1 . 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.

2 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入一个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

For those looking to escape the concrete jungle, maybe it’s time to dive into the bamboo forests of southern Sichuan.

A natural forest that people in Sichuan province tend     1    (visit) is the Southern Sichuan Bamboo Sea in Yibin. The 120-square-kilometer Bamboo Sea is the     2     (large) bamboo park in China and its average temperature seldom drops below zero degrees Celsius in winter     3     many parts of the country are covered with snow and ice.

Known as one of the country’s 10 most beautiful forests, it     4    (be) a popular tourist attraction since the Oscar-winning Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon     5    (shoot), there in 2001.

Two years later, the bamboo forest received world-wide     6    (recognize) as a bamboo reserve in December 2003,     7    (become) the fourth tourism destination in China to be granted Green Globe 21 certification.

The Bamboo Sea covers Changning and Jiang’an, two counties     8     the authority of Yibin. Amazed at its vast expanse, Huang Tingjian,     9     poet from the Song Dynasty, described it as “bamboo waves”. As Huang was an     10    (influence) man of letters, his description gave rise to the forest’s popular nickname—the Bamboo Sea.

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 . For Cruz, who grew up in Peru’s mountainous region of Cuzco, fog represents a massive opportunity. As a boy, he had to hike for more than an hour every day across hills to collect water from the nearest source. But over time, he realized that during the rainy season, droplets of water would gather in the large leaves of banana trees. So one day he and his father tried to build a canal system with the leaves to collect water and it turned out a success. But afterwards, he moved to Lima at the age of 25.

There, shocked by the water shortages and expensive water supply that some of the city’s poorest residents were faced with, Cruz set up El Movimiento Peruanos sin Agua in 2005. The idea was to deploy the method he learned in his hometown on a larger scale, which would provide free, independently sourced and easily accessible water to those who needed it most. He began installing (安装) a traditional fog catcher model developed in the 1980s.

At the highest point of Los Tres Miradores, there is a curious set of large structures that resemble a fleet of ships in the sky. They are so-called “fog catchers”. Netted devices, made of high density Raschel polyethylene and spanning several meters wide, are lined up at the top of a misty mound and linked by a network of tubes that lead to storage containers. The 40 fog catchers there provide enough water for 180 families, whether to bathe, clean, drink or to irrigate crops on small garden patches.

Supporters believe that fog catchers have the potential to improve water supply for communities around the world among the ever-challenging circumstances. German researcher Lummerich says, “They are cheap, easy to construct.” In a world searching for water supply systems, it is one important puzzle piece that can make an essential difference locally.

However, there are some issues. For one, fog catchers require space, which is not always easy to come by in cities, let alone urban slums. At the same time, fog catchers must be properly cleaned and maintained to stay effective. Most crucially, appropriate climate conditions are required. Fog isn’t everywhere.

1. What does the underlined word “deploy” probably mean in paragraph 2?

A．Employ.

B．Adjust.

C．Design.

D．Study.

2. What does paragraph 3 mainly talk about?

A．The reason why Cruz installed fog catchers.

B．The difficulties of constructing a canal system.

C．The installation and benefits of fog catchers.

D．The inspiration Cruz gained to build a canal system.

3. What is the biggest challenge associated with the use of fog catchers?

A．High costs.	B．Public opposition.
C．Space limitation.	D．Climate conditions.

4. What’s the best title for the text?

A．Urban Areas: A Struggle for Sufficient Water

B．Innovative Water Collection Techniques in Peru

C．The Global Water Crisis and Possible Solutions

D．Fog Catchers: A Local Solution with Global Potential

6 . If you think of a game of fetch, you might picture a dog running back and forth, eagerly recovering a ball. But a new study shows that they’re not the only pets that like the game: Cats play fetch, too, just on their own unique terms.

The researchers discovered almost 1,000 owners of 1,154 cats to find out if and why. According to their findings, nearly 95% of the cat owners reported that their cats fetched items naturally. One respondent said his cat returned the toy completely for no reason.

