1 . In the dim light of an early autumn evening, Alexander, a hunter: known as much for his solitude as for his skill, ventured into the untamed (原始的) heart of the jungle. Each step he took was measured and careful, a respect for the ancient wilderness where every breath was a story, and man was but a fleeting shadow.
For years, whispers of a tiger, not just any tiger but one whose fur caught the last rays of the sun, had reached Alexander. A creature so splendid and fearsome, it was said to be more myth than flesh. On this day, as the shadows lengthened and the jungle whispered its age-old secrets, Alexander sought not just the tiger, but a confrontation with the very essence of the wild itself. As dusk settled, painting the world in colors of gold and shadow, the boundary between predator and prey seemed to dissolve. The air was heavy with anticipation, the kind that precedes storms and stories.
Then, in a clearing where the jungle seemed to hold its breath, the tiger appeared. It was as if the sun had woven itself into the fabric of its being, its fur a blend of flame and night. For a moment, the world shrank to the space between the hunter named Alexander and the legend made flesh before him.
Their gazes locked, a silent understanding passing between man and beast. Here was Alexander, a man who had walked through shadows to stand in the light of a legend, and the tiger, an embodiment of the wild’s untouchable majesty. In that eternal moment, Alexander saw not a prey but a sovereign of nature, a being whose right to wander the dusk was as undeniable as the setting sun.
With a respect born of countless sunsets and the silent tales they told, Alexander slowly lowered his rifle (步枪). The act was not one of defeat but of profound respect-a recognition of the bond that ties every living thing to the pulse of the earth. The tiger, its gaze still locked with Alexander’s, seemed to acknowledge this unspoken pact. Then, it turned and melted into the shadows, leaving behind a trail of twilight.
Alexander left the jungle that night without a trophy (战利品), but his soul was alight with a tale of fire and twilight. He had sought a legend and found a truth far greater: in the wild’s heart, where shadows and light dance, there lies a respect so deep it transcends the hunt. This encounter, a dance with the untamed, would echo in Alexander’s heart long after the jungle’s whispers faded into the dawn.
1. What was Alexander’s primary reason for venturing into the jungle?| A．To find a place to set up camp. |
| B．To hunt a tiger rumored to have a fur like the setting sun. |
| C．To escape from the challenges of modern life. |
| D．To meet other hunters and share stories. |
| A．He captures the tiger to prove its existence. |
| B．He shoots the tiger to claim his trophy. |
| C．He attempts to trap the tiger but fails |
| D．He lowers his rifle, choosing not to shoot the tiger. |
| A．complex language. | B．long sentences. |
| C．straightforward storytelling. | D．supernatural focus. |
| A．The thrill of the hunt is unparalleled. |
| B．True courage is demonstrated through dominance over nature. |
| C．There is a profound respect that exists between man and nature. |
| D．Technology has distanced man from understanding the natural world. |
2 . We recently went to a friend’s backyard to meet her new puppy. He was lovely beyond words. Our friend was wearing smiles as she told us about his first days at home. It was truly puppy love.
Later that night, I walked behind my own dog to help her climb up the stairs, and heated up the homemade food that helps control her kidney (肾) disease. You can’t imagine these extra cares when you began raising a puppy. For me, I am lucky to know this more “mature” love. To love, and to be loved, by an old dog is truly an honor.
For a long time, I denied the fact that our dog was getting old, or I really didn’t notice that Skyler was getting older. But these days, there is no denying the fact. Sometimes, she will fall while eating from her bowl and wait patiently for someone to help her up.
I still remember the first days of Skyler. In the home, she always needed to be beside someone, with at least one part of her touching one part of you. At the park, it was different. If we started running toward the end of a field, she would cross the finish line before we had even made it halfway.
Now, at 15, Skyler still needs to be right beside you on the couch. But it is hard. It is sad to see this once fast, strong dog struggle to walk up the front steps or to see her begging eyes whenever she needs help to get up on the couch. Over the past few years, we have had to forgo certain family trips because we wanted to take care of her at home.
However, I know this experience has taught our children about sacrifice and unconditional love. It has taught me the same. Dogs give us unconditional love. The least we can do is give it back. There will likely be times of great sadness and hardship, but in the end, you will feel very lucky for the time you have together.
