1. 写信的目的；
2. 旅行所带必需品。
注意：词数80左右
Dear Martin,
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Love,
Li Hua
2 . Some of the world’s most important scientists think the idea of people living on Mars will come true one day.
However, scientists will need to teraform（地球化）Mars for people to be able to live, which means changing the environment on Mars so that it is similar to Earth’s. One of the main goals of terraforming Mars is to warm it up because the average temperature is about-60℃.
Another big concern for scientists is whether humans can move to Mars and still stay healthy in mind and body. As a test, six people lived in a Mars-like environment in Hawaii for a year before “returning to Earth” recently.
One particular organization is planning to send the first humans to Mars before 2030. The organization believes that its project is giving people worldwide the chance to be part of the first human crew ever to live on Mars for good.
| A．However, many experts think it can cost too much money. |
| B．Stephen Hawking believed humans must move into space to survive. |
| C．NASA believes new astronauts should be chosen for future missions without delay. |
| D．One idea for warming Mars is to build factories there that produce greenhouse gases. |
| E．It will prevent us from learning about the ability of humans to live in a different environment. |
| F．It was a 1,200-square-foot room that was on the side of a volcano and used the sun for energy. |
| G．Another important thing was that the people living together should all be able to get along and work together. |
Every year, at the end of October, tens of thousands of people flock to a Buddhist temple in China to see a huge gingko biloba tree (银杏树) drop its foliage (枝叶) and turn
Due to the increasing
4 . Phil Wise’s heart raced as he opened one of the transport tubes. He and a team of scientists stepped back as a young Tasmanian devil(袋獾) named Oddity came out. Oddity took a cautious look around and then ran into the forest on Maria Island.
Wise is a wildlife biologist from the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program. The scientists working with this program study Tasmanian devils, monitor their health, and track the devils found in the wild. Because a rare disease is reducing the number of devils, Oddity and 14 others were raised on a preserve and then brought to Maria Island to be released into the wild.
Though they are raised in zoos all over the world, devils live wild only in Tasmania. They are important to the ecosystem because they eat dead animals they find, which helps clean up the environment. But a cancer called Devil Facial Tumor Disease (DFTD) is killing devils on mainland Tasmania, endangering the species. The goal of the scientists who released Oddity and the others was to create a population of disease-free Tasmanian devils on Maria Island. Oddity is a part of this “insurance population” of devils raised in zoos and wildlife preserves.
The scientists chose Maria Island for the release because there is no DFTD there. It is separated from mainland Tasmania by the ocean. Devils from the rest of Tasmania can’t get there, which prevents the facial disease from spreading.
Wise and his fellow scientists monitored Oddity and the 14 other Tasmanian devils. The animals did so well that 13 more devils were released. The 28 original Tasmanian devils have reproduced; there are now around 80 devils. Scientists are now figuring out their next move. According to Wise, the focus will soon shift to moving some of the healthy devils back to mainland Tasmania.
Wise says he is “extremely happy to know that animals are getting a chance to be free in the wild in an area that is free of DFTD. It is the ultimate aim of all who work to conserve threatened species.”
1. Why did Wise and his team release the Tasmanian devils like Oddity?| A．To prevent DFTD killing them out. | B．To find out a treatment for DFTD. |
| C．To control the DFTD spread in zoos. | D．To protect Maria Island from DFTD. |
| A．Its wildlife diversity. | B．Its geographic location. |
| C．Its natural resources. | D．Its improved ecosystem. |
| A．Their safety was uncertain. | B．Their number was going up. |
| C．They hardly enjoyed freedom. | D．They recovered from DFTD. |
| A．A program studying Tasmanian devils. | B．A disease threatening Tasmanian devils. |
| C．A measure to save Tasmanian devils. | D．A habitat of wild Tasmanian devils. |
Chagan is located in the Qianguo county, Northeast China's Jilin Province. Every year, fishermen struggle with the freezing cold weather, biting winds and deep snow to search for an underwater fortune at Chagan,
The lake nearly
6 . Bees have been around for over 100 million years. Despite their tiny size, they have an outstanding ability to survive a whole host of changes since they first appeared on our planet. Besides, they can learn and remember things. They can count up to four and recognize human faces. Just one hive of bees will use this amazing flying skill to fly around 90,000 miles each time they collect 1kg of money. However, it's a sad fact that these wonderful insects are now under serious threat. Around one-third or bee species are in decline (减少) due to habitat loss, wildfire and threat from non-native insects.
