1 . Birds’ bodies are becoming smaller in size in response to climate change, even in places like the Amazon rainforest that are relatively untouched by human hands, according to a new study published in the journal Science Advances.
Researchers found that nearly all of the birds’ bodies have become lighter since the 1980s, losing on average about 2% of their body weight every decade. For an average bird species that weighed about 30 grams in the 1980s, the population now averages about 27.6 grams. The study also revealed that wingspan was getting bigger in the Amazon bird species studied.
These birds don’t vary that much in size. When everyone in the population is a couple of grams smaller, it’s significant. This is undoubtedly happening all over and probably not just with birds.
A lower body weight and increasing wing length means that birds use energy more efficiently, the researchers noted. For example, compared with a fighter jet with short wings that needs lots of fuel to fly, a glider plane with a thin body and long wings flies up into the air with much less energy.
The study concluded that a warmer climate was the driving force of these changes. The climate in Brazilian Amazonia, where the birds lived, had gotten hotter and wetter over the study period. Since 1966, rainfall increased by 13% in the wet season and fell by 15% in the dry, with temperatures increasing by 1 degree Celsius in the wet season and 1.65 degrees Celsius in the dry season. The change in climate might have made food or other resources insufficient.
Together, body proportions moved in the direction of more efficient flight and lower metabolic heat production and are consistent with a plastic or genetic adaptation to resource or thermal stress under climate change.
Animals are dealing with climate change in different ways.
1. What is the direct cause of birds’ changes?| A．A warmer climate. | B．A scientific advance. | C．A lack of sufficient food. | D．A lack of drinking water |
| A．To show planes fly with much less fuel. | B．To prove birds need much energy to fly. |
| C．To demonstrate birds’ efficient energy use. | D．To illustrate planes need lots of fuel to fly. |
| A．Animals’ other body part changes. | B．People’s attempts to protect animals. |
| C．Birds’ adaptation to climate change. | D．Animals’ ways to tackle climate change |
| A．Birds Nowadays Also Have to Adapt to Climate Change |
| B．The Climate Crisis Is Influencing Birds’ Body Shapes |
| C．It’s Our Duty to Take Measures to Protect Birds on the Planet |
| D．It’s Time to Raise Human Beings’ Awareness of Climate Crisis |
“Sun, sun, sun, here it comes…”
Danny sang while his fingers pressed and pulled skillfully at the guitar strings, delivering a slow and peaceful tune. A circle of audience had formed, nodding and moving slowly to the song.
Lying at the feet of the street performer was his most adoring fan: One-Eyed, a white stray (流浪) dog with pieces of brown. Danny felt the name was suitable considering its physical disability. Usually, One-Eyed would bark loudly as Danny performed. Much to his annoyance, people often mistook the pair as owner and pet. At this time, Danny would reply, “My dog? No!”, eyes rolling at the idea. How he wished the dog would leave him alone instead!
On a snowy night, while Danny was performing, a bird flew downward, landing into the midst of the crowd. It cooed happily as if to harmonize with Danny. Unfortunately, that did not sit well with One-Eyed, which immediately bounced at it and the bird flew away desperately.
The unexpected chaos upturned Danny's hat, which could have been filled with notes and coins from his appreciative audience, leaving it ignored on the ground. "Argh! The hateful dog!” Danny broke down, thinking to himself, “Either the dog goes or I go!”
On the next night, Danny tried to find a new place and chanced upon the park. For a while his earnings were good unsurprisingly as there was a steady flow of visitors. However, that didn't last long. One-Eyed came along and appointed itself as Danny's guardian. "Argh! Here comes the hateful dog again!" That night, Danny hadn't made enough money he should have, all thanks to the troublesome dog.
Danny was almost mad with One-Eyed. “What should I do? Call an animal shelter?” Torn by this problem, he walked aimlessly by the lake of the park. With all his mind focused on how to get rid of the dog, Danny didn't watch his steps. Suddenly, he slipped and fell into the lake accidentally. Struggling in the icy water, he cried for help desperately, almost choking to death. Sensing the approach of death, Danny got into overwhelming panic.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Just then, a familiar barking was heard in the distance.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________“My hero! Thank you for saving me,” Danny said gratefully with watery eyes.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________1．南通的地理位置；
2．南通的气候、物产、风景名胜等；
3．欢迎他来南通参观。
注意：
1．可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
2．词数80左右，开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Mark,
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
4 . Behavioral ecologist Diane Colombelli-Négrel was wiring the nests of superb fairy-wrens (细尾鹩莺) to record the birds’ sounds when she noticed something odd. Mothers sang while hatching (孵化) their eggs, even though keeping quiet would avoid attracting predators (捕食者). That early discovery “was a bit of an accident”, says Colombelli-Négrel, of Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia. It made her wonder: Could the baby birds be learning sounds, or even songs, before hatching?
