1 . The latest data shows the population of wild Asian elephants in southwest China’s Yunnan Province has increased from around 150 to more than 300 from the 1980s to the end of 2021, according to the National Forestry and Grassland Administration.
With the growth in the elephant population, conflicts between humans and elephants have become frequent. In order to fundamentally and peacefully solve the issue and protect the elephant’s habitat at the same time, construction of the Asian elephant National Park is picking up speed. Experts suggest that national parks are not meant to be entirely free of people. Instead, they should offer a method for coexistence.
Asian elephants play an important role as engineers of the rainforest, said the expert. Their migration(迁徙) can speed up the replacement of forest ecosystems along the way. Elephant waste remains not only a delicacy for insects, but also attracts insectivorous birds, allowing plant seeds to spread. Therefore, protecting the elephants and their habitats guarantees the shelter to other wildlife in forest ecosystems.
To cope with human-elephant conflicts, Yunnan took the lead in introducing a commercial insurance model into its compensation(补偿) system: local residents will be paid with the amount of money for the crops destroyed by the elephants by the insurance company. In the past 10 years, Yunnan has paid a total of 173 million yuan for losses caused by Asian elephants.
“The standard of compensation is constantly being adjusted, and the amount of insurance coverage for compensation is also increasing,” said Yang Hua from the Forestry and Grass Bureau of Yunnan Province. “At present, the insured amount in Pu’er City and Xishuangbanna Prefecture alone has already gone beyond 50 million.”
1. Why does the author mention the growing population of wild Asian elephants?| A．To promote a better environment. |
| B．To introduce a possible crisis. |
| C．To applaud the efforts of the government. |
| D．To stress the importance of the elephants. |
| A．Feeding on insects. | B．Driving away insects. |
| C．Letting go of insects. | D．Keeping track of insects. |
| A．Construction of undisturbed national parks. |
| B．Support of Asian elephants’ migration. |
| C．Constant adjustment of insurance policies. |
| D．Guarantee of the shelter to other wildlife. |
| A．Asian elephants, engineers of the rainforest |
| B．Insurance adjusted, compensation increased |
| C．Population of wild Asian elephants shoots up in China |
| D．China explores solutions to achieve human-elephant harmony |
2 . People living in some northern Italian towns face fines for wasting water as mayors ration(定量供应) supplies amid a severe drought.
Italy has had one of its driest winters in the last 65 years, with rainfall 80% lower than the seasonal average. The situation has been more acute in northern regions, where some areas have been deprived(剥夺) of significant rainfall for three months or more. The Po, the county’s longest river, is at its lowest level recorded in winter since 1972.
Mayors of towns in regions including Piedmont, Liguria, Lombardy and Trentino have introduced water-rationing measures, ranging from fountains being switched off and nightly restrictions on tap water to bans on using water for gardens and allotments(小块菜地), for washing cars and filling swimming pools.
“I don’t ever recall a situation of this kind in winter. We haven’t had any rain since 8 December,” said Francesco Pietrasanta, the mayor of Quarona, a town in Piedmont. “The rule is to only use water for real necessity, such as for hygiene(卫生) or food reasons.”
The winter drought followed an intense, protected heatwave across Italy last summer. In August, Siracusa in Sicily is believed to have broken the European record for the highest temperature when it recorded a figure of 48.8℃. Snowfall has also been below average this winter. Scientists have long predicted that the climate crisis and global heating would lead to more frequent extreme weather.
Rain is forecast in the north and the rest of Italy from Wednesday, although Pietrasanta said it would need to be significant to resolve the water shortage. “We might get some rain on Friday but I’m not sure it will be enough,” he said. “This situation ought to make us think about changing policy to manage water in a different way, especially with climate change.”
