1 . Cold weather not only threatens the life of human beings but also the survival of wild animals. In Houston, it has claimed some unusual animal victims-bats.

Mary Warwick is the wildlife director at the Houston Humane Society. She was doing shopping when the freezing winds reminded her that she had not heard how the area’s bats were going. So she drove to the bridge where over 100 bats looked to be dead as they lay frozen on the ground. But during her 40-minute drive home, they began to come back to life. The bats made sounds and moved around in a box she had placed on her heated passenger seat for warmth. She returned to the bridge twice a day to collect more.

Two days later, she got a call about more than 900 bats rescued from a bridge in nearby Pearland, Texas. On the third and fourth days, more people showed up to rescue bats from the Waugh Bridge, and a special transportation effort was set up to get the bats to Warwick, which touched her a great deal. Each of the bats was warmed in an incubator (恒温箱) until their body temperature rose.

However, there were too many bats for one person to care for. The society’s current buildings did not have the necessary space, so Warwick and others put the bats in her attic (阁楼). The bats were separated by group in containers usually used for dogs. There, they were able to reach a state of hibernation (冬眠). Over 100 bats died because of the cold and the fall from the bridge but the others are being or have been released.

The society is now raising money to build a special room for bats at the society. The society’s entire animal rescue team will be vaccinated (接种疫苗) and trained in rescuing bats as they prepare to move into a larger building with the special bat room. “That would really help in these situations where we continue to see strange weather come through,” she said. “We could really use more space to rescue the bats.”

1. Why did Mary War wick drive to the bridge?

A．To get rid of the dead bats.	B．To check what happened to the bats.
C．To reach home a little earlier.	D．To monitor the surviving bats.

2. Which of the following moved Mary Warwick deeply?

A．More people were willing to donate.

B．More people showed concern about her.

C．More people came up with good ideas.

D．More people joined her rescue.

3. What trouble did Mary Warwick have in saving the bats?

A．There was not enough space to warm the bats.

B．An increasing number of bats died from the cold.

C．It was difficult for her to get bats into hibernation.

D．The bats’ body temperature didn’t rise as expected.

4. What is Mary Warwick’s attitude towards the human e society’s efforts?

A．Critical.

B．Grateful.

C．Positive.

D．Doubtful.

2 . 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。

In early 2022, the Ministry of Water Resources in China planned to invest 800 billion yuan building water management projects during the year. But the country     1     (see) the funds reach 823 billion yuan by the end of September.

Last year, the large-scale development played a significant role in ensuring stable home fund     2     promoting employment. Over 2. 5 million workers     3     (employ) in the development, including almost 2.1 million people from rural China. People also noted the     4     (remark) growth in funds it raised for water management projects. Almost 1. 16 trillion yuan was collected across the country last year, 44 percent more than 2021. Over 203.6 billion yuan was raised     5     government bonds, roughly 1.5 times that of the previous year. Over 37.9 billion yuan was invested     6     (expand) and renovate (翻新) 529 medium and large-scale irrigated areas in 2022. Thanks to the     7     (invest), over 10,000 kilometers of irrigation channels were built or renovated.

During the rare drought in the Yangtze River Basin last year, the complete systems in many of those irrigated areas functioned     8     (efficient) in reducing the impacts of the drought and reducing losses. Such irrigated areas guaranteed water supply to 11.3 million hectares of farmland in     9     (strike) regions. Despite the drought, the basin saw     10     good harvest of grain.

3 . There is nothing like a coast redwood. It is the planet’s tallest tree, soaring to heights of more than 320 feet into the sky. They have trunks that are more than 27 feet wide and can live for over 2,000 years. Some of the gentle giants living today were alive during the time of the Roman Empire.

Before the mid-19th century, coast redwoods spread throughout a range of some 2 million acres along the California coast. People had been peacefully co-existing with the forests forever. But with the gold rush came the logging (伐木作业); and today only 5 percent of the original old-growth coast redwood forest remains along a 450-mile strip of coast. And as the planet warms up, the specific conditions required by the redwoods change; their future doesn’t look so great. Animals can migrate north to escape the south’s warming temperatures; trees, not so much.

But with David Milarch on the case, maybe they can. In 1991, Milarch literally died from a life-threatening illness, before being revived and springing back to life. There’s nothing like a near-death experience to inspire a new course in life, as was the case with Milarch. His new quest? To harvest the genes of the coast redwoods and give them an assist in migration.

