1. Which pet may an outgoing person prefer?
| A．A bird. | B．A dog. | C．A cat. |
| A．Clever. | B．Sociable. | C．Careful. |
| A．Pet people’s personalities. | B．More outgoing dog people. | C．Less sociable cat people. |
It was Monday. I was standing in the doorway of my room at The Seeing Eye (a guide dog school), anxiously waiting to hear my instructor call my name. All sorts of questions ran through my mind, and on the top was the fear that I was making an awful mistake — To adopt (领养) a guide dog when I had been afraid of dogs all my life? Crazy!
I wanted to bite my nails. I changed from one foot to the other and sighed frequently. Finally, shocking me out of my own thoughts, I heard my instructor say, “Shannon!”
“Shannon,” she said, “This is George.”
Two huge paws touched my knees.
“Down, George,” my instructor said, and the dog obeyed immediately.
We were taken back to my room where the door was closed, being left alone. I petted him. He put up his paw to shake my hand, and he sat so nicely, as if to say, “I’m a good boy, I promise.”
However, several minutes later, George got bored with me and went to the door, crying out for the lady who had trained him. I was at a complete loss as to what to do next.
Sometime later, my instructor took George and me on a walk outside. I took the handle of George’s harness (项圈) and stumbled (跌跌撞撞走) around that path instead of walking, and I kept stepping on poor George’s feet, but he never stopped and neither did I. Still, I was worried. If this stumbling around was what I could expect, maybe this guide dog wasn’t for me.
In the school, we were taught to walk with our dogs. We were also taught to feed, water and care for our dogs without any sighted help. We had to master all things before we left the school. Sometimes, it was easy, and sometimes it was not.
I struggled hard in order to pass the last day exam, where I would walk along an unfamiliar street with George. If we arrived at the destination safely, I could take George home.
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。
Finally the big moment came.
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Then came my instructor’s words, “You did it!”
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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 . The world’s first 3D-printed wood log hive (蜂箱) is a new project developed by the Lacrima Foundation in Edinburgh to reduce the troubling decline of honey bee populations around the world.
The Lacrima Foundation is a charity that is “committed to the conservation and protection of one of the Earth’s most important inhabitant.” The charity teamed up with beekeepers in Europe to work towards a rewilding approach that would offer bees a natural nest habitat and, in turn, create resilience (复原力) among bee communities.
Honey bees are one of the most important pollinators (授粉者), and although they may seem small and insignificant, they are vital for the production of our food — we couldn’t eat without them! However, in recent years, bee populations have been severely impacted by the growing climate emergency and our intensive agriculture practices, including the overuse of pesticides.
With help from local partners, the Foundation created 3D-printed wood log hives, which allow the bees to live in an undisturbed ecosystem where they can carry out their lives. They install these hives in high sections of tree trunks to model natural conditions for the big honey bee populations.
Vince Moucha, chairman of the Lacrima Foundation, said, “Even though there are other people and organisations working in the field of natural beekeeping, the impact, progress and scope of these projects is minimal and slow, due to limited access to resources and clear vision. I am driven by responsibility and decided to act on it due to the urgency and importance of this matter.”
The Foundation will continue to work with beekeepers in the UK, Europe, and the United States to help our bee populations survive and thrive for them and us! Check out the Lacrima Foundation, where you can see their mission and donate to the cause and even get a honey bee gift bracelet in return.
1. What is the project of the Lacrima Foundation aimed at?| A．Increasing the production of human’s food. |
| B．Studying the cause of bees’ population loss. |
| C．Developing new habitats for struggling bees. |
| D．Teaming up with beekeepers for fundraising. |
| A．To help bees avoid pesticides. | B．To adapt bees to the new habitats. |
| C．To test the first 3D-printed hives. | D．To protect bees from climate crisis. |
| A．The progress of other projects. | B．The effect of other organizations. |
| C．The difficult position of bees. | D．The responsibility to care about people. |
| A．Live in harmony with nature. | B．Benefit from the Foundation. |
| C．Help bees survive with beekeepers. | D．Support the work of the Foundation. |
5 . “Reduce, reuse, and recycle”, this familiar environmentalist slogan tells us how to reduce the amount of rubbish that ends up in landfills and waterways. The concept is being used to deal with one possibly dangerous form of waste — electronic junk (电子垃圾), such as old computers, cell phones, and televisions. But this process for managing e-waste may be used in an unscrupulous (肆无忌惮的) way more often than not used, a recent report suggests.
