Are you facing a situation that looks impossible to fix?
In 1969, the pollution was terrible along the Cuyahoga River near Cleveland, Ohio. It was unimaginable that it could ever be cleaned up. The river was so
But the river wasn’t changed in a few days
Maybe you are faced
While there are
2 . Will Gladstone remembers first learning about the blue-footed booby in his fifth grade science class. They are a symbol of the Galapagos Islands.
The blue-footed booby population in the Galapagos has fallen to a third of its size since the1960s. This fact stayed with Will, who grew up bird-watching with his dad around their hometown. Will had never been to the Galapagos, nor seen a blue-footed booby in person, but decided he wanted to help protect them.
A few days later, he came up with a plan: He could sell blue socks, the same color as the bird's feet, to raise money for protection efforts. Will set up his online site The Blue Feet Foundation in March 2016. The website was up for three months before Will and his younger brother Matthew sold their first pair of socks. “We reached out to a lot of people and they wouldn't take us seriously...because we were just kids.”
But being “just kids” comes with its own strengths. They made an Instagram account for the foundation and started direct-messaging stars. Will says one of their biggest supporters is his longtime favorite hockey player, Kevan Miller. They have sold about 10,000 pairs of socks to customers in 46 countries, raising about $90, 000 after costs. All profits go to the Galapagos Conservancy and the Charles Darwin Foundation, two research and protection organizations based in the Galapagos Islands.
Will's and Matthew's efforts are already having a beneficial effect. Their money was used for a blue-footed booby population survey in 2017 by a team of 10 researchers. The researchers report that they did see many more baby birds than in their previous study in 2012.
Three years after forming the foundation, Will got to visit the Galapagos on a week-long school trip. And Will finally got to see a blue-footed booby in person. “I was crazily looking around and when l saw one, it was really cool,” Will said.
The brothers have won several awards for their work. But they each say the biggest award they've got is perseverance.
1. What inspired Will to protect the blue-footed booby?| A．The drop of the birds' number. | B．His trip to Galapagos Islands. |
| C．His experience of bird-watching. | D．The symbolic meaning of the bird. |
| A．They started The Blue Feet Foundation. |
| B．They asked protection organizations for help. |
| C．They reached out to their classmates and other kids. |
| D．They opened an account and contacted famous people. |
| A．take care of more baby birds | B．do scientific research on the birds |
| C．attract people to watch the birds | D．award people who protect the birds |
| A．Humorous. | B．Generous. | C．Determined. | D．Creative. |
3 . The Appalachian Trail winds some 2,190 miles across 14 states in the eastern US. Although it attracts thousands of serious hikers each spring, only one in four hikers completes the entire trail.
The Sutton family recently finished hiking the entire trail. They are a unique trio (三人组) as their son Harvey turned five on the trail, which makes him the youngest to complete the Appalachian Trail.
Josh and Carrie Sutton said they needed to take breaks from busy work called mini-retirements. “ We set the family goal of living a life with extraordinary stories. Doing things like hiking with a child on the Appalachian Trail gives you extraordinary stories, ” Josh Sutton said.
When Harvey turned three, they took him winter camping, and by the time he was four, the family completed a 50-mile hike, camping over six days. Seeing that Harvey developed a passion for hiking, they planned a thru-hike on the Appalachian Trail. Hiking from end to end is called a thru-hike and generally takes five to seven months to complete.
They hit the trail in Georgia on January 13, 2021. The first weeks were cold. The trail was icy and snow-covered, and the weather was often cloudy and bitter, so they made slow progress. They would wake up early each day, pack their gear (装备), and then start walking. As they had many miles to cover each day, they had to be inventive and started using imagination and Skittles (彩虹糖) as incentive for little Harvey.
The family completed their journey on August 9, 2021. Little Harvey learned to count all the way to 2,193, the total miles his little feet traveled, and a big number for someone who just started kindergarten. “ I will do it again because I like it so much, ” said Harvey.
Although the Suttons are now back home, they have incredible memories of this mini-retirement. The journey is a life-changing experience for the Sutton family and is an inspiration for families who dream of taking a similar journey.
