1 . Mexico has more than just beaches. Several Mexican cities have been recognized as forming part of the heritage of humanity and are considered to be of outstanding universal value.
Oaxaca
Oaxaca and the nearby archaeological site Monte Alban have both been recognized by UNESCO. Oaxaca, the capital city of the state of the same name, was founded in 1529 and offers a good example of previous Spanish town planning. Oaxaca is considered one of Mexico’s best foodie destinations. Learn what foods and drinks you should try in Oaxaca.
Guanajuato
As a silver mining town in the past, Guanajuato seems special. The winding streets and small squares give it a more friendly feel than some of the other cities. This is a student town with a vibrant culture and an important cultural festival — the International Cervantino Festival which is held every October.
Puebla
Puebla is one of Mexico’s large cities, but its historical center can easily be explored on foot. It has some special historical structures such as the 16th-century cathedral and some other fine buildings with walls covered in tiles.
Morelia
Morelia, the capital of the state of Michoacán, was originally called Valladolid, but its name was changed in honor of independence hero José María Morelos y Pavón. The Museo del Dulce is a stop you shouldn’t miss in Morelia. Visits to nearby Patzcuaro or the reserves are also recommended on a trip to Morelia.
1. What are visitors recommended to do in Oaxaca?| A．Walk on a beach. | B．Enjoy local cuisine. |
| C．Visit a student town. | D．Join a cultural festival. |
| A．Architecture. | B．Reserves. | C．Silver mining. | D．Foods and drinks. |
| A．Oaxaca. | B．Guanajuato. | C．Puebla. | D．Morelia. |
2 . Dry lightning(雷电)can still be harmful even when conditions aren’t so dry, said a study published in Geophysical Research Letters last month. Dry lightning during little to no rainfall was previously thought to cause wildfire danger only with less than 2.5mm of rain in a day. A Washington State University-led study of wildfires in the US West found dry lightning caused wildfires despite up to 7.7 mm of rain.
“The rainfall amounts we recorded should help provide a better understanding of just how much rain can cause a fire risk,” said Dmitri Kalashnikov, lead author of the study.
The researchers analyzed(分析)cases on more than 4,600 naturally caused fires from 2015 to 2020. They matched 3,726 of those to the lightning strikes that likely started them with the help of National Lightning Detection Network.
The study found that 15.3% of those were holdover fires which burn without smoke, bringing about over a hundred fires each year. Analyzing the rainfall amounts around the time of the lightning strikes showed greater rainfall than previously thought among the earlier found fires ranging from 1.7 mm to 4.6 mm.
While humans still cause most fires either by accident or on purpose, lightning-caused wildfires burn the most areas. Nearly 70% of the wildfire-burned land in the West was from lightning-caused fires according to the study. For example, the largest wildfire burn area in California history took place in August 2020 after dry lightning caused many wildfires at once.
Dry lightning can also start wildfires in places that are hard for firefighters to reach. This study found the places where holdover fires happened repeatedly were in the forested mountains of the Southwest as well as the middle and southern Rocky Mountains. Holdover fires cause the problem because they are so hard to notice.
1. The new study found dry lightning can still cause wildfires with a daily rainfall of __________.| A．7.7 mm | B．8.0mm | C．9.4mm | D．10.2mm |
| A．The finding of the research. | B．The number of the cases. |
| C．The process of the study. | D．The designers of the test. |
| A．They are difficult to notice. | B．The fire service is short-handed. |
| C．Campers often smoke there. | D．The locals fail to call firefighters. |
| A．A history textbook. | B．A science magazine. |
| C．A course plan. | D．A book review. |
3 . Autumn is the best season to travel in Xinjiang. I promise the tour won’t disappoint you! Here is the schedule (日程). Please have a look.
 | |
| Day 1（cloudy） | ●Arrive in Urumqi and check in at the hotel. ●Visit the International Grand Bazaar (大巴扎). ●Climb the Red Hill. ●Have dinner at Silk Road Restaurant. |
| Day 2（rainy） | Remember to take umbrellas. ●Go to Fukang and visit the Tianchi Lake. ●Go to a hot spring in Wujiang Hotel. |
| Day 3（windy） | Remember to prepare sweaters and jeans. ●Fly to the city of Altay. ●Go to Keketuohai. ●Fly back to Urumgi the next day. |
| Day 4（sunny） | Remember to wear shorts and T-shirts. ●Go to the city of Turpan. ●Visit the Flaming (火焰) Mountain. ●Go to the Grape Valley (谷) and pick up grapes. ●End of your tour and go back to Urumqi. |
| A．cloudy | B．rainy | C．windy | D．sunny |
| A．umbrellas | B．sweaters | C．shorts | D．T-shirts |
| A．have dinner at Silk Road Restaurant | B．go to the Grape Valley |
| C．visit the Flaming Mountain | D．pick up grapes |
4 . Plant a tree!
