1 . Sea ice in the Antarctic (南极) area fell to a record low this year. The drop is a result of rising temperatures worldwide. And there is no quick method to make up for the ice drop, and the recovery (恢复) has a long way to go, scientists said recently in a new study.

Antarctica’s smallest summer ice cover fell further to a new low in February. This year’s sea ice minimum (最小值) is 20 percent lower than the average (平均值) over the last 40 years. The sea ice loss equals an area nearly 10 times that of New Zealand.

The warming of Earth’s surface driven by the burning of coal, gas and oil has made Antarctica more likely to suffer from extreme (极端的) events. And the result is almost “certain” to get worse, the study said. Climate change will “lead to increases in the size and rate”of heat waves, broken ice shelves and drops in sea ice, it said.

The effects of the Earth’s warming on Antarctica and the surrounding ocean have been uncertain. Scientists have had problems measuring how much the Earth’s warming is altering the thickness of Antarctic ice.

But from events such as the fast drop in sea ice, it is “scientifically reasonable” to suppose that extreme events are going to become worse as temperatures rise worldwide, said Martin Siegert of the University of Exeter, another study co-writer.

Siegert described the temperature increase as completely surprising. Siegert added that luckily the event had happened during the Antarctic winter, instead of summer, or it would have caused melting (融化) on the surface of the East Antarctic ice cover, which has so far been saved from melting.

Siegert used the term “fragile”, meaning easily broken or damaged, to describe Antarctica. “Antarctica is fragile as an environment, but extreme events test that fragility,” he said.

1. What do the scientists think of the recovery of Antarctic sea ice?

A．It is hopeful.	B．It is difficult.
C．It is on its way.	D．It can’t be prevented.

2. Why does the author mention New Zealand?

A．To explain the size of sea ice loss.	B．To show the position of ice cover.
C．To describe how far Antarctica is.	D．To state sea ice is connected to New Zealand.

3. What does the underlined word ”altering“ in paragraph 4 mean?

A．Adding.	B．Pressing.
C．Changing.	D．Protecting.

4. What might have caused worse results according to Siegert?

A．Antarctic sea ice is recovering too slowly.

B．The Antarctic ice cover is continuously moving.

C．The environment of Antarctica is easy to break.

D．Extreme events happen in Antarctic summer.

2 . 阅读下面材料, 根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段, 使之构成一篇完整的短文。

Kay Day, an 87-year-old UK woman, loves elephants. But Day, who suffers from dementia(痴呆), rarely leaves her nursing home room and hasn’t seen a real elephant for a really long time. Until now.

Day is so fond of elephants that her room is full of elephant photos and toys. She dreamed of seeing an elephant up close again but never thought it would happen. On Wednesday, August 9, 2023, Day’s dream became a reality after her nursing home took her on a special trip to the Whipsnade Zoo.

The nursing home collected money to be able to realize Day’s dream. “Day doesn’t join in many activities and tends to spend quite a lot of time alone,” said the nursing home manager. “So when we sat and discussed wishes, we found out she would love to see an elephant. When we found the Elephant Experience at Whipsnade and contacted them, we said we should make her dream come true!”

Day was so excited about going to the zoo that she marked off the days on her elephant-themed calendar. Day’s carers telephoned her family and asked them to come along on the trip to support her on that exciting day.

Since the Whipsnade Zoo is a protection zoo that is working to protect wildlife as well as connect people with nature, the staff runs a lot of programs including various animal experiences and “Be a Keeper” days.

Day often told people around her that she would like to pet and feed the elephants herself as she did many years before. And she said that the elephants’ trunks (象鼻) are her favourite part of the huge animals. “It’s such a wonderful feeling to have an elephant take some food out of your hand, put it in his trunk, curl (卷起) it up and put it in his mouth, ” she told the reporter when she was interviewed.

注意: 1. 续写词数应为150个左右;
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

The day for going to the zoo finally came.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The moment arrived when Day was able to meet the elephants up close.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3 . Kids want to spend their summer vacations having fun in the sun with their friends. Reading may not even be on their list. But if you add a lovely dog, that could make reading a pleasant activity.

Now a new study found that reading to dogs helps to improve reading ability because dogs provide a nonjudgmental and supportive atmosphere(氛围).

Three educators from the college decided to look at new ways to get kids to read more after the Education Ministry expressed concern over a great drop in reading scores in fourth-grade students.

