1 . Being highly connected to a strong social network has its benefits. Now a new study is showing the same goes for trees, thanks to their underground neighbors. The study is the first to show that the growth of adult trees is linked to their participation in fungal networks living in the forest soil. Though past research has focused on young trees, these findings give new insight into the significance of fungal networks to older trees — which are more environmentally beneficial for functions like capturing carbon.

“Large trees make up the main part of the forest, so they drive what the forest is doing,” said researcher Joseph Birch, who led the study. When they live in the forest soil, fungal networks act as a sort of highway, allowing water, nutrients and compounds to flow back and forth among the trees. The network also helps nutrients flow to resource - limited trees like family units that support one another in times of stress.

Cores taken from 350 Douglas firs (花旗松) showed that annual tree ring growth was related to the extent of fungal connections a tree had with other trees. They had much higher growth than those that had only a few connections. The research also showed that trees with more connections to many unique fungi had much greater growth than those with only one or two connections. “If you have this network that is helping trees grow faster, that helps capture more carbon year after year. These networks may help trees grow more steadily even as conditions become more stressful, and could even help protect them against death.” said Birch.

Birch hopes his findings lead to further studies in different kinds of forests in other geographical areas, because it's likely that the connections among trees change from year to year. He said, “Knowing whether fungal networks are operating the same way in other tree species could factor into how we reforest areas after harvesting them, and it could inform how we want to plant trees to preserve these networks.”

1. In what way do the new findings differ from the previous ones?

A．They confirm the benefits of fungal networks.	B．They demonstrate a new way to capture carbon.
C．They clarify misunderstanding of fungal networks.	D．They reveal the value of fungal networks to adult trees.

2. How do fungal networks help trees?

A．By fighting against diseases.	B．By bettering forest soil conditions.
C．By acting as the center of family units.	D．By maintaining the balance of resources.

3. What does the underlined “They” refer to in Paragraph 3?

A．Tree rings.

B．Fungal networks.

C．Douglas firs.

D．Cores from Douglas firs.

4. Which field will most benefit from the study according to the text?

A．Geography.

B．Agriculture.

C．Reforestation.

D．Microbiology.

2 . 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.

2. What is John Francis’ attitude towards the map?

A．Doubtful.

B．Disapproving.

C．Indifferent.

D．Favorable.

3. What do Reiner and his colleagues expect to do?

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.

4. What is probably the best title?

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

3 . The candy we eat, the tea we drink, the lotion we use---they all likely contain ingredients from wild plants. While natural ingredients can be beneficial to buyers, the way those plants are harvested could harm ecosystems. In a recent United Nations report, medicinal plant experts revealed the risks behind several of them, including Brazil nuts, frankincense, goldenseal, gum arabic, and licorice.

Plant derivatives （衍生物） in household products “sit there somewhere in the middle of the ingredients list” on product labels, often going unnoticed, says Caitlin Schindler, lead author of the report. Even if consumers do take note, there’s no information about what’s involved in obtaining or processing the derivatives.

Many of these plants are threatened with extinction from overharvesting, disease and pests, climate change, and habitat loss. The endangered state of more than 20,000 medicinal plant species has never been assessed, which means it’s impossible to know whether their use is sustainable.

Meanwhile, the trade in wild plants is booming. U. S. consumers spent more than $12.3 billion on herbal dietary supplements in 2021---up more than 9 percent from 2020. Wild plants have been used locally for centuries, but today’s global demand puts many at risk. And international customers often have no idea where these products originate.

Should consumers stop buying the products? No. Schindler says, because “the ingredients are really critical to a lot of people’s livelihoods.” Solutions for transforming the trade in wild plants are rooted in awareness. The first step for consumers is to “just notice that you’re buying something that has a wild ingredient,” she says. It’s generally safer to purchase local products and splurge on more expensive ones, if possible.

Consumers can also look for organic and fair-trade certifications. Various programs evaluate wild-plant supply chains for sustainability, and many companies advertise these certifications, either on the product or online. One of the most prominent is Fair Wild, which assesses environmental risks and recommends best sourcing practices. If certifications are missing, Schindler encourages people to challenge companies to do better. “Until businesses get a bit more pressure from consumers, we won’t see any changes happening,” she says.

1. What can we learn about wild plants according to the report?

A．Their current situation is ignored.	B．They are limited on a global scale.
C．They have been evaluated regularly.	D．Their process information is on the label.

