1 . Samarkand in Uzbekistan hosted an important intergovernmental conference on how to stop the slow spread of degraded (退化) land. Between 2015 and 2019, the world lost at least 100 million hectares of healthy and productive land a year, according to an analysis for the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). Human activities—including destroying forests and agricultural practices—and climate change are among the main causes.

115 countries reported ahead of the meeting on three measures for restoring degraded land and soil: protecting the area used for agriculture or covered by forests or wetlands; increasing the ability of land to support and sustain life, retaining above-and below-ground stocks of carbon. Reaching the target of “land degradation neutrality (土地退化中性)” by 2030 means reversing a negative trend: the global share of land that is degraded increased from 14.7% in 2015 to 18. 9% in 2019.

Yet there are some important signs of hope amid a mostly bleak prospect. The analysis enables countries to understand land degradation at a more granular (细致的) level than before. And the UNCCD’s science teams helped to train researchers in some of the most-affected countries, so that local scientists and policymakers could do the work themselves. And some countries are moving in the right direction. In Ecuador, for example, the area of land classed as degraded went from 21.9% to 12.8% between 2015 and 2019.

Land degradation is not a priority on the world’s environmental agenda. Although the UNCCD has the same status as the UN conventions on climate change and biodiversity, unlike them it does not have an autonomous body that provides independent scientific advice. Restoration projects also receive much less international funding.

This funding gap illustrates just how little priority is given to restoring land and preventing further countries are providing data. These nations, especially high-income countries, should start reporting degradation. Yet the latest analysis shows what can be done even with limited resources. But not all their plans and actions, to raise the profile of land degradation.

1. Which of the measures is mentioned before the conference?

A．Developing more forests or wetlands.

B．Increasing industrial productivity.

C．Making people support their life.

D．Keeping the stocks of carbon.

2. What does the underlined word “bleak” mean in paragraph 3?

A．Dark.

B．Interesting.

C．Wonderful.

D．Reasonable.

3. What does paragraph 4 mainly talk about?

A．The land degradation is serious nowadays.

B．Land degradation isn’t sufficiently prioritized.

C．The biodiversity deserves more attention.

D．More funds are obtained for the restoration project.

4. What can rich countries do about the land degradation?

A．Provide funding to support relevant projects.

B．Help other countries to collect and analyze data.

C．Start reporting their own schedules and actions.

D．Stop land degradation in their countries completely.

2 . It’s a fascinating story of how nature is reclaiming and transforming the broken soil we leave behind. Wildlife filmmaker Dan O’Neill and zoologist Yussef Rafik are on a mission to uncover the wildlife secrets hidden inside some abandoned places.

Inchkeith Island

This island off the Scottish coast had been an important strategic location for military defences for over 500 years by 1957. While its buildings might be empty and in bad condition, the wildlife has bloomed. Dan and Yussef watch young seal pups on the beach and spot seabirds and European cave spiders.

Dinorwi c Quarry

Dan and Yussef visit this former slate quarry（采石场） in Wales. Dinorwic closed its doors in 1969 and nature has slowly been reclaiming the land ever since. Dan and Yussef are searching for the fastest animal in the world, the peregrine falcon（游隼） and spot rare wild mountain goats.

Chatterley Whitfield

Today it looks more like a set from a film, but at its peak Chatterley Whitfield was a busy coalmine. Since it was closed in 1977, wildlife has taken hold. Dan and Yussef find plants including sunflowers that have sprung up in the most unlikely places. And hidden cameras capture footage of the rabbits and foxes wandering these empty buildings at night.

Nunhead Cemetery

Dan and Yussef explore one of the seven great graveyards in London, which was closed right after the Second World War and soon became neglected. Now hundreds of species live alongside the dead. Dan spots bright green ring-necked parakeets, the non-native bird that’s made London its home and the pair sample blackberries growing among the graves.

1. What do we know about Inchkeith Island?

A．It played a crucial role in wartime.	B．It is located on the Scottish coast.
C．It was used as a setting for a movie.	D．It has its buildings well maintained.

