1 . As a new mother in 2016, Tash Gorst was scrolling (翻阅) through her phone when she fell down the rabbit hole of reading about plastic pollution. Fast-forward to 2019 and she had opened Gather, an organic zero-waste shop.

Customers come to Gather to refill their own containers with everything from rice to beauty products. And it’s not only the produce that is sustainable — the shop is powered by renewable energy and financed by a more sustainable bank, while all the units inside have been made from waste materials, mostly by Gorst herself.

Zero-waste shops have become an increasingly common feature on the streets in recent years. Where they have gone, supermarkets now look set to follow, with Morrisons, Marks & Spencer and Waitrose all recently agreeing to add refill stations in shops by the end of this year. Meanwhile, Asda has introduced refill aisles (过道) to more of its supermarkets following successful trials.

As small startup businesses aiming to make responsible decisions without cutting ethical (道德上的) corners, refill shops tend to be more expensive than supermarkets and chains. Gorst acknowledges that not everyone can afford to buy from them.

“But if you can, you should. You’ll feel good about the small decision that you’ve made in contributing to your local economy and doing something that’s better for the planet,” she says.

Emily, Drabble is a regular Gather customer. She buys everything that would “normally be encased in plastic”, from cleaning products to food like pasta, which she puts into glass containers. “When I get home, I love unpacking my shopping, throwing nothing in the bin,” Drabble says.

And customers at refill shops get more than just physical goods, notes Gorst. Besides employing four local people, Gather, for example, holds free events, including a monthly book club for reading about sustainability, workshops for kids and so on. “I also see it as a place to bring people together,” she says.

1. Why does the author mention Gorst’s random reading in paragraph 1?

A．To share a parenting experience.	B．To offer background information.
C．To attach importance to motivation.	D．To show advantages of digital reading.

2. Which of the following is a significant feature of Gather?

A．It is run in an ecologically friendly way.	B．It sells sustainable goods at bargain prices.
C．It is only favored by customers with a green concept.	D．It differs from supermarkets in low-carbon awareness.

3. What is Drabble’s attitude towards refill shops?

A．Amused.

B．Critical.

C．Objective.

D．Enthusiastic.

4. What does the example in the last paragraph imply?

A．People may regard refill shops as fitness clubs.

B．Refill shops ought to share some social responsibilities.

C．People can benefit more from refill shops than expected.

D．Refill shops need to hold various events to promote sales.

2 . 语法填空。

Peru is a country on the Pacific coast of South America with three main     1     (area). In the 1400s and 1500s, Peru was the centre of the ancient Inca Empire. Spain     2     (control) Peru in the 16th century and ruled it until 1821.

Fly from Cusco into the Amazon rainforest, where you take a boat to get to your accommodation in     3     middle of the forest. Then spend three days     4     (hike) and exploring nature.

You will be     5     (amaze) by Machu Picchu.     6     (especial) amazing is the Incas’ dry stone method of building. Stones     7     (cut) to exact sizes so that nothing was needed to hold walls together other than the perfect fit of the stones.

Cusco was the capital of the Inca Empire from the 13th     8     the 16th century. There, you can enjoy the unique Spanish and local Indian culture. Stay in a local hotel, visit the museums, admire the architecture, enjoy the excellent local food, and go     9     (shop) at the local markets.

When arriving in Lake Titicaca, a boat will take you to a local Uros family on an island for three days. Both the island and the Uros homes are made     10     water plants from the lake.

3 . Have you ever heard of a rattlesnake? It is a poisonous (有毒的) American snake. When it is angry or afraid, it makes a noise like a rattle with its tail. It’s very scary. But Heather Ramirez and her husband, from California, the United States, make a living in an unusual way. They are self-employed (自雇的) snake catchers! They catch snakes, especially rattlesnakes which have gone indoors, and return them to the wild.

