1 . Last weekend, I said goodbye to another dear old friend. We had 12 fine years together, but our relationship was becoming dysfunctional(不正常的). Unwanted emissions and serious health problems were the final straw, leaving me with no choice but to make a trip to the knacker’s(收废汽车者的)yard.
I am now car-free for the first time in 20 years, and it feels strange. When I gave up meat, I did so mainly for environmental reasons, and I didn’t miss it at all. I would like to say the same about my car, but I can’t. It was first and foremost a financial decision: keeping the old car on the road was getting too expensive.
But doing the right thing for the wrong reasons is still doing the right thing — I now have a chance to rethink how I move myself and my family around, and can try to find a more environmentally friendly means of transport.
Going car-free is, I think, a lifestyle change that many of us are going to make over the next few years, as car ownership becomes increasingly unnecessary, expensive and socially unacceptable. However, it is easier said than done. Now my car is gone. I still need to get around. But how? I already cycle to work and use public transport when appropriate. But there are some occasions when a car seems to be the only way.
I won’t buy one: I have joined a car-share program and will use taxis more often. I will hire a car if I need to drive a long distance. But then I am still travelling in fossil-fuelled cars(燃油汽车), like when I quit meat and ended up eating more cheese. I fear I may have swapped one environmental problem for another.
I am also afraid to think about the ultimate fate of my car. I have just offloaded more than a ton of metal, plastic, rubber, fabric, electronics, oil and petrol that will end up in a landfill. There are millions of similar vehicles in the UK alone that will have to go somewhere.
Maybe I am overthinking it. According to Charlie Wilson, a climate scientist at the UK’s Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, getting rid of a private car is no doubt a positive step to reduce CO2 emissions.
He points to research by the OECD’s International Transport Forum. “They showed that moving from a private vehicle fleet(车队)to a shared vehicle fleet can greatly cut the number of vehicles you need to deliver the mobility that we need and want. If that vehicle fleet is electrified, you can also bring CO2 emissions close to zero.”
So in other words, just get rid of your car.
1. What do we know about the author’s car?| A．It was old. | B．It was green. |
| C．It was his first car. | D．It was a second-hand car. |
| A．He did both for the wrong reasons. | B．He thinks both help him save money. |
| C．He considers both are right decisions. | D．He did both out of concern for the environment. |
| A．He may have to spend more on travel. |
| B．His lifestyle might be changed completely. |
| C．He might get bored with public transportation. |
| D．His decision may fail to help the environment. |
| A．It is wise to do away with old private cars. |
| B．It is very easy to deal with old private cars. |
| C．Electric cars are the solution to traffic problems. |
| D．The OECD plays a key role in promoting car-sharing. |
| A．The one of a tiger. | B．The one of a horse. | C．The one of an elephant. |
| A．Sunny. | B．Rainy. | C．Cloudy. |
4 . One day while in the forest, Margaret heard a squeak (吱吱声). She followed the sound, and in the bushes found a little fox. Margaret wanted to leave, but the fox ran after her, limping (跛行) on one leg. Margaret brought the fox to her apartment. She fed it, and decided to take it to the doctor, and then return it to the forest.
Before going to the doctor, she posted several pictures of the animal online. Many people looked at these photos. Margaret decided to read the comments under them. She thought that this cute creature could only bring warmth and joy. And in most people, these photos caused these feelings. However, there were others. They lashed out at Margaret. “You think you have done a great job, but you hurt it,” read one comment. “This is a wild animal, and it must live in the wild!”
The next day, Margaret brought the fox to the doctor. The doctor examined the animal and said that nothing could be done. An animal trap must have broken its leg in the past, and it didn’t heal (康复) properly. The doctor also said if Margaret had not taken the fox home, he would have died of hunger, since he would not have been able to hunt.
Margaret made posts about it. But people did not calm down. Some said it was nice to save a wild animal. But others argued that the apartment was not a good place even for a wounded fox. After all, he needs space. Margaret did not know what to do to satisfy everyone.
But the situation was solved. A zookeeper offered to take the fox because their animals lived in large open-air cages. Margaret agreed. She took the fox to the zoo and often visited the fox. And she was also surprised that the fox taught her a life lesson. From different points of view, any deed (行为) can look either like an absolute evil or a kind deed.
