1 . Tips for Green Travel with Kids
Travelling doesn’t mean letting go of all the eco-friendly choices we work so hard to achieve in our daily life. Here are a few tips for green travel with kids.
Booking nonstop flights whenever possible will reduce carbon emissions (碳排放). If the closest local airport doesn’t have nonstop flights to a certain place, check with other local airports to see if nonstop flights are available.
It’s easy when travelling to pull in to fast food restaurants for snacks.
| A．Walking is good for your health. |
| B．Try to cut back to save water and energy. |
| C．But you can pack healthy food from home. |
| D．Travelling is a great chance to introduce your kids to the world. |
| E．Reusable water bottles are easy to bring along wherever you travel. |
| F．Save energy by turning off the hotel room lights when you head out for the day. |
| G．You might have to drive a bit farther, but saving on carbon emissions makes it worthwhile. |
1. Which pet may an outgoing person prefer?
| A．A bird. | B．A dog. | C．A cat. |
| A．Clever. | B．Sociable. | C．Careful. |
| A．Pet people’s personalities. | B．More outgoing dog people. | C．Less sociable cat people. |
3 . At Sho Farm in northern Vermont, farmers Melissa Hoffman and Shawn Smith work hand in hand with the land and its inhabitants, and among them are hundreds of ducks. The ducks at Sho Farm are not being raised to be killed for food. Rather, they are naturally involved in farming operations, helping to manage pests and add fertilizer (肥料) to the soil.
In the beginning, Hoffman, who has a background in organic farming and ecology action, worked with ecologists and biologists to survey the plants and wildlife all around the area. This was “to understand who was living here, so that everything we did was in relationship to the life already here,” he says.
So, at Sho Farm, focus is placed on living harmoniously alongside other life and working with traditional ecological knowledge. Food is seen not as a commodity (商品) but as a relationship with land and life.
The methods of food production at Sho Farm, as well as the farmers’ philosophy of working with rather than against nature, are in sharp contrast to most modern agricultural systems. And that’s the point. “We’ve been talking a lot about the broken food system and the consequences of it to the environment, to wildlife, to the animals in animal agriculture and to human health,” says Hoffman, adding that it’s not just the food system that’s broken. “It’s the relationship between humans, non-human animals, land and nature.”
The ducks play a vital, integrated role on the farm, explains Hoffman, by naturally providing pest control, fertilizer and (fuel-free) land maintenance (维护), just as by-products of their existence. “We noticed where we summered groups of ducks and parts of the food system that were not doing very well. The following year, the food system was efficiently improved,” he says.
It’s a symbiotic relationship that works well. “Animals don’t have to be part of a farm in a commodity sense. They can be part of the farm as a partner,” Hoffman says. “They are wonderful partners.”
1. Why did Hoffman do a survey in the beginning?| A．To get familiar with the surroundings. |
| B．To have a good relationship with other people. |
| C．To live in harmony with other life on the farm. |
| D．To have a good understanding of organic farming. |
| A．The causes of the broken food system. |
| B．The reasons for Hoffman’s farming methods. |
| C．The changes in modern agricultural systems. |
| D．The process of food production at Sho Farm. |
| A．Animals are treated well at Sho Farm. |
| B．Animals are not to be sold for money. |
| C．People and animals play the same role in organic farming. |
| D．People and animals work together and benefit each other. |
| A．Efficient. | B．Modern. | C．Natural. | D．Economical. |
Earth Day is an event
In1962, Rachel Carson’s bestselling book “Silent Spring” created an
In the fall of 1969, Nelson announced it and appealed to the entire country to get involved. Consequently, telegrams, letters and telephone calls
Today, Earth Day is celebrated around the world every April 22. Sometimes numerous communities celebrate Earth Week, an entire week of
I sat at the breakfast table with my four-year-old son, Andy, trying to ignore the ache in my stomach. “Mama, want to play?” “Not today, baby.” I shook my head. These days I could barely get out of bed. I was still recovering from an operation. I hoped for strength and happiness. But the future seemed so hopeless.
Suddenly Andy jumped up from his spot on the kitchen floor. “Bird!” he shouted, rushing to our courtyard. Sure enough, there was a white dove seated in a tree. It sat there for a few moments, and then flew away. Strange, I’d never seen one in our neighborhood before.
When I dragged myself to the kitchen the next morning, the dove was back. This time it was with a mate carrying sticks, “Look, Andy,” I said, pointing to the tree. “They are going to make a nest.” The doves flew in and out of the courtyard all week, building on top of the tree.
Andy could hardly contain his excitement. Every morning, he’d run into the kitchen and take his spot by the door, talking to the birds while they worked. His happiness was influential. Much as I was sad, I couldn’t help but look forward to the doves’ visit too.
Then it all went wrong. The courtyard was a safe enough spot for a nest, but the tree is broad, thin leaves were far from stable. One night, a strong wind blew, throwing the doves’ nest to the ground. I heard the twigs(细枝) break apart.
I examined the damage. Nothing good ever lasted. I wouldn’t blame the doves if it never came back. But they returned. They started again from the beginning. Again, though, the wind destroyed all their hard work. The next day, and the next, they started again, as if nothing had happened.
注意：1.续写词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
I knew I had to do something.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________“It works! The birds are back!” Andy announced.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________6 . Urban Wildlife
Cities are diverse ecosystems. In addition to visitors, a large number of species share our urban areas. As our cities spread, we need to think about what it is like for other species to have human neighbors.
