1 . More than one-third of the world’s food is wasted or thrown away, most of which ends up in landfills, producing very large amounts of planet-warming greenhouse gases. Now, many studies show that it is becoming harder to grow enough food to feed an increasing population due to climate change and soil degradation.

But one of the most promising and simplest solutions lies in the problem itself: this wasted food — if composted (堆肥) — could slow climate change and improve soil quality. Higher-quality soil also continues to absorb more carbon from the atmosphere, helping to improve plants and contributing further to fighting climate change. Returning one ton of organic matter to each hectare of soil would increase the production of cereal crops each year in Africa, Asia and South America by millions of tons.

While it is true that people can compost in their yards, community gardens, or even on their kitchen counters, larger-scale efforts, including infrastructure (基础设施) and incentives (激励) for consumers, would take it to the next level. Imagine if consumers could just leave unwanted food in a roadside bin for pickup, or drop it off at a local store, earning a few cents a bucket, just like what has been offered for recycling bottles or newspapers.

Moreover, in the case of composting, the payment incentive system would be sustainable because the end-product of compost can be sold to farmers, making it an economically workable model, something that is often lacking in recycling, especially for certain materials, like many types of plastics.

Eventually, more widespread composting of food would pave the way for solutions to additional waste challenges, such as the disposal of packaging and clothing. This will have other positive effects as well; if more consumers compost, companies will be more inspired to make and use compostable packaging, clothing, and other products. While more compostable items are starting to emerge today, additional composting will further drive demand and innovation, and offer a game-changing solution for the planet.

1. What is paragraph 1 mainly about?

A．The uneven distribution of food around the world.

B．The burden of population growth on the planet.

C．The urgency of properly dealing with wasted food.

D．The great impact of climate change on food.

2. What can be learned about the approach to composting wasted food?

A．A good system is needed to carry out it effectively.

B．It would take a long term to have an effect.

C．It is only workable on a small scale.

D．It may raise people’s awareness of reducing food waste.

3. What does the author think of the payment incentive system of composting food?

A．It is highly profitable.

B．It is easy to carry out.

C．It is a sustainable economic cycle pattern.

D．It is more effective than other recycling systems.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．How Wasted Food Could Be Reduced

B．How Wasted Food Could Save the Planet

C．How Wasted Food Could Impact Humans

D．How Wasted Food Could Become a Business

2 . The ability to solve complex math problems is one thing that sets humans apart from the rest of the animal kingdom. Despite this fact, some animals do seem to have at least one basic mathematical ability-they can, in a sense, count.

In the early 1900s, the horse Clever Hans drew worldwide attention in Berlin when his trainer showed that he could count and solve math problems, tapping his feet to indicate a number. However, researchers later discovered that Clever Hans didn’t actually have mathematical skills, but the horse did own impressive observation skills. That is, he was unable to answer questions that his questioners also couldn’t answer because Clever Hans was actually reading minute facial and body language clues to determine the correct responses.

While Clever Hans failed his math quiz a century ago, studies in more recent decades have shown that many species do actually have a “number sense”. In the late 1980s, researchers showed that chimpanzees (黑猩猩) could add up the number of pieces of chocolate in two food bowls (up to five pieces of chocolate in each bowl), compare it with the sum of two other food bowls, and correctly choose the larger of the two sums 90 percent of the time. Some other mammals, including lions, wolves and black bears, have also showed the ability to discriminate (辨别) between quantities — and so have animals from various other animal classes.

Some research suggests that the number sense may be something that certain animals are born with. In 2015, scientists found that baby chicks as young as 3 days old could identify smaller and larger quantities and might even think of numbers on a “number line” running from left to right, similar to humans.

Whatever the case, our number sense is not unique in the animal kingdom. In fact, it may not be something that’s reserved to just animals: Venus flytraps can also “count”.

1. How did Clever Hans give the correct answer to the math problem?

A．By tapping his feet to count.	B．By guessing the answer casually.
C．By turning to his trainer for help.	D．By reading the questioner’s response.

2. What can chimpanzees do according to the study?

A．They can tell the difference between quantities.

B．They can pass the quiz with observation skills.

C．They can choose food bowls of specific shape.

D．They can add up all pieces of chocolate in four bowls.

3. What is a Venus flytrap?

A．An insect.

B．A fish.

C．A bird.

D．A plant.

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

A．Can animals count?	B．Can animals use numbers?
C．Animals’ mathematical training.	D．Animals’ problem-solving ability.

3 . Plogging is a great way to make your little area of the world a little cleaner, brighter, and safer while boosting your own health, fitness, and mood. This up and coming environmental activity began in Sweden in 2016.     1    . It is quite a common scene across other European countries, as well as the United States, Mexico, and other areas.