Fetching was mainly first noticed when cats were under I year old. What’s more, “cats who fetch largely determine when they engage in fetching activities and actively influence the play behavior of their owners,” according to the study. “So, it can say a bit about cats being in control of their interactions and being in control of their environments, even being in control of us. You might even go so far to say,” says Jemma Forman, the co-author of the study.

But the motivation for cats to fetch objects seems to be different from that for dogs. Cats are more likely to play on their own with objects similar to prey (猎物). For dogs, play is more social, involving either another dog or human.

In general, play has major advantages for both the pet and the owner, as it not only helps to prevent attack towards, the owner, but also models the act of preying on real animals, an important kind of play behavior. “So even if your cat doesn’t play fetch, obviously it’s a really good idea to try and engage them in any sort of play. Play does have a lot of benefits,” says Forman. “It’s about owner acceptance to your fur baby,” she says.

1. Why does the author mention dogs in Paragraph 1?

A．To offer basic information of dogs.

B．To make an outline for the passage.

C．To introduce the topic of the passage.

D．To conclude the meaning of the topic.

2. How does the author develop Paragraph 2?

A．By raising questions.	B．By listing data.
C．By making a comparison.	D．By offering an example.

3. What does a cat think of playing with an object?

A．A social action.	B．A learning process.
C．A serious task.	D．A preying activity.

4. What would be the best title for this passage?

A．Cats Play Fetch, Too	B．Train Cats to Fetch
C．New Findings on Dogs	D．Dogs Play Fetch, Too

7 . Our dog Bree is a Staffy cross. She ________ more like a cat than a dog. Unlike other dogs, she will very happily eat up her dinner ________ what is being offered. She does not hang around us waiting for pieces to fall her way.

That is, of course, unless I am making toast (烤面包) for my breakfast. She always makes her way to the ________ and sits very straight and tall at my feet as though to say “Look at what a good girl I am!” as soon as she catches a ________ of bread toasting. I ________ her, broke off a little bit of crust (面包皮) and fed it to her before ________ some spread to my toast. This became our “thing” — if I was having toast she’d join me for breakfast. She seemed ________ and I didn’t think a little crust would ________ her. Unfortunately, the day came when I fed her a piece of toast with a generous ________ of butter and jam. Clearly, she thought it was ________ as she now turns her ________ up at dry crusts and will only eat toast topped with a tasty spread.

This incident ________ me of a smart Chinese proverb: It is ________ to pass from a poor life to a rich one, but difficult to go back in the other direction. When it comes to ________ children, we should watch out for this. ________, they might be spoiled (宠坏) easily.

1.

A．changes

B．behaves

C．works

D．looks

2.

A．regardless of

B．in case of

C．because of

D．in search of

3.

A．bedroom

B．yard

C．study

D．kitchen

4.

A．sound

B．moment

C．smell

D．word

5.

A．forgave

B．praised

C．ignored

D．trapped

6.

A．applying

B．adapting

C．sticking

D．pressing

7.

A．injured

B．annoyed

C．satisfied

D．confused

8.

A．touch

B．please

C．impress

D．ruin

9.

A．spread

B．offer

C．act

D．meal

10.

A．strong

B．delicious

C．small

D．hot

11.

A．ears

B．eyes

C．nose

D．neck

12.

A．reminds

B．frees

C．clears

D．warns

13.

A．usual

B．possible

C．great

D．easy

14.

A．training

B．raising

C．helping

D．moving

15.

A．Therefore

B．Anyway

C．Otherwise

D．Instead

8 . It is believed that it’s dangerous to have plants in the bedroom. Plants take in carbon dioxide (CO₂) and produce oxygen (氧气) in the day.     1    . The build-up of CO₂ is a real problem for indoor air quality, which has been shown to influence health, so it is easy to see where the concern comes from. But to consider whether sharing our bedroom with our plants can harm health, we should consider three things.

Firstly, how much CO₂ do plants produce at night compared with what they take in during the day?     2     For the answer depends on everything from species to light levels and even room temperature.

