1 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. What is the cause of the disaster described in the book?

A．Excessive use of chemicals and fertilizers.

B．Excessive use of water.

C．Excessive use of cars.

2. What is Jack’s attitude towards environmental problems?

A．Negative.

B．Excited.

C．Worried.

3. Who is Tina?

A．A student.

B．A librarian.

C．An environmentalist.

4. How many pages has Jack left to read?

A．178.

B．183.

C．361.

2 . Question: Recently I heard the news that about 5,000 people die in fires a year, and 80 percent of these deaths occur in house fires. Fires kill more people per year in the United States than all the other natural disasters.     1     Could you help me?

Answer: Don’t worry. In fact, most fires can be avoidable and easily prevented. Here are some tips for preventing a fire in your own home.

◆Dispose of all cigarette butts (烟头). Never leave them out where babies or children can reach them.     2     Keep ashtrays clean and safe by promptly disposing of the ash.

◆Avoid smoking in bed. In case you fall asleep on the couch while watching television, do not smoke while lying on the couch.

◆Keep all lighters safely out of reach of babies and children.

◆Do not overload electrical circuits, and check electrical appliances regularly for loose connections or damaged cords.

◆    3     These would include the kitchen, near the furnace and fireplace, and the garage. Examine the extinguishers (灭火器) yearly for pressure and expiration date (有效期).

◆Install smoke detectors. Make sure that there is a detector on every level of the house. Also, make sure that there is a smoke detector near every bedroom.     4    

◆Install a rope ladder or fire escape in selected windows upstairs. Make sure that all family members know how to use the ladder.

◆Come up with an emergency escape plan.     5    

A．However, I don’t know how to prevent house fires.

B．Have a designated meeting area outside the home.

C．Have fire extinguishers in high-risk areas of your home.

D．Keep candles where they will not be accidentally knocked over.

E．Discuss it with the family and have everyone practice using the escape routes.

F．If you smoke, get into the habit of properly disposing of your butts immediately.

G．Check your smoke detectors monthly and replace the batteries at least once a year.

3 . The Last Straw?

Every second, the world uses 160,000 plastic bags — that is a total of over five trillion per year. Up to 99 percent of these plastic bags hang around for at least 1,000 years and pollute Earth. And yet, plastic bags are hardly a necessity in our lives. Of all the changes we could make to create a more sustainable lifestyle, a total ban on plastic bags should be simple.

At the beginning of 2021, Shanghai put in effect a ban on all plastic bags in shopping malls and supermarkets, as well as a ban on non-degradable plastics in many other areas. Over the years, individuals and companies have worked to replace plastic items, such as cups and straws, with paper ones.     1    .

Customers complain that paper straws often become soft and break before they can finish their hot drinks. Experts, however, have repeatedly stressed plastic substitutes (替代品) are not the ultimate solution, and that our consumption habits need a bigger change.

In college, one of my environmental science professors promoted a type of waste-free living. She carried around a small glass jar with her, and in it was all her trash she collected for the entire year. She was able to do this by bringing her own cup to Starbucks, her own bags to the shops, and never buying anything that came wrapped in plastic. Her food waste also became compost.     2    .

Plastic bags are incredibly easy to forget about when they become increasingly common.     3    . Once they are in the trash, we take it for granted that they are someone else’s problem. The sad fact is that plastic bags break down into microplastics which then get mixed into the air, soil and water, and eventually end up in plants, animals, and our very own human bodies. So what are you going to do about them?

A．Clearly she demonstrated our ability to live a completely healthy life without creating a great deal of plastic waste.

B．Plastic bag litter has even caused great problems in some areas.

C．If they’re free to use and easily disposed of, they’re a mere tool that we don’t have to think about.

D．Some of these decisions have been met with criticism.

E．Unfortunately, such a high level of pollution doesn’t come without consequences.

4 . Chemists in mid-1500s Nuremburg had discovered that bird droppings were a rich source of saltpetre, a vital ingredient in the making of gunpowder. As a consequence pigeon droppings used to be almost as valuable as silver. Understandably, by the middle of the following century, there were an estimated 26,000 pigeon houses in Britain.

The practice of keeping the pigeon was introduced to Britain by the Romans. The Normans kept pigeons in specially constructed niches in castles and courtyards. When the pigeon houses in Britain were built, they were a vital source of meat and feathers. The latter were particularly prized as a source of warmth. Droppings gathered from the pigeon houses was a rich fertilizer, too.

The pigeon house was not only a source of food and revenue in medieval times, but also a status symbol. The privilege of building or owning pigeon houses was reserved for the rich. Towards the end of her rule, Queen Elizabeth I decided to open pigeon-breeding to the free market. Then, pigeon houses sprang up all over the countryside.

