2 . On November 7, Lewis Pugh completed a one-kilometer swim in the freezing waters of King Edward Cove, off South Georgia in Antarctica. He was wearing only his swimming glasses, cap and Speedo !

Pugh is an advocate for our oceans and seas, working to protect these ecosystems with their large diversity of marine life. When asked why he doesn't wear a wetsuit(防寒泳衣), Pugh says, "I ask world leaders to do everything they can to protect our oceans. Sometimes the steps they need to take are difficult and unpopular. If I'm asking them to be courageous, I must also be. Swimming in a wetsuit would not send the right message."

It took Pugh about 19 minutes to complete the one-kilometer swim in Antarctica where the water averaged about 1.6 degrees Celsius. He says that his body can only tolerate about 20 minutes in the freezing waters before it starts shutting down. As he swims, his body temperature steadily drops, which in turn causes his muscle control to drop, slowing him down. When he is done with his swim, his support team rushes him to a hot shower and it takes almost an hour for his body temperature to return to normal.

Doctors and Pugh caution that one must receive months of training to swim in such cold waters. Even expert swimmers who are unused to freezing water can drown within minutes because of the physical shock experienced by the body. Pugh says he trained for six months before this swim.

This is not the first time that Pugh has swum in dangerous conditions. In 2007, he swam one kilometer in the North Pole to draw attention to the melting Arctic ice due to climate change. In 2015, he swam in the Bay of Whales in Antarctica's Ross Sea as part of his successful campaign to help set up a marine reserve there.

1. Why did Lewis Pugh swim without a wetsuits ?

A．To show his bravery.

B．To swim faster.

C．To build up his body.

D．To have overnight fame.

2. What does the underlined word "it" in Paragraph 3 refer to'?

A．His body temperature.

B．His body

C．The water.

D．The water temperature.

3. What's Pugh's advice about swimming in freezing waters?

A．One should be expert at swimming.

B．One must be used to long-distance swimming.

C．One should be ready to take on challenges.

D．One must be adequately prepared for it.

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

A．Lewis Pugh: achieving the impossible

B．How to survive a swim in cold waters

C．Lewis Pugh: swimming for a cause

D．How to prepare for extreme swimming

3 . NOT that long ago, the world wondered whether clean energy could survive without government support. Now the question is how far it can spread. The number of electric vehicles. which was about 1 million in 2015, last year reached 2 million. In electricity generation, too, trend is with the greens. In the first half of this year wind, solar and hydro generated a record 35% of Germany's power.

Greater success is breeding greater ambition. California is proposing to reach 60% renewable energy by 2030: 176 countries have clean-energy goals. Hawaii, America's most oil-dependent state, has promised to be 100% renewable by the middle of the century. So have 48 poor countries vulnerable to climate change. This week the number of multinationals making a commitment to running their operations on 100% renewable energy rose to 100.

But not every target is helpful. To see why, consider that goal of 100% renewable energy. It makes solving climate change seem easy. In fact, though wind and solar can generate the whole country's electricity some day, renewables still account for less than 8% of the world's total power output. Moreover, cleaning up electricity is only part of the battle. Even though gas-fired heating and cooking can be at least as big a source of greenhouse-gas emissions, renewable heating gets little attention. Transport policy is unpredictable, too. Carmakers may hit their goal of annual sales of 10 million electric vehicles in a decade, but battery-powered road transport, shipping and aviation are dreams. A much-quoted claim that America could rely on wind, solar and hydro alone for its electricity has recently been bitterly criticized by a group of respected academics.

Most importantly, a 100% renewables target confuses means with ends. The priority for the planet is to stop net emissions（净排放量）of greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide. Putting too much emphasis on wind, solar and other renewables may block off better carbon-reduction paths. After decades of investment, it is wrong to leave nuclear power off the table. Carbon emissions in Germany actually rose because it chose to phase out nuclear power gradually and so burned more coal. New technologies, such as "direct air capture" systems designed to separate carbon dioxide from the air, may in time prove vital. Likewise, greater energy efficiency could reduce emissions by even more than using renewables would.

