1 . New Zealand’s government released its first-ever climate adaptation plan, which includes the possibility of moving some communities to higher ground. But the six-year plan, which runs nearly 200 pages, is short of some important details, including how much the changes will cost and who will pay.

Climate Change Minister James Shaw said that about 70,000 coastal homes in New Zealand were at risk from rising seas, and many more inland homes were at risk from flooding rivers. He said New Zealand had been slow to adapt to climate change, which would end up costing more money over time. “I am frustrated that for the last three decades, successive governments have not paid any attention in any real form to the challenges that we face from the effects of climate change,” Shaw said.

The National Adaptation Plan includes the possible relocation of low-lying homes and assets as rising seas and increased storms make flooding more common. “In some highly exposed areas, the risk from natural hazard and climate impacts may become intolerable,” the report says. The report says that a “managed retreat (撤离)” from such areas will often be considered a last resort, to be used in combination with other adaptations such as installing seawalls and raising houses on stilts.

Shaw said the costs for adaptation would be borne by a combination of homeowners, insurers, banks, local councils and central government. He said the government was taking hardship into account, and would target help to those least able to pay for changes themselves. The plan also aims to make climate-change data more widely accessible, which in some cases could impact insurance rates and property prices.

Luke Harrington, a senior lecturer in climate change at the University of Waikato, said in a statement the report was a timely reminder that New Zealand needed to deal not only with rising seas, but also with other climate impacts such as more severe droughts and extreme rainfall. “This National Adaptation Plan is a great first step towards dealing with some of these challenges, though paucity remains in some of the details,” he said.

1. What does the climate adaptation plan of New Zealand include?

A．The investors of the plan.	B．The cost of carrying out the plan.
C．All details about adapting to climate change.	D．Moving some communities to higher ground.

2. Which of the following statements would James Shaw agree with?

A．Many New Zealanders were threatened by climate change.

B．New Zealand had taken fast measures to climate change.

C．New Zealand had invested much money to climate change.

D．Many governments have made efforts to deal with the challenges.

3. How many adaptations to climate change are mentioned in the text?

A．One.

B．Two.

C．Three.

D．Four.

4. Which of the following can replace the underlined word “paucity” in the last paragraph?

A．Satisfaction.

B．Shortage.

C．Attraction.

D．Chance.

2 . Antioxidants (抗氧化剂) are found naturally inn plants like blueberries, blackberries, and red cabbage. Scientists believe antioxidants may help prevent heart disease and help fight against diseases like diabetes. But tomatoes naturally only have a small amount of antioxidants in them.

British scientist Cathie Martin wanted to see if she could create tomatoes with lots of antioxidants by changing the DNA of a tomato plant.

A plant developed from specially created DNA is known as a GMO, or “genetically modified organism”. For hundreds of years, farmers have created new kinds of plants by mixing existing plants together using natural methods. GMO plants are different because the plants’ DNA has been changed by scientists. Scientists who do this usually think they’re improving the plants in some way.

After working on developing purple tomatoes for years, Dr. Martin’s experiment worked. Soon her plants were producing small purple tomatoes. Though the color is unusual, what’s really special about the tomatoes is that they have very high levels of antioxidants. Even better, the tomatoes remained fresh almost twice as long as normal tomatoes. Soon, Dr. Martin and other scientists created a company to promote the tomatoes.

The company tested its tomatoes on mice that were likely to get cancer. The mice who were fed the purple tomatoes lived about 30% longer than the mice who were fed normal tomatoes. Though that’s good news, experiments on mice don’t always predict what effects on humans will be like.

And GMO products weren’t popular with customers. Many people were scared by the idea that the foods weren’t “natural”. There are still questions about the effects of GMO crops on the environment and other plants, but most scientists agree that food from GMO crops is safe to eat.

On September 7, the government approved a GMO plant designed to target human health. Dr. Martin and her company plan to introduce the tomatoes at farmers’ markets across the US in 2023. They also hope to sell the seeds to people who want to grow their own.