The number of pigeon houses across the British countryside was not universally welcomed. Each day the birds flew off to feed themselves on other people’s crops. By the middle of the 17th century, the problem of pigeons was so great that people feared that the destructive pigeons would turn England into a desert.

Luckily, an agricultural revolutionary, Charles Townsend, had introduced the turnip to Britain around 1700, keeping farm livestock fat enough to eat through the dark winter months. Later, vast quantities of natural saltpetre were discovered in Chile and California. Keeping pigeons went out of fashion.

Now, the homeless pigeons flew off to find somewhere else to live. One species discovered that Britain’s rapidly growing towns and cities were full of the sort of rock-faces they liked to rest on—humans called them “buildings”. Over time they’d become the wild urban pigeon that we know today.

1. Which of the following people in Britain would be least likely to keep pigeons in the late Middle Ages?

A．Fruit growers.

B．The nobles.

C．Gunpowder makers.

D．The miners.

2. What can be inferred from the passage?

A．Farm livestock used to be too thin for lack of food in the dark months in Britain.

B．Townsend revolutionized agricultural development in Britain around 1700.

C．The Normans set an undesirable example of raising pigeons for the British people.

D．England was once faced with the threat of disappearance because of pigeons.

3. According to the passage, why are there so many pigeons in the cities in Britain today?

A．Because people think it a sign of status and keep them to show off.

B．Because pigeons like to stay on hard surfaces which can be abundantly found in cities.

C．Because pigeons find enough food supplies when tourists and citizens feed them in squares.

D．Because the government encourages pigeon raising as a profitable investment.

4. Which is the best title of the passage?

A．A brief history of pigeon houses in Britain.

B．From function to fashion — the pigeon houses in Britain.

C．Profitable pigeon houses in Britain.

D．Pigeon houses in Britain as valuable as silver.

5 . Incredibly Beautiful Villages in China

Likeng Village

Built in the year 1010, Likeng Village in Wuyuan County, Jiangxi Province preserves the area’s unique Hui architecture. Though the village charges tourists an entrance fee, it is a worthwhile point from which they can view the blossoming canola flowers (油菜花) in the spring and admire the local calligraphy under camphor trees (樟树) as old as the village itself.

Danba Villages

With few tourists aware of Sichuan Province’s Garzȇ Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, those who do make the trip are rewarded with views unlike those anywhere else. And within the heart of the area, far away from polluted cities, lie the Danba Villages, considered by some as the most beautiful villages in China. Each village is made up of unique Tibetan-style folk houses.

Hongcun Ancient Village

Though Hongcun is one of China’s most well-known ancient villages，its popularity has not ruined its uniqueness. After a climb through the great Yellow Mountains in Anhui Province, rest for a while in this foothill village, which was the filming site for select scenes from Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Centered around a moon-shaped pond, the village was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000 for its well-preserved Ming-and Qing-era architecture.

Shuangfeng Forest Farm

Nicknamed “China Snow Town” for its annual seven-month-long snowfall, Shuangfeng Forest Farm in Mudanjiang City, Heilongjiang Province is where you want to go if you wish to experience China’s deepest snows. Over the years, the village has transformed into a charming tourist destination.

1. What can visitors see in both Likeng Village and Danba Villages?

A．Distinctive constructions.	B．Costumes of minorities.
C．Centuries-old camphor trees	D．Works of famous calligraphers.

2. Where is the village that was once a movie set?

A．In Anhui Province.	B．In Sichuan Province.
C．In Jiangxi Province.	D．In Heilongjiang Province.

3. Which would visitors choose if they want to play in the snow?

A．Likeng Village.	B．Danba Villages.
C．Hongcun Ancient Village.	D．Shuangfeng Forest Farm.

6 . The last time Jack Hanson took an airplane, he was a junior at the University of Vermont. To return from a term abroad in Copenhagen, he flew from Denmark, ________ in Iceland, and landed in New York.

But the next term, one of his professors asked students to ________ their individual energy usage. And when Mr. Hanson did the ________, he realized that just one leg of that international flight ________ more energy, and more greenhouse gas emissions(排放), than all the other things that year ________ — the driving and heating and lighting and eating and everything else.

He was ________. “I just couldn’t ________ it,” he says. “It really is an extreme. It’s an extreme amount of energy, an extreme amount of ________.”

So Mr. Hanson decided to stop ________. Since then, he has traveled by train and bike and car, and has even written a song about the ________ of getting home to Chicago on an overnight bus. But he has not been on an airplane.

And he has never found travel more ________, he says. He knows that some people find this hard to ________, including many friends and family members. They decide Mr. Hanson’s approach is ________.

