1 . The quiet residential street in Glendale, Calif, has become a battleground in California’s annual fight against wildfires, with about 300 goats deployed to combat the threat. These goats are strategically spread across the foothills and steep ridges of the Verdugo Mountains, where they eat dried-out vegetation that flourished after recent rains.

Despite the hot 94°F heat, these goats tirelessly munch on (咀嚼) dead grass, scrubby bushes, cactus, and even invasive plants like star thistle and black mustard. Michael Choi, the owner of Fire Grazers Inc, is amazed at their ability to consume even thorny (带刺的) plants.

Fire Grazers Inc. is a family-owned business that uses goats to clear brush from challenging terrain (地势). This year, the company is busier than ever due to increased demand following a rainy winter that led to more vegetation growth. Choi has extended the grazing season by a couple of months, and he’s added more goats to keep up with the workload, bringing the total to about 900.

The goats clear about 1 acre of vegetation each day. They are transported to various sites, including wealthy areas with challenging terrain, where they help reduce the risk of wildfires. Targeted grazing (放牧), an age-old practice, is important in California’s wildfire risk reduction strategy, especially after years of devastating wildfires.

Patty Mundo, vegetation management inspector for the Glendale Fire Department, said it was local residents who suggested the idea of the goats two years ago. Since then, she’s brought Choi and his goats back for an annual “Bleat and Greet” event, where the community is invited to get to know the fire-fighting heroes. It’s a great way to raise awareness about the importance of proper land management, Mundo said.

Compared to traditional brush crews that rely on power tools and equipment, goats are cost-effective and environmentally friendly. They only require water, minerals and the protection of an Anatolian shepherd dog.

Choi takes pride in contributing to the safety of California’s communities. As the goats graze, he reflects on the potential of these animals to create firebreaks that could save homes and lives, giving firefighters crucial time to respond to emergencies.

1. Why are goats considered effective in fighting wildfires in California?

A．They are cheaper than power tools.

B．They can work in high temperatures.

C．They can eat various vegetation on tough sites.

D．They are better at firefighting than traditional methods.

2. What caused the growing demand for Fire Grazers Inc’s services this year?

A．Heavy rainfall during the winter.	B．A reduction in the number of goats.
C．A decrease in vegetation growth.	D．More and more costly wildfires.

3. How does targeted grazing help reduce the risk of wildfires?

A．By supplying water to dry areas.

B．By providing temporary shelter for firefighters.

C．By starting controlled fires in certain locations.

D．By creating firebreaks through vegetation consumption.

4. What can be inferred about the “Bleat and Greet” event?

A．It offers a chance to meet heroic goats.

B．It is a festival celebrating goats.

C．It is a fundraiser for wildfire victims.

D．It shows the cooking uses of goat meat.

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。

The number of Amur tigers, also known as Siberian tigers, moving from Russia into northeastern China,     1    (increase) because of lower levels human activity, improvements in their habitat     2     a smoother transit corridor between countries. The area     3     tigers lived across the Sino-Russian border expanded by about 12 kilometers every three years from 2003-2016. In 2021 the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park was established.     4     (cover) approximately 14,100 square kilometers, the park straddles the provinces of Heilongjiang and Jilin. By the end of 2021 the number of wild Amur tigers living there     5     (rise) to 50 from 27 in 2017. The conservation of tigers is recognized as a global challenge, due to     6     (they) expansive habitat requirements. A female needs 400 to 500 square kilometers while a male requires over 1, 000 square kilometers. The collaboration between these neighboring parks creates a     7     (share) home for the animals. The construction of the Sino-Russian cross-border environmental corridor is vital     8     several barriers hinder the movement of tigers between the two sides. Border fences and roads built in the area are among those obstacles. Efforts are required by both sides     9     (promote) the corridor. As the population of prey species including wild boar and deer rises, Amur tigers are travelling     10     (far) into China for food. The expansion of the tigers’ range is expected to continue.

3 . Climate change is causing more areas to turn into deserts. This issue is affecting the lives of 250 million people as land that used to be good for farming becomes dry and unproductive. Around one-third of the world’s land is impacted, including regions in Africa, southern Europe, Asia and America.

