1. How did the speaker feel when he got home?
| A．Tired. | B．Scared. | C．Relieved. |
| A．By ship. | B．By train. | C．By flight. |
| A．A plane hit the ground. | B．A tower fell in the earthquake. | C．Many people died in the earthquake. |
| A．In the morning. | B．In the afternoon. | C．In the evening. |
2 . It has been over 150 years since the Great Chicago Fire. The 1871 fire killed an estimated 300 people. It turned the heart of the city, wood-frame buildings quickly constructed on wooden sidewalks, into ruins, and left 100,000 people homeless. Like the Great Fire of London in 1666, the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906, and Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the Great Chicago Fire reminds us that big cities can still be frail.
But that same night, about 250 miles north of Chicago, more than 1,200 people died in and around Peshtigo. It was the deadliest wildfire in U.S. history. Survivors said the fire moved like a hurricane, jumping across Green Bay to light forests on the opposite shore.
Chicago’s fire came to be seen as a disaster that also led to the invention of steel skyscrapers, raised up on the city’s ashes. It has overshadowed the Peshtigo Fire. And for years, the two were seen as separate disasters. However, many of those houses and sidewalks that burned in Chicago had been built with trees grown around Peshtigo.
Chicago’s fire was long blamed - falsely - on an Irish-immigrant family’s cow kicking over a lantern. Some people thought the Peshtigo Fire started when pieces of a comet (彗星) landed in the forest, which has never been proven.
What we understand better today was that the Midwest was historically dry in the summer of 1871. When a low-pressure front with cooler temperatures rolled in, it produced winds, which can fan sparks (火星) into wildfires. The fires themselves generated more winds. Several parts of nearby Michigan also burned during the same few days ; at least 500 people were killed there.
At present, all of those fires on an autumn night in 1871 might help us see even more clearly how rising global temperatures and severe droughts, from Australia to Algeria to California, have made forests easier to burn, and people more likely to be harmed by the climate changes we’ ve helped create.
1. What does the underlined word “frail” in the first paragraph probably mean ?| A．Regularly enlarged. | B．Heavily populated. |
| C．Safely reached. | D．Easily damaged. |
| A．By presenting research findings. | B．By making comparisons. |
| C．By following time order. | D．By making classifications. |
| A．A careless cow. | B．A passing comet. |
| C．A low-pressure front | D．A paper lantern. |
| A．To warn people of the forest fire threat. | B．To show signs of global warming. |
| C．To attract more tourists to Chicago. | D．To introduce an unknown city. |
The 6.2-magnitude earthquake
According to China Earthquake Networks Center, the quake
Witnesses told Xinhua the earthquake caused damages on houses, roads and other infrastructures. Several villages have suffered power failures and shortage of water.
According to local meteorological authorities, the
The provincial fire and rescue department has sent 580 rescuers
The railway authority has suspended passenger and cargo trains
Hu Changsheng, Party chief of Gansu, and Ren Zhenhe, governor of Gansu, rushed to the disaster area to command rescue and
It was reported that every effort
4 . Many people think of sharks as dangerous monsters. But human beings cause a far greater danger to them than they do to us. Although shark attacks do occur, they are quite rare. According to one estimate, however, humans kill 100 million sharks every year.
Why should we save the sharks?
Sharks take up the top position on the food chain in the ocean. As sharks die off, the population of the animals that sharks consume will increase. This, in turn, means that the number of the creatures those animals eat will drop.
Don’t use shark products
First, vitamin energy drinks and leather goods can be made from shark parts.
| A．It is time for children to learn about sharks. |
| B．Shark oil is also used in many popular beauty products. |
| C．Then the shark dies slowly, sometimes over several days. |
| D．Actually, the killing of sharks will affect the whole planet. |
| E．People in some countries are especially keen on shark products. |
| F．Among them are some sea fish that humans consume every day. |
| G．This number is a warning that many kinds of sharks may die out. |
5 . The climate change has become an issue that no one can escape from. If the world wants to limit climate change, water shortage and pollution, we all need to choose “flexitarian” diets, say scientists.
