1 . In Northwestern Italy, rice farms are employing bats. Bats are the foremost known predators of insects that are active at night, including several pests that can be found in rice fields. "The idea is that what is needed to achieve sustainable food production is what we already have, but has been ignored for a decade," says Laura Garzoli, 2017 winner of BCFN Young Earth Solutions.
“It has been predicted that, globally, 50 percent of pest species have become pests because chemicals killed their natural predators. There is no sustainability in the long term if there are no conservation efforts,” says Garzoli.
Since 2017, Garzoli, along with colleagues from the National Research Council has fixed 60 artificial bat roosts in three rice fields in Northwestern Italy. Now, they are collecting bats’ waste to analyze their diets at these sites and to gain insight into the insects living in these areas.
“In Italy, there are 34 bat species, each feeding on a variety of insects —each bat species has its preferred insect snack,”—says Garzoli. Bats can eat up to one-third of their body weight each night, which means they can consume thousands of insects per night. They are also flying hunters — they can prey on new non-native pest species.
Garzoli is committed to developing an awareness of the importance of bats in the ecosystem. "Their usefulness has been acknowledged in several countries — not only do they contribute to protecting crops, but they are important pollinators. Bats still get bad press in the news, in particular concerning the spreading of virus diseases, says Garzoli to Food Tank. She explains, "Many bat species are nowadays facing the risk of extinction.”
Garzoli is also drafting a best practice guide for farmers outlining habitat management techniques for sustainable production.
1. Why do some species become pests according to Garzoli?| A．Their habitats are endangered. | B．Ineffective chemicals are widely used. |
| C．Their natural enemies die off. | D．People are unaware of their danger. |
| A．Bats' ability to manage insects. | B．The variety of bats’ diets. |
| C．The risk of increasing foreign pests. | D．The condition of bat roosts. |
| A．An increase in unknown diseases. | B．The introduction of new crops. |
| C．Their poor adaptability to artificial homes. | D．People's misunderstanding of them. |
| A．Turn waste into treasure | B．Say yes to bats |
| C．Applaud BCFN Young Earth Solutions | D．Unlock the secrets of rice farms |
2 . Melbourne Girls’ College is getting rid of all dustbins and asking students to take their rubbish home to encourage them to move towards zero waste.
Starting next Monday, the college will gradually
The rubbish that students take home may
The college principal Karen Money acknowledges that some parents may not have the
| A．replace | B．wash | C．clean | D．remove |
| A．forbidding | B．leading | C．promising | D．allowing |
| A．give away | B．get off | C．take on | D．carry out |
| A．rewarded | B．guided | C．changed | D．hugged |
| A．creative | B．usual | C．reusable | D．plastic |
| A．even | B．still | C．then | D．ever |
| A．figures | B．flags | C．items | D．images |
| A．event | B．mess | C．heat | D．cost |
| A．inspiration | B．view | C．potential | D．example |
| A．returned | B．taken | C．offered | D．occupied |
| A．time | B．process | C．right | D．tool |
| A．keeping | B．dreaming | C．stopping | D．trying |
| A．make | B．doubt | C．talk | D．quarrel |
| A．solves | B．shows | C．faces | D．follows |
| A．effect | B．action | C．note | D．advice |
3 . In between all the measures to battle the severe air pollution in Delhi, India, there’s one more choice—a bar that has “pure air”.
Founded by Aryavir Kumar, Oxy Pure, Delhi’s first-ever oxygen bar, offers 15 minutes of 80-90 percent pure oxygen, costing $4.2. Customers are given a lightweight tube for oxygen intake. The device(装置) is placed near the customer’s nostrils(鼻孔) through which they are advised to breathe in the oxygen.
The bar also offers its customers several aromas(气味) to go with oxygen, including lemongrass, cherry and more. According to the aroma people choose, each session promises to improve sleep patterns and digestion, cure headaches, and even claims to work as a treatment for depression.
Bonny Irengbam, a senior sales assistant at the bar, said, “Some people, who try it for the first time, will feel relaxed and fresh. But only people who do this regularly will get real benefits. By saying “regularly”, I mean once or twice a month. We don’t encourage back-to-back sessions, as increased levels of oxygen in the body can make a person dizzy.”
Dr. Rajesh Chawla, a senior doctor at the Apollo Hospital, said, “Even if you breathe in the so-called pure oxygen for two hours in a day, you will go back to breathing the polluted air for the rest of the 22 hours. The concept is purely money-driven.”
Recalling the first few months of the bar, Irengbam admitted that people were skeptical. “Many people criticized, saying we were selling air. Others were simply scared to breathe through the tube.”
