1 . Human beings have somehow managed to engineer the night to receive us by filling it with light. This kind of control is no different from the feat ( 壮 举 ) of damming a river. Its benefits come with_________ — called light pollution — whose effects scientists are only now beginning to study. Light pollution is largely the result of bad lighting design. _________ lighting washes out the darkness of night, altering light levels and light rhythms to which many forms of life, including ourselves, have_________. Wherever man-made light spills into the natural world, some aspects of life-migration, reproduction, feeding-is affected.

For most human history, the phrase “light pollution” would have_________. Imagine walking towards London on a moonlit night around 1800, when it was Earth’s most populous city. Nearly a million people lived there, _________ candles, torches and lanterns, as they always had. Only a few houses were lit by gas, and there would be no public gaslights in the streets or squares for another seven years. From a few miles away, you would have been more likely to_________ London than to see its dim collective glow.

We’ve lit up the night as if it were a(n) _________ country. As a matter of fact, among mammals (哺乳动物) alone, the number of species active at night is astonishing. Light is a powerful biological force, and on many species it acts as a magnet attracting them to it. The effect is so powerful that scientists speak of songbirds and seabirds being_________ by searchlights on land or by the light from gas flares on marine oil platforms, circling and circling in the thousands until they drop.

It was once thought that light pollution only affected astronomers, who need to see the night sky in all its glorious clarity. Unlike astronomers, most of us may not need a_________ view of the night sky for our work. __________, like most other creatures, we do need darkness. __________ darkness is pointless. It is as essential to maintaining our biological welfare as__________ itself; the price of modifying our internal clockwork means it doesn’t operate as it should, causing various physical discomforts. So fundamental are the regular rhythms of waking and sleep to our being that__________ them is similar to altering our center of gravity.

In a very real sense, light pollution causes us to__________ our true place in the universe, to forget the scale of our being, which is best__________ against the dimensions of a deep night with the Milky Way — the edge of our galaxy — arching overhead.

1.

A．consequences

B．achievements

C．agreements

D．circumstances

2.

A．Randomly-designed

B．Well-designed

C．Poorly-designed

D．Economically-designed

3.

A．appealed

B．adapted

C．objected

D．amounted

4.

A．come under criticism

B．made no difference

C．come into effect

D．made no sense

5.

A．making do with

B．fed up with

C．identifying with

D．overflowing with

6.

A．visit

B．greet

C．feel

D．smell

7.

A．independent

B．disconnected

C．unoccupied

D．excluded

8.

A．exposed

B．captured

C．dismissed

D．frustrated

9.

A．clear

B．comprehensive

C．traditional

D．critical

10.

A．Subsequently

B．However

C．Therefore

D．Similarly

11.

A．Reviewing

B．Embracing

C．Denying

D．Regulating

12.

A．light

B．rhythm

C．status

D．dawn

13.

A．emerging from

B．withdrawing from

C．messing with

D．coinciding with

14.

A．keep track of

B．lose sight of

C．catch hold of

D．let go of

15.

A．measured

B．neutralized

C．undergone

D．supervised

3 . What do you know about fashion? The fashion industry, which has become one of the most _________ to the planet, is having a moment of punishment. But which changes make a difference, and which ones just _________ in the wash? In fact, the fashion industry is second only to the oil industry, the most environmentally unfriendly industry.

A friend of mine _________ an antique clothes store in the north of London. Business has been good for many years, which makes her acquire a large fortune. Every few weeks, she visits a vast storehouse on the edge of the city to go through piles of clothing. Most of it is _________, but if you know what you are looking for, there are raw diamonds. The storehouse has a long history. It was once a clearing house for the low-quality wool scraps(碎料) that were used to make cheap clothing for the _________ in Victorian Britain. A century on, _________ has changed. Nowadays, it is full of modern-day inferior products, all _________ cheap clothing made for the masses around the world. Except that this stuff is going to be burned or buried, not being reused.

The items are the products of an industry that, in the past 30 years, has become one of the most successful and also most _________ on the planet. Known as fast fashion, it has filled our wardrobes(衣柜) with cheap and cheerful clothes. But after three decades of continuous growth, the model is in _________ with fundamental environmental limits and there is widespread agreement – even from within the industry – that it is time to ____________. Otherwise, “Fast fashion” creates a mountain of unsellable, cheap clothing that ends up in a terrible place.

