1 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容(1个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。

Since Japan began releasing nuclear-contaminated (核污染) wastewater into the Pacific Ocean on last Thursday despite little     1     (approve) from the international community, Chinese netizens have expressed their anger and concern, with a large number of them     2     (say) that they would no longer go to Japanese restaurants.

According to the spokesperson, the actions of the Japanese government are contradictory to international conventions (公约) and experts say that the influence of Japan’s release of wastewater     3     the safety of people throughout the world is unpredictable. As       4     consequence, many domestic Japanese restaurants say that they will adjust their product lines, and seafood will be selected from domestic sources or imported from other coastal countries. Some even say that they will seek     5     (develop) other new cuisines (菜肴).

“The Chinese government will take necessary measures to     6     (firm) protect the marine environment     7     Japan is determined to go on with its discharge (排放) plan.” said a majority of Chinese, among     8     are those living and studying in Japan now. In a poll (民意调查)     9     (conduct) on Sina Weibo, more than 200, 000 netizens urge Japan to cancel its wrong decision and address the wastewater in a responsible manner. “We don’t want August 24, 2023 to be a disaster day for marine environment and we hope that the issue     10     (give) priority to and dealt with as soon as possible. If Japan does not change course, it must bear the historic consequence for this decision.”

2 . Studies have shown that walking among trees makes us relaxed.     1     There’s plenty of research showing the link between being in nature and being happy, but most of the research has focused on adults.

    2     Explaining the motivation behind the study, researchers note that with environmental issues such as global warming, more studies are focusing on the relationships between humans and nature to find solutions to these problems, and the future of the planet lies in the hands of children and their actions. However, few studies focus on this aspect.

For the study, researchers worked with 296 children between the ages of 9 and 12. To measure how connected they were to nature, the kids were asked how much they enjoy activities like seeing wildflowers and wild animals, hearing sounds of nature and touching animals and plants.     3     They also found that the more concerned children were about the environment and nature, the more likely they were to be happy.

So exposure to nature is related to active behaviors and happiness of children. What does that mean to adults? As we all know, children usually tend to follow adults, especially their parents’ behaviors.     4     And if parents enjoy being close to nature, so will their children.

Researchers say that children need role models who can guide them to nature with excitement and an attitude of a lifelong learner. Parents don’t have to be experts in environmental science or nature studies.     5    

A．It’s so good going for a walk around trees.

B．Even just smelling the trees helps reduce anxiety.

C．That’s to say, when adults are outside and appreciate nature, kids learn by example.

D．What’s more important is that they spend time together with children exploring nature.

E．They found that the kids connected to nature were more likely to behave actively.

F．In a new study, researchers wanted to see if kids get the same benefits from being outdoors.

G．Researchers will study more about the connection between children’s happiness and nature.

4 . Researchers are trying to explore creative ways to reduce e-waste. Now one team has invented a water-activated battery (水激活电池) made of paper and other sustainable materials.

Some e-waste is relatively large: old phones and air conditioners, for instance. Other e-waste is more unnoticeable, such as batteries. It’s these small batteries that are big problems. Nobody really pays attention to where they end up. Researchers at the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology are working to address this problem. They invented a water-activated paper battery using environmentally friendly materials that could eventually replace the more harmful batteries common in low-power devices.

A traditional battery is made of plastic, metal or other harmful materials. The paper battery works the same as a traditional battery. It has a positively charged (带电的) side, a negatively charged side, and a conductive material (传导材料) between the two. In the new battery, the positively and negatively charged sides are inks printed onto the front and back of a piece of paper. That paper is filled with salt, which dissolves (溶解) when the paper is wet. When the paper is dry, the battery is off. Once the paper is wet, the battery activates within 20 seconds. The new battery’s operating performance worsens as the paper dries. When the scientists rewet the paper during testing, the battery begins to work again and lasts an hour before beginning to dry out again.

Although the researchers showed that their battery could power an alarm clock, it is unlikely to replace standard batteries now. It is hard to predict a time line for producing such batteries in a large number, but that future may not be so far off.

“This really starts with the development of sustainable materials,” Nyström, the lead author, explains, “From there, I think we are able to create something that is quite useful.”

1. Why did the researchers invent the new batteries?

A．To replace harmful batteries.	B．To develop sustainable materials.
C．To power common devices.	D．To make e-waste more noticeable.

2. In what aspect are the traditional and the new batteries different?

A．Sizes.

B．Usages.

C．Materials.

D．Functions.

3. What do we know about the paper used in the new batteries?

A．It dries within 20 seconds.	B．It can be used many times.
C．It has ink on the front side.	D．It breaks easily in salt water.

4. What can be inferred about the new battery from the last two paragraphs?

A．It stores huge power.	B．It takes ages to make it.
C．It is highly profitable.	D．It has a promising future.

