1 . It has been more than 40 years since anyone has spotted a Japanese river otter. And the once common Yangtze River dolphins have either disappeared or are very rarely seen. These are just a few of the species that have been listed as extinct or locally extinct in recent years. But the advancement of technology could mean that the expunction of other species is not a given.
A huge challenge scientists and conservationists encounter is tracking species facing extinction in order to help them. This is where artificial intelligence (AI) has brought about a revolution in the way data on these species is collected and analyzed. One example is the Maui dolphin, one of the rarest and most threatened dolphins in the ocean. Familiar with their summer. Behavior, researchers knew that there were just 54 of these elusive mammals living off the coast of New Zealand. However, because of weather conditions, researchers knew next to nothing about their winter behavior. After four years of developing, testing and fundraising, these scientists received permission to use a drone (无人机) with AI that tracked the dolphins no matter the season. The result was the extension of a marine sanctuary to protect their habitat.
In parts of Australia, the koala was declared endangered in 2022 due to bushfires, habitat destruction and road accidents. Saving them was challenging because their whereabouts and numbers were relatively unknown. So Grant Hamilton, an associate professor of eco logy at Queensland University of Technology, began using drones with infrared imaging to locate them. An AI algorithm analyzes images to determine if a sighting is a koala. That information is then used to monitor and protect the species by restoring their habitats and providing health protection.
In Zambia’s Kafue National Park, home to 15 more than 6,000 elephants, AI is being used to enhance traditional methods of preventing poaching. Cameras record any boats that try to enter the park on Lake Itezhi-Tezhi, an illegal entry point. Al immediately detects this activity and alerts park rangers, who deal with the illegal hunters.
The use of Al has helped to expedite action and increase conservationists’ ability to protect the natural world for generations to come.
1. What does the underlined worlds “a given” in paragraph 1 mean?| A．A serious problem. | B．A rare phenomenon. | C．A certain event. | D．A false inference. |
| A．To observe Maui dolphins’ winter behavior. |
| B．To get the exact number of Maui dolphins in the wild. |
| C．To demonstrate the current situation of Maui dolphins. |
| D．To show AI’s application in tracking the wild animals. |
| A．Identifying koalas. | B．Tracking koalas. | C．Collecting data. | D．Preventing hunting. |
| A．Saving Nature with Technology’s Help | B．Restoring the Habitats of Endangered Species |
| C．Providing Healthy Protection for Animals | D．Protecting Wild Species from Extinction |
2 . Shortly before he turned 60, Mark Fuhrmann realized what he wanted. He, now, at 65, has just returned from a second voyage. His 6,835 mile-round trip from Nova Scotia took in the great lakes of the US, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic.
Fuhrmann started these journeys “to kickstart retirement” from the maritime PR business he ran in Oslo for the past 30 years. Before he set off, in June last year, he swapped (交换) his house for a flat, and greatly reduced his possessions. “It was good to get rid of all of those things and say: ‘This isn’t a phase; this is a new season,’” he says.
Amazingly, he didn’t plan his trip, beyond committing to fundraise for Medecins Sans Frontières. “I thought: ‘I’ll try to do 40km each day.’ But I never knew where I was going to lay down my head.”
The challenges were psychological, physical, and sometimes life-threatening. In Florida, he was chased by an alligator (短吻鳄), but narrowly escaped from it. In the Boston area, he saw “a black fin moving towards me like a snake”. He lay his oar (划桨) across his lap and waited. “If a great white shark can swim leisurely, that’s exactly what it did. It just passed me,” he says. Ten minutes later, Fuhrmann pulled his kayak (小艇) into a cove, where he ran into a man who invited him into his home for coffee and apple pie. His whole trip was filled with these switchbacks and moments of connection with strangers, which Fuhrmann experienced as “a call to authenticity”.
What does he mean? “Nature is born within us. If you avoid that, you avoid experiencing something that is vital to who you are as a person. I want real things — life isn’t about having more. I think we need to accept where we are at this stage of life, at 60 or 65.”
“I look at retirement as a season,” he says. He started his latest voyage because “I wanted to have a better understanding of who I was. I wanted to have time for my thoughts to wander, to restart, to discover the value and power within myself.”
