1 . If you’re a real fitness addict, you certainly know the ultimate running challenge is to take part in a marathon. It seems every major city and town around the world hosts an annual marathon, with thousands of athletes running an exhausting 42.1 kilometres. While many runners’ motivation is to beat their personal best and cross the finishing line without collapsing, they’re also doing it for a good cause — to generate funds for charity.
But like other major events, the marathon also generates a massive carbon footprint. Thousands travel – some by plane — to the location, and waste from food packaging and goody bags gets left behind by viewers and runners.
This is becoming a big issue for cities — how to host a worthwhile event, encouraging people to exercise and help charities, while protecting the environment? Several cities have developed formal plans to reduce their environmental impact and promote sustainable ideas. One event in Wales, for example, introduced recycling for old running kit. It’s something that this year’s London Marathon tried to tackle by reducing the number of drink stations on the running route, giving out water in paper cups and offering some drinks in eatable seaweed capsules. They also trialled new bottle belts made from recycled plastic, so 700 runners could carry water bottles with them during their run.
Meanwhile, some people still think running a marathon could be our best foot forward in helping the planet. Dr Andrea Collins from Cardiff University told the BBC: “Training for a marathon makes you more sustainable in day-to-day activities. I started walking or running to work every day. Being environmentally friendly while training kind of sticks with you and becomes a way of life.”
So while you may not be the top runner in a marathon, let’s hope the event, in terms of sustainability, certainly is!
1. What can we know about a marathon from paragraph 1?| A．Everyone desires to join in it. | B．Athletes can finish it with ease. |
| C．Local governments disapprove of it. | D．It can contribute to charitable causes. |
| A．Holding a sustainable event. | B．Raising funds for charities. |
| C．Encouraging people to exercise. | D．Recycling old running facilities. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Intolerant. | C．Doubtful. | D．Conservative. |
| A．Make Marathons Greener | B．How to Run Marathons Properly |
| C．Participate in Marathons Actively | D．What Is Left Behind after Marathons |
2 . For most of human history, people raised crops and livestock to feed their households rather than to sell them for profit. This began to shift after the Industrial Revolution, which saw the rise of plantation farming.
Industrial farming not only increased the crop-growing areas, but changed the techniques used by farmers. Instead of switching the crops that were grown on a field each year, entire plantations would be devoted to a single crop. This approach and intensive modes of farming led to destruction of local biodiversity and land worsening — within years, fields would cease to produce crops.
Plantations of the 18th and 19th centuries were a “get rich quick plan” rather than a long-term investment. Once a field became unusable, plantation owners would simply move on to new land. Up to the end of the 19th century, wide areas of our planet were still not claimed by global modernity. But today, while we are quickly running out of vegetative (覆盖植被的) land, this mindset continues. “Farmers still hold the view that land is cheap and limitless,” said Crystal Davis from the World Resources Institute. “Most of them just cut down more trees, when new land is needed.”
“To meet our ecological goals, we need to stop turning natural ecosystems to farmland,” Davis said. “We can achieve this in part by bringing back the land’s ecological wholeness and productivity.”
Davis points to the 20×20 initiative (倡议), which has seen 18 South American and Caribbean countries commit to recovering 50m hectares of land by 2030. It includes a number of projects aimed at introducing agroforestry (混农林业) practices to cocoa and coffee farms in Colombia and Nicaragua. There farmers are encouraged to grow crops while introducing more trees to their land.
1. What can we learn about industrial farming?| A．It existed for most of human history. |
| B．It changed farming methods. |
| C．It increased crop production steadily. |
| D．It reduced crop-planting areas. |
| A．Abuse the land for quick profit. |
| B．Desert wide areas of plantations. |
| C．Adopt modern technology to farm. |
| D．Plant more trees to satisfy global need. |
| A．It advocates eco-friendly farming. |
| B．It involves countries around the world. |
| C．It encourages farmers to develop more land. |
| D．It focuses on increasing cocoa and coffee output. |
| A．How Can We Take up Farming? | B．How Can We Feed the World? |
| C．Meeting Our Ecological Goals | D．Shifting to Regenerative Agriculture |
3 . David Grant and Yvonne Faulkner-Grant of Warwickshire. England always let their 13-year-old dog, Scruff. pick up the plastic bottles he finds while out on their daily walks. The dog carries the bottle for a while, and they kick it or throw it for him to chase. The game is over when Scruff loses interest and drops it.
