1 . Oceans hold a lot of mystery, even for people who study them. But it's no mystery why they're in trouble. We've been using them to hide our waste -such as pouring oil, plastic, and poisonous chemicals into them for decades. We've over exploited (剥削) many fish stocks to levels so low that they can no longer be harvested.
Oceans are also a primary source of protein for millions of people worldwide. If we want to continue to enjoy what oceans provide, we need to do everything we can to protect them and the life they support. We should ensure the seafood we eat is sustainable.
Of course, not everyone is lucky enough to be able to catch their own fish, which means having sustainable options at the store is critical. As public and companies awareness about the risks caused by overfishing and uncontrolled sea farming expansion have grown, food tradesmen in Canada have developed sustainable seafood policies and commitments.
Seafood Progress, an online resource, is designed to help provide rewards to tradesmen and information to seafood lovers. It makes it easier for consumers in Canada to find out tradesmen's policies on sourcing sustainable seafood, whether they're sticking to those policies and how they're performing compared to their peers.
But tradesmen must do more to ensure their seafood products are environmentally sustainable and socially responsible. This means expanding the scope of their commitments to cover all seafood products they sell, in all their stores. It also requires continuing to work with suppliers and producers to improve practices and make sure the sustainable seafood supply meets consumer demand.
It's no mystery that if we want to continue to eat fish, we must do it responsibly. Seafood Progress has invited seafood tradesmen, suppliers and consumers to join in pushing to this goal.
1. What's the cause of oceans' being in trouble according to paragraph 1?| A．The ever-changing of the global climate. |
| B．The mystery that people haven't studied. |
| C．The over exploitation and use of the oceans. |
| D．The continuous decrease of fish stocks. |
| A．Provide rewards to them. |
| B．Urge them to stick to policies. |
| C．Provide them with enough seafood. |
| D．Let them know about tradesmen's policies. |
| A．Range | B．Chance |
| C．Risk. | D．Rate. |
| A．Through expanding seafood production. |
| B．By protecting all the tradesmen's profit. |
| C．By joint efforts of people involved in seafood. |
| D．By making policies to control seafood consumers. |
2 . Climate change is known to negatively affect agriculture and livestock, but there has been little scientific knowledge on which regions of the planet would be touched or what the biggest risks may be. New research led by Aalto University assesses just how global food production will be affected if greenhouse gas emissions are left uncut.
The researchers assessed how climate change would affect 27 of the most important food crops and seven different livestock, accounting for societies' varying capacities to adapt to changes. The results show that threats affect countries and continents in different ways; in 52 of the 177 countries studied, the entire food production would remain in the safe climatic space in the future. These include Finland and most other European countries.
Already vulnerable countries such as Benin, Cambodia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana and Suriname will be hit hard if no changes are made; up to 95 percent of current food production would fall outside of safe climatic space. Alarmingly, these nations also have significantly less capacity to adapt to changes brought on by climate change when compared to rich western countries. In all, 20% of the world's crop production and 18% of livestock production under threat are located in countries with low capacities to adapt to changes.
“If we let emissions grow, the increase in desert areas is especially troubling because in these conditions barely anything can grow without irrigation. By the end of this century, we could see more than 4 million square kilometres of new desert around the globe,” Matti Kummu, professor of global water and food issues at Aalto University says. “We need to lighten climate change and, at the same time, improve our food systems and societies' capacities to adapt to changes—we cannot leave the vulnerable behind. Food production must be sustainable.”
1. How does the author show the effect of climate change on the food production in paragraph 2?| A．By raising questions. | B．By stating arguments. |
| C．By analyzing research data. | D．By making comparisons. |
| A．The measures to be taken. | B．The threat to the vulnerable countries. |
| C．The assistance of rich countries. | D．The damage to crop production. |
| A．He feels very desperate. | B．He cares more about others. |
| C．He was in charge of the study. | D．He is worried about the vulnerable. |
| A．Environment. | B．Technology. | C．Culture. | D．Politics. |
Coca-Cola
The annual audit(审计)，
“The world's top polluting corporations claim to be working hard to solve plastic pollution,
Coca-Cola came under fire from environmental campaigners earlier this year when it announced it would not abandon plastic bottles, saying they
4 . Belgium is a destination that appeals to travelers who want to enjoy the good life and the friendliness of Belgians.
Heart of Europe
The Kingdom of Belgium is in the northwest of Europe. However, the country has long been regarded as the heart of Europe, which serves as the capital of the European Union. As a result, more than 1,400 international organizations and companies set up their headquarters there.
Cartoon kingdom
Belgium is truly a “cartoon kingdom”. It is said one in every three cartoonists in the world is Belgian. Brussels, the capital of Belgium, is just like a castle in a fairy tale. Cartoon bookstores, cartoon museums, and cartoon gift shops can be seen almost everywhere.
Chocolates
Belgians love chocolates. The average annual consumption of chocolates per person is 6.8kg. The fragrant and creamy chocolates made in Belgium have seized so many people’s hearts with their unique flavors. If you don’t know what brands to choose, maybe the ones specially made for royal families are a good choice.
