1 . Bird populations in the UK continue to crash, new data shows, as campaigners predict the government will fail to meet its own nature targets unless radical (彻底的) changes are made. In 2021, on average the abundance of 130 breeding species was 12% below its 1970 value. Between 2015 and 2020, 24% of species increased, 28% showed little change and 48% declined. Wildlife experts agree that the decline in bird populations is largely driven by habitat loss.

The government passed the Environment Act into law in 2021, which requires a halt in species decline by 2030. Campaigners have said that radical changes to government policy are needed if it is to meet its targets. The problems were highlighted by the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch this year, in which house sparrows remained the most frequently observed species in gardens for the 20th year in a row.

“The numbers speak for themselves when it comes to the astonishing declines of some of our once common birds,” said Beccy Speight, the RSPB’s chief executive. “We are in a nature and climate emergency and we’ve lost 38 million birds from our skies in the past 50 years. “This year, more than 500,000 people took part in the Big Garden Birdwatch, and more than 9 million birds were spotted. The results also identified problems faced by other common bird species, including chaffinches and greenfinches.

Richard Benwell, the chief executive of the environmental coalition Wildlife and Countryside Link, said: “Meeting the legal target to stop wildlife losses by the end of the next parliament (议会) can’t be achieved with a legal tweak (调整) here, some spare change there. Serious, sustained investment, proper punishment for pollution, and action in every department of government must be the features of any nature-positive manifesto (宣言).”

1. According to the text, what is the main cause of bird population decline in the UK?

A．Climate change.

B．Habitat loss.

C．Pollution.

D．Hunting.

2. What does the underlined word “halt” in paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．Adjustment.

B．Instruction.

C．Stop.

D．Promotion.

3. Which bird species has been seen the most regularly in UK gardens during the past 20 years?

A．House sparrows.	B．Chaffinches.
C．Greenfinches.	D．Uncommon birds.

4. Why does the author quote Richard Benwell’s words in the last paragraph?

A．To point out the ways to meet the nature target.

B．To stress the importance of setting specific goals.

C．To remind the next parliament to make new laws.

D．To prove the government’s failure in bird protection.

2 . Cichlids and stingrays (慈鲷和黄貂鱼) can perform simple plus and subtraction (减法) in the number range of one to five. This has been shown in a recent study by the university of Bonn, which has now been published in the journal scientific Reports.

This fact has been known for sometime that Cichlids and stingrays can precisely detect small quantities without counting. However, the new research led by Dr. vera schluessel from the university of Bonn has shown that both species can even calculate. “We trained the animals to perform simple additions and subtractions,” Schluessel explains. “In doing so, they had to increase or decrease a premier value by one.”Blue means “add one”, and yellow means “subtract one”.

But how do you ask a cichlid for the result of “2 +1”or “5 - 1”? The researchers used a method other research groups had already successfully used to test the mathematical abilities of bees: They showed the fish a collection of geometric shapes — for example, four squares. If these objects were colored blue, this meant “add one”. Yellow, on the other hand, meant “subtract one”. After showing the original stimulus (e. g. four squares), the animals were shown two new pictures — one with five and one with three squares. If they swam to the correct picture(i. e. to the five squares in the “blue”arithmetic task), they were rewarded with food. If they gave the wrong answer, they went away empty-handed. Overtime, they learned to associate the blue color with an increase of one in the amount shown at the beginning, and the yellow number with a decrease.

But can the fish apply this knowledge to new tasks? Have they actually mastered the mathematical rule behind the colors? “To check this, we will designedly leave out some calculations during future training,” Schluessel explains.

1. What is known about the two species before the new research?

A．They can count small quantities easily.

B．They can associate colors with numbers.

C．They can do simple calculations by training.

D．They can identify small quantities accurately.

2. Why is the bee-method applied?

A．To illustrate fish’s ability.	B．To ensure the research’s reliability.
C．To compare fish and bees.	D．To promote the research’s application.

3. How is the experiment carried out?

A．By collecting and calculating.	B．By comparing and analysing.
C．By observing and concluding.	D．By predicting and checking.

