1 . Recycling is a great way of doing your bit for the environment and helping to protect the earth’s precious resources. However, a new study has revealed that our desire to be sustainable maybe doing more harm than good. According to waste company Biffa, this is because of “wish-cycling” — assuming that items such as disposable coffee cup sand pizza boxes will be recycled if put in the recycling bin. In fact, pollution from those items or other non-recyclables can result in recyclable items that have been put in the correct bin going to landfill. David Heaton, a business director at Biffa, said: “Pollution happens when items are disposed of in the wrong bins or haven’t been cleaned before being recycled.”
Experts at Biffa analyzed the amounts of non-target and non-recyclable materials that entered UK material recycling facilities between 2016 and 2020. It was found that, in 2016, the average pollution rate of recycling waste was 13.4 percent, rising over four years to 17 percent by the end of 2020. This shows that, even as people are becoming more eco-conscious, wish-cycling is increasing both in households and businesses.
The Biffa experts say that one of the best ways to prevent pollution of recycling is to clean recyclable waste before putting it in the bin. They suggest cutting off the top of old pizza boxes and only recycling that part to avoid pollution from the grease (油脂). Check the on-packaging recycling label to check it can actually be recycled When it comes to plastics, Biffa recommends checking the resin code, the number in the plastic triangle, to know whether it should go in the recycling bin. In general, resin codes 1, 2, 4 and 5 are recyclable, while 3, 6 and 7 are not. Larger items, like electronics, furniture and batteries, can also be recycled but often can not go in household recycling bins as they need specialist separating. These will need to be taken to recycling centers or sustainable waste management companies.
“It’s vital as a nation that we get better at effective ‘pre-cycling’— sorting waste correctly before collection to reduce pollution rates,” added Mr. Heaton.
1. What’s the truth of “wish-cycling” according to the first paragraph?| A．The desire to lead a sustainable life. |
| B．The good intention to help recycling. |
| C．The habit of throwing items that end up in landfills. |
| D．The practice of recycling items that can not be recycled. |
| A．People are becoming more eco-conscious. |
| B．Wish-cycling is on the rise in recent years. |
| C．Pollution happens less frequently in recycling facilities. |
| D．People are used to cleaning recyclable waste before putting it in the bin. |
| A．Dispose of electronics together with household waste. |
| B．Skip the step of checking the on-packaging recycling label. |
| C．Check the resin code of plastics to see whether it is recyclable or not. |
| D．Cutoff the top of old pizza box and throw the rest to the recycling bin. |
| A．Recycling: a Big Project | B．Wish-cycling: a New Trend |
| C．Wish-cycling: a Growing Concern | D．Pre-cycling: an Effective Method |
2 . Fish genetically engineered to glow blue, green, or red under blacklight have been a big hit among aquarium lovers for years. But the fluorescent (发荧光的) pet is not restricted to glass displays anymore. The red-and-green-glowing versions, more vivid than normal zebrafish even in natural light, have escaped fish farms in southeastern Brazil and are multiplying (繁殖) in creeks in the Atlantic Forest, a new study shows. It is a rare example of a transgenic animal accidentally becoming established in nature, and a concern for biologists, who worry the transgenic fish could threaten the local fauna (动物群) in one of the most bio-diverse spots on the planet.
In the 2000s, companies saw the potential of the fish as pets. Trademarked as Glofish, they became the world’s first genetically engineered species to be commercially available. Now, they are one of the first to escape and thrive in nature. Early on, environmentalists worried about the possibility, and Glofish sales were banned in some U. S. states such as California and several countries-including Brazil. In 2014, a single Glofish was spotted in canals of Florida. But it had not multiplied, probably because native predators such as the eastern mosquitofish and the largemouth bass ate the intruder, said the biologist who spotted the fish, Quenton Tuckett. Unlike Florida, Glofish thrived in the Brazilian creeks. In 2017 he and colleagues began to survey five creeks in three cities, finding transgenic zebrafish in all of them.
The Glofish are reproducing all year round, with a peak during the rainy season — just as native zebrafish do in Asia. But the transgenic fish seem to achieve sexual maturity earlier than their forebears, which allows them to reproduce more and spread faster. The invaders are also eating well: a diversified diet of native insects, algae, and zooplankton.
