1 . Regarded as the “loneliest tree in the world”, the Sitka spruce (云杉) on uninhabited Campbell Island lately has kept good company with a team of New Zealand researchers who believe it could help unlock secrets of climate changes.

The nine-meter-tall spruce holds the Guinness Record title for the “remotest tree” on the planet. It is the sole tree on the shrubby, windswept island, 700 kilometers south of New Zealand in the Southern Ocean. It’s the only tree for 222km around; its nearest neighbor grows on the Auckland Islands.

Although classified as an invasive species, for radiocarbon science leader at GNS Science, Dr. Jocelyn Turnbull, the tree could be a valuable tool to understand what is happening with the uptake of CO₂ in the Southern Ocean. In order to measure CO₂ concentrations, taking samples of the atmosphere is the best method, and can be complemented with radiocarbon dating samples of deep water. But it comes with limitations. “You can’t collect air that was there 30 years ago, because it is not there anymore,” Turnbull said, “So we came up with this idea of using tree rings. Plants, when they grow, take CO₂ out of the air by photosynthesis (光合作用) and they use that to grow their structures and the carbon from the air ends up in the tree rings.”

This is helpful when there is an abundance of established trees, but those are a rarity in the Southern Ocean. Enter the Sitka Spruce - the south most tree, and the team could find it would offer up good data. “It’s grown a lot faster than anything else in that region and the rings are bigger and easier to separate out and get a record form.”

As for the tree’s lonely status: the description may be in the eye of the beholder. “To get to the tree you have to walk through elephant seals and sea lions, penguins and albatross,” Turnbull said. “The tree doesn’t look lonely …it looks quite content actually.”

1. What is special about the tree?

A．It measures nine meters wide.

B．It is the only tree on a vast land.

C．It grows on the Auckland Islands.

D．It owns the Guinness title for the “loneliest tree”.

2. What can we learn from Paragraph 3?

A．CO2 builds up in the tree rings.

B．The Sitka spruce is a native species.

C．Samples from water are usually inaccessible.

D．Photosynthesis stops the plants absorbing air.

3. What may Turnbull support?

A．The tree coexists with a variety of animals.

B．The tree grows well because of suitable climate.

C．It’s unwise to use tree rings as an indicator of CO2.

D．It’s possible to measure previous CO2 concentrations directly.

4. What is the main idea of the text?

A．Trees are of great significance to scientific research.

B．The “loneliest” tree in the world is not lonely at all.

C．Global warming has a far-reaching impact on creatures.

D．A remote Sitka spruce may help us learn about climate changes.

2 . 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.

2. What does paragraph 2 mainly tell us about hedges?

A．Their suffering.	B．Their production.
C．Their duties.	D．Their structures.

3. What is many organizations’ attitude towards saving hedges?

A．Puzzled.

B．Concerned.

C．Humble.

D．Indifferent.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Hedges: Ancient Resources

B．Hedges: Official Recommendations

C．Restoring Hedges: Bringing Benefits to the Environment

D．Researching Hedges: Originating from Farmers’ Request

3 . As Earth’s climate continues to change, a plant’s ability to adapt to its changing environment is important to its survival. Often, to stay alive, a plant must move locations by releasing its seeds, but plants are rooted in the ground and cannot move themselves. Instead, they are dependent on animals or the wind to carry their seeds to a new location.

Playing an essential part in an ecosystem (生态系统), plants create resources like food and medicine for us human beings. A team of researchers developed the model to better understand how plants can stay resiliency (韧性) when facing challenges like climate change.

“Once seeds are released from a plant, we wanted to know how far they can go because as wind conditions shake, the seeds will be moved around differently because of various weights, sizes, and shapes,” says Binbin Wang, an assistant professor at the University of Missouri.

Changes in one part of the ecosystem can create a “snowball effect” on other parts. That’s why understanding seed spread is important. Plants can only make this move once during their life — as a seed, says Lauren Sullivan, an assistant professor at Michigan State University.

“Understanding how plants move as seeds year-round is important for us to analyze how they’ll be able to handle climate change,” Sullivan says. “This movement is also important for how we can increase diversity (多样性) in the ecosystem.” “We’re now able to partner with researchers. This innovative approach can help us develop accurate models that are simple enough to make good predictions in a short time.”

The model, which makes predictions based on seed and plant type, plant height, and wind speed, can develop an entire year’s worth of predictive data in just one or two days. As part of their future work, the team will develop educational programming for K-12 and college students. For example, they will provide opportunities for college students to explore how different disciplines, such as agriculture, biological sciences, and engineering, can work together to solve different real-world problems.

1. Why did the researchers develop the model?

A．To learn how plants handle challenges like climate change.

B．To find out what helps seeds travel to different places.

C．To study the effects climate change has on plants.

D．To create more food and medicine resources.

2. Which of the following may not influence how far a seed can travel according to Binbin Wang?

A．Its weight.

B．Its location.

C．Its size.

D．Its shape.

3. What can we learn about the “movement” of plants from paragraph 4 and 5?

A．It is caused by the change of the climate.

B．It can happen during the whole life of a plant.

