1 . Do you know that the oldest tree is a 5, 000-year old bristlecone pine (狐尾松) located in the forests of Nevada? Unfortunately, many of these precious old-growth trees are starting to disappear from our planet. The term old-growth refers to trees that are 150 years or older. This means that many of the trees on the Earth today are younger, smaller, and have shorter lifespans.
As the Earth’s temperature warms up due to climate change, it is having unintended effects on the world’s forests. When temperatures rise, trees close their pores (气孔) to prevent the loss of moisture, and this, in turn, slows down the process of photosynthesis (光合作用). As a result, these trees are shorter and grow slowly, as well as have a high deathrate. Climate change also increases the possibility of droughts and wildfires. After wildfires, it takes a while for the forest ecosystems to recover, and in some cases, the forests are lost permanently. Trees that are stressed are also susceptible (易受影响的) to attacks by bacteria (细菌). Finally, humans have changed the forest landscape through logging (伐木).
There are some who claim that increased greenhouse gas emission is helping trees grow faster because CO2, is needed for photosynthesis. While some younger trees may benefit from this, we are seeing significantly more loss of forests than gain.
Old-growth forests are a storehouse of carbon, and when they die, the stored CO2, is released into the air worsening the greenhouse effect. Older forests have higher biodiversity, which is beneficial as each organism has a role to play and there is a wide variety of species. As these forests disappear, species that once called them “home” are forced to relocate, affecting the biodiversity of those ecosystems. Unfortunately, some endangered species are unable to adapt and go extinct.
With trees dying continuously, will future generations miss out on the wonders of forests?
1. What is the main idea of the second paragraph?| A．Why bacteria may attack old trees. | B．What leads to the rising temperatures. |
| C．Why old-growth forests are disappearing. | D．How global warming causes natural disasters. |
| A．Species. | B．Older forests. | C．Organisms. | D．Roles organisms play. |
| A．a doubt | B．a warning | C．a blame | D．a suggestion |
| A．To urge people to reduce gas emission. | B．To explain the greenhouse effect on trees. |
| C．To introduce the process of photosynthesis. | D．To call on people to protect old-growth trees. |
There comes a time when the old must give way to the new. Finding and
In the 1950s, the Egyptian government wanted to build a new dam across the Nile
After listening to the experts’ opinion, the government turned to the United Nations for help. Then a committee
3 . Used electronics are piing up fast: they are filling up landfills with dangerous pieces of waste. Some e-waste is relatively large, such as air conditioners; other e-waste is more unnoticed, such as smart labels that contain disposable batteries and other equipment.
“It’s these small batteries that are big problems,” says University of California, Irvine, public health scientist Dele Ogunseitan, who is a green technology researcher and adviser for major tech companies and was not involved in developing the battery. “Nobody really pays attention to where they end up.” Researchers at the Cellulose & Wood Materials Laboratory at the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology are working to address this problem. Their new paper describes a water-activated paper battery developed from environmentally friendly materials that could eventually present a sustainable alternative to the more harmful batteries common in low-power devices.
The paper battery has the same key components as standard batteries but packages them differently. Like a typical chemical battery, it has a positively charged side and a negatively charged side. A traditional battery’s components are covered in plastic and metal; in the new battery, however, 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 becomes wet. When the paper is dry, the battery is shelf-stable. Once the paper is wet, the battery starts working within 20 seconds. The new battery’s operating performance declines as the paper dries. When the scientists rewet the paper during testing, the battery regained function and lasted an hour before beginning to dry out again.
That future may not be so far off. It is hard to predict a time line for manufacturing such items at scale, but the head of the study says he is in contact with potential industry partners and believes these batteries could make their way into products within the next two to five years.
1. Why is e-waste mentioned in paragraph 1?| A．To introduce the topic. | B．To give people warning. |
| C．To show the seriousness of it. | D．To call on people to take action. |
| A．Objective. | B．Carefree. | C．Indifferent. | D．Concerned. |
| A．The difference between the paper battery and the traditional battery. |
| B．The working principle of the paper battery. |
| C．The problem of the paper battery. |
| D．The advantage of the paper battery. |
| A．Paper battery: Is it far off? |
| B．Paper can work wonders. |
| C．Paper battery: A creative way to reduce e-waste. |
| D．Let’s work together to fight e-waste. |
4 . Artificial intelligence (AI) could help stop one of the biggest dangers to the Great Barrier Reef(大堡礁), amazingly saving huge areas of coral(珊瑚) from a harmful starfish. Google has teamed with scientists from the CSIRO to create AI software(软件) that could pick out the dangerous starfish, which is one of the natural wonder’s three biggest killers.