4. What does the last paragraph imply?

A．The fish are competent in mathematical calculation.

B．The procedure of the experiment needs improvement.

C．More trials are still needed to confirm the new findings.

D．Calculation methods are comprehended by both species.

3 . The Twenty-three-year-old Mumbai girl Vidhi Bubna is offering India’s first and only diving grant to explore the marine ecosystem.

Vidhi’s first diving experience turned out to be a heartbreaking one. While she expected a lot of colors underwater as she had seen on TV, Vidhi came across all white corals (珊瑚), which means they are almost dead from being bleached (褪色).

“It was very sad and I just started crying after coming out of the water,” she says.

Vidhi, an economics graduate from Ashoka University, did not enjoy working with numbers and turned to writing about social issues, including women’s rights and minority issues.

As an adventure lover, Vidhi went diving to explore the underwater beauty last year. Her disappointment at seeing dying corals led to the start of Coral Warriors, anon-profit organization that aims to raise awareness of marine protection and climate change.

“Nobody knows about climate change till they see it,” Vidhi says. The Mumbai-based organisation offers India’s first and only diving grant. The grant sponsors level-one scuba diving education in any location of their choice in India. While there is no specific standard, Vidhi says the selection process is strict, choosing candidates who are passionate about climate change and seeing that they do something of their choice. Four candidates have been awarded the grant so far and the organisation hopes to find at least five people every year.

“After the candidates return, we expect them to work on a climate change project of their choice, create communities, and work to create awareness and drive action-centric projects,” she explains.

Prior to starting coral warriors, Vidhi was hosting free online workshops to spread awareness of marine biodiversity and climate change, and has reached about 5, 000 people through them.

As a next step, Vidhi is planning to work on documentaries with high-quality underwater images and videos, considering not many can afford or have the courage to go diving to see what is happening underwater.

1. How did Vidhi feel on her first diving?

A．Excited.

B．Upset.

C．Awesome.

D．Awkward.

2. Why did Vidhi set up Coral Warriors?

A．To focus more attention on social issues.

B．To further explore the underwater beauty.

C．To fuel people’s enthusiasm for adventure.

D．To make an appeal for marine conservation.

3. What are candidates expected to do?

A．To help promote people’s sense of community.

B．To choose whatever they are passionate about.

C．To meet specific and strict selection standards.

D．To undertake activities relevant to climate change.

4. What will Vidhi do to protect marine biodiversity?

A．Ahoot documentaries.	B．Tackle climate change.
C．Encourage people to dive.	D．Host free online workshops.

5 . Scientists recently conducted a study that involved giving pet parrots (鹦鹉) a tablet. They could use the tablets to make video calls to other parrots. It turned out that the birds showed signs of feeling less isolated (孤独的). They also began to engage in more social behaviors, including cleaning their feathers, as well as singing and playing.

Ilyena Hirskyj-Douglas, a co-author of the study, works at the University of Glasgow, Scotland. She said that video calls had helped many people feel less isolated. “There are 20 million parrots living in people’s homes in the U. S., and we wanted to explore whether those birds might benefit from video calling, too,” Hirskyj-Douglas saíd. “If we gave them the opportunity to call other parrots, would they choose to do so, and would the experience benefit the parrots?”

In order for the parrots to use their tablets, the birds first had to learn to ring a bell. They could then touch a photo of another bird on the screen to call that bird. The birds were also given a choice of which “friend” to call. In total the birds made 147 deliberate calls to each other during the study. Scientists took detailed notes on the birds’ behavior and later reviewed the video footage (片段).

Their analysis suggested that there were, indeed, benefits for the birds. In the wild, many parrots live in large groups. As pets, they tend to be kept alone or in a small group. Isolation and boredom can cause birds to develop psychological problems. These are problems related to the mind and behavior. These problems can look like rocking, pacing back and forth, or self-harming behaviors such as feather-plucking.

Rébecca Kleinberger, who works at Northeastern University in Massachusetts, also helped with the study. She said video calling could reproduce some of the social benefits of living in a larger group.

