1 . The amount of sea ice surrounding Antarctica has reached its lowest level since modern records began, for the second year in a row. Sea ice is frozen seawater that floats on the ocean’s surface around the planet’s polar regions. It forms at much lower sustained temperatures than freshwater ice does, at around-1.8 degrees Celsius. Sea ice builds up during the winter until it reaches its maximum extent, and then melts (融化) away in the spring and summer until it reaches its minimum extent.

In Antarctica, where summer and winter are relative to the Northern Hemisphere, sea ice normally reaches its maximum extent in September when sea ice covers around 7 million square miles. At its minimum extent at the end of February, historically only around I million square miles remains. Last year the minimum sea ice extent was less than 772, 000 square miles, the lowest total since scientists began recording sea ice extent with satellites in 1979. On 21 February this year, that number had reduced to just 691, 000 square miles, which is roughly 40 per cent less than the average between 1981 and 2010.

The record-breaking minimum was expected after an extraordinarily hot January which was the seventh-warmest since records began 174 years ago. “By the end of January, we could tell it was only a matter of time until the record was broken,” said Will Hobbs, an Antarctic sea ice expert at the University of Tasmania and the Australian Antarctic Program Partnership. Antarctica’s minimum sea ice extent will likely continue to decrease in the coming decades as global temperatures rise as a result of human-caused climate change and more multiyear ice, which acts as a seed for new ice growth, melts away.

Sea ice is crucial for polar predators(捕食性动物) such as penguins in Antarctica and polar bears in the Arctic, which use the ice as a platform for hunting. But the sea ice also helps stabilise ice on Antarctica. “Lower sea ice extent means that ocean waves will pound the coast of the giant ice sheet，further reducing ice shelves around Antarctic,” said Ted Scambos, a senior research scientist at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences.

1. What can we know about sea ice?

A．It can be seen on any ocean’s surface.	B．It forms at about -1.8 ℃.
C．It melts all the year round.	D．There is more sea ice than freshwater ice.

2. What can we infer from the data in Paragraph 2?

A．There are two seasons in Antarctica.

B．Scientists have been recording the change of sea ice.

C．Sea ice in Antarctica has been on decline in the past decades.

D．The ecology in Antarctica needs to be improved.

3. Why will sea ice possibly go on to reduce?

A．The earth becomes warmer.	B．Multiyear ice disappears completely.
C．Ocean waves destroy the giant ice sheet.	D．Human beings occupy Antarctica.

4. What’s the best title for the passage?

A．Human activities have caused global warming

B．Measures should be taken to stop sea ice decreasing

C．Sea ice is significant for polar animals

D．Antarctica’s sea ice reaches its lowest level since records began

2 . Homes are usually warmed with radiators (暖气片). Some homes are warmed by floor heating. Now, a new way of heating is being developed by using the “wallpaper” on your walls. This wallpaper is not decorative. It actually goes under and not over the wall-electrically heats a room. And this type of heating technology heats objects, even people, instead of the air and this helps you feel warmer.

The electric heating panels (嵌板) which are hidden in the wall are connected to the main electrical panels of your home. Each room can be heated independently through an app, so you do not have to heat unused rooms. It takes around 20 minutes to heat a room.

With rising prices for home heating, the panels seen like the right way to go. “It makes me happy that I don’t depend on gas,” Kris Bilski, an early user, said. About 23 million homes in the UK are connected to the gas grid (网) but the government wants to phase out gas-fired pots by 2035. Home heating is responsible for 17 percent of greenhouse gas materials, so removing fossil fuel-based heating will help the environment.

The new electric heating systems are easy to get for private homes and the company is currently testing the new technology in public housing in some cities. The types being tested can be fitted while people are still living in the apartment so it makes installation a lot easier.

Heating your home with this type of technology does not heat your water, so an additional heating system is required, but an energy efficient heater can be used.

While the wallpaper is greener, electricity in the UK is very costly so it is not an economic way to heat homes unless there is a renewable energy source like solar panels used. Still, reducing the dependence on fossil fuels will go a long way to green the UK and help the country meet its climate targets.

1. What can we infer about a room with this “wallpaper” heater?

A．Special radiators are needed in in.	B．It’s connected to solar panels.
C．The temperature in it varies less.	D．It’s warmer than a normal room.

2. What does the underlined phrase “phase out” in Paragraph 3 mean?

A．Slop using.	B．Improve greatly.
C．Restore gradually.	D．Finish developing.

3. What is one of the advantages of wallpaper heating system?

A．It looks beautiful.	B．It’s easy to set up.
C．It heats up instantly.	D．It fits all buildings.

4. What is the author’s attitude towards the use of this wallpaper heating system in the UK?

A．Doubting.	B．Optimistic.
C．Enthusiastic.	D．Unfavorable.

4 . Young Alison Teal never rode in a pushchair or played on a swing on the playground.       1     She saw the view from atop a peak in Peru at just two months old on her mom’s back. They traveled the globe staying not at five-star hotels but in a six-foot-wide tent. From mountaintops to jungles, they immersed (沉浸) themselves in local nature and culture.

Between journeys they would return home to quiet part of the Big Island of Hawaii. Her front yard was the ocean, and her friends were dolphins.       2     Alison would dive into the water and release a sea leaf. A dolphin would catch it on its nose and throw it to the next player. Over the years, the dolphins grew to trust Alison.       3     She let them take the lead in their interactions. After studying at the University of California, Berkeley and then graduating from a film school, Alison continued her world travels. Her adventurous experience and survival skills landed her a spot on the reality show Naked and Afraid, in which she and a co-constant had to live on a deserted island for 21 days. Alison’s deep knowledge of how to live in a wildness saved the pair.       4     “After that, I couldn’t ignore our plastic problem,” says Alison. “I decided to protect our greatest resource, the ocean.”

