1 . Conservationists go to war over whether humans are the measure of nature’s value. New Conservationists argue such trade-offs are necessary in this human dominated era. And they support “re-wilding”, a concept originally proposed by Soule where people reduce economic growth and withdraw from landscapes, which then return to nature.

New Conservationists believe the withdrawal could happen together with economic growth. The California-based Breakthrough Institute believes in a future where most people live in cities and rely less on natural resources for economic growth.

They would get food from industrial agriculture, including genetically modified foods, desalination intensified meat production and aquaculture (水产养殖), all of which have a smaller land footprint. And they would get their energy from renewables and natural gas.

Driving these profound shifts would be greater efficiency of production, where more products could be manufactured from fewer inputs. And some unsustainable commodities would be replaced in the market by other, greener ones-natural gas for coal, for instance, explained Michael Heisenberg., president of the Breakthrough Institute. Nature would, in essence, be decoupled from the economy.

And then he added a warning: “We are not suggesting decoupling as the pattern to save the world, or that it solves all the problems.”

Cynics (悲观者) may say all this sounds too utopian, but Breakthrough maintains the world is already on this path toward decoupling. Nowhere is this more evident than in the United Sates, according to Iddo Wernick, a research scholar at the Rockefeller University, who has examined the nation’s use of 100 main commodities.

Wernick and his colleagues looked at data carefully from the U.S. Geological Survey National Minerals Information Center, which keeps a record of commodities used from 1900 through the present day. They found that the use of 36 commodities (sand, iron ore, cotton etc.) in the U. S. Economy had peaked.

Another 53 commodities (nitrogen, timber, beef, etc.) are being used more efficiently per dollar value of gross domestic product than in the pre-1970s era. Their use would peak soon, Wernick said.

Only 11 commodities (industrial diamond, indium, chicken, etc.) are increasing in use (Greenwire, Nov. 6), and most of these are employed by industries in small quantities to improve systems processes. Chicken use is rising because people are eating less beef, a desirable development since poultry cultivation has a smaller environmental footprint.

The numbers show the United States has not intensified resource consumption since the 1970s even while increasing its GDP and population, said Jesse Ausubel of the Rockefeller University.

“It seems like the 20th-century expectation we had, we were always assuming the future involved greater consumption of resources,” Ausubel said. “But what we are seeing in the developed countries is, of course, peaks.”

1. What does the underlined word “trade-offs” refer to in the first paragraph?

A．The difficult situation of economies growth.

B．The profitability of import and export trade.

C．The balance between human development and natural ecology.

D．The consumption of natural resources by industrial development.

2. Which of the following is true of the views of the new environmentalists?

A．They believe that mankind should limit economic growth.

B．They believe that mankind is the master of the whole universe.

C．They believe that mankind should live in forests with rich vegetation.

D．They believe that mankind will need more natural resources in the future.

3. What can we infer from the last paragraph of the passage?

A．Natural resources cannot support economic development.

B．All resource consumption in developed countries has reached a peak.

C．More resource consumption will not occur in a certain period of time.

D．Excessive resource consumption will not affect the ecological environment.

4. What is the passage mainly about?

A．Urbanization and re-wildness.

B．Human existence and industrial development.

C．Commodity trading and raw material development.

D．Socioeconomic development and resource consumption.

2 . An exhibition of vivid photographs and a restored documentary give fresh insight into the Antarctic explorer, who died a century ago.

One hundred years ago, the leader of the last great expedition of the heroic age of polar exploration died from a heart attack as his ship, Quest, headed for Antarctica. The announcement of the death of Ernest Shackleton on 30 January 1922 was greeted with an outpouring of national grief.

This was the man, after all, who had saved the entire crew of his ship Endurance — which had been crushed and sunk by ice in 1915 — by making a daring trip in a tiny open boat over 750 miles of polar sea to raise the alarm at a whaling station in South Georgia.

It remains one of the greatest rescue stories of modern history and led to the idolising of Shackleton in the United Kingdom, a reputation that survived undamaged for the rest of the century. As his contemporary Raymond Priestley, the geologist and Antarctic explorer, later put it: “When disaster strikes and all hope is gone, get down on your knees and pray for Shackleton.”

And here and now in 2022, his death is being marked with an elaborately illustrated exhibition — Shackleton’s legacy and the power of early Antarctic photography — which opens at the Royal Geographical Society (RGS), and which includes a range of images and artefacts from his expeditions. Additionally, a digitally remade version of South, a documentary film of Shackleton’s 1914-16 Endurance expedition, is being screened at the British Film Institute.