Sand to Green is a Moroccan company that can transform a patch of desert into a sustainable (可持续的) and profitable plantation in five years, according to Wissal Ben Moussa, its co-founder and chief agricultural officer. The solution is using agroforestry (农林业)to create a new kind of agriculture that is sustainable and that can be resilient (有适应力的) in front of climate change.

The system can be set up close to any source of salty water, which Sand to Green cleans using energy from the sun. It then grows different types of fruit trees and plants together in the same area—a method called mixed planting—and waters the plants’ roots directly with the cleaned water, to reduce water loss to the air. The soil is regenerated using what Sand to Green calls “green manure”, a mixture that includes compost, biochar(生物炭)and microorganisms that help the soil “wake up”. Biochar is a form of charcoal that can help dry soil hold on to water.

In a five-hectare trial in southern Morocco that’s been running since 2017, Sand to Green has tried out a variety of plants in search of the best performers. Among the intercropping herbs (草本植物) that have been successfully trialed are rosemary, geranium, vetiver and citronella, which Ben Moussa describes as “very low-maintenance and very high-profit”.

Sand to Green is now working to scale up to a 20-hectare commercial site, also in southern Morocco. It says a site of that size would cost around $475,000 to set up and would start bringing financial returns in about five years.

According to Ben Moussa, with this system they create biodiversity, which means better soil, healthier crops and a bigger yield. The plantation can generate 1.5 times more yield, thus making more money than a farm that grows only one type of crop in the same space.

1. What phenomenon does the author describe in paragraph 1?

A．Deforestation.	B．Desertification.
C．Global warming.	D．Urbanization.

2. Why did Sand to Green use agroforestry?

A．To preserve the crop’s survival rate.

B．To protect water from pollution.

C．To make a new type of soil.

D．To help people adapt to climate change.

3. What can we learn about Sand to Green?

A．It aims to plant more trees.

B．It earns a good reputation.

C．It develops new plants.

D．It produces good results.

4. What does the underlined phrase “scale up” mean in paragraph 5?

A．Expand.

B．Object.

C．Refer.

D．Prefer.

4 . Dutch researchers have discovered that birds living in cities are using metal spikes (尖刺) to build their nests. People put these spikes on buildings in order to keep birds off their balconies, benches, and chimneys, but birds seem to be stealing them and using them to keep people away from their eggs.

The research began when, in the courtyard of a hospital in Antwerp, Belgium, biologist AukeFlorian Hiemstra found a large nest that had been built by a magpie (喜鹊). The nest was made from about 1,500 metal spikes. They were pointing outward to create a protective system around the nest.

“I just stared at it, this strange, beautiful, weird nest,” Hiemstra told BBC News. When he investigated further, he found that magpies had moved away nearly 165 feet of metal spikes that had been glued to the hospital’s roof.

After Hiemstra made this discovery, his team heard about a similar nest created by crows in Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, and another magpie nest in Glasgow, Scotland. The crows had positioned the spikes in a different way, perhaps using the metal to support the nest’s structure.

In their report, the researchers mention many kinds of birds moving spikes off buildings, but they chose to focus their study on corvids(birds from the crow family). The researchers pointed out that there have been previous studies on how corvids use everything from telephone wires to clothes hangers to build their nests. They said the use of anti-bird spikes “hints at a functional use”—meaning the birds seem to know exactly what they’re doing.

Magpies have often been seen nesting in thorny (多刺的) places, where the thorns can prevent people from attacking the small eggs and chicks inside the nest. Thorny hedges aren’t common in cities, however, so the theory is that magpies use the human-made version instead. Hiemstra calls this the birds’ “revenge”. “We’re trying to get rid of birds, but the birds are collecting our metal spikes and actually making more birds in these nests,” he said.

1. Why are metal spikes put on buildings?

A．To draw birds’ attention to the nest.	B．To prevent strangers entering.
C．To keep birds off the buildings.	D．To make the buildings more beautiful.

2. Magpies use metal spikes to build nests ________.

A．to protect their eggs and chicks	B．to decorate their nests
C．to provide a strong hold	D．to support the structure of the nests

3. What does Hiemstra think of birds’ collecting metal spikes?

A．Disappointing.	B．Appreciative.
C．Confusing.	D．Indifferent.

4. What is the purpose of the passage?

A．To introduce a new species of bird that has adapted to city life.

B．To compare different nesting habits of birds in urban environments.

