Five years ago, a homeless kitten wandered in a park, its fur matted and eyes wide with fear. Hunger bit its tiny body. Accidentally, a kind-hearted woman Shelley Hall spotted the trembling ball of fur and felt a tug at her heartstrings. Approaching slowly, she extended a gentle hand, offering food and warmth. Feeling Shelley’s kindness, the kitten accepted her food and home offer. At home, Shelley named the kitten Sophie. In the warmth of Shelley’s care, Sophie transformed from a scared wanderer to a beloved companion, seeking out affection and purring contentedly in her arms.
For the past two years, Shelley would go for daily walks in the woods with a cat carrier attached to her back and Sophie would peer out. “I tell her that her job is to bring joy - and she does,” Shelley said, recalling how her cat would greet the people they passed. “She’s very sweet and social.”
Sophie was also very confident, until that day last summer when the cat jumped out of her carrier and an energetic dog chased her away. Shelley searched for Sophie all day, but the cat didn’t come back.
“It was the worst day of my life,” Shelley said. She found herself experiencing the worst weeks of her life. After putting up posters, posting on social media, and searching the 565 acres of forest surrounding Royal Roads University every day from dusk until dawn, there was no sign of Sophie. “It is like she vanished into thin air,” Shelley said. “It does get harder and harder to believe that you are going to find her.” But then a former neighbour, Marilyn Hanner, stepped up to help. “There’s nothing to think about,” Marilyn said after being asked why she joined the daily search for Sophie. “You have an animal in danger, you jump in.” Marilyn and her husband also bought four trail cameras to set up around the forest. “If you have the means, why wouldn’t you?” Marilyn said.
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。
As weeks turned to months, the cameras captured countless other creatures—from slugs(鼻涕虫)to a cougar(美洲狮).
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Sophie and Shelley were reunited after being apart for more than three months.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________2 . George jumped on an e-scooter (电动摩托车) and went to a supermarket. At the end of the ride, a message appeared on the screen: “Your ride was carbon-free.” These words showed the environment-friendly marketing of e-scooter companies. But George, then a graduate student, and his adviser, Johnson had doubts about them.
E-scooters have appeared in cities over the last two years. Sure, they don’t produce waste gases. “But you have to think about the other things that are required to have the e-scooter charged (充电) and ready for you to use,” Johnson said. So he and his students decided to work out the full environmental influence of e-scooters over their lifetimes.
The researchers bought an e-scooter and separated it into parts. They worked out the greenhouse gas emissions (排放) while people make it. They also looked at the resulting air and water pollution. Those influences were great. They found that materials and production accounted for about half of the e-scooter’s global warming influence.
Those results depend heavily on e-scooters’ long life. Bird’s first e-scooters lasted about 3—4 months, and the newer Bird Zeros are said to make it to about 10 months. However, one study found that e-scooters in Louisville, Kentucky, only survived about 29 days. If such short lifetimes are common, it would worsen the true influence of materials and production mentioned above, Johnson said.
Luckily, there are ways to reduce the environmental influence of e-scooters. They suggest that companies take steps to increase e-scooters’ lifetimes. They also suggest simplifying the collection process. Not every e-scooter needs to be picked up. About one in six e-scooters still had a full charge at the end of the day.
1. Why does the author talk about George’s riding an e-scooter?| A．To introduce the environmental benefits of e-scooters. |
| B．To describe e-scooter companies’ marketing methods. |
| C．To bring in research on e-scooters’ environmental influence. |
| D．To show the popularity of e-scooters among university students. |
| A．Disadvantages of e-scooters. | B．The development of e-scooters. |
| C．Preparations for the use of e-scooters. | D．The reason for their research on e-scooters. |
| A．Their lifetimes are too short. | B．Their charging rates are low. |
| C．They use too much electricity. | D．They need to be charged frequently. |
| A．They need to be managed better. | B．They shouldn’t be collected at night. |
| C．They need more support and attention. | D．They should be banned from production. |
3 . Have you ever heard of the Northward Family, a herd of Asian elephants that made their journey in Yunnan? They were a bit naughty for they invaded villagers’ fields. Scientists who took part in scientific research and conservation have also used unmanned aerial vehicles (无人机) and other advanced means to carry out monitoring and early warning of the herd’s arrival. The government also made fences around villagers’ houses, which make effective protection of elephants from humans, making sure the safety of humans and elephants.
In addition, safety signs, warning signs and solar-powered street lights have been fixed along the roads where the herd may appear, to remind passers-by to be careful. The government has also set up a “canteen” for the elephants, providing them with food such as banana, corn and so on.
Is this amazing “migration” just a journey or a “survival revolution” in search of a new home? A lot of friends who care about the Northward Family are wondering: Is elephants’ migration related to the destruction of their living environment? Only time will tell.
What do humans think of the elephant’s journey? On the one hand, it is no accident. We humans can help elephants by respecting their activities. It is within our power to respect science, follow the advice of experts, guide and urge our friends and children to keep their distance. If elephants really become our “neighbors”, how to deal with the “neighborly relations” will certainly become a problem we have to face.
