1 . Directions: Fill in each blank with a proper word chosen from the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. qualities     B. continued     C. bodies     D. essential     E. transformations F. described     G. geological     H. shaped     I. estimated     J. cultivated     K. evolved

For the first time, scientists have mapped the whole surface of Titan, the largest moon around Saturn. The map confirms existing data showing that Titan has many Earth-like     1     that might be able to support life.

The data was collected by Cassini, a spacecraft operated by the U.S. space agency NASA. The spacecraft studied Saturn and its moons from 2004 to 2017. Astronomers used images and radar measurements from Cassini to create the     2     map of Titan.

The map shows Titan as a mixture of flat plains, hills and mountains, windblown sand areas, valleys and lakes. The mapping operation is     3     in a report published in Nature Astronomy.

Rosaly Lopes led the project. She is a planetary scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Lopes told the publication that the many similarities between Earth and Titan make the Saturn moon a great choice for     4     exploration.

“Titan has an atmosphere like Earth's. It has wind; it has rain; it has mountains,” Lopes said.

Titan is the only planet in our solar system besides Earth to have known     5     of liquid on its surface. But Titan's seas and lakes are filled with liquid methane (甲烷) rather than water.

At cold temperatures, methane goes through similar     6     as rain does on Earth. It falls to the surface across the planet to form rivers and lakes and can then evaporate (挥发) to form clouds again.

The map found that nearly two-thirds of Titan's surface is made up of flat plains, Nature reported. About 17 percent is covered in sandy hills     7     by the wind, mostly around the equator.

Unlike Earth, Titan's sand is made up of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen. Around 14 percent of the surface is considered hilly or mountainous. Seas and lakes filled with liquid methane cover a(n)     8     1.5 percent of Titan. The liquid exists mainly closer to the planet's poles, while the equatorial areas remain drier.

Rosaly Lopes says organic materials --- those containing carbon --- in Titan's atmosphere are     9     for the growth of living organisms. “Organics are very important for the possibility of lifeon Titan, which many of us think likely would have     10     in the liquid water ocean under Titan's icy crust (硬的表面),”she said.

2 . Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. abandoned B. challenge C. colored D. demonstrate E. ensures F. initiatives G. innovation H. pilot I. purchased J. recycled K. tailors

Lego: One Step Closer to Being Sustainable

The Lego Group is one step closer to reaching its goal of making all its products from sustainable materials by 2030.

The Danish toymaker revealed a prototype (雏形) brick made from     1     plastic. In a news release, Lego said the PET plastic from     2     bottles makes up the first brick to meet the company’s “strict quality and safety requirements.” One way the company     3     safety is by sourcing materials from suppliers that use processes approved by the US Food & Drug Administration and European Food Safety Authority.

“The biggest     4     on our sustainability journey is rethinking and innovating new materials that are as long-lasting, strong and high quality as our existing bricks—and fit with LEGO elements made over the past 60 years,” Lego Group Vice President of Environmental Responsibility Tim Brooks said. “With this prototype we’re able to    5     the progress we’re making to the public.”

It will be “some time” before bricks made from used materials can be     6    , Lego said. The company will continue to test and develop the PET formulation (配方) and decide whether to move to the     7     production phase, which is expected to take at least a year. One factor the company is testing is how the material can be     8    .

“Experimentation and failing is an important part of learning and     9    . Just as kids build, unbuild and rebuild with LEGO bricks at home, we’re doing the same in our lab,” Brooks said.

The move follows last year’s announcement that the company was making a $400 million investment over three years into sustainability     10    . It included phasing out the single-use plastic bags from its boxes and instead using recyclable paper for its packaging.

3 . Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. existing   B. matters   C. plunging   D. identifying   E. regulatory   F. removal G. failure   H. race     I. reached   J. increased     K. declined

Reasons to be Hopeful

The climate emergency is the biggest threat to civilization we have ever faced. But there is good news: we already have every tool we need to beat it. The challenge is not    1    the solutions, but rolling them out with great speed.