2. Which of the following can replace the underlined words “splurge on” in paragraph 5?

A．Get rid of.	B．Spend much money on.
C．Pay attention to.	D．Conduct many experiments on.

3. Why are the organic and fair-trade certifications valued?

A．They confirm the quality of the wild plants.

B．They offer consumers rights to assess the products.

C．They ensure the use of wild plants at a steady level.

D．They inspire companies to make more advertisements.

4. What is the structure of the passage?

A．

B．

C．

D．

4 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。1.

A．To help the man learn more about the gardener.

B．To show the value of taking advice in gardening.

C．To publicize the attractiveness of Dorset Gardens.

D．To inform people of more guidelines for gardening.

2.

A．By attending a college course.	B．By visiting Kew Garden.
C．By listening to talks on gardening.	D．By reading Margery Fisher’s book.

3.

A．It was full of creative angles.	B．It made her famous in the town.
C．It occupied a rather small area.	D．It was near her house in Somerset.

4.

A．Because it’s full of plants given by her friends.

B．Because it’s visited and appreciated by tourists.

C．Because it’s where she spends much time with others.

D．Because it’s an outdoor classroom for biology students.

5 . A hungry fly speeds through a forest. It smells nectar (a liquid that insects feed on) and lands on a green leaf. It starts to drink the sweet liquid. Suddenly, the fly's world turns green. The two sides of the leaf close against each other. Long green teeth lock together around it. The fly has been caught by a Venus flytrap. There is no escape.

The Venus flytrap is perhaps the most famous killer plant. However, scientists have only recently started to understand how it hunts and eats. After years of study, plant scientist Alexander Volkov believes he now knows the Venus flytrap's secret. “This,” says Volkov," is an electrical plant."

There are three small hairs along each of the Venus flytrap's two leaves. When an insect touches a hair, it creates an electrical signal in the leaf. The insect can continue feeding—for now. But if it touches another hair within 20 seconds, the trap snaps shut. This system allows the plant to tell the difference between a drop of water, for example, and a moving creature.

Once trapped, an insect has little chance of survival. Instead of nectar, the Venus flytrap now releases a different liquid —one that slowly eats away at the insect. Ten days later, almost nothing is left. The plant's leaves open again, and the Venus flytrap is ready for its next meal.

Besides the Venus flytrap, there are around 700 species of killer plants around the world. Some are deadly. Sundews catch insects using a sticky liquid on the end of long hairs. A butterwort's leaves are covered with tiny, gluey hairs that trap small insects. Pitcher plants have long tubelike leaves into which insects fall and die. Some pitcher plants are large enough to catch and eat small animals like frogs and mice.

1. What is special about the Venus flytrap?

A．Its trap closes very slowly.	B．It has to feed on flies.
C．It produces electrical signals.	D．It just makes one kind of liquid.

2. What is the purpose of Paragraph 4?

A．To explore how the insect survives.

B．To explain how the Venus flytrap works.

C．To describe different types of killer plants.

D．To introduce an experiment carried out on a plant.

3. Which plant does not use hairs to catch insect?

A．The sundew.	B．The butterwort.
C．The pitcher plant.	D．The Venus flytrap.

4. What might be discussed in the following part?

A．What meals a Venus flytrap prefers.

B．What the features of deadly plants are.

C．Where the deadly plants are found.

D．How other killer plants catch insects.

6 . He was wandering in a rice field of dreams.     1     After walking a while he lay down in the leaf-shade with a friend, quite hidden. A rest was a good idea, because the wonder-plants went on and on. In fact, they covered the world.

Then Yuan Longping woke up, laughing.     2    . But they still deserved their name of super rice. The leaves were straighter and taller than ordinary, and the grains plumper. They had all the vigor of the wild strain that he and his team had found after much searching and had cross-bred, over careful years, with the domesticated variety.

The figures spoke for themselves.     3    . In Yunnan province more than 17000 kilograms had been produced per hectare. China’s rice crop had risen from 57m tonnes in 1950 to 195m in 2017; from food deficiency, to food security. Higher rice-yields allowed farmers to turn more land to other uses-fruit, vegetables, fishponds-so that people ate more and well.

