1.简要描述海洋面临的污染问题 2.你的倡议
注意:1.词数100左右 2.可以适当增加细节,使行文更加连贯
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2 . Scientists have determined that July 2023 was the hottest month on record and that the Earth’s average surface temperature is the highest it’s been in at least 120,000 years.
There’s no shortage of advice for people in hotter-than-normal regions. They can wear a sun hat or stay in the shade (阴凉处). And when all else fails, go inside and turn the air conditioning on.
But wild creatures can’t enjoy the cool air indoors. Many people assume that wild species must have some ways of dealing with these unusually high temperatures. However, most of them can’t. If their body temperatures go too high or too low, they will die. So in addition to finding food and avoiding enemies, every wild creature must continually engage in an ongoing exchange of energy with their environments to ensure survival.
Birds do this by getting out of the direct sun, sitting still, and breathing shallow breaths. In short, they do nothing but breathe in the shade. This behavior is usually successful because it enables most birds to survive most of the very hot days. But it wrecks their schedule. Many birds no longer have enough time in their days to find enough food to remain healthy, especially the extra food needed to raise their young.
It’s not only birds that are suffering from heat, nor is it only land species: animals in the ocean are also suffering. The largest analysis (分析) of coral reef (珊瑚礁) health found that 14% of the world’s coral reefs had been lost in the previous decade due to heat. Another recent study predicts (预测) that over 99% of coral reefs will experience heat that they cannot recover from if the global average temperature increases by just 1.5 degrees Celsius, which, unless we massively reduce our carbon emissions, is likely to happen in the next decades.
Heat is damaging ecosystems everywhere, and we’re just in the early stages of climate breakdown. Humans are highly adaptable. The vast majority of wild species, however, can’t simply pack up and go someplace else. By continuing to pollute the atmosphere, we’re damaging their worlds and pushing ever-greater numbers of them into extinction.
1. How do wild species differ from humans in handling rising heat?A.They can migrate to cooler environments. | B.They are better at cooperating with each other. |
C.They have limited methods for adapting to it. | D.They are more resistant to heat-related health issues. |
A.Represents. | B.Disturbs. | C.Adopts. | D.Meets. |
A.Land species are more easily affected by heat. |
B.Heat can cause serious trouble for different wildlife. |
C.Coral reefs are of great value to coastal communities. |
D.Underwater creatures have adopted ways to control heatwaves. |
A.Wildlife can adapt quickly to various environments. |
B.Wild species have more natural enemies to deal with. |
C.Ecosystems may naturally recover from heat damage. |
D.Immediate action is required to protect ecosystems. |
A.Rainy. |
B.Foggy. |
C.Sunny. |
4 . This past summer I set out on a journey to Canada’s Arctic. When I left I was wrapped in a blanket of uncertainty and
But when I first met the group members, I knew I didn’t have anything to
Approaching the Arctic, I was repeatedly
However, I also learned the pollutants carried by ocean from far away have a negative
During the journey, I talked with some
The Arctic is a land of incredible beauty which
A.relief | B.anxiety | C.pride | D.argument |
A.put up | B.prepare for | C.give up | D.worry about |
A.easy-going | B.well-behaved | C.sensitive | D.flexible |
A.failure | B.performance | C.adventure | D.conflict |
A.embarrassed | B.ashamed | C.amused | D.shocked |
A.watching | B.organizing | C.noticing | D.guessing |
A.painfully | B.patiently | C.unconsciously | D.doubtfully |
A.source | B.reaction | C.effect | D.development |
A.rest | B.ease | C.peace | D.risk |
A.hunt | B.explore | C.help | D.meet |
A.demanding | B.learned | C.modest | D.rigid |
A.classified | B.decorated | C.confused | D.occupied |
A.promises | B.benefits | C.deserves | D.intends |
A.take care of | B.make use of | C.run out of | D.became tired of |
A.deny | B.ensure | C.argue | D.overlook |
5 . Five years ago, we cut nearly every single tree across 19 acres here, piled and burned the branches and left the trunks where they lay. The goal was to restore one of the Ozarks’ rarest ecosystems, a type of dry and rocky grassland.
Logging down trees to bring back grass may seem puzzling in a time of climate change, as forest conservation and tree planting have become popular ways to keep carbon out of the atmosphere. But it is exactly what we should do in some parts of the Southeast. The climate and biodiversity crises are problems to be solved together. We can’t afford to rob biodiversity to pay for the climate. And grasslands are surprisingly good at pulling carbon out of the atmosphere. A single sunflower might not be the carbon grab that an oak tree is, but grass’s deep root systems store the element deep underground, where it can take hundreds or thousands of years to return to the atmosphere.