Along with sharing her mission with her Instagram followers, the conservationist gave a TED talk on her discover.       5     Besides, she helped ban plastic bags in California. Her book, Alison’s Adventures: Your Passport to the World, is filled with travel tales and environment lessons. Alison believes all of us can make changes to protect the Earth.

A．How did Alison become a filmmaker?

B．What was their way of playing catch?

C．She launched a line of recycled surfboards.

D．At an early age, she began exploring the world.

E．Therefore, they approached her whenever she was in the water.

F．She was mostly home-schooled as the family traveled the globe.

G．But what shocked her was the amount of rubbish that washed up on the shore.

5 . Climate change is known to negatively affect agriculture and livestock, but there has been little scientific knowledge on which regions of the planet would be touched or what the biggest risks may be. New research led by Aalto University assesses just how global food production will be affected if greenhouse gas emissions are left uncut.

The researchers assessed how climate change would affect 27 of the most important food crops and seven different livestock, accounting for societies' varying capacities to adapt to changes. The results show that threats affect countries and continents in different ways; in 52 of the 177 countries studied, the entire food production would remain in the safe climatic space in the future. These include Finland and most other European countries.

Already vulnerable countries such as Benin, Cambodia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana and Suriname will be hit hard if no changes are made; up to 95 percent of current food production would fall outside of safe climatic space. Alarmingly, these nations also have significantly less capacity to adapt to changes brought on by climate change when compared to rich western countries. In all, 20% of the world's crop production and 18% of livestock production under threat are located in countries with low capacities to adapt to changes.

“If we let emissions grow, the increase in desert areas is especially troubling because in these conditions barely anything can grow without irrigation. By the end of this century, we could see more than 4 million square kilometres of new desert around the globe,” Matti Kummu, professor of global water and food issues at Aalto University says. “We need to lighten climate change and, at the same time, improve our food systems and societies' capacities to adapt to changes—we cannot leave the vulnerable behind. Food production must be sustainable.”

1. How does the author show the effect of climate change on the food production in paragraph 2?

A．By raising questions.	B．By stating arguments.
C．By analyzing research data.	D．By making comparisons.

2. What is the third paragraph mainly about?

A．The measures to be taken.	B．The threat to the vulnerable countries.
C．The assistance of rich countries.	D．The damage to crop production.

3. What do Kummu's words suggest?

A．He feels very desperate.	B．He cares more about others.
C．He was in charge of the study.	D．He is worried about the vulnerable.

4. From which section of a newspaper is the text taken?

A．Environment.

B．Technology.

C．Culture.

D．Politics.

6 . With a quick movement, the little creature vanishes in the air like it never existed and somehow appears dramatically-this is a part of the film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. But in reality, “disappeared” fantastic creatures can also reappear.

The Global Wildlife Conservation(GWC) announced on Oct 30 they have rediscovered the Voeltzkow's chameleon(变色龙)in Madagascar. The last time that the animal was seen was in 1913.

This discovery excited the researeh team, but the finding was not easy. The GWC organized an expedition as part of its Seareh for Lost Species program, an attempt to rediscover species that have not been observed by scientists for at least a decade. They headed into the forests of northwestern Madagascar in April 2018. But they didn't have much luck for a long time. Just days before the trip was to end. the tour guides spotted one of the chameleons. Ultimately, the team discovered three males and 13 females.

Male Voeltzkow's chameleons are up to 164 millimeters long and are light green with dark stripes, which get darker when they are angry or stressed. Females are smaller than males, growing to about 150 millimeters long. They can change their skin to a pattern of red dots and a stripe of purple against a background of black and white.

“The Voeltzkow's chameleon adds color and beauty to the planet, and reminds us that even when all seems lost, a great adventure can reawaken hope." said Don Church, president of the GWC. "Now we have so much to learn about this extraordinary reptile(爬行动物)・including how we can best save it from extinction.”

This isn't the only time a species thought to be extinct has been rediscovered. In fact, this year scientists discovered a frog that has been missing for more than 50 years in a Brazilian jungle. Another example is the Albany adder snake, which was rediscovered in 2016. The species had disappeared for over a decade and was generally believed to be extinct.

So how are these "lost" species able to make a comeback? If the environment changes in favor of certain species that have been considered extinct, the population size of those species may recover again. As they reach greater numbers, the chance of humans discovering them increases.

1. Why is the part of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them mentioned?

A．To lead to a discussion about animal extinction.

B．To warn of the difference between reality and fiction.

C．To demonstrate that magic can be found in real life.

D．To further discuss the reappearance of creatures.

2. What does Paragraph 3 mainly talk about?

A．How luck determined the fate of a lost species.

B．How the GWC rediscovered the Voeltzkow's chameleon.

C．An introduction to the Seareh for Lost Species program.

D．The solutions to make “lost" species come back.

3. What can we know about the Voeltzkow's chameleon?

A．They can change their colors to green and yellow.

B．Female chameleons are much longer than male ones.

C．The color of the males' skin can reflect their mood.

D．Male chameleons outnumber female ones by a lot.

4. What can be concluded from the last two paragraphs?

A．The rediscoveries may be due to environmental changes.

B．The habitats of frogs and snakes are quite similar.

C．Human beings are to blame for species extinction.

D．Extinct reptiles would be the first group to be rediscovered.