1 . When Mexican scientist of the evolution of animal behavior, Laura Cuaya, moved to Hungary for her postdoctoral studies in Budapest, she brought her pet dog, Kun-kun, along for the ride. Cuaya couldn't help noticing how locals warmed to dogs. This prompted her naturally curious scientific mind to start asking questions. “Here people are talking all the time to Kun-kun, but I always wonder if Kun-kun can recognize that people in Budapest speak Hungarian, not Spanish?” So she set out to find an answer through a scientific study.

Cuaya and her colleagues decided to use brain images from MRI scanning to shed light on her hunch. They worked with dogs of various ages that had, until the experiment, only heard their owners speak just one of the two languages, Spanish or Hungarian. Not surprisingly, getting the dogs to happily take part in the experiment took some creative coaxing and animal training! The researchers first needed to teach Kun-kun and her 17 fellow participating dogs including a labradoodle, a golden retriever and Australian shepherds, to lie still in a brain scanner. Their pet parents were always present, and they could leave the scanner at any point.

The research team played children's book classic The Little Prince in both Spanish and Hungarian while scanning the dogs' brains with an MRI machine. They were looking for evidence that their brains reacted differently to a familiar and unfamiliar language. The researchers also played scrambled versions of the story to find out if dogs could distinguish between speech and non-speech.

The images reveal that dogs' brains show different patterns of activity for an unfamiliar language than for a familiar one — the first time anyone has proved, researchers say, that a non-human brain can distinguish between two languages. This means that the sounds and rhythms of a familiar language are accessible to non-humans.

Interestingly, the team also found that the brains of older dogs were more skilled at detecting speech “suggesting a role for the amount of language exposure”. They suggest that dogs have refined their ability to distinguish between human languages over the long process of domestication.

1. What is paragraph 1 mainly about?

A．The background of the study.	B．The significance of the study.
C．The concern of the researcher.	D．The introduction to the researcher.

2. What did Cuaya consider when choosing dogs for study?

A．Age limits.

B．Brain patterns.

C．Language exposure.

D．Owners' commands.

3. The results of the study are ________.

A．practical

B．contradictory

C．compromising

D．groundbreaking

4. Which of the following can be the best title?

A．Dogs Can Tell Foreign Languages	B．Dog Brains Have Different Patterns
C．Old Dogs Know More About Human Speech	D．Dogs Can Differ Speech From Non-Speech

2 . The Man Who Ate his Boots is a fascinating account of expeditions that went wrong. The book examines the 19th century search for a route to Asia by way of the Northwest Passage through the Arctic Ocean. Author Anthony Brandt describes the many attempts by both land and sea that ended in failure and tragedy, including the 1845 expedition led by Sir John Franklin. Brandt shows how these brave, yet sometimes foolish, explorers could have avoided starvation, frostbite, and even death if they had copied the survival techniques of the local Inuit people. Some of the more surprising details the book reveals include:

IGLOOS The explorers, despite repeatedly watching the Inuit build igloos, insisted on using canvas tents. Tents freeze in sub-zero temperatures and give little protection to anyone inside them. If they had learned to build igloos, the explorers would have been warm even in the worst Arctic weather.

SEALSKIN If the explorers had worn sealskin and furs like the Inuit, they wouldn’t have suffered from the frostbite that was common among them, but rare among the Inuit.

DOG TEAMS Why didn’t the British use dog teams to pull their sleds? Pulling sleds themselves was a tradition among many explorers right into the early 20th century. It cost Scott and his men their lives on their return from the South Pole in 1912.

The British did get something right, however, when Captain Edward Parry grew salad vegetables in boxes on board his ship. It was known that fresh vegetables and fresh meat prevented scurvy (坏血病)，although at that time the reason for this (vitamin C) had not been discovered. Parry’s men wouldn’t have been as healthy if they hadn’t eaten the salads.

1. In The Man Who Ate his Boots’ the author mainly ________.

A．introduces some foolish explorers

B．focuses on some unsuccessful expeditions

C．analyzes the Inuit people’s survival techniques

D．explores the advances in equipment used for expeditions

2. According to Anthony Brandt, what should the explorers have done?

A．They should have learned more about how seals survived in cold water.

B．They should have set up more canvas tents to keep themselves warm.

C．They should have helped the Inuit people build igloos.

D．They should have used dogs to pull the sleds for them.

