1 . Chen Guanghui is a guardian for black-necked cranes (黑颈鹤) in the Dashanbao Black-necked Crane National Nature Reserve of Zhaotong city, in southwest China’s Yunnan Province. Whistling is the secret language Chen uses to communicate with the black-necked cranes, a type of migratory bird under first-class protection in China. She says different whistles signal different things. When she whistles in an increasing tone, she tries to tell the cranes: ask your companions to come back for lunch, and they would chirp (吱喳叫) to spread the message right away.
Living near the Dashanbao Nature Reserve, a major winter habitat for the rare species, Chen started to take care of them in 2003, a mission she took over from her mother, whose devotion dates back to the 1990s.
“In the first few days, I remembered they ran away as soon as I approached them. I was very upset and asked my mom to come back, and I was worried they would starve,” says Chen. “I initially tried everything, even singing folk songs to attract them, but failed. Later, I used special whistles and gradually formed close bond with the cranes.”
“I treat them as if they were my own children, and I’m always concerned about them, especially during snowy days when they can’t get food. I feel uncomfortable and anxious when I hear them chirp and usually rush to prepare corn for them.” It’s never been an easy job, and Chen has sustained quite a few injuries over the years, even falling into frozen marsh (沼泽) while trying to save a trapped crane in 2008. However, she never gave up. With love and responsibility, she has persisted in caring for the cranes for about 20 years.
Thanks to the joint protection efforts of Chen and staff members at the nature reserve, now more than 1,900 black-necked cranes overwinter in the area each season every year, up from about 300 when the nature reserve was established.
1. How does Chen Guanghui communicate with black-necked cranes?A.By singing folk songs. | B.By imitating chirps of birds. |
C.By making hand gestures. | D.By blowing special whistles. |
A.Rescuing injured animals. | B.Restoring habitats for rare species. |
C.Looking after black-necked cranes. | D.Building Dashanbao Nature Reserve. |
A.It is inspiring. | B.It is frustrating. |
C.It is interesting. | D.It is unexpected. |
A.Efforts bear fruit. | B.Fortune favors the brave. |
C.Virtue is its own reward. | D.A miss is as good as a mile. |
2 . A new study by researchers at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and the University of Victoria has shown that common levels of traffic pollution can damage human brain function in only a matter of hours.
“For many decades, scientists thought the brain may be protected from the harmful effects of air pollution,” said senior study author Dr. Chris Carlsten. “This study, which is the first of its kind in the world, provides fresh evidence supporting a connection between air pollution and cognition.”
For the study, the researchers briefly exposed 25 healthy adults to diesel exhaust (柴油废气) and filtered air at different times in a laboratory setting. Brain activity was measured before and after each exposure using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
The researchers analyzed changes in the brain’s default mode network (DMN), a set of inter-connected brain regions that play an important role in memory and internal thought. The fMRI revealed that participants had decreased functional connectivity in widespread regions of the DMN after exposure to diesel exhaust, compared to filtered air.
“We know that altered functional connectivity in the DMN has been associated with reduced cognitive performance and symptoms of depression, so it’s concerning to see traffic pollution interrupting these same networks,” said Dr. Jodie Gawryluk, a psychology professor at the University of Victoria and the study’s first author. “While more research is needed to fully understand the functional impacts of these changes, it’s possible that they may impair (损害) people’s thinking or ability to work.”
Notably, the changes in the brain were temporary and participants’ connectivity returned to normal after the exposure. Dr. Carlsten assumed that the effects could be long lasting where exposure is continuous. He said that people should be mindful of the air they’re breathing and take appropriate steps to minimize their exposure to potentially harmful air pollutants like car exhaust.
1. How does traffic pollution affect people according to the study?A.Exhausting their body. | B.Decreasing their income. |
C.Endangering their safety. | D.Harming their brain function. |
A.Growth. | B.Sport. | C.Memory. | D.Behaviour. |
A.Avoid being exposed to the polluted air constantly. |
B.Be mindful of the air quality in a new city. |
C.Measure the brain activity in laboratories. |
D.Stay inside a house as often as possible. |
A.A Role Of Brain Will Be Ruined |
B.Traffic Pollution May Impair Brain Function |
C.A Famous UK University Did A Vital Study |
D.A Source Of Pollution Has Drawn People’s Attention |
A.Sunny. | B.Rainy. | C.Cloudy. |
4 . At ancient sites across the Amazon River basin, mysterious plots of unusually rich soil dot (点缀) the landscape. Scientists have long debated the origin of this “dark earth”, which is darker in color than surrounding soils and richer in carbon. Some people think this dark earth formed naturally, but the latest research has shown that modern Kuikuro people in Brazil create similar soil around their villages on purpose, which adds evidence to the idea that long-ago Amazons deliberately made such soil too. Perron, an earth scientist at MIT, reviewed interviews of Kuikuro people conducted by a Kuikuro filmmaker in 2018 and found that Kuikuro villagers actively make dark earth by using ash, food bits and controlled burns. “When you plant in hilly land, the soil is weak,” explained elder Kanu Kuikuro in one of the interviews. That is why we throw the ash, manioc peelings and manioc pulp. When comparing soil samples from ancient and modern sites, researchers found “striking similarities” — both were far less acidic than surrounding soils and contained higher levels of plant-friendly nutrients.
