1 . A “fierce queen” named “128 Grazer” has been crowned the fattest bear of all of Katmai National Park in Alaska. Grazer, a mama bear to two litters of cubs(幼兽), has been a fixture(固定成员) of the park since 2005.

This is Grazer’s first time winning the contest, an achievement made easier by the fact that she has released her cubs and was able to focus on self-care. When females are caring for cubs, they are often nursing them, helping them hunt for salmon(三文鱼) and providing them protection — all of which detracts from the females’ ability to eat as much as possible, said Felicia Jimenez, a ranger at Katmai National Park.

The brown bears living along Alaska’s Brooks River have spent the summer fattening up on salmon, berries and grasses in preparation for their annual winter hibernation(冬眠). The bears enter hibernation around November and eventually experience a one-third loss of their body weight through the winter season, according to park officials.

The fixed competition has been making the fattest brown bears at Katmai National Park compete against each other since 2014. When the contest first began, it consisted of just a single day in which a few of the park’s most enormous bears competed with each other. By the next year, the contest had transformed into a “globally recognized” event that required more days and more competitors.

The popularity of Fat Bear Week allows park officials to direct attention to conservation efforts in the region, especially for the salmon run on the Brooks River, which the bears rely on for food. The health of the brown bears signifies the overall health of the local ecosystem, according to the park. “Without the ecosystem protected, there would be no Fat Bear Week,” Jimenez said.

1. What contributed most to Grazer’s winning the contest?

A．Hunting for enough salmon.	B．Giving birth to her cubs.
C．Concentrating on caring for herself.	D．Being a fixture in the park.

2. What do the underlined words “detracts from” in paragraph 2 mean?

A．Removes.

B．Weakens.

C．Strengthens.

D．Changes.

3. What is paragraph 3 mainly about?

A．The process of bears’ hibernation.	B．The reason for bears’ fattening up.
C．The time of bears’ hibernation.	D．The way of bears’ fattening up.

4. What is the significance of the “Fat Bear Week”?

A．To choose the fattest bear globally.	B．To shoot the movie regarding bears.
C．To draw attention to environment care.	D．To highlight the efforts to protect ecosystem .

2 . After most people complete their undergraduate degree, they either take a break or jump into a job. Few, like Brianna Craft, set out to save the world.

It started when she was a freshman sitting in an environmental studies class in 2006. Craft was shocked when the professor described the harm climate change was having on people. She records the moment in her new book, Everything That Rises: A Climate Change Memoir.

After graduation, Craft spent a year in AmeriCorps, focusing on protecting the environment. AmeriCorps is an organization connecting individuals and organizations to help communities tackle their toughest challenges. “That helped me figure out that my future was not in doing science,” she says. Instead, she wanted to work with people and policy.

She then had an opportunity to attend the UN climate negotiations (磋商). That, in turn, prepared her for her current role as a senior researcher at the London-based International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). Her focus is to ensure that the lowest contributors to greenhouse gases and those most affected by climate change have a voice in international climate negotiations.

For five years, Craft attended and supported climate conferences around the world, leading to the signing of the Paris Agreement in 2015. Craft says, “I wanted people to care about the work I did in the climate negotiations, and why we pushed so hard to form this agreement.” That led her to write Everything That Rises: A Climate Change Memoir.

Craft brings the viewpoint of an African American woman from a rural northwest community. She weaves (编织) together several storylines-including her difficult childhood with an irresponsible parent, her self-discovery in college and her work to help work towards climate agreements and ensure that even the smallest countries have a voice.

1. What motivated Craft to work on climate change?

A．A course.

B．A book.

C．A scientist.

D．A program.

2. How did the experience in AmeriCorps help Craft?

A．She made achievements.

B．She fell in love with science.

C．She got inspiration for her book.

D．She was clearer about her career path.

3. What does Craft do as a senior researcher at the IIED?

A．She promotes equal rights to speak among countries.

B．She focuses on removing greenhouse gases in London.

C．She ensures climate negotiations are the UN’s top priority.

D．She speaks for the countries producing the most greenhouse gases.