1. Why did Fuhrmann get rid of most of his possessions?| A．To make donations to charity. | B．To start a new life in retirement. |
| C．To make up for his business loss. | D．To collect money for the journey. |
| A．Blessings. | B．Ambitions. | C．Defeats. | D．Challenges. |
| A．The meaning of life is achieving more. |
| B．Old people should take things as they are. |
| C．It is good to have nature-based experience. |
| D．It is advisable for aging people to play safe. |
| A．To reflect on his past. | B．To discover his true self. |
| C．To relax his mind and body. | D．To be free from the noisy world. |
1. What did the speaker do?
| A．He was a zookeeper. | B．He was a teacher. | C．He was a volunteer. |
| A．In an animal conservation center. |
| B．In a protection organization. |
| C．In a pet shop. |
| A．One. | B．Two. | C．Three. |
| A．An elephant. | B．A giraffe. | C．A koala. |
4 . Dogs may have earned the title of our best friends through their interactions with humans, but now researchers say these social skills could, be present shortly after birth rather than being learned.
To better understand the role of biology in dogs’ abilities to communicate with humans, the researchers studied 375 eight-week-old service dogs. They looked at how these dogs performed in a series of tasks designed to measure their communication skills. The puppies were still living with their littermates (同窝出生者) and had not been sent to live with a volunteer puppy raiser, making it unlikely that they had learned about his or her behavior.
In the first task, a person hid a treat beneath one of two overturned cups and pointed to it to see if the puppy could follow the gesture. Since dogs are good at using noses to find things a treat was also taped to the insides of, both cups. In the second task, puppies watched as the researchers placed a yellow, block next to the correct cup, instead of pointing to indicate where the puppy should look for the food.
The third task was designed to observe puppies’ tendency to look at human faces. The researchers spoke to the puppy in a voice people sometimes use when talking to a baby. They then measured how long the puppy fixed a stare on the human.
In the last task, researchers sealed a treat inside a closed container and presented it to the puppy. They then measured how often the puppy looked to the human for help in opening the container.
The study found that while many of the puppies were responsive to humans’ physical and verbal cues, very few looked to humans for help with the unsolvable task. Researchers said, “This suggests that while puppies may be born knowing how to respond to human-initiated communication, the ability to initiate communication on their own may come later.” The next step will be to see if specific genes that may contribute to dogs’ abilities to communicate with humans can be identified.
1. Why were eight-week-old service dogs chosen for the study?| A．They were the best age to learn. |
| B．They were cute and safe to deal with. |
| C．They were unlikely influenced by their mates. |
| D．They had had little contact with humans before. |
| A．To provide clues for the puppies’ final decisions. |
| B．To make comparisons between different conditions. |
| C．To prevent the puppies from making use of their smell. |
| D．To check the puppies’ preference for a particular color. |
| A．Puppies can understand our body language. |
| B．Puppies are good at asking humans for help. |
| C．Puppies are born to arouse communication with humans. |
| D．Puppies need specific genes to communicate with humans. |
| A．Dogs—talented performers | B．Dogs—humans’ best friends |
| C．Dogs—born to be able to learn | D．Dogs—born to understand humans |
5 . On early Sunday morning, a walrus, named Freya, was put to death by the Norwegian government after the public failed to follow recommendations to keep a safe distance away from the huge sea animal.
“We have sympathies for the fact that the decision can cause reactions with the public, but this decision was based on careful assessments,” said Nadia Jdaini, a spokesperson for the Norwegian government. “Human life and safety must be our priority.”
The young female walrus had been spending time at the Oslo seaport this summer and had attracted global attention. The walrus was seemingly unafraid of humans, unlike most walruses. Several popular videos showed that it had even climbed onto small boats to sunbathe.
In the past week, the authorities warned the public to stay away from Freya, saying that they had observed visitors swimming with it, throwing objects at it, and getting dangerously close to it to take photos.
Previously, the government said that it was considering multiple solutions, including transporting Freya out of the seaport. But the complexity of such an operation made it conclude that this was not a practical option.
Usually, walruses just stay on the outer edges of Norway’s coast. The last time a walrus was documented so close to the seaport was 2013. “Normally, walruses will show up on some islands, but they will leave quite soon, because they’re afraid of people,” added Nadia Jdaini. “But Freya was not afraid of people. Actually, it liked people.”
In a Facebook post after Freya’s death was announced, Rune Aae, who teaches biology at the University of South-Eastern Norway, condemned the government’s decision. “All previous experience has shown that Freya would have sooner or later gotten out of the seaport,” he wrote. “What a shame to make the decision in such a hurry.”