The film and most of the exhibition’s finest images are the handiwork of Frank Hurley, who sailed with Shackleton and who was one of the 20th century’s greatest photographers and film-makers. Both film and exhibition feature striking camera work and provide vivid accounts of the hardships that Shackleton and his men endured as they headed off to explore Antarctica.

Even after he survived the great expedition, he still longed for another trip to Antarctica, and after long negotiations set sail in Quest, from England, with the aim of circumnavigating (环航) Antarctica, Shackleton was by now very ill and had suffered at least one heart attack. On 2 January 1922, he wrote in his diary: “I grow old and tired but must always lead on.” Three days later he had a major heart attack and died a few hours later. He is buried on South Georgia, scene of his greatest triumph.

“Shackleton was an inspirational leader. He had an innate sense of what was possible and achievable. He also had a huge personality but led by example. At the same time, he was sensitive to the needs of the individuals he was leading. For example, after Endurance broke up, his men had lost their protection and shelter. Their social fabric had been destroyed. There would have been disagreement. Yet Shackleton succeeded in keeping them together and made sure they survived.”

1. People were overcome with grief when Ernest Shackleton died because          .

A．it was a huge pity that such a brave explorer should have died from a heart attack

B．he was the man that wrote about one of the greatest rescue stories of modern history

C．he came to his entire crew’s rescue and symbolised hope in extreme circumstances

D．there was no one to pray to anymore when disaster came and there was no hope

2. What can we learn about the exhibition?

A．It presents Shackleton’s 1914-16 Endurance expedition with powerful Antarctic photos.

B．It celebrates the 100th anniversary of the great explorer Ernest Shackleton’s birth.

C．It consists of vivid photographs, artefacts, and documentaries of Ernest Shackleton.

D．It is created by Frank Hurley, who witnessed Shackleton’s heroic acts with his own eyes.

3. Which of the following is NOT true about Ernest Shackleton according to the passage?

A．He was the leader of a heroic exploration to the South pole, who died from a heart attack off shore.

B．He saved the crew members of the sunken Endurance by travelling to raise the alarm in a tiny boat.

C．He is universally recognised as the greatest Antarctic explorer who has enjoyed enduring fame.

D．He was inspirational, practical, responsible, sensitive towards his men, but had a strong character.

4. What does “Their social fabric had been destroyed. ” in the last paragraph most probably mean?

A．What they wore would not be accepted by others upon returning.

B．They could no longer socialise with others even if they went back.

C．The ship could not keep them together even if they survived.

D．They could not function socially as they had when there was shelter.

3 . Directions: After reading the passages below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

Parental Instincts

Last year in early summer, I was walking up the hill to my house in suburban Brisbane when I saw two birds, each about 6 centimeters tall, standing in my driveway. They didn’t seem to notice me     1     I was right in front of them and then they immediately scattered into the nearby bushes.

I was quite excited by the idea of two special birds     2    (make) a nest in my front yard, although I didn’t really expect them to as wild birds don’t usually nest so close.

A few weeks later, the birds reappeared. I found them crouching beside a tree off to the side of my driveway. As I approached them, I imagined that they’d run away like they did last time, but instead they     3    (stick) out their heads and made a threatening croaking sound     4     came from deep inside their throats.

I did some research and found that the birds are burhinus grallarius(长尾石鸻). I still didn’t know    5    they were croaking at me until a short time later I made an amazing discovery: they     6    (lay) two eggs which hatched into two small birds racing around now.

As I crept towards the birds, careful not to make any sudden movement, they started their croaking again,     7    (stretch) their necks forwards so they seemed longer and more threatening.

I was watching them in awe when I suddenly tripped and fell to the ground. The birds took this     8     a threat and the father raced towards me, spreading his wings to shield the mother and the chicks while making     9     appear larger.

I was sorry     10    (scare) them and left quickly.

I am amazed by their bold actions. Their parental instincts kicked in and made them so courageous. It is hard not to be awed by nature.

4 .

1. According to the poster above, which groups of items will be the best for the Pearson family (father with chronic disease, mother, a 10-month-old infant, and a pet dog) to pack into their limited-size emergency supplies kit besides necessities such as food, water and clothes?

A．passport, paper cups, whistle, rain gear, flashlights

B．formula, blanket, medication, diapers, pet food

C．pet food, cottont-shirt, plastic sheeting, books

D．medication, bank account records, diaper, can opener, formula

2. According to the poster, why is it advisable for children to have a personal pack?

A．To provide more appropriate protection.

B．To create a sense of security and familiarity.