1. Why are the statistics listed in paragraph 2?| A．To stress the severity of drought. |
| B．To show climate differences in regions. |
| C．To present the consequence of low temperature. |
| D．To discuss the possibility of rainfall |
| A．Turning off foundations. | B．Swimming in public pools. |
| C．Watering gardens in the morning. | D．Using modest tap water at night. |
| A．The ongoing climate change. | B．The heatwave last summer. |
| C．The absence of snowfall. | D．The overconsumption of water. |
| A．Similar situations have appeared before in northern Italy |
| B．Measures should be adopted to tackle water shortage |
| C．The coming rain will be sufficient to solve problems |
| D．Proper policies have been put in place since the crisis |
With about half of the vast country covered in wilderness, China is the world’s third most species-rich country. Therefore, China’s
The vital biodiversity,
The national parks cross China’s vast ecosystems, from the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park in the south
The national parks are open to all. Visitors can make reservations online in advance
4 . Nowadays, bamboo growth cycles and the dietary needs of lemurs (狐猴) are out of sync. Findings show rainfalls are changing annually. Over the past two years, there has been a three-month delay in the rainy season and new tender shoots that lemurs consume for nutrition are appearing in January and February—14 days after the first rainfall, says Patricia Chapple Wright, a primatologist, anthropologist, and conservationist at Stony Brook University. “Lemurs eat a food source that is very adaptive,” Patricia Wright told PBS NewsHour. “It’s able to stand climate change, but the lemurs, unfortunately, can’t adapt quickly to this changed cycle.”
Since baby lemurs are born in November, the delayed rainy season is dangerously affecting the survival of them for lack of nutrition available for both the mothers and offspring. “This is why, for extreme feeding specialists like the greater bamboo lemur, climate change can be an unknowing killer,” Wright says. “Making the lemurs rely on bamboo stems(茎) for just a bit longer may be enough to tip the balance from existence to extinction.” The lemurs’ highly specialized teeth are also similar to the pandas’ teeth. Both are the mammals able to chew up stems. But this diet can’t last for more than a season or two because the stems can wear away their teeth.
The researchers believe that climate change is affecting the lemurs. The fossil record shows that the lemurs once lived throughout the island. Today, the mammals are cornered on the eastern side, where the dry season at present is the shortest. And if people continue the deforestation practice in the area, the lemurs will have nowhere to go.
The situation is serious, so Wright and her colleagues plan to create bamboo corridors within the rainforests, which will provide available bamboo to eat. They want to work with local villagers to plant more bamboo and manage automatic watering systems when dry seasons last long. They also want to build the local economy by allowing people to harvest a part of bamboo while the rest remains with the lemurs, so people will be interested. Wright’s conservation plans include moving lemurs back to other places on the island as well.
1. What does the underlined part in Paragraph 1 most probably mean?| A．Go with each other. | B．Occur at different times. |
| C．Lead to a heated discussion. | D．Call for effective protection. |
| A．They may run out of bamboo. |
| B．They can’t adapt to the hot season. |
| C．They dislike the less delicious stems. |
| D．They can’t chew the stems for a long period. |
| A．The climate change. | B．Their teeth protection. |
| C．The decreasing forest. | D．Their special dietary habits. |
| A．Shortening the dry season. |
| B．Forbidding the cutting of bamboo. |
| C．Strengthening people’s motivation. |
| D．Finding other islands for lemurs to live on. |
5 . Kwane Stewart stepped outside a Modesto, California, convenience store with his morning coffee and noticed a homeless man, Tom Bissell, sitting with his back against the building. A small dog sat in his lap. Stewart, a vet (兽医) at an animal hospital, noticed its injured fur and skin. He approached the man and offered to bring medication for the dog's skin, a gift the man readily accepted.
“I remember returning a week later, and the hair was coming back the rash (皮疹) was gone,” Stewart told the Modesto Bee. Tom said his dog was finally sleeping at night again because it was no longer feeling restless for its illness. “‘And you know,’ he said, ‘I’m sleeping at night.’ He started to cry, and that got me touched too,” Stewart says.
Stewart was addicted. “When you do good deeds, there is something you get in return that feels much larger. I knew I wanted to keep doing it, "he told medium.com.
Today, Stewart, 50, has his own practice in town, yet he still finds time for street pets. He's helped roughly 400 animals since 2011.
