1 . As the sun neared the horizon, Ali began his nightly walk through the sandy streets of Timbuktu in Mali. Covered in robes of indigo, he passed through the streets of Timbuktu and continued out into the sand dunes, just beyond the city’s western suburbs.

Ali was a teenager when he first saw the city that would later become his home. “I couldn’t believe the lights!” he remembered. Members of his family still live a semi-nomadic (半游牧的) existence out in the desert. But when he became an adult, drought and the need to earn a living drove Ali into Timbuktu, where he set up a business as a guide for tourists who wanted to explore the Sahara. His heart remained in the desert even when he had to be in the city. He refused to get a fixed-line telephone in case he came to depend upon it. When he had no clients, he would escape to the desert, spending months at a time camping out, drinking tea with friends and sleeping under the stars.

As a guide, Ali made friends from around the world, and he visited some in Europe. It was, to him, an alien world, just as Timbuktu remains for many around the globe. “The first time I was in Europe, I saw water just lying on the ground. Everything moved at a speed that was unthinkable in the Sahara. I thought ‘these people are crazy’. In the desert we have infinite time but no water,” he said. “In Europe, you have plenty of water but no time.”

When travelers wanted to see more of the Sahara, Ali took them to Araouane, a sand-drowned town 270 km north of Timbuktu. And yet for the tourists who visited there, the town was undoubtedly more to it than that. There was something there that produced a feeling similar to excitement. It was the awe of vast skies and big horizons.

1. What did Ali do daily when the sun would set?

A．He took a night walk.	B．He chatted with neighbors.
C．He took a photo of the sun.	D．He bought some food in a store.

2. How did Ali feel when first seeing the city?

A．Confused.	B．Amazed.
C．Frightened.	D．Moved.

3. What can we learn about Ali from paragraph 2?

A．He established a travel company.

B．He explored the Sahara Desert on his own.

C．He lived a semi-nomadic life with his wife.

D．He escaped from Sahara Desert with his friends.

4. What does the underlined part “these people are crazy” in paragraph 3 mean?

A．People in Europe waste so much time.

B．People in Europe always let water running.

C．People in Europe are curious about everything.

D．People in Europe are always busy with their life.

2 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。

Traditionally, from the Winter Solstice (冬至) on, people in China talk about winter     1     (come) in nine periods and each period is 9 days long, which is called shujiu. The nine periods represent the nine stages of the season respectively.     2     is believed that after 9 nine-day periods, the weather becomes warmer and spring will be     3     its way.

The 3rd nine-day period is called “Sanjiu” in Chinese,     4     refers to the 19th-27^th days after the day of the Winter Solstice. As the saying goes, the days of the Sanjiu period     5     (be) the coldest days of the Nines of winter.

Winter is a long season of the year in northern areas, and the cold weather sometimes     6     (bring) out the true characteristics of many cities.

Such as in Beijing, the ice sculptures,     7     (decorate) by a variety of colored lights, are     8     (true) incredible and besides those, there are plenty of folk events and fireworks to enjoy.

During the 3rd nine-day period, most of the lakes in northern areas will freeze over. Skating on the lakes is one of the most popular     9     (activity) and even has become     10     annual tradition.

3 . A mobile(移动的)hospital for treating injured wildlife has just begun a journey to its new base in Byron Bay, on Australia's east coast.

Byron Bay Wildlife Hospital founder and Professor Stephen Van Mil said that Australia's annual disastrous(灾难性的)wildfire season could _______ the animals’variety. Seeing the _______ koalas sitting in baskets waiting for care was _______ .

By now, several charities, and help from animal protection groups have turned the mobile hospital into a _______ .

It is housed in a 16-meter _______ that was partially helped by the World Wildlife Fund, which was _______ by a group of international environmentalists to raise money _______ global efforts. Inside, the truck comes with all the _______ an animal hospital needs, including X-ray machines, ultrasound(超声)facilities, and special cages. To make sure that the mobile hospital can help even in the most _______ conditions, it is 100 per cent self-sufficient(自给自足). It uses solar energy to produce electricity and has its own water collection and management systems so that it can arrive anywhere and be set up and ready to go in ________ .

“Being able to work in a mobile hospital ________ that I can actually help these animals quickly. I can get there and I can concentrate on the ________ that they need," said wildlife specialist Dr. Bree Talbot, who will be aboard the mobile hospital along with a small team of volunteers.

Australia can be a ________ place to live for wild animals. Experts determined that up to a billion wild creatures were ________ by the 2020 wildfires alone. Offering help to these animals in times of crisis is a major challenge, and this amazing mobile hospital seems to have arrived at the ________ time.

1.

A．protect

B．explore

C．destroy

D．improve

2.

A．injured

B．homesick

C．rare

D．ordinary

3.

