1 . Elephant Transit Home
In both Africa and Asia elephants are being threatened by changes in their natural habitats (栖息地). People are moving into the elephants’ habitats and endangering their survival. In the country of Sri Lanka, there is one place where elephants are not only protected but also respected. It is called the Elephant Transit Home (ETH).
Set up in 1995, the ETH aims to protect and nurture baby elephants that are found injured or living without their mothers in the wild. Every year about 30 baby elephants in Sri Lanka need help. As many as possible are brought to the ETH. There they are given food, shelter, and medical care. Most importantly, they are given the chance to be with other elephants and become part of a herd (象群).
A day at the ETH begins early in the morning when the baby elephants are given their first feeding of milk. During the day, each baby will drink an average of 13 gallons of milk. Older elephants are fed mostly coconut leaves and other native plants. Then the elephants are allowed to walk around, eating the grass and forming a herd. The cost of caring for the baby elephants is high. The ETH spends about $125,000 each year on powdered milk for the baby elephants.
At the ETH, workers try to reduce human connection with the elephants. They also try to increase bonds (联系) between the elephants. It usually takes three years for a baby elephant to be set free into its natural habitat. The elephants are sent back to the wild together with other orphans with whom they have bonded. This program helps them return to the wild as members of a herd that will communicate with each other and take care of each other.
The ETH is considered one of the best animal protection sites in the world. Not only are the elephants cared for, they are treated with respect. Most importantly, they go back to live in the wild, where they belong.
1. What does the underlined word “nurture” in Paragraph 2 mean?| A．Set free. | B．Relate to. | C．Focus on. | D．Care for. |
| A．It changes elephants’ habitats for the better. |
| B．It receives about $125,000 each year. |
| C．It helps to keep baby elephants safe. |
| D．It protects 30 elephants every year. |
| A．To study them better in a natural environment. |
| B．To help them make it in the wild as a herd. |
| C．To provide them with more living space. |
| D．To train them to stay away from hunters. |
| A．To introduce an animal protection site. |
| B．To show the ways of wildlife protection. |
| C．To explain the threat baby elephants face. |
| D．To persuade the readers to protect elephants. |
Horses are picky eaters
Horses have an even better sense of smell than humans do. When horses raise their noses and open their nostrils (鼻孔), their nervous system allows them to sense smells we can’t sense. This might explain why they refuse dirty water and carefully move around meadows, eating only the tastiest grasses, experts say.
Whale says thanks
In 2018, a whale expert spotted a humpback whale trapped in a fishing net and spent an hour freeing it. Afterward, in an hour-long display of thanks, the whale swam near their boat and leaped into the air about 40 times.
Pandas like to be naughty
Is there anything more lovely than a baby panda, except maybe a human baby? In fact, baby pandas sometimes behave like human babies. They sleep in the same positions and value their thumbs. Pandas are shy by nature for its shy behaviors such as covering its face with a paw or ducking its head when confronted by a stranger.
A cat honors its owner
Paper towels, and a plastic cup are just a few of the gifts that Toldo, a devoted three-year-old gray-and-white cat, has placed on his former owner Iozzelli Renzo’s grave every day since the man died in September 2018. Renzo adopted Toldo from a shelter when the cat was three months old, and the two formed an inseparable bond. After Renzo passed away, Toldo followed the coffin to the cemetery, and now “stands guard” the grave for hours at a time.
1. What can horses do to pick delicious grasses?| A．Feel them. |
| B．Taste them. |
| C．Smell them. |
| D．Observe them. |
| A．They are clever. |
| B．They have a grateful heart. |
| C．They are active and lovely. |
| D．They have a good sense of smell. |
| A．The whale |
| B．The cat. |
| C．The horse. |
| D．The panda. |
3 . The Amazon rainforest is as undisturbed a place as most people can imagine, but even there, the effects of a changing climate are playing out. Now, research suggests that many of the region’s most sensitive bird species are starting to evolve in response to warming.