1. Which of the following directly led to the death of Freya?| A．Freya often tried to attack the boaters. |
| B．The public ignored the official warning. |
| C．Freya enjoyed sunbathing on small boats. |
| D．The walrus kept begging food from visitors. |
| A．Walruses’ living habits. | B．The public’s angry reactions. |
| C．The walrus’ dangerous behavior. | D．Failed efforts to save the walrus. |
| A．They are small in size. | B．They live near seaports. |
| C．They are shy animals. | D．They are friendly to humans. |
| A．It was unnecessary. | B．It was practical. |
| C．It was understandable. | D．It was very humane. |
Wetlands are the link between the land and the water. They are transition zones where the flow of water, the cycling of nutrients and the energy of the sun meet to produce
The National Nature Reserve of Guangdong Nanpeng Islands in Guangdong Province was established in 2003. It
The main focus of the reserve is to protect the unique underwater natural landscapes, the ecosystems of the nearby
Researchers have discovered 1,308 marine species in the area, including 772
7 . Libraries are places to preserve cultural heritage, develop information resources and carry out social education. Let’s look at some of the most beautiful libraries in the world.
Vennesla Library and Culture House, Norway
The library is one of the most beautiful libraries in the world. Opened in 2011, this library is an important site for concerts, theatrical performances and film screenings. The design of the library is unique. The building is supported by 27 laminated (层压的) wood arches that hold the roof up.
Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, Italy
The library is one of the largest and most important libraries in Italy. It preserves one of the most important collections of Greek, Latin and Asian manuscripts (手稿) in the entire world. Some of them are the most precious pieces. The library specializes in Venetian history and classic philology. Its collection of antique maps is also very significant.
Stacja Kultura, Poland
Thanks to a recent restoration, a station that was once in ruins underwent an architectural change. The library might seem unremarkable from the outside, but the innovative project and its division into a train station, public library and cultural center have certainly made this building worth a visit.
Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, United States
The library is the main source of literary archives (档案), ancient manuscripts and rare books at Yale University, and it’s visited by students and researchers from around the world. Completed in 1963, the library is home to the Bollingen Prize for Poetry which is awarded biennially, and the Windham-Campbell Prizes which are awarded annually for fiction, literary essays, poetry, and theater.
1. Which library will attract people interested in the stage?| A．Vennesla Library and Culture House. | B．Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana. |
| C．Stacja Kultura. | D．Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. |
| A．Its architecture. | B．Its collection. | C．Its location. | D．Its original owner. |
| A．They have a long history. | B．They are favored by movie lovers. |
| C．They hold some precious treasures. | D．They are the most important libraries. |
8 . When hurricanes left a path of destruction in Puerto Rico, Pennsylvania College of Technology student Natascha G. Santaella felt a variety of painful emotions.
“I spent around six days stressing and having a very hard time with me having all the luxuries I currently do and my family not having any,” the Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, resident said. Santaella said that her hometown is without power and water, and people there are scared of what is to come.
To reduce her stress, Santaella, who is studying for an associate degree in baking and pastry arts, immersed (沉浸) herself in what she knows best: baking. “It started out as just baking bread and shipping it to the island to then be dispersed to the people, but I found that was very expensive for me to do alone, so I spoke with Chef Charles Niedermyer, our instructor of baking and pastry arts about a sale of baked goods in the college’s Bush Campus Center.”
“Natascha is a bright, energetic young lady with a big heart,” Niedermyer said. “I was not surprised to find her in my office, looking for ways to help the people of Puerto Rico.”
To prepare, Santaella had multiple meetings with Niedermyer, spent hours finalizing recipes, designed signage (标志) and decorations, and got friends to staff the sale table with her. And then there was the baking: Santaella and two friends in the baking and pastry arts major spent six hours baking 90 loaves of bread, 24 dozen dinner rolls and 30 cheesecakes in a variety of flavors.
During the six-hour sale, Santaella and her friends raised more than $1,000 for United for Puerto Rico, an initiative designed to provide aid and support to those affected in Puerto Rico by the passage of Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria.
“I hope to mainly increase awareness of what has happened, and to show people that there are Puerto Rican students at this school,” Santaella said. “I hope that others had the great experience I had with all my teachers and how understanding they were with me.”
1. Why did Santaella feel very stressed?| A．Because a big hurricane was approaching. |
| B．Because she was left without power and water. |
| C．Because her folks were suffering due to hurricanes. |
| D．Because she lost all her belongings in the hurricane. |
| A．Exposed. | B．Connected. | C．Distributed. | D．Contributed. |
| A．Puerto Rico might be stricken by hurricanes frequently. |
| B．Niedermyer responded to Santaella’s ideas coldly. |
| C．Santaella organized the sale at her college all alone. |
| D．Pennsylvania College has few students from Puerto Rico. |
| A．Hurricane Causes Huge Losses to Puerto Rico |
| B．Student Puts Skills to Use to Help Her Hometown |
| C．College Student Shows Baking Skills Through Sales |
| D．Teacher and Students Work Together in Fund Raising |
9 . Not many people know the fact but dyeing textiles (染色纺织品) are a huge factor in damaging both human health and the environment. Scientists in Australia may have discovered a way to solve this problem by making changes to the cotton plant’s genes in order for it to naturally produce various coloured cotton.