“The fashion industry represents a key environmental ____________,” says Kirsi Niinimäki at Aalto University in Espoo, Finland. “Eventually, the long-term stability of the fashion industry ____________ the total abandonment of the fast-fashion model.” Like fast food, fast fashion is all about instant ____________ on the cheap.

One wonders: What can we do about it? Don’t you have any clothes on? It’s not that ____________. More importantly, don’t waste, learn to control your desires and ____________ falling into this “Fast fashion” lifestyle. As the guardian columnist Lucy Seagal once said, the “Fast fashion” industry is profit-driven, but consumers who have experienced “over-consumption” will naturally grow tired of it, and the market will have its choice.

1.

A．convincing

B．interesting

C．confusing

D．damaging

2.

A．carry out

B．come out

C．set out

D．break out

3.

A．builds

B．runs

C．supports

D．controls

4.

A．expensive

B．useless

C．worthless

D．attractive

5.

A．businessmen

B．children

C．locals

D．masses

6.

A．little

B．few

C．much

D．many

7.

A．on behalf of

B．in the form of

C．for the sake of

D．in terms of

8.

A．effective

B．destructive

C．preventive

D．alternative

9.

A．quarrel

B．argument

C．fight

D．conflict

10.

A．tell the truth

B．hit the brakes

C．pave the way

D．break the ice

11.

A．threat

B．effect

C．problem

D．protection

12.

A．results from

B．consists of

C．brings about

D．relies on

13.

A．ambition

B．action

C．satisfaction

D．attraction

14.

A．far

B．extreme

C．bad

D．complex

15.

A．enjoy

B．imagine

C．miss

D．avoid

4 . Climate experts have warned about the many ways a warming planet can negatively affect human health. ________ global temperatures are predicted to increase by 1.5℃ by the 2030s, that risk is becoming increasingly real.

One long-held prediction that appears to be coming true — according to the results of a study recently published in Nature Scientific Reports — is how climate change might enhance ________ of bacteria that thrive and spread through warm sea waters and cause an infection with a particularly high ________ rate.

Vibrio vulnificus (创伤弧菌) flourishes in salty or brackish waters above 68℉. Infections are currently rare in the U.S., but that’s likely to change. Using 30 years of data on infections, scientists at the University of East Anglia in the U.K. found that Vibrio vulnificusis ________ from its historic Gulf Coast range, with more Northern states reporting infections as waters become warmer.

“We’re seeing the core ________ of infections extending to areas that traditionally have very few and very rare cases,” says Elizabeth Archer, a Ph.D. researcher and ________ author of the study. “But these areas are now coming into the main area of infections.”

Based on the latest data on how much the world’s water and air temperatures will rise, the scientists predict that by 2081, Vibrio vulnificus infections could reach every state along the U.S. East Coast. Currently, only about 80 cases are reported in the U.S. each year; by 2081, that could go up to over three-fold, the authors say.

Such a proliferation could have serious health consequences. Vibrio vulnificus kills approximately 20% of the healthy people it infects, and 50% of those with weakened immune systems. There is little evidence that antibiotics can ________ the infection, but doctors may prescribe them in some cases. People can get infected either by eating raw shellfish like oysters or by exposing small ________ to waters where the bacteria live, which can lead to serious skin infections.

Warming sea temperatures aren’t the only reasons behind the rise of Vibrio vulnificus. Hotter air also draws more people to the coasts and bays, bringing them into closer contact with the bacteria.

“The bacteria are part of the natural marine environment, so I don’t think we can ________ it from the environment,” says Archer. “It’s more about mitigating infections by increasing ________ of the risk.”

To alert people to the growing threat, ________ systems are needed to track when concentrations of bacteria start to rise, similar to currently available pollen and pollution alarm.

Vbrio vulnificus is so ________ to temperature changes that concentrations could bloom after even a day of warmer water, so consistent monitoring and alerts are critical, says Iain Lake, professor of environmental epidemiology at University of East Anglia and senior author of the paper.