Heather describes her work as “protecting people from rattlesnakes--and protecting rattlesnakes from people!” In the area where they live, rattlesnakes often come face to face with people. They are found in stores, offices, houses and gardens. Heather explains that it’s not the snakes that are moving into places where people live, but it’s the other way round. The snakes lived in these places first and then the people built houses.

Most people who see a rattlesnake are feared. If you keep your distance, however, the snake won’t bite (咬) you. In twelve years as a snake catcher, Heather has never touched a snake. She doesn’t take the risk. She picks up the snake with a special tool. This doesn’t hurt them, but it keeps them at a safe distance so that they can’t bite her.

Heather and her husband are very busy because they are never off duty. Catching snakes is a full-time job and they don’t often have a day off. People can get to them at any time of the day or night. Not everyone can do this job, but Heather doesn’t want to do anything else. “I just love my job,” she says.

1. The Ramirezs make a living in an unusual way by ______.

A．catching and selling snakes	B．catching snakes as a part-time job
C．protecting snakes in the wild	D．being self-employed snake catchers

2. In Paragraph 2, Heather explains why the rattlesnakes ______.

A．never bite people	B．are afraid of people
C．are found where people live	D．lived with people at first

3. The underlined word “them” in Paragraph 3 refers to “______”.

A．rattlesnakes

B．special tools

C．people around

D．the Ramirezs

4. Which of the following is TURE according to the passage?

A．Heather catches snakes only at night.	B．Heather is always ready to do her job.
C．Heather risks touching snakes sometimes.	D．Heather has been a snake catcher for 20 years.

4 . Australia officially listed koalas across its eastern coast as “endangered” on Friday. Conservationists (自然环境保护者) said koala populations had crashed in much of eastern Australia over the past two decades, warning that they were now sliding towards extinction.

The koala a globally recognized symbol of Australia’s unique wildlife, had been listed as “vulnerable (易危)”   on the eastern coast just a decade earlier. “We are taking unprecedented (史无前例的) action to protect the koala,” the Minister of Environment, Sussan Ley said, highlighting a recent government promise of Aus $50 million to protect and recover koala habitats.

Environmentalists welcomed the koalas’ new status (地位) but blamed Australia’s failure to protect the species so far. “Koalas have gone from no-listing to vulnerable to endangered within a decade. That is a shockingly fast decline,” said WWF-Australia conservation scientist Stuart Blanch. “Today’s decision is welcome, but it won’t stop koalas from sliding towards extinction unless it’s accompanied by stronger laws to protect their forest homes.”

Alexia Wellbelove of the Humane Society International said east coast koalas could be extinct by 2050 if no action was taken. “We can’t afford any more clearing,” she said. “The extinction of koalas does not have to happen,” she added, “we must stop allowing their homes to be cleared for mines, new houses, agricultural projects and industrial logging (伐木).”

Australia’s koalas had been living on a “knife edge” even before the “Black Summer” bushfires of 2019-2020 because of land-clearing, drought, disease, car strikes and dog attacks, said Josey Sharrad, wildlife campaign manager at the International Fund for Animal Welfare. “We should never have allowed things to get to the point where we are at risk of losing a national icon (象征),” Sharrad said, “The bushfires were the final straw. This must be a wake-up call to Australia and the government to move much faster to protect critical habitat from development and land-clearing, and seriously deal with the impacts of climate change.”

1. Why did Environmentalists welcome the koala’s new status?

A．This would stop koalas from extinction.

B．This could lead to action to protect koalas.

C．They could blame the government’s failure.

D．They may have time to recover koala habitats.

2. What does the underlined sentence mean?

A．Land-clearing costs a lot of money.

B．Homes for koalas should be offered.

C．Land-clearing can cause koalas to die out.

D．No money can be spent on wildlife protection.

3. How does Sharrad feel about the present state of Koalas?

A．Concerned.

B．Disappointed.

C．Frightened.

D．Satisfied.

