1 . Visitors post photos and videos of themselves getting close to flamingos at several resorts (旅游胜地) in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic on social media. The pink, leggy birds wander the grounds, walking through artificial ponds and eating food dropped by tourists.

“But behind the fantastic social media posts, things are less rosy for the flamingos,” says Fernandez, a Dominican conservationist and photographer.

Some of these flamings have their secondary feathers cut, which prohibits flight. Others have a bone removed from their wings. This grounds the bird for life, which can be up to 60 years.

Fernandez has also witnessed flamingos being given much pet food, which eventually fades the pink color that comes from eating their native diet of shrimp and other small crustaceans. The birds change behaviorally as well, becoming used to people and asking them for food, as Fernandez has seen.

On the other side of the country, Monte Cristi National Park is the natural habitat for Caribbean flamings; it’s also a popular trapping site. And it is here that Paulino works to remove the traps, which are made of wooden sticks attached to fishing wires.

Paulino’s group first noticed the traps in 2009 and has been reporting them to the authorities ever since, but the practice hasn’t stopped. Once, Paulino says, she spotted a trapper carrying nine flamingos in a bag. On a trip early in 2023, the group took 706 traps from three locations.

This method of trapping harms, or even kills the birds, which Paulino has seen firsthand in the field. Flamingos are walking around and all of a sudden their leg falls in the wires and when they pull, they’re caught. They are trapped by the knee or the ankle, and struggle to break free, which exhausts them.

1. Why do some flamingos have their secondary feathers cut?

A．To help them live longer.	B．To make them more beautiful.
C．To make them fly higher.	D．To destroy their flying ability.

2. What causes the color fading of the flamingos in the resorts?

A．The change of their food.	B．Suffering from serious diseases.
C．Living with other small animals.	D．The influence of eating too much food.

3. Which word best describes the trappers?

A．Clever.

B．Cruel.

C．Creative.

D．Careless.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．The Survival Situation of Flamingos Is Unoptimistic

B．Flamingos Live a More Comfortable Life in Resorts

C．People Have Raised Awareness of Protecting Animals

D．The Methods of Protecting Flamingos Are Inappropriate

2 . In order to meet growing food production and energy needs in low-and middle-income countries, solar-powered groundwater irrigation (灌溉) is rapidly gaining ground. More than 500,000 solar pumps (泵) have been set up in south Asia over the last few years and a major expansion is planned across sub-Saharan Africa.

Dustin Garrick, professor in the School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability, along with an international team, examined the trend toward solar pumps as a clear opportunity for boosting agricultural yields and reducing poverty, but the opportunity comes with risks.

While replacing electric or gas pumps with solar-powered irrigation holds the promise of reducing carbon emissions (排放), it is not guaranteed. Farmers who have access to these pumps may expand production of crops or diversify into other activities, which are not emissions neutral. Solar pumps will increase groundwater pumping efficiency, which may be desirable in regions that support such increases, but this could worsen groundwater lessening in regions that are already stressed. The cheap clean energy of solar pumps may lead to increased groundwater development, without necessarily decreasing overall emissions.

Despite these challenges, the clean-energy boost can serve as a stimulus for positive change in water and energy management but will require enhanced regulation and planning in both low-and high-income settings. Garrick and his team advocate for improved data collection initiatives, with a shift from separated to integrated approaches. They suggest using technology to measure water pumping and collecting remotely sensed data to monitor land use changes. As well, regulatory improvements are crucial, with mounting limits for carbon emissions and groundwater lessening established at various levels.

With groundwater management already a difficult challenge, we must act fast to understand the implications of the clean energy boost and poverty reduction acts to avoid these gains being won away by wells running dry. The rapid adoption of solar irrigation intensifies the urgency, demanding adaptation from governments and institutions to sail through these complexities.

1. According to paragraph 3, there is a conflict between ________.

A．poor farmers and solar-powered irrigation	B．human consumption and clean energy limits
C．crop diversity and crop production expansion	D．pumping efficiency and groundwater exhaustion

2. What did Garrick and his team suggest for a positive change?

A．Integrating data collection and regulation.	B．Improving carbon emission monitoring.
C．Separating data for land use changes.	D．Establishing groundwater levels.

3. What does the author propose the readers do?

A．Perform as the authorities suggest.	B．Act based on further understanding.
C．Quicken the adoption of solar irrigation.	D．Challenge the groundwater management.

4. Which of the following is the best title for the text?

A．The Complexities of Adopting Solar Pumps

B．Solar-Powered Irrigation: Farmers’ New Future

C．The Promise and Risks of Solar-Powered Irrigation

D．Balancing Clean Energy Boost and Poverty Reduction

4 . Earth Hour is an annual event, asking you to switch off all your lights for one hour in positive change for our planet. It is organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature and it’s a big event usually at the end of March every year.     1    , which means switching off all lights everywhere at the same time for one hour.

Earth Hour started in Australia in 2007, when 2.2 million people in Sydney turned off all unnecessary lights for an hour.     2    , and many countries around the world have taken part.