On the other hand, the elephant’s journey has shown China’s achievements in protecting its natural environment and wildlife in recent decades. There is no doubt that the normal rotation of the earth cannot depend on the human species alone. The preservation of biodiversity is the “secret” of the earth’s ecological sustainability. When nature becomes something that animals and plants desire, humans will live a wonderful life too.
1. Why was the Northern Family described naughty?| A．They destroyed the scientific research. | B．They walked into fields of the village. |
| C．They ate a lot of bananas on the way. | D．They escaped from where they lived. |
| A．They fed the herd with food that is proper. |
| B．They paid attention to the elephants’ movement. |
| C．They removed the fences around villagers’ houses. |
| D．They blocked the roads where the herd might appear. |
| A．They loved traveling. | B．They were searching for food. |
| C．Their purpose was still unknown. | D．Their living habitat was destroyed. |
| A．Keeping away from elephants is necessary. |
| B．Protecting elephants is our impossible mission. |
| C．Dealing with elephant’s journey is beyond human’s ability. |
| D．Great efforts have been made in protecting wildlife in China. |
4 . Even minor changes in behavior can have a positive environmental impact. Therefore, it is suggested to remove or reduce single-use plastic bags from your shopping trips, because the bags break down slowly, causing them to linger in landfills. But how long does a plastic bag really stick around?
The Center for Biological Diversity estimates that it takes a bag roughly 1000 years to break down. The term “break down” is a little misleading, though. Plastic ends up photodegrading (光降解) from ultraviolet (紫外线) radiation because the majority of microorganisms cannot eat it. And even after the bags degrade, the micro-plastics they leave behind may still harm the environment.
While 1000 years seems long, it is only an estimate. Since the invention of plastic bags in the 1950s or so, humankind has never actually seen the substance break down in real time. Instead, scientists have adopted respirometry tests (呼吸运动测量法), which helps estimate the breakdown rate of an organic substance by measuring the CO2 that the microorganisms produce when breaking down the material. When an organic substance, such as food waste, is present, CO2 levels rise, which allows scientists to estimate the rate of breakdown. However, because plastic bags don’t produce any CO2,—microorganisms aren’t eating them, the bags are just sitting there. If buried in a landfill and sheltered from ultraviolet light, plastic bags will last a very long time.
Bags have an impact on the environment beyond just their removal. It takes fossil fuels to make bags; one estimate puts this amount at 12 million barrels (桶) of oil annually. And after a bag has served its purpose in a consumer’s hands, it may then enter the food chain for wildlife. Plastic that builds up along the food chain is consumed by creatures like birds and fish.
While reducing the use of plastic bags is a good idea, choosing a cloth bag might not be the habit that will help the environment the most. The carbon footprint left by the cloth bags must be countered by thousands of uses.
1. What does the underlined word “linger” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?| A．Reproduce. | B．Integrate. | C．Emerge. | D．Last. |
| A．Its duration of 1000 years is an overestimate. |
| B．Exposure to ultraviolet light is essential to it. |
| C．Respirometry tests effectively estimate its rate. |
| D．The level of CO2 released during it usually rises. |
| A．The multiple environmental costs of plastic bags. |
| B．The consumption of fuels for plastic bag production. |
| C．The harm of plastic bags to the food chain for wildlife. |
| D．The challenge of removing plastic bags from the ecosystem. |
| A．Declining plastic shopping bag offers. | B．Reducing the production of plastic bags. |
| C．Reusing the same cloth bag repeatedly. | D．Switching from plastic bags to cloth ones. |
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1. What is emphasized as the top priority of OceanQuest Expeditions?| A．Marine biology. | B．Conservation. | C．Adventure. | D．Safety |
| A．Coral Reef Encounter. | B．Night Dive Excursion. |
| C．Wreck Diving Adventure. | D．Tropical Marine Exploration. |
| A．Free diving equipment rental for all participants. |
| B．Highly trained marine biologists and divers. |
| C．Competitive pricing on dive packages. |
| D．Exclusive access to underwater caves. |
6 . Despite the difficulties, the California coastal ecosystem is improving, largely thanks to the huge appetite sea otters (海獭) have for crabs. In a creative study, scientists revealed the return of otters to their former habitat in a Central California river mouth has slowed the decrease of the area’s river banks by up to 90%. “It would cost tens of millions of dollars for humans to rebuild these stream banks and restore these rivers. The otters are stabilizing them for free, in exchange for an all-you-can-eat crab feast,” said biology professor Brian Silliman, Ph. D. at Duke University.
Like many California river mouths, Elkhorn once was a habitat for otters, which need to eat around 20 to 25 pounds of food every day, with crabs being one of their favorite meals. But after fur traders hunted the local otter population nearly to extinction, the number of crabs exploded over the next century. Crabs dig into salt river soil, and over time can cause a salt river to wear away and collapse. Today, years after the otters returned, rivers and stream banks became more stable.
Angelini, one of the study’s authors, said that tool is an encouraging sign for her team as they face similar threats to Florida’s coastlines from sea level rise, storms, and extra nutrients overflowing into coastal waters. “All these seem unsurmountable,” Angelini said. “However, this study shows that, if we truly understand the ecosystem and know what tools to use, we can see significant benefits to the health and stability of these systems.”
