1. What is the aim of the campaign?
| A．To remind people of Earth Day. |
| B．To encourage people to reduce garbage. |
| C．To warn people of the bad effects of pollution. |
| A．Designing posters. | B．Planting trees. | C．Collecting garbage. |
| A．Stop driving cars. | B．Paint paper. | C．Decorate classrooms. |
| A．Wonderful. | B．Confusing. | C．Strange. |
A skywell is a typical feature of a traditional home in southern and eastern China. Different
Skywells were designed to cool buildings in an era well before air-conditioning existed. When wind blows above a skywell house, it can enter the indoor space through the
Ancient “green wisdom” such as skywells inspire today’s climate adaptive designs and innovations in passive cooling, according to Wang Zhengfeng,
Today, architects are looking towards the principles behind skywells while designing new buildings
3 . The annual 3-to-4-millimeter rise in sea levels is expected to impact many coastal communities in the coming decades. However, few are as defenceless as the Republic of Maldives, a collection of more than a thousand islands in the Indian Ocean. NASA researchers believe that parts of what is “arguably the lowest-lying country in the world” will become uninhabitable by 2050, due to wave-driven flooding and limited freshwater. To fight the unavoidable result, the government recently revealed plans for the world’s first “true” floating island city.
The Maldives Floating City (MFC) is the brainchild of the Netherlands-based Dutch Docklands, a global leader in floating infrastructure (基础设施). According to the announcement, the new city will be constructed on about three-quarters of a square mile, or a 200-hectare, lagoon (泻湖) located just ten minutes by boat from the capital city, Male. It’ll initially consist of about a thousand waterfront residences. Developers plan to add hotels, restaurants, shops, and even a school and a hospital in the near future. The floating structures will be fixed to the surrounding islands, which will form the base and provide protection from high tides.
Maldives’ officials aim to make MFC as carbon neutral as possible. Additionally, freshwater storage will provide drinking water for residents, while floating solar blankets and agriculture fields will take care of their energy and food needs.
“The Maldives Floating City doesn’t require any kind of land reclamation (土地开垦), therefore has a minimal impact on coral reefs,” explained Mohamed Nasheed, President of the Maldives from 2008 to 2012. “What’s more, giant, new reefs will be grown to act as water breakers. Our adaption to climate change mustn’t destroy nature but work with it, as the Maldives Floating City proposes. In the Maldives, we cannot stop the waves, but we can rise with them.”
Construction of the revolutionary city is expected to begin in 2022 and be completed in phases over the next five years. If successful, it’ll provide a blueprint for other countries facing the similar situation.
1. What makes the Maldives decide to build the MFC?| A．High living standards. | B．Bad living condition. |
| C．Continuous sea level rise. | D．Ocean pollution. |
| A．It will be surrounded by a large lake. | B．It will be constructed close to Male. |
| C．It will contain thousands of residences. | D．It will be completed in the year 2026. |
| A．Habitable and very crowded. | B．Beautiful and very comfortable. |
| C．Eco-friendly and self-sufficient. | D．Spacious and extremely wealthy. |
| A．Man defeating the law of nature | B．Man taking advantage of nature |
| C．Man giving in to the law of nature | D．Man living in harmony with nature |
4 . Carried by the wind, dust particles (微粒) from places such as the Sahara Desert can float halfway around the world before settling to the ground. As the plastics abandoned by humans break down into tiny pieces in the environment, they, too, travel through the atmosphere. Now scientists are a step closer to understanding how these microplastics travel in the globe — both locally and on long-distance flights.
Researchers spent more than a year collecting microplastics from 11 national parks and wilderness areas in the western U.S. They examined the particles that settled on dry days and those that fell along with rain or snow. In addition to making clear how microplastics move around, the results, published on Thursday in Science, reveal the seriousness of the problem: more than 1 million kilograms of microplastics — the weight of 120 million to 300 million plastic water bottles — fall on protected lands in the country’s western region each year.
The new findings add to scientists’ concern over microplastic pollution’s potential impacts on the environment and human health. “We’re not supposed to breathe in this material,” says Steve Allen, a microplastics researcher at the University of Strathclyde in Scotland, who was not involved in the new study. “Plastics in the environment “carry all sorts of pesticides (农药), heavy metals and all the other chemicals that we’ve made over time,” he adds. “They’re going to carry them directly into our lungs.”
