1 . Plogging is a great way to make your little area of the world a little cleaner, brighter, and safer while boosting your own health, fitness, and mood. This up and coming environmental activity began in Sweden in 2016.     1    . It is quite a common scene across other European countries, as well as the United States, Mexico, and other areas.

Definition of plogging

    2    . It is a term made by combining “jogging” with “plocka upp,” which is Swedish for “pick up.” Therefore, the plogging definition is an emerging fitness that involves picking up litter or trash while you run.

Benefits of plogging

Because plogging typically involves jogging or running, there are many health benefits to this eco-friendly fitness trend. However, the benefits extend beyond just improving heart health.     3    . First, it improves mood and makes you feel good about yourself. What’s more, it gives back to your community and connects you online and builds social connections with other ploggers.

How to get started

Before you start, you’ll need to outfit yourself with the right gear to get the job done. If you’re already running or jogging, you should have a good pair of running shoes and running apparel (装备).     4    . Otherwise, broken glass and sharp and dirty litter items you may pick up will hurt you. A trash bag of some sort for collecting what you pick up is a must as well.

    5    

Theoretically, you can go plogging almost anywhere you have permission to be. Depending on where you live, you may encounter trash along the side of the roads, parks, school playgrounds, trails, parking lots, town squares and bike paths.

A．How to do plogging

B．Where to go plogging

C．It has since spread around the world

D．Here are some of the top benefits of plogging

E．It’s important that you have the right footwear

F．Beyond that, you’ll need a good pair of gloves to protect your hands

G．Plogging is not, in fact, a compound word of “plodding” and “jogging”

2 . July was the world’s hottest month on record. Wildfires this summer destroyed a Hawaiian city and caused evacuations (疏散) in Canada, Greece, and Thailand. Floods devastated towns in Vermont in July and killed thousands of Libyans in September.

John Vaillant’s new book Fire Weather aims to shake us out of this with a tale of terror from a climate change frontline: the city of Fort McMurray, in northern Canada’s vast forest, where an uncontrollable wildfire during an exceptionally warm spring in 2016 flooded entire communities within days.

Vaillant tells his story at disaster-movie pace, starting with the glimpse of smoke on the horizon and assurances from the authorities that all will be fine. Mounting misfortune follows as the flames lick golf courses on the city’s edge. By the end, 90,00 people had been evacuated, 2,500 structures destroyed, another 500 damaged. The energy generated by the fire created its own weather system, with hurricane force winds and lightning strikes.

What attracts me most is the book’s central irony. The story takes place in Fort McMurrary, which is the industrial centre of northern Alberta’s tar sands, one of the world’s largest fossil fuel deposits. It is a city whose existence depends on the hydrocarbons whose burning caused climate change; but whose existence almost ended in a climate-caused burning.

Fire Weather isn’t a typical disaster book. Vaillant’s references to Nassim Taleb, Lucretius, Seamus Heaney, The Lord of the Rings, Xerxes, and Moby-Dick can grant. But Vaillant’s theme is also catching my eyes. Our industrial world is releasing carbon at a rate 10 times faster than scientists can find in the geological record for the past 250mn years, he writes. “Thanks to fire and our appetite for boundless energy, we have evolved into a geologic event that will be measurable a million years from now.”

1. What’s the purpose of mentioning the examples in paragraph 1?

A．To show the varieties of nature disasters.

B．To engage the readers in the same topic.

C．To indicate the difficulties of these areas.

D．To provide the background of the book.

2. What’s special about the book according to this passage?

A．Plot and viewpoint.	B．Character and conflict.
C．Setting and theme.	D．Tone and style.

3. What does the underlined word “grant” in paragraph 5 mean?

A．Be presented.

B．Be refused.

C．Be preserved.

D．Be recorded.

4. Where as the text most probably taken from?

A．An essay on the climate change.

B．A guidebook to Fort McMurrary.

C．A review of world disasters.

D．An introduction to a book.

3 . Finland’s system for returning drink containers started in the 1950s, and today almost every bottle and can is recycled. Convenience is the cornerstone of the system’s success.