Some key sectors are already racing ahead, such as electric cars. They are already cheaper to own and run in many places—and when the purchase prices equal those of fossil—fuelled vehicles in the next few years, a critical tipping point will be    2    .

Electricity from renewables is now the cheapest form of power in most places, sometimes even cheaper than continuing to run    3    coal plants. There's a long way to go to feed the world's huge energy demand, but the    4    costs of batteries and other storage technologies seem promising.

And many big companies are realizing that a    5    to invest will be far more expensive as the impacts of global heating destroy economies. Even some of the biggest polluters, such as steel, have seen the green writing on the wall.

Stopping the    6    of forests requires no technology at all, but it does require government action. While progress is poor, countries such as Indonesia have shown    7    action can be effective. Protecting and restoring forests, particularly by empowering local people, is a strong tool.

In the climate crisis, every fraction of a degree    8    and so every action reduces people's suffering. Every action makes the world a cleaner and better place to live-by, for example, cutting the air pollution that ends millions of lives a year.

The real fuel for the green transition is a combination of those most valuable and intangible of commodities: political will and skill. The supply is being    9    by demands for action from youth strikers to chief executives, and must be used to face down powerful vested interests (既得利益者), such as the fossil fuel, airlines and cattle industries. The     10    for a sustainable, low-carbon future is on, and question at core is how much faster we need to go.

4 . Directions: Fill in each blank with a proper word chosen from the box. Each word used only once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. implications       B. piece       C. survival       D. revolution E. varying        F. climatic       G. stretching       H. delicately        I. migrate       J. merely       K. shifts

Climate Change

When global warming finally came, it came aggressively. In some regions, temperatures rose several degrees in less than a century. Sea levels shot up nearly 40 feet, flooding coastal settlements and forcing people to     1    inland. Deserts spread throughout the world as vegetation shifted greatly in North America, Europe and Asia. After driving many of the animals around them to near extinction, people were forced to abandon their old way of life for a new    2    strategy that resulted in widespread starvation and disease.

As environmentalists meet in Rio de Janeiro this week to think carefully about the global climate of the future, earth scientists are in the middle of a(n)     3    in understanding how climate has changed in the past and how those changes have transformed human existence. Researchers have begun to     4    together an inspiring picture of the powerful geological and astronomical forces to change the planet’s environment from hot to cold, wet to dry and back again over a time period     5    back hundreds of millions of years.

Most importantly, scientists are beginning to realize that the     6     changes have had a major impact on the evolution of the human species. New research now suggests that climate     7     played a key role in nearly every significant turning point in human evolution. Indeed, the human history has not been     8     touched by global climate change. Some scientists argue it has in some instances been driven by it.

The new research has far-reaching     9     for the environment summit in Rio. Among other things, the findings demonstrate that dramatic climate change is nothing new for planet Earth. The pleasant global environment that has existed over the past 10,000 years is a mere bright spot in a much larger pattern of widely     10    climate over the ages. In feet, the pattern of climate change in the past reveals that Earth’s climate will almost certainly go through dramatic changes in the future even without the influence of human activity.

5 . Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. possibly   B. habitat     C. deadly   D. potential       E. conservation F. responsibility G. encounter     H. stared     I. survival     J. fortunately     K. feed

Nature Is Red in Tooth and Claw

When the British poet Alfred Lord Tennyson described nature as “red in tooth and claw,” he was reminding us that the natural world can be cruel as well as beautiful, and that the wild animals that we love are in a constant struggle for     1    . In simple terms, for wild animals, it is “eat or be eaten,” and they make no distinction between humans and other animals.