Despite Brazil’s ban on sales of the fish, stores all over the country sell them as pets. They may soon colonize other parts of the country. Tuckett says it should be “a wake-up call”. For now, the glowing fish “could be considered little weeds growing up out of the concrete”, Tuckett says, but points out that even little weeds can grow to cause a lot of damage.
1. What is the concern of the biologists?| A．The ecological impacts are unpredictable. |
| B．The transgenic fish could do harm to the local animals. |
| C．The transgenic fish accidentally became established in nature. |
| D．The transgenic fish are more vivid than normal zebrafish in natural light. |
| A．They were kept as pets before the 2000s. |
| B．They were prohibited from sales throughout the U. S. |
| C．They didn’t thrive in Florida probably due to the local enemies. |
| D．They were found in all of the Brazilian creeks in 2017. |
| A．The Glofish. | B．The native zebrafish. |
| C．The largemouth bass. | D．The eastern mosquitofish. |
| A．Indifferent. | B．Ambiguous. |
| C．Cautious. | D．Supportive. |
I must admit, I haven’t always liked animals. In fact, I distrusted them greatly while growing up, and I still fear the ones I don’t know personally. What set my beliefs in stone was being attacked—not once but many times, including the summer after second grade when I was bitten by a rabbit. Then, when I was nine and riding my dirt bike down the road, a large dog charged me and tried to bite my ankle. After all those negative experiences, there was one thing I knew for sure: All creatures, great and small, were no friends of mine.
After college in California, I returned to live the single life in Las Vega. Then I met Lisa. In no time at all, we fell in love, married and moved into a new house. Despite my avoidance of animals, Lisa had a dog called Bailey. Bailey didn’t like me, but he tolerated my existence once he realized I wasn’t going anywhere.
Things changed as spring came. We welcomed a new member of our family: our son Evan. One evening Evan grabbed hold of the dog’s tail. The irritated dog paused and turned to look at his stuck tail but waited patiently until being released. Still the stories I’d heard of animals attacking babies worries me.
Then my worst fear occurred. I sat on the couch (沙发) reading after a long day while my wife worked at the dining-room table paying the bills. I saw Evan crawl across the family-room carpet as he made his way behind the couch. One minute, all was quiet and then Bailey entered the room and headed to where Evan had crawled. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard the dog start a fearful barking behind me.
注意：1.续写词数应为150左右;
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Throwing the book away, I rushed around the couch with great fear.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Having witnessed our dog killing a scorpion (蝎子) and saving my son, I was speechless.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________4 . The rhino census (犀牛普查) is out, bearing good news for the greater one-horned rhinos! In September, 2022, the International Rhino Foundation (IRF) documented in a report that there is a baby boom in this population, representing an increase of 167 percent.
According to the report, there are a total of 4,014 greater one-horned rhinos living in India, Nepal, and Bhutan. Although this is positive news, their IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) status still remains vulnerable.
In India alone, the home to 70 percent of the world’s greater one-horned rhinos, there was an increase of 274 rhinos since the last biannual census, according to the organization Rhino Review.
An important reason for this baby boom is the fact that Assam, India, has enlarged Kaziringo National Park, home to the world’s largest one-horned rhino population. The park went from 430 square kilometers to 1,040 square kilometers. This gives more breeding areas for the rhinos, and they are closed to visitors during breeding season.
India and Nepal are also protecting the rhinos by enforcing wildlife crime laws. To reduce rhino death by poaching (偷猎), the IRF donates vehicles and equipment, plus education including guard training and crime investigation.
The IRF data for other rhino species is not as promising, although the greater one-horned rhino numbers are encouraging for future conservation. According to the report, there is a decline in Sumatran rhinos, Africa’s white rhinos, while the Javan rhino population is stable and threatened by loss of habitat.
The State of the Rhino report offers hope for these other species. Given that the greater one-horned things were once close to extinction, with fewer than 100 living in the world, their recovery is incredible. This demonstrates that there are solutions when organizations and people work together. Let us hope that this successful rhino baby boom will affect other endangered wildlife species around the globe.
