1 . Scientists say there has been a major drop in the population of leatherback sea turtles (乌龟) off the U.S. West Coast.

One recent study found a 5.6 percent yearly decrease in the population. Leatherbacks are massive sea turtles dating back to the time of the dinosaurs. The animals can grow up to 1.5 meters in length and weigh as much as 680 kilograms.

The leatherback sea turtles found along the U.S. Pacific Coast are actually born thousands of kilometers away, on beaches in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands. The animals migrate (迁徙) 11,000 kilometers across the Pacific Ocean to mainly feed on jellyfish in waters off the U.S. West Coast. Then, they swim back.

Scott Benson is an ecologist with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries. “There are birds that go farther, but they fly. There’s a whale shark that might swim a little further, but it doesn’t have to come up for air,” he said.

Scientists say that if nothing changes, the leatherbacks could completely disappear from the U.S. West Coast within 30 years. The population drops are mainly blamed on international fishing activities, the destruction (破坏) of nesting grounds and climate change.

The animals can be killed when they get trapped in fishing equipment. Scientists say the population is also harmed because a lot of turtle eggs are removed from beaches.

Researchers say that while all the world’s leatherbacks are under pressure, the group that migrates for months across the Pacific faces the greatest threats.

NOAA launched an aggressive plan to save leatherbacks in 2015 and is set to release a new action plan this month. The plan is meant to persuade governments and international organizations to join efforts to save the turtles.

1. Which word best describes the present situation of the leatherbacks?

A．Promising.

B．Worrying.

C．Complex.

D．Unstable.

2. What do the leatherbacks mainly survive on?

A．Sea weed.

B．Other turtles’ eggs.

C．Little sharks.

D．Jellyfish.

3. Which period is the most dangerous for leatherbacks?

A．The period of migration.	B．The period of fishing activities.
C．The period of being on a beach.	D．The period of laying eggs.

4. In which section of a newspaper may this text appear?

A．Entertainment.

B．Health.

C．Nature.

D．Education.

2 . Ten years ago, environmental journalist Ben Goldfarb was on a reporting trip about wildlife conservation. When he was shown around some new animal crossing structures near, Missoula, these new bridges and tunnels intrigued him. He was attracted by these beautiful human-built structures and inspired to write a book. Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping the Future of Our Planet has now been published.

Through expert interviews, in-depth research and convincing analysis, Goldfarh brings to life the deadly consequences our 40 million miles of roadways have had and are having on the natural world and the creatures that inhabit it. A million animals are killed by cars each day in the US alone. Road salt pollutes lakes and rivers. And there's the barrier effect-the steady stream of traffic that prevents animals from migrating (迁徙) all together and finding habitats. Goldfarb writes that noise pollution is the most worrisome among all the road's ecological disasters. Both the engine noise and the tire noise greatly impact ecological environment.

Figures on deaths and disruptions (扰乱) are disheartening, but Goldfarb vividly describes how scientists are actively working on meaningful improvements to help animals and roads better coexist, such as wildlife crossings, from passages in Canada's Banff National Park to the famous Liberty Canyon Overpass in Los, Angeles. Another example is that in India, they built a new highway through a tiger reserve so that animals can come and go underneath the lifted freeway. Of course, that made the project more expensive, but it's ecologically the right thing to do.

Crossings is a truly important and landmark book on a subject whose full impacts continue to be disregarded or underestimated in considering conservation efforts. The book is a sympathetic, heart-warming guide to exploring the issues of wildlife survival and our own.

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

A．Confused.

B．Blocked.

C．Satisfied.

D．Interested.

2. Which of the following is Goldfarb's biggest concern?

A．Road salt.	B．Roadkill.
C．Vehicle noises.	D．Endless traffic stream.

3. Why are the examples given in paragraph 3?

A．To bring shame on individual drivers.

B．To stress the effect of roads on wildlife.

C．To show humans' effort in animal protection.

D．To explain the necessity of creating wild reserves.

4. What does the author think of Goldfarb's book?

A．Vivid and touching.

B．Pessimistic and sharp.

C．Objective and critical.

D．Abstract and humorous.

3 . 根据课文内容，在空白处填入所缺的单词。

About 75 percent of the city’s factories and buildings, 90 percent of its homes, and all of its hospitals were gone.     1     covered the ground like red autumn     2    .

