1 . In 2004, Pen Hadow became the first person to trek (跋涉) to the North Pole alone, without being resupplied on the way. That meant swimming through cold waters, and risking meeting polar bears. Just eight months later, he made a similar trip to the South Pole. Now he is back in the Arctic again, preparing for a more ambitious expedition (远征). This time, however, more significance is attached. Pen and two colleagues will set out on a three-month, 1000-kilometre trek to the North Pole, taking detailed measurements of the thickness and density of the ice. Nobody has ever done this before, and he knows the results will be of vital significance to the scientific community. This will be the truest picture so far of what global warming is doing to the ice that covers the polar region.
Pen and his wife, Mary, live in the country with their two children. “It’s much harder to be away from them this time,” he admits. They were one and five when I last went, and I made a mistake in the way I said goodbye. I thought it would be a good idea to say to my son, “You’re the man of the house now, look after your mum and your sister.” He absolutely took it to heart, asking his mum how she was all the time, but the stress eventually became too much. While it was well intentioned, it was an unfair thing to do.
He is spending these last days before departure preparing his things. With him will be Ann Daniels, one of the world’s leading polar explorers, and the photographer, Martin Hartley. They will be supported by a crew of six, flying in supplies. Being part of a team is actually more stressful to someone like him. Besides, something else is on his mind too. “I’m going to be 47 on Thursday. I’ve done far less training.” Why? “Organizational things always seem more urgent. So I’m almost fearful of what I’m going to ask of myself.”
Pen believes his mission reconnects exploration with the search for knowledge that drove previous generations into the unknown. “Making it to the North Pole was a personal ambition and of limited value to anyone beyond the polar adventuring community. This time, scientists will profit from the data, and we’re creating a platform to expose as many people as possible to what’s happening in the Arctic Ocean. This is important work, and nobody can do it but us,” he says. “Our skills, which are otherwise not that necessary, have become really relevant. Suddenly, we’re socially useful again.”
1. What can we learn about Pen Hadow’s opinion of the new expedition in paragraph 1?A.He is aware of its huge importance. |
B.He feels certain that it will be stressful. |
C.He thinks it similar to his previous journeys. |
D.He is confident with the help of a regional picture. |
A.He started to feel unwell. |
B.He memorized his father’s words. |
C.He was afraid of the responsibility. |
D.He carried out his father’s words carefully. |
A.Whether he will be mentally prepared. |
B.Whether supplies will be enough in time. |
C.Whether he will still be fit enough to take part. |
D.Whether the arrangements will turn out well. |
A.uncertain if it will collect information |
B.doubtful about its long-term usefulness |
C.proud that they can contribute to scientific research |
D.relieved that the general public will be more supportive |
For those looking to escape the concrete jungle, maybe it’s time to dive into the bamboo forests of southern Sichuan.
A natural forest that people in Sichuan province tend
Known as one of the country’s 10 most beautiful forests, it
Two years later, the bamboo forest received world-wide
The Bamboo Sea covers Changning and Jiang’an, two counties
3 . I stared out the window,
I made myself dinner, which wasn’t anything
Arthur stayed by my side a majority of the time. My friend called him ‘mama’s boy’ or something silly like that. I didn’t
A.enjoying | B.cursing | C.monitoring | D.envying |
A.depression | B.surprise | C.alarm | D.tiredness |
A.dramatic | B.fancy | C.solid | D.justified |
A.called | B.made | C.put | D.took |
A.handled | B.drilled | C.fixed | D.grabbed |
A.committed | B.outgoing | C.innocent | D.dangerous |
A.glare | B.laugh | C.smile | D.shout |
A.blouse | B.fire | C.friend | D.towel |
A.fighting | B.interfering | C.sticking | D.combining |
A.part | B.number | C.sort | D.bit |
A.engaging | B.stuffing | C.digesting | D.loading |
A.possible | B.accessible | C.appropriate | D.essential |
A.forgive | B.demand | C.mind | D.accept |
A.time | B.opportunity | C.access | D.gift |
A.sincerely | B.elegantly | C.practically | D.distinctly |
4 . In late spring and early summer each year, tens of millions of butterflies come out of their chrysalises (蚕蛹) in the butterfly valley in southwest China’s Yunnan province. For butterfly expert Yang Zhenwen, it is the busiest time of the year, but he greets it with great enthusiasm.
