2 . Introduced species have a bad reputation. It has been believed that the species mix in a particular place should remain as unchanged as possible. But this is just an opinion. Other opinions are possible. A study published recently by Dov Sax of Brown University, thus asks how the benefits of introduced species might be better assessed, so that opinions can be more informed. Specifically, he identifies several aspects for that.

Initially, whether introduced species provide direct human advantage is taken into account. Dr. Sax and his colleagues ignored crops, since their benefits are obvious. But they included transplanted grass species that have gone wild，yet provide grazing(牧草)for domestic animals, and introduced forest trees that produce wood for construction.

Another factor is their possible benefit to the ecosystem into which the introduction has happened. Such introduction is sometimes made to reduce the risk of a localised species becoming extinct. Pyne’s ground plum(李子)，native to a handful of sites in the central basins of Tennessee but now transplanted to others, falls into this category.

The last value is experienced on an emotional rather than a practical level. Lots of people feel good about native wildlife, which is generally the main motive for its conservation. But that feel-good factor can extend to introduced species as well. Such value can cut both ways, however. For example, ring-necked parakeets, an Asian and African species, have been spreading through Britain for several decades. Some find them a colourful addition to the local wildlife, others a noisy competitor for native birds.

In light of their analysis, Dr. Sax and his team therefore suggest that researchers studying introduced species should in future create a clear distinction in their studies between changes that have happened and judgments about the value of those changes. In addition, when making those judgments, they should acknowledge all types of values, rather than focusing narrowly on one or two of them.

That done, many species will surely still be accused of possible damage. But others, badly thought of in the past, may not.

1. What is Dr. Sax’s study aimed to do?

A．Kecp track of introduced species.

B．Get introduced species fully understood.

C．Compare opinions on introduced species.

D．Identify consequences of introducing species.

2. Why was Pyne’s ground plum transplanted to other places?

A．To provide graze for local animals.

B．To produce wood for construction.

C．To build a new local ecosystem.

D．To save local species from dying out.

3. How do local people react to the introduction of ring-necked parakeets?

A．They don’t care about it.

B．They consider it acceptable.

C．They can’t put up with it.

D．They hold divided opinions on it.

4. What does Dr. Sax suggest to the future researchers?

A．Focusing on main values.

B．Evaluating evident changes.

C．Analyzing previous researches.

D．Presenting all-round assessments.

3 . The students stand on a pier (码头) over the Harlem River in New York City. They stare down into the brown water. Their teacher, Mr. Rodman, pulls a long rope out of the river. Fastened to the end of the rope is a metal cage and inside are oysters (牡蛎). Taking turns, the students measure all the oysters, and then compare notes. The biggest oyster is over 2 inches long, much bigger than a healthy size for its age! They also measure the level of oxygen. As more oysters grow, the water should become clearer and hold more oxygen. Also, other animals should move in.

Oysters are soft-bodied animals, and share the underwater community with plants, fish, and other life. They are food for crabs and other animals. As new oysters grow, they attach their shells to older ones，forming big reefs with many small spaces where other animals live. Oysters eat algae (藻类). If algae grow too fast，they can decrease oxygen from the water-and even fish need oxygen to breathe!

But what happened to the oysters 100years ago in New York Harbor? Before then, lots of oysters lived in these waters. They were shipped to restaurants around the world. By the early 1900s, people were eating them faster than they could grow. Pollution was pouring into the waters. The harbor became seriously polluted. Since the 1970s, new laws have helped reduce poisonous waste. Some fish started to swim through again. But oysters were still missing-until recently.

The Billion Oyster Project began in 2014 to help bring oysters back to New York Harbor. The project has recruited (招募) more than 6,500 students at more than 100 middle schools and high schools to help grow, distribute, and study the oysters.

Finally, the students put the oysters back in the cage. Mr. Rodman lowers the cage into the river. In a few months, they will check the cage again. When the oysters are big enough, they will be moved to join a healthy reef in the middle of the harbor.

