1 . 2022 Earthshot Prize Winners
The Earthshot Prize is a 10-year project by Britain government that aims to find solutions to the biggest environmental problems the planet faces. The hope is that those solutions can be shared and repeated around the world. Every year, four prizes are awarded and each prize-winner wins ＄1. 2 million for their efforts.
Protect And Restore Nature
Kheyti won the prize for protecting and restoring nature with its “Greenhouse-in-a-box” idea. The company provides a simple, large greenhouse to small farmers at a low cost. The greenhouses allow farmers to use 90% less water and produce seven times as much food. The company is already working with 1, 000 farmers across India Kheytihopes to get its greenhouses to 50, 000 farmers by 2027. Clean Our Air Charlot Magayi won the prize for cleaning the air. After her daughter was burned by a charcoal-burning stove, Ms. Magayi developed a safer, cleaner stove, called the Mukuru Clean Stove. Ms. Magayi’s stoves use a different fuel that’s cheaper and pollutes far less than charcoal stoves. Currently. over 200, 000 Mukuru Clean Stoves are being used in Kenya. In three years, Ms. Magayi hopes to increase that number to 1 million.
Revive Our Oceans
The Revive Our Oceans prize was won by the Queensland Indigenous Women Rangers Network (QIWRN). Over the last four years, QIWRN has trained 60 indigenous women to help protect the environment. The women learned to use modern tools like drones. They also shared important history of Australia and information that’s been passed down for years among their people.
Build a Waste-Free World
A London-based company called Notpla (for “Not Plastic”) won the prize for building a waste-free world. Their plastic substitute is made from seaweed, and breaks down naturally with no microplastics. In 2022 alone, the company has made one million Notpla take away food boxes, replacing similar plastic-coated boxes. By 2025, the company hopes to increase that number to 25 million.
1. What is the Earthshot Prize meant to do?| A．Encourage new ideas to protect the earth. |
| B．Raise money for environmental protection. |
| C．Collect solutions to endangered creatures. |
| D．Help the world get rid of hunger and poverty. |
| A．Protect And Restore Nature. | B．Clean Our Air. |
| C．Revive Our Oceans. | D．Build a Waste-Free World. |
| A．Kheyti. | B．QIWRN. | C．Charlot Magayi. | D．Notpln. |
2 . In the 1960s, while studying the volcanic history of Yellowstone National Park, Bob Christian-sen became puzzled about something that, strangely, had not troubled anyone before he couldn’t find the park’s volcano. It had been known for a long time that Yellowstone was volcanic in nature—that is what accounted for all its hot springs and other steamy features. But Christian-sen couldn’t find the Yellowstone volcano anywhere.
Most of us, when we talk about volcanoes, think of the classic cone(圆锥体)shapes of a Fuji or Kilimanjaro, which were created when erupting magma(岩浆)piled up. These can form remarkably quickly. One day in 1943, a Mexican farmer was surprised to see smoke rising from a small part of his land. In one week he was the confused owner of a cone five hundred feet high. Within two years it had topped out at almost fourteen hundred feet and was more than half a mile-across. Altogether there are some ten thousand of these volcanoes on Earth, all but a few hundred of them extinct. There is, however, a second less known type of volcano that doesn’t involve mountain building. These are volcanoes so explosive that they burst open in a single big crack, leaving behind a vast hole, the caldera(火山口).Yellowstone obviously was of this second type, but Christian-sen couldn’t find the caldera anywhere.
Just at this time NASA decided to test some new high-altitude cameras by taking photographs of Yellowstone. A thoughtful official passed on some of the copies to the park authorities on the assumption that they might make a nice blow-up(放大的照片)for one of the visitors’ centers. As soon as Christian-sen saw the photos, he realized why he had failed to spot the caldera: almost the whole park—2.2 million acres -was a caldera. The explosion had left a hole more than forty miles across-much too huge to be seen from anywhere at ground level. At some time in the past Yellowstone must have blown up with violence far beyond the scale of anything known to humans.
1. What does the underlined word “its” in paragraph 1 refer to?| A．The ground. | B．The nature. |
| C．The volcano. | D．The park. |
| A．A single big crack was forming there. | B．Someone was burning stalks there. |
| C．A volcano was erupting underneath. | D．There were some hot springs there. |
| A．By looking at the photographs. | B．By analyzing its steamy features. |
| C．By researching historical documents. | D．By using some advanced equipment. |
| A．Its level is much higher than the surrounding areas. |
| B．The volcano in it involved mountain building. |
| C．It is a large hole left by the explosion. |
| D．Its shape is much like a cone. |
| A．The speakers’ son. |
| B．The speakers’ landlady. |
| C．The speakers’ pet. |
4 . Each year, as many as one billion birds are killed in the US from collisions (相撞) with glass windows and buildings every year. Birds that crashed into Philadelphia buildings began to be collected in the 1890s. Nearly 100 species of birds are known to have died out from crashes with buildings and other structures in Philadelphia. Many other species are probably affected in the city.
