1 . Take a period of limited rainfall. Add heat. And you have what scientists call a ‘hot drought’ — dry conditions made more intense by the evaporative power of hotter temperatures.
A new study, published in the journal Science Advances, Wednesday, finds that hot droughts have become more common and severe across the western U.S. as a result of human-caused climate change. “The frequency of compound warm and dry summers particularly in the last 20 years is unprecedented,” said Karen King, lead author of the study and an assistant professor at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
For much of the last 20 years, western North America has been under the control of a huge drought that has strained crop producers, city planners and water managers. Scientists believe it to be the driest period in the region in at least 1,200 years. They reached that determination, in part, by studying the rings of trees collected from thousands of sites across the Western U.S..
Cross-sections or cores of trees, both living and dead, can offer scientists windows into climate conditions of the past. Dark scars can show where fires have burned. Pale rings can indicate insect outbreaks. “Narrow rings mean less water,” said King, a dendrochronologist, who specialized in tree ring dating. “Fatter rings, more water.” Scientists have looked at tree ring widths to understand how much water was in the soil at a given time. King and fellow researchers did something different. They wanted to investigate the density (密度) of individual rings to get a picture of historical temperatures. In hotter years, trees build thick walls to protect their water.
By combining that temperature data with another tree-ring-sourced dataset looking at soil moisture (湿度), the researchers showed that today’s hotter temperatures have made the current western huge drought different from its past ones.
It also suggests that future droughts will be worsened by higher temperatures, particularly in the Great Plains, home to one of the world’s largest aquifers, and the Colorado River Basin, the source of water for some 40 million people.
1. What led to hot droughts?| A．Abundant rainfall. | B．Climate change. |
| C．Appropriate temperatures. | D．Dry summers. |
| A．Protected. | B．Surprised. | C．Stressed. | D．Helped. |
| A．They will not happen in the future. | B．They are affected by those tree rings. |
| C．They are similar in intensity to past droughts. | D．They have become more frequent and severe. |
| A．To entertain readers with a fictional story. | B．To persuade readers to protect environment. |
| C．To inform readers of severity of hot droughts. | D．To share personal experiences and reflections. |
2 . Must-See Destinations in 2024
Are you ready to explore the world in 2024? Whether you dream of sailing down famous European rivers or exploring unique places, our list of must-see destinations is here to inspire your travels.
SpainThrow yourself into the rich culture and history of Spain. From the sunny beaches of Tenerife to the Moorish architecture (建筑物) of Andalucía, there’s so much to explore in this lively country. Discover the UNESCO World Heritage (遗产) city of La Laguna and become amazed at the beauty of Cordoba, Seville, and La Alhambra, or relax on a beach holiday to Majorca or Tenerife.
MontenegroDespite its size, Montenegro has beautiful beaches, rich history, and a breathtaking channel. Experience the beauty of the Montenegrin coast — Dalmatia’s jewel (宝石) is the UNESCO World Heritage listed oasis of Dubrovnik, famously praised by Lord Bryon as The Pearl of the Adriatic.
CroatiaDiscover the beauty that is Dubrovnik. Explore the 16th-century city’s defensive walls and red-roofed buildings. Sail along Croatia’s Adriatic Coast, where attractive villages and beautiful towns like Pula, Rovinj, and Poreč are just waiting to be explored...
South AfricaExplore the wonders of South Africa, from the Garden Route’s nature reserves to the thrill of a Safari drive in the Kariega Game Reserve. Discover the different plants and animals while searching for the “Big Five” on an unforgettable South Africa holiday.
With over 25 years of experience creating holidays for the curious, Travel Department ensures that your journey is in good hands. Plus as a trusted Reader’s Digest Travel partner, you can get special deals when you travel with them across lots of different 2024 holidays. If you want to know more information, please click here.
1. What do Spain and Montenegro have in common?| A．They are both praised by tourists. |
| B．They both have world heritage cities. |
| C．They are known for their architectures. |
| D．They both own beaches and rich history. |
| A．Spain. | B．South Africa. |
| C．Montenegro. | D．Croatia. |
| A．A website. | B．A guidebook. |
| C．A novel. | D．A magazine. |
3 . The giant panda’s special black-and-white fur makes it one of the most recognizable animals on the planet. But why does it have this unique coloring? To hide from natural enemies, both in the snow and in the shadows, study lead author Tim Caro, a professor in the UC (University of California) Davis Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology, said in a new statement. Moreover, the large black circles around a panda’s eyes may help other pandas recognize it, the researchers said.
