1 . Sometimes we only appreciate something when we realize we may lose it. That is the story of the Everglades. A shallow slow-moving river, the Everglades once covered about 18,000 square miles of southern Florida. Until the 1900s, few people lived in the grassy wetlands. Not much was understood about the unique balance of nature that existed there. Plants, creatures, and water had formed a remarkable ecosystem.

By the early 1900s, Florida’s pleasant winters attracted more people. Visitors became new permanent residents. They built homes and roads. The conditions looked good for farming, so the newcomers planted large agricultural crops. But South Florida’s cycle of flooding was a problem. To address that, developers attempted to drain (排水) the land. They also built structures to control water levels and flow.

Those changes made it easier for more people to live year-round in South Florida. However, they also disturbed life in the Everglades, which depends on freshwater regularly refilling the land. The area’s growing human population needed freshwater. And large farms consumed large quantities of freshwater. By the mid-1900s, water levels in southern Florida began to go down. Lack of freshwater wasn’t the only problem. As more and more land was developed for people and farms, the Everglades’ historic boundaries contracted. Loss of habitat and hunting threatened the survival of native species in the Everglades.

Some people hoped that the government’s recognition might save the Everglades. They fought for it. Everglades National Park was established in 1947. It became the first park in the United States created for its biodiversity.

Now, Everglades National Park protects 1.5 million acres along the southern tip of Florida. An amazing variety of creatures live there. About 360 different species of birds have been sighted in the park. Nearly 300 different species of fish have been identified. About 40 species of mammals and 50 species of reptiles inhabit the park. Nature still rules in the Everglades, a place worth understanding, appreciating, and protecting.

1. What was the Everglades like before the 1900s?

A．Naturally wild.	B．Partly explored.
C．Completely lifeless.	D．Thickly populated.

2. What problem did new residents cause for the Everglades?

A．A cycle of flooding.

B．Pollution of freshwater.

C．Possible extinction of native species.

D．The extension of historic boundaries.

3. Why are the figures mentioned in the last paragraph?

A．To attract visitors to the park.

B．To stress the great power of nature.

C．To call for more efforts to protect nature.

D．To show the successful conservation of the park.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．How people adapted to life in the Everglades.

B．How Everglades National Park was established.

C．How humans harmed and saved the Everglades.

D．How the ecosystem of the Everglades was formed.

2 . 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 was doing homework with my friend Ollie at his home when he randomly started scribbling (乱画) a fish. But not just any fish. This fish was riding a skateboard and blowing a bubble that said “I’d rather be skating!”I laughed and drew a sea star saying “Quit fooling around and get to work!”

Just then, Ollie’s grandma Abuela and her friend Mr. Goldberg came into the kitchen. Mr. Goldberg was in charge of the local animal shelter. Abuela poured their tea and inquired about how things were going at the animal shelter. Mr. Goldberg sighed, shaking his head. He explained that not enough people were adopting pets, resulting in too many animals without homes.

Overhearing the conversation, Ollie offered to adopt some excitedly. But Abuela said that one noisy parrot was plenty for this house.

“Blue isn’t noisy,” defended Ollie. “He’s just musical.”

“I’d have a whole farm full of animals if I could,” I said. “But my parents say two cats and a hamster (仓鼠) are enough.”

Mr. Goldberg said he kept trying to attract people to adopt animals, but found it hard to get people’s attention these days. Ollie drew a sad whale, and I wrote the words “Please adopt me” in the shape of a whale spout (喷水). Mr. Goldberg took a look at our drawings and made favorable comments on them, saying that these clever talking animals just might grab people’s attention. And he asked us if we were willing to design a poster for his animal shelter, a proposal we happily accepted. We decided to draw some ideas on our own and meet up again the next afternoon.

That night, when I was sitting in the living room brainstorming ideas for the poster, my little brother brought in our hamster, Mr. Nibbles, to give him a little run-around time. He made a hamster playground out of couch pillows and Mr. Nibbles began to run around merrily.

Suddenly, an idea formed in my mind.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

We decided to make both Mr. Nibbles and Blue the stars of the poster.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。1.

A．They thinned their coffee crops.

B．They planted too much coffee crops.

C．They occupied Venezuela’s mountains.

D．They drove away red siskins from the forest.

2.

A．They can get funds from the government.

B．They can sell the coffee beans at a higher price.

C．They can prevent coffee plants from disappearing.

D．They can attract more consumers with the quality beans.

3.

A．Organic coffee beans developed to increase the production.

B．Coffee farmers who are devoted to bird protection.

C．A project intended to save an endangered bird.