Birds are often considered sentinel (哨兵) species — meaning that they indicate the overall health of an ecosystem — so scientists are particularly interested in how they’re responding to climate change. In general, the news has not been good. For instance, a 2019 report by the National Audubon Society found that more than two-thirds of North America’s bird species will be in danger of extinction by 2100 if warming trends continue on their current course.
For the new study, researchers collected the biggest database so far on the Amazon’s resident birds, representing 77 non-migratory species and lasting the 40 years from 1979 to 2019. During the study period, the average temperature in the region rose, while the amount of rainfall declined, making for a hotter, dryer climate overall. According to the report on November 12 in the journal Science Advances, 36 species have lost substantial weight, as much as 2 percent of their body weight per decade since 1980. Meanwhile, all the species showed some decrease in average body mass, while a third grew longer wings.
Because of the study’s long time series and large sample sizes, the authors were able to show the morphological (形态学的) effects of climate change on resident birds. However, the researchers themselves are unsure and wonder what advantage the wing length changes give the birds, but suppose smaller birds may have an easier time keeping cool. In general, smaller animals have a larger rate of surface area to body size, so they dissipate more heat faster than a bigger animal. Less available food, such as fruit or insects, in dryer weather might lead to smaller body size.
1. Why are scientists fond of doing research on birds?| A．They have small body sizes. | B．They are sensitive to hot weather. |
| C．They are ecological balance indicators. | D．They live in an undisturbed rainforest. |
| A．Two-thirds of species showed a considerable decrease in weight. |
| B．About 26 species responded to climate change with longer wings. |
| C．36 species lost 2% of their body weight every year from 1979 to 2019. |
| D．A third of species have been extinct for a decade due to the hotter climate. |
| A．Put off. | B．Give off. | C．Put away. | D．Give away. |
| A．Why it is easier for smaller animals to keep cool. |
| B．Why the Amazonian birds have lost substantial weight. |
| C．Whether bird species in Amazon will be extinct in 2100. |
| D．What effects the wing length changes have on birds. |
4 . Bertie knew there was something in the wind. His mother had been sad in recent days, not sick, just strangely sad. The lion had just lain down beside him, his head warm on Bertie’s feet, when Father cleared his throat and began, “You’ll soon be eight, Bertie. A boy needs a proper education. We’ve found the right place for you, a school near Salisbury in England.”
His heart filled with a terrible fear, all Bertie could think of was his white lion. “But the lion,” he cried, “What about the lion?”
“I’m afraid there’s something else I have to tell you,” his father said. Looking across at Bertie’s mother, he took a deep breath. Then he told Bertie he had met a circus owner from France, who was over in Africa looking for lions to buy. He would come to their farm in a few days.
“No! You can’t send him to a circus!” said Bertie. “He’ll be shut up behind bars. I promised him he never would be. And they will come to see him and laugh at him. He’d rather die. Any animal would!” But as he looked across the table at them, he knew their minds were quite made up.
Bertie felt completely betrayed. He waited until he heard his father’s deep breathing next door. With his white lion at his heels, he crept downstairs in his pyjamas, took down his father’s rifle from the rack and stepped out into the night. He ran and ran till his legs could run no more. As the sun came up over the grassland, he climbed to the top of a hill and sat down, his arms round the lion’s neck. The time had come. “Be wild now,” he whispered. “You’ve got to be wild. Don’t ever come home. All my life I’ll think of you, I promise I will.” He buried his head in the lion’s neck. Then, Bertie clambered down off the hill and walked away.
When he looked back, the lion was still sitting there watching him; but then he stood up, yawned, stretched, and sprang down after him. Bertie shouted at him, but he kept coming. He threw sticks. He threw stones. Nothing worked.
There was only one thing left to do. Tears filling his eyes and his mouth, he lifted the rifle to his shoulder and fired over the lion’s head.
