1 . Climate change is already affecting water access for people around the world, causing more severe droughts and floods. Climate change impacts the water cycle by influencing when, where, and how much rain falls. It also leads to more severe weather events over time. Increasing global temperatures causes water to rise into the air in larger amounts, which will lead to higher levels of atmospheric water vapor and more frequent, heavy, and intense rains in the coming years.
Climate scientists predict that this shift will lead to more floods since more water will fall than vegetation and soil can absorb. The remaining water, or runoff, flows into nearby waterways, picking up contaminants like fertilizers (肥料) on the way. Too much runoff eventually travels to larger bodies of water like lakes, and the ocean, damaging the water supply and limiting water access for humans and ecosystems.
When fertilizers from farming wash into lakes and the ocean, they promote the rapid growth of algae (藻类). These resulting algal blooms fill coasts and waterways with clouds of green, blue-green, red, or brown algae. They block sunlight from reaching underwater life and reduce oxygen levels within the water. Poisons from the algae can kill off fish and other aquatic animals, make people sick, and even kill humans. These poisons are especially dangerous because they can survive rainfall processes, making tap water unfit to consume once contaminated. Algal blooms also impact industries that rely on the water for business, and often cause local waterfronts to shut down during blooms.
There are many things that everyone can do to lessen the impact of climate change. Some measures include growing your own fruits and vegetables or buying locally grown produce, since produce is often transported to grocery stores from far away by trucks, which add more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. You could also walk or ride a bike instead of driving a car.
1. What is a consequence of climate change according to paragraph 1?| A．Extreme weather. | B．Water supply. | C．Water cycle. | D．Polluted atmosphere. |
| A．Nutrients. | B．Soils. | C．Pollutants. | D．Organisms. |
| A．Master some ways to do farming work. | B．Buy more foreign fruits and vegetables. |
| C．Have a regular exercise like walking. | D．Form some habits of reducing carbon dioxide. |
| A．Causes of Climate Change. | B．Harm Climate Change Does to Humans. |
| C．Impacts of Climate Change on Water Access. | D．Ways to Lessen the Impacts of Climate Change. |
2 . Dog people like to point out dogs’ long history as humankind’s best friend while even the most devoted cat owners may wonder at some point whether their cat really loves them.
Look out for scenting
Cats use scent to identify their own members, by sharing a group scent profile. They have scent glands(腺)on their head and around their ears, and often rub their heads against people and objects that are familiar and comforting. Does your cat rub its head or side against your legs?
Look for blinks
Your cat might be secretly signalling their affection in the way they look at you.
Watch how they greet you
Cats are very protective of their personal space and don’t like unwelcome guests to invade it. If a cat allows you to get close to them, that suggests a close bond, particularly where the contact is frequent or long lasting. Curling up on your lap for a nap and licking your hand or face are signs of deep trust.
| A．Watch their behavior |
| B．Sense their comfort zone |
| C．Actually, cats do love their owners, according to science. |
| D．Look out for these behaviors to prove that your furry friend is truly bonded to you. |
| E．The soft sensation you feel against your legs is actually your cat identifying you as a friend. |
| F．One of the most obvious signs that your beloved pet is fond of you, is the way that your cat approaches you. |
| G．When cats encounter strange humans or other cats they don’t know, they usually greet them with an unblinking stare. |
3 . It was in 2005 that Chris Jones of the University of California, Berkeley put the finishing touches on the world’s first online household carbon calculator. He hoped that, if he could show people how much greenhouse gas was associated with daily activities, they might change their behaviour and contribute in some small measure to saving the Amazon. Seventeen years later, trackers are providing a wealth of often-neglected information about the carbon emissions of everyday life.
Trackers work by asking users to answer questions such as: how many miles a year do you drive; how much is your annual household electricity bill; how often do you eat meat? They then calculate a personal or household estimate of emissions of carbon-dioxide equivalent(等价物) per year. What do they tell us?
Dr Jones describes the main household polluting activities as “cars, coal, cows and consumption, roughly in that order”. By far the largest single source of emissions is the family vehicle. Swapping it for an electric vehicle would save over 6 tonnes, or an eighth of the average American household’s yearly emissions.
