1 . For Cruz, who grew up in Peru’s mountainous region of Cuzco, fog represents a massive opportunity. As a boy, he had to hike for more than an hour every day across hills to collect water from the nearest source. But over time, he realized that during the rainy season, droplets of water would gather in the large leaves of banana trees. So one day he and his father tried to build a canal system with the leaves to collect water and it turned out a success. But afterwards, he moved to Lima at the age of 25.
There, shocked by the water shortages and expensive water supply that some of the city’s poorest residents were faced with, Cruz set up El Movimiento Peruanos sin Agua in 2005. The idea was to deploy the method he learned in his hometown on a larger scale, which would provide free, independently sourced and easily accessible water to those who needed it most. He began installing (安装) a traditional fog catcher model developed in the 1980s.
At the highest point of Los Tres Miradores, there is a curious set of large structures that resemble a fleet of ships in the sky. They are so-called “fog catchers”. Netted devices, made of high density Raschel polyethylene and spanning several meters wide, are lined up at the top of a misty mound and linked by a network of tubes that lead to storage containers. The 40 fog catchers there provide enough water for 180 families, whether to bathe, clean, drink or to irrigate crops on small garden patches.
Supporters believe that fog catchers have the potential to improve water supply for communities around the world among the ever-challenging circumstances. German researcher Lummerich says, “They are cheap, easy to construct.” In a world searching for water supply systems, it is one important puzzle piece that can make an essential difference locally.
However, there are some issues. For one, fog catchers require space, which is not always easy to come by in cities, let alone urban slums. At the same time, fog catchers must be properly cleaned and maintained to stay effective. Most crucially, appropriate climate conditions are required. Fog isn’t everywhere.
1. What does the underlined word “deploy” probably mean in paragraph 2?| A．Employ. | B．Adjust. | C．Design. | D．Study. |
| A．The reason why Cruz installed fog catchers. |
| B．The difficulties of constructing a canal system. |
| C．The installation and benefits of fog catchers. |
| D．The inspiration Cruz gained to build a canal system. |
| A．High costs. | B．Public opposition. |
| C．Space limitation. | D．Climate conditions. |
| A．Urban Areas: A Struggle for Sufficient Water |
| B．Innovative Water Collection Techniques in Peru |
| C．The Global Water Crisis and Possible Solutions |
| D．Fog Catchers: A Local Solution with Global Potential |
2 . I always listen to my local public radio station while I’m driving. My focus often changes as I stare out at the road ahead. But I became fully attentive on a recent morning once I realized the entire newscast was dedicated to local wildlife.
There was something about the pack of some 30 to 50 javelinas (野猪) that ruined a golf course near Sedona, Arizona, followed by talk of the recent sighting of a jaguar (美洲虎), a species that ranged across Arizona and Sonora, Mexico, until construction of the border wall blocked the way. Finally, there was an update on Mexican wolf reintroduction efforts in New Mexico and Arizona. The results were mixed: Nine of the wolves had died or been killed recently.
As I sat in my car, listening to the news, I felt helpless, even mournful. What would it take for most of us to understand that the javelinas’ behavior on that heavily irrigated golf course in the desert was a sign that maybe the course shouldn’t be in the desert to begin with? The way I saw it, the javelinas weren’t invading (入侵) the site; they were reclaiming it. After all, the javelinas’ needs—for food and space—are more basic than a few privileged humans’ desire to play golf.
As for the Arizona Mexican wolf pup reintroduction effort that I heard about in the news, for the past 25 years, scientists have been working hard to restore the native wolf population, and yet are unable to remove its greatest threat. Today, almost 250 Mexican wolves are believed to be in the wild, and every year, humans illegally kill one out of ten. The wolf recovery effort is necessary, but it’s extremely difficult because we humans keep getting in the way.
I need to tackle my helplessness, because helplessness leads to no longer wanting to take care of what matters most. Therefore, I think that it must be a good sign that my local news now regularly covers the challenges of coexistence and possible solutions to our problems. That’s progress and fuels my hope.