Understanding why the giant panda has such noticeable color has been a long-term problem to solve. To find out the answer, Caro and his colleagues looked at photos of pandas and 195 other carnivore (食肉动物) species, including 39 subspecies of bears. Then, they recorded the coloring on each area of those animals’ bodies, and compared them with areas of the panda’s body. “Compared with the previous studies, the breakthrough in this study was treating each part of the body as an independent area,” Caro said.
The research team tried to figure out the purpose of the dark-colored furry areas. After going through many comparisons, the researchers determined that the white parts of the giant panda help it hide in the snow. In contrast, its black arms and legs help it hide in the shadows, they said. The panda’s white-and-black coloring didn’t appear to be related to temperature regulation. Nor did they find evidence that the dark circles around a panda’s eyes helped to make them look cuter.
“This really was a great effort by our team, finding and scoring thousands of images and scoring more than 10 areas per picture from over 20 possible colors,” study co-author Ted Stankowich, an assistant professor of biology at California State University, Long Beach, said in the statement. “Sometimes it takes hundreds of hours of hard work to answer the simplest question: Why is the panda black and white?”
1. Why did Caro study the photos of pandas and 195 other carnivore species?| A．To record the number of photos. |
| B．To research more carnivore species. |
| C．To figure out the reason behind pandas’ special color. |
| D．To compare the difference between pandas and other carnivore species. |
| A．Doing experiments. | B．Making comparisons. |
| C．Scoring pandas’ behavior in nature. | D．Observing pandas in the wild. |
| A．The white and black parts help pandas to hide. |
| B．The function of the dark-colored areas is unknown. |
| C．The white-and-black coloring will change with temperature. |
| D．The dark circles around pandas’ eyes help make them look cuter. |
| A．The study is a great success. |
| B．Hundreds of hours of hard work is not worthwhile. |
| C．It needs efforts to find the truth behind simple questions. |
| D．Simple issues shouldn’t take scientists so much time to study. |
4 . Air pollution remains a critical health risk in the European Union, claiming over 500,000 lives in 2021, with findings suggesting nearly half of these could have been prevented if pollution were reduced to levels recommended by health experts. Data from the European Environment Agency (EEA) show that of these deaths, 253,000 were linked to exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) going beyond the World Health Organization’s (WHO) guideline limit of 5 micrograms per cubic meter. These particles are especially dangerous as they can pass into the bloodstream and affect various organs. Nitrogen dioxide and ozone also contributed to the mortality (死亡频率) statistics, associated with 52,000 and 22,000 deaths respectively. The EU’s environment commissioner, Virginijus Sinkevicius, underlined that air pollution poses the top environmental health risk in the EU. Nevertheless, there is evidence of improvement, with deaths from PM2.5 decreasing by 41% between 2005 and 2021, and the EU targets a reduction of 55% by 2030.
In response to these concerns, the WHO, which updated its air quality guidelines in 2021, warns that no level of air pollution can be considered safe but has set upper limits for certain pollutants. The European Parliament vote to bring the EU’s air quality standards in line with the WHO but decided to delay doing so until 2035.
Sinkevicius said that air quality is indeed improving due to effective clean air policies. Beyond death counts, the EEA also assessed air pollution’s broader impact on diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and diabetes, stressing not only mortality but the quality of life impacts. EEA researcher Alberto Gonzalez Ortiz pointed to severe disability states caused by these conditions, worsened by air pollution.
The EEA’s comprehensive approach shows that while the fight against air pollution has seen progress, immediate action is still critical to reduce pollution and reduce its widespread effects on public health.
1. Why does the author mention specific figures in Paragraph 1?| A．To stress the risk of PM2.5 in the EU. | B．To illustrate the impact of air pollution. |
| C．To prove the improvement in air pollution. | D．To show the guidelines of EEA lose control. |
| A．It adjusted air quality standards accordingly. |
| B．It didn’t perform the new limits until 2035. |
| C．It claimed current pollution levels were relatively safe. |
| D．It decided to change the guidelines completely. |
| A．Concerned about its policies. | B．Indifferent due to its level. |
| C．Uncertain about its impact. | D．Optimistic about its progress. |
| A．The impact of wise decisions on air pollution in the EU. |
| B．The specific health conditions worsened by air pollution. |
| C．The progress and challenges in dealing with air pollution. |
| D．The role of the WHO in establishing global health policies. |
5 . Not all birds sing, but those that do—some several thousand species—do it a lot. All over the world, as soon as light filters over the horizon, songbirds start singing. They sing to defend their territory and to impress potential mates.
