1 . Right now, summers are getting hotter, winters colder and the polar ice is melting at an alarming rate. Extreme weather events and natural disasters frequently occur. The climate time-bomb is ticking. Strict measures must be taken to tackle the problem.

It reminds me of how the lives we live seem to follow roughly in the way put forward years earlier by the writers of science-fiction. I guess it’s “life imitating art”. When I was young there were stories about rockets going into space and even going to the moon, although there had never been a rocket into space at that time. Years later, Russia launched Sputnik, the first man-made object to go into earth orbit and later the US landed people and even a car on the moon.

When I was growing up there were also science-fiction stories about governments looking for solutions when the world’s natural resources were being over-extended, such as they are in the case of climate change. The solution in the stories was to assume that the cause of the problem was over-population and the solution, therefore, was to limit the number of people. Various plans were put forward for doing that, from limiting the birth rate to killing off anyone over a certain age. That age, if I remember correctly, was usually about 60 and when you reached that you were supposed to turn yourself over to a government facility where you would be put to death.

Still, a look at the old science-fiction stories provides an interesting and somewhat chilling approach to what is acknowledged to be a very serious and worsening world-wide problem. There is general agreement that urgent action is needed to stop us from literally making our world unfit to live on. The answers, at least so far, concentrate on managing those resources and the ways in which we use them. However, I wonder if the day will come when life will imitate the art of the old science-fiction stories and someone will propose limiting the number of people on the planet as a way of making it more suitable for those who are left. It’s a grave thing to predict.

1. What does the author say about climate problems?

A．The problems can be tackled in a scientific way.

B．The problems are in urgent need of being resolved.

C．The explosion of extreme climates is under control.

D．The loss of natural resources leads to climate changes.

2. How does the author clarify the concept of “life imitating art”?

A．By giving examples.	B．By using quotes.
C．By giving definitions.	D．By making contrast.

3. What possible solution to climate problems concerns the author?

A．Removing overpopulated species.	B．Getting rid of seniors.
C．Over-extending natural resources.	D．Moving onto the moon.

4. What’s the author’s tone in the passage?

A．Calm.

B．Serious.

C．Frustrated.

D．Matter-of-fact.

2 . Most of us have heard of the 3Rs: reduce, reuse and recycle. It is the core principle of a sustainable (可持续的) life, but few of us can apply it in our own lives. Now, there’s a “lab” you can explore and discover a way toward living sustainably.

3R Lab is located in Xuhui district, Shanghai. It offers exhibitions, activities and goods that showcase the 3R principle. The key to a sustainable life, according to Vincent T. M. Fong, the 32-year-old from Hong Kong who created the lab, is to make it a long-term promise. “A sustainable life should be sustainable itself in the first place. You can’t lead a sustainable life on a whim. Small and comfortable changes are exactly what you need,” Fong said.

The lab regularly hosts ugly fruit markets, offering these strange fruits which are often thrown away by traditional markets and consumers at a quite attractive price. “They’re thrown away simply because of their appearance. Buying fruit regardless of how they look reduces food waste significantly in our daily life,” Fong commented.

A water tank with two types of straws is another equipment in the lab. “One type is made from normal plastics widely used in our daily life while the other is from PHA, a new replacement for plastics, and the water is sourced from the Suzhou River,” explained Ni Li, an employee of the lab. Visitors can see how the PHA straws degrade (降解) into a thin layer in just one month, while the others remain unchanged.

“Leading a sustainable life does not necessarily mean sacrifice,” said Fong. Consuming ugly fruit and using degradable plastics are small changes that are good for the environment and easy to stick to. Only in this way can the 3R principle become part of our lives, he added.

After working there for six months, Ni, who wasn’t mindful of the 3R principle before arriving at the lab, now uses her cup every time she buys a coffee. “The job has reshaped my life,” Ni said.

1. What does the-underlined phrase “on a whim” in the second paragraph probably mean?

A．In a rush.	B．On a regular basis.
C．Without any reason.	D．As a common practice.

2. What is the purpose of the ugly fruit market at 3R Lab?

A．To reduce food waste.	B．To promote healthy eating.
C．To sell new kinds of fruit.	D．To provide more affordable fruit,

3. What can the water tank at 3R Lab show to its visitors?

A．The water pollution caused by plastics.	B．The degradation of PHA straws.
C．The interaction between two types of straws.	D．The disappearance of normal plastic straws.

4. What can we infer from the last paragraph about Ni?

A．She avoids going to traditional markets.	B．She has devoted less time to her hobbies.
C．She has got rid of a few bad habits.	D．She is leading a low carbon life now.

3 . The Amazon rainforest spreads across nine South American countries but most of it (60%) is in Brazil. Brazilian scientists think they might have found a way to reverse the damage caused by deforestation and turn farmland back into forest. The secret lies in ancient local knowledge of soil.

Amazonian dark earth (ADE) is a thick, black soil found deep in the Amazon rainforest, and it could help restore forests around the world. ADE is a kind of compost — a soil made from dead plants and animals. Various kinds of compost are sold in gardening centers around the world, but ADE is unique. It was created by indigenous people (the descendants of people who lived somewhere before another culture arrived and took over) from the Amazon between 2,000 and 2,500 years ago. The Amazonian people, today known as Amerindians, created ADE using charcoal from fires, animal bones, food waste and poo. It contains microbes, including bacteria that help to turn chemicals in the soil into useful nutrients that feed plants and trees.

