1 . All About Qatar
Location: Qatar is part of Asia and is in the Middle East.
It is in the northern hemisphere.
It is a peninsula (a strip of land sticking out into the ocean) surrounded by the Gulf. It has a land border in the south to Saudi Arabia.
Capital City: Doha
Official Language: Arabic. English is also widely spoken.
Currency: Qatari Riyal
Government: Qatar is an absolute monarchy. which means there is only one leader who is called an Emir. The Emir has the final say in all matters to do with governing the country.
Religion: Most Qataris are Muslim.
Flag: The flag of Qatar is maroon and white with a jagged line in between the two colours.
Climate: Qatar is warm all year round and gets very hot in summer. Temperatures can reach 50 degrees centigrade! Hardly any rain falls at all.
Sandstorms are common in Qatar.
Physical Features: Qatar is approximately 100 miles long from north to south and 50 miles from east to west. The land of Qatar is mostly barren, low plains which are covered in sandy desert.
Wildlife: There is hardly any vegetation in Qatar apart from desert shrubs and grasses. In the north there are some farming areas which produce crops including dates, tomatoes and melons. Animals like goats and camels are raised too.
·The most popular sport in Qatar is football and the country has many beautiful football stadiums.
·Qatar is the host for the 2022 FIFA football World Cup.
·Qatari cuisine uses lots of fresh fish, rice and spices.
·Coffee is a very popular drink in Qatar.
·Qatar is a wealthy country due to the large deposits of oil underneath the land and natural gas (which is mostly mined off-shore).
1. The underlined word “barren” probably means “______”.
| A．sandy | B．poor | C．fertile | D．rich |
| A．Powerful as the Emir is, there is still something he can’t decided. |
| B．There is hardly any animal due to the lack of vegetation. |
| C．It is an island with border to Asia. |
| D．In Qatar, people communicate in Arabic and English. |
| A．A travel review. | B．A tour instruction. |
| C．A newspaper. | D．An official introduction |
2 . They, stretching along the shore, swim quite lovely, looking for underwater greens to feed on. However, in these days, something is mixing with the sea grass that manatees(海牛)like to eat along Florida’s western coast. And it’s making them sick-even killing them.
It’s a poisonous form of algae, which is usually called “red tide” because of its color. Algae are plant-like organisms that live mainly in water. Most are harmless, but red tide is an exception. When it gets mixed in with the grass and the manatees eat it, they get so sick that they can’t even swim.
“They’re basically paralyzed(瘫痪的), and they become unconscious,” said Virginia Emonds, an animal care manager. Manatees are mammals and they need to surface often to breathe in air. If a manatee is paralyzed, it can’t swim and will drown.
As of Monday, the current red tide outbreak has killed at least 184 manatees since the beginning of this year. That has already beaten Florida’s record-high number for manatee deaths in a single year-and we still have nearly nine months to go!
The experts aren’t sure when the red tide outbreak will end. So many more manatees are in danger. The situation has gotten so desperate that Florida zoos have rescued at least a dozen manatees. You can find manatees anywhere from Brazil up to Florida-and throughout much of the Caribbean Sea.
In fact, the manatee is officially considered an endangered species. Thanks to the US government’s protection, Florida’s manatee population has grown to approximately 5,000 in recent years. But the red tide is threatening their survival. Some experts suspect that pollution from farms even might be fueling the red tide outbreak, because fertilizer that’s used on farms often winds up in water. And when that fertilized water runs off into the Gulf of Mexico, it makes things grow faster-just like on land.