Definition of plogging

    2    . It is a term made by combining “jogging” with “plocka upp,” which is Swedish for “pick up.” Therefore, the plogging definition is an emerging fitness that involves picking up litter or trash while you run.

Benefits of plogging

Because plogging typically involves jogging or running, there are many health benefits to this eco-friendly fitness trend. However, the benefits extend beyond just improving heart health.     3    . First, it improves mood and makes you feel good about yourself. What’s more, it gives back to your community and connects you online and builds social connections with other ploggers.

How to get started

Before you start, you’ll need to outfit yourself with the right gear to get the job done. If you’re already running or jogging, you should have a good pair of running shoes and running apparel (装备).     4    . Otherwise, broken glass and sharp and dirty litter items you may pick up will hurt you. A trash bag of some sort for collecting what you pick up is a must as well.

    5    

Theoretically, you can go plogging almost anywhere you have permission to be. Depending on where you live, you may encounter trash along the side of the roads, parks, school playgrounds, trails, parking lots, town squares and bike paths.

A．How to do plogging

B．Where to go plogging

C．It has since spread around the world

D．Here are some of the top benefits of plogging

E．It’s important that you have the right footwear

F．Beyond that, you’ll need a good pair of gloves to protect your hands

G．Plogging is not, in fact, a compound word of “plodding” and “jogging”

4 . July was the world’s hottest month on record. Wildfires this summer destroyed a Hawaiian city and caused evacuations (疏散) in Canada, Greece, and Thailand. Floods devastated towns in Vermont in July and killed thousands of Libyans in September.

John Vaillant’s new book Fire Weather aims to shake us out of this with a tale of terror from a climate change frontline: the city of Fort McMurray, in northern Canada’s vast forest, where an uncontrollable wildfire during an exceptionally warm spring in 2016 flooded entire communities within days.

Vaillant tells his story at disaster-movie pace, starting with the glimpse of smoke on the horizon and assurances from the authorities that all will be fine. Mounting misfortune follows as the flames lick golf courses on the city’s edge. By the end, 90,00 people had been evacuated, 2,500 structures destroyed, another 500 damaged. The energy generated by the fire created its own weather system, with hurricane force winds and lightning strikes.

What attracts me most is the book’s central irony. The story takes place in Fort McMurrary, which is the industrial centre of northern Alberta’s tar sands, one of the world’s largest fossil fuel deposits. It is a city whose existence depends on the hydrocarbons whose burning caused climate change; but whose existence almost ended in a climate-caused burning.

Fire Weather isn’t a typical disaster book. Vaillant’s references to Nassim Taleb, Lucretius, Seamus Heaney, The Lord of the Rings, Xerxes, and Moby-Dick can grant. But Vaillant’s theme is also catching my eyes. Our industrial world is releasing carbon at a rate 10 times faster than scientists can find in the geological record for the past 250mn years, he writes. “Thanks to fire and our appetite for boundless energy, we have evolved into a geologic event that will be measurable a million years from now.”

1. What’s the purpose of mentioning the examples in paragraph 1?

A．To show the varieties of nature disasters.

B．To engage the readers in the same topic.

C．To indicate the difficulties of these areas.

D．To provide the background of the book.

2. What’s special about the book according to this passage?

A．Plot and viewpoint.	B．Character and conflict.
C．Setting and theme.	D．Tone and style.

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

A．Be presented.

B．Be refused.

C．Be preserved.

D．Be recorded.

4. Where as the text most probably taken from?

A．An essay on the climate change.

B．A guidebook to Fort McMurrary.

C．A review of world disasters.

D．An introduction to a book.

5 . Finland’s system for returning drink containers started in the 1950s, and today almost every bottle and can is recycled. Convenience is the cornerstone of the system’s success.

Nowadays there are almost 5,000 container-return machines across Finland. Most of them are located in the same shops that sell drinks, making returning them a convenient part of people’s routine. Hotels, restaurants, offices, schools and event organizers return containers through their drink providers.

The return machines are easy to use. You place a bottle or can on a set of mini conveyor belts at the front of the machine. They carry it past a scanner and out of sight. The machine sorts the bottles and crushes the cans. When you’re done, you press a button and the machine gives you a receipt. Plastic bottles are worth 20 to 40 cents, depending on their size, while glass bottles are worth 10 to 40 cents and aluminium (铝) cans are 15 cents. The returned containers are recycled or the materials are reused. Across Finland, on average, every Finn returns 373 items in a year: 251 aluminium cans, 98 plastic bottles and 24 glass bottles.

