1 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

In Dali, Yunnan Province, there is a beautiful lake, which is situated at 1,972 meters above sea level. It covers an area of about 250 square kilometers, making it the second     1    (large) freshwater lake in Yunnan. Its shape looks like an ear or a moon, so people give     2     a special name—the Erhai Lake.

The temperature of the lake’s surface is 12 °C-21 °C all year round, so the water never freezes. The natural conditions make the lake a suitable place for fish     3    (grow) in. The clear water and     4    (variety) of fishes have become the main food sources for the local people,     5     are very good at fishing. They fish in a special way-training cormorants, a kind of seabird, to catch fish for them.

The Erhai Lake is a hot scenic spot in our country and is famous     6     its wonderful scenery. It     7    (surround) by green mountains. Going boating on the lake is enjoyable,     8    (especial) at night. The moon is reflected on the lake and the soft warm wind     9    (touch) your face. You can see the reflections of lights and the moon sparkle as the water ripples. What a romantic experience!

There are some other places of interest around the lake, such as Erhai Park and Butterfly Spring. Many of them are worth     10    (visit).

2 . Do you see a bird right now? Can you hear one singing? If so, you might be getting a mental health boost. A recent study found that being in the presence of birds made people feel more positive.

Andrea Mechelli, a psychologist at King’s College London and one of the paper’s authors, admitted himself studying the natural world by accident. “I don’t have a particular agenda focused on nature myself. I wasn’t thinking we were going to demonstrate nature has a strong effect,” says Mechelli. Instead, he was searching for answers to why people who live in cities seem to be more likely to suffer from mental illness, particularly psychosis(精神病).

In 2015, he created the smartphone app Urban Mind to search for patterns in users’ environments. How crowded was their city? Did they feel safe in their neighborhood? Could they see trees? “Our first finding was that nature has a very powerful effect,” says Mechelli. He and his colleagues then wondered if some aspects of nature were more beneficial than others.

Their latest study included 1,292 participants, mainly in the United Kingdom and Europe, some of whom revealed a professional mental health diagnosis such as depression. For two weeks, study participants using Urban Mind were reminded to fill out a questionnaire three times a day. They were asked questions about their surrounding environment and their mental state. The data were recorded at the same time.

With the data collected, Mechelli performed a statistical analysis that found an obvious improvement in well-being when birds were present, even when removing other factors like the presence of trees or waterways. The mental health benefit was true both for people with diagnosed depression and those without any diagnosed mental health conditions.

Nature, Mechelli notes, isn’t a cure all. The presence of trees and birds, for example, didn’t result in a better sense of well-being if participants also noted their neighborhood felt unsafe.

1. Why does the author ask questions in the first paragraph?

A．To offer examples.	B．To make comparisons.
C．To introduce the topic.	D．To support the conclusion.

2. What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?

A．The process of the research.	B．The purpose of the research.
C．The findings of the research.	D．The influence of the research.

3. The following would be investigated by Urban Mind EXCEPT ______.

A．the sight of trees	B．the crowdedness of a city
C．the pressure from their work	D．the security of a neighborhood

4. What can we know about participants in the latest study?

A．They all came from the UK.

B．They were diagnosed with depression.

C．They recorded their feelings by themselves.

D．They were required to answer different questions.

3 . Researchers are using an underwater drone (无人机) to measure CO₂ levels in the ocean. It is believed to be the first time such a vehicle has been used specifically to test CO₂ levels. The vehicle, which the team also calls a glider (滑翔机), is designed to dive down to 1,000 meters in deep ocean areas and can operate for weeks at a time.

The goal of the research is to provide scientists with data about how climate change is affecting the ocean’s chemistry. The self-swimming drone was deployed in the Gulf of Alaska this spring.

The team says the project could be a major step forward in measuring the environmental health of oceans. Scientists are most interested in levels of ocean acidification (酸化). This happens when CO₂ emissions in the atmosphere make their way into the ocean. Ocean acidification can harm or kill some kinds of sea life.

In a way, oceans have done humans a big favor by taking in (吸收) some of CO₂. If this were not the case, there would be much more CO₂ in the atmosphere. This would trap more of the sun’s heat and further warm the Earth.

“But the problem is now that the ocean is changing its chemistry because of this uptake,” said team member Claudine Hauri.

One of the best ways to measure ocean acidification is to collect CO₂ measurements. Until now, these collections were mostly done from ships or with floating devices at the ocean surface or equipment on the ocean floor.

McDonnell said his goal is to have a large number of similar robotic gliders operating in oceans across the world one day. “Such efforts will be important in helping scientists understand much more about what’s going on in the ocean than we have before,” he said.

1. What is the purpose of scientists carrying out the project?

A．To fully use drones.

B．To keep the ocean clean.

C．To study in the deep ocean.

D．To monitor ocean’s chemistry.

2. What would happen if the oceans hadn’t absorbed some CO₂ ?

A．Sea life would die out.

B．The Earth will be warmer.

C．There would be more CO2 in the sea.

D．Ocean acidification would occur regularly.

3. What’s McDonnell’s attitude towards robotic gliders operating in oceans?

A．Optimistic.

