1 . Amid rolling farms and green pasture 150 miles northwest of Sao Paulo, Brazil, two tropical forests bloom as one. The first consists of a single species, row after row of non-native eucalyptus (桉树), planted in perfect lines like carrots. The other is haphazard, an assortment of dozens of varieties of native saplings.
There’s no denying it: This forest looks ridiculous. The gangly (修长的) eucalyptuses shoot like witch fingers high above patches of stubby fig (矮壮的无花果树) and evergreen trees. Yet these jumbled 2.5-acre stands of native trees, ringed by fast-growing exotics, are among many promising efforts to resurrect the planet’s forests.
The eucalyptuses, says Pedro Brancalion, the University of Sao Paulo agronomist who designed this experiment, get big so quickly they can be cut after five years and sold to make paper or fence posts. That covers nearly half or more of the cost of planting the slow-growing native trees, which then naturally reseed ground that has been laid bare by the harvest. And this process doesn’t hamper natural regeneration.
You needn’t look far these days to find organizations trying to save the world by growing trees. Too often, tree-planting groups are so focused on getting credit for each seedling planted that they ignore what matters most: What kind of woodland is created? At what cost? And most importantly: How long will it last? Using the numbers of trees planted as a magic “proxy for everything,” Brancalion says, you “spend more money and get lower levels of benefits.” You can literally miss the forest for the trees.
Tree planting seems like a simple, natural way to counter the overwhelming crises of climate change and biodiversity loss. Trees provide wildlife habitats and slurp carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. No wonder trees are hailed as the ideal weapon. Yet for every high-profile planting operation, devastating failures have occurred. In Turkey, Sri Lanka, and Mexico, mass plantings have resulted in millions of dead seedlings or have driven farmers to clear more intact forest elsewhere. Trees that have been planted in the wrong places have reduced water yields for farmers, destroyed highly diverse carbon-sucking grassland soils, and allowed for invasive vegetation to spread. Simply reforesting the planet isn’t going to do much if we don’t also start cutting down on our emissions from the burning of coal, oil, and natural gas. Tree planting also can’t replace old-growth forests. Saving them is even more important than growing new forests.
So, what should we do?
To Brancalion, the answer is obvious: Restore native forests, mostly in the tropics, where trees grow fast and land is cheap. While that may require planting, it may also call for the clearing out of invasive grasses, the rejuvenation (使有活力) of soils, and crop yield improvements so that farmers will need less land for agriculture and more can be allowed to revert back to forests.
The combining of eucalyptus harvests with native plantings is just one more reminder that successful restoration must provide value to local communities. In many cases, if we let nature do the heavy lifting, Brancalion says, “the forest can regrow quite effectively.”
1. What can we learn from the first three paragraphs?| A．The non-native eucalyptuses bring profits that can pay for planting native saplings. |
| B．The non-native eucalyptuses compete with native saplings for water, nutrients, and light. |
| C．The variety of trees being planted determines whether or not the restoration will succeed. |
| D．Planting fast-growing exotics together with local trees does harm to the natural environment. |
| A．emphasize the significance of protecting existing forests |
| B．explain why tree planting is regarded as the ideal solution |
| C．illustrate the serious problems planting campaigns can cause |
| D．indicate the most important point tree-planting groups ignore |
| A．clear more forest to improve crop yields for farmers |
| B．combine harvests of fast-growing exotics with native plantings |
| C．restore native forests in the tropics and clear out invasive grasses |
| D．take into consideration the benefits of reforestation to local communities |
| A．Plant trees—and time will tell. | B．Plant trees—but don’t overdo it. |
| C．Plant trees—and save the world. | D．Plant trees—but mind the variety. |
2 . The cumulative rainfall in Henan province during the four days was the highest since the province has records, the provincial meteorological service said. The rain was heaviest in the provincial capital, Zhengzhou, for a short period on Monday and Tuesday. Northern, western and central parts of Henan also experienced downpours, the service said. Zhengzhou's biggest one-hour precipitation (降水量) —201. 9 mm between 4 and 5 pm on Tuesday—was also the highest on the Chinese mainland. The previous record was 198. 5 mm in the village of Linzhuang in Zhumadian in August 1975, the National Meteorological Center said. The city's precipitation during the four days exceeded that of its average annual precipitation, the center said.
Chen Tao, chief forecaster at the National Meteorological Center, said abundant water vapor (水蒸气) brought by Typhoon In-Fa and the province's special geographical features led to Henan's rain. “Partly affected by the typhoon, large amounts of water vapor have been transported to China's inland areas, including Henan,” he said.