4 . Keep a Moon Diary

Grab a notebook and your favorite pen or pencil, and you’re ready to begin your very own Moon Diary. You’ll discover all kinds of fascinating things about how the moon travels and notice the various phases of the moon.

Before you start you can collect together some books about the moon to learn about it.     1     And even though you are older you can still try these kinds of books about the moon.

Start your Moon Diary by looking for the moon one night and recording all the things you notice. Note the date, time, and weather. Is the moon full? Half full? Or maybe gone entirely? What color does it seem to be?     2     Take time to look at the moon each night for four weeks. Every night, record what you see. Does the moon appear to be getting bigger? Smaller? Where does the moon appear in the sky? Maybe record what natural sounds you hear when the moon is high in the sky!

    3     Sometimes you will see the moon in the daytime, and other times you may have to wait until nighttime for the moon to rise. You can check when the moon will rise each night by looking for the information online.

It takes about 28 days for the moon to make one complete orbit around the Earth. So after four weeks, you’ll have completed your very own Moon Diary!     4     What do you notice? How does the moon change shape over time? Is the moon rising earlier or later in the sky each day? How does it affect the amount of light in the sky?     5     See where the moon takes you!

A．Look back over what you wrote and drew.

B．You could draw a sad face in the box instead.

C．Write and draw your observations in your notebook.

D．Every day for a month, look in the sky and find the moon.

E．Maybe you’ll decide to keep going with your Moon Diary.

F．Picture books and stories are a great way to introduce a topic.

G．Predict what shape the moon will be each night for the next month.

5 . 假设你是李华，有一位外国笔友Harry想了解你们的首都北京，请你根据提示回复一封电子邮件。要点如下：
1. 北京的位置(中国北部)、面积(16,410多平方公里)、人口(约2200万)及历史(3,000多年)等；
2. 北京的旅游特色(历史古迹如长城、故宫the Forbidden City、颐和园the Summer Palace, 特色小吃等)；
3. 欢迎Harry来北京参观。
注意：
1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3. 开头、结尾已给出，不计入总数。
Dear Harry,
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours,

Li Hua

6 . Acorn woodpeckers (橡树啄木鸟), which live along the west coast and in the southwest of North America, are highly socialized birds, a study showed recently.

In the acorn woodpecker family, it’s a group effort to raise the young. Each of the acorn woodpecker family consists of as many as seven co-breeding (共育) males and four joint-nesting females, living with nest helpers who are typically their babies from previous years. The helpers don’t breed, but stick around for five to six years to help raise their half-siblings.

Every fall acorn woodpeckers store thousands of acorns in holes drilled into dead trees in preparation for winter. The entire group contributes to a central granary (粮仓), defending it against squirrels and other woodpeckers. But the cooperation may end and great noise and confusion may start when a family loses either all its breeding males or females to old age or enemies like hawks. That leads to a good opportunity for the helpers to grab newly vacant spots with acorns (橡树果) in main habitat.

The news travels fast. The nearby woodpecker groups rush to the site and fight against each other. Over 40 of the “warrior” birds, in coalitions (联盟) of three or four, spend over 10 hours a day over multiple days in battles until one collective wins. “You can see birds with eyes removed out, with blood on their feathers — they fall to the ground holding each other’s legs when they’re fighting,” said Sahas Barve, the lead author of the study. These battles also draw woodpecker audience, who leave their own territories unattended. The researchers recorded some audience travel over two miles and spend an hour a day just observing the fights. “The speed at which such information is communicated among populations has always struck me,” said Reed Bowman.

The scientists said the battles reveal a lot about animals’ social behavior. Sahas Barve said, “We often think of birds as not very intelligent animals, but we are discovering that we aren’t the only super-curious social animal out there. And birds are doing that all the time. Social complexity is something that’s evolved multiple times in the animal kingdom, and we are just one of them.”

1. What does the second paragraph mainly focus on?

A．The loose social networks of acorn woodpeckers.

B．The tough living conditions of acorn woodpeckers.

C．The great contribution of nest helpers to their family.

D．The cooperative breeding system of acorn woodpeckers.

2. Why do the nest helpers start a battle?

A．To survive the tough winter.	B．To fight for their own territory.
C．To select the most powerful leader.	D．To rid their granary of noise and confusion.