C．To make them feel more physically comfortable.

D．To simulate a seemingly school-like environment.

3. Which is TRUE about suggestions given in the poster?

A．Families should adjust the contents of the emergency supplies kit every other year based on needs.

B．There are no specific items in the poster that address the needs in different natural disasters.

C．All of the supplies in the emergency kit should not be stored in waterproof and portable containers.

D．Children should not be allowed to include their favorites books and stuffed animals in the kit.

5 . AI-based Conservation Efforts

When an endangered seabird hits a power line, it makes a sound “very much like the laser sound from Star Wars,” says conservation (野生动物保护) biologist Marc Travers. He should _________ as his team from the Endangered Seabird Recovery Project recorded thousands of hours of audio to determine if power lines affected local seabirds. Travers was trying to help establish how _________ birds were killed by power lines on the island of Kauai in Hawaii in 2011.

His team recorded 600 hours of audio and sent the recordings to Conservation Metrics, a company that assists conservation efforts with AI resources. Conservation Metrics used a program to “listen” to the recordings and _________ the sounds that signified bird electrocutions (触电身亡) . The result was _________, as the number of bird electrocutions was in the thousands. Armed with _________ that power lines were killing a significant number of birds, the team worked with the local utility service to reduce bird deaths.

_________, humans have been poor guardians of the planet. Humans have altered as much as 97 percent of land ecosystems. Key populations of _________ animals have dropped as much as 68 percent since 1970. The _________ in biodiversity around the world has created a depressing situation. Conservation efforts _________ key resources they need to have real impacts.

__________, humans now have AI-based tools that can help. AI can quickly and accurately __________ large amounts of data created by observations in the field. Then other programs such as PAWS (Protection Assistant for Wildlife Security) can help analyze the data and suggest the most __________ ways to focus conservation efforts.

In large national parks and wildlife reserves, poachers (偷猎者) are a danger for animals both big and small. Some animals are worth a lot of money on the black market. Park guards are left with an impossible task because there is too much land to __________. But the PAWS program allows guards to focus their efforts. PAWS has even predicted the __________ of traps in areas not yet patrolled (巡逻) by rangers!

We still face many challenges to __________ the loss of wildlife, but AI-powered programs promise to be a powerful conservation tool.

1.

A．assume

B．know

C．hope

D．lead

2.

A．frequently

B．directly

C．violently

D．rarely

3.

A．imitate

B．locate

C．count

D．present

4.

A．puzzling

B．demanding

C．disturbing

D．uplifting

5.

A．justice

B．proof

C．image

D．wisdom

6.

A．In theory

B．By definition

C．On the contrary

D．By many measures

7.

A．monitored

B．enclosed

C．requested

D．overlooked

8.

A．decline

B．expansion

C．climb

D．quality

9.

A．supply

B．renew

C．lack

D．invent

10.

A．Obviously

B．Fortunately

C．Interestingly

D．Initially

11.

A．give away

B．sort through

C．get over

D．make up

12.

A．exclusive

B．delicate

C．effective

D．special

13.

A．convey

B．mark

C．cover

D．hide

14.

A．emergence

B．movement

C．evolution

D．existence

15.

A．recover

B．reverse

C．remove

D．reveal

6 . With billions of stars in our galaxy (银河系), many circled by planets, the chances are there should be advanced life capable of reaching out to us. Yet after decades of looking and listening, we have found ___________.

This apparent conflict is known as Fermi’s paradox- Some have used it to argue that the search for extraterrestrial(外星球的)intelligence (SETI) is sure to ___________ .

But a mathematical analysis of SETI searches done so far claims that the usual explanation for the paradox— that there is nobody out there—is ___________. Instead, it suggests the best explanation is simply that we have barely scratched the surface in our ___________ for extraterrestrial intelligence.

Jason Wright at Pennsylvania State University and his colleagues analysed the many variables involved in SETI, which involves searching for radio signals from other ___________ . These include what to look for, where to look, how often and for how long. They then devised an equation that computes the ___________ of the galaxy checked so far. The team says that the volume of the galaxy that has been checked by SETI so far is roughly___________ to just a single bathtub of water in the world’s oceans.

“You don’t have to do a calculation to say we’ve only just ___________ ,” says Duncan Forgan at the University of St Andrews, UK, who is a member of the UK SETI research network. ”But they’ve done a nice job of showing the huge scale of the problem___________.“

As well as putting SETI in context, the equation can help researchers see which search techniques have been used less than others. ____________ , we only developed the technology to listen for higher radio frequencies quite recently. ”But we’re getting better at that, so that variable will now shrink,“ says Forgan.

