2 . A new study has found that light pollution is making the night sky brighter and the stars dimmer (暗淡的). The study examined data from more than 50, 000 citizen star watchers across the world, It found that man-made, or artificial lighting is making the night sky about 10 percent brighter each year. Data for the study was collected from 2011 to 2022.

The result was a much faster rate of change than scientists had estimated in the past. As cities expand and put up more lights, a “skyglow” is created in the sky. Skyglow is a term scientists use to describe light that becomes more intense. The research team gave an example to explain the result. If a child is born where 250 stars can be seen on a clear night, by the time that child turns 18, only 100 stars will be seen.

Past studies involving artificial lighting used satellite images of the Earth at night. They had estimated the yearly increase in sky brightness to be about 2 percent a year. But the satellites used are not able to identify light with wavelengths toward the blue end of the spectrum (光谱) — including light given off by energy-effective LED bulbs. The researchers noted that more than half the new outdoor lights put in across the United States during the past 10 years have been LED lights. The satellites are also better at finding light that gets spread upward like a spotlight than light that spreads out from side to side, Kyba said.

“Migratory songbirds normally use starlight to orient (确定方向) where they are in the sky at night,” said Georgetown University biologist Emily Williams. She was not part of the study. And when sea turtle babies hatch, they use light to orient toward the ocean — light pollution is a huge deal for them.

Falchi, the physicist at the University of Santiago de Compostela, said part of what is being lost is a universal human experience. “The night sky caused the generations before ours to have exciting new ideas or made them want to create something, especially in art, music, science and literature,” he added.

1. What does the new study find according to Paragraph 1?

A．Stars are observed by more citizens.

B．Stars are much brighter than in the past.

C．Light pollution continues to darken stars.

D．Light makes the night sky more beautiful.

2. Why did the research team give an example of a child?

A．To highlight an experiment.

B．To present an assumption.

C．To clarify a concept.

D．To explain the result of artificial light.

3. How do baby turtles orient toward the ocean?

A．By the moonlight.	B．By the starlight.
C．By the sunlight.	D．By the spotlight.

4. What might the generations before ours think of the night sky according to Falchi?

A．Inspirational.

B．Mysterious.

C．Awesome.

D．Scared.

6 . It was a typical summer day in my small town, with the sun shining and the sky clear. I was sitting on my porch, enjoying the peaceful view of the rolling hills and the calm lake, when suddenly a strong wind blew in from the west. The peaceful sky turned dark as a storm approached.

I went inside, grabbing my raincoat and heading to the barn to secure the animals. The cows were nervous, sensing the approaching storm. I quickly tied them up and ran back to the house, just as the rain started to pour down. The wind was howling and the rain was pounding against the windows. Lightning and thunder followed, making the atmosphere even more electric. I sat by the window, watching the raging storm and praying that everything would be okay.

After what seemed like hours, but was only a few minutes, the storm passed. The clouds moved away, revealing a bright and sunny sky. I walked outside, taking in the fresh air and surveying the damage. The trees were bent over and some branches had been blown off. Our vegetable garden was flooded, but other than that, everything seemed to be fine. I breathed a sigh of relief as I realized that no serious damage had been done.

That evening, as I sat by the fireplace with a cup of hot coffee, I reflected on the experience. It reminded me that nature can be both powerful and unpredictable, but that we must persevere and adapt to whatever it throws at us. The next morning, as I watched the sun rise over the now-calm landscape, I felt a sense of pride knowing that my family and I had weathered the storm together.

1. What does the word “weathered” mean in the last paragraph?

A．enjoyed

B．survived

C．forecasted

D．changed

2. How did the author feel after the storm passed?

A．Angry

B．Relieved

C．Scared

D．Sad

3. How is the passage organized?

A．Problem and solution	B．Cause and effect
C．in order time	D．by Comparison

4. What is the main idea of the passage?

A．The author explains how to prepare for and cope with a storm.

B．The author describes how a storm ruined his day and his garden.

C．The author compares and contrasts the different weather conditions in his town.

D．The author recounts how he and his family withstood a sudden storm and learned a lesson from it.

7 . Maria Belon was lying by the pool, reading a novel at the Orchid Resort Hotel in Khao Lak, Thailand. Her children, Lucas, Tomas and Simon, played in the water with their dad nearby.

Belon and her husband, Enrique Alvarez, had taken their children overseas for the Christmas holidays.

“We started to hear a horrible sound. I was looking around, thinking this was just in my mind. It felt like the earth was coming apart (分崩离析), but everything looked perfect,” Belon told The Mirror.

Moments later, however, the Belon-Alvarez family was hit by the fierce force of the Indian Ocean tsunami. Belon was separated from her husband and sons who were in the swimming pool. But as she held onto a palm (棕榈树), she saw her oldest son floating nearby. “When I saw Lucas, I thought. ‘Okay. I have an incredible reason to be alive,’ she said. ‘We were in the water struggling, and Lucas was screaming.’ I said to myself, ‘We need to be brave, we need to take care of each other, but we will not die.’” she said.

