1 . The bee population is dropping sharply. In some areas, losses of honeybees are reported to be as high as 75 percent.
Few of us are research scientists and able to spare some lab time to help bees, but there are some things we can all do to assist bees.
Plant things that bees like. Bees are all about pollen (花粉). If you want to support many different varieties of bees, plant some things which will feed them. The good news here is that bee-friendly plants are easy to grow.
Avoid using garden pesticides (杀虫剂). Pesticides are bad for bees.
Support your local beekeepers. Beekeeping as a hobby has reduced in recent years. Lack of funding and changes in bee populations have made raising bees less attractive, but we still rely heavily on honeybees to pollinate our crops and gardens.
| A．Provide bee shelter. |
| B．Ensure a good supply of pollen. |
| C．Flowering trees are attractive to bees. |
| D．Bees prefer flowers that are blue, purple or yellow. |
| E．Seek out your local beekeepers and buy their honey. |
| F．Search for organic and natural means of pest control. |
| G．The situation means a lot more than high honey prices. |
In hundreds of cities around the world, people can use a car
Car sharing works like this: people pay a fee
Car sharing works well for several reasons. Some people only need to drive from time to time. Usually, people only need a car for special reasons like moving things or
Members also don’t have to wait in line or fill out
Car sharing also
Global warming refers to the fact that the earth's atmosphere is warming near
One popular theory relates to the “greenhouse effect”. Gases that make up the atmosphere are similar to
While scientists agree that human-produced compounds (化合物) like carbon dioxide and others are being released into the atmosphere, some argue it's not clear how this results
Global warming can
4 . The griffon vulture (兀鹫) is an endangered species.
This year they’ve been watching a family
The vultures have to fly far and wide to
Getting to the cliff isn’t
XTEND is a cutting-edge drone company that
And mission Mama Drone has worked out
| A．However | B．Besides | C．Instead | D．Therefore |
| A．hunt | B．protect | C．impress | D．affect |
| A．living | B．standing | C．gathering | D．playing |
| A．wrong | B．far | C．well | D．away |
| A．threat | B．difference | C．contribution | D．connection |
| A．deliver | B．find | C．digest | D．share |
| A．time | B．space | C．food | D．comfort |
| A．save | B．discover | C．report | D．compare |
| A．title | B．figure | C．combination | D．solution |
| A．sustainable | B．straightforward | C．worthwhile | D．traditional |
| A．spotted | B．controlled | C．needed | D．limited |
| A．plant | B．birds | C．metal | D．stone |
| A．specialises | B．believes | C．participates | D．fails |
| A．inventor | B．engineer | C．passenger | D．operator |
| A．closure | B．progress | C．help | D．value |
| A．list | B．note | C．selection | D．сору |
| A．conducted | B．booked | C．delayed | D．cancelled |
| A．immediately | B．previously | C．randomly | D．perfectly |
| A．depended on | B．hoped for | C．picked up | D．laid down |
| A．ate | B．drank | C．flew | D．stayed |
5 . Plants are our useful companions on Earth. They consume carbon dioxide and release oxygen, provide us with dietary and medicinal products and brighten up our environment. However, they are the victims of circumstances. Planted in an adequately sunny spot and provided with water they thrive (茁壮成长). However, put in unfortunate conditions, they have no choice but to wither (枯萎) and die. Bu what if plants could relocate to better places?
It was this question that Sun Tianqi, founder of a Chinese robotics firm Vincross, asked himself while watching a dead sunflower. "I thought if it could have taken a 30-foot walk out of the shadow to where the other sunflowers were, it would have lived healthily," he said.
He decided then to build a robot that would let plants do just that. The innovative roboticist took one of his company's traditional HEXA robot models and built a "flowerpot," which replaced HEXA's shell.
According to its site, HEXA is a "six-legged robot that comes complete with all the necessary sensors." The result is an impressive plant robot that can chase (追逐) the sun, hide for shelter, interact with humans when tapped and perform a funny dance to indicate it is thirsty.
Although the plant robot may have many useful future applications, Tiangi's reasons for creating it seem to have been philosophical. "Plants are passive. No matter if they are being cut, bitten, burned or pulled from the earth, or when they lack sunshine, water, or are too hot or cold, they will hold still and take whatever is happening to them," he said. "They have the fewest degrees of freedom among all the creatures in nature. This is simply the setting that nature gives to plants. I do hope that this project can bring some inspiration to the relationship between technology and unfavorable natural settings," concluded Tianqi.
