1 . Concrete has served as the foundation stone of the construction industry for hundreds of years. However, the process of producing concrete is one of the most environmentally unfriendly processes in the world. In the process, not only is carbon dioxide (二氧化碳) released into the air by the energy used to heat the limestone, but the limestone itself also gives out a huge amount of the element.
Luckily, a number of start-ups throughout the world are using creative thinking to make the construction industry a whole lot more friendly for the planet.
A Canadian company called CarbonCure, has found a way to inject (注入) concrete with carbon dioxide itself. Not only does this trap the carbon dioxide into the concrete, keeping it from running away into the atmosphere, but it also creates a super strong material called calcium carbonate, which reduces the total amount of concrete that needs to be used.
California-based Brimstone, is creating carbon-negative concrete by doing away with limestone entirely and instead using silicate rock, a material that does not release carbon dioxide when heated. Instead, the process produces magnesium (镁) , which absorbs carbon dioxide, as the basis for their concrete.
Additionally, researchers at Australia’s RMIT University have recently released a study showing that adding coffee grounds instead of sand to concrete could make it much stronger, reducing both the amount of sand used, as well as the amount of concrete that would need to be used in the final product.
The biggest barrier at this point is convincing members of the industry that the new types of concrete are safe to be used, according to Stacy Smedley, director at a nonprofit focused on decarbonizing construction.
Hopefully these new solutions to the environmental problems of concrete will soon be widely adopted. Given the significant part the construction industry has in releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, great improvements can be made when more environmentally-friendly materials are used.
1. What is the environmental issue associated with traditional concrete production?| A．The high demand for energy. | B．The processing of waste materials. |
| C．The mass release of carbon dioxide. | D．The use of non-renewable resources. |
| A．By using silicate rock as the basis. | B．By putting carbon dioxide into concrete. |
| C．By replacing sand with coffee grounds. | D．By absorbing carbon dioxide with magnesium. |
| A．Difficulty in making profits. | B．Convincing the public of the convenience. |
| C．Lack of funding for research. | D．Removing the industry members’ safety concerns. |
| A．To promote an alternative to concrete. | B．To advocate environmental protection. |
| C．To introduce new ways to produce concrete. | D．To emphasize the significance of creativity. |
2 . There are very few countries in the world that don’t have some sort of legend (传说) or connect ion with dragons. Here are some great destinations to get a fi x on dragon.
France
Calais in France has a dragon standing 33 feet tall, 82 feet long, with a wingspan of more than 55 feet. It walks and moves as you would imagine a dragon does, and you can take it for a ride. The Calais dragon is a mechanical wonder, which is nearly too real to be called a fairground creature.
Wales
In the UK, you will find a proud dragon country, Wales. Here there is the legend of two dragons: one white and one red. Wales’ tale describes the two dragons fighting and the red one winning, so you will find it difficult to hurry about the country without coming across a red dragon. Dragons are sold in souvenir shops, sit by ancient castles, hang around in King Arthur’s Labyrinth, and are featured on the national flag.
Norway
The Vikings knew a thing or two about dragons. In the lovely film How to Train Your Dragon, they even flew them. But seriously, when you dig into Norway’s Viking history and legends, you will find dragons mentioned everywhere, though not as cute as those in the film. From the figurehead in the Viking Ship Museum to jewelry, and decorations on buildings, be on the lookout for them when visiting Norway.
Bhutan
The Druk or Thunder Dragon, is the national symbol and appears everywhere. The country is called Land of the Thunder Dragon, or Kingdom of Druk, and it’s part of the national anthem (国歌) and its flag. Despite its fearful name, it’s actually rather cute. The legend has it that the sound of thunder through the mountain s is actually the dragon roaring.
1. What can we learn about the Calais dragon?| A．It’s a character from a popular film. | B．It’s a creation designed for entertainment. |
| C．It’s a real creature trained for rides. | D．It’s a sculpture displayed in a museum. |
| A．They feature dragons on their flags. | B．They include dragons in their anthems. |
| C．They have a legend of two dragons. | D．They describe dragons as cute images. |
| A．France. | B．Wales. | C．Norway. | D．Bhutan. |
3 . Life at the bottom of the ocean is extreme. It’s dark; the temperature remains right above freezing and the pressure is huge. Only around a couple of dozen people have actually been to the deepest part of the ocean floor, a place known as Challenger Deep.
