1 . The number of birds coming through your neighborhood is changing, and so is the timing of their migrations (迁徙). Birdwatchers noticing these differences are playing a big part in understanding how climate change and severe weather events are affecting bird population.
John Rowden is director of community conservation at the National Audubon Society, which aims to protect birds and their environment. He said, “Birders have to be much more alert (警觉的) to when birds are coming through than they used to be, since birds may be coming through much earlier or much later.”
Rowden said, “Birdwatchers are increasingly seeing birds in their areas that are usually found elsewhere. And they are seeing fewer of the birds that usually travel through. Although we have seen these birds, it doesn’t mean they’ll always be there. They are declining in numbers because we’re throwing so many things at them, so we need to do what we can to help them.”
“At least 314 species of American birds are expected to lose 50 percent or more of their range by the end of the century. Those species are listed by the Audubon Society as climate-threatened or endangered,” Rowden added.
Environmentalists say there are a few easy steps people can take to help struggling bird populations. These include planting native species, which leads to more native insects for the birds to eat. During spring and fall migration seasons, people can help migrating birds by keeping outdoor lights turned off and covering reflective surfaces like large windows. People also should make indoor plants less visible to passing birds.
Geoff LeBaron, director of the Christmas Bird Count at the National Audubon Society, says he has seen the effects of climate change firsthand. “I’ve been a birder since I was a little kid,” he said. “It’s clear that climate change is affecting and will continue to affect birds on a global scale, and it’s a question of whether or not they can adapt to what the climate is throwing at them.”
1. What do the birdwatchers find?| A．Local birds are increasing in their areas. | B．50 percent of American birds have disappeared. |
| C．Climate change affects animal population greatly. | D．The number and timing of migrating birds are changing. |
| A．To deal with climate change. | B．To do research on bird population. |
| C．To watch the migrating birds in time. | D．To help birds migrate successfully. |
| A．Paragraph 5. | B．Paragraph 4. | C．Paragraph 3. | D．Paragraph 2. |
| A．It’s hopeless. | B．It’s normal. | C．It’s worrying. | D．It’s promising. |
2 . If you’re looking for something fun to do, pack a picnic dinner and take your family or friends to a beautiful place to eat. However, there’s a wrong trend to view picnics as an excuse to transport food in single-use plastic containers. Sure, it means the cleanup is easy at the moment, but it just puts it off to a later point, when it takes the form of volunteer cleanups and landfill management.
●Use food containers smartly
Using reusable containers is the easiest way to reduce waste.
●Choose real cutlery (餐具)
Using washable dishes and cutlery for a picnic does not require much more work than single-use ones.
You’d have to carry the waste out anyway in a trash bag, so why not pack your dirty plates and cutlery into a bag and put them in the dishwasher at home?
●Think about the drinks
Forget the single-use, single-serve drink bottles.
●Put cloth bags to good use
Cloth bags are amazing. I use them for so much more than just buying food at the store. They’re perfect for packing sandwiches, dried or whole fruit, and other snack foods. You can use them to pack glasses or plates to prevent breaking. They can also work as a napkin, tea towel, or trash bag if needed.
| A．Be sure to add a few to your picnic basket. |
| B．There are some healthy dishes you can make or buy. |
| C．To avoid this, a plastic-free picnic can be a brilliant idea. |
| D．If you’re worried about breaking, take some light camping plates. |
| E．Instead, just bring along a cloth tablecloth to spread on the ground. |
| F．These create a huge amount of waste, which can be easily avoided. |
| G．In addition, keep in mind that you don’t have to pre-pack everything. |
3 . Pet adoption is the perfect way to add a new family member. But if a pet is too young to be adopted, it must be fostered (寄养) first. That’s how a puppy named Maggie that was rescued by the North Shore Animal League America (NSALA), ended up being fostered by a sweet six-year-old boy.
The animal rescue organization in Port Washington needed to find a foster home for Maggie because she needed to be trained with basic obedience (顺从) skills and to become comfortable with a home environment. NSALA put out a call for a foster family.
Roman Duncan’s family was the lucky one chosen for the job. The boy fell in love with the puppy and was able to be part of her growth during those formative months. The family always made it clear to Roman that Maggie would eventually be adopted and move to a different home.
When it came time for Maggie to be adopted, Roman couldn’t hold his tears. He decided to write letters to the puppy’s future family. He wrote letters about his furry friend, saying “Maggie is so cute and loves to play fetch. She is the best dog ever,” and slipped the notes and some photos into Maggie’s paperwork.
The rescue team were surprised and then incredibly touched by the notes they found when opening Maggie’s file. NSALA made sure that Roman’s notes reached her adopted family. The boy’s gesture is exactly what pet fostering is about.
A dog or cat that has gone through terrible sufferings such as being abusing needs to learn what it means to live in a home. Fostering helps reduce the animal’s stress and makes it trust people again. It is also an opportunity for people who love pets but can’t have them full-time due to some restrictions. Pet fosters can get to enjoy helping a pet in need. If you are interested in pet fostering, contact a local shelter or animal rescue near you.
