2 . In the 20th century, conservationists set out to restore the Galapagos giant tortoise (巨型陆龟) on Española — and the island ecosystem. From 1963 to 2020, conservationists reintroduced nearly 2,000 Galapagos giant tortoises to Española. Since then, the tortoises have continued to multiply in the wild, causing the population to blossom to an estimated 3,000. They’ve also seen the ecological transformation of Española.

The tortoises’ return has also helped the critically endangered waved albatross (信天翁) — a species that multiplies only on Española. During the island’s woody times, Maud Quinzin, a conservation geneticist who has previously worked with Galapagos tortoises, says that people had to repeatedly clear the areas the seabirds use as runways to take off and land. Now, if the landing places are getting overgrown, they’ll move tortoises into the area to take care of it for them. The secret to this success is that — much like brown bears and elephants — giant tortoises are ecological architects. As they wander around, they change the landscape. They step on young trees and bushes before they can grow big enough to block the albatrosses’ way.

The giant tortoises likewise have a big impact on the giant species of prickly pear cactuses (仙人掌梨) that call Española home — one of the tortoises’ favorite foods and an essential resource for the island’s other inhabitants. When the tortoises eat the cactus’s fallen leaves, they prevent them from taking root and competing with their parents. And, after they eat the cactus’s fruit, they drop the seeds across the island, offering a protective shell of fertilizer.

The extent of these and other ecological effects of the tortoise are documented in a new study by James Gibbs, a conservation scientist of the giant tortoise restoration program. The results, he says, are a good sign for other rewilding projects that include giant tortoise restoration as a keystone of their efforts, such as those underway on other islands of the Galapagos and the Mascarene Islands in the Indian Ocean.

1. What is a result of reintroducing the Galapagos giant tortoise to Española?

A．Endangerment of other species.

B．Restoration of the local ecosystem.

C．Decrease in giant tortoises’ population.

D．Transformation of rewilding projects.

2. How did the giant tortoise influence the waved albatross?

A．By reducing the extent of woody plants.

B．By spreading the seeds of a key species.

C．By creating more living habitats for them.

D．By limiting the number of their competitors.

3. What is James Gibbs’s attitude towards the giant tortoise project?

A．Unclear.

B．Reserved.

C．Positive.

D．Dismissive.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Endangered Species Is Hard to Be Restored

B．Once-endangered Species Blossom in Galapagos Islands

C．Española Became a Wonderland for Galapagos Giant Tortoises

D．Galapagos Giant Tortoises Prove Their Worth as Ecosystem Engineers

4 . Sometimes a camera’s eye in the sky can cast new light on the world we live in—highlighting changes or celebrating beauty we might be unaware of on ground level. And that’s what you’ll see in the winners from the 2023 Drone (无人机) Photo Awards.

The photography competition, now in its sixth year, received nearly 14, 000 images from amateur and professional photographers from 104 countries for the nine categories of the competition. All photos were taken from above using a drone.

Here’s a look at some of those award-winning photos and honorable mentions from around the world.

Amigos

“In Baja California Sur in Mexico, gray whales come to interact with people—as if they were friends(in Spanish’Amigos’),” says the photographer.

The art of rice processing

Rice mill workers start their day at the break of dawn. Some of them boil the paddy rice. Others carry it and spread it outside the rice mill to dry in the sun. To make sure that it dries properly, they rake (耙) it out, then sweep it back.

A cherished wetland drowning in trash

The Pallikaranai wetland is one of the few remaining wetlands in India. Every day, the photographer says that 3,500 tons of garbage are dumped on some 300 acres of this nearly 20,000-acre wetland.

Strawberry fields forever, Act I, Scene 1

Naming it The strawberry show is about to begin, the photographer says that the strawberry field from above looks like the opening of a theater curtain before a big show.

1. What can we learn about the 2023 Drone Photo Awards?

A．It is held every six years.

B．The theme of the entries is limited.

C．The photos are taken by professionals.

D．It attracts many photographers from all over the world.

2. Which photo is associated with the environmental protection?

A．Amigos.

B．The art of rice processing.

C．A cherished wetland drowning in trash.

D．Strawberry fields forever, Act I, Scene 1.

3. What do the four photos have in common?

A．They all celebrate beauty.

B．They all highlight changes.

C．They are all taken from the air.

D．They belong to the same category.

5 . As we all know, smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer all over the world. It’s no surprise, and you can see people of different ages smoke here and there, though some countries have strict laws on preventing smoking. One of the bad effects of smoking is pollution. After all, with the lack of smoking areas in crowded places, smokers are likely to litter. The result of this is cigarette butts (烟头) are everywhere.

Aiming to make a meaningful change, a factory in New Delhi, India has been turning those deserted cigarette butts into a little joy: soft toys and pillows. The way it works requires a lot of labor, but it seems that it’s done in good spirits. After all, these cigarette butts are being harvested to make little children and the young happy at heart.

The stuffing (填充物) itself is made out of cigarette butts that have been separated into fibers (纤维) and then cleaned. These cleaned fibers are then bleached (漂白) before taking on the form of the soft, white, and useful stuff inside the teddy bears and soft pillows. “We started with 10 grams of fibers per day and now we are doing 1, 000 kilograms. Annually we are able to recycle millions of cigarette butts,” said businessman Naman Gupta, the mastermind behind this good idea.