This means eating mainly plant-based food, which is one of three key steps towards a sustainable future for all in 2050, they say. Food waste will need to be halved and farming practices will also have to improve, according to the study. Without action, the impacts of the food system could increase by up to 90%. Fast on the heels of the landmark report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC) comes this new study on how food production and consumption impact major threats to the planet.
The authors say that the food system has a number of significant environmental impacts including being a major driver of climate change, providing freshwater and reducing pollution through over use of nitrogen (氮) and phosphorus (磷).
The study says that thanks to the population and income growth expected between 2010 and2050, these impacts could grow between 50%~90%. This could push our world beyond its geographic boundaries. So when it comes to climate change, the authors looked at what they called a “flexitarian diet”.
“We can eat a range of healthy diets but what they all have in common, according to the latest scientific evidence, is that they are all relatively plant-based,’’ said lead author Dr. Marco Springmann from the University of Oxford.
“You can go from a diet that has small amounts of animal products; some might call it a Mediterranean-based diet; we call it a flexitarian diet. We tried to stay with the most conservative one of these which in our view is the flexitarian one, but even this has only one serving of red meat per week,” he added.
If the world moved to this type of diet, the study found that greenhouse gas emissions (排放) from agriculture would be reduced by more than half.
1. What benefit will the new diets bring to the world?| A．The animals will be saved. | B．People will need more water. |
| C．The climate change will stop. | D．The pollution will be controlled |
| A．Eat animal products every meal. |
| B．Eat plant-based vegetables every meal. |
| C．Eat mainly vegetables and never eat animal products. |
| D．Eat plant-based meal mainly and animal products sometimes. |
| A．The climate will become warmer. | B．The food consumption will increase. |
| C．People will have less greenhouse gas. | D．People will produce more food waste. |
| A．Supportive. | B．Doubtful. | C．Opposed. | D．Indifferent. |
6 . Recent research confirms what our farming ancestors have known for centuries about hedges (树篱). They conserve precious soil by acting as windbreaks and absorbing rainwater that would otherwise wash it from the fields. And hedges store carbon, putting them in the front line of our bi d to tackle the climate crisis.
However, hedges have had a tough time in the poor countryside, with farmers encouraged to tear them down in pursuit of maximum production and larger field s to accommodate ever-larger machinery. What’s more, some hedges have been ignored. If left to their own devices, they’ll eventually become a line of trees. Some hedges each year lose their structures and fail to fulfil the primary duty as a barrier. Around a half of the nation’s hedges have disappeared in the past century.
There are signs that “the tide is turning”. The search for net zero has aroused many organizations’ interest in the humble hedge’s role as a carbon sink. The Climate Change Committee is recommending a 40 percent increase in hedges: an additional 200,000 km. Such recommendations are starting to drive policy. Cash-pressed farmers will be encouraged to create new hedges and improve their management of existing ones under the new Environmental Land Management Schemes, which will replace many of the existing agricultural support payments in coming years. Meanwhile, initiatives such as Close the Gap, led by the Tree Council, is providing funding and support to plug the gaps in existing hedges with new planting. There’s even an app to help time-pressed farmers do a quick survey to spot where their hedges need some help.
This is a good time for hedges. Take some of the most pressing challenges facing the countryside, and indeed, the world as a whole — the climate crisis, soil erosion (侵蚀), insect attack and wider biodiversity loss — and hedges are part of the solution.