4. Which of the following words best describes Craft’s job?

A．Boring.

B．Risky.

C．Fruitful.

D．Well-paid.

3 . Scientists have been able to track the entire life of a mammoth (猛犸象) that lived more than 17,000 years ago. The team figured out where in Alaska it likely was at any given point of its 28-year life.

To do so, the researchers closely studied a 1.8-meter-long mammoth tusk (象牙) dating back around 17,100 years. Mammoth tusks grow by adding layers of tissue almost daily, forming rings like a tree that can reveal detailed information.

The main thing the researchers analyzed was strontium isotopes (锶同位素), which can act almost like an ancient GPS. Different areas have different isotopic features, which start in minerals deep underground and make their way to the top of the land, into plants and water. Finally, they can be seen on the animals that consume those plants and water.

Previous studies had produced an isotopic map of Alaska by analyzing isotopes in the teeth of hundreds of small animals, which don’t travel far in their lifetimes and so represent a local area. The researchers can then compare isotopic signals from each part of the mammoth’s tusk to this map, to get an idea of where the mammoth most likely wandered throughout its life.

The scientists started from where its remains were found. Working backwards, the scientists then looked at the isotopic feature of where the mammoth was about a week before death, then searched the map for the best match in a nearby area. A model then worked backwards stepwise to determine the most likely routes the mammoth might have taken.

According to the research, the mammoth seems to have spent his early years in the Yukon River Basin and Alaska, constantly trekking between several territories in a predictable pattern. The team says that this behavior seems to be like modern elephants, moving regularly from place to place.

1. What is the key to reading the mammoth’s tusk?

A．The length of the tusk.	B．The age of the mammoth.
C．The area the mammoth lived in.	D．The tissue found in the tusk’s layers.

2. What can be inferred from paragraph 3?

A．Plants and water are main carriers of isotopes.

B．The isotopes in the tusk came from the underground.

C．It was difficult to analyze the isotopic features of an area.

D．The researchers were surprised to find isotopes in the tusk.

3. How do previous studies benefit the present one?

A．By explaining the significance of tusks.	B．By recording the animal species of Alaska.
C．By offering researchers a map to compare with.	D．By proving the possibility of analyzing isotopes.

4. What does the underlined word “trekking” in the last paragraph mean?

A．Looking for food.	B．Escaping from dangers.
C．Making a long journey.	D．Sending warning signals.

4 . Plastic is everywhere in our modern world. Its toughness makes it an extremely useful material from household items to vehicle parts, but that same toughness makes it hard to break down for recycling or disposal (处理). However, Japanese scientists at the University of Tokyo have developed a new plastic material that can be broken down more easily and can self-heal and remember past shapes.

Based on a kind of plastic called an epoxy resin vitrimer, which is brittle (脆性的), the new plastic boasts a huge range of advantages. Once scratched with a knife, it can completely patch itself up after being heated to 150 ℃ for just 60 seconds. When shaped into the shape of a crane, then flattened, it can fold itself back into the crane shape by being heated up. It does all of this much faster than others of its type.

The new plastic can also break down easier. Even if it’s discarded (丢弃) into the environment, it still poses less of a, problem than other kinds of plastic, which the team demonstrated by placing it in seawater for 30 days. It biodegraded by 25% and released molecules (分子) that are essential food for marine life.

The new plastic is more resistant to breaking. It can also repair itself, and can recover its original memorized shape. It even biodegrades safely in a marine environment, according to Shota Ando, a researcher of the study.

The material can be used in a variety of applications, “Infrastructure materials for roads and bridges are often composed of epoxy resins mixed with compounds such as concrete and carbon,” said Ando. “By using the new plastic, these would be easier to maintain as they would be stronger and healable using heat. Unlike conventional epoxy resins, this new material is hard but stretchable, so it could also be expected to strongly bond materials of different hardness and stretch.”

1. What is the author’s purpose in writing paragraph 1?

A．To introduce the topic of the text.	B．To show the disadvantages of plastic.
C．To highlight the importance of plastic.	D．To indicate his views on previous plastic.

