1 . In dry Niger, south of the Sahara, farmers who allowed cut trees to regrow in their fields have seen crop harvests increase rapidly. In recent decades, farmers there have allowed millions of trees to regrow on land that had once been cleared.

For centuries, rich woodlands dotted this dusty, sun-baked region south of the Sahara. By the time Ali Neino was a boy in the 1980s, however, just one lonely tree shot from his family’s land, and he could see clear to the horizon. “There was no vegetation in between the village and the fields,” recalls Neino, 45. “No trees, no plants, nothing.”

Decades of drought, land-clearing, and demand for firewood had left Niger nearly treeless. Intensive farming (密集农作) to feed the world’s fastest-growing population ensured new trees would not take root. Government efforts to reforest the area in the 1970s failed. Sixty million trees were planted; fewer than 20 percent survived.

Instead of cutting trees down, farmers in Niger now leave them standing and allow them to regrow from stumps (树桩), knowing that the soil around them will retain more water and be enriched by the leaves. On a recent walk along his family’s farm outside Dan Saga, Neino pointed to the trees growing everywhere.

In the past 35 years, as scientists begged nations to get serious about bringing forests back, one of Earth’s poorest countries, in one of the planet’s worst regions, added an astonishing 200 million new trees—maybe more. Across at least 12 million acres of Niger, woodlands have been re-established with little outside help, almost no money, and without driving people off their land. The trees here weren’t planted; they were encouraged to come back naturally, cared by thousands of farmers. Now, fresh trees are popping up in village after village.

1. Why is Ali Neino mentioned in Paragraph 2?

A．To stress the importance of trees.

B．To show the features of the Sahara.

C．To prove Niger ‘s shortage of trees.

D．To predict the disappearance of trees.

2. What made it hard for new trees to grow in Niger?

A．Years of drought.	B．Intensive farming.
C．Trees’ low survival rate.	D．Government efforts’ failure.

3. How did Niger manage to rebuild its woodlands?

A．By driving people off their land.

B．By allowing trees to regrow naturally.

C．By encouraging farmers to plant more.

D．By getting support from other countries.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Trees growing again in a dry nation

B．Land cleared for tree-planting in the Sahara

C．Trees planted for the environment worldwide

D．Crop harvests benefiting from trees in Niger

2 . Children can gain a stronger connection with the environment through story writing, according to a new study. The research was focused on the issue of plastic litter in Latin American countries along the Pacific Ocean.

The experts set out to explore how a story-writing activity may influence the opinions of children about plastic litter, as well as how their behavior may be affected. “A key element of our project was to examine the children’s responses to questionnaires (调查表) they completed before and after writing these stories,” said study co-author Dr. Kayleigh Wyles. “We found that their knowledge on the topic increased and they became more active, as they reported doing more pro-environmental acts afterwards.”

The children were asked to use their imaginations about litter items that are commonly found on the beach, such as straws and plastic bags. They were then instructed to imagine how these items ended up on the beach in the first place. The writing project showed that children were more likely to think about ways of preventing litter from entering the environment, rather than just cleaning it up. According to the researchers, the most popular solutions suggested in the stories were the regeneration and reduction of litter.

Overall, nearly 90 children participated in the study and in more than half of the stories, the children showed awareness of the dangers of plastic pollution in the marine (海洋的) environment, including the risk of animal involvement. Many stories described consequences of animals ingesting plastic, such as injuries or death.

“Stories offer a new and different way to explore what people believe and how they understand their environment,” said lead study author Estelle Praet. “The results were truly inspiring and showed the children’s awareness of plastic’s impact on marine life and the environment.”

1. Which might Dr. Kayleigh Wyles agree with about the story-writing activity?

A．It changes the kids’ way to use plastic products.

B．It promotes the kids’ knowledge on plastic litter.

C．It affects the kids’ responses to difficult questions.

D．It makes the kids more imaginative in story writing.

2. What was the most mentioned way to deal with the litter items in the stories?

A．Cleaning them up regularly.	B．Destroying them on the beach.
C．Delivering them to factories.	D．Recycling and reducing them.