The new way, using footage from an underwater camera to recognize starfish outbreaks on the Queensland reef, takes the place of an old method and early results show as well as cutting down man’s work, the new software has the advantage of correctly picking out more of the dangerous life on coral, stopping damaging outbreaks before they occur.
Professor Russ Babcock, an expert with CSIRO, said Google’s AI technology, developed over 18 months, could be trained to find out starfish more easily than the old method developed in the 1970s. “We used to send out divers to count the starfish one by one. Now we just look at the images collected and the program can find 20 at a time,” he said.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai said he was excited about the company’s effort put into the reef project. “We have put a lot of effort into the engineering in Australia and we will continue to do more work around AI there,” he said. “There are other good ideas about the technology and you will see us build on it. Our goal with our AI research teams is to strike partnerships with other groups, like universities and governments, to give its full play.”
Professor Babcock said the AI software, which would be put into use on other reefs worldwide, was not the only solution to the starfish affecting the Great Barrier Reef, but one that could have an wide application.
1. What is the function of Google developing the AI software?| A．To test a new camera. | B．To kill dangerous fishes. |
| C．To protect the environment. | D．To pick out a kind of starfish. |
| A．It is less likely to break down. | B．It can be started more quickly. |
| C．It costs less for its development. | D．It can do the work more easily. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Uncaring. | C．Disapproving. | D．Supportive. |
| A．A Harmful Starfish Affects Coral |
| B．A New Software Helps Save the Reef |
| C．What Makes AI Work Better? |
| D．Why Is the Reef in Danger? |
Preserving more habitats for China’s giant pandas is providing a giant payoff.
The results,
Because of this, Chinese officials began making significant efforts to save the panda from
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6 . When Rachel Ratelle saw a news video of a burned koala trying to climb a tree to safety in fire-ravaged (火灾肆虐的) Australia, she decided to do something about it.
She looked up wildlife rescue and relief agencies in Australia to find out what they needed most. Besides donations, many organizations asked for hand-sewn (手缝的) and knitted pouches (袋子) and wraps for koalas and other animals that were burned or had lost their homes and parents in the fires.
This idea attracted Ratelle, but there was just one problem.
“I’d never sewn in my life,” said Ratelle, 17, a senior at Rancho Buena Vista High School in Vista, US. “Giving money seemed like something too simple. But I wanted to directly help these animals by doing something myself, so I decided to learn how to sew.”
Over the next few months, Ratelle bought her own sewing machine and taught herself how to sew via videos online. Then she purchased 18 yards of fabric and sewed 25 pouches of different sizes and shipped them off to For Australian Wildlife Needing Aid (FAWNA), one of several relief organizations that have rushed to rescue koalas, kangaroos and other species suffering from burns.
A week later, she received a photo from FAWNA with a young joey (幼兽) in one of her larger pouches. “It made me feel like I contributed to the world and it showed how a simple act of kindness can go a long way,” said Ratelle, who hopes to study biology for a future career as a nurse practitioner.
“I plan to use my new sewing skills to help animals and people devastated (蹂躏) by natural disasters,” she said.
According to the World Wildlife Fund, it estimated that 1.2 billion animals have died, as a result of the bushfires, which have burned more than 26 million acres in Australia.
Several craft guild (手工业行会) websites around the world have mobilized (动员) for Australian relief by making the animal pouches. Karen Newberry and her two daughters Madison, 12 and Rochelle, 8, from San Diego also offered their help in such a way. For Newberry, “it was a big push that made we crafters, sewers to realize there’s something more we can do than just make things for ourselves,” she said.