2. What do the underlined words “patch itself up” mean in paragraph 2?

A．Change itself.

B．Shape itself.

C．Repair itself.

D．Burn itself.

3. What do we know about the new plastic?

A．It is safe for animals in the ocean.	B．It can provide nutrition for animals.
C．It can change its shape when frozen.	D．It is more brittle than previous plastic.

4. What can be the best title for the text?

A．Research Of New Molecules	B．An Interesting Scientific Study
C．The Widespread Application Of Plastic	D．A New Environmentally Friendly Plastic

5 . Landscape architect Kotchakorn Voraakhom has designed a new green roof on the Rangsit Campus of Thammasat University, about 25 miles north of central Bangkok, Thailand. Her imaginative work challenges the common thinking that urbanization has a negative impact on the planet, whether flooding, excess (过度的) energy use, disrupted (扰乱) biodiversity or the heat island effect.

The 236, 806-square-foot structure, which opened in December 2019, includes a flood water management system and Asia’s largest rooftop organic farm. It combines modern landscape architecture with traditional agricultural knowledge, creating a green and friendly environment.

The green roof, containing an H-shaped landscape, looks like a futuristic hill with a brick building beneath it. The hill features a complex pattern of zigzagging terraces (之字形梯田) of planted beds, leading all the way down to the bottom. When rainwater hits the roof, it flows down the zigzags while being absorbed by the soil in the beds, The excess water is directed into four storage ponds — with a capacity of up to 3 million gallons. The process slows down the flow speed of rainwater runoff compared to a normal concrete rooftop. This keeps the area from flooding during heavy rains.

The roof’s terraces are filled with organically grown crops, including a drought tolerant variety of rice, many local vegetables and herbs. The farm can supply the canteens on campus with a large amount of rice, herbs and vegetables a year. The food waste is composted (把……制成堆肥) to fertilize the farm, and water from the storage ponds is used to water plants, creating an entirely localized and circular system.

The farm serves as an outdoor classroom and a source of local jobs, too. Farmers offer workshops on sustainable agriculture and nutrition as part of the university’s sustainability curriculum. “Students and community members are invited to participate in seasonal seeding, harvesting, and so on,” says Voraakhom. “The urban farm is training a new generation of organic farmers with real-world skills. It also promotes a sense of community.”

1. What can we say about Voraakhom’s work?

A．It’s short-lived.	B．It’s creative.
C．It’s demanding.	D．It’s time-consuming.

2. Why is the rooftop designed to be zigzag?

A．To store more water.

B．To plant diverse vegetables.

C．To slow the speed of water flow.

D．To make it look more attractive than other buildings.

3. What can be inferred about the farm from paragraph 4?

A．It uses food as fertilizer.	B．It benefits the environment.
C．It improves students’ lifestyle.	D．It produces vegetables and fruits.

4. What does the author want to show by mentioning the outdoor classroom?

A．Students can learn hands-on knowledge on the farm.

B．Farmers working on the farm can become professors.

C．The farm prevents government from offering people jobs.

D．The farm harms the relationship between university and community.

6 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Chengdu is regarded by many as one of the happiest cities in China, as well as the home of pandas. It     1     (become) the first Asian city to be identified as a UNESCO City of Gastronomy in 2010.

Chengdu is a place where it seems to blur (难以区分) the boundaries between past and future. Its ancient temples, traditional alleys and historic architecture open a window into ancient China,     2     (take) you into a world of past impressive beauty. But what is really surprising is its focus on the future. Transforming into a center of technology, innovation and development, this city has     3     (ambition) plans to become a science city in southwest China.

Chengdu is not only rich in history and modernity, but also in flavor. This city is known     4     its spicy food, with bold flavors and centuries-old cooking traditions coming together to offer dining experiences     5     will delight all the senses. Chengdu’s most popular food, such as tongue-numbing mapo tofu and hotpot, is     6     feast for the palate (味觉). Hotpot works like this. A heat source     7     (place) on the dining table keeps a pot of soup stock simmering (煨), and a variety of Chinese foodstuffs and     8     (ingredient) are served beside the pot for the diners to put into the hot stock.