3. It can be inferred from the passage that________.

A．Edward Parry found a way to prevent scurvy by accident

B．Edward Parry’s successful voyage was a rare case at that time

C．Edward Parry was the first captain that grew salad vegetables on board

D．Edward Parry’s men could have been more healthy if they took vitamin C

3 . There is a kind of climate pollution that we can’t see clearly. It isn’t in our rivers, lands or skies, it is in our minds. When climate disinformation goes unchecked, it spreads like wildfire, undermining the existence of climate change and the need for urgent action.

Like the biosphere that sustains us, the health of our information ecosystems is vital to our survival. As an artist, I feel a responsibility to create new ways of seeing the disinformation that has come to define the age of fake news.

Social media sites are honed to grab our attention. Using sophisticated algorithms, the corporations behind them decide what billions of people see around the world, dictated by what keeps you hooked, but also by what the companies paying social media sites choose to put in front of you.

Powerful corporate actors deploy clever influence campaigns via ads targeted at specific users based on what social media firms know about those people. Major oil and gas companies have spent billions of dollars over the years persuading consumers about their green proofs, when only 1 per cent of their expenditure in 2019 was on renewable energy. This is known as corporate greenwashing. Still, fossil fuel firms maintain that their climate policies are “responsible” and “in line with the science”.

To expose the scale of corporate greenwashing online, I was part of a team that recently launched Eco-Bot.Net. Co-created with artist Rob “3D” Del Naja of the band Massive Attack and Dale Vince, a green entrepreneur, Eco-Bot. Net’s AI-powered website ran throughout the COP26 climate summit, exposing climate change misinformation by releasing a series of data drops for heavily polluting sectors, including energy, agribusiness and aviation.

Academic definitions of climate disinformation and greenwashing were used to unearth posts across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and visualize them on our website. Eco-Bot.Net then flagged greenwashing ads and posts on the original social media site with a public health warning.

By digging into our data, journalists have already revealed that companies are targeting specific demographics in order to influence public perceptions about climate change – and even alter government policy.

One data drop focused on the 100 biggest fossil fuel producers, companies that have been the source of 71 per cent of global carbon emissions. It found that 16 of these companies ran 1705 greenwashing and climate misinformation ads globally on Facebook and Instagram this year. In total, they spent more than £4 million creating influence campaigns that generated up to 155 million impressions.

Social media companies could end most of the harms from climate disinformation on their platforms if they wanted to. Flagging systems were swiftly introduced to warn users of posts containing disinformation about covid-19. The scientific consensus on human-caused global warming has been resolute for decades, so why can’t a similar flagging system be implemented for related disinformation?

It is true that Twitter and Facebook have both introduced climate science information hubs, but these are little more than PR exercises that fail to directly tackle climate disinformation on any kind of scale.

This epidemic of climate change disinformation on social media is eroding collective ideas of truth. In this post-truth age of disinformation, we hope that the public, the press and policy-makers will be able to use our data findings to see what is hidden by what we see online.

For the first time, we can witness the regional scale of corporate greenwashing. The era of climate denial and delay is largely over — except, as Eco-Bot.Net has revealed, on social media.

1. What does the word “undermine” in the first paragraph mean in the passage?

A．Dig holes in the ground.	B．Make sth weaker at the base.
C．Increase or further improve.	D．Put a stop to sth.

2. The author used the case of major oil and gas companies in Paragraph Four in order to ________.

A．give the readers a precise definition of corporate greenwashing

B．show the dishonest claim by fossil fuel companies on their responsible climate policies

C．demonstrate the huge investment the corporations made to exert powerful influence on the targeted social media users based on algorithm

D．emphasize the tens of millions of dollars spent on renewable energy

3. Which of the following industry contributes most to climate change?

A．energy

B．agribusiness

C．aviation

D．social media

4. What is the author’s opinion of social media?

A．They are willing to help but feel powerless to do so.

B．They have the ability to make a change but refuse to do so as there are controversies over climate changes.

C．They have the ability to make a change and have made some sincere but fruitless efforts on it.

D．They lose their integrity in face of the money from the big corporations.

5 . Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. expanding                    B. alternative                    C. bridge                           D. recycled E. contributed                    F. concerns                    G. encouraging              H. landscape I. marine                           J. dispose                           K. widening

Food delivery apps are changing the way we eat

It’s raining, it’s dinnertime, and the fridge is nearly empty. Years ago, we made do; today, we order food through our phones. Within twenty minutes, we get whatever it was we were craving, we’re warm and dry, and there’s not a single dish to wash afterward.

