5 . A fisherman in northern Cambodia hooked what researchers say is the world’s largest freshwater fish — a giant stingray (黄貂鱼) that scientists know relatively little about.

The fisherman, 42, caught the 300-kilogram fish, which measured about four meters in length, near a remote island on the Mekong River in the Stung Treng area. A team of scientists from the Wonders of Mekong research project helped tag (给…装标签), measure and weigh the fish before it was released back into the river. The research group believes it was healthy when released and expects it to survive.

The tag—which emits an acoustic (声音的) signal — will allow researchers to track the fish’s movements and they hope, learn more about its species’ behavior in the Mekong.

The catch “highlights how little we know about a lot of these giant freshwater fish,” said Zeb Hogan, a fish biologist at the University of Nevada. “You have a fish that’s now the record holder for the world’s largest freshwater fish, and we know little about it.”

The fisherman, Moul Thun, caught the giant stingray with a hook and line on the evening of June 13, and then contacted researchers the next morning.

Researchers with the Wonders of Mekong were already in northern Cambodia to install underwater receivers as part of a project to track migratory fish in the river.

“It’s a particularly healthy stretch of the river with a lot of deep pools — pools up to 90 meters deep,” said Hogan, who is also the host of National Geographic’s “Monster Fish” television series. “We started focusing on this area as a stretch of river that’s particularly important for biodiversity and fisheries, and as a last refuge (避难所) for these big species.”

For several months, the research group has been in contact with local fishermen, asking them to get in touch if they landed a significant catch. The group has helped with two other large giant freshwater stingray releases in recent months. The fisherman who caught the record fish was paid market price for his catch. “It works because the fish is not a highly prized food fish,” Hogan said.

Hogan said little is known about the giant freshwater stingray. The creature has a mouth about “the size of a banana” with no teeth, but with “gripping pads” used to crush (压碎) prey. “They’re on the bottom finding shrimps, mollusks and small fish. They can suck them up with this banana-shaped mouth and crush them,” he said.

1. What did the scientists use the tag to do?

A．To enable the freshwater fish to survive.

B．To record the sound of the freshwater fish.

C．To be informed of the freshwater fish’s health.

D．To help them know more about the freshwater fish.

2. What is Zeb Hogan’s tone in paragraph 4?

A．Optimistic.

B．Regretful.

C．Indifferent.

D．Proud.

3. What does Hogan say about the deep pools?

A．Their depth can hardly be measured.

B．They are too deep to explore in detail.

C．There is a special TV show about them.

D．They are likely home to big species.

4. What do researchers expect fishermen to do?

A．To discover highly prized food fish.

B．To sell their big catch at a lower price.

C．To report their unusual catch in time.

D．To show respect for the significant catch.

6 . I need a new phone. Like many of us with older model iPhones, my battery life is just a few hours and I’ve stopped updating the operating system to extend the phone’s life. But I’m having a tough time making the final decision. It’s not the cost. It’s not the inconvenience either. It’s the environment.

Making smartphones, laptops, and other tech products takes a lot of resources. This is partly due to the carbon emissions from the producing process. Still, the most negative impact comes from the mining of the rare earth metals that make your phone work. If you’re reading this on your phone right now, you’re holding about 0.034 grams of gold, 0.34 grams of silver, and smaller amounts of other rare elements. These are tiny amounts, but consider the demand for smartphones around the world.

All of these rare elements have to be mined from inside the Earth, in places like China and some African countries. Mining is hugely environmentally destructive: forests are destroyed, the ground is disturbed, and water quality in the area takes a dive.

Now take these environmental risks, and combine them with the fact that the average lifespan (使用寿命) of a smartphone is just two years, the length of your contract with your cell phone company. After that, if you’re lucky, you get a “free” upgrade. Awesome, right? Sure, if you ignore the fact that the environmental impact of a new phone is about the same as using your old one for a decade.

It’s nearly impossible to live in the 21st century without contributing to the destruction of the environment and climate change. I am guilty as well — eat meat and occasionally fly. But that doesn’t mean that we should stop trying to do better, or ignore the consequences of our actions. I urge you to think carefully about your next smartphone purchase no matter what those Black Friday ads may be trying to tell you.

1. What does the author’s final decision refer to?

A．Going ahead with getting a new phone.

B．Taking action to help reduce pollution.

C．Updating your phone’s operating system.

D．Raising money for anew smartphone.

2. Why does the author list specific numbers in paragraph 2?

A．To reveal the consequences of making smartphones.

B．To analyze the causes of making new smartphones.

C．To emphasize the huge demand for smartphones.

D．To provide solutions to cutting smartphone use.

3. What message does the author convey in paragraph 4?

A．It is economical to upgrade your device.

B．The lifespan of smartphones is narrowed.

C．The upgrade comes at the expense of the environment.

D．Signing a contract spares users from economic pressure.

4. What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage?

A．To push for environmentally friendly smartphones.

B．To discourage businesses from making smartphones.

C．To advise readers not to change smartphones often.

D．To demonstrate the negative effects of smartphones.

7 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

Maria and Peter lived in a coastal city. The greatest pleasure in summer for them was to swim at their local beach after school. But one day they started to lose their enthusiasm for swimming in the waters. More often than not, they would find plastic bags thrown on the beach. Worse sill, as they swam in the water, some plastic bags would float around them and even stick to their legs when they walked to the shore.

They were upset and decided something needed to be done to stop the beautiful sea becoming consumed by waste.One weekend,Maria and Peter brought a big bag to the beach and determined to clean it up. Sweat streamed down from their forehead while they bent down and picked up the plastic bags. To their disappointment, after a day’s hard work, there were still many plastic bags lying on the beach or floating in the water. Going home with aching legs and arms, Maria and Peter were almost defeated by a strong sense of failure.

