1 . Before the year has even come to a close, climate experts are certain that 2023 will be the hottest year in recorded history.
On Dec. 6, the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) — part of the European Union's space program — revealed that this year's average global temperatures have been 2.6℉ (1.46°C ) higher than temperatures in preindustrial times and 0.2°F (0.13°C) higher than January to November in 2016. These “extraordinary” temperatures mean that 2023will be “the warmest year in recorded history,” C3S deputy director Samantha Burgess said in a statement.
The researchers note that this year's record heat was partly caused by the latest El Nino event — a phenomenon where warmer water near the equator triggers warmer global air temperatures — that began in June. Some other experts have suggested that the January2022 eruption of Tonga's underwater volcano, which pumped record levels of water vapor into the atmosphere, may also be partly responsible.
Despite these factors, the major cause of climbing temperatures is global warming caused by runaway greenhouse gas emissions, which, noted in a C3S statement, have trapped more than 25 billion atomic bombs' worth of energy in our atmosphere over the last 50 years. And still worse, the global carbon emissions have reached a new high this year, according to scientists at the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP28) On Dec 4.
The effects of global warming are becoming more obvious. In 2023, research revealed that climate change is causing major US cities to sink and more than half of the world's largest lakes and reservoirs to shrink. Studies also predicted that the Gulf Stream, which plays a vital role in ocean circulation, could collapse by as early as 2025, and that rising sea levels could swamp the U S coastline by 2050.
However, scientists say that we still have time to prevent further disaster. Leading climate change expert Michael Mann, from the University of Pennsylvania, recently wrote that “we can still stop the worst effects of climate change” if we stop emitting greenhouse gases as soon as possible.
1. What's the purpose of the text?A.To report the recorded hottest year. |
B.To present findings of a research. |
C.To analyze the causes of climate change. |
D.To warn of the coming natural disaster. |
A.Eruption of an underwater volcano. |
B.Greenhouse gas emissions. |
C.Collapse of the Gulf Stream. |
D.The latest El Nino event. |
A.Scientists' predictions of the future. |
B.The threat of rising sea levels to the U.S. |
C.The effects of climate change. |
D.Different opinions on global warming. |
A.Confused. | B.Worried. | C.Pessimistic. | D.Hopeful. |
2 . Natalie Doan, 14, has always felt lucky to live in Rockaway, New York. Living just a few blocks from the beach, Natalie can see the ocean and hear the
On October 29, 2012, that ocean turned
In the following few days, Volunteers came with carloads of donated clothing and toys. Neighbors devoted their spare time to helping others
In the coming months, her website page helped lots of kids.
Today, the scars (创痕) of
A.noises | B.waves | C.bells | D.songs |
A.fierce | B.calm | C.active | D.silent |
A.ran | B.headed | C.escaped | D.moved |
A.in ruins | B.at risk | C.in rags | D.at sea |
A.rich | B.healthy | C.young | D.elderly |
A.excitedly | B.hurriedly | C.sadly | D.temporarily |
A.improve | B.rebuild | C.develop | D.react |
A.buildings | B.floors | C.flights | D.storeys |
A.astonished | B.interested | C.inspired | D.awakened |
A.appear | B.help | C.show | D.speak |
A.discovered | B.landed | C.put | D.replaced |
A.Additionally | B.Unexpectedly | C.Frankly | D.Amazingly |
A.made | B.promised | C.awarded | D.offered |
A.ocean | B.love | C.decoration | D.destruction |
A.will | B.hope | C.belief | D.truth |
3 . Leave-No-Trace Camping
For those of us who love spending time in the great outdoors, wild spaces are very special. These are places we visit to recharge, or to fill our hearts with natural beauty.
Its principles are to treat the wilderness the way a decent visitor would and leave everything just as you found it, with no evidence that you passed through.
You can carry out these ideals in a number of ways. Begin by packing out all your litter. Whenever you go camping, take an empty trash bag with you and put all garbage into the bag. In addition, try not to damage vegetation.
It’s also important that you should not take things away from the wilderness. Rocks, plants, flowers and seashells are all part of the natural landscape.
Leave-No-Trace camping is about being respectful and thoughtful. It’s about honoring the natural world and the creatures that live in it. If you love seeing an untouched mountain stream or a lovely field of wildflowers, then you’ve already taken the first step.