The research team conducted large-scale surveys across 13 tidal (潮汐的) streams, as well as small-scale field experiments at five locations around the river mouth over a six-year period. Otters were not included in some lest sites but allowed to be used in others, using a caging system designed by Angelini.
“And all these years later, we now see these amazing results. It’s an inspiring story about the benefits of conservation and persistent, long-term research,” Angelini said.
1. What does Brian Silliman think of the function of sea otters?| A．It’s complex. | B．It’s expensive. |
| C．It’s effective. | D．It’s inefficient. |
| A．The collapse of salt rivers. |
| B．The hunting for their fur. |
| C．The decrease of the sea crabs. |
| D．The pollution of their habitat. |
| A．Hard to understand. | B．Difficult to deal with. |
| C．Impossible to avoid. | D．Dangerous to settle. |
| A．The process of the research. |
| B．The purpose of the research. |
| C．The limitation of the research. |
| D．The discovery of the research. |
1. What day is today?
| A．Monday. | B．Wednesday. | C．Thursday. |
| A．In the west. | B．In the north. | C．In the south. |
| A．Cloudy and windy. | B．Windy and rainy. | C．Mild with light rain. |
| A．On Friday. | B．On Saturday. | C．On Sunday. |
1. Where does Richard work?
| A．In New York. | B．In Washington D. C. | C．In San Francisco. |
| A．Sleeping. | B．Working | C．Watching TV. |
| A．Some books fell off the bookshelf. |
| B．The windows were broken. |
| C．Some chairs fell over. |
| A．Hand in the report. | B．Continue with his work. | C．Go back home quickly. |
9 . Recently, a homeowner in Illinois came face to face with five furry chipmunk (花栗鼠) babies that crowded together in a window well. Shocked and concerned, the homeowner contacted Wildlife Allies (WA), a team committed to the caring removal and rescue of sick and injured wildlife.
Wildlife technician Cat Downs soon arrived at the scene along with an assistant. Together, Downs and the assistant netted the chipmunks, removing them from the window well, and placed them inside a new plastic carrier. The rescuers then moved the five chipmunk babies to a grassy area nearby and put them under a wooden basket where the mother could see them. To make sure the reunion was a success, the rescuers set up cameras and hoped the chipmunk mom would soon return.
“The chipmunk babies were enveloped in fear and tiredness,” a representative from Wildlife Allies recalled. Rescuers didn’t wait long and soon found an empty wooden basket. Then, checking the camera recording, they joyfully realized that the whole family had been reunited. “When we loaded the photos on to our computer and saw the mom, a burden was lifted from our hearts and pure joy came over us,” one Wildlife Allies representative said.
The Wildlife Allies team watched in satisfaction as the chipmunk mom tended to each of her babies. “The chipmunk mom emerged and heroically freed her precious babies from the wooden basket,” Anderson Humane wrote in a post about the rescue. “With determination, she made multiple trips, releasing all five babies and carrying the last one away to safety!”
According to Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control, chipmunk babies rely heavily on their mother throughout the first few months of their lives, as she teaches them what to eat and how to survive. Usually, families like these stick together until the fall, when the babies are old enough to stand on their own feet.
Together at last, this little family is filled with happiness, thanks to those rescuers.
1. Where did the chipmunk mom find her babies?| A．Beside a grassy area. | B．Inside a window well. |
| C．In a new plastic carrier. | D．Under a wooden basket. |
| A．Relieved. | B．Regretful. | C．Discouraged. | D．Motivated. |
| A．They stick together for food. | B．They can standup afterbirth. |
| C．They are dependent on moms. | D．They get survival skills in the fall. |
| A．Wildlife Allies: Our Last Hope | B．Guide for Wildlife Rescuers |
| C．Chipmunk Mom’s Rescue Trip | D．Reunite a Chipmunk Family |
10 . Heat waves area fact of summer. When one hits, Manhattan turns into a concrete desert; even my dog is affected. The moment Millie
I recalled the
Finally we arrived. Millie settled herself for a nap (打盹) in the
I saw dogs were everywhere, relaxing, stretching or just sitting
Millie was right. What was all the
A day when nothing happened and I felt
| A．measures | B．recognizes | C．compares | D．senses |
| A．mess | B．effort | C．turn | D．attempt |
| A．everything | B．nothing | C．anything | D．something |
| A．freezing | B．mild | C．roasting | D．damp |
| A．set out | B．rushed out | C．stood by | D．passed by |
| A．tripped | B．hesitated | C．failed | D．waited |
| A．crowd | B．bush | C．shelter | D．shade |
| A．exercise | B．play | C．rest | D．priority |
| A．excitedly | B．peacefully | C．confidently | D．independently |
| A．pushed | B．awoke | C．sunned | D．persuaded |
| A．bend | B．grow | C．fall | D．whisper |
| A．hurry | B．confusion | C．annoyance | D．chaos |
| A．chance | B．break | C．walk | D．shower |
| A．widened | B．rubbed | C．closed | D．rolled |
| A．content | B．relaxed | C．defeated | D．lost |