That night over dinner with their parents, the pair ate silently. Noticing their low spirits, Mother asked gently, “You two looked so down. What happened?”Exchanging glances with Peter, Maria replied in a low voice,“It’s those annoying plastic bags. We tried to clean up but it was just impossible.”Understanding the pair’s disappointment, their father patted them on the back and comforted,”Well, it’s really hard for just two of you to fix such a big problem.”“Just two of us.”complained Maria and Peter, looking at each other.Suddenly, an idea lashed through their minds, their eyes shining with excitement.“Yes,that’s the point! We should make more people aware of the problem and encourage them to take action!” the pair said in chorus.

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。

Quickly finishing their dinner, the pair went upstairs and started planning.

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Excited and nervous, they posted the video and article on WeChat.

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8 . One day while in the forest, Margaret heard a squeak (吱吱声). She followed the sound, and in the bushes found a little fox. Margaret wanted to leave, but the fox ran after her, limping (跛行) on one leg. Margaret brought the fox to her apartment. She fed it, and decided to take it to the doctor, and then return it to the forest.

Before going to the doctor, she posted several pictures of the animal online. Many people looked at these photos. Margaret decided to read the comments under them. She thought that this cute creature could only bring warmth and joy. And in most people, these photos caused these feelings. However, there were others. They lashed out at Margaret. “You think you have done a great job, but you hurt it,” read one comment. “This is a wild animal, and it must live in the wild!”

The next day, Margaret brought the fox to the doctor. The doctor examined the animal and said that nothing could be done. An animal trap must have broken its leg in the past, and it didn’t heal (康复) properly. The doctor also said if Margaret had not taken the fox home, he would have died of hunger, since he would not have been able to hunt.

Margaret made posts about it. But people did not calm down. Some said it was nice to save a wild animal. But others argued that the apartment was not a good place even for a wounded fox. After all, he needs space. Margaret did not know what to do to satisfy everyone.

But the situation was solved. A zookeeper offered to take the fox because their animals lived in large open-air cages. Margaret agreed. She took the fox to the zoo and often visited the fox. And she was also surprised that the fox taught her a life lesson. From different points of view, any deed (行为) can look either like an absolute evil or a kind deed.

1. Why did Margaret decide to take the fox home?

A．Out of fun.

B．Out of pity.

C．Out of fear.

D．Out of thankfulness.

2. What does the underlined part “lashed out at” in paragraph 2 mean?

A．Blamed.

B．Stopped.

C．Helped.

D．Frightened.

3. What can we infer from the doctor’s words?

A．The fox was saved in time.

B．It was illegal to kill the fox.

C．It was dangerous to set animal traps in the wild.

D．The fox should have been taken to the doctor earlier.

4. What lesson did Margaret learn from this experience?

A．People are born kind.

B．People see things differently.

C．People are critical most of the time.

D．People should put themselves in others' shoes.

10 .

Tardigrades, which are known as space bears, are able to survive for up to 30 years without food or water, and endure temperature extremes of up to 150 degrees Celsius, the deep sea and even the frozen space.

Researchers found that their astonishing abilities would protect them from disasters which would wipe out all life on Earth. In fact, the only forces capable of harming tardigrades, such as an exploding star or a deadly gamma ray burst, will not happen before our own Sun dies.

“Life on this planet can continue long after humans are gone,” said Dr. Rafael of the Department of Physics, tardiprades are as close to indestructible as it gets on Earth, but it is possible that there are other resilient (有承受力的) species examples elsewhere in the universe. In this context, there 1S a real case for looking for life on Mars and in other areas of the solar system in general, If tardigrades are earth’s most resilient species, who knows what else is out there.”

The micro animals living In water can live for up to 60 years, and grow to a maximum size of 0.5mm. The only real threat to their existence would be from a destructive event which would cause Earth’s oceans to boil away. But the scientists discovered that there are only a dozen known asteroids (小行星) and dwarf planets with enough mass to cause the oceans to boil if they struck the Earth and none are on a collision course with our planet. Smaller space rocks would not harm tardigrades.

Dr. David, Post-Doctoral Research Associate in the Department of Physics at Oxford University said: “To our surprise, we found that although large asteroid impacts would be disastrous for people, tardigrades could be unaffected. Therefore it seems that life, once it gets going, is hard to wipe out entirely. Huge numbers of species, or even entire genera may become extinct, but life as a whole will go on.”

In highlighting the resilience of life in general, the research broadens the scope of life beyond Earth, within and outside of this solar system.

Professor Abraham, chair of the Astronomy Department at Harvard University, said the research proved that life could survive in even the harshest environment. “Organisms with similar tolerances to radiation and temperature as tardigrades could survive long term below the surface in these condition.”

1. What does “this planet” in paragraph 3 refer to?

A．Sun.

B．Earth.

C．Mars.

D．The dwarf planet.

2. What can we learn from paragraphs 3 and 4?

A．There may exist more resilient species in other planets.

B．Na other species are stronger than tardigrades on the earth.

C．Tardigrades can be found in other areas of the solar system.

D．Tardigrades will be destroyed by space rocks hitting the earth.

3. Dr. David and Professor Abraham might agree that ________.

A．life will continue however bad the situation is

B．it is necessary to explore beyond the solar system

C．surviving below the surface s harder than imagined

D．asteroid impacts may cause the destruction of tardigrades

4. What’s the purpose of the passage?

A．To explore a study method.

B．To introduce a new research finding.

C．To provide a possible way 10 live in outer space.

D．To offer new means to survive tough environment.