1 . The worst outbreak of desert locusts (蝗虫) in decades is presently underway in the Horn of Africa. It is the biggest of its kind in 25 years for Ethiopia and Somalia — and the worst Kenya has seen for 70 years.
What we are seeing in East Africa today is unlike anything we’ve seen in a very long time. Its destructive potential is enormous, and it’s taking place in a region where farmers need every gram of food to feed themselves and their families. Most of the countries hardest hit are those where millions of people are already vulnerable (脆弱的) or in serious humanitarian need, as they endure the impact of violence, drought, and floods.
We have acted quickly to respond to this outbreak. The primary method of battling locusts is the aerial spraying of pesticides (杀虫剂). FAO’s “Locust Watch” service explains that “although giant nets, flamethrowers, lasers, and huge vacuums have been proposed in the past, these are not useful for locust control. People and birds often eat locusts but usually not enough to significantly reduce population levels in large areas.”
The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has released $10 million from its Central Emergency Relief Fund to support a huge scale-up in aerial operations (空中作业) to manage the outbreak.
But the window to contain this crisis is closing fast. Before the beginning of March we must bring this infestation (虫害) under control as that is when the rain and planting season begins. If left unchecked (未受制止的) — and with expected additional rains — the number of locusts in East Africa could increase 500 times by June.
We must act now to avoid a full-blown catastrophe. And we will. At the same time, we need to pay attention to a bigger picture. This is not the first time the Greater Horn of Africa has seen locust outbreak approach this scale, but the current situation is the worst in decades. This is linked to climate change. Warmer seas mean more tropical storms, generating the perfect breeding conditions for locusts.
1. What is implied in paragraph 2?| A．People in East Africa are suffering droughts. |
| B．People in East Africa are going through floods. |
| C．The locust outbreak will cause crop failure. |
| D．The locust outbreak is worsening locals’ life. |
| A．We need a bigger picture to study the disaster. |
| B．It is the second outbreak of locusts in East Africa. |
| C．It is the largest outbreak of locusts ever in history. |
| D．The outbreak of locusts is fueled by global warming. |
| A．To analyze and compare. |
| B．To inform and call for action. |
| C．To argue and discuss. |
| D．To introduce and assess. |
| A．A guidebook. | B．A health magazine. |
| C．A news report. | D．A chemistry paper. |
2 . Coal burning deep underground in China，India and Indonesia is threatening the environment and human life, scientists have warned. These large-scale underground fires cause the ground temperature to heat up and kill surrounding vegetation, produce greenhouse gases and can even bring about forest fires, a panel（专门小组）of scientists told the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Denver. They warned the resulting release of poisonous elements like arsenic （砷）and mercury（汞）can also pollute local water sources and soils “Coal fires are a global disaster,” said Associate Professor Glenn Stracher of East Georgia College in Swainsboro, U.S.A. But surprisingly few people know about them.
Coal can heat up on its own, and eventually catch fire and burn, if there is a continuous oxygen supply. The heat produced is not caused to disappear and under the right combinations of sunlight and oxygen, can trigger spontaneous（自然产生的）catching fire and burning. This can occur underground in coal stockpiles（煤堆）, abandoned mines or even as coal is transported. Such fires in China destroy up to 200 million tons of coal per year, delegates were told. In comparison, the U. S. economy consumes about one billion tons of coal annually, said Stracher, whose analysis of the likely effect of coal fires has been accepted for publication in the International journal of Coal Ecology. Once underway, coal fires can burn for decades, even centuries. In the process, they release large volumes of greenhouse gases, poisonous fumes and black particles into the atmosphere.
The members of the panel discussed the effect these fires may be having on global and regional climate change, and agreed that the underground nature of the fires makes them difficult to detect(发现). One of the members of the panel, Assistant Professor Paul Van Dijk of the International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation in the Netherlands, has been working with the Chinese government to detect and monitor fires in the northern regions of the country.
The remote sensing and other techniques will allow scientists to estimate how much carbon dioxide these fires are emitting. One suggested method of controlling the fires was presented by Gary Colaizzi, of the engineering firm Goodson, which has developed a beat-resistant grout designed to be pumped into the coal fire to cut off the oxygen supply.
