| A．A baby. | B．A dog. | C．A cat. |
2 . A 36-year-old man is attempting to set a new record by rowing 5,000 miles solo from Hawaii to Australia while dedicating his journey to saving the planet.
Tez Steinberg, of Boulder, Colorado, plans to leave Hawaii on December 20 on his solo trip across the Pacific Ocean. Actually, it’s the second leg of an adventure that began in 2020 when he rowed solo for 71 days from Monterey, California, to Oahu, Hawaii.
Steinberg began to experience depression while he was in college. At the time, he found a solution by participating in endurance sports. “It helped me feel better,” he said. “But as I went farther and farther, pushing myself through marathons and triathlons, I discovered this belief in myself that I’m so much stronger than I thought I was.”
However, in 2016, his life took a big turn after the sudden death of his dad. The blow caused him to challenge himself even more by solo rowing across an ocean. After successfully completing the task without any prior professional experience, Steinberg realized he could use his story to inspire other people to believe in themselves and their potential to change and grow.
Recalling the first journey at sea, he said, “I was so surprised by how beautiful the ocean was, and also how much plastic I saw. So it was that realization at sea that led me to want to go back out again.” Inspired by his first expedition, Steinberg’s new mission is to focus on ocean conservation, and specifically ocean plastics. “All the plastic I saw at sea was just heartbreaking,” he said.
The upcoming voyage will be part of an attempt to break a Guinness World Record. Nevertheless, breaking records isn’t his priority. “Personally, although a world record is exciting, that’s not why I’m in it. The world record is fun for media attention, but through it we can get more donations, support and action for ocean plastics,” Steinberg said.
1. What can we learn about Steinberg from paragraphs 3 and 4?| A．He suffered academically. |
| B．He was expert in extreme sports. |
| C．He gained confidence from motivating others. |
| D．He turned to challenging tasks in face of difficulties. |
| A．To recover from the state of depression. |
| B．To relieve the pain of his father’s passing. |
| C．To inspire other people to fulfil their dreams. |
| D．To challenge himself to achieve the impossible. |
| A．To break a world record. | B．To establish a good reputation. |
| C．To contribute to ocean protection. | D．To urge governments to take action. |
| A．Stubborn and ambitious. | B．Self-centered and sympathetic. |
| C．Determined and knowledgeable. | D．Responsible and courageous. |
3 . In the northernmost edge of Colombia sits the coastal town of Acandí. Access to the town is only by water or air; there is no road that leads there. The residents there are faced with the struggles of balancing livelihoods while protecting biodiversity.
In the past, traditional community fishing methods, passed down by the elders, focused on the reasonable fishing and management of resources. However, the introduction of large-scale trawling vessels(拖网渔船) decades ago gradually depleted the area’s fishing resources, leading to damage to marine(海洋的) life seriously.
Jesús Antonio Julio Cuestas, who serves in the region’s conservation and management of marine resources, stresses the bad impact of these developments and calls for new fishing techniques. “Fishing and conservation co-exist as long as we have good management practices and reasonable use of our fishing resources,” says Cuestas. He and other officials actively monitor fishing activities in Acandí. Each morning, they visit the fish markets to gather data on fishery resources—including prices and sizes—to monitor the state of the local fishing industry.
Along with Cuestas, the fishers work to reduce their impact on the marine ecosystem. By changing fishing methods and adopting new practices, they aim for a more balanced approach to fishing. “This year the local fishermen have not used the trawl net s that were causing the death of the leatherback sea turtles,” explains Cuestas proudly. Changes include the efforts of boats to protect the seagrass that serves as feeding grounds for marine life and an end to fishers throwing net s where turtles lay their eggs.
This marine reserve in Acandí, Cuestas believes, is their greatest treasure. He attaches great importance to working together with local residents to improve the quality of life while preserving the marine ecosystem. By doing so, he imagines a picture where individuals from the fishing community can pursue various careers, such as engineers or lawyers, proudly stating that they are the products of the fishing tradition in Acandí.
1. What does the underlined word “depleted” in paragraph 2 mean?| A．Reused. | B．Restored. |
| C．Explored. | D．Reduced. |
| A．To cut down on the costs of fishing. |
| B．To improve the income of local residents. |
| C．To promote the well-being of marine wildlife. |
| D．To spread traditional community fishing methods. |
| A．The aim of the changes to fishing methods. |
| B．The efforts to preserve marine ecosystem. |
| C．The results the trawl net s have brought about. |
| D．The impact of fishers on the local environment. |
| A．Confident. | B．Uncaring. |
| C．Concerned. | D．Doubtful. |
4 . The spotlight shines brightly on the dancers as they gracefully leap across the stage. But what sets this performance apart from others is not just the skill and grace of the dancers but the unique and meaningful use of recycled materials in their costumes and set design.
The famous Japanese ballet company, K-Ballet, recently showed their new production “Plastic”, which aims to raise awareness about the global plastic pollution crisis. The costumes worn by the dancers are made from used bubble wrap, the stage is surrounded by four massive walls constructed from recycled plastic bottles, and even the 100 umbrellas used in the performance were found abandoned in the streets of Tokyo.
