For five years, the most famous clock tower in Britain was hidden behind an ugly fortress of scaffolding (脚手架) for restoration. This summer, a sound familiar
The clock tower stands tall over the Palace of Westminster
The size of Big Ben,
During the restoration, the clock was serviced for the first time since it started ticking in 1859, when crowds lined the streets to greet Big Ben’s
2 . An educator with a passion for getting children emotionally invested in saving the ice caps gave a lesson to students as a polar bear stayed on his shoulder. The bear seemed to say “hi” to them about climate change.
Gavin McCormack is trying to bring the “amazing natural phenomena” to the fingertips of children in an attempt to get them to help stop rising sea levels and become passionate about climate change, which is threatening the home of polar bears.
The primary school teacher decided to jump headfirst into his teachings and spent ten days on an icebreaker heading towards the North Pole. On the first day at sea, a polar bear climbed out of the water right in front of him and onto an island where it was attacked by a group of Arctic terns (北极燕鸥).
“Each day is different but so interesting,” McCormack said. “This week, my dream to teach children about the wonder of a polar bear with one right over my shoulder came true.”
The most memorable moment for him while in the Arctic was when his ship reached the pack ice. The ship crunched (嘎吱地响) through the ice as they reached 82 degrees north and the noise was deafening. Earlier this week he launched his new course “Be the Change”, which is free to all schools nationwide. “Be the Change” is designed to empower children, families and communities around the world to bring about changes and make global impacts. “It takes a course-related approach to improve the world in meaningful ways,” Mr. McCormack said.
McCormack hopes to teach the “leaders of tomorrow” to include nature and the climate in every decision they make. He is planning another course named “It Starts With You”, with the hopes of bringing purposeful education to as many children as possible.
“Working alongside teachers, schools and students, we believe that when children are empowered to make real choices about the future, the skills for life are developed not through listening to what others tell them, but through experience,” McCormack said.
1. Why did McCormack head to the North Pole?| A．To observe an amazing natural sight. |
| B．To measure the rate of sea level rise. |
| C．To save polar bears from extinction. |
| D．To educate children in a real situation. |
| A．They are friendly towards human beings. |
| B．Climate change causes the loss of their habitats. |
| C．Arctic terns are their natural enemies. |
| D．Hunger drives them out of water for food. |
| A．To make a difference in improving the world. |
| B．To change people’s decision-making methods. |
| C．To teach students to think twice before making choices. |
| D．To develop students’ life skills through experience. |
| A．Climate Change — A Worldwide Concern |
| B．New Ways of Teaching About Climate Change |
| C．Join Hands and Say No to Global Warming |
| D．An Interesting Trip to the North Pole |
Many of us thought the world had four oceans— the Atlantic, Indian, Pacific and Arctic Oceans. That’s what we
National Geogra phic said its recognition of the world having a fifth ocean would have an impact on
4 . Most animals on land are known to us, but many living things underwater are not. Now let’s get to know some of them.
Sea cucumber
Sea cucumber are strange animals living at the bottom of the sea. They wear brown or pale green coats with many sticks up. When summer comes, they stay deep to sleep because they are afraid of heat. And when it is autumn, they move to shallow (浅的) water and get their food.
Pike
The pike is a kind of freshwater fish. They are good swimmers and like swimming near boats, waiting to be fed. They have sharp teeth to catch fishes. When they are young, they live in groups. However, when they grow up, they prefer to live alone.
Cuttlefish
A cuttlefish can swim quite fast, so it is also called rocket (火箭) fish. It has eight arms and two feelers on its head, just around its mouth. It ejects ink (喷墨) when it is in danger. Its meat is delicious, and it is often the first choice for many people.
Octopus
An octopus has long arms, with which to catch food and protect itself. When it is sleeping, one or two of its arms are still on duty, keeping moving. Once it feels something dangerous, it can wake up at once to take action.