Throughout 2021, David and Yvonne observed Scruff’s habit of finding even the most well-hidden bottles. They also noticed a marked increase in the amount of litter in their rural area. David says they were both taught never to drop their trash as children, so they couldn’t believe that people were littering so much. At the start of 2022, David and Yvonne decided to start picking up the bottles to bring home with them. It was the large number of litter that made them decide to train Scruff to gather other people’s trash.
Since starting this journey, Scruff has become a local celebrity in his neighborhood. David and Yvonne never let Scruff pick up anything dangerous, like glass. They also remain appalled by the amount of litter they’ re seeing, and hope that people will hear Scruff’s story and either stop dropping trash or, perhaps, try picking it up themselves. Plus, Yvonne thinks Scruff took to his duties so well, other dogs could easily be trained to do what he does as well.
In the end, Scruff was able to gather up 1,334 bottles-along with three cups, a Pringles tub, and a baby feeding bottle. “If we walk the same route every day, he will find bottles on that route every single day,” said David. “We feel a bit of pride that we are picking them up, but a bit of anger that they’ re even there,” Yvonne said.
1. In which situation will the game be over?| A．Scruff gathers 100 bottles. |
| B．Scruff throws the bottle into the bin. |
| C．Scruff drops the plastic bottle. |
| D．David Grant sells the bottle for money. |
| A．Don’t drop litter everywhere. |
| B．Animals are our friends. |
| C．The best fish swim near the bottom. |
| D．Every dog has his day. |
| A．Independent. | B．Displeased. |
| C．Intelligent. | D．Disabled. |
| A．Excited and proud. | B．Angry and disappointed |
| C．Proud and happy. | D．Proud but angry. |
4 . The Antarctic’s snow-white environment is going green and facing other unexpected threats.
Scientists say that as temperatures go up in the polar areas, invading(侵袭)plants and insects, including the flies, cause a major threat.
More and more of these invaders, in the form of larvae(幼虫)or seeds, are surviving in coastal areas around the South Pole, where the temperature has risen by almost 3℃ over the past five decades. Glaciers have melted, exposing more land which has been occupied by mosses that have been found to be growing more quickly and thickly than ever before—providing potential green homes for invaders.
“The common houseflies are a perfect example of the problem the Antarctic now faces from invading species,” said Dominic Hodgson of the British Antarctic Survey. “They arrive by ship, where they exist in kitchens. They now have an increasing chance of surviving in the Antarctic as it warms up, and that is a worry. Insects like the houseflies carry bacteria that could have a deadly effect on native life forms.”
The Antarctic has several native species of insects. Together with its native mosses, these are now under increased threat from three major sources: visiting scientists, increasing number of tourists and global warming. However, it is global warming that is the main driver of the “greening” of the Antarctic.
In the 2015-2016 travel season, more than 38,000 tourists visited the Antarctic. “These tourists are often very careful about not leaving waste. But they could carry seeds or larvae on their boots when they set foot on the Antarctic,” said Dominic.
More and more invading insects and plants have been found on the Antarctic and have required removal. “The insects and plants that are native to the Antarctic have survived there for thousands of years,” said Dominic. “We have to act now if we want to save the environment.”
