1 . Nzou is one of the quiet stars of the Rhino& Elephant Conservation(保护) Programme at Imire in Zimbabwe(津巴布韦). The oldest elephant in the protected area, Nzou is around 55 years old, and has been there since she was two years old.
It is said that elephants never forget, but this special animal seems to have forgotten she is an elephant,and now thinks of herself as one of the buffaloes(水牛).
Nzou was brought to the area in the 1970s, when she lost her parents. She was encouraged to stay with the elephants. But she was happy with the buffaloes and has lived with them ever since. They could understand each other. Their relationship is amazing but not easy. Buffalo leaders are usually male(雄性的). Over the 40+ years that Nzou has been the leader, she has killed 14 young male buffalo who challenged her.
Nzou has never lost her elephant's instinct(本能) for loyalty(忠诚). One day, one of her keepers was attacked by a young male buffalo. Nzou stood over him as he waited for help to arrive, protecting him against more attacks from the buffalo.
Nzou no longer communicates with the other elephants at Imire perhaps she has forgotten how and no longer understands what they are saying. She is happy with the buffalo, and as long as they don't step out of line, she is happy and pleased to be their leader.
1. How long has Nzou been at Imire?A.70 years. | B.55 years. | C.2 years. | D.53 years. |
A.Friends | B.Enemies | C.Leader and followers | D.Mother and children |
A.powerful and loyal | B.loyal and honest |
C.honest and brave | D.powerful and unfriendly |
A.An elephant living with buffaloes | B.An elephant showing loyalty to her keepers |
C.An elephant star in Zimbabwe | D.An elephant challenging buffaloes |
2 . Boston Marathon runners in recent years may have seen a smiling furry face around the two-mile mark. It’s Spencer, the therapy (治疗) dog, who became known as an unofficial mascot (吉祥物) for the marathon, He’s shown up on the sidelines every year since 2015—rain or shine.
One particularly rainy marathon catapulted Spencer’s fame, In 2018, his owner, Richard Powers, decided to put a bright yellow rain coat on the dog, making him stand out even more than he usually does. Photos of Spencer, who holds a “Boston Strong” flag in his mouth, went viral, and he became an inspiration to runners and onlookers alike, During the marathon, some runners stop in their tracks to take selfies with the dog-the line sometimes growing to 20 runners long.
But in 2020, Spencer was diagnosed with a tumor (肿瘤). His owner was worried, but Spencer is a fighter. He got the care he needed and survived. In 2021, he was back on the course and it was really kind of a miracle and that really hit home to a lot of people.
Unfortunately, Spencer caught another tumor—this one cancerous—and Spencer began chemotherapy. Powers didn’t think his beloved dog would make it out to the marathon of 2022. “Miraculously, he’s still here with us and an even bigger miracle, he was strong enough to go to the marathon,” he said.
After recovering, Spencer was back to work—not just at the marathon—but as a therapy dog, alongside his companion, Penny, who is also a golden therapy dog. Powers takes his two therapy dogs around to schools, hospitals and senior living centers.
“He’s a gift to us and we’re very lucky to have him. He’s too good so we want to share him with as many people as we possibly can. He does make a difference,” Powers said.
1. Why is Spencer referred to as a mascot for Boston Marathon?A.He has a smiling furry face. | B.He appears at the event annually. |
C.He is not recognized officially. | D.He works as a therapy dog for runners. |
A.Motivation. | B.Satisfaction. | C.Fantasy. | D.Barrier. |
A.A failure in the marathon. | B.Caring for his owner. | C.Fighting against a disease. | D.Going viral. |
A.Confident, | B.Supportive. | C.Objective. | D.Negative. |
3 . According to a new research, flowers are listening. Researchers found that plants can actually hear the sound of passing bees and produce sweeter nectar (花蜜) to attract them.The team discovered that within minutes of sensing the sound waves of bee wings, the concentration of the sugar in the plant’s nectar was increased by 20 percent.
Also, flowers can remove the wind noise coming from the background. These capabilities can give plant advantages for their spreading pollen (花粉). The researchers showed that plants can rapidly respond to pollinator (传粉者) sounds.
Before the experiments, researchers made the assumption that plants can pick up the sound waves and that this might be part of the reason why many plants’ flowers are bowl-shaped, to better trap the sounds. However, after performing various experiments on 650evening primrose flowers, the nectar production was measured both in silence and at three different frequency levels. Also, a recording of the noise made by bees was played. In just three minutes, the nectar changes have been noticed and it has been release d that silence and the high and mid-frequency sounds had no effect. The team has also performed an experiment with plants that had some flower petals removed and no change in nectar production was noted. Hence, it is proved that the flowers petals have the job of the ears.
The more sweet nectar comes out, the more will be the chances for pollen to be spread and also makes it more likely that the insects will return to flowers of the same species in the future. However, more work needs to be carried out on how the sounds are turned into a trigger for sweeter nectar production.
