The Jiqing night street is located in the central part of an old city area in Hankou. Local people simply say that if you come to Jiqing, you will know
In the evening, hundreds of sidewalk snack boothes come out on the street and provide popular flavored food
Native people like to order several of the best-known dishes and a few
It is a lively place
2 . From the moon to Mars, scientists have been looking for water —the key to life —in the solar system for decades. Recently, they have turned to Jupiter (木星)!
On April 14, the European Space Agency’s (ESA) JUICE spacecraft successfully lifted off from French Guiana in South America. JUICE, short for “Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer”, will collect data from Jupiter and its three moons, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.
The three moons are believed to have big oceans of liquid water under their icy shells. According to ESA, the water on these moons could be as much as six times the amount in Earth’s oceans. The mission “will change our understanding of the solar system”, wrote Scientific American.
In 1998, NASA’s Galileo spacecraft found that Europa might send water as far as 160 kilometers into space. That gave scientists the idea of studying the icy moons of Jupiter.
The oceans under these moons are likely to be tens of kilometers deep. But they are also trapped under tens of kilometers of ice, making it very difficult to study them. Although JUICE cannot land on the surface, it has lots of high-tech equipment to study the moon’s environment, including spectral imaging (光谱成像) tools and radar. They could give more data on things like the thickness of the oceans, their salt content, and their distance from the icy shells above, reported Phys.org.
“The main goal is to understand whether there are habitable (可居住的) environments among those icy moons and around a giant planet like Jupiter,” JUICE team member Olivier Witasse said during a press conference on April 6.
1. What do we know about JUICE?| A．It left for Jupiter from the US. | B．It got its name from how it looks. |
| C．It will become one of Jupiter’s moons. | D．It will collect data from Jupiter and its moons. |
| A．cover a small part of its surface |
| B．all come from its icy shell |
| C．have been thrown into space |
| D．be as much as six times the amount in Earth’s oceans |
| A．wandered | B．wept | C．kept | D．declined |
| A．find a possible way to solve the water shortage on Earth |
| B．find out if it is possible for life to live on Jupiter’s moons |
| C．explore if Jupiter has living things similar to human beings |
| D．test ways of keeping water on Europa, Ganymede and Callisto |
3 . Every winter, Siberian cranes (白鹤) migrate from northeast Siberia in Russia to Poyang Lake in Jiangxi province, China. About 95 percent of the birds spend the season there. However, climate change has endangered the birds’ habitats.
“In some years, the Poyang Lake experiences floods, while in others, it experiences droughts. Both of these create food shortages in the cranes’ habitat,” Qian Fawen, a researcher from the National Bird Banding Center of China, told China Daily.
To help deal with the problem, the local government has built 70 hectares of lotus roots (莲藕) in Nanchang to provide food during the winter for the cranes. The birds’ population has risen from about 3,000 to more than 5,000 over the past 20 years, according to Qian.
Over the years, China has worked hard to protect migratory birds and wetlands. Known as the “Earth’s kidneys (肾脏)”, wetlands play a key role in cleaning water, preventing floods, and helping with biodiversity. The Wetlands Protection Law was introduced on June 1, 2022. It stops building work on important national wetlands and bans activities such as overgrazing (过度放牧) and giving out wastewater.
Thanks to these efforts, China has reported more birds wintering in the nation’s wetlands. In February, black-faced spoonbills (黑脸琵鹭), an endangered species, were seen wintering at Dongting Lake after disappearing for five years. Last December, Shanghai Chongming Dongtan Bird National Nature Reserve recorded more than 2,900 tundra swans up from some 1,000 seen during the winter of 2021.
1. The bird population is rising in Nanchang because ________.| A．the city offers more food for birds | B．extreme weather hasn’t hit the city |
| C．the city becomes increasingly warm | D．climate change doesn’t affect the place |
| A．Saving endangered animal species. | B．Looking after water and biodiversity. |
| C．Providing shade for migratory birds. | D．Avoiding overgrazing and water pollution. |
| A．when the Wetlands Protection Law was introduced |
| B．why the bird population in Nanchang rises quickly |
| C．how China deals with water pollution and overpopulation |
| D．what China has done to protect migratory birds and wetlands |
| A．Migratory birds add biodiversity to China. |
| B．New bird species leave China for winter. |
| C．China has completed its wetlands protection. |
| D．China’s environmental protection is successful. |
| A．Mother. | B．Mr. White. | C．Uncle James. |
5 . Four Places Named After Scientists in Antarctica
There are many scientific breakthroughs made by women in Antarctic. Here are four landmarks in Antarctica and the female pioneers they’re named for.