2. Which one was the last abandoned?

A．Inchkeith Island.	B．Dinorwic Quarry.
C．Chatterley Whitfield.	D．Nunhead Cemetery.

3. What is the common feature of the places?

A．They once served the same purpose.	B．They are turning wild over the years.
C．They are hidden inside the same island.	D．They are controlled by native wildlife.

3 . The green, natural forest absorbs carbon dioxide from the air through photo- synthesis (光合作用). There is another way of dealing with the climate crisis. That is setting up fields of dark-colored solar panels (太阳能电池板), also known as “solar forests”, which replace power stations that use fossil fuels such as coal and gas to make electricity, thus mitigating harmful emissions (排放) of greenhouse gases.

But since they are both relatively dark, they absorb a lot of solar radiation. Some of the energy is used for photosynthesis in natural forests or to produce electricity in “solar forests”, but most returns to the atmosphere, heating it up. Then what would be the more effective land use option in terms of the climate crisis: planting a forest, or building solar panels? This issue has long been debated by decision-makers around the world. Now, we may have an answer, thanks to a new study.

First, the researchers compared the impact of a forest on the climate crisis in a dry area to that of a solar farm in a similar environment. The researchers found that the albedo effect (反射效应) of both of these “forests” was similar, but that the absorption or prevention of carbon emissions was very different. It turns out that it takes 2.5 years for the heat emitted by solar farms to be balanced by the carbon emissions that are avoided, thanks to the energy they produce. In the case of a natural forest of similar size, it would take more than 100 years of photosynthesis to balance its heating effect.

The researchers also studied how the heating-cooling relationship changed in other climates and found that in more humid environments, the heating effect of planting large numbers of trees is smaller. And the break-even point is reached within 15 to 18 years.

“In dry places, building solar forests seems far more effective in addressing the climate crisis. Meanwhile, forests absorb about a third of annual carbon emissions and play a vital role in the global rain cycle, in maintaining biodiversity and in many other environmental and social contexts. Preventing them from being cut down and planting more trees in humid areas are of great significance,” explains one of the researchers in the study.

1. What does the underlined word “mitigating” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?

A．Releasing.

B．Decreasing.

C．Generating.

D．Stabilizing.

2. What is the root cause of the long-running debate over the two types of forests?

A．They cause much damage to the land.

B．They result in a serious loss of farmland.

C．They contribute to the warming of the atmosphere.

D．They lose energy during the absorption of solar radiation.

3. What did the researchers find in the study conducted in the dry environment?

A．The natural forest exhibits a stronger albedo effect.

B．The solar forest can generate more energy in dry areas.

C．The solar forest is superior in balancing the heating effect.

D．The natural forest is more effective in solving the climate crisis.

4. What can be concluded from the last paragraph?

A．More trees should be planted in dry regions.

B．More methods should be adopted to address the climate crisis.

C．Fields of solar panels should be set up everywhere on the earth.

D．Building solar panels and planting trees should be effectively combined.

4 . As a mushroom scientist, you are vastly outnumbered, with estimates suggesting that there are between 2.2 million and 3.8 million species of fungi (真菌), the majority of which are yet to be identified. However, professionals in the field are not alone in their efforts to uncover new species. An enthusiastic community of amateurs has emerged, bridging the gap between professionals and non-professionals. These amateurs have even made significant discoveries. One such amateur is Taylor Lockwood, a 74-year-old mushroom enthusiast and professional photographer.

In 1984, while living on the Mendocino coast of California, Taylor Lockwood developed a fascination with mushrooms. “Outside my cottage were these amazing mushrooms,” he says. “And it was as if these mushrooms looked at me and said, ‘Taylor, go out and tell the world how pretty we are.’” Lockwood answered their call and purchased camera equipment to capture their true nature. His passion for photographing mushrooms was so intense that he would even dig holes next to the mushrooms to get the perfect angle for his shots.

