1 . My parents have a boxer dog called Boris which is as badly behaved as his name might suggest. He is known to
Even my mother might
The sofas and chairs in their sitting room are covered in books-not because my parents love to read, but in an attempt to
The story between my parents and Boris is repeated across our community. Usually, our gang of dogs gathered almost daily,
I have met so many people whose daily
| A．get up | B．come up | C．put up | D．sit up |
| A．love | B．food | C．service | D．massage |
| A．plates | B．meals | C．meats | D．vegetables |
| A．complain | B．worry | C．explain | D．conclude |
| A．greedy | B．naughty | C．lovely | D．proud |
| A．observe | B．prevent | C．notice | D．keep |
| A．Fortunately | B．Naturally | C．Incredibly | D．Consequently |
| A．deliver | B．rearrange | C．carry | D．equip |
| A．as | B．or | C．nor | D．also |
| A．provided | B．supported | C．united | D．surrounded |
| A．barrier | B．bond | C．border | D．belief |
| A．gone | B．grown | C．slept | D．cloned |
| A．run | B．housework | C．dialogues | D．walks |
| A．difficulties | B．loneliness | C．relationships | D．troubles |
| A．body | B．diseases | C．soul | D．sufferings |
2 . There are a lot of chemicals that can cause indoor air pollution. A recent project conducted has found over 900 different substances in our home are related to it. Many researchers have already examined the causes of indoor air pollution.
It has been proved that different kinds of chemicals can be released by building materials and new furniture. Everything from painting and decorating products, bathroom cleaners and beauty products can contain these chemicals.
As a research from Denmark has highlighted, cooking, particularly roasting can damage our body. Roast dinners contain many potentially harmful pollutants.
As far as cooking emissions are concerned, no one is suggesting switching to takeaways.
| A．In the long run, these changes lead to cancer. |
| B．They might also arise from cooking at home. |
| C．A wide range of sources are under investigation. |
| D．Therefore, what results from indoor air pollution? |
| E．However, most of us have ignored their bad effects. |
| F．So, what are the main contributors to poor air quality? |
| G．But we can change how we cook to deal with the emissions. |
3 . The song of the Florida grasshopper sparrow is unusual and surprisingly insect-like. But it almost fell silent forever. In 2012, Joel Sartore, the founder of National Geographic Explorer and Photo Ark received a call from the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service: The songbird, an important ecological link in Florida’s dry grassland, was on the edge of extinction. With only a few dozen males showing up in counts, it was among North America’s most endangered bird species.
Sartore flew to Florida to photograph the bird and work with conservationists to raise awareness of the species’ difficult situation. The story appeared in outlets, such as newspapers, magazines and even the Internet, helping boost government funding for a breeding program. Thanks to these steps, there are now as many as 180 adults in the wild and researchers are working hard to bring the species back from the brink of extinction.
Like other examples of species survival, the push to save the sparrow is “a remarkable story of belief and cooperation,” says Sartore. It also shows what it takes to protect an endangered species: research, narratives, partnerships, resources and time. This journey shows the society’s mission to illustrate and protect the wonder of the world. Over the past 136 years, we’ve developed a unique Explorer-led model, combining science, exploration, education, and storytelling to drive impact. We support Explorer in more than 140 countries, including Sartore and others whose work appears in this issue: biologist André Green II, photographer Lynsey Addario and education advocate Ara Kusuma.
Sartore has been creating an “ark” of animal photos for 17 years. Portraits of more than 15, 000 species invite audiences to connect and care. With the society’s support, the images have appeared on landmarks and U. S. postage stamps, prompting on—the—ground conservation efforts such as an initiative of National Geographic Explorer and Photo Ark.
As Sartore says, “The sounds of birds are the sounds of a healthy planet. When we save a bird or another species, we’re actually saving ourselves.”