1. According to Paragraph 2, what will happen when the underground heat does not disappear? ________.| A．Coal heats up on its own and catches fire and burns. |
| B．The underground oxygen will be used up. |
| C．Poisonous fumes and greenhouse gases will be accumulated underground. |
| D．There will be an increase of abandoned mines. |
| A．Annual consumption of coal in US. |
| B．Annual consumption of coal in China. |
| C．How long coal fires have lasted in the northern region of China. |
| D．Coal fires may have an effect on the environment. |
| A．He was one of the scientists who have warned against the threats of underground fires. |
| B．He has detected and monitored underground fires in the Netherlands. |
| C．He has worked with the Chinese government on the underground fires issue. |
| D．He works for a research institute in the Netherlands. |
| A．Using remote sensing technique. |
| B．Controlling the release of carbon dioxide. |
| C．Cutting off the oxygen supply. |
| D．Making the soil heat resistant. |
3 . Plant a native help save Los Angeles. That’s Cassy and Kirk Aoyagi’s mission. For years, the FormLA Landscaping designers have worked to improve the landscape of Los Angeles by replacing over 20,000 square feet of lawns with indigenous plants, which can help fight climate change.
In 2010, the couple purchased a 1953 house. The home featured a bare backyard of dirt, rocks and trees. Soon after buying the home, the couple covered the yard with 12 inches of rich soil and took care of the original plants. When a large Italian stone pine tree fell over four years later, they decided it was time to address the exposed part.
When it came time to choose plants, the couple were understandably overwhelmed. They made a list of 70 different native plants. Then they narrowed the list by dividing the plants into three categories: plants to save water, plants to fight erosion, and plants for food. The first chosen plants included California lilacs, Nevins barberry and Catalina cherries.
As soon as they decided on the plants, the couple arranged them in the garden accordingly. One of the garden’s most distinctive touches is the use of existing rocks. “We make sure that we move them to areas where we like to hang out so that we can be part of that experience,” said Cassy.
After the natives were planted, the ecosystem took off. Birds, lizards and crows are now regular visitors to the yard, along with bees, ladybugs and butterflies. This landscape is more than just a garden; it’s a natural habitat.
“Everyone deserves to find the right fit,” said Cassy. Landscaping affects our health, our mood and our planet. Our authentic beauty can save us in so many ways.”
1. What do Cassy and Kirk mainly use to improve the landscape of Los Angeles?| A．Existing rocks. | B．Native plants. |
| C．Special garden designs. | D．Specially designed lawns. |
| A．In 1953. | B．In 1957. | C．In 2010. | D．In 2014. |
| A．The size of the plants. | B．The cost of the plants. |
| C．Being environmentally friendly. | D．Being able to fight insects |
| A．It has become a tourist attraction. | B．It follows the rules of natural ecology. |
| C．It mainly consists of original plants. | D．It makes foreign creatures feel at home. |
4 . Honey from the African forest is not only a kind of natural sugar, it is also delicious. Most people, and many animals, like eating it. However, the only way for them to get that honey is to find a wild bees' nest and take the honey from it. Often, these nests are high up in trees, and it is difficult to find them. In parts of Africa, though, people and animals looking for honey have a strange and unexpected helper—a little bird called a honey guide.
The honey guide does not actually like honey, but it does like the wax in the beehives. The little bird cannot reach this wax, which is deep inside the bees' nest. So, when it finds a suitable nest, it looks for someone to help it. The honey guide gives a loud cry that attracts the attention of both passing animals and people. Once it has their attention, it flies through the forest, waiting from time to time for the curious animal or person as it leads them to the nest. When they finally arrive at the nest, the follower reaches in to get at the delicious honey as the bird patiently waits and watches. Some of the honey, and the wax, always falls to the ground, and this is when the honey guide takes its share.
Scientists do not know why the honey guide likes eating the wax, but it is very distance away. They will quickly arrive whenever a beekeeper is taking honey from his beehives, and will even enter churches when beeswax candles are being lit.
