2 . In the past week almost 120 global leaders have resolved to triple (使增至三倍) the world’s renewable energy capacity before 2030 in an attempt to reduce the global consumption of fossil fuels. As the second half of the Cop28 UN climate conference in Dubai unfolds , more countries may join the calls for a global target of 11 TW (太瓦) of renewable power by the end of the decade, three times higher than the 3.629 TW in place at the end of 2022.

Renewable energy really could be tripled in this decade, but it won’t be a breeze, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA) .

Based on the rate of growth for wind and solar power, the world is on track to meet this target. But the global energy watchdog (监察人) has warned that “stronger policy actions by governments” will be required to overcome challenges, such as rising costs, uncertain supply chains and grid (电力网) bottlenecks, which are considered essential to hit the goal of limiting global heating to within 1.5C of preindustrialised levels.

Renewable energy sources tripled, the global demand for coal power would be cut in half by 2030, according to estimates. “This is crucial for 1.5C,”said Dave Jones, the global insights lead for climate think-tank Ember. “The tripling goal would take renewables to the next level, with solar and wind reaching 40% of global electricity generation by 2030.”

The goal has won the support of 118 countries. In practice, not every country will triple its renewable capacity to meet the global target. Some countries starting from a lower level would need to more than triple their wind and solar power, while for others with a high share of renewables already, it would not be practical to triple their capacity again.

The prospect of having demand for coal is a goal worth struggling for, but governments must stay the course. Increasing capacity may have been simple in recent years with low interest rates and government support schemes, but the sector’s progress for the rest of the decade is less certain.

1. What does the underlined word “breeze” mean in paragraph 2?

A．A demanding mission.	B．An effortless task.
C．A dreamy vision.	D．A fruitless effort.

2. What can be inferred from paragraph 3?

A．The road to the top is full of twists and turns.	B．A good beginning is half done.
C．No pains, no gains.	D．Rise from the fall, and you’ll rise high.

3. What is Dave Jones’ attitude toward tripling the world’s renewable energy capacity before 2030?

A．Indifferent.

B．Neutral.

C．Cautious.

D．Optimistic.

4. What might be written about after the last paragraph?

A．Drawbacks of power generation using coal.

B．Ways to triple the output of sustainable energy.

C．Specific difficulties in the future and solutions.

D．Joint achievements made by nearly 200 countries.

3 . A small car around the size of a Mini Cooper, the Seagull is a fast-charging electric vehicle (车辆) (EV) produced by BYD. It’s hardly a luxury car but it’s well-equipped, with a power driver’s seat and cruise control. The best part? Its base model costs about $10,700 in China. That’s about a third of the cost of the cheapest EV you can buy in the US. In 2018, Trump put, and Biden has since continued, a special 25 percent tax on Chinese-made cars, on top of the ordinary 2.5 percent tax on foreign-made cars, which perfectly shows that however motivated the Biden government might be by climate concerns, it is much more motivated by a desire to help American carmakers.

The basic environmental argument for electric cars is simple: Burning petrol in internal combustion enginest (内燃机) produces CO₂. Electric cars emit (排放) less per mile traveled both because some electricity is generated through clean sources like wind, solar, and because electric motors are far more efficient than petrol engines. EVs are slightly more carbon-intensive (密集) to produce in the first place, but most estimates suggest the lower per-mile emissions of EVs quickly make up for the extra emissions involved in their creation.

But is this still true for Chinese EVs? China still gets more than 60 percent of its electricity from coal, compared to less than 20 percent in the US. So, does this mean that BYD’s cheap EVs are bad for the environment? Hardly. Close to 90 percent of the emissions of a fossil fuel vehicle (化石燃料汽车) are from the combustion of the fuel. Besides, EVs of whatever origin are getting cleaner over time as the electrical grid (电网) gets cleaner. That means EVs will do even more for the environment as the years go on.

The biggest factor for China is that they control all the upstream material supply chain for lithium batteries (锂电池). Even if your EV’s battery is made by a plant of Panasonic in the US, the raw materials for that are processed in China first. “Part of why they’re so successful is they’ve been thinking outside the box on cost reduction for a long time,” an expert says.

1. What can be inferred from the first paragraph?

A．Chinese EVs are a threat to American electric cars.

B．American government has placed a ban on Chinese EVs.

C．The seagull provides luxury experience at a reasonable price.

