1 . Around 2000 years ago, ancient Chinese divided the sun’s annual circular motion into 24 equal segments, each segment was called a ‘Solar Term’. Each solar term
“Hui Nantian” occurs during the
On the one hand, it signals the end of winter and the
By
| A．reviewed | B．represented | C．regained | D．researched |
| A．phenomenon | B．view | C．landscape | D．opinion |
| A．hardly | B．seldom | C．primarily | D．never |
| A．maintains | B．remains | C．changes | D．keeps |
| A．transportation | B．show | C．transplant | D．shift |
| A．gives out | B．gives up | C．gives off | D．gives way to |
| A．result | B．force | C．mix | D．power |
| A．end | B．approach | C．warmth | D．beauty |
| A．decreased | B．lost | C．increased | D．regained |
| A．arriving | B．preserving | C．serving | D．approving |
| A．ancestors | B．wealth | C．harvest | D．descendants |
| A．circles | B．return | C．power | D．cycles |
| A．following | B．keeping | C．noticing | D．staying |
| A．brilliant | B．unforgettable | C．necessary | D．satisfying |
| A．protect | B．promote | C．preview | D．predict |
Once upon a time, there was a naughty (淘气的) and curious little boy named Jack. Growing up in the city, he had always been fascinated by the countryside and all its wonders. So when his mother decided to take him to visit his grandmother in the village during one summer, Jack was overjoyed.
As soon as they arrived, Jack’s eyes widened with excitement at the sight of the old-fashioned spinning (纺纱) wheel and waterwheel in the yard. But it was the large geese (鹅) in the fenced enclosure that truly seized his attention. Their white feathers, long necks, and distinctive cackles (嘎嘎叫) were unlike anything he had ever seen before.
Eager to explore, Jack approached the fence and reached out to gently tap one of the geese on its head. He laughed at his own playfulness, but little did he know that his actions would have unintended consequences.
The goose, feeling threatened and annoyed, let out a loud squawk and charged towards Jack. Frightened and shocked, Jack moved backwards, tripping over his own feet and falling onto the ground. The goose continued to pursue him, its sharp beak (嘴) coming dangerously close to his face.
Just as the situation seemed terrible, Jack’s grandmother rushed to his rescue. She quickly grabbed a broom and managed to scare the angry goose away, saving Jack from potential harm. Breathless and shaken, Jack sat on the ground, realizing the gravity of his action.
His grandmother sat down beside him and gently explained that animals, even seemingly harmless ones like geese, could attack if they felt threatened. She reminded Jack that it was important to treat all creatures with kindness and respect, regardless of their size or appearance.
Feeling ashamed and regretful, Jack apologized to the goose for his thoughtless behaviour. From that day on, he made a conscious effort to be more mindful of how his action could affect others, both human and animal alike. He learned that true bravery wasn’t about being fearless, but about facing your fears and making amends (补偿) when you were wrong.
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。
As the summer days passed, Jack helped his grandmother tend to the garden and care for the animals.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Years later, as an animal rights activist, Jack often reflected on that decisive summer in the village.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________3 . Maps transport us. They make the landscape fit indoors, make us masters of sights we can’t see and spaces we can’t cover. An award-winning book make the grand journeys taken by wild animals fit indoors, too. Where the Animals Go: Tracking Wildlife with Technology in 50 Maps and Graphics by James Cheshire and Oliver Uberti is an engaging volume, gorgeous in its illustrations and text. Its double intent is brilliant, too — to bring each of us closer to the animal world and to highlight fresh ways to think about conservation.
Technology is central to this effort. As Chesire and Uberti explain, a variety of methods including GPS tracking, acoustic tracking, and sunlight-based geolocating have opened. up the scope of the science of animal movement and brought in an era of new precision.
In a stirring passage, Cheshire and Uberti write: “We can see how the lifeblood of the world’s first national park also depends on protecting land outside its borders. And once you see that twice a year some animals are traveling across 23 million acres of state, it’s hard not. to question our reasons for dividing wilderness into so many scraps, each with its own agenda and regulations. Animals use the land as one big, interconnected system. Perhaps we might learn to do the same.”