1. In paragraph 2, why does the author mention what he did late that night?| A．To complain about the troubles of raising a dog. |
| B．To show her regret of meeting her friend’s new puppy. |
| C．To tell readers that she is taking care of an old sick dog. |
| D．To illustrate the correct way of caring for dogs. |
| A．When the author first got Skyler, she was always running in the house. |
| B．Skyler has always been eager to have people beside her. |
| C．Skyler will beg for some food before she gets up. |
| D．To take care of Skyler, the author often brings her during the journey. |
| A．cancel | B．forget | C．organize | D．delay |
| A．She is strongly against keeping a dog. |
| B．She considers it a double-edged sword to keep a dog. |
| C．She suggests we should think twice before keeping a dog. |
| D．She thinks keeping a dog is worthwhile for the whole family. |
3 . As plastic waste increases rapidly around the world, an essential question remains unanswered: What harm, if any, does it cause to human health?
A few years ago, as microplastics began turning up in the organs of fish and shellfish, the concern was focused on the safety of seafood. Shellfish were a particular worry, because in their case, unlike fish, we eat the entire animal — stomach, microplastics and all. In 2017, Belgian scientists announced that seafood lovers could consume up to 11,000 plastic particles (粒子) a year by eating mussels (贻贝), a favorite dish in that country.
By then, however, scientists already understood that plastics continuously fragment small pieces in the environment, tearing over time into fibers even smaller than a strand of human hair — particles are so small that they easily fly in the air. A team at the U.K.’s University of Plymouth decided to compare the threat from eating polluted wild mussels in Scotland to that of breathing air in a typical home. Their conclusion: People will take in more plastic by breathing in or taking tiny, invisible plastic fibers floating in the air around them—fibers from their own clothes, carpets, and soft covering on furniture — than they will by eating the mussels.
So, it wasn’t much of a surprise when, in 2022, scientists from the Netherlands and the U.K, announced they had found tiny plastic particles in living humans, in two places where they hadn’t been seen before: deep inside the lungs of surgical patients, and in the blood of unknown donors. Neither of the two studies answered the question of possible harm. But together they signaled a shift in the focus of concern about plastics toward the cloud of dust particles in the air, some of them are so small that they can get into deep inside the body and even inside cells, in ways that larger microplastics can’t.
Dick Vethaak, a professor of ecotoxicology (生态毒理学), doesn’t consider the results alarming, exactly—“but, yes, we should be concerned. Plastics should not be in your blood.” “We live in a multi-particle world,” he adds, referring to the dust, pollen (花粉), and smog that humans also breathe in every day. “The trick is to figure out how much plastics contribute to that particle burden and what does that mean.”
1. What does the word “fragment” in para. 3 probably mean?| A．break into | B．take in | C．pick out | D．make up |
| A．microplastics from things in our daily life ant more poisonous |
| B．people eating polluted mussels are more likely to get diseases |
| C．invisible plastic fibers are more harmful to the environment |
| D．the influence of microplastics in mussels is less than thought |
| A．microplastics in polluted wild mussels can cause serious diseases |
| B．there’s no need to worry about the plastics found in human blood |
| C．we can avoid breathing particles by figuring out particle burden |
| D．more attention should be paid to the dust particles than plastics |
| A．Are Microplastics Harmful to Us? |
| B．Should Microplastics be in Our Blood? |
| C．Can Microplastics Get into Our Bodies? |
| D．Do We Know Anything about Microplastics? |
4 . Peter and Minke van Wingerden have created something wild: a herd of cows floating on the sea. The Dutch husband-and-wife team’s experiment on sustainable agriculture, called Floating Farm, can be found in the port of Rotterdam. The modernist structure houses 40 cows, who collectively produce some 200 gallons of milk a day. In addition to helping nourish (滋养) the local community, the waterborne farm is playing a part in the global conversation about how the climate crisis is pushing farmers to reconsider how—and where—they produce food.
Floods, extreme heating, droughts and even rising night temperatures have sent the food system off balance. The race to outsmart the constant attack of extreme weather has made the world of farming unrecognizable from what it was only decades ago. A team of scientists in Mexico is developing wheat types that can adapt themselves to different climates, while Jack’s Solar Garden in Longmont, Colorado, is a testbed for the emerging method of solar farming.
