1 . The maleo (塚雉), a bird with black feathers and a pink chest, is native to Indonesia’s Sulawesi island and a few neighboring ones. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which identifies wildlife across the world currently facing threats, estimates only 800 to 1,400 adult maleos remain in the wild. Experts do not know how many maleos still live across West Sulawesi island. They were only able to record the presence of nesting grounds in 23 villages based on reports from locals in the area. But of those, only 18 are considered active nesting areas.

Recently, the birds have been faced with new threats, which accelerate their decline. The Indonesian government plans to move the nation’s capital from Jakarta to a new city on Borneo island, which is just a six-hour boat trip apart from Sulawesi island. The island takes on the building of new roads and seaports to be used to transport materials to the new capital. Activities also include tree clearing, digging, and removing stones. The process already has changed the forest environment on West Sulawesi and is harming maleo nesting areas near the beach. These changes have made the trip for maleos to lay their eggs increasingly difficult.

Another problem has been poachers. The Associated Press reports that, regardless of official ban, they steal maleo eggs that the males’ parents have hidden in the sand, and sell the eggs for about $1 to people as food. The eggs are a traditional gift for many people in Mamuju and other parts of Sulawesi.

“As far as I know, maleo birds are in decline,” said Andi Aco Takdir, chief of the West Sulawesi Forestry Agency. He pointed to several reasons for the decline, including destruction of beach areas, and expanding human development activities. He added that government officials there are prepared to take steps to protect the maleos even with the new capital development. Andi said, “Nature conservation must be used as an achievement and must not be built leaving behind problems.”

1. Which word can be used to describe the maleos?

A．Endangered.	B．Adaptable.
C．Widespread.	D．Extinct.

2. What causes a further drop of the maleo population?

A．The sudden changes of climate.

B．The disappearance of the forests.

C．The development of Sulawesi island.

D．The supporting work for the new capital.

3. What does the underlined word “poachers” in paragraph 3 refer to?

A．People who hunt maleos for their meat.

B．People who live by selling maleo eggs.

C．People who engage in illegal hunting.

D．People who regard maleo eggs as gifts.

4. What can we infer from Andi’s words?

A．The new capital development might be stopped at once.

B．The government will balance conservation and development.

C．There seems to be a tough way for the new capital to develop.

D．The government will concentrate on solving urban problems.

2 . 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。

Chinese achievements in pollution control, ecological recovery and protection, and green development China     1     (make) in the past decade were highlighted at a Friday press briefing,     2     a senior official pointed out China’s     3     (participate) and leadership in global climate governance.

According to the press briefing, China has been the fastest in improving air quality and the PM2. 5 level in cities at the prefecture level and above dropped by 34. 8 percent from that of 2015. Days with good air quality reached 87. 5 percent. Pollution of water bodies and the soil is also     4     (effective) tackled. Ecological systems     5     (protect) and restored. National parks are set and more than 300 endangered animal and plant species saw their wild populations recover, marking achievements in protecting ecological diversity.

The country has taken     6     active part in cooperation on climate change. It has done its     7     (good) to help other developing countries to improve their climate response capacity     8     (reduce) the harmful impacts of climate change. It also has distributed over 1. 2 billion yuan on climate change and trained about 2, 000 officials and experts in the field of climate change     9     more than 120 developing countries.

    10     (head) forward, China will work with all parties to actively participate in the global governance of climate change.

3 . Amphibians are animals that can live both on land and in water. A new global assessment has found that 41% of amphibian species that scientists have studied are threatened with extinction. That’s up from 39% reported in the last assessment in 2004.

The study, published on Wednesday in the journal Nature, found that the loss of habitat from the legal and illegal expansion of farming and ranching (放牧) contributes most to the extinction risk of amphibians worldwide. But a growing percentage of amphibian species are now also pushed to the edge of extinction by novel diseases and climate change, the study found.

Amphibians have distinct life stages that each often require separate habitats, so they can be disturbed by changes in either water or land environments, said University of Texas biologist Michael Ryan, who was not involved in the study. They are also at risk because of their delicate skin. Most amphibians absorb oxygen to breathe through their skin, and so they do not have scales (鳞), feathers or fur to protect them. Chemical pollution, bacteria and fungal (真菌的) infections impact them quickly, as do heightened swings in temperature and dampness levels due to climate change.