In July 2022, Marine geographer Dawn Wright and pilot and ocean explorer Victor Vescovo went down in a small underwater vehicle. Once the pair went down about 800 meters, they lost sunlight. “Worms, jellyfish, anglerfish are able to create their own light,” Wright says. “They use the light to find mates, hunt, and—apparently—attempt to communicate with our underwater vehicle. Victor noticed flashes of light as we reached that zone in the ocean. And then he started flashing the lights of the underwater vehicle at them. And we saw them flash back.”
Most tsunamis are a result of earthquakes on the seafloor. Wright explains that “when you have that disruption on the ocean floor, the water above the ocean floor gets severely disrupted as well,” which can generate large waves that can turn into tsunamis. By mapping the seafloor, scientists can identify and monitor underwater areas where earthquakes may take place. That could give coastal areas more warning time in the event of a tsunami.
The basic principle of mapping is a ship or instrument sends pulses of sound from the ocean surface down toward the seafloor and waits for it to come back up. Based on the amount of time it takes for the sound to return and factors like temperature and salt content, scientists can get a specific depth. Scanning a whole area of the seafloor, then, will give you a depth—or bathymetry—map.
If the entire ocean floor has not been mapped by 2030, Wright says the work will continue. But, she adds, “The longer it takes us to get too close to 100 percent, for all the reasons that we’ve talked about, the more it looks like we are playing with fire, so to speak.”
1. Why did Victor flash the lights?| A．To offer light to the ocean floor. | B．To guide the underwater vehicle. |
| C．To communicate with deep-sea species. | D．To frighten the sea animals away. |
| A．To explore the cause of earthquakes. | B．To monitor and predict tsunamis. |
| C．To identify various ocean creatures. | D．To avoid the disruption of the seafloor. |
| A．Rising temperature. | B．Depth changes. | C．Current directions. | D．Salt contents. |
| A．It is greatly urgent. | B．It is very dangerous. | C．It is time-consuming. | D．It will be done soon. |
4 . Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo has long worked to make her city less dependent on cars. She wanted to see more people using bicycles to get around. Over a number of years, the city government set limits on cars and increased the amount of bike paths from 200 kilometers to over 1,000 kilometers.
This year, Parisians are not complaining about too much automobile traffic. Instead, they say there are too many bikes. “Now, it’s really like a bike traffic jam(阻塞),” Thibault Quere, a spokesperson for France’s Federation of Bicycle Users, said. ”It’s kind of a good difficulty to have, especially when we think about what Paris used to be.”
Some famous roads along the River Seine are completely closed to cars. Now you see people riding bikes, running and walking with their families along the river. In another part of Paris, a bike path on Sebastopol Boulevard is one of the busiest in Europe, after opening in 2019. In one week in early September, it reached a record high of 124,000 riders.
The city will host the Summer Olympics in 2024 and plans to add more bike paths by then. Paris wants to reduce its pollution by half during the games, even as visitors from around the world will be in the city for the event. Organizers say all of the competition sites will be reachable by bike through a 60-kilometer network of bike paths.
The change to Paris, however, has not been easy. With more people using bikes, more people are making mistakes. Some of them are new to cycling and disobey traffic rules. But the environment may be improving. Cycling is good exercise and helps reduce pollution, which is still a problem for the large city. The French government blames atmospheric pollution for 48,000 early deaths in the country each year.
Hidalgo was re-elected in 2020 and plans to keep making what she calls a “Paris that breathes”. Her newest five-year bike plan includes over $250 million for more bike paths and bike parking. The new budget is an increase of over $100 million from her first five-year plan.