Called Lights Out Philly, the voluntary program in Philadelphia encourages buildings to turn out or dim unnecessary external and internal lights between midnight and six o’clock early in the morning to protect birds as they pass through during migration seasons.
Bird migration seasons are from April l to May 31 in spring and from August 15 to November 15 in fall. Each year, millions of birds pass through Philadelphia along a migration route known as the Atlantic Flyway. Bird-glass crashes are very common for migrating birds, most of which travel at night. Glass is difficult for them to recognize as hard surfaces, and artificial light can fool them into crashing with buildings and outdoor structures. Turning off lights between midnight and sunrise helps minimize the effect of artificial light when most birds are migrating.
On Oct. 2, 2020, a stormy and foggy day, Philadelphia had its largest mass collision event in more than 70 years with an estimated 1,000 birds crashing with buildings in one 3.5-square block area in just one day. Paired with a terrible storm of weather and fog conditions, the bright city and building lights attracted and confused the migrating birds, causing them to crash with buildings and outdoor structures.
Even if you don’t play a part in managing the lights of a big building, you can help birds avoid crashes by making the glass opaque to reduce the amount and intensity of artificial light at night, changing the color of lighting to blue or green, shortening the duration lights are on, directing the lighting downward or screening lighting.
1. What is the first paragraph mainly about?| A．The rich biological diversity in Philadelphia. |
| B．Great efforts to protect migrating birds in Philadelphia. |
| C．The present and the past of the bird conservation in America. |
| D．The serious consequence of bird-glass crashes in Philadelphia. |
| A．Bad weather conditions. | B．Traveling in the day. |
| C．The mistaken route. | D．Too many buildings. |
| A．Light-reflecting. | B．Delicate. | C．Lightproof. | D．Clean. |
| A．It Is Difficult to Save the Migrating Birds |
| B．Philadelphia Turns out Lights to Save Migrating Birds |
| C．External and Internal Lights Affect the Bird Migration |
| D．Lights Out Philly Program Helps Save Endangered Birds |
5 . After just one sniff of a catnip plant, many cats start acting in truly strange ways. Entertainment value aside, this herb has proven benefits for cats—but that still leaves us wondering what exactly the effect is on our furry friends.
Cats like catnip for two reasons: smelling it stimulates their senses, and eating it calms them down. Many cats react to catnip by rolling around, rubbing against everything, and eventually becoming unconscious. This is due to an active substance in a kind of volatile(易挥发的)oil found in the leaves of the catnip herb. It attaches to receptors(受体)inside the cat’s nose and drives its sensory neurons(感觉神经元)crazy, according to Daniel Rotman, CEO of Pretty Litter.
When a cat eats the herb, however, it has a calming effect.” If the catnip is swallowed, it causes tiredness and works as a drug that makes cats calm or sleepy. For cats that sniff catnip and rub against the plants, they’ll get more of the stimulating effects,” Rotman said. “Both smelling and swallowing catnip is safe for your cat.”
Catnip’s effects on your cat will only last a short time—about 5 to 30 minutes, says Rotman. This is all dependent on your individual kitty, because studies show that only two-thirds of adult cats are affected by the herb. “About 50 percent of cats seem to be affected by catnip, and the behavior that results from eating or smelling it varies widely between individuals,” Rotman says.
If you have a house cat, you probably worry about its not getting enough stimulation. After all, you can’t be around to play with them every moment they’re awake. Studies show that cats, like the other animals, need mental and physical exercise to be happy, and an interesting experience like sniffing or eating catnip could be part of that enrichment. Kitties that don’t receive enough stimulation could develop aggressive, depressed, or anxious behavior. Just make sure you don’t give your cat too much catnip, as it can lead to dizziness or other symptoms.
1. What’s the theme of the text?| A．Influences of catnip plants on cats. | B．How to make cats happy and healthy? |
| C．Catnip—the best food for cats. | D．What is the herb—catnip? |
| A．They may be more depressed. | B．They may be unconscious. |
| C．They may be more sensitive. | D．They may be aggressive. |
| A．They only appear in baby cats. | B．They can differ much between cats. |
| C．They are likely to be found in few cats. | D．They usually last for about fifty minutes. |
| A．Cats should avoid eating catnip. |
| B．Cats are in need of enough stimulation. |
| C．Cats don’t like people to play with them often. |
| D．Cats prefer mental exercise to physical exercise. |
6 . Dogs are capable of understanding the emotions behind an expression on a human face. The study is the latest to reveal just how connected dogs are with people. The research also provides evidence that dogs use different parts of their brains to process human emotions. By living in close contact with humans, dogs have developed specific skills that enable them to interact and communicate efficiently with people. Recent studies have shown that the dogs’ brain can pick up on emotional clues contained in a person’s voice, body smell and posture,and read their faces.
