1 . Victoria Falls is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. Statistically speaking, it is the largest waterfall in the world. Victoria Falls is located on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. The falls are also close to the border of Botswana. The Zambezi River, which originates in northern Zambia, serves as the falls’ water source.
There are basically two seasons for the Victoria Falls area. The rainy season runs from late November to early April with the remaining months accounting for the dry season. One would imagine that the rainy season with more water would make the falls more spectacular (壮观的), however, the additional water and subsequent mist(水汽) in the air makes it nearly impossible to see the base of the falls.
The months of June and July are probably the best time to view the falls. The water levels are still high enough to show the beauty of the falls, but the amount of water is less, creating less mist and more visibility of the falls.
As you move into the later part of the dry season, August through October, it is quite possible that you will see more rock face than falls. However, this also opens the door for walking across the top of the falls, which can be a unique and exhilarating experience as well.
During the rainy season and high water, Victoria Falls can be a challenge to capture (抓拍) with a camera because of all of the mist in the air. However, this increases the probabilities that you will be able to capture rainbow images around the falls.
The lower water levels can create more dramatic pictures with various rocks cropping out between the falls. You should also be able to see the canyon and base of the falls. You will also be able to walk across the top of the falls and take images down the face of the falls.
1. Where does the water source of Victoria Falls originate?| A．In northern Zambia. | B．In southern Zimbabwe. |
| C．At the border of Botswana. | D．Between the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe. |
| A．From November to April. | B．From August to October. |
| C．In the months of June and July. | D．In the months of May and June. |
| A．A camera. | B．High water. |
| C．The rainy season. | D．All of the mist in the air. |
| A．Travel strategies at different water levels. | B．Challenges for falls travelers to overcome. |
| C．Photo opportunities in different seasons. | D．Different views of the falls all the year round. |
2 . Last fall I hung outside my window a bird feeder (喂鸟的食槽). Knowing
I asked so many people, “What to do?
What a beautiful lesson I learned from this little creature! Patience and hope will attract the beautiful things in life. Yet I had never
So I keep hoping and waiting, waiting and hoping. I will try to use this “little lesson” with so many other things in my life. I guess patience is a
| A．something | B．nothing | C．anything | D．everything |
| A．once | B．since | C．until | D．before |
| A．ran out | B．got through | C．went by | D．passed on |
| A．When | B．Why | C．How | D．What |
| A．wait | B．seek | C．try | D．watch |
| A．reliable | B．movable | C．possible | D．incredible |
| A．cleared | B．picked | C．selected | D．changed |
| A．still | B．even | C．just | D．too |
| A．run | B．work | C．do | D．go |
| A．courage | B．hope | C．attention | D．desire |
| A．failed | B．sighed | C．calmed | D．froze |
| A．climbing | B．spreading | C．gathering | D．disappearing |
| A．admitted | B．recognized | C．realized | D．neglected |
| A．adjust to | B．focus on | C．deal with | D．make up |
| A．gift | B．virtue | C．pleasure | D．belief |
3 . It turns out that sunflowers are more than just a pretty face: the ultraviolet (紫外线的) colours of their flowers not only attract pollinators (传粉者), but also help the plant regulate water loss, according to new research.
The yellow sunflower is a familiar sight, but it’s hiding something from the human eye — an ultraviolet bullseye (靶心) pattern, invisible to humans but not to most insects including bees. These bullseye patterns have long been known to improve the attractiveness of flowers to pollinators by increasing their visibility.
“Unexpectedly, we noticed that sunflowers growing in drier climates have flowers with larger ultraviolet bullseyes, and found that those flowers are able to keep water more efficiently. This suggests that these larger ultraviolet bullseyes help plants adapt to these drier environments,” says Dr. Marco Todesco.
Dr. Todesco and his colleagues grew almost 2,000 wild sunflowers of two species at the university in 2016 and 2019. They measured the sunflowers’ ultraviolet patterns, and analyzed the plants’ genes, and found that wild sunflowers from different parts of North America had ultraviolet bullseyes of very different sizes.
Larger floral ultraviolet patterns that have more of these compounds could help reduce the amount of water loss from a sunflower in environments with lower humidity (湿度), preventing too much water loss. In humid, hot environments, smaller ultraviolet patterns would promote the water loss, keeping the plant cool and avoiding overheating.
