1 . Mapping Antarctica

Antarctica was on the map long before anyone ever laid eyes on it. Nearly 2,400 years ago, ancient Greek philosophers such as Aristotle believed that a great continent must exist at the bottom of the world. They though it was needed to balance out the continents at the top of the world. In the 1500s, mapmakers often included a fanciful continent they referred to as Terra Incognita(Latin for “unknown land”) at the bottom of their maps. But it was not until the 1800s -----after explorers had sighted and set foot on Antarctica----- that mapmakers got down to the business of really mapping the continent, which is one—and—a –half times rhe size of the U.S..

While the coastline could be mapped by ships sailing around the continent, it took airplanes—and later, satellites---to chart Antarctica’s vast interior(内陆). That job continues today. And it is a job that still require a mapmaker, or cartographer, to put on boots and head out into the wild.

Cole Kelleher is familiar with that. He is a cartographer with the Polar Geospatial Center(PGC), which is based at the University of Minnesota and has a staff at McMurdo Station. PGC teamed up with Google to use the company’s Trekker technology to capture images of Antarctica for the Internet giant’s popular feature, Street View. A Trekker camera, which is the size of a basketball, is set about two feet above a backpack. The camera records image in all directions. “It weighs about 50 pounds. I was out for two and a half days, hiking 10 to 12 hours each day,” says Kelleher. It was hard work, but really an incredible experience.” According to Kelleher there are plans to use the technology to create educational apps for museums.

The PGC staff at McMurdo Station provides highly specialized mapmaking services for the U.S. Antarctic Program. For one project, Kelleher used satellite images to map huge cracks in the ice. That helped a team of researchers know whether they could safely approach their field camp on snowmobiles. Another recent project was to help recover a giant, high—tech helium(氦气) balloon used to carry scientific instruments high into the atmosphere. These balloons are launched in Antarctica because there is no danger that they will hurt anyone when they fall back down to Earth. Using satellite images, Kelleher and colleagues created maps of where the balloon could be found.

Antarctica may no longer be Terra Incognita, but it still holds countless mysteries. Cartographers and the maps they make will continue to be essential in helping scientists unlock those secrets.

1. From the passage, we can infer that Antarctica was on the map in the 1500s when________.

A．mapmakers knew it was much larger than the U.S.

B．Aristotle named the continent Terra Incognita

C．no one had ever seen or been to the continent

D．it was such an interesting continent as was often referred to

2. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

A．It needs much work for the mapmakers to head out into the wild.

B．The interior can only be mapped by planes and satellites.

C．It is relatively easy to map Antarctica’s coastline by ship.

D．Antarctic is a vast but still mysterious continent.

3. The Polar Geospatial Center (PGC) works with Google initially_________.

A．to capture images of Antarctica for Street View

B．to test the company’s Trekker technology

C．to create educational apps for museums

D．to hike for an incredible experience

4. The fourth paragraph mainly talks about _______.

A．satellite images which are used to map huge cracks in the ice

B．a high-tech helium balloon for carrying scientific instruments

C．how to safely approach the researcher’s field camp and the balloon

D．the specialized mapmaking services provided by the PGC staff

2 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

What makes the sea turn red and causes thousands of fish to die？As far back as anyone could remember，the blame was placed on the "red tides. " In 1947，scientists finally connected the red tides with a microscopic sea organism（有机体）    1    （call）the dinoflagellate.

The dinoflagellate is so tiny    2    6，000 of these organisms may be contained in    3    single drop of water. It stands on the borderline between plant and animal in its clasification. it produces its own food，as plants do. But it moves    4    （free）and eats other organisms，as animals do.

Dinoflagellates are normally only one of the many kinds of organisms found in plankton. Plankton is the name given to all very small    5    （form）of sea life. However，when the air and water    6    （be）calm and warm，dinoflagellates multiply with    7    （amaze）sped. The surface of the water appears    8    （cover）with a red carpet.

The dinoflagellates give off a poison. Many fish die. Their bodies are washed up on the beach. Beaches are not fit    9    any use. Fish that are not killed may become    10    （poison）to animals or people who eat them. Commercial fishing comes to a stop.

As dinoflagellates consume all the food and oxygen in an area，they die. After a time，the sea returns to normal. But when conditions are right，the red tide comes again.

