1 . Unlike other natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes are very hard to see coming, even for scientists.    1    Thus, specific practices for earthquake preparedness are necessary. Here are four steps you can take to prepare yourself in advance.

Drop, cover and hold

If you feel the ground start to shake, drop, take cover under as table piece of furniture, and hold on. You can hide under something like a desk or table, with one arm holding on to a leg of the table and your other arm protecting your neck and head.    2    In modern homes, it is no stronger than any other part of the house and will not protect you from injury.

Make a family plan

    3    Create a meeting point—somewhere easy for everyone to remember, or you could also meet at home. Whatever plan you decide on, don’t rely on your phone as your main form of communication. Technology fails all the time in disasters. A major earthquake in California, for example, damaged cell towers and knocked out communication services for days.

Secure your furniture

Those hanging shelves above your bed could be a danger during an earthquake. People often get injured from “flying or falling objects” like furniture or glass during earthquakes. So examine your home and ask yourself, “What could be a potential danger to my safety?”    4    

Make digital copies of important documents

Important documents may get destroyed during earthquakes. Therefore, scan or take photos of your important documents, such as your license, financial records and insurance policy information.    5    This step can help ensure your documents will be available even if your computer is lost in a quake.

A．Then send them to your e-mail.

B．These are all important personal documents.

C．Make sure your household has a plan of action.

D．Whatever you do, do not stand in a doorframe.

E．If you find the answer, you need to runaway immediately.

F．Nowadays early detection systems can only give seconds of warming ahead.

G．If possible, remove those heavy and big objects above your bed immediately.

2 . 4 Best Places to Travel in 2023

2023 is the year when travel returns in a big way. To get you started, we’ve rounded up some of the best places to travel in 2023. All you need to do is pick the place that appeals to you.

Copenhagen

With its fantastic houses, clean streets and colorful architecture, Copenhagen is regarded as the most livable city on the earth. Named the World Capital of Architecture for 2023, Copenhagen will offer a series of major artistic events and programs sure to delight architects and design lovers.

Bhutan

For travelers with a sense of adventure and a love of discovery, Bhutan has always been a must-go destination. In 2023, travelers can once again explore the Trans Bhutan Trail, which runs 250 miles from east to west, offering visits to the century-old communities along the journey. The trail spans (横跨)18 major bridges and national parks and connects more than 400 historic and cultural sites.

Bordeaux

The coming years will be sporty in the historical wine region of Bordeaux in France. In 2023, the city will host the Rugby World Cup, an intense and stressful game. Beyond sports, Bordeaux is one of the favorite historical cities, with more than 350 structures that are either nationally or regionally listed as historical monuments.

Namibia

Wildlife and adventure lovers looking for a unique path in African Safari trips should head straight to Namibia in 2023 — this country in southern Africa is the perfect place to travel to reconnect with nature and escape the modern stresses of life. On the wildlife front, you may see lions along with giraffes and elephants.

1. What is Copenhagen well-known for?

A．The natural landscape.	B．The adventure travel.
C．Eye-catching architecture.	D．Famous art designers.

2. What can you visit on the Trans Bhutan Trail?

A．Modern communities.	B．Cultural relics.
C．Historical wine regions.	D．National monuments.

3. Which place attracts those who want to be free from stressful city life?

A．Copenhagen.

B．Bhutan.

C．Bordeaux.

D．Namibia.

3 . 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。

Screen time for children and teens is a battlefront that many parents know well. But one Chicago zoo says it’s a problem for a teenage gorilla (大猩猩), too.

A 16-year-old, 415-pound gorilla named Amare is developing a(n)     1    (addict) to the smartphone screens held up by visitors at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, Illinois, the zoo says.

    2     growing number of people noticed that Amare enjoyed looking at photos and videos on     3    cell phones. As the visitors held up their screens, the gorilla spent more and more time approaching the glass to get a     4    (close) look.

Amare lives with three other teenage male gorillas .Once,     5     (glue) to a screen when another gorilla charged towards him, Amare didn’t notice    6     had happened. Although Amare is fine after that normal show of aggression (争斗) between young males, continued distraction(分心) could weaken Amare’s social standing in the group and result     7     severe developmental consequences.

So far, too much screen time among human teens     8     (tie) to physical and mental health risks. The reasons to limit screen time for human and gorilla teens are not     9     (terrible) different. Now, staff members at the Lincoln Park Zoo have put up a rope line     10    (keep) visitors and their screens a bit farther away from the teenage gorilla.

4 . Grizzly bears, which may grow to about 2.5 m long and weigh over 400 kg, occupy a conflicted corner of the American psyche — we revere (敬畏) them even as they give us frightening dreams. Ask the tourists from around the world that flood into Yellowstone National Park what they most hope to see, and their answer is often the same: a grizzly bear.