A.This means not stepping into a wild animal’s space. |
B.This is also called “low impact” or “no impact” camping. |
C.Once taken away, they won’t be there for others to enjoy. |
D.An increasing number of people take up camping in the wilderness. |
E.When you put up your tent, try to find a place that’s already bare of plants. |
F.We hate to see them littered with rubbish or any reminders of previous visitors. |
G.Follow these basic practices and you can be models of the Leave-No-Trace philosophy. |
4 . Are you facing a situation that looks impossible to fix?
In 1969,the pollution was terrible along the Cuyahoga River Cleveland, Ohio. It
But the river wasn’t changed in a few days
Maybe you are facing an impossible situation. Maybe you have a habit
While there are
Ten-year-old Sami loved to visit his grandfather's house. The house was near the beautiful blue sea. At the seaside stood thick and tall palm trees with green coconuts hanging from them. When the coconuts fell down, Sami would break them open and drink the coconut water. Sami liked to play under the trees. It was always great fun to spend the holidays at Grandpa's place.
This winter vacation, Sami was surprised when he came to his grandfather's village. There were hardly any trees left. He saw houses built near the sea. People had cut down many palm trees and there was hardly any greenery left.
Grandpa's house was different. He never allowed his trees to be cut. He hugged each palm tree in his courtyard. He also named the two big trees near the front door--one was Petu, and the other Betu. He had planted them with his own hands and today they had become large, massive trees with thick trunks. They were tall and green and gave the sweetest, juiciest coconuts.
One night, Sami was awakened by a strange sound. He could not sleep. He tossed(辗转)and turned in bed.
Suddenly, the ground shook as if the earth was splitting. He sat up straight and then ran to Grandpa. He clung(附 着)to his grandpa tightly. Grandpa cried out, “It's an earthquake! It's an earthquake!" They ran outside the house. They thought that would be safe.
Suddenly, there was a loud sound; the earth was not splitting but the sea was roaring. People were shouting, screaming and crying, “The sea is rising! The sea is rising." The villagers started running away from the beach.
Sami watched dumbstruck(呆若木鸡).
The waves were rising higher and higher. Sami thought, “How big the waves are!" He went into the house again and saw water coming in from all sides. He was scared.
Sami remembered his mother telling him long ago, “You must always get out of the house if the floods come too near." He ran outside the house with Grandpa. But the water came surging(汹涌) in.
Waves about twelve meters high came rushing in, drowning everything. Water was all around and everywhere.
Paragraph 1:
Grandpa held Sami's hand tightly but a huge wave separated them.
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Paragraph 2:
“Sami, Sami!” Grandpa cried. “Don't be scared, little one, come to me, quickly.”
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1.“绿色生活”的意义和方式;2.发出号召。
注意:
1.写作词数应为80左右;2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Ladies and gentlemen,
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7 . Nowadays, with the popularity of modern traffic and modern communication means, our world is becoming much smaller. Thus our life today is much easier than it was hundreds of years ago, but meanwhile it has brought new problems, the biggest one of which is pollution. For a long time ever since, man has been polluting the earth. The more people, the more pollution.
To pollute means to make things dirty. Pollution comes in many ways. We see it, smell it, drink it and even hear it. Many years ago, the problem was not so serious because there were not so many people. When the land was used up or the river was dirty in one place, man moved to another place. But this is no longer true. Man is now slowly polluting the whole world.
Air pollution is still the most serious. It’s bad for all living things in the world, but it is not the only one kind of pollution. Water pollution kills our fish and pollutes our drinking water. Noise pollution makes us angry more easily.
Many countries are making rules to fight pollution. They stop people from burning coal in houses and factories in the city, and from putting dirty smoke into the air. Pollution by SO2 is now the most dangerous kind of air pollution. It is caused by heavy traffic. We are sure that if there are fewer people driving, there will be less air pollution.
The earth is our home. We must take care of it. That means keeping the land, water and air clean. And we must take care of the rise in pollution at the same time.
1. What is the reason for the world to become much smaller?A.The rise in pollution. | B.Science and technology development. |
C.The earth is being polluted day and night. | D.The earth is blown away by the wind every year. |
A.Air pollution. | B.Rubbish pollution. |
C.Noise pollution. | D.Water pollution. |
A.It makes much noise. | B.It makes us angry more easily. |
C.It makes our rivers and lakes dirty. | D.It’s bad for all living things in the world. |
A.Supportive. | B.Critical. | C.Doubtful. | D.Indifferent. |
Oysters, soft-bodied animals without skeletons, are important for the underwater community they share with plants, fish, and other life. They are food
Because so many animals depend on them, oysters are called a keystone species. If a keystone species
That’s
The oysters were in trouble for
9 . When most kids go to the beach, they’re too focused on making sandcastles and splashing around to notice litter, but several years ago, for 7-year-old Cash Daniels, noticing a plastic straw sparked a lifelong passion for saving the planet.
