1 . When trash sculptor Stephanie Hongo meets friends for drinks or dinner, it’s not unusual for one of them to hand her shopping bags full of lids, empty soap bottles, and even a Barbie leg or two. By now, she’s used to neighbors, friends and even strangers giving her their recyclable rejects.

But Hongo doesn’t need any more garbage. She has a large collection of her own at home. “You don’t need to be a trash picker to do this,” she says. “Trash is everywhere.” And for Hongo, where there is trash, there is art. Since 2017, Hongo has crafted complex sea creatures, realistic-looking jungle animals and other creatures out of everything from plastic forks to plastic tubing as well as a hair dryer, a purse, a tooth brush, and even a hair straightener.

Starting with her first piece—a blue deer named Yandoo that she fashioned out of odds and ends laying around her flat, which she screwed together and spray painted in a makeshift basement art studio—she’s gone on to create more than 160 trash sculptures.

“I feel very fortunate,” says Hongo, who loves making a living as an artist. “I care about our environment. The upcycling aspect of it is a lovely byproduct.” Though she doesn’t consider herself a true eco-artist, she hopes she’s inspiring others to reuse items that usually end up in landfills. But for her, she says, “The art comes first.”

Before starting each project, Hongo figures out exactly what pieces of scrap (废旧的) metal, tubing and plastics she’ll need to transform the pile of junk on her worktable into something fantastic, like a majestic octopus (章鱼) rocketing through the coral or a cute koala hugging a tree.

Since her funky creations sell on line at prices starting at $400, she’s been fortunate enough to make trash sculpting her full-time career. “It’s so much more than I ever expected,” she says.

1. Why does Hongo say “You don’t need to be a trash picker to do this”?

A．Because it is hard to pick trash.

B．Because there is trash everywhere.

C．Because her friends give her enough.

D．Because she has a large collection of trash.

2. What does Hongo expect others to learn from her art form?

A．To enjoy art.	B．To collect trash.
C．To trash sculptures.	D．To recycle waste.

3. What does Hongo do before starting each project?

A．Find enough fantastic shapes to copy.

B．Put away the things on her works.

C．Make out what materials suit her works.

D．Figure out what her pile of junk is made of.

4. Which of the following can best describe Hongo?

A．Creative and inspiring.	B．Diligent and practical.
C．Helpful and generous.	D．Humorous and determined.

2 . How to Prepare for an Earthquake

An earthquake can be a very destructive natural disaster, particularly in the Pacific Rim region. After an earthquake, your home may be a mess and you might be left without a water supply or power.     1     By doing so, you may minimize the damage and injury in and around your home.

· Create a disaster plan.

Form your plan and know what to do before the earthquake happens.     2     The most important first step is understanding what to do when an earthquake hits.

    3    

In a real earthquake, this is your number one defense. Drop to the floor, take cover under a firm desk or table and hold on firmly. Namely, drop and cover your head from falling objects. Stay there until the shaking stops.

·Learn basic first aid.

There are resources in your community to educate people on how to deal with first aid emergencies.     4    

·Write down and share emergency contact lists.

This should include everyone in your home, office, etc.     5     In addition to normal contact information, ask each person to provide an emergency contact as well.

A．Stay away from the shaking house.

B．Practice “drop, cover and hold on”.

C．Then go over your plan on a regular basis.

D．Therefore, you can turn to your family for help.

E．You need to know how to get in touch with them.

F．There are several things you can do to prepare for an earthquake.

G．For example, your local Red Cross has classes teaching you the basic skills.

3 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. What was going on in the town where the speaker lived?

A．A flood.

B．A forest fire.

C．An earthquake.

2. Why couldn’t the speaker see the sun?

A．It was getting darker.

B．It was raining cats and dogs.

C．The sky was covered by thick smoke.

3. Where was the speaker’s son?

A．He was abroad.

B．He was in town.

C．He was in the garden.

4. What did the speaker see on the road?

A．Trees were burning.

B．People were escaping.

C．Animals were running.

4 . Habitat improvement and a series of protective measures have played a crucial role in the rise of the population of Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys(滇金丝猴) , one of the planet’s most endangered animals.

The Yunnan snub-nosed monkey, also known as the black-and-white snub-nosed monkey, lives in high-altitude areas at more than 3,000 meters above sea level in Southwest China’s Yunnan province and the neighboring Xizang autonomous region. About 65 percent of its population inhabits the Baima Snow Mountain National Nature Reserve.

