1 . What is the best part of a typical relaxing summer day? Nothing is better than sitting in an armchair with a beer and some chips in your hand, enjoying the great comfort.
The much-loved combination of beer and chips is being exploited for the first time to deal with climate change. Chips firm Walkers has adopted a technique it says will cut CO2 emissions (排放) from its production process by 70%.
The technology will use CO2 captured from beer processing in a brewery (啤酒厂), which is then mixed with potato waste and turned into fertilizer. It will then be spread on UK fields to feed the following year’s potato crop. Creating fertilizer normally produces high CO2 emissions, but the technology adopted by Walkers makes fertilizer without generating CO2. So, the beer-and-chips combination performs a double function. It stops the emission of brewery CO2 into the atmosphere — and it saves on the CO2 normally generated by fertilizer production.
This Creative win-win solution was developed with an approval from the UK government by a 14-employee start-up called CCm. The fertilizer was experimented on potato seed beds this year, and next year Walkers will install CCm equipment at its Leicester factory to prepare for its 2022 crop.
A decision has not yet been made on which brewery Walkers will work with on this. The new technology adds to carbon-saving techniques already under way. The firm has installed an anaerobic digester (厌氧消化池), which feeds potato waste to bacteria to produce a useful gas. The gas is burned to make electricity for the chip-frying process — so this saves on burning gas or coal.
The new system will go a step further by taking away potato “cake” left after digestion — and mixing the brewery CO2 into it to make an enriched fertilizer which will help put carbon back into the soil as well as encouraging plant growth.
It’s an example of scientists finding ways to use CO2 emissions which otherwise would increase the over-heating of the planet.
1. What is the purpose of the first paragraph?| A．To draw readers’ attention. |
| B．To entertain readers. |
| C．To show how useful beer and chips are to our life. |
| D．To introduce a way of life. |
| A．It will be totally cost-free. |
| B．It doesn’t consume any energy. |
| C．It will be a perfect solution to climate change. |
| D．It is environmentally-friendly. |
| A．How CO2 is turned into fertilizer. |
| B．How the technology stops CO2 emissions. |
| C．How an energy-saving green technology works. |
| D．The advantages of a new technology. |
| A．The technology will fix the problem of global warming. |
| B．Walkers has a wide range of partner choices.? |
| C．This technology will be adopted by many chips firms soon. |
| D．Scientists are seeking solutions to climate change. |
2 . China successfully sent the 52nd and 53rd satellites of its domestically developed BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS)—the last two medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellites for the BDS-3 constellation (星座)—into space on Monday, marking the completion of the global navigation system’s core constellation deployment (部署) and this year’s BDS satellite launch campaign.
Launched from Xichang Satellite Launch Center, Sichuan Province, on board a Long March-3B carrier rocket with an Expedition-1 upper stage, the two satellites were injected into planned orbits after more than three hours’ flight.
Since the first BDS-3 satellite was launched on November 5, 2017, China has conducted 18 BDS satellite launch missions, successfully sending 30 into their planned orbit, setting a national record for highest mission frequency and success rate.
In-orbit tests will be carried out before the two MEO satellites are commissioned (正式委托). By then the core constellation for the Chinese global navigation satellite system will be successfully completed.
Wang Ping, chief designer of the BDS-3 system, said that the hybrid constellation design, in which three groups of satellites—the Inclined Geo Synchronous Orbit (IGSO), MEO and geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO)—work in concert in different orbits, was an exclusive BDS innovation and a world first. “Existing global navigation satellite systems, such as the US GPS and Russia’s GLONASS, only have a MEO satellite constellation,” said Wang.
The MEO satellites, in orbit 20,000 kilometers above Earth, are a special type of satellite providing global service, while the IGSO and GEO satellites, in an orbit 360,000 kilometers above Earth, mainly enhance regional service quality, according to Wang. That explained why completion of the MEO constellation was significant, marking the completion of the core network for BDS-3, meaning a stable BDS-3 global coverage without weak points has been carried out.
Feedback shows that the BDS service quality was already comparable to GPS since the end of 2018, and after completing BDS-3, “We will be as good as any GNSS.” Wang said.
