1 .

A．The summer this year is terribly hot.	B．Last summer was even hotter.
C．Hot weather helps people lose weight.	D．Light was stronger this morning.

2 . When John Todd was a child, he loved to explore the woods around his house, observing how nature solved problems. A dirty stream, for example, often became clear after flowing through plants and along rocks where tiny creatures lived. When he got older, John started to wonder if this process could be used to clean up the messes people were making.

After studying agriculture, medicine, and fisheries in college, John went back to observing nature and asking questions. Why can certain plants trap harmful bacteria (细菌)? Which kinds of fish can eat cancer-causing chemicals? With the right combination of animals and plants, he figured, maybe he could clean up waste the way nature did. He decided to build what he would later call an eco-machine.

The task John set for himself was to remove harmful substances from some sludge (污泥). First, he constructed a series of clear fiberglass tanks connected to each other. Then he went around to local ponds and streams and brought back some plants and animals. He placed them in the tanks and waited. Little by little, these different kinds of life got used to one another and formed their own ecosystem. After a few weeks, John added the sludge.

He was amazed at the results. The plants and animals in the eco-machine took the sludge as food and began to eat it! Within weeks, it had all been digested, and all that was left was pure water.

Over the years, John has taken on many big jobs. He developed a greenhouse — like facility that treated sewage (污水) from 1,600 homes in South Burlington. He also designed an eco-machine to clean canal water in Fuzhou, a city in southeast China.

“Ecological design” is the name John gives to what he does. “Life on Earth is kind of a box of spare parts for the inventor,” he says. “You put organisms in new relationships and observe what’s happening. Then you let these new systems develop their own ways to self-repair.”

1. What can we learn about John from the first two paragraphs?

A．He was fond of traveling.	B．He enjoyed being alone.
C．He had an inquiring mind.	D．He longed to be a doctor.

2. Why did John put the sludge into the tanks?

A．To feed the animals.	B．To build an ecosystem.
C．To protect the plants.	D．To test the eco-machine.

3. What is the author’s purpose in mentioning Fuzhou?

A．To review John’s research plans.	B．To show an application of John’s idea.
C．To compare John’s different jobs.	D．To erase doubts about John’s invention.

4. What is the basis for John’s work?

A．Nature can repair itself.	B．Organisms need water to survive.
C．Life on Earth is diverse.	D．Most tiny creatures live in groups.

3 . Directions: After reading the passages below, fill in the blanks to make the passages coherent and grammatically correct For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper farm of the given word; far the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

Sky Kurtz farms in the desert. The co-fbunder and CEO of Pure Harvest Smart Farms—    1    (locate) outside Abu Dhabi, where temperatures regularly top 113°F—and his team use the challenging environs to trial new crops and technologies that have the potential to change farming in climate-challenged areas. Pure Harvest also provides produce to supermarkets and restaurants in Dubai and across the region     2    (use) less water, which is important in one of the most arid regions of the world.

Kurtz founded Pure Harvest Smart Fanns in 2017 with his co-founders Mahmoud Adi and Robert Kupstas. Passionate about food insecurity, they spent the first year studying high-tech food-production systems around the world,     3     searching for the optimal site for their first farm.

Kurtz’s farms in the UAE started out with “    4     but a PowerPoint, a pile of dirt, and the promise of what we would do,” says Kurtz. But Pure Harvest quickly proved it was built on more than a promise. The founders’ research and technological innovation led to the development of a proprietary (专利的)Controlled-Environment Agriculture (CEA) system—a combination of high-tech greenhouses and vertical farms that     5     (provide) a stable year-round climate.   The first crop of tomatoes was planted in August 2018 and harvested in October. The company’s original farm is now its R&D facility, and Pure Harvest has expanded its facilities in the UAE to 16 hectares of growing area. It also operates a 6-hectare farm in Saudi Arabia, and is developing a 6-hectare farm in Kuwait.

It now produces 14 types of leafy greens; two varieties of strawberries, with seven more     6    (develop); and almost 30 varieties of tomatoes, the product that started it all. With limited availability of local, seasonal produce, the UAE has typically imported much of its food, often air-freighted,     7    comes at a high cost, both economically and environmentally. And while they are more expensive compared with locally grown seasonal produce, the company says its fruit and vegetables are typically up to 60% cheaper than air-freighted imports of comparable quality. “I think we’ve fundamentally changed a belief system that said local is     8    (bad).” says Kurtz.