“Why birds sing is relatively well-answered,” says Iris Adam, a behavioral neuroscientist at the University of Southern Denmark. The big question for her was this: Why do birds sing so much? “For some reason,” Adam says, birds have “a crazy drive to sing.” This means hours every day for some species, and that takes a lot of energy. Plus, singing can be dangerous.
“As soon as you sing, you reveal yourself,” she says. “Like, where you are, that you even exist, where your territory is —all of that immediately is out in the open for predators, for everybody.”
In a new study published in the journal Nature Communications, Adam and her colleagues offer a new explanation for why birds take that risk. They suggest that songbirds may not have much choice. They may have to sing a lot every day to give their vocal muscles the regular exercise they need to produce top-quality song.
These findings could be related to human voices too. “If you apply the bird results to the humans,” says Adam, “anytime you stop speaking, for whatever reason, you might experience a loss in vocal performance.”
To figure out whether the muscles that produce birdsong require daily exercise, Adam designed a series of experiments on zebra finches —little Australian songbirds with striped heads and a bloom of orange on their cheeks.
Through these experiments. Adam’s conclusion is that “songbirds need to exercise their vocal muscles to produce top-performance song. If they don’t sing, they lose performance, their vocalizations get less attractive to females—and that’s bad.”
This may help explain songbirds’ constant singing. It’s a kind of daily vocal practice to keep their instruments in tip-top shape. It’s a good rule to live by, whether you’re a bird or a human—practice makes perfect, at least when it comes to singing one’s heart out.
1. What does Iris Adam try to figure out?| A．Why all the birds don’t sing. | B．Why songbirds sing so well. |
| C．Why songbirds sing so much. | D．Why birds have vocal muscles. |
| A．Defending territory. | B．Impressing partners. | C．Singing all to death. | D．Threatening lives. |
| A．Regular singing helps to exercise songbirds’ vocal muscles. |
| B．Songbirds have to sing their heart out to win their partners. |
| C．Zebra finches are born to have excellent vocal instruments. |
| D．Good vocal muscles are more attractive to female songbirds. |
| A．A New Study of Songbirds | B．The Way That Songbirds Sing |
| C．Practice Makes a Perfect Song | D．The Reason Why Birds Sing Much |
6 . Scientists have recently discovered the world’s largest known field of sea grass. They did it using videos shot by some extraordinary helpers. The work should help protect the sea grass, and also shows off a powerful way to explore the ocean.
As a shelter for many sea creatures, sea grasses are flowering plants that normally grow in shallow waters near coasts. They grow in thick fields, known as seagrass meadows (海草床), which help clean the ocean water. More importantly, they are called “ocean lung”. They help in the fight against the climate crisis. That’s because they store huge amounts of carbon — the major source of global warming.
Considering the urgent need to protect seagrass meadows and the challenges to spot them, scientists decided to have tiger sharks help the research.
Tiger sharks are inborn fast swimmers, and spend a lot of time in seagrass meadows. Between 2016 and 2020, the researchers attached cameras and other trackers to the fins of seven tiger sharks, and then let them go again. The cameras were designed to fall off after hours and float to the surface. Tracking signals helped find the floating cameras and collect the videos the sharks had taken while traveling for miles. Moreover, other tools were used, including satellite images, as well as images taken by divers and boats.
Putting all this information together, the scientists learned that the waters around the Bahamas are home to the largest seagrass meadow ever discovered. Different from previous studies, the program discovers how useful large underwater animals can be in helping to learn more about life under the sea. Oliver Shipley, a scientist from the team, says animals like tiger sharks are going to take us to new places that we didn’t know existed.
1. Why do seagrass meadows urgently need protection?| A．Damaging them will worsen climate crisis. |
| B．They determine the cleanliness of ocean water. |
| C．Sea creatures can’t survive without their shelter. |
| D．Their existence balances the underwater ecosystem. |
| A．By tracking signals scientists sent. |
| B．By bringing back cameras with videos. |
| C．By carrying the recording equipment around. |
| D．By spending a lot of time in seagrass meadows. |
| A．Leading scientists. | B．Unusual research assistants. |
| C．Multiple experimental tools. | D．Advanced theories. |
| A．The Cooperation between Man and Animals |
| B．The key to protecting the Sea—Tiger Sharks |
| C．Sea Grass: An Undervalued Plant |
| D．Ocean Lung Monitored in a New Way |
7 . Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World is one of the most important books about climate change to have been written. Hayhoe is a gifted public speaker and Saving Us is a follow-up to her awesome TED talk in 2018, “The most important thing you can do to fight climate change: talk about it.”