1. What’s special about the Sutton family hiking the Appalachian Trail?| A．Their young son’s participation. | B．Their rich experience in hiking. |
| C．Their great love for adventure. | D．Their ways to get rid of busy life. |
| A．Motivation. | B．Information. | C．Evidence. | D．Suggestion. |
| A．Tiring and boring. | B．Relaxing and pleasant. |
| C．Dangerous but exciting. | D．Challenging but meaningful. |
| A．More haste, less speed. | B．Chances favor the prepared mind. |
| C．We should think twice before acting. | D．We should dream big and start small. |
4 . If you live in one of the 40 million American households with a gas stove, it could be leaking even when it’s turned off.
According to a new study from Stanford scientists, many stoves are constantly giving out gases that can warm the planet and pose serious health risks when breathed in. The research found methane missions from gas stoves across the United States are roughly equal to the carbon dioxide released by half a million gas-powered cars in a year.
To estimate the impact of these emissions, researchers measured three key gases from stoves in 53 homes across seven California counties. The team chose two gases — methane and carbon dioxide — because of their contribution to climate change, and selected nitrogen oxides because of their known risk to human health. The scientists set up plastic dividing walls between the kitchens and other rooms and used instruments that measure wavelengths of light to determine the concentration of certain gases.
The team estimated that stoves release between 0.8 and 1.3 percent of the natural gas they consume as unburned methane. To their surprise, they found that more than three-quarters of the methane emissions happened when both old and new gas stoves were turned off. “Over a 20-year time scale, the global warming potential of methane leaks is 86 times greater than carbon dioxide,” Stanford reports.
The most significant health risks happen when the stove is lit, the authors note, because the process creates nitrogen dioxide as a byproduct. Increasing airflow by using a range hood can help reduce the personal health risk of natural gas-burning appliances, but most individuals report rarely using their ventilation system.
In a small kitchen, it only took a few minutes of unventilated stove use to generate emissions levels above national health standards. According to a meta-analysis from 2013, children living in homes with gas stoves were 42 percent more likely to experience symptoms associated with asthma, and 24 percent more likely to be diagnosed with lifetime asthma.
In addition to health risks, natural gas burning stoves also endanger the planet by releasing methane. The results of the study have furled efforts by scientists and activists to encourage Americans to switch to all-electric stoves and appliances.
1. Which gas leaking from stoves warms the earth most?| A．Methane. | B．Carbon dioxide. | C．Nitrogen oxide. | D．Nitrogen dioxide. |
| A．The measuring instruments. | B．The American families. |
| C．The team members. | D．The gas stoves. |
| A．When it is old. | B．When it is new. |
| C．When it is turned on. | D．When it is turned off. |
| A．Equip kitchens. | B．Switch to clean fuels. |
| C．Use sustainable energy. | D．Purchase electric stoves. |
5 . Breathing dirty air can cost someone’s lifespan (寿命) months—even years, a new study finds. Worldwide, air pollution lowers average lifespans by a year. Scientists shared their new findings in Environmental Science & Technology Letters.
Air pollution (污染) has been linked to many health problems. Most earlier studies have looked at how tiny air pollutants affected rates of illness or death. But now an environmental scientist, Joshua Apte, is going even further. He works at the University of Texas, Austin. He together with his team is looking at life expectancy, hoping to make the threat easier to understand.
PM 2.5 is what scientists call tiny particles of pollution in the air. Higher levels of PM2.5 can cause health problems and cut months, if not years, from the average lifespan. This analysis shows pollution affects life expectancy in different parts of the world.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends limiting PM 2.5 to 10 micrograms (微克) per cubic (立方) meter of air. Apte’s group used data to try to find how this low level would help people. But meeting the WHO standard won’t get rid of health damage from dirty air. That’s because even below 10 micrograms per cubic meter pollution still causes huge risks.
Reducing air pollution could increase life expectancy. The scientists also compared how other threats shorten life spans across the globe. These risk factors included smoking and cancer.
These results show that in poor countries, cleaning up dirty air could greatly increase lifespans. It could have as big an effect as cleaning up drinking water, or curing lung cancer. However, in wealthier countries air pollution shortens life expectancy by less than half a year. All forms of cancer, in fact, shorten the average life expectancy by more than 3.5 years. “Knowing this can really help people or policymakers, decide where to spend their money.” says Kirk Smith.