1. What does recent research show about hedges?| A．They are unique landscapes in the rain. |
| B．They act as dividing lines between fields. |
| C．They have long been helpful to agriculture. |
| D．They are frequently washed away from the fields. |
| A．Their suffering. | B．Their production. |
| C．Their duties. | D．Their structures. |
| A．Puzzled. | B．Concerned. | C．Humble. | D．Indifferent. |
| A．Hedges: Ancient Resources |
| B．Hedges: Official Recommendations |
| C．Restoring Hedges: Bringing Benefits to the Environment |
| D．Researching Hedges: Originating from Farmers’ Request |
China’s endangered Amur tigers are on the rebound (反弹), with populations reportedly quintupling (五倍增长) in the last several decades due
In the last eight years, research has revealed at least 55 Amur tigers hanging around northeastern China - a major increase from the
Many of these beautiful animals died as
Dale Miquelle, the director of the Wildlife Conservation Society in Russia, said that the results speak for
“Persistent (可持续的) efforts
8 . The Great Barrier Reef is the result of millions of years of continental (大陆的) shifts, sea-level changes, and layers of coral (珊瑚) growth. The Reef was built over millennia (数千年) by coral attaching itself to existing dead coral, as it continued to reach toward the light. Like most living things, coral needs the sun to survive and generally lives in shallow waters, where enough sunlight can penetrate (穿透) the water. Sea levels began to rise at the end of the last most recent ice age, about 14,000 years ago. As a result, the previously exposed Reef was covered by water and the coral expanded along the length of the newly revived Reef.
Climate change is having a dangerous impact on this natural wonder. Although coral and algae (海藻) have evolved despite climate change, allowing them to survive, coral has begun producing products that are poisonous to the Reef and block the growth of algae. Additional concerns include the overwhelming amount of pollution and chemical runoff into the water which harms the already affected coral and reduces biodiversity.
The Great Barrier Reef is well known as one of the best diving destinations in the world. You can do your part to help scientists preserve the Reef’s ecosystem while visiting. By paying a visit to the Reef, visitors pay a reef tax that will be used for the management and conservation of the Reef. A lesser-known contribution visitors can make to Reef preservation is signing up for REEFSearch. After signing up, you’ll be sent a field guide that will teach you how to collect information that scientists can use to study the Reef’ s health. During each dive, using the information sent to you, you will look for key species, check for coral conditions, and make note of any garbage found near the Reef. These small contributions can ultimately have a large impact and save one of the great wonders of the world.
1. Why does coral live in shallow waters?| A．It must coexist with algae. | B．It needs sufficient sunlight. |
| C．It has to stick to dead ancestors. | D．It has to avoid deep-sea pollution. |
| A．The rise of sea levels. | B．The exposure of it to air. |
| C．The change of its habitat. | D．The threat from its enemies. |
| A．Coral cannot survive. | B．Algae become harmful. |
| C．Algae cannot be seen on the surface. | D．Coral produces something poisonous to the Reef. |
| A．Study the Reef’ s formation. | B．Find new habitats for coral. |
| C．Gather information on the Reef’ s health. | D．Search for dangerous species around coral. |
9 . For 60-year-old Gao Ruyi, the proudest achievement in his life is not measured in honors or riches but in the wings of over 1, 000 swans he has rescued. Gao, former director of the wildlife rescue station in Sanmenxia, Henan province, has guarded swans and the ecosystems they live in for almost four decades. His efforts have earned him the name “Swan Dad”.
Gao Ruyi grew up near the Yellow River, China’s second-longest river. He had little connection to swans until the winter of 1988 when one day the peacefulness of the riverside was broken by gunshots. Rushing to the scene, he found that someone had opened fire on the swans. The heart-wrenching cries of four wounded swans left a deep-rooted mark on him. Since then, Gao has become a guardian of swans and a witness to the swan protection efforts along the Yellow River.
The endeavor (努力) is not without its challenges.
Gao started working at a wildlife rescue station in the Yellow River wetland in Sanmenxia in 1994. Despite their efforts, illegal activities continued. One such tragedy happened in 1998. Several wild ducks and swans were poisoned. Gao immediately called the police and provided treatment for the feathery victims. “Swans have memories,” he said, “Since the incident, nobody saw swans in the area for many years.”
