1 . Turkmenistan is a country in Central Asia, near Afghanistan and Iran. In Darvaza, one of its villages, there is a very interesting feature. It is a massive hole in the ground-about 20 metres (65 feet) deep and 60 metres (196 feet) across. The enormous pit (火山口) has been on fire for more than 50 years.
Why is the crater on fire? The most popular theory is that in 1971, a team of geologists from the then-Soviet Union were drilling in the country’s Karakum Desert to try to find gas. The ground under the drill collapsed and methane (甲烷) gas began to escape into the air. The geologists decided the safest thing to do was to burn off the gas by lighting it on fire. They thought the fire would burn for only a few weeks. However, it has been burning steadily for more than 50 years.
According to a BBC article, Canadian explorer George Kourounis discovered in 2013 that “no one actually knows how this catastrophe came to be.” But, now the crater may finally be extinguished.
Turkmenistan’s president, Mr. Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, has asked scientists in the country to figure out how to deal with the burning crater. He went on the country’s state-run television station on January 8 to encourage experts to find a way to stop the fire.
One of the reasons he wants the crater to be fixed is that the country can collect the gas that fuels it. Gas is a very important and valuable resource and can be used for many purposes. If it’s just burning off, the gas cannot be used or sold. According to the website Vice.com, the crater sits on the fourth largest reserve of natural gas in the world. Another reason the president may want the crater cooled down is to stop the harmful effects, to humans and the environment, of the burning gas.
1. Why did the geologists light the crater?| A．To test the quality of the gas. |
| B．To exhaust the underground gas. |
| C．To prevent explosion of the gas. |
| D．To stop the escape of the gas. |
| A．put off. | B．take off | C．put out | D．bring in |
| A．To protect the crater. | B．To find the reason of the fire. |
| C．To seek help from the public. | D．To exploit and use the gas. |
| A．The Fire Crater May Soon Be Extinguished | B．A Peculiar Scenic Spot in Turkmenistan |
| C．The Crater Burning for Fifty Years | D．The Harmful Effects of the Burning Gas |
2 . Cities are diverse ecosystems. Some wild animals become regular visitors to our cities, such as coy-otes (丛林狼) in Los Angeles or boars (野猪) in Berlin.
Our actions sometimes help other species. When a bridge in Austin, Texas was repaired, engineers added small gaps running along the length of its bottom. This made a good home for bats, and soon the bridge was the home of thousands of bats. At first, people were afraid of the bats and tried to get rid of them.
There are also structures built with the aim of bringing wildlife into the city. The Beijing Olympic Forest Park is a good example. The park used native plants and created open, natural spaces for wildlife. The result is a zone in Beijing with over 160 species of birds.
While cities pose challenges for wildlife, they are finding ways to adapt and thrive in urban environments. As humans, it is important to take measures to prevent conflicts and appreciate the presence of them.
| A．Cities are built for humans. |
| B．The park is intended to protect birds. |
| C．If we do not, more species will become extinct. |
| D．In many ways, the park is the opposite of a zoo. |
| E．Also, a large number of species share our urban areas. |
| F．Now, they have come to value their winged neighbors. |
| G．Soon, the bats are adaptable and can thrive in human-built structures. |
1. Why did the zoo build a new monkey park?
| A．It was too small for the additional monkeys. |
| B．It needed a treehouse to be more interesting. |
| C．The zoo needed to change its park to get more visitors. |
| A．Watching the turtles. | B．Watching the monkeys. | C．Feeding the turtles. |
| A．In the park. | B．In a car. | C．In the zoo. |
内容包括：
1．海洋的重要性；
2．保护海洋的倡议。
注意：词数100左右。
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Lǎozìhào refers to the old and famous shops, which have always been reliable and trustworthy and still enjoy
These famous and time-honored shops, eg, Quanjude and Tongrentang,
But these shops are more about businesses; they are also a historical and cultural phenomenon. He
Nowadays, with the rapid development of economy and fierce competition in modern society, some Lǎozìhào shops have been keeping pace
6 . Every year, young, talented, and ambitious nature conservationists from all over the world participate in the presentation of the Future For Nature (FFN) Award, an honorable international award.
The Future For Nature aims to:
• Reward and fund individuals for their outstanding efforts in the protection of species of wildlife.
• Encourage winners to sustain their dedicated work.
·• Help winners to raise their profiles, extend their professional network and strengthen their funding basis.
Benefits
• The winners each receive 50,000 euros and may make their own decision to spend the money in the service of nature conservation.
• FFN offers the winners a platform and brings their stories to the attention of conservationists, financiers and a wide audience, allowing them to increase their impact and gain more access to funds.
