1 . As a well-known Chinese saying goes, “A journey of one thousand miles begins with a single step.”
Earth Hour is put forward by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). On March 31, 2007, the organization encouraged the citizens in Sydney to switch off all lights and turn off all non-essential devices for one hour. Over 2 million households and 2,100 companies answered the call. This small action helped save 10% of the electricity in a regular evening hour.
Besides making an immediate difference, the WWF says the worldwide participation shows people’s desire to do their share to reverse (逆转) climate change.
Are you not sure what to do without your phone or television for a whole hour? WWF suggests organizing a candlelight dinner for your family or, even better, a picnic under the stars.
| A．Your participation never counts. |
| B．Or how about a late-night hike or a bike ride? |
| C．There is no doubt that their efforts have paid off. |
| D．Gradually, more people joined the Earth Hour movement. |
| E．It’s the biggest voluntary environmental movement globally. |
| F．And it shows small lifestyle changes can make a big difference as well. |
| G．On March 27, 2021, millions of people worldwide took the first step towards reversing climate change. |
2 . Anyone who commutes(通勤)by car knows that traffic jams are an unavoidable part of life. But humans are not alone in facing potential backups.
Ants also commute—between their nest and sources of food. The survival of their habitats depends on doing this efficiently.
When humans commute, there’s a point at which cars become dense(稠密) enough to slow down the flow of traffic, causing jam. Researchers wanted to know if ants on the move could also get stuck. So they regulated traffic density by constructing bridges of various widths between a colony of Argentine ants and a source of food. Then they waited and watched, trying to find out at what point they are going to have a traffic jam.
But it appears that that never happened. They always managed to avoid traffic jam. The flow of ants did increase at the beginning as ants started to fill the bridge and then levelled off at high densities. But it never slowed down or stopped, even when the bridge was nearly filled with ants.
The researchers then took a closer look at how the behaviour of individual ants impacted traffic as a whole. And they found that when ants sense overcrowding, they adjust their speeds and avoid entering high-density areas, which prevents jams. These behaviors may be promoted by pheromones, chemicals that tell other ants where a trail is. The ants also manage to avoid colliding(碰撞) with each other at high densities, which could really slow them down.
Can ants help us solve our own traffic problems? Not likely. That’s because when it comes to getting from point A to point B as fast as possible, human drivers put their own goals first. Individual ants have to be more cooperative in order to feed the colony. But the research could be useful in improving traffic flow for self-driving cars, which can be designed to be less like selfish humans—and more like ants.
1. What does the underlined word “this” in paragraph 2 refer to?| A．Surviving. | B．Commuting. | C．Finding food. | D．Avoiding jams. |
| A．Through closer observation. | B．By regulating their numbers. |
| C．By finding out the dense points. | D．By controlling the widths of their path. |
| A．They follow a special route. |
| B．They level off at high densities. |
| C．They never stop or slow down on the way. |
| D．They depend on their natural chemicals to adjust their speeds. |
| A．Traffic jams | B．Survival of an ant colony |
| C．Unavoidable? Not for ants! | D．Differences between human and ants |
3 . There was a time when a trip to the supermarket in the United States often ended with a seemingly simple question from the cashier, “Paper or plastic?” Well, which type of bag would you choose?
While both types of bags have some influence on the environment, it has long been supposed that paper bags are better. They are made from a renewable source, are broken down easily, burn without giving off thick smoke and can be recycled. However, the producing process behind paper bags uses more energy than that of plastic ones. How can this be true?
Studies show that paper bag production requires four times as much energy as plastic bag production. And the amount of water used to make them is twenty times larger. Besides, the influence on forests is very serious. It takes about fourteen million trees to produce ten billion paper bags, which happen to be the number of bags used in the United States yearly. In terms of recycling, the idea that paper bags are more environment-friendly than plastic ones can be quickly discarded. Research shows it requires about 98% less energy to recycle plastic than it does to recycle paper.
Even though paper bags might be more harmful than plastic ones, plastic still seems to be considered as the more harmful of the two by governments. In Ireland, for example, a tax has been introduced to discourage the use of plastic bags. People have to pay 22 cents for every plastic bag, and as a result, their use has dropped quickly.
