1 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。

The Qinling Mountains are one of the most biodiverse mountain ranges. According to an     1     (announce) from the Shaanxi government, local authorities     2     (shut) over 200 mines and hydropower (水力发电) plants down in key areas of the Qinling Mountains since an official rule designed to protect the rich ecosystem went into effect.

The Qinling Mountains are thought to be home to several organisms found only in China. The scenery is amazing there,    3     (vary) with the season and geography.

Wang Fang, a conservation biologist at Fudan University, said     4     would be affected by the mine and hydropower projects are not only animals but also the region’s climate patterns in the long run. He added such constructions may help the local economy, but it shouldn’t come     5     the cost of the environment.

Before the     6     (prohibit) of mining started, a series of activities had damaged its ecosystem. However, Wang was optimistic     7     the damage could be repaired. Referring to how forest areas     8     (damage) by unregulated logging in the 1990s recovered, he believed stricter laws could prove     9     (benefit) this time, too. “The species at the Qinling Mountains are quite tough, so maybe we’ll see     10     (they) recovery in 20 or 30 years.” he said.

2 . The vegetable plot in my backyard is a favourite place for many species of local birds, including a lone magpie (喜鹊).

Two years ago, I made ________ with the magpie. It would stand beside the vegetable plot and sing continuously for ten minutes. I would talk to the fellow ________ its beautiful singing and since this was a daily ________, it was neither disturbed nor ________ by my company. Soon, it ________ a partner and now they are a family of four.

Last June, the magpie family, ________ a band of other feathered friends, were making a lot of noise near the vegetable plot but I could not see anything out of ________ when I went to check. This happened twice more before I decided to ________ more closely.

As I ________, all the other birds flew either to the top of the boundary wall or to the trees but musical magpie friend ________ screaming and moving about on the ground. It was not ________ like the others but jumping from place to place with all its feathers puffed out (鼓起来). It was so ________ that I thought it could be injured so I ________ it. That was when I saw a huge yellow-coloured ________ around two meters in length, lying behind the flower pots.

________, the snake’s head was turned away from us; I immediately shouted for ________ and the magpie flew away. I ________ then that its ________ behaviour was to attract my attention to the snake.

I am so grateful to my friendly magpie for ________ its life to show me the danger. Many times dogs have saved humans from danger but I did not expect a bird to have so much ________.

1.

A．sense

B．money

C．plans

D．friends

2.

A．attracting

B．praising

C．promoting

D．surprising

3.

A．habit

B．record

C．basis

D．service

4.

A．recommended

B．warned

C．scared

D．protected

5.

A．found

B．recognized

C．left

D．trusted

6.

A．instead of

B．along with

C．as to

D．except for

7.

A．reach

B．question

C．order

D．date

8.

A．investigate

B．guard

C．respond

D．listen

9.

A．hesitated

B．returned

C．relaxed

D．approached

10.

A．forgot

B．remained

C．enjoyed

D．delayed

11.

A．spreading out

B．blowing up

C．flying away

D．falling down

12.

A．lazy

B．nervous

C．pleasant

D．boring

13.

A．followed

B．remembered

C．treated

D．adopted

14.

A．container

B．branch

C．feather

D．snake

15.

A．Regularly

B．Naturally

C．Fortunately

D．Honestly

16.

A．justice

B．joy

C．peace

D．help

17.

A．understood

B．pretended

C．insisted

D．promised

18.

A．typical

B．delicate

C．similar

D．aggressive

19.

A．ruining

B．risking

C．sharing

D．starting

20.

A．patience

B．progress

C．intelligence

D．pressure

3 . Plastic is nearly everywhere — in shoes, clothes, refrigerators and construction materials. But this highly useful material can have a major defect. Made from oil and slow to break down, conventional plastic is not environmentally friendly. Today, researchers discuss inventing what they say should be a safer, biodegradable (可生物降解的) alternative made from fish waste— heads, bones and skin— that would otherwise likely be thrown out.

If developed successfully, fish-oil-based plastic could help meet the considerable need for more sustainable plastic, says Francesca Kerton, the project’s investigator. Previously, others have developed new plastic using plant-based oils. However, this too comes with a disadvantage: the crops that produce these oils require land that could otherwise be used to grow food.

