1 . When Kurt Benirschke started collecting skin samples from endangered animals in 1972, he didn’t have a firm plan on what to do with them. As a researcher at the University of California San Diego, he believed that one day these samples would be used to save these animals. A few years later, he moved his collection to the San Diego Zoo, and called it the Frozen Zoo.
For a long time, it was the only project of its kind; however, in recent years, similar conservation efforts have spread globally, and tools that Benirschke didn’t yet have are now available. Today, the Frozen Zoo is the world’s largest animal cryobank(生物冷冻库), holding samples from over 10,500 individual animals from 1,220 species, in the hope that one day science can bring them back as a species.
The Frozen Zoo’s advanced technology is the key to its success in saving species from extinction. By using cryopreservation techniques, the zoo can store cells and tissues from endangered animals. The stored genetic material can be used for research, breeding(繁殖) programs, and potentially even cloning or genetic engineering to restore endangered species.
By protecting the genetic heritage of endangered animals, the Frozen Zoo provides hope for the survival of species that would otherwise be at risk of dying out, and the preservation of Earth’s precious biodiversity. It has inspired the establishment of similar cryobanks worldwide, expanding efforts to conserve endangered species. These cryobanks contribute to the global network of genetic resources, improving cooperation and knowledge exchange. By demonstrating the potential of technology in the preservation of biodiversity, the frozen zoo serves as a powerful tool in raising awareness and driving change.
The Frozen Zoo is like a time capsule, preserving the genetic heritage of endangered species for future generations. It reminds us about the importance of conservation and offers a window into a world that could otherwise be lost forever.
1. What do we know about the Frozen Zoo?| A．It is the world’s oldest and largest animal cryobank. |
| B．It started with a detailed plan led by Kurt Benirschke. |
| C．It is a project to explore the evolution of animal species. |
| D．It was established to protect animals in the San Diego Zoo. |
| A．By expanding their natural habitats. |
| B．By raising their survival rate with genetic technology. |
| C．By preserving their genetic material for further research. |
| D．By innovating breeding techniques to increase their population. |
| A．To stress the importance of the Frozen Zoo. |
| B．To explain the urgency of saving endangered species. |
| C．To prove the potential value of preserving biodiversity. |
| D．To show the necessity of cooperative conservation efforts. |
| A．Costly and controversial. | B．Profitable and instructive. |
| C．Conservative and effective. | D．Pioneering and significant. |
1. What is the speaker’s job related to?
| A．Medicine. | B．Wild animals. | C．Artificial intelligence |
| A．To create a system for healthcare. |
| B．To open up possibilities of finance. |
| C．To teach a machine to identify different birds. |
| A．Analyzing data. | B．Detecting diseases. | C．Producing reports. |
| A．Worried. | B．Positive. | C．Casual. |
1. What did Paul do after he left school?
| A．He opened a shop. |
| B．He did several different jobs. |
| C．He got a job as a chef in a restaurant. |
| A．Difficult but beneficial. |
| B．Boring but well-paid. |
| C．Enjoyable but demanding. |
| A．Assisting chefs. |
| B．Cooking every day. |
| C．Managing the whole kitchen. |
| A．Inventing new dishes. |
| B．Using quality ingredients. |
| C．Creating less stressful environment. |
1. What do we know about the jacket?
| A．It was unsuitable for the man. |
| B．It was large for the man’s son. |
| C．It was bought at a reduced price. |
| A．The jacket. | B．The receipt. | C．The credit card. |
| A．Get his money back. | B．Take a credit note. | C．Visit the store again. |
5 . Carol-Anne O’Callaghan, a former teacher from Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, has fought hard to protect ancient oaks near her home, which she says are home to rare bats.
In February 2021, O’Callaghan was walking her dogs when she spotted yellow dots stuck on some of the 99 oak trees in a narrow country lane close to her home. The dots indicated trees marked for destruction. After she learned the trees would be felled as part of the HS2 high-speed railway works, she called the HS2 helpline and was told there was nothing that could be done as an over-road would be built. She gets choked up remembering the moment she realized many of them were to be cut down.
O’Callaghan loves that ancient line of oaks. They were planted in the 19th century. “My family and I would picnic under them,” she says, “climb them, have rope swings on them. The trees are amazing and beautiful and meant so much.” One of the last photos of her mother, taken shortly before she died, was of her sitting in a swing in their branches.