1. It can be inferred from the passage that       .

A．the problem of climate change will be solved by using 100% renewable energy

B．with new technologies, Germany successfully cut down carbon emissions

C．it is probable that ships will one day be powered by battery

D．America is not likely to completely rely on wind, solar and hydro energy one day

2. According to the passage, carbon emissions may be reduced by       .

A．promoting energy efficiency

B．blocking off carbon-reduction paths

C．using non-renewable heating

D．abandoning electric vehicles

3. The underlined phrase "phase out" in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to       .

A．ignore

B．reduce

C．use

D．invent

4. In which column can this passage be read?

A．Fashion

B．Politics

C．Economy

D．Education

4 . China’s war on garbage is as digital as the country itself. Think QR codes attached to trash bags that allow the government to trace exactly where its trash comes from.

On July 1, Shanghai began a compulsory garbage sorting program. Households and companies must classify their wastes into four categories and dump them in appointed places at certain times. The strict program became a headache for some residents. Not even the most environmentally conscious person can get all the answers right. Like, which bin does the newspaper you just used to pick up dog poop (粪便)belong to?

Gratefully, China’s tech startups are here to help. For instance, China’s biggest internet companies responded with new search features that help people identify what wastes are “wet”, “dry”, “toxic”, or “recyclable”. Simply pull up a mini app on WeChat, Baidu or Alipay and enter the keyword. The tech firms will give you the answer and why.

Alipay, Alibaba’s electronics payment company, claims its garbage sorting mini app added one million users under just three days. The mini app has so far indexed (编索引) more than 4,000 types of rubbish. Its database is still growing, and soon it will save people from typing by using image recognition to classify trash when they snap a photo of it. If people are too busy or lazy to hit the collection schedule, well, startups are offering trash service at the doorstep. A third-party developer helped Alipay build a recycling mini app and is now collecting garbage from 8,000 apartment complexes across 11 cities. To date, two million people have sold recyclable materials through its platform.

Besides helping households out, companies are also building software to make property managers, life easier. Some residential complexes in Shanghai began using QR codes to trace the origin of garbage. This way, regulators in the region know exactly which family has produced the trash and fine violators.

1. What are some residents confused about?

A．Environmental knowledge.	B．Bin for dog poop.
C．Some waste classification.	D．Time for dumping.

2. What is the advantage of trash service at the doorstep?

A．It provides time flexibility.	B．It reduces household waste.
C．It saves people from typing.	D．It classifies rubbish properly.

3. Who will probably most welcome the use of QR codes?

A．Third-party developers.	B．Company managers.
C．Community administrators.	D．Rubbish collectors.

4. What is the main idea of this article?

A．People need recycling apps badly.

B．People should classify their rubbish.

C．How regulators benefit from the tech.

D．How China uses tech to sort waste.

5 . Reducing plastic waste isn't easy because the cheap material is found in almost every household item. Now, a delicious and nutritious solution has come up to help reduce our dependence on this environmental hazard.

David Christian, the co-founder of Evoware, says the idea of creating the biodegradable (生物降解的) products came from concern at the country’s high pollution rate. Indonesia is home to four of the world's worst polluted rivers. Since single-use packaging is a large contributor to the problem, Evoware decided to deal with that first.

After investigating various materials, the company settled on seaweed. Unlike corn, commonly used for biodegradable containers, seaweed does not require resources like water or large amounts of space. Since Indonesian farmers already harvest more seaweed than they can sell, it's easy for the company to find the material.

Though they will not reveal their production process, Evoware says the seaweed packaging contains no chemicals and is safe to consume. The company has also invented single-use cups, which can break down 30 days after they're thrown away.

