1 . When the British poet Alfred Lord Tennyson described nature as “red in tooth and claw”, he was telling us that the natural world can be cruel as well as beautiful.    1    .

Most people living in urban areas rarely encounter wild animals in their natural surroundings.     2     And they are willing to get close to them. But for wild animals, it is “eat or be eaten,” and they can’t distinguish between humans and other animals.

    3     In Canadian woods lives a dog-like animal, coyote, which is a little bigger than a fox, but smaller than a wolf. They usually avoid humans, but the occasional attacks can be deadly. Every year, one or two people end up getting killed by coyotes.

Earlier this year, a herd of elepants in Yunnan left their home in the Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve and went on a meandering journey through the province. They destroyed crops and buildings along the way. Villages in their path had to be evacuated because of the potential dangers they posed to villagers. Animal experts haven’t determined why the elephants went on their journey.     4     The wild animals we love are in a constant struggle for survival. Our expanding into the natural habitats of wild animals can be dangerous for the animals and then us humans as well.

Maybe we should try to stay away from them.     5     Their lives—red in tooth and claw—are difficult enough without us causing them any more problems than they already have.

A．A walk in the woods can be dangerous.

B．It is a way to protect the wild animals, and it’s also our responsibility.

C．In Canada, people have a more realistic attitude towards wild animals.

D．In simple terms, we should try to keep proper distance from wild animals.

E．Hence they misunderstand that wild animals are just as friendly as Disney characters.

F．Thanks to active environmental conservation, the number of the elephants grew larger.

G．A reasonable possibility is that they probably needed more room and more food to survive.

2 . Depths of our Earth hold great wonders. Below we explore four deepest places on Earth.

Veryovkina Cave, Georgia

Its entrance is located 2,285 meters above sea level. In 2018, scientists reached its bottom at 2,212 meters down. They squeezed through tiny openings to get from one cave to another. Rockfalls and floods waited secretly at every turn. Scientists could develop new medicines from microorganisms found in cave samples. Caves also record ancient life and past climates.

The Mariana Trench, the Pacific Ocean

The Mariana Trench, with the maximum depth of 11,034 meters, is the deepest part of Earth’s surface. Pressure there is intolerable, but creatures like sea cucumbers (海参) still exist. Scientists exploring it can gain deeper insights into how plates move and why earthquakes and volcanoes occur.

The Dead Sea, the Middle East

The Dead Sea is the lowest point on land at about 1,400 feet (about 400 meters) below sea level. It’s nearly ten times saltier than ocean water, so you literally can’t sink in the Dead Sea! Scientists think it could go dry in a few decades. Despite its name, the Dead Sea holds life. A few kinds of algae (藻类) and bacteria love its salty water.

Lake Baikal, Russia

At the depth of 1,642 meters, Lake Baikal is the deepest inland body of water. The Baikal seal is the only known seal that lives in this world’s deepest freshwater lake. Scientists study the lake not only for the solid stuff beneath it that records climate history but because it’s in a zone where a plate is splitting apart, causing earthquakes.

1. What do we know about Veryovkina Cave?

A．It was discovered in 2018.	B．Its pressure is far from bearable.
C．It is risky to explore.	D．Its samples are of little practical value.

2. Where should scientists go to better know earth movement?

A．Georgia & Russia.	B．Russia & the Pacific Ocean.
C．Georgia & the Pacific Ocean.	D．The Middle East & Russia.

3. What do the four places have in common?

A．They have some sign of life.	B．They are over a thousand meters deep.
C．They are results of climate change.	D．They are all below sea level.

3 . Electric vehicles(EVs) are widely considered a strong weapon in efforts against global warming. But are they like what people believe? The Radiant Energy Group(REG) stated effects of EVs vary with countries. In some nations, EVs lead to the release of more carbon gases than gasoline cars. The group reckoned gas emissions(排放) caused by a gasoline vehicle and from charging an EV. Countries where charging an EV is cleaner than driving a gasoline-powered car use a lot of nuclear or solar power.

Sales of electric cars are rising the fastest in Europe. Data from REG suggests EVs in Poland actually create more carbon emissions because their electrical systems depend so much on coal. In other European countries, however, EVs result in fewer emissions. The countries with the biggest carbon gas reduction use much clean power. The first was Switzerland at 100 percent carbon reductions over gasoline vehicles.

