1 . A powerful earthquake hit Morocco, killing thousands of people and causing huge damage over a large area.
The earthquake struck around 11 pm on Friday night. It was not only one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded in Morocco, but also the country’s deadliest earthquake in over 60 years. So far, the earthquake is reported to have killed over 2,900 people. The earthquake was especially precarious as it happened at night, when most people were asleep at home.
The center of the earthquake was in the Atlas Mountains, about 72 kilometers southwest of Marrakesh, a large city popular with tourists in the center of Morocco. Fortunately, many of its modern buildings survived the earthquake. However, the old part of the city, called the Medina, whose buildings are over 1,000 years old, was hit hard, leaving many of those buildings in ruins.
Outside of Marrakesh, the earthquake caused even more damage. In the Atlas Mountains, the earthquake’s center, there were many small villages. Many people in the area lived in simple houses made of mud, a traditional way of building in Morocco. But they’ re not strong enough to survive earthquakes and many of these houses simply fell apart, turning into sand. The Moroccan government has laws requiring buildings to be built more safely, yet these rules were often overlooked.
In larger cities, rescue efforts seemed to be going well. But it took a lot longer for help to reach remote (偏远的) areas in the mountains. That meant the local people in those areas had to deal with the situation on their own. They had to dig through the ruins with their hands, searching for survivors who were trapped. Moreover, many people were sleeping outside, unsure if their houses were safe enough.
More help was on the way. Many outside countries offered teams of experts and emergency supplies. But the government said too many different rescue teams could make the situation more confusing.
1. Why did the earthquake lead to the most deaths on record in Morocco?| A．It struck a large and tourist city. | B．It was powerful and happened at night. |
| C．The rescue teams arrived too late. | D．The traditional houses were not strong enough. |
| A．Dangerous. | B．Powerful. | C．Unique. | D．Impressive. |
| A．They had no shelter to stay. | B．They ran out of food supplies. |
| C．They lost contact with the outside world. | D．They couldn’t get necessary rescue in time. |
| A．A science magazine. | B．A travel journal. |
| C．A news report. | D．A cultural website. |
2 . In the summer of 2021, an unseasonal event took place. More than 100 miles of Florida’s coast around Tampa Bay became an oxygen-depleted (缺氧的) zone containing dead fish along the nearby shoreline.
Much of the conversation around our climate crisis highlights the emission of greenhouse gases and their effect on warming, sea-level rise and ocean acidification (海洋酸化). We hear little about the effect of climate change on oxygen levels, particularly in oceans and lakes. But water without adequate oxygen cannot support life. For the three billion people who depend on coastal fisheries for income, declining ocean oxygen levels are devastating.
As ocean and atmospheric scientists focus on climate, we believe that oceanic oxygen levels are the next big victim of global warming. To stop the situation from worsening, we need to expand our attention to include the dangerous state of oceanic oxygen levels — the life-support system of our planet. We need to accelerate ocean-based climate solutions that boost oxygen. Examples include nature-based solutions such as those discussed at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) held in Glasgow.
Enhanced monitoring of oxygen and the establishment of an oxygen-accounting system are a must. Putting oxygen into the climate story motivates us to do the work to understand the deep systemic changes happening in our complex atmospheric and oceanic systems. We celebrated the return of humpback whales in recent years to an increasingly clean New York Harbor and Hudson River. However, dead fish blocked the Hudson in the summer as warmer waters carried less oxygen.
Ecosystem changes connected to physical and chemical system-level data may point the way to new approaches to climate solutions. It includes an enhanced understanding of the life-support system of our planet. Roughly 40 percent of the world’s people depend on the ocean for their livelihoods. If we do not save marine life from oxygen starvation, we starve ourselves.
