Researchers have been applying artificial intelligence (AI) to monitor biodiversity and enhance efforts to protect some species from
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“Long-term statistics will play
2 . “There’s a little black woman walking, spraying (喷洒) stuff on the sidewalks and trees on Elizabeth and Florence...” he told the police. Her neighbor saw her spraying something on the sidewalks and trees and this made him worried. In the call to 911, he described the child as “a little black woman”.
Well, the “little black woman” was actually 9-year-old Bobbi Wilson, a young scientist. The fourth-grader had created her own insecticide (杀虫剂) to fight spotted lanternflies (斑衣蜡蝉). She came across the recipe on TikTok and had recently learned that the harmful species damages trees because they feed on their sap (树液). Bobbi was simply testing out her invention in her neighborhood when the police call was made.
“That’s her thing,” her mother Monique Joseph said. “She’s going to kill the lanternflies, especially if they’re on a tree. That’s what she’s going to do.” Bobbi’s 13-year-old sister, Hayden Wilson, also defended her, noting that Bobbi “was not only doing something amazing for our environment, but she was also doing something that made her feel like a hero”. Luckily, what happened didn’t influence Bobbi’s spirit and has led to some positive experiences for her.
She has since been recognized by several organizations for her environmental efforts. She has also been invited on special tours. One took place at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. Another was given by the United States Department of Agriculture of New Jersey at a plant where they discussed lanternflies. But that’s not where her recognition ends! The Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions (ANJEC) honored Bobbi with their Sustainability Award for her work to save trees and fight lanternflies.
“We were excited that she was doing that,” Ann Marchioni of the ANJEC said. Ann added that the organization praises volunteers for being “hands-on” in their community. In addition to the award, she and her family got to visit with a group of black female scientists at Yale University. They showed her various labs and even invited her to donate lanternfly specimens (标本) for the university’s work.
1. What made the neighbor call the police?| A．A girl climbing trees. | B．A girl spraying something. |
| C．A girl littering the sidewalks. | D．A girl testing something dangerous. |
| A．Ashamed. | B．Proud. | C．Shocked. | D．Relieved. |
| A．Those whose donations help ANJEC. |
| B．Those who can do something creative in their university. |
| C．Those whose environmental awareness is quite impressive. |
| D．Those who can do something practical in their community. |
| A．Creative and determined. | B．Watchful and serious. |
| C．Friendly and generous. | D．Talkative and strict. |
3 . The Japanese government said it planned to begin the discharge (排放) of slightly radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant on Thursday, rejecting calls for a delay from some people in neighboring countries.
An earthquake and tsunami knocked out power at the Fukushima nuclear plant on March 11, 2011, causing meltdowns at three reactors. Tritium (氚) and carbon-14 are, respectively, radioactive forms of hydrogen (氢) and carbon, and are difficult to separate from water. They are widely present in the natural environment, water and even in humans, as they are formed in the Earth’s atmosphere and can enter the water cycle. Both emit very low levels of radiation but can pose a risk if absorbed in large quantities. Water which was used to cool reactor cores as well as rainwater and groundwater that flowed into or near the plant have been contaminated with radioactive substances. Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power, or Tepco, has stored the water in more than 1,000 tanks at the facility but says it is running out of room.
Tepco says it will reduce the concentration (浓度) of nearly all radioactive substances in the wastewater to a safe level with the exception of tritium, an isotope (同位素) of hydrogen. The water will then get diluted (稀释) with seawater so the concentration of tritium is reduced to a safe level before the discharge, according to Tepco. As the water is diluted further in the ocean, the concentration of tritium will almost equal the natural level by 6 miles from the discharge point, which is at the end of an undersea tunnel about six-tenths of a mile from the shoreline, a Tepco official said.