Most urban residents rarely     2     wild animals in their natural surroundings. The ones that they do get to observe in person are bred in captivity, which usually means these animals appear rather tame. In Canada, where I come from, we have a more realistic attitude towards wild animals: We try to stay away from them. One day, I was walking along a nature trail near my home and a coyote (郊狼) came out of the woods and     3     at me. A coyote is a dog-like animal, which is a little bigger than a fox, but smaller than a wolf. They usually avoid humans, but the occasional attacks can be     4    . Every year, one or two people end up getting killed by coyotes. The yellow-furred, sharp-toothed coyote,     5    , was not a hungry one. It turned around and disappeared back into the forest.

This little incident served as a reminder that, in Canada at least, a walk in the woods is not the same as one in the park. It can also serve as one for all humans that as our populations grow, expanding into the natural     6     of wild animals can be dangerous for both humans and the animals.

Earlier this year, China became shocked by a herd of elephants in Yunnan that had left their home in the Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve and went on a winding journey through the province. They destroyed crops and buildings along the way. Villages in their path were empty because of the     7     dangers they posed to villagers. However, instead of killing these “troublemakers,” the government sent thousands of troops to     8     the animals and to guide them back home.

Animal experts have yet to determine why the elephants went on their journey. A reasonable possibility is that thanks to effective environmental     9     in recent years, the herd in the reserve had grown increasingly larger, and they probably simply needed more room and more food in order to survive. Regardless, the series of the wandering Yunnan elephants has served as a reminder that it is our     10     to protect wild animals, both for their sake and for ours.

Their lives—red in tooth and claw—are difficult enough as it is without us causing them any more problems than they already have.

6 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in each blank with a proper word chosen from the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. species	B. informed	C. awareness	D. indicate
E. additional	F. figures	G. advanced	H. sticking
I. state	J. reliance	K. based

Sensors for Houseplants

Over the past two years Jasmin Moeller, a 38-year-old in Germany, has been buying more houseplants, making her feel more comfortable.

Actually, the fact that people have spent much more time     1     at home has started a trend to bring more nature inside. In the UK, the latest     2     show that 2021 houseplant sales were 29% higher than in 2020. It is a similar picture in other countries, with sales of houseplants in the US rising by 18% last year, for instance.

Yet it is one thing to buy a houseplant and quite another to successfully look after it. Luckily, some     3     sensors for indoor plants may help those without professional skills in gardening. These devices, usually solar powered and connected wirelessly to a user’s smartphone, should be inserted into the soil next to the plants. Then, they show in real time the     4     of the plants.

A sensor made by German firm Greensens has approximately 5000 plant     5     on its app database. Like a traffic light system, the app uses red, yellow and green faces to     6     how plants are doing. For example, red reveals that the plant is dying, while green means it’s in perfect condition. Besides, users are regularly     7     of what they should do with plants.

Another app released by German business Fyta tells users how their plants are by analyzing the uploaded pictures of the plants. It also includes     8     content other apps rarely offer, such as cultural history of some plants, so users can learn more about their plants.

However, Botanist Silver Spence is worried that     9     on these sensors may affect users’ gardening skills negatively. And David Anglov recommends that amateurs try their best to establish their own     10     of what a plant needs in various situations through careful observation.

Back in Germany, Ms Moeller says she is sure that the sensors are helping her improve gardening skills.

7 . Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

On Horseback Among the Eagle Hunters

A. bond        B. covered        C. outwardly        D. demanding       E. famed F. currently        G. deserted        H. traditionally        I. accessing        J. extent K. tending

Nine-year-old Dastan, the son of a Kazakh (哈萨克族) eagle hunter, rode his pony alongside mine, running effortlessly without a saddle (马鞍) and giggling at my attempts to show my pony some affection. Surrounding us was the vast,     1     landscape of the Altai Mountains of western Mongolia, with a dusting of snow heralding the arrival of winter.

