When garden designer Jane Gates moved to the Sussex countryside in 2015, she fell in love with a traditional black barn conversion(改建的房屋), and set about creating a droughts-resistant garden around it.
Over the years, Gates
Gates’ garden is a big gravel(砾石)one.
1. What probably happened in Fountain Hills during the winter?
| A．It didn’t rain much. | B．All animals died off. | C．Many chemicals were used. |
| A．People got sick easily. |
| B．Black birds were missing. |
| C．The farmland couldn’t produce food. |
| A．They were eaten by birds. |
| B．They were dying off themselves. |
| C．They were killed by the government. |
| A．Tell people the importance of bees. |
| B．Teach farmers how to grow food. |
| C．Bring bees from the town. |
China will establish a new batch of national parks, including Huanghekou, Qianjiangyuan-Baishanzu and Kalamayli, in a steady and
Speaking at the second National Park Forum held in Xining, capital of Qinghai province, Guan said China has adopted the strictest measures
China’s national parks are specific land or sea areas
In 2021, China established the first batch of national parks, with
“The Sanjiangyuan park realized the full protection of the source of the Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang
“Efforts
Years ago, the authors conducted human-wildlife conflict surveys in the Tibet Autonomous Region’s counties,
This effort greatly expanded knowledge of the snow leopard’s distribution in this region,
Importantly, in the past few years, a number of major transportation infrastructure (基础设施) projects
5 . The amount of sea ice surrounding Antarctica has reached its lowest level since modern records began, for the second year in a row. Sea ice is frozen seawater that floats on the ocean’s surface around the planet’s polar regions. It forms at much lower sustained temperatures than freshwater ice does, at around-1.8 degrees Celsius. Sea ice builds up during the winter until it reaches its maximum extent, and then melts (融化) away in the spring and summer until it reaches its minimum extent.
In Antarctica, where summer and winter are relative to the Northern Hemisphere, sea ice normally reaches its maximum extent in September when sea ice covers around 7 million square miles. At its minimum extent at the end of February, historically only around I million square miles remains. Last year the minimum sea ice extent was less than 772, 000 square miles, the lowest total since scientists began recording sea ice extent with satellites in 1979. On 21 February this year, that number had reduced to just 691, 000 square miles, which is roughly 40 per cent less than the average between 1981 and 2010.
The record-breaking minimum was expected after an extraordinarily hot January which was the seventh-warmest since records began 174 years ago. “By the end of January, we could tell it was only a matter of time until the record was broken,” said Will Hobbs, an Antarctic sea ice expert at the University of Tasmania and the Australian Antarctic Program Partnership. Antarctica’s minimum sea ice extent will likely continue to decrease in the coming decades as global temperatures rise as a result of human-caused climate change and more multiyear ice, which acts as a seed for new ice growth, melts away.
Sea ice is crucial for polar predators(捕食性动物) such as penguins in Antarctica and polar bears in the Arctic, which use the ice as a platform for hunting. But the sea ice also helps stabilise ice on Antarctica. “Lower sea ice extent means that ocean waves will pound the coast of the giant ice sheet，further reducing ice shelves around Antarctic,” said Ted Scambos, a senior research scientist at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences.
1. What can we know about sea ice?| A．It can be seen on any ocean’s surface. | B．It forms at about -1.8 ℃. |
| C．It melts all the year round. | D．There is more sea ice than freshwater ice. |
| A．There are two seasons in Antarctica. |
| B．Scientists have been recording the change of sea ice. |
| C．Sea ice in Antarctica has been on decline in the past decades. |
| D．The ecology in Antarctica needs to be improved. |
| A．The earth becomes warmer. | B．Multiyear ice disappears completely. |
| C．Ocean waves destroy the giant ice sheet. | D．Human beings occupy Antarctica. |
| A．Human activities have caused global warming |
| B．Measures should be taken to stop sea ice decreasing |
| C．Sea ice is significant for polar animals |
| D．Antarctica’s sea ice reaches its lowest level since records began |
6 . With needle-like teeth and sharp pointed nose, a gray nurse shark isn’t a creature that most people would want to meet. But Shalise Leesfield isn’t one of them.
