1. What will the woman’s speech mainly be about?
| A．Greenhouse gas. | B．Wind power. | C．Coal resources. |
| A．Expressing wrong facts. |
| B．Forgetting her speech. |
| C．Missing the bus to the Wolf Hall. |
| A．At 3:30 p.m. | B．At 4:00 p.m. | C．At 6:00 p.m. |
Green Hills, Clear Water, Blue Sky is a project that was set up
All in all, people and the government should work side by side to take care of the Earth.
1. What is the relationship between the speakers?
| A．A couple. | B．Colleagues. | C．Classmates. |
| A．Cans. | B．Paper. | C．Plastic bottles. |
| A．Stop using paper cups. |
| B．Prepare boxes for different wastes. |
| C．Reduce the use of paper, plastic and cans. |
4 . 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! |
5 . Buildings, pollution, poor soil, insects, and even car crashes can add to tree loss. However, between 2016 and 2021, the city of Seattle in Washington state was reported to have lost about 255 hectares of tree covering, for which climate change was blamed. Then came the driest summer on Seattle’s record books in 2022. The drier conditions and hotter temperatures have left many trees with brown leaves, naked branches, and extreme seeding. These are all signs of tree stress.
According to Nicholas Johnson, a tree expert for Seattle City Parks, if this warming climate continues we are going to have a lot of trees die. Just like people, under the heat trees get weak.
Researchers from France and Australia studied the effect of hotter temperatures and less rain on more than 3,100 trees and plants in 164 cities across 78 countries. They found about half the trees in the cities were experiencing climate conditions beyond their limits. They also found that by 2050 nearly all trees planted in Australian cities will not survive.
It’s not the gradual change but these extreme swings of too much water, too little water, too much wind, and terrible storms that are going to cause these rapid changes. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina destroyed about 10 percent of the trees in New Orleans, Louisiana. And in 2021, Hurricane Ida uprooted many new tree plantings.
To settle the problem of tree loss, non-native trees, have been brought to cities for some time. In the city of Bellevue, Washington, experts are growing different kinds of trees specifically for climate change. On city grounds, they are planting baby giant sequoias, just a few centimeters tall. The giant sequoias are not native to the Pacific Northwest area. But the trees can deal with the lack of rain and insects. Once these trees are established, they grow incredibly fast. Having many different kinds and ages of trees is important to keeping urban forests alive.
“Life always finds a way,” said Nicholas Johnson. “And in Seattle, people are helping life find a way.”
1. What is the first paragraph mainly about?| A．Natural reasons for tree loss. | B．The terrible climate in Seattle in recent years. |
| C．The bad condition of trees in Seattle. | D．The signs of tree stress. |
| A．Buildings. | B．Pollution. |
| C．Car crashes. | D．Extreme climate. |
| A．By improving planting methods. | B．By changing the kinds of trees. |
| C．By treating trees as babies. | D．By improving the soil quality. |
| A．Positive. | B．Negative. | C．Doubtful. | D．Uninterested. |
6 . The city of Marquette in Michigan is closing a section of a road to vehicular traffic every night to protect migrating salamanders (蝾螈). From 8 p. m. to 8 a. m. daily until April 15 or until the migration is completed, a section of Peter White Drive in Presque Isle Park will be closed, the city announced.
“Protecting the blue-spotted salamanders’ migration is vital, as they are an indicator species, informing us about the health of our environment,” said Kathleen Henry, Superior Watershed Partnership (SWP) special projects coordinator (协调员) and education specialist. The salamanders spend the cold winter under-ground. Then every spring, they make their way to the water where they lay eggs.
It was in 2018 that Eli Bieri, a former Northern Michigan University student, noticed vehicles were killing hundreds of these migrating salamanders. “We would see thousands and thousands of salamanders crossing the street in just one night,” Bieri told the Detroit Free Press. “It was really amazing — until we see cars pass by and squish salamanders. That really troubled me — it kept me awake at night.” He enlisted the help of the SWP, who reached out to Marquette city officials. Last spring they got the relevant stretch of road within the park temporary closed to evening and overnight vehicular traffic.
In 2019, before the closure, they found 429 salamander carcasses (尸体) in the road. Last year, they counted only 3 carcasses. With that success demonstrated, city officials are doing the same this year. “The goal is to apply our science to wildlife management,” Bieri said. “To be able to see in-person the science applied to successful management practices was very satisfying.”