One of the many refreshing aspects of this book is that Hayhoe recounts both her successes and her failures to communicate, through which she has gathered evidence about what works and what does not. Much of the book’s advice is common sense, all backed up not just by Hayhoe’s experience but also with convincing research by psychologists and social scientists.
Hayhoe advises against trying to engage with a small minority, the “Dismissives”, who “angrily reject the idea that human-caused climate change is a threat; they are most receptive to misinformation and conspiracy theories (阴谋论)”. There is a warning that offering up more facts about climate change can actually increase polarisation (两极化) among them.
The book includes amusing examples of her encounters with the “Dismissives”, almost entirely older men—including an engineer who was unconvinced about the evidence but with whom she was able to establish mutual (相互的) respect through a shared passion for knitting (打毛线衣) —and is packed with inspiring accounts of how she has won over even the most suspicious of crowds. Her motto is “bond, connect and inspire”, which represents her approach of always looking for points of commonality.
She also tells of a man who approached her after an event in London in 2019. He had been so inspired by her TED talk that he had started to speak to everybody he could in his neighborhood of Wandsworth. He showed her details of 12, 000 conversations that had taken place as a result, claiming that they had helped to convince the government to declare a climate emergency and to switch investments from fossil fuels to renewable energy.
And so, while it may feel difficult to influence the outcome of the COP26, Hayhoe’s uplifting book makes a persuasive case that we can all do our bit to bring about success just by talking about the issue.
1. What does the book mainly focus on?| A．Promoting people’s insight into climate change. |
| B．Introducing presentation skills with TED talks. |
| C．Developing critical thinking through literature. |
| D．Sharing communication tips on climate change. |
| A．Humorous but one-sided. | B．Novel and interesting. |
| C．Well-based and workable. | D．Serious and hard to follow. |
| A．By changing their political identity. |
| B．By challenging their fundamental beliefs. |
| C．By seeking common ground built on a shared interest. |
| D．By providing more facts about climate change. |
| A．The shift to clean energy is unstoppable. |
| B．Conversations can influence climate decision-making. |
| C．Policymakers turn a blind eye to market changes. |
| D．We should call on people to prepare for the climate crisis. |
8 . Researchers have discovered the oldest black hole ever observed, dating from the dawn of the universe, and found that it is “eating” its host galaxy to death.
The international team, led by the University of Cambridge, used the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to detect the black hole, which dates from 400 million years after the big bang. The results, which lead author Professor Roberto Maiolino says are “a giant leap forward”, are reported in the journal Nature.
This surprisingly massive black hole even exists so early in the universe challenges our assumptions about how black holes form and grow. The size of this newly-discovered black hole suggests that they might form in other ways: they might be ‘born big’ or they can eat matter at a rate that’s five times higher than had been thought possible. Like all black holes, this young black hole devours material from its host galaxy to fuel its growth.
According to standard models, supermassive black holes form from the remains of dead stars, which collapse and may form a black hole about a hundred times the mass of the Sun. If it grew in an expected way, this newly-detected black hole would take about a billion years to grow to its observed size. However, the universe was not yet a billion years old when this black hole was detected.
The young host galaxy, called GN-z11, is a compact galaxy, about one hundred times smaller than the Milky Way, but the black hole is likely harming its development. When black holes consume too much gas, it pushes the gas away like an ultra-fast wind. This “wind” could stop the process of star formation, slowly killing the galaxy, but it will also kill the black hole itself, as it would cut off the black hole’s source of “food”.
Maiolino says that the gigantic leap forward provided by JWST makes this the most exciting time in his career. “It’s a new era: the giant leap is like upgrading from Galileo’s telescope to a modern telescope overnight,” he said. “The universe has been quite generous in what it’s showing us, and this is just the beginning.”