A．inspiring

B．heartbreaking

C．frightening

D．encouraging

4.

A．pleasure

B．choice

C．dream

D．reality

5.

A．engine

B．truck

C．subway

D．car

6.

A．founded

B．discovered

C．impressed

D．invented

7.

A．in place of

B．in charge of

C．in support of

D．in spite of

8.

A．doctors

B．knowledge

C．medicines

D．equipment

9.

A．challenging

B．powerful

C．significant

D．confusing

10.

A．minutes

B．days

C．months

D．years

11.

A．proves

B．explains

C．means

D．assumes

12.

A．comfort

B．passion

C．patience

D．treatment

13.

A．perfect

B．dangerous

C．creative

D．individual

14.

A．caught

B．limited

C．affected

D．prevented

15.

A．former

B．right

C．specific

D．unique

4 . 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。

During the October holiday, my parents and I made a trip to Mount Wuyi,    1    is lying at the junction (交叉点) of Fujian and Jiangxi Provinces. It is a popular tourist attraction. In December 1999, Mount Wuyi is listed as the World's natural and    2     (culture) heritage by the UNESCO.

With rich tourism resources, Mount Wuyi is a good place    3     (relax) ourselves. As early as the Western Zhou Dynasty (1100—771 BCE) , it was well-known as a place of interest. It is    4     (amaze) that there are 2,527 kinds of plant species and about 5,000 species of wild animals. Some of them faced great survival challenges in the past but now measures    5     (take) to protect them by the local people.

Mount Wuyi Scenic Area is    6     (extreme) large. The distance between attractions is so long    7    we were not able to visit all the sites in the mountain. We only reached some main attractions such    8    Heavenly Tour Peak, Wuyi Palace, Dahongpao Tea Trees, Water Curtain Cave. These famous sights left us a deep    9     (impress) . Though tired, we enjoyed ourselves. We're looking forward to    10     (explore) other attractions in Mount Wuyi next time.

5 . Winter can usually kill most wildfires. But in the far North，some forest fires just don’t die. They are thought of as “zombie (僵尸) fires”.

“Zombie fires” usually sleep underground in winter. Covered by snow, they smoke through the cold. Fueled by carbon-rich peat (泥炭) and soil in the North, most of these hidden fires spread slowly for less than 500 meters during the winter. When spring comes, the flames (火焰) of the fires appear near sites that they burned in winter, and they turn to burning fresh fuels around. This may happen well before the traditional fire season in the far North.

“Zombie fires” had been known mostly from firefighters’ stories. Few scientists studied them until details in some satellite images attracted one research team. Rebecca Scholten, a member of the team, studies earth systems at Vrije University Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Her team noticed an unusual thing. “New fires have been starting very close to the former years’ fires in recent years，and we wonder how often the fires might survive the winter,” Scholten explains.

These “zombie fires” are rarely seen before, according to a new study from Nature. But in recent years, they are becoming more common, the study warns. It is believed that the “zombie fires” are even on the road of being a threat. Forests in the far North are warming faster than the globe’s average (平均数). Scholten says, “We’re seeing more hot summers and more large fires and strong burning. That could set the stage for the fires to become a bigger problem,” she worries. And the region’s soils hold a lot of carbon—maybe twice as much as earth’s atmosphere. More fires here could give off huge amounts of greenhouse gases. That would drive a cycle of more warming and even higher risk of fires.

1. What do we know about the “zombies fires” in the far North?

A．They will completely die out in winter.

B．Carbon-rich peat helps them burn slowly in winter.

C．They often happen after the traditional fire season.

D．Their flames can only appear in spring.

2. What can we infer from Scholten’s words in paragraph 3?

A．“Zombie fires” appear earlier than the years before.

B．“Zombie fires” happen far from former years’ fires.

C．“Zombie fires” happen more frequently than before.

D．“Zombie fires” appear in different shapes every year.

3. What was a cause of being a threat for the “zombie fires”?

A．The global warming is slowing down.

B．The hot summers are less and less seen.

C．The area’s soils are short of carbon.

D．More greenhouse gases are given off.

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

A．Where Are “Zombie Fires” From?

B．Are “Zombie Fires” Frightening?

C．Pay Attention To “Zombie Fires”!

D．“Zombie Fires” Are Caused By Humans!

6 . It is reported that half the world’s forests have already been destroyed. This widespread destruction is due to deforestation (采伐森林). Deforestation is the removal of a forest or group of trees where the land is later transformed to a non-forest use. Cutting down trees is necessary for man’s survival. However, deforestation has a number of negative effects on the environment and needs to be controlled.

There are two main purposes for cutting down trees and one of them is to use the trees as resources. Essential items like paper, furniture and charcoal are all made from trees. Deforestation is also carried out to clear land for farming and to make room for roads and houses. As the population grows, more of the forest has to be cleared.

