1. What does the woman want to prepare for her mother?
| A．A clean house. | B．Some nice food. | C．A comfortable chair. |
| A．Feed the mouse with peanuts. |
| B．Prepare a trap with glue on it. |
| C．Go to a field to find a mouse. |
| A．A small mouse. | B．A fat mouse. | C．A friendly mouse. |
2 . The ocean is a huge body of saltwater that covers about 71 percent of Earth’s surface. An estimated 97 percent of the world’s water is found in the ocean. Because of this, the ocean has considerable impact on weather, temperature, and the food supply of humans and other organisms. The ocean remains a mystery. More than 80 percent of the ocean has never been mapped, explored, or even seen by humans. A far greater percentage of the surfaces of the moon and the planet Mars has been mapped and studied than of our own ocean floor.
Although there is much more to learn, oceanographers have already made some amazing discoveries. For example, we know that the ocean contains towering mountain ranges and deep valleys, just like those on land. The peak of the world’s tallest mountain—Mount Qomolangma in the Himalaya, measuring 8848. 86 meters high-would not even break the surface of the water if it was placed in the Pacific Ocean’s Mariana Trench or Philippine Trench, two of the deepest parts of the ocean. On the other hand, the Atlantic Ocean is relatively shallow because large parts of its seafloor are made up of continental shelves—parts of the continents that extend far out into the ocean. The average depth of the entire ocean is 3.720 meters.
It is unknown how many different species call the ocean their home. With many ocean ecosystems suffering from rising sea temperatures, pollution, and other problems, some oceanographers believe the number of species is dropping. Still, there may be many positive surprises awaiting oceanographers in the years ahead. It could be that more than 90 percent of the ocean’s species are still undiscovered, with some scientists estimating that there are anywhere between a few hundred thousand and a few million more to be discovered. Currently, scientists know of around 226,000 ocean species. Since the ocean is so vast, there is plenty for future oceanographers from all corners of the globe to explore and discover.
1. Why does the author mention the moon and Mars?| A．To indicate people’s determination to know space. |
| B．To show people know quite little about the ocean. |
| C．To remind us that we need more knowledge about space. |
| D．To tell space exploration is more crucial than that of oceans. |
| A．Reasons why ocean floors are rough. |
| B．Significance of the ocean floor to animals. |
| C．The heights of different mountain ranges. |
| D．Some ocean knowledge from oceanographers. |
| A．Perhaps there are more species than known. |
| B．Problems about the oceans have been solved. |
| C．Oceanographers have calculated the ocean species. |
| D．The number of ocean species has stopped dropping. |
| A．We must stop the ocean pollution |
| B．The oceans bring benefits to people |
| C．The oceans deserve our further study |
| D．We should have a positive attitude to oceans |
3 . High-resolution (高分辨率) satellite imagery has been used to map every single tree in Africa, showing a technique that could help improve the monitoring of deforestation (森林砍伐) across the world. Florian Reiner at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, and his colleagues used images from sate lies to map canopy (树冠) across the entire African continent.
Modern sate lies usually catch tree canopies at a resolution of 30 meters — fine for measuring the size of forests, but less good at mapping individual trees. The satellite data Reiner and his colleagues used had a resolution of 3 meters, enabling the study to map all trees, including those not part of a forest.
The results suggest that 30 percent of all trees in Africa aren’t in a forest and instead are across farmland, savannah and urban areas. “Many countries in Africa lack thick forests, but have a lot of trees.” says Reiner. “These trees are extremely important to the local ecosystems, the people and the economy. By tracking every single tree, researchers can start to monitor how these trees are coping with climate change or whether they are sensitive to deforestation.” It could also improve the monitoring of reforestation efforts, which are growing in popularity as a way of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
“At a local level, being able to consistently monitor when and where trees are disappearing or reappearing can lead to more actionable insights,” says John Francis at the Alan Turing Institute in London.
“The study is a proof of concept rather than a map ready for immediate commercial use,” says Reiner. “It’s research work. It’s showing what could be done,” he says. But he is already working with colleagues to scale up the tracking approach to cover the entire global canopy: “We’re hoping that this will be seen as a way forward in monitoring tree resources.”
1. Why is high-resolution satellite imagery used to map every single tree?| A．To know the exact height of the tree. |
| B．To have a clear picture of the canopy. |
| C．To help monitor the deforestation. |
| D．To improve the satellite technology. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Disapproving. | C．Indifferent. | D．Favorable. |
| A．Protect the trees only in Africa. |
| B．Put the map into commercial use. |
| C．Track the entire global canopy. |
| D．Improve the imagery technology. |
| A．Ways to Measure the Size of Forests in Africa |
| B．Coping with Climate Change by Tracking Every Single Tree |
| C．A Map from the Satellite Ready for Immediate Commercial Use |
| D．High-resolution Satellite Imagery Used in Monitoring Deforestation |
4 . Goldfish may seem like simple creatures swimming in a glass tank, but they possess a rather complicated navigation system, as discovered by researchers at the University of Oxford Led by Dr. Adelaide Sibeaux, the study aims to shed light on our understanding of how fish, and potentially humans, estimate distances using what could be described as an internal GPS.
