1 . Keep a Moon Diary

Grab a notebook and your favorite pen or pencil, and you’re ready to begin your very own Moon Diary. You’ll discover all kinds of fascinating things about how the moon travels and notice the various phases of the moon.

Before you start you can collect together some books about the moon to learn about it.     1     And even though you are older you can still try these kinds of books about the moon.

Start your Moon Diary by looking for the moon one night and recording all the things you notice. Note the date, time, and weather. Is the moon full? Half full? Or maybe gone entirely? What color does it seem to be?     2     Take time to look at the moon each night for four weeks. Every night, record what you see. Does the moon appear to be getting bigger? Smaller? Where does the moon appear in the sky? Maybe record what natural sounds you hear when the moon is high in the sky!

    3     Sometimes you will see the moon in the daytime, and other times you may have to wait until nighttime for the moon to rise. You can check when the moon will rise each night by looking for the information online.

It takes about 28 days for the moon to make one complete orbit around the Earth. So after four weeks, you’ll have completed your very own Moon Diary!     4     What do you notice? How does the moon change shape over time? Is the moon rising earlier or later in the sky each day? How does it affect the amount of light in the sky?     5     See where the moon takes you!

A．Look back over what you wrote and drew.

B．You could draw a sad face in the box instead.

C．Write and draw your observations in your notebook.

D．Every day for a month, look in the sky and find the moon.

E．Maybe you’ll decide to keep going with your Moon Diary.

F．Picture books and stories are a great way to introduce a topic.

G．Predict what shape the moon will be each night for the next month.

2 . Jeannette Frescas was not concerned about the Thomas Fire until the fire reached her neighborhood in Ventura, California. “At midnight, I woke up with a flashlight in my face,“ Frescas told CNN.“I looked out of my window and there were flames, a hundred feet, all around us.”

Like many residents, Frescas was caught off guard by the fire that had roared across Southern California for 13 days. She’s one of tens of thousands of residents who got into cars and fled as winds drove the third-largest fire in modern state history through Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.

“What was once a paradise (天堂) was like a war zone (地带),” Frescas said of her apartment, which was destroyed by the fire. “It’s the scariest thing I’ve been through in my entire life.” Ventura resident Patricia Rye woke up to her son-in-law pounding on her door. She didn’t get a chance to pack any valuables. “I didn’t have time to take anything,” Rye said. “My wallet, or any of my personal things.”

The fire was so terrible that more than 8,400 firefighters were working around the clock to save lives and contain (控制) it. Twelve thousand people were evacuated (撤离) in Santa Barbara County, with animals at the local zoo threatened as well. Santa Barbara Zoo closed and many animals were placed into cages in case of possible evacuations. The zoo had kept most animals indoors, away from smoke.

Meanwhile, residents who had evacuated their homes in Ventura County-where the fire began-were allowed to return on Saturday. Jim Holden considered himself lucky that firefighters saved his home and items. “They put a water screen between my house and the house next door that was burning in an attempt to save it,“ he said. “They broke in and they saved my family photos and my computer, and things that they thought would be important to me.”

1. What made the fire more terrible?

A．A strong flashlight.

B．High flames.

C．Injured residents.

D．A strong wind.

2. Why didn’t Rye take her valuables?

A．Her son-in-law helped her.	B．The situation was urgent.
C．She had a lot of money.	D．She had nothing to take.

3. Why did the Santa Barbara Zoo keep animals indoors?

A．They prepared for the possible evacuations.	B．They only put enough food there.
C．They wanted to keep them from smoke.	D．They prevented them from cold weather.

4. What did the firefighters do to save Jim Holden’s house?

A．They evacuated him from his home.	B．They put a water screen.
C．They broke into his house.	D．They took out important things.

3 . 阅读短文，在空白处填入适当的内容或括号内单词的正确形式。

As students, what can we do to prevent natural disasters     1     happening and reduce the loss to the minimum? First of all, we should do our part to protect the environment. At the same time, measures must be taken     2     (raise) the public’s environmental awareness. We can give lectures, hand out booklets specially     3     (design) for the public or hold photo exhibitions of natural disasters. Secondly, in view of our     4     (limit) knowledge, it’s very practical and helpful to have more knowledge about natural disasters. Having some basic first­aid knowledge and survival skills, which will be     5     (benefit) to us all, is also essential. Last but not least, we hope the government should pay more attention to forecasting technology and allocate more funds for related research. I am convinced that if everyone does his best, we can live in harmony     6     nature.