Since their discovery in oceans in the 1970s, microplastics — which can be as large as a grain of rice or smaller than a particle of dust — have been found nearly everywhere researchers have looked: in cities, in Arctic snow, on remote mountaintops. Their presence in areas distant from the place where human live has pointed to them being carried by winds.
1. What do the scientists further understand now?| A．Why Sahara Desert is expanding to the south of Africa. |
| B．How plastic particles travel on the wind. |
| C．Why it is hard for plastics to break down. |
| D．How dust particles are spreading through the wind. |
| A．The results showed the amount of microplastics is huge. |
| B．Researchers collected microplastics across the U.S. |
| C．Researchers focused on plastic particles in dry days. |
| D．Numerous plastic water bottles were found each year. |
| A．They should be recycled. | B．They do harm to weather. |
| C．They can be used to make all sorts of pesticides. | D．They carry harmful chemicals to human lungs. |
| A．Dust Particles Is Harmful to Our Lungs | B．The Environment Is Threatened by Plastics |
| C．Microplastics Are Falling from the Sky | D．Microplastics Do Harm to Health |
5 . Living on the Florida Emerald Coast, people view a hurricane (飓风) ‘as a common thing. So it is not unusual for a family to have several full gas cans and bottled water stored in their houses all summer.
Though unwilling to evacuate (撤离) from a hurricane, on September 15, my family was forced to leave our home for my grandfather’s house several miles away. We spent the early part of that evening watching the hurricane draw closer on the Weather Channel. Around nine o’clock, a loud sound shook the house, turned over the roof and carried it off. Soon came an indoor rainstorm.
Realizing the damage, my grandfather began to be afraid. The storm had started, but he still ran out into the heavy rain and wind to see how much of the roof was left. We got him back inside. I had never seen him so scared. Mom finally asked him to lie down in his room.
The leak (渗漏) had progressed rapidly. It soon became a race against time to protect what to be saved. Some people may think it necessary to save material things, but I hoped to save those items with emotional value, such as the photos. I still feared the storm, but I more feared the influence it brought.
The next morning, it started to clear up. Thankfully, my family came safely through the storm, though the same could not be said for the house. Only the wooden beams (梁) remained, but inside many of the things were safe. My mom and I had worked tirelessly through the night.
It was late, but we were still unwilling to go to bed. We discussed the rebuilding of the house. Under the beautiful sky, we suggested looking after my grandfather more often in the future. After this disaster, I realized the truth that the hurricane itself was not so terrible if we loved each other.
1. What can we infer from the first paragraph?| A．Many residents living near the coast tend to leave the place. |
| B．Many residents are unwilling to prepare for hurricanes. |
| C．Hurricanes often strike the Florida Emerald Coast. |
| D．Hurricanes seldom hit the Florida Emerald Coast. |
| A．To protect something outside. | B．To see the condition of the roof. |
| C．To avoid the danger in the house. | D．To know how serious the rain was. |
| A．Why the author feared the storm. | B．How the storm influenced the house. |
| C．How people helped each other in the storm. | D．What the author was ready to save from the storm. |
| A．The house contained many valuable things. | B．The house was destroyed in the disaster. |
| C．The house could be easy to repair. | D．The house survived the hurricane. |
6 . Rescue teams desperately sought survivors on August 6th after two boats carrying migrants sank off the Italian island of Lampedusa.
In the immediate aftermath of the boats’ loss on August 5th, Italy’s coastguard said it had rescued 57 people and recovered two dead bodies— those of a woman from Ivory Coast and her 1-year-old child. Local media reported on Sunday that at least 30 people remained missing and were feared dead.
Italy’s Ansa news agency said survivors described how the two boats carrying people trying to illegally enter the European Union had set off from the Tunisian port of Sfax on Saturday. One boat was thought to have had 48 people on board and the other 42. Most were reportedly from sub-Saharan Africa.
Reuters said the coastguard rescued the survivors from the water about 46 kilometers southwest of Lampedusa, which is about halfway between the North African nation of Tunisia and the larger Italian island of Sicily. The island has become a major destination for migrants from Africa wanting to enter the EU and claim asylum (政治避难) .
