1 . Wildlife populations around the world are facing dramatic declines, according to new figures that have led environmental campaigners to call for urgent action to rescue the natural world. The 2022 Living Planet Index (LPI), produced by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), reveals that studied populations of mammals, birds, reptiles (爬行动物) and fish have seen an average decline of 69 per cent since 1970, faster than previous predictions. The LPI tracked global biodiversity between 1970 and 2018, based on the monitoring of 31,821 populations of 5230 vertebrate (脊椎动物) species. Mark Wright of WWF says the degree of decline is destructive and continues to worsen. “We are not seeing any really positive signs that we are beginning to bend the curve of nature,” he says.

Freshwater vertebrates have been among the hardest-hit populations, with monitored populations showing an average decline of 83 per cent since 1970. The Amazon pink river dolphin, for example, has experienced a 65 per cent decline in its population between 1994 and 2016. Meanwhile, some of the most biodiverse regions of the world are seeing the steepest falls in wildlife, with the Caribbean and central and south America seeing average wildlife population declined by 94 per cent since 1970. Habitat loss and reduction is the largest driver of wildlife loss in all regions around the world, followed by species overexploitation by hunting, fishing or poaching (偷猎).

In December, governments from around the world will gather in Montreal, Canada, for the COP15 Biodiversity Framework, a much-delayed summit that aims to agree on a set of new targets intended to prevent the loss of animals, plants and habitats globally by 2030. “This is a once-in-a-decade opportunity that’s coming up,” says Robin Freeman of ZSL. He says it is vital that governments use the summit to agree on “meaningful, well measurable targets and goals”. “We need governments to take action to ensure that those goals deal with the complicated combined threats of climate change and biodiversity, in order for us to see a meaningful action,” says Freeman. But some researchers are critical of the LPI’s use of a headline figure of decline, warning it is easy to be misunderstood.

The findings don’t mean all species or populations worldwide are in decline. In fact, approximately half the populations show a stable or increasing trend, and half show a declining trend. “I think a more appropriate and useful way to look at it is to focus on specific species or populations,” says Hannah Ritchie at Our World in Data. But Wright says the LPI is a useful tool that reflects the findings of other biodiversity indicators. “All of those show they all scream there is something going really very badly wrong,” says Wright.

1. What does the underlined phrase in the first paragraph mean?

A．Loving and protecting nature.	B．Preserving the diversity of nature.
C．Underestimating the benefits of nature.	D．Destroying and changing nature.

2. In paragraph 2, the author mentions the Amazon pink river dolphin to show ______.

A．the number of Amazon dolphins is on the rise

B．freshwater vertebrates are at risk of extinction

C．there are no positive measures to protect nature

D．some of the world’s wild animals are in decline

3. What can we learn about people’s response to the issue mentioned in the passage?

A．It makes sense to focus on a particular species.

B．Preventing the loss of habitats by 2030 is certain to happen.

C．New agreement on the prevention of habitat loss will be in vain.

D．The Caribbean wildlife has been well protected in recent decades.

4. Which of the following is the best title of the passage?

A．The COP15 Biodiversity Framework

B．Wildlife Population Declining Sharply

C．Urgent Action to Save the Earth

D．Correct Interpretation of LPI

2 . Last fall my class and I went through an exercise to help the students understand how the world might address the climate crisis. Several things surprised the students. One was that nuclear power doesn’t help.

But many people think nuclear energy is going to be the climate solution. President Obama included federal loan guarantees for nuclear power in his energy plan, in the hopes of jump-starting construction and gain Republican support. (It did neither.) If I post something even faintly skeptical about nuclear power on Twitter, its advocates come out in force, accusing me of being a conservative, or worse.

What is it about nuclear energy that makes its advocates so determined in the face of what should be discouraging facts? After all, unlike futuristic, untried technologies, we have plenty of facts about this one, and most of them are discouraging. The first American civilian nuclear power plant broke ground in Pennsylvania in 1954, around the same time that physicist John von Neumann predicted that, within a few decades, nuclear power would be so efficient as to make energy “free—just like the unmetered air.” That didn’t happen. Today nuclear power remains the most expensive form of electricity generation in the U.S. -typically costing twice as much as a fossil-fuel-based plant.