1. What is the result of less ocean oxygen according to the text?| A．A rise in the coastal fisheries. | B．The warming of the atmosphere. |
| C．The emission of greenhouse gases. | D．An increase in deaths of sea animals. |
| A．Attention to oceans is necessary. | B．Global warming effects are serious. |
| C．Oceanic oxygen levels are dangerous. | D．Ways to boost oceanic oxygen are urgent. |
| A．To bring in an oxygen-accounting system in climate. |
| B．To explain the urgency of oxygen levels in atmosphere. |
| C．To call for more attention to oxygen starvation in waters. |
| D．To show the achievements in reducing air pollution. |
| A．Save Marine Life. | B．Make Oceans Safe. |
| C．Let Oceans Breathe. | D．Keep Marine System. |
3 . Working at an investment bank in New York City in the mid-2010s. Anna Sacks was living the life—just not the life she wanted. Sure, she was happy. But she wanted to do something that felt important and was fulfilling on a deeper level.
Sacks packed up her life and moved to Connecticut for three months to participate in Adamah, a Jewish farming program that focuses on sustainable living and growing sustainable food. The Adamah program opened Sacks’s eyes to the damage consumer culture is doing on a local, national, and global level, and the need to find solutions. From then on, she began what she calls “trash (垃圾) walking.”
While walking around her neighborhood, Sacks, 31, picked through rubbish to look for reusable items. Soon, her trash walks expanded to include company rubbish along with residential trash. Surprisingly, she discovered a wide range of really great stuff—like clothing, dinnerware, and food—all of which she documents on Instagram and TikTok.
Under the name The Trash Walker, Sacks quickly gained popularity for her educational, funny, and surprising videos that highlight the problems with consumerism and share information about how to live a more sustainable life. “The root issue is overproduction, which leads to overconsumption, which leads to a large amount of waste,” she says. Sacks’s videos have gone viral many times, causing shockwaves through the industries she calls out.
Trash walking has given Sacks a nearly endless supply and she shares much of her “treasure” with others. She tries giving them informally to family, friends, or individuals she knows may need a specific item. Then she takes the remaining items to free stores so other New Yorkers can benefit from her treasure-hunting.
Sacks’s main focus is simply getting people to pay attention to how many unnecessary things they buy and then throw away. “Once you become aware of the way you consume, you can see ways you improve,” she says.
1. What inspired Sacks to begin her “trash walking”?| A．Her desire to live a richer life. | B．The great need for household stuff. |
| C．Her involvement in a project. | D．The wish to be an Internet star. |
| A．Funny stories. | B．Views on consumption. |
| C．Educational courses. | D．Solutions to problems. |
| A．She donates all to the charity. | B．She keeps most for her family. |
| C．She gives away much to others. | D．She sells some to individuals. |
| A．Trash Walker: Find Treasure in Trash. |
| B．Trash Walking: A Tough Journey. |
| C．Trash Walker: Live in the Moment. |
| D．Trash Walking: A New Career. |
4 . In order to learn about advanced scientific technology and ideas for combating desertification, Rezaali Pakzad left the Iranian capital Teheran, in 2018, to study in Northwest China’s Gansu Province.
He is a 27-year-old doctoral student at Lanzhou University, focusing on soil desertification control. In his view, Iran, like other arid and semiarid countries, faces environmental problems such as desertification. When he did field surveys and research in Minqin county, Gansu, he found that the local desertification characteristics were very similar to those of his hometown.
“Minqin is between two deserts. From being “about to disappear” to being gradually green, from being ravaged by “sand devils” to being covered by vast green plants, the scientific and effective prevention and control methods of the Chinese government have greatly changed the county, and made me see the hope of improving the ecology in my hometown,” he says.
He believes that China has certainly contributed to the global effort to combat desertification, and that the Chinese contribution is worth learning from. China has developed advanced technology models, such as quicksand fixation and vegetation restoration, and protective forest systems along major transport routes, which have introduced more green to deserts.
Already among the top nations in the world in the field of combating desertification, China has shared its experience with other countries, carried out international exchanges and cooperation, and contributed to global desertification control, he says.
He believes he has made progress during his five years of living and studying in China. By learning more about the Chinese language and culture, he has adapted to life in China and enjoyed the help and sincere concern of his teachers, classmates and friends here.