Their vision fits in with a larger objective for Dubai to become more self-sufficient. The focus is not just on growing for premium markets but also developing affordable solutions    9    (help) democratize access to fresh food.

Kurtz hopes the company’s data-driven technology can become a model for other regions that are experiencing climate stress. “We believe that we can develop a local-for-local solution     10     it’s needed most, and we’ve battle-tested that capability in one of the harshest environments in the world." he says.

4 . Directions: Complete the following passages by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. selected        B. distinctive     C. signature       D. odds     AB. domestication       AC. decided AD. individuals   BC. tamest     BD. conflicted     CD. mixed     ABC. develop

If you see a house cat, the    1    are high that it will have white paws, a look that many owners affectionately call“socks.” But socks are rarely seen in wildcats, the elusive and undomesticated cousin of the house cat, so why do so many pet cats sport furry white feet?

As it turns out, this story started about 10,000 years ago, when humans and cats     2       life was better together.

This    3    eventually led to uber-prevalent socks on cats, as well as other well-known coat patterns, said Leslie Lyons, professor emerita and head of the Feline Genetics Laboratory at the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine.

“As humans became farmers and started staying in one place, they had grain stores and waste piles” that attracted rodents, Lyons said. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement: the humans had fewer rodents to deal with and the cats got an easy meal.

The wild, undomesticated ancestor species of house cats, Felis silvestris, lives in Africa and Eurasia. These felines are tasty snacks as kittens and stealthy predators as adults, so     4     born with a coat that offers camouflage (保护色) have tended to survive and reproduce.

But not every F. silvestiis is born with a coat that blends into its habitat.

“Genetic mutations are occurring all the time.” Lyons said.

There isn’t much evidence to indicate why early cat people chose the individuals they did, but Lyons said the range of coats seen on modern domestic cats shows that our agrarian ancestors favored cats with markings that would have     5    with their camouflage.

In its native mixed forest or scrub desert environment, a cat with stark white paws would have stood out to predators and prey.

When humans started taking an interest in cats, these white paws would have stood out to them, too. “There were probably people saying, ‘I particularly like that kitten because it has white feet . Let’s make sure it survives’”, Lyons said.

Humans probably also    6    cats who were calm and comfortable around humans, Lyons said. Behavioral traits seem unrelated to coat color, but for reasons that scientists don’t fully understand, white spots tend to appear when the     7    individuals are selected and bred.

These    8    fur colors and markings emerge while a cat embryo is developing. The cells that give cat fur its color first appear as neural crest cells, which are located along what will become the back, Lyons said.

Then, those cells slowly migrate down and around the body. If those waves of cells move far enough to meet each other on the cat’s front side, the embryo will be born a solid-colored kitten, such as an all-black or all-orange cat. Felines     9    white feet, faces, chests and bellies when these cells don’t quite make it all the way.

So, the next time you see a kitty wearing white socks, you’ll know that this     10     feature is a result of genetic mutations, domestication and developmental biology. Although if you try telling the cat that, it will probably just look at you quizzically before sauntering away.

5 . Directions: After reading the passages below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

(A)

Concerns about microplastics are not new. They’ve been growing for more than a decade. Over the past two years, however, many creative solutions     1     (emerge)to address the problem on a local level, ranging from hoovering beaches to shooting bubbles up from river bottoms. Still, experts say there’s a need for a huge, coordinated effort     2     we want to curb the global issue: The world produces 400 million tons of plastic annually, and much of that material breaks down into tiny pieces that now pollute our planet.

The term microplastics was coined in 2004 by marine ecologist Richard Thompson after he discovered tiny bits of plastic littering British beaches. Since then, scientists have found microplastics—fragments less than 5 millimeters wide-nearly everywhere: in the deep sea, in Arctic ice, in the air. Even inside us.

A 2019 study in Environmental Science Technology estimated humans take in up to 100, 000 bits of plastic each day. It’s not just the physical presence of plastic inside the body     3     poses a potential problem; plastic’s chemical additives might affect different species’ tissues and organs, according to a 2021 study in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. However, there is disagreement in the literature as to how much microplastics     4     (harm)species, including humans. Some say larger pieces may pass right through our bodies while the     5     (tiny)pieces could enter our cells. More research is needed.

