The Dujiangyan is the oldest man-made water system in the world, and a wonder in the development of Chinese agriculture.
In ancient times, the region where Dujiangyan now stands
Once the system
In my entire life, I have never witnessed an environmental disaster like the
3 . The Silk Road is arguably the most famous long-distance trade route of the ancient world. This passage connected Europe in the West with China in the East, and allowed the exchange of goods, technology, and ideas between the two civilizations. Although merchants could make huge profits travelling the road, it was not without risk.
The main Silk Road started in Chang’an (known today as Xi’an), the early Han capital. Travelers commencing their journey from this city could take a northern route that would take them across China’s northwestern provinces. After this, they would face the Gobi Desert, arguably the greatest danger of the Silk Road.
The Gobi Desert, the largest desert in Asia, consists mainly of rocky, hard earth. This feature made it easier for traders to travel across, compared to sandy deserts like the neighboring Taklamakan Desert. Like other deserts, the Gobi Desert is dry and hot, and therefore the biggest challenge travelers faced was obtaining enough water for themselves as well as for their camels.
So, rest stops were created along the route, allowing travelers to rest, eat and drink. These places also promoted the exchange of goods, and even ideas, amongst the travelers who stopped there. Usually, the rest stops were placed within a day’s journey of each other. In this way, travelers could avoid spending too much time in the desert, which would make them targets for robbers, another danger of the Silk Road.
Once through the Gobi Desert, travelers would continue their journey into Iran, Turkey, and finally Europe. While this part of the journey may have been less dangerous, it is not entirely without its perils (风险).
1. The underlined word “it” in the first paragraph refers to _________.| A．making huge profits | B．traveling the Silk Road |
| C．exchanging goods and ideas | D．connecting different civilizations |
| A．The desert’s surface was easier to walk on. |
| B．Camels for transportation were easier to find. |
| C．It was smaller and could be crossed in less time. |
| D．There were more natural water sources available. |
| A．Travelers were offered free accommodation. |
| B．They were located around the edges of the desert. |
| C．They were shared by travelers from different countries. |
| D．Exchanging goods and ideas there was entirely without risk. |
| A．The origins of the Silk Road. |
| B．The benefits of the Silk Road. |
| C．The difficulties faced by Silk Road travelers. |
| D．The cultural exchanges among Silk Road travelers. |
4 . The herd of 14 wild Asian elephants wandering around in southwestern China's Yunnan province successfully went through the last natural barrier on its way home and returned to its traditional habitat in Pu' er city on Friday.
At 1 am, the elephants, which had left their habitat in Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve, crossed the Babian River and entered Ning'er county in Pu' er city, one of the three major habitats of Asian elephants in Yunnan. The northbound trip, lasting about 18 months, finally ended without any harm to either the elephants or local residents. The herd departed from its traditional habitat in Xishuangbanna Dai autonomous district last year and started traveling north in April. It passed through eight counties in the province during the journey. In June, it eventually reached the suburbs of Kunming, the provincial capital.
The herd started its journey with 16 members, but three of them dropped out, while two calves were born on the journey. In June, a bull elephant broke away from the group and wandered off on his own. In July, the bull elephant was lifted into a cage on the back of a truck and returned to Xishuangbanna.
The Asian elephant is listed as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The animal, which can be found in the areas of Yunnan bordering Myanmar and Laos, is also under first-class State protection in China. Shen Qingzhong, a senior engineer from the Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve, said it's inevitable（难免的）that the elephants will make another journey in the future as migration is a normal activity for elephants. “Historically, Asian elephants used to live in many parts of the country. Migration is in their nature. It helps the species expand its territory and have more chances to improve its gene pool by mating with different groups,” he said.
The forestry department and the provincial government plan to develop a national park, which aims to provide habitat protection for the elephants and a balanced relationship with residents.
1. Which of the following is True?| A．The elephants finally settled in the downtown of Kunming. |
| B．The journey took the elephants over two years. |
| C．The elephants' habitat is far away from Kunming. |
| D．The elephants moved towards the south of Yunnan. |
| A．13. | B．14. |
| C．15. | D．16. |
| A．Elephants can benefit from migration. |
| B．Migration is an abnormal activity for elephants. |
| C．Elephants have less chances to improve their gene. |
| D．Elephants used to live in its territory. |
| A．Elephants in Yunnan. | B．How to protect the elephants. |
| C．The activities of the elephants. | D．Elephants return from the journey. |
5 . Marco Springmann and his colleagues, at the Oxford Martin School's Future of Food Programme, built computer models that predicted what would happen if everyone became vegetarian by 2050. The results indicate that if the world went vegan, the greenhouse gas emissions declines would be around 70%.
In the US, for example, an average family of four emits more greenhouse gases because of the meal they eat than from driving two cars——but it is cars, not steaks, that regularly come up in discussions about global warming.
Food, especially livestock, also takes up a lot of room. 68% of agricultural land in the world is used for livestock. When these lands become grasslands and forests, they would capture carbon dioxide and further ease climate change.
However, if the whole world went vegan, there would be negative effects too. First, it is necessary to keep livestock for environmental purposes. "I'm sitting here in Scotland where the Highlands' environment is very man-made and based largely on grazing by sheep," says Peter Alexander, a researcher in socio-ecological systems modeling at the University of Edinburgh. "If we took all the sheep away, the environment would look different and there would be a potential negative impact on biodiversity. "
Plus, meat is an important part of history , tradition and cultural identity. Numerous groups around the world give livestock gifts at weddings, celebratory dinners such as Christmas with turkey or roast beef.
