1 . New international research reveals the far-reaching impacts of forest cover loss on global biodiversity. The study, led by the University of Edinburgh and the University of St Andrews, investigated the impacts of forest loss on species and biodiversity over time and around the world, revealing both losses and gains in species.
Focusing on biodiversity data spanning(跨越) 150 years and over 6,000 locations, the study, published in Science, reveals that as tree cover is lost, plants and animals are responding to the transformation of their natural habitats.
Bringing together over 5 million records of the numbers of different plants and animals with information on both historic and contemporary peaks in forest loss, the researchers discovered both immediate and delayed effects of forest loss on ecosystems.
The pace at which biodiversity responds to forest loss varies from a few years, as is the case for light-loving plants and insects, to decades for long-living trees and larger birds and mammals. Gergana Daskalova, a Ph.D. student in the School of GeoSciences at the University of Edinburgh and lead author of the study, said, “Changes in the biodiversity of the planet’s forests matter because they will reflect how these landscapes look, the types of species they support and the benefits that forests provide for society like clean air and water.”
Maria Dornelas, a co-senior author from the School of Biology at the University of St Andrews, continued, “Humans are undoubtedly changing the planet. Yet, global analyses of how biodiversity is changing over time are revealing biodiversity changes are nuanced(有细微差别的) and variable.”
She added, “With a better understanding of the different ways, both positive and negative, in which forest loss influences biodiversity, we can improve future conservation and restoration of global ecosystems.”
1. What did the international research find?| A．Species suffer losses as tree cover is lost. |
| B．Historic and contemporary peaks in forest loss vary. |
| C．Forest loss cannot impact ecosystems immediately. |
| D．Plant and animal species are reacting to forest cover loss. |
| A．Effects of forest loss are difficult to notice. |
| B．Insects adapt to forest loss quite slowly. |
| C．Species respond to forest loss at different paces. |
| D．There are different degrees of forest loss in history. |
| A．They make no difference. |
| B．They worsen the landscapes. |
| C．They have a great effect on society. |
| D．They cause damage to types of species. |
| A．call on people to change nature |
| B．find ways to make global analyses |
| C．pay attention to the negative effects |
| D．improve protection of global ecosystems |
2 . Plans to bring wild tigers back to their original home , their historical range(历史分布范围） in the IliBalkhash region, have been announced by Kazakhstan( 哈萨克斯坦 ) and an agreement with World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to conduct a tiger reintroduction program has been signed . “It will not only bring wild tigers back to their original home, but also protect the unique ecosystem of the IliBalkhash region，” said Askar Myrzakhmetov, the Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
If successful, Kazakhstan will be the first country in the world to bring wild tigers back to an entire region where they have died out for nearly half a century. Tiger reintroduction projects have only been achieved within national borders and in areas that are considered current tiger habitats . Kazakhstan's tiger reintroduction program is unique and it badly requires the restoration of a vast forest that is part of the wild tiger's historical range.
Since the beginning of the 20th century, wild tigers have lost over 90 per cent of their historical range. Wild tigers have completely disappeared from the region since the late 1940s, due to the loss of habitat. To prepare for the return of wild tigers, on 1st January 2018 Kazakhstan will set up a new nature reserve in the southwestern IliBalkhash, in order to restore the unique forest habitat. This will include the protection of existing wildlife, and reintroducing important prey ( 猎物 ), such as the endangered wild Bactrian deer（中亚红鹿).
Restoring tigers will also help protect Lake Balkhash and prevent it from repeating the fate of the Aral Sea, formerly the world's fourth largest lake and now 10 percent of its original size. “The hard work remains ahead of us. We have to spare no effort to make this region ready for tigers and involve all the relevant people to make this happen. That means dealing with illegal activities, having these people who govern parks be welltrained and equipped, increasing prey populations and involving local communities，” said Ekaterina Vorobyeva, Director of the WWF program.
1. What is Askar Myrzakhmetov's attitude toward the tiger reintroduction program?| A．Doubtful. | B．Favorable. |
| C．Concerned. | D．Disapproving. |
| A．The increasing loss of prey. | B．The evolution of the species. |
| C．The lack of natural living places. | D．The serious environmental pollution. |
| A．Regulating human activities. | B．Limiting the number of prey. |
| C．Building a reserve for tigers only. | D．Training tigers to be more adaptable. |
| A．Efforts to restore forests in Kazakhstan |
| B．Bringing tigers back home to Kazakhstan |
| C．Attempts to handle illegal activities effectively |
| D．Preventing tigers disappearing in Kazakhstan |
1. What are the speakers doing?
| A．Arguing about the law. |
| B．Getting prepared for a natural disaster. |
| C．Predicting the economy of the country. |
| A．Glass windows. | B．Plastic sheets. | C．Toilet paper. |
| A．Health. | B．Education. | C．Environment. |
5 . When you think of the Arctic, you imagine an icy land of pure white snow. Others imagine it as the last really clean place left on Earth. We have polluted the deepest oceans with plastic trash, and now, CNN says, “It’s theArctic’s turn. ”
German scientists have recently found microplastics in Arctic snow, the Associated Press reported. Microplastics are pieces of plastic smaller than 5 millimeters. Sadly, the scientists found 1,800 pieces of microplastic per liter of snow.
