1 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. What is the conversation mainly about?

A．Fighting fires.

B．Detecting fires.

C．Using fires.

2. How many fires did California have in 2020?

A．Around 50.

B．About 400.

C．Over 8600.

3. What size of fire can the new satellites discover?

A．Size of a car.

B．Size of a plane.

C．Size of a sports field.

4. What is more important to the woman?

A．Saving animals.

B．Saving the trees.

C．Saving humans.

2 . Sea ice in the Antarctic (南极) area fell to a record low this year. The drop is a result of rising temperatures worldwide. And there is no quick method to make up for the ice drop, and the recovery (恢复) has a long way to go, scientists said recently in a new study.

Antarctica’s smallest summer ice cover fell further to a new low in February. This year’s sea ice minimum (最小值) is 20 percent lower than the average (平均值) over the last 40 years. The sea ice loss equals an area nearly 10 times that of New Zealand.

The warming of Earth’s surface driven by the burning of coal, gas and oil has made Antarctica more likely to suffer from extreme (极端的) events. And the result is almost “certain” to get worse, the study said. Climate change will “lead to increases in the size and rate”of heat waves, broken ice shelves and drops in sea ice, it said.

The effects of the Earth’s warming on Antarctica and the surrounding ocean have been uncertain. Scientists have had problems measuring how much the Earth’s warming is altering the thickness of Antarctic ice.

But from events such as the fast drop in sea ice, it is “scientifically reasonable” to suppose that extreme events are going to become worse as temperatures rise worldwide, said Martin Siegert of the University of Exeter, another study co-writer.

Siegert described the temperature increase as completely surprising. Siegert added that luckily the event had happened during the Antarctic winter, instead of summer, or it would have caused melting (融化) on the surface of the East Antarctic ice cover, which has so far been saved from melting.

Siegert used the term “fragile”, meaning easily broken or damaged, to describe Antarctica. “Antarctica is fragile as an environment, but extreme events test that fragility,” he said.

1. What do the scientists think of the recovery of Antarctic sea ice?

A．It is hopeful.	B．It is difficult.
C．It is on its way.	D．It can’t be prevented.

2. Why does the author mention New Zealand?

A．To explain the size of sea ice loss.	B．To show the position of ice cover.
C．To describe how far Antarctica is.	D．To state sea ice is connected to New Zealand.

3. What does the underlined word ”altering“ in paragraph 4 mean?

A．Adding.	B．Pressing.
C．Changing.	D．Protecting.

4. What might have caused worse results according to Siegert?

A．Antarctic sea ice is recovering too slowly.

B．The Antarctic ice cover is continuously moving.

C．The environment of Antarctica is easy to break.

D．Extreme events happen in Antarctic summer.

3 . 阅读下面材料, 根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段, 使之构成一篇完整的短文。

Kay Day, an 87-year-old UK woman, loves elephants. But Day, who suffers from dementia(痴呆), rarely leaves her nursing home room and hasn’t seen a real elephant for a really long time. Until now.

Day is so fond of elephants that her room is full of elephant photos and toys. She dreamed of seeing an elephant up close again but never thought it would happen. On Wednesday, August 9, 2023, Day’s dream became a reality after her nursing home took her on a special trip to the Whipsnade Zoo.

The nursing home collected money to be able to realize Day’s dream. “Day doesn’t join in many activities and tends to spend quite a lot of time alone,” said the nursing home manager. “So when we sat and discussed wishes, we found out she would love to see an elephant. When we found the Elephant Experience at Whipsnade and contacted them, we said we should make her dream come true!”

Day was so excited about going to the zoo that she marked off the days on her elephant-themed calendar. Day’s carers telephoned her family and asked them to come along on the trip to support her on that exciting day.

Since the Whipsnade Zoo is a protection zoo that is working to protect wildlife as well as connect people with nature, the staff runs a lot of programs including various animal experiences and “Be a Keeper” days.

