1 . A fisherman in Kansas threw a line in the water and caught a prehistoric fish that dates back nearly 100 million years.

Danny Smith landed the fish, a 4-foot, 6-inch alligator gar (鳄雀鳝), weighing 39.5 pounds. Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) officials confirmed the identification and are looking into how the fish, called a “living fossil”, got into the water in southeast Kansas.

Kansas is home to three native types of garfish, the most common being longnose gar, which can be as large as 5 feet long, along with shortnose and spotted gar, the department says.

Smith knew he had got something big when he was fishing last month. “I thought I had caught a normal big fish,” he said. “But it fought and fought, and pretty soon it came out of the water. The shape of its head really blew my mind.”

Soon the fish doubled back and came to the edge of Smith’s boat and he pulled it in. But once the big fish was in the boat, “it almost destroyed the boat,” Smith said. “The fish was flopping and flipping (翻来翻去). There was one little fish in the boat wanting to get out of it just as bad as I did because the bigger fish was tearing things up, ” he said. “It also had sharp teeth in its mouth.”

“It’s the first time an alligator gar has been caught in Kansas and was likely released from an aquarium,” state officials said. “It’s not unlikely this fish was once somebody’s pet or purchased from a pet store, and simply released into the river once it became too large,” the department’s Fisheries Division director Doug Nygren said. Smith said the state wildlife officials are coming to do an experiment on the fish’s head to determine its age and perhaps where it came from.

1. What did KDWP find out about the fish?

A．It was native to Kansas.

B．It was a long existing creature.

C．It was a common longnose gar.

D．It was larger than other types of garfish.

2. How did Smith react when he first saw the fish?

A．He was completely confused.	B．He got a little disappointed.
C．He was scared to death.	D．He was really shocked.

3. What do we know about the fish after it was pulled into the boat?

A．It reacted violently.	B．It seemed very hungry.
C．It attacked the fisherman.	D．It became weak pretty soon.

4. What is implied about the fish in the last paragraph?

A．Why it was released is clear.	B．It was kept as a pet by a fish lover.
C．How it got there remains unknown.	D．It was purchased by a wildlife official.

2 . MUST SEE BRAZILIAN LANDMARKS

A country is often defined by its memorable and impressive landmarks. Brazil is no exception. Here are the must-see natural, and man-made landmarks that make Brazil unique.

Cristo Redentor

This is the large statue of an outstretched Jesus Christ that sits upon Corcovado Mountain overlooking Rio de Janeiro. The statue, over the years, has became an icon for the city. It can be easily accessed via the city bus that starts off in the Santa’ Teresa neighborhood.

Patio do Colegio

This small Jesuit College may not look too grand, but it is the founding site of Sao Paulo itself. Based on history and folktale, if this building was not built by Jesuit monks, the city of Sao Paulo would not be around today.

Amazon Rainforest and River

The Amazon Rainforest is the largest and most biodiverse area of tropical rainforest in the world. Contained within it is its life force, the Amazon River, which is the lar gest river in terms of volume and discharge (排水量) in the world. Together, these two giants create the most spectacular natural wilderness that one should visit.

Iguacu Falls

This churning (漩涡的) white water with thundering sound is a sight to behold. The name of the falls comes from the Guarani word meaning ‘water’ and ‘big’。 The falls themselves are separated into numerous smaller falls, and one large impressive drop, called the Devil’s Throat.

1. Which place can you visit by public transportation?

A．Patio do Colegio.	B．Cristo Redentor.
C．Iguacu Falls.	D．Amazon Rainforest and River.

2. What can we visit in Sao Paulo?

A．Cultural buildings.	B．A large statue in Rio de Janeiro.
C．Natural wilderness.	D．The biggest waterfall in the world,

3. What is the purpose of this text?

A．To introduce the unique symbol of Brazil.

B．To explore the largest wilderness areas in Brazil

C．To introduce four must-see Brazilian landmarks.

D．To display impressive modern Brazilian landmarks

3 . 6月8日是世界海洋日（World Oceans Day），假如你是李华，请给外教Lucy发一封电邮，邀请她在这一天给同学们做一个海洋环保方面的讲座。
讲座内容包括：海洋面临的问题：个人在海洋环保方面的作为。
注意：1、写作词数应为80词左右；2、请按如下格式作答。
Dear Lucy,

June 8^th is the World Oceans Day.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4 . Any dog owner can prove that dogs can seem strangely adjusted to human behavior. When humans yell or pick a fight, dogs often respond with anger and fear. Similarly, people with sedentary (久坐的) lifestyle may have seemingly sedentary pets.

Now, a new study reveals that dogs seem to be able to pick up on human vibes (情绪) in a unique way. Specifically, researchers found that when you are stressed, your body produces a distinct smell-and our dogs can smell it. This is not a surprise for dog owners. Yet even though scientists know that dogs feel complex emotions, the study was still unclear whether they could literally smell a person’s emotions. A research team set out to cast light on the subject.

