1 . A newly published study shows that chess players perform objectively worse and — make more suboptimal (次最优的) moves when there is more fine particulate matter (颗粒物) in the air.
“We find that when individuals are exposed to higher levels of air pollution, they make more mistakes, and they make larger mistakes,” says Juan Palacios, a co-author of a newly published paper detailing the study’s findings.
Scholars have produced many studies exploring the effects of air pollution on cognition. The current study adds to that literature by analyzing the subject in a particularly controlled setting. The scholars used three web-connected sensors inside the tournament venue to measure carbon dioxide, PM2.5 concentrations, and temperature, all of which, can, be affected by external conditions, even in an indoor setting.
To evaluate the matter of performance of players, meanwhile, the scholars used software programs that assess each move made in each chess match, identify optimal decisions, and flag significant errors. During the tournaments, the researchers examined and ruled out alternate potential explanations for the dip in player performance, such as increased noise. They also found that carbon dioxide and temperature changes did not correspond to performance changes. Ultimately, the analysis confirms that the findings are driven by the direct exposure to air particles.
The researchers also found that when air pollution was worse, the chess, players performed even more poorly when under time constraints. The tourmament rules required that 40 moves had to be made within 110 minutes; for moves 31-40 in all, the matches, an air pollution, increase of 10 micro-grams per cubic meter led to an increased probability of error of 3.2 percent, with the magnitude of those errors increasing by 17.3 percent. And while the focus of this particular study is tightly focused on chess players, the findings have strong implications for high-skilled office workers.
1. What does the study find about air pollution?| A．It becomes more and more serious in the gym. |
| B．It can help evaluate chess players’ performance. |
| C．It may affect more people with mental processes. |
| D．It can’t be affected by indoor surroundings. |
| A．To measure carbon dioxide and temperature. |
| B．To assess the performance of players. |
| C．To help players make great moves. |
| D．To distinguish players’ errors in time. |
| A．Limit. | B．Freedom. | C．Consumption. | D．Measurement. |
| A．Various reasons for chess players’ mistakes. |
| B．A new research on chess players’ performance. |
| C．Scholars’ concern about chess players’ health. |
| D．The influence of air pollution on chess players. |
| A．Where to buy household goods. |
| B．How to lead a low-carbon life. |
| C．Which electrical equipment saves energy. |
3 . It was 3:34 in the morning. Suddenly the bed moved a little. I woke up. That bed used to move a lot so l just thought it was my wife rolling (翻) over. I looked over to her and she was fast asleep. So I thought it was just another small tremor (轻微地震). We used to get many small tremors in Chile. But then everything in the room started making noise. The tremor got a bit stronger. My wife woke up.
I went to open the front door to make sure it wouldn’t get stuck while my wife went to see how the kids were. They were still fast asleep.
I got to the front door and left it open. When I turned around to go back to the bedroom, the full force of the earthquake started to hit. I couldn’t move forward. While I was trying to hold myself up against the wall, I looked out the window. It was frightening, some buildings coming in and out of view and some already falling down. Then the earthquake made a strong push and our lights went out. In the darkness, I thought, “This is it! We’re not coming out of this alive.”
Luckily, the violent shaking gradually slowed down and then stopped. I could finally walk to our children’s room. My wife had been standing over them during the strongest part of the earthquake, making sure nothing fell on them.
After such a big earthquake, we expected the “smaller” aftershocks to be still very strong. There was still a chance that the building could collapse. So we woke the kids up , got some basic things and started to walk down the emergency (紧急情况) stairs…all 22 floors of them.
When we finally arrived at the ground floor many other people had already arrived , some in pajamas (睡衣), some half-dressed. The good news was everyone got out of the building safe and sound.
1. What woke the author up?| A．The crying of his children. | B．The movement of his bed. |
| C．The movement of his wife. | D．The noise of things shaking. |
| A．the author’s wife woke up |
| B．the author looked out the window |
| C．the author was opening the front door |
| D．the author was on his way to the bedroom |
| A．People were crying and running around. |
| B．The city ’s electricity was suddenly cut off. |
| C．Buildings outside were all falling down. |
| D．The building he lived in was moving from side to side. |
| A．Fall down. | B．Go silent. | C．Heat up. | D．Tum over. |
4 . In 1620, about half the USA was covered by forests. Today the forests have almost gone. A lot of good land has gone with them, leaving only sand. China doesn’t want to copy the USA’s example. We're planting more and more trees. We’ve built the “Great Green Wall” of trees across northern part of our country. The Great Green Wall is 7,000 kilometers long, and between 400 and 1,700 kilometers wide. It will stop the wind from blowing the earth away. It will stop the sand from moving towards the rich farmland in the south. More “Great Green Walls” are needed. Trees must be grown all over the world. Great Green Walls will make the world better.