D．Climate concerns are the only driver of EV development in the US.

2. What does the author think of EVs?

A．They are no better than typical gas vehicles.

B．Their power is generated in green ways.

C．They are eco-friendly in the long run.

D．Their production causes no pollution.

3. What is the advantage of Chinese EV industry?

A．Lower carbon emission.	B．The advanced technology.
C．The low budget marketing.	D．The control of raw materials for batteries.

4. What is the best title of the passage?

A．EVs: opportunity and challenge.	B．Chinese EVs: powering ahead.
C．Green cars: a long way to go.	D．Petrol vehicles: faded glory.

4 . Visitors post photos and videos of themselves getting close to flamingos at several resorts (旅游胜地) in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic on social media. The pink, leggy birds wander the grounds, walking through artificial ponds and eating food dropped by tourists.

“But behind the fantastic social media posts, things are less rosy for the flamingos,” says Fernandez, a Dominican conservationist and photographer.

Some of these flamings have their secondary feathers cut, which prohibits flight. Others have a bone removed from their wings. This grounds the bird for life, which can be up to 60 years.

Fernandez has also witnessed flamingos being given much pet food, which eventually fades the pink color that comes from eating their native diet of shrimp and other small crustaceans. The birds change behaviorally as well, becoming used to people and asking them for food, as Fernandez has seen.

On the other side of the country, Monte Cristi National Park is the natural habitat for Caribbean flamings; it’s also a popular trapping site. And it is here that Paulino works to remove the traps, which are made of wooden sticks attached to fishing wires.

Paulino’s group first noticed the traps in 2009 and has been reporting them to the authorities ever since, but the practice hasn’t stopped. Once, Paulino says, she spotted a trapper carrying nine flamingos in a bag. On a trip early in 2023, the group took 706 traps from three locations.

This method of trapping harms, or even kills the birds, which Paulino has seen firsthand in the field. Flamingos are walking around and all of a sudden their leg falls in the wires and when they pull, they’re caught. They are trapped by the knee or the ankle, and struggle to break free, which exhausts them.

1. Why do some flamingos have their secondary feathers cut?

A．To help them live longer.	B．To make them more beautiful.
C．To make them fly higher.	D．To destroy their flying ability.

2. What causes the color fading of the flamingos in the resorts?

A．The change of their food.	B．Suffering from serious diseases.
C．Living with other small animals.	D．The influence of eating too much food.

3. Which word best describes the trappers?

A．Clever.

B．Cruel.

C．Creative.

D．Careless.

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

A．The Survival Situation of Flamingos Is Unoptimistic

B．Flamingos Live a More Comfortable Life in Resorts

C．People Have Raised Awareness of Protecting Animals

D．The Methods of Protecting Flamingos Are Inappropriate

6 . One long gray ship at the Port of Los Angeles is doing its part to combat climate change. On the ship, which belongs to Captura, a Los Angeles-based startup, is a system that takes into seawater and sucks out CO₂, which can be used for various purposes or buried. The decarbonated (不含二氧化碳的) seawater is returned to the ocean, where it absorbs more CO₂ from the atmosphere, in a small strike against the massive rise of the greenhouse gas.

After a yearlong experiment, Captura is planning to open a 1000-ton-per-year facility that will bury the captured CO₂ in rock formations under the North Sea. Equatic, another Los Angeles-based startup, is launching an even larger 3650-ton-per-year ocean CO₂ capture plant this year in Singapore.

Supporters say capturing CO₂ from the ocean should be easier and cheaper than a seemingly more direct approach: extracting it directly from the air. Direct air capture, which relies on fans to sweep air past absorbent chemicals, currently costs between $600 to $1000 per ton of CO₂ removed, largely because atmospheric CO₂ is so thin, making up less than 0.05% of the air. Earth’s oceans, in contrast, hold the gas at a concentration nearly 150 times higher, and absorb roughly 30% of all CO₂ emissions each year. Companies say they should ultimately be able to capture CO₂ at $100 per ton, or less.

Ocean capture advocates are seeking government support. In the US, direct air capture plants earn a $180 tax credit per ton of removed CO₂, but Ocean efforts currently don’t qualify. “A similar tax incentive (激励政策) for water-based CO₂ removal is absolutely needed,” says Ruben Brands, CEO of Equatic.