1. Why did Margaret decide to take the fox home?| A．Out of fun. | B．Out of pity. | C．Out of fear. | D．Out of thankfulness. |
| A．Blamed. | B．Stopped. | C．Helped. | D．Frightened. |
| A．The fox was saved in time. |
| B．It was illegal to kill the fox. |
| C．It was dangerous to set animal traps in the wild. |
| D．The fox should have been taken to the doctor earlier. |
| A．People are born kind. |
| B．People see things differently. |
| C．People are critical most of the time. |
| D．People should put themselves in others' shoes. |
5 . Two high school students have identified four new planets in distant space about 200-light-years from Earth, making them “the youngest astronomers” to make such a discovery.
Kartik Pingle, 16, and Jasmine Wright. 18, who both attend schools in Massachusetts, participated in the Student Research Mentoring Program (SRMP). With the help of Tansu Daylan, an MIT doctor for Astrophysics and Space Research, the students studied and analyzed data from the Transiting Exoplanct Survey Satellite (TESS). Together they focused on Tess Object of Interest (TOI) 1233, a nearby, bright sun-like star and here they found four planets rotating（旋转）around the star. “We were looking to see changes in light over time,” Pingle explained, “the idea is that if the planet transits the star, or passes in front of it, it would periodically cover up the star and decrease its brightness.”
While studying 1233, Pingle and Wright had at least hoped to find one planet but were overwhelmed with joy when a total of four were spotted. “I was very excited and very shocked.” Wright said. “We knew this was the goal of Daylan’s research, but to actually find a multi-planetary system, and be part of the discovering team, was really cool.” Three of the newly discovered planets are considered as “sub-Neptunes”, which are gaseous, but smaller than the Neptune that lives in our solar system. While observing the planets, the team determined each one completes their orbit around 1233 every six to 19.5 days. However, the fourth planet is called a “super-Earth” for its large size and rockiness this one orbits around the star in just under four days.
“We have long been studying planets beyond our solar system and with multi-planetary systems, the two young students are kind of hitting the jackpot. They are really blessed.” Daylan said. “The planets originated from the same disk of matter around the same star, but they ended up being different planets with different atmospheres and different climates due to their different orbits. So, we would like to understand the basic processes of planet formation and evolution using this planetary system.”
Daylan added that it was a “win-win” to work with Pingle and Wright on the study. “As a researcher, I really enjoy interacting with young brains that are open to experimentation and learning and have slightest bias（偏见）.”he said, “I also think it is very beneficial to high school students, since they get exposure to cutting-edge research, and this prepares them quickly for a research career.”
1. How did the two students identify the four planets？| A．By helping professor Tansu Daylan with the data. |
| B．By analyzing the change of brightness of star 1233. |
| C．By studying Neptune that lives in our solar system. |
| D．By interacting with other young talented brains. |
| A．It was made by two high school students. |
| B．It was made with an innovative approach. |
| C．It was meant to be made by Tansu Daylan. |
| D．It found the largest number of planets at a time. |
| A．Making a discovery difficultly. | B．Achieving the goal easily. |
| C．Succeeding in something luckily. | D．Performing a task carefully. |
| A．It allows the scientists to work with young people without prejudice. |
| B．It equips future astronomers with better researching abilities. |
| C．It provides more perspectives and thus boosts more discoveries. |
| D．It arouses students’ interest in exploring the unknown universe. |
6 . The Albatross (信天翁)
A What is an Albatross?
Albatrosses are the largest seabirds in existence, with wingspans (翼幅) which extend to over three metres in width. They represent a small subset of the larger group known as tube-nosed petrels, which have strong, curved sharp beaks which they use for catching fish and squid on the surface of the ocean. While there is some debate about the exact taxonomy of the species, it is agreed that there are somewhere between 21 and 24 species of albatrosses.
