1 . My kitchen may be the best kitchen on the planet. That is because when I look out of its window can see the west side of Grandeur Peak. Grandeur Peak is one of the most attractive mountains in central Wasatch, with its animals, trees, morning clouds, evening sunset, and the mountain’s paragliders (滑翔伞运动员).

The number of paragliders flying above Grandeur Peak has grown over the past 15 years, so much so that they have become part of the mountain. But during the past year they have largely disappeared. Some paragliders told me that the wind became too strong to fly in. The wind is too strong! Is this another character of our changing climate (气候)? Will paragliding be a sport affected by a warming planet? Utah has been much windier in the past few years. For me, a scientist who studies living things, it is easy to believe that our future will be windier. This year it’s getting super-hot, and the planet is warming faster than scientists expected. I can’t help but worry that the future of paragliding in Utah is not bright.

I’m writing to the brave people who fly from Grandeur Peak with beautiful wings. I want you to join Clean The Dam Air, a group that’ s working hard to fight climate change and air pollution — I’m part of it too. We are introducing a measure, which aims to remove the state sales tax (税) on grocery store food and put a carbon tax on fossil fuels (化石燃料) in its place: gas, electricity produced from fossil fuels, and natural gas. The goal isn’t to make taxes higher. The idea is to encourage everyone to reduce their use of fossil fuels. So, paragliders, join us. Now is the time to take care of our planet. If we succeed, then Utah can be an example to others in fighting climate change.

1. Why does the author mention his kitchen?

A．To share his love of cooking dishes.

B．To bring back his memories of paragliding.

C．To introduce Grandeur Peak’s paragliding.

D．To describe his adventures around Grandeur Peak.

2. What happened in the past year?

A．The author saw less paragliding.	B．Few people visited Grandeur Peak.
C．Air pollution became serious in Utah.	D．Strong winds stopped people going outside.

3. What is the author’s attitude towards the future of paragliding in Utah?

A．Uncaring.

B．Supportive.

C．Positive.

D．Worried.

4. What did the author call on paragliders to do?

A．Buy those foods that are taxed less.

B．Reduce flying with wings in Grandeur Peak.

C．Join him to support a program about taxing.

D．Join a group to improve their paragliding skills.

2 . On November 8th, a tornado, the most powerful in the past 70 years, hit Jersey, causing great damages to the area and leaving the residents in great panic.

“Suddenly, the windows of the waiting room exploded in and dragged everything inside. My cars have been completely destroyed by branches and fences, and my garden is completely gone. There’s no furniture, no fence; everything has been thrown everywhere. At first there was lightning but then a strange noise and strange darkness came over the whole house. It was like being in a scary scene in the movie The Wizard of Oz,” Ashleigh Quail-Charleston, a Jersey resident, told the Bailiwick Express after the tornado that struck overnight on November 1—2 during Storm Ciaran.

The consequence looked like a bomb had gone off: cars hit, roofs with holes, windows broken. “A huge tree leans drunkenly against a block of flats. Piles of branches are piled optionally and pavements are covered with pieces,” said Chris Stone at BBC Radio Jersey. The tornado was powerful and exceptionally rare, caused by a severe thunderstorm that had sent out intense lightning and huge hailstones described as “ice bombs”. The Tornado and Storm Research Organization (Torro) and Jersey Met Office revealed the tornado left a trail of damages 8 km long across the island, and rated its intensity as T6 on an international scale of tornado power.

According to Torro records, this was the most powerful tornado to strike anywhere in the British Isles or Channel Islands since December 7th, 1954 when a tornado struck west London, leaving tremendous devastation, with Gunnersbury railway station torn apart, roofs torn off houses and one car even thrown through the air.

Tornados during Storm Ciaran also hit Sompting in West Sussex and Loders in Dorset. One resident in Loders, Sophie van Hensbergen, described the moment, saying, “The tornado struck with a very, very powerful whistling sound and the windows looked as though we were in a car wash.”

1. Why is The Wizard of Oz mentioned in paragraph 2?

A．To summarize the consequence.	B．To introduce the topic.
C．To enrich the readers’ knowledge.	D．To help describe the tornado.

2. What does paragraph 3 mainly about?

A．How tornado was rated.

B．What caused the tornado.

C．How severe the tornado was.

D．What should be done to prevent the tornado.

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

A．Marks.

B．Damages.

C．Memory.

D．Impression.

4. What is this text?

A．A news item.	B．A science report.
C．A movie reviewer.	D．A weather forcast.

3 . Should we hide in the “Triangle (三角) of Life” when the earthquake comes?

At 1:39 on June 15, a magnitude (里氏) 3.1 earthquake occurred in Qingpu District, Shanghai, with a focal depth of 8 kilometers. Earthquakes are one of the major natural disasters, so how to avoid danger and self rescue during earthquakes has become a topic of great concern.

There has always been a saying on the Internet that when an earthquake comes, collapsed objects and solid large objects will form a triangular space around them(the “Triangle of Life area”), and hiding in this area will have a greater probability of survival, which many people believe deeply.

