1 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. What happened yesterday near Santa Barbara?

A．There was another storm.

B．There was a traffic jam.

C．There was a fire.

2. When is the storm expected to hit northern California?

A．On Tuesday.

B．On Wednesday.

C．On Thursday.

3. How will the storm stand out from others in the past?

A．It will be more powerful.

B．It will move more quickly.

C．It will bring more rain and snow.

2 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. What do the British like doing with birds according to the speaker?

A．Eating them.

B．Watching them.

C．Hunting them.

2. What effect have the British had on wild birds?

A．They have increased their numbers.

B．They have allowed one type to take over.

C．They have changed their natural habits.

3. Who are most likely to be interested in the talk?

A．Gardeners.

B．Pet owners.

C．Nature lovers.

3 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. What is the focus of the announcement?

A．The warning of a natural disaster.

B．The place to buy food and drinks.

C．Some ways of entertainment at the hotel.

2. Which place does the speaker tell people to go to?

A．The beach.

B．The hotel rooms.

C．The underground floor.

3. What should guests bring with them?

A．Shoes.

B．Bags.

C．Food and water.

4. Who will be waiting for the guests?

A．The government official.

B．The safety officer.

C．The hotel staff.

4 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. What does the speaker mainly talk about?

A．Must-see books.

B．Places to travel.

C．Important travel experiences.

2. Which tourist attraction comes first in the list?

A．The rock.

B．The islands.

C．The ancient city.

3. What is Petra famous for?

A．The coast.

B．Sand stones.

C．Its culture.

4. What is the best time to visit Petra?

A．In the early morning.

B．At late night.

C．At noon.

5 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. How much in total will be used in earthquake relief?

A．£60 million.

B．£100 million.

C．£160 million.

2. How can people express their willing to help the rescue team?

A．By contacting the radio program.

B．By calling a charity organization.

C．By leaving personal information at a website.

3. What is the main purpose of the talk?

A．To forecast the weather of this week.

B．To praise sponsors in the disaster relief.

C．To update information about the earthquake.

6 . Recently, a team of young researchers in Panama has found a special ant species that rapidly repairs any damage to its host tree.

The events leading to the discovery began in mid-2020, when Alex and his friends would kill time by shooting clay balls at trees with a slingshot. They targeted the thin Cecropia trees to make the task more challenging. Things went well until one clay ball accidentally hit a tree trunk, leaving a clean exit and entry wound.

Concerned that he had caused permanent damage, Alex went back to examine the tree the following morning, accompanied by his father William, an entomologist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI). To their surprise, the hole had been completely mended! Curious to find out what was going on, Alex and his friends enlisted in the STRI’s volunteer program.

The teens, as instructed, drilled holes in the Cecropia trees and then carefully documented what followed. The young scientists found that in 14 of the 22 cases, groups of Azteca alfari ants immediately gathered in the damaged area and instantly got to work without a break. The industrious insects, using material from the trees, significantly reduced the size of the hole soon. In most cases, the gap was completely filled up within 24 hours.

The sand-colored insects’ harmonious relationship with the Cecropia trees has been known for many years. The trees provide the ants with food and shelter. In return, the insects protect their leaves from plant-eating animals. However, their repair skills — which researchers suspect have been developed fixing damage caused by the sharp nails of the sloths that frequent the trees — had never been seen before.

“This project allowed us to experience first-hand all the complicated details behind a scientific study. It was really a great learning experience,” said Alex.

Alex and his team, who recently published their findings, still have one riddle to solve. They aren’t sure why the insects didn’t repair all the holes. Understanding this selective behavior is something they hope to explore in the future — stay tuned!

1. What is paragraph 2 mainly about?

A．The fun of playing outdoors.	B．The cause of the new findings.
C．The intention of using a slingshot.	D．The reason for targeting the Cecropia trees.

2. With what kind of feeling did Alex return to check the tree?

A．Curiosity.

B．Optimism.

C．Confusion.

D．Uneasiness.

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

A．Grateful.

B．Sorrowful.

C．Hardworking.

D．Impatient.

4. What problem does Alex expect to settle?

A．Whether ants are expert at tree repair.	B．How ants fix damage to their host trees.
C．Why ants merely repair certain tree holes.	D．What relationship ants keep with the Cecropia trees.

7 . Mars is truly a fascinating planet for those of us here on Earth.     1     It is about half as big as Earth and is often referred to as the Red Planet because of its red surface.

The Red Planet has the largest volcano in the solar system-Olympus Mons.     2     That’s about three times the height of Mount Qomolangma.

Mars also has an atmosphere, but it is very thin and made up mostly of carbon dioxide. Because of its thin atmosphere and greater distance from the Sun, Mars is much colder than Earth.     3     The dust storms of Mars can grow so big that sometimes they blanket the entire planet and last for months. The poles on Mars are a lot like Antarctica, capped by ice, but much of Mars’s ice is made from carbon dioxide, not water.

Scientists believe that studying Mars can help answer some of the key questions about our planet Earth, or even the universe.

    4     Since 1960, more than half of all attempted Mars missions have failed. The USA, Russia, the European Space Agency, and several other countries have lost many spacecraft in their quest to explore the Red Planet. Nevertheless, they will still continue their explorations. Chinese experts are confident about their plan to explore Mars, in spite of the many challenges. The first Mars unmanned spacecraft was launched from Wenchang around 2020. But it is only the beginning of deep voyages into outer space.     5    

A．It is roughly 27 kilometres high.

B．Missions to Mars have never been easy.

C．Mars, however, today has no active volcanoes.

D．The temperature at the planet’s surface varies widely.