1. Bertie’s mother was sad probably because she________.| A．had lied about her good health condition | B．had decided to send Bertie to a new school |
| C．knew selling the lion would upset Bertie | D．knew Bertie would hate to go to England |
| A．some audience | B．other animals | C．Bertie’s friends | D．circus’s owners |
| A．kill the lion out of helplessness | B．protect himself from being chased |
| C．threaten the lion back to the wild | D．show his anger towards his father |
| A．circuses are the last places for animals to live |
| B．animals belonging to the wild should be set free |
| C．parents are sometimes cruel to their children |
| D．people and animals can be faithful to each other |
5 . Urban Wildlife
Cities are diverse ecosystems. In addition to visitors, a large number of species share our urban areas. As our cities spread, we need to think about what it is like for other species to have human neighbors.
Cities are built for humans.
There are also structures built with the aim of bringing wildlife into the city. The Olympic Forest Park in Beijing is a good example. The park used native plants, and created open and natural spaces for wildlife. The result is a zone in Beijing with over 160 species of birds. In many ways, the park is the opposite of a zoo.
If we learn to share our space, we can become better neighbors of the wildlife around us.
| A．They are built to protect birds. |
| B．Our actions sometimes help other species. |
| C．If we do not, more species will become extinct. |
| D．They do not always provide suitable habitats for wildlife. |
| E．Instead of being kept in cages, wildlife can move more freely. |
| F．At first, people were afraid of the bats and tried to get rid of them. |
| G．They would sit on it and their droppings would fall into the water. |
Can a sixth extinction be avoided?
7 . Amsterdam is one of the most popular travel destinations in the world, famous for its beautiful canals, top art museums, cycling culture and so on. It is the capital city of the Netherlands and often referred to as the “Venice of the North” because of its expansive system of bridges and canals. Here are some of the key points to remember as you plan your trip to Amsterdam.
Must-See Attractions
Most visitors begin their Amsterdam adventure in the Old Centre, which is full of traditional architecture, shopping centers, and coffee shops. You’ll also want to check out Amsterdam’s Museum Quarter in the South District, which is great for shopping at the Albert Cuyp Market and having a picnic in the Vondelpark. The top museums to visit there are the Rijksmusuem, the Ann Frank House, and the Van Gogh Museum.
If You Have Time
There are several other unique districts in Amsterdam, and you should try to explore as many of them as time allows. The Canal Ring is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that was originally built to attract wealthy home owners and is a center for celebrity spotting and nightlife today. The Plantage area has most of the city’s museums and the botanical gardens.
Money Saving Tips
●Unless you really want to see the tulips(郁金香) blooming, avoid booking between mid-March and mid-May. This is when hotel and flight prices rise.
●Look for accommodations in Amsterdam’s South District, where rates are generally cheaper than in the city center.
●Buy train tickets at the machine instead of the counter to save a bit of money.
●Instead of hiring a tour guide, hop on a canal boat. They’re inexpensive and will give you a unique point of view of the city.
Check out our homepage to view price comparisons for flights, hotels, and rental cars before you book.
1. What can be learned about Amsterdam from this passage?| A．The Van Gogh Museum lies in the South District. |
| B．The Canal Ring is a place to attract garden lovers. |
| C．The Old Centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. |
| D．Amsterdam is called the “Venice of the North” because of its location. |
| A．arrange a guided tour | B．buy train tickets at the counter |
| C．reserve a hotel in the South District | D．book flights between mid-March and mid-May |
| A．A magazine. | B．An essay. | C．A report. | D．A website. |
March 22nd is World Water Day. It started in 1993. It not only makes us think about the importance of water, but also calls
Wastewater has a big influence on our life. It causes both illness for us, and pollution for the environment. We muse care about our environment and our own health.
Different kinds of wastewater need different ways of treatment. Wastewater from homes can be reused. Then there will be less wastewater. Also, factory wastewater has to be cleaned
9 . Antarctica is known for being a vast land of ice and snow, a place too cold for most life. Despite this, the continent is slowly starting to turn warm. According to the Guardian, the Antarctic has registered (登记) a new high temperature for the first time on record, prompting fears of climate instability in the world’s iciest place.
