1 . There are few places on Earth that humans haven’t messed up. Now even Antarctica, the only continent with no permanent human inhabitants, is being altered by us. A study found that the increasing human presence in Antarctica is causing more snow melt-bad news for a frozen world already battling the effects of human-caused global warming.

Black carbon, the dark, dusty pollution that comes from burning fossil fuels has settled in locations where tourists and researchers spend a lot of time, scientists found. Even the smallest amount of the dark pollutant can have a significant impact on melting because of its very low reflectiveness: things that are light in color, like snow, reflect the sun's energy and stay cool; things that are dark, like black carbon, absorb the sun's energy and warm up.

“The snow albedo (反射率) effect is one of the largest uncertainties in regional and global climate modeling right now,” Alia Khan, a snow and ice scientist at Western Washington University, told CNN. “That’s one of the motivations for the study, to quantify the impact of black carbon on regional snowmelt, which is important for quantifying the role of black carbon in the global loss of snow and ice.”

“Antarctica is sitting there pretty much silently all year. But, if it weren’t there, in the state that it is meant to be, the balance that we have in the climate system will no longer be,” Marilyn Raphael, a geography professor said. “Antarctica’s sea ice is also important to maintain a balance in atmospheric circulation,” he added. As waters get warmer, some Antarctic creatures are finding their homes more and more unlivable.

“Everything we do has consequences,” Raphael said. “We need to educate ourselves about those consequences, especially in systems that we know relatively little about. We have to be careful that we don’t upset the climate balance.”

1. Why can the smallest amount of black carbon have huge impact on melting?

A．It is highly reflective.	B．Its dark colour absorbs heat.
C．It produces vast energy.	D．It causes much pollution.

2. According to Alia, which of the following is one reason for conducting the study?

A．To measure the impact of black carbon on melting.

B．To quantify the cost of battling against climate change.

C．To remove the uncertainties of global warming effects.

D．To urge people to pay more attention to melting problem.

3. What is the fourth paragraph mainly about?

A．The change caused by Antarctic melting.	B．The methods to stop Antarctic ice melting.
C．The significance of Antarctic being in its state.	D．The sufferings Antarctic creatures are experiencing.

4. What does Raphael advise people to do?

A．Reduce tourist numbers.	B．Face the consequences.
C．Acquire professional education.	D．Stop disturbing the climate.

3 . Since the age of 5, Laura Lee has had what most would consider an odd habit-she collects toilet rolls. At that time, she didn’t know this habit would eventually become a nationwide recycling campaign.

In December 2018, as a 16-year-old student of Nanyang Girls’ High School in Singapore, Lee founded ToiletRollSG, a national project that aims to collect 1,000 kilograms of cardboard cylinders — or about 150,000 pieces. As of February of 2021, Lee, who was studying at Hwa Chong Institution, had collected 860 kg of toilet rolls, reported Singapore Today. Slightly later, she was awarded Singapore’s National Environment Agency’s Ecofriend Awards, which recognizes individuals for their contributions to the environment, under the Youth and Students category.

But why did she choose toilet rolls? “They are convenient to collect and also one of the purest forms of waste to recycle because they are made of only one material,” Lee told Singapore Today. “Project must be economically practical too. For example, it’s more difficult to recycle pens because they are made up of too many different materials like rubber casings, metals and plastics which require more resources to separate.”

Lee went into a partnership with the waste management firm Veolia, which gives her five cents for every 1 kg of toilet rolls collected.

She organized “toilet roll challenges” within Nanyang Girls’ High School and worked with cleaners to collect used toilet rolls from school toilets. She also conducted talks about ToiletRollSG. But due to COVID-19, she has been unable to conduct physical talks, so she raises awareness about different social causes through her Instagram Live series called On A Roll.

One of the biggest challenges Lee has faced has been others doubting her due to her young age. “I always have to use my actions as well as the different things I’ve done to prove that I’m passionate and know about this,” she told The Straits Times.

Lee will donate the money collected to a social cause that is focused on community health.

1. Why did Lee found ToiletRollSG?

A．To develop some good habits.	B．To be honored by Ecofriend Awards.
C．To recycle toilet cardboard cylinders.	D．To make contributions to her high school.

2. Lee’s mention of pens in Paragraph 3 is to ________.

A．show toilet rolls are more important	B．prove it difficult to recycle pens
C．illustrate the process of recycling pens	D．explain Lee’s opinion on recycling

3. What is the biggest challenge Laura is faced with?

A．The failure to conduct talks.	B．The ineffective cooperation.
C．The small amount of money.	D．The mistrust of others.

4. Which of the following words can best describe Lee?

A．Humorous.

B．Responsible.

C．Emotional.

