1 . Tima Abudhi is a 55-year-old mother of five. When growing up, she remembers watching her neighbors _________ at the mangrove forests (红树林) around her village on Pate Island, on Kenya’s east coast, to build houses or to sell as wood.

As the mangroves _________, so did the fish that live among their roots --- a _________ for the fishing village of Kizingitini. The threat to their livelihoods and homes _________ Abudhi and other women to start replanting the mangroves, often spending all day at the _________, taking time away from caring for their families and _________ their small businesses. Protecting the mangroves over the past few decades has _________ their incomes, but they felt it was a matter of urgency, Abudhi said.

“Replanting the mangroves is not _________. We have to go early in the morning to get the seedlings (幼苗) and then come to the beach and plant them until evening, just before the tides _________ again. We couldn't make __________ time for our businesses,” she said.

Today, the women of Kizingitini no longer have to __________ to both make a living and conserve the mangroves, thanks to a loan scheme that helps them keep food on the table so they can __________ to continue planting. “This has led to increased __________ of women in conservation and community development, as well as reduced __________ inequality,” said Abudhi.

Mangrove forests can __________ flooding and are considered key to controlling climate change and protecting people against warming-linked disasters.

1.

A．cut away

B．settle down

C．set out

D．get up

2.

A．moved

B．disappeared

C．died

D．rose

3.

A．contribution

B．choice

C．disaster

D．luck

4.

A．encouraged

B．motivated

C．forbade

D．persuaded

5.

A．neighbor

B．community

C．beach

D．village

6.

A．selling

B．assessing

C．closing

D．running

7.

A．increased

B．gained

C．produced

D．decreased

8.

A．difficult

B．easy

C．worthwhile

D．suitable

9.

A．return

B．calm

C．withdraw

D．remove

10.

A．hard

B．enough

C．long

D．cheap

11.

A．struggle

B．stop

C．prepare

D．determine

12.

A．attempt

B．witness

C．afford

D．refuse

13.

A．unemployment

B．resignation

C．participation

D．ignorance

14.

A．gender

B．wealth

C．income

D．age

15.

A．cancel

B．keep

C．accelerate

D．slow

2 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Terry Townshend is an ecologist from the UK. In late October, he climbed to the roof of a building to check out a hand-sized recording device     1    (lay) there to catch the sounds of migratory birds (候鸟) at Beijing’s Olympic Park. Every two weeks, he came here to collect data and share it     2     universities’ research centres for this year’s bird tracking study.

As a birdwatcher     3     has lived in Beijing for over a decade, Townshend founded a website     4     formed a group for fellow enthusiasts. He works to raise environmental     5    (aware) among people to help save some of China’s most endangered birds, initiating projects to track some of Beijing’s celebrated birds.

Though observing the migratory birds in Beijing    6    (be) one of Townshend’s main activities now, his bond with China was established twelve years ago. At that time, the non-governmental organization Townshend once worked with was invited by the Chinese government     7    (cooperate) in boosting support for China’s general environmental laws on climate change. As the project leader, Townshend came to-China for the first time. After getting to know the country, he decided to stay here for     8    (far) research.

“China     9    (value) the recovery of nature in past decades. With the efforts to carry out various targeted protections toward nature,     10     future looks bright for China’s biodiversity. ”Townshend said.

3 . Dogs greet other dogs nose-first, as it were—sniffing each other from fore to (especially) aft. People are not quite so open about the process of sniffing each other out. But the size of the perfume industry suggests scent is important in human relations, too. There is also evidence that human beings can infer kinship (亲戚关系), deduce emotional states and even detect disease via the sense of smell.

Now, researchers of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, have gone a step further. They think they have shown, admittedly in a fairly small sample of individuals, that friends actually smell alike. They have also shown that this is probably the case from the beginning, with people picking friends at least partly on the basis of body odour (气味), rather than the body odours of people who become friends subsequently converging (趋同).