1. Why is it difficult to find a wild bees' nest?| A．It's small in size. | B．It's hidden in trees. |
| C．It's covered with wax. | D．It's hard to recognize. |
| A．A bee. | B．A bird. | C．A honey seeker. | D．A beekeeper. |
| A．it gets its food | B．it goes to church |
| C．it sings in the forest | D．it reaches into bees' nests |
| A．Wild Bees | B．Wax and Honey |
| C．Beekeeping in Africa | D．Honey-Lover's Helper |
Scientists found a prehistoric ancestor of an arrow worm (箭虫)among a group of fossils (化石)at two national parks in Canada. The fossils
The sea worm was 10 centimeters long and had 50 spines (刺)on
The scientists say it lived 500 million years ago and is very different
Briggs said the worm was
Researchers were able to make a
6 . Our dog Sandy is a golden retriever（猎犬）. He sits in front of our house all day waiting for someone to come by and throw him a stick. Chasing sticks or tennis balls and bringing them back is the major activity in his life.
Once we performed an experiment to see how Sandy found these sticks and balls quickly.
There was one particular pile that must have had hundreds of sticks. We picked up one stick, walked away from the pile and then threw it back into the pile. It was impossible for us to tell with any certainty which stick we had originally chosen. So many of them looked alike to us that the best we could do was pick out seven sticks which resembled the one that had been thrown.
We tried the same thing with Sandy, only before throwing the stick we carved an X on it.
Then we threw it, not once but a dozen times into the pile. He circled the pile over and over.
Each time he brought back that stick. It wasn’ t the shape or the size or look of the stick that he used to pick it out from all the others. It was the smell we left on the stick. It is hard to imagine, but for dogs every living creature has its own distinctive smell.
The environment is the world that all living things share. It is what is — air, fire, wind, water, life, sometimes culture. Living creatures are born into the environment and are part of it too. For a dog like Sandy a book isn’ t much different than a stick, whereas for us one stick is pretty much like every other stick. There is no one world experienced by all living creatures. Though we all live in the same environment, we make many worlds.
1. What does Sandy love to do in daily life?| A．Keep the house. | B．Frighten away passers by. |
| C．Hunt for food. | D．Run to catch sticks or balls. |
| A．By its size. | B．By its shape. |
| C．By its smell. | D．By its look. |
| A．Typical. | B．Weak. |
| C．Terrible. | D．Nice. |
| A．Sandy — A Brave Retriever |
| B．One Environment, Many Worlds |
| C．The Environment Made by Animals |
| D．The Stick — A Perfect Toy for Dogs |
7 . Bad news for banana lovers: A fungus (真菌) that’s particularly good at killing the fruit has finally reached Latin America — a major supplier of the world’s bananas.
Recently, officials in Colombia announced a national emergency after confirming the presence of this fatal fungus, known as Fusarium oxysporum Tropical Race 4 (TR4), in the country. This is the first time the fungus has been found in Latin America. However, the fungus isn’t new. Over the past years, it has been destroying banana plantations in Asia, Australia and East Africa.
Although this fungus isn’t harmful to humans, it is a “serious threat” to banana production. The fungus attacks the plants’ roots and blocks their vascular (维管的) system — the network used to transport water and nutrients (营养物) and finally kills the plants. Once the fungus finds its way into soil, it can’t be treated with fungicides, and it’s very difficult to remove.
What’s more, the fungus attacks the most commonly exported banana — the Cavendish banana. “For Western countries, the vast majority of the bananas we eat are from the same Cavendish subgroup,” said Nicolas Roux, a senior scientist.
Sarah Gurr, Exeter University’s chair in food security, continued to explained to Wired, “Cavendish bananas are in effect clones of their parents. So the similarity in their genes makes them easy targets of the disease. Actually, we are likely to lose the Cavendish banana.”
Officials reported that the TR4 fungus was found in a l75-hectare area in the La Guajira region of northern Colombia. The country has separated affected areas and destroyed some of them in an effort to fight the fungus. A number of ideas have come up to help save the Cavendish banana, including genetically engineering plants that will not be affected by TR4.