Writing in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Sibeaux and colleagues report how they created a tank in their experiment with 2cm-wide black and white vertical stripes (条纹) on the walls, connected by similar stripes across the floor. The team trained nine goldfish to swim a set distance of 70cm and then return to their starting point when waved at. The experiment aimed to investigate how the fish would estimate this distance without any gestures, under different patterns.
Over multiple trials, the goldfish averaged a swim distance of 74cm, give or take 17cm, when presented with the vertical 2cm-wide stripes. However, when the stripe pattern was altered to either narrower vertical stripes, checked patterns, or horizontal stripes, the fish’s behavior changed significantly. Narrower vertical stripes led them to overestimating the distance by 36%, while horizontal stripes resulted in highly inconsistent estimations.
According to the researchers, the goldfish appeared to be using an “optic (光学的) flow mechanism” based on the visual density of their environment. They kept track of how frequently the vertical pattern switched between black and white to estimate how far they had traveled. The study suggests that different optic flow mechanisms are used by mammals, including humans, based on angular (有角度的) motion of visual features. The study implies that the use of visually based distance information could have emerged early in the evolutionary timeline.
“This study is novel because, despite knowing that fish respond to geometric information regarding direction and distance, we don’t know how they estimate distances,” Professor Colin Lever, although not involved in the study, said, “it’s exciting to explore fish spatial mapping because fish navigation evolved earlier and better than most mammals.”
1. Why did Dr. Adelaide Sibeaux conduct the study on goldfish?| A．To test the accuracy of goldfish’s internal GPS. |
| B．To create an advanced navigation system for humans |
| C．To uncover how an inbuilt GPS helps calculate distances. |
| D．To explore the relationships between goldfish and humans |
| A．People gestured the goldfish throughout the experiment |
| B．The tank was decorated with colorful background patterns |
| C．Goldfish tended to underestimate distances with horizontal stripes. |
| D．The change in the tank setting led to the goldfish's incorrect judgment. |
| A．optic flow mechanism is unique to humans |
| B．mammals developed flow mechanism long before goldfish |
| C．goldfish evaluated the distance with multidimensional visual information |
| D．visual density of the environment strengthened the locating ability of goldfish |
| A．Neutral. | B．Ambiguous. | C．Disapproving. | D．Favorable. |
5 . While many animal populations seem to dwindle, one species that is moving in the opposite direction of such loss is America’s native wildlife — wood stork.
The wood stork is the only stork that breeds in North America. In 1984, it was declared an endangered species after its population decreased sharply to just 5,000 mating pairs. At the time, scientists predicted that the bird would become completely extinct by 2000. Today, it numbers 10,000 mating pairs, and the Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing a delisting of the wood stork as an endangered species. So how did the population bounce back?
The success is in part down to the resourcefulness of the wood stork. The wood stork’s native home was in the Everglades in Florida, but it migrated north as the Everglades were being destroyed by development of mankind. Wetland preservation and restoration, protection of nesting areas, and management of water flows began with the approval of the wood stork’s first recovery plan in 1986. In the following year, former Savannah Coastal Refuges biologist John Robinette noticed stork nests in Georgia as stork populations moved to safer wetlands.
According to Stephanie Kurose, a senior policy specialist at the Centre for Biological Diversity, the Endangered Species Act is also to thank for this recovery. She said, “The act saved the wood stork and it helped preserve and rebuild vital habitats throughout the southeast, which has improved water quality and benefited countless other species who call the area home.” “The Endangered Species Act has saved 99 per cent of the species that were on the list since 1973. A hundred types of plants and animals have been delisted as their populations become stable again.
If the wood stork is delisted, it will remain protected by other laws and a monitoring plan will be put in place to ensure the population remains stable.
1. What does the underlined word dwindle probably mean?| A．Boost. | B．Change. | C．Decline. | D．Explode. |
| A．Its population shows a rising trend. | B．It has become completely extinct. |
| C．It is widely distributed worldwide. | D．It is the most endangered species. |
| A．Climate change of Earth. | B．Popularity of water sports. |
| C．Impact of human activities. | D．Arrival of other wild animals. |
| A．People have safer water to drink. | B．A list of species have been saved. |
| C．The local economy has boomed. | D．The wood stock has flown away. |
Gulao, a water town in China’s Jiangmen City, was built on tidal flats (潮坪地貌) where farmers and fishermen pushed the dirt around
“During the fishing civilization period, roads
Arched bridges, sometimes
LUO Studio has designed this covered arch bridge out of wood,
“Mary! Come and see what I have brought home!” My father opened the door and shouted cheerfully.
