2 . Directions: Read the following passage. Summarize the main idea and the main points of the passage in no more than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible.

Life in the Clear

Transparent animals let light pass through their bodies the same way light passes through a window. These animals typically live between the surface of the ocean and a depth of about 3,300 feet-as far as most light can reach. Most of them are extremely delicate and can be damaged by a simple touch. Sonke Johnsen, a scientist in biology, says, “These animals live through their life alone. They never touch anything unless they’re eating it, or unless something is eating them.”

And they are as clear as glass. How does an animal become see-through? Ifs trickier than you might think.

The objects around you are visible because they interact with light. Light typically travels in a straight line. But some materials slow and scalier(散射) light bouncing it away from its original path. Others absorb light, stopping it dead in its tracks. Both scattering and absorption make a.n object look different from other objects around it, so you can see it easily.

But a transparent object doesn't absorb or scatter light, at least not very much. Light can pass through it without bending or stopping. That means a transparent object doesn't look very different from the surrounding air or water. You don't see it- you see the things behind it.

To become transparent, an animal needs to keep its body from absorbing or scattering light. Living materials can stop light because they contain pigments(色素) that absorb specific colors of light. But a transparent animal doesn’t have pigments, so its tissues won’t absorb light. According to Johnsen, avoiding absorption is actually easy. The real challenge is preventing light from scattering.

Animals are built of many different materials—skin, fat, and more—and light moves through each at a different speed. Every time light moves into a material with a new speed, it bends and scatters. Transparent animals use different tricks to fight scattering. Some animals are simply very small or extremely flat. Without much tissue to scatter light, it is easier to be see-through. Others build a large, clear mass of non-living jelly-like(果冻状的) material and spread themselves over it.

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3 . Directions: Read the following passage. Summarize the main idea and the main point(s) of the passage in no more than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible.

Population Change of European Birds

The breeding bird populations in Europe have seen a great shift over the past three decades, driven by both climate crisis and human interferences, according to one of the world’s largest citizen science projects on biodiversity.

Overall, 35% of birds increased their breeding range. Dr. Iván Ramírez, senior head of conservation at BirdLife Europe and central Asia, said: “Those birds that have been legally protected have been doing better than those which are not protected. This is a really important message within the European Union. We have one of the oldest policies – the Birds Directive – and we can prove that it works.”

In addition, as the climate warms, forests are stretching into northern and agricultural regions. In parts of northern Europe, there has also been tree planting (mainly for wood and paper) and land abandonment (specifically in Mediterranean areas), which benefited many woodland species such as woodpeckers and warblers but caused damage to a number of other species as well. The research shows a total of 25% of birds now occupy a smaller area.

Generally, farmland birds are bigger losers, suffering overall declines in population and reduced distribution because agricultural intensification means there is less food, such as insects and remainder from harvesting. The State of Nature in the EU 2013-2018 assessment showed 80% of key habitats were in poor or bad condition, and intensive farming is a major driver of decline. The UK’s farmland birds have declined by 55% since 1970.

“Predictably, there are winners and losers. We can see how some species have expanded across the continent rapidly and have begun to colonize UK wetlands. In contrast, we can see ranges shrinking as species of northern Europe feel the impact of climate change, and species such as the dotterel are declining in numbers and range in northern Britain,” he said.

4 . Directions: Read the following passage. Summarize the main idea and the main point(s) of the passage in no more than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible.

Lower Oxygen Levels Threaten Marine Life

Oxygen in the oceans is being lost at an alarming rate, with “dead zones” expanding rapidly and hundreds more areas showing oxygen dangerously exhausted, putting sharks, tuna, marlin and other large fish species at particular risk. Dead zones, where oxygen is effectively absent, have quadrupled(翻两番) in extent in the last half-century, and there are also at least 700 areas where oxygen is at dangerously low levels, up from 45 when research was undertaken in the 1960s.

The reasons behind this environmental collapse are multiple. Among all, pollutants generated by the industrial world have been the most destructive force to cause the unbalance, including a rising tide of plastic waste, as well as other pollutants. Seas are about 26% more acidic than in pre-industrial times because of absorbing the excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, with damaging impacts on shellfish in particular.

Low oxygen levels are also associated with global heating, because the warmer water holds less oxygen and the heating causes stratification(分层), so there is less of the vital mixing of oxygen-rich and oxygen-poor layers. Oceans are expected to lose about 3-4% of their oxygen by the end of this century, but the impact will be much greater in the levels closest to the surface, where many species are concentrated, and in the mid to high latitudes.

Another major cause for lower oxygen is intensive farming. When excess artificial fertilizer from crops, or wastes from the meat industry, runs off the land and into rivers and seas, it feeds algae(藻类) which bloom and then cause oxygen consumption as they die and decay.

The problem of dead zones has been known about for decades, but little has been done to tackle it. Now is high time to take actions and help the oceans function better.

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5 . Summary Writing
Directions: Read the following passage. Summarize the main idea and the main point(s) of the passage in no more than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible.

A remarkable variety of insects live in this planet. More species of insects exist than all other animal species together. Insects have survived on earth for more than 300 million years, and may possess the ability to survive for millions more. Insects can be found almost everywhere -- on the highest mountains and on the bottom of rushing streams, in the cold South Pole and in bubbling hot springs. They dig through the ground, jump and sing in the trees, and run and dance in the air. They come in many different colours and various shapes.

There are many reasons why insects are so successful at surviving. Their amazing ability to adapt permits them to live in extreme ranges of temperatures and environments. The one place where they have not yet been found to any major extent is in the open oceans. Insects can survive on a wide range of natural and artificial foods -- paint, pepper, glue, books, grain, cotton, other insects, plants and animals. Because they are small they can hide in tiny spaces.

Also, insects have an enormous reproductive capacity: An African ant queen can lay as many as 43,000 eggs a day.

Another reason for their success is the strategy of protective colour. An insect may be right before our eyes, but nearly invisible because it is cleverly disguised(伪装) like a green leaf, lump of brown soil, gray lichen(青苔), a seed or some other natural object. Some insects use bright, bold colours to send warning signals that they taste bad, sting or are poison. Others have wing patterns that look like the eyes of a huge predator, bitter-tasting insects; hungry enemies are fooled into avoiding them.

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