1 . Whether it’s for your health, environment — or your wallet — gardening has seen a boom in recent years.
Pick your own
Invite community conversations
Over the garden fence. At the vegetable fields. While weeding your window boxes.
Build strength
Gardening is exercise because you do small tasks like cutting grass or raking (耙地) that fall under the category of light or moderate exercise. However, you also dig, shovel, and chop wood to get this level up to moderate exercise.
Boost mood
Did you know that gardening can boost your mood while increasing your self-respect levels? When you make time to go out and work in your garden, your anxiety levels can go down and you could start to feel less depressed. One study looked at this benefit of gardening. There searchers took people who suffered from depression and had them participate in a 12-week long gardening.
| A．The more you garden, the stronger you will get |
| B．All of these tasks ensure you work your muscles |
| C．There’s nothing like eating your own vegetables |
| D．And now is a great time to get your hands dirty in soil |
| E．A big benefit of gardening is forming connections with new people |
| F．They found that each participant had great improvement in their condition |
| G．It’s amazing to have someone to talk to when you’re tending your plants or vegetables |
2 . My first dependant was a duck called Mr. Kite. As a cream-faced four-year-old, it was my job at the nursery to turn the eggs in the incubator (恒温箱) every day: one side “O”, the other side “X”.
We lived in a small, inner-city house with a long, thin garden in east Oxford at the time. As a gentle-hearted vet's (兽医的) daughter, my mum couldn't resist adopting these ducks. I named them Buttercup, Mr. Kite and Drakey. We made them a pond. The bottom was a mosaic (马赛克) made from all the bits of plate and cup that had been broken during family rows. Within 30 seconds,the pond was so full of duck droppings that we never saw the mosaic again.
One of the most magical moments during my caring for ducks was the night it snowed. Mum, over whelmed by pity and grandmotherly concern, insisted that Mr. Kite and her friends — yes, Mr. Kite was female — be spared another freezing night in the wooden house my dad had built for them at the end of the garden; we caught them, flapping and shouting, and brought them in to sleep in the kitchen.Have you ever seen three ducks go wild in a tiny kitchen? It was one of the best moments of my childhood. It smelled like the underside of hell's socks by the time they had left.
I used to spend my summers lazing in a swimming pool with Mr. Kite and the others. Eventually, though, our neighbour complained that they were being woken at 4:45 a.m.. So, the feathered three went to live with an old couple in the country. Fair enough — you don't move to the city to have the dawn torn apart by quacking — although it must have made a change from student parties and the sound of 19-year-olds being sick by the bins.
I wonder now if this early experience of duck adoption is the reason that, at least three times a week, what ever the weather, you will find me swimming in the Thames or a nearby lake with the ducks. Although they never say hello.
1. Why were there marks of “O” and “X” on eggs?| A．To have fun. | B．To count the eggs. |
| C．To tell sides apart. | D．To distinguish males from females. |
| A．Family preference. |
| B．A nursery assignment. |
| C．The mother's occupation. |
| D．Neighbour' support. |
| A．The ducks' smells drove the author mad. |
| B．The energetic ducks brought much pleasure. |
| C．The ducks were hard to feed in cold weather. |
| D．The ducks were offered luxury accommodation. |
| A．Rejecting firmly. | B．Ignoring deliberately. |
| C．Explaining patiently. | D．Accepting unwillingly. |
3 . Instead of being addicted to smartphones and games, Zhang Yixuan prefers to spend his summer vacation walking in nature, meeting with little creatures like shrimps and crabs (蟹).
The 17-year-old boy went viral on Sina Weibo recently for his knowledge of biology, which led him to discover a new species of freshwater crabs of Sinolapotamon in 2022.
Zhang’s father, who was born in a rural area, loved catching fish and crabs himself at an early age, so Zhang was always taken outdoors by his parents to explore as much as possible and observe little creatures quietly without being interrupted. Now a grade 12 student at Yulin High School, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous regıon, Zhang has dozens of “living treasures” that he has collected from the outdoors, including insects, fish, shrimps and crabs.
“This one is a species of Nanhaipotamon that I caught in a mountainous area,” said Zhang, pointing to a bright-colored crab moving its amusing eyes around. “You can see it just shed its shell.” There is also a row of empty bottles and jars in Zhang’s room to store his specimens. “I can notice the small differences between two shrimps, and then I take them back to my room for further observation,” said Zhang.
