I am a volunteer of Story Dogs. Rosie and I began our Story Dogs journey at a local elementary school in Term 2 this year.
Story Dogs is based on the successful American literacy program, Reading Education Assistance Dogs, which was built around the appealing idea of children and young adolescents reading to dogs.
Reading sessions take place in a quiet area of the school grounds, such as the library or outside the classroom. A reading session is about 20 minutes long, where each child is one-on- one with the dog team. Books are chosen to suit the student’s reading level.
Jayon, a Year 2 student, is such a good boy as everyone likes. No one is perfect. Jayon, however, wanted nothing to do with reading! That made Jayon’s teachers and parents feel helpless. His wonderful teacher used all kinds of teaching methods, but none of them improved. At the same time, his parents trembled with his reading performance. Jayon struggled to stay focused, which meant he was disinterested in his school work... until he met Rosie!
When Jayon first came to read with us, I noticed a few things about his reading. For example, he would guess the words and become distracted very easily. He was unable to hold the book still, which would obviously make it difficult for him to read and he would lose interest very quickly, which meant I would have to read to him.
So I came up with a plan. I decided I would hold the book instead and point to each word and helped him to sound the words out instead of guessing. To keep him focused and still, I asked him to pat Rosie’s back, which helped keep his hands busy. Rosie certainly didn’t mind a bit!
Using these methods, Jayon’s reading improved every week! He developed a beautiful bond with Rosie and she would show him so much love and affection! She knew he needed her and it was lovely to watch them together. With weeks passing by, Jayon’s enthusiasm for reading became stronger.
注意：
1.续写词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Jayon finally loved reading.
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I was told that Jayon would receive the Growth Award at the end of year.
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2 . From the world’s last seven to a global population of more than 5,000, China spent nearly 40 years bringing back crested ibises(朱鹗)from the edge of extinction.
With its typical red crest and face, as well as a long black mouth and snow-white feathers, the crested ibis is known as “the oriental gem” in China. They were once widespread in East Asia and Siberia until the 20th century when hunting, ecological damage and increased human activities drove the birds to near extinction.
In 1981, the entire species around the world was down to the seven crested ibises which were found only in Yangxian County, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, and deep in the Qinling Mountains, making Qinling, a natural boundary between China's north and south,the last shelter of the wild birds.
Since 1981, the local government of Yangxian County has put forward four bans for the protection of the species, prohibiting activities including hunting in the birds' living areas,cutting down trees where they nest, using chemicals in their food-finding areas, and firing guns in their breeding(繁殖)areas. The Chinese government arranged special funds to protect the habitat of crested ibises, sealing off mountains to plant trees in the birds' living areas.China started the artificial breeding of crested ibises in 1991 and had bred more than 400 birds in Shaanxi as of last year.
Years of constant effort have brought promising results. It is estimated that there are more than 5,000 crested ibises in the world now, and a majority of them live in Shaanxi. The bird's habitat in China has risen from less than 5 square km in 1981 to the current 15,000 square km.
“It is lucky that the crested ibis, an ancient bird, is still flying around,” said Zan Linsen, head of the Shaanxi Academy of Forestry. “The conservation story of crested ibises not only shows us the power of ancient life, but also the necessity and urgency of ecological environment protection.”
1. Why are the Qinling Mountains so important to crested ibises?| A．They are where crested ibises were first found. |
| B．They used to be the last habitat of crested ibises. |
| C．They are the only breeding area of crested ibises. |
| D．They protect crested ibises from natural enemies. |
| A．Crested ibises are unlikely to be bred artificially. |
| B．It's legal to own hunting guns in Yangxian County. |
| C．Hunting has been the biggest threat to crested ibises. |
| D．The government plays a key role in saving crested ibises. |
| A．Merciful and ambitious. | B．Relieved and happy. |
| C．Shocked and curious. | D．Sorry and regretful. |
| A．Rare animals in China: crested ibises |
| B．Artificial breeding of crested ibises in China |
| C．Endangered crested ibises making a comeback |
| D．Crested ibises found again in the Qinling Mountains |
3 . People have different ways of dealing with waste paper, specifically used newspapers. Some put them in the recycling area, while others keep them as wrappers (包装纸). While these are both good measures, a Japanese publishing company had a better idea for their end use.