Scientists have long thought about how early in development individuals learn to perceive distinct sounds. It's known that humans learn to recognize their mother’s voice from the womb (子宫) . For birds such as superb fairy-wrens, which perfect their songs with parental teaching, it was thought that sound perception (认知) began after hatching. But when it became obvious that mother birds were intentionally singing to their eggs, “We knew we were on to something,” says Sonia Kleindorfer, a bird ecologist at the University of Vienna.
Colombelli-Négrel, Kleindorfer and a colleague reported in 2014 that superb fairy-wrens learn to distinguish between sounds of their own species and others while still in their eggs. In a new study, that ability appears to extend to at least four more bird species.
In birds and humans, a drop in the embryonic (胚胎的) heart rate suggests attention to a stimulus (刺激). In the scientists’ earlier work, unhatched fairy-wrens’ heart rates slowed in response to repeated sounds of their own species, but not others.
To investigate whether this phenomenon is more widespread among birds, the team also turned its attention to the embryonic heartbeats of other bird species. The team measured the heart rates of 109 unhatched chicks before, during and after exposure to playbacks of songs from their own species or others. Then the scientists looked at whether 138 embryos stopped paying attention or became habituated to, repeated sounds of unfamiliar individuals of their own species singing. This habituation. measured by the heart rate returning to normal, would imply learning had occurred.
To the team’s surprises all of the eggs showed a slowed heart rate in response to their species’ sounds and showed habituation. That finding suggests that these unhatched birds learned to perceive the sounds of their species’ songs.
The scientists don’t know why some bird species, whose calls are genetically determined, not taught by teachers, have this ability before birth. The team hopes to study prenatal (产前的) sound perception in more bird species.
1. What is the purpose of the first paragraph?| A．To share a story. | B．To explain a concept. |
| C．To present a topic. | D．To make a prediction. |
| A．To tell the real time when birds start to recognize the world. |
| B．To prove that human beings are the most advanced species. |
| C．To stress the difference between human beings and birds. |
| D．To show that birds perceive voices later than humans. |
| A．By referring to earlier studies. | B．By observing and measuring. |
| C．By discussing and analyzing. | D．By studying the similar examples. |
| A．The best place to learn bird calls |
| B．The kind of call birds make to each other |
| C．Birds' heart rates increase when pressed with threats |
| D．Birds learn the call of the wild while still in their eggs |
5 . A few weeks ago, I received a package containing a small batch (一批) of seeds from my friend. When I asked her what it would grow
I sowed the seeds in a beautiful flowerpot. In the first few days, I was excited to search for the slightest
I watered the plant carefully. I placed the plant in the sunlight and rotated (旋转) it for a
Bending down and carefully studying the seedlings, I could almost
Now they are taller than the edge of the pot,
I am certain that after a few more days, my coriander plants will be ready for
| A．into | B．for | C．up | D．out |
| A．gradually | B．incredibly | C．ultimately | D．intently |
| A．samples | B．signs | C．routes | D．proofs |
| A．apparent | B．distinct | C．conventional | D．massive |
| A．allowed for | B．longed for | C．provided for | D．went for |
| A．intense | B．violent | C．balanced | D．exceptional |
| A．emerged | B．hatched | C．reserved | D．sank |
| A．pray | B．assess | C．forecast | D．hear |
| A．conflicted | B．facilitated | C．crowded | D．surrounded |
| A．subsequently | B．constantly | C．extensively | D．merely |
| A．howl | B．scream | C．thunder | D．whisper |
| A．initiative | B．leisure | C．harmony | D．luxury |
| A．possession | B．consumption | C．exposure | D．harvest |
| A．breaking into | B．relating to | C．brightening up | D．wearing down |
| A．touch | B．bunch | C．host | D．lot |
6 . As the world sees more and more extreme weather patterns, it's becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the effects of climate change.
The term "cli-fi" was first used in 2007 by US climate activist and writer Dan Bloom.
The genre is also gaining popularity with high school and college students because it looks at topics that are relevant to what's really happening today.
Cli-fi has also helped to inspire students to pursue science majors, with some universities even offering courses specifically focusing on climate fiction.