Before the break of dawn, Yang has already arrived at the observation point, busily tending to the needs of the awakening butterflies. “Due to warmer temperatures, the ‘butterfly explosion’ this year occurred slightly earlier than usual, and the size of the butterflies is larger than that in previous years,” said 46-year-old Yang, curator (馆长) of the butterfly valley museum. “We expect that there will be about 80 million to 100 million butterflies in the valley during this year’s ‘butterfly explosion’. That seems so crazy,” said Yang. According to Yang, in the valley, more than 320 butterfly species have been identified in specimens or photographs, including the rarest, most primitive, largest and smallest butterflies in China.
Besides Yang, many local villages have also assumed the role of butterfly guardians. However, the journey toward achieving human-butterfly harmony was far from easy. Some two decades ago, the villagers had little awareness of butterfly protection, believing wrongly that butterflies could endanger their food crops. They viewed them as pests that should be removed.
In 1998, Yang began his journey at the agricultural science station in Ma’an’di Township, the very place where the butterfly valley lies. “It was there that I got into a frequent dilemma— the local villagers, seeking to protect their crops, would often turn to pesticides to kill the butterflies,” he said. “However, my sincere love for these creatures forced me to prevent them from harming the delicate insects.”
Now, the development of ecotourism relying on butterfly resources has successfully changed the once extremely poor township. More villagers have started reproducing butterflies. He describes the butterfly valley as a “dream-making machine”, which extends the “butterfly dream” of harmonious coexistence between humans and nature.
1. What made Yang’s aim to reach human-butterfly harmony hard in the beginning?A.Warm temperatures in local villages. | B.The number and size of the butterflies. |
C.Improper location of the butterfly valley. | D.Lack of awareness of butterfly protection. |
A.A choice difficult to make. | B.A fact easy to understand. |
C.A duty hard to carry out. | D.A situation smooth to deal with. |
A.Honest and professional. | B.Humorous and creative. |
C.Hard-working and strong-willed. | D.Generous and easy-going. |
A.Changing the Poor State of a Town | B.Volunteering as a Butterfly Guardian |
C.Helping Butterflies Spread Their Wings | D.Developing a Relationship with the Locals |
5 . Emmanuel Mendoza, a college student, is currently running a study at Texas A&M University, where he’s mixing simulated (模拟的)Martian (火星的) soil and frass(粪便)from fly larvae(幼虫)to find just the right recipe for growing plants on Mars.
The seed of this idea was planted when Mendoza was in middle school, watching Ridley Scott’s 2015 film The Martian, in which Mark Watney becomes stuck on the planet and grows potatoes to survive. “That got me really interested in what nutrients or what soil structure Martian soil has that we could potentially take advantage of, ”Mendoza said.
Now, he’s running an experiment growing English peas in simulated Martian soil. “I definitely considered potatoes like Mark Watney, ”he said. “But the fact was that I couldn’t necessarily get the data I wanted out of them. ”
He wanted to be able to measure plant growth as it occurred throughout his experiment. Since potatoes grow underground, he’d only be able to collect data once they were done growing. In the end, Mendoza chose to grow English peas because they’re self-pollinating(自花传粉), grow fairly quickly and he can see the shoots climb.
Martian soil, though it does contain other essential nutrients, isn’t exactly ideal for plants from Earth. It tends to be rocky and lacks the right organic (有机 的)matter. Here’s where the larvae come in. Mendoza turned to the larvae of black soldier flies, which produce a waste known as frass. “They can break down almost any biomatter and turn it into really useful matter, “Mendoza said. “And then you can use the frass as a nutrient alternative to soil.”
For this experiment, Mendoza mixed different percentages of simulated Martian soil and frass to see what best supported growing English pea plants. Now, he said he’s seeing growth across all his plants—even the ones growing in 100%simulated Martian soil.