D．Curious.

4 . Common water plant could provide a green energy source. Scientists have figured out how to get large amounts of oil from duckweed, one of nature’s fastest-growing water plants. Transferring such plant oil into biodiesel (生物柴油) for transportation and heating could be a big part of a more sustainable future.

For a new study, researchers genetically engineered duckweed plants to produce seven times more oil per acre than soybeans. John Shanklin, a biochemist says further research could double the engineered duckweed’s oil output in the next few years.

Unlike fossil fuels, which form underground, biofuels can be refreshed faster than they are used. Fuels made from new and used vegetable oils, animal fat and seaweed can have a lower carbon footprint than fossil fuels do, but there has been a recent negative view against them. This is partly because so many crops now go into energy production rather than food; biofuels take up more than 100 million acres of the world’s agricultural land.

Duckweed, common on every continent but Antarctica, is among the world’s most productive plants, and the researchers suggest it could be a game-changing renewable energy source for three key reasons. First, it grows readily in water, so it wouldn’t compete with food crops for agricultural land. Second, duckweed can grow fast in agricultural pollution released into the water. Third, Shanklin and his team found a way to avoid a major biotechnological barrier: For the new study, Shanklin says, the researchers added an oil-producing gene, “turning it on like a light switch”by introducing a particular molecule (分子) only when the plant had finished growing. Shanklin says, “If it replicates (复制) in other species-and there’s no reason to think that it would not — this can solve one of our biggest issues, which is how we can make more oil in more plants without negatively affecting growth.”

To expand production to industrial levels, scientists will need to design and produce large-scale bases for growing engineered plants and obtaining oil — a challenge, Shanklin says, because duckweed is a non-mainstream crop without much existing infrastructure (基础设施).

1. What can people get from duckweed firsthand?

A．Plant oil.	B．Stable biodiesel.
C．Sustainable water.	D．Natural heat.

2. What does paragraph 4 mainly convey?

A．Options for renewable energy.

B．Reasons for engineering genes.

C．The potential of revolutionary energy source.

D．The approach to avoiding agricultural pollution.

3. What is the decisive factor to mass-produce the plant?

A．Industrial levels.	B．Unique design.
C．Academic research.	D．Basic facilities.

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

A．Duckweed Power	B．Duckweed Production
C．Genetic Engineering	D．Genetic Testing

7 . Time is running out for coral reefs as the climate gets hotter. So scientists are searching the globe for corals that are better at enduring heat, Now, new research shows how those “super corals” can survive: less roommate drama.

Reefs depend on a crucial partnership between the corals and the algae (海藻) that live in the corals’ tissue, The algae make food for the corals using sunlight and in exchange, get a nice spot to live. But when oceans heat up, that relationship goes bad, and the corals kick the algae out, Without their roommates, corals can die, turning a ghostly white, bleached (白化) color.

Still, some corals seem to resist bleaching better than others, A new study shows that those corals depend on algae that are better at tolerating heat. Researchers hope that pinpointing these abilities will help develop new conservation tools to preserve the world’s reefs as temperatures rise. About 1/4 of all marine life rely on coral reefs in some way, along with half 1 billion people around the world also depend on reefs for their food and livelihoods.

“Heat stress can kill a lot of corals really fast,” says Kate Quigley, a research scientist at James Cook University and the Minderoo Foundation in Australia. “I hope that nature does have some mechanisms to get us through the next few years while we get our act together.”

While the hope is that those algae could also aid in reef conservation in the future, researcher Patrick Buerger says it’s likely that it wouldn’t help all coral species. And even the toughest corals can only endure so much. Currently, the world is on track for just under 3degrees Celsius of warming by 2100, a level that would wipe out nearly all coral reefs.

“The action has to be on climate change,” he says. “This is a short-term solution that might buy some time for corals to adapt. But the main focus has to be on climate. There’s not a silver bullet to the problem.”

1. What is the feature of super corals?

A．Sun-loving.

B．Long-living.

C．Good-looking.

D．Heat-bearing.

2. What can algae get from the corals?

A．Habitat.

B．Food.

C．Sunlight.

D．Friendship.

3. What do the figures in paragraph 3 indicate?

A．The population of marine life.	B．The importance of coral reefs.
C．The seriousness of global warming.	D．The living conditions of coral reefs.

4. What does Patrick think of using heat-resistant algae in reef conservation?

A．It is useless

B．It is the last hope.

C．It is temporary.

D．It is the silver bullet.

9 . People today are not unfamiliar with term such as "going eco-friendly" and "sustainable lifestyle". However, there exists a group of sceptics（怀疑论者）who believe that going eco-friendly is merely a fad（一时的风尚）. I disagree with this viewpoint, Going eco-friendly is not merely a fad and it does, in fact, change the beliefs and attitudes of people.