Go more ________, and travel begins to return to what it once was: a slow change of one place to another, a sense of space, an unwinding of time.

“Once you’ve tasted this way of ________, you understand what it’s all about,” he says.1.

A．pulled

B．stopped

C．stayed

D．played

2.

A．judge

B．consider

C．calculate

D．reduce

3.

A．performance

B．research

C．experiment

D．math

4.

A．accounted for

B．called for

C．figured out

D．turned out

5.

A．listed

B．combined

C．separated

D．bought

6.

A．shocked

B．embarrassed

C．entertained

D．bored

7.

A．explain

B．make

C．refuse

D．manage

8.

A．pleasure

B．waste

C．money

D．pollution

9.

A．driving

B．heating

C．flying

D．lighting

10.

A．incidents

B．stories

C．disasters

D．conditions

11.

A．joyful

B．dangerous

C．upset

D．expensive

12.

A．tell

B．believe

C．prove

D．describe

13.

A．delightful

B．inflexible

C．effective

D．unreasonable

14.

A．carefully

B．wildly

C．slowly

D．actively

15.

A．cooking

B．resting

C．relaxing

D．traveling

7 . Oceans are an appealing target for renewable energy production. Waves produce 32,000 terawatt-hours of natural energy per year — for reference, the entire world uses around 23,000 terawatt-hours every year.

The advantages of wave power are clear.     1     Turbines produce electricity through the power of waves, making them a completely pollution-free, renewable energy source. And the amount of kinetic energy in a wave is huge that energy is used to produce electricity. There is also a lot of potential because many countries have access to an ocean that can help power their electric systems. Also, waves are hardly interrupted and almost always in movement.     2    

But the disadvantages of wave energy are serious too. Building factories or electrical wires directly on the beach might prove challenging.     3     Local fishing zones could be affected or the factories could lead to more coastal erosion. High cost is a problem too. Wave power is a rising energy technology in the early stages of development, so calculating the costs is difficult.     4     Because constant movement can lead to more breaking, wave energy factories will most likely need regular and costly maintenance.

    5     For many ocean-bordering countries, wave energy will be a great addition to the newable energy mix. The bottom line is that wave power has enormous global potential. However, the industry needs more funding and research to finalize the technology involved so that countries can begin adding wave energy to their renewable energy source.

A．Wave energy still need to be explored.

B．They are not affordable to many countries.

C．Despite the challenges, there is a future of wave energy.

D．Wave energy does not give off greenhouse gasses when produced.

E．They can cause damage to sea life and the surrounding ecosystems.

F．Maintenance for the factories in moving saltwater is very expensive.

G．This makes electricity from wave energy a more reliable energy source.

8 . An intelligent monitoring system is helping bird protectors in Chenhu Lake Wetland of Wuhan, Hubei province, by collecting data and learning more about the birds’ habits.

The wetland covers about 11,600 hectares and is located in the area where the Yangtze River and Han River meet. Up to 86,000 birds of 227 species inhabited the wetland last year, its figures showed.

A limited number of bird-watchers and patrol guards may miss out counting some of the birds but the system can do it more accurately, according to the reserve. In July last year, the monitoring system, the first of its kind in Hubei, was put into trial(试验)operation in the wetland. It has since recorded real-time monitoring data and assisted with patrolling. The system can detect the type of birds arriving or leaving and which areas they prefer to move around, by identifying species through the sounds they make. It also monitors sounds in the wild and compares them with those in the database.

A video system tracks key protection areas all day. Photos of birds taken will be automatically compared with those in the database, with a combination of audio and video information increasing the recognition accuracy. The reserve’s employees have also added tracking functions in the monitoring system by placing satellite trackers on bean geese migrating. Bean geese have been found to fly from Russian areas.

Feng Jiang, an engineer of the Chenhu wetland nature reserve management bureau, said, “The tracking data has a positive effect on the protection of species globally. Since November last year, we have tried to clarify the migration routes of birds. We monitor where they stay and when they return to the reserve. The data tells us where birds come from and pass by, so we can cooperate with international organizations or countries to better protect them.”

The monitoring system also uses digital technology to build a simulation (模拟) model. By simulating the flow of tourists, researchers can decide the maximum number of visitors in Chenhu Lake and prevent people from disturbing the birds. This can help researchers predict as well the possibility and scope (范围) of the environmental impact on the wetland through the growth of plants there and roll out targeted measures.

1. What is a problem with bird-monitoring in the reserve?

A．Vast area.	B．Lack of experts.
C．Lack of accuracy.	D．Various species.

2. What is the intelligent monitoring system able to do?

A．Monitor the watchers and guards.	B．Recognize the species of birds.
C．Place satellite trackers on birds.	D．Count all the birds correctly.