1. Why does the author mention the film The Martian?A.To show Mendoza’s enthusiasm for films. |
B.To illustrate Mark Watney’s intelligence. |
C.To prove Mark Watney’s interest in gardening. |
D.To introduce the origin of Mendoza’s experiment. |
A.He was unwilling to repeat others’ study. |
B.English peas grew far faster than potatoes . |
C.Potatoes needed stricter living conditions. |
D.It was more convenient to collect the data. |
A.It serves as certain essential nutrients. |
B.It loosens the soil for plants to grow. |
C.It makes the soil become quite rocky. |
D.It helps black soldier flies grow stronger. |
A.Doubtful. | B.Pleased. | C.Intolerant. | D.Disappointed. |
6 . My parents have a boxer dog called Boris which is as badly behaved as his name might suggest. He is known to
Even my mother might
The sofas and chairs in their sitting room are covered in books-not because my parents love to read, but in an attempt to
The story between my parents and Boris is repeated across our community. Usually, our gang of dogs gathered almost daily,
I have met so many people whose daily
A.get up | B.come up | C.put up | D.sit up |
A.love | B.food | C.service | D.massage |
A.plates | B.meals | C.meats | D.vegetables |
A.complain | B.worry | C.explain | D.conclude |
A.greedy | B.naughty | C.lovely | D.proud |
A.observe | B.prevent | C.notice | D.keep |
A.Fortunately | B.Naturally | C.Incredibly | D.Consequently |
A.deliver | B.rearrange | C.carry | D.equip |
A.as | B.or | C.nor | D.also |
A.provided | B.supported | C.united | D.surrounded |
A.barrier | B.bond | C.border | D.belief |
A.gone | B.grown | C.slept | D.cloned |
A.run | B.housework | C.dialogues | D.walks |
A.difficulties | B.loneliness | C.relationships | D.troubles |
A.body | B.diseases | C.soul | D.sufferings |
7 . There are a lot of chemicals that can cause indoor air pollution. A recent project conducted has found over 900 different substances in our home are related to it. Many researchers have already examined the causes of indoor air pollution.
It has been proved that different kinds of chemicals can be released by building materials and new furniture. Everything from painting and decorating products, bathroom cleaners and beauty products can contain these chemicals.
As a research from Denmark has highlighted, cooking, particularly roasting can damage our body. Roast dinners contain many potentially harmful pollutants.
As far as cooking emissions are concerned, no one is suggesting switching to takeaways.
A.In the long run, these changes lead to cancer. |
B.They might also arise from cooking at home. |
C.A wide range of sources are under investigation. |
D.Therefore, what results from indoor air pollution? |
E.However, most of us have ignored their bad effects. |
F.So, what are the main contributors to poor air quality? |
G.But we can change how we cook to deal with the emissions. |
8 . The song of the Florida grasshopper sparrow is unusual and surprisingly insect-like. But it almost fell silent forever. In 2012, Joel Sartore, the founder of National Geographic Explorer and Photo Ark received a call from the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service: The songbird, an important ecological link in Florida’s dry grassland, was on the edge of extinction. With only a few dozen males showing up in counts, it was among North America’s most endangered bird species.
Sartore flew to Florida to photograph the bird and work with conservationists to raise awareness of the species’ difficult situation. The story appeared in outlets, such as newspapers, magazines and even the Internet, helping boost government funding for a breeding program. Thanks to these steps, there are now as many as 180 adults in the wild and researchers are working hard to bring the species back from the brink of extinction.
Like other examples of species survival, the push to save the sparrow is “a remarkable story of belief and cooperation,” says Sartore. It also shows what it takes to protect an endangered species: research, narratives, partnerships, resources and time. This journey shows the society’s mission to illustrate and protect the wonder of the world. Over the past 136 years, we’ve developed a unique Explorer-led model, combining science, exploration, education, and storytelling to drive impact. We support Explorer in more than 140 countries, including Sartore and others whose work appears in this issue: biologist André Green II, photographer Lynsey Addario and education advocate Ara Kusuma.
Sartore has been creating an “ark” of animal photos for 17 years. Portraits of more than 15, 000 species invite audiences to connect and care. With the society’s support, the images have appeared on landmarks and U. S. postage stamps, prompting on—the—ground conservation efforts such as an initiative of National Geographic Explorer and Photo Ark.
As Sartore says, “The sounds of birds are the sounds of a healthy planet. When we save a bird or another species, we’re actually saving ourselves.”
1. How does the author introduce the topic?A.By clarifying a concept. | B.By offering an example. |
C.By giving an explanation. | D.By quoting a remark. |
A.Stores. | B.Media. | C.Exits. | D.Books |
A.A funding program from the government. |
B.An ark of animal photos in the magazine. |
C.A unique initiative for species protection. |
D.A joint effort from different professionals. |
A.The urgency of species’ protection. |
B.The promotion of cooperative methods. |
C.The importance of coexistence. |
D.The situation of human survival. |
9 . Most people don’t know much about electric eels (鳗鱼), except that they produce electricity. Although not endangered, electric eels only live in one small region of the world and are hard to keep in captivity (圈养), so most people have never seen one.