In the Monongahela National Forest, Taylor Lockwood discovered an unusual mushroom that looked like tiny fingers wearing off-white gloves. Upon deeper investigation, fungi researcher Amy Rossman confirmed that it was a “hazel glove” mushroom, which is a rare find. “Mushrooms are not like plants,” Rossman says. “They don’t come up at the same time every year, and so sometimes it can be decades between when a fungus fruits.” Rossman says that’s why it’s so valuable to have people like Taylor Lockwood searching through the forest with a trained eye.

A few years ago, Taylor Lockwood realized that still photos weren’t sufficient, so he chose to create time-lapse (延时拍摄的) videos of mushrooms. “When I do time-lapse, I see so much life happening around the mushrooms—insects, worms and other small creatures interacting with them,” he says. Lockwood’s love for art is evident in his approach to filming mushrooms over time. Although he appreciates the scientific aspect of his work, he identifies himself as an artist at heart.

1. What can we learn about mushroom amateurs from paragraph 1?

A．They keep close track of the growth of fungi.

B．They help identify new species of mushroom.

C．They replace professional scientists in the field.

D．They classify the majority of mushroom species.

2. What inspired Lockwood to photograph mushrooms?

A．His desire for knowledge.

B．His curiosity about nature.

C．The beauty of nearby mushrooms.

D．The appeal of outdoor photography.

3. Which of the following best describes Lockwood according to paragraph 3?

A．Skilled and observant.

B．Focused and flexible.

C．Talented and optimistic.

D．Organized and responsible.

4. Why did Lockwood decide to make time-lapse videos of mushrooms?

A．To improve his photography techniques.

B．To capture dynamic life in an artistic way.

C．To collect biological data for deeper research.

D．To use a new approach to scientific studies.

5 . A fisherman from Portland, Maine, the US, caught a very rare bright blue lobster (龙虾) off the coast of Maine but chose to set it free back into the ocean. The photo of the blue lobster was shared by tech enterpriser Lars-Johan Larsson. “This blue lobster was caught off the coast of Portland yesterday and returned to the water to continue to grow. Blue lobsters are one in two million,” he wrote.

While the shells of lobsters are generally red or brown in color, the blue shell is a result of gene mutation (基因突变), which causes the lobster to produce more of a particular protein than other lobsters, leading to the rare blue color, as reported by the Toronto Sun.

Yellow, orange and crystal-colored lobsters are considered even rarer than bright blue ones. According to the Lobster Institute, yellow lobsters account for about one in 30 million of the total population. Two fishermen in Dorset caught a crystal-colored lobster in 2011.

“Whatever the odds of catching different-colored lobsters, there’s no denying that bright blue ones are truly beautiful creatures,” said Rob Bayer, executive director of the University of Maine Lobster Institute. “They might not be the most unusual, but they’re undoubtedly the best to look at.”

It’s become something of a trend for restaurants to spare blue lobsters. Austin Hopley, a chef at “The Hare” in Rochdale, the UK, made the news for sparing a bright blue lobster. He gave it to Sea Life in Manchester, as reported by the BBC.

“Now it’s there for people to enjoy,” said Hopley. “I felt responsible. Something so rare didn’t require a place on the menu. Every species deserves a fair chance at survival.”

Expert Brendan Malone from Sea Life said, “It is certainly an extraordinary find and worth saving to try to educate the public about these amazing creatures in the ecosystem.”

1. What is the root cause for the color of blue lobsters?

A．Gene variation.	B．Adaptation failure.
C．A specific protein.	D．A mix of red and brown.

2. What does Rob Bayer think of blue lobsters?

A．They are the rarest.	B．They are easy to catch.
C．They are delicious to eat.	D．They are most beautiful.

3. Why was Hopley unwilling to cook the blue lobster?

A．It wouldn’t make a good dish.

B．He wanted to follow the trend.

C．He took on responsibility to save it.

D．It would bring him fame and profits.

4. Which can serve as the best title?

A．Blue Lobsters Rebound Suddenly

B．Chefs Take Action to Protect Lobsters

C．Gene Mutation Has an Effect on Lobsters

D．Man Catches a “One in Two Million” Blue Lobster

6 . A dog can be a person’s best friend, or so the theory goes. But that relationship can be tested when a dog begins barking at an empty comer of a room, at a door, or anywhere where there doesn’t appear to be any activity at all taking place. Is the dog hallucinating? Is it communicating with ET? Or does it simply want to drive its owner crazy?