1. What is the morning news about?| A．Dangers of local wildlife. |
| B．Efforts to reintroduce wildlife. |
| C．Issues of human-wildlife coexistence. |
| D．Distribution of wildlife around the world. |
| A．To meet basic needs. |
| B．To protect the desert. |
| C．To oppose golf playing. |
| D．To attack human beings. |
| A．They are bound to go extinct. |
| B．Humans threaten their survival. |
| C．Their number has greatly increased. |
| D．10% of them have been reintroduced. |
| A．Unclear. | B．Negative. |
| C．Optimistic. | D．Indifferent. |
3 . From solar panels to electric cars, clean energy has become a bigger part of our lives in recent years. A new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts that it will only develop a stronger foothold in the decades to come, with more solar panels, electric cars, and renewable energy by 2030.
The IEA analyzed the current policies and added that there will likely be two-thirds more clean energy ten years from now with a decreased dependence on fossil fuels. “The transition to clean energy is happening worldwide and is unstoppable. It’s not a question of ‘if’, but a matter of ‘how soon’—and the sooner, the better for all of us,” says the IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.
“Governments, companies, and investors must support clean energy transitions rather than hinder them. There are immense (巨大的) benefits on offer, including new industrial opportunities and jobs, greater energy security，cleaner air, universal energy access and a safer climate for everyone. Considering the ongoing strains and volatility (波动) in traditional energy markets today, claims that oil and gas represent safe or secure choices for the world’s energy and climate future look weaker than ever,” Biral adds.
Although this is welcome news for many, the IEA stresses that more improvement will be needed for the 200 countries in the Paris Agreement to meet the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celcius (34.7 degrees Fahrenheit). Governments must triple renewable capacity, reduce methane emissions from fossil fuel operations by 75%, and triple clean energy in developing economies.
“Every country needs to find its own pathway, but international cooperation is crucial for accelerating clean energy transitions,” Birol asserts. “In particular, the speed at which emissions decline will be largely determined by our ability to finance sustainable solutions to meet rising energy demand from the world’s fast-growing economies. This all points to the importance of redoubling cooperation, not retreating (逃避) from them.”
1. What does the new report from the IEA show?| A．The demand for fossil fuels is still currently strong. |
| B．The worldwide shift to clean energy is unstoppable. |
| C．The threat of global warming is being underestimated. |
| D．The use of renewable energy is a new focus of mankind. |
| A．Follow. | B．Delay. | C．Improve. | D．Prevent. |
| A．It is challenging. | B．It is impractical. | C．It is unclear. | D．It is conservative. |
| A．Changes to global economic policies. | B．The pattern of energy consumption. |
| C．Combined efforts between nations. | D．The development of advanced technologies. |
4 . The big French pet care company AgroBiothers Laboratoire will no longer sell very small containers for raising fish.
The company has a 27 percent share of the French market for products used by people who raise animals at home. But it said it would no longer sell any fishbowls that hold less than 15 liters of water. They will only offer four-sided ones.
The company said it was animal abuse (虐待) to put fish in small bowls without added oxygen and filtration. Filtration is the process of removing small waste from the water with a device.
AgroBiothers chief Matthieu Lambeaux recently used the term “impulse”—meaning a sudden strong desire to do something—to describe why many adults buy goldfish. “People buy a goldfish for their kids on impulse, but if they knew what torture it is, they would not do it. Turning round and round in a small bowl drives fish crazy and kills them quickly,” Lambeaux added.
Goldfish can live up to 30 years and grow to about 25 cm in large aquariums (养鱼缸) or outdoor ponds. But in very small bowls they often die within weeks or months. Lambeaux said goldfish are social animals that need other fish, lots of space and clean water. He added that having an aquarium requires some special equipment and knowledge.
Germany and several other European countries have long banned (禁止) fishbowls, but France has no laws on the problem.
Lambeaux explained the company’s decision further by saying, “We cannot educate all our customers by explaining that keeping fish in a bowl is terrible. We consider that it is our responsibility to no longer give customers that choice.”
“There is demand for fishbowls,” he said, “but the reality is that what we offer children is the possibility of seeing goldfish die slowly.”
1. What makes the French company stop selling certain fishbowls?| A．Their size. | B．Their price. |
| C．Their weight. | D．Their popularity. |
| A．Progress. | B．Pleasure. |
| C．Difficulty. | D．Suffering. |
| A．The age goldfish can reach. | B．Costs of keeping goldfish. |
| C．Proper living conditions for goldfish. | D．The advice on how to choose fishbowls. |
| A．Raise the price of the fishbowls. | B．Remove the chances of harming goldfish. |
| C．Keep goldfish outside in the wild. | D．Educate parents to care for goldfish. |
5 . There are just two species of flowering plant native to the Antarctic peninsula (半岛), which are now growing at record rates as temperatures rise and ice begins to melt, according to a new study. One is Antarctic hair grass, which grew as much in 2009—2019 as it had in the previous 50 years; the other is Antarctic pearl wort, which has seen the speed of growth increase five times over the same period.