3. What does the underlined word “ingesting” in Paragraph 4 mean?

A．Giving away.

B．Taking in.

C．Escaping from.

D．Living with.

4. What is Estelle Praet’s attitude towards the results of the study?

A．Skeptical.

B．Objective.

C．Optimistic.

D．Critical.

3 . Pollution is one of the biggest problems in the world today. In many places, rubbish is thrown into lakes and rivers.     1    

In some cities, the air is filled with pollution.     2     If it is not cleaned up, more people will be hurt.     3     Land and water pollution kills many animals every year.

If we do not act to improve the environment, more living things will be killed by pollution.

    4     We should separate rubbish into different groups. In this way, it can be recycled and reused. We had better plant more trees.     5     What’s more, we shouldn’t put the waste into lakes or rivers.

If we can do these, we will make the world a better place to live in.

A．This makes some old people and children ill.

B．As well as people, animals are also harmed by pollution.

C．We can make our lakes and rivers cleaner and cleaner.

D．It’s time for all of us to take action right away!

E．Because of this, these places have already been polluted.

F．Trees reduce dust and help keep the air clean.

G．A few of us should take action to protect the environment.

4 . I looked out of the door of my 100 year-old house and saw my newly built garden. I realized nothing is rubbish. I was full of_________and appreciation.

I_________to look at the things that we usually think of as_________—plastic bags, polluted water, rubber bands, and newspapers, clothes and furniture we_________. I also began to think, act and live according to a belief that all things have the_________of being reused as long as we try to_________it. And I explored the worth of_________. I mean recycling isn't just about_________rubbish like putting glass and paper in_________bins. It also requires creativity, commitment and even love.

My neighbors would put the autumn__________by the roadside to be picked up by the garbage truck. This didn't__________with my newfound concept of recycling trash, so I made a new__________with moving boxes and put up a__________saying, ''Dump（倾倒）leaves here". I watched carefully through the autumn as my neighbors__________the leaves in the new garden and I also watered the leaves__________with rainwater and collected dogs' waste as fertilizer, Then I__________flower seeds. Finally, I had a new__________garden, full of colorful flowers.

Nothing has to be really__________. If you try hard enough, everything can be recycled. I even used my bath water to water my garden, though it might be a little__________for my friends. But I think if we all can turn waste, sometimes a little dirty, into__________, the world will be a much better place.

1.

A．joy

B．sympathy

C．doubt

D．regret

2.

A．refused

B．hesitated

C．liked

D．started

3.

A．wealth

B．garbage

C．investments

D．necessities

4.

A．packed up

B．brought up

C．threw away

D．gave away

5.

A．value

B．request

C．confusion

D．consequence

6.

A．own

B．find

C．forget

D．lose

7.

A．collecting

B．recovering

C．recycling

D．competing

8.

A．sorting

B．picking

C．spotting

D．recording

9.

A．uniform

B．broken

C．limitless

D．separate

10.

A．fruit

B．rice

C．leaves

D．vegetables

11.

A．compare

B．deal

C．communicate

D．fit

12.

A．platform

B．garden

C．picture

D．schedule

13.

A．building

B．tent

C．sign

D．show

14.

A．piled

B．polished

C．decorated

D．cleaned

15.

A．unwillingly

B．hardly

C．seriously

D．casually

16.

A．submitted

B．sowed

C．removed

D．reserved

17.

A．smelly

B．annoying

C．imaginary

D．attractive

18.

A．useless

B．careless

C．priceless

D．defenseless

19.

A．pleasant

B．vivid

C．violent

D．disgusting

20.

A．trouble

B．treasure

C．terror

D．trade

5 . Two little girls,14-year-old Cindy and 12-year-old Lucy, wrote to a newspaper office, asking some fast food restaurants to stop giving away free plastic (塑料) toys. Many people read the letter and supported them.

“We have been learning all about the environment at school and the problem of plastic. It made us very sad to see how plastic harms wildlife and pollutes the ocean, and we want to change this.That’s why we want the fast food restaurants to think of the environment and stop giving away plastic toys with their kids meals.” the two girls wrote in their letter.