They stated their research by testing the odours of 20 pairs of established non-romantic, same-sex friends. They did this using an electronic nose and also two groups of specially employed human “smellers.” The e-nose employed a set of gas sensors to assess T-shirts worn by participants. One group of human smellers were given pairs of these shirts and asked to rate how similar they smelt. Those in the other group were asked to rate the odours of individual T-shirts on five subjective dimensions: pleasantness, intensity, attractiveness, competence and warmth. All three approaches yielded the same result. The T-shirts of friends smelt more similar to each other than the T-shirts of strangers. Friends, in other words, do indeed smell alike.

Why scent might play a role in forming friendships remains obscure. Other qualities related with being friends, including age, appearance, education, religion and race, are either immediately obvious or rapidly become so. But while some individuals have strong and noticeable body odour, many—at least since the use of soap has become widespread—do not. It is present. But it is subconscious.

1. Why are dogs and the perfume industry mentioned in Paragraph 1?

A．To list some examples.	B．To introduce the topic.
C．To make a comparison.	D．To provide relevant evidence.

2. What can we learn from Paragraph 2?

A．The body odour is the beginning of friendship.

B．People start to smell alike after becoming friends.

C．Many people are involved as the research samples.

D．Odour-matching may be a reason for being friends.

3. How did the researchers conduct the experiment?

A．By trying to yield the same result with three approaches.

B．By testing the odours of 20 non-romantic friends of the same sex.

C．By asking each group to rate the odours of T-shirts on five dimensions.

D．By employing e-nose and human smellers to assess the odours of T-shirts.

4. What does the underlined word “obscure” in the last paragraph mean?

A．Unclear.

B．Important.

C．Obvious.

D．Subjective.

4 . It is a well-known fact that plastic bottles, which take hundreds of years to rot, are harmful to our environment. However, efforts by environmentalists to encourage consumers to switch to alternatives, like water fountains or reusable bottles, have not been very effective. The U.S. alone uses over 50 million plastic bottles annually, 80% of which end up in landfills.

To try to stop that, Rodrigo García González, Pierre Paslier and Guillaume Couche from the Imperial College London have been working on a revolutionary solution — water wrapped inside an eatable container made mostly from seaweed. All the customer has to do to relieve his/her thirst is pop the entire drop into the mouth.

The inventors, who have been working on the Ooho bubble since 2014, use a simple two-step cooking process called spherification (球化) to create the delicate container. They begin by dipping a frozen ball of water or juice into a chemical solution (溶液). This helps form a layer around the liquid. The ball is then absorbed in a solution made from seaweed extract. This creates a second layer, helping strengthen the structure so that the water or juice does not leak. In addition to saving our environment, the biodegradable (可降解的) packaging costs just two cents each, making it cheaper to produce than plastic.

After three years of perfecting the design, the inventors, who recently raised over 1 million USD from a financial activity, are ready to bring the Ooho bubble to local market. However, there are a few challenges that still need to be overcome before the product’s launch. In addition to getting accustomed to the taste of the covering, each eatable container contains just a mouthful of water, requiring consumers to drink multiple bubbles to relieve their thirst. There is also the issue of finding an eco-friendly packaging to transport the bubbles so that they remain clean and do not burst. Hopefully, the inventors will find ways to handle the issues so that we can reduce, or perhaps even remove, plastic bottles.

1. Why was the Ooho bubble created?

A．To test a newly-designed material.	B．To change consumers’ drinking habit.
C．To reduce pollution caused by plastic.	D．To take a share of drinking water industry.

2. What will the inventors probably do next?

A．Solve some specific problems of the product.	B．Collect more money to expand production.
C．Distribute the Ooho bubble to global market.	D．Advertise the advantages of the Ooho bubble.

3. What is the author’s attitude towards the Ooho bubble’s launch?

A．Uncaring.

B．Doubtful.

C．Confident.

D．Opposed.

