1 . Researchers have discovered the oldest black hole ever observed, dating from the dawn of the universe, and found that it is “eating” its host galaxy to death.
The international team, led by the University of Cambridge, used the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to detect the black hole, which dates from 400 million years after the big bang. The results, which lead author Professor Roberto Maiolino says are “a giant leap forward”, are reported in the journal Nature.
This surprisingly massive black hole even exists so early in the universe challenges our assumptions about how black holes form and grow. The size of this newly-discovered black hole suggests that they might form in other ways: they might be ‘born big’ or they can eat matter at a rate that’s five times higher than had been thought possible. Like all black holes, this young black hole devours material from its host galaxy to fuel its growth.
According to standard models, supermassive black holes form from the remains of dead stars, which collapse and may form a black hole about a hundred times the mass of the Sun. If it grew in an expected way, this newly-detected black hole would take about a billion years to grow to its observed size. However, the universe was not yet a billion years old when this black hole was detected.
The young host galaxy, called GN-z11, is a compact galaxy, about one hundred times smaller than the Milky Way, but the black hole is likely harming its development. When black holes consume too much gas, it pushes the gas away like an ultra-fast wind. This “wind” could stop the process of star formation, slowly killing the galaxy, but it will also kill the black hole itself, as it would cut off the black hole’s source of “food”.
Maiolino says that the gigantic leap forward provided by JWST makes this the most exciting time in his career. “It’s a new era: the giant leap is like upgrading from Galileo’s telescope to a modern telescope overnight,” he said. “The universe has been quite generous in what it’s showing us, and this is just the beginning.”
1. What does the underlined word “devours” mean in Paragraph 3?| A．Changes. | B．Swallows. | C．Observes. | D．Forms. |
| A．Because the host galaxy is too small. |
| B．Because the black hole is killing itself. |
| C．Because the “wind” ceases star formation. |
| D．Because black holes produce too much gas. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Intolerant. | C．Doubtful. | D．Ambiguous. |
| A．The black hole took a billion years to achieve its size. |
| B．Supermassive black holes are assumed to form overnight. |
| C．The new discovery of the host galaxy is a giant leap forward. |
| D．The host galaxy and the black hole can be destroyed by the “wind”. |
2 . Concrete has served as the foundation stone of the construction industry for hundreds of years. However, the process of producing concrete is one of the most environmentally unfriendly processes in the world. In the process, not only is carbon dioxide (二氧化碳) released into the air by the energy used to heat the limestone, but the limestone itself also gives out a huge amount of the element.
Luckily, a number of start-ups throughout the world are using creative thinking to make the construction industry a whole lot more friendly for the planet.
A Canadian company called CarbonCure, has found a way to inject (注入) concrete with carbon dioxide itself. Not only does this trap the carbon dioxide into the concrete, keeping it from running away into the atmosphere, but it also creates a super strong material called calcium carbonate, which reduces the total amount of concrete that needs to be used.
California-based Brimstone, is creating carbon-negative concrete by doing away with limestone entirely and instead using silicate rock, a material that does not release carbon dioxide when heated. Instead, the process produces magnesium (镁) , which absorbs carbon dioxide, as the basis for their concrete.
Additionally, researchers at Australia’s RMIT University have recently released a study showing that adding coffee grounds instead of sand to concrete could make it much stronger, reducing both the amount of sand used, as well as the amount of concrete that would need to be used in the final product.
The biggest barrier at this point is convincing members of the industry that the new types of concrete are safe to be used, according to Stacy Smedley, director at a nonprofit focused on decarbonizing construction.
Hopefully these new solutions to the environmental problems of concrete will soon be widely adopted. Given the significant part the construction industry has in releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, great improvements can be made when more environmentally-friendly materials are used.
1. What is the environmental issue associated with traditional concrete production?| A．The high demand for energy. | B．The processing of waste materials. |
| C．The mass release of carbon dioxide. | D．The use of non-renewable resources. |
| A．By using silicate rock as the basis. | B．By putting carbon dioxide into concrete. |
| C．By replacing sand with coffee grounds. | D．By absorbing carbon dioxide with magnesium. |
| A．Difficulty in making profits. | B．Convincing the public of the convenience. |
| C．Lack of funding for research. | D．Removing the industry members’ safety concerns. |
| A．To promote an alternative to concrete. | B．To advocate environmental protection. |
| C．To introduce new ways to produce concrete. | D．To emphasize the significance of creativity. |
3 . The moon’s gravity constantly pulls at the Earth. Its pull on the ocean is undeniable but some scientists have been studying less visible effects, which may be able to trigger some earthquakes, if the time is right. With the appearance of bigger and more complete dataset, this effect of the moon has started to show from the data. And it seems that in some cases, the moon did help trigger earthquakes around the world. With these huge databasets, they started to get some small but significant correlation. Chris Scholtz, a geologist and professor at Columbia Climate School, said, one place where the moon’s impact is seen clearly is in underwater earthquakes. That makes sense, given the moon’s pull on the oceans.