For the past century, the commonly held belief was that forests once covered most of the region from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River. But we now know that’s not true. Much of the Southeast was a string of large and small grassland ecosystems with enormous biodiversity. All of these unique grasslands are under threat, but not all by tree invasion. The few remaining grasslands in Arkansas are being converted to grow rice, Virginia grasslands are being flattened by housing developers, and low-lying coastal grassy plain is facing sea-level rise. Because grasslands are so easily navigated (导航) and settled, they may be the most threatened ecosystems in the world.
And it’s obvious that everywhere, grasslands remain undervalued. Many conservation organizations working in the Southeast are still focused on tree planting and preserving existing forests. The Nature Conservancy’s Cumberland Forest Project covers 253, 000 acres of land in Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia, part of an effort to store carbon and create continuous habitats for species migration during climate change. In fact, recent laws are beginning to lead us in the right direction.
1. Why were the trees cut down in Ozarks?A.To take in more carbon. | B.To regain its grassland. |
C.To create a new ecosystem. | D.To deal with climate change. |
A.The reasons for grasslands reduction. | B.The purpose of cutting down trees. |
C.The changes of ecosystems. | D.The result of tree invasion. |
A.Grasslands are greatly valued. | B.Carbon can be broken down by grasslands. |
C.Forests took up more region than grasslands. | D.All the grasslands are not threatened by trees. |
A.The importance of grasslands. | B.The influence of planting trees. |
C.The measures of restoring grasslands. | D.The present situation of the Southeast. |
6 . One night, as I was driving down the road, I found something was sitting in the middle of the road. A few seconds later, I realized I was looking at a large turtle (海龟). Afraid of it being crashed by cars, so I pulled over, ran across the road and dragged the turtle to safety. But I’d made one big mistake.
I had heard that the best way to pick up a turtle without hurting it was picking it by the tail in order not to get bitten. So I’d made that big mistake. While the turtle turned out OK generally, I was determined to figure out how to move a turtle properly. I needed to find someone who dealt with turtles. I found the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre. I talked to Dr. Sue, its Executive and Medical Director.
Dr. Sue told me that the organization dealt with a number of aspects of turtle conservation, including rescue, settlement, birth programs, research, and education. Sue explained that southern Ontario is home to a vast majority of turtles in Canada, but is also one of the vastest road networks of the country.
“Ninety percent of injured turtles brought in are caused by cars. These turtles spend a lot of time on land. And they do travel many kilometers on land for a variety of reasons, to find a nesting spot, or to hang out for the summer or winter. Turtles know where they want to go. So, just keep them going in the direction they want to go and you may have saved a turtle’s life,” Dr. Sue said.
Once an injured turtle arrives at the center, there are medical facilities (设备) ready to go, including an X-ray machine. That’s when the team gets to work with healing injuries, and help their patient.
1. Why did the author stop the car?A.To help the turtle. | B.To see the thing clearly. |
C.To prevent a car accident. | D.To find something good. |
A.It got hurt by people before. | B.It was injured a little bit. |
C.It was run over by a car. | D.It lost its direction. |
A.Leaving the turtles alone. |
B.Making Ontario home to turtles. |
C.Changing the road conditions. |
D.Helping turtles find nesting spots. |
A.The director. | B.The driver. |
C.The author. | D.The turtle. |
7 . In the rainforest,thousands of species sing and call, forming sound layers so rich that the human mind can be overwhelmed.Drop a hydrophone(水听器)into an ocean and you will hear similar richness, but it is foreign to our air-adapted ears. Hundreds of thousands of other vocal(发声的)wonders ring out across the world. Every vocal species has a distinctive sound and every place on the globe has a vocal character.We live in a world of vocal wonder,yet this richness is being damaged worldwide.
In some places, vocal loss is caused by the destruction of habitats,from destroyed forests to overfished oceans. However, in habitats such as thick rainforests or oceans, sound is the only way for most animals to communicate even over short distances. This communication mating songs, cooperative signals about food, cries that indicate social, status and alarm calls allow complex animal life to boom. Elsewhere, noise is also the problem. Machines pump so much sound into water and air that other species can’t hear one another. The problem of noise is most serious in the oceans, where earthquake exploration, shipping and sonar(声呐)create a deafening sound that is uninhabitable, or nearly so, for many species.
Mankind is also affected by environmental noise, with complaints about noise pollution dating to the very first cities, recorded on clay walls from Babylonia. This noise is no mere inconvenience: It may cause diseases or deaths. The European Environment Agency estimates that environmental noise in Europe causes 12,000 untimely deaths and 48,000 new cases of heart disease per year.
What can be done to address these problems? Perhaps among the scientific studies of trends in vocal loss, activism to advocate (提倡) for justice and policy-making to reduce noise pollution and habitat destruction, we’d better also find space to listen. Just as we go out with friends to hear a concert, might we do the same for the birds in a city park? In this simple act, we might find inspiration and a direct connection to our more than-human neighbors.