B A Special Breeding Site
Of these species, approximately half breed in New Zealand and about 80 percent breed (繁殖) or fish within New Zealand’s territorial waters. Six species breed only in New Zealand or on its offshore islands. One of only two mainland nesting sites for these birds in the world, for the northern royal albatross, is on the Otago Peninsula in the South Island of New Zealand; it is a popular tourist destination. Visitors can view the albatross colony (种群) from a special building which has been established beside the nesting ground and, while the site is closed during breeding season (繁殖季) , at other times it is often possible to see parents and their chicks living and feeding only metres away from human observers.
C Predators
However, there are risks to albatross chicks (幼鸟) on land. Natural predators (捕食者) such as seagulls can eat eggs and young birds, and in mainland areas there are also threats from dogs, cats and other land animals. On some offshore islands, sea lions have been observed raiding (袭击) nests for eggs. It is thought that this is a new behaviour.
D Threats (危险) for Adult Albatross
The main threats to the adult albatross occur at sea, and most of these are man-made. Albatrosses like to travel close to fishing boats, to eat the leftover scraps of fish that are dropped over the side of the boat. Sometimes, however, they also eat the bait (饵) and accidentally ingest (咽下) fish hooks (钩) , or get dragged (拖，拉) along on fishing lines and drown. The number of albatrosses that any one boat catches is small, but because there are so many fishing boats, this may have a long term impact on population numbers. It is estimated (预估) that at least 100,000 albatrosses die in this way each year. As for all sea bird species, there are other threats, such as drift nets, oil spills and rubbish such as plastic in the ocean. While there are international agreements and fishing conventions to try and protect sea birds, albatrosses are among the million or so sea birds that get caught in drift nets and die each year.
Answer the questions below. Use NO MORE THAN SIX WORDS OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.
1. What is the distance from one wing tip (翅尖) to the other of an albatross?
2. How many kinds of albatrosses are there?
3. What can people see from the special building beside the nesting site?
4. How many albatrosses die each year because of fishing boats?
Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer in the reading passage?
Write:
YES 正确
NO 错误
NOT GIVEN 没有提到
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
For nearly four months, the little dog, Indiana, fortunately survived in the woods with a wounded shoulder. She'd been mistaken for a wolf and shot while running wild with her mother, Dakota. An animal control officers said they were the most strongly bonded pair he'd even seen and the two dogs refused to leave each other's side, even while trying to escape being caught.
As a result of the gunshot, Indiana lost both her leg and her mother, for the two were sent to different adoption groups. While Indiana was learning to walk on three legs down south, Dakota was 1,000 miles north in New England. The first adoption family returned her two days later. They said the dog couldn't bond with humans, kept them up all night and wasn't suitable to live in a home. Eventually, Dakota found her forever home with me on Long Island. I have experience with such dogs, and Dakota, a husky (哈士奇犬), just needed attention and someone who understood how to approach her. I always let her come up to me. I gave her the time and space to explore and feel comfortable. She soon let me put a belt on her and would lie on the sofa with me quietly.
When I, accidentally, read the post of Dakota's first adopter, it mentioned that the little dog Dakota had been running with was shot, and, I thought, killed. I'm a broadcast news journalist, so I always did some survey and, by chance, heard a story from a South Carolina TV news outlet about a dog that recently had her front leg cut off because of an old gunshot wound. And anyone who wanted to adopt Indiana was required to have a six-foot fence because she kept jumping over the one at the care shelter in South Carolina. There was no mistaking it—she looked exactly like Dakota. Indiana wasn't killed by the gunshot, just badly injured.
1．续写词数应为150左右；
2．请在答题卡的相应位置作答。
While Dakota loved me and her new home, she still missed her kid.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I decided to bring three-legged Indiana to my home.