1. What do the first two paragraphs mainly talk about?| A．What inspired Ratelle to learn to sew. |
| B．What is needed to save koalas and other species. |
| C．The poor living conditions of wild animals in Australia. |
| D．Different ways to help koalas and other animals in Australia. |
| A．Proud. | B．Calm. |
| C．Surprised. | D．Disappointed. |
| A．how frequent the bushfires are in Australia |
| B．how harmful the bushfires are in Australia |
| C．the great varieties of wild animals in Australia |
| D．the difficulties facing relief organizations in Australia |
| A．People should stay united through difficult times. |
| B．Life is not easy for crafters and sewers in Australia. |
| C．It is challenging for crafters and sewers to do relief work. |
| D．Crafters and sewers can do more to help animals. |
7 . I fell in love with Yosemite National Park the first time I saw it, when I was 13. My parents took us there for camping. On the way out, I asked them to wait while I ran up to E1 Capitan, a
About 15 years ago I started seeing a lot of
I tried
As a rock-climbing guide, I knew
Each year volunteers come for the cleanup from everywhere. In 2007 alone, 2,945 people picked up 42,330 pounds of trash and
I often hear people
| A．distant | B．loose | C．narrow | D．huge |
| A．immediately | B．finally | C．gradually | D．recently |
| A．imagining | B．painting | C．describing | D．climbing |
| A．garden | B．home | C．lab | D．palace |
| A．material | B．resources | C．waste | D．goods |
| A．beyond | B．against | C．over | D．within |
| A．more | B．most | C．least | D．less |
| A．throwing away | B．picking up | C．breaking down | D．digging out |
| A．kill | B．spend | C．wait | D．save |
| A．satisfied with | B．delighted in | C．tired of | D．used to |
| A．something | B．anything | C．everything | D．nothing |
| A．party | B．cleanup | C．picnic | D．concert |
| A．dropped out | B．showed up | C．looked around | D．called back |
| A．demand | B．receive | C．achieve | D．overcome |
| A．plan | B．visit | C．contact | D．difference |
| A．crossed | B．measured | C．covered | D．designed |
| A．complain | B．talk | C．argue | D．quarrel |
| A．doing | B．thinking | C．questioning | D．watching |
| A．method | B．explanation | C．example | D．research |
| A．although | B．if | C．unless | D．when |
8 . Five Ways to Go Green and Save Green
Climate change is in the news. It seems like everyone's “going green.” We're glad you want to take action too. Luckily many of the steps we can take to stop climate change can make our lives better. Let's start now.
Save energy to save money.Set your thermostat（恒温器）degrees lower in the winter and a few degrees higher in the summer to save on heating and cooling costs.
Unplug (拔掉……的电源插头) electrical equipment when you're not using it.
Save water to save money.Take shorter showers to reduce water use. This will lower your water and heating bills too.
Plant drought-tolerant (耐旱的) native plants in your garden.
Fix a low-flow showerhead. They don't cost much and the water and energy savings can quickly pay back your money.
Walk or bike to work. This saves on gas and parking costs while improving your health and reducing your risk of being fat.
Eat smart.If you eat meat, add one meatless meal a week. Meat costs a lot at the store and it's even more expensive when you consider the related environmental and health costs.
Use a water filter (过滤器) to make drinking water instead of buying bottled water. Not only is bottled water expensive but it causes large amounts of container waste.
| A．When speaking of something to eat, try local products whenever you can. |
| B．Our grandchildren and their children will thank us for living green. |
| C．Bring a reusable water bottle with you when traveling or at work. |
| D．Wash clothes in cold water whenever possible. |
| E．Less gas = more money and better health! |
| F．Move a little nearer to your work. |
| G．Many plants need little watering. |
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：在错误的词下面画一横线，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。
Dear Sir,
Having read about your newspaper’s decision to start a campaign for protecting the environment, I decide to write you this letter.
The state of our park is very shocked, with rubbish everywhere. I was used to find a trip to the park very relaxing. Upon the arrival of spring, beautiful birds would sing happy in the park. I enjoyed this very much. Therefore, now I just find it tiring, because I have to pick up rubbish where I am going to sit. The grass is covered on plastic bags and food. I am sad that the young people of today do not clean up after themselves before he leave the park. There are so much interesting animals and insects living in our parks. It would be shame if they were destroyed because of people’s activity there.
Yours
Wang Qiang