Lake says the expansion of Vibrio vulnificus is concerning for public health since the bacteria are now invading waters closer to heavily ________ areas, such as New York and Philadelphia. “Everyone can get a Vibrio vulnificus infection,” he says. “But the more ________ there is between warmer waters and people, the more the bacteria can move into populations ________ the elderly and those with other health conditions, who are more vulnerable to infections.”

1.

A．Even if

B．Except when

C．The instant

D．In case

2.

A．numbers

B．ranges

C．coverages

D．concentrations

3.

A．failure

B．fatality

C．survival

D．acid

4.

A．ranging

B．varying

C．expanding

D．shifting

5.

A．distribution

B．launch

C．community

D．sample

6.

A．principle

B．lead

C．principal

D．hit

7.

A．boost

B．accelerate

C．contain

D．remove

8.

A．harms

B．damages

C．injuries

D．wounds

9.

A．relieve

B．dissolve

C．resolve

D．erase

10.

A．conscience

B．awareness

C．panic

D．alert

11.

A．monitoring

B．processing

C．managing

D．delivering

12.

A．sensible

B．vital

C．vulnerable

D．sensitive

13.

A．populated

B．dense

C．paralleled

D．bordered

14.

A．reaction

B．interaction

C．intervention

D．relativity

15.

A．rather than

B．except for

C．such as

D．other than

5 . The Amazon is warming three times faster than the global average

It is perhaps the most ironic symbol of the life on our planet. The Amazon is the world’s largest and most bio-diverse tropical rainforest and a huge trap for carbon dioxide. The harms of _________ in this vital resource are old news. But now, the time on the clock is running out. It seems that the world’s biggest rainforest is about to turn into the world’s biggest environmental _________. “We are about to collapse,” says Luciana Gati at Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research. “We are in a(n) _________, we need action now.”

Gati has spent years _________ the Amazon from the air. She believes we are as little as five years from a point of no return, where rainforest begins to turn into dry land. It is also the point at which billions of tons of carbon would be _________ into the atmosphere. “It’s a nightmare,” she says.

That nightmare situation is the well-known Amazon _________ point, where the ecosystem can no longer cope with the damage of the forest cutting. Like a domino game, one brick falling will _________ the whole tower to collapse in a heap.

Warnings that this is approaching have now taken on extreme urgency. The rate of deforestation has increased sharply and is fast approaching the theoretical _________. In September, a group of more than 200 experts, including Gatti, released an assessment of the situation. The conclusion: we are on the _________ of disaster.

Scientists first began to seriously worry about a potential Amazon tipping point in about 2000, when some studies warned that a combination of climate change and deforestation could cause the rainforest to __________.

A few years later, a team of Brazilian scientists put numbers on it. They __________ that in central, southern and eastern parts of the Amazon, a loss of 40% of the forest cover from pre-industrial levels, or 3°C warming would reduce rainfall so much that the rest of the forest would die of __________ and turn into a dry land in less than a decade.

The scientists have since __________ that prediction, partly due to the global warming that has happened since 2000. The Amazon is already 1.2°C warmer than it was in pre-industrial times and is warming three times faster than the global __________. At that rate of warming, between 20 and 25% deforestation would be enough to dry up the land and destroy the Amazon completely.

“Either way, we would be wise not to exceed 20%”, says a scientist, “for the commonsense reason that there is no point in __________   the precise point of limit by tipping it.”

1.

A．fertilization

B．elimination

C．deforestation

D．frustration

2.

A．program

B．disaster

C．protection

D．regulation

3.

A．evolution

B．spotlight

C．condition

D．emergency

4.

A．measuring

B．observing

C．protecting

D．criticizing

5.

A．released

B．melted

C．turned

D．supplied

6.

A．tipping

B．disappointing

C．awarding

D．tapping

7.

A．build

B．turn

C．cause

D．make

8.

A．problem

B．prediction

C．aspect

D．limit

9.

A．base

B．edge

C．surface

D．track

10.

A．dry out

B．run down

C．pay off

D．rise up

11.

A．boasted

B．insisted

C．estimated

D．instructed

12.

A．thirst

B．starvation

C．cold

D．disease

13.