For example, frogs are active usually at night. If it’s too hot, they won’t come out even at night because they would lose too much water through their skin, said co-author and researcher Patricia Burrowes. But remaining in sheltered resting places limits frogs’ ability to eat and to produce.

Juan Manuel Guayasamin, a frog biologist at the University San Francisco of Quito, Ecuador, said that advances in technology to track animals and climate variations allowed the new study to use much more precise data than the 2004 assessment. “We have a much better understanding of some risks,” said Guayasamin.

The study identified the greatest concentrations of threatened amphibian species in several biodiversity hot spots, including the Caribbean islands, the tropical Andes, Madagascar and Sri Lanka. Other locations with large numbers of threatened amphibians include Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, southern China and the southeastern United States.

1. What has the new study found?

A．Amphibian populations are now extinct.

B．The number of amphibians is rising slightly.

C．The extinction risk of amphibians has declined.

D．More amphibian species are endangered than before.

2. Which of the following is the single biggest threat to amphibians?

A．Habitat loss.

B．Illegal hunting.

C．Novel diseases.

D．Climate change.

3. What does the author want to show by the example in paragraph 4?

A．The unusual living habits of frogs.	B．The unique features of the frog skin.
C．The effect of climate change on amphibians.	D．The urgency of protecting amphibians’ habitats.

4. What does Guayasamin think of the new study?

A．Its methods are debatable.	B．Its findings are more reliable.
C．It needs to be better organized.	D．It covers wide geographical areas.

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。

A 5,100-year-old dam, capable of flood control and irrigation (灌溉), has been identified as China’s earliest     1     (know) water engineering project. The Xiongjialing Dam is part of the Qujialing relics site in Jingmen, China’s Hubei Province.

The dam was initially built around 5,100 years ago on a branch of the Qingmudang River. The     2     (exist) dam measures 2 meters in height, 13 meters in width and 180 meters in length. It has a water storage area to the east, equal to the size of three West Lakes, and     3     8.5-hectare irrigation area to the west, with the     4     (late) found to have been an expanse of prehistory rice field. A floodway at the northern side of the water storage area allowed for discharge (排放) of extra water during flood seasons. The dam     5     (construct) with local earth, which was mixed with plant roots     6     (increase) the structure’s toughness.

The design of the water project suggests that prehistoric     7     (ancestor) in the area had learned to control water use rather than     8     (simple) defending against floods and droughts. The Qujialing relics site is famous for witnessing the first-ever discovery     9     carbonized rice along the midstream of the Yangtze River. Researchers say the dam further illustrates that, in the Neolithic Age, the area had a mature rice-growing agriculture. That’s     10     this relies heavily on irrigation.

5 . 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。

The milu deer certainly seemed happy to be back in China because their numbers started     1     (grow) steadily. There were soon so many of     2     (they) that 64 milu deer     3     (send) to a newly opened reserve in Shishou, Hubei Province from Beijing in the 1990s. They can move     4     (free) in the reserve and feed entirely on wild plants.

At the moment, the milu deer are still living in reserves     5     they are being protected     6     cared for. As a result, their population     7     (be) now recovering fast. Soon a new chapter will be added to the strange tale of these special     8     (animal). The deer are being trained to survive outside the park so that they can one day all return     9     the wild. The resue of the milu deer is already a     10     (succeed) story. Now it is up to us to make sure that the deer live happily ever after.

6 . In today’s world, where the consequences of climate change are becoming increasingly evident, the need for energy conservation has never been more pressing.     1    .

Use your laptop more than your desktop

Laptops use an average of 20 to 50 watts of electricity to run, whereas desktop computers use an average of 60 to 200 watts of electricity to run. The reason for this is that laptops run off of battery power and desktops are continuously plugged into a power source that drains energy.

    2    . Not only does this help reduce your energy usage, but it also optimizes your laptop’s battery life to last longer.

Charge your phone in airplane mode and before bedtime

While charging, switch your phone to airplane mode, so that the phone does not slow down the charging process by continually burning energy trying to connect with cell phone towers and plot your location with its GPS function. When you switch to airplane mode your phone charges more quickly.

The brighter the screen setting, the more power it uses and vibration uses more energy than a ringtone.     3    , therefore less energy consumption. And remember-unplug your charger if not in use!

Unplug mobile phone and laptop chargers

Always unplug electronics and appliances when not in use.     4    . When the power strip is left on, the devices plugged into it continue to use energy and actually increase your energy usage. The Northern Resources Defense Council found that devices in sleep or standby mode account for about one- quarter of all residential energy consumption.