It is the microscope his father bought him that makes the bedroom look more like a mini biology lab than anything else. It’s a place where Zhang can devote himself to identifying shrimps or observing crabs day and night. With the help of his microscope, Zhang concentrates on exploring the natural world. Sometimes he spends hours simply examining a piece of fish scale, the leg of a crab or the antenna of an insect. He often works so late that his parents have to force him to go to bed.
“I’m often amazed by what I see while placing these tiny and fragile things under the microscope. No matter how unimportant an insect is, each life is so delicately and uniquely organized,” said Zhang.
1. What made Zhang popular on Sina Weibo?| A．His love of biology. |
| B．His videos of outdoor adventures. |
| C．His collection of “living treasures”. |
| D．His discovery of a new type of crab. |
| A．His father’s early job. |
| B．A crab he once caught. |
| C．His school’s field trips. |
| D．His childhood experiences. |
| A．Zhang’s tools for observations. |
| B．Zhang’s achievements in biology. |
| C．Zhang’s mini biology lab at home. |
| D．Zhang’s addiction to his specimens. |
| A．Honest and energetic. |
| B．Outgoing and adventurous. |
| C．Curious and hard-working. |
| D．Knowledgeable and thankful. |
4 . In parts of Africa, people communicate with a wild bird — the greater honeyguide-in order to locate bee habitats and harvest their stores of honey. It’s a rare example of cooperation between humans and wild animals, and a potential instance of cultural coevolution (共同进化). Brian Wood from UCLA and Claire Spottiswoode from University of Cape Town were lead authors on a study showing how this valuable partnership is maintained and varies across cultures.
“Our study demonstrates the bird’s ability to learn distinct voiced signals that are traditionally used by different honey-hunting communities, expanding possibilities for mutually beneficial cooperation with people,” Wood said. “Honeyguides seem to know the landscape well, gathering knowledge about the location of bee nests, which they then share with people,” Spottiswoode said. “People are eager for the bird’s help.” The honeyguides also benefit from locating the colonies: They eat the leftover honeycomb.
Spottiswoode and Wood’s study was done in cooperation with the Hadza in Tanzania, with whom Wood has been conducting research since 2004, and the Yao community of northern Mozambique. Their prior work in both communities documented differences in how each culture attracts honeyguides. Among the Hadza, a honey-hunter announces a desire to partner with the bird by whistling. In Mozambique, Yao honey-hunters do so with a “Brr!”... followed by a “...hmm!”
Using mathematical models and audio playback experiments, the team studied these signals, their usefulness to people and their impacts on birds. They experimentally exposed honeyguides in Tanzania and Mozambique to the same set of prerecorded sounds. This enabled the researchers to test whether honeyguides had learned to recognize and prefer the specialized signals that local honey-hunters used or were naturally attracted to all such signals.
The honeyguides in Tanzania were over three times more likely to cooperate when hearing the calls of local Hadza people than the calls of ‘foreign’ Yao. The honeyguides in Mozambique were almost twice as likely to cooperate when hearing the local Yao call, compared to the ‘foreign’ Hadza whistles.
The study proposes that differences in honeyguide-attracting signals are not random, but make practical sense. While honey-hunting, both the Hadza and Yao come across mammals (哺乳动物), but only the Hadza hunt them, using bows and arrows. The Hadza’s hunting might explain the less notable whistles they use. Filmed interviews show Hadza hunters explaining that they can evade being detected by their prey (猎物) because their whistles “sound like birds.” Contrarily, the signal the Yao use to communicate with the honeyguide can help scare off animals they find dangerous.
1. By cooperating with honey-hunting communities, honeyguides can _____.| A．nest near human culture |
| B．locate bee habitats easier |
| C．have access to more food |
| D．become familiar with the landscape |
| A．To study their mathematical models. |
| B．To check if they are a natural preference. |
| C．To investigate their usefulness to humans. |
| D．To see if they increase birds’ ability to find honey. |
| A．The human-bird relationship can change with new signals. |
| B．The Yao community hunts animals while looking for bee nests. |
| C．The honeyguides are more responsive to calls from the local people. |
| D．The signals from the Hadza were more effective in attracting honeyguides. |
| A．How mammals react to different signals. |
| B．How hunting techniques are applied to prey. |
| C．How whistles enable honeyguides to find targets. |
| D．How signals are associated with hunting practice. |
Last summer, Hilda worked as a volunteer with dolphin trainers at a sea life park. Her job was to make sure the tanks were free of any items so that the trainers could train the dolphins to fetch specific items. However, one day after cleaning, one of the dolphins, Maya, presented Hilda with a candy wrapper from the tank. When Katherine, the trainer, saw this, she blamed Hilda for her carelessness. Upset but not discouraged by this event, Hilda decided to do some spying on Maya.