B．Critical.

C．Doubtful.

D．Negative.

5 . Environmental issues can often seem overwhelming. We’ve all seen the news headlines about plastic pollution poisoning our oceans and scary climate change statistics. But instead of feeling overwhelmed, I am choosing to be mindful. The easiest place was to start with my home.     1    .

Replace your disposables(一次性物品)with reusable things

The first thing you can do is replace all your plastic drinking bottles with a reusable drink bottle.     2    . Plastic is a major pollutant of our oceans, that’s because plastic takes hundreds of years to break down and our ocean life mistake it for food!

    3    

Food waste is a major issue! Food sits in our landfills and gives off poisonous greenhouse emissions. It’s time to deal with food waste instead of sending them to landfill. This might be as simple as sharing a compost(混合肥料)bin with your neighbors or even using your local community compost. Do a search to see what is around you. Local neighborhoods also have workshops on setting up a compost in your own home.

Shop the outer aisles (通道) of the supermarket

Shopping the outer aisles of the supermarket means that you are buying package-free food. Not only-is this better for the planet, it’s also a healthier option for you and your family.     4    . Mother Nature has already created her own packaging! No plastic required!Consume less

    5    . See if you can go one week or one month without buying any clothing, beauty items or accessories. Realizing that we have enough and not craving more has been the biggest lesson I’ve learned. This is something you can teach your family as well.

A．Reuse and recycle

B．Put yourself in a no-spending state

C．Set up a processing system that works for you

D．The outer aisles are full of fruits and vegetables

E．I finally felt in control of these seemingly “out of control” issues

F．This is a fun activity that shows we value our precious resources

G．Plastic grocery bags can be replaced with reusable cloth grocery bags

6 . A recent study in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series has a great influence when it comes to the question of how sharks will interact with humans as climate change continues to worsen. It predicts a world where humans and sharks will encounter more often than the present case.

Contrary to popular media descriptions that speak ill of sharks, humans will not be in that much trouble when this happens.    1    , in which millions of innocent sharks are the big losers due to human activity beyond their control.

First, let’s explore why sharks and humans will probably be running into each other’s world more often. One reason is the field of urban ecology and, specifically, how different species respond when they come across humans.     2    ; think of raccoons (浣熊) that search for food from rubbish and pigeons (鸽子) that stay on statues in major cities all over the planet. On the other hand, there are urban avoiders, or animals that avoid major cities out of self-protection;     3    

The researchers initially believed that sharks would also be urban avoiders.     4    . Scientists learned that space use patterns of tracked sharks were consistent with that of urban adapters.

    5    . The reality, however, is that humans have driven sharks to the edge of extinction while shark attacks on people remain quite rare. Humans are not sharks’ preferred prey (猎物), and the likelihood of increased human-shark interactions causes far more of a threat to sharks than to humans.

A．Surprisingly, that’s not the case

B．It will instead be a heartbreaking tragedy

C．Humans have a long lasting fear against sharks

D．Therefore, they think the sharks won’t get too close to us

E．Large animals like wolves and mountain lions fall into this category

F．Tigers and lions are so dangerous that we keep them away from our cities

G．If a species thinks its members can get along just great with us, they are known as urban adapters

8 . Bees are important to agriculture. But useful as they are, bees do not receive the same care and concern over their emotional well-being as other agricultural animals.

Ecologist Buchmann’s recent book, which collects the work of bee scholars as they work to explain what goes on in their brains, suggests bees can learn, think and even likely feel, much like animals. Buchmann’s work also suggests bees should hold a special place in our ethical scheme (道德体系). For Buchmann and some other scientists, what they have learned about bees changes their research strategies to be more ethical, on par with (相当于) the standards set for animals such as mice and monkeys.

Experiments, the outcomes of which are addressed in the book, illustrate the secret life of bees. Lars Chittka, a University College of London professor, did an experiment 16 years ago where he hid a robotic spider in flowers. The spider would grab a careless bee that came too close and then release it after giving it a scare. Chittka observed how the released bees learned to look for the spider and to avoid it. Some would be too scared to approach even unoccupied flowers.

Other studies proved that bee brains saw rushes in chemicals that could bring happiness when they were presented with sucrose (sugar). These happy bees then found more food than their unrewarded bees. By contrast, stress from poor handling lowered the levels of these happy chemicals.

“Many of my colleagues do experiments where bees have some devices placed into various body parts without considering their feelings,” Chittka says. “The current care free situation that researchers live in with no legal framework needs to be re-evaluated.” There are few laws regarding bee welfare. Buchmann thinks the “unhappiness” of bees might be a contributing factor to the decreasing numbers of bees.

Bees are critical to feeding the world and to plant survival. But the bees need care too. The first step in safeguarding the precious bees is to learn more about them and their lives. “These unique minds, regardless of how much they may differ from ours, have as much justification to exist as we do,” says Chittka.

1. What can we learn about Buchmann’s new book?

A．It focuses on the ethical scheme.	B．It records some research on bees.
C．It teaches people how to protect bees.	D．It introduces some famous scientists.