“Currently, the reserve is home to about 3,000 Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys,” said Lai Jiandong, head of the Wildlife Protection Station at the Baima reserve. When the reserve was first established in 1983, however, the population numbered a mere 800.

Lai stresses the continuous enhancement of management levels within the Baima reserve, including the adoption of cutting-edge technologies for monitoring and protecting not only the snub-nosed monkeys but also other endangered wildlife species.

“In recent years, using technologies like infrared(红外线) cameras, we have taken pictures of rare and endangered creatures such as leopards, jackals and sambar deer,” Lai noted, emphasizing the important role of such advancements in wild animal protection.

The primary duties of the Wildlife ProtectionStation involve the daily care of the snub-nosed monkeys in the Weixi Lisu autonomous county, as well as the sheltering and rescue of injured animals. “Over the past few years, we have provided assistance to more than 200 wild animals, including Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys, pandas and macaques,” said Lai.

The Yunnan snub-nosed monkey is under China’s national first-class protection and has been listed as an endangered species on the Red List of Threatened Species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. They will be better protected.

1. Which isn’t a factor that contributes to the increase of the population of Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys?

A．Rising public concerns.	B．Advanced technologies.
C．Protective measures.	D．Improved living habitats.

2. What do we learn about Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys?

A．They only live in Yunnan province.

B．Their population has dropped sharply since 1983.

C．They are well-protected by the Wildlife Protection Station.

D．Over 200 Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys have been rescued up to now.

3. What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．People rescue many injured animals in Yunnan.

B．Infrared cameras have captured images of rare wildlife.

C．Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys increase in high mountains.

D．Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys are the most endangered animals.

4. Where may the passage come from?

A．A textbook.	B．A newspaper.
C．An advertisement.	D．An economic journal.

5 . For hundreds of years, America’s wilderness has been reduced due to growing cities, leaving outdoors lovers like hunters with fewer chances. By around 1900, too much hunting drove America’s deer nearly into extinction (灭绝), less than a half-million deer, from 45 million in 1450.

Law-makers began to make rules to protect deer and keep ecological balance (生态平衡). And it did make a big difference. By 2000, the deer population had come up to 38 million. Those days, millions of deer lived side by side with humans and could freely find enough food resources.

Gradually, the number of deer was increasing too rapidly, which was not good for both the animals and people. City hunting plays an important role in keeping ecological balance, particularly in places where the animals sometimes cause major problems.

“City deer hunting is a management practice used in many cities and suburban areas across the United States,” says Jason Andrews, program manager of the Urban Deer Hunt in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In the early 2000s, a high number of car accidents were caused by deer. And there was also significant vegetation degradation (植被退化) in many cities. Many possible solutions were researched by the city government. Some suggested hunting deer and other wild animals, but others were against that practice.

In the end, researchers determined that the most effective and sustainable (可持续的) population management solution would be hunting with bows. “City deer hunting is popular in cities that have too many wild deer as well as wooded areas,” says Andrews. “In Cedar Rapids, all parts of the city have right habitats to keep deer population, thus hunting is allowed. I must note that hunting is only allowed on private lands. No parks or any other public grounds can be hunted.”

1. What can we learn from paragraph 1?

A．The deer population was dropping rapidly.

B．Some cities grew smaller in the country.

C．The number of deer dropped to 1,450.

D．The deer population grew up by 45 million.

2. What can we infer about the rules for protecting deer?

A．They failed to be carried out in the US.

B．They were quite successful.

C．People had different attitudes towards them.

D．They were made by Jason Andrews.

3. Which tool is the best for deer hunting according to the text?

A．Stones.

B．Guns.

C．Branches.

D．Bows.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Ways to Protect the Environment

B．The Number of Deer in the US

C．People’s Attitude to Deer Hunting

D．America’s Rules for Deer to Keep Ecological Balance

6 . What is the most shocking about the heatwave affecting the Pacific Northwest is not that it has hit a usually mild area, nor that so many long-standing temperature records are being broken. It is that those records are being broken by such large margins (幅度). In Portland, Oregon, temperature reached 46.6℃(116°F) — making it one of several cities in the region where former records have been beaten by a full 5℃(9°F). At the same time, heatwaves are also hitting central Europe and even Siberia.