Sunflowers are planted for various purposes, including sunflower oil production, a roughly $20 billion industry in 2020. This research could help add to knowledge about how to attract pollinators, potentially increasing crop yields, says Dr. Todesco. “This work also helps us understand how sunflowers, and potentially other plants, better adapt to different areas or temperatures, which could be important in a warming climate.”
1. What do we know about sunflowers?| A．They don’t need pollinators. |
| B．Their flowers have special functions. |
| C．Their flowers can drive the insects away. |
| D．They can be grown in extremely cold areas. |
| A．They analyzed 2000 kinds of sunflowers. |
| B．They planted sunflowers to carry out research. |
| C．They travelled to different parts of South America. |
| D．They helped people in North America plant sunflowers. |
| A．Positive. | B．Doubtful. |
| C．Negative. | D．Critical. |
| A．A Hidden Function of Flowers of Sunflowers |
| B．Researchers Found a New Species of Sunflower |
| C．Sunflowers Can Change the Colours of Sunshine |
| D．Ultraviolet Bullseye Patterns Attract More Insects |
Sydney
The Blue Mountains, located in the
5 . Box jellyfish (箱型水母) are the most poisonous marine animals known to man. They measure 3 meters long and weigh up to 2 kilograms. They are pale blue and transparent in color, and get their name from the cube-like shape of their body. Box jellyfish have 6 eyes on all 4 sides of their body, although it is uncertain how they process what they see as they do not have a central nervous system. They also have up to 15 tentacles (触须) growing from each corner of their body that have about 5,000 stinging (带刺的) cells each.
Box jellyfish can be found primarily in the coastal waters off Northern Australia as well as throughout the Indo-Pacific. They prefer to live at river mouths. They do not have any organs to breathe, and will sleep on the ocean floor from 3 p.m. to dawn. Unlike other jellyfish that merely move along with the current, box jellyfish have developed a way to travel wherever they want to go. They will shoot themselves in a jet-like fashion, reaching speeds of up to 7.4 kilometers per hour.
The diet of box jellyfish consists of thing like fish, small animals, and even other jellyfish. They use their venom, a chemical which causes heart, skin, and breath failure, to kill their prey. Since box jellyfish have eyes, some scientists believe that they actively hunt their prey, holding the belief that box jellyfish have developed a special set of eyes similar to humans that help them skillfully avoid obstacles in the ocean, while others insist that they are just passive opportunists that will wait and catch anything that wanders into their tentacles.
Box jellyfish are responsible for more human deaths in Australia than snakes, sharks, and salt-water crocodiles combined. It is best to avoid them as most stings will result in death. Hopefully, humans and box jellyfish can find a way to live with one another while keeping conflicts to a bare minimum. After all, such a unique species of jellyfish deserves to live and grow just as humans do.
1. Which of the following is NOT mentioned about box jellyfish from the first paragraph?| A．Its size. | B．Its poisonousness. | C．Its color. | D．Its hardness. |
| A．They live in the deep sea in groups. |
| B．They can breathe on the ocean floor. |
| C．They can decide the direction in which they move. |
| D．They usually move along with the current. |
| A．box jellyfish | B．scientists |
| C．box jellyfish’s prey | D．box jellyfish’s tentacles |
| A．To introduce some poisonous animals. |
| B．To describe a kind of animal under the sea. |
| C．To illustrate scientists’ research into box jellyfish. |
| D．To show the relationship between humans and jellyfish. |
6 . Many birds have shrunk in size as the temperatures have increased during the past 40 years. And the reduction in body size is so common that scientists have suggested it may be a universal response to warming conditions.
However, a new study, published in Ecology Letters, indicates that not all birds are equally affected when it comes to reductions in body size. Birds with bigger brains relative to body size have not shrunk as much as those with smaller brains.
Study lead author Justin Baldwin said, “As temperatures warm, body sizes are shrinking. But larger-brained species are shrinking less strongly than small-brained species.”
The researchers analyzed information on some 70,000 birds that died when they collided (碰撞) with buildings in Chicago between 1978 and 2016. They found that birds with very big brains relative to body size have shown only about one-third of the reduction in body size.
