Our beloved dog, Poppy,
2 . A recent global study, which surveyed 10,000 young people from 10 countries, showed that nearly 60 percent of them were extremely worried about the future state of the planet. The report, which was published in The Lancet, also showed that nearly half of the respondents said that such distress affected them daily, and three quarters agreed with the statement that “the future is frightening.” This, along with many other studies, shows clearly that climate change is not just a threat to the environment that we inhabit. It also poses a very real threat to our emotional well-being. Psychologists have categorized these feelings of grief and worry about the current climate emergency, a common occurrence among youth today, under the label of “eco-anxiety”.
Eco-anxiety doesn’t just affect young people. It also affects researchers who work in climate and ecological science, burdened by the reality depicted by their findings, and it affects the most economically marginalized (边缘化的) across the globe, who bear the damaging impacts of climate breakdown.
In 2024, eco-anxiety will rise to become one of the leading causes of mental health problems. The reasons are obvious. Scientists estimate that the world is likely to breach safe limits of temperature rise above pre-industrial levels for the first time by 2027.
In recent years, we’ve seen wildfires tear through Canada and Greece, and summer floods ruin regions in Pakistan that are home to nearly 33 million people. Studies have shown that those impacted by air pollution and rising temperatures are more likely to experience psychological distress.
To make matters worse, facing climate crisis, our political class is not offering strong leadership. The COP28 conference in Dubai will be headed by an oil and gas company executive. In the UK, the government is backtracking on its green commitments.
Fortunately, greater levels of eco-anxiety will also offer an avenue for resolving the climate crisis directly. According to Caroline Hickman, a researcher on eco-anxiety from the University of Bath, anyone experiencing eco-anxiety is displaying entirely natural and rational reactions to the climate crisis. This is why, in 2024, we will also see more people around the world join the fight for climate justice and seek jobs that prioritize environmental sustainability. Campaigners will put increased pressure on fossil fuel industries and the governments to rapidly abandon the usage of polluting coal, oil, and gas.
It’s now clear that not only are these industries the main causes for the climate crisis, they are also responsible for the mental health crisis, which is starting to affect most of us. Eco-anxiety is not something we will defeat with therapy, but something we will tackle by taking action.
1. What can we learn from the passage?| A．The cause of eco-anxiety is emotions existing in our mind. |
| B．People in developed countries are more likely to suffer from eco-anxiety. |
| C．Eco-anxiety is a new kind of psychological disease due to climate change. |
| D．The author is disappointed about government behaviour towards climate crisis. |
| A．Break. | B．Reach. | C．Raise. | D．Affect. |
| A．puzzled | B．favourable | C．suspicious | D．unconcerned |
| A．Who Is to Blame for Eco-anxiety? |
| B．How Should You See Eco-anxiety? |
| C．How Will Eco-anxiety Be Resolved? |
| D．Why Do People Suffer from Eco-anxiety? |
1. Why does Kevin say life on Frenchboro is different?
| A．It’s very simple. |
| B．It’s quite exciting. |
| C．It’s rather hopeless. |
| A．It has no teachers. |
| B．It has small classes. |
| C．It has fifty students. |
| A．They go to the mainland. |
| B．They visit the local hospital. |
| C．They ask the visitors for help. |
| A．In spring. | B．In winter. | C．In autumn. |
5 . Falcons are powerful birds that may be trained to hunt in cooperation with humans. The art of training falcons as “hunting dogs of the skies” is called falconry (训鹰术). It was developed in the ancient Arabian Desert around 4000 B. C. In the past, falconry mainly involved hunting with falcons to supplement one’s diet. But now, it has become the favorite sport and pastime in the Arabian Peninsula.
Falconry includes three major processes: acquiring the falcons, training them, and hunting with them. Every year, falconers begin capturing wild falcons in June and July, the migration season. The best birds to catch are the ones with naturally nurtured hunting skills, aged one or two years. Once the falcons are captured, their heads are immediately covered with a leather hood. This is essential because they imprint as their master whomever they see first after the hood is removed. Right after a bird is caught, the training process starts. It begins by depriving (剥夺) the bird of food to make it easier to tame. The birds are taught to know their own name and respond to their master when called. Arab falconers live with their birds day and night in order to build a strong relationship with them.