The most important fact to know about electric eels is that they are not actually eels. Although it has a long body like an eel, the electric eel is actually a type of knifefish. Scientists have been confused about it for many years. The electric eel was first described by Linnaeus in 1766. At present, the electric eel is the only species in its family. It is only found in muddy, shallow waters surrounding the Amazon and Orinoco rivers in South America.
An electric eel living in water, needs to rise to the surface and breathe about once every ten minutes. In the wild, electric eels live about 15 years. In captivity by human being, they may live 22 years.
An electric eel has three organs in its belly that produce electricity. Together, the organs make up four-fifths of an eel’s body, allowing it to deliver low voltage or high voltage or use electricity for electrolocation. In other words, only 20 percent of an eel is devoted to its vital organs.
A shock from an electric eel is like the brief and sudden hit from an electric stick. Normally, the shock can’t kill a person. However, the eels can cause heart or respiratory failure from multiple shocks or in persons with underlying heart disease. More often, deaths from electric eels shocks occur when the sudden hit knocks a person in the water and they drown. Eel bodies are insulated, so they don’t normally shock themselves. However, if an eel is injured, the wound can make the eel vulnerable to electricity.
1. What can we learn about electric eels according to the passage?A.They are close to getting extinct. | B.They are used to living in clear rivers. |
C.They can breathe once every ten minutes. | D.They can possibly be raised in captivity. |
A.The living area. | B.The origin of the name. |
C.The shape of their body. | D.The reason for producing electricity. |
A.High voltage can shock an electric eel itself to death. |
B.Three organs in an electric eel’s belly produce electricity. |
C.Three organs in the belly can produce different voltages separately. |
D.Shocks from an electric eel may be a contributing cause of a person’s death. |
A.A website about biology. | B.A paper about endangered species. |
C.A science fiction about animals. | D.An engineering course about electricity. |
10 . This summer we witnessed interview teams at the North Pole wearing short sleeve shirts due to the warm weather. A study published on Aug 29 revealed more concerning issues in the supposedly coldest area of the world. Zombie ice from a massive Greenland ice sheet was confirmed to be melting, which would eventually raise global sea levels by at least 10 inches (27 centimeters) on its own, reported Associated Press (AP).
Zombie ice is the kind of ice that is still attached to thicker areas of ice but is no longer getting fed by larger glaciers. Since glaciers are getting less snow to make up for the amount of ice melted, once the zombie ice is melted, it cannot be re-formed.
Scientists decided to look at the balance of the ice. In perfect equilibrium (平衡), snow in the mountains of Greenland flows down and thickens the sides of glaciers, balancing out what’s melting on the edges, according to AP. But in the last few decades, there is less refill and more melting, creating an imbalance.
Study co-author William Colgan at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland told AP that 3.3 percent of Greenland’s total ice volume will melt eventually. “Starying would be a good phrase” for what’s happening to the ice, Colgan added.
With a great number of natural resources buried under the earth, areas of melted ice revealed treasures that attracted the world’s richest men. According to CNN, in early August, there was a “treasure hunt” in Greenland. Billionaires, including Bill Gates and others, financially backed KoBold Metals, a US-based mineral exploration company, to explore the rare metals under the glaciers in Greenland. The company told CNN that since there were enough minerals to power hundreds of millions of electric vehicles, the critical resource is capable of powering the green energy transition.
While investors are taking advantage of global warming, experts express their concerns that the mineral exploration is likely to worsen the local environment, running out of the world’s resources at a faster rate.
1. What do we know about zombie ice?A.It’s made up by nearby glaciers. | B.It’s independent from large glaciers. |
C.It will melt away from the ice cap. | D.It has increased sea levels by 10 inches. |
A.Why more zombie ice can’t be created. | B.How zombie ice was formed in the past. |
C.What the melting of zombie ice can lead to. | D.How zombie ice functions in the ecosystem. |
A.The ice has brought about starvation. | B.The ice is refilled more than before. |
C.The ice is becoming gradually thinner. | D.The ice has been good to skate on. |
A.To explain a natural phenomenon. | B.To comment on the “treasure hunt”. |
C.To call for environmental protection | D.To report on the melting zombie ice. |