Food delivery apps have altered the     1     of how eat, particularly in big cities. The industry is a complex machine; there’s Meituan, Ele.me, Hema…the list goes on. These companies are     2     and changing at a rapid rate, bringing on the rise of virtual restaurants and ghost kitchens, and customers who will never step inside a brick-and-mortar shop（实体店）.

Of course, these apps bring all types of cuisines around the city to our fingertips, but it comes at a cost. And one of the real environmental     3     lies in all that plastic and excess food.

In the US alone, packaging accounts for 30 percent of municipal solid waste. In 2017, that meant 80.1 million tons. Food delivery systems are likely     4     this huge number to rise. Durable materials like the plastics serveware is made from, are difficulty to     5     of.

Restaurant delivery is a global phenomenon – as is the impact on the environment. Meituan, one of the leading Chinese delivery platforms, delivered 6.4 billion food orders in 2018. It is estimated that China     6     1.6 million tons of packaging waste(containers, utensils, plastic bags) in 2017, nine times more than in 2015.

In the EU, University of Manchester researchers estimate, over two billion single-use takeaway containers are used every year. Most of those are not     7    . According to the European Commission, packaging, which includes plastic utensils, plates, and straws, make up 70% of all     8     pollution found in European seas.

Plastic bans,     9     packaging materials, and other efforts to cut down on waste are on the rise. Food delivery apps should, too, do their part to raise awareness for plastic pollution and     10     the gap between food waste and hunger.

7 . Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. agreements       B. chattering       C. efforts        D. feasibly       E. fulfillment F. hard G. introduced       H. morality       I. persuaded       J. seized       K. spoiled

Here’s to guilt-free flying

Maj a Rosen gave up flying a decade ago out of concern for its environmental impact. But when she became a mother and started hanging out with other parents, she didn’t bring it up, even when the conversation turned to flying. It would have     1     the mood.

Then in April 2018, her home country of Sweden     2     a tax on aviation (飞行).The climate impacts of flying were on the evening news and the mood changed. Rosen    3     the moment. With her neighbor Lotta Hammar, she launched a campaign called “We stay on the ground”, which has    4    10,000 people to commit to avoid flights in 2019.

Kudos. But here’s the     5     truth: in the grand scheme of things, barely anyone will follow suit. The     6     classes tend to have a lot to say about the eco benefits of avoiding meat, cycling and eating locally sourced food. But that     7     generally disappears when it comes to flying.

We can’t rely on international     8     to stop aviation emission either. Yes, the UN has fixed up a deal to cap aviation emissions beyond 2020. But it lacks real bite, allowing airlines to continue emitting carbon provided they offset (抵消)it.

All this means we could really do with green tech riding to the rescue. Here, at least, there is a little good news. Even rather simple measures like freeing planes to fly in straighter lines could     9     cut carbon emissions. Hybrid (混合动力的)electric aircraft are also the pipeline. And we already know that planes can mix up to 50 per cent biofuels into their tanks and fly safely.

It’s time to redouble our    10     to make planes green. In the meantime, if you are still looking for a New Year’s resolution, you might want to think about joining those 105000 Swedes.

8 . In the winter of 1985, my hometown, Buffalo, experienced a blizzard — not an uncommon occurrence for the region. But this was a big one, and the city’s mayor, Jimmy Griffin, was at pains to persuade people to stop trying to go about their business as conditions worsened. He urged Buffalonians to “relax, stay inside, and grab a six-pack,” which must be the best advice in an emergency situation.

There’s something cartoonish about the threat of a blizzard, in which nature’s anger assumes a fluffy form and tries to kill you. It’s the meteorological equivalent of getting attacked by the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. And yet, kill it does, through car accidents and heart attacks and other misadventures, usually involving people trying, unwisely, to do something.

Mr. Griffin, therefore known as Jimmy Six-Pack, understood this. The Snow Gods reserve special hatred for those who don’t respect their ability to bring human activity to a standstill. The snow cares not for your deadlines or your happy hour plans. It wants only to fall on the ground and lie there. And it wants you to too.

Needless to say, you should. A snowstorm rewards indolence and punishes busy bees, which is only one of the many reasons it’s the best natural disaster there is.