1. The word “them” (in the first paragraph) probably refers to “______”.| A．endangered animals | B．manatees |
| C．algae | D．underwater greens |
| A．has caused damage to most of the underwater greens |
| B．serves to cultivate farm lands |
| C．destroy manatees’ ability to surface to breathe |
| D．give rise to 184 manatees’ deaths every month |
| A．The current situation of manatees in Florida. |
| B．The potential cause of the expansion of the red tide. |
| C．The fatal effect of the poisonous red tide on manatees |
| D．The researchers’ efforts to prevent the red tide from spreading. |
| A．The red tide has been changing the manatees’ habitat. |
| B．The red tide has been posing a threat to the manatees. |
| C．The manatee is officially an endangered species. |
| D．More efforts should be put to save the manatees. |
3 . Thanks to their evolutionary ancestry, domestic cats are, actually by their nature, more independent than dogs. Our cats, whose wild ancestors didn’t enjoy living in social groups as dogs do,
Although independent cats may not
Cats have successfully gained an edge for their outstanding ability to communicate with other cats over long distances and even when no longer
One of the most signs that your beloved pet is keen on you, is the way your cat greets you. When cats greet members of their social group, they
Besides, your cat might also be secretly signalling their affection by changing the way they look at you. When cats
| A．however | B．meanwhile | C．besides | D．otherwise |
| A．put | B．rest | C．calculate | D．stick |
| A．company | B．edge | C．resolution | D．affection |
| A．weakened | B．affected | C．worsened | D．strengthened |
| A．distanced | B．perceived | C．bonded | D．appealed |
| A．physiologically | B．physically | C．psychologically | D．realistically |
| A．ignored | B．abandoned | C．overlooked | D．possessed |
| A．comforting | B．exhausting | C．enduring | D．charming |
| A．demanding | B．approaching | C．identifying | D．defining |
| A．prepare | B．tend | C．wish | D．contribute |
| A．exposing | B．committing | C．attaching | D．pushing |
| A．knock | B．bump | C．encounter | D．stare |
| A．unknown | B．undecided | C．unblinking | D．uncertain |
| A．associated with | B．addicted to | C．adjusted to | D．assumed to |
| A．critical | B．similar | C．grateful | D．decent |
Throughout the world, only 15% of the material that are used to make clothing is properly recycled, according to the Alle SacUrthur Club, an organization in Liverpool, UK, that boosts the circular economy. Most clothing waste—an
A change in the manufacturing process is being applied to the textile-waste problem by Essen, a start-up in Seattle, Washington.
Although there are abundant technical challenges, the main barrier
5 . Why we should spare parasites
Growing up, Chelsea Wood dreamed of becoming a marine biologist and studying large, exciting animals like sharks. Instead, she later found herself peering through a microscope at the organs of a snail. She had often plucked snails off rocks and collected them in buckets, but she had never looked inside of one. Seen through the microscope, they are surprisingly charming. “I couldn’t believe that I’d been looking at snails for as long as I had and missing all the cool stuff,” says wood. “I just totally fell in love with them.”
Nearly half of all known animals are parasites. One study projects that a tenth of them may be doomed to extinction because of climate change, loss of their hosts, and deliberate attempts at eradication. Though it seems few people care — or even notice.
Scientists warn of dire consequences if we continue to ignore the dangerous situation of parasites. Not only are some of them useful to humans [such as medicinal leeches, still employed in some surgeries], but they also play crucial roles in ecosystems, keeping some populations in check while helping to feed others.
Some experts say there’s an aesthetic argument for saving them.
We’ve barely begun to identify all the parasites. “That’s just not something that we’ve prioritized,” says Skylar Hopkins, an ecologist at North Carolina State University. So, Hopkins pulled together a group of scientists interested in parasites, and they started sharing what they knew.
Since parasites rely on other species, they can be easily hurt, Take, for example, the endangered pygmy hog-sucking louse. It only lives on another species that is itself endangered, the pygmy hog, which is disappearing fast. Then there’s the California condor louse. In the 1970s, desperate to save the California condor, biologists began raising them in captivity. Part of the protocol was to delouse every bird, on the assumption that parasites were bad for condors, though it’s not clear that they actually were.
While the death of parasites might seem like no big deal, ecologists caution that wiping them out could end up dooming the planet.
Even human health wouldn’t entirely benefit from wiping out parasites. The human immune system evolved alongside a group of parasites, and if we were to kill them off, our immune systems would then began attacking ourselves.
However, scientists aren’t out to save all parasites. The Guinea worm, for instance, should not be spared. It grows inside a person’s abdomen, causing harm to one’s health.
If anyone would want to get rid of all parasites, you’d think it would be Bobbi Pritt. As medical director for the Mayo Clinic’s human parasitology lab, Pritt identifies harmful parasites found all over the country and in every body part. Yet even Pritt has a soft spot for parasites. As a physician, she favors wiping out parasites that cause disease and suffering.
Ultimately, we do not want a war against all of them, because there’s still so much we don’t understand.
| A．Without parasites keeping them in check, the populations of certain animals would explode. |
| B．Beyond their aesthetic or scientific importance, parasites are an integral part of the biosphere. |
| C．Parasites are sometimes rejected by the scientific communities that study the animal world because they rely on a host. |
| D．“But as a biologist,” she says, “purposefully trying to make something extinct just doesn’t sit well with me.” |
| E．Therefore, she has committed herself to finding more effective approaches to eliminate all harmful parasites. |
| F．If you get past their “gross” appearance, you may find parasites’ way of living strangely charming. |
| A. poisoned B. destruction C. survived D. increased E. especially F. chemicals G. concern H. decline I. occasionally J. sensitive K.extinction |
More recent research has shown that many kinds of amphibians(两栖动物) are declining or have become extinct. Amphibians are animals, such as frogs, that live partly in water and partly on land. And they have been around for over 350 million years. They have
The most serious aspect of amphibian loss, however, goes beyond the amphibians themselves. Scientists are beginning to think about what amphibian
Scientists now believe that amphibian decline is due to several environmental factors. One of these factors is the
There are a number of other factors in amphibian decline. Pollution is one of them. In many industrial areas, air pollution has
All these reasons for the disappearance of amphibians are also good reasons for more general
7 . Ranchers(农场主) and environmental advocates haven’t always seen eye to eye, but the differences between the two aren’t as extreme any more, as more and more ranchers have come around to the understanding that taking good care of the land supports both economic stability and environmental health.