For a global view of this vast issue, some scientists in 2020 created a public database to track plastic removal innovations. For example, Hong Kong Polytechnic University researchers presented     6     unique idea in April at the Microbiology Society’s Annual Conference: a bacteria biofilm that could attract and trap microplastics at a wastewater treatment plant,     7     they flow into rivers and oceans.

6 . The water off the coast of northwest Greenland is a glass-like calm, but the puddles (水坑) on the region’s icebergs are a sign that a transformation is underway higher on the ice sheet.

Several days of unusually warm weather in northern Greenland have caused rapid melting, made visible by the rivers of meltwater rushing into the ocean. Temperatures have been running around 60 degrees Fahrenheit — 10 degrees warmer than normal for this time of year, scientists said.

The amount of ice that melted in Greenland between July 15 and 17 this year alone — 6 billion tons of water per day — would be enough to fill 7.2 million Olympic-sized swimming pools, according to data from the US National Snow and Ice Data Center.

Each summer, scientists worry that they will see a repeat of the record melting that occurred in 2019, when 532 billion tons of ice flowed out into the sea. An unexpectedly hot spring and a July heat wave that year caused almost the entire ice sheet’s surface to melt. Global sea level rose permanently by 1.5 millimeters as a result.

Greenland holds enough ice — if it all melted — to lift sea level by 7.5 meters around the world. The latest research points to a more and more threatening situation on the Northern Hemisphere’s iciest island.

“Unprecedented (史无前例的)” rates of melting have been observed at the bottom of the Greenland ice sheet, a study published in February found, caused by huge quantities of meltwater flowing down from the surface. This water is particularly concerning because it can destabilize the sheet above it and could lead to a massive, rapid loss of ice.

And in 2020, scientists found that Greenland’s ice sheet had melted beyond the point of no return. The rate of melting in recent years exceeds anything Greenland has experienced in the last 12,000 years, another study found — and enough to cause measurable change in the gravitational field over Greenland.

At the East Greenland Ice-core Project — or EastGRIP — research camp in northwest Greenland, the work of scientists to understand the impact of climate change is being affected by climate change itself.

Aslak Grinsted, a climate scientist at the University of Copenhagen’s Niels Bohr Institute, said that they have been trying to get flights into the camp but the warmth is destabilizing the landing site.

Before human-caused climate change kicked in, temperatures near 32 degrees Fahrenheit there were unheard of. But since the 1980s, this region has warmed by around 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit per decade — four times faster than the global pace — making it all the more likely that temperatures will cross the melting point.

1. The passage is mainly written to ________.

A．alert people to the rapid melting of Greenland’s ice sheet

B．arouse people’s awareness of protecting the environment

C．inform people of the large amount of ice Greenland holds

D．reveal to people the cause and effect of the rise in sea level

2. What does “a transformation” in the first paragraph refer to?

A．Climate change.	B．A rise in sea level.
C．Global warming.	D．The melting of ice.

3. What can be learned about the ice that melted in 2019?

A．It repeated a record melting of the ice sheet several years ago.

B．Its amount was the largest ever and lifted sea level permanently.

C．It was enough to fill 7.2 million Olympic-sized swimming pools.

D．Its melting rate was so rapid as to result in an unexpectedly hot spring.

4. It is implied in the passage that ________.

A．climate change is a result of human activities

B．the study of climate change is being made easier

C．the melting of Greenland’s ice sheet is reversible

D．temperatures increase 1.5°F or so each decade globally

7 . We should all have at least one fire extinguisher somewhere in our home, but it’s not enough to simply keep one under the kitchen sink. If there is a fire, your safety — and the safety of your home — depends on knowing how to use that fire extinguisher correctly. In case your fire extinguisher has been sitting around collecting dust, here’s everything you need to know before brushing it off and fighting a fire in your home the right way.

Choose the right fire extinguisher

The first thing you need to know is the different classifications of fires. Most household fires fall into one of the following categories:

Class A: Fires fueled by solid combustibles like wood, paper, and cloth.

Class B: Fires fueled by flammable liquids such as oil and gasoline.

Class C: Fires started or fueled by faulty wiring and appliances.

Class D: Fires started or fueled by cooking oils, animal facts, and vegetable fats.