“Dogs possess an incredible sense of smell, which enables them to detect diseases and health conditions from smell alone,” Dr. Clara Wilson from Newcastle University said. “Whether these capabilities can be extended to detect smells associated with psychological states has been explored far less.”

To test their assumption, the researchers found pet dogs who had no previous smell training so they could teach them smell discrimination using smells that had known differences with each other. Those dogs were then exposed to combined breath and sweat samples from humans-first when those people were in a relaxed state, and then when they were asked to do difficult math problems. Each person acted as their own control. The results spoke for themselves. “From the very first time the dogs were exposed to the baseline and stress samples, they communicated that these samples smelled different,” Wilson said. “In 94% of 720 trials they correctly chose the stress sample.”

The significance of the study rests in how it highlights the deep connection between humans and dogs-as well as the different ways in which they process reality. “Establishing that dogs can detect a smell associated with human stress provides deeper knowledge of the human-dog relationship. While we as humans are very visual, this finding reminds us that dogs are able to pick up things on what we aren’t even aware of,” Wilson said.

1. What’s the purpose of the first paragraph?

A．To present an argument.	B．To introduce the topic.
C．To state common sense.	D．To provide supporting details.

2. What did the scientists fail to realize earlier?

A．Whether dogs sense human physical conditions.

B．Whether dogs have great sympathy for humans.

C．Whether dogs react differently to man’s behavior.

D．Whether dogs detect human feelings through noses.

3. Why were the subjects asked to do difficult math problems?

A．It was used to assess their intelligence.	B．It could put them in a state of stress.
C．It could make them focus on the task.	D．It helped them produce sweat samples.

4. What is the importance of the study?

A．Uncovering dogs’ hidden ability.	B．Deepening our insight into dogs.
C．Knowing the human-dog relationship better.	D．Contributing to the development of medicine.

5 . Ashley Liberto asked her students to use the school’s 3D imaging equipment to make a prosthetic limb (假肢) for her dog Bentley.

Bentley developed cancer after one leg became swollen, which was later ______ to save his life. Ashley described this experience as “______” and “emotional”.

Bentley is now healthy and still ______ all of his usual activities, but he gets ______ easily with only three legs. So Ashley brought him in to meet the school’s 3D printing students, and they were excited to get to ______.

Senior Brandon led some students in designing a prosthetic limb for Bentley. Brandon said it was nice to have a(n) ______ that would improve someone’s life. Bentley ______ to his new limb with ease. And the students were ______ to see their work put to such practical, real-life ______.

“Just seeing Bentley walk with four legs and seeing the ______ this project was going to have was really something special,” Brandon said.

Bentley is ______ using a temporary limb, but the final one will be ready in a few weeks. Ashley was happy that her students stepped up in such a ______ to improve her dog’s quality of life.

“______ are amazing.” she said. “They have such an imagination. They want to ______ big things in life.” These students really got a taste of what it’s like to be true ______. Well done!

1.

A．run over

B．cut off

C．checked up

D．hidden away

2.

A．scary

B．embarrassing

C．disappointing

D．important

3.

A．hosts

B．guides

C．loves

D．changes

4.

A．bored

B．tired

C．confused

D．lost

5.

A．contact

B．repair

C．work

D．adjust

6.

A．project

B．qualification

C．presentation

D．urge

7.

A．contributed

B．added

C．turned

D．adapted

8.

A．surprised

B．regretful

C．proud

D．selfless

9.

A．scene

B．use

C．image

D．level

10.

A．impact

B．purpose

C．relation

D．problem

11.

A．constantly

B．frequently

C．typically

D．currently

12.

A．situation

B．way

C．matter

D．case

13.

A．Dogs

B．Limbs

C．Students

D．Teachers

14.

A．discover

B．explore

C．influence

D．do

15.

A．inventors

B．operators

C．artists

D．pioneers

6 . Wonderful Benefîts Having a Family Pet You Need to Know

Family pets come in all shapes and sizes. Typically, a family pet can range from dogs and cats to birds, turtles, and many more.     1     However, the payback measures boundless. In this brief article, we’ll take a closer look at the positive effects and benefits that a family pet brings to any household.

Pets can help keep you fit. All dogs need daily, regular walks to stay healthy and happy, and so do people!    2    And if that sounds like you, a dog might be the perfect cure. So, rest assured that your dog will drag you out in front of the door and make you run around the park every morning.

Pets make sure you never feel alone. The beauty of owning a family pet means you’ll never be alone!    3     Cats and dogs make excellent companions, always waiting for you to arrive home patiently.

    4    Owning a pet can also help you make more friends. For example, dogs are naturally curious about their environment, including other people and dogs. They can also undoubtedly be the fuel for social interactions.