C．To emphasize the negative impact of human activities on bird habitats.

D．To inform readers about birds using metal spikes to build nests in cities.

5 . Austrian biologist Johannes Fritz has dedicated his career to helping northern bald ibises (鹮). This rare species of bird was _________ in the wild 50 years ago; however, through careful _________, he’s been able to “rewild” 277 ibises in his home country. To ensure that they survive the _________ of the winter, Fritz even _________ young birds a new migration path from Austria to _________ with the help of a flying machine.

Fritz guided the first group of ibises in 2004. _________, that path has already been affected by climate change. After noticing that three _________ failed to make the trip, he and his team _________ the birds and drove them where they needed to go. This was only a/an _________ solution, of course. Soon afterward, Fritz was designing a new __________ for the ibises which would help them __________ the dangers of the Alps.

Using a three-wheeled vehicle, Fritz __________ with the birds. He taught them a new migration path that __________ about 2, 5000 miles, which is about three times __________ than the old route. Rather than go to Italy, the ibises now ________ to Spain’s southern Atlantic coast. It takes Fritz and the birds six weeks to make a __________ trip.

Some may wonder how Fritz is able to teach the birds in his flying machine, and why the ibises __________ to follow him. The answer is quite __________. Fritz and the Waldrapp team have taken care of the birds their whole lives — __________ them and supporting them. So they __________ follow him, despite not knowing their new destination.

1.

A．free

B．normal

C．numerous

D．extinct

2.

A．reintroduction

B．reservation

C．resistance

D．resolution

3.

A．sunshine

B．temperatures

C．plants

D．dangers

4.

A．offered

B．passed

C．taught

D．spared

5.

A．America

B．China

C．Spain

D．Italy

6.

A．Therefore

B．Otherwise

C．Instead

D．However

7.

A．colonies

B．species

C．paths

D．biologists

8.

A．released

B．hunted

C．captured

D．spotted

9.

A．possible

B．easy

C．temporary

D．partial

10.

A．method

B．route

C．home

D．machine

11.

A．refuse

B．overcome

C．avoid

D．challenge

12.

A．put off

B．took off

C．shook off

D．kept off

13.

A．measures

B．expands

C．lasts

D．explores

14.

A．faster

B．longer

C．wider

D．higher

15.

A．travel

B．object

C．drive

D．stick

16.

A．long-distance

B．first-rate

C．high-speed

D．one-way

17.

A．choose

B．promise

C．offer

D．struggle

18.

A．complex

B．magical

C．simple

D．mysterious

19.

A．changing

B．fighting

C．studying

D．feeding

20.

A．luckily

B．willingly

C．surprisingly

D．easily

6 . Bees are more than just honey-makers, They are essential pollinators (传粉者) that help maintain the balance of our ecosystems and the diversity of our crops. Bees are among the most diverse and plentiful insects on Earth, with over 20,000 species worldwide. They belong to the order Hymenoptera (膜翅目昆虫), which also includes wasps, ants, and sawflies.

Bees have evolved to feed on nectar (花蜜) and pollen from flowers, and in doing so, they transfer pollen from one flower to another, enabling fertilization (受精) and reproduction. This process, called pollination, is essential for the survival of many plants, especially those that produce fruits, nuts, seeds, and vegetables that we eat.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), bees and other pollinators affect 35% of global agricultural land, supporting the production of 87% of the leading food crops worldwide.

Pollination also enhances the quality and quantity of the crops, as well as their resistance to pests and diseases. Without bees and other pollinators, our food supply and our biodiversity would be at risk.

Unfortunately, bees are facing many threats, such as habitat loss, pesticide use, climate change, diseases, and invasive species. The FAO estimates that 16.5％ of vertebrate (脊椎动物) pollinators and 40% of invertebrate pollinators, such as bees, are facing extinction. This could have serious consequences for our food security, our livelihoods, and our environment.

Therefore, it is important to protect the bees and their habitats, and to raise awareness about their role and value.

One way to appreciate and support the bees is to learn how to identify them and observe their behavior. You might be surprised by the diversity and beauty of the bees that visit your backyard, garden, or balcony.

1. Why are pollinators important?

A．They help the bees fertilize.	B．They keep the crops diverse.
C．They support the bees to make honey.	D．They protect insects such as wasps.