“Is it a dog?” I asked when I saw him hugging a huge creature in his arms.
My father nodded and put the dog on the floor. When it ran toward me, I pressed my hands tightly over my mouth to hold back a scream. I turned around and rushed back to my room. I locked up the door as soon as I could.
Since I was attacked by a wild dog two months ago, I had been living in constant fear of dogs. I was confused why my father was so happy to bring home such a scary thing. So I decided to stay in my room until the dog was gone. After what seemed like ages, I heard the door open and shut.
“Finally!” I breathed in relief and opened the door cautiously.
To my shock, I felt something wet touching my foot. It was the dog! I froze there, as if my feet were rooted to the ground. When I regained my senses, I screamed, “Daddy! It is the dog! Help! It wants to bite me! Get it away from me!”
My father was standing by the other side of the door，folding his arms and encouraged me,“It is not going to eat you! Mary, don’t be so scared. Go on! Touch it!”
I tried my best to control my fear and bent down to touch the dog. But I could not do it due to my constant and uncontrollable shaking.
“Never! I will never touch that dirty thing! Take it away!” I shouted.
My father turned a deaf ear to my request. In despair, I picked up a tennis ball that happened to be on the floor and threw it at the dog.
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 ball missed the target.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________But the next moment I was reminded of the awful experience.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________1. What do we know about the weather last week?
| A．It was dry. | B．It was stormy. | C．It was cold. |
| A．Driving slowly. | B．Avoiding going out. | C．Preparing enough food. |
| A．Heavy rainfall. | B．Extreme cold. | C．Strong winds. |
| A．A weatherman. | B．A sports journalist. | C．A finance news host. |
9 . One afternoon in 2022, something on the Internet caught my eye：a tiny hedgehog (刺猬) held by a big hand. The post read: “HELP! My hedgehog abandoned (抛弃) her two babies, and I cannot raise both of them because I have to go to school fulltime. Good home with experience needed as soon as possible!”
I had no experience with baby hedgehogs. I was an animal person through and through and had raised cats, dogs, birds, and guinea pigs. But this tiny animal was new to me, and it touched me that he was abandoned, that maybe I could love him and be the best mom for him.
I wrote the most heartfelt email I could. That was how I found my Louie. True to my word, he was my baby. Louie didn’t know he was a hedgehog. He never curled (蜷缩) into a ball, and he liked my two cats, no fear. The cats, however, were afraid of him, as he often moved into the room, running after the cats and blocking my way.
By the time he reached old age, Louie had only three feet. However, he still managed to climb the stairs to visit other animals. He helped me realize my dream of hedgehog photography, a hobby that began during childhood with cats and dollhouses. I love showing off his modeling.
Life has meaning because of the purpose we have. Louie needed a good home and mom, and in return, I got to be a good mother and be needed. Hedgehogs require great amounts of patience, trust, and knowledge—but the payoff (回报) is pretty great.
1. The author got Louie from .| A．a pet shop | B．a family friend |
| C．a hedgehog owner | D．a hedgehog rescue center |
| A．Frightened. | B．Relaxed. | C．Lonely. | D．Tired. |
| A．He disliked climbing stairs. | B．He enjoyed being left alone. |
| C．He always refused to be in photos. | D．He was active despite his difficulty in moving. |
| A．It was easier than expected. | B．It gave her a sense of safety. |
| C．It made her lose her patience. | D．It was satisfying and meaningful. |
10 . Adopting a pet is rapidly becoming the preferred option for many people wanting to add an animal companion. It’s true that many people are happy to part with thousands of dollars for purebred(纯种的)dogs and cats.
Homeless animals can make wonderful pets. People often assume that dogs and cats end up in shelters because they’re unwanted or badly behaved. There are many reasons owners may need to re-home their pet-divorce, hospitalization, or the time and money needed to care for a dog.
Adult animals have benefits. Shelters have a wide range of potential pets and there are many benefits from adopting a more mature dog or cat. Not starting from scratch helps avoid much of the craziness and mess associated with puppies. They will already be vaccinated, so you will have fewer start-up costs.
There’s something else to keep in mind. It’s important for you to only select a pet that will suit your lifestyle, not a pet you feel sorry for.
| A．Pets not only provide but call for company. |
| B．Animal experts discuss how to adopt a pet. |
| C．Most importantly what you see is what you get. |
| D．Choose an appropriate animal from a reliable source. |
| E．Consider the pet’s suitability for your family and lifestyle. |
| F．You need to think carefully about how you will care for it. |
| G．Some dogs and cats become lost, are not identified and are never claimed. |
