1 . Over the past four decades, more than 450 butterfly species have been hit by the falling numbers. In the US alone, the number of monarch butterflies (黑脉金斑蝶) has seen a drop of 80%, from scientists recording millions of them in the 1980s, and only 29,000 in 2020. It’s part of a wider possibility across the insect group. In 2017, scientists in Germany raised alarm bells after finding that insects had fallen by more than 70% in 30 years.
For farmers, monarch butterflies pollinate (授粉) a very large percentage of food crops. It is very important t protect them because their disappearance could have a huge economic influence. Butterflies are also helpful in the coal mine for other insects, as it is easier for them to feel the environmental change. and relatively easy to record.
Leading environmental organizations have been working hard to find new ways of recording the number of butterflies. As of now, there is no long-term data to develop good protection methods. The scientists wanted to address the challenge that long term recording programs worldwide have faced: they are focusing on training locals as insect experts, which requires much money. They came up with a new method to the problem. In Yasuni National Park, they hired park rangers (护林员) who were trained and then carried out recording. The rangers were able to recognize butterflies with an 85% success rate, which is important for these kinds of recording programs to be successful.
Compared with other recording projects, this study represents a long-term solution. “Our method increases the chance of recording in the long term by reducing the money spent on it such as wages,” said lead author Maria Checa. “Furthermore, it also offers opportunities for public organizations to achieve their environmental goals.”
1. How does the author develop the first paragraph?| A．By telling a story. | B．By listing numbers. |
| C．By showing possible results. | D．By discussing different reasons. |
| A．They are quicker. | B．They are lazier. |
| C．They are slower. | D．They are more inactive. |
| A．Discover. | B．Solve. | C．Invent. | D．Balance. |
| A．Uncaring. | B．Disapproving. | C．Positive. | D．Doubtful. |
2 . Five years ago, a friend asked me to look after his cat while he went on holiday, and I realized the idea had potential on a bigger scale. So I moved to London and decided to
For me, cat sitting is about
I have always loved cats, and their gentle temper makes them ideal
Cat sitting helps me with my
Now I have stayed in 25 houses,
| A．start | B．study | C．observe | D．train |
| A．judging | B．connecting | C．comparing | D．teaching |
| A．offices | B．hearts | C．homes | D．lives |
| A．free | B．tough | C．serious | D．possible |
| A．test | B．game | C．dream | D．exchange |
| A．employers | B．assistants | C．instructors | D．companions |
| A．like | B．bond | C．mind | D．trust |
| A．guide | B．order | C．force | D．expect |
| A．musical | B．cultural | C．social | D．personal |
| A．saves | B．discourages | C．protects | D．tells |
| A．improved | B．suffered | C．worsened | D．helped |
| A．strength | B．space | C．flat | D．job |
| A．hardly | B．nearly | C．honestly | D．narrowly |
| A．attended to | B．given away | C．brought up | D．left out |
| A．holiday | B．credit | C．sale | D．rent |
3 . Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns.
How does climate change make you feel? The news of melting glaciers and oil spills may seem overwhelming and can make you feel angry, frightened, hopeless or upset. This is called climate anxiety.
Positive action can inspire others too. Sisters Kim and Stella King from the charity Fights Against Plastic have picked up 90,000 pieces of plastic. They ask schools, businesses and organizations to follow their lead.
| A．Why is there climate anxiety? |
| B．And it is a normal, healthy response. |
| C．This risks the lives of humans, animals and plants. |
| D．Remember, it’s important to get support from people around. |
| E．No one can fix climate change on their own but we can all play a part. |
| F．These shifts may be natural, such as through variations in the solar cycle. |
| G．So, tell friends and family what you’re up to and encourage them to join in. |
4 . Give yourself a test. Which way is the wind blowing? How many kinds of wildflowers can be seen from your front door? If your awareness is as sharp as it could be, you’ll have no trouble answering these questions.
