1 . The good news is that more people bought electric vehicles （EVs） in 2020. The bad news is that sport utility （多用途的）vehicles （SUVs） continued to grow in popularity, too. “The fall in oil consumption due to the first trend was completely canceled out by the second," said Laura Cozzi, an officer at the International Energy Agency （JEA）,
Between 2010 and 2020, global carbon dioxide emissions （排放）from conventional cars fell by nearly 35 billion Lons, due to reasons such as fuel efficiency improvements as well as the switch to electric cars. Emissions from SUVs rose by more than 50 billion tons. "While the growth in EVs is encouraging, the boom in SUVs is heart-breaking," says Peters at the Cicero Climate Research Centre in Norway.
There are many reasons for the growing popularity of SUVs. For example, rising economic boom in many countries means more people are able to afford them. Some people see them as status symbols. Also, SUVs are heavily advertised by car-makers, whose profit is higher on these vehicles. Some countries, including France, have introduced plans under which more taxes are paid on heavier cars. But Peters thinks that people who are rich enough to afford SUVs won't be deterred by slightly higher taxes. "There are now some electric SUVs available, but 1 hope one day you will see more electric vehicles brought to the SUV market," says Peters.
Even if it happens, switching to electric SUVs isn't a good solution. Due to their size and bigger batteries, it takes more resources to build electric SUVs, and they consume around 15 percent more electricity. That means higher emissions unless the electricity comes entirely from renewable sources, and higher electricity demand makes it harder to green the electricity supply.
1. What can we infer from Paragraph 2?| A．Scientists should devote themselves to improving fuel efficiency. |
| B．The emission of carbon dioxide of motor vehicles has hit a new low. |
| C．Electric vehicles will certainly take the place of sport utility vehicles. |
| D．The popularity of SUVs destroys some efforts at environmental protection. |
| A．Blocked. | B．Encouraged. | C．Removed. | D．Involved. |
| A．SUVs are discounted heavily. |
| B．SUVs are often advertised by car producers. |
| C．SUVs are taxed at a lower rate in some countries. |
| D．SUVs consume fewer resources than other vehicles. |
| A．The electric SUVs should be made smaller and lighter. |
| B．The electric SUVs are a good guarantee for less pollution. |
| C．More electric SUVs don’t necessarily mean "environment-friendly". |
| D．Future electric SUVs will be powered with completely green energy. |
2 . Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (麻省理工学院) have turned spider webs into music——creating an strange soundtrack that could help them better understand how the spiders output their complex creations and even how they communicate.
The MIT team worked with Berlin-based artist Tomas Saraceno to take 2D (two- dimensional) laser (激光) scans of a spider web, which were linked together and made into a mathematical model that could recreate the web in 3D in VR (virtual reality). They also worked with MIT’s music department to create the virtual instrument.
“Even though the web looks really random (随机)，there actually are a lot of inside structures and you can visualize (可视化) them and you can look at them, but it’s really hard to grasp for the human imagination or human brain to understand all these structural details,” said MIT engineering professor Markus Buehler, who presented the work on Monday at a virtual meeting of the American Chemical Society.
Listening to the music while moving through the VR spider web lets you see and hear these structural changes and gives a better idea of how spiders see the world, he told CNN. “Spiders use vibrations (振动) as a way to locate themselves, to communicate with other spiders and so the idea of thinking really like a spider would experience the world was something that was very important to us as spider material scientists,” Buehler said.
Spiders are able to build their webs without shelves or supports, so having a better idea of how they work could lead to the development of advanced new 3D printing techniques. “The reason why I did that is I wanted to be able to get information really from the spider world, which is very weird and mysterious,” Buehler explained. In addition to the scientific value, Buehler said the webs are musically interesting and that you can hear the sounds the spider creates during construction. “It’s unusual and eerie and scary, but finally beautiful.” he described.