Jones Terrace (梯田)
The ice-free terrace in eastern Antarctica’s Victoria Land bears Jones’ name. In 1969, geochemist Lois M. Jones led the first all-female research team from the U.S. to work in Antarctica. Jones and her team studied chemical weathering in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, an ice-free area of Antarctica. Through chemical analyses of rocks they had collected, Jones and her team discovered many geochemical characteristics of the valley’s ice-covered lakes.
Mount Fiennes
8,202-foot-high Mount Fiennes, located on Antarctica’s largest island — Alexander Island — is named for Ginny Fiennes. She established and maintained 80-foot-tall radio towers in the Antarctic. In 1985, Fiennes became the first female who was invited to join the Antarctic Club, a British supper club open to individuals who have spent extended time in the Antarctic region.
Francis Peak
The 3,727-foot-tall peak on Antarctica’s Adelaide Island is named after Dame Jane Francis, who is the first female director of the British Antarctic Survey, the national polar research institute of the UK. Her collection of fossils on Seymour Island helped conclude in a 2021 paper that Antarctica’s abundant plant fossils indicate the continent once had a much warmer climate than it currently does.
Peden Cliffs
Peden Cliffs near Antarctica’s Marie Byrd Land are proof of the labor of Irene Peden. She was the first American female scientist to both live and work in the Antarctic, where she used radio waves to study ice sheets. Peden and her team determined how very low frequency radio waves spread over long polar distances by measuring pathways in the ice. They also used varying radio wave frequencies to measure the thickness of Antarctica’s ice sheets.
1. Which place is named after a builder of radio towers in the Antarctic?| A．Jones Terrace. | B．Mount Fiennes. |
| C．Francis Peak. | D．Peden Cliffs. |
| A．Lois M. Jones. | B．Ginny Fiennes. |
| C．Dame Jane Francis. | D．Irene Peden. |
| A．She could judge the thickness of Antarctica’s ice sheets. |
| B．She discovered a lot of ice-covered lakes in the Antarctic. |
| C．She was the first female American to explore the Antarctic. |
| D．She correctly measured the spreading speed of radio waves. |
1. What’s the relationship between the man and the woman?
| A．They are neighbors. | B．They are relatives. | C．They are husband and wife. |
| A．Beans and potatoes. | B．Apples and tomatoes. | C．Potatoes and onions. |
| A．Winter. | B．Autumn. | C．Spring. |
| A．Her favorite food was green vegetables. |
| B．She made great apple pies. |
| C．She loved to garden. |
| A．Wet and rainy. | B．Foggy and windy. | C．Sunny and warm. |
8 . When people are overworked or tired, they may take a break by visiting green spaces like forests to relax. But can there be forests inside cities?
Urban forests are not acres and acres of lush greenery. They range from the trees in the park on the corner of your street to the trees lining the sidewalk, or simply bushes in your own backyard!
The idea of care and management for tree populations in urban areas began in North America in the late 1960s and was first called environmental forestry. The greening improved greying cities and soon skyrocketed in popularity. It has now become a whole new discipline of forestry called urban forestry.
Urban forests have the potential to help cities cool down and can be the heart of a city’s social life. Even a tiny patch of ground with a few trees can enrich children’s playgrounds and have a positive impact on the psychological development of children. They also encourage community interaction: people tend to hang out together a lot more when green spaces are available.
How can we incorporate forests into cities? There are external factors in towns that make it challenging to design urban forests into cities. For example, how does a city plant and maintain the trees? Tree canopies can block people’s view, which could lead to accidents. Urban trees can also cause damage to buildings, due to their roots, and through the falling of whole trees or branches.
However, if we plan waste removal operations in advance, we can handle this issue efficiently; the waste parts can be used for other purposes, such as timber and fuelwood.
So do we need more unban forests? Absolutely! Urban forests represent a city-dweller’s easiest access to nature. Given that, cities need to find more creative ideas to provide this beautiful resource for their residents!