1. Why is Joshua Apte’s team carrying out the study?| A．Know how small air pollutants are. |
| B．Study many different healthy problems. |
| C．Study the life expectancy of different people. |
| D．Let people understand air pollution better. |
| A．Its air is very clean. |
| B．It will get a prize from WHO. |
| C．It still has pollution risks. |
| D．Its people will live a healthy life. |
| A．The study will help different countries or people take different policies. |
| B．Lung cancer is the leading killer in all kinds of cancers. |
| C．Reducing air pollution can increase all people’s lifespans much. |
| D．It’s very hard to clean up dirty air in a short time. |
| A．Many Factors are Affecting People’s Health |
| B．Air Pollution is Shortening Lives Worldwide |
| C．Governments are Trying to Make Lifespan Long |
| D．The Effect of Cancer is Worse than Dirty Air |
6 . You must have been amused by videos of dogs waving tails happily at their owner’s home-coming greetings, or pictures of cats looking so guilty after making the house a mess. A variety of domestic animals can distinguish between their owner’s voice and the voices of others, and can even detect changes in tone. But whether wild animals can recognize individual humans is a bit unclear.
A new study led by Roberta Salmi is the first to show that wild gorillas, too, are able to recognize familiar human voices based on their relationship with the speaker.
Over the course of about six months, the researchers played the gorillas audio recordings of three groups: long-term keepers who knew and worked with the gorillas for at least four years and had positive relationships with them; people who the gorillas knew and had negative interactions with, including vets and the service workers; and people who were unfamiliar to the animals. All the participants said the same phrase, “Good morning. Hello,” which is how keepers typically greet the gorillas.
The gorillas had the least reactions to the voices of their keepers. However, when they heard the voices of people they didn’t know or with whom they’d had negative experiences, the gorillas responded with signs of vigilance. They stopped eating their treats or whatever else they were doing and started looking toward the sound to judge whether the voices were a threat.
“It’s something we do too,” said Salmi, “If it’s not a threatening sound, I keep doing my own business. If I hear that there is someone in my house, I immediately stop what I’m doing to hear what’s going on.”
If wild gorillas are able to distinguish by voice and have different reactions to humans, according to whether they are hunters or researchers, it would be extremely helpful. “They know when something is wrong and can try to hide or escape danger,” Salmi said. “It would help me sleep better to know that researchers aren’t making the gorillas become easier targets to hunters.”
1. Why does the author mention dogs and cats in paragraph 1?| A．To praise how clever dogs and cats can be. |
| B．To raise a question for the upcoming research. |
| C．To show the close bond between home animals and humans. |
| D．To imply the difference between domestic and wild animals. |
| A．they don’t get along well. | B．they feel bored with their keepers. |
| C．they have got used to their voices. | D．they are unfamiliar with their keepers. |
| A．Anger. | B．Anxiety. | C．Caution. | D．Disappointment. |
| A．Further research on gorillas are needed. |
| B．Gorillas can be taught to distinguish human voices. |
| C．Wild gorillas have the ability to protect themselves. |
| D．Researchers can stop hunters from doing harm to gorillas. |
7 . As one of the most incredible living things on this planet, the Great Barrier Reef is struggling to stay alive. Tourism, pollution, and species that feed on coral have all contributed to the Great Barrier Reef's decline. However, the biggest thing threatening the reef is climate change, because the coral can only survive in water that's within a narrow temperature range.
When sea temperatures rise above that range, it causes the algae（海藻）that live within its tissues to break away, which leads to a process called coral bleaching（白化现象）. Coral bleaching is so disastrous to the life of the reef because the coral has a symbiotic relationship with the algae. The coral gets about 90 percent of its energy from the algae. Without it, the coral simply can't survive. Sadly, there have been several coral bleaching events in recent years. Scientists have been trying to come up with ways to save the reef before it's too late.
With the help of Peter Newman, director of the Marine Ecology Research Centre at Southern Cross University, Matthew Harrison, an engineering and robotics professor at the Queensland University of Technology in Australia managed to make a special quantity.