Italy’s interior ministry said 92, 000 people have arrived in Italy irregularly by sea so far this year to apply for asylum in the EU. During the same period last year, 42, 600 made the very dangerous journey.
The ministry said at least 2, 000 migrants have turned up on the island of Lampedusa in the past few days alone. Most had been rescued by the coastguard and by various charities from small boats in the Mediterranean Sea.
The International Organization for Migration, or IOM, which is the United Nations’ migration agency, said on Sunday both boats that sank on Saturday had been hit by major storms.
Flavio Di Giacomo, a spokesman for the IOM, told the Agence France-Presse news agency an official examination had been launched into the circumstances surrounding the loss of the boats. He said the probe will be conducted from the town of Agrigento, on the island of Sicily. “Whoever allowed them, or forced them, to leave with this sea is equal to a mad criminal,” he said. “Rough seas are forecast for the next few days. Let’s hope they stop. It’s sending them to slaughter (屠杀) with this sea.”
Emanuele Ricifari, the chief of police in Agrigento, said the people-traffickers (人贩子) would surely have known rough seas were expected.
1. What happened to the two boats and people on them?| A．Up to 42 people were supposed to have been dead. |
| B．The two boats set out from the Italian island of Sicily. |
| C．The rescue was carried out to the southwest of Lampedusa. |
| D．The destination of the two boats was the Tunisian port of Sfax. |
| A．The boats knocked into each other. | B．The boats hit a reef and began to leak |
| C．The boats were caught in strong storms. | D．The boats couldn’t bear the weight of the people. |
| A．Interview. | B．Experiment. |
| C．Discussion. | D．Investigation. |
| A．Italy’s coastguard recovers two dead bodies. |
| B．Dozens lost at sea as migrant boats go down. |
| C．Two boats carrying people try to enter European Union. |
| D．Sicily becomes major destination for migrants from Africa |
7 . “In the past, there’d be ringing of the church bells during a national emergency. They should be ringing now.” says Hamish McKenzie－a bell-ringer, boat-builder, extreme recycler and climate change activist. “Climate change is the greatest danger we face. In 100 years’ time, maybe less, it will be unlikely for people to live there because of rising water levels and the likelihood of hurricanes.” he tells Amanda Jones, the reporter from New York Times, gesturing over to the bank just feet from his boat.
Hamish McKenzie lives with his wife on his floating houseboat in Shorehame-on-Sea. Now 63, he’s turned recycling into an art and has created lots of houseboats out of old vehicles and things from junkyards and farms. He and his wife live on Verda－a mixture of and old coach and a 1928 Portsmouth-Gosport ship, which Hamish rescued from the muddy seabed. He lists another houseboat, named Dodge, on Airbnb to fund his lifestyle. His idea of walking lightly on the planet extends into every area of life. Apart from his laptop and piano, almost everything seems to have been recycled－from the microwave letterbox to tractor tire windows. “I buy my clothes from charity shops and regard meat as a treat. We’re living off vast amounts of seasonal local vegetables from small shops.”
“Sadly, there are no groceries left in Shoreham. They have been ruined by cars and out-of-town supermarkets. I hate the scenery of 30,000 cars at the end of my road. An average car weighs around 1.2 tons, but how much does a passenger weigh? Petrol engines are only 30% efficient.”
Hamish gets around by bicycle and often says, “Many people feel powerless about what is happening all over the world and even stop watching the news. But we have to think about what we can do for the community. Everyone can take action and do their bit.”
1. Why is Hamish called a bell-ringer?| A．He recalls the ringing of church bells during an emergency. |
| B．He draws attention to the danger of climate emergency. |
| C．He extends recycling into every area of his life. |
| D．He knows people feel powerless about what’s happening. |
| A．Hamish has become an artist in designing boats. |
| B．Hamish recycles all the things on his houseboat. |
| C．Hamish intends his simple lifestyle to do less harm to the earth. |
| D．Hamish has some meat as a treat regularly. |
| A．They drive groceries out of town. |
| B．They have become a local scenery. |
| C．They shouldn’t be designed that heavy. |
| D．They are a such waste of energy. |
| A．Concerned and responsible. | B．Fearful and powerless. |
| C．Sensitive and optimistic. | D．Satisfied and hopeful. |
Marrakech (马拉喀什) is the fourth largest city in Morocco and has a rich architectural heritage. However, an earthquake in September caused serious damage
The Medina district, the old cultural center of Marrakech, was one of them.