1. What does the underlined word “mosses” in Paragraph 3 refer to?| A．Houseflies. | B．Coastal areas. |
| C．A kind of plants. | D．A kind of animals. |
| A．They are native to the Antarctic. |
| B．They will die out because of the freezing weather. |
| C．They come to the Antarctic from nearby islands on their own. |
| D．They could severely influence the native species of the Antarctic. |
| A．The arrival of scientists. |
| B．The increasing number of visitors. |
| C．The rapid spread of native plants. |
| D．The rising temperature around the world. |
| A．The Antarctic Is Becoming Green and Energetic |
| B．Various Threats Are Putting the Antarctic at Risk |
| C．More and More Scientists Get to Explore the Antarctic |
| D．Global Warming Causes the Temperature in the Antarctic to Go Up |
5 . Looking out of the window of his truck, Bob Fitzgerald sees dying forests and empty farmland. Fitzgerald says the land has been in his family since the 17th century. “I can show you land around here that people grew tomatoes on when I was a little boy. And now it’s gone.”
Climate change is making things worse. As sea levels rise, salt water is entering rivers and other waterways. As a result, the land is becoming too salty for crops to grow on. Hundreds of millions of people will be forced to move inland because of rising waters.
Kate Tully, a researcher in the University of Maryland, wants to keep coastal farmers in business as the seas rise. She has seen the forests filled with pine trees killed by the increasingly salty soil. The United States Department of Agriculture gave Tully and other researchers $1.1 million to study the problem. She and her team hope to give farmers ways to stay on their land.
They are testing different crops on pieces of land around the Eastern Shore. “Sorghum (高粱) is my new favorite crop because it can grow without rain and it can grow with lots of rain.” The grain (谷物) crop may be a good choice to feed the nearly 600 million chickens kept in the area each year. As farmers know, chickens can deal with salt, dry weather conditions and heavy rains. Yet just being able to grow a crop is not enough. The crop has to bring in money.
Some people believe the land should be given back to nature. They say the fields should be turned into wetlands, which are popular with duck hunters. “There’s money in duck hunting,” Tully said. “Hunting organizations will pay farmers for hunting on their land. Farmers could make a lot of money from duck hunting.”
Tully and her team are just getting started. It will be a few years before they really understand how to save the farms.
1. What is the purpose of Paragraph 1?| A．To lead to the main topic. | B．To describe the farm scenery. |
| C．To illustrate a memorable experience. | D．To provide the background information. |
| A．To help farmers stay on their land. | B．To study new crops for coastal farmers. |
| C．To study climate change in recent years. | D．To help farmers start their own business. |
| A．Concerned. | B．Doubtful. | C．Positive. | D．Negative. |
| A．Climate Change Making Things Worse. | B．Rising Seas Forcing Changes on Farms. |
| C．Coastal Farmers Saving Their Homeland. | D．Scientists Teaching Farmers to Plant Crops. |
6 . The San Diego County Water Authority has an unusual plan to use the city’s scenic San Vicente Reservoir (水库) to store solar power so it’s available after sunset. The project could help unlock America’s clean energy future.
Perhaps ten years from now, if all goes smoothly, large underground pipes will connect this lake to a new reservoir, a much smaller one, built in a nearby valley about 1100 feet higher. When the sun is high in the sky, California’s abundant solar power will pump water into that upper reservoir. It’s a way to store the electricity. When the sun goes down and solar power disappears, operators would open a valve (阀门) and the force of 8 million tons of water, falling back downhill through those same pipes, would drive machines capable of producing 500 megawatts of electricity for up to eight hours. That’s enough to power 130, 000 typical homes.
“It’s a water battery!” says Neena Kuzmich, Deputy Director of Engineering for the water authority. She says energy storage facilities like these will be increasingly important as California starts to rely more on energy from wind and solar, which produce electricity on their own schedules, without considering the demands of consumers.
Californians learned this during a heat wave this past summer. “Everybody in the state of California got a text message at 5:30 in the evening to turn off their appliances,” Kuzmich says. The sun was going down, solar generation was disappearing, and the remaining power plants, many of them burning gas, couldn’t keep up with demand. The reminder worked:People stopped using so much power, and the grid (电网) survived.