The Mainichi Newspapers Co., Ltd. invented the “Green Newspaper”, which allows people to grow plants with it. This unique newspaper was published on Greenery Day, which is focused on environmental news and made of green paper with seeds placed into it. What makes it even more special is the ink (油墨) used to print words and photos, which is made from plants. The publisher advises readers to tear the used newspaper into small pieces and plant them in a container with soil. They should water them, like they would do for any plant. Within a few weeks, the seeds will grow into plants.
This brilliant concept was invented by Dentsu Inc., one of Japan’s most famous advertising agencies, which works with the publishing company on the initiative (倡议). The publisher’s belief is environmental sustainability (持续性). As its mission statement says, “The Mainichi doesn’t take action only through information, but also by solving global issues.” With joint efforts, this initiative has reached the corners of Japan and sold around millions of copies daily. Other such initiatives producing plantable paper are also seen in India and the US.
About 95 million trees are lost for producing newspapers every year. The Internet, the number of whose users stands for 62.5 percent of the population worldwide, has influenced how people read news and the print readership has dropped greatly. However, the reinvention and reimagination of this newspaper will bring about a change in the publishing industry as well as having an environmental influence.
1. What do we know about the “Green Newspaper”?| A．It uses high-tech materials. |
| B．It provides energy for seeds. |
| C．It’s printed with plant-based ink. |
| D．It’s published to celebrate Greenery Day. |
| A．It’s easier said than done. |
| B．Everything comes to him who waits. |
| C．Many hands make light work. |
| D．Actions speak louder than words. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Supportive. |
| C．Indifferent. | D．Negative. |
| A．About 59 million trees are lost for producing newspapers. |
| B．The Internet has changed the way people read news totally. |
| C．The popularity of the Internet leads to the fall of the print readership. |
| D．The “Green Newspaper” will encourage more people to protect the environment. |
4 . Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) recently announced that they have figured out how to engineer a biofilm (生物膜) that harvests the energy in evaporation (蒸发) and changes it to electricity. This biofilm, which was announced in Nature Communications, has the potential to revolutionize the world of wearable electronics, powering everything from personal medical sensors to personal electronics.
“This is a very exciting technology,” says Liu Xiaomeng, graduate student in electrical and computer engineering in UMass Amherst’s College of Engineering and the paper’s lead author. “It generates real green energy, and unlike other so-called ‘green-energy’ sources, its production is totally green.”
That’s because this biofilm — which is a sheet of bacterial cells and as thin as a sheet of paper-is produced naturally by an engineered version of the bacterium Geobacter sulfurreducens (硫还原地杆菌). G. sulfurreducens is known to produce electricity and has been used previously in “microbial batteries” to power electrical equipment. But such batteries require that G. sulfurreducens be properly cared for and fed a constant diet. By contrast, this new biofilm, which can supply as much energy as a comparably sized battery, works continuously, because it is dead. And because it’s dead, it doesn’t need to be fed.
The secret behind this new biofilm is that it makes energy from the moisture (水分) on your skin. Though we daily read stories about solar power, at least 50% of the solar energy reaching the earth goes toward evaporating water. “This is a huge, undiscovered source of energy,” says Yao Jun, professor of electrical and computer engineering at UMass Amherst, and the paper’s one senior author. Since the surface of our skin is constantly moist with sweat, the biofilm can “plug into” it and change the energy locked in evaporation into enough energy to power small equipment. “Our next step is to increase the size of our film to power more intelligent wearable electronics,” says Yao, and Liu points out that one of the goals is to power entire electronic systems, rather than single equipment.
1. What function is the biofilm expected to achieve?| A．Updating wearable electronics. | B．Acquiring power from evaporation. |
| C．Changing the way of getting electricity. | D．Supplying energy to “microbial batteries”. |
| A．It’s thinner in thickness. | B．It’s environmentally friendly. |
| C．It reduces the cost in usage. | D．It employs a rare energy source. |
| A．By interacting with solar power. | B．By gaining energy from electronic systems. |
| C．By using water to generate electricity. | D．By producing continuous electricity from sweat. |
| A．Flexible. | B．Controversial. | C．Promising. | D．Delicate. |
5 . Plastic pollution is one of the earth’s greatest challenges that humans have faced and often neglected. Anyone who uses plastic has caused problems in one way or another. In order to solve the environmental problems, more and more people are starting to live a simple and environmental-friendly life called zero-waste lifestyle.