“Grizzly bears are re-occupying large areas of their former range,” says bear biologist Chris Servheen. As grizzly bears expand their range into places where they haven’t been seen in a century or more, they’re increasingly being sighted by humans.

The western half of the US was full of grizzlies when Europeans came, with a rough number of 50,000 or more living alongside Native Americans. By the early 1970s, after centuries of cruel and continuous hunting by settlers, 600 to 800 grizzlies remained on a mere 2 percent of their former range in the Northern Rockies. In 1975, grizzlies were listed under the Endangered Species Act.

Today, there are about 2,000 or more grizzly bears in the US. Their recovery has been so successful that the US Fish and Wildlife Service has twice attempted to delist grizzlies, which would loosen legal protections and allow them to be hunted. Both efforts were overturned due to lawsuits from conservation groups. For now, grizzlies remain listed.

Obviously, if precautions (预防) aren’t taken, grizzlies can become troublesome, sometimes killing farm animals or walking through yards in search of food. If people remove food and attractants from their yards and campsites, grizzlies will typically pass by without trouble. Putting electric fencing around chicken houses and other farm animal quarters is also highly effective at getting grizzlies away. “Our hope is to have a clean, attractant-free place where bears can pass through without learning bad habits,” says James Jonkel, longtime biologist who manages bears in and around Missoula.

1. How do Americans look at grizzlies?

A．They cause mixed feelings in people.

B．They should be kept in national parks.

C．They are of high scientific value.

D．They are a symbol of American culture.

2. What has helped the increase of the grizzly population?

A．The European settlers’ behavior.

B．The expansion of bears’ range.

C．The protection by law since 1975.

D．The support of Native Americans.

3. What has stopped the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service from delisting grizzlies?

A．The opposition of conservation groups.

B．The successful comeback of grizzlies.

C．The voice of the biologists.

D．The local farmers’ advocates.

4. What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A．Food should be provided for grizzlies.

B．People can live in harmony with grizzlies.

C．A special path should be built for grizzlies.

D．Technology can be introduced to protect grizzlies.

5 . How to Survive in the Woods

Getting lost in the woods can be a scary situation. Whether you’ve got lost on a hike, your car broke down on a wilderness road, or any other reason, surviving in the woods is difficult.     1     Here are some tips on how to get out of the woods.

Don’t panic. Panicking can cause you to make poor decisions and affect your judgment. If you’re going to get out of the woods, you need to have a clear head.     2    

Avoid using too much energy.     3     Try not to sweat or use too much energy by doing things like running around and screaming for help if you’re by yourself. Save as much energy as you can for doing things like building shelter, fire, and searching for water.

    4     If you become lost in the woods for whatever reason, people will look for you at your last known location. Trying to find your way out can make you more lost and make it harder for anybody to find you. Stay in one location for a better chance at being rescued.

Signal your location with smoke signals. Build a fire and add a bunch of green leaves or pine needles to create a lot of smoke. Take a large branch with green leaves on it and cover the fire for 3-4 seconds to stop the smoke from escaping.     5     Repeat the process to form a line of clouds of smoke in the sky.

A．Build a shelter.

B．Stay where you are.

C．However, it can be done.

D．Search for a source of fresh water.

E．Take deep breaths and focus on the tasks at hand.

F．It may be difficult for you to find adequate food and water.

G．Then, remove the branch to allow the smoke cloud to escape.

6 . The monarch butterfly migration(迁徙)is at risk because of climate change and other envuronmental factors.

Do you know that monarch butterflies can travel up to 50- 100 miles a day? If you know they need travel about two months, you’ll have an idea of the distance monarchs travel to get to Mexico.

Monarch butterflies are the only hind of butterflies to make a two-way migration. They travel to Mexico to escape the winter season in the northern climates. Cold, wet weather is considered deadly for monarchs, while hotter, diner summer change their homes in the north.

2020, however, saw a 26% drop from the year earlier in migration patterns reported in a report from the World Wildlife Fund and the Mexican government. With this drop, the butterflies’ population covered only 2.1 hectares in 2020, compared to 2.8 hectares a year earlier. And the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Michoacan. Mexico, lost trees at a higher rate than it did in 2019.

With climate change as the monarch butterflies’ biggest challenge, they are faced with many dangers, such as drought, deforestation(滥伐森林)and struggle to breed. These dangers affect the whole migration and hold back population growth. Female monarchs lay their eggs on milkweed flowers, which have been heavily affected by the wild weather from spring and summer of last year. Because of this, the development of butterfly eggs was also affected.