1. Why do students come to the pier over the Harlem River?

A．To do research.	B．To go fishing.
C．To buy oysters.	D．To clean up the river.

2. What is the second paragraph mainly about?

A．What oysters are like.	B．How oysters get fed.
C．Why algae grow fast.	D．What role oysters play.

3. What can we learn about oysters in New York Harbor?

A．People’s love of eating oysters boosted their numbers.

B．More oysters than before lived in waters in the 1900s.

C．Polluted water was partly to blame for the missing of oysters.

D．New laws in the 1970s were crucial to oysters’ recovery.

4. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．Oysters Raised in New York Harbor

B．The Harlem River Polluted Heavily

C．Nature’s Helpful Crew Brought Back

D．Teacher Devoted to Wildlife Protection

5 . Coral reefs are the rainforests of the ocean. They exist on vast scales and are equally important havens of biodiversity. Reefs occupy 0.1% of the oceans.     1    

Corals are useful to people. Without the protection which reefs afford from crashing waves, low-lying islands such as the Maldives would have flooded long ago, and a billion people would lose food or income. However, reefs are under threat from rising sea temperatures. Heat causes the algae (海藻) with which corals are living together to generate toxins (毒素) that force those coral to leave.     2    

Research groups around the world are coming up with plans of action to see if that will help, such as identifying naturally heat-resistant corals and cross-breeding such corals to create a new type.     3     Without carbon reduction and decline in local, coral-killing pollution, even resistant corals will not survive the century.

Doubters doubt humanity will get its act together in time to make much difference.

    4     Carbon targets are being set and ocean pollution is being dealt with. Countries that share responsibilities for reefs are starting to act together. Scientific workarounds can also be found. Natural currents can be applied to facilitate mass breeding. Sites of the greatest ecological and economical importance can be identified to maximize bang for buck.

    5     It could serve as a blueprint for other ecosystems. Hard-core greens — those who think that all habitats should be kept unspoiled — may not approve. But when entire ecosystems are facing destruction, the cost of doing nothing is too great to bear.

A．This can cause a coral’s death.

B．But there are grounds for optimism.

C．And they host a quarter of marine species.

D．Coral’s global ecosystem services are worth up to $10trn a year.

E．This mix of natural activity and human intervention is important.

F．This research can also be brought to bear on trying to save entire ecosystems.

G．However, the assisted evolution of corals does not meet with universal enthusiasm.

6 . From Dec 7 to 19, delegates from around the world met at the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (also known as COP15), in Montreal, Canada. After two weeks of intense debate at COP15, delegates agreed on Dec 19 to adopt a landmark plan to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. “Finally, we reached our destiny. We adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework,” Huang Runqiu, COP15 president and China’s minister of ecology and environment, announced on Dec 19.

The new framework is a commitment by 196 parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity to conserve at least 30 percent of the Earth’s land and ocean area by the next decade. It also will increase the expected annual financial assistance from developed countries through 2030 to help developing nations with biodiversity protection.

The aim of COP15 is to ensure biodiversity loss is changed by 2030, and that humans are able to live in harmony with nature by 2050.To realize these objectives can be very challenging. At COP10 in Nagoya, Japan in 2010, the parties agreed on the 20 Aichi Biodiversity Targets (爱知生物多样性目标). But, as of now, none of the 20 objectives has been fully realized.

It is important to turn consensus into effective actions. Yet, as recent talks have shown, an aspect of effective international action on stopping climate change is the cooperation of developed countries. Developed countries, however, have fallen short of their responsibility as they have failed to fulfill the obligations according to the COP convention to provide funding and technology to poorer nations who lack the means to combat climate change.

To solve this problem, the framework creates a new biodiversity fund within the UN’s existing Global Environment Facility. This came about as a compromise between developing nations, which wanted a new fund, and developed countries, which did not. In addition, a global youth initiative (倡议) was also released, hoping young people to be leaders and advocates for biodiversity conservation.