However, advances in ____________ will only take us so far. Certain variables, such as how often a message from space might be repeated, cannot be____________. A signal sent once a year can only be listened out for once a year. ”There are things we can do better and things we can’t,” says Forgan. “We just have to ____________ and wait for the universe to do its thing.”

Forgan has a book coming out that discusses 66 potential ____________ for Fermi’s paradox. They include the possibility that Earth is somehow unusual in its ability to harbour intelligent life or that technological civilisations are rare. Or perhaps they are ____________ but short-lived. “Genetic or nuclear disasters might wipe you out,” says Forgan.

1.

A．nothing

B．something

C．anything

D．everything

2.

A．arrive

B．join

C．fail

D．improve

3.

A．possible

B．simple

C．relative

D．false

4.

A．hunt

B．love

C．service

D．region

5.

A．individuals

B．civilisations

C．surroundings

D．organisations

6.

A．source

B．centre

C．edge

D．part

7.

A．subject

B．equivalent

C．available

D．committed

8.

A．remembered

B．mentioned

C．described

D．started

9.

A．progressively

B．mathematically

C．synthetically

D．occasionally

10.

A．For example

B．What’s more

C．In summary

D．By comparison

11.

A．technology

B．computation

C．radioactivity

D．astronomy

12.

A．measured

B．challenged

C．changed

D．interpreted

13.

A．set off

B．sit back

C．put up

D．take down

14.

A．demands

B．benefits

C．explanations

D．applications

15.

A．weird

B．boring

C．exciting

D．common

7 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passages coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank

Uber Eats pilots reusable container scheme

From today (Tuesday 18 April, 2023) Uber Eats customers in Central London will be given the option to order their takeaway in reusable containers and easily return them in an attempt     1     (address) single use packaging.

    2     (Bring) together various businesses, the project will test and measure how localized doorstep at-home collections of reusable packaging can increase the adoption rate of a reuse system and improve convenience. The system has been developed to make     3     as easy and convenient as possible for people to take part. When placing their orders, Uber Eats customers can choose to receive their food in reusable packaging. Once they’ve enjoyed their meals,     4     they need to do is to scan a QR code, select a day for collection, give the containers a simple rinse and await collection. All collections are low or no emissions,     5     (make) by deliverymen using bikes, electric cars or vans.

The trial will run for six months and will be managed by Again, which operates a network of packaging cleaning facilities     6     the reusable packaging will be cleaned and processed before being returned to the restaurants. Various promotions     7     (test) throughout the trial to measure opt-in rate and return rate. “This pilot aims to make reusable packing     8     (accessible) for customers and restaurants alike,” says Matthew Price, Uber Eats General Manager. “By integrating the reuse option     9     a delivery app used by many households and by offering doorstep collections, we hope to see a significant increase in the use of reusable takeaway packaging. The trial will help create     10     better understanding of what works and what doesn’t at a local level, and hopefully lead to wider roll out of this reuse system across more businesses and areas.”

8 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

Owning a Pet Is Good for Your Health

Pets in America are incredibly well loved: according to a 2015 Harris poll, 95% of owners think of their animal as a member of the family. About half buy     1     birthday presents. And it’s a two-way street. People who have pets tend to have lower blood pressure, heart rate and heart-disease risk than those who don’t. Those health benefits may come from the extra exercise that playing and walking     2     (require), and the stress relief of having a steady best friend on hand.

Scientists are now digging up evidence     3     animals can also help improve mental health, even for people with challenging disorders. Small     4     the studies are, the benefits are impressive enough that clinical settings are opening their doors to animal assisted interventions — pet therapy, in other words — used alongside conventional medicine. “    5     (think) of an animal in a hospital used to be one of the great no-no’s,” says Alan Beck, director of the Center for the Human-Animal Bond at Purdue University, citing the fear of causing infection. “Now, I don’t know of any major children’s hospital     6     at least some kind of animal program.”

The rise of animal therapy     7     (back) by increasingly serious science showing that social support — a proven antidote to anxiety and loneliness — can come on four legs, not just two. Animals of many types can help calm stress, fear and anxiety in young children, the elderly and everyone in between.

More research is needed     8     scientists know exactly why it works and how much animal interaction is needed for the best results. But     9     (publish) studies show that paws have a place in medicine and in mental well-being. “The data is strong,” Beck says. “If you look at     10     animals do for people and how we interact with them, it’s not surprising at all.”