3 . 假定你是李华，为了提高市民的环保意识，倡导垃圾分类，你校志愿者社团将组织部分志愿者到鸠兹广场参加志愿者活动。请你用英语给你的好友Tom写一封电子邮件，邀请他一同前去。内容包括：
1. 活动时间：2. 活动内容：3. 交通工具。
注意：1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Tom,
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours,

Li Hua

4 . Western conservation groups are seeking stricter laws to deal with trade in endangered wildlife, but Dr. Paul Jepson warns that this isn’t the best solution. He highlights the case of the Bali starling (八哥). Bringing in tougher laws created unexpected outcomes, which contributed to the bird’s extinction in the wild in 2006.

He said that the traditional law enforcement (执行) approach that outlawed (宣布……非法) ownership of the Bali starling in the 1980s and 1990s increased rather than reduced the demand for wild-caught Bali starlings. The bird has become a popular gift among the rich of Indonesia, who can gain more status by owning one.

Instead, a case-by-case analysis might be needed. Last year, he said, a bird association set up a network of breeders (饲养者) among the owners of Bali starling on the island of Java. By introducing a “crowd-breeding” model, it transformed the bird into a species whose price and source of supply were publicly known. This lessened the status of keeping such birds and thereby reduced their profitability to black market suppliers.

Another case was on Nusa Penida, an island southeast of Bali. A Balinese conservation group planned to release starlings on the island. Critics tried to block the plan, saying the island was outside the birds’ native zone. Eventually, the Governor of Bali came up with a proposal. The starlings were given to a local temple as a ceremonial offering before they were released. This gave the Bali starling status as a “sacred bird”, giving them protection under customary laws. Now the released starlings established a breeding population on Nusa Penida.

Dr. Jepson commented, “I do not want to criticize the international approach seeking tighter law enforcement, but this case study shows we should not oversimplify how we respond to the problem of the wildlife trade. There is a growing body of evidence that shows more different approaches are sometimes needed to fit with the local social and political realities. We should tailor solutions on more of a case-by-case basis.”

1. What might speed up the wild Bali starling’s extinction in 2006?

A．The bad natural environment.

B．The side effect of strict protection laws.

C．The debate over the wildlife trade.

D．The popularity of the bird in the world.

2. Why was the “crowd-breeding” model introduced?

A．To block the strict laws passed by the government.

B．To cut off the supply to the black market.

C．To make the Bali starling less profitable.

D．To increase the demand for the Bali starling.

3. What can we know about the case-by-case analysis?

A．It implies there’s more than one way to solve a problem.

B．It advocates stricter law enforcement.

C．It has attracted close attention of conservation groups.

D．It is acknowledged as the best solution to illegal wildlife trade.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Stricter enforcement is needed for the biodiversity of Indonesia

B．The Bali starling comes back to Nusa Penida

C．Cutting off the market for the illegal wildlife trade

D．Tougher laws to reduce wildlife trade are not enough

5 . Most dog owners have probably been puzzled waiting for their dog to do its business. Instead of just finding a soft area of grass to go number two, they make a whole ritual(仪式) out of it, spinning in a circle before finally squatting(蹲下). Luckily, the ultimate pet owners’ question may finally have been answered.

A few theories have circulated about why dogs might circle before pooping, and most are similar to the reasons they spin before lying down. Trampling around in a circle would flatten the grass around, which would keep tall blades(叶片) from trapping their waste. Another explanation could be that they’re scanning for snakes and predators before they become completely occupied.

But Czech researcher Hynek Burda didn’t quite buy into those theories. Dogs evolved from wolves, which didn’t need to worry much about tall grass. And if they were scanning their environment, keeping still to listen and sniff would be more effective than giving the area a quick once-over. Instead, Burda suggested that dogs spin to get a feel for the Earth’s magnetic pull.

The Earth has a magnetic field around it protecting it from radiation from space, and some animals seem to use it to get a sense of where its North and South poles are. For instance, it’s how birds know which way to migrate. In 2013, Burda published a study in the journal Frontiers in Zoology suggesting dogs have a strong internal compass, too. He and his team spent two years watching 70 dogs poop and pee and recording which way they faced and how strong the magnetic(磁的) field was.

As it turns out, when the magnetic field was calm, dogs preferred to poop facing either north or south.

The pattern couldn’t explain why dogs like facing the Earth’s poles, but the researchers think it might help them remember where they marked their territory.

If they can remember which way they were facing, they might find it easier to find that spot again. So before you roll your eyes when your dog takes ages to do his business, remember that Fido might just be getting scientific about his potty spot.

1. What is the ritual for dogs when they do their business?

A．They poop twice daily.

