1 . “Red tide” is a natural phenomenon that frequently occurs in many places around the world. The phenomenon is the result of extreme growth of tiny algae (海藻) called K. Brevis, which has a red color, giving the water surface a very noticeable red color. K. Brevis will give off chemicals that can attack the nervous systems of animals, which often leads to deadly results.
Florida citizens are no stranger to “red tide”, which occurs along the state’s Gulf Coast annually. However, the most recent outbreak of red tide has so far lasted much longer and spread across nearly 145 miles of the coastline in southwestern Florida.
The long season has caused the death of tons of fish and other animals which were washed up on the beaches all the way from Tampa to Naples. The smell of the dead animals has kept away thousands of locals and tourists that frequent the area’s long beaches. In view of that, in August, Florida declared a state of emergency for the seven places where K. Brevis has been growing quickly, providing $ 3 million to help with research, cleanup, and wildlife rescue.
Recently, the situation of red tide in Florida may be exacerbated due to an outbreak of algae Trichodesmium in the waters offshore of Manatee County. Trichodesmium floats on the water’s surface sucking nitrogen (氮) from the air while K. Brevis lives below the surface obtaining nitrogen from the water. If these two masses of algae mix, the dying Trichodesmium may end up providing nitrogen for K. Brevis, lengthening its stay in the area.
Researchers recently are exploring the idea of introducing other algal species to Florida. Among the possibilities is the Diatom. It’s a kind of algae that can grow quickly in the water. Its growth will consume a large amount of nitrogen from the water. So it competes with K. Brevis for nitrogen. Another possibility is algae known to give off chemicals that stop the growth of red tide.
The 10-month-long red tide outbreak in Florida may be the result of a combination of heavy rainfall, warmer ocean temperatures, and pollution. Now it’s time for us to do something.
1. What can we learn about K. Brevis?| A．It’s caused by red tide. | B．It can harm ocean life. |
| C．It’s facing dying out. | D．It exists mainly on land. |
| A．The researchers’ study of algae. | B．The tourism potential in Florida. |
| C．The possible ways to deal with red tide. | D．The consequences of red tide in Florida. |
| A．Worsened. | B．Studied. | C．Handled. | D．Ignored. |
| A．To change the color of K. Brevis. |
| B．To help reduce K. Brevis’ food supply. |
| C．To damage K. Brevis using some chemicals. |
| D．To increase fishes’ resistance to K. Brevis’ attack. |
In November 2023, China launched a three-year action plan to promote the use of bamboo as a replacement
The look and feel of bamboo are absolutely above and beyond plastic,
This super-powered plant is actually a grass and looks like a weed in terms of
3 . Scientists have known for years that plants respond to sounds around them. For example, flowers make sweeter nectar (花蜜) to the sound of buzzing bees. But now scientists in Israel have shown that plants also seem to be doing some “talking”.
Professor Lilach Hadany and her team at Tel Aviv University set up microphones to record tomato and tobacco plants under different conditions. Their recordings revealed that the plants made ultrasonic sounds (超声波) .
It’s not clear how the plants make the sounds. One idea is that air bubbles (气泡) form inside the plant’s stem, and that these popping bubbles make a clicking sound. It’s also not clear if the plants are making the sounds on purpose. Sometimes people’s knees creak, too, but they’re not doing it on purpose.
But the plants are definitely making noise, and creating much more noise when they’re stressed than when they’re not.
In fact, the researchers trained an Artificial Intelligence (AI) system to identify the different kinds of clicking sounds. The system was able to tell the difference between plants that needed water and plants with cuts about 70% of the time.
The result suggests that researchers may one day be able to use a plant’s sounds to figure out when it is having trouble, and what trouble it is having. They hope that could be very helpful to farmers.
The new discovery raises many more questions. One important question is: Do plants make sounds to communicate with each other?
Other research has shown that plants do seem to communicate in some ways. Plants being attacked by insects send chemicals into the air. Soon, nearby plants that haven’t been attacked yet start to make other chemicals that don’t taste good to insects. It’s possible that the ultrasonic sounds could work in a similar way.
Another big question is: Is anything listening to the plants? Dr. Hadany points out that mice and moths, for example, depend on plants, and can hear ultrasonic frequencies. The clicks may tell these animals when a plant isn’t healthy, so they can avoid it.
The team’s research has already changed our ideas about plants. As Dr. Hadany says, “Even in a quiet field, there are actually sounds that we don’t hear, and those sounds carry information.”