Yet earlier on that same day, there was so much solar power available that the grid couldn’t take it all. Grid operators turned away more than 2000 megawatt hours of electricity that solar generators could have delivered, enough to power a small city. That electricity was wasted. There was no way to store it for later, when operators desperately needed it.
1. What is the function of Paragraph 2?| A．To present the importance of a reservoir. | B．To recall a situation in recent ten years. |
| C．To introduce the usage of solar energy. | D．To explain a way to store electricity. |
| A．The reservoir serves to store energy. | B．Californians need little solar energy. |
| C．People used to waste too much energy. | D．New storage ways are environmentally friendly. |
| A．To stop people working. | B．To warn people of danger. |
| C．To tell people the sunset time. | D．To remind people of lack of energy. |
| A．Scenic San Vicente Reservoir | B．San Diego County Energy Plan |
| C．Water Batteries to Store Solar Power | D．Machines to Store Water in California |
7 . Killer whales, or orcas, are known for their severe attacks on sea animals but they have never posed a threat to humans. However, since late July, the normally social animals have been intentionally attacking sailboats off the coasts of Spain and Portugal.
The strange behavior first surfaced on July 29, 2020, when a 46-foot boat was repeatedly attacked for almost an hour by nine orcas, causing the boat to rotate(旋转) 180 degrees and having its engine switched off. Since then, over 30 more similar incidents have been reported. On September 23, 2020, Spain's government banned boats of less than 50 feet in length from sailing in the 60-mile stretch of the Atlantic coastline between Ferrol and the Estaca de Bares Cape, where the attacks have been occurring.
Researchers across the world are trying to explain the orcas' behavior. Some believe it could be a result of the overfishing of the bluefish tuna - the orcas' primary food source -which has left the area's killer whales starving and unable to feed their babies. "I saw them look at boats carrying fish. I think they know humans are somehow related to food shortages, "says Ken Balcomb, senior scientist at the Center for Whale Research in Washington, USA. The environmentalists believe the sudden increase in boat traffic and fishing activities, after months of absence due to restrictions on human activity last spring, could also be contributing to the agitation.
However, Alfredo López, a biology professor in Galicia, Spain, thinks the attacks are defensive measures the orcas adopted to protect themselves against boat injuries. The researcher came to this conclusion after looking at the of the videos of a few incidents and noticing that two of the young killer whales involved had serious injuries. Hopefully, the experts will be able to find a way to restore the harmony between the animals and the humans soon.
1. What do we know about orcas in paragraph 1?| A．They are friendly to humans. | B．They have changed their behavior. |
| C．They are famous for hunting skills | D．They have met tough living conditions. |
| A．Ken Balcomb. | B．The environmentalists. |
| C．Alfredo López. | D．Spain's government. |
| A．The attacks. | B．Food shortages. | C．The overfishing. | D．Human activities. |
| A．How do killer whales attack humans? |
| B．Why Are Killer Whales attacking Boats? |
| C．How can we live in harmony with animals? |
| D．Why are boats banned from sailing on the sea? |
8 . United Kingdom officials are on a mission to limit the region’s impact on global warming and climate change. As part of a large-scale approach to fulfilling this goal, there’s one area of focus that sticks out: cows.
In March, the government launched its Net Zero Growth Plan, an initiative to limit reliance on fossil fuels, which significantly influences global temperature rise. One of the approaches is a focus on agricultural emissions, officials explained in their plan that they are expecting products effective in reducing greenhouse gas to enter the market in 2025 to help.
Agriculture and other land-use emissions make up about 11% of the U.K.’s net greenhouse gas emissions, officials said. “Livestock (particularly cattle) currently make up the largest share of these emissions,” the Net Zero Growth Plan says. Experts say these emissions from livestock are mostly from cow burps (打嗝).
