The Nanjing Hongshan Forest Zoo, once struggling to sustain its
The man behind
After witnessing the helpless and hopeless expressions of the animals, Shen’s team set about making changes.
This zoo has emerged
2 . “Palace, Mountain, Moon?” has been selected by NASA as the Astronomical Picture of the Day for December 25, 2023.
The photo was taken by Valerio, a young photographer of Turin, Italy. It was shot on the evening of December 15, 2023. While he knew about NASA’s competition, he hadn’t considered participating until receiving much encouragement from his social media followers. Soon after, he received the message, “Your image has been chosen as the astronomical photo of the day.” It was incredible!
In a photo like this, nothing is left to luck. The concept came to him back in 2017. Walking on the hills north of Turin, he found several spots perfect for including both the Basilica of Superga Palace and Mountain Monviso. After numerous visits over several months, he identified four spots where Superga and Monviso line up just right.
After pinpointing these locations, he experimented with shooting them at different times. “I knew I needed something special to perfect the photo. The Sun was a no-go, so I turned to the Moon. Its various phases and position s reach an azimuth angle (方位角) of 230 degrees,” Valerio said. With this in mind, he researched the Moon’s phases, marked potential dates on the calendar, and planned the exact moments when the moon could join the queue.
It was very successful, especially because the Moon was in a waxing phase. This meant that in the photo, not only was its crescent (新月) lit up, but so was the left part, its shadowed side. That part is lit by reflected light, also known as Da Vinci’s glow, named after him because he was the one who theorized about why the Moon’s shadowed side is brightened. During the early days of the waxing Moon phases, the shadowed part is visible because the Sun’s light reflects off the Earth and hits the Moon’s shadowed side, giving it a greyish, silvery color. This allowed the light to outline Monviso on the left as well.
1. Why did Valerio send the photo to NASA?| A．He took an interest in astronomical advances. |
| B．He expected to create an impact on social media. |
| C．He received broad support from enthusiastic fans. |
| D．He wished to make his hometown a tourist hot spot. |
| A．shine light on each other | B．stand in a straight line |
| C．fit each other in size | D．vary from usual in color |
| A．Studying how the Moon phase changes. | B．Calculating the Superga-Monviso distance. |
| C．Analyzing when to adjust the camera angle. | D．Measuring the height of the observation point. |
| A．The outline of the crescent. | B．The outline of Superga. |
| C．The dark side of the Moon. | D．The shadowed side of the Earth. |
1. What did Jeff Masters say about models used to predict floods?
| A．They were based on short-term records. |
| B．They were not enough to help handle a new climate. |
| C．They reflected climate changes over the past decade. |
| A．Oregon. | B．Washington. | C．Louisiana |
| A．3 to 6 inches. | B．6 to 9 inches. | C．9 to 10 inches. |
| A．Over 600 homes were damaged. |
| B．Roads and bridges were shut. |
| C．Some people died. |
1. Which is not provided for the pets in America?
| A．Exercise. | B．Education. | C．Medical care. |
| A．To entertain them. | B．To keep them warm. | C．To keep them in fashion. |
| A．Monkeys. | B．Fish. | C．Birds. |
| A．Dogs and cats. | B．Birds and dogs. | C．Dogs and monkeys. |
1. How does the speaker think about rainy days as a child?
| A．Excited. | B．Bored. | C．Indifferent. |
| A．He didn’t have any brothers or sisters. |
| B．He was often left alone at home. |
| C．He preferred reading to playing outside. |
| A．Lying on the sand. | B．Watching TV. | C．Walking on the beach. |
| A．It makes the weather cooler. |
| B．He knows it won’t last long. |
| C．He doesn’t have any summer holidays any longer. |
6 . For nearly as long as the modern computer has existed, it has been used to forecast the weather. First used during World War II to simulate (模拟) nuclear weapons, computers were soon adopted to simulate the future state of the atmosphere, creating the modern discipline of weather prediction. Although that discipline has grown ever more complicated and now produces reliable forecasts several weeks in advance, its approach remains the same: using large amounts of calculating power to solve equations (方程).