While replacing plastic with the seaweed products may seem appealing to most of us, it is a hard-sell in Indonesia. According to Christian, ''The awareness to reduce single-use plastic is still very low. This makes our bioplastic unnecessary.” Also a factor is the cost, which is higher than using plastic. Hopefully, Evoware will succeed in convincing Indonesians and people worldwide that switching to their products will be helpful to protecting our beautiful planet.

1. What problem did Evoware decide to deal with first?

A．Ways to clean the four worst polluted rivers.

B．What nutritious materials for people to use.

C．How to deal with single-use packaging.

D．Means to contribute to the country's economy.

2. Why did Evoware choose seaweed?

A．It didn't require much space and was easy to get.

B．It could be found everywhere in his country.

C．It was most commonly used for packaging.

D．It grew thickly in most of the polluted rivers.

3. What can we infer from Christian's words?

A．Their seaweed products have won government support.

B．Sometimes it's hard to get people to reduce the use of plastics.

C．Their new products have received worldwide popularity.

D．The cost of making seaweed products will be lowered soon.

4. What does the underlined word ''hard-sell'' in Paragraph 5 refer to?

A．Something lasting long.	B．Something hard to accept.
C．Something easy to get.	D．Something commonly seen.

6 . This is always a busy time of year, but please don’t forget to recycle as much as you can.

Put in Your Recycling Bins: Cardboard — this includes all the boxes your presents came in but please remove any plastic packaging. Plastic bottles — all plastic bottles including fizzy drinks and cider bottles, as well as milk, shampoo, cleaning and washing-up liquid bottles.

Christmas trees can be recycled in your fortnightly Garden Waste Collection Service as long as they are small trees chopped into pieces no bigger than 3 inches or 75mm in diameter. For large trees please take them to your local Household Waste and Recycling Centers. Please note the Garden Waste Collection Service is suspended (暂停的) between Dec 26th and Jan 6th .

Glass bottles and jars — empty wine bottles can be taken to the bottle bank together with beer bottles and pickle (泡菜) jars. Clothes and shoes — for your old clothes, take them to your local clothing recycling bank.

Please Do NOT Place in Your Recycling Bins: Gift wrap — Christmas gift wrapping does not contain much paper. It is often layered with foil (箔纸) and plastic which can’t be recycled. Plastic carrier bags — please do not put your recyclables in these as it makes it difficult to sort the contents. Plastic packaging — Although plastic packaging may have symbols which suggest it can be recycled, it is made of different types of plastic and there are no cost-effective ways to recycle it at present.

1. What should we do before putting the cardboard into recycling bins?

A．Cutting it into pieces.	B．Collecting the gifts.
C．Taking off its plastic packages.	D．Emptying the packages.

2. Why shouldn’t we put plastic packaging into recycling bins?

A．Because it is hard to sort the content.

B．Because it is made of different type of foil.

C．Because the symbols on it advise us not to do so.

D．Because cost-effective ways to recycle it haven’t been found.

3. What can we learn from the text?

A．The Christmas is the season for recycling.

B．Christmas trees must be kept for the future.

C．All the empty bottles can be put into the recycling bins.

D．There is a recycling center for the old clothes and shoes.

7 . More than half of the birds in Washington are at risk of extinction because of climate change. That's according to a new national report from the Audubon Society, which gives detailed analysis of climate effects on about 600 species of North American birds.

It's based on more than 140 million observations of birds across the US, Mexico and Canada. Audubon scientists looked at the likely effects of sea-level rise, urbanization, drought, extreme spring heat, increased fires, heavy rain and other factors.

But it doesn't just spell out a doomsday scenario (世界末日).Instead, it offers a range of effects and warming, depending on how much carbon humans add to the atmosphere.

"It is truly an existential threat (威胁), not only to birds but to people,” said Doug Santoni, board chair of Audubon Washington, who looked into the report as soon as it came out.