1. What happened to Maggie at first?| A．She was released into the wild. | B．She was settled in a new home. |
| C．She was saved by a rescue team. | D．She was fostered by Roman’s family. |
| A．To express his mixed feelings. | B．To preserve Maggie’s paperwork. |
| C．To choose Maggie’s future family. | D．To help Maggie adapt to new home. |
| A．The benefits of pet fostering. | B．The access to fostering a pet. |
| C．A homeless animal’s barriers. | D．The restrictions to adopting a pet. |
| A．Maggie Lives Happily in a Comforting Foster Home |
| B．A Boy Writes Sweet Letter to Puppy’s Forever Family |
| C．Pet fostering Plays Great Roles in Rescuing Lost Animals |
| D．Roman Duncan’s Family Adopts a new Family Member |
1. What happened to Samantha last month?
| A．She lost her pet dog. | B．She wrote a warm story. | C．She began a new project. |
| A．Half a month ago. | B．One month ago. | C．One year ago. |
| A．Driving to a farm. | B．Visiting a pet shop. | C．Going to the studio. |
5 . Bats are nature’s pest patrol. They consume large quantities of night flying insects, including some that annoy farmers. But habitat loss and climate change, as well as infectious diseases, are reducing bats’ ability to do their job. A new study adds another item to the list: wildfires. But not too many — too few.
In California’s Sierra Nevada ecosystem, bats have adapted to occasional wildfires. But fire-prevention policies have kept some areas unburned for unusually long periods, resulting in denser (更稠密的) forests with thicker undergrowth. “We wanted to see how these changes in how fires are burning might be influencing bat biodiversity,” says Zack Steel, who conducted the research.
Steel and his colleagues used microphones to count bats by recording their distinctive echolocation (回声定位) over four years at six sites in the Sierra Nevada. Three of the areas had recently endured fires, and three remained unburned.
Seventeen bat species call these forests home. The study revealed that eight of them tended to frequent the unburned patches, whereas 11 used the burned areas (some species visited both). “We expected to see Group A (the more open-habitat-adapted-species) benefiting from fire and Group B (the more clutter-adapted species) being negatively affected by fire, preferring the unburned areas,” Steel says. “But even some of those species were occurring more often in burned areas.”
“When there’s lots of variation in habitat after a fire, many species benefit in different ways,” says University of Connecticut biologist Andrew Stillman, “On the whole, the community (群体) becomes more diverse, and that’s a good thing for the landscape.”
Putting out wildfires early leads to some species losing out on food and resources.
“Fire is a natural part of the ecosystem, and many animals require the disturbance from fire to create the types of habitat that they need,” Stillman adds. “It demonstrates another negative consequence of keeping wildfire away from fire-adapted forests in California.”
1. What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 1 mean?| A．Too few bat species have survived. | B．Too few wildfires have occurred. |
| C．Too few items influence bats’ community. | D．Too few insects are eaten by bats. |
| A．Its method. | B．Its result. | C．Its process. | D．Its focus. |
| A．Free of wildfires. | B．Variation in habitats. |
| C．Thicker forests. | D．Fire-prevention policies. |
| A．To analyze effects wildfires have on bats. |
| B．To find out the differences among bat groups. |
| C．To bring forest protection into public attention. |
| D．To show ways to keep the balance of ecosystem. |
6 . Richard Proenneke did what most nature lovers can only dream of: At age 51, he quit his job as a mechanic and moved to the Alaskan wilderness to become one with nature.
In 1962, Proenneke encountered the area Twin Lakes, now called Lake Clark National Park and Preserve. Its wild beauty struck a chord with Proenneke. He thought the area was a perfect place to settle. In 1968, he built a small cabin there and remained for the next 30 years.
Going such long periods without companionship would tax many a person. But that was not the case for Proenneke. An obsessive observer and diarist, Proenneke once noted he was so busy with his life that he was never lonely. He spent most of his free time writing about the weather, the environment and the animals, some of which he befriended with regular treats. He hiked thousands of miles per year, becoming quite familiar with the miles of wilderness around his cabin. He caught and ate fish from the lake. Having no refrigerator, he dug into the ground and created a chilly storage box that helped to prolong his fresh foods.
Yet Proenneke wasn’t a bitter or angry isolationist (孤立主义者). He happily wrote replies to just about anyone who sent him letters. During the 30 years, Proenneke filled up more than 250 notepads with his diary entries. He also carried a camera to record some of his daily activities. Along with a biography composed by his friend Sam Keith, Proenneke’s notepads and camera footage were later turned into a documentary, Alone in the Wilderness.
In his will, Proenneke left behind his Twin Lakes cabin to the park rangers (护林员) as a gift. Actually, he had become such an important part of the park’s ecosystem that the rangers had trouble imagining life without him.
