1 . The world itself is becoming much smaller by using modern traffic and modern communication means. Life today is much easier than it was hundreds of years ago, but it has brought new problems. One of the biggest problems is pollution. To pollute means to make things dirty. Pollution comes in many ways. We see it, smell it, drink it and even hear it.

Man has been polluting the earth. The more people, the more pollution. Many years ago, the problem was not so serious because there were not so many people. When the land was used up or the river was dirty in one place, man moved to another place. But this is no longer true. Man is now slowly polluting the whole world.

Air pollution is still the most serious. It’s bad for all living things in the world, but it is not the only one kind of pollution. Water pollution kills our fish and pollutes our drinking water. Noise pollution makes us angry more easily.

Many countries are making rules to fight pollution. They stop people from burning coal in houses and factories in the city, and from putting dirty smoke into the air.

Pollution by SO2 is now the most dangerous kind of air pollution. It is caused by heavy traffic. We are sure that if there are fewer people driving, there will be less air pollution.

The earth is our home. We must take care of it. That means keeping the land, water and air clean. And we must take care of the rise in pollution at the same time.

1. Hundreds of years ago, life was ________ it is today.

A．much easier than	B．as easy as
C．much harder than	D．as hard as

2. Pollution comes in many ways. We can even hear it. Here “it” means ________.

A．rubbish	B．noise pollution
C．air pollution	D．water pollution

3. Air pollution is the most serious kind of pollution because ________.

A．it makes much noise	B．it makes us angry more easily
C．it makes our rivers and lakes dirty	D．it’s bad for all living things in the world

4. There are rules people make to fight against pollution except _______.

A．stopping people from burning coal.

B．stopping people from pouring dirty water into the ocean.

C．stopping people from moving to other places.

D．stopping people from putting dirty smoke in the air.

5. Which of the following is NOT true?

A．Many countries are making rules to fight pollution.

B．The pollution of the earth grows as fast as the world population does.

C．The problem of pollution is not so serious because there are not so many people living on the earth.

D．If people could go to work by bus or bike instead of car or motorbike, it would be helpful in fighting against the problem of SO2.

2 . Pesticides might just be a bee's. worst enemy. They harm their brains, stow down their re-production, and even kill their buzz. Now it seems they damage their social lives and reduce their ability to care for their young.

While previous studies have shown that commonly used neonicotinoid pesticides make bees sick and affect how they search for food and navigate, a new study gives more of an idea of how these chemicals affect the internal workings of a colony. Studying these effects has proved difficult, so the team employed a new technique. They stuck tiny QR codes to the backs of bumble-bees and tracked their movements using a robotic camera.

The researchers looked at 12 colonies housed in a lab, giving some the same level of imidacloprid-the world's most commonly used pesticide-that they'd be exposed to in the wild while keeping others pesticide free as controls. They checked on them for a few minutes 12 times a day. The findings are published in the journal Science.

Unfortunately, the researchers found a number of obvious differences between the bees exposed to the pesticide and the controls. The bees given neonicotinoids spent less time interacting with other bees and more time resting. This lull (间歇) in activity tended to happen more at night, but the researchers aren't sure why.

“Bees actually have a very strong circadian rhythm (生理节奏),”lead author James Crall explained in a statement. “So what we found was that, during the day, there was no statistically observable effect, but at night, we could see that they were crashing. We don't know yet whether the pesticides are destroying circadian gene regulation or if this is just some, maybe physiological feedback..But it suggests that, just from a practical perspective, if we want to understand or study these compounds, looking at effects overnight matters a lot."

1. How was the research conducted?

A．By performing a survey.

B．By collecting information.

C．By asking questions.

D．By making comparisons.

2. What does the underlined word“controls" in Paragraph 3 refer to?

A．The tools used to observe the bees.

B．The bees without being exposed to the pesticide.

C．The researchers taking charge of the experiments.

D．The data recorded by the robotic camera.

3. What happened to the bees exposed to the pesticide at night?

A．They forgot to feed the young.

B．They preferred communicating more.

C．They lost the ability to rest.

D．They remained less active.

4. What's the purpose of the passage?

A．To call for the toughest ban on the chemicals.

B．To check the best time to observe experimental results.

C．To inform people of the worrying effects of pesticides.

D．To recommend measures to improve the quality of pesticides.

3 . In recent years, terms like “going green” and “eco-friendly” have become buzz words on talk shows, commercials and product packaging. The term “eco-friendly” has been used for so many different products and practices.

Eco-friendly Car Race

Can you imagine a car racer is so eco-friendly that its tyres are made from potatoes, its body is created from hemp (大麻) and rapeseed oil and it runs on fuel made from wheat and sugar beet (甜菜)? The one-seater racing car called Eco One is built by experts from Warwick University, who hope that Eco One will be adopted by the automotive industry. It is sold at $ 51,000.