2. Which statement can be used to describe the bees in Chittka’s experiment?

A．Once bitten, twice shy.	B．Practice makes perfect.
C．Never offer to teach fish to swim.	D．Kill two birds with one stone.

3. What conclusion can we draw from the studies?

A．Bees are well-received.	B．Bees are precious.
C．Bees can have emotions.	D．Bees can handle stress well.

4. What might be Chittka’s advice?

A．New devices should be placed in bees.

B．People shouldn’t experiment with bees in the lab.

C．New rules should be made for the benefit of bees.

D．The function of bees should be re-evaluated.

9 . Findings of an international team of researchers from Japan and China suggest that geese might have been the first poultry species to have been domesticated (驯养) by humans—as far back as 7,000 years ago.

Scientists have long held different opinions on the history of the domestication of birds, with a belief that it was chickens that were the first to be domesticated. In 2014, Chinese researchers reported ancient DNA taken from the earliest archaeological chicken bone discovery in China, suggesting chickens were domesticated in northern China as early as 10,000 years ago.

But the researchers behind the latest findings say that the 2014 study lacks firm evidence. In the new study, the team unearthed the archaeological site of Tianluoshan, a 7,000-year-old rice cultivation village in the lower Yangtze River valley in what is today known as East China’s Zhejiang province. They found a total of 232 goose bones at the site. The inhabitants of the village were hunter-gatherers.

The researchers used multiple approaches to study the bones, and found evidence of domestication.

Four bones were from goslings (幼鹅) ranging from eight to 16 weeks old, suggesting they hatched near the site. Geese were domesticated from wild geese. These migratory birds fly to northern Siberia to breed (繁殖) after the spring and then fly south for the winter, according to researchers from the Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology. They said the goslings were too young to have flown in from elsewhere. At the time, Tianluoshan did not have the conditions to be a natural breeding place for wild geese, so it follows that the goslings were born after domestication.

The researchers also analyzed the chemical makeup of adult goose bones, which contained evidence of the water they drank. Their analysis indicated that the adult geese also seemed to have been locally bred, for they were all roughly the same size. Carbon dating also showed that the bones belonged to geese that lived about 7,000 years ago.

Researchers say ancient DNA analysis is required in further studies to investigate which species were bred to become local geese populations.

1. Where did the researchers find the goose bones?

A．In Tianluoshan.	B．In northern China.
C．In northern Siberia.	D．In the upper Yangtze river valley.

2. What can we learn about the goslings from the study?

A．Their parents were wild geese.

B．They were probably raised by humans.

C．They flew to Tianluoshan for winter.

D．They were too young and had to stay.

3. What’s the main idea of Paragraph 5 and Paragraph 6?

A．The result of the study.	B．The importance of the study.
C．The process of domestication.	D．The evidence of domestication.

4. What’s the purpose of the passage?

A．To show how geese were domesticated by humans.

B．To prove that chickens were not the first to be domesticated.

C．To show a new study on the history of the birds’ domestication.

D．To introduce how the geese were domesticated from wild geese.

10 . In November 2020, a polar bear named Suka gave birth to several little ones, including Laerke. Laerke and her brothers and sisters were the first polar bears successfully born and _______ in the Detroit Zoo since 2004.

Days after her _______ , Laerke became significantly inactive and appeared increasingly _______. She was sent off to the zoo’s health complex for _______ , but by the time she returned home, her mom no longer _______ Laerke as her cub (小熊).

Without having any other polar bear who would _______ her, she would have to go without a _______, or so they thought. _______, that’s right when Jebbie needed a new home! Jebbie, the baby grizzly bear was _______ all by himself helplessly in Tok, Alaska, when he was ________ and taken to the Detroit Zoo, where he and Laerke had been gradually getting to know each other.

After some time, Jebbie and Laerke became best ________! The zookeepers have since posted pictures and videos of them playing, showing just how ________ they are. Together, they’re able to wrestle in the grassy tundra (苔原), splash around in the freshwater or saltwater pools, and play with toys ________.

“We’re excited that we are able to give Jebbie a home and ________ a much-needed friend for Laerke,” said Scott, chief life sciences officer of the Detroit Zoo. “This social development is critically ________ for both Laerke and Jebbie.”

1.

A．found

B．hurt

C．raised

D．caught

2.

A．birth

B．survival

C．escape

D．return

3.

A．anxious

B．weak

C．big

D．excited

4.

A．entertainment

B．development

C．experiment

D．treatment

5.

A．understood

B．recognized

C．forgave

D．scared

6.

A．accept

B．teach

C．depend on

D．believe in

7.

A．companion

B．meal

C．room

D．toy

8.

A．Generally

B．Sadly

C．Honestly

D．Luckily

9.

A．crying

B．wandering

C．hunting

D．playing

10.

A．beaten

B．examined

C．rescued

D．shot

11.

A．examples

B．friends

C．models

D．witnesses

12.

A．lonely

B．careful

C．lovely

D．fearful

13.

A．crazily

B．regretfully

C．happily

D．hopefully

14.

A．provide

B．recover

C．visit

D．protect

15.

A．impossible

B．dangerous

C．strange

D．important