1. What’s the significance of protecting the salamanders?| A．Salamanders can offer great financial benefits to the governments. |
| B．Protecting salamanders can greatly reduce traffic accidents at night. |
| C．Salamanders are a great sign for our environment’s conditions. |
| D．Salamanders are main food for other living creatures near the sea. |
| A．Avoid. | B．Kill. | C．Feed. | D．Ignore. |
| A．Successful. | B．Concerning. | C．Insufficient. | D．Ridiculous. |
| A．What Salamanders Mean to Us |
| B．A Proper Way to Protect Our Earth |
| C．Ways to Protect Salamanders |
| D．A 12-Hour Closure for Wildlife |
7 . Don’t Get Lost in the Term of Eco-tourism
Given that tourism produces harmful emissions, the term “green travel” can seem contradictory. Green travel will not solve the climate crisis, but knowing what to look for can allow you to make choices that do less harm and more good if you do choose to travel.
Don’t get hung up on the terms.
The key to better understanding and identifying sustainable travel options is recognizing that it’s actually actions—not words—that matter. Definitions can vary from person to person.
Ask questions.
Before you book a tour or hotel, prepare questions. For example: Do they support the local economy? Are they ensuring the preservation of the natural environment?
You don’t have to plan a responsible travel and the ever-changing term alone. Contact organizations that provide training, accreditation and transparent standards. You can also join responsible travel communities on social media, where you can ask questions, share resources and learn alongside other travelers who share your values.
Start now.
You can’t do everything at once right away. Decide what you can do. Maybe it’s contributing to a conservation or community project.
| A．Lean on and learn from others. |
| B．Find an operator who shares your personal values. |
| C．But it’s the truth behind the term that really matters. |
| D．Ask what the local government can provide you with. |
| E．Search for the answers such as data and policies on a company’s website. |
| F．Here are some expert tips on how to understand the vocabulary of green travel. |
| G．Maybe it’s immersing yourself in one destination rather than rushing around to see three. |
8 . The Okapi Wildlife Reserve, located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to one-sixth of the remaining wild okapi in the world. It protects many other wildlife species as well as one-fifth of the Ituri forest. But despite its status, the reserve is under threat from human activities.
Mining, deforestation (森林破坏), and illegal hunting are all threatening the reserve, and criminals have murdered several people, including forest guards, since 2012. Forest loss is expanding rapidly. In 2020, the most deforestation in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve since records began in 2002 was recorded via satellite data. Since 2002, the area has lost about 7% of its total forest cover. Most recently, satellite data shows deforestation along the Ituri River in late 2021, likely from illegal gold mining.
“Miners are actually eating the reserve out of its wildlife by hunting animals for food. There is almost no wildlife left around the mine itself, and wildlife numbers are greatly reduced around mining towns,” said John Lukas, co-founder of the Okapi Conservation Project.
Protecting the reserve is important for the endangered okapi and other wildlife that call the region home, but preserving the area’s forests is of particular significance in dealing with climate change.
“The forests of Congo, more than forests in the Amazon and in Asia, store carbon even in times of drought and rising temperatures,” explained Lukas. “Preserving the forests not only provides habitats for okapi, elephants and chimpanzees but gives humans time to adjust our source of energy to be more sustainable and carbon neutral (碳中和). Hopefully the Western world will financially support the countries of the Congo basin to value their forests as sources of life and not just a kind of goods to be sold.”
1. What happened to the forests in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve?| A．Forest guards hunting. |
| B．Mining via satellites. |
| C．About 7% forest loss in 21 years. |
| D．One-fifth of wild animals leaving. |
| A．Because of being killed for food. |
| B．Because of the high temperature. |
| C．Because of no habitat. |
| D．Because of the deadly diseases. |
| A．Gold mines are in the forests. |
| B．The forests affect climate. |
| C．The forests are home to wild species. |
| D．A good life can be led by selling trees. |
| A．Current situation of the Okapi Wildlife Reserve |
| B．Gold mines found in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve |
| C．Protecting the wildlife in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve |
| D．Endangered Okapi reserve threatened by human activities |
9 . King Canute couldn’t stop the ocean’s tide from rolling in — can Africa hold back the desert?That’s certainly what the continent is tying to do with its proposed “Great Green Wall”, 800km (almost 500 miles) worth of trees that officials hope will stop the advancement of the Sahara Desert, which has been rapidly expanding southward.