Germany and Spain create lots of electricity from the sun and wind. But the sun and wind don’t add to a country’s electrical system equally throughout the day. For this reason, carbon emissions saved by driving an EV aren’t fixed. Charging in the afternoon, when there’s more sun and wind, saves 16 to 18 percent more carbon than at night when electrical systems are more likely to be using gas or coal.

The gap in emissions between electric and gasoline-powered vehicles has narrowed in recent years. In Europe, carmakers have been required to meet EU CO₂ emissions of performance standards. They’ve made their gasoline engines more fuel-efficient. As a result, carbon emissions of new gasoline-powered cars in Europe have fallen an average of 25 percent in the past years. But EV sales in Europe are backed by government spending and rules against new gasoline engine cars after 2035. Major automakers have set targets to sell mainly EVs in Europe in the coming years.

1. What does the underlined word “reckoned” mean in paragraph 1?

A．Reduced.	B．Calculated.
C．Banned.	D．Predicted.

2. What affects carbon emissions of EVs according to paragraph3?

A．The country where they’re made.	B．Facilities producing clean power.
C．The time they are being charged.	D．Technology used by electrical systems.

3. What causes sales of EVs to rise quickly in Europe?

A．Support of official policies.	B．Concern about global warming.
C．Standards of gasoline car.	D．Advertisements from carmakers.

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

A．What Benefits Do EVs Bring?

B．Will EVs Replace Gasoline Cars in Europe?

C．How Do EVs Affect Carbon Emissions?

D．Do Electric Cars Really Help the Environment?

4 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（不多于3个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式

Located in southwest China’s Sichuan Province, the Jiuzhai Valley runs more than 50 kilometers, towards the Sichuan Basin. The Jiuzhai Valley got     1    (it) name because there are nine Tibetan villages in the valley. It consists of three main valleys,    2    form a “Y” in shape. The clear mountain lakes, splendid waterfalls, colorful forests and the local ,Tibetan, ethnic culture all make it a unique tourist    3    (attract).

More than 400 million years ago, the region was    4    ideal breeding ground for various, prehistoric lifeforms. However, with the time    5    (pass), many lifeforms died off. Now the region is home    6    nationally protected animal species and 74 endangered plants. Historically, the ancestors of the Jiuzhai Valley    7    (be) from the remote Ngari region in Tibet. Today, the local people still maintain their Tibetan religious and folk customs.

In 1978, the Jiuzhai Valley    8    (name) as the Jiuzhai Valley Nature Reserve, becoming the first nature reserve     9    (protect)landscape and natural scenery in China.

Now a network of wooden walkways has been built to provide a     10    ( powerful) protection to the natural environment than before.

5 . Deadly floods hit China’s Henan province in July, 2021. Being caught in a flood is incredibly dangerous.     1     Floods can cause power outages, communication disruptions, traffic jams and widespread destruction too. Additionally, debris caught in the current can injure anyone in the floodwater, making it more difficult to swim or tread water.     2     Here are some skills on how to survive a flash flood.

●Avoid bridges that cross rapidly-moving water.
●Listen to emergency broadcasts for further instructions.     3    
●Stay inside a car trapped by fast-moving water. Only get out if the water begins to flood the car itself, then move to the roof of the vehicle.
●    4     Do not go into the attic, as it is possible to become trapped there without a way to escape. Only relocate to the roof if necessary. Once there, signal for help.
●Avoid power lines. A downed power line can cause surrounding water to become charged, leading to electrocution.
●After the flood, don’t drink or use flood water first. Use only bottled, boiled, or treated water for drinking, cooking, bathing, etc.     5     Avoid driving through flooded areas and standing water is also important. As little as six inches of water can cause you to lose control of your vehicle.

A．If told to evacuate, do so.

B．If trapped within a flooding building, move to the highest floor.

C．Firstly, as little as one foot of flood water can sweep cars away,

D．Safely cleaning your home if it has come in contact with flood water.

E．Apart from that, return to your home only after local authorities have said it is safe to do so.

F．Flash floods are known to rip trees out of the ground, destroy buildings and cause bridges to collapse.

G．The after effects of the flood can be just as deadly, as it may be impossible to deliver essential supplies to the area.