Santoni says he was struck to see the vulnerability (脆弱)of a common “ backyard bird" , the dark-eyed junco. It's one that many first-time birders become familiar with as they learn how to identify species based on their markings and other traits. Currently in Washington, you can count on juncos to show up at your feeder, year round. Extreme spring heat, increased fires and heavy rain are the kinds of changes that will force birds like these north, or kill them off if they fail to adapt.

Trina Bayard, director of bird conservation at Audubon’s Washington chapter, says, "It's certainly a very serious warning report," but adds that there’s still hope. “If we can stabilize current temperatures and decrease our emissions (排放), we can really reduce the effects to these birds …that's very motivating. ”

1. What can we know about the new report?

A．It analyses the species of birds in detail.

B．It's issued by watching 600 bird species.

C．It shows the end of North American birds.

D．It reports the threat some birds are facing.

2. What may Santoni probably agree with?

A．Climate change is a threat only to birds.

B．It's too late to take action to save the birds.

C．The current situation of the birds is worrying.

D．It's common that birds are affected by climate change.

3. Which of the following can help these birds according to Trina?

A．Lowering present temperatures.

B．Reducing our daily emissions.

C．Making them adapt to climate change.

D．Encouraging people to protect them.

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

A．Climate change threatens many Washington bird species.

B．A new report about 600 species of North American birds.

C．Different attitudes towards the situation of bird species.

D．Climate change makes different kinds of species at risk.

8 . The replacement of fossil and nuclear energy sources for electricity production by renewables such as wind, sun, water and biomass is a cornerstone of Germany’s energy policy. Amongst these, wind energy production is the most important component. However, energy production from wind is not necessarily ecologically sustainable. It requires relatively large spaces for installation and operation of turbines, and bats and birds die after collisions with rotors in significant numbers. For these reasons, the location and operation of wind energy plants are often in direct conflict with the legal protection of endangered species. A recent survey on this green-green dilemma among over 500 representatives by the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) concludes that the current mechanisms for the protection of bats in wind power projects are insufficient.

“We found broad consensus among participants,” states Christian Voigt, first author of the survey. “The overwhelming majority of respondents considered the protection of biodiversity to be just as important as the contribution to protect the global climate through renewable energy production.” Most stakeholders agreed that small to moderate losses in the yield of wind power plants in terms of electricity production caused by the consistent application of conservation laws must become acceptable. However, significant discrepancies also existed. For example, representatives of the wind energy industry considered compliance with climate protection targets as more important than measures to protect species.

The conflict between wind power projects and the objectives of biological conservation intensified in recent years because the rapidly rising number of wind plants – there are now around 30,000 on mainland Germany – has made suitable locations scarce. “Besides, only about 25% of wind turbines are operated under mitigation schemes such as temporary halt of wind turbine operation during periods of high bat activity even though the legal framework would require the enforcement of such measures,” adds author Marcus Fritze of Leibniz-IZW.

For the purpose of this survey, the authors selected bats as a representative group of species for all wildlife affected by wind turbines, as large numbers of bats die at turbines and they enjoy a high level of protection both nationally and internationally, and therefore play an important role in planning and approval procedures for wind turbines. The results of years of research led by Voigt at the Leibniz-IZW show that fatalities at wind turbines in Germany affect bat populations in Germany as well as populations in other European regions from where these bats originate.

On the basis of the survey results, the authors argue in favour of a stronger consideration of nature conservation objectives in the wind energy industry. They suggest ways in which the cooperation of those involved in wind power projects can be improved so that both wind energy production and the goals of biological conservation can be satisfied.

1. What does the first paragraph mainly talk about?

A．The real cornerstone of Germany’s energy policy.

B．Problems with poor installation and operation of turbines.

C．Germany’s impressive achievements to promote renewable energy.

D．The conflict between wind plants and insufficient wildlife protection.

