2 . When you walk on a sandy beach, it takes more energy than striding down a sidewalk — because the weight of your body pushes into the sand. Turns out, the same thing is true for vehicles driving on roads. The weight of the vehicles creates a very shallow indentation (凹陷) in the pavement (路面) — and it makes it such that it’s continuously driving up a very shallow hill.

Jeremy Gregory, a sustainability scientist at M.I.T. and his team modeled how much energy could be saved — and green-house gases avoided — by simply stiffening (硬化) the nation’s roads and highways. And they found that stiffening 10 percent of the nation’s roads every year could prevent 440 megatons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions over the next five decades — enough to offset half a percent of projected transportation sector emissions over that time period. To put those emissions savings into context — that amount is equivalent to how much CO2 you’d spare the planet by keeping a billion barrels of oil in the ground — or by growing seven billion trees — for a decade.

The results are in the Transportation Research Record.

As for how to stiffen roads? Gregory says you could mix small amounts of synthetic fibers or carbon nanotubes into paving materials. Or you could pave with cement-based concrete, which is stiffer than asphalt (沥青).

This system could also be a way to shave carbon emissions without some of the usual hurdles. Usually, when it comes to reducing emissions in the transportation sector, you’re talking about changing policies related to vehicles and also driver behavior, which involves millions and millions of people — as opposed to changing the way we design and maintain our pavements. That’s just on the order of thousands of people who are working in transportation agencies. And when it comes to retrofitting (翻新) our streets and highways — those agencies are where the rubber meets the road.

1. Why does the author mention “walk on a sandy beach” in paragraph 1?

A．To present a fact.	B．To make a contrast.
C．To explain a rule.	D．To share an experience.

2. What suggestion does the author give to reduce CO2 emissions?

A．Hardening the road.	B．Keeping oil in the ground.
C．Growing trees for decades.	D．Improving the transportation.

3. What is the advantage of this suggestion?

A．Gaining more support.	B．Consuming less money.
C．Involving more people.	D．Facing fewer usual obstacles.

4. What does the underlined part mean in the last paragraph?

A．Those agencies are likely to make more rules.

B．Those agencies will change some related policies.

C．Those agencies might put more rubber tires on the roads.

D．Those agencies will play a key role in making this happen.

3 . Before you worry about bacon and how much it may cost when new animal welfare laws go into effect next year, let’s talk about the pigs that gave their lives for it.

California has been on the forefront of protecting animals who live short lives on factory farms either to produce food for us or to be slaughtered and sold as food. The latest advance came in November 2018, when 62.7% of the state’s voters supported Proposition 12, the Prevention of Cruelty to Farm Animals Act. The law began going into effect last year, requiring hens and veal calves to be given more space to live in. Starting on Jan. 1st, the law will require that all eggs sold in California come from cage-free hens and that pork sold in the state come from breeding pigs that are not held in cages. These are humane steps designed to lift these animals out of structures that barely allow them to move.

Pork producers have had the longest time to comply (遵守). Some big companies like Hormel Foods have pledged to do so fully, but others have spent the last few years fighting the law rather than figuring out how to put it into practice. They say that the law will significantly raise the price of pork and that it violates the Commerce Clause of the Constitution, which gives Congress sole power over interstate business activity. So far, that fight has been a waste of time that pork producers could have better spent figuring out how to retrofit (翻新)their farms.

They also complain that the regulations on the law are not set. But the California Department of Food and Agriculture, which has yet to finalize the regulations, says that the delay should not have prevented producers from retrofitting their housing for breeding pigs. The agency has publicly posted draft regulations, which mostly concern record-keeping, certification and definitions of terms.

For fans of bacon and other pork, any rise in cost is the price of not having a pig suffer before it’s killed for food. It’s a price the animals shouldn’t have to pay.

1. What do we know about Proposition 12?

A．The law will come into force next year.

B．More space is required for raising hens and pigs.

C．Raising hens and pigs in limited space is humane.

D．Half of the state’s voters subscribed to Proposition 12.

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

A．Suspect.

B．Refuse.

C．Promise.

D．Hesitate.

3. Which of the following is TRUE according to paragraph 3?

A．Some pork producers have raised the price of pork.

B．All the pork producers don’t comply with the law.

C．Pork producers have wasted a lot of time retrofitting their farms.

D．Pork producers resist the Commerce Clause of the Constitution.

4. Which word can best describe the author's attitude to the new animal welfare laws?

A．Skeptical.

B．Conservative

C．Tolerant.

D．Favorable.

5 . 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。

From the adorable pandas in Sichuan to the playful Pallas’s cats in Inner Mongolia, photographer Xie Jianguo has committed himself to documenting China’s rare and endangered animals,     1     highlight the country’s unique natural wonders.