9 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passages coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

Venice—The Risk of the Disappearance of an Entire City

Venice is a stunning oddity. It is a city built atop around 120 islands, crisscrossed by 177 canals, and is best explored via the use of its 391 bridges. But the city is not well recently. Indeed,     1     drastic measures are taken, the city’s days could be numbered.

This is far from hyperbole(夸张): Venice is at very real risk of     2     (consume) by the sea. In worst-case scenario, the city could disappear beneath the waves by 2100. Meanwhile, many of its building are sinking     3     being damaged by the wakes of boats. It is also routinely overwhelmed by tourists, while its local population is in continual decline.

Globally, a lot of cities    4     (hit) by similar problems of sinking land and rising sea levels in Venice. Low-lying Jakarta(雅加达), for example, is in such a terrible situation that it is being replaced     5     the capital city of Indonesia by Nusantara, a city not yet even built.

In November 2019, Venice suffered its second-worst flooding. It created headlines around the world, with onlookers     6     (astonish) by the incredible images of Saint Mark’s Square, one of the city’s lowest lying areas, covered in feet of water.

The tide reached a peak height of 187cm above sea level,     7     (result) in more than 80% of the city being under water. A state of emergency was declared, and there was an estimated €1bn euros worth of damage.

The worst ever flooding event, which happened in 1966,     8     (see) water levels rise to 194cm above sea level, and is thought     9     (damage) at least three quarters of the city’s shops, businesses and studios.

    10     a gap of over 50 years separated these events, recent trends suggest that we won’t have to wait half a century to see another disastrous flood. Since water levels started being officially recorded in 1923, they have reached 150cm or more on only 10 occasions, but five of those have been in the last three years.

10 . Global surface temperatures last month were 2.25 degrees warmer than the 20th century average of 60.1 degrees, breaking previous records, from August 2016, by more than half a degree, according to NOAA researchers. “That to me is a really huge _______ from one record to the next,” said Ellen Bartow, a physical scientist with NOAA’S National Centers for Environmental Information.

The report _______ what millions of people have experienced in recent months, including record-breaking heatwaves that have touched almost every corner of the globe. Asia, Africa, North America and South America had their warmest August on record, as did the Arctic, Europe and Oceania — a region that _______ Australia - had their second-warmest August on record, the report said.

It wasn’t just the land that _______ : August set a record for the highest monthly sea surface temperature abnormally—1.85 degrees above average. The warming oceans _______experiencing its fourth continuous month with the _______ shrinking sea ice, with Antarctica sea ice extent on record. Globally, sea ice extent in August was about 550,000 square miles less than the previous record low, set in August 2019.

“We’ve seen unheard-of warmth in the global ocean, and that’s definitely alarming because its effects _______ beyond just the scope of the ocean,” Bartow-Gillies said. “Not only are you _______ marine habitats, but you’re affecting storm creation, you’re creating more instability in some areas, and you’re creating flooding events in other areas. There’s a whole host of _______ that come along with these warmer ocean surface temperatures that we’re seeing.”

In fact, the report comes after a series of severe natural ________ that span the globe. This week, a Mediterranean storm caused serious flooding in Libya, killing more than 11,000 people. In Canada, wildfires burned through more than 42 million acres of forests this summer, and several are still burning. ________ global warming was not the singular cause of any of these disasters, heating of the Earth continues to ________ the likelihood of extreme weather events and wildfire worldwide.

“The scientific evidence is ________ —we will continue to see more climate records and more intense and frequent extreme weather events impacting society and ecosystems, until we stop ________ greenhouse gases,” read a statement from Samantha Burgess, deputy director of the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, which also ________ that this summer was the hottest on record.

1.

A．distance

B．jump

C．travel

D．flight

2.

A．confirms

B．emerges

C．quotes

D．argues

3.

A．holds

B．touches

C．surrounds

D．includes

4.

A．boiled

B．cooled

C．stricken

D．disappeared

5.

A．contributed to

B．suffered from

C．resulted from

D．devoted to

6.

A．slowest

B．lowest

C．highest

D．fastest

7.

A．enlarge

B．discharge

C．extend

D．undertake

8.

A．creating

B．saving

C．remaining

D．disturbing

9.

A．issues

B．debates

C．events

D．proposals

10.

A．floods

B．disasters

C．storms

D．earthquakes

11.

A．Though

B．Because

C．Unless

D．When

12.

A．damage

B．destroy

C．decrease

D．increase

13.

A．irresistible

B．unchangeable

C．inaccessible

D．unbearable

14.

A．conveying

B．releasing

C．relieving

D．dismissing

15.

A．predicted

B．expected

C．doubted

D．determined