Leftover fish struck Kerton as a promising alternative. Salmon (鲑鱼) farming is a major industry for coastal Newfoundland, where her university is located. After the fish are processed, leftover parts are often thrown away. Kerton and her colleagues developed a process for turning this fish oil into a plastic-like material. But does the plastic smell fishy? “When we start the process with the fish oil a slight kind of fish smell, but as we go through the steps, that smell disappears,” Kerton says.

In other experiments, they have begun examining how quickly the new material would likely break down once its useful life is over. Kerton put pieces of it in water, and to speed up the degradation for some pieces, she added a chemical capable of breaking down fats like those in the fish oil. Under a microscope, she later saw microbial (微生物的）growth on all of the samples, even those that had been in plain water, an encouraging sign that the new material might biodegrade quickly, Kerton says.

Kerton now intends to study the material’s physical properties to see how it might in real-world applications, such as in packaging or fibers for clothing.

1. What does the underlined word “defect” in paragraph 1 mean?

A．Mistake.

B．Burden.

C．Difficulty.

D．Disadvantage.

2. What is wrong with using plant-based oils to make plastic?

A．It causes damage to the soil.	B．It needs a large amount of land.
C．It produces an unpleasant smell.	D．It increases the price of cooking oils.

3. What do we know about this new plastic?

A．It can break down easily.	B．It has a very short useful life.
C．It is hard to mix with plain water.	D．It proved a good packaging material.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．A living trend.	B．A fishing method.
C．A scientific project.	D．A biological phenomenon.

4 . Carrying a message of peace and unity, the flame for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games arrived to a warm welcome in Beijing on Wednesday Oct. 20.

Witnessed by organizers, sports figures, performers and students, the flame— housed in a red lantern— drew crowds of onlookers as it was guarded by volunteers into a ceremony held at Beijing’s Olympic Tower. The flame arrived early on Wednesday after being flown from Greece, the birthplace of the Olympics, where it was lit two days earlier.

Cai Qi, secretary of the Communist Party of China Beijing Municipal Committee and president of the organizing committee for the Games, lit a cauldron (大釜) on a stage using a torch. The lighting of the cauldron signaled that the curtain had been raised on the Beijing Winter Olympics, which run from Feb 4 to Feb 20. Games events are scheduled in three zones— downtown Beijing, the capital’s northwest Yanqing district and co-host Zhangjiakou in Hebei province.

Due to the pandemic, Games organizers have cut back the traditional relay to a small-scale event. The relay will take place in three host areas and involve about 1,200 torchbearers due to COVID-19.

The relay is scheduled for Feb 2 to Feb 4, with the route connecting landmarks, historical sites and major tourism attractions. The culture and warm hospitality (好客) of the hosts will be on display, the organizing committee of the Games said.

“As a cultural element of the Olympic Games, the torch relay plays a significant role in promoting the host’s international image while spreading the message of peace, friendship and health,” said Zhang Jiandong, a vice-mayor of Beijing and executive vice-president of the organizing committee.

The shortened torch relay with reduced crowds, will help ensure the health and safety of all participants as well as that of local communities. The preparation work for the Games has been adapted to the pandemic situation, Zhang added.

1. Who witnessed the ceremony for welcoming the flame EXCEPT?

A．Organizers.

B．Soldiers.

C．Volunteers.

D．Sports figures.

2. When and where did the flame start?

A．Oct. 18, Greece.

B．Oct. 20, Greece.

C．Oct. 18, China.

D．Oct. 20, China.

3. What do we know about the 2022 Winter Olympic Games?

A．It is scheduled to last for three days.

B．It will be held in Beijing and Zhangjiakou.

C．A curtain was raised to mark the beginning.

D．The relay is shortened due to crowded conditions.

4. Which of the following is one of the positive effects of the torch relay?

A．Please the organizing committee.	B．Attract the tourists all over the world.
C．Prevent the further spread of COVID-19.	D．Shape a positive image of the host country.

5 . By showing storylines based on several real-life cases that shook the nation, Crime Crackdown, one of the most popular TV series in the summer of 2021, has stimulated Chinese viewers’ interest in efforts to fight against organized crime launched by the Chinese government in 2018.