Thankfully, in 2015, researchers at Turkey’s Kastamonu University found that large houseplants take in between six and eight times as much CO2 in the day as they produce at night.

    3     A single human breath contains around 40, 000 ppm of CO2, more than 10 times the effect a plant could have in 8 hours, so you might want to throw your partner out before your plants.

Finally, we don’t live in the sealed (密封的) boxes in which these studies are carried out.     4     The air is even exchanged when we move around. According to one recent review, we need houseplants to keep indoor air fresh, and to fight some pollution.     5    

Let’s enjoy houseplants whenever we like, because if sleeping near plants were bad for our health, camping in a forest would be deadly.

A．This is hard to answer.

B．So, they are quite necessary.

C．The question has more than one answer.

D．Besides, we often share a room with someone else.

E．Indoor air is being exchanged through doors and windows.

F．At night they compete with us for the air we breathe while asleep.

G．Secondly, compare the influence of a plant with that of a person sharing a room.

9 . 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。

Jiangxi Province has taken many measures to protect finless porpoises (江豚),     1     have faced dramatic changes in their living environment as Poyang Lake, China’s largest freshwater lake, suffered a severe drought.

The species,    2     (list) as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, now lives only along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The number of finless porpoises    3     (drop) significantly in the past few years, with only 457     4     (live) in Poyang Lake.

As the water level dropped to less than 12 meters, the lake officially entered this year’s dry season on August 6,     5     (early) than at any time since records began in 1951. Severe drought has reduced the lake by 75 percent. This change will     6     (undoubted) increase the risk of the finless porpoises hitting boats and also result     7     a food shortage for the porpoises.

Wang Liang, who works for the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Jiangxi, said the province has released     8     total of 200 million fish, shrimps (虾) and crabs into the waters     9     (enrich) the food supply and more than 2,000     10     (volunteer) have been trained to rescue the species.

10 . The big French pet care company AgroBiothers Laboratoire will no longer sell very small containers for raising fish.

The company has a 27 percent share of the French market for products used by people who raise animals at home. But it said it would no longer sell any fishbowls that hold less than 15 liters of water. They will only offer four-sided ones.

The company said it was animal abuse (虐待) to put fish in small bowls without added oxygen and filtration. Filtration is the process of removing small waste from the water with a device.

AgroBiothers chief Matthieu Lambeaux recently used the term “impulse”—meaning a sudden strong desire to do something—to describe why many adults buy goldfish. “People buy a goldfish for their kids on impulse, but if they knew what torture it is, they would not do it. Turning round and round in a small bowl drives fish crazy and kills them quickly,” Lambeaux added.

Goldfish can live up to 30 years and grow to about 25 cm in large aquariums (养鱼缸) or outdoor ponds. But in very small bowls they often die within weeks or months. Lambeaux said goldfish are social animals that need other fish, lots of space and clean water. He added that having an aquarium requires some special equipment and knowledge.

Germany and several other European countries have long banned (禁止) fishbowls, but France has no laws on the problem.

Lambeaux explained the company’s decision further by saying, “We cannot educate all our customers by explaining that keeping fish in a bowl is terrible. We consider that it is our responsibility to no longer give customers that choice.”

“There is demand for fishbowls,” he said, “but the reality is that what we offer children is the possibility of seeing goldfish die slowly.”

1. What makes the French company stop selling certain fishbowls?

A．Their size.	B．Their price.
C．Their weight.	D．Their popularity.

2. What does the underlined word “torture” probably in paragraph 4 mean?

A．Progress.	B．Pleasure.
C．Difficulty.	D．Suffering.

3. What is paragraph 5 mainly about?

A．The age goldfish can reach.	B．Costs of keeping goldfish.
C．Proper living conditions for goldfish.	D．The advice on how to choose fishbowls.

4. What does the company prefer to do based on Lambeaux’s words?

A．Raise the price of the fishbowls.	B．Remove the chances of harming goldfish.
C．Keep goldfish outside in the wild.	D．Educate parents to care for goldfish.