C．It has an effect on other parts of the ecosystem.

D．It’s hard to be predicted for the diversity of ecosystem.

4. What do the researchers plan to do next?

A．Explore different disciplines for college students.

B．Work together to solve different real-world problems.

C．Develop educational programming for students to explore.

D．Make valuable predictions about the type and height of the plants.

4 . The San Francisco-based company, called Living Carbon, has created poplar (杨树) trees that are genetically engineered (改变基因结构) to grow larger and suck up more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than standard trees do. In February, workers planted rows of these poplars in southern Georgia. The company intends to plant 4 to 5 millions trees by the middle of next year, which they say will help with the worsening climate crisis.

When plants photosynthesize (进行光合作用), they convert carbon into sugar and nutrients that are eventually consumed by all living organisms. But they also produce a harmful byproduct, which must be broken down during the energy-intensive process of photorespiration (光呼吸), said Yumin Tao, the company’s vice president of biotechnology.

“This is not only wastes energy but also loses much fixed carbon in the form of CO₂, which gets released into the air again,” Tao added. “It’s a wasteful process many plants do.” Living Carbon has reduced photorespiration in its poplars, instead channeling the energy into growth, he says.

The trees have three genes inserted to achieve this, including one from squash and one from green algae. But the company has yet to show its modified trees can capture more carbon in a real — world setting. Its only publicly available data comes from a study in a greenhouse that lasted for only a few months and has yet to be peer reviewed. “Their claims seen bold based on very limited real-world data,” says Andrew Newhouse, a conservation biologist at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry.

Still, the study reported the modified poplars grew as much as 53% larger in five months compared to the unmodified ones, capturing 27% more carbon dioxide. Now, the company hopes its other field trials in locations like Oregon and Pennsylvania will show similar successes. It’s currently focused on planting on private lands, where fewer roadblocks exist.

“We specially focus on land where trees otherwise wouldn’t be planted, like abandoned mine lands-areas where there isn’t an existing, rich ecosystem that’s allowing for a large amount of carbon removal right now,” says Maddie Hall, Living Carbon’s CEO.

1. Why does the company want to plant genetically modified poplars?

A．To help with the worsening climate crisis.

B．To better study them to gain more accurate data.

C．To replace ordinary poplars with genetically modified poplars.

D．To find suitable places for genetically modified poplars to grow.

2. What is Andrew Newhouse’s attitude to the company’s findings?

A．Disapproving.

B．Ambiguous.

C．Skeptical.

D．Supportive.

3. What can we learn about the genetically-engineered poplars?

A．They are very resistant to carbon.	B．They have a growth advantage.
C．They have two genes inserted.	D．They photosynthesize even faster.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．A Company Is Trying to Engineer Trees Genetically

B．Poplar Trees Might Be Planted All Around the World

C．Genetically Modified Trees Are Taking Root to capture Carbon

D．Research Is Being Conducted to Use Trees to Remove CO2

5 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. Why is the baobab’s trunk really fat?

A．It is shaped by people.

B．It stores a large quantity of water.

C．It must be strong enough to support the tree.

2. What is the full height of a baobab?

A．About 12 metre.

B．About 15 metre.

C．About 30 metre.

3. What are baobabs often used as nowadays?

A．Shops.

B．Wildlife habitats.

C．Bus shelters

6 . Have you ever tried a cactus (仙人掌) pear? Yes, its prickly surface makes it an unusual-looking fruit but it is widely used in Mexican dishes. This fruit from the cactus is really good for you because it is helpful in fighting against many diseases, and has many health benefits (利益). There are actually over 200 types of cactus fruit and they grow in hot dry places.

Since the world is getting hotter and drier, it is even more difficult for hot dry places to grow major crops (庄稼) that need more water. Therefore, providing food and fuel will go a long way in a world that is heating up. Researchers from the University of Nevada, Reno, set out to see if the cactus pear could become a superfood that could feed people and animals, remove carbon (碳) from the atmosphere and be used as a biofuel.

While the study looked at many types of cactuses, they settled on the nopal cactus or Opuntia. The fruit can be gathered as food and the rest of the cactus can be used for taking in carbon and can be used as biofuels according to biology professor Cushman. The plant keeps water by closing its pores (气孔) during the hottest part of the day to limit water loss and opens them at night. Cushman hopes to use the genes from this plant to add them to other plants.

They are also studying the Opuntia stunting disease, which causes cactuses to grow smaller plants and less fruits, in order to find out how it spreads. They hope to learn how to create tools to recognize and treat it so that they can help Opuntia become a prolific crop.

In a world that is also gaining population, finding a new superfood will go a long way in feeding a planet that will need 50-90 percent more food in 2050. Eating more plant-based foods will also reduce the amount of land needed for more food protection.

1. What can we know about the cactus pear?

A．It is of great benefit to people.

B．It is the main food for Mexicans.

C．It can’t be seen outside Mexico.

D．It grows in hot wet places.

2. What is the feature of the nopal cactus?

A．It is easy to be gathered.

B．It has fewer pores 10 save water.