All fire extinguishers are labeled to indicate which classes of fire they are designed to combat. Most household fire extinguishers are considered multipurpose and labeled for use in A, B, and C classes. Class K extinguishers are heavier duty and will need to be bought separately. Household fire extinguishers are also rated for the size of fire that they can safely handle. The higher the rating, the larger the fire the extinguisher can put out. Higher-rated extinguishers are often heavier.

Steps for proper extinguisher use

Once you understand the different types of fire extinguishers and their uses, you need to be able to properly operate one.

Step 1: Identify a clear exit/escape route

Before operating the fire extinguisher, make sure you have a clear evacuation path. If you cannot put out the fire, you’ll need to make a safe exit. Also, make sure everyone else is being evacuated from the building.

Step 2: Call the fire department

Even if the fire appears manageable, you should always have the fire department on the way. Once firefighters arrive, they can double-check whether the fire has been completely extinguished.

Step 3: Stand back

Face the fire and keep your back to the clear exit. You should stay between 1.8 and 2.5 meters away from the flames as you prepare to operate the fire extinguisher.

Step 4: Operate the extinguisher

It can be difficult to think clearly during an emergency. Thankfully, there is a long-standing acronym(首字母缩略词)— PASS — to help you recall the steps involved in operating your fire extinguisher.

P: Pull the pin (保险销) on the fire extinguisher.

A: Aim low. Point the nozzle at the base of the fire instead of the flames.

S: Squeeze the handle or lever to discharge the extinguisher.

S: Sweep the nozzle back and forth until the flames are extinguished.

Step 5: Keep an eye on things

After the flames appear to be out, continue to watch the fire area to make sure it doesn’t reignite. If the fire does start up again, repeat the “PASS” process.

Step 6: Get to a safe place

Once the fire is out, or if you are unable to put it out, leave the scene. Find a place out of reach of the fire.

1. According to the passage, what is the top priority in a fire emergency?

A．Find out how to escape.	B．Operate a fire extinguisher.
C．Call the fire department.	D．Escape and leave everything behind.

2. The following pictures show the four steps of the “PASS” process. According to the passage, what is their correct order?

A．③②④①	B．④②③①
C．③④①②	D．④③①②

3. According to the passage, after a fire appears to have been extinguished, we should _________.

A．leave the fire area at once	B．repeat the “PASS” process
C．inspect the fire area carefully	D．have the fire department on the way

8 . Directions: Fill in each blank with a proper word chosen from the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. double          B. intense          C. pressures       D. stock          E. agriculture       F. trapped G. withdrawal     H. availability   I. drive             J. expanding     K. rising

Throughout history, people have fought bitter wars over political ideology, national sovereignty and religious expression. How much more     1     will these conflicts be when people fight over the Earth’s most indispensable resource water? We may find out in the not-too-distant future if projections about the     2     of water in the Middle East and other regions prove correct.

Less than three percent of the planet’s     3     is fresh water, and almost two-thirds of this amount is     4     in ice caps, glaciers, and underground aquifers too deep or too remote to access. In her book, Pillars of Sand-Can the Irrigation Miracle Last, Sandra Postel outlines three forces that     5     tension and conflict over freshwater. Using up the water “resource pie”. In India, the world’s second-most populous nation, with over 1 billion inhabitants, the rate of groundwater     6     is twice that of recharge, a deficit higher than in any other country. Although water is a renewable resource, it is not a(n)     7     one. The freshwater available today for more than 6 billion people is no greater than it was 2,000 years ago, when global population was approximately 200 million. (The current U.S. population is 287 million.)

Global     8     accounts for about 70% of all freshwater use. In five of the world’s most water-stressed, controversial areas the Aral Sea region, the Ganges, the Jordan, the Nileland and Tigris-Euphrates population increases of up to 75% are projected by 2025. With the fastest rate of growth in the world, the population of Palestinian territory will more than     9     over the next generation. Most experts agree that, because of geography, population     10     and politics, water wars are most likely to break out in the Middle East, a region where the amount of available freshwater per capita will decrease by about 50% over the next generation.

9 . Directions: After reading the passages below fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

Forests give us shade, quiet and one of the harder challenges in the fight against climate change. Even as we humans count on forests to soak up a good share of the carbon dioxide we produce, we    1     (threaten) their ability to do so. The climate change we are hastening could one day leave us with forests that emit more carbon than    2    absorb.