The next morning, Hilda arrived at the park early. She put on her scuba gear (水下呼吸器) and jumped into the tank for her usual, underwater sweep. Finding nothing in the tank, she climbed out of the water just in time to see Katherine jumping in on the other side. After what happened yesterday, Hilda knew what she was doing. She watched as Katherine performed her underwater search, but Hilda wasn’t surprised when she surfaced empty-handed.
During the tank sweeps, Maya had been swimming playfully, but now the dolphin stopped suddenly and swam to the back part of the tank where the filter (过滤) box was located. She stuck her nose down behind the box and then swam away. What was Maya doing back there? Hilda wondered. She jumped back into the water and swam over to take a look behind the box, and her question was answered. Hilda then swam across the tank following Maya’s path and emerged from the water to find Katherine removing her scuba gear. As Katherine turned around, her mouth dropped open. There was Maya at the edge of the tank with a comb (梳子) in her mouth waiting for her treat.
“Maya! Where did you get that?” demanded Katherine, taking the comb and throwing her a fish. “I know where she got it,” declared Hilda climbing out of the tank with a handful of items still wet from their watery, resting place. “What’s all this?” Katherine asked, obviously confused.
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。
“This is Maya’s secret,” Hilda said with a big smile.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Now Katherine realized what had been going on.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________6 . Like humans, dogs have tear ducts (泪腺) that well up with tears to keep their eyes clean and healthy. But tears in dogs, which tend not to fall as they do when humans cry, hadn’t been linked with emotion before.
Takefumi Kikusui, a professor at Azabu University in Japan, decided to study dog tears after watching his poodle (鬟毛狗) when she had puppies six years ago. He noticed that her eyes got teary as she nursed her puppies. So Kikusui and his team measured tear production among 18 dogs with a standard test known as the Schirmer Tear Test (STT). It involved a paper strip placed inside the eyelids (眼睑) of the dogs for a minute before and after they were reunited with their owners following five to seven hours of separation.
“Tear production was evaluated by the length of the wet part on the STT. The baseline was about 22 mm, and the reunion with the owner increased the length by 10%,” Kikusui explained. With the help of 20 dogs, researchers then compared tear production before and after reunions with their owners and people with whom the animals were familiar. Only the reunion with the owner increased tear production.
Researchers also tested if oxytocin, a hormone thought to be connected to emotional bonding in humans and dogs, could be causing the tear production. They found that dropping oxytocin in dogs’ eyes really increased tear production, while a control solution did not.
The findings suggest “dogs’ tears are associated with positive emotions, such as a reunion with the owner,” according to Takefumi Kikusui. Still, some scientists think it’s a stretch to say that dogs cry tears of joy. “It would take a lot to let me accept the evidence of this research,” said Clive Wynne, an animal behavioral specialist at Arizona State University.
1. What inspired Kikusui to carry out the research?| A．The cry of his poodle’s babies. |
| B．The problem with his poodle’s eyes. |
| C．The changes in his poodle’s eyes while nursing. |
| D．His poodle’s reaction to the reunion with him. |
| A．They can be a sign of dogs’ happiness. |
| B．They can show dogs’ negative feelings. |
| C．They can keep dogs’ eyes healthy and clean. |
| D．They can rarely be seen in young dogs’ eyes. |
| A．Applying oxytocin to dogs’ eyes. |
| B．Placing a paper strip in dogs’ eyelids. |
| C．Keeping dogs away from their owners. |
| D．Increasing the length of the STT’s wet part. |
| A．Dog’s positive and negative emotions can result in tears in their eyes. |
| B．There is a powerful emotional bond between humans and dogs. |
| C．Dog’s eyes are watering due to tear ducts. |
| D．Dogs cry tears of joy when they reunited with their owners. |
The Mango Tree—A Friend of All
It was a usual cheerful and playful day for Dorothy. The only difference was that her family had shifted to a new apartment. Although she had been in the new house just two days, Dorothy had already started liking her new home very much, not only because of the spacious rooms, but also because of a large mango tree which had lovingly extended its branches across the balcony of her house. The mango tree not only gave a beautiful view but also served as a home for a large number of birds and small animals. Dorothy’s mother was also fond of plants and had kept many potted plants in the balcony.
