1 . Tracee Herbaugh lives in the Boston area of Massachusetts. She thought she was alone in her backyard recently when she used the Merlin Bird ID app. She learned by listening that she was surrounded by more than 12 kinds of birds.

“Two birds identified by the app, veery (画眉鸟) and great homed owl, even had a red dot next to their names. The red dot means it is an unusual sighting.” Herbaugh wrote, “Who knew these birds could be in one yard?”

Cornell Lab of Ornithology is the maker of Merlin Bird ID. The app was released in 2014. At first, the app only identified birds by their photos through Photo ID. The user answered a series of questions about the photo to help identify the bird, such as date, area, color, and size. The app became popular during the pandemic, when people increasingly wanted to be outdoors.

In 2021, Cornell Lab added Sound ID to identify birds by their sound. In the United States alone, Merlin’s Sound ID can identify over 700 kinds of birds. More than 7 million people now use the Merlin Bird ID worldwide.

Alli Smith works on the Merlin project at Cornell Lab. Smith said bird watching by sound “opens up a whole new world” “Even if you cannot see the birds,” he added, “you can hear their beautiful songs and know they’re sharing your neighborhood.”

More than birds, Herbaugh said the app also helped her reconnect with people across the country. When Herbaugh shared her bird list on social media, two childhood friends who also used the app messaged her about it. Her relative in Montana shared a list of birds. And even her young children now quickly go for the app when they hear an unfamiliar bird call.

Herbaugh has identified 45 birds on her list so far. She said now her children are the ones driving her to get more on the bird list.

1. What does a red dot next to a bird’s name mean?

A．The bird is rarely seen.	B．The bird is endangered.
C．This bird is a new species.	D．The bird is beneficial to crops.

2. How did the app perform its functions initially?

A．By recording bird sounds.	B．By recognizing images of birds.
C．By asking experts online.	D．By tracking movements of birds.

3. What does the author intend to tell us in paragraph 6?

A．Another way of protecting birds.	B．The popularity of recording bird calls.
C．The enjoyment of listening to birds.	D．Another benefit of the Merlin Bird ID app.

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

A．App Identifies Birds by Sound	B．App Gets Kids Interested in Birds
C．Old App Gains New Reputation	D．Birds May Hide in Your Yard

2 . Blue whales have made themselves at home in a part of the Indian Ocean where they hadn’t been seen for many years, according to a study published late last year. The blue whale, an endangered species, is the largest animal on Earth. These whales can grow to about 100 feet long and the animal’s heart alone can be the size of a small car.

Blue whales were filmed in the waters around the Seychelles in 2020 and 2021. The Seychelles area group of islands that make up the smallest African country. Hunters almost completely wiped out blue whales in the area in the 1960s.

During this recent exploration, however, scientists spotted several of the creatures. Research suggests that these whales are not just passing through — they are staying in the region for months. The discovery was made with the help of a “sound trap”, an object that was fitted with recording equipment and batteries and placed on the seafloor in November 2021. It was left there for a year, recording 15 minutes every hour. When scientists studied the recordings, they discovered the blue whales’ recognizable song, which is so deep that it can’t be heard naturally by human ears.

The whale songs were found between December and April, a common time for blue whales to breed (繁殖) and nurse their young. Kathleen Stafford, one of the researchers, told BBC News that the scientists think the noise was the singing of male whales. “They sing during the breeding season to attract the females,” she explained. This could mean that the Seychelles is an important breeding area or nursery site for the species.

The government of the Seychelles has been making major efforts to protect the oceans around the islands since 2015. The appearance of these whales shows that its work seems to have made a big difference. Stafford said that the Seychelles, which doesn’t have ma my big ships sailing nearby, could be “a nice, quiet, safe place for blue whales”.

1. What does the underlined phrase “wiped out” in Paragraph 2 mean?

A．Killed.

B．Washed.

C．Removed.

D．Approached.

2. What is the purpose of the “sound trap”?

A．To track sounds.	B．To video whales，
C．To study the seafloor.	D．To play songs every hour，

3. What did the researchers say about the noise?

A．It is seasonal.	B．It is annoying.
C．It can be heard by humans.	D．It can drive away other animals.

4. Who contributes a lot to the appearance of blue whales?

A．Local hunters.	B．Foreign sailors.
C．The government.	D．Kathleen Stafford.