The dancers, including guest star Julian MacKay, look like space-age creatures with hand-cleaned plastic bottles tied to their bodies as they dance on stage. MacKay, from the United States, notes that the issue of plastic waste “really hasn’t gotten that spotlight” in the dance world and believes that the performing arts can inspire people to take action.
The problem of plastic waste is a pressing one. According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), plastic waste has doubled globally in the past 20 years, and only 9 percent of it is successfully recycled. The United Nations predicts that the volume of plastic entering the oceans will nearly triple (成为三倍) by 2040.
K-Ballet plans to keep its costumes and set design for at least a year with the hope of restaging the show and after that, the bottles will be recycled by Shirai, a waste management company. The chow’s experience and message moved audience members who attended the performance. Ayumi Kisaki, a 30-year-old actor, said, “It’s an issue I don’t usually think about. But these dancers highlighting the issue of plastic call me and all of us to find ways to recycle and reuse the plastic.”
1. How did K-Ballet draw the public’s attention to its “Plastic”?| A．By applying new equipment and set design. | B．By exhibiting new plastic products on the stage. |
| C．By creatively using recycled materials in dance. | D．y inviting American dance star Julian MacKay. |
| A．It is the best art in the dance world. | B．It is a pressing show to the audience. |
| C．It will inspire more people to take up dancing. | D．It integrates art with environmental protection. |
| A．Introduce another topic of the text. | B．Add some background information. |
| C．Provide some advice for the readers. | D．Summarize the previous paragraphs. |
| A．Impressive. | B．Entertaining. | C．Depressing. | D．Logical. |
South Koreans have enjoyed their first close-up look of new baby giant pandas at a name-revealing ceremony that is also
What to name the twin sisters was widely discussed among netizens after they were born on July 7 in theme park Everland. The names were
The baby pandas,
Everland said it would monitor the twins’ health
6 . Scientists have been experimenting with playing sounds to plants since at least the 1960s, during which time they have been exposed to everything from Beethoven to Michael Jackson. Over the years, evidence that this sort of thing can have an effect has been growing. One paper, published in 2018, claimed that an Asian shrub known as the telegraph plant grew substantially larger leaves when exposed to 56 days of Buddhist music — but not if it was exposed to Western pop music or silence. Another, published last year, found that marigolds and sage plants exposed to the noise of traffic from a busy motorway suffered growth difficulty.
Plants have been evolving (进化) alongside the insects that eat them for hundreds of millions of years. With that in mind, Heidi Appel, a botanist now at the University of Houston, and Reginald Cocroft, a biologist at the University of Missouri, wondered if plants might be sensitive to the sounds made by the animals with which they most often interact. They recorded the vibrations made by certain species of caterpillars (毛毛虫) as they chewed on leaves. These vibrations are not powerful enough to produce sound waves in the air. But they are able to travel across leaves and branches, and even to neighbouring plants if their leaves touch.
They then exposed tobacco plant — the plant biologist’s version of the laboratory mouse — to the recorded vibrations while no caterpillars were actually present. Later, they put real caterpillars on the plants to see if exposure had led them to prepare for an insect attack. The results were striking. Leaves that had been exposed had significantly higher levels of defensive chemicals, making them much harder for the caterpillars to eat. Leaves that had not been exposed to vibrations showed no such response. Other sorts of vibration — caused by the wind, for instance, or other insects that do not eat leaves — had no effect.
“Now speakers with the right audio files are more often being used to warn crops to act when insects are detected but not yet widespread,” says Dr. Cocroft. “Unlike chemical pesticides, sound waves leave no dangerous chemicals.”
1. What can we learn about plants from the first paragraph?| A．They may enjoy Western music. | B．They can’t stand Buddhist music. |
| C．They can react to different sounds. | D．They can make different sounds. |
| A．Plants can make a cry for help. | B．Plants evolve alongside insects. |
| C．Plants are sensitive to the sounds. | D．Plants have been studied for years. |
| A．They can recongnize harmful vibrations. | B．They look like laboratory mice. |
| C．They can threaten the caterpillars. | D．They can release poisonous chemicals. |
| A．Disadvantages of chemical pesticides. | B．Application of the experimental results. |
| C．Interaction between plants and insects. | D．Warning system of widespread insects. |
With more and more scientists saying we no longer have a climate problem but a climate emergency, the call for all hands to be part
In 2014, after attending one of Al Gore’s Climate Reality training workshops, Paul Severance, a member of Elders Action Network(EAN), started ECA, which
ECA’s mission is to reach out to older individuals and let them join, so they can use their expertise, experience and knowledge
8 . A team of leading environmental experts have warned that the current war on plastic is detracting from the bigger threats to the environment. In an article, they say that while plastic waste is an issue, its prominence in the general public’s concern for the environment is overshadowing greater threats, for example, climate change and biodiversity loss.
The team argue that much of the bad talk about plastic waste is based on data that is not always representative of the environments that have been sampled. The dislike of plastic associated with this could encourage the use of alternative materials with potentially harmful effects.