1. How many BDS satellites were sent into their planned orbit successfully?| A．3. | B．18. | C．30. | D．36. |
| A．The diverse functions. |
| B．The excellent service quality. |
| C．The lower cost of designing it. |
| D．The ability to work in different orbits. |
| A．They enhance regional service quality. |
| B．They can be put into use immediately. |
| C．They can enter farther orbits. |
| D．They can serve the world. |
| A．China Becomes the First Country to Launch a MEO Satellite |
| B．The Core Constellation of BDS-3 Completes Deployment |
| C．The BDS-3 System Has Benefited Many Countries |
| D．Exploring Space Is Very Important to the World |
3 . In the 1960s and 1970s, the greatest fear was that the human race, and possibly all advanced life forms on the planet, could be wiped out by nuclear missiles. Today, however, environmental problems have taken over as the greatest risk to life on Earth. Scientists are thinking of ways to lower this risk, such as replacing coal and oil with forms of renewable energy. But they are also preparing for the worst: what can we do if the terrifying scenes in films such as The Day After Tomorrow happen in real life? What is our plan B for Earth?
One option is to explore other planets to see if we could live on them. The most likely choice is Mars, which is relatively close to Earth and has an environment less hostile than that of other planets. Mars has fascinated people since ancient times, and today our interest in Martian exploration is greater than ever before. Besides, more governments are making efforts to educate the public on the Red Planet.
There is no doubt that humankind is drawn towards Mars. However, sending people there will require all the skill, courage and intelligence. While the Moon can be reached within days, it would take months to reach Mars, travelling through dangerous solar radiation. And even if the first settlers do reach Mars safely, they may not be able to return to Earth — ever. Staying alive will be a daily challenge, but as proved by the Biosphere 2 experiment, not impossible. As early as the 1980s, scientists were building Biosphere 2 in the Arizona desert, consisting of a closed space in which people, animals and plants could live together. Although the two-year experiment was not a success, it did provide us with a better understanding of how humans might be able to live on another planet.
For now, human settlement of Mars is still decades away. Until we are finally able to live on another planet, we need to take much better care of our own. Right now, it's the only one we have!
1. What was the biggest threat to humans in the 1960s and 1970s?| A．Human race themselves. | B．All advanced life forms. |
| C．Nuclear missiles. | D．Environmental problems. |
| A．It's closest to the earth. |
| B．It has relatively appropriate living conditions. |
| C．It has drawn the public's attention in recent years. |
| D．It has a more hostile environment. |
| A．Humans have visited Mars. |
| B．The Biosphere 2 experiment proved to be valueless. |
| C．Humans will have to go and live on another planet. |
| D．Our Plan A includes developing renewable energy resources. |
| A．The Traveler. | B．Environmental Concerns. |
| C．All About Space. | D．Biology for Fun, |
4 . If you visit Uluwatu temple in Bali, be cautious. The long-tailed temple monkeys there are well-known thieves. Since a long time ago, they have made a living by robbing visitors of their possessions and then holding those objects until a ransom in the form of food is paid. But Jean-Baptiste Leca of the University of Lethbridge, in Canada, wondered whether these monkeys are cleverer still. Sometimes, they do not accept the first offer and hold out for more. He therefore asked himself whether they are able to assess how valuable an object is to its owner, and factor that into their negotiations.
Dr. Leca and his colleagues conducted their experiment by wandering around the temple with video cameras, recording the activities of the monkeys. Every time they saw a monkey show interest in a particular tourist? they recorded the interaction. To work out what was going on, they had first to establish the relative values of food rewards to monkeys, and of stealable objects to people.
To confirm which stealable objects are most valued by people, they divided them into six classes: empty containers, such as phone cases and plastic bottles; accessories (搭配物) such as hairpins and key rings; hats and shoes; spectacles and sunglasses; and electronics and wallets. They then observed how often victims bothered to bargain with the thief for the return of property belonging to different classes, and thus classified objects into low value, medium value and high value.