3. What can we know about the battles of the acorn woodpeckers?

A．They are long and fierce.	B．Their fighters increase each day.
C．They will be settled by compromise.	D．They will cause many deaths of the audience.

4. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A．Human beings have great curiosity about the outside world.

B．Social complexity is unique to human beings.

C．Birds are much smarter than we thought.

D．The evolution of animals is quite slow.

7 . 阅读下面短文，有5处划线，从每题所给四个选项中选出与划线意义的最匹配选项。

Once he was back in his pasture, we’d chat over the fence (栅栏), covering such topics as hard days at work and exciting happenings _________ at home. He did most of the listening, giving knowing glances and huffs when appropriate. When it was time to end the conversation, he’d turn and walk away. He had impeccable _________ timing.

I posted Buster photos and stories on Facebook-he had quite a following. One admirer’s dying wish was to muster_________ the strength to meet him. The fan arrived bearing apples. Buster rarely ate apples except from one tree in his pasture, but he gobbled them up _________ that day. In return, Buster stopped eating long enough to pose for photos with the ailing _________ man who thought the world of him.

1.

A．events

B．photos

C．topics

D．decorations

2.

A．impossible

B．perfect

C．limited

D．improper

3.

A．reduce

B．organize

C．gather

D．move

4.

A．threw away

B．ate quickly

C．held up

D．gave away

5.

A．happy

B．mean

C．old

D．weak

8 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

If you’re looking to take part in voluntourism in the area, consider the Lizard Island. It’s a private national park that works     1     (close) with local scientists     2     (protect) coral reefs (珊瑚礁). Guests can tour its huge research centre.

The Great Barrier Reef’s Ocean Park Rangers (巡游者), government workers responsible     3     the day-to-day management of ocean parks,     4     (train) as guides who can educate curious travellers on the wildlife and ecosystems. In June of 2022, citizens of the Great Barrier Reef Programme started The Reef Cooperative,     5     will allow travellers,     6     (begin) in 2024, to go to vulnerable areas to see the conservation (保护) work and efforts take place.

Hope that this     7     (nature) wonder can be saved is growing. Over the past few years, a lot of conservationists, government agencies, NGOs, and tourism operators     8     (focus) on the reef’s health.

One hope of the programme is to inspire     9     (tourist) to help protect the Great Barrier Reef, especially within the younger generation. Imagine the good you can do when you learn so early in life that you hold the power to make the planet     10     better place.

9 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. What were the yellow boxes for?

A．For recycling newspaper.

B．For collecting the waste metal.

C．For decorating the neighborhood.

2. Which boxes should the woman put glass and plastic bottles in?

A．Blue boxes.

B．Green boxes.

C．Yellow boxes.

3. Why can’t the magazine go in any of the boxes?

A．It costs too much.

B．It is such a waste.

C．It can’t be recycled.

10 . A new study by the world’s top scientists says that humans need to cat less meat and dairy and change the way we farm to save the planet from climate change. Climate change means the global changes in the Earth’s average temperature, mostly caused by humans.    1    .

Burning fossil fuels (化石燃料) (coal, oil and gas) to power our homes, cars and factories is a major cause of climate change, yet the report says that limiting the use of fossil fuels will not be enough on its own to stop the harm being done to the planet.    2    The two-year study was carried out by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) —an organization that advises governments on climate change. It was prepared by 107 top scientists from 52 countries.

In the past 100 years, the planet’s population has increased from 1.9 billion to 7.7 billion.    3     Raising animals creates a number of problems. Firstly, it uses far more water and other resources than farming crops. Secondly, plants absorb carbon dioxide from the air.    4     Farmed animals also produce a lot of methane (沼气), another greenhouse gas that causes climate change.

    5    especially in places where a lot of these foods are eaten, such as Europe, the UK and the US, it doesn’t completely rule out eating meat and dairy, but says we should try to cut down.

A．Although the new report says that people should eat less animal products

B．As a result, the amount of land needed to produce food has also increased

C．The report says that humans should also change to a more plant-based diet

D．Avoiding meat and dairy is the biggest way to reduce human impact on Earth

E．When land is cleared for farming animals, that carbon dioxide stays in the atmosphere

F．The world needs to produce more food without expanding the food system’s carbon footprint.

G．A Rising global temperatures lead to more extreme weather events, such as floods and hurricanes