1. What made Proenneke different from other nature lovers?| A．He loved outdoor activities. | B．He built a cabin in the forest. |
| C．He quit his job in his fifties. | D．He settled alone in the wilderness. |
| A．Impress. | B．Benefit. | C．Defeat. | D．Transform. |
| A．Bitter but fruitful. | B．Lonely but peaceful. |
| C．Risky but thrilling. | D．Simple but fulfilling. |
| A．One Man’s “Alaska” | B．Gift from a Nature Lover |
| C．A Volunteer Ranger | D．Survival in the Wilderness |
I was on a family vacation and our hotel was right beside the sea. I was reading my book by the beach one afternoon when I heard some noise nearby. Curiously, I put aside the book and joined the group of people near the edge of the sea.
I was struck by what I saw. There was a giant turtle (海龟) which was upside down! Four of its huge feet were waving crazily in the air, and its long wrinkled neck was stretching far out of its shell. A thick rope was tied around the turtle and the fisherman held onto the end of it.
Obviously, the turtle was trying to escape. Some standers-by were clicking their cameras enthusiastically, filming the exciting moment. The crowd was thrilled by the scene before them. One strongly-built man found a piece of wood on the sand, carried it towards the turtle and started pushing the turtle’s head with it. When the end of the wood touched the turtle’s head, the turtle took it into its mouth and chewed it up in an instant.
“Wow!” the crowd shouted. “Did you see that? I’m glad it wasn’t my arm!” a person from the crowd exclaimed. “Wait till it gets sold and becomes turtle meat!” another joked and the crowd laughed.
Suddenly, I heard a boy’s screaming, “Cease torturing (折磨) it! Get away from the turtle!” We all turned and saw a boy and his father running toward where we were. “All of you are cruel for just standing there and doing nothing to save the turtle! Would you like it if you were forcefully taken away from your homes to be sold and tortured? Animals deserve to be treated with kindness too!” the boy shouted at the group of adults standing on the beach. I sensed a slight change of mood in the crowd－a mixture of unease and anger.
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。
Embarrassed as the father was, he was not ashamed of his son.
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The fisherman finally agreed to let the turtle go.
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8 . The food we eat every day keeps us alive, but it can also bring big health and environmental costs. A recent study finds that small shifts in the food choices could have great benefits to both health and the planet.
Because many foods with a high health burden, including processed meats or red meats, have high environmental costs. Reducing just about 10 percent of a person’s daily intake can cut a person’s food-based environmental footprint by over 30 percent. Between growing it, packaging it, moving it around, cooking it, and often wasting it, food production makes up about one-fifth to one-third of all annual greenhouse gas emissions globally. For an average household, food makes up about as much of the greenhouse gas footprint as the electricity.
To learn how to reduce negative impacts of food production and consumption on the planet and the body, researchers first assessed damage related to food. Over the past few decades, scientists have developed ways of doing “life cycle analyses” for specific items and assigned them a hard number to show their environmental impact. Meanwhile, public health scientists were doing similar analyses for human bodies. They carefully examined the links between food and health. They concluded that agriculture is a huge piece of the climate puzzle, and agriculture, food, and diet are all linked.
We can’t stop eating, so what should we do? For some climate challenges, there are relatively straightforward ways. For example, renewable energy sources can already replace much of the energy needed to power buildings, cars, and more.
There’s no substitute for food, but shifting what we eat is possible. If all people on the planet are vegans, greenhouse gas emissions from the food system could be cut by more than half; a planet of vegetarians would trim food emissions by 44 percent.
1. Why does the author list the figures in paragraph 2?| A．To highlight the harm of gas emission. |
| B．To advocate the consumption of red meats. |
| C．To show the environmental impact of food. |
| D．To illustrate the necessity of cutting food waste. |
| A．Food and human bodies. | B．Climate change and health. |
| C．Agriculture and human development. | D．Food production and the environment. |
| A．Eat whatever you want. | B．Use fossil energy sources. |
| C．Reduce food consumption. | D．Consume more vegetables. |
| A．Reduce. | B．Release. | C．Affect. | D．Improve. |
1.活动目的；
2.活动内容；
3.表达期待。
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。
Notice
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The Students’ Union
10 . The most relaxing colors are generally believed to be cool shades such as green and blue.
Home designers note that people often describe rooms painted blue and green as relaxing and comfortable. As a result, architects often use colors from the cool part of the color circle in bedrooms and bathrooms.
Driving down a highway. you’ll notice that some signs consist of white letters on a dark green background.
| A．There was research into colors in ancient times. |
| B．In contrast, hot colors cause these to rise. |
| C．Different colors can cause different psychological reactions. |
| D．Engineers determine such signs won’t get people’s eyes tired. |
| E．And painters often use blues and greens on walls and ceilings. |
| F．Scientists have found some evidence for the magic power of green. |
| G．It is agreed that the two can make us feel calm, balanced and less emotional. |