Scholtz and his team set out to study how the moon could be using its power on the earthquakes on the Axial Volcano. Earthquakes here are about tenfold more likely to happen when the tide has gone out. Their study found an explanation for the link between the moon and earthquakes. It showed they were caused by the weight of the ocean pressing down on a volcano’s magma chamber. Then when the tide is low, less water presses down on the chamber. This, in turn, puts more pressure on the fault-line, making it more likely to move and create an earthquake.
It’s not just in the oceans where the moon is causing disaster. The moon also causes tiny, but important, tides in rocks. “While fluids can flow, rocks can just slightly change their shape by the tidal force which promotes stress accumulation,” said Scholtz. If rocks are already over-stressed, even a small stress — the pull of the moon — can create a crack in the rock. “If surrounding rocks are also unstable, the fracture can speed up to involve large fault patches. The final outcome is an earthquake,” said Scholtz. Of course, this only happens in very specific circumstances, for instance, when the pressure from the moon’s gravitation al pull lines up perfectly with the fault-line of the earthquakes.
1. What has long been recognized as the moon’s effect on the earth?| A．Earthquake. | B．Tide. | C．Volcanic eruption. | D．Hurricane. |
| A．Big data. | B．Their team cooperation. |
| C．His initial guess. | D．Previous research results. |
| A．By pulling on the oceans of the earth. | B．By applying invisible force to the earth. |
| C．By changing the earth’s physical structure. | D．By putting pressure on the fault-lines of the earth. |
| A．The Moon — The Decisive Factor for Earthquakes |
| B．The Tides — The Moon’s Constant Pull at the Earth |
| C．The Gravity — A Hidden Trigger behind Earthquakes |
| D．The Earthquake — A Frightening Result from Over-stressed Rocks |
1. What do we know about Adam Kilani?
| A．He has a three-year-old pet dog. |
| B．He is from Matrouh Governorate. |
| C．He found pleasure in learning pet care. |
| A．The benefits of keeping pets. |
| B．The promotion of the pet culture. |
| C．The protection of homeless animals. |
| A．A carnival for pets. | B．A talent show for pets. | C．A meeting for pet owners. |
5 . In the northernmost edge of Colombia sits the coastal town of Acandí. Access to the town is only by water or air; there is no road that leads there. The residents there are faced with the struggles of balancing livelihoods while protecting biodiversity.
In the past, traditional community fishing methods, passed down by the elders, focused on the reasonable fishing and management of resources. However, the introduction of large-scale trawling vessels(拖网渔船) decades ago gradually depleted the area’s fishing resources, leading to damage to marine(海洋的) life seriously.
Jesús Antonio Julio Cuestas, who serves in the region’s conservation and management of marine resources, stresses the bad impact of these developments and calls for new fishing techniques. “Fishing and conservation co-exist as long as we have good management practices and reasonable use of our fishing resources,” says Cuestas. He and other officials actively monitor fishing activities in Acandí. Each morning, they visit the fish markets to gather data on fishery resources—including prices and sizes—to monitor the state of the local fishing industry.
Along with Cuestas, the fishers work to reduce their impact on the marine ecosystem. By changing fishing methods and adopting new practices, they aim for a more balanced approach to fishing. “This year the local fishermen have not used the trawl net s that were causing the death of the leatherback sea turtles,” explains Cuestas proudly. Changes include the efforts of boats to protect the seagrass that serves as feeding grounds for marine life and an end to fishers throwing net s where turtles lay their eggs.
This marine reserve in Acandí, Cuestas believes, is their greatest treasure. He attaches great importance to working together with local residents to improve the quality of life while preserving the marine ecosystem. By doing so, he imagines a picture where individuals from the fishing community can pursue various careers, such as engineers or lawyers, proudly stating that they are the products of the fishing tradition in Acandí.