They found that monkeys do, indeed, have a complicated sense of what they are doing — at least, adults and sub-adults do. These animals have a preference for stealing high-value items, and will often hold out either for more rewards, or for better ones, if they are in possession of such items. But this is something that they have to learn how to do as they grow up. Young monkeys make no such distinctions, and sub-adults are less good at doing so than adults.
1. What is the purpose of Leca's research?| A．To prove monkeys are cleverer than men. |
| B．To find out what is valuable for monkeys. |
| C．To record the negotiations between monkeys. |
| D．To make sure monkeys can judge item values. |
| A．Bilk. | B．Reward. | C．Tax. | D．Rent. |
| A．By the material of objects. | B．By the preference of victims. |
| C．By the buying price of objects, | D．By the frequency of bargaining. |
| A．Young monkeys can evaluate items. | B．All monkeys prefer high-value items, |
| C．Monkeys have a simple sense of acts. | D．Monkeys' stealing is an acquired skill. |
5 . Most of the 500 whales stranded (搁浅)off Tasmania have now died. Dozens more stricken whales have been found in Australia’s largest ever mass stranding.The estimated total now stands at around 500, with the majority of that number dead and a tenth rescued by authorities on the Island state of Tasmania. Experts believe all of the animals would have been part of one large group. Officials began working to rescue survivors among an estimated 270 whales found on Monday on a beach and two sandbars near the remote coastal town of Strahan. Then another 200 whales were spotted from a helicopter on Wednesday less than 10 kilometres (six miles) to the south.All 200 had been confirmed dead by late afternoon. They were among the 380 whales that have died overall, with estimates from earlier today suggesting that 30 that were alive but stranded and 50 had been rescued since Tuesday, Mr Deka, Wildlife Service manager explained. He added,“We’ll continue to work to free as many of the animals as we can.We’ll continue working as long as there are live animals.”
It is not known what caused the animals to run aground. While stranding events are not unheard of, they are very rare in such large numbers. About 30 whales in the original stranding were moved from the sandbars to open ocean on Tuesday, but several got stranded again. About a third of the first group had died by Monday evening.
Australia’s largest mass stranding had previously been 320 pilot whales near the Western Australian town of Dunsborough in 1996.This week’s incident is the first involving more than 500 whales in Tasmania since 2009.Marine Conservation Programme wildlife biologist Kris Carlyon said the latest mass stranding was the biggest in Australia in terms of numbers stranded and died.
Marine scientist Vanessa Pirotta said there were a number of potential reasons why whales might become beached, including navigational errors.She explained, “They do have a very strong social system; these animals are closely bonded and that’s why we have seen so many in this case unfortunately in this situation.Rescuing them does not always work, because they are wanting to return back to the group, they might hear the sounds that the others are making, or they’re just disoriented and, in this case, extremely stressed, and just probably so exhausted that they in some cases don’t know where they are.” she added.
1. What can be inferred from the first paragraph?| A．270 whales were rescued on Monday. |
| B．380 whales were found dead on Tuesday. |
| C．500 whales were found stranded and dead. |
| D．200 whales spotted from a helicopter were dead. |
| A．Rescue work is not done in time. |
| B．The number of the death is large. |
| C．The cause of the event is still a mystery. |
| D．There was no other similar event in recent years. |
| A．Navigational errors. |
| B．Overhunting of the human beings. |
| C．Whales’ group living style. |
| D．Whales’ confusion and exhaustion. |
| A．A newspaper. | B．A magazine. | C．A textbook. | D．A travel brochure. |
Once there was a slave named Androcles, who was so badly treated by his master that he resolved to run away from him. He therefore secretly left his master’s house and hid himself in a forest, some miles distant from the city.
After wandering about for some time, he came to a large cave, and overcome by hunger and tiredness, he lay down in it, and soon fell fast asleep.
He was suddenly awakened by the roar of a wild beast; a great lion stood right at the mouth of the cave. There was no way he could escape!
Androcles expected nothing else than to be at once torn to pieces, but to his great surprise, the lion came gently towards him, without showing any signs of anger. It gave forth a low and mournful (悲哀的) sound, as if it were begging for his assistance. As the lion approached him, he noticed that one of its feet was swollen.