According to the American Kennel Club, the most common explanation for dogs’ barking without reasons is that it’s not really unprompted at all. Dogs are, obviously, equipped with superior hearing, including the ability to detect sounds that are higher in pitch. It is said a dog could be reacting to a noise that a person wouldn’t be able to hear. If a dog barks seemingly for no apparent reason at night, it might be because the noise nearby is lessened and some barking of other dogs become more clearly. Because dogs are territorial, one dog barking can turn into many others to guard themselves.

Dogs are also able to see better in the dark than humans thanks to their ability to get more light into their retinas (视网膜). If a dog is reacting to what looks to you like an empty backyard at night, it’s possible that something has caught their attention, be it a wild animal, a leaf, or a stranger.

That’s not to say that dogs only bark because of their cute senses. Some dogs might bark out of boredom in which case more exercise or play time is probably needed. They might also be trying to get their owner’s attention.

The AKC recommends that owners avoid scolding their dogs for barking, since they’re simply trying to remain alert, instead, you can try calming the dog to let them know you’re aware of their concern. If they tend to bark while gazing out a window, you can also try to pull the curtains. If you suspect the source is an audio cue, some white noise, like a television or radio can help.

Less often, chronic barking might be a sign of cognitive issues. If barking is persistent and no fugitive is hiding out in your bushes, then you might consider a trip to the vet.

1. According to the passage, which factors won’t make dogs barking at nothing?

A．Its madness.

B．Its visual sense.

C．Its acute hearing.

D．Its boredom.

2. What can we learn from Paragraph 2?

A．A dog barks in order to make friends with other dogs.

B．The surrounding noise being lessened will make a dog frightened.

C．A dog can react to a noise as acutely as a person.

D．A dog always has the awareness of its domain.

3. What should the owner do with the dog’s barking from the AKC’s recommendation?

A．Leaving it alone.	B．Scolding it seriously.
C．Comforting it.	D．Playing some soft music.

4. This passage is probably taken from?

A．an experiment report	B．a mental discovery
C．a school textbook	D．a science fiction

7 . When photographer Chris Jordan first stepped onto Midway Atoll (中途岛) in 2009 to document “overwhelming” levels of ocean waste, little did he know that his striking image of a dead albatross (信天翁) chick would go viral and change the world’s response to the plastics crisis.

After hearing about an island covered in thousands of dead birds with stomachs full of everyday plastic items, he was determined to “find a unique way to photograph these birds indicating the severity of this environmental tragedy”. Though he never expected his images would go viral, his photos soon began appearing in magazines and newspapers all over the world. “Many people emailed me, expressing concerns and wanting to go to the island to save the albatrosses, but the plastic is not coming from this island. It’s a systemic problem,” says Jordan.

A recent report by WWF projects that plastic production is expected to more than double by 2040, resulting in plastic waste in the ocean four times by 2050. In 2010, 8 million tonnes of ocean plastic waste were from sources on land. That is the weight of some 650,000 double decker buses.

Jo Ruxton, the maker of the film A Plastic Ocean, says, “What makes Jordan’s photos resonate(共鸣)with people is that they recognize things in their daily use, and it’s when we see things that we actually use that makes people relate.”

“Every time I was with birds as they were dying, tears just poured. The grief was incredibly intense. Happily, things are improving — bans on everything from plastic micro beads in toothpaste to carrier bags have since come into force in various countries around the world. But for solutions, I believe the heart of this crisis lies in society’s disconnection between actions and their impacts on the environment and that a re-connection with nature and a raw appreciation for the world around us is what really drives positive change.” says Jordan.

1. What initially drives Jordan to Midway Atoll?

A．To support the ban on plastic items.	B．To record the environmental tragedy.
C．To create resonating images of plastic waste.	D．To photograph the amazing scenery of the island.