No other change would elicit that much saving, though electricity in the home is responsible for over 5 tonnes of carbon emissions a year, so generating it with solar panels would come close. Like electric vehicles, a roof full of solar panels is not cheap. Changing diets costs less, and American households consume meat worth 2.7 tonnes of CO2e a year, far more than most people. If Americans went vegetarian, that would be like half an average solar roof.
Over the next 30 years, many countries are promising to move to net-zero carbon, implying that household emissions will have to be cut to close to nothing. Trackers, it seems, have daunting(令人怯步的) lessons for public bodies and private households alike.
1. Why did Dr Jones put forward the idea of carbon trackers?| A．To keep track of household activities. |
| B．To calculate the carbon emissions of everyday life. |
| C．To remind people to adopt a low-carbon lifestyle. |
| D．To learn how greenhouse gas was related to daily activities. |
| A．The purpose of the invention. |
| B．The targeted users of the invention. |
| C．The improvement of the invention. |
| D．The operating principles of the invention. |
| A．generate | B．accumulate | C．manage | D．consume |
| A．Trackers only give alarming lessons to private households. |
| B．The largest single source of emissions is the electric vehicle. |
| C．Consuming more vegetables than meat helps reduce carbon emissions. |
| D．Americans vegetarians spend half of their savings building an average solar roof. |
4 . A flood hit Yellowstone National Park on June 13, 2022. The disaster was caused by a combination of unusually heavy rains and rapid snow melt. The high and fast water flows destroyed bridges and swept away entire roadways, leaving communities and homes isolated. Fortunately, the approximately 10,000 park visitors were safely evacuated.
The town of Gardiner, along the Montana-Wyoming border, was particularly hard hit. The floodwaters left almost 900 people with no power or water for many days. Gardiner’s economy, which depends on the almost three-quarters of a million visitors who pass through the park’s north gate annually, is likely to take a hit. The floodwaters severely damaged the main north entrance road to Yellowstone, and could take years to rebuild.
Park officials have begun work on improving an alternative road to Gardiner. This will ensure that locals can access food, supplies, and other essential emergency services. A limited number of tourists may also be allowed into Gardiner once the road is stable.
Yellowstone’s north gate is closed indefinitely. But the park’s south gate opened to visitors on June 22, 2022. Park officials have started a new entry system to prevent overcrowding. It is based on the last number of the visitor’s vehicle license plate and the calendar date of the month. Cars with odd (奇数的) numbers can visit the park on odd days of the month, while those with even (偶数的) numbers can go on even days.
Established in 1872, Yellowstone is America’s oldest national park. The 3,472-square-mile reserve spans three states and is home to many unique wildlife. It is known for its natural beauty that includes mountains, rivers and lakes. The forces of fire and ice shaped the park over thousands of years.
1. What does the underlined word “isolated” in paragraph 1 probably mean?| A．Tracked. | B．Separated. |
| C．Decorated. | D．Improved. |
| A．Gardiner’s economy would get into trouble. |
| B．Communities and homes were left in ruins. |
| C．Almost 900 people were trapped in the park. |
| D．The park’s south gate was closed for a while. |
| A．Local people can get daily necessities from visitors. |
| B．The park has adopted a new system to recognize faces. |
| C．The license plate number decides when cars enter the park. |
| D．More tourists may flood into the park for geological features. |
| A．Flooding Has Caused Widespread Damage in the US |
| B．Yellowstone National Park Was Closed due to Flooding |
| C．Natural Beauty Makes Yellowstone America’s Oldest Park |
| D．Yellowstone National Park Partially Reopens After Flooding |
1、阐明信件目的；
2、陈述推荐理由；
3、分享个人感悟。
注意：
1.写作词数应为80左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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Come and enjoy the amazing snowscape of the Changbai Mountains
Changbai Mountains mean “Forever-White Mountains” in Chinese
The Heavenly Lake
The weather at Changbai Mountains is
7 . She came in the dead of night, in the cold. She was more than half dead,
My mother and brother found her in the daylight of the next day. They could not even
They are the kind of people who
Mark and my mother fed her, gave her water and bathed her in burned motor oil, the way my people have been curing the mange for
“I
Some things in the garden were planted according to science, according to soil and weather. And some things were planted according to traditions, the shape of the moon, and more. However, there are things we cannot
| A．starved | B．burnt | C．swallowed | D．settled |
| A．At length | B．At least | C．At large | D．At present |
| A．predict | B．suspect | C．recall | D．tell |
| A．tend | B．vote | C．hate | D．determine |
| A．appreciates | B．abandons | C．possesses | D．keeps |
| A．inspired | B．recognized | C．named | D．congratulated |
| A．through | B．beyond | C．off | D．beneath |
| A．pleasure | B．generations | C．profits | D．convenience |
| A．supposed | B．assigned | C．aimed | D．appointed |
| A．commanding | B．supporting | C．following | D．consulting |
| A．prayed | B．spoke | C．sought | D．struggled |
| A．lesson | B．punishment | C．reward | D．gift |
| A．fail | B．adapt | C．develop | D．wander |
| A．complain | B．explain | C．obtain | D．claim |
| A．take it easy | B．make it clear | C．put it off | D．make it true |
8 . Supermarket shoppers could soon be checking the environmental impact of food before putting it in their trolleys, thanks to new research.