1. How does the author introduce the topic?| A．By clarifying a concept. | B．By offering an example. |
| C．By giving an explanation. | D．By quoting a remark. |
| A．Stores. | B．Media. | C．Exits. | D．Books |
| A．A funding program from the government. |
| B．An ark of animal photos in the magazine. |
| C．A unique initiative for species protection. |
| D．A joint effort from different professionals. |
| A．The urgency of species’ protection. |
| B．The promotion of cooperative methods. |
| C．The importance of coexistence. |
| D．The situation of human survival. |
4 . Relatives of starfish, brittle stars (海蛇尾) spend most of their time hiding under rocks in the ocean or digging in the sand. These shy marine creatures have no brain to speak of—just nerve cords running down each of their five wiggly arms, which join to form a nerve ring near their mouth.
“There’s no processing center. Each of the nerve cords can act independently. Instead of a boss, it’s like a committee. That seems to be enough to learn by association,” said lead author Julia Notar. This type of leaning involves associating different stimuli via a process called classical conditioning (条件反射).
Classical conditioning has been demonstrated in a handful of previous studies in starfish. But brittle stars and similarly brainless starfish have not been tested.
To find out if brittle stars have the ability of learning, the researchers put 16 black brittle stars in individual water tanks and used a video camera to record their behavior. Half the brittle stars were trained by dimming the lights for 30 minutes whenever the animals were fed. Every time the lights went out, the researchers would put a bit of shrimp in the tanks, placed just out of reach. The other half got just as much shrimp and also experienced a 30-minute dark period, but never at the same time—the animals were fed under lit conditions.
Whether it was light or dark, the animals spent most of their time hiding behind the filters in their tanks, only coming out at mealtime. But only the trained brittle stars learned to associate darkness with food. They didn’t need to smell or taste the shrimp to react.
Notar said the results are exciting because classical conditioning hasn’t really been shown definitively in this group of animals before. “Knowing that brittle stars can learn means they’re not just robotic scavengers (清道夫) cleaning up the ocean floor,” Notar said. “They’re potentially able to expect and avoid predators (捕食者) or expect food because they’re learning about their environment.”
1. What is paragraph 1 about?| A．The living habits of brittle stars. | B．The features of a brainless creature. |
| C．The characteristics of the starfish. | D．The definition of classical conditioning. |
| A．The hiding time in tanks. | B．The change of feeding location. |
| C．The amount of the shrimp. | D．Light conditions at mealtime. |
| A．Brittle stars can be trained to make a connection. |
| B．Brittle stars can clean up the ocean floor. |
| C．Brittle stars’ nerve cords can act independently. |
| D．Brittle stars have a sharp sense of smell. |
| A．Brainless brittle stars can act like robots. |
| B．Brittle stars might keep away from catchers. |
| C．Brittle stars are the only ocean floor cleaners. |
| D．Brittle stars are adaptable to new environment. |
5 . A new study from the University of Cambridge shows how small environmental changes can have great effects on human behavior. Even the rise of skateboarding is the result of the deep relationships between humans and the climate.
“To make connections between climate and society, we often look into the past, but as we go further back, the evidence gets thinner,” said lead author Professor Büntgen. “We wanted to find a more modern example where we had lots of data to look at. That is how we began to study skateboarding.”
As was recorded, the prosperity (繁荣) of post-war America resulted in the building of more than 150,000 swimming pools in California during the 1960s. However, California suffered the greatest drought (旱灾) in the 1970s. The government’s water agencies responded by mandating strict cuts, including a ban stopping people from filling backyard swimming pools. As a result, many of these pools were empty, making them ideal playgrounds for freestyle skateboarders. Naturally, skateboarding exploded in popularity.
Büntgen said, “California used to be the center of US surf culture. The popularity and influence of surf culture was very important to the rise of skateboarding, which is why it could have only happened in California. You could have had the same drought, the same pools in somewhere like Phoenix, but since Phoenix doesn’t have a rich surf culture, professional skateboarding couldn’t have started there.”