In this regard, the China Earthquake Administration said that although observing the ruins after the earthquake, we can find that there are similar triangular spaces in some places.

However, when an earthquake occurs, people cannot know in advance the way of the earthquake, the direction of the collapse of buildings or objects, and it is difficult to know where there will be the so-called “Triangle of Life”.

The “Triangle of Life area” was proposed by an American disaster relief worker named Kupp, who believed that traditional self-help methods such as drilling tables were no longer suitable for people living in modern buildings. The collapsed floor structure would crush the tables or beds for refuge, and only hiding in the triangle area could survive.

Although the “Triangle of Life area” self-help method has been popular for more than ten years. However, the American Red Cross, the California State Emergency Service Office and earthquake experts have all pointed out the irrationality of the “Triangle of Life”. The Chinese Ministry of Emergency Management has also provided a refutation explanation.

In fact, after an earthquake, the internationally recognized most reliable method of self rescue is ‘lying on the ground, blocking, and holding onto your hands’. You should lie down, squat down, or sit down, try to lower the center of gravity of the body, and protect important parts such as the head, neck, eyes, and mouth and nose.

1. What information can we learn about the “Triangle of Life” in the first three paragraphs?

A．The Triangle of Life area is an official definition.

B．Many people believe in the “Triangle of Life”.

C．The earthquake in Shanghai has caused panic among the masses.

D．When an earthquake strikes, one should hide in the triangle area.

2. Why did disaster relief personnel propose the definition of a triangular area?

A．To protect himself	B．To overthrow the government
C．To avoid earthquakes	D．To attract attention

3. According to the passage, what are the unreasonable aspects of the triangle area?

A．Its unpredictability	B．Its out-of-date construction
C．Its instability	D．Its illegality

4. Where may this article be selected from?

A．Newspaper

B．Horror Book

C．History Book

D．Science Magazine

4 . Yang He, a 64-year-old man from Yichang, Hubei, has observed the changes in finless porpoises (江豚) population with his camera for six years. As a(n) _________ of the finless porpoise, he has taken more than 100,000 photos of them so far.

Every day, Yang wakes up early and drives to the _________ of the Yangtze River. He waits _________ there for hours for finless porpoises to capture (捕捉) their _________ with his camera. Yang _________ finless porpoises very well. They are just like his children. As soon as one of them comes out from the water, he can tell which family it _________ .

The Yangtze finless porpoise is so _________ to the Yangtze River that any change in the health of its living environment can support or _________ its survival. “When I was a teenager, I could see many finless porpoises. I would often observe them _________ boats in the river,” Yang says. “But __________ human activities, finless porpoises became fewer.”

However, the situation has changed as __________ measures have been taken to protect the species. In 2017, Yang was __________ enough to take a photo of a finless porpoise after a long waiting. In 2019, he was able to take more photos, including images of the porpoises __________ fish near the riverbank.

Thanks to his camera, he once discovered and __________ a porpoise whose tail became entangled (缠住) with a rope. “I will make it my life’s work to __________ this amazing creature.” Yang says.

1.

A．leader

B．admirer

C．hunter

D．advisor

2.

A．banks

B．waves

C．beaches

D．sights

3.

A．suddenly

B．patiently

C．formally

D．strangely

4.

A．imagination

B．anxiety

C．strength

D．beauty

5.

A．follows

B．listens

C．knows

D．exchanges

6.

A．belongs to

B．focuses on

C．applies for

D．adapts to

7.

A．addicted

B．connected

C．convenient

D．important

8.

A．threaten

B．balance

C．protect

D．promote

9.

A．crashing

B．trapping

C．tracking

D．preventing

10.

A．in addition to

B．due to

C．in spite of

D．apart from

11.

A．global

B．possible

C．effective

D．historic

12.

A．creative

B．lucky

C．magic

D．valuable

13.

A．catching

B．striking

C．kicking

D．drawing

14.

A．inspired

B．approached

C．reserved

D．rescued

15.

A．conquer

B．remind

C．document

D．identify

5 . Steller or Northern Sea Lions are sometimes confused with California Sea Lions but are much larger and lighter in color. Males may grow to 11 feet in length and weigh almost 2,500 pounds.     1     Steller Sea Lions are light brown to reddish-brown in color. They have a boxy, bear-like head and a very thick neck.

Stellers are not often seen in bays or rivers. Steller pups are born on offshore islands from mid-May to mid-July and weigh 35—50 pounds.     2     Then they spend roughly equal amounts of time hunting and nursing pups on land. Pups usually nurse for a year, but some in Alaska continue to nurse for up to three years. During the breeding season, males do not leave their territories.

    3     They hunt schooling fish, squid, rockfish, and occasionally salmon. In turn, they are hunted by killer whales, white sharks, and sea elephants.

