1 . Throughout history, many species of animals have been threatened with extinction. When Europeans first arrived in North America, more than 60 million buffalo (水牛) lived on the continent. Yet hunting the buffalo was so popular during the 19th century that by 1900 the animal’s population had fallen to about 400 before the government stepped in to protect the species. In some countries today, the elephant faces a similar challenge, as illegal hunters kill the animals for the ivory in their tusks.

Yet not all animals with commercial value face this threat (威胁).The cow, for example, is a valuable source of food, but no one worries that the cow will soon be extinct. Why does the commercial value of ivory threaten the elephant. while the commercial value of beef protects the cow?

The reason is that elephants are a common resource, while cows are private goods. Elephants wander freely without any owners. The hunter has a strong motivation to kill as many elephants as he can find. Because illegal hunters are numerous, each has only a slight motivation to preserve the elephant population. By contrast, cattle live on farms that are privately owned. Each farmer makes great effort to maintain the cattle population on his farm because he harvests the benefit of these efforts.

Governments have tried to solve the elephant’s problem in two ways. Some countries, such as Kenya and Uganda, have made it illegal to kill elephants and sell their ivory. Yet these laws have been hard to put into effect, and elephant populations have continued to dwindle. By contrast, other countries, such as Malawi and Namibia, have made elephants private goods and allowed people to kill elephants, but only those on their own property.

With private ownership and the profit motive now on its side, the African elephant might someday be as safe from extinction as the cow. The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle pointed out the problem with common resources: “What is common to many is taken least care of, for all men have greater regard for what is their own than for what they possess in common with others.”

1. Why does the author mention buffalo in paragraph 1?

A．To introduce a similar threat to elephants.

B．To provide an example of species extinction.

C．To offer an explanation for government policies.

D．To present the statistics of the buffalo in America.

2. Why do elephants face threats while cows are safe?

A．They are under different law protection

B．They attract different groups of hunters

C．They contain different commercial value

D．They represent different ownership types

3. What is paragraph 4 mainly about?

A．Bans on killing elephants for ivory

B．Effective laws for elephant protection.

C．Methods of making elephants private goods

D．Government policies on the elephant’s problem

4. What can we learn from Aristotle’s words?

A．People hold little regard for others’ property

B．People want to profit from common resources

C．People care more about their own possession

D．People tend to take what they own for granted

2 . When we think of Antarctica, the first thing that comes to our mind is a picture of penguins and large areas covered with snow. Large amounts of white snow spreading over thousands of kilometers is a pretty good description of Antarctica.     1    

Research and observations conducted over the past few years have led to the conclusion that the Antarctic Peninsula's snow is turning green.     2     These algae (藻), even though they are individually incapable of being seen by eyes, are visible from space. These algae produce colonies called algal blooms, which spread over large areas.

    3     As a result, Antarctica is visible as many patches of green algae are on white snow from space. Algae are green because of the presence of the pigment chlorophyll, which helps in photosynthesis (光合作用). Not just green though, red algae have also been found on Antarctica's snow, leaving the snow painted red. These green and red algae are not just present on the surface of the snow.     4     When the upper layer of snow melts, the algal bloom remains visible in the layers below.

Scientists fear that such profound growth of algae can set off more global warming, causing even more snow to melt. To better understand that, we must consider that white snow reflects most of the sunlight that falls on it. However, as the surface of the snow darkens, it absorbs more and reflects less of the sunlight.     5     This will cause warming of the surrounding area at a faster rate, melting more snow day by day.

A．This is due to algal growth.

B．But, that legendary snow is not completely white anymore.

C．Sometimes, they can be present below the surface of the snow.

D．The algae grow so quickly that they occupy great areas of the snow.

E．The Antarctic is the area of the continent with the most vegetation.

F．More sunlight implies more heat trapped on the surface of the Earth.

G．Scientists are estimating the area covered by these green snow algae.