It’s true that switching off the lights for just one hour saves only a little power.     3    . Joining in Earth Hour makes people think about the problem of climate change and how to protect nature so that people can enjoy healthy and sustainable lives. Besides, many people acting together pushes governments and companies to consider green issues when making big decisions.

    4    . The number 60 is for the 60 minutes of Earth Hour, and the plus invites people to keep on taking action even after Earth Hour is finished. In fact, people joining in Earth Hour say that taking part in it inspires them to do more for the environment. The climate activist Greta Thunberg says, “Earth Hour is every hour of every day.”

Why is it in March? At the end of March in the northern and southern hemispheres (半球), the days and the nights are almost of the same length.     5    , so it is dark in the evening in each country for the Earth Hour switch-off.

A．But this is only the beginning

B．The logo of Earth Hour is “60+”

C．On this evening, people “go dark”

D．There are many events people can join in

E．Since then it has grown into an international event

F．The idea is to raise the awareness of environmental issues

G．At this time, the sunset time is similar in both hemispheres

5 . A new study says that more than half the world’s ocean area is “becoming greener”, and the trend is connected to human-caused global warming.

It’s not clear what is driving the greening. In some places, it could indicate changes in the amount of plankton or other organic material floating in the water. Plankton are a cornerstone of the ocean food chain, and these kinds of shifts could have ripple effects throughout the entire marine ecosystem.

The study, published on Wednesday in the journal Nature, examines 20 years of satellite data measuring light reflected at the surface of the water all across the globe, subtle changes that aren’t necessarily visible to the naked eye. The research finds that 56 percent of the world’s oceans are shifting in color — and on the whole, they’re growing greener. The trend is especially strong in the lower latitudes, including the subtropics and tropics.

The researchers then used a computer model to find out whether climate change was playing a part. They conducted one set of simulations representing the oceans under a strong climate change scenario, and then compared them with a second set of simulations imagining a world in which climate change didn’t exist. The model suggests that rising global temperatures are to blame.

The exact reasons still require some scientific digging. While climate change seems to be the culprit, the study also indicates that rising ocean temperatures in and of themselves aren’t driving the greening.

There are plenty of other ways global warming is affecting the world’s oceans, by changing the structure and flow of certain currents, for instance. These kinds of changes can affect the growth of phytoplankton and other factors that might be contributing to the greening.

The findings weren’t a surprise to the researchers. They’re consistent with the way researchers expect the global oceans to change as the world keeps on warming.

“I’ve been running simulations that have been telling me for years that these changes in ocean color are going to happen,” study co-author Stephanie Dutkiewicz, a senior research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said in a statement. “To actually see it happening for real is no unexpected, but frightening.”

1. What is the main topic of the study mentioned in the text?

A．Changes in the color of the world’s oceans.

B．The role of plankton in the ocean food chain.

C．The impact of climate change on ocean ecosystems.

D．The effects of global warming on ocean temperatures.

2. What does the underlined word “culprit” in paragraph 5 mean?

A．A person who is responsible for a crime.

B．An animal that causes damage or harm.

C．A substance that causes negative effects.

D．A thing or fact that is responsible for a problem.

3. What is the researchers’ reaction to the findings?

A．They are unsurprised.	B．They are emotional.
C．They are indifferent.	D．They are unsure.

4. What does the study suggest about the future of the oceans?

A．They will become smaller.	B．They will become more polluted.
C．They will continue to change colors.	D．They will become less diverse.

6 . A NASA climate research scientist, Cynthia Rosenzweig, who has spent much of her career explaining how global food production must adapt to a changing climate, was awarded the World Food Prize on Thursday.

“We basically cannot solve climate change unless we address the issues of the greenhouse gas emissions from the food system, and we cannot provide food security for all unless we work really hard to develop adaptable agricultural systems,” she told The Associated Press in an interview.

Rosenzweig, who describes herself as a climate impact scientist, grew up in Scarsdale, New York, a suburban area that she said led her to seek out life in the country. Later, she moved to Italy, and developed a passion for agriculture. After returning to the United States, she focused her education on agronomy (农学).

She worked as a graduate student at the Goddard Institute for Space Studies in the early 1980s, when global climate models were beginning to show the effects of human-generated carbon dioxide on the global climate. As the only team member studying agronomy, she researched the impact on food production and has been working since then to answer those questions.

Rosenzweig’s work led to the Environmental Protection Agency’s first prediction of the effects of climate change on the nation’s agricultural regions in the agency’s assessment of the potential effects of climate change on the United States in 1988. She was the first to bring climate change to the attention of the American Society of Agronomy and she organized the first sessions on the issue in the 1980s. The research organization she founded, AgMIP, develops adaptation packages, which could include the use of more drought-tolerant seeds and improved water management practices.

Even the largest agribusiness corporations have shown a willingness to listen. Some models her colleagues have developed show how businesses could be effected by climate change and how they have a role to play in reducing the impact on climate.

“It’s really a global partnership of all the global food systems to come together to restrain climate change and maintain the food security for the planet,” she said.