The TV series follows a national anti-gang supervising (督导) group and local police officers as they take on gangs (帮派) and the corrupt officials that offer these illegal groups a “protective umbrella”. The first 22 episodes of the series, starring actors Sun Honglei and Zhang Yixing and actresses Wu Yue and Jiang Shuying, have earned a 7.8/10 on Chinese media review platform Douban from more than 140,000 reviews and nearly 2.2 billion views on Chinese streaming platform Tencent Video.

Li Eryun, general producer of the series, said that shows or films about efforts to fight against organized crime are still a rare sight in China. He and the show’s other general producer Huang Xing jumped at the chance to produce such a show in May 2019. They received support from the Committee of Political and Legal Affairs of the CPC Central Committee, which gave them access to case files so that they could write scripts for the show. Huang noted that their goal was to make a series that carried out its social responsibilities while also being entertaining.

According to the two producers and the show’s director Wu Bai, the success of the series comes down to their masterly handling of something simple. For example, the character Dong Yao, is a corrupt official whose hair turns white from stress. The idea came from an observation Wu made while watching a video of a trial. Wu noticed the defendant (被告人) had a white hair in his dark hair a week after the trial began, and after a month, half of his hair had turned white. Three months later, his hair had become completely white.

The popularity and success of the drama were acknowledged by not only mainstream media, but also cultural critics and scholars.

1. What does paragraph 2 mainly tell us about Crime Crackdown?

A．It is welcomed by a large number of audience.

B．It provides a new stand for popular TV series.

C．It is an popular work produced by Tencent Video.

D．It inspires people’s admiration for police officers.

2. What plays a vital role in the production of the drama?

A．The local officials’ financial aid.

B．The directors’ similar experiences.

C．The authorities’ information support.

D．The producers’ social responsibility.

3. What is the purpose of the example in paragraph 4?

A．To show the impact of social media on this TV series.

B．To present the importance of investing the film industry.

C．To prove the success of the series in dealing with details.

D．To explain the difficulty of creating characters in the drama.

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

A．A TV Series Being a Massive Hit in China

B．A New Drama Praised for Being Realistic

C．The Promising Future of Domestic Dramas

D．The Influence of Culture on the Film Market

6 . The Awakening

This was Kate Chopin’s second and final novel, published in 1899. It was one of the first novels that focused on women, marking the birth of women’s liberation in America. We follow Edna Pontellier, an obedient (顺从的) wife and mother, who becomes close to a charming young man Robert Lebrun. It’s the time when she begins to struggle for her independence and self-fulfillment.

At the time of first publication the book met with mixed reactions, mainly due to presenting attitudes that were against established gender roles.

Waterloo

A great and terrible story of a battle that was fought 200 years ago, told with energy by Bernard Cornwell who combines his storytelling skills with a researched history to give a vivid account of every dramatic moment.

Through letters and diaries, the author also sheds new light on the private thoughts of Napoleon and the Duke of Wellington. Waterloo proves that Bernard Cornwell’s non-fiction is as fine as his novels, if not finer.

The Fifth Child

This is a classic tale from Doris Lessing, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature Published in 1988, the book describes the changes in the happy life of Harriet and David Lovatt, as a result of the birth of their fifth child, Ben.

Ben is a highly abnormal child, large, ugly, and uncontrollable. His birth marks the beginning of the misery and suffering for the entire family.

The Gambler

Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Gambler is the tale of Alexy, a tutor who works for a Russian general and his family. He falls in love with the general’s niece, Polina—a young woman who pulls his strings like a master puppeteer (操纵木偶者).

A hopeless gambler whose passion for the game greatly goes beyond his ability to win, Alexy finds himself out of control. If you’d like to add a Russian classic to your book challenge, this is the perfect choice for you.

1. What can we learn about Kate Chopin?

A．She was a productive author.	B．She was an obedient wife.
C．She fought for women’s rights.	D．She loved a young man.

2. Who will be interested in The Gambler?

A．Fans of Russian literature.	B．Gamble’s opponents.
C．Women’s right supporters.	D．Tutors with passion.

3. Which of The following books is a documentary writing?

A．The Awakening

B．Waterloo

C．The Fifth Child

D．The Gambler