3 . 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 southern China, there is a famous road     1    (build) across Poyang Lake, which lies in the north of Jiangxi Province, China and is known as China’s second     2     (large) lake. People in China also call it “the most beautiful road under the water.”

This road is sure     3     (attract) a lot of attention towards the end of May every year. A lot of people come out of     4     (curious). The water level of the lake is so close to the surface of the road,     5     makes the view ahead broad and bright when people drive along. It’s as though they were taking a boat across the lake. The feeling is     6     (simple) wonderful!

For the next few months, this road is not above the surface    7    under the water. When the water level of Poyang Lake starts to go up, the road surface becomes unseen. However, drivers can still drive across the lake safely     8     watching the guardrails(防撞护栏) fixed on either side of the road. For thrill-seeking motorists, it’s like     9     (drive) an amphibious(水陆两栖的) super car. Then in a few days, the entire road     10     (flood) with the continuously rising water. A few months later, the road will reappear.

4 . Buying furniture is easier than ever. You can even order a new table and chairs online without ever leaving home. But did you ever think about how furniture is made? The process begins with trees but now researchers have found a better way: growing it in a lab instead of a forest. Instead of cutting down trees and adding to deforestation, Velasquez-Garcia said, “If you want a table, then you should just grow a table.”

The research group found a way to actually grow plant tissue (组织) — wood and fiber — in a lab that is similar to the way cultured meat is grown. While there is still a long way to go to actually grow a table, the team was able to grow structures from cells from zinnia leaves.

Making furniture and other items from biomaterials could eliminate cutting down trees in forests. “The way we get these materials hasn’t changed in centuries and is very inefficient,” said Velasquez-Garcia. “This is a real chance to avoid all that inefficiency.”

There are other benefits to using lab wood too. Lab grown wood can be handled to take on any shape — like 3 D printing — so it may be possible to build a table without glue or screwing parts together.

Beckwith, a mechanical engineering PhD student, was inspired by a visit to a farm to try to make land-use more efficient and environmentally sound. “That got me thinking: Can we be more strategic (战略上的) about what we’re getting out of our process? Can we get more yield for our inputs?” she told MIT News. “I wanted to find a more efficient way to use land and resources so that we could let more farmlands remain wild, or to remain lower production but allow for greater biodiversity.”

Today, the two largest uses of trees are to make wood products and paper. When new biomaterials become readily available, forests will lose their economic value and will be preserved for their environmental, health, and recreational value. These researchers, like Velasquez-Garcia, are speaking for the trees.

1. What does the author think of growing furniture according to Paragraph 1?

A．It turns out to be convenient.

B．It’ll cut down daily expense.

C．It might have a bright future.

D．It’s as important as making furniture.

2. What does the underlined word “eliminate” in Paragraph 3 mean?

A．Risk.

B．Fancy.

C．Remove.

D．Delay.

3. What is the purpose of Beckwith’s growing furniture?

A．To make large profits.

B．To keep biodiversity.

C．To increase production.

D．To use wild resources.

4. What’s the key to protecting forests?

A．Wide use of new biomaterials.

B．Less use of wood products and paper.

C．Making effective forest laws.

D．Caring more for the environment.

5 . Octopuses(章鱼) are some of the cleverest animals on the planet! So what makes them so smart? Let’s focus first on their defense mechanisms. Faced with multiple predators(捕食者)—including fish, birds and whales—octopuses are masters of disguise.They can imitate their environment by changing their skin colour.

Without a shell, octopuses are weak and easily hurt physically, and always try to remain hidden in a shelter such as a hole or the space beneath a rock. Some prefer to wrap themselves in shells and small stones, while others transport their shelters in their arms. This is the case for the coconut octopus, which,true to its name, has been observed carrying coconut shells around to hide within in case of danger.

Octopuses are also fearsome predators themselves, and their attack mechanisms are suited to the wide variety of prey(猎物) they consume, including seashells,fish and even other creatures like them. They can use their vision and camouflage skills to hunt, and their arms to explore,touch and taste their environment to seize every bit of food within reach.