The idea was introduced in the 1970s when the once-rich region turned barren (贫瘠的) due to climate change and intensive land use. But it’s not a new idea; China has its own desert vegetation project to hold back the Gobi Desert! Thanks to the Chinese plan, the African project aims to plant 100 million hectares of trees by 2030 across the entire Africa. The initiative is a decade in, and around 15% completed, and there have already been benefits for many communities and wildlife. It’s bringing life back to the continent’s degraded landscapes at an unprecedented scale, providing not only food security and jobs but a reason to stay for the millions who live along its path.
The creators of the wall hope it will bring an urgently needed solution to the threats facing the African continent, creating 10 million jobs in rural areas, as well as preventing 250 million tons of carbon. The initiative is Africa-driven, which for those on the continent, is vital, and may hold the key to success. “The Great Green Wall…is about ownership, and that has been the failure of development aid because people were never identified with it,” said Elvis Paul Tangam, African Union Commissioner for the Sahara and Sahel Great Green Wall Initiative.“But this time they identify. This is the very thing of us!”
The wall may seem like a moonshot, but all the best ideas usually are. As Thomas Sankara, former president of Burkina Faso said in 1985, “You can not carry out fundamental change without a certain degree of madness. The courage to turn your back on the old formulas, the courage to invent the future.”
1. What does Africa’s “Great Green Wall” aim for?| A．Offering more jobs for locals. | B．Stopping the expansion of desert. |
| C．Creating a harmonious society. | D．Improving African landscapes. |
| A．From their practices of planting trees. | B．From the process of stopping flooding. |
| C．From China’s success in desert control. | D．From Africans’ wisdom and hard work. |
| A．African Unions. | B．All advocates. | C．Land owners. | D．All Africans. |
| A．Daring. | B．Effortless. | C．Critical. | D．Doubtful. |
10 . A change to organic dairy farming around the nature reserves could significantly reduce damage done to the areas by nitrogen produced by solid waste from cows, according to a research.
Concentrated animal farming near Natura 2000 areas was banned in 2002. However, 800 farms still remain in the outer edge of these protected areas, some of which are particularly damaging to the environment.
Researchers looked at 34 organic farms to see how organic farming practices compared with those large-scale factory farms. They found that cows at organic farms produced 22% less nitrogen in their waste, while the amount of emissions per hectare(公顷)was 53% lower.
“The reason why organic farming is less polluting is that farms generally have fewer cows and don’t use fertilizer,” said researchers. Organic cows are also put out to grassland more often and aren’t given concentrates(精饲料)to the same degree, which also limits emissions.
While organic dairy farms would make a good protective barrier against nitrogen around the nature reserves, this doesn’t hold true for organic chicken and pig farms, the research showed.
“Despite the good it would do, not many dairy farmers are likely to make the change,” researcher Gerard Migchels said. “The organic sector is currently relatively small. Growth is only possible if there is enough market demand. That would make it possible to come to a realistic price for organic milk,” he said.
In 2019, some 40,000 cows in the Netherlands were farmed organically, accounting for just 1% of the Dutch herd of 3.8 million.
According to a government report, 46% of nitrogen compound(复合物)pollution around nature reserves is down to agriculture, to which dairy farming contributes 60%. The new law on nitrogen emissions aims to reduce pollution by 40% by 2025 and 74% by 2035.
1. What can we infer about organic dairy farming around nature reserves from the text?| A．It helps dairy farmers collect nitrogen. | B．It is relatively environmentally friendly. |
| C．It has replaced traditional dairy farming. | D．It saves dairy farmers a great deal of trouble. |
| A．They eat less grass. | B．They are often larger in size. |
| C．Their waste contains less nitrogen. | D．Their waste can also serve as fertilizer. |
| A．Rather hopeless. | B．Fairly content. |
| C．Particularly surprised. | D．Kind of sad. |
| A．To introduce the benefit of organic dairy farming. |
| B．To compare different types of farming practices. |
| C．To seek financial support for organic dairy farming. |
| D．To encourage people to drink more organic milk. |