1. Why do plants produce sweeter nectar?.A.To attract bees. | B.To be more beautiful. |
C.To avoid enemies. | D.To drive insects away. |
A.Why researchers did the experiments. | B.How researchers made the discovery. |
C.What use can be made of the discovery. | D.What the importance of the discovery is. |
A.High sound increases sugar in the nectar. |
B.Many plants’ flowers are bowl-shaped to catch light. |
C.Flowers petals have no effect on nectar production. |
D.More research is needed to fully understand the process. |
A.A diary. | B.A novel. | C.A newspaper. | D.A notebook. |
4 . The distinctive smell of wet dogs was a reminder of the Christmas vacation when I was twelve. My cousins from Ohio were
On the third day of our festivities, we were so
We all
A.working | B.travelling | C.visiting | D.coming |
A.air | B.snow | C.water | D.sun |
A.pond | B.sea | C.beach | D.well |
A.change | B.ruin | C.attempt | D.lengthen |
A.gifted | B.nervous | C.frustrated | D.eager |
A.warmth | B.freeze | C.temperature | D.freedom |
A.excitement | B.fear | C.courage | D.anxiety |
A.surfing | B.struggling | C.performing | D.swimming |
A.normally | B.actually | C.especially | D.generally |
A.laughed | B.screamed | C.watched | D.escaped |
A.guard | B.friend | C.dog | D.cousin |
A.cover | B.hide | C.bury | D.equip |
A.curious | B.clean | C.wet | D.lost |
A.break away | B.dry out | C.calm down | D.get up |
A.informing | B.warning | C.convincing | D.reminding |
Once upon a time, in a quiet countryside, there lived a humble farmer with a heart as vast as his fields. He had a litter of adorable puppies that he needed to find new homes for. One sunny morning, he decided to paint a sign advertising the puppies and set off to nail it to a post at the edge of his yard.
As he hammered in the last nail, he felt a small hand pulling at his clothes. Looking down, he saw the sincere eyes of a little boy looking up at him. The boy said. “Sir. I want to buy one of your puppies.”
The farmer, wiping the sweat from his face, replied, “Well, these puppies come from fine parents and costa good deal of money.” The boy’s head drooped (下垂) for a moment, but he reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of change, holding it up to the farmer. “I’ve got 89 cents. Is that enough at least to take a look?”
The farmer’s heart warmed, and he smiled, saying, “Of course.” He then let out a whistle (口哨), calling, “Here, Dolly!” With that, a charming sight appeared as Dolly and her four adorable pups rushed out from the doghouse and down the slope. The little boy pressed his face against the fence, his eyes dancing with delight.
As the four puppies approached the fence, the boy noticed something moving inside the doghouse. Slowly, another little fur ball appeared, obviously smaller than the others, It wobbled (摇晃) down the slope, doing its best to catch up. The boy was very excited, and he pointed to the puppy, saying, “I want that one.”
The farmer, however, knelt down at the boy’s side and gently said, “Son, you won’t want that puppy. He will never be able to run and play with you like these other dogs would.”
注意:1.续写词数应为150左右;
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
The boy took a step back, showing his disabled left leg.
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The little boy’s face lit up with gratitude (感激).
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6 . Humans have always been working Earth’s land, and they also have always been studying and hoping to work the land of Mars one day.
Planetary scientist Abhilash Ramachandran at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference reported that Martian dirt may have all the necessary nutrients for growing rice, one of humankind’s most important foods. However, he emphasizes that the plant may need a bit of help to survive in perchlorate (高氯酸盐), a chemical that can be harmful to plants and has been detected on the surface of Mars.
Ramachandran says they want to send humans to Mars, but they cannot take everything there, especially food. He thinks it’s going to be expensive, but growing rice there would be ideal.
Ramachandran and his colleagues grew rice plants in a Martian soil simulant (模拟物). They also grew rice in pure potting mix as well as several mixtures of the potting mix and soil simulant. All pots were watered once or twice a day. The team found rice plants did grow in the artificial dirt of Mars. However, the plants developed slighter shoots and thinner roots than the plants that grew from the potting mix and hybrid soils. The researchers also tried growing rice in soil with added perchlorate. They sourced some rice varieties—modified to stand environmental stressors like drought—and grew them in Mars-like dirt with and without perchlorate. No rice plants grew in a concentration of 3 g of perchlorate per kilogram of soil. But when the concentration was just I g per kilogram, one of the rice varieties grew both a shoot and a root, while another managed to grow a root.
The findings are encouraging, suggesting that by changing to improve with one successful modified gene, humans might eventually be able to develop a rice cultivar suitable for Mars.