• FFN is building a growing family of winners, dedicated people who form a community of people with the same interest. FFN offers them the opportunity to meet each other and continue to learn with each other in order to continue their fight for nature as efficiently and effectively as possible.
Qualifications
The candidate (候选人):
• Must be born on or after the 31st May 1988 and before the 28th of August 2005.
• Is able to explain his/her conservation work in fluent English (written and spoken)
• Has achieved substantial and long-term benefits to the conservation status of one or more animal or plant species.
• Must be determined to continue his/her conservation work, as the Award aims to stimulate the winner’s future work. It is not an “end of career” prize.
Additional Remarks
For the 2024 Future For Future Awards, we are again searching for natural leaders, who have proven that they can make a difference in species’ survival.
From all applications, 6 to 10 nominees (被提名者) will be selected. These applicants will be asked to provide additional information, which will be used to select the final Awardees. Ultimately, three inspiring wildlife heroes are selected as the winners.
Application Process: Apply online through the Apply Now link.
Application Deadline: 28th August, 2023
1. Which is one of the aims of the Future For Nature?| A．To aid more green groups | B．To fund academic education. |
| C．To inspire conservation efforts. | D．To raise environmental awareness. |
| A．consult top specialists | B．meet those who are of the same ambition |
| C．benefit the local community | D．promote self-created platforms |
| A．meet the age requirement | B．apply via mail by the deadline |
| C．turn in the application in English | D．provide additional personal information |
In a very cold January, a puppy wandered around Mr. Lacey’s house, where he lived with his wife Mamie and their daughter Doris. Icicles (冰锥) hung three feet or more from the roofs of houses and snow swallowed up cars.
The puppy had been abandoned, and it made its way down the road toward the Laceys’ small house, with its ears down and trembling from shyness and cold. Doris, whose school had been called off because of the snow, was clearing the steps when she spotted the puppy on the road.
“Come on, little dog!” she called it over. The puppy shyly wagged its tail when Doris approached. As soon as Doris put the dog down in the kitchen, her mom, Mrs. Lacey, asked where the dog came from. Mr. Lacey, who was cleaning his fingernails with his pocketknife at the table, said, “I don’t know where it came from, but I know for sure where it’s going.” Doris hugged the puppy hard against her. She said nothing.
Because of the snowy weather, Mr. Lacey couldn’t take the puppy to the shelter right away. So, it stayed in the basement, and Doris fed it leftovers, even though her mom didn’t want to waste food. Doris thought the puppy was around six months old and would be quite noisy sometimes. Surprisingly, the puppy behaved well, didn’t cry or make trouble in the basement, and only followed Doris upstairs when she invited it. Doris often found it on the basement steps listening to the kitchen talk and smelling the food. She felt the puppy wanted company.
Even after a week, Doris didn’t name the dog, knowing her parents wouldn’t let her keep it. Her father made so little money that any pets were out of the question. Desperate to keep the dog, Doris tried to convince her parents by praising the dog’s good behavior and expressing her love for it, but her parents didn’t give a definite answer.
Despite her efforts, Doris secretly wished the bad weather would never go away, fearing the puppy’s unavoidable trip to the shelter. However, nine days after the dog had arrived, the sun was shining.
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。
Doris knew it was time to say goodbye to the dog and felt rather worried.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Doris put her hand to her mouth and couldn’t believe what she had heard.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________8 . You can tell a lot about a man by how he treats his dogs.
For many years, I enjoyed living with my dogs, Tilly and Chance. Their
The next week we walked our dogs together. It was a hot day. When we paused to catch our
We continued to date, though neither of us brought up the future. And then in late November, Tilly had an operation on her
A year later, much to my delight, this man produced a little box with a ring and proposed to me. He did not kneel (跪) down, nor did I
| A．ownership | B．membership | C．companionship | D．leadership |
| A．reservations | B．expectations | C．confidence | D．prejudice |
| A．feared | B．doubted | C．hoped | D．learned |
| A．predicted | B．worried | C．regretted | D．insisted |
| A．breath | B．balance | C．attention | D．imagination |
| A．calm | B．sure | C．soon | D．real |
| A．By the way | B．In that case | C．By all means | D．In that moment |
| A．eye | B．tail | C．ear | D．leg |
| A．secretly | B．constantly | C．eventually | D．unwillingly |
| A．left | B．sold | C．suggested | D．searched |
| A．late | B．hard | C．fine | D．free |
| A．emptied | B．respected | C．occupied | D．discovered |
| A．looking | B．caring | C．waiting | D．calling |
| A．beg | B．trust | C．need | D．aid |
| A．toys | B．awards | C．food | D．water |
9 . Scientists have found a new way to break down a group of harmful chemicals very hard to get rid of. The discovery could help solve a dangerous and growing problem — how to clean up the pollution of “forever chemicals”.