All this richness that Chengdu has to offer led to its selection as the host city for the 31stFISU World University Games. The athletic event was an opportunity not only     9     (show) Chengdu’s sporting spirit, world-class infrastructure,     10     (warm) and organizational skill, but also to promote friendship and cross-cultural understanding.

7 . In the last 100 years, the global temperature has gone up by around 0.75℃. Such a small increase is causing sea levels to rise and ________ the habitat of many species of plants and animals. A(n) ________ of 2℃ in global temperatures could result in ________ of 30% of the world’s land species.

Sea levels in the UK have increased by around 10 cm in the last 100 years and experts ________ that global sea levels could rise by up to 59 cm in the near future. ________, areas which were land a few hundred years ago are now under water.

As a result of the changing ________, the world’s ecosystems are also changing faster than ever before. So what is ________ climate change? The main cause of climate change is the huge amount of greenhouse gases like CO₂ in the atmosphere, but the reason for this is the world’s population — you and me. As the ________ increases, more land is needed to provide food, and more energy is ________ too. Burning fossil fuels for heating, lighting, transport, or electricity ________ CO₂. Furthermore, humans breathe out CO₂ and trees “breathe in” CO₂ and produce oxygen — so by ________ trees, we are increasing the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere and reducing the amount of oxygen. As a result of these ________, CO₂ levels are now at their highest for 800,000 years.

The biggest ________ we all face is to prevent further environmental disasters. We need to ______________ burning fossil fuels and start using renewable energy. If we can get enough ________ from renewable fuels, we can stop using fossil fuels completely.

1.

A．attacking

B．ignoring

C．threatening

D．discovering

2.

A．limitation

B．reduction

C．increase

D．improvement

3.

A．extinction

B．escape

C．change

D．development

4.

A．argue

B．explain

C．doubt

D．predict

5.

A．Surprisingly

B．Consequently

C．Immediately

D．Usually

6.

A．climate

B．height

C．period

D．environment

7.

A．forcing

B．allowing

C．causing

D．helping

8.

A．animal

B．species

C．plants

D．population

9.

A．wasted

B．needed

C．supplied

D．stored

10.

A．produces

B．includes

C．requires

D．provides

11.

A．transporting to

B．searching for

C．planting in

D．cutting down

12.

A．questions

B．activities

C．procedures

D．disasters

13.

A．challenge

B．disadvantage

C．adventure

D．influence

14.

A．consider

B．deny

C．stop

D．hate

15.

A．time

B．energy

C．inspiration

D．knowledge

8 . Pregracke grew up in Illinois, where the Mississippi River was in his backyard. Communities along the river use it to ________ freshwater and drop their industrial and household waste. As a teenager he began to notice the piles of ________ in the waterway. “I got ________ of seeing it and just wanted to do something about it,” he said.

With persistence and sincerity, Pregracke got a small ________ from Alcoa, the largest aluminum (铝) company in the U.S., in 1997 and spent that money ________ a 35-mile of the river by himself that summer. He would transport the trash by boat and ________ it on his parents’front yard for recycling. By year’s end, he had ________ pulled around 45,000 pounds of trash out of the river, with 90% of it recycled properly.

It began as an individual effort, but over the years Pregracke turned it into a ________ movement. To date, about 70,000 volunteers have joined his ________ . His operation has become much more advanced since those early days, as his nonprofit Living Lands & Waters now has a group of ________ boats. Besides the river cleanup ________ , Pregracke has launched a floating classroom, where his staff ________ high school students and teachers about the ________ that pollution brought to river ecosystems.

Picking up garbage is ________ , but Pregracke believes it is worthwhile and that volunteers get a huge sense of ________ from seeing the garbage piled up and recycled.

1.

A．store

B．deliver

C．obtain

D．process

2.

A．rubbish

B．furniture

C．sand

D．paper

3.

A．fond

B．shy

C．sick

D．hopeful

4.

A．report

B．fund

C．review

D．team

5.

A．studying

B．crossing

C．exploring

D．cleaning

6.