Since 2013, Mexico has seen a rapid drop in the number of migrants arriving to the area. The effects of climate change and deforestation have become an important sign that action needs to be taken to make sure of a healthy migration for monarchs going forward. If not, it’s their possible dying, out that wall fall unto our hands.

1. Haw far do monarch butterflies fly to escape the cold?

A．50-100 miles.	B．100-200 miles.
C．1,500 – 3,000 miles.	D．3,000 -6,000 miles.

2. What’s the problem with the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve?

A．It is becoming cold and wet.	B．It is dangerous for monarchs
C．Its environment is being destroyed.	D．Its area is growing smaller.

3. What is paragraph 5 mainly about?

A．The damage to forests.	B．The dangers monarchs face.
C．The growth process of monarchs.	D．The development of butterfly eggs

4. What does the author want to do in the last paragraph?

A．Point out the signs of climate change.	B．Explain the cause of the monarch migration.
C．Call for measures to stop monarchs dying out.	D．Express regret at the monarchs’ disappearance.

7 . Cheap and even free volunteering programs are everywhere. Don’t worry about a budget that may stop you from volunteering abroad! Kindred Spirit Elephant Sanctuary (保护区) is the right place for you.

Highlights

Volunteer with elephants and bring them back into their natural habitat.

Make a difference in the conservation efforts to save elephants living under awful conditions.

Help teach English to the communities and raise awareness about the captive (圈养的) elephant situation.

Wander the forests and observe elephant’s natural behaviours in their home environment.

Our Sanctuary

Our sanctuary has rescued 5 elephants from the tourism industry and we have now brought them home to live out their lives in the forest, in semi-wild conditions. We need volunteers to help us keep these elephants happy and healthy in their natural habitat. With volunteer support. we hope to return more elephants to the forest soon.

Your tasks

Performing research on the natural elephant behaviours and the surrounding forest.

Taking part in community projects such as teaching English at the school and to other locals.

Carrying out litter pick-ups with the kids to educate on waste management.

Your Rough Schedule:

Day 1: Pickup from Chiang Mai at 9 am. Travel through a national park and stunning mountains until you arrive in our unique village. Meet your homestay family and the other volunteers, and immerse yourself in hill tribe culture.

Day 2: Wake up early to hike in the forest and find our elephants. Spend the morning recording and learning about these amazing animals and their natural behaviours. Return to the village in the late afternoon and take part in our community & teaching projects.

Day 3: Another early start to like to observe our elephants one last time. Return to Chiang Mai in the afternoon.

1. Which of the following highlights the volunteer work at the sanctuary?

A．Looking after captive elephants.

B．Seeking elephants in natural forests.

C．Learning local communities’ folk arts.

D．Saving elephants in poor environment.

2. What should you do as a volunteer?

A．Establish experimental bases.

B．Promote educational programs.

C．Enhance cultural exchange.

D．Start anti-poverty projects.

3. What should you keep in mind if you want to volunteer there?

A．You should have good ability of hiking.

B．You can choose your own transportation.

C．You may camp on the mountain for days.

D．You must be familiar with local languages.

8 . FitzGerald is a 16-year-old long-distance runner from Devon, England, who has set a national record in the under-17s 3, 000 meters, but now she’s getting noticed for her commitment to saving the planet.

FitzGerald finished fourth in the under-20s race at the European Cross Country Championships in Italy last December, but her journey to get there made it even more impressive. To reach Turin in Italy, FitzGerald could have taken a quick flight. However, flying releases carbon dioxide. Instead, she took an overnight coach to Lille in France, then trains to first Paris, then Turin, cycling between stations. Despite her tiring journey, she beat athletes three years older than her.

FitzGerald turned down the chance to compete at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, Australia. She told Athletics Weekly magazine that the decision wasn’t easy but that travelling fills her “with deep concern”. “To have the opportunity to compete for Great Britain in Australia is a privilege,” FitzGerald said. “However, I would never be comfortable flying in the knowledge that people could be losing their livelihoods, homes and loved ones as a result. The least I can do is voice my solidarity (团结一致) with those suffering on the front line of climate breakdown.”

FitzGerald’s refusal to fly has led people to compare her to the climate activist Thunberg, who once travelled to New York by boat. FitzGerald could travel by ship to Australia, but it would take her more than a month to get there. FitzGerald knows her choice to put the needs of the Earth first could affect her athletics career, but she has to act as if it’s an emergency.

Champions for Earth, an organization for environmentally-friendly athletes, said: “She is looking for sponsors and supporters who can help her with the more expensive public transport, accommodation and eco-friendly kit that she requires. It is clear that FitzGerald has the steely determination and focus, combined with the courage and clarity to face a reality quite different to athletes of previous generations.”