On Feb 9, Brazilian researchers at Seymour Island reported a temperature of 20. 75 C on the icy continent of Antarctica. It was almost a full degree higher than the previous record of 19. 8 C, taken on Signy Island in January 1982.
This record-breaking reading was taken at a monitoring station in the northern part of Antarctica. According to Brazilian soil scientist Carlos Schaefer, the temperature was documented during a 20-year-long research project. The focus of this project is to study the effect that climate change has on the permafrost (永久冻土) within the region. Permafrost is soil that stays frozen for at least two years. Although this is a record high for Antarctica, Schaefer stressed that “We can’t use this to anticipate climatic changes in the future. It’s simply a signal that something different is happening in that area. ”
But in fact, the last high temperature reading was in the 19 C range. These higher temperatures can cause ice and glaciers (冰川) in Antarctic regions to melt. The Antarctic peninsula (半岛)—the long finger of land that stretches toward Argentina—is most dramatically affected. Scientists saw glaciers that have retreated by more than 100 meters in Discovery Bay where the snow melted in little more than a week, leaving dark exposed rock. This melted ice leads to a rise in sea levels that can threaten the safety of coastal areas. It’s believed to be behind an alarming decline of more than 50 percent in chinstrap penguin (帽带企鹅) colonies, which are dependent on sea ice.
Like American writer Ernest Hemingway once said, “The Earth is a fine place and worth fighting for. ” We should do everything we can to help save our planet. Otherwise, it may become too hot for us to fix.
1. What did Brazilian researchers report on Feb 9?| A．Signy Island is the warmest region in the Antarctic. |
| B．Antarctica hit a record high temperature of 20. 75 C. |
| C．The average temperature of Antarctica ranges from 19. 8 C to 20. 75 C. |
| D．Antarctica’s new record temperature is a full degree higher than the previous decade. |
| A．To predict possible climatic change in the future. |
| B．To monitor Antarctica’s contributions to world climate change. |
| C．To explain why the permafrost may cause glaciers to melt. |
| D．To examine how the permafrost is influenced by climate change. |
| A．Moved backward. |
| B．Increased in size. |
| C．Covered a certain area. |
| D．Proceeded in an opposite direction. |
| A．the pollution of ocean water |
| B．the release of various viruses |
| C．threats to penguin habitats |
| D．disappearances of coastal cities |
Looking for a fun Earth Day activity? You may want to try plogging------picking up litter while jogging. Strange as it may sound, the new “sport” is becoming popular with runners worldwide, many of whom are posting photos of images holding bags of trash on social media.
Derived from（起源于）the word jogging and “plocka upp”, the Swedish phrase for pick up, plogging is the idea of Erik Alstrom. In 2016, after moving to Stockholm from northern Sweden, Alstrom was shocked by the amount of rubbish there, so he began incorporating（将…包括在内）picking up rubbish into his daily runs.
Other joggers soon joined Alstrom, and by the end of 2016, plogging had appeared all across Sweden. As plogging became popular on social media, the new “sport” began to spread beyond Sweden, first to other European countries and then worldwide.
The official online “Plogga” group now includes members from over 40 countries. Many school running clubs are also getting in on the action, posting photographs of themselves after going plogging together, or staging competitions that reward the runners with the heaviest trash bags.
As it turns out, plogging is not only good for the environment but also for people’s health. According to Swedish fitness app Lifesun, an average person burns about 288 calories while plogging for half an hour. This is about 50 calories more than he/she would burn when just jogging. Additionally, lowering the body to pick up litter increases the plogger’s flexibility, while carrying around the increasingly heavy garbage bags helps strengthen his/her arm muscles.
This Earth Day, be sure to put on your running shoes, take a trash bag or two, and go plogging. Or better still, start a plogging team at school, or around your neighborhood, and make every day Earth Day!
1. What is plogging?(不多于5个单词)2. Why did Alstrom have the idea of plogging after moving to Stockholm?（不多于10个单词）
3. When had plogging appeared all across Sweden?（不多于5个单词）
4. What is plogging good for?（不多于5个单词）