Still, Gao’s passion for swan protection has never waned. He and many other “swan dads” and “swan moms” often visited nearby villages to educate residents about wildlife conservation, and encouraged them to bring sick or injured wild animals to the rescue station.
Another challenge for the birds came from the environment. Swan populations in Sanmenxia were limited in the 1990s due to severe pollution caused by mining and industrial development, said Gao. In the past decades, however, China started extensive efforts to battle pollution in the Yellow River basin, and gradually, swan populations in the Sanmenxia section began to increase. Tens of thousands of swans are flying back home, marking the start of “swan season”, as the locals affectionately call it.
1. Which of the following can best describe Gao Ruyi?| A．Peace-loving. | B．Good-tempered. | C．Hard-working. | D．Kind-hearted. |
| A．He started a wildlife rescue station. |
| B．He educated people to raise awareness. |
| C．He cured sick or injured wild swans. |
| D．He worked with government to fight pollution. |
| A．Recovered. | B．Expanded. | C．Benefited. | D．Declined. |
| A．Yellow River Birds Saved by “Swan Dad” |
| B．Illegal Activities Done to Swans Continue |
| C．Yellow River Pollution Problems Solved by Government |
| D．“Swan Season” Is Witnessed in Sanmenxia Section of Yellow River |
10 . When Abdus Salam looks across the garbage-filled river near his home in one of the major clothing producing districts in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, he remembers a time before the factories moved in. “When I was young there were no clothing factories here. We used to catch fish in the river,” he said. The river beside him is now black like ink. Waste from nearby clothing factories has polluted the water.
Fashion is responsible for up to one-fifth of industrial water pollution, thanks in part to weak management and enforcement in producer countries like Bangladesh, the world’s second biggest clothing producing country, where wastewater is commonly discharged directly into rivers and streams. The wastewater not only hurts the environment, but pollutes drinking water sources.
Once in waterways, poisonous chemicals from dyes (染料) build up to the point where light is prevented from coming through the surface, reducing plants’ ability to photosynthesize (进行光合作用). This lowers oxygen levels in the water, killing plants and animals. These chemicals and heavy metals can also build up in the body, increasing the risk of serious illnesses and skin problems. What’s worse, chemical-rich water is also used to water crops, with one recent study finding that dyes were present in vegetables and fruit grown aiound Savaz, just north of Dhaka.
Luckily, change is coming. In Bangladesh, there are signs clothing producers are taking environmental responsibility more seriously, with brands committing to initiatives, such as the Partnership for Cleaner Textile, that tackle water, energy and chemical use in the industry. Shahab Uddin of Bangladesh’s Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change said a range of measures were being taken to address pollution, including updating conservation and environmental laws, giving fines to polluters, setting up centralized treatment plants, and working with international development partners to improve wastewater treatment. And under a new environmental policy called Zero Liquid Discharge, dyeing, finishing and washing industries must submit a time-bound plan to reduce, recycle and reuse wastewater.
“There is definitely room for further improvement. These challenges cannot be solved overnight,” Uddin added.
1. What is the main purpose of the first paragraph?| A．To blame clothing factories for river pollution. |
| B．To introduce Bangladesh’s clothing industry. |
| C．To call for the closure of clothing factories. |
| D．To recall the good old days in Dhaka. |
| A．It is the biggest clothing producing country. |
| B．It causes 20% of the world’ s water pollution. |
| C．It suffers from serious drinking water shortages. |
| D．It has poor control over wastewater discharge. |
| A．The difficulty of dealing with poisonous chemicals in waterways. |
| B．The chemicals from dyes negatively affecting photosynthesis. |
| C．The damaging effects of wastewater from the fashion industry. |
| D．The way to remove harmful chemicals from the food chain. |
| A．Establish centralized treatment plants. |
| B．Set a deadline for tackling wastewater. |
| C．Pay high fines for discharging wastewater. |
| D．Join international groups to treat wastewater. |