There’s no doubt that it makes more sense to reuse these bags. However, we don’t seem to be doing that at present. That may be because they fall apart quickly. If so, cloth bags are a better choice, but still, their production also has a bad influence on the environment. So what to do? How should we answer the question of “Paper or plastic?” It seems that we first need to ask ourselves one more general question: “What can I do to help the environment?”
1. Why does the author ask the question at the end of paragraph 1?| A．To express the author’s doubts. |
| B．To tell readers how to save money. |
| C．To show the kindness of the cashier. |
| D．To introduce the point for discussion to arouse readers’ interest. |
| A．need more water to produce | B．require less energy to recycle |
| C．have less influence on forests | D．take more time to break down |
| A．Shared. | B．Discussed. | C．Given up. | D．Put forward. |
| A．Paper or cloth? | B．A new bag or your own one? |
| C．Paper or plastic? | D．A small bag or big one? |
4 . The day had finally arrived. Skyler and Kenny waited expectantly by the door. When they heard the familiar “thump, thump” of their father’s car as it turned off the street and into the driveway, the children ran outside, zipped (快速移动) past their father and hurried into the back seat of the car.
They were greeted by a familiar furry face and a wagging tail. Both face and tail belonged to Daisy, their three-year-old German shepherd. In the seat beside her lay her harness (背带). It was the symbol of Daisy and the children’s hard work. If all had gone well this afternoon, the harness would become Daisy’s work uniform, a sign to the world that she was a fully trained service dog.
Every day for eighteen long months, Skyler and Kenny had trained Daisy to work with the visually impaired: people with sight problems or blindness. First, they trained her to perform the tasks that every obedient dog should know. Daisy learned to sit, to walk on a leash (皮带), and to settle patiently and wait. Those simple tasks came easily to their intelligent pup.
But the more challenging tasks took time and patience. Daisy learned to move carefully around objects like signposts and trash cans. She needed to keep well clear of them in order to guide her owner along a safe path. Daisy learned to stop at the edge of a staircase, or any other spot that required a step up or down. A professional service dog trainer helped with the most challenging tasks. He taught Daisy to ignore orders that might put her owner in danger.
Today, all of their hard work had come to a conclusion. Daisy had taken her service dog exam. But did she pass? Skyler and Kenny followed their father into the front hallway, with Daisy tagging close behind. They looked at their father expectantly. Their father gave a smile and a nod. The children ran off to tell their mother the news.
1. What were the children waiting for by the door?| A．A gift in the back seat. |
| B．A dog they raised. |
| C．A new car father bought. |
| D．A familiar friend they missed. |
| A．To better guide her owner. |
| B．To show off her intelligence. |
| C．To perform more challenging tasks. |
| D．To get official recognition to provide service. |
| A．Hard and dangerous. |
| B．Easy and purposeful. |
| C．Professional but challenging. |
| D．Amusing but time-consuming. |
| A．Daisy would be trained again. |
| B．Daisy would be free of harness. |
| C．Daisy didn’t do well in the exam. |
| D．Daisy became a qualified service dog. |
5 . Last week the electricity in my flat went out. I had just got home from work and was happily making my tea, when all of a sudden I was surrounded by complete darkness. I tried to fix it but failed. I had to wait for an electrician to come in the morning.
I sat down to eat my half - cooked dinner. And then I wasn’t really sure what to do. My typical evening is spent watching the TV and looking through social media.
So, shouldn’t we start preparing for it now? Cutting back on our use of electricity would make losing it easier, and also save energy resources so that they could last for longer.
| A．Tonight this wasn’t possible. |
| B．Obviously, we can’t survive without it. |
| C．Our over-use of electricity is a big problem. |
| D．This left me a whole night without any electricity. |
| E．Electricity brings us convenience and trouble. |
| F．But really, we’ve grown to take electricity for granted. |
| G．I know for sure that I could cut down on my use of electricity. |
Thousands of years ago, the West Lake in Hangzhou was connected to the sea. The Qiantang River, not far away from the West Lake,
Since the ninth century AD, the breathtaking scenery of the West Lake in all seasons
In 2011, West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou was included
7 . As we continue to explore farther out into our solar system and beyond, the question of humans living on other planets often comes up. Manned bases on the Moon or Mars for example, have long been a dream of many. There is a natural desire to explore as far as we can go, and also to extend humanity’s presence on a permanent (永久的) or at least semi-permanent basis. In order to do this, however, it is necessary to adapt to different extreme environments. On the Moon for example, a colony must be self-sustaining (自立的) and protect its inhabitants from the airless, harsh environment outside.