4. Which of the following is the best title for the text?

A．Koalas: Australia’s National Icon	B．Koalas Will Live on a Knife Edge
C．Australia Lists Koalas as Endangered	D．Bushfires: Koala Killers in Australia

5 . LOS ANGELES ( AP ) — Hollywood’s response to climate change includes donations, protests and other social activities, but it’s apparently missing out on an approach close to home. Only 2.8% of screen fiction refers to climate change-related words, according to a new study of 37.453 film and TV scripts from 2016 to 2020. A blueprint for ways to turn that around was released Tuesday.

“ Good Energy: A Playbook for Screenwriting in the Age of Climate Change ” was created with feedback from more than 100 film and TV writers, said Anna Jane Joyner, editor-in-chief of the playbook and founder of Good Energy, a nonprofit consulting company. “ A big barrier that we encountered was that writers were associating climate stories with disaster stories, ” she said in an interview. “ The main purpose of the playbook is to expand that menu of possibilities … to a larger range of how it would be showing up in our real life. ”

Dorothy Fortenberry, a TV writer and playwright, said the industry needs to broaden its view of who it writes about, not just what. “ Climate change is something that right now is affecting people who aren’t necessarily the people that Hollywood tends to write stories about. It’s affecting farmers in Bangladesh, farmers in Peru, farmers in Kentucky, ” Fortenberry said. “ If we told stories about different kinds of people, there would be opportunities to smoothly integrate climate in. ”

The entertainment industry’s failure to use its storytelling powers more effectively on the issue seems unsurprising to Joyner, who’s been working on climate-change communications in various sectors and communities for 15 years. For the first decade, it felt like “ screaming into the empty space ” because of the lack of response, Joyner said. But there is evidence of increasing concern among Americans regarding climate change, including those who are in Hollywood. “ We’ve all gone through a kind of awakening, ” she said. There are a number of documentaries and news programs about climate change, she said, expressing optimism that fiction creators will make steady progress.

1. What does the underlined word “ that ” in paragraph 1 refer to?

A．Hollywood failing to react to climate change.

B．Hollywood overlooking screen fiction about home.

C．Hollywood missing the screen fiction about climate change.

D．Hollywood lacking approaches to solving climate problems.

2. What did Dorothy Fortenberry suggest?

A．Hollywood should expand its perspective.

B．Hollywood should tell real disaster stories.

C．Hollywood should provide much more entertainment.

D．Hollywood should cover climate stories of average people.

3. What is Joyner’s attitude towards Hollywood’s future response to climate change?

A．Positive.

B．Tolerant.

C．Indifferent.

D．Doubtful.

4. What is this text?

A．A news report.

B．A short story.

C．A movie review.

D．An advertisement.

6 . Laura encourages her two kids to make crafts and drawings from old bits of packaging. She began _________ her family’s waste when she moved house and decided that she would leave all single-use _________ behind.

“It’s cheaper and you know that the item will _________ being used instead of being set aside — so it’s just perfect! Each of us play a big _________ in taking care of the environment. It’s _________ to try to help rather than just keep complaining about the current situation.”

Any glass container is _________ and repurposed for something else. This means that the family only send a piece of _________ to landfill every two weeks on average. She tries not to buy any plastic at all, but when she does, she will get it _________ washed and recycled.

The family also grow their own tomatoes, lettuce, and some other vegetables in the garden, and have orange trees outdoors. Laura has also _________ herself in a community of friends who __________ items with each other that they need, like furniture or plates.

She said, “We tried to use the minimum __________ and take over some toys and baby equipment from friends and relatives. If we really had to __________ anything, first we tried at the __________ market.”

To help educate her kids, Laura takes them out on nature walks to the forest where they __________ rubbish as they go. “They enjoy this __________, because they know it’s better for the environment,” she said.

1.

A．considering

B．reducing

C．analyzing

D．dividing

2.

A．pots

B．handles

C．items

D．collections

3.

A．continue

B．stop

C．fancy

D．delay

4.

A．game

B．lead

C．match

D．role

5.

A．original

B．enjoyable

C．cautious

D．normal

6.

