1. What does the woman plan to do today?
| A．Walk the dog. | B．Take the dog to a vet. | C．Eat out with the man. |
| A．Eleven years old. | B．Ten years old. | C．Two years old. |
Home to large numbers of both wild and caged elephants, India’s elephant protection laws are among the strictest
China has been making efforts
The 2016 amendment (修订) to China’s Wildlife Protection Law of 1988 ensures that wild animals should
In 2020, group of 14 elephants hiked 500 km from
Asia has a long history of harmonious relations between humans and elephants. Elephants are respected in societies across Asia, specifically in India and China. As our big friends still remain weak, how can the two
3 . Around a bend (拐弯处) on a narrow trail that runs deep into the forest of Gabon’s Loango National Park, Kamaya comes into view. The huge silverback gorilla (大猩猩) coolly watches
Seated on a
After two years of a total
That Kamaya and his
They work to make
Loango Park, which
Though expensive, the price is much lower than that paid to see the mountain gorillas in Uganda or Rwanda. It also gets income to manage protected areas that
| A．monkeys | B．hunters | C．visitors | D．masters |
| A．small | B．new | C．long | D．strong |
| A．water drops | B．leaves | C．flying birds | D．insects |
| A．slow | B．quick | C．risky | D．violent |
| A．punishment | B．construction | C．research | D．shutdown |
| A．personal | B．public | C．distant | D．special |
| A．doubting | B．convincing | C．hoping | D．denying |
| A．inspire | B．decide | C．honor | D．please |
| A．company | B．school | C．family | D．club |
| A．decision | B．courage | C．feeling | D．result |
| A．collect | B．create | C．send | D．share |
| A．games | B．praise | C．money | D．respects |
| A．destroyed | B．threatened | C．tightened | D．distinguished |
| A．attract | B．comfort | C．assume | D．astonish |
| A．solution | B．explanation | C．access | D．damage |
| A．loads | B．covers | C．buys | D．affects |
| A．clouded | B．fogged | C．flowered | D．forested |
| A．journey | B．task | C．march | D．care |
| A．regular | B．final | C．usual | D．busy |
| A．replace | B．refuse | C．experience | D．provide |
4 . First it was pets, then fish. Now it’s chickens and pigs. The list of animals allowed to feed on insects is growing. A new EU law permitting the use of insect protein in chicken and pig feed came into force earlier this month, an important milestone for an industry determined to worm its way into the animal-feed business.
Since a ban on processed animal protein was carried out in 2001 because of the “mad cow” disease, soybean and fishmeal have become the basis of animal feed in Europe. But their production needs lots of space and can be harmful to the environment, so feed producers are looking for other ways.
Insects are just the ticket. They are raised in farms that require little land or water, and they can be fed on agricultural by-products or food waste such as rotting fruit and vegetables. They’re also a natural fit. Most wild fish, birds and pigs eat insects.
The one thing going against them is price. Insect protein is two to three times more expensive than fishmeal and soybean. Increasing production may help reduce the difference. Rabobank, a Dutch lender, predicts that global insect production will reach 500,000 tonnes a year by 2030, up from just 10,000 tonnes currently, and that prices will tumble.
Insect companies have worked hard on their business. Research suggests insects may be more than mere feed, promoting growth rates and immune systems as well as filling stomachs. They also offer the prospect (前景) of a green, local protein.
This year the European Food Safety Agency has ruled that three species of insects, yellow mealworm, locusts and house crickets, are safe for humans to eat as well. Strangely, people seem less interested in the idea than chickens and pigs.
1. Why did soybean and fishmeal become less and less popular?| A．They can cause “mad cow” disease. | B．They are forbidden to produce. |
| C．They may do harm to environment. | D．They are agricultural by-products. |
| A．remain uncertain | B．keep steady | C．go up | D．go down |
| A．The usages of insects. | B．The species of insects. |
| C．The companies of insects. | D．Immune systems of insects. |
| A．Objective. | B．Positive. | C．Unconcerned. | D．Curious. |
5 . On the day he almost died, Kimbal Musk had food on the brain. The Internet startup talent and restaurateur had just arrived in Jackson Hole from a conference where chef Jamie Oliver had spoken about the benefits of healthy eating. This made Musk think a lot—how he might make a difference to the food industry—but beyond expanding his farm-to-table movement along with his restaurant, Musk hadn’t yet broken the code. Then he went sailing down a snowy slope (坡) and fell over, breaking his neck.
Musk eventually made a full recovery, but it involved spending two months on his back, which gave him plenty of time to come up with a plan. Since then, he has launched an initiative to put “learning gardens” in public schools across America; attracted Generation Z to the farming profession by changing shipping containers into high-tech, data-driven, year-round farms; and this year, is kicking off a new campaign to create one million at-home gardens.