1. What can be learned from the second paragraph?| A．Hidalgo’s effort has paid off. | B．Parisians prefer to travel by car. |
| C．Parisians find it difficult to ride bikes. | D．Quere disagrees with Hidalgo. |
| A．To compare the famous roads in France. |
| B．To praise people enjoying riding bicycles. |
| C．To stress the importance of France in Europe. |
| D．To show how busy a cycle path is in Paris. |
| A．Tour local bike shops. | B．Ride to competition sites. |
| C．Promote the sights in France. | D．Support the athletes around the world. |
| A．Friendly. | B．Helpful. | C．Determined. | D．Honest. |
5 . Hibernation (冬眠) is a classic topic of science fiction. In movies such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Alien, or Passengers, crew members are put into a state of sleep to take year-long journeys to space. Now a new study from Washington University has shown that human hibernation may soon become a reality.
The research team carried out tests on rats — animals that do not naturally hibernate. They first identified a group of neurons (神经元) in a deep brain region, which were found to be involved in controlling body temperature during hibernation. They showed that, in mice, these neurons could be stimulated using ultrasound (超声波), which was delivered through a helmet without causing an injury.
When receiving the ultrasound, the mice showed a drop in body temperature of about3°C, and their heart rates fell by about 47%. When the ultrasound system was switched off, they woke up again. The result was “surprising and fascinating”, said Hong Chen, a professor who led the work.
Researchers are also trying to determine how to harness the power of hibernation to help humans. They believe that it could be key to addressing health conditions like heart disease, and Alzheimer’s. Furthermore, hibernation’s ability to slow aging, which was observed in bats, could benefit space exploration, enabling longer missions with less food requirements. Research in animals also suggests that bodies of hibernating astronauts might lose less bone and muscle, making them fit and ready to start challenging exploration soon after they wake up.
By unlocking the secrets of this remarkable process, researchers may uncover ways to improve human health, as well as gain new insights into the natural world. Therefore, the exploration of hibernation is an exciting area that is sure to yield numerous benefits in the years to come.
The scientists now plan to look at how lowered body temperature might affect the cognitive abilities of humans. “Our next experiments will test working memory in monkeys. This is important because while astronauts physically hibernate as they fly into deep space, their brain still needs to be working,” said Chen.
1. How did researchers put rats into hibernation?| A．By lowering their body temperature. |
| B．By activating specific brain neurons. |
| C．By putting a regular helmet on them. |
| D．By using ultrasound through an operation. |
| A．Employ. | B．Challenge. | C．Overlook. | D．Discover. |
| A．It improves people’s mental health. |
| B．It predicts a variety of heart diseases. |
| C．It helps astronauts keep physically fit. |
| D．It enables astronauts to build up muscle. |
| A．To point out the significance of the study. |
| B．To bring out the focus of follow-up studies. |
| C．To discuss other factors affecting hibernation. |
| D．To explain practical applications of the finding. |
6 . For most of December, Adele Adkins had the top-selling album in Australia, followed by Ed Sheeran, and then there was a collection of songs that took everyone by surprise.
Songs Of Disappearance is a collection of calls from endangered Australian birds. Last month, it briefly reached No.3 on the country’s top 50 albums chart (排行榜) — ahead of Taylor Swift.
Anthony Albrecht, a PhD student at Charles Darwin University, produced the album with Professor Stephen Garnett. “I knew it was a crazy thing to suggest. But Stephen’s a little bit crazy like me and he let me do it,” Albrecht said.
Songs Of Disappearance was published with a university report which found that 1 in 6 Australian bird species are now threatened. The album records 53 of those species.
“Some sing what you might think of as bird songs, but not all of them,” said SeanDooley, who represents the conservation organization Bird life Australia. “Songs from the golden bowerbird sound like a death cry from some sci-fi series. And the love songs from Christmas Island frigate bird, which has a piece of skin hanging under its mouth that caninflate (膨胀) like a huge red balloon, sound as bizarre as its unusual looks.”
There’s also the Christmas Island pigeon. When people hear that pigeon, they might think that it’s a human making silly noises, Dooley added.
The Charles Darwin University and Bird life Australia report does document successes in protecting endangered birds, the hope being that the album will protect more species.
“The increased awareness can make a difference,” Dooley said. “When we have a community on board, that brings pressure to the government to do the right thing. We know that these conservation actions do work.”