A．attended to

B．left out

C．washed up

D．taken away

7.

A．equipment

B．furniture

C．glass

D．rubbish

8.

A．thoroughly

B．delightedly

C．modestly

D．accidentally

9.

A．devoted

B．found

C．exposed

D．buried

10.

A．share

B．trade

C．discuss

D．clarify

11.

A．necessary

B．valuable

C．ordinary

D．possible

12.

A．purchase

B．discover

C．approach

D．preserve

13.

A．far-away

B．duty-free

C．second-hand

D．life-long

14.

A．pull out

B．pick up

C．hold back

D．keep off

15.

A．activity

B．idea

C．theme

D．jungle

7 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. What is the speaker mainly talking about?

A．Spotting a lost tiger.

B．Feeding a hungry tiger.

C．Looking after a sick tiger.

2. Where did Max Kuss find the tiger?

A．In a park.

B．On the street.

C．In a parking lot.

3. What made the tiger be called Watermelon?

A．His nature.

B．His appearance.

C．His love for the fruit.

4. When was the tiger caught by the police?

A．At 1:00 a.m.

B．At 4:45 a.m.

C．At 5:30 a.m.

8 . Vets in New Zealand have managed to contain a disease that threatened to wipe out a rare bird species called the kakapo.

The kakapo is the world’s largest parrot and lives on islands off the coast of New Zealand. Last year, it had a ________ breeding (繁殖) season, when its numbers rose from around 147 to 213. Then, just when it looked like it was all going ________ , the birds were ________ by a disease called aspergillosis, which was caused by a type of fungus (真菌) that infected the birds’ lungs. Several chicks and a few adults died from it, and there were ________ that it could ________ to the rest of the population.

The ________ problem was identifying the disease in the birds and then ________ them. So New Zealand’s Department of Conservation (DOC) and vets from Auckland Zoo ________ the nests that they thought were most at risk, and ________ the parrots in danger to Auckland, a city in New Zaland, to have CT scans. However, the vets’ CT scanner was broken, so the kakapos were taken to a ________ hospital instead.

The next step was to give the big parrots the night drugs to stop the ________ . To get the drugs into each bird’s lungs, vets had to use a nebuliser (雾化器), but the nebulisers in the hospital were too ________ for the kakapo. The vets then tried a ________ nebulizer-and luckily, it ________ .

Thanks to the team’s hard work, the ________ of kakapo is now 211.

1.

A．peak

B．sensitive

C．thin

D．sustainable

2.

A．blankly

B．well

C．roughly

D．delicately

3.

A．beat

B．stuck

C．hit

D．slipped

4.

A．sorrows

B．curiosities

C．nerves

D．concerns

5.

A．sweep

B．spread

C．stimulate

D．stretch

6.

A．widespread

B．subsequent

C．main

D．common

7.

A．applying

B．treating

C．operating

D．performing

8.

A．mapped out

B．made out

C．figured out

D．carried out

9.

A．sent

B．delivered

C．carried

D．helicoptered

10.

A．animal

B．vet

C．human

D．children

11.

A．effect

B．effort

C．affection

D．infection

12.

A．big

B．small

C．cheap

D．expensive

13.

A．boy’s

B．child’s

C．woman’s

D．man’s

14.

A．worked

B．did

C．covered

D．made

15.

A．group

B．crew

C．population

D．species

9 . Mom had read about geraniums (天竺葵) in a magazine—pretty, easy to grow—and, she became possessed with a vision of a house flooded with flowers. She sprang into action and started to grow them enthusiastically. She could be like that: my mother always had sudden bursts of creativity.

Mom transformed the backyard into a flower factory, crowded with pots and plants and bags of soil. She called for my help, and we arranged the roots of the flowers in elegant containers. It was the ripe height of summer. Mom wore long gardening gloves over her hands. She had bought me gloves too, but I refused to wear them. She burst with annoyance. For half an hour she would not talk to me, but then she softened, so engaged in the completion of her project that she forgot my offence, or perhaps for fear that I might abandon the project altogether.