1. What have MIT scientists done according to the passage?| A．They have translated spider webs into sounds. |
| B．They have made a mathematical model to produce webs. |
| C．They have created a soundtrack to catch spiders. |
| D．They have known how spiders communicate. |
| A．Their structures are beautiful and clear. |
| B．Professor Markus Buehler knows them well. |
| C．The American Chemical Society presents the result. |
| D．They are complex for people to figure it out. |
| A．virtual reality | B．printing |
| C．painting | D．film-making |
| A．It tells us that the music created by spiders is scary. |
| B．It shows how the researchers carry out the experiment. |
| C．It presents a new and creative way to study spiders. |
| D．It explains why scientists did the experiment. |
3 . Researchers say the world has lost more than one fourth of its land-based insects over the past 30 years. The finding comes from a major study of insect populations worldwide. The researchers noted the loss of such insects suggests a more complex problem than earlier research has shown.
Ants, bees, butterflies and other land-based insects have been suffering population drops of about nine percent every 10 years or so. The number of insects on average has declined in the air, in the grass and soil, but not in trees or underground, the researchers found. Some estimates show that land-based insects will face a population drop of 24 percent in the next 30 years. The researchers did not find a link to climate change in the loss of insects. But they did note that widespread effects of growing cities and loss of underdeveloped areas to agriculture.
However，freshwater insects，such as dragonflies and mosquitoes，have been a different story. These insects were found to have experienced a population increase of about 1 percent every 10 years. Freshwater covers only 2.5 percent of the Earth’s surface, so the majority of insects live mainly on land. The researchers said clean-water policies established in recent years were responsible for the increase in freshwater insects.
“The decline across insect orders on land is very surprising,’’ said Nick Haddad，an expert on butterflies at Michigan State University. He was not involved in the study. Ongoing decline on land at this rate will be extremely damaging for ecological systems and for humans, Haddad told the Associated Press. He noted that insects are pollinators (传粉昆虫). They move pollen from part of the flower of a plant to another part. This causes the plant to produce fruit or seeds. Insects also help to break down dead plants and animals. Nick Haddad added that insects also serve as food to many animals, making them very important to the earth’s ecosystems.
Other scientists said the findings made sense. They would go on with the study with more accurate data.
1. What is the finding of the study mainly about?| A．The disturbance of the earth’ s ecosystems. |
| B．The diversity of creatures in the world. |
| C．The complexity of studying land-based insects. |
| D．The change in the number of insects worldwide. |
| A．Human activity. | B．Climate change. |
| C．A lack of freshwater. | D．Frequent natural disasters. |
| A．They reproduce very quickly. |
| B．Their habitat has been protected. |
| C．Their population is in the minority. |
| D．They can live both on land and in water. |
| A．The relationship between insects and plants. |
| B．The importance of insects to the ecosystems. |
| C．The significance of further studying insects. |
| D．Human’s influence on the decline of wildlife. |
4 . British sculptor Jason Taylor has made it his mission to use his talent to conserve our ecosystems by creating underwater museums. Over the years, the environmentalist has put over 850 massive artworks underwater worldwide. On February 1, 2021, Taylor launched his latest work---The Underwater Museum of Cannes.
“The main goal was to bring attention to the fact that our oceans need our help,” Taylor told Dezeen. “Ocean ecologies have been destroyed by human activity in the Mediterranean over the past few decades, and it is not obvious what is taking place when observing the sea from afar.”
The Underwater Museum of Cannes contains 6 sculptures featuring local residents of various ages. They range from Maurice, an 80-year-old fisherman, to Anouk, a 9-year-old student. Towering over 6-feet-tall and weighing 10 tons, the faces are sectioned into two parts, with the outer part like a mask. The mask indicates that the world’s oceans appear powerful and unbeatable from the surface but house an ecosystem that is extremely fragile to careless human activities.
Though the waters surrounding the sculptures now appear a pristine blue, the seabed was filled with old boat engines, pipes, and other human-made trash when the project began about four years ago. Besides removing the trash, Taylor also restored the area’s seagrass. Just one square meter of the seagrass can generate up to 10 liters of oxygen daily. The seagrass also helps prevent coastal erosion and provides habitats for many ocean creatures.