What’s causing global warming? Is it man-made? Or are temperatures simply changing naturally? Whatever the case, we can at least try to slow things down. But how?
The Wilderness Project has an idea.
Now, lots of people all over the world have already been planting more trees. In fact, if everyone plants one tree, just one, it will do great good to our environment.
So, what can you do to help?
So, go on, plant a tree…and save the earth!
| A．Maybe you can buy a young tree to grow |
| B．They suggest that we should plant more trees |
| C．Another question is how quickly the sea level will rise |
| D．Many countries are calling on people to plant more trees |
| E．What’s more, they improve human health by producing oxygen (氧气) |
| F．He was nine when he came up with the idea of planting trees around the world |
| G．Farmers don’t want to go and help them plant more trees |
5 . A bridge is a structure constructed to connect two places without blocking the way beneath it. Below are four famous bridges in the world.
Bridge of Sighs
The Bridge of Sighs is in Venice, Italy, which was designed by Antonio Contino. The bridge’s construction was begun in 1600 and completed in 1603. The bridge was supposed to be the last view for prisoners, who would sigh at the beauty of Venice, before being taken to prison. That is why it is called the Bridge of Sighs.
Tsing Ma Bridge
The bridge is named after the two islands it connects-Ma Wan and Tsing Yi in Hong Kong. It has both a roadway and a railway and is the longest suspension bridge (悬索桥) with two decks. The bridge is 4518 feet long and 676 feet tall, which was designed by Mott MacDonald. The construction was begun in 1992 and completed in 1997.
Tower Bridge
The Tower Bridge is situated in London, which is a combination of the drawbridge (开合桥) and suspension bridge. Designed by Horace Jones and John Wolfe Barry, it was built between 1886 and 1894. The bridge stretches across the River Thames near the Tower of London. The drawbridge is drawn about 1,000 times a year.
Golden Gate Bridge
The Golden Gate Bridge joins the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, whose chief designer was Jbseph Strauss. The bridge has been named the most beautiful and most photographed bridge in the world. It is 8,981 feet long, 746 feet tall and 90 feet wide. Construction of the bridge was begun in 1933 and completed in 1937. In 1987, the bridge was named a California historic landmark.
1. Which bridge has the longest history?| A．The Bridge of Sighs. | B．The Tsing Ma Bridge. |
| C．The Tower Bridge. | D．The Golden Gate Bridge. |
| A．It was named by its designer. | B．It was named by the government. |
| C．It got its name because of its length. | D．It got its name from the two islands it connected. |
| A．It links two oceans. |
| B．It is the longest bridge in the world. |
| C．It is a historic landmark in California. |
| D．It is a combination of the drawbridge and suspension bridge. |
6 . In winter, intense cold in China’s Jilin Province can turn tripping water into ice within seconds. Yet, 63-year-old Ren Jianguo gets up early every day to spread corn on the riverbank to make sure thousands of migratory birds(候鸟) have food to go through the cold days.
Ren lives in Jilin City which is built on the banks of the Songhuajiang River. Over the past 26 years, he has been one of the many volunteers protecting migratory birds on the river’s Changbai Island. Local residents label him as “Uncle Bird”. Winter is the busiest time for Uncle Bird as it is the season when large amounts of migratory birds fly here to avoid the biting cold days in Siberia, Russia.
On the upper reaches of the Songhuajiang River is Northeast China’s largest artificial lake. The temperature of the water stays at around 4-10℃ all year round. This allows Changhai Island to welcome countless migratory birds.
“As long as they choose to stay in this city, there should be people to take care of them. When it becomes difficult to find food in winter, I call for donations or sometimes pay for the food myself to secure their survival during the winter,” Ren said.
Jilin City, which is part of the migratory passage of birds in East Asia, is one of the few warm wetlands in northern China suitable for migratory birds to rest. To improve the environment here, the Chinese government has invested about 26.6 billion yuan for water pollution control and prevention along the Songhuajiang River since 2006.
For Ren, a small house near the riverbank has almost become his “second home”, a place from which he can patrol(巡逻) along the banks, observe birds, educate the public about bird conservation and, after a long day of work, light a fire and enjoy a warm meal.