From Thursday to Monday, rain was forecast to continue in Henan. However, rainfall will gradually subside in Zhengzhou and the province's northern and central regions, though the storms will increase the risk of mountain torrents and other geological disasters. By Monday, lighter rain is forecast for parts of Henan, the provincial weather service said. However, local authorities are still urged to be vigilant and prepare to prevent or cope with flooding and other possible disasters.
Predicting such weather events remains a challenge worldwide because it involves many meteorological phenomena, the center said. “The formation of this kind of extreme weather, including rainstorms and high temperatures, is complex,” Chen said. “We still lack effective solutions and methods for such forecasting”, he said. “We are now putting a lot of effort into tackling the difficulty. We believe that as the technology improves, we can better forecast the events.”
1. What message does the author mainly want to convey in the first paragraph?| A．heavy rain fell in Zhengzhou. |
| B．The rain in Henan lasted four days. |
| C．Zhumadian also suffered the similar heavy rain. |
| D．Henan experienced the biggest rainfall of all time. |
| A．It is not easy to forecast the extreme weather. |
| B．The rain of Henan is mainly caused by Typhoon In-Fa. |
| C．The center hasn't put a lot of effort into solving the problem. |
| D．Rainstorms and high temperatures can account for the heavy rain. |
| A．Relaxed. | B．Alert. | C．Reluctant. | D．Communicative. |
| A．history book. | B．A novel. | C．A news report. | D．A science magazine. |
3 . They’re tough breeds and they have complicated names to match. But free-spirited Aussie dogs Tank the Rottweiler-cross and Muck the Staffie-cross instinctively (本能地) knew when a small child was in danger, and their protective
One December afternoon, Georgie Hillier thought her two-year-old son Max was playing in the back garden of their home. But when she went to check, there was no
Then she found Tank with the neighbor’s dog Muck. They were both running around the dams, barking furiously and
“I just panicked. I was running around, checking the sides of the dams,“ Georgie told Sara Hicks.
There was no one there to
For saving the toddler’s life, the daring two dogs received the RSPCA’s Purple Cross award for bravery- plus two very large bones.
1.| A．measures | B．natures | C．skills | D．effects |
| A．response | B．exhibition | C．shadow | D．sign |
| A．approach | B．search | C．guard | D．discover |
| A．stuck | B．covered | C．hidden | D．trapped |
| A．After | B．Though | C．Unless | D．While |
| A．untouched | B．unwrapped | C．unknown | D．unharmed |
| A．prove | B．witness | C．indicate | D．explain |
| A．edge | B．island | C．scene | D．beach |
| A．apparent | B．essential | C．pleasant | D．pitiful |
| A．separated | B．discouraged | C．freed | D．rescued |
Have you ever been to London? Which famous sites did you visit? Or, if it is the first time that you
Imprinting is a form of learning in
7 . Dog adoptions, and sales of supplies like dog food and dog toys, soared during Covid-19. For a lot of people, knowing they’d be working from home for months made the idea of adopting a dog much more attractive.
Research dog food
People or pets, feeding someone is a great way to not only show love, but to feel love. Anyone who has invested time in creating a great meal for their family knows that the experience of cooking helps them feel closer to the people eating.
Work with a trainer
Sometimes loving a specific dog is about getting into dogs in general. Reading dog stories, looking at dog pictures, watching dog shows and videos can all make you feel more loving towards dogs in general, which will in turn help you feel better about your own dog. Instagram is an easy way to get your cute dog fix!
Give it time
We all love the stories about the person who walks into a shelter and falls in love with a dog. But, just like with people, it’s not always love at first site. Sometimes, we think that if we don’t love a dog right away, it’s a problem
| A．Play with your dog |
| B．Read about other dogs |
| C．If you’re having trouble connecting with your new dog |
| D．In reality, some relationships just take more time to build |
| E．When you find your friendship needs more time to develop |
| F．You could make your own dog food, but most people don’t |
| G．Sometimes we have trouble bonding with a dog because we don’t understand that dog |
The trip to Mount Huangshan leaves me a deep impression. The scenes are so breathtaking. The rolling sea of clouds will remind you how tiny we humans are. The hot spring at the foot of the mountain will undoubtedly help you get
What comes next is the endless series of steps. You can’t help wondering
9 . Ocean heat waves — defined as periods of extreme temperatures lasting five days or more — have become increasingly common in recent decades. In fact, as a new study published in Nature Climate Change finds, Earth’s number of annual ocean heat wave days increased by around 54 percent between 1987 and 2016, with abnormally high temperatures not only occurring more frequently, but also lasting for longer periods of time.
Underwater heat waves pose a significant threat to marine ecosystems, which are already at risk due to issues including overfishing and widespread plastic pollution. Sweeping through oceans much like wildfires blaze through forests on land, extreme temperatures exact damage on foundational organisms such as kelp forests, seagrass meadows and coral reefs. Given that these framework species provide shelter and food to many other ocean creatures, the study’s authors warn that such destruction will likely have cascading consequences for marine biodiversity.