Pollution-sensitive Dress

Don’t be caught outside unaware of pollution levels in the air. The pollution-sensitive EPA Dress by Stephanie Sandstrom notices pollution in the air accordingly. This dress — which is actually quite pretty — looks like you pull it from the bottom of the dirty laundry pile when the air is dirty. It might protect your health by advising you to stay indoors for the day, but it won’t do you any favor if you’re meeting with clients.

Eco-friendly Umbrella

Traditional umbrellas come with a fixed surface. Although it is changeable, you cannot replace it easily. This eco-friendly design is more flexible. It is actually only an umbrella skeleton(骨架)without any surface, which can be folded, so you can put anything such as newspapers, plastic bags or whatever you want to serve as the protecting surface.

Eco-friendly Moss (苔藓) Carpet

It is said that walking on fresh grass increases your blood circulation. The Moss Carpet, created by Nguyen La Chanh, looks at getting the grass to your feet. The mat includes ball moss, island moss and forest moss. The humidity (湿度) of the bathroom ensures that it grows well. And that’s why you need to place it there and not anywhere else.

1. According to Paragraph 1, we can find Eco One __________.

A．can seat one passenger and one driver

B．can’t be afforded by the public at present

C．is mainly made from some kinds of plants

D．will take the place of the traditional car industry

2. Why is EPA Dress designed?

A．To advise people to stay at home as often as possible.

B．To stop people from meeting their clients if necessary.

C．To make women look pretty even in the polluted air.

D．To keep users informed of the polluted levels in the air.

3. Compared with traditional umbrellas, the Eco-friendly Umbrella __________.

A．is changeable	B．hasn’t any surface
C．can be folded	D．is made of newspapers

5 . Volcanic ash from Iceland’s volcano continues to cause disruptions to air travel across Northern Europe . As the nearly universal grounding of aircraft causes problems for 25 countries in Europe, the passengers are starting to run into secondary problems from the four days of being stranded. Additionally, the further effect of economic losses are beginning to pile up.

Already the chaos surrounding the volcanic ash is being compared to the days after 9/11. As the ash plume continues to ground air transport, it is estimated that nearly 17,000 flights a day have been canceled at the cost of nearly $2.7 million a day, according to a report filed by the Wall Street Journal. In the report, it was said that cost was for a single airline, and that the cost for other lines could be measured in hundreds of millions of dollars.

While the cost on the airline industry is significant , the cost on passengers is more significant. Airline cancellations have forced many travelers into hotels and more are looking to their travel insurance plans to cover the costs. The U.K.’s Independent reported that travel insurance plans have a rule that make claims from travelers invalid. In these policies , travel insurances which are purchased as a way to cover additional costs when travel plans are unexpectedly disrupted because the specific event like a volcanic eruption is not mentioned. Then the policy does not cover the event.

However, there is hope,though, as Air France and Dutch airline KLM both report positive test flights of aircraft at different altitudes to ensure the safety of flight. It is not known if these flights will be the beginning or just one-off chance flights. These flights were operated in a window of operations in the ash plume, but due to the erratic nature of the airflow, there is no guarantee that this will open up air operations over Europe. At this rate, the nations of Europe will be likely to see a significant impact on their pocketbooks, both in the corporations and the individual households.

1. The underlined word "stranded" probably means______.

A．struck.

B．controlled.

C．stuck.

D．disturbed.

2. From this passage we can see that____________.

A．the volcanic ash caused more trouble than 9/11 did.

B．airlines suffered great losses due to the eruption.

C．travelers had to ask for help from the government.

D．nearly $.2.7 million was lost in all.

3. Why are claims about insurance from travelers unacceptable ?

A．Because volcanic eruption isn’t included in travel plans.

B．Because volcanic eruption companies don’t keep their word.

C．Because airlines haven’t bought insurance for travelers.

D．Because airlines didn’t expect the eruption .

4. This passage mainly tells us about __________.

A．the volcanic eruption in Iceland.	B．the great trouble for air travels.
C．the unfavorable flight condition.	D．the cost of European airlines.

6 . Being an orphan is usually difficult; however, being an animal orphan can be deadly.

This season, the Volunteers for Wildlife rehabilitation (康复) center in Locust Valley took in six young red-tailed hawks. If we can get these birds back with their parents, they stand a better chance of surviving. However, sometimes we cannot find the nests, which have been destroyed, or the parents have been killed by cars or poison intended for rats.

But there is another tool for wildlife rehabilitators: foster (寄养的) parenting. We try to place the orphans with other adult pairs before nesting season ends in early July.

Not all birds will accept chicks that are not their own, so we pay close attention to the research by experts before moving youngsters. It's not always easy. Hawk nests are often 40 or 50 feet high in trees and inaccessible.