Day often told people around her that she would like to pet and feed the elephants herself as she did many years before. And she said that the elephants’ trunks (象鼻) are her favourite part of the huge animals. “It’s such a wonderful feeling to have an elephant take some food out of your hand, put it in his trunk, curl (卷起) it up and put it in his mouth, ” she told the reporter when she was interviewed.

注意: 1. 续写词数应为150个左右;
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

The day for going to the zoo finally came.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The moment arrived when Day was able to meet the elephants up close.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4 . Kids want to spend their summer vacations having fun in the sun with their friends. Reading may not even be on their list. But if you add a lovely dog, that could make reading a pleasant activity.

Now a new study found that reading to dogs helps to improve reading ability because dogs provide a nonjudgmental and supportive atmosphere(氛围).

Three educators from the college decided to look at new ways to get kids to read more after the Education Ministry expressed concern over a great drop in reading scores in fourth-grade students.

These students had reading difficulties because they did not go through school in person during the last three years. They missed out on reading practice with their peers(同龄人)during the second and third grades.

“We want to find an original way that would encourage students to practice their reading,” Har-Zvi, head of the special-education track and senior lecturer at the college said. “And to create that encouragement, we decided to do experiments with dogs.”

Reading to pets encourages kids to acquire confidence and interest in reading, according to the pet food company Purina. That’s not only because the practice of reading to dogs is used in home-schooling to help the kids acquire reading ability, but also because pets are comforting and nonjudgmental. Einat Artzi, whose daughter took part in the experiment, told Ynet that her daughter Michaela ”has loved dogs from a young age. Her experience of reading to dogs greatly increased her desire to read, and in her opinion, it improved her reading abilities. All in all, the experience of introducing dogs into the classroom made her feel comfortable and safe, and she began to enjoy going to school. Michaela is now considered one of the top readers in her class and has a very rich vocabulary. Thanks to this, we also took in a dog.“

1. What led three educators to try to get kids to read more?

A．Kids’ difficulty in making friends.	B．Teachers’ passive teaching methods.
C．Their worry about students’ health.	D．Concerns of education leaders.

2. What gave the kids confidence in the experiment?

A．The quiet listening of the dogs.	B．The kids’ love for the dogs.
C．The parents’ joining them.	D．The guidance from the teachers.

3. How did the experiment influence Michaela according to her mother?

A．It made her fall in love with dogs.	B．It bettered her reading ability greatly.
C．It improved her relationships with others.	D．It allowed her to take a dog to school.

4. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．Dogs Are Good Friends to Kids	B．Kids’ Reading Scores Are Dropping
C．Dogs Help Make Kids Better Readers	D．Kids Studying at Home Brings Problems

5 . Popcorm Park Zoo is not like most zoos. It is a very special place.

This unusual place was not originally a zoo. At first it was called the Forked River Animal Care Center. The workers there looked after lost or unwanted cats and dogs. Today the center is part of the zoo, but now many other kinds of animals are helped there, too.

The changes to the center began in 1977 when a raccoon(浣熊)needed help. One of its front paws(爪子)had been badly hurt. The workers cared for the animal. Finally it was better, but it could not care for itself. The raccoon was allowed to live there. Then a hurt deer was brought there for help. It, too, stayed there after it got well.

Once people heard about the wonderful work being done at the center, they began taking all kinds of hurt or homeless animals there. Soon it was no longer just a home for cats and dogs. So many animals were living there that it became more like a zoo.

Popcorn Park Zoo got its funny name because many of the animals there like to eat popcorn made without oil or salt. The popcorn is sold there to help make money to care for the animals. People buy the popcorn to feed the animals as a treat.

Popcorn Park Zoo now looks after more than 200 kinds of animals. Many of them live freely there. Some of the gentler ones, such as goats, sheep, geese, and deer, walk among the visitors who come to see them. Others are kept in large closed-in areas almost like their natural homes. All the animals there get care and love.

1. Before 1977, the center was a home for          .

A．lost or unwanted cats and dogs

B．hurt or homeless raccoons and goats

C．lost or unwanted deer and sheep

D．hurt or homeless raccoons and geese

2. How did the workers in the center help the raccoon?

A．They changed its front paws.