“A lot of these materials are being sent to developing nations under the excuse of reuse — to bridge the digital divide (消除数字鸿沟),” said Richard Gutierrez, a policy researcher.
One of the problems is that no one proves whether these old machines work before they hit the seaways. Because of this, the report says, e-waste is a growing problem in Lagos, Nigeria, and elsewhere in the developing world. Much of the waste ends up being thrown away along rivers and roads. Often it’s picked apart by poor people, who may face dangerous exposure to poisonous chemicals in the equipment.
Businessmen also pay workers a little money to get back materials such as gold and copper. This low-tech recovery process could expose workers and the local environment to many dangerous materials used to build electronics. According to Gutierrez, this shadow economy exists because the excuse of recycling and reusing electronics gives businessmen “a green passport” to ship waste around the globe. “Developing nations must take upon some of the responsibility themselves,” Gutierrez said. But, he added, “A greater portion of this responsibility should fall on the exporting state (出口国).”
China, for example, has become a dumping place for large amounts of e-waste. The nation is beginning to take action to stop the flow of dangerous materials across its borders. The Chinese government, after many years of denial (拒绝) is finally beginning to take the lead.
1. The passage mainly tells us that .| A．developing countries are making full use of e-waste |
| B．e-waste is a growing problem in developed countries |
| C．developing countries are facing serious environmental problems |
| D．e-waste is sent to developing countries under the excuse of reuse |
| A．A lot of e-waste is dumped in developing countries. |
| B．Old computers and TVs still work before sent abroad. |
| C．The problem of e-waste is growing in developing countries. |
| D．Poor people break up e-waste to collect some valuable materials. |
| A．poor countries should be blamed for this problem |
| B．developing countries should be responsible for this problem |
| C．neither rich nor poor countries should be blamed for this problem |
| D．exporting countries should be mainly responsible for this problem |
| A．China has hidden a large amount of e-waste in many secret places |
| B．China has greatly changed her idea about the problem of e-waste |
| C．China is falling behind other countries in dealing with e-waste |
| D．China has prevented poisonous materials entering China for a long time |
6 . During the 20th century, an estimated 3 million great whales were hunted to provide humans with oil, meat and rose fertiliser. Roger Payne, a biologist and environmentalist, spurred (推动) a worldwide environmental conservation movement with his discovery that whales could sing.
This discovery was made in 1967 during his research trip to Bermuda (百慕大) when a navy engineer provided him with a recording of curious underwater sounds documented. Payne identified the tones as songs whales sing to one another and he was conscious from the start that whale song was to get the public interested in protecting an animal previously considered little more than a resource, curiosity or nuisance.
Payne saw the discovery of whale song as a chance to spur interest in saving the giant animals, who were disappearing from the planet. In 1970, Payne released the album Songs of the Humpback Whale. The record, a surprise hit, fueled a global movement to end the practice of commercial whale hunting and save the whales from extinction. It remains the bestselling environmental album in history.
The impact of the whale song discovery on the early environmental movement was immense. Many antiwar protesters of the day took on saving animals and the environment as a new cause. The humpback whale became the icon of a new environmental awareness. And the whales entered pop culture, no longer the fearsome beasts. In 1977, the whale calls were loaded on to the Voyager probes and sent into outer space.
Payne, graduating from Harvard University and Cornell University with a doctor’s degree, authored or co authored dozens of scientific papers, gave hundreds of lectures, made countless television programmes and films, and led 100 oceanic expeditions. Payne had started an ambitious new project: CETI, a combination of scientists using new technology to interpret what whales might be “saying”.
1. What caused the decline of the whale population in the 20th century?| A．Habitat loss. | B．The climate change. |
| C．Uncontrolled hunting. | D．The ocean pollution. |
| A．To boost interest in protecting whales. | B．To satisfy people’s curiosity about sea. |
| C．To achieve great commercial success. | D．To earn a reputation as a researcher. |
| A．Considerate. | B．Accomplished. |
| C．Courageous. | D．Patient. |
| A．The conservation of ocean environment. |
| B．Efforts to awake public ocean awareness. |
| C．A high-tech way to document whale tones. |
| D．A whale protection campaign by a biologist. |
7 . Desertification (沙漠化) is a course that has caused much concern over the past few years — and it’s a major problem for the ancient land of Egypt, where 96% of the country’s land is desert.