Happily for this season's chicks, I knew of a nest that was still active at Bethpage State Park. There was one chick in the nest. The young bird was nearly ready to fly, but was still in the nest and being fed. We decided to try to relocate one of our orphan birds, I drove the bucket truck to the nest tree; Lauren, my colleague, grabbed our youngster. And up we three went in the bucket. The wild parents were still in the area, and the adult female hawk could be aggressive, so we worked fast.

I came by later in the day and the next morning to make sure the adults had accepted their new child. They had! The chick had a full crop (food storage area in the throat) and the adult female hawk sat nearby, watching me closely.

The results were so promising, and we tried it again! A week later, we placed another young on branch in the same tree. The adult hawks now had three youngsters to care for, one theirs and two foster chicks. It was heartwarming to know that we had a part in it.

1. What could make these young birds homeless according to the text?

A．Car crashes.	B．Uninvited rats.
C．Their being abandoned.	D．Their nests being destroyed.

2. What made foster parenting possible in the case?

A．The careful research by tree experts.

B．An active nest during nesting season.

C．The only young bird ready to fly away.

D．A nest high enough to avoid any danger.

3. Why did the author and his colleague relocate the young chick quickly?

A．To reach the high nest.	B．To avoid being attacked.
C．To protect the weak youngster.	D．To hide the orphan bird.

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

A．Foster-parenting high in the trees	B．Creatures losing their home
C．Animal orphans finding another home	D．A natural show you shouldn't miss

7 . An amateur fossil hunter has unearthed a new type of prehistoric “sea dragon” on the beach of the UK's Dorset Coast. The new 2m-long ichthyosaur is named “Etches sea dragon”,after fossil collector Dr. Steve Etches, who found it buried head-first. Ichthyosaurs are called sea dragons for their usually very large teeth and eyes. He thought its teeth were unusual,so he passed it on to experts at the University of Portsmouth to identify(鉴定).There,a Masters student, Megan Jacobs, who has spent several years working on ichthyosaurs, identified it as a new species, which lived 150 million years ago.

The find is the UK's fifth known ichthyosaur from the Late Jurassic periods,and by far the smallest so far.

The fossil was found near Kimmeridge Bay—part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. When it died, the seafloor would have been very soft mud, allowing the front half of the animal to sink into the mud, before other animals came along and ate the tail end.Being buried in a bed of soft mud meant it was preserved in exceptional condition and even some of its soft tissues were preserved.

Megan said, “Fossils of Late Jurassic ichthyosaurs in the UK are extremely rare. I did some research,comparing it with those known from other Late Jurassic fossils found around the world. It was very exciting that I didn’t find a match. Steve's extraordinary collection contains many new and exciting animals, and it was a real honor to have the chance to describe this ichthyosaur.”

Professor David Martill,who leads the palaeontology(古生物学)research,said, “Steve is an exceptional fossil collector and although he is sometimes referred to as an amateur collector, he has done so much for palaeontology that he has been awarded an MBE, Member of the British Empire, and is truly a professional.”He added, ^“If it were not for collectors like Steve,scientists would have very few specimens(样本)to work on. ’’

1. What did Steve Etches do after finding the ichthyosaur?

A．He spent years studying it.	B．He sent it to a university.
C．He named it after himself.	D．He announced it’s a new species.

2. What can we learn about Kimmeridge Bay?

A．The largest sea dragons once lived there.

B．Fossils found there usually have soft tissues.

C．It is very popular among fossil hunters worldwide.

D．The seafloor there was once covered with soft mud.

3. What made Megan excited?

A．Confirming the uniqueness of the fossil.

B．Admiring Steve’s extraordinary collections.

C．Finding a matching name for the new ichthyosaur.

D．Seeing other Late Jurassic’s fossils around the world.

4. What did David Martill say about Steve Etches?

A．He had a good taste of collections.

B．He contributed a lot to palaeontology.

C．He set an example for other amateur collectors.

D．He did better than professional palaeontologists.

8 . The food we eat every day keeps us alive, but it can also increase health and environmental costs-heart disease, carbon emissions, and more. For years, health researchers focused on their priorities while environmental scientists were on theirs. And it became increasingly obvious that what we eat is closely connected with planet’s health.

So the researchers of a recent study at the University of Michigan built a system that combined both concerns, looking at health and environmental impacts of specific foods.

The researchers looked at the nutritional makeup of nearly 6000 foods. A hot dog would probably cost someone about 35 minutes of living; but eating most fruits might help someone gain a few extra minutes. In the calculations, apple pie is just about neutral — some boost from the apples, some losses from butter, flour, and sugar.

At the same time, the researchers evaluated the environmental effects of those thousands of food items. They studied different ways the environment absorbed food production’s impact as well.