With the rise of professional skateboarding came the industrial production of polyurethane (聚氨酯) wheels, which allowed skaters to make faster turns at higher speeds than they could with earlier steel wheels. All these factors made skateboarding more popular. Nowadays, it is a multibillion-dollar industry.
The example of California best shows that local climate change can have major effects on human society.
1. What is the finding of the new study?| A．Climate changes affect human behavior. |
| B．Popular games benefit greatly from droughts. |
| C．The environment changes people’s relationships. |
| D．Culture contributes to the industry development. |
| A．Carrying out. | B．Counting on. | C．Sticking with. | D．Getting over. |
| A．Drought. | B．Location. | C．Swimming pools. | D．Surf culture. |
| A．Society. | B．Health. | C．Education. | D．Business. |
6 . Have you ever heard of and seen Canadian geese? Do you know that they
Canadian geese have a good
Yesterday I witnessed two Canadian Geese arguing
Would they start quarreling again? I stood still,
They got along harmoniously again. Sometimes it’s not that bad to be
| A．draw on | B．focus on | C．feed on | D．try on |
| A．desire | B．reputation | C．affection | D．appetite |
| A．generous | B．faithful | C．weird | D．rude |
| A．well-informed | B．well-dressed | C．well-behaved | D．well-balanced |
| A．fiercely | B．blindly | C．cautiously | D．gently |
| A．deserted | B．located | C．fixed | D．laid |
| A．frequent | B．rare | C．common | D．constant |
| A．restricting | B．changing | C．pausing | D．speeding |
| A．desperate | B．simple | C．serious | D．disharmonious |
| A．frightened | B．annoyed | C．crashed | D．injured |
| A．finding out | B．dealing with | C．looking into | D．wondering about |
| A．passion | B．reason | C．talent | D．anxiety |
| A．scene | B．destination | C．landscape | D．park |
| A．looker-on | B．passer-by | C．truck | D．clump |
| A．upset | B．forgetful | C．mean | D．greedy |
7 . Yellow flower carpeted fields are a sure sign of summer. In Denmark alone, more than 200,000 hectares of rapeseed (油菜籽) are planted every year. But until now, the plant has only been used for oil and animal food, as it is both bitter and unsafe for human consumption.
To protect themselves, the rapeseed plants produce a group of substances (物质) called glucosinolates (硫苷), which give the plants a strong and bitter taste that scares off insects and disease. As a result rapeseed is unhealthy to eat and the rapeseed cake, which is the remains of the seeds after the oil has been squeezed out, has only been used as feed for pigs and chickens, despite its 30 — 40 percent protein content.
Now, researchers from the University of Copenhagen have discovered the three proteins that help to store the bitter substances in seeds of thale cress (阿拉伯芥), a plant closely related to the rapeseed. The new knowledge makes it possible to prevent the accumulation (积聚) of these substances in the seed by removing the proteins through “transport engineering” technology. In doing so, the defensive substances remain in all other parts of the plant, allowing it to continue to defend itself.
So far, the researchers have shown that their method works in thale cress. “The next task is to apply our method to the closely related rapeseed plant, which we are now working on,” says Professor Halkier, leader of the research.
“Half of plant proteins in the EU come from rapeseed. The climate crisis demands that we reduce meat consumption and eat more plants, which is where rapeseed has great potential as a new source of plant protein. Our latest research results bring us a step closer to making full use of rapeseed,” says Professor Halkier.
1. What is the function of paragraph 2?| A．To state the reason. | B．To offer the solution. |
| C．To give an example. | D．To introduce the topic. |
| A．By selecting better seeds. | B．By removing the three proteins. |
| C．By increasing sweet tastes. | D．By storing defensive substances. |
| A．Researchers’ efforts to better the taste. |
| B．Researchers’ progress in their experiment. |
| C．Rapeseed’s role in relieving climate crisis. |
| D．Rapeseed’s potential as a new protein source. |
| A．Harmful proteins discovered in rapeseed |
| B．Rapeseed widely used as oil and animal food |
| C．Researchers closer to making rapeseed safe food |
| D．New plant protein in rapeseed finally uncovered |
8 . Babusha, or “eight-step sands”, got its name because the desert was always just eight steps away from the farmers’ doors. Today, the desert’s southward movement has been stopped thanks to a green belt planted in the last 40 years by Guo Wangang and his colleagues. As a result, Guo was named a National Moral Model in 2020.