“These books aren't going to save the world in any straight form or way: Johns-Putra commented.” “
As Atwood wrote in her dystopian cli-fi novel MaddAddam, “People need such stories, because however dark, a darkness with voices in it is better than a silent void (空间)”.
| A．He considered cli-fi would be popular with young readers. |
| B．He wanted to make "climate fiction" more appealing. |
| C．But they're certainly going to help us think about how the world gets saved. |
| D．It is now a common topic of discussion and has even found its way into the books we read. |
| E．It's a feedback, as these books feed into our awareness and that feeds into our demand to read these books. |
| F．As the name suggests, climate fiction refers to stories with the central theme of climate change or global warming. |
| G．Also, many cli-fi novels tend to have dystopian (反乌托邦的) themes, which are very popular in young adult novels. |
7 . The general understanding of slow fashion is that it is sustainable fashion with a slightly different focus-speed. In 2007, when author Kate Fletcher coined the term "slow fashion", she called on consumers, designers and brands to slow down and care about quality.
Natural clothing materials and low-impact manufacturing are large parts of the sustainable fashion movement. This movement has invited a closer look into what sustainability looks like and how a change in thinking and practices could influence the fashion industry. Slow fashion is considered to be a continuation of sustainable fashion. Today, it is distinguished by quality, locally manufactured clothing, producing clothes on a smaller scale and with slower production times. Mindfulness is paid to workers, the environment, and cultural connections.
Slow fashion was a reaction to the rapid development of the fast fashion industry, which focuses on cheap, stylish, mass-produced clothes that have a huge impact on the environment. People had begun to notice the instability of the fast fashion model — from the employment of workers to pollution. However, fashion isn't always like this, and slow fashion aims to take us back to where it began, even before the Industrial Revolution.
When Kate first described slow fashion, she wanted it to focus on quality instead of quantity, in addition to the environmental ideals that were associated with sustainable fashion. Though Kate presented slow fashion as an opportunity to create an effective relationship between designer, production and consumer, it has developed over time to function even more. No longer is slow fashion only a theory on connection and better products; now, it includes consumer lifestyles and ethical production.
As consumers learn more about the troublesome practices within the fashion industry, the circles of sustainability are growing closer. Social media has only helped slow fashion brands reach more consumers. Adopting a slow-fashion way of living may seem frightening if consumers are new to the movement; however, it doesn't have to be difficult.
1. Why does Kate Fletcher initially put forward slow fashion?| A．To better the lifestyle of the workers. |
| B．To care more about quantity. |
| C．To emphasize the environmental influence of the fashion industry. |
| D．To introduce the science of choosing clothing materials. |
| A．It produces clothes of low quality. | B．It encourages producers to earn the most profit. |
| C．It has a lot of unstable influences on society. | D．It changes the basic function of the fashion industry. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Doubtful. | C．Indifferent. | D．Negative. |
| A．Future of the fast fashion industry. | B．Involvement in the slow fashion. |
| C．Reduction of clothing production. | D．Common practice in slow fashion. |
1. 写信的目的；
2. 旅行所带必需品。
注意：词数80左右
Dear Martin,
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Love,
Li Hua
9 . Some of the world’s most important scientists think the idea of people living on Mars will come true one day.
However, scientists will need to teraform（地球化）Mars for people to be able to live, which means changing the environment on Mars so that it is similar to Earth’s. One of the main goals of terraforming Mars is to warm it up because the average temperature is about-60℃.
Another big concern for scientists is whether humans can move to Mars and still stay healthy in mind and body. As a test, six people lived in a Mars-like environment in Hawaii for a year before “returning to Earth” recently.
One particular organization is planning to send the first humans to Mars before 2030. The organization believes that its project is giving people worldwide the chance to be part of the first human crew ever to live on Mars for good.
| A．However, many experts think it can cost too much money. |
| B．Stephen Hawking believed humans must move into space to survive. |
| C．NASA believes new astronauts should be chosen for future missions without delay. |
| D．One idea for warming Mars is to build factories there that produce greenhouse gases. |
| E．It will prevent us from learning about the ability of humans to live in a different environment. |
| F．It was a 1,200-square-foot room that was on the side of a volcano and used the sun for energy. |
| G．Another important thing was that the people living together should all be able to get along and work together. |
Every year, at the end of October, tens of thousands of people flock to a Buddhist temple in China to see a huge gingko biloba tree (银杏树) drop its foliage (枝叶) and turn
Due to the increasing