These students had reading difficulties because they did not go through school in person during the last three years. They missed out on reading practice with their peers(同龄人)during the second and third grades.

“We want to find an original way that would encourage students to practice their reading,” Har-Zvi, head of the special-education track and senior lecturer at the college said. “And to create that encouragement, we decided to do experiments with dogs.”

Reading to pets encourages kids to acquire confidence and interest in reading, according to the pet food company Purina. That’s not only because the practice of reading to dogs is used in home-schooling to help the kids acquire reading ability, but also because pets are comforting and nonjudgmental. Einat Artzi, whose daughter took part in the experiment, told Ynet that her daughter Michaela ”has loved dogs from a young age. Her experience of reading to dogs greatly increased her desire to read, and in her opinion, it improved her reading abilities. All in all, the experience of introducing dogs into the classroom made her feel comfortable and safe, and she began to enjoy going to school. Michaela is now considered one of the top readers in her class and has a very rich vocabulary. Thanks to this, we also took in a dog.“

1. What led three educators to try to get kids to read more?

A．Kids’ difficulty in making friends.	B．Teachers’ passive teaching methods.
C．Their worry about students’ health.	D．Concerns of education leaders.

2. What gave the kids confidence in the experiment?

A．The quiet listening of the dogs.	B．The kids’ love for the dogs.
C．The parents’ joining them.	D．The guidance from the teachers.

3. How did the experiment influence Michaela according to her mother?

A．It made her fall in love with dogs.	B．It bettered her reading ability greatly.
C．It improved her relationships with others.	D．It allowed her to take a dog to school.

4. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．Dogs Are Good Friends to Kids	B．Kids’ Reading Scores Are Dropping
C．Dogs Help Make Kids Better Readers	D．Kids Studying at Home Brings Problems

4 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. When will the first storm arrive?

A．Today.

B．This weekend.

C．Next week.

2. Which city will have fog?

A．New York City.

B．Saint Paul.

C．Boston.

3. For whom will the ice cause problems according to the speaker?

A．People traveling on foot.

B．People driving on the road.

C．People celebrating by the water.

4. What will the weather be like in Chicago?

A．Sunny.

B．Snowy.

C．Windy.

5 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式

In October 2021, China announced the opening of its Giant Panda National Park. Giant pandas are no longer classified as     1     endangered species but are still vulnerable (脆弱的), so conservationists are still working     2     (boost) their population numbers. By protecting pandas, the park also benefits another 8.000 animal and plant species living in the same ecosystem.

One creature     3     shares the same habit al with the giant panda is the red panda. While less famous than the giant panda, the red panda is just as cute—and     4     (unfortunate), endangered. Habitat loss caused by human activity     5     climate change is a major threat. While exact population numbers are unknown, researchers estimate that red pandas     6     (decline) by 50% in the last 18 years.

Another endangered animal living here is the clouded leopard (豹).     7     (large) than a house cat, clouded leopards are named for their irregular, cloud-like     8     (spot). The clouded leopard isn’t the only cat moving around the Giant Panda National Park. The snow leopard also shares the territory, although it’s rarely seen,     9     (make) it difficult for researchers to assess its population numbers. Snow leopards     10     (list) as vulnerable due to the increasing threats to their natural habitat.

6 . Scientists in Antarctica have recorded, for the first time, unusually warm water beneath a glacier (冰川) the size of Florida that is already melting and contributing to a _______ in sea levels.

The researchers, _______ on the Thwaites Glacier，recorded water temperatures at the base of the ice of more than 2 degrees Celsius, _______ the normal freezing point.

It is _______ how fast the glacier is deteriorating (恶化): Studies have forecast its total collapse in a century and also in a few decades. The presence of _______ water in the grounding line may support estimates at the faster range.

That is _______ because the Thwaites, along with the Pine Island Glacier, _______ as a brake (阻力) on part of the much larger West Antarctic Ice Sheet. Together, the two bigger glaciers are currently _______ ice that, if melted, would raise the world’s oceans by _______ than a meter over centuries, an amount that would put many coastal cities under water.

“Warm waters in this part of the world, as ________ as they may seem, should serve as a ________ to all of us about the potential dire (非常糟糕的) changes to the planet ________ out by climate change,” said David Holland, a lead ________ on the expedition.