1. What contributes to the baby boon of one-horned rhinos in Assam, India?| A．Extending the protected areas for rhinos. |
| B．Raising fund to set up more reserves for rhinos. |
| C．Leaving the one-horned rhinos alone in the wild. |
| D．Keeping visitors away from the Kaziringo National Park. |
| A．By cooperating with other organizations. |
| B．By enhancing anti-poaching efforts. |
| C．By transferring the rhinos to other habitats. |
| D．By guarding the rhinos with new equipment. |
| A．Rhinos are no longer a vulnerable species. |
| B．Rhinos will affect other wildlife in the world. |
| C．Everyone can play a role in protecting nature. |
| D．It is possible to protect other endangered species. |
| A．To inform good news on the greater one-horned rhinos. |
| B．To show the measures taken to protect the one-horned rhinos. |
| C．To introduce an endangered species—the greater one-horned rhinos. |
| D．To indicate the decline of other species of rhino population. |
Yunnan is the hometown of tea. It provides the ideal climate and the ecological environment for large-leaf tea trees, which are located in the
Other
Yunnan has diverse resources of tea trees. The regulation also advocates proper research and
6 . It is common knowledge that sea creatures like dolphins have a high level of intelligence. The octopus is an exceptional organism with an extremely complex brain and cognitive abilities that are unique. Scientists have now discovered that octopuses also have “remarkable” intelligence.
A team of Italian marine biologists have revealed that octopuses have a gene that also determines the intelligence of humans. The eight-tentacled sea creature has short sequences of DNA called “jumping genes”. The research shows that the same ‘jumping genes’ are active both in the human brain and in the brain of octopus. These same genes make up 45 per cent of the human genome. The researchers said the DNA sequences are important for learning and for creating and storing memories in the brain. The scientists say the DNA may give octopuses cognitive abilities that are similar to those humans have. A discovery that could help us understand the secret of the intelligence of these fascinating organisms.
The scientists say their research findings are important as they give an insight into how octopuses amend their behaviour in response to different stimuli. Scientists describe this process as “behavioural plasticity”.
“This discovery of an element is very significant because it adds support to the idea that these elements have a specific function that goes beyond copy-and-paste,” explains Remo Sanges, director of the Computational Genomics laboratory, who started working at this project 5 years ago. The study, published in BMC Biology, was carried out by an international team with more than twenty researchers from all over the world. Biologist Graziano Fiorito suggested that the research could help us understand more about intelligence in humans. He said, “The brain of the octopus is functionally analogous in many of its characteristics to that of mammals... For this reason [the DNA] represents a very interesting candidate to study to improve our knowledge of the evolution of intelligence.” He says the brain structure of octopuses may mean the creatures are more similar to mammals than other sea life.
1. What is special for “jumping genes”?| A．They are active an unique in human brain. |
| B．They are the most important part of human genome. |
| C．They are helpful for learning, creating and storing memories. |
| D．They are the shortest sequences of DNA in brain. |
| A．Human and octopus have the same intelligence and abilities. |
| B．Octopuses can adjust their behaviour in response to dangers. |
| C．Octopuses have complex brain and cognitive abilities. |
| D．Human and octopus brain share the same “jumping genes”. |
| A．Similar. | B．Unique. | C．Ambiguous. | D．Distinct. |
| A．A health report. | B．A biology magazine. |
| C．A travel brochure. | D．A zoo guide. |
7 . 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 |
I was invited to a cookout on an old friend’s farm in western Washington. I parked my car outside the farm and walked past a milking house which had apparently not been used in many years. A noise at a window caught my attention, so I entered it. It was a hummingbird (蜂鸟), desperately trying to escape. She was covered in spider-webs (蛛网) and was barely able to move her wings. She ceased her struggle the instant I picked her up.
With the bird in my cupped hand, I looked around to see how she had gotten in. The broken window glass was the likely answer. I stuffed a piece of cloth into the hole and took her outside, closing the door securely behind me.