1. Whose album reached No.1 on the chart in December?| A．Taylor Swift’s. |
| B．Adele Adkins’. |
| C．Ed Sheeran’s. |
| D．Anthony Albrecht’s. |
| A．About 53 bird species are threatened in Australia. |
| B．It has not found success in protecting endangered birds. |
| C．One sixth of Australian bird species are now endangered. |
| D．Music is very powerful in encouraging people to protect birds. |
| A．Strange. |
| B．Beautiful. |
| C．Loud. |
| D．Sharp. |
| A．Crazy. |
| B．Amusing. |
| C．Uncreative. |
| D．Helpful. |
7 . Steller or Northern Sea Lions are sometimes confused with California Sea Lions but are much larger and lighter in color. Males may grow to 11 feet in length and weigh almost 2,500 pounds.
Stellers are not often seen in bays or rivers. Steller pups are born on offshore islands from mid-May to mid-July and weigh 35—50 pounds.
The current population of Steller Sea Lions is about 40,000 along the entire Pacific coast. There is great concern about this species. The western Aleutian stock has dropped by 80 percent in the last 30 years. In 1997, the western stock in Alaska was listed as endangered.
| A．Steller Sea Lions eat a variety of fishes. |
| B．Reasons for this decline are not known. |
| C．The male has a thick neck and looks like a lion. |
| D．They spend about half their time on land and half in water. |
| E．Mothers stay with pups for one to two weeks before hunting at sea. |
| F．They forbid the killing, harming or disturbance of any sea mammal. |
| G．Females are much smaller, growing to 9 feet in length and weighing up to 1,000 pounds. |
8 . When wind blows through a bigleaf maple (大叶枫), paper-thin, wing-like seeds called samaras gently spin towards the ground. The fruit’s tissue allows the wind to guide it further away from the tree. Inspired by the seeds, researchers designed a tiny, winged microchip, no larger than a grain of sand, that is powerful enough to monitor environmental pollution and airborne disease.
Called the microflier, the microchip has no motor to push it forward in the air but instead was designed to catch the wind. To perfect the microchip’s flying capability and shape, scientists took inspiration from the forms of various airborne seeds. The research team improved various designs until the microfliers flew slowly and more steadily than nature’s samara seeds. The slower falling rate allows the microchip to keep flying for longer, which gives it more time to collect data and monitor air pollutants and airborne diseases.
To perfect the microflier’s flight, researchers took inspiration from children’s pop-up books to create the three-dimensional wings. Usually, electronic microchips are flat, two-dimensional objects, but something flat won’t take flight. To make the 3-D shape, John A. Rogers and his team built a stretched rubber base that the microchip rests on. The wings pop into flight mode when the rubber base is relaxed.
The chip gathers data with sensors across its surface that can sense and monitor pH levels, test for heavy metals or chemicals, and track air pollution. An antenna (天线) on the microflier then sends all the collected data to a computer or phone. Rogers and his team are planning to test out the electronic chips soon by dropping thousands of the chips in a field. The microfliers will change color depending on the number of heavy metals present in the field where they land. A drone will then fly over the area and take photos of the microflier’s colors, allowing researchers to map out the pollutants.
Rogers and his team also designed the microchips to break down over time to prevent environmental pollution.
1. What is the winged microchip designed to do?| A．Guide seeds from the tree. | B．Prevent airborne diseases. |
| C．Keep track of air qualities. | D．Catch the wind to fly away. |
| A．Where researchers draw inspiration. | B．How the microflier has improved. |
| C．What the microchip does for humans. | D．Why the microflier flies more stably. |
| A．Drop chips in the field. | B．Monitor the soil color. |
| C．Map out air pollutants. | D．Handle soil pollution. |
| A．Winged microchips for monitoring environment |
| B．Microflier: A flying device of spreading seeds |
| C．Drone: A photographer of microflier’s colors |
| D．Electronic chips for finding airborne diseases |
9 . In the northernmost edge of Colombia sits the coastal town of Acandí. Access to the town is only by water or air; there is no road that leads there. The residents there are faced with the struggles of balancing livelihoods while protecting biodiversity.