2. Which of the following can best describe Chris Jordan?

A．Reliable and determined.	B．Generous and responsible.
C．Creative and sympathetic.	D．Adventurous and intelligent.

3. What is the key to solving the environmental crisis according to Jordan?

A．Carrying out stricter bans on plastic products.

B．Strengthening education on environmental issues.

C．Advising using environmentally friendly materials.

D．Reestablishing the link between humans and nature.

4. What can be the best title for the passage?

A．The Photo: Making the Plastics Crisis Personal

B．The Method: Dealing with Marine Plastic Pollution

C．The Campaign: Restoring Our Relation with Nature

D．The Initiative: Fighting Against the Environmental Disaster

8 . “You’re as stupid as a goat.” It is a common insult (侮辱) in Nigeria. Recently a study published in Animal Behaviour suggested that’s just not true.

Alan McElligott, associate professor of animal behavior and welfare in City University of Hong Kong conducted a study in cooperation with Marianne Mason, an expert in the cognitive (认知的) abilities of goats in England.

In the experiment, a speaker was hidden to play a recording of a human saying “Hey, look over here!” with two versions—a happy one and an angry one. When the study’s 27 goat participants entered the pen one by one, the speaker would play either the positive or negative version 9 times in a row. At first the goats would respond by looking up and even looking for the source of the sound. But after a few repetitions, they would just stop paying attention. Then the speaker switched to play the opposite version three times. 71% of those disinterested goats lifted their ears and looked up in the direction of the sound. Among those newly engaged goats, some started to investigate the source of the sound longer than in the initial stages of the experiment, suggesting they noticed the emotions had changed.

The finding is a case in point of the intelligence of goats. Actually, experienced goat farmers have already known that their livestock (家畜) are discriminating listeners and respond well to kind treatment. So why do such a study if that’s already known? “By showing this ability in goats, we’re trying to move the needle in terms of opening people’s eyes to the cognitive abilities of livestocks. Our overall goal is to get people to think about animals in a different way, to treat them a little bit better.” says Mason. The two researchers hope that people will start to understand these livestocks deserve to be nicely treated, especially as we are using them for our milk products and meat.

1. What did Alan McElligott and Marianne Mason work together on?

A．The intelligence of goats.	B．Social abilities of animals.
C．Distinctive behavior of goats.	D．Animal welfare in HongKong.

2. What do we know about the experiment?

A．The 27 goats paid no attention to the voice all the time.

B．The majority of goats noticed the change of the emotions.

C．The speaker kept playing the positive version throughout the experiment.

D．The goats kept responding to the source of the sound in the initial stages.

3. Which is closest in meaning to the underlined words “move the needle” in paragraph 4?

A．Adjust a study goal.	B．Shift the public’s attention.
C．Make a positive change.	D．Change the original structure.

4. What is the last paragraph mainly about?

A．The background of the study.	B．The main purpose of the study.
C．The farmers’reactions to the study.	D．The wisdom of some goat farmers.

9 . Any schoolchild knows that a whale breathes through its blowhole. Fewer know that a blowhole is a nostril (鼻孔) slightly changed by evolution into a form more useful for a mammal that spends its life at sea. And only a dedicated expert would know that while toothed whales, such as sperm whales, have one hole, baleen (鲸须) whales, such as humpback and Rice whales, have two.

Even among the baleen whales, the placing of those nostrils differs. In some species they are close together. In others, they are much further apart. In a paper published in Biology Letters Conor Ryan, a marine biologist at the Scottish Association for Marine Science, suggests why that might be. Having two nostrils, he argues, helps whales smell in stereo (立体空间).

Many types of baleen whales eat tiny animals known as zooplankton (浮游动物), which they catch by filtering (过滤) them from seawater using the sheets of fibrous baleen that have replaced teeth in their mouths. But to eat something you first have to find it. Toothed whales do not hunt by scent. In fact, the olfactory bulb—the part of the brain that processes smell—is absent in such creatures. But baleen whales still have olfactory bulbs, which suggests smell remains important. And scent can indeed give zooplankton away. Zooplankton like to eat other tiny creatures called phytoplankton (浮游植物). When these are under attack, they release a special gas called dimethyl sulphide, which in turn attracts baleen whales.