A team led by Nicoletta Cannone, a researcher from the University of Insubria, Italy, measured the growth of Antarctica’s two native plants at sites on Signy Island. The results were shocking: the sites have not only seen faster growth, but they have become more densely populated by the plants each year, which indicates the climate has got warmer.
According to nonprofit Discovering Antarctica, the region’s temperatures have warmed by an average of 3°C as a result of human-caused climate change, meaning once stable ice shelves are now narrowing down. In some parts, that has given way to land now habitable to the two plant species.
Peter Convey, at the British Antarctic Survey, told the New Scientist: “The most novel feature of this is not that something is growing faster but that we’re starting to see what is almost like a step change or a tipping point.” And Matthew Davey, at the Scottish Association for Marine Science in Oban, UK, added: “Increasing expansion is now clearly evident in the region. This research gives us the first all-sided data showing how fast and how dense the plant community may expand.”
The researchers acknowledged there could be other factors at play causing the plants’ growth, such as the decreasing fur seal population—but this also is linked to climate change. Meanwhile, as the land becomes more habitable, non-native species could also occupy the land and grow more than native plants, which could in turn destabilize long-established local ecosystems.
“If we estimate what we observed on Signy Island to other sites in Antarctica, a similar process can also occur,” said Cannone “This means the Antarctic landscape and biodiversity could change rapidly. And that really concerns all.”
1. According to the article, what factors play a role in the fast growth of the two native plants?| A．The climate getting warmer. |
| B．The fur seal population rising. |
| C．The non-native plants occupying the land. |
| D．The quality of the soil of the land improving. |
| A．Strengthen. | B．Change. | C．Benefit. | D．Narrow. |
| A．The decrease of fur seal population. |
| B．The occupation of non-native species. |
| C．The impact of human-caused climate change. |
| D．The rapid change in Antarctic landscape and biodiversity. |
| A．Scientists Working in Antarctica. |
| B．Native Flowering Plants in Antarctica. |
| C．The Effect of Global Warming on Antarctica. |
| D．Non-native Plant Species in Antarctica. |
6 . As AI becomes popular, researchers have noticed its influence on the environment. Training an AI system requires huge computing power and electricity, and the resulting CO2 emissions (排放) are one way AI affects the environment. But its environmental effect is more than its carbon (碳)footprint.
Jesse Dodge, a scientist at the Allen Institute, says, "The influence of Al systems is going to be from their applications, not the cost of training them." David Rolnick, a computer scientist at McGill University, compares AI to a hammer (锤子) “The main effect of a hammer is what is being hammered,” he says, "not what is in the hammer." Just like a hammer which can either destroy things or build a house, Al can hurt or help the environment.
In 2019, ExxonMobil, an oil company, said it would use Microsoft’s app Azure. With the Al technology, it would increase its production and create billions of dollars. This means Microsoft's AI is directly contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. This is not the only AI application that could be environmentally harmful. AI behind the ads that jump out on Instagram or Facebook pages pushes customers to spend more on products like clothes. This in turn causes more emissions through more production and delivery.
But on the other side of the coin, there are AI applications that can help deal with environmental problems, such as the destruction caused by hurricanes. One such application is xView2, a program started by a U. S. organization. It can recognize buildings damaged and people trapped in natural disasters, reducing danger and saving time for rescuers.
AI could be a valuable tool in the fight against climate change—if the Al industry can reduce its harmful climate effects. "Both AI and climate rules have roles to play." Rolnick says. When creating Al rules, he suggests considering its applications, emissions, and other production costs. Further, Dodge adds that those AI professionals should help set up some value systems to limit the technology's use.