For this he won the Medal of the Republic, China’s highest, and the World Food Prize. An asteroid was named after him. There was talk of the Nobel, too.     4    . Though he was rich, from his shares in a seed company that used his name, he looked like a peasant, thin as a twig, with his face leathered by sun and his big hands rough from “playing in the mud” all day.

He was far happier in his short-sleeved work-shirts, out in his rice, or stripped off swimming in any wild river he could find, than in a tang suit in some conference hall.

A．Nothing but the continuous development of his beloved country seemed to attract him

B．With his new hybrid rice the annual yield was 20-30% higher, so at least 60m more people could be fed every year.

C．His dreams focused on his people and his country, where all enjoyed food and wealth.

D．All that seemed just smoke to him.

E．The plants were taller than men. Each grain is as big as a peanut.

F．The rice plants he had tended for decades at Anjiang and then Changsha, sowing and nurturing them, visiting daily on his motorbike to inspect them, were not quite there yet.

7 . An Oil for Life

Maria Alcala of Madrid speaks for many Mediterranean people when she says that “a meal without olive oil would be a bore.” No one knows when the Mediterranean civilizations fell in love with olives. That occurred before recorded history. However, there is evidence that the cultivation (种植) of olive trees began in countries around the Mediterranean Sea in approximately 4000 B.C., and 2000 years after that people in the eastern Mediterranean area began to produce oil from olives. The Mediterranean still accounts for 99 percent of all world olive oil production.

From ancient times until today, the basic process of producing the oil is the same. First, whole olives are pressed hard into pieces. Then, the liquid is separated from the solids. After that, the valuable oil is separated from the water.

Many olive growers make their ancient traditions continue and still harvest the olives by hand. “We harvest in the traditional way,” says Don Celso, an olive farmer from Tuscany, Italy. “It would be less expensive to do it with machines, but it’s more a social thing. Twenty people come to help with the harvest, and we pay them in oil.”

Olive oil has had a variety of uses through its long history. In ancient times, olive oil was used as money and as medicine. It was even used during war—heated up and dropped down on attackers. It is still used in religious ceremonies. It is great for protecting the freshness of fish and cheese. There are even olive oil lamp and olive oil soaps.

One important study shows that Mediterranean people have the lowest rate of heart disease among Western nations. This is partly associated with their frequent use of olive oil. Other studies show that food cooked in olive oil is healthier, and that eating olive oil twice a day reduces women’s risk of getting breast cancer. The world is beginning to understand its benefits, and olive oil is no longer an unusual sight at dinner tables outside the Mediterranean area. The olive oil producing countries now sell large amounts of olive oil to countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, and North and South America.

Olive oil improves the lives of people everywhere. Its benefits, recently confirmed by science, were already understood in ancient times. Mediterranean people are happy to share their secret with the world.

1. Which step occurs first in olive oil production?

A．Drying the olives under the sun.	B．Separating the oil from the water.
C．Separating the liquid from the solids.	D．Pressing the whole olives into pieces.

2. Which use of olive oil is NOT mentioned in the passage?

A．Paint.

B．Medicine.

C．Money.

D．Soap.

3. Why does the author include information about several studies of olive oil?

A．To give reasons why olive oil is similar to medicine.

B．To show how the biology of Mediterranean people is special.

C．To explain the growing interest in olive oil around the world.

D．To prove that olive oil is more important for women than for men.

4. What is the passage mainly about?

A．Discussing olive oil production outside the Mediterranean area.

B．Explaining the history, production, benefits, and use of olive oil.

C．Showing why olive oil is produced around the Mediterranean Sea.

D．Comparing Mediterranean olive oil with that produced in other places.

8 . Flower scents (香味) help pollinators (传粉者) locate their favorite plants. Scientists have established that air pollutants change those scents, throwing off the tracking abilities of such beneficial insects as honeybees. But new lab experiments are the first to confirm that one pollinator, the tobacco hawkmoth, can quickly learn that a pollution-changed scent comes from the jasmine tobacco flower that the insect likes.

Chemical ecologist Markus Knaden and colleagues focused on one pollutant-ozone, the main element in smog. In the lab, his team blew an ozone-changed scent from a tiny tube into a tunnel, with a moth (飞蛾) awaiting at the far end of the tunnel. Usually, when the moth smells the unchanged scent, it flies upwind and uses its long, skinny mouthparts to probe the tube the way that it would a flower. The researchers expected that the changed scent might throw the moth off a little. But the insect wasn’t attracted at all.