1. A lot of good land has gone with ________| A．sand | B．water | C．wind | D．forests |
| A．The Great Wall | B．Tall buildings |
| C．Great Green Walls | D．Flowers and grass |
5 . Air pollution influences our health in many ways. No air means death. Though we can’t see it, there is air around us. Air is everywhere and it gives a life to every living thing. But bad air makes people ill. In the city, there are a great many people and there are too many cars running on the road. The cars send out bad gases. There are many factories, too. From the chimneys of these factories, we get the smoke usually in black color. Every day we breathe it in and out. This makes us feel sick, when people talk about air pollution ,they are usually thinking about outdoor air pollution. But a lot of air pollution comes from indoor activities such as smoking and cooking. Indoor air pollution can hurt people’s eyes, noses and throats. So air pollution, both indoors and outdoors, can also lead to lung cancer and heart disease.
Everyone should help to fight against air pollution. In order to keep us healthy, we have to go out to the countryside to breathe more fresh air. Or we can climb up hills to get more fresh air.
1. what is this article about?| A．air pollution |
| B．water pollution |
| C．noise pollution |
| D．environment pollution |
| A．Many factories |
| B．Bad air |
| C．The cars |
| D．Going out to the countryside |
| A．bad gas from he cars |
| B．black smoke from the chimneys of these factories |
| C．smoking and cooking |
| D．air pollution |
| A．No air means death. |
| B．air pollution can lead to lung cancer and heart disease. |
| C．Only scientist should help to fight against air pollution. |
| D．we have to go out to the countryside to breathe more fresh air. |
| A．A Little air pollution comes from indoor activities such as smoking and cooking |
| B．Bad air never makes people ill. |
| C．Air pollution influences our health in few ways |
| D．we can climb up hills to get more fresh air. |
6 . Two little girls,14-year-old Cindy and 12-year-old Lucy, wrote to a newspaper office, asking some fast food restaurants to stop giving away free plastic (塑料) toys. Many people read the letter and supported them.
“We have been learning all about the environment at school and the problem of plastic. It made us very sad to see how plastic harms wildlife and pollutes the ocean, and we want to change this.That’s why we want the fast food restaurants to think of the environment and stop giving away plastic toys with their kids meals.” the two girls wrote in their letter.
“We like to go to eat in fast food restaurants, but children only play with the plastic toys they give us for a few minutes before they get thrown away. In the end, they will harm animals and pollute the sea. We want anything they give us to be sustainable (可持续发展的), so we can protect the earth for us and for future humans,” they continued.
The letter made a large number of readers pay attention to them. The number of people who supported them almost doubled after reporters followed the two little girls.
Since the little girls’ story started being picked up by news reporters, the fast food restaurants had to give a reply to the newspaper office, telling about their plans for making their free toys more sustainable.
1. The two little girls wrote to the newspaper office in order to ________.| A．get some fast food |
| B．get some free presents |
| C．stop children having junk food |
| D．stop fast food restaurants giving away plastic toys |
| A．At home. | B．At school. |
| C．In a restaurant. | D．In a library. |
| A．fast food restaurants | B．fast food |
| C．plastic toys | D．waste water |
| A．They may stop giving away free plastic toys. |
| B．They may make free toys with paper and cloth. |
| C．They may sell their plastic toys to other countries. |
| D．They may make free plastic toys more sustainable. |
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Good morning, everyone,
I’m Li Hua from Xing Guan Middle school. The topic of my speech is “Let’s ride bicycles.”
As known to all, with the improvement of people’s living standards, cars have become a popular means of transport, bring great convenience to our life. But, they have also caused some problem such as air pollution or traffic jams.
How can we solve the problems then? As far as I am concern, ride bicycles is a good solution. For first thing, bicycles don’t need any petrol and they are energy –saving. For another , bicycles are environmental friendly because they won’t give off waste gas .What’s more , it is a good way for us to exercise and it is beneficial to our healthy .
Therefore, let’s take on the responsibility to build up a low-carbon city by riding bicycles. Come on and join us!
Thank you!
8 . By the end of the century，if not sooner，the world’s oceans will be bluer and greener thanks to a warming climate，according to a new study.
At the heart of the phenomenon lie tiny marine microorganisms(海洋微生物) called phytoplankton. Because of the way light reflects off the organisms，these phytoplankton create colourful patterns at the ocean surface. Ocean colour varies from green to blue，depending on the type and concentration of phytoplankton. Climate change will fuel the growth of phytoplankton in some areas，while reducing it in other spots，leading to changes in the ocean's appearance.
Phytoplankton live at the ocean surface，where they pull carbon dioxide(二氧化碳) into the ocean while giving off oxygen. When these organisms die，they bury carbon in the deep ocean，an important process that helps to regulate the global climate. But phytoplankton are vulnerable to the ocean's warming trend. Warming changes key characteristics of the ocean and can affect phytoplankton growth，since they need not only sunlight and carbon dioxide to grow，but also nutrients.