Heatwaves may become headlines, but less attention is paid to them. In 2018 about 300,000 people over the age of 65 died as a result of extreme heat, mainly in India, a 54% increase since 2000, according to a report in the Lancet, a medical journal. The report also shows that, unlike storms and floods, heat does not lead to dramatic before-and-after pictures or widespread damage to belongings. It is a silent killer. As many as 70,000 people died due to a heatwave in Europe in 2003.

Heat also kills by worsening health conditions such as heart problems, so not all the deaths it causes may be directly attributed (归因) to it. Climate change will make heatwaves more common and more extreme. Even if greenhouse-gas emissions (排放) are cut to zero by the middle of this century, temperatures will go on rising for decades. So other measures are needed to protect people against extreme heat.

Governments can set up early warning systems to alarm health workers, shut down schools and stop outdoor activities. They can provide the public with forecasts of coming heatwaves, explanations of the dangers and detailed advice on what to do. Improved facilities can also help. This includes providing shaded areas, water parks and “misting stations” to help people cool down, and get to airconditioned “cooling centers” where they can find shelter and sleep if necessary.

The world is, undoubtedly, facing a big health challenge right now. There is no excuse for ignoring heatwaves and their effects.

1. What shocks us most about the heatwave in the Pacific Northwest?

A．It has stricken a usually mild area.

B．It hits central Europe except Siberia.

C．Many temperature records are being broken.

D．Many records are being broken by large margins.

2. What can we learn from the report in the Lancer?

A．People have paid much attention to heatwaves.

B．Heat doesn’t cause widespread damage to belongings.

C．The damage of heat is as obvious as storms and floods.

D．About 300,000 middle-aged people died from extreme heat.

3. What can governments do to protect people against heatwaves?

A．Provide some cool places.	B．Build nursing homes.
C．Organize outdoor activities.	D．Shelter the homeless.

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

A．Improving Public Facilities	B．Taking Heatwaves Seriously
C．Preventing Natural Disasters	D．Reducing Greenhouse-gas Emission

7 . 阅读下面短文, 在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Humans are not the only ones who like to use tablet computers. The nonprofit organization Orangutan (猩猩) Outreach has started a program     1     (call) Apps for Apes using Apple’s iPad. Orangutan Outreach     2     (start) by Richard Zimmerman and is based in New York City. He began the organization six years ago with the goal of     3     (protect) orangutans in the wild.

The organization started Apps for Apes one year ago. The program introduces the Apple iPad to orangutans in zoos. Apps for Apes has three     4     (goal). The first goal is to provide interesting activities     5     orangutans. The second goal is to raise     6     (aware) among zoo visitors about how smart these animals are. The third goal is to urge people to visit Orangutan Outreach’s website, redapes. org, to learn how they can help protect orangutans in the wild.

“The young orangutans are very curious, and they go to it     7     (immediate), ”said Mr. Zimmerman, adding that the iPad is a perfect device for the animal because of the touch screen technology. With some assistance, the orangutans are able to use different apps to listen to music, play games     8     do other activities.

The program,     9     was first launched at the Milwaukee County Zoo, has expanded to more than 10 other zoos as well as     10     rescue center for apes in the United States and Canada, and is growing worldwide.

8 . Objects in the night sky are disappearing from view because of light pollution, according to a new study. Outdoor lighting from street lamps, office buildings and vehicle headlights leads to sky less bright, which is when the night sky gets brighter. The brighter it is at night, the harder it is to see stars and planets from Earth.

Christopher Kyba, an astronomer with the GFZ German Research Center for Geosciences, led his team studying over 50, 000 star observations between 2011 and 2022. “If the brightening of the night sky continues at the current rate,” Kyba said, “a child born in a place where 250 stars are visible will only be able to see 100 stars by the time he or she turned 18.”

The issue is global but particularly common in North America, where 80% of people cannot see the Milky Way galaxy (银河系). This huge group of billions of stars should look like a wide strip of light in the dark night sky. However, only very remote places, such as the Sahara Desert and the Amazon Rain Forest, have a truly dark night sky.

Light pollution makes it harder for astronomers to study stars and planets. It also causes problems for animals. Animals active at night like bats become confused and crash into objects. Turtles that hatch (孵化)at night need moonlight to find the sea, but artificial lights can confuse them and make them head inland instead. Birds in cities often wake up and start singing earlier than they should. Human lights also cause themselves to produce less of a chemical called melatonin(褪黑激素). This can lead to sleep problems, headaches, tiredness, and mood issues.