In addition to toys, the factory also separates the butts’outer layer (层) and tobacco to make recycled paper and some chemicals for farming, turning the rubbish that would normally be considered harmful pollutants into good things. And the method can also be recycled and updated.

Considering the fact that almost 267 million people, nearly 30 percent of the adult population in India are tobacco users, it’s not hard to imagine how easy it is to find them out on the streets of New Delhi. According to the World Health Organization, the total economic costs from smoking-related diseases in India from 2017 to 2018 for people aged 35 and above were up to $27.5 billion.

1. Why does the author mention the cigarette butts in paragraph 1?

A．To attract readers.	B．To tell a story.
C．To introduce the topic.	D．To get a conclusion.

2. What is the first step to make use of the cigarette butts?

A．Separating.

B．Stuffing.

C．Bleaching.

D．Cleaning.

3. Which of the following best describes the factory’s method?

A．Fashionable.

B．Effective.

C．Dangerous.

D．Interesting.

4. What does the writer imply in the last sentence?

A．The factory will have a bright future.	B．Most Indian adults are heavy smokers.
C．Smoking should be prevented in India.	D．Smoking has caused a great loss to India.

6 . This winter, the state of California in the US received unusually large amounts of rain and snow. Now, people worry that some areas will flood as the snow in the Sierra Nevada Mountains melts (融化).

Ron Caetano lives about half-way between the cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco. He is preparing to leave in case his community, called the Island District, floods.

More than 100 years ago, the Island District area was under Tulare Lake, a large lake. At one time, Tulare Lake was the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi River. But reservoirs (水库) and watering systems for agriculture caused it to disappear. However, in very rainy years, farmland can still get covered with water.

Experts say reservoirs near the area will likely receive three times more water than they can hold this year. That means officials must increase the amount of water they release (释放) from the reservoirs. But if too much water is released, the area might flood.

The Island District has organized a community network to help prepare for floods. People are placing sandbags close to elderly neighbors’ houses to stop possible flooding. And they are looking at reports from water officials, county officials, and from each other.

California has had very dry weather in recent years. Therefore, both cities and farm communities acclaimed this year’s winter rains. If the weather gets warmer slowly, the snow will not melt quickly and there may be little or no flooding. But if the weather gets hot quickly, that will bring trouble from too much melting snow.

Officials announced plans to close parts of Yosemite National Park because of possible danger of flooding. The park is about 270 kilometers east of San Francisco in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Nicholas Pinter is with the University of California, Davis Center for Watershed Sciences. He said the lake’s size has always changed because of California’s weather. He described the surrounding area this way. “It has been an engineering problem all along,” he said. “This is a bathtub (浴缸) with no way out.”

1. What made Tulare Lake disappear?

A．Lack of rainfall.

B．Natural disasters.

C．Climate warming.

D．Human behavior.

2. What does the underlined word “acclaimed” in paragraph 6 mean?

A．Feared.

B．Doubted.

C．Welcomed.

D．Tracked.

3. What might Californians want to see?

A．The government can help them move to other states.	B．The weather can get warm gradually in California.
C．There is more rain in the cities than on farms.	D．The officials release water on a regular basis.

4. What can we infer from Nicholas Pinter’s words?

A．It is difficult to deal with the flood.	B．It is easy to keep the snow water.
C．The surrounding area is unfit to live in.	D．The lake is already overflowing.

7 . An ocean researcher, Peter Bromirski, at the University of California, San Diego, says waves have been getting bigger and stronger since 1970. There are also more big wave events than ever before. A big wave is about four meters tall or more.

When large waves reach the coast, they bounce back and run into new waves. The crash sends energy through the ocean floor, where it can be recorded by seismographs (地震仪). Those records allowed Bromirski to decide the strength and size of waves over a period of 90 years.

Bromirski said he found the seismographic information by chance. Before the discovery, he said “it was almost impossible” to compare waves from the past with those from the present.

It took a lot of work to put the information together. Much of the information was on paper. Bromirski and his team of student researchers had to enter the information into a computer so they could study the information easily. The slow process (过程) took years.

They found that the height of most waves in the winter along the California coast had grown by about 30 centimeters since 1970. Starting that year, waves of over 4 meters happened more often as well. Between 1996 and 2016, the large waves happened twice as often as they did from 1949 to1969.

1970 is the year scientists believe the warming of the planet began to speed up. Bromirski says the new information shows that climate change is making ocean waves taller and stronger. That means they are more likely to harm the coast, roads and buildings.

Bromirski said his research may be a warning that bigger and stronger waves are ahead. With more warming, sea levels will rise and waves will get stronger, causing flooding and more damage (损坏) to land. The California coast has already been damaged by big waves in recent years.

1. What do we know from Paragraph 2?

A．Forms of sea waves near the coast.

B．Ways the water moves to the shore.

C．Process of recording sea wave strength.

D．Difference between present waves and past waves.