Aimed at reaching low-income families, the Million Gardens Movement was inspired by the pandemic, as both a desire to feel more connected to nature and food insecurity have been at the forefront of so many people’s lives. “We were getting a lot of inquiries about gardening from people that had never gardened before,” says Musk. “People were looking to garden for a bunch of reasons: to save money on groceries, to improve the nutritional quality of their diets, or just to cure the boredom that came with the lockdown.”
The program offers free garden kits that can be grown indoors or outdoors, and will be distributed through schools that Musk’s non-profit, Big Green, has already partnered with. It also offers free courses on how to get the garden growing and fresh seeds and materials for the changing growing seasons. “It’s not difficult. Anyone can do this, no matter where you come from, no matter where you live. We are all able to grow something,” says Musk.
1. What inspired Musk to make a difference to food industry?| A．The pandemic. | B．A skiing accident. |
| C．Jamie Oliver’s speech. | D．The farm-to-table movement. |
| A．To get access to healthy food. |
| B．To make their house beautiful. |
| C．To make money by selling garden produce. |
| D．To build up their strength during the pandemic. |
| A．Encouraging people to preserve nature. |
| B．Providing free food for low-income families. |
| C．Promoting “learning gardens” across schools. |
| D．Educating new gardeners to grow their own food. |
| A．Charity-minded. | B．Stubborn. | C．Easy-going. | D．Scholarly. |
6 . Queen Elizabeth National Park is a place of outstanding beauty and extreme biodiversity. On a previous underwater assignment with my wife and photographic partner, Jennifer Hayes, we’d documented healthy coral reefs surrounded with fish, sharks, and crocodiles. We knew that time, increased tourism and climate change could make the park different—so 15 years later, we returned to see how it was going.
We were photographing some jellyfish. Jennifer, her back to me, was focused on something above her. Out of the corner of my viewfinder, I saw a sizable crocodile coming. As I began to take its photograph, I realized that the crocodile was going to swim directly between Jennifer and me. I started to make loud noises through my regulator and moved towards Jen, firing a burst of flash-lit shots to warn her that we had company. She quickly detected my signal and turned to meet our visitor.
She gave me a quick thumbs-up, nodded OK, and said “Hello, handsome” as she bent closer to take its photos. I admired her for treating the crocodile with respect, calm curiosity, and absolute joy. She didn’t feel threatened. She was familiar with this kind of crocodile in this particular place—and she had a big underwater camera housing that could double as a mighty shield (盾牌) if needed. After a few pictures the crocodile, unimpressed with us, swam downstream on its way to do other crocodile things. We continued our search for jellyfish.
There is always risk in our line of work. But this encounter highlighted the good news that we saw all around us here. The crocodile is an indicator animal, a symbol of a healthy ecosystem that can support top predators (捕食性动物). The easing of travel restrictions is bound to bring more tourists—so it’s vital to maintain a balance among ecotourism, exploration, and conservation. That’s possible if visitors adopt the same philosophy that we hold toward that curious crocodile. We enter Earth’s oceans on their terms, not our own.
1. What was the author’s purpose in returning to Queen Elizabeth National Park?| A．To enjoy its beauty. | B．To assess a document. |
| C．To check its ecosystem. | D．To photograph jellyfish. |
| A．She met it before. | B．She trusted her husband. |
| C．She could protect herself. | D．She longed for its company. |
| A．Explore nature with curiosity. |
| B．Respect nature while exploring it. |
| C．Study nature while developing tourism. |
| D．Protect nature through biological research. |
| A．A Narrow Escape | B．A Risky Job |
| C．An Underwater Assignment | D．A Chance Meeting |
7 . A new study suggests that crop insurance serves as a disincentive （抑制因素） for farmers to adopt climate change relief measures on their croplands.
The study by researchers at North Carolina State University examined the interactions of warmer temperatures, crop yield （产量） risk and crop insurance participation by farmers. For the study, researchers developed models using historical county-level corn and soybean yield data in the United States, with an eye toward understanding the production impacts of rising temperatures.
The researchers found that variation in crop yield due to higher temperatures rose when more farmers had crop insurance. Interestingly, the results showed greater variability effects for corn yields than for soybean yields.
“This could be an unintended consequence of the government’s providing subsidies for crop insurance, which costs a large sum of money,” said Rod M. Rejesus, professor of agricultural and resource economics at NC State and the author of the research study. “The concept of moral crisis could be present here. If insurance will cover crop losses due to various effects like drought or severe weather, a farmer may not want to pay the extra expense for climate change adaptation efforts such as using cover crops to improve soil health, for example.”
The study models indicate that an increase of daily minimum and maximum temperatures of 1 degree Celsius would increase county-level corn yield variability by 8. 6 bushels （1 bushel equals to 35. 24 L） per acre if 80% of farmers in a county have crop insurance. The same temperature rise in a county with 10％ crop insurance participation would increase corn yield variability by just 6.2 bushels per acre.