Having a family pet at home can lower your stress levels.As you probably know, the modern way of living causes high levels of anxiety. And it can lead to countless health problems. Fortunately, pets can help us relax.For example, watching your fish swim can make your worries fade away.     5    

All in all, family pets make a great companion and positively impact your life.

A．Owning a family pet means lots of work.

B．A family pet can improve your social life.

C．Pet owners tend to have lower blood pressure.

D．It is also a good way to develop a new hobby.

E．Nevertheless, we sometimes tend to get a bit lazy.

F．Of course, this holds for any pet but especially dogs and cats.

G．Similarly, patting your cats or dogs can also has the same effect.

7 . While a sea turtle (海龟) may be protected by its shell,they have other struggles to deal with. They are unable to closely adjust their body temperatures. Since their body temperature is closely related to the environment, if the water temperature falls below 50F, sea turtles are at risk of becoming unconscious.

Such was the case with 24 turtles rescued from Cape Cod beaches by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, which began in November 2022 and went into January 2023. The turtles were just put batck into the wild.

“Sea turtles in extremely cold water become lethargic and are eventually unable to swim, causing them to float senselessly at the surface and putting them at the mercy of the sea. Wind and/or tides may wash them onto the shore,” explains the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). “If temperatures remain low or turtles are not rescued, they can develop secondary health problems or die.”

Cold-related danger can happen anywhere but regularly happens in a number of places, including Cape Cod Bay in Massachusetts.

Thankfully for the Cape Cod turtles, Mass Audubon steps up to the task with all hands on deck during such conditions. More than 170 trained volunteers search the shore, sometimes in the middle of the night, usually in uncomfortable conditions. In the 2022 season, more than 70% of the sea turtles found were alive. Once the turtles are processed at the Sanctuary, volunteers drive the turtles to the New England Aquarium for treatment.

“Getting the turtles back to their ocean home is why we do this, in hopes that each one of these turtles helps their population grow back from the possibility of extinction,” said Adam Kennedy, Director of Rescue and Rehabilitation.

The NOAA notes that cold-stunning events have been documented since the late 1800s. In Massachusetts, the number of sea turtles getting shock with cold water varies per year from around 50 in 2000 to about 900 in 2022-making it the third-busiest season on record. Scientists have predicted that by 2031, these events will bring thousands of sea turtles to our shores annually.

1. When might turtles lose consciousness?

A．On sunny days.	B．On windy days.
C．On storm night.	D．On freezing night.

2. What does the underlined word “lethargic” in paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Small.

B．Faint.

C．Heavy.

D．Adventurous.

3. How will volunteers deal with the turtles washed onto the shore?

A．Collect and sell them.	B．Keep them at home.
C．Treat and send them to the sea.	D．Raise them in the aquarium.

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

A．Cold-related events have been rising.

B．Massachusetts is suitable for turtles to live.

C．Sea turtles will gradually change their habitats.

D．The NOAA is to blame for the reduce of turtles.

8 . Yacouba Sawadogo,a farmer from Burkina Faso,stopped desertification (沙漠化) in his village by working together with his family to plant trees which have now grown into a vast forest. This was in response to a long dry spell (干旱期) that coupled with over-farming and over-population was bothering the northern part of the country.At first,farmers in his community thought he was going mad.

With no access to modern tools and lack of education, he started using an ancient African farming practice called zai, which leads to forest growth and improved soil quality. Gradually, the barren land was transformedi nto a forty-hectare forest containing over 96 tree and 66 plant species, many of which were eatable and medicinal, as well as a number of animals.

After doing such ground-breaking work in the African desert, Sawadogo was featured in a 2010 documentary, The Man Who Stopped the Desert, becoming famous around the world. In addition, he was awarded the Right Livelihood Award, widely known as the “alternative Nobel Prize” in 2018, “for turning barren land into forest and demonstrating how farmers can regenerate their soil with innovative use of indigenous and local knowledge”.

The technique he uses, zai, has also spread to neighboring Mali, and he teaches it to the many people who come to learn from him.“I want to design a training programme that will be the starting point for many fruitful exchanges across the region and there are so many farmers from neighbouring villages that visit me for advice on good quality seeds to plant,” Sawadogo says.“I’ve chosen not to keep my farming methods as secrets to myself”.

Today, Sawadogo is facing serious problems. Wars and conflict caused social unrest. An expansion project in the area has taken up a part of his forest. In addition, the entire family is on guard to protect the area from people wanting to steal wood. However, all these haven’t stopped the farmer’s hope.

1. How did the villagers react to Sawadogo’s behavior at first?

A．They teased him.	B．They copied his example.
C．They offered help to him.	D．They were grateful to him.

2. What can we know about Sawadogo?

A．He led the villagers to earn money.	B．He got people’s recognition.
C．He quarrelled with others sometimes.	D．He set up prizes to reward others.