Thankfully, there is a way out of this trap—but it involves striking a subtle balance. Helping forests flourish as valuable “carbon sinks” long into the future    3       require reducing their capacity to absorb carbon now. California is leading the way, as it does on so many climate efforts, in figuring out the details.

The state's proposed Forest Carbon Plan aims to double efforts    4    (thin) out young trees and clear brush in parts of the forest. This temporarily lowers carbon-carrying capacity. But the remaining trees draw a greater share of the available moisture, so they grow and thrive,     5    (restore) the forest's capacity to pull carbon from the air. Healthy trees are also better able to fend off (抵挡) insects. The landscape is considered less easily burnable. Even in the event of a fire, fewer trees    6     (consume).

The need    7    such planning is increasingly urgent. Already, since 20l0, drought and insects have killed over 100 million trees in California, most of them in 2016 alone，and wildfires have burned hundreds of thousands of acres.

California plans to treat 35,000 acres of forest a year by 2020, and 60,000 by 2030—financed from the proceeds of the state's emissions-permit auctions. That's only    8     small share of the total acreage that could benefit, about half a million acres in all, so it will be vital to prioritize areas at greatest risk of fire or drought.

State governments are well accustomed to managing forests,     9     traditionally they've focused on wildlife, watersheds and opportunities for recreation. Only recently have they come to see the vital part forests will have to play in storing carbon. Califomia's plan,     10     is expected to be finalized by the governor next year, should serve as a model.

10 .

Lucky Dog is committed to finding loving forever homes for each of our dogs and cats. Our customized adoption process is designed to find the best fit for adopters, whatever they may be looking for. You may have a specific pet in mind or just beginning your search for a new family member; wherever you are in the process our Adoption Coordinators are here to guide you through the process.

We are incredibly grateful for the overwhelming interest in our animals. You may notice that our dogs, cats, puppies and kittens are being adopted incredibly quickly and may not stay on the website very long. Please, don’t let that deter you! We have more new arrivals coming in all the time, and Lucky Dog is committed to finding you a great fit for your family. We will be happy to help you find a match once we receive your adoption application.

THE ADOPTION PROCESS

Step 1

Complete a Dog or Cat Adoption Questionnaire at the link below. If you are interested in applying for a specific animal on the website, please be sure to list their names on your questionnaire. If you cannot select an animal please still submit your questionnaire and write in the notes who you might be interested in! You only need to apply once and we will ensure it is directed to the right person. Please note that submitting an application is the first step in our process and does not guarantee adoption of a particular dog or cat. 

Step 2

You will be contacted via email by a Volunteer Lucky Dog Animal Rescue Adoption Coordinator or Screener. They will then schedule an initial phone screening to further discuss your needs, preferences and lifestyle as you look for a new family member.

Step 3

Your Adoption Coordinator or Screener will also conduct any required checks, including a vet check to ensure your pets are up to date on medical needs, a landlord check if you rent, and a virtual home visit -- during which a knowledgeable volunteer will meet with all residents of your home to identify any risks or items to monitor when your new pet arrives and ensure that everyone is ready to welcome them home!

Step 4

At the time of adoption, the following adoption fees will be required, as well as a leash, ID tag, martingale collar and carrier for cats/kittens.

●Puppy (1 to 6 months): $425

●Young/Adult Dog (7 months to 8 years): $400

●Senior Dog (9 years and older): $300

●Dogs Receiving Heartworm Treatment: $475

●One Cat/Kitten: $175

●Two Cats/Kittens: $300

Spay/Neuter policy update:

A nonrefundable spay/neuter deposit will be added to a puppy or kitten’s adoption fee should you want Lucky Dog to pay for the cost of spay/neuter surgery at one of our low-cost vet partners. Adopters must be able to provide transportation to and from the partner visits.

1. How much do you need to pay if you adopt two baby cats and a middle-aged dog?

A．$ 600

B．$ 700

C．$ 750

D．$ 775

2. Your Adoption Coordinator or Screener may do any required checks except ________.

A．your current income level.	B．a landlord check if necessary.
C．a personal visit to your home.	D．your pet’s health condition

3. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．The adoption process can take quite a long time because of the routine paperwork.

B．Once you submit your application, you are assured of adopting your desired dog or cat.

C．You will have to pay some money in advance if you order a neuter surgery service.

D．Your Adoption Coordinator or Screener will only contact you through email.