5 . 假定你是李华，得知你的美国网友Bill的家乡发生山火，房屋被烧毁，他现在住在临时避难所。请你写一封邮件慰问他，内容要点如下：
1.询问受灾情况，表示关心；
2.鼓励他振作起来，重建家园。
注意：
1. 词数80左右；
2.可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3.开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
参考词汇：山火 mountain fire
Dear Bill,
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours,

Li Hua

7 . Royal Dutch Shell is launching a $ 300 million forestry program, at a time when an increasing number of oil companies are putting money in carbon offset (碳补偿) plans to meet climate goals. The company will spend the money over the next three years on projects to store carbon, including large forests in the Netherlands and Spain, and will start offering motorists the option of purchasing carbon offsets when they buy petrol at the pump.

The executives of the company explained that these carbon offset projects were a new business opportunity for Shell, as well as a way to meet its climate targets. “We believe that over time we will be building a business, because these carbon credits will become more valuable as carbon becomes more limited,” they said. Shell recently decided to cut its net carbon footprint by 2-3 percent in five years, which includes emissions from the products it sells. The company plans to produce carbon credits from the forestry projects, then sell these credits on to customers buying its oil and gas products , or apply the credits to its own operations to lower its carbon footprint.

Plants absorb carbon dioxide as they grow and restoring forests and other natural areas is considered one of the simplest ways to store carbon. However, the voluntary market for carbon credits based on forestry projects has its critics, as projects in developing countries can be hard to monitor. Shell's move has also been criticized by some environmentalists. They worried that there was a risk of “green wash” when companies invested in forestry projects. “There is an entire debate about whether forestry projects truly reduce emissions or not,” they said, pointing out that planting in one area could cause deforestation(滥伐森林) to another.

Shell said it would rely on the third party to ensure its forest program to meet the Voluntary Carbon Standard and strict biodiversity requirements. Mark Lewis, head of climate change investment research at BNP Paribas, said," Planting trees to offset emissions, as far as it goes, is a step in the right direction.

1. What is popular among oil companies these days?

A．Studying climate changes.	B．Launching forestry programs.
C．Selling carbon credits.	D．Working out carbon offset plans.

2. How will Shell make profits from its carbon offset projects?

A．By quitting the emissions of its products.

B．By commercializing carbon credits it produces.

C．By limiting the oil used by other companies.

D．By reducing its carbon footprint sharply.

3. What does the underlined word “green wash” in Para. 3 mean?

A．Discount.

B．Cheat.

C．Decline.

D．Change.

4. What does the text imply about carbon offset projects?

A．They sharply reduce emissions.	B．They will fail in developing countries.
C．They require broader monitoring.	D．They contribute to deforestation.

8 . A young Dutch inventor is widening his effort to cleanup floating (浮动的) plastic from the Pacific Ocean. He has developed a floating device (设备) to trap plastic waste moving into rivers before it reaches the oceans.

Boyan Slat was just 18 years old when he invented a system for catching waste in the ocean. He also founded an environmental group called “The Ocean Cleanup”. Its purpose is to develop the system. Last year, Slat showed the next step: a floating device which is called Interceptor. It removes plastic out of rivers. The device is powered by energy from the sun. “The 1,000 rivers are responsible for about 80% of plastic going into the world’s oceans,” said Slat. Three of the machines have already been used. Each machine costs about $775, 660, but the cost might drop as production increases.

Since they were used, the machines have been doing very well, collecting the plastic bottles and all the rubbish in the rivers. According to Slat, it is necessary to close “the tap”, which means preventing more plastic from reaching the ocean in the first place. He wanted to clean them all in the next five years. “This is not going to be easy, but if we do get this done, we could truly make our oceans again, ”said Slat.

The device is designed to be safe in rivers. Its nose is shaped to change directions to keep it away from larger floating things. It works by guiding plastic waste into an opening in the front of the device. The waste is then carried inside the machine where it is dropped into containers. The devices ends a text message to local operators that can come and empty it when it is full.

1. What do we know about Interceptor?

A．It needs solar power to work.	B．It is mainly used in the oceans.
C．It is being under test.	D．It can help sort waste.

2. What does “the tap” refer to in Paragraph 3?

A．The waste.	B．The oceans.
C．The machines.	D．The rivers.

3. What’s the function of the device’s nose?

A．To ensure the device’s safety.	B．To send operators text messages.
C．To empty the waste.	D．To serve as containers.

4. Where is the text most likely from?

A．A novel.	B．A magazine.
C．A diary.	D．A guidebook.

9 . Where was the woman when the earthquake happened?

A．Outside the house.

B．In the bathroom.

C．In the kitchen.

10 . What are the speakers talking about?

A．Apartment building.

B．Plastic trash.

C．Environmental protection.