Delicacies
Belgian people are as good at cooking as they are at making beers. No wonder that Belgian food is as good as French food. Brussels alone has more than 2,000 restaurants, providing all kinds of delicacies from every part of Belgium.
1. Why do so many international companies set up their headquarters in Brussels?| A．Because it is a cartoon kingdom. | B．Because it is the heart of Europe. |
| C．Because it is the capital of Belgium. | D．Because it is in the northwest of Europe. |
| A．It serves food in French flavor. | B．Most cartoonists are from Belgium. |
| C．Belgians are famous for making beers. | D．Royal families consume 6.8kg of chocolates annually. |
| A．To advertise Belgium as a travel destination. | B．To make known the importance of Brussels. |
| C．To compare Belgian food with French food. | D．To introduce living conditions in Belgium. |
5 . Fish come in all kinds of shapes, sizes and colors. They first appeared in the oceans of the earth about 500 million years ago. Today there are tens of thousands of different kinds of fish and new species are discovered every year.
Where fish live
Senses
Fish have organs that tell them what is happening in the water around them. They can see left and right at the same time. They not only can hear sounds in the water but can also sense sounds that happen on the surface.
Bodies of fish
Fish have no neck. The head and the body are combined. Most fish are shaped like cigars so that they can travel very quickly. Fish are cold-blooded.
| A．Dangers to fish |
| B．The importance of fish |
| C．Fish are a part of the food chain. |
| D．Most of the world's fish live in salt water. |
| E．Their body temperature changes with their surroundings. |
| F．Fish are also endangered by pollution of the world's oceans. |
| G．Fish can also feel water movements, thus feeling the dangers that approach them. |
6 . Contrary to the long-held belief that plants in the natural world are always in competition, new research has found that in severe environments adult plants help smaller ones and grow well as a result.
The research, led by Dr Rocio, studied adult and seedling (幼苗)plants in the ecological desert in the south-east of Spain. Dr Rocio said, “If you're a seedling in a poor land — the top of a mountain or a sand hill, for example-and you’re lucky enough to end up underneath a big plant, your chances of survival are certainly better than if you landed somewhere on your own. What we have found, which was surprising, is an established large plant, called a ‘nurse’, protects a seedling; it also produces more flowers than the same plants of similar large size growing on their own.”
Other benefits of nurse-seedling partnerships include that more variety of plants growing together can have a positive effect on the environment. For example, vegetation areas with nurse plants with more flowers might be able to attract higher numbers of pollinators(传粉者)in an area, in turn supporting insect and soil life and even provide a greater range of different fruit types for birds and other animals.
“The biggest winner for this system of nursing a plant is biodiversity(生物多样性),” Dr Rocio said. “The more biodiverse an area, the greater number of species of plants, insect life, mammals and birds, and the better the chances of long-term healthy functioning of the environment and ecosystems. ” This system is win-win for adult and seedling plants in unfavorable environments.
The research is of value to those who manage and protect plants in tough environments. Most home gardeners and farmers plan to ensure their soil and conditions are the best they can be for plant growth, but the findings might be of value to those who garden in bare places.
1. What is a common understanding of plants?| A．They can help each other. | B．They can survive ill conditions. |
| C．They compete with each other. | D．They grow well on their own. |
| A．They will produce more flowers. | B．They will die owing to competition. |
| C．They will make adult plants larger. | D．They will get support from adult plants. |
| A．It leads to unfavorable environments. |
| B．It produces long-term healthy chances. |
| C．It attracts higher and larger pollinators. |
| D．It provides a more variety of plant types. |
| A．People studying organic farming. |
| B．People protecting plants on sand hills. |
| C．People wanting to change biodiversity. |
| D．People keeping more animals on the farm. |
7 . 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. |
8 . Say “Sit” to your dog, and he’ll likely sit on the floor. But would he respond correctly if the word were spoken by a stranger, or someone with a thick accent? A new study shows he will, suggesting dogs understand spoken words in a clever and complicated way long thought unique to humans.
Holly Root-Gutteridge, a biologist, and her colleagues ran a test. The researchers filmed 42 dogs of different breeds as they sat with their owners near an audio speaker that played noncommand words with similar sounds, such as “had”, “hid”, and “who’d”. The words were spoken-not by the dog’s owner-but by several strangers, men and women of different ages and with different accents.
In the video above, the dog Max turns quickly and listens seriously when he hears a woman say “had” for the first time. But as other women with different accents repeat the word, he loses interest, indicating he knows they are all saying the same word. When a speaker says a new word, like “who’d”, Max cheers up again, but his attention flags when a new voice returns to saying “had”. Together, these reactions suggest dogs recognize words regardless of the speaker-and that they don’t need any training to do it, the team reports today in Biology Letters.
“It’s wonderful—and novel—to see research looking at dogs’ reactions to words that are not commands or requests,” says Alexandra Horowitz, a researcher at Barnard College in New York City. Because of the nature of the test, however, the scientists cannot show that the dogs “understood” what the words meant, Horowitz points out. “But the work clearly demonstrates that dogs are listening to us,” she says, even when our speech is not about them.