1. What can we learn from paragraph 2?

A．Plants can hardly cause greenhouse gas emissions.

B．Issues of food security will result in climate change.

C．Improving food systems will help address climate change.

D．Some adaptable agricultural systems have been put into use.

2. Which of the following can best describe Rosenzweig?

A．Modest.

B．Devoted.

C．Adaptable.

D．Warm-hearted.

3. What is paragraph 5 mainly about?

A．Rosenzweig’s contributions.	B．Rosenzweig’s challenges.
C．Rosenzweig’s expectations.	D．Rosenzweig’s backgrounds.

4. What does the underlined word “they” in paragraph 6 refer to?

A．The models.	B．The practices.
C．The colleagues.	D．The businesses.

7 . Air pollution remains a critical health risk in the European Union, claiming over 500,000 lives in 2021, with findings suggesting nearly half of these could have been prevented if pollution were reduced to levels recommended by health experts. Data from the European Environment Agency (EEA) show that of these deaths, 253,000 were linked to exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) going beyond the World Health Organization’s (WHO) guideline limit of 5 micrograms per cubic meter. These particles are especially dangerous as they can pass into the bloodstream and affect various organs. Nitrogen dioxide and ozone also contributed to the mortality (死亡频率) statistics, associated with 52,000 and 22,000 deaths respectively. The EU’s environment commissioner, Virginijus Sinkevicius, underlined that air pollution poses the top environmental health risk in the EU. Nevertheless, there is evidence of improvement, with deaths from PM2.5 decreasing by 41% between 2005 and 2021, and the EU targets a reduction of 55% by 2030.

In response to these concerns, the WHO, which updated its air quality guidelines in 2021, warns that no level of air pollution can be considered safe but has set upper limits for certain pollutants. The European Parliament vote to bring the EU’s air quality standards in line with the WHO but decided to delay doing so until 2035.

Sinkevicius said that air quality is indeed improving due to effective clean air policies. Beyond death counts, the EEA also assessed air pollution’s broader impact on diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and diabetes, stressing not only mortality but the quality of life impacts. EEA researcher Alberto Gonzalez Ortiz pointed to severe disability states caused by these conditions, worsened by air pollution.

The EEA’s comprehensive approach shows that while the fight against air pollution has seen progress, immediate action is still critical to reduce pollution and reduce its widespread effects on public health.

1. Why does the author mention specific figures in Paragraph 1?

A．To stress the risk of PM2.5 in the EU.	B．To illustrate the impact of air pollution.
C．To prove the improvement in air pollution.	D．To show the guidelines of EEA lose control.

2. What did the WHO do for the concerns?

A．It adjusted air quality standards accordingly.

B．It didn’t perform the new limits until 2035.

C．It claimed current pollution levels were relatively safe.

D．It decided to change the guidelines completely.

3. How did Sinkevicius feel about the air quality in the text?

A．Concerned about its policies.	B．Indifferent due to its level.
C．Uncertain about its impact.	D．Optimistic about its progress.

4. What is the main focus of the passage?

A．The impact of wise decisions on air pollution in the EU.

B．The specific health conditions worsened by air pollution.

C．The progress and challenges in dealing with air pollution.

D．The role of the WHO in establishing global health policies.

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。

Duolun county,     1     (locate) in Inner Mongolia, only 180 kilometers away from Beijing，once suffered severe erosion and desertification (沙漠化).

Ma Yunping, a retired soldier,     2     (sell) six cows to collect 7,000 yuan and decided to contract 3,700 mu of deserted sandy land. Due to Duolun’s unique geological (地质) environment, which consists mainly of shifting sand dunes (沙丘), the inexperienced Ma tried planting grass under the     3     (guide) of the forestry department. However, the sandstorms came frequently. He failed many times     4     continued trying, learning from his mistakes.

During the first three years, planting grass became his primary job. Slowly, the yellow sand was stabilized, and     5     touch of green appeared. In 2016, Ma established a     6     (profession) organization, which now has over 40 members. “I want everyone in my village to     7     (active) participate in preventing and treating desertification and to share in the green achievements,” he said.

So far, in this area, Ma has planted about 400,000 trees in total. All of them have grown into flourishing vegetation, and not a bit of yellow sand can     8     (find). Reflecting     9     the 20-year journey of fighting against desertification, Ma has long engraved the patches of green on the dunes into his heart. “I am so fond of the greenery, and I want to keep     10     (follow) it,” Ma said.

9 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. How many people died in a landslide in 2003?

A．About two hundred.

B．Over one thousand.

C．About two thousand.

2. What has the Philippines banned for several years?

A．Growing grass.

B．Cutting down trees.

C．Growing population.

3. What does the speaker advise to protect our environment?

A．Growing more forests.

B．Chopping down the old forests.

C．Getting busy in protecting our country.

10 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. Why did the man go to the Philippines?

A．For a trip.

B．For further studies.

C．For volunteer work.

2. Who helped the man with the project?

A．The local students.

B．The local government.

C．The local businessmen.

3. What’s the aim of the project?

A．To explore an island.

B．To help the poor students.

C．To protect the environment.