How is plastic pollution reaching the Arctic? According to scientists, “It’s readily apparent that the majority of the microplastic in the snow comes from the air. ” They fall off of plastic objects and are moved by the wind, just like dust. They mix with ice in the air and fall to the ground as snow. Finding these plastics in Arctic snow means that we may breathe them in. An even higher amount of microplastic was found in the snow around cities.
The high concentrations found in snow samples suggest microplastics, which contain rubber or chemicals used in synthetic fabrics, may cause significant air pollution.
Are they bad for us? Scientists cannot answer this question for now, according to the World Health Organization. We do know that our bodies cannot take in “large” pieces of microplastics. However, if the plastics are small enough, they can find ways into our bodies and stay there for a long time, which can be bad for our health. What’s more, earlier studies have shown that microplastics may contribute to lung cancer risk, heightening the need to further assess（评估）the risks of taking them in, the study said.
Microplastics have also been found in rivers and oceans around the world. Previous research has found that they flow over long distances and into our oceans, damaging ecosystems along the way. They start in our wastewater, when we wash clothes with plastic fibers. The wastewater then flows into rivers and out to sea, where they are eaten by sea animals. If people then eat these animals, it means that we’re eating the plastic as well.
1. What does the author mean by “It’s the Arctic’s turn.” in Paragraph 1?| A．The Arctic is pictured as an icy land of pure white snow. |
| B．The Arctic has also been polluted by plastics. |
| C．The Arctic is the last really clean place on Earth. |
| D．People still knew nothing about the Arctic. |
| A．very tiny pieces of plastics. | B．like dust. |
| C．larger than 5 millimeters. | D．mixed with snow. |
| A．They can find ways into our bodies. | B．They can stay in our body for a long time |
| C．They may lead to lung cancer. | D．They are small enough. |
| A．Plastic snow falls from the sky. | B．Microplastics contain rubber or chemicals. |
| C．The Arctic is an icy land of pure white snow. | D．Rivers and oceans are in danger. |
1. What are the speakers mainly talking about?
| A．A terrible storm. | B．A big earthquake. | C．A heavy rain. |
| A．This morning. | B．Last night. | C．Two days ago. |
| A．The line is busy. |
| B．The power is down in that area. |
| C．Her parents are sleeping. |
| A．Houston. | B．New York. | C．Los Angeles. |
7 . Extreme heat often brings extreme wildfires, and this year is no exception, with heat waves fueling giant outbreaks of fires in the western United States and Canada, as well as across the Mediterranean and in Siberia. However, the wildfires can have the opposite effect on temperatures, cooling Earth's surface regionally and globally.
Thick wildfire smoke can temporarily block sunlight near the ground, causing regional temperatures to drop by several degrees. Wildfire smoke can also have global cooling effects by making clouds in the lower atmosphere more reflective or blocking sunlight in the upper atmosphere, similar to what a volcanic eruption does.
Scientists have only recently begun studying these effects, with Australia's record 2019-2020 bushfire season marking the first time researchers detected wildfire smoke-caused global cooling. The effect is far too small to balance human-caused global warming, but beyond that, researchers say it's too early to predict what it means for the broader climate system. But with fire seasons growing severer around the world and this summer witnessing much extreme fire weather in North America and elsewhere, the search for answers is growing increasingly urgent.
Scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research reported that those Australian fires poured so much smoke into the Southern Hemisphere's atmosphere which caused a “strong and rapid” global cooling effect of about 0.06℃ (0.01°F). According to the lead study author John Fasullo, this was largely due to how smoke particles interact with clouds in the lower atmosphere.
While Fasullo's research highlights the cooling effects of smoke in the lower atmosphere, on occasion, wildfire smoke rushes into the higher atmosphere. There, it can have additional effects on the climate, which is something that is poorly known. “We might still be in the initial stage of understanding how large and how important the effects of these wildfires are,” says Sergey Khaykin, a fire weather expert at Sorbonne University in France.
1. What does the second paragraph mainly talk about?| A．Wildfire breaks out more often now. | B．Wildfire smoke cools Earth's surface. |
| C．Regional temperatures increase due to wildfire. | D．Volcanic eruption affects the upper atmosphere. |
| A．They are too small to be noticed. | B．They can be accurately predicted |
| C．They deserve an in-depth study. | D．They can improve the global climate. |
| A．By giving an example. | B．By listing figures. |
| C．By making comparisons. | D．By doing an experiment. |
| A．Climate change is in need of a global solution. |
| B．The higher wildfire smoke rushes, the cooler it gets. |
| C．Weather experts are satisfied with Fasullo's research. |
| D．The influence of wildfires needs to be explored further. |
1. What issue are the scientists working on?
| A．Climate change. | B．Electric vehicles. | C．Public transport. |
| A．Luxembourg. | B．Germany. | C．The United States. |
| A．In July 2019. | B．In January 2020. | C．In March 2020. |
1. What are the speakers mainly talking about?
| A．A terrible storm. | B．A big earthquake. | C．A heavy rain. |
| A．This morning. | B．Last night. | C．Two days ago. |
| A．The line is busy. |
| B．The power is down in that ares. |
| C．Her parents are sleeping. |
| A．Houston. | B．New York. | C．Los Angeles. |