1. What information is implied in the underlined sentence in paragraph 1？| A．Plants need great care to grow well. |
| B．Plants are used for many purposes |
| C．Plants have a life cycle like humans. |
| D．Plants are important to the environment |
| A．His environmental awareness. | B．His love for sunflowers. |
| C．A broken flowerpot. | D．A dead flower. |
| A．It is solar-powered. | B．It enables plants to move. |
| C．It feeds nutrients to plants. | D．It offers growers useful tips |
| A．His robot needs much improvement. |
| B．Technology can set human beings free. |
| C．His robot has many useful future applications. |
| D．Technology can remove natural disadvantages. |
6 . The United States Fish and Wildlife Service has identified 23 species it says are now extinct. Most of the species had been found in states in the southeastern U.S. Eleven species lived in Hawaii or Guam.
Perhaps the best-known species on the list is the ivory-billed woodpecker. There had been unconfirmed sightings of the bird over the past 20 years. That led to search operations in parts of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida. But none of the woodpeckers were found.
Other species on the list had only been identified in the wild a few times and never seen again. One example is the flat pigtoe found in Alabama and Mississippi. In such cases, the species likely started disappearing shortly after being discovered.
In declaring a species extinct, the Fish and Wildlife Service removes it from its Endangered Species Act (ESA). The purpose of the ESA is to call attention to species with the greatest need for protection.
All 23 species were thought to have at least a small chance of survival when added to the ESA list. Only 11 species have been previously removed because of extinction in the nearly half-century since the ESA was signed into law.
The Fish and Wildlife Service warned that climate change, combined with other environmental pressures, could make such disappearances more common. As an example, it said nearly 3 billion birds have been lost in North America since 1970.
Cornell University bird biologist John Fitzpatrick is a leading figure in the hunt for the ivory-billed woodpecker. He told The Associated Press he thinks it was too early to declare the birds extinct. “Little is gained and much is lost,” he said of the declaration process.
Fitzpatrick led a 2005 study that claimed the woodpecker had been rediscovered in eastern Arkansas. He said removing a species from the ESA reduces public attention that is needed to help continue environmental protection efforts.
1. What do we know about the search operations in the four states?| A．They had been working in the past 20 years. |
| B．They were conducted in the southeastern U.S. |
| C．They had found 23 species in Hawaii or Guam. |
| D．They had never found any ivory-billed woodpeckers. |
| A．It is a mistake to add it to the list. | B．The species has been out of danger. |
| C．The species has been declared extinct. | D．It has been lost for nearly half a century. |
| A．Climate change. | B．Serious air pollution. |
| C．Humans’ hunting for meat. | D．Breakdown of food chains. |
| A．Indifferent. | B．Opposing. | C．Supportive. | D．Ambiguous. |
7 . Commercial fishing is taking away life from our oceans. More than a third of global fish stocks were classified as over fished in 2020, and the European Union (EU) is hoping that investing in technology can help fix the problem in its waters. It is funding a project called Smart Fish H2021, led by Norwegian company SINTEF Ocean, to design equipment to reduce the industry's impact on sea life.
Among the innovations it is testing is a new kind of fishing net called Smart Gear. It makes sounds and uses LED lights of different colors and intensities to attract only target species to the net, encouraging other fish to swim away. “We want to make life easier for the fishers, ” Rachel Tiller, a senior research scientist at SINTEF Ocean, says. “The problem is that we don't have data. We don't know how many fish are in the ocean and we need to find this information.”
Another technology being trialed is Catch Scanner. It produces a 3D color image of the fish, which is analyzed using AI to estimate the weight and identify the species. Catch Scanner can also help tackle rule - breaking; some fishing boats catch more fish than EU quotas (限额) allow, as well as fish of the wrong size and species. Catch Scanner can prevent this by automatically collecting catch information in a database and making it available to authorities such as national coast - guard agencies.
The EU cannot force member states to adopt the Smart Fish innovations, and their success will depend on market demand. However, Tiller says that many fishing companies across Europe have shown interest. “Some of these technologies can be very expensive, ” she says. “So in order for the fishers to want to have them on board, they need to see the benefit.”
Fisherman Aitor Larranaga will soon test Smart Gear off the coast of Spain. He's enthusiastic about smart tech and believes the fishing industry needs to innovate to become more sustainable. “The world moves on, ” he says. “We can't work like we did 200 years ago.”