1. What is the function of paragraph 1?

A．To define a concept.

B．To bring in the topic of the text.

C．To add background information.

D．To introduce the benefits of antioxidants.

2. What makes purple tomatoes really special?

A．Their medical value.	B．Their delicious flavor.
C．Their proper size.	D．Their pleasant color.

3. Why are GMO foods refused by people?

A．They are expensive to buy.

B．They are intended for animals.

C．They are thought to be harmful.

D．Their appearance isn’t appealing.

4. What is the government’s attitude towards GMO crops?

A．Opposed.

B．Unclear.

C．Positive.

D．Concemed.

3 . Imagine if we could turn items that would normally be thrown in the dustbin into warm, waterproof blankets—a young girl from Wales is doing just that!

Twelve-year-old Alyssa Faith has spent the past year collecting abandoned chip bags which she then transforms into foil (箔纸) warming blankets. She donates them, along with toiletries and other essentials, to organizations that support people who are unhoused throughout Wales and as far as Ukraine. So far, she’s turned over 10,000 chips bags into 200+ blankets!

Alyssa got the idea to make these innovative blankets from a Facebook story about Pen Huston of East Sussex, England. Pen started a Crisp Packet Project to make survival bags with foil blankets and gives them to those in need throughout the United Kingdom.

As a budding environmentalist, Alyssa thinks there’s an added bonus to using chip bags. “Crisp packets are really hard to recycle, so this is a new way to stop them going in the bin,” she said.

For each bag, she starts by opening the packet and washing it, which is her least favorite part, then she places four packets on a piece of parchment paper (羊皮纸) and irons them so they stick together. The last step is placing the packets between the clear plastic and ironing them to seal it all together. The result is a foil blanket similar to the ores used in emergencies. It takes Alyssa about an hour and a half to make each blanket, and her mom says the project keeps her out of trouble!

“She makes the blankets after school—it certainly keeps her away from her phone,” said Alyssa’s mom, Darlene Dean. “She’s passionate about the environment, and the homeless support organizations in North Wales have been very positive about the blankets.”

This young lady is really going places! We love that she’s channeling her skills towards helping others in such a huge, meaningful way. Keep up the great work, Alyssa!

1. What inspired Alyssa to make foil blankets?

A．Others’ similar behavior.

B．Her passion for recycling.

C．The sight of the poor homeless.

D．Her mother’s encouragement.

2. What is an extra advantage of the foil blankets?

A．It prevents cold.

B．It offers comfort.

C．It benefits the environment.

D．It provides recyclable items.

3. What is mainly talked about in paragraph 5?

A．The challenge of using chip bags.

B．The process of making foil blankets.

C．The efforts Alyssa and her mom made.

D．The materials used in making blankets.

4. What is the main purpose of the text?

A．To introduce Crisp Packet Project.

B．To appeal for love and care.

C．To call on people to save energy.

D．To sing the praises of Alyssa’s kindness.

5 . Many of the vegetables we grow in our gardens produce seeds (种子), which can grow into plants if collected and stored correctly. Late summer is the perfect time to start collecting them.

Make sure the seeds are from plants that you have planted well for many years. These are plants in their normal forms.    1    

Hybridized (杂交) plants usually produce the vegetables sold in big food stores.They are created from two or more different kinds of plants to get the best qualities of each. Trying to grow seeds from these plants will not lead to happy results. This kind of plants will not have the expected results but instead carry the genes (基因) of just one of its parents.    2    For this reason, it is best not to grow seeds from store-bought food.

Many plants become cross-pollinated (异花授粉) in the garden. Bees, flies, animals and wind spread pollen (花粉) from one plant to another. To ensure the seeds will grow into plants, give them space.     3    

To avoid cross-pollination surprises, plant only one kind of each vegetable from which you can harvest seeds.    4    Grow only one kind of tomato in your garden. If that feels too limiting, go ahead and experiment. Choose plants that grow well every year so there are smaller risks from cross-pollination. The plants will be fine even if they are not what you expected.