To help, scientists want to raise awareness of light pollution. They suggest that people use outdoor lighting that causes less light pollution, such as motion-sensitive lights that switch on only when they’re needed.

1. How does the author lead in the topic of the text?

A．By giving examples.

B．By offering evidence.

C．By making comparison.

D．By bringing up the issue.

2. What can be inferred from Kyba’s words?

A．Light pollution is becoming serious.

B．Adults are easier to see stars than kids.

C．Stars are becoming fewer year by year.

D．Kids are losing interest in watching stars.

3. What effect may light pollution cause?

A．Turtles are forced to hatch at sea.

B．Humans produce more melatonin.

C．Bats can get lost during the flight.

D．Birds in cities wake up much later.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．A New Origin of Light Pollution

B．Light Is Making Stars Unobserved

C．Ways to Deal with Light Pollution

D．Light Causes Human Sleep Issues

9 . How many plastic carrier bags have you got in your house? I seem to have cupboards full of them and it feels like they’re taking over my home! The shopping bag is just one example of the milion things we use made from this useful material, plastic. But unfortunately, it’s not the easiest thing to recycle and this is causing an environmental problem.

Most of our everyday plastic items end up in landfill, left to rot away for many years. But some of it blows away, causing damage to the natural environment and harming wildlife. The problem is most serious in our oceans.

The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, described how remote islands act as a “sink” for the world’s rubbish. They become collecting points for fishing items and everyday things including toothbrushes, cigarette lighters and razors (剃须刀); things that we throw away. Dr Jennifer Lavers from the University of Tasmania says, “Almost every island in the world and almost every species in the ocean is now being shown to be impacted one way or another by our waste.”

This highlights the potentially deadly effect of our disposable culture. When we throw something away, it doesn’t just disappear, it goes somewhere and because of the long-lasting nature of plastic, it takes a lot time to decompose (分解) and stays there causing great damage to the ocean’s ecology.

Some other recent worldwide research estimates that 90% of all seabirds have swallowed plastic. And worse still, this plastic is broken down into tiny particles (颗粒) over a long period by the wind and the waves, then sea creatures at the bottom of the food chain ingest (咽下) them. These creatures are eaten by the fish that we eventually consume.

The solution to this problem would be to use less plastic. So next time you pick up a carrier bag, or buy a plastic bottle of water, spare a thought for the birds and animals on the remote islands. What do you do to help the environment?

1. What’s the function of the first paragraph of the text?

A．To explain an idea.	B．To create a suspense.
C．To introduce the topic.	D．To summarize the text.

2. According to the passage, why is plastic difficult to decompose?

A．Because of its lasting nature.

B．Because we use so much of it.

C．Because of our disposable culture.

D．Because it causes damage to the ocean’s ecology.

3. Where will the plastic finally come in the food chain?

A．Seabirds.

B．Sea creatures.

C．Fish.

D．Human beings.

4. What does the author call on us to do?

A．To consume less plastic.

B．To pick up a carrier bag.

C．To buy a plastic bottle of water.

D．To see birds and animals on the remote islands.

10 . How to Survive a Lightning Strike?

According to the National Weather Service, almost two-thirds of lightning accidents occur as people enjoy leisure activities outdoors.     1    . Here’s how to stay safe when you’re enjoying summer outdoors.

Keep an eye on the sky

    2    . Thunderstorms usually occur in the afternoon or evening. Start your hike in the morning, and finish up by noon if the forecast indicates bad weather ahead. If the forecast calls for periodic storms throughout the day, make a smart choice and consider giving up the trip.     3    .

Before you head out for hiking, check maps to locate visitor centers, campground buildings, or rest areas along your route. Once you hear thunder, see lightning, or sense that a storm is approaching, don’t hesistate to use your plan. Hikers are strongly advised to watch continually for the nearest shelter.     4     .

Know the storm’s distance

Count the seconds between the flash and the following sound of thunder. Divide the number of seconds by five to calculate the number of miles between you and the storm. For example, if the number of seconds is 30, then the distance inbetween equals six miles, and find shelter immediately.     5    , just remember that you can hear thunder at a distance of 10 miles.

A．Make a safety plan

B．Check the weather forecast ahead

C．If this simple math is still confusing

D．If you get indoors as soon as possible

E．People are struck while camping, hiking or boating

F．Staying calm will help you avoid meeting further dangers

G．Car campers can stay in the vehicles when no other shelter is available