The government has entrusted this function to the private agency. “Palpa is completely nonprofit and receives no government funding,” says Tommi Vihavainen, Palpa’s director of producer services, ICT and communication.

Russia, the UK and other countries have shown interest in the Finnish system. “Most visitors want to see how the return system works in Finland,” says Vihavainen. “We don’t act as consultants, but we’re proud to present our system.”

1. What do we know about Finland’s system for returning drink containers?

A．It still has a long way to develop.	B．It gains popularity for its convenience.
C．It used to be fashionable but now out-dated.	D．It’s supported financially by the government.

2. Why does the writer use the figures in paragraph 3?

A．To show Finns consume various drinks.	B．To help make the story more interesting.
C．To make the impact of the system convincing.	D．To guarantee the proper logic of the passage.

3. What’s Vihavainen’s attitude towards the return system?

A．Indifferent.

B．Positive.

C．Pessimistic.

D．Dismissive.

4. What is the passage mainly about?

A．Finland’s recycling programme keeps bottles off streets.

B．The return machines in the world are popular and easy.

C．Palpa—a complete nonprofit to recycle the bottles.

D．Finland—a country free of waste such as bottles.

6 . In a small, rough shipyard on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, a small team is building what they say will be the world’s largest ocean-going clean cargo ship.

Ceiba is the first ship built by Sailcargo, a company trying to prove that zero-carbon shipping is possible, and commercially available. Made largely of wood, Ceiba combines both very old and very new technology: sailing masts stand alongside solar panels, a uniquely designed electric engine and batteries. Once on the water, she will be capable of crossing oceans entirely without the use of fossil fuels, which sets her apart.

“The thing that is striking is the fact that she’ll have one of the largest marine electric engines of her kind in the world,” Danielle Doggett said. The system also has the means to capture energy from underwater propellers (螺旋桨) as well as solar power, so electricity will be available for the engine when needed. “Really, the only limit on how long she can stay at sea is water and food on board for the crew.”

Despite some hold-ups due to the global disaster, the team hopes to get her on the water by the end of 2024 and operating by 2025, when she will begin transporting cargo between Costa Rica and Canada.

“There are actually loads of innovations happening that could transform shipping emissions, but few companies are willing to apply them to building ships like Ceiba.” says Lucy Gilliam. “So it’s not that we don’t have great ideas. The problem that we have is that fossil fuels are still too cheap. And we don’t have the rules to force people to take up the new technology.”

When it comes to promoting this kind of boat, it has to be said that Ceiba is small for a cargo ship — tiny in fact. She will carry around nine standard shipping containers. She is also relatively slow. Being a world-first, there are some aspects of Ceiba’s design that have yet to be proven at sea.

1. What is unique about Ceiba as a cargo ship?

A．It is the world’s largest.	B．It is environment-friendly.
C．It is wooden with old technology.	D．It is modern with unique equipment.

2. What determines Ceiba’s length of staying at sea according to Danielle Doggett?

A．The size of the sail.	B．The weather of the ocean.
C．The power of the electric engine.	D．The quantity of the living supplies.

3. Why are companies unwilling to build ships like Ceiba?

A．The rules are disobeyed.	B．The fuels are affordable.
C．The bigger ships are preferable.	D．The innovations are distrusted.

4. What is the author’s attitude to the innovation of Ceiba?

A．Objective.

B．Doubtful.

C．Critical.

D．Favorable.

7 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. How long does a blizzard last?

A．2 hours.

B．3 hours.

C．4 hours.

2. What is the temperature during a blizzard?

A．-12℃.

B．-15℃.

C．-20℃.

3. What effect does a blizzard bring about?

A．It is deadly.

B．It doesn’t cause any effect.

C．It prevents people going out.

4. What do people do during a blizzard?

A．Drive.

B．Shop.

C．Stay at home.

8 . 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。

Tom is a special child. Ever since he was little, dogs have been his greatest passion. He often growled (低吼) and barked and sometimes moved around the house on all fours. His parents brought in a little brown female dog named Lynn. Tom was on cloud nine. One day, this little boy, together with Lynn, was sitting quietly down by the side of the street when suddenly a giant dog walked across him. He was a little surprised and started screaming as loudly as he could! All of this frightened Lynn away immediately.

Tom’s parents tried to see what the chances were of Lynn coming home on her own. But five days later, there was still no sign of Lynn. The boy didn’t just have tears streaming down his cheeks — his parents were saddened too.

The woods behind their home stretched for over 50 miles! Together with their neighbors, they searched for over a month. But Lynn was gone. Tom’s parents wanted to choose a new puppy for him. But no dog could replace Lynn for him.