“I feel sorrow that 95 percent of them were killed and we didn’t even know what they do to strengthen our ability as human beings to live on this planet,” says Milarch. “We killed them. That’s the bad news. To put back every single tree that was cut down and killed. And I’m going to do it. ” By cloning and replanting them in places where they once thrived (繁荣) but were lost, he is not only increasing their numbers but planting them in locations where they have a better chance of longevity. And the result is two-fold: Save the trees and save the planet for humankind. Redwood trees are among the most effective carbon sequestration (碳封存) tools in the world.

1. What is the first paragraph mainly about?

A．A brief introduction of redwoods.	B．The information about our planet.
C．The history of the Roman Empire.	D．The special height of the redwood.

2. What destroyed the redwoods along the California coast?

A．The warming climate.	B．The overcutting.
C．The ocean disaster.	D．The worsening soil condition.

3. What inspired Milarch to revive the redwood?

A．His love for plants.	B．His concern on global warming.
C．His surviving experience.	D．His study on the genetics of the redwood.

4. What did Milarch focus on when cloning the redwood?

A．The animals which live nearby.	B．The effective tool used to plant trees.
C．The places where the trees grow.	D．The amounts of water trees need.

4 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. How is the weather this morning?

A．Windy.

B．Snowy.

C．Rainy.

2. Where is the speaker right now?

A．At the top of Mount Raven.

B．In the newsroom.

C．On a ski slope.

3. What is the lowest temperature tomorrow?

A．-7℃.

B．-12℃.

C．-20℃.

4. What does the speaker suggest skiers do tomorrow?

A．Stay indoors.

B．Dress warmly.

C．Watch sports news.

5 . For many Generation Z students who are thinking about their future careers, the answer is clear: disposing of the climate crisis. Multiple surveys have found that enormous numbers of students and professionals under 25 are pursuing environmental-related degrees and careers.

This shift in career aspirations (抱负) among the world’s youngest workers is a reflection of the heightened sense of climate awareness among Generation Z and even Generation Alpha — the generation of children born between 2011 and 2025. A 2021 Pew Research survey found that among Generation Z individuals, 76 percent of them cited climate change as one of their biggest social concerns, and 32 percent participated in at least one major environmental action last year.

Seeing the demand for climate action and training among students, universities are matching their interests with initiatives like the university of Southern California’s Sustainability Across the Curriculum programme. The programme aims to teach students from all disciplines how their majors intersect (与……相关联) with sustainability and the environment.

Christopher Schlottmann, the global curriculum coordinator (课程协调员) at New York University’s Environmental Studies programme explains to The Guardian that the long-standing opinion that environmental careers don’t pay well is also changing. “There’s a general belief that if you do good for the world, nobody’s going to pay you to do it. I don’t think that’s that accurate,” he says. “If you understand how climate change works, then a bank should actually really want to talk to you because they want to reduce their risk.”

The United States Bureau of Labour Statistics predicts that job opportunities for environmental scientists and “related specialists” will grow by eight percent over the next decade. This change is expected to be pushed along by the establishment of the proposed Civilian Climate Corps, a programme which would help young people fight the climate crisis and conserve public lands with training and job placement.

Climate change is a tough challenge, but climate awareness and determination grow with each generation and this progress demonstrates that the youngest citizens are staking (拿……当赌注) their future on a healthier planet.

1. Which word has similar meaning with the underlined phrase “disposing of” in Paragraph 1?

A．Delivering.	B．Applying.
C．Handling.	D．Promoting.

2. What does the second paragraph mainly tell us?

A．Generation Alpha is smarter than Generation Z.

B．Generation Alpha is the most concerned about environmental issues.

C．Young generation has grown to choose environmental-related careers.

D．The climate crisis won’t be settled unless people take effective action.

3. What do Schlottmann’s words mean in Paragraph 4?

A．Generation Z won’t change environment at all.

B．Environmental careers will play an increasingly important role.

C．No one can change climate as it is a natural phenomenon.

D．The bank will pay you if you choose environmental-related careers.

4. What’s the author’s attitude towards careers for Generation Z?

A．Critical.	B．Indifferent.
C．Doubtful.	D．Hopeful.

