I have a passion for fishing and animal protection, which can date back to my childhood. When I was young, my father was a fish and wildlife officer, so he traveled all over the province in the spring and fall. He loved his job, especially the part where he protected nature from human.
He’d taught me to fish alone, in silence, lost in my own thoughts.
I still remembered that special day. Midweek, even in late August, no one was around. Police Outpost Lake is as far as you can go and still be in Canada. Songbirds, ducks, and Canada geese glided (滑翔) by on the breeze, touching down briefly on the water’s surface before flapping and quacking their way back up into the sky, passing in front of the sun, temporarily blocking its warming rays.
“How can I get the fish with these birds making noise?” I complained, rod (鱼竿) in my hand.
“Be patient, Jacob. Birds won’t disturb you.”
Out of the corner of my eyes, I suddenly caught a glimpse of a few great northern loons (潜鸟) stayed together not far from the shoreline. Dad once told me loon usually travel alone, but here were five of them in a group. Maybe it was a family? One loon, making odd sounds, swam away from the group, towards me.
This is unusual.
“Dad! Come here! Take a look at this loon!”
Hearing this, dad laid his rod down on the dirty sand, walking quickly towards me.
The loon rested in the shallow water near shore, not ten feet away from us. It was so close, we could see its red eyes.
“Look at that beak (喙)!”I said. “It could easily hurt us to death with that thing! It could tear our faces! Blind our eyes!”
Walking into the water, getting closer to the loon, we both saw thin wire wrapped around its neck. Fishing line maybe? Was there a hook(钩子)on the line, too? Was the loon asking us for help?
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。
Paragraph 1: Reaching down, I touched its feather, my heart racing.
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Paragraph 2: “Hurry, Dad! I can’t hold this bird forever, you know!” I said.
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2 . As AI becomes popular, researchers have noticed its influence on the environment. Training an AI system requires huge computing power and electricity, and the resulting CO2 emissions (排放) are one way AI affects the environment. But its environmental effect is more than its carbon (碳)footprint.
Jesse Dodge, a scientist at the Allen Institute, says, "The influence of Al systems is going to be from their applications, not the cost of training them." David Rolnick, a computer scientist at McGill University, compares AI to a hammer (锤子) “The main effect of a hammer is what is being hammered,” he says, "not what is in the hammer." Just like a hammer which can either destroy things or build a house, Al can hurt or help the environment.
In 2019, ExxonMobil, an oil company, said it would use Microsoft’s app Azure. With the Al technology, it would increase its production and create billions of dollars. This means Microsoft's AI is directly contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. This is not the only AI application that could be environmentally harmful. AI behind the ads that jump out on Instagram or Facebook pages pushes customers to spend more on products like clothes. This in turn causes more emissions through more production and delivery.
But on the other side of the coin, there are AI applications that can help deal with environmental problems, such as the destruction caused by hurricanes. One such application is xView2, a program started by a U. S. organization. It can recognize buildings damaged and people trapped in natural disasters, reducing danger and saving time for rescuers.
AI could be a valuable tool in the fight against climate change—if the Al industry can reduce its harmful climate effects. "Both AI and climate rules have roles to play." Rolnick says. When creating Al rules, he suggests considering its applications, emissions, and other production costs. Further, Dodge adds that those AI professionals should help set up some value systems to limit the technology's use.
1. Where does the effect of AI systems on the environment come from according to Dodge?| A．The popularity of AI. | B．The emissions of CO2. |
| C．The way of applying AI. | D．The cost of AI training. |
| A．By listing numbers. | B．By giving examples. |
| C．By comparing facts. | D．By explaining details. |
| A．Rules for AI can be helpful. | B．Al's advance should be limited. |
| C．Production costs will be lower. | D．AI plays a role in making rules. |
| A．AI applications are environmentally harmful. |
| B．AI affects the environment by CO2 emissions. |
| C．AI is effective in solving environmental problems. |
| D．AI's environmental effect goes beyond its emissions. |
One day two years ago, my mother came home from work and announced that she had found a pet for the family. My father, little sister, and I eyed her in doubt.
My sister asked what kind of dog it was. My mother said it was a poodle (贵宾犬) named Pepe. I couldn’t believe she wanted a poodle — especially one with such an ordinary name. But she had made up her mind. “Actually, I’m doing a co-worker a favor,” she said. “The woman who owns Pepe says he hates to be alone and needs children to play with him.”
Pepe arrived the next night. His short tail shook happily. I didn’t get very close to him, thinking he should have stayed with his previous owner. My little sister played with him until bedtime, and he would come to me and begged for more attention. I always ignored him. But no matter how I treated him, he’d always like to be with me. He has always been waiting for me at the front door at the end of the day, smiling happily. He seems to know that I will be coming home from school at that time. Every day, he asks me with his eyes to play with him or take him somewhere. At night, he will wait until I fall asleep, leave his bed by the wall heater, walk down the hall and jump onto the end of my bed.
