1 . If you look at the dynamic “Global Temperatures” map on NASA’s website, you can see the historic temperature change over time across the planet as the timeline goes from 1880 to the modern day. By 2019, the entire planet is in red, orange, and yellow colors, indicating temperatures much higher than the historical average in every country and human inhabitance.

If the timeline went to 2023, the map would look even worse. That’s because the summer of 2023 was the hottest ever, according to ocean monitors. July was the hottest month in recorded history. Next July could be worse. Unless we do something quickly, we face dealing with more and more dangerous and expensive natural disasters in the future.

Forest fires sent smoke from Canada across the North American continent, causing New York City to have the worst air quality in its recorded history. Heavy rainstorms fell on Vermont and the Northeastern United States in just a couple of days in the middle of July, which exceeded the amount that area would usually receive in two months and caused extreme damage to homes and businesses. Around the same time, flash flooding in Bucks County, Pennsylvania — north of Philadelphia — killed nearly a dozen people.

Erich Fischer, a researcher specializing in climate studies at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, is concerned that natural disasters could get much worse in the future—and in ways we cannot predict. He called for a “strike for climate justice,” which actually took place on Sept. 15, 2023. “The strategy needs to be twofold (双重的) . We need to decrease carbon emissions as much as realistically possible. That is already happening with people using electric cars and other green technologies. At the same time, we also need to find ways to predict the risk of natural disasters ahead of time,” said Erich Fischer.

1. Why does the writer mention the data on NASA’s website in paragraph 1?

A．To explain a concept.	B．To introduce a topic.
C．To provide a solution.	D．To make a prediction.

2. What does the third paragraph mainly tell us?

A．The severity of natural disasters.	B．The worst air quality in New York City.
C．The extreme damage by flash flooding.	D．The cause of the forests fires in Canada.

3. What did Erich Fischer suggest to deal with the current situation?

A．He advocated a twofold strategy.

B．He suggested forbidding carbon emissions.

C．He required people to use more electric cars.

D．He emphasized the awareness of climate changes.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．The Hottest Month in History	B．Natural Disasters in the World
C．Extreme Weather Could Get Worse	D．Green Technology Would be Needed

2 . Few dogs are as energetic as Sedze, a white Shih Tzu whose name means “my heart” in the Dogrib language. Last summer, the little dog went through a life _______.

On August 13, Louise, the owner of Sedze, was _______ the camping bag under an evacuation order. A(n) _______ wildfire was getting close and most residents were instructed to leave the city. Louise and her friends _______ into two cars with their pets. They made their way onto the highway, heading toward an evacuation centre in High Level. After driving all night, the _______ group set up camp to have a rest before _______ the road again. But 20 minutes into the second half of their journey, one of Louise’s worst _______came to life: Sedze was missing.

The group _______ back, believing they may have _______ left Sedze there. But there was no ________ of her. After searching for 30 minutes, Louise and the others had to continue the journey, ________ but still holding out hope for a miracle.

Later that evening, the group finally arrived. Louise called her daughter, Jilaine, who lived in Calgary, and ________ the news. Ten minutes later, Jilaine called back with a hopeful ________. A man named Ryan had posted about a dog that he found on the Facebook. The dog looked exactly like Sedze! Louise got on the phone with Ryan and ________ Sedze’s identity with a description of a flower attached to her collar.

Sedze was alive and well. And as it turned out, Ryan had also evacuated to High Level. While talking, they discovered that they were standing on opposite sides of a street. “It was the greatest feeling when he brought her over,” she said. Today, Louise still ________ at their luck that Ryan found Sedze.

1.

A．experiment

B．competition

C．trial

D．game

2.

A．putting away

B．packing up

C．setting aside

D．reaching into

3.

A．mild

B．massive

C．controllable

D．avoidable

4.

A．crashed

B．marched

C．jumped

D．looked

5.

A．exhausted

B．satisfied

C．fascinated

D．annoyed

6.

A．building

B．hitting

C．crossing

D．blocking

7.

A．nightmares

B．memories

C．enemies

D．challenges

8.

A．held

B．walked

C．wrote

D．sped

9.

A．deliberately

B．accidentally

C．carefully

D．randomly

10.

A．evidence

B．impression

C．sign

D．point

11.