She noticed that on the other side of the lane, to the north, there were no ancient oaks. So she began campaigning to save the trees. With the help of her daughter, Blaize, she started a petition(请愿书), which went on to get nearly 43,000 signatures. “I saw someone passionate about giving a voice to those who don’t have one, someone not afraid of asking questions and calling out large, daunting businesses for doing the wrong thing,” says her neighbour Victoria.
Buckinghamshire Council has got involved, and the felling is paused. A final decision has yet to be made about the proposed over-road. “We’re optimistic that they’ll hear our argument and take the ecology of the lane into account,” says O’Callaghan. “We want them to put in a green crossing in the gaps between trees, for the bats, and we’d like the place to become a conservation area. For the trees and the bats—this is what we are fighting for!”
1. What did the yellow dots on the oaks indicate?| A．These oaks would be cut down. | B．The narrow lane would be widened. |
| C．Rare bats would get protected. | D．A railway station would be built. |
| A．Due to the oaks’ long history. | B．Due to the natural beauty. |
| C．Due to the precious memories. | D．Due to the diverse wildlife. |
| A．Creative. | B．Humorous. | C．Generous. | D．Enthusiastic. |
| A．The ecology is being improved. |
| B．The felling has been put off. |
| C．The Council canceled the proposal. |
| D．The area becomes a reserve. |
6 . A majority of the people do not read the classics. Their reasons begin with the language being too difficult and end with the storyline too distant to the present context. Love for classics is obviously not at first sight.
Don’t be afraid to be confused.
We get it: it’s hard to power through confusion. It doesn’t feel great when a book makes you feel confused. Every reader has to start somewhere.
Research, research, research.
Just pick the book up.
This step is self-explanatory. While it’s not hard to just pick a book up, we know how difficult it can be to convince yourself to do so.
Remember: there is no right answer.
There is no perfect way to read a classic text. There is no defining interpretation, no singular, exact answer. Your goal as a reader is to discover what aspects and insights are meaningful to you. Enjoy the process.
| A．It is a gradual affair. |
| B．Allow the book to grow with you. |
| C．It has some form of historical influence. |
| D．Before you turn to page one, do some digging. |
| E．Never beat yourself up for not knowing something. |
| F．Remind yourself that it’s a new learning opportunity. |
| G．Consider what confuses you, read with intention, and think critically. |
7 . You might find a few good recommendations to be helpful when it comes to adding to your reading list.
Young Mungo
by Douglas Stuart
$26.67
Jess needs a fresh start and leans on her half-brother, Ben, who lives in Paris, for a place to stay. When she arrives at his apartment, however, he’s not there. Although she comes to the city of lights to escape the past that has been disturbing her, she finds herself digging into Ben’s future.
The It Girl
by Ruth Ware
$26.67
It’s a mystery about one woman’s search to find answers about her friend’s murder. Hannah must search for the truth all over again, which might hit closer to home than she expects. You can start reading this pick on July 12.
The Candy House
by Jennifer Egan
$25.20
Bix Bouton is 40, father of four kids and hungry for new ideas. After he joins a conversation group, he gets his big new idea: “Own Your Unconscious.” With this technology, you can access every memory you’ve ever had — and exchange them for the memories of others. You can find this book on shelves on April 5.
South to America
by Imani Perry
$26.67
In this story, a native Alabaman returns home and looks at her state with fresh eyes — and learns about the stories and experiences of others she’s met along the way. By weaving these stories together, Perry has crafted (精心制作) a book that takes you not only below the Mason-Dixon line but also through the country as a whole. It will be available starting Jan. 25.
1. What is Yong Mungo about?| A．How we can make candy easily at home. |
| B．What an Alabaman experiences in his state. |
| C．How a girl travels to someone else’s future. |
| D．What is the truth behind a person’s murder. |
| A．The Candy House | B．Young Mungo |
| C．The It Girl | D．South to America |
| A．A textbook. | B．A book list. |
| C．A course plan. | D．An academic article. |
8 . Just 10 days after a first failed try ended with Franky Zapata up to his neck in water, the French jet-ski champion successfully crossed the English Channel on his self-made “fly-board” Sunday morning.
