1 . The latest data shows the population of wild Asin elephants in southwest China’s Yunnan Province has increased from around 150 to more than 300 from the 1980s to the end of 2021, according to the National Forestry and Grassland Administration.
With the growth in the elephant population, conflicts between humans and elephants have become frequent. In order to fundamentally and peacefully solve the issue and protect the elephant’s habitat at the same time, construction of the Asian elephant National Park is picking up speed. Experts suggest that national parks are not intended to be entirely free of people. Instead, they should offer a method for coexistence.
Asian elephants play an important role as engineers of the rainforest, said the expert. Their migration (迁徙) can speed up the replacement of forest ecosystems along the way. Elephant waste remains not only food for insects, but also attracts insectivorous birds, allowing plant seeds to spread. Therefore, protecting the elephants and their habitats guarantees the shelter to other wildlife in forest ecosystems.
To cope with human-elephant conflicts, Yunnan took the lead in introducing a commercial insurance model into its compensation (补偿) system: local residents will be paid with the amount of money for the crops destroyed by the elephants by the insurance company. In the past 10 years, Yunnan has paid a total of 173 million yuan for losses caused by Asian elephants.
“The standard of compensation is constantly being adjusted, and the amount of insurance coverage for compensation is also increasing,” said Yang Hua from the Forestry and Grass Bureau of Yunnan Province. “At present, the insured amount in Pu’er City and Xishuangbanna Prefecture alone has already gone beyond 50 million.”
1. What do we know about the Asian elephant park?| A．It offers elephants a place without humans. | B．It aims at the human-elephant harmony. |
| C．It speeds up the protection of elephants. | D．It keeps the growth of elephants in control. |
| A．Fond of plants. | B．Driving away insects. |
| C．Good at collection. | D．Feeding on insects. |
| A．The total money spent on compensation. |
| B．One way of addressing the problem concerned. |
| C．The influence of a commercial insurance model. |
| D．The damage to crops caused by the elephants. |
| A．Asian elephants, engineers of the rainforest |
| B．Insurance adjusted, compensation increased |
| C．China explores solutions to human-elephant conflicts |
| D．Population of wild Asian elephants shoots up in China |
2 . Liverpool, my hometown, is a unique city. It is so unique that in 2004 it became a World Heritage Site.
I recently returned to my home city and my first stop was at a museum on the River Mersey. Blanketed in mist, Victorian architecture rose from the banks of the river, responded to the sounds of seabirds, and appeared unbelievably charming. When I headed toward the centre, I found myself surrounded by buildings that mirror the best palaces of Europe. It is not hard to imagine why, on first seeing the city, most visitors would be overpowered by the beauty of the noble buildings, which are solid sigs of Liverpool’s history.
As if to stress its cultural role, Liverpool has more museums and galleries than most cities in Britain. At Walker Art Gallery, I was told that it has the best collections of Victorian paintings in the world, and is the home of modern art in the north of England. However, culture is more than galleries. Liverpool offers many music events. As Britain’s No. 1 music city, it has the biggest city music festival in Europe, and its musicians are famous all over the world. Liverpool is also well-known for its football and other sports events. Every year, the Mersey River Festival attracts thousands of visitors, making the city a place of wonder.
As you would expect from such a city, there are restaurants serving food from around the world. When my trip was about to complete, I chose to rest my legs in Liverpool’s famous Philharmonic pub. It is a monument to perfection, and a heritage attraction itself.
Being a World Heritage Site, my home city is certainly a place of “outstanding universal value”. It is a treasure house with plenty of secrets for the world to explore.
1. Which part of Liverpool would deeply impress first-time visitors?| A．Its charming river banks. | B．Its famous museums. |
| C．Its attractive buildings. | D．Its wonderful palaces. |
| A．By providing different examples. | B．By following the order of space. |
| C．By making comparisons. | D．By stressing its importance. |
| A．To indicate the end of his trip. | B．To expect perfect service. |
| C．To show more attraction. | D．To recommend a break from the trip. |
| A．The universal value of the world heritage in Liverpool. |
| B．The special cultural atmosphere of Liverpool. |
| C．The exciting change of the author’s hometown. |
| D．The promising tourism in the author’s hometown. |
3 . What foods do you use to celebrate with your family? Do you eat something special on your birthday or holidays? Among the Hopi people, many foods for special celebrations are made from corn.