3 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. What will the woman do after the interview?

A．Advertise the garden.

B．Visit the man’s garden.

C．Write for a newspaper.

2. What firstly made the man show an interest in gardening?

A．Being gifted plants by friends.

B．Reading about gardening in 1980.

C．Visiting Kew Gardens frequently.

3. Where did Mr. Whinfield learn a lot about gardening?

A．From gardening classes.

B．From visiting Kew Gardens.

C．From reading gardening books.

4. What did the man’s first garden look like?

A．It was a tiny piece of land.

B．It was filled with wildflower.

C．It was located in West London.

4 . In the 1970s, a new supermarket selling LPs arrived in my hometown and I began devoting my pocket money to acquiring records. I swiftly developed an affection for Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, harboring dreams of performing that music myself. Despite the absence of a piano at home, there was one at my grandmother’s care home, where I learned to play Beethoven by ear, with pigeons cooing and farmers working in the fields. It was truly magical.

Entering the Royal Academy of Arts at 16 marked the beginning of my artistic journey. In my 30s, I took another significant step in life — marriage. My wife worked at Elephants World, a reserve dedicated to the care of rescued domestic elephants. These elephants have worked for humans all their life and many are blind or disabled from being treated badly, so I wanted to make the effort to carry something heavy myself. For my 50th birthday, my wife successfully persuaded the manager to allow us to bring a piano into the reserve, bringing music to the elephants’ lives.

Initially, when I started playing, it was hard to hear the piano above the sounds of nature and the elephants chewing grass. However, everything changed when a blind elephant ceased eating and tuned into my playing. It struck me that this elephant, trapped in a world of darkness, had a profound love for music. From that moment on, there was no longer any concern about disturbing their peace. We occasionally film these performances, and now, we proudly have nearly 700,000 YouTube subscribers.

I continue to play for these elephants that run freely in the reserve, despite the constant potential danger. Surprisingly, it’s the moody male elephants who show the most fascination with the music. I firmly believe it has a calming effect. These elephants’ breathing actually slows down when I play, which tells me they are relaxed and happy. I’ve even witnessed elephants seemingly dancing to Beethoven’s tunes. With their exceptional hearing and the ability to sense vibrations (震动) through their feet, I am convinced that elephants grasp the language of human expression. This serves as a powerful illustration that music serves as a universal language, connecting us all.

1. What motivated the author’s early affection for music?

A．Exposure to Beethoven’s music.

B．Employment at Elephants World.

C．Attendance at the Royal Academy of Arts.

D．Piano teaching at his grandma’s care home.

2. What did the author’s 50th birthday celebration symbolize?

A．Personal achievements in music.

B．A combination of music and care.

C．Successful fundraising for the reserve.

D．Recognition for the author’s artistic journey.

3. What role did music play in the lives of the elephants in the reserve?

A．Emotional recovery.	B．Physical exercise.
C．Financial support.	D．Artistic expression.

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

A．Save the Mistreated Elephants

B．Male Elephants: Moody and Musical

C．Play the Piano for Rescued Elephants

D．Elephants: Animals of Sharp Hearing

5 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Like many nature reserves in Kenya, Borana used to be a cattle ranch (牧场). For thousands of years, cows were     1     center of culture for the Maasai, Samburu, Pokot, and other local groups. When national parks and nature reserves began to     2     (establish) in the middle of the 20th century, these same groups found themselves prevented from grazing (放牧) their animals on land they had depended on for     3     (generation).

Borana now aims     4    (go) into partnership with its neighbors, with programs such as Mazingira Yetu     5     intend to promote environmental protection. Students from nearby communities can spend a day at the nature reserve, go on game drives     6     learn more about various land practices, including water storage, regenerative farming, and tree nurseries. The program was started in 2022, bringing 365 students to Borana, and it     7     (grow) to welcome more than 1, 100 students in 2023,

Borana put all profits (收益) into efforts like this one, and it has made a     8     (different): Last year, tourism produced over $1 million,    9     (lead) to the protection of 28 endangered species, the training of 114 workers, scholarships for 55 students, and drought relief to seven communities. Now there is a growing recognition that change doesn't happen alone, and that long-term efforts to protect wildlife require a     10    (share) purpose across communities and interests.