Apart from ancient walls, Morocco World News reported that the city’s Kharbouch Mosque (清真寺) was almost
After visiting Marrakech
9 . There was a strange stillness. The birds, for example—where had they gone? Many people spoke of them, puzzled, and disturbed. The feeding stations in the backyards were deserted. The few birds seen anywhere were dying; they trembled violently and could not fly. It was a spring without voices. On the mornings that had once throbbed (跳动) with the dawn chorus of robins, catbirds, doves, jays, wrens, and scores of other bird voices, there was now no sound; only silence lay over the fields and woods and wetlands.
Rachel Carson was a scientist by profession. But these lines from the opening chapter of her 1962 book Silent Spring, A Fable for Tomorrow, show her talent as a writer. By imagining a world without birds, she aimed to alert not only the scientific community but also the public to the damaging effects of human activity on ecosystems—in particular, to the harmful use of pesticides, such as DDT. She believed that the chemical industry was knowingly causing harm to plants, animals and even humans, and wished to see pesticides used in a more responsible, limited and carefully monitored way.
Carson urged people to make themselves aware of the facts and do something about the situation. Silent Spring contains a lot of scientific research and case studies. The book details the gypsy moth wipeout programme, which killed birds. The Book also gives examples of other wipeout programmers that did nothing to reduce the problems they were originally designed to solve.
Carson’s message caused a great increase in environmental awareness. Its impact was immediate and far-reaching: The use of DDT was banned and the Environmental Protection Agency(EPA)was established in the US. Silent Spring was therefore regarded as a milestone in the launch of the green movement in the Western world.
Her book not only changed the world; half a century later it remains a book that deserves to be reread today. Unless we do listen to Rachel Carson’s warning, one day we may wake up to the strange and quiet horror of another silent spring.
1. What is the function of the first paragraph?| A．To describe a real scene. |
| B．To recommend a scientist. |
| C．To introduce the topic. |
| D．To provide background information. |
| A．DDT was doing harm to the ecosystems on earth. |
| B．Pesticides had been used both responsibly and carefully. |
| C．The human activities did not cause damage to natural ecosystems. |
| D．The lines from the opening chapter of her book were just a fantasy. |
| A．It was seen as a far-reaching green movement. |
| B．It prohibited the use of pesticides around the world. |
| C．It brought the author a good reputation around the world. |
| D．It raised people’s consciousness of environmental protection. |
| A．Concerned. | B．Disapproving. |
| C．Doubtful. | D．Objective. |
10 . This past summer I set out on a journey to Canada’s Arctic. When I left I was wrapped in a blanket of uncertainty and
But when I first met the group members, I knew I didn’t have anything to
Approaching the Arctic, I was repeatedly
However, I also learned the pollutants carried by ocean from far away have a negative
During the journey, I talked with some
The Arctic is a land of incredible beauty which
| A．relief | B．anxiety | C．pride | D．argument |
| A．put up | B．prepare for | C．give up | D．worry about |
| A．easy-going | B．well-behaved | C．sensitive | D．flexible |
| A．failure | B．performance | C．adventure | D．conflict |
| A．embarrassed | B．ashamed | C．amused | D．shocked |
| A．watching | B．organizing | C．noticing | D．guessing |
| A．painfully | B．patiently | C．unconsciously | D．doubtfully |
| A．source | B．reaction | C．effect | D．development |
| A．rest | B．ease | C．peace | D．risk |
| A．hunt | B．explore | C．help | D．meet |
| A．demanding | B．learned | C．modest | D．rigid |
| A．classified | B．decorated | C．confused | D．occupied |
| A．promises | B．benefits | C．deserves | D．intends |
| A．take care of | B．make use of | C．run out of | D．became tired of |
| A．deny | B．ensure | C．argue | D．overlook |