    5    

Reduce your carbon footprint by organizing your files and eliminating unnecessary data from cloud storage! Companies offering cloud data storage need warehouses filled with servers running nonstop. These data centers consume massive amounts of energy since they require AC systems to avoid overheating.

A．Low Power Mode also saves battery life

B．Delete unwanted files from cloud storage

C．Saving energy is now easier with these tips from UNICEF

D．Therefore, energy conservation has never been more pressing

E．Unused electronic appliances may produce harm to the environment

F．Deenergization will save you energy, money, and can prevent electrical fires

G．Make sure to unplug your laptop from the power source once it’s fully charged

7 . Mutual cooperation in which humans cooperate with wild animals is extremely rare. One such system involves the greater honeyguide, a small African bird that leads humans to sources of honey. Once a nest is found, the human honey hunters break into it to obtain honey and bee worms, and the birds benefit from consuming beeswax in the now-exposed honey comb. Both the birds and the humans use specialized sounds to communicate their availability to participate in this cooperative interaction.

The two areas studied by Spottiswoode and Wood are northern Mozambique, where the honey hunters are from the Yao cultural group, and northern Tanzania, where the honey hunters are from the Hadza culture. The Yao communicate with honeyguides using a short and high-pitched sound followed by a low sound ”brrrrhm“, whereas the Hadza use a melodic whistle. Thus, signal and response both vary geographically.

Spotiswoode and Wood propose that the geographic variation they have identified in this mutualism is the product of cultural codevelopment. To qualify as cultural, the cooperative behaviors would have to be acquired through social learning from individuals of the same species. Social learning, however, is less of a given on the honeyguide side. Instead, what is required of honeyguides is another form of vocal learning - comprehension learning — in which the meaning of a signal is learned. Comprehension learning is common in birds. Whether social learning is involved, however, is not so, obvious.

Honeyguides put in considerable effort helping their human partners find food and are faithfully rewarded by being given food in return. In some human cultures, honey hunters purposefully leave out honeycomb to reward honeyeaters, but in others the hunters go, to great length to deny the birds any reward, by collecting, burying, or burning any honeycomb exposed when they destroy a nest. The reason given for these acts is that keeping the birds hungry causes them to continue guiding.

A promising question for future research is whether geographic differences in human cultural preferences for rewarding or not rewarding honeyguides affect the preferences of individual birds for guiding versus taking advantage of the guiding of others.

1. What is the purpose of mentioning the two areas in Paragraph 2?

A．To show that honey hunting is very popular in their culture.

B．To explain that communication methods differ in geography.

C．To illustrate the differences between the Yao and the Hadza.

D．To show that birds can understand various human cultures.

2. Why do some hunters refuse to give honeyguides any prizes?

A．To let them realize human’s power.

B．To make them keep providing help.

C．To cause them to burn honeycomb.

D．To use the honeycomb themselves.

3. What can be inferred about the relationship between humans and honeyguides?

A．Honeyguides have already had strong skills to learn from society.

B．Honeyguides have a genetic tendency to guide humans for honey.

C．Humans and honeyguides have a mutually beneficial relationship.

D．Human honey hunters will lose their jobs without honeyguides.

4. What is likely to be discussed in the following paragraph?

A．The impact of human cultural preferences on honeyguide behavior.

B．The further study on the cultural differences in human preferences.

C．The ecologically rewarding consequences of honeyguide behavior.

D．The influence of honeyguide behavior on human cultural practices.

8 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. What did the two men plan to do?

A．Attend a sailing race.

B．Travel between two islands.

C．Get away from their country.

2. How did the two men feel about the adventure?

A．Relieved.

B．Optimistic.

C．Upset.

3. How were the two men rescued?

A．They were found by a passing boat.

B．They boated to the nearest shore.

C．They found a floating device.

9 . Photographer Joe Sartore began making studio portraits (肖像) of________in 2006. The purpose is to________for future generations species that someday might be extinct. Sartore expects to have portraits of nearly 1,000 animals. Here are some________of his project, which is featured in this special issue on________wildlife.

In Sartore’s opinion, the Rabbs’ fringe-limbed tree frog (巴拿马树蛙) is one of the most________species he has photographed that have since gone________. A few years ago there was one left________, a male, at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. He had________it there times before it passed away. At those moments he thought to himself________, “Don’t mess this up.” It might be this animal’s only________to have its story told well.