2. Why did the researchers enter the information into a computer?

A．To examine whether it is correct.	B．To use it conveniently in research.
C．To share it with other researchers.	D．To make sure of the safety of the information.

3. What does Bromirski think of the change in ocean water movement?

A．It will cause more serious results.

B．It will make climate change for the worse.

C．It will result in more heavy rain on land.

D．It will bring more risk to human activities at sea.

4. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．Sea Level Rise Becomes More Obvious

B．Strong Ocean Waves Damage the Coast

C．Climate Warming Causes Sea Level to Rise

D．Ocean Waves Are Getting Bigger and Stronger

8 . Workers continue to search the ruins of a large earthquake that hit Morocco Friday. Officials say almost 2,500 were killed in the quake, but that they expect that number will rise. The United Nations said the magnitude 6.8 earthquake affected 300,000 people. The damage (损失) was great because the starting point of the shaking was not far below the ground.

It is the strongest quake to hit the North African nation since 1900. And, it is reported to be the country’s deadliest since 1960, when at least 12,000 people were killed in and near the city of Agadir.

So far, Morocco has accepted support from four countries — Spain, Qatar, Great Britain and the United Arab Emirates. Other nations have offered help as well. Groups from the Moroccan army left Monday from Amizmiz to move into the small mountain villages. Heavy equipment was sent to clear the roads and both visitors and local people lined up to give blood.

Many people continued to sleep outside, fearing smaller earthquakes that often follow a major one. In the village of Imgdal, women and children gathered outside and some kept warm around an open fire on Monday morning.

On a road near the town of Adassil, near the epicenter (震中), one rescue (救援) worker, Ayman Koait, was trying to clear the rocks that were restraining trucks from getting by. He said other roads were in bad shape. “We’re trying to open them, too,” said Ayman Koait.

People said they dug through the ruins of their homes looking for relatives. They also moved rocks and walls looking for important items.

Many of the homes are made from wood, rock and mud, which made them fall easily when the ground started shaking. One military (军方的) worker said “it is difficult to pull people out alive” because the walls turned into ruins and did not leave any space for air.

1. Why was the earthquake so serious?

A．It happened close to the ground.	B．It broke out at midnight.
C．Rescue was not timely enough.	D．There was no proper protection.

2. Why did the local people keep staying outside after the earthquake?

A．To receive supplies.	B．To get ready for leaving for other towns.
C．To avoid possible following ones.	D．To keep themselves warm around open fires.

3. What does the underlined word “restraining” in paragraph 5 probably mean?

A．Guiding.

B．Preventing.

C．Repairing.

D．Supporting.

4. Why did the military worker think the rescue was almost hopeless?

A．The villages are out of reach.

B．The roads were badly damaged.

C．The damaged areas are too close to the epicenter.

D．The special houses made it hard for people to be alive.

10 . The dust settled earlier this week after attendees at the annual Burning Man festival were finally given the green light to leave after heavy rains turned the event grounds into a muddy pool that prevented tens of thousands of people from driving out. Festival goers were told to save food and water until the ground dried sufficiently for cars, trucks, and RVs to drive on.

For some, the uncooperative weather may remain only an unfortunate footnote in the storied history of this increasingly popular arts and music festival, which has been happening since the1980s. But for others, it is a wake-up call that such huge events cannot escape from the cruel realities of global warming.

One of Burning Man’s most well-known principles is to “leave no trace (痕迹)”, where partygoers are encouraged to pick up every bit of pieces and “matter that is out of place”   in order to leave the site in a good state. However, despite attendees’ efforts to leave no trace on the site itself, local residents in the nearest town, have spoken out about how their town has become a junkyard after the event.

Then, there are the scientists who say that the site’s delicate (脆弱的) ecosystem is put under great pressure each year. Though the pale sands of the desert may seem like they don’t support much life, it’s actually an ancient, dried lakebed that reawakens under rain.

In fact, during the festival’s opening, a climate organization blocked traffic temporarily from entering the festival grounds, whose aim was to draw attention to the fact that the event produces about 100,000 tons of CO₂ a year—90% of that coming from travel as people drive and fly to reach the festival.

Though Burning Man has taken measures to make the festival greener, some protesters (抗议者) are pointing out that it’s simply not enough. Burning Man as a phenomenon has clearly reached a crossroads. Given the real environmental impacts that it has year after year, it might be time for organizers and community members to rethink how the festival continues going forward.

1. What does the underlined word “it”   in paragraph 2 probably refer to?

A．The storied   history.	B．The bad weather.
C．The huge event.	D．The global warming.

2. What can be learned from paragraph 3?

A．The partygoers are not responsible at all.

B．Burning Man has set up the most famous principle.

C．Local residents often have an argument with attendees.

D．There is a gap between the organizers’ wishes and reality.

3. Why did the climate organization prevent the entry of traffic?

A．To reduce the risks of car accidents.

B．To limit the number of attendees.

C．To attract people’s attention to the festival.

D．To raise people’s awareness of the carbon footprint.

4. What can be the best title for the text?

A．It Is Time to Rethink Burning Man	B．Burning Man Is Losing Its Appeal
C．Global Warming Is Ruining Our Life	D．Burning Man Met Heavy Rain