Cheshire and Uberti hope the book will inspire discourse about the geographic needs of animals. One of their goals for this book is to connect people to the lives and intentional choices of individual animals. People see individuality in their pets; it’s much harder to see in the wild. As a result, to some, animals in the wild may seem like furry robots following a predetermined loop. This is the kind of thinking they hope to shift.
1. What is the function of maps according to the passage?| A．To decorate homes. | B．To educate people. |
| C．To dominate sights. | D．To display landscape. |
| A．To track wildlife with technology. | B．To bring human closer to wildlife. |
| C．To begin in a new era of precision. | D．To show their gorgeous illustration. |
| A．Human needs to see wilderness as a whole. | B．Animals’ agendas are different from man’s. |
| C．We should protect land outside our borders. | D．The survival of national parks lies in protection. |
| A．Wild animals have individuality. | B．Wildlife makes intentional choices. |
| C．Wildlife follows a predetermined path. | D．Wild animals are as furry as robots. |
4 . Living in a city, you may face fewer parking spaces, more pollution, less personal space, and more traffic and noise, all of which contribute to higher stress levels, often translating to aggression (攻击行为). And now, researchers have found evidence that this behavior applies to song sparrows (歌雀) too. But it comes with a surprising benefit to the youngest generation of city sparrows.
There are fewer city-living song sparrows than in the countryside. However, the increased aggression observed in the males can be connected to a more pressing need to defend territories in urban settings. But that increased aggression doesn’t mean the males fail in their duties as fathers. In fact, the researchers were surprised to find that the opposite may be true.
“Male songbirds are thought to reduce parental care when they are more aggressive. Yet this study showed that urban male song sparrows provided more care for their young,” says Dr Samuel Lane, lead author of the study. “Against our expectations, we found that they visited nests more often and were more successful parents than the males in the countryside.”
The researchers carried out their studies at six sites across southwest Virginia, USA, across four breeding (繁殖) seasons. They found that the high survival rate of their chicks was subject to many factors. Not only did male sparrows visit their nests more often, but they also began feeding chicks earlier in the day. Despite the challenges of being a city bird, hatching success was observed to be higher in urban habitats. And even though brood parasitism, one species laying eggs in the nest of another, is typically higher in urban areas, the researchers observed that rates of nest predation, the act of other animals eating eggs or young birds, were lower, further contributing to the overall nesting success of these sparrows.
Lane said, “Our study adds to growing evidence that certain species of songbirds even benefit from living in urban environments when there is enough green space for them to find food and nest locations.”
The team hope ongoing research in this area will contribute to the establishment of urban environments aimed at offering improved support for wildlife.
1. What causes the increased aggression of male city sparrows?| A．The stress of protecting their territories. |
| B．The worsening of urban noise pollution. |
| C．The challenges of building their nests. |
| D．The growing needs of younger generations. |
| A．They lived shorter lives. | B．They had a higher population. |
| C．They had lower nest attendance. | D．They woke up earlier in the morning. |
| A．Higher nest locations. | B．Reduced brood parasitism. |
| C．Limited breeding seasons. | D．Lower nest predation rates. |
| A．City Male Birds Do It All | B．Aggressive Birds Surprise Scientists |
| C．Big City Life Makes Birds Better Dads | D．The Future of City Birds Lies in Our Hands |
5 . July was the hottest month on record globally. High temperatures and serious wildfires have swept across the Northern Hemisphere. Oceanic heat waves are damaging the world’s third-largest coral reef off Florida. And as the levels of greenhouse gases continue to increase, it means many even hotter summers lie ahead.
Last week, the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres coined a new term. The time of “global warming” has ended, he announced, and the time of “global boiling” has arrived.
But critics have strongly disagreed with the phrase. At one level, “global boiling” is clearly an overstatement, but “global warming” is now far too weak a description. Many climate scientists have pushed for the term “global heating” to be used in preference. Similarly, phrases such as “climate crisis” haven’t received enough attention. That’s because many of us still feel we haven’t seen this crisis with our own eyes.