In this study,the authors watched what happened when they presented photographs of the same two adults’ faces(a man and a woman) to 26 feeding dogs. The images were placed strategically to the sides of the animals’ line of sight and the photos showed a human face ex-pressing one of the six basic human emotions: anger,fear,happiness,sadness,surprise,dis-gust or being neutral.
The dogs showed greater response and cardiac(心脏的)activity when shown photo-graphs that expressed arousing emotional states such as anger, fear and happiness. They also took longer to resume feeding after seeing these images. The dogs’ increased heart rate indicated that in these cases they experienced higher levels of stress.
In addition,dogs tended to turn their heads to the left when they saw human faces ex-pressing anger,fear or happiness. The reverse happened when the faces looked surprised, possibly because dogs view it as a non-threatening, relaxed expression.“Clearly arousing, negative emotions seem to be processed by the right side of a dog’s brain,and more positive emotions by the left side,”says Siniscalchi.
The results support that of other studies done on dogs and other mammals. These show that the right side of the brain plays a more important part in regulating the sympathetic out-flow to the heart. This is a fundamental organ for the control of the “fight or flight”Behavioral response necessary for survival.
1. What does the new research show?| A．People’s emotions are exactly revealed in dogs’ brains. |
| B．Dog’s brains are highly affected by people’s emotions. |
| C．Dogs own the natural ability to understand people’s emotions. |
| D．Dogs treat human emotions with different sides of their brains. |
| A．By following certain orders. |
| B．By being treated by their owners. |
| C．By being closely connected with people. |
| D．By recognizing different faces on pictures. |
| A．opposite | B．nervous | C．rewarding | D．similar |
| A．Dogs are living in close contact with people |
| B．Dogs understand what’s written all over your face |
| C．Dogs’ heart rate increases when experiencing stress |
| D．Negative emotions affect dogs’ returning to feeding |
7 . On October 12,2021,China officially announced its first five national parks, which are homes to endangered species ranging from the Siberian tigers on the Russian border to the world’s last 30 Hainan black crested gibbons(黑冠长臂猿)in southern China’s tropical rainforest.
By uniting hundreds of protected areas managed by various provinces, the new national park system’s goal is to strengthen conservation under the central authority of the new National Forestry and Grassland Administration(NFGA)
These five parks cover an area two-third the size of the US national park system. The largest, Sanjiangyuan National Park in Qinghai Province, is almost the size of Mississippi.
With such an ambitious plan, there are bound to be challenges. For one the government has to balance the need for the livelihoods of the locals with wildlife conservation. It has not announced a plan to create a permitting system that would regulate how people enjoy nature. What’s more,ecotourism-which is defined as tourism that benefits both locals and their environment-only exists in a fifth of China’s nature reserves.
But there’s hope that the existing ecotourism projects in such nature reserves as Sanjiangyuan National Park and Wolong Nature Reserve will inspire efforts elsewhere in the new park system. Since 2018, Sanjiangyuan National Park has run a community-led tourism program that benefits both locals and snow leopards(豹), the park’s main tourist draw. For $43 a day, visitors can stay with local families, who act as guides to spot these rare “cats” in the wild.
“The community has made all the major decisions, and 100 percent of the income stays in the community. It’s been incredibly successful,” says Marc Brody, who has worked in China since 1994.
NFGA agrees that well-designed ecotourism can improve local ecosystems. It says that a core mission(核心使命)of China’s national parks is to promote eco-civilizationa mission that can be advanced by involving visitors Written into China’s constitution(宪法)in 2012, eco-civilization means scientifically balancing the economic development and the environmental protection.
1. Which park is home to the thirty endangered gibbons?| A．Hainan National Park. | B．Wolong Nature Reserve. |
| C．Northeast National Park. | D．Sanjiangyuan National Park. |
| A．It is bigger than Mississippi. | B．It sits on the Russian border. |
| C．It is a pioneer in ecotourism. | D．It has a mature permitting system. |
| A．Skeptical. | B．Unconcerned | C．Disapproving | D．Positive |
| A．To protect the endangered animals. |
| B．To help the local people out of poverty. |
| C．To balance the economy and the environment. |
| D．To set a better development example for the world. |
增加:在缺词处加一个漏字符号( ∧) ，并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除:把多余的词用斜线( \)画掉。
修改:在错的词下画一横线,并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意:1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
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We spend much time at school. Our school is like beautiful garden. We students are like flowers planting in it and our teachers are like gardeners, that take good care of us and water us with love and knowledge. In my opinion, it’ s their duty to do something for our school. First, we should protect the school environment so dropping litter careless should be forbidden. Meanwhile, we can plant more tree. Next, we shouldn’t waste water, food, electricity and so on. However, we should remember to turn on the taps and reuse water. Last, it was necessary to get on well with others. W hen someone is in trouble, we had better to give him a hand and help him out.