One night, while everyone was sleeping, I was in a half dream state. My throat hurt, my eyes pained, and some animal was crying in my ear. I opened my eyes and saw fog in my room. I wondered who left the window open. Pepe cried and bit my pajama sleeve (睡衣袖). Then I woke up and realized that it wasn’t fog in my room — it was smoke.
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。
Standing up, I couldn’t breathe.
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I turned off the burner with Pepe around me.
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1. What is the conversation mainly about?
| A．Fighting fires. | B．Detecting fires. | C．Using fires. |
| A．Around 50. | B．About 400. | C．Over 8600. |
| A．Size of a car. | B．Size of a plane. | C．Size of a sports field. |
| A．Saving animals. | B．Saving the trees. | C．Saving humans. |
| 姓名 | Li Hua | 学校／年级 | No. 1 Middle School/2 |
| 电话 | 0730-82835988 | 邮箱 | 8344506@qq.com |
| 爱好 | take photos of the nature | ||
| 原因 | 1.enjoy the nature, learn more about the qualities of all kinds of animals 2.want to do something to protect the animals from danger | ||
| 想法和建议 | encourage more people to take part in the activities, advise the government to make laws and build more nature reserves | ||
| 空闲 | every Sunday | ||
2．可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Chairman,
I would like to join the Animal Protection Society.
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I am looking forward to hearing from you soon!
Yours sincerely,
Li Hua
We require healthy water and air, and so do we require healthy soil. It makes water clean and serves as a growing medium, It provides a living space for billions of organisms. And it also provides us with food. Therefore, we should do something to protect the soil.
One of the easiest ways we can support the soil is by wasting less food. All the food that ends up in our shopping bags requires land, water and energy to produce. By throwing away less, we will prevent materials in soil from being wasted.
By eating different types of foods, we can help create demands for different farming products, which is better for soil. Food diversity can improve soil quality. In general, eating a diverse (多样的) diet is better for our health too.
Read the instructions on garden products.
When we walk through any garden store, there are many products for our gardens. No matter which product we end up selecting, the most important step before using it is to read the instructions, Misuse can cause problems.
If we are looking to fertilize (施肥) our garden，we need to know what materials are already in the soil before adding more. Or, we might just need to add one specific material, and not others. Local university laboratories can help provide information on testing soil. It’s usually a matter of digging up soil from a few areas of the yard and sending it in to the lab!
A. Buy less food.
B. Eat a diverse diet.
C. Perform soil tests.
D. Reduce food waste.
7 . Elephants are often seen comforting upset individual elephants with a gentle touch of their trunks reportedly. It’s one thing to witness something that looks like comforting behavior, but another thing to prove that this is what elephants are doing. Now, scientists have shown that Asian elephants do indeed get upset when they see others in trouble, and they reach out to comfort them. Elephants, thus, join the list of other animals, including dogs, wolves and some birds, which have been shown to do so.
Elephants’ responses to stress are difficult to explore because one has to wait for opportunities for these arising naturally in the wild. However, Joshua Plotnik, a scientist at Mahidol University in Thailand got around this problem. He compared Asian elephants’ behaviors during times of stress to those during periods when little upsets them. For 1 to 2 weeks every month for nearly a year, Plotnik spent 30 to 180 minutes daily watching and recording the behavior of 26 Asian elephants living in Elephant Natural Park in northern Thailand.
Other researchers have previously shown that when upset, an elephant moves its ears and raises its tail; it may also make a low sound to show its stress. “When elephants in the park see an elephant behaving in this manner, they typically respond by feeling the same emotion,” Plotnik said, “just as we do when watching a scary movie together. If an actor is frightened, our hearts race and we reach for each other’s hands — a reaction known as ‘emotional contagion’ .”
“But more studies are needed, preferably in wild populations,” Plotnik said. “What is unclear is whether these responses primarily benefit the upset animals, or the res-ponders,” Shermin de Silva, a behavioral ecologist, said. However, the study “provides a very interesting first exploration into the behavior of elephants suffering from stress,” said Graeme Shannon, a scientist at Colorado State University.
1. What does the underlined phrase “got around” in paragraph 2 mean?| A．Overcame. | B．Faced. | C．Found. | D．Raised. |
| A．To explain a rule. | B．To present a fact. |
| C．To clarify a concept. | D．To support a conclusion. |
| A．It has some limitations. | B．It confirms a prediction. |
| C．It benefits future studies. | D．It is thought worthless. |
| A．Elephants copy comforting behavior | B．Elephants ask for comfort when in trouble |
| C．Elephants are easily in low spirits | D．Elephants understand their companions’ feelings |
8 . Automaker General Motors has announced the expectation of achieving carbon neutrality (中和) by 2040. On the way to that goal, the company hopes to get rid of automobile emissions (排放物) by 2035.
GM said it will take a science-based approach to become carbon neutral, balancing carbon dioxide emissions. Furthermore, it plans to remove gas-powered vehicle production by 2035. It intends that by 2025, 40% of its vehicles will be battery powered.
“General Motors is joining governments and companies around the globe working to establish a safer, greener and better world,” said Mary Barra, GM chairman and CEO. “We encourage others to work together and make a significant influence on our industry and on the economy as a whole.”