By the end of October or mid-November, the trained falcons are ready to hunt in the desert. They have excellent vision, 2. 6 times greater than that of a human. They are also the fastest divers on the planet. One hunting technique that sets them apart from other animals is that they can be trained to deliver their prey, without killing it first. This is vital in Islamic culture because animals used for food must still be alive to ensure that the meat is halal, that is, properly prepared according to Islamic law.
Falcons have played such a crucial role in traditional Islamic cultures that a number of countries in the Middle East have made them their national bird. Falconry has grown so popular that specialist hospitals have been established to take care of these magnificent birds. Falcons are even issued their own passports. They are the only animals in the United Arab Emirates that are legally allowed to travel inside planes, enjoying a level of luxury that some humans can only dream of.
1. What is the main reason for Arabic people to hunt with falcons today?| A．To serve as entertainment and exercise. |
| B．To supplement their diet. |
| C．To replace the practice of hunting with dogs. |
| D．To honor their national bird. |
| A．Falconers don’t give food to falcons in order to capture them. |
| B．Falcons are not allowed to see their masters during the training process. |
| C．Wild falcons with natural hunting skills are ideal for falconers to catch. |
| D．The trainers’ names are written on the hoods covering the birds’ heads. |
| A．Falcons keep their prey alive before delivering it to falconers. |
| B．Falcons can form a strong bond with their owners quickly. |
| C．Falcons’ vision is particularly suitable for hunting in deserts. |
| D．Falcons are relatively easy to train for specific hunting. |
| A．Free air ticket. | B．Passports issued by the King. |
| C．Expensive meals. | D．Access to specialized medical care. |
| A．The couple has overslept. | B．The flight was overbooked. |
| C．There was severe weather. | D．A mechanical issue occurred. |
7 . American researchers say they have developed a method to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the sea. The researchers say the process can be an additional way to help reduce CO2 from the environment to fight the effects of climate change.
Plants and currents in the ocean absorb large amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere. The sea is estimated to have drawn in about 30 percent of carbon emissions since the Industrial Revolution. But carbon emissions also make oceans more acidic (酸性的). It can hurt coral reefs, which are sensitive to ocean acidity. Reef damage then do damage to the growth of many kinds of sea life.
Gaurav Sant, director of UCLA’s Institute for Carbon Management, said the technology is meant to use the ocean’s natural abilities to reduce carbon levels in the sea. The process sends an electrical charge through seawater flowing through tanks on a large boat. That sets off a series of chemical reactions that turn the carbon emissions into a solid mineral that includes calcium carbonate (碳酸钙). The seawater then returned to the ocean and can pull more carbon dioxide out of the air. The calcium carbonate settles to the sea floor.
The process has already been demonstrated in California. Researchers are working on plans to launch another project in Singapore. The two projects are expected to be fully operational by 2025. Researchers say they are expected to remove thousands of tons of CO2 per year. If successful, the plan is to build additional centers to remove millions of tons of carbon each year.
But experts say even if that amount of carbon can be removed, that is still thousands of times less than what will be needed to effectively reduce climate change. Margaret Leinen, director of an ocean research center, said, “While the process will likely be effective, I question how much effect it will have on climate change over a long period.” Sant said the success of such technology will greatly rely on “how fast you can build the centers”.
1. What can we learn about carbon emissions from the text?| A．Most of them are taken in by the oceans. |
| B．They can harm many kinds of sea life indirectly. |
| C．Removal of them poses a serious threat to coral reefs. |
| D．They will decrease ocean acidity when absorbed by seawater. |
| A．How a series of reactions form. |
| B．How an electrical charge is sent. |
| C．How the carbon emissions turned into a solid material. |
| D．How the ocean reduces carbon levels with its own natural abilities. |
| A．Opposed. | B．Concerned. | C．Approving. | D．Disbelieving. |
| A．The approaches to protecting coral reefs. |
| B．The construction of industrial-sized centers. |
| C．The process of reducing CO2 from the environment. |
| D．The techniques to remove calcium carbonate from the sea floor. |
8 . Humans can make do with scarves, coats and gloves in cold weather. Some animals can hibernate (冬眠) for the winter. A new study finds that reptiles (爬行动物) and birds do something that is similar to hibernation, but a little different. In very cold weather, their body temperatures greatly drop into an energy-saving state in order to survive. The ability to thermoregulation (体温调节) for reptiles and birds is possible.