4 . 阅读短文，在空白处填入适当的内容或括号内单词的正确形式。

We are called South China Tiger, and we are in danger of extinction.    1     our shock, there are only 30—80 living in the zoo. Our skin and fur are regarded as     2     (source) of expensive traditional medicine. For this reason we are being illegally hunted. Even worse, a variety of trees are being cut    3    by human beings, which has a great effect     4    our natural habitat forests. However, effective     5     (measure) are being taken to increase the number of wild tigers. Please refuse to buy our fur or other tiger products!

5 . If you look at the dynamic “Global Temperatures” map on NASA’s website, you can see the historic temperature change over time across the planet as the timeline goes from 1880 to the modern day. By 2019, the entire planet is in red, orange, and yellow colors, indicating temperatures much higher than the historical average in every country and human inhabitance.

If the timeline went to 2023, the map would look even worse. That’s because the summer of 2023 was the hottest ever, according to ocean monitors. July was the hottest month in recorded history. Next July could be worse. Unless we do something quickly, we face dealing with more and more dangerous and expensive natural disasters in the future.

Forest fires sent smoke from Canada across the North American continent, causing New York City to have the worst air quality in its recorded history. Heavy rainstorms fell on Vermont and the Northeastern United States in just a couple of days in the middle of July, which exceeded the amount that area would usually receive in two months and caused extreme damage to homes and businesses. Around the same time, flash flooding in Bucks County, Pennsylvania — north of Philadelphia — killed nearly a dozen people.

Erich Fischer, a researcher specializing in climate studies at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, is concerned that natural disasters could get much worse in the future—and in ways we cannot predict. He called for a “strike for climate justice,” which actually took place on Sept. 15, 2023. “The strategy needs to be twofold (双重的) . We need to decrease carbon emissions as much as realistically possible. That is already happening with people using electric cars and other green technologies. At the same time, we also need to find ways to predict the risk of natural disasters ahead of time,” said Erich Fischer.

1. Why does the writer mention the data on NASA’s website in paragraph 1?

A．To explain a concept.	B．To introduce a topic.
C．To provide a solution.	D．To make a prediction.

2. What does the third paragraph mainly tell us?

A．The severity of natural disasters.	B．The worst air quality in New York City.
C．The extreme damage by flash flooding.	D．The cause of the forests fires in Canada.

3. What did Erich Fischer suggest to deal with the current situation?

A．He advocated a twofold strategy.

B．He suggested forbidding carbon emissions.

C．He required people to use more electric cars.

D．He emphasized the awareness of climate changes.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．The Hottest Month in History	B．Natural Disasters in the World
C．Extreme Weather Could Get Worse	D．Green Technology Would be Needed

6 . A forest in Staffordshire (in the UK) transformed into a hi-tech laboratory. Researchers here are investigating how the trees use carbon, and it’s difficult to find out. In an unusual experiment, extra carbon dioxide is piped to the trees, to create the kind of atmospheric conditions expected in the middle of the century. And instruments measure how the forest reacts.       

The scientist in charge says there’s still a lot to learn. And he worries that governments and companies are rushing to plant trees as an easy answer to climate change. “If you try and use trees to tidy up the mess that we’re making through emissions, you are putting those trees into a very rapidly changing climate and they will struggle to adapt,” said Professor Rob MacKenzie, University of Birmingham.

This device tracks the movement of carbon dioxide. In a healthy forest, the gas is not only absorbed by the trees but some is released as well. What scientists here are finding out is the way carbon flows into a forest and out of it is a lot more complicated than you might think. So, if mass tree planting is meant to be a solution to tackling climate change, the trees are going to have to be monitored and cared for, over not just decades, but may be centuries as well.

Of all the challenges, the task of planting is the simplest. Shelby Barber from Canada can do an amazing 4,000 trees in a day. “People talking about planting millions billions of trees around the world. Is it possible do you think, physically?” asked BBC.