Although deforestation is necessary up to a point, it has some negative effects on the environment. Firstly, cutting down forests destroys animal habitats, leaving them with no place to live in. Deforestation also allows erosion to occur, which leaves the land easy to landslides and makes it difficult for plants to grow there. Finally, the removal of trees also worsens air pollution. Trees act as natural air filters that change carbon dioxide into oxygen. When they are removed, carbon dioxide can build up and pollute the atmosphere. Hence, it is obvious that deforestation harms the environment.

Due to the harm deforestation causes, it is necessary to control it. There are a number of ways to do this. One of them is to make better use of farming land. That means we do not need as much land for farming, and hence do not need to cut down so many trees. There must also be laws to limit deforestation and these laws must be enforced strictly. On top of that, reforestation must be carried out systematically. This method involves planting new trees and plants in areas where deforestation has occurred to replace what was destroyed.

To sum up, although deforestation must be carried out, it can harm the environment and must be controlled. Beyond a certain point, this damage to the environment cannot be fixed. Hence, we should do our best to make sure that the damage is never too great to fix.

1. What is the second paragraph mainly about?

A．How people get farmland.

B．What trees mean to human beings.

C．Why people carry out deforestation.

D．What effect deforestation has on environment.

2. What consequence may deforestation bring to animals according to the text?

A．Homelessness.

B．Extinction.

C．Disease.

D．Wars.

3. According to the text, how can we control the harm of deforestation?

A．By replacing new trees.	B．By banning deforestation.
C．By passing laws to limit farmland.	D．By making the best of farmland.

4. What may be the worst result if deforestation is beyond control?

A．Carbon dioxide will pollute the atmosphere.

B．There will not be any forest left in the world.

C．The damage to the environment will be beyond repair.

D．People will have no trees as resources for essential items.

7 . I looked out of the door of my 100 year-old house and saw my newly built garden. I realized nothing is rubbish. I was full of_________and appreciation.

I_________to look at the things that we usually think of as_________—plastic bags, polluted water, rubber bands, and newspapers, clothes and furniture we_________. I also began to think, act and live according to a belief that all things have the_________of being reused as long as we try to_________it. And I explored the worth of_________. I mean recycling isn't just about_________rubbish like putting glass and paper in_________bins. It also requires creativity, commitment and even love.

My neighbors would put the autumn__________by the roadside to be picked up by the garbage truck. This didn't__________with my newfound concept of recycling trash, so I made a new__________with moving boxes and put up a__________saying, ''Dump（倾倒）leaves here". I watched carefully through the autumn as my neighbors__________the leaves in the new garden and I also watered the leaves__________with rainwater and collected dogs' waste as fertilizer, Then I__________flower seeds. Finally, I had a new__________garden, full of colorful flowers.

Nothing has to be really__________. If you try hard enough, everything can be recycled. I even used my bath water to water my garden, though it might be a little__________for my friends. But I think if we all can turn waste, sometimes a little dirty, into__________, the world will be a much better place.

1.

A．joy

B．sympathy

C．doubt

D．regret

2.

A．refused

B．hesitated

C．liked

D．started

3.

A．wealth

B．garbage

C．investments

D．necessities

4.

A．packed up

B．brought up

C．threw away

D．gave away

5.

A．value

B．request

C．confusion

D．consequence

6.

A．own

B．find

C．forget

D．lose

7.

A．collecting

B．recovering

C．recycling

D．competing

8.

A．sorting

B．picking

C．spotting

D．recording

9.

A．uniform

B．broken

C．limitless

D．separate

10.

A．fruit

B．rice

C．leaves

D．vegetables

11.

A．compare

B．deal

C．communicate

D．fit

12.

A．platform

B．garden

C．picture

D．schedule

13.

A．building

B．tent

C．sign

D．show

14.

A．piled

B．polished

C．decorated

D．cleaned

15.

A．unwillingly

B．hardly

C．seriously

D．casually

16.

A．submitted

B．sowed

C．removed

D．reserved

17.

A．smelly

B．annoying

C．imaginary

D．attractive

18.

A．useless

B．careless

C．priceless

D．defenseless

19.

A．pleasant

B．vivid

C．violent

D．disgusting

20.

A．trouble

B．treasure

C．terror

D．trade

8 . Catch your reusable bag and kiss your plastic bags goodbye. Plastic waste is on its way out, thanks to these governmental bans from around the world.

From Indiana to Maine, governments at all levels in the US are forcing bans and improving recycling. People are shopping smarter and companies are doing better to ensure the protection of our environment. Slowly but surely, the world is entering a brighter future as more and more countries follow. But there’s still a lot of work to be done—or undone.