Most of us observed much more as children than we do as adults. A child’s day is filled with fascination, newness and wonder. Curiosity gave us all a natural awareness. But distinctions that were sharp to us as children become unclear; we are numb(麻木的）to new stimulation(刺激), new ideas. Relearning the art of seeing the world around us is quite simple, although it takes practice and requires breaking some bad habits.
The first step in awakening senses is to stop predicting what we are going to see and feel before it occurs. This blocks awareness. One chilly night when I was hiking in the Rocky Mountains with some students, I mentioned that we were going to cross a mountain stream. The students began complaining about how cold it would be. We reached the stream, and they unwillingly walked ahead. They were almost knee-deep when they realized it was a hot spring. Later they all admitted they’d felt cold water at first.
Another block to awareness is the obsession(痴迷) many of us have with naming things. I saw bird watchers who spotted a bird, immediately looked it up in field guides, and said, a "ruby-crowned kinglet" and checked it off. They no longer paid attention to the bird and never learned what it was doing.
The pressures of "time" and "destination" are further blocks to awareness. I encountered many hikers who were headed to a distant camp-ground with just enough time to get there before dark. It seldom occurred to them to wander a bit, to take a moment to see what’s around them. I asked them what they’d seen. "Oh, a few birds," they said. They seemed bent on their destinations.
Nature seems to unfold to people who watch and wait. Next time you take a walk, no matter where it is, take in all the sights, sounds and sensations. Wander in this frame of mind and you will open a new dimension to your life.z.xxk
1. According to Paragraph 2, compared with adults, children are more ____________.| A．anxious to do wonders |
| B．sensitive to others’ feelings |
| C．likely to develop unpleasant habits |
| D．eager to explore the world around them |
| A．To avoid jumping to conclusions. |
| B．To stop complaining all the time. |
| C．To follow the teacher’s advice. |
| D．To admit mistakes honestly. |
| A．are very patient in their observation |
| B．are really fascinated by nature |
| C．care only about the names of birds |
| D．question the accuracy of the field guides |
| A．The natural beauty isn’t attractive to them. |
| B．They focus on arriving at the camp in time. |
| C．The forest in the dark is dangerous for them. |
| D．They are keen to see rare birds at the destination. |
| A．fill our senses to feel the wonders of the world |
| B．get rid of some bad habits in our daily life |
| C．open our mind to new things and ideas |
| D．try our best to protect nature |
5 . Are you facing a situation that looks impossible to fix?
In 1969,the pollution was terrible along the Cuyahoga River Cleveland, Ohio. It
But the river wasn’t changed in a few days
Maybe you are facing an impossible situation. Maybe you have a habit
While there are
6 . One day last summer, my 9-year-old son Ben and I were riding the waves at a popular ocean beach on outer Cape Cod. As we were playing happily with our surfboard, I suddenly noticed an astonishing
We stared and pointed in
Ben’s words took my breath away, more than the dramatic waves and the amazing sight of the
He was absolutely
We each have a part to play in
How we
| A．show | B．change | C．sight | D．sign |
| A．stood | B．left | C．started | D．lay |
| A．fear | B．amazement | C．silence | D．confusion |
| A．seldom | B．never | C．always | D．again |
| A．beach | B．ships | C．swimmers | D．whales |
| A．confident | B．crazy | C．smart | D．right |
| A．home | B．family | C．performance | D．stage |
| A．secret | B．public | C．natural | D．native |
| A．ignore | B．remember | C．prove | D．imagine |
| A．forever | B．only | C．once | D．almost |
| A．sharing | B．creating | C．improving | D．finding |
| A．required | B．judged | C．expected | D．did |
| A．true | B．easy | C．funny | D．powerful |
| A．researches | B．dreams | C．communities | D．activities |
| A．compete with | B．connect with | C．hear from | D．separate from |
7 . Master Gardener Volunteers Wanted
Why Become a Master Gardener?
The Master Gardener program is an all-volunteer organization where you can develop your own leadership and teaching skills while teaching the younger youth about healthy eating, agriculture, and so on! Master Gardeners involve people in activities to improve their general well-being and overall enjoyment of life by helping them find sound management practices for home and urban natural resources, by creating pleasing environments through people-plant interactions and horticultural therapy (园艺疗法), and by contributing to a safe, abundant food supply through home fruit and vegetable production.