He then went up to the lion, took hold of the wounded paw (爪子)，and examined it as a surgeon would examine a patient. He was not long in finding out the cause of the swelling; for he saw in the ball of the foot a very large thorn (刺). The slave pulled out the thorn, and pressed out of the wound a quantity of matter, which gave the lion immediate relief.
Then, the lion began to show his gratitude by every means in his power. He jumped about like a playful spaniel (西班牙猎犬), wagged his great tail, and licked the hands and feet of his physician. From that moment Androcles became his guest; the lion always shared his prey.
The slave continued to live like this for several months. At length, wandering carelessly through the woods, he was seized by a company of soldiers who were sent by the master to search for him.
注意：
1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2. 至少使用5个短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
4. 续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph1:
He was sentenced to be torn by a lion in the public arena (竞技场).
Paragraph2:
However, the lion didn’t act as most had imagined.
7 . Though leaders from the International Olympic Committee(IOC)have announced a first-of-its-kind postponement of the Tokyo Summer Olympics because of the corona virus epidemic,people all over the world are still concerned about its preparations.Officials from the Tokyo Olympic Committee say they are sparing no effort and announce the Tokyo Summer Olympics in 2021 is going green.The 5,000 medals Japan has made are more special than most.
One novel focus of the Tokyo Olympics is to be"sustainable”－to avoid using too many natural resources,so that the games are easy on the environment.As part of this goal,the organizers decided to make all of the Olympic medals out of metal recycled from old electronics.
Almost all electronics are made with small amounts of"precious metals",like gold and silver.But collecting enough of these metals to make 5,000 medals was a huge challenge.That's because the amount of metal in each device is tiny.It would take about 20,000 cell phones to get just l kilogram of gold.
Beginning in April 2017,the organizers placed collection boxes around the country,and asked people to turn in their old electronic devices.Soon people began to respond to the initiative(倡导），turning in smart phones,digital cameras,handheld games,and laptops.At first,collection went slowly,but soon more and more areas began to take part.By the end,1,621 local governments had helped out with the collection process.
Then came the job of breaking those devices down into smaller pieces.After eing taken apart and sorted, the small electronics were smelted(熔炼）to get all the gold,silver,and bronze elements.This is a tricky job, which calls for careful attention and good skill.It's also dangerous,because some of the metals and other things aren't safe for people to touch or breathe.
By the end of March,2019,the organizers had hit their targets of getting enough metal for the medals. They had collected around 32 kilograms of gold,4,100 kilograms of silver and 2,200 kilograms of bronze.And now all the 5,000 medals are available for the would-be winners.
1. What can we know about the Tokyo Olympics medals?| A．They are hugely valuable. |
| B．They are of high quality. |
| C．They are made from e-waste. |
| D．They are designed uniquely. |
| A．The difficulty of making the medals. |
| B．The initiative to recycle used smart phones. |
| C．The classification of the collected devices. |
| D．The process of collecting old electronics. |
| A．creative | B．demanding | C．well-paid | D．time-consuming |
| A．To advocate sustainable use of resources. |
| B．To promote the spirit of Olympic Games. |
| C．To introduce a new technique to make medals. |
| D．To show the gravity of environmental damage. |
8 . One day, I was eating an apple when suddenly, I felt an apple seed in my mouth. I wanted to throw it away. But
I realized I was
It is a（n）
Then it occurred to me that it's quite often so with people's
I picked up the apple seed again -but instead of
| A．still | B．instead | C．also | D．rather |
| A．warned | B．convinced | C．reminded | D．informed |
| A．catching | B．expecting | C．imagining. | D．holding |
| A．potential | B．courage | C．intention | D．patience |
| A．raise | B．bear | C．gain | D．eat |
| A．When | B．How | C．What | D．Why |
| A．rule | B．step | C．order | D．game |
| A．nearly | B．just | C．never | D．always |
| A．prove | B．see | C．show | D．guess |
| A．bury | B．collect | C．produce | D．save |
| A．money | B．earth | C．work | D．water |
| A．conditions | B．dreams | C．chances | D．faiths |
| A．increase | B．change | C．die | D．appear |
| A．explain | B．doubt | C．decide | D．wonder |
| A．grow | B．develop | C．live | D．destroy |
| A．choices | B．goals | C．tries | D．challenges |
| A．or | B．yet | C．So | D．as |
| A．kept | B．helped | C．noticed | D．found |
| A．putting | B．throwing | C．taking | D．giving |
| A．used | B．removed | C．studied | D．planted |
9 . A study shows that the more eco-conscious way to shop is going to a physical store rather than by making purchases online from companies that don't have physical stores. Researchers estimated that shopping at physical stores for frequently bought items such as toilet paper, shampoo and toothpaste, often results in less greenhouse gas emissions than ordering the products from a company that only sells through the Internet.