“The idea of creating an underwater museum was to draw more people underwater and develop a sense of care and protection,” Taylor told Dezeen. “If we threw unwanted waste near a forest, there would be a public outcry. But this is happening every day in our surrounding waters and it largely goes unnoticed.”
1. What are the underwater museums intended to do?| A．To make huge profits. | B．To raise awareness of protecting the ocean. |
| C．To show Jason Taylor’s talent. | D．To draw attention to endangered sea animals. |
| A．To popularize the features of the locals. |
| B．To remind people to protect themselves. |
| C．To reflect people’s protection of the ocean. |
| D．To stress the sensitiveness of the ecosystem. |
| A．How the project was started. | B．How the seagrass was restored. |
| C．What recovery effort the project made. | D．Why the surroundings were improved. |
| A．The situation of the ocean is easily ignored. |
| B．The destruction caused to the ocean is noticeable. |
| C．Forests play a more important role in ecosystems. |
| D．People have zero tolerance to damage done to nature. |
5 . Thanks to Ventana Wildlife Society’s feeding program in central California, the condors (秃鹫) were finally returning to their natural habitat (栖息地)in Big Sur. However, the Do-lan Fire in Big Sur which has so far burned through 129 km² has destroyed the society’s efforts.
In the last week of August, the house built for condors burned down and although there were no people or condors when the house caught fire, at least four of the birds were missing. “We made sure that two of the chicks in the four houses were in the burned area, and the other two we have not been able to check,” Kelly Sorenson, executive director of Ventana Wildlife Society, told Discovery.
“We still have nine free flying condors that are missing. We are actively searching, but it's also a lot of waiting. We're not giving up hope yet. ” Condors once lived from Baja California all the way to British Columbia. But, in 1987, the last wild California condor was taken into cage after many years of shooting, catching, and habitat destruction led to the birds' fall. As part of a 10-year-long feeding program, the condors had been gradually returned to their natural habitat.
On September 3, the society announced it had found one of its chicks, Iniko, after fire department gave the green light to go into the Dolan Fire burned area and view the chick's Redwood nesting tree. Iniko's father Kingpin remains missing, but the chick’s mother Redwood Queen, was found caring for her chick.
The fire burned just 10 feet below the nest, yet Ventana Wildlife Society biologists, Joe Burnett and Darren Gross were overjoyed to find the chick and its mother alive and well. “We were not expecting the best as we hiked through the fire's ruins. To find Iniko alive and well is simply a marvel,” said Burnett.
1. How many condors are missing in the fire?| A．2. | B．4. | C．9. | D．13. |
| A．They disappeared in the wild. | B．They returned to the wild. |
| C．They once ranged widely. | D．They died out. |
| A．A baby condor. | B．A missing chick. |
| C．A missing male condor. | D．A surviving female condor |
| A．Wonder. | B．Truth. | C．Puzzle. | D．Fear. |
6 . Mice are used in lab tests all over the world. But why should they suffer this pain?
In the United States alone, more than 100 million lab mice are killed every year. Some of them are slowly poisoned (毒害) to death. Some are placed on hot plates, heated to 60 ℃, to see how long it takes for them to respond to the heat. Some are given deadly diseases. Some have holes drilled into their skulls (头盖骨) for brain experiments. And in some experiments, mice's tails are cut off without painkillers.
Mice are mammals (哺乳动物).They have nervous systems similar to ours. They also feel pain, fear and loneliness — just as we do. Mice are social animals. They also love their families. They “talk” with each other using sounds that the human ear cannot hear.
Although lab mice suffer as much as lab dogs and lab cats, they are not given as much protection as the dogs and the cats are. Labs can use as many mice as they want to. They don’t even have to count the mice they kill. Few of them are looking for modern alternatives.
Perhaps you can help make a difference. Do not support companies that test on mice or other animals. You can let more people know the facts about lab mice by setting up open classes in your neighborhood. Also, you can ask the local labs to think twice before doing experiments using mice.