What Qualifications Must You Meet?
Anyone can apply to be a Master Gardener—you don’t need to be an expert or have a degree. You do, however, need to:
●Have certain experience or know a little about gardening or landscape management.
●Be willing to share horticulture information with others.
●Be willing to attend a training program and can devote time to volunteering and continuing education.
Besides, to become a Master Gardener volunteer, each applicant needs to complete an application, prepare background screening paperwork and schedule an interview with Extension staff.
What Does the Training Involve?
Training sessions are offered one day a week over a three-month period and are led by expert educators in the region. Approximately 60 hours of classroom instruction and field study and 60 hours of volunteer internship (实习) work are required to complete the program and become certified. In order to remain a certified Master Gardener, 30 hours of volunteer work and 10 hours of continuing education or advanced training are required each year.
1. What does a Master Gardener do?| A．Help raise people’s quality of life by horticulture. |
| B．Teach the youth about diets and agriculture. |
| C．Promote horticultural practices at home. |
| D．Train volunteers to help with gardening. |
| A．Acquiring excellent teaching skills. |
| B．Having some relevant knowledge. |
| C．Completing given training sessions. |
| D．Obtaining rich volunteer experience. |
| A．A year. | B．Three months. |
| C．About 160 hours. | D．About 120 hours. |
Mario Loutef had little sleep over the four days leading up to Saturday, when he piled his
A thick coat of black earth has covered everything on the
Loutef's
Loutef is working alone but Lisa Brosseau has got some help. Many
9 . Being highly connected to a strong social network has its benefits. Now a new study is showing the same goes for trees, thanks to their underground neighbors. The study is the first to show that the growth of adult trees is linked to their participation in fungal (真菌) networks living in the forest soil. Though past research has focused on young trees, these findings give new insight into the importance of fungal networks to older trees — which are more environmentally beneficial for functions like capturing carbon.
“Large trees make up the main part of the forest, so they drive what the forest is doing,” said researcher Joseph Birch, who led the study. When they live in the forest soil, fungal networks act as a sort of highway, allowing water, nutrients and compounds to flow back and forth among the trees. The network also helps nutrients flow to resource-limited trees like family units that support one another in times of stress.
Cores taken from 350 Douglas firs (花旗松) showed that annual tree ring growth was related to the extent of fungal connections a tree had with other trees. They had much higher growth than those that had only a few connections. The research also showed that trees with more connections to many unique fungi had much greater growth than those with only one or two connections. “If you have this network that is helping trees grow faster, that helps capture more carbon year after year. These networks may help trees grow more steadily even as conditions become more stressful, and could even help protect them against death.” said Birch.
Birch hopes his findings lead to further studies in different kinds of forests in other geographical areas, because it’s likely that the connections among trees change from year to year. He said, “Knowing whether fungal networks are operating the same way in other tree species could inform how we reforest areas after harvesting them, and inform how we plant trees to preserve these networks.”
1. In what way do the new findings differ from the previous ones?| A．They reveal the value of fungal networks to adult trees. |
| B．They clarify misunderstandings of fungal networks. |
| C．They demonstrate a new way to capture carbon. |
| D．They confirm the benefits of fungal networks. |
| A．By acting as the center of family units. |
| B．By maintaining the balance of resources. |
| C．By fighting against diseases. |
| D．By bettering forest soil conditions. |
| A．Tree rings. |
| B．Cores from Douglas firs. |
| C．Douglas firs. |
| D．Fungal networks. |
| A．The fungal networks support one another in times of stress. |
| B．The fungal networks enable us to know more about reforestation. |
| C．The findings can apply to different kinds of forests in other geographical areas. |
| D．The fungal networks will help trees grow more steadily if conditions become more stressful. |
According to officials in China, the giant panda is no longer listed as endangered. After working for many years to increase