Nowadays there are almost 5,000 container-return machines across Finland. Most of them are located in the same shops that sell drinks, making returning them a convenient part of people’s routine. Hotels, restaurants, offices, schools and event organizers return containers through their drink providers.

The return machines are easy to use. You place a bottle or can on a set of mini conveyor belts at the front of the machine. They carry it past a scanner and out of sight. The machine sorts the bottles and crushes the cans. When you’re done, you press a button and the machine gives you a receipt. Plastic bottles are worth 20 to 40 cents, depending on their size, while glass bottles are worth 10 to 40 cents and aluminium (铝) cans are 15 cents. The returned containers are recycled or the materials are reused. Across Finland, on average, every Finn returns 373 items in a year: 251 aluminium cans, 98 plastic bottles and 24 glass bottles.

The government has entrusted this function to the private agency. “Palpa is completely nonprofit and receives no government funding,” says Tommi Vihavainen, Palpa’s director of producer services, ICT and communication.

Russia, the UK and other countries have shown interest in the Finnish system. “Most visitors want to see how the return system works in Finland,” says Vihavainen. “We don’t act as consultants, but we’re proud to present our system.”

1. What do we know about Finland’s system for returning drink containers?

A．It still has a long way to develop.	B．It gains popularity for its convenience.
C．It used to be fashionable but now out-dated.	D．It’s supported financially by the government.

2. Why does the writer use the figures in paragraph 3?

A．To show Finns consume various drinks.	B．To help make the story more interesting.
C．To make the impact of the system convincing.	D．To guarantee the proper logic of the passage.

3. What’s Vihavainen’s attitude towards the return system?

A．Indifferent.

B．Positive.

C．Pessimistic.

D．Dismissive.

4. What is the passage mainly about?

A．Finland’s recycling programme keeps bottles off streets.

B．The return machines in the world are popular and easy.

C．Palpa—a complete nonprofit to recycle the bottles.

D．Finland—a country free of waste such as bottles.

4 . In a small, rough shipyard on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, a small team is building what they say will be the world’s largest ocean-going clean cargo ship.

Ceiba is the first ship built by Sailcargo, a company trying to prove that zero-carbon shipping is possible, and commercially available. Made largely of wood, Ceiba combines both very old and very new technology: sailing masts stand alongside solar panels, a uniquely designed electric engine and batteries. Once on the water, she will be capable of crossing oceans entirely without the use of fossil fuels, which sets her apart.

“The thing that is striking is the fact that she’ll have one of the largest marine electric engines of her kind in the world,” Danielle Doggett said. The system also has the means to capture energy from underwater propellers (螺旋桨) as well as solar power, so electricity will be available for the engine when needed. “Really, the only limit on how long she can stay at sea is water and food on board for the crew.”

Despite some hold-ups due to the global disaster, the team hopes to get her on the water by the end of 2024 and operating by 2025, when she will begin transporting cargo between Costa Rica and Canada.

“There are actually loads of innovations happening that could transform shipping emissions, but few companies are willing to apply them to building ships like Ceiba.” says Lucy Gilliam. “So it’s not that we don’t have great ideas. The problem that we have is that fossil fuels are still too cheap. And we don’t have the rules to force people to take up the new technology.”

When it comes to promoting this kind of boat, it has to be said that Ceiba is small for a cargo ship — tiny in fact. She will carry around nine standard shipping containers. She is also relatively slow. Being a world-first, there are some aspects of Ceiba’s design that have yet to be proven at sea.

1. What is unique about Ceiba as a cargo ship?

A．It is the world’s largest.	B．It is environment-friendly.
C．It is wooden with old technology.	D．It is modern with unique equipment.

2. What determines Ceiba’s length of staying at sea according to Danielle Doggett?

A．The size of the sail.	B．The weather of the ocean.
C．The power of the electric engine.	D．The quantity of the living supplies.

3. Why are companies unwilling to build ships like Ceiba?

A．The rules are disobeyed.	B．The fuels are affordable.
C．The bigger ships are preferable.	D．The innovations are distrusted.

