A couple of years ago, I had the pleasure of teaching a young couple to dive (潜水) in Thailand on one of my favorite reefs (礁). The weather conditions were perfect, with mild currents and excellent sight of the beautiful ocean and the bright, vivid corals. Even with their masks on, I could see the smiles on my students’ faces.
The dive couldn’t have gone better. However, things changed as we made our way back to the boat. As we swam back along the reef, I noticed the current (水流) changing. As it did, huge quantities of trash and plastic began to flood the area. I saw small reef fish swimming amongst the straws, plastic bags and other bits of rubbish. I noticed that some of the fish were pecking away (啄) at the plastic. By the time we got back onboard the boat, there were bits of plastic floating all around us. It looked more like a trash site than the ocean.
When I got home, the first thing I did was to go online and research plastic pollution in the ocean. I was surprised to find out that over the past decade, divers and beach lovers have seen a lot of changes in the oceans. Even very remote locations were suddenly filled with plastic and other chemicals. Plastics were entering our oceans at an alarming rate—up to 12 million tons each year. This huge amount of plastic was wreaking havoc (破坏) not only on the environment, but also on the marine animals that lived in the ocean, such as sea turtles and sea birds. Some of them were sadly mistaking the pieces of plastic for food. Pollution has brought our oceans to the point of disaster, and unless we make a great change, then our oceans and all of its living things, will be at risk.
Since that unforgettable plastic-polluted dive, I have become an ocean supporter and spend my days trying to get the message out there about just how harmful ocean pollution is, not only to marine life, but also to mankind.
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。
Then the idea came to me: I could appeal to my fellow divers to take action.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I decided to take it a step further to try and stop those companies producing single-use plastics.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________2 . Historical accounts often described the now-extinct California grizzly bears as huge beasts ready to attack humans and livestock at any time. But according to a new paper, scientists say the truth might have been less dramatic: The bears ate a mostly vegetarian diet and were smaller than previously described. California grizzly bears once roamed in the Golden State. But European settlers often hunted, poisoned and trapped the creatures. Over time, because of these human activities, the California grizzly population declined. The last reliable sighting of a California grizzly bear occurred 100 years ago in 1924, and the animals disappeared completely sometime after that.
Researchers wanted to get a better understanding of the factors that accelerated the bears’ extinction. They also hoped to gain more insight into the creatures’ behavior, size and diet. To do so, they turned to documents and California grizzly specimens in natural history collections. They measured the animals’ skulls and teeth and analyzed their bones and pelts. The researchers found that California grizzly bears were much smaller than the 2,000 pounds often reported at the time. Historical accounts might not necessarily have been wrong, but they might have only included the largest bears. In addition, analyses of the animals’ bones and skins suggest the bears were primarily eating plants, which stands in contrast to their fear some hyper carnivorous (超级食肉的) reputation. “The bears likely increased meat consumption due to landscape changes coupled with the arrival of livestock,” says study co-author Alexis Mychajliw. However, researchers found the animals still ate a majority vegetarian diet and killed far less livestock than historical accounts suggested.
By digging beyond the bears’ reputation, the researchers gained a more accurate understanding of the California grizzly’s biology and natural history. And since scientists and land managers often rely on historical accounts when reintroducing animals to their former habitats, the study serves as a reminder that those old newspapers and journals do not tell the whole story.
1. What does the underlined word “roamed” in paragraph 1 mean?| A．Disappeared. | B．Declined. | C．Fought. | D．Wandered. |
| A．They mainly fed on livestock. |
| B．Their diet consisted mostly of plants. |
| C．They ate a balanced diet of plants and meat. |
| D．The absence of livestock changed their dietary habit. |
| A．They are unique. | B．They are one-sided. |
| C．They are accurate. | D．They are comprehensive. |
| A．The natural habitats of California grizzly bears. |
| B．The extinction process of California grizzly bears. |
| C．The reveal of the truth of California grizzly bears. |
| D．The significance of the arrival of California grizzly bears. |
3 . Your guide to a no-spend challenge
A no-spend challenge isn’t about total deprivation (剥夺) or freezing your bank account.