In addition to scent, tobacco hawkmoths track flowers visually, so Knaden’s team used the feature, along with a sweet snack, to train the moth to be attracted to a pollution-changed scent. The researchers wrapped a brightly-colored artificial flower around the tube to trick the moth back across the tunnel, despite the unfamiliar scent. And the team added sugar water to the artificial flower. After a moth was given four minutes to taste the sweet stuff, it was attracted to the new smell when sent into the tunnel 15 minutes later, even when neither the sugar water nor the visual signal of the artificial flower was present.

This study focused on only one moth species, but Knaden’s team is now working on planning experiments with other pollinators that are easier to follow than tobacco hawknoths. While he guesses honeybees might also be as adaptable as the moth was, that won’t be true of every pollinator. “The situation can become very bad for insects that are not as clever or cannot see that well. I don’t want the take-home message to be that pollution is not a problem.”

1. What does the underlined word “probe” in paragraph 2 mean?

A．Surround.

B．Favour.

C．Access.

D．Examine.

2. According to the passage, ________.

A．not all moths were attracted to ozone-changed scent as expected

B．the current research conducted by Knaden is pioneering and wide-ranging

C．not all pollinators are adaptable to human-driven changes to their environment

D．the moth didn’t like the new smell without sugar water and artificial flower

3. What’s Knaden’s attitude towards the finding of the study?

A．Positive.

B．Cautious.

C．Unclear.

D．Critical.

4. What does the text mainly talk about?

A．A moth can be rid of the tracking ability to locate its favourite plants.

B．A moth is able to establish a relationship between pollution and scents.

C．A moth may outsmart smog by learning to like pollution-changed scent.

D．A moth is born with an ability to adapt to the changes in the environment.

9 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

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.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Later in the afternoon, they all sat under the tree, surrounded by boxes filled with lychees and sharing stories related to lychees.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

10 . The huge billboard at the side of the highway is no joke; transporting firewood in certain areas is a crime, punishable by a four-thousand-dollar fine. The reason? Emerald Ash Borer disease, or EAB disease, a new addition to the long list of dangerous foreign pest infestations（虫害）on American soil. It was in 2002 when the Emerald Ash Borer beetle（甲虫）was first discovered in Michigan. Not long after, the pest was found in Ohio. Originally from Asia, this green beetle probably found its way to North America through a wooden box made of ash wood and immediately settled into a local ash tree. In little time, the species managed to kill millions of ash trees.

To date, much work is underway to stop ash trees ending up in the same group as elm and chestnut trees, which are all dying out in many areas. Ash Borer Infestations are particularly troublesome because they are difficult to identify until the ash tree is heavily infested. In addition, other ash trees in the area surrounding the source will probably also be infested, making control a hard task.

Researchers are working on many issues related to the control and removal of this harmful beetle. For example, it has been discovered that Asian ash trees are not destroyed by this native borer. It may be that, Asian ash trees have developed genes（基因）to protect them from the insect; therein, perhaps, lies the secret to controlling this pest. Insecticide（杀虫剂）treatment is also being explored on several fronts. Research is underway to determine which insecticides are proving to be the most successful. The proper application of the insecticides is being debated.

However, all possible solutions require a great deal of study and research. In the meantime, careful steps must be taken. Methodical identification of infested trees is taking place. Identified trees are being cut down and destroyed to get rid of the beetle colonies（群）. In the end, this puts a huge drain（消耗）on city budgets, as tree removal can be extremely expensive.

Even though it will be expensive to deal with this problem in the short term, the costs of doing nothing could be far higher, since we could lose an entire species of tree.

1. What can we learn about the Emerald Ash Borer beetle?

A．It is a newly found species.

B．It can be used to fight foreign pest infestations.

C．It is native to North America.

D．It can cause damaging harm to American ash trees.

2. What is special about Ash Borer infestations?

A．They affect Asian ash trees most frequently.

B．They are difficult to identify and get rid of.

C．They break out at certain times every year.

D．They spread slowly in a small area.

3. What method is currently used to control EAB disease?

A．Gene activation.	B．Insecticide use.
C．Removing infested trees.	D．Introducing the beetle’s enemies.

4. Which of the following might the author agree with?

A．Healthy trees should be relocated and protected.

B．Protecting the ash tree should be done at any cost.

C．Government budget for tree removal should be cut.

D．Measures that have side effects should be avoided.