1 . Coastal communities around the world are using coir, material from coconuts (a kind of large fruit), to reduce shoreline erosion (侵蚀). People use coir to build barriers, protecting beaches from getting washed away by the force of waves. The material is common and costs a lot less than barriers made of other materials, like wood, steel or concrete.
One project is being built along part of an eroded riverbank in Neptune, New Jersey. The effort has already greatly improved areas that were badly damaged by erosion during Superstorm Sandy in 2012. “We’re always trying to reduce wave energy while protecting the shoreline,” said Tim Dillingham, the director of the group who runs the project. “And whenever we can, we like to use nature-based solutions.”
The coconut-based material is designed to break down over time. But before it does, it is sometimes pre-seeded with shoreline plants and grasses. The coir material holds the plants in place as they grow, finally breaking down and leaving the established plants in place to keep the shoreline from eroding.
In Boston, Julia Hopkins from Northeastern University is also using coir, wood chips and other material to create barriers to slow the force of waves. A test project has four coconut-based barriers in waterways around Boston. Hopkins is pleased with the results she has seen so far. She said the coconut material is not costly and is actually being recycled rather than thrown away.
The method does not always work, however. In 2016, the Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary (a wildlife protection area) in Edgartown, Massachusetts, built barriers around a salt marsh, an area of coastal grassland, that had eroded in the past. While the effort did help reduce erosion for a while, the material did not last long because of strong waves.
“It got blown out many times,” said Suzan Bellincampi, the sanctuary’s director.“ We had it in place for a few years and we decided not to fix it again. The project was really interesting in terms of what we wanted to do and how we changed it. It works in some places; it doesn’t work in all places.”
1. What are communities near the coast doing?A.They are making use of wave energy. |
B.They are building barriers to prepare for storms. |
C.They are fighting to stop shoreline erosion. |
D.They are developing new materials from coconuts. |
A.Well developed. | B.Ready to plant. | C.Newly planted. | D.Hard to find. |
A.Carefree. | B.Favorable. | C.Unclear. | D.Doubtful. |
A.To encourage more places to follow the method. |
B.To stress the importance of using the method to protect nature. |
C.To show that the method is not a one-size-fits-all solution. |
D.To explain how to change the method according to local conditions. |
Marcus was really excited to watch a solar eclipse(日食) in Bloomfield on a sunny Saturday afternoon. He set up the telescope he’d borrowed from his teacher on an open area near the baseball field, where the school baseball team was practicing. Marcus didn’t like baseball; he was more interested in the stars. A solar eclipse was a special event, and he didn’t want to miss it.
While the baseball team practiced, Marcus paid no attention to them. As he looked through his telescope at the sun, the moon started covering it, creating a cool crescent shape (月牙形). Marcus was amazed by it. He wished he could share this moment with someone who loved it as much as he did.
Then, the baseball coach, Bernardi, announced over the loud speaker that the baseball game was put off for 30 minutes because of the solar eclipse. Coach Bernardi’s announcement brought Mareus back. to reality. He realized he was alone near the baseball field, holding his telescope. He had been so into the eclipse that he didn’t notice a baseball flying toward him. It hit the telescope and broke the lens(镜片).
Marcus was angry, and he shouted, wondering who had thrown the baseball at him. He picked up the ball and headed toward the baseball field. He was worried about telling his teacher, Mr. Baker, about the broken telescope. Sure, it wasn’t his fault, but he had positioned the telescope near the baseball field, and he still felt he should take responsibility.
As Marcus stepped onto the baseball field, he realized some fans and players were watching the eclipse. Each person was trying to get a chance to look through the telescopes that some fans had brought to watch the eclipse. Marcus noticed a boy running toward him. ”I’m really sorry about what happened with your telescope. I didn’t mean to break it. I should have been more careful," said the boy, with a sincere expression.