Over the past year, artificial intelligence (AI) has begun to change that. Tech companies including Google and Nvidia have trained AI models to predict the weather up to 10 days in advance, with an accuracy equaling or even topping traditional models — and with far less calculation overhead. Rather than solving equations, these AI models predict the near future based on patterns learned through training on 40 years of past weather, which is recorded by the traditional model of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), the world’s top weather agency. Once trained, the AI models can work out a forecast on a computer in 1 minute rather than taking 2 hours to run on a supercomputer.
ECMWF has already begun to produce its own AI forecast, and other weather agencies are eager to catch up. The new models aren’t perfect. They struggle to predict certain essential features—hurricane intensity, for example. But AI forecasters will only improve as they begin to learn from direct weather observations collected by sensors, not just data already passed through existing models. Besides, their speed could allow agencies to run them over and over, as they capture in the atmosphere the full spread of uncertainty, be it necessary or unnecessary for weather prediction.
No one expects traditional weather prediction to disappear. Another branch, climate models, an extension of weather forecasting, for example, rely on equation solving just as traditional weather models do. But in the long term, the output of climate models may itself become training data for a climate forecasting AI, which might ultimately do a better job than the traditional models.
1. How do AI models predict weather?| A．By running on a supercomputer. | B．By recording traditional models. |
| C．By working on the existing data. | D．By making massive calculations. |
| A．They may be overly operated. | B．They may be slow to respond. |
| C．They may confuse natural disasters. | D．They may bring unfair competitions. |
| A．They lack accurate data. | B．They need intensive training. |
| C．They work in a traditional way. | D．They determine weather forecasting. |
| A．How Can AI Aid Atmosphere Study? |
| B．Should We Trust AI to Predict Hurricanes? |
| C．Weather Forecast Is Having an AI Moment |
| D．Tech Giants Are Competing in Data Collection |
7 . Scientists have found a new way to break down a group of harmful chemicals very hard to get rid of. The discovery could help solve a dangerous and growing problem — how to clean up the pollution of “forever chemicals”.
The group of chemicals known as PFAS (全氟烷基物) are pretty amazing. They’re non-stick, waterproof, and oil proof. They don’t burn easily or dissolve (溶解) in water. So scientists got really excited when they were discovered. Businesses started putting PFAS in all sorts of products, from non-stick pans to waterproof clothes, and from fire-fighting spray to carpets that resist stains. Even things like food wrappers and floss for cleaning your teeth contain PFAS chemicals.
But after a while, scientists realized the same things that made the chemicals useful also caused a real problem — PFAS doesn’t break down in nature. It doesn’t dissolve in water or bum. Not even bacteria can break PFAS down. No wonder these chemicals are known as “forever chemicals”.
As a result, PFAS chemicals surge in the environment. The chemicals are found in air, water, and dirt around the world — and in animals and people. In the US, 97% of humans have PFAS in their blood.
Luckily, scientists in the US have now found a way to break down some PFAS chemicals. Their solution requires boiling PFAS with two other very common chemicals. These chemicals can be found in just about any laboratory.
Dr. Brittany Trang, one of the scientists involved, said she didn’t even want to test the idea at first. “I thought it was too simple,” she said. But the process worked.
The research involved 10 types of PFAS, including two of the most common kinds. That’s a big step. But there are over 12,000 different kinds of PFAS. It’s important to note that the new method can only break down PFAS chemicals that have already been collected. Figuring out how to remove PFAS chemicals from the environment and collect them remains a huge challenge.
1. What can we infer about PFAS chemicals from paragraph 2?| A．Scientists were so excited to invent them. |
| B．They were environmentally friendly at first. |
| C．They are really widely used in our daily life. |
| D．They have more advantages than disadvantages. |
| A．Increase fast. | B．Float everywhere. | C．Extend fully. | D．React quickly. |
| A．It’s already too late to get rid of them. |
| B．There’s still a long way to go about it. |
| C．The new method is too simple to work well. |
| D．It’s impossible to get them removed from the environment. |
| A．Say Goodbye to Forever Chemicals |
| B．PFAS Chemicals Are a Two-edged Sword |
| C．PFAS Chemicals Will Remain a Challenge for Long |
| D．Scientists Find a Way to Break down Forever Chemicals |
Every Lunar New Year, China introduces a zodiac(生肖) sign from a cycle of 12 lucky animals. This year, it’s the Year of the Dragon, or more
The Western
Therefore, some culture experts have been calling for a switch to ”loong”
When Mary entered the south Pole Penguin Research Lab, she saw her friend Tom gently stroking (轻抚) a penguin in his arms. As children of the lab scientists, Mary and Tom often observed the emperor penguins that were studied to understand how they adapted to extreme temperatures —insights that could aid human survival.