E．However, Mars does have weather, with clouds and winds.

F．China will continue to explore the mysteries of the universe.

G．It is one of the few planets that we can see with our own eyes.

8 . Spring is in the air. Birds are singing and beginning to build their nests. It happens every year like clockwork. But by comparing recent observations with century-old eggs preserved in museum collections, scientists involved in the study were able to determine that about a third of the bird species are nesting and laying eggs nearly a month earlier than they did a hundred years ago. And as far as the researchers can tell climate change is responsible.

“Egg collections are such a fascinating to for us to learn about bird ecology over time,” says John Bates, director of the Field Museum. The eggs, with the contents removed, are stored in small boxes and accompanied by labels, saying what kind of bird they belong to, where they're from, and precisely when they were collected

Fidino, an ecologist at Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo, built a model for studying the historical and modern data about the egg collections. He found a surprising result: among the 72 bird species studied, about a third are nesting and laying their first eggs 25. 1 days earlier than they did a century ago.

Given that the climate crisis has dramatically affected so many aspects of biology, the researchers looked to rising temperatures as a potential explanation for the earlier nesting and laying. The changes in temperature are seemingly small but lead to different plants blooming and insects emerging—things that could affect the food available for birds. So birds have to move their egg-laying dates to adapt.

In addition to serving as a warning about climate change, Bates believes the study highlights the importance of museum collections, particularly egg collections. “They’re heavy with data about the past, and they can help us answer important questions about our world today,” he said.

1. How did the scientists conduct the study?

A．By doing field research.	B．By analyzing data.
C．By referring to documents.	D．By doing interviews.

2. What do we know about the egg collections in the museum?

A．They are labeled on exhibition.

B．They were collected a century ago.

C．They are used for educational purpose

D．They were specially processed for storage.

3. What does paragraph 4 mainly talk about?

A．Rising temperatures change birds’ habits.

B．Rising temperatures affect food available for birds.

C．Climate change leads to great changes to plants and insects

D．Climate change should be to blame for birds’ early laying

4. What does Bates think of the study?

A．Beneficial.

B．Instructive.

C．Inspiring.

D．Surprising.

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。

Rising sea levels are threatening coastlines in China, for example in     1     (city) such as Shanghai, Tianjin and Guangzhou. If sea levels rise by one meter, more than 92,000 square kilometers of China’s coast could be flooded. This could potentially force 67 million people     2     (move) away. Almost two-thirds of the ice in Asia’s glaciers (冰川) could disappear if average global temperature rises beyond 1.5℃ by the end of the century. If that happens, the impacts     3     China will be felt in multiple areas, from water availability, to agriculture, and to biodiversity.

The good news is     4     China is becoming a global leader on climate action. For example, over the last five years, China     5     (use) more solar and wind energy than any other country in the world. China is also the largest clean energy investor in the world —     6     (spend) some $130 billion in new energy in recent years.

The development of electric vehicles is particularly     7     (inspire) in China. More than 50 percent of electric vehicles in the world     8     (sell) in China every year. And China is now a world leader in the     9     (promote) of clean energy technologies.

Ecological civilization has become the cornerstone (基石) of China’s long-term development strategy, much like climate action is     10     important part of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

10 . Contrary to the long­held belief that plants in natural world are always in competition, new research has found in bad environments mature (成熟的) plants help smaller ones — and thrive as a result. The research team, led by Dr.Rocio Pérez­Barrales studied adult and young plants in the “ecological desert” of soil in the south­east of Spain.

The findings could have significance for those managing bad environments like coastal areas. Dr.Pérez­Barrales said, “What we have found surprising is that a strong large plant, called a ‘nurse’， shields a young one, and it also produces more flowers than those of similar size growing on their own.” Dr.Pérez­Barrales and her team studied plant growth in southern Spain for over three months during summer and found that the young and “nurse” are more likely to thrive when grown together, compared to either plant growing alone.

The young plants benefit from shade, more moisture and more nutrients, from the leaf litter (落叶层) of the “nurse” plants, and probably higher bacteria and fungus (真菌) in the soil. As it matures, the “nurse” plant grows more flowers than those similar ones nearby growing alone, greatly increasing its chances of producing seeds and reproducing. Besides, vegetation of “nurse” and facilitated plants with more flowers might be able to attract a greater number and variety of pollinators (传粉昆虫) in an area. In turn, it supports insect and soil life, and even provides a larger range of different fruit types for birds and mammals. This is the greatest achievement of the ecosystem.

The research is likely to be of value to those who manage to protect plants in hostile and harsh environments, such as shingle and sand­dune (沙丘) ecosystems, which are considered at high risk due to human action and climate change. Most home gardeners and farmers are happy with the research as well, but the findings might be of more value to those who garden in harsh places.

1. What's the finding of the study?

A．The mature and smaller plants benefit each other when growing together.

B．Large plants sacrifice themselves for the smaller ones.

C．Young plants compete with the adults for larger space.

D．Young plants struggle to survive in harsh environments.

2. Why is a plant called a “nurse”？

A．Because it produces more flowers.

B．Because it competes with a larger one.

C．Because it protects and helps the young.

D．Because it grows well in bad environments.

3. What does the underlined word “This” in Paragraph 3 refer to?

A．The natural selection.

B．The biodiversity (生物多样性) in an area.

C．The improvement of the soil.

D．The high rate of animal reproduction (繁殖).

4. What does the last paragraph mainly talk about?

A．The effects of the research on agriculture.

B．The shortcomings of the research at present.

C．The influence of the research on climate change.

D．The significance of the research findings in some fields.