Irengbam said the bar saw a significant rise in the number of customers two to three days after Diwali, an Indian festival mainly celebrated by fireworks and lights, as the pollution levels were high.
1. Which of the following can replace “back-to-back” in Paragraph 4?| A．Once-a-month. | B．One-after-another. |
| C．Once-and-for-all. | D．Once-in-a-while. |
| A．Positive. | B．Doubtful. | C．Unconcerned. | D．Ambiguous. |
| A．It was not well received at first. | B．It will always cause side effects. |
| C．It surely has a promising future. | D．It can cure people of depression. |
| A．To explain how to breathe in the oxygen. |
| B．To advertise for Aryavir Kumar’s business. |
| C．To show people’s responses to the device. |
| D．To introduce the first oxygen bar in India. |
Today, we buy more clothing
Fast fashion clothing is designed to fall apart fast,
Businesses can be environmental-friendly, too. For example, an online clothing store promises
Covering 7 million square kilometers of jungle and river over eight countries, the Amazon Rainforest is home to millions of sorts of plants and animals, some of
The Amazon Basin
With the destruction of the Amazon Rainforest, global warming becomes more of a threat. It is up to each individual to fight against the
6 . High on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau lies China’s “Water tower” Sanjiangyuan.
Sanjiangyuan National Park is a model of eco-protection.
The idea of a national park system is still new in China, but it must be realized. As President Xi wrote in the congratulatory letter to the forum, “Building an ecological civilization bears great significance in the development and progress of human civilization.” With great efforts, people may one day be able to enjoy themselves in the vast lands of Sanjiangyuan and run freely across the plains alongside nature’s animals.
| A．However, we have realized the damage. |
| B．It’s home to the headwater of China’s three big rivers. |
| C．Unfortunately, the situation has got worse and worse. |
| D．It attracts visitors with its fantastic nature beauty and various wildlife. |
| E．The park has increased the area’s green coverage and attracted more wildlife. |
| F．Hopefully, the success of Sanjiangyuan will mark the start of a greener future. |
| G．The local government has different ways of slowing environmental damage. |
7 . An air-conditioner has become a sign of middle-class status in developing nations. But as air-conditioners appear from windows and storefronts across the world, scientists are becoming increasingly alarmed about the impact of the gases on which they run.
The oldest CFC coolants used in air-conditioners, which are highly damaging to the ozone layer, have been largely rejected from use; and the newest ones, used widely in industrialized nations, have little or no effect on the ozone layer. But these newest gases have an another impact — they contribute to global warming thousands of times more than CO2 does, the standard greenhouse gas. Indeed, the leading scientists in the field have just calculated that if all the equipment entering the world market uses the newest gases currently employed in air-conditioners, up to 27 percent of all global warning will result from those gases by 2050.
So the treatment to cure one global environmental disaster is now seeding another. "There is precious little time to do something, to act," said Stephen O. Andersen, the co-chairman of an international organization's technical and economic advisory panel.
Promising technologies wait, blocked in the wings. In China and a few other countries, room air-conditioners using hydrocarbons — which cause little warming or ozone damage — are already coming off assembly lines in small numbers but have not yet been approved for sale, in part because the chemicals are flammable (易燃的).Yet in Europe, refrigerators that cool with hydrocarbons have been in use for years, and some companies in the United States, such as Pepsi and Ben and Jerry's, have recently changed in-store coolers from HFCs to hydrocarbons as part of sustainability plans. But the patent is being argued. And some governments have still not finished safety testing.
Mr. Wypior, whose agency is trying to promote climate-friendly air-conditioning industries in India and China, said: “The technologies are available. They're well known. They're proven— though not at scale. So why aren't we moving?”
1. What's Paragraph 2 mainly about?| A．Air-conditioners' influence on the ozone layer. |
| B．Scientist's efforts to control the greenhouse gases. |
| C．The seriousness of global warning faced by the whole world. |
| D．The harmful effect of the newest gases used in air-conditioners. |
| A．These newest gases are used in the wrong direction. |
| B．These newest gases should be banned from producing |
| C．These newest gases will lead to global warming. |
| D．These newest gases carry both benefits and harms.. |
| A．Hydrocarbons are mainly used in refrigerators. |
| B．People are still arguing about their security. |
| C．Hydrocarbons are not friendly to the environment. |
| D．Most countries haven't mastered the related technologies. |
| A．Positive. | B．Negative. |
| C．Unconcerned. | D．Indifferent. |
8 . Having lived in California until 1970, my family has felt a number of earthquakes. We have been fortunate, however, to have suffered no bodily harm or property damage.