“We’re thirteen, Tom. It’s time to grow up and stop playing with the lab penguins,” said Mary as she started cleaning. “They’re research animals, not pets.”
“But the birds listen to me1” insisted Tom, his breath forming a cloud in the freezing air. “You’re just trying to be a penguin whisperer again,” Mary replied, shaking her head with a gentle smile. The penguins seemed playful as they walked, dove, swam and chased their live fish for sport before eating.
Suddenly , an alarm rang out and red lights flashed , signaling a problem. The kids rushed over to look into it. “It’s colder than before —there’s ice forming on the water,” noted Tom. Though always cold, Mary had never seen ice here before. She checked the habitat monitor and found that the temperature had gone down a lot. “The heater must be broken!”
Mary quickly sent a message to their parents’ research team, who were conducting outdoor studies. With the adults away, the kids would have to deal with the freezing conditions until help arrived.
Time dragged as Mary and Tom anxiously waited. The increasing cold caused them to shake. “I wonder what emperor penguins do in extreme cold, since they stay in the Pole all winter instead of going somewhere warmer,” asked Mary. “They huddle (挤作一团), ” Tom answered. “They huddle together tightly so that the birds in the middle will be warm enough.” “What about the ones on the edge?” Mary asked. “They push their way towards the center, and then move back out to the edge, and struggle back again. Scientists in the early 21st century recorded it.” He replied as he stared at the large crowd of the penguins in the lab.
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。
”I have an idea to stay warm1" Tom shouted excitedly.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Two and a half hours later , the parents returned with help.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________10 . An ancient Latin proverb says “Aquila non capit muscas” —cagles don’t hunt flies—meaning that important ones shouldn’t concern themselves with small, insignificant matters.But the lions in East Africa should concern themselves with the seemingly insignificant ants, because these ants are changing their lifestyles.
The story starts with the acacia trees(金合欢树)in an African wildlife area in central KenyaSome of these acacia trees provide food and shelter for specific ant species, which in turn defend the tree against herbivores(食草动物).The ants are actively attacking and driving away herbivores that attempt to feed on the tree’s leavesThis is highly effective; the ants not only physically harm the herbivores but also release chemicals that can deter other potential attackers.
But these ants are in trouble.Another species called the “big-headed” ant is destroying entire groups of tree-protecting ants.This, in turn, sets off an entire chain of events that ends up influencing when and how lions can hunt.
This ant invasion(入侵)affects one thing after the other.It leaves the acacia trees defenseless against herbivores especially elephants.The elephants come in and eat the acacias at five to seven times the rate observed in uninvaded areas.The lions, while hunting for food, have no more trees to use for hiding.This reduced tree cover makes lions less successful at hunting and pushes them to find different areas to hunt in．
“These tiny invaders are pulling on the ties that put an African ecosystem together, determining who is eaten andwhere,” said Todd Palmer, an ecologist from Florida.
The lions, which are already endangered, are managing to cope with this by no longer focusing their attention on zebras.The zebras, of course, can see them much better on the approach given the lack of cover.Instead, they are targeting water buffalo.But this also isn’t the end of the story.Who knows what the lions’ changing strategy will mean for the ecosystem down the line?
1. What does the underlined word “deter” in paragraph 2mean?| A．Direct. | B．Discourage. | C．Identify. | D．Seek. |
| A．Cooperating with “big-headed” ants. | B．Damaging the hiding place for lions. |
| C．Protecting the acacias from herbivores. | D．Starting off the disturbance of the chain. |
| A．animals fall victim to bigger ones | B．the ecology is on the road to recovery |
| C．animals are corelated in the ecosystem | D．species are firmly positioned in the food chain |
| A．What ecologists find about animals. | B．Why African lions are endangered. |
| C．How tiny ants affect the way lions hunt. | D．How the law of the jungle works in Africa. |