6 . Kay Day, an 87-year-old UK woman, adores elephants. But Day, suffering from dementia (痴呆),rarely left her nursing home room and hadn’t seen a real elephant for a really long time.

Day is so crazy about elephants that her room is decorated with elephant photos. Day dreamed of seeing an elephant up close again and never thought it would happen. However, Day’s dream became a reality after her nursing home, the Blakelands Lodge care home inMarston Moretaine, took her on a special journey to the Whipsnade Zoo.

“Kay doesn’t join in many activities and tends to spend quite a lot of time alone,” said Carla Blakelands, the Lodge activity manager. “We sat and discussed wishes and found out she would love to see an elephant. We discussed different options and we found the Elephant Experience at Whipsnade Zoo, so we contacted them about our resident.”

Day was so excited about going to the zoo that she marked off the days on her elephant-themed calendar. Day’s carers and family came along on the trip to assist and watch her experience the exciting day. Day was able to pet the Asian elephants and she said that the elephants’ trunk is her favorite part of the animal. “It’s such a wonderful feeling to have an elephant take some food out of your hand, put it in his trunk, curl it up and put it in his mouth,” she told BBC.

Day expressed her gratitude to the people who organized the trip and said it was one of the best days of her life. “I could sit here forever with an elephant sitting by my side,” she said.

Elephant keeper My Eriksson said that the zoo was honored to have played a role in making Day’s dream come true and that it was amazing to meet someone who is as crazy about elephants as the zookeepers at Whipsnade Zoo.

1. What can we say about the Blakelands Lodge care home?

A．It funds the Whipsnade Zoo.	B．It has a special love for elephants.
C．It seldom organizes outings.	D．It cares about its residents’ wishes.

2. What can be learned from Blakelands’ words about Day?

A．She has no relatives.	B．She is fairly easy-going.
C．She enjoys being alone.	D．She likes group activities.

3. What did Day do in the zoo?

A．She fed the elephants.	B．She argued with her family.
C．She arranged an interview.	D．She worked as a zookeeper.

4. How did Day feel towards the people organizing the trip?

A．Annoyed.

B．Grateful.

C．Puzzled.

D．Nervous.

7 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. What’s the weather like yesterday?

A．Rainy.

B．Sunny.

C．Misty.

2. What effect may sunny days have on the woman’s schoolwork?

A．Positive.

B．Slow.

C．Lasting.

3. Which subject is affected most by sunshine for the woman?

A．Geography.

B．History.

C．Art.

4. How will the man probably feel about the weather tomorrow?

A．Excited.

B．Unhappy.

C．Annoyed.

8 . In May 1869, John Wesley Powell, a former Union Army major who had lost most of his right _________ in the Battle of Shiloh, led 10 _________ in launching four heavy wooden boats loaded to the gunwales with 10 months of supplies.

Three of the boats were made of oak, more suitable for cruising lakes than busting through rapids (急流). None of the men were _________ boatmen. The one-armed captain of the crew had maps with gaps in them. _________, it was the grandest expedition (探险) since Lewis and Clark. Over 500 rapids and 1,000 miles of _________ currents awaited them.

Though Powell had boats custom-made for the _________, they were heavy. He recruited men who knew how to _________ in the wilderness but had never navigated (横越) a river. He packed so much food that it _________ sank the boats from the start.

Much of the journey was spent _________ boats damaged while portaging around rapids and carving new oars out of driftwood. Food was lost or spoiled, game was scarce, and Powell went inland to __________with the Indians for food. The expedition spent days in __________ water and 115-degree heat. Three men deserted the cause along the way. The crew slept on boulders and __________ wet clothing the next morning. And most of the time, they had no idea what lay ahead. But at the end of the arduous journey, they had successfully __________ the challenges and mapped a wilderness previously labeled as “territory unknown.” As the West expanded, Powell’s maps would be __________.

Beauty is in the living of life, in looking beyond the challenges to the __________ of the small moments we achieve — sometimes against all odds.

1.

A．leg

B．arm

C．ear

D．finger

2.

A．explorers

B．soldiers

C．heroes

D．boatmen

3.

A．rude

B．greedy

C．experienced

D．honest

4.

A．Still

B．Otherwise

C．Thus

D．And

5.

A．remote

B．quiet

C．unknown

D．vast

6.