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8 . The climate change and environmental crises are now closely connected with our daily lives. We've collected a small selection of our favourite documentaries, charting the history and future of the challenges we face.
 | KISS THE GROUND The documentary adopts a light voice when exploring the power of the worlds soils to draw in carbon from the air. The film begins by examining how farming and pesticides have led to soil loss, tracking the damage done to ecology, health and climate. The solution is found through regenerative faming —a field receiving more and more attention. |
 | ICE ON FIRE Dramatically titled, Leonardo DiCaprio's 2019 documentary focuses on the melting polar ice caps of the Arctic. The documentary explores the planetary impact of melting ice, but intelligently includes solutions. DiCaprio explores renewable energy technologies and sustainable economies to put forward a vision for a cleaner future. |
 | CHASING CORAL It can be difficult to really understand what climate breakdown looks like. In 2017, Chasing Coral brought the very real impacts of climate change into sharp focus. The insight into the world's corals suffering from ocean acidification and temperature rise is impressive. |
 | REBUILDNG PARADISE Wildfires — once a natural regulator of ecosystems, now an increasing phenomenon thrown out of rhythm by climate change — are so frequent that many hardly consider the consequence. While it's one thing to deal with the financial loss and restoration, it's something quite different to repair the broken spirit of a community. In Rebuilding Paradise, we follow the journey of the citizens of Paradise, California, as they attempt to restart their lives from the ashes of the destructive 2018 wildfires. |
| A．KISS THE GROUND | B．ICE ON FIRE |
| C．CHASING CORAL | D．REBUILDING PARADISE |
| A．Wildfires nowadays break out as frequently as before. |
| B．Wildfires have both physical and psychological impacts. |
| C．The damage caused by wildfires can never be recovered. |
| D．Wildfires do more harm to economy than to the environment. |
| A．They focus on the speed of the global warming. |
| B．They relate to the global issue of climate change. |
| C．They analyze the frequency of the natural disasters. |
| D．They present solutions to dealing with the challenges. |
9 . Do you love animals? Are you interested in spreading awareness about animal suffering around the world? Then A Voice for Animals is perfect for you! Check out what past winners are doing to make a difference for animals.
Sneha Ayagari
Junior high student Sneha and her sister Raga founded the Louie Foundation, which works on issues related to the welfare of animals, wildlife and children. The organization's current project Kitabu for Kids has raised enough money to provide hundreds of textbooks for children in need in Tanzania.
Winner: 2011, First Prize
Sofia Prado
In high school, Sofia Prado founded Huaperros, a shelter and clinic in Monterrey, Mexico, for stray and companion animals. Sofia has been involved in numerous campaigns to address animal overpopulation and neglect. She ran a free campaign with Foundation Luca where 55 dogs and 11l cats were sterilized (绝育). Sofia was chosen to participate in "Pedigree Adoptame" as one of 32 shelter owners from around Mexico.
Winner: 2009, Best Personal Activist
Alexander "Zander" Srodes
Alexander "Zander" Srodes has been teaching students about sea turtle conservation since he was 11 and has developed a turtle activity book Turtle Talks read by more than 200, 00 children in 10 countries. Winner: 2008, Best Personal & Active Involvement. Jenifer Yost
Jennifer was 14 when she started her own bird rescue. She did a lot of research on the needs of birds and then got her certification as a Veterinary Assistant.
Winner:2010, Best Personal & Active Involvement.
1. Which of the following donated some textbooks to school Kids?| A．Huaperrros. | B．Fundacion Luca. |
| C．The Louie Foundation. | D．Pedigree Adoptame. |
| A．Sneha Ayyagari. | B．Sofia Prado. |
| C．Jennifer Yost. | D．Alexander “Zander" Srodes. |
| A．In 2008. | B．In 2009. |
| C．In 2010. | D．In 2011. |
10 . When a package from an e-commerce shopping platform arrives on the doorstep, how many of us think about where it comes from?
It is not merely the “last mile”—the delivery, which adds to our carbon footprints but every step: from when a product was made, all the way to when it makes it into our hands.
1. Package design
When we think about a single package, the amount of tape used to secure each one might seem insignificant.
2. Green warehousing (储仓)
Behind an efficient operation are large, highly-automated warehouses. In some of the automated areas, robots can operate in the dark, so there is no need for lighting systems.
| A．The answer is probably not too many. |
| B．It is impossible for one party to achieve this on their own. |
| C．Put simply, the supply chain is extremely carbon intensive (密集的). |
| D．Actions were taken to ensure a responsible and recycled process. |
| E．But what if we are talking about the billions of parcels used in this industry? |
| F．One solution is using packaging boxes that can be circulated throughout the ecosystem. |
| G．The rain collection system below the warehouses serves as a source of water supply. |