But that hasn’t reassured many of Japan’s neighbors, with officials from China and the Pacific Islands voicing alarm and opposition to the plan. Beijing will take “necessary measures” to safeguard food safety and its people’s health, said Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin on Tuesday, adding they “strongly urge the Japanese side to correct its wrongful decision”. Meanwhile, fishing communities in Japan and South Korea worry the wastewater release could mean the end of their livelihoods — with consumers across the region already beginning to quit seafood from Japan and its nearby waters, and some governments even banning imported food from parts of Japan, including Fukushima.
1. The meltdowns at three reactors were caused by ________.| A．the greenhouse effect | B．human behaviour |
| C．climate change | D．natural disasters |
| A．purified | B．reduced | C．polluted | D．operated |
| A．More than 1,000 tanks at the facility can store all the radioactive wastewater. |
| B．The concentration of all radioactive substances will be reduced to a safe level. |
| C．The discharge won’t affect the coastal residents since the discharge point is about 0.6 miles offshore. |
| D．The concentration of tritium will be nearly at the natural level after being diluted further in the ocean. |
| A．people in these areas couldn’t make a profit in the future |
| B．it would threaten people’s physical health and livelihoods |
| C．it would be more difficult to import food from parts of Japan |
| D．the local seafood would be unaffordable for people in these areas |
4 . Colorado’s grays peak rises 14,278 feet above sea level, high enough that trees can’t grow toward the top, though there are plenty of shrubs and rocks. It was in this unforgiving landform that Bev Wedelstedt was unlucky enough to get seriously injured in her left knee.
It was August 2018, and Wedelstedt, 56, was on her way back down the trail with three friends. A storm was brewing, and they were anxious to get off the mountain. When they approached a rocky drop of a couple of feet, Wedelstedt decided to leap. She landed on her left leg. Then she heard the snap. Every step after that was agony (剧痛). Before long, she had to stop. As one friend ran down to get help, a number of other hikers, all strangers, attempted to help Wedelstedt down the narrow trail by walking on either side of her to support her weight, but that proved slow and dangerous. “One man was so close to the edge that I could see rocks falling down from where he stepped on them.” Wedelstedt says.
Finally, one hiker, Matt, asked her, “How do you feel about a fireman’s carry?” Before she knew it, he had lifted her over his shoulder. “Now, I’m not tiny,” says Wedelstedt, a former college basketball star. Matt clearly couldn’t carry her all the way down by himself. So six hikers and one of her friends took turns carrying her while she tried to make light of a difficult situation: “I told them I wanted to meet a lot of guys, but this isn’t the way I wanted to do it.” Three hours and two rock-strewn miles later, this human conveyor belt finally met the medics, who took Wedelstedt to the hospital.
She stayed in hospital for a period time. Now she has mostly recovered from her ill-fated hike, but Wedelstedt knows she’ll never shake one thing from that day: the memory of the band of strangers who came to her rescue. “I’m still in awe.”
1. What made it difficult for Wedelstedt to go downhill?| A．The changing weather. | B．The rocky path. |
| C．The thick bushes. | D．Her broken leg. |
| A．Advancing. | B．Transforming. | C．Freezing. | D．Weakening. |
| A．Only one hiker had firefighting experience. | B．Wedelstedt refused help from the rescuers. |
| C．The medics were unwilling to provide help. | D．The narrow trail slowed down the rescuers. |
| A．Wedelstedt has got a complete recovery. | B．All Wedelstedt’ rescuers were strangers. |
| C．Wedelstedt’s rescue left a deep impression on her. | D．Wedelstedt has benefited a lot from her experience. |
1. Where is the man doing a project about the environment?
| A．At a library. | B．At school. | C．At a lab. |
| A．To get information about a project. |
| B．To know about her job. |
| C．To do research on greenhouse effect. |
| A．Solve the woman’s problem. |
| B．Move some books. |
| C．Do some reading. |
6 . Invasive species cost the world at least $423 billion every year as they drive plant and animal extinction, threaten food security and worsen environmental catastrophes globally, as a new UN-backed report has found. Human activities — often travel or global trade — are spreading animals, plants and other organisms in new regions, with 200 new alien species being recorded every year.