When I opened my hand, the bird did not fly away; she sat looking at me with her bright eyes. I removed the sticky spider-webs that covered her head and wings. Still, she made no attempt to fly. Perhaps she had been struggling against the window too long and was too tired? Or too thirsty?
As I carried her up the blackberry-lined path toward my car where I kept a water bottle, she began to move. I stopped, and she soon took wing but did not immediately fly away.
Hovering (悬停), she approached within six inches of my face. For a very long moment, this tiny creature looked into my eyes, turning her head from side to side. Then she flew quickly out of sight.
During the cookout, I told my hosts about the hummingbird incident. They promised to fix the window. As I was departing, my friends walked me to my car. I was standing by the car when a hummingbird flew to the center of our group and began hovering. She turned from person to person until she came to me. She again looked directly into my eyes, then let out a squeaking call and was gone. For a moment, all were speechless. Then someone said, “She must have come to say goodbye.”
注意：1. 续写词数应为 150 左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题纸的相应位置作答。
A few weeks later, I went to the farm again.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I was just about to leave when the hummingbird appeared.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________9 . 2022 Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards
A yearly contest for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year was held in London this year. The contest had 38,575 entries from around the world. Let’s have a scanning of four of this year’s best works.
The great prize this year belonged to Karine Aigner of the US for an incredible shot of a ball of bees. The “ball” was formed with a lot of male bees fighting to win a single female bee. The picture was taken in southern Texas. Ms Aigner says that soon after the picture was taken, a female bee flew off with one of the males.
Dmitry Kokh of Russia won the award for Urban Wildlife. His picture of polar bears in an old house was taken on an island in the Chukchi Sea, between Russia and Alaska. Mr Kokh was on a boat when he noticed polar bears walking through an area where no one had lived for years. To get the picture without disturbing the bears,he used a quiet drone (无人机) to take the picture.
Fernando Constantino Martinez Belmar of Mexico had to wait in the dark in a cave filled with bats and snakes to get the image. Rat snakes in Yucatàn hang from cracks in the ceiling of the cave, hoping to grab one of the many bats that are flying out of the cave for the night. Using a red light that wouldn’t disturb the animals, Mr Martinez Belmar waited until just the right moment to take the picture. He won the Amphibian and Reptile Behavior prize.
Nick Kanakis of the US took the picture of a wood wren (鹧鸪) — a bird that spends most of its time on the ground. The bird has its ear to the ground, listening for insects to catch and eat. After spotting a bird looking for food farther away, he stayed very still to get the shot, which won the prize for Bird Behavior.
1. Why do the bees develop a ball in Ms Aigner’s picture?| A．To protect them from being shot. |
| B．To struggle to get a female partner. |
| C．To fight with their common enemy. |
| D．To express their greetings to humans. |
| A．Bees and polar bears. |
| B．Polar bears and the snakes. |
| C．The snakes and the bird. |
| D．The bird and bees. |
| A．The influence of the photographs. |
| B．The background of the photographs. |
| C．The introduction of their photographers. |
| D．The technology used in the photographing. |
10 . At least three people were possibly dead after a powerful earthquake. Others were injured from falling structures and homes, rural roads and
Regina Rave,who is a geologist, was meeting with two
About 10,000 people live in and around his town, which is
People were feeling
| A．damaged | B．surrounded | C．hidden | D．buried |
| A．foresee | B．assess | C．recognize | D．assume |
| A．roommates | B．schoolmates | C．colleagues | D．parents |
| A．covered | B．rose | C．ceased | D．struck |
| A．ended up | B．came out | C．carried on | D．resulted from |
| A．squeezed | B．crashed | C．flashed | D．pulled |
| A．turn | B．knock | C．flow | D．blow |
| A．jumping | B．hanging | C．floating | D．shaking |
| A．located | B．listed | C．considered | D．posed |
| A．simple | B．common | C．popular | D．awkward |
| A．puzzled | B．tired | C．frightened | D．inspired |
| A．getting | B．breaking | C．cutting | D．sorting |
| A．descriptions | B．instructions | C．explanations | D．introductions |
| A．changes | B．injuries | C．beats | D．attacks |
| A．handled | B．improved | C．affected | D．removed |