1. Why does the author mention flowers in Paragraph 1?| A．To prove plants can hear the sounds. | B．To show plants make ultrasonic sounds. |
| C．To make a comparison with other plants. | D．To arouse the readers’ interest in the text. |
| A．The plants convey information by touch. | B．The attacked plants make ultrasonic sounds. |
| C．The attacked plants send poor-taste chemicals. | D．The wind blows the odor of the attacked plants. |
| A．To prove plants can talk. | B．To make a new discovery. |
| C．To promote plants’ better growth. | D．To have more knowledge of plants. |
| A．Plants “Talk” | B．Amazing Plants |
| C．Ultrasonic “Dances” | D．Wonderful Sounds |
1. How long do redwood trees usually live?
| A．200 to 300 years. | B．500 to 700 years. | C．Over 2,000 years. |
| A．Enough sunlight. | B．Cold climate. | C．Plenty of rain. |
| A．To eat the seeds. | B．To enjoy the flowers. | C．To sell the seeds. |
1. What is Akira Miyawaki?
| A．A scientist. | B．A professor. | C．An officer. |
| A．Producing more oxygen. |
| B．Dealing with climate change. |
| C．Attracting different kinds of animals. |
| A．It helped communities build 100 forests. |
| B．It taught people to grow their own mini forests. |
| C．It educated kids about tiny forests. |
| A．Mini forests are inspired by a French scientist. |
| B．Miyawaki has planted more than 1,000 forests in Japan. |
| C．Planting mini forests has become popular in Europe. |
When John pulled into his mother’s driveway with his young daughter, Lily, the sight of the familiar lychee (荔枝) tree welcomed them. “Look, Lily,” John said, pointing to the towering tree in the front yard. “It’s the family tree.”
Lily smiled as John treated the tree as if it were a real family member, patting its trunk (树干) affectionately. As they were admiring the tree, the screen door opened and out stepped Grandma Mei, bathed in the warm Florida sunlight. Grandma Mei, who came from the province of Guangdong in China, was known for her green thumb, particularly when it came to lychees.
Seeing her granddaughter, Grandma Mei adjusted her baseball cap and asked if Lily was ready for some lychees. But Lily hesitated, for the fruit’s appearance was unlike any other fruit she had tried before. With a laugh, Grandma Mei gave her a gentle hug. “More lychees for me then, John,” Grandma Mei said.
“Let’s get busy!” John said with enthusiasm, rubbing his hands together. “Family tree’s waiting.”
Hearing Dad calling the tree by name, Lily couldn’t help laughing. “Laugh if you want, Lily, but this tree is really family. On cold nights, before family tree was fully grown, Grandma Mei used to take my blanket and throw it over that tree.” Grandma Mei nodded, adding that she had to protect the tree from bad weather so that it would become a big strong tree and grow fruit for the whole family.
John, eager to start the day’s work, began climbing the tree, determined to harvest the best lychees for the family. Lily watched in amazement, noticing the clusters (簇) of lychees, their skin rough yet inviting.
As John skillfully cut through the branches with a cutter, Lily expressed her concern for the well-being of the tree. John explained to her that cutting the ends of branches won’t hurt family tree. Instead such behaviour made it healthier and stronger.
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。
Lily’s hesitation towards the fruit gradually shifted to curiosity and she wanted to try it.
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Later in the afternoon, they all sat under the tree, surrounded by boxes filled with lychees and sharing stories related to lychees.
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8 . Recent research confirms what our farming ancestors have known for centuries about hedges (树篱). They conserve precious soil by acting as windbreaks and absorbing rainwater that would otherwise wash it from the fields. And hedges store carbon, putting them in the front line of our bi d to tackle the climate crisis.
However, hedges have had a tough time in the poor countryside, with farmers encouraged to tear them down in pursuit of maximum production and larger field s to accommodate ever-larger machinery. What’s more, some hedges have been ignored. If left to their own devices, they’ll eventually become a line of trees. Some hedges each year lose their structures and fail to fulfil the primary duty as a barrier. Around a half of the nation’s hedges have disappeared in the past century.
There are signs that “the tide is turning”. The search for net zero has aroused many organizations’ interest in the humble hedge’s role as a carbon sink. The Climate Change Committee is recommending a 40 percent increase in hedges: an additional 200,000 km. Such recommendations are starting to drive policy. Cash-pressed farmers will be encouraged to create new hedges and improve their management of existing ones under the new Environmental Land Management Schemes, which will replace many of the existing agricultural support payments in coming years. Meanwhile, initiatives such as Close the Gap, led by the Tree Council, is providing funding and support to plug the gaps in existing hedges with new planting. There’s even an app to help time-pressed farmers do a quick survey to spot where their hedges need some help.
This is a good time for hedges. Take some of the most pressing challenges facing the countryside, and indeed, the world as a whole — the climate crisis, soil erosion (侵蚀), insect attack and wider biodiversity loss — and hedges are part of the solution.