He hopes to achieve a lot, at a high level, in his research field and to contribute to international exchanges and cooperation in desertification control. “I want to be an ‘ecological messenger’ by spreading green ideas,” he says.
1. What problem does Pakzad want to solve?| A．Shortage of greens. | B．Water pollution. |
| C．Energy reduction. | D．Drought. |
| A．Protected. | B．Constructed. | C．Destroyed. | D．Reduced. |
| A．Generous and ambitious. | B．Responsible and hopeful. |
| C．Hard-working and creative. | D．Determined and tolerant. |
| A．China seldom participates in the global affairs. |
| B．China has solved the problem of desertification. |
| C．China is the top nation in international cooperation. |
| D．China plays a vital role in global desertification control. |
With economy development there comes a time when the old must give way to the new.
Big challenges, however, can sometimes lead to great solutions. In 1950s，the Egyptian government wanted to build a new dam
Temples and other cultural sites were taken down piece by piece, and then moved and put back in a place
The project ended in 1980, it was considered a success. Not only had the countries found a path to the future, but they had also learned that
6 . The idea that having narrow local focus leaves little room for anything but a selfish mindset is a misconception, according to a new study that found that concern for local affairs could help with global environmental conservation.
You might have heard of NIMBY which means “not in my back yard” and describes an individual or group opposed to a new addition to the neighborhood, typically a factory, roadway or power station. Nimbyism and parochialism(眼界狭小), which is a focus on a local area, can go hand in hand, and there are concerns that parochialism paves the way for prejudice, narrowmindedness, and selfishness.
But researchers found the exact opposite to be true in a new study published. The researchers argue that positive parochialism can inspire a larger awareness of global environmental problems and encourage people to action.
“We did not find evidence that parochialism was necessarily negative and inward -looking,” said Patrick, a researcher for the study. “It can be those things, but there's no necessary conflict between feeling connected to your local area and feeling connected to the wider world. ”
For the study, the researchers reviewed documents from the 1987 Parish Maps project. The researchers showed how the Parish Maps project also demonstrated a passion for the environment and conservation. The researchers say that the Parish Maps project is a strong example of “positive parochialism”, and shows that thinking locally can influence a global mindset.
“For a long time, it has been generally agreed that if we want people to think about global affairs they need an international worldview-but this may not be the case,” said Patrick. “Given where we are now in terms of trying to encourage people to make changes to help the environment, positive parochialism offers something that has been overlooked.”
1. Which behavior can best illustrate NIMBY?| A．Criticizing a friend for his selfish action. |
| B．Accepting a proposal beneficial to locals. |
| C．Supporting a neighborhood construction plan. |
| D．Objecting to building an airport in the neighborhood. |
| A．To explain how to protect the environment. |
| B．To offer an example of positive parochialism. |
| C．To encourage people to take part in the project. |
| D．To stress the importance of global mindset. |
| A．Appreciative. | B．Cautious. | C．Negative. | D．Puzzled. |
| A．Parochialism, a better practice? |
| B．International view, more popular? |
| C．Thinking locally, acting globally |
| D．Bigger thinking, better environment |
7 . It is long known that there are benefits from being in nature. Living around trees can help you live longer. Walking in the woods is good for your mood. But it’s not just what you see that makes an impact. A group of scientists from the U. S. and Canada studied the advantages of nature using their ears instead of their eyes.
“Our research team studied the acoustic (声学的) environment for quite a few years, but from the view of the negative impacts of noise pollution,” Rachel Buxton, the post-doctoral researcher and bird expert says. “However, I’ve always been curious about what are the beneficial impacts of natural sounds.” Being a bird expert made him interested in sounds.
For their research, Buxton and her team identified three dozen studies that examined the health benefits of natural sound. Some examples they found reported in those studies included decreased pain, lowered stress, improved mood, and better cognitive (认知的) function. With these results in hand, they then listened to audio recordings from 251 sites in 68 national parks across the United States.
