1 . 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.

3 . 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.

4 . Five months ago, a new species of box jellyfish was discovered in Hong Kong. It is a relative of the deadly Australian box jellyfish, one of the most venomous (有毒的) animals on Earth. One sting (刺伤) from it can kill a person in minutes.

A university team in Hong Kong, led by Qiu Jianwen from the Hong Kong Baptist University, discovered it at the Mai Po Nature Reserve, a local wetland area. It was the first discovery of a new box jellyfish species in Chinese waters.

But it’s not the first time biology professor Qiu has discovered a new creature. He’s made more than 30 discoveries in about 20 years spent exploring new marine (海洋的) animals.

Qiu doesn’t go looking for new species on purpose. In 2014, he did research on the health of coral in Hong Kong waters. To learn more, Qiu and his team needed to find all of the coral species involved. And in doing so, they discovered four new coral species.

Finding new species reminds Qiu of how biologically diverse Hong Kong’s waters are. Hong Kong takes up just 0.03 percent of China’s total marine area, yet it is home to more than 25 percent of all marine species recorded in China, a report by the University of Hong Kong showed.

However, Hong Kong’s marine animals face threats, due to factors including habitat loss, climate change and overuse of natural resources.

Although action is being taken, it focuses more on bigger creatures, like dolphins and birds. “Many marine species are small and they are often overlooked. If these species were to become extinct, few people would notice or care. But for me, each one has its rightful place,” said Qiu.

He hopes everyone can recognize the importance of the ocean. “When more people show concern for the ocean, we are, in fact, acting for our own benefit,” he said.

1. Where was the new species of box jellyfish found?

A．In a university lab of HK.	B．In the ocean of Australia.
C．In a nature reserve of HK.	D．In a wetland of Australia.

2. What was Qiu’s task in 2014?

A．To find new species of coral for the study.

B．To study the health condition of coral.

C．To study the living environment of coral.

D．To find all coral species in the world.

3. What can we know about the marine animals in HK?

A．All of them are dying out.

B．No action is being taken to protect them.

C．Habitat loss is the biggest threat to them.

D．Some of them were discovered by chance.

4. What can be inferred according to the last two paragraphs?

A．Small marine species aren’t protected as they deserve.

B．Bigger creatures like dolphins and birds should be better protected.

C．People are now taking action to better protect small marine species.

D．More and more people are aware of the extinction of small marine species.

5 . 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。

China is affected by natural disasters easily. When a disaster     1     (strike), how a country responds to disasters makes the difference between life and death. Since the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, from which China suffered     2     (serious), disaster prevention and control have become top priorities for the Chinese government. One important aspect is the establishment of an     3     (effect) earthquake monitoring and early warning system. The China Earthquake Networks Center will confirm the location and magnitude (里氏级)     4    sending out alarm messages to the public.

China’s ability to respond to disasters stands out, as it can quickly deploy (部署) rescue forces and resources. It     5     (establish) 27 professional teams for various types of rescue work so far,     6    ensures a 24 hour on duty emergency response.

China also has an outstanding ability in post disaster     7     (recover) and reconstruction. The reason is that it is able to organize and combine resources from various departments     8     (repair) basic facilities and restore essential services such as power, water supply and communication. This reduces     9     impact of secondary disasters and helps those affected by disasters rebuild their lives.

Disaster relief is a comprehensive effort that requires a whole society working together. China sets an example of how to prevent loss and save lives by     10    (put) people first.

7 . Most polar bears follow the sea ice as it grows and melts (融化) throughout the year. They depend on sea ice as the platform from which they hunt for sea animals. But as global temperatures have been rising, sea ice has been disappearing. And some bears have traveled so far in search of ice that they risk dying of hunger.

But in southeast Greenland, where the sea freezes over for just a few months, some polar bears are subsisting locally. Polar bears here have adapted to hunting from the glacial mélange, which is a mix of ice, snow and slush (雪泥). “These polar bears are residents of sea ice-free areas for more than eight months of the year,” says the biologist Kristin Laidre. “Normally, a polar bear wouldn’t be able to live without sea ice for that long.”

In northeast Greenland, the distance traveled by bears was 40 kilometers every four days. But in the southeast, the distance traveled was just one-fourth of the distance.“Apparently, those southeast Greenland bears are able to use resources that are present, so that they don’t have to make these big movements,”says Steven Amstrup, a zoologist. They make the sea ice home for a few months each winter and spring. For the rest of the year, the bears hunt from the glacial mélange. They use it just like sea ice.