“It’s definitely possible with the right amount of people, the right group of people. I’ve personally, in three years, planted just over half a million trees.” said Professor Rob MacKenzie.

Once planted, the trees need to survive, and experts are mixing different types to minimize the risk of disease. “It’s a bit like making sure you don’t put all your eggs in one basket, you’re spreading out your risk. And then if one part of that woodland fails, for whatever reason, it gets a disease or it can’t tolerate future climatic conditions, there are other parts of the forest that are healthy and able to fill in those gaps.” said Eleanor Tew of Forestry England.

Suddenly there’s momentum to plant trees on a scale never seen before. So what matters is doing it in a way that ensures the forests thrive — so they really do help with climate change.

1. Why is extra carbon dioxide piped to the trees in the experiment?

A．To predict the future atmospheric conditions.

B．To imitate the possible air condition in the future.

C．To create an instrument to measure atmospheric conditions.

D．To investigate the quality of air condition in the future.

2. The underlined word “some” in the second paragraph refers to __________.

A．oxygen

B．carbon dioxide

C．mess

D．purified gas

3. What will Eleanor Tew suggest concerning the survival of the forest?

A．Minimizing the area of the woodland.

B．Studying future climatic conditions.

C．Planting different types of trees.

D．Avoiding mixing different species.

4. Which statement concerning mass tree planting will Professor Rob Mackenzie mostly likely agree with?

A．It should be advocated in terms of efficiency and convenience.

B．It is the most effective solution to fighting climate changes.

C．It will do more harm than good to the health of the environment.

D．It needs to be studied further as a measure against climate change.

7 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Chinese achievements in pollution control, ecological recovery and protection, and green development China     1     (make) in the past decade were highlighted at a Friday press briefing,     2     a senior official pointed out China’s     3     (participate) and leadership in global climate governance.

According to the press briefing, China has been the fastest in improving air quality and the PM2. 5 level in cities at the prefecture level and above dropped by 34. 8 percent from that of 2015. Days with good air quality reached 87. 5 percent. Pollution of water bodies and the soil is also     4     (effective) tackled. Ecological systems     5     (protect) and restored. National parks are set and more than 300 endangered animal and plant species saw their wild populations recover, marking achievements in protecting ecological diversity.

The country has taken     6     active part in cooperation on climate change. It has done its     7     (good) to help other developing countries to improve their climate response capacity     8     (reduce) the harmful impacts of climate change. It also has distributed over 1. 2 billion yuan on climate change and trained about 2, 000 officials and experts in the field of climate change     9     more than 120 developing countries.

    10     (head) forward, China will work with all parties to actively participate in the global governance of climate change.

8 . People have always believed that nature is good for health and happiness. According to scientific studies, being in nature makes people less stressed. In a recent experiment in Japan, one group of people were asked to walk through a forest while another group had to walk through a busy city.     1    . However, researchers found that after the walks, the people who had walked in the forest had better moods, less anxiety and even lower blood pressure. So the experiment showed that it was being in nature that helped people feel less stressed, not just the walk.

Gregory Bratman from Stanford University in the United States found in experiments that a walk in nature could have important cognitive (认知) benefits, improving a person’s memory and creativity.     2    . Teachers find that when children are enjoying the natural world, their awareness and creativity are improved, along with their reasoning and observational skills.

Why does being in nature bring so many benefits for us?     3    , so we have an instinctive (本能的) love for it. Even just looking out of the window at a beautiful tree can help us feel less stressed.

Scientists also think that being in nature helps our brain recover from a lot of activities that we usually do during the day such as working on math problems or using our cell phone.     4     — putting all our attention into one thing, which can make us feel tired. But when we are outside, we use undirected attention. We see an interesting cloud or a beautiful flower, and our attention moves quickly and easily from one thing to another. So being in nature gives our brains the chance to rest.

    5    . For many of us, nature is something we can enjoy just by walking out of our door. So enjoy the nature around you!

A．The walks were equally long and hard

B．Regular workouts are surprisingly helpful

C．One idea is that human beings come from nature

D．Nature’s benefits have been scientifically confirmed

E．In these activities, we use a lot of directed attention

F．Being in nature increases people’s mental health as well

G．We can see this in schools where outdoor learning has been introduced

9 . Sharks have been swimming in the ocean for millions of years. They were on Earth even before dinosaurs! At the top of the world’s ocean’s food chain, sharks help keep the population of other ocean animals in balance. A large drop in the number of sharks can cause serious problems for all ocean animals. Saving sharks makes sense!