Mars, though, is different. While future bases could adapt to the Martian environment over time there is also the possibility of modifying (改变) the surrounding environment instead of just co-existing with it. This is the process of terraforming (地球化)—adjusting Mars’ atmosphere and environment to make it more Earth-like. But the bigger question is, should we?
One of the main issues is whether Mars has any native life or not and if it does, should it be preserved (保护) as much as possible? If the answer is yes, then large-scale human settlements on Mars should be completely off-limits. Small colonies might be fine, but living on Mars should not be at the expense of any native habitats, if they exist. If Mars is home to any indigenous life, then terraforming should be a non-issue; it simply should not be done.
What if Mars is lifeless? Even if no life exists there, that untouched and unique alien environment needs to be preserved as it is as much as possible. We’ve already done too much damage here on our own planet. By studying Mars and other planets and moons in their current natural state, we can learn so much about their history and also learn more about our own world. We should appreciate the differences of other worlds instead of just transforming them to suit our own ambitions.
1. What is the best title for the text?| A．Are Mars and Earth So Different | B．Should We Terraform Mars |
| C．Can We Adapt to Mars | D．Is There Life on Mars |
| A．Ensure that it’s not harmed. |
| B．Discuss with the Martians. |
| C．Change the unpopulated regions. |
| D．Reconsider the advantages and disadvantages. |
| A．Complex. | B．Simple | C．Foreign. | D．Native. |
| A．By referring to others’ research. |
| B．By showing the benefits of terraforming. |
| C．By arguing in support of one viewpoint. |
| D．By examining the conditions of different planets. |
8 . A controlled fishing system in Brazil’s Amazon River area is helping to save an endangered fish. The fish is the pirarucú . It is also known in Brazil as arapaima. The pirarucú is believed to be the largest of 2, 300 different kinds of fish known to live in the Amazon Basin. It can grow to be three meters long and weigh up to 200 kilograms.
The fish mostly live in lakes across large areas of the Brazilian Amazon. They are carnivores , meaning they feed on other fish.
The pirarucú is considered endangered because of overfishing. illegal fishing activities left many communities struggling to find the fish, which traditionally is an important food. In recent years, however, illegal fishing of the pirarucú has been sharply reduced. And the fish has increasingly been recovering. The improvements came after efforts that included close cooperation between communities.
One of the unusual things about the pirarucú is that they need to breathe air to survive. The fish need to take at least one breath every 20 minutes. They rise to the surface to do so. This behavior by the fish makes it easier to tell how many pirarucús are active in an area. A count of the fish is now carried out once a year by fishermen trained to use the method. By law, only 30 percent of the pirarucú in a certain area can be fished the following year.
Pirarucú fishing is now done once a year, around September, the period when water levels are lowest.
Efforts have led to increases in the pirarucú population in some areas. In the Sao Raimundo area, there were 1, 335 pirarucús in nearby lakes in 2011, when controlled fishing began. Last year, records showed there were 4, 092. In the Carauari area, the number of the pirarucú rose from 4, 916 to 46, 839 between 2011 and 2021.
1. Which of the following makes the fish unusual?| A．Its large size. | B．Its hunting way, |
| C．Its medical value. | D．Its swimming speed. |
| A．Governors. | B．Meal-eaters. |
| C．Fresh water animals | D．Healthy creatures. |
| A．They always swim on top of water. | B．They are large enough to be discovered. |
| C．They live at the lowest water level, | D．They surface from time to time. |
| A．Kinds of fish. | B．Catches of the fish, |
| C．Costs of fishing. | D．Changes of the fish population. |
Situated on the outskirts of Hangzhou in East China’s Zhejiang province, Xixi National Wetland Park is the first national wetland park in China. For the abundant ecological
When
With an area of 11.5 square kilometers, the park
In recent years, the wetland park
Located in Shaoxing, east China’s Zhejiang Province, Luzhen features typical
The main street of Luzhen was built according to the descriptions in Lu Xun’s novels,
There are also statues of the characters from Lu Xun’s novels, depicting (描绘) the classic scenes from the