1. Where does the effect of AI systems on the environment come from according to Dodge?| A．The popularity of AI. | B．The emissions of CO2. |
| C．The way of applying AI. | D．The cost of AI training. |
| A．By listing numbers. | B．By giving examples. |
| C．By comparing facts. | D．By explaining details. |
| A．Rules for AI can be helpful. | B．Al's advance should be limited. |
| C．Production costs will be lower. | D．AI plays a role in making rules. |
| A．AI applications are environmentally harmful. |
| B．AI affects the environment by CO2 emissions. |
| C．AI is effective in solving environmental problems. |
| D．AI's environmental effect goes beyond its emissions. |
7 . As the sun shines, people will flock to parks to breathe the fresh air. But air pollution is worsening in many places around the world.
Unfortunately, in the western tradition, neither materialist nor idealist theoreticians give enough consideration to this basic condition for life. As for politicians, despite proposing restrictions on environmental pollution, they have not yet called for it to be made a crime. Wealthy countries are even allowed to pollute if they pay for it.
But is our life worth anything other than money? And why do we find it more difficult to get the clean air? Do the woods, which are often described as “the lungs of the planet”, no longer, offer us the gift of breathable air by releasing oxygen? No! In fact, they do give off the oxygen, but their capacity to renew the air polluted by industry has long reached its limit. If we lack the air necessary for a healthy life, it is because we have filled it with chemicals and weakened the ability of plants to regenerate it. As we know, rapid deforestation combined with the massive burning of fossil fuels is an explosive recipe for a permanent disaster.
The plant world urges us in silence that it’s time for us to care for our breath and put emphasis on the interdependence which exists between our humans and the plant world. We will have access to clean air only when humans learn to share life, both with each other and with plants. This task is both ethical and political because it can be fulfilled only when each takes it upon himself and only when it is accomplished together with others. The lesson taught by plants is that sharing life expands and enhances the sphere (范围) of the living, while dividing life into so-called natural or human resources diminishes it. We must come to see the air, the plants and ourselves as the contributors to the preservation of life and growth, rather than productive potentialities at our disposal. Perhaps then we would finally begin to live, rather than being concerned with bare survival.
1. The western politicians are accused by the author because they ______.| A．give priority to wealthy countries |
| B．don’t protect ordinary people’s right |
| C．fail to pass laws to limit environmental pollution |
| D．attach importance to theory rather than practical action |
| A．Our relationship with the plant world. |
| B．Large-scale deforestation across the world. |
| C．The capacity of plants to renew polluted air. |
| D．The reasons hidden behind the serious air pollution. |
| A．By showing respect for plants. | B．By using all natural resources. |
| C．By preserving all forms of life. | D．By pooling their efforts together. |
| A．Expanding the sphere of living. | B．Sharing life with nature. |
| C．Developing nature’s potentials. | D．Controlling the resources. |
8 . Climate change is not only a human problem; animals have to adapt to it as well. Some “warm-blooded” animals are shapeshifting (变形) and getting larger legs, ears, and beak s to better control their body temperatures as the planet gets hotter. Bird researcher Sara Ryding of Deakin University in Australia describes these changes in a review.
“It’s high time we recognized that animals also have to adapt to these changes, and this is occurring over a far shorter time than would have occurred through most of evolutionary time,” says Ryding. “The climate change that we have created is putting a lot of pressure on them, and while some species will adapt, others will not.”
Ryding notes that climate change is a complex phenomenon that’s been occurring gradually, so it’s difficult to determine just one cause of the shapeshifting. But these changes have been occurring across wide geographical regions and among a variety of species, so there is little in common apart from climate change.
Strong shapeshifting has particularly been reported in birds. Several species of Australian parrot have shown, on average, a 4% to 10% increase in size since 1871, and this is positively associated with the summer temperature each year. North American dark-eyed juncos, a type of small songbird, had a link between increased size and short-term temperature extremes in cold environments. There have also been reported changes in mammalian (哺乳动物) species. Researchers have reported tail length increases in wood mice. “The increases in appendage (附肢) size we see so far are quite small — less than 10% — so the changes are unlikely to be immediately noticeable,” says Ryding. “However, prominent (突起的) appendages such as ears are predicted to increase.”
Next, Ryding intends to investigate shapeshifting in Australian birds by 3D scanning museum bird samples from the past 100 years. Undoubtedly, it will give her team a better understanding of which birds are changing appendage size due to climate change and why.