Analyses also revealed that dark earth holds twice the amount of carbon as surrounding soils on average. Scans (扫描) of the Xingu region suggest that the area is dotted with dark earth, and that hold as much as about 9 million tons of carbon — the annual carbon emissions of a small, industrialized country. “This number could roughly equal the annual carbon emissions of the United States when all dark earth across the Amazon is taken into consideration,” Perron says.
Figuring out the true value of carbon stored in the Amazon’s dark earth will require more data. Still, the research has significant influences on the Amazon’s future. The technique highlights how ancient people were able to live in the Amazon by developing sustainable farming that doubled as a carbon-storing technique. With more and more greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere, it could also provide a blueprint for developing methods of sustainably locking atmospheric carbon in the soil, helping fight climate change.
1. What can we infer from the dark earth across the Amazon River basin?A.They are more acidic than surrounding soils. |
B.They contain more organic nutrients. |
C.They formed naturally. |
D.They contain less carbon. |
A.To explain the difficulty of protecting dark earth. |
B.To show the wide distribution of dark earth in Amazon. |
C.To stress the huge carbon-storing capability of dark earth. |
D.To reveal the large carbon emissions of the United States. |
A.The importance of developing sustainable farming. |
B.The advanced farming technology in ancient tomes. |
C.A possible solution to climate change. |
D.A way of green agriculture. |
A.Urgency of Sustainable Development | B.Facts About the Dark Earth |
C.Advantages of the Dark Earth | D.Wisdom of Ancient Amazons |
1. Where are the two speakers?
A.On the street. | B.In a park. | C.At a square. |
A.Golden retriever. | B.Chihuahua. | C.Samoyed. |
A.He’s cute. | B.He’s shy. | C.He’s dangerous. |
A.A large-sized dog. | B.A brave dog. | C.A smart dog. |
6 . Some of the oldest living things on our remarkable planet are trees. The record holders are bristlecone pines (狐尾松) of the western United States, quite a few of which are known to be more than 3,000 years old. One individual, discovered in 2012, is estimated to be more than 5,060 years old, making it the oldest known non-clonal tree in the world!
So, how do trees survive for thousands of years?
The other part of the answer has to do with how trees age. In fact, there is quite a debate about whether ancient trees can be considered “immortal (永生的)”. That is, will such trees ever die if they are not killed by an outside force? We may never know the answer to that, but, at the very least,
Older trees benefit greatly from having bodies made mostly of dead woody tissue. In fact, an old tree might be as much as 95 percent dead tissue! Given that it isn’t alive, wood does not require metabolic (新陈代谢的) activity to maintain it,
A.so an old tree doesn’t really need to do much to keep living |
B.This is a question that has something to do with the good luck of trees |
C.However, bristlecones are certainly not alone in terms of the oldest creatures |
D.This is a fascinating question for biologists that does not yet have a settled answer |
E.What’s more, some ancient trees have superior chemical defenses against pests and diseases |
F.which means that trees can survive everywhere without being limited by external and internal conditions |
G.we know that ancient trees age in ways that are dramatically different from the ways that most animals and even other plants age |
7 . You can tell a lot about a man by how he treats his dogs.
For many years, I
The next week we walked our dogs together. It was a hot day. When we
We continued to date, though neither of us brought up the future. And then in late November, Tilly had an
A year later, much to my delight, this man
A.refused | B.enjoyed | C.hated | D.raised |
A.knowledge | B.power | C.loneliness | D.expectation |
A.dating | B.choosing | C.attempting | D.retiring |
A.gardener | B.owner | C.cleaner | D.lover |
A.paused | B.failed | C.pretended | D.proved |
A.offered | B.threw | C.repeated | D.reacted |
A.head for | B.leave for | C.fall for | D.take for |
A.management | B.operation | C.goodbye | D.movement |
A.reached | B.consulted | C.introduced | D.took |
A.climbing | B.changing | C.cleaning | D.opening |
A.pushed | B.finished | C.worked | D.started |
A.set | B.formed | C.replied | D.reported |
A.team | B.friend | C.couple | D.crowd |
A.risked | B.greeted | C.produced | D.built |
A.won | B.rewarded | C.educated | D.brought |
8 . In the past months, humans have become quite familiar with the term “social distancing”. But it turns out that we are not the only ones to avoid contacting our peers when our health may be at risk. Research suggests honeybees do it, too. “It’s exciting to see that other animals are doing something analogous,” said Dr. Alessandro Cini, co-author of the research at University College London.
Scientists have found that when a hive of honeybees is under threat from the mite called Varroa destructor, which can cause the collapse of honeybee colonies, the bees will respond by changing the way they interact with one another.