A．digested

B．revised

C．encouraged

D．previewed

14.

A．strategy

B．climate

C．average

D．system

15.

A．diagnosing

B．instructing

C．inquiring

D．discovering

6 . At first, the grains of rice that Ingo Potrykus held in his fingers did not seem at all _________, but inside, these grains were not white, as ordinary rice is, but a very pale yellow — thanks to beta-carotene (胡萝卜素), a building block for vitamin A.

For more than a decade Potrykus had _________ creating a golden rice that could improve the lives of millions of the poorest people in the world, strengthening their eyesight and their _________ disease.

_________ imagining golden rice was one thing and creating one quite another. Year after year, Potrykus and his colleagues ran into one _________ after another until success finally came in the spring of 1999.

At that point, he tackled an even greater challenge. The golden grains _________ pieces of DNA borrowed from bacteria and flowers. It was what some would call Frankenfood, a product of genetic engineering. As such, it _________ a web of hopes and fears.

The debate began the moment genetically engineered crops (GM crops) were first sold in the 1990s, and it has _________ ever since. First to start major protests against biotechnology were European environmentalists and consumer-advocacy groups. They were soon followed by their U.S. counterparts (相对应的人事物).

The hostility is _________. Most of the GM crops __________ so far have been developed to produce a plant that is not harmed by chemicals used to kill weeds (杂草) in the fields. These genetically engineered crops are often sold by the same large, multinational corporations that __________ the weed-killing chemicals that farmers spray on their fields. Consumers have become suspicious (怀疑的).

The benefits did seem small __________ golden rice was developed. It is the first strong example of a GM crop that may __________ not just the farmers who grow it but also the consumers who eat it. In this case, those include at least a million children who die every year because they are weakened by vitamin-A deficiency (缺乏) and an additional 350,000 who go blind.

Many people __________ poverty and hunger look at golden rice and see it as evidence that GM crops can be made to serve the greater public good. They see a critical role for GM crops in feeding the world’s ever-increasing population. As former U.S. President Jimmy Carter put it, “Responsible biotechnology is not the enemy; __________ is.”

1.

A．typical

B．special

C．local

D．white

2.

A．dreamed of

B．come in handy

C．been reminded of

D．broken up

3.

A．attempt at

B．effort to

C．resistance to

D．majority of

4.

A．But

B．And

C．While

D．Since

5.

A．surprise

B．obstacle

C．norm

D．opposition

6.

A．achieved

B．stressed

C．overlooked

D．contained

7.

A．was caught in

B．was alive with

C．be conscious of

D．was honored by

8.

A．announced

B．maintained

C．escalated

D．applied

9.

A．brilliant

B．understandable

C．discharged

D．rewarding

10.

A．introduced

B．reminded

C．respected

D．overlooked

11.

A．toss and turn

B．give and take

C．produce and sell

D．demand and supply

12.

A．until

B．after

C．although

D．when

13.

A．feature

B．mark

C．build

D．benefit

14.

A．worried about

B．ashamed of

C．filled with

D．admired for

15.

A．terror

B．misery

C．starvation

D．crisis

7 . To prevent tsunami-caused disasters, several countries worked together to expand the use of a tsunami-detecting system that had been developed in the United States by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The system________ of an instrument installed on the seafloor — called a tsunameter — that measures pressure changes caused by a passing tsunami. The tsunameter sends a signal to a surface buoy (浮标), which sends the data to a satellite, which ________ the information to warning centers around the world.

By 2004 only six such detectors had been installed, all in the Pacific. There were________ in the Indian Ocean, and many countries in the region had no national warning centers that could have ________ local communities. That policy mistake had tragic consequences. In Sumatra people had only a few minutes to run, ________the tsunami took two hours to reach India, and some 16,000 people died there. “It was totally unnecessary,” says Paramesh Banerjee, a geo-physicist at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. “Technically it would have been relatively ________ to install a tsunami warning system for the Indian Ocean.”