1. Sea cucumbers stay deep to sleep in summer because they ________.| A．are afraid of high temperature | B．want to get strong and fat |
| C．are afraid of their enemy | D．want to live alone |
| A．the sea cucumber | B．the pike |
| C．the cuttlefish | D．the octopus |
| A．It rushes at the enemy at once. | B．It cuts off one of its arms. |
| C．It bites with its sharp teeth. | D．It ejects ink to the enemy. |
5 . Now is the time to act on climate change. We need to cut carbon emissions (排放), and knowing this, it is easy to be pessimistic. Strangely, I’m feeling the opposite. And that’s mostly because of one factor: Batteries. It isn’t obvious but over the last decade or so, just as we’ve watched our computers get faster and screens get thinner, batteries have greatly improved too.
According to the European Patent Office, the number of battery patents filed grew by an average of 14 percent every year between 2005 and 2018. Energy storage is getting better and better, as more companies are discovering new chemistry and processes to make them work more efficiently.
And the results of all of this work are astonishing. Energy density—the amount of power that can be stored in the same sized battery—has doubled in the last decade. And the costs of batteries have fallen a lot too.
Brilliantly, because electric batteries are improving so noticeably, we can already see the results. Last September, 15 percent of all new vehicle registrations were pure electric vehicles. So the change is starting to happen.
It’s conceivable that in the not-too-distant future, alongside other essentials in our homes like a boiler and a fusebox, we might also have an enormous battery in the garage. This would take power from the grid (电网) or maybe even solar panels on the roof, and power appliances and lights in our homes at the times when demand for electricity is high.
So, given how much technology has improved batteries over the last decade, I can’t help but be strangely optimistic about the future. Batteries may not be as flashy (显眼的) as phones, rockets or other new technologies, but when it comes to technology to fight climate change, they’re definitely leading the charge.
1. What is the author’s attitude towards cutting carbon emissions?| A．Doubtful. | B．Favorable. | C．Unclear. | D．Anxious. |
| A．It’ll make them more environment-friendly. |
| B．It’ll make people use electricity at will. |
| C．It will slow the development of pure electric vehicles. |
| D．It’ll cause the prices of batteries to rise. |
| A．Unacceptable. | B．Astonishing. | C．Possible. | D．Unreliable. |
| A．Carbon Emissions Result in Climate Change |
| B．Now Is the Time to Act on Climate Change |
| C．How Battery Technology Can Save the Planet |
| D．How Much Technology Has Improved Batteries |
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Last month, our school launched a campaign which intention was to promote environmental protection. The campaign last for one week. Firstly, there was a photo display to show the seriously pollution caused by human activities. Secondly, there was a lecture on many small step that we could take in our daily life protect the environment. For example, taking the bus and using the bike-sharing system would be a good way. Last but not the least, we students were encouraging to decorate our classrooms with recycled materials. Through the campaign, they have benefited a lot. We realize that it is our responsible to leave a better, cleaner and healthier planet for future generations.
7 . Have you ever wondered why birds sing? Maybe you thought that they were just happy. After all, you probably sing or whistle when you are happy.
Some scientists believe that birds do sing some of the time just because they are happy. However they sing most of the time for a very different reason. Their singing is actually a warning to other birds to stay out of their territory.
Do you know what a territory is? A territory is an area that an animal, usually the male, claims as its own. Only he and his family are welcome there. No other families of the same species are welcome. Your yard and house are your territory where only your family and friends are welcome. If a stranger should enter your territory and threaten you, you might shout. Probably this would be enough to frighten him away.
If so, you have actually scared the stranger away without having to fight with him. A bird does the same thing. But he expects an outsider almost any time, especially at the nesting (筑巢) season. So he is screaming all the time, whether he can see an outsider or not. This screaming is what we call a bird’s song, and it is usually enough to keep an outsider away.
Birds sing loudest in the spring when they are trying to attract a mate and warn others not to enter the territory of theirs.
You can see that birds have a language of their own. Most of it has to do with attracting mates and setting up territories.