Many consumers want to know how their weekly food shop affects the planet. However, reliable information of this kind hasn’t been available because food companies only have to list their main ingredients (原料). The food industry has also been crying out for a new tool and this algorithm (运算法则), which is already being used by some companies to make their meals more eco-friendly, helps fill the gap.
Dr Mike Clark, who led the research at Oxford University, called the tool “a significant step towards providing information that could enable informed decision-making”. The team estimated the composition of 57,000 foods and drinks in supermarkets. It then assessed the impact of growing methods, processing and transport, against key environmental measures including greenhouse gas emissions and impacts on nature. Finally, an eco-score was worked out.
However, the analysis has limits. Under the algorithm, the higher the score, the higher the environmental impact. As expected, foods containing more meat and dairy score much higher than those with more plant-based ingredients. But there was wide variation within specific types. For example, the highest-impact pork sausage scored about a third higher than the least one. And the impact of biscuits rose the more chocolate they contained.
COOK, a frozen food producer looking to diversify away from meat, has worked with the researchers. It wants to explore whether putting eco-labels on its products would help customers embrace a more sustainable diet.
An official from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs welcomed the plan. “We want to give everyone the information to make healthier, greener and more sustainable choices with the food they buy.” However, the researchers don’t foresee eco-labelling becoming compulsory (义务的) in the near future. They want firms to adopt it voluntarily, something they believe would make a difference to the food industry in cutting their environmental footprint.
1. What does the underlined phrase “the gap” in paragraph 2 refer to?| A．Companies’ lack of requirements to label their ingredients. |
| B．Companies’ lack of tools to make their meals more eco-friendly. |
| C．Customers’ lack of habits of checking the environmental impact of food. |
| D．Customers’ lack of reliable information about the environmental impact of food. |
| A．Its functions. | B．Its limitations. | C．Its operation. | D．Its significance. |
| A．Higher score indicates higher environmental impact. |
| B．There can be varied scores within the same type. |
| C．Small changes in ingredients could make big differences. |
| D．Plant-based ingredients score lower than meat and dairy. |
| A．They expect for voluntary actions. | B．Producers are still doubtful about it. |
| C．They are not confident in their research. | D．The government does not approve of it. |
9 . From cowboy hats and cattle to barbecue and football, Texas is known for many things. One thing the Lone Star State is not known for, however, is winter weather.
That changed in February last year, when winter storm buried Texas in ice and snow. It raged for a total of eight days, 23 hours, and 23 minutes, which was one of the most impactful winter events in recent history.
According to Texas TV station, winter storm Landon was so extreme that it caused trees across north Texas to “explode”, filling local communities with booms that sounded more like gunshots than tree branches.
The phenomenon of “exploding trees” isn’t as unusual or as terrifying as it sounds, according to Janet, who says trees often freeze and burst as a result of rapid temperature shifts. “Our wide temperature swings mean that trees may not be completely dormant (休眠的) or prepared for the cold,” Janet said. “Trees have several mechanisms they use to prevent freezing. They take cues to get adapted and ready for the freeze.”