D．A private zoo serving as a breeding center.

4 . Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. perfectly       B. right       C. reach       D. mountainous       E. current       F. convince G. spotted       H. reverse       I. primarily       J. serve       K. worth

“When a snow leopard follows its prey (猎物) among the mountain walls, it moves... softly, slowly,” explains Indian biologist Raghunandan, who has studied animals for years. “If it knocks a stone loose, it will     1     out a foot to stop it from falling and making noise.” One might be moving right now,     2     silent, maybe close by. But where?

Best known for its     3     coat and long distinctive tail, the snow leopard is one of the world’s most secretive animals. These big cats can only be found high in the remote,     4     regions of Central Asia. For this reason, and because they hunt     5     at night, they are very rarely seen.

Snow leopards have been officially protected since 1975, but enforcing this law has proven difficult. Many continue to be killed for their fur and body parts, which are     6     a fortune on the black market. In recent years, though, conflict with local herders (牧人) has also led to a number of snow leopard deaths. This is because the big cats kill the herders’ animals, and drag the bodies away high up in the mountains to eat. Thus, the herders’ animals are in danger of snow leopard attacks, which can push those herders into desperate poverty. To address this problem, local religious leaders have called for an end to snow leopard killings, saying that these wild animals have the     7     to exist peacefully. They’ve also tried to     8     people that it is of great importance to protect those big cats.

As a result of these pressures, the     9     snow leopard population is estimated at only 4,000 to 7,000, and some fear that the actual number may already have dropped below 3,500．The only way to     10     this trend and bring these cats back from their threatened status, say conservationists, is to make them more valuable alive than dead.

5 . I have discovered that I have a second shadow these days as I go outside. This one, however, has four legs instead of two. It is my daughter’s adopted, black cat: Miss Alice. Every time I go out the door she is waiting on my front porch, meowing to be petted. Then she follows me down the hill to my car sometimes running in front so she can get in my way for even more petting. And when I finally return home she is there asking for attention again.

It wasn’t always this way. The very first time I saw Miss Alice she was hiding under my house just having had a family of kittens. When I looked under there I got an angry hiss (嘘声) from her, warning me I was in for a clawing if I got near her kittens. It took a lot of time, patience, kindness, love, and cat food from my daughter to tame her. At first she didn’t want to be touched at all. Then she would only allow an occasional petting. Now my daughter can pick her up and carry her up the road to her house like a little baby. It still makes me smile to see how my daughter’s loving, caring and sympathetic spirit tamed this wild cat and made her as lovable as the most affectionate dog.

I guess that is the power of love. It can heal a hurting heart. It can save a broken spirit. It can uplift a sunken soul. It can free you from fear. It can transform your life. It can even take a violent, wild cat and turn her into a puppy dog in a cat suit.

Embrace (拥抱) the love in your own life then. Welcome the love of your family and friends into your life. And let your own love flow through everything you think, everything you say, and everything you do.

1. What do we know about the cat from the first paragraph?

A．It enjoys staying with the author.	B．It tends to be in the author’s road.
C．It is often ignored by the daughter.	D．It gets well along with the daughter.

2. What does the underlined word “tame” probably mean in Paragraph 2?

A．Feed her up.

B．Make her mild.

C．Arrange for her.

D．Dress her up.

3. What makes the author still smile?

A．The lovely dog.

B．The daughter’s love.

C．The cat’s babies.

D．The harmonious family.

4. What message does the text convey?

A．Where there is life, there is hope.

B．A friend in need is a friend indeed.

C．Love is life in its fullness like the cup with its wine.

D．Do what you fear, and fear that nature will fade away.

6 . From May to October in the southeastern U. S., five species of turtles move ashore under the cover of night to lay their eggs on the beach. During this time, thousands of turtle-loving volunteers search the shorelines for the turtles tracks as part of an ongoing effort to gather population data and protect the nests. But since sea turtles disturb huge areas of sand to hide their nests, human monitors are often left guessing where the eggs are.

Now, a new study suggests man’s best friend can do it better. A detecting dog named Dory found the location of sea turtle eggs more accurately than human volunteers- crucial information when all U. S. sea turtle species are threatened or endangered, says study leader Rebekah Lindborg.

Over months of training on a 50-by-50-square-foot artificial beach. Dory was trained to be alert to the smell of “cloacal mucus,” a sticky substance that coats a sea turtle’s freshly laid eggs, with Lindborg as her handler.

Then, the team convinced the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC)to allow a friendly competition. During the high nesting seasons of 2017 and 2018, two groups went around a stretch of shoreline about five miles long in Vero Beach, Florida. Dory had a sensitive nose for turtles, identifying 560 sea turtle nests from three species. People found only 256.