1. Why did Colombia announce a national emergency?| A．Because the TR4 fungus stops banana trees producing fruits. |
| B．Because there was TR4 fungus in Colombia. |
| C．Because a fearful fungus was spreading quickly. |
| D．Because Colombia had no bananas to transport to Europe. |
| A．It causes the death of banana plants. | B．It is dangerous for human beings. |
| C．It competes with banana trees for water. | D．It exists in the air to attack plants. |
| A．Their importance in global fruit supply. | B．Their poor ability to gain nutrients. |
| C．Their lack of genetic diversity. | D．Their wide planting in Latin America. |
| A．Bananas crisis in Latin America | B．The best bananas in the world |
| C．Fungus harms plants | D．Banana-killing fungus reached Latin America |
8 . The world itself is becoming much smaller by using modern traffic and modern communication means. Life today is much easier than it was hundreds of years ago, but it has brought new problems. One of the biggest problems is pollution. To pollute means to make things dirty. Pollution comes in many ways. We see it, smell it, drink it and even hear it.
Man has been polluting the earth.The more people，the more pollution.Many years ago，the problem was not so serious because there were not so many people.When the land was used up or the river was dirty in one place，man moved to another place.But this is no longer true.Man is now slowly polluting the whole world.
Air pollution is still the most serious.It’s bad for all living things in the world，but it is not the only one kind of pollution. Water pollution kills our fish and pollutes our drinking water. Noise pollution makes us angry more easily.
Many countries are making rules to fight pollution. They stop people from burning coal in houses and factories from putting dirty smoke into the air. Pollution by SO2 is now the most dangerous kind of air pollution.It is caused by heavy traffic.We are sure that if there are fewer people driving，there will be less air pollution.
The earth is our home. We must take care of it.That means keeping the land，water and air clean.And we must take care of the rise in pollution at the same time.
1. What makes our world become much smaller?| A．Science development. | B．The rise in population. |
| C．The pollution on the earth. | D．The strong wind. |
| A．It was much easier than today. | B．It was much harder than today. |
| C．It was the same as today. | D．It was hard to describe. |
| A．Rubbish. | B．Water pollution. |
| C．Air pollution. | D．Noise pollution. |
| A．Making rules to fight pollution. | B．Drinking as little water as possible. |
| C．Stop buying new things. | D．Only walking to work. |
9 . The weather symbol shown for each day in the five day forecast represents the main weather expected on the day in question. The maximum temperature is the highest temperature forecast between dawn and dusk, whereas the minimum temperature is the lowest temperature expected from dusk on the day to dawn the following day. The wind speed and direction are the expected conditions at midday.
each day in the five day forecast represents the main weather expected on the day in question. The maximum temperature is the highest temperature forecast between dawn and dusk, whereas the minimum temperature is the lowest temperature expected from dusk on the day to dawn the following day. The wind speed and direction are the expected conditions at midday.
| London, United Kingdom 28,11, 2018 (Wed.) | ||||||
| Day | Summary | Max day; Min night (℃) | Wind (mph) | Visibility | Pressure | Pollution |
| Mon. Sunrise 08:06 Sunset 15:59 |  | 9-10 |  | very poor | 1030 | low |
| Tue. Sunrise 08:06 Sunset 16:00 |  | 3-8 |  | good | 1023 | low |
| Wed. Sunrise 08:06 Sunset 16:01 |  | -1-5 |  | good | 1023 | low |
| Thur. Sunrise 08:06 Sunset 16:02 |  | 0-2 |  | good | 999 | low |
| Fri. Sunrise 08:06 Sunset 16:03 |  | 0-2 |  | good | 1012 | low |
| A．Friday | B．Tuesday |
| C．Thursday | D．Wednesday |
| A．8 | B．15 |
| C．12 | D．16 |
| A．The pollution in London will be more serious on Saturday. |
| B．We cannot see things clearly on Monday because of rain. |
| C．On both Wednesday and Thursday we will have east wind. |
| D．From Monday to Friday the pressure will be lower and lower. |
| Name (姓名) | LiHua | Sex (性别) | boy | Age (年龄) | 18 |
Statement of Application (申请陈述) | l 表示有意参加 l 说明自己喜欢动物、关爱动物 l 介绍熊猫：可爱；国宝；珍稀动物；数量减少 l 打算为熊猫代言，理由：唤起动物保护意识 | ||||
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现根据上面的申请表，写一封申请信。内容包括：
1.你的个人基本情况
2.申请陈述内容
【写作要求】
1.只能用5个句子表达全部内容
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Dear Sir or Madam,
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
I hope I can do something for pandas. I’m looking forward to your reply.
Yours Sincerely,
Li Hua
