because their insect prey(猎物)is attracted to the lights. He suspects that woodland species get tooled by the reflections of trees and bushes in the windows. The results are in the journal Conservation Biology.
By understanding which birds are more likely to collide with buildings, researchers can perhaps determine the best way to adapt buildings, or their lighting, to help prevent such accidents. And by knowing risks, along with migration timing and behavior, building managers can better predict when birds are at their greatest danger - and improve lighting strategics accordingly.
Elmore's next project will use radar to help predict bird migrations. " I think that would maybe go a long way in terms of providing information to people, to the public, to building managers, on when they can get the most benefit in terms of lights-out policies."
1. What is the possible reason for birds' crashing into buildings?| A．They didn't see the buildings. |
| B．They took reflections for reality. |
| C．They assumed the windows to be open. |
| D．They considered buildings as safe routes. |
| A．It created a new data set. |
| B．It went beyond national borders. |
| C．It covered a wider range of sites. |
| D．I’ll studied some specific bird species. |
| A．Migratory species travel at night. |
| B．Birds tend to be misled by glasses. |
| C．Bigger buildings cause more collisions. |
| D．Birds living habits give rise to collisions. |
| A．Adjust the lightening system. |
| B．Attach radars to each building. |
| C．Adopt strict lights-out policies. |
| D．Ban using glasses on buildings. |
10 . As a child, Paolo Fanciulli was attracted by underwater abandoned ships , particularly the fish and seagrass that lived in them. But in the past decade , his job as a fisherman has grown harder, as trawling ( 用拖网捕鱼) near the coast has been destroying the Mediterranean ecosystem.“The nets are weighed down with heavy chains to be dragged on the sea bottom, so they uproot the seagrass that is key to the Mediterranean ecosystem" he said.
While Italian law bans trawling within 5.5km of the coast, it's so profitable that it's not uncommon for boats to carry on illegally at night.
In 2006, a desperate Tuscan government dropped concrete blocks into the sea to interrupt the trawlers. Fanciulli said they didn't work as they were too far apart and the nets simply dragged between them. He then began to wonder: what if, instead of dropping concrete blocks into the water, he dropped art? He asked a mine in nearby Carrara to donate two marble (大理石) blocks to make sculptures. They donated 100 instead.
Through word of mouth , contributions and online crowdfunding, Fanciulli persuaded artists including Giorgio Butini and Beverly Pepper to carve sculptures from the marble.Then he took them to sea and lowered them in. The underwater sculptures create both a physical brier for nets and a unique underwater museum.
The“museum”appears to be having some effects gradually. Although 10 years ago the seagrass was disappearing, it is now growing back. The statues also deserve credit for helping to preserve the fishing industry by protecting the fish resources because the nursery areas of various commercial fish species are below the coast. All kinds of undersea life appears to be returning. Seagrass covers the statues, shellfish has taken up residence, and more dolphins have been seen.
Fanciulli hopes to build on the museum's success.“We put in the first statues in 2007 but our goal is to reach 100,”he said, sensing an opportunity.
1. What has made Fanciulli's job grow harder?| A．An illegal fishing practice. |
| B．The declining fishing industry. |
| C．The concrete blocks underwater. |
| D．The increasing number of fishermen. |
| A．Establishing an art museum. |
| B．Removing the concrete blocks. |
| C．Appealing for artists' donation. |
| D．Laying sculptures under the sea. |
| A．Fruitless. | B．Doubtful. |
| C．Conventional. | D．Rewarding. |
| A．Benefits brought by fine arts. |
| B．Harm trawling does to marine life. |
| C．Efforts by a fisherman to protect sea life. |
| D．Attempts by artists to preserve biodiversity. |