The Hopi people are Native Americans who live in Black Mesa, Arizona, USA. They grow special types of corn with long roots (根), which help the corn reach water in the ground in the hot and dry desert (沙漠).
The Hopi use each color of corn for something different. For example, blue corn is used to make some traditional Hopi foods. Piki is one Hopi food made with blue com. It is like a paper-thin, rolled pancake.
| A．The Hopi people have a long history. |
| B．Corn is also used in Hopi ceremonies. |
| C．There are different types of corn as well. |
| D．Corn plays an important role in the Hopi diet. |
| E．Some Hopi today still live as they did hundreds of years ago. |
| F．White corn is used to wish a baby good health and long life. |
| G．But both groups still practice Hopi spirituality and other traditions. |
4 . Textile (纺织品) waste is a growing problem for our environment. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported the US throws away more than 11 million tons of clothing every year. That is why some small businesses spotting the problem are beginning to recycle in ways they haven’t before.
Create Good Company is a clothing company that tries to produce sustainable (可持续的) clothing and repurpose older clothing into updated fashionable items. Maggie. Hendricks, the owner of Create Good Company, said, “If you can revamp what you find, why wouldn’t you do that instead of buying new things? It’s a big issue not to create new waste. I would say we are 90%recycled materials.”
According to the EPA, the average consumer (消费者) throws away 81.5 pounds of clothes every year. “Anywhere between 10%-17%of the waste that’s going into landfills (废弃物填埋场) is made up of things like textiles and clothing,” said Danny Katz with the CoPIRG Foundation.” A lot of the clothing that we’re producing doesn’t even get worn, so it’s going right to the landfill or even being burned and contributing to pollution that way. It’s really worrying.”
This is why businesses like Create Good Company exist—to use outdated clothing and turn it into dresses or jackets.
“There’s just so much waste and so many big companies that might not think about it,” Hendricks said. “Just standing with other like-minded people who are interested in sustainability is important.”
Another important element Hendricks has focused on is creating these items and selling them at an affordable price.
“Sustainability sometimes is green washed in companies and they make things more expensive,” Hendricks said. “That’s not how we become a sustainable world. I think making products affordable is important to me. I want to buy things that are better for the environment without throwing my pocketbook in the fire.”
1. What does the underlined word “revamp” in paragraph 2 mean?| A．Share. | B．Decorate. | C．Replace. | D．Improve. |
| A．The use of old clothing. | B．The cost of textile pollution. |
| C．The effect of clothing waste. | D．The future of the textile industry. |
| A．Its sales. | B．Its price. | C．Its producer. | D．Its quality. |
| A．The EPA’s measures to reduce textile waste |
| B．Small businesses working to prevent textile waste |
| C．Textile businesses’ social responsibility and their waste |
| D．Consumers being aware of the seriousness of textile waste |
1. What is the woman doing in the beginning?
| A．Parking her car. | B．Walking her dog. | C．Cutting the grass. |
| A．Very sorry. | B．Very excited. | C．A little unhappy. |
| A．Give the woman a bag. |
| B．Clean up the mess himself. |
| C．Let the woman go home to get a bag. |
1.海洋的重要性；
2.保护海洋的倡议。
注意：
1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节， 以使行文连贯。
Dear fellow students,
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
7 . New research shows that removing black rhinos’ horns (犀牛角) to make them less attractive to illegal hunters is reducing their territory (领地) sizes and making them less sociable with each other.
The study, published in the journal PNAS, found that dehorned South African rhinos have home ranges that are 45 per cent smaller than those of complete animals, and that they were 37 percent less likely to engage in social interactions.
“The big, dominant bulls that used to have very large territories that overlapped with a lot of females may now have much less territory and much less reproductive (繁殖的) success,” says Vanessa Duthé, who led the work at Switzerland’s University of Neuchâtel.
“It’s really hard to predict the effects of this,” she says. “It doesn’t mean that population success will necessarily decline, because it might open up gaps for younger males that would not have had the space or the means before.” Indeed, a University of Bristol study published last year showed that dehorning (去角) does not negatively affect populations overall.
But such unintended behavioral consequences necessarily feed into judgments about whether this highly invasive procedure is worthwhile. Remarkably, perhaps, there is little hard evidence either way. “No one’s put all the data together to say whether it’s a really effective measure,” says Duthé.