1. What does Ramachandran stress about growing rice on Mars in paragraph 2?A.The challenge. | B.The reason. | C.The benefit. | D.The purpose. |
A.To purify the Martian air. | B.To feed Martian explorers. |
C.To test the Martian soil simulant. | D.To improve the Martian soil environment. |
A.Their weight ranged from 1 g to 3 g. |
B.They stopped growing in Mars-like dirt. |
C.They never developed roots in soil with perchlorate. |
D.Their growth was affected by perchlorate’s concentration. |
A.Suspicious. | B.Critical. | C.Positive. | D.Curious. |
7 . Wildlife conservation is the practice of protecting plant and animal species and their habitats. As part of the world’s ecosystems, wildlife provides balance and stability to nature’s processes. Wildlife conservation is aimed to ensure the survival of these species and educate people on living sustainably with other species.
The number of people has grown to more than eight billion today, and it continues to rapidly grow. The economic growth endangers the habitats and existence of various types of wildlife around the world, particularly animals and plants that may be displaced for land development, or used for food or other human purposes. This threat is at top of the list and means natural resources are being consumed faster than ever by the billions of people on the planet. The introduction of invasive species from other parts of the world is another threat to wildlife. Other threats include climate change, pollution, fishing and hunting.
International organizations like the World Wildlife Fund, Conservation International, Wildlife Conservation Society and the United Nations work to support global animal and habitat conservation on many different fronts. They work with the government to establish and protect public lands, like national parks and wildlife protection areas. They help write legislation(法规), such as the Endangered Species Act(ESA)of 1973 in the United States, to protect various species. They work with law enforcement to charge those with wildlife crimes. They also promote biodiversity to support the growing human population while preserving existing species and habitats.
National Geographic Explorers, like conservation biologists Camille Coudrat and Titus Adhola, are working to slow the extinction of global species and protect global biodiversity and habitats. Environmental filmmakers and photographers, like Thomas P. Peschak, are essential to conservation efforts as well, documenting and bringing attention to endangered wildlife all over the world.
1. Which is a goal of wildlife conservation according to the text?A.To stop introducing invasive species. | B.To encourage harmonious coexistence. |
C.To control the number of world people. | D.To increase the use of natural resources. |
A.Hunting. | B.Human activity. | C.Pollution. | D.Climate change. |
A.The activities of protection areas. |
B.The importance of biodiversity promotion. |
C.The relevant efforts of international organizations. |
D.The great impact of wildlife crimes on ecosystems. |
A.The necessity of legislation. |
B.The wildlife conservation’s achievements. |
C.The individuals’ contributions to the environment. |
D.The statistics about the wildlife conservation efforts. |
A.Rainy. | B.Fine. | C.Cloudy. |
1. 捡垃圾的原因及意义;
2. 报名方式及截止日期。
注意:
1. 写作词数应为80左右;
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Dear fellow students,
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Students Union
10 . Damon Carson must have one of the most interesting inboxes in the world. On any given day, in his office in Denver in the western US state of Colorado, he will field numerous inquiries from people looking to unload things. We’re not talking about someone trying to dispense with an old refrigerator or some out-of-fashion clothing, but companies.
Picture large companies looking to unload massive amounts of waste that would otherwise go to the landfill.
For example, Carson got a request from a battery company to deal with 22 tonnes of barium sulfate (硫酸钡) used in lead-acid batteries. A load of plastic garbage cans from a discount store were just waiting for him to repurpose them. And a recreation company wanted to know if Carson was interested in 360 kilograms of blue ropes, which they no longer needed to make the handles on coolers.
“They don’t want to just throw the waste away,” he explains. “Nor should they. Because it has value.” He is a matchmaker of the never-ending waste stream, trying not to pair people with people, but things with people. For nearly a decade, his company, Repurposed Materials, has been involved in this business. He’s not looking to recycle the things he gets-breaking them down to make something new-but rather finding a second life for cast-off goods in their original forms.
Once working in construction, Carson was familiar with an almost everyday phenomenon. “You’d open up one of these big construction dumpsters (大垃圾桶) and things would start falling out,” he says. He would find perfectly good windows still covered with plastic from the factory. “You can’t wrap your mind around how wasteful America is until you run a waste company,” he says. He began thinking about creating a sort of secondhand hardware store that would sell unwanted materials and keep them out of the waste stream. Then, in 2010, a business was born.
1. What does the underlined phrase “dispense with” in the first paragraph mean?A.Make use of. | B.Look forward to. |
C.Get rid of. | D.Come back to. |
A.To prove Carson’s tough work. | B.To indicate Carson’s “big business”. |
C.To appeal for waste management. | D.To explain the source of the material. |
A.By creating something new. | B.By selling them to companies. |
C.By recycling them to save energy. | D.By getting others to use them. |
A.His disappointment at America. | B.His love for secondhand hardware. |
C.His exposure to too much waste. | D.His experience in a waste company. |