“For some, ranching was pursued in the past with an emphasis on raising beef at the expense of everything else,” says Bill Bryan of the Montana—based Rural Landscape Institute in a recent Christian Science Monitor. “As a matter of necessity, the old way of ranching is giving way to a new pattern. Raising animals for the dinner table isn’t an activity that has to be at odds with the environment.”
According to the nonprofit World Wildlife Fund (WWF), grazing (放牧)—when done right—is key to maintaining biological diversity and ecosystem health across the Northern Great Plains, across 183-million-acre expanse of rangelands spanning five US states and two Canadian provinces.
This vast landscape evolved in harmony with large herbivores (食草动物), such as bison and elk, and must be grazed in order to remain healthy, reports WWF, which works with hundreds of ranchers across the region as part of its Sustainable Ranching Initiative. “Without grazing, woody vegetation, such as juniper and cedar creeps in and kills plants that threatened species, such as grassland birds, need to survive.”
Not surprisingly, many of the ranchers that are following in the forebears’ footsteps have been using what we now call “sustainable ranching practices” for decades already. One example is rotational (轮流的) grazing, that is moving cattle herds more frequently to different pastures(牧场), so they don’t overgraze any one particular patch of land.
A newer “best practice” involves depositing a quarter to half inch of cattle wastes on grazed land to kick-start the soil chemistry below while also absorbing significant amounts of methane (沼气)—the most potent greenhouse gas—before it can head for the atmosphere. This technique is now becoming more commonplace as today’s ranchers care about reducing their carbon footprints like no generation before them.
1. In the first two paragraphs, what does the writer imply about the relationship in the past between ranchers and environmentalists?| A．They worked together to reduce the impact of grazing on the environment. |
| B．They didn’t look each other in the eyes when they meet. |
| C．They had great differences between each other. |
| D．They both agreed that raising animals for food benefits the environment. |
| A．be favourable to |
| B．be in disagreement with |
| C．stand a chance with |
| D．be unusual for |
| A．Many ranchers persist in prioritising raising cattle over anything else. |
| B．Grazing done in the right way helps biological diversity and ecosystem. |
| C．“Rotational grazing” has been recently employed to raise animals. |
| D．Grazing contributes to trees competing favourably with plants. |
| A．grazing can be functional in the chemistry field |
| B．methane is another powerful greenhouse gas besides carbon dioxide |
| C．ranchers tend to remove their footprints as they are grazing |
| D．grazing has become more eco-friendly as time goes by |
| A．Three. | B．Four. | C．Five. | D．Six. |
| A．4,830 km. | B．3,926 m. |
| C．2,575 km. | D．3,830 km. |
| A．Between the U.S. and North Africa. |
| B．Between Senegal and Brazil. |
| C．Between Greenland and Scotland. |
| D．Between Senegal and North Africa. |
9 . An exhibition of vivid photographs and a restored documentary give fresh insight into the Antarctic explorer, who died a century ago.
One hundred years ago, the leader of the last great expedition of the heroic age of polar exploration died from a heart attack as his ship, Quest, headed for Antarctica. The announcement of the death of Ernest Shackleton on 30 January 1922 was greeted with an outpouring of national grief.
This was the man, after all, who had saved the entire crew of his ship Endurance — which had been crushed and sunk by ice in 1915 — by making a daring trip in a tiny open boat over 750 miles of polar sea to raise the alarm at a whaling station in South Georgia.
It remains one of the greatest rescue stories of modern history and led to the idolising of Shackleton in the United Kingdom, a reputation that survived undamaged for the rest of the century. As his contemporary Raymond Priestley, the geologist and Antarctic explorer, later put it: “When disaster strikes and all hope is gone, get down on your knees and pray for Shackleton.”
And here and now in 2022, his death is being marked with an elaborately illustrated exhibition — Shackleton’s legacy and the power of early Antarctic photography — which opens at the Royal Geographical Society (RGS), and which includes a range of images and artefacts from his expeditions. Additionally, a digitally remade version of South, a documentary film of Shackleton’s 1914-16 Endurance expedition, is being screened at the British Film Institute.
The film and most of the exhibition’s finest images are the handiwork of Frank Hurley, who sailed with Shackleton and who was one of the 20th century’s greatest photographers and film-makers. Both film and exhibition feature striking camera work and provide vivid accounts of the hardships that Shackleton and his men endured as they headed off to explore Antarctica.