1. What function can Catch Scanner serve?| A．It can direct fishers to waters full of fish | B．It can identify wrong sized fishing boats |
| C．It can report fishers' unruly behavior | D．It can catch only target fish species |
| A．The innovations are affordable for them | B．The EU forces them to adopt the innovations |
| C．Fishing companies ask them to go green | D．The innovations help them make money |
| A．Uncertain | B．Supportive | C．Doubtful | D．Uncaring. |
| A．Science and nature | B．Diet and health | C．Fashion and entertainment | D．Education and culture |
8 . Some turtles(乌龟) are famous for their medicinal(药用的) effects, which are discovered through scientific researches, while others are highly regarded as food. Nowadays, they are becoming more and more popular in pet stores. If you are thinking of getting a pet turtle, you must make sure that your turtle gets the best care.
Turtles do best when they are kept outside. Most turtles like to hibernate during the winter months. If they kept inside, they won't hibernate because they won't be able to tell what time of year it is, then they might develop liver(肝脏) problems.
If you decide to keep your pet turtles indoors, make sure you have at least a forty-gallon tank(水池) for them. At least one third of the tank needs to be placed to land.You may place some large and flat rocks in the tank, to give the turtles an area on which to sun themselves. Make sure they get at least twelve hours of sunlight every day.
Unfortunately, turtles are not pets which can be played with. They are cold-blooded pets and it takes them a long time to get used to changes in temperature. Taking the turtle out of its nice warm tank causes quite a shock to the turtles, and could damage its immune(免疫的) system. You should keep your turtle's environment as unchanging as possible, and also as clean as possible.
1. According to the passage, nowadays more and more people keep turtles ________.| A．for food | B．for medical use |
| C．as pet | D．for scientific researches |
| A．All turtles hibernate in winter. |
| B．Turtles are warm-blooded animal. |
| C．Turtles need a lot of sunlight. |
| D．Turtles easily get used to changes in environment. |
| A．keep it outside. | B．often take the turtles out of its tank. |
| C．put large rocks in its tank. | D．keep it in an unchanging environment. |
| A．To describe the pleasure of keeping a turtle. |
| B．To persuade people to protect turtles. |
| C．To encourage people to breed（养殖）turtles. |
| D．To give people advice on how to keep turtles. |
The topic of this programme is environmental
10 . We've long known that crows exhibit extraordinary intelligence. These birds have inspired legends for centuries. But the more scientists know about their brain structure and behaviors, the more crows seem to resemble humans.
John Marzluff, a professor from the University of Washington, has been studying crows for decades. He's explored the exceptional size and function of crow brains, their long life and lifestyle. “Big brain, long life and sociality, those are really linked features,” Marzluff says. “You put those together, and it should sound pretty familiar.”
To top that off, just last fall other researchers determined that crows seem to exhibit a level of consciousness shown only in humans and very few of our mammal relatives. The breakthrough study published in Science showed that crows have an ability to draw on subjective experiences from the past in order to solve a task. This means the birds keep new information, or memories, in the front of their brains for extended periods, and use it in reasoning and dealing with new situations they meet.
That is, for people and crows alike, the forebrain deals with higher tasks, including reasoned decision-making, problem-solving and executive function. Taken together, these findings help explain the problem-solving and tool use in crows. The New Caledonian crow, for example, has recently gained welcome for not only tool use, but its ability to make compound tools out of various materials. These birds have been known to make hooks and sharp spears that they use to catch insects in hard-to-reach places. In research labs, they've successfully bent wire to grab baskets with food inside.
“They understand the concept of hooking and-pulling and spearing and what tools are needed to do that,” Marzluff says. These reasoning skills appear to be significantly more advanced than primitive tool use—such as using rocks to break open shells and other food—that researchers have observed in some other animals.
1. What does Marluff mean by saying “it should sound pretty familiar”?| A．He knows how to study crows. | B．He was very familiar with crows. |
| C．The way crows live is related to humans. | D．Crows have features similar to those of humans. |
| A．They can draw pictures. | B．They like to eat insects. |
| C．They use tools creatively. | D．They existed for centuries. |
| A．Crows' special size. | B．Crow's better reasoning skills. |
| C．Crows' longer life. | D．Crows' way of raising babies. |
| A．Crows, Like No Other | B．Legends of Crows |
| C．Crows, More Humanlike | D．Evolution of Crows |