But that is changing. In the past few years, extreme weather and relevant events have struck many countries. Australia’s Black Summer brought wildfires that burned an area the size of the United Kingdom. Germany suffered serious flooding in 2021. The 2022 flood in Pakistan flooded large parts of the country. China has seen both droughts and floods. Terrible droughts have hit the Horn of Africa for many years. India has stopped rice exports due to damage from heavy rain.
Critics of climate action often complain about what they see as the overuse of “crisis talk”. If everything is a crisis, nothing is a crisis.
When Guterres uses deeply impactful phrases, he’s not inviting us to imagine a Hollywood-style disaster. What he’s hoping is to make people listen and act — now we can see what climate change looks like.
Are there better phrases to describe this? Possibly. Take the challenge yourself: can you think up a brief, correct phrase to cover worsening local-and-regional-scale droughts, fires, typhoons and floods; damage to crops and food safety; water shortages; existential threats to coral reefs and low-lying communities? You can see how hard it is.
1. What does the underlined word “coined” in paragraph 2 mean?| A．Explained. | B．Invented. |
| C．Valued. | D．Accepted. |
| A．It is overused. | B．It is exaggerated. |
| C．It is lacking in enough attention. | D．It is too weak to describe the problem. |
| A．Climate crises are worsening. | B．Several crises will be solved. |
| C．People will face food shortages. | D．People are taking effective measures. |
| A．To scare people into taking immediate action. |
| B．To entertain readers with Hollywood-style stories. |
| C．To provide a more accurate description of global warming. |
| D．To make people aware of the severity of the climate crisis. |
6 . Tears, often associated with human emotions, have sparked curiosity regarding their presence in nonhuman animals. While humans have long been recognized as the only species to produce tears in response to emotions, recent studies delve into the possibility of similar occurrences in other creatures.
Tears serve various purposes across species. The primary function of tears can maintain eye health, while reflex tears combat external irritants. Emotional tears, however, remain a subject of debate. Historically, societies deemed emotional crying as uniquely human, association it with expressions of sadness or vulnerability.
Although scientific consensus still favors emotional tears as a human trait, recent investigations suggest otherwise. A study published in 2022 observed tear secretion in dogs during positive emotional encounters, such as reuniting with their owners. This phenomenon, triggered by the hormone oxytocin, potentially strengthens the bond between humans and dogs.
Moreover, observations of domestic pigs and rats have revealed tear-like secretions when in a state of tension, indicating a possible emotional response. These findings challenge the notion of emotional tears being exclusive to humans.
Despite anecdotal evidence of animals displaying signs of sadness, such as elephants, gorillas, and wolves, scientific backing remains rare. Professionals working with animals have reported no instances of emotional crying. Anecdotes often lead to anthropomorphism, attributing human behaviors to animals without solid evidence. The viral video of a “crying” bison gained widespread attention, yet experts suggest a more reasonable explanation, such as irritation from dust or wind. While ancient depictions, like the bi son painting in the Chauvet cave, hint at tear-like imagery, concrete evidence is lacking.
In conclusion, while emotional tears remain primarily associated with humans, emerging research suggests the possibility of similar phenomena in certain animal species. Further studies are needed to uncover the complexities of emotional responses across the animal kingdom.