6 . “A lot of the time when climate change is discussed in mainstream media, people are asking ‘can humans overcome this?’, or ‘what technology can solve this?’. It’s high time we recognized that animals also have to adapt to various changes. We know some animals change their skin colors to escape from natural enemies or due to environment pollution,” says Ryding. “The climate change that we have created is putting a lot of pressure on them, and some species try to adapt by shapeshifting (变形). ”

Strong shapeshifting has particularly been reported in birds. Several species of Australian parrot have shown, on average, a 4%—10% increase in beak (鸟喙) size since 1871, and this is positively linked with the summer temperature each year. North American dark-eyed juncos, a type of small songbird, had a link between increased beak size and short-term temperature extremes in cold environments. There have also been reported changes in mammalian species. Researchers have reported tail length increases in wood mice and leg size increases in masked shrews (鼩鼱).

“The increases in some body parts size we see so far are quite small—less than 10%—so the changes are unlikely to be immediately noticeable,” says Ryding. “However, some body parts such as ears are predicted to increase.”

Ryding intends to investigate shapeshifting in Australian birds firsthand by 3D scanning museum bird specimens from the past 100 years. It will give her team a better understanding of which birds are changing their body parts and why. “Shapeshifting does not mean that animals are coping with climate change and that all is ‘fine’,” says Ryding. “It just means they are adapting to survive it—but we’re not sure what the other ecological consequences of these changes are, or indeed that all species are capable of changing and surviving. ”

1. What may cause animals’ shapeshifting according to Ryding?

A．Human hunting.	B．Climate change.
C．Natural enemies.	D．Polluted surroundings.

2. What method does the author mainly use to develop paragraph 2?

A．Giving examples.	B．Cause-effect analysis.
C．Making comparison.	D．Process analysis.

3. What can we know from Ryding’s words in the last paragraph?

A．Animals can well adapt to changes and survive.

B．Influence of animals’ shapeshifting is uncertain.

C．Rdying will research into bird museums in Australia.

D．All adaptations of animals to climate change are beneficial.

4. In which section of a newspaper can we find the text?

A．Technology.

B．Health care.

C．Environment.

D．Education.

7 . New Zealand’s government recently announced it will help pay for poorer families to replace their old cars with cleaner hybrid or electric vehicles.

The government plans to spend $357 million on the test program. The move is part of a wider plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gases are believed to cause warming temperatures in the Earth’s atmosphere. New Zealand plans to provide aid for businesses to reduce emissions and have buses that run on environmentally safe fuel by 2035. The government also plans to provide food-waste collection for most homes by 2030.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in a statement, “We’ve all seen the recent reports on sea level rise and its impact right here in New Zealand. We cannot leave the issue of climate change until it’s too late to fix.”

The plan is a step toward New Zealand’s stated goal of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Reaching net-zero emissions means not creating more carbon in the atmosphere than oceans and forests can remove. Ardern said that reducing dependence on fossil fuels would help protect families from extreme price increases. The plan also sets a goal of reducing total car travel by 20 percent over the next 13 years. The programs will be paid for from a $ 2.8 billion climate emergency response fund. Officials said that over time, money collected from polluters would pay for the programs rather than taxes from families.

Some critics of the plan say it continued to be less restrictive on New Zealand’s huge agriculture industry. Agriculture creates about half of the nation’s total greenhouse gas emissions. But the industry is also important to the economy as the nation’s biggest export earner.

David Seymour is the leader of New Zealand’s ACT political party. He said that some of the announced programs are proven to be ineffective and have been tried and failed overseas. People should be able to choose how they reduce emissions through the market-based emissions trading plan.

1. What does the author intend to convey in Paragraph 2?

A．The urgency of investment.	B．The measures to be taken.
C．The popular test program.	D．The harm of emissions.

2. What do Jacinda Ardern’s words in Paragraph 3 suggest?

A．It’s urgent to take steps on climate change.

B．Sea level rise has little effect on New Zealand.

C．He laid stress on the importance to tackle pollution.

D．It draws public attention to solve environmental problems.

3. Who will pay for the next programs?

A．Families.

B．Polluters.

C．Car makers.

D．The government.

4. What does David Seymour emphasize?

A．Dynamic emission reduction scheme.	B．The impact of exports on the economy.
C．Specific standards for emission reduction.	D．The nation’s total greenhouse gas emissions.

8 . Cats have a reputation as a cold and distant domesticated(家养的)animal. But they do feel affection towards their humans: they simply express it differently and it’s not just cat people saying it! Now there’s science to prove it, too.

Oregon State University researchers concluded that cats really do actually love their humans after conducting a new study on kittens, modeled after previous research on dogs and babies.