I spent almost three years living and working in northern Iraq, where I     2     the country’s efforts to defeat the Islamic State (伊斯兰国). In October 2019, I began working on a personal photography project. My goal was to explore the relationships between animals and the people whose livelihoods depend on them. To start, I flew to western Mongolia to meet and photograph the iconic Kazakh hunters, horsemen and animal herders (牧人).

Deep in the Altai Mountains, the Kazakh people have for centuries developed a special     3     with golden eagles. Alankush, an eagle hunter, said he looks after his eagle “as if she were a baby.” The ancient custom of hunting with eagles on horseback is     4     passed down from father to son and is considered a great source of pride.

In recent generations, many Kazakh families have migrated from the countryside to the country’s urban areas. This is partly because of the difficulties in     5     health care, education, social services and employment opportunities. Among those who have stayed, the ancient practice has provided an additional source of income from the visitors who pay to see the     6     birds in action.

Training and caring for golden eagles is just one aspect of an animal herder’s life. Others include training young horses,     7     sheep, and butchering meat. The daily demands of a traditional herding family’s life can leave little time for additional education. In response to their physically     8     lifestyles, parents who work as herders often send their children to boarding schools. They hope that their children will secure a more comfortable future. Paradoxically, such parental ambitions may result in the eventual disappearance of a culture and way of life that has survived for generations.

    9    , documenting the traditional ways of life in western Mongolia stands in contrast to my time spent photographing scenes of conflict and suffering in Iraq. The two subjects, however, share a common theme: the human struggle not just to survive, but to build a better future for oneself and one’s family. Despite the differences in the surroundings and the     10     of the challenges faced by the people I met, I felt a connection with the Kazakh horsemen, through our mutual affection for horses.

8 . Directions: Complete the following passages by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. swift B. drive C. impose D. restoration E. selective F. identifying G. research. H. shelter        I. generating       J. extreme. K. addition

If corals go, divers and marine biologists are not the only people who will miss them. Reefs take up a fraction of a percent of the sea floor, but support a quarter of the planet’s fish biodiversity. The fish that reefs     1     are especially valuable to their poorest human neighbours, many of whom depend on them as a source of protein. Roughly an eighth of the world’s population lives within 100km of a reef. Corals also protect 150,000km of shoreline in more than 100 countries and territories from the ocean’s buffeting, as well as     2     billions of dollars in tourism revenue. In the Coral Triangle, an area of water stretching across South-East Asia and into the Pacific which is home to three-quarters of known coral species, more than 130m people rely on reefs for food and for their livelihoods in fishing and tourism.

Measures to mitigate climate change are needed regardless of coral, but even if the world’s great powers were to put their shoulder to the problem, global warming would not be brought to a     3     halt. Coral systems must adapt if they are to survive, and governments in countries with reefs can help them do so.

Corals need protection from local sources of harm. Their ecosystems suffer from coastal run-off, whether sewage or waste from farms, as well as the sediment dumped from beach-front building sites. Plastic and other debris block sunlight and spread hostile bacteria. Governments need to     4     tighter rules on these industries, such as tougher local building codes, and to put more effort into enforcing rules against overfishing.

Many reefs that have been damaged could benefit from     5    . Coral’s biodiversity offers hope, because the same coral will grow differently under different conditions. Corals of the western Pacific near Indonesia, for example, can withstand higher temperatures than the same species in the eastern Pacific near Hawaii. It seems that     6     the hardiest types and encouraging them to grow in new spots is a way forward, though an expensive one. A massive project of this sort is under way in Saudi Arabia as part of a tourism     7    .

More drastic intervention to head off the larger threats corals face should also attract more     8    . Shading reefs using a polymer film as a sunscreen to cool them is under discussion for parts of the Great Barrier Reef. Other schemes to help corals involve genetic engineering,     9     breeding and brightening the clouds in the sky above an area of the reef by spraying specks of salt into the lowest ones, so that they deflect more of the sun’s energy. These measures may sound     10    , but people need to get used to thinking big. Dealing with the problems caused by climate change will call for some radical ideas.