A．trip

B．journey

C．travel

D．tour

7.

A．live

B．hunt

C．hide

D．survive

8.

A．nearly

B．already

C．mostly

D．never

9.

A．making

B．handling

C．rowing

D．repairing

10.

A．talk

B．discuss

C．fight

D．negotiate

11.

A．shallow

B．freezing

C．violent

D．polluted

12.

A．pulled in

B．pulled up

C．pulled on

D．pulled at

13.

A．adapted to

B．stuck to

C．saw to

D．got to

14.

A．reliable

B．priceless

C．measurable

D．considerable

15.

A．strength

B．attempt

C．position

D．wonder

9 . A British man is excited but exhausted after becoming the tenth Briton to reach the summit (顶点) of K2, the world’s second-highest mountain.

Jake Meyer 34, a mountaineer and army reserve officer, reached the 28,251 ft (8.611 m) summit at 8 am local time on Saturday after a five-day climb from base camp. He had to spend two nights at a camp on the way to the summit to allow a snowstorm to pass.

“This has been a journey more than ten years in the making, and my third attempt at this extraordinary mountain,” he told The Times. “While we were lucky with a weather window for our summit day, the conditions were still incredibly challenging at times, I’m happy to be back at base camp and I know my family and friends will be relieved that K2 is in the bag.

Mr Meyer, from Gloucestershire, who reached the summit of Qomolangma at the age of 21. has been chronicling (按时序记载) his climb on social media, sending out a picture from the summit. After a two-day journey to base camp, he said,“I’m just looking forward to getting home to my incredibly supportive wife.”

K2 was first summitted in 1954 by two Italian climbers, Lino Lacedelli and Achille Compagnoni. It is the tallest mountain in the Karakoram range on the border of China and Pakistan. And it is the second most dangerous mountain in the world, killing every one climber out of four. Climbs are generally attempted in the summer due to the mountain’s severe weather.

This was Mr Meyer’s third attempt, after journeys in 2009 and 2016 were abandoned due to bad weather. Poor conditions also forced him to turn back last week in his attempt to reach the summit of Broad Peak, the 12^th highest mountain in the world and another of the “eight thousanders” — the 14 mountains in the world above 8,000 meters. He came within 150 meters of the top, which he was attempting to reach alone in preparation for his K2 climb.

1. What does the underlined phrase “a weather window” in paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．A piece of equipment for forecasting weather.	B．A window through which people look out.
C．A machine to protect against bad weather.	D．A period of suitable weather conditions.

2. What do we know about K2 according to paragraph 5?

A．The first attempt to climb it was made in 1954.

B．Climbing it is dangerous with a high death rate.

C．It is the most difficult to climb due to its poor weather.

D．None of the attempts to climb it were made in winter.

3. What do we know about Jake Meyer?

A．He spent five days climbing K2.	B．He was the third man to reach the top of K2.
C．He failed twice in his attempt to climb K2.	D．He reached the summit of Broad Peak last week.

4. Where is the text probably taken from?

A．A story collection.	B．A newspaper report.
C．A research paper.	D．A personal diary.

10 . 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。

The Angkor Archeological Park,    1     (lie) in Northwest Cambodia’s Siem Reap province and listed as a World Heritage in 1992, is the most popular tourist destination in the kingdom. It is also home     2     91 ancient temples built between the 9th and the 13th century. Cambodia     3     (have) a significant rise in the number of Chinese holidaymakers to its     4     (fame) park during the past two months in a state-owned Angkor Enterprise’s report, in which     5     total of 235,850 foreigners from 169 countries and regions toured the ancient park, up 50 percent in the same period last year.

Officials hope that the 2024 Cambodia-China Exchange Year would help bring Chinese tourists to Cambodia, especially to the Angkor. “I’m super confident that this year will become a new     6     (rise) force to attract more Chinese tourists,” Tourism Minister Sok Soken addressed at the launching event. He also said China was the fifth     7     (large) source of international tourists to the Angkor after South Korea, the USA, France, and Britain,     8     presence has significantly benefited the kingdom’s tourism development, economic growth and poverty     9     (reduce). He believes that the Chinese-invested Angkor International Airport, which officially launched its commercial operations in November 2023, would help motivate more international     10     (invest) to pump in fresh capital.