“I simply want this to be a warm and welcoming place for birds when they choose to stay here for a temporary rest,” he said.
1. What is the best title of this passage?| A．The Tale of “Uncle Bird” |
| B．The Environment of Changbai Island. |
| C．The Survival of Birds. |
| D．The Protection of Wetlands. |
| A．To keep himself from being bored. |
| B．To keep the birds from flying away. |
| C．To keep the birds from going hungry. |
| D．To keep the environment from being polluted. |
| A．To eat high-quality corns. |
| B．To see kind-hearted volunteers. |
| C．For a cleaner environment. |
| D．For a better temperature. |
| A．Boring. | B．Professional. |
| C．Dangerous. | D．Meaningful. |
7 . What do the following animals have in common? Pandas, rhinoceros, Mexican burrowing snakes, pink pigeons and small tooth sawfish.
They are all endangered animals! Animals become endangered for a variety of reasons. Sadly, humans are behind every one of them!
For centuries, humans have hunted elephants for their tusks, and killed tigers for their beautiful fur, caught fish for food. While we still have elephants, tigers, and fish in the wild, we cannot say the same about many others that have simply died out!
Year 1505 was a dreadful turning point in the natural history of the island of Mauritius — European sailors discovered this beautiful island in the Indian Ocean and brought dogs, pigs, monkeys with them. The arrival of humans and those introduced animal species were bad news for dodo birds. About 50 pounds and flightless, dodo birds did not have any natural enemies until then. They picked fruit fallen from trees and built their nests on the ground. Shortly after humans set foot on Mauritius, however, dodo birds realized that they were in big trouble — men killed them for their meat, and those introduced animal species destroyed their nests and ate their eggs. The effects of excessive hunting and foreign species drove dodo birds to first become much fewer and then die out. The last dodo bird was killed in 1681.
Humans and animals have always competed for land and other natural resources. We clear an area of a forest for farming. We cut down trees and use wood to build beautiful houses. We build reservoirs to make sure that we have enough water to use. At the same time that we are trying to make our life comfortable, we destroy the habitats of wild animals.
More than once we have seen on television that rescue workers are trying their best to save seabirds in spilled oil. More than once we have heard about how emissions of carbon dioxide (二氧化碳的排放) and other gases have raised the earth's temperature and caused global warming. Pollution has a serious and long lasting effect. If we choose to do nothing and continue to pollute our planet Earth, our next generations will have to face an Earth without birds singing and beasts roaring.
1. Which of the following are NOT endangered animals?| A．Pandas. | B．Rhinoceros. | C．Pink pigeons. | D．Dodo birds. |
| A．Surprising. | B．Exciting. | C．Awful. | D．Quick. |
| A．how excessive hunting led to endangerment of animals |
| B．when foreign species entered the island of Mauritius |
| C．the human activities caused the loss of habitats of animals |
| D．pollution played a main role in the worsening of the environment |
| A．What makes the animals in danger | B．How to save the endangered animals |
| C．Pollution and animals | D．Don't hunt for animals |
8 . Polar bears generally use sea ice to hunt (捕猎), but a newly discovered group has found another way. An isolated (与世隔绝的) population of polar bears has been discovered in a fjord (峡湾) in southeast Greenland, which is free of sea ice for most of the year. Polar bear generally need sea ice to survive, so the discovery is raising hopes that some kinds of the polar bears might survive the loss of sea ice caused by global warming.
Researchers found the population living in a fjord in the southeast Greenland, which is surrounded by mountains and an ice sheet to the west, and ocean to the east. The sea-ice coverage lasts for only around 100 days each year. With sea ice in the fjord becoming smaller because of global warming, the whole group were expected to die out by the end of this century.
But the isolated population has found a way to hunt without sea ice. The group, about 27 adult females, has been isolated from other polar bear populations along Greenland’s east coast for at least 200 years.
Tracking data from marked bears proves that they don’t move far. For example, when members of the group went out of the fjord, the ice on which they sat sometimes got caught in the rapid water flow. “Whenever this happened, they would get stuck and then, they would have to jump off, swim to the beach and walk back home empty-handed,” says lead author Kristin Laidre, an animal ecologist at the University of Washington in Seattle.
Though the researchers failed to video their hunting without sea ice, the existence of this small population in conditions of low sea-ice coverage suggests there is a chance that the population can survive, even as sea ice flows away to farther north each year.