When you choose a zero-waste lifestyle, you pay more attention to how your consumption habits influence the environment. You’re more careful about what you buy and how you use it. So how can you live a zero-waste life? Actually when looking at your rubbish, you’ll grasp what it is.
There are two main types of rubbish. The first is food packaging, so we should learn how to shop for things with no big pack or package-free. The second is product packaging, so we should learn how to make our own products in a green way. With our efforts, we will reduce a large amount of rubbish. Shopping for second-hand goods is also important. Instead of buying new clothes and putting new waste into the waste cycle, we should buy things that are second-hand or can be totally recycled.
There are many advantages of living a zero-waste life. Firstly, we can save money by making things ourselves and buying second-hand goods. Second-hand clothes are usually less expensive than new ones. Next, we can eat better to stay healthy. We should buy fresh fruits and vegetables to reduce the waste of resources when processing food.
Although government policies can make a difference, it needs everyone’s efforts to completely solve the problem. From now on, let’s begin to live a green life.
1. What is the first paragraph mainly about?| A．The challenge of improving the environment. | B．The importance of improving the environment. |
| C．The advantage of living a zero-waste life. | D．The reason for living a zero-waste life. |
| A．understand | B．catch | C．improve | D．doubt |
| A．Buying food with fine packaging. | B．Using plastic bottles wisely. |
| C．Shopping for second-hand products. | D．Throwing away your old clothes. |
| A．explain why the environment is polluted | B．call on more people to live a green life |
| C．share some useful ways of reducing rubbish | D．talk about environmental problems in the future |
6 . Wildfire season has begun in many places around the world. The dangerous smoke wildfires produce can spread far and wide. It blocks sunlight, poisons the air and damages the health of people and other living things.
Some of those living things could be the plants in gardens, says gardening expert Jessica Damiano, who writes gardening stories for the Associated Press. Damiano lives in New York City and recently experienced several days of very smoky air. Wildfires in eastern Canada were the source.
Damiano, like other people, limited the time she spent outdoors when the air quality was poor. She also wore a face covering when she had to go outside.
But the plants in her garden had no such escape. They had to breathe the poisoned air through the extremely small holes in their leaves.
Pollutants in smoke landing on plants can block sunlight, which is essential for photosynthesis (光合作用). Reduced photosynthesis results in reduced energy. That means slower growth. Additionally, smoke can also affect a plant’s ability to take in nutrients(营养物质).
Brooke Edmunds, a plant scientist and community horticulturalist with Oregon State University Extension, said plants that are affected by smoke for a short amount of time will usually recover quickly. “It depends on how close they are,” she said. “There could also be a localized effect, where one garden is covered in ash(灰烬), and a half-mile away, there’s nothing because that’s the way the wind was moving things around.”
The best thing home gardeners can do is keep an eye on plants. Edmunds suggests giving plants some extra love and care. “Wash the plants gently to remove pollutants left by smoke. Then give them a long, slow drink of water. Most will pull through,” Edmunds said. However, people should not use leaf blower machines to remove ashes from plants because they will risk breathing in what is blowing around.
1. What happened to Jessica Damiano?| A．She had her house burned in a fire. |
| B．She couldn’t afford face coverings. |
| C．She suffered from health problems. |
| D．She had to deal with poor air quality. |
| A．The bad effects of smoke on plants. |
| B．The benefits of growing plants. |
| C．The role of plants in the environment. |
| D．The importance of water to plants. |
| A．Wind has little effect on plants. |
| B．Plants can sometimes make a quick recovery. |
| C．Ashes can spread more than half a mile. |
| D．Plants close to smoke usually grow well. |
| A．By pulling them out of the ground. |
| B．By using leaf blower machines. |
| C．By washing them with great care. |
| D．By giving them a fast drink of water. |
7 . As much as it’s a time for growing and learning, childhood is also a time for joy. But the joys of playtime aren’t just reserved for human kids—animal offspring are just as likely to get into the act as well, and some of their activities are similar to our own.
