1 . Throughout history, many species of animals have been threatened with dying out. When Europeans first arrived in North America, more than 60 million buffalo (水牛) lived on the continent. Yet hunting the buffalo was so popular during the 19th century that by 1900 the animal’s population had fallen to about 400 before the government stepped in to protect the species. In some countries today, the elephant faces a similar challenge, as illegal hunters kill the animals for the ivory (象牙) in their tusks.
Yet not all animals with commercial value face this threat (威胁). The cow, for example, is a valuable source of food, but no one worries that the cow will soon die out. Why does the commercial value of ivory threaten the elephant, while the commercial value of beef protects the cow?
The reason is that elephants are a common resource, while cows are private goods which only belong to their owners. Elephants wander freely without any owners. The hunter has a strong motivation to kill as many elephants as he can find. Because the number of illegal hunters is big, each has only a little desire to protect the elephant population. By contrast, cattle live on farms that are privately owned. Each farmer makes great effort to keep the cattle population on his farm because he gets the benefit of these efforts.
Governments have tried to solve the elephant’s problem in two ways. Some countries, such as Kenya and Uganda, have made it illegal to kill elephants and sell their ivory. Yet these laws have been hard to put into effect, and elephant numbers have continued to reduce. By contrast, other countries, such as Malawi and Namibia, have made elephants private goods and allowed people to kill elephants, but only those who own these elephants.
With private ownership and the profit (利润) now on its side, the African elephant might someday be as safe from dying out as the cow. The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle pointed out the problem with common resources: “What is common to many is taken least care of, for all men attach greater importance to what is their own than for what they have together with others.”
1. Why does the author mention buffalo in paragraph 1?| A．To introduce a similar threat to elephants. |
| B．To provide an example of species dying out. |
| C．To offer an explanation for government policies. |
| D．To present the statistics of the buffalo in America. |
| A．They are under different law protection. |
| B．They attract different groups of hunters. |
| C．They contain different commercial value. |
| D．They belong to different ownership types. |
| A．Bans on killing elephants for ivory. |
| B．Effective laws for elephant protection. |
| C．Methods of making elephants private goods. |
| D．Government policies on the elephant’s problem. |
| A．Because elephants don’t fight back. |
| B．Because elephants don’t have exact owners. |
| C．Because local government haven’t protected them. |
| D．Because elephants are more valuable than other animals. |
| A．People pay little attention to others’ resources. |
| B．People want to profit from common resources. |
| C．People care more about their own resources. |
| D．People tend to take what they own for granted. |
Rising sea levels are threatening coastlines in China, for example in
| A. affected B. efforts C. deaths D. floods E. emergency |
A powerful typhoon hit East China in July 2016. The
1. 当前形势：濒危动物，仅千余只，分布于华南、东南等地区；
2. 濒危原因：人类的过度开发，栖息地遭破坏，甚至非法猎杀；
3.你的呼吁。
注意：
1.写作词数应为100字左右。
Protect Golden Monkeys
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5 . I was only five, but my memories of the serious rainstorm that hit my hometown of Jinan, Shangdong province, on the night of August 26 1987, are still vivid.
My family lived in an apartment in a row of buildings near the Xiao-qing River. Starting from Jinan, the river flows into Bohai Bay. Before the industrialization of the city started in the 1970s, the river served as a lifeline between the city and the coast, along which boats transported coal to the coast, returning with full loads (装) of sea salt. But the river started serving as a channel for industrial wastewater from the factories in the 1980s, as well as house-hold wastewater produced by the city as thousands of people came to work in the factories.
With the water becoming dark and smelly, fish and shrimps soon disappeared. My father said the river had “died”, and people might be punished for it. I had no idea what he meant. But that night I found out what the punishment was.
Flashes of lightning followed by loud thunders (雷声) broke the peace. In a minute, the rain poured down. All the houses were flooded. My mother rushed to wake me. I remember seeing the bed floating off the floor in the floodwater. My mom carried me on her back away from our home to the top of the dam walking waist-deep (齐腰深) in the water.
We were all homeless and were arranged to live in a nearby hotel. After the flood, people were worried and anxious to go home to check what the damage was. In the following twenty years, the houses were hit by similar floods several times until finally the river has been widened and cleared. Whenever I go back to my hometown, I remembered the days when I learned to live with floods.
1. What do we know about Xiao-qing River before the 1970s?| A．It was dark and smelled bad with wastewater from factories. |
| B．It was clean and served as an important transportation line. |
| C．It was polluted as there were lots of boats carrying coal. |
| D．It was lively when thousands of people settled along it. |
①A lot of wastewater was sent into the river, making the river no longer what it was.
②They lost their homes and learned an important lesson.
③Heavy rain hit my hometown and a serious flood happened
④People escaped to the top of the dam to stay safe.
| A．①③④② | B．③②④① | C．②①③④ | D．④③ ②① |
| A．Killing all the fish in the river. | B．Polluting the river with wastewater. |
| C．Allowing too many people in the factories. | D．Ignoring my father’s warnings. |
| A．explain the importance of water in people’s life |
| B．argue for the best way to live with floods |
| C．tell that to protect the river is to protect ourselves |
| D．remind people that floods can cause serious damage |
| A．An unforgettable night. | B．Flood control in Jinan. |
| C．A flood rescue. | D．Impression on Xiao-qing River. |
6 . Antarctica is the most distant part of the world, but it is a center of scientific discovery and environmental change.
Early explorers were attracted there by the secret of Terra Australis. Others sought money from catching whales. Still others wanted to understand Earth’s pole in order to better sail the seas. I am a geologist (地质学家) who studies the timing and extent of past ice ages. I’ve been very lucky to conduct five season of research there under the protection of the Antarctic Treaty (条约), an international agreement that encourages scientific cooperation (合作) and environmental protection.
Antarctica is the only continent that was actually discovered, because it has no native human population. British explorer Sir James Cook sailed around the continent in 1772-1775, but saw only some outlying islands (离岛). Cook said that if there were any land, it would be “never to give way to the warmth of the sun.” But Cook also reported that Antarctic waters were rich with wildlife.
Today parts of the West Antarctica Ice Sheet are particularly close to collapse (坍塌). Recent research show sea level could rise by 1 meter by 2100 and 15 meters by 2500 if the greenhouse effect continues and the ice sheet experiences a rapid collapse, as it has in the past. Despite the environmental disaster in Antarctica, the continent also shows that nations can cooperate to find solutions. “I believe the Antarctic Treaty System is the world’s most important example of peaceful and scientific international cooperation. Thanks to it, 10% of Earth’s land surface is protected for wildlife.”
Yet in these bad environments, life finds a way to survive—showing that there are solutions to even the most difficult challenges. If Antarctica has taught me anything in 200 years, it’s that we can work together to deal with problems. As Ernest Shackleton once said, “Difficulties are just things to solve, after all.”
1. What is the author’s purpose of going to Antarctica?| A．To observe whales in Antarctic waters. |
| B．To unlock the secret of Terra Australis. |
| C．To conduct his geological research. |
| D．To sign an international agreement. |
| A．It includes some tiny islands. |
| B．It is terribly cold all day long. |
| C．It provides good places to circumnavigate. |
| D．It is one of the remotest areas of the world. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Favorable. |
| C．Shocked. | D．Disappointed. |
| A．Life should be given a purpose. |
| B．It’s time to explore nature. |
| C．Cooperation matters. |
| D．Science wins all. |
7 . There are plenty of things you can do to live a greener life, through your day-to-day activities, and most of these apply to anyone.
Save energy. The most effective way to cut down on your carbon emissions (排放) is to save energy in your home. Use energy-efficient light bulbs, turn lights off when they aren’t in use, make sure windows are fully closed, and try to reduce the use of your energy.
Protect water. Every drop of tap water you use consumes (消耗) energy. Remember, it needs several processes before it reaches your tap. It might just be water, but a lot of fossil fuel is used for processing it.
Eat greener food.
| A．Use less fuel for transport |
| B．Create more ways to save costs |
| C．Eat less to reduce carbon emissions |
| D．In some places, water itself isn’t enough |
| E．You’ll save energy and money at the same time |
| F．Eating is one thing everyone must do in the world |
| G．Animal products have the biggest impact on the planet |
8 . Over the past few years, Reading has made rubbish her thought and medium (媒介), painting landscapes on more than 100 pieces of rubbish that she has found while hiking, climbing or boating through 29 national parks.
Reading grew up with an early appreciation for nature, exploring the nearby forests and coastlines. While studying art at Bowdoin College and seeing the great amounts of waste from her painting and sculpture (雕刻术) classes, she began to seriously consider her footprint as an artist. She thought how she could paint landscapes if she was harming them. Two weeks before her graduation, she changed her theme and began using the rubbish as her canvas (画布).
After teaching and traveling throughout the country, while also picking up rubbish to bring to her studio, Reading began volunteering at Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Then, while in Texas during the summer of 2017, a broken hubcap (车轮毂盖) she picked up by the side of the road gave her a new idea. She began to paint the mountain landscape on the hubcap, held it up in front of the real range and took a photo. It became the first in her ongoing series.
Reading: who sells prints of her work for $110-$ 250, often paints outdoors after boating or hiking 5 or 10 miles into the wilderness, completing her landscapes and photos a few hours later. Sometimes she takes her rubbish to the studio and then hikes the finished product back to take her photos, lining up the painted objects with the natural landscape.
For better or worse, materials for Reading’s chosen medium will never be in short supply. Thus, as for Reading, artistically and environmentally, there is a lifetime of work to be done. She hopes that her works reminds others of that fact.
1. When did Reading start to think about her style of painting?| A．At childhood. | B．At college. |
| C．After graduation. | D．After teaching throughout the country. |
| A．She sold it for $110. | B．She used it as her canvas. |
| C．She recycled it in the factory. | D．She repaired it for the owner. |
| A．Value of rubbish. | B．Choice of work |
| C．Life experience. | D．Environmental awareness. |
Hello, everyone! I have just come back from a wonderful trip to Tibet. It was so beautiful there that I felt I was in a fairyland. The scenery was so impressive and the air was pretty fresh and clean.
During the 1980s and 1990s, the population of Tibetan antelope dropped
In order to protect the species from
The measures proved
In my opinion, much is being done to protect wildlife, but if we really want to save the planet, we must change our way of life. Remember, we are not trying to save wildlife. Actually, we are trying to save