1. What can we learn from this study?| A．Dogs can hear some simple words. | B．Dogs can hear words like humans. |
| C．Dogs cannot understand a stranger. | D．Dogs know their owners’ meaning. |
| A．Record their sounds. | B．Record their reactions. |
| C．Train their hearing ability. | D．Train their learning ability. |
| A．The result of the study. | B．A dog filmed in the study. |
| C．An example of the research. | D．Different reactions of the dogs. |
| A．Objective. | B．Favorable. |
| C．Opposed. | D．Unclear. |
9 . Ever since Earth formed roughly 4.5 billion years ago, its climate has gone through a number of incredible changes.
All you have to do is look at images of the Jurassic Period (侏罗纪时期) to know that at one time, much of our planet was covered in extremely hot and humid jungle. Skip ahead a couple million years and you get to an ice age event, when global temperature experienced a huge drop. While many species were not able to deal with these changing climate patterns, others successfully adapted, and some are even still with us today. Now, as humanity pushes the planet closer to another extreme climate event, scientists are eager to find out how the world's species will react. The idea was highlighted in a study published on April 6 in the journal PNAS, which showed that between 1970 and 2010, open water species such as lobsters and fish had declined by about half in tropical marine zones across the globe because over the 40-year time period, sea temperatures in those regions had risen by roughly 0. 2°C.
The lower numbers aren't a sign of all the sea creatures dying off though. In fact, the scientists found some of them outside of their traditional habitats, meaning that if a species can migrate to cooler waters and adapt in a new environment, they will.
However, those movements aren’t always a good thing; species that can' t move, such as coral, which is fixed to the seabed, rely on the fish and other sea creatures to contribute to the natural food chain and stay healthy. Additionally, when a non- native species moves into a new area, it threatens to disrupt the ecosystem that already exists there.
Depending on the species, it can take anywhere from one generation to thousands and thousands of years to properly adapt, so the changes that have occurred in just the last 40 years are very troubling for scientists. As Sebastian Ferse, an ecologist at the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research, Germany, explained, “In geological history, this has occurred in the blink of an eye. To see such changes occurring so rapidly is something quite alarming.
1. What can we infer from Paragraph 2?| A．Some species that adapted to the climate changes survived. |
| B．Most species were able to deal with the changing climate patterns. |
| C．Global temperature experienced a huge drop during Jurassic Period. |
| D．Much of our planet was covered in humid jungle during ice age event. |
| A．By changing their food chain. | B．By adjusting their own temperature. |
| C．By moving to other places and adapted. | D．By human beings' protecting. |
| A．Improve. | B．Balance. | C．Disturb. | D．Establish. |
| A．Optimistic. . | B．Negative. | C．Objective. | D．Indifferent. |
10 . You might have heard about how honey bees are doing poorly these days. It’s different, though, from the situation many of the world’s vulnerable (脆弱的) animals find themselves in. We want them to live their lives and grow stronger, but are we willing to change our lifestyles to make it happen? The decrease in honey bees is a bit different, because if honey bees can’t live well, neither can people and, eventually people won’t eat as a result.
As happened in 2017, U.S. beekeepers lost 40 percent of their bees because of a disease. It’s really about the earnings of beekeepers and the reduced amount of bees. But it doesn’t stop there. Honey bees go around doing pollination (授粉). And do you know what need to be pollinated? That’s our crops. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates bees pollinate about $15 billion worth of apples and peaches each year in the United States alone.
So, we 21st-century humans not only take notice, but also start trying to fix the problem. It’s infeasible that we give every bee the treatment. We can’t imagine how huge the task is and how hard we carry on it! The most promising immediate solution seems to prevent the disease. That’s where the bee vaccine (疫苗) comes.
Scientists have long thought immunizing (使免疫) bees will be unworkable, but a 2015 study discovered that bees transfer immunity to their babies through protein. Vaccinating a bee won’t help that bee, but if you vaccinate the queen of bees, she can pass her immunity on to her later generations through her eggs.
The new vaccine will treat for American foulbrood (AFB), a serious disease that quickly destroys bees. It’s in the testing phases and most likely headed for bee boxes near you. And don’t worry, it doesn’t require a tiny doctor’s chair and needle to deliver the vaccine—the queen bee can drink the medicine in a little sugar water and pass it along to her later generations.
1. What does exactly the author intend to tell us through the 2017 beekeepers’ incident?| A．The beekeepers lead a terrible life. |
| B．The number of bees continues to decrease. |
| C．The decline of bees affects the production of grain. |
| D．The pollination work of bees is huge and complicated. |
| A．Practical | B．Impossible | C．harmful | D．Convenient |
| A．The bee vaccine is hard to develop. |
| B．Bees will learn skills from the queen. |
| C．Bees can transfer immunity to each other. |
| D．The bee vaccine can take effect in the long run. |
| A．It’s applied to all sick bees. |
| B．It will be delivered to bees by skilled doctors. |
| C．It works by allowing the queen of bees to take it. |
| D．It has been put into use and makes many bees survive. |