1. Why did scientists conduct the research?

A．To see if parrots can use tablets.

B．To see if video calls benefit parrots.

C．To evaluate the mental health of parrots.

D．To study the living conditions of parrots.

2. Which aspect of the research is paragraph 3 mainly about?

A．Its process.

B．Its findings.

C．Its application.

D．Its influences.

3. What does video calling mean to the parrots?

A．It helps with their reproduction.	B．It contributes to their misbehavior.
C．It improves their physical health.	D．It widens their social circle.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．Parrots living in the wild tend to be socially active.

B．Parrots living alone may develop mental problems.

C．Parrots taught to make video calls become less lonely.

D．Parrots learn to behave properly by calling each other.

6 . Naturalist Enzo Suma, who is now 40, lives in Puglia, a region in southern Italy whose long coastline faces the Adriatic Sea. Floating waste accumulates in this relatively enclosed part of the Mediterranean, unlike the open ocean, where the waste tends to be spread over a vast area. Feeling concerned about that, Suma makes it a habit to pick up the washed-up waste along the shore, especially after big winter storms.

One day, Suma was walking along the beach near his home when he discovered a bottle of Coke. Suma noticed on the bottle that the price, clearly printed on the bottom, was in lire, a currency (货币) that hadn’t been used in Italy since it was replaced by the euro in 2002. Could a plastic container have well survived in the Mediterranean, he wondered, for about two decades?

That led him to founding the Archeoplastica museum. It has a collection of about 500 unique pieces recovered from Italian shores and the Coke bottle is the first one of them. All collection demonstrates the unsettling life force of plastic waste in the environment. “Seeing that a product people may have used 30, 40, or 50 years ago remains still unchanged, you’ll feel different. It’s a great shock,” Suma said to a reporter. So Suma often exhibits selected pieces from the Archeoplastica collection at local schools around his hometown of Ostuni.

“The playful side of the work allows you to arrive at the less beautiful side of things,” Suma acknowledged. “Plastic is a kind of useful substance. But it’s unthinkable that a water bottle, made from a material designed to last so long, can be used for just a few days—or even minutes—before becoming garbage. Clean the beaches. Clean the oceans. Recycle. But if we are still throwing out plastics, none of those are going to be long-term solutions.”

1. What’s Suma’s concern about his living place?

A．Its long coastline is disappearing.	B．Big storms frequently hit the area.
C．Floating waste spreads over a vast area.	D．The waste pollution on shore is worsening.

2. What can be learned about the objects in the Archeoplastica museum?

A．They have a history of more than half a century.

B．They were quite valuable before turning into waste.

C．They’re more like educational exhibits than garbage.

D．They have stronger life force than ordinary plastic products.

3. Which of the following can best describe Enzo Suma?

A．Creative, devoted and socially responsible.	B．Enthusiastic, ambitious and adventurous.
C．Generous, cautious and humorous.	D．Curious, efficient and playful.

4. What does Suma intend to tell us by his words in the last paragraph?

A．The birth of plastics has greatly served humans.

B．The key to tackling the plastic pollution is to stop littering.

C．The plastic problem can be solved by cleaning and recycling.

D．People should be more aware of the powerful functions of plastics.

7 . Earth’s oceans are changing color and climate breakdown is probably to blame, according to a research. The deep blue sea is actually becoming steadily greener over time, according to the study, with areas in the low latitudes(纬度)near the equator especially affected.

“The reason why we care about this is not that we care about the color, but that the color is a reflection of the changes in the state of the ecosystem,” said BB Cael, a scientist and author of the study published in Nature.

The previous research focused on changes in the greenness of the ocean to learn about trends in the changing climate. But Cael’s team pored over 20 years of observations by NASA’s Modis-Aqua satellite, a comprehensive database, and looked for patterns of change in the ocean’s color through a fuller color spectrum(色谱)including red and blue.