1. What does the author intend to do in paragraph 3?| A．Add some background information. | B．Summarize the previous paragraphs. |
| C．Give an example to support a theory. | D．Provide readers with some advice. |
| A．Developing writing skills. | B．Improving mental health. |
| C．Learning responsibility. | D．Mastering gardening tips. |
| A．Modem cities. | B．Urban forests. | C．Creative ideas. | D．Environmental issues. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Favorable. | C．Unclear. | D．Negative. |
9 . National Geographic Explorer Malaika Vaz knew from early on that she was destined for adventure. “I was someone who spent a lot of time outdoors,” Vaz says. Among her childhood experiences, she recalls expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic, climbing mountains, scuba diving, and windsurfing.
“In my late teens,” Vaz says, “I began to feel like adventure didn’t really mean anything if there wasn’t an intent to protect the natural spaces we were exploring in.” She began to seek an outlet that would both satisfy her desire for adventure and allow her to support the protection of the species and ecosystems.
Vaz had an interest in the medium of film, and decided to pursue a career in wildlife filmmaking. Today Vaz wears many hats in the filmmaking world, as a documentary director, producer, writer, and presenter.
After falling in love with mantas off the coast of her home, she discovered they were being hunted illegally and she dressed herself as a seafood trader to get as close as possible to the issue. She traced traffickers back to many parts of the world to figure out why mantas were being killed. She shares the challenges of going undercover to produce Peng Yu Sai, her Green Oscar-nominated film on the matter.
The subjects that grab her attention, Vaz admits, cover a wide range. And while she’s been asked to define her focus, she prefers variety, and argues that issues she pinpoints are more interrelated than they may appear.
Her work doesn’t stop at recording important stories-she’s also on top of follow-through, ensuring the message is heard. Vaz and her team work with scientists and policy makers to amplify the message of the films they work on.
From Vaz’s perspective, real improvement in the way the planet is cared for lies in the capable hands of many from various backgrounds. “The truth is that we don’t need ten really passionate, committed environmentalists. We need one hundred or one million people who can do a little bit in that field and change things within their ability.”
1. Which of the following helped Vaz combine adventure with nature protection?| A．Wildlife film-making. | B．Free lifestyle. |
| C．Childhood experience. | D．Outdoor activities. |
| A．Vaz’s home on the coast. | B．Vaz’s experience of mountain climbing. |
| C．The history of Green Oscar. | D．The illegal hunting of mantas. |
| A．The backgrounds of policy makers. | B．The influence of films. |
| C．The guidance from environmentalists. | D．The combined efforts of people. |
| A．Enthusiastic but careless. | B．Adventurous and insightful. |
| C．Knowledgeable but proud. | D．Humorous and patient. |
Devon became the man of the house since his father passed away last year, but tonight he was a twelve-year old boy who wanted a puppy for his birthday, and his birthday was tomorrow.
“They say every boy should have a dog of his own, don’t you agree?”
I sighed, knowing what my answer would have to be. “I would love to get you a puppy, but puppies are expensive. They need food and shots and a license. We just can’t afford all that right now, honey.” I lowered my head so he wouldn’t see my tears.
He stood there for a moment. “That’s okay, Mom. I understand,” he whispered. “But some day, when things get better, can we get a puppy?” “Of course, Devon, I promise.” I forced myself to smile.
“When we get a puppy, I am going to name him Rusty.”
“Rusty? That’s a fine name.”
The next morning, I gathered our recyclable bottles and cans which were worth five cents each. We drove to the nearby convenience store and sold them at a nearby store. Then we chose the two most delicious donuts with the money.
Devon grabbed the donut and took a huge bite. On the front sidewalk, he stopped so suddenly that I almost ran into him.
A puppy caught his eye. A young woman was parked just outside the door. Her face was wet with tears. The puppy curled up (蜷缩) in her lap with his nose resting on the driver’s door.
Devon rushed over to the car and giggled (咯咯笑) as he fed the rest of his donut to the puppy and was thanked with a wet puppy lick across the face.
Then I turned to the woman: “What’s wrong?”
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。
The woman dried her face before answering.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________“Really?” Devon took a deep breath and turned to me.
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