1 . Conservation organization Plantlife is urging people to put away their lawnmowers (除草机) for a month and let wild flowers grow instead, as part of its No Mow May project.

Leaving the grass uncut will create a habitat that will benefit bees and other insects, the organization says. Plantlife says lawns could be biodiversity hot-spots if left alone. It says those who participated in its campaign last year reported the growth of more than 250 plant species on their lawns. Among these were wild strawberry and wild garlic. There were also sightings of declining species like green-winged orchids.

One gardener who has been enjoying a more relaxed approach is Tom Jennings, 45, from Buckinghamshire. He says it’s a chance to reconnect with the natural world. “Those fascinated by neat gardens use not only lawnmowers but chemicals.” says Tom.

After letting his back garden grow out, Tom witnessed an explosion of wild flowers—important for pollinators (授粉者) such as bees. Tom says he’s been shocked at how quickly insects have returned to his back garden: an encouraging signal given the global decline of insect populations.

According to Colette Webb, 42, who lives in West Sussex, there are added benefits to letting nature gradually take its course in the garden. “It saves you a bit of time and arguments with the husband about getting the lawnmower out—something my husband hates doing,” she says. “There’s a part of me that thinks the garden is really messy, but when you sit there for some time a day and look at what’s it’s supporting, you realize it’s for the benefit of nature.”

But not everyone is on board with the idea, says David. One of his neighbours is pursuing their own re-wilding project in their own garden—but the other is yet to be convinced. “And my mother, who’s 81, still says it looks untidy,” he laughs.

1. What is the major goal of Plantlife’s No Mow May project?

A．Helping promote biodiversity.	B．Attracting more garden visitors.
C．Making their gardens look more natural.	D．Saving people’s trouble of mowing their gardens.

2. What do we know about Tom Jennings from the text?

A．He is crazy about neat gardens.

B．He hates having to cut the grass regularly.

C．He believes the project is increasing the number of insects.

D．He benefited a lot from the decline of insects in his garden.

3. What added benefit did No Mow May project bring to Colette Webb?

A．She gets on better with her husband.	B．Her husband has come to enjoy gardening.
C．Her garden is no longer as messy as it used to be.	D．She has formed the habit of sitting in the garden.

4. Which can be used to replace the underlined part in the last paragraph?

A．Shows concern about.

B．Makes response to.

C．Agrees with.

D．Comes up with.

2 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

World Wetlands Day (WWD) occurs on the     1     (two) day of February each year. It marks the date     2     the International Convention (公约) on Wetlands was signed in 1971 in Iran. WWD     3     (celebrate) in 1997 for the first time. It aims to help people realize the     4     (important) of wetlands around the world. The 158 nations that signed the convention promised to protect over 1,782 wetlands, covering     5     area of over 160 million hectares (公顷). The United Kingdom tops the list with 177 protected wetlands. Each year governments and citizens’ groups carry out     6     (vary) activities on WWD. These range from nature walks, clean-up days     7     new government laws to protect the wetlands.

The world’s wetlands serve an important role in nature. They are all mini eco-systems and contain a huge diversity (多样性) of animal and plant life. They take the form of ponds, streams, rivers and so on. They also serve an important role in the defence of floods,     8     (protect) an area from being flooded by storms and high tides. Wetlands are also a wonderful way     9     (explore) nature and see a huge diversity of water life, plants, animals and birds. Sadly, many wetlands around the world     10     (be) under threat now with rising sea levels and global warming. It is vital that we protect them.

3 . The earth is struck daily by 60 tons of rocks from outer space. However, finding these ancient rocks is no easy task. Most meteorites (陨石) fall directly into water. And those that hit land can be difficult to spot among other rocks.

Fortunately for researchers there is one place on Earth where meteorites find it difficult to hide: Antarctica. “There are probably fewer meteorites falling per acre of land in Antarctica than in other parts of the world,” said Ralph Harvey, a professor at Case Western Reserve University. “But if you want to find things that fell from the sky, lay out a big white sheet. And Antarctica is a 5,000-kilometer-wide sheet.”

Finding meteorites in Antarctica is so relatively “easy” compared to the rest of the world that an estimated two-thirds (around 45,000) of those ever discovered have come from the icy continent. The challenge, however, comes not only from the terrible conditions, but also from knowing where to look to make any expedition worthwhile.

In an effort to greatly improve the collection rate of Antarctic meteorites, a Belgian—Dutch team of scientists has unveiled (展示) what they’re calling a “treasure map” for the region. “We expect the treasure map to be 80% accurate,” said Veronica Tollenaar, who led the study.

After landing in the snow in Antarctica, a meteorite will either be directed into the ocean or brought back to the surface of what’s known as a “blue ice” area. As meteorites come out in these special “blue ice” areas, their color contrasts (对比) against the deep blue ice, making them easy to spot. The treasure map marks more than 600 special “blue ice” areas. They estimate that these sites may contain anywhere from 340,000 to 900,000 surface meteorites.