The changes have been detected in over 56% of the world’s oceans. In most areas there’s a clear “greening effect”, Cael said, but he added that there are also places where red or blue colorings are rising or falling. “These are not massive ecosystem-destroying changes. They may be mild,” said Cael. “But this gives us an additional piece of evidence that human activity is likely affecting large parts of the global biosphere(生物圈)in a way that we haven’t been able to understand. ”

Although this discovery firmly documents another consequence of a changing climate, what is not yet clear is how strong these changes are and what is happening inside the ocean to cause them, according to Michael J Behrenfeld, a researcher of ocean productivity, who was not involved in the research.

NASA will be launching an advanced satellite mission in January 2024 called Pace which will also measure hundreds of colors in the ocean instead of a handful, progressing studies like these further. “Making more meaningful inferences about what the changes actually are is definitely a big next step,” said Cael.

1. Why should attention be drawn to the changing color of oceans?

A．It reflects ecosystem changes.

B．It causes climate breakdown.

C．Human activities are affected.

D．Low latitude areas are influenced.

2. What does the underlined phrase “pored over” in paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Copied.

B．Covered.

C．Studied.

D．Borrowed.

3. What is Michael’s attitude towards the discovery?

A．Unclear.

B．Dismissive.

C．Objective.

D．Indifferent.

4. What is the last paragraph mainly about?

A．Pace’s function.

B．Cael’s suggestions.

C．Meaningful inferences.

D．NASA’s further research plans.

8 . Try Making Them into Treats

It’s fine to shop at farmers’ markets and grocery stores for recipe ingredients（原料）. But what if you could gather some of them by yourselves, and at the same time, help rid your region of non-native plant species that are harming the ecosystems?

According to the National Wildlife Federation, about 42 percent of today’s threatened or endangered species are at risk because of invasive（有侵略性的）species. Here are four invasive plants and ideas for serving them up.

KUDZU

Brought to the US from Japan, the kudau vine can grow a foot a day, robbing other plants of sunlight. Its beautiful flowers bloom from July to September, but its leaves, roots, and vine tips are more readily available. Pick flowers to use in making drinks.

HIMALAYAN BLACKBERRY

Native to Armenia, the plant has threatened other species. It blocks access through woods and affects livestock. Its fruit starts to ripen in midsummer and the berries can be added to hake goods such as muffins.

SOW THISTLE

Its roots crowd out useful crops and suck water and nitrogen from the soil. Native to Europe and western Asia, it grows all over North America in spring and summer. Try coking the leaves in olive oil and adding them to a cake.

WATERCRESS

European settlers brought this leafy green to the Colonies. It spreads along waterways, crowding out native plants.

Harvest it from the edge of a running stream in spring and fall to make sandwiches.

1. Which species will you choose if you want to make drinks?

A．KUDZU.

B．SOW THISTLE.

C．WATERCRESS.

D．HIMALAYAN BLACKBERRY.

2. What do the listed species have in common?

A．They are harvested in autumn.

B．They are all invasive species.

C．They can grow a foot per day.

D．They are picked to make sandwiches.

3. What is the purpose of the text?

A．To introduce the harms of the four species.

B．To advertise some recipe ingredients for readers.

C．To prove the findings of National Wildlife Federation.

D．To provide ideas to make the invasive species into treats.

9 . U.S. forests could worsen global warming instead of easing it because they are being destroyed by natural disasters and are losing their ability to absorb planet-warming gases as they get older, a new Agriculture Department report says.

U.S. forests currently absorb 11 percent of U.S carbon emissions, or 150 million metric tons of carbon a year, equal to the combined emissions from 40 coal power plants, the report says. It predicts that the ability of forests to absorb carbon will start falling quickly after 2025 and that forests could emit up to 100 million metric tons of carbon a year as their emissions from rotting trees exceed their carbon absorption. Forests could become a “substantial carbon source” by 2070, the USDA report says.

The prediction suggests that the loss of forests as a natural carbon absorber will require the U.S. to cut emissions more rapidly to reach net zero, said Lynn Riley, a senior manager of climate science at the American Forest Foundation.