To assess the effects of ocean heat waves, researchers led by ecologist Daniel Smale of Great Britain’s Marine Biological Association turned to 116 previously published academic studies. Reflecting on more than 1,000 ecological records and eight specific heat waves, the scientists identified regions and species that were the weakest to temperature increases. As Mary Papenfuss writes for the Huffington Post, areas of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans topped the list, with the Caribbean’s coral reefs, Australia’s seagrass and California’s kelp forests causing particular concerns.
In terms of species, Pacific Standard’s Kate Wheeling adds, the team notes that immobile plants and animals were the hardest hit, while tropical fish and mobile invertebrates (无脊椎生物) were able to cope with the heat by moving to different habitats. Interestingly, John Timmer reports for Ars Technica, the researchers actually observed heightened levels of fish diversity during periods of above- average temperatures, likely due to the animals’ mass migration (迁徙) toward friendlier waters. The same trend did not prove true for sea-dwelling birds, however, as shifting habitats limited the avian creatures’ access to prey.
Although the researchers’ findings are most consequential for marine ecosystems. Pierre-Louis and Popovich explain that damage to ocean habitats will also affect humans who rely on fishing and fish farming.
“Certainly there’s going to be changes with climate change to marine communities, but it’s not like the oceans are going to become the dead sea. It’s just that, as a consequence of what we’re doing to the oceans, there’s going to be different marine communities in different places than what we’re used to. Obviously, that is a problem because we’re sort of set up for what the climate is now rather than what it is going to be in the future.”
1. “Species” in “these framework species” in Paragraph 2 refers to ________.| A．wildfires | B．damages | C．organisms | D．temperatures |
| A．The temperatures of wave heats nearly doubled in 2016. |
| B．Living creatures can avoid heat wave damage by migration. |
| C．Overfishing and plastic pollution are the main causes to ocean heat. |
| D．The weakest regions are concluded from previous academic studies. |
| A．People should stop fishing because of the climate change. |
| B．People who take fishing for a living might earn lower profits. |
| C．The researchers findings cannot help us protect the land ecosystems. |
| D．Changes to ocean habitats would bring extremely bad results to the sea. |
| A．Ocean Heat Waves Are Affecting Us |
| B．Ocean Heat Waves Are Getting Worse |
| C．Ocean Heat Waves Are Threatening Marine Life |
| D．Ocean Heat Waves Are keys to Marine Biodiversity |
10 . Whether you believe it or not, there is a festival that honors the monkeys. Called “The Monkey Buffet Festival”, it is celebrated in the city of Lopburi. You may find this surprising, but when you ask some locals about the cultural significance of this festival you will find that there is really nothing! The Monkey Buffet Festival is supposed to be for business — a creative and unique way of attracting and increasing tourists in Thailand.
However, you may ask why, of all the animals in Thailand to honor with a festivity, choose monkeys? Interestingly, this is due to ancient folklore (民间传说) that tells the story of Hanuman, a Hindu monkey deity (神) who is believed to have rescued a bride (新娘) from a ten-headed evil spirit. It was said that Hanuman discovered Lopburi, and these monkeys, the ones living in Lopburi receiving a feast every year, are his descendants.
The yearly Monkey Buffet Festival started in 1989 organized by a local businessman. Nowadays, the festival is a major tourist event and travelers from all over the world come here to see these huge numbers of monkeys filling their stomachs.
The Monkey Buffet Festival is a unique event that will give you a new perspective (视角) on how monkeys are treated in Lopburi. It may be a strange festival, but promises a lot of fun especially for people who love animals. These long-tailed monkeys are very used to humans, so tourists have no need to worry that they will go away seeing people getting near them. However, this could be disadvantageous as well. They can be very aggressive (好攻击的) and have been known to take glasses and wallets away from tourists. So keep an eye on monkeys hanging from trees in the area.
Visit Lopburi in Thailand and enjoy the Monkey Buffet. What are you waiting for? Mark your calendar for the last Sunday of November and experience the festivities with the cute little monkeys. Where else can you find a festival where monkeys are fed with jellies, candies, sausages, and a can of Coke to drink!
1. Why is the Monkey Buffet Festival held?| A．To ask people to protect the wild animals. |
| B．To spread Thai cultural significance. |
| C．To develop tourism in Lopburi. |
| D．To show respect to monkeys. |
| A．The reason why monkeys are honored. |
| B．The way the festival is organized. |
| C．The influence of the festival. |
| D．The history of Lopburi. |
| A．Call on people to care about monkeys. |
| B．Encourage people to attend the festival. |
| C．Ask people to reflect on their actions toward nature. |
| D．Discuss the relationship between humans and nature. |
