The African penguin is expected to go extinct in the wild in just over a decade, given its current population decline. The main reason is a lack of food caused by disturbance to ocean conditions from global heating and
2 . Priscilla Ouchida’s “energy efficient” house turned out to be a horrible dream. When she and her engineer husband married a few years ago, they built a $100,000 three-bedroom home in California. Tightly sealed to prevent air leaks, the house was equipped with small double-paned windows and several other energy-saving features. Problems began as soon as the couple moved in, however. Priscilla’s eyes burned. Her throat was constantly dry. She suffered from headaches and could hardly sleep. It was as though she had suddenly developed a strange illness.
Experts finally traced the cause of her illness. The level of formaldehyde gas in her kitchen was twice the maximum allowed by federal standards for chemical workers. The source of the gas? Her new kitchen cabinets and wall-to-wall carpeting.
The Ouchidas are victims of indoor air pollution, which is not given sufficient attention partly because of the nation’s drive to save energy. The problem itself isn’t new. “The indoor environment was dirty long before energy conservation came along,” says Moschandreas, a pollution scientist at Geomet Technologies in Maryland. “Energy conservation has tended to accentuate the situation in some cases.”
The problem appears to be more troublesome in newly constructed homes rather than old ones. Back in the days when energy was cheap, home builders didn’t worry much about unsealed cracks. Because of such leaks, the air in an average home was replaced by fresh outdoor air about once an hour. As a result, the pollutants generated in most households seldom built up to dangerous levels.
1. It can be learned from the passage that the Ouchidas’ house ________.| A．is well worth the money spent on its construction |
| B．is almost faultless from the point of energy conservation |
| C．failed to meet energy conservation standards |
| D．was designed and constructed in a scientific way |
| A．Poor quality of the air inside. | B．Poor quality of the construction. |
| C．Gas leakage in the kitchen. | D．The newly painted walls. |
| A．relieve | B．accelerate | C．worsen | D．improve |
| A．Because indoor cleanliness was not emphasized. |
| B．Because energy used to be inexpensive. |
| C．Because environmental protection was given top priority. |
| D．Because they were technically unavoidable. |
| A．Energy Conservation | B．House Building Crisis |
| C．Air Pollution Indoors | D．Traps in Building Construction |
3 . Urban gardens are valuable property to communities. They provide green spaces to grow sustainable food, build community cohesion (凝聚力) make new friends, connect with the earth, and much no re. So, let’s check out our list of four inspiring urban gardens in the US.
Got ham Greens
Where: New York & Chicago
What: Got ham Greens first started in Brooklyn and now has four locations in New York City and Chicago. Their flagship farm in Brooklyn produced over 100,000 pounds of greens per year. But it doesn’t just produce healthy local vegetables. It is using high-teach green houses with solar panels to make sure the food grown is healthy and sustainable.
Baltimore Urban Gardening with Students
Where: Baltimore, Mary land
What: The Baltimore Urban Gardening with Students (BUGS) program encouraged students to get their hands dirty and plant vegetables through their after-school and summer programs. Many of these kids don’t have access to green spaces, and have never had the opportunity to grow food.
ReVision Urban Farm
Where: Boston, Massachusetts
What: ReVision Urban Farm in Boston works in partnership with the ReVision Family Home——a shelter for 22 homeless parents and their kids. The farm provided these families with information on healthy eating, and access to the farm’s fresh vegetables. The organization also provided job training to help families escape the cycle of poverty.
Swale
Where: New York
What: scale, a floating food forest located on a large boat, is an innovative project meant to inspire citizens to rethink the relationship between our cities and our food. This urban garden serves as both a living art exhibit and an educational farm, Food forests are sustainable gardens that include vegetables, fruit, nut trees, bushes, herbs, and vine——each one complementing the other in a symbiotic (共生的) relationship.
1. What is special about Got ham Greens?| A．It provides job training for students. |
| B．It offers homeless families formation on healthy eating |
| C．It creates a sustainable garden on a large boat. |
| D．It uses high-tech green houses to grow healthy food. |
| A．Got ham Greens. | B．Revision Urban Farm. |
| C．Baltimore Urban Gardening with Students | D．Scale. |
| A．They are inspirational multinational project. | B．They have educational and entertaining purpose. |
| C．They create job opportunities for farmers. | D．They are important for citizens. |
4 . The first rule of popular science is to reveal the wonder and mystery of the world. For that reason, Sentient (Picador), written by photographer and wildlife film-maker Jackie Higgins, is my pick of the year. According to my interviews with many readers, I select other four newly-published books in 2022.
Delicious
This book describes how our ancestors hunted and consumed ancient animals such as mammoths, bison, giant camels and many more now-extinct species. The diet of the Clovis peoples of North America was a menu described as “a record of a lost world”. This book explains how our dinners robbed the world of so many large animals. It gives inspiration for how modern humans can be at peace with nature.