A week passed by. On a Sunday morning, Dorothy was awakened by a loud noise in her neighbourhood. She ran towards the balcony and, to her surprise, found some people chopping (砍) off the beloved mango tree. She ran up to her mother and explained the matter.
Dorothy and her mother looked down from the balcony. They saw the women under the guidance of Mr. Denver, cutting the mango tree down. Mr. Denver was the resident of the ground floor apartment. He said angrily, “Look, I am getting this job done under my expense. This tree is blocking my view. I cannot see my car properly because of this annoying tree.” Dorothy and her mother understood that there was no point in having an argument with Mr. Denver.
From then on, Dorothy tried all possible ways to take her revenge (报复) against Mr. Denver for cutting her beloved mango tree. She did many tricks such as sticking the gum on his call ng bell, pouring sugar in his balcony to attractants, jumping on the floor to create noise, etc.
Days passed by. One morning, as Dorothy was helping her mother water the potted plants kept in the balcony, she couldn’t take here yes away from the fresh green leaves coming from the injured mango tree. Dorothy couldn’t hold her excitement and started jumping with delight.
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。
Several days later, Dorothy’s parents decided to invite Mr. Denver and his family for dinner.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Mr. Denver received Dorothy’s mother’s gift warmly with a smile.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
8 . Diving in the ocean, marine biologist Erika Woolsey has seen how coral reefs (珊瑚礁) are being damaged by climate change. It has made her decide to find a way to share her experience —including those who can’t easily explore the ocean.
Through her non-profit, The Hydrous, Woolsey is using virtual reality to bring the ocean to everyone. Scientists, filmmakers and divers are taking people on immersive (沉浸式的) virtual dives, attracting attention to reef damage and expecting action to protect our sea. About 25% of marine species depend on coral reefs. However, climate change, pollution and overfishing have done harm to around half the world’s shallow water coral reefs.
Twenty years of underwater exploration has given Woolsey a detailed understanding of the dangerous situations facing reefs. “I’ve seen this first-hand shift. Healthy colourful coral reefs become what look like the moonscape step by step,” Woolsey says.
It is through this experience that The Hydrous team set out to recreate with their award-winning film Immerse. Intended to watch with a VR headset, viewers join Woolsey for a nine-minute guided virtual div e on the coral reefs, immersed in a 360-degree underwater view.
They swim alongside sea turtles and sharks before witnessing the worsening of the reefs. The experience often brings out strong feelings. “As soon as people take off that headset and look me in the eye, they want to tell me a story about their ocean experience,” Woolsey says. “It’s that human connection to our ocean that will solve our ocean problems.”
Woolsey hopes advances in camera technology will allow her team to take more and more people to places in the ocean that are underexplored and places further away from human civilization. They are developing a virtual experience that will put the people in the role of a marine biologist, carrying out biodiversity surveys underwater, and even transporting the viewers to space to monitor global sea surface temperatures.
1. Why did Erika Woolsey set up The Hydrous?| A．To collect money for ocean protection. |
| B．To let the public know about coral reefs better. |
| C．To help people enjoy the ocean’s beauty. |
| D．To encourage people to protect the ocean. |
| A．change. | B．experience. |
| C．material. | D．scene. |
| A．The story about the ocean. | B．The situation of coral reefs. |
| C．The connection with sea life. | D．The way to protect the ocean. |
| A．To bring more fun during the lockdown. |
| B．To train talents for environment protection. |
| C．To help people learn more about the ocean. |
| D．To discover more places that need protection. |
Beijing is the capital city of China. It
The loss of grassland and scrubland is already having a major influence
“Cranes are rare and valuable animals in China. At Miyun, a festival
“More cooperation (合作) between
1. How old was the speaker when his cat died?
| A．Six. | B．Seven. | C．Eight. |
| A．It slept on his legs. |
| B．It watched TV with him. |
| C．It gave him hugs. |
| A．In his car. | B．In his bag. | C．Inside his jacket. |
| A．A black cat. | B．A white cat. | C．A brown cat. |