Xie’s passion for     2     (photograph) wild animals is evident in his frequent visits to the remote destinations such as the Arctic continent. Since 2012, Xie Jianguo has redirected his lens (镜头) toward his homeland, focusing     3     wildlife in China. Now his     4     (footprint) have covered nearly all the provinces and regions throughout China.

During his shooting process, Xie     5     (place) great emphasis on building a harmonious relationship with the animals he encounters, ensuring that they are undisturbed and represented in their natural state. Xie said, “I am eager     6     (record) the beautiful moments of wildlife, to not only represent their living conditions but also to raise people’s     7     (aware) of protecting wild animals and their habitats.     8     (hopeful), my images can show the biodiversity and the achievements of wildlife protection in China. ”

With the aim of preserving the natural beauty of China     9     promoting its rich natural image culture to the world, Xie launched a project called “Nature Image China” in 2016. So far, over 100 photo exhibitions     10     (organize) by the project at home and abroad.

7 . Cichlids and stingrays (慈鲷和黄貂鱼) can perform simple plus and subtraction (减法) in the number range of one to five. This has been shown in a recent study by the university of Bonn, which has now been published in the journal scientific Reports.

This fact has been known for sometime that Cichlids and stingrays can precisely detect small quantities without counting. However, the new research led by Dr. vera schluessel from the university of Bonn has shown that both species can even calculate. “We trained the animals to perform simple additions and subtractions,” Schluessel explains. “In doing so, they had to increase or decrease a premier value by one.”Blue means “add one”, and yellow means “subtract one”.

But how do you ask a cichlid for the result of “2 +1”or “5 - 1”? The researchers used a method other research groups had already successfully used to test the mathematical abilities of bees: They showed the fish a collection of geometric shapes — for example, four squares. If these objects were colored blue, this meant “add one”. Yellow, on the other hand, meant “subtract one”. After showing the original stimulus (e. g. four squares), the animals were shown two new pictures — one with five and one with three squares. If they swam to the correct picture(i. e. to the five squares in the “blue”arithmetic task), they were rewarded with food. If they gave the wrong answer, they went away empty-handed. Overtime, they learned to associate the blue color with an increase of one in the amount shown at the beginning, and the yellow number with a decrease.

But can the fish apply this knowledge to new tasks? Have they actually mastered the mathematical rule behind the colors? “To check this, we will designedly leave out some calculations during future training,” Schluessel explains.

1. What is known about the two species before the new research?

A．They can count small quantities easily.

B．They can associate colors with numbers.

C．They can do simple calculations by training.

D．They can identify small quantities accurately.

2. Why is the bee-method applied?

A．To illustrate fish’s ability.	B．To ensure the research’s reliability.
C．To compare fish and bees.	D．To promote the research’s application.

3. How is the experiment carried out?

A．By collecting and calculating.	B．By comparing and analysing.
C．By observing and concluding.	D．By predicting and checking.

4. What does the last paragraph imply?

A．The fish are competent in mathematical calculation.

B．The procedure of the experiment needs improvement.

C．More trials are still needed to confirm the new findings.

D．Calculation methods are comprehended by both species.

9 . 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。

In the little village of Meadowbrook, surrounded with rolling hills, lived two curious and adventurous twins, Sarah and Sam. At the age of twelve, the inseparable twins were always seeking new adventures.

One morning, Miss Harper, their favorite community service teacher, was introducing community volunteer work. Sam suddenly caught sight of the hill behind the schoolyard and was instantly inspired with the idea of climbing to the top.

“Sarah, ”whispered Sam, “Wouldn’t it be splendid if we climbed to the top of that hill today?It’s said to hold breathtaking views of our beloved village. ”

Hearing that, Sarah’s face lit up with excitement, her heart filled with eagemess. “Oh, Sam, that sounds great!But we promise Papa and Mama we will save our pocket money and not spend a single penny unnecessarily. ”With determination in their hearts, the twins worked out a plan. They decided to bring homemade snacks and refreshing drinks from their own kitchen, ensuring they wouldn’t spend a penny.

The twins set off on their journey, their backpacks filled with sandwiches, cookies, and bottles filled with cool, clear water from the village well. As they walked along the path, they noticed colorful trash scattered (散落) about, which ruined the natural beauty surrounding them.

A brilliant idea flashed into Sarah’s mind. “Why don’t we pick up the litter along the way?We could clean up our beloved countryside and maybe even earn a few coins by recycling the materials. ”

Excited by the idea, the twins eagerly collected the scattered items. As they reached the foot of the hill, their bags heavy with the collected waste, they came across a recycling center. With excitement, they exchanged their findings for shiny coins. With newfound treasures in their pockets, they climbed up the hill.

When they reached the top, they were greeted by a breathtaking view of their village. “It’s so beautiful!”Sam burst out,” We must share our adventure with Miss Harper and our classmates!”

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

The next morning, Sarah and Sam returned to school, eager to meet Miss Harper.

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The following weekend, the entire class started to clean up their beloved village.

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