3. What is Sawadogo’s wish?

A．To keep his secret.	B．To exchange his crops.
C．To set up a program.	D．To invent a technique like zai.

4. What is mainly talked about in the passage?

A．An ancient farming practice.	B．A farmer stopping the desert.
C．Ways to tackle dry problems.	D．An effective way to improve desert.

9 . In the heart of Texas, “Bee Czar” Walter Schumacher is saving the world—one hive (蜂群) at a time. And he does it without wearing a protective bee suit. What is his technique? He “communicates” with the bees to avoid being bitten. Walter and his team at the American Honey Bee Protection Agency rescue hives from places that are unwanted—inside the walls of a house or 30 feet up in a neighborhood tree, and relocate the hives where the bees can grow and pollinate (授粉) in peace.

According to Walter, every third bite of food we eat was pollinated by bees; without them, life would cease existing. But saving bees costs money, so they have got to sell honey to make money.

Walter’s business once was booming with $200,000 in yearly sales. But after losing everything in the past three years, Walter wants to rebuild his honey business so that he can afford to rescue unwanted hives. With his oldest son Will and a small but dedicated team, Walter has a plan to transform their old family farm into their new headquarters, to save more bees and sell more honey.

Saving bees is a big affair. Will runs the business, trying to keep his dad organized; Walter teaches his younger sons Bodhi and Odin the skills of keeping bees, and Will’s wife Meredith is experiencing her first bee rescue. Walter also invites bee technician Jonathan who seeks inner calm by rescuing bees and scaffolding (脚手架) pro Sandy, who can reach angry bees in places ladders can’t and dreams of talking to bees herself. Walter brings audiences into the hive when he trains beekeepers to safely handle millions of bees Will plans to sign big contracts selling honey to businesses like restaurants and supermarkets, meanwhile undertaking dangerous hive rescues.

1. Which of the following can best describe Walter’s work of rescuing bees?

A．Interesting.

B．Tough.

C．Tiring.

D．Simple.

2. What does Walter think of bees?

A．They are important to us.	B．They are not in danger.
C．They can’t grow in peace.	D．They can bite many people.

3. What is Walter’s present plan?

A．To find more hives.	B．To expand his team.
C．To rebuild his business.	D．To train more bee raisers.

4. What does the last paragraph mainly talk about?

A．Why Walter started the big affair.

B．What Walter’s family do to save bees.

C．Whether Walter sticks to his business.

D．How Walter teaches his sons to keep bees.

10 . Biologists who study evolution (进化) have always been interested in animals that developed on islands. In some situations, animals on islands changed over time and came to look very different from the same species that lived on the mainland.

The experts point to animals such as the dwarf elephant that once lived on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. The animal is now extinct. When it lived, however, it was only the size of a small horse. Elephants that live today in Africa and Asia are much larger than that. In the West Indies, researchers found a giant rodent (啮齿动物) that looked like a rat. However, it was about the same size as an American black bear. Rats are, of course, many times smaller than bears.

Evolutionary experts came to call this phenomenon “island effect”. They used this term to describe the fact that animals who normally have small bodies “upsize” on an island, while the opposite is true for animals who usually have large bodies.

The “island effect” produces strange-sized animals because large animals require more food than small animals. On an island, there is a limited amount of food. As a result, larger animals become smaller over generations in order to survive with lower food intake. For small animals, there is not as much risk from predators on an island, so they often grow larger.

Recently, researchers released their findings about 1,231 existing animals and 350 extinct ones that represent 23 million years of life. They found that animals on islands were more at risk of extinction compared to their relatives on the mainland. The arrival of human settlers increased the extinction risk for these strange animals.

Roberto Rozzi, a paleoecologist at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg in Germany said that the extinction line has become even sharper in recent decades.

The researchers call the islands “biodiversity hotspots”. Even though they only make up 7 percent of the Earth’s land mass, they account for 20 percent of the land species.

1. Why are the animals introduced in paragraph 2?

A．To compare the two species.	B．To lead in the “island effect”.
C．To show two kinds of rare animals.	D．To stress the change of surroundings.

2. What does “the opposite” refer to in paragraph 3?

A．Animals of normal small bodies “upsize” on an island.

B．Animals of normal small bodies “downsize” on an island.

C．Animals of normal large size have small bodies on an island.

D．Animals of normal large size have larger bodies on an island.

3. Which of the following does the “island effect” agree with?

A．Some things never change.	B．The gain outweighs the loss.
C．Humans live in harmony with nature.	D．The fittest animals survive in natural selection.

4. What is the most suitable title for the text?

A．The History of Unique Island Animals	B．The Benefits of Saving Island Animals
C．Unique Island Animals at Greater Changes	D．Biological Diversity Threatened by Humans