注意:1.续写词数应为150 左右;2.请按如下格式在相应位置作答。
Marcus understood that it was just an accident.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________After a while, it was Marcus’s turn to look through the telescope.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________As with any other cuisine, appearance, smell and taste are extremely important in enjoying Chinese food. Besides these basic elements, however, there is something unique
Another element of Chinese cuisine is the art of cutting. So you might like to consider the way that the ingredients are cut
4 . Disagreements have arisen in Northern France after many ancient standing stones were damaged to make way for a new hardware chain(五金连锁店).
About 39 stones, dating back at least 7,000 years, were removed from the site, which sits on one of Europe’s most famous prehistoric attractions, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported. “The site has been damaged,” local archaeologist Christian Obeltz told AFP.
Carnac, often described as “French Stonehenge”, is famous for its spreading fields of large tall stones. The stones are arranged in long, straight lines and, according to the Carnac Tourist Office, it is the largest collection of this type of standing stone in the world. The two main sites alone, at Menec and Kermarjo, house nearly 3,000 standing monuments covering over 4 miles.
The purpose of this ancient curiosity is still unknown. Many believe it may have had something to do with religion, while others think it could have served as a farming calendar. One idea even suggests that the stones are connected to a sad event that happened to a Roman army.
The Regional Office of Cultural Affairs for Brittany, which is responsible for protecting the cultural monument, made a statement on disagreements over building the store on Wednesday. “Given the uncertain and non-major character of the remains, damage to a site of historical value has not been established,” the statement said. However, Obeltz mentioned that there hasn’t been enough research in the area to decide whether the stones were historically important.
News of building the store has caused a storm of angry comments on social media, with many expressing their thoughts on the loss of the ancient stones. “Poor Carnac! The commodification(商品化) of the world prepares the man without memories,” said Philippe de Villiers, France’s former Secretary of State for Culture.
“In Carnac,39 standing stone monuments survived Julius Caesar, World War I and World War II. But not Mr. DIY!” the Twitter account Dom Revolution wrote.
1. What happened to the 39 stones?A.They were sold to a store. | B.They were worn with time. |
C.They were moved away. | D.They were used to build a building. |
A.Its unique shape. | B.Its large size. |
C.Its long rich history. | D.Its connection with an army. |
A.The site has low historical value. | B.The site needs government protection. |
C.The site is not very well-known. | D.The site should have been studied more. |
A.To share people’s last memories of Carnac. |
B.To stress the importance of protecting Carnac. |
C.To show public anger at Carnac’s situation. |
D.To give more information about Carnac’s history. |
5 . An elderly woman using a hairdryer as a radar gun (雷达枪) has become the talk of the town in Montana.
Patti, a grandmother living near the busy Glacier National Park, observed that
Her creative approach to road safety didn’t go
Patti shared her story on The Kelly Clarkson Show, explaining, “We’re very
Her story serves as a
A.parking | B.speeding | C.accident | D.fight |
A.Curious | B.Surprised | C.Afraid | D.Concerned |
A.hands | B.head | C.plan | D.pockets |
A.enjoyed | B.protected | C.stationed | D.cleaned |
A.record | B.check | C.limit | D.mark |
A.unpunished | B.unsolved | C.unnoticed | D.undoubted |
A.confused | B.frightened | C.satisfied | D.amused |
A.hobbies | B.experiences | C.approaches | D.efforts |
A.congratulation | B.appreciation | C.expectation | D.satisfaction |
A.trusted | B.memorized | C.presented | D.comforted |
A.close | B.blessed | C.beneficial | D.unique |
A.break in | B.show up | C.pull over | D.flashed by |
A.test | B.reminder | C.lesson | D.symbol |
A.encouragement | B.improvement | C.creativity | D.generosity |
A.promise | B.decision | C.profit | D.difference |
1. 劳动经历;
2. 劳动感受。
注意:1. 词数80左右;
2. 可适当增加细节,使内容充实,行文连贯。
Dear Bob,
How is everything going?