9 . The sounds of the Northern Lights have been a mystery to scientists for over a century. But now it seems that a researcher has figured out how auroras (极光) really make sounds.
“It has pretty much been confirmed all over the world,” historian Fiona Amery said. “ In Canada, Norway and Russia, they are all hearing very much the same sounds.”
“The auroras can occur hundreds of kilometers above the ground,which strengthens opinions that their sounds are just a false impression,” said Fiona. Many scientists argued that auroras were too far away to hear and that any sound would take several minutes to reach the ground, so it was impossible for them to change in time with the auroras.
However, other scientists were convinced that the Northern Lights really made noises. In the 1920s, Canadian astronomer Clarence Chant first suggested a mechanism by which they could occur: The motion of the aurora caused changes in the electrification of the atmosphere that created crackling sounds close to the ground. Almost 100 years later, Clarence’s suggestion seems close to what could be the true reason for the sounds.
In 2012, an expert named Unto Laine showed a recording of auroral sounds after years of monitoring auroras. In 2016, he announced the mechanism that makes the sounds: an inversion layer (逆温层) of cold air in the atmosphere that can form below an aurora and a short distance above the ground in calm weather.
Unto argues that visible changes in the aurora cause changes in the inversion layer, causing accumulated electricity to discharge as sparks (火花) that create sounds that can be heard. That explains how the sounds correspond with the aurora’s visible movements — they begin to happen in the inversion layer only about 75 meters above the observer.
1. What are the words Fiona said in Paragraph 2 mainly about?| A．The existence of the sounds of the Northern Lights. |
| B．The need to make full use of the Northern Lights. |
| C．The problems caused by the Northern Lights. |
| D．The cause of the Northern Lights. |
| A．It matched a lot of old ideas. | B．It was well recognized then. |
| C．It might be of great value. | D．It was a total failure. |
| A．By listing research numbers. | B．By making comparisons. |
| C．By providing explanations. | D．By giving examples. |
| A．Can We Enjoy the Northern Lights? |
| B．Do the Northern Lights Make Sounds? |
| C．Why Should We Study the Northern Lights? |
| D．How Do the Northern Lights Come into Being? |
10 . “My ocean is my life.”These are the powerful words of Andre Miller, a marine (海洋的) scientist. He is also the owner of a dive shop that places heavy upon the exploration and conservation of his hometown’s waters.
As a young child, Andre would be fascinated by tales of the sea told by his dad who was a fisherman. When he was six years old, his mum gave him his first equipment of diving. Then, Andre spent his time diving. Andre interned (实习) at a dive shop. With this training, the young diver was able to see new depths. But unfortunately, he saw much damage.
After finishing his studies in marine biology, Andre got to work as a member of the Coastal Zone Management Unit. It was here that once again he was horrified by the rapid decline of the numbers of sea creatures and the negative effects of poor boating practices which caused havoc to the island ‘s coral(珊瑚). Therefore, the first mission of Andre’ s team was to repair destroyed reefs and save coral. And they have been very successful in their efforts.
One of Andre’s perfect moments was his role in the creation of the Carlisle Bay Marine Park. The park has now become the premier dive site in his hometown. Andre describes it as “the best textbook example of how marine parks can benefit the islands”
In 2016, Andre further promised his support of the conservation of Carlisle Bay through his work with other projects. Through their work, Andre ‘s hometown has seen an increase in underwater clean-ups, which has made marine life increase greatly. Andre’ s contagious (有感染力的) passion for marine conservation doesn’t end here. He is always searching for more. Andre Miller is a man on a mission.
1. What made Andre interested in marine life when he was young?| A．The internship at a dive shop. |
| B．The tales of the sea from his father. |
| C．The participation in a class about marine life. |
| D．The information from the textbooks and the Internet. |
| A．Damage. | B．Harmony. | C．Increase. | D．Mess. |
| A．Tolerant. | B．Doubtful. | C．Uncaring. | D．Favorable. |
| A．Patient and brave. | B．Careful and selfless. |
| C．Determined and creative. | D．Intelligent and outspoken. |