6 . For the first time in about 100 years, a rare bird called the takahē is walking freely along the Lake Whakatipu Waimaori Valley in New Zealand after 18 captive birds were released into the wild. The area is also home to a Maori tribe called Ngai Tahu, which has spent years campaigning for the birds to return to their land. The Maori are New Zealand’s Indigenous people (first people known to live there), and they consider the takahē bird to be “taonga”, meaning a treasure.

Takahē are large, round, flightless birds with red legs, and they have lived in New Zealand since prehistoric times. Like many New Zealand birds, takahē evolved to be flightless because there were no mammals to compete with. When Europeans arrived in New Zealand, however, predators such as cats and ferrets were introduced and killed off many flightless birds. Takahē were declared extinct in 1898, but a small number of the birds were discovered in 1948 in a remote part of the Murchison Mountains.

Since then, conservationists have been trying to restore the takahē population in captivity. They gathered the bird’s eggs in order to keep the chicks safe from predators. The chicks were raised by volunteers, who fed them while wearing sockpuppets on their hands to imitate the parent birds. There are now about 500 takahē birds in captivity. Several pairs of adult birds have been released into the island’s sanctuaries and national parks. Experts will monitor them to see how they adapt to their new environment. If everything goes well, they hope to release seven more birds this month and 10 young birds next year.

Ta Tipene O’Regan, an elder of the Ngai Tahu tribe, helped to release the birds. He told The Guardian newspaper, ”There are few things more beautiful than to watch these large birds running back into lands where they haven’t walked for over a century. ”O’Regan said, “It’s an absolute joy. ”

1. As for Maori people, takahē are ______.

A．valuable

B．dangerous

C．adaptable

D．entertaining

2. What caused takahē flightless according to Paragraph 2?

A．Big bodies	B．Long time captivity.
C．Native people’s protection.	D．No competitors.

3. What does the underlined word “chicks” refer to in Paragraph 3?

A．Eggs.

B．Predators.

C．Baby birds

D．Parent takahē.

4. Which is probably the best title?

A．Native Birds back in the Wild	B．A Big Joy of Maori Tribes
C．Rare Eggs Protected by Volunteers	D．Distinct Mammals in New Zealand

7 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. Why did Tracy bring dogs to the children?

A．To teach them to love animals.

B．To help them gain confidencc.

C．To protect them from dangers.

2. What is Kevin's concem about the dog?

A．They may misbehave.

B．They may get hurt.

C．Thcy may carry diseases.

3. What will lelen do tomorrow morning?

A．Give a talk.

B．Meet the children.

C．Take some photos.

8 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

I had ordered many gifts online for the upcoming Christmas. One day,when the doorbell rang, I was sure some of the packages arrived. I opened the door,but only to find a beautiful little dog sitting on the floor. It looked up at me with her big,cute eyes. I looked around, but there was no one in sight. It was obvious that someone had found the puppy somewhere and intentionally left her outside the door.

The lovely dog was a timely Christmas gift for me,indeed. The year marked a turning point in my life. In September,my husband was offered a new job in Africa. Feeling that I had hit a career bottleneck as a photographer journalist,I decided to relocate with him. While my husband was busy with his work,I didn’t know what to do anyway. I felt isolated,homesick and lacking purpose. We lived in a house near a river that cut across an expansive grassland. With few people around,I would take my camera and wander around,photographing aimlessly every day.

So we adopted the abandoned dog. My husband called her“our little angel”and I named it accordingly.   Angel seemed to be very happy with us and she turned out to be a perfect companion for me. Always by my side,she enjoyed exploring the shady bushes and mysterious tunnels all over the grassland. Encouraged by her curiosity,I decided to explore,too.

There was a deep cave near our house and I had been eager to explore it. The only way in was narrow and slippery. I had promised my husband that I wouldn’t do it unless he was around. But he was always busy. With Angel as my companion,I figured that it was time to stretch the rule a little bit.

One day, I equipped myself with a good flashlight and carefully walked down the dark cave. Suddenly, Angel,who had been following me closely,rushed ahead and disappeared into the darkness.