Another memorable species Sartore photographed is the Florida grasshopper sparrow (草蜢沙鹀). It is endangered, but seems to be________back. It’s a small brown bird, and some people________it enough to try to save it. There are many________stories, such as the California condor, the Mexican gray wolf, sand so on. They all got down to perhaps two dozen or fewer individuals, but they’re all________now due to human efforts.

The situation is still________as a recent report says that as many as one million species are already on their ________to extinction. It’s foolish to think that we can throw away so much________and not have it affect humanity in a(n)________way. Sartore’s goal is to get the________to care about the extinction crisis while there’s still________to save the planet.

1.

A．people

B．plants

C．animals

D．insects

2.

A．collect

B．record

C．paint

D．identify

3.

A．examples

B．methods

C．goals

D．versions

4.

A．urban

B．national

C．best

D．endangered

5.

A．impressive

B．dangerous

C．interesting

D．powerful

6.

A．missing

B．wild

C．extinct

D．popular

7.

A．awake

B．unchanged

C．alive

D．untouched

8.

A．seen

B．studied

C．treated

D．photographed

9.

A．naturally

B．nervously

C．carelessly

D．excitedly

10.

A．duty

B．response

C．chance

D．promise

11.

A．bouncing

B．stepping

C．locking

D．calling

12.

A．looked after

B．cared about

C．searched for

D．depended on

13.

A．unique

B．similar

C．amusing

D．personal

14.

A．dying

B．booming

C．suffering

D．recovering

15.

A．pleasant

B．ongoing

C．unclear

D．serious

16.

A．decision

B．way

C．trip

D．access

17.

A．money

B．food

C．trash

D．life

18.

A．negative

B．objective

C．difficult

D．effective

19.

A．police

B．children

C．public

D．artists

20.

A．time

B．space

C．value

D．concern

10 . A shark was spotted off the shore of LeCount Hollow Beach, in Wellfleet, Massachusetts. The sighting was immediately reported to the Sharktivity app that's a public-safety tool created by the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy （AWSC）.

John Chisholm is a biologist who studies sharks. He monitors reports made to the Sharktivity app. When he gets a message, he contacts the person who spotted the shark. “Hopefully, you have a photo or a video,” he says. “If you don't, then I have to try to study what you saw, based on your description and the location. ”Some sightings are false alarms, but when Chisholm is able to confirm a sighting, it's labeled as confirmed on the app. “Lifeguards can use that data and close beaches if they have to,” he says.

Cape Cod（CC） is a hot spot for sharks. That part of Massachusetts is known for its beaches. In 2021, there were more than 150,000 shark detections in CC waters. Sharks have always been a natural part of the CC ecosystem. But since the 1970s, their numbers have dropped by more than 70% worldwide. Since 1972, America has banned hunting seals（海豹）. Over time, their numbers have gone up. Today, there're an estimated 50,000 gray seals around the Massachusetts coast. More gray seals mean more food for sharks. Seals often swim and gather near the shoreline. That's one reason why great sharks are showing up near CC beaches.

Sharks might mistake people or objects for food. So the AWSC's Shark Smart Beach Program takes information directly to the public. It has workers on CC beaches ready to teach people about shark behavior. “A big thing for folks to remember, if they're going to the beach, is that they're going to an environment where there're wild animals,” says Marianne Walsh, AWSC's education director. “By paying attention to lifeguards, not going out past waist-deep water, and not swimming alone, people can easily coexist with sharks,” Chisholm says.

1. What does Chisholm advise you to do for him when you report a shark sighting?

A．Delete the false information in person.	B．Inform lifeguards immediately.
C．Label the location on the Sharktivity app.	D．Take pictures or make a video.

2. What is paragraph 3 mainly about?

A． A conservation success story.	B．The reasons for protecting sharks.
C．The disasters caused by sharks.	D．A prediction of the CC ecosystem.

3. What is the purpose of the AWSC's Shark Smart Beach Program?

A．To collect information about sharks.	B．To teach how to avoid sharks' attack.
C．To sharpen beach goers' swimming skills.	D．To strengthen animal-human relationships.

4. Where is the text probably taken from?

A．A travel brochure.	B．A research paper.
C．A biology textbook.	D．An animal magazine.