A．delighted

B．injured

C．frozen

D．heartbroken

12.

A．ignored

B．broke

C．covered

D．received

13.

A．burst

B．idea

C．update

D．improvement

14.

A．protected

B．confirmed

C．stole

D．hid

15.

A．looks

B．laughs

C．wonders

D．aims

3 . Dogs may understand more than they show. Pet dogs’ brains displayed neural (神经的) signs of surprise when their owners showed them an unexpected toy. The findings, published March 22 in Current Biology, suggest that dogs create mental concepts of objects.

“Anyone who has ever interacted very much with a dog probably is not that surprised to know that dogs understand that your speech is referring to at least a few common objects,” says Ellen Lau, a neuroscientist at the University of Maryland in College Park. But some people may have assumed this “understanding” is a simple reaction to the sound of the word.

Marianna Boros, a neuroscientist at Eotv’s Lorand University in Budapest, recruited 27 pet dogs and their owners. The team asked the owners to bring five familiar toys and other objects to the lab. Researchers stuck electrodes (电极) to the dogs’ heads and gave them two tasks: lieon a mat and stay awake.

Every so often, a dog would hear a recording of its owner saying things like, “Kun-Kun, look, the ball!” The dog’s owner was on the other side of a wall with a window covered by the curtains. Just after the recording played, the curtains were opened, showing the owner holding a toy—the ball or a different toy, such as a rope.

Just after seeing an unexpected object, an electrode monitoring (监测) brain activity picked up a larger-than-normal signal. This signal indicates surprise, the team says, and suggests that the dog had already formed a mental concept and expectation of the ball after hearing that word. In fact, the signal was especially strong for a mismatch involving words that the dogs reportedly knew very well. “That suggests that it is really about understanding and knowledge of the word,” Boros says.

1. Which statement best reflects Ellen Lau’s view on dogs’ understanding of speech?

A．Dogs understand speech primarily as a reaction to the sound of words.

B．Dogs understand speech, especially when it involves common objects.

C．Dogs have limited understanding of speech, mainly reacting to tone.

D．Dogs shows understanding of the deeper meaning of the speech.

2. How did researchers test dogs’ reactions?

A．By monitoring their brain activity.	B．By observing their behaviors.
C．By playing recordings.	D．By opening the curtains.

3. What does the signal mentioned in paragraph 5 indicate?

A．Dogs hear commands.	B．Dogs display behaviors.
C．Dogs show interest.	D．Dogs form expectations.

4. Which might be the best title for the text?

A．Examining Dogs’ Hearing of Words	B．Revealing Dogs’ Mental Concepts
C．Exploring Dogs’ Reactions to the Orders	D．Studying Dogs’ Neural System

4 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. What has the highest temperature been in Argentina?

A．About 45 degrees Celsius.

B．About 42 degrees Celsius.

C．About 31 degrees Celsius.

2. How did Jose Casabal cool his children down?

A．By turning on an air conditioning for them.

B．By asking them to drink much water.

C．By taking them to do a water sport.

3. What is Lucas Berengua?

A．A weather expert.

B．A local leader.

C．A weatherman.

5 . About four weeks ago, our dear little Persian cat Ashleigh Faith died at the age of 16, for which we felt sad. We _________ her when she was five weeks old and bottle-fed her until she was able to _________ on her own. She was _________, weighing only six pounds at her heaviest weight. She was our baby, _________ all over the USA with us in our motorhome, then _________ at our home in Custer. She left a huge hole in our _________, and she had been my constant companion during the _________months of my stay in hospital.

Recently, our neighbor called and _________ asked if we knew anyone who did cat-sitting, as her mother was ill and she had to _________ her. She couldn’t __________ her cat Bella with her. My husband __________ said, “We’d love to take care of Bella.” We visit Bella each morning and afternoon, and she has been so __________ for us after our loss. Bella is ten months old, and very __________. We take Ashleigh’s laser light toy and Bella loves chasing(追逐)the red dot all over the house. She now __________ us at the window, and then races to the door to __________ us. Spending time with Bella is just what we need, and it helps our neighbor know that we take good care of her cat.

1.

A．adored

B．adopted

C．comforted

D．recognized

2.

A．eat

B．play

C．bark

D．sleep

3.