Even if the technology takes off, it will have to scale up massively to make a meaning contribution in offsetting (抵消) global emissions. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, by 2050 we will need to remove some 5 billion tons of CO₂ every year to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5℃. So far, the ocean capture companies are pulling out only thousands of tons. Matthew Eisaman, a chief scientist at Captura, says, “We have an enormous challenge ahead of us.”

1. How does the system in para. 1 work?

A．It converts seawater into CO2.

B．It releases CO2 into the atmosphere.

C．It absorbs seawater and extracts CO2.

D．It stores decarbonated seawater on the ship.

2. What makes extracting CO₂ from the ocean easier and cheaper?

A．CO2 in seawater is more absorbent.

B．CO2 is stored in solid form in seawater.

C．CO2 in the ocean is more readily accessible.

D．CO2 is naturally more concentrated in seawater.

3. What is the Ruben Brands’s attitude toward the new form of capturing technology?

A．Doubtful.

B．Objective.

C．Supportive.

D．Indifferent.

4. What would be the best title of the passage?

A．Combining Ocean CO2 Capture with Air Capture

B．Setting a New Example of Climate Change Solution

C．Analyzing Ocean CO2 Capture against Climate Change

D．Exploring Oceanic Solutions for Reducing CO2 Emissions

7 . Chaudhary quietly weaves together lengths of ropes, binding them with grass collected from the riverbank. She skillfully shapes the materials into a jewelry box. Meanwhile, she’s instructing a group of women to work out the materials. The ropes used were once the lifeline for climbers tackling Nepal’s mountains and were then discarded (扔掉). They are now finding new life, transformed by skilled hands into items to sell.

Acharya, working with the cleaning campaign, owns a waste processing business in Kathmandu, also an advocate for sustainable waste management. “Aluminum and other metal waste go through the recycling process, but we found no way to recycle ropes and gas cans,” she says. It struck her that the non-recyclable waste could be reused, but it wasn’t until she met Maya Rai that a solution emerged. Rai, leading Nepal Knotcraft Centre, helped connect Acharya with Chaudhary’s team of craftswomen in hopes of turning the mountain waste into economic opportunity. “While this seems insignificant compared to waste in the mountains, it’s a start. We aim to connect local expertise, mountain waste and local economy,” says Acharya, proudly displaying a mat made from ropes left on Mt. Qomolangma by climbers. Her goal is to ensure that no waste collected from mountains ends up in a landfill again.

Finished crafts are sold at outlets and exhibitions. The craftswomen are paid according to how many items they make and sell. With flexible hours, the project gives women an opportunity to earn money even as they maintain household responsibilities.

Eventually, Acharya hopes to expand the program to involve more women and process more waste. But progress has been slow. “We still have not found a sustainable business plan to make crafts in large quantities, ”she says. Now, she is searching for cooperators to make a model that serves not only the mountain but the communities. “After all, we are trying to craft a sustainable future.”

Each rope turned into a decorative item is a way to help local women earn a living and keep mountains clean.

1. What is the author’s purpose in mentioning Chaudhary in paragraph 1?

A．To lead in the topic with her example.

B．To spread her environmental consciousness.

C．To show her patient instructions to the women.

D．To speak highly of her outstanding weaving skills.

2. What is the second paragraph mainly about?

A．A business involving waste processing.

B．A team transforming waste into treasure.

C．A campaign advocating sustainable management.

D．A solution connecting expertise, waste and economy.

3. Which of the following is the most likely reason for craftswomen to join in the project?

A．Selling crafts at outlets can earn more money.

B．Removing mountain waste generates a sense of pride.

C．Cooperating with local experts helps promote skills.

D．Work-life balance can be achieved due to flexible hours.

4. What is Acharya’s attitude towards expanding the program?

A．Hesitant.

B．Positive.

C．Suspicious.

D．Disapproving.

8 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. What did the man do just now?

A．He took some photos.

B．He did some reading.

C．He shared an article online.

2. What is the consequence of plastic in the ocean according to the woman?

A．Seafood will be polluted.

B．Ships won’t sail properly.

C．The beauty of the ocean will be damaged.

3. What recyclable item has the man started using?

A．A reusable bag.

B．A metal straw.

C．A glass bottle.

4. What do the speakers agree to do?

A．Stop buying bottled water.

B．Organize beach cleanup events.

C．Participate in club activities every month.