There are now 53 detector buoys operating in the world’s oceans, including 6 of a planned 27 in the Indian Ocean. So a (n)________ of the 2004 horror, in which the tsunami traveled for hours and still caught people by ________ is less likely. But buoys would not have helped in Sumatra. People living on coasts near a rupturing fault (地壳断层) can’t wait for ________ that a tsunami is on its way, which it often isn’t; they must flee as soon as the quake hits. The Japanese warning system relies not only on tsunameters but also on seismometers (地震测量仪) — a thousand of them ________ the country, the densest network anywhere — combined with a computer model that forecasts the scale of a tsunami from the magnitude (震级) and ________ of the quake.

In March, the system, which is run by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), did not work perfectly. JMA’s initial ________, while the ground was still shaking, put the quake magnitude at 7.9 — but later analysis revealed a quake that, at magnitude 9, was 12 times larger. The tsunami forecast warned of waves of ten feet or more — but they reached 50 feet in Minanisanriku and in some places even ________. But the human ________ to the warning was imperfect as well. “I think this time many people who lived above the high-water mark of the 1960 tsunami didn’t bother to run.” says Jin Sato, mayor of Minanisanriku. “Many of them died.” The town’s seawall, he thinks, also gave people a false sense of ________

1.

A．approves

B．rids

C．expects

D．consists

2.

A．broadcasts

B．foresees

C．assigns

D．imposes

3.

A．some

B．a few

C．none

D．others

4.

A．qualified

B．alerted

C．substituted

D．fueled

5.

A．although

B．until

C．as

D．where

6.

A．difficult

B．thoughtful

C．easy

D．pressing

7.

A．alternative

B．perspective

C．repetition

D．resume

8.

A．surprise

B．mistake

C．accident

D．force

9.

A．reference

B．confirmation

C．suggestion

D．expectation

10.

A．undertake

B．multiply

C．deposit

D．blanket

11.

A．location

B．direction

C．territory

D．length

12.

A．note

B．catalogue

C．volume

D．estimate

13.

A．worse

B．larger

C．higher

D．wider

14.

A．schedule

B．scheme

C．monitor

D．response

15.

A．warning

B．security

C．setting

D．responsibility

8 . After five long years, it appears California’s drought is finally becoming less severe. _______ a recent string of storms, more than a third of the state has now welcomed healthy precipitation (降水量), and California’s snowpack—a(n) _______ source of water as the year progresses—has reached nearly twice its seasonal average in some parts of the Sierra Nevada. That’s a dramatic improvement over last summer, when literally every inch of the state _______ drought conditions. It’s also welcome news for Californians, who have faced a series of water _______ since Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency in early 2014. Farmers have been forced to spend heavily to maintain production.

The state’s water struggles, _______, are far from over. For one, nobody knows for sure how long these rains will last. Although recent precipitation has been _______—in some places more than 80 inches—the accuracy of storm forecasting remains _______ beyond a week. Californians know this all too well: last year, experts projected a “Godzilla” El Niño that would bring record levels of precipitation. It never _______. “Will six weeks from now be wet?” asks Jeanine Jones, California’s interstate water-resources manager. “The skill in that kind of forecasting is just not there.”

_______, a storm slowdown is a very real possibility—and it could leave California without enough water to make it through the dry summer. ________, when that happens, the state has turned to groundwater stored in natural rock formations deep beneath the earth’s surface. But those ________ remain used up after years of drought; restoring them could take years in some places, says Jones.

The quick inrush of water has also created a(n) ________ balancing act for water managers. Keeping surface reservoirs (水库) filled to the edge protects against the possibility of a sudden dry spell, but it also

________ the risk of flooding if and when future storms hit. To that end, water managers opened the Sacramento Weir floodgates earlier this month to pour reservoir water into nearby fields after ________ showed local water levels would likely continue to rise. That’s a calculation that will be made across the state in the coming months.

For now, though, Jones is focused on planning and ensuring the state’s water supply whatever may happen. “We’re halfway through our wettest season, and conditions have been encouraging,” she says. “I would say we’re ________ optimistic.”

1.

A．According to

B．With respect to

C．Thanks to

D．In addition to

2.

A．official

B．exhaustible

C．unexpected

D．crucial

3.

A．experienced

B．improved

C．worsened

D．investigated

4.

A．pollution

B．restrictions

C．pressure

D．cycles

5.

A．nevertheless

B．therefore

C．meanwhile

D．moreover

6.