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Best regards,
Li Hua
7 . In September 2021, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declared 23 species to be newly extinct. Where traditional conservation methods have stopped, there may be another option, one that’s highly debatable, to pull a species back from extinction: cloning.
“Cloning is one type of genetic rescue. Personally, it is a necessary approach used to restore genetic diversity in a population and lower the risk of extinction. Today, we can clone some mammals, fish and amphibians,” says Ben Novak, working to boost biodiversity through genetic rescue of endangered animals. Often, when a species’ population crashes to very low levels, it undergoes a genetic bottleneck, where only a few individuals remain to pass on genes to future generations. That reduces the overall genetic diversity of the population.
In December 2020, a team of researchers cloned the first black-footed ferret named Elizabeth Ann. Today, all black-footed ferrets breed (繁殖) from only seven individuals, so every ferret is related in some way. Elizabeth Ann is a clone from a different population and has three times more genetic diversity than other ferrets alive. If she breeds successfully, she will contribute new genetic diversity.
Cloning can’t happen unless tissues samples are biobanked, which means they’re frozen for preservation and stored in a biorepository (生物库). As a species descends, it loses genetic diversity within the populations. That’s why it’s important for researchers to collect tissue samples to leave options open for the future.
“To stop extinction, what we can do right now is saving as many tissue samples as possible. I believe through this effort cloning will be possible and save many endangered species,” says the Wildlife Alliance’s Ryder. However, an animal can only be cloned if the technology already exists to breed it, because researchers need to know how to handle it and how it reproduces.
1. Why is cloning needed according to Ben Novak?A.It changes multiple genes in animals. |
B.It helps to rescue endangered animals. |
C.It helps understand how normal genes work. |
D.It lowers the risk of the sudden change of genes. |
A.She lives longer than any other ferret alive. |
B.She has brought challenges to gene editing. |
C.She owns more genetic diversity. |
D.She has produced young ferrets. |
A.Evolves. | B.Drops. | C.Booms. | D.Breeds. |
A.Adventurous. | B.Debatable | C.Uncertain. | D.Promising. |
8 . Suguey Carmona, a ninth-grade Latina student at KIPP Brave High School in Austin, Texas, published her first Alexa Skill in the Amazon Appstore this year. This was a notable achievement, but if you don’t know what it means, you are not alone.
Alexa is a virtual assistant developed by Amazon that responds to users’ questions. If you want to ask Alexa to do specific things, such as power up your Xbox or order a pizza, your Alexa has to have that skill. Suguey identified a skill that had not yet been created, so she decided to program it herself. She created an Alexa Skill that allows English- and Spanish-speaking immigrants to get answers to questions related to their rights. For example, users may ask Alexa, “Am I allowed to get my driver’s license?” or “How long does it take to get a visa?”
She chose to work on this application because she saw her own friends and relatives who had questions and struggled to make a living. Especially, when she saw her own parents struggle to find answers about their rights, she decided to take matters into her own hands.
There is no doubt that this new Alexa Skill will help others, and that Suguey, at age 14, is well on her way to becoming a key influencer. The ability to design an Alexa Skill from scratch is something most developers do not learn until after college. The project required her to diagram and model immigration-related conversation outcomes and translate her model into programming logic. Suguey also engaged with complex programming capabilities, such as learning about data system and management.
While cultural and social norms continually tell female students that they belong in certain fields or cannot excel at certain tasks, a personal experience that demonstrates the opposite can be life-changing. This is what happened with Suguey. Now she knows she is exceptional. This experience will serve as a continuous reminder that she can draw upon when faced with self-doubt. The same — could and should — be true for many other students just like her.