2. What is the second paragraph mainly about?

A．How pollination works.	B．How the flowers attract bees.
C．How the bees reproduce.	D．How the plants produce fruits.

3. What does the underlined word “This” in Paragraph 5 probably refer to?

A．Climate change.	B．Pesticide use.
C．Pollinators’ survival crisis.	D．Bees’ habitat loss.

4. Which would be the best title for the text?

A．A duty: Protect Bees’ Habitat	B．A Means: Observe Bees’ Behaviour
C．Bees: Maintainers of the Ecosystem	D．Bees: Consumers at the Top of the Food Chain

7 . You have never seen the dodo, a type of bird that was large, heavy and unable to fly. Driven to extinction by human beings on the island of Mauritius around 1680, the species has become a thing of the past. But Colossal, a biotechnology and genetic engineering start-up, wants to change this. It launches a project to “de-extinct” the species alongside some other well-known extinct species, like the woolly mammoth and the Tasmanian tiger. According to Colossal, all three will be restored to life within the next decade.

“Colossal is running the project not just because they can,” says Forrest Galante, a wildlife biologist and conservationist who studies and protects endangered species around the world. “In the case of the dodo, it will put something back at the top of the food chain. Removing the bird created a gap in the ecosystem. Recovering it, in theory, should help fill that gap.”

Just like in Jurassic Park, DNA is required to bring back an extinct animal. DNA from species like the dodo bird and the woolly mammoth can be recovered, while DNA from dinosaurs and other older species has been degraded so that it is impossible to bring their DNA back. According to Galante, DNA is then placed into a related species that is living today. In the case of the dodo bird, its closest bird relative in the pigeon (鸽子) family—the living Nicobar pigeon is used. After the pigeon lays eggs, dodo birds are able to hatch out.

The new dodos will not be the exact same type of bird, but close enough to fill the gap their extinction left behind. While bringing back creatures like the dodo might turn heads, Colossal says its work will be just as important in helping the medical and environmental fields. Through Colossal’s project, we see that genetic technologies can be used for de-extinction. But their usage goes far beyond that.

1. Why does Colossal launch the project?

A．To uncover reasons for dodos’ extinction.	B．To make some extinct animals reappear.
C．To record the extinction of animals over time.	D．To explain the link between dodos and humans.

2. What’s Galante’s attitude towards Colossal’s project?

A．Curious.

B．Doubtful.

C．Conservative.

D．Favorable.

3. What is focused on in paragraph 3?

A．How to bring extinct dodos back to life.	B．How to change eggs into dodo birds.
C．The cause for choosing pigeons as subjects.	D．The recoverability of extinct species’ DNA.

4. What might the author continue talking about?

A．The possible effects of Colossal’s work.	B．Colossal’s involvement in various fields.
C．Other applications of genetic technologies.	D．Further efforts to de-extinct other species.

8 . As the Earth turns, its rotational axis (自转轴) naturally move a bit. Anything from ocean currents, to shifting molten rock under the crust, to the melting (融化) of glaciers caused by climate change can cause the axis to drift (飘移). Water stored in artificial lakes and seasonal changes in atmospheric winds can play a role as well.

But global warming isn’t the only human-caused factor moving the planet’s axis as some of us believe. A new study estimates that between 1993 and 2010, the pumping of groundwater and the resulting sea-level rise caused the axis lo drift by about 2.6 feet. “Every mass moving around on the surface of the Earth can change the rotational axis,” said Ki-Weon Seo, a geophysicist at Seoul National University.

In the study, the researchers used a computer model to look at the effects of different factors on the shift of the axis. When they didn’t include groundwater removal in their model, their predictions did not match the level of shift that scientists have observed. But when they look into account the massive amount of pumped water — which totaled more than two trillion tons between 1993 and 2010 ― their model fit the real-world observations. From this analysis, the researchers estimate that the axis is moving 1.7 inches per year due to groundwater removal. Of the factors the study looked at, pumping groundwater was the second-largest contributor to the axis drifting, behind the melting Greenland ice sheet.