The group of chemicals known as PFAS (全氟烷基物) are pretty amazing. They’re non-stick, waterproof, and oil proof. They don’t burn easily or dissolve (溶解) in water. So scientists got really excited when they were discovered. Businesses started putting PFAS in all sorts of products, from non-stick pans to waterproof clothes, and from fire-fighting spray to carpets that resist stains. Even things like food wrappers and floss for cleaning your teeth contain PFAS chemicals.
But after a while, scientists realized the same things that made the chemicals useful also caused a real problem — PFAS doesn’t break down in nature. It doesn’t dissolve in water or bum. Not even bacteria can break PFAS down. No wonder these chemicals are known as “forever chemicals”.
As a result, PFAS chemicals surge in the environment. The chemicals are found in air, water, and dirt around the world — and in animals and people. In the US, 97% of humans have PFAS in their blood.
Luckily, scientists in the US have now found a way to break down some PFAS chemicals. Their solution requires boiling PFAS with two other very common chemicals. These chemicals can be found in just about any laboratory.
Dr. Brittany Trang, one of the scientists involved, said she didn’t even want to test the idea at first. “I thought it was too simple,” she said. But the process worked.
The research involved 10 types of PFAS, including two of the most common kinds. That’s a big step. But there are over 12,000 different kinds of PFAS. It’s important to note that the new method can only break down PFAS chemicals that have already been collected. Figuring out how to remove PFAS chemicals from the environment and collect them remains a huge challenge.
1. What can we infer about PFAS chemicals from paragraph 2?| A．Scientists were so excited to invent them. |
| B．They were environmentally friendly at first. |
| C．They are really widely used in our daily life. |
| D．They have more advantages than disadvantages. |
| A．Increase fast. | B．Float everywhere. | C．Extend fully. | D．React quickly. |
| A．It’s already too late to get rid of them. |
| B．There’s still a long way to go about it. |
| C．The new method is too simple to work well. |
| D．It’s impossible to get them removed from the environment. |
| A．Say Goodbye to Forever Chemicals |
| B．PFAS Chemicals Are a Two-edged Sword |
| C．PFAS Chemicals Will Remain a Challenge for Long |
| D．Scientists Find a Way to Break down Forever Chemicals |
Brave Dog wasn’t always his name. In the beginning, he was just Stray Dog（流浪狗）.
I saw him for the first time one evening when Mattie and I went to milk the cows. He was all dusty coat and skinny-ribbed（皮包骨头的）, hardly worth a second glance. But Mattie made a beeline for him, reaching out to pet him, “What a pretty dog!” The dog looked unsure, as if he weren’t used to being spoken to kindly. I grabbed Mattie’s arm. “Keep away from that stray dog,” I told her, “You know how Dad feels about stray dogs.” “Don’t call him Stray Dog,” said Mattie. “He’s a pretty dog.” The dog licked her face and put a paw on her shoulder. Mattie threw her arms around his neck. “I’m keeping him.” She declared, “I’m calling him Pretty Dog.”
To Mattie, he was Pretty Dog. She talked to him, played with him and fed him secretly. He responded by following her like a shadow when no one else was around. To the rest of us, he was Stray dog. We did everything we could to chase him away, but he kept coming back. One day, Dad accidentally caught Mattie sneaking Stray Dog a piece of leftover roast meat. “Mattie! Get away from That Dog!” Dad shouted, “Where’s your common sense, girl? We don’t waste good food on stray animals. You see That Dog again, you send him away!” So, Stray Dog became That Dog. One cold winter day, Dad set off to go ice fishing. Matti e had begged to go, but Dad said no. “You’ll only fuss（对…大惊小怪 ）about cold,” he said, tweaking（捏, 扯）her pigtail（辫子）. “I want to do some serious fishing.”
Dad came home a few hours later. “Got some fine ones,” he shouted from the porch. “Come see!” Mom and I came out. “Where’s Mattie?” Dad asked. Mom and I looked at each other in confusion, both thinking Mattie was with the other. Then, Ma strode to the closet. “Her coat and boots are gone.” Mom turned to Dad with troubled eyes, “Maybe she went after you.” Worry lines creased（弄皱）Dad’s face. “She never came to the lake. Come on, we need to find her.”
注意：
1.所续写短文的词数为150左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
In the lane, we found Mattie’s boot prints following Dad’s big ones.
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Suddenly, some dog barks came from the distance.
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