“We found many sites beneficial to health in parks—sites with abundant natural sounds and little disturbance from noise,” Buxton says. “Yet, parks that are more heavily visited or near urban areas are more likely to be flooded with noise. That means many park visitors are not gaining the health benefits found in more quiet spaces.”
Interestingly, Buxton says, there was also some evidence that natural sounds have benefits over silence. There was also evidence that more different types of natural sounds—more types of birds singing versus just one type of bird—have benefits over fewer sounds.
“Also, a really interesting result was that listening to natural sounds with road noise had more benefits than just listening to noise,” she says. “So although you might not be getting the same health benefits as a quiet environment with lots of natural sound, even in a city if you have noise in the background, listening to natural sounds still delivers some health benefits.”
1. How does the author introduce the topic of the text?| A．By listing examples. | B．By making a comment. |
| C．By providing some accurate data. | D．By presenting a widely held view. |
| A．The bad effects of noises. | B．Birds’ habitat environment. |
| C．The causes of noise pollution. | D．Humans’ visual interest in nature. |
| A．Paragraph 3. | B．Paragraph 4. | C．Paragraph 5. | D．Paragraph 6. |
| A．Advantages of being in nature. | B．Different types of natural sounds. |
| C．Well-being from sounds of nature. | D．Relationship between sounds and moods. |
8 . A 2018 report found that food waste would increase by a third to 2. 1billion tons by 2030. Beyond the cost of the waste itself，thrown-away food generates a gas that contributes to climate change.
Home delivery meal kits(盒)can reduce food waste by more than two-thirds，but suppliers need to switch to reusable packaging to make them environmentally friendly.
Tailor-made meal kits cut waste by providing people with precise amounts of fresh ingredients(烹饪原料)for chosen recipes，meaning leftovers are minimized. But while the delivery services score well on reducing food waste，buying the same food ingredients from the supermarket almost always saves energy overall simply because meal kits use so much single-use packaging. The good news is that if people have meals that are tailored for consumption，they won’t overbuy and have less food waste. They fine-tune the amount of food to what they will actually eat.
Meal kits can reduce transport emissions(排放)if people go to the supermarket less frequently. If people only go and buy such goods as soap and toilet paper，they may only have to visit once every couple of months. A delivery truck can carry meals for a lot of people in the neighborhood. So dozens of car trips might be replaced with one truck trip.
However，study found that even if delivery meal kits reduced food waste to zero，they would still use up more energy overall than buying the same food from the supermarket unless the energy used for the meal kit packaging was cut by a fifth. The packaging is a killer if it’s single-use and thrown away，which can make all the environmental benefits lost. But if the packaging can be reused，if it’s glass bottles，like in the old days，we can get some benefits.
1. What can we learn about home delivery meal kits?| A．They can cut down on daily expenses. |
| B．They will totally solve the problem of food waste. |
| C．They can keep energy consumption to a minimum. |
| D．They will benefit the environment with reusable packaging. |
| A．Attach. | B．Adjust. |
| C．Raise. | D．Compare. |
| A．reduce transport emissions | B．save more food |
| C．shop only in the supermarket | D．shorten car trip distances |
| A．Supportive. | B．Unfavorable. |
| C．Objective. | D．Indifferent. |
9 . Human-made plastic materials have become so essential that it can be hard to grasp that they barely existed a century ago. At my desk, I'm typing on a plastic keyboard, scrolling a plastic mouse, and picking up a plastic pen. Day after day, more plastic enters my life, whether it's a shampoo bottle or new running shoes.
The invention of synthetic(合成的) plastics in the early 1900s was a success of innovation，with chemists realizing they could orchestrate molecular structures(编排分子结构) to create materials that are lighter, stronger, brighter, cheaper, more flexible and more durable. During World War II, nylon and other plastics became essential to the war effort. When the war ended, the initial plastics industry focused on making products for everyday life.