A．accurate

B．plentiful

C．consistent

D．emergent

7.

A．productive

B．unchangeable

C．progressive

D．unreliable

8.

A．fell behind

B．broke down

C．came about

D．took off

9.

A．Or else

B．In other words

C．At that point

D．Above all

10.

A．Literally

B．Contrarily

C．Historically

D．Consequently

11.

A．levels

B．formations

C．struggles

D．reserves

12.

A．random

B．delicate

C．mechanical

D．insensible

13.

A．heightens

B．assumes

C．minimizes

D．identifies

14.

A．restorations

B．calculations

C．conditions

D．projections

15.

A．hopelessly

B．extremely

C．guardedly

D．cheerfully

9 . The news that Derby has approved what promises to be Britain’s largest urban rewilding project so far is very welcome. The 320-hectare Allestree Park will, subject to detailed consultation, be given over to a range of habitats and perhaps even see the reintroduction of species such as dormice and red kites.

Urban rewilding - which is not the same as urban green space, however extensive - can take many forms. They _________ from aiming to slow down the rate of species loss by _________ swift (雨燕) and sparrow boxes to new apartment constructions (there are now 247m fewer house sparrows than there were in 1980) to designating areas the size of Allestree Park.

But in fact, some of the most successful projects have been _________. Canvey Wick, a disused area of the Thames estuary, returned to a “self-wilded rainforest” that is now home to nearly 2,000 invertebrate (无脊椎的) species, including at least three _________ thought to be extinct. Rivers _________ natural wildlife corridors, working their way through cities, then linking them to countryside. The Guardian columnist George Monbiot gives the example of the River Wandle, which in the 19th century supported up to 90 factories, and was described as “the hardest worked river for its size in the world.” Now it teems with (充满着) wildlife, and the local authorities have considered _________ beavers (海狸).

Urban rewilding, _________, won’t make a massive difference to global heating, with only 6% or so of Britain is actually built on it. But giving nature freer rein (控制) in parts of towns and cities could help to mitigate (缓解) flooding, and to slow species loss. Importantly, about 83% of us live on the portion of the UK’s land that is classed as urbanised, and access to nature has also been shown to improve psychological well-being. One recent Canadian study found that adding just 10 trees to a city block had a big effect on people’s _________ of their health; research is beginning to find that increasing biodiversity can heighten that impact. And on a more general scale, those who _________ wildness are more likely to fight for it.

The pressure for development means that there will always be tension with __________ interests: the Swans-combe Peninsula in Kent, another self-wilded area that is home to 1,992 species of invertebrates, including 250 of conservation concern, is now __________ for the London Resort, including a theme park expected to destroy 76 hectares of priority habitat which forms a vital part of the ecological network. This loss would be __________ losing 140 football pitches (球场) __________ of nationally important habitat.

In these mid-pandemic, post-Brexit, austerity-bitten (财政紧缩的) times, the financial arguments can be hardest to __________ for councils short of cash, but the evidence that “we need nature as much as it needs us”, in the words of Jo Smith of the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, is surely __________. With a bit of imagination, flexibility and commitment, many more urban areas could follow Derby’s example.

1.

A．differ

B．originate

C．range

D．develop

2.

A．transporting

B．attaching

C．leading

D．transforming

3.

A．mature

B．established

C．reputational

D．accidental

4.

A．specifically

B．fundamentally

C．previously

D．primarily

5.

A．bring about

B．serve as

C．contribute to

D．rely on

6.

A．breeding

B．launching

C．introducing

D．favoring

7.

A．by contrast

B．for instance

C．in itself

D．in the meanwhile

8.

A．appreciations

B．perceptions

C．insights

D．recovery

9.

A．encounter

B．sustain

C．create

D．promote

10.

A．recreational

B．political

C．industrial

D．commercial

11.

A．qualified

B．maintained

C．reserved

D．cultivated

12.

A．linked to

B．inseparable from

C．dismissed as

D．equivalent to

13.

A．value

B．profit

C．benefit

D．worth

14.

A．approve

B．counter

C．settle

D．consider

15.

A．fundamental

B．essential

C．overwhelming

D．obvious