There is a website that lists all Californian earthquakes recorded from 1769 to the present. The site lists the dates and time as well as the magnitude (震级) and the exact location of any earthquake that measured more than 6.0. There are only a few earthquakes that stand out in my memory and, luckily, none is shown in the website. So, my personal experience with earthquakes might be considered insignificant.
There are three earthquakes that are difficult to forget. The first one was in 1955 and our oldest daughter was walking with me in our backyard in Redwood City in California. As the shaking became stronger, I held her to me with one arm as I held on to one of our fruit trees with the other. All three of us (my daughter, I and the tree) shook for two or three minutes that to us felt like hours.
The second one was in 1963. Our entire family was visiting Disneyland in Southern California. The earth started to shake just as we were beginning to walk from our hotel towards the famous landmark.
My third experience with an earthquake was a lonely one in California. It was in my sixties and I was alone in an old church. As the building started to shake, I quickly headed for the door to go outside. I remember I said a few prayers—something like “Help me get out of here in time, dear Heavenly Father.” Minutes later, I was safe outside.
1. The author writes the passage mainly to tell us about ________.| A．a new film about an earthquake | B．how to survive an earthquake |
| C．his three earthquake experiences | D．how to save children in an earthquake |
| A．all caused bodily harm | B．are all recorded in a website |
| C．all measured more than 6.0 | D．all happened in California |
| A．was staying with his daughter | B．was planting fruit trees |
| C．was holding on to a tree for hours | D．was in a hotel |
| A．A church. | B．Disneyland. |
| C．A building destroyed by an earthquake. | D．The place where the author was born. |
9 . Do you remember that story about the little girl who goes to visit her grandmother and meets a big, bad wolf along the way? Or perhaps you remember the story of the three little pigs who build three houses to protect themselves from a wolf?
The reality behind the fairy tales is that people feared wolves. Hunting and killing coming from hatred almost caused the animals to die out. Wolves needed a fairy mother — and that is what Brookfield Zoo in Chicago is for wolves and their puppies.
Being a fairy mother to wolves is not easy. Brookfield Zoo replaced iron-barred cubicles (小隔间) with safe habitats, which are not merely attractive to the zoo visitor, but more importantly, are contributing to the normal behavior and reproduction of the animals. The wolves have a large area to run and play in, places to hide and sleep in, and hills to climb with lots of grass and trees around them.
A fairy mother’s job is to make dreams magically come true and part of the magic is being invisible. The people who take care of the wolves hide themselves and the food and toys in places where the wolves can dig them up and find them on their own, so they feel more like they are living in nature.
Fairy tales are just stories. Wolves don' t dress up as grandmothers, nor have they blown a house down. Wolves aren’t scary at all, and in fact, they are more afraid of humans than we are of them.
The wolves have a great life at Brookfield Zoo. Maybe they will stay at Brookfield Zoo, but it would be nice to see them live back in nature again, too. If we all work together, maybe we can make this fairy tale come true for the wolves.
1. What are the two stories used to show?| A．Wolves are dangerous to humans. |
| B．People' s false impression of wolves. |
| C．The important role of Brookfield Zoo. |
| D．Wolves are a popular subject of literature. |
| A．Visitor-interactive. | B．Mountainous. |
| C．Remote. | D．Natural-looking. |
| A．They are wolf researchers. |
| B．They are welcomed by the wolves. |
| C．They play hide-and-seek with the wolves. |
| D．They keep themselves out of the wolves sight. |
| A．Living in the wild. |
| B．Being taken good care of. |
| C．Staying at Brookfield Zoo. |
| D．Being afraid of humans no more. |
10 . As we "happen to be" the best creature in the world, it's our duty to look after other species. Here are some points which might help to protect wildlife.
Join organizations like Greenpeace and World Wildlife Fund. They have devoted themselves to protecting the earth and its animals. Many volunteers join organizations like these and work for the environment.
Recycle and reuse. It will reduce the need to have more raw materials to produce something like paper or tissue.
Governments should create more safe zones and national parks for wild animals.
I hope you find this post helpful. Share your views about this issue and let your voice be heard.
| A．Stop hunting for pleasure. |
| B．Feedback to the government. |
| C．As a result, fewer trees will be cut down. |
| D．You can build a bird house and feed local birds. |
| E．Refuse fur coats and medicines made from rare animals. |
| F．You can find some organizations like these and join them. |
| G．There they will be able to move freely without worrying about hunters. |