B．They cured it and let it live there.

C．They sent it back to its home.

D．They built another home just for it.

3. The popcom is sold in Popcom Park Zoo to           .

A．treat the visitors	B．reward the workers
C．trick the animals	D．raise money

4. What can we learn about animals in the zoo from the last paragraph?

A．They all live in closed-in areas.

B．Some of them can walk out of the zoo freely.

C．All of them are taken good care of.

D．Some of them have already returned to nature.

6 . “A beautiful field of flowers can be a rather noisy place. It’s just that we can’t hear the sounds.” Scientists at Tel Aviv University have conducted a six-year experiment, proving that plants make noise in certain stressful situations.

Plants produce a high frequency (频率) clicking sound, and when short of water, or damaged, the clicks become far more regular. They also made different sounds, depending on whether they were thirsty or injured. “Each plant and each type of stress is related to a specific sound,” said Professor Lilach Hadany, who led the research study.

Focusing particularly on tomatoes, wheat and corn, the plants were placed in a soundproof(隔音的)room and recorded by microphones. Some plants were starved of water, others cut, and a control group was left undamaged. The researchers used an algorithm (算法) to separate the noises, suecessfully telling the difference between the sounds depending on whether they were dry or cut. The algorithm did this in a greenhouse setting which included far more surrounding sounds, but it was still able to recognize the particular cries for help of the plants.

On average, the human ear can hear sounds up to around 20kHz, while the sounds produced by plants are in the 40-80kHz region, far beyond our hearing. “The sounds made by plants can’t be heard by humans but can probably be heard by various animals, such as bats, mice and insects,” Hadany tells us. Though this has yet to be proven, it’s possible that these creatures use this information to choose which plants to eat.

A study led by Reda Hassanien of China Agriculural University in Beijing years ago, also proved that plants reacted to sound waves, with some plants greatly increasing their yield. While evidence shows that plants can react to sounds, there’s no evidence today that they can actually hear them.

1. What can we know from the six-year experiment?

A．Plants of different types make the sound of the same frequeney.

B．Plants produce more regular sound in certain stressful situations.

C．Plants make sounds with a much lower frequency when stressed.

D．Plants make the sound of the same frequeney whatever the situation.

2. What is the algorithm used for in the research?

A．To record the sounds.	B．To control the sounds.
C．To produce the sounds.	D．To identify the sounds.

3. What has been proven by scientists according to the passage?

A．Plants can hear each other’s cry for help.

B．Animals can hear the sounds made by plants.

C．Plants can make sounds and respond to sound waves.

D．Animals decide what to eat based on the sounds plants make.

4. Which of the following is the best title of the text?

A．Sounds That We Can’t Hear

B．Beautiful Songs from Plants

C．Plants React to Different Types of Stress

D．Plants Talk, Especially When Stressed

7 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. When will the first storm arrive?

A．Today.

B．This weekend.

C．Next week.

2. Which city will have fog?

A．New York City.

B．Saint Paul.

C．Boston.

3. For whom will the ice cause problems according to the speaker?

A．People traveling on foot.

B．People driving on the road.

C．People celebrating by the water.

4. What will the weather be like in Chicago?

A．Sunny.

B．Snowy.

C．Windy.

8 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式

In October 2021, China announced the opening of its Giant Panda National Park. Giant pandas are no longer classified as     1     endangered species but are still vulnerable (脆弱的), so conservationists are still working     2     (boost) their population numbers. By protecting pandas, the park also benefits another 8.000 animal and plant species living in the same ecosystem.

One creature     3     shares the same habit al with the giant panda is the red panda. While less famous than the giant panda, the red panda is just as cute—and     4     (unfortunate), endangered. Habitat loss caused by human activity     5     climate change is a major threat. While exact population numbers are unknown, researchers estimate that red pandas     6     (decline) by 50% in the last 18 years.