“Relative brain size is related to increased learning ability, increased memory, longer lifespans and more stable population dynamics,” said Baldwin. “In this case, a bigger-brained species of bird might be able to reduce the influence of climate change by seeking out habitats with cooler temperatures, for example.”
“One of the first things that jump out to me from these findings is that we can already see that climate change is having a much stronger effect on species that have poorer ability to deal with environmental change through their behavior.” said Professor Botero at Washington University.
North America has lost nearly one-third of its birdlife in the last half-century. The findings of this recent study, therefore, are very important to bird management and protection.
1. What does the underlined word “shrunk” mean in Paragraph 1?| A．Increased. | B．Indicated. | C．Decreased. | D．Affected. |
| A．Climate change has the same effect on birds in different brain sizes. |
| B．All birds are not equally affected when it comes to reductions in body size. |
| C．Birds with small brains are shrinking less strongly than ones with large ones. |
| D．Relative brain size is only connected with enhanced learned ability and memory. |
| A．Finding cooler habitats. |
| B．Conserving and saving birds. |
| C．Reducing the impact of climate change. |
| D．Ensuring more stable population dynamics. |
| A．Climate change makes birds fewer. |
| B．Brain size increases make lifespans longer. |
| C．Humans can protect birds better in the future. |
| D．Big brains help birds cope with climate change better. |
7 . Margot doesn’t have a garbage can. It doesn’t need one because Margot simply doesn’t cause anything to get thrown away. The restaurant doesn’t allow any type of single use plastic. Margot, which opened last year, is one of the small but growing restaurants around the world aiming to avoid not only food leftovers, but also any garbage.
“Food waste has been increasing as an issue for restaurants over the last 10 years,” says Calvin Brown. He runs the Sustainable Restaurant Association. Based in the United Kingdom, the organization helps food business become more environmentally responsible. He says that food waste contributes to releasing the greenhouse gas, so there is strong motivation to reduce waste and help the environment.
In the USA, food waste and packing account for nearly half of the material sent to landfills. Restaurants from McDonald’s to Starbucks are addressing this issue with “no straw Mondays” and limits on single-serving plastic, but a handful of restaurateurs are trying to get rid of rubbish entirely. There’s also economic case to be made for waste reduction. One study shows that restaurants save seven dollars for every dollar invested in anti- waste methods.
Avoiding food waste is the first and perhaps most obvious challenge for sustainable restaurants. Doug McMaster, chef at Silo in London, only serves a set menu. This removes the worry that one particular item won’t sell well, and will spoil in the refrigerator. Compost (堆肥) is a necessity as well. Nolla (meaning “zero” in Finnish) in Helsinki, Finland is giving compost to its suppliers as well as its diners. Nolla also has food- tracking software more commonly used among corporate food service companies to keep track of what sells and what rots.
Sometimes restaurants call themselves environmentally friendly, but they might just be using the label. Calvin offers some pointers on what to look for to make sure a restaurant is truly committed to sustainability.
1. What does Margot feature?| A．Its large size. | B．Its opening hours. |
| C．Its zero-waste goal. | D．Its plastic garbage cans. |
| A．Ways of packaging food. |
| B．The issue of investing in services. |
| C．The importance of environmental protection. |
| D．Efforts of some restaurants to reduce rubbish, |
| A．Only serve a set menu. |
| B．Hardly use refrigerators. |
| C．Supply compost to its customers. |
| D．Keep track of diners’ preferences. |
| A．Expand food business. |
| B．Use eco-friendly labels. |
| C．Save money on dealing with kitchen garbage. |
| D．Contribute to sustainable development of the food industry. |
Are you facing a situation that looks impossible to fix?
In 1969, the pollution was terrible along the Cuyahoga River near Cleveland, Ohio. It was unimaginable that it could ever be cleaned up. The river was so
But the river wasn’t changed in a few days
Maybe you are faced
While there are
9 . Breathing dirty air can cost someone’s lifespan (寿命) months—even years, a new study finds. Worldwide, air pollution lowers average lifespans by a year. Scientists shared their new findings in Environmental Science & Technology Letters.
Air pollution (污染) has been linked to many health problems. Most earlier studies have looked at how tiny air pollutants affected rates of illness or death. But now an environmental scientist, Joshua Apte, is going even further. He works at the University of Texas, Austin. He together with his team is looking at life expectancy, hoping to make the threat easier to understand.