Guo is only part of the second generation of “soldiers” to fight against the desert. His father was one of the six men who first began planting trees in Babusha. When Guo’s father fell ill in 1983, he hoped that his son would follow in his footsteps.
Guo remembers being reluctant to give up his stable government job. “My father repeatedly stressed that we had to make sure our farms weren’t eaten by the desert,” Guo said, adding that he eventually agreed to work at the farm because he didn’t want to see the trees die.
However, it was the deadly sandstorm in 1993 that turned Guo into a determined “soldier”. The fast moving brown wall of dust reached high into the sky and turned day into night. Guo was working in the desert with his colleagues when it hit. They only managed to get home after trekking for six hours in darkness. Later, he learned that 23 students were found dead in a river as they tried to get home from school during the sandstorm.
Since then, Guo and his colleagues have continued planting trees every spring and fall, pruning (修剪) them in winter and watching out for fire. Their struggle continues. Today more and more young people have joined with scientific and innovative methods. For example, the farm now is subsidized (资助) by Ant Forest, a public welfare project launched by the e-commerce giant, Alibaba. It rewards users with virtual energy in exchange for low-carbon activities, which can then be used to do things, like having trees planted.
“We need more such young people to help us find other advanced and engineering methods for desertification control,” said Guo Wangang.
1. What was Guo Wangang’s first reaction to his father’s request?| A．He advised his father to stop planting trees. |
| B．He was unwilling to give up his stable job. |
| C．He immediately agreed to work at the farm. |
| D．He was determined to fight against the desert. |
| A．Finishing the green belt. |
| B．Winning National Moral Model title. |
| C．Seeing his father’s falling ill. |
| D．Experiencing a deadly sandstorm. |
| A．To show young people’s creative methods. |
| B．To advocate the low-carbon way of living. |
| C．To praise Ant Forest’s unique contribution. |
| D．To indicate Guo and his team’s difficulties. |
| A．Well begun is half done. |
| B．One tree doesn’t make a forest. |
| C．Opportunity favours only the prepared mind. |
| D．Nothing is too difficult if you put your heart into it. |
“Mumma, I am going to the morning walk”, Rohan screamed while his mother was cooking in the kitchen.
His mother who was engaged in her work replied casually, and he went away. It was bitter cold outside. Though he had his cap and muffler (厚手套) with him, he could still perceive much cold. He followed his daily routine when something different happened to him. There laid a small puppy on the other side of the road, just beside a canal, who seemed shivering and trembling with the cold. He went towards it, looked into its eyes, experienced its pain and couldn’t help but pick it up on his hands. It was voiceless, but expressed everything to the boy, without any language.
There was no other thought which stroked his mind and he decided to take that puppy with him to his home. Then came a thought of his mother, who never liked dogs and restricted whenever possible. But his compassionate feeling overcame all his fears and he went back to his home, holding the puppy in his hands. He headed on towards his home though he wanted not to go and thought if he could delay his arrival at his home, but no way possible …
After five minutes of thoughtful walk, he reached his home, where was his mother, who was surely to be annoyed with a puppy in his hands. He got inside his home and underwent what was expected. His mother asked furiously “What is it?”, and continued a number of questions when Rohan uttered a single sentence “Mumma, he needs us”, which made her mother believe “What Love is”.
And his mother remembered the words of her favourite teacher “Love is the feeling to help someone when he is in need, knowing there would be barriers” .
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。
His mother allowed that puppy to stay with them.
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Then came the day when Rohan had to leave home to study abroad.
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1. 时间地点；
2. 现场情况；
3. 活动意义。
注意：
1. 写作词数应为80左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
A green fashion show
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