She needn’t have worried. I wouldn’t leave. It was a rare chance to spend time with my mother without the pressure of speaking to one another. We could crouch (蹲下) side by side, our attention on the plants. Although I was her daughter, we often struggled to communicate with each other as though we were strangers or beginners of a language. I wanted to learn her language, if only to better understand her and to increase the chances of her understanding me. There was so much I longed to tell her, but I also feared that if I started, other matters not meant to be spoken might leap out. Better not to risk the opening. Over the course of our three days, I would dream of seeing a great geranium with its root bared until my hands arrived full of soil to cover it back up.

When all the flowers were ready in their decorated pots, Mom spent a fourth day distributing them through the house, moving a wooden stand here and now there, there and now here, until at last every geranium was moved into the house and she collapsed onto the sofa. Flowers at every turn.

1. The author probably viewed her mother’s decision to plant the geraniums as ______.

A．worthwhile	B．unsurprising
C．disappointing	D．significant

2. Which of the following can be inferred from the text?

A．The daughter had mixed emotions about her mother.

B．The daughter was very annoyed at her mother’s criticism.

C．Mom was often ready to approach and understand the daughter.

D．Mom was offended because the daughter quit the planting project.

3. We can learn from the last paragraph that Mom ______.

A．was tired of the plants crowding the house

B．was grateful for the help from her daughter

C．was careful with the final placement of the plants

D．was discouraged from arranging the pots all by herself

10 . To most people, giraffes are merely adorable, long-necked animals that rank near the top of a zoo visit. But to cardiovascular (心血管的) scientists, there’s even more to love. Giraffes, as it turns out, have solved a problem that kills millions of people every year: high blood pressure.

Giraffes have sky-high blood pressure because of their sky-high heads that, in adults, rise about six meters above the ground—a long, long way for their hearts to pump blood upwards against gravity. To have a blood pressure of 110/70 in the brain—normal for a large animal—giraffes need a blood pressure of about 220/180 in the heart. It doesn’t vex the giraffes, but pressure like that would cause all sorts of problems for people, from heart failure to kidney failure to abnormal ankles and legs.

When biologist Barbara Natterson-Horowitz examined giraffes’ hearts, she found that their left ventricles (心室) did get thicker, but without fibrosis (纤维化), which is a health problem associated with heart disease and would occur in people. She also found that giraffes have variants of five genes related to fibrosis. In keeping with the findings, other researchers who examined giraffe genes found several giraffe-specific gene variants related to cardiovascular development and steady blood pressure. And in 2021, another research group reported giraffe-specific variants of genes involved in fibrosis.

And the giraffe has another trick to avoid heart failure: The ventricular filling period of the heartbeat is extended, Natterson-Horowitz found. This allows the heart to pump more blood with each beat, allowing giraffes to run hard despite their thicker heart muscle.

Natterson-Horowitz is now turning her attention to another problem giraffes seem to have solved: high blood pressure during pregnancy. For people, this can lead to severe illnesses. Yet giraffes seem to do just well. Natterson-Horowitz and her team are hoping to find out if they have unique adaptations that allow this.

1. What does the underlined word “vex” in paragraph 2 mean?

A．Frighten.

B．Interest.

C．Warn.

D．Disturb.

2. Why can giraffes resist fibrosis?

A．They have high blood pressure.

B．They have slower heartbeats.

C．They have specific gene variants.

D．They have thicker left ventricles.

3. What will Natterson-Horowitz and her team focus on in the future?

A．What causes giraffes’ gene variants.

B．What makes pregnant giraffes well.

C．Why pregnant women suffer from illnesses.

D．Why giraffes have unique adaptations.

4. Which is the best title for the text?

A．Cardiovascular Secrets of Giraffes

B．Studies on Heart Fibrosis of Giraffes

C．Health Effects of Giraffes’ Long Necks

D．Reasons for Man’s High Blood Pressure