PM 2.5 is what scientists call tiny particles of pollution in the air. Higher levels of PM2.5 can cause health problems and cut months, if not years, from the average lifespan. This analysis shows pollution affects life expectancy in different parts of the world.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends limiting PM 2.5 to 10 micrograms (微克) per cubic (立方) meter of air. Apte’s group used data to try to find how this low level would help people. But meeting the WHO standard won’t get rid of health damage from dirty air. That’s because even below 10 micrograms per cubic meter pollution still causes huge risks.
Reducing air pollution could increase life expectancy. The scientists also compared how other threats shorten life spans across the globe. These risk factors included smoking and cancer.
These results show that in poor countries, cleaning up dirty air could greatly increase lifespans. It could have as big an effect as cleaning up drinking water, or curing lung cancer. However, in wealthier countries air pollution shortens life expectancy by less than half a year. All forms of cancer, in fact, shorten the average life expectancy by more than 3.5 years. “Knowing this can really help people or policymakers, decide where to spend their money.” says Kirk Smith.
1. Why is Joshua Apte’s team carrying out the study?| A．Know how small air pollutants are. |
| B．Study many different healthy problems. |
| C．Study the life expectancy of different people. |
| D．Let people understand air pollution better. |
| A．Its air is very clean. |
| B．It will get a prize from WHO. |
| C．It still has pollution risks. |
| D．Its people will live a healthy life. |
| A．The study will help different countries or people take different policies. |
| B．Lung cancer is the leading killer in all kinds of cancers. |
| C．Reducing air pollution can increase all people’s lifespans much. |
| D．It’s very hard to clean up dirty air in a short time. |
| A．Many Factors are Affecting People’s Health |
| B．Air Pollution is Shortening Lives Worldwide |
| C．Governments are Trying to Make Lifespan Long |
| D．The Effect of Cancer is Worse than Dirty Air |
10 . The story of the most sustainable pair of jeans is also the story of a family whose members have dedicated their lives to denim (牛仔布) innovation. It is the great-great-grandson of the family business founder who has brought Candiani and the whole fashion industry to new heights by creating the first fully biodegradable (可生物降解的) stretch denim.
Alberto Candiani, the current owner of Candiani, created the first fully biodegradable jeans using a plant-based yarn (纱线) obtained from natural rubber. Once the innovative denim came to life, a brand-new pair of jeans was put to the test by being buried in forest land for six months. At the end of that period, Candiani’s team discovered the fibers had almost fully disintegrated. The new technology is called Coreva. “These garments (服装) are extremely durable, but at the end of their life, you could send them back to us and we recycle them, or you could fertilize your vegetables with them,” Alberto Candiani said.
Jeans—one of the most popular garments worldwide—generate an environmental impact that has become a real global challenge. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, it takes around 2000 gallons of water to make a typical pair of jeans. And during production, around 71 pounds of carbon dioxide are released. That is equivalent to 53 seven-minute showers, driving a car 78 miles. What’s more, most jeans are manufactured with stretch denim made with plastic, which can take hundreds of years to degrade.
But by creating a circular model in which fabrics (织物) are biodegradable at the end of their lifecycle, tons of garments can be prevented from ending up in landfills. Candiani has not only achieved this by going plastic-free, but the manufacturer has also reduced water use by 75 percent and the use of chemicals by 65 percent. Although Candiani creates a product that is about double the price of traditional denim due to the higher labor and manufacturing costs involved, business is booming. Not only has the company tripled its production, but its motto of “the greenest mill in the blue world” is credible.
1. What highlights Candiani according to Paragraph 1?| A．It has a great founder. | B．It creates greener fabrics. |
| C．It is a family-run business. | D．It makes jeans at a lower cost. |
| A．It can last for six months. | B．It is made of recycled materials. |
| C．It can be reused for growing plants. | D．It turns into soil under the forest land. |
| A．The popularity of jeans in the world. |
| B．The possible reasons for global warming. |
| C．The complex process of manufacturing jeans. |
| D．The effects of producing jeans on the environment. |
| A．robbing Peter to pay Paul | B．putting the cart before the horse |
| C．killing two birds with one stone | D．solving the problem once and for all |