The researchers add that these locations also likely contain rare meteorites, such as angrites, brachinites or even Martian meteorites.

“Collecting these ancient rocks will further improve the understanding of our Solar System,” they write.

1. What makes it relatively easy to spot meteorites on Antarctica?

A．Few people visit the Antarctica.

B．Antarctica is covered with snow.

C．More meteorites fall in Antarctica.

D．Meteorites stay still in Antarctica.

2. What is the difficulty in finding meteorites in Antarctic?

A．Antarctic is too far to arrive.

B．Meteorites’ location is hard to track.

C．The expedition to Antarctic is too expensive.

D．The snow in Antarctic covers most of the meteorites.

3. Which serves as the best title of the text?

A．More and more meteorites found in Antarctica

B．Challenges of spotting meteorites in Antarctica

C．Improving our understanding of the Solar System

D．Treasure map helping spot meteorites in Antarctica

4. In which section of the website is the text probably from?

A．Science.

B．Business.

C．Environment.

D．Education.

4 . “There’s not any more water out there and what water is out there is becoming really expensive. So, let’s look at how we’re using it now,” said John Berggren. He is a water policy expert with Western Resource Advocates, a non-profit group.

Berggren’s organization supports an effort by Colorado’s lawmakers to launch a statewide turf (草皮) replacement program. Turf is land covered with grass. The program aims to pay home and business owners to replace their grass with other plants and landscapes as a way to deal with the state’s dry climate.

The Las Vegas Valley has always been dry. The desert area has only 10.7 centimeters of rainfall a year. The people who live there take 90 percent of their water from the Colorado River. The rest comes from underground water. Berggren said that in Las Vegas one tenth of a square meter of grass can use 276 liters of water every year. Replacing that grass with native plants and landscaping can cut that to 82 liters or less.

Berggren added that the replacement would be completely voluntary. Water officials launched turf replacement program in 1999. The program offered residents (居民) $4 for every square meter of lawn (草坪) that they replaced. Valley residents, apartment managers and business owners took the government’s money and replaced their grasses with rocks and desert plants. Water officials increased the offer to $10 for each square meter in 2003, then $20 in 2007. Now water officials offer $30 for each square meter up to 929 square meters.

It paid off. Home and business owners in the Las Vegas Valley have removed more than 18.5 million square meters of turf, which has saved about 741 billion liters of water since the program started. In Colorado, since launching in 2018, the program has helped save about 145 million liters of water. The turf replacement program in Castle Rock has also saved millions of liters. The city has reduced residential water use by 7 percent since starting its replacement program in 2009.

1. What is the program in Colorado intended to do?

A．Save water.	B．Replace turf.
C．Turn the desert into grassland.	D．Make the area more beautiful.

2. What’s the main idea of Paragraph 3?

A．The difficulty of getting water.	B．The present state of water wasting.
C．The dry climate and desert environment.	D．The need and reasons to carry out the program.

3. What can we learn about the program from Paragraph 4?

A．The program has won support from all residents.

B．Residents replacing turf are offered more money than before.

C．Water officials save more money by launching the program.

D．It totally depends on the government to carry out the program.

4. Which of the following can be used to describe the replacement program?

A．Costly.

B．Popular.

C．Fruitless.

D．Effective.

5 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Jean-Louis Button is an environmental student in Wales. He was woken up    1     a sound one night. It was a stray cat (流浪猫) who found her way inside his room. “I could see the cat was in     2     pretty poor state. I could see she needed help and I just needed some company,” Button said. The local Cat Protection branch     3     (locate) her owners who could no longer care for their cat. So Button took the cat in and was     4     (thank) for the company. “It just meant the world, honestly,” he said,     5     (describe) the joy this cat brought him.   

Button,     6    hobby is biking, realized it was a good idea     7     (do) a summer cycling trip around the UK to raise funds for three of his favorite charities. “This summer I want to push my physical and mental boundaries (界限) for three charities by cycling     8     (far) than I ever have before. I want to say thank you for the great work that they do,” he said.

He created a fundraising page, and     9     (raise) more than his projected amount ever since. Presently, he is cycling along Britain’s coastline, having already covered 3,500 kilometers in three weeks. His story from a life of     10     (lonely) to love may inspire more than cat lovers, for he is showing how far one cat can encourage someone to push their boundaries.

6 . I recently paid a visit to Yunnan Province, in the southwestern part of China, where I had a very precious chance to take so many wonderful photos I’m so proud of. Here I’d like to show off one or two.