The Australian teenager couldn’t think of a better creature to meet when scuba diving off the coast of South West Rocks, near her home in Port Macquarie, a coastal town north of Sydney.
“Many people say gray nurse sharks look frightening, but I think they are the sweetest animals ever,” she says.
The slow-moving sharks, which like to stay near the sea floor in warm, shallow waters, are — for the most part — harmless to humans. But the gray nurse shark is under threat. Populations have fallen and habitats have been lost due to ocean warming and human development, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which lists the species as seriously endangered.
One area where they can still be seen is Fish Rock, an underwater cavern (洞穴) with a unique ecosystem, 40 miles up the coast from Leesfield’s home. But fishers are allowed access within 200 meters of Fish Rock. This is leading to a drop in the number of gray nurse sharks and increased pollution, says Leesfield. She wants to enlarge the no-fishing area, establishing a protected zone.
With Leesfield’s efforts, the area has been nominated as a Hope Spot, which is part of the mission Blue program launched by famous oceanographer Sylvia Earle that identifies places as critically important to the ocean’s health and supports protection.
“When people think about Hope Spots, they think about Sydney Harbour or the Great Barrier Reef. So to get Fish Rock up on that list is just such incredible news,” she says.
Now, Leesfield is working with politician Cate Faehrmann, marine spokesperson for the Australian Greens party in New South Wales, to legalize protection of the sharks and make the no-fishing zone protected by the law.
1. What does “them” refer to in the first paragraph?| A．Gray nurse sharks. | B．Common people. |
| C．People fearing gray nurse sharks. | D．Fishers. |
| A．The development of tourism in the ocean. |
| B．The sharks’ preference to stay in shallow waters. |
| C．The feature of gray nurse sharks’ slow-moving. |
| D．Fishers’ being permitted within 200 meters of Fish Rock. |
| A．Recommend the Fish Rock as a Hope Spot being protected. |
| B．Identify the Hope Spot area as being critically important. |
| C．Make Fish Rock more popular among fishers nearby. |
| D．Make laws to protect the no-fishing zone near Fish Rock. |
| A．The Australian teenager is on a mission to protect sharks |
| B．Increased pollution leads to gray sharks endangered |
| C．Gray nurse sharks are in danger! |
| D．Let’s establish a protected zone! |
Lightning is very common but one of the most powerful weather forces to hit the Earth.
If you are outside,
If you are indoors during a lightning storm, you could still be
The Great Barrier Reef is almost the size of Japan, which can be seen from outer space. The reef is made up of living coral
The candidates are supposed to find out
The job was finally offered to Ben Southall from the UK. Ben did a lot when he worked as
Every Wednesday at 7 p.m., a group of runners from different countries gather at a bar in Shanghai before
10 . Have you ever stopped to consider how empty the world would look without trees? Below are five of the top benefits that trees provide.
Trees help you heal faster. Natural environments, including forests, help you reach a more positive state of mind.
Trees reduce air pollution and improve respiratory (呼吸的) health. Trees take in many harmful pollutants from our environment.
Trees provide oxygen. Trees are like the lungs of our Earth. They supply us with oxygen while taking away our carbon dioxide and ask for nothing in return. A single tree can provide enough oxygen for four people.
Trees cool cities. Trees cool things down by offering shade and through evapotranspiration (蒸腾作用).
| A．Trees cheer you up! |
| B．Trees help reduce the effects of climate change. |
| C．This, in turn, affects your overall state of wellness. |
| D．In fact, large forests can influence regional weather patterns. |
| E．So plant more trees around your home if you want to feel cooler. |
| F．And of course, trees also provide plenty of oxygen for birds and other wildlife. |
| G．For example, in the US, forests remove 17.4 million tons of pollution per year. |