Scientists believe that for certain animal species, some fun is play for the sake of play, but like humans, other forms of entertainment are preparing youngsters for adulthood. Play is essential to development because it contributes to the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of children and youth. This holds true in the animal kingdom as well.“Horses are known to engage in play almost as soon as they are born. Once they can walk, they immediately start to gallop, frolic and buck, developing the motor skills they may need when they’re mature,” notes BBC Earth.
But along with motor skills, play also teaches animals essential hunting and survival skills. Natural-born predators, such as kestrels, use play to develop their hunting skills by practicing with targets that look like real prey when they’re young. In the oceans, dolphins chase underwater air rings to fine-tune their sonar (声呐) skills. And while it’s unclear why bear cubs are so playful, zoologists believe at least some of their funny behaviors have a more serious purpose that aids in their survival as adults.
One of the most important teaching aspects of play is socialization. These days, for human kids, that usually means the basics like learning to share, teamwork, and knowing boundaries. For animals, especially those that live in packs, play gives an understanding of where each animal fits into the community hierarchy (等级). In ways that are remarkably similar to the training which children of traditional tribal cultures receive, it is through the rules of play that lion cubs, kangaroo joeys, and wolf pups discover and establish the roles they’ll be expected to perform as adults.
So whether it’s chasing in the pasture or hanging from a tree, it seems that play will always be an inner and fun part of both human and animal development.
1. What does BBC Earth say about horses?| A．Horses often play in different groups. |
| B．Newborn horses like to play with their parents. |
| C．Horses can gain some skills while playing. |
| D．Play is vital for baby horses’ social development. |
| A．Dolphins leap out of water. | B．Young kestrels follow their real prey. |
| C．Bear cubs play in a funny way. | D．Wolf pups stay with their human friends. |
| A．They have a strong desire to make friends. |
| B．They get socialized in a similar way. |
| C．They change their social roles through play. |
| D．They gain their social ranks through competition. |
| A．What Are the Benefits of Play? | B．Why Do Animals Play? |
| C．How Do Animals Develop Skills? | D．Why Are Humans and Animals So Similar? |
8 . A drought is a period of time when an area or region experiences below-normal rainfall. The lack of enough rainfall, either rain or snow, can cause reduced soil wetness or groundwater, diminished steam low (减少的水流), crop loss, and a general water shortage. Droughts are the second-most costly weather events after hurricanes.
The early effects of a drought maybe difficult to identify right away, so it may take weeks or months to determine that a drought has started. The end of a drought is hard to identify for the same reason. A drought may last for weeks, months, or even years. Sometimes, drought conditions can exist for ten years or more in a region. The longer a drought lasts, the greater the harmful effects it has on people.
Droughts affect people in several ways. Clean drinking water is significant for all life, and sources of water may narrow during a drought. Without the presence of water, people must bring in enough water from elsewhere to survive. Water is also needed for crops to grow. When not enough rainfalls to naturally water crops, they must be watered by irrigation (灌溉). Irrigation is possible only when there is enough water in nearby rivers, lakes, or streams, or from groundwater. During a drought, these water sources are diminished and may even dry up, preventing crops from being irrigated and causing them to die off.
One person studying these problems is Alexandra Cousteau, a National Geographic Emerging Explorer whose latest plan is Blue Legacy. She started Blue Legacy to raise awareness that we live on a water planet and must take care of it. Cousteau, the granddaughter of the well-known ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau, believes that water will be a key issue in this century. She predicts that water problems such as drought, storms, floods, and degraded water quality will create “water refugees”, people moving in search of water. Cousteau stresses that we must do all we can to protect Earth’s valuable freshwater resources.