“We like to go to eat in fast food restaurants, but children only play with the plastic toys they give us for a few minutes before they get thrown away. In the end, they will harm animals and pollute the sea. We want anything they give us to be sustainable (可持续发展的), so we can protect the earth for us and for future humans,” they continued.

The letter made a large number of readers pay attention to them. The number of people who supported them almost doubled after reporters followed the two little girls.

Since the little girls’ story started being picked up by news reporters, the fast food restaurants had to give a reply to the newspaper office, telling about their plans for making their free toys more sustainable.

1. The two little girls wrote to the newspaper office in order to ________.

A．get some fast food

B．get some free presents

C．stop children having junk food

D．stop fast food restaurants giving away plastic toys

2. Where do the two girls learn about the environment?

A．At home.	B．At school.
C．In a restaurant.	D．In a library.

3. The underlined word “they” in Paragraph 3 refers to (指) ________ in the passage.

A．fast food restaurants	B．fast food
C．plastic toys	D．waste water

4. What may fast food restaurants most probably do to deal with free plastic toys?

A．They may stop giving away free plastic toys.

B．They may make free toys with paper and cloth.

C．They may sell their plastic toys to other countries.

D．They may make free plastic toys more sustainable.

6 . Promising 42,000 new homes across five residential districts, the eco-town of Tengah will be the 24th new settlement built by Singapore’s government since World War II. It is, however, the first with centralized cooling, automated trash collection and a car-free town center, which conservationists hope offers a road map for slashing carbon emissions in the Southeast Asian city-state.

Although comparatively small, with a population of under 6 million people, Singapore’s per capita emissions are higher than those of the UK, China and neighboring Malaysia, according to the country’s National Climate Change Secretariat. That’s due, in part, to air conditioning, which accounts for more than a third of typical household energy consumption. The Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS) has predicted that, by the end of this century, average daily temperatures in the city-state may be at least 34.1 degrees Celsius “almost every day”   during the eight warmest months of the year.

As such, keeping cool will, increasingly, be a necessity for residents. Rather than demonizing air conditioning, Tengah’s planners have instead sought to reimagine it. Cold water, chilled using solar power, will be piped through the district’s homes, meaning residents don’t need to install inefficient outdoor AC condensers. According to the town’s energy provider, SP Group, this will generate carbon dioxide savings equivalent to taking 4,500 cars off the roads each year.

Planners used computer modeling to simulate wind flow and heat gain across the town, helping to reduce the so-called urban heat island effect. Elsewhere, “smart” lights will switch off when public spaces are unoccupied, and trash will be stored centrally, with monitors detecting when garbage needs collecting. All residents will have access to the app allowing them to monitor their energy and water usage. Digital displays in each block will meanwhile inform occupants of their collective environmental impact, which could even encourage competition between residential blocks.

Regardless of whether the use of smart technology can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions or not, engaging residents with their own consumption could encourage behavioral change, according to Perrine Hamel, an assistant professor at Nanyang Technological University’s Asian School of the Environment. “Changing behavior is going to be an integral part of achieving climate targets and, of course, urban design is the first way to affect and change behavior,” she said.

1. What can we know about Tengah from Paragraph 1?

A．It offers free cars to every resident.	B．It faces serious environmental problems.
C．It features a sustainable urban design.	D．It’s the first eco-town in Southeast Asia.

2. What is the purpose of Paragraph 2?

A．To predict climate change in the future.

B．To warn people not to use air conditioning.

C．To explain the importance of conserving energy.

D．To stress the necessity of adopting efficient cooling.

3. What will happen to Tengah’s residents according to Paragraph 4?

A．They will be able to check their energy usage.

B．They will be required to dispose of garbage on their own.

C．They will be involved in various competitive activities.

D．They will no longer be affected by the urban heat island effect.

4. What does the smart urban design help according to Perrine Hamel?

A．Helps efficiently reduce carbon emissions.	B．Promotes changes in people’s behavior.
C．Encourages the decrease in energy consumption.	D．Brings more convenience to people’s lives.