The Red Land of the eastern river is a place which one almost cannot find in China’s tourist maps. Even if there is, it has only a few words to introduce it. It is located in the southwestern part of Kunming (capital of Yunnan Province), 2,600 feet above sea level. Because of its lack of infrastructure (基础设施), transportation problem, inadequate lodging (住房) facilities, ordinary travel agencies would not think of going there. Even the people living there are not so aware of or familiar with its existing beauty. But of those who have seen the pictures of the Red Land, none can resist being attracted to its beautiful scenery, like a painting of a great magnificent landscape!

The soil contains such components (成分) as oxidized iron (氧化铁). After a long period of oxidation, they gradually added and mixed in the soil, producing this extraordinary reddish brown soil.   

Here each of the families was distributed with different sizes and shapes of land, and each has its preference of crops which causes and produces these beautiful pieces of color. During harvest time, the soil is shoveled up and made this unusually red color. Here whether mountains or hills, every inch of land is cultivated (耕作) and planted to the maximum by the inhabitants, consequently causing unwanted damage to the place: erosion (侵蚀). Just like many other places in the world, how long could this magnificent phenomenon (现象) exist? No one knows.

1. Why is the Red Land unknown to the outside world?

A．Because of the poor transportation.

B．Because of the high sea level of the land.

C．Because of the local people’s unwillingness.

D．Because no travel agency knows of this attraction.

2. How did the Red Land come into being?

A．It was painted by some famous painters.

B．Both natural and human work produced it.

C．Mixtures of different metals’ oxidation.

D．Farmers’ over-cultivation resulted in it.

3. Why is the land so colorful in the eyes of the writer?

A．Because he has never seen such places before in his life.

B．Because varieties of crops on the red land color the land.

C．Because he has seen them in many pictures.

D．Because he loves to travel and show off his photos.

4. What does the writer worry about?

A．Overuse of the land may damage the beauty.

B．There’s no way to reach the beautiful land.

C．He can not find such places anywhere else.

D．No one will come to enjoy his photos.

5. Which of the following may serve as the best title of the passage?

A．An untouched colorful land in Yunnan, China

B．Welcome to Kunming, Yunnan, China

C．How the Red Land came into being in Yunnan, China

D．Secret and mystery in Yunnan, China

7 . 阅读下面短文, 在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Floods and landslides are hard     1     (avoid). However, to protect against them, people take a variety of measures. These could include passing various     2     (law)that prohibit(禁止) cutting down trees and building houses in these areas. Measures can     3     (take)at all levels so that no one is misusing or overusing their share of resources like water and food.

Areas     4     strong winds and tornadoes frequently happen need different precautionary(预防的) measures. Tornadoes and storms can be predicted(预测) to a degree in today’s world. Once one is predicted,     5     is important not to walk out without reason. Asking the kids to stay at home is another good measure. These areas usually have     6     (strong)built houses not to be damaged by extreme conditions. However, having a basement where you can stay and wait for the storm to pass     7     (be)not a bad idea. Make sure that the basement has     8     door that takes you directly out of the house in case that the house collapses(倒塌), you can get out of the basement.

To protect against natural disasters, safety measures need to be taken by governments. Communities need to have small plans in place because     9     the happening of a disaster. And the nearest people that can help you will be those     10     (live)in your neighborhood.

8 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

A serious earthquake struck Indonesia’s Java Island last Monday,     1     (pull) down buildings and killing at least 162 people.     2     (hundred) of others were injured. The earthquake was centered near the town of Cianjur in West Java. It caused     3     great number of buildings to fall. At least 25 people     4     (stick) in destroyed buildings. Besides, more than 2,200 homes were damaged and more than 5,300 people became homeless.

The power cuts in the area were bad for some communication efforts. Many injured people were treated on the grounds of the main government hospital in Cianjur. Elsewhere, groups of people gathered outside buildings     5     had fallen down. Among many damaged buildings were an Islamic school, a hospital and other public buildings. The government was still working     6     (examine) the full level of damage. An official, Vidi Primadhania, was working in Jakarta when the quake happened, saying, “The quake felt so     7     (strength). My workmates and I decided to get out of our office on the ninth floor using the emergency stairs. Some workers who remained inside buildings took cover     8     their desks.”

In fact, the country     9     (regular) experiences earthquakes, volcanic activities and ocean waves. This is because Indonesia     10     (sit) within the “Pacific Ring of Fire”, a collection of volcanoes and fault lines.

9 . A hydropower (水力发电) station employee who had been missing after a magnitude-6.8 earthquake, on Sept. 5 in Sichuan province, had been found alive on Sept. 21.

Gan Yu, 28, was rescued on Wednesday morning by Ni Taigao, a villager in Yaojin village in Shimian, a county under the administration of Ya’an, Sichuan province, He heard his yell for help in the mountain, according to Shen Xiaobing, head of the township (乡) government.