Vast areas of the Amazon have been cut down, mostly to make way for grassland for raising cattle. Scientists are looking for a way to turn grassland back into rainforest and revive forest ecosystems. These support thousands of animal and plant species, many of them unique to the area. Forests also absorb lots of carbon dioxide, a gas that cause climate change.

To see if the Amazon’s special soil could help, the scientists grew grasses and trees in ADE, regular earth and a mixture of both. Trees grown in ADE were up to six times taller than those in regular soil. ADE takes hundreds of years to create, so the scientists can’t simply make more. Team member, Dr. Siu Mui Tsai, said that instead they want to try and “copy its characteristics”, especially its helpful microbes, and see if it could help to restore natural habitats.

1. What are Brazilian scientists trying to do?

A．To bring forests back.	B．To measure damage.
C．To reduce farmland.	D．To dig out ancient soil.

2. What made the Amazonian dark earth special?

A．Dead plants.

B．Animal bones.

C．Food waste.

D．Bacteria inside.

3. What is the main idea of paragraph 3?

A．The reasons for cutting down forests.	B．The benefits of raising cattle.
C．The significance of forest ecosystems.	D．The influence of climate change.

4. Which of the following might Dr. Siu agree with?

A．Amazonian dark earth is helpful to microbes.

B．Amazonian dark earth is produced in large quantities.

C．Microbes are beneficial to the revival of forests.

D．Microbes are the characteristics of the natural habitats.

4 . 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。

Out in the fields of rural Kentucky lived a young teenage girl named Amanda. She stayed with her parents in a one-story house on a large plot of land. Her closest friends were far from her, but she didn’t have her driver’s license yet. Amanda could still keep herself busy for hours by exploring the grassy fields, enjoying the natural beauty that surrounded them. On the weekends, Amanda would even volunteer on neighbouring farms to help take care of sheep, goats, and horses.

Still, it was easy for Amanda to feel lonely in her big house without any brothers, sisters, or even a pet she could relate to. That was until one day, just as Amanda was about to leave for another morning spent exploring the fields and rivers nearby, she saw a stray (流浪的) cat jump onto the porch (门廊) with a long, drawn-out meow (喵喵叫) toward her. The cat had long whiskers (须) and a black-and-white fur pattern, which seemed to start from the animal’s chest and move outward, and tiny white paws like little boots. Even though the cat looked dirty, the cat was beautiful, with bright blue eyes.

Amanda’s feeling of surprise quickly gave way to a feeling of pity. Thinking of what she could offer the cat, Amanda hurried to the kitchen and prepared two bowls: one filled with fish and the other with water. After sniffing (嗅) them carefully, the cat then began to hungrily eat the bowls’ contents. Once it finished its meal, the cat ran away into the thick grass and disappeared.

From that point onward, at the same time each day, the cat would appear on the porch in the morning and beg for food and water, and Amanda would always be there ready. Their relationship started to deepen as Amanda enjoyed regularly seeing her new “furry neighbour”. The cat was too nervous to be taken indoors, but Amanda enjoyed its company.

注意：
1.续写词数应为150左右;
2.请按如下格式在相应位置作答。
Paragraph 1:

However, one day, everything took a different turn.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2:

As Amanda approached, she could hear some soft sounds of kitten s meowing.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6 . Research into whether the human voice helps plants isn’t conclusive. Even so, there are convincing reasons that chatting with your houseplants is good for them—and you.

In a 2022 survey by trees.com, 50 percent of the 1250 respondents reported talking to their plants. When asked why, 65 percent said they believe it helps them grow. The research, however, isn’t definitive about this point. While studies have found that vibrations (震动) caused by sound do affect plants, the jury is still out on whether the human voice offers any specific benefit.

For many plant owners, though, the science is beside the point. Marquis Matson, co-founder of the blog the Indoor Nursery, says she talks to her plants every day because “it feels nice and I think plants get a sense of community from my talking to them and that keeps them going”. On the plant side, a study in a 2003 issue of the journal Ultrasonics investigated the effects of the classical music and the sounds of birds, insects and water on the growth of Chinese cabbage and cucumber. Both forms of sound exposure increased the vegetables’ growth. In a 2015 study, researchers exposed marigold (金盏花) and chickpea (鹰嘴豆) plants to light Indian music as well as to traffic noise. They found that both types of plants grew and developed better after being exposed to the music for four hours per day, but not to the traffic sounds. “Plants definitely respond to vibrations in their environment—which can cause plants to grow differently and become more resistant to falling over,” says Heidi Appel, leader of the study. She points out, “While sound absolutely matters to plants, we don’t know if talking to them makes them grow differently.”

Despite the lack of studies and evidence about the benefits of talking to your plants, there is at least one theoretical bonus, “If we identify with a living organism that we’re taking care of, we’re going to take better care of it and help them thrive,” Appel says.

1. What do the underlined words “the jury is still out” in Paragraph 2 mean?

A．There is uncertainty.	B．The jury has decided.
C．The jury is playing outside.	D．People have different ideas.

2. What do Marquis Matson’s words suggest?

A．Vibrations caused by sound affect plants.	B．Chatting with the plants benefits both sides.
C．Scientific research in this area makes no sense.	D．A sense of community is a must for plants’ growth.

3. What can be inferred from Paragraph 3?

A．Traffic sounds probably have a negative influence on plant growth.

B．Talking to plants can make them more sensitive to the environment.

C．Plants do not fall over because of the vibrations in their environment.

D．Classical music is beneficial to plant growth as sounds of nature do.

4. What is Appel’s attitude towards the study?

A．Approving.

B．Neutral.

C．Unfavorable.

D．Unclear.