These scientists have been exploring the concept of trying gene-editing in order to change the colour of natural fibers found in the cotton plant. So far, their experiment has produced coloured cotton in a petri dish (培养皿). Scientists hope that this means they can perfect the process in order to grow the crops in the fields.
Often the agriculture and fuel industries are closely examined for their influences on the environment, but the textile industry is not to be overlooked and certainly has things to feel guilty about. The textile industry contributes 10% of global carbon emissions, largely due to the rise of fast fashion, which sees 80 to 100 billion items of clothes produced annually.
This creates a large amount of physical waste and also contributes to other extremely detrimental effects on the environment. Cotton is quite the thirsty crop, needing 2,700 liters of water to create only one cotton T-shirt. That places extra stress in regions that do not have a steady water supply available. And, textile dyes frequently end up in natural water systems, darkening the water and disturbing the biochemical balance.
Fortunately, people’s desire to protect the environment has been growing over time and more and more people are turning to more sustainable fashion choices. Larger brands have an eye on these trends and are also promising to try to develop more water-free dyeing technologies.
1. How may scientists in Australia solve the problem caused by dyeing textiles?| A．By dyeing the cotton before it is collected. |
| B．By discovering natural plant-based textile fibers. |
| C．By transforming the dyes into eco-friendly ones. |
| D．By changing the cotton’s genes. |
| A．The rise of fast fashion is to blame for the environmental pollution. |
| B．The environmental impact of the textile industry should be taken seriously. |
| C．The clothing industry should be thoroughly examined. |
| D．The carbon emissions from the textile industry are limited. |
| A．Harmful. | B．Short-term. | C．Magical. | D．Decisive. |
| A．Clothing producers’ social responsibility. |
| B．People’s consumption concepts. |
| C．People’s awareness of environmental protection. |
| D．Large brands’ desire to keep pace with fashion. |
10 . From the world’s last seven to a global population of more than 5,000, China spent nearly 40 years bringing back crested ibises(朱鹗)from the edge of extinction.
With its typical red crest and face, as well as a long black mouth and snow-white feathers, the crested ibis is known as “the oriental gem” in China. They were once widespread in East Asia and Siberia until the 20th century when hunting, ecological damage and increased human activities drove the birds to near extinction.
In 1981, the entire species around the world was down to the seven crested ibises which were found only in Yangxian County, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, and deep in the Qinling Mountains, making Qinling, a natural boundary between China's north and south,the last shelter of the wild birds.
Since 1981, the local government of Yangxian County has put forward four bans for the protection of the species, prohibiting activities including hunting in the birds' living areas,cutting down trees where they nest, using chemicals in their food-finding areas, and firing guns in their breeding(繁殖)areas. The Chinese government arranged special funds to protect the habitat of crested ibises, sealing off mountains to plant trees in the birds' living areas.China started the artificial breeding of crested ibises in 1991 and had bred more than 400 birds in Shaanxi as of last year.
Years of constant effort have brought promising results. It is estimated that there are more than 5,000 crested ibises in the world now, and a majority of them live in Shaanxi. The bird's habitat in China has risen from less than 5 square km in 1981 to the current 15,000 square km.
“It is lucky that the crested ibis, an ancient bird, is still flying around,” said Zan Linsen, head of the Shaanxi Academy of Forestry. “The conservation story of crested ibises not only shows us the power of ancient life, but also the necessity and urgency of ecological environment protection.”
1. Why are the Qinling Mountains so important to crested ibises?| A．They are where crested ibises were first found. |
| B．They used to be the last habitat of crested ibises. |
| C．They are the only breeding area of crested ibises. |
| D．They protect crested ibises from natural enemies. |
| A．Crested ibises are unlikely to be bred artificially. |
| B．It's legal to own hunting guns in Yangxian County. |
| C．Hunting has been the biggest threat to crested ibises. |
| D．The government plays a key role in saving crested ibises. |
| A．Merciful and ambitious. | B．Relieved and happy. |
| C．Shocked and curious. | D．Sorry and regretful. |
| A．Rare animals in China: crested ibises |
| B．Artificial breeding of crested ibises in China |
| C．Endangered crested ibises making a comeback |
| D．Crested ibises found again in the Qinling Mountains |