1. According to the author, how many lab mice are killed in the United States every year?| A．Over 1,000. | B．Over 100,000. |
| C．Over 1,000,000. | D．Over 100,000,000. |
| A．both human beings and mice have the same nervous systems |
| B．mice can talk with each other, but human beings cannot hear their talks |
| C．mice are often given painkillers before painful experiments |
| D．many labs have realized that mice should be given more protection |
| A．stopping supporting companies that test on mice |
| B．letting more people know the facts about lab mice |
| C．supporting companies that test on animals except mice |
| D．asking the local labs to think twice before testing on mice |
| A．explain why labs around the world used mice in experiments |
| B．introduce his experiences of saving mice from painful experiments |
| C．tell people that mice had played an important role in scientific development |
| D．encourage people to do something to protect lab mice |
7 . The public nowadays has a misunderstanding of forest fires, believing that fires should be kept out of every type of forest. Many of us can recall Smoky the Bear's famous warning: “Remember, only YOU can prevent forest fires”. However, that's not always the case. Under the right conditions, and when conducted safely, fire can create many environmental benefits as well as help prevent larger, uncontrollable wildfires.
After a forest fire, many wildlife species will move into recently burned areas to feed on these newly available foods. Some reptiles and amphibians such as the pine (松树） snake prefer forests frequently burned by fire. As Herbert Stoddard put it, “One of the most harmful things modern man has done to birds has been his attempt to exclude fire from fire-type pine forests. Within a few years most forests choke up with bushes, lose their prairie-like vegetation (草原般植被） and can no longer support birds dependent on periodic burning for their food supply and proper cover.”
If you are asked to picture the forest floor, what do you see? Pine needles, cones, leaves, branches might come to mind-all sources of fuel. If these fuel sources build up without any type of removal, the 'fuel load' can lead to fires catastrophic to forests and people alike. In contrast, prescribed fire can be used by forest professionals every couple of years to keep forest fuels at an appropriate and manageable level. They can also minimize the spread of pest insects and disease and remove unwanted tree and plant species. Plus, they can create and maintain important wildlife habitats rich in grasses and promote the growth of trees, wildflowers and other various plants.
Many organizations and agencies work to promote fire on the landscape when and where appropriate. Smokey Bear even has an updated warning: “Only You can Prevent Wildfires,” as the Forest Service has over the last few decades developed policies and procedures to include prescribed fire as a management tool, as well as continuing their work to prevent and fight wildfires.
1. Why did the author mention Smoky the Bear's warning?| A．To introduce the topic of the passage. |
| B．To clarify a misunderstood concept. |
| C．To show the significance of fire prevention. |
| D．To raise people's awareness of forest protection. |
| A．Forest bushes. |
| B．Fuel sources. |
| C．Pine forests. |
| D．Periodic burning. |
| A．To put out wildfires. |
| B．To keep the forest balance. |
| C．To remove tree and plant species. |
| D．To keep the fuel rich in the forest. |
| A．One Match Can Start A Forest Fire |
| B．Where There Is Smoke There Is A Fire |
| C．Not All Forest Fires Are Created Equal |
| D．Why Not Keep The Forest Fire Burning |
8 . With a quick movement, the little creature vanishes in the air like it never existed and somehow appears dramatically-this is a part of the film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. But in reality, “disappeared” fantastic creatures can also reappear.
The Global Wildlife Conservation(GWC) announced on Oct 30 they have rediscovered the Voeltzkow's chameleon(变色龙)in Madagascar. The last time that the animal was seen was in 1913.
This discovery excited the researeh team, but the finding was not easy. The GWC organized an expedition as part of its Seareh for Lost Species program, an attempt to rediscover species that have not been observed by scientists for at least a decade. They headed into the forests of northwestern Madagascar in April 2018. But they didn't have much luck for a long time. Just days before the trip was to end. the tour guides spotted one of the chameleons. Ultimately, the team discovered three males and 13 females.
Male Voeltzkow's chameleons are up to 164 millimeters long and are light green with dark stripes, which get darker when they are angry or stressed. Females are smaller than males, growing to about 150 millimeters long. They can change their skin to a pattern of red dots and a stripe of purple against a background of black and white.