A．shy

B．smart

C．tiny

D．cute

4.

A．flying

B．pacing

C．rolling

D．travelling

5.

A．turning around

B．cheering up

C．settling in

D．dropping on

6.

A．eyes

B．hearts

C．clothes

D．walls

7.

A．tough

B．cold

C．embarrassing

D．relaxing

8.

A．secretly

B．anxiously

C．calmly

D．enthusiastically

9.

A．care for

B．rely on

C．come across

D．stare at

10.

A．shelter

B．mail

C．hide

D．carry

11.

A．amazingly

B．strangely

C．eventually

D．instantly

12.

A．disappointing

B．depressing

C．appealing

D．promising

13.

A．reliable

B．active

C．discouraged

D．disconnected

14.

A．watches

B．helps

C．fancies

D．approaches

15.

A．protect

B．drive

C．disturb

D．greet

6 . Lucy was rescued from a rural farm in New South Wales, Australia, two years ago. She was suffering from chlamydia (衣原体病), a disease widespread among koalas. Today, she is one of “the lucky” living creatures in tree corridors (走廊) that have been created by volunteers to protect koalas and other animals by saving their quickly shrinking habitats, or natural environment.

The corridors, planted by the local conservation group Bangalow Koalas, are made up of large systems of plants. They are intended for koalas and other animals like the glossy black cockatoos, possums, and wallabies. All of them are endangered, or at risk of becoming extinct. The corridors provide a safe path across the koala’s increasingly broken habitat. “Our corridors are actually trying to get them away from humans, from cars and from dogs,” said Linda Sparrow, president of Bangalow Koalas. “They can safely move across the landscapes and don’t have to put up with us humans.”

The koala is predicted to be extinct in the wild in New South Wales by 2050. Some of the biggest dangers include wildfires and habitat loss through land clearing for development. Koalas have already been declared endangered in several Australian states. A recent report by the Australian Koala Foundation said the animal was worth an estimated $3.2 billion per year to the tourism industry.

Founded in 2016, Bangalow Koalas has planted over 936,000 trees on 119 properties, helping koala conservation and improving the local ecosystem. The group, which depends on com munity volunteers, aims to plant 500,000 trees by 2025. Volunteer Lindy Stacker, who has been planting trees for over five years, still remains devoted to the cause. She said the activity is good for mental health and has brought the community together. “I can’t imagine a world where there’s no koalas in the wild. We’re going to do everything we can possibly to. make sure that won’t happen,” Lindy said.

1. Who is Lucy?

A．A farmer.

B．A patient.

C．A volunteer.

D．A koala.

2. What are the tree corridors intended to do?

A．To shelter koalas from human threat.	B．To test the local natural environment.
C．To save koalas suffering from chlamydia.	D．To stop koalas’ habitats from being rebuilt.

3. What does the author want to show in paragraph 3?

A．The reason for koalas’ extinction.	B．Koalas’ value in tourism industry.
C．The necessity of saving koalas.	D．People’s deep love for koalas.

4. What can be the best title for the text?

A．Bangalow Koalas: A Group Intended For Koalas

B．Tree Corridors: A Lifeline For Endangered Koalas

C．Bangalow Koalas: Call On Volunteers For Koalas’ Protection

D．Tree Corridors: Responsible For The Loss Of Koalas’ Habitats

7 . Family Vacations in Hawaii

Whether your interests are history, native cultures, hiking, water sports, or simply relaxing in the sun, Hawaii has abundant choices to keep you and your family entertained.

Waikiki Beach

This famous two-mile stretch of sand is home to scores of family-friendly beach hotels and all kinds of action-packed excitement. Waikiki Beach is the perfect place to go if you’re looking for warm ocean water and golden beaches. Kids will enjoy walking along the beach, stopping for shaved ice or an ice cream and taking a dip in a safe area of the ocean.

Oahu’s North Shore

Some of the tallest ocean waves in the world are found at Oahu, Hawaii’s North Shore coastline during the winter months. These crashing walls of water are born for surfing and offer one of the best free shows on the islands. The North Shore is home to world-class surf contests, attracting the world’s top surfers.