1. Why did FitzGerald make headlines?

A．Because she chose green transport instead of a flight to Italy.

B．Because she made a national record in 3, 000 meters in England.

C．Because she devoted all her time to eco-environment in England.

D．Because she won the champion in the cross country race in Italy.

2. What caused FitzGerald to refuse the competition in Australia?

A．Ungreen travelling.	B．Tiring competing in Italy.
C．Changeable climate on the way.	D．Affected athletics career.

3. What do FitzGerald and Thunberg have in common?

A．Acting immediately if there is an emergency.

B．Preferring taking the ship instead of the flight.

C．Spending all their life in protecting the environment.

D．Choosing the eco-friendly means of transportation.

4. Which can best describe FitzGerald according to Champions for Earth?

A．Honest and outgoing.	B．Determined and concentrated.
C．Attractive and modest.	D．Courageous and humorous.

9 . A bridge is a structure constructed to connect two places without blocking the way beneath it. Below are four famous bridges in the world.

Bridge of Sighs

The Bridge of Sighs is in Venice, Italy, which was designed by Antonio Contino. The bridge’s construction was begun in 1600 and completed in 1603. The bridge was supposed to be the last view for prisoners, who would sigh at the beauty of Venice, before being taken to prison. That is why it is called the Bridge of Sighs.

Tsing Ma Bridge

The bridge is named after the two islands it connects-Ma Wan and Tsing Yi in Hong Kong. It has both a roadway and a railway and is the longest suspension bridge (悬索桥) with two decks. The bridge is 4518 feet long and 676 feet tall, which was designed by Mott MacDonald. The construction was begun in 1992 and completed in 1997.

Tower Bridge

The Tower Bridge is situated in London, which is a combination of the drawbridge (开合桥) and suspension bridge. Designed by Horace Jones and John Wolfe Barry, it was built between 1886 and 1894. The bridge stretches across the River Thames near the Tower of London. The drawbridge is drawn about 1,000 times a year.

Golden Gate Bridge

The Golden Gate Bridge joins the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, whose chief designer was Jbseph Strauss. The bridge has been named the most beautiful and most photographed bridge in the world. It is 8,981 feet long, 746 feet tall and 90 feet wide. Construction of the bridge was begun in 1933 and completed in 1937. In 1987, the bridge was named a California historic landmark.

1. Which bridge has the longest history?

A．The Bridge of Sighs.	B．The Tsing Ma Bridge.
C．The Tower Bridge.	D．The Golden Gate Bridge.

2. How did the Tsing Ma Bridge get its name?

A．It was named by its designer.	B．It was named by the government.
C．It got its name because of its length.	D．It got its name from the two islands it connected.

3. What can we know about the Golden Gate Bridge from the last paragraph?

A．It links two oceans.

B．It is the longest bridge in the world.

C．It is a historic landmark in California.

D．It is a combination of the drawbridge and suspension bridge.

10 . With so many different kinds of plants out there, telling them apart can seem like an impossible task. But you don’t have to have a degree in botany to start putting names to the plants you come across. Learning to recognize various species begins with studying the plants’ unique physical features carefully and recording what you see.

    1     If you spot a plant outdoors and don’t have the first clue as to what it is, start identifying it by scanning your surroundings. In particular, consider the overall climate, the conditions of the terrain, and any nearby water sources. A quick glance should be able to tell you what you’re looking at.

Study the plant’s features carefully. Whenever you come across a species you’ve never seen before, stop and take note. Look over each of the individual parts, like the stems (茎，梗), leaves, and flowers.

    2    

Use viewing aids to take a closer look. A magnifying glass will allow you to zoom in and analyze a plant’s features in more vivid detail. Similarly, you may require a pair of binoculars or a telescopic lens when you want to inspect a particular specimen (样本) from a distance.     3    

Write down the plant’s key features.     4     Be sure to make mention of attributes like size, shape, color, and texture, as well as any unique patterns or other distinguishing marks. In order to learn to identify plants on your own, you’ll need to hone (磨练) your use of descriptive language to be as precise as possible.

Ask an expert to take advantage of their firsthand experience. Show your notes and any photos you’ve taken to a botanist, gardening specialist, or respected outdoorsman and see if they can help you discover the identity of a certain plant.     5     People who have spent years studying plants can often pick them out by sight or description.

A．Observe the plant carefully at first.

B．Take your environment into consideration.

C．Record each characteristic in your own words.

D．Judge the age and shape of the plants you have found.

E．Without these tools, you’ll be stuck doing a lot of guesswork.

F．You’ll have an opportunity to absorb a little of what they know.

G．Most plants can be grouped and distinguished by these structures.