    5    Add something to the container to prevent any remaining wetness. But take it out after a few days to avoid over drying the seeds.

A．When will the seeds come off the flower?

B．It is impossible to tell which parent that will be.

C．What should you do if you want to save tomato seeds?

D．Their seeds will produce plants as good as their parents.

E．Put seeds in a cool, dry place in a covered glass container.

F．Place different kinds of the same crop as far apart as possible.

G．In areas with cold winters, simply leave plants in the ground over winter.

6 . A Natural History of the Future

Over the past century, humans have made great technological achievements with which we have found ways to control nature. From river dams (大坝)to huge one-crop fields, we continue to try to change nature for our goals so much that it seems we may be in danger of influencing it seriously.

In A Natural History of the Future, biologist Rob Dunn thinks that nothing could be further from the truth: rather than asking whether nature will let us live, we’d better ask whether we will let nature last. Although we try our best, or worst, to control the biological world, life has its own laws, and no matter what man does, he cannot change them.

Explaining several basic laws of ecology (生态), Dunn shows why life cannot be stopped. We grow one single crop on the field, only to find new life appearing to attack them. We throw away poisonous (有毒的) waste, only to find microbes (微生物) taking it over. And even in the London Tube, we have seen a new type of mosquito appear to take advantage of a place that is clearly not fit to live. Life will not follow our plans. Instead, Dunn shows us the future of living things and the challenges that the next generation may face.

A Natural History of the Future sets a new standard for understanding the different kinds of life and our future as a kind of creature.

Weight: 478g

Size: 223 ×146 ×33mm

Price:£ 25.00

Ways to Buy: They can be got in bookstores and online.

1. What does the author think of humans’ scientific achievements?

A．They help humans beat nature.

B．They do good to nature in many ways.

C．They may change nature too much.

D．They are developed too slowly.

2. Which of the following agrees with the idea in the book?

A．Living things like poisonous waste.

B．Life will be out of control in the future.

C．Life can live in any living conditions.

D．Living things have their own rules to follow.

3. Who may be most probably interested in the book introduced in the text?

A．Historians.

B．Naturalists.

C．Businessmen.

D．Artists.

7 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

The Dog Who Saved Our Family

We met Max at the pickup area of Alaska Airlines five years ago. He was a standard poodle(狮子狗)born on Valentine’s Day in 2017， and came to us in a small blue box. We had adopted him from an out-of-state raiser who posted the news on the social network. Our only request was that he have a calm behavior, able to bear the pushing and hugging of our eight-year-old daughter and six-year-old son.

We were a sweet little family:me,my husband, and our children, Sophie and Jake. But for years I’d felt as if we wouldn’t really be complete until we had a dog. Also, my husband worked in a business company and had to travel some 200 days a year for his job, and I knew I’d feel safer with a large animal sleeping by the door.

When we opened the box, the last piece of our puzzle fell into place. With his black hair and intelligent eyes,Max was beautiful. He was so small that he fit into the palm of my hand, his big paws lapping over the sides. He was also a little bit scared. As I pulled him close,I felt his heart pound and wondered if we’d done the right thing, taking him from his mother. But it was too late. Sophie and Jake were already fighting over who would hold him next and who should have the right to take a bath for him.

Over the following months, we spent endless hours watching Max play with his Kong toy or roll around the living room floor. Like most poodles, he was smart. He mastered house-training quickly and never chewed on our furniture or shoes. He considered himself one of us.

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。

One night we were sleeping in the bedroom when I heard some strange noise.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

At that time,Max ran towards me.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8 . 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。

The city of Canberra     1     (date) back to 1913 when it was purposefully built to be the capital of the nation of Australia. It has grown over time to not only be the seat of the government of the nation, but also a city with     2     (it) own culture.