The long-term presence of environmental organisations shows the efforts that people have made towards going eco-friendly. Organisations such as World Wildlife Fund advocate people to go eco-friendly. The high involvement of the organisations and the participants is thus a strong indicator that going eco-friendly is not merely a fad but a trend that can last decades.

Another strong indicator is the emergence of sustainable products in many industries, such as organic produce and electric vehicles. The consumer demand, coupled with eco-conscious（环保意识的）businesses, is behind the sharp increase in such products. This shows a shift in the beliefs and attitudes of people towards adopting a sustainable lifestyle. Thus, it seems quite certain that going eco-friendly is not merely a fad.

While some people who broadcast their eco-friendly practices are criticised for just hoping to project an eco-conscious image, there are a number of celebrities who have been practising the zero-waste lifestyle for years. For those who do so for years, and not mere days or months, it is indeed a commitment that can only come with a true change in beliefs and attitudes towards caring for the earth.

The call to save the earth looks set to stay. With the development of technology and the appearance of many platforms advocating going green, people are more willing to change their beliefs and attitudes when they can learn about and appreciate the positive impact of the work of different environmental organisations and individuals. It is hoped that these effects will go a long way in ensuring that our planet will remain a suitable place to live in.

1. Why does the author mention World Wildlife Fund?

A．To appreciate its environmental efforts.

B．To encourage people to go eco-friendly.

C．To evidence the universal recognition of going green.

D．To highlight the difficulty in changing people's attitudes.

2. What does the underlined word "emergence" mean in paragraph 3?

A．Sudden disappearance.	B．Sharp increase.
C．Gradual development.	D．Limited application.

3. What does the author expect of technology development?

A．It may discourage people from sustainable lifestyle.

B．It may boost the business of organic produce.

C．It will be used to project an eco-conscious image.

D．It will promote environmental awareness.

4. What is the author's purpose in writing this text?

A．To prove going eco-friendly a lasting trend.

B．To popularize the eco-friendly products.

C．To offer strategies to go eco-friendly.

D．To advertise for eco-friendly platforms.

10 . Greenhouse-gas emissions have produced the planet more than 1°C (1.8°F) warmer than it was in the pre-industrial days. Its atmosphere is producing heavy weather in ways both predicted and surprising. And, with emissions continuing, it will get worse.

Unfortunately, 2021 will probably be one of the 21st century’s coolest years. If temperatures rise by 3°C above pre-industrial levels in the coming decades — as they might even if everyone manages to honour today’s firm promises — large parts of the tropics risk becoming too hot for outdoor work. Coral reefs and the livelihood that depend on them will disappear and the Amazon rainforest will become a ghost of itself. Severe harvest failures will be commonplace. Ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland will shrink (缩小) past the point of no return, promising sea rises measured not in millimetres, as today’s are, but in metres.

Six years ago, in Paris, the countries of the world committed themselves to avoiding the worst of that nightmare by removing greenhouse-gas emissions quickly enough to hold the temperature rise below 2°C. Their progress towards that end remains seriously inadequate. Yet even if their efforts increased dramatically enough to meet the 2°C goal, it would not stop forests from burning today; prairies (草原) would still dry out tomorrow, rivers break their banks and mountain glaciers disappear.

Cutting emissions is thus not enough. The world also urgently needs to invest in adapting to the changing climate. The good news is that adaptation makes political sense. People can clearly see the need for it. When a country invests in flood defenses, it benefits its own citizens above all others — there is no free-rider problem, as there could be for emissions reduction. So All the governments should make a broader move to increase investment in adaptation. More such efforts are vital.

1. What can we infer from Paragraph 1?

A．The weather will become better in the future.

B．The earth in the pre-industrial days was warmer.

C．Bad weather is often caused by greenhouse gases.

D．The appearance of bad weather is always expected.

2. What will happen if the temperature rises by 3°C above pre-industrial levels?

A．Crops will fail a little now and a little then.

B．The melting ice will cause a sharp rise in sea level.

C．People can still make a living by relying on coral reefs.

D．It will be too hot for people to work outdoors all over the world.

3. What can we learn from the passage?

A．None of the investment money comes from the nation.

B．The disasters would be avoided if the 2°C goal could be met.

C．When a country invests in flood defenses, its own citizens benefits most.

D．All the countries are trying to avoid the worst result by reducing the emission.

4. What’s the main purpose of the passage?

A．To analyse the possibility of meeting the 2°C goal.

B．To introduce a new method to study greenhouse-gas emissions.

C．To assess the consequences of cutting greenhouse-gas emissions.

D．To call each country government to raise investment in adaptation.