But the overuse of plastic has become a curse, with abandoned objects blocking waterways and landfills. And when plastic does finally fall apart, tiny particles go into the environment. We've known for years that microplastics have spread into the oceans. In this issue, we report on research confirming that microplastics are also storing up in our bodies. Plastic particles have been found in human blood, in body tissues and in breast milk.
Talk about environmental pollution hitting close to home. As independent journalist Anne Pinto-Rodrigues reports, microplastics probably enter the human body through the food we eat, the water we drink and even the air we breathe. Though consuming microplastics along with lunch is frightening enough, the idea that we might be taking in invisible bits with each breath feels much more disturbing.
Researchers have only recently begun quantifying the abundance of microplastics in the air, so it's not yet clear where people face the most exposure. Also unclear is what impact, if any, microplastics have on human health. Science is full of examples of unintended consequences.
Microplastics are an unintended consequence that we can't put back into the Tupperware. Merely switching from plastic to paper bags won't fix this problem. Science now needs to determine the extent of the threat microplastics might pose and invent new ways to protect against any harms.
1. What is paragraph 3 mainly about concerning plastic?| A．The widespread use. | B．The serious consequences. |
| C．The recycling methods. | D．The chemical structure. |
| A．that is shocking | B．that is declining |
| C．that is appealing | D．that is demanding |
| A．It can take the place of paper. |
| B．It poses no threat to some extent. |
| C．New solutions are expected to deal with its harms. |
| D．Tupperware is to blame for its unintended results. |
| A．Plastic bags or paper bags? |
| B．Microplastics: To die out or not? |
| C．Will you welcome plastics into your life? |
| D．Where does plastic go when we're done with it? |
10 . The 97-year-old botanist, Margaret Bradshaw, is the chief caretaker of Teesdale’s rarest flowers. “Everything about Teesdale is unique,” says Bradshaw with pride — and the authority of someone who has just written a 288-page book on the subject. Bradshaw has been recording rare plants here since the early 1950s and has witnessed great decreases.Her data was the first to prove that — and the need to do something about it.
The main reason for the decrease of these plants is an unusual one. The number of sheep in Teesdale had been reduced by half by 2000, as the uplands were generally believed there were too many sheep. Bradshaw says while sheep are hunted in some upland areas, reducing herding in Teesdale has been destructive. Longer grass overshadows the delicate (娇嫩) flowers, taking away the light they need to grow. As a result of her findings and her work with farmers who herd the land — as well as Natural England, which manages it — sheep numbers are increasing and the timing of herding is being carefully managed. This has led to the partial recovery of some plants.
At 93, she set up Teesdale Special Flora Research and Conservation Trust to record rare plants. A keen horse rider, at 95, she did a 55-mile horse journey across Teesdale, raising almost $ 10,000 for the Trust. When asked about the secret to longevity, “Just keep going,” she says.
“Keep at it.Don’t sit down and just watch TV.”
“I recognise I’m getting older and I’ve been trying to get more people to take over and do the records. They don’t believe I won’t be here forever,” Bradshaw says. Despite Bradshaw’s guardianship of this land, and the love and energy she has put into saving it, the future here is unknown. The last words of her book speak to this endless loss. “This is our heritage, this unique plant species, mine and yours,” she writes. “In spite of trying, I have failed to prevent its decrease, now it is up to you.”
1. What is Margaret Bradshaw’s main work with the rare plants?| A．Writing a book. | B．Preventing their decrease. |
| C．Collecting their data. | D．Directing farmers to grow plants. |
| A．Not enough sheep. | B．Lack of fund. |
| C．Poor management. | D．Too many sheep. |
| A．Unity brings strength. | B．Many hands make light work. |
| C．Youthful at heart, regardless of age. | D．Advance what the forerunners began. |
| A．Teesdale:Home to Rare Plants | B．Battling for Teesdale’s Wildflowers |
| C．Bradshaw:A97-Year-Old Gardener | D．Exploring Teesdale’s Unique Plants |