Dory was also significantly better than her human competitors at choosing where to dig for eggs, substantially reducing the number of holes dug. She was also harder to stump—while human volunteers couldn’t find the eggs in 14.8 percent of nests, Dory only failed to deliver 5.7 percent of the time.

In a word, a dog could make a difference in situations where time is of the essence. That could be when you’re under the gun to relocate a nest that’s about to be flooded when the wave rolls in, or before heavy machinery rolls over the nest site for a construction project.

1. What is a challenge to volunteers concerning protecting turtles?

A．Covering their tracks.	B．Locating their nests.
C．Analyzing their population data.	D．Removing cloacal mucus from their eggs.

2. Why did Lindborg’s team approach the FWC?

A．To seek help for their research on turtles.	B．To recommend their dog join the turtle search.
C．To test the results of their dog training.	D．To ask permission to use an artificial beach.

3. What does the underlined word “stump” in paragraph 5 mean?

A．Get challenged.

B．Make choices.

C．Lose control.

D．Stay focused.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Watch the strange competition between dogs and turtles.

B．Meet Dory, the dog detective of sea turtle nests.

C．Protecting sea turtles has gone to volunteers.

D．Finding sea turtle eggs can be really hard.

7 . 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.

8 . Many of the world’s islands were previously unexplored places, but over time, people have come to these places with far-reaching effects, including deforestation, over-hunting and the introduction of invasive species. _______, most of the bird species disappeared.

While the death of many birds since the 1500s has been _______, our knowledge of the fate of species before this relies on fossils (化石), and these records are limited because birds’ lightweight bones are _______ over time. This conceals the true _______ of global extinctions.

Researchers now believe 1,430 bird species — almost 12 per cent — have died out over modern human history since around 130,000 years ago, with the vast majority of them becoming extinct directly or indirectly _______ human activity.

The study, led by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) and published in Nature Communications, used statistical modelling to _______ the undiscovered bird extinctions.

Lead author Dr Rob Cooke, an ecological modeler at UKCEH, says:“Our study demonstrates there has been a far higher _______ impact on diversity than previously recognized. Humans quickly destroyed bird populations through habitat loss, over-exploitation, and the introduction of rats, pigs, and dogs, which attacked the birds’ nests, and _______ with birds for food. We show that many species became extinct before written records and left no _______, lost from history.”

Dr Søren Faurby of the University of Gothenburg, a co-author of the study, adds: “These historic extinctions have had a major impact on the current biodiversity crisis. The world may not only have lost many fascinating birds but also their varied ________ roles, which are likely to have included key functions such as pollination (授粉). This will have had knock-on effects on ecosystems, so, ________ bird extinctions, we will have lost a lot of plants and animals that ________ these species for survival.”

Observations and fossils show 640 bird species have been driven extinct — 90 per cent of these on islands ________ by people. These ________ from the iconic (标志性的) Dodo of Mauritius to the Great Auk of the North Atlantic to the lesser-known Saint Helena Giant Hoopoe. But the researchers estimate there have been further 790 unknown extinctions, meaning a total of 1,430 lost species — leaving just under 11,000 today. Therefore, from the perspective of protecting species ________, the protection of birds is an urgent issue for mankind.

1.

A．To some extent

B．On average

C．As a result

D．In short

2.

A．confirmed

B．recorded

C．concealed

D．discussed

3.

A．distracted

B．disposed

C．dismissed

D．disintegrated

4.

A．extent

B．context

C．outcome

D．influence

5.

A．due to

B．other than

C．instead of

D．in spite of

6.

A．declare

B．illustrate

C．estimate

D．emphasize

7.

A．climate

B．human

C．environmental

D．natural

8.

A．connected

B．coped

C．lived

D．competed

9.

A．trace

B．route

C．change

D．proposal

10.

A．interactive

B．ecological

C．productive

D．social

11.

A．in terms of

B．because of

C．except for

D．in addition to

12.

A．depend on

B．interact with

C．fight against

D．stay away

13.

A．inhabited

B．removed

C．developed

D．killed

14.

A．result

B．range

C．suffer

D．date

15.

A．origin

B．project

C．growth

D．diversity

9 . A mere four months ago, a black cat named Bounty had no idea just how adventurous his life was about to become. Although the cat was _______ destined for a cat shelter, Doina adopted him just in time. To some, Doina being an avid (酷爱的) traveler seemed like a potential issue, but it _______ , these two were made for each other.