Why then do so many people keep coming back to it? I think it’s the same reason people turn to geoengineering(气候工程) and nuclear fusion(聚变) (which has been “just around the corner” since 1943): the promise of technological progress. For the past century or more, humans have been accustomed to technological breakthroughs that made life easier, more comfortable and more entertaining. But climate change throws future advancement into doubt. It breaks the promise of progress. No matter what we do, we are going to be paying for the costs of our historical and current use of fossil fuels.

So we turn to technofideism- the faith that technology will save us. Perhaps it will. But perhaps it won’t, and our long-standing patterns of behavior will have to change along with our technology. And that’s a hard pill to swallow.

1. What is paragraph two mainly about?

A．Nuclear energy has lots of advocates.

B．The supporters of nuclear energy are unwise.

C．President Obama failed to conduct his energy plan.

D．Doubtful remarks about nuclear power will attract criticism.

2. What is the purpose of mentioning the first American civilian nuclear power plant ?

A．To show it was a groundbreaking project.

B．To compare nuclear power and fossil-fuel energy.

C．To prove nuclear power didn’t live up to people’s expectations.

D．To indicate we need futuristic, untried technologies rather than nuclear.

3. Why do people turn to technofideism?

A．Because it can cut down the current use of fossil fuels.

B．Because we tend to trust technological breakthroughs.

C．Because people are skeptical about the promise of technology.

D．Because geoengineering and nuclear fusion have set a good example.

4. Which one is the writer’s attitude to nuclear energy?

A．Optimistic.

B．Hesitant.

C．Aggressive.

D．Negative.

3 . 假定你是高三学生李华，学校环保社社长。近期，你打算在学校开展一次“减塑”(Less Plastic) 社团活动。请你给王校长写一封申请信，内容包括：1. 社团活动的时间和地点；2. 社会活动的内容。
Dear Mr. Wang,

I am Li Hua, the leader of the Environment Protection Club.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours sincerely,

Li Hua

4 . Despite years of drought and water-saving policies, Californians continue to put a lot of clean, drinkable water into yards to keep the greenery alive. Now, however, Southern California officials have carried out very strict limits on outdoor water use in response to a water shortage emergency. So you may need to find other ways to keep your plants from drying in the summer sun.

How about watering them with grey water instead of clean water? Grey water is the water from showers, bathtubs, washing machines — anything that’s not filled with human waste, food or poisonous chemicals. With the right measures, grey water can be fine for most plant life.

If you’re a typical Southern Californian, you’re throwing a lot of grey water into the sewer system. Every load of clothes you wash leads to roughly 15 to 40 gallons of it, depending on your washer’s design and efficiency. Over the course of a year, thousands of gallons of soapy water ran away. That’s enough to keep a number of trees and other plants happy. And if you’re really ambitious, you can build a system that carries all of your horned grey water to the roots of your grassland, thus making your non-native grass in your yard watered regularly.

Some critics, the Los Angeles Sanitation and Environment Bureau, see grey water recycling as environmentally risky, damaging public wastewater recycling efforts and uneconomic. However, other local agencies across the state, including the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, actively endorse grey water projects as a way to reduce water use. Supporters admit that the projects carry some risk and require great efforts, but insist that they can save clean water and help your plants.

1. What can be inferred from paragraph 1?

A．California is very rich in clean and drinkable water.

B．There is a lack of water-saving policies in California.

C．Outdoor water use in California will be strictly controlled.

D．Different ways to save water have been adopted in California.

2. What’s the purpose of paragraph 3?

A．To summarize the benefits of using grey water.

B．To provide reasons why grey water should be used.

C．To make a prediction about the future of grey water.

D．To introduce some new ways to save drinkable water.

3. What’s the attitude towards the use of grey water according to the last paragraph?

A．Negative.

B．Indifferent.

C．Positive.

D．Objective.

4. What does the underlined word “endorse” mean in paragraph 4?

A．Oppose.

B．Promote.

C．Abandon.

D．Recover.

5 . According to the American Chemistry Council, in 2018 in the United States, 27million tons of plastic ended up in landfills compared lo just 3.1 million tons that were recycled. Worldwide the numbers are similarly bad, with just 9% of plastic being recycled according to a recent OFCD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development)report. The statistics are even worse for certain types of pastie. For example, out of 80,000 lens of polystyrene containers generated in the United States, a negligible amount(less than 5,000 tons) was recycled.