1. What does the underlined word “its” in Para.3 refer to?| A．The area. | B．The other bird. |
| C．The animal. | D．The family. |
| A．He often fights with outsiders. |
| B．He always watches out for outsiders. |
| C．He tries to make friends with outsiders. |
| D．He often expects outsiders to help him. |
| A．By comparing birds with human beings. |
| B．By reporting experiment results. |
| C．By describing birds’ daily life. |
| D．By telling birds’ stories. |
| A．To protect their family members. |
| B．To express their happiness or anger. |
| C．To greet other birds of the same species. |
| D．To cause mates to come and set up territories. |
8 . My husband Mike waved a stick in my face, pulling my attention back to the very important task at hand. As I looked up, I saw our dog Bagel's
From our first encounter, Bagel's stare has said everything that she could not
We
As I watched my aging dog walk around like a puppy, I knew we had made our decision
As she ages, it is becoming increasingly difficult to
| A．eyes | B．head | C．heart | D．figure |
| A．jump | B．kick | C．speak | D．turn |
| A．examining | B．seizing | C．adoring | D．adopting |
| A．equip | B．celebrate | C．decorate | D．provide |
| A．adapted | B．abandoned | C．found | D．exposed |
| A．home | B．destination | C．hotel | D．exit |
| A．level | B．fun | C．preference | D．movement |
| A．update | B．lose | C．change | D．continue |
| A．bark | B．whisper | C．silence | D．tune |
| A．teaching | B．sitting | C．playing | D．hiding |
| A．panel | B．stick | C．ball | D．bone |
| A．guided | B．rolled | C．pushed | D．threw |
| A．returned | B．hesitated | C．appeared | D．passed |
| A．No | B．Sure | C．Again | D．Fine |
| A．patiently | B．wisely | C．directly | D．hopelessly |
| A．party | B．match | C．visit | D．trip |
| A．rob her of | B．warn her of | C．show interest in | D．give way to |
| A．ensure | B．ignore | C．forget | D．suspect |
| A．bitterly | B．simply | C．certainly | D．hardly |
| A．face | B．treasure | C．witness | D．mourn |
If you live in northeastern China, you expect long, cold winters. People
The festival includes several thousand ice sculptures. Some of these works are the recreations of castles, historic landmarks and famous people, lit up at night in bright colors. There
The city started
10 . Beijing is a rather strange city to many western people. One of my foreign friends told me that when he came to Beijing, at first he couldn't understand why most people wear masks when spring comes to Beijing. He thought people wanted to keep their appearance a secret. Well, one of the symbols of spring coming to Beijing is that more and more people start wearing masks. The reason for it is the arrival of so called “sandstorms”.
It is said that each year sandstorms hit Beijing 4 to 5 times. The sand is brought to Beijing by wind from the western part of China. Tons of soil and dust travel hundreds of miles and blanket Beijing's streets, parked cars and apartment buildings. You would be amazed to see the ground has turned yellow overnight. The storm is so violent that you do not want to have a conversation with your friend on the road. If you open your mouth and then you close it, you may have the raw taste of sand in your mouth.
People in Beijing hate those storms. Sandstorms make the traffic jam in rush hours even more unpredictable, because the drivers have to drive slowly in order to have a clear view of the road conditions. Young students also hate sandstorms because whenever there is a sandstorm, they are not allowed to have any activities outside the classroom. It is so boring to sit in the classroom all day and the youngsters are so eager to go out and do some sports.
It is said that the closest desert is only 80 kilometers away from the city center.There is definitely much more to do for the local government to deal with the environmental problem.
1. Why do people in Beijing wear masks in the spring?| A．Because they are rather strange. |
| B．Because there are serious sandstorms. |
| C．Because their appearance are not beautiful. |
| D．Because they want to keep their face a secret. |
| A．Dry. | B．Cross. | C．Destroy. | D．Cover. |
| A．Drivers clean the road. | B．They hold some activities. |
| C．Youngsters go out to do sports. | D．Students stay in the classroom. |
| A．People in Sandstorms | B．How to Prevent Sandstorms |
| C．Sandstorms in Beijing | D．What to Do in a Sandstorm |