The authors warn that plastic pollution dominates the public’s concern for the environment and has been exploited politically, after capturing the attention of the world, for example, through the images of wildlife caught in plastic was alarmist headlines. They say small political gestures such as law banning cosmetic microplastics, taxing plastic bags, and financial rewards for using reusable containers, as well as the promotion of products as “green” for containing less plastic than alternatives, make people neglect other environmental problems that are not as noticeable as plastic pollution.
The article also highlights that plastic is not the only type of polluting materials, originating from human activity that pollutes the environment. Other examples include natural textile fibres such as cotton and wool, and brake-wear particles from vehicles — all of which are present in different places. The authors note that these materials are often much more abundant than microplastics and some are associated with “plastic alternatives” that are marketed as solutions to plastic pollution. The impacts of these materials are less well-known than plastic and microplastic pollution, yet they could have huge impacts.
The article states that solutions are likely to come from a greater focus on designing materials and products that can be recycled, that have their end-of-life, and that markets and facilities exist to recycle.
1. What’s the experts’ attitude towards the current war on plastic?| A．Indifferent. | B．Favorable. | C．Critical. | D．Objective. |
| A．The negative view of plastic. |
| B．The use of alternative materials. |
| C．The potential harmful effects. |
| D．The defense for plastic. |
| A．Explain a rule. | B．Make a comparison. |
| C．Clarify a point. | D．Offer a suggestion. |
| A．A response to plastic pollution. |
| B．A schedule to fight against pollution. |
| C．An argument against climate change. |
| D．A guide to plastic management. |
9 . Flora was playing with her new dog Stitch, while wearing a favourite second-hand sweater. Stitch jumped up and grabbed her sleeve-and tore several holes in it with her sharp teeth.
Flora wasn’t about to throw the item out. “I can’t bring myself to throw away nice clothing just because of a hole, ”she explains. She decided to tackle a new skill repairing. She began by reading a book called Make Do and Repair, about the innovative ways to avoid waste.
Instead of tying to make the repair as small as possible, she turned to “visible fixing, ”a fashion in repairing clothes that leaves an intentionally obvious fix. She added flowers, or other small designs to damaged clothes. “Every time you do a repair, it’s like getting a new piece of clothing, ”says Flora.
Sadly, we have been in the habit of replacing things instead of repairing them—and the garbage is piling up. Worldwide, we throw out 92 million tonnes of fabric every year.
The good news is that fixing things can help solve the waste problem. It’s part of a larger shift toward a circular economy -the idea that instead of throwing out items once they are broken or out of date, we reuse or repair them, keeping them out of the waste yard for as long as possible.
There was a time when people fixed things themselves or called their local repair shop, But as more items were produced and prices dropped, replacing even a big appliance became more convenient.
That’s changing, in part due to information now available online. The popular how-to site iFixit. com has enabled more than 100 million repairs.
“Companies have been designing products that break easily or become outdated quickly, forcing consumers to buy new ones or purchase upgrades. We’re now seeing some producers show interest in making it possible for users to repair things. Some companies are selling official parts and sharing their repair guides through iFixit. IFixit has grown into a database with over 100, 000 repair manuals. We have this vision of a world where repair is the expectation for all things that are made, ”says Chamberlain, director of iFixit.
1. Why did Flora read a book?| A．For innovation. | B．For repairing skills. |
| C．For a better life. | D．For dog-raising information. |
| A．People’s habit. | B．Repairing quality. |
| C．Fabric production. | D．Worldwide garbage. |
| A．To remove landfills. | B．To increase production. |
| C．To help exchange goods. | D．To realize resource cycle. |
| A．He expects more wiser users. |
| B．He supports purchase upgrades. |
| C．He creates the repairing database of iFixit. |
| D．He has a desire for companies and consumers. |
One of my favourite things about spring is the arrival of different species of birds. My grandfather was a bird lover, and I picked up the birdwatching hobby at a young age, thanks to his influence. My husband John and I found it a relaxing way to enjoy nature; we like birdwatching when we go camping or hiking. Plus, I have a great love of nature photography, so when we sit out in the backyard of our home, I always have my digital camera with me. John is an artist, and he often paints the birds I photograph.
Usually when the yellow warblers (莺) come back from the south in springtime, they pass us by; we don’t typically see them hanging around our home. But not on this particular sunny day in spring. As soon as I finished my workday, I put on a light jacket and went out to the backyard to relax in my favourite way: by watching the birds.
While taking some pictures of cardinals (红衣凤头鸟) and chickadees (北美山雀) at one of our feeders, I looked up and noticed this yellow warbler in our maple tree. The tree had recently begun to bud, and the bird’s yellow feathers looked striking against the yellow blooms, so I took this photo. Our backyard has a variety of trees and between my husband and me, we’ve documented almost 40 different species of birds. I’ve photographed most of them, but some can be a bit camera shy so I also keep a written list of what we see. Our more common visitors are cardinals, chickadees, hummingbirds and various sparrows.
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。
One day, I was watching the yellow warbler jumping among trees when a snake crawled towards it.
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At this time, I saw many small stones in the backyard.
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