It's high time that we should tackle this big issue because the loss of bees would be a disaster. It would have an effect well beyond their role in providing the honey we eat. Bees are part of our planet's balanced ecosystem. If a bee species dies out, the plants and trees that depend on it arc affected too, in turn, the creatures who feed or live on those plants are affected, and so is the food chain.
While it may seem that we can't do much as individuals, we can certainly work together with others to raise awareness about them and bring about changes. If you're passionate about bees, spread the love. Share your knowledge—fascinating facts and a few scary statistics, and see if you can encourage your friends and family to become bee-friendly too. Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace and other organizations are working hard to raise awareness of the problems bees are facing. Supporting these groups is one way of helping bees — through fundraising, following them on social media and sharing campaign details.
1. What's the outstanding ability of the bees?| A．Adding up numbers. | B．Recognizing various smells. |
| C．Finding the right route. | D．Adapting to the environment. |
| A．Settle. | B．Raise. | C．Stress. | D．Avoid. |
| A．Because the loss of bees will change what we eat thoroughly. |
| B．Because plants and trees will survive without the bee species. |
| C．Because the food chain will be destroyed totally without bees. |
| D．Because bees play an important role in balancing the ecosystem. |
| A．The knowledge about bees. | B．A warning against harming bees. |
| C．A public appeal to save bees. | D．The causes of the decline in bees. |
7 . “PLEASE DON’T KILL HIM” said Mrs. Reid with tears in her eyes. “I’m really sorry,” I said, hardly able to look at her. A nurse held her hand and tried to comfort her.
“He’s been my entire world for 14 years, I don’t know what I’ll do without him,” she said with tears in her eyes. She wasn’t talking about a person. She was talking about Toby, her King Charles spaniel. Mrs. Reid had come into hospital after she’d fallen. She had Parkinson’s disease, meaning her ability to move was worsening. It was the second time she’d fallen in just a few weeks, and this time she’d broken her hip. While the hip had now been fixed, it was clear that she was too frail (脆弱的) to go home, and the social workers had arranged for her to go into a care home. A neighbor had been looking after Toby, but with Mrs. Reid no longer going home and as she had no family who could take him, it looked likely that he’d have to be killed. She was begging me to allow her home, but it was simply too dangerous.
This situation is far from unique. Research has found that each year thousands of dogs are put down because their owners go into care homes. Over 100,000 have to be rehomed. Thankfully I spoke to a kindly social worker who eventually found a care home for Mrs. Reid that would allow her to take Toby with her. But these places are few. I think we need to seriously re-examine what’s happening here. It seems completely wrong. There is no doubt that we are a nation of animal lovers. Many of us consider our pets to be part of the family and there’s a fair few of us, I guess, that actually prefer our pets to a good number of people. Humans have a great ability to draw comfort and support from animals. For older people like Mrs. Reid, they are often the important source of companionship (陪伴) and about a quarter of old people have a pet. Yet when they come into hospital or a care home, they are denied this relationship.
While the US, France, Norway and Switzerland all have laws forcing housing providers to accept pets belonging to elderly people, studies have shown that around 70 per cent of care homes in the UK forbid elderly people from bringing pets. This figure has risen in recent years and is likely to be due to increasing concerns around “health and safety”. However, research has concluded that they are “necessary to elderly people’s quality of life” and that having to move to care homes without their pets was psychologically similar to losing their family. It seems outrageous (可耻的) that care homes—whose purpose is to ensure the elderly people’s welfare (福利)—are able to deny them something which has proven clinical benefits for their health.
1. Who is Toby according to the passage?| A．Mrs. Reid’s friend. | B．Mrs. Reid’s son. | C．Mrs. Reid’s dog. | D．Mrs. Reid’s cat. |
| A．Toby was killed by the government. |
| B．Toby was taken back home by Mrs. Reid’s neighbor. |
| C．Toby was sent away to somewhere far from Mrs. Reid. |
| D．Toby was still staying with Mrs. Reid thanks to the author. |
| A．The relationship can last forever. | B．They are provided with the relationship. |
| C．The relationship is taken away from them. | D．They are ensured of the relationship. |
| A．To tell a story about Mrs. Reid. |
| B．To stress the importance of keeping pets. |
| C．To draw readers’ attention to a social problem. |
| D．To show the relationship between animals and humans. |
| A．Negative. | B．Doubtful. | C．Supportive. | D．Unclear. |
8 . Human is struggling to contain two major crises: Skyrocketing global temperatures and deep-diving biodiversity (生物多样性). But people tend to solve each problem on its own, for instance by using green energies and carbon-eating machines, while surrounding ecosystems to preserve them. But a new report argues that treating each crisis in isolation (孤立地) means missing out on solutions that resolve both. Human can't solve one without also solving the other.