So why is it that — if you drove a car 10 miles west of the Suez Canal — you would see a large number of forests outlined against the orange sand and blue sky of the Sahara?
The Serapium Forest is the richest of Egypt’s 36 areas that make up a program to fight desertification by creating sustainably managed commercial forests fed completely by wastewater. The 500-mile forest is only a short distance from the 400, 000 people living in the Egyptian city of Ismailia, who produce millions of tons of wastewater every year.
After a dozen-mile journey to the Serapium Forest, the wastewater is then stored underground where oxygen is fed in to speed up the bacterial purification process. A system of pipes then spreads the wastewater throughout the forest. And human wastewater is still rich in chemicals even after being treated.
The government’s effort, called the National Program for Safe Use of Treated Sewage Water for Afforestation is going a long way toward achieving the country’s goals voiced in the 1992 UN Rio conference on climate change.
The research was supported by ForestFinance, a German company that has already planted near-natural forests in Panama and Vietnam to help those countries with their development and wildlife protection. ForestFinance wants to increase the number of species grown in Serapium by including a forest on the site. That way, the biodiversity (生物多样性) of the commercial forest would be able to support a greater number of species, and hopefully bring in money as well. Although the Serapium Forest faces a lot of difficulties, it’s still growing — a 500-acre green wall to join the others in the world in preventing the sands of the world’s deserts from spreading.
1. What is the purpose of the first paragraph?| A．To voice a different idea. |
| B．To present research findings. |
| C．To offer background information. |
| D．To introduce a problem-solving approach. |
| A．It was built by the people of Ismailia. |
| B．It was planted to fight climate change. |
| C．It is in danger of being destroyed. |
| D．It is the smallest forest in Egypt. |
| A．The influence of green space on cities. |
| B．The value of the newly-founded Serapium Forest. |
| C．The way of using wastewater to feed the Serapium Forest. |
| D．The preparation for the government setting up the program. |
| A．It raises serious doubts. |
| B．It will bring great benefits. |
| C．It has been going smoothly. |
| D．It encourages the government to take action. |
8 . Leonardo DiCaprio cares about climate change and has made environmental protection his life’s work. Besides leading his own environmental organization, the film star sits on the board of several other organizations, and his efforts have been celebrated by the United Nations.
But while many Hollywood stars are environmentally aware(意识到的)off screen, a new study shows the movie industry isn’t doing nearly enough on screen to keep climate change in everyday conversation. Researchers studied 37,453 scripts (剧本), looking for 36 climate keywords like “climate change”. They found only about 2.8% had any mention of the keywords. However, the word “dog” was mentioned 13 times more than all 36 climate words.
The study was published with a guidebook, Good Energy, to help screenwriters to focus more on climate change in movies and TV shows. The book was written after discussion with over 100 screenwriters and producers, as well as climate experts. Information about climate has an important part in the book, along with suggestions on how to shape characters and offer climate solutions on screen, Katherine Oliver, who helped with the print of the book, said, “Our goal should be to bridge the gap between the world we live in and the modern world we see on TV.”
Salire(讽刺)is used in Don’t Look Up , which stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence in a story satirizing the worlds cold reaction to climate change. Writer-director Adam McKay was among those who joined the discussion about the book. “We’ve seen how the film has created more conversation to call on people to look up,” McKay said.
Supporters of the book call this just the start and say it’s up to Hollywood to tailor scripts so that they can mirror the terrible situation the world is facing in real life. If we’re doing a scene(场景)in a supermarket, let there be people refusing to use plastic bags. Or if we’re doing scenes where we can be modeling healthy eating, then let’s have a system that can offer clean water.
1. What does the study on the movie industry suggest?| A．Most scripts are less creative than expected. |
| B．Animal protection work has achieved huge success. |
| C．The movie industry suffers from environmental problems. |
| D．The movie industry’s environmental awareness isn’t enough. |
| A．Putting more climate-related scenes on screen. |
| B．Bridging the gap between screenwriters and viewers. |
| C．Honouring film stars’ efforts to protect the environment. |
| D．Drawing viewers’ attention to problems presented in movies. |
| A．To praise Adam McKay’s writing skills, |
| B．To share the secret of this movie’s success. |
| C．To list a movie showing environmental concerns. |
| D．To explain why satire should be used in movies. |
| A．Adapt. | B．Limit. | C．Refuse. | D．Borrow. |
9 . Many animal species worldwide have become endangered. Here are some of the most endangered animals.