The paper calls attention to just how much water humans have pumped, as Clark Wilson, a geoscientist at the University of Texas, tells Science. “The precise number doesn’t matter really. What matters is that the volume is so huge that it can impact the polar drift of the Earth,” he says. “Groundwater removed from sites at the Earth’s midlatitudes (中纬度), such as in the U.S. and India, has a large impact on polar drift, compared with extraction at the equator or the poles. However, most of the pumping has occurred in these high-impact zones, causing the water removal to have a bigger effect on the axis,” says Wilson.

1. What does the author aim to do with the second paragraph?

A．To correct a wrong belief.	B．To describe a phenomenon.
C．To provide related data.	D．To test a new theory.

2. The researchers used the computer model in their research mainly by ________.

A．putting it to field tests

B．storing related information in it

C．comparing it with real-world facts

D．doing real-world observations with it

3. Which factor has contributed the most to the axis drift?

A．The melting of ice sheet.	B．The atmospheric winds.
C．The artificial lakes.	D．The groundwater pumping.

4. What could be a suitable title for the text?

A．Factors That Affect the Earth’s Rotation

B．Challenges of Groundwater Our World Faces

C．Climate Change Has Shifted the Earth’s Axis

D．Groundwater Pumping Has Changed the Earth’s Axis

9 . In our family, the presents we gave one another were almost always homemade. I thought that was the definition of a gift: something you made for someone else. We made all our Christmas gifts: piggy banks from old bottles, and puppets from retired socks. It didn’t seem like a hardship to me; it was something special.

My father loves wild strawberries, so for Father’s Day my mother would almost always make him strawberry cakes. While we kids were responsible for the berries, we each got an old jar and spent the Saturday before the celebration in the fields, filling it as more ended up in our mouths. Finally, we returned home and poured them out on the kitchen table to sort out the bugs. I’m sure we missed some, but Dad never mentioned the extra protein.

In fact, he thought that was the best possible present, or so he had us convinced. It was a gift that could never be bought. As children raised by strawberries, we were probably unaware that the gift of berries was from the fields themselves, not from us. Our gift was time, attention, care and “red” fingers.

Gifts from the earth or from each other establish a particular relationship, a duty of sorts to give, to receive, and to exchange. The field gave to us, we gave to my dad, and we tried to give back to the strawberries. When the berry season was done, the plants would send out its red runners to make new plants. So I would weed out little fields of ground where the runners touched down. Sure enough, tiny little roots would emerge from the runner and by the end of the season there were even more plants, ready to bloom under the next strawberry season. No person taught us this — the strawberries showed us. Because they had given us a gift, an ongoing relationship opened between us.

1. What is the author’s belief about a gift?

A．It should be practical and valuable.	B．It should be luxurious and special.
C．It should be purchased from a store.	D．It should be made with personal effort.

2. What did the children do for Father’s Day?

A．Making strawberry cakes.	B．Finding the sweetest strawberries.
C．Going strawberry picking.	D．Baking strawberry cookies.

3. What would the author do to give back to the strawberries?

A．Making homemade gifts for her father.

B．Devoting time and attention to the plant.

C．Waiting for the strawberries to get ripe again.

D．Searching for fields for the plants to take roots.

4. What did the strawberries teach the family?

A．How to cook with strawberries.

B．The importance of giving and receiving.

C．How to cherish homemade gifts.

D．The procedure of growing strawberries.

10 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

A flood of tourists, some from overseas, have come to enjoy the unique cultural and natural beauties of the Tibet autonomous region,     1     has witnessed a travel boom recently.

Of the total tourists received, 30,455 were inbound visitors —travelers from overseas —    2     increase of 494 percent year-on-year, while more than 24.21 million were domestic visitors, a 4l percent year-on-year increase.

“    3     impressed me the most was the magnificent Potala Palace and strong     4    (religion) culture in Lhasa.I feel something different from other     5    (place) I visited before,” said Hu Wei, a tourist from Sichuan province.

The Chinese online travel agency Ctrip Group reported that travel order volume, including transportation and hotel bookings, for destinations in Tibet during the first half of the year increased     6     103 percent     7    (compare) with the same period in 2019. The figure reflects a continuous warming trend of tourism in the region.

“It is harder     8    (get) tickets to some hot tourism spots, such as the Potala Palace, as the number of tourists     9    (increase) significantly recently,” said Chodar, a tour guide in Lhasa. “I see large numbers of tourists lined up at the entrance of the palace every day. Visitors have to make a     10    (reserve) at least 10 days in advance.”