So what might these solutions look like? Say, for instance, you turn a heavily logged forest into a national park. As the trees grow back, they would provide habitat for the return of animals. Letting a forest come back naturally, rather than planting a single species of tree to balance up some corporation's carbon emissions (排放), makes it recover faster. This is known as a nature-based solution, a campaign that both absorb carbon and provides an extra ecological or economic benefit.
Stopping human's attacks on ecosystems can also help fight climate change, the study's authors write. Even cities can get in on the action, the report notes. Urban areas turn into "heat islands" because they absorb the sun's energy during the day and slowly release it at night. They are therefore much hotter than surrounding rural areas. Planting more trees cools cities and provides habitats for birds and shade for humans, which will be even more critical as global temperatures rise.
The big threat, the authors stress, is that nature-based solutions alone can't stop climate change. As temperatures climb and droughts get more severe, it'll be harder for forests, wetlands, and mangroves to survive, even with our help. First and foremost, human has to dramatically reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. “Nature is not going to save us." the authors say. “We can only use nature to support efforts.”
“Still, governments and corporations are becoming more conscious of the importance of maintaining biodiversity while also fighting climate change," says Beymer-Farris, from the University of Kentucky. “I myself, as a professor who has been working in this for 20 years, I see a lot of hope, because I see a lot of change on the horizon."
1. How should people deal with the two crises?| A．By using carbon-eating machines. |
| B．By giving priority to one of them. |
| C．By tackling them in the meanwhile. |
| D．By establishing more nature reserves. |
| A．Plant more trees in urban areas. |
| B．Adopt nature- based solutions. |
| C．Send out less greenhouse gas. |
| D．Provide habitats for animals. |
| A．Optimistic. | B．Doubtful. | C．Critical. | D．Concerned. |
| A．Why we care about climate change |
| B．How to live in harmony with nature |
| C．Why urban areas become “heat islands" |
| D．How to protect species and save the planet |
“The Forbidden City” is a translation of the Chinese name Zijin Cheng, which
The Forbidden City
10 . With the help of modern technology, people have killed up to 99 percent of certain types of whales. Some scientists thought this would cause krill (磷虾), tiny shrimp-like animals that many whales eat, to explode in number. But that didn’t happen. Krill numbers in Antarctic waters with of whale hunting have dropped by more than 80 percent. New research suggests a lack of whale poop (粪便) may explain this. A new study finds whales eat more than we thought. Lots more food means lots more poop that is rich in iron. So with fewer whales, ecosystems get less iron and other crucial nutrients that they need to thrive. That hurts other species, including krill.
Figuring out whale diets isn’t easy. In the past, scientists looked at the contents of dead whales’ stomachs to see what they ate. Or they estimated how much food whales should need based on their size. However, the new study, led by Matthew Savoca, a marine biologist at Stanford University, used some different techniques. Savoca’s team put sensors on 321 whales. The sensors tracked when the whales hunted for food.
Using all this information, the scientists found that whales eat about three times as much food as earlier estimates had suggested. The amount of food that whales eat and poop out is astonishing. And it suggests that whales play a bigger role in shaping ocean ecosystems than previously thought.
Whales are nutrient cyclers. If whales and krill returned to their early 1900s numbers, the productivity of the Southern Ocean could be boosted by 11 percent, the researchers calculate. That increased productivity would translate into more carbon-rich life. Together, those creatures would store 215 million tons of carbon each year. The carbon stored in those creatures wouldn’t be able to escape into the atmosphere and contribute to global warming.
1. What is the first paragraph mainly about?| A．The present situation of whale killing. |
| B．The reason for krill numbers declining. |
| C．The help from the modern technology. |
| D．The relationship between food and poop. |
| A．Grow happily. | B．Change rapidly. |
| C．Develop well. | D．Stay wealthy. |
| A．By referring to past studies. |
| B．By tracking whales with sensors. |
| C．By observing whales’ sizes. |
| D．By examining whales’ stomachs. |
| A．Whales hurt other ocean species. |
| B．Whales eat as much as estimated. |
| C．Whales slow ocean productivity. |
| D．Whales matter more than expected. |