注意：
1. 续写词数应为150个左右;
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

A few seconds later, it brought back a little bird.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

During the recovering process, I took many photographs of the little bird.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9 . I wasn’t raised to be a fan of snails (蜗牛). I was always taught that if we see a snail on a plant, we should pick it off and_________on it. This brought us the kind of giggly (咯咯傻笑的) _________that only children experience. We loved it. However, my_________on snails has changed, as I’ve grown older. They bring me a different kind of happiness.

The first time I thought of snails as more than a_________was when I saw something that_________ me in my garden. A small snail, _________a hard shell, moved slowly toward one_________bud and explored it. The exploration lasted for quite a while and, _________enough, the bud turned into a full bloom. Watching the snail carefully touching the flower_________me of the lyric: “Snails see the beauty in every inch.” I realized that the snail is probably a best representation of__________and taking life slowly.

Then, I__________the snail in my palm. It was scared by the sudden move and immediately__________back into its shell. I thought it would__________inside for several minutes, but shortly after gutting used to the takeaway, the snail poked its head out again. It was not just hiding but__________.

Giving ourselves time to nourish (滋养) inside and out, and waiting for the right__________to reenter the exciting life, is extremely restorative and worthwhile.

1.

A．knock

B．stamp

C．lean

D．click

2.

A．relief

B．satisfaction

C．sympathy

D．scare

3.

A．view

B．focus

C．debate

D．article

4.

A．pet

B．toy

C．pest

D．mascot

5.

A．puzzles

B．interests

C．comforts

D．distracts

6.

A．dragging

B．using

C．lifting

D．pushing

7.

A．eye-catching

B．breathtaking

C．familiar-looking

D．half-blooming

8.

A．magically

B．secretly

C．swiftly

D．silently

9.

A．cured

B．reminded

C．warned

D．informed

10.

A．curiosity

B．excitement

C．calmness

D．eagerness

11.

A．placed

B．covered

C．stuck

D．wrapped

12.

A．stepped

B．drew

C．crawled

D．walked

13.

A．wander

B．sleep

C．hide

D．struggle

14.

A．competing

B．resisting

C．exploring

D．adjusting

15.

A．reason

B．position

C．moment

D．choice

10 . My grandma passed away last week. My mum began the painful yet necessary task of sorting through her belongings.

“Is there anything you want from grandma’s flat?” Mum texted me.

“Her aloe (芦荟), please.” I required zero thinking time.

Sometime around 1975, Grandma, always believing good things would happen in the future, received this plant as a gift, which she appreciated and placed in her doorway. It came from the local butcher. Five years later, my mum married the butcher’s son and had me. Grandma revealed to me this particular plant was a living relationship between the two families. And so was I.

Recently, whenever we visited Grandma’s flat, I attempted to fix this concept in my children’s minds. “That was a gift your great-grandma bought your other great-grandma! It’s older than me!” Then my kids would nod and ask Grandma for a sweet.

Numerous times, Grandma gave me cuttings or clippings of the plant, hoping I might raise my own and continue the legend. Yet, every time, my new branch died with my awful gardening skills. But that didn’t used to matter, because I could turn to Grandma, who would wait and accept my disturbance without becoming upset. Then I got another clipping and tried again. But now I can’t. So, I decided that the plant will go and live with Ann, my mother-in-law, who is a genius with a greenhouse.

The plan is for Ann to keep hold of the original plant. In time, she can teach me how to deal with its cuttings properly, and then maybe one day I can settle the plant in my place.

In the meantime, Ann will allocate (分配) clippings among my relatives, as Grandma used to do. My wife’s two sisters, for example, are both better at tending plants than I am, so it is quite imaginable they, too, will offer cuttings of the plant to their partners, spreading this loving plant across my entire extended family.

1. Why did the author want his grandma’s aloe?

A．He wanted to pass it down to others.	B．He showed a preference for gardening.
C．He had a pleasant memory of the plant.	D．He received it as a gift from his grandma.

2. Which of the following best describes the author’s grandma?

A．Optimistic and patient.

B．Generous and helpful.

C．Honest and fashionable.

D．Humorous and skillful.

3. The author took the aloe to his mother-in-law to

A．display his skills in gardening	B．have the plant better cared for
C．announce his grandma’s death	D．protect the plant from dying out

4. What may be the best title for the text?

A．Aloe: my family bond	B．Aloe: a mysterious plant
C．Grandma: my life coach	D．Grandma: a lovely gardener