Tom was not the same boy. He locked himself in his room. He seemed to have lost his love for dogs. He could not focus his attention on his classes so he didn’t want to go to school. He would easily get angry with people around him. Tom changed from a happy, smiling boy to an upset and annoying kid.

Tom’s parents wanted him to stay home and he had been studying at home ever since. His parents accompanied him almost every day, but staying home didn’t help much. The boy’s mother worried a lot. One rainy afternoon, she saw him staring out the window. “I miss Lynn so much. I wonder if everything is okay with her?” It had been a long time since his beloved dog ran away, but Tom’s despair was as great as the day it happened. Days later, Tom walked out the front door with his head down and sat by the side of the street.

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。

A huge brown dog crossed the street and stood in front of the crying boy.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tom ran after Lynn and entered the woods.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9 . In order to meet growing food production and energy needs in low-and middle-income countries, solar-powered groundwater irrigation (灌溉) is rapidly gaining ground. More than 500,000 solar pumps (泵) have been set up in south Asia over the last few years and a major expansion is planned across sub-Saharan Africa.

Dustin Garrick, professor in the School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability, along with an international team, examined the trend toward solar pumps as a clear opportunity for boosting agricultural yields and reducing poverty, but the opportunity comes with risks.

While replacing electric or gas pumps with solar-powered irrigation holds the promise of reducing carbon emissions (排放), it is not guaranteed. Farmers who have access to these pumps may expand production of crops or diversify into other activities, which are not emissions neutral. Solar pumps will increase groundwater pumping efficiency, which may be desirable in regions that support such increases, but this could worsen groundwater lessening in regions that are already stressed. The cheap clean energy of solar pumps may lead to increased groundwater development, without necessarily decreasing overall emissions.

Despite these challenges, the clean-energy boost can serve as a stimulus for positive change in water and energy management but will require enhanced regulation and planning in both low-and high-income settings. Garrick and his team advocate for improved data collection initiatives, with a shift from separated to integrated approaches. They suggest using technology to measure water pumping and collecting remotely sensed data to monitor land use changes. As well, regulatory improvements are crucial, with mounting limits for carbon emissions and groundwater lessening established at various levels.

With groundwater management already a difficult challenge, we must act fast to understand the implications of the clean energy boost and poverty reduction acts to avoid these gains being won away by wells running dry. The rapid adoption of solar irrigation intensifies the urgency, demanding adaptation from governments and institutions to sail through these complexities.

1. According to paragraph 3, there is a conflict between ________.

A．poor farmers and solar-powered irrigation	B．human consumption and clean energy limits
C．crop diversity and crop production expansion	D．pumping efficiency and groundwater exhaustion

2. What did Garrick and his team suggest for a positive change?

A．Integrating data collection and regulation.	B．Improving carbon emission monitoring.
C．Separating data for land use changes.	D．Establishing groundwater levels.

3. What does the author propose the readers do?

A．Perform as the authorities suggest.	B．Act based on further understanding.
C．Quicken the adoption of solar irrigation.	D．Challenge the groundwater management.

4. Which of the following is the best title for the text?

A．The Complexities of Adopting Solar Pumps

B．Solar-Powered Irrigation: Farmers’ New Future

C．The Promise and Risks of Solar-Powered Irrigation

D．Balancing Clean Energy Boost and Poverty Reduction

10 . 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。

    1     (locate) in the suburbs of the capital, the Beijing Grand Canal Museum opened its doors to the public for the first time on December 27, 2023. China’s Grand Canal, which     2     (construct) initially during the Spring and Autumn Period, is the longest and largest ancient canal system in the world. It remains an important symbol of traditional Chinese culture,     3     (witness) important changes in Chinese society over the past centuries.

This newly opened smart museum has     4     total construction area of around 99,700 square meters, integrating function halls ranging from exhibition display areas and social education spaces to cultural heritage restoration workshops.     5     (celebrate) its opening, the Beijing Grand Canal Museum has launched a series of exhibitions centered around the close relationship     6     the Grand Canal and the city of Beijing, focusing on the themes of people, water, and the city.

As the highlight of the museum, the core exhibition showcases over 1,000 cultural relics     7     artworks following a timeline that follows the development of the Grand Canal. In addition to displaying the cultural heritage of the Grand Canal, the museum’s exhibits also highlight     8     (technology) skills. In the earthquake prevention exhibition hall, there is a piece of glass through     9     a seismic (地震的) isolation bearing is visible. Underneath the exhibition building, there are around 240 such     10     (facility) supporting the entire museum, significantly improving the safety of the building.