Time has partly buried my childhood memories of Buffalo’s mighty blizzard of 1977, but I still recall the great drifts that climbed over houses, the spectacle of a world made surprisingly new. It’s a vision that often comes back to my mind every now and then, as we face the terrible prospect of a climate changed by human appetites — the future winters, damp and snow less, that may well await us. So let us all now pause, perhaps over a six-pack, and bear witness as the climate changes us.

1. The writer mentions the mayor of Jimmy Griffin in order to__________.

A．introduce a proper way to deal with blizzards

B．appreciate his contribution to the city’s development

C．highlight how the climate worsened in his term

D．explain why blizzards were not uncommon in Buffalo

2. The underlined word “indolence” is closest in meaning to __________.

A．anger

B．diligence

C．intelligence

D．laziness

3. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that the writer feels___________ the possible snowless winters.

A．annoyed by

B．amazed at

C．pleased with

D．sorry for

4. Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?

A．Blizzard: a Thing of the Past.	B．In Case of a Snowstorm, Do Nothing.
C．What Will the Future Winters Be Like?	D．Witness to Climate Change.

9 . As a botanists who studies our cultural relationship with plants, I am forever fascinated with what draws people to gardening.

Admittedly, connecting with the natural world might seem like an obvious motivation, and undoubtedly it is a key part of the attraction.    1     If they were, we’d abandon any attempts at design, planting or care and watch how walls of weeds slowly gave way to the mass of bushes. But that wouldn’t be gardening, of course, because for all their diversity, the one thing that all gardens have in common is how unnatural they are.    2     Dazzling plants, watch features and glorious blooms is all interconnected well beyond what would naturally occur. Whether it is green lawns created in the driest deserts or a tropical paradise on a stormy North Atlantic island, they are all about shaping the natural world to fit our idea of what it “ should” be.

As I work on my tiny terrariums (玻璃花园) on dark February nights, something magical happens to my brain.     3     In a world that has become increasingly uncertain, people are often fuelled by the same psychological desire: the instinctive need to have a bit of control amid chaos.

As our world becomes more and more unpredictable and often frightening, gardening seems to be able to appeal to and reach out to a whole new generation, often against all odds.

Of course, gardening in’ t the only thing people turn to. The rise of culture conflicts and fix at ion on body image have also been widely documented as being driven by a psychological need to feel a degree of certainty, control and safety. However, I can’t help but think of these alternatives:     4    

A．In reality gardens are anything but natural.

B．What are the things they have been attracted to?

C．They are idealized landscape with all the mud, pests and dead plants edited out.

D．How much better a place the planet would be if gardening was our outlet for this need!

E．Much like agriculture, gardening is a universal human desire coded into our cultural DNA.

F．The calmness created by owning a tiny green space under my control has a powerful effect on my mind.

10 . Dogs have facial expressions to use on humans

Scientists have discovered that dogs produce more facial movement when a human is paying attention to them—including making their eyes appear bigger—than when they _________(ignore).

This new research goes _________ the belief that animal facial expressions are largely unconscious reflections of internal feelings—rather than a way to communicate.

“Facial expression is often seen as _______ driven by emotion, instead of something that animals can change _______(depend) on their circumstances,” said Bridget Waller, professor of evolutionary psychology at the University of Portsmouth, and an author of the study.

The research joins a number of studies exploring the extraordinary relationship between humans and their dogs, including some research that suggests that dogs understand not only words spoken by humans—but also the tone of voice.

A study published _________ Scientific Reports describes the use of a video camera to record the facial movement of 24 dogs. In this experiment, humans _________ faced the animals, or faced away, and presented the dog with tasty food, or did not.

The recordings were then examined by the team frame by frame _______ (determine) changes in the facial muscles of the dogs. The results reveal that the dogs produced far more facial expressions when the humans were facing them,   _________ when they turned away.

“The research tells us that their facial expressions are probably responsive to humans—not just to other dogs,” said Waller. He also said that it told us something about how domestication had shaped dogs, and _______ it had changed them so that they __________ be more communicative with humans.

1.

A．are being ignored

B．have been ignored

C．were ignored

D．will be ignored

2.

A．beyond

B．within

C．against

D．without

3.

A．anything

B．something

C．that

D．whatever

4.

A．to depend

B．depended

C．having depended

D．depending

5.

A．on

B．by

C．for

D．in

6.

A．whether

B．unless

C．either

D．when

7.

A．determined

B．to determine

C．determining

D．to have determined

8.

A．or

B．than

C．not

D．as

9.

A．that

B．why

C．whether

D．where

10.

A．could

B．can

C．would

D．will