Octopuses can also use conditional discrimination, that is, they can change their choice depending on the situation. For example, they can learn to attack an object only in the presence of bubbles. They can also use space learning, and find a hidden shelter by remembering its position. Last but not least, octopuses can learn by watching other octopuses carry out tasks, such as choosing one specific object over another. This is surprising,because they are mainly solitary(独居的)creatures.

Octopuses meet every criteria for the definition of intelligence: They show a great flexibility in obtaining information (using several senses and learning socially), in processing it (through discriminative and conditional learning), in storing it (through long- term memory) and in applying it toward both predators and prey.

1. Which are both predators and prey of octopuses?

A．Fish.

B．Birds.

C．Whales.

D．Seashells.

2. Why do coconut octopuses carry coconut shells everywhere?

A．To change their skin color quickly.

B．To avoid being discovered by predators.

C．To observe the surroundings conveniently.

D．To hide quickly in the shells when in danger.

3. What’s the fifth paragraph mainly about?

A．The excellent memory of octopuses.

B．The strong learning ability of octopuses.

C．The space discrimination ability of octopuses.

D．The ability of octopuses to adapt to the environment.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．The terrible predators.

B．The masters of disguise.

C．Exactly how clever is an octopus?

D．How strong is the learning ability of octopuses?

6 . The deep, dark sea is a surprising area. Down there, it’s normal to happen on unheard-of never-seen-before animals and their interesting behavior. Sometimes, sources for precious new medicines are collected—and many more are almost certainly waiting to be discovered.

What marine scientists didn't expect to find, however, was a three-foot-long tusk (长牙) from an extinct mammoth (猛犸象) about 10, 000 feet beneath the ocean. Researchers collected the sample off the California coast in July 2021. “You start to expect the unexpected when exploring the deep sea, but I’m still stunned that we came on the ancient tusk of a mammoth,” Steven Haddock, a marine scientist at Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, said in a statement.

Columbian mammoths, giant ice age mammals that stood some 14 feet tall, marched around what is now California as recently as some 11, 000 years ago. Paleontologists (古生物学者) are still pulling their well-preserved bones out of tar in Los Angeles. How did a tusk find its way to the deep sea? It’s unknown, and likely will remain unknown. But land-dwelling creatures are sometimes washed out into deeper ocean regions, perhaps during great floods.

The intense cold and pressure in the deep sea excellently preserved the tusk. The research team plans to examine the fossil carefully and even determine the long-dead creature’s age. They suspect it’s over 100,000 years old.

“This deep-sea environment is different from those we have seen elsewhere,” mammoth paleontologist Daniel Fisher said in a statement, noting that most mammoth finds in the ocean are in much shallower waters.

“We know so little about the deep ocean that pretty much anyone can find something new if they were doing something unique down there,” Alan Leonardi, the director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, told Mashable last year.

1. What made scientists feel unexpected about the deep sea?

A．The sources for valuable medicines.

B．The finding of an ivory from a mammoth.

C．There are many never-seen-before animals.

D．There used to be a mammoth in the deep ocean.

2. What does the underlined word “stunned” mean in paragraph 2?

A．Shocked.	B．Interested.
C．Devoted.	D．Curious.

3. Why was the tusk of the mammoth preserved well?

A．Because there was no creatures’ disturbance.

B．Because of the effort made by the research team.

C．Because of the extreme environment in the deep sea.

D．Because the tusk had stayed under sea for a short time.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．The research of the deep sea

B．The importance of exploring the deep sea was interesting

C．Scientists found a mammoth tusk in the deep sea

D．The meaning of finding a mammoth tusk in the deep sea

7 . I went with my husband to Roatan for our vacation, a tropical island off the north coast of Honduras, where tourists can swim with dolphins at Anthony’s Key Resort.

The Roatan dolphins are kept in a roped-off pen(围栏). The cheapest “swim” with the dolphins costs $ 89. Kissing costs extra. The tourists line up and, one after another, get photographed while being “kissed” by a dolphin. The tourist bends down a bit, the trainer lifts an arm, the dolphin comes up and for a few seconds holds its bottlenose to the tourist’s face. The picture is ready for purchase when the tourists exit through the gift shop.