And nowadays, moderation in meal-eating's frequency and portion size is key to solving these conflicts. "Certain changes would encourage us to make healthier and more environmentally friendly dietary decisions," says Springmann, "like putting a higher price lag on meat and making fresh fruits and vegetables cheaper. "
In fact, clear solutions already exist for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the livestock industry. What is lacking is the will to implement those changes.
1. What can we infer from the underlined sentence in the second paragraph?| A．Driving cars is more dangerous than eating steaks in the US. |
| B．Our dietary choices affecting climate change is often underestimated. |
| C．People compare the greenhouse gas emissions of the cars and steaks. |
| D．Cars affect the global warming more seriously than the steaks. |
| A．To show the important impact of livestock on the environment. |
| B．To show his work as a researcher in the socio-ecological systems. |
| C．To encourage people to take all the sheep back for environmental purpose. |
| D．To point out the negative impact of the sheep on the biodiversity. |
| A．It is hard to please all. |
| B．Don't put all your eggs in one basket. |
| C．One cannnot see the wood for the trees. |
| D．Everything is a double-edged sword. |
| A．A biology textbook. | B．A health magazine. |
| C．A scientific journal. | D．An educational review. |
1. 野生动物的现状（过度猎捕）；
2. 保护建议（建保护区、提高保护意识等）；
3. 美好愿景。
注意：1. 词数80左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3. 开头和结尾已经写好，不计入总词数。
参考词汇：自然保护区nature reserve 意识awareness
Good morning, everyone!
I’m very glad to give a speech today. The topic of my speech is…
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Thank you!
“Animals are a who, not a what,” animal advocates say. Animal rights activists, including Jane Goodall, want writers —
Animals are a part of some of the most important
Jane Goodall points out that when she
“But we know that animals feel joy, pain
8 . In a recent study, researchers at Germany’s Technical University of Munich（TUM）find that trees in cities can grow up 25% faster than their country cousins. This is believed to be a direct result of the heat island effect, which is a situation where the temperature of the city is higher than the nearby rural areas. It’s mostly caused by the fact that buildings, roads, and many other things in the city take in a lot of sunlight and send out the sun’s heat more than natural landscapes such as forests and water bodies. A secondary cause is waste heat produced by heavy uses of energy.
For the study, TUM researchers studied 1,400 trees in 10 cities around the world, which were found in both city centers and nearby rural areas. Based on tree ring study, researchers found that city trees are growing faster than their rural cousins. But before the 1960s, both city and rural trees grew at about the same speed.“We can show that city trees of the same age are generally larger than rural trees because they grow faster. While the difference is about a quarter at the age of 50, it is still just under 20% at a hundred years of age,” lead author Hanz Pretzch says.
Researchers from TUM also found that in some cities, higher-than-normal temperatures have led to growing seasons that are more than eight days longer than the norm. This sounds like a good thing. But while fast -growing city trees are busy taking in CO2and providing relief from the heat, they’ re also aging and dying at a faster speed than rural trees. As a result, these trees need to be replaced and replanted more frequently.
Considering the valuable “ecosystem services” that city trees provide, planning and management should follow to make a change with today’s tree growth speed. Pretzch and his team set out to perform the study largely in response to United Nation’s report that the world’s cities will experience population growth of more than 60% by 2030. And with such fast growth comes a great need for city trees that make these cities better places to live in.
1. What does the first paragraph mainly tell us?| A．Cities need more trees to reduce the temperatures. |
| B．Humans lead to trees growing faster in cities. |
| C．Trees need scientific planting in rural areas. |
| D．Greenhouse effect is too serious in cities. |
| A．Rural trees live twice longer than city trees. |
| B．City trees live for about 100 years at most. |
| C．Rural trees live much longer now than in the 1960s. |
| D．City trees grow faster at early years. |
| A．Cities suffer more easily from natural disasters. |
| B．The temperatures in cities will fall greatly. |
| C．City trees have a shorter life circle. |
| D．More people move to rural areas. |
| A．Taking better care of urban trees |
| B．Planting more trees in urban areas |
| C．More researches to be done on urban trees |
| D．Urban trees growing faster than rural trees |
In Africa, the honeyguide birds can respond to human calls to lead people to honey—what scientists describe as a mutualistic interaction, or one that benefits both creatures. The birds tweet and fly from tree to tree to guide honey seekers to hidden bee nests, typically inside trees. Then, humans open the trees to find honey, and the birds can dine on beeswax, their favorite food. |  |
Dogs have an excellent sense of smell, which is why the folks at Penn Vet Working Dog Center are training dogs to identify the smell of cancer using tissue and blood samples from people who suffer. The scientists hope to develop a way for dogs to screen samples first, then perform follow-up testing on the samples the dogs flagged—a system for spotting cancer in its early stages. |  |
Having a snake wrapped around your neck isn’t necessarily what you usually expect. But Monty, a 13-year-old snake has been helping customers relax with neck massages(按摩). It’s unlikely he was trained to do the job and is just pulsating like any other snake would when around a person’s neck. Regardless, this special snake books out a few weeks in advance. |  |
The Guide Horse Foundation has been training miniature horses (those standing 34 inches or less) as assistance animals for the visually damaged since 1999. Miniature horses are ideal service animals for people who feel uncomfortable with dogs or who want a guide animal with a longer life span. The horses typically live from 30 to 40 years. |  |
1. According to the text, which animal can help you relax?
| A．A snake. | B．A dog. |
| C．A honeyguide bird. | D．A miniature horse. |
| A．blind people who dislike dogs | B．blind people who can live longer |
| C．animal lovers who search for honey | D．animal lovers who suffer from cancer |
| A．special training | B．great potentials |
| C．unique jobs | D．high intelligence |
1. 时间、地点、主讲人及参加对象；
2. 讲座意义；
3. 注意事项。
注意：写作词数应在80词左右。
Dear Jim,
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Yours,
Li Hua