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

A．Scientists Work out a New Kind of Water

B．Plastic Bottles Will Be Replaced by the Ooho Bubble

C．Environmental Pollution is Expected to Be Solved

D．The Ooho Bubble Aims to Remove Plastic Bottles

5 . When people think about ways to help the environment, encourage biodiversity and decrease greenhouse gases, they don’t usually think about the impact of food waste.     1    

Producing food for a growing global population is a complex challenge with a lot of negative environmental consequences, so food waste creates unnecessary stress on our fragile environment. Here are four things you can do to cut food waste.

    2     This can help increase the shelf life of many of the most commonly wasted foods, including fruit, vegetables and dairy products. About 90% of milk waste happens in the home. Adjusting your fridge to the right temperature can save 50, 000 tons of milk waste every year.

Single-use plastics. Many of us are seeking to decrease the amount of single-use plastics in our lives, and in our shopping baskets. This is good but often these plastics and packaging keep food fresh for longer.     3     Scientists are working on developing methods of treating and storing food that can extend its shelf life.

Dish up smaller portions. This results in up to 20% less food waste. Many of us put our leftovers in the fridge, then forget about them. Fortunately, there are many ways to manage our fridge contents effectively and decrease food waste.     4     Labeling leftovers reminds us when they went in and when they need to be eaten by. Try and freeze meat dairy and bread if they are close to spoiling—this will extend their life.

Buy directly from local suppliers. Our food systems and supply chains are incredibly complex, which leads to high levels of food loss and waste. In contrast, buying directly from local suppliers results in less waste.     5    

A．Set your freezer to below 5℃.

B．Store the food in the fridge.

C．These range from apps, to the humble post-it note, or pen.

D．Support a local business, eat quality food, and decrease waste.

E．The most commonly wasted foods are fresh fruit and vegetables.

F．Fortunately, there are significant developments towards a post-plastic world.

G．Yet food waste is responsible for up to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

6 . A major new facility to pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere started operating in Iceland on Wednesday. The carbon capturing plant is the biggest of its kind, its builder says, increasing global capacity for the technology by more than 40 percent. Many climate experts say that efforts to suck CO₂ out of the air will be key to making the world carbon neutral(碳中和)in the coming decades.

By 2050, humanity will need to pull nearly a billion metric tons of CO₂ from the atmosphere every year through direct air capture technology to achieve carbon neutral goals according to International Energy Agency recommendations in 2021. The plant in Iceland will be able to capture 4,000 metric tons annually—just a tiny amount of what will be necessary, but it can grow rapidly as efficiency improves and costs decrease.

For now, the plant in Iceland is an unlikely global protector. Human-sized fans are built into boxes that are the size of standard 40-foot shipping containers. They sip CO₂ out of the air, catching it in sponge-like filters(过滤器). The filters are heated at a high temperature needed to boil water freeing the gas. Then it combines with water to produce a mixture, which is pumped deep underground, where over time it cools down and turns into dark-gray stone.

Pumping CO₂ into the ground is just one way to dispose of it. It can also go to other uses, as well. Energy companies can mix the carbon dioxide with hydrogen to make fuel. Farmers can feed their plants with it. Soda manufacturers can use it to make their drinks bubble when there is a carbonation shortage.

At the moment, the costs are high: about $600 to $800 per metric ton of carbon dioxide, Gebald, the cofounder of Climeworks, said far from the levels around $100 to $150 per ton that are necessary to turn a profit without any financial help of the government. In the long term, Gebald thinks prices will be half that by the late 2030s—about the price where it will be a competitive method of reducing global emissions.

1. Why is the new facility built in Iceland?

A．To monitor the air quality.	B．To control the release of CO2.
C．To apply the latest technology.	D．To absorb CO2 in the atmosphere.

2. What is the main idea of the second paragraph?

A．The capacity of the carbon plant.

B．The potential of the carbon plant.