B．They circle before pooping.

C．They usually make their owner impatient.

D．They just find a soft area to poop.

2. According to Burda, dogs ________.

A．look for snakes and predators before pooping

B．spin to flatten the grass

C．sniff around to scan the environment

D．circle to face a certain direction

3. The writer cites “birds” in order to show ________.

A．how magic they are

B．dogs also can migrate

C．dogs have inner compass

D．the differences between birds and dogs

4. It might be concluded that dogs ________.

A．have good reasons to take ages to do his business

B．are more scientific than human beings

C．are sensitive to radiation from space

D．often play tricks with their owners

6 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容(不多于1个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。

There is a small but growing movement in America of many     1     ( family) that want to reduce waste to zero.     2       (they) goal of producing no trash is probably impossible to reach. Some come close, reducing a year’s worth of trash to only a few things     3     can fit into a small container. All other things, they say, can be recycled or composted.

Zero Wasters, as they are called, help each other by sharing advice on blogs and social media. A lot of people have given     4     (value) advice on the subject recently. Some of the advice includes where to buy things     5     (avoid) unwanted packaging and how to recycle things that most people throw away.

Bea Johnson, a housewife, says that reducing shopping means her family has more money for fun vacations     6     ever before. She, who is     7     (satisfy) with the fact, says all their clothing comes from used clothing stores. She says that has reduced her household spending     8     40 percent.

Zero Wasters advocate     9     (talk) about five “r’s” that describe want they do: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Rot. They request that things like remaining food not     10     (throw) away randomly and refuse containers at restaurants.

7 . Are you facing a situation that looks impossible to fix?

In 1969,the pollution was terrible along the Cuyahoga River Cleveland, Ohio. It    1    (be) unimaginable that it could ever be cleaned up. The river was so polluted that it    2    (actual) caught fire and burned. Now, years later, this river is one of    3    most outstanding（杰出的）examples of environmental cleanup.

But the river wasn’t changed in a few days    4    even a few months. It took years of work     5    (reduce) the industrial pollution and clean the water. Finally, that hard work paid off and now the water in the river is    6    (clean) than ever.

Maybe you are facing an impossible situation. Maybe you have a habit    7    is driving your family crazy. Possibly you drink too much or don’t know how to control your credit card use. When you face such an impossible situation, don’t you want a quick fix and something to change immediately?

While there are    8    (amaze) stories of instant transformation, for most of us the    9    (change) are gradual and require a lot of effort and work, like cleaning up a polluted river. Just be     10    (patience).

8 . Going green seems to be fad (时尚) for a lot of people these days. Whether that is good or bad, we can’t really say, but for the two of us, going green is not a fad but a lifestyle.

On April 22,2011,we decided to be green every single day for an entire year. This meant doing 365 different things, and it also meant challenging ourselves to go green beyond the easy things. Rather than recycle and reduce our energy, we had to think of 365 different things to do and this was no easy task.

With the idea of going green every single day a year, Our Green Year started. My wife and I decided to educate people about how they could go green in their lives and hoped we could show people all green things that could be done to help the environment. We wanted to push the message that every little bit helps.

Over the course of Our Green Year, we completely changed our lifestyles. We now shop at organic (有机的) stores. We consume less meat, choosing green food. We have greatly reduced our buying we don’t need. We have given away half of what we owned through websites. Our home is kept clean by vinegar and lemon juice, with no chemical cleaners. We make our own butter, enjoying the smell of home-made fresh bread. In our home office anyone caught doing something ungreen might be punished.

Our minds have been changed by Our Green Year. We are grateful for the chance to have been able to go green and educate others. We believe that we do have the power to change things and help our planets.

1. What might be the best title for the passage?

A．Going Green.	B．Protecting the Planet.
C．Keeping Open-Minded	D．Celebrating Our Green Year.

2. It was difficult for the couple to live a green life for the whole year because_________.

A．they were expected to follow the green fad

B．they didn’t know how to educate other people

C．they were unwilling to reduce their energy

D．they needed to perform unusual green tasks

3. What did the couple do over the course of Our Green Year?

A．They tried to get out of their ungreen habits.

B．They ignore others’ ungreen behavior.

C．They chose better chemical cleaners.

D．They sold their home-made food.

4. What can we infer form the last paragraph?

A．The government will give support to the green people.

B．The couple may continue their project in the future.

C．Some people disagree with the couple’s green ideas.

D．Our Green Year is becoming a national campaign.