The main reason is because of how people shop online： Many buy items online frequently — but they only buy a few items per purchase. Frequent online purchases produce more packaging waste, and online items tend to come from different distribution centers. Both factors result in higher greenhouse gas emissions per item.
The team modeled their research on the movement of goods from the factory all the way through to the end consumer. They analyzed the carbon footprint of the "last mile delivery" for the three most popular types of shopping channels in the United Kingdom — physical stores, "brick & clicks" (when people order online and a physical store delivers the items to them) , and "pure players” (strictly online sellers). Included in the three models were greenhouse gas emissions estimates from the number of products bought, transportation, warehouse storage , delivery and packaging activities.
The analysis showed that total greenhouse gas footprints per item purchased were higher from physical stores than those from bricks & clicks purchases in 63% of the shopping events but lower than those of pure players in 81 % of shopping events in the United Kingdom. In the United States, greenhouse gas emissions from shopping at physical stores were also estimated to be higher than from the brick & click channel, and lower than the pure play channel, on average.
This pattern holds true in countries where people mostly drive. It really depends on the country and consumer behavior there.
1. What is the function of the first paragraph?| A．To persuade the readers. | B．To show the research conclusion. |
| C．To compare two shopping ways. | D．To state the reason for this study. |
| A．It is not convenient. | B．It is a waste of money. |
| C．It causes packaging waste. | D．It results in air pollution. |
| A．By making comparison. | B．By doing experiments. |
| C．By giving an explanation. | D．By making a survey. |
| A．Shopping by car. | B．Buying in physical stores. |
| C．Dealing with “pure players". | D．Purchasing from "brick & click. |
The Theobroma Cacao tree, to use its scientific name, provides us with one of the world's most delicious foods—chocolate! Theobroma is a Greek word meaning 4food of the gods. The tree originally comes from the Amazon region of South America. Hand-sized pods that grow on the tree contain cacao seeds—often called ‘cocoa beans’. These seeds，or beans，are used to make chocolate.
The earliest use and consumption of cacao beans dates back to around 1000 B.C. Later, the Mayan and Aztec civilizations consumed cacao as a drink. They often flavored it with ingredients such as chili peppers, and other spices. It is believed that drinking cups of chocolate was important in Mayan rituals such as wedding ceremonies. Consuming cacao was also believed to have positive effects on health. In Peru, eating or drinking a mixture of chocolate and chili was said to be good for the stomach. The Aztecs thought it could even cure sicknesses!
Christopher Columbus, along with Spanish explorers, made his fourth voyage across the Atlantic in the early 1500s, and arrived on the coast of Honduras. It was at this time that he first discovered the value of cocoa beans，which were used as currency in many parts of Central America.
In the sixteenth century, chocolate was taken back to Spain by Hernando Cortez, another explorer. The Spanish people added ingredients such as sugar and vanilla to make it sweet. It later spread to France in the seventeenth century. The popularity of chocolate continued to spread further across Europe and the Americas. The only Asian country to adopt it at that time, though, was the Philippines, which the Spanish invaded in the sixteenth century.
As chocolate became more popular, the demand for people to work on the cocoa plantations increased. Slaves were brought to the Americas from Africa to farm the cocoa. Eventually, the cacao tree was taken to
Africa and cultivation(m) began there. Today, the African plantations provide almost seventy percent of the world's cacao, compared with one and a half percent from Mexico.
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