Whooping crane (高鸣鹤)It is the tallest North American flying bird. In 1938, the first year when a population survey was done, only 29 whooping cranes remained in the wild. Three years later, only 16 were left. Hunting and the decrease of their habitats had harmed the population. Great efforts to save the birds did not begin until the late 1960s. Today, there are over 500 whooping cranes, thanks in large part to new breeding (繁殖) programs.
Blue whaleThere are fewer than 25,000 blue whales, the largest animals on the planet. Blue whales are found in all of the world’s oceans but the Arctic Ocean. Today their population has decreased by 90% because of humans’ hunting or killing in the 20th century. Hunting of the species for sale was forbidden in 1966. The National Marine Fisheries Service of the US explained a recovery plan in detail in 1998.
Asian elephantThe best guess of IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) on today’s population of Asian elephants in 13 countries is around 40,000-50,000. That number may be far lower. Over 50% of the population is in India. The increasing human population there—and elsewhere in Asia — creates conflicts (冲突) for space and resources. And while the long teeth of Asian elephants are much smaller than those of African elephants, the Asian elephants are still killed for their ivory, meat, and skin.
Snow leopard (雪豹)Though it’s called a leopard, the snow leopard is actually more closely related to the tiger. Probably fewer than 7,500 snow leopards remain in the wild. The largest populations are in China and Mongolia, with large populations in India and Kyrgyzstan as well. The snow leopard usually hunts blue sheep as its food, but in some areas, it heavily depends on home-raised animals. The farmers who depend upon the animals shoot the “problem” snow leopards.
1. What mainly helped the increase of whooping cranes’ population?| A．The building of their habitats. |
| B．The prevention of humans from hunting them. |
| C．The programs that help them have young ones. |
| D．The great efforts that aimed to save them before the 1960s. |
| A．They’re being driven to other Asian countries. |
| B．Their ivories have become popular in recent years. |
| C．50% of the population has been killed for their skin. |
| D．They are losing their habitats. |
| A．Providing more food for them. | B．Helping them live in different countries. |
| C．Creating new breeding programs for them. | D．Solving the conflicts between them and farmers. |
10 . When John Todd was a child, he loved to explore the woods around his house, observing how nature solved problems. A dirty stream, for example, often became clear after flowing through plants and along rocks where tiny creatures lived. When he got older, John started to wonder if this process could be used to clean up the messes people were making.
After studying agriculture, medicine, and fisheries in college, John went back to observing nature and asking questions. Why can certain plants trap harmful bacteria (细菌)? Which kinds of fish can eat cancer-causing chemicals? With the right combination of animals and plants, he figured, maybe he could clean up waste the way nature did. He decided to build what he would later call an eco-machine.
The task John set for himself was to remove harmful substances from some sludge (污泥). First, he constructed a series of clear fiberglass tanks connected to each other. Then he went around to local ponds and streams and brought back some plants and animals. He placed them in the tanks and waited. Little by little, these different kinds of life got used to one another and formed their own ecosystem. After a few weeks, John added the sludge.
He was amazed at the results. The plants and animals in the eco-machine took the sludge as food and began to eat it! Within weeks, it had all been digested, and all that was left was pure water.
Over the years, John has taken on many big jobs. He developed a greenhouse — like facility that treated sewage (污水) from 1,600 homes in South Burlington. He also designed an eco-machine to clean canal water in Fuzhou, a city in southeast China.
“Ecological design” is the name John gives to what he does. “Life on Earth is kind of a box of spare parts for the inventor,” he says. “You put organisms in new relationships and observe what’s happening. Then you let these new systems develop their own ways to self-repair.”
1. What can we learn about John from the first two paragraphs?| A．He was fond of traveling. | B．He enjoyed being alone. |
| C．He had an inquiring mind. | D．He longed to be a doctor. |
| A．To feed the animals. | B．To build an ecosystem. |
| C．To protect the plants. | D．To test the eco-machine. |
| A．To review John’s research plans. | B．To show an application of John’s idea. |
| C．To compare John’s different jobs. | D．To erase doubts about John’s invention. |
| A．Nature can repair itself. | B．Organisms need water to survive. |
| C．Life on Earth is diverse. | D．Most tiny creatures live in groups. |