In trees that aren’t completely inactive, cold weather causes tree sap to freeze. When that happens, the sap expands beyond what the tree’s bark can contain. And so, the tree splits in places that can’t cope with the pressure, creating cracks known as “frost cracks”. Although trees do not actually explode into pieces when frost cracks happen, there may be loud noises and visible fractures (折断), and heavy branches can fall to the ground.
“Trees explode in cold weather because the water content in the cells and tissues freezes,” MacKenzie said. “From midwinter to early spring this can occur when the temperature swings, snow melts and warm sun, cold nights work in harmony. It is usually nothing to be too concerned about; the tree will start to heal just as quickly. I have been awakened many cold winter nights hearing the trees explode.”
1. What does the underlined word “That” refer to?| A．Texas is related to American football. |
| B．Texas is little known for its winter weather. |
| C．Texas is a suitable place for raising cattle. |
| D．Texas has a famous history of cowboys. |
| A．The occurrence of the winter storm. |
| B．The fragile tree branches in winter. |
| C．The sudden change of temperatures. |
| D．The trees’ preparation for the cold. |
| A．The effect of cold weather on plants. |
| B．Ways to help trees prevent freezing. |
| C．The role of sap in winter. |
| D．The reason why trees explode. |
| A．Tree explosion is a natural phenomenon. |
| B．Melting snow can lead to tree explosion. |
| C．Trees may explode even in warm nights. |
| D．People should be careful about exploding trees. |
10 . The microbiome is the collection of all microbes (微生物), such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, and other life, which naturally live in an individual, be it a person or a plant. For humans and many other species, the best characterized microbiome centers on the bacteria in the gut (肠). The more microbiologists study these gut microbes, the more they link the bacteria to functions of their hosts. In humans, gut bacteria influence how the body responds to disease-causing bacteria, or interact with the brain, affecting the mood.
Andrew Moeller is an evolutionary biologist at Cornell University. Six years ago, he and his colleagues reported the work showing human gut microbes are very similar to those in other primates (灵长类), suggesting their presence predates the evolution of humans. But his follow-up studies indicate the human gut microbiome has changed greatly, compared with our current primate cousins. He found 85 microbial varieties in the guts of wild monkeys, but just 55 in people in US cities. Besides, people in less developed parts of the world have between 60 and 65 of those bacterial groups.
“Changes in diet as humans moved on from their hunter-gatherer past and into cities, antibiotic (抗生素) use, more life stresses, and better hygiene are all possible contributors to that great change in gut microbes,” says Reshmi Upreti, a microbiologist at the University of Washington, Bothell. Several researchers have argued that this lower diversity could contribute to increases in various diseases.
However, Kyle Meyer, a microbiologist at UC Berkeley, argues such loses are not necessarily a problem. “Maybe we don’t need them,” he points out. But Moeller is worried. “We are really doing some scary stuff to our microbiomes,” he warns. Moeller and others also suggest identifying the missing microbes may be the first step in bringing them back. “If we determine that these groups were providing important functions to keep humans healthy,“Upreti says, “perhaps we can restore them by introducing probiotics (益生菌) to the digestive system through foods and supplements.”
1. What conclusion do microbiologists probably draw about gut microbes?| A．They are crucial to humans’ health. |
| B．They can easily adapt to new hosts. |
| C．They encourage the growth of disease-causing bacteria. |
| D．They vary greatly from individual to individual. |
| A．Humans need fewer gut microbes to digest than other primates. |
| B．The variety of human gut microbes has reduced greatly. |
| C．Human gut microbes are very similar to those in monkeys. |
| D．The presence of gut microbes accelerates the evolution of humans. |
| A．Ignoring the loss of microbes. |
| B．Recognizing the lost microbes. |
| C．Regaining the lost microbes through balanced diets. |
| D．Recovering the lost microbes with the help of probiotics. |
| A．The importance of Microbiome to Primates |
| B．The Wide Diversity of Human Microbiome |
| C．The Loss of Gut Bacteria in Modern Humans |
| D．The Number of Gut Bacteria in Different Species |