The New Climate War
In 1999, Mann published a graph showing the rapid post-industrial rise in global temperatures. Two decades later, his book The New Climate War remains convinced that we can prevent climate change. This book sets out a common-sense approach to carbon pricing and a revision of the Green New Deal. Of course, there are still many people who deny that climate change is even happening.
The Geodesic Dome
Physicist Kate Greene imagines that she spends four months in a geodesic dome in Hawaii, with five other people, to mimic living in a colony on another planet. The story describes the future of our Earth. Kate makes readers cherish the natural environment. “No sunshine on our skin, and no fresh air in our lungs,” Greene turns the frustrations into a moving story.
Florida Scrub-Jay
The birds were once common across the peninsula. But as development over the last 100 years reduced the habitats on which the bird depends, the species became endangered. Mark Walters travels the state to report on the natural history and the current situation of Florida’s flag ship birds. This book can raise people’s awareness of protecting the birds’ habitats.
1. What can we infer about the author from the text?| A．He’s a column journalist. | B．He’s a scientist. |
| C．He’s a film-maker. | D．He’s a photographer. |
| A．Delicious. | B．Florida Scrub-Jay. |
| C．The Geodesic Dome. | D．The New Climate War. |
| A．They have happy endings. | B．They record the natural history. |
| C．They face doubts from many scientists. | D．They involve the environmental protection. |
1. 保护环境的重要性；
2. 如何低碳生活；
3. 发出倡议。
注意：
1. 词数80左右；
2. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear fellow students,
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
6 . Every year, an average American produces more than 250 pounds of plastic waste. Recycling is part of the solution, but many of us are confused about what can be recycled and what can’t.
Plastic film
At the store we find it covering vegetables, meats and cheeses. It’s common, but it can’t be recycled because it’s hard to deal with at the MRF (材料回收厂). The thin and soft film gets stuck around the equipment and can bring it to a stop.
Plastic bags
Plastic bags — like those used for bread, sandwich as well as grocery bags — create similar problems for recycling machines as thin plastic film. Therefore, most of the plastic bags end up in landfills and oceans.
Yogurt and butter cups
These containers often mix with other kinds of materials. It’s not possible to separate them. In addition, this type of packaging flattens out on the MRF’s conveying belt and can bring the equipment to a stop, too.
Beverage (饮料) bottles
These containers are firm. They don’t flatten out like yogurt cups and they’re made from one kind of plastic that recyclers can easily sell for making products such as carpet, clothing or even more plastic bottles.
Warning: Be aware that we cannot recycle as much as we want. For example, plastic bottles are a highly desirable product for recyclers, but just about a third finds their way into the MRFs. Therefore, it’s more important for us to reduce packaging.
1. What do the first two kinds of packaging have in common?| A．They are used for the same products. | B．They are mixed with other materials |
| C．They are too thin and soft to be recycled. | D．They are usually recycled in special MRFs. |
| A．Plastic film. | B．Beverage bottles. | C．Plastic bags. | D．Yogurt and butter cups. |
| A．Reduce packaging. | B．Try to build more MRFs. |
| C．Use recyclable bags. | D．Separate the waste properly. |
1.活动的目的和意义。
2.提出倡议。
注意：
1.写作词数应为 80 左右；
2.请在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Dear fellow students,
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Students Union
8 . A country that is carbon neutral is basically no longer giving off, or “emitting”, the dangerous greenhouse gases, simply called “carbon emissions”.
Carbon emissions are closely tied to the burning of “fossil fuels”, like coal, oil, and gas. To become carbon neutral, it’s necessary to stop creating power and heat in ways that pollute, and instead use more “renewable” methods, such as getting energy from the sun, wind, and water. New Zealand already gets about 80% of its energy from renewable sources. From the government’s point of view, to become carbon neutral, that is not enough. So it plans to increase this. Additionally, it aims to begin using more electric cars and trucks. It will also be spending $14. 5 billion to make it easier for people to get around by walking, biking, or using public transportation. Meanwhile, it has a goal of planting 1 billion trees.
Methane (甲烷) is one of the worst greenhouse gases. Surprisingly, methane from cows and sheep makes up about 34% of New Zealand’s polluting gases. However, New Zealand’s plan to go carbon neutral doesn’t cover methane from cows and sheep. It aims to reduce this kind of pollution, too, but not so much. The plan calls for cutting back on the gas by 24% to 47% by 2050. The leader of New Zealand’s Green Party, James Shaw, was responsible for much of the plan. He was clearly successful: it passed 119 votes to 1.
New Zealand has progressed from debating whether climate change is real to discussing what to do about it and is one of the few countries where going carbon neutral has become the law. Scientists say more of this sort of action is still needed right away. A report has been released by 11, 000 scientists, and they believe more countries will face the climate emergency positively. This is the first time that such a large group of scientists have used the word “emergency” to describe climate change.