Cash, who is now known as the “conservation kid”, has always loved nature. He grew up fishing along the Chattanooga River, after all! But once he learned that 80 percent of all trash from land and rivers ends up in the ocean, he couldn’t sit back.
He started with cleanups along the river, something that quickly went from a family affair to a community effort with volunteers and neighbors. In 2019, Cash, together with a Canadian conservationist, Ella Galaski-Rossen, started a nonprofit called the Cleanup Kids. Despite living in different countries, they managed to create educational videos on their YouTube channel. “We hope to be a really big nonprofit that eliminates plastic in the U. S. and Canada,” Cash said. “We want to inform kids and adults in the landlocked states of how their actions are connected to the water and the ocean,” Cash said.
Cash was selected as one of America’s top 10 youth volunteers of 2021 by the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. He also earned the title of National Honoree, where he received a$5,000 grant to go to a nonprofit of his choice, and he became the first person to win the Youth Conservationist Award two years in a row from the Tennessee Wildlife Federation.
“I want to travel the world, teach others, and help them feel connected to the ocean. Because if you are connected to the ocean-if you love it and what lives in it—you’ll want to protect it,” he said. “This is my fun, and it becomes more fun with every new discovery.”
1. Which can replace the underlined words “sit back” in paragraph 2?A.Fall asleep. | B.Lose heart. |
C.Turn a blind eye. | D.Lend a hand. |
A.To recycle waste plastics. |
B.To make instructive videos. |
C.To spread marine knowledge. |
D.To appeal for ocean protection. |
A.Sympathetic and devoted. | B.Initiative and talented. |
C.Ambitious and humorous. | D.Determined and modest. |
A.Passion fuels dreams. |
B.Great minds think alike. |
C.Helping others is of great fun. |
D.Actions speak louder than words. |
10 . Plastic fishing nets, the so-called ghost nets, abandoned yearly in the sea—about 1 million tons—are more than just rubbish; they’re a killer. Fish, sea birds, and turtles get caught in the netting and die, with more species at risk.
Much shocked at this, Pranveer Singh Rathore, a materials-science engineer and materials R&D manager at Samsung, and his team set themselves the task of giving new life to the deadly nets. Last month, Samsung revealed a new line of Galaxy products made in part from recycled plastic fishing nets for the first time. The company estimates this year alone it can recycle over 50 tons of ocean-bound plastic into the key components that will go into its smartphones, tablets, and computers, thus taking a bite out of the global ghost nets problem.
It’s no small task to give waste fishing nets a second act. The nets are typically made of a substance called nylon which tends to dramatically degrade (降解) the longer it sits in the ocean and is exposed to the sun. “This makes it nearly impossible to use abandoned fishing nets directly,” Rathore explains. Besides, high-performance smartphone, tablet, or PC has to be waterproof and can survive severe weather. The nylon in the fishing nets falls far short of that level of durability (耐用).
To deal with that problem, Samsung last summer teamed up with two partners: one to collect and transform the nets into tiny nylon pellets (颗粒) while the other to strengthen their toughness and durability. The end result: The partners hit upon an eco-friendly and high-performance plastic material that’s being used to build the component parts for its latest line of products. For example, two parts of the Galaxy S22 mobile phone—the key bracket and the inner cover—are made of these fishing-net plastic materials. Samsung aims to use even more upcycled materials in future product lines.
“That’s the hope for the globe and our mission,” Rathore smiles.
1. What does the underlined word “this” in paragraph 2 refer to?A.Rubbish in the sea. | B.Recycling the deadly nets. |
C.Ocean species’ extinction. | D.Ghost nets’ threat to sea life. |
A.The low level of durability of nylon. | B.The second act of waste fishing nets. |
C.The great difficulty in reusing ghost nets. | D.The positive comment on Samsung’s products. |
A.They are made from tiny nylon pellets. | B.They put an end to the problem of fishing nets. |
C.They can stand up to water and severe weather. | D.They contain materials recycled from ghost nets. |
A.It makes plastic easier to break down. | B.It marks the shift of Samsung’s mission. |
C.It protects the planet from choking on plastic. | D.It raises public awareness of ocean exploration. |