These tourists must love dolphins, but what kind of love is that? At sea these highly intelligent creatures are always on the move, traveling thousands of miles. They are complex social creatures that need a lot of space to live in.

Yet Teri Bolton, the head trainer at Anthony’s Key Resort, defends the pen as a suitable habitat. “We feel this is the closest to keeping things as natural as possible”, she said. “You’re getting a window into how these animals really are.”

The discussion about this tourist behavior can be found on the Internet. Some people try to justify their desire, saying the fence of the pen is low; the dolphins could jump over it if they wanted to, and therefore they’re staying in captivity(圈养)by free will. One contributor to the discussion said, “Dolphins are social creatures. Jumping over the fence would mean leaving the females and their babies. Besides, by now they are used to captivity with three meals a day. Jumping over the fence would be like asking you to jump out of a spaceship alone onto Mars.”

But visiting any institution that keeps dolphins in captivity means supporting the concept of captivity. It’s like wearing a fur coat and then justifying it by saying it’s OK because the animals are already dead.

Remember that you cannot buy love, and if you try to buy dolphin love, you hurt the ones you love. In fact, a dolphin’s kiss has nothing to do with love, just as a dolphin’s smile has nothing to do with happiness. While many claim that dolphin encounters provide healing(治疗）)qualities and help you to feel better, the opposite is true for the supposed healers.

1. How much does a tourist pay for a dolphin’s kiss?

A．More than $ 89.	B．Less than $ 89.
C．As much as $ 89.	D．It’s free of charge.

2. What do some people on the Internet think of the pen for dolphins?

A．It’s like a prison.	B．It’s like a spaceship.
C．It’s no fun for the dolphins.	D．It’s suitable for the dolphins.

3. What do the underlined “the supposed healers” in the last paragraph refer to?

A．Dolphin lovers.	B．Unhealthy people.
C．Dolphins in the wild.	D．Dolphins in captivity.

4. Which of the following is a suitable title for the text?

A．Are Dolphins As Smart As Humans?

B．Swimming with Dolphins: Is It Love or Not?

C．Dolphins—Creatures with Feelings

D．Kissing—A New Way to Communicate with Dolphins

8 . Even tree-planting can increase health risks to local human populations if it focuses too narrowly on a small number of species, as is often the case in commercial forests. Outbreaks of infectious diseases are more likely in areas of monoculture plantations, according to a new study.

The researchers of the study said this was because diseases are filtered (过滤) and blocked by a range of predators (食肉动物) and habitats in a healthy, biodiverse forest. When this is replaced by a palm oil plantation or soy fields, the specialist species die off, leaving generalists such as rats and mosquitoes to thrive (繁殖) and spread pathogens across human and non-human habitats. The net result is a loss of natural disease regulation.

The researchers examined the correlation between trends for forest cover, plantations, population and disease around the globe using statistics from international institutions such as the World Health Organization and the Food and Agricultural Organization. Over the period of study from 1990 to 2016, this covered 3,884 outbreaks of 116 diseases that crossed the species barrier and 1,996 outbreaks of 69 vector-borne infectious diseases, mostly carried by mosquitoes, ticks or flies.

The new study adds to a growing body of evidence that viruses are more likely to transfer to humans or animals if they live in or near human-disturbed ecosystems. This is shaped by trade patterns and consumer behaviour. A quarter of global forest loss is driven by the production of commodities such as beef, soy, palm oil and wood fibre.

Morand, lead-author of the study, said his study showed that disease risks need to be added to risk-benefit analysis of new projects. “We should take the costs of public health into account when considering new plantations. The risks are first to local people, but then worldwide because we have seen with Covid how quickly diseases can spread.”

Morand is now working on a more detailed study that will use satellite analysis of forest cover to examine links with disease. With more information, he believes it may be possible to predict future outbreaks and to work with local communities to build ecologically diverse and economically productive landscapes that reduce the risks.