1. What does the underlined word “this” in paragraph 2 refer to?| A．Planting more trees. | B．Using greener energy. |
| C．Stopping fossil fuels. | D．Making more vehicles. |
| A．It’s controversial. | B．It’s impractical. | C．It’s imperfect. | D．It’s eventful. |
| A．Some still do not take it seriously. | B．Many countries don’t doubt about it. |
| C．The ways have been found to rid it. | D．It might stop being carbon neutral. |
| A．Some ways of carbon emissions. | B．Global climate change emergency. |
| C．New Zealand’s low-carbon lifestyle. | D．New Zealand’s being carbon neutral. |
9 . I first came to Berwickshire for a job-to be the Ranger for the Berwickshire Marine Reserve.I was then Senior Ranger for St Abb’s Head National Nature Reserve and I set up my own business, In Our Nature, offering wildlife journeys,walks,talks and courses in 2020. There’s so much I love about Berwickshire.Its stunning scenery. Its variety of landscapes and habitats and range of amazing wildlife, both above and below the water. Its friendly people. In places you can feel like you are a million miles from anywhere, when in reality you’re just an hour’s drive from Edinburgh.
The thing that supports everything on the Berwickshire Coast is its varied and fascinating geology(地质).The jewel in the crown is Siccar Point. With its world-famous non-conformity(均变)，it’s considered the birthplace of modern geology. The geology not only shapes the landscape, but it also impacts on the wildlife, forming varied habitats from steep sheltered valleys and towering cliffs to sheltered sandy bays.
There’s nothing I like more than being out in nature and sharing my passion with others, so starting up In Our Nature was a no brainer. In the warmer months I offer tours on land and sea to help folk enjoy the amazing wildlife and scenery of the Berwickshire Coast. In the darker months my online courses help people learn about wildlife in the hope that it will increase their enjoyment of the marine and coastal environments they spend time in.
My favourite spot on the Berwickshire Coast has got to be a place called Petticowick. The views up the coast and inland to the Mire Loch are second to none. It’s a place where you can marvel at geology which covers unimaginable periods of time. You can listen to and watch thousands of seabirds that return to the cliffs to breed each spring. Or witness all the amazing activity of the breeding seal colony on the beach below during the early winter.
1. Why did the author go to Berwickshire?| A．To do sightseeing. |
| B．To make friends. |
| C．To work in a reserve. |
| D．To study wildlife. |
| A．The highest part. |
| B．The most attractive part. |
| C．The valueless part. |
| D．The advanced part. |
| A．By providing online courses. |
| B．By sharing her experiences. |
| C．By offering tours on land. |
| D．By organizing trips to the sea. |
| A．Modern geology needs further study. |
| B．Petticowick should be well preserved. |
| C．People should not take advantage of nature. |
| D．The author is enthusiastic about Berwickshire. |
10 . The endangered pandas in Qinling Mountains might face a new threat: the loss of their food—bamboo, which makes up 99% of their meals.
Adult pandas spend most part of the day eating bamboo and have to take in at least 40 pounds a day to stay healthy. However, a new study published in Nature and Climate Change warned that they may soon find their food gone because most of the bamboo in Qinling Mountains might disappear by the end of the century as a result of rising temperature worldwide.
A team made up of researchers from Michigan State University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences has studied the effects of climate change on the bamboo in Qinling Mountains. They have found that bamboo is very sensitive to climate changes. “80% to 100% of the bamboo would be gone if the average temperature increases 3.5 degrees worldwide by the end of the century.” said Liu Jianguo, one of the reports’ authors. He added, “This is how much the temperature would rise by 2100 even if all countries will keep their promises in the Paris Agreement. But you know what is happening around the world.”
In recent years, China has been trying its best to protect the endangered pandas by setting up more and bigger natural reserves. “But it is far from being enough and the endangered pandas need cooperation from the rest of the world, because their future is not just in the hands of the Chinese,” said Shirley Martin from World Wildlife Fund.
The Qinling Mountains are home to about 360 pandas. That is about a quarter of the China’s wild panda population. In addition, about 435 are living in research centers and zoos in China.
1. What can we learn from the first paragraph?| A．Pandas have already eaten 99% of the bamboo in Qinling Mountains. |
| B．Pandas in Qinling Mountains are just threatened by the loss of food. |
| C．Lots of the bamboo in Qinling Mountains will possibly disappear. |
| D．Qinling Mountains cannot provide enough bamboo for the pandas. |
| A．The changes of temperature is sensitive to bamboo. |
| B．China needs more help from World wildlife Fund. |
| C．China is making great efforts to protect the pandas. |
| D．It is difficult to control the temperature rise within 3.5 degrees. |
| A．About 1,500. | B．About 720. | C．About 360. | D．About 1,900. |
| A．Necessity to Change Pandas’ Food | B．A New Threat Faced by the Pandas |
| C．The Disappearance of Bamboo | D．Efforts Made to Save Pandas |