Taking off at 8:17 a.m., he flew across the 21.7 miles that separate the French town of Sangatte from Saint Margaret’s at Cliffe on British coast. The trip took a total of 22 minutes with one refueling stop in the middle.
The French inventor’s flight came 110 years after famous pioneering pilot Louis Bleriot flew the first plane across the Channel in 1909. Zapata became known as the “flying soldier” when he showed off his invention before the world’s media at France’s annual Bastille Day military parade on July 14.
At a press conference on Saturday, Zapata said he felt much more confident of success than his failed journey just over a week ago. On July 25, Zapata had launched near Sangatte Beach on his flying board, but had to abandon the challenge when he dropped a few minutes later into English waters after hitting the supply boat platform at very low speed.
Zapata arrived on British soil at 8:38 a.m., landing on a platform in a field at the top of a cliff. He thanked his wife, his family and his team upon landing. He also thanked the two. British women who own the field he landed on.
Zapata spoke to the French television networks in Saint Margaret’s, explaining that landing on the stage of the refueling boat was still very tricky. They had planned for the boat to remain still, but it was “impossible” as the boat moved along with the waves. Zapata burst into tears when his interview was interrupted by a call from his 9-year-old son.
1. Why did Franky Zapata become distinguished?| A．He had an accident while performing his jet-skiing. |
| B．He was the first to cross the English Channel successfully. |
| C．He invented a new flying machine to cross the English Channel. |
| D．He was the pilot to cross the English Channel with the shortest time. |
| A．Rewarding. | B．Challenging. |
| C．A piece of a cake. | D．Impossible. |
| A．Motivated. | B．Astonished. | C．Thrilled. | D．Anxious. |
| A．A news report. | B．An adventurous fantasy. |
| C．A travel journal. | D．An assessment of an invention. |
My dad and I had been looking forward to the Stale cross-country race of my senior year of high school, which would be the climax (顶点) of my existence.
I was the fastest runner on my team, and I was supposed to make it into the top fifteen. We had been working towards this race for three years. It was everything to me, and it was everything to my dad. He was a runner and was wild with joy by my success in running. He made it to every race, even flying home early from business trips to see me run. I always listened for his voice, which rang above the crowd-telling me to relax my arms, calling out my time. He pushed me. He cheered for me. He believed in me. We spent countless hours on the sandy canals of Arizona. Breathing in the dust of the desert, the blossoms of the orange trees, and the terrible smell of the dairy farm, we made our way across the city. We pounded miles and miles into our running shoes, marking with every step the path to greatness. It was a journey that was just ours. A dream passed on from one generation to the next.
Then the big day came. It was hotter than normal - too hot. My throat felt like a field of cotton, cracked with the summer heat, as I waited for the gun to fire. I gazed out at the crowd; dozens of familiar faces from church and school flickered across my view. They had come for me. They were counting on me. I saw my dad set his watch, worry and excitement etched across his face. With the sound of a gunshot, the race began.
For the first two and half miles, I felt great. I had never before been so ready for something. The weeks leading up to the race were filled with hard practices and a strict diet. The scorching sun beat upon my back, blinding me with its brilliance. Nothing was going to stop me, though.
注意：1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
However, without warning, my strength was running out.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I whispered, “I’m so sorry I disappointed you, Dad.”
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________10 . Eco-Friendly Changes You Can Make to Your Home
As part of the move to save the environment and money, many people have made lots of changes to their homes over the past few years, and the trend (趋势) is set to continue in the years ahead.
Switch out your light bulbs (灯泡)
You might not think that this could make a big difference.
Turn to solar energy (太阳能)
Rising energy costs are forcing people to look for new methods of powering their homes.
Wind power is more stable than solar, and it can be used to produce power. Like solar options (选择；选项) , using wind means that it won’t matter as you’ll have a continuous power source of your own.
Seal (密封) gaps around doors and windows
One very low-cost option to help your home be more efficient is to stop the air from leaving your home. If you have gaps around doors and windows, the air from your air conditioning system will be heading literally straight outside.
| A．Is wind power an option |
| B．The sun is one resource that isn’t going away |
| C．Is it a challenge to take advantage of wind power |
| D．So make the most of your air conditioning system |
| E．We’ve listed a few options to make your home more eco-friendly |
| F．This will increase your energy bill as your system will work harder |
| G．However, lighting accounts for around 9%of a typical home’s energy use |