4. What is the author’s attitude to the innovation of Ceiba?

A．Objective.

B．Doubtful.

C．Critical.

D．Favorable.

5 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

Tom is a special child. Ever since he was little, dogs have been his greatest passion. He often growled (低吼) and barked and sometimes moved around the house on all fours. His parents brought in a little brown female dog named Lynn. Tom was on cloud nine. One day, this little boy, together with Lynn, was sitting quietly down by the side of the street when suddenly a giant dog walked across him. He was a little surprised and started screaming as loudly as he could! All of this frightened Lynn away immediately.

Tom’s parents tried to see what the chances were of Lynn coming home on her own. But five days later, there was still no sign of Lynn. The boy didn’t just have tears streaming down his cheeks — his parents were saddened too.

The woods behind their home stretched for over 50 miles! Together with their neighbors, they searched for over a month. But Lynn was gone. Tom’s parents wanted to choose a new puppy for him. But no dog could replace Lynn for him.

Tom was not the same boy. He locked himself in his room. He seemed to have lost his love for dogs. He could not focus his attention on his classes so he didn’t want to go to school. He would easily get angry with people around him. Tom changed from a happy, smiling boy to an upset and annoying kid.

Tom’s parents wanted him to stay home and he had been studying at home ever since. His parents accompanied him almost every day, but staying home didn’t help much. The boy’s mother worried a lot. One rainy afternoon, she saw him staring out the window. “I miss Lynn so much. I wonder if everything is okay with her?” It had been a long time since his beloved dog ran away, but Tom’s despair was as great as the day it happened. Days later, Tom walked out the front door with his head down and sat by the side of the street.

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。

A huge brown dog crossed the street and stood in front of the crying boy.

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Tom ran after Lynn and entered the woods.

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6 . In order to meet growing food production and energy needs in low-and middle-income countries, solar-powered groundwater irrigation (灌溉) is rapidly gaining ground. More than 500,000 solar pumps (泵) have been set up in south Asia over the last few years and a major expansion is planned across sub-Saharan Africa.

Dustin Garrick, professor in the School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability, along with an international team, examined the trend toward solar pumps as a clear opportunity for boosting agricultural yields and reducing poverty, but the opportunity comes with risks.

While replacing electric or gas pumps with solar-powered irrigation holds the promise of reducing carbon emissions (排放), it is not guaranteed. Farmers who have access to these pumps may expand production of crops or diversify into other activities, which are not emissions neutral. Solar pumps will increase groundwater pumping efficiency, which may be desirable in regions that support such increases, but this could worsen groundwater lessening in regions that are already stressed. The cheap clean energy of solar pumps may lead to increased groundwater development, without necessarily decreasing overall emissions.

Despite these challenges, the clean-energy boost can serve as a stimulus for positive change in water and energy management but will require enhanced regulation and planning in both low-and high-income settings. Garrick and his team advocate for improved data collection initiatives, with a shift from separated to integrated approaches. They suggest using technology to measure water pumping and collecting remotely sensed data to monitor land use changes. As well, regulatory improvements are crucial, with mounting limits for carbon emissions and groundwater lessening established at various levels.

With groundwater management already a difficult challenge, we must act fast to understand the implications of the clean energy boost and poverty reduction acts to avoid these gains being won away by wells running dry. The rapid adoption of solar irrigation intensifies the urgency, demanding adaptation from governments and institutions to sail through these complexities.

1. According to paragraph 3, there is a conflict between ________.

A．poor farmers and solar-powered irrigation	B．human consumption and clean energy limits
C．crop diversity and crop production expansion	D．pumping efficiency and groundwater exhaustion

2. What did Garrick and his team suggest for a positive change?

A．Integrating data collection and regulation.	B．Improving carbon emission monitoring.
C．Separating data for land use changes.	D．Establishing groundwater levels.

3. What does the author propose the readers do?

A．Perform as the authorities suggest.	B．Act based on further understanding.
C．Quicken the adoption of solar irrigation.	D．Challenge the groundwater management.