Polynesian Cultural Center

Nothing appeals to the whole family like Hawaiian past coming alive. Besides, the colorful costumes, lively songs, and traditional dances in the Pacific region are presented here. You’ll see customs of Fiji, New Zealand, Marquesas, Samoa, Tahiti, Tonga, and Hawaii all represented in Polynesian Cultural Center’s re-created island villages, which is decorated with palm trees and tropical gardens.

Waimea Canyon (峡谷) State Park

More than 3,500 feet deep, this landmark on Hawaii’s island of Kauai is the largest canyon in the Pacific. Unlike Grand Canyon, plentiful rain keeps Waimea Canyon and its surrounding area thick with vegetation (植被), and visitors are frequently treated to the sight of vivid rainbows. It offers a great canyon view and a covered picnic area.

1. What makes Oahu’s North Shore known to the world?

A．Its best free cultural shows.	B．Its family-friendly beach hotels.
C．Having the tallest coastline.	D．Being a perfect place for surfing.

2. Which place is most likely to attract those who are interested in history?

A．Waikiki Beach.	B．Oahu’s North Shore.
C．Polynesian Cultural Center.	D．Waimea Canyon State Park.

3. What is special about Waimea Canyon compared to Grand Canyon?

A．It has a covered picnic area.	B．It has a depth of over 3,500 feet.
C．It’s rich in plants and rainfall.	D．It owns a unique kind of vegetation.

8 . Scientists have long believed that Mars was wet around three billion years ago and then lost much of its water. But a new study presents evidence of water activity from about 700 million years ago, posing a new puzzle about Mars and its history for scientists to crack in their future studies.

The new study is based on data from China’s Zhurong rover (“祝融号”火星车), part of the Tianwen-1 mission that touched down on the surface of Mars in May 2021. In particular, the scientists used data the rover gathered during its first 92 Martian days, at its landing site in Utopia Planitia. Yang Liu, a researcher from the Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS), and his colleagues analyzed data from three different instruments on Zhurong. Those instruments studied minerals that suggest the presence of a large quantity of liquid water at the site about 700 million years ago, which scientists previously thought was dry.

“This is a very interesting result. We have very little recorded evidence of young liquid water systems on Mars. And for the ones we have, they were usually in the form of salt minerals,” says Dr. Scheller, a scientist at the California Institute of Technology. He explained Zhurong’s instruments spotted water molecules locked away in the rock, which was different from other young liquid water environments that have been observed.

“One of the major things we’ll have to find out and that I look forward to seeing from the Zhurong rover is how extensive these ‘young’ water-bearing minerals are,” Dr. Scheller said. “Are they common or uncommon in these ‘young’ rocks?” Zhurong has now covered about two kilometers during its more than 350 Martian days and has analyzed a range of features on its travels, meaning more new Martian insights are likely still to come from the rover.

NASA has so far sent its Mars rovers to ancient landing sites, dating back to more than 3.7 billion years ago. Zhurong is not just an extra set of wheels on Mars, but a powerful suite of instruments exploring a new, geologically young site to open new windows of opportunity for research on Mars.

1. What does the underlined word “crack” in paragraph 1 mean?

A．Keep.

B．Doubt.

C．Solve.

D．Create.

2. What does the new study show according to paragraph 2?

A．The inaccuracy of data gathered on Mars.

B．Functional limitations of instruments on Mars.

C．Main reasons for the failure of the Tianwen-1 mission.

D．The misconception of past thinking about Martian water.

3. Which of the following does Dr. Scheller convey?

A．The result has been recorded by many scientists.

B．Zhurong’s wide analyses will bring more surprises.

C．Salt minerals are younger than water-bear ing minerals.

D．Young water-bearing minerals are common in young rocks.

4. Which word can best describe Zhurong?

A．Ancient.

B．Common.

C．Alarming.

D．Promising.

9 . Sharks and their relatives are some of the most threatened vertebrates (脊椎动物) on Earth. Coral reefs (珊瑚礁) provide homes for countless fish species that are vital for fisheries and are therefore an especially important ecosystem for humans — and one where the decline of shark populations seems to be especially acute.

The study by Simpfendorfer with his team is the result of a worldwide collaboration called the Global FinPrint project. The data analyzed include more than 20,000 hours of standardized underwater video taken at nearly 400 reefs in 67 countries around the world. It reveals declines of 60 to 73% of once-abundant coral reef shark species at reefs around the world. The global conservation status of sharks and rays (鳐鱼) is worse than a decade ago and is even more concerning for some groups of sharks.