While scientists may not yet be able to definitively ________ how soon glaciers like the Thwaites will melt, human-caused climate change is a key ________. The biggest predictor of “how much ice we will lose and how quickly we will lose it,” Dr. Moon said, “is human action.”

1.

A．rise

B．improvement

C．decline

D．development

2.

A．travelling

B．walking

C．living

D．working

3.

A．in

B．at

C．above

D．under

4.

A．unclear

B．uneasy

C．uncommon

D．unlikely

5.

A．dirty

B．deep

C．cold

D．warm

6.

A．familiar

B．controversial

C．ambiguous

D．significant

7.

A．acts

B．sees

C．views

D．regards

8.

A．taking off

B．passing on

C．holding back

D．writing down

9.

A．stronger

B．more

C．better

D．other

10.

A．remote

B．funny

C．strange

D．likely

11.

A．warning

B．notice

C．discussion

D．explanation

12.

A．pulled

B．thrown

C．brought

D．taken

13.

A．reporter

B．resident

C．fisher

D．researcher

14.

A．date

B．think

C．predict

D．answer

15.

A．character

B．factor

C．role

D．figure

7 . The herd of 14 wild Asian elephants wandering around in southwestern China's Yunnan province successfully went through the last natural barrier on its way home and returned to its traditional habitat in Pu' er city on Friday.

At 1 am, the elephants, which had left their habitat in Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve, crossed the Babian River and entered Ning'er county in Pu' er city, one of the three major habitats of Asian elephants in Yunnan. The northbound trip, lasting about 18 months, finally ended without any harm to either the elephants or local residents. The herd departed from its traditional habitat in Xishuangbanna Dai autonomous district last year and started traveling north in April. It passed through eight counties in the province during the journey. In June, it eventually reached the suburbs of Kunming, the provincial capital.

The herd started its journey with 16 members, but three of them dropped out, while two calves were born on the journey. In June, a bull elephant broke away from the group and wandered off on his own. In July, the bull elephant was lifted into a cage on the back of a truck and returned to Xishuangbanna.

The Asian elephant is listed as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The animal, which can be found in the areas of Yunnan bordering Myanmar and Laos, is also under first-class State protection in China. Shen Qingzhong, a senior engineer from the Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve, said it's inevitable（难免的）that the elephants will make another journey in the future as migration is a normal activity for elephants. “Historically, Asian elephants used to live in many parts of the country. Migration is in their nature. It helps the species expand its territory and have more chances to improve its gene pool by mating with different groups,” he said.

The forestry department and the provincial government plan to develop a national park, which aims to provide habitat protection for the elephants and a balanced relationship with residents.

1. Which of the following is True?

A．The elephants finally settled in the downtown of Kunming.

B．The journey took the elephants over two years.

C．The elephants' habitat is far away from Kunming.

D．The elephants moved towards the south of Yunnan.

2. In June, how many elephants continued their journey together?

A．13.	B．14.
C．15.	D．16.

3. What can we infer from the engineer's words?

A．Elephants can benefit from migration.

B．Migration is an abnormal activity for elephants.

C．Elephants have less chances to improve their gene.

D．Elephants used to live in its territory.

4. What does the article mainly talk about?

A．Elephants in Yunnan.	B．How to protect the elephants.
C．The activities of the elephants.	D．Elephants return from the journey.

8 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Venice of Italy is one of the world's top tourist     1     (destination). Before the COVID-19, around 20 million visitors visited the city a year, which caused many problems such as pollution from ships and being overcrowded.    2     (deal) with these problems, city officials are planning to charge tourists for visiting the city's historical centre and its beautiful canals (运河). According to Italian La Stampa newspaper, visitors may spend between 3 euros and 10 euros     3     (enter) into Venice. This probably starts from     4     summer of 2022. There are also plans to set a limit on the number of visitors     5     can enter the centre each day.     6     may be necessary for tourists to book their visit to Venice ahead of time.

Venice officials     7     (talk) for many years about the number of visitors crowding to the city. Environmentalists are     8     (extreme) worried about the damage the ships do to undersea species in the Venice Lagoon. Venice's famous squares and architecture are also ad-vised to put under the     9     (protect). Italian Culture Minister says that Venice should     10     (add) to the list of Danger Sites of United Nations' culture agency. However, a hotel worker says Venice needs tourists because they spend big.