1. What does the underlined word “depleted” in paragraph 2 mean?| A．Reused. | B．Restored. |
| C．Explored. | D．Reduced. |
| A．To cut down on the costs of fishing. |
| B．To improve the income of local residents. |
| C．To promote the well-being of marine wildlife. |
| D．To spread traditional community fishing methods. |
| A．The aim of the changes to fishing methods. |
| B．The efforts to preserve marine ecosystem. |
| C．The results the trawl net s have brought about. |
| D．The impact of fishers on the local environment. |
| A．Confident. | B．Uncaring. |
| C．Concerned. | D．Doubtful. |
There was a time, not long
In 2006 Pokot and Ilchamus elders reached an agreement.They agreed that
The Rothschild’s giraffe went extinct after decades of conflict and poaching. Eager to see these giraffes return to their homeland, the community members got to work
In 2011 the reserve received its very
7 . “What are those?” Jennifer asked me. I looked over at two large raised beds (苗圃) and answered, “Those are potatoes.”
In class, she usually
Looking
Jennifer stood with a shocked look on her face. I held one out for her to touch. As she took the potato in her hand, understanding
For me, that best
| A．trapped | B．seated | C．buried | D．hated |
| A．cry | B．doubt | C．mess | D．whisper |
| A．understanding | B．conversation | C．tendency | D．secret |
| A．beds | B．plants | C．leaves | D．roots |
| A．superior | B．ridiculous | C．innocent | D．reasonable |
| A．confused | B．disappointed | C．excited | D．encouraged |
| A．explanation | B．effect | C．action | D．care |
| A．dug | B．tidied | C．grabbed | D．covered |
| A．cast | B．raised | C．delivered | D．launched |
| A．taking | B．handing | C．keeping | D．demonstrating |
| A．disappeared | B．froze | C．returned | D．spread |
| A．removed | B．made | C．transformed | D．protected |
| A．Apparently | B．Eventually | C．Fortunately | D．Unexpectedly |
| A．takes up | B．sums up | C．looks up | D．makes up |
| A．fond | B．certain | C．critical | D．proud |
8 . Native wild horses in North America went extinct 10,000 years ago.In the 16th century, European settlers brought domesticated (驯化了的) horses to this continent,and their population multiplied.Some people consider them as a reintroduced native species,while others see them as invasive pests that damage ecosystems.Today there are more wild horses in the American West than the land can support,and the government has to control their numbers through birth-control vaccines and occasional but controversial killings.
However,Erick Lundgren,a postdoc at Aarhus University,notes that large plant-eaters play a crucial role in the ecosystem,where grass and shrubs are either consumed by animals or burned. Therefore,reintroducing extinct plant-eating mammals,like wild horses in this case, could potentially reduce the occurrence of fires.He advocates taking them off the rang-elands (牧场),where they’re hated for competing with cattle for food,and strategically placing them where they can do what they do best and benefit the environment.
Although conservationists generally prefer native organisms to restore ecosystems, non-native species can fill in the ecological gaps left by extinct animals.A lot of research still looks at how bad invasive species are for the environment,but that’s not the only possibility. For example,Australian saltwater crocodiles that were nearly extinct in the 1970s are now a species of“least concern”,thanks to the invasive pigs they’ve come to feast on.
“People will protest that a species doesn’t belong here.But the word ‘belong’isn’t science;it’s nativism.”Lundgren said.Many of the areas we consider“wilderness”today were ecologic created by native people who pruned (修剪) plants and watched over controlled burns.“We’re changing the planet quickly yet refusing to let the living beings on it change with it.”he said.If we take away the issue of belonging and consciously assign the non-native species a role to play,what we’re left with is a wilder and more diverse world.
1. What do we know about wild horses in North America today?| A．Their population grows rapidly. |
| B．They are native to the continent. |
| C．Their living spaces are narrowing. |
| D．They are protected from being killed. |
| A．Leave them undisturbed. |
| B．Remove them from rang-elands. |
| C．Promote their reproductive rate. |
| D．Utilize their grass-eating nature. |
| A．The value of non-native animals. |
| B．The efforts in ecosystem restoration. |
| C．The need for protecting native species. |
| D．The importance of preserving biodiversity. |
| A．Reducing human impact on nature. |
| B．Forbidding invasion of new species. |
| C．Staying open to non-native animals. |
| D．Returning animals to native habitats. |
9 . We find the owl at the very edge of our woods the morning after the storm. Wings flight-frozen and round eyes glassy. I touch its feathers lightly with my fingertip and I’m surprised because they still feel real even though the owl has slipped away somewhere else and Dad is already digging a hole for it in the rain-soaked earth.