There's a great need for his kind of help. About 25 percent of Modesto's homeless population owns a pet, but there are few healthcare options available to them. To fill that gap, Stewart can often be found wandering dark streets and underpasses (地下通道), anywhere he thinks the homeless might be camped out. Stewart pays for almost all of it out of his own pocket. For those expensive procedures, he set up a GoFundMe account to help cover treatment costs. “I don't ever want to have to turn anybody away,” he explains.
“To have somebody like Dr. Stewart come out here to take care of my dog just because it's the right thing to do, that's huge.” Joe, one of the dog owners, said in a video that Stewart posted on the GoFundMe page.
1. How did Kwane Stewart help Tom Bissell's dog?| A．By offering mental comfort. | B．By providing medical treatment. |
| C．By introducing some famous vets. | D．By bringing it to an animal hospital. |
| A．The professional habit of a vet. | B．The tough situation the homeless faced. |
| C．The requirements from the animal hospital. | D．The inspiration from offering help to Tom. |
| A．Rich and caring. | B．Smart and humorous. |
| C．Kind and generous. | D．Brave and intelligent. |
| A．Vets are in great need. | B．Stewart rose to fame overnight. |
| C．Street pets deserve due treatment. | D．A vet's kind act brings big impact. |
6 . The village of Misfat al-Abriyeen has changed its fortunes by transforming mud-brick homes into fine hotels. The village of 800 people, located on the cliffs of Oman’s “Grand Canyon“, opened its narrow streets six years ago to foreigners and locals seeking adventure in the deserts and green corners of the Gulf area.
Villager Yacoub al-Abri said it all started in 2010 when his uncle suggested they take another look at the mud houses that had lain ignored for years in the ancient settlement about three hours’ drive from the capital Muscat. The owners had abandoned the centuries-old homes, fearing they could topple, and moved to the opposite side of the village where they built new accommodation.
The brown-walled homes, made of mud bricks with palm-leave roofs, were tuned into simple but elegant inns with wood furniture and handcrafts made using sill banded down from their ancestors.“We started with only five rooms, then we increased the number and bought other old houses. Today we have 15 rooms and there are plans to continue expanding until we reach 50,” Abri said.
At an altitude of more than 1,000 meters, the tiny village which is home to the Abri tribe is a charming collection of traditional houses located along dozens of small alleys (小巷) overlooking lands bursting with banana plants and citrus and palm trees. It is part of a region known as the Grand Canyon of Oman where tourists can hike the rocky mountains and valleys, and explore the old ways of local people. The region is also famed for its centuries-old stories that are still widely told in similar villages across the country.
Renoda, a Dutch psychologist living in Muscat, was visiting with three of her friends. “It’s perhaps the 10th time that I have visited this hotel since last year. I come here for a night or two every month, seeking calm, relaxation and comfort,” she told AFP.
1. What does the underlined word “topple” in paragraph 2 mean?| A．Move. | B．Shrink. | C．Disappear. | D．Fall. |
| A．Splendid. | B．Outdated. | C．Traditional. | D．Ordinary. |
| A．The unique lifestyle of the local people. |
| B．The special location of the small village. |
| C．The introduction of the history of the village. |
| D．The attractive features of the small village. |
| A．She lives a busy life in the city. |
| B．She enjoys adventurous traveling. |
| C．She visits the villagers as part of her work. |
| D．She wants to settle down in this village permanently. |
7 . Whether it be a person, an animal, or even an insect, a mother’s instincts (本能) are never wrong. This idea rings true for a mother cat who acted fast and sought out help when her kittens were in trouble. This mother cat’s quick thinking may have just saved her babies.
In the urban district of Izmir in western Turkey, a cat walked into a regular hospital bolding a kitten in her mouth. As the mother cat moved through the hospital, people were surprised to see such a sight, but let her pass. The mother cat asked for help, crying for a long time. She was familiar to the hospital staff, who had been leaving her food and water outside, but they were unaware that she had given birth to kittens.