“The reduced number of corals means we've lost the ability for coral to provide enough larvae（幼体）to settle and restore these communities quickly. We need a more efficient larval delivery process onto the damaged reef areas, so the LavalBot concept developed from discussions with Matthew.” Newman told NBC News. “The idea is to use an automated technique that allows us to target delivery of the larvae into damaged reef systems so that new coral communities can be generated,” Newman said about their joint effort.
In November of 2018, the team put their plan into action. The project is particularly promising because the larvae are considered heat resistant. But the root cause of global warming still needs to be addressed to save not only the reef systems around the world but all other delicate ecosystems.
1. What relationship between the coral and the algae can be inferred from paragraph 2?| A．They rely on each other. | B．The coral feeds on the algae. |
| C．They provide energy for each other. | D．The algae can't survive without the coral. |
| A．LavalBot can help deliver the coral babies massively. |
| B．LavalBot is the only way to save the reef successfully. |
| C．New coral communities can be generated automatically. |
| D．Matthew Harrison managed to make LarvalBot independently. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Objective. | C．Indifferent. | D．Positive. |
8 . Orbital structures are becoming increasingly important for worldwide communications and a new generation of technologies. But scientists are warning that the danger of space debris (碎片) is rapidly increasing. Space debris can include pieces of old rockets, non-operational satellites, lost tools and other items. They are threatening spaceships, satellites and space stations.
In an effort to reduce the amount of debris orbiting the Earth, a group of economists at the University of Colorado at Boulder proposed a yearly fee, or tax, on satellite operators for their use of an orbital path. The group’s study on the subject appeared recently in the publication Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Matthew Smith helped write the study. He said in a statement: “Space is a common resource, but companies aren’t responsible for the cost their satellites impose (迫使) on other operators when they decide whether or not to launch. So we need a policy that lets satellite operators directly cover the costs their launches impose on other operators.”
Akhil Liotta was the lead writer of the study. He said most of the proposed solutions to the problem have been based on using technology to clear away the debris. But, Smith said, removing debris only means that operators will launch more satellites, and an international agreement calling for a yearly fee or tax would push companies to be more mindful about launching further objects into space.
Christopher Burgess, a professor of space law at Northumbria University in Britain, said that imposing a space tax could be tricky. He noted that such a cost could be seen as a restriction on the free use of space, and the effort to place a fee on the use of space could easily be slowed by the many details involved.
1. According to the text, what concerns the scientists at present?| A．The high cost of cleaning up space. | B．The increasing risk of space debris. |
| C．The safety of communication systems. | D．The practical effects of new technologies. |
| A．Strengthening control over space stations. |
| B．Allowing companies to use space for free. |
| C．Charging satellite operators orbital use. |
| D．Using advanced devices to collect space debris. |
| A．It would lead to an argument. | B．It would eventually be rejected. |
| C．It is impossible to carry it out. | D．It is hard to put it into practice. |
9 . Many people think that leaving a social situation without saying goodbye is rude—and it turns out that apes (类人猿) would agree.
As humans, we typically say we are leaving, shake hands or use other body language to signal when interactions with others are ending. Now Durham University researchers have discovered that apes such as bonobos and chimpanzees have a similar system, using gestures and physical contact to start and finish play or grooming sessions (梳毛时段).
The study observed 1,242 interactions within groups of bonobos and chimpanzees at zoos in the United States, Switzerland and France. In 90 percent of cases, bonobos used an “entry signal” before starting an interaction as well as a form of “exit signal” to end an interaction in 92 percent of cases. Chimpanzees used entry signals in 69 percent of cases and exit signals in 86 percent of cases. The closer the relationship between the animals, the shorter the gestures, researchers found. “When you’re interacting with a good friend, you’re less likely to put in a lot of effort in communicating politely,” researcher Dr Raphaela Heesen said.
The ability to work for common causes was seen as a particularly human characteristic, made easier by our ability to communicate through language, but collaboration could also be seen in apes.