I lift its body and it’s huge in my hands but the hollow bones do most of the work for me and I almost think the owl might shake the stiffness from its feathers and fly away. I really don’t think this one should go into a hole in the ground. I say that to Dad and he says that it’s the circle of life and that now the owl will become part of nature again. Feeding the soil with its flesh and growing the roots of plants from its feathers.
Dad shifts the last of the dirt with his spade and sits down at the base of a tree with a huff of air that smokes around him. I put the bird in the hole and mark it with a smooth pebble so I’ll always know.
After we’ve buried the owl, we walk all around the woods and clear the worst of the damage from the winds and the rain. The damage isn’t as bad as it’s been before and it feels like the storm has cleaned everything back to being new and fresh. I use my hawk eyes and search the ground in flicks and sweeps and I find treasures in the rain-raked earth just like always. Pieces of pottery and something that could be a Roman coin. I slip them into my pocket and they bump against each other to tell their stories to me, but I’ll listen later.
I help Dad load the best of the fallen branches on to the trailer so we can cut them for fire wood or maybe a bonfire, and then we drive over the muddy paths and back to our house.
1. What do we know about the owl when the author finds it?| A．It is already dead. | B．It is hidden in a hole. |
| C．It is too stiff to fly away. | D．It is trying to flee the woods. |
| A．To facilitate future visits. | B．To show sympathy for the owl. |
| C．To keep the site clear of plants. | D．To draw the attention of passers-by. |
| A．Storms make trees take deeper roots. | B．In nature’s embrace, time stands still. |
| C．The darkest hour has only sixty minutes. | D．With every leaf’s fall, a new life emerges. |
| A．Money-driven. | B．Wonder-seeking. | C．Artistically talented. | D．Emotionally mature. |
10 . Eva, the Belgian Malinois, is home now, getting a well-deserved rest surrounded by new toys after nearly dying while protecting her human from a mountain lion.
The attack happened on May 16 in northern California when 24-year-old Erin Wilson headed down a path toward the Trinity River before she found herself cornered by a mountain lion. “I was just walking down the slope with the dog running ahead of’ me. I turned around and there was this cat just growling at me and it attacked me, ”Wilson told NPR. “I screamed for Eva and she came running. ”
Mountain lion attacks on humans are incredibly rare. Since 1890, California has recorded only six fatal mountain lion attacks because of the animal’s generally shy, reclusive (独处的) nature. Their preferred prey is deer, which are normally in abundance in their forested habitat, but recent drought conditions have made food scarce in some areas. Wilson thought that these conditions made the sudden appearance of a slim woman look like an attractive option.
To protect her human, Eva leapt between Wilson and the lion, tackling the wild cat and embarked on a life-and-death struggle between the two animals. After a short fight, the mountain lion got its jaws around Eva’s head and Wilson fought to free her dog. hitting the lion with rocks in an attempt to break its grip. Eventually, Wilson ran back to her truck and flagged down passing motorist Sharon Houston Fetching an iron bar from her truck. Wilson and Houston ran back down the trail and their combined efforts managed to frighten the big cat off.
Wounded herself and shaken by the experience, Wilson still managed to carry Eva back to the Animal Hospital. The 2-year-old dog didn’t need surgery, but her wounds were still extensive. Eva left the animal hospital on May 19 with surgical tape wrapped around both her front paws, and the veterinarian said she might lose sight in her left eye.
1. What made Erin Wilson the target of the mountain lion?| A．The abundant deer in their forested habitat. |
| B．The lack of prey due to extreme conditions. |
| C．The mountain lion’s shy and reclusive nature. |
| D．The slim and attractive appearance of Wilson. |
| A．Proceeded with. | B．Dawned on. | C．Wrapped up. | D．Kicked off |
| A．She freed a dog and threw rocks at it fiercely. |
| B．She stopped a passing driver and broke its grip. |
| C．She gathered local people and shouted loudly at it. |
| D．She used a tool and scared it away with another driver. |
| A．Heroic and loyal. | B．Obedient and adorable. |
| C．Friendly and dependable. | D．Courageous and naughty. |