9 . The ocean is home to more than 200,000 known species and as many as 2 million that we have yet to discover. And, it is also home to 24.4 trillion pieces of microplastics. In 2022, researchers spotlighted how bad marine microplastic pollution, is getting: The total amount of microplastics on the bottom of oceans has greatly increased. in the past two decades.

Microplastic particles don’t just end up at the bottom of the ocean. Animals are eating them — at least 1,500 species have been reported to ingest plastic. And a lot of it. For example, whales in New Zealand’s Hauraki Gulf consume roughly three million microplastics daily, according to research published in Science of the Total Environment, which analyzed whale waste to see how much microplastics were present.

“Other research has shown that if plastics are small enough, they can cross the gut(肠道) wall and get into internal organs though the long-term effects are still unclear. Plastics can also release chemicals that are harmful to digestive system,” says Kahane-Rapport. “This is concerning, and while we do not yet understand the long-term health-effects, it is likely not a good sign for whales and their prey(猎物) to eat a man-made material like plastic.”

This is obviously bad for whales, but it also has effects on humans and the ocean at large. We are also part of these food chains and are consuming microplastics regularly. They are in our bottled water, in our table salt — they are even in our house dust and in the air we breathe. And we still don’t know what the health effects are. Meanwhile, the impact on whales — and what it indicates — is troubling on many fronts. “Whales are ecosystem engineers,” says Kahane-Rapport. “They can spread the nutrients that they consumed and serve as ecosystem guards — when whales are not healthy, other parts of the system will suffer.”

Kahane-Rapport says more research is needed. “The next research step will be to determine how much plastic the whales excrete(排出) and how much is left in their bodies. Following that, we would be able to determine the direct health effects on their tissues.”

1. What does the underlined word “ingest” in paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．Deal with.

B．Bring up.

C．Take in.

D．Spread out.

2. What can be inferred from paragraph 3?

A．Researches show contradictory results.

B．Digestive system is the most affected part.

C．Small plastics are more harmful than big ones.

D．Much about microplastics’ harm remains unclear.

3. What is paragraph 4 mainly about?

A．The various sources of pollution.

B．Tab chain reaction of microplastics.

C．Possible solutions to plastic pollution.

D．Growing awareness of ocean protection

4. What will the following research focus on?

A．Microplastic pollution to the ocean bottom

B．The sufferings of other ocean creatures.

C．Whales’ contributions to the ecosystem.

D．The amount of plastic in whales bodies.

10 . The Amazon

The Amazon River, the basin of which covers 2.3 million square miles, is incredibly biodiverse with over 30,000 species of plants and 1,800 species of birds. It plays an important role in adjusting the climate in North and South America. The River and its forests are threatened by human activity, primary pollution and rapid resource depletion (损耗). The Office of the American States Department of Sustainable Development is working to manage the threats.

The Mississippi

The Mississippi rises in western Minnesota and flows south for 2,530 miles into the Gulf of Mexico. Millions of people in over 50 cities use water from the Mississippi, and the river is also used for shipping and agriculture. Hundreds of animal species, including 60% of North America’s birds, call the area around the Mississippi River home, but river pollution and shoreline habitat destruction threaten to displace them. Fortunately, many projects and organizations are devoted to its conservation.

The Danube

The Danube River begins in western Germany, flowing over 1,775 miles into the Black Sea. It spans 19 countries. The Danube features a richly diverse ecosystem, hosting 55 different species of fish. Cities across Europe use the Danube for power generation and agriculture, and there are more than 700 dams in total. Unfortunately, this river is overfished and heavily polluted. The International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River was established in 1998 to manage its conservation.

The Mekong

The Mekong River is a necessary part of Southeast Asia’s landscape, culture, and economy. Also called the Lancang River, it starts in China, stretching over 2,850 miles through Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Its basin provides more than 65 million people with food, drinking water, power, and transportation. Dams and power plants are harming Mekong’s ecosystems. Organizations such as Conservation International are working to protect the river by advocating for its sustainable development.

1. Birds are affected most around________.

A．The Amazon

B．The Mississippi

C．The Danube

D．The Mekong

2. How many fish species does the Danube host?

A．70.

B．65.

C．55.

D．50.

3. What do that four rivers have in common?

A．They contribute to power production.

B．They How through multiple countries.

C．They are troubled by dam constructions.

D．They are under protection of organizations.