Most animals have stereoscopic senses. Having two eyes, for instance, allows an animal to compare the images from each in order to perceive depth. Having two ears lets them locate the direction from which a sound is coming. Dr Ryan theorized that paired blowholes might bring baleen whales the same sorts of benefits.

The farther apart the sensory organs are, the more information can be extracted by the animal that bears them. The researchers used drones to photograph the nostrils of 143 whales belonging to 14 different species. Sure enough, baleen whales that often eat zooplankton, such as the North Atlantic right whale, have nostrils that are farther apart than do those, such as humpback whales, that eat zooplankton occasionally. Besides allowing them to breathe, it seems that some whales use their blowholes to determine in which direction dinner lies.

1. What do we know about whales’ nostrils according to the first two paragraphs?

A．They are adapted ones.	B．They are developed merely for smell.
C．They are not easy to detect.	D．They are fixed universally in numbers.

2. What plays a role when baleen whales hunt zooplankton?

A．The teeth that baleen whales have.

B．The smell that phytoplankton send.

C．The sound waves that zooplankton create.

D．The chemical signals that zooplankton give off.

3. How is the concept of stereoscopic senses explained in paragraph 4?

A．By quoting a theory.	B．By using examples.
C．By making contrast.	D．By making inferences.

4. What is the position of nostrils related to according to the last paragraph?

A．The sense of smell.	B．The possibility to attract food.
C．The ability to locate food.	D．The ability to communicate.

10 . In the Seychelles archipelago (塞舌尔群岛) in East Africa, flooding and erosion (侵蚀) caused by rising sea level pose an incoming threat to the country’s many low-lying islands. At the same time its mangrove forests (红树林), which serve as a vital aspect against these impacts, are disappearing: Approximately 70% of Seychelles mangroves have been destroyed since the late 1700s due to human-driven development and agriculture as well as soil erosion from sea-level rise.

Today the Seychelles Government is working with local community leaders to restore the mangroves, and not just for protection against rising sealevel. Research shows that these forests can store about 2.5 million tonnes of CO₂ (equal to taking 500,000 cars off the road for a year), directly helping to fight climate change. They also provide a breeding ground for fisheries, a sector that contributes one-fifth of the country’s GDP, benefiting local communities’ livelihood and helping to protect the islands’ lively biodiversity (多样性).

While the concept of using nature to benefit both lives and lands is by no means new, global interest in “nature-based solutions” has skyrocketed in recent years. Many now see nature-based solutions as a key approach for addressing not only climate change but a range of social, environmental and economic challenges — from biodiversity loss, food security and air pollution to disease control and declining local economies.

Yet there remains widespread debate about what exactly constitutes a nature-based solution as well as how to best include these strategies into broader climate and conservation efforts. This indetermination has contributed to significant under-investment: It’s estimated that to limit temperature rise to below 1.5 degrees C (degrees F), hold back biodiversity loss and control land degradation (恶化), annual investments in nature-based approaches must be three times by 2030.

As nature-based solutions continue to rise on the global agenda, building a more consistent understanding around the concept and its implications will be key to raising support for effective, extensive solutions that benefit both people and the planet.

1. What do the first two paragraphs focus on?

A．The diversity of economy in East African.

B．The environmental protection in East Africa.

C．The disappearance of mangroves in East Africa.

D．The operation of nature-based solutions in East Africa.

2. Which of the following words can best describe nature-based solutions?

A．Novel.

B．Effective.

C．Ruinous.

D．Uncertain.

3. What is the aim of the nature-based solutions in 2030?

A．500,000 cars are taken off the road.

B．Yearly investment increases by double.

C．The temperature rise is limited to below 2.7℃.

D．A conference on nature-based solutions is held.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．What Exactly Are Nature-based Solutions?

B．Why Are Nature-based Solutions on the Rise?

C．How Can Nature-based Solutions Help Fight Climate Change?

D．What Are the Potential Weaknesses of Nature-based Solutions?