4. Which of the following is the best title for the text?

A．The Complexities of Adopting Solar Pumps

B．Solar-Powered Irrigation: Farmers’ New Future

C．The Promise and Risks of Solar-Powered Irrigation

D．Balancing Clean Energy Boost and Poverty Reduction

7 . 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。

Farmers begin to grow cacao trees in some provinces in South China.     1     (origin), the trees grow in the shady areas of rainforests near the Earth’s equator, which require     2     exact amount of water, warmth, soil and protection. After about five years, cacao trees start producing large fruits     3     (call) pods, which grow near the trunk of the tree. The seeds inside these pods are harvested to make chocolate. There are several kinds of cacao trees. Most of the world’s chocolate     4     (make) from the Forastero cacao tree. But Chinese farmers can also grow Criollo or Trinitario cacao trees. Growing cacao trees     5     (be) very hard work for farmers because cacao trees grow n on farms are much     6     (easily) threatened by diseases and insects than wild trees are. They have to find many ways to deal with the damage.

Today, chocolate industry is developing Chinese elements as chocolate shapes. The “big chocolate     7     (consume)”, such as Belgium, Italy, Germany and other European countries, also have designers to integrate Chinese elements into the chocolate modeling. In recent years, cultural and creative chocolates have been introduced     8     a variety of ways. From delicate cloth coins and silver locks to national     9     (treasure) and ancient buildings, they can be turned into delicious food on the tip of the tongue,     10     people can taste buds through the time tunnel and feel the history and culture.

8 . African penguins live on the rocky coasts of South Africa, Namibia and nearby islands. Like other types of penguins, the birds have white feathers covering their chests and black feathers covering their backs. They form lifelong pair bonds with mates, but they nest in huge colonies — so, scientists wondered how the birds were able to identify their partners among the sea of black-and-white birds. They wondered if their chest spots had something to do with it. To test this theory, they studied 12 African penguins at a zoo and marine park near Rome called Zoomarine Italia.

In one test, they hung two life-size photographs of the African penguins. One showed a random member of the colony, while the other showed the test subject’s mate. The scientists recorded the birds’ interactions with the photos: How long did they spend looking at each one, as well as how much time did they spend standing near each photograph? The penguins spent more time gazing at the photo of their partners — about 23 seconds longer, on average — than looking at the other photo. They also stood next to the image of their beau s for twice as long. Then, the researchers covered up the heads of the birds in the photographs, leaving only their speckled bodies visible, and the penguins still lingered near their partners’ portraits.

In another experiment, the researchers hung up two photos of a bird’s mate — but, in one, they had digitally removed its spots. In this case, the penguin again spent more time looking at the photo with the dots.

Finally, the researchers posted two photographs of penguins with digitally removed spots — one of the test subject’s mate and the other of a random penguin from the colony. In this scenario, the penguins did not appear to recognize their partners. They spent roughly the same amount of time gazing at or standing near both photos.

Together, the results of these experiments suggest African penguins are zeroing in on their partners’ spots and using them like name tags, scientists say.

“Our results provide the first evidence of a specific visual cue responsible for spontaneous individual recognition by a bird and highlight the importance of considering all sensory modalities in the study of animal communication,” the researchers write in the paper.

1. What can we learn from Paragraph 1?

A．African penguins live on the rocky coasts of North Africa.

B．Scientists are curious about the African penguins.

C．African penguins have white feathers covering their backs.

D．Scientists studied 12 African penguins only at a zoo near Rome.

2. What plays a key role in African penguins’ identifying their partners?

A．Their partners’ voice.	B．Their partners’ heads.
C．Their partners’ back feathers.	D．Their partners’ speckled bodies.

3. What does the underlined phrase “zeroing in on” in Paragraph 5 mean?

A．Losing sight of.	B．Taking delight in.
C．Paying attention to.	D．Speaking highly of.

4. Where might you find the passage?

A．In a science report.	B．In a travel brochure.
C．In a biology textbook.	D．In a fashion magazine.