U.K. officials put out a call in August for agriculture experts to provide information on how to make burp blockers (阻断剂) to reduce emissions, such as seaweeds, essential oils, and organic acids.” More than 200 people responded to the call, including NGOs, farmers and businesses.
“I don’t think we know enough yet about the impact those burp blockers will have on the efficiency of reducing emissions,” said Tom Bradshaw, deputy president of the U.K.’s National Farmers’ Union, “but it’s something that we have to investigate to try and reduce emissions from cow burps.”
And it appears as though this emphasis on cow burps is only one small part of the U.K. government’s plans, which aim to provide support to stimulate farm productivity, innovation, research and development.
Hundreds of farmers have joined the plan’s implementation. The website for the plan says, “It will help achieve our ambitious targets for the environment and climate, playing our role in tackling these huge, global challenges.”
1. What is the purpose of Net Zero Growth Plan?| A．To help United Kingdom rely less on fossil fuel. |
| B．To design a balanced diet for cows on UK farms. |
| C．To support farmers to stimulate farm production. |
| D．To promote products emitting less greenhouse gases. |
| A．Agriculture contributes most to climate change. |
| B．The impact of agricultural emission is underestimated. |
| C．Cows make up the largest share of UK livestock population. |
| D．The largest share of agricultural emission comes from cow burps. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Unconcerned. | C．Favorable. | D．Pessimistic. |
| A．UK’s Fight against Carbon Emission |
| B．Cow Burps, Not Cars, Are the Real Problem |
| C．Burp by Burp. Fighting Emissions from Cows |
| D．UK Farmers Call for Support from Government |
9 . The 97-year-old botanist, Margaret Bradshaw, is the chief caretaker of Teesdale’s rarest flowers. “Everything about Teesdale is unique,” says Bradshaw with pride — and the authority of someone who has just written a 288-page book on the subject. Bradshaw has been recording rare plants here since the early 1950s and has witnessed great decreases.Her data was the first to prove that — and the need to do something about it.
The main reason for the decrease of these plants is an unusual one. The number of sheep in Teesdale had been reduced by half by 2000, as the uplands were generally believed there were too many sheep. Bradshaw says while sheep are hunted in some upland areas, reducing herding in Teesdale has been destructive. Longer grass overshadows the delicate (娇嫩) flowers, taking away the light they need to grow. As a result of her findings and her work with farmers who herd the land — as well as Natural England, which manages it — sheep numbers are increasing and the timing of herding is being carefully managed. This has led to the partial recovery of some plants.
At 93, she set up Teesdale Special Flora Research and Conservation Trust to record rare plants. A keen horse rider, at 95, she did a 55-mile horse journey across Teesdale, raising almost $ 10,000 for the Trust. When asked about the secret to longevity, “Just keep going,” she says.
“Keep at it.Don’t sit down and just watch TV.”
“I recognise I’m getting older and I’ve been trying to get more people to take over and do the records. They don’t believe I won’t be here forever,” Bradshaw says. Despite Bradshaw’s guardianship of this land, and the love and energy she has put into saving it, the future here is unknown. The last words of her book speak to this endless loss. “This is our heritage, this unique plant species, mine and yours,” she writes. “In spite of trying, I have failed to prevent its decrease, now it is up to you.”
1. What is Margaret Bradshaw’s main work with the rare plants?| A．Writing a book. | B．Preventing their decrease. |
| C．Collecting their data. | D．Directing farmers to grow plants. |
| A．Not enough sheep. | B．Lack of fund. |
| C．Poor management. | D．Too many sheep. |
| A．Unity brings strength. | B．Many hands make light work. |
| C．Youthful at heart, regardless of age. | D．Advance what the forerunners began. |
| A．Teesdale:Home to Rare Plants | B．Battling for Teesdale’s Wildflowers |
| C．Bradshaw:A97-Year-Old Gardener | D．Exploring Teesdale’s Unique Plants |
| A．Go for a swim. | B．Do some sunbathing. | C．Collect the rubbish. |