Assessing and prioritising needs
Before delving (深入探究) into the no-spend challenge, take the time to assess and differentiate your essential needs from your wants. Identify recurring bills, necessary expenditures and essential items. Distinguish them from free spending on non-essential products and services. This initial step lays the foundation for a realistic and sustainable challenge.
Creating a realistic budget
A successful no-spend challenge is rooted in the development of a well-crafted budget that reflects your financial reality.
Support system
As your challenge concludes, take enough time to reflect on the entire experience. What insights did you gain into your spending habits and priorities? Identify positive changes you want to maintain and integrate them into your long-term financial strategy.
The no-spend challenge is not merely a temporary exercise; it serves as a catalyst for enduring financial wellness. Embrace the journey, learn from the experience and watch as your financial goals transform into realities.
| A．Establishing long-term habits |
| B．Understanding the no-spend challenge |
| C．It ensures that crucial aspects of your life remain unaffected |
| D．Begin by outlining your income, fixed expenses and any upcoming financial goals |
| E．Share your commitment with friends and family, encouraging them to support your effort |
| F．The no-spend challenge serves as an opportune moment to cultivate mindful spending habits |
| G．It represents a conscious decision to redirect your financial focus and control your spending habits |
4 . With a fragrance (芳香) through the bedrooms of older adults for two hours every night for six months, memories skyrocketed. Participants in this study by University of California, Irvine (UCI)neuroscientists gained a 226% increase in cognitive capacity compared to the control group. The researchers say the finding transforms the long-known tie between smell and memory into an easy, non-invasive technique for strengthening memory and potentially preventing dementia (痴呆).
The project was conducted through the UCI Center for the Neurobiology of Learning & Memory. It involved men and women aged 60 to 85 without memory impairment. All were given seven small containers, each containing a single and different natural oil. People in the enriched group received full-strength oils. Control group participants were given the oils in tiny amounts. Participants put a different container into their room each evening prior to going to bed, and it activated for two hours as they slept.
People in the enriched group showed a 226% increase in cognitive performance compared to the control group, as measured by a word list test commonly used to evaluate memory. Participants also reported sleeping more soundly. The researchers say the results from their study bear out what scientists learned about the connection between smell and memory.
Scientists have long known that the loss of ability to smell, can predict development of nearly 70 neurological and psychiatric diseases. These include Alzheimer’s and other dementias, Parkinson’s and alcoholism. Researchers have previously found that exposing people with moderate dementia to up to 40 different smells twice a day over a period of time improved their memories and language skills, eased depression and improved their sense of smell.
The team would next like to study the technique’s impact on people with diagnosed cognitive loss. A product based on their study and designed for people to use at home is expected to come onto the market this fall.
1. What field may the findings be applied to?| A．Controlling sleep. | B．Exploring smells. |
| C．Developing skills. | D．Promoting memory. |
| A．Research results. | B．Research process. |
| C．Research methods. | D．Research purpose. |
| A．By giving the participants a test. |
| B．By scanning the participants’ brain. |
| C．By observing the participants’ actions. |
| D．By asking about the participants’ feeling. |
| A．Developing a smell product. |
| B．The impact of cognitive loss. |
| C．Application of research results. |
| D．Doing market research for their product. |
注意：
1.写作词数应为80左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯 ；
3.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
How to Enlarge English Vocabulary
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________6 . Researchers have proposed a novel method for counting and tracking vehicles on public roads, a development that could improve current traffic systems and help travelers get to their destinations faster.
Using the cameras already installed on campus buses at the Ohio State University, researchers proved that they could automatically and accurately measure counts of vehicles on urban roadways, detect objects in the road and distinguish parked vehicles from those that are moving.
In previous studies, Ohio State researchers found that using these mobile cameras provides much better spatial and temporal (时间的) coverage than relying on often temporarily placed sensors that don’t provide a view of many streets and roads in a city.
“If we collect and process more high-resolution (高清) spatial information about what’s happening on the roads, then planners could better understand changes in demand, effectively improving efficiency in the broader transportation system,” said Keith Redmill, lead author of the study.