Stephanie Dutkiewicz，a scientist in MIT's Center for Global Change Science，built a climate model that projects changes to the oceans throughout the century. In a world that warms up by 3℃，it found that multiple changes to the colour of the oceans would occur. The model projects that currently blue areas with little phytoplankton could become even bluer. But in some waters，such as those of the Arctic，a warming will make conditions riper for phytoplankton，and these areas will turn greener. “Not only are the quantities of phytoplankton in the ocean changing. ”she said，“but the type of phytoplankton is changing. ”
1. What are the first two paragraphs mainly about?| A．The various patterns at the ocean surface. |
| B．The cause of the changes in ocean colour. |
| C．The way light reflects off marine organisms. |
| D．The efforts to fuel the growth of phytoplankton. |
| A．Sensitive. | B．Beneficial |
| C．Significant | D．Unnoticeable |
| A．Phytoplankton play a declining role in the marine ecosystem. |
| B．Dutkiewicz's model aims to project phytoplankton changes |
| C．Phytoplankton have been used to control global climate |
| D．Oceans with more phytoplankton may appear greener. |
| A．To assess the consequences of ocean colour changes |
| B．To analyse the composition of the ocean food chain |
| C．To explain the effects of climate change on oceans |
| D．To introduce a new method to study phytoplankton |
9 . Sports can help you keep fit and get in touch with nature. However, whether you are on the mountains, in the waves, or on the grassland, you should be aware that your sport of choice might have great influence on the environment.
Some sports are resource-hungry. Golf, as you may know, eats up not only large areas of countryside, but also tons of water. Besides, all sorts of chemicals and huge amounts of energy are used to keep its courses （球场） in good condition. This causes major environmental effects. For example, in the dry regions of Portugal and Spain, golf is often held responsible for serious water shortage in some local areas.
There are many environment-friendly sports. Power walking is one of them that you could take up today. You don’t need any special equipment except a good pair of shoes; and you don’t have to worry about resources and your purse. Simple and free, power walking can also keep you fit. If you walk regularly, it will be good for your heart and bones. Experts say that 20 minutes of power walking daily can make you feel less anxious, sleep well and have better weight control.
Whatever sport you take up, you can make it greener by using environment-friendly equipment and buying products made from recycled materials. But the final goal should be “green gyms”. They are better replacements for traditional health clubs and modern sports centers. Members of green gyms play sports outdoors, in the countryside or other open spaces. There is no special requirement for you to start your membership. And best of all, it’s free.
1. Which of the following is the author most probably in favor of?| A．Cycling around a lake. |
| B．Motor racing in the desert. |
| C．Playing basketball in a gym. |
| D．Swimming in a sports center. |
| A．It is popular in Portugal and Spain. |
| B．It causes water shortages around the world. |
| C．It pollutes the earth with chemicals and wastes. |
| D．It needs water and electricity to keep its courses green. |
| A．it is an outdoor sport |
| B．it improves our health |
| C．it uses fewer resources |
| D．it is recommended by experts |
| A．show us the function of major sports |
| B．encourage us to go in for green sports |
| C．discuss the major influence of popular sports |
| D．introduce different types of environment-friendly sports |
10 . Earthquakes happen without warning(前兆). They can happen any time of a day, at any point during the year. But don’t worry because most are so weak that they cannot be felt. Only a few big ones hurt people. However, it’s important to know what to do when an earthquake is happening．
Do NOT go outside. You could get injured from falling glass or parts of buildings. If you are outside, stay away from buildings and power lines (输电线).
Stay under a desk, table, or other strong furniture. Hold on to it. Or stay in a corner of the building. Cover your face and head with your arms and cover your mouth with a towel or clothing. Stay inside until shaking stops and it is safe to go outside.
Keep away from windows., pictures or advertisements on the wall or the building, and anything else that could fall and hurt you. Most people get injured by falling things during an earthquake, not by the shaking itself．
Also keep away from a fire. You could fall down and burn yourself on the fire.
If you are driving when an earthquake happens, stop the car if it’s safe. Stay inside your car until the earthquake stops, and don’t drive near bridges. Try not to stop by power lines or trees. These could fall and hurt you.
1. Most earthquakes are too to hurt people．| A．strong | B．weak |
| C．dangerous | D．heavy |
| A．Stay under a big building | B．Stay under a strong furniture |
| C．Stand by windows | D．drive near a big bridge |
| A．run out of the building | B．stay in a corner of the building |
| C．cover your head with your arms | D．cover your mouth with a towel |
| A．How dangerous the earthquake is． | B．How to be safe in an earthquake． |
| C．We shouldn’t be afraid of the earthquake． | D．How the earthquake comes into being． |
| A．How Earthquakes Happen | B．How to Drive a Car |
| C．What We Should Do in Earthquakes | D．Why Earthquakes Happen |