The study, published in Current Biology, examined how kitten subjects reacted after spending two minutes with their caregivers, being left alone, then reuniting for another two minutes. After the experiment, they sorted each kitten by their stress level called “attachment style. ”

64% of the kittens showed a “secure attachment style ” to their caregivers, meaning the cat seemed upset when they left the room but “displayed a reduced stress response” upon their return. On the other hand. about 30% of the kittens were found to have an “insecure attachment style”, which means their stress levels did not decrease upon their person’s return to the room. That said, this data is consistent with the study on human children—so the smaller percentage with insecure attachment styles is not specific to cats, contrary to popular belief.

Also of note: the percentage of cats with “secure” attachment styles is actually higher than dogs“, only 58% of dogs showed the ”secure“ attachment, while 42% were categorized as insecure.

1. What is the conclusion of the study?

A．Cats love babies much more than adults.

B．Cats are more friendly to humans than dogs.

C．Cats show a cold attitude towards humans.

D．Cats love their caregivers in their own way.

2. How did researchers classify the cats after the experiment?

A．By their sound.

B．By their reaction.

C．By their movement.

D．By their expression.

3. What can be inferred from paragraph 4?

A．More kittens belong to the insecure attachment style.

B．The study result is different from that of the human kids.

C．More kittens feel less stressed after their caregivers’ return.

D．Most believe the secure attachment style only exists in kittens.

4. The last paragraph is developed based on_______________.

A．comparison

B．narration (story-telling)

C．repetition

D．cause and effect

9 . 阅读下面短文, 在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号中单词的正确形式。

Have you ever heard of the largest and most beautiful salt lake in China? If the answer is no, you can take     1     trip to Qinghai Lake and this is your answer.

Qinghai Lake is     2     (sure) the largest lake in China which stretches 105 km at length and 63 km at width and     3     (occupy) a surface area of over 4, 500 square kilometers. At 3, 200 meter above the sea level and owning an average     4     (deep) of 21 meter, its waters are profoundly cold and     5     (salt).

The lake     6     (become)a tourist destination popular for biking and bird watching in recent years. Major attractions around it are Bird Island     7     many species of birds come to nest or rest during their transcontinental migrations. The government has set up special department     8     (study) and protect these birds.

These lakes,     9     (combine) with characteristic islands, vast grasslands, snowy mountains and spectacular dessert in and around Qinghai Lake make up an attractive Qinghai Lake Scenic Area.     10     so much to admire, Qinghai Lake was evaluated as the Most Beautiful Lake in China by China’s National Geographic.

10 . Avebury is near the far more famous Stonehenge. What is interesting about it is that a village has grown up around the stones, unlike Stonehenge, which stands alone. Avebury and Stonehenge are just two of about 1,300 stone circles all over the UK. Many of them are in fantastic locations, like Castlering in Cumbria, from which you can see England’s highest mountain; and the Ring of Brodgar in the beautiful Orkney Island, off Scotland’s northern coast.

Some of them are UNESCO World Heritage sites, and several have local stories connected to them. For example, the Merry Maidens in West Cornwall is a group of nineteen stones. According to the story, they were young women — maidens — who were turned into stone for dancing on a Sunday.

Early historians thought that the stone circles were temples for the people who arrived in the UK in about 500 BC. Later research has shown that they are far older than that, at least 4,000 years old. Stonehenge could have been built 5,000 years ago, but it’s still nowhere near as old as the nearby wooden circle built about 10,000 years ago. Some experts believe they acted like calendars and have shown that some stones line up with sunrise or sunset on the longest and shortest days of the year. Others believe they were places for the dead bodies of the local rich and powerful.

We may never know why they were built, but each one leaves the visitor with a strong sense of the shortness of our existence in the sea of history. There are groups of stone circles and other prehistoric (史前的) monuments throughout the British Isles, so wherever you are staying you should include at least one in your tour.

1. What can we learn about Avebury?

A．It stands alone.	B．It is a part of Stonehenge.
C．It has a village around it now.	D．It consists of a couple of Merry Maidens.

2. What does the underlined word “them” in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A．Stone circles.	B．Mountains.
C．Temples.	D．Islands.

3. What does the author focus on in Paragraph 3?

A．The local stories of stone circles.

B．The original purpose of stone circles.

C．The historic value of stone circles.

D．The time when stone circles were built.

4. What does the author suggest in the last paragraph?

A．Building more monuments.	B．Protecting World Heritage sites.
C．Learning more about our history.	D．Visiting some of those stone circles.