Since the 1950s, researchers say that about more than 8.3 billion tons of plastic has been produced. And 60% of that waste has ended up in the environment. That number has increased quickly over the years. For example, it was recorded that the world’s plastic production doubled from 1976 (50 million tons) to 1989 (100 million tons). It was highest at 368 million in 2019 before decreasing to 367 million in 2020.

A million tons decrease of plastic production is not enough to deal with the rising pressures plastic puts into the environment. We still do not know how long it takes for plastic to breakdown. It means that about 12 million tons of plastic waste that entered the ocean in 2010 is still breaking into micro plastics and filling up the stomachs of birds and sea animals. The plastic going into our environment is not going away. While recent studies of plastic-eating enzymes and bacteria offer some hope for the future of plastic waste management, the best way to deal with our environmental stress is through decrease.

In 2020, New York City began to ban plastic bags. But this wasn’t the first plastic bag ban in a US state. In fact, the US wasn’t even the first country to introduce this idea. Back in 2002, Bangladesh became the first country to implement a plastic bag ban. Since then, other countries have followed, introducing their own ways to fight with the continuing plastic bags.

1. What do we know about plastic waste?

A．We have completely cleaned it up	B．It is hardly increasing all over the world.
C．We have done nothing to deal with it.	D．There is a long way to solve the problem of it.

2. How much plastic waste has been put into the environment since the 1950s?

A．More than 8.3 billion tons.	B．About 5 billion tons.
C．About 100 million tons.	D．Less than 368 million tons.

3. What can be inferred about dealing with plastic?

A．It doesn’t take long to breakdown it	B．Sea animals can be eating most of it.
C．Some enzymes and bacteria help a lot.	D．Cutting plastic waste down is still the best way.

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

A．Carry out.

B．Keep up.

C．Look at.

D．Take away.

9 . The origins of this website, tasmanian-tiger. com, go back to 1978 when we, Buck and Joan Emberg, saw two Tasmanian tigers. We called the Department of Parks and Wildlife people and were told not to tell anyone. They said everyone would then be going through the bush tiger-hunting (猎虎). We accepted what they said. Then we found what we thought might be tiger droppings near our house. Excitedly we took them to Hobart, our capital city, and presented our “prize” to an official. He took the droppings and threw it carelessly into a drawer. The result of that action, of course, was the destruction (破坏) of any scientific evidence. This is where we began to feel that something was wrong. Did they really care about saving the animal... If it existed? In short, we and people like us were told to keep it quiet.

Later, we thought we found some tiger prints.The local newspaper published the story and, like most people who admitted they saw a tiger in the wild,we received no respect. That’s why we began to set up the website. Now we can use new technologies and are hopeful in proving the animal’s existence before the animal’s home is threatened.

1. Who set up the tasmanian-tiger. com website?

A．The city of Hobart.	B．The local newspaper.
C．The Department of Parks and Wildlife.	D．Buck and Joan Emberg.

2. What did Buck and Joan Emberg believe to have found near their house?

A．Two living tigers.	B．Tiger footprints.
C．Tiger droppings.	D．Tiger hunters.

3. How did Buck and Joan Emberg feel when they took what they had found to a city official?

A．Excited.

B．Unhappy.

C．Satisfied.

D．Afraid.

4. What is the purpose of the tasmanian-tiger. com website?

A．To persuade the government to drive away tigers.

B．To prove the existence of Tasmanian tigers.

C．To stop people from hunting Tasmanian tigers.

D．To find a new place for Tasmanian tigers.

10 . Do you know how blueberries (蓝莓) grow？They grow on bushes. Each blueberry is small and round. Many blueberries can grow on one bush. At first, the blueberries are green. The green berries are not ready to eat yet. They need a lot of sun and rain to help them become fat and sweet. When the berries turn blue, they are ripe and ready to be picked.

Farmers grow blueberries in big fields. The people who live nearby can earn money by helping to pick the blueberries. Each one takes a pail (桶) out to the field and fills it with blueberries. They work fast so that they can fill many pails. They want to earn as much money as they can. When they are done picking, their fingers are blue from the juice of the berries.

After the blueberries are picked, they are put into boxes and sent to stores. People buy the blueberries and take them home to eat. Some people like to wash the berries and eat them one by one. Other people like to cook with blueberries. They make blueberry cakes.

No matter how you eat them, blueberries taste great!

1. What color are the blueberries before they are ripe to be picked?

A．Green.

B．Blue.

C．Red.

D．Black.

2. Where do the blueberry pickers work?

A．In the mountains.	B．In a greenhouse.
C．In the forest.	D．In the field.

3. Where are the blueberries sent immediately after they are picked?

A．To the food shop.	B．To the farm house.
C．To the kitchen.	D．To the kitchen.

4. What would be the best title for this passage?

A．Cooking with Blueberries	B．Things about Blueberries
C．The Taste of Blueberries	D．Growing Blueberries