1. What is the aim of COP15?

A．To save at least 30 percent of the Earth’s land and ocean area by next decade.

B．To stop biodiversity loss and promote harmony between man and nature.

C．To strengthen the cooperation between developed and developing countries

D．To provide funding and technology to poorer nations to fight climate change.

2. Why is COP10 mentioned in the passage?

A．To show the parties didn’t fulfill the obligation

B．To show the objectives were too high to realize

C．To show it is difficult to realize the objectives of COP 15

D．To show Japan didn’t hold the meeting successfully.

3. What does the underlined word “consensus” mean in paragraph 4?

A．Statistic.

B．Emotion.

C．Intervention.

D．Agreement.

4. Which of the following is a suitable title for the text?

A．International cooperation is important.

B．A new framework is made in the COP15.

C．Joint efforts are needed to fight climate change.

D．Historic COP 15 deals are released on biodiversity.

7 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入一个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

In their spare time, most young people like to enjoy     1     (they)and play on their smartphones. But Li Ruxue is different. He often walks around a forest alone,     2     (isolate)himself from the outside world. “Though the lifestyle is a little bit tiring, it’s meaningful,” he often said.

In college, Li actively took part in field research. After graduation, he joined a gibbon protection organization where what he mainly needs to do is     3     (pick)up gibbon waste. The gibbon is a top-level state-protected animal     4     population is smaller than that of wild giant pandas. So over the past four and a half years, Li     5     (follow)gibbons and collecting their waste for researchers. Li said the job relies heavily on luck and     6     (persevere). But he has never regretted his choice or felt alone.

Like Li, Chu Wenwen, 27, has also worked to protect animals. As her father is engaged     7     wildlife research, Chu has long been surrounded by wild animals. She followed in her father’s footsteps. Listed as     8     first-class state-protected animal in China, the Mengxin beaver is found only along the Ulungur River in Xinjiang’s Altay prefecture.To protect them, Chu initiated the “beaver canteen” program, which     9     (eventual)attracted over 1 million internet users to donate snack money.

According to Fan Pengfei,     10     (ecology)protection as an industry can provide only a few jobs,most of which are in research institutes and nongovernmental organizations. He has seen more and more young people take part-time jobs as journalists, photographers and so on to raise public awareness of wildlife protection. “Young people are the future of the world and the future of global biodiversity conservation,” said Fan.

8 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

Melati and Isabel deeply love their home on the island, surrounded by tropical rain forests, green fields, and a vast ocean. Enjoying a swim at their local beach was once a daily pleasure for them. But when Melati was fifteen, and Isabel just ten, the sisters started to lose their enthusiasm for swimming in the waters near their borne. More often than not, plastic bags would be around them as they swam and some were scattered on the beach. They got really upset about that.

Melati didn’t think much about it until one day her teacher gave a lesson on some world heroes. Each of those people had sparked movements of positive changes in the world. They believed in the impact they could have and they did inspire more people to do something meaningful. After school, Melati walked home slowly in silence, concerned about the vast amount of plastic rubbish on the beach. The heroes crossed her mind. If they could do it, we could do it too, she thought. The idea lit her up. She couldn’t wait to share what she thought with Isabel and quickened her pace.

“So many plastic bags around! The beach is dirty and messy! It’s so terrible! We have lost the clean and beautiful beach. Can’t we do something to get it back?” Melati said heartily. Isabel felt a bit puzzled at what to do, but she also had a strong desire to do something. Picturing a beach as fascinating as before in mind, the pair jumped with joy.

They talked a lot, anxious to know how Dad and Mom would respond to their ideas. That night when the family sat by the dinner table, the sisters eagerly got their ideas across. While Mom and Dad listened to the girls carefully, their eyes shone. “How amazing that would be! We are so proud of you!” Dad exclaimed. Mom came up, gave them a thumb up and hugged the sisters.

注意：
1．续写词数应为150左右；
2．请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

Melati and Isabel decided to make a positive impact straight away.

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One month later, Melati received a call from the local newspaper.

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