1. What does the underlined word “devours” mean in Paragraph 3?| A．Changes. | B．Swallows. | C．Observes. | D．Forms. |
| A．Because the host galaxy is too small. |
| B．Because the black hole is killing itself. |
| C．Because the “wind” ceases star formation. |
| D．Because black holes produce too much gas. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Intolerant. | C．Doubtful. | D．Ambiguous. |
| A．The black hole took a billion years to achieve its size. |
| B．Supermassive black holes are assumed to form overnight. |
| C．The new discovery of the host galaxy is a giant leap forward. |
| D．The host galaxy and the black hole can be destroyed by the “wind”. |
9 . There are very few countries in the world that don’t have some sort of legend (传说) or connect ion with dragons. Here are some great destinations to get a fi x on dragon.
France
Calais in France has a dragon standing 33 feet tall, 82 feet long, with a wingspan of more than 55 feet. It walks and moves as you would imagine a dragon does, and you can take it for a ride. The Calais dragon is a mechanical wonder, which is nearly too real to be called a fairground creature.
Wales
In the UK, you will find a proud dragon country, Wales. Here there is the legend of two dragons: one white and one red. Wales’ tale describes the two dragons fighting and the red one winning, so you will find it difficult to hurry about the country without coming across a red dragon. Dragons are sold in souvenir shops, sit by ancient castles, hang around in King Arthur’s Labyrinth, and are featured on the national flag.
Norway
The Vikings knew a thing or two about dragons. In the lovely film How to Train Your Dragon, they even flew them. But seriously, when you dig into Norway’s Viking history and legends, you will find dragons mentioned everywhere, though not as cute as those in the film. From the figurehead in the Viking Ship Museum to jewelry, and decorations on buildings, be on the lookout for them when visiting Norway.
Bhutan
The Druk or Thunder Dragon, is the national symbol and appears everywhere. The country is called Land of the Thunder Dragon, or Kingdom of Druk, and it’s part of the national anthem (国歌) and its flag. Despite its fearful name, it’s actually rather cute. The legend has it that the sound of thunder through the mountain s is actually the dragon roaring.
1. What can we learn about the Calais dragon?| A．It’s a character from a popular film. | B．It’s a creation designed for entertainment. |
| C．It’s a real creature trained for rides. | D．It’s a sculpture displayed in a museum. |
| A．They feature dragons on their flags. | B．They include dragons in their anthems. |
| C．They have a legend of two dragons. | D．They describe dragons as cute images. |
| A．France. | B．Wales. | C．Norway. | D．Bhutan. |
10 . As awareness of climate change grows, so does the desire to do something about it. But the scale of the problems it causes—from wildfires to melting glaciers to droughts—can seem utterly overwhelming. It can be hard to make a connection between our everyday lives and the survival of polar bears, let alone how we as individuals can help turn the situation around.
One way to gain a quantifiable understanding of the impacts of our actions, for good and bad, is through what is known as a carbon footprint. But while the concept is gaining traction, it is not always fully understood. According to Mike Berners-Lee, a professor at Lancaster University in the UK and author of The Carbon Footprint of Everything, it is “the sum total of all the greenhouse gas emissions that had to take place in order for a product to be produced or for an activity to take place.”
What steps a person can take to reduce their personal footprint the most of course depends on the kind of lifestyle they presently live, and the same actions are not equally effective for everyone. Berners-Lee notes that, “for some people, flying may be 10 percent of their footprint, for some people it’s zero, and for some it’s such a huge number that it should be the only thing they should be thinking about.”
It isn’t easy to calculate a carbon footprint and it has been claimed that the earliest such calculator appeared in 2004 as part of the “Beyond Petroleum” campaign of oil giant BP—a fact that causes some observers to criticize the pressure to reduce personal carbon footprints as a “sham” to “promote the slant that climate change is not the fault of an oil giant, but that of individuals.”
“I would say personal carbon footprint calculators are a useful tool to assess the impact of your immediate actions.” Berners-Lee says. “But what’s much more important than your personal carbon footprint is your climate shadow, which aims to paint a picture of the full sum of one’s choices and the impact they have on the planet. For example, how you vote, where you work, how you invest your money, and how much you talk about climate change.
1. What does the underlined word “traction” in paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．attention | B．insight | C．control | D．power |
| A．By presenting a fact | B．By making a comparison |
| C．By clarifying a concept | D．By giving suggestions |
| A．unclear | B．favorable | C．indifferent | D．disapproving |
| A．Tools are more important than choices. | B．Only individuals are responsible for climate change. |
| C．Climate shadow covers a broad range of actions. | D．Calculating carbon footprint is the most effective. |