In Texas, where the city of Beaumont reached a low of 18 degrees Fahrenheit last month, it looked as if alligators (短吻鳄) had died of cold — yet alive in iced-over water. By ensuring their long noses stayed above the water line, the cold-blooded creatures were able to lower their body temperatures to survive the sudden short period of very cold weather. The process, in the case of cold-blooded animals like reptiles, is called brumation — it’s like a short state of hibernating. While in this state, reptiles become sleepy and they can go for a long time without eating or drinking. For example, alligators can be in brumation from just a few hours to months.
Like reptiles and mammals, birds can go into a state called torpor in order to save energy under very cold conditions. “Torpor is somewhere between a short sleep and hibernation,” said Justin Baldwin, a PhD candidate in biology at Washington University in St. Louis. Baldwin studied 29 species of hummingbirds living in Colombia. Researchers found that hummingbirds can enter into deep or shallow torpor, depending on several factors, including their size and weather conditions. In deep torpor, the birds are much more likely to be affected by disease. And what’s more, they would be easily harmed by their enemies.
Some bird lovers want to help the birds when they are in torpor. For example, the Bird Alliance of Oregon offers a few tips on how to keep the birds from danger.
1. What does the new study show?| A．Body temperature is important for animals. |
| B．Thermoregulation exists in reptiles and birds. |
| C．Reptiles and birds’ thermoregulation is unusual. |
| D．Body temperature drops greatly during reptiles and birds’ sleep. |
| A．They are active in brumation. | B．They are dead in cold weather. |
| C．They face extinction in cold weather. | D．They eat and drink nothing in brumation. |
| A．They can get enough sleep. | B．They may harm other birds. |
| C．They may waste plenty of energy. | D．They may be under threat. |
| A．Risks of animal hibernation. |
| B．His opinions of the study about birds. |
| C．Some detailed measures to protect the birds in torpor. |
| D．Other problems raised by cold weather. |
1. How much in total will be used in earthquake relief?
| A．£60 million. | B．£100 million. | C．£160 million. |
| A．By contacting the radio program. |
| B．By calling a charity organization. |
| C．By leaving personal information at a website. |
| A．To forecast the weather of this week. |
| B．To praise sponsors in the disaster relief. |
| C．To update information about the earthquake. |
10 . As an only child, Renae often felt
When Renae was 14, her father got a new job and the house needed to be free of noise. “Chloe liked barking,” Renae says. “I didn’t want to lose my dog but I didn’t have any
Later, Renae grew up, got married, and had a child. But her family didn’t feel quite
| A．anxious | B．embarrassed | C．responsible | D．lonely |
| A．reminded | B．attracted | C．surprised | D．pressed |
| A．flexible | B．horrible | C．generous | D．inseparable |
| A．choice | B．measure | C．benefit | D．loss |
| A．conclusion | B．decision | C．tradition | D．inspiration |
| A．impressed | B．typical | C．optimistic | D．sensitive |
| A．take out | B．find out | C．drop out | D．put out |
| A．disappointedly | B．crazily | C．excitedly | D．amazingly |
| A．complete | B．original | C．current | D．formal |
| A．accomplish | B．attempt | C．experience | D．observe |
| A．adapt | B．adopt | C．acquire | D．abuse |
| A．instant | B．incident | C．individual | D．instruction |
| A．hugging | B．patting | C．licking | D．stressing |
| A．motivated | B．astonished | C．alarmed | D．delighted |
| A．As long as | B．As well as | C．As with | D．As for |