2. The underlined word “discrepancies” in Paragraph 2 most probably means ________.

A．assumptions

B．disagreements

C．diversities

D．adjustments

3. Bats were chosen to represent all wildlife affected by wind turbines because ________.

A．more bats have been killed than any other species

B．bats play an important role in keeping natural balance

C．they can greatly affect the planning and approval of wind projects

D．they will die out quickly in Germany if not protected immediately

4. What do the authors of the survey think are possible solutions?

A．Building fewer number of wind plants and selecting more suitable locations.

B．Negotiating severe laws and strictly carrying them out in wind energy plants.

C．Focusing on protecting biodiversity and slightly reducing wind plant production.

D．Stressing natural protection and improving cooperation in wind power industry.

9 . You just can’t imagine what a brave mother is like. She was a mother of three, who just _______ an earthquake, couldn’t tell if her children were _______ for help. Or what if you knew you couldn’t yell at her for help because she couldn’t _______ you? That was what happened to Connie and her three children _______ the 6.1-magnitude earthquake rocked Napa, California. Connie is _______ and communicates with her children using sign language.

At midnight, Connie and her three children were _______ on the first floor of their two-story home. She and her 16-year-old son, Juan, were shaken awake. Instantly, they realized there were no disaster supplies downstairs. Connie, also _______ one-month-old Raul and 8-year-old Adriana, called Juan to come close to her in the darkness and _______ for him to go upstairs to get a _______.

Juan slowly __________ the stairs. He heard a loud creak (嘎吱声). Arriving on the top floor, he moved quickly but __________ to get what he needed. Using the flashlight to guide his steps back __________ the stairs, the family was able to take a few items from the first floor and __________. Their home was almost in ruins.

Being deaf was not deterrent (妨碍物) for this __________ mother. The family made it to the __________ safely, which comforted everyone.

1.

A．experienced

B．dreamed

C．avoided

D．reported

2.

A．turning around

B．standing by

C．running away

D．crying out

3.

A．see

B．hear

C．forgive

D．reach

4.

A．when

B．after

C．unless

D．before

5.

A．blind

B．deaf

C．old

D．sick

6.

A．alone

B．awake

C．alive

D．asleep

7.

A．chatting to

B．playing with

C．focusing on

D．running after

8.

A．signed

B．phoned

C．shouted

D．explained

9.

A．helper

B．flashlight

C．box

D．suitcase

10.

A．mopped

B．examined

C．climbed

D．left

11.

A．carefully

B．regularly

C．bravely

D．hurriedly

12.

A．up

B．above

C．under

D．down

13.

A．stay

B．return

C．flee

D．cry

14.

A．famous

B．skillful

C．ordinary

D．determined

15.

A．darkness

B．shelter

C．ruins

D．stairs

10 . 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。

The production of coffee beans is a huge, profitable business, but, unfortunately, full-sun production is taking over the industry and bringing about a lot of damage. The change     1     coffee is grown from shade-grown production to full-sun production endangers the very     2     (exist) of certain animals and birds, and even disturbs the world’s ecological balance.

On a local level, the damage     3     (cause) by full-sun fields affects the area’s birds and animals. The shade of the forest trees provides a habitat     4     birds and other species that depend on the trees’ flowers and fruits. Full-sun coffee growers destroy this forest home. As a result, many species are     5     (quick) dying out. On a more global level, the destruction of the rainforest for full-sun coffee fields also threatens human life.

Medical research often makes use of the forests’ plant and animal life,     6     the destruction of such species prevents researchers from finding cures for certain diseases. In addition, new coffee-growing techniques are poisoning the local water and     7     (poison) the world’s groundwater in the future.

The loss of shade trees is gradually causing     8     slight change in the world’s climate, and studies show that loss of oxygen-giving trees also leads to air pollution and global warming.

It is obvious that     9     (grow) much full-sun coffee affects many aspects of life, from the local environment to the global ecology. But consumers do have a choice. They can purchase shade-grown coffee whenever possible, although at a higher cost. The future health of the planet and mankind     10     (be) surely worth more than an inexpensive cup of coffee.