1. What does recent research show about hedges?| A．They are unique landscapes in the rain. |
| B．They act as dividing lines between fields. |
| C．They have long been helpful to agriculture. |
| D．They are frequently washed away from the fields. |
| A．Their suffering. | B．Their production. |
| C．Their duties. | D．Their structures. |
| A．Puzzled. | B．Concerned. | C．Humble. | D．Indifferent. |
| A．Hedges: Ancient Resources |
| B．Hedges: Official Recommendations |
| C．Restoring Hedges: Bringing Benefits to the Environment |
| D．Researching Hedges: Originating from Farmers’ Request |
9 . Off the coast of Formentera, an island, lives seagrass that stretches 15 kilometres. The seagrass, covering several hectares, is made up of a single organism. The grass is also long-lived, for tens or hundreds of thousands of years. Along with two other kinds of coastal ecosystems — mangrove swamps (红树沼泽) and tidal marshes, seagrass meadows are particularly good at taking carbon dioxide from the air.
This role was highlighted in a report, which was published on March 2nd by UNESCO, on blue carbon — the carbon taken in by Earth’s oceanic and coastal ecosystems. In total around 33 billion tons of carbon dioxide, about three quarters of the world’s emissions in 2019, are locked away in the planet’s blue carbon sinks. Research by Carlos Duarte, the report’s author and a marine (海洋的) ecologist, has shown that one hectare of seagrass can take in as much carbon dioxide each year as 15 hectares of rainforest.
One reason that blue-carbon ecosystems make such effective sinks is that underwater forests are thicker than the land-based woods. They can also trap (收集) floating pieces and organic matter, which settles on the sea floor and can double the amount of carbon stored away. They have another advantage, too. Climate change is leading to more wildfires around the world. As forests burn, their carbon stocks are released back into the atmosphere. Unlike forests on land, blue-carbon ecosystems do not burn.
Blue-carbon ecosystems may not be fired, but they remain affected to other sorts of disasters. In May 2020 hurricane Amphan destroyed 1,200 square kilometres of mangrove forest. A marine heatwave in Australian waters in 2010 and 2011 damaged around one third of the world’s largest seagrass meadow in Shark Bay. “Mangrove forests can weaken or control waves and provide natural barriers to storm surges. Protecting and expanding them, then, appears to be a must,” said a marine biologist.
1. What does the second paragraph mainly talk about?| A．The detailed explanation of blue carbon. |
| B．The special features of the seagrass. |
| C．The doubt about the blue-carbon ecosystems. |
| D．The capacity of the blue-carbon ecosystems to store carbon. |
| A．There are more underwater animals. |
| B．Their carbon stocks are released back. |
| C．They have great ability to absorb carbon. |
| D．They aren’t influenced by natural disasters |
| A．Humans should preserve blue-carbon ecosystens. |
| B．Mangrove forests can strengthen waves. |
| C．Mangrove forests are too strong to be broken. |
| D．Blue-carbon ecosystems can be fired. |
| A．Blue-Carbon Ecosystem Are Expanding Much Faster |
| B．The Grasses Can Store More Carbon Than Your Expectation |
| C．Mangrove Forests Can Control Waves Efficiently |
| D．Plants in the Ocean Are Better at Storing Carbon |
10 . My neighbors across the street take pride in one of the most striking trees in the neighborhood — a towering oak that is over 75 years old. This year, after a wet, warm summer, leaves were a bit different in my Massachusetts town. And through some combination of events, that glorious oak seemed to have dropped all of its uncountable leaves on a single windy day. I arrived at home that afternoon to find our front walkway, driveway and sidewalk completely blanketed.
My son and I had a great time making a leaf pile for jumping and enjoying pillowy fun. The whole time, I was fascinated by the speed of this year’s leaf drop. Even though I was aware that it was an accident of wind patterns that left all the leaves in our yard, I kept looking up and feeling a rush of awe at the suddenly bare branches that watched quietly over our neighborhood, starting its restful season before setting spring leaf buds.
And I felt thankful for those fallen leaves as I was reminded of my favorite quote from the author and naturalist Hal Borland. He wrote it referencing October, but this year’s later drop had me change the month: “November is the fallen leaf, but it is also a wider horizon more clearly seen. It is the distant hills once more in sight, and the enduring constellations (星座) above them once again.”
When I lay in that pile of dry, crisp leaves and looked up into the oak tree across the street, I felt a clarity and peace that comes along with the inconveniently early sunsets and chilly temperatures of the transition from fall into winter. I could still admire the tree as I had in spring and summer, but I could also see through it, beyond it, to the big sky that blankets us all.
1. What’s unusual this year?| A．Outdoor activities are limited due to heavy winds. |
| B．A series of special events happened in the neighborhood. |
| C．The weather is especially cold in winter in Massachusetts. |
| D．The neighbors’ big tree almost dropped all its leaves within a day. |
| A．Anxious. | B．Sorrowful. | C．Astonished. | D．Comfortable. |
| A．To express the author’s admiration for the naturalist. |
| B．To emphasize the importance of getting close to nature. |
| C．To stress the beauty of the author’s childhood memories. |
| D．To convey the author’s feelings about the leaf-falling season. |
| A．The Fall of Massachusetts | B．The Beauty of a Newly-bare Tree |
| C．The Sky Far Beyond | D．The Memories of Peace and Beauty |