The mother cat was concerned for her young because they weren’t able to open their eyes. After the doctors looked at the kittens, they noticed that they were suffering from eye infections. One of the doctors recalls, “We consulted with vets (兽医) and gave medicine as described. When the kittens opened their eyes a short time later, we were excited.” Later, they were sent to an animal hospital for further care. The cats are now up for adoption and will hopefully find loving forever homes.
When it comes to mother cats and kittens, kittens completely depend on mothers for the first few months of their lives. Because they are blind and almost deaf until about two or three weeks old, the mother cat must protect them from any threat or danger. Without the mother cat’s help, the kittens may not make it to adulthood.
As shown by the mother cat in Turkey, a mother’s love and protection knows no bounds. Whether the mom is a human or a cat, mothers will always look out for their babies and make sure they are safe and healthy.
1. Why did the mother cat show up in the hospital?| A．To beg for food. | B．To get her babies treated. |
| C．To express thanks. | D．To give birth to her babies. |
| A．They built them a home. | B．They adopted all of them. |
| C．They operated on them immediately. | D．They gave them right medicine. |
| A．Their physical state. | B．Their eating habit. |
| C．Their appearance. | D．Their behavior. |
| A．cat has nine lives. | B．One good turn deserves another. |
| C．Love makes a difference. | D．God helps those who help themselves. |
8 . Four years ago, Alastair Driver was made director of Rewilding Britain, a charity with a mission to shake up conservation in the UK. Rewilding, in theory, is to restore land and let nature take back control. Once he got started, he fell in love with conservation all over again. Alastair’s goal is to make the concept mainstream. So far, he’s moving in the right direction. “The British government is including rewilding in future farming policy,” he says.
If anyone knows what’s good for Britain’s wild spaces, it’s Alastair. His father was a country naturalist, so the natural world played a big role in his life from an early age. After studying ecology at university, he went on to become a conservation officer for the Thames Water Authority, where he spent 34 years preserving rivers and wetlands. Then, in 2002, Alistair took charge of the Environment Agency, shaping national policy and strategy until 2016.
Now, he believes rewilding is the next step for nature restoration in the UK and it needs to happen on a much larger scale. As such, Alastair spends most of his time travelling around the UK, meeting with landowners, advising them about the advantages of rewilding their land, and offering practical tips for getting started. In just four years, he’s seen a massive uptake in interest. In the early days, Alastair would literally ring around his contact list to get people involved; now, he can hardly cope with emails and calls coming his way. Part of this change is a symptom of the bigger environmental challenges facing mankind. “People are more aware of climate change and the biodiversity crisis,” he says.
Towards the end of 2020, with Alastair’s continuous efforts, the Rewilding Network was launched, a platform where farmers and landowners can connect, share ideas, and seek expert advice. Currently, just over 200, 000 acres of land are being rewilded through the network. For Alastair, it’s a huge step in the right direction.
1. What is Alastair’s goal in Rewilding?| A．To regain his interest in conservation. |
| B．To force the government to make policies. |
| C．To get the idea recognized by most people. |
| D．To advertise the charity for more donations. |
| A．What Alastair studied in the past. |
| B．When Alastair started conservation. |
| C．How Alastair’s father influences him. |
| D．Why Alastair knows much about nature. |
| A．Alastair puts efforts to promote rewilding. |
| B．Alastair has faith in the value of rewilding. |
| C．People face fewer environmental challenges. |
| D．People are taught measures to rewild the land. |
| A．Don’t judge a book by its cover. |
| B．Birds of a feather flock together. |
| C．A devoted soul can achieve his goal. |
| D．A man becomes learned by asking questions. |
9 . The amount of plastic pollution in the oceans is rapidly increasing. This is problematic, as at least 700 kinds of ocean animals — including sharks, whales, seabirds and turtles — can become caught in the stuff or mistake it for a tasty snack.
While we know that some ocean animals seem to cat plastic because it looks like jellyfish or some other food sources, less research has been carried out into what plastic smells like to ocean animals. But now, a study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has found the coating that naturally builds up on ocean plastics causes the rubbish to give off the smell of food.