“Ten percent of our domestic emissions. That is a really significant portion,” Riley said. “As we work to decarbonize...forests are one of the greatest tools at our disposal. If we were to lose that, it means the U.S. will contribute that much more in emissions.”

The loss of cab on absorption is driven in part by natural disasters such as wildfires, tornadoes and hurricanes, which are increasing in frequency and strength as global temperatures rise. The disasters destroy forestland, disrupting their ecosystem and decreasing their ability to absorb carbon, Riley said.

Exploitation of forested areas, which the report projects will continue to increase, is having the same effect as people increasingly move to the so-called wild and urban interface.

The trees’ ability to absorb carbon weakens overtime. Older, mature trees absorb less carbon than younger trees of the same species, and the U.S. forests are rapidly aging, the report found.

More aggressive forest management can help by cutting down a small portion of aging forests to make ways for younger trees that absorb more carbon, Riley said. A thorough study of each forest should be done before removing older trees, Riley said, comparing forest management to prescribing the proper dugs to a patient.

1. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

A．Coal power plants emit 150 million metric tons of carbon every year

B．Cutting down all older trees is an effective way to solve the problem.

C．A new study of forest should be conducted after removing older trees.

D．Forests are likely to shift from a carbon absorber to an emission source.

2. What can we infer from what Riley said in paragraph 3 and 4?

A．Forests play a crucial role in holding carbon.

B．Forests are no longer a natural carbon absorber.

C．The U.S makes contributions to decarbonization.

D．Achieving net zero emissions is within easy reach.

3. The following factors can cause the loss of carbon absorption EXCEPT        .

A．aging forests	B．natural disasters
C．global warming	D．development of forests

4. What is the best title of the passage?

A．Cutting Carbon Helps Slow Global Warming.

B．Global Warming Is Becoming Worse Gradually.

C．Forests Are Losing Their Ability to Hold Carbon.

D．Planting More Trees Is at The Top of The Agenda.

10 . Nashville TN

Welcome to your Music City vacation planning center, where you can make reservations for lodging, activities, dining and more! You can meet today’s hottest stars and country music legends at the Grand Ole Opry, cruise the Cumberland aboard the General Jackson Showboat Dinner Cruise or tour the sights!

Classic Music City Attractions

When one thinks of Music City, there are several attractions that immediately come to mind, namely the Grand Ole Opry, The General Jackson Showboat Dinner Cruise, and the Ryman Auditorium.

Some of the most amazing stars have taken the stage at the Grand Ole Opry. Another historic venue in Music City is the Ryman Auditorium. As well as attending concerts and shows, visitors to the Ryman can take leisurely tours to learn all about the history of the performing center.

Architectural Wonders

As one of the most beautiful cities in the United States, it is no wonder that this city is home to some of the most impressive pieces of architecture. From landmarks to universities and everything in between, those who have a passion for history are sure to have an amazing time exploring these places.

Music City Art & Museums

For those who love art, the Frist Center is a must-have activity. This art museum features approximately 24, 000 sq ft filled with a variety of exhibitions and displays that are sure to impress. This non-profit center is open seven days a week and features rotating exhibits so there’s something new with each visit.

Shopping, Dining & More

Downtown is among the most popular areas of the city as it holds some of the greatest attractions and more.

East, the ever-growing region is a bustling(熙攘的) place to visit while in Music City! From an eclectic atmosphere to historic landmarks and more. From local delicious eats to breweries and shopping opportunities, this neighborhood is well worth a visit!

1. In Nashville TN, visitors can          .

A．have a chance to perform on the stage.

B．explore some impressive historic buildings.

C．meet some hot stars and pickup fiction stories.

D．go shopping in Downtown, the most popular area.

2. What is special about the Frist Center?

A．Live concerts can be enjoyed.

B．It is the largest museum in Nashville TN.

C．The center is accessible every day except on holidays.

D．Visitors can get different visiting experiences every time.

3. What’s the main purpose of the passage?

A．To introduce the city of Nashville TN.

B．To help people to tailor vacation plans.

C．To arouse visitors’ interest in music and art.

D．To remind visitors of protecting Nashville TN.