It sits on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin and is one of the     3     (good) places to travel to in all of Australia for anyone looking forward to     4     (find) out more about the history of the country and the people. Some of the more interesting things to see in Canberra include Australian National Botanic Gardens and kangaroos in     5     wild, which are exactly fit     6     those nature-lovers.

Visitors can enjoy themselves in Canberra, but they should try to make travel     7     (arrangement), so that they can attend any of the festival activities     8     are interesting and exciting. There are many     9     (office) and folk festivals in Canberra. Canberra Day is     10     (actual) a public holiday to celebrate the naming of Canberra. Canberra also offers the chance to learn a little bit about how Australia was formed, and how it developed.

9 . As seabird biologist Bonnie Slaton slides off a small boat and walks through high water, the brown pelicans (鹈鹕) spread their wings overhead until she reaches Raccoon Island. The narrow island is a small piece of land separating the American state of Louisiana from the Gulf of Mexico. During the seabird breeding (繁殖) season, the placer, one of the few remaining places of safety for the pelicans, is full of noise.

Twelve years ago, there were 15 low-lying islands with breeding areas for Louisiana’s state bird. However, today, only about six islands in southeastern Louisiana have brown pelican nests and the rest have disappeared underwater.

Slaton and other scientists set u cameras to observe pelican nests on the island. The cameras show that in recent years the pelicans have faced some natural disasters. The main killer of them is flooding, which can wash away all the nests, as happened in April 2021. The disappearing islands are the location of a story of successful conservation. For many years, scientists have worked to bring the pelicans beck from tally dying off.

Mike Carloss is a state wildlife biologist in Louisiana. He said he never saw brown pelicans as a child in the 1960s. Their populations had been killed by the use of DDT, a kind of farm chemical. It thinned eggshells and prevented pelicans from giving birth to young birds. The beloved birds were completely gone from Louisiana, only appearing on the state flag. But a long-running effort to save them led to the birds’ return. After DDT was stopped in the U.S. in 1972, biologists brought young pelicans from nearby Florida to let them inhabit empty islands across the Gull of Mexico again. More than 1,200 pelicans have been set free in southeastern Louisiana over 13 years.

The brown pelicans can live more than 20 years. So, the final effect of disappearing breeding areas is uncertain and it will sill take time to become clear. And the future for pelicans is uncertain on the islands.

1. What is a killer of brown pelicans?

A．The island movement.	B．The underwater noise.
C．The increase of human population.	D．The disappearance of breeding areas.

2. Why did the scientists set up cameras?

A．To stop illegal hunting.	B．To watch pelicans’ home.
C．To predict serious flooding.	D．To record the number of pelicans

3. What does the underlined word “inhabit” in paragraph 4 mean?

A．Live on.

B．Focus on.

C．Break into.

D．Look into.

4. How does the author feel about the pelicans’ future?

A．Unconcerned.

B．Doubtful.

C．Curious.

D．Proud.

10 . 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。

In the heart of modern Beijing is the Forbidden City. It served as the political center of ancient China between 1420 and 1912 and now it is     1     world famous museum.

The Forbidden City     2     (build) by Emperor Yongle, the third Ming ruler,     3     moved the capital from Nanjing to Beijng in 1403. Sources say it took a million     4     (worker) to build it between 1406 and 1420. Legend has it that the Forbidden City was redesigned to have 9, 9991/2 rooms. Half a room is missing to avoid     5     (upset) the God of Heaven. The maincolors of the Forbidden City are yellow and red. The walls, doors, and windows were     6     (most) painted in red, a symbol of     7     (happy) in Chinese culture.

The English name “Forbidden City” is a translation of the Chinese name Zijincheng. In the past, it was forbidden to ordinary people and that is     8     the Forbidden City is so named. After the Qing Dynasty, it was made a     9     (nation) museum-the Palace Museum and was open to the public. As one of the world’s largest cultural museums, the Palace Museum holds more than a million rare and valuable works of art. So do find a chance     10     (visit) it some day!