“If we can measure traffic in a way that is as good or better than what is conventionally done with fixed sensors, then we will have created something incredibly useful extremely cheaply,” he said. “Our goal is to start building a system that could do this without much manual intervention because if you want to collect this information over lots of potential vehicles and lots of time, it’s worth fully automating that process.”
While still a long way from total implementation (实施), the study suggests the system’s results bear promise for the future of intelligent traffic surveillance. Transportation planners, engineers and operators make vital decisions about the future of our roadways, so when designing transportation systems to work over the next 30 to 50 years, it’s necessary that we give them data that allows them to improve the efficiency of the system and the level of service provided to travelers.
1. How can cameras on buses benefit travelers?| A．By shortening their travel time. |
| B．By making their schedules tight. |
| C．By decreasing their transport cost. |
| D．By improving their safety awareness. |
| A．They provide more spatial coverage. |
| B．They can’t detect objects on the road. |
| C．They cover less view of the urban traffic. |
| D．They accurately record the flow of traffic. |
| A．Operation. | B．Monitoring. | C．Protection. | D．Arrangement. |
| A．Transportation automation is on its way |
| B．It is time to improve the efficiency of traffic system |
| C．Transportation planners use cameras to make policies |
| D．Cameras installed on buses can better measure traffic |
内容包括：
1. 你的饮食是否健康；
2. 你的不良饮食习惯及如何改正坏习惯；
3. 总结你的观点。
要求：80词左右，书写工整。
My healthy eating habits
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________1. 二维码的利弊；2. 你的观点。
注意：
1. 词数100左右；
2. 标题与部分首句已写好，不计入总词数。参考词汇：二维码QR code
Convenience or Burden
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________9 . In recent days, the small “potatoes” from southern China have occupied Harbin, the capital city of Northeast China’s Heilongjiang province. The streets and alleys are full of groups of little people sitting on suitcases, feet up in the air, wearing cute hairy hats, light-colored and thick down jackets.
Upon their arrival, in addition to the must do playing in the ice and snow world, they would not let go of the food in the Northeast, but they didn’t expect that Harbin also sells tofu curd.
A little “potato” came to a food stall and asked the boss for a tofu curd, and the boss asked her what to add. The answer — sugar — made the boss widened her eyes and looked at the little “potato” unbelievably. She has never heard of anyone who eats tofu curd with sugar.
Frozen pears sellers knew that southerners have lived a delicate lifestyle back home, so they cut the frozen pears into pieces for them, while the locals usually bite them directly.
The Harbiners are sincerely hospitable. They really spoil the small “potatoes”, which makes the locals who have lived there for decades envious.
In order to welcome the distinguished guests, a transparent glass cover was specially installed in the Harbin Sophia Square by the municipal government to allow them to watch the snow cozily.
Also, an artificial moon shone brightly in the sky to satisfy their fantasy to admire a white moon on a cold winter night. Besides, the Oroqen people were called out from the mountains and forests to pull reindeer in the Central Street of Harbin, just to pet the southern tourists.
According to official data, Harbin received a total of 3.0479 million tourists during this year’s New Year’s Day holiday, with a total tourism income of 5,914 billion. The number of tourists and the total tourism income reached a record high. Iron pot stew is the most popular food, and 100,000 pieces of popsicles (棒冰) are sold in 3 days.
1. What is the boss’s reaction when a small “potato” asks for sugar in her tofu curd?| A．Pleased and hesitant. | B．Happy and welcoming. |
| C．Surprised and incredible. | D．Excited and enthusiastic. |
| A．Held. | B．Built. | C．Operated. | D．Protected. |
| A．The change of the lifestyle of the northeast people. |
| B．More measures taken to welcome the southern tourists. |
| C．The new attractions added to attract tourists in Harbin. |
| D．The comparison between the small “potatoes” and the local people. |
| A．By listing numbers. | B．By giving explanations. |
| C．By making comparisons. | D．By following the order of time. |