C．It is suitable for various conditions.

D．It is eatable and good for the environment.

3. What does the underlined word “prolific” in Paragraph 4 most probably mean?

A．Helpful.

B．Unusual.

C．Attractive.

D．Fruitful.

4. What is the best title of the text?

A．Getting away from increasingly higher temperatures

B．Cactus pears may become the new superfood crop

C．A cactus is the plant living well in dry areas

D．Providing plant-based food for the world

7 . 听下面一段独白，回答小题。
1. What makes potted roses easier to plant?

A．Lower nutrition requirement.

B．Stronger cold resistance.

C．Better root development.

2. Why does Jeffrey Dinslage recommend bare-root roses?

A．They need less soil.

B．They are easier to transport.

C．Their planting time is fixed.

3. What suits resting bare-root roses best?

A．Damp condition.

B．Heavy sunshine.

C．Continuous watering.

4. What is the talk mainly about?

A．Types of roses.

B．Ways of rose packing.

C．Tips on rose growing.

8 . 阅读下面短文, 在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Camellias (山茶花) are available in a great range     1     colors — red, pink, white and mixed colors. For the longest time, the golden camellias lived in a valley     2     was unknown to the outside world.

In the 1960s, Chinese scientists announced their discovery of the golden camellias. It was an     3     (amaze) announcement for the international gardening community. Also, the discovery made     4     achievable to create yellow camellias, though creating a new kind of golden camellia was not very easy.

Unfortunately, in the past, golden camellias were cut down in large numbers because     5     (local) needed the limited land space for farming. In 1986, a nature reserve (自然保护区)     6     (build) in a mountain valley from 200 to 500 meters above sea level, so the camellias could be well protected. Years ago, Huang Zainian and his brothers took up the work. In the past 10 years, the Huang brothers have made a great     7     (contribute) in protecting the camellias. Even in hard times they didn’t cut down any golden camellias.

Year after year, the Huang brothers spent much time working     8     eventually made their hard work pay off. Now the golden camellia is     9     city flower of Fangchenggang. And life for the Huang brothers is greatly improved by     10     (plant) golden camellias.

9 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. Why is the baobab’s trunk really fat?

A．It is shaped by people.

B．It stores a large quantity of water.

C．It must be strong enough to support the tree.

2. What is the full height of a baobab?

A．About 12 metres.

B．About 15 metres.

C．About 30 metres.

3. What are baobabs often used as nowadays?

A．Shops.

B．Wildlife habitats.

C．Bus shelters.

10 . How to Care for Your Tree

1. Water the newly planted tree. Once the tree is planted, water it and keep up a _________ schedule of watering.

Water the tree every day for several weeks to let the _________ get established in the surrounding soil. After this you can reduce the frequency of watering.

Water as necessary for the conditions in your area. _________ humidity into consideration to help you decide _________ to water your tree.

If you are planting fruit or nut trees for a small home orchard, continue to water weekly for the _________of the tree, as your crop depends on consistent irrigation. You’ll also want to fertilize fruit and nut trees monthly, or _________ package directions.

2. Use mulch (覆盖物). Considering adding a layer of mulch _________ your tree to help keep moisture in and weeds out.

Cover the planting hole with 1-3 inches of shredded hardwood or leaf mulch. Keep the mulch at least 12 inches away from the trunk _________ it may cause the trunk to rot.

Mulching around the tree will _________ the tree from trampling and lawnmowers, __________ are two activities that commonly kill young trees.

3. Prune the tree if necessary. If there are any broken, dead, or diseased limbs on your tree,   __________ them gently with knife. If there is nothing wrong with the tree, there is no need to prune it until after the first growing season.

4. Enjoy the tree as it grows over the years. Appreciate its __________ and beauty and thank yourself for adding another tree to the world. You won’t regret it and __________ you properly care for it, the tree can grow long time!

You’ll need to make sure that you water your plant to keep it thriving. You want to achieve __________ of giving it enough water to penetrate (穿透) the roots while not drowning it.

Watering your tree with a steady stream from a garden hose for about 30 seconds should be sufficient. The soil should feel moist at all times and mulch will help retain the moisture.

Check soil moisture by digging about 2 inches below the surface and then use your __________ to test if the soil is moist. If it is, you don’t need to water.

1.

A．native

B．particular

C．regular

D．positive

2.

A．twigs

B．barks

C．trunk

D．roots

3.

A．Give

B．Take

C．Think

D．Look

4.

A．when

B．why

C．how

D．what

5.

A．life

B．color

C．shape

D．beauty

6.

A．related to

B．due to

C．owing to

D．according to

7.

A．around

B．across

C．beside

D．along

8.

A．so

B．and

C．or

D．if

9.

A．protect

B．provide

C．plant

D．grow

10.

A．for which

B．which

C．that

D．on that

11.

A．water

B．remove

C．treat

D．handle

12.

A．color

B．landscape

C．shade

D．scene

13.

A．as long as

B．even if

C．in spite of

D．in terms of

14.

A．unity

B．fact

C．chance

D．balance

15.

A．ruler

B．finger

C．hand

D．stick