1. What is the purpose of paragraph 1?| A．To introduce a bird researcher. | B．To present a shapeshifting phenomenon. |
| C．To explain the cause of climate change. | D．To state the terrible influence of climate change. |
| A．It is slower than their evolution. | B．It’s impossible to determine its cause. |
| C．It is a global phenomenon beyond species. | D．Climate change is its potential cause. |
| A．The examples of shapeshifting. | B．The effects of shapeshifting. |
| C．The explanations of shapeshifting. | D．The history of shapeshifting. |
| A．The speed of shapeshifting. | B．The cause of climate change. |
| C．The samples of Australian birds. | D．The understanding of bird history. |
9 . Parrots are prey animals, which means that other predators (捕食者) in the wild, such as hawks or snakes, are looking to make them into a meal. This one factor influences parrots’ behavior in your house more than any other.
Parrots are most easily hurt when feeding on the ground. Membership in a group plays an important function in ensuring their safety and improving their chances of survival from attacks by predators. The most common predators of parrots include hawks, snakes, cats, monkeys, and bats. Some predators make attacks only during the day while others hunt in the night.
As prey animals, parrots are constantly watching out for danger and they instinctively (本能地) react to risks. Their first choice is to take flight. However, if this is not possible, they will fight with their powerful beaks to defend themselves.
Because their biggest enemy is the hawk, parrots are especially reactive to quick movements from above and behind. For this reason, it is wise to avoid quick, sudden movements near your bird. This is a built-in reaction not subject to logic or reason. Simple and relatively harmless household objects can draw extreme fear responses from a bird. For example, a balloon may represent a hawk or a vacuum hose (吸尘器软管) may be the same as a snake in your bird’s mind.
As prey animals, parrots are often frightened by exposure to new household items or strangers. It is important to expose your bird to safe experiences and changes starting at a very young age to build flexibility and improve their adaptability. Variety in diet and toys, travel, and exposure to new people and places all help to make your bird more flexible and adaptable to change.
1. What is important for parrots to better survive from attacks in the wild?| A．Living in a group. | B．Growing beautiful feathers. |
| C．Feeding on the ground. | D．Avoiding coming out at night. |
| A．To attack back. | B．To get away. |
| C．To protect the young. | D．To play dead. |
| A．It may explode suddenly. | B．It may be in a strange shape. |
| C．It may have a strong color. | D．It may move around quickly. |
| A．To explain wild parrots’ behavior. | B．To give advice on raising a parrot. |
| C．To call for action to protect animals. | D．To introduce a study on bird ecology. |
10 . When most kids go to the beach, they’re too focused on making sandcastles and splashing around to notice litter, but several years ago, for 7-year-old Cash Daniels, noticing a plastic straw sparked a lifelong passion for saving the planet.
Cash, who is now known as the “conservation kid”, has always loved nature. He grew up fishing along the Chattanooga River, after all! But once he learned that 80 percent of all trash from land and rivers ends up in the ocean, he couldn’t sit back.
He started with cleanups along the river, something that quickly went from a family affair to a community effort with volunteers and neighbors. In 2019, Cash, together with a Canadian conservationist, Ella Galaski-Rossen, started a nonprofit called the Cleanup Kids. Despite living in different countries, they managed to create educational videos on their YouTube channel. “We hope to be a really big nonprofit that eliminates plastic in the U. S. and Canada,” Cash said. “We want to inform kids and adults in the landlocked states of how their actions are connected to the water and the ocean,” Cash said.
Cash was selected as one of America’s top 10 youth volunteers of 2021 by the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. He also earned the title of National Honoree, where he received a$5,000 grant to go to a nonprofit of his choice, and he became the first person to win the Youth Conservationist Award two years in a row from the Tennessee Wildlife Federation.
“I want to travel the world, teach others, and help them feel connected to the ocean. Because if you are connected to the ocean-if you love it and what lives in it—you’ll want to protect it,” he said. “This is my fun, and it becomes more fun with every new discovery.”
1. Which can replace the underlined words “sit back” in paragraph 2?| A．Fall asleep. | B．Lose heart. |
| C．Turn a blind eye. | D．Lend a hand. |
| A．To recycle waste plastics. |
| B．To make instructive videos. |
| C．To spread marine knowledge. |
| D．To appeal for ocean protection. |
| A．Sympathetic and devoted. | B．Initiative and talented. |
| C．Ambitious and humorous. | D．Determined and modest. |
| A．Passion fuels dreams. |
| B．Great minds think alike. |
| C．Helping others is of great fun. |
| D．Actions speak louder than words. |