1. Why are outbreaks of infectious diseases more likely in areas of monoculture plantations?

A．The specialist species are wiped out by their predators.

B．Biodiversity decline destroys natural disease regulation.

C．Local human populations have no knowledge of health risks.

D．Commercial forests provide food for disease-carrying insects.

2. How did the researchers get their findings?

A．By conducting data analysis.	B．By referring to another study.
C．By making field investigation.	D．By consulting authoritative agencies.

3. What does Morand intend to do by his words in paragraph 5?

A．Criticize policy-makers.	B．Offer a solution to Covid.
C．Make a suggestion.	D．Support evidence for her findings.

4. What does the last paragraph talk about concerning Morand-led study?

A．Its theoretical basis.	B．Its appeal to the public.
C．Expectations for future studies.	D．Researchers with new perspectives.

9 . 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。

Two giant pandas “Sihai” and “Jingjing” left the Ya’an Bi Feng Xia Base of China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda (CCRCGP) in Sichuan Province on Oct. 18, 2022,     1     (start) their journey to Qatar.

To ensure that     2     two pandas start their new lives smoothly, both sides have made full     3     (prepare). The two pandas have been in good condition     4     the CCRCGP put them into quarantine (隔离) a month ago.

The Chinese team has also sent several expert groups to Qatar for on-site guidance and assessment of the venues,     5     will assist the country in setting up a     6     (profession) giant panda breeding and management team, and ensure supplies of bamboo.

To help the giant pandas adapt to their new environment     7     (easy), the research center has also sent experienced breeders and experts to Qatar.

In May 2020, China and Qatar signed a cooperation agreement     8     (concern) giant panda protection and research to     9     (far) promote international cooperation in the field and to boost the protection of endangered species and biodiversity in the two countries. It is the first time that China     10    (cooperate) with a Middle Eastern country in this capacity.

10 . Tropical (热带的) birds deep in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest are shrinking and developing longer wings as they adapt to climate change but why is something of a mystery.

Researchers have studied data for 77 tropical bird species over the past 40 years and found that all of them had lost body mass. Some species have been losing nearly 2 percent of their weight per decade.

Birds and mammals of the same species are generally larger at higher latitudes. The leading explanation is that their smaller surface-area-to-volume ratio (比率) allows them to better conserve heat. The opposite would help smaller species in hot climates to cool and could explain why birds are getting smaller as the climate warms, says Vitek Jirinec at the Integral Ecology Research Center in California, who led the analysis.

In line with this, the mean temperature of the birds' habitat today is 1℃ warmer in the wet season and 1.6℃ warmer in the dry season compared with 1966. Weather patterns are also more extreme, with 13 percent more rain falling in the wet season and 15 percent less in the dry season, and the birds lost mass more sharply after extremely dry or wet seasons.

This could suggest that body mass loss is partly a short-term response to changes in their environment rather than entirely down to evolution. For instance, a lack of rainfall could cause a decline in the number of insects that the birds feed on, say the researchers.

But none of this can explain the team's other main finding. Wingspan has become significantly larger in one-third of the bird species over the past 40 years. “Mass is a generally good measure of body condition in birds,” says Jirinec. “If they are simply not getting enough to eat, you would expect them to lose weight. But why would they have more energy to grow their wings?”

1. Why are some birds larger at higher latitudes?

A．To preserve heat.	B．To find food better.
C．To fight against heat.	D．To adapt to climate change.

2. On what condition do birds shrink faster?

A．When they are hungry.	B．When there is less rain.
C．When they lose their habitat.	D．When they experience extreme seasons.

3. What remains to be settled by researchers?

A．Why tropical birds develop longer wings.	B．How Amazon rainforest is decreasing.
C．Why some birds are smaller in hot climates.	D．How temperature of the birds' habitat changes.

4. Where is the text probably taken from?

A．A personal diary.

B．A travel brochure.

C．A science magazine.

D．A science novel.