However, the findings of Simpfendorfer with his team include signs of hope and a clear path forward. Their results show that although shark populations in many reefs had declined, some healthy reef shark populations remained. The reefs with healthier shark populations had some important similarities: They tended to be in the waters of high-income countries with stronger natural resource management regulations. Unfortunately, such countries are relatively rare, and lower-income countries tend to have fewer resources for sustainable management.

The most unexpected result of the study is that a decline or complete loss of shark species in one reef was not always associated with similar changes in nearby reefs. They found that one reef can be overfished so badly that a once-common reef shark species is totally gone, but another reef a short distance away can have healthy populations of that same species.

The problem is clear — animals that provide ecosystem services that are vital for human food security and livelihoods are disappearing at an alarming rate. The loss of sharks and the ecosystem services they provide represents an ecological disaster that can cause substantial harm to humans.

1. Why is Simpfendorfer with his team mentioned in paragraph 2?

A．To stress the result of global collaboration.

B．To state the urgency of protecting the ocean.

C．To show the severe condition of certain sharks.

D．To present the figures of their contributions to sharks.

2. Simpfendorfer’s research found that healthy reef shark populations remained because of ________.

A．developed countries	B．strict laws in rich countries
C．similarities between other waters	D．overfishing management regulations

3. What can be inferred from the last two paragraphs?

A．Humans and animals coexist in ecosystem.

B．Changes in reefs lead to loss of shark species.

C．It’s not clear whether humans cause damage to biodiversity.

D．The declined shark species have nothing to do with overfishing.

4. What’s the text mainly about?

A．Acute Decline of reef sharks	B．Potential recovery of reef sharks
C．Global cooperation of food security	D．Amazing discovery of Coral reefs

10 . From May to October in the southeastern U. S., five species of turtles move ashore under the cover of night to lay their eggs on the beach. During this time, thousands of turtle-loving volunteers search the shorelines for the turtles tracks as part of an ongoing effort to gather population data and protect the nests. But since sea turtles disturb huge areas of sand to hide their nests, human monitors are often left guessing where the eggs are.

Now, a new study suggests man’s best friend can do it better. A detecting dog named Dory found the location of sea turtle eggs more accurately than human volunteers- crucial information when all U. S. sea turtle species are threatened or endangered, says study leader Rebekah Lindborg.

Over months of training on a 50-by-50-square-foot artificial beach. Dory was trained to be alert to the smell of “cloacal mucus,” a sticky substance that coats a sea turtle’s freshly laid eggs, with Lindborg as her handler.

Then, the team convinced the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC)to allow a friendly competition. During the high nesting seasons of 2017 and 2018, two groups went around a stretch of shoreline about five miles long in Vero Beach, Florida. Dory had a sensitive nose for turtles, identifying 560 sea turtle nests from three species. People found only 256.

Dory was also significantly better than her human competitors at choosing where to dig for eggs, substantially reducing the number of holes dug. She was also harder to stump—while human volunteers couldn’t find the eggs in 14.8 percent of nests, Dory only failed to deliver 5.7 percent of the time.

In a word, a dog could make a difference in situations where time is of the essence. That could be when you’re under the gun to relocate a nest that’s about to be flooded when the wave rolls in, or before heavy machinery rolls over the nest site for a construction project.

1. What is a challenge to volunteers concerning protecting turtles?

A．Covering their tracks.	B．Locating their nests.
C．Analyzing their population data.	D．Removing cloacal mucus from their eggs.

2. Why did Lindborg’s team approach the FWC?

A．To seek help for their research on turtles.	B．To recommend their dog join the turtle search.
C．To test the results of their dog training.	D．To ask permission to use an artificial beach.

3. What does the underlined word “stump” in paragraph 5 mean?

A．Get challenged.

B．Make choices.

C．Lose control.

D．Stay focused.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Watch the strange competition between dogs and turtles.

B．Meet Dory, the dog detective of sea turtle nests.

C．Protecting sea turtles has gone to volunteers.

D．Finding sea turtle eggs can be really hard.