A．sort

B．remove

C．mix

D．bury

7.

A．empty-handedly

B．absent-mindedly

C．single-handedly

D．light-heartedly

8.

A．political

B．cultural

C．competitive

D．collective

9.

A．trade

B．protest

C．research

D．cause

10.

A．weather-beaten

B．good-looking

C．well-equipped

D．old-fashioned

11.

A．application

B．campaign

C．discovery

D．assessment

12.

A．consults

B．interviews

C．contacts

D．educates

13.

A．fortune

B．damage

C．opportunity

D．limitation

14.

A．tough

B．practical

C．unfair

D．rewarding

15.

A．gratitude

B．accomplishment

C．expectation

D．curiosity

9 . August 24, 2023 may be imprinted in history as the day of disaster for the marine environment. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has asked Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, to release nuclear wastewater into the ocean from Thursday, ignoring strong objections from both home and abroad.

It will be a public crime if the discharge goes through and the decision will prove to be extremely unrewarding. The international community can hold Japan accountable indefinitely.

According to Paris-based French TV network France 24, some 1.34 million tonnes of nuclear wastewater, equivalent to almost the water in 540 Olympic pools, will be released into the ocean off Japan’s northeast coast, at a maximum rate of 500 cubic meters per day. The whole process is expected to take 30 to 40 years and cost around eight trillion yen (55 billion USD).

Junichi Matsumoto, the TEPCO executive in charge of the water release, told the Associated Press in July that the company plans to release 7,800 tonnes of treated water for 17 days in the first round. By the end of March 2024, the aim is to release 31,200 tonnes. The pace is expected to pick up later.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong asked the Japanese ambassador to China Hideo Tarumi on August 22 to meet him and make serious representations over the Japanese government’s announcement that it would start releasing nuclear-contaminated water on August 24.

Sun said the Fukushima nuclear accident is one of the world’s most serious nuclear accidents to date, resulting in the release of a large amount of radioactive material, which has far-reaching implications for the marine environment, food safety, and human health.

“The ocean is the blue home that all humanity depends on for survival, and the Japanese side should not dump nuclear-contaminated water at will,” Sun said.

1. Who did Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida ask to release nuclear wastewater into the ocean?

A．Spokesperson Wang Wenbin.

B．The TEPCO executive Junichi Matsumoto.

C．Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong.

D．The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

2. Except for the amount released in the first round, how many tonnes of treated water will be released into the ocean by the end of March 2024?

A．1.34 million tonnes.

B．7,800 tonnes.

C．2,3400 tonnes.

D．31,200 tonnes.

3. What does Sun Weidong say about the Fukushima nuclear accident?

A．It has no implications for the marine environment.

B．Has no implications for food safety and human health.

C．It is one of the most serious nuclear accidents in history.

D．It resulted in the release of a small amount of radioactive material.

4. Where is this text probably taken from?

A．A research paper.	B．A newspaper report.
C．A business report.	D．A geography textbook.

10 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Most old airports are usually torn down to make way for shiny new developments, although at huge cost, but not Tegel airport, in Berlin, Germany.     1     (cover) an area of 5 million square meters, the disused airport will be transformed into an eco-friendly, green living neighborhood oasis (绿洲), in an     2     (ambition) project that officials hope will become the blueprint for future disused airports.

After the airport     3     (close) down by the government a number of years ago, developers began imagining the high-reaching Tegel Project.     4     (announce) in 2017, the Tegel Project aims to address urban living issues such as car pollution and housing shortages. Vast open green spaces, bike roads, and energy-efficient, affordable housing are just some of the features of the new neighborhood,     5     will provide at least 5,000 homes for more than 10,000 people. Conveniences such as daycare centers, schools, shopping     6     (facility), and green structures will be included in the design. A further 4,000 homes are also planned for     7     surrounding areas.

“We want to let people rediscover the public space, for socializing, playgrounds, and places     8     (relax) and talk,” says Constanze Doll, spokesperson for the project. “Important locations     9     the kindergarten, bakery, school, and supermarket can be     10     (easy) reached on foot.”