Even after he survived the great expedition, he still longed for another trip to Antarctica, and after long negotiations set sail in Quest, from England, with the aim of circumnavigating (环航) Antarctica, Shackleton was by now very ill and had suffered at least one heart attack. On 2 January 1922, he wrote in his diary: “I grow old and tired but must always lead on.” Three days later he had a major heart attack and died a few hours later. He is buried on South Georgia, scene of his greatest triumph.
“Shackleton was an inspirational leader. He had an innate sense of what was possible and achievable. He also had a huge personality but led by example. At the same time, he was sensitive to the needs of the individuals he was leading. For example, after Endurance broke up, his men had lost their protection and shelter. Their social fabric had been destroyed. There would have been disagreement. Yet Shackleton succeeded in keeping them together and made sure they survived.”
1. People were overcome with grief when Ernest Shackleton died because .| A．it was a huge pity that such a brave explorer should have died from a heart attack |
| B．he was the man that wrote about one of the greatest rescue stories of modern history |
| C．he came to his entire crew’s rescue and symbolised hope in extreme circumstances |
| D．there was no one to pray to anymore when disaster came and there was no hope |
| A．It presents Shackleton’s 1914-16 Endurance expedition with powerful Antarctic photos. |
| B．It celebrates the 100th anniversary of the great explorer Ernest Shackleton’s birth. |
| C．It consists of vivid photographs, artefacts, and documentaries of Ernest Shackleton. |
| D．It is created by Frank Hurley, who witnessed Shackleton’s heroic acts with his own eyes. |
| A．He was the leader of a heroic exploration to the South pole, who died from a heart attack off shore. |
| B．He saved the crew members of the sunken Endurance by travelling to raise the alarm in a tiny boat. |
| C．He is universally recognised as the greatest Antarctic explorer who has enjoyed enduring fame. |
| D．He was inspirational, practical, responsible, sensitive towards his men, but had a strong character. |
| A．What they wore would not be accepted by others upon returning. |
| B．They could no longer socialise with others even if they went back. |
| C．The ship could not keep them together even if they survived. |
| D．They could not function socially as they had when there was shelter. |
10 . An argument will break down if one of the premises is not true or if the conclusion does not logically follow from them. For example, consider this argument:
The deer population in our state should be preserved. During the hunting season hundreds of deer are killed. Therefore, the hunting season should be discontinued.
To challenge this argument, the state’s wildlife commission might agree with both the major and minor premises but question whether the conclusion follows logically from them. True, the deer population should be preserved; true, deer are killed during the hunting season. However, in a state where deer have no natural enemies, herds become too large for the natural forest vegetation to support them. The overpopulated herds eat the leaves of the young trees, killing the trees, before dying of starvation themselves. The commission might conclude, therefore, that a limited hunting season helps preserve a healthier and more stable population of deer.
People who already agree with you need no persuasion, although a well-argued case for their own point of view is always welcome. But indifferent and doubting people will tend to resist your argument because they have minds of their own. To convince them, you will need to refute(驳斥)opposing arguments.
To give up a position that seems reasonable, the arguer has to see that there is an even more reasonable one. In addition to presenting your own case, review the chief arguments of the other side and explain what you think is wrong with them.
It is the best way to deal with the other side. Often it is useful to summarize the opposing position. Sometimes a better plan is to anticipate objections as you develop your detailed reasons for your argument. Wherever you decide to deal with opposing arguments, do your best to refute them.
As you refute opposition arguments, try to establish common ground with readers who at first do not agree with your views. If you can show that you share their values, they may be able to switch to your position without giving up what they feel is important. For example, to persuade people emotionally opposed to shooting helpless deer, a state wildlife commission would have to show that it too cares about preserving deer and does not want them to die needlessly. Having established these values in common, the commission might be able to persuade people that a carefully controlled hunting season is good for the deer population because it prevents starvation caused by over-population. However, if those opposed to hunting want to persuade the commission to ban the hunting season, they would need to show that the commission could achieve its goals by some other means, such as expanding the deer preserve or allowing the deer and the food supply to come into a natural balance.
1. What does the underlined word premises mean in the first paragraph?| A．establishments | B．commercials |
| C．assumptions | D．prejudices |
| A．have the hunting season | B．make the hunters happy |
| C．protect the rest of the herds | D．create their natural enemies |
| A．present your case first | B．summarize the position of the other side |
| C．review your own views | D．pretend to be indifferent |
| A．One may give up a position when he sees a more reasonable one. |
| B．You’d better anticipate the possible objections before you give your reasons |
| C．Deer should be preserved but overpopulation will do harm to them. |
| D．Those opposed to hunting don’t have good reasons |