C．The challenge of the carbon plant.

D．The disadvantage of the carbon plant.

3. What does the underlined word "it" refer to in the third paragraph?

A．Mixture.

B．Water.

C．CO2.

D．Temperature.

4. What's the author's purpose in writing the text?

A．To persuade people to invest in the plant.

B．To warn people of too much CO2 in the air.

C．To introduce the biggest carbon capturing plant.

D．To explain how to use CO2 in the atmosphere.

8 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Wildlife protection is     1     global issue, as illegal hunting and habitat loss continue to threaten the balance of ecosystems (生态系统). The decrease in species has caused concerns among individuals and organizations all over the world.     2     (recognize) the serious need for actions, people are making efforts to raise awareness to fight     3     these harmful practices.

To deal with the threats faced by wildlife, building reserves and habitats plays an important role. These areas provide a safe place for various species to survive, allowing     4     (they) to live and grow without the effect of human activities. By     5     (create) these protected spaces, we can ensure the     6     (preserve) of their natural habitats and protect their populations for future generations to enjoy. However, the challenge     7     (lie) in keeping the balance between conservation and economic development. Practical practices, such as responsible tourism and the promotion of environment-friendly industries, can create income without doing harm to the well-being of wildlife and their habitats. By carrying out these practical practices, we can develop a     8     (harmony) relationship between human activities and the natural world.

    9     (true), wildlife protection is a necessary issue     10     requires efforts from governments, organizations, and individuals. By rising awareness and applying stricter management, we can reduce the threats faced by endangered species.

9 . “A unique story of connection” is how South African filmmaker and naturalist Craig Foster refers to his underwater adventures with a wild common octopus documented in the film My Octopus Teacher.

The Netflix film shows the bond that develops between Foster and the eight-legged creature during a year of diving in a kelp forest in the Atlantic Ocean. It won this year’s Academy Award and British Academy Film and Television Arts Award for best documentary.

My Octopus Teacher has captured hearts worldwide because few of the many wonderful natural-history films are about a human’s relationship with the wild. “I think people around the world are longing to have some kind of real connection with the natural world, and this film speaks to that need,” Foster said.

He said he had many such experiences with nature, like having a fish swim into his hand or an otter swim with him and reach out and touch him. Still, he said, these strong bonds weren’t easily created often requiring years of tireless efforts. And he said he learned many lessons from the San masters, native people of South Africa’s Kalahari region. “They taught me to track on land and to look for signs. I applied those same lessons to looking in the water,” he said, “Tracking involves knowing the animals well and recognizing their behavior and movements.”

Observing his special octopus, part of a species known for its intelligence, has been a life-changing experience for Foster. One of the most remarkable moments was when the creature that initially hid in cracks allowed him to join her on a hunting expedition. How does Foster account for this? “When the same animal interacts with you every day over a long period of time, you can assume that there is trust involved.”

Foster said he learned that you can’t force this trust. “Everything must happen at the animal’s pace, comfort and convenience. In their eyes, we are big and aggressive, posing a threat to them. They make themselves vulnerable in allowing us into their space because trusting the wrong human could mean death. So it’s an immense privilege when they show trust.”

1. Why is My Octopus Teacher well-received?

A．It shows adventures with a wild octopus.

B．It meets the need of natural-history films.

C．It has won many awards for best documentary.

D．It features a bond between man and nature.

2. Which words can best describe Foster from his experiences?

A．Talented and ambitious.	B．Patient and persevering.
C．Adventurous and stubborn.	D．Professional and trustworthy.

3. What can we learn from paragraph 5?

A．The octopus took Foster as a friend.

B．The octopus was curious about Foster.

C．The octopus had human-like intelligence.

D．The octopus enjoyed inviting Foster to hunt.

4. Which can best replace the underlined word “vulnerable” in paragraph 6?

A．Easily hurt.	B．Well protected.
C．Very accessible.	D．Extremely aggressive.