As the earthquake whose epicenter (震中) is in neighbouring Luding county, in Sichuan’s Ganzi Tibetan autonomous prefecture, damaged Ni’s house in the mountainous village, he had to rent a house down the mountain. Two days ago, Ni returned to the village to feed his sheep and saw rescue workers who were looking for Gan pass his damaged house. As he was familiar with the mountain, he decided to live in a relative’s home in the village with the intention of looking for Gan during the daytime.

At 7 am on Wednesday, he took two bottles of beverages (饮料) and some candies and set out from the relative’s home. After walking for more than two hours, Ni heard somebody yelling for help on a mountain slope and found Gan lying in the forests.

Gan’s clothes were tattered and he had injuries on his legs. Ni immediately called the local government and took out a bottle of beverage for Gan to drink slowly. His mental state was good. He cried and said he was lucky to have met me, Ni said. Gan said he had survived by eating wild fruits and drinking water.

At 11:30 am on Wednesday, the earthquake relief headquarters of Wanggangping township sent 18 rescue workers and two medical workers to the site where Gan had been found. A helicopter sent him to the Luding county seat (县城), where he is receiving treatment in hospital.

The site where Gan had been found in Yaojin has a straight-line distance of more than 10 kilometers from the Wandong Hydropower Station where Gan works. But there are several peaks in the middle, and the road is steep, Shen said. After the earthquake, Gan and Luo stayed in the ruined station without mobile phone signals or food. The earthquake killed 93 people in Sichuan, with 55 in Ganzi and 38 in Ya’an.

1. Why did Ni Taigao live in a relative’s home in the village?

A．To look after his relative.	B．To lead rescue workers.
C．To search for Gan Yu in the day.	D．To feed his sheep during the daytime.

2. What does the underlined word “tattered” mean in paragraph 5?

A．Old.

B．Fashionable.

C．Changed.

D．Torn.

3. What do we know about Gan Yu?

A．He was asleep when he was found.

B．He survived by eating plant roots and drinking water.

C．He was carried to the Luding county seat by helicopter.

D．He was found at the foot of a mountain beside the forest.

4. What can be a suitable title for the news report?

A．A magnitude-6. 8 earthquake kills 93 people in Sichuan.

B．Gan and Luo stay in ruined station after magnitude-6. 8 earthquake.

C．Man missing for 17 days after magnitude-6. 8 earthquake found alive.

D．Local government tries to save man missing for 17 days after earthquake.

10 . From Dec 7 to 19, delegates from around the world met at the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (also known as COP15), in Montreal, Canada. After two weeks of intense debate at COP15, delegates agreed on Dec 19 to adopt a landmark plan to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. “Finally, we reached our destiny. We adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework,” Huang Runqiu, COP15 president and China’s minister of ecology and environment, announced on Dec 19.

The new framework is a commitment by 196 parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity to conserve at least 30 percent of the Earth’s land and ocean area by the next decade. It also will increase the expected annual financial assistance from developed countries through 2030 to help developing nations with biodiversity protection.

The aim of COP15 is to ensure biodiversity loss is changed by 2030, and that humans are able to live in harmony with nature by 2050.To realize these objectives can be very challenging. At COP10 in Nagoya, Japan in 2010, the parties agreed on the 20 Aichi Biodiversity Targets (爱知生物多样性目标). But, as of now, none of the 20 objectives has been fully realized.

It is important to turn consensus into effective actions. Yet, as recent talks have shown, an aspect of effective international action on stopping climate change is the cooperation of developed countries. Developed countries, however, have fallen short of their responsibility as they have failed to fulfill the obligations according to the COP convention to provide funding and technology to poorer nations who lack the means to combat climate change.

To solve this problem, the framework creates a new biodiversity fund within the UN’s existing Global Environment Facility. This came about as a compromise between developing nations, which wanted a new fund, and developed countries, which did not. In addition, a global youth initiative (倡议) was also released, hoping young people to be leaders and advocates for biodiversity conservation.

1. What is the aim of COP15?

A．To save at least 30 percent of the Earth’s land and ocean area by next decade.

B．To stop biodiversity loss and promote harmony between man and nature.

C．To strengthen the cooperation between developed and developing countries

D．To provide funding and technology to poorer nations to fight climate change.

2. Why is COP10 mentioned in the passage?

A．To show the parties didn’t fulfill the obligation

B．To show the objectives were too high to realize

C．To show it is difficult to realize the objectives of COP 15

D．To show Japan didn’t hold the meeting successfully.

3. What does the underlined word “consensus” mean in paragraph 4?

A．Statistic.

B．Emotion.

C．Intervention.

D．Agreement.

4. Which of the following is a suitable title for the text?

A．International cooperation is important.

B．A new framework is made in the COP15.

C．Joint efforts are needed to fight climate change.

D．Historic COP 15 deals are released on biodiversity.