1. What is the first paragraph mainly about?| A．A topic of tears and human emotions. | B．A topic on tears in nonhuman animals. |
| C．Human tears and those of other creatures. | D．The emotional significance of human tears. |
| A．Dogs. | B．Bison. |
| C．Domestic pigs and rats. | D．Elephants and gorillas. |
| A．To suggest that animals are capable of emotional crying. |
| B．To emphasize the importance of viral videos in scientific research. |
| C．To highlight the need for further investigation into the behavior of bison. |
| D．To illustrate how anecdotes can lead to misconceptions about animal behavior. |
| A．Why Do Animals Possess Emotional Tears? |
| B．Whether Do Animals Possess Emotional Tears? |
| C．Why Do Animals Possess Emotional Responses? |
| D．Whether Do Animals Possess Emotional Responses? |
7 . It was a heartwarming turn of events on the special night. The Inner Finland Police Department successfully
The search initially focused on the city center, but the
At around 12:30 am that night, Kuha discovered a shoe
The success of this rescue mission was
| A．entertained | B．located | C．educated | D．trained |
| A．team | B．family | C．child | D．dog |
| A．announcements | B．equipment | C．explanations | D．assistance |
| A．established | B．reported | C．transformed | D．awarded |
| A．unknown | B．crucial | C．alternative | D．strange |
| A．passion | B．accident | C．breakthrough | D．challenge |
| A．constructed | B．restored | C．guarded | D．inspected |
| A．left behind | B．ran out | C．went back | D．paid off |
| A．burned | B．buried | C．dried | D．ruined |
| A．unresponsive | B．unbelievable | C．unapproachable | D．unchangeable |
| A．relief | B．envy | C．regret | D．sympathy |
| A．adjusted | B．credited | C．devoted | D．limited |
| A．temperature | B．spirit | C．smell | D．energy |
| A．completely | B．initially | C．similarly | D．ultimately |
| A．designed | B．discussed | C．celebrated | D．played |
8 . Urban agriculture, the practice of farming within the limits of a city, is becoming increasingly popular worldwide and is considered a way to make cities and urban food systems more sustainable. Despite strong evidence of the social and nutritional benefits of urban agriculture, its carbon footprint remains understudied.
Most previously published studies have focused on high-tech, energy-intensive forms of urban agriculture —such as vertical (垂直的) farms and rooftop greenhouses. The new study aimed to fill some of the knowledge gaps by comparing the carbon footprints of food produced at low-tech urban agriculture sites to conventional crops.
The researchers calculated the greenhouse gas emissions (排放) associated with on-farm materials and activities over the lifetime of the farm. The emissions, expressed in kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalents per serving of food, were then compared to foods raised by conventional methods.
Farmers and gardeners at urban agriculture sites across the world were employed to use daily diary entries to take down inputs—the materials used to construct farms and cultivate crops—and harvests from their food-growing sites throughout the 2019 season.
“By assessing actual inputs and outputs on urban agriculture sites, we were able to determine climate change impacts to each serving of produce,” says study co-lead author Benjamin Goldstein, assistant professor in the School for Environment and Sustainability. On average, food produced through urban agriculture released 0.42 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalents per serving, six times higher than the 0.07 kg CO2e per serving of conventionally grow n produce.
It’s also found that most of the climate impacts at urban farms are driven by the infrastructure (基础设施), such as the raised beds in which food is grown, or pathways between plots. “These farms typically only operate for a few years, so the greenhouse gases used to produce those materials are not used effectively. Conventional agriculture, instead, is very efficient and hard to compete with”, Goldstein says. For example, conventional farms often grow a single crop with the help of pesticides and fertilizers, resulting in larger harvests and a reduced carbon footprint when compared to urban farms, he says.
1. What is a benefit of urban agriculture?| A．Sustainable food supply. | B．High food output. |
| C．Effective energy conservation. | D．Low carbon footprint. |
| A．By accessing online database. | B．By examining previous studies. |
| C．By conducting personal interviews. | D．By recording information every day. |
| A．Increase varieties of crops. | B．Extend infrastructure lifetimes. |
| C．Promote rooftop greenhouses. | D．Use modern agriculture facilities. |
| A．The benefits of traditional crops. | B．The popularity of urban agriculture. |
| C．The strategies to fight global warming. | D．The carbon footprint of urban farm produce. |
9 . It turns out that humans aren’t the only ones taking mathematics tests. A group of cognitive (认知的) scientists are training bees to perform simple addition and subtraction (减法).
For the experiment, the scientists lured individual bees with sugar water. “She flies back to the hive, gives it to the other bees, and two minutes later she’ll come back and do it again,” Dyer said, a scientist from RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia. They taught and tested 14 bees over the course of the experiment — one bee at a time.
To learn the rules, a bee first would be shown cards printed with a number of shapes in one of two colors: blue, if they were supposed to add one to the shapes on the card, or yellow, if they were meant to subtract one shape. Then, the bee would choose an answer to the problem by flying to one of two presented solutions. If it chose well, it found itself near a solution of delicious sugar water. If it chose poorly, however, it would be punished with a bad-tasting drink. The researchers found that each bee picked the correct answer in both addition and subtraction trials about 70percent of the time.