While Belon held on for her son, her injuries were slowly killing her. “I was dying. I could feel it happening to me. When I was up in the tree, bleeding very heavily with deep wounds. I could feel the dying process.” she told The Mirror.

Luckily, Belon and her eldest son were then rescued by a Thai man and taken to hospital. “The man wouldn’t allow me to die. He dragged me through the mud for a long time until he was sure I was safe,” she said.

After the tsunami struck the area, Enrique Alvarez lost his two youngest sons, who had been in his arms, after a wave tore them apart. He got washed and later grabbed onto a palm tree, feeling sad about the loss of his children. Minutes later, he heard a voice. “Papa! Mama! Lucas! Simon!” Thomas shouted, according to The Mirror.

The family reunited two days later. While Belon and her family survived the natural disaster, she insisted it was their fortune.

“There is no difference between me and thousands of mums who are under the sea. I feel pain and compassion for so many others who didn’t come back up or lost their loved ones.” she told The Mirror.

1. How did Belon react when she began to hear the terrible sound?

A．She couldn’t believe it.	B．She escaped immediately.
C．She climbed up a palm tree.	D．She shouted at her children.

2. Why did Belon decide to stay alive?

A．She could deal with her injuries.	B．The tsunami was not so severe.
C．Her husband encouraged her.	D．She caught sight of her son.

3. How did Belon feel when she was up in the tree?

A．She was safe enough.	B．She was close to death.
C．She felt quite relieved.	D．She felt quite ashamed.

4. Belon said she owed the survival of her family to their_______.

A．strong will	B．good luck
C．surviving skills	D．receiving medical treatment

9 . The World’s Four Large Nature Reserves (保护区)

●Ross Sea Marine Reserve

Built in October 2016, the Ross Sea in Antarctica is home to the world’s largest marine reserve, covering 598,000 square miles in the Southern Ocean. The Ross Sea hasn’t been harmed by humans or damaged by overfishing or pollution. However, the rising demand for seafood and the low cost of fuel may encourage some fishermen to brave the journey.

●South Georgia Marine Protected Area

The South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands are about 800 miles southeast of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. Over half of South Georgia Island is ice covered, so there’re no people who are always living here. But the area is a rich environment that supports major populations of seabirds and marine mammals including globally threatened species.

●Greenland National Park

Greenland National Park, in the northeast of the Arctic country, isn’t a traditional national park. The only people who arrive here are those hunters from the nearby town of Ittoqqortoormiit. There live different animals such as polar bears, caribou, musk oxen or foxes.

●Chagos Marine Protected Area

The Chagos Archipelago is a group of seven atolls (环礁) which form 55 small islands in the Indian Ocean about 310 miles south of the Maldives. The 397,678-square-mile area was made to be a marine re serve in 2010 because it contains the world’s largest coral atoll, along with some of the planet’s cleanest water. It also supports different kinds of sharks—shortfin mako, blue, ocean whitetip and whale sharks.

1. What can we know about Ross Sea Marine Reserve?

A．It is built to produce seafood.	B．It has a very clean environment.
C．It is the newest reserve in the world.	D．It has a large number of visitors every year.

2. Why is Greenland National Park considered an untraditional park?

A．It is home to rare animals.	B．It is a park with few visitors.
C．It is very attractive to visitors.	D．It is suitable for sea life.

3. Which reserve is the most attractive to scientists who study sharks?

A．Greenland National Park.	B．Ross Sea Marine Reserve.
C．Chagos Marine Protected Area.	D．South Georgia Marine Protected Area.

10 . 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。

A City Frozen in Time

The year 79 AD would have seemed just like any other year in the Roman city of Pompeii. Each day , the street     1    (fill) with the sounds of busy shops and customers enjoying the city’s many café. People bathed and chatted happily in     2     (they) beautifully built baths.

No one gave any     3    (think) to Mount Vesuvius, a volcano close to Pompeii. Vesuvius had been inactive for years. The soil in that area was good     4     agriculture. The people of Pompeii had no reason     5     (fear) the volcano. But one day, the sleeping mountain woke up out of the blue.

The eruption when it happened, was unlike anything witnessed before. A huge cloud of hot ash and rock rose into the air, covering the     6     (surround) area. Pompeii was left in total darkness.

A young man, watching from a distance, recorded how the thick dark cloud spread everywhere. He described how people were frighten by the sudden disaster. They took     7     they could as they tried to get away from the city.     8     many people were trapped by falling building.

Suddenly, there was a powerful flow of gas, ash and rock. It moved down Vesuvius at a speed of about 450 kilometres     9    hour. When it reached Pompeii, it     10    (immediate) killed anyone in its path. The city was covered by up to six metres of ash. Pompeii became a city frozen in time.