1. What have the newly discovered polar bears found?| A．A place filled with ice sheets. |
| B．A way to hunt without sea ice. |
| C．A way to track sea ice flowing away. |
| D．An ice sheet caught in the rapid water flow. |
| A．They are being hunted by human. |
| B．They have lost their source of food. |
| C．They can’t stand the increasing heat. |
| D．The sea ice there is becoming smaller. |
| A．The bears can swim very far to hunt for food. |
| B．Kristin Laidre is negative about the future of the group. |
| C．Once the group went out of the fjord, they might get into trouble. |
| D．If the bears got caught in the rapid water flow, they wouldn’t go home. |
| A．Polar bear population can survive without sea ice |
| B．Sea ice is becoming smaller because of the global warming |
| C．Polar bear population may die out because of the global warming |
| D．A newly discovered polar bear population has been stuck in a fjord |
9 . People have long known that dogs have a great sense of smell. But scientists weren’t sure whether stressed people had a special smell. And if they did, they weren’t sure whether dogs could detect that smell.
All day long, our bodies go through changes and produce different chemicals. They come out in our breath and sweat, slightly changing the way we smell. But it wasn’t known if stress could cause changes that could be detected. So researchers at Queen’s University Belfast, led by scientist Clara Wilson, collected breath and sweat samples(样品) from 36 different people. They got samples when the people were calm and when they were stressed.
The calm part was easy. They asked people to report their stress level, and measured their heart rates and blood pressure. The people were asked to wipe their skin with a clean piece of cloth. Then they had to put the cloth sample in a tube(管子), breathe on it hard three times, and seal the tube.
Then the scientists asked a really difficult math problem, and forced people to do it in their heads quickly. They kept telling the people to hurry up, and didn’t give them any help. That lasted for three minutes. Then the researchers collected two more sweat and breath samples. They also asked the people about their level of stress, and measured their heart rates and blood pressure. Most people said they felt very stressed. On average, the heart rate increased from about 91 beats per minute to about 105 beats per minute.
The scientists used one of the stressed samples, along with two clean pieces of cloth, to train the dogs to find the stressed smell. Then came the challenge: the dogs had three choices: a sample from a calm person, a stressed sample from that same person, and a clean piece of cloth. In all, the dogs did 720 of these tests. They correctly identified the stressed sample about 94% of the time.
The results make it clear that stress does have a smell that dogs can detect. Ms. Wilson says the news could be especially useful in training service dogs, since their job is to help relieve stress.
1. What conclusion can be drawn from paragraph 2?| A．One’s body smell almost stays the same. |
| B．Our breath and sweat contain chemicals. |
| C．Stress plays a big role in one’s body smell. |
| D．Our bodies produce chemicals only when we’re awake. |
| A．To stress people out. | B．To hold people back. |
| C．To cheer people up. | D．To keep people interested. |
| A．the difficulty of the challenge |
| B．the complexity of the experiment |
| C．the dogs finished the challenge quite well |
| D．the experiment needed to be improved |
| A．Dogs Prove to Have a Great Sense of Smell |
| B．It Turns Out That Stress Does Have a Smell |
| C．Scientists Learn That Dogs Can Smell Stress |
| D．Research Shows That Dogs Can Be Stress Relievers |
10 . The swan is a large, beautiful bird with a long neck, big white wings and wide feet. It is a great flyer because of its strong wings. It is also a good swimmer, swimming quickly and nicely through the water. But on dry land, it’s a different story—the swan’s heavy body and slow walk make it look a bit funny!
Swans live anywhere there is fresh water, like lakes and slow-moving rivers. They eat water plants and small fish. Swans are very territorial (地盘性的), which means that they protect their homes against any strangers. When swans want to look strong, they stand up tall, show their long necks and open their big wings while letting out big noises.
In spring, swans make a nest (巢) of tree leaves near the water. They often use the same nest year after year, repairing it when egg laying time comes round. The mother swan lays between five and eight eggs in the nest, and then sits on them to keep them warm and safe until about a month later, cygnets are born. Sometimes the father swan will take the first—born cygnets out onto the water while the mother stays to look after the other eggs. The cygnets are looked after by both parents, who will fight other animals, people or even boats if they think their cygnets are in danger!
1. To make them look strong, swans ________.| A．swim quickly | B．stand on one leg |
| C．move their necks often | D．open their wings |
| A．they build their nests after spring | B．they often use the same nest every year |
| C．they use the nests just for laying eggs | D．they build their nests under the water |
| A．cover the eggs with tree leaves | B．stay away and watch the eggs |
| C．stay to sit on top of the eggs | D．have the father look after the eggs |
| A．the swan nests | B．the father swans |
| C．the baby swans | D．the mother swans |