However, researchers say that most polar bears will die out by 2100 unless emissions (排放) of climate-warming greenhouse gases are sharply cut back. Southeast Greenland and similar, small regions could become the last places for some of the remaining polar bears. Yet even they will disappear if climate change continues to melt the sea ice on which this species depends.

“Despite having learned to adapt to their slushy world, southeast Greenland polar bears will die without human climate action,” Amstrup says. “The glacial mélange isn’t widespread in the regions around the North Pole. And it could disappear if temperatures rise much more. Polar bears still suffer hunger.”

1. What is the problem with polar bears nowadays?

A．They hunt for food in polluted areas.

B．They can hardly adapt to a new environment.

C．They lose their living space to some sea animals.

D．They have difficulty hunting due to the loss of sea ice.

2. What does the underlined word “subsisting” in Paragraph 2 mean?

A．Escaping.

B．Surviving.

C．Suffering.

D．Attacking.

3. Why do those southeast Greenland bears travel less far?

A．They have poor swimming ability.

B．They depend on existing resources to hunt.

C．They change their diets at different times of the year.

D．They need to produce babies in familiar environment.

4. What may be largely responsible for the reduction in bear populations?

A．Human hunting.	B．Natural disasters.
C．The industrial farming.	D．The warming climate.

8 . Levon Biss was looking at insects from his garden through a microscope he bought for his son. For fun, they unintentionally placed an insect under the lens (镜片). “It is amazingly beautiful!” they both screamed.

The father had been making a career taking photographs for advertisements. But that experience gave him a new direction. Around the world, insect populations are in decline because of habitat loss and climate change. Biss thought that if people could see what he saw through his son’s microscope, they would care more about protecting insects.

So Biss turned to macrophotography: taking close-up pictures of small things, like flowers or bugs. His work has attracted attention not just for its unusual beauty. It also raises awareness about the need for conservation.

In 2016, Biss showed his first insect project, Microsculpture. The term refers to the features of an insect’s exoskeleton, or outer shell, which develops over time as the bug adapts to its environment.

Biss’s pictures capture the insects in all their microscopic details. Then he blows up the images until the insects become larger than life, some of them eight feet tall. But each image takes weeks to make. He uses a digital camera with a microscope lens. The camera is fixed on a computerized track, which allows Biss to take a shot, then move the camera by seven microns (微米) — a distance equals to about 1/10 the thickness of a human hair — for the next shot. In the end, Biss might take 10,000 shots of a bug. A computer combines these small pictures into a single image.

Biss’s latest exhibition is Extinct and Endangered at the American Museum of Natural History. He selected bugs that were extinct or endangered, hoping his photographs would serve as a better purpose. “I communicate visually,” he says, “The way I work is through pictures. But I think it’s my duty to shake things up and get people to pay attention.”

1. What made Levon Biss turn to macrophotography?

A．Beautiful insects.	B．Attractive environment.
C．An expensive microscope.	D．An accidental observation.

2. How does Levon Biss manage to capture insects’ microscopic details?

A．By taking a shot at them twice.

B．By adjusting the camera on a track.

C．By taking close-up pictures countless times.

D．By putting them in order on a computer.

3. What does the underlined phrase “shake things up” refer to in the last paragraph?

A．Get rid of the prejudice.

B．Take action to save wildlife.

C．Spare no efforts to face difficulties.

D．Make people think about nature differently.

4. Which of the following best describes Levon Biss?

A．Patient and responsible.	B．Wealthy and ambitious.
C．Polite and strong-willed.	D．Curious and easy-going.

9 . 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。

Researchers have completed an online map of the world’s coral reefs (珊瑚礁). The map, called the Allen Coral Atlas,     1     (think) highly of because it can act as a source of reference for reef conservation, ocean planning and coral science as researchers try to prevent the     2     (lose) of the fragile ecosystems seriously affected by climate change.

The group     3     (announce) the completion of the map earlier. They said the map is the first global, high-resolution (高清晰度的) map of its kind,     4     aim is to both document the evolving state of the world’s coral reefs and ensure that there’re measures taken     5     (protect) them as swiftly as possible. It gives users the ability to see detailed and     6     (accuracy) information about local reefs, and is meant to influence policy decisions about protected ocean areas, upcoming coral restoration projects, and so on.

The Allen Coral Atlas was     7     (true) a joint effort of scientists, technologists, and conservationists. The researchers received help from hundreds of field contributors     8     (give) them local information about reefs. In this way, they could program their satellites and software to focus their attention     9     the right areas. And that let them bring the playing field up to a level where they could take a larger area into consideration to make decisions     10     ever.