Now, researchers at the University of Queensland have found that a species of worm with an appetite for polystyrene could be the key to plastic recycling on a mass scale. They discovered that the Zophobas morio also called “super-worm” can eat through polystyrene, thanks to a bacterial enzyme (酶) in its “Stomach”. Dr. Chris Rilke and his team from UQ’s School of Chemistry and Molecular Bioscience fed super-worms different diets over a three-week period, with some given polystyrene, some outer skin of grain separated from the flour, and others pul on a fasling diet.

“We found the super-worms fed a dict of just polystyrene not only survived, but even had slight weight gains,” Dr. Rilke said. “This suggests the worms can get energy from the polypropylene,most likely with the help of their internal micro-organisms. They are like mini recycling plants, tearing up the polystyrene with their mouths and then feeding it to the bacteria in their ‘stomach’. ”

Co-author of the research, PhD candidate Jiarui Sun, said they aimed to grow the bacteria in the lab and further test their ability to break down polystyrene. “We can then look into how we can upgrade this process lo a level required for an entire recycling plant,” Ms. Sun said.

1. Which of the following best describe the current plastic recycling?

A．Inefficient.	B．Unpredictable.
C．Inconsistent.	D．Unconventional.

2. What is the Zophobas morio capable of according to the research?

A．Turning polystyrene into energy.

B．Feeding the bacteria in the mouth.

C．Eating through any type of plastic.

D．Gaining weight on a fasting dict.

3. How will those researchers continue the research?

A．By testing different abilities of the bacteria.

B．By experimenting with large-scale production.

C．By establishing a modern recycling factory.

D．By growing and breaking down the worm.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．The severity of plastic pollution.

B．The future of recycling industry.

C．Super-worm’s commercial success.

D．Super-worm’s ability to digest plastic.

6 . Have you heard of the save soil movement? It was _________ by Sadhguru, and he started a 100-day motorcycle journey starting from London and passing through 27 nations, including Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East.

The efforts of Sadhguru have _________ the worldwide recognition of this movement. Sadhguru traveled to various international _________ on his bike as part of his save soil movement. The world acknowledges his _________ to save soil for the upcoming generation.

The movement aims to _________ the soil crisis in every part of the earth. The world has finally realized, and attention is being paid to the horrible statistics of the land quality and soil. This movement was started to stop the soil from further damage and is now receiving encouraging _________ in every corner of our planet.

The main motive of the campaign was to bring together people from all around the world to protect the soil’s health. Sadhguru has become _________ in just a period of 3 months as his movement Save Soil has become a global phenomenon and is now under the spotlight. Sadhguru’s efforts have created _________ not only in one region but in every part of the world. The _________ recognized movement is __________ all individuals from all states to save the deterioration (恶化) of soil health for the future generation. Without healthy soil, human life is impossible, and with the __________ climate changes, spending life on planet earth can become challenging for future generations. __________, an initiative like saving soil was needed to __________ the health of our upcoming generation.

Sadhguru is also the author of the New York Times bestseller Inner Engineering: A Yogi’s Guide to Joy. He has been a(n) __________ voice and is now using his fame for a better cause. The success of the event will lay out several benefits to the world. From providing a more stable livelihood (生计) to the farmers to offering our upcoming generations healthier food and a safer and cleaner environment, healthy __________ can do it all.

1.

A．launched

B．sponsored

C．experienced

D．commanded

2.

A．resulted in

B．originated from

C．paid back

D．reacted to

3.

A．airports

B．companies

C．conferences

D．locations

4.

A．abilities

B．struggles

C．characters

D．requests

5.

A．transform

B．address

C．drag

D．confirm

6.

A．messages

B．responses

C．proposals

D．positions

7.

A．exhausted

B．ambitious

C．successful

D．confident

8.

A．improvement

B．awareness

C．imagination

D．standard

9.

A．locally

B．individually

C．nationally

D．globally

10.

A．urging

B．requiring

C．cheering

D．permitting

11.

A．stable

B．ongoing

C．favorable

D．temporary

12.

A．However

B．Besides

C．Therefore

D．Meanwhile

13.