An alien species becomes invasive when it establishes itself in a new area and creates a negative impact on the local biodiversity and ecosystems. Numerous examples include lionfish impacting local fisheries in the Caribbean, and the giant African land snail taking over villages on Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean.
Once an invasive species takes hold, the impacts can be disastrous. The dried-out non-native grasses and shrubs in Hawaii helped fuel the devastating Maui wildfire, one of the deadliest wildfires in modern US history. “Although the specific species that cause damages vary from place to place,” said Anibal Pauchard, co-author of the report, “there are risks and challenges faced by people in every country and in every community — even Antarctica is being affected.”
The climate crisis will only amplify the threat of invasive species, the report said. As well as flammable (易燃的) invasive plants sparking and spreading wildfires, climate change is enabling invasive species to move north — even to remote areas like high mountains and deserts.
But there’s hope. Preventing the arrival of new species into new regions is the best way to manage threats from invasive species. This includes strict import controls and early warning systems to detect and respond to alien species. For invasive species that have already taken hold, eradication (根除) is a useful tool, especially on islands, according to scientists.
1. What do we know about the spread of invasive species from the report?| A．It is a new trend. | B．It costs lots of food. |
| C．Its speed is fast. | D．Its process is complex. |
| A．Invasive species are sometimes deadly. |
| B．Invasive species are responsible for wildfires. |
| C．The damages caused by different species vary. |
| D．The impacts of invasive species can be extensive. |
| A．Increase. | B．Analyze. | C．Improve. | D．Apply. |
| A．Conservative. | B．Optimistic. | C．Worried. | D．Skeptical. |
1. According to the news, the town was hit by a severe earthquake.
2. About 3 thousand people died and more than 10 thousand people got injured in the earthquake.
3. They are going to donate money and also send relief supplies to the stricken area.
4. They decide to look for ways to offer help through the Internet.
5. The man feels upset about the disaster.
| A．Their daily routine. | B．Their dormitory. | C．The weather. |
9 . As my husband and I drove down a country road, we passed a fire station with a sign that read. “Are you ready for the next storm?” Our area had just been in the path of Hurricane Irma, causing downed trees and power off.
We have had our share of storms in the past — a snowstorm and other heavy snows that knocked down trees, sometimes up to a week at a time. Those days weren’t fun, but we learned so much from those early storms. It made later storms easier to bear.
We’re ready for the next storm, but we wouldn’t have learned to do all those things if we hadn’t faced a storm in the past. The same is true spiritually. Those little storms in our lives are never fun, but they prepare us for the big trials coming to us.
Are you ready for the next storm?
| A．Thanks to all those storms. |
| B．They can teach us some valuable lessons. |
| C．Now is the time to get ready. |
| D．How long do you think this storm will last? |
| E．We were stuck in the dark and cut off from the outside world. |
| F．Now we have stored as many necessities as possible in case of potential storms. |
| G．And we don’t forget to buy emergency chocolate! |
10 . “Leave no track” is popular among many campers who are concerned about our environment and favor sustainable (可持续的) travel. Its goal is simple; to minimize human-created impacts on the natural world.
Reject plastic and paper. First and foremost, one of the easiest ways to reduce the impact of camping on the planet is to go plastic and paper-free. Instead of single-use plastics and paper plates, choose bamboo or other recyclable camping dinnerware and food packages.
Rent or buy a used tent. Instead of brand-new equipment, consider renting camping equipment instead. Outdoor retail (零售) brands like REI offer a wide variety of camping products to rent, including tents.
Only camp in designated (指定的) camping areas.
| A．Pack with the planet in mind. |
| B．Sort out what you really need when camping. |
| C．They even carry other outdoor essentials for rent. |
| D．Learn how to sustainably upgrade the summer camping here. |
| E．Campers can also buy reusable paper towels in order to genuinely leave no track. |
| F．Eco-friendly campers can learn how to update their skills with these simple tips. |
| G．Although backpacking off the beaten path sounds fascinating, it may not be eco-friendly. |