The current population of Steller Sea Lions is about 40,000 along the entire Pacific coast. There is great concern about this species. The western Aleutian stock has dropped by 80 percent in the last 30 years. In 1997, the western stock in Alaska was listed as endangered.     4     However, researchers believe possibilities include a decline in specific species of fish they eat, competition with commercial fisheries in the Gulf of Alaska, and possible hunting by killer whales. Drowning, being caught in nets, and gunshots are other reasons for the Stellers’ decline. Stellers are protected under the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act.     5    

A．Steller Sea Lions eat a variety of fishes.

B．Reasons for this decline are not known.

C．The male has a thick neck and looks like a lion.

D．They spend about half their time on land and half in water.

E．Mothers stay with pups for one to two weeks before hunting at sea.

F．They forbid the killing, harming or disturbance of any sea mammal.

G．Females are much smaller, growing to 9 feet in length and weighing up to 1,000 pounds.

6 . Time is running short to address climate change, but there are possible and effective solutions on the table, according to a new UN climate report released in March.

Only swift, dramatic, and sustained emission (排放) cuts will be enough to meet the world’s climate goals, according to the new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a body of climate experts that regularly summarize the state of this issue.

“We are walking when we should be running fast,” said Hoesung Lee, IPCC chair, in a press conference announcing the report in March. To limit warming to 1.5℃ above preindustrial levels, the target set by international climate agreements, annual greenhouse-gas emission will need to be cut by nearly half between now and 2030, according to the report. It calculates that the results from actions taken now will be clear in global temperature trends within two decades.

“We already have the technology and the know-how to get the job done,” said Inger Andersen, executive director of UN Environment Programme, during the press conference. “Stopping climate change will still be complicated, and long-term emission cuts may largely rely on technologies, like carbon dioxide removal, that are still unproven at scale. In addition to technological advances, cutting emission in industries that are difficult to transform will involve many factors.”

But in the near term, there’s a clear path forward for the emission cuts needed to put the planet on the right track. There are some of the tasks with the lowest cost and highest potential to address climate change during this decade, such as developing wind and solar power, cutting methane (甲烷) emission from fossil-fuel production and waste, protecting natural ecosystems that trap carbon, and using energy efficiently in vehicles, homes, and industries.

1. What is the author’s attitude towards tackling climate change?

A．Positive.

B．Worried.

C．Skeptical.

D．Uncertain.

2. What does Hoesung Lee mean?

A．It’s impossible to achieve the climate goal.

B．He knows how to cut emission efficiently.

C．The pace of global warming is speeding up.

D．He is dissatisfied with current emission cuts.

3. What is the guarantee of long-term emission reduction according to Inger Andersen?

A．Policy.

B．Market.

C．Funding.

D．Technology.

4. What message does this text mainly convey?

A．Emission cutting is urgent.

B．Climate change is unstoppable.

C．Global warming is becoming complicated.

D．Meeting climate goals needs cooperation.

7 . Surely one of the world’s most attractive rivers as well as being its longest, the mighty Nile River runs constantly ever northwards 6,650 kilometre (4,132 miles) from its origins in Africa to its mouth on the Uat-Ur, the Egyptian word for the Mediterranean Sea. Along its passage, it gave life to the ancient Egyptians, nourishing (滋养) them with its annual deep layers of rich black earth providing the basis for the agriculture, which supported the flowering of their culture.

Seneca, the Roman philosopher and statesman, described the Nile as a “remarkable sight” and an amazing wonder. The surviving records indicate this is an opinion widely shared by ancient writers who visited Egypt’s “mother of all men”.

The river gains its name from the Greek “Neilos”, meaning valley, although the ancient Egyptians called their river Ar, or “black” after its rich earth. However, the story of the Nile River doesn’t begin in the expansive delta (三角洲) of marshes (沼泽) and lakes of its Mediterranean exit, but in two distinct sources, the Blue Nile, which falls down from the Abyssinian highlands and the White Nile, which springs from equatorial Africa.

The Nile’s broad fan-shaped Delta is flat and green. At its farthest reaches, Alexander the Great built Alexandria, a busy port city and home to the Library of Alexandria and the famed Pharos Lighthouse, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Beyond the expanse of the Nile Delta lies the Mediterranean and Europe. At the far end of the Nile, sat Aswan, the gateway city to Egypt, a small, hot, garrison town for Egypt’s armies as they hotly contested the territory with Nubia over the centuries.

1. How did the Nile River contribute to the ancient Egypt’s civilization?

A．By supplying enough drinking water.

B．By providing transport to the country.

C．By offering support to the agriculture.

D．By developing its tourism to other states.

2. What can be learned from paragraph 3?

A．The origins of the river are delta of marshes and lakes.

B．The White Nile flows from the Abyssinian highlands.

C．The Greek name of the river has something to do with soil.

D．The Nile River originated from two distinct destinations.

3. What do the underlined words “garrison town” in the last paragraph mean?

A．Local market.

B．Business area.

C．Military station.

D．Cultural center.

4. What is a suitable title for the text?

A．The Nile River in Ancient Egypt.

B．The Culture of Egypt and Its river.

C．The Great Function of the Nile River.

D．Important Places along the Nile River