A．ensure

B．bring

C．affect

D．define

14.

A．strong

B．pleasant

C．determined

D．influential

15.

A．circumstance

B．lifestyle

C．atmosphere

D．soil

7 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Preserving more habitats for China’s giant pandas is providing a giant payoff.    1    (save) the giant panda from dying out isn’t just good for the panda, but it’s also good for economy, a new analysis by an international team of scientists shows.

The results,    2    (publish) in the magazine Current Biology, stress the economic bene-fits that go hand in hand with environmental protection. Giant pandas are one of the    3    (rare) species around the world. But pandas fell on hard times in recent decades, thanks largely    4    human encroachment (侵入). In 1980 alone,many habitats    5    (destroy) artificially, and in 1990, their habitats covered only 12,340 square kilometers,     6    is a major threat to the pandas in large part because bamboo, their main food source, is so low in nutrients that they must wander a lot of land in order to find and eat enough of it.

Because of this, Chinese officials began making significant efforts to save the panda from     7    (extinct), establishing more reserves and increasing the reserve area three times. Panda numbers    8    (gradual) began to recover, hitting 1,596 in 2000 and 1,864 in 2010.

“    9    is clear that society’s investment (投资)    10    (start) to pay off so far in terms of panda population recovery,” the study authors wrote.

8 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. What is the woman doing to help the environment?

A．Joining a garden club.

B．Volunteering at a recycling center.

C．Starting a university club.

2. Who is the woman planning to meet with?

A．The university president.

B．Teachers who drive to campus.

C．The public transportation committee.

3. According to the woman, when would more people take the bus?

A．When it was less expensive.

B．When it was more convenient.

C．When it was required.

4. What does the woman believe?

A．Many people care about the environment.

B．The man’s behavior is harmful to the environment.

C．Students don’t know much about the environment.

9 . If you’re looking for something fun to do, pack a picnic dinner and take your family or friends to a beautiful place to eat. However, there’s a wrong trend to view picnics as an excuse to transport food in single-use plastic containers. Sure, it means the cleanup is easy at the moment, but it just puts it off to a later point, when it takes the form of volunteer cleanups and landfill management.     1     What follows is advice on how to pack such a picnic.

●Use food containers smartly

Using reusable containers is the easiest way to reduce waste.     2     For example, to reduce packaging, you can take along things like a loaf of bread, a whole watermelon, whole vegetables, a knife and a board to cut your food when you’re ready to eat. It doesn’t all have to be done and sealed (密封) before you leave the house.

●Choose real cutlery (餐具)

Using washable dishes and cutlery for a picnic does not require much more work than single-use ones.

You’d have to carry the waste out anyway in a trash bag, so why not pack your dirty plates and cutlery into a bag and put them in the dishwasher at home?     3    

●Think about the drinks

Forget the single-use, single-serve drink bottles.     4     Fill a large thermos (保温瓶) or personal water bottles with water, juice or lemonade at home. Compared with a single-use plastic cup, they have the added advantage of keeping your drinks colder for longer.

●Put cloth bags to good use

Cloth bags are amazing. I use them for so much more than just buying food at the store. They’re perfect for packing sandwiches, dried or whole fruit, and other snack foods. You can use them to pack glasses or plates to prevent breaking. They can also work as a napkin, tea towel, or trash bag if needed.     5    

A．Be sure to add a few to your picnic basket.

B．There are some healthy dishes you can make or buy.

C．To avoid this, a plastic-free picnic can be a brilliant idea.

D．If you’re worried about breaking, take some light camping plates.

E．Instead, just bring along a cloth tablecloth to spread on the ground.

F．These create a huge amount of waste, which can be easily avoided.

G．In addition, keep in mind that you don’t have to pre-pack everything.

10 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. How often does the man go to the beach?

A．Once a week.

B．Twice a month.

C．Once a month.

2. Why did the man join Heal the Bay?

A．His cousin invited him.

B．His parents influenced him.

C．His friend recommended him.

3. Which program did the man take part in?

A．Adopt-A-Beach.

B．Saturday Warriors.

C．Beach Captains.

4. What does the man say about the members of Heal the Bay?

A．They’re brave.

B．They’re creative.

C．They’re warm-hearted.