In the past, traditional community fishing methods, passed down by the elders, focused on the reasonable fishing and management of resources. However, the introduction of large-scale trawling vessels(拖网渔船) decades ago gradually depleted the area’s fishing resources, leading to damage to marine(海洋的) life seriously.
Jesús Antonio Julio Cuestas, who serves in the region’s conservation and management of marine resources, stresses the bad impact of these developments and calls for new fishing techniques. “Fishing and conservation co-exist as long as we have good management practices and reasonable use of our fishing resources,” says Cuestas. He and other officials actively monitor fishing activities in Acandí. Each morning, they visit the fish markets to gather data on fishery resources—including prices and sizes—to monitor the state of the local fishing industry.
Along with Cuestas, the fishers work to reduce their impact on the marine ecosystem. By changing fishing methods and adopting new practices, they aim for a more balanced approach to fishing. “This year the local fishermen have not used the trawl net s that were causing the death of the leatherback sea turtles,” explains Cuestas proudly. Changes include the efforts of boats to protect the seagrass that serves as feeding grounds for marine life and an end to fishers throwing net s where turtles lay their eggs.
This marine reserve in Acandí, Cuestas believes, is their greatest treasure. He attaches great importance to working together with local residents to improve the quality of life while preserving the marine ecosystem. By doing so, he imagines a picture where individuals from the fishing community can pursue various careers, such as engineers or lawyers, proudly stating that they are the products of the fishing tradition in Acandí.
1. What does the underlined word “depleted” in paragraph 2 mean?| A．Reused. | B．Restored. |
| C．Explored. | D．Reduced. |
| A．To cut down on the costs of fishing. |
| B．To improve the income of local residents. |
| C．To promote the well-being of marine wildlife. |
| D．To spread traditional community fishing methods. |
| A．The aim of the changes to fishing methods. |
| B．The efforts to preserve marine ecosystem. |
| C．The results the trawl net s have brought about. |
| D．The impact of fishers on the local environment. |
| A．Confident. | B．Uncaring. |
| C．Concerned. | D．Doubtful. |
10 . Time is running short to address climate change, but there are possible and effective solutions on the table, according to a new UN climate report released in March.
Only swift, dramatic, and sustained emission (排放) cuts will be enough to meet the world’s climate goals, according to the new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a body of climate experts that regularly summarize the state of this issue.
“We are walking when we should be running fast,” said Hoesung Lee, IPCC chair, in a press conference announcing the report in March. To limit warming to 1.5℃ above preindustrial levels, the target set by international climate agreements, annual greenhouse-gas emission will need to be cut by nearly half between now and 2030, according to the report. It calculates that the results from actions taken now will be clear in global temperature trends within two decades.
“We already have the technology and the know-how to get the job done,” said Inger Andersen, executive director of UN Environment Programme, during the press conference. “Stopping climate change will still be complicated, and long-term emission cuts may largely rely on technologies, like carbon dioxide removal, that are still unproven at scale. In addition to technological advances, cutting emission in industries that are difficult to transform will involve many factors.”
But in the near term, there’s a clear path forward for the emission cuts needed to put the planet on the right track. There are some of the tasks with the lowest cost and highest potential to address climate change during this decade, such as developing wind and solar power, cutting methane (甲烷) emission from fossil-fuel production and waste, protecting natural ecosystems that trap carbon, and using energy efficiently in vehicles, homes, and industries.
1. What is the author’s attitude towards tackling climate change?| A．Positive. | B．Worried. | C．Skeptical. | D．Uncertain. |
| A．It’s impossible to achieve the climate goal. |
| B．He knows how to cut emission efficiently. |
| C．The pace of global warming is speeding up. |
| D．He is dissatisfied with current emission cuts. |
| A．Policy. | B．Market. | C．Funding. | D．Technology. |
| A．Emission cutting is urgent. |
| B．Climate change is unstoppable. |
| C．Global warming is becoming complicated. |
| D．Meeting climate goals needs cooperation. |