“What is clear is that the introduction of dehorning and a decline in illegal hunting has occurred at the same time,” she adds. “But dehorning has been accompanied by other conservation measures that may be more effective.”
“It’s incredibly complicated,” says Lucy Chimes, a member of the Bristol team. “There are so many other factors involved. You have to consider what other security measures are being carried out — fencing, patrols, staff numbers — and poverty levels surrounding parks, their nearness to national borders and whether there is community engagement.” Chimes is currently planning a project that aims to separate these and other factors. In the meantime, Duthé believes that dehorning is a worthwhile tool of last course of action. “A rhino that is behaving a little bit strangely is better than a dead rhino.”
1. What is the purpose of removing the horns of black rhinos?| A．To make them less sociable. | B．To protect them from being hunted. |
| C．To reduce their home ranges. | D．To affect their reproductive success. |
| A．The removal of rhino horns. | B．The loss of rhino territories. |
| C．The impact on rhino population. | D．The change of rhino behavior. |
| A．Supportive. | B．Opposed. | C．Unconcerned. | D．Uncertain. |
| A．Dehorning rhinos shows satisfying effects. |
| B．Various factors lead to the decline in illegal hunting. |
| C．Dehorning is the last action researchers will take. |
| D．Rhinos are supposed to behave a little bit strangely. |
8 . Here are four of the most charming villages in Europe, along with our top picks for places to stay in each.
Eze in Cota D’Azur, France
Set on a hilltop overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, the Provencal township of Eze is easily one of the most picturesque spots in the region. It is largely a tourist destination, and many of its buildings dates back to the Middle Age. In fact, Eze is particularly popular with couples seeking romantic solitude.
Hotel pick: Chateau de la Chevre
Baden-Baden in Wurttemberg, Germany
Germany’s best-known spa town, Baden-Baden, in the Black Forest of Baden- Wuttemberg, has been a popular spot for soaking in mineral-rich waters off and on since the Roman era. And while spa treatments and hot springs are still among the most popular draws for tourists, there are also plenty of museums, gardens, performing arts venues and charming old buildings and churches.
Hotel pick: Hotel Belle Epoque
Montepulciano in Tuscany, Italy
Spread over a hilltop nearly 2,000 metres above sea level, the Tuscan village of Montepulciano offers gorgeous Renaissance architecture as well as opportunities to visit wine companies. Surrounded by strong walls dating back to the 14th century, the village features a handful of churches and public squares.
Hotel pick: Etruria Resort
Oia in Santorini, Greece
Oia is undoubtedly the most charming village on the beautiful Greek island of Santorini. This town is best known as a sunset-viewing spot, but it is fantastic any time of day thanks to its abundance of typical whitewashed structures topped with blue domes plus its fabulous views out onto the Aegean Sea.
Hotel pick: Hotel Aspaki
1. Which village will newly-married couples most possibly choose to spend their honeymoon?| A．Oia. | B．Baden-Baden. |
| C．Montepulciano. | D．Eze. |
| A．you can have a spa treatment |
| B．you can enjoy a beautiful sunset view |
| C．you can appreciate Renaissance architecture |
| D．you can overlook Mediterranean Sea |
| A．Times | B．National Geographic |
| C．American Home | D．The Economist |
9 . I love going to water parks for fun. However, many people think that water parks are bad for the environment.
Water park operators (经营者) understand that they need to protect water.
Water parks attract millions of people each year, so they aren’t going away any time soon. If you think water is wasted at water parks, think about how much more water would be used if each visitor instead cooled off with their own pool!
| A．They don’t need much water every day. |
| B．The problem is that the parks waste water. |
| C．Water parks have grown in popularity recently. |
| D．One way that has been developed is to recycle water. |
| E．And there are nearly 2,000 water parks around the world. |
| F．In that case, you could say that water parks help protect water. |
| G．So new ways are being created in order to keep water in the pools. |
1. Why did Tracy bring dogs to the children?
| A．To teach them to love animals. |
| B．To help them gain confidence. |
| C．To protect them from dangers. |
| A．They may misbehave. | B．They may get hurt. | C．They may carry diseases. |
| A．Give a talk. | B．Meet the children. | C．Take some photos. |