The researchers bring up possible solutions to this situation for policymakers. They include providing more subsidies to encourage farmers’ use of climate change relief efforts—like soil health practices—and starting high-level policy conversations about how to possibly adjust rules and guidelines that govern crop insurance contracts in order to reduce the disincentive effects.
1. What does the study find about crop insurance?| A．It ensures crop production. | B．It leads to unexpected side effects. |
| C．It results in worse climate change. | D．It doesn’t bring any benefits to farmers. |
| A．Market support. | B．Verbal support. |
| C．Technical assistance. | D．Financial aid. |
| A．Moral crisis. | B．Law issue. |
| C．Study models. | D．Custom change. |
| A．By doing experiments. | B．By making a comparison. |
| C．By listing figures. | D．By consulting experts. |
Polar bears are undergoing hunger in a world
Polar bears live in the environment too cold for most animals. For most of the year, they live and hunt on Arctic sea ice. Nature has prepared
Polar bears’ world is melting. Studies show that polar ice
9 . Michael Jackson had Bubbles, a chimpanzee(黑猩猩). Justin Bieber had Og Mally, a capuchin(卷尾猴), until it was seized by German customs officials and put in a zoo. Rihanna has been photographed bottle-feeding a baby monkey on holiday. The stars would find few fans in the British government, which on December 12, 2020 placed new restrictions on keeping primates(灵长目动物)as pets. Somewhere between 1,000 and 5,000 marmoserts, lemurs, tamarins and other little species of primates are kept in private ownership in Britain, the government says, often bored to misery.
One of the benefits of cutting loose from the European continent is that Britain can fully express its passion for animals. Politicians are only too happy to work for it, for pet-friendly policies are cheap and popular. In the previous election, the Tory Party promised to help reunite missing pets with their owners by making it compulsory to put chips into the bodies of cats and dogs, and to deal with animal smuggling(走私). The Labour Party promised to ban the live-boiling of lobsters in restaurants.
Yet, Britain’s animal welfare laws are already among the most comprehensive in the world, according to the Animal Protection Index.
Wild animals in traveling circuses were banned by law last year, but a decreasing public appetite for parades of elephants and tigers balanced on chairs had already put an end to the business. By the time the ban came into force, only two licensed animal circuses were left in Britain. Members of Parliament are moved by the sad loss of pets because of motor accidents. James Daly has proposed Gizmo’s Law, named after a cat, the victim of a hit-and-run accident, which was burned without its owner’s knowledge. The law requires that dead animals be brought back from the roadside to scan them for microchips, so that they can be reunited with their brokenhearted owners rather than being burned without their names being known. A draft bill in 2018 proposed criminalizing drivers who failed to stop after striking a cat. Hit-and-runs on dogs, pigs, goats and humans are already illegal.
1. What does the author want to introduce by mentioning the three stars in Paragraph 1?| A．A recent pet-friendly policy in Britain. |
| B．British people’s passion for animals. |
| C．A trend towards keeping primates as pets. |
| D．The present situation of primates in Britain. |
| A．They’re two-faced about animal welfare. |
| B．They disapprove of European animal welfare. |
| C．They used to blame each other on animal welfare. |
| D．They devoted to making laws on animal welfare. |
| A．To track the hit-and-run driver. |
| B．To help the animals find their way home. |
| C．To inform their owners of the accidents. |
| D．To find out the exact locations of the accidents. |
| A．Animal welfare: all you need to know |
| B．Could Britain be a leader in animal welfare? |
| C．Could animal welfare plans be smart politics? |
| D．Animal welfare: a favorite issue for politicians. |
10 . Shakespeare said, “All the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players.”
When the dog made his
As Uzunsoy lay on the ground feigning (假装) a
While the audience and cast members were obviously amused by the dog and didn’t mind the
Dog-loving Uzunsoy is determined to
| A．Besides | B．However | C．Therefore | D．Otherwise |
| A．case | B．habit | C．dream | D．purpose |
| A．deal | B．promise | C．entrance | D．wish |
| A．cutting down | B．taking on | C．mixing up | D．looking for |
| A．realistic | B．amusing | C．clumsy | D．strange |
| A．guidance | B．applause | C．comfort | D．medicine |
| A．skill | B．fall | C．turn | D．jump |
| A．unwillingly | B．violently | C．casually | D．gently |
| A．explain | B．admit | C．predict | D．realize |
| A．freezing | B．bothering | C．approaching | D．beating |
| A．annoyed | B．touched | C．embarrassed | D．ashamed |
| A．help | B．punish | C．bite | D．join |
| A．appreciating | B．expecting | C．clarifying | D．accepting |
| A．praise | B．attention | C．rest | D．interruption |
| A．show | B．joke | C．rescue | D．visit |
| A．eat | B．wait | C．sleep | D．perform |
| A．astonished | B．afraid | C．sure | D．worried |
| A．find | B．pay | C．award | D．follow |
| A．delay | B．avoid | C．keep | D．imagine |
| A．gift | B．accident | C．excuse | D．role |