Another endangered animal living here is the clouded leopard (豹).     7     (large) than a house cat, clouded leopards are named for their irregular, cloud-like     8     (spot). The clouded leopard isn’t the only cat moving around the Giant Panda National Park. The snow leopard also shares the territory, although it’s rarely seen,     9     (make) it difficult for researchers to assess its population numbers. Snow leopards     10     (list) as vulnerable due to the increasing threats to their natural habitat.

9 . Christmas is a time of great joy but it can also lead to over-consumption. Here’s how to cut back on unnecessary purchases (购买) and help save the planet in the process.

Get an eco-friendly tree

Having a Christmas tree at home has been a British tradition since the 1700s and we fill our homes with around 8 million a year. But we know plastic trees pollute the planet and cutting down a two-metre tree can produce up to 16 kg of CO₂ when it rots in landfill according to the Carbon Trust. But there is an alternative. You can rent a tree from Eco-Elf who deliver it to your door, and then collects it after Christmas to replant it in their UK forests.

Give gifts that make new memories

There’s so much pressure to buy friends, family, colleagues, or neighbours a gift at this time of year. But in fact around £42 million worth of Christmas presents aren’t wanted and end up in dustbins each year, which is not eco-friendly. Chances are your loved ones would rather spend more time with you than have more gifts. You could either book an experience together like a cooking class or a boat trip; organise a nature treasure hunt or go bird-watching; or share a skill you have with them like fixing their bike.

1. What do we know about eco-friendly Christmas trees?

A．They will produce much CO2.

B．They can be bought from Eco-Elf.

C．They can be replanted after Christmas.

D．They have been used by British since the 1700s.

2. Which Christmas gift is Not suggested according to the passage?

A．Fixing your friend’s bike.

B．Organizing a business trip.

C．Enjoying bird-watching.

D．Sharing a cooking class with your kids.

3. What’s the aim of the passage?

A．To introduce several Christmas traditions.

B．To cut back on any purchases at Christmas.

C．To help people have an eco-friendly Christmas.

D．To remind people to spend more time with family at Christmas.

10 . Scientists in Antarctica have recorded, for the first time, unusually warm water beneath a glacier (冰川) the size of Florida that is already melting and contributing to a _______ in sea levels.

The researchers, _______ on the Thwaites Glacier，recorded water temperatures at the base of the ice of more than 2 degrees Celsius, _______ the normal freezing point.

It is _______ how fast the glacier is deteriorating (恶化): Studies have forecast its total collapse in a century and also in a few decades. The presence of _______ water in the grounding line may support estimates at the faster range.

That is _______ because the Thwaites, along with the Pine Island Glacier, _______ as a brake (阻力) on part of the much larger West Antarctic Ice Sheet. Together, the two bigger glaciers are currently _______ ice that, if melted, would raise the world’s oceans by _______ than a meter over centuries, an amount that would put many coastal cities under water.

“Warm waters in this part of the world, as ________ as they may seem, should serve as a ________ to all of us about the potential dire (非常糟糕的) changes to the planet ________ out by climate change,” said David Holland, a lead ________ on the expedition.

While scientists may not yet be able to definitively ________ how soon glaciers like the Thwaites will melt, human-caused climate change is a key ________. The biggest predictor of “how much ice we will lose and how quickly we will lose it,” Dr. Moon said, “is human action.”

1.

A．rise

B．improvement

C．decline

D．development

2.

A．travelling

B．walking

C．living

D．working

3.

A．in

B．at

C．above

D．under

4.

A．unclear

B．uneasy

C．uncommon

D．unlikely

5.

A．dirty

B．deep

C．cold

D．warm

6.

A．familiar

B．controversial

C．ambiguous

D．significant

7.

A．acts

B．sees

C．views

D．regards

8.

A．taking off

B．passing on

C．holding back

D．writing down

9.

A．stronger

B．more

C．better

D．other

10.

A．remote

B．funny

C．strange

D．likely

11.

A．warning

B．notice

C．discussion

D．explanation

12.

A．pulled

B．thrown

C．brought

D．taken

13.

A．reporter

B．resident

C．fisher

D．researcher

14.

A．date

B．think

C．predict

D．answer

15.

A．character

B．factor

C．role

D．figure