Transportation is the largest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, just over 28%, the Environmental Protection Agency reported. That is why GM and other industry leaders have joined the Science Based Targets initiative, which calls on businesses to take action to do with climate change.
A clear step for GM to become carbon neutral is to switch from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles. Traditional gas vehicles make up about 75% of GM’s greenhouse emissions, the company said. Their production facilities make up the other 25%, but the manufacturer aims to control the ratio (比率) by using wind and solar energy. GM said it will power its U.S. factories with 100% renewable energy by 2030 and globally by 2035.
The bigger obstacle falls on the consumer. An electric vehicle is significantly more expensive. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) says the average electric car costs $ 19,000 more than a gasoline-powered car. But GM has spent years improving its battery technology. Maybe that’s the reason why it can get rid of automobile emissions in the next 14 years with much confidence.
1. What measure is GM taking to achieve the goal of removing carbon dioxide emissions?| A．Working with global organizations. |
| B．Cutting back on battery-powered cars. |
| C．Gaining industrial and financial support. |
| D．Reducing production of cars powered by gas. |
| A．Supportive. | B．Opposed. |
| C．Critical. | D．Indifferent. |
| A．Renewable energy. | B．Fast food. |
| C．Transportation. | D．Electric vehicles. |
| A．Consumer. | B．Environmentalist. |
| C．Producer. | D．Advertiser. |
9 . Question: Recently I heard the news that about 5,000 people die in fires a year, and 80 percent of these deaths occur in house fires. Fires kill more people per year in the United States than all the other natural disasters.
Answer: Don’t worry. In fact, most fires can be avoidable and easily prevented. Here are some tips for preventing a fire in your own home.
◆Dispose of all cigarette butts (烟头). Never leave them out where babies or children can reach them.
◆Avoid smoking in bed. In case you fall asleep on the couch while watching television, do not smoke while lying on the couch.
◆Keep all lighters safely out of reach of babies and children.
◆Do not overload electrical circuits, and check electrical appliances regularly for loose connections or damaged cords.
◆
◆Install smoke detectors. Make sure that there is a detector on every level of the house. Also, make sure that there is a smoke detector near every bedroom.
◆Install a rope ladder or fire escape in selected windows upstairs. Make sure that all family members know how to use the ladder.
◆Come up with an emergency escape plan.
| A．However, I don’t know how to prevent house fires. |
| B．Have a designated meeting area outside the home. |
| C．Have fire extinguishers in high-risk areas of your home. |
| D．Keep candles where they will not be accidentally knocked over. |
| E．Discuss it with the family and have everyone practice using the escape routes. |
| F．If you smoke, get into the habit of properly disposing of your butts immediately. |
| G．Check your smoke detectors monthly and replace the batteries at least once a year. |
10 . One New Year’s Day, ecologist Rob Wolton came up with an unusual resolution—to spend the next 12 months studying a hedge(树篱) 40 metres from his house in the middle of Devon. He wanted to make a list of every plant, animal and fungus(真菌)that used it. After a year of observations he had found 2, 000 species—far more than he imagined. Wolton says he enjoyed it hugely and his findings contribute to the growing body of evidence that hedges should not be overlooked.
“There is increasing recognition that much of the wildlife finds shelter in the hedges. But they’re much more than just wildlife passages—they are really important as habitats in their own right,” he says. The European commission’s Joint Research Centre recently argued that as the climate crisis worsens, hedges are expected to play more roles as they move in response to environmental change. Their deep roots help sequester carbon(固碳), and they also reduce the likelihood of flooding downstream, suck nutrients and pollutants out of water, and prevent soil loss. Alongside these functions, there is a cultural benefit to hedges too—I think lots of us who live in England think of the hedge landscape as being quite typical, says Wolton.
After the Second World War many hedges were removed to create more productive land. Only about one in three hedges in England are in good condition, according to the most recent research done in 2017.
The main issues are hedges being cut too severely and too frequently, which leads to loss of wildlife and gaps. A squirrel, for example, will turnaround if there is a gap of five metres. New hedges are being planted with single species, instead of many, which decrease the wildlife they can support.
It’s hard to say if interest in hedges will translate into action on a national scale，and much depends on what landscape features Environmental Land Management scheme.
1. What is the significance of Wolton’s study of the hedge?| A．It makes Wolton’s resolution come true. |
| B．It shows Wolton’s fondness of the hedge. |
| C．It indicates the important role of the hedge. |
| D．It points out the number of animals and plants. |
| A．Hedges provide home for wildlife. |
| B．Hedges are used to fight climate crisis. |
| C．Hedges area typical symbol of England. |
| D．Hedges have advantages in different aspects. |
| A．To show the diversity of wildlife in hedges. |
| B．To explain the bad effect of gaps in hedges. |
| C．To call for more species of plants in hedges. |
| D．To present what the loss of wildlife is like. |
| A．The favorable policy on hedges is undecided. |
| B．Public attention in hedges will be intensified. |
| C．A national scale protection is soon underway. |
| D．Environmental Land Management will fund hedges. |