1. What is the function of the first paragraph?| A．To introduce what a drought is. | B．To compare droughts with hurricanes. |
| C．To explain why a drought occurs. | D．To raise awareness of some disasters. |
| A．They cause the greatest harms. | B．They are hard to spot in no time. |
| C．They usually end for no reason. | D．They influence people’s living. |
| A．Crops cannot grow without water. |
| B．Irrigation is impossible during a drought. |
| C．There are many ways to prevent droughts. |
| D．Droughts influence living and agriculture. |
| A．To popularize Blue Legacy. |
| B．To tell we live on a water planet. |
| C．To persuade people to look for water. |
| D．To stress the importance of water resource. |
9 . COVID-19 is just one example of a disease that has jumped from a wild animal to people. In hopes of preventing future outbreaks, scientists are working to understand what led to the jump, also known as a spillover event. A group working in Australia thinks it may have one answer: Keep wildlife well-fed.
All animals carry germs. Some viruses don’t harm the animals in which they are typically found. That’s because the host species has encountered this virus so often that its immune system(免疫系统) has developed a way to keep the germ under control. But if this virus later finds its way into a new species, it may cause serious disease.
From 1996 to 2020, Peel and her group tracked where bats spent their time. For the first six years, there were no spillover events. But starting in 2003, the team noticed the bats’ ecosystem was changing. Soon after, spillovers started to show up. Peel’s group linked these events to periods when the bats couldn’t find enough food.
This happened in years that followed strong El Niño events. This climate event causes trees that normally flower in spring may now fail to do so. Hungry bats will then leave their forests in search of food. Some may end up near farms where they can infect horses and they may stay there until the following winter.
But some spillovers happened even during non-El Niño years. The researchers suspect this might be due to changes in tree cover. Over the course of the study, large sections of forest were cut down for farming and housing. This reduced the number of trees that flower in winter. Without their main food source, hungry flying foxes shifted their behavior. Just as they did after El Niño years, they now spent more time near farms in search of food. It was after this shift that spillover events occurred.
1. What makes the viruses relatively safe to the host animals?| A．They are not affected by all viruses. | B．They are more experienced. |
| C．They are able to control the viruses. | D．They always have enough food. |
| A．Widespread forest clearing. | B．Serious pollution in the air. |
| C．Increase in food and water. | D．Genetic changes in animals. |
| A．Ignored | B．Experienced | C．Avoided | D．Changed |
| A．Relationship between spillovers and El Niño. |
| B．Impact of climate change on bat behavior. |
| C．How to ensure enough food supply for wildlife. |
| D．The history of spillover events in Australia. |
10 . Alaska officials have canceled several crab (螃蟹) harvests, like the fall Bristol Bay red king crab harvest, in a conservation effort that sent shock waves through the crabbing industry in the region. The fall red king crab harvest was canceled for the second year because of the low number of mature female crabs, which can indicate the health of the broader population. For the first time on record, officials delay the winter harvest of snow crab.
The decision comes after stark population declines of the animals. Data from an NOAA eastern Bering Sea survey shows a 92% decline in overall snow crab abundance from 2018 to 2021. The population declined by 83% from 2018 to 2022 as some small crabs entered the population in 2022, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
Last year’s snow crab harvest was 5.6 million pounds, the smallest in over 40 years. Snow crab populations dropped after a 2019 Bering Sea warming, and the causes of the population crash are probably stresses from the warmer water and increased threats from predators (捕食者).
“Management of Bering Sea snow crab must now focus on conservation and rebuilding given the condition of the stock (库存),” the Alaska Department of Fish and Game said in a statement.
Bering Sea crab harvests as recently as 2016 earned $280 million. A fleet of about 60 boats from Alaska, Washington and Oregon typically pursue the crab, and each boat employs about six people.
“It’s going to be life-changing, if not career-ending, for people,” said Dean Gribble, a crab boat captain who has fished for snow crab since the late 1970s. “A lot of these guys with families and kids have no options other than getting out. That’s where the hammer is going to fall—on the crew.”
1. Why did Alaska officials cancel several crab harvests?| A．To save the animals. | B．To narrow the market. |
| C．To increase the price. | D．To reform the industry. |
| A．Entire. | B．Small. | C．Sharp. | D．Annual. |
| A．Praise the fishermen’s great work. | B．Add some background information. |
| C．Summarize the previous paragraphs. | D．Introduce a new type of well-paid job. |
| A．The policy is a total failure. | B．The locals should stay at home. |
| C．The fishermen will be hit hard. | D．The snow crab has been in danger. |