9 . I enjoyed this trip for the opportunity to witness the Cranes (鹤) returning from Wood Buffalo National Park,some with their young of the year. I wondered, at the changing skies of Saskatchewan, often the vivid oranges and pinks of a sunset made me pause, but it was the clouds clouds of feathers as ducks, geese, and cranes lifted off fields and lakes in numbers so numerous, they blocked out the sky at times, that blew my mind.

The desire to travel and explore is strong within the human condition. We might think we must journey “away” to enjoy a holiday, and sometimes we do. But other times, a simpler exploration, digging deeply into landscapes and cultures that we think we know. reveals the best sights.

I grew up in Saskachewan when cranes were fighting back from extinction, and I wasn’t a birdwatcher. But, returning with Eagle-Eye Tours as a bird-loving RCGS Travel Ambassador, I wondered at the conservation successes that allowed us to find these rare birds reliably.

My favourite memory from the trip is of an old farmer driving a large trick who slowed down for our group,standing in the middle of a road, excitedly watching a flock of cranes. Rather than scolding us for blocking traffic, he invited us into his backyard for a better view! He explained how he’s been providing quiet reserves for many years as the birds stop to rest and feed before flying south to Texas. It’s moments like this that make the travel special, and companies like Eagle-Eye Tours craft itineraries (行程) that allow these unexpected discoveries.

I enjoyed sharing these experiences with other nature lovers on the Royal Canadian Geographical Society branded trip and look forward to doing it again in October 2024.

1. What do the changing skies indicate?

A．The worsening environment	B．The coming change of the weather
C．The imbalance of nature	D．The success of protecting cranes.

2. What kind of trip did the writer make?

A．A trip of relaxation.	B．A trip of exploration.
C．A trip of friendship.	D．A trip of protection.

3. Why does the writer mention the farmer?

A．To explain why the protection goes well.

B．To describe how local people live their life

C．To show that farmers are friendly to tourists.

D．To prove that everyone is a true bird lover.

4. What is the farmer like?

A．Indifferent.

B．Expert.

C．Kind.

D．Rich

10 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

“Whoa, boy,” Sarai said, holding out a hand to her horse. “You heard what Dad said yesterday. If I can’t get this halter (缰绳) on you today, we’ll have to send you back to the rescue farm. I don’t want to send you back. Don’t you want to stay with me?”

She searched around in the bag. Inside were a variety of yummy horse treats. “Let’s try this again, Amadore.” Sarai pulled out an apple-flavored biscuit and held it out, palm flat. The horse reached toward her hand with his nose, sniffing her.

She held her own breath so as not to scare him. Another inch and she could touch his silky, soft nose. In her excitement, she rushed it and took a step forward. Amadore snorted and stumbled back into the far comer of the stall (马厩).

She frowned (皱眉) at his response to her, brokenhearted.

“I know what your problem is,” a voice said from the stall door. Sarai threw a look over her shoulder, “Who are you?”

“I’m Cody,” the boy said, smiling. “And I know what your problem is. It’s your face,”

“Excuse me?” Sarai’s eyebrows hit the roof, and her fists clenched in instant anger. “How dare you!” She turned on her heel to walk out of the stall, but Cody called out to her.

“No, no. I didn’t mean anything bad. You’re not ugly or anything. It’s your frown.”

Sarai frowned at him.

“Yes, like that,” Cody said, recovering some of his cheer. “You’re frowning at Amadore when you’re approaching him.”

Sarai half rolled her eyes. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“How about we do a little experiment?” Cody suggested. “Here’s the camera. Can you take two photos for me? In one, I’ll flash a big, toothy smile, and in the other, I’ll show an angry face with my teeth out.”

A minute later Cody and Sarai ran off to print the pictures.

“Now,” said Cody, once they were back at the stall. “I’ll show him the pictures.”

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。

Cody stepped in, holding the “happy” photo in front of his face like a mask.

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“Are you ready to try putting the halter on Amadore now?” Cody asked.

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