Dyer said, “Problem-solving requires both long-term memory and short-term memory. Long-term memory allows the bees to remember that blue and yellow equate to separate mathematical rules. Short-term memory lets them recall the actual numbers in a particular problem.”
“It is assumed that humans are very complex, and there’s a decreasing level of complexity going away from humans,” said Muth, an animal congnition researcher who wasn’t involved in this study. But in fact, complex awareness, like the mathematical problems solved by bees, can be made up of relativlely simple components.
That doesn’t explain why bees might have evolved the ability to figure out mathematical problems, though. One possibility is that bees didn’t evolve to do addition and subtraction. They just evolved to be smart enough to figure it out.
Dyer said that observing a tiny animal with a brain that has less than a million neurons (神经元) learn a very complex task makes him think, “Wow, what can humans achieve?”
1. What are the scientists training bees to do in the experiment?| A．Flying on blue and yellow cards. | B．Adding shapes to different cards. |
| C．Solving simple mathematical problems. | D．Tasting water of two flavors. |
| A．They would be punished with a bad-tasting drink. | B．They would be treated with sugar drink. |
| C．They would be permitted to leave the hive. | D．They would be given a beautiful shape card. |
| A．Long-term memory plays a bigger part. |
| B．Long-term memory contributes to recalling. |
| C．Short-term memory facilitates remembering. |
| D．Short-term memory is as important as long-term memory. |
| A．Bees are as complex as man in many aspects. |
| B．Bees are by nature good at mathematics. |
| C．Complex awareness can consist of simple components. |
| D．Bees learn to solve maths problems under certain pressure. |
| A．Human achievements can be limitless. | B．Human brains deserve good study. |
| C．Humans must fully develop neurons. | D．Humans are good at observation. |
10 . Another year of record fossil fuel burning leading to record high global temperatures. Time is running out to solve the climate crisis, and great disasters come near us. You’re probably used to such headlines, and you may have moments of hopelessness about the future. But can you turn such gloom (灰暗) messaging of climate crisis into meaningful change? Our recent global study says yes — but the messages must be used wisely.
In 2019, in his book, David Wallace - Wells painted a terrifying landscape of the suffering awaiting us if we don’t address climate change, leaving many feeling consumed by fear and helplessness. Not everyone is a fan of his gloom messaging. Climate scientists like Michael Mann have warned against it , messaging that it can depress and discourage the public, and lead to further climate inaction. And the title of a new book by Hannah Ritchie states clearly that it’s Not the End of the World: How We Can Be the First Generation to Build a Sustainable Planet.
To help figure out the precise impact of climate gloom messaging, we recently completed a large experiment. Our findings revealed that gloom messaging was highly effective for stimulating climate change information sharing, like posting on the Internet or social media. Wallace-Wells was right in this aspect. But Mann and Ritchie were also right. Hearing these messages actually decreased people’s positive behaviors against environmental pollution — when faced with the enormous messages of the climate crisis, individual -level actions might seem futile (徒劳的). So gloom messaging can do both things: cause helplessness, discouraging individual-level action; but also motivate people to spread the word.
Our research also found several other messages that moved the needle on climate change beliefs and actions. This suggests that understanding how different messages work, and in what contexts, will be critical to changing beliefs, spreading the word, and motivating action.
1. What message does gloom messaging intend to deliver?| A．The unstoppable tendency to disasters. |
| B．Disastrous effects of burning fossil fuels. |
| C．The urgency to deal with climate crisis. |
| D．Confidence in environmental protection. |
| A．Because they don’t believe there is severe climate crisis. |
| B．Because they fear it will lead to more environmental pollution. |
| C．Because they plan to build a new world in another planet. |
| D．Because they worry it makes people give up climate actions. |
| A．It encourages people to fight against climate change. |
| B．It increases people’s awareness of climate crisis. |
| C．It has no impact on climate change behaviors. |
| D．It misleads people into spreading wrong news. |
| A．The lack of solution for inspiring climate actions. |
| B．Gloom messages’ influences on climate behaviors. |
| C．The importance of studying different messages’ effects. |
| D．Right attitudes to climate change beliefs and behaviors. |