“The Voeltzkow's chameleon adds color and beauty to the planet, and reminds us that even when all seems lost, a great adventure can reawaken hope." said Don Church, president of the GWC. "Now we have so much to learn about this extraordinary reptile(爬行动物)・including how we can best save it from extinction.”
This isn't the only time a species thought to be extinct has been rediscovered. In fact, this year scientists discovered a frog that has been missing for more than 50 years in a Brazilian jungle. Another example is the Albany adder snake, which was rediscovered in 2016. The species had disappeared for over a decade and was generally believed to be extinct.
So how are these "lost" species able to make a comeback? If the environment changes in favor of certain species that have been considered extinct, the population size of those species may recover again. As they reach greater numbers, the chance of humans discovering them increases.
1. Why is the part of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them mentioned?| A．To lead to a discussion about animal extinction. |
| B．To warn of the difference between reality and fiction. |
| C．To demonstrate that magic can be found in real life. |
| D．To further discuss the reappearance of creatures. |
| A．How luck determined the fate of a lost species. |
| B．How the GWC rediscovered the Voeltzkow's chameleon. |
| C．An introduction to the Seareh for Lost Species program. |
| D．The solutions to make “lost" species come back. |
| A．They can change their colors to green and yellow. |
| B．Female chameleons are much longer than male ones. |
| C．The color of the males' skin can reflect their mood. |
| D．Male chameleons outnumber female ones by a lot. |
| A．The rediscoveries may be due to environmental changes. |
| B．The habitats of frogs and snakes are quite similar. |
| C．Human beings are to blame for species extinction. |
| D．Extinct reptiles would be the first group to be rediscovered. |
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10 . A man sits on the couch, his dog asleep in the next room. He thinks, "I should take Daisy for a walk." and suddenly his dog comes bounding in the room. leash (牵狗皮带) in mouth.
A cat curls up next to the phone just before a family member calls, but never when anyone else is about to call.
There are so many stories of pets seeming to know more than their natural senses would allow that it has been the subject of study and debate for years. Are their natural senses even greater than we ever imagined? Or do they have a sixth sense?
Biologist Rupert Sheldrake believes that animals have an ability of telepathy (心灵感应). Pets whom we feel especially close to seem to understand our needs. read our moods. and even communicate with us on a level that goes beyond words or body language.
Physician and author Dr. Larry Dossey says there is a connection between all species, which is not limited by locality. He refers to it as a "nonlocal mind". Consciousness is no restricted to the brain or the body, or time or place. Therefore. people and animals can have an effect on each other, even when miles apart.
Traditional scientists remain sceptical about the ability of telepathy among people-let alone pets. They say much of the phenomenon can be explained in other ways, through pets' acute senses of hearing and smell, reading human body language, or noting other cues.
Dogs and cats live mostly in a scent (气味) and sound world. It may be that when an owner thinks about taking her dog for a walk, this happy thought causes a change in her body chemistry, which the dog can smell and associate with walks.
A simpler explanation is that owners notice their pets' mysterious behaviors only when related events happen by coincidence. The cat may curl up by the phone now and then, but the owner doesn't notice. If the cat happens to sit by the phone when "dad" calls. the owner is more likely to take note.
There is no doubt that our pets live on a sensory level that's different from our own. Though we share the same five known senses, dogs and cats take in their world mostly through scent and sound. We take in our world mostly through sight. So it's not surprising that our pets are able to do things that we can't imagine could be possible.
1. The underlined part "nonlocal mind" in Paragraph 5 indicates that pets and their owners can communicate thoughts _________.| A．wherever they are | B．wherever they like |
| C．only when they stay together | D．even when they are separated |
| A．By coincidence | B．Through body language. |
| C．Through sense of smell | D．Through sense of hearing. |
| A．Their five natural senses are greater than ours. |
| B．Their sensory system works differently from ours. |
| C．They can understand our mind without words. |
| D．They can communicate without the five senses. |
| A．Why Does Your Pet Have a Sixth Sense? |
| B．Your Pet Can Sense What Is in Your Mind |
| C．Can You Communicate with Your Pet Mentally? |
| D．Pets Need Mind-to-mind Communication with Us |