When researchers looked at both issues at once, an exciting pattern emerged. Many foods good for people’s health were also relatively gentle on the environment. Not surprisingly, beans, vegetables-not those grown in greenhouses, though-and some sustainably farmed seafood like catfish fell in what they termed the “green” zone. “Amber” zone foods, like milk, egg-based foods and greenhouse-grown vegetables balanced health and environmental costs. “Red” zone foods, which included beef, pork, lamb and processed meats, had high health and environmental costs.

There’s no replacement for food, but shifting what we eat is possible. Food choices are personal, deeply connected to culture, religion, emotion, economic concerns, and so much more. “We aim to inform people so that they can make choices that fit with their needs and values.” says Olivier Jolliet one of the researchers. “We don’t all have to adopt a vegetarian diet overnight.” he says. “Small changes can make big impacts.”

1. What do we know about the recent study?

A．More is known about the nutritional makeup of foods.

B．Most foods are beneficial to both health and the planet.

C．Healthy foods tend to be harmless to the environment.

D．Research has been done on environmental impacts of foods.

2. What does the underlined word “neutral” in paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．balanced

B．wasteful

C．gentle

D．consuming

3. Which of the following has the lowest health and environmental cost?

A．Milk.

B．A hot dog.

C．Apple pie.

D．Beans.

4. What does Olivier Jolliet think of shifts in food choices?

A．They can make a great difference.

B．They meet people’s needs for food.

C．They are not suitable for everybody.

D．They are of great value to researchers.

9 . 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（不多于3个单词）。

The Suma Aqualife Park in Japan is no stranger to turtle traffic. Every summer, hundreds of turtles make    1     (they) way to and     2     the nearby ocean. While most manage to cover the short    3     (distant), a handful     4    (stick) inside the railway tracks     5    lie between the ocean and popular park.

According to the local officials, as the turtles are trying to cross the tracks, a few fall in. Unable to climb out, they start to walk along the track. The problem arises when a     6     (trap) turtle is close to a railroad switch that is in process of shifting to accommodate an incoming train.

To save the precious animals, the officials teamed up     7     some engineers to create “turtle” tunnels. The tunnels provide a place for the turtles     8     (slip) into and protect them. They also help prevent costly train delays that occur every time a turtle gets caught in the switch.

Since the tunnels were created in April, railway personnel have scooped up (舀取) ten turtles from the tunnels and     9     (safe) delivered them to the park.     10     Naoki Kamezaki, the head of the park, puts it, saving the turtles is a “refreshing feeling”.

10 . During the darkest days of the drought（干旱）that hit the western US since the early 2000s，rivers went dry from north to south. Consequently，low river flows severely reduced the amount of carbon-free electricity that could be produced by the thousands of hydroelectric power plants（水力发电厂）along rivers across the West.

Now，a group of researchers have figured out that an extra 100 million tons of carbon ended up in the atmosphere because people had to use carbon-emitting（碳排放）power sources instead of hydroelectric power during drought. That’s equal to adding about 1. 4 million cars to road for every one of those years. “That’s a big piece of the pic，”says Noth Diffenbaugh a climate scientist at Stanford and one of the authors of the study.

In normal years, over 20% of the electicity comes from hydroelectric power plants. But that number fluctuates with the ebb（退潮）and flow of water. And when water is not enough. the amount of hydroelectric power decreases.

States like Califomia. Washirgton, and Orgon that rely on hydroelectic power during water-rich years were the hardest hit. In Califormia, for example, the extra carbon dioxide emitted because of the drought added up to over 7% of its total carbon emissions.

That’s not a minor problem. Many of the western states have made plans for how to reduce their emissions over the next few decades. Califormia, for example, is trying to get its emissions down to 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. But drought makes it harder to meet the emissions reduction goals.

While the carbon cost of drought is large, Diffenbaugh points out, with this study and a lot of others from the past few years, we’ve learned more and more about when and why carbon-free energy   sources face challenge. Armed with this information, he says, energy managers can figure out how to fill the gaps in energy demand with more renewable resources.

1. What phenomenon is described in the first two paragraphs?

A．The high consumption of energy.

B．Large number of cars on the road.

C．The increased demand for power sources.

D．The large carbon emission due to drought.

2. What does the underlined word “fluctuates” in paragraph 3 mean?

A．Appears naturally.

B．Changes irregularly.

C．Becomes stable.

D．Increases greatly.

3. What can we know about California according to the text?

A．Its carbon emission is very heavy.

B．It is a water-rich state all year round.

C．It heavily depends on renewable energy.

D．It has achieved its emission reduction goal.

4. What does Noah Diffenbaugh think of climate cost?

A．It is not that serious.

B．It is expected to be solved.

C．It is a global common problem.

D．It has been solved in some areas.