_______ for their journey to begin, Doina gathered all of the equipment, treats, and other _______ that the two of them would need. Though, when it came to carriers for Bounty, Doina had to get a bit _______ . “I made a special pouch (小袋) for him, because cat carriers are not adapted to certain _______ ,” she said.

One of their first adventures included a _______ tour of Italy, the first test that helped them discover how _______ he was to an adventurous lifestyle. “At the start, Bounty was a little anxious and nervous, but after the first few days, he started to _______ himself,” Doina said. “While I pedalled, he ________ in the pouch.”

Since that first cycling tour, Bounty and Doina have ________ several more adventures in their short time together, including mountaineering and camping. In fact, this adorable ________ has already managed to become a record breaker! He is considered to be the first house cat to summit La Grignetta, a 7,100-foot mountain in the Italian Alps. Best of all, he did so “without even a meow of ________ ”.

The two of them have cycled the entire length of the Italian peninsula! If you’d like to ________ this adorable duo, you can visit their website where Doina ________ their travels with lots of updates, photos, and videos for their 800 followers to enjoy.

1.

A．originally

B．temporarily

C．eventually

D．actually

2.

A．gave out

B．broke out

C．turned out

D．found out

3.

A．Shocked

B．Frightened

C．Embarrassed

D．Excited

4.

A．necessities

B．products

C．presents

D．fruits

5.

A．generous

B．creative

C．efficient

D．ambitious

6.

A．hotels

B．journeys

C．problems

D．vehicles

7.

A．skiing

B．hiking

C．flying

D．cycling

8.

A．accustomed

B．opposed

C．blind

D．sensitive

9.

A．cure

B．enjoy

C．protect

D．feed

10.

A．cried

B．ran

C．sang

D．slept

11.

A．offered

B．expected

C．finished

D．discovered

12.

A．bicycle

B．cat

C．tour

D．carrier

13.

A．protest

B．agreement

C．challenge

D．trust

14.

A．have fun with

B．put up with

C．keep up with

D．get along with

15.

A．helps

B．plans

C．orders

D．documents

10 . Rebecca, a wildlife camerawoman, was filming a documentary for the BBC in the Pacific Ocean when she saw something that made her cry: hundreds of  _______   had died because they had  _______  eaten some of the tons of plastic thrown into the sea. Beaches in Honolulu and other Pacific islands were _______ plastic toys, bottles, keyboards, pens, cigarette lighters . Seabirds as well as  other  animals like whales, dolphins, seals, turtles were suffering  _______  thrown-away plastic. The sea and the environment become more and more polluted.

At this point most of us would have felt sad and _______ but Rebecca did differently. In her hometown of Modbury she showed her _______ from the island to local shopkeepers and asked them to do one thing to help—stop using plastic _______ in their shops. To Rebecca's surprise, the shopkeepers_______ and Modbury became the first plastic-bag-free town in Britain. Shops offered  _______ cotton bags or biodegradable(可降解) bags. People in the town got used to taking a shopping bag with them to the supermarket—just like their grandparents had done before plastic bags were  invented . Later, other towns in Britain followed Modbury's  ________ . The small town of Hebden Bridge became the second plastic-bag-free town when four women there saw Rebecca's film and  ________  to act and the people there are happy to change things.

More and more towns around are becoming plastic-bag-free. Now "the bag for life" is part of the national________, and the task of reducing the use of plastic bags has become law. Since October 2015, all shops in the UK must________ five pence for each plastic bag used by each shopper. It's not enough, of course, ________  it's a good start. It also shows us that there is something we can do and that one person ________ a strong enough belief can make a big change to protect the oceans and save the seabirds and sea animals.

1.

A．fish

B．seabirds

C．turtles

D．sharks

2.

A．suddenly

B．quickly

C．accidentally

D．excitedly

3.

A．covered with

B．decorated with

C．fond of

D．satisfied with

4.

A．instead of

B．in memory of

C．in place of

D．because of

5.

A．hopeful

B．grateful

C．helpless

D．careless

6.

A．magazine

B．film

C．website

D．biography

7.

A．bags

B．baskets

C．boxes

D．buckets

8.

A．refused

B．agreed

C．persuaded

D．advised

9.

A．used

B．useless

C．reusable

D．nonrenewable

10.

A．example

B．instruction

C．construction

D．regulation

11.

A．realized

B．decided

C．achieved

D．failed

12.

A．agriculture

B．literature

C．adventure

D．culture

13.

A．pay

B．change

C．charge

D．recharge

14.

A．and

B．but

C．so

D．however

15.

A．in

B．with

C．by

D．on