Cities are built for humans.
There are also structures built with the aim of bringing wildlife into the city. The Olympic Forest Park in Beijing is a good example. The park used native plants, and created open and natural spaces for wildlife. The result is a zone in Beijing with over 160 species of birds. In many ways, the park is the opposite of a zoo.
If we learn to share our space, we can become better neighbors of the wildlife around us.
| A．They are built to protect birds. |
| B．Our actions sometimes help other species. |
| C．If we do not, more species will become extinct. |
| D．They do not always provide suitable habitats for wildlife. |
| E．Instead of being kept in cages, wildlife can move more freely. |
| F．At first, people were afraid of the bats and tried to get rid of them. |
| G．They would sit on it and their droppings would fall into the water. |
1. What is the woman doing?
| A．Carrying trees. | B．Planting trees. | C．Picking up waste. |
| A．To play in it. | B．To clean it. | C．To measure the depth of it. |
| A．Strangers. | B．Teammates. | C．Schoolmate |
8 . Using too much water or throwing rubbish into our rivers are clear ways that humans can put our water supply in danger, but we also affect our water supply in less obvious ways. You may wonder how paving(铺砌) a road can lead to less usable fresh water. A major part of the water we use every day is groundwater. Groundwater does not come from lakes or rivers. It comes from underground. The more roads and parking lots we pave, the less water can flow into the ground to become groundwater.
Human activity is not responsible for all water shortages(缺乏). Drier climates are of course more likely to have droughts(干旱) than areas with more rainfall, but in any case, good management can help to make sure there is enough water to meet our basic needs .
Thinking about the way we use water every day can make a big difference, too. In the United States, a family of four can use 1.5 tons of water a day! This shows how much we depend on water to live, but there’s a lot we can do to lower the number.
You can take steps to save water in your home. To start with, use the same glass for your drinking water all day. Wash it only once a day. Run your dishwasher only when it is full. Help your parents fix any leaks(滴水) in your home. You can even help to keep our water supply clean by recycling batteries instead of throwing them away.
1. Which of the following is most likely to lead to less groundwater?| A．Using river water. | B．Throwing batteries away. |
| C．Throwing rubbish into lakes. | D．Paving parking lots. |
| A．All water shortages are due to human behavior. |
| B．It takes a lot of effort to meet our water needs. |
| C．There is much we can do to reduce family size. |
| D．The average family in America makes proper use of water. |
| A．show us how to fix leaks at home |
| B．tell us how to run a dishwasher |
| C．prove what drinking glass is best for us |
| D．suggest what we do to save water at home |
| A．how human activity affects our water supply |
| B．how much we depend on water to live |
| C．why droughts occur more in dry climates |
| D．why paving roads reduces our water |
1. What do we know about the area?
| A．Lightning strikes mostly in December. |
| B．The people there worry about getting hit. |
| C．The area is near the Andes Mountains. |
| A．The Never-Ending Storm of Catatumbo. |
| B．The Lightning Capital of the World. |
| C．The Light of Venezuela. |
| A．One in three per year. | B．One in 12,000 per year. | C．80% of people who live there. |
| A．He’s scared of storms. |
| B．He’ll never visit Venezuela. |
| C．He’d be careful if he lived in the area. |
10 . “A lot of the time when climate change is discussed in mainstream media, people are asking ‘can humans overcome this?’, or ‘what technology can solve this?’. It’s high time we recognized that animals also have to adapt to various changes. We know some animals change their skin colors to escape from natural enemies or due to environment pollution,” says Ryding. “The climate change that we have created is putting a lot of pressure on them, and some species try to adapt by shapeshifting (变形). ”
Strong shapeshifting has particularly been reported in birds. Several species of Australian parrot have shown, on average, a 4%—10% increase in beak (鸟喙) size since 1871, and this is positively linked with the summer temperature each year. North American dark-eyed juncos, a type of small songbird, had a link between increased beak size and short-term temperature extremes in cold environments. There have also been reported changes in mammalian species. Researchers have reported tail length increases in wood mice and leg size increases in masked shrews (鼩鼱).
“The increases in some body parts size we see so far are quite small—less than 10%—so the changes are unlikely to be immediately noticeable,” says Ryding. “However, some body parts such as ears are predicted to increase.”
Ryding intends to investigate shapeshifting in Australian birds firsthand by 3D scanning museum bird specimens from the past 100 years. It will give her team a better understanding of which birds are changing their body parts and why. “Shapeshifting does not mean that animals are coping with climate change and that all is ‘fine’,” says Ryding. “It just means they are adapting to survive it—but we’re not sure what the other ecological consequences of these changes are, or indeed that all species are capable of changing and surviving. ”
1. What may cause animals’ shapeshifting according to Ryding?| A．Human hunting. | B．Climate change. |
| C．Natural enemies. | D．Polluted surroundings. |
| A．Giving examples. | B．Cause-effect analysis. |
| C．Making comparison. | D．Process analysis. |
| A．Animals can well adapt to changes and survive. |
| B．Influence of animals’ shapeshifting is uncertain. |
| C．Rdying will research into bird museums in Australia. |
| D．All adaptations of animals to climate change are beneficial. |
| A．Technology. | B．Health care. | C．Environment. | D．Education. |