The researchers took 15 turtles, each around five months old, and placed them in a lab aquarium. They then piped in smells of clean water, clean plastic, turtle food, and plastic that had been soaking in the ocean environment for five weeks. The turtles showed no reaction to the smells of clean water or clean plastic. But when facing ocean soaked plastic or turtle food, they stuck their noses out of the water and showed increased activity.
“This finding is important because it’s the first proof that the smell of ocean plastics causes animals to eat them,” said Dr. Kenneth J Lohmann, who took part in the study.“It’s common to find a turtle with its stomach full of plastic materials. There are also increasing reports of sea turtles that have become ill and stuck on the beach due to their taking in plastic.”
According to the researchers, areas of the ocean with much plastic may trick turtles and other animals into thinking that there are plenty of food sources, when the opposite is true. “Once these plastics are in the ocean, we don’t have a good way to remove them or prevent them from smelling like food,” said Lohmann. “The best thing we can do is to keep plastic from getting into the ocean at all.”
1. What is the function of the first paragraph?| A．To show the findings of the research to the readers. |
| B．To inform the readers of the main idea of the passage. |
| C．To explain the reason for the increase of ocean pollution. |
| D．To provide some background information of the research. |
| A．Sea water. | B．Clean water. | C．Clean plastic. | D．Ocean-soaked plastic. |
| A．Turtles seem to eat plastic because it looks like food. |
| B．Turtles have become ill due to their taking in plastic. |
| C．Turtles eat plastic because it gives off the smell of food. |
| D．Turtles with their stomachs full of plastic were studied. |
| A．Keep away from the polluted ocean. | B．Stop people feeding turtles plastic. |
| C．Remove plastic from the ocean. | D．Maintain a plastic-free ocean. |
10 . People in Asia care for tens of millions of pets, many of them small dogs. In the United States, 89.7 million dogs live with people. Pet ownership is on the rise, as are services to keep pets looking and feeling good.
Many dog owners say that a good groomer (动物美容师) is worth his or her weight in gold. Katy Day, 35, of Georgetown, Delaware, has been grooming dogs since she was 15. She learned the skills from a groomer. Some groomers attend a grooming school while others take classes online. But Day says getting hands-on experience is the best way to learn.
A good groomer also needs patience and a kind heart. When grooming dogs, the groomer needs to give each one a positive experience. A negative one will hang over a dog the rest of its life, making grooming more difficult. Owners can contribute to that positive experience. Day says owners must train their dogs to listen and obey basic orders. Then they will respond much better to a groomer’s attention.
When bathing dogs, groomers must lift dogs into and out of a bathtub. Most dogs struggle a little and large dogs are heavy and hard to lift. Groomers also deal with their own red spots and other skin conditions because their hands are in water often. Day says shampooing with a good quality product helps with these problems. Groomers can work a little or a lot. Day likes to groom six to eight dogs a day, but often ends up doing ten to twelve. The money is good, she says. She can make I ,500 dollars a week.
One kind of grooming that Day has never tried is creative grooming. In this kind of grooming, the animal is a canvas (画布) for artistic expression. The groomers make creative pictures in the animal’s fur or make it look like a wild animal. Day says she doesn’t have the talent for it but admires those who do. In no way does creative grooming hurt the animal. Creative groomers are very particular about the products they use and the animals themselves enjoy all the careful treatment they receive.
1. What does Paragraph I mainly tell us?| A．There is a decrease in pet owners. |
| B．Pet services are in great demand. |
| C．Dogs are the most popular pets in the world. |
| D．Population all over the world are on the rise. |
| A．She is good at training dogs to obey. |
| B．She prefers to attend a grooming school. |
| C．She faces some problems with grooming. |
| D．She devotes herself to creative grooming. |
| A．Tough and dangerous. | B．Difficult and traditional. |
| C．Challenging but well-paid. | D．Boring but worthwhile. |
| A．A Good Groomer—Satisfying the Dog Owners |
| B．A Good Groomer—Making the Dogs an Artwork |
| C．A Good Groomer—Helping Dogs Look Their Best |
| D．A Good Groomer—Receiving Treatment from Dogs |