Many people are afraid of sharks. But most sharks are harmless. Only a small percentage of sharks are known to attack humans. They adapt well to new habitats and eat whatever is available. However, today, sharks are in trouble. Nearly one third of the 400 shark species are in danger of extinction, largely due to over-fishing. Each year, tens of millions of sharks are caught and killed just for their fins. The fins are used to make shark fin soup.

Humane Society International(HSI) joined with the Jane Goodall Institute’s Roots and Shoots program and Beijing Zoo to protect sharks. An exhibit at the zoo, “The Price Behind the Taste — Protect Sharks. Don’t Eat Shark Fins”, was designed to tell people that shark finning is cruel and unnecessary. It’s hoped that the activity will help put an end to the practice.

Shark fin soup is also eaten in the United States. In fact, the numbers of some shark species in US waters have dropped 90 percent in the last 30 years. To slow the fall, laws against the sale of shark fins have been passed in several states, including Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, and California.

1. What does the first paragraph mainly tell us?

A．Ocean animals are at the top of the food chain.

B．Sharks play an important role in the ocean.

C．Sharks are an old species in the ocean.

D．Sharks are being caught and killed.

2. According to Paragraph 2, sharks are in trouble because ________.

A．they often attack humans

B．their food is being polluted

C．they are being caught for food

D．their habitat is being destroyed

3. The underlined part “the practice” in Paragraph 3 refers to “________”.

A．shark finning

B．shark protection

C．the program of HIS

D．the exhibit at Beijing Zoo

4. What do we know from the text?

A．There are 400 shark species in the United States.

B．It’s illegal to eat shark fin soup in the United States.

C．Most sharks are not interested in a human for dinner.

D．Sharks are very particular about their habitats and food.

10 . A British company has proposed releasing a GM(genetically modified) strain of the diamondback moth (菱形斑纹蛾), which has been developed to help reduce the population of these vegetable-eating insects.

Male diamondback moths carrying a deadly gene would be released which would cause their off springs (后代) to die almost immediately. Then the fall in their numbers could help to increase crop yields for farmers.

Oxitec, the company which came up with the idea, hopes to begin trials next year but faces opposition from groups who say the untested technology could threaten wildlife and human health.

“Mass releases of GM insects into the British countryside would be impossible to recall if anything went wrong. Changing one part of an ecosystem can have knock-on effects on others in ways that are poorly understood. This could include an increase in different types of pests. Wildlife that feeds on insects could be harmed if there are changes to their food supply” said Dr Helen Wallace, the director of Gene-Watch UK, who has sat on government advisory bodies.

Hadyn Parry, Oxitec’s chief executive, said there was demand from farmers for the technology and that using GM insects to kill the pests that feed on food crops is better for the environment than chemical sprays. The firm, which is supported by grants from the taxpayer, is developing a number of GM insects that would be used in Britain and around the world to protect crops and combat disease in humans.

Oxitec has contacted the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to ask what controls, if any, should be put in place around GM moth trials. A spokesman said that while its officials and advisers have discussed Oxitec’s plans, there is yet to be a formal application for a trial. Consequently the department has not reached a view on whether it should go ahead.

1. People strongly object to the idea mainly because they think _______.

A．the technology won’t be as effective as chemical sprays

B．the technology may bring about knock-on effects on insects

C．the technology won’t be well controlled

D．the technology may not be good for wildlife and human health

2. What is Dr Helen Wallace’s attitude towards the idea?

A．Disapproving.

B．Positive.

C．Doubtful.

D．Not mentioned.

3. The underlined word “combat” in the fifth paragraph can be replaced by“_______”.

A．struggle

B．avoid

C．fight

D．contract

4. Which of the following can be learned from the text?

A．Oxitec still hasn’t formed any plans to control the trials.

B．Oxitec has decided to begin the trial this year.

C．Taxpayers will not continue to support Oxitec’s research.

D．Farmers prefer GM insects to chemical sprays.