By examining videos recorded inside the hives, the researchers found that when hives had mites, foraging bees performed important dances to indicate the direction of food sources and kept themselves away from the centre of the colony where young bees and the queen stayed. This may help to keep the infection at a level that can be controlled, limiting the amount of damage. “Foragers are one of the main entrance routes for the mites,” said Cini.
The team then carried out experiments in the laboratory, artificially infecting small groups of about 12 young bees with the mites and comparing them to uninfected groups. This time, the team found no increase in social distancing among infected groups which, says Cini, may reflect that it is more important for foragers and young bees to keep their distance when the mites are present, and that bees rely on one another.
“Probably social distancing is too costly on a small scale,” he said. But there were differences in grooming behaviour: Infected bees were groomed more, inspected more, and had food shared with them more than individuals in uninfected groups.
Cini said the study showed the power of natural selection in the evolution of social behavior and also dynamic change in the social behaviour to adapt to an ever-changing environment.
1. What does the underlined word “analogous” in Paragraph I probably mean?A.Similar. | B.Adventurous. | C.Meaningful. | D.Creative. |
A.To quickly locate food. | B.To show respect for the queen. |
C.To minimize the potential risk. | D.To shorten the time to look for food. |
A.Social distancing happens between infected groups. |
B.Infected honeybees were given more attention. |
C.Younger honeybees were safe from infection. |
D.Honeybees depend on the queen to survive. |
A.Bees’ behavior when they are under threat. | B.Bees’ communication when they are under threat. |
C.The social distancing between human and honey bees. | D.The social distancing in honey bees’ world. |
9 . When wildfire smoke from huge fires in Canada blanketed the US in the summer of 2023, emergency rooms saw an increase in admissions for lung problems, heart attacks and other health issues.
Burning fossil fuels has driven climate change, and now climate change is costing people their health and increasingly their lives, says a new report from the medical journal The Lancet. The eighth annual Lancet Countdown, an international analysis that tracks nearly 50 different health-focused issues affected by climate change, calls for an immediate wind-down of fossil fuel use.
Those with the least historical responsibility for causing climate change are feeling the worst effects. Pakistan—a country responsible for roughly 0.3% of all climate-change-causing carbon emissions, suffered huge floods in 2022 that displaced more than 30 million people and killed at least 1,700. However, wealthier countries cannot be spared. In the US, wildfire smoke this summer sent people to the emergency room from New York to Georgia. In Europe, a 2022 summer heat wave resulted in over 60,000 deaths.
About one fifth of all US residents work outdoors; the percentages are even higher in many other countries. When it gets too hot, it gets harder and harder to work. Last year, the report says, outdoor workers lost more than 140 hours each — or several weeks of pay — because of the intense heat.
The human and economic costs are forecast to grow with every tenth of a degree hotter the planet gets. Heat-related deaths, for example, could increase by nearly five times by the middle of the century, if without immediate reductions to carbon emissions.
“I have a young patient who presents with uncontrollable asthma. She lives right next to a highway and is breathing in harmful air from cars burning gas,” Renee Salas, a doctor at Harvard’s Chan School of Public Health says. “So the treatment she needs is electric vehicles, home weatherization and air purification. These are prescriptions I can’t write.”
1. What can be learned from paragraph 3?A.The wildfire has burned large areas of forest. | B.Pakistan is largely responsible for climate change. |
C.Climate change has caused a lot of human deaths. | D.People in wealthier countries have good health care. |
A.American residents worked very hard last year. |
B.There is nothing people can do about climate change. |
C.The economy has also been affected by climate change. |
D.Heat-related deaths will double by the middle of the century. |
A.She advocates green lifestyle. | B.She prefers to drive an electric car to work. |
C.Young people are more likely to get asthma. | D.Hospitals are short of medicines to treat asthma. |
A.The advantage of living in the US. | B.The cause of climate change. |
C.The stress of working outdoors. | D.The harm of climate change. |
10 . Nuclear pollution is a serious global
When nuclear accidents occur in coastal areas, the
Following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011, efforts to cool the reactors by pumping in seawater resulted in the
This
A.change | B.opportunity | C.concern | D.possibility |
A.caused | B.posed | C.created | D.increased |
A.resulted in | B.led to | C.brought about | D.caused |
A.terrestrial | B.aquatic | C.marine | D.atmospheric |
A.balancing | B.regulating | C.considering | D.stabilizing |
A.heightened | B.raised | C.decreased | D.lifted |
A.minor | B.slight | C.substantial | D.insignificant |
A.accumulation | B.storage | C.deposition | D.buildup |
A.Therefore | B.Despite | C.However | D.Hence |
A.from | B.by | C.of | D.in |
A.residents | B.citizens | C.inhabitants | D.dwellers |
A.issue | B.measure | C.release | D.disposal |
A.web | B.chain | C.network | D.system |
A.urgent | B.immediate | C.pressing | D.critical |
A.address | B.tackle | C.solve | D.resolve |