Rotterdam has already established itself as one of the most climate-adaptive places in the world. Everything from office buildings to entire neighborhoods are built on water in the city, which is 90% below sea level. The Wingerdens’ Floating Farm was a new but necessary attempt. Should a weather crisis arise, a waterborne farm isn’t necessarily stuck in place. A former property developer with a background in engineering, Peter found his inspiration for the Floating Farm in a climate disaster in New York City, where Hurricane Sandy prevented the delivery of fresh food to millions.
The Wingerdens’ model is ripe for reproduction—which is exactly what the Floating Farm’s team of 14 are working on now. Plans are under way for a floating vegetable farm to move into the space next to the current Floating Farm. Permit applications are also out for similar structures in Dubai, Singapore and the Dutch cities of Haarlem and Arnhem.
The new projects will apply lessons learned from Floating Farm. “You need to build a house in order to know how to build a house,” Peter says. The biggest obstacles he sees ahead, however, are not financial or physical, but rather political and administrative. “One of the biggest challenges we come across worldwide is regulations. Cities need to have disruptive thinking, cities need to have disruptive departments, and cities need to have areas where you can say: OK, this is the experimental zone.” Because what Peter and his team are pulling off is of a different order than the typical sustainability measures. “We are not innovative,” he says. “We are disruptive.”
1. Which of the following is TRUE about the Floating Farm?| A．It is the first modern farming attempt to fight climate change. |
| B．It is a model of new agriculture in the age of climate crisis. |
| C．It has outsmarted other forms of farming like solar farming. |
| D．It copies a similar structure in Dubai ready for reproduction. |
| A．90% of the population in Rotterdam live below the sea level |
| B．The New York City is working hard to fight climate change |
| C．The local community will not be fed without new farming |
| D．Waterborne facilities are necessary to the future of Rotterdam |
| A．in a daring and unusual way | B．in a focused and logical way |
| C．in a careful and detailed way | D．in a rude and unpleasant way |
| A．Is Rotterdam Built on Water? |
| B．Can Floating Farming Survive? |
| C．Are Cows at Sea the Future of Farming? |
| D．Is Extreme Weather Affecting Agriculture? |
5 . Out-of-control SpaceX Rocket
A SpaceX rocket is now headed directly for the moon after spending almost seven years flying through space, experts say. The rocket was originally launched to send a space weather satellite to the Lagrange point— a gravity-neutral position four times farther than the moon and in direct line with the sun.
At this phase, it did not have enough fuel to return to Earth’s atmosphere. But meanwhile it lacked the energy to escape the gravity of the Earth-Moon system.
As for whether the collision (相撞) could be viewed from Earth, Gray says it will probably go unobserved.” Even if it hit on the near side of the moon, the impact occurs a couple of days after New Moon, which was hardly observable, he added, “to me, the impact was not a big deal.”
| A．So the rocket has been following a somewhat chaotic orbit since. |
| B．Nevertheless, space enthusiasts believe the impact could provide valuable data. |
| C．It was part of SpaceX’s space exploration programme. |
| D．But after completing a long burn of its engines, the rocket’s second phase became a problem. |
| E．The exact spot that the rocket will hit remains unclear. |
| F．The lunar phase reveals the passage of time in the night sky. |
6 . “It’s a windy day in Laguna San Ignacio, and the waves seem to come from all directions,” said Sara Clemence in Bloomberg Businessweek. My children and I are riding on a 18-foot boat—small enough that we can reach down into the water if a gray whale swims up alongside. And then we see what we’ve come for: a heart-shaped shower of water and a dark mass rushing below it. As instructed, we splash (溅泼) the water strongly to signal the huge whale, which turns out to be a mother with her weeks-old baby. The baby soon swims beneath our boat, emerges to blow mist in my face, then “lies onto its side like a 2-ton puppy.” Leaning down, I touched its skin gently. “It feels electric. Also, a bit like petting a hard-boiled egg.”