3. How does the system work?

A．By comforting the birds.	B．By making birds’ sounds.
C．By taking photos of birds.	D．By comparing the collected data.

4. What does the system do to help researchers?

A．Provide birds’ food chains.	B．Prevent the disturbance of birds.
C．Predict the habits of the visitors.	D．Protect the ecosystems in a better way.

9 . Starting in September, shoppers at British supermarket chain Waitrose &Partners may notice a small yet significant difference. Nearly 500 fresh products will no longer have “best before” dates printed on them. This move is designed to reduce food waste by encouraging shoppers to use their own judgement as to whether a product is still good to eat, rather than relying on a printed date.

Marija Rompani, director of Waitrose&Partners, points out 70% of all food wasted in the U. K. happens at home. U. K. households throw away 4. 5 million tons of eatable food every year, meaning that all the energy and resources used in food production are wasted. He says this move will save money at a time of rising food costs and increasing financial pressures. By using up existing fresh food in our homes, we can also save on our weekly household food shopping, which is becoming an increasingly pressing concern for many.

Waitrose-Partners is not the only supermarket to make such changes in recent years. Another British chain, Morrison’s, made headlines in January for removing “use by” dates on milk, urging customers to do a test with their noses to determine whether or not the milk is still good to drink. Tesco removed “best before” dates on more than 100 fresh food products in 2018, and MarksSpencer did the same this summer for over 300 products after a successful smaller trial.

“Best before” typically refers to the date before which an item will have best taste and texture. Passing the date does not mean it goes bad — just that it’s less good. “Use by” refers to safety and will still be applied to Waitrose & Partners products where there’s a risk of food poisoning if consumed after the date printed on the packaging. There are exceptions if the item has been frozen ahead o£ its “use by” date.

1. What does Waitrose&-Partners encourage shoppers to do?

A．Save money through buying no more than necessary.

B．Do household shopping weekly to guarantee fresh food.

C．Rely on printed dates for the quality guarantee period o£ products.

D．Use their own judgement to decide whether a product is good to eat.

2. What may Marija Rompani agree with?

A．Increasing food production.	B．Saving money spent on food.
C．Reducing the pressure of supermarkets.	D．Listening to the pressing concern of consumers.

3. What did MarksSpencer do this summer?

A．It asked shoppers to buy frozen food.

B．It asked shoppers to test milk by nose.

C．It removed “best before” dates on some products.

D．It did a successful experiment on customer preference.

4. In which section of a website can the text be found?

A．Business and Policy.	B．Home and Design.
C．Science and Technology.	D．Events and Celebrations.

10 . Going green is good for business. Consumers are often willing to pay more for eco-friendly products than other comparable products on the market. But not all environmental claims are created equally. “Greenwashing” is a form of misinformation often used to entice a green consumer. Companies promising to be environmentally conscious sometimes fail to meet the promises they make to consumers.

For example, a large retailer might launch a new line of products, such as jeans, that uses less water and therefore theoretically has less of an environmental impact than the other clothes the company sells. But that same company might ignore water usage in the rest of their products lines or do nothing to address their other products that might be harming the environment.

Is it possible to avoid falling victim to greenwashing? Learning about greenwashing and how it works is the most effective way for consumers to avoid giving their money to companies making false claims, according to a recent study. The researchers found people who received information on greenwashing ahead of time were more likely to question whether what the company did in fact benefited the environment.

In the meantime, experts have tips for how consumers can spot potential greenwashing. “You see a lot of products that use words like ‘sustainable’, and ‘better for the planet’ with pictures that make it look like it’s green,” says Todd Larsen, the director of Green America, a nonprofit aimed at helping consumers identify greenwashing. He recommends looking for descriptions that outline specifically how a product is green.

Another tip he offers is to shop small. “When in doubt, go smaller,” says Larsen. “Rethink shopping habits. The most sustainable thing you can do as a consumer is wear the things you have more.”

1. What does the underlined word “entice” probably mean in paragraph 1?

A．Trick.

B．Inspire.

C．Restrict.

D．Protect.

2. What can we learn from the example in paragraph 2?

A．Using less water is a required standard of producing jeans.

B．Large retailers are more aware of environmental protection.

C．Companies with environmental consciousness run smoothly.

D．Businesses claiming to be sustainable may mislead consumers.

3. What can be inferred from the research findings?

A．Greenwashing is a new way to cheat people.

B．People are getting fed up with greenwashing.

C．Knowing about greenwashing helps identify the truth.

D．Consumers have the ability to distinguish false claims.

4. What does Todd Larsen suggest people do?

A．Develop sensible shopping habits.	B．Look for pictures which look green.
C．Buy more clothes green for the planet.	D．Provide specific descriptions of products.