7 . The natural wilderness of the Antarctic is under threat because of the increasing number of tourists. They come to Antarctic to ____ penguins, seals and seabirds.

Scientists worry that this ____ to see the Antarctic area will only ____ the situation. They believe that the ____ in tourism could increase the risk to the marine environment and land ecosystems.

A major ____ is that cruise ships (游轮) are increasingly visiting the area and if there was an accident, they could cause major ____. For instance, a Norwegian cruise ship touched ground on Antarctic’s Deception Island, spilling fuel.

___, the Norwegian ship was ice-strengthened and it only spilled a small amount of fuel. If the ship weren’t ____ enough and used heavy fuel oil, it would be very difficult to ____ and thousands of marine life could become ____ in oil.

As a result of the Norwegian ____, there have been several ____ for dealing with the problem. One idea is that there should be a ____ on ships which have not been specially strengthened to deal with sea ____. Another is that there should be a buddy system for large ships so that if one gets into ____, there would always be another nearby, which it could ____ help.

Whatever the ____, it would be difficult to take any action because there are no international laws ____ tourism practices in the Antarctic. ____, ship owners do not seem to be able to ____ what sort of checks and controls are needed in the region.

1.

A．hunt

B．preserve

C．train

D．observe

2.

A．curiosity

B．courage

C．competence

D．encouragement

3.

A．display

B．change

C．address

D．worsen

4.

A．reform

B．growth

C．faith

D．investment

5.

A．conclusion

B．promise

C．concern

D．decision

6.

A．pollution

B．stress

C．conflict

D．inconvenience

7.

A．Obviously

B．Generally

C．Surprisingly

D．Fortunately

8.

A．large

B．heavy

C．strong

D．luxury

9.

A．clean up

B．give up

C．hold up

D．build up

10.

A．boiled

B．stored

C．coated

D．burned

11.

A．exploration

B．accident

C．behavior

D．attitude

12.

A．explanations

B．suggestions

C．arrangements

D．announcements

13.

A．ban

B．claim

C．comment

D．debate

14.

A．creatures

B．rocks

C．water

D．ice

15.

A．debt

B．shape

C．position

D．trouble

16.

A．lack for

B．call for

C．respond to

D．adjust to

17.

A．benefits

B．purposes

C．solutions

D．challenges

18.

A．allowing

B．governing

C．requiring

D．admitting

19.

A．However

B．Therefore

C．Moreover

D．Otherwise

20.

A．agree on

B．focus on

C．try on

D．catch on

8 . Open an app at your smart phone and scan the code bar on the garbage can. When you throw garbage into the garbage can, it will show the weight of the garbage and the points you can get from doing so.     1     It will become more popular in the future. Yes, we are talking about the smart garbage can.

    2     The environmental problems have become constant headaches in the development of those cities. Encouraging garbage classification has become an effective way.

In some cities, a variety of multifunctional smart garbage cans are being put into use. In Beijing, for example, a smart garbage can is equipped with an LED screen, which not only shows national policies on garbage classification but also shows the correct steps for garbage sorting. It can also calculate the weight of the garbage and the accumulated points one can get. They can be traded for some articles of daily use.     3     Its body is actually a screen. It is equipped with some Internal sensors. When people throw garbage into it, the internal sensors can automatically tell the types of the garbage. Meanwhile, people can see how to deal with them.     4    

Garbage disposal is a small issue that involves everybody each day. However, it is also a big issue.    5     With smart garbage cans in our daily life, the idea of garbage sorting will become more established. Our dream of building a greener and more beautiful China will come true so long as we start to make small changes right now.

A．Garbage sorting has been a new fashion.

B．Another kind of garbage can is even smarter.

C．It is no wonder that residents cheered for their presence.

D．Such a way of handling garbage has appeared in some cities.

E．It will affect China’s transformation towards green development.

F．Over 200 million tons of garbage is produced each year in some cities.

G．The good habit of garbage classification can improve the living environment.