San Ignacio is one of very few places where a person can pet a whale. The whales come each year to the coast of Baja California to give birth and to mate. If you’re lucky, you can “shake hands with a leatheryfin (鳍)” or even “plant a kiss on a cold, salty cheek.” I usually worry about such interactions, because wild creatures can become deeply stressed by human contact. But boat numbers are strictly limited in these protected waters. And any whale that approaches a boat does so on its own terms. Like that baby whale: “We see him a few times, and he seems to like being petted and splashed.”
So we are two species, connecting through touch, but also through eye contact: “More than once, after nosing around our boat, a young gray turns on its side so one dark, baseball-size eye is looking up at us.” Whalers used to call gray whales “devil fish” because these magnificent creatures turn violent when threatened—“or, say, when their babies are harmed.” That makes it feel even more of a blessing when, on our third day there, a large mama whale approaches the boat. “I’m splashing when I feel her nose press up into my hand.” Though she’s “wiser and apparently more alert” than her child, “she still decides to trust us.”
1. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?| A．The writer was on a whale-touching trip. |
| B．The writer’s boat went down with a huge wave. |
| C．The baby whale splashed water all over the writer. |
| D．The mother whale’s skin felt as hard as a boiled egg. |
| A．mad with too many visitors | B．ready for hands-on attention |
| C．restricted in swimming routes | D．enclosed in their safety zones |
| A．strange appearance | B．inborn violence |
| C．surprisingly enormous size | D．fierceness in danger |
| A．popularize the knowledge of whales | B．show admiration for whales’ motherhood |
| C．share an experience of the sea voyage | D．advocate harmony between man and nature |
7 . The direct ray of the sun touches the equator and strikes northward toward the Tropic of Cancer (北回归线). In the Southern hemisphere winter has begun, and it is summer north of the equator. The sea and air grow warmer; the polar air of winter begins its gradual retreat. The northward shift of the sun also brings the season of tropical cyclones to the northern hemisphere, a season that is ending for the Pacific and India Oceans south of the equator. Along our coasts and those of Asia, it is time to look seaward, to guard against the season’s storms. Over the Pacific, the tropical cyclone season is never quite over, but varies in intensity. Every year, conditions east of the Philippines send a score of violent storms howling toward Asia, but it is worst from June through October. Southwest of Mexico, a few Pacific hurricanes will grow during spring and summer, but most will die at sea or perish over the desert or the lower California coast as violent storms.
Along our Atlantic and Gulf coasts, the hurricane season is from June to November. In an average year, there are fewer than ten tropical cyclones and six of them will develop into hurricanes. These will kill 50 to 100 persons between Texas and Maine and cause property damage of more than $100 million. If the year is worse than average, we will suffer several hundred deaths, and property damage will run to billions of dollars. Tornadoes, floods, and severe storms are in season elsewhere on the continent. Now, to these destructive forces must be added the hazard of the hurricane. From the National Hurricane Center in Miami, a radar fence reaches westward to Texas and northward to New England. It provides a 200-mile look into offshore disturbances. In Maryland, the giant computers of the National Meteorological Center digest the myriad bits of data—atmospheric pressure, temperature, humidity, surface winds, and winds aloft—received from weather stations and ships monitoring the atmospheric setting each hour, every day. Cloud photographs from spacecraft orbiting the earth are received in Maryland and are studied for the telltale spiral(旋涡) on the warming sea. The crew of United States aircraft over the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, and Atlantic watch the sky and wait for the storm that will bear a person’s name. The machinery of early warning vibrates with new urgency as the season of great storms begins.
1. The cyclone season of the Southern hemisphere .| A．is brought by the polar air of winter |
| B．ends when winter comes to the Southern hemisphere |
| C．virtually lasts throughout the year |
| D．begins when the sun rays strike the Tropic of Cancer |
| A．They originate over the Pacific. |
| B．They influence Southeast Asia most violently. |
| C．They mainly grow during spring and summer. |
| D．They usually perish off coast. |
| A．It mainly provides protection against hurricanes to Texas and New England. |
| B．It warns the whole country against tornadoes, severe storms and hurricanes. |
| C．It consists of radars along the coast of the west and the north of U.S. |
| D．It supervises the coastal areas stretching from Texas to New England. |
| A．the factors that cause hurricanes |
| B．the most risky areas that suffer hurricanes |
| C．the early warning system against hurricanes |
| D．the remedies for property damage by hurricanes |
8 . Otters, are cute, this no one can deny. They have big eyes, short and flat noses and claws (爪子) like tiny hands. They look even cuter when they wear hats and throw food balls into their mouths as if they were bar snacks, like Takechiyo, a pet otter in Japan. Documenting Takechiyo’s funny behavior has earned his owner nearly 230,000 followers on Instagram, a photo-sharing app.
Takechiyo’s fame reflects a craze across east and South-East Asia for keeping the cute creatures as pets. Enthusiasts in Japan visit cafés where they pay to hug them; Indonesian owners parade their pets around on leads or go swimming with them, then share their pictures online. But these enjoyable photos mask a trade that is doing a lot of damage. Even before they became fashionable companions for humans, Asia’s wild otters faced plenty of threats. Their habitats are disappearing. They have long been hunted for their coats, or killed by farmers who wish to prevent them consuming fishes. The pet trade, which began picking up in the early 2000s but appeared to speed up a few years ago, has made things worse. The numbers of wild Asian small-clawed otters and smooth-coated otters, two species that are in highest demand, have declined by at least 30% in the three decades to 2019.
The international agreement that governs trade in wildlife, known as CITES, now prohibits cross-border trade in these species. But laws banning ownership are often poorly implemented, as in Thailand, or full of holes, as in Indonesia. And the otter-keeping craze has been dramatically improved by the internet, says Vincent Nijman of Oxford Brookes University. In 2017 TRAFFIC, a British charity that monitors the wildlife trade, spent nearly five months looking at Facebook and other social-media sites in five South-East Asian countries. During that time, it found around 1,000 otters advertised for sale online.
In any case, otters do not even make particularly good pets. Every year the Jakarta Animal Aid Network, a charity in Indonesia’s capital, receives some ten otters from people who have struggled to look after them. Faizul Duha, the founder of an Indonesian otter-owners’ group, admits that his two animals emit a “very specific” (read: fishy) smell. They bite humans and chew on furniture. Their scream can be heard blocks away. And their cages need cleaning every two-to-three hours. That is how often they empty their bowels (肠道).
1. The function of the first paragraph is to ________.| A．present the main idea | B．introduce the main topic |
| C．set readers thinking | D．illustrate the writer’s point |
| A．The demand for pet otters. | B．The disappearance of otters’ habitats. |
| C．The popularity of otter coats. | D．The decrease of fishes. |
| A．the laws that prohibit cross-border trade are strict in Asia |
| B．social media plays a significant role in the online otter trade |
| C．people usually give up otters because they are endangered |
| D．otters are suitable pets because they are friendly to humans |
| A．advertise for a photo-sharing app |
| B．introduce the popularity of pet otters |
| C．discourage the illegal otter pet trade |
| D．describe the characteristics of otters |
9 . In just a few decades the United States could eliminate fossil fuels（矿物燃料）and rely 100 percent on clean, renewable energy. That's the vision of, a Stanford engineering professor who has produced a state-by-state road map of how the country could rid itself of coal oil, natural gas, and nuclear power.
By 2050, Jacobson expects the nation's transportation network - cars, ships, airplanes - to run on batteries or hydrogen produced from electricity. He sees the winds blowing across the Great Plains powering vast stretches of the country's middle while the burning sun helps electrify the Southwest. "There's no state that can't do this," Jacobson says.
Today only 13% of U. S. electricity comes from renewables（再生性能源）. Jacobson's goal would be one of the nation's most ambitious undertakings. This transformation would cost roughly $15 trillion, or $47,000 for each American, for building and installing systems that produce and store renewable energy.
What would it take? Seventy-eight million rooftop solar systems, nearly 49,000 commercial solar plants, 156,000 offshore wind turbines（风力涡轮机）, plus wave-energy systems. Land-based wind farms would need 328,000 turbines, each with blades longer than a football field,. These farms would occupy as much land as North Carolina.
For now, he says, prospects are encouraging. Thanks in part to government funding and large-scale production, costs are falling. The amount of power generated nationwide by wind and solar increased 15-fold each between 2003 and 2013. This summer Barack Obama moved to reduce carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants, and Hawaii committed to having all its electricity provided by renewables by 2045.
Still, many experts aren't convinced. “It has zero chance,”Stephen Brick, an energy fellow with the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, says of Jacobson's plan. Political, regulatory, and social barriers are huge, especially in a nation where the energy systems - and much of its political influence - is rooted in the oil, gas, and coal industries. Some critics are concerned about whether the resulting grid（输电网）would be reliable. And neighborhood battles would likely occur over wind farms and solar plants. Even outspoken scientist James Hansen, who warned the government a quarter century ago about climate change, insists that nuclear power is essential to rid the country of fossil fuels.
Yet Jacobson’s work at least offers a starting point. Scientists and policymakers may keep arguing about solutions, but as Obama points out, the nation must continue its march toward a clean-energy future even if it's not yet clear how that will look in 35 years. “If we don't do it,” he said this summer, “nobody will.”
1. Which of the following does Professor Mark Jacobson engage in?| A．Organizing projects to build and install solar energy systems state by state. |
| B．Persuading the U. S. President to realize his renewable energy goal. |
| C．Outlining a plan detailing how energy in the U. S. could be carbon free by 2050. |
| D．Arguing about opportunities and obstacles of his plan. |
| A．The huge investment in solar and wind projects. |
| B．The unshakeable foundation of traditional energy systems. |
| C．The job losses in oil and coal industries. |
| D．The inevitable land-use battles between states. |
| A．one state of the U. S. will be first to become carbon free before 2050 |
| B．developing clean-energy industry will drive the world's market |
| C．fossil fuels will soon be eliminated in the U. S. |
| D．there will be no vacant land for wind farms |
| A．has no scientific grounds | B．unreasonably excludes nuclear power |
| C．will be eventually lacking in funds | D．is not feasible in some aspects |
| A．The Coexistence of Fossil Fuels and Renewables |
| B．A Blueprint for a Carbon Free America |
| C．One Man's Dream: Determination and Innovation in Energy Future |
| D．Professor and his Solar and Wind Technology |
10 . Lorcan Dillon is overcoming selective mutism(选择性缄默症) and learning to share his feelings with the help of a cat named Jessi-cat.
Young Lorcan Dillon has never told his parents that he loves them, but with the help of his best friend, Jessi-cat, this 7-year-old has been making strides toward expressing his emotions.
Lorcan has selective mutism, an anxiety disorder that makes it difficult for him to speak in social situations or tell even his family how he feels. The boy, who lives in the U. K, struggles with communication on a daily basis and rarely speaks to his teachers or classmates.
However, Lorcan's behavior began to change when his mother got him Jessi-cat two years ago.The two quickly became close friends.
“The reason I got Jessi-cat is because pets and cats in particular are very good with children with special needs, "Lorcan's mom, Jayne Dillon, said in an interview with Cats Protection, a British cat welfare agency.
According to his mother, Lorcan has made progress in overcoming his disability. In the past few weeks, he's begun speaking to people he doesn't know very well and has even been reading to one of his teachers something he's never done before.
Dillon says she has Jessi-cat to thank for her son's improvements: He does speak normally at home. He does not have selective mutism with us at all in the house, but he does not express his emotions. He would not say love you mummy". He just does not do it. But with the cat, he can hold her. he can stroke her, he can talk to her. And he does say, ' I love you Jessi-cat, 'which is really nice. It is a way for him to express emotions which otherwise he would not be able to do.
Jessi-cat's role in Lorcan's life hasn't gone unnoticed. Lorcan's kitty companion is currently one of the Best Friends category (类别) finalists in the Cats Protection National Cat Awards。
1. The word"strides"in Para. 2 probably means ________ .| A．habits | B．demand | C．improvements | D．mistakes |
| A．accept an interview | B．say"love you mummy” |
| C．speak normally at home | D．express emotions to his family |
| A．Amazed | B．Delighted | C．Embarrassed | D．Confused |
| A．A cat helped a boy express his emotions. |
| B．A mother expressed her love to her son |
| C．A boy overcame his illness by raising a cat. |
| D．A cat was awarded the prize for its behavior |