While the researchers were already aware that apes used signals to begin interactions, before the study they did not know if they did anything to mark ending and leaving them. Some earlier studies had compared apes with children who had not learnt to talk. When an adult played with a child and then suddenly stopped, the child would protest and want to keep playing. The apes did not appear to protest and so it was assumed that they did not require a signal to end an interaction. Dr Heesen said, however, that she had seen two bonobos interrupted while grooming each other. They then gestured to signal that they wanted to continue the grooming.
The study suggested the idea of “joint commitment” to shared attempts might have developed from our ape ancestors. The behavior among bonobos, in particular, has “some similarities to what, in humans, is considered ‘social etiquette (社交礼仪)’.”
1. What do Durham University researchers find about apes?| A．They shake hands when reaching an agreement. |
| B．They signal each other when ending an interaction. |
| C．They communicate without having physical contact. |
| D．They develop a similar social system to human beings. |
| A．Chimpanzees behave more politely than bonobos. |
| B．Bonobos are closer to human beings than chimpanzees. |
| C．Entry signals are more important than exit ones to chimpanzees. |
| D．Unfamiliar bonobos gesture more than familiar ones to start interacting. |
| A．Teamwork. | B．Friendship. | C．Comparison. | D．Communication. |
| A．To prove the previous assumption was wrong. | B．To emphasize apes and children are similar. |
| C．To show the way of preventing interruption. | D．To introduce things apes often do together. |
10 . Two high school students have identified four new planets in distant space about 200-light-years from Earth, making them “the youngest astronomers” to make such a discovery.
Kartik Pingle, 16, and Jasmine Wright. 18, who both attend schools in Massachusetts, participated in the Student Research Mentoring Program (SRMP). With the help of Tansu Daylan, an MIT doctor for Astrophysics and Space Research, the students studied and analyzed data from the Transiting Exoplanct Survey Satellite (TESS). Together they focused on Tess Object of Interest (TOI) 1233, a nearby, bright sun-like star and here they found four planets rotating（旋转）around the star. “We were looking to see changes in light over time,” Pingle explained, “the idea is that if the planet transits the star, or passes in front of it, it would periodically cover up the star and decrease its brightness.”
While studying 1233, Pingle and Wright had at least hoped to find one planet but were overwhelmed with joy when a total of four were spotted. “I was very excited and very shocked.” Wright said. “We knew this was the goal of Daylan’s research, but to actually find a multi-planetary system, and be part of the discovering team, was really cool.” Three of the newly discovered planets are considered as “sub-Neptunes”, which are gaseous, but smaller than the Neptune that lives in our solar system. While observing the planets, the team determined each one completes their orbit around 1233 every six to 19.5 days. However, the fourth planet is called a “super-Earth” for its large size and rockiness this one orbits around the star in just under four days.
“We have long been studying planets beyond our solar system and with multi-planetary systems, the two young students are kind of hitting the jackpot. They are really blessed.” Daylan said. “The planets originated from the same disk of matter around the same star, but they ended up being different planets with different atmospheres and different climates due to their different orbits. So, we would like to understand the basic processes of planet formation and evolution using this planetary system.”
Daylan added that it was a “win-win” to work with Pingle and Wright on the study. “As a researcher, I really enjoy interacting with young brains that are open to experimentation and learning and have slightest bias（偏见）.”he said, “I also think it is very beneficial to high school students, since they get exposure to cutting-edge research, and this prepares them quickly for a research career.”
1. How did the two students identify the four planets？| A．By helping professor Tansu Daylan with the data. |
| B．By analyzing the change of brightness of star 1233. |
| C．By studying Neptune that lives in our solar system. |
| D．By interacting with other young talented brains. |
| A．It was made by two high school students. |
| B．It was made with an innovative approach. |
| C．It was meant to be made by Tansu Daylan. |
| D．It found the largest number of planets at a time. |
| A．Making a discovery difficultly. | B．Achieving the goal easily. |
| C．Succeeding in something luckily. | D．Performing a task carefully. |
| A．It allows the scientists to work with young people without prejudice. |
| B．It equips future astronomers with better researching abilities. |
| C．It provides more perspectives and thus boosts more discoveries. |
| D．It arouses students’ interest in exploring the unknown universe. |