1. What’s Alexa Skill?A.A test. | B.An app. | C.A voice box. | D.An organization. |
A.Her educational background. | B.Her childhood memory. |
C.The functions of Alexa. | D.Her personal experience. |
A.Suguey’s talents. | B.Influences of Alexa Skill. |
C.Suguey’s dilemma. | D.Requirements of Alexa Skill. |
A.She succeeded as a result of progress of society. |
B.She strongly opposed cultural and social norms. |
C.She was continually reminded to be confident. |
D.She used to think that she was not good enough. |
9 . Mayan civilization was a Central American (Mesoamerican) civilization that covered one third of Central America. Mayan civilization is famous for its fully developed written language, striking art, huge architecture, and advanced mathematical and astronomical knowledge. These features came out of the Preclassic Period but reached their highest development in the Classic Period (250 to 900 AD). When it prospered (繁荣), it was one of the most densely populated and culturally active societies in the world.
Mayan civilization was not one single empire, but rather many separate city-states which had a common cultural background. Strangely, after the Classic Period, these cities stopped to be centers of importance. Mayan culture continued and still exists today but in a rural setting. One question that interests scholars is why these cities just disappeared. They were swallowed up by the tropical jungles. Travelers and scholars rediscovered them and have studied them only in the last two hundred years or so. In fact, scholars have debates about what happened, but some factors seem to be part of the explanation of why they disappeared.
Toward the end there was large-scale, continuous warfare among the city-states. The rulers were highly competitive and made fierce wars on one another. Another factor considered is overpopulation. Scholars indicate that the Mayan population reached up to 200 people per square kilometer, among the highest in the pre-industrial world. Overpopulation led to overuse of the tropical forest, the source of their food.
Research from the pollen (花粉) indicates that there was almost no tropical forest left. This led to damage to the environment of the area, further resulting in a lack of water and then drought. Thus warfare, overpopulation, overuse of resources, and destruction of the environment appear to be active factors involved in the disappearance of Mayan cities.
1. What is the function of the first paragraph?A.To present a different view. | B.To provide the main topic. |
C.To lead to the main topic. | D.To provide the text’s road-map. |
A.The disappearance of Mayan cities. | B.The continuation of Mayan culture. |
C.The city-states’ cultural background. | D.The creation of Mayan civilization. |
A.Serious flood. | B.Overpopulation. | C.Continuous wars. | D.Food shortage. |
A.The Fall of Mayan Cities |
B.The Golden Age of Mayan Cities |
C.Tropical Jungles and Mayan Civilization |
D.Mayan Civilization in the Classic Period |
Avoiding people in a small town requires the skills of a spy. Alban, 22, hasn’t seen or spoken to his junior school teacher, Ms Taylor, in his town for many years.
In Grade 9, Alban argued fiercely with one of his classmates, Robert. Robert grabbed his arm and verbally (言语) threatened him. When Alban turned to Ms Taylor, hoping for help, she kept silent and seemed to be thinking about something. Before she spoke, Alban rushed out angrily. That was the end of his relationship with Ms Taylor who had been the one person in school he could depend on. Then Alban moved like a ghost, taking precautions to stay far away from Ms Taylor.
One day after graduation from college, Alban was halfway home when he felt his cellphone vibrate (震动). It was Julia, the monitor in Grade 9, who had announced the classmate reunion and Ms Taylor’s retirement ceremony, which would be held in the school meeting room. Alban’s heart sank. Although he missed his classmates, Alban felt embarrassed to attend the reunion. Ms. Taylor would be there!
Despite his hesitation, Alban arrived on time for the big day. From where he sat, Alban saw his teacher, thin and tired, walk unsteadily into the room. She had not been well. Alban hesitantly walked over to her. He didn’t say much, just a few pleasant words. No hug or smile. Many people crowded in. The ceremony began and Alban sat there, just listening to the speeches of Ms Taylor and other students.
After the party Ms Taylor’s image, present and past, always haunted (萦绕) him. Alban’s memory of Ms Taylor began when he was in Grade 7. She’d listen to him patiently and help solve his problems in every aspect. She’d often suggest interesting books, and they’d share their opinions. Sometimes she even took him to camp near the school on weekends. Great memories still remained in his mind.
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。
Alban decided to visit Ms Taylor again.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________As scheduled, the day when Ms Taylor and Alban went camping came.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________