1. What’s the main idea of paragraph 2?A.Reasons contributing to noise. |
B.Necessity of protecting nature. |
C.Factors leading to vocal loss. |
D.Significance of sound diversity. |
A.To stress the threat of noise. |
B.To advocate removing noise. |
C.To arouse people’s health awareness. |
D.To criticize the development of cities. |
A.Make practical policies. |
B.Conduct more scientific study. |
C.Seek inspiration from a concert. |
D.Build bonds with other creatures. |
A.Can You Hear What I Hear? |
B.Where Is the Sound Taking Us? |
C.Can You Smell Something in Nature? |
D.How Can We Protect the Environment? |
A.Sunny. | B.Cloudy. | C.Rainy. |
9 . With greater climate catastrophe (气候突变) on Earth, it is natural for us to make every effort to stop the potential floods, snowstorms, and alarming reports from scientists. For many of us (myself included), part of that means running out to buy reusable straws, organic cleaners, and packaging-free products.
However, before you rejoice in “green” purchases, take a second to consider the results of a new study from Arizona University. By comparing the shopping habits, mental health and environmental impact of young people, the researchers reaffirmed a principle: Buying less beats buying “green” stuff without effort. And that is true whether you are looking at the impact that your purchases have on the Earth or on your own happiness.
It should not come as a shock that simply consuming less is better for the planet. After all, every new item a factory yields requires some resources to produce. Take plastic bag bans for instance. If your city is getting rid of single-use shopping bags, it can be tempting to pay for a fashionable organic cotton bag hanging in the check-out line of your local supermarket. However, experts insist that growing cotton is actually no better for the Earth than producing the conventional plastic bags. Your best bet for carrying your groceries if you care about sustainability? Any bag you already own. This is true of many kinds of “green” products.
It is not just the Earth that will be happier if you buy less. You will feel more contented too, according to the new study. “People believe that they might well be self-satisfied about becoming environmentally conscious through green buying patterns, but it doesn't seem to be that way”, said the lead researcher Sabrina Helm. “Reduced consumption has effects on increased well-being and decreased psychological distress, but we don't see that with green consumption.”
“Owning every new green product on the market might make you feel contented, but if you relieve yourself of that burden of ownership, most people report feeling a lot better,” said Helm.
1. Why does the writer mention green shopping habits?A.To call on a green lifestyle. | B.To praise people's green efforts. |
C.To introduce a social trend. | D.To present a half true “green truth”. |
A.The plastic bag bans are of no effect. |
B.Using any bag you have is the best bet. |
C.Reduced consumption is better for the Earth. |
D.Growing cotton is actually far worse for the Earth. |
A.The sense of achievement. | B.The sense of happiness. |
C.Psychological pressure. | D.Environmental awareness. |
A.Less is More | B.The Greener, The Happier |
C.Happiness Guarantee | D.What Are Really Green Products? |
10 . For many people, catching a smell of freshly cut grass is a pleasant sign that warmer weather is here to stay. For the grass, however, this scent signals an entirely different story.
The smell we associate with freshly cut grass is actually a chemical SOS, one used by plants to beg nearby creatures to save them from attack. After all, when danger strikes —whether it's gardening equipment or a hungry caterpillar — plants can't lift their roots and run. They must fight where they stand. To protect themselves, plants employ a string of molecular (分子) responses. These chemical communications can be used to poison an enemy, warn surrounding plants of dangers or attract helpful insects to perform needed services.
Clearly, plants can communicate. But does that mean they can feel pain? According to some researchers, plants release gases that are the equivalent of crying out in pain. Using a laser-powered microphone, researchers have picked up sound waves produced by plants releasing gases when cut or injured. Although not audible to the human ear, the secret voices of plants have revealed that cucumbers scream when they are sick, and flowers cry when their leaves are cut.
There's also evidence that plants can hear themselves being eaten. Researches show that plants understand and respond to chewing sounds made by caterpillars dining on them. As soon as the plants hear the noises, they respond with several defense mechanisms.
For some researchers, evidence of these complex communication systems — giving out noises via gas when in pain — signals that plants feel pain. Others argue that there cannot be pain without a brain to register the feeling. Still more scientists infer that plants can exhibit intelligent behavior without possessing a brain or conscious awareness.
As they grow, plants can change their paths to avoid obstacles or reach for support with their tendrils (卷须). This activity comes from a complex biological network distributed through the plants' roots, leaves and stems. This network helps plants reproduce, grow and survive.
1. What does the smell of freshly cut grass signal?A.Warmer weather. | B.Being poisonous. |
C.Cry for help. | D.The need of services. |
A.By giving out gases. | B.By changing the color of their leaves. |
C.By producing audible sound waves. | D.By sharing it through the root systems. |
A.Their tendrils. | B.Their biological network. |
C.Their communication systems. | D.